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.
I.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Kansas City Processing & Distribution Center, Kansas City, MO
Board grants postal worker request to dismiss appeal (ECAB 21-0286)
I.L. appealed a November 9, 2020 OWCP decision on December 21, 2020. In a letter dated June 14 and received June 22, 2021, I.L. asked the Board to dismiss the appeal. The Board granted the request and dismissed the case without reaching the merits of the underlying compensation claim.
C.C. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Rouses Point, NY
Board grants request to dismiss C.C.'s appeal (ECAB 20-1632)
C.C. appealed an August 13, 2020 OWCP decision through counsel on September 16, 2020. Counsel then sent a letter dated and received July 1, 2021 asking the Board to dismiss the appeal. The Board granted the request and dismissed the case without deciding the merits of the compensation claim.
A.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Orlando, FL
Board upholds denial of claimed wage loss after injury (ECAB 20-1144)
A.M., a transportation security officer, sought wage-loss compensation starting April 9, 2017 after an accepted work injury involving her back, neck, and shoulder. She had returned to modified work earlier. Her medical evidence did not establish that an accepted injury condition disabled her from…
A.M. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, El Cajon, CA
Board upholds denial of late oral hearing request (ECAB 21-0256)
A.M., a border patrol agent, sought a hearing after OWCP ruled on his back injury claim. His request was postmarked October 6, 2020, more than 30 days after OWCP's May 11, 2020 decision. OWCP also considered whether to grant a hearing as a matter of discretion and found that reconsideration could…
L.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Freehold Post Office, Freehold, NJ
Board orders more medical review of rural carrier back claim (ECAB 21-0215)
L.H., a rural mail carrier, attributed back, leg, and hip conditions to years of lifting, bending, twisting, and other postal duties. A treating physician described her work activities and explained how repeated physical strain contributed to spinal degeneration. The Board found that the medical…
T.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Torresdale Station, Philadelphia, PA
Board orders correct review of late reconsideration request (ECAB 20-1306)
T.M. asked OWCP to reconsider an earlier compensation decision after the one-year filing period expired. OWCP reviewed the request under the standard for timely filings instead of asking whether the evidence showed clear error. The Board set aside OWCP's December 30, 2019 decision and directed it…
Roy Rock, LLC
Rebar-machine lockout citation vacated because maintenance standard did not apply
Roy Rock used a Rod Chomper machine to bend and cut reinforcing steel at a New Jersey construction site. An employee was removing a bending cylinder while the machine remained energized when it started operating, breaking one finger and cutting two others. OSHA cited the company under a…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, Washington and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3197
VA Puget Sound and AFGE Local 3197 (FLRA 0-AR-5632): Authority upholds housekeeper hazard differential
VA hospital housekeepers handled waste, body fluids, contaminated linens, sharps, and rooms affected by infectious-disease outbreaks. An arbitrator found that training and protective equipment did not practically eliminate the risk of injury from high-hazard microorganisms and awarded an…
Matter of O-R-E-
Genocide-bar and misrepresentation findings upheld
The Board reviewed a Rwandan refugee's challenge to removal proceedings based on alleged false statements in his refugee application and evidence of participation in the 1994 genocide. It held that Immigration Judges and the Board cannot recognize an equitable laches defense in removal proceedings…
C.T., widow of J.T., and Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Belcourt, ND
Board reverses retirement offset overpayment finding (ECAB 21-0153)
OWCP found a $15,899.82 overpayment because it had not offset Social Security retirement benefits against FECA compensation paid to J.T. His widow appealed. The Board found no evidence establishing whether J.T. belonged to the Federal Employees Retirement System, the condition needed for OWCP's…
B.C. and Department of Health & Human Services, Indian Health Service, Claremore, OK
Board orders new impairment review for nurse (ECAB 20-1423)
B.C., a nurse with accepted wrist and shoulder injuries, sought a schedule award. OWCP denied the claim as though she had no permanent impairment, although the record contained earlier awards for both arms that had not been paid. The hearing representative did not address whether she had additional…
R.L. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Danbury, CT
Board upholds prison worker injury and reconsideration denials (ECAB 20-1403)
R.L., a federal prison employee, appealed OWCP decisions denying a claimed injury and declining merit review on reconsideration. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish a condition caused by the accepted October 30, 2019 work incident. It also found that the reconsideration…
E.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Plainfield, NJ
Board upholds denial of late oral hearing request (ECAB 20-1290)
E.E., a city carrier assistant, sought an oral hearing after OWCP decided her right foot injury claim. Her hearing request was postmarked January 10, 2020. The 30-day period following the December 6, 2019 OWCP decision extended through the next business day after Sunday, January 5, but her request…
T.W. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jersey City, NJ
Board upholds denial of deckhand back injury claim (ECAB 20-0836)
T.W., an Army Corps deckhand, reported a thoracic back injury after bending and lifting at work. The work incident was accepted, but the Board found that the medical reports did not adequately explain how it caused a diagnosed condition. Earlier Board review had found the evidence insufficient, and…
J.B. and Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service, Salmon-Challis National Forest, Challis, ID
Board reverses rescission of ranger accepted conditions (ECAB 20-0597)
J.B., a Forest Service wilderness ranger, had an accepted claim following a tick bite at work. OWCP later rescinded acceptance of Lyme disease, toxic effect of venom, and cervical conditions. The Board found that OWCP's referral physician gave an equivocal and insufficiently reasoned opinion on…
D.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Jesse Brown Medical Center, Chicago, IL
Board orders further review of cervical condition claim (ECAB 20-0551)
D.M., a medical center addiction specialist, sought acceptance of cervical conditions linked to her work duties. A physician explained how repeated reaching and sitting could strain the cervical spine and aggravate disc disease. The Board found his supplemental opinion sufficiently reasoned to…
MP Mine Operations LLC
In re MP Mine Operations LLC (EAB TSCA Docket No. TSCA-HQ-2021-5004): consent agreement ratified with $19,964 penalty
MP Mine Operations LLC voluntarily disclosed potential TSCA noncompliance involving an imported chemical identified in the agreement as Chemical A. The settlement addressed alleged violations involving importation of a new chemical without a Premanufacture Notice, required import certifications…
Moss v. CSX Transportation, Inc.
Medical-treatment claim denial affirmed
Locomotive engineer Edward Moss was operating a train when a person entered the track and was fatally struck. Moss told a supervisor that the crew should be relieved under company procedures, but he did not request medical treatment or hospital transportation and did not then know he had physical…
A.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
Board upholds denial of additional leg impairment award (ECAB 21-0506)
A.R., a postal mail carrier, sought a schedule award for more than six percent impairment of his left lower extremity. Earlier medical opinions had conflicted, and OWCP had awarded six percent in total. On further review, a new impartial examiner found no current lower extremity impairment using…
P.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Point Breeze Station, Philadelphia, PA
Board orders timely reconsideration standard for carrier (ECAB 20-1192)
P.S., a postal carrier with an accepted post traumatic stress disorder claim, disputed a wage-loss decision. OWCP treated his later reconsideration request as untimely and applied the stricter clear evidence of error standard. The Board found that his letters identifying the disputed decision and…
K.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bellmawr, NJ
Board orders merit review of withdrawn duty assignment claim (ECAB 20-1188)
K.N., a postal mail processor, argued that her employer withdrew an available light-duty position and that this caused a recurrence of disability. OWCP denied merit review of her reconsideration request. The Board found that her argument about withdrawal of a modified assignment was relevant and…
Ruben Paredes Zapata v. Constellis Group/Triple Canopy, Incorporated
Paredes Zapata v. Constellis Group (BRB 21-0231): psychological injury denial affirmed
Ruben Paredes Zapata worked as a security guard in Iraq and sought benefits for an alleged psychological injury. An administrative law judge found that the employer had rebutted the presumption connecting the claimed condition to work. The judge gave greater weight to a psychologist's examination…
Paul E. Massey v. Electric Boat Corporation
Massey v. Electric Boat (BRB 21-0210): back surgery benefits denial affirmed
Paul Massey injured his back while working inside a submarine for Electric Boat and later underwent two back surgeries. He sought medical and temporary disability benefits for the surgeries and recovery periods. An administrative law judge found that Massey's evidence did not establish that the…
Cecil E. Bristow v. Emery Mining Corporation
Bristow v. Emery Mining (BRB 20-0513 BLA): miner's benefits award affirmed
Cecil Bristow sought black lung benefits after six and one-half years of coal mine work. A judge first denied his claim despite finding that his coal dust-related chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was totally disabling. In an earlier appeal, the Board reversed the denial and directed an…
Phillip R. Reynolds v. Island Creek Coal Company
Reynolds v. Island Creek Coal (BRB 20-0450 BLA): miner's benefits award affirmed
Phillip Reynolds sought black lung benefits after 20.62 years of underground coal mine work. An administrative law judge found him totally disabled and applied a presumption that pneumoconiosis caused the disability. Island Creek Coal contested whether its physicians had rebutted that presumption…
Thomas M. Rasnake v. Island Fork Construction, Limited
Rasnake v. Island Fork Construction (BRB 20-0437 BLA): miner's benefits award affirmed
Thomas Rasnake sought black lung benefits after 28.56 years of underground coal mine work. An administrative law judge found him totally disabled and applied a presumption that pneumoconiosis caused the disability. Island Fork Construction challenged the presumption's constitutionality and argued…
Billy G. Gaylor v. Consolidation Coal Company
Gaylor v. Consolidation Coal (BRB 20-0425 BLA): reconsideration motion returned to judge
Billy Gaylor's widow pursued his black lung claim after his death, and an administrative law judge awarded benefits. Consolidation Coal asked that judge to reconsider the award, but he denied the request as late. The Board held that the employer had 30 days to seek reconsideration and that its…
Wayne Caldwell v. Whitaker Coal Corporation
Caldwell v. Whitaker Coal (BRB 20-0358 BLA): miner's benefits award affirmed
Wayne Caldwell sought black lung benefits after 17.5 years of underground coal mine work. An administrative law judge found that recent pulmonary function studies and medical opinions showed total respiratory disability, invoking a presumption that Caldwell was disabled due to pneumoconiosis…
James E. Pierce v. Russell Coal, Incorporated
Pierce v. Russell Coal (BRB 20-0339 BLA): miner's benefits award affirmed
James Pierce sought black lung benefits after 19.5 years of coal mine work in Alabama. An administrative law judge found that medical opinions showed a respiratory impairment that kept Pierce from his usual heavy work as a serviceman. That finding invoked a presumption that he was disabled due to…
Fonso J. McIntosh v. Kentucky Carbon Processing Company
McIntosh v. Kentucky Carbon Processing (BRB 20-0310 BLA): miner's benefits award affirmed
Fonso McIntosh sought black lung benefits after at least nineteen years of coal mine work. An earlier administrative law judge denied benefits because he found that McIntosh had not shown total respiratory disability. On modification, a second judge found that pulmonary function studies and medical…
Brownie Compton (Widow of Charles C. Compton) v. Clinchfield Coal Company
Compton v. Clinchfield Coal (BRB 20-0247 BLA): survivor benefits award affirmed
Brownie Compton sought survivor benefits after her husband, Charles Compton, died following at least sixteen years of underground coal mine work. An administrative law judge found that a pulmonary function study showed total respiratory disability and applied the presumption that his death was due…
Fordham v. Fannie Mae
SOX complaint denial affirmed
Edna Fordham, an information-technology risk specialist at Fannie Mae, reported concerns about internal-control testing and documentation to management and federal agencies. After an earlier Board remand, the ALJ found that her protected SEC and housing-finance reports contributed to Fannie Mae…
Ellis v. Goodheart Specialty Meats
FSMA dismissal affirmed
Mary Ann Ellis alleged that Goodheart Specialty Meats terminated her because she complained about the safety and quality of a chicken product. The ALJ granted summary decision to the company after finding that Ellis could not establish essential elements of a Food Safety Modernization Act…
L.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Fenkell Station, Detroit, MI
Board orders combined knee files for carrier wage loss claim (ECAB 21-0100)
L.H., a carrier technician, sought intermittent wage-loss compensation after a left knee injury at work. OWCP had separate files for earlier injuries involving the same knee but decided the new disability claim without combining them. The Board found that the files had to be combined for a full…
L.A. and Defense Health Agency, National Capital Region Medical Directorate, Bethesda, MD
Board orders hearing on technologist injury claim (ECAB 21-0048)
L.A., a medical technologist, sought a hearing after OWCP again denied her left wrist injury claim. OWCP refused because she had sought reconsideration earlier in the case. The Board found that she had not sought reconsideration of the valid August 12, 2020 decision and requested the hearing within…
D.C. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Services Agency, Jamaica, NY
Board upholds denial of right hip surgery authorization (ECAB 20-0854)
D.C., a training specialist, had an accepted right hip contusion and sprain after a door struck him at work. He sought authorization for a right hip arthroplasty. His physician diagnosed advanced arthritis but did not explain how the accepted work injury caused the condition requiring surgery. The…
D.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Jack D. Watson Post Office, Fort Worth, TX
Board upholds denial of additional leg schedule award (ECAB 20-0811)
D.F., a postal carrier, sought a larger schedule award for her left leg. A physician assigned 25 percent impairment based on a left hip replacement, but the accepted conditions did not include a left hip contusion and the surgery had not been authorized for an accepted condition. The Board found…
United States Department of the Army, White Sands Missile Range and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 2049
White Sands Missile Range and NFFE Local 2049 (FLRA 0-AR-5525): Authority leaves long-running overtime case open
NFFE Local 2049 filed a broad overtime grievance in 2009 after an earlier 2007 grievance was found procedurally defective. Years of threshold litigation established that the later grievance was arbitrable. A successor arbitrator then ruled that it covered employees joining the bargaining unit after…
Novick v. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, LLC
Appeal dismissed for missed briefing
Michael Novick appealed after an ALJ granted summary decision to Morgan Stanley Smith Barney on his Sarbanes-Oxley Act complaint. The Board extended his opening-brief deadline at his request. Novick missed the extended deadline, did not seek another extension or permission to file late, and…
Yadav v. Frost Bank
Reconsideration denied
Vinay Yadav alleged that Frost Bank took adverse actions against him in violation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. An ALJ dismissed the complaint for failure to state a claim and untimeliness, and the Board dismissed for the same reasons. Yadav sought panel and en banc rehearing, which the Board treated…
Garvey v. Morgan Stanley
Overseas SOX claim dismissed
Christopher Garvey worked in Tokyo and Hong Kong for foreign Morgan Stanley subsidiaries. He alleged that Morgan Stanley reduced his compensation and encouraged him to leave after he reported market manipulation, insider trading, tax fraud, and a possible cover-up. The Board held that the…
D.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Albuquerque, NM
Board upholds finding that postal worker abandoned hearing (ECAB 21-0276)
D.H., a postal mail processing clerk, requested a telephone hearing concerning his right knee injury claim. OWCP mailed notice of the scheduled hearing to his address of record with instructions for joining it. He did not participate, and the record did not show a timely explanation for his…
C.P. and Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Medical Center, John Cochran Division, St. Louis, MO
Board finds work incident occurred and orders medical review (ECAB 21-0246)
C.P., a nursing assistant, reported back symptoms after repositioning and handling patients during a shift. OWCP rejected the claim without evaluating medical causation. The Board found that the December 18, 2019 work incident occurred as described despite the supervisor’s allegation that C.P. gave…
Matter of CRUZ-VALDEZ
Administrative closure restored
The Attorney General reviewed a case involving a request to administratively close removal proceedings while the respondent pursued a provisional unlawful presence waiver. The order vacated the earlier decision, overruled Matter of Castro-Tum, and restored the prior standard under Matter of…
A.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Morgan Processing & Distribution Center, New York, NY
Board upholds denial of claimed wrist injury wage loss (ECAB 21-0312)
A.O., a postal worker, injured her left wrist when she tripped on a floor mat at work. She sought disability compensation beginning July 27, 2020. A physician's note took her off work but did not explain why the accepted injury caused disability during the claimed dates. The Board found the medical…
J.F. and Department of the Army, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Aberdeen, MD
Board upholds denial of merit reconsideration of allergy claim (ECAB 21-0273)
J.F., an Army safety specialist, attributed allergy symptoms to nicotine and cigarette smoke exposure at work. After OWCP denied the claim, he requested reconsideration. The Board found that his latest request supplied no qualifying new legal argument or evidence requiring review of the claim's…
E.M. and Department of the Navy, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, VA
Board upholds denial of shipyard worker injury claim (ECAB 21-0254)
E.M., a naval shipyard worker, reported an injury from a July 29, 2020 work incident. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the claim for lack of medical proof of a related condition. The submitted nurse practitioner and physician assistant reports could not supply a physician's…
M.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Dorn VA Medical Center, Columbia, SC
Board upholds denial of medical center worker injury claim (ECAB 21-0019)
M.B., a medical center social worker, reported injuries after slipping at work on February 11, 2019. The Board had previously found the medical evidence insufficient and directed merit reconsideration. On the renewed record, the additional medical material still did not provide a reasoned link…
M.C. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Pine Knot, KY
Board orders more review of prison technician foot claim (ECAB 20-1558)
M.C., a prison medical records technician, attributed right foot conditions to prolonged standing and walking at work. New reports from an orthopedic physician explained how the work activity could have caused a stress fracture and later malunion. The Board found that these reports were sufficient…
A.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Watson Community Station, Arlington, TX
Board orders further review of carrier foot disease claim (ECAB 20-1425)
A.R., a postal letter carrier, attributed pain in both feet to constant standing and walking at work. A physician diagnosed plantar fibromatosis and early arthritis and explained how repeated walking and standing could strain the feet. The Board found that the medical opinion justified further…
B.A. and Architect of the Capitol, Washington, DC
Board upholds augmented benefit overpayment and recovery (ECAB 20-0947)
B.A. received FECA wage-loss compensation at the higher rate for a worker with a dependent even after she and her spouse separated. The Board confirmed an $8,305.57 overpayment for the period June 16, 2002 through October 28, 2006. OWCP found her without fault, but she did not supply requested…
Secretary of Labor v. Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC
Twenty-one-citation settlement approved
Warrior Met Coal Mining and the Secretary proposed resolving two penalty cases by reducing total penalties from $61,707 to $33,035. Nine citations remained unchanged, while twelve were modified on injury likelihood, number of persons affected, injury severity, or negligence. Judge Thomas P…
S.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Brockton VA Medical Center, Brockton, MA
Board recognizes clinic overwork as compensable factor (ECAB 21-0184)
S.S. worked in an occupational health clinic as telephone calls and other duties increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. She attributed an emotional condition to the workload. The Board found that witness and supervisor statements supported overwork as a compensable employment factor. It reversed…
G.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Daleville Post Office, Daleville, AL
Board orders fact finding on carrier light duty availability (ECAB 21-0112)
G.P., a postal carrier with an accepted knee injury, sought compensation for two periods in 2016 when he said his limited-duty work was unavailable. The record contained restrictions and a search for alternative positions but did not establish whether suitable work was available during the claimed…
S.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Absecon, NJ
Board reverses unsupported life insurance overpayment (ECAB 20-1496)
OWCP said S.B., a postal worker, owed $1,387.89 because it had failed to deduct postretirement basic life insurance premiums from her compensation. The election form in the record was signed in January 2020 but did not state when the coverage election took effect. OWCP had charged premiums…
D.M. and Department of the Navy, Naval Base San Diego Public Works Center, San Diego, CA
Board upholds initial 16 percent left leg award (ECAB 20-1464)
D.M., a Navy equipment operator, sought a schedule award for his left leg and argued for more than the 16 percent OWCP granted. OWCP obtained a second medical opinion applying the required impairment rating guides. The Board found that the medical evidence did not support a higher rating than the…
M.H. and Department of the Interior, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Cottonwood Cove, NV
Board upholds denial of claimed work disability (ECAB 20-1404)
M.H., a maintenance team leader, sought disability compensation from April 29 through June 9, 2018 after OWCP accepted a cervical muscle strain but denied other claimed conditions, including his left arm condition. Medical notes stated that he could not work but did not explain whether the accepted…
Secretary of Labor v. Mingo Logan Coal, LLC
Unmailed contest form excused
Mingo Logan Coal's assistant safety manager timely completed a form identifying ten citations for contest. A clerical error left the completed form unmailed, and an internal audit found the mistake about six weeks after the assessment became final. The company then contacted counsel to seek…
Secretary of Labor v. Pedrotti Materials, LLC
Misaddressed assessment never became final
Pedrotti Materials did not receive a proposed penalty assessment because MSHA mailed it to the wrong address. The Secretary confirmed the agency's addressing error. The Commission held that the assessment never became final because the operator had not received it, so Rule 60 reopening relief was…
Edwin Andujar Bermudez, d/b/a Truly Nolen Pest Control de Caguas
In re Edwin Andujar Bermudez, d/b/a Truly Nolen Pest Control de Caguas (EAB FIFRA Appeal No. 21-(01)): Board declines review and initial decision becomes final
Edwin Andujar Bermudez, doing business as Truly Nolen Pest Control de Caguas, was the respondent in an EPA administrative proceeding. On June 3, 2021, the Regional Judicial Officer issued and served an Initial Decision and Default Order. Neither party appealed. The Environmental Appeals Board…
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.