Federal Agency Decisions
Federal workers' compensation appeals from the Department of Labor's Employees' Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB), federal-sector labor-relations cases from the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), Longshore Act and Black Lung Benefits Act appeals from the Department of Labor's Benefits Review Board (BRB), precedent decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), environmental permit and penalty appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB), and whistleblower and other labor appeals from the Department of Labor's Administrative Review Board (ARB), each with a plain-English summary, the law it cites, and whether it counts as precedent. More agencies are coming.
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I.M. and AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps Pacific Region, McClellan, CA
Board upholds denial of AmeriCorps vehicle accident claim (ECAB 21-0584)
An AmeriCorps corps member reported injuries after a rollover vehicle accident during duty. OWCP accepted the incident and asked for medical evidence of a diagnosed condition related to it. The only timely medical submission was illegible, and no usable medical evidence established a condition. The…
J.L. and Department of the Air Force, Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany
Board orders leave record review in Air Force disability claim (ECAB 21-0440)
An Air Force military analyst sought compensation for time away from work related to an accepted condition. The employer's records conflicted about whether he received pay, used leave, or was in leave without pay status during the claimed periods. The Board found that OWCP needed reliable earnings…
C.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Chillum Place Carrier Annex, Washington, DC
Board returns postal custodian’s disability claim for impartial review (ECAB 21-0307)
A postal custodian reported breathing and throat symptoms after inhaling bleach fumes at work. She sought wage loss benefits for a later period. Her doctors and an OWCP referral physician disagreed about disability, and the employer had not clarified whether suitable limited duty was available. The…
G.S. and Smithsonian Institution, National History Museum, Washington, DC
Board reverses termination of Smithsonian worker’s benefits (ECAB 20-0564)
A Smithsonian fire safety engineer had accepted back and related conditions after a workplace fall. OWCP stopped his benefits based on referral opinions that he no longer had injury residuals. The Board found that treating physicians disagreed with those opinions, creating a medical conflict that…
American Federation of Government Employees, National Council of Field Labor Locals and United States Department of Labor, Division of Federal Employee's Compensation
AFGE Field Labor Locals and DOL (FLRA 0-NG-3460): Authority reopens negotiability petition
The Union asked the Authority to decide the negotiability of seven proposals. After the Union failed to answer an order concerning one proposal, the case-intake office dismissed the entire petition. The Union sought reconsideration and explained that the order appeared to warn only that the single…
Bremerton Metal Trades Council and United States Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Bremerton, Washington
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Bremerton Metal Trades Council (FLRA 0-AR-5779): Authority upholds suspension for misconduct
The Puget Sound Naval Shipyard suspended a union official for ten days after finding a years-long pattern of bullying and verbal abuse. The Union argued that the official's full-time representational schedule and work in a shared union office prevented agency discipline and made the suspension an…
United States Department of Homeland Security, Citizenship and Immigration Services and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3928, National Citizenship and Immigration Services Council 119
USCIS and AFGE Local 3928 (FLRA 0-AR-5744): Authority upholds retroactive promotions
USCIS delayed career-ladder promotions during a potential budget shortfall and later processed them without making them retroactive to each employee's eligibility date. An arbitrator found that the collective-bargaining agreement made the promotions nondiscretionary once employees were eligible and…
Secretary of Labor v. Perry County Resources
Secretary ordered to disclose missing abatement order
Perry County Resources and the Secretary proposed resolving four citations with a total penalty reduction from $1,470 to $1,204. The record showed that MSHA had issued a section 104(b) failure-to-abate order connected to an admitted roof-support citation, but the order and related documents were…
James C. Smith v. Greenwich Collieries Company
Smith v. Greenwich Collieries (BRB 21-0265 BLA): lung function evidence returned for review
James Smith had twenty-two years of qualifying coal mine employment, but the judge denied his black lung claim after finding no totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board found that the judge had relied on a doctor's view that three lung function studies were invalid without fully…
Ronnie Bowen v. Pilgrim Mining Company Incorporated
Bowen v. Pilgrim Mining (BRB 21-0244 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Ronnie Bowen worked in qualifying coal mine employment for twenty-two years and claimed black lung benefits. The judge found a totally disabling respiratory impairment, which triggered the fifteen-year presumption that his disability was due to pneumoconiosis. The Board upheld the judge's weighing…
Daniel J. Lewis v. Mepco, Limited Liability Company
Lewis v. Mepco (BRB 21-0227 BLA): mine work duration returned for review
A judge awarded Daniel Lewis black lung benefits after finding sixteen years of underground coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. A Board majority upheld the disability finding but found that the judge had not explained how the evidence supported sixteen years of mine work…
Linda Rose Adams, on behalf of and widow of Tony Lee Adams v. Wilgar Land Company
Adams v. Wilgar Land (BRB 21-0216 and 21-0217 BLA): miner and survivor awards affirmed
Linda Rose Adams pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor claim against Wilgar Land and its insurer. On modification, the judge found Tony Lee Adams had legal pneumoconiosis and that it substantially contributed to his total respiratory disability. The Board upheld the…
Linda Rose Adams, on behalf of and widow of Tony Lee Adams v. Wilgar Land Company
Adams v. Wilgar Land (BRB 21-0216 and 21-0217 BLA): miner and survivor awards affirmed
Linda Rose Adams pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor claim against Wilgar Land and its insurer. On modification, the judge found Tony Lee Adams had legal pneumoconiosis and that it substantially contributed to his total respiratory disability. The Board upheld the…
Jackie R. Begley v. Pigeon Creek Processing
Begley v. Pigeon Creek Processing (BRB 21-0189 BLA): benefits award affirmed
Jackie Begley filed a later black lung claim after 12.8 years of coal mine employment. The judge found that medical evidence established legal pneumoconiosis and that it substantially contributed to his total respiratory disability, so he awarded benefits without the fifteen-year presumption. A…
Terry W. Price v. Cumberland River Coal Company
Price v. Cumberland River Coal (BRB 21-0175 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Terry Price had at least fifteen years of qualifying coal mine employment and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. Those findings triggered the statutory presumption that his disability was due to pneumoconiosis. Cumberland River Coal challenged both the disability finding and the judge's…
Wilma Jean Honeycutt, on behalf of Ronald D. Honeycutt v. Hondo Coal Company
Honeycutt v. Hondo Coal (BRB 21-0125 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Wilma Jean Honeycutt pursued her late husband's black lung claim against Hondo Coal and its insurer. Ronald Honeycutt had 7.71 qualifying years of coal mine employment, so the judge decided entitlement without the fifteen-year presumption. The judge found that clinical and legal pneumoconiosis…
Robert E. Lee v. American Energy, LLC
Lee v. American Energy (BRB 21-0104 BLA): disability finding returned for review
Robert Lee's black lung claim had been awarded after an earlier remand, but the judge reversed that award on the employer's reconsideration request after finding Lee was not totally disabled. The Board found that the judge had not fully considered evidence about the heavy lifting required in Lee's…
Elsie Dotson, on behalf of and widow of Raymond Dotson v. Heritage Coal Company, LLC
Dotson v. Heritage Coal (BRB 21-0089 and 21-0090 BLA): awards upheld, modification request returned
A district director awarded Raymond Dotson black lung benefits, and Heritage Coal asked for a hearing after the thirty-day deadline. The judge dismissed that hearing request and awarded his widow, Elsie Dotson, automatic survivor benefits based on the miner's final award. The Board affirmed both…
Elsie Dotson, on behalf of and widow of Raymond Dotson v. Heritage Coal Company, LLC
Dotson v. Heritage Coal (BRB 21-0089 and 21-0090 BLA): awards upheld, modification request returned
A district director awarded Raymond Dotson black lung benefits, and Heritage Coal asked for a hearing after the thirty-day deadline. The judge dismissed that hearing request and awarded his widow, Elsie Dotson, automatic survivor benefits based on the miner's final award. The Board affirmed both…
G.F. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, El Paso, TX
Board returns border officer’s foot claim for combined file review (ECAB 22-0306)
A customs and border protection employee reported a left foot injury during training. He had an earlier accepted claim for broken left toes in another training fall. The Board found that the related injury files needed to be considered together. It directed OWCP to combine them and issue a new…
K.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Brick Post Office, Brick, NJ
Board dismisses appeal from its own earlier decision (ECAB 22-0292)
A postal employee sought review of a November 10, 2021 decision. The Board found that date belonged to its own earlier ruling, which had affirmed a November 2020 OWCP decision. Because she identified no final adverse OWCP decision issued within 180 days of this appeal, the Board dismissed it…
S.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Vehicle Maintenance Facility, New York, NY
Board accepts postal worker’s duties and returns shoulder claim (ECAB 22-0242)
A postal vehicle maintenance worker attributed bilateral shoulder symptoms to moving heavy containers and pallets. OWCP rejected his claim, but the Board found his account sufficient to establish the work activities. It did not decide whether those duties caused a medical condition. It returned the…
Y.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Harrisburg, PA
Board returns postal carrier’s stress claim for combined file review (ECAB 21-1394)
A rural postal carrier claimed that workplace events and the effects of an earlier work vehicle accident contributed to stress. OWCP denied her emotional condition claim while the accident injury records remained in a separate file. The Board found that a fair review required both files. It ordered…
K.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Palmerton, PA
Board returns postal carrier’s shoulder claim for combined file review (ECAB 21-1112)
A rural carrier attributed right shoulder conditions to repetitive mail delivery duties. OWCP had separate files for a prior shoulder claim and an accepted right rib condition. The Board found that the files had to be combined to evaluate the claimed medical connection fairly. It returned the case…
S.S. and Department of Defense, Department of Defense Education Activity, Alexandria, VA
Board returns reconsideration request for omitted medical report (ECAB 21-0627)
A Defense Department employee asked OWCP to reconsider an earlier claim decision. OWCP found no pertinent new evidence but did not address a physician's report in the record. The Board held that OWCP had to consider relevant evidence received before issuing its decision. It returned the request for…
T.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Salt Lake Performance Office, Salt Lake City, UT
Board directs conversion of postal worker’s hand claim (ECAB 20-1494)
A postal employee reported hand pain and numbness from repetitive work over more than one shift. She filed a traumatic injury form, and OWCP denied that type of claim. The Board found that OWCP should have treated her description as a possible occupational disease, converted the claim, and given…
J.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Valrico Post Office, Valrico, FL
Board upholds denial of postal worker’s wage loss claim (ECAB 20-1014)
A postal worker with an accepted injury sought wage loss benefits for later intermittent periods. Her physicians described symptoms and work limits, but the Board found that they did not adequately explain why the accepted injury caused disability on the claimed dates. It affirmed the denial of…
E.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Rogers Park Post Office, Chicago, IL
Board upholds denial of postal worker’s intermittent wage loss (ECAB 20-0738)
A postal worker sought wage loss benefits for intermittent time away from work after an accepted lumbar strain. His physician described restrictions but did not provide objective findings or explain why the accepted strain prevented his duties during the claimed periods. The Board found the medical…
R.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Kansas, MO
Board upholds denial of postal carrier’s accident claim (ECAB 22-0202)
A rural carrier associate reported injuries after a motor vehicle accident at work. The accident was accepted, but the medical submission came from a nurse practitioner and did not establish a diagnosis by a qualified physician. The Board found the evidence insufficient to establish a compensable…
V.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bell Gardens, CA
Board dismisses appeal from void OWCP decision (ECAB 22-0193)
A postal employee appealed a decision denying reconsideration of her terminated benefits. She already had a Board appeal pending on the same benefit issue when OWCP issued the later decision. The Board held that OWCP lacked jurisdiction to decide it during the pending appeal. With no valid OWCP…
R.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Westport Post Office, Westport, WA
Board returns postal worker’s hip impairment claim (ECAB 22-0190)
A postal employee had an accepted left hip condition and sought an impairment award. OWCP relied on an impartial examiner who disputed that accepted condition and denied the award. The Board found that OWCP had not followed the required procedure to rescind acceptance before using that finding. It…
P.P. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Edward Hines, Jr. VA Medical Center, Hines, IL
Board confirms overpayment but orders new amount calculation (ECAB 22-0040)
A VA employee received FECA wage loss benefits and Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service during the same period. The Board agreed that this created an overpayment for which he was without fault. It found that OWCP improperly offset money it owed him at a higher…
C.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing and Distribution Center, Tampa, FL
Board dismisses appeal from preliminary overpayment rulings (ECAB 21-1408)
A postal employee appealed an order remanding a preliminary overpayment finding and a later preliminary overpayment determination. The Board found that the remand order and preliminary determination did not resolve the overpayment finally. Because ECAB reviews final adverse OWCP decisions, it…
T.D. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Wilmington VA Medical Center, Wilmington, DE
Board upholds denial of VA worker’s stress claim (ECAB 21-1381)
A VA address management technician reported stress over months of work. OWCP asked her to identify the work events she believed caused it, but received no specific supporting account before denying the claim. Her reconsideration request did not supply relevant facts about a compensable work factor…
J.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Islandia, NY
Board returns postal worker’s back condition request (ECAB 21-0790)
A postal employee sought to add lumbar conditions to an accepted work injury. His physician described a possible mechanism connecting the incident with disc changes and nerve symptoms. The Board found the explanation insufficient to prove causation but strong enough to require further medical…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Oakland Processing and Distribution Center, Oakland, CA
Board upholds bilateral leg impairment awards (ECAB 21-0787)
A postal employee sought increased schedule awards for both legs after knee treatment. The Board found that the district medical adviser correctly applied the impairment guides to rate each leg at 25 percent. Her physician's whole person rating could not establish a larger FECA leg award. It…
C.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, West Palm Beach VA Medical Center, West Palm Beach, FL
Board accepts VA worker’s fall and returns injury claim (ECAB 21-0554)
A VA employee said she fell while lifting a patient's belongings from a wheelchair. Coworker statements and her medical history supported her account of the incident. The Board found the event established, but OWCP had not evaluated whether it caused a compensable injury. It returned the claim for…
T.R. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Division of Power Operations, Clinton, TN
Board reverses reduction of TVA worker’s wage loss benefits (ECAB 21-0242)
A Tennessee Valley Authority worker with an accepted shoulder injury received wage loss compensation. OWCP reinstated his full benefits after an earlier reduction was reversed, then reduced them again using the old notice. The Board held that OWCP had to issue a new proposed reduction notice before…
E.K. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Dallas VA Medical Center, Dallas, TX
Board reverses VA worker’s overpayment finding (ECAB 20-1461)
A VA employee resumed modified work while FECA temporary total disability payments continued. OWCP treated the overlap as an overpayment, but her pay records showed that her employer had not paid wages during the period. The Board found no evidence of actual earnings to support an overpayment and…
K.W. and U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Atlanta, GA
Board returns State Department worker’s stress claim (ECAB 20-0832)
A passport specialist attributed anxiety and depression to several workplace events. The Board found most alleged management actions and harassment unsubstantiated, but accepted a documented incident in which a supervisor put paper on her head. OWCP had not evaluated whether that compensable work…
L.T. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, Sterling, VA
Board upholds denial of border officer’s injury claim and hearing (ECAB 20-0345)
A border officer said he hurt his back lifting a person during training. A medical note instead described a later injury while lifting a gun bag, and the Board found the accounts too inconsistent to establish the alleged work incident. He also did not attend his scheduled hearing or timely explain…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Miami, Florida and American Federation of Government Employees, Council of Prison Locals 33, Local 3690
FCI Miami and AFGE Local 3690 (FLRA 0-AR-5630): Authority upholds pay for arbitration preparation
A union representative attended an arbitration-preparation meeting after FCI Miami personnel indicated that official time would be handled, but the institution marked the employee absent without leave and withheld one day's pay. An arbitrator found that the collective-bargaining agreement…
Secretary of Labor obo Alvaro Saldivar vs. Grimes Rock, Inc.
Secretary of Labor obo Alvaro Saldivar v. Grimes Rock, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 2021-0265 DM): Safety complaints were not the but-for cause of firing
Alvaro Saldivar alleged that Grimes Rock fired him after he complained about unsafe water-truck tires and inadequate equipment training at its sand and gravel mine. Judge Margaret Miller found that both complaints were protected activity and that Saldivar established an initial discrimination case…
Secretary of Labor obo Alvaro Saldivar vs. Grimes Rock, Inc.
Secretary of Labor obo Alvaro Saldivar v. Grimes Rock, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 2021-0178): Temporary reinstatement payments enforced
Grimes Rock and miner Alvaro Saldivar had agreed to economic reinstatement while his discrimination case was pending, with outside wages offset against what the company owed. Grimes Rock kept paying the reduced amount after Saldivar left the outside job and became unemployed, and it repeatedly…
City of Keene
In re City of Keene (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 21-03): Permit limits upheld
The City of Keene challenged EPA Region 1’s NPDES permit for its wastewater treatment plant discharging to the Ashuelot River in New Hampshire. The challenge concerned the pH effluent limit, the aluminum effluent limit and a requested aluminum special condition, and a requested copper special…
Secretary of Labor obo Moses Ortiz v. Mario Sinacola & Sons Excavating, Inc., et al.
Temporary reinstatement agreement enforced
Mario Sinacola & Sons Excavating missed payments required by its temporary economic reinstatement agreement with miner Moses Ortiz. The company asked the judge to dismiss the discrimination case and sanction Ortiz for alleged perjury, relying in part on criminal convictions that Ortiz had not…
Robert L. Nantz v. Big Elk Creek Coal Company
Nantz v. Big Elk Creek Coal (BRB 21-0011 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Robert Nantz had 12.4 years of qualifying coal mine employment, so the judge considered his black lung claim without the fifteen-year presumption. The judge found that a severe obstructive lung impairment was related to coal dust and prevented Nantz from doing his usual mine work. The Board…
K.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Topeka, KS
Board upholds denial of continuation of pay (ECAB 22-0482)
A postal employee sought continuation of pay after reporting a November 24, 2021 workplace injury. He filed written notice on February 2, 2022, more than 30 days after the incident. The Board held that the late notice barred continuation of pay and affirmed OWCP's decision. The ruling did not…
Perdomo National Wrecking Co., LLC, dba Perdomo of NY, LLC
Three citations affirmed after answer default
OSHA issued Perdomo National Wrecking two serious construction citation items and one repeat item after inspecting a New Jersey worksite. The company filed a notice of contest but did not answer the Secretary's complaint. The judge issued two separate show-cause orders and served them by email…
T.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Westwood Post Office, Kalamazoo, MI
Board upholds refusal to add pain syndrome to postal claim (ECAB 20-0970)
A postal employee sought recognition of complex regional pain syndrome after an accepted hand injury. The medical opinions conflicted, so OWCP obtained an impartial examination. The examiner found that her symptoms did not meet the criteria for that diagnosis. The Board gave weight to his reasoned…
American Federation of Government Employees, Council 270 and United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Interior Region 1, North Atlantic - Appalachian, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
AFGE Council 270 and National Park Service Region 1 (FLRA 0-NG-3599): Authority defers negotiability dispute to ULP cases
AFGE Council 270 filed a negotiability appeal over a proposal from bargaining for a first agreement covering a consolidated National Park Service unit. The Union had already filed unfair-labor-practice charges alleging that the Park Service failed to bargain in good faith over post-ratification…
United States Department of Defense, Education Activity and Federal Education Association
DOD Education Activity and Federal Education Association (FLRA 0-AR-5775): Authority dismisses late deficiency response
The Department of Defense Education Activity filed exceptions to an arbitration award but did not serve the Union's counsel with a complete copy. The Authority's case-intake office ordered the agency to correct the defect by February 9, 2022. The agency delivered its response to an internal…
William Boch v. J.P. Morgan Securities
Appeal dismissed for missed briefing
An ALJ granted summary decision to J.P. Morgan Securities and dismissed William Boch's retaliation claims under the Consumer Financial Protection Act and Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Boch filed a one-sentence petition for review but did not submit the opening brief required by the Board's scheduling order…
J.D. and Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Minneapolis, MN
Board upholds denial of alleged workplace fall (ECAB 22-0286)
An Agriculture Department employee reported elbow and back pain after an alleged fall on a wet floor. OWCP asked for a detailed account of how and where the event occurred. The Board found that her brief statement and supporting materials did not adequately establish the claimed incident. It…
W.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Dunwoody Post Office, Atlanta, GA
Board upholds postal worker disability recurrence denial (ECAB 22-0187)
A postal employee with an accepted prior injury reported that knee symptoms again kept her from work. Her physician documented pain and work restrictions, but did not adequately connect the renewed disability to the accepted injury. The Board found the medical evidence insufficient to establish a…
C.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing and Distribution Center, Tampa, FL
Board dismisses duplicate appeal docket (ECAB 21-1397)
A postal employee filed two appeals from the same August and September 2021 OWCP decisions. The clerk assigned separate docket numbers. The Board found that only one docket was needed for the same decisions and dismissed the duplicate. Its order said the first appeal would proceed under No. 21-1408.
L.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Perth Amboy Post Office, Perth Amboy, NJ
Board reverses termination of postal worker benefits (ECAB 20-0468)
OWCP offered a postal employee a customer care agent job and ended benefits after finding that she refused suitable work. It relied on an impartial physician whose referral materials incorrectly said she had continued working in that same position, though she had stopped. The Board found the…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, John J. Pershing VA Medical Center, Poplar Bluff, Missouri and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2338
John J. Pershing VA Medical Center and AFGE Local 2338 (FLRA 0-AR-5774): Authority upholds official-time calculation
The John J. Pershing VA Medical Center told AFGE Local 2338 that it had exhausted its annual official-time allocation. An arbitrator found that the Center used a misleadingly low employee count and incorrectly excluded employees at community clinics. He interpreted the contract's percentage…
Matter of D-L-S-
Deferred adjudication counted as a final judgment for particularly serious crime bar
The Board reviewed a Mexican respondent's appeal concerning withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture after a Florida felony battery case ended in deferred adjudication and probation. It held that a deferred adjudication satisfying the Immigration and Nationality…
L.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Vinita, OK
Board upholds denial of postal worker hand claim (ECAB 22-0487)
A postal employee attributed hand and wrist symptoms to her work duties. A physician diagnosed nerve conditions but did not give an opinion connecting them to work. A separate nurse practitioner note could not supply the required physician opinion under FECA. The Board affirmed the denial for lack…
What these documents are
- The agencies: Federal workers' compensation appeals from the Department of Labor's Employees' Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB), federal-sector labor-relations cases from the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), Longshore Act and Black Lung Benefits Act appeals from the Department of Labor's Benefits Review Board (BRB), precedent decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), environmental permit and penalty appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB), and whistleblower and other labor appeals from the Department of Labor's Administrative Review Board (ARB). Each decision page names its agency.
- Commission, Board and Authority decisions: Rulings by the agency's highest review level (the Commission at OSHRC and FMSHRC, the Authority at FLRA, the Board of Immigration Appeals, the Administrative Review Board at Labor, and 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.