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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Preston D. Hess v. Island Creek Coal Company
Hess v. Island Creek Coal (BRB 20-0238 BLA): benefits award vacated for new disability findings
Preston Hess sought to modify an earlier denial of black lung benefits, and an administrative law judge awarded benefits after crediting his thirty years of underground coal mine work and finding total disability. The Board upheld the judge's reliance on a 2017 blood gas study but found errors in…
Estate of Barbara Lester (Widow of Archie Hillard Lester) v. Consolidation Coal Company
Estate of Barbara Lester v. Consolidation Coal (BRB 20-0182 BLA): survivor benefits award affirmed
Barbara Lester filed a survivor claim after her husband, Archie Hillard Lester, died. An administrative law judge found that he had complicated pneumoconiosis and awarded benefits under the irrebuttable presumption that his death was due to the disease. Consolidation Coal and its carrier challenged…
Bucalo v. Teamsters Local 100
STAA blacklisting claim remanded
Sam Bucalo alleged that Teamsters Local 100 and its secretary-treasurer blacklisted him from film-production driving jobs after he called in sick. The ALJ dismissed because the union was not an employer or transportation business and Bucalo was not employed by a commercial motor carrier. The Board…
S.T. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration, Baltimore, MD
Board finds elevator incident established and orders medical review (ECAB 21-0317)
S.T., a Veterans Benefits Administration claims assistant, said she stepped from an elevator that had stopped above floor level and landed hard on her feet. OWCP denied her injury claim because it did not accept that the incident occurred at work. The Board found her account consistent with the…
J.H. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, Blaine, WA
Board upholds denial of knee injury claim for lack of medical causation (ECAB 20-1645)
J.H., a customs inspector, reported knee pain after running in preparation for training in 2003. OWCP accepted that the work incident occurred but denied his claim for lack of proof that it caused a knee condition. A physician's causation opinion was speculative and did not adequately address…
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Cleveland, OH
Board orders impartial evaluation of leg impairment ratings (ECAB 20-0897)
D.C., a postal mail processor, sought a schedule award for permanent impairment related to an accepted back condition. One physician rated impairment of her lower extremities, while another found no ratable leg impairment because examination showed no neurologic deficit. The Board found a conflict…
B.H. and Department of Defense, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Springfield, VA
Board upholds denial of work-related foot condition claim (ECAB 20-0268)
B.H., a police officer at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, attributed foot problems to years of walking in required boots. His podiatrist diagnosed foot conditions, but the Board found no reasoned medical explanation of how the accepted work duties caused or aggravated them. Notes from…
K.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Suwanee Post Office, Suwanee, GA
Board confirms overpayment but orders recalculation of amount (ECAB 19-1460)
K.K., a postal carrier receiving wage-loss compensation, returned to work while payments continued. The Board agreed that this created an overpayment. But the employer's reported return date conflicted with information from a rehabilitation counselor and K.K., so OWCP had not proved the overpayment…
Matter of Rosa Haydee HERNANDEZ-ROMERO
Prior NACARA relief barred later cancellation
The Board reviewed a Salvadoran respondent's application for cancellation of removal after she had previously received special rule cancellation under the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act. It held that special rule cancellation is granted under section 240A of the Immigration…
O.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Alice Post Office, Alice, TX
Board finds diagnosed back strain and orders review of causation (ECAB 21-0471)
O.G., a postal sales and distribution associate, reported a back injury after pulling on a postal container. OWCP accepted the work incident but denied the claim for lack of a diagnosed condition. The Board found that his physician's work status reports diagnosed lower back strain. Because OWCP had…
E.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Aledo Post Office, Aledo, TX
Board upholds denial of claim for injury after trip over floor mat (ECAB 21-0341)
E.S., a rural postal carrier, said he injured his groin, back, and hip when he tripped over a floor mat at work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the injury claim. The Board found no reasoned physician's opinion tying a diagnosed condition to the incident. Some reports lacked a…
V.G. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, Houston, TX
Board upholds refusal to reopen motor vehicle injury claim (ECAB 20-1295)
V.G. sought reconsideration of a denied claim arising from a motor vehicle collision at work. She argued that she had received hospital care and that coworkers in the same collision received benefits. The Board found those arguments did not address the missing medical diagnosis in her own claim…
V.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Portsmouth Post Office, Portsmouth, VA
Board upholds wage-loss reduction but orders overpayment recalculation (ECAB 20-1012)
V.H., a postal letter carrier, began work as a probation and parole officer while receiving FECA wage-loss compensation. OWCP reduced his benefits based on his actual earnings and found that payments after his return to work created an overpayment. The Board upheld the reduction and the existence…
K.P. and Department of the Army, Finance & Accounting Division, Fort Huachuca, AZ
Board partly reverses compensation forfeiture and orders overpayment recalculation (ECAB 20-0127)
K.P., a former Army voucher examiner, received wage-loss compensation while carrying out employment activities she did not report to OWCP. The Board upheld forfeiture for most of the periods at issue but reversed forfeiture for March 11 through 22, 2003 because no reporting form covered that…
L.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Howell Post Office, Howell, MI
Board orders second medical evaluation of arm impairment (ECAB 21-0319)
L.B., a postal mail carrier, sought a schedule award for lasting impairment of her right shoulder and elbow. Her physician rated shoulder impairment, but an OWCP medical adviser said the record lacked elbow findings and enough motion measurements to rate the whole arm. OWCP denied the claim without…
S.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Stonyridge Station, Omaha, NE
Board rejects added conditions and claimed work disability (ECAB 21-0085)
S.D., a postal clerk, had an accepted ankle and foot injury after twisting her right ankle at work. She asked OWCP to accept additional conditions involving her back, hip, and leg and to pay disability for October 21, 2019 through February 14, 2020. The Board found that the medical opinions did not…
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Port Arthur Post Office, Port Arthur, TX
Board upholds 37 percent arm impairment award (ECAB 20-1655)
D.C., a postal carrier, suffered multiple dog bites to her left hand and received a schedule award for 37 percent impairment of her left arm. She sought a greater award based on a physician's initial 38 percent rating. That physician later agreed with the district medical adviser's 37 percent…
C.B. (widow of S.B.) and Department of Veterans Affairs, Wainwright Memorial Medical Center, Walla Walla, WA
Board orders review of late worker’s schedule award claim (ECAB 20-0994)
C.B., the widow of a Veterans Affairs employee, continued his pending schedule award claim after his death. OWCP denied it because the employee had not been shown to reach maximum medical improvement during his lifetime. The Board held that this fact alone did not dispose of a posthumous claim when…
R.A. and Department of the Navy, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, Crane, IN
Board rejects added injury conditions and disability recurrence claim (ECAB 20-0969)
R.A., a Navy conductor, had an accepted claim for right foot plantar fasciitis and peroneal nerve injury. He sought to add neck and spine problems after a fall in his driveway and claimed renewed work disability beginning in April 2016. The Board found that the medical evidence did not adequately…
E.R. and Department of the Treasury, Office of Thrift Supervision, Atlanta, GA
Board reverses unproven Social Security offset overpayment (ECAB 21-0159)
OWCP said E.R. owed an overpayment because she received FECA wage-loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits without an offset. She disputed the premise and said she was not covered by the federal retirement program on which the calculation depended. The Board found the record…
B.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Rockford Carrier Annex, Rockford, MI
Board orders new shoulder impairment evaluation (ECAB 20-1579)
B.W., a postal employee with an accepted shoulder injury, sought a schedule award above the 16 percent right arm impairment already paid. An OWCP second-opinion physician rated her lower, but the medical adviser identified problems with the motion measurements and her participation in the…
S.B.-C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fort Wayne, IN
Board upholds denial of back injury claim for lack of causation (ECAB 20-1521)
S.B.-C., a rural postal carrier, said she injured her lower back lifting a heavy package for delivery. OWCP accepted that the May 2016 incident occurred but denied the injury claim. Her physician said a later disc herniation was more likely than not recent, without adequately connecting it to the…
K.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Columbia Heights Post Office, Washington, DC
Board upholds Social Security offset overpayment and recovery (ECAB 20-1500)
K.T., a postal employee receiving FECA wage-loss benefits, also received Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service. OWCP had not offset the overlapping payments and calculated a $109,738.78 overpayment. The Board found that the offset and amount were supported, although…
T.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Chicago Network Distribution Center, Forest Park, IL
Board upholds denial of wage loss after accepted toe fracture (ECAB 20-1229)
T.S., a postal mail handler, fractured her left fifth toe when a forklift ran over her foot at work. OWCP accepted the injury but denied wage-loss compensation for March 11 through May 10, 2019. The Board found that the medical reports did not provide a reasoned explanation of why the accepted toe…
J.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jamaica, NY
Board upholds denial of injury claim after lifting mail bags (ECAB 20-1559)
J.L., a postal express mail clerk, reported left leg and hip pain after lifting heavy mail bags into a container. OWCP accepted the work incident but denied the injury claim. The Board had previously reviewed older evidence in the case and found it insufficient. It found that the later medical…
H.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Westchester County Processing & Distribution Center, White Plains, NY
Board upholds denial of claim after work vehicle accident (ECAB 20-1358)
H.B., a postal maintenance mechanic, reported neck, shoulder, and back problems after a vehicle accident at work. OWCP accepted the accident but denied his injury claim. The Board found that reports describing pain and possible shoulder derangement did not provide a firm diagnosis with a reasoned…
B.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Atlanta, GA
Board confirms mileage overpayment but orders accurate calculation (ECAB 20-1247)
B.H., a postal employee, received medical travel mileage reimbursements that OWCP later said were improper. The Board agreed that some claimed travel dates lacked supporting treatment records, so an overpayment occurred. But OWCP also counted dates for which treatment was documented and did not…
B.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Bulk Mail Center, Philadelphia, PA
Board orders review of disputed attorney fee approval (ECAB 20-1207)
B.H., a postal employee, challenged OWCP's approval of $22,819.50 in attorney fees for earlier legal services. She said her former counsel had already been paid in full. OWCP denied reconsideration without addressing that argument. The Board found the argument relevant to the fee approval and held…
D.B. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn, NY
Board finds workplace chemical odor exposure established (ECAB 20-0797)
D.B., a National Park Service ranger, reported coughing and wheezing after smelling a chemical odor in her office. OWCP denied the claim because it did not accept the exposure as established. The Board found her account consistent with prompt emails and medical records, and no evidence refuted it…
M.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Waterford, MI
Board orders further review of shoulder disability claim (ECAB 20-0136)
M.F., a rural postal carrier, had an accepted claim for right shoulder calcific tendinitis. She sought compensation for renewed total disability beginning December 15, 2016. Her surgeon's reports linked her inability to work to the shoulder condition and planned surgery, but did not fully explain…
W.B. and Smithsonian Institution, S. Dillon Ripley Center, Washington, DC
Board orders proper review of wage-earning capacity challenge (ECAB 21-0272)
W.B., a Smithsonian museum protection officer with an accepted back injury, challenged an earlier reduction of her compensation based on estimated receptionist earnings. OWCP treated her request as an untimely reconsideration petition and denied it without addressing modification of the…
D.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Oakland Park, FL
Board reverses termination of cervical medical benefits (ECAB 21-0160)
D.M., a postal employee, received medical benefits for accepted cervical injuries. OWCP ended those benefits effective March 15, 2016 based on a second-opinion physician's view that the conditions had resolved. The Board found that the physician did not adequately explain that conclusion in light…
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Kansas City, MO
Board upholds denial of shoulder injury claim (ECAB 21-0088)
D.C., a postal distribution machine operator, reported a left shoulder problem after pulling a cage of magazines at work. OWCP accepted the incident but denied her injury claim. Some medical forms marked causation with a checked box but gave no explanation; another report diagnosed conditions…
S.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bellmawr, NJ
Board upholds pay-rate overpayment but orders recovery review (ECAB 20-1585)
S.H., a postal employee receiving wage-loss compensation, was paid using a night differential that OWCP had mistakenly treated as a daily rather than weekly amount. The Board upheld the resulting $55,286.21 overpayment and found that S.H. was without fault. It also upheld denial of waiver based on…
L.G. and Panama Canal Commission, Locks Division, Panama City, Panama
Board upholds schedule award overpayment and denial of waiver (ECAB 20-1457)
L.G., a former Panama Canal Commission employee, received a schedule award based on 28 percent impairment of his left leg. An earlier Board decision established that the supported rating was 21 percent, leaving $13,090.90 paid in excess. The Board held that OWCP correctly calculated the overpayment…
V.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Los Angeles, CA
Board upholds Social Security offset overpayment and repayment (ECAB 20-1429)
V.R., a postal employee, received FECA wage-loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service during the same period. OWCP calculated a $3,302.70 overpayment and found him without fault. The Board upheld the offset calculation and found that the record did…
J.A. and U.S. Postal Service, North Highland Post Office, Atlanta, GA
Board reverses termination of wage-loss benefits (ECAB 20-1258)
J.A., a postal truck driver, had an accepted lower back injury. OWCP ended his wage-loss compensation effective July 15, 2016 after a second-opinion physician said he could resume his regular truck driving job. The Board found the opinion conclusory and insufficiently reasoned in light of his…
Secretary of Labor v. DelHur Industries, Inc.
Unreceived assessment never became final
DelHur Industries did not receive a proposed penalty assessment that the Postal Service returned to the Secretary as unclaimed. The company learned of the penalties from a delinquency letter and filed a reopening motion within 30 days. The Commission held that the assessment never became final…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Three mailed contests reopened
Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company sought to reopen three penalty assessments after contests it said it mailed were not received. MSHA's collection office had received partial payments for the uncontested penalties, but the payments were applied to the wrong citations because the agency did not know…
GSP Merrimack L.L.C.
In re GSP Merrimack L.L.C. (EAB NPDES Appeal Nos. 20-05 and 20-06): permit remanded for further proceedings
GSP Merrimack L.L.C. operates Merrimack Station, a coal-fired power plant in Bow, New Hampshire, that withdraws cooling water from and discharges heated wastewater to the Merrimack River. Sierra Club and the Conservation Law Foundation challenged thermal-discharge and combustion-residual-leachate…
GSP Merrimack L.L.C.
In re GSP Merrimack L.L.C. (EAB NPDES Appeal Nos. 20-05 and 20-06): Permit remanded for notice and reconsideration
GSP Merrimack operates the coal-fired Merrimack Station in Bow, New Hampshire, under an NPDES permit covering cooling-water withdrawals and pollutant discharges to the Merrimack River. Environmental Petitioners challenged thermal discharges and combustion-residual-leachate provisions, while GSP…
Secretary of Labor v. Buzzi Unicem USA
Mailing error excused
Buzzi Unicem intended to contest part of a proposed penalty assessment but sent the contest to MSHA's St. Louis collections office instead of agency headquarters. It learned of the error from a delinquency notice and promptly moved to reopen. The Secretary did not oppose the motion and confirmed…
Larry D. Horton v. Clinchfield Coal Company
Horton v. Clinchfield Coal (BRB 20-0335 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Larry Horton sought black lung benefits after 18.7 years of qualifying coal mine employment. An administrative law judge found that he had a totally disabling respiratory impairment and invoked the statutory presumption connecting his disability to pneumoconiosis. Clinchfield Coal challenged the…
F.P. and U.S. Postal Service, La Puente Post Office, La Puente, CA
Board upholds reduced arm rating and schedule award overpayment (ECAB 20-1646)
F.P., a postal employee, had received a schedule award based on 11 percent impairment of his right arm. The Board upheld a later seven percent rating and the resulting $8,609.23 overpayment. Although he was without fault, he did not supply the financial information needed to support waiver. His…
T.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Cobb Post Office, Cobb, CA
Board finds mail cage lifting incident established (ECAB 20-1549)
T.G., a postal letter carrier, said she felt a pop in her back while helping lift a mail cage. Her first account gave May 14, 2018 as the date; she later clarified that it happened May 15. OWCP rejected the incident, but the Board found that coworker and supervisor statements supported her account…
S.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Southampton, NY
Board orders further review of postal carrier’s knee claim (ECAB 20-1503)
S.F., a postal employee, attributed conditions in both knees to work factors including prolonged standing; her physician later described walking, stair use, and entering and exiting her vehicle. OWCP denied her occupational disease claim. A physician explained how those activities might have…
G.E. and Department of Agriculture, Sequoia National Forest, Porterville, CA
Board upholds suspension for missed medical examination (ECAB 20-1013)
G.E., a forestry technician with an accepted back injury, was directed to attend an OWCP medical examination. OWCP suspended her wage-loss and medical benefits effective July 19, 2016 after she did not attend. The Board found that OWCP had properly notified her of the appointment and the…
S.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Boynton Beach, FL
Board upholds denial of claimed package exposure injury (ECAB 20-0733)
S.C., a postal clerk, said she developed nose and throat symptoms while handling two packages that she believed contained a harmful substance. OWCP asked her to describe the exposure in greater detail, but she did not answer its questionnaire. The Board found that the account did not identify an…
Wayne J. Sand and Gravel, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. Wayne J. Sand and Gravel, Inc.
Wayne J. Sand and Gravel, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC WEST 2019-0111): Sixteen-month delay bars reopening
A penalty case defaulted and the related contest was dismissed in 2019 after Wayne J. Sand and Gravel did not respond. The company waited until December 2020, more than 16 months after the orders became final, to seek reopening. It said it had not received the penalty petition or show-cause order…
L.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Pikesville Carrier Annex, Pikesville, MD
Board upholds abandonment of requested telephone hearing (ECAB 20-1539)
L.T., a postal employee, requested a telephone hearing after OWCP denied an additional schedule award. OWCP mailed notice of the scheduled hearing to her address of record. Neither L.T. nor her representative called in, sought a postponement, or explained the absence within the required period. The…
T.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, New Orleans, LA
Board orders further review of cervical disability recurrence (ECAB 20-0978)
T.L., a postal mail handler, had accepted cervical conditions and underwent an authorized neck surgery. He sought compensation for a renewed period of total disability in September 2018. His physician consistently said he could not perform modified duty because of continuing cervical problems and…
M.E. and Department of the Army, Army National Guard, Fort Dix, NJ
Board reverses termination of back and shoulder benefits (ECAB 20-0877)
M.E., an Army National Guard repairer, had accepted injuries to his neck, back, chest, and right shoulder. OWCP terminated his wage-loss and medical benefits effective April 30, 2019 based on an impartial examiner's opinion. The Board found that the examiner did not adequately explain why all…
Palm Beach Aggregates LLC v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. Palm Beach Aggregates LLC
Palm Beach Aggregates LLC v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC SE 2020-0067 RM): Pandemic processing delay excused
Palm Beach Aggregates began working remotely one day before a proposed assessment arrived in March 2020. The assessment did not reach the safety director until after the contest deadline, and the company filed a contest about two weeks later. The Commission found the moderate delay excusable under…
Matter of Jose AGUILAR-BARAJAS
Aggravated statutory rape was child abuse
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal after an Immigration Judge terminated removal proceedings against a Mexican lawful permanent resident convicted of aggravated statutory rape in Tennessee. The Board held that the offense categorically qualified as a crime of child…
Timothy J. Ray v. Middle Creek Energy, Incorporated
Ray v. Middle Creek Energy (BRB 20-0509 BLA): black lung benefits denial affirmed
Timothy Ray appealed the denial of black lung benefits without a lawyer. He reported as many as sixteen years of coal mine work, but the administrative law judge credited 11.37 years after reviewing earnings records and other evidence. The Board upheld that calculation, which left Ray below the…
Bobby Smith v. Eastern Coal Corporation/Pittston Company
Smith v. Eastern Coal (BRB 20-0422 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Bobby Smith sought black lung benefits after 15.85 years of underground coal mine work, including a utility job requiring heavy labor. An administrative law judge found that pulmonary function tests and medical opinions established total respiratory disability, so Smith qualified for the statutory…
Raymond Steele v. Jude Energy, Incorporated
Steele v. Jude Energy (BRB 20-0365 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Raymond Steele filed another black lung claim after an earlier denial, and an administrative law judge credited 19.55 years of underground coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The judge applied the statutory presumption connecting the disability to pneumoconiosis and…
Effort Thornsberry v. ICG Knott County, LLC
Thornsberry v. ICG Knott County (BRB 20-0354 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Effort Thornsberry sought black lung benefits after at least fifteen years of underground coal mine employment. An administrative law judge found a totally disabling respiratory impairment and applied the statutory presumption that it was due to pneumoconiosis. ICG Knott County argued that the…
Mark Ward, Sr. v. Kopper Glo Mining, Incorporated
Ward v. Kopper Glo Mining (BRB 20-0353 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Mark Ward sought black lung benefits after 33.1 years of qualifying coal mine employment. An administrative law judge found that pulmonary function tests and medical opinions established total respiratory disability, then applied the statutory presumption connecting that disability to…
Carole L. Lewis v. Ceres Gulf, Incorporated
Lewis v. Ceres Gulf (BRB 20-0313, 20-0313A): disability compensation ruling affirmed
Carole Lewis injured her shoulder after falling while exiting a truck at work for Ceres Gulf. A judge awarded temporary total disability compensation for a period before surgery and temporary partial disability compensation after a later return-to-work offer. Lewis argued that the equipment cleaner…
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.