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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L.M. and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Board upholds denial of continuing disability claim (ECAB 25-0893)
An FDIC worker sought to show that disability or residuals from an accepted 2019 injury continued after her benefits ended in May 2022. The Board had already reviewed the earlier termination. The newer reports repeated prior opinions and did not explain continuing effects of the accepted…
C.J. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service
Board orders IRS response in workplace stress claim (ECAB 25-0832)
An IRS employee linked an emotional condition to workload, deadlines, and several management actions. OWCP requested details from the agency, but the agency did not respond. The Board held that OWCP needed that employer-held information before evaluating the alleged work factors. It ordered further…
T.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, John D. Dingell VA Medical Center
Board sends VA worker’s repetitive use claim for medical review (ECAB 25-0826)
A VA worker said repeated reaching and handling medications during her duties caused right hand and arm symptoms. The employer did not dispute that she performed those tasks, and the Board found the work factors established. OWCP had not assessed the medical evidence because it rejected the factual…
J.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Federal Air Marshal Service
Board orders fuller reasons for air marshal’s stress claim denial (ECAB 25-0706)
A federal air marshal claimed work related stress involving several workplace events. OWCP denied the claim but did not address every alleged employment factor or clearly explain its findings. The Board set aside that decision and ordered OWCP to make factual findings and give reasons for a new…
Secretary of Labor v. U.S. Aggregates, Inc.
Five-month reopening delay denied
U.S. Aggregates timely contested two citations issued after a miner was fatally electrocuted but did not separately contest the later proposed penalties. The company discovered the final penalties in MSHA's database, attempted an untimely email contest, and acknowledged the need for a Commission…
Matter of L-T-A-
Firm resettlement bar affirmed
The respondent, a Nepali national, was persecuted by Maoists in Nepal and later lived and worked in India for about five years before traveling to the United States. The Board held that the India-Nepal Treaty gave her an enduring legal right to enter, live, work, and own property in India, which…
Tommy Dixon v. Energy West Mining Company
Dixon v. Energy West Mining (BRB 25-0061): black lung award affirmed
Tommy Dixon sought black lung benefits after 21 years of underground coal mine work. The judge found a totally disabling respiratory impairment based on blood gas testing and medical opinions, then applied the statutory presumption of disability due to pneumoconiosis. The employer argued that other…
Kenneth D. Taylor v. Justin Construction Company, Incorporated and West Virginia Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis Fund
Taylor v. Justin Construction (BRB 25-0046): black lung denial returned for test findings
Kenneth Taylor sought black lung benefits after years of underground coal mine work in West Virginia. The judge found that he did not have complicated pneumoconiosis or a totally disabling respiratory impairment and denied benefits. The Board upheld the complicated pneumoconiosis finding but found…
John E. Wolverton v. Brooks Run Mining Company, LLC and Brickstreet Mutual Insurance Company, Incorporated
Wolverton v. Brooks Run Mining (BRB 25-0026): black lung denial returned for x-ray findings
John Wolverton sought black lung benefits after 18.4 years of underground coal mine work. The judge denied his subsequent claim after finding no complicated pneumoconiosis or total respiratory disability. The Board upheld the separate finding that the evidence did not establish total disability…
Huffman v. Swift Prepared Foods
Food safety retaliation appeal dismissed for failure to file a brief
Kevin Huffman appealed an ALJ’s rejection of his food safety retaliation complaints against Swift Prepared Foods. The Board dismissed his appeal after he twice failed to file an opening brief despite instructions and a warning that dismissal could follow. His numerous emails did not satisfy the…
D.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Dominick V. Daniels Processing and Distribution Center
Board upholds overpayment but returns waiver question (ECAB 25-0879)
A postal worker received FECA wage-loss benefits while also receiving Social Security retirement benefits without the required offset. The Board upheld OWCP's $51,896.44 overpayment finding and its determination that she was without fault. OWCP had said she supplied no financial information, though…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Peter Stuyvesant Post Office
Board upholds termination of postal worker’s benefits (ECAB 25-0870)
OWCP ended a postal worker's benefits after an impartial medical examiner found that the accepted injuries had resolved and remaining symptoms came from degenerative conditions. The Board found the examiner's opinion adequately reasoned and gave it special weight. The treating physician's reports…
E.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Denver VA Regional Benefit Office
Board returns rescission of VA worker’s emotional condition acceptance (ECAB 25-0830)
A VA worker's accepted claim included depression related to chronic pain from a repetitive use injury. OWCP later rescinded acceptance, but its decisions failed to discuss two relevant psychiatric reports already in the record. The Board ordered OWCP to consider all submitted evidence and issue a…
C.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center
Board orders review of carpal tunnel report received on decision date (ECAB 25-0823)
A VA medical clerk claimed that repeated typing and data entry caused bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. OWCP denied modification without addressing an orthopedic surgeon's report received the same day as its decision. The Board held that the report had to be considered and sent the claim back for a…
Pleasant Mount Welding, Inc.
Flexible-cord item vacated and reporting item affirmed
Pleasant Mount Welding was a Pennsylvania structural-metal fabricator inspected under OSHA's amputation-hazard emphasis program. OSHA cited the company for using flexible cords with a milling machine and a bending machine, and for failing to electronically submit its 2023 OSHA 300A injury and…
Matter of Sergio Rodolfo LAURENT CASTRO
Matter of LAURENT CASTRO (BIA ID 4155): in absentia order reinstated
The respondent was ordered removed in absentia after receiving a notice of hearing that supplied the date and time, even though his initial notice to appear had said those details would be set later. The Board held that the Supreme Court's decision in Campos-Chaves required reinstating its earlier…
Secretary of Labor v. Central Stone Company
Depositions compelled and exhibit motion denied
Central Stone sought depositions of three MSHA officials in four civil penalty proceedings involving its Huntington Plant. Judge David P. Simonton found that the officials could have relevant, non-cumulative information and were not protected as high-ranking government officials. He also found that…
Reba A. Hall on behalf of and widow of Danny Hall v. Branham & Baker Underground
Hall v. Branham & Baker Underground (BRB 25-0098 and 25-0099): miner and survivor awards affirmed
Reba Hall continued her late husband Danny Hall's black lung claim and filed a survivor claim. The judge found that Hall had complicated pneumoconiosis after 26 years of underground coal mine work and awarded benefits in the miner's claim. Because he was entitled to benefits at his death, the judge…
Reba A. Hall on behalf of and widow of Danny Hall v. Branham & Baker Underground
Hall v. Branham & Baker Underground (BRB 25-0098 and 25-0099): miner and survivor awards affirmed
Reba Hall continued her late husband Danny Hall's black lung claim and filed a survivor claim. The judge found that Hall had complicated pneumoconiosis after 26 years of underground coal mine work and awarded benefits in the miner's claim. Because he was entitled to benefits at his death, the judge…
Patricia Carpenter on behalf of James E. Carpenter, Jr. v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs
Carpenter v. Director, OWCP (BRB 25-0073): miner's black lung claim denied
Patricia Carpenter continued her late husband James Carpenter's black lung claim after his death. The judge credited him with 8.85 years of coal mine work and found that the evidence did not establish clinical or legal pneumoconiosis. On appeal without counsel, Carpenter challenged the denial. The…
Jack W. Meade v. Mack Coal Company, Incorporated/Mackwood Coal Company, Incorporated
Meade v. Mack Coal (BRB 25-0052): black lung denial returned for medical opinion findings
Jack Meade sought black lung benefits after 13.48 years of coal mine work. The judge found a totally disabling respiratory impairment but denied benefits because she found no clinical or legal pneumoconiosis. On this second appeal, the Board upheld the clinical pneumoconiosis finding but found that…
Thomas L. Duncan, Jr. v. Rockwell Mining, LLC and Rockwood Casualty Insurance Company
Duncan v. Rockwell Mining (BRB 25-0049): black lung award affirmed
Thomas Duncan sought black lung benefits after at least 27 years of coal mine work. The judge first denied the claim but, on reconsideration, found complicated pneumoconiosis and awarded benefits under the irrebuttable statutory presumption. The employer challenged how the judge weighed x-rays and…
A.E. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration
Board orders more medical development of TSA worker’s knee claim (ECAB 25-0894)
A TSA worker claimed that job duties aggravated knee and back conditions. A physician explained how prolonged walking, standing, and other tasks could accelerate the knee condition, citing imaging history. The Board found the opinion insufficient by itself to establish causation but substantial…
S.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Kasson Post Office
Board upholds retirement benefit overpayment and denial of waiver (ECAB 25-0825)
A postal worker received $655.92 in FECA wage-loss compensation while also receiving federal retirement benefits for the same week. The Board upheld OWCP's overpayment finding and its conclusion that she was without fault. She did not provide the requested financial information, so the Board also…
T.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Frederick N. Weathers Post Office
Board orders corrected history for leg impairment assessment (ECAB 25-0800)
A postal worker sought a schedule award above 18 percent impairment of her left leg. OWCP's medical adviser rated the claim using statements of accepted facts that omitted other accepted left leg conditions and a prior award. The Board ordered OWCP to prepare a complete factual statement and obtain…
Liow v. Westrock Co.
SOX settlement approved with protections for reporting to authorities
Siew Ying Liow and Westrock settled while her appeal from the denial of a Sarbanes-Oxley retaliation complaint was pending. The Board approved the agreement as fair, adequate, reasonable, and consistent with the public interest, and dismissed her petition with prejudice. Its review covered the SOX…
D.K. and Department of Homeland Security, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
Board orders impartial opinion on employee’s left eye claim (ECAB 25-0795)
A federal cybersecurity employee claimed that a work incident involving stress and lifting caused a left eye condition. His physician connected the condition to the incident, while OWCP's second opinion physician attributed it to preexisting high myopia. The Board found a conflict between the…
L.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Bristol Post Office
Board grants postal worker’s request to withdraw appeal (ECAB 25-0692)
A postal worker appealed an OWCP decision but later asked to withdraw the appeal. The Board granted the request and dismissed the proceeding without resolving the underlying compensation issue. The order leaves the substance of the earlier OWCP decision unreviewed by the Board.
J.D. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Greenville VA Healthcare Center
Board recognizes VA employee’s fall as work incident (ECAB 25-0262)
A VA employee sought compensation after a February 2024 fall at work. OWCP treated the fall as outside the performance of duty, but the Board found the record did not establish an idiopathic cause that would remove it from coverage. The Board recognized the incident as occurring in the performance…
D.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Jacksonville Post Office
Board upholds denial of postal worker’s stress claim (ECAB 24-0525)
A postal worker alleged harassment and retaliation by management after union-related activity. The Board found no reliable corroborating evidence for those allegations and therefore no compensable employment factor. It affirmed the claim denial without needing to evaluate medical causation.
A.B. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, DeKalb-Peachtree Airport
Board upholds denial of additional wage-loss payments (ECAB 22-1396)
An FAA employee sought additional wage-loss payments for two periods in 2014. OWCP calculated that it had already paid $17,396.25 for a broader period when the correct entitlement was $15,334.00. The Board reviewed those calculations and agreed that no additional compensation was due for the…
Ronald Lockhart v. Panther Creek Mining, LLC and Blackhawk Mining, LLC
Part 90 discrimination claim proceeds
Ronald Lockhart alleged that Panther Creek Mining and Blackhawk Mining discharged him after he was diagnosed with complicated pneumoconiosis and pursued Part 90 protections and black-lung benefits. Judge Alan G. Paez granted summary decision on the theory based only on the diagnosis and state or…
Virginia Strawser, survivor of Richard Strawser v. Potomac Coal Company
Strawser v. Potomac Coal Company (BRB 24-0237): survivor benefits award affirmed
Virginia Strawser filed a survivor claim after her husband, a coal miner, died. An administrative law judge awarded her benefits based on his eligibility for benefits at the time of his death. Potomac Coal argued that her claim was unnecessary or premature while its appeal of the miner's award was…
D.B. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Board orders ruling on FBI employee’s foot nerve claim (ECAB 25-0903)
An FBI employee claimed that required boots during training contributed to nerve problems in both feet and also mentioned a possible COVID-19 exposure. OWCP denied the claim based on insufficient COVID-19 evidence but did not address the claimed foot injury from work duties. The Board ordered OWCP…
M.S. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution La Tuna
Board upholds refusal to reopen prison worker’s recurrence claim (ECAB 25-0872)
A federal prison worker requested reconsideration of an earlier denial of a recurrence claim. She offered no new evidence and identified no legal error or new legal argument under the reopening rule. The Board upheld OWCP's decision to deny another merits review.
P.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Mid-Island Processing and Distribution Center
Board returns supported workplace harassment claim for medical review (ECAB 25-0847)
A postal worker linked an emotional condition to harassment, intimidation, and disparate treatment by a supervisor. The Board found the record sufficient to establish a pattern of those actions as a compensable work factor. OWCP had stopped at the work factor question, so the Board ordered it to…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Glennville Post Office
Board recognizes postmaster’s vehicle crash as work incident (ECAB 25-0784)
A postal postmaster was in a vehicle crash after leaving the post office to investigate carrier issues during the holiday season. Witness accounts described routine weekend work and a heavy holiday workload. The Board found that the December 2023 crash occurred in the performance of duty. It sent…
C.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Omaha Post Office
Board upholds denial of postal worker’s shoulder claim (ECAB 25-0772)
A postal worker attributed a left shoulder condition to pulling mail carts. Physicians diagnosed shoulder conditions and described his work, but the Board found their reports did not sufficiently explain how the accepted job factors caused the diagnoses. Imaging alone did not establish that link…
William C. Creekmur v. Island Creek Kentucky Mining
Creekmur v. Island Creek Kentucky Mining (BRB 25-0034): black lung benefits award affirmed
William Creekmur worked in coal mines for 12.57 years and sought black lung benefits. The judge found that his disabling lung impairment was significantly related to coal dust exposure and awarded benefits without using the 15-year presumption. Island Creek challenged the medical evidence…
Thomas William Vance v. Island Creek Coal Company
Vance v. Island Creek Coal Company (BRB 24-0473): benefits award vacated for further employment findings
Thomas Vance sought black lung benefits after working in coal mines. The judge awarded benefits based on a presumption available to miners with at least 15 years of qualifying work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board found that the judge used the wrong method to count an…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, New Jersey International Bulk Mail and Network Distribution Center
Board orders related postal injury files combined before recurrence ruling (ECAB 25-0926)
A postal clerk sought benefits for a recurrence of disability after an accepted fall. Her current and earlier claims involved injuries to her neck, back, and shoulders, but the current file had not been combined with the related files. The Board ordered OWCP to combine the files so it can consider…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, New Jersey International Bulk Mail and Network Distribution Center
Board reverses postal worker’s benefit termination (ECAB 25-0878)
OWCP ended a postal clerk's benefits based on a second opinion that did not have her related injury files combined for review. Those claims involved the same neck, back, and shoulder areas. The Board held that OWCP had not met its burden to justify termination without the combined record and…
P.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Mid-Island Processing and Distribution Center
Board upholds denial of separate postal harassment claim (ECAB 25-0846)
A postal worker alleged harassment, disparate treatment, and retaliation by a coworker or supervisor. The Board found the allegations in this claim were not established by sufficiently specific and reliable evidence. Without a compensable work factor, it affirmed the claim denial without reaching…
A.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Palo Alto Sorting and Delivery Center
Board reverses wage-loss reduction over unclear job offer (ECAB 25-0821)
OWCP reduced a postal worker's wage-loss benefits after she did not accept a modified job offer. The reduction depended on the offer being temporary, but the written offer and cover letter did not tell her it was temporary. The Board held that OWCP had not met its burden under the temporary…
Jackie A. Johnson v. Wesley Leasing, Incorporated
Johnson v. Wesley Leasing (BRB 25-0045): disability finding vacated and benefits claim remanded
Jackie Johnson sought black lung benefits after 19 years of qualifying coal mine work. The judge awarded benefits using a presumption that applies when a miner also has a totally disabling respiratory impairment. On a second appeal, the Board upheld the judge's decision to credit one doctor's…
T.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Knoxville Processing and Distribution Center
Board upholds denial of postal worker’s rotator cuff claim (ECAB 25-0802)
A postal worker sought compensation for a right rotator cuff tear attributed to her duties. Her physician described the diagnosis and called it work related, but the Board found the reports did not adequately explain how the accepted work factors caused the tear. It affirmed the denial for lack of…
Shawn Lee v. Pacific Stevedoring, Incorporated and American Longshore Mutual Association Limited
Lee v. Pacific Stevedoring (BRB 24-0243 and 24-0243A): attorney fee award affirmed
Shawn Lee settled his Longshore Act claims arising from work as a mechanic for Pacific Stevedoring, leaving his lawyer's fee for the judge to decide. The judge awarded $59,563.17 in fees and $4,602.50 in costs. Lee's lawyer challenged the hourly rate and the judge's refusal to increase it for…
M.W. and Department of Defense Education Activity, Brewster Middle School
Board upholds insurance premium overpayment recovery (ECAB 25-0745)
OWCP had failed to deduct life insurance premiums from a defense employee's compensation over many years, resulting in a $12,959.31 overpayment. The Board found she was without fault but upheld the debt and denial of waiver. It also approved recovery through $1,179.25 deductions from continuing…
K.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Pearl City Post Office
Board orders new assessment of postal worker’s arm impairment (ECAB 25-0615)
A postal worker sought a higher impairment award for both arms. A medical reviewer omitted accepted cervical spine and shoulder conditions from his assessment. The Board found the evaluation incomplete and ordered a new specialist opinion using the full set of accepted conditions before OWCP…
Gary Dalton v. Paramont Coal Company Virginia, LLC
Dalton v. Paramont Coal (BRB 25-0070): black lung benefits award affirmed on complicated pneumoconiosis finding
Gary Dalton sought federal black lung benefits after more than 24 years of qualifying coal mine work. A labor judge found that chest x-rays and a medical opinion established complicated pneumoconiosis, which invokes an irrebuttable presumption of total disability due to the disease. Paramont Coal…
Howard D. Looman v. The Monongalia County Coal Company
Looman v. Monongalia County Coal (BRB 25-0065): benefits award remanded for disability evidence review
Howard Looman sought federal black lung benefits in a subsequent claim after more than 15 years of underground coal mine work. A labor judge found him totally disabled, applied the statutory presumption, and awarded benefits. The Board held that the judge had not addressed conflicting evidence…
Danny S. Moore v. Paramont Coal Company Virginia, LLC
Moore v. Paramont Coal (BRB 25-0053): black lung benefits award affirmed
Danny Moore sought federal black lung benefits after 32.7 years of qualifying coal mine work. A labor judge found a disabling respiratory impairment, applied the statutory presumption, and awarded benefits. Paramont Coal disputed the disability finding and argued that its medical evidence rebutted…
Charles J. Barron v. Solar Service Company
Barron v. Solar Service Company (BRB 25-0050): black lung benefits award affirmed without statutory presumption
Charles Barron sought federal black lung benefits after 11 years of coal mine work, too little to use the statutory 15-year presumption. A labor judge found that Barron nevertheless proved legal pneumoconiosis, total disability, and a connection between the two, and awarded benefits. Solar Service…
Paul Winebarger v. Peabody Coal Company, known as Heritage Coal Company, LLC
Winebarger v. Peabody Coal (BRB 25-0033): black lung benefits award affirmed
Paul Winebarger sought federal black lung benefits after more than 25 years of underground coal mine work. Peabody Coal and its carrier argued that a later employer should be responsible for payment, but the Board found they had not shown that employer could pay benefits. The parties agreed that…
John K. Smith v. Blackjewel, LLC
Smith v. Blackjewel (BRB 24-0456): black lung benefits award affirmed
John Smith sought federal black lung benefits after 30 years of underground coal mine work. A labor judge found that his respiratory impairment prevented him from doing his usual coal mine job and awarded benefits under a statutory presumption. Blackjewel challenged the disability finding, pointing…
Ahmad Mansur v. Worldwide Language Resources
Mansur v. Worldwide Language Resources (BRB 24-0159): denial of Defense Base Act benefits affirmed
Ahmad Mansur sought Defense Base Act benefits for a right knee condition and psychological symptoms he attributed to his work as a linguist in Afghanistan. A labor judge found that Mansur had invoked the work injury presumption for both claims, but that the employer's medical evidence rebutted it…
Kristopher V. Worrell v. Virginia Interntional Terminals, Incorporated
Worrell v. Virginia Interntional Terminals (BRB 24-0157): denial of additional disability benefits affirmed
Kristopher Worrell injured his lower back while operating a ship-to-shore crane for Virginia Interntional Terminals. The employer paid temporary total disability benefits until December 2021, then disputed further disability compensation. A labor judge found that Worrell's injury was work-related…
Gary A. Goode v. Virginia International Terminals, Incorporated
Goode v. Virginia International Terminals (BRB 24-0148): injury award remanded for medical history review
Gary Goode sought Longshore Act benefits after injuring his back, neck, wrist, and shoulder while working for Virginia International Terminals. A labor judge found a continuing work-related aggravation injury and awarded benefits. The employer argued that Goode's earlier medical treatment…
P.A. and U.S. Postal Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service
Board orders findings on postal inspection worker’s stress factors (ECAB 25-0762)
A postal inspection service employee linked several physical and emotional conditions to hotline duties, schedule changes, accommodation decisions, and other workplace factors. OWCP denied the claim without deciding whether her specific allegations were compensable work factors. The Board ordered…
R.B. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution Victorville
Board orders impartial opinion on prison worker’s disability period (ECAB 25-0715)
A federal prison employee sought wage-loss compensation for a period after an accepted work injury. Her treating physician and OWCP's second opinion physician disagreed about whether she was disabled during that period. The Board found the conflict unresolved and ordered an impartial examination…
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.