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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M.C. and Department of the Navy, Bureau of Medicine & Surgery, Naval Branch Health Clinic, Chula Vista, CA
M.C. and Department of the Navy (ECAB 20-0125): Arm condition claim denied
M.C., a Navy medical support assistant, attributed right arm symptoms to moving boxes of medical records at work. OWCP accepted the January 17, 2019 incident but denied the medical claim. The Board found that one doctor did not distinguish the effects of the incident from her preexisting carpal…
Secretary of Labor obo James McGaughran v. Lehigh Cement Company, LLC
Incentive-payment enforcement denied
The Secretary asked the Judge to enforce James McGaughran's economic-reinstatement order by requiring Lehigh Cement to pay another $12,000 under its annual incentive plan. The request was filed in the discrimination merits docket rather than the separate temporary-reinstatement docket. The…
Matter of O-F-A-S-
The CAT uses one under-color-of-law standard
The Attorney General reviewed the Board's decision on a Guatemalan respondent's claim that he would be tortured by men wearing police uniforms who invaded his home, assaulted him, and threatened him. The decision held that the Convention Against Torture's requirement that an act be committed by a…
Matter of M-D-C-V-
Arriving aliens near the border may be returned to a contiguous country
The Board reviewed a Salvadoran respondent's appeal after the Department of Homeland Security returned her to Mexico under the Migrant Protection Protocols and an Immigration Judge denied her applications for asylum and withholding of removal. The Board held that an alien apprehended just inside…
Carlos Vargas v. Electric Boat Corporation
Vargas v. Electric Boat (BRB 20-0201): premature attorney fee appeal dismissed
Electric Boat appealed a district director's attorney fee order in Carlos Vargas's Longshore Act case while its timely motion for reconsideration was still pending. It asked the Board to pause the appeal. The Board held that its rule required dismissal of an appeal filed during pending…
James M. Heffron v. Reading Anthracite Company
Heffron v. Reading Anthracite (BRB 19-0464 BLA): black lung benefits denial affirmed
James Heffron appealed the denial of his black lung claim after a judge found that he had not established total respiratory disability. He argued that the judge should have determined his years of coal mine work for the fifteen-year presumption. The Board held that a work-duration finding was…
Anita L. Henderson v. Drummond Company, Incorporated
Henderson v. Drummond (BRB 19-0363 BLA): black lung benefits denial affirmed
Anita Henderson appealed the denial of her black lung claim without counsel. The judge credited more than nineteen years of underground mine work but found no total respiratory disability. The Board upheld the judge's assessment of the breathing tests and medical opinions. It agreed that one…
Ronald L. Barger v. Perry County Coal, LLC
Barger v. Perry County Coal (BRB 19-0336 BLA): employer appeal dismissed for Trust Fund payment
Perry County Coal appealed a judge's award of black lung benefits to Ronald Barger. After the employer reported that it lacked assets under its bankruptcy plan to pay the claim, the Director said the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund accepted liability and did not contest Barger's entitlement. The…
Kermit F. Bentley v. Kentucky Elkhorn Coal Incorporated
Bentley v. Kentucky Elkhorn Coal (BRB 19-0252 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Kermit Bentley received black lung benefits on a subsequent miner claim after a judge credited 15.17 years of underground coal mine work and found total respiratory disability. Those findings invoked the fifteen-year presumption. Kentucky Elkhorn Coal and its insurer challenged the judge's…
Varess v. Persian Broadcast Service Global, Inc.
$183,794 E-3 wage award affirmed
Persian Broadcast Service Global sponsored Majid Varess for two periods of E-3 employment but did not pay the required wages throughout those labor-condition-application periods. The employer argued that Varess filed too late and voluntarily placed himself in nonproductive status. The Board held…
Cole v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co.
Union dispute did not establish rail retaliation
Norfolk Southern fired conductor and union official Scott Cole after finding that he made misrepresentations and threatened to publicly disparage a customer during a dispute about using Ohio-based train crews. Cole argued that his call to the customer was protected because he raised safety concerns…
M.S. and Department of the Navy, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, DC
M.S. and Department of the Navy (ECAB 20-0437): Ankle sprain claim denied
M.S., a Navy financial management analyst, reported twisting her ankle after stepping on a rock at work. OWCP accepted the August 14, 2019 incident but denied the medical claim. The Board found that one doctor diagnosed an ankle sprain without addressing its cause, while another relied on a checked…
M.W. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Patrol, San Ysidro, CA
M.W. and Customs & Border Patrol (ECAB 20-0333): Treatment recurrence denied
M.W., a border patrol agent, had an accepted injury from a 2014 fall and later sought further medical treatment. His later doctor documented lower back and buttock symptoms and several diagnoses. The Board found that the doctor did not give a definite, reasoned opinion connecting the renewed need…
E.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Coppell, TX
E.B. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1548): Disability period denied
E.B., a former postal carrier with an accepted left index finger fracture, sought wage-loss benefits for a later period away from work. The Board found that the submitted medical reports did not establish that the accepted fracture prevented her from working during December 4, 2016 through August…
N.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Shenandoah, PA
N.L. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1456): Ankle recurrence returned for medical development
N.L., a postal carrier, sought benefits for disability beginning July 30, 2018 after an accepted ankle injury. Her treating doctor's opinion did not fully establish the claimed recurrence but raised a medical question requiring further development. The Board directed OWCP to combine a related claim…
G.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Morristown, NJ
G.P. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1258): Wage loss claim returned under correct standard
G.P., a postal carrier with an accepted back injury, claimed intermittent periods of wage loss and medical treatment. OWCP assessed her request under the standard for modifying a formal wage-earning capacity determination. The Board found that OWCP should evaluate the claimed limited periods of…
D.F. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Miami, FL
D.F. and Federal Aviation Administration (ECAB 19-1257): PTSD recognized and benefits termination reversed
D.F., a former air traffic controller, had an accepted adjustment disorder claim after a 2007 work incident. The Board found that medical opinions established post-traumatic stress disorder as another work-related condition. Because OWCP had not accounted for that condition, it had not justified…
W.G. and Department of the Navy, Meridian Naval Air Station, Meridan, MS
W.G. and Department of the Navy (ECAB 20-0439): Injury claim denied after vehicle struck deer
W.G., a Navy airfield manager, was driving a government vehicle when it struck a deer. OWCP accepted the October 15, 2019 work incident. The Board found that the medical records described neck pain, backache, and spasm but did not establish a firm diagnosed injury with a reasoned causal…
P.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Santa Ana, CA
P.G. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 20-0235): PTSD reconsideration reopened
P.G., a postal carrier with an accepted dog-bite injury, sought to add post-traumatic stress disorder to her claim. OWCP denied reconsideration without reopening the merits. The Board found that her representative had made a new and relevant legal argument using Board precedent about the additional…
J.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Orleans, LA
J.A. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1946): Overpayment recovery upheld
J.A. received FECA compensation and Social Security age-related retirement benefits during the same period without the required offset. The Board upheld OWCP's finding of a $49,846.55 overpayment from September 1, 2016 through July 20, 2019 and found that he was not at fault. It also upheld denial…
R.M. and Department of the Navy, Fleet Logistics Center Puget Sound, Port Orchard, WA
R.M. and Department of the Navy (ECAB 19-1613): Shoulder injury claim denied
R.M., a Navy fuel distribution worker, caught a falling mooring line with his extended arm and reported a right shoulder injury. OWCP accepted the December 10, 2018 incident. The Board found that his doctor's reports diagnosed shoulder conditions and referenced the incident but did not give an…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3430 and United States Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, West Virginia
AFGE Local 3430 and NIOSH Morgantown (FLRA 0-NG-3456): Authority orders rescission of unsupported disapprovals
The agency head disapproved sixteen provisions of a collective-bargaining agreement covering subjects that included official time, employee orientation, awards, leave, and reductions in force. The disapproval letter listed the provisions without explaining why they were unlawful, and the agency's…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Caribbean Healthcare System and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2408
VA Caribbean Healthcare System and AFGE Local 2408 (FLRA 0-AR-5614): Authority dismisses removal exceptions
The Department of Veterans Affairs filed exceptions to an arbitration award concerning whether there was just cause to terminate an employee. The agency argued that the grievance had not satisfied the parties' negotiated grievance procedure. The Authority held that the claim advanced in arbitration…
K.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Burlington, WI
K.E. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1922): Knee disability recurrence denied
K.E., a postal carrier with an accepted left knee contusion, sought wage-loss benefits for a claimed recurrence beginning February 9, 2018. Her postal employment ended for performance and attendance reasons around the same time. The Board explained that termination for cause did not itself…
B.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Memorial Station Post Office, Decatur, IL
B.C. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 20-0221): Knee claim returned for causation review
B.C., a postal carrier, attributed right knee symptoms to walking on uneven ground and repeatedly entering and leaving a postal vehicle. OWCP accepted the described work factors but denied the claim. The Board found that doctors had diagnosed a right knee sprain or strain, contrary to OWCP's…
L.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Coppell, TX
L.S. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1769): Neck claim returned for medical development
L.S., a postal carrier, attributed a cervical condition to duties including carrying mail, lifting trays, and repetitive neck movement. His doctor explained a possible physical mechanism linking those accepted duties to cervical disc disease. The Board found that the opinion did not by itself prove…
L.G. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Cleveland, OH
L.G. and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ECAB 19-1274): Overpayment recovery upheld
L.G. received FECA compensation and Social Security age-related retirement benefits without the required offset from February 1, 2012 through April 27, 2018. The Board upheld a $93,038.08 overpayment finding and found that L.G. was not at fault. It also upheld denial of a waiver and recovery…
G.W. and Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Neopit, WI
G.W. and Bureau of Indian Affairs (ECAB 19-0260): Ear injury recognized after truck crash
G.W., a Bureau of Indian Affairs truck driver, was injured when his truck jackknifed on a slippery road during work. The Board found that the uncontested accident and emergency records established an ear laceration and contusions, even without a more detailed medical opinion for those visible…
S.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Jesse Brown Veterans Administration Medical Center, Chicago, IL
S.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs (ECAB 20-0423): Reconsideration denial upheld
S.M., a VA nurse, sought reconsideration of a claim involving a motorized wheelchair striking her at work. The Board reviewed only OWCP's nonmerit reconsideration ruling. It found that her new factual statement did not address the medical causation issue underlying the earlier denial, and she…
D.H. and Department of the Navy, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, VA
D.H. and Department of the Navy (ECAB 20-0198): Hearing loss award ordered
D.H., a Navy sheet metal supervisor, sought a schedule award for work-related hearing loss. OWCP denied an award after calculating a binaural rating that rounded to zero. The Board found that the left-ear monaural rating rounded to two percent and produced greater compensation than the binaural…
T.K. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Westbury, NY
T.K. and Federal Aviation Administration (ECAB 20-0150): Emotional condition claim returned for medical review
T.K., an air traffic controller, reported an emotional condition after a near collision between aircraft under his control. OWCP accepted the December 2, 2018 work incident but denied the medical claim. The Board found that his doctor's reports about acute stress were not fully reasoned, yet raised…
S.Z. and Department of the Air Force, Hill Air Force Base, UT
S.Z. and Department of the Air Force (ECAB 20-0106): Cardiac claim returned for medical review
S.Z., an Air Force logistics official, attributed diabetes and a later cardiac arrest to stressful and harsh working conditions during an Afghanistan deployment. The Board found that his doctor's explanation of a possible chain from work stress to diabetes and cardiac arrest was incomplete but…
D.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Birmingham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Birmingham, AL
D.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs (ECAB 19-1584): Disability claim returned for job availability review
D.W., a VA cook with an accepted lumbar sprain, sought wage-loss benefits beginning February 21, 2018. Medical reports imposed lifting and other work restrictions, and the employer said it could not accommodate them. The Board found the record insufficient to determine whether suitable light-duty…
P.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Merrifield, VA
P.B. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 20-0346): Shoulder schedule award denied
P.B., a postal employee with an accepted right shoulder injury, sought a schedule award for permanent impairment. Her doctor reported that she had reached maximum medical improvement but did not describe or rate permanent impairment from the accepted injury. The Board found that the record did not…
J.C. and Department of the Navy, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, VA
J.C. and Department of the Navy (ECAB 20-0322): Hearing loss award increased
J.C., a Norfolk Naval Shipyard worker, had received a schedule award for 28 percent binaural hearing loss. Reviewing the audiometric calculations, the Board found that his work-related binaural loss was 30 percent. It modified the award, giving him an additional two percent permanent impairment.
R.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Frederick N. Weathers Post Office, St. Louis, MO
R.S. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 20-0311): Overpayment ruling reversed
OWCP said R.S. had received too much schedule award compensation for a left leg impairment and assessed a $45,057.81 overpayment. The Board found that OWCP had not first resolved the underlying impairment rating, including whether earlier and later awards covered the same accepted conditions…
D.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Monponsett, MA
D.L. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 20-0059): Twenty-three percent leg impairment award affirmed
D.L., a former postmaster, sought more than the 23 percent left leg impairment for which she had already received a schedule award. One doctor's proposed higher rating did not explain the calculation under the governing impairment guides. The Board found that the evidence did not establish a…
V.S. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, El Paso, TX
V.S. and Customs & Border Protection (ECAB 19-1679): Two percent left leg schedule award upheld
V.S., a Customs and Border Protection employee, sought a schedule award for an accepted left leg injury. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish impairment above two percent and upheld that award.
M.S. and Department of Justice, U.S. Marshals Service, Alexandria, VA
M.S. and U.S. Marshals Service (ECAB 19-1401): Leg impairment claim returned for new exam
M.S., a U.S. Marshals Service officer, sought increased schedule awards for impairment of both legs. OWCP obtained a second medical opinion, but the Board found that the physician did not adequately test sensory and motor deficits or explain differences from earlier examinations using the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1594 and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, St. Petersburg Regional Office
AFGE Local 1594 and VA St. Petersburg Regional Office (FLRA 0-AR-5500): Authority upholds shared transcript cost
The Department of Veterans Affairs filed a grievance after AFGE Local 1594 refused to pay half the cost of an arbitrator's transcript copy in an earlier case. An arbitrator found that the parties' settlement agreement required them to split that cost whenever the arbitrator requested a copy. The…
Phetnakhonsy Bouapha v. Delta Marine Industries
Bouapha v. Delta Marine (BRB 19-0400): reconsideration of longshore ruling denied
Phetnakhonsy Bouapha asked the Board to reconsider its earlier ruling in a Longshore Act case involving a work-related back injury. The Board explained that he was entitled to covered medical treatment but needed to give the employer documentation of those expenses for payment or reimbursement. It…
Y.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Church Street Station, New York, NY
Y.B. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 20-0205): Reconsideration returned for evidence review
Y.B., a postal carrier, sought reconsideration of an injury claim after submitting additional medical records. OWCP held her request untimely and found no clear evidence of error, but did not discuss the new records. The Board found that the omission prevented review of OWCP's reasoning. It…
M.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Cloud, MN
M.N. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 20-0110): Reconsideration returned for medical report review
M.N., a postal carrier, sought reconsideration of a claim for a back injury from lifting a parcel. She submitted a doctor's report addressing whether the work event caused her lumbar condition. OWCP said that the report had not been received as new evidence, although it was in the record before the…
I.L. and Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Barstow, CA
I.L. and Defense Logistics Agency (ECAB 20-0048): Nine percent arm impairment award affirmed
I.L., a Defense Logistics Agency worker, had received a schedule award for nine percent right arm impairment after a shoulder injury. He sought a higher award based on another physician's rating. The Board found that the proposed higher rating was not adequately supported by the required…
T.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Ravenswood Station Post Office, Chicago, IL
T.B. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1841): Knee disability claim returned for evidence review
T.B., a postal carrier with accepted knee contusions, sought wage-loss benefits beginning February 16, 2019. OWCP denied the claim while discussing only an older medical report. The Board found that OWCP had failed to address later reports and work-status notes submitted before its decision. It…
R.G. and Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, Newark, NJ
R.G. and Drug Enforcement Administration (ECAB 19-1755): Neck and back claim files combined
R.G., a DEA special agent, claimed neck and back conditions from years of work duties. OWCP had several earlier injury files involving the same body areas but had not combined them in the record sent to the Board. The Board found that full review required those claim histories together. It directed…
T.I. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Kahului, HI
T.I. and Transportation Security Administration (ECAB 19-1397): Injury expansion claim returned for complete medical review
T.I., a transportation security officer, sought to add cervical and shoulder conditions after an accepted fall. OWCP denied expansion, additional disability benefits, and requested surgery using a medical adviser report. The Board found that the adviser had not been asked to review an earlier…
N.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Detroit, MI
N.L. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 20-0254): Schedule award overpayment upheld
N.L. received a schedule award payment for a period when he was not entitled to that payment. The Board upheld OWCP's $3,724.43 overpayment finding for February 3 through March 2, 2019 and found that he was not at fault. It also upheld OWCP's refusal to waive recovery.
J.G. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Fabens, TX
J.G. and Customs & Border Protection (ECAB 20-0073): Visible injuries recognized after work fall
J.G., a Customs and Border Protection officer, fainted at work and struck a desk. The Board found that the accepted January 30, 2019 incident and prompt records established facial and scalp lacerations and a bruise around the eye. It reversed OWCP's injury denial and returned the case for payment…
R.L. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Medical Command, Fort Bragg, NC
R.L. and U.S. Army Medical Command (ECAB 19-1786): Earnings adjustment and overpayment upheld
R.L., an Army nurse, had his wage-loss benefits reduced based on actual earnings as a nurse consultant. The Board upheld that calculation. It also upheld a $12,401.44 overpayment caused by receiving FECA wage-loss benefits and Social Security age-related retirement benefits without the required…
L.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Greensboro, NC
L.L. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1550): Ankle and foot claim denied
L.L., a postal carrier, stepped into a hole while moving quickly after seeing a snake during a delivery. OWCP accepted the June 4, 2018 work incident but denied her medical claim. The Board found that her podiatrist's reports gave diagnoses and work restrictions without a reasoned opinion…
A.F. and U.S. Postal Service, North Metro Georgia Processing & Distribution Center, Duluth, GA
A.F. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-0453): Benefits termination reversed
A.F., a postal mail handler with an accepted left knee injury, was offered a modified position. OWCP terminated wage-loss compensation and schedule award entitlement after she refused it. The Board found that the suitability review considered her knee restrictions but failed to assess a previously…
Matter of Bay Area Legal Services, Inc.
Amicus requests for clarification denied
The Office of Legal Access Programs recognized Bay Area Legal Services, Inc., approved extension offices, and partially accredited Carlos Betancourt, but denied his request for full accreditation. After the Director affirmed the denial of reconsideration, an organization acting as a putative amicus…
Kristopher V. Worrell v. Virginia International Terminals, LLC
Worrell v. Virginia International Terminals (BRB 20-0179): premature medical treatment appeal dismissed
Virginia International Terminals and its carrier appealed a district director's order to authorize physical therapy for Kristopher Worrell. Their timely motion for reconsideration was still pending when they appealed. The Board dismissed the appeal as premature and also noted that disputed facts…
John F. Hatfield v. Rhino Eastern, LLC
Hatfield v. Rhino Eastern (BRB 19-0329 BLA): benefits upheld, responsible operator issue remanded
John Hatfield received black lung benefits after a judge found complicated pneumoconiosis, which invoked an irrebuttable presumption of total disability due to the disease. The Board upheld that disease finding and the August 2015 benefits start date. But the judge had not explained why Rhino…
Edward R. Bedwell v. Heritage Coal Company, LLC
Bedwell v. Heritage Coal (BRB 19-0307): employer reconsideration request denied
Heritage Coal asked the Benefits Review Board to reconsider its June 30, 2020 decision in Edward Bedwell's black lung case. The Director opposed the request. No member of the panel voted to vacate or change the earlier decision, so the Board denied reconsideration. The short order does not describe…
Edward R. Bedwell v. Heritage Coal Company, LLC
Bedwell v. Heritage Coal (BRB 19-0307 BLA): black lung benefits award and employer liability affirmed
Edward Bedwell received black lung benefits after a judge credited twenty-nine years of qualifying mine work, found total respiratory disability, and applied the fifteen-year presumption. Heritage Coal and its carrier challenged the judge's appointment, the district director's authority, and their…
Randolph Clevinger v. South Akers Mining Company LLC
Clevinger v. South Akers Mining (BRB 19-0045 BLA): benefits award remanded for breathing test review
Randolph Clevinger received black lung benefits on a subsequent miner claim after a judge found total disability and applied the fifteen-year presumption. South Akers Mining challenged the validity of two pulmonary function studies used in that finding. The Board majority held that the judge had…
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cape Coral, FL
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 20-0066): Shoulder claim found timely
M.B., a retired postal carrier, claimed bilateral shoulder conditions from his work. OWCP used the date a supervisor signed his claim form and found it was filed more than three years after his last work exposure. The Board used the earlier date stamped when the employer received the form and found…
S.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Olivette Branch Post Office, St. Louis, MO
S.D. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1819): Continuation of pay denial reversed
S.D., a postal carrier, sought continuation of pay after an accepted neck and thoracic injury from a vehicle collision. OWCP denied the pay because the medical records released her to restricted work. The Board held that this was not one of the regulatory reasons for denying continuation of pay and…
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.