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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T.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chaunte, KS
Board grants withdrawal of separate Kansas postal appeal (ECAB 22-0498)
A Kansas postal worker appealed a February 2022 OWCP merits decision. He later asked the Board to withdraw that appeal. The Board granted the request and dismissed this separate docket without reaching the compensation merits.
V.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Lakeview Post Office, Chicago, IL
Board orders explanation of denied reconsideration (ECAB 22-0475)
A Chicago letter carrier sought reconsideration of an OWCP decision. OWCP summarily refused to reopen the claim without addressing her specific argument. The Board set aside that refusal because OWCP had not stated findings and reasons clear enough to explain its decision. It returned the request…
J.O. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration Office of Community Care, Denver, CO
Board grants withdrawal of VA worker's appeal (ECAB 22-0380)
A Veterans Affairs worker appealed a December 2021 OWCP merits decision. The worker later asked to withdraw the Board appeal. The Board granted the request and dismissed the docket without ruling on the compensation merits.
M.L. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Memphis VA Medical Center, Memphis, TN
Board upholds denial of late reconsideration request (ECAB 20-0628)
A Memphis VA nursing assistant sought reconsideration of an earlier denial of disability compensation for an accepted shoulder injury. OWCP denied reconsideration because the request was late and did not demonstrate clear evidence of error. The Board found that the submitted medical reports did not…
C.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Chandler-Ocotillo Station, Chandler, AZ
Board dismisses Chandler worker's late appeal (ECAB 22-0823)
A Chandler postal worker appealed an April 2021 OWCP decision in May 2022. The Board found that the filing was well beyond its 180-day appeal period, with no documented compelling circumstances for the delay. It dismissed the appeal without reviewing the compensation merits.
E.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Philadelphia Regional Office, Philadelphia, PA
Board dismisses appeal of accepted VA worker's claim (ECAB 22-0776)
A Philadelphia VA worker appealed an OWCP letter accepting her claim. The Board found that this was an acceptance, not a final adverse decision. With no adverse OWCP decision for it to review, the Board dismissed the appeal without reaching compensation merits.
A.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Birmingham VA Medical Center, Birmingham, AL
Board dismisses Birmingham worker's late appeal (ECAB 22-0767)
A Birmingham VA worker filed an April 2022 appeal from a September 2021 OWCP decision. The Board found that the filing exceeded its 180-day period and that no documented compelling circumstances excused the delay. It dismissed the appeal without reviewing the compensation merits.
I.B. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Station, Alameda, CA
Board dismisses late Navy worker appeal (ECAB 22-0737)
A Navy worker appealed an August 2021 OWCP decision in April 2022. He cited a delay in getting Social Security information and a COVID-19 illness, but the Board found no supporting documents sufficient to establish compelling circumstances. It dismissed the appeal as outside its 180-day filing…
J.A. and Social Security Administration, Teleservice Center, Bellaire, TX
Board dismisses Texas worker's late appeal (ECAB 22-0725)
A Social Security Administration worker appealed a February 2021 OWCP decision in April 2022. The Board found that the filing was more than 180 days after OWCP's decision and lacked documented compelling circumstances for delay. It dismissed the appeal without considering the compensation merits.
P.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Escondido, CA
Board upholds recovery of postal worker's overpayment (ECAB 21-1128)
An Escondido postal worker received FECA wage loss payments and Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service during an overlapping period. OWCP calculated a $12,370.09 overpayment and denied waiver of recovery, although the worker was without fault. The Board found the amount…
D.E. and Department of Labor, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, New York, NY
Board recognizes teleworker's monitor incident (ECAB 21-0988)
A DOL claims examiner hurt her arm while catching a monitor that slid as she moved her home worktable after a scheduled work meeting. OWCP disputed whether the incident occurred in the performance of duty. The Board found that the worker was handling work equipment for the employer's benefit and…
G.R. and Department of the Army, Chemical Munitions Command, Blue Grass Army Depot, Richmond, KY
Board denies claim linking lung disease to chemical exposure (ECAB 21-0695)
An Army depot materials handler claimed that an accepted workplace exposure to mustard gas vapors caused or worsened a pulmonary condition. The medical opinions did not adequately explain how that exposure caused or aggravated his diagnosed conditions, including preexisting COPD. One physician's…
D.F. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Winchester, VA
Board reverses benefits termination and returns added conditions (ECAB 20-0690)
An FBI analyst claimed several injuries after slipping at work; OWCP accepted right knee conditions but ended her wage loss and medical benefits. The Board found that an incomplete factual statement undermined the medical opinion used to reject additional neck and back conditions. Because OWCP had…
TNT Crane & Rigging, Inc.
Crane power-line violations affirmed
A TNT Crane & Rigging crew was disassembling a mobile crane when its load line contacted a 14,400-volt power line, seriously injuring a spotter/rigger. OSHA cited TNT for beginning disassembly without an effective encroachment-prevention measure and for failing to maintain the required clearance…
National Labor Relations Board Professional Association and National Labor Relations Board
NLRB and NLRB Professional Association (FLRA 0-AR-5651): Authority remands official-time grievance
The NLRB implemented an executive order limiting official time, and the NLRB Professional Association filed a grievance alleging contract and unfair-labor-practice violations. An arbitrator dismissed the grievance as nonarbitrable because he believed the agreement did not permit a challenge to the…
Michael Walton and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, San Diego, CA
Board orders review of overlooked border agent medical reports (ECAB 22-0395)
A border agent claimed knee and ankle injuries after tripping over a road marker while chasing a suspect. OWCP denied the claim, saying there was no medical evidence of a diagnosed condition. The Board found that medical reports received before the decision, including reports received the same day…
G.C. and Department of the Air Force, 102nd Fighter Wing, Otis Air National Guard Base, MA
Board orders review under wage earning capacity rule (ECAB 21-1024)
An Air Force electrician asked OWCP to revisit a loss of wage earning capacity determination after reporting changed work restrictions and disability. OWCP treated the filing as an ordinary reconsideration request. The Board found that it was a request to modify the wage earning capacity…
A-1 Sewer and Water Contractors, Inc.
Trenching case remanded for a hearing
OSHA cited A-1 Sewer and Water for allegedly allowing an employee to work in an excavation without a protective system and proposed a $1,990 penalty. In Simplified Proceedings, the judge permitted the Secretary to seek summary judgment and then affirmed the citation without holding the hearing…
L.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, North Metro, GA
Board orders related shoulder claim files combined (ECAB 21-0445)
A Georgia postal clerk sought compensation for a recurrence of disability following an accepted shoulder injury. OWCP denied the claim, but a separate earlier file also involved her left shoulder. The Board found the related files needed to be combined for a full review. It set aside the denial and…
B.P. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Jack C. Montgomery Veterans Medical Center, Muskogee, OK
Board orders employer response to nurse's stress claim (ECAB 20-1040)
A VA nurse claimed stress related conditions tied to workplace events and her supervisor's conduct. OWCP denied the claim after receiving only a vague response from the employing establishment to its request for information. The Board found that the employer's evidence was necessary to assess the…
T.N. and U.S. Postal Service, La Habra Post Office, La Habra, CA
Board upholds benefit forfeiture after fraud conviction (ECAB 20-0805)
A California letter carrier received FECA benefits for accepted back conditions. He later pleaded guilty to making false statements about businesses he owned and operated while receiving compensation. OWCP terminated benefits under FECA's fraud forfeiture provision from the date of the plea. The…
D.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Milwaukee Processing & Distribution Center, Milwaukee, WI
Board upholds recovery of Milwaukee worker's overpayment (ECAB 20-0716)
A Milwaukee postal worker received FECA wage loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service during the same period. OWCP found a $42,638.67 overpayment, denied waiver, and set recovery at $399.31 from each 28-day compensation payment. The Board upheld the…
L.W. and Department of Commerce, Patent & Trademark Office, Alexandria, VA
Board orders review of overlooked patent office claims (ECAB 20-0517)
A Patent and Trademark Office paralegal sought reconsideration of denied physical and emotional condition claims. OWCP reissued an earlier decision without addressing the new allegations in her later request. The Board set aside that decision and ordered OWCP to review the later request, combine a…
Durand L. Turner, Sr. v. Electric Boat Corporation
Turner v. Electric Boat (BRB 21-0545): disability claim returned for decision
Durand Turner injured his knee while working for Electric Boat and received medical benefits, but the judge found his claim for disability compensation untimely. A Board majority held that the filing period did not begin merely when Turner knew of the work injury; the relevant date was when he knew…
Reginald Swarn v. Huntington Ingalls, Incorporated
Swarn v. Huntington Ingalls (BRB 21-0470): right knee benefits denial affirmed
Reginald Swarn worked as a shipfitter for Huntington Ingalls and claimed that his right knee condition resulted from his shipyard work or was aggravated by a prior left knee injury. The judge applied the Longshore Act's work-related injury presumption but found that the employer rebutted it. After…
James Hunt v. Linn Branch Coal Incorporated
Hunt v. Linn Branch Coal (BRB 21-0408 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
James Hunt had nineteen years of underground coal mine employment and claimed black lung benefits. The judge found him totally disabled by a respiratory impairment, which triggered the fifteen-year presumption that his disability was due to pneumoconiosis. The Board upheld the judge's weighing of…
Larry H. McCauley v. DLR Mining, Incorporated
McCauley v. DLR Mining (BRB 21-0381 BLA): payment responsibility returned for review
Larry McCauley qualified for black lung benefits based on complicated pneumoconiosis, and an earlier Board decision upheld that entitlement. The remaining dispute was whether DLR Mining or a more recent coal mine employer was responsible for payment. The judge again assigned responsibility to DLR…
Tammie R. Adams, widow of and on behalf of Kenneth D. Adams v. Bishop Coal Company
Adams v. Bishop Coal (BRB 21-0371 and 21-0372 BLA): miner and survivor awards affirmed
Tammie Adams pursued her late husband's later black lung claim and her own survivor claim against Bishop Coal. The judge found that Kenneth Adams had disabling pneumoconiosis and awarded benefits on his claim, followed by automatic survivor benefits. Bishop Coal argued that the miner's claim was…
Tammie R. Adams, widow of and on behalf of Kenneth D. Adams v. Bishop Coal Company
Adams v. Bishop Coal (BRB 21-0371 and 21-0372 BLA): miner and survivor awards affirmed
Tammie Adams pursued her late husband's later black lung claim and her own survivor claim against Bishop Coal. The judge found that Kenneth Adams had disabling pneumoconiosis and awarded benefits on his claim, followed by automatic survivor benefits. Bishop Coal argued that the miner's claim was…
William C. Smith v. Clinchfield Coal Company
Smith v. Clinchfield Coal (BRB 21-0332 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
William Smith had thirty years of coal mine employment and a totally disabling respiratory impairment, which triggered the fifteen-year presumption that his disability was due to pneumoconiosis. Clinchfield Coal challenged the judge's finding that it failed to rebut the presumption. The Board…
Joann Johnson v. Mountainside Coal Company, Incorporated
Johnson v. Mountainside Coal (BRB 21-0191 and 21-0192 BLA): miner and survivor benefits affirmed
Austin Johnson worked in surface coal mining for twenty-four years and had a totally disabling respiratory impairment. His widow sought benefits on his behalf and for herself. Mountainside Coal challenged whether his work regularly exposed him to coal mine dust and whether its medical evidence…
Joann Johnson v. Mountainside Coal Company, Incorporated
Johnson v. Mountainside Coal (BRB 21-0191 and 21-0192 BLA): miner and survivor benefits affirmed
Austin Johnson worked in surface coal mining for twenty-four years and had a totally disabling respiratory impairment. His widow sought benefits on his behalf and for herself. Mountainside Coal challenged whether his work regularly exposed him to coal mine dust and whether its medical evidence…
Densil Sexton v. Big I Mining, Incorporated
Sexton v. Big I Mining (BRB 21-0185 BLA): miner's benefit award affirmed
Densil Sexton worked for twenty-five years in underground coal mining and sought black lung benefits. After an earlier appeal, the administrative law judge found that pulmonary function studies and medical opinions established a totally disabling respiratory impairment. Big I Mining challenged how…
John W. Sexton v. A & G Coal Corporation
Sexton v. A & G Coal (BRB 21-0148 BLA): benefit award affirmed despite ineligible presumption
John W. Sexton worked at surface coal mines for more than thirty-seven years and sought black lung benefits. The administrative law judge found that he had fewer than fifteen years in conditions similar to underground mining, so the fifteen-year presumption did not apply. The judge nonetheless…
Birchel Nolan v. Eastover Mining Company
Nolan v. Eastover Mining (BRB 21-0146 BLA): benefit award vacated for renewed medical review
Birchel Nolan sought black lung benefits after an earlier claim had been denied. The administrative law judge found complicated pneumoconiosis, which would establish an irrebuttable presumption of total disability due to the disease, and awarded benefits. Eastover Mining challenged the judge's…
Dwight A. Jones v. Shenandoah Coal Company
Jones v. Shenandoah Coal (BRB 21-0123 BLA): disability finding returned for review
Dwight Jones sought black lung benefits after working for 12.42 years in coal mining. The administrative law judge found that he had clinical pneumoconiosis but denied benefits because the evidence did not establish total respiratory disability. The Board agreed that Jones lacked the fifteen years…
Robert Len Smithson v. Heritage Coal Company LLC
Smithson v. Heritage Coal (BRB 20-0177 BLA): benefit award and carrier liability affirmed
Robert Smithson had twenty-three years of underground coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The administrative law judge found that these facts triggered the fifteen-year presumption and awarded black lung benefits. Heritage Coal and Peabody Energy challenged their payment…
Tabathia Crouse on behalf of Richard L. Carper v. Eastern Associated Coal Company
Crouse v. Eastern Associated Coal (BRB 20-0044 BLA): benefit award and 2011 start date affirmed
Tabathia Crouse pursued her late father's black lung claim on his estate's behalf. The administrative law judge found that Richard Carper had complicated pneumoconiosis and awarded benefits, a finding the employer did not challenge on appeal. Eastern Associated Coal and Peabody Energy disputed…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, James A. Haley VAMC, Tampa, Florida and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 547
James A. Haley VAMC and AFGE Local 547 (FLRA 0-AR-5746): Authority removes unsupported backpay
The James A. Haley VA Medical Center rescinded an employee's contracting warrant after concerns about a corrected contract error. An arbitrator found no blatant disregard of acquisition duties, identified procedural violations and harassment, and ordered the warrant reinstated with make-whole…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3954 and United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Phoenix, Arizona
FCI Phoenix and AFGE Local 3954 (FLRA 0-AR-5676): Authority remands overtime damages
An arbitrator found FCI Phoenix liable under the Fair Labor Standards Act for unpaid work outside employees' scheduled shifts and later issued a damages award. The Authority dismissed challenges to the earlier merits award as untimely and rejected several challenges to the damages award. It held…
N.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
Board orders joint review of a physician's two workplace injury claims (ECAB 22-0191)
A Veterans Affairs physician reported falling from a chair at work in 2018 and claimed neck, back, and leg injuries. She had a prior accepted claim for a 2017 workplace fall affecting her back and leg. OWCP denied the later claim because it found insufficient evidence linking her conditions to the…
O.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Nebraska/Western Iowa Healthcare System
O.W. (ECAB 21-1391 and 21-1392): Related injury claims returned for combined review
A Veterans Affairs worker filed several claims alleging conditions caused by repetitive floor maintenance work. OWCP denied the claims in separate files, including one for carpal tunnel syndrome and another for spinal symptoms. The Board found that the claims involved the same alleged work factors…
O.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Nebraska/Western Iowa Healthcare System, Grand Island, NE
Board returns related occupational disease claims for joint review (ECAB 21-1391 and 21-1392)
A Veterans Affairs worker filed several claims involving spinal symptoms and carpal tunnel syndrome, which he attributed to repetitive floor maintenance work. OWCP denied two of those claims after considering them separately. The Board found that the claims involved the same workplace factors and…
C.E. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Long Beach Healthcare System, Long Beach, CA
Board returns retirement benefit offset for recalculation (ECAB 21-1214)
A former Veterans Affairs nurse received workers' compensation and Social Security retirement benefits based partly on federal service. OWCP found a $69,398.06 overpayment and denied waiver. The Board agreed that some overpayment occurred because the required offset had not been applied. But a…
Q.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Coppell, TX
Board remands overpayment amount but affirms examination suspension (ECAB 21-1188)
A Postal Service employee received wage-loss benefits after taking a private sector job. OWCP found an $8,841.25 overpayment and later suspended her benefits because she missed a scheduled medical examination. The Board agreed that an overpayment occurred, but found that OWCP had not resolved when…
E.N. and Department of the Army, Billy Johnson Dental Clinic, Fort Hood, TX
Board returns medical treatment claim for a reasoned decision (ECAB 21-0339)
An Army dental assistant sought further treatment for a foot injury accepted by OWCP. OWCP denied her claim, calling it a duplicate of an earlier disability claim. The Board found that the new claim sought medical treatment, while the earlier claim concerned disability, so they were different. OWCP…
National Labor Relations Board Professional Association and National Labor Relations Board
NLRB and NLRB Professional Association (FLRA 0-NG-3554): Authority dismisses appeal after withdrawal of objections
The NLRB Professional Association sought review of 67 proposals from bargaining for a successor agreement. It relied on a brief in which the NLRB had raised negotiability concerns before the Federal Service Impasses Panel. In response to the Authority petition, however, the NLRB withdrew any…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2338 and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, John J. Pershing VA Medical Center, Poplar Bluff, Missouri
John J. Pershing VA Medical Center and AFGE Local 2338 (FLRA 0-AR-5769): Authority dismisses constructive-removal exceptions
An employee submitted a resignation letter, and AFGE Local 2338 later filed a grievance alleging that the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center had forced the employee's removal. An arbitrator dismissed the grievance because it was filed more than thirty days after the resignation took effect. The…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1441 and United States Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District
St. Paul District and AFGE Local 1441 (FLRA 0-AR-5748): Authority upholds dredge duty station
Employees of the Army Corps of Engineers' St. Paul District work primarily aboard a dredge that travels among several rivers. The Corps designated the moving vessel as their permanent duty station and did not pay travel expenses between their homes and the dredge's changing location. An arbitrator…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1822 and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Member Services
VA Member Services and AFGE Local 1822 (FLRA 0-AR-5674): Authority dismisses late reconsideration motion
The Department of Veterans Affairs sought reconsideration of an Authority decision issued in December 2021. The Authority's postage meter placed an obviously incorrect January 2021 postmark on the envelope, but Postal Service tracking showed that the decision entered the mail no later than December…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Memphis, Tennessee and American Federation of Government Employees, Council of Prison Locals 33, Local 3731
FCI Memphis and AFGE Local 3731 (FLRA 0-AR-5666): Authority rejects sex-based post restriction
FCI Memphis barred female employees from two inmate-observation posts and bypassed them for related overtime assignments. An arbitrator found the policy facially discriminatory under Title VII and contrary to the contract, an augmentation agreement, and agency policy. He found no factual basis for…
Federal Education Association, Stateside Region and United States Department of Defense, Education Activity, Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools
DOD Education Activity and Federal Education Association (FLRA 0-AR-5656): Authority remands hiring-system grievance
DOD Education Activity announced that it would fill certain new or vacant positions through the competitive service while current employees remained in the excepted service. The Federal Education Association alleged that the change violated a contract provision requiring first consideration of…
H.C. and Department of the Army, Fort Riley, KS
Board upholds finding that worker abandoned his hearing request (ECAB 22-0047)
An Army worker requested a hearing after OWCP reduced his wage-loss compensation for not completing vocational rehabilitation. OWCP mailed notice of a telephone hearing to his address of record, but he did not attend. The Board found no evidence that he asked for a postponement or explained his…
M.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Denton, TX
Board dismisses appeal at worker's request (ECAB 21-1062)
A Postal Service worker appealed a May 2021 OWCP decision. He later asked, through his representative, to withdraw the appeal. The Board granted that request and dismissed the case. The order does not describe the underlying claim or decide whether OWCP was correct.
M.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Caribbean Healthcare System, San Juan, PR
Board orders impartial examination for disputed spine conditions (ECAB 21-0219)
A Veterans Affairs worker asked OWCP to accept additional spine and other conditions as related to her work. Her doctors connected the conditions to years of repetitive duties and lifting. OWCP's second opinion physician disagreed, relying partly on a lighter lifting requirement than the worker…
M.B. and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Chicago Regional Office, Chicago, IL
Board upholds denial of emotional condition claim (ECAB 20-1407)
An FDIC financial analyst sought compensation after reporting panic symptoms and stress connected to dealings with her supervisor and other workplace events. OWCP denied the claim, and the Board affirmed. The Board treated the challenged performance reviews, leave decisions, and other management…
M.P. and Department of Justice, Justice Management Division, Washington, DC
Board restores hearing request after OWCP wrongly found abandonment (ECAB 20-1152)
A Justice Department worker requested authorization for surgery related to a right hip condition accepted after a workplace injury. OWCP denied the request and scheduled a telephone hearing. Before the hearing date, the worker asked to reschedule, but OWCP proceeded and then ruled that he had…
M.P. and Department of Justice, Justice Management Division, Washington, DC
Board dismisses second appeal because OWCP acted during an existing appeal (ECAB 20-0200)
A Justice Department worker had already appealed OWCP's denial of authorization for left wrist surgery. While that appeal was pending, OWCP issued two more decisions on the same issue. The Board held that OWCP lacked jurisdiction to issue those later decisions during the pending appeal, making them…
Milton Marcum v. Beechfork Processing, LLC
Marcum v. Beechfork Processing (BRB 21-0273 BLA): complicated pneumoconiosis award affirmed
Milton Marcum worked in coal mining for thirty-five years. The administrative law judge found that he had complicated pneumoconiosis, triggering an irrebuttable presumption of total disability due to the disease, and awarded benefits. Beechfork Processing challenged how the judge weighed chest…
Tana S. Owens on behalf of Donald P. Owens v. Clinchfield Coal Company
Owens v. Clinchfield Coal (BRB 21-0206 BLA): miner's benefit award affirmed
Tana Owens pursued her late husband's black lung claim after his death. The administrative law judge found at least fifteen years of qualifying coal mine employment and a totally disabling respiratory impairment, triggering the fifteen-year presumption. Clinchfield Coal argued that it had rebutted…
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.