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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Ronnie Gene Thacker v. Emily Enterprises, Incorporated
Thacker v. Emily Enterprises (BRB 19-0058 BLA): employer liability for benefits affirmed
Emily Enterprises agreed that Ronnie Thacker was entitled to black lung benefits but disputed its designation as the employer responsible for paying them. It argued that another company, R & B, employed him more recently or succeeded Emily Enterprises. The Board upheld the judge's finding that…
Gwen E. Conley v. Coal River Mining, LLC
Conley v. Coal River Mining (BRB 18-0569 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Gwen Conley received black lung benefits after a judge credited 15.77 years of underground mine work and found a totally disabling respiratory impairment. Coal River Mining challenged the judge's exclusion of some medical evidence and his findings on the mine work, disability, and rebuttal of the…
Beverly Holt on behalf of Thomas D. Holt v. Consolidation Coal Company
Holt v. Consolidation Coal (BRB 18-0351 BLA): benefit award returned for rebuttal findings
Beverly Holt continued her late husband's black lung claim after a judge awarded him benefits. The parties had agreed that Thomas Holt had at least 21 years of underground mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment, triggering the 15-year presumption. The Board held that the judge had…
Henry Hall v. Ceres Gulf, Incorporated
Henry Hall v. Ceres Gulf (BRB 17-0070): warehouse parking lot injury outside Longshore coverage
Henry Hall was moving cargo between the Port of Houston's Barbours Cut Container Terminal and the Gulf Winds warehouse when he slipped in the warehouse parking lot and injured his knee, wrists, and shoulder. An administrative law judge denied his Longshore Act claim because the parking lot was…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Gas-well barrier citations vacated
MSHA cited Consol Pennsylvania Coal for allegedly failing to obtain gas-well pillar protection approvals for the NV-34 and NV-60 wells near mined-out areas of Enlow Fork Mine. Judge John Kent Lewis held that the oil-and-gas-well rule applies even when wells are drilled behind completed mining, but…
Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, United States Penitentiary McCreary and Federal Correctional Complex Coleman and American Federation of Government Employees, Locals 614 and 506
USP McCreary, FCC Coleman, and AFGE Locals 614 and 506 (FLRA CH-CA-16-0547; AT-CA-16-0835): Union lobby access ordered
AFGE attorneys asked to observe shift changes from the public lobbies of two federal prisons while investigating overtime grievances. The prisons denied access, citing security concerns, and an FLRA administrative law judge found that the refusals interfered with the unions' representational work…
Richard J. Leverone v. Appledore Marine Engineering, LLC and American Longshore Mutual Association, Limited
Leverone v. Appledore Marine Engineering (BRB 19-0459): appeal dismissed for settlement review
Richard Leverone and Appledore Marine Engineering jointly asked the Board to dismiss his longshore appeal because they had agreed to settle the claim. The Board granted the motion, dismissed the appeal without prejudice, and returned the matter to the district director to consider their settlement…
John W. Cutright v. Sewell Coal Company
Cutright v. Sewell Coal (BRB 19-0184 BLA): benefit award upheld after remand
John Cutright received black lung benefits after a judge found that he invoked the 15-year presumption and Sewell Coal had not rebutted it. This was the employer's second appeal to the Board, following an earlier remand over excluded rebuttal evidence. Sewell Coal challenged the judge's appointment…
Roger Metcalf v. Panther Mining LLC
Metcalf v. Panther Mining (BRB 19-0134 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Roger Metcalf received black lung benefits after a judge credited 29 years of underground mine work and found total respiratory disability, triggering the 15-year presumption. Panther Mining argued that the judge should have credited its doctor's opinion that Metcalf's obstructive impairment came…
Loyal E. Tackett v. Lockworth, Incorporated
Tackett v. Lockworth (BRB 19-0084 BLA): complicated pneumoconiosis award affirmed
Loyal Tackett received black lung benefits after a judge found that new x-rays and medical opinions established complicated pneumoconiosis. His 13.68 years of mine work were too few for the 15-year presumption, but complicated pneumoconiosis supported a separate irrebuttable presumption of total…
Thomas W. Robinson v. Ron Stepp Construction Company
Robinson v. Ron Stepp Construction (BRB 19-0025 BLA): benefit award affirmed
Thomas Robinson received black lung benefits after a judge credited 27 years of coal mine work, including at least 15 years aboveground at underground mines or preparation plants with regular coal dust exposure. That qualifying work and total respiratory disability triggered the 15-year…
Jimmie Belcher v. Coal Energy, Incorporated
Belcher v. Coal Energy (BRB 18-0534 BLA): benefit award on modification affirmed
Jimmie Belcher sought modification after a judge denied his subsequent black lung claim despite finding that 17.4 years of underground mine work and total respiratory disability triggered the 15-year presumption. A second judge found that the employer had not rebutted the presumption and awarded…
Mabel Samons on behalf of Casey Samons v. National Mines Corporation
Samons v. National Mines (BRB 18-0366 and 18-0523 BLA): miner and survivor denials affirmed
Mabel Samons pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor claim after a judge denied both for lack of proof of total respiratory disability. The case returned to the Board after three remands. The Board upheld the judge's assessment that the doctors' opinions did not establish…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2846 and United States Department of Defense, Defense Contract Management Agency
AFGE Local 2846 and Defense Contract Management Agency (FLRA 0-AR-5454): Performance rating upheld
The Defense Contract Management Agency rated an employee fully successful before the employee became a full-time union representative. An arbitrator found that the union had not shown the employee met the requirements for an outstanding rating and denied the grievance. The Authority declined to…
Robert Thomas v. CalPortland Company
Discrimination ruling reversed
Robert Thomas claimed that CalPortland suspended and discharged him because of safety concerns, training complaints, cooperation with MSHA, and his intent to pursue a discrimination claim. An ALJ found discrimination and awarded back pay, benefits, and attorney's fees. The Commission unanimously…
Lowell Thomas Hensley v. Stillhouse Mining, LLC
Hensley v. Stillhouse Mining (BRB 19-0139 BLA): benefit denial affirmed
Lowell Hensley had 37 years of qualifying mine work, but a judge denied his black lung claim because the evidence did not establish total respiratory disability. Hensley challenged the judge's weighing of the medical opinions. The Board held that the judge had given valid reasons for reducing the…
Lester Sargent v. Island Fork Construction, Limited
Sargent v. Island Fork Construction (BRB 19-0054 BLA): benefit award returned for mine work findings
Lester Sargent received a black lung benefits award after a judge credited at least 15.09 years of mine work, found at least 15 qualifying years, and accepted the employer's concession of total respiratory disability. Island Fork Construction challenged the finding that Sargent's aboveground auger…
Woody L. Ratliff v. Excel Mining, LLC
Ratliff v. Excel Mining (BRB 19-0046 BLA): denial after remand affirmed
Woody Ratliff had 33 years of underground mine work and initially received a black lung benefits award. After an earlier Board remand, the judge weighed all the medical evidence again and found that Ratliff had not proved total respiratory disability. The Board upheld that finding, explaining that…
Linda Cordle on behalf of Buford W. Cordle v. Dominion Coal Corporation
Cordle v. Dominion Coal (BRB 19-0019 and 19-0060 BLA): miner and survivor awards remanded
Linda Cordle pursued her late husband Buford's black lung claim and her own survivor claim after a judge awarded both. The judge had found complicated pneumoconiosis, which gave Buford an irrebuttable presumption of disability due to the disease. The Board held that the judge had not adequately…
Johnny P. Cline v. Lake Energy, Incorporated
Cline v. Lake Energy (BRB 18-0610 and 19-0068 BLA): appeal returned to rebuild record
Lake Energy appealed a ruling about whether an offset against Johnny Cline's federal black lung benefits for a state workers' compensation award could be waived. The Board said it could not decide whether the judge had authority to grant the waiver because the Director's exhibits and the briefs…
Brenda J. Denton on behalf of David L. Denton v. Little J Coal Company, Incorporated
Denton v. Little J Coal (BRB 18-0581 and 19-0158 BLA): miner and survivor benefits affirmed
Brenda Denton pursued her late husband David's black lung claim and her own survivor claim. David's mine work was too short for the 15-year presumption, but a judge on remand found that medical opinions established legal pneumoconiosis and that it substantially contributed to his total respiratory…
A.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration, Los Angeles, CA
Board upholds $76,861.79 benefits overpayment recovery (ECAB 19-1518)
A.B. received FECA compensation while also receiving age-related Social Security benefits without the required offset. The Board agreed that this created a $76,861.79 overpayment, although she was without fault. It upheld the denial of a waiver and the plan to deduct $757.94 every 28 days from…
J.M. and Department of the Army, Logistics Readiness Center, Fort Belvoir, VA
Board upholds denial of Army worker’s disability recurrence (ECAB 19-1517)
J.M., an Army fuel handler, sought benefits for a recurrence of disability beginning May 1, 2017 after an accepted lumbar sprain. The Board found that his medical submissions did not explain how the accepted injury caused disability during the claimed period. A physician assistant’s report was not…
L.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Peoria, AZ
Board orders postal worker’s related thumb claims combined (ECAB 19-1490)
L.M., a rural mail carrier, filed an occupational disease claim for a right trigger thumb condition attributed to repetitive mail work. OWCP had previously accepted a right thumb condition in another claim file. The Board found that a full review required the two related files to be combined and…
E.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Callahan, FL
Board upholds denial of postal supervisor’s knee claim (ECAB 19-1393)
E.W., a postal customer service supervisor, claimed a left knee condition caused by standing, kneeling, and bending at work. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish a causal link between the accepted duties and her knee condition. It also found that her reconsideration request…
L.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
Board upholds denial of carrier’s left foot claim (ECAB 19-1301)
L.C., a postal city carrier, attributed a left foot condition to his walking duties while delivering mail. The Board found that his medical submissions did not provide a reasoned opinion connecting the diagnosed condition to the accepted work factors. Diagnostic images showed findings but did not…
D.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Baltimore, MD
D.G. (ECAB 19-1259): Wage loss and medical benefits termination affirmed
A postal employee challenged termination of wage loss and medical benefits effective November 12, 2017. The Board found the medical basis for termination sufficient. A later physician supported continuing knee symptoms but did not adequately explain how they resulted from the accepted injury rather…
T.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Newburg Station, Cleveland, OH
T.H. (ECAB 19-1066): Schedule award denied
A postal carrier sought a schedule award after accepted back and knee injuries from a work vehicle accident. Her physician found no permanent knee impairment and said the back strains were not ratable under the schedule. The Board affirmed the award denial.
J.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Montrose, NY
J.H. (ECAB 18-1637): Nerve condition claim expansion sent back for review
A VA employee sought to add bilateral cubital tunnel and ulnar nerve conditions to accepted 2015 injury claims. A physician gave a detailed explanation connecting the conditions to swelling after a workplace fall. The Board majority found that report sufficient to require further medical…
F.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Atlanta, GA
F.H. (ECAB 18-0869): Claimed ankle incident not established
A postal carrier claimed a right foot and ankle injury from excessive standing and walking on a particular day in June 2013. Her accounts described her duties and later condition but did not identify a specific incident that day, and she supplied no contemporaneous medical evidence. The Board…
P.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
P.A. (ECAB 18-0559): Right shoulder condition claim denied
A postal employee claimed a right shoulder condition after an April 2016 work incident. Treatment notes and work restriction forms described her condition but did not explain its causal relationship to the accepted incident. The Board affirmed the denial for lack of medical causation evidence.
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, John J. Pershing VA Medical Center and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2338
John J. Pershing VA Medical Center and AFGE Local 2338 (FLRA 0-AR-5484): Removal-related exceptions dismissed
The VA proposed removing an employee after a workplace altercation, and the employee retired the day the removal letter was served. An arbitrator found that the retirement was involuntary, that the agency had not justified the removal, and that an earlier EEO complaint did not bar the grievance…
Arthur Davis v. Joseph Forrester Trucking
Davis v. Joseph Forrester Trucking (BRB 19-0099 BLA): benefit award affirmed
Arthur Davis received black lung benefits after a judge found 23.11 years of qualifying surface mine work and total respiratory disability, triggering the 15-year presumption. Joseph Forrester Trucking challenged its designation as the responsible operator and argued that the employer's medical…
Bill Wayne Mabe v. H & P Coal Company, Incorporated
Mabe v. H & P Coal (BRB 19-0096 BLA): benefit award based on medical proof affirmed
Bill Mabe received black lung benefits after a judge found that his obstructive lung disease was caused in part by coal dust exposure and that he was totally disabled by the disease. Although he had about 19.563 years of coal mine work, he had not established 15 qualifying years for the statutory…
Billy Wayne Richardson v. Rich Mountain Coal Company
Richardson v. Rich Mountain Coal (BRB 18-0100 BLA): denial returned for new findings
Billy Richardson appealed without counsel after a judge denied his subsequent black lung claim. The Board found that the judge had adopted the district director's estimate of fewer than 15 years of mine work without independently weighing the employment evidence. It also found errors in the judge's…
Kim v. SK Hynix Memory Solutions
Interlocutory appeal denied
Yunhee Kim alleged that SK Hynix and related respondents violated the Sarbanes-Oxley Act's whistleblower provision. SK Hynix asked the ALJ to dismiss the complaint because Kim's direct employer was allegedly not covered by the Act, but the ALJ denied that motion and declined to certify the issue…
Barboza v. BNSF Railway Co.
Second reconsideration motion denied
Robert Barboza alleged that BNSF Railway retaliated against him for protected activity. An ALJ granted summary decision because Barboza did not show an adverse action within the 180-day limitations period, and the Board affirmed. The Board denied an initial reconsideration request on January 17…
Lindner v. Citibank, N.A.
SOX complaint dismissed for discovery noncompliance
Peter Lindner alleged that Citibank refused to hire him and blacklisted him because of an earlier whistleblower complaint. The ALJ directed him to provide initial disclosures and answer Citibank's discovery requests, granted several extensions, and repeatedly warned that continued noncompliance…
R.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Raleigh, NC
R.W. (ECAB 19-1465): Schedule award suspension reversed
A postal mail processing clerk was receiving a right knee schedule award when OWCP asked him to return an EN1032 work and income report. He did not respond within 30 days, and OWCP suspended all schedule award payments effective June 22, 2019. The Board held that 20 C.F.R. § 10.528 permits…
T.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, H.G. Hefner Veterans Medical Center, Salisbury, NC
T.G. (ECAB 19-1441): Left shoulder injury claim denied for lack of causation proof
A VA nursing assistant claimed a left shoulder injury while dressing a patient with dementia at work. Her physician diagnosed a rotator cuff tear but did not explain how the specific September 5, 2018 incident caused it; a report about the general risks of pushing and lifting did not identify that…
A.M. and Department of Health & Human Services, National Institutes of Health, Gaithersburg, MD
A.M. (ECAB 19-1345): Stress claim timely filed and sent back for merits review
A National Institutes of Health contract specialist filed a 2018 claim for stress he attributed to a 2013 reassignment and continuing work conditions. OWCP denied the claim as filed outside FECA’s three-year limit. The Board held it timely because he alleged continuing exposure to the work factors…
S.L. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Holtsville, NY
S.L. (ECAB 19-0603): Claim expansion and disability benefits denied
An IRS employee walked into a glass portal at work, and OWCP accepted facial contusion, concussion, and postconcussion syndrome. She sought acceptance of cervical and other conditions and compensation for several later periods of disability. The Board found that her medical reports did not…
T.H. and Department of the Army, Installation Management Command, Fort Drum, NY
T.H. (ECAB 19-0599): Spine condition claim sent back for specialist examination
An Army substance abuse program coordinator slipped on oil at work and twisted her back without falling. OWCP denied her claim that the incident caused cervical, thoracic, and lumbar conditions. The Board found that her physician’s reports explained a possible connection but did not establish the…
C.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Knoxville, TN
C.C. (ECAB 18-1453): Right knee claim sent back for medical review
A postal mail handler assistant claimed that pushing equipment at work aggravated his right knee condition. A physician explained how loading the knee while pushing could worsen osteoarthritis. The Board majority found that opinion sufficient to require further development and directed OWCP to…
L.S. and Social Security Administration, Richmond, CA
L.S. (ECAB 18-0264): Knee disability and late hearing request denied
L.S., a Social Security Administration secretary, sought compensation for intermittent absences from April 30 through November 8, 2013 after OWCP accepted bilateral knee contusions from a work incident. The Board found that her physician’s reports did not explain how the accepted contusions caused…
Freddie Moore v. National Mines Corporation
Moore v. National Mines (BRB 18-0427 BLA): en banc reconsideration denied
In Freddie Moore's black lung appeal, the employer sought reconsideration by the full Benefits Review Board. A majority of the Board's permanent members voted not to vacate or modify the earlier decision. The Board therefore denied the request for en banc reconsideration. This order leaves the…
A.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Independence, KS
A.B. (ECAB 19-1539): Late reconsideration denial affirmed
A postal city carrier requested reconsideration of a 2014 denial of his traumatic injury claim. OWCP received the request in December 2016, beyond the one year period after its last merits decision. The Board found that the new physician letter and MRI report did not show clear error in the earlier…
S.B. and Department of the Army, Red River Army Depot, Texarkana, TX
S.B. (ECAB 19-1499): Workplace knee incident accepted and injury question remanded
An Army depot mechanic said he twisted his left knee and slipped while working around a vehicle on August 9, 2016. OWCP ultimately denied the claim after questioning whether the incident occurred as alleged. The Board found his account consistent and supported by his sworn statement and the…
L.B. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Detroit, MI
L.B. (ECAB 19-1322): Overpayment established but amount sent back for recalculation
An IRS employee received FECA wage loss payments while also receiving age related Social Security retirement benefits. OWCP found a $67,276.38 overpayment and ordered recovery through deductions of $278.55 every 28 days. The Board agreed that concurrent benefits created an overpayment but found…
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Delray Beach, FL
D.C. (ECAB 19-0873): Denial of reconsideration of back disability claim affirmed
A postal letter carrier sought reconsideration of OWCP’s denial of a claimed recurrence of total disability from an earlier back injury. Her new medical reports described back symptoms but did not address whether the accepted 1997 injury caused disability beginning August 12, 2014. The Board found…
D.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Edward Hines, Jr. Veterans Administration Medical Center, Hines, IL
D.B. (ECAB 19-0514): Lung condition claim denied for lack of causation proof
A VA reproduction equipment operator claimed that work exposure caused lung conditions. His medical file contained many reports identifying diagnoses, but most did not address whether his federal work caused them. The only physician who discussed causation could not identify a definite cause. The…
Vrex Construction, Inc.
Contest dismissed after procedural default
OSHA issued Vrex Construction serious construction citations with proposed penalties totaling $34,738. After filing a timely contest, the company did not return its posting verification, answer the Secretary's complaint, respond to an order to show cause, or follow through after Commission staff…
K.P. and Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service, Fresno, CA
K.P. (ECAB 18-0056): Knee injury claim returned for medical development
An agricultural commodity grader slipped on chicken fat while leaving a cooler and twisted her left knee at work. OWCP denied her claim because it found insufficient medical evidence linking an ACL tear to the accepted incident. A physician who reviewed the records explained how the slip and twist…
Hecla Limited Lucky Friday Mine
In re Hecla Limited Lucky Friday Mine (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 19-01): permit petition dismissed after conditions withdrawn
Hecla Limited challenged an NPDES permit for the Lucky Friday Mine near Mullan, Idaho. The Board stayed the proceeding while Hecla pursued a challenge to Idaho's certification of the permit under Clean Water Act section 401. After Hecla and Idaho's environmental agency settled, Idaho proposed a…
C.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Blythe, CA
C.H. (ECAB 19-1470): Overpayment upheld but fault finding set aside
A border patrol agent returned to work on March 5, 2019, but OWCP paid wage loss compensation through March 30. The Board affirmed the $1,792.94 overpayment for that period. It found no evidence that he knew the first incorrect direct deposit was wrong when it reached his account. The Board set…
X.Y. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fort Worth, TX
X.Y. (ECAB 19-1290): Foot impairment rating sent back for clarification
A postal maintenance supervisor received schedule awards for five percent permanent impairment of the left lower extremity and two percent of the right after treatment for bunions. She sought greater awards. The Board found that OWCP’s medical adviser did not identify a clear basis for the right…
D.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Thousand Oaks Post Office, San Antonio, TX
D.L. (ECAB 19-1255): Wage loss termination based on job offer reversed
A postal carrier with accepted leg, knee, and shoulder injuries was offered a temporary modified job. OWCP ended his wage loss payments based on what he would have earned in that assignment. Its medical examiner’s restrictions conflicted with a functional capacity evaluation on lifting and bending…
K.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bedford Park, IL
K.C. (ECAB 19-1251): Pain syndrome claim sent back for new impartial opinion
A postal window clerk sought acceptance of complex regional pain syndrome as a consequence of accepted foot and back conditions. OWCP relied on an impartial examiner who said she did not have the syndrome. The Board found that his report lacked enough reasoning and disregarded accepted conditions…
R.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Norfolk, VA
R.M. (ECAB 19-1236): Termination of benefits for refused job offer reversed
A postal mail handler declined a modified job offer, and OWCP ended her benefits on the ground that the offered work was suitable. The physician on whom OWCP relied assessed restrictions for her right shoulder but said her other medical complaints needed consideration. The Board found OWCP had not…
J.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Canton, OH
J.S. (ECAB 19-1035): Knee disability recurrence claim sent back
A postal carrier with an accepted right knee injury claimed total disability beginning August 10, 2018. An OWCP hearing representative denied the recurrence claim while sending a related question about right knee arthritis for medical development. The Board found it premature to decide recurrence…
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.