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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Y.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Cathedral Station Post Office, New York, NY
Board upholds denial of carrier's knee disability recurrence (ECAB 21-0842)
A postal carrier had an accepted right knee injury from a 2011 fall and later worked in a light duty position. She claimed a new period of disability beginning in February 2020. Her physician attributed the knee's deterioration partly to additional work activity beginning in 2016. The Board found…
F.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, DeSoto, MO
Board upholds postal overpayment but reverses recovery rate (ECAB 21-0680)
A postal worker received FECA wage loss benefits and Social Security retirement benefits partly based on federal service at the same time. The Board upheld OWCP's $2,299.34 overpayment finding and its denial of a waiver because the worker did not submit the requested financial questionnaire or…
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Mail Processing & Distribution Center, Trenton, NJ
Board dismisses Trenton postal worker's late appeal (ECAB 21-0541)
A Trenton postal worker appealed an August 14, 2020 OWCP decision on February 12, 2021. The Board found that the 180-day appeal period ended February 10. A representative had reported trouble accessing the law practice's login.gov account, but the record did not show that the required appeal…
C.M., claiming as representative of the estate of M.C., and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Brockton, MA
Board remands life insurance premium debt claims against estate (ECAB 21-0059)
A postal worker's estate faced two OWCP overpayment claims totaling $27,188.09 for life insurance premiums that had not been withheld from his compensation. OWCP demanded repayment from the estate after the worker died. The Board found that OWCP had not shown it followed its required procedure for…
N.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Islandia, NY
Board upholds denial of mail handler's hernia claim (ECAB 21-1311)
A postal mail handler reported pelvic area pain while unloading a truck and was later diagnosed with an abdominal hernia. OWCP accepted that the May 12, 2021 work incident occurred but denied the injury claim for lack of medical proof that it caused the hernia. The Board found that the diagnosing…
P.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Milwaukee, WI
Board recognizes carrier's foot contusion and orders payment review (ECAB 21-1085)
A Milwaukee postal carrier said she injured her right foot after stepping on a pipe while delivering mail. OWCP accepted the incident but denied the claim because it found the medical evidence insufficient to connect a contusion to the event. The Board held that the physician's contusion diagnosis…
S.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Little Rock, AR
Board upholds denial of mail clerk's injury claim for lack of incident detail (ECAB 21-1039)
A mail processing clerk claimed bilateral carpal tunnel symptoms from repetitive work. She filed a traumatic injury claim but did not describe a particular event or explain the repetitive tasks alleged to have caused the injury. OWCP asked her for a detailed factual account, and she did not…
D.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Brunswick, NJ
Board upholds denial of expanded neck claim and benefit termination (ECAB 21-1029)
A postal inspector received compensation after an on-duty vehicle collision in 2000 caused an accepted cervical strain and concussion. Years later, she sought to add degenerative spine conditions and radiculopathy to the claim and challenged OWCP's termination of benefits. The Board found her…
W.S. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Honolulu, HI
Board upholds denial of wage loss for TSA screener (ECAB 21-0257)
A transportation security screener sought wage-loss compensation after OWCP accepted his claim for a lumbar sprain and right forearm strain or sprain. He claimed disability from work beginning January 5, 2020. His physician submitted work excuses, checked forms, and discussed additional back and…
T.L. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Kahului, HI
Board upholds denial of additional conditions after TSA officer's fall (ECAB 21-0224)
A transportation security officer fell down stairs at work, and OWCP accepted several left arm, shoulder, hip, and thigh injuries. She sought to add cervical conditions and left carpal tunnel syndrome to her claim. OWCP had already added an aggravation of a left rotator cuff tear, but denied the…
84 Lumber Company, dba 84 Lumber Company, a Limited Partnership
Suspended-load citation vacated
An 84 Lumber forklift operator was repositioning a suspended bundle of wood when a contract truck driver unexpectedly ran beneath it. The bundle became unstable, fell, and killed the driver. OSHA cited 84 Lumber under a standard stating that no person may be allowed to stand or pass beneath the…
J.W. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Austin, TX
Board orders new medical review of IRS examiner's wage-loss claim (ECAB 20-0382)
An IRS tax examiner sought wage-loss compensation for a period from December 2011 through January 2016. Her claim included accepted physical and emotional conditions. OWCP treated a psychiatrist's report as an impartial opinion against disability. The Board found that the psychiatrist was only a…
J.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brick, NJ
Board reverses withdrawal of postal worker's knee surgery authorization (ECAB 21-0912)
A postal letter carrier injured his right knee at work, and OWCP authorized another arthroscopic surgery in February 2020. The surgery was delayed during the COVID-19 pandemic. After a medical adviser questioned its necessity, OWCP denied authorization and a hearing representative upheld that…
G.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Grand Shelby Station, Detroit, MI
Board upholds refusal to reopen postal worker's schedule award claim (ECAB 21-0863)
A retired postal carrier sought a schedule award after OWCP accepted a lumbar strain claim. OWCP denied the award because it lacked medical evidence of permanent impairment. The carrier then asked OWCP to reconsider, explaining that the COVID-19 pandemic had prevented him from getting a physical…
E.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, White River Junction, VT
Board upholds denial of postal clerk's shoulder disease claim (ECAB 21-1117)
A postal processing clerk claimed that work overuse caused a right shoulder condition. OWCP asked her to describe the specific work activities she believed caused it and to provide medical evidence. She did not return the requested factual account. The Board held that her general description of…
D.F. and Department of the Interior, Colorado River Agency, Parker, AZ
Board finds workplace nail incident occurred and orders injury review (ECAB 21-0825)
A maintenance mechanic said he stepped on a nail at work but did not feel it because of diabetic neuropathy. He later developed a serious left foot infection and underwent surgery, including removal of two toes. OWCP doubted that the incident happened at work and denied the claim. The Board found…
D.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Salem, IN
Board upholds denial of postal carrier's knee disability wage loss (ECAB 21-0076)
A postal letter carrier sought wage-loss compensation after OWCP accepted right knee osteoarthritis related to his work. He claimed disability for a period ending when he retired in May 2019. His orthopedic surgeon described severe arthritis and said the carrier could not return to a job requiring…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Breaker label and flooded bleeder citations upheld
CONSOL Pennsylvania Coal Company operates the Enlow Fork underground coal mine in Pennsylvania. MSHA cited the mine because two adjacent high-voltage circuit breakers carried the same equipment label, creating a risk that a miner could deenergize the wrong continuous miner before working on…
Donald M. Kunselman v. Rosebud Mining Company and Rockwood Casualty Insurance Company
Kunselman v. Rosebud Mining Company (BRB 21-0221 BLA): benefits denial sent back for disability review
Donald M. Kunselman sought black lung benefits after 41 years of coal mine work. The judge found he had pneumoconiosis but denied benefits because the evidence did not establish total respiratory disability. The Board found that the judge had identified Kunselman's usual job as purchasing agent but…
Ronnie Varney v. Cheyenne Enterprise Incorporated and American International South
Varney v. Cheyenne Enterprise (BRB 21-0194 BLA): benefits affirmed for complicated pneumoconiosis
Ronnie Varney filed a subsequent black lung claim after 24 years of underground coal mine work. The judge found complicated pneumoconiosis based on x-rays, supported by CT scans and medical opinions, and awarded benefits. The employer disputed how the judge weighed conflicting x-ray readings. The…
Donald R. Brown v. Centre Crown Mining, LLC, and Argonaut Great Central Insurance Company
Brown v. Centre Crown Mining (BRB 21-0010 BLA): benefits denial sent back for disability review
Donald R. Brown sought black lung benefits after at least 30 years of underground mine work. The judge denied the claim because she found no totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board found that she had failed to address one pulmonary function study, had incorrectly described the evidence…
Frank Scott Lake v. Black Mountain Coal Mining Company, Incorporated, and Liberty Mutual
Lake v. Black Mountain Coal Mining (BRB 21-0009 BLA): benefits affirmed after remand
Frank Scott Lake pursued a subsequent black lung claim after 13 years of coal mine work, too little to use the fifteen-year presumption. On remand, the judge found he directly proved disability due to legal pneumoconiosis. The Board agreed that she had improperly admitted one doctor's reports as…
Carl R. Sowders v. Tennco, Incorporated, and American Mining Insurance Company
Sowders v. Tennco (BRB 21-0006 BLA): benefits affirmed under fifteen-year presumption
Carl R. Sowders sought black lung benefits in a subsequent claim after 26.72 years of underground coal mine work. The judge found total respiratory disability based on pulmonary function studies and medical opinions, then applied the fifteen-year presumption. The employer challenged the disability…
Freda F. Reed, on behalf of and widow of Cecil Luke Reed, v. L & M Coal Company and West Virginia Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis Fund
Reed v. L & M Coal Company (BRB 20-0571 and 20-0572 BLA): miner and survivor denials sent back
Freda Reed appealed the denial of modification in her late husband's miner claim and the denial of her own survivor claim. The Board found that the judge should have reconsidered the miner's years of coal mine work and had overlooked relevant treatment evidence when assessing complicated…
Freda F. Reed, on behalf of and widow of Cecil Luke Reed, v. L & M Coal Company and West Virginia Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis Fund
Reed v. L & M Coal Company (BRB 20-0571 and 20-0572 BLA): miner and survivor denials sent back
Freda Reed appealed the denial of modification in her late husband's miner claim and the denial of her own survivor claim. The Board found that the judge should have reconsidered the miner's years of coal mine work and had overlooked relevant treatment evidence when assessing complicated…
Burt Lee Melton v. Scotts Branch Company, c/o MAPCO Coal, Incorporated, and Alliance Coal, LLC
Melton v. Scotts Branch Company (BRB 20-0523 BLA): benefits and payment start date affirmed
Burt Lee Melton sought black lung benefits after eleven and one-quarter years of coal mine work. The judge found that he directly proved legal pneumoconiosis and total respiratory disability caused by it, and awarded benefits from the month he filed. The Board upheld the designation of Scotts…
Gary D. Cole v. Consolidation Coal Company and CONSOL Energy, Incorporated
Cole v. Consolidation Coal Company (BRB 20-0402 BLA): benefits and August 2017 start date affirmed
Gary D. Cole received black lung benefits after CT scans showed complicated pneumoconiosis. The employer argued that Cole had to pursue federal employee compensation first because he later worked as a federal mine inspector. The Board rejected that argument, upheld the judge's review of the CT…
V.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Diego, CA
Board orders hearing on postal worker's disputed overpayment (ECAB 21-0914)
OWCP preliminarily found that a postal worker had received $63,119.26 in excess compensation because his Social Security retirement benefits had not been offset. He disputed the overpayment and requested a hearing on a form dated April 11, 2021. OWCP rejected the request as late. The Board found…
L.E. and Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Wingate Elementary School, Fort Wingate, NM
Board upholds denial of school assistant's back injury claim (ECAB 21-0847)
A school home living assistant reported back and leg pain at work and also described lifting and slipping episodes on several earlier dates. She claimed a traumatic injury on September 4, 2019, when her pain worsened, but did not identify a specific incident on that date. OWCP asked her to clarify…
E.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Terminal Annex Heliport, Los Angeles, CA
Board upholds denial of schedule award for psychiatric conditions (ECAB 21-0786)
A postal employee had accepted claims for a left forearm laceration and several psychiatric conditions after a 1975 workplace altercation. He later sought a schedule award and submitted a psychiatrist's report describing continuing psychiatric disability. The Board explained that FECA does not…
A.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Newark, NJ
Board orders medical review of postal carrier's back injury claim (ECAB 21-0656)
A postal carrier was rear-ended while delivering mail and claimed a back injury. OWCP accepted that the collision occurred but denied the claim for lack of sufficient medical proof linking it to a diagnosed condition. His treating physician described imaging findings and explained how the impact…
R.C. and Department of the Army, White Sands Missile Range, NM
Board orders reasoned ruling on late reconsideration request (ECAB 21-0466)
An Army water systems mechanic claimed a shoulder injury from unloading chlorine tablets at work. OWCP denied the claim, and she later requested reconsideration after the one-year deadline. The Board agreed that the request was late, which meant OWCP had to assess whether it showed clear evidence…
J.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Scarborough, ME
Board again orders merits decision on postal worker's thumb claim (ECAB 21-0226)
A postal mail handler claimed that repetitive work caused a left thumb tendon rupture. The Board had previously set aside an unsigned OWCP reconsideration decision and directed OWCP to issue a merits decision. OWCP instead issued another nonmerit ruling that his reconsideration request was late…
K.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Bulk Mail Center, Richmond, CA
Board upholds termination of postal worker's shoulder benefits (ECAB 21-0152)
A postal mail handler received compensation for accepted right shoulder conditions after a work injury and surgeries. OWCP terminated his wage-loss and medical benefits after a second opinion surgeon found no remaining objective residuals from the accepted conditions. The Board found that the…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Wilmington, CA
Board upholds refusal to reopen postal carrier's disability claim (ECAB 20-1648)
A postal worker sought compensation for renewed disability after an accepted neck and back injury. OWCP denied his recurrence claim, finding no proof that his accepted conditions had worsened enough to disable him. He requested reconsideration and submitted later reports from his treating…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Absecon, NJ
Board dismisses appeal from an informational OWCP call (ECAB 21-1175)
A postal worker sought Board review of what he described as a July 8, 2021 OWCP decision. The record showed that OWCP had made an informational telephone call that day, advising him about appeal rights. The Board held that the call was not a final adverse decision it could review and dismissed this…
P.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Phoenix, AZ
Board upholds denial of carrier's reported fall during delivery (ECAB 21-0979)
A rural carrier associate said he fell into a hole in a customer's yard while delivering a package and injured his head and lower back. He reported the event more than a year later, and his employer disputed whether he had been injured at work. OWCP asked him for further details and supporting…
D.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Granbury Post Office, Granbury, TX
Board orders recalculation of postal carrier's retirement overpayment (ECAB 21-0905)
A postal rural carrier received FECA wage-loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits attributable in part to federal service. OWCP found a $25,534.45 overpayment and ordered deductions from continuing compensation. The Board agreed that a prohibited overlap had occurred, but found…
B.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Dedham Post Office, Dedham, MA
Board orders merits review after long delay on postal worker's request (ECAB 21-0901)
A postal letter carrier disputed decisions about schedule awards for impairment of his hips and legs. He requested reconsideration in March 2020. OWCP waited 361 days before denying merits review, although its procedures set a 90-day timeliness goal. The Board found that a timely response would…
E.I. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Oakland Park, IL
Board orders specialist review of IRS revenue officer's occupational claim (ECAB 21-0634)
An IRS revenue officer claimed that years of repetitive duties caused several joint and back conditions. OWCP denied her occupational disease claim for insufficient medical proof of causation. Her examining surgeon later explained possible mechanisms connecting walking, lifting, driving, and other…
L.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans’ Hospital, Columbia, MO
Board orders new impairment exam before deciding VA worker's overpayment (ECAB 21-0024)
A VA hospital cook received schedule awards for impairment of both legs after work-related conditions, including a right hip replacement. OWCP later found that it had overpaid the right leg award and set the left leg impairment at 20 percent. The Board found that the impartial examiner had not…
S.S. and Veterans Administration, VA Medical & Regional Office Center, Fargo, ND
Board orders reasoned review of VA worker's reconsideration request (ECAB 20-1351)
A VA housekeeper sought compensation for a claimed recurrence related to an accepted right foot stress fracture. OWCP denied the recurrence and later rejected her reconsideration request. The Board found that OWCP's short rejection did not discuss the evidence and arguments she submitted after the…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Juan Smitherman v. Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC
Retaliatory discharge finding requires reinstatement
Juan Smitherman was a senior roof bolter at Warrior Met's Mine No. 4, a mine subject to frequent methane spot inspections. He raised repeated safety concerns, including a complaint that roof bolting was about to occur without required ventilation controls, and asked to leave his supervisor's…
M.C. and Department of Defense, Defense Commissary Agency, Arnold Air Force Base, TN
Board orders new wage-loss decision after commissary job offer (ECAB 21-1153)
A defense commissary worker with an accepted finger injury claimed wage-loss compensation after declining a temporary modified job offer. OWCP denied compensation, but its hearing representative described the ruling as a termination of existing benefits. The Board found that OWCP needed to evaluate…
B.F. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Spokane, WA
Board orders merits review of border agent's impairment claim (ECAB 21-1088)
A border patrol agent had received a schedule award for right arm impairment after an earlier injury. After a later work injury, his surgeon calculated a higher combined impairment rating, but OWCP denied an increased award. The agent sought reconsideration, pointing out that OWCP's district…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Springfield, MA
Board upholds suspension of wage loss pending disclosure form (ECAB 21-1043)
A postal mail handler received wage-loss compensation for accepted back injuries. OWCP mailed him a Form CA-1032 seeking information about earnings, work, and other matters relevant to benefits, and warned that failure to return it would suspend payments. The record showed no response within the…
A.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Elkhorn, WI
Board upholds denial of continuation of pay after late written claim (ECAB 20-0942)
A postal employee hurt her back while handling a package at work, and OWCP accepted the injury claim. She requested continuation of pay, which requires a written claim within 30 days of injury. She said she had promptly told her supervisor, who acknowledged that he failed to enter the report on…
T.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Gatlinburg Post Office, Gatlinburg, TN
Board upholds $32,318.44 benefit overpayment and recovery plan (ECAB 21-0946)
A retired postal carrier received wage-loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits at the same time without the required offset for federal service. OWCP recalculated the resulting overpayment as $32,318.44 after an earlier Board remand. The Board upheld that amount and accepted…
J.G. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, United States Penitentiary McCreary, Pine Knot, KY
Board remands correctional officer's knee injury claim for specialist review (ECAB 21-0651)
A correctional officer said his right knee gave out while he carried food trays upstairs at work. OWCP denied the claim, and the Board previously upheld an earlier denial for lack of medical proof connecting the knee condition to the incident. A physician then provided a more detailed explanation…
A.W. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Baltimore, MD
Board remands wage-loss claim but upholds schedule award and hearing denials (ECAB 21-0572)
An IRS customer service representative sought wage-loss compensation and a schedule award after a workplace fall injured her shoulder, knee, and hip. The Board found that OWCP failed to consider medical reports already in the record before denying wage loss for August 2 through September 13, 2019…
C.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Lauderridge Carrier Annex, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Board reverses termination of carrier's knee injury benefits (ECAB 21-0451)
A letter carrier received compensation for accepted left knee injuries after a fall at work. OWCP ended his wage-loss and medical benefits, relying on a second opinion physician who said the knee problems were preexisting and had resolved. The Board found that the physician had rejected accepted…
R.I. and U.S. Postal Service, Oshkosh Carrier Annex, Madison, WI
Board accepts rural carrier's described mail duties and remands hand condition claim (ECAB 20-1616)
A rural letter carrier claimed that years of sorting mail and opening mailboxes caused pain and numbness in his hands. OWCP denied the claim because it found the alleged work events unproven. The Board found his detailed account of sorting thousands of mail pieces and repeatedly handling mailboxes…
K.W. and Department of State, Atlanta Passport Agency, Atlanta, GA
Board reverses termination of passport specialist's wage-loss benefits (ECAB 20-1591)
A passport specialist received wage-loss compensation after slipping at work and sustaining accepted neck and back strains. OWCP ended the benefits after a second opinion physician said she could return to her four-hour work schedule. That physician also reported left knee symptoms suggesting…
S.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Little Rock Postal & Distribution Center, Little Rock, AR
Board upholds refusal to reopen postal worker's knee benefits claim (ECAB 20-0708)
A postal mail handler sought to reopen a claim after OWCP ended benefits for an accepted right knee strain. She argued that an OWCP field nurse had improperly contacted her physician without her present and submitted an addendum confirming the visit. The Board found that OWCP procedures allowed the…
R.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Royal Oak Post Office, Royal Oak, MI
Board upholds denial of bilateral foot condition claim (ECAB 20-0356)
A postal carrier technician reported foot pain after standing and walking at work without his usual floor mats. Physicians diagnosed flatfeet and plantar fasciitis. The Board found that opinions describing work as a possible cause, or checking a causation box without explanation, did not establish…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Cable violation upheld but S&S designation vacated
MSHA cited CONSOL Pennsylvania Coal Company after an inspector found cuts in an energized feeder cable at the Enlow Fork Mine. The Commission affirmed the judge's finding that the cable was not adequately insulated and fully protected, and it upheld moderate negligence. It vacated the significant…
Lutz v. New Cumberland Hospitality, Inc.
Withdrawn SOX appeal dismissed
An ALJ denied James Lutz's claim under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act's employee-protection provisions. Lutz petitioned the Board for review, then filed a written motion to withdraw that petition. The Board granted the withdrawal and dismissed the appeal. The order did not review the merits of the ALJ's…
J.G. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Pollock, LA
Board upholds five percent right leg impairment award (ECAB 21-1304)
A prison materials handler injured his right foot when an inmate's food cart struck him. After two earlier Board remands, OWCP obtained a new impairment evaluation for a fragmented sesamoid bone. The examiner rated the right lower extremity at five percent permanent impairment, and a medical…
V.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Lakeview Post Office, Chicago, IL
Board upholds $1,701.10 wage-loss overpayment and waiver denial (ECAB 21-1157)
A postal letter carrier received wage-loss compensation for an accepted hip condition. OWCP used a weekly pay rate of $1,238.71 for part of the period, but later determined that the correct rate was $1,151.13, creating a $1,701.10 overpayment. The Board upheld that calculation and agreed that she…
S.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Houston Texas Processing & Distribution Facility, North Houston, TX
Board upholds late reconsideration denial in mail clerk's back injury case (ECAB 21-1127)
A mail processing clerk had accepted thoracic and lumbar sprains after lifting a tray of mail. OWCP later denied compensation for a claimed period of disability and refused to add other conditions to the accepted claim. She sought reconsideration more than one year after OWCP's last merits…
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.