Federal Agency Decisions
Workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), and environmental appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board, each with a plain-English summary, the standards it cites, and whether it counts as precedent. More agencies are coming.
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Penneco Environmental Solutions, LLC
In re Penneco Environmental Solutions, LLC (EAB UIC Appeal No. 23-01): Motion to dismiss denied
Penneco Environmental Solutions, LLC sought a permit for a Class II-D commercial disposal injection well for fluids produced in oil and gas operations in Pennsylvania. Protect PT and Three Rivers Waterkeeper challenged EPA Region 3's permit decision. Penneco moved to dismiss the petition as…
Fagan v. Department of the Navy
Environmental whistleblower subpoenas denied
Shannon Fagan, a former Navy environmental-law attorney, alleged that the Navy fired her for activity protected by federal environmental whistleblower laws. Before the merits hearing, she asked the administrative judge to subpoena former Navy employees for deposition and hearing testimony. The…
United States Department of the Army, Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs, Arizona Army National Guard and Association of Civilian Technicians, Chapter 61
Arizona Army National Guard and ACT Chapter 61 (FLRA 0-AR-5860): Authority denies technician-separation reconsideration
The Arizona Army National Guard and its union negotiated renewable four-month extensions for dual-status technicians who lost military membership while disability-retirement claims were pending. The agency later rescinded that provision, and the Authority set aside an arbitrator's contrary contract…
United States Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection and National Treasury Employees Union
Customs and Border Protection and NTEU (FLRA 0-AR-5836): Authority upholds COPRA night-premium award
Customs officers regularly scheduled for nightwork lost Customs Officer Pay Reform Act premiums when they used at least eight hours of parental or COVID-19 emergency leave in a pay period. An arbitrator held that the agency had improperly imported the Federal Employees Pay Act's eight-hour…
Matter of Mogtabi Hassan AZRAG
An unexplained state-court conviction vacatur does not support reopening
The Board reviewed a motion to reopen by a Sudanese lawful permanent resident whose state court had vacated two theft convictions and accepted a new plea. It held that a respondent seeking immigration relief must show that a state court vacated the convictions because of a substantive or procedural…
Hanwha Cimarron LLC
In re Hanwha Cimarron LLC (EAB CAA Appeal No. 24-02C): HFC import settlement approved
Hanwha Cimarron LLC imported 780 kilograms of the HFC blend R-407C in 60 cylinders. The shipment arrived on June 21, 2022, and the compliance activity was recorded in Atlanta, Georgia. EPA alleged that Hanwha imported the bulk regulated substances without expending the required allowances and…
M1 Support Services, LP v. Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL
Pension contributions belong in wage determinations
M1 Support Services provided aircraft maintenance under federal service contracts and contributed to a union pension plan for covered employees. After the plan entered critical status, M1 and the union agreed to supplemental contributions under a rehabilitation plan. The Board upheld the…
Secretary of Labor v. Thunder Basin Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Thunder Basin Coal Company (FMSHRC WEST 2023-0157): Ground-control-plan citation vacated
MSHA cited Thunder Basin Coal after an inspector saw dozer and haul-truck tire marks near a berm at the Black Thunder Mine and concluded that the ground control plan did not adequately address rollover and breakthrough hazards. Mine witnesses testified that the berm was stable, the tire impressions…
Secretary of Labor v. Chad Buus, employed by United States Steel - Minnesota Ore Operations
Secretary of Labor v. Chad Buus (FMSHRC LAKE 2024-0016): Timely emailed contest prevented finality
Chad Buus timely emailed a contest of an individual penalty assessment to MSHA. The agency received the filing but did not assign or process it, causing the assessment to appear final. After the error was identified, MSHA processed the contest and agreed that reopening was moot. The Commission held…
Grimes Rock, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. Grimes Rock, Inc.
Grimes Rock, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC WEST 2023-0015): Stay request denied
Grimes Rock asked the judge to stay three enforcement proceedings while the Ninth Circuit considered a related temporary-reinstatement appeal. The company argued that the court of appeals had exclusive jurisdiction and that its ruling could undermine the orders on which MSHA's citations and…
Grimes Rock, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. Grimes Rock, Inc.
Grimes Rock, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC WEST 2022-0334): Discovery limited to the disputed enforcement actions
The Secretary asked the judge to stop Grimes Rock from seeking discovery about MSHA inspections conducted in December 2023 and January 2024. The underlying cases concerned citations and an order issued in August 2022 after Grimes Rock allegedly failed to comply with temporary-reinstatement payment…
Secretary of Labor v. Leesville Land, LLC
One assessment time-barred, nine reopened after staffing change
Leesville Land sought to reopen ten assessments missed by a former safety director who had limited contest experience and did not understand the assessment process. After MSHA warned that the mine's enforcement history was trending toward pattern-of-violations consideration, Leesville hired an…
Lamm v. Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad Co.
FRSA appeal dismissed after district-court filing
Matt Lamm asked the Board to review an administrative judge's denial of his Federal Railroad Safety Act complaint. While the appeal was pending, he filed an original action for de novo review in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana and provided the Board with a…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Winston-Salem, North Carolina and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 25
VA Winston-Salem and AFGE Local 25 (FLRA 0-AR-5923): Authority upholds overtime within promotion make-whole remedy
A VA employee's career-ladder promotion was delayed after the agency failed to give required advance notice of performance deficiencies and develop a tailored assistance plan. An arbitrator backdated the promotion, ordered make-whole relief, and retained jurisdiction over remedy issues. In a…
Secretary of Labor v. ITAC
Prompt recovery of mail excused stale address
ITAC moved in 2009 without updating its MSHA address, and a 2023 assessment was delivered to the former location and signed for by an unidentified recipient. An employee looking for missing packages recovered the assessment on May 25, and ITAC contacted MSHA on the next business day and moved to…
Kovarik v. Groundwater & Environmental Services, Inc.
Pipeline matter administratively closed
An administrative judge dismissed Jaromir Kovarik's Pipeline Safety Improvement Act complaint with prejudice. Kovarik moved the judge to reconsider and sent a copy of that motion through the Board's filing system, which caused an ARB case number to be assigned. The judge then granted…
Saini v. Hospital Care Consultants, Inc.
H-1B case remanded to correct litigation costs
An administrative judge found that Hospital Care Consultants violated H-1B program requirements and awarded Vinay Saini remedies, attorney fees, and litigation costs. After both sides petitioned the Board for review, Saini identified a calculation error in the cost award. Because the appeal had…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL v. Deggeller Attractions, Inc.
H-2B appeal dismissed for failure to prosecute
An administrative judge had modified damages and reduced a civil penalty in an H-2B enforcement case against Deggeller Attractions after an earlier Board remand. Deggeller appealed but did not file its opening brief by the Board's deadline. The Board issued a show-cause order, gave the company…
Kirschmann v. Hampton Roads Transit
Transit retaliation claims rejected on summary decision
Rhonda Kirschmann alleged that Hampton Roads Transit fired her for protected transportation-safety activity. The Board found that her appellate brief did not identify supported errors in the administrative judge's decision, but it independently reviewed that decision because she represented…
The Estate of Daniel A. Ayres by Kimberly Ayres, Administrator v. Weatherford U.S., L.P.
The Estate of Daniel A. Ayres v. Weatherford U.S., L.P. (DOL ARB 2018-0006): STAA settlement approved
The estate of Daniel A. Ayres and Weatherford sought to end long-running STAA litigation after a federal appellate remand and a Board award of additional attorney fees and costs. The Board reviewed only the agreement's resolution of matters within its STAA authority. It explained that the agreement…
Matter of Walter Gabriel BERNARDO
Withdrawn I-751 petition ordinarily cannot be reviewed on the merits
The Board reviewed an Argentine respondent’s appeal from the denial of his petition to remove the conditions on his permanent residence. His former spouse withdrew the jointly filed Form I-751 petition before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services adjudicated it, alleging that the marriage was…
Cedar Springs Hospital, Inc. / UHS of Delaware, Inc., dba Cedar Springs Hospital
Workplace-violence and records citations affirmed
Cedar Springs operated a behavioral health hospital in Colorado Springs where employees were frequently assaulted by patients and suffered serious injuries. The judge found that Cedar Springs and UHS of Delaware functioned as a single employer at the worksite through a common workplace, integrated…
Secretary of Labor v. American Soda, LLC
Tie left 15-minute reporting citation and penalty standing
A roof fall struck miner Delbert Hauser, knocked off his hard hat, caused a head wound and serious eye injury, and knocked him to the ground. American Soda did not notify MSHA within 15 minutes because Hauser remained conscious, walked out of the mine, and appeared coherent to coworkers with…
Secretary of Labor v. Billy Cooper Stone Co., Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Billy Cooper Stone Co. (FMSHRC CENT 2023-0216): Guarding and berm citations affirmed with reductions
MSHA cited Billy Cooper Stone for operating a stone splitter without required guards and for a missing berm along a narrow mine road with an eight-foot drop-off. The judge found evidence that the splitter had been used unguarded and held that the company remained responsible for road safety where…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 153 and United States Department of the Air Force, MacDill Air Force Base, Avon Park Air Force Range, Tampa, Florida
AFGE Local 153 and MacDill Air Force Base (FLRA 0-AR-5917): Authority upholds dispatcher-training requirement
MacDill Air Force Base firefighters also performed dispatcher duties, and the agency required them to complete related training. One firefighter failed to finish a course within the year provided and received an oral admonishment. An arbitrator found that the job announcement and description…
Peabody Gateway North Mining, LLC v. Secretary of Labor
Peabody Gateway North Mining v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC LAKE 2023-0075): MSHA contact-information request upheld
During an investigation of a mine fan outage, MSHA asked Peabody Gateway North for personal contact information for miners who worked the relevant shift. Peabody withheld information for eight miners it considered company agents, arguing that MSHA could contact them only through counsel. The judge…
Matter of Luis AGUILAR HERNANDEZ
Form I-261 cannot cure a notice missing the hearing date and time
The Board considered an interlocutory appeal involving a notice to appear that omitted the date and time of the initial hearing. The respondent argued that the Department of Homeland Security could not cure that defect by filing a Form I-261, Additional Charges of Inadmissibility/Deportability. The…
Jones v. Schwan's Home Service
STAA settlement approved and complaint dismissed
An administrative judge had found that Schwan's Home Service violated the STAA by retaliating against Jerry Jones and awarded reinstatement, pay, damages, attorney fees, and costs. Schwan's petitioned the Board for review, but the parties later reached a written settlement and jointly sought…
Adams v. Duke Energy Carolinas
Nuclear whistleblower case remanded for a hearing
Kathy Adams, a quality-control manager in Duke Energy's nuclear fleet, alleged that Duke reassigned her to a nonsupervisory role after she raised concerns about a supervisor discouraging nuclear-condition reports. The administrative judge granted summary decision to Duke on causation. The Board…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution Mendota, California and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1237
Federal Correctional Institution Mendota and AFGE Local 1237 (FLRA 0-AR-5882): Authority remands teacher overtime dispute
Federal Correctional Institution Mendota teachers performed overtime correctional duties but received a premium below the Fair Labor Standards Act rate for nonexempt employees. An arbitrator found the grievance timely based on good faith and the agency's refusal to toll the deadline, then called…
Secretary of Labor v. Billy Cooper Stone Co., Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Billy Cooper Stone Co. (FMSHRC CENT 2023-0216): Original guarding and berm decision later amended
MSHA cited Billy Cooper Stone for an unguarded stone splitter and a missing berm along a narrow road with an eight-foot drop-off. The judge affirmed both citations but reduced negligence to low for each and changed the berm citation to unlikely injury and non-S&S. He assessed $350 for the guarding…
United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, Rio Grande Valley Sector and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3307, National Border Patrol Council
U.S. Border Patrol Rio Grande Valley Sector and AFGE Local 3307 (FLRA 0-AR-5888): Authority removes investigation-delay remedy
A Border Patrol canine officer was involved in two vehicle-pursuit incidents, one resulting in two fatalities, and the agency temporarily revoked law-enforcement authority while investigating. An arbitrator found the initial revocation supported by evidence but concluded that keeping the employee…
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 335
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and NTEU Chapter 335 (FLRA 0-AR-5756): Authority upholds predisciplinary process
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau presented an employee with a predetermined letter of reprimand at the same meeting where it first heard the employee's explanation. An arbitrator interpreted the agreement's cause standard as requiring notice, an opportunity to respond, and at least enough…
Secretary of Labor v. Coal-Mac, LLC
Untrained manager and vague errors barred reopening
Coal-Mac sought relief from default orders in five penalty cases after failing to answer the Secretary's petitions and later show-cause orders. It said only that its safety manager was unfamiliar with the contest process and made errors. The Commission found that explanation too general because it…
Secretary of Labor obo Jimmy Lee Hoover v. MoSeneca Manufacturer, LLC d/b/a American Tripoli
Secretary of Labor obo Jimmy Lee Hoover v. American Tripoli (FMSHRC CENT 2024-0024): Electrical work refusal supported temporary reinstatement
Jimmy Lee Hoover refused to reach into an energized breaker box to reset mill equipment because he feared electrocution from the 220-volt current. American Tripoli terminated him the next morning, while maintaining that the decision resulted from his late return from lunch, disrespectful response…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 916 and United States Department of the Air Force, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma
AFGE Local 916 and Tinker Air Force Base (FLRA 0-AR-5901): Authority upholds weekend-overtime denial
A Tinker Air Force Base employee signed up for Saturday overtime but took medical leave on Friday. The agency denied the overtime under a claimed longstanding practice of making employees who miss the immediately preceding workday ineligible for weekend assignments. An arbitrator found no evidence…
Matter of Anton PANIN
Federal criminal bail does not control immigration custody
The Board reviewed a Russian respondent’s appeal from the denial of a request for immigration custody redetermination. He argued that his release on bail in a federal criminal case barred the Immigration Judge from independently evaluating his danger to the community and flight risk. The Board held…
The Estate of Daniel A. Ayres by Kimberly Ayres, Administrator v. Weatherford U.S., L.P.
The Estate of Daniel A. Ayres v. Weatherford U.S., L.P. (DOL ARB 2018-0006): $49,085.08 in appellate fees and costs awarded
After the estate of Daniel A. Ayres successfully defended a STAA retaliation order in the Sixth Circuit, the court remanded its request for appellate attorney fees and costs to the Board. The Board awarded fees for the defense of its order, including an unsuccessful motion to dismiss that pursued…
Secretary of Labor v. Allyndale Corporation
Unopposed assessment reopening granted
Allyndale Corporation asked the Commission to reopen a final penalty assessment. The Secretary did not oppose the request. The Commission granted reopening and remanded the matter to the Chief Administrative Law Judge for further proceedings. It stated that granting this motion was not precedential…
Secretary of Labor v. United Taconite, LLC
Untrained handoff and counsel delay barred reopening
Staffing changes left a new United Taconite safety specialist with a proposed assessment but no instructions for handling it. The company did not train the specialist on the assessment process for more than two months. After an April delinquency notice, United Taconite contacted outside counsel…
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Gateway North Mining, LLC
Family medical crisis excused missed filings
Peabody Gateway's part-time safety manager received a penalty petition while traveling for an audit and misread it as an attorney's entry of appearance. He later mistook the show-cause email for an informational COVID-19 message. The manager explained that his elderly father's injury and…
Open Mountain Energy, LLC
In re Open Mountain Energy, LLC (EAB CAA Appeal No. 23-09C): HFC import settlement approved
Open Mountain Energy, LLC, a Delaware corporation headquartered in Lehi, Utah, imported approximately 20,000 kilograms of HFC-245fa from China through an intermediary broker. The shipment was held at the Port of Oakland. EPA alleged that the company imported the bulk HFCs without possessing or…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution Ashland, Kentucky and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1286, Council of Prison Locals 33
Federal Correctional Institution Ashland and AFGE Local 1286 (FLRA 0-AR-5865): Authority remands breathalyzer remedy
Federal Correctional Institution Ashland suspected an officer was intoxicated at work, required a breathalyzer test, and excluded the requested union representative from witnessing it. The agency then temporarily reassigned the employee to work without overtime eligibility during its investigation…
Secretary of Labor v. Morton Salt, Inc.
Unsent contest and repeated process failures barred reopening
Morton Salt's environmental, health, and safety manager marked four citations for contest but did not mail or email the completed assessment form. MSHA had already told the company that the citations were no longer eligible for a conference and that it needed to return the assessment form to…
Secretary of Labor v. Panther Creek Mining, LLC
Undetailed routing error barred reopening
Panther Creek missed the contest deadline for 49 citations carrying $75,601 in proposed penalties. It said only that an administrative error delayed routing the assessment to its corporate safety director, without identifying dates or describing the failure. The Commission majority also noted an…
Secretary of Labor v. Morton Salt, Inc.
Review granted on authority over pattern notice
An ALJ certified an interlocutory question arising from Morton Salt's challenge to a pattern-of-violations notice. The Commission accepted review to decide whether it had authority to examine the Secretary's decision to issue that notice. It suspended the scheduled January hearing while the…
RJCL Corporation, d/b/a RNV Construction
Mixed ruling on scaffold and electrical citations
OSHA inspected RNV Construction at a residence and a commercial building in Saipan and issued scaffold and electrical citations carrying $44,754 in proposed penalties. The judge found that RNV Construction employed the residence workers and rejected its challenges to both inspections. Most items…
Secretary of Labor obo Samuel Coleman v. Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor obo Samuel Coleman v. Warrior Met Coal Mining (FMSHRC SE 2024-0060): Economic temporary reinstatement approved
The judge had ordered Warrior Met Coal Mining to temporarily reinstate Samuel Coleman on December 12, 2023. Nine days later, the parties jointly asked to replace actual reinstatement with an economic temporary-reinstatement agreement retroactive to the original order date. The judge found that the…
Matter of H. N. FERREIRA
Conditional-residence denial should ordinarily receive Immigration Judge review
The Board reviewed the case of a former conditional permanent resident whose Form I-751 petition had been denied by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for failure to prove that the marriage was bona fide. The Immigration Judge terminated the removal proceedings without addressing the…
Secretary of Labor v. American Tripoli
Expedited silica-citation hearing granted
American Tripoli asked for expedited review of three silica-related citations and two withdrawal orders that stopped production at its mill. The citations alleged excessive respirable silica exposure, an inadequate respiratory-protection program, and a failure to conduct necessary dust surveys. The…
Town of Amherst, Massachusetts
In re Town of Amherst, Massachusetts (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 23-05): petition dismissed as moot
The Town of Amherst, Massachusetts, challenged an NPDES permit provision governing E. coli effluent limits and monitoring during March. The town argued that EPA Region 1 had not provided notice and an opportunity to comment on those requirements. Region 1 withdrew the contested provision and said…
Printz v. STS Aviation Group
AIR21 employer and causation findings vacated
Mark Printz maintained Frontier aircraft as an employee of STS Aviation and reported several aircraft-safety concerns two days before STS fired him. An administrative judge found that Frontier was not his AIR21 employer and that his protected activity did not contribute to the termination. The…
Donghee Alabama, LLC
Machine-safety violations affirmed, one instance reclassified
Donghee manufactured automotive fuel tanks at an Auburn, Alabama facility using blow-molding and testing machines. A production manager entered an operating blow-mold machine and suffered a broken foot, while light curtains and laser scanners on four other machines were not functioning. The judge…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2031 and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Cincinnati VA Medical Center
AFGE Local 2031 and Cincinnati VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-NG-3665): Authority orders bargaining over sharps-container duties
AFGE Local 2031 proposed that Cincinnati VA Medical Center bargaining-unit employees deliver and remove used-needle containers outside a designated staging area, while contractors would be limited to staging-area pickup and delivery and could not direct or discipline employees. The agency's written…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2369 and Social Security Administration
AFGE Local 2369 and Social Security Administration (FLRA 0-AR-5919): Authority upholds part-time credit-hour limit
A part-time Social Security employee requested four-and-a-half credit hours on a Saturday outside her regular Monday-through-Thursday tour, but the agency allowed only three. An arbitrator applied a specific contract rule limiting part-time employees to three credit hours on nontour days rather…
Secretary of Labor v. Geneva Rock Products, Inc.
Review granted on indefinite criminal-investigation stay
Potential individual and criminal Mine Act violations in the Geneva Rock case had been referred to the Department of Justice. The ALJ stayed the civil proceeding indefinitely while the criminal investigation and any later proceedings remained pending. The Commission granted the Secretary's request…
Moreb v. Kerry Inc.
Late FSMA appeal reinstated and remanded
Nora Moreb requested a hearing three days after the regulatory deadline for objecting to OSHA's dismissal of her food-safety retaliation complaint. The administrative judge raised timeliness on her own and dismissed the case after considering Moreb's explanation that the decision letter had gone to…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2344 and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Hershel "Woody" Williams VA Medical Center
AFGE Local 2344 and Hershel "Woody" Williams VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-5900): Authority upholds supervisor overtime assignment
A VA medical center allowed a maintenance supervisor to work overtime while two of four supervisory positions were vacant. AFGE Local 2344 argued that the collective-bargaining agreement required the agency to offer those hours to bargaining-unit employees. The arbitrator found that the supervisor…
Secretary of Labor obo Jimmy Lee Hoover v. Mosenecamanufacturer, LLC dba American Tripoli
Secretary of Labor obo Jimmy Lee Hoover v. American Tripoli (FMSHRC CENT 2024-0024): Temporary reinstatement ordered
Jimmy Lee Hoover testified that he declined to open an electrical breaker box and reach inside after the external reset failed because he believed the task was unsafe. American Tripoli terminated him the following day and argued that the discharge resulted from prior performance, attendance…
Secretary of Labor v. Buzzi Unicem USA
No explanation and four-month delay barred reopening
Buzzi Unicem asked to reopen a defaulted penalty case so it could explain why it disagreed with the alleged violations. It gave no reason for failing to answer the Secretary's petition, the show-cause order, or the default order. Buzzi also waited about four months after MSHA sent a delinquency…
What these documents are
- The agencies: Workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), and environmental permit and penalty appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB). Each decision page names its agency.
- Commission and Board decisions: Rulings by the agency's highest review level (the Commission at OSHRC and FMSHRC, the Environmental Appeals Board at EPA). These are citable as precedent, though a decision may have been appealed to a U.S. Court of Appeals after issuance.
- ALJ decisions: Rulings by the agency's Administrative Law Judges after a hearing. When no Commissioner directs review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order that binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent: under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j) at OSHRC, and after the 40-day window of 30 U.S.C. § 823(d)(1) at FMSHRC.
- Why finality matters: Every page here says which kind of decision you are reading, so you know whether it is precedent you can cite or a final order that only shows how one judge ruled on one set of facts.
- Where they come from: Every page links the official public release from the deciding agency, and the full text on the page is that release. The plain-English summaries are written by Ezel.