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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Patricia Mills, on behalf of and widow of Stanley D. Mills, v. P A L Coal, Incorporated
Mills v. P A L Coal (BRB 21-0028 and 21-0053 BLA): miner and survivor awards affirmed
After an earlier Board remand, two administrative law judges awarded benefits in Stanley Mills's miner claim and Patricia Mills's survivor claim. P A L Coal challenged the finding that Stanley Mills had legal pneumoconiosis and that it contributed to his total respiratory disability. The Board…
Barbara Barnhart, on behalf of John C. Barnhart, v. Island Creek Coal Company
Barnhart v. Island Creek Coal (BRB 20-0578 BLA): benefit award affirmed
An administrative law judge awarded benefits in John Barnhart's subsequent black lung claim after finding at least 15 years of qualifying coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. Island Creek Coal challenged the disability finding and argued that it had rebutted the resulting…
Edmund G. Edwards v. Betty B Coal Company, Incorporated
Edwards v. Betty B Coal (BRB 20-0541 BLA): disability testing returned for review
Edmund Edwards appealed a denial of benefits without counsel. The parties agreed he had nearly 30 years of underground coal mine work and pneumoconiosis from that work, but the administrative law judge found he had not proved total respiratory disability. The Board found that the judge had not…
Henry Harold Turner v. Whitaker Coal Corporation
Turner v. Whitaker Coal (BRB 20-0478 BLA): benefit award affirmed
An administrative law judge found that Henry Turner had 19.75 years of qualifying coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. Those findings invoked the 15-year presumption of disability due to pneumoconiosis. Whitaker Coal argued that the judge had relied on an invalid pulmonary…
Andy M. Bailey v. Little T Coal Company
Bailey v. Little T Coal (BRB 20-0302 BLA): benefit award affirmed on medical proof
Andy Bailey had 2.96 years of coal mine work, too little for the 15-year presumption, but an administrative law judge awarded benefits based on medical evidence. The Board majority upheld her decision to credit a doctor who attributed part of Bailey's disabling lung condition to coal dust and to…
Roger D. Sartin v. Bullion Hollow Enterprises, Incorporated
Sartin v. Bullion Hollow Enterprises (BRB 20-0202 BLA): liability question remanded
An administrative law judge awarded black lung benefits to Roger Sartin and made Bullion Hollow Enterprises responsible for payment. The employer argued that National Salvage was a successor operator and should affect that liability finding. The Board found that the judge had not adequately…
Carol Spatafore, on behalf of John R. Spatafore, Sr., v. Consolidation Coal Company
Spatafore v. Consolidation Coal (BRB 20-0193 BLA): en banc Board restores benefit award
Carol Spatafore sought reconsideration after a Board panel vacated a benefit award and returned her late husband's claim to an administrative law judge. The dispute concerned whether the judge had independently evaluated two doctors' opinions supporting legal pneumoconiosis and whether one doctor's…
Mehra v. West Virginia University
H-1B wage claim denial affirmed
West Virginia University employed Deepak Mehra under three H-1B labor condition applications at its Potomac State College campus. During the third period, the university discovered that Mehra's salary was below the required wage and voluntarily paid him $9,483 to correct the deficiency. The ALJ…
Thorstenson v. BNSF Railway Co.
Same-action dismissal affirmed on remand
BNSF gave conductor Stephen Thorstenson a serious discipline level after he reported a knee injury five days after it occurred, outside the company's 72-hour rule, and later discharged him after a second serious operating violation during the review period. The Board had affirmed dismissal, but the…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Morgan Processing & Distribution Center
Board upholds denial of S.M.’s occupational disease claim (ECAB 21-0937)
S.M., a postal distribution supervisor, attributed back, knee, ankle, and foot conditions to years of walking, pushing, pulling, and bending while moving mail. OWCP accepted the described work activities and the medical diagnoses but denied the claim for lack of medical causation. The Board found…
T.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Slidell Main Post Office
Board upholds denial of T.P.’s back injury claim (ECAB 21-0868)
T.P., a rural postal carrier assistant, reported lower back pain while loading packages into his truck. OWCP accepted the incident but denied his injury claim because the medical submissions did not establish a diagnosis connected to it. The Board found that nurse practitioners diagnosed lumbar…
C.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Catonsville
Board upholds denial of C.G.’s hip injury claim (ECAB 21-0727)
C.G., a postal carrier, reported twisting his left hip while trying to avoid a loose dog on his route. OWCP accepted the incident and a physician’s hip strain diagnosis but denied compensation for lack of medical causation. The Board found that one doctor attributed hip pain to both a prior vehicle…
R.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Milpas Post Office
Board orders combined review of R.H.’s back injury files (ECAB 21-0575)
R.H., a postal carrier with an earlier accepted lumbar sprain, reported sharp back pain while loading mail trays into his vehicle. OWCP treated the report as a new traumatic injury claim and denied it for lack of a medical diagnosis. The Board found that the record for his earlier accepted back…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy, Leavenworth, Kansas and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 85
VA Mail Pharmacy and AFGE Local 85 (FLRA 0-AR-5690): Authority vacates employee-escort requirement
A VA mail pharmacy required visitors to be escorted because it stores and processes pharmaceuticals. An arbitrator found that management escorts had interfered with union representatives' access to employees and ordered the VA to use non-management employees as escorts. The Authority upheld notice…
P.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Corona
Board orders joint review of P.G.’s two injury files (ECAB 21-0849)
P.G., a postal letter carrier, had an accepted claim arising from a dog bite and a separate, denied claim alleging PTSD after an incident with her supervisor. She later asked OWCP to add PTSD to the accepted claim, and OWCP denied that request. The Board found that both files addressed claimed work…
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Dallas Network Distribution Center
Board reverses rescission of J.C.’s accepted lung disease claim (ECAB 21-0755)
J.C., a postal mail handler with an accepted interstitial pulmonary disease claim, attributed his condition to asbestos exposure at work. OWCP later rescinded acceptance after its second opinion doctor disagreed with a treating physician about causation, then treated earlier compensation as an…
C.P. and Social Security Administration, Richmond
Board upholds denial of C.P.’s ergonomic injury claim (ECAB 21-0744)
C.P., a Social Security claims adjudicator, attributed neck and arm symptoms to typing and poor workstation ergonomics. OWCP accepted the work factors and a diagnosis but denied the occupational disease claim for lack of medical causation. The Board found that an orthopedic surgeon called her…
G.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Merrifield Processing & Distribution Center
Board upholds denial of G.G.’s back injury claim (ECAB 21-0736)
G.G., a postal mail processing clerk, reported lower back pain after lifting trays at work. OWCP accepted the incident but denied the injury claim for lack of a medical link to a diagnosed condition. Her family physician diagnosed left sciatica associated with a lumbar disorder but did not explain…
C.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pittsburgh
Board orders further medical review of C.C.’s shoulder claim (ECAB 21-0715)
C.C., a postal city carrier, reported shoulder pain after repeatedly opening a difficult vehicle door and handling packages at work. OWCP denied his injury claim for lack of proof that the work caused his left shoulder condition. The Board found that his treating doctor described the repetitive…
G.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration Regional Office
Board orders recalculation of G.R.’s FECA overpayment (ECAB 21-0209)
G.R., a VA vocational rehabilitation counselor, received FECA wage loss compensation while also receiving Social Security retirement benefits partly attributable to federal employment. The Board agreed that this overlap created an overpayment requiring an offset. But OWCP had received two Social…
United States Department of Defense, Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools and Federal Education Association, Stateside Region
DOD Schools and Federal Education Association (FLRA 0-AR-5590): Authority sets aside bargaining award
DOD schools and the union submitted their remaining contract disputes to the Federal Service Impasses Panel. After the Panel imposed the final provisions, the agency treated the agreement as complete, obtained agency-head approval, and implemented it. An arbitrator later found that the Panel lacked…
City of Marlborough, Massachusetts (Westerly Wastewater Treatment Facility)
In re City of Marlborough, Massachusetts (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 21-04): petition dismissed after permit withdrawal
OARS, Inc. petitioned for review of NPDES Permit No. MA0100480 issued to the City of Marlborough, Massachusetts, for the Westerly Wastewater Treatment Facility. OARS moved to withdraw its petition after EPA Region 1 withdrew the permit's summer, April 1 through October 31, mass-based Total…
S.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Milwaukee
Board upholds denial of S.W.’s wrist injury claim (ECAB 21-1105)
S.W., a postal distributor, reported wrist pain and a lump after cutting strapping at work. Later medical reports diagnosed carpal tunnel syndrome and a wrist ganglion cyst and discussed repetitive gripping at work. The Board found that the surgeon had not explained how the specific accepted…
G.F. and Department of Veterans Affairs, West Roxbury VA Medical Center
Board upholds denial of G.F.’s claimed 2019 knee injury (ECAB 21-0732)
G.F., a VA gardener, claimed he twisted his left knee stepping out of a truck at work on May 18, 2019. OWCP asked for a detailed account and supporting evidence. The employer later pointed to conflicting injury dates and histories in the claim and medical records. G.F. later submitted his account…
R.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Detroit
Board upholds denial of R.T.’s shoulder injury claim (ECAB 21-0544)
R.T., a postal parcel distributor, attributed a left shoulder rotator cuff problem to lifting, pushing, and pulling packages while relying on that arm because of a separate right arm injury. OWCP accepted the alleged work incident but denied the left shoulder claim for lack of medical causation…
M.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Greeley Annex
Board upholds M.A.’s federal retirement offset overpayment (ECAB 21-0403)
M.A., a retired postal letter carrier, received FECA wage loss payments while also receiving Social Security retirement benefits partly based on federal employment. OWCP had not offset that federal service portion for February 2012 through July 2020, creating a $42,413.84 overpayment. The Board…
W.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Pittsburgh Processing & Distribution Center
Board orders OWCP to consider W.G.’s factual statement (ECAB 20-1356)
W.G., a postal distribution supervisor with an earlier accepted left foot injury, reported a new foot problem while walking upstairs at work. OWCP initially denied the claim because his filing did not adequately describe the new incident. On reconsideration he supplied a factual statement…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1822 and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Member Services
VA Member Services and AFGE Local 1822 (FLRA 0-AR-5674): Authority removes service-connection leave requirement
The VA and AFGE Local 1822 settled a dispute over medical-treatment leave for disabled veterans and negotiated policy language implementing the settlement. Neither document said the treatment had to concern a service-connected disability. An arbitrator nevertheless found that outside guidance…
International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Local 290 and United States Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Bremerton, Washington
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Boilermakers Local 290 (FLRA 0-AR-5668): Authority upholds steward's suspension
The Navy suspended an employee and union steward for three days after two public workplace exchanges and findings that she lacked candor during the later investigations. An arbitrator found that her planned, disruptive, and profane conduct during a sexual-harassment briefing exceeded the protection…
Reed v. American Airlines, Inc.
Paid investigative suspension affirmed
American Airlines mechanic Roger Reed reported a loose aircraft pressure-relief door to the assigned mechanics and filed an aviation-safety report. The three mechanics later accused him of pulling on the door to cause a delay, and American placed Reed on paid leave, removed his facility access, and…
J.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Marietta
Board upholds denial of J.J.’s shoulder condition claim (ECAB 21-0992)
J.J., a postal city carrier, reported worsening right shoulder pain after loading and delivering mail and trying to lift an oversized parcel. OWCP accepted her work activities but denied the occupational disease claim for lack of medical causation. An orthopedic surgeon diagnosed tendinitis and a…
S.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Francisco
Board upholds denial of S.B.’s shoulder injury claim (ECAB 21-0683)
S.B., a postal city carrier assistant, reported a shoulder injury after carrying a mail satchel on her right shoulder at work. OWCP accepted that the March 14, 2020 incident occurred but denied compensation because the medical evidence did not establish that it caused a right shoulder condition…
F.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Los Angeles Processing & Distribution Center
Board returns F.L.’s overpayment case for a corrected calculation (ECAB 21-0619)
F.L., a postal worker with an accepted hand and wrist claim, received FECA wage-loss compensation while also receiving Social Security benefits. OWCP found a $90,771.08 overpayment, declined to waive recovery, and set a deduction of $457.36 from her compensation every 28 days. The Board agreed that…
S.J. and Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Medical Center, Birmingham
Board upholds refusal to reopen S.J.’s terminated benefits (ECAB 21-0217)
S.J., a VA food service worker, had an accepted right knee and lower back injury from a fall at work. OWCP ended her wage-loss compensation and medical benefits in 2015, and a hearing representative upheld that decision in January 2016. Years later, S.J. asked OWCP to reconsider, but OWCP denied…
G.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Carol Stream
Board upholds denial of continuing benefits for G.M. (ECAB 20-1508)
G.M., a postal mail processing clerk, had accepted hand, wrist, shoulder, and neck conditions and received wage-loss compensation. OWCP terminated his compensation and medical benefits in February 2014 based on an impartial medical examiner’s opinion. G.M. sought continuing benefits and submitted…
B.C. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Station Patuxent River
Board orders a new calculation of B.C.’s FECA overpayment (ECAB 20-0669)
B.C., a Navy systems accountant with an accepted neck injury, received FECA wage-loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits. OWCP found a $32,183.24 overpayment, denied a waiver, and ordered deductions of $2,000 every 28 days. The Board agreed that the federal-service portion of his…
Avantor Performance Materials, LLC
In re Avantor Performance Materials, LLC (EAB TSCA 21-04C): $600,000 settlement ratified
EPA alleged that Avantor Performance Materials, LLC violated EPCRA reporting requirements at its Phillipsburg, New Jersey facility and violated TSCA chemical data reporting and mercury export requirements at its Phillipsburg and Paris, Kentucky facilities. The Consent Agreement also states that…
Judy v. Covenant Transport, Inc.
STAA reconsideration denied
The Board had dismissed Kevin Judy's STAA complaint against Covenant Transport on November 8, 2021. Judy then sought reconsideration and argued that the Board had missed information about his unemployment-benefit proceedings, advice from a whistleblower investigator, medical conditions, property…
K.D. and U.S. Government
Board dismisses K.D.’s appeal without an identified OWCP decision (ECAB 21-1139)
K.D. filed an appeal in July 2021 from a purported OWCP decision. She did not provide a valid OWCP file number, and the Board could not identify a final adverse decision within its jurisdiction. It dismissed the appeal without reaching any compensation issue. The order does not determine whether…
D.R. and U.S. International Boundary & Water Commission
Board upholds denial of D.R.’s second hearing request (ECAB 21-0691)
D.R., a secretary, claimed that clerical work and keyboarding caused bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. OWCP accepted the described work activities but denied the claim because the medical evidence did not establish causation. D.R. received a review of the written record, which upheld that denial…
B.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Philadelphia Network Distribution Center
Board reverses termination of B.M.’s injury benefits (ECAB 21-0101)
B.M., a postal mail handler, had accepted left hip and lumbar conditions after a workplace accident. OWCP ended his compensation and medical benefits based on an impartial medical examiner’s opinion that the accepted conditions had resolved. The Board found that the examiner did not give his own…
D.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, La Guardia Airport
Board reverses rescission of D.H.’s accepted injury claim (ECAB 20-0275)
D.H., an airport transportation security officer, had an accepted back and shoulder claim after lifting bins at work. OWCP repeatedly rescinded its acceptance, relying in part on surveillance footage; earlier Board orders sent the case back because the video copies were unreadable. Once OWCP…
Richard Ward v. Consolidation Coal Company
Ward v. Consolidation Coal (BRB 21-0178 BLA): benefit start date corrected
An administrative law judge awarded Richard Ward black lung benefits after finding complicated pneumoconiosis from coal mine work. The employer did not challenge entitlement, only the start date. The judge had said the disease's onset date could not be established and that benefits should begin…
Ariel Delacruz v. Logistec Corporation
Delacruz v. Logistec (BRB 21-0177): denial of additional hand compensation affirmed
Ariel Delacruz injured a finger at work as a warehouseman and received temporary disability benefits and a scheduled permanent partial disability payment based on a 22 percent finger impairment. He sought additional compensation, arguing that his injury caused a 38 percent impairment of his whole…
Gary L. Hatfield v. KenAmerican Resources, Incorporated
Hatfield v. KenAmerican Resources (BRB 21-0142 BLA): black lung benefit award affirmed
An administrative law judge awarded Gary Hatfield black lung benefits after finding at least 15 years of qualifying coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. Those findings gave Hatfield a presumption that his disability was due to pneumoconiosis. KenAmerican Resources and its…
David L. Bryson v. Motivation Coal Company
Bryson v. Motivation Coal (BRB 21-0108 BLA): complicated pneumoconiosis award affirmed
An administrative law judge awarded David Bryson black lung benefits after finding that he had complicated pneumoconiosis from coal mine work. That finding triggered an irrebuttable presumption of total disability due to the disease. Motivation Coal challenged how the judge weighed the x-ray…
Clifford Axelsen v. Mountain Coal Company
Axelsen v. Mountain Coal (BRB 21-0052 BLA): black lung benefit award affirmed
An administrative law judge awarded Clifford Axelsen black lung benefits after finding at least 15 years of qualifying coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. Mountain Coal challenged the judge's appointment, the constitutionality of the 15-year presumption, the treatment of…
Brenda S. Ward v. Pinnacle Mining Company LLC
Ward v. Pinnacle Mining (BRB 20-0428 BLA): black lung benefit award affirmed
An administrative law judge awarded Brenda Ward black lung benefits after finding more than 27 years of qualifying coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. Those findings triggered the 15-year presumption that her disability was due to pneumoconiosis. Pinnacle Mining and its…
Jerry R. Peavyhouse v. West Coal Company
Peavyhouse v. West Coal (BRB 20-0427 BLA): black lung benefit award affirmed
An administrative law judge awarded Jerry Peavyhouse black lung benefits after finding 15 and one-half years of qualifying coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. West Coal and its insurer challenged the judge's appointment, a discovery ruling, and the findings that led to…
Thomas Hatfield v. Apogee Coal Company, LLC
Hatfield v. Apogee Coal (BRB 20-0342 BLA): benefit denial returned for pulmonary evaluation review
An administrative law judge denied Thomas Hatfield black lung benefits after finding he had not proved total respiratory disability. The Board upheld the judge's assessment of the medical evidence but vacated the denial because it was unclear whether Hatfield received the additional pulmonary…
P.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
Board upholds P.M.’s overpayment and recovery schedule (ECAB 21-0915)
P.M., a federal law enforcement training instructor, received FECA wage-loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits attributable in part to federal service. OWCP found that it had failed to apply the required offset from January 2016 through August 2020, creating a $25,926.56…
B.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Albany
Board upholds denial of B.V.’s ankle injury claim (ECAB 21-0742)
B.V., a postal city carrier assistant, reported rolling his left ankle after stepping in a pothole at work. OWCP accepted that the January 16, 2021 incident occurred but denied the claim for lack of sufficient medical proof of a resulting injury. The Board found that the submitted diagnoses came…
F.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Long Beach Healthcare System
Board upholds denial of F.G.’s injury claim after patient kick (ECAB 21-0737)
F.G., a VA nurse, reported abdominal and groin pain after a patient kicked him at work. OWCP accepted that the October 9, 2020 incident occurred but denied his claim because the evidence did not identify a resulting medical condition. A doctor’s note said F.G. was temporarily unable to work but…
M.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Oklahoma City VA Medical Center
Board orders combined review of M.S.’s schedule award claims (ECAB 21-0671)
M.S., a VA police supervisor, sought a schedule award after an accepted lumbar injury. OWCP awarded 11 percent right leg impairment and no left leg impairment in the current claim. A separate claim had already produced a 12 percent left leg award, and the medical adviser in the current case…
T.A. and Department of Justice, Federal Medical Center Devens
Board reverses suspension of T.A.’s compensation (ECAB 21-0582)
T.A., a federal correctional officer with an accepted leg and back claim, missed an examination scheduled to assess his work capacity. OWCP suspended his compensation and medical benefits for failing to attend. Before the suspension decision, however, OWCP had received confirmation that he returned…
D.M. and Department of Agriculture, Forest Service
Board upholds D.M.’s overpayment and recovery deductions (ECAB 21-0230)
D.M., a Forest Service firefighter with an accepted mental health claim, received FECA wage-loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits attributable in part to federal service. OWCP found a $57,937.65 overpayment because it had not offset the retirement benefits from January 2015…
Y.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Mail Recovery Center, Atlanta
Board upholds termination of Y.J.’s compensation after job refusal (ECAB 20-1562)
Y.J., a postal distribution clerk with accepted right arm and shoulder conditions, received an offer of a modified customer retention job. She did not accept it, and OWCP ended her wage-loss compensation and entitlement to a schedule award under the suitable-work rule. The Board found that the…
L.T. and Department of the Army, Maryland National Guard
Board sets aside L.T.’s wage-loss suspension after returned mail (ECAB 20-0180)
OWCP asked L.T. to report any earnings or work activity on an EN1032 form and warned that missing the deadline would suspend her wage-loss compensation. The Postal Service returned that request as undeliverable before OWCP issued the suspension. The Board held that the returned mail rebutted the…
R.C. and Department of Defense, Washington Headquarters Services
Board orders OWCP to explain its denial of R.C.’s reconsideration request (ECAB 21-0845)
R.C., a federal police officer, received a schedule award for five percent permanent impairment of his left leg. He sought reconsideration, arguing that OWCP used the wrong impairment rating and pay rate. OWCP denied review without discussing either argument. The Board held that OWCP had to explain…
C.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Topeka
Board orders merits review of C.M.’s injury claim (ECAB 21-0730)
C.M., a retired postal clerk, claimed shoulder, knee, foot, and back conditions from her work. OWCP denied the claim after relying on a second-opinion doctor’s view that he was unsure whether her conditions came from work. On reconsideration, C.M. argued that this uncertain opinion could not carry…
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.