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.
No decisions match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
S.S. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, Buffalo, NY
S.S. (ECAB 19-0688): Foot injury claim returned for medical development
A customs officer claimed a right foot injury after repeatedly climbing stairs during a work shift in June 2010. A physician later reviewed the medical record and explained how those activities could cause her diagnosed condition. The Board majority found his opinion sufficient to require OWCP to…
Steven S. Moalemi, M.D., P.C., d/b/a Empire Physical Medicine and Pain Management
Default dismissal set aside
OSHA cited a medical practice for three serious violations and proposed $7,392 in penalties. An administrative law judge dismissed the employer's contest after it missed four telephone conferences and did not respond to an order to show cause. The Commission found a discrepancy between the ZIP code…
R.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Waltham Carrier Annex, Waltham, MA
R.A. (ECAB 19-0098): Eye impairment award returned for new calculation
A postal letter carrier sustained injuries after slipping while delivering mail, followed by serious complications during hospitalization. OWCP awarded compensation based on 88 percent impairment of his visual system. The Board found that the medical record established complete loss of vision in…
National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, Inc.
National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation (FLRA 0-PS-41): Internal union business guidance denied
The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation asked the Authority to expand its rule barring paid official time for internal union business. It wanted the bar to apply to any activity related to internal union business, even if the activity also had another union purpose. The Authority denied…
United States Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 90
IRS and NTEU Chapter 90 (FLRA 0-AR-5446): Performance-award order vacated
An IRS employee received an outstanding rating but was denied a cash award after admitting tax underreporting and repeated transfer of taxpayer information to a home computer. An arbitrator ordered payment, reasoning that a confidential discipline agreement limited how the agency could use the…
Secretary of Labor v. Superior Silica Sands, LLC
Railcar violations assessed at $44,786
A newly hired electrician with no railcar experience was fatally injured after two uncoupled railcars began rolling and he attempted to set a handbrake on a moving car. Judge Margaret Miller found that Superior Silica Sands had not adequately trained him on railcar hazards, braking, communication…
Linda Waters on behalf of Gary E. Waters v. Florence Mining Company
Waters v. Florence Mining (BRB 19-0108 BLA): benefit denial returned for new findings
Linda Waters pursued her deceased husband's black lung claim after a judge denied benefits on modification. The Board found that the judge had not explained how he calculated 14.30 years of coal mine work despite conflicting employment evidence. That finding mattered because at least 15 qualifying…
T.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bakersfield, CA
T.V. (ECAB 19-1504): Refusal to reopen knee treatment claim affirmed
A postal maintenance mechanic sought continued medical care for an accepted right knee strain. OWCP denied her later request, and she asked it to reconsider, relying on legal arguments and correspondence with OWCP. The Board found the arguments had already been considered or did not show legal…
P.M. and Department of the Navy, Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, VA
P.M. (ECAB 19-1253): Claim reopened for merits review
A Navy utility worker claimed that years of heavy lifting and other manual duties caused or aggravated hip, groin, abdominal, and related conditions. OWCP had denied the claim for insufficient proof of causation. On reconsideration, her physician submitted a new report explaining more specifically…
I.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Raleigh, NC
I.M. (ECAB 19-1038): Neck, back, and shoulder injury claim denied
A postal processing employee claimed neck, back, and shoulder conditions after a February 2017 work incident. A physician diagnosed a partial left rotator cuff tear but said only generally that the incident strained a degenerative shoulder. The Board found that the submitted medical evidence did…
A.S. and Department of Justice, U.S. Marshals Service, Covington, KY
A.S. (ECAB 18-1684): Back injury claim denied for lack of causal proof
A U.S. Marshals Service employee claimed a lumbar injury after lifting ammunition boxes at work in May 2015. The incident was accepted, but the Board found the later medical submissions did not give a sufficiently reasoned account connecting his lumbar condition to it. Some records also described…
E.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Memphis, TN
E.S. (ECAB 18-1580): Bilateral knee disease claim denied
A postal letter carrier attributed worsening arthritis in both knees to prolonged walking, standing, and climbing at work. After a prior appeal, she submitted a new physician report describing how those duties might aggravate her knees. The Board found that the report still did not give enough…
J.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Austin, TX
J.P. (ECAB 18-1396): Recurrence of disability claim denied
A postal processing employee claimed that an accepted 2008 injury left him unable to work beginning in January 2013. He did not claim that his light duty job had changed, so he had to show a worsening of the accepted conditions through reasoned medical evidence. His physician’s reports gave…
A.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital, San Antonio, TX
A.M. (ECAB 18-0562): Breast cancer claim denied for lack of individual causation proof
A VA sleep disorder technician claimed that rotating day and night shifts caused her breast cancer. Her physicians discussed research on breast cancer risk from shift work and recommended a regular schedule. The Board found that the reports did not give a reasoned medical explanation linking her…
Coleman Hammons Construction Co., Inc.
Case returned after court reversal
The Commission had previously affirmed an administrative law judge's dismissal of Coleman Hammons Construction's late notice of contest. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed that decision and returned the case to the Commission. Acting on the court's mandate, the Commission…
United States Department of the Army, National Training Center and Fort Irwin, California and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 2035
Fort Irwin and NFFE Local 2035 (FLRA 0-AR-5375): FLSA grievance may proceed
NFFE Local 2035 filed a grievance alleging that Fort Irwin had incorrectly treated bargaining-unit employees as exempt from Fair Labor Standards Act overtime. The agency argued that the grievance involved position classification, lacked named claimants, and did not follow the agreement's…
Secretary of Labor v. Sunbelt Rentals, Inc.
Examination violation affirmed and penalty remanded
A Sunbelt employee was injured by material falling inside a cement-plant preheat vessel after the company's examiner inspected the upper compartment only from portholes one floor below. The Commission affirmed that the entire vessel was a working place and that an adequate examination required…
American Samoa Power Authority
In re American Samoa Power Authority (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 19-07): wastewater permit petition dismissed
The American Samoa Power Authority petitioned for review of an NPDES permit for the Utulei Sewage Treatment Plant, which discharges wastewater into Pago Pago Harbor. EPA Region 9 withdrew challenged limits and monitoring requirements for ammonia, nitrogen, phosphorus, and chronic toxicity, along…
Matter of L-N-Y-
U visa delay did not justify a continuance
The Board reviewed a Mexican respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge denied a continuance while the respondent's U visa petition was pending and ordered him removed. The Board held that prima facie eligibility and the potential effect of collateral relief are not dispositive, especially when…
Michael K. McNary v. Alcoa World Alumina, LLC
Interference complaint dismissal affirmed
Michael McNary, an Alcoa employee and miners' representative, confronted a department superintendent during an emergency involving hot, pressurized slurry. McNary alleged that the superintendent threatened to remove him as a miners' representative, from the department, and from the plant because he…
Acosta v. Union Pacific Railroad Company
FRSA liability findings remanded
Railroad employee Corby Acosta reported unsafe vegetation and was fired after two crew securement incidents five days later. An ALJ found that Union Pacific retaliated under the Federal Rail Safety Act and awarded $156,100 in back pay. The Board held that the ALJ's use of prima facie language made…
K.M. and Department of the Navy, Naval Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Bangor, WA
K.M. (ECAB 19-1526): Four percent right leg impairment award upheld
A Navy employee had an accepted right foot fracture and surgery, then sought a schedule award. His physician rated four percent permanent impairment of the right lower extremity, and OWCP’s medical adviser explained the same rating using the impairment guide’s modifiers. The Board found no…
J.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Highpoint Branch, Clearwater, FL
J.S. (ECAB 19-1203): Late reconsideration request denied
A postal employee sought reconsideration of a 2012 decision denying disability beginning January 8, 2012. OWCP received his request in October 2018, well beyond the one year deadline. The Board found that the request also failed to show clear error in the earlier denial. It affirmed OWCP’s nonmerit…
T.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Milwaukee, WI
T.L. (ECAB 18-0778): Shoulder disease claim denied for lack of causation proof
A postal employee claimed that his work duties caused or aggravated a right shoulder condition. After an earlier appeal, he submitted one new report from Dr. Ryan Kehoe addressing shoulder and arm symptoms. The Board found that the new evidence still did not adequately explain how the accepted job…
P.D. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Washington, DC
P.D. (ECAB 18-0557): Overpayment decision reversed for late preliminary notice
A federal employee received FECA wage loss payments while also receiving a Social Security retirement benefit with a federal service component. OWCP assessed a $46,557.53 overpayment and ordered deductions of $700 every 28 days. The Board recognized that concurrent benefits are prohibited, but…
Y.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Jackson, MS
Y.S. (ECAB 18-0366): Occupational disease claim denied for lack of causation opinion
A postal mail processing clerk attributed arthritis pain in her hands, knees, and lower back to handling mail and bending to sweep bins. Her podiatrist identified arthritis and noted that the duties increased symptoms. The Board found that the medical reports did not give a reasoned opinion linking…
M.L. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Boise Veterans Administration Medical Center, Boise, ID
M.L. (ECAB 18-0153): Left shoulder claim denied after workplace door incident
A VA employee said a door struck his left shoulder while he accessed a locker at work. His physician reported pain and tendinitis and attributed them to the incident. The Board found that the physician mainly repeated the account of injury and relied on timing without enough medical reasoning to…
K.N. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Vancouver, WA
K.N. (ECAB 18-0060): Knee injury claim denied for lack of causation proof
A VA employee reported a right knee injury after becoming tangled in a wheelchair and falling at work. The workplace incident was accepted, and a physician diagnosed a meniscal tear. The Board found that the medical report repeated the history of the fall but did not explain how it caused the…
Office of Personnel Management
Compelling-need guidance request denied
The Office of Personnel Management asked the Authority to give examples clarifying when an agency rule or regulation has a compelling need that limits the duty to bargain. OPM alternatively asked the Authority to add the examples to its regulations. The Authority had already begun a…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 933 and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, JD Dingell VA Medical Center, Detroit, Michigan
AFGE Local 933 and JD Dingell VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-5540): Removal exceptions dismissed
AFGE Local 933 asked the Authority to review an arbitrator's procedural-arbitrability ruling in a grievance over an employee's removal. The union argued that the contractual timeliness question was separate from the removal itself. The Authority held that the procedural ruling determined whether…
Secretary of Labor v. Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC
Settlement approved and penalty reduced
Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC faced proposed penalties totaling $41,657 across three dockets involving numerous citations at its No. 7 Mine. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy approved a settlement requiring a total payment of $25,535. The order vacated three citations, reduced several negligence findings…
Sivakumar v. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp.
Untimely SOX complaint dismissed
Krishnamurthy Sivakumar alleged that Cognizant subjected him to termination, a negative performance evaluation, and harassment in violation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. He filed his OSHA complaint in March 2018 concerning conduct from December 2015, well after the Act's 180-day deadline. The Board…
Chettypally v. Premier IT Solutions, Inc.
No additional H-1B wages owed
Aditya Chettypally worked for Premier IT Solutions under the H-1B visa program and sought another year of wages after returning to India. The Wage and Hour Division had already assessed $26,737.97 in back wages and travel reimbursements, which Premier paid. The Board agreed with the ALJ that…
M.P. and Department of Veterans Affairs, James A. Haley Medical Center, Tampa, FL
M.P. (ECAB 19-0991): Temporary job availability question remanded
A VA employee declined a temporary modified job after an accepted leg injury, and OWCP stopped her wage loss compensation. She later claimed continuing benefits, but OWCP had not determined whether that temporary job remained available during the claimed periods. The Board held that the job’s…
Y.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Buffalo, NY
Y.H. (ECAB 18-1618): Refusal to reconsider disability recurrence affirmed
A postal employee claimed she stopped work because an accepted condition worsened in April 2017. She asked OWCP to reconsider its denial and referred to a physician’s later report. The Board found the request did not show legal error or provide relevant new medical evidence establishing the claimed…
R.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Troy, MI
R.W. (ECAB 18-1324): Late hearing request and reconsideration denial upheld
A postal employee sought an oral hearing after the statutory deadline and separately asked OWCP to reconsider her claim. The Board found the hearing request untimely and found no abuse of discretion in OWCP’s refusal to grant it anyway. Her reconsideration request supplied no new factual evidence…
K.C. and Department of the Navy, Fleet Readiness Center, Cherry Point, NC
K.C. (ECAB 18-0529): Shoulder injury claim denied for lack of causation proof
A Navy employee claimed a right shoulder condition after an accepted May 2013 workplace incident. Medical records described shoulder pain, a rotator cuff tear, and planned surgery. The Board found that those records did not give a reasoned opinion connecting the tear to the specific incident. It…
D.B. and Department of the Air Force, 311th Air Base Group, Brooks Air Force Base, TX
D.B. (ECAB 18-0358): Retirement system conflict sends overpayment back
An Air Force plumbing worker received FECA wage loss payments and Social Security retirement benefits. OWCP assessed a $43,799.99 overpayment after treating part of the Social Security benefit as based on federal service under FERS. The record also contained personnel and claim forms saying he was…
M.K. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Biloxi, MI
M.K. (ECAB 18-0150): Thoracic spine injury claim denied
A VA employee experienced a seizure and fall at work in July 2017 and sought compensation for a thoracic spine fracture. The Board accepted the work incident but found the medical reports did not adequately explain how it caused or aggravated the T4 fracture. Descriptions of the seizure, fall, and…
A.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Tempe South Post Office, Tempe, AZ
A.C. (ECAB 18-0096): Parcel lifting incident accepted; injury claim remanded
A postal employee said she felt sudden left sided back pain while unloading a heavy parcel from a mail hamper. Her employer agreed with the account, and medical reports gave a consistent history of the event. The Board found the May 19, 2017 incident occurred at work as alleged. It sent the case…
D.H. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston, MA
D.H. (ECAB 18-0072): Right shoulder claim denied for lack of causation proof
An FBI employee claimed a right shoulder condition following an accepted December 2016 workplace incident. His physician documented preexisting shoulder arthritis, later pain, and a possible tendon tear. The Board found that the medical reports did not adequately explain how the specific incident…
David H. Williams v. Aegis Defense Services, L.L.C.
Williams v. Aegis Defense Services (BRB 19-0358): carrier appeal dismissed as premature
David Williams filed Defense Base Act claims concerning psychological injuries associated with security work in Afghanistan. Two insurers disputed which one could be responsible. After the judge dismissed Allied World National Assurance Company as a carrier, Williams and the other insurer timely…
Barboza v. BNSF Railway Co.
Reconsideration denied
Robert Barboza alleged that BNSF Railway retaliated against him for protected activity under the Federal Rail Safety Act. The Board had affirmed summary dismissal because he did not identify an adverse action within the 180-day limitations period. Barboza sought reconsideration and argued that…
R.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Ybor City, FL
R.D. (ECAB 19-1528): Vehicle collision injury claim denied for lack of medical link
A postal carrier reported neck, back, shoulder, and other symptoms after his postal truck was struck by another vehicle during work. The collision itself was accepted, and clinicians documented pain and examination findings. The Board found that the submitted reports did not provide a well reasoned…
D.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pittsburgh, PA
D.T. (ECAB 19-1486): Workplace fall claim remanded to determine cause
A postal employee fell on the workroom floor in July 2018 and sustained injuries to his face and mouth. Witness accounts suggested he had a seizure before falling, while medical records described a new onset seizure without a known prior history. OWCP treated the fall as caused by a personal…
S.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Boca Raton, FL
S.B. (ECAB 19-1320): Nonmerit reconsideration denial upheld
A postal employee sought intermittent disability benefits and acceptance of additional back and knee conditions after an accepted workplace injury. Her reconsideration request summarized earlier physician reports and included drawings and photographs. The Board found these materials did not provide…
D.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Mountain View, CA
D.L. (ECAB 18-1112): Late reconsideration denial affirmed
A former postal letter carrier sought reconsideration of a decision involving disability from an accepted injury. OWCP received her request in October 2017, years after the Board’s September 2011 merits decision. The Board found the request outside the one year period and found no evidence or…
N.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Newport Beach, CA
N.D. (ECAB 18-0753): Spine claim reopened for merits review
A postal employee sought benefits for lumbar, thoracic, and cervical spine conditions attributed to her work duties. OWCP had denied the claim for insufficient medical causation evidence. On reconsideration, her physician supplied a new explanation addressing her prior condition, job duties, and…
Secretary of Labor v. KenAmerican Resources, Inc.
Advance-notice violation found and remanded
MSHA inspectors arrived at KenAmerican's underground mine to investigate an anonymous hazard complaint and expressly warned the dispatcher not to provide advance notice. An underground miner then asked whether "company" was outside, a coded reference the dispatcher understood to mean MSHA, and the…
Nathan L. Gourdine v. AECOM and Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania
Gourdine v. AECOM (BRB 20-0065): claimant's appeal withdrawn
Nathan Gourdine asked to withdraw his appeal in a claim involving AECOM and its insurer. The Board granted his request and dismissed the appeal with prejudice. This short order gives no reason for the withdrawal and makes no ruling on the claim's merits.
Roy A. Yocum v. United Minerals Incorporated and CNA Insurance Company
Yocum v. United Minerals (BRB 18-0590 BLA): black lung benefits award upheld
Roy Yocum's employer challenged an award of black lung benefits. The judge had credited him with 19.72 years of qualifying surface mine work, and the parties agreed he had a totally disabling respiratory impairment. Those findings triggered a presumption that his disability was caused by…
Beverly Holt on behalf of Thomas Holt v. Consolidation Coal Company and Consol Energy, Incorporated
Holt v. Consolidation Coal (BRB 18-0351 BLA-A): late cross-appeal dismissal reaffirmed
Beverly Holt sought reconsideration of the Board's dismissal of her cross-appeal in Thomas Holt's black lung benefits case. The Board agreed that its earlier order had failed to consider the later of two possible filing deadlines, but found the cross-appeal missed both deadlines. It also agreed…
Hukman v. U.S. Airways, Inc.
Airline whistleblower dismissal vacated and reassigned
U.S. Airways customer service agent Sheida Hukman alleged that the airline disciplined and suspended her, and required an independent medical examination, because she reported passenger-count, smuggling, and aircraft weight-and-balance concerns. The ALJ dismissed her aviation whistleblower…
N.O. and Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service, Draper, UT
N.O. (ECAB 19-1481): Refusal to reopen collision injury claim affirmed
A Forest Service paramedic firefighter reported back and knee injuries after an employment related vehicle collision. OWCP denied the claim, and she later requested reconsideration. The Board found that the request raised no new legal ground and did not submit relevant new evidence on the medical…
G.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cayey, PR
G.D. (ECAB 19-0815): Delayed reconsideration ruling sent back for merits review
A postal employee requested reconsideration of a 2017 denial of disability benefits and submitted additional medical evidence. OWCP took 245 days to issue its nonmerit decision, well beyond its 90 day goal. The Board found the delay deprived him of time to submit another timely reconsideration…
L.B. and Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Tinker Air Force Base, OK
L.B. (ECAB 19-0775): Shoulder treatment and claim expansion questions remanded
A Defense Logistics Agency analyst had an accepted left shoulder sprain after moving a file cabinet and later sought renewed medical treatment. She also sought to add osteoarthritis and a cervical disc condition to the accepted claim. OWCP denied the original injury claim instead of deciding her…
C.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Great Falls, MT
C.A. (ECAB 19-0160): Refusal to reopen shoulder claim affirmed
A postal employee sought reconsideration of a denial involving a right shoulder condition after an accepted March 2014 incident. He argued that medical records existed in another claim file, but submitted no new medical evidence addressing causation with his request. The Board found no new legal…
Terence Froman, Inc.
Attorney-fee application denied
OSHA cited Terence Froman under the general duty clause over spring clips on a concrete-pump boom coupling, then withdrew the citation before adjudication. The company applied under the Equal Access to Justice Act for $4,999.10 in attorney fees and expenses. The judge found that the Secretary's…
J.F. and Department of Veterans Affairs, West Los Angeles Veterans Administration Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
J.F. (ECAB 18-0492): Police officer back claim denied for lack of causation proof
A VA police officer attributed his back condition to wearing and carrying police gear at work. A physician diagnosed degenerative disc disease and documented limits on lifting and bending. The Board found that the physician repeated the claimant’s belief about the job without giving an independent…
United States Department of Education and American Federation of Government Employees, Council 252, National Council of Department of Education Locals
Department of Education and AFGE Council 252 (FLRA 0-AR-5418): Agency-head-review grievance remanded
The Department of Education implemented a proposed successor agreement, and AFGE filed an unfair-labor-practice charge alleging bad-faith bargaining and unilateral implementation. The union later grieved the agency's failure to submit the agreement for agency-head review. An arbitrator found the…
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.