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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Dragan D. Spanjol v. Port Maintenance Group, Incorporated, Total Terminals, Incorporated, and Signal Mutual Indemnity Association
Spanjol v. Port Maintenance Group (BRB 20-0039 and 20-0246): benefits affirmed, fee remanded
Dragan Spanjol worked as a chassis mechanic at the Port of Long Beach and sought Longshore Act benefits for hearing loss. The Board affirmed the judge’s benefits award and the denial of reconsideration. It also upheld some fee rulings but vacated the hourly rate set for Spanjol’s counsel and…
Joe T. Kirk v. Daniels Branch Coal Company, Incorporated and West Virginia Coal Workers’ Pneumoconiosis Fund
Kirk v. Daniels Branch Coal (BRB 20-0124 BLA): black lung benefits affirmed
Joe Kirk sought black lung benefits on a later claim after eleven years of coal mine employment. The judge found he could not use the fifteen-year presumption but awarded benefits based on medical evidence of legal pneumoconiosis and disability caused by it. The employer challenged the judge’s…
Kenneth McIntosh v. Locust Grove, Incorporated
McIntosh v. Locust Grove (BRB 20-0049 BLA): benefits start date remanded
Kenneth McIntosh worked for twenty-four years at surface coal mines where he was regularly exposed to dust. The judge awarded black lung benefits after finding total respiratory disability and applying the fifteen-year presumption. The Board upheld the presumption and the finding that the employer…
Dragan D. Spanjol v. Port Maintenance Group, Incorporated, Total Terminals, Incorporated, and Signal Mutual Indemnity Association
Spanjol v. Port Maintenance Group (BRB 20-0039 and 20-0246): benefits affirmed, fee remanded
Dragan Spanjol worked as a chassis mechanic at the Port of Long Beach and sought Longshore Act benefits for hearing loss. The Board affirmed the judge’s benefits award and the denial of reconsideration. It also upheld some fee rulings but vacated the hourly rate set for Spanjol’s counsel and…
S.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Glengarry Post Office, Sarasota, FL
Social Security offset amount returned for recalculation
S.H. received FECA wage-loss compensation while also receiving Social Security retirement benefits attributable in part to federal service. The Board found that an offset was required and an overpayment existed, but the record did not establish when his Social Security payments began. It directed…
E.R. and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Washington, DC
Oral hearing request denied after prior reconsideration
E.R. requested an oral hearing about an increased schedule award after she had already requested reconsideration of the same denial. The Board held that the earlier reconsideration request ended her entitlement to a hearing as a matter of right. It also found no abuse of discretion in OWCP’s…
M.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Goleta Post Office, Santa Barbara, CA
New foot-injury report requires merits reconsideration
M.J. sought reconsideration of a denied claim for a left foot condition after a workplace slip and fall. His physician submitted a new note discussing how that incident could have caused a plantar plate injury. The Board found the note relevant to the medical causation issue on which OWCP had…
S.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Baltimore Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Baltimore, MD
Denial of requested treating-physician change affirmed
S.M. asked OWCP to approve a different treating physician, saying he had more injury experience and her current care was inadequate. The Board found that her existing physician had provided ongoing treatment and an appropriate specialist referral. The record did not show deficient care or that the…
G.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Henderson Main Post Office, Henderson, NV
Ankle claim returned for occupational-disease review
G.R. claimed a right ankle condition using a traumatic-injury form but described repetitive postal work over time. A new physician statement explained how those activities could have caused the condition. The Board found that OWCP should consider whether the claim was an occupational disease rather…
P.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Egg Harbor Township, NJ
Left knee replacement authorization denial affirmed
P.M. requested authorization for a total left knee replacement after an accepted workplace injury. The Board found that her new physician report did not adequately separate the effects of the work injury from preexisting degeneration, aging, and rheumatoid arthritis. It also did not sufficiently…
M.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Montrose, MN
Disability recurrence claim returned for work-status facts
M.E. sought wage-loss compensation after attempting to return to limited-duty postal work. The employer’s records and her account conflicted about whether she actually returned and was paid. The Board found that the answer affected whether OWCP’s rule for recurring disability within 90 days of…
J.F. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Air Marshal Service, El Segundo, CA
Air marshal commuting injury claim returned for duty facts
J.F., a federal air marshal, was injured in a vehicle crash while driving to an airport before a scheduled mission. OWCP denied the claim as outside his duties. The Board found gaps in the employer’s policies and the record of his reporting time, travel status, and possible mileage reimbursement…
National Treasury Employees Union (Union) and United States Patent and Trademark Office (Agency)
NTEU and Patent and Trademark Office (FLRA 0-NG-3485): Official time proposal rejected
NTEU proposed that bargaining team members at the Patent and Trademark Office could use official union time beyond the limits in Executive Order 13,837. The Authority found the negotiability petition timely because the agency had not answered the union's request for a written allegation within the…
Patent Office Professional Association (Union) and United States Patent and Trademark Office, Alexandria, Virginia (Agency)
Patent Office Professional Association and USPTO (FLRA 0-NG-3458): Seven ground rules proposals rejected
The Patent Office Professional Association proposed ground rules for negotiations with the Patent and Trademark Office. Seven disputed proposals covered union negotiators' travel expenses, limits on official time, bargaining over permissive subjects, and time for grievance work. The Authority held…
United States Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service and National Weather Service Employees Organization
National Weather Service and NWSEO (FLRA 0-AR-5583): Authority upholds negotiability-review order
The National Weather Service and its employees' union agreed that the agency would provide formal declarations of nonnegotiability upon request during contract talks. The agency repeatedly declined to take a negotiability position on proposals identified by the union, and an arbitrator found that…
Secretary of Labor v. Bluff City Minerals, LLC
Wet insulating-mat citation affirmed
At Bluff City's underground limestone mine, water was spraying onto the insulating mat for a 480-volt pump switch that had only one recognized grounding system. The company argued that the word “dry” in the electrical standard applied only to wooden platforms, not insulating mats. Judge Jacqueline…
Matter of Sotero RIVERA-MENDOZA
Matter of Rivera-Mendoza (BIA ID 4004): Oregon child-neglect offense qualifies as child abuse
The Board reviewed a Mexican respondent’s appeal after an Immigration Judge denied cancellation of removal and ordered removal. The respondent had been convicted under Oregon law of second-degree child neglect for leaving a child unattended under circumstances likely to endanger the child’s health…
Johnie R. Anderson v. Plowboy Coal Company, Incorporated and Connecticut Indemnity Company
Anderson v. Plowboy Coal (BRB 20-0109 BLA): disability finding returned for review
Johnie Anderson appealed the denial of his black lung benefits claim without a lawyer. The Board upheld the finding that he had not shown complicated pneumoconiosis. It found the judge had not adequately resolved the pulmonary function evidence or considered a treating doctor’s opinion against the…
S.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Brooklyn Processing & Distribution Center, Brooklyn, NY
Repeat shoulder report did not reopen claim
S.V. sought reconsideration of a claim that postal work caused a right shoulder condition. The new physician report repeated an earlier diagnosis and causation opinion already in the file. The Board found no new legal argument or relevant new evidence requiring a merits review. It affirmed OWCP’s…
S.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Troy, MI
Disability wage-loss claim denied for insufficient causation evidence
S.J. sought wage-loss compensation for time off after an accepted work injury. Her physician excused her from work and described hand and wrist conditions, but most reports did not explain what caused the disability. A later report linked repetitive tasks to her condition without sufficient medical…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Alpharetta Carrier Annex, Alpharetta, GA
Mail-box injury claim returned for specialist opinion
D.S. reported neck, back, shoulder, and arm conditions after grabbing a falling box of mail at work. Her physician described the incident and explained how it could strain those areas. The Board found his opinion reasoned enough to require further development, though it did not accept the diagnoses…
J.T. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, NJ
PTSD disability claim returned for consequential-injury review
J.T. sought wage-loss compensation after symptoms of an accepted post-traumatic stress disorder worsened following a return to his former work location. Medical reports connected his symptoms both to the original workplace explosion and to later events at that location. The Board found that OWCP…
A.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Baltimore, MD
Dog-bite injury denial reversed
A.C. reported a dog bite during postal work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the injury claim for lack of a diagnosed condition. The Board found that the contemporaneous record established an open wound caused by the bite. It reversed the denial.
C.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Yorba Linda, CA
Benefit termination reversed; expansion claim returned
C.S. sought to add several back conditions to an accepted injury claim. The Board found OWCP’s second-opinion report too conclusory to settle whether the added conditions were work related. Because that medical question remained unresolved, OWCP also failed to justify ending wage-loss compensation…
M.G. and Department of the Navy, Naval Facilities Engineerng Cmd-Stations, San Diego, CA
No additional right-knee schedule award
M.G. sought a larger schedule award for right knee impairment. His physician rated 50 percent impairment, but the Board found that the rating used an arthritis class unsupported by the required imaging findings. OWCP’s medical adviser applied the impairment guide and rated 13 percent, which M.G…
U.S. Postal Service
Injury-report retaliation citation remains vacated on remand
U.S. Postal Service disciplined two mail carriers after they reported work-related injuries, and OSHA cited the agency under the recordkeeping rule that bars discrimination for reporting an injury or illness. The original decision vacated the citation, but the Commission set that decision aside and…
Bruce Zimmer v. Jack Gray Transport and Reliance Insurance Company
Zimmer v. Jack Gray Transport (BRB 21-0058): premature appeal dismissed
Bruce Zimmer appealed an administrative law judge’s order that partly granted reconsideration in his Longshore Act case. He later told the Board that a second timely reconsideration motion was still pending before the judge. Board rules require dismissal of an appeal filed while such a motion is…
Mansford L. Bush v. Director, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs
Bush v. Director, OWCP (BRB 20-0102 BLA): black lung denial affirmed
Mansford Bush sought black lung benefits after 23.56 years of underground coal mine employment. The judge found he had legal pneumoconiosis but had not shown a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board affirmed because his breathing and blood-gas tests did not qualify as disabling, the…
Odis L. Harvey v. Eastern Associated Coal Company and Peabody Energy Corporation
Harvey v. Eastern Associated Coal (BRB 20-0045 BLA): black lung benefits affirmed
Odis Harvey sought black lung benefits after thirty years of coal mine employment and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The judge applied the fifteen-year presumption that his disability was due to pneumoconiosis and found the employer had not rebutted it. The employer challenged Peabody…
Shirley A. Davis, widow and on behalf of Garland M. Davis, v. Honey Camp Enterprises, Inc.
Davis v. Honey Camp Enterprises (BRB 20-0009 and 20-0010 BLA): miner and survivor awards remanded
Shirley Davis pursued Garland Davis’s later miner claim and her own survivor claim. The judge awarded benefits after finding at least fifteen years of qualifying coal mine work and total respiratory disability. The Board found that parts of the analysis of mine employment and disability required…
Shirley A. Davis, widow and on behalf of Garland M. Davis, v. Honey Camp Enterprises, Inc.
Davis v. Honey Camp Enterprises (BRB 20-0009 and 20-0010 BLA): miner and survivor awards remanded
Shirley Davis pursued Garland Davis’s later miner claim and her own survivor claim. The judge awarded benefits after finding at least fifteen years of qualifying coal mine work and total respiratory disability. The Board found that parts of the analysis of mine employment and disability required…
Gary W. Malcomb v. Island Creek Kentucky Mining
Malcomb v. Island Creek Kentucky Mining (BRB 19-0542 BLA): benefits award on modification affirmed
Gary Malcomb sought to reopen a denied black lung claim after submitting additional medical evidence. A different judge found that Malcomb had complicated pneumoconiosis arising from his coal mine work and awarded benefits under the irrebuttable presumption. The employer challenged the assignment…
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Center for Environmental Measuring and Modeling, Gulf Ecosystem Measurement and Modeling Division, Gulf Breeze, Florida and National Association of Independent Labor, Local 9
EPA Gulf Breeze and NAIL Local 9 (FLRA AT-RP-20-0013): Authority excludes Title 42 scientist from bargaining unit
NAIL Local 9 sought to include an EPA ecological toxicologist appointed under 42 U.S.C. § 209(g) in its Gulf Breeze bargaining unit. A regional director found that the Title 42 appointment authority governed hiring but did not remove the position from federal labor-law coverage. The Authority…
Manoharan v. HCL America, Inc.
Worker may challenge back-wage assessment
H-1B worker Vimalraj Manoharan challenged the Wage and Hour Division's $8,999.45 back-wage assessment against HCL America as too low and based on an incorrect employment period. The ALJ held that only the agency Administrator could prosecute because the agency had found wage violations, then…
A.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Jose, CA
Back-condition claim denied for missing causation opinion
A.L. reported back pain after lifting a heavy postal bag. OWCP accepted that the workplace incident occurred. The Board found that the medical reports either did not address what caused his diagnosed strain or lacked a firm diagnosis and reasoned causation opinion. It upheld the claim denial.
R.R. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Beaumont, TX
Prison-work foot claim denied for unclear incident
R.R. reported a right foot injury while working in a prison dayroom. He said he was more active than usual but did not identify a particular event that caused the injury. He also did not respond to OWCP’s request for a detailed account. The Board found that the alleged workplace incident was not…
C.P. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Oakdale Federal Correctional Complex, Oakdale, LA
Overpayment upheld; fault finding reversed
C.P. returned to full-time work but received another direct deposit of wage-loss compensation. The Board upheld a $3,228.20 overpayment for the period after his return. It found him without fault because the record did not show he knew the first incorrect deposit was wrong when the bank received…
W.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Revere Carrier Annex, Revere, MA
Late reconsideration request denied despite new hip report
W.J. requested reconsideration more than a year after OWCP’s latest merits decision on his hip and knee claim. His physician supplied a more detailed opinion linking those conditions to work. The Board found that the report might have called for development if submitted on time but did not show an…
C.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Costa Mesa Main Post Office, Costa Mesa, CA
Low-back claim returned for impartial medical review
C.F. claimed that heavy lifting and repeated movements in postal work accelerated a preexisting low-back condition. Her treating physician explained how the work could have contributed; OWCP’s referral physician attributed the changes to natural progression. The Board found a conflict between their…
American Federation of Government Employees and United States Department of Veterans Affairs
AFGE and Department of Veterans Affairs (FLRA 0-NG-3499 through 0-NG-3518): Authority dismisses twenty negotiability petitions
AFGE filed twenty related negotiability petitions, each addressing one proposal in bargaining with the Department of Veterans Affairs. The agency later withdrew every nonnegotiability allegation and waived all challenges to the proposals' negotiability. The Authority held that it could review a…
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-3468): Authority orders bargaining over deployment eligibility
AFGE Council 170 proposed that employees who failed a Contingency Response Force pre-deployment physical remain employed in non-deployable positions while addressing the medical issue. The Defense Contract Management Agency said the proposal interfered with management rights, but it did not explain…
Secretary of Labor obo Jacob Hamilton v. Small Mine Development
After-acquired evidence excluded from reinstatement hearing
Before Jacob Hamilton's temporary-reinstatement hearing, the Secretary sought to exclude evidence that would create credibility conflicts or support Small Mine Development's rebuttal and affirmative defenses. Judge David Simonton held that the operator could present relevant testimony and documents…
Ward Pletcher, Jr. v. Hobet Mining, LLC and Arch Coal, Incorporated
Pletcher v. Hobet Mining (BRB 20-0116 BLA): expert-report disclosure sent to judge
After a judge awarded Ward Pletcher black lung benefits, the employer asked the Board to remand over draft reports prepared by a medical expert. The employer argued the drafts had to be disclosed under the Department of Labor’s rule. The Board held that the judge must first decide whether the…
D.M. and U.S. Postal Serivce, Vernon Hills Post Office, Vernon Hills, IL
Left-hip impairment rating returned for clarification
D.M. sought more than the two-percent left-leg schedule award OWCP had granted. His physician measured a moderate loss of hip motion, but OWCP’s medical adviser used a mild-loss category without explaining why. The Board found that discrepancy needed clarification. It directed OWCP to clarify the…
A.B. and Department of the Army, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC
Social Security offset overpayment and recovery affirmed
A.B. received FECA wage-loss payments while also receiving Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service. The Board upheld a $2,803.39 overpayment, although she was without fault. It affirmed denial of a waiver because she did not provide the requested financial information…
J.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Valley Hi Post Office, San Antonio, TX
Increased hearing-loss award requires a new decision
J.H. submitted a new audiogram and medical ratings showing increased hearing loss and tinnitus after an earlier schedule award. OWCP treated the submission as a late request to reconsider its old award. The Board found that he was seeking a new increased award based on more recent evidence, which…
C.M. and Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Deltona, FL
Disability claim denied for missing medical bridge
C.M. sought disability compensation for several years after an accepted injury. Her later physicians linked work to additional conditions and stated she could not work, but the Board found that some of those conditions were not accepted and the opinions did not explain the long gaps in the medical…
A.D. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Aurora, CO
Appeal dismissed without an adverse OWCP decision
A.D. appealed what her representative described as a denial of “two units of authorization.” The Board found no final adverse OWCP decision in the transmitted record within the period it could review. Without such a decision, it lacked jurisdiction over the appeal. It dismissed the case without…
P.J. and Department of Commerce, U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Publications Office, Arlington, VA
Upper-extremity schedule award upheld
P.J. appealed an OWCP schedule award, seeking ratings above 35 percent for the right arm and 37 percent in total for the left. OWCP’s medical adviser rated her cervical nerve, carpal tunnel, and shoulder impairments under the applicable impairment guides. The Board found that the adviser applied…
P.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, VA St. Louis Health Care System-Jefferson Barracks Division, St. Louis, MO
Hip schedule award denied for lack of work-related impairment
P.H. sought a schedule award related to a left hip condition. An impartial physician found that the accepted work-related conditions had resolved without permanent impairment and that the failed hip replacement was unrelated to work. The Board gave that reasoned opinion special weight. It held that…
Matter of M-A-M-Z-, Respondent
Matter of M-A-M-Z- (BIA ID 4003): expert testimony did not establish a nexus to persecution
The Board dismissed a Mexican respondent's appeal from the denial of asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture. The respondent argued that a fire and a later armed assault in Mexico were connected to his family relationship with a stepdaughter involved in…
Thibodeau v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Cost-control concerns were not protected by SOX
Walmart estimator Thom Thibodeau alleged that he was fired for raising concerns about software and construction change requests that he viewed as financial-reporting controls. The Board held that the estimating department's reviews were cost-saving operational controls, not internal controls over…
B.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Delvalle, TX
Late appeal dismissed
21-0205 was an appeal from OWCP’s April 29, 2020 decision. The appeal was filed on November 20, 2020, outside the 180-day review period. The filing came after the October 26 deadline, and B.W. provided no documented compelling circumstances. The Board dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction…
E.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Margaret L. Sellers Processing & Distribution Center, San Diego, CA
Late appeal dismissed
21-0203 was an appeal from OWCP’s May 20, 2020 decision. The appeal was filed on November 19, 2020, outside the 180-day review period. The filing came three days after the November 16 deadline, and E.G. provided no documented compelling circumstances. The Board dismissed the appeal for lack of…
R.P. and Department of the Navy, USNS Wally Schirra, Norfolk, VA
Appeal dismissed at claimant’s request
21-0192 was an appeal from OWCP’s September 29, 2020 decision. The appeal was filed on November 16, 2020. R.P. asked the Board in December to dismiss the timely appeal; the Board granted that request. The Board made no ruling on the merits of the underlying claim.
Y.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Chatham Post Office, Chatham, LA
Late appeal dismissed
21-0191 was an appeal from OWCP’s May 7, 2020 decision. The appeal was filed on November 17, 2020, outside the 180-day review period. The filing came after the November 3 deadline, and Y.S. provided no documented compelling circumstances. The Board dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction and…
E.O. and Department of Homeland Security, Custom & Border Protection, Olmito, TX
Late appeal dismissed
21-0186 was an appeal from OWCP’s May 4, 2020 decision. The appeal was filed on November 24, 2020, outside the 180-day review period. The filing came after the October 31 deadline, and E.O. provided no documented compelling circumstances. The Board dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction and…
N.U. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Coatesville VA Medical Center, Coatesville, PA
Late appeal dismissed
21-0185 was an appeal from OWCP’s May 18, 2020 decision. The appeal was filed on November 17, 2020, outside the 180-day review period. The 180th day fell on a Saturday, so the deadline moved to Monday, November 16. N.U. filed the next day without documented compelling circumstances. The Board…
D.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Elmhurst, IL
Appeal dismissed at claimant’s request
21-0075 was an appeal from OWCP’s September 24, 2020 decision. The appeal was filed on October 23, 2020. Counsel asked the Board in December to dismiss the timely appeal; the Board granted that request. The Board made no ruling on the merits of the underlying claim.
J.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Wattsburg Post Office, Wattsburg, PA
Late appeal dismissed
20-1540 was an appeal from OWCP’s February 12, 2020 decision. The appeal was filed on August 17, 2020, outside the 180-day review period. The filing came after the August 10 deadline, and J.R. provided no documented compelling circumstances. The Board dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction…
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.