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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Anita K. Cordell, widow of and on behalf of Jackie Lee Cordell v. Shamrock Coal Company, Incorporated
Cordell v. Shamrock Coal Company (BRB 21-0126 and 21-0127 BLA): miner and survivor awards affirmed
Anita K. Cordell pursued her late husband's black lung benefits claim and her own survivor claim. He had fewer than 15 years of coal mine employment, so the judge decided entitlement without the fifteen-year presumption. The Board upheld the judge's reliance on Dr. Forehand's opinion that mine dust…
Anita K. Cordell, widow of and on behalf of Jackie Lee Cordell v. Shamrock Coal Company, Incorporated
Cordell v. Shamrock Coal Company (BRB 21-0126 and 21-0127 BLA): miner and survivor awards affirmed
Anita K. Cordell pursued her late husband's black lung benefits claim and her own survivor claim. He had fewer than 15 years of coal mine employment, so the judge decided entitlement without the fifteen-year presumption. The Board upheld the judge's reliance on Dr. Forehand's opinion that mine dust…
Noah N. Shepherd v. Director, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs
Shepherd v. Director, OWCP (BRB 21-0110 BLA): benefits denial partly vacated and remanded
Noah N. Shepherd appealed without counsel after a judge denied his black lung benefits claim. The Board found that the judge had considered too many X-ray interpretations when deciding whether Shepherd had complicated pneumoconiosis. After the employer was dismissed, the Director could exercise its…
Lenn C. Lengel v. Helvetia Coal Company and Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company
Lengel v. Helvetia Coal Company (BRB 21-0102 BLA): benefits award affirmed
Lenn C. Lengel had more than 16 years of underground coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The judge applied the fifteen-year presumption and awarded benefits. Helvetia Coal challenged only the finding that it had failed to rebut the presumption. The Board upheld the…
Marshall A. Teaster v. Mingo Logan Coal Company and West Virginia Coal Workers’ Pneumoconiosis Fund
Teaster v. Mingo Logan Coal Company (BRB 20-0433 and 21-0087 BLA): benefits and fee awards affirmed
Marshall A. Teaster filed a subsequent black lung benefits claim after a prior denial. The judge found complicated pneumoconiosis based chiefly on recent positive X-rays and applied the irrebuttable presumption of total disability due to pneumoconiosis. The employer challenged the judge's…
Peggy S. Dutton, widow of Harold D. Dutton v. Clinchfield Coal Company
Dutton v. Clinchfield Coal Company (BRB 21-0060 BLA): survivor benefits affirmed after remand
Peggy S. Dutton sought survivor benefits after the death of her husband, Harold D. Dutton. After an earlier remand, a judge found that autopsy evidence showed complicated pneumoconiosis and applied the irrebuttable presumption that his death was due to the disease. Clinchfield Coal challenged the…
Rodney L. Parks v. Hopkins County Coal, L.L.C., and Alliance Coal, L.L.C.
Parks v. Hopkins County Coal (BRB 21-0056 BLA): benefits award affirmed
The parties agreed that Rodney L. Parks had 34 years of underground coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The judge applied the fifteen-year presumption and awarded benefits. Hopkins County Coal argued that its physicians had disproved legal pneumoconiosis by attributing…
Lupe Martinez, widow of Joe L. Martinez v. Chevron and Broadspire/Crawford Services
Martinez v. Chevron (BRB 21-0049 BLA): survivor benefits affirmed
Lupe Martinez sought survivor benefits after the death of her husband, Joe L. Martinez, who had 21 years of underground coal mine work. The judge found that he had a totally disabling respiratory impairment at the time of his death and applied the fifteen-year presumption that his death was due to…
Bobby J. McPeek v. Alliance Coal Corporation
McPeek v. Alliance Coal Corporation (BRB 20-0554 BLA): benefits award affirmed
Bobby J. McPeek worked for 38 years in underground coal mining and sought black lung benefits. The judge found him unable to perform the heavy labor of his usual mine work despite objective tests that did not uniformly qualify for disability. The Board upheld the judge's reliance on medical…
William T. Adkins v. Laurel Run Mining Company and Island Creek Coal Company
Adkins v. Laurel Run Mining Company (BRB 20-0454 BLA): benefits award affirmed after remand
William T. Adkins sought black lung benefits through a subsequent claim. After an earlier Board remand, a new judge reviewed the blood gas studies and medical opinions and again found total respiratory disability. The employer challenged how he weighed a nonqualifying study taken after Adkins…
Marshall A. Teaster v. Mingo Logan Coal Company and West Virginia Coal Workers’ Pneumoconiosis Fund
Teaster v. Mingo Logan Coal Company (BRB 20-0433 and 21-0087 BLA): benefits and fee awards affirmed
Marshall A. Teaster filed a subsequent black lung benefits claim after a prior denial. The judge found complicated pneumoconiosis based chiefly on recent positive X-rays and applied the irrebuttable presumption of total disability due to pneumoconiosis. The employer challenged the judge's…
Geneva Bonner (Widow of Raymond Bonner) v. Apex Coal Corporation
Bonner v. Apex Coal (BRB 20-0333): widow’s dust exposure testimony requires reconsideration
Geneva Bonner sought survivor’s black lung benefits after her husband, a surface coal miner, died. The administrative law judge found that he had seventeen years of coal mine work but that Bonner had not proved at least fifteen years of regular coal dust exposure needed for the statutory…
Theresa C. Kirkpatrick, widow of William G. Kirkpatrick v. Rushton Mining Company and Pennsylvania Power & Light
Kirkpatrick v. Rushton Mining Company (BRB 20-0046 BLA): attorney fee approved
Counsel for Theresa C. Kirkpatrick, the widow of William G. Kirkpatrick, requested $5,975 for work on her black lung benefits appeal. No one objected to the fee petition. The Board found the request reasonable for the necessary services performed in pursuing her benefits award and ordered the…
Dallas W. McCoy v. Eastern Associated Coal, LLC, and Peabody Energy Corporation
McCoy v. Eastern Associated Coal (BRB 19-0520 BLA): attorney fee approved
Counsel for Dallas W. McCoy requested $1,787.50 for legal and assistant work before the Board in defending his benefits award. Eastern Associated Coal did not object to the fee petition. The Board found the amount reasonable for the necessary services and ordered the employer to pay counsel…
Jerome H. DeMoss v. Island Creek Coal Company
DeMoss v. Island Creek Coal Company (BRB 19-0107 BLA): attorney fee reduced
Counsel for Jerome H. DeMoss requested $13,207.50 for work connected to his black lung benefits appeal. Island Creek Coal Company did not object. The Board removed $1,410 for attorney and legal assistant work performed before other tribunals because it could approve fees only for work before the…
Charlene Gale Kilgore, on behalf of and survivor of Judy Wagner v. Guest Mountain Mining Corporation and Chartis Casualty Company
Kilgore v. Guest Mountain Mining Corporation (BRB 18-0260 and 18-0416 BLA): attorney fee approved
Counsel for Charlene Gale Kilgore requested $587.50 for legal and assistant work in two consolidated black lung appeals. The work concerned defending the benefits awards on reconsideration. Guest Mountain Mining Corporation did not object to the fee petition. The Board found the amount reasonable…
Charlene Gale Kilgore, on behalf of and survivor of Judy Wagner v. Guest Mountain Mining Corporation and Chartis Casualty Company
Kilgore v. Guest Mountain Mining Corporation (BRB 18-0260 and 18-0416 BLA): attorney fee approved
Counsel for Charlene Gale Kilgore requested $587.50 for legal and assistant work in two consolidated black lung appeals. The work concerned defending the benefits awards on reconsideration. Guest Mountain Mining Corporation did not object to the fee petition. The Board found the amount reasonable…
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Watford City, ND
Board orders further review of postmaster's disability claim (ECAB 21-0626)
A postmaster sought wage loss compensation for January 2018 through June 2020 after OWCP accepted temporary aggravations of a right rotator cuff tear, shoulder impingement, and chronic regional pain syndrome type 1. His physician attributed inability to work to those conditions and explained a…
R.H. and Department of the Air Force, Air Force Space Command, Malmstrom Air Force Base, MT
Board reverses Air Force worker's retirement offset overpayment (ECAB 21-0567)
An Air Force equipment operator received workers' compensation and Social Security retirement benefits. OWCP applied a federal retirement offset, found a $7,770.90 overpayment, and ordered deductions from his continuing compensation. The Board found no proof that he was enrolled in the Federal…
J.D. and Department of the Air Force, Tinker Air Force Base, OK
Board orders full impairment evaluation of Air Force worker (ECAB 21-0425)
An Air Force illustrator sought a larger schedule award after earlier awards for impairment of all four limbs. On a prior remand, the Board directed OWCP to update the statement of accepted facts and obtain a second opinion on any additional impairment from the accepted conditions. OWCP then…
K.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Sullivan Post Office, Sullivan, MO
Board upholds postal worker's shoulder award and overpayment (ECAB 20-1532)
A postal rural carrier associate sought a larger schedule award after surgery for an accepted shoulder injury. The Board found that she had not established more than 10 percent impairment of her right arm. Her earlier award had paid for 12 percent, creating a $4,783.35 overpayment when the award…
Bonded Roofing Services, Inc.
Roofing safety citations affirmed
OSHA observed three Bonded Roofing workers on a commercial roof without fall protection. One employee used a pneumatic nail gun without approved eye protection, and the access ladder did not extend at least three feet above the roof landing. The company owner was onsite and signed an inspection…
United States Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers District, St. Paul, Minnesota and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1441
St. Paul Army Corps District and AFGE Local 1441 (FLRA 0-AR-5700): Authority permits supervisor to cover shifts
A working supervisor at an Army Corps of Engineers locks-and-dams facility covered three vacant shifts instead of offering overtime to bargaining-unit employees. An arbitrator relied on notes from earlier bargaining to find that the agency had promised not to use supervisors to avoid overtime and…
United States Department of the Air Force, Air Force Materiel Command and American Federation of Government Employees, Council 214
Air Force Materiel Command and AFGE Council 214 (FLRA 0-AR-5694): Authority allows recent hazard-pay claims to proceed
AFGE Council 214 filed a grievance alleging unsafe in-person work and unpaid hazard pay during the COVID-19 pandemic. An arbitrator found claims arising more than thirty days before filing untimely but allowed newer claims to proceed as a possible continuing violation. Air Force Materiel Command…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico and American Federation of Government Employees, Council of Prison Locals 33, Local 2585
FCI Guaynabo and AFGE Local 2585 (FLRA 0-AR-5548): Authority upholds continuing lunch-break damages
An arbitrator found in 2016 that FCI Guaynabo violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to pay employees for work during unpaid lunch breaks and retained jurisdiction over later disputes. After his death, the parties selected a replacement arbitrator. She found that the same institution…
U.S. Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review (Agency) and National Association of Immigration Judges, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers Judicial Council 2 (Union)
EOIR and immigration judges' union (FLRA WA-RP-19-0067): First reconsideration denied
The National Association of Immigration Judges asked the Authority to reconsider its 2020 decision excluding immigration judges from the bargaining unit as management officials. The Authority denied the motion, finding that the union's arguments about precedent, the factual record, and the earlier…
Secretary of Labor v. Knight Hawk Coal, LLC
S&S settlement question certified for review
Knight Hawk Coal and the Secretary proposed settling three citations by removing the significant and substantial designation from two and reducing total penalties from $7,960 to $4,590. Judge Michael G. Young accepted the explanation for one S&S removal but found insufficient factual support for…
March v. Metro-North Commuter Railroad Co.
FRSA retaliation ruling affirmed
Metro-North machinist Vincent March inspected locomotive brake and pneumatic systems and filed an FRSA complaint after earlier discipline involving a safety concern. While that litigation remained active, the railroad later suspended him over an incomplete inspection and an eye-injury…
J.A. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, Pine Valley, CA
Board reverses denial of border agent's eye injury claim (ECAB 21-1279)
A border patrol agent reported being struck near his eye while on duty and was examined that day. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied his injury claim for lack of a qualifying medical diagnosis. The Board found that a visible right eye contusion had been documented and the event was…
S.O. and Department of the Army, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, NY
Board upholds denial of Army cook's hand condition claim (ECAB 21-1050)
A chief cook at the U.S. Military Academy attributed hand symptoms to years of repetitive food preparation work. Medical records diagnosed carpal tunnel syndrome and ulnar nerve palsy. The Board found that the physician who suggested a work connection did not explain how specific duties caused or…
H.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Atwater Post Office, Atwater, CA
Board orders combined review of postal carrier's shoulder claims (ECAB 21-0880)
A rural postal carrier reported a shoulder and upper back injury from lifting a pallet at work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the claim for lack of medical proof connecting it to her conditions. The Board noted that OWCP had previously accepted a right shoulder sprain in a…
J.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, Greensboro, NC
J.W. (ECAB 21-0588 and 21-0599): Emotional condition claims returned for combined review
A postal carrier filed separate emotional condition claims concerning events at work, including alleged harassment. OWCP denied both claims, although it had recognized a compensable harassment event in one file. The Board found that the files involved related emotional conditions and shared medical…
J.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, Greensboro, NC
Board orders combined review of postal worker's emotional condition claims (ECAB 21-0588, 21-0599)
A postal carrier filed two claims for emotional conditions arising from events at work, including alleged harassment. OWCP considered the claims in separate files and denied both. The Board found that the files involved related conditions and evidence that needed to be reviewed together. It ordered…
M.I. and U.S. Postal Service, Detroit, MI
Board grants remand for postal worker's COVID-19 claim (ECAB 21-0518)
A postal general clerk claimed she contracted COVID-19 after contact with an infected coworker at work. OWCP initially denied the claim for lack of sufficient medical evidence connecting the diagnosis to the exposure. During the appeal, OWCP conceded that she was a covered employee under the…
A.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Astrodome Post Office, Houston, TX
Board upholds denial of postal carrier's wage loss claim (ECAB 21-0151)
A postal city carrier sought wage loss compensation for time away from work after an accepted 2016 injury. Her physician documented several accepted conditions and work restrictions, then said she could no longer work as of March 30, 2020. The Board found that his reports did not explain how the…
L.K. and Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Medical Center, St. Louis, MO
Board orders medical review of VA nurse's shoulder claim (ECAB 21-0147)
A VA emergency room nurse attributed a left shoulder rotator cuff tear and other shoulder conditions to repeated patient handling at work. OWCP denied her claim. The Board found that a physician's detailed explanation of how lifting, pushing, and pulling patients could cause the diagnosed…
C.F. and Department of Defense, Defense Commissary Agency, Lakehurst, NJ
Board orders more medical review of commissary worker's lumbar claim (ECAB 21-0003)
A Defense Commissary Agency employee sought to expand an accepted injury claim after a fall at work. The Board agreed that the temporary aggravation of his preexisting right shoulder condition had ended. For claimed lumbar spondylosis and right leg radiculitis, it found that the impartial examiner…
R.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, North Attleboro, MA
Board upholds postal carrier's left knee award and subpoena denial (ECAB 20-0763)
A postal carrier sought a larger schedule award for left knee impairment after a knee replacement. The impartial examiner calculated 31 percent impairment of the left leg, matching the award already paid. The Board gave that opinion special weight and affirmed OWCP's decision. It also upheld the…
N.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Lauderridge Carrier Annex, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Board orders waiver review of postal worker's retirement overpayment (ECAB 20-0080)
A postal carrier received wage loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits without the required offset for federal service. The Board upheld OWCP's $59,419.51 overpayment finding for May 2012 through October 2018. It rejected OWCP's fault finding because the complex Social Security…
Matter of Emmanuel LAGUERRE
New Jersey drug statute was divisible
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal after an Immigration Judge terminated removal proceedings against a Haitian lawful permanent resident with a New Jersey drug conviction. It held that the identity of the controlled dangerous substance was an element of the New Jersey…
R.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago, IL
Board upholds denial of VA worker's elbow injury claim (ECAB 21-1226)
A VA information technology manager reported pain in both elbows after lifting computer monitors at work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied her injury claim. The Board found that the physician who diagnosed lateral epicondylitis had not given an opinion on whether the work…
Y.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Muskogee Veterans Medical Center, Muskogee, OK
Board upholds denial of late reconsideration for VA nurse (ECAB 21-1138)
A VA nurse sought reconsideration of an earlier denial of a claim involving an asthma attack after workplace vent cleaning. OWCP received her request more than a year after the last merit decision. The Board found the request late and concluded that a new medical report did not show clear evidence…
M.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Philadelphia VA Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA
Board upholds denial of merit review for VA worker's hand claim (ECAB 21-0986)
A VA medical services assistant sought reconsideration of a denied carpal tunnel syndrome claim. Her lawyer said a new physician report accompanied the request, but OWCP did not receive one. The Board found no new legal argument or relevant new evidence that required OWCP to reopen the claim. It…
A.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Gastonia, NC
Board upholds denial of an additional schedule award (ECAB 20-1608)
A postal carrier received schedule awards for permanent impairment after a work injury to his groin. He sought additional compensation for impairment of the penis and both testicles. The Board found that OWCP's medical adviser correctly used the impairment guides and required conversion table to…
L.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Beaumont Station Post Office, Lexington, KY
Board upholds termination of postal worker's left shoulder benefits (ECAB 20-1126)
A postal sales associate received benefits after a left shoulder injury and surgery. OWCP ended benefits for the accepted left shoulder conditions after medical opinions found that those conditions had resolved. The Board noted that OWCP's referral physician and the employee's treating physician…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Rugby Station Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
Board reverses termination of postal carrier's foot injury benefits (ECAB 20-1024)
A postal letter carrier received benefits for accepted plantar fasciitis in both feet. OWCP terminated the benefits based on a second opinion physician's report. The Board found that the physician disregarded OWCP's acceptance of the condition and questioned whether it had ever been caused by the…
C.T. and Social Security Administration, Philadelphia, PA
Board upholds denial of telework back condition claim (ECAB 21-1026)
A Social Security claims examiner attributed back symptoms to working from home without her usual ergonomic equipment. OWCP accepted the work circumstances but denied the occupational disease claim. The Board found that the chiropractor's reports lacked the x-ray proof of spinal subluxation needed…
S.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Dover Annex, Wharton, NJ
Board orders further medical review of postal carrier's cervical claim (ECAB 21-0460)
A postal carrier attributed cervical spine conditions to years of carrying a heavy mailbag and other physical work. Her physician explained a possible mechanism by which those duties increased stress on her neck and worsened degeneration. The Board found the opinion was not enough to prove the…
T.S. and Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Logistics Base, Barstow, CA
Board upholds late reconsideration denial for Marine Corps worker (ECAB 21-0439)
A Marine Corps equipment repairer sought reconsideration of an earlier denial of disability compensation after a back injury. His September 2020 request came more than a year after the last merit decision in January 2011. The Board found that his arguments about job suitability and a new medical…
Matter of Sergio Rodolfo LAPARRA-DeLeon
Later hearing notice supported in absentia order
The Board reviewed a motion to reopen and rescind an in absentia removal order after the respondent received an initial notice to appear that did not state the hearing date and time. It held that a later statutorily compliant notice of hearing supplied sufficient written notice when it specified…
Cottier v. Bayou Concrete Pumping, LLC
Truck-refusal claim remanded
Concrete-pump operator Stephen Cottier repeatedly reported steering, driveline, bearing, and other mechanical problems in Bayou Concrete's trucks. After a 61-meter truck broke down and repairs failed to resolve recurring driveline and bearing problems, he refused another assignment in that truck…
R.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Antonio, TX
Board upholds injury denial and refusal to reopen mail processing clerk's claim (ECAB 21-1178)
A postal mail processing clerk reported injuries after a container moved toward him at work. OWCP accepted the incident but denied the claim for lack of medical proof of a related diagnosed condition. The Board agreed because one physician listed complaints without a diagnosis and an emergency…
T.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Mansfield, OH
Board orders merit review of postal carrier's disability claim (ECAB 21-1151)
A postal carrier sought reconsideration of a denied claim for disability during part of 2017 after an accepted leg injury. She argued that an OWCP referral physician's later report identified additional work related conditions and warranted review of the earlier disability dates. The Board found…
E.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New York, NY
Board upholds denial of merit review of mail handler's injury claim (ECAB 21-0829)
A postal mail handler sought reconsideration of a denied injury claim after moving a heavy container at work. The disputed issue was whether the incident caused his diagnosed conditions. For reconsideration he supplied a chiropractor's work excuse note but no new legal argument. The Board found…
G.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Richmond, VA
Board upholds denial of merit review of postal carrier's leg claim (ECAB 21-0704)
A postal carrier sought reconsideration of a denied claim involving leg pain after stepping out of a mail truck. OWCP had accepted the incident but found insufficient medical proof connecting it to her condition. The Board reviewed only OWCP's later refusal to reopen the claim. It found that the…
M.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Princeton Post Office, Princeton, FL
Board upholds denial of merit review of postal worker's stress claim (ECAB 21-0438)
A postal letter carrier sought to reopen a claim for an emotional condition related to workplace administrative events. On reconsideration, he repeated allegations about an investigation and a grievance, and submitted evidence concerning another employee. The Board found that the arguments were…
W.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA
Board reverses VA nurse's wage earning capacity determination (ECAB 21-0235)
A VA nurse sought to change an earlier finding that her accommodated job fairly represented her wage earning capacity. The job offer listed limits on lifting, pushing, and pulling, but omitted the impartial physician's restrictions on overhead reaching and required breaks. The Board found that the…
R.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Millbury Post Office, Millbury, MA
Board upholds postal carrier's 26 percent leg impairment award (ECAB 20-1282)
A postal letter carrier sought a larger schedule award for left knee impairment. His physician rated the leg at 30 percent, while OWCP's medical adviser disagreed about the physical examination grade. OWCP sent the conflict to an impartial examiner, who examined the knee and calculated 26 percent…
E.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Ludlam Branch, Miami, FL
Board upholds denial of postal worker's knee injury claim (ECAB 21-1197)
A postal carrier said she hurt her right knee when her foot caught in a mail strap and she fell at work. OWCP accepted that the fall occurred but denied her claim because the medical evidence did not connect a diagnosed knee condition to it. Her orthopedic surgeon diagnosed a meniscal tear and…
L.B. and Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Philadelphia, PA
Board accepts census worker's dog bite laceration claim (ECAB 21-1136)
A Census Bureau worker reported that a dog bit her left hand while she was visiting a home for work. OWCP accepted the incident but denied her injury claim for lack of adequate medical evidence. The Board held that a promptly reported, visible laceration was a minor condition that could be accepted…
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.