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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United States Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Hospital Medical Center and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 0789
VA Hospital Medical Center and AFGE Local 0789 (FLRA 0-AR-5593): Authority upholds performance-case attorney fees
An arbitrator found that a VA medical center improperly lowered an employee's performance rating and ordered the rating changed to excellent. The Center then paid the $1,000 performance award associated with that rating, and the arbitrator later awarded $30,387.50 in attorney fees. The Authority…
N.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Shenandoah, PA
N.L. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 21-1131): Ankle recurrence claim needs a fuller medical opinion
A postal worker claimed that disability beginning in July 2018 recurred because of an accepted 2017 left ankle injury. OWCP denied the recurrence claim after obtaining a second opinion. The Board found that the second opinion doctor's answers about recurrence, aggravation, and the worker's later…
M.E. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Marion, IL
M.E. and Federal Bureau of Prisons (ECAB 21-1058): Shoulder impairment rating sent back for a fuller medical review
A federal correctional officer sought a larger schedule award for a left shoulder injury and complex regional pain syndrome. OWCP found 29 percent permanent impairment of his left upper extremity, including an additional 11 percent award based on an impartial medical examiner's report. The Board…
Y.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Merrifield, VA
Y.M. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 21-0995): Late reconsideration and knee impairment denials upheld
A postal worker with an accepted 1989 left knee injury challenged two OWCP decisions. His request to reconsider a denied recurrence claim arrived in 2020, more than a year after the Board's last decision on that claim in 2007. The Board found that the later medical evidence did not show clear error…
A.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Louis, MO
A.P. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 20-1668): Claim expansion denied for lack of a reasoned medical link
A postal carrier injured her right leg when she stepped into a hole at a customer's property. OWCP accepted an ankle sprain, a lower leg laceration, and cellulitis. She asked OWCP to add a low back injury, pelvic or hip problems, right leg pain, and a balance disorder to the claim. The Board found…
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Cleveland Post Office, Cleveland, OH
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 22-0359): Employee's withdrawal request ends Board appeal
A postal employee appealed an OWCP decision issued December 13, 2021. Before the Board ruled on that appeal, the employee asked to withdraw it. The Board granted the request and dismissed docket 22-0359. It made no ruling on the merits of the OWCP decision.
S.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Mount Washington Post Office, Baltimore, MD
S.C. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 21-1416): Tarsal tunnel claim lacked a medical explanation of work causation
A postal carrier attributed tarsal tunnel syndrome and foot pain to years of walking, standing, climbing stairs, and carrying mail. OWCP accepted her description of those work activities but denied the claim because the medical evidence did not establish that they caused a diagnosed condition. Her…
M.S. and Department of the Air Force, 99th Medical Group, Nellis Air Force Base, NV
M.S. and Department of the Air Force (ECAB 21-1165): Reconsideration denial upheld without reopening injury claim
An Air Force nurse educator claimed that desk work aggravated her degenerative spine condition. OWCP had denied the occupational disease claim, and she asked it to reconsider. The Board reviewed only OWCP's later refusal to reopen the claim because her appeal did not bring the earlier merits…
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Ricon Station Post Office, Tucson, AZ
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 21-1087): Reconsideration denial set aside for omitted medical evidence
A postal carrier sought reconsideration after OWCP terminated compensation because it found she had refused suitable work. An earlier Board decision had upheld that termination. In the later reconsideration decision on appeal here, OWCP did not address medical evidence received after its original…
M.O. and Department of the Army, Brooke Army Medical Center, Houston, TX
M.O. and Department of the Army (ECAB 21-1068): Cart incident established, but no diagnosed injury linked to it
An Army practical nurse reported that a maintenance cart ran over her right foot at work. OWCP accepted that the incident happened but denied her claim for lack of a diagnosed injury connected to it. The Board found that the doctors' reports described foot or knee pain, swelling, and altered…
E.L. and Department of Labor, Office of Worker Safety, Health & Environment, Office of Audit, Dallas, TX
E.L. and Department of Labor (ECAB 21-0718): Timely reconsideration request requires a new OWCP decision
A Labor Department auditor with accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome sought to add trigger finger conditions to his injury claim. OWCP denied that expansion in January 2019 and denied modification of that decision in December 2019. He asked for reconsideration in November 2020, but OWCP said…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Tara Otten v. Continental Cement Company, LLC
Walkaround representative awarded lost upgrade pay
Tara Otten was a laborer and miners' representative at Continental Cement's Hannibal Underground Mine. While she accompanied MSHA inspectors, the company paid her regular laborer rate instead of the higher mobile-equipment rate she would have received under its seniority practices if she had…
Robin E. Bethany v. Omni Air International, Incorporated and Star Indemnity and Liability Company
Bethany v. Omni Air (BRB 21-0328): attorney fee rate returned for explanation
Robin Bethany settled a Defense Base Act injury claim against Omni Air, with attorney fees to be determined separately. Her lawyer challenged a district director's fee award based on three hours of work at $450 per hour. The Board upheld the reduction to three hours because the district director…
Frank Bennett, III v. Hyde Trucking Company, Incorporated and Old Republic Insurance Company
Bennett v. Hyde Trucking (BRB 21-0094 BLA): miner benefits denial affirmed
Frank Bennett sought black lung benefits after 13.5 years of coal mine work. The judge found that he had pneumoconiosis but did not have a totally disabling breathing impairment. She also found that the evidence did not establish complicated pneumoconiosis, and Bennett lacked the fifteen years…
Aaron D. Creech v. Sapphire Coal Company and Brickstreet Mutual Insurance
Creech v. Sapphire Coal (BRB 21-0062 BLA): miner benefits affirmed
Aaron Creech had 23 years of coal mine work, including at least 15 years underground. The judge found a totally disabling breathing impairment based on two qualifying and reliable pulmonary function studies and medical opinions. Sapphire Coal challenged the validity of those studies and the…
Stevie Helbert v. J K & G Coal Company and Old Republic Insurance Company
Helbert v. J K & G Coal (BRB 20-0564 BLA): miner benefits and operator liability affirmed
Stevie Helbert had between 9.13 and 13.1 years of coal mine work, so his claim was decided without the fifteen-year presumption. The judge found that coal dust contributed to his disabling lung condition and awarded benefits. J K & G Coal challenged the judge's appointment, argued a later employer…
Willie A. Sowards v. Trojan Mining, Incorporated, doing business as Sun Glo Coal Company, Incorporated, and Old Republic Insurance Company
Sowards v. Trojan Mining (BRB 18-0582 BLA): en banc reconsideration denied
Trojan Mining asked the Board to reconsider its earlier decision affirming Willie Sowards's black lung benefits award. The Board again rejected the employer's challenge to the judge's appointment and found its Affordable Care Act argument moot. It also upheld the finding that Sowards's later…
United States Department of the Air Force v. Administrator, Wage and Hour Division
United States Department of the Air Force v. Administrator (DOL ARB 2021-0071 and 2022-0001): training contract held subject to SCA
The Air Force contracted with FlightSafety Defense Corporation to develop and manufacture KC-46 training equipment and to provide classroom instruction, simulator training, maintenance, and related services. The Wage and Hour Administrator found that the hybrid contract's principal purpose was…
Figgins v. Grand Trunk Western Railroad Co.
Suspension and discharge affirmed
Grand Trunk Western Railroad suspended conductor Scott Figgins for 30 days after repeated absences and later discharged him following a workplace remark about killing someone. The ALJ found that some activity was protected or assumed it was protected, but also found that the railroad proved it…
A.H. and U.S. Postal Service, St. Petersburg Main Post Office, St. Petersburg, FL
Board dismisses St. Petersburg postal worker's late appeal (ECAB 22-0470)
A St. Petersburg postal worker appealed an August 9, 2021 OWCP nonmerit decision on February 9, 2022. The 180th day fell on a Saturday, extending the filing deadline to Monday, February 7. The Board found that the appeal was still late and that the worker had not documented compelling circumstances…
K.G. and Department of the Army, Corpus Christi Army Depot, Corpus Christi, TX
Board dismisses Army depot worker's late appeal (ECAB 22-0444)
An Army depot worker appealed a February 4, 2021 OWCP nonmerit decision on January 31, 2022. The Board found that the 180-day filing period had ended on August 3, 2021. The worker had not documented compelling circumstances for the late filing. The Board dismissed the appeal for lack of…
S.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Philadelphia Processing & Distribution Center, Philadelphia, PA
Board dismisses postal worker's appeal filed one day late (ECAB 22-0356)
A Philadelphia postal worker appealed a July 13, 2021 OWCP decision on January 11, 2022. The 180th day fell on a Sunday, so the filing deadline moved to Monday, January 10. The Board found that the appeal filed the following day was late and that the worker had not documented compelling…
M.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Casa Grande Station, Petaluma, CA
Board dismisses Casa Grande postal worker's appeal (ECAB 21-1343)
A postal worker appealed an August 23, 2021 OWCP benefits decision. The worker's counsel later asked the Board to dismiss the appeal. The Board granted that request and dismissed the appeal. It did not decide the merits of the OWCP decision.
J.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Charleston, WV
Board dismisses postal worker's appeal at counsel's request (ECAB 21-1114)
A postal worker appealed a June 23, 2021 OWCP nonmerit decision. The worker's counsel later asked that the appeal be dismissed. The Board granted the request and dismissed the appeal. It did not decide whether OWCP's decision was correct.
L.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Suring, WI
Board dismisses postal worker's appeal at counsel's request (ECAB 21-1089)
A postal worker appealed a March 22, 2021 OWCP benefits decision. The worker's counsel later asked the Board to dismiss the appeal. The Board granted the request and dismissed the appeal. It did not rule on the underlying benefits dispute.
P.S. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Border Patrol, Pine Valley, CA
Board dismisses Border Patrol worker's withdrawn appeal (ECAB 21-1061)
A Border Patrol worker appealed a June 25, 2021 OWCP benefits decision. The worker later asked to withdraw the appeal. The Board granted that request and dismissed the appeal. The order does not decide whether the underlying benefits decision was correct.
K.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital, Bedford, MA
Board upholds shoulder treatment denial and late hearing ruling (ECAB 21-1038)
A VA food service worker had an accepted right shoulder injury and two surgeries, then returned to full duty in 2019. She sought more shoulder treatment in 2021, but the Board found that her physician had not explained how the accepted injury caused the renewed need for care after her release from…
R.G and U.S. Postal Service, Brookline Post Office, Brookline, MA
Board orders new medical review of carrier's left knee claim (ECAB 21-0812)
A retired postal letter carrier claimed that years of walking, climbing, and carrying mail contributed to left knee arthritis. His treating physician supported a work connection, while another examiner disagreed. OWCP relied on an impartial examiner who attributed the arthritis to an inherited…
L.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Burlingame, CA
Postal worker's overpayment upheld, repayment deduction reversed (ECAB 21-0455)
A postal worker received workers' compensation and Social Security retirement benefits tied to her federal service at the same time. The Board upheld OWCP's overpayment finding and its denial of a waiver because she had not supplied documents supporting her reported income, expenses, and assets. It…
Miller Insulation Co., Inc.
Mezzanine fall citation vacated
A Miller Insulation employee fell from an unprotected mezzanine edge onto the floor below and later died. OSHA cited the company under a general-industry fall standard and, in the alternative, a construction fall-protection standard. The judge found that the general-industry standard did not apply…
N.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Kansas City Processing & Distribution Center/Facility, Kansas City, MO
Board upholds denial of mail handler's repetitive motion claim (ECAB 21-1133)
A Kansas City mail handler attributed carpal tunnel syndrome, a trigger thumb, and elbow symptoms to years of repetitive gripping, grasping, pushing, and pulling at work. OWCP accepted her description of those work duties but denied the claim for lack of medical proof of causation. The Board found…
F.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Mail Processing & Distribution Center, Capital Heights, MD
Board again denies custodian's 2018 disability recurrence claim (ECAB 21-0955)
A postal custodian claimed that an accepted left foot condition kept her from working beginning July 18, 2018. The Board had previously found the medical record insufficient to link that period of disability to the accepted injury. After OWCP reconsidered the claim, the worker submitted more…
K.R. and Department of the Interior, Great Onyx Job Corps, Mammoth Cave National Park, Mammoth Cave, KY
Board keeps five percent arm impairment award for finger injury (ECAB 21-0247)
A Job Corps carpenter injured his right index and middle fingers in a table saw accident in 1979. OWCP later awarded 15.6 weeks of compensation for five percent permanent impairment of his right upper extremity. The Board reviewed a more recent finger examination and agreed that the range of motion…
R.D. and U.S. Postal Service, White Hall Post Office, White Hall, AR
Board directs OWCP to seek employer response to postal worker's stress claim (ECAB 21-0050)
A postal letter carrier claimed that required overtime and other workplace actions caused stress-related conditions. OWCP asked the Postal Service to address her allegations, but received no response and then denied the claim for lack of an established compensable work factor. The Board found that…
J.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Lyons VA Medical Center, Lyons, NJ
Board orders combined review of VA worker's back injury files (ECAB 20-0823)
A VA human resources worker claimed a back and wrist injury after an elevator abruptly stopped or dropped. OWCP denied the claim for lack of a medical connection to the incident, but the worker also had an earlier accepted claim for a low back strain. The Board found that OWCP had not combined the…
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-AR-5717): Authority upholds weekend tool-crib practice
The Army stopped routinely scheduling weekend overtime for tool-crib attendants when there was too little crib work to justify the assignment. Production employees already working overtime instead retrieved their own needed parts, while attendants were still scheduled when sufficient crib work…
United States Department of the Army, U.S. Army Dental Activity, Fort Jackson, South Carolina and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1214
Fort Jackson Dental Activity and NFFE Local 1214 (FLRA 0-AR-5659): Authority bars institutional pay grievance
NFFE Local 1214 filed a grievance seeking FLSA redesignations, backpay, overtime, and liquidated damages for groups of current and former Fort Jackson Dental Activity employees. An arbitrator found the matter arbitrable under the contract's institutional union-grievance procedure. The Authority…
Matter of T-C-A-
Terminated asylee status barred adjustment under section 209(b)
The Board reviewed an Albanian respondent's challenge after the Department of Homeland Security terminated his asylee status based on aggravated-felony convictions. The Board held that an applicant for adjustment under section 209(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act must still possess asylee…
Kanova Sue Kingsley v. KC Rogers Coal Company, Incorporated, and American Business & Mercantile Insurance Mutual, Incorporated
Kingsley v. KC Rogers Coal Company (BRB 21-0219 BLA): survivor benefits affirmed
Kanova Sue Kingsley sought survivor benefits after the death of her husband, a coal miner with 15.42 years of underground work. The judge found no totally disabling respiratory impairment, so the fifteen-year presumption of death due to pneumoconiosis did not apply. The judge instead found that the…
Lloyd David Mills v. Mountaineer Coal Development and West Virginia Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis Fund
Mills v. Mountaineer Coal Development (BRB 21-0209 BLA): miner benefits affirmed
Lloyd David Mills sought black lung benefits in a subsequent claim after a prior denial. The judge found that two newer pulmonary function studies established total respiratory disability and that Mills had enough qualifying coal mine employment to invoke the fifteen-year presumption. The employer…
Gary R. Stinson v. Harold Keene Coal Company, Incorporated, and Chartis Casualty Company
Stinson v. Harold Keene Coal Company (BRB 21-0195 BLA): benefits award sent back for mine work calculation
Gary R. Stinson sought black lung benefits based on a disabling respiratory impairment and qualifying coal mine work. The judge used the district director's finding of seventeen years of mine employment to apply the fifteen-year presumption, then awarded benefits. The Board held that Stinson bore…
Homer J. Starr v. Island Creek Coal Company
Starr v. Island Creek Coal Company (BRB 21-0165 BLA): benefits award sent back for medical evidence review
Homer J. Starr sought black lung benefits in a subsequent claim after years of underground coal mine work. The judge found a disabling respiratory impairment and applied the fifteen-year presumption. The Board upheld her decision to let the employer respond to a late medical report without ordering…
Kermit Pipher v. Mountain Coal Company, LLC, and Underwriter Safety and Claims
Pipher v. Mountain Coal Company (BRB 20-0560 and 21-0163 BLA): benefits and attorney fee affirmed
Kermit Pipher received black lung benefits after the judge found 31 years of underground coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The employer challenged the judge's authority, its failure to rebut the fifteen-year presumption, and the attorney fee order. The Board rejected…
Joe F. Harrison v. Coastal Coal Company, LLC
Harrison v. Coastal Coal Company (BRB 21-0130 BLA): benefits and start date affirmed
Joe F. Harrison sought black lung benefits after 24.54 years of underground coal mine work. The judge found total respiratory disability, applied the fifteen-year presumption, and awarded benefits from the month Harrison filed his claim. The Board upheld her review of pulmonary function studies and…
Mary Graham, on behalf of Donald D. Graham, v. Premium Processing Incorporated and West Virginia Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis Fund
Graham v. Premium Processing (BRB 21-0096 BLA): miner benefits affirmed
Mary Graham pursued her late husband's miner claim after the judge awarded black lung benefits under the fifteen-year presumption. The judge had found 24.54 years of qualifying coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The carrier argued that its medical evidence ruled out coal…
Don Jones v. Queen Anne Coal Company and Old Republic Insurance Company
Jones v. Queen Anne Coal Company (BRB 21-0005 BLA): miner benefits affirmed on direct proof
Don Jones had eight years and ten months of coal mine employment, too little to invoke the fifteen-year presumption. The judge instead found that he directly proved legal pneumoconiosis, total respiratory disability, and causation. The Board rejected the employer's challenges to the judge's…
Kermit Pipher v. Mountain Coal Company, LLC, and Underwriter Safety and Claims
Pipher v. Mountain Coal Company (BRB 20-0560 and 21-0163 BLA): benefits and attorney fee affirmed
Kermit Pipher received black lung benefits after the judge found 31 years of underground coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The employer challenged the judge's authority, its failure to rebut the fifteen-year presumption, and the attorney fee order. The Board rejected…
Carol Eppley, on behalf of and widow of Virgil E. Eppley, v. Central Ohio Coal Company
Eppley v. Central Ohio Coal Company (BRB 20-0415 and 20-0416 BLA): motion to publish denied
The Director of the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs asked the Board to publish its August 31, 2021 decision in the Eppley claims. No party responded to the request. The Board considered the decision and the Director's arguments, then denied the motion to publish. The order addresses…
Carol Eppley, on behalf of and widow of Virgil E. Eppley, v. Central Ohio Coal Company
Eppley v. Central Ohio Coal Company (BRB 20-0415 and 20-0416 BLA): motion to publish denied
The Director of the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs asked the Board to publish its August 31, 2021 decision in the Eppley claims. No party responded to the request. The Board considered the decision and the Director's arguments, then denied the motion to publish. The order addresses…
William M. Matney v. Youngs Branch Coal Company, Incorporated, and Sun Coal Company, Incorporated
Matney v. Youngs Branch Coal Company (BRB 20-0341 BLA): benefits upheld, Trust Fund assigned payment
William M. Matney received black lung benefits after the judge found he was totally disabled by legal pneumoconiosis. The Board upheld the benefits finding based on medical evidence even though his 11.4 years of mine work did not qualify him for the fifteen-year presumption. It found the judge had…
Alma Watts v. B & B Coal Sales, Incorporated, and Bitco General Insurance Corporation
Watts v. B & B Coal Sales (BRB 20-0280 BLA): employer reconsideration denied
B & B Coal Sales and its carrier asked the Board to reconsider its July 29, 2021 decision in Alma Watts's black lung claim. No member of the panel voted to vacate or modify that decision. The Board denied the motion, leaving its earlier decision in place. The official PDF prints February 24, 2021…
Ronnie Holland v. Flatwoods Coal Company
Holland v. Flatwoods Coal Company (BRB 20-0174 BLA): employer reconsideration denied
Flatwoods Coal Company and its carrier asked the Board to reconsider its June 28, 2021 decision affirming Ronnie Holland's benefits award. Holland opposed the motion. After reviewing the employer's arguments, no panel member voted to vacate or modify the earlier decision. The Board denied…
S.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington VA Medical Center, Washington, DC
Board orders notice to VA worker about wage loss evidence (ECAB 21-1171)
A VA nursing assistant sought wage loss compensation for time off after an accepted injury involving his thumb, back, head, and rib. OWCP denied payment for March 11 through 26, 2019, citing insufficient medical evidence. The Board found that OWCP had requested information from the employer but had…
T.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center/Facility, Roanoke, VA
Board upholds denial of postal worker's cervical condition claim (ECAB 21-0935)
A postal distribution worker attributed a cervical spine condition and left-side symptoms to repeated lifting, pulling, bending, and twisting at work. Her doctor described the work and diagnosed a cervical condition, but the Board found that he did not explain how those duties caused or aggravated…
R.J. and Department of the Army, Tank Automotive & Armaments Command, Anniston Army Depot, Anniston, AL
Board keeps four percent hearing loss award for Army crane operator (ECAB 21-0781)
An Army depot crane operator had accepted work-related hearing loss and tinnitus after years of noise exposure. He previously received schedule awards totaling four percent binaural hearing loss and sought a larger award. The Board accepted the medical adviser's calculation of 0.9 percent binaural…
S.B. and U.S. Goverment
Board dismisses appeal opened under wrong OWCP file number (ECAB 21-0391)
The Board's clerk assigned a docket number to a purported appeal using the wrong OWCP file number. The Board found that no person affected by a final OWCP decision, and no authorized representative, had filed an appeal in that matter. It dismissed the docket because there was no valid appeal to…
K.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Edison, NJ
Board reverses termination of postal worker's injury benefits (ECAB 21-0104)
A postal mail handler received wage loss and medical benefits after a 2005 fall on wet stairs. OWCP ended those benefits based on a second opinion physician's conclusion that the accepted conditions had resolved. The Board found that OWCP gave that physician an incomplete statement of accepted…
S.V. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Charlotte, NC
Board finds airport shuttle incident within TSA worker's duty (ECAB 20-1586)
A TSA officer reported neck, arm, and back injuries when an airport employee shuttle bus braked suddenly after her shift. OWCP denied the claim because the bus and parking lot belonged to the city and it viewed the trip as outside her work duties. The Board found that TSA provided free parking in…
J.M. and Department of the Air Force, Air Education and Training Command, Randolph Air Force Base, Joint Base San Antonio, TX
Board upholds overpayment but remands waiver decision (ECAB 21-1253)
An Air Force carpenter received FECA wage loss benefits while also receiving Social Security retirement benefits partly based on federal service. The Board upheld OWCP's finding that the unoffset overlap created a $25,976.56 overpayment for August 2013 through February 2021. OWCP had denied a…
J.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Grand Rapids, MI
Board upholds denial of carrier's worsened ankle claim (ECAB 21-0933)
A postal letter carrier said his left ankle symptoms worsened after his work hours and time on his feet increased. OWCP treated the filing as a new occupational disease claim because it alleged exposure over more than one workday, rather than a recurrence of the earlier accepted ankle injury. The…
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.