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.
No decisions match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
R.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hixton, WI
Board orders specialist review of R.T.'s shoulder claim (ECAB 21-0475)
R.T., a postal rural carrier, attributed her right shoulder condition to years of repetitive reaching and handling mail. Her physician described a mechanism connecting those duties with rotator cuff problems. The Board found his reports incomplete as proof of causation but consistent and…
S.N. and Department of Justice, U.S. Marshals Service, Arlington, VA
Board orders noise-exposure review of marshal's hearing claim (ECAB 21-0258)
S.N., a federal marshal and firearms instructor, claimed hearing loss from firearms, explosions, aircraft, and amplified earpieces at work. A second opinion diagnosed hearing loss but attributed it mainly to age. The Board found the record incomplete and inconsistent about the frequency, duration…
R.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Santa Ana, CA
Board orders merits review of R.L.'s knee claim (ECAB 21-0220)
R.L., a postal letter carrier, claimed that extensive walking, standing, and vehicle entry caused bilateral knee conditions. OWCP denied the claim and then declined to reopen it. On reconsideration, her physician supplied a new report addressing how her duties could accelerate knee degeneration…
L.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tolowa, NJ
Board splits ruling on L.L.'s disability recurrence claims (ECAB 20-0956)
L.L., a postal employee, sought compensation for several claimed periods of recurrent disability after an accepted 2016 injury. Her first claimed recurrence began nine days after she returned to modified work in June 2017. The Board found that OWCP applied the wrong standard for a recurrence within…
A.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Greeneville Post Office, Greeneville, TN
Board upholds denial of A.G.'s claimed disability period (ECAB 21-0756)
A.G., a postal rural carrier, claimed he could not work beginning March 24, 2020 because of accepted injuries from 2013 and 2017. The Board reviewed the medical reports concerning his back, knee, and related symptoms. It found that they did not adequately establish work-related disability for the…
D.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
Board recognizes knee contusion but rejects other claimed conditions (ECAB 21-0537)
D.H., a postal letter carrier, fell while carrying mail on her route and claimed a right knee injury. OWCP accepted the incident but denied that it caused a compensable condition. The Board found that a physician's report supported a right knee contusion from the fall. It found the evidence…
I.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Edgemoor Branch, Wilmington, DE
Board upholds 21 percent left leg impairment award (ECAB 21-0005)
I.C., a postal letter carrier, injured her left leg in a work fall and later underwent a left hip replacement. She sought a schedule award above the 21 percent left lower extremity impairment already compensated. OWCP obtained an impartial medical examination to resolve conflicting impairment…
M.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Antonio, TX
Board upholds denial of M.G.'s right knee claim (ECAB 21-0747)
M.G., a postal motor vehicle operator, reported that his right knee popped while he stepped down to place chocks under a trailer. OWCP accepted the incident but denied a resulting knee condition. A physician diagnosed knee strain and called it probably work related but did not explain how the…
L.S. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Calexico, CA
Board orders causation review of L.S.'s left shoulder claim (ECAB 21-0694)
L.S., a customs officer, claimed a left shoulder condition after relying more heavily on that arm following a right shoulder injury. OWCP denied her occupational disease claim and later rejected her request for written-record review. The Board found that a physician had diagnosed an…
S.S. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Chicago Midway Airport, Chicago, IL
Board reverses overpayment decision for missing notice (ECAB 21-0660)
S.S., a TSA employee, challenged an overpayment calculation based on simultaneous FECA compensation and Social Security retirement benefits. An OWCP hearing representative set aside the first preliminary finding and ordered OWCP to obtain clearer benefit figures and issue a new preliminary…
M.H. and Department of the Air Force, Hill Air Force Base, Hill Field, UT
Board recognizes elbow laceration and thumb bruise (ECAB 21-0578)
M.H., an Air Force aircraft mechanic, fell from an aircraft ladder at work and reported an elbow cut and thumb bruise. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied his injury claim. The Board found that the incident and medical evidence established both conditions. It reversed OWCP's denial.
S.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Howell Post Office, Howell, NJ
Board orders impartial examination for S.B.'s injury claim (ECAB 21-0398)
S.B., a postal rural carrier associate, injured his wrist and back in a work fall. OWCP accepted several wrist and thorax conditions but declined to add other shoulder, neck, back, and nerve conditions. The Board found a conflict between S.B.'s physicians and OWCP's referral physician on whether…
Y.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Church Street Station, New York, NY
Board upholds denial of Y.B.'s late reconsideration request (ECAB 21-0092)
Y.B., a postal carrier, claimed injuries from a workplace fall. OWCP denied the claim, and its last merits decision came in March 2018. Her September 2019 reconsideration request arrived more than one year later. The Board found that the new submissions did not demonstrate clear evidence that…
M.L. and Department of Commerce, National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA
Board reverses termination of M.L.'s injury benefits (ECAB 20-1615)
M.L., a Commerce Department employee, received benefits for an accepted lumbar strain after lifting boxes at work. OWCP terminated her compensation and medical benefits effective November 10, 2019. The Board found that the physician OWCP relied on gave a conclusory opinion that the strain had…
P.M. and Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Washington, DC
Board upholds $3,357.72 overpayment without waiver (ECAB 20-1262)
P.M., a former Census Bureau employee, continued to receive wage-loss compensation at a dependent rate after her spouse died. OWCP found a $3,357.72 overpayment for January through November 2017 and found her without fault. The Board agreed with the amount and found that her reported income…
D.A. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard, Elizabeth City, NC
Board upholds denial of D.A.'s shoulder claim (ECAB 21-0478)
D.A., a Coast Guard boiler operator, reported left shoulder symptoms after lifting bags of salt at work. OWCP accepted the February 21, 2020 incident but denied a resulting left shoulder condition. The Board found the medical evidence insufficient to explain a causal link between the accepted…
D.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Fayetteville Processing & Distribution Facility, Fayetteville, AR
Board upholds denial of D.J.'s low back claim (ECAB 21-0414)
D.J., a postal processing clerk, reported low back symptoms after bending to retrieve mail from a sorting machine. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied a resulting compensable condition. The Board found the medical evidence insufficient to establish a condition causally related to…
S.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center/Facility, Knoxville, TN
Board orders causation review of S.W.'s shoulder claim (ECAB 21-0393)
S.W., a postal processing clerk, reported right shoulder symptoms after pushing a container with a stiff wheel. OWCP accepted the incident but denied the injury claim. The Board found that medical reports established diagnosed shoulder and neck conditions. It held that the causal relationship still…
B.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Blackwood Post Office, Blackwood, NJ
Board reverses benefit termination and remands claim expansion (ECAB 21-0388)
B.T., a postal rural carrier, received benefits for accepted left wrist injuries. OWCP terminated those benefits and declined to add further wrist and nerve conditions. The Board found that OWCP had not proved she no longer had work-related disability or residuals. It also found conflicting medical…
T.R. and Department of Health & Human Services, Indian Health Services, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, MT
Board reverses overpayment based on unsupported retirement plan (ECAB 21-0280)
T.R., a federal employee with an accepted back condition, received FECA compensation and Social Security retirement benefits. OWCP calculated an overpayment using the offset that applies to the FERS portion of Social Security benefits. The Board found that agency records instead identified a…
M.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Arlington Post Office, Arlington, MA
Board upholds bilateral leg impairment awards (ECAB 21-0169)
M.T., a postal letter carrier, sought more schedule award compensation for accepted bilateral knee conditions. He had already received awards for 31 percent permanent impairment of the left lower extremity and 63 percent of the right. The Board found the evidence did not establish a higher rating…
S.F. and Department of Commerce, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, Woods Hole, MA
Board upholds reduction based on security guard job (ECAB 20-0869)
S.F., a NOAA fisherman, received compensation after a work-related low back injury. OWCP reduced his wage-loss benefits using the wages of a constructed security guard and system monitor position. The Board found that OWCP met its burden to show the position fairly represented his earning capacity…
United States Department of the Army, Moncreif Army Health Clinic, Fort Jackson, South Carolina and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1214
Moncreif Army Health Clinic and NFFE Local 1214 (FLRA 0-AR-5667): Authority denies reconsideration
NFFE Local 1214 had filed a union grievance seeking individual Fair Labor Standards Act relief for bargaining-unit employees. The agreement barred union-filed grievances involving personal relief but allowed employee grievances seeking that relief under a different procedure. The Authority had…
Matter of Jim Willis KAGUMBAS
Immigration Judge may examine marriage bona fides
The Board reviewed a Kenyan respondent's application for adjustment of status based on marriage to a United States citizen. It held that an Immigration Judge may examine whether the marriage underlying an approved I-130 petition is bona fide when deciding adjustment eligibility. Because the hearing…
Dee Ann Noecker (on behalf of Tommy V. Noecker) v. Decker Coal Company
Noecker v. Decker Coal (BRB 19-0492 BLA): en banc reconsideration denied
Decker Coal asked the Benefits Review Board to reconsider en banc its earlier decision affirming benefits in Tommy Noecker's claim. The employer again challenged the statutory removal protections for Department of Labor administrative law judges. The Board held that the Ninth Circuit had upheld…
K.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Pelham Post Office, Pelham, AL
Board orders combined review of K.S.'s lumbar claims (ECAB 21-0682)
K.S., a postal distribution associate, claimed that modified work aggravated an earlier lumbar injury. OWCP declined to reconsider the claim. The Board found that several prior claims involving her lumbar spine had not been administratively combined with the current file. It held that those records…
S.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Carolina Forest Post Office, Myrtle Beach, SC
Board upholds termination after limited-duty refusal (ECAB 21-0521)
S.P., a postal rural carrier, received compensation after an accepted arm and shoulder injury. The Postal Service offered a temporary limited-duty assignment, which she refused. OWCP ended her wage-loss compensation under the rule governing available work within her medical limits. The Board found…
P.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Dallas, TX
Board dismisses appeal after OWCP voids overpayment (ECAB 21-0462)
P.F. appealed an OWCP decision concerning a $49,834.99 overpayment. That decision found the overpayment void and vacated the determination. The Board concluded that the decision was not adverse to her. With no other final adverse decision within the appeal period, it dismissed the appeal for lack…
L.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Seattle Processing & Distribution Center, Seattle, WA
Board dismisses appeal of favorable claim-expansion decision (ECAB 21-0375)
L.M. appealed an OWCP decision that added a condition to the accepted injury claim. The Board can review only final adverse OWCP decisions. Because the appealed decision expanded acceptance and the record contained no other recent adverse decision, the Board dismissed the appeal without a merits…
S.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Seminole Processing & Distribution Center, Orlando, FL
Board upholds refusal to reopen S.W.'s back claim (ECAB 21-0208)
S.W., a postal mail handler, sought reconsideration after OWCP denied her back injury claim. The Board reviewed only OWCP's later nonmerit refusal to reopen because the earlier merits decision was outside its appeal window. It found that the materials submitted did not meet any regulatory ground…
W.W. and Department of the Army, Installation Management Command, Fort Hood, TX
Board upholds denial of W.W.'s back claim (ECAB 20-1587)
W.W., an Army information technology specialist, reported back pain after twisting while carrying a computer through a doorway. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied a compensable back condition. The Board found the medical evidence insufficient to establish that the incident caused a…
M.G. and U.S. Postal Service, City of Industry Processing & Distribution Center, City of Industry, CA
Board reverses benefit termination and overpayment finding (ECAB 20-0867)
M.G., a postal mail processor, received compensation for accepted injuries to several body areas. OWCP denied a schedule award, terminated her benefits, and found a $1,492.17 overpayment after she elected retirement benefits. The Board found that the schedule award evidence needed further review…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1741 and United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution Milan, Michigan
FCI Milan and AFGE Local 1741 (FLRA 0-AR-5669): Authority upholds dismissal of overtime grievance
AFGE Local 1741 filed a grievance alleging that FCI Milan failed to distribute overtime equitably. During the contract's informal-resolution stage, the warden asked for dates, affected employees, and the specific violations, but the union declined to provide that detail before invoking arbitration…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution Aliceville, Alabama and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 573, Council of Prison Locals 33
FCI Aliceville and AFGE Local 573 (FLRA 0-AR-5652): Authority vacates overtime award
AFGE Local 573 alleged that FCI Aliceville assigned powerhouse overtime to employees outside the bargaining unit to avoid paying bargaining-unit employees. An arbitrator found a violation and ordered make-whole relief, even though the union had filed the grievance with the regional director rather…
Matter of NEGUSIE
Attorney General review referral issued
The Attorney General directed the Board of Immigration Appeals to refer the case for review. The referral order automatically stayed the Board's decision while the Attorney General considered the matter. This short order did not decide the underlying asylum, withholding of removal, Convention…
V.P. and Department of the Army, Army Benefits Center, Fort Knox, KY
Board orders combined review of V.P.'s wrist claims (ECAB 20-0528)
V.P., an Army information technology specialist, reported a right wrist injury after a work-related fall. OWCP denied the claim. The Board found that she had other accepted wrist claims and that physicians referred to injuries across the separate files. It held that the related records were needed…
K.L. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution Fairton, Fairton, NJ
Board upholds finding that K.L. abandoned hearing request (ECAB 21-0564)
K.L., a federal correctional officer, requested an oral hearing after OWCP denied his injury claim. OWCP mailed notice of a scheduled telephone hearing to his address of record. He did not join the call, seek postponement, or explain his absence within the allowed ten days. The Board upheld OWCP's…
J.C. and Department of the Navy, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Philadelphia, PA
Board upholds 65 percent lung impairment award (ECAB 21-0426)
J.C., a retired Navy industrial planner and estimator, had accepted pulmonary conditions linked to workplace exposures. OWCP previously granted a schedule award for 65 percent permanent impairment of both lungs. He sought an increase and submitted Dr. Palecki's reports, including an opinion that he…
T.W. and Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency, Harrodsburg, KY
Board upholds denial of T.W.'s emotional condition claim (ECAB 21-0279)
T.W., a Farm Service Agency program technician, claimed an emotional condition after a workplace incident in which she was verbally assaulted. OWCP accepted the incident as a compensable work factor. The Board found that physicians documented symptoms and diagnoses but did not provide a reasoned…
O.T. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington, DC
Board orders further medical review of O.T.'s hip claim (ECAB 20-1444)
O.T., a retired FBI special agent, claimed that physical training and job duties caused or aggravated right hip osteoarthritis. His physician described the duties and a possible mechanism of hip degeneration. The Board found the opinion insufficient to prove causation outright but strong enough to…
R.Z. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pembroke Pines, FL
Board orders review of omitted wage-capacity evidence (ECAB 20-0766)
R.Z., a postal mail processor, sought modification of an earlier wage-earning capacity determination based on a constructed data-entry position. He submitted arguments and medical evidence before OWCP issued its February 2020 decision. The Board found that OWCP summarily denied the request without…
D.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Fred John Post Office, Milwaukee, WI
Board upholds termination of D.P.'s injury benefits (ECAB 20-0134)
D.P., a postal letter carrier, received benefits for an accepted shoulder and upper back injury. OWCP ended her wage-loss compensation and medical benefits after finding the work-related effects had resolved. The Board found the medical evidence sufficient to support the termination and…
Patrick R. Weinert v. XE Services, LLC and Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania
Weinert v. XE Services (BRB 21-0121): attorney fee rate remanded
Patrick Weinert's attorney sought fees after an award of Defense Base Act benefits for injuries sustained while working in Afghanistan. The administrative law judge awarded $45,535, using a $350 hourly rate instead of the requested $375 rate and reducing several time entries. The Board held that…
Derek W. Farmer v. ICG Hazard, LLC, also known as Pine Branch Resources, LLC, and Arch Coal Incorporated
Farmer v. ICG Hazard (BRB 21-0015 BLA): black lung denial affirmed
Derek Farmer appealed the denial of black lung benefits after more than thirty years of coal mine employment. Reviewing his uncounseled appeal, the Board upheld the judge's finding that the evidence did not establish complicated pneumoconiosis. It also upheld the finding that Farmer had not proved…
Lewis A. Smith v. Coastal Coal Company, LLC
Smith v. Coastal Coal (BRB 20-0540 BLA): black lung award affirmed
Lewis Smith 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. Coastal Coal argued that smoking, rather than coal dust, caused his obstructive lung disease. The…
Hobart P. Rasnick v. Eastern Dominion Coal Company, Incorporated
Rasnick v. Eastern Dominion Coal (BRB 20-0459 BLA): benefit award remanded for rebuttal review
Hobart Rasnick 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. Eastern Dominion Coal challenged the ruling that it failed to rebut that presumption. The Board…
Roger D. Gallion v. New Ridge Mining Company and Brickstreet Mutual Insurance Company
Gallion v. New Ridge Mining (BRB 20-0336 BLA): disability denial remanded
Roger Gallion sought black lung benefits after more than thirty-two years of qualifying coal mine work. The administrative law judge denied the claim because he found no totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board held that the judge had not resolved conflicting evidence about whether two…
Govindarajan v. N2 Services, Inc.
Additional reconsideration motions denied
The Board dismissed Vasanth Govindarajan's case after he did not follow its briefing schedule or explain that failure in response to a show-cause order. It denied his first reconsideration request because none of his arguments met the Board's limited reconsideration standard. Govindarajan then…
R.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Marfa, TX
Board orders merits review after OWCP overlooked a neck contusion (ECAB 21-0613)
R.R., a border patrol agent, reported that a detainee struck his throat at work. His reconsideration request was late, so it required clear evidence of error in OWCP's prior denial. The Board found that OWCP had accepted the incident but failed to accept a documented neck contusion, a visible…
W.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Moulton Post Office, Moulton, AL
Board upholds denial of W.S.'s schedule award (ECAB 21-0419)
W.S., a postal rural carrier, had an accepted low back injury and later sought a schedule award. The Board reviewed the medical evidence and found it did not establish permanent impairment of a body member or function covered by the schedule award provision. It affirmed OWCP's denial.
B.C. and U.S. Postal Service, High Point Post Office, High Point, NC
Board reverses termination of B.C.'s injury benefits (ECAB 20-1618)
B.C., a postal letter carrier, received compensation after a work-related vehicle accident. Before terminating benefits, OWCP had evidence suggesting further conditions might be connected to that accident. The Board found a conflict between his physician and an OWCP referral physician concerning…
J.T. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Newark Liberty International Airport, Newark, NJ
Board upholds termination of J.T.'s injury benefits (ECAB 20-1470)
J.T., a TSA employee, received benefits after an accepted injury involving her back and right leg. OWCP later terminated wage-loss compensation and medical benefits. The Board found that OWCP's evidence supported termination and that J.T. had not established continuing effects of the accepted…
J.M. and Department of the Navy, Naval Supply Systems Command, Gulfport, MS
Board upholds 10 percent right arm impairment award (ECAB 20-0602)
J.M., a Navy employee, sought additional schedule award compensation for his right upper extremity. OWCP had awarded an additional one percent, bringing his total award to 10 percent. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish a higher impairment rating under the applicable award…
L.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Plainville Post Office, Plainville, CT
Board upholds refusal to reopen L.M.'s back claim (ECAB 20-0315)
L.M., a postal carrier, sought reconsideration of a claim arising from a fall from a loading dock. The Board reviewed only OWCP's later nonmerit refusal to reopen because its last merits decision was outside the appeal window. It found the reconsideration submissions did not satisfy a regulatory…
T.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Macon, GA
Board orders review of postal worker's emotional condition claim (ECAB 20-0153)
T.D., a postal carrier, reported anxiety after finding two large knives in a parcel locker she opened during her duties. OWCP denied her emotional condition claim because it found no compensable work factor. The Board found that the supported circumstances of the encounter did qualify as a work…
A.D. and U.S. Postal Service, West Allis Post Office, Milwaukee, WI
Board orders medical development after postal worker’s threat (ECAB 21-0639)
A.D. claimed an emotional condition after a customer verbally threatened her while she was working for the Postal Service. OWCP had accepted the threatening incident but denied a causal link to her condition. Her psychologist’s opinion was insufficient to prove the claim, yet it raised an…
P.P., claiming as Administratrix of the Estate of D.P., and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA
Board denies increased lung award after worker’s death (ECAB 21-0609)
P.P., acting for a shipyard worker’s estate, sought an increased schedule award for lung impairment from accepted asbestosis. The worker’s death certificate identified asbestosis as the cause of death, and another physician concluded that it contributed to his death. The Board held that the…
K.A. and Department of the Treasury, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Downers Grove, IL
Board dismisses appeal from informational letter (ECAB 21-0408)
K.A. appealed a May 1, 2020 OWCP letter. The Board found that the letter merely provided information and was not a final adverse decision. Its jurisdiction extends to final adverse OWCP decisions, so it dismissed the appeal without reviewing the claim’s merits.
M.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Alabaster, AL
Board orders review of leave buyback for postal worker (ECAB 21-0225)
M.R. sought disability compensation for a period when he used sick and annual leave. OWCP denied his claim because he had received paid leave and had not shown entitlement to premium pay. The Board held that paid leave can still support compensation if the employer permits the worker to buy it…
Greenbrier Central LLC
Railcar fall citation vacated for lack of fair notice
Greenbrier Central LLC manufactured tank railcars at its Marmaduke, Arkansas facility. OSHA cited the company after employees performed touchup work on railcar tops near open entry hatches without the fall protection specified by 29 C.F.R. § 1910.28(b)(3)(i), and proposed a $10,603 penalty. The…
What these documents are
- The agencies: Federal workers' compensation appeals from the Department of Labor's Employees' Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB), federal-sector labor-relations cases from the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), Longshore Act and Black Lung Benefits Act appeals from the Department of Labor's Benefits Review Board (BRB), precedent decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), environmental permit and penalty appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB), and whistleblower and other labor appeals from the Department of Labor's Administrative Review Board (ARB). Each decision page names its agency.
- Commission, Board and Authority decisions: Rulings by the agency's highest review level (the Commission at OSHRC and FMSHRC, the Authority at FLRA, the Board of Immigration Appeals, the Administrative Review Board at Labor, and the Environmental Appeals Board at EPA). These are citable as precedent, though a decision may have been appealed to a U.S. Court of Appeals after issuance.
- ALJ decisions: Rulings by the agency's Administrative Law Judges after a hearing. When no Commissioner directs review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order that binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent: under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j) at OSHRC, and after the 40-day window of 30 U.S.C. § 823(d)(1) at FMSHRC.
- Why finality matters: Every page here says which kind of decision you are reading, so you know whether it is precedent you can cite or a final order that only shows how one judge ruled on one set of facts.
- Where they come from: Every page links the official public release from the deciding agency, and the full text on the page is that release. The plain-English summaries are written by Ezel.