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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Frank Garland v. American Sugar Refining
Garland v. American Sugar Refining (BRB 20-0057): partial benefits ruling affirmed
Frank Garland injured his left knee while working for American Sugar Refining. The judge awarded $11,837.28 in temporary disability compensation but denied permanent partial disability because she found no lasting impairment attributable to the work injuries. Garland appealed that denial, relying…
Michael Mahnke v. Electric Boat Corporation
Mahnke v. Electric Boat (BRB 20-0040): attorney fee award vacated
Michael Mahnke sought hearing-related medical benefits and asked Electric Boat for his work medical records. The employer supplied the records after his lawyer requested an informal conference and later authorized hearing aids. A district director ordered the employer to pay $4,001.25 in attorney…
Jerry Pehringer v. Decker Coal Company
Pehringer v. Decker Coal (BRB 19-0366 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Jerry Pehringer received benefits after a judge found that he had more than fifteen years of qualifying surface coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. Decker Coal challenged the judge's authority, the work history finding, and the conclusion that it had not rebutted the…
Shirley C. Lawson (on behalf of and widow of Ralph E. Lawson) v. Triple R Coal Company, Incorporated
Lawson v. Triple R Coal (BRB 19-0257 and 19-0258 BLA): attorney fee hours remanded
Shirley Lawson's counsel obtained benefits in her late husband's miner claim and her survivor claim, then requested $17,268.75 in legal fees and $6,427.80 in expenses. A judge awarded the full amount. Triple R Coal challenged the hourly rates and specific time entries. The Board upheld the rate…
Doris M. Williams (widow of Willie Williams) v. Golden Oak Mining Company
Williams v. Golden Oak Mining (BRB 19-0219 BLA): survivor award vacated pending miner claim
Doris Williams received survivor benefits based on an award in her husband's miner claim that the judge entered after he died in October 2016. Golden Oak Mining challenged the way the district director processed the survivor claim and its designation as responsible operator. The Board rejected that…
James D. Johnson v. Jericol Mining, Incorporated
Johnson v. Jericol Mining (BRB 19-0202 BLA): black lung benefits denial affirmed
James Johnson appealed without counsel after a judge denied his later black lung claim. The judge found that he had not proved complicated pneumoconiosis or a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board upheld her evaluation of the imaging, pulmonary tests, and medical opinions. Without…
Joel B. Hamilton v. Presley Trucking Company, Incorporated
Hamilton v. Presley Trucking (BRB 19-0186 BLA): benefits denial affirmed
Joel Hamilton appealed without a lawyer after a judge denied his first black lung benefits claim. The judge credited 12.14 years of coal mine work, too little to invoke the fifteen-year presumption, and found that the medical evidence did not establish clinical or legal pneumoconiosis. The Board…
Bonnie Cupp (on behalf of and Widow of Leland Cupp) v. Trinity Coal Corporation of Virginia
Cupp v. Trinity Coal (BRB 19-0170 and 19-0171): reconsideration denied
Trinity Coal and its carrier asked the Benefits Review Board to reconsider its earlier decision in Bonnie Cupp's consolidated black lung appeals. No panel member voted to vacate or modify that decision, so the Board denied the request. The short order does not describe the merits or state the…
Bonnie Cupp (on behalf of and Widow of Leland Cupp) v. Trinity Coal Corporation of Virginia
Cupp v. Trinity Coal (BRB 19-0170 and 19-0171): reconsideration denied
Trinity Coal and its carrier asked the Benefits Review Board to reconsider its earlier decision in Bonnie Cupp's consolidated black lung appeals. No panel member voted to vacate or modify that decision, so the Board denied the request. The short order does not describe the merits or state the…
Bonnie Cupp (on behalf of and widow of Leland Cupp) v. Trinity Coal Corporation of Virginia
Cupp v. Trinity Coal (BRB 19-0170 and 19-0171 BLA): miner and survivor awards affirmed
Bonnie Cupp pursued her late husband's miner claim and her own survivor claim. A judge granted the miner claim on modification after finding that Leland Cupp qualified for a presumption of total disability due to pneumoconiosis and that the employer had not rebutted it. The Board upheld the judge's…
John E. Hyder v. Simmons Fork Mining, Incorporated
Hyder v. Simmons Fork Mining (BRB 19-0163 BLA): carrier liability affirmed
John Hyder received benefits after a judge found that he had complicated pneumoconiosis, a finding the parties did not dispute on appeal. BrickStreet Mutual challenged only its designation as the insurance carrier responsible for payment. The Board held that the carrier had not submitted liability…
William Norman Wilson v. Dickenson-Russell Coal Company, LLC
Wilson v. Dickenson-Russell Coal (BRB 19-0131 BLA): benefits award affirmed
William Wilson received benefits after a judge found that his lengthy coal mine work and total respiratory disability triggered a statutory presumption. Dickenson-Russell Coal argued that its medical evidence rebutted the presumption. The Board majority upheld the judge's reasons for discounting…
Kenneth M. Wallace v. E & B Coal Company, Incorporated
Wallace v. E & B Coal (BRB 19-0078 BLA): benefits denial partly vacated
Kenneth Wallace appealed without counsel after a judge denied his black lung claim. The judge credited 14.31 years of underground coal mine work and found no total respiratory disability, so Wallace did not receive the fifteen-year presumption. The Board found errors in the work history calculation…
J.L. and U.S. Postal Service, North Shore Branch Post Office, Milwaukee, WI
J.L. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1894): Injury claim denial affirmed after ice fall
A postal city carrier assistant slipped on ice while working and claimed an injury to his right hip and buttocks. OWCP accepted that the fall occurred but denied the claim for lack of medical evidence linking a diagnosed condition to it. The only submitted treatment records were from a physical…
A.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
A.H. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1731): Reconsideration denial affirmed
A postal carrier sought reconsideration after OWCP denied his right knee injury claim. OWCP declined to reopen the claim for a merits review. The Board found that his request raised no new relevant legal argument or pertinent new medical evidence addressing causation. A nurse practitioner’s report…
J.V. and Department of the Interior, Fish & Wildlife Service, Bloomington, MN
J.V. and Department of the Interior (ECAB 19-1726): Cervical injury claim denial affirmed
A Fish and Wildlife Service park ranger slipped on ice while moving a snow blower and claimed a cervical injury. OWCP accepted that the workplace incident occurred but denied the injury claim. The Board found that the treating surgeon did not explain how the fall caused or contributed to the…
K.P. and Social Security Administration, Nashville, TN
K.P. and Social Security Administration (ECAB 19-1695): Intermittent disability compensation denial affirmed
A Social Security Administration claims specialist with accepted anxiety and depression sought compensation for intermittent time away from work to attend medical appointments. OWCP denied compensation for the claimed hours between March 18 and April 10, 2019. The Board found no medical evidence…
S.C. and Tennessee Valley Authority, West Paducah, KY
S.C. and Tennessee Valley Authority (ECAB 18-1011): Hearing loss claim remanded for accurate work history
A Tennessee Valley Authority boilermaker claimed hearing loss from workplace noise. OWCP denied the claim after a second opinion physician concluded that federal noise exposure did not cause his hearing loss. The Board found that the physician had received an inaccurate account of the worker’s…
T.J. and Architect of the Capitol, Labor Shop, Washington, DC
T.J. and Architect of the Capitol (ECAB 18-0831): Disability recurrence denial affirmed
An Architect of the Capitol laborer with an accepted 2014 back injury stopped working in his modified position and claimed a recurrence of total disability beginning May 31, 2017. OWCP denied the claim because the medical evidence did not explain how the accepted injury caused disability during the…
H.N. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, New Haven, CT
H.N. and Department of the Treasury (ECAB 19-1388): Additional right arm schedule award denied
An IRS tax specialist sought a larger right arm schedule award for accepted carpal and cubital tunnel conditions. Her physician rated impairment at eight percent but did not show how the medical guides supported that figure. The Board found the second opinion physician and medical adviser explained…
R.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Orleans, LA
R.S. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-0719): Schedule award remanded for skin impairment review
A postal motor vehicle operator had accepted injuries from a work related crash, including an arm injury treated with skin grafts. OWCP awarded additional left arm impairment but did not obtain a skin impairment rating. The Board found that the second opinion examiner said skin rating was outside…
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Merchandise Mart Post Office, Chicago, IL
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-0525): Right knee schedule award remanded for complete history
A postal letter carrier sought an additional schedule award for an accepted right knee injury. OWCP denied the request, reasoning that earlier awards already exceeded the current impairment rating. The Board found that the medical adviser had not received a complete account of prior right leg…
H.B. and Department of Defense, Defense Agencies, Columbus, OH
H.B. and Department of Defense (ECAB 19-0356): Overpayment recovery decision remanded for explanation
OWCP first waived recovery of an overpayment to a Defense Department employee, then reversed that waiver and ordered collection of $41,001.66. The Board found that OWCP had not explained the factual and legal basis for rescinding the prior waiver, including its treatment under revised debt…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Absecon, NJ
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-0279): Benefits termination remanded for combined claim files
A postal employee challenged the termination of wage loss compensation and medical benefits connected to two accepted back injury claims. OWCP had decided both claims, but the Board’s record omitted one of the claim files. The Board found that it could not assess the termination or continued…
L.L. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Durham VA Medical Center, Durham, NC
L.L. and Department of Veterans Affairs (ECAB 19-0097): Schedule award and overpayment decisions affirmed
A VA program support assistant sought a larger right leg schedule award after a workplace elevator accident. The Board found that the medical adviser’s 13 percent impairment rating was supported by the evidence and that OWCP had paid benefits based on a higher rating. It affirmed an $11,898.49…
N.M. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Quantico, VA
N.M. and Department of Justice (ECAB 18-0931): Training related emotional condition denial affirmed
An FBI special agent in training claimed that academy conditions caused anxiety. OWCP accepted several features of the training environment as compensable employment factors but denied the claim. The Board found that the only physician report diagnosed situational anxiety without explaining how…
S.S. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg, MS
S.S. and Department of the Army (ECAB 19-1713): Hearing loss reconsideration denial set aside
An Army Corps of Engineers worker requested reconsideration of a hearing loss schedule award ruling. OWCP refused to reopen the claim. The Board found that his counsel presented new and relevant legal arguments about the medical adviser’s conclusions and their consistency with OWCP’s accepted…
K.S. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Air Marshal Service, East Elmhurst, NY
K.S. and Department of Homeland Security (ECAB 19-1623): Lumbar injury claim denial affirmed
A federal air marshal claimed a lumbar injury after performing squat jumps during training. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the injury claim. The Board found that the physician reports did not explain how the exercise caused the diagnosed lumbar conditions. Notes from a…
C.L. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Palo Alto, CA
C.L. and Department of Veterans Affairs (ECAB 19-1440): Schedule award reconsideration denial set aside
A VA employee asked OWCP to reconsider its decision about permanent impairment and a schedule award. OWCP denied merit review. The Board found that a new physician report directly challenged the prior examination and impairment findings. That relevant new evidence met the standard for reopening…
D.M., widower of T.M., and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Salem, VA
D.M. (ECAB 19-0358): Work related death claim established
A VA nurse’s widower sought survivor benefits after her death from a meningococcal infection. The Board had previously found that her work involved high risk exposure to infectious materials. It found OWCP’s opposing medical opinions unpersuasive because they did not use that accepted work history…
G.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Hodge Park Carrier Annex, Kansas City, MO
G.H. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 18-0715): Carpal tunnel claim remanded for specialist review
A postal rural carrier claimed bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome from repetitive work. OWCP denied the claim. The Board found that her physician described the accepted tasks and gave a reasoned explanation linking them to the diagnosed condition. His uncontested report warranted further medical…
C & W Facility Services, Inc.
Personal flotation device citation affirmed
C & W Facility Services managed janitorial work at the Tampa Convention Center, including workers carried on subcontractor Awnclean's weekly payroll. A worker pressure washing an unguarded dock without a personal flotation device walked backward into Tampa Bay and drowned. The judge found that C &…
Matter of R-A-V-P-
Bond denied because of flight risk
The Board reviewed a Honduran respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge denied release on bond while removal proceedings were pending. The respondent argued that the Department of Homeland Security should bear the burden of proving he was a flight risk and that his asylum application, proposed…
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Anacostia Post Office, Temple Hills, MD
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1767): Emotional injury claim denial affirmed
A postal carrier reported anxiety and stress after being caught near a shooting while delivering mail. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred during work but denied the injury claim. The Board found that the submitted counseling documents did not establish a diagnosed condition through a…
J.F. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Air Marshal Service, El Segundo, CA
J.F. and Department of Homeland Security (ECAB 19-1694): Right hip labrum injury denial affirmed
A federal air marshal reported groin pain after running on a treadmill during work training and later claimed a right hip labrum injury. OWCP accepted the incident but denied the injury claim. The Board found that the physician who diagnosed a labral tear relied on symptoms appearing after the…
J.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Carol Stream, IL
J.W. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1688): Remaining intermittent disability claim denied
A postal employee sought compensation for intermittent periods of total disability between 2006 and 2010 from accepted shoulder conditions. OWCP granted compensation for several medical appointments and a surgery date but denied the remaining claimed dates. The Board found no medical evidence…
F.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Fort Worth Performance Cluster, Fort Worth, TX
F.P. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1489): Disability recurrence denial affirmed
A postal employee with an accepted 2003 back injury claimed a recurrence of total disability beginning in May 2018. OWCP denied the claim. The Board found that one physician described worsening symptoms but did not explain why the accepted injury caused work disability 15 years later. Other reports…
M.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Millbrae, CA
M.E. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1298): Knee injury reconsideration denial set aside
A postal employee sought reconsideration of a claimed knee injury while delivering mail. OWCP denied a merits review. The Board found that his new statement gave additional details about the alleged November 2014 incident and his report to a supervisor. Because that was new and relevant evidence on…
K.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Crosstown Annex, Roswell, GA
K.P. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1151): Overpayment fault finding split and waiver remanded
A postal employee received total disability compensation after returning to full time modified work. The Board affirmed that the payments created a $9,278.61 overpayment. It found she was without fault for the first incorrect direct deposit covering July 28 through August 18, 2018, but at fault for…
Walls v. Union Pacific Railroad Co.
FRSA complaint denial affirmed
Union Pacific brakeman-conductor Jonathan Walls reported an injury after a derailment and alleged that the railroad interfered with his medical treatment and later subjected him to stressful surveillance. The ALJ credited evidence that Walls spoke voluntarily with a nurse while his supervisor drove…
Evans v. United States Environmental Protection Agency
Retaliation finding reversed
EPA employee Douglas Evans alleged retaliation under three environmental whistleblower laws after objecting to mandatory emergency-response duties and later filing OSHA complaints. The Board held that his union affidavit, letter to the EPA Administrator, and performance-appraisal comments did not…
A.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Gastonia, NC
A.H. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1788): Back impairment schedule award denial affirmed
A postal employee sought a schedule award based on back and whole person impairment ratings. The Board found that FECA does not provide a schedule award for impairment of the back or for a whole person rating. The physician’s later report found no qualifying lower extremity impairment from spinal…
S.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Albany Stratton Veterans Administration Medical Center, Albany, NY
S.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs (ECAB 19-1744): Vaccination injury claim denial affirmed
A VA physician reported left arm and shoulder symptoms after receiving a flu shot at work. OWCP accepted the vaccination incident but denied the injury claim. The Board found that the treating physician did not give a firm diagnosis and a reasoned explanation linking a condition to the vaccination…
S.M. and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Arlington, VA
S.M. and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (ECAB 19-0658): Intermittent disability denial affirmed
An FDIC employee claimed intermittent disability after an accepted 2015 injury. Her physician restricted her to telework, which the employer made available during the claimed period. The Board found that a later medical report did not explain why she could not perform telework on the particular…
L.A. and Department of Veterans Affairs, San Francisco National Cemetery, San Francisco, CA
L.A. and Department of Veterans Affairs (ECAB 18-0819): Chemical exposure condition denial affirmed
A former cemetery caretaker attributed facial skin and eye conditions to chemical exposures during work in 1977. OWCP denied the claim. The Board found that a contemporaneous eye report did not establish the cause of later skin diagnoses. Other signed physician reports identified skin conditions…
R.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Abingdon, VA
R.F. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 18-0818): Claim after package lift denied
A postal rural carrier claimed a back and hip injury after helping lift a heavy package at work. OWCP accepted the incident but denied the injury claim. The Board found that physicians diagnosed conditions without explaining how the lift caused them. A nurse practitioner’s report and diagnostic…
Barter Collins v. Sturgeon Mining Company
Collins v. Sturgeon Mining (BRB 19-0116 BLA): benefits award partly vacated
Barter Collins received benefits on a subsequent black lung claim without using the fifteen-year statutory presumption. Sturgeon Mining challenged the finding that Collins had legal pneumoconiosis. The Board upheld the judge's decision to credit one doctor's opinion connecting coal dust to his lung…
G.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
G.H. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1633): Workplace stress claim denial affirmed
A postal carrier attributed anxiety and headaches to alleged harassment by her supervisor. OWCP denied the emotional condition claim. The Board found that the alleged harassment was not supported by corroborating evidence, and another employee’s account differed from hers. Without an established…
P.M. and Department of the Army, Tobyhanna Army Depot, Tobyhanna, PA
P.M. and Department of the Army (ECAB 19-1618): Hand and neck injury claim denial affirmed
An Army Depot electronics mechanic reported hand, wrist, and neck symptoms while replacing equipment at work. OWCP accepted the incident but denied the injury claim. The Board found that his physician listed several diagnoses without giving an opinion on how the incident caused them. Physical…
M.F. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Atlanta Veterans Administration Medical Center, Decatur, GA
M.F. and Department of Veterans Affairs (ECAB 19-1573): Cervical injury claim denial affirmed
A VA supervisor claimed a cervical injury after lifting dental bins at work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the claim. The Board found that two physicians did not address causation and a third stated a connection without explaining it. Reports from a physician assistant and…
C.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration, Muskogee, OK
C.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs (ECAB 19-1315): Hearing loss denial remanded for more testing
A VA claims examiner claimed hearing loss after two nearby printers started at the same time. OWCP denied the claim after obtaining a second opinion. The Board found that the physician called for more audiometric testing and evaluation of possible central pathology before causation could be…
D.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Bulk Mail Center, Jersey City, NJ
D.P. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 19-1295): Intermittent disability denial affirmed
A postal employee with an accepted 2014 cervical sprain claimed intermittent disability beginning in June 2018. OWCP denied the claim. The Board found that limited duty remained available and his physician did not explain why he could not perform it on the claimed dates. Another physician described…
D.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Lexington, NC
D.J. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 18-0694): Carpal tunnel claim denial affirmed
A postal worker claimed bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome from her work duties. OWCP accepted the asserted job activities but denied the condition claim. The Board found that her physicians reported symptoms and diagnoses without a reasoned explanation of how the work caused or aggravated carpal…
Juan Lua v. Gulf Copper and Manufacturing Corporation
Lua v. Gulf Copper (BRB 19-0422): later back injury benefits denial affirmed
Juan Lua injured his back at work in 2012 and later sought additional Longshore Act benefits for back problems shown in 2016 imaging. The judge found that his later condition did not result from the original work injury. The Board upheld the judge's assessment of medical opinions, functional…
Gregory D. Allen v. Rust Mining, LLC
Allen v. Rust Mining (BRB 19-0248 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Gregory Allen received benefits after a judge credited twenty-four years of qualifying surface coal mine work and found total respiratory disability. Rust Mining challenged the conclusion that it had not rebutted the resulting statutory presumption. The Board upheld the judge's decision to discount…
United States Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local Lodge 2296, AFL-CIO and Melanie Copeland
Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point and IAMAW Local 2296 (FLRA AT-RP-18-0019): Aircraft attendants remain in unit
An aircraft attendant petitioned for an election to remove Visiting Aircraft Line employees from a long-standing wage-grade bargaining unit at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point. The regional director found that the 1989 certification expressly covered all wage-grade employees, that later-hired…
Shi v. Moog, Inc.
Request for further explanation denied
Charles Shi alleged that a Chinese subsidiary of Moog terminated him for making aviation-safety complaints. The Board had affirmed dismissal because AIR21 does not apply extraterritorially and Shi's case was not a domestic application of the law. It then denied reconsideration. Shi sent another…
Gordon v. Brindi Trailer and Service, Inc.
STAA retaliation award vacated
Truck driver Robert Gordon arranged a state inspection that placed Brindi Trailer's only truck out of service for brake, windshield, and inspection-avoidance violations. The Board agreed that requesting and presenting the truck for inspection was protected under the Surface Transportation…
J.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Richard L. Roudebush Medical Center, Indianapolis, IN
J.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs (ECAB 19-1795): Eye impairment reconsideration denial affirmed
A VA housekeeping aide requested reconsideration of an eye impairment ruling after an accepted workplace eye incident. OWCP declined to reopen the merits. The Board found that his new driver record did not address the medical question of permanent impairment, and his request raised no new relevant…
S.A. and Department of Commerce, U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, Alexandria, VA
S.A. and Department of Commerce (ECAB 19-1765): Disability compensation denial affirmed
A patent examiner sought disability compensation beginning in April 2018 after accepted shoulder, neck, and ankle sprains from a 2015 incident. OWCP denied the claim. The Board found that physicians described other conditions or stated disability without explaining how the accepted sprains caused…
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.