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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J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Carol Stream Processing & Distribution Center, Carol Stream, IL
Related same-day injury claims returned for combined review
J.C., a postal tractor trailer operator, filed a traumatic injury claim concerning a November 28, 2016 work incident. He had separately filed an occupational disease claim involving a similar condition and the same reported onset date. The Board found that the earlier file was missing from the…
C.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Loma Linda Healthcare System, Loma Linda, CA
Back injury files returned for combined review
C.C., a VA dialysis technician and office worker, filed a new back condition claim after an earlier accepted back sprain. OWCP relied on medical evidence from the earlier file without putting that evidence in the current record or combining the files. The Board directed OWCP to consolidate the…
Secretary of Labor v. Gorham Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Defective summary request rejected
The parties wanted two quarterly-reporting citation cases decided without a hearing. Judge William Moran repeatedly instructed them to file a summary-decision motion containing supported material facts and legal authority as required by the procedural rule. The Labor Department attorney instead…
Matter of F-S-N-
Changed-country-conditions motion to reopen denied
The Board considered a Cameroonian respondent's motion to reopen her removal proceedings based on alleged changed personal circumstances and country conditions. Her earlier asylum claim had been denied after an adverse credibility finding based on inconsistencies, omissions, contradictions, and…
Paul A. Feltner v. Perry County Coal Corporation
Feltner v. Perry County Coal (BRB 19-0552 BLA): appeal dismissed for Trust Fund payment
Perry County Coal's counsel reported that its parent company's bankruptcy plan left the employer without enough assets to pay Paul Feltner's black lung claim. The Director of the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs said the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund accepted liability and did not…
Labinka Howard v. Dyncorp International
Howard v. Dyncorp International (BRB 19-0475): reconsideration denied
Labinka Howard asked the Benefits Review Board to reconsider its April 28, 2020 decision in her case against Dyncorp International and its carrier. The employer opposed the motion. No member of the deciding panel voted to vacate or change the earlier decision. The Board denied reconsideration…
Phetnakhonsy Bouapha v. Delta Marine Industries
Bouapha v. Delta Marine Industries (BRB 19-0400): partial benefits award upheld
Phetnakhonsy Bouapha worked as a fitter for Delta Marine and sought benefits for a claimed head injury, psychological harm, and an upper back and shoulder injury. The judge found his upper back and shoulder injury compensable and awarded medical benefits, but found no related wage loss. The Board…
William K. Anders v. P & P Coal Company, Incorporated
Anders v. P & P Coal (BRB 19-0389 BLA): pneumoconiosis finding returned for review
William Anders sought black lung benefits after a judge found a totally disabling respiratory impairment but no pneumoconiosis. The Board upheld the finding that Anders had fewer than fifteen years of mine work, even after identifying one omitted year, so he could not use the statutory presumption…
Evette E. Hagy v. Wellmore Coal Company
Hagy v. Wellmore Coal (BRB 19-0362 BLA): survivor's benefits denial upheld
Evette Hagy sought survivor's benefits after the death of her husband, coal miner Jerry Hagy. On remand, a judge found that his mine work fell short of the fifteen years needed for a statutory presumption and that the evidence did not establish legal pneumoconiosis. The Board found errors in the…
Paul E. Estep v. Premier Elkhorn Coal, LLC
Estep v. Premier Elkhorn Coal (BRB 19-0353 BLA): appeal dismissed for Trust Fund payment
Premier Elkhorn Coal's counsel reported that its parent company's bankruptcy plan left the employer without enough assets to pay Paul Estep's black lung claim. The Director of the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs said the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund accepted liability and did not…
James L. Fields v. Island Creek Coal Company
Fields v. Island Creek Coal (BRB 19-0316 BLA): black lung benefits award upheld
James Fields received black lung benefits after a judge found more than 23 years of underground coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. Island Creek Coal challenged the judge's appointment, the statutory presumption, and the disability finding. The Board held that the…
Donnie Standifur v. Premier Elkhorn Coal Company
Standifur v. Premier Elkhorn Coal (BRB 19-0302 BLA): appeal dismissed for Trust Fund payment
Premier Elkhorn Coal's counsel reported that its Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan left the employer without enough assets to pay Donnie Standifur's black lung claim. The Director of the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs said the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund accepted liability and did not…
Larry A. Toppins v. Pen Coal Corporation
Toppins v. Pen Coal (BRB 19-0294 BLA): disability and rebuttal findings returned
Larry Toppins received black lung benefits after a judge found 21.39 years of underground mine work, total disability, and no rebuttal of the statutory presumption. Pen Coal challenged the disability and rebuttal findings. The Board held that the judge had not adequately explained why she favored…
Janet M. Kemp v. Bird Coal Company
Kemp v. Bird Coal (BRB 19-0293 BLA): survivor's benefits denial upheld
Janet Kemp sought survivor's benefits after the death of her husband, miner Ernest Kemp. The judge found clinical and legal pneumoconiosis but concluded that the evidence did not establish either condition caused or hastened his death. The Board upheld the judge's decision to discount the autopsy…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Div. v. Northwest Title Agency, Inc.
Benefit award and debarment affirmed
Northwest Title Agency performed federally contracted closing services for government-owned homes but did not document or pay required health and welfare benefits to ten employees. The Board held that wages above the hourly minimum could not be treated as benefit payments without records separately…
T.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fort Worth, TX
Ankle and foot occupational disease claim denied
T.F., a postal employee, attributed bilateral ankle and left foot conditions to work duties. The Board found that her physician’s reports did not adequately explain how the accepted employment factors caused the diagnosed conditions. It upheld the denial for lack of a reasoned causal relationship.
S.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Office Long Island City Post Office, Long Island City, NY
Back, hip, and leg injury denial affirmed
S.K., a postal clerk, reported right hip and leg pain after lifting a bag of parcels. The Board accepted the January 30, 2019 incident but found that the medical reports did not adequately explain a causal link to a lumbar, right hip, or right leg condition. A checked causation box and pain…
F.G. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Patrol, Roma, TX
Hearing-loss schedule award denied
F.G., a border patrol officer, claimed occupational hearing loss from workplace noise. The Board considered an audiogram and medical assessment but found that the measured binaural loss was not ratable for a schedule award. It affirmed the denial of that award.
L.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Kedzie Grace Post Office, Chicago, IL
Hearing request returned after defective mailing
L.N., a letter carrier with an accepted ankle and foot injury, requested a compounded medication and then a hearing after OWCP denied it. OWCP treated his hearing request as late. The Board found that OWCP used a mixed street and post office box address and that the evidence rebutted presumed…
M.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Ripley, TN
Right-knee injury denial affirmed for insufficient causation evidence
M.C., a rural carrier, reported stepping in a hole while delivering a package and injuring her right knee. The Board accepted the December 10, 2016 incident but found that the medical evidence did not adequately explain how it caused a diagnosed knee condition. It affirmed the denial for lack of…
C.C. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Rouses Point, NY
Two right-arm claims returned for combined review
C.C., a federal special agent, appealed decisions on a traumatic right shoulder injury claim and a later occupational disease claim involving his right hand, forearm, and elbow. OWCP had relied on evidence from one file when deciding the other but had not combined them. The Board required a…
R.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Affairs Central California Health Care System
Overpayment and recovery terms affirmed
R.B. received FECA wage-loss compensation and age-related Social Security benefits attributable to federal service for the same period. The Board upheld OWCP’s $37,928.23 overpayment calculation for March 1, 2016 through April 28, 2018. Although he was without fault, the Board also affirmed denial…
D.S. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Bremerton, WA
Claim expansion returned for impartial medical opinion
D.S., a Navy rigger, asked OWCP to add right shoulder conditions to an accepted work injury claim. His physician and OWCP’s district medical adviser gave conflicting, reasoned opinions about whether the additional conditions were work related. The Board found a medical conflict and directed OWCP to…
P.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Chicago Central Post Office, Chicago, IL
Overpayment, waiver denial, and recovery rate affirmed
P.W. received FECA wage-loss compensation while also receiving age-related Social Security benefits attributable to federal service. The Board upheld a $24,262.79 overpayment for February 1, 2018 through April 27, 2019. Although she was without fault, it affirmed OWCP’s refusal to waive recovery…
A.V. and U.S. Postal Service, New Hyde Park Post Office, New Hyde Park, NY
Limited treatment-time wage loss granted
A.V., a postal letter carrier with an accepted 2006 injury, claimed wage-loss compensation for several days in 2018. The Board found that treatment appointments on July 24 and August 20 supported up to four hours of compensable time on each date. It found insufficient proof of disability for the…
A.B. and Social Security Administration, Office of Disability Adjudication & Review, Atlanta, GA
Cervical occupational disease claim returned for development
A.B., a Social Security Administration legal assistant, attributed cervical and nerve conditions to prolonged computer work and repetitive arm movements. Her neurologist gave a detailed medical explanation linking the work duties to the conditions. The Board found that this opinion warranted…
Social Security Administration and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3571
Social Security Administration and AFGE Local 3571 (FLRA 0-AR-5421): Authority narrows performance-rating award
An arbitrator found that the Social Security Administration had improperly rated an employee's job knowledge in 2015 and 2016 without identifying the performance standards she supposedly failed to meet. He ordered level-five ratings for those years and imposed six requirements for future…
U.C. and Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Region I, King of Prussia, PA
Untimely reconsideration denial affirmed
U.C., a former reactor systems engineer, sought reconsideration of an occupational disease claim more than 12 years after the last merit decision. The Board found the request untimely and concluded that it did not demonstrate clear evidence of error in that decision. It upheld the refusal to reopen…
T.D. and Department of Defense, National Security Agency, Laurel, MD
Diagnosis recognized, but causation denial affirmed
T.D., a National Security Agency employee, reported falling down stairs at work. The Board found that the medical record established cervical and lumbar diagnoses, correcting OWCP’s narrower analysis. The medical evidence still did not adequately explain how the October 10, 2018 incident caused…
V.K. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, East Boston, MA
Impartial opinion on CRPS claim required correction
V.K., a transportation security screener, sought expansion of an accepted injury claim to include complex regional pain syndrome in her right foot and both hands. OWCP had referred conflicting medical opinions to an impartial examiner. The Board found that the examiner disregarded an accepted…
F.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Dallas Veterans Administration Medical Center, Dallas, TX
Emotional-condition claim denied for lack of compensable work factor
F.W., a VA medical clerk, attributed anxiety and physical symptoms to a meeting with her supervisor and other workplace administrative matters. The Board found that she had not established error or abuse in those administrative actions or another compensable employment factor. It affirmed the…
Dwight L. Dawson v. Fluor Federal Global Projects, Incorporated
Dawson v. Fluor Federal Global Projects (BRB 19-0528): en banc reconsideration denied
Fluor Federal Global Projects and its insurer asked the Benefits Review Board to reconsider en banc an earlier decision in Dwight Dawson's Longshore Act case. Dawson opposed the request. A majority of the Board's permanent members did not vote to vacate or change the earlier decision, so the Board…
Dwight L. Dawson v. Fluor Federal Global Projects, Incorporated
Dawson v. Fluor Federal Global Projects (BRB 19-0528): psychological injury claim returned
Dwight Dawson worked for Fluor as a fuel operator and truck driver at bases in Afghanistan that faced rocket and mortar attacks. He sought benefits for psychological conditions after returning home. The judge found a psychological injury and qualifying work conditions but denied benefits after…
John E. Lucas v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs
Lucas v. Director, OWCP (BRB 19-0339 BLA): denial on modification upheld
John Lucas sought modification of a black lung benefits denial based on a claimed change in his condition. Although the parties accepted that he had pneumoconiosis, the judge found that Lucas did not establish that it substantially contributed to a disabling respiratory impairment. The Board upheld…
Charles M. Davis v. Mystic Energy, Incorporated
Davis v. Mystic Energy (BRB 19-0312 BLA): black lung benefits award upheld
Charles Davis received black lung benefits after a judge found twenty-nine years of underground coal mine work, total respiratory disability, and no rebuttal of the statutory presumption. Mystic Energy disputed how the judge evaluated medical opinions about coal dust and Davis's obstructive lung…
John S. George v. Commercial Testing & Engineering Company
George v. Commercial Testing & Engineering (BRB 19-0295 BLA): disability finding returned
John George sought black lung benefits after a judge found fewer than fifteen years of mine work and no total respiratory disability. The Board upheld the work history finding, leaving him without the statutory presumption. It vacated the disability finding because the judge mixed questions about…
James Phillips v. Carbon Resources, Incorporated
Phillips v. Carbon Resources (BRB 19-0207 BLA): disability and operator findings returned
James Phillips received black lung benefits after a judge found total respiratory disability due to legal pneumoconiosis and held Carbon Resources responsible for payment. The Board vacated the disability finding because the judge had relied on a medical opinion based partly on a breathing test she…
Aityahia v. Mesa Airlines
Airline rehire decision was not retaliation
Former Mesa Airlines pilot Aziz Aityahia alleged that his 2013 termination and the airline's refusal to rehire him in 2017 violated AIR21's whistleblower protections. The Board affirmed that any claim based on the 2013 action was filed outside the then-applicable 90-day deadline and did not qualify…
S.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Union Springs, AL
Wage-loss termination reversed for inadequate findings
S.C., a postal rural carrier associate, had an accepted left wrist sprain. OWCP terminated wage-loss benefits based on a physician’s release to work. The Board noted that she was not receiving ongoing wage-loss payments at the time, and OWCP had not explained what entitlement it was terminating…
S.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Emporia, VA
Construction-dust exposure established; causation returned to OWCP
S.A., a postal employee, reported respiratory symptoms during construction at her workplace. Employer and coworker statements supported exposure to dust and fumes beginning July 10, 2017. The Board found the exposure occurred as alleged, but OWCP had not evaluated the medical evidence for…
J.R. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Premium-pay claim returned for adequate explanation
J.R., an air traffic control specialist, claimed lost premium and night differential pay after an accepted stress reaction. OWCP denied the claim without deciding his pay rate or addressing whether he was entitled to the claimed differentials for the relevant period. The Board directed OWCP to…
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 476 (Union)
HUD and AFGE Local 476 (FLRA 0-AR-5551): Reconsideration of removal-jurisdiction ruling denied
An arbitrator found that HUD had removed an employee without just cause and in retaliation for protected Equal Employment Opportunity activity, and ordered reinstatement and backpay. The Authority dismissed HUD's exceptions because the grievance concerned a removal that belongs in the Merit Systems…
Secretary of Labor v. Gorham Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Proper summary motion required
The parties asked to resolve two citation cases through the summary-decision process instead of a live hearing. Their submission did not state supported undisputed facts, identify legal grounds for judgment, or otherwise satisfy the governing procedural rule. It also followed a missed deadline and…
B.C. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA
Right-ear hearing claim returned; left-ear award affirmed
B.C., a Navy employee, challenged the denial of a right-ear hearing claim and sought more than the 41 percent monaural award already granted for his left ear. The Board found the left-ear evidence did not support a larger award. It found the medical opinion on whether workplace noise caused or…
M.S. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA
Increased hearing-loss award request requires merit decision
M.S., a Navy package router with accepted hearing loss, submitted a new audiology report indicating increased impairment. OWCP treated his submission as an untimely reconsideration request. The Board found that he was seeking an increased schedule award based on new medical evidence, which can be…
B.W. and U.S. Postal Service, New Tampa Post Office, Tampa, FL
Two back and hip injury files returned for combined review
B.W., a rural mail carrier, alleged back and hip injuries from lifting heavy packages on two nearby dates in January 2017. OWCP referenced one claim while deciding the other, but did not combine their records. The Board could not determine whether all pertinent evidence had been considered. It…
JW Powerline, LLC
Four electrical safety violations affirmed after fatal line repair
A JW Powerline crew responded at night to restore power at a rural drilling site after a thunderstorm. The crew foreman misidentified a utility-owned line as the customer's line and began a splice without an adequate job briefing, proper isolation and tagging, or grounding. The utility restored…
A.J. and Department of the Army, Montcrief Army Hospital, Fort Jackson, SC
Benefit termination upheld for one condition, reversed for another
A.J., an Army hospital medical records clerk, had accepted contact dermatitis and aggravation of allergic rhinitis. The Board found that OWCP met its burden to end wage-loss and medical benefits for the temporary dermatitis aggravation. It found that OWCP had not met that burden for allergic…
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 Coleman and AFGE Local 506 (FLRA 0-AR-5569): Authority sets aside untimely post-orders grievance
The Federal Correctional Complex in Coleman assigned two bargaining-unit employees to review post orders, which are instructions for staff working particular posts. AFGE Local 506 alleged that management bypassed the union and filed a grievance more than sixty days after the assignment. The…
Bruce E. Hall v. Excel Mining, LLC
Hall v. Excel Mining (BRB 19-0385 BLA): black lung benefits award upheld
Bruce Hall received black lung benefits after a judge found seventeen years of underground coal mine work, total respiratory disability, and no rebuttal of the statutory presumption. Excel Mining and its carrier challenged the breathing test evidence and the treatment of medical opinions. The Board…
David Wayne Cobb v. Coal River Mining, LLC
Cobb v. Coal River Mining (BRB 19-0311 BLA): black lung benefits award upheld
David Wayne Cobb received black lung benefits after a judge found forty years of mine work, total respiratory disability, and no rebuttal of the statutory presumption. Coal River Mining and its carrier challenged the judge's treatment of medical opinions that attributed Cobb's lung impairment to…
Gary Gentry v. Roxanna Transport, Incorporated
Gentry v. Roxanna Transport (BRB 19-0291 BLA): black lung benefits award upheld
Gary Gentry received black lung benefits after a judge found at least fifteen years of qualifying coal mine work, total respiratory disability, and no rebuttal of the statutory presumption. Roxanna Transport and its carrier challenged the admission of two late x-ray readings and whether Gentry's…
T.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Louisville, KY
Untimely reconsideration denial affirmed
T.C., a postal employee, requested reconsideration of a November 30, 2017 wage-loss decision in June 2019. The Board found that the request arrived more than one year after the last merit decision and did not demonstrate clear evidence of error. It affirmed the nonmerit denial.
K.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fernley, NV
Bilateral shoulder occupational disease claim denied
K.R., a rural mail carrier, attributed conditions in both shoulders to lifting packages and delivering mail. The Board found the medical reports did not adequately explain how those accepted work factors caused the diagnosed shoulder conditions. It upheld the denial for lack of reasoned causation…
J.K. and U.S. Postal Service, St. Louis Bulk Mail Center, Hazelwood, MO
Claimed total disability period denied
J.K., a postal maintenance mechanic with accepted injuries, sought compensation for a period of total disability. His physician attributed the absence to back symptoms and multiple conditions. The Board found the medical evidence did not adequately show that accepted work injuries caused total…
A.R. and Social Security Administration, Chicago Human Resources Office, Chicago, IL
Stress-related heart-attack claim denied
A.R., a Social Security Administration claims specialist, attributed a heart attack to work stress. The Board found that he had not supplied the detailed account needed to establish the specific employment factors alleged to have caused the condition. Without established work factors, the claim did…
J.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Ada, MN
Carpal-tunnel disability recurrence denial affirmed
J.K., a postal city carrier with an accepted bilateral carpal tunnel condition, claimed that disability recurred on or after November 4, 2017. The Board found that the submitted medical reports did not adequately establish that the accepted condition caused disability during the claimed period. It…
B.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Glencoe, MO
Disability and reconsideration denials affirmed
B.C., a postal rural carrier associate, claimed total disability from November 14, 2015 to January 22, 2016 after an accepted March 2015 injury. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish disability for that period caused by the accepted injury. It also found that his…
United States Department of the Air Force, 673rd Air Base Wing, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1101
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and AFGE Local 1101 (FLRA 0-AR-5516): Authority enforces five-day grievance step
The Air Force suspended a sheet-metal mechanic for three days after finding that he failed to follow safety practices and use required personal protective equipment. An arbitrator reduced the suspension to a written reprimand even though the union had not advanced the grievance to Step 3 within the…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1594 (Union)
VA and AFGE Local 1594 (FLRA 0-AR-5389): Official-time grievance award vacated
VA ended an AFGE local president's full-time union representation schedule, and the union first filed an unfair-labor-practice charge challenging that action. It later withdrew the charge and filed a grievance that an arbitrator sustained. The Authority vacated the award because the earlier charge…
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.