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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L.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Ranson Post Office, Ranson, WV
L.K. and the Ranson Post Office (ECAB 21-1155): Remaining wage loss claims denied
A postal carrier with an accepted left hip injury sought wage loss compensation for intermittent absences in March and April 2021. OWCP paid for some dates when work was unavailable and for authorized treatment, but denied the remaining claimed time. The Board found that a physician assistant's…
D.L. and Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Medical Center, Syracuse, NY
D.L. and the Syracuse VA Medical Center (ECAB 21-1142): Reconsideration denial upheld
A VA nurse sought compensation after reporting a right hip injury from a workplace fall. OWCP denied the claim for lack of sufficient medical proof linking the diagnosed conditions to the fall, then refused a later request to reconsider that denial. The Board reviewed only the reconsideration…
M.C. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Medical Command, Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu, HI
M.C. and Tripler Army Medical Center (ECAB 21-1122): Fall claim denial upheld for missing incident details
An Army medical center nurse reported feeling lightheaded and falling at work, striking her head and knees. OWCP asked whether a medical condition or any workplace hazard contributed to the fall, but she did not return the requested questionnaire or a fuller account. The Board said the record did…
A.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Burlington Post Office, Burlington, NC
A.J. and the Burlington Post Office (ECAB 21-0944): Reconsideration denial set aside for missing evidence review
A postal carrier sought a schedule award after an accepted fall and back injury. OWCP denied the award, then rejected her later reconsideration request as untimely and insufficient to show clear error. The Board found that OWCP's January 2021 decision did not mention or analyze a November 2020…
S.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Dallas VA Medical Center, Dallas, TX
S.R. and Dallas VA Medical Center (ECAB 21-0492): Retirement offset and repayment upheld
A former VA program support assistant received FECA wage loss payments and Social Security retirement benefits attributable partly to federal service without the required offset from June 2006 through July 2020. OWCP calculated a $74,899.31 overpayment and reduced the debt to $48,961.60 by…
C.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Westville Post Office, Westville, NJ
C.P. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 21-0173): Termination of back injury benefits affirmed
A postal letter carrier injured his back when dogs attacked him during his route in 2006. OWCP accepted a lumbar sprain and lumbago, then ended his wage loss and medical benefits effective November 22, 2019. The Board found that a referral physician's examination and explanation supported OWCP's…
K.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Tulsa, OK
K.M. and Transportation Security Administration (ECAB 20-1528): Airport sidewalk fall claim denied
A Transportation Security Administration officer fell on an airport sidewalk while walking from a parking lot to work. She sought FECA benefits for injuries from the fall. The Board found that the parking lot was not part of the employer's premises: it served other airport employees, TSA did not…
M.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Mill Neck Post Office, Mill Neck, NY
M.G. and the Mill Neck Post Office (ECAB 22-0575): Appeal dismissed after filing deadline
A postal worker appealed an OWCP decision issued January 13, 2021. The Board calculated that the 180-day appeal period ended July 12, 2021, but she filed on March 7, 2022. It found no documented compelling circumstances explaining the delay. With no OWCP decision issued within the permitted review…
C.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Lake Forest Post Office, Jacksonville, FL
C.S. and the Lake Forest Post Office (ECAB 22-0563): Appeal dismissed as untimely
A postal worker appealed a July 15, 2020 OWCP decision on March 8, 2022. The Board calculated that the 180-day appeal period ended January 11, 2021. It found no documented compelling circumstances explaining the late filing. Because OWCP had issued no final adverse decision within 180 days of the…
T.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Medical Center, Decatur, GA
T.C. and the Decatur VA Medical Center (ECAB 22-0520): Appeal dismissed after 180-day period
A VA medical center worker appealed a December 3, 2020 OWCP decision on February 14, 2022. The Board calculated that the 180-day filing period ended June 1, 2021. It found no documented compelling circumstances explaining the delayed filing. Because OWCP had issued no final adverse decision within…
L.W. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Protective Service, Chicago, IL
L.W. and the Federal Protective Service (ECAB 22-0500): Appeal dismissed as late
A Federal Protective Service worker appealed an OWCP decision issued July 14, 2021. The Board calculated that the 180-day filing period ended January 10, 2022, but the appeal was filed February 14. It found no documented compelling circumstances explaining the delay. With no timely appeal from a…
L.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Antonio, TX
L.H. and the San Antonio Post Office (ECAB 22-0115): Appeal dismissed at counsel's request
A postal worker filed a timely appeal from an October 4, 2021 OWCP decision. Before the Board decided the compensation dispute, the worker's counsel asked to dismiss the appeal. The Board granted that request and closed the appeal without ruling on OWCP's decision. The order gives no reason for…
R.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hazelwood, MO
R.J. and the Hazelwood Post Office (ECAB 22-0112): Appeal dismissed at counsel's request
A postal worker filed a timely appeal from a September 7, 2021 OWCP decision. Before the Board ruled on that decision, the worker's counsel asked to dismiss the appeal. The Board granted the request and closed the appeal without a merits ruling. The order does not state why counsel asked for…
C.I. and Department of the Navy, Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington, DC
C.I. and Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling (ECAB 21-1365): Appeal withdrawn and dismissed
A Navy employee appealed an August 16, 2021 OWCP decision. Before the Board ruled, the employee's counsel requested withdrawal of the appeal. The Board granted that request and dismissed the docket without a merits ruling. The order does not explain the reason for withdrawal.
A.C. and Department of the Navy, Fleet Readiness Center Southwest, San Diego, CA
A.C. and Fleet Readiness Center Southwest (ECAB 21-1307): Shoulder injury claim denial upheld
A Navy aircraft mechanic reported neck, arm, and shoulder pain during drive shaft work. OWCP accepted that the January 2021 employment incident occurred and that he had diagnosed left shoulder conditions, but denied the claim for lack of medical proof connecting them. The Board found that the…
J.Q. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Columbus, NM
J.Q. and Customs and Border Protection (ECAB 21-1284): Lung disease claim returned for job history
A retired Customs and Border Protection worker attributed his emphysema to vehicle exhaust, dust, and other conditions while inspecting inbound traffic. OWCP had denied the claim for insufficient evidence of the alleged work exposures. After an earlier Board affirmance, he supplied a description of…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Complex, Terre Haute, Indiana and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 720, Council of Prison Locals 33
Federal Correctional Complex Terre Haute and AFGE Local 720 (FLRA 0-AR-5707): Authority vacates late roster grievance
Federal Correctional Complex Terre Haute assigned a non-unit Public Health Service officer to a post and removed that post from the roster used by bargaining-unit nurses. AFGE Local 720 filed a grievance fifty days after the roster change, although the agreement required filing within forty days of…
Priddle v. United Airlines, Inc.
Discovery-sanctions appeal denied as premature
Soma Priddle alleged that United Airlines retaliated after she reported aircraft safety and maintenance problems. During discovery, the ALJ sanctioned United over its production of maintenance records and limited evidence that the airline could present about some safety reports. United sought…
J.A. and Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Medical Center, Durham, NC
J.A. and the Durham VA Medical Center (ECAB 22-0103): Work tasks established, injury denial retained
A VA food service worker attributed right hand symptoms and carpal tunnel syndrome to repetitive cleaning and food handling duties. OWCP denied the claim, questioning the work factors and finding the medical proof insufficient. The Board found that the worker's described tasks were established…
J.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Seattle, WA
J.V. and the Seattle Post Office (ECAB 21-1353): Knee claim and late record review denied
A postal carrier attributed a left knee condition to extensive walking, stairs, and repeated entry into his vehicle at work. OWCP accepted the described work factors but denied the claim because the only report addressing his knee came from a nurse practitioner, whose opinion could not establish…
M.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Florissant Main Post Office, Florissant, MO
M.D. and the Florissant Main Post Office (ECAB 21-1270): Pre-surgery wage loss claim denied
A postal carrier injured his right shoulder while lifting a parcel, and OWCP accepted a rotator cuff capsule sprain. He sought wage loss compensation for May through August 2020, before shoulder surgery on August 31. His surgeon said he had been unable to work during the claimed period, but did not…
J.A. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Orlando VA Medical Center, Orlando, FL
J.A. and the Orlando VA Medical Center (ECAB 21-1090): Appeal dismissed on request
A VA medical center worker filed a timely appeal from a July 1, 2021 OWCP decision. Before the Board decided the appeal, the worker requested through counsel that it be dismissed. The Board granted the request and closed the docket without a merits ruling. The order does not give a reason for the…
D.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, Carmel, CA
D.V. and the Carmel Post Office (ECAB 19-0868): Disability denial and benefit termination upheld
A postal clerk had an accepted lower back and pelvis contusion after a workplace fall and later claimed additional time away from work. The Board found that his treating physicians had not adequately explained why the accepted injury prevented work from April 2018 through January 10, 2019. It gave…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2119 and United States Department of the Army, Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center, Rock Island, Illinois
Rock Island Joint Manufacturing Center and AFGE Local 2119 (FLRA 0-NG-3498): Authority splits negotiability ruling
The Army disapproved several provisions of a new collective-bargaining agreement at the agency-head review stage. After later executive orders were revoked, the Army withdrew most of its objections and the Authority dismissed those provisions without prejudice. The Authority found negotiable a…
Matter of Valentine C. MORGAN
Connecticut larceny was not an aggravated felony theft offense
The Board reviewed a Jamaican lawful permanent resident's removability based in part on a Connecticut conviction for attempted third-degree larceny. It held that Connecticut's broad larceny definition included both nonconsensual theft and property obtained through fraud, and that the alternatives…
M.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Cayey Post Office, Cayey, PR
M.H. and the Cayey Post Office (ECAB 21-1337): Appeal dismissed because filer lacked authority
An attorney filed an appeal from an OWCP decision associated with a postal worker. The attorney later told the Board he did not represent that worker and had filed the appeal by mistake. The Board held that an appeal must come from a person adversely affected by OWCP's decision or an authorized…
L.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Boston, MA
L.L. and the Boston Post Office (ECAB 21-1194): Wage loss denial and hearing abandonment upheld
A postal carrier had an accepted crushing injury to her right hand after closing it in a mail truck door. She sought wage loss compensation for December 27, 2020 through January 29, 2021. The Board found that her physician's statements that she could not work lacked medical reasoning showing…
T.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Grand Rapids, MI
T.S. and the Grand Rapids Post Office (ECAB 21-1075): Late reconsideration denial affirmed
A postal carrier attributed actinic keratosis and basal cell carcinoma to years of sun exposure while delivering mail. OWCP denied his claim in May 2020, and he requested reconsideration in June 2021. The Board agreed that the request arrived more than one year after OWCP's merit decision. It also…
H.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Detroit, MI
H.E. and the Detroit Post Office (ECAB 21-1070): Claim sent back to combine related files
A postal carrier filed two occupational disease claims involving carpal tunnel syndrome and related hand conditions. OWCP denied the later claim and then declined to change that decision on reconsideration. The Board found that the earlier claim file was missing from the record before it, although…
R.W. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA
R.W. and Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (ECAB 21-1025): Overpayment recovery and deduction rate upheld
A Navy shipyard employee received FECA wage loss compensation while also receiving Social Security retirement benefits partly based on federal service. An earlier Board decision upheld the $69,177.66 overpayment but found that he was not at fault, requiring OWCP to consider waiver. On remand, OWCP…
A.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Newark, NJ
A.O. and the Newark Post Office (ECAB 21-0968): Wrist injury claim denial upheld
A postal carrier reported that a large parcel slipped while she was moving it, bending her right wrist backward. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the injury claim for lack of medical evidence connecting a diagnosed wrist condition to it. The Board found that the physician's…
E.G. and Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Logistics Base, Barstow, CA
E.G. and Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow (ECAB 20-1029): Emotional condition claim remanded
A Navy management assistant claimed an emotional condition after a threat and harassment at work. She also described incidents she associated with a dispute over union finances. OWCP denied the claim, finding no compensable work factor. The Board found two established factors: a credible written…
T.B. and Department of Justice, U.S. Marshals Service, Arlington, VA
T.B. and the U.S. Marshals Service (ECAB 20-0158): Disfigurement award and hearing denials upheld
A U.S. Marshals Service inspector sought a schedule award after an accepted work injury lacerated his lower lip. OWCP asked for medical evidence and photographs to assess permanent impairment or facial disfigurement, but he did not submit the requested evidence. The Board upheld the award denial…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2324 and United States Department of the Army, Directorate of Public Works, Fort Riley, Kansas
Fort Riley Public Works and AFGE Local 2324 (FLRA 0-AR-5741): Authority dismisses removal exceptions
Fort Riley removed a maintenance worker for conduct unbecoming a federal employee, including misleading leave requests and inaccurate information during a management inquiry. An arbitrator found the grievance arbitrable, held a merits hearing, and sustained the removal. AFGE Local 2324 filed…
P.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Bulk Mail Center, Jacksonville, FL
P.B. and the Jacksonville Bulk Mail Center (ECAB 21-1242): Appeal dismissed for lack of a reviewable decision
A postal worker appealed what he identified as a July 14, 2021 OWCP decision. The Board found that OWCP's letter of that date only explained his appeal options and sought his choice of how to proceed. It was not a final adverse decision the Board could review. The last such OWCP decision was issued…
A.H. and Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau MCA Regional Office New York, New York, NY
A.H. and the Census Bureau New York office (ECAB 21-1220): Fall injury claim denial upheld
A Census Bureau clerk slipped on ice while placing a notice on a door and reported right knee and arm symptoms. OWCP accepted that the fall occurred but denied the claim for lack of medical evidence establishing an injury caused by it. The Board found that medical reports diagnosing knee pain…
G.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Birmingham, AL
G.R. and the Birmingham Post Office (ECAB 21-1195): Back injury claim remanded for causation review
A postal carrier reported back pain after bending for packages and turning as she left her delivery vehicle. OWCP accepted the April 2020 incident but later denied the claim on the ground that the record lacked a medical diagnosis connected to it. The Board found that several physicians had…
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Merchandise Mart Post Office, Chicago, IL
M.B. and the Merchandise Mart Post Office (ECAB 21-0060): Impairment award claim remanded again
A postal carrier who had prior awards for right and left leg impairment sought an increased schedule award. OWCP denied it after a district medical adviser compared a current impairment estimate with the percentages already paid. The Board found that OWCP's statement of accepted facts did not…
R.L. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Puget Sound Health Clinic, Seattle, WA
R.L. and VA Puget Sound Health Clinic (ECAB 20-0098): Emotional condition claim remanded
A VA nurse acting as a union representative was directed out of an employee meeting, then escorted from the area by workplace police. She claimed that the incident caused an emotional condition. OWCP denied the claim without treating the incident as a compensable work factor. The Board found that…
Secretary of Labor v. Northshore Mining Company
Missed electrical grounding tests draw $530 penalty
Northshore Mining Company processes taconite into iron pellets at its Minnesota mine site. MSHA cited Northshore because it had not performed required annual continuity and resistance tests on the grounding systems for six conveyors, two surface water pumps, and two counterweight hoists. Judge…
G.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Birmingham, AL
G.R. and the Birmingham Post Office (ECAB 21-1196): Separate back injury claim denial upheld
A postal carrier claimed that a chair moved and dropped while she was answering telephones at work, worsening her back condition. OWCP accepted the September 2020 incident but denied the claim for lack of a medical link to a diagnosed condition. The Board found that one doctor's opinion that an…
C.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Evansville Post Office, Evansville, WI
C.M. and the Evansville Post Office (ECAB 21-1077): Increased shoulder impairment award denied
A postal carrier with an accepted left shoulder condition had already received schedule awards totaling 21 percent permanent impairment of her left arm. She sought an increased award after her physician described 30 percent disability under state workers' compensation guidance. The Board found that…
E.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Far Rockaway Post Office, Far Rockaway, NY
E.J. and the Far Rockaway Post Office (ECAB 21-1044): Hip claim remanded to combine files
A postal carrier with an accepted left hip injury reported renewed disability after returning to work. OWCP treated his filing as a new occupational disease claim and denied it, while his doctor linked the hip condition to the earlier accepted injury. The Board found that the two left hip claim…
P.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Oklahoma City, OK
P.H. and the Oklahoma City Post Office (ECAB 21-0945): Appeal dismissed after OWCP decision voided
A postal worker appealed OWCP's December 2020 denial of reconsideration. OWCP had issued that decision in response to an earlier Board remand. The Board later declared its earlier decision void and reissued a ruling that the worker's reconsideration request had been timely. Because that left OWCP…
F.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
F.G. and the Brooklyn Post Office (ECAB 21-0422): COVID-19 claim remanded for benefits decision
A postal worker appealed OWCP's denial of a claim that he contracted COVID-19 after an accepted work exposure. During the appeal, OWCP's Director moved to remand, acknowledging that the worker was covered under the American Rescue Plan Act and entitled to appropriate FECA benefits. The Board…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Shield-pin and mine-map citations modified
CONSOL Pennsylvania Coal Company operates the Enlow Fork underground coal mine in Pennsylvania. The company conceded that four longwall shields were missing keeper pins, but Judge Jacqueline R. Bulluck found that the Secretary did not prove the missing pins were reasonably likely to let…
Charles Thompson and Eric Dupree v. Resource Consultants, SERCO Incorporated, and their carriers
Thompson fee appeals (BRB 21-0407 and 21-0573): agreement upheld, fee petition returned
Charles Thompson settled a Defense Base Act injury claim, and his former lawyer Eric Dupree later disputed how attorney fees should be handled. The Board upheld a judge's approval of an agreement under which Thompson's later lawyer would pay Dupree Law $18,750 from a previously awarded $25,000 fee…
Kimberly Duvall (Widow of Edward Duvall) v. Mi-Tech, Incorporated and The McHenry Management Group, Incorporated
Duvall v. Mi-Tech (BRB 21-0423 and 21-0440): Navy ship overhaul covered by Defense Base Act
Edward Duvall died after a heart attack while working on an overhaul of a U.S. Navy ship at a Croatian shipyard. His widow sought death benefits under the Defense Base Act, but an administrative law judge found that the project was outside the Act’s coverage. The Board held that overhauling the…
Kimberly Duvall (Widow of Edward Duvall) v. Mi-Tech, Incorporated and The McHenry Management Group, Incorporated
Duvall v. Mi-Tech (BRB 21-0423 and 21-0440): Navy ship overhaul covered by Defense Base Act
Edward Duvall died after a heart attack while working on an overhaul of a U.S. Navy ship at a Croatian shipyard. His widow sought death benefits under the Defense Base Act, but an administrative law judge found that the project was outside the Act’s coverage. The Board held that overhauling the…
Charles Thompson and Eric Dupree v. Resource Consultants, SERCO Incorporated, and their carriers
Thompson fee appeals (BRB 21-0407 and 21-0573): agreement upheld, fee petition returned
Charles Thompson settled a Defense Base Act injury claim, and his former lawyer Eric Dupree later disputed how attorney fees should be handled. The Board upheld a judge's approval of an agreement under which Thompson's later lawyer would pay Dupree Law $18,750 from a previously awarded $25,000 fee…
Mary Lou Smithbower v. Tanoma Mining Company, Incorporated and State Workers' Insurance Fund
Smithbower v. Tanoma Mining (BRB 21-0268 BLA): survivor benefits denial affirmed
Mary Lou Smithbower sought survivor benefits after the death of her husband, who had worked more than 26 years in underground coal mines. The judge found that he had pneumoconiosis but that the evidence did not establish total respiratory disability or that the disease caused or hastened his death…
Al Edward Branham v. Clinchfield Coal Company
Branham v. Clinchfield Coal (BRB 21-0208 BLA): miner benefits affirmed after remand
Al Edward Branham had worked 25.9 years in underground coal mines. After an earlier appeal, the judge reexamined chest x-rays and other medical evidence and again found that he had complicated pneumoconiosis arising from coal mine work. That finding triggered an irrebuttable presumption of total…
Ricky W. Murphy v. Clinchfield Coal Company
Murphy v. Clinchfield Coal (BRB 21-0145 BLA): miner benefits affirmed after remand
Ricky Murphy sought benefits for complicated pneumoconiosis after at least 15 years of coal mine work. Following an earlier Board remand, the judge reconsidered conflicting chest x-rays and CT scans and again found complicated pneumoconiosis arising from coal mine employment. Clinchfield Coal…
Donald L. Addison v. Jewell Ridge Mining Corporation and Pittston Company, HealthSmart Casualty Claims Solutions
Addison v. Jewell Ridge Mining (BRB 21-0135 BLA): complicated pneumoconiosis issue returned to judge
Donald Addison sought black lung benefits after more than 27 years of underground coal mine work. The judge denied his claim, finding no complicated pneumoconiosis and no totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board upheld the disability finding, which prevented Addison from using the…
Clarence D. Reed v. Twentymile Coal Company and Underwriters Safety & Claims
Reed v. Twentymile Coal (BRB 21-0081 BLA): miner benefits affirmed
Clarence Reed had at least 31 years of underground coal mine work and a totally disabling breathing impairment, triggering a presumption that pneumoconiosis caused his disability. Twentymile Coal argued that cigarette smoking alone caused his lung disease and challenged how the judge assessed his…
Clyde Fannin v. Wescar Resources, Incorporated and West Virginia Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis Fund
Fannin v. Wescar Resources (BRB 21-0007 BLA): miner benefits affirmed after remand
Clyde Fannin sought benefits in a later claim after a prior denial. Following a Board remand, the judge again found that a valid pulmonary function study established total respiratory disability after 22.57 years of qualifying coal mine work. That finding triggered a presumption that pneumoconiosis…
Carlos E. Castle v. Price Coal Company, Incorporated and American Business & Mercantile Insurance
Castle v. Price Coal (BRB 20-0575 BLA): miner benefits affirmed without fifteen-year presumption
Carlos Castle had 14 years of coal mine work, leaving him short of the fifteen-year presumption, but the judge found direct proof that coal dust contributed to his disabling lung disease. Price Coal challenged the judge's appointment, a discovery ruling, and his assessment of the medical opinions…
Humbolt B. Pritt, III v. ICG Tygart Valley, LLC and Arch Coal Company, Incorporated
Pritt v. ICG Tygart Valley (BRB 20-0573 BLA): disability finding and benefits award returned to judge
Humbolt Pritt had 34 years of underground coal mine work, and a judge awarded him benefits after finding a totally disabling breathing impairment. The Board found that the pulmonary function study the judge treated as qualifying did not meet the required FEV1 value, even though another measure was…
Ricky L. Newsome v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs
Newsome v. Director (BRB 20-0138 BLA): en banc reconsideration denied
Counsel for Ricky Newsome requested en banc reconsideration of an earlier Board decision in his black lung case. The Director opposed the request. A majority of the Board did not vote to vacate or modify its earlier decision, so the Board denied reconsideration. The order does not restate the…
Anderson D. Evans, Jr. v. Eighty-Four Mining Company and Consol Energy, Incorporated
Evans v. Eighty-Four Mining (BRB 20-0085 BLA): reconsideration denied
Eighty-Four Mining asked the Board to reconsider its earlier decision affirming a black lung benefits award to Anderson Evans. Neither Evans nor the Director filed a response. After reviewing the employer's arguments, no panel member voted to vacate or modify the earlier decision. The Board denied…
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.