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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Whiting-Turner/Walsh Joint Venture
Prevailing-wage appeals settled and dismissed
The consolidated appeals concerned prevailing wages, fringe benefits, overtime pay, and proposed debarment arising from an asbestos-abatement project at the General Services Administration headquarters. Several contractors and the Wage and Hour Division Administrator had appealed an ALJ's October…
D.P. and Department of Defense, Defense Commissary Agency, Rock Island Arsenal Commissary, Rock Island, IL
Wrist claim not reopened on reconsideration
D.P., a commissary store associate, sought reconsideration of an occupational wrist claim. The Board found that her request did not raise a new legal argument and that the OWCP record did not contain the additional physician report she said she had mailed. Evidence first offered on appeal could not…
J.K. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, New York, NY
Retirement offset overpayment and recovery upheld
J.K. received FECA wage-loss compensation while also receiving Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service without an offset. The Board upheld the $31,339.05 overpayment for March 2017 through June 2019 and found him without fault. It nevertheless upheld the denial of waiver…
S.T. and Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Installations East, Camp Lejeune, NC
Tire lifting back claim returned for specialist review
S.T., a Navy motor vehicle operator, reported a back condition after lifting and moving a heavy tire at work. Her physician explained how bending and lifting could cause a disc protrusion. The Board found the opinion insufficient to establish causation outright but substantial enough to require…
D.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Greensboro, NC
Right leg injury claim denied after inconsistent incident histories
D.M., a postal employee, claimed right leg and ankle conditions from an October 2017 workplace event. Her initial account described rolling up a pant leg in hot conditions, while one doctor’s report described stepping out of a vehicle and rolling an ankle. The Board found that the reports either…
D.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Lansing Processing & Distribution Center, Lansing, MI
Knee and back claim expansion needs a fuller medical opinion
D.T. sought to add left knee and back conditions to an accepted postal injury claim. OWCP obtained a second opinion but that examiner did not answer the main question about whether the additional conditions followed from the accepted injury. The Board found that OWCP could not rely on the…
M.A. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Los Angeles, CA
Overpayment amount must exclude periods without wage-loss benefits
M.A. received FECA wage-loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service during overlapping periods. The Board agreed that an overpayment occurred. OWCP’s calculation also counted periods when M.A. had returned to work and received no FECA wage-loss…
E.P. and Department of Agriculture, Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service, Amityville, NY
Long-distance treatment travel reimbursement denied
E.P. sought reimbursement for travel to medical treatment more than 100 miles round trip from where she lived and worked. OWCP had approved treatment but questioned the need to travel that distance when care was available closer to her residence. The Board found that E.P. had not explained why the…
J.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Salt Lake City, UT
Reconsideration must address existing second opinion
J.B. had an accepted wrist injury and sought recognition of an additional condition and periods of disability. OWCP had obtained a second opinion addressing disability but referenced that report without reviewing it in the reconsideration decision. The Board held that OWCP had to consider relevant…
C.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Radio City Station Post Office, New York, NY
Vehicle injury claim needs an accurate impartial opinion
C.C., a postal carrier, was struck by a vehicle at work and sought recognition of additional knee, back, and neck conditions. OWCP relied on an impartial physician who rejected those conditions partly because emergency room records did not mention a fall. The Board found that the physician had…
T.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Hodge Park Carrier Annex, Kansas City, MO
Vehicle incident claim returned for review of overlooked reports
T.G., a postal rural carrier associate, claimed injuries after her vehicle slid off the road and parcels struck her. OWCP rejected several reports as unsigned even though they bore electronic signatures. It also failed to address other reports already in the record. The Board directed OWCP to…
T.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Oakland, CA
Overpayment affirmed despite conflicting printed balance
T.H. received FECA wage-loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service during overlapping periods. The Board upheld the overpayment and found him without fault, but also upheld the denial of waiver based on his financial record. Its analysis calls the…
D.O. and Department of the Navy, Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington, DC
Left foot claim expansion denied
D.O., a Navy employee, twisted his left foot while moving a cart at work. He sought to add further foot conditions to the accepted claim. The Board found that the physician’s report did not explain whether the work event caused the additional diagnoses. An x-ray alone could not supply that causal…
Department of Defense, Department of Defense Education Activity and Overseas Federation of Teachers
DOD Education Activity and Overseas Federation of Teachers (FLRA WA-CA-17-0170): Authority dismisses mail-delivery complaint
For years, a Department of Defense school at the U.S. Navy base in Rota, Spain, delivered employees' personal mail from the base post office to workplace distribution boxes. After a Navy policy change ended personal-mail pickup, the Union alleged that the school had changed conditions of employment…
Stolarik v. National Express, LLC
Appeal dismissed after no show-cause response
The Board ordered Jason Stolarik to explain why his appeal should not be dismissed for failing to identify the respondent and its counsel and provide proof of service. He did not respond by the deadline or before the Board issued this order. The Board relied on its authority to manage its docket…
National Weather Service Employees Organization and United States Department of Commerce, National Weather Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Weather Service Employees Organization and NOAA (FLRA 0-AR-5477): Authority vacates weather-station-hours remedy
The National Weather Service reduced operating hours at eight Alaska weather stations after technological changes reduced the need for extended staffing. An arbitrator found that the agency had not used a locally negotiated process before making the reductions and ordered restoration of the former…
United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, El Paso, Texas (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, National Border Patrol Council, Local 1929 (Union)
CBP El Paso and AFGE Local 1929 (FLRA 0-AR-5187): Inspection bargaining award upheld
CBP changed when agents had to send vehicles from primary to secondary inspection at El Paso without notifying the union or bargaining. An arbitrator found that the memo changed agents' duties and violated the agency's bargaining obligation. After a court set aside an earlier Authority ruling…
Secretary of Labor v. U.S. Silica
Reopening request dismissed after counsel declined to proceed
The Commission had ordered U.S. Silica to explain why its motion to reopen should not be denied because of an unexplained filing delay. The next day, company counsel stated that the operator did not intend to file anything further and would allow the show-cause order to become final. The Commission…
C.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hazleton, PA
Stairway incident established; shoulder causation remanded
C.R., a postal employee, said she lost her balance on stairs and grabbed a handrail, then felt right shoulder pain. The employer and records from doctors who treated her soon afterward supported the June 21, 2019 incident. The Board found that the work event occurred as described. Because OWCP had…
K.R. and General Services Administration, Kansas City South Field Office, Kansas City, MO
Additional conditions excluded from accepted injury claim
K.R. sought to add several spinal and other conditions to a claim for an accepted September 2018 work injury. The Board found that some reports listed diagnoses without explaining whether the injury caused them. Other reports addressed her ability to work but did not give a causal opinion about the…
J.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Little Rock, AR
Retirement offset overpayment and recovery upheld
J.R. received FECA benefits while also receiving Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service without the required offset. The Board upheld an overpayment of $13,720.41 for September 2015 through July 2019 and found him without fault. It upheld the denial of waiver based on…
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Fort Worth Processing & Distribution Center, Fort Worth, TX
Related hand and wrist claims must be combined
M.B. filed a postal occupational disease claim involving her hands, wrists, and elbows. She had earlier claims concerning the same body areas in separate OWCP files. The Board found that the files had to be combined so OWCP could review the related evidence together. It directed OWCP to consolidate…
N.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Orleans, LA
Permanent impairment rating needs clarification
N.G. sought a schedule award for permanent impairment from accepted conditions. OWCP’s medical adviser identified problems in the examining doctor’s rating method. The Board found that the doctor’s opinion still lacked the explanation needed to apply the relevant impairment standards. It directed…
Forrand v. FedEx Express
Air-safety reports did not cause retaliation
FedEx employee Daniel Forrand alleged that the company retaliated against him for reporting air-safety concerns and subjected him to a hostile work environment. The Board found two additional instances of protected activity beyond the one recognized by the ALJ, including an email about an…
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pittsburgh, PA
Schedule award denied for lack of permanent impairment rating
J.C. sought a schedule award after an accepted postal injury. His doctor described back treatment and symptoms but did not rate permanent impairment of a scheduled body part under the A.M.A. Guides. The Board also found no medical evidence establishing that all accepted conditions had reached…
J.C. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Walnut Creek, CA
Retirement offset overpayment and recovery upheld
J.C. received FECA wage-loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service without the required offset. The Board upheld a $22,845.76 overpayment for July 2017 through September 2019 and found him without fault. It upheld the denial of waiver and recovery by…
R.S. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration Northwest Mountain Region, Renton, WA
Late reconsideration requires clear-error review
R.S., an air traffic control specialist, sought reconsideration of an occupational disease claim involving alleged chemical and electromagnetic exposure. Her request arrived more than one year after the contested merits decision. OWCP denied it using the standard for timely reconsideration…
B.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Asheville, NC
Depression claim needs specialist causation review
B.P. sought recognition of depression related to an accepted postal injury and complex regional pain syndrome. Her psychiatrist gave a detailed explanation of how the chronic pain condition could lead to depression. The Board found the opinion sufficient to require more medical development, though…
Secretary of Labor obo Kenneth R. Hawkins v. New Point Stone Company
Miner temporarily reinstated after training dispute
Kenneth Hawkins alleged that New Point Stone fired him after he refused to sign a training document that he believed was inaccurate and called MSHA. The Secretary found that his discrimination complaint was not frivolously brought and applied for temporary reinstatement. New Point Stone waived its…
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Street Station Post Office, Springfield, MA
Six related injury files must be combined
M.B., a postal employee, had several claims involving his back, neck, or shoulder. OWCP considered a new injury claim without combining five earlier files involving similar body areas. The Board found that the related records were needed for a full assessment. It directed OWCP to combine all six…
S.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Mid-Island Processing & Distribution Center, Islandia, NY
Injury claim denied without qualifying physician diagnosis
S.K. sought benefits after an accepted March 16, 2020 workplace incident. His medical submissions were signed by a physician assistant. The Board found that a physician assistant’s reports did not provide a qualifying medical diagnosis under FECA. With no physician evidence linking a diagnosed…
D.B. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Coal & Gas Operations, Paradise Fossil Plant, Drakesboro, KY
Pulmonary claim needs impartial specialist review
D.B. sought benefits for a pulmonary condition after work at a Tennessee Valley Authority plant. His treating physicians saw classifiable lung abnormalities on chest x-rays, while another physician disagreed. The Board found a conflict between medical opinions of equal weight. It directed OWCP to…
B.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Kenner, LA
New visible-injury evidence warrants reconsideration
B.B., a postal letter carrier, reported being injured when a car struck his mail truck. On reconsideration he submitted new medical evidence of a minor injury visible on inspection. The employer had not disputed that the collision occurred during work. The Board found the new evidence relevant…
K.H. and U.S. Postal Service, McDonough Post Office, McDonough, GA
Timely reconsideration request sent back for review
K.H., a rural carrier associate, sought wage-loss compensation after injuries from a collision involving a postal vehicle. OWCP denied that claim, then answered her March 2020 reconsideration request by discussing an older request and applying the standard for an untimely filing. The Board found…
A.G. and Department of the Treasury, Bureau of Engraving & Printing, Washington, DC
Termination of wage-loss and medical benefits reversed
A.G. received compensation and medical benefits for an accepted back and neck injury at work. OWCP terminated those benefits based on a second-opinion physician’s report. The Board found that the physician did not adequately explain why the accepted conditions had resolved and had received an…
T.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Blue Lagoon Post Office, Miami, FL
Health insurance premium overpayment affirmed
T.M. received wage-loss compensation while OWCP failed to deduct health insurance premiums. The Board upheld a $1,666.09 overpayment for premiums from November 2017 through November 2018, although T.M. was without fault. It upheld denial of a waiver because she did not submit the financial…
C.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Orleans, LA
Late reconsideration request denied
C.S., a postal letter carrier, sought reconsideration of OWCP’s denial of wage-loss compensation for claimed disability periods. OWCP received the request more than one year after its latest merits decision. The Board found the request untimely and held that her arguments about work attendance…
A.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Mount Pleasant, SC
Shoulder and back claim returned for medical development
A.J. sought to add shoulder and back conditions to an accepted workplace injury after a fall from a platform. Two physicians explained how the fall could have caused those conditions. The Board found their opinions sufficient to require more medical development, although it did not decide that the…
D.T. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Sharpsburg, MD
Reconsideration denied without merits review
D.T. sought reconsideration of a claim for several disability recurrences after an accepted workplace injury. His physician’s new letter addressed injuries from the original incident but did not discuss whether he was disabled on the claimed recurrence dates. The Board found no new and relevant…
G.F. and Department of the Navy, Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, VA
Wage-loss reduction based on stale medical evidence reversed
OWCP reduced G.F.’s wage-loss compensation after finding he could work as a dispatcher. The Board found that the medical reports OWCP relied on were more than two years old when it made that determination. Later records raised questions about his physical condition and need for knee surgery…
T.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Los Angeles Processing & Distribution Center, Los Angeles, CA
Medical appointment wage-loss claim returned for evidence review
T.D. requested compensation for time missed from work for medical appointments on two days in August 2019. OWCP denied the claim, saying it had received no response to its request for medical evidence. The record showed that it had received physician reports before that decision, including one…
D.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brookfield, MO
Social Security offset overpayment affirmed
D.M. received FECA wage-loss payments while also receiving Social Security retirement benefits attributable in part to federal service. OWCP had not applied the required offset, creating a $22,439.23 overpayment. The Board found her without fault but upheld denial of a waiver because she did not…
M.T. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Lancaster, TX
Termination of pharmacy technician wage-loss benefits reversed
M.T. received wage-loss compensation for an accepted work injury. OWCP ended the payments after an impartial physician said she could return to her full pharmacy technician duties. The Board found that the physician discounted the need to open bottles even though her job description made that a…
J.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Albany, NY
Carpal tunnel claim denied for lack of reasoned causation evidence
J.S. claimed that postal work caused or aggravated carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands. Her doctors linked the condition to repetitive work in general terms, but the Board found they did not adequately explain how her particular work caused or aggravated it. Other reports either omitted a…
Burlington Capital PM Group, Inc., d/b/a Post Woods Apartment Homes
Mailing mistake excused and ladder case remanded
OSHA cited Burlington Capital PM Group after an employee fell from a ladder at an Ohio apartment property, alleging a violation of the ladder-inspection rule and proposing an $11,934 penalty. Burlington promptly prepared a notice of contest, but an administrative assistant mistakenly shipped it to…
V.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Templeton Station Post Office, Colorado Springs, CO
New shoulder report warrants merits reconsideration
V.S. sought reconsideration of a denied shoulder claim after submitting a physician’s new report. The physician discussed both an earlier work injury and later postal duties as possible causes of her shoulder condition. The Board found the report relevant to medical causation, the issue on which…
E.O. and Department of the Army, Army-ROTC Claims, Las Cruces, NM
ROTC cadet schedule-award pay rate affirmed
E.O. challenged the pay rate used for his schedule award, rather than the degree of permanent impairment. He argued that a per diem paid during an assignment and his training for a commission justified a higher rate. The Board found that he was still an ROTC cadet when injured. It upheld OWCP’s use…
S.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Los Angeles Processing & Distribution Center, Los Angeles, CA
Emotional-condition claim returned for workplace evidence
S.F. alleged that interactions with coworkers and supervisors caused an emotional condition. The Board found support for one compensable work factor: a coworker repeatedly screamed at her. It also found that the postal service had not supplied enough information about other alleged incidents and…
G.S. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Reno, NV
Right-knee schedule award denial affirmed
G.S. sought a schedule award for permanent impairment of his right leg. His accepted condition was a right knee ligament sprain. The medical reports rated osteoarthritis or omitted a rating for the accepted sprain. The Board found that they did not establish permanent impairment from the accepted…
J.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Sykesville, MD
Related shoulder claim files must be combined
J.H., a rural carrier, claimed a right shoulder injury after moving boxes of paper at work. OWCP had a separate occupational disease file concerning the same shoulder condition. The Board found that the two claim files needed to be combined so OWCP could review all relevant evidence together. It…
E.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Providence VA Medical Center, Providence, RI
Overpayment fault split by period; waiver sent back
E.B. continued to receive wage-loss compensation at an augmented rate after she was no longer entitled to that rate. The Board upheld a $4,586.21 overpayment. It found her without fault for payments through August 20, 2016 but at fault for later payments, when she should have recognized the error…
J.J. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA
Late reconsideration request denied
J.J. sought reconsideration of a 1997 OWCP decision finding that his accepted emotional condition had resolved. OWCP received the new request in 2019, long after the one-year deadline. The Board found that his arguments about delay and medical records did not show clear evidence of error in the…
Mansfield Industrial, Inc.
Training violations affirmed and PPE assessment citation vacated
Mansfield Industrial removed corrosion from piping at a Texas chemical plant where a pipe ruptured and released trichlorosilane, causing two employees to inhale the chemical and one to suffer chemical burns. OSHA cited Mansfield for process-safety and hazard-communication training violations and…
Walmart, Inc.
Rack-mounted pallets were not stored in tiers
Walmart stored merchandise pallets on separate levels of selective racks at a New York distribution center. An order filler was struck by containers that fell after a forklift bumped a pallet in the adjoining rack, and OSHA cited Walmart for failing to secure material stored in tiers. The ALJ…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Miami, Florida and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 3690
FCI Miami and AFGE Local 3690 (FLRA 0-AR-5570): Authority upholds official-time ruling
The president of AFGE Local 3690 requested official time to prepare for three arbitrations at the Federal Correctional Institution in Miami. Management eventually approved only part of the request and did not explain why it denied the rest. An arbitrator found the grievance procedurally arbitrable…
American Federation of Government Employees, Council 170 and United States Department of Defense, Defense Contract Management Agency
AFGE Council 170 and Defense Contract Management Agency (FLRA 0-NG-3469): Authority orders bargaining over return rights
AFGE Council 170 proposed return rights for employees who stopped serving as full-time Union representatives. The proposal generally returned an employee to the location of the employee's prior billet while preserving the agency's ability to move that billet for mission needs. The Defense Contract…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Miami, Florida and American Federation of Government Employees, Council of Prison Locals #33, Local 3690
FCI Miami and AFGE Local 3690 (FLRA 0-AR-5561): Authority upholds official-time backpay award
The president of AFGE Local 3690 requested official time to prepare for arbitrations, but FCI Miami approved only half the request without explanation. An arbitrator found the grievance arbitrable, held that the agency violated the agreement, and awarded one hour and fifty minutes of backpay. The…
Tyson A. Tillar v. Huntington Ingalls Incorporated
Tillar v. Huntington Ingalls (BRB 20-0470): Longshore coverage denial affirmed
Tyson Tillar was a shipbuilding apprentice who injured his shoulder while playing on his school's football team in New York. The judge denied Longshore Act benefits on summary decision because the football field was not a covered maritime site. The Board agreed that the injury did not meet the…
William E. Walsh v. Reading Anthracite Company
Walsh v. Reading Anthracite (BRB 20-0033 BLA): miner benefits denial affirmed
William Walsh sought modification of a long-denied black lung claim. The employer conceded pneumoconiosis, and the judge found new evidence of total respiratory disability, but she ruled that Walsh had not shown pneumoconiosis substantially caused that disability. Walsh challenged how she weighed…
United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 160
Customs and Border Protection and NTEU Chapter 160 (FLRA 0-AR-5638): Authority leaves staffing-remedy phase open
NTEU challenged Customs and Border Protection's use of cargo-enforcement employees for passenger-operations work. An arbitrator found that several bid announcements violated the parties' agreement and retained jurisdiction for a separate remedy phase. The agency sought immediate FLRA review of the…
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.