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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Ronald Shaw v. Ceres Marine Terminals, Incorporated
Shaw v. Ceres Marine Terminals (BRB 20-0263, 21-0082): disability and fee awards affirmed
Ronald Shaw was injured while driving a yard tractor at the Port of Charleston. An administrative law judge found that he could not return to his usual longshore work and that Ceres Marine Terminals had not shown suitable alternate employment. The employer challenged both the permanent total…
Mohammad N. Saheed v. Valbin Corporation
Saheed v. Valbin (BRB 20-0393): reconsideration denied
Mohammad Saheed filed a timely motion asking the Benefits Review Board to reconsider its March 30, 2021 decision in his case against Valbin Corporation. No panel member voted to vacate or change that decision. The Board denied the motion without revisiting the merits of the earlier decision.
Larry Thacker v. Eastern Coal Corporation
Thacker v. Eastern Coal (BRB 20-0286 BLA): miner benefits award affirmed
Larry Thacker sought black lung benefits after at least fifteen years of underground coal mine work. Eastern Coal challenged its designation as the responsible operator, the admission of a Department of Labor medical report, and the finding that it failed to rebut the statutory presumption. The…
James R. Clark v. Dominion Coal Corporation
Clark v. Dominion Coal (BRB 20-0264 BLA): miner's benefits award affirmed
James Clark sought black lung benefits after thirty-four years of underground coal mine work. Dominion Coal challenged the administrative law judge's appointment, the loss of records from Clark's earlier claim, and the finding of total respiratory disability. The Board rejected the procedural…
Ronald Shaw v. Ceres Marine Terminals, Incorporated
Shaw v. Ceres Marine Terminals (BRB 20-0263, 21-0082): disability and fee awards affirmed
Ronald Shaw was injured while driving a yard tractor at the Port of Charleston. An administrative law judge found that he could not return to his usual longshore work and that Ceres Marine Terminals had not shown suitable alternate employment. The employer challenged both the permanent total…
Laverne B. McDaniel v. Squaw Creek Coal Company
McDaniel v. Squaw Creek Coal (BRB 20-0253 BLA, 20-0253 BLA-A): miner benefits denial affirmed
Laverne McDaniel sought black lung benefits after more than fifteen years of qualifying coal mine work. An administrative law judge denied the claim because McDaniel had not shown a totally disabling respiratory impairment, so he could not invoke the statutory presumption. McDaniel challenged the…
Benjamin W. Thompson v. Reddinger Coal Company
Thompson v. Reddinger Coal (BRB 20-0230 BLA): withdrawal of reconsideration granted
Reddinger Coal and its carrier moved to withdraw their request for en banc reconsideration of the Board's earlier decision affirming Benjamin Thompson's black lung benefits award. The Board granted the withdrawal and dismissed the reconsideration motion with prejudice. The earlier benefits…
Jackie Potter v. D & D Mining Company
Potter v. D & D Mining (BRB 20-0175 BLA): complicated pneumoconiosis finding remanded
Jackie Potter received black lung benefits after an administrative law judge found complicated pneumoconiosis from x-rays. D & D Mining challenged the judge's authority and the medical findings. The Board rejected the employer's procedural challenges, but held that the judge had not adequately…
Adrian L. Cessna v. Arch on the Green, Incorporated
Cessna v. Arch on the Green (BRB 19-0489 BLA): reconsideration denied
Arch on the Green asked the Benefits Review Board to reconsider its February 2021 decision in Adrian Cessna's case. The motion was timely, but no member of the panel voted to grant it. The Board denied reconsideration, leaving the earlier decision in place.
J.M. and Social Security Administration, Baltimore, MD
Board dismisses late appeal of 2017 decision (ECAB 21-0888)
J.M. appealed a December 11, 2017 OWCP nonmerit decision on May 20, 2021. The filing came well after the 180 day deadline for Board review. The Board found no documented compelling circumstances that would excuse the delay. It dismissed the appeal without deciding the merits.
M.T. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Gulfport, MS
Board dismisses late appeal of 2018 decision (ECAB 21-0860)
M.T. appealed an OWCP decision issued June 22, 2018. She did not file her Board appeal until May 12, 2021, far beyond the 180 day deadline. The record did not contain the other decision date she mentioned, and she did not document compelling circumstances for the delay. The Board dismissed the…
C.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Newark, NJ
Board dismisses appeal at claimant’s request (ECAB 21-0788)
C.G. appealed a March 4, 2021 OWCP decision. The appellant subsequently sent a letter requesting dismissal. The Board granted the request and dismissed docket 21-0788. The order does not resolve the underlying benefits claim.
K.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Minneapolis VA Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN
Board dismisses appeal at claimant’s request (ECAB 21-0687)
K.M. appealed a March 12, 2021 OWCP decision. She later submitted a letter asking that the appeal be dismissed. The Board granted the request and dismissed docket 21-0687. It did not reach the merits of the compensation dispute.
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, North Reading, MA
Board dismisses appeal at claimant’s request (ECAB 21-0484)
J.C. appealed a December 29, 2020 OWCP nonmerit decision. He later asked the Board to dismiss the appeal. The Board granted his request and dismissed docket 21-0484. The order does not decide the underlying claim.
A.M. and Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Las Cruces, NM
Board dismisses appeal at claimant’s request (ECAB 21-0309)
A.M. appealed a December 10, 2020 OWCP decision. Her counsel later submitted a written request to dismiss the appeal. The Board granted the request and dismissed docket 21-0309. It did not decide the underlying compensation issue.
P.C. and U.S. Postal Service, North Richland Hills Post Office, North Richland Hills, TX
Board confirms overpayment but remands waiver request (ECAB 20-1216)
P.C. continued to receive wage loss compensation after returning to work. The Board upheld OWCP’s finding of a $2,317.20 overpayment from December 14, 2019 through January 4, 2020, for which he was not at fault. It also upheld denial of an untimely prerecoupment hearing request. OWCP had failed to…
L.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Stockton, CA
Board reverses penalty for alleged refusal of suitable work (ECAB 20-0946)
OWCP terminated L.A.’s wage loss compensation and schedule award entitlement for allegedly refusing suitable postal work. She had responded within the 15 day period and accepted the offered position, though she mentioned a planned vacation. The Board found that OWCP failed to follow the required…
T.R. and Department of Justice, Federal Correctional Complex, Coleman, FL
Board upholds six percent arm impairment award (ECAB 20-0588)
T.R. sought increased schedule award compensation for his left arm. He had already received an award based on six percent permanent impairment. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish a higher rating under the applicable impairment guides. It affirmed OWCP’s December 4, 2019…
L.O. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Burbank, CA
Board upholds denial of injury claim after scanner incident (ECAB 20-0226)
L.O., a transportation security officer, claimed a medical condition after a workplace incident inside an advanced imaging technology machine. A physician listed nausea and x-ray exposure as diagnoses but said the findings were inconclusive as to a connection with the incident. The Board found the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3954 and United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution Phoenix, Arizona
AFGE Local 3954 and FCI Phoenix (FLRA 0-AR-5623): Authority remands information-access grievance
AFGE Local 3954 requested prison-lobby access and agency records while investigating a separate compensation grievance at FCI Phoenix. The agency did not respond for more than two years, and the Union filed a second grievance alleging statutory and contract violations. The arbitrator dismissed that…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration and American Federation of Government Employees, National Veterans Affairs Council #53
Veterans Benefits Administration and AFGE Council 53 (FLRA 0-AR-5414): Authority denies reconsideration of performance-plan ruling
The Veterans Benefits Administration stopped providing the 90-day performance improvement plans required by its agreement with AFGE Council 53 before taking performance-based actions. An arbitrator found that the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act did not…
Secretary of Labor obo Ryan S. Lemley v. Monongalia County Coal Resources, Inc.
Temporary reinstatement granted
Ryan Lemley, a belt cleaner at Monongalia County Mine, alleged that the operator discharged him after years of reporting safety issues, accompanying inspectors, and filing complaints with MSHA. The Secretary's investigator cited those activities, management's alleged hostility, different treatment…
Yadav v. Frost Bank
SOX complaint dismissed
Vinay Yadav alleged that Frost Bank retaliated against him in violation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act through actions tied to his employment and later legal proceedings. The Board held that alleged actions before July 12, 2019 were outside the 180-day filing period. Yadav's FBI complaint did not…
M.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bloomington, IN
Board upholds termination of injury benefits (ECAB 20-1682)
M.L. received compensation for an accepted postal work injury. OWCP ended her benefits effective February 5, 2017 after finding that injury related disability and residuals had ceased. The Board found the termination proper and found she had not proven continued work related disability after that…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Rockford, ND
Board upholds five percent impairment awards for both legs (ECAB 20-1667)
S.M. sought additional schedule award compensation for permanent impairment of both legs. She had already received an award based on five percent impairment of each leg. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish a greater impairment in either leg. It affirmed OWCP’s August 13…
F.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Dallas Processing & Distribution Center, Dallas, TX
Board upholds retirement offset overpayment and recovery (ECAB 20-1609)
F.K. received FECA wage loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits without the required offset. The Board found a $56,461.28 overpayment from June 1, 2015 through November 9, 2019, although she was not at fault. It upheld denial of waiver and recovery by $475 deductions from…
J.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, El Paso, TX
Board orders further review of hearing loss award (ECAB 20-1364)
J.R., a border patrol agent, received a schedule award decision after accepted hearing loss from workplace noise. The record also raised tinnitus, but the medical assessment did not adequately resolve whether he had it and whether it increased the award. The Board directed OWCP to obtain a…
D.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Indianapolis, IN
Board reverses benefit termination but declines claim expansion (ECAB 20-0936)
D.E. sought acceptance of several additional physical and emotional conditions after a postal injury. The Board found she had not established those conditions as part of the accepted claim. It also found OWCP had not met its burden to end her wage loss and medical benefits effective April 4, 2019…
Fraternal Order of Police, DC Lodge 1, NDW Labor Committee and United States Department of the Navy, Naval Support Activity
FOP DC Lodge 1 and Naval Support Activity (FLRA 0-NG-3473): Authority rejects civilian-only police chain of command
The Fraternal Order of Police proposed that civilian police officers at the Naval Support Activity be supervised only through specified civilian police positions. The Authority found that this restriction would prevent military personnel from serving in the supervisory chain and would dictate which…
Matter of Jorge MORADEL
Simple-possession waiver available to special immigrant juvenile
The Board reviewed a Special Immigrant Juvenile's application for adjustment of status after a New Jersey conviction for possessing 50 grams or less of marijuana. It held that the waiver available under section 245(h)(2)(B) can cover inadmissibility for a single offense of simple possession of 30…
Jamek Engineering Services, Inc.
Wage award and debarment remanded
Jamek Engineering Services painted a federally funded apartment project and was found by an ALJ to have underpaid workers, submitted deficient payrolls, made improper union-fee deductions, and committed violations warranting three years of debarment. The Board held that Jamek's internal payroll…
R.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Manhattan Vehicle Maintenance Facility, New York, NY
Board upholds refusal to reopen compensation claim (ECAB 21-0265)
R.M. requested reconsideration of an earlier OWCP decision. He supplied no new medical evidence relevant to the underlying medical question and did not show a legal error. The Board found that he met none of the three grounds for reopening the merits under 20 C.F.R. § 10.606(b)(3). It affirmed…
T.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, H.G. Hefner Veterans Medical Center, Salisbury, NC
Board upholds denial of shoulder condition claim (ECAB 21-0175)
T.G. sought acceptance of a left shoulder condition after an accepted workplace incident on September 5, 2018. The Board found the newer medical evidence did not sufficiently explain how the incident caused the shoulder condition. It affirmed OWCP’s September 16, 2020 denial.
L.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cameron, NC
Board upholds denial of intermittent disability benefits (ECAB 20-1594)
L.F. claimed intermittent disability from December 3, 2018 through February 28, 2020 after an accepted 2014 postal work injury. The Board upheld OWCP’s calculation under the Shadrick formula: her wage-earning amount exceeded her pay rate when disability began, leaving no wage loss for the claimed…
L.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Newark, NJ
Board confirms retirement offset but orders new overpayment calculation (ECAB 20-1574)
L.K. received FECA wage loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits without the required offset. The Board found an overpayment existed from December 1, 2016 through March 30, 2019, but OWCP had not clearly explained its amount or separated the effects of insurance premium deductions…
M.C. and Department of the Army, Madigan Army Medical Center, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA
Board finds reconsideration request was timely (ECAB 20-1515)
M.C. sought reconsideration of a decision about rescission of acceptance of a concussion claim. OWCP treated her request as late and applied the strict clear error standard. The Board found the request was received within one year of the September 7, 2016 merit decision. It remanded for OWCP to use…
J.G. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Patrol, Ribbonwood, CA
Board upholds denial of claimed disability period (ECAB 20-1471)
J.G. sought compensation for disability from February 9 through March 24, 2020 after an accepted November 2018 work injury. He had returned to modified work after the injury. The Board found that his evidence did not establish that the accepted injury caused disability during the later period. It…
S.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Charlotte, NC
Board remands dog chase injury claim for medical review (ECAB 20-1346)
S.W. filed an occupational disease form after being chased by a dog while delivering mail on a single workday. The Board treated the allegation as a traumatic injury and found that the incident occurred as described. It did not decide whether the incident caused a medical condition. The Board…
K.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Sioux Falls, SD
Board orders further review of shoulder and neck claim (ECAB 20-1001)
K.B. claimed that VA work duties aggravated her left shoulder and neck conditions. Her physician explained how duties after her return to work in September 2007 could have worsened the conditions. The Board found the opinion insufficient to establish the claim outright but strong enough to require…
K.P., widow of J.P., and U.S. Postal Service, Watertown Post Office, Watertown, NY
Board remands survivor’s claim for fuller medical review (ECAB 20-0918)
K.P. sought survivor’s compensation after the death of her spouse, a postal employee with accepted work injuries. A psychiatrist had opined that the employee’s suicide was linked to his work related pain and conditions. OWCP later updated its accepted conditions and received additional factual…
J.C. and Department of the Army, Medical Command, Fort Benning, GA
Board orders further medical review of injury claim (ECAB 20-0882)
J.C. sought acceptance of a medical condition after an accepted workplace incident on May 15, 2014. A physician’s opinion raised an uncontroverted inference that the condition was related to the incident, although it did not conclusively prove the claim. The Board found OWCP needed to develop the…
D.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Grosse Pointe Station, Grosse Pointe, MI
Board orders further review of back condition claim (ECAB 20-0850)
D.W. claimed a back condition after lifting and holding a heavy mail tray at work. Her physician explained how the activity could have caused sacroiliac strain and sacroiliitis. The Board found his reports did not conclusively establish the claim but were sufficient to require further medical…
T.P. and Department of the Navy, Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia, PA
Board upholds calculation of forfeiture overpayment (ECAB 20-0791)
T.P. challenged OWCP’s calculation of compensation forfeited during two earlier periods. Following a prior Board remand, OWCP calculated the resulting overpayment as $134,768.70. The Board found the calculation proper for October 15, 1993 through October 21, 1997 and January 1, 1998 through…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 987 and United States Department of the Air Force, Warner Robins Air Force Base, Georgia
AFGE Local 987 and Warner Robins Air Force Base (FLRA 0-AR-5680): Authority denies unsupported exceptions
AFGE Local 987 challenged an arbitration award involving Warner Robins Air Force Base and asked the Authority for an expedited, abbreviated decision. The agency did not oppose that request, and the Authority granted it after considering the case's complexity, likely precedential value, similarity…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Nashville Regional Office, Veterans Benefits Administration and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2470
Nashville VA Regional Office and AFGE Local 2470 (FLRA 0-AR-5552): Authority upholds disabled veteran's leave award
A disabled veteran at the Nashville VA Regional Office had regularly received leave without pay for medical treatment until the agency began requiring a detailed treatment plan. The agency treated several later absences as unauthorized and suspended the employee for seven days. An arbitrator found…
C.H. and Department of the Navy, Commander, Navy Installations Command, San Diego, CA
Board orders merit review despite late reconsideration request (ECAB 21-0264)
C.H. requested reconsideration more than a year after OWCP denied his injury claim. Although the request was late, his original claim form and medical records consistently described the incident, and the employer had not disputed it. The Board found clear evidence that OWCP erred in rejecting the…
M.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, San Francisco, CA
Board reverses termination of psychiatric injury benefits (ECAB 20-1654)
M.R. received benefits for an accepted psychiatric condition. OWCP ended them based on a referral physician’s opinion that work related symptoms had resolved. The materials given to that physician conflicted about which psychiatric conditions OWCP had accepted. The Board found his opinion could not…
D.D. and Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, Newark, NJ
Board upholds former counsel’s approved fee (ECAB 20-0844)
D.D. challenged a $4,514.75 fee approved for services by his former counsel from March 2012 through May 2014. The Board reviewed OWCP’s decision for abuse of discretion. It found none in the amount approved. The Board affirmed the September 23, 2019 decision.
United States Department of the Army and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 2189
Department of the Army and NFFE Local 2189 (FLRA 0-AR-5474): Authority allows overtime arbitration to continue
NFFE Local 2189 challenged the Army's overtime payments and its classification of numerous positions as exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act. The arbitrator found the Union's grievance arbitrable and later issued a preliminary ruling on exemption classifications, while leaving damages, an…
P.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Atlanta Veterans Administration Medical Center, Decatur, GA
Board upholds refusal to reopen compensation claim (ECAB 21-0196)
P.C. requested reconsideration of an earlier compensation decision. The Board found that his submission did not identify a legal error, offer a new legal argument, or provide relevant new evidence warranting merit review. It affirmed OWCP’s August 19, 2020 refusal to reopen the claim.
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chicago, IL
Board requires clearer medical opinion on knee conditions (ECAB 21-0149)
S.M. sought acceptance of left knee meniscus and arthritis conditions after an accepted postal injury. OWCP obtained an impartial examination, but the examiner’s opinion lacked the detail needed to resolve the medical conflict. The Board ordered OWCP to seek a reasoned supplemental opinion or a new…
R.A. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Paradise Fossil Plant, Drakesboro, KY
Board orders impartial review of lung disease claim (ECAB 20-1612)
R.A. sought acceptance of a work related pulmonary condition. One physician read a chest x-ray as showing occupational pneumoconiosis, while another disagreed. The Board found an unresolved conflict in the medical evidence. It ordered an impartial specialist’s evaluation and a new OWCP decision.
A.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Gastonia, NC
Board orders related injury and emotional condition files combined (ECAB 20-1605)
A.H. claimed an emotional condition connected to an earlier accepted postal vehicle incident. OWCP denied the newer claim, but the record lacked the file for his 2014 accepted neck and back injuries. The Board found that the files needed to be combined to evaluate the emotional condition claim…
L.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Fort Worth Processing & Distribution Center, Fort Worth, TX
Board finds overpayment but remands its calculation (ECAB 20-1058)
L.C. continued to receive total disability compensation after returning to limited duty. The Board found that this created an overpayment. It could not verify the period and amount OWCP calculated because the records needed further reconciliation. The Board affirmed the existence of an overpayment…
National Guard Bureau, Air National Guard Readiness Center and Association of Civilian Technicians
Air National Guard Readiness Center and ACT (FLRA WA-RP-18-0061): Authority dismisses nationwide social-worker petition
The Association of Civilian Technicians sought an election for a nationwide bargaining unit of 104 Air National Guard social workers located across the states and territories. A regional director found the proposed unit inappropriate because state wing commanders controlled day-to-day employment…
M.M. and Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Grand Rapids, MI
Board upholds refusal to reopen compensation claim (ECAB 21-0227)
M.M. requested reconsideration after OWCP denied her injury claim; OWCP had accepted the reported work incident but found no diagnosed condition causally linked to it. The Board found that her submission met none of the three grounds for reopening the claim’s merits under 20 C.F.R. § 10.606(b)(3)…
L.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Washington, DC
Board confirms late filing but remands clear error review (ECAB 21-0057)
L.A. requested reconsideration of an earlier compensation decision on March 17, 2020. The Board agreed that the request fell outside the one year deadline. It found the record was not ready to decide whether the request nevertheless showed clear evidence of error. The Board affirmed the timeliness…
D.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Hickory Hill Post Office, Memphis, TN
Board orders complete medical record for arm impairment rating (ECAB 20-1286)
D.F. sought a higher schedule award than the 12 percent right arm impairment previously paid. OWCP’s medical adviser reported that he had not received the statement of accepted facts. The Board found his opinion insufficient and directed OWCP to supply an updated statement and complete case record…
J.R. and Department of the Army, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC
Board confirms overpayment but remands waiver (ECAB 20-1215)
J.R. received FECA wage loss and Social Security retirement benefits without a required offset. The Board upheld a $1,567.09 overpayment for May 1, 2018 through September 14, 2019, finding she was not at fault. It found waiver of recovery needed further review and remanded that issue. The Board…
V.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Seminole Processing & Distribution Center, Orlando, FL
Board declines to add right arm conditions to accepted claim (ECAB 20-0982)
V.G. sought to add a right shoulder rotator cuff tear, right carpal tunnel syndrome, and right stenosing tenosynovitis as consequences of an accepted 2011 postal injury. The Board found the medical evidence did not establish the required causal relationship for those additional conditions. It…
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.