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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S.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Greensboro Processing & Distribution Center, Greensboro, NC
Board upholds denial of back injury claim (ECAB 21-0128)
S.L., a mail handler, reported back pain while inducting mail on November 15, 2019. OWCP accepted that the work incident occurred. The Board found that the medical evidence did not adequately establish a diagnosed condition caused by the incident. It affirmed OWCP’s June 22, 2020 denial.
O.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Vandeveer Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
Board upholds left leg impairment award (ECAB 21-0084)
O.M. sought a schedule award above the two percent left leg impairment already compensated after an accepted knee contusion. The Board found that the evidence did not establish greater permanent impairment. It affirmed OWCP’s October 1, 2020 decision.
R.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Carrollton Station Post Office, New Orleans, LA
Board upholds retirement offset overpayment (ECAB 20-1606)
R.P. received FECA wage loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits without the required offset. The Board upheld a $20,862.82 overpayment for January 1, 2013 through November 9, 2019. It upheld denial of waiver and recovery by $300 deductions from continuing compensation every 28…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, West Garden Post Office, Garden Grove, CA
Board orders merits review of disability claim (ECAB 20-0806)
M.M. sought wage loss compensation for intermittent absences related to an accepted postal work injury. OWCP denied reconsideration without reviewing the merits. The Board found that she had raised a new and relevant argument about medical evidence linking her foot rash to the injury. It set aside…
D.U. (widow of G.U.) and Department of the Army, Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, NC
Board remands insurance premium debt against estate (ECAB 20-0594)
OWCP asserted that G.U. had received $51,537.14 too much compensation because life insurance premiums were omitted or underdeducted. His widow appealed the decision against his estate. The Board found the record did not show that OWCP followed required procedures for collecting a deceased…
K.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Eastside Station, Buffalo, NY
Board orders accurate medical review of arthritis claim (ECAB 21-0083)
K.R. sought to add right knee and left hip osteoarthritis to an accepted occupational disease claim. OWCP’s second opinion relied on an inaccurate account that omitted a previously accepted left hip condition. The Board found that the opinion could not resolve causation. It set aside OWCP’s…
D.V. and U.S. Postal Service, General Mail Facility, Fort Worth, TX
Board reverses termination based on stale medical report (ECAB 20-1548)
D.V. received compensation and medical benefits for accepted nerve conditions affecting his arms and neck. OWCP terminated those benefits effective July 3, 2019 based on an examination from April 2014. The Board found that a report more than five years old could not support a current termination…
T.C. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Yuma, AZ
Board upholds denial of ATV injury claim (ECAB 20-1513)
T.C., a border patrol agent, claimed a wrist injury after falling from an all-terrain vehicle during work. The Board found that he gave only a vague account and did not respond to OWCP’s request for details. The record did not establish the alleged incident in the performance of duty. It affirmed…
G.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Los Angeles, CA
Board upholds denial of back condition claim (ECAB 20-1329)
G.A. claimed lower back pain from prolonged sitting in his postal job. OWCP accepted the described work factors. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish a diagnosed condition caused by those factors. It affirmed OWCP’s March 19, 2020 decision.
S.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Salisbury Post Office, Salisbury, NC
Board orders fuller review of disability recurrence (ECAB 20-1273)
S.D. claimed a recurrence of disability beginning July 15, 2018 after an accepted postal work injury. OWCP obtained second opinions about her present condition, but neither physician addressed whether the accepted injuries had worsened and caused disability on the claimed date. The Board ordered a…
A.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Houston, TX
Board upholds retirement offset overpayment (ECAB 20-1210)
A.W. received FECA wage loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits without the required offset. The Board upheld a $19,667.43 overpayment for October 1, 2017 through October 12, 2019. It also upheld denial of waiver and recovery by $445 deductions from continuing compensation. It…
T.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Kaufman Post Office, Kaufman, TX
Board upholds denial of additional left arm award (ECAB 20-0660)
T.G. sought a schedule award above the 14 percent left arm impairment already compensated after an accepted shoulder injury. The Board found that the evidence did not establish greater permanent impairment. It affirmed OWCP’s November 25, 2019 decision.
Independent Union of Pension Employees for Democracy and Justice and United States Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and IUPEDJ (FLRA 0-AR-5596): Authority upholds untimely-grievance dismissal
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation contracted out administrative work performed by employee-benefit specialists and later transferred the remaining duties to a contractor. The Union filed an institutional grievance after the specialists lost their ability to change information in a computer…
Secretary of Labor v. Naselle Rock and Asphalt Company
Pandemic-delayed contests reopened
Naselle Rock and Asphalt received two proposed penalty assessments on March 23, 2020. Its offices closed one week later as a COVID-19 safety precaution, and personnel did not return until the week the assessments became final. Naselle mailed its contest forms on April 23, one day after the…
V.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Richmond Hill Post Office, Richmond Hill, GA
Board orders combined review of postal worker's injury claims (ECAB 21-0108)
V.B., a postmaster, sought compensation after a mail hamper struck her at work in 2018. OWCP denied the claim because it found that the medical evidence did not establish a causal connection between the incident and her diagnosed conditions. The Board found that OWCP had previously accepted…
T.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fayetteville, NC
Board upholds refusal to reopen postal worker's shoulder claim (ECAB 21-0045)
T.B., a mail handler, sought compensation for shoulder conditions that he attributed to repetitive lifting and carrying at work. OWCP accepted a left shoulder rotator cuff strain but denied his claim for a rotator cuff tear and several other conditions. When he asked OWCP to reconsider, it declined…
M.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Walpole Post Office, Walpole, MA
Board upholds 31 percent award for postal carrier's right leg (ECAB 20-1656)
M.C., a postal letter carrier, sought a larger schedule award for impairment caused by an accepted right hip condition. OWCP had awarded compensation for 31 percent permanent impairment of his right lower extremity, while his physician rated the impairment at 37 percent. OWCP obtained an impartial…
T.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Wichita, KS
Board upholds suspension of postal worker's wage loss benefits (ECAB 20-1598)
T.H. received wage loss benefits for an accepted back injury sustained while working for the Postal Service. OWCP asked him to return a Form EN1032 reporting earnings and employment activity, but he did not return it within 30 days. The Board upheld OWCP's suspension of his benefits effective April…
D.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Portland, OR
Board splits ruling on benefits after postal driver's workplace assault (ECAB 20-0747)
D.P., a Postal Service truck driver, received compensation after an assault at work caused accepted knee and psychological conditions. OWCP later ended wage loss payments and medical benefits for several conditions, while leaving medical benefits for PTSD in place. The Board found that OWCP's…
V.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Princeton, NJ
Board upholds end of benefits for postal carrier's accepted injuries (ECAB 20-0693)
V.W., a postal letter carrier, received benefits after a fall at work caused accepted left hand fractures and back strains. OWCP ended wage loss and medical benefits effective October 4, 2018, finding that the accepted conditions had resolved. The Board held that OWCP's second opinion physician…
L.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Panama City, FL
Board upholds denial of postal clerk's emotional condition claim (ECAB 20-0461)
L.C., a postal clerk, sought compensation for an emotional condition that she attributed to management actions at two post offices. She alleged improper instructions about delayed mail, personnel actions, and harassment. The Board found that the record did not establish management error or abuse in…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, John J. Pershing VA Medical Center, Poplar Bluff, Missouri and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2338
Pershing VA Medical Center and AFGE Local 2338 (FLRA 0-AR-5604, 0-AR-5653): Authority upholds official-time awards
AFGE Local 2338 alleged that the Pershing VA Medical Center repeatedly denied contractually allocated official time without explaining an operational need. An arbitrator sustained the grievance, ordered the agency to stop unjustified denials, and awarded make-whole relief to affected Union…
H.M. and Defense Agencies, Pentagon Force Protection Agency, Washington, DC
Board orders new examination of officer's leg impairment claim (ECAB 21-0046)
H.M., a Pentagon Force Protection Agency police officer, sought a schedule award for leg impairment after an accepted workplace fall. Her physician and OWCP's second opinion examiner disagreed about the degree of impairment. OWCP's impartial examiner rated impairment at zero, and OWCP denied the…
C.B. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, CA
Board upholds recovery of security screener's $4,490 benefit overpayment (ECAB 20-1256)
C.B., a former airport security screener, received FECA wage loss compensation while also receiving Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service. OWCP had not applied the required offset and calculated a $4,490.13 overpayment for October 25, 2010 through February 1, 2020. The…
K.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fontana, CA
Board sends postal worker's overpayment waiver request back to OWCP (ECAB 20-1223)
K.L., a postal letter carrier, received FECA wage loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service during the same period without the required offset. The Board agreed that this caused an overpayment and that K.L. was without fault. OWCP had denied waiver on…
P.K. and Department of Defense, Defense Commissary Agency, Quantico Commissary, Quantico, VA
Board orders review of omitted medical reports in commissary worker's claim (ECAB 20-0940)
P.K., a commissary worker, sought benefits for a left shoulder injury that she attributed to pulling loaded pallet jacks at work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the claim because it found the medical evidence did not establish a causal link to her diagnosed conditions. In its…
V.O. and U.S. Postal Service, South Portland Carrier Annex, South Portland, ME
Board rejects additional award for postal carrier's left arm impairment (ECAB 20-0287)
V.O., a postal letter carrier, had received a schedule award for 13 percent permanent impairment of his left upper extremity after accepted shoulder and arm injuries. He sought an additional award, relying on a physician's higher impairment rating. The Board found that OWCP's medical adviser…
United States Department of the Air Force, Warner Robins Air Logistics Center and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 987
Warner Robins Air Logistics Center and AFGE Local 987 (FLRA 0-AR-5434): Authority denies reconsideration of forum-election ruling
An employee filed an equal-employment-opportunity complaint alleging that her supervisor stalked and harassed her. The agency later suspended her for lack of candor based on statements investigated in that complaint, and she grieved the discipline. The Authority had vacated an arbitration award in…
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Midwest Mining, LLC and Secretary of Labor v. Michael Butler, employed by Peabody Midwest Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Midwest Mining, LLC and Michael Butler (FMSHRC LAKE 2019-0361): Methane orders affirmed and examination order modified
A contractor's drill breached old mine workings at Peabody Midwest Mining's Francisco Mine and released methane that repeatedly registered above five percent. Mine manager Michael Butler allowed six miners to continue pulling drill rods with the drill energized for at least 30 minutes despite the…
Corbin v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co.
Railroad retaliation dismissals affirmed
Norfolk Southern employees Gerald Corbin and Christopher Kopf raised concerns about operating a locomotive long hood forward because of limited visibility and diesel exhaust. Both were later suspended during an investigation into leaving work without following instructions, Corbin was discharged…
Yates v. Superior Air Charter LLC
$115,510.10 in attorneys' fees awarded
Pilot Colin Yates prevailed on an AIR21 retaliation complaint after the Board affirmed his damages award with one modification. His attorneys requested $127,865.50 in fees and $1,072.01 in costs for their work before the Board. The Board accepted the full request from one firm but reduced the other…
C.D. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Bremerton, WA
Board dismisses shipyard worker's appeal for lack of an appealable decision (ECAB 20-1516)
C.D. sought Board review of what the appeal identified as two July 29, 2020 OWCP decisions. The Board found that the record sent to it contained no final adverse OWCP decision issued within the applicable 180-day period. It therefore dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. The order does not…
T.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, North Houston, TX
T.S. (ECAB 20-1177 and 20-1296): Some disability denials affirmed, others returned
A postal worker sought wage loss compensation after an accepted 2019 back injury. The Board upheld denials for February 8 through 11 and February 22 through 27, 2020 because the medical evidence did not show that she could not perform her modified job then. For a claimed recurrence in November…
R.O. and Department of the Army, Blue Grass Army Depot, Richmond, KY
Board upholds denial of security guard's neck injury claim (ECAB 20-1243)
R.O., a security guard, said he injured his neck when his head struck a ladder protruding from a truck he was inspecting at work. OWCP accepted that the incident happened but denied the claim, stating that the record lacked a diagnosis tied to the incident. The Board noted medical reports…
T.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, North Houston, TX
Board splits postal worker's claims for several periods of wage loss (ECAB 20-1177, 20-1296)
T.S., a postal mail processing clerk, claimed wage loss after an accepted back injury and a return to modified work. The Board upheld denials for February 8 through 11 and February 22 through 27, 2020 because the medical reports did not explain why the accepted injury prevented her from performing…
D.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chicago, IL
Board upholds end of benefits for former postal carrier's back injury (ECAB 20-0243)
D.D., a former postal carrier, had received wage loss and medical benefits after a 1977 fall at work. OWCP ended those benefits effective May 26, 2019, relying on a second opinion that the accepted back and chest conditions had resolved. The Board found that the physician's examination and…
United States Department of Education, Federal Student Aid and American Federation of Government Employees, Council 252
Federal Student Aid and AFGE Council 252 (FLRA 0-AR-5465): Authority leaves arbitration in abeyance
AFGE Council 252 grieved Federal Student Aid's alleged late payment and retaliation against the Union president. The parties disagreed about which collective-bargaining agreement governed, and an arbitrator placed the case in abeyance while an unfair-labor-practice proceeding addressed the validity…
United States Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service and National Treasury Employees Union
IRS and NTEU (FLRA 0-AR-5451): Authority vacates transit-subsidy tax award
Earlier arbitration awards required the IRS to reimburse employees for retroactively increased transit subsidies, after which the agency paid the reimbursements but withheld taxes. NTEU grieved, alleging that the tax withholding failed to comply with those final awards. A second arbitrator agreed…
Springfield Water and Sewer Commission, Springfield Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility
In re Springfield Water and Sewer Commission (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 20-07): Review denied for wastewater permit challenge
The Springfield Water and Sewer Commission operates a wastewater treatment facility and combined sewer collection system in Massachusetts. EPA Region 1 issued an NPDES permit authorizing discharges to the Connecticut River, including a total nitrogen limit intended to address nitrogen-driven…
David Moroni Ccanto Rodriguez v. Triple Canopy, Incorporated
Rodriguez v. Triple Canopy (BRB 20-0520): PTSD claim filed within two years of awareness
David Moroni Ccanto Rodriguez worked in security at U.S. military bases in Iraq and later sought Defense Base Act benefits for hearing loss and post-traumatic stress disorder. An administrative law judge found his psychological injury work-related but denied disability compensation because he…
David Moroni Ccanto Rodriguez v. Triple Canopy, Incorporated
Rodriguez v. Triple Canopy (BRB 20-0520): PTSD claim filed within two years of awareness
David Moroni Ccanto Rodriguez worked in security at U.S. military bases in Iraq and later sought Defense Base Act benefits for hearing loss and post-traumatic stress disorder. An administrative law judge found his psychological injury work-related but denied disability compensation because he…
Norman A. McCowan v. Lambert Coal Company, Incorporated
McCowan v. Lambert Coal: miner benefits award affirmed (BRB 20-0334 BLA)
Norman McCowan's judge credited him with 21.08 years of underground coal mine work, found total respiratory disability, and invoked the fifteen-year presumption. Lambert Coal challenged the authority of two judges to hear the case and the finding that it failed to rebut the presumption. The Board…
James R. Lucas v. Pinnacle Mining Company, LLC
Lucas v. Pinnacle Mining: miner benefits award affirmed (BRB 20-0317 BLA)
James Lucas had 32.05 years of underground coal mine work. The judge found total respiratory disability, invoked the fifteen-year presumption, and awarded benefits after finding that Pinnacle Mining failed to rebut it. The employer challenged the rebuttal ruling. The Board upheld the judge's…
Robert Moore v. Tramline, Incorporated
Moore v. Tramline (BRB 20-0299 BLA): miner benefits award affirmed after remand
Robert Moore's case returned to the Board after an earlier ruling required a new calculation of his coal mine employment. On remand, the judge credited him with 17.79 years of qualifying work, invoked the fifteen-year presumption, and awarded benefits. Tramline challenged the work-history…
Ralph D. Mullins v. Elkay Mining Company
Mullins v. Elkay Mining: miner benefits award affirmed (BRB 20-0288 BLA)
Ralph Mullins sought benefits on a subsequent claim after 17.75 years of qualifying mine work. The judge found total respiratory disability, invoked the fifteen-year presumption, and ruled that Elkay Mining had not rebutted it. The employer challenged the rebuttal findings. The Board upheld the…
Danny R. Fletcher v. Frasure Creek Mining, LLC
Fletcher v. Frasure Creek Mining (BRB 20-0272 BLA): miner and spouse benefits affirmed
Danny Fletcher worked in surface coal mining for 15.81 qualifying years, according to the administrative law judge, and was totally disabled by a respiratory impairment. Frasure Creek Mining challenged the work-history calculation, the finding that it failed to rebut the fifteen-year presumption…
Wayne A. Yuricich v. Director, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs
Yuricich v. Director, OWCP (BRB 20-0232 BLA): disability evidence returned for review
Wayne Yuricich sought to modify an earlier denial of black lung benefits. The judge denied modification after reviewing pulmonary tests and medical opinions about total disability. The Board held that the judge had not adequately explained his treatment of a pulmonary function study and a doctor's…
Vess Hall, Jr. v. Green Branch Coal Company, Incorporated
Hall v. Green Branch Coal: miner benefits award affirmed (BRB 20-0215 BLA)
Vess Hall could not use the fifteen-year presumption because he had fewer than fifteen years of coal mine work. The judge awarded benefits after finding legal pneumoconiosis, total disability, and disability caused by that disease under the ordinary proof rules. Green Branch Coal challenged the…
Benny J. McPeak v. XMV, Incorporated
McPeak v. XMV: miner benefits award affirmed (BRB 20-0207 BLA)
Benny McPeak had twenty-one years of underground coal mine work. The judge found total respiratory disability and invoked the fifteen-year presumption of disability due to pneumoconiosis. XMV challenged the finding that it failed to rebut the presumption. The Board upheld the judge's treatment of…
Kadous Edward Hall v. DNC, Incorporated
Hall v. DNC: miner benefits award affirmed (BRB 20-0184 BLA)
Kadous Hall sought benefits on a subsequent black lung claim. The judge found 16.14 years of qualifying mine work, total respiratory disability, and no rebuttal of the fifteen-year presumption. DNC challenged the work-history calculation, medical findings, and rebuttal ruling. The Board upheld the…
Manuel Ray Stafford v. Crystal Springs, Incorporated
Stafford v. Crystal Springs (BRB 20-0142 BLA): miner benefits denial affirmed
Manuel Stafford appealed a benefits denial after the case had already been returned to an administrative law judge once. The judge again found that Stafford had not established legal pneumoconiosis. A Board majority concluded that Stafford had not adequately challenged the grounds for the judge's…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL v. Sun Valley Orchards, LLC
H-2A back wages and penalties affirmed
Sun Valley Orchards hired H-2A and domestic farmworkers to harvest produce and used its supervisor to manage their meals, housing, transportation, and pay. The Board held that the supervisor acted as Sun Valley's agent when he charged workers for an undisclosed meal plan, sold beverages at a…
Huang v. Greatwide Dedicated Transport II, LLC
Retaliation damages affirmed
Truck driver Theodore Huang reported suspected hours-of-service violations to Greatwide, copied supporting timekeeping documents, and selectively recorded a dispatch meeting. Greatwide suspended him less than four days after he identified himself as the author of anonymous safety letters and fired…
D.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, New Orleans, LA
Board dismisses postal worker's late appeal (ECAB 21-0824)
D.K. appealed two OWCP nonmerit decisions dated April 29 and August 24, 2020. The Board calculated that the deadline to appeal the later decision was February 22, 2021 because the 180th day fell on a Saturday. D.K. filed on May 7, 2021 and did not provide documentation establishing compelling…
J.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Sault Ste. Marie, MI
Board dismisses postal worker's appeal filed after the deadline (ECAB 21-0764)
J.T. appealed a May 22, 2020 OWCP decision to the Board on April 7, 2021. The Board found that the 180-day deadline for the appeal had expired on November 18, 2020. It also found no documented compelling circumstances explaining the late filing. The Board dismissed the appeal for lack of…
A.J. and Department of the Army, Civilian Personnel Advisory Center, Fort Shafter, HI
Board dismisses Army employee's appeal of an older OWCP decision (ECAB 21-0733)
A.J. filed a Board appeal on March 2, 2021 and identified an October 2012 OWCP decision. The Board found no decision from that date in the record; the only OWCP decision it found was dated August 19, 2014. It stated that the 180-day appeal period for that decision had expired on February 15, 2015…
M.E. and Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, New Cumberland, PA
Board orders combined review of Defense Logistics worker's injury files (ECAB 21-0094)
M.E., a distribution process worker, claimed injuries after tripping over a pallet at work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred and that she had a diagnosed condition, but denied the claim because it found insufficient evidence connecting the condition to the incident. The Board noted that…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Louisville, KY
Board upholds denial of postal carrier's heat illness claim (ECAB 21-0037)
D.S., a postal city carrier, sought compensation for rhabdomyolysis after reporting heat and dehydration on a mail route. OWCP accepted that the June 18, 2020 work incident occurred but denied the claim for lack of sufficient medical evidence connecting it to the condition. The Board found that…
D.W. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park, WY
Board reverses fault finding on park worker's benefit overpayment (ECAB 20-1533)
D.W., a National Park Service motor vehicle operator, received FECA wage loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits without the required offset for his federal service. The Board upheld OWCP's calculation of a $10,436.69 overpayment for July 23, 2006 through March 3, 2018. It…
J.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Dallas Network Distribution Center, Dallas, TX
Board dismisses postal worker's appeal filed after 180 days (ECAB 20-1372)
J.W. appealed OWCP's December 23, 2019 decision on July 2, 2020. The Board calculated that the 180-day appeal period ended June 20, 2020. J.W. supplied no supported explanation establishing compelling circumstances for the late filing. The Board dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction without…
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.