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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T.G. and Department of Defense, Defense Information Systems Agency, Scott Air Force Base, IL
Board dismisses T.G.'s appeal while separate reconsideration remains (ECAB 21-0073)
T.G. appealed an older OWCP decision after the Board had already affirmed a later reconsideration denial in docket 20-0329. The Board found no final adverse OWCP decision issued within 180 days of her October 22, 2020 appeal. It dismissed docket 21-0073 for lack of jurisdiction. It stated that, to…
Kossen v. Asia Pacific Airlines
Reconsideration and record reopening denied
Darren Kossen alleged that Asia Pacific Airlines retaliated against him under AIR21, but an ALJ denied the complaint and the Board affirmed. Kossen later asked the Board to reopen the record for seven items he described as newly discovered evidence. The Board held that he did not show the evidence…
J.T. and U.S. Postal Service, North Texas Processing & Distribution Center, Coppell, TX
Board dismisses J.T.'s appeal of an informational letter (ECAB 22-0029)
J.T. appealed an OWCP letter that described medical deficiencies in his claim and how to correct them. The Board found that the letter was informational and did not finally decide his claim. Because it had no final adverse OWCP decision to review, the Board dismissed the appeal without reaching the…
C.B. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, San Diego, CA
Board dismisses C.B.'s appeal and late reconsideration petition (ECAB 21-1280)
C.B. sought review of a purported May 2020 OWCP decision, but that document was an earlier Board order. The most recent final adverse OWCP decision was from 2015, outside the 180-day appeal period. The Board also treated the filing as a possible petition to reconsider its May 2020 order and found…
L.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Kedzie Grace Post Office, Chicago, IL
Board dismisses L.N.'s appeal of a pending medication issue (ECAB 21-0771)
L.N. sought review of an OWCP hearing representative's order concerning authorization for compounded medication. That order had vacated a denial and sent the issue back for more medical development and a new decision. The Board found it interlocutory and outside its jurisdiction. It dismissed the…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Hampton Bays Post Office, Hampton Bays, NY
Board orders combined review of S.M.'s elbow surgery request (ECAB 21-0635)
S.M., a postal letter carrier, requested authorization for additional right elbow surgery. The record showed an earlier accepted right elbow claim whose evidence was absent from the current file. The Board found that OWCP needed to combine that file with the present and other related files for a…
F.S. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Coleman Federal Correctional Complex, Coleman, FL
Board sends F.S.'s knee claim back for combined file review (ECAB 21-0428)
F.S., a correctional officer, claimed a left knee injury from work in January 2020. OWCP denied the claim after considering her medical evidence. The Board found several other accepted or denied left knee claim files that needed to be reviewed together with the current record. It set aside the…
L.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Townsend, CA
Board requires combined review of L.B.'s benefit termination (ECAB 21-0241)
L.B., a postal letter carrier, received benefits for an accepted injury after stepping from a delivery vehicle. OWCP later terminated his wage-loss compensation and medical benefits. The Board found another injury file involving his back that needed to be combined with the present record. It set…
V.G. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard Integrated Support Command, Portsmouth, VA
Board dismisses V.G.'s duplicate appeal (ECAB 21-0180)
V.G. appealed a purported November 18, 2020 OWCP decision and an August 14, 2020 decision. The Board found no final adverse OWCP decision dated November 18. It had already issued a decision on the August 14 ruling under docket 20-1520. It dismissed the new appeal without reconsidering the prior one.
R.I. and U.S. Postal Service, Palatine Processing & Distribution Center, Palatine, IL
Board dismisses R.I.'s late appeal (ECAB 21-1379)
R.I. appealed an OWCP decision dated January 28, 2021. The Board calculated that the filing period ended July 27, but the appeal was not filed until September 2. R.I. did not provide a supported explanation establishing compelling circumstances for the delay. The Board dismissed the appeal without…
K.W. and Department of State, Foreign Service Institute, Washington, DC
Board dismisses K.W.'s late appeal (ECAB 21-1367)
K.W. filed an appeal in September 2021 from a February 14, 2018 OWCP merits decision. The Board found no December 2018 decision identified on the appeal form in the record. The 180-day period for the February decision had expired in August 2018, and K.W. did not document compelling circumstances…
L.P. and Department of the Air Force, 72nd Mission Support Squadron, Tinker Air Force Base, OK
Board upholds recovery of L.P.'s compensation overpayment (ECAB 21-0881)
L.P. received FECA wage-loss compensation while also receiving Social Security age-related retirement benefits without the required offset. OWCP calculated a $52,892.77 overpayment for February 2015 through October 2020 and found her without fault. The Board upheld denial of a waiver and the plan…
P.B. and Department of the Navy, Naval Sea Systems Command, Jacksonville, FL
Board upholds suspension of P.B.'s wage-loss benefits (ECAB 21-0697)
P.B. received FECA wage-loss compensation and was asked to complete an EN1032 form. OWCP warned her of the effect of not returning the form. The Board found that she had not submitted a completed response by the required date. It affirmed suspension of her wage-loss benefits under the reporting…
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
Board orders medical review of J.C.'s fall injury (ECAB 21-0692)
J.C., a postal employee, reported injury after falling down stairs at work and striking his head. Medical providers documented symptoms and an opinion linking diagnosed conditions to the incident. The Board found that the opinion was not fully reasoned, but raised an uncontroverted inference…
T.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, San Francisco VA Medical Center, San Francisco, CA
Board orders combined review of T.C.'s injury files (ECAB 21-0605)
T.C., a VA program assistant, had several claims involving her arms and shoulders, including an accepted carpal tunnel condition. OWCP denied expansion of her claims to additional conditions. The Board found that related injury files concerning overlapping body parts had not been combined. It…
T.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Atlanta VA Medical Center, Decatur, GA
Board dismisses T.W.'s appeal without a reviewable decision (ECAB 21-0568)
T.W. appealed a purported November 5, 2020 OWCP decision. The Board found no final adverse decision of that date in the record and no other final decision within the review period. It therefore lacked jurisdiction and dismissed the appeal without deciding the underlying claim.
D.B. and Department of the Army, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Aberdeen, MD
Board requires combined review of D.B.'s injury claims (ECAB 21-0195)
D.B. claimed left knee and back injuries and had earlier filed an occupational disease claim involving the same body parts. OWCP referenced the earlier claim when denying the later traumatic injury claim, but the records had not been combined. The Board found that both files were needed for a fair…
J.A. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Miami, FL
Board dismisses J.A.'s duplicate appeal docket (ECAB 21-0026)
J.A. filed two appeals from the same April 15, 2020 OWCP decision, and the clerk assigned separate dockets. The Board found the second docket unnecessary and dismissed it. It noted that the first appeal, docket 20-1595, had already resulted in an April 2021 Board decision. This order did not…
T.T. and Department of the Navy, Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, CA
Board upholds recovery of T.T.'s compensation overpayment (ECAB 20-0524)
T.T. received FECA wage-loss compensation while also receiving Social Security age-related retirement benefits without the required offset. OWCP calculated a $6,934.82 overpayment for August 2016 through October 2019 and found her without fault. The Board upheld denial of a waiver and recovery…
Jimmy D. Mullins v. Consolidation Coal Company and Consol Energy Incorporated
Mullins v. Consolidation Coal (BRB 21-0055 BLA): disability denial remanded
Jimmy Mullins sought black lung benefits after thirty-four years of underground coal mine work. The administrative law judge denied the claim because he found no totally disabling respiratory impairment. Reviewing Mullins's uncounseled appeal, the Board held that the judge had overlooked a doctor's…
Andrew W. Mullins v. Addington, Incorporated
Mullins v. Addington (BRB 20-0500 BLA): black lung award affirmed
Andrew Mullins received black lung benefits after a judge found that his underground coal mine work and total respiratory disability invoked the statutory presumption of disability due to pneumoconiosis. Addington challenged both the disability finding and the ruling that it failed to rebut the…
Isom G. Smith, II v. Stillhouse Mining, LLC and American International South/AIG
Smith v. Stillhouse Mining (BRB 20-0401 BLA): black lung denial remanded
Isom Smith sought black lung benefits after a judge found that he had a totally disabling respiratory impairment but had not proved pneumoconiosis. Reviewing Smith's uncounseled appeal, the Board found that the judge had failed to consider imaging evidence that could establish complicated…
Ellis v. Goodheart Specialty Meats
Second reconsideration motion denied
The Board had dismissed Mary Ann Ellis's Food Safety Modernization Act case because she gave no basis to disturb the ALJ's summary decision for Goodheart Specialty Meats. It then denied her first reconsideration motion because her arguments did not fit the limited grounds for reconsideration. Ellis…
Govindarajan v. N2 Services, Inc.
Fourth reconsideration motion denied
The Board dismissed Vasanth Govindarajan's H-1B case in March 2021 and denied his first reconsideration motion because it did not satisfy the limited grounds for reconsideration. It later denied his second and third motions. Govindarajan filed a fourth motion raising arguments similar to those in…
N.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Dallas VA Medical Center, Dallas, TX
Board dismisses N.M.'s late appeal (ECAB 22-0008)
N.M. appealed an OWCP decision dated September 17, 2020. The Board calculated that the filing period ended March 16, 2021, but the appeal was filed October 1. N.M. did not document compelling circumstances for the delay. The Board dismissed the appeal without reviewing the merits.
L.M., Executrix of the Estate of W.M., and Department of the Army, Army Depot, Corpus Christi, TX
Board dismisses estate's late appeal (ECAB 21-1371)
L.M., acting for W.M.'s estate, appealed a January 22, 2021 OWCP decision on September 6. The Board found that the filing period had ended July 21. Her representative cited caution during the COVID-19 pandemic, but supplied no evidence showing that timely filing had been prevented. The Board…
L.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Fort Worth Processing & Distribution Center, Fort Worth, TX
Board dismisses L.C.'s appeal of a Board ruling (ECAB 21-1008)
L.C. sought an appeal from a purported June 21, 2021 OWCP decision. That date instead referred to the Board's earlier ruling in docket 20-1058 on an overpayment. The most recent final OWCP decision in the record was from March 2020, outside the review period. The Board dismissed the new appeal for…
G.E. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington DC VA Medical Center, Washington, DC
Board grants G.E.'s request to dismiss the appeal (ECAB 21-0924)
G.E. filed a timely appeal from a May 21, 2021 OWCP decision. Counsel later asked the Board to dismiss the appeal. The Board granted that request and dismissed the docket without deciding the merits of the compensation dispute.
M.W. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Quantico, VA
Board requires timely review of M.W.'s reconsideration request (ECAB 21-0841)
M.W. sought reconsideration of a March 20, 2020 OWCP decision. The Board found that her August 2020 letter had requested review within the one-year period. OWCP instead treated the request as late and applied the stricter clear-error standard. The Board set aside that ruling and sent the request…
I.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Orlando VA Healthcare System, Orlando, FL
Board grants I.B.'s request to dismiss the appeal (ECAB 21-0705)
I.B. filed a timely appeal from a March 9, 2021 OWCP decision. Counsel later wrote to the Board asking to dismiss the appeal. The Board granted that request and closed the docket without deciding the compensation merits.
M.L. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Patrol, Dulles International Airport, Sterling, VA
Board orders combined review of M.L.'s hand and elbow claim (ECAB 21-0442)
M.L., a canine supervisor, reported left hand and elbow pain after lifting a training case at work. OWCP denied his claim for lack of medical causal evidence. The Board found that earlier claims involving his left upper extremity were in another file. It directed OWCP to combine that file with the…
B.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bayonne, NJ
Board upholds termination after B.H. refused suitable work (ECAB 21-0366)
B.H., a postal employee, declined a modified position offered by her employer. The Board found that the position met the work limits supported by the medical evidence and that OWCP followed its notice procedures. It affirmed termination of wage-loss compensation and schedule-award entitlement. The…
W.H. and Department of the Air Force, Air National Guard, Schenectady, NY
Board orders medical clarification of W.H.'s recurrence claims (ECAB 21-0139)
W.H. claimed recurrences of disability beginning in April 2002 and September 2006 after an accepted 1996 injury. OWCP had obtained a second opinion but did not ask the examiner whether the accepted injury caused disability on those dates. It later faulted the report for leaving that question…
D.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Ghent Post Office, Ghent, NY
Board upholds denial of D.K.'s recurrence claims (ECAB 21-0082)
D.K., a postal employee, claimed renewed disability after an accepted 2014 left knee injury. A physician related later knee deterioration and surgery to the earlier injury, but the Board found the record insufficient to establish disability on the specific dates claimed. Other medical reports and…
J.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Customer Care Center, Edison, NJ
Board orders specialist review of J.N.'s hand claim (ECAB 20-1287)
J.N., a postal customer care agent, claimed a left hand condition from repetitive typing at work. Her physician described the work duties and a mechanism by which typing could affect the hand and wrist. The Board found the opinion insufficient to prove causation but enough to require OWCP to…
L.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Wewahitchka Post Office, Wewahitchka, FL
Board upholds refusal to reopen L.G.'s wrist claim (ECAB 21-0689)
L.G., a postal clerk, claimed that repetitive work caused a left wrist condition. After OWCP denied the claim, she sought reconsideration. The Board reviewed only OWCP's later refusal to reopen the merits because the earlier merits decision was outside its appeal window. It found that her renewed…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Northwest Dallas Post Office, Dallas, TX
Board upholds $144,233.05 overpayment after third-party recovery (ECAB 21-0449)
S.M., a postal carrier, received FECA compensation after an injury sustained while avoiding a dog attack. A third-party settlement created a surplus that had to be used before further FECA benefits were payable. OWCP nevertheless continued wage-loss and medical payments totaling $144,233.05 during…
T.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cincinnati, OH
Board upholds denial of T.B.'s late reconsideration requests (ECAB 21-0053)
T.B., a former postal employee, sought wage-loss compensation connected to an accepted 1995 injury. She requested reconsideration in July and August 2019, more than one year after the last merits decision. The Board found the requests untimely and examined whether they showed clear evidence that…
D.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Orleans, LA
Board orders merits review of D.M.'s knee recurrence claim (ECAB 20-1378)
D.M., a postal carrier, claimed a recurrence of total disability after an accepted left knee injury. His reconsideration request came more than one year after OWCP's last merits decision, so it was untimely. OWCP later obtained a second opinion describing continuing work-related knee problems and…
Gloss v. Tata Chemicals North America
SOX and Clean Air Act claims remanded
Rodney Gloss alleged that Tata Chemicals North America terminated him after he disclosed environmental reporting issues to outside accountants and pursued related concerns. The ALJ granted summary decision because it found that Tata was not covered by SOX and that Gloss had not engaged in protected…
J.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Affairs Pacific Islands Health Care System, Honolulu, HI
Board upholds denial of J.H.'s upper body claim (ECAB 21-0876)
J.H., a VA support services administrator, attributed hand, neck, and shoulder symptoms to moving computers and extended typing at work. OWCP developed the claim as an occupational disease claim. The Board found that a physician's report named carpal tunnel syndrome and referenced her duties but…
V.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Tuscaloosa Veterans Administration Medical Center, Tuscaloosa, AL
Board upholds denial of V.W.'s shoulder and neck claim (ECAB 21-0745)
V.W., a VA security clerk, reported that a coworker grabbed and pulled her right arm during a workplace altercation. OWCP accepted the incident but denied her claim for a shoulder or neck condition. The Board found that one physician described the incident and a recurrent rotator cuff condition…
C.M. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Bremerton, WA
Board upholds denial of C.M.'s left knee claim (ECAB 21-0435)
C.M., a Navy shipyard painter, reported that her left knee collapsed while she walked to catch a bus at work. OWCP accepted the incident but denied a compensable left knee condition. The Board found that reports describing pain or work limits lacked a firm diagnosis and a reasoned causal…
T.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Atlanta VA Medical Center, Decatur, GA
Board upholds $3,107.06 overpayment without waiver (ECAB 21-0130)
T.W., a VA nurse with an accepted right knee injury, continued receiving wage-loss compensation after returning to full-time work. OWCP found a $3,107.06 overpayment for March 9 through 28, 2020 and found that she was without fault. It asked for financial information to assess a waiver, but…
K.J. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago, IL
Board upholds denial of K.J.'s right foot claim (ECAB 21-0020)
K.J., a VA medical support assistant, reported that a wooden panel fell from beneath a sink, struck her right leg, and landed on her foot. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied her claim for a resulting foot condition. The Board found that the medical reports did not adequately…
D.G. and Department of the Air Force, 756th Air Base Group, Tyndall Air Force Base, Panama City, FL
Board reverses $248,076.47 overpayment finding against D.G. (ECAB 20-0201)
D.G., a former Air Force shelf stocker, had received compensation for an accepted back injury. OWCP later concluded that payments during his incarceration produced an overpayment of $248,076.47. It relied on FECA's rule limiting benefits during confinement after a felony conviction. The Board found…
G.Y. (sister of K.H., deceased) and Department of Health & Human Services, Indian Health Services, Navajo Area Office, Window Rock, AZ
Board reverses premature denial of possible survivor claim (ECAB 21-0106)
K.H. died after a reported fall at work, and the employing agency submitted a supervisor's report of death. OWCP asked K.H.'s sister, G.Y., whether she sought survivor benefits and sent her a claim form. When it received no response, OWCP issued a decision disallowing a claim. The Board found that…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, North Reading, MA
Board orders further review of J.M.'s right knee claim (ECAB 20-0504)
J.M., a retired postal mail handler, claimed that her work duties caused or worsened right knee osteoarthritis. An orthopedic surgeon explained how those duties could have contributed to the condition. The Board found his opinion insufficient to prove the claim outright but strong enough to raise…
S.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Stanhope, NJ
Board partly reverses termination of S.S.'s injury benefits (ECAB 19-1516)
S.S., a postal rural carrier associate, received FECA benefits after a work-related vehicle accident. OWCP terminated wage-loss and medical benefits after finding her accepted conditions had resolved. The Board agreed that the evidence supported termination for cervical, thoracic, and lumbar…
Pinkie Powe (mother of Kelvin L. Powe, Sr.) v. Austal USA, LLC and American Longshore Mutual Association, Limited
Powe v. Austal USA (BRB 21-0257): survivor benefit denial affirmed
Pinkie Powe sought survivor benefits after her son died at the shipyard where he worked for Austal USA. She argued that exposure to welding fumes and other particulates contributed to his death. The administrative law judge found that she initially established a possible work connection but that…
Roger L. Hale, Sr. v. Jewell Smokeless Coal Corporation
Hale v. Jewell Smokeless Coal (BRB 20-0544 BLA): benefit award remanded
Roger Hale received black lung benefits after a judge found that coal mine dust contributed to his disabling lung disease. Jewell Smokeless Coal challenged the finding of legal pneumoconiosis. The Board held that the judge had wrongly applied a presumption tied to ten years of coal mine work before…
Michael C. Fitzpatrick v. W&B Coal Company, Incorporated and Old Republic Insurance Company
Fitzpatrick v. W&B Coal (BRB 20-0133 BLA): benefit award and operator finding remanded
Michael Fitzpatrick received black lung benefits after a judge found that he had disabling pneumoconiosis. W&B Coal disputed both the benefit award and its designation as the responsible operator. The Board held that the judge had not adequately resolved evidence about Fitzpatrick's later coal mine…
Carlisle v JB Hunt Transportation
Appeal dismissed after no show-cause response
The ALJ granted JB Hunt Transportation's motion to dismiss Barbbara Carlisle's case. The Board then ordered Carlisle to explain in writing by September 27, 2021, why she objected to that ruling. She filed no response to the show-cause order. The Board therefore dismissed the appeal without…
B.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Hamersville Post Office, Hamersville, OH
Board upholds $15,659.79 overpayment and repayment schedule (ECAB 21-0431)
B.B., a postal rural carrier, received FECA wage-loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits without the required offset. OWCP found an overpayment of $15,659.79 and found her without fault. The Board agreed that recovery would not defeat FECA's purpose or be against equity and good…
G.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Casper Post Office, Casper, WY
Board orders recalculation of G.M.'s overpayment (ECAB 20-1620)
G.M., a former postal carrier, received FECA wage-loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits without the required offset. The Board agreed that this created an overpayment. It found that OWCP wrongly included a period when G.M. was receiving a FECA schedule award, which could be paid…
M.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Boston, MA
Board orders specialist review of M.W.'s knee claim (ECAB 20-1227)
M.W., a retired postal carrier, claimed that decades of work contributed to osteoarthritis in both knees. His orthopedic surgeon described his duties and explained how they could have caused or aggravated the conditions. The Board found the reports insufficient to establish the claim by themselves…
W.E. and U.S. Postal Service, College Park Post Office, College Park, GA
Board upholds W.E.'s wage-earning capacity determination (ECAB 20-0979)
W.E., a postal carrier with an accepted stress-related condition, challenged OWCP's earlier loss of wage-earning capacity determination. She argued that the modified carrier position used to set her earning capacity was unstable and that her condition had worsened. The Board found that the position…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Plant City, FL
Board dismisses appeal from an informational OWCP letter (ECAB 20-0595)
J.M. asked OWCP to reopen her case for a schedule award. OWCP sent a letter explaining that she had 15 days to accept a suitable-work offer and warning of possible benefit consequences if she refused. She appealed that letter to the Board. The Board found it was informational and that OWCP had not…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Setauket, NY
Board upholds refusal to expand D.S.'s back claim (ECAB 21-0673)
D.S., a postal letter carrier, injured her back while lifting a heavy box at work. She sought to add further conditions to the accepted injury claim. The Board found that the medical evidence did not sufficiently explain how the accepted October 2019 incident caused or aggravated those additional…
C.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Baltimore, MD
Board upholds suspension for missing benefit disclosure form (ECAB 21-0610)
C.W., a postal carrier receiving wage-loss benefits for an accepted back injury, was asked to complete an EN1032 form about employment and other benefits. OWCP warned that her compensation would be suspended if she did not return it within 30 days. The Board found that the request was mailed to her…
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.