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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Ronnie Lynn Hall v. Pontiki Coal Corporation
Hall v. Pontiki Coal (BRB 21-0167 BLA): benefit award and March 2018 start date affirmed
Ronnie Hall worked in underground coal mining for nine years and sought black lung benefits in March 2018. The administrative law judge found complicated pneumoconiosis, which established an irrebuttable presumption of total disability due to the disease, and awarded benefits from the filing month…
Billy Mullins v. Greater Wise, Incorporated
Mullins v. Greater Wise (BRB 20-0548 BLA): benefit award returned for smoking history review
Billy Mullins sought black lung benefits after more than eighteen years of coal mine work. The administrative law judge found clinical and legal pneumoconiosis and awarded benefits without using the fifteen-year presumption. Greater Wise challenged the disease findings, pointing to conflicting…
Kenneth E. Collins v. Glen Alum Operations, LLC
Collins v. Glen Alum Operations (BRB 20-0434 BLA): en banc reconsideration denied
Glen Alum Operations and its carrier sought en banc reconsideration of an August 31, 2021 Board decision that vacated Kenneth Collins's benefits denial. Collins supported the earlier decision, while the Director filed no response. After considering the motion and reviewing the case disposition, no…
Geneva Bonner, widow of Raymond Bonner v. Apex Coal Corporation
Bonner v. Apex Coal (BRB 20-0333 BLA): employer reconsideration denied
Apex Coal and its carrier filed a timely motion to reconsider the Board's January 24, 2022 decision in Geneva Bonner's case. The Board reported that no member of the panel voted to vacate or modify that decision. It denied the reconsideration motion. This short order does not make a new…
J.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Mountain Home Veterans Medical Center, Mountain Home, TN
Board upholds suspension for an unsigned earnings disclosure form (ECAB 22-0162)
A Veterans Affairs worker receiving wage-loss compensation sent OWCP an earnings and activity disclosure form twice. Both copies lacked the required certification. OWCP warned that an incomplete form would result in suspension, then suspended his benefits. The Board upheld that action because the…
B.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Savannah, GA
Board recognizes postal carrier's fall related contusion (ECAB 22-0134)
A Postal Service carrier fell backward while moving away from a dog during his route. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied his injury claim for lack of a medical diagnosis. The Board found that the reported lower back and buttocks contusion was a visible minor injury consistent with…
D.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pittsburgh, PA
Board declines to add a seizure condition to accepted fall claim (ECAB 22-0031)
A Postal Service clerk fell at work and injured his face. In an earlier appeal, the Board found that the fall caused a tooth avulsion and facial fracture. This appeal asked whether a seizure should also be added to the accepted claim. The Board found that one neurologist viewed a seizure as the…
T.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Buffalo, NY
Board directs joint review of two postal worker knee claims (ECAB 22-0021)
A Postal Service carrier had an accepted right knee sprain from 2016 and later claimed another right knee condition after returning to full duties. OWCP treated the later claim as a separate occupational disease claim and denied it for insufficient medical causation evidence. The Board found that…
J.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hartford, CT
Board upholds denial of mail carrier's back injury claim (ECAB 21-1422)
A postal carrier reported back and leg pain after lifting a mail tray at work. OWCP accepted that the lifting event occurred but denied his injury claim. The Board found that the treating physician diagnosed sciatica and a herniated lumbar disc and said the condition was work related, but did not…
M.P. and Department of the Army, Communications Electronics Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Aberdeen, MD
Board upholds abandonment of hearing on hearing loss claim (ECAB 21-0990)
An Army equipment specialist filed a hearing loss claim after a deployment. OWCP denied the claim, and he requested a telephone hearing. The Board found that OWCP mailed the hearing notice to his address of record and gave instructions for joining, but he did not call in or ask for another hearing…
R.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration, Washington, DC
Board requires findings on each claimed workplace stressor (ECAB 20-0619)
A Veterans Benefits Administration analyst attributed an emotional condition to several alleged workplace events, including workload, accommodation requests, and conduct by supervisors. OWCP denied the claim, but did not make specific findings about each alleged event despite an earlier hearing…
J.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Rensselaer Post Office, Rensselaer, NY
Board upholds denial of postal worker's back injury claim (ECAB 20-0527)
A letter carrier reported lower back pain after bending to pick up mail from his vehicle. OWCP accepted that the event occurred but denied compensation for a lumbar condition. The Board affirmed because the physicians' reports did not explain how that movement caused or aggravated a diagnosed…
B.T. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, Yuma, AZ
Board upholds denial of vehicle training injury claim (ECAB 22-0022)
A Border Patrol agent reported right hip, knee, and ankle symptoms after training that involved jumping from an all-terrain vehicle. OWCP accepted that the training event occurred but denied the injury claim. The Board found that the treating surgeon's reports either listed pain without a…
V.P. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Fresno, CA
Board orders impartial review of disputed blood clot claim (ECAB 21-1111)
An IRS manager had accepted knee and ankle conditions after her foot caught in an elevator doorway. She later developed a deep vein thrombosis in the same leg and sought wage-loss compensation. Her treating doctor attributed the clot to reduced movement after the injury, while OWCP's physicians…
T.G. and Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service, Ashley National Forest, Duchesne, UT
Board orders further review of Forest Service worker's back claim (ECAB 21-0494)
A Forest Service crew boss reported back pain after lifting a box during a fire assignment and continuing strenuous duties. OWCP denied his claim for insufficient proof that work caused the back condition. A neurologist later gave a detailed explanation of how the initial lift and repeated bending…
E.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing and Distribution Center, Bellmawr, NJ
Board orders new opinion based on authorized back surgery (ECAB 21-0381)
A Postal Service mail handler sought to add several back diagnoses to an accepted injury claim after OWCP had authorized lumbar surgery. OWCP denied the request based largely on a second opinion physician's report. The Board found that the physician had been given a statement of facts that did not…
L.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Rincon, GA
Board upholds denial of postal carrier's cardiac condition claim (ECAB 21-0353)
A rural mail carrier developed a serious cardiac condition and underwent coronary bypass surgery after reporting heavy work demands and stress. OWCP denied her workers' compensation claim, and the Board affirmed. Her cardiologist said work stress and physical demands could have contributed, but the…
T.P. and Department of the Navy, Norfolk Naval Yard, Portsmouth, VA
Board orders impartial review of wage earning capacity dispute (ECAB 20-1281)
A former Navy woodcrafter sought to change an earlier finding that he could earn wages in an estimator job after a back injury. OWCP denied the request despite later acceptance of additional physical and psychological conditions. His treating psychologist concluded that the accepted conditions…
Department of the Army, Fort Carson Fire and Emergency Services, Fort Carson, Colorado and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1345
Fort Carson Fire and Emergency Services and AFGE Local 1345 (FLRA DE-RP-22-0001): Authority keeps two captains in bargaining unit
AFGE Local 1345 asked the FLRA to clarify the bargaining-unit status of three Fort Carson fire-captain positions. A regional director excluded the training captain as a management official and confidential employee but kept two operations captains in the unit. Fort Carson challenged only the…
Mark Johnson v. FedEx Ground Package System, Inc., OSD Transport, Inc., and Steve Olson
Icy-road refusal claim denied
Truck driver Mark Johnson encountered icy conditions while hauling FedEx freight from Minnesota to Iowa and was fired after deciding to return to the terminal rather than wait for conditions to improve. The record showed that OSD owner Steve Olson repeatedly told him to slow down, stop, or find a…
Wayne Stokes v. Albertson's, LLC and Darrell Kidd
Corrected attendance points were not adverse action
Truck driver Wayne Stokes alleged that Albertsons and a manager retaliated by assigning attendance points for days when he was too ill to drive safely. A human resources manager temporarily assessed two points for March 2018 absences, but management removed them before giving Stokes his requested…
M.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Facility, Grand Rapids, MI
Board orders combined review of related wrist claims (ECAB 22-0132)
A postal mail processing clerk claimed that repetitive work aggravated her right carpal tunnel syndrome and caused shoulder symptoms. OWCP found diagnosed conditions but denied the new claim for lack of proof connecting them to her work. The Board noted that OWCP had already accepted an earlier…
G.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Marshall, TX
Board upholds denial of late hearing request (ECAB 22-0122)
A postal carrier sought wage-loss compensation after an accepted fall while delivering a package. OWCP denied compensation for the claimed period, and he requested an oral hearing more than 30 days later. The Board held that the request was too late for a hearing as of right. It also found that…
C.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Harrisburg, PA
Board upholds denial of collision related injury claim (ECAB 21-1095)
A postal carrier reported neck and back symptoms after another vehicle struck his stopped delivery truck. OWCP accepted that the collision occurred but denied his injury claim. The Board found that the only records naming a diagnosis were unsigned or came from an unidentified provider, while the…
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Rochester, NY
Board requires review of wage earning capacity challenge (ECAB 21-1059)
A Postal Service letter carrier challenged an earlier finding that his light-duty job showed no loss of wage-earning capacity. OWCP treated his 2021 request as a request to reconsider a prior decision and declined merits review. The Board found that he was actually asking to modify the 2004…
S.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Hoboken Main Post Office, Hoboken, NJ
Board finds bank errand was part of postal worker's duties (ECAB 21-0699)
A Postal Service custodian fell at a bank while obtaining change for a post office station. OWCP denied her injury claim after questioning whether she was authorized to make that trip. A coworker confirmed that she regularly obtained change for the stations and had done so that day with a…
R.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Philadelphia Processing and Distribution Center, Philadelphia, PA
Board orders impartial review of additional conditions after postal fall (ECAB 21-0387)
A Postal Service maintenance mechanic sought to add neck and lower back nerve conditions and left carpal tunnel syndrome to an accepted fall claim. His doctors attributed those conditions or their aggravation to the workplace fall. An OWCP medical adviser disagreed, pointing to conditions that…
Henry Klein v. Bank of America
Late reconsideration motion denied
The Board dismissed Henry Klein's SOX appeal after he missed the opening-brief deadline and responded to a show-cause order without explaining that omission. Klein moved for reconsideration 36 days later. The Board held that the motion was not filed within the short period it presumes reasonable…
Anthony Lugg v. Lear Corp.
SOX complaint dismissed after untimely filing
Lear terminated Anthony Lugg's employment in China in November 2019, and he filed his SOX complaint with OSHA in September 2020, beyond the 180-day deadline. Lugg argued that health problems, pandemic disruptions, relocation to the Philippines, inability to retrieve documents in Shanghai, and…
Michael Neely v. The Boeing Company
Engineering retaliation claim denied after reduction in force
Boeing engineer Michael Neely raised concerns about validation of electrical-system requirements during development of the 777X and alleged that Boeing later retaliated through his evaluation and layoff. The Board assumed for its decision that he engaged in protected activity but held that…
M.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Antonio, TX
Board upholds denial of mail handler's injury claim (ECAB 22-0181)
A postal mail handler reported hurting her right leg and left little finger when she lost balance and struck a tray at work. OWCP accepted that the incident happened but denied the injury claim for lack of qualifying medical evidence. The only duty status reports listed a left finger strain or…
B.S. and Department of the Navy, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Great Lakes, IL
Board upholds denial of Navy painter's shoulder injury claim (ECAB 22-0102)
A Navy painter slipped on ice at work in February 2019 and claimed injuries including a right shoulder condition. OWCP accepted that the fall occurred but denied the claim for lack of medical proof linking it to the diagnosed condition. After an earlier Board decision, she submitted a new…
A.Z. and Department of the Army, Joint Munitions Command, Letterkenny Army Depot, Chambersburg, PA
Board upholds denial of mechanic's carpal tunnel claim (ECAB 21-1355)
An Army depot mechanic claimed that years of gripping tools and using air tools caused or aggravated carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists. OWCP initially denied the claim as late, but a hearing representative found it timely and denied it for lack of medical proof of a causal link. The Board…
R.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Carol Stream, IL
Board upholds denial of hip surgery reconsideration and tramadol authorization (ECAB 21-0598)
A postal mail handler with an accepted temporary aggravation of a left hip condition sought approval for hip replacement surgery and later for continued tramadol treatment. The Board upheld OWCP's refusal to reconsider the surgery denial because her request came more than a year after the last…
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Network Distribution Center, Philadelphia, PA
Board reverses termination of postal driver's wage loss and medical benefits (ECAB 21-0483)
A postal tractor trailer operator received FECA benefits after a 2011 workplace fall that affected his neck, shoulder, back, hip, and knee. OWCP ended his wage loss and medical benefits in August 2020 after an impartial physician said his work injuries had resolved. The Board found that the…
L.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Spring Carrier Annex Post Office, Long Beach, CA
Board upholds refusal to reopen postal carrier's foot injury claim (ECAB 21-0030)
A postal carrier sought compensation for a left foot injury she reported while walking her route. After OWCP denied the claim, she sought reconsideration and supplied a new physician's report. OWCP refused to reopen the merits, and the Board upheld that refusal. The Board explained that the new…
B.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Camden, DE
Board reverses $10,216 overpayment finding because Social Security benefits were withheld (ECAB 20-1098)
A retired postal carrier received FECA wage loss compensation while she was entitled to Social Security retirement benefits. OWCP said the simultaneous benefits caused a $10,216.11 overpayment and denied her request to waive repayment. The Social Security Administration had withheld her retirement…
T.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Milwaukee, WI
Board upholds denial of carrier's emotional condition claim (ECAB 20-0666)
A postal carrier reported an encounter with a customer on her route and sought compensation for an emotional condition afterward. OWCP accepted that the workplace incident occurred but denied the claim for insufficient medical evidence. A family medicine physician diagnosed PTSD, while a social…
Todd's Enviroscapes, Inc.
Mower item vacated and reporting item affirmed
A landscaping employee suffered amputations to parts of four fingers after jumping from a riding mower on a 19-degree slope, falling, and having the mower pass over his hand. OSHA cited Todd's Enviroscapes under the general duty clause for using a riding mower on hazardous slopes and separately…
L.I. and Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Anaheim, CA
Board upholds denial of Census worker's late hearing request (ECAB 22-0044)
A Census Bureau clerk appealed after OWCP denied a compensation claim and later refused her request for an oral hearing. The Board found that her July 8, 2021 request came more than 30 days after OWCP's March 24, 2021 decision, so she had no hearing right under the filing rule. OWCP had also…
J.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Lehi Post Office, Lehi, UT
Board upholds denial of postal carrier's shoulder tear claim (ECAB 21-1334)
A rural postal carrier fell while leaving her mail truck at work and later sought compensation for a right shoulder injury. OWCP accepted that the fall occurred but denied the claim for lack of medical proof connecting it to the diagnosed rotator cuff tear. Her physicians attributed the tear to the…
P.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Meriden Post Office, Meriden, CT
Board upholds end of medical benefits for postal carrier's cervical strain (ECAB 21-1072)
A postal letter carrier had an accepted cervical strain from a 1987 work vehicle collision. OWCP ended medical benefits for that condition in March 2020. The Board found that OWCP's orthopedic examiner gave a reasoned opinion that the accepted strain had resolved, while Dr. Ross's pain medicine…
J.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Newnan Post Office, Newnan, GA
Board upholds denial of postal carrier's vehicle collision injury claim (ECAB 21-0916)
A rural postal carrier reported that another vehicle struck her work vehicle and dislodged a mail tray that hit her shoulder. She claimed injuries to her back, left hip, and left shoulder. OWCP accepted that the collision occurred but denied her injury claim for lack of medical evidence connecting…
M.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Milwaukee, WI
Board reverses denial of postal clerk's written record review request (ECAB 21-0889)
A postal distribution clerk sought compensation for a shoulder and neck condition she attributed to repetitive work with a mail processing machine. OWCP denied the claim, then rejected her request for a review of the written record as late. The Board found that her request was dated within 30 days…
D.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Clement J. Zablocki Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Milwaukee, WI
Board upholds limits on nursing assistant's right shoulder claim and benefits (ECAB 22-0109)
A Veterans Affairs nursing assistant hurt her right shoulder while moving a linen bag at work. OWCP accepted a shoulder strain but did not accept her later diagnosed rotator cuff tear and arthritis, and it ended benefits for the strain. The Board found that her treating reports described lifting a…
B.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Bradley Airport Post Office, Windsor Locks, CT
Board returns postal worker's parking lot injury claim for further inquiry (ECAB 20-1568)
A postal worker slipped on ice in a parking lot managed by her employer during fixed working hours. OWCP asked the Board to return the case because the record did not clarify whether she was on an authorized break or why she had gone to her vehicle. Those facts could bear on whether she was acting…
T.G. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Richmond, VA
Board upholds denial of full disability claim for IRS worker (ECAB 20-0121)
An IRS customer service representative had accepted shoulder, wrist, and neck conditions and sought compensation for a year of total disability. OWCP denied the claim after reviewing medical reports about her ability to perform limited work. The Board gave the most weight to a second opinion…
Robert L. Brown v. Huntington Ingalls, Incorporated
Brown v. Huntington Ingalls (BRB 21-0404): leg disability award sent back for recalculation
Robert Brown injured his left calf while working as a shipyard chipper for Huntington Ingalls, and he later developed a related left knee condition. The administrative law judge awarded temporary total disability benefits and calculated permanent partial disability for the calf injury using Brown's…
Thelma Stiltner on behalf of and widow of Thomas D. Stiltner v. Harman Mining Corporation
Stiltner v. Harman Mining (BRB 21-0202 and 21-0203 BLA): miner and survivor benefits affirmed
Thelma Stiltner pursued her late husband's miner claim and her own survivor claim. Thomas Stiltner had 16.73 years of underground coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The administrative law judge applied the fifteen-year presumption, found Harman Mining had not rebutted…
Thelma Stiltner on behalf of and widow of Thomas D. Stiltner v. Harman Mining Corporation
Stiltner v. Harman Mining (BRB 21-0202 and 21-0203 BLA): miner and survivor benefits affirmed
Thelma Stiltner pursued her late husband's miner claim and her own survivor claim. Thomas Stiltner had 16.73 years of underground coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The administrative law judge applied the fifteen-year presumption, found Harman Mining had not rebutted…
Jerry L. Blankenship v. Island Creek Coal Company
Blankenship v. Island Creek Coal (BRB 21-0186 BLA): benefit award affirmed
Jerry Blankenship worked for at least fifteen years in underground coal mining and sought black lung benefits. The administrative law judge found that medical opinions established a totally disabling respiratory impairment, triggering the fifteen-year presumption, and awarded benefits. Island Creek…
Floyd D. Whitt v. Sea B Mining Company
Whitt v. Sea B Mining (BRB 21-0169 BLA): black lung benefit award affirmed
Floyd Whitt had 25.76 years of coal mine work, including at least fifteen years underground. Following an earlier appeal and a new pulmonary evaluation, the administrative law judge found total respiratory disability, applied the fifteen-year presumption, and awarded benefits. Sea B Mining…
Teddy Alvin Robinette v. Bevins Energy, Incorporated
Robinette v. Bevins Energy (BRB 21-0095 BLA and BLA-A): benefit award affirmed on clinical pneumoconiosis finding
Teddy Robinette sought black lung benefits after a prior claim had been denied. The administrative law judge found that simple clinical pneumoconiosis substantially contributed to a totally disabling respiratory impairment and awarded benefits. Bevins Energy challenged the judge's appointment and…
LaDonna E. Seachris v. Brady-Hamilton Stevedore Company
Seachris v. Brady-Hamilton Stevedore (BRB 17-0581): fee awarded and cost-interest issue remanded
LaDonna Seachris's counsel sought payment for work on her Longshore Act appeal after a federal appeals court vacated parts of earlier attorney fee rulings. The Board set hourly rates and reduced some requested hours, then ordered Brady-Hamilton Stevedore to pay $32,491.91 for counsel's work before…
James W. Tindall v. United States Department of the Treasury
TFA claim barred by sovereign immunity
IRS employee James Tindall alleged that Treasury personnel threatened to investigate him after he sought help collecting a tax-whistleblower award. The Board held that the Taxpayer First Act does not unequivocally waive the federal government's sovereign immunity for an administrative retaliation…
Lionel Verrue v. Talon Air, Inc.
Employer's petition dismissed with prejudice
Talon Air petitioned the Board for review in Lionel Verrue's AIR21 case. The company then submitted a voluntary dismissal with prejudice. The Board granted that request and dismissed the petition without deciding any substantive issue.
Kirtley Clem and Matthew Spencer v. Computer Sciences Corporation
Settlement approved and complaints dismissed
Kirtley Clem and Matthew Spencer prevailed before the ALJ on Energy Reorganization Act whistleblower complaints, and the Board later affirmed the post-remand damages decision. While the employer's court petition was pending, the parties reached a settlement through the Ninth Circuit's mediation…
B.T. and Department of the Air Force, Air National Guard, Cheyenne, WY
Board upholds denial of Guard employee's knee claim (ECAB 22-0350)
An Air National Guard employee developed knee pain and swelling after using a treadmill and rowing machine at a workplace gym. OWCP accepted that the activity occurred in the performance of duty but denied his injury claim. His orthopedic surgeon said the activity caused a new left knee injury and…
L.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Lake Villa Post Office, Lake Villa, IL
Board upholds refusal to reopen terminated benefits claim (ECAB 22-0141)
A rural postal carrier received benefits for injuries from a work related vehicle accident until OWCP terminated them in May 2020. She later asked OWCP to reconsider, arguing that she still had symptoms and that an earlier medical examiner's report was inadequate. The Board found that her arguments…
T.F. and Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers, Civilian Personnel Advisory Center Headquarters, Washington, DC
Board orders review of omitted impairment report in Army worker's claim (ECAB 22-0015)
An Army human resources specialist with accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome sought a schedule award for permanent impairment. OWCP denied the claim and affirmed that denial after written record review. The Board found that OWCP's hearing representative had not reviewed an orthopedic surgeon's…
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.