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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D.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Coatesville VA Medical Center, Coatesville, PA
Board dismisses appeal and late reconsideration request (ECAB 21-1411)
D.C. appealed what he described as a September 11, 2021 OWCP decision. The record sent to the Board contained neither that decision nor another final adverse OWCP decision issued within the 180-day appeal window. The Board dismissed the new appeal because it lacked jurisdiction. It also treated the…
National Treasury Employees Union and United States Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection
NTEU and Customs and Border Protection (FLRA 0-NG-3528): Authority rejects remote-work and separation proposals
Customs and Border Protection planned to move 47 employees to new duty stations as part of a revised training model. NTEU proposed letting current employees remain at their locations through remote work and requiring the agency to offer early retirement or separation incentives. The Authority found…
Matter of Bao Quoc DANG
Domestic-abuse battery was not a crime of violence
The Board reviewed a Vietnamese lawful permanent resident's challenge to removability based on a Louisiana misdemeanor domestic-abuse battery conviction. It held that the Louisiana statute reached mere offensive touching and therefore did not categorically require the physical force required for a…
M.S. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, Laredo, TX
Board dismisses M.S.'s late appeal (ECAB 22-0641)
OWCP issued a nonmerit decision on April 26, 2021. M.S. appealed on March 25, 2022. The Board identified October 23, 2021 as the 180-day deadline. The Board found the appeal outside the 180-day filing window and said the appellant had not supplied documentation showing compelling circumstances for…
T.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Detroit, MI
Board dismisses T.C.'s late appeal (ECAB 22-0629)
OWCP issued a decision decision on September 21, 2021. T.C. appealed on March 27, 2022. The Board found the appeal outside the 180-day filing window and said the appellant had not supplied documentation showing compelling circumstances for the delay. The Board also noted that a July 19, 2021 OWCP…
D.P. and Department of Health & Human Services, Claremore Indian Hospital, Claremore, OK
Board dismisses D.P.'s late appeal (ECAB 22-0624)
OWCP issued a merit decision on September 22, 2021. D.P. appealed on March 23, 2022. The Board identified March 21, 2022 as the 180-day deadline. The Board found the appeal outside the 180-day filing window and said the appellant had not supplied documentation showing compelling circumstances for…
K.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Brockton VA Medical Center, Brockton, MA
Board reverses nursing assistant's wage and medical benefit termination (ECAB 21-1351)
A nursing assistant received benefits for accepted back strains after helping lower a patient from a stretcher. OWCP later ended wage-loss compensation and medical benefits based on a second opinion that she had no remaining work-related injury. The Board found that the physician did not adequately…
C.B. and U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, Miami, FL
Board orders medical review of court employee's neck and shoulder claim (ECAB 21-1291)
A court administrator claimed that moving equipment carts and folding chairs at work injured her shoulder and neck. OWCP denied the claim for lack of medical proof linking the conditions to that incident. The Board found that a physician's later report was not enough to prove causation but raised…
J.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Mid Florida Processing & Distribution Center, Lake Mary, FL
Board upholds denial of added conditions after postal worker's fall (ECAB 21-1255)
A mail processing clerk injured his ankle and wrist after tripping over a floor mat at work. OWCP accepted those sprains, but he sought to add other conditions, including headaches, to the claim. The Board found that his reconsideration submission did not address the issue in the earlier…
W.S. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Metropolitan Correctional Center, San Diego, CA
Board upholds reduced compensation based on customer service work capacity (ECAB 21-1118)
A correctional officer received wage-loss compensation after a work-related right knee injury and later underwent knee replacement surgery. OWCP reduced his compensation based on what he could earn as a customer service representative, a position identified through vocational rehabilitation. The…
N.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Santa Ana Processing & Distribution Center, Santa Ana, CA
Board upholds $69,900.47 benefit overpayment and recovery plan (ECAB 21-0982)
A postal mechanic received FECA wage-loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service without the required offset. OWCP found a $69,900.47 overpayment for June 2006 through September 2020 and found that he was not at fault. The Board upheld the amount and…
L.S. and Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service, Squaw Valley, CA
Board orders OWCP to explain reconsideration denial (ECAB 21-0629)
L.S. sought to add acute liver failure to an accepted shoulder injury claim after treatment following authorized surgery. OWCP denied the expansion and later summarily denied her request to reconsider the claim. The Board found that the September 2020 denial did not discuss new medical records L.S…
National Treasury Employees Union and United States Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service
NTEU and IRS (FLRA 0-NG-3586): Authority rejects unlimited temporary-promotion proposal
NTEU proposed retroactive temporary promotions for IRS employees who performed higher-graded work for at least one pay period. The proposal was intended to remove the 120-day cap on backpay for noncompetitive promotions or details. A government-wide regulation requires competitive procedures for…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2338 and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, John J. Pershing Veterans Administration Medical Center, Poplar Bluff, Missouri
John J. Pershing VAMC and AFGE Local 2338 (FLRA 0-AR-5699): Authority expands backpay and remands attorney fees
An arbitrator found that the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center failed to pay eligible employees a Saturday premium and issued individualized backpay amounts. He denied interest, possible overtime and shift differentials, and attorney fees. The Authority held that the Back Pay Act requires interest…
Secretary of Labor v. Cactus Canyon Quarries, Inc.
Contest filing triggered Commission jurisdiction
Cactus Canyon Quarries appealed an order that gave the Secretary more time to file a penalty petition and argued that the Commission lacked jurisdiction before that petition was filed. Judge Richard W. Manning rejected that position and held that Commission jurisdiction attached when Cactus Canyon…
Reginald Johnson on behalf of Milford O. Johnson v. Pinnacle Mining Company
Johnson v. Pinnacle Mining (BRB 21-0378 BLA): denial reversed and benefits awarded
Reginald Johnson pursued his late father's black lung claim against Pinnacle Mining Company. The administrative law judge found that Milford Johnson had eighteen years of underground coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment, so he qualified for the fifteen year presumption of…
Glessie Mullins on behalf of and widow of Jerry D. Mullins v. Paramont Coal Corporation
Mullins v. Paramont Coal (BRB 21-0330 and 21-0331 BLA): miner and survivor benefits affirmed
Glessie Mullins pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor claim against Paramont Coal Corporation. The administrative law judge found 17.23 years of qualifying coal mine employment and a totally disabling respiratory impairment, invoking the fifteen year presumption of…
Glessie Mullins on behalf of and widow of Jerry D. Mullins v. Paramont Coal Corporation
Mullins v. Paramont Coal (BRB 21-0330 and 21-0331 BLA): miner and survivor benefits affirmed
Glessie Mullins pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor claim against Paramont Coal Corporation. The administrative law judge found 17.23 years of qualifying coal mine employment and a totally disabling respiratory impairment, invoking the fifteen year presumption of…
Donald L. Ashby v. Island Creek Kentucky Mining
Ashby v. Island Creek Kentucky Mining (BRB 21-0302 BLA): black lung benefits affirmed
Donald Ashby sought black lung benefits after working at least fifteen years in underground coal mines. Island Creek Kentucky Mining conceded his work history and disabling respiratory impairment, triggering the fifteen year presumption of disability due to pneumoconiosis. The company argued that…
Eddie D. Curtis v. Consol of Kentucky
Curtis v. Consol of Kentucky (BRB 21-0295 BLA): black lung benefit award affirmed
Eddie Curtis sought black lung benefits after thirty seven years of qualifying surface coal mine work. Consol of Kentucky challenged the finding that he had a totally disabling respiratory impairment and the judge's refusal to admit a treatment record submitted more than a year after the hearing…
Tony Barhorst v. Combat Support Associates, Ltd.
Barhorst v. Combat Support Associates (BRB 21-0180): total disability award affirmed
Tony Barhorst was injured in a vehicle accident while working as a carpenter for Combat Support Associates in Kuwait. The administrative law judge found him unable to return to carpentry and awarded ongoing permanent total disability benefits after an earlier period of temporary total disability…
Tracy R. Addley v. Consolidation Coal Company
Addley v. Consolidation Coal (BRB 21-0174 BLA): black lung benefits affirmed
Tracy Addley sought black lung benefits after at least fifteen years of underground coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. Those findings invoked the fifteen year presumption that pneumoconiosis caused his disability. Consolidation Coal challenged the presumption's…
Debra McClanahan on behalf of and widow of Elster McClanahan v. Brem Coal Company, LLC
McClanahan v. Brem Coal (BRB 21-0154 and 21-0157 BLA): miner and survivor benefits affirmed
Debra McClanahan pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor claim against Brem Coal Company and its insurer. An earlier Board decision had upheld invocation of the fifteen year presumption but sent the case back for reconsideration of rebuttal. On remand, the administrative…
Debra McClanahan on behalf of and widow of Elster McClanahan v. Brem Coal Company, LLC
McClanahan v. Brem Coal (BRB 21-0154 and 21-0157 BLA): miner and survivor benefits affirmed
Debra McClanahan pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor claim against Brem Coal Company and its insurer. An earlier Board decision had upheld invocation of the fifteen year presumption but sent the case back for reconsideration of rebuttal. On remand, the administrative…
Stephanie Arotin on behalf of Donald C. Lowmaster v. Tanoma Mining Company, Incorporated
Lowmaster v. Tanoma Mining (BRB 21-0143 BLA): disability evidence returned for review
Stephanie Arotin pursued the late Donald Lowmaster's black lung claim after an administrative law judge denied benefits despite finding 28.15 years of underground coal mine work. The judge found that the medical evidence did not establish a totally disabling respiratory impairment, so the fifteen…
Carol A. Lowe, widow of Larry R. Lowe v. Pennsylvania Mines Corporation
Lowe v. Pennsylvania Mines (BRB 21-0129 BLA): survivor benefit denial affirmed
Carol Lowe sought survivor benefits after her husband Larry's death. The administrative law judge credited him with 17.64 years of qualifying coal mine work but found that the evidence did not establish a totally disabling respiratory impairment, so the fifteen year presumption of death due to…
Walter Webb v. Terry Glenn Coal Company, et al.
Webb v. Terry Glenn Coal (BRB 21-0117 BLA): benefit denial affirmed
Walter Webb appealed the denial of his fourth black lung claim without a representative. He claimed more than fifteen years of coal mine work, but the judge credited 10.68 years based on Social Security earnings and coworker affidavits. The Board upheld that calculation, leaving him unable to…
Roscoe E. Asher v. Sequoia Energy LLC
Asher v. Sequoia Energy (BRB 21-0107 BLA): rebuttal findings sent back for review
Roscoe Asher sought black lung benefits after thirty two years of qualifying coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. Those findings invoked the fifteen year presumption, but the administrative law judge found that Sequoia Energy rebutted it and denied benefits. The Board…
James M. Vanover v. Diamond May Coal Company
Vanover v. Diamond May Coal (BRB 21-0088 BLA): black lung benefits affirmed
James Vanover sought benefits on a later black lung claim after establishing at least fifteen years of qualifying coal mine work. Diamond May Coal challenged the administrative law judge's appointment and removal protections, the presumption's constitutionality, and the finding of total respiratory…
Raymond Ogle v. Shine Coal Company, Incorporated
Ogle v. Shine Coal (BRB 21-0042 BLA): benefit award and start date affirmed
Raymond Ogle sought black lung benefits after working 15.6 years in underground coal mines. Shine Coal challenged the work history calculation, the finding of total respiratory disability, and the start date of his benefit award. The Board upheld the work calculation and the judge's reliance on two…
Freddie Luttrell v. Peabody Coal Company
Luttrell v. Peabody Coal (BRB 20-0567 BLA): benefit award and carrier liability affirmed
Freddie Luttrell sought black lung benefits after nine years of coal mine work and a stipulated total respiratory disability. The judge awarded benefits after finding his chronic obstructive pulmonary disease significantly related to coal dust exposure. Peabody Coal and Peabody Energy challenged…
Imogene Shepherd, widow of Tramble Shepherd v. Incoal, Incorporated
Shepherd v. Incoal (BRB 20-0429 BLA): survivor benefits affirmed after work history review
Imogene Shepherd sought survivor benefits after her husband Tramble's death. After a federal appeals court sent the case back for another work history calculation, the administrative law judge found at least fifteen years of qualifying coal mine work, invoking the presumption that pneumoconiosis…
James G. Huddleston v. Island Creek Kentucky Mining
Huddleston v. Island Creek Kentucky Mining (BRB 20-0309 BLA): award vacated for new evidence review
James Huddleston received a black lung benefit award based on medical findings, without the fifteen year presumption because the parties stipulated to thirteen years of coal mine work. Island Creek Kentucky Mining challenged a third government sponsored pulmonary function study obtained after two…
R.N. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Three Rivers, TX
Board upholds compensation suspension and abandoned hearing finding (ECAB 21-1326)
A former corrections officer receiving wage-loss benefits did not return OWCP's requested financial and employment disclosure form within 30 days. OWCP suspended compensation, then found that he abandoned a requested telephone hearing after missing it and not timely requesting another. The Board…
M.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, TX
Board orders OWCP to combine nurse's related injury files (ECAB 21-1323)
A VA nurse reported neck and back pain after repositioning a patient in April 2019. OWCP denied her claim for lack of medical proof linking her diagnoses to that incident. The Board found that OWCP had separately accepted a lower back injury from the previous month, but the earlier file was missing…
L.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Cardiss Collins Processing & Distribution Center, Chicago, IL
Board orders fresh review of bilateral knee impairment award (ECAB 21-1258)
A postal building equipment mechanic sought a schedule award for permanent impairment of both knees. OWCP awarded 13 percent for the left lower extremity and one additional percent for the right. The Board found that the factual statement supplied to its medical adviser misstated accepted…
J.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hartford, CT
Board upholds denial of postal worker's elbow claim (ECAB 21-1257)
A postal distribution associate reported right elbow pain after lifting trays at work. OWCP accepted the incident but denied compensation for lack of sufficient medical proof. The Board found that a physician's referral identified only pain, while reports from physician assistants and an…
A.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Vallejo, CA
Board upholds denial of postal worker's shoulder claim (ECAB 21-0985)
A postal sales associate said repeated handling of packages strained her left shoulder. OWCP denied the occupational disease claim. The Board found that the submitted physician reports identified shoulder pain but did not give a firm medical diagnosis tied to the accepted work factors. Because pain…
L.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Conroe, TX
Board dismisses appeal from unresolved OWCP case (ECAB 21-0210)
L.F. appealed an OWCP hearing representative's July 22, 2020 decision. That decision had vacated an earlier OWCP ruling and sent the claim back for further development and a new decision. The Board found that the claim was still in an interlocutory posture, with no final adverse OWCP decision to…
J.G. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, Marysville, MI
Board denies hearing loss and tinnitus schedule award (ECAB 21-0015)
A border patrol agent reported right-ear ringing after a drum exploded at work. He sought a schedule award for permanent hearing impairment. The Board found that the audiogram produced no ratable hearing loss under the applicable impairment method. It also held that tinnitus could not support a…
D.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Cortese Station, San Jose, CA
Board orders clarification of carrier’s modified job offer (ECAB 20-0772)
A postal carrier sought wage-loss compensation for two weeks after declining a modified-duty job offer. OWCP denied the claim under a rule for available temporary light-duty work. The Board found conflicting evidence about whether the offered position was temporary or permanent. It set aside the…
S & R Enterprises, LLC
Steel-hoisting citations vacated
S & R Enterprises attempted to hoist a five-ton steel grappler into a renovated power plant so it could hang as a decorative hotel-lobby feature. A padeye tore through an old overhead-crane girder during the lift, causing the load and rigging to fall and seriously injure three employees. OSHA cited…
LaRonda Phox v. The Savoy at 21C
Reconsideration of untimely appeal denied
An ALJ denied LaRonda Phox's Food Safety Modernization Act complaint and later denied her motions to stay or reconsider that ruling. The Board then dismissed Phox's petition for review as untimely. Phox requested reconsideration of the Board's dismissal. The Board found no previously unavailable…
E.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Medical Center, Martinez, CA
Board upholds denial of dental assistant’s carpal tunnel claim (ECAB 22-0149)
A VA dental assistant reported right hand pain while holding suction tools and charts at work. Testing showed slight carpal tunnel syndrome, and a physician noted symptoms and work restrictions. The Board found that the physician did not give an opinion connecting the condition to the accepted…
J.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Medical Center, Biloxi, MS
Board upholds denial of left hip injury claim (ECAB 22-0060)
A VA food service worker said a stumble at work worsened his left hip, which had a replacement implant. OWCP denied the claim for lack of medical causation proof. The Board found that one physician asserted a link but did not explain how the stumble caused or aggravated the hip condition or…
D.G. and Department of Labor, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, Kansas City, MO
Board orders findings on claimed workplace stressors (ECAB 21-1412)
A former OWCP employee alleged that workplace interactions caused anxiety and depression. OWCP denied her claim after finding insufficient medical proof of causation. The Board found that OWCP had not identified the specific alleged work events or determined which could count as compensable…
Secretary of Labor v. JMAC Resources
Lost contest mail supported reopening
JMAC Resources mailed its notice contesting a proposed penalty on April 22, 2021, within the Mine Act's 30-day deadline. MSHA did not receive the notice, and the assessment became a final Commission order on May 6. JMAC said the notice was lost in the postal system and noted that delivery of the…
Secretary of Labor v. Thermocal Minerals of Idaho, LLC
Management transition supported reopening
Thermocal Minerals of Idaho LLC did not contest a proposed penalty within 30 days, so the assessment became a final Commission order in September 2020. The mine had recently changed management, and the departing manager did not pass the assessment paperwork to the new manager. Thermocal learned of…
Secretary of Labor v. Mach Mining, LLC
Isolated processing mistake supported reopening
Mach Mining LLC did not contest a proposed penalty within 30 days, so the assessment became a final Commission order. Its Director of Safety and Compliance failed to follow the usual procedure of immediately forwarding the assessment for review and processing. Mach Mining said this type of mistake…
Secretary of Labor v. Kerford Limestone Company
Counsel's filing error supported reopening
Kerford Limestone Company did not contest a proposed penalty within 30 days, so the assessment became a final Commission order. Kerford's counsel prepared the contest paperwork on time and emailed it to the firm's administrative staff, but the paperwork was apparently never filed. The Secretary did…
R.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA
Board upholds denial of VA worker’s foot condition claim (ECAB 22-0043)
A VA nursing assistant claimed that moving patients at work caused tendon injuries in his feet. OWCP denied the occupational disease claim. The Board found that a physician described an aggravated injury but did not identify a firm diagnosis or explain how the work duties caused it. A nurse…
K.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Indianapolis, IN
Board orders combined review of postal worker’s hand injury claims (ECAB 21-1320)
A postal employee sought benefits for later arm and shoulder symptoms she linked to an earlier crushed hand injury. OWCP denied the new claim, finding that an injury had not been established. The Board found that OWCP had already accepted the earlier right hand injury but had not combined its file…
V.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, St. Petersburg, FL
Board orders impartial examination of leg impairment claim (ECAB 21-1300)
A retired postal worker sought a schedule award for impairment in both legs related to accepted lumbar conditions. Her physician rated permanent impairment, while other examining physicians found none. The Board found a conflict in the medical opinions about sensory and motor deficits arising from…
E.H. and Department of the Air Force, McClellan Air Force Base, CA
Board orders reasoned decision on reconsideration request (ECAB 21-1295)
An Air Force secretary asked OWCP to reconsider its refusal to add further conditions to an accepted injury claim. OWCP said her request was late and did not show clear evidence of error. The Board found that OWCP had not analyzed her arguments or the evidence she submitted. It set aside the…
S.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration, Saint Louis, MO
Board orders combined review of related emotional condition claims (ECAB 21-0400)
A veterans claims examiner sought benefits for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder that she attributed to work. OWCP denied the claim, finding that the alleged work events were not established. The Board found that she had filed two earlier emotional condition claims, but OWCP had not…
Matter of Shelley Vanessa DINGUS
Nunc pro tunc correction given effect
The Board reviewed a lawful permanent resident's challenge after a Virginia court corrected the subject matter of her controlled-substance conviction through a nunc pro tunc order. It held that the correction was based on a defect in the underlying criminal proceedings, so the original conviction…
D.C. and Department of the Navy, Naval Installations Command, San Diego, CA
Board recognizes officer’s work-related dog bite wounds (ECAB 22-0084)
A Navy police officer reported puncture wounds to his forearm after a military working dog attacked during training. OWCP denied the claim because he had not submitted a physician's diagnosis. The Board found that a visible animal bite is a minor condition that OWCP may recognize without a medical…
R.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Louisville, KY
Board upholds denial of carrier’s left shoulder claim (ECAB 22-0058)
A city carrier said his left shoulder popped while delivering a package. Physicians later identified shoulder strain and other shoulder conditions. The Board found that one physician's checked causation box lacked a medical explanation, while other reports did not give a causation opinion. It…
T.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Pontiac, MI
Board orders combined review of shoulder injury claims (ECAB 21-1423)
A mail processing clerk reported renewed right shoulder symptoms after heavier work and repetitive movements. OWCP denied a new occupational disease claim for lack of medical causation proof. The Board found that OWCP had already accepted an earlier rotator cuff injury but had not combined that…
A.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Diego, CA
Board upholds refusal to reopen shoulder claim (ECAB 22-0150)
A postal clerk sought reconsideration of OWCP's denial of her shoulder occupational disease claim. The Board found that her request identified no legal error, raised no new relevant legal argument, and supplied no pertinent new medical evidence addressing causation. It held that OWCP properly…
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.