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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J.C. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution Beaumont Low, Beaumont, TX
Board orders workplace exposure review of officer's mold claim (ECAB 20-0943)
A federal correctional officer claimed allergic symptoms from mold and water leaks at work. OWCP first denied the claim because the medical evidence did not establish a diagnosis connected to the accepted work factors. It later denied modification after receiving more evidence. The Board found that…
Framing Specialist, Inc.
Five residential-construction items affirmed
Two inspections of Framing Specialist residential projects found employees working without eye protection, using an access ladder that extended only two feet above the landing, standing on the top of a stepladder, and working at heights of 8 to 25 feet without effective fall protection. The judge…
AJM Packaging Corporation
Lockout/tagout instance vacated
An AJM Packaging adjuster suffered a partial finger amputation when a raised scrap chute fell while he was clearing a paper jam from a paper-product machine. OSHA alleged that lockout/tagout procedures were required to control the chute's stored gravitational energy. The Commission agreed that the…
Henry Klein v. Bank of America
Appeal dismissed after missed briefing deadline
Henry Klein asked the Board to review his Sarbanes-Oxley Act retaliation claim against Bank of America. After Klein did not file his opening brief on time, the Board ordered him to explain why the appeal should not be dismissed. Klein responded before the show-cause deadline but did not address why…
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-5738): Authority finds no reduction in force
DOD Education Activity increased class sizes, ended an elementary foreign-language program, and reassigned teachers after enough employees accepted voluntary separation incentives. The Federal Education Association alleged that the agency failed to follow reduction-in-force and vacancy-notice…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Unguarded belt drive citation affirmed as S&S
CONSOL Pennsylvania Coal Company operates the Harvey Mine, an underground coal mine in Pennsylvania. MSHA cited the company after an inspector found that a moving belt drive roller beside a narrow wooden walkway had no guard in front of it. Judge Alan G. Paez found that miners could use the walkway…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Damaged power cable violation affirmed as S&S
MSHA cited Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company after an inspector found a damaged 480-volt power cable supplying a rib bolter at the Enlow Fork Mine. Judge John Kent Lewis found that damage to the outer jacket and inner insulation exposed bare conductor wires in a main travelway and violated the…
Matter of Kwok S. WONG
New Jersey disorderly persons offense counts as a conviction
The Board reconsidered whether a New Jersey disorderly persons theft offense qualified as a conviction for immigration purposes. It held that a finding of guilt is a conviction when the proceeding provides all constitutional criminal-procedure rights that apply without limitation and that have been…
Maria Elena DeMoss, widow of Harold DeMoss, Sr., v. Auxiliary Systems, Incorporated
DeMoss v. Auxiliary Systems (BRB 21-0387): attorney disqualification reversed
Maria Elena DeMoss sought Longshore death benefits, alleging that her husband's fatal lung cancer resulted from asbestos exposure at work. A judge disqualified her law firm over possible conflicts arising from its earlier representation of her family in civil asbestos claims and paused the benefits…
Olis W. McNary v. Black Beauty Coal Company
McNary v. Black Beauty Coal (BRB 20-0562 and 21-0149 BLA): benefits and attorney fee affirmed
Olis W. McNary sought black lung benefits after 18 years of qualifying coal mine work. The judge found a totally disabling breathing impairment, which triggered a presumption that pneumoconiosis caused the disability. Black Beauty Coal argued that a later claim required comparison with old evidence…
Betty Thomas v. Jim Walter Resources, Incorporated
Thomas v. Jim Walter Resources (BRB 21-0141 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Betty Thomas sought black lung benefits after at least 15 years of underground coal mine work. The judge found that her lung function tests established total respiratory disability, triggering a presumption that pneumoconiosis caused it. Jim Walter Resources argued that the judge miscounted the…
Belvra Crider, Jr. v. Perry County Coal Corporation
Crider v. Perry County Coal (BRB 21-0112 BLA): benefits award vacated for review of lung scan evidence
Belvra Crider, Jr. sought black lung benefits after 29 years of underground coal mine work. The judge awarded benefits after crediting a CT scan interpretation that found large lung opacities consistent with complicated pneumoconiosis. Perry County Coal argued that the judge had misstated the…
Charles E. Shay v. Helvetia Coal Company
Shay v. Helvetia Coal (BRB 21-0097 BLA): denial of black lung benefits affirmed
Charles E. Shay sought black lung benefits after 33.5 years of qualifying coal mine work. The judge found that Shay had not proved a totally disabling breathing impairment, which he needed to invoke the 15-year presumption. Shay challenged the judge's weighing of three doctors' opinions. The Board…
Olis W. McNary v. Black Beauty Coal Company
McNary v. Black Beauty Coal (BRB 20-0562 and 21-0149 BLA): benefits and attorney fee affirmed
Olis W. McNary sought black lung benefits after 18 years of qualifying coal mine work. The judge found a totally disabling breathing impairment, which triggered a presumption that pneumoconiosis caused the disability. Black Beauty Coal argued that a later claim required comparison with old evidence…
Gregory P. Preston v. Pinnacle Processing, Incorporated
Preston v. Pinnacle Processing (BRB 20-0514 BLA): denial of black lung benefits affirmed
Gregory P. Preston sought black lung benefits after 33 years of qualifying coal mine work. The Board had earlier sent his claim back so the judge could compare medical opinions with the physical demands of Preston's last job as a coal preparation plant superintendent. On remand, the judge found…
Keith H. Stamper v. Washington United Terminals, Incorporated
Stamper v. Washington United Terminals (BRB 19-0364): employer-paid appeal fee denied
Keith H. Stamper received Longshore Act benefits for a work-related neck injury. His employer's carriers disputed which one had to pay, and the Board upheld the judge's carrier finding. Stamper's lawyer then requested $14,512.50 from the employer for work on that appeal. The Board denied the…
Department of Defense, Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools, Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico and Antilles Consolidated Education Association
DOD schools Fort Buchanan and Antilles Education Association (FLRA BN-CA-17-0170): Authority dismisses late reconsideration
In 2019, the Authority found unfair labor practices and ordered DOD schools and the Antilles Consolidated Education Association to resume bargaining over work hours and compensation. A federal appeals court later set aside one negotiability determination but denied the petition in all other…
N.T. and Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN
N.T. and Minneapolis VA Medical Center (ECAB 21-1308): Increased knee award denied
A VA pharmacy technician received a schedule award for 23 percent permanent impairment of her left leg after a work related knee injury and replacement surgery. She later sought a larger award. One physician rated impairment at 25 percent, but an OWCP medical adviser calculated 21 percent using the…
P.P. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Salisbury, NC
P.P. and Salisbury VA Medical Center (ECAB 21-1163): Carpal tunnel benefit termination reversed
A VA nursing assistant received benefits for accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. OWCP ended her wage loss and medical benefits, relying on a physician who said the work related condition had resolved and attributed her symptoms to other conditions. The Board found that opinion speculative…
K.P. and Department of Veterans Affairs, San Diego VA Medical Center, San Diego, CA
K.P. and San Diego VA Medical Center (ECAB 21-1065): Expansion denial remanded
A VA nurse had an accepted work related thoracic outlet condition and sought to add complex regional pain syndrome of her right arm to her claim. OWCP denied the request after discussing one 2021 medical report. The Board found that OWCP had not reviewed several earlier reports diagnosing the same…
M.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Safety Administration, Federal Air Marshal Service, Renton, WA
M.H. and Federal Air Marshal Service (ECAB 21-1055): Wage capacity modification denied
A federal air marshal with an accepted neck injury could not return to his former job, so OWCP reduced his wage loss compensation based on the earnings of an internal security manager. He later sought to change that determination. The Board found that his new medical records did not say he could…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Troy, MI
D.S. and Troy Post Office (ECAB 21-1054): Reconsideration denial remanded for evidence review
A postal customer care agent sought compensation for additional occupational conditions affecting her arms and neck. OWCP rejected her reconsideration request, saying she had supplied no new medical evidence. The Board found that OWCP had received a physician's February 2020 report before issuing…
P.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Gwynn Oak Post Office, Baltimore, MD
P.B. and Gwynn Oak Post Office (ECAB 20-1643): Elbow injury denial reversed
A postal carrier hurt her right elbow while delivering mail from a truck. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied her injury claim for lack of medical proof connecting the condition to work. The Board found that hospital records documented a visible open elbow dislocation caused by the…
N.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Saddle Brook, NJ
N.S. and Saddle Brook Post Office (ECAB 20-1495): Injury benefit termination reversed
A postal mail carrier received benefits after a work fall that led to accepted back and cervical conditions. OWCP ended her wage loss and medical benefits in September 2018, relying on two referral physicians. The Board found that one physician did not account for all accepted conditions and the…
Petitt v. Delta Airlines, Inc.
AIR21 liability affirmed and damages remanded
Karlene Petitt, a Delta first officer, alleged that the airline retaliated after she raised aviation-safety concerns by placing her in a compulsory medical-evaluation process. The Board affirmed that her email and safety report were protected activity and that the 21-month evaluation process was an…
T.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Greensboro, NC
T.T. and Greensboro Post Office (ECAB 21-1278): Late reconsideration denial partly set aside
A postal carrier asked OWCP to reconsider its denial of a shoulder injury claim after she fell while delivering packages. The Board agreed that her request came more than a year after OWCP's last decision on the merits. But OWCP had not discussed a later physician's report or explained why the…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Dominick V. Daniels Processing & Distribution Center, Kearney, NJ
S.M. and Dominick V. Daniels Processing Center (ECAB 20-1527): Claim expansion remanded
A postal mail handler asked OWCP to add bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and knee conditions to a previously accepted injury claim. OWCP denied that part of his request based on an impartial medical examiner's opinion. The Board found that the examiner had not explained how the accepted knee injury…
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service, New Jersey International & National Distribution Center, Jersey City, NJ
M.S. and New Jersey Postal Distribution Center (ECAB 20-1095): Shoulder claim remanded
A postal mail handler claimed he injured his right shoulder while lifting a heavy footlocker at work. OWCP accepted that the incident happened but denied a connection between it and his diagnosed shoulder conditions. A later orthopedic report explained how the lift could have caused a rotator cuff…
United States Department of the Air Force, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2924
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and AFGE Local 2924 (FLRA 0-AR-5637): Authority upholds negotiated official time
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base denied official-time requests after applying a 2018 executive order instead of conflicting provisions in its collective-bargaining agreement. The parties had executed that agreement while a federal court injunction blocked the executive order's official-time provisions…
A.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Florence, AZ
A.M. and Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ECAB 21-1413): Wrist impairment award denied
An immigration officer had accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and a left wrist ganglion and underwent surgery. She sought a schedule award for permanent impairment, but her physician reported none and she submitted no medical rating showing impairment. The Board affirmed OWCP's denial of the…
K.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Carmel Valley, CA
K.T. and Carmel Valley Post Office (ECAB 21-1269): Wage loss benefits suspended pending report
A postal carrier received wage loss benefits after an accepted work injury. OWCP mailed her a required EN1032 form asking about employment and other activities, with a warning that benefits would be suspended if she did not return it within 30 days. The record showed no response, and the Board…
M.F. and Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Logistics, Barstow, CA
M.F. and Marine Corps Logistics (ECAB 21-1221): Knee treatment recurrence denied
A Marine Corps logistics worker had an accepted left knee injury and two authorized surgeries. Years after his release from treatment, he requested more medical care for knee symptoms. His physician said he could not tell whether the current condition came from the work injury without reviewing the…
R.G. and Department of Health & Human Services, Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Washington, DC
R.G. and Medicare & Medicaid Services (ECAB 21-1098): Recurrence claim not reopened
A federal management analyst had accepted hand, arm nerve, and mild mood conditions. OWCP had denied her claim that those conditions later caused a recurrence of disability. She requested reconsideration, challenging earlier medical assessments and the handling of her work accommodations. The Board…
L.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Diego, CA
L.W. and San Diego Post Office (ECAB 21-0136): Arm impairment award denied
A postal automation clerk sought a schedule award based on an accepted aggravation of cervical spondylosis. OWCP's examining physician and medical adviser found no ratable nerve related impairment of her arms. The Board found that a different physician's rating for wrist pain did not establish…
S.W. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Coleman Federal Correctional Complex, Coleman, FL
S.W. and Coleman Federal Correctional Complex (ECAB 20-1402): Exposure claim remanded
A prison employee claimed she was exposed to tuberculosis while working around inmates. OWCP denied her claim because it found the alleged exposure had not been established. The Board found that the prison had not answered OWCP's specific questions about her work and possible exposure. It set aside…
D.M. and Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Base, Communication Strategy & Operations, Quantico, VA
D.M. and Quantico Marine Corps Base (ECAB 21-1244): Back injury denial upheld
A Marine Corps base employee reported back pain after slipping on ice at work. OWCP accepted that the fall occurred but denied his injury claim. The Board found that doctors had described the fall and diagnosed back conditions, yet none adequately explained how or why the fall caused the diagnosed…
R.C. and U.S. Postal Service, St. James Park Station Post Office, San Jose, CA
R.C. and St. James Park Post Office (ECAB 21-1106): Retirement benefit overpayment upheld
A retired postal carrier received FECA wage loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits tied partly to federal service. OWCP had not applied the required offset and calculated a $24,136.16 overpayment for November 2017 through April 2021. The Board found the amount correctly…
D.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Vitilas 'Vito' Reid Post Office, Normandy, MO
D.J. and the Vitilas Reid Post Office (ECAB 21-1027): Appeal dismissed for lack of a reviewable decision
A postal worker, through counsel, appealed what counsel described as a June 3, 2021 OWCP decision. The Board found that OWCP's June 3 document was an informational letter rather than a final adverse decision. Without a final adverse decision, the Board lacked jurisdiction to review the appeal. It…
A.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, City of Industry, CA
A.R. and the City of Industry Post Office (ECAB 21-1000): Overpayment and hearing abandonment upheld
A postal maintenance mechanic received FECA wage loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits attributable partly to his federal service during the same period. OWCP found a $10,573.82 overpayment for October 2019 through July 2020, and the Board upheld that finding while agreeing he…
L.W. and U.S. Postal Office, Post Office, Canton, MS
L.W. and the Canton Post Office (ECAB 21-0789): Denial of reconsideration upheld
A rural postal carrier sought wage loss compensation after a shoulder injury, but OWCP denied benefits for a period when it said suitable light duty was available. She asked OWCP to reconsider that denial. The Board held that her request gave no new legal argument or showing of legal error, and…
B.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Honolulu, HI
B.C. and the Honolulu Post Office (ECAB 21-0702): Impairment award denial set aside for medical review
A postal custodian with an accepted bilateral foot condition sought a larger permanent impairment award after receiving an earlier award for both legs. Her physician and OWCP's second opinion physician assigned different impairment ratings, and OWCP denied an increase after relying on its medical…
Barbara A. Kidd v. Shiner Ridge, Incorporated and American International South/Chartis
Kidd v. Shiner Ridge (BRB 21-0340 BLA): survivor benefits affirmed on modification
Barbara Kidd sought survivor benefits after her husband Russell died, but two earlier decisions denied her claim. On her second request for modification, a judge credited him with 15.54 years of underground coal mine work and found that he had a totally disabling breathing impairment. Those…
Charles J. Drake v. Virginia International Terminals, LLC and Signal Mutual Indemnity Association, Ltd.
Drake v. Virginia International Terminals (BRB 21-0258): denial of additional back injury benefits affirmed
Charles Drake injured his back when he slipped on ice while working as an electronics technician for Virginia International Terminals. His employer paid temporary disability and medical benefits for earlier periods, but disputed whether later treatment and disability, including back surgery…
John T. Roberts v. Consolidation Coal Company
Roberts v. Consolidation Coal (BRB 21-0253 BLA): miner benefits affirmed
John Roberts worked 21 years in underground coal mines and had a totally disabling breathing impairment, triggering a presumption that pneumoconiosis caused his disability. Consolidation Coal challenged the presumption's constitutionality and argued that other medical conditions explained his…
Karen L. Zarnesky v. Keystone Coal Mining Corporation and Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company
Zarnesky v. Keystone Coal Mining (BRB 21-0183 BLA): survivor benefits affirmed
Karen Zarnesky sought black lung survivor benefits after her husband David died. The judge credited him with 16.6 years of underground coal mine work and found that he had a totally disabling respiratory impairment, triggering a presumption that his death was due to pneumoconiosis. Keystone Coal…
Deanna Vance, on behalf of and widow of Jerry W. Vance, v. Elkay Mining Company
Vance v. Elkay Mining (BRB 21-0085 and 21-0086 BLA): miner and widow benefits affirmed
Deanna Vance pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor claim. Jerry Vance had at least 22 years of underground coal mine work and a totally disabling breathing impairment, triggering a presumption that pneumoconiosis caused the disability. Elkay Mining argued that another…
Deanna Vance, on behalf of and widow of Jerry W. Vance, v. Elkay Mining Company
Vance v. Elkay Mining (BRB 21-0085 and 21-0086 BLA): miner and widow benefits affirmed
Deanna Vance pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor claim. Jerry Vance had at least 22 years of underground coal mine work and a totally disabling breathing impairment, triggering a presumption that pneumoconiosis caused the disability. Elkay Mining argued that another…
Elbert Williams v. Whitaker Coal Corporation
Williams v. Whitaker Coal (BRB 21-0080 BLA): lung disease finding returned for review
Elbert Williams sought black lung benefits after at least 32 years of underground coal mine work. An earlier benefits award was set aside for further review of conflicting evidence of complicated pneumoconiosis, and a second judge denied benefits. A Board majority found that the judge had favored a…
Harold D. Collett v. Blue Diamond Coal Company
Collett v. Blue Diamond Coal (BRB 21-0079 BLA): denial of black lung benefits affirmed
Harold D. Collett sought black lung benefits after 39 years of underground coal mine work. The judge found that the evidence did not establish complicated pneumoconiosis or a totally disabling breathing impairment. A Board majority upheld the judge's weighing of conflicting lung function and blood…
Angela Hensley, on behalf of Ruby Hicks, widow of Arthur Hicks, v. Clinchfield Coal Company
Hensley v. Clinchfield Coal (BRB 21-0014 BLA): survivor claim returned for disability review
Angela Hensley pursued her late mother's survivor claim for black lung benefits after miner Arthur Hicks died. The judge denied benefits, finding that Hicks had not been totally disabled by a breathing impairment and that the survivor could not use the 15-year presumption. The Board found that the…
Columbus J. Martin v. One A Coal Company
Martin v. One A Coal (BRB 20-0515 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Columbus J. Martin sought black lung benefits after 13 years and nine months of coal mine work. That was too short for the 15-year presumption, so he had to prove that coal dust contributed to his disabling lung disease. The judge credited a doctor who concluded that both coal dust and smoking…
Clyde D. McKnight, Sr. v. Eastern Associated Coal Company
McKnight v. Eastern Associated Coal (BRB 20-0467 BLA): carrier liability affirmed
Clyde D. McKnight, Sr. received black lung benefits after the judge found complicated pneumoconiosis arising from his coal mine work. Eastern Associated Coal and Peabody Energy did not challenge his entitlement, but argued that a later buyer of Eastern had taken over the insurance obligation and…
N.S. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Coleman Federal Correctional Complex, Coleman, FL
N.S. and Coleman Federal Correctional Complex (ECAB 21-1341): Appeal dismissed as one day late
A federal prison employee appealed an OWCP decision issued March 11, 2021. The Board calculated that the 180-day filing period ended September 7, 2021, but the appeal was filed September 8. It found no documented compelling circumstances explaining the late filing. Because there was no OWCP…
D.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Vernon Hills Post Office, Vernon Hills, IL
D.M. and the Vernon Hills Post Office (ECAB 21-1209): Five percent leg impairment award upheld
A postal carrier sought a larger schedule award for permanent impairment after a work injury affecting his left thigh, hip, and lower back. OWCP first awarded two percent impairment, then added three percent after an earlier Board remand, bringing the left leg rating to five percent. The Board…
J.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Milwaukee Vehicle Maintenance Facility, Milwaukee, WI
J.T. and the Milwaukee Postal Vehicle Facility (ECAB 21-1206): Injury claim denial upheld
A postal vehicle repair worker reported shoulder and neck symptoms after lifting a vehicle door at work. OWCP accepted that the July 2019 lifting incident occurred but denied the injury claim for lack of proof that it caused his medical conditions. The Board recognized that the treating…
I.J. and Department of the Army, U.S. Corps of Engineers, Memphis, TN
I.J. and the Army Corps of Engineers (ECAB 21-0467 and 20-0812): Appeal and reconsideration petition dismissed
An Army Corps worker filed what he described as an appeal from an October 19, 2020 decision. That decision was the Board's earlier ruling, not a new OWCP decision, and OWCP had issued no reviewable decision within 180 days of the new filing. The Board therefore dismissed the new appeal for lack of…
J.S. and Department of Labor, Mine Safety & Health Administration, Barbourville, KY
J.S. and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (ECAB 21-0253): Life insurance premium overpayment upheld
A federal mine safety inspector continued optional life insurance while receiving FECA compensation after a work injury. OWCP failed to deduct the applicable premiums for ten payment cycles from May 2019 through February 2020, creating a $5,022.00 overpayment. The Board upheld that amount and…
Chewy, Inc.
Forklift under-ride hazard citation affirmed
A Chewy warehouse employee was crushed and killed when his stand-up forklift passed beneath a low horizontal storage-rack beam and the beam entered the unguarded operator compartment. Five months earlier, another employee had suffered broken ribs in a similar under-ride incident at the same…
D.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Doris Miller VA Medical Center, Waco, TX
D.S. and Doris Miller VA Medical Center (ECAB 21-1296): Injury claim and late hearing request denied
A VA nursing assistant reported falling on a sidewalk near her car after work and sought compensation for several alleged injuries. OWCP asked for more factual details, but she did not return its questionnaire. The Board upheld the claim denial because the record did not sufficiently explain how…
C.R. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn, NY
C.R. and Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center (ECAB 21-1265): Finger impairment award returned for new rating
A federal prison material handler supervisor received a schedule award for eight percent permanent impairment of his left small finger after a workplace fall. His physician supplied one set of finger motion measurements, and OWCP's medical adviser used a diagnosis based rating because three…
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.