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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United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Complex, Coleman, Florida and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 506, Council of Prison Locals #33
Federal Bureau of Prisons, FCC Coleman and AFGE Local 506 (FLRA 0-AR-5564): Authority sets aside compressed-schedule award
The union challenged the Federal Bureau of Prisons' termination of a compressed work schedule for nurses at Penitentiary 1. The union filed its grievance in February 2017, but the agency said it had discontinued the schedule in July 2016. The arbitrator treated a March 2017 agency memorandum as the…
United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3307, National Border Patrol Council
U.S. Customs and Border Protection and AFGE Local 3307 (FLRA 0-AR-5459): Authority sets aside untimely grievance award
Customs and Border Protection assigned a Border Patrol agent to administrative duty after an off-duty arrest for driving while intoxicated. The agency restored the agent to regular duties after an acquittal eighteen months later, and the union then grieved the original administrative-duty…
Secretary of Labor obo William R. Whitmore v. Yager Materials Corp.
Limited prehearing disclosure ordered
Before William Whitmore's temporary-reinstatement hearing, Yager Materials sought interview statements, management-witness materials, hearing exhibits, and documents used by MSHA's investigator. Judge William Moran held that fairness required the Secretary to provide Whitmore's own interview…
T.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Castle Shannon Post Office
T.L. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1467): Hip fracture injury claim denied
T.L., a postal carrier, fell while delivering mail and later underwent surgery for a left femoral neck stress fracture. OWCP accepted that the March 30, 2018 fall happened at work but denied the injury claim. The Board found that her physicians had not adequately explained how that particular fall…
S.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Oklahoma City, OK
S.C. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1045): Rescission of accepted back claim reversed
S.C., a postal mail handler, reported a back injury after bracing herself near water on the workplace floor. OWCP accepted a lumbar sprain claim, then withdrew acceptance after the employer challenged her account of the incident. The Board found that OWCP had not issued the required proposed…
D.J. and Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Loma Linda Health Care System
D.J. and Department of Veterans Affairs (ECAB 19-0352): Additional knee impairment award denied
D.J., a Veterans Affairs police officer, had received a schedule award for seven percent permanent impairment of his right leg after a knee injury. He sought a larger award based on his treating surgeon's ratings for several conditions in the same knee. The Board accepted the referral surgeon's…
A.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Santa Clarita, CA
A.B. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-0185): Disability benefits granted for some dates
A.B., a postal carrier with an accepted lumbar injury, sought wage-loss compensation for intermittent absences and a period when no work fit his medical restrictions. The Board found no supporting medical evidence for several claimed days in 2017 and February 17, 2018. His physician's examination…
H.Z. and U.S. Postal Service, Five Points Post Office
H.Z. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 18-0252): Disability claim remanded for combined file review
H.Z., a postal carrier with accepted back, knee, and shoulder injuries, sought wage-loss compensation for disability beginning in May 2016. OWCP denied the claim while addressing the back injury file separately. After that decision, OWCP combined the injury files. The Board set aside the denial so…
Secretary of Labor obo James McGaughran v. Lehigh Cement Company, LLC (Corrected)
Secretary of Labor obo James McGaughran v. Lehigh Cement Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2019-0144 DM): Corrected reinstatement-tolling decision
This corrected release addresses James McGaughran's economic temporary reinstatement while his discrimination case against Lehigh Cement proceeded. When COVID-19 delayed the scheduled merits hearing, the Judge suspended Lehigh's payment obligation. The Commission held that a procedural delay beyond…
Secretary of Labor obo James McGoughran v. Lehigh Cement Company, LLC
Pandemic delay did not toll reinstatement
Lehigh Cement and James McGoughran had agreed to economic temporary reinstatement while his discrimination case proceeded. When COVID-19 delayed the scheduled merits hearing and the Secretary declined a video hearing, the Judge suspended Lehigh's payment obligation. The Commission held that a…
Matter of P-B-B-
Drug identity can make an Arizona statute divisible
The Board reviewed a Jamaican lawful permanent resident's appeal after an Immigration Judge found him removable based on Arizona convictions involving possession of dangerous and narcotic drugs. The Board held that Arizona's dangerous-drug statute is divisible by the identity of the drug because…
Paul G. McKinney, Sr. v. ICG Tigart Valley, Incorporated and Arch Coal Company, Incorporated
McKinney v. ICG Tigart Valley (BRB 19-0406 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Paul McKinney received black lung benefits after a judge found forty-six years of qualifying coal mine work and total respiratory disability, invoking the fifteen-year presumption. ICG Tigart Valley and its carrier challenged the judge's refusal to extend the deadline for their post-hearing medical…
Jerry W. Smithers v. Permac, Incorporated
Smithers v. Permac (BRB 19-0399 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Jerry Smithers received black lung benefits after a judge credited 26.75 years of qualifying coal mine work and found total respiratory disability. These findings invoked the fifteen-year presumption. Permac challenged the judge's conclusion that it had not rebutted the presumption. The Board held…
Climouth D. Coleman v. Scotts Branch Company
Coleman v. Scotts Branch (BRB 19-0398 BLA): black lung benefits award on remand affirmed
Climouth Coleman received black lung benefits on a subsequent claim after a judge on remand found total disability caused by legal pneumoconiosis. Earlier in the case, the Board had held that Coleman did not have enough qualifying mine work for the fifteen-year presumption and had already affirmed…
Billie Ray Slone v. Coastal Coal Company, LLC
Slone v. Coastal Coal (BRB 19-0340 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Billie Ray Slone received black lung benefits after a judge credited 21.93 years of underground mine work and found total respiratory disability. Coastal Coal challenged the judge's appointment and the finding that the company had not rebutted the fifteen-year presumption. The Board held that…
John Berry Jackson, Sr. v. Jim Walter Resources, Incorporated
Jackson v. Jim Walter Resources (BRB 19-0325 BLA): black lung denial remanded for medical opinion review
John Jackson appealed the denial of his subsequent black lung claim. The judge credited at least sixteen and one-half years of underground coal mine work but found that Jackson had not proved total respiratory disability. The Board upheld the judge's evaluation of the pulmonary function tests. It…
Terry Walden v. Peabody Bear Run Services, LLC
Walden v. Peabody Bear Run (BRB 19-0324 BLA): black lung denial remanded for disability review
Terry Walden appealed the denial of his black lung claim after a judge credited at least twenty-five years of underground mine work but found no total respiratory disability. Peabody Bear Run argued that the claim was filed too late, but the Board upheld the judge's timeliness finding. On…
Larry E. Kiser v. Dickenson-Russell Coal Company, LLC
Kiser v. Dickenson-Russell Coal (BRB 19-0061 BLA): black lung denial remanded for disease evidence review
Larry Kiser appealed the denial of his black lung claim without counsel. The judge credited 37.16 years of underground mine work but found neither complicated pneumoconiosis nor total respiratory disability. The Board upheld the finding that Kiser had not established total disability under the…
Dick v. United Services Automobile Association
Partial-dismissal appeal rejected as interlocutory
An ALJ dismissed Curtis Dick's Surface Transportation Assistance Act claim against United Services Automobile Association but left his claim against Contracted Driver Services pending. Dick appealed the partial dismissal before the ALJ had issued a final decision on the entire case. He did not ask…
S.A. and Department of the Army, Red River Army Depot
S.A. and Department of the Army (ECAB 20-0458): Foot condition claim remanded for specialist opinion
S.A., an Army depot painter, attributed bilateral foot conditions to long workdays spent standing and walking on hard floors. OWCP denied the claim for insufficient evidence of medical causation. The Board found that her podiatrist had explained how her foot structure and prolonged standing could…
P.B. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
P.B. and Transportation Security Administration (ECAB 20-0148): Benefit suspension affirmed
P.B., a transportation security screener receiving compensation for an accepted back condition, was asked to complete an EN1032 report about work and other benefits. OWCP mailed the form to her last known address and warned that wage-loss payments would be suspended if she did not return it within…
S.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Castle Shannon Station, Pittsburgh, PA
S.H. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1033): Ankle impairment award denied as modified
S.H., a postal carrier with an accepted ankle sprain, sought a permanent impairment award. The Board credited a specialist's examination finding no objective impairment from the accepted injury and upheld OWCP's denial. It corrected OWCP's description of that specialist as an impartial conflict…
Kiewit Power Constructors Co.
Quick-drenching citation remanded for a decision on the merits
OSHA cited Kiewit Power Constructors under the construction quick-drenching provision, 29 C.F.R. § 1926.50(g). An administrative law judge and then the Commission vacated the citation after concluding that the provision had not been validly promulgated for construction work. The D.C. Circuit…
Towe v. Autobahn Freight Lines, Ltd.
Late appeal dismissed
The Board ordered Jackie Towe to explain why his petition for review should not be dismissed because it was filed late. Towe did not respond to the show-cause order. The Board dismissed the appeal without addressing the merits of the underlying dispute.
Davenport v. LTI Trucking Services Inc.
No discharge or blacklisting proved
Truck driver Wyatt Davenport reported physical symptoms that he believed came from a problem with his truck, and a cracked battery was later found. LTI Trucking sent him home until he could obtain medical clearance to drive, but he never asked to return. The Board upheld the ALJs' findings that LTI…
Johnson v. FedEx Ground Package System, Inc.
Partial-dismissal appeal voluntarily dismissed
Mark Johnson alleged that FedEx Ground, OSD Transport, and Steve Olson terminated him after he refused to drive in dangerous weather. The ALJ granted summary decision for FedEx but left Johnson's claims against OSD and Olson pending. Johnson petitioned for review in an effort to preserve his appeal…
J.D. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center
J.D. and Department of Veterans Affairs (ECAB 20-0404): Back claim remanded for specialist review
J.D., a Veterans Affairs vehicle operator, reported back pain after moving a patient in a wheelchair toward a vehicle ramp. OWCP accepted the work incident but denied a causal link to his diagnosed lumbar conditions. Two physicians described how the lifting and twisting could have injured his back…
D.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Dominick V. Daniels Processing & Distribution Center
D.B. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-0504): Knee injury claim remanded for medical opinion
D.B., a postal clerk, slipped on oil at work and reported a right knee injury. OWCP accepted the incident but denied that her knee conditions were causally related to it. Her orthopedic surgeon described knee findings after the fall and explained why he attributed meniscus and ligament tears, and…
A.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Stevensville, PA
A.G. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 18-1560): Parking lot fall claim remanded for medical review
A.G., a postal clerk, fell in a parking area beside her workplace after checking the alarm on the car she needed to reach her next duty station. OWCP accepted that she was on the employer's premises but treated her trip to the car as a personal errand. The Board found that keeping the car available…
S.K. and Department of Agriculture, Rural Housing Service
S.K. and Rural Housing Service (ECAB 18-1411): Assault injury denial reversed
S.K. reported that she was sexually assaulted in her hotel room while attending a work conference. Her employer did not dispute the event or her work travel status. The Board found that documented visible injuries from the assault were compensable and directed OWCP to address related treatment and…
Veolia ES Technical Solutions, L.L.C.
In re Veolia ES Technical Solutions, L.L.C. (EAB CAA Appeal No. 19-01): Title V permit review denied
The American Bottom Conservancy challenged EPA Region 5's Title V permit for Veolia's hazardous waste incinerator in Sauget, Illinois. It argued that the permit should require a twelve-month metals-monitoring program and stricter analysis of waste feedstreams that Veolia could classify as…
C.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Louis, MO
C.B. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 20-0464): Trigger finger claim denied
C.B., a postal mail processing clerk, attributed trigger finger in both hands to years of repetitive mail handling. Physicians documented the conditions and treatment, including injections and surgery. The Board found that the opinions linking trigger finger to postal work said only that the work…
H.J. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Orlando VA Medical Center
H.J. and Department of Veterans Affairs (ECAB 20-0282): Back injury claim denied
H.J., a nursing assistant, reported back and leg pain after caring for patients at work. OWCP accepted the March 26, 2019 work incident but denied the injury claim. Physicians diagnosed lumbar conditions and recorded her symptoms, yet neither gave an opinion explaining whether the work incident…
A.F. and Department of Veterans Affairs, San Francisco Veterans Administration Health Care System
A.F. and Department of Veterans Affairs (ECAB 19-1832): Reconsideration denial remanded
A.F., a Veterans Affairs employee with accepted shoulder conditions, sought reconsideration of a wage-loss denial. OWCP rejected the request without reviewing the merits, calling the new medical material irrelevant. The Board found that OWCP had not identified or discussed the individual reports…
D.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center
D.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs (ECAB 19-1310): Threat claim remanded for medical review
D.B., a Veterans Affairs supply manager, sought compensation for an emotional condition after a subordinate threatened him. OWCP had found no compensable work factor. The Board found the documented threat arose from D.B.'s supervisory duties and that the employer erred by failing to take adequate…
S.K. and Federal Judiciary, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Oklahoma
S.K. and U.S. Bankruptcy Court (ECAB 19-0272): Earlier disability period denied
S.K. had accepted cervical spine and carpal tunnel conditions from her work as a court analyst. She sought wage-loss compensation for a period beginning the day after she resigned from federal service. The Board found no physician's reasoned opinion showing that the accepted conditions prevented…
O.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Alice Post Office, Alice, TX
O.G. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 20-0399): Back injury claim returned for medical review
O.G., a postal employee, reported a lower back injury while closing a container at work. OWCP denied the claim because it found that he had not established the incident. The Board found his account consistent with medical reports and the employer's confirmation that an incident occurred at work. It…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bronx, NY
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1657): Emotional condition claim denied after dog attack
D.S., a postal carrier, reported emotional trauma after a dog attacked him during a delivery. OWCP accepted that the work incident occurred but denied the emotional condition claim. The Board found that the medical records documented an animal bite and described him as shaken, but did not diagnose…
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Clearwater, FL
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1643): Carpal tunnel claim remanded for medical review
M.B., a postal carrier, attributed bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome to sorting, casing, and handling mail. OWCP denied the claim because it found his description of repetitive work insufficient. The Board found that his claim form, the supervisor's account, and the carrier job description…
B.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Dallas Network Distribution Center
B.H. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 18-1693): Shoulder claim remanded to recover prior file
B.H., a retired mail handler, attributed bilateral shoulder conditions to decades of lifting heavy mail. OWCP denied his new occupational disease claim and reported that it found no earlier claim file. The Board found that he had provided an earlier OWCP shoulder claim number and his physicians had…
H.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Little Rock, AR
H.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs (ECAB 18-0802): Wage capacity determination retained
H.H., a Veterans Affairs administrative assistant with accepted neck and upper extremity conditions, worked in a modified position that OWCP found represented her wage-earning capacity. She later stopped work and asked OWCP to change that determination. The Board found no showing that the original…
National Federation of Federal Employees, IAMAW, Federal District 1, Federal Local 1998 and United States Department of State, Consular Affairs, Passport Services
NFFE Federal Local 1998 and State Department Passport Services (FLRA 0-NG-3457): Authority dismisses local-level bargaining appeal
The union proposed a memorandum governing random audits of Passport Services employees and sought bargaining at the local level. The agency declined local-level bargaining, and the union filed a negotiability petition after withdrawing a related grievance. The Authority found that the agency had…
J.K. and Department of the Navy, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk, VA
J.K. and Department of the Navy (ECAB 20-0590): Back condition claim denied
J.K., a Navy shipbuilding specialist, claimed a back injury after slipping on ice at work. OWCP accepted a January 8, 2018 work incident but denied his claim for diagnosed lumbar conditions. The Board found that one medical report described a different event, while other reports gave no reasoned…
P.W. and Department of the Army, Cyber Protection Brigade, Fort Gordon, GA
P.W. and Department of the Army (ECAB 20-0407): Knee tear claim denied
P.W., an Army network infrastructure specialist, reported twisting her right knee on uneven gravel at work. OWCP accepted the May 9, 2019 incident but denied that it caused the diagnosed medial meniscus tear. The Board found that her doctor said the fall could have caused the tear without…
B.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pottsville, PA
B.L. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 20-0394): Shoulder claim returned for medical review
B.L., a postal rural carrier associate, reported slipping and falling while carrying a box of dog food during a delivery. OWCP denied his claim because it found that the incident had not been established. The Board found that his detailed account was unrefuted and that the employer agreed with his…
C.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Kingston, TN
C.H. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 20-0325): Reconsideration denial returned for explanation
C.H., a postal carrier with an accepted carpal tunnel claim, sought reconsideration after OWCP terminated her wage loss and medical benefits. OWCP denied reconsideration without discussing new medical reports submitted with her request. The Board found that OWCP had failed to make adequate factual…
M.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Dorn Veterans Administration Medical Center, Columbia, SC
M.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs (ECAB 19-1638): Injury denial upheld, reconsideration reopened
M.B., a VA social worker, sought compensation after a February 2019 work incident. The Board upheld OWCP's initial denial because the medical evidence then before OWCP did not establish a diagnosed condition caused by the accepted incident. With her reconsideration request, however, she submitted a…
R.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Kenmore Branch Post Office, Kenmore, NY
R.H. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1457): Knee claim returned to combine case files
R.H., a retired postal carrier, claimed that his work duties contributed to right knee osteoarthritis. OWCP held his 2017 claim untimely based in part on 2006 medical notes bearing the date of an earlier accepted shoulder injury. The Board found that OWCP had relied on the earlier shoulder claim…
K.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Tampa Processing & Distribution Center, Tampa, FL
K.B. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1332): Overpayment ruling returned for evidence review
OWCP assessed a $13,700.90 overpayment against K.B. for health benefit premiums it had not deducted from her compensation. She disputed both the amount and fault finding and submitted an account of her insurance history before OWCP issued its final decision. OWCP said she had not responded to its…
Christopher Francis v. Jones Stevedoring Company
Francis v. Jones Stevedoring (BRB 20-0086): wage calculation and record ruling affirmed
Christopher Francis sought a higher average weekly wage for Longshore Act benefits after a work-related knee injury. On a prior remand, the judge again set the wage at $94.84 and denied a request to reopen the record for a day planner offered as evidence of other earnings. The Board held that the…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Palatine, IL
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 20-0457): Therapy device denial upheld
J.M. had an accepted right hand injury and carpal tunnel condition and underwent authorized surgery. His doctor requested a pulsed electromagnetic field device for continuing wrist symptoms. The Board found that the doctor's report did not explain why the device was medically necessary for the…
L.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Crab Orchard, KY
L.B. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 20-0412): Neck injury claim denied
L.B., a rural postal carrier, was in a head-on collision while working. OWCP accepted the July 16, 2019 traffic incident but denied her claim for whiplash and neck strain. The Board found that medical reports diagnosed those conditions and gave work restrictions without explaining how the accident…
D.M. and Department of the Army, Directorate of Emergency Services, Fort Myer, VA
D.M. and Department of the Army (ECAB 20-0099): Reconsideration returned for evidence review
D.M., an Army security officer, sought reconsideration of a claim involving a right ankle injury. OWCP treated his request as untimely and denied it without reviewing all the reports and electronic media he had submitted. The Board held that OWCP had to consider that evidence when deciding whether…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Portland Processing & Distribution Center, Portland, OR
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1641): Head laceration recognized after work fall
D.S., a postal mail handler, fell at work and reported a head injury. The employer's incident reports recorded bleeding and a cut to his head, which the Board found sufficient to establish a work-related head laceration. The Board found that the remaining submissions did not establish other claimed…
R.B. and U.S. Postal Service, San Francisco Processing & Distribution Center, San Francisco, CA
R.B. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1527): Wage loss period denied
R.B., a postal employee with an accepted hand condition, sought wage-loss benefits for February 18 through March 1, 2019. His doctor attributed inability to work to several conditions, including chronic pain, anxiety, and depression, but did not adequately explain how the accepted injury caused…
J.K. and Department of Energy, Bonneville Power Administration, Vancouver, WA
J.K. and Department of Energy (ECAB 19-0064): Benefits termination reversed
J.K., a Bonneville Power Administration electrician with an accepted right eye injury, was offered a motor vehicle dispatcher position. OWCP ended wage-loss compensation and schedule award entitlement after finding that he refused suitable work. The Board found the medical evidence did not…
D.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Las Vegas, NV
D.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs (ECAB 18-1003): Reconsideration denial upheld
D.M., a VA materials handler, sought reconsideration of an occupational disease claim involving his knee. The Board had jurisdiction only over OWCP's nonmerit reconsideration decision. It found that his new medical report did not address the underlying question of whether the alleged work factors…
S.Y. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Eureka, CA
S.Y. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 20-0470): Back and shoulder claim denied
S.Y., a postal mail handler, claimed back and right shoulder conditions from a work incident. After an earlier Board decision, she sought reconsideration and submitted more medical reports. The Board found that the new reports did not adequately establish that the accepted September 28, 2017…
T.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Fresh Meadows Post Office, Flushing, NY
T.S. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 20-0343): Knee injury claim denied
T.S., a postal carrier, slipped on wet grass while stepping from her van and claimed a left knee injury. OWCP accepted the June 16, 2017 incident but denied the medical claim. The Board found that reports diagnosing pain or a torn ligament did not explain how the work incident caused the diagnosed…
J.S. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, NJ
J.S. and Department of the Navy (ECAB 20-0337): Late reconsideration denial upheld
J.S., a Navy welder with an accepted back strain claim, disputed the pay rate used to calculate his schedule award. He requested reconsideration more than one year after the Board's April 20, 2018 merits decision. The Board found the request untimely and found no clear evidence that the earlier…
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.