Federal Agency Decisions
Workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), and environmental appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board, each with a plain-English summary, the standards it cites, and whether it counts as precedent. More agencies are coming.
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Matter of CORONADO ACEVEDO
Limited circumstances can support termination of removal proceedings
The Attorney General reviewed the Board’s decision concerning whether immigration adjudicators may terminate or dismiss removal proceedings. The Attorney General overruled Matter of S-O-G- & F-D-B- and held that, pending rulemaking, Immigration Judges and the Board may consider termination in…
United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 4014, National Citizenship and Immigration Services Council 119
USCIS and AFGE Local 4014 (FLRA 0-AR-5760): Authority remands late attorney-fee award
After an unchallenged merits award, AFGE Local 4014 asked the arbitrator for attorney fees. The parties' agreement required a ruling within 30 days of the agency's objections, and the parties later agreed to several extensions. The agency objected after the last extension expired, but the…
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3320
HUD and AFGE Local 3320 (FLRA 0-AR-5784): Authority upholds alternative discipline remedy
HUD gave an employee a reprimand for failing to follow instructions and inattention to duty, then later imposed a five-day suspension for another failure to follow instructions. An arbitrator upheld the reprimand but found the suspension inconsistent with the agreement's corrective purpose and…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 298 and United States Department of the Treasury, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Southern District
NTEU Chapter 298 and Comptroller of the Currency (FLRA 0-AR-5781): Authority upholds backpay cutoff
An Office of the Comptroller of the Currency bank examiner requested a hardship transfer from New Orleans to Houston because travel created childcare difficulties. An arbitrator found that the agency unlawfully retaliated for her earlier equal-employment-opportunity activity by denying the transfer…
Furlong-Newberry v. Exotic Metals Forming Company, LLC
Retaliation claim denied, blanket sealing order vacated
Hannah Furlong-Newberry, a senior project manager at an aircraft-parts manufacturer, alleged that the company fired her for reports protected by the Toxic Substances Control Act. The Board upheld the finding that her paint-related report did not motivate the termination and that the company acted…
Haskell Addington v. XMV, Inc. and Debra Vaughan
Part 90 discrimination complaint dismissed on undisputed timeline
XMV miner Haskell Addington had complicated pneumoconiosis and later applied for Part 90 status. He alleged that XMV and human resources manager Debra Vaughan discriminated, retaliated, and interfered by cutting his pay and hours, assigning dusty work, withholding information about Part 90…
LG Energy Solution Michigan, Inc.
In re LG Energy Solution Michigan, Inc. (EAB TSCA 22-05C): chemical-import settlement approved
LG Energy Solution Michigan, Inc. voluntarily disclosed potential TSCA noncompliance involving a confidential chemical substance. The company had submitted a low-volume exemption and later a Premanufacture Notice using a CASRN that EPA determined did not identify the imported chemical, and EPA…
The Askins Development Group, LLC
In re The Askins Development Group, LLC (EAB TSCA 22-(03)): EAB declined sua sponte review
The Presiding Officer issued an Initial Decision and Default Order on September 26, 2022. Neither party appealed. The Environmental Appeals Board declined to review the case on its own initiative under 40 C.F.R. §§ 22.27(c)(4) and 22.30(b). The EAB stated that the Initial Decision and Default Order…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1738 and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Fayetteville, North Carolina
Fayetteville VA Medical Center and AFGE Local 1738 (FLRA 0-AR-5812): Authority upholds emergency shift change
During the COVID-19 emergency, the Fayetteville VA Medical Center moved certain healthcare employees from mixed eight- and twelve-hour schedules to standardized twelve-hour shifts. The arbitrator found that the agency had properly terminated the local agreement that previously defined shifts and…
Shah v. Albert Fried & Company and TD Securities LLC
Oversized reconsideration motion denied with leave to refile
After the Board dismissed Sachin Shah's Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower case, he filed a 150-page reconsideration motion with about 369 pages of exhibits. The Board's briefing order required motions to comply with Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 27(d), which limits computer-produced motions to…
Harvest Four Corners, LLC
In re Harvest Four Corners, LLC (EAB CAA 22-02): permit petition dismissed
Harvest Four Corners, LLC and EPA jointly moved to dismiss a petition concerning the Title V permit renewal application for the Los Mestenios Compressor Station. EPA had rescinded an April 5, 2022 incompleteness determination and a September 8, 2022 permit decision, and confirmed that the…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Complex, Butner, North Carolina and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 408, Council of Prison Locals 33
FCC Butner and AFGE Local 408 (FLRA 0-AR-5815): Authority upholds wrong-recipient dismissal
AFGE Local 408 challenged FCC Butner's reduction of annual-leave availability for food-service employees and alleged that the agency changed the policy without bargaining. The master agreement required a grievance about an official's action to be filed with the institution's chief executive officer…
Secretary of Labor v. Rulon Harper Construction, Inc.
Berm and parking-brake settlement reductions rejected
Rulon Harper Construction operated a sand-and-gravel pit near Salt Lake City where MSHA issued eight citations, including four for missing or deficient berms and one for a parking brake that would not hold a truck on a grade. The parties proposed reducing the combined penalties from $22,134 to…
Secretary of Labor v. Rulon Harper Construction, Inc.
Proposed 83 percent penalty reduction rejected for thin factual support
Rulon Harper Construction operated a sand-and-gravel pit near Salt Lake City where MSHA cited an unchocked truck on a grade and an inadequate workplace examination that missed 20 violative conditions. The parties proposed reducing the combined penalties from $22,944 to $3,936, removing both…
A-1 Sewer and Water Contractors, Inc.
Trench citation vacated for unreliable depth proof
A-1 Sewer and Water Contractors was installing a water line in a trench at a residential worksite in Illinois. OSHA alleged that an employee worked in a trench approximately 5.6 feet deep without a cave-in protective system and proposed a $1,985 penalty. The judge found that OSHA did not reliably…
Superior Restoration & Construction, LLC
In re Superior Restoration & Construction, LLC (EAB TSCA 22-(02)): EAB declined sua sponte review
The Presiding Officer issued an Initial Decision and Default Order on September 19, 2022. Neither party appealed. The Environmental Appeals Board declined to review the case on its own initiative under 40 C.F.R. §§ 22.27(c)(4) and 22.30(b). The EAB stated that the Initial Decision and Default Order…
Trivedi v. General Electric and GE Healthcare
Reconsideration of late-filed complaint denied
Madhuri Trivedi sought reconsideration after the Board upheld dismissal of her whistleblower complaint against General Electric and GE Healthcare as several years late. Her complaint invoked Sarbanes-Oxley and the Consumer Financial Protection Act. The Board held that she repeated arguments about…
Richardson v. BNSF Railway Co.
Appeal dismissed after two ignored briefing orders
Ralph Richardson appealed the dismissal of his Federal Railroad Safety Act complaint against BNSF Railway Company. The administrative law judge had found that his complaint was filed too late. Richardson then missed the Board's September 9 deadline for his opening brief. The Board gave him until…
Revolution Erecting, LLC
Precast-concrete collapse violations affirmed
Revolution Erecting installed precast hollow-core slabs at a residential construction project in Naples, Florida. After the company directed that sixty cement bags be placed on the slabs, part of the structure collapsed and seriously injured two Revolution employees. The judge found that Revolution…
Ramos v. Globant S.A.
Withdrawal granted after time allowed for a federal court filing
Camilo José Sánchez Ramos appealed dismissal of his Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower claim against Globant. He then asked to withdraw the appeal because he wanted to pursue a federal district court action, but he had not filed that action. The Board explained that a qualifying court filing required no…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL v. Wyrick & Sons Pine Straw
Appeal dismissed after Administrator declines review
An administrative law judge ruled on remand that Wyrick & Sons Pine Straw was not subject to the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act. The Wage and Hour Division's Administrator requested thirty more days to consider whether to seek Board review. The Board extended the filing…
McDowell v. Eagle Intermodal, Inc.
Appeal dismissed for missed briefing, later reopened
Kenneth McDowell appealed an administrative law judge's dismissal of his Surface Transportation Assistance Act complaint against Eagle Intermodal. The judge had found that he did not engage in protected activity. McDowell missed the Board's July 13 deadline for an opening brief. The Board then…
Amazing Vitamins, LLC
Reconsideration denied and late contests dismissed
OSHA issued Amazing Vitamins numerous citations arising from inspections of its nutritional-supplement manufacturing facility, including later failure-to-abate and repeat items. The company filed notices of contest long after the 15-working-day deadlines and argued that settlement discussions, mail…
Nemeckay's Roofing and Home Improvement Company
Four roofing citations vacated for lack of employee proof
OSHA cited a sole-proprietor roofing business for alleged head, eye, fall, and ladder protection violations observed at a two-story house. The judge rejected the proprietor's claim that OSHA's observations and brief entry onto the property violated the Fourth Amendment. OSHA still had to prove that…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of George Rice v. Nally & Hamilton Enterprises
Temporary economic reinstatement ended with Secretary's case
The Secretary obtained temporary reinstatement for miner George Rice while MSHA investigated his discrimination claim against Nally & Hamilton Enterprises. The parties then agreed to temporary economic reinstatement and provided that the operator could seek dissolution if the Secretary declined to…
Secretary of Labor v. Genesis Alkali, LLC
Thirteen-cent-on-the-dollar settlement rejected
Genesis Alkali operated a large Wyoming trona mine where two dockets covered 25 citations involving unsecured raised loads, missing berms, obstructed passageways, and other alleged hazards. The parties proposed reducing the combined penalties from $120,909 to $15,424, vacating several citations…
Secretary of Labor v. Genesis Alkali, LLC
Hydrogen-sulfide ventilation settlement rejected
Genesis Alkali operated a Wyoming trona mine where nine citations carried proposed penalties totaling $34,483. The parties sought to reduce that total to $9,494, including cutting a ventilation citation from $12,007 to $729 and removing its significant-and-substantial designation. The citation…
National Association of Independent Labor, Local 11 and United States Department of the Air Force, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Fort Eustis, Virginia
NAIL Local 11 and Joint Base Langley-Eustis (FLRA 0-AR-5808): Authority upholds bargaining-unit pay increases
NAIL Local 11 challenged Joint Base Langley-Eustis for giving bargaining-unit employees smaller performance-based percentage increases than non-unit employees with the same ratings. The agreement guaranteed unit employees at least a one percent increase for satisfactory performance and two percent…
United Parcel Service, Inc.
In re United Parcel Service, Inc. (EAB RCRA 3008 22-02C): hazardous-waste compliance settlement approved
United Parcel Service, Inc. operated 1,158 small-package distribution and transportation facilities that generated hazardous waste. EPA alleged that the company failed in some instances to file accurate hazardous-waste notifications, meet generator requirements, complete land-disposal…
National Treasury Employees Union and United States Department of Health and Human Services
NTEU and HHS (FLRA 0-AR-5721): Authority adds bargaining violation and remands fees
HHS implemented 19 contract articles imposed by the Federal Service Impasses Panel while six other articles in the successor agreement remained under negotiation. An arbitrator found that the prior 2010 agreement remained in force, held that the early implementation violated the agreement and 5…
Southern Hydro Vac, LLC
Tailgate crushing-hazard citation vacated
A Southern Hydro Vac employee died after being caught between a hydro-vacuum truck's closing tailgate and tank body during dumping and washout work. OSHA cited the company under the general duty clause and proposed a $13,494 penalty. The judge found that the tailgate presented a serious crushing…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 515 and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Miami VA Medical Center, Miami, Florida
AFGE Local 515 and Miami VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-5770): Authority denies arbitration exceptions
AFGE Local 515 filed exceptions to an arbitration award involving the Miami VA Medical Center. The Authority chose its expedited, abbreviated format and did not describe the underlying dispute or award. After reviewing the record and governing precedent, it found that the Union had not established…
Mack v. Union Pacific Railroad Co.
Appeal dismissed after district court election
Charles Mack appealed an administrative law judge's decision in his Federal Railroad Safety Act case against Union Pacific Railroad Company. While the appeal was pending, he filed an action in the federal district court for the Central District of California seeking a fresh review of his claim. He…
Fujimi Corporation
In re Fujimi Corporation (EAB TSCA 22-04C): significant-new-use settlement approved
Fujimi Corporation voluntarily disclosed potential noncompliance involving a confidential chemical substance subject to a TSCA Significant New Use Rule. EPA alleged that Fujimi imported and processed a product containing the chemical before submitting the required Significant New Use Notice, failed…
Matter of Shlomo BADOR
Fraud waiver could not replace the good-faith waiver for conditional residence
The Board reviewed an Israeli respondent’s appeal after his conditional permanent resident status was terminated for failing to file a joint petition to remove the conditions on residence. He argued that the fraud waiver in section 237(a)(1)(H) could waive the separate removability ground tied to…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1858 and United States Department of the Army, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama
AFGE Local 1858 and Redstone Arsenal (FLRA 0-AR-5793): Authority dismisses late response
AFGE Local 1858 filed exceptions after an arbitrator denied its grievance. The Authority directed the Union to provide the related grievance and an earlier unfair-labor-practice charge, but the Union did not respond by the deadline. The order reached the agency mailroom before the deadline, and the…
J.D. Abrams, L.P.
Trench and ladder violations affirmed
J.D. Abrams was installing a waterline at a highway construction project in Austin, Texas. OSHA found an employee working in an unprotected trench measured at more than five feet deep and using a ladder that extended only two feet eight inches above the landing surface. The judge found that the…
Huen Electric, Inc.
Commission dismisses case after full settlement
The case arose after a powered stacker truck and a 1,370-pound electrical splice box fell into a below-floor vault at a Chicago museum, seriously injuring an employee. OSHA cited Huen Electric for powered-industrial-truck training and for allegedly using lifting straps as an unapproved modification…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Division, USDOL v. Goldstar Amusements, Inc.
Interlocutory subpoena appeal denied
Goldstar Amusements and Lee's Concessions were defending H-2B enforcement cases involving alleged wage, transportation-expense, temporary-need, worker-treatment, and recordkeeping violations. The employers obtained ALJ subpoenas for depositions of representatives from USCIS and the Labor…
Perkins v. Cavicchio Greenhouses, Inc.
Summary dismissal vacated for unresolved ACA facts
Stephen Perkins alleged that Cavicchio Greenhouses ended his employment after he repeatedly asked for health coverage that he believed a permanent position entitled him to receive. The ALJ granted summary decision to the company after concluding that Perkins had not engaged in conduct protected by…
Antilles Consolidated Education Association and United States Department of Defense, Education Activity, Alexandria, Virginia
Antilles Education Association and DODEA (FLRA 0-NG-3605): Authority orders bargaining over planning time and pay
The Antilles Consolidated Education Association proposed minimum weekly planning time for teachers in Puerto Rico, additional preparation time for special-education work, and aggregate pay equal to the highest teacher salary schedule in DODEA's Mid-Atlantic District. The Authority found that the…
United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Progreso, Texas and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 149
CBP Progreso and NTEU Chapter 149 (FLRA 0-AR-5768): Authority upholds reduction to reprimand
Customs and Border Protection suspended a Progreso port officer for ten days based on allegations that the officer used unprofessional language and threatened bodily harm during an interaction with a traveler. The arbitrator found that the agency proved the language allegation but not the…
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3917
HUD and AFGE Local 3917 (FLRA 0-AR-5761): Authority bars travel compensatory time for union activity
A HUD union representative traveled from Seattle to Washington, D.C. for negotiations and agreed to continue bargaining on a day previously reserved for travel. Weather delayed the return trip, and the agency denied the representative's request for 11 hours of compensatory time for travel. An…
Independent Union of Pension Employees for Democracy and Justice and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
IUPEDJ and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (FLRA 0-AR-5792): Authority denies reconsideration of incomplete filing
The Independent Union of Pension Employees for Democracy and Justice submitted two electronic exception forms but neither contained the required brief or any argument identifying grounds for review. The Authority dismissed the exceptions, and the Union sought reconsideration. The Authority found…
United States Department of the Interior, United States Park Police and Fraternal Order of Police, United States Park Police Labor Committee
United States Park Police and FOP Labor Committee (FLRA 0-AR-5712): Authority limits shutdown liquidated damages
United States Park Police employees were required to work without timely pay during the 2018 government shutdown because their services protected life or property. An unchallenged merits award found an FLSA violation and awarded liquidated damages on unpaid regular and overtime wages. In a later…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of George Rice v. Nally & Hamilton Enterprises
Temporary economic reinstatement agreement approved
The Secretary obtained an amended order temporarily reinstating miner George Rice while MSHA considered his discrimination claim against Nally & Hamilton Enterprises. The parties then asked to substitute a temporary economic-reinstatement agreement that was retroactive to September 22, 2022. The…
AMVAC Chemical Corporation
In re AMVAC Chemical Corporation (EAB FIFRA Appeal Nos. 22-01 and 22-02): DCPA suspension remanded for hearing
AMVAC Chemical Corporation and agricultural grower groups challenged an accelerated decision suspending registration of the pesticide DCPA, also known as Dacthal. EPA had alleged that AMVAC failed to submit or appropriately address twenty data requirements in a registration review. The…
the Broken iPhone, LLC
COVID-19 general duty clause violation affirmed
The Broken iPhone operated a two-person cell-phone repair store in Mobile, Alabama, where employees worked near a steady flow of customers. OSHA observed unmasked employees and customers at close distances, and the owner required masked customers to remove their face coverings before entering. The…
Federal Education Association and United States Department of Defense, Education Activity, Alexandria, Virginia
Federal Education Association and DODEA (FLRA 0-NG-3486): Authority splits five overseas-teacher proposals
The Federal Education Association sought bargaining over five proposals affecting teachers in DODEA schools overseas. The Authority found negotiable a qualified preparation-time proposal because its benefit in reducing off-duty work outweighed its limited burden on management. It also found…
Bauche v. Masimo Corp.
Most claims dismissed, blacklisting allegation remanded
John Bauche alleged that Masimo retaliated against him in violation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act through his termination and other conduct connected to criminal and civil proceedings. The Board agreed that claims based on his 2016 termination and other older alleged actions were filed years after the…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of George Rice v. Nally & Hamilton Enterprises
Truck-safety complaints supported temporary reinstatement
George Rice drove rock trucks at Nally & Hamilton's Meadow Branch Mine and repeatedly reported a broken air conditioner that made one truck dangerously hot. During the shift after an MSHA inspection, he also reported steering and brake problems in another truck and understood his foreman's…
Herring v. South Central Florida Express
Appeal withdrawn after federal filing
Timothy Herring and Michael Lockmiller asked the Board to review an ALJ dismissal of their Federal Railroad Safety Act complaints. The Board issued a show-cause order questioning whether their petition for review was timely. The complainants then filed an original action in federal district court…
Petitt v. Delta Airlines, Inc.
Immediate review of publication order denied
After the Board affirmed AIR21 liability but remanded damages issues, the ALJ directed Delta to comply with an earlier order requiring distribution and posting of the liability decision. Delta sought immediate review, arguing that the enforcement order was an injunction, a partial final judgment…
Carter v. BNSF Railway Co.
No link between injury report and later discharge
Clyde Carter reported a workplace injury in 2007 and was discharged by BNSF in 2012 after internal investigations found dishonesty in his employment application and time reporting. An earlier ALJ had found retaliation, but the Eighth Circuit rejected that decision's chain-of-events causation…
Petitt v. Delta Airlines, Inc.
Clarification and interlocutory review denied
The Board had affirmed Delta's AIR21 liability and back-pay award to Karlene Petitt but remanded after vacating awards for front pay and compensatory damages. Delta then argued that the ALJ was reading the remand too broadly by allowing discovery that could reach new retaliation allegations. The…
ISP Freetown Fine Chemicals, Inc.
In re ISP Freetown Fine Chemicals, Inc. (EAB RCRA 3008 Appeal No. 22-(01)): EAB declined sua sponte review
On August 15, 2022, Administrative Law Judge Christine Donelian Coughlin issued an Initial Decision in the proceeding involving ISP Freetown Fine Chemicals, Inc. The order says the ALJ granted the respondent's motion for accelerated decision and denied EPA's motion for accelerated decision. Neither…
Jamek Engineering Services, Inc.
Back wages and three-year debarment affirmed
Jamek Engineering painted apartments under a federally funded construction subcontract governed by Davis-Bacon Related Act labor standards. After an earlier Board remand, the ALJ used Jamek's internal payroll journal to find $2,108.88 still owed to apprentices, found that Jamek had not intended to…
Secretary of Labor v. Geneva Rock Products, Inc.
Seven-month stay lifted despite possible criminal investigation
MSHA issued four violations after investigating a fatal accident at Geneva Rock's Hansen Pit, and the civil penalty case was stayed while possible individual and criminal investigations remained unresolved. After seven months, the Secretary moved to lift the stay because MSHA would not pursue…
Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center; American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2875; and National Association of Independent Labor
Southeast Fisheries Science Center representation cases (FLRA AT-RP-21-0010): Authority upholds reorganized AFGE unit
NOAA reorganized the Southeast Fisheries Science Center by eliminating geographic laboratories as suborganizations and realigning employees into functional divisions. A regional director found that NAIL's former Panama City and Beaufort laboratory units no longer shared the organizational structure…
Petitt v. Delta Airlines, Inc.
Attorney-fee petition dismissed as premature
Karlene Petitt requested $35,490.79 in fees and expenses for work before the Board, plus statutory interest, after the Board affirmed AIR21 liability and back pay but remanded other damages. Delta argued that the fees should be reduced because Petitt had obtained only part of the relief she sought…
What these documents are
- The agencies: Workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), and environmental permit and penalty appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB). Each decision page names its agency.
- Commission and Board decisions: Rulings by the agency's highest review level (the Commission at OSHRC and FMSHRC, 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.