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.
A.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Oswego Post Office
Board directs combined review of left shoulder claims (ECAB 20-1491)
A.K. claimed renewed disability related to an accepted left shoulder fracture after another shoulder incident and a return to limited work. OWCP denied the recurrence claim without combining a separate file for the later left shoulder injury. The Board found that a fair decision required both…
G.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Munster Post Office
Board upholds refusal to reopen injury claim (ECAB 20-1485)
G.M. asked OWCP to reconsider an earlier injury claim decision. The new physician-signed study did not address whether her diagnosed conditions were caused by accepted work factors. The nurse practitioner’s report could not provide a medical opinion under FECA. The Board found no new relevant legal…
D.B. and Environmental Protection Agency, Region I, Boston, MA
Board upholds health insurance premium overpayment (ECAB 19-1742)
OWCP failed to deduct the full health insurance premiums from D.B.’s FECA compensation, creating a $2,138.15 overpayment. The Board agreed that D.B. was without fault. It nevertheless upheld OWCP’s denial of waiver of recovery after reviewing the applicable requirements. The Board affirmed the…
P.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Central Arkansas Healthcare System
Board orders workplace evidence for emotional condition claim (ECAB 19-1252)
P.B. said an excessive workload during a VA detail assignment contributed to an emotional condition. Coworker statements described a large volume of medical consults assigned to her. The Board found that OWCP needed more information from the employer about the assignment, duties, and performance…
N.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bellmawr, NJ
Board reverses overpayment notice sent two years late (ECAB 19-0030)
N.K. returned to work while receiving compensation and reported the return on a required form. OWCP later assessed a $20,931.30 overpayment for overlapping payments. The Board found that OWCP learned of the return in June 2015 but did not issue a preliminary overpayment notice until November 2017…
Leviege v. Vodafone US, Inc.
SOX complaint fails without a protected report
Patricia Leviege worked on invoice accuracy for a Vodafone project that inventoried electronic equipment used by Bank of America. She alleged that Vodafone retaliated after she raised concerns including billing for incomplete work, overstated revenue, false inventory data, billing-file…
G.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Monroe, CT
Board upholds schedule award overpayment and waiver denial (ECAB 20-1580)
OWCP continued paying G.S. a left arm schedule award after the award period ended, creating a $5,366.89 overpayment. The Board agreed that he was without fault but upheld denial of waiver of recovery. Because G.S. was no longer receiving wage loss benefits, the Board lacked jurisdiction to review…
A.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Albany Post Office
Board upholds refusal to reopen claim on repeat evidence (ECAB 20-1487)
A.N. asked OWCP to reconsider an earlier claim decision. She resubmitted two medical letters that OWCP had already reviewed, without a new legal argument or new relevant evidence. The Board found that duplicate submissions did not meet the requirements for reopening the merits. It affirmed OWCP’s…
N.B. and Department of the Army, Army Intelligence & Security Command
Board finds fitness facility incident within duty and orders medical review (ECAB 20-1446)
N.B. reported an injury in an employer fitness facility during regular work hours after exercising. The Board found that using the locker room for a shower fell within ordinary personal comfort activities and that the employer encouraged fitness for job duties. It held that the incident occurred in…
D.A. and U.S. Postal Service, DeWitt Post Office
Board orders reasoned decision on reconsideration request (ECAB 20-1439)
D.A. asked OWCP to reconsider an earlier decision and disputed whether a prior request had been late. OWCP replied that no further action would be taken and directed her to the Board without citing supporting authority. The Board treated the reply as an adverse decision that needed findings of fact…
K.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Maricopa, AZ
Board orders impartial examination for shoulder impairment dispute (ECAB 20-1397)
K.S. sought a schedule award for permanent impairment from an accepted left shoulder injury. Her physician and OWCP’s physicians gave different ratings, including disagreement over whether she had any ratable impairment. The Board found a conflict in medical opinion that OWCP could not resolve by…
B.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Rancho Cordova, CA
Board reverses reduction of postal carrier’s wage loss compensation (ECAB 20-0729)
B.H. could no longer perform her postal carrier job after a work injury. OWCP reduced her wage loss compensation after concluding she could earn wages as an information clerk. The Board found that the physician had not reviewed that position’s duties or said she could perform them within her…
R.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration
Board orders new upper extremity impairment review (ECAB 19-1933)
R.R. requested a larger schedule award for upper extremity impairment. OWCP denied the increase after differing medical ratings of both arms. The Board relied on its earlier finding that OWCP physicians had used inconsistent methods across upper extremity award cases; it made no such finding about…
J.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Agency, Bob Hope Airport
Board upholds denial of additional cognitive conditions (ECAB 19-1926)
J.M. sought to expand his accepted work injury claims to include cognitive impairment and somatoform disorder. The Board found that the medical reports did not adequately connect those conditions to the accepted employment injuries. Some reports omitted an earlier head injury, leaving an incomplete…
Tampa Electric Company
Ammonia-response respirator citation vacated
Anhydrous ammonia was released at Tampa Electric's Florida power plant after a safety system diverted excess ammonia to a water-filled sump and the sump became saturated. Three contract security guards experienced adverse health effects and two were hospitalized, while trained Tampa Electric rovers…
United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3928
USCIS and AFGE Local 3928 (FLRA 0-AR-5611): Authority narrows and remands accommodation-meeting award
USCIS initially denied a union representative contractual official time to attend an employee's reasonable-accommodation meeting, then approved attendance under EEO official-time rules because the employee had filed an EEO complaint. An arbitrator found that reasonable-accommodation meetings are…
Build-It Bros., L.L.C.
In re Build-It Bros., L.L.C. (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 20-06): sua sponte review order vacated and default order moves toward finality
The Environmental Appeals Board had elected to review a Default Order against Build-It Bros., L.L.C. on its own initiative because of concerns about service of the Motion for Default and the Default Order. EPA later submitted a response and supporting materials addressing service, and the…
Klinger v. BNSF Railway Co.
Retaliation analysis must test actual contribution
Travis Klinger reported a work-related shoulder injury and took medical leave from BNSF Railway. After he did not respond to the railway's medical-care program or timely provide medical information ordered by a manager, BNSF imposed a record suspension. The ALJ found retaliation, awarded punitive…
C.A. and Department of Defense, Defense Intelligence Agency
Board orders reasoned review of psychologist’s report (ECAB 20-1297)
C.A. submitted a clinical psychologist’s report in support of a claim that accepted work factors caused an emotional condition. OWCP acknowledged receiving it but denied the claim without discussing its contents. The Board found that OWCP needed to explain how it evaluated that relevant medical…
B.H. and Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Area Census Office
Board orders parking policy evidence in fall claim (ECAB 20-0804)
B.H. reported a fall in a nearby retail store parking lot while working for the Census Bureau. OWCP denied the claim, relying on the fact that the employer did not own or control the lot. The Board found that the record did not adequately explain the employer’s parking policy or whether her work…
P.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Las Vegas, NV
Board upholds overpayment but orders new recovery rate (ECAB 20-0709)
P.L. received FECA compensation and Social Security retirement benefits without the required offset, creating a $41,726.88 overpayment. The Board agreed she was without fault but upheld denial of waiver. OWCP set a $485 deduction every 28 days despite financial information showing only a small…
A.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Oswego Post Office
Board directs combined review of two shoulder injury files (ECAB 19-1773)
A.K. reported a new left shoulder incident after an earlier accepted left shoulder fracture. OWCP denied the newer claim without combining its file with the prior injury file. The Board found that a fair causation review required both related records. It directed OWCP to combine them, consider the…
P.A. and U.S. Postal Service, O’Hare Air Mail Center
Board orders corrected arm impairment calculation (ECAB 19-1057)
P.A. disputed OWCP’s rating of permanent impairment in both arms. The impartial examiner and OWCP’s medical adviser used an impairment table but did not explain why they reduced the rating below its default value. The Board found that the formula and functional score needed clarification from the…
U.S. Postal Service d/b/a Lehigh Valley Processing & Distribution Center
Lockout violation reduced to other-than-serious
The U.S. Postal Service repaired a broken conveyor belt within its Automated Package Processing System at a Pennsylvania mail facility. Management directed mechanics to lock out only the affected induction lane so the rest of the system could continue processing mail, despite employee objections…
Govindarajan v. N2 Services, Inc.
Appeal dismissed for failure to serve brief
Vasanth Govindarajan petitioned the Board to review his case against N2 Services. The Board's briefing schedule warned him that he had not served the petition and required him to serve all later filings on the company. Govindarajan filed an opening brief but did not serve it as required. His…
K.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Nyssa, OR
Board dismisses appeal without a timely adverse decision (ECAB 20-1401)
K.S. appealed after OWCP sent letters acknowledging counsel’s address change and forwarding a copy of an older decision. The Board found those letters informational rather than new final adverse decisions. The older decision was outside the 180 day appeal period. With no timely adverse decision to…
A.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System
Board upholds denial of late reconsideration request (ECAB 20-1300)
A.R. sought reconsideration of an earlier denial of a claimed work related medical condition. The Board found her request late under the one year deadline. Her arguments largely repeated earlier points, and the submitted evidence did not show clear error in the prior decision. The Board affirmed…
M.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Worldway Postal Center, Los Angeles, CA
Board upholds health benefit premium overpayment (ECAB 20-1107)
OWCP did not deduct required federal health benefit premiums from M.W.’s compensation, creating a $4,576.61 overpayment. The Board agreed that she was without fault but upheld denial of a waiver. It also found that OWCP had considered the required factors before choosing a $773.85 deduction from…
S.Y. and Department of the Air Force, Hill Air Force Base
Board reverses termination of Air Force worker’s benefits (ECAB 20-0959)
S.Y. received compensation for an accepted work injury. OWCP ended her wage loss and medical benefits, relying on a physician’s opinion that the injury no longer caused disability or residuals. The Board found that the opinion did not clearly and adequately support those conclusions, including her…
E.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Waycross, GA
Board orders review of overlooked disability reports (ECAB 20-0655)
E.P. sought disability compensation after a work injury. OWCP denied the claim without addressing two doctor reports already in the record, including a work status report and a request to expand the accepted conditions. The Board also identified a related claim file that needed to be combined. It…
D.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jamaica, NY
Board orders combined review of postal worker’s shoulder claims (ECAB 19-1892)
D.F. claimed a left shoulder condition related to postal work. OWCP denied the claim’s medical causation while several other left shoulder files remained relevant. The Board found that the related claim files had since been combined but their medical evidence still needed to be reviewed for this…
Z.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Rosebank Station, Staten Island, NY
Board orders reinstatement of postal worker’s wage loss benefits (ECAB 19-1113)
OWCP had terminated Z.K.’s wage loss benefits and later reversed that termination. The Board found that OWCP should then have restored periodic compensation retroactively at the previous rate. Instead, it required new claim forms and denied payment without following the procedures for a fresh…
T.C. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Fresno, CA
Board orders second opinion on bilateral arm impairment (ECAB 19-0771)
T.C. sought schedule awards for impairment in both arms. Her doctor supplied a diagnosis based rating but said another examination was needed to measure range of motion impairment. OWCP decided the claim without obtaining the second opinion examination its procedure called for. The Board found the…
E.H. and Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Station, Camp Pendleton, CA
Board upholds denial of late knee claim reconsideration (ECAB 19-0365)
E.H. asked OWCP to reconsider an earlier denial of a right knee injury claim several years after the merit decision. The Board found the request outside the one year filing period. The submitted arguments and medical reports did not show clear error in the earlier decision. It affirmed OWCP’s…
Secretary of Labor obo Tracy A. Lewis v. Tip Top Materials, LLC
Economic reinstatement agreement approved
The Secretary sought temporary reinstatement for Tracy Lewis while his discrimination complaint against Tip Top Materials remained pending. Tip Top did not timely request a hearing, and Judge Michael G. Young had already ordered Lewis temporarily reinstated. The parties then agreed that Tip Top…
J.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Milwaukee Vehicle Maintenance Facility
Board upholds denial of vehicle maintenance worker’s injury claim (ECAB 20-1486)
J.T. reported symptoms after lifting a sliding door from a postal vehicle at work. The Board accepted the incident but found that the medical reports did not adequately explain how it caused the diagnosed conditions. Some reports described symptoms or work restrictions without a reasoned causation…
K.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Centralia, IL
Board upholds 13 percent left arm impairment rating (ECAB 20-1463)
K.A. sought additional schedule award compensation for left arm impairment. OWCP’s medical adviser rated the combined wrist and elbow effects at 13 percent under the A.M.A. Guides. The Board found that this rating properly applied the relevant diagnosis and range of motion methods, while the…
W.T., Jr. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Beaumont, TX
Board upholds 26 percent left leg impairment rating (ECAB 20-1392)
W.T. sought a schedule award above the 26 percent left leg impairment already awarded for a knee condition. The Board found that OWCP’s examiner and medical adviser properly applied the A.M.A. Guides using a diagnosis based rating. It found no medical evidence sufficient to show greater impairment…
J.E. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency
Board affirms disability decisions despite favorable treatment finding (ECAB 19-1758)
J.E. sought wage loss compensation for intermittent disability related to accepted Lyme disease. The Board found sufficient evidence for up to four hours of time lost for treatment on five specified dates but insufficient medical support for the rest of the claimed period. Its operative order…
G.Y. and Department of the Air Force, Tinker Air Force Base
Board reverses termination of back injury benefits (ECAB 19-1683)
G.Y. received benefits for accepted lumbar conditions after a work injury. OWCP terminated them based on a second opinion that the conditions had resolved. The Board found the opinion did not adequately address the accepted diagnoses or explain why no residual disability remained. Because OWCP had…
G.F. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Brockton Veterans Administration Medical Center
Board orders review of short disability period (ECAB 19-1478)
G.F. sought wage loss compensation for a short period in 2018 despite an earlier formal earning capacity determination. OWCP evaluated her request solely as a request to modify that broader determination. The Board explained that a brief period of disability can be compensated without changing the…
E.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Berkeley, CA
Board upholds overpayment but reverses fault finding (ECAB 19-1164)
E.A. received FECA compensation and Social Security retirement benefits without the required offset, creating a $20,030.86 overpayment. The Board accepted the amount but found that OWCP had not shown E.A. was at fault in creating it. That corrected finding required OWCP to consider whether…
V.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Pleasantburg Station, Greenville, SC
Board upholds termination of postal worker’s benefits (ECAB 19-0758)
V.R. challenged the end of benefits for accepted work related conditions. OWCP relied on a medical examiner who concluded that the accepted conditions no longer caused disability or required treatment. The Board found that the examiner reviewed the record and supplied an adequate explanation for…
R.B., son of J.B., and Department of Health & Human Services, Indian Health Service
Board orders proper estate recovery review (ECAB 19-0700)
R.B. appealed an OWCP determination seeking $13,118.79 from his late mother’s estate. The Board found that OWCP had not followed its procedures for referring a deceased claimant’s debt for possible federal tax refund offset before seeking full repayment from the estate. The record therefore did not…
R.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Malden, MA
Board upholds 31 percent impairment ratings for both legs (ECAB 20-1472)
R.H. sought schedule award compensation above the 31 percent impairment already found for each leg following knee replacements. His physician proposed higher ratings. The Board found that the proposed calculations reused examination and x-ray findings incorrectly under the A.M.A. Guides. It…
R.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Forest Park Post Office
Board reverses termination after unclear job offer (ECAB 20-1004)
R.S. was offered a modified city carrier position while receiving wage loss compensation. OWCP called the offer temporary and terminated benefits after he did not accept it. The Board found that the job offer and employer records did not establish whether the position was temporary or permanent…
S.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center
Board upholds overpayment but reverses first deposit fault finding (ECAB 20-0776)
S.S. returned to part time work but received wage loss compensation for July 9 through 20, 2019, creating a $1,094.07 overpayment. The Board found that OWCP had not shown she knew the first direct deposit was wrong when it reached her bank. It upheld the overpayment but reversed the fault finding…
M.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bellmawr, NJ
Board orders impartial examination in chest injury claim (ECAB 19-1860)
M.G. reported chest and upper body conditions after reaching, lifting, and other postal work on February 25, 2017. Her treating physician linked the conditions to those activities, while OWCP’s examiner disputed that connection. The Board found a conflict in reasoned medical opinions about a work…
W.V. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Patrol, JFK Airport
Board orders explanation for lowered leg impairment ratings (ECAB 19-1276)
W.V. sought schedule awards for impairment in both legs. OWCP’s medical adviser initially rated impairment at 10 percent for the right leg and 2 percent for the left, then accepted a zero percent rating without explaining the change. The Board found that the lower rating lacked medical rationale…
Matter of Juan Pablo AGUILAR-MENDEZ
Assault conviction barred cancellation
The Board reviewed a Mexican respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge denied cancellation of removal and voluntary departure. The respondent had been convicted in California of assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury. The Board held that the conviction is categorically…
Daniel Rykaczewski v. Ceres Marine Terminals, Incorporated
Rykaczewski v. Ceres Marine Terminals (BRB 21-0176): appeal paused for modification
Ceres Marine Terminals appealed an award of benefits to Daniel Rykaczewski, then filed a request to modify that decision with the district director. The Board dismissed the appeal without prejudice and remanded for the modification proceedings. The employer may seek reinstatement of the original…
Richard L. Howard v. Electric Boat Corporation
Howard v. Electric Boat (BRB 20-0471): pulmonary benefits denial affirmed
Richard Howard claimed that dust and fumes he encountered while working for Electric Boat caused or worsened his pulmonary condition. The administrative law judge applied the statutory presumption connecting the condition to work but found it rebutted. He then credited a medical opinion attributing…
Lorenz A. Sershen v. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Incorporated
Sershen v. Huntington Ingalls (BRB 20-0446): total disability claim denied
Lorenz Sershen injured his back when a chair broke at work in 2011, then continued working in a light duty role for more than four years. After his employment ended, he sought permanent total disability benefits based on that injury. The administrative law judge found he had not proved the 2011…
Daniel L. Keen v. Clinchfield Coal Company
Keen v. Clinchfield Coal (BRB 20-0224): benefits award affirmed
Daniel Keen received Black Lung benefits after a judge found complicated pneumoconiosis and applied the irrebuttable presumption of total disability due to the disease. Clinchfield Coal challenged the weighing of conflicting X-ray readings. The Board upheld the judge's decision to give weight to a…
S.H. and Department of the Army, Civilian Personnel Advisory Center, Fort Drum, NY
Board orders combined review of spine and hip injuries (ECAB 20-1440)
S.H. sought benefits for a claim involving her spine and right hip. OWCP had a separate accepted claim for injuries affecting the same body areas, but the files were not combined for adjudication. The Board found that a fair decision required both records. It directed OWCP to combine them, review…
L.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Piscataway, NJ
Board upholds refusal to reopen injury claim (ECAB 20-1371)
L.F. asked OWCP to reconsider a prior decision ending wage loss and medical benefits. Her request repeated earlier arguments and resubmitted medical reports already in the record. The Board found no new legal point or pertinent new evidence that required review of the merits. It affirmed OWCP’s…
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Williamsville, NY
Board finds reconsideration request timely filed (ECAB 20-1360)
J.C. sent OWCP a letter appealing an October 2018 claim denial with medical evidence in May 2019. OWCP treated a later status inquiry as the first reconsideration request and rejected it as late. The Board found that the May 2019 letter itself requested reconsideration within the one year period…
James G. Randan and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Huntington, WV
Board orders clarification of ankle surgery request (ECAB 19-1563)
James G. Randan requested authorization for lower leg tendon release and ankle ligament repair. OWCP denied the surgery, treating an earlier examiner’s opinion as an impartial resolution of a conflict. The Board found that the examiner had reported before the surgery request, so his opinion had not…
United States Department of the Air Force, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1867
Peterson Air Force Base and AFGE Local 1867 (FLRA 0-AR-5597): Authority upholds civilian uniform allowance
The agreement at Peterson Air Force Base required a $400 initial uniform allowance for civilian Air Force Reserve Technicians. The Agency declined to pay after deciding that the technicians already received military uniforms for their separate reservist duties. An arbitrator found that civilian…
Secretary of Labor obo Tracy A. Lewis v. Tip Top Materials, LLC
Foreman temporarily reinstated
Tracy Lewis, a foreman at Tip Top Materials, participated in an MSHA investigation concerning his son's alleged firing for making a safety complaint. The Secretary alleged that Lewis was then fired under circumstances suggesting a connection to that protected activity. Tip Top did not timely…
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.