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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Secretary of Labor v. Gibson County Coal, LLC
Proximity-device citation affirmed and partial settlement approved
Gibson County Coal operated an underground coal mine where a continuous mining machine injured a roof bolter operator who was not wearing his assigned proximity-detection component. Judge David Simonton held that 30 C.F.R. § 75.1732(a) requires mine operators both to provide miner-wearable…
Bellmeyer v. Loyco Trucking, LLC
Appeal dismissed after no opening brief
The Administrative Review Board ordered Brian Bellmeyer to explain why his appeal should not be dismissed for failure to file an opening brief. Loyco Trucking and Mark Loy also requested dismissal. Bellmeyer did not respond to either the Board's order or the respondents' request, so the Board…
C.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chicago, IL
C.T. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 20-0020): Knee injury claim denial upheld
A postal carrier said he heard a pop in his left knee while bending to pick up mail at work. Medical records identified tendon and meniscus injuries, but the Board found no sufficiently reasoned physician opinion connecting them to that incident. A checked box on a medical form and a diagnostic…
D.P. and Department of Labor, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, Milwaukee, WI
D.P. and Department of Labor (ECAB 19-1916): Shoulder injury denial upheld
A Department of Labor compliance officer claimed a left shoulder injury after a desk chair broke and he fell at work. OWCP accepted the incident but denied compensation for lack of medical proof that it caused a diagnosed condition. The Board found that some reports did not address causation, while…
K.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bristol, WI
K.S. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1707): Hernia claim returned for specialist review
A rural carrier claimed that repeated heavy lifting at work caused or aggravated a right inguinal hernia. Her physician described the duties and explained how heavy lifting could strain the body and affect a hernia. The Board found the opinion insufficient to establish the claim outright but…
M.H. and Department of the Air Force, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma City, OK
M.H. and Department of the Air Force (ECAB 19-0941): Claim rescission and overpayment reversed
An Air Force electronic technician had an accepted vision claim and received a schedule award. OWCP later rescinded the claim and declared the $5,498.11 award an overpayment. The Board found that the medical opinion used to rescind acceptance addressed a supposed single 2008 incident rather than…
T.N. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, San Diego, CA
T.N. and Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ECAB 18-1613): Three reconsideration issues receive different results
A former deportation assistant sought reconsideration on wage loss, a schedule award, and travel expense reimbursement connected to an accepted injury claim. The Board found that OWCP used the standard for a timely request on the wage loss issue, although the request was late; it remanded that…
S.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
S.K. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 18-1414): Right knee occupational disease denial upheld
A postal carrier claimed that years of walking and other work duties caused or aggravated a right knee condition. Her physician attributed knee degeneration and a meniscal injury to her work, but the Board found that the reports did not explain how the duties caused the conditions or distinguish…
J.M. and Social Security Administration, Office of Disability Adjudication & Review, Dallas, TX
J.M. and Social Security Administration (ECAB 18-0763): Wage loss denial reversed
A Social Security Administration paralegal sought wage loss benefits after an accepted lower back injury. OWCP denied benefits for late August through September and early October 2017. Her physician documented the accepted conditions, treatment, medication effects, and work restrictions during…
United States Department of Labor, Office of Workman's Compensation Programs and American Federation of Government Employees, National Council of Field Labor Locals, Council 73
Office of Workman's Compensation Programs and AFGE Council 73 (FLRA 0-AR-5511): Authority vacates award based on wrong charge
The Department of Labor suspended a claims examiner for fourteen days after he failed to return claimant phone calls on the day his supervisor instructed him to do so. The parties stipulated that the charge was failure to follow instructions, but the arbitrator analyzed whether the employee had…
United States Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Richmond, Virginia and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1992
Defense Logistics Agency Richmond and AFGE Local 1992 (FLRA 0-AR-5166-002): Authority upholds accommodation damages
A Defense Logistics Agency employee with post-traumatic stress disorder asked for a telework arrangement because moving his duty station to a military base would worsen his condition. An arbitrator found that the agency failed to engage in a good-faith interactive process, even though the employee…
City of Haverhill
In re City of Haverhill (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 19-04): petition dismissed after settlement discussions
The City of Haverhill petitioned the Environmental Appeals Board to review an NPDES permit issued by EPA Region 1 for discharges from Haverhill's wastewater treatment facility and combined sewer overflow outfalls to the Merrimack River. The parties obtained stays while they pursued a negotiated…
Labinka Howard v. Dyncorp International
Howard v. Dyncorp International (BRB 19-0475 and 19-0475A): benefits calculation remanded
Labinka Howard sought benefits for physical injuries from a fall while working in Iraq and psychological injuries linked to her overseas working conditions. An administrative law judge awarded total disability and medical benefits for her psychological conditions but found her physical injuries…
Ramon Mireles v. NAM Services
Mireles v. NAM Services (BRB 19-0424): attorney fee award affirmed
Ramon Mireles won Longshore disability and medical benefits for a work injury. The administrative law judge held his uninsured employer, NAM Services, and its president Maria Pagourtzis liable for those benefits and later awarded his lawyer $28,797.35 in fees. Pagourtzis appealed the fee order…
Robert L. Koons v. Southern Ohio Coal Company
Koons v. Southern Ohio Coal (BRB 19-0260 BLA): benefits affirmed on medical opinion
Robert Koons worked for twenty-seven years in underground coal mines and sought black lung benefits. His pulmonary function and blood gas tests did not meet the numerical thresholds for total disability, but a physician found that his respiratory symptoms prevented him from performing the heavy…
Cleatis Cline v. Mingo Logan Coal Company
Cline v. Mingo Logan Coal (BRB 19-0254 BLA): attorney fee order affirmed
Cleatis Cline's lawyer requested an attorney fee and expenses for work on his black lung claim. The administrative law judge reduced some requested rates, hours, and expenses, then awarded $6,800 in fees and $3,368.51 in expenses. Mingo Logan Coal challenged the judge's appointment and argued that…
Ocie Owens (widow of and on behalf of Jimmy D. Owens) v. Harman Mining Corporation
Owens v. Harman Mining (BRB 19-0229 BLA and 19-0231 BLA): miner and survivor benefits affirmed
Ocie Owens pursued her late husband Jimmy Owens's black lung claim and her own survivor claim against Harman Mining. After an earlier remand, the administrative law judge again found that the miner had been totally disabled by a respiratory impairment and awarded benefits. The Board upheld the…
Ronnie Charles v. Big Dog Coal, Incorporated
Charles v. Big Dog Coal (BRB 19-0209 BLA): operator liability and benefits affirmed
Ronnie Charles received a black lung benefits award based on complicated pneumoconiosis from coal mine work. Big Dog Coal challenged its designation as the responsible operator, claiming that two other companies employed Charles more recently as a miner. The Board upheld the finding that his work…
Onnie D. Back v. Bowie Refined Coal LLC
Back v. Bowie Refined Coal (BRB 19-0203 BLA): black lung benefits affirmed
Onnie Back worked for Bowie Refined Coal for thirteen months at a coal preparation facility before seeking black lung benefits. Bowie argued that he was not a miner during that period because the facility was idle and disputed its designation as the responsible operator. The Board upheld the…
Lowell Chappell v. Whitaker Coal Corporation
Chappell v. Whitaker Coal (BRB 19-0168 BLA): benefits upheld, start date remanded
Lowell Chappell sought black lung benefits after working for Whitaker Coal. The administrative law judge found that Chappell had qualifying coal mine work and a disabling respiratory impairment, and that the employer had not rebutted the statutory presumption that his disability was due to…
C.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Westlake Post Office, Bethesda, MD
C.B. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 20-0250): Back injury denial upheld
A postal carrier reported back and leg pain after placing a tray of magazines in a hamper at work. OWCP accepted the work incident but denied compensation for lack of a medical diagnosis linked to it. The Board found that the physician’s reports described pain and sciatica, which are symptoms…
G.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Manasota Processing & Distribution Center, Manasota, FL
G.J. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1826): Shoulder and neck claim returned for medical review
A postal processing clerk claimed that repetitive overhead lifting aggravated her right shoulder and neck conditions. OWCP denied the claim without accepting those work activities as established. The Board found her account consistent with the medical reports and noted that the employer had not…
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Saginaw Post Office, Saginaw, MI
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1816): Hip condition claim denial upheld
A postal carrier claimed that driving, walking, lifting, and other duties caused a right hip condition. Her medical records described hip osteoarthritis and other symptoms, but the Board found that no physician explained how her work caused or aggravated a diagnosed hip condition. Diagnostic tests…
S.C. and Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General, Denver, CO
S.C. and Department of Homeland Security (ECAB 19-1771): Carpal tunnel claim returned for prior file review
A Homeland Security inspector claimed renewed bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome related to typing at work. She had an earlier accepted claim for the same condition, but its records were absent from the file used to decide her new claim. OWCP denied her later reconsideration request as untimely and…
K.S. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Fresno, CA
K.S. and Internal Revenue Service (ECAB 19-1650): Compensation termination upheld after suitable work refusal
An Internal Revenue Service clerk with accepted knee injuries declined a modified mail and file clerk job. The Board found that the revised offer allowed sitting for 90 percent of each hour and excluded activities barred by her treating physician’s restrictions. It also found that OWCP followed the…
J.P., widow of J.P., and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Milford, CT
J.P., widow of J.P. (ECAB 18-1194): Life insurance premium overpayment reversed
After a postal worker’s death, OWCP told his widow that $9,384.14 in life insurance premiums had not been deducted from his compensation and declared an overpayment. The Board found no signed election in the record showing that the worker chose the coverage for which OWCP claimed premiums. It also…
Gate Precast Company
Repeat fall-protection violation affirmed beyond red warning tape
Gate Precast assigned two temporary employees to work on a hotel roof about 24 feet above ground without personal fall arrest systems. The foreman told them to remain behind red tape placed about six feet from the unprotected edge. One temporary employee then helped guide a swinging overhead load…
Swint v. NetJets Aviation, Inc.
Dismissal of fourteen AIR21 claims affirmed
NetJets pilot John Swint claimed that the company took fourteen retaliatory actions after he engaged in aviation-safety activities protected by AIR21. The Board affirmed summary decision on twelve claims because some did not involve adverse action, some were untimely, and others lacked evidence…
F.K. and The Presidio Trust, San Francisco, CA
F.K. and The Presidio Trust (ECAB 19-1804): Hip condition claim returned for a reasoned medical opinion
A Presidio Trust carpenter claimed that carrying heavy materials and other work duties contributed to right hip osteoarthritis. OWCP relied on a second opinion physician who said the condition was unrelated to work. The Board found that the physician had not explained that conclusion or addressed…
T.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bloomingdale, OH
T.W. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1431): Neck and arm condition denial upheld
A rural postal carrier claimed that repeated head turning and mail casing caused or aggravated neck and arm conditions. Her physician described cervical degeneration and radiculopathy and attributed them to her duties. The Board found that his reports did not explain physiologically how the work…
F.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Dallas, NC
F.P. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 18-1677): Intermittent disability claim denial upheld
A postal worker sought wage loss benefits for scattered days from January through May 2016 after an accepted right shoulder injury. Her medical reports did not explain how that accepted injury disabled her on the claimed days. One physician attributed missed work to left shoulder pain, but OWCP had…
T.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, El Reno, OK
T.R. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1952): Abandoned hearing ruling upheld
A postal carrier requested a hearing after OWCP denied his left arm injury claim. OWCP mailed notice of a scheduled telephone hearing to his address of record, but he did not call in or provide an explanation within 10 days. He later said caregiving responsibilities prevented him from joining. The…
D.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Las Vegas, NV
D.R. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1885): Late prerecoupment hearing request denied
OWCP preliminarily claimed that a postal retiree had received $55,810.43 too much compensation because a Social Security retirement offset was not applied. She requested a prerecoupment hearing more than 30 days after the preliminary notice. The Board found the request late and held that the rules…
P.T. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Memphis Veterans Administration Medical Center, Memphis, TN
P.T. and Department of Veterans Affairs (ECAB 19-1843): Reported cafeteria assault claim returned for investigation
A Veterans Affairs employee said a manager struck him while he stood in a workplace cafeteria line and aggravated a preexisting emotional condition. The employer disputed the claim, and OWCP denied it. The Board found that D.R.’s police witness statement described the touching, but OWCP had not…
A.M. and Department of the Army, Installation Management Command, Fort Shafter, HI
A.M. and Department of the Army (ECAB 19-1602): Knee claim returned after incomplete injury history
An Army police officer claimed a left knee injury after standing up abruptly from a chair at work. OWCP relied on a second opinion physician to deny the claim, but the statement of accepted facts supplied to him omitted details of an earlier accepted knee injury and related surgeries. The Board…
S.W. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Fresno, CA
S.W. and Internal Revenue Service (ECAB 19-1447): Travel status fall claim returned for medical review
An Internal Revenue Service manager fell near a parking garage while leaving a required training conference on travel status. OWCP denied her injury claim, but the Board found that her consistent account and the employer’s acknowledgment established that the incident occurred in the performance of…
Secretary of Labor v. Asarco, LLC
Two late penalty contests reopened
Asarco asked the Commission to reopen two proposed penalty assessments after missing the 30-day contest deadline. The company had already filed contest proceedings for most of the underlying citations, mistakenly believed those filings eliminated the need to contest the proposed assessments, and…
Jon Davis v. SSA Terminals, LLC
Davis v. SSA Terminals (BRB 20-0038): employer held liable for attorney fee
Jon Davis filed a Longshore Act hearing loss claim. SSA Terminals received notice but paid nothing during the next 30 days; it paid the benefits after receiving his audiogram months later. The district director denied Davis's lawyer an employer-paid fee because the employer did not know the extent…
Esther D. Royce v. Lone Mountain Processing, Incorporated
Royce v. Lone Mountain Processing (BRB 19-0244 and 19-0309 BLA): miner and survivor awards affirmed
Esther Royce pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor claim after an administrative law judge awarded benefits on both. The judge credited Paul Royce with 27.5 years of underground coal mine work and found a totally disabling respiratory impairment, triggering the statutory…
Michael D. Keene v. K & R Contractors, LLC
Keene v. K & R Contractors (BRB 19-0242 BLA): benefits award survives appointment challenge
An administrative law judge awarded Michael Keene black lung benefits after finding that his coal mine work and respiratory disability triggered the statutory presumption in his favor. K & R Contractors appealed, arguing that the judges who heard and decided the claim lacked valid appointments and…
P.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Roseburg Veterans Administration Medical Center, Roseburg, OR
P.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs (ECAB 20-0039): Wage loss claim returned to clarify light duty availability
A Veterans Affairs housekeeping aide sought wage loss benefits after stopping modified work following an accepted neck injury. The record did not show whether his light duty job had been withdrawn or whether his accepted condition had worsened. A statement from the employer that it could not…
J.M. and Department of the Navy, Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division, West Bethesda, MD
J.M. and Department of the Navy (ECAB 19-1842): Late reconsideration denial upheld
A Navy police officer sought reconsideration after OWCP denied wage loss benefits for days following a workplace fall. The Board found that her request came after the one year deadline. Her evidence showed that she had reported right knee symptoms, but it did not clearly establish that OWCP’s…
A.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Carlinville, IL
A.C. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1607): Foot condition denial upheld
A postal carrier reported left foot pain after walking on her route and sought compensation for diagnosed foot conditions. The employer pointed to a preexisting plantar condition. The Board found that her medical reports did not explain how the accepted work incident caused or aggravated the…
D.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Warwick Post Office, Warwick, NY
D.P. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1596): Knee claim returned for medical causation review
A rural postal carrier reported twisting her left knee while walking to fill a water bottle at work. Her surgeon explained how the twisting could have injured a meniscus or worsened a preexisting tear in an arthritic knee. The Board found the opinion insufficient to establish the claim outright but…
H.A. and Department of the Air Force, Air Mobility Command, Charleston Air Force Base, SC
H.A. and Department of the Air Force (ECAB 18-1253): Injury and reconsideration denials upheld
An Air Force firefighter reported right shoulder pain after a tire blew out on a vehicle carrying him at work. OWCP accepted the incident but denied the injury claim because the medical records did not establish a diagnosed condition linked to it. The Board agreed that a report noting pain and a…
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): Removal exceptions dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
A HUD employee filed an Equal Employment Opportunity complaint and was later removed after disciplinary actions. An arbitrator found no just cause for the removal, found retaliation for the complaint, and ordered reinstatement and backpay. HUD asked the Authority to review the award, arguing that…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2338 and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, John J. Pershing VAMC
AFGE Local 2338 and John J. Pershing VAMC (FLRA 0-AR-5431): Authority denies overtime reconsideration
An arbitrator found that the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center had not distributed overtime fairly but declined to award backpay because the union did not identify which employees were available and would have accepted the work. The Authority upheld that ruling, and AFGE Local 2338 asked for…
Incorporated County of Los Alamos
In re Incorporated County of Los Alamos (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 20-02): Petition dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
The Incorporated County of Los Alamos asked the Environmental Appeals Board to review EPA Region 6's designation of certain stormwater discharges as requiring NPDES permits. The designation was made under the Clean Water Act's residual designation authority because the Region found that the…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Aliceville, Alabama and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 573, Council of Prison Locals #33
FCI Aliceville and AFGE Local 573 (FLRA 0-AR-5475): Authority upholds management's assignment discretion
FCI Aliceville began using supervisors to cover vacant food-service posts instead of offering the work as overtime to bargaining-unit employees. An arbitrator found that this changed an established practice and ordered the prison to bargain over the impact and implementation. The Authority held…
United States Department of the Army, Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk District and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local No. 1028
Army Corps of Engineers Norfolk District and NFFE Local 1028 (FLRA 0-AR-5448): Authority declines interim overtime review
NFFE Local 1028 filed a grievance alleging that the Army Corps of Engineers misclassified employees under overtime laws, failed to pay several forms of overtime, and denied employees a choice between overtime pay and compensatory time. An arbitrator rejected the agency's threshold arguments that…
Brooks v. Agate Resources, LLC
Summary decision affirmed on an untimely complaint
Michael Brooks alleged that his former employer retaliated against him in violation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and Affordable Care Act whistleblower provisions. He filed the complaint in July 2018 after another ALJ had dismissed an April 2016 complaint involving the same facts as untimely. The Board…
Schell v. Martin Marietta
Environmental retaliation dismissal affirmed
Martin Marietta environmental engineer Erica Schell raised concerns about waste-spill handling and a laboratory's certification. The ALJ found that some of her concerns were protected activity, but that they did not motivate the performance-improvement plan or her termination. The evidence instead…
K.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Burlington, WI
K.E. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 20-0664): Refusal to reopen leg injury claim upheld
A postal worker sought to add left leg iliotibial band syndrome to her accepted claim for a left knee injury after a fall on ice. OWCP denied expansion of the claim, and she requested reconsideration. The Board reviewed only OWCP’s later refusal to reopen the case, because the earlier merit…
G.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Huntington Station, NY
G.V. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 20-0055): Denial of added crash injuries upheld
A postal carrier sought to expand his accepted injury claim after his vehicle was rear ended while he was working in September 2017. OWCP accepted rotator cuff strains in both shoulders, but declined to add lumbar, cervical, and emotional conditions. The Board found that a physician’s checked box…
S.H. and U.S. Postal Service, College Park Station, Detroit, MI
S.H. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1897): Cold exposure injury denial upheld
A mail carrier reported foot pain after her feet became cold and wet while delivering mail in November 2018. OWCP accepted that the cold exposure occurred but denied her traumatic injury claim. The Board found that the medical evidence did not include a physician’s reasoned explanation linking the…
I.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Patrol, El Paso, TX
I.H. and Customs & Border Patrol (ECAB 19-1678): Workplace assault claim remanded for further review
A Customs and Border Patrol supervisor reported that a detainee struck and bit him during a cell extraction. OWCP denied his injury claim, saying that the incident had not been established. The Board found his account consistent with the supervisor’s explanation and contemporaneous medical records…
A.T. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, San Diego, CA
A.T. and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ECAB 19-1608): Denial of added cervical conditions upheld
A special agent sought to add two cervical conditions to a claim for injuries sustained when a ladder collapsed at work in 2009. OWCP had accepted other injuries, including a resolved cervical sprain. The Board found that one physician did not explain how the accident caused or aggravated the…
D.C., widow of J.C. and Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Agency, National City, CA
D.C., widow of J.C. and Drug Enforcement Agency (ECAB 19-0293): Overpayment decision remanded for proper hearing notice
OWCP determined that J.C.’s estate owed $106,985.69 because life insurance premiums had been deducted incorrectly from his compensation. His widow requested a telephone conference, but OWCP made its final overpayment decision without holding one. The Board found that OWCP’s preliminary notice did…
T.F. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Las Vegas, NV
T.F. and Transportation Security Administration (ECAB 19-0157): Knee schedule award denial upheld
A transportation security officer sought a schedule award for permanent right leg impairment after an accepted knee injury. Her treating physician did not provide an impairment rating. An OWCP referral physician and medical adviser found no ratable impairment under the applicable edition of the…
National Treasury Employees Union and United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service
NTEU and Food and Nutrition Service (FLRA 0-NG-3411): Authority rejects expanded telework proposal
NTEU proposed allowing eligible Food and Nutrition Service employees to telework as many as eight days per pay period and report to the office as little as once per week. The Authority rejected the agency's argument that the Telework Enhancement Act gave the agency head sole and exclusive authority…
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.