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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A.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Hyde Park Post Office
Postal carrier's late reconsideration request denied (ECAB 26-0460)
A postal carrier had an accepted back injury claim, but OWCP later terminated wage loss benefits. He asked OWCP to reconsider its most recent merit decision more than a year after that decision. OWCP rejected the request as untimely and found no clear evidence that its earlier decision was wrong…
Matter of W-F-D-
Bond order vacated after final removal order
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal from an Immigration Judge's order releasing the respondent from custody on a $1,500 bond. The respondent, a citizen of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, had an administratively final removal order and had been granted withholding…
Carl E. Gardner, Sr. v. Drummond Company, Incorporated
Gardner v. Drummond (BRB 25-0234): Benefit award vacated for a new disability analysis
Carl Gardner sought black lung benefits after coal mine work for Drummond Company. The administrative law judge awarded benefits under a presumption based on at least 15 years of qualifying work and total respiratory disability. Drummond challenged the disability finding and the judge's treatment…
Ronald P. Mills v. Kitchekan Fuel Corporation
Mills v. Kitchekan Fuel (BRB 25-0229): Black lung benefits affirmed on medical evidence
Ronald Mills sought black lung benefits after coal mine work for Kitchekan Fuel. The administrative law judge found that he had legal pneumoconiosis, was totally disabled, and that the disease substantially contributed to his disability. The employer and its carrier challenged those findings…
B.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Mobile Annex
Late reconsideration request denied in postal worker's therapy case (ECAB 26-0534)
A postal worker with an accepted right hamstring condition sought additional physical therapy. OWCP declined to authorize more treatment without further supporting information. She requested reconsideration more than a year after OWCP's last decision on the merits. The Board found the request…
L.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Newburg Post Office
Postal carrier's wage loss termination reversed (ECAB 26-0506)
A rural postal carrier injured her shoulder and neck while loading a package. OWCP ended her wage loss compensation after she declined a temporary light duty assignment. The Board found that OWCP had not finished developing the medical evidence before ending compensation. Its examining physician…
B.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Tibor Rubin VA Medical Center
VA nurse's left knee claim returned for medical review (ECAB 26-0479)
A VA nurse injured his right ankle while pushing a patient in a wheelchair. He later asked OWCP to add a left knee condition to his accepted claim, saying it followed from changes in how he bore weight after the ankle injury. OWCP denied the request. The Board found that his physician's reports…
Matter of Sarah J. M. JONES
Reinstatement denied after attorney restriction
The Board considered a petition by an attorney who had been indefinitely suspended from practice before the Board, the Immigration Courts, and the Department of Homeland Security in 2011. She argued that reinstatement was available because she had been restored to good standing in Illinois. The…
T.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center
Postal worker's late hearing request denied (ECAB 26-0517)
A postal processing clerk sought reimbursement for medical travel expenses connected to an accepted back injury. OWCP approved some expenses but denied others. She requested an oral hearing more than 30 days after that decision. The Board held that the request was late and that OWCP reasonably…
E.S. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Safford Federal Correctional Institution
Prison worker's injury claim returned for causation review (ECAB 26-0477)
A federal prison materials handler fell while using a pallet jack at work and reported knee, ankle, and head symptoms. OWCP denied his injury claim, finding no medical diagnosis connected with the accepted incident. The Board found that an emergency physician had diagnosed a concussion in discharge…
N.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Hamburg Post Office
Late reconsideration of postal worker's compensation termination denied (ECAB 26-0459)
OWCP ended a postal carrier's wage loss compensation and schedule award benefits after he refused an offer of suitable work. Years after OWCP's last decision on the merits, he sought reconsideration of the termination. The Board found that his request came more than one year after the March 2019…
H.D. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Milwaukee VA Medical Center
VA nurse's benefit termination upheld (ECAB 26-0438)
A VA nurse received compensation for accepted left arm, shoulder, and wrist injuries from a 2006 work incident. OWCP ended wage loss compensation and medical benefits after a second opinion physician concluded that the accepted conditions had resolved. The Board found that physician's opinion…
M.M. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Federal Detention Center Miami
Prison worker's ankle claim returned to resolve medical conflict (ECAB 26-0207)
A federal detention center worker had an accepted left ankle sprain and asked OWCP to add other conditions to her claim. OWCP denied claim expansion. The Board found a conflict between OWCP's referral physician and the worker's treating physicians about whether the additional conditions resulted…
Matter of Y-M-B-
Bond grant vacated after flight risk review
The Department of Homeland Security appealed an Immigration Judge's order releasing the respondent on a $12,000 bond. The Board found that the respondent had intentionally omitted from his asylum application that he had received asylum in Greece under a different identity. It also considered the…
R.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Mid Hudson Processing & Distribution Center
Postal worker's appeal dismissed after withdrawal (ECAB 26-0532)
A postal worker appealed an OWCP compensation decision, then asked the Board to withdraw the appeal. The Board granted that request and dismissed the case. It did not decide whether OWCP's underlying decision was correct.
S.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Lexington VA Medical Center
VA worker's traffic accident claim returned for medical review (ECAB 26-0504)
A VA materials handler reported that another vehicle struck his while he was delivering supplies for work. OWCP denied his injury claim. The Board found that employer records and his supervisor's statements established that the traffic accident occurred in the performance of duty. It reversed…
E.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, San Jose
Late reconsideration of postal worker's recurrence claim denied (ECAB 26-0485)
A postal distribution clerk had an accepted injury after a mail container struck him. He later sought medical treatment for a claimed recurrence and asked OWCP to reconsider its denial. The Board found his reconsideration request untimely. His arguments about an earlier medical release did not…
C.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Biloxi VA Medical Center
VA technician's claim expansion returned for medical review (ECAB 26-0082)
A VA imaging technician had an accepted right shoulder injury and asked OWCP to add psychiatric conditions to her claim. OWCP denied expansion after a second opinion physician said he lacked enough information to connect an adjustment disorder to the employment issues. The Board found that OWCP had…
Secretary of Labor v. Tri-State River Products Inc.
Motion to reopen penalty assessment denied
Tri-State River Products asked the Commission to reopen an MSHA penalty assessment that had become a final order after no timely contest. Postal records showed that the Postal Service left two notices for the certified assessment, but the package went unclaimed and was returned. Tri-State said it…
Secretary of Labor v. DelHur Industries, Inc.
One penalty contest proceeds, one stays final
DelHur Industries asked the Commission to reopen two penalty assessments after MSHA treated its contests as late. For the WEST docket, the Commission denied reopening because DelHur's explanation assumed delivery to a post office box, while the record showed delivery to its physical address. For…
N.B. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection
Border agency worker's schedule award dispute returned for combined review (ECAB 26-0521)
A Customs and Border Protection employee sought a schedule award for impairment from an accepted right shoulder injury. OWCP denied the award after comparing her current impairment rating with an earlier award for the same arm, then denied reconsideration as untimely. The Board found it could not…
B.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Akron Postal Annex
Postal worker's $6,155.92 overpayment recovery upheld (ECAB 26-0489)
A postal worker received FECA wage loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits during the same period without the required offset. OWCP found a $6,155.92 overpayment, even though she was not at fault. The Board upheld that calculation and found that her limited financial documentation…
R.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Greensboro Post Office
Postal carrier's shoulder and wrist claim returned for medical review (ECAB 26-0127)
A rural postal carrier claimed that repetitive duties aggravated right shoulder injuries and caused right carpal tunnel syndrome. OWCP denied her occupational disease claim. A Board majority found that her physician's opinion was not enough to establish causation but did warrant further medical…
Secretary of Labor v. The National Lime and Stone Company
Separate crusher records citation vacated
National Lime used a portable crusher at its Findlay limestone mine and kept workplace examination records for the plant, including the crusher's work area. MSHA cited the company for lacking a separate set of records for the crusher, which had its own mine identification number and could move…
Secretary of Labor v. Prairie State Generating Company, LLC
Cable citation returned for a new S&S analysis
MSHA cited Prairie State for a damaged trailing cable on a continuous miner. Prairie State accepted the violation but disputed its significant and substantial, or S&S, designation. An administrative law judge upheld that designation under the Commission's earlier S&S test. While the appeal was…
A.B. and Defense Agencies, Defense Commissary Agency Southwest Region
Commissary worker's reconsideration request denied (ECAB 26-0530)
A defense commissary warehouse worker claimed a back injury after lifting a trash can at work. OWCP denied her claim, and she asked for reconsideration. The Board found that her submissions repeated medical records or information already in the file and did not meet the requirements to reopen the…
D.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Topeka Post Office
Postal carrier's shoulder claim denied for insufficient causation evidence (ECAB 26-0525)
A city postal carrier claimed that decades of mail delivery caused or aggravated a left shoulder condition. OWCP denied his occupational disease claim. The Board found that his physician connected the shoulder problems to work in general terms but did not explain the medical mechanism by which the…
J.B., claiming on behalf of his minor child, and U.S. Postal Service, Wisconsin Dells Post Office
Survivor benefits overpayment recovery upheld (ECAB 26-0442)
A postal employee died in a work related vehicle collision, and the father of her minor child claimed survivor benefits for the child. He received FECA and Social Security survivor benefits during the same period without the required offset. The Board upheld OWCP's finding of a $29,782.28…
In the Matter of M.B. and Defense Logistics Agency
Attorney fee denial upheld in Defense Logistics Agency case (ECAB 26-0414)
An attorney asked OWCP to authorize $1,457.50 for work on a Defense Logistics Agency employee's compensation claim. The employee objected to the fee, and OWCP invited the attorney to respond. The attorney did not respond, and OWCP authorized no fee. The Board found that OWCP had given the attorney…
Matter of M-M-L-J-
Fourth motion to reopen denied under the one-motion number bar
The Board considered a fourth motion to reopen filed by a Jordanian national whose removal order became final after the Board dismissed his appeal in 2020. He sought reopening based on a Form I-130 filed by his third wife and again raised ineffective assistance of former counsel. The Board held…
Secretary of Labor v. Southern Stone Company
Two penalty matters return for hearings
Southern Stone sought to reopen two MSHA penalty assessments after missing contest deadlines. In CENT 2026-0219, the assessment was misrouted and never delivered to the company or its attorney. The Commission held that the contest period had not begun, so reopening was unnecessary, and sent the…
S.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Old National Post Office
Postal worker's reconsideration denial returned for explanation (ECAB 26-0527)
OWCP ended a postal carrier's wage loss compensation and medical benefits after finding her accepted injury had resolved. She requested reconsideration and argued that OWCP's medical examiner had overlooked a critical accepted fact. OWCP denied the request in a brief statement without addressing…
L.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Little Rock Post Office
Postal worker's hearing request treated as abandoned (ECAB 26-0523)
A postal tractor trailer operator sought an oral hearing after OWCP denied his occupational disease claim. OWCP mailed a hearing notice to his address of record, but he did not attend. He also did not ask to postpone or explain his absence within ten days. The Board affirmed OWCP's determination…
J.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Cleveland Post Office
Postal carrier's request to add elbow conditions denied (ECAB 26-0505)
A rural postal carrier had accepted left elbow conditions after lifting a heavy package at work. She sought to add other conditions, including cubital tunnel syndrome, to the claim. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish that the added conditions were caused by, or followed…
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Southeast Mining, LLC
Unwarrantable failure findings upheld
MSHA issued two orders at Peabody's Shoal Creek mine after finding extensive coal accumulations along a running conveyor belt. One order cited the accumulations; the other cited a failure to correct the hazardous condition promptly after it was recorded in examination books. An administrative law…
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Southeast Mining, LLC
Three unwarrantable failure findings upheld
MSHA issued three orders at Peabody's Shoal Creek mine for loose ribs along a conveyor, an inadequate pre-shift examination that missed them, and coal accumulations at another conveyor. An administrative law judge upheld all three orders as significant and substantial and caused by unwarrantable…
Secretary of Labor v. Central Stone Company
Default did not take effect after misaddressed notice
Central Stone asked the Commission to reopen a penalty case after a show-cause order had apparently become a default order. The company said it never received the show-cause notice. The Commission found that its own email address for Central Stone contained a typographical error, so the notice had…
M.M. and Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics
Hearing loss claim denied as untimely (ECAB 26-0618)
A Bureau of Labor Statistics economist claimed that her hearing loss worsened because of her work. The Board found that she had identified November 20, 2017 as when she noticed the worsening and connected it to employment, but did not file until April 2023. The claim was outside FECA's three year…
A.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, West Los Angeles VA Medical Center
VA worker's claim expansion returned for a reasoned decision (ECAB 26-0511)
A VA medical support assistant asked OWCP to add conditions to her accepted left shoulder claim. OWCP denied expansion by saying the circumstances of the original work incident were not established, although it had already accepted an injury from that incident. The Board found that OWCP had failed…
E.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Toledo Post Office
Postal carrier's back condition claim denied for insufficient causation evidence (ECAB 26-0434)
A city postal carrier claimed that carrying a heavy mailbag and navigating stairs while delivering mail caused several lower back conditions. OWCP denied his occupational disease claim. The Board found that the medical submissions did not adequately explain how the identified duties caused or…
F.L. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution La Tuna
Prison worker's claim expansion returned for an impartial examination (ECAB 26-0254)
A federal prison worker sought to add several nerve and spinal conditions to an accepted injury claim after a workplace fall. OWCP relied on a physician it had designated as an impartial examiner to deny expansion. The Board found that the earlier referral physician had not properly accounted for…
Matter of A-K-R-
Appeal dismissed after denial of further continuance
The Board reviewed an appeal by an Indian national who was detained after entering the United States and was ordered removed after he did not file an application for relief. He had received two continuances to seek counsel and requested another continuance because he had not obtained a lawyer or…
Lowell E. Hansen v. Energy West Mining Company
Hansen v. Energy West Mining (BRB 26-0118): Employer withdraws appeal and must pay benefits
Lowell Hansen's employer, Energy West Mining Company, withdrew its appeal in his black lung benefits case. The employer also asked that the claim be sent to the district director for payment. The Board treated the withdrawal as an end to the employer's challenge on all issues. It dismissed the…
D.R. and Department of the Air Force, Materiel Storage & Distribution Branch
Air Force worker's wage loss suspension upheld (ECAB 26-0493)
An Air Force materials handler received wage loss compensation for accepted knee and related conditions. OWCP sent him a financial disclosure form and warned that benefits would be suspended if he did not complete it within 30 days. The Board found that OWCP sent the notice to his address of record…
M.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Palo Alto VA Medical Center
VA worker's wage loss claim returned for review of omitted medical reports (ECAB 26-0478)
A VA maintenance supervisor had an accepted right lower leg abrasion after a workplace incident and later claimed wage loss during treatment of a wound. OWCP denied the claim, stating that he had provided no additional evidence after its request. The Board found that OWCP had received two physician…
L.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Philadelphia Metro District Post Office
Postal worker's appeal dismissed one day after filing deadline (ECAB 26-0430)
A postal worker appealed an OWCP decision issued October 10, 2025. The Board found that the 180 day appeal period ended April 8, 2026, but her appeal was filed April 9. It found no supported explanation establishing compelling circumstances for the late filing. The Board dismissed the appeal…
Matter of Milagro DELCARMEN-LARA
Advance parole departure rule applied prospectively
The Board reviewed a second motion to reopen filed by a Salvadoran national seeking adjustment of status after a temporary trip abroad under advance parole. The Board overruled Matter of Arrabally and Yerrabelly and held that a departure under advance parole is a departure under the inadmissibility…
Darrell L. Johnson v. Kokosing Construction Company, Incorporated
Johnson v. Kokosing Construction (BRB 25-0188): Benefits denial returned for disability review
Darrell Johnson appealed the denial of his black lung claim without a lawyer. The administrative law judge had found that Johnson did not establish a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board found that the judge had not adequately explained how he weighed conflicting doctors' opinions…
K.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Detroit Post Office
Postal carrier's foot condition claim denied for lack of causation evidence (ECAB 26-0499)
A Detroit postal carrier claimed that years of walking on concrete caused a right foot condition. OWCP denied her occupational disease claim. The Board found that the submitted medical evidence did not explain whether her work duties caused or aggravated the condition. It affirmed the denial…
S.S. and U.S. Postal Service, San Francisco Processing & Distribution Center Finance Post Office
Postal worker's wage loss denial returned for a reasoned decision (ECAB 26-0410)
A postal delivery worker injured his right knee against a mail truck doorpost and later claimed wage loss compensation. OWCP denied the claim, saying the evidence did not show work related disability during the claimed period. The Board found that OWCP had not made findings about the medical…
T.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Newnan Main Post Office
Postal worker's benefit termination upheld (ECAB 26-0407)
A postal processing clerk had accepted complex regional pain syndrome aggravation and a left arm tendon injury. OWCP ended her wage loss compensation and medical benefits after a second opinion physician concluded that the accepted conditions had resolved. The Board found his examination and…
S.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Boggs Road Post Office
Postal worker's vehicle accident injury claim denied for insufficient medical evidence (ECAB 26-0402)
A rural postal carrier was involved in a vehicle collision while delivering mail and sought compensation for several reported conditions. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the injury claim. The Board found that some medical reports gave no opinion on whether the collision caused a…
Secretary of Labor v. Durus Industrial
Late penalty contest reopened
Durus Industrial missed the deadline to contest a proposed mine safety penalty assessment, which became a final order in December 2025. MSHA sent the assessment to a Tempe post office box listed for quarterly reports rather than Durus's principal business address in Chandler. The Commission…
Secretary of Labor v. Ruby Gold, Inc.
Penalty assessment reopened after address update attempts
Ruby Gold missed an MSHA penalty contest because the assessment was mailed to an outdated address and returned undelivered. The company had tried three times to update its address after a change in corporate control, but MSHA rejected each form as insufficient before accepting a correction in March…
City of Manchester, New Hampshire, Conservation Law Foundation
In re City of Manchester (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 25-04): Review denied in part and permit remanded for PFAS analysis
The Conservation Law Foundation challenged EPA Region 1's renewal of the City of Manchester's NPDES permit for a wastewater treatment facility discharging to the Merrimack River. The Environmental Appeals Board denied review of the permit's revised benthic survey language and the Region's decision…
Matter of Nii Ahene Nunoo BOYE
Sentence clarification order rejected and proceedings remanded
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal from an Immigration Judge's decision terminating removal proceedings against a Ghanaian lawful permanent resident. The Immigration Judge had relied on a Georgia state court order issued more than six years after the original sentence…
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Westlake Bethesda Post Office
Postal worker's benefit termination reversed after related file was omitted (ECAB 26-0487)
A postal distribution clerk received benefits for an accepted back injury. OWCP terminated them after a second opinion physician said the accepted conditions had resolved. The Board found that OWCP had not combined an earlier claim file involving the same part of his back before referring him for…
H.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Newington Post Office
Postal carrier's compensation termination over suitable work reversed (ECAB 26-0470)
A postal carrier declined a modified job that OWCP considered suitable after an accepted injury. OWCP ended her wage loss compensation and schedule award benefits for refusing the offer. The Board found that OWCP had not obtained a medical opinion on whether her preexisting depression affected her…
G.C. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, O'Hare International Airport
TSA worker's life insurance premium overpayment recovery upheld (ECAB 26-0461)
A TSA officer received wage loss compensation from which OWCP had not properly deducted life insurance premiums. The Board upheld OWCP's $2,688.00 overpayment calculation and found her without fault. It affirmed denial of waiver because her reported monthly income exceeded her expenses by more than…
B.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Buffalo Post Office
Postal worker's foot condition claim denied for insufficient medical reasoning (ECAB 26-0409)
A postal worker claimed that years of walking and standing at work caused a right foot condition. OWCP denied the occupational disease claim. The Board found that the physician's opinion tying his condition to long distance walking did not adequately explain the medical mechanism or address other…
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.