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.
C.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Administration Medical Center, Houston, TX
C.R. (ECAB 19-0523): Finger impairment award sent back for new medical evaluation
A VA food service worker sought a larger schedule award for her injured left index finger after previously receiving an award for 71 percent impairment. The Board found that her physician’s range of motion measurements did not meet the required method. OWCP’s medical adviser used measurements taken…
K.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
K.G. (ECAB 18-1598): Neck and hand injury claim denied for lack of causal proof
A postal mail processing clerk attributed neck and right hand and wrist symptoms to scanning work. The Board found that her medical reports did not adequately connect the diagnosed conditions to the accepted work factors. Some reports offered no causation opinion, while checked boxes on…
K.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Newton, MS
K.N. (ECAB 18-1540): Back and shoulder claim denied after mail truck collision
A postal carrier said a rear-end collision while she drove a mail truck injured her upper back and shoulder. OWCP accepted that the collision occurred, but she supplied no medical evidence establishing an injury from it. The Board affirmed the claim denial on that ground. It also upheld OWCP’s…
Marshall Justice v. Rockwell Mining, LLC
Discrimination and interference claims dismissed
Marshall Justice alleged that Rockwell Mining retaliated against his safety complaints by not selecting him for vacation-week work and interfered with his rights involving diesel scoops, a tire complaint to an MSHA inspector, and inspection walkarounds. Judge Alan G. Paez found that Justice's…
J.R. and Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Services, Salt Lake City, UT
J.R. (ECAB 19-1408): Vehicle collision claim reopened for merit review
An Agriculture Department engineer claimed back and thigh injuries after a rear-end collision while working. OWCP denied the claim and later refused to reopen it. A representative of the employing agency requested reconsideration for both the employee and the agency. The Board found that her…
K.R. and Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Estill, SC
K.R. (ECAB 19-1382): Pulmonary condition claim denied for lack of causal proof
A correctional officer developed shortness of breath and a rapid heart rate while dragging inmate property at work. He sought compensation for pulmonary emboli. The Board found that his physician’s opinion lacked a complete medical history and did not adequately explain how the accepted work…
C.N. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers St. Louis District, Granite City, IL
C.N. (ECAB 19-1299): Hearing claim sent back for agency medical evaluation
An Army lock and dam mechanic reported tinnitus and hearing problems after a loud air release from a broken valve. OWCP accepted the June 2017 noise incident but denied a causal connection. The Board found that OWCP had not followed its hearing loss procedures, including preparing accepted facts…
J.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Cleveland, OH
J.A. (ECAB 19-1292): Knee claim returned after Board accepted the work incident
A postal custodial laborer said he felt sharp right knee pain while rearranging equipment at work. OWCP rejected his account of the incident. The Board found his descriptions consistent enough to establish that the August 8, 2018 incident occurred in the performance of duty. It set aside OWCP’s…
M.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Orlando, FL
M.C. (ECAB 19-1230): Knee reconsideration request found timely
A rural mail carrier asked OWCP to reconsider the denial of her left knee injury claim. OWCP treated her August 20, 2018 request as late because the prior decision was dated August 18, 2017. The Board held that the one-year deadline fell on a Saturday, making the following Monday timely. It set…
M.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Network Distribution Center, Allen Park, MI
M.C. (ECAB 19-1192): Right shoulder claim denied for lack of medical causal proof
A postal mail handler attributed right shoulder bursitis to work she performed while favoring a previously injured left side. The Board found that Dr. Rahman’s reports did not adequately explain how the accepted work factors caused a right shoulder condition. It affirmed OWCP’s claim denial. The…
J.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Homewood, IL
J.S. (ECAB 19-1073): Knee appointment wage loss claim sent back for evidence review
A postal worker with an accepted right knee injury sought wage loss for two June 2018 medical appointment dates. OWCP denied those hours and said there was no proof of brace appointments. The Board found that OWCP had overlooked a letter received before its decision describing an orthotist visit on…
D.E. and U.S. Postal Service, District Office, Omaha, NE
D.E. (ECAB 19-0880): Knee and ankle claim sent back to combine case files
A postal custodian sought benefits for left knee and ankle conditions and asked OWCP to treat her filing as a recurrence of an earlier injury. OWCP denied the current occupational disease claim while its file remained separate from three earlier injury files that had already been combined with one…
S.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Mill Valley, CA
S.H. (ECAB 19-0482): Emotional condition claim returned for factual findings
A postal carrier claimed an emotional condition arising from interactions with his supervisor. OWCP denied his claim without findings on his specific account of the workplace events. The Board found that OWCP had not explained whether any alleged events were compensable work factors. It set aside…
J.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, West Los Angeles Veterans Administration Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
J.W. (ECAB 19-0199): Wrist claim returned for a performance of duty finding
A VA health technician claimed a left wrist injury from handcuff constriction. Her employer said the incident happened off premises after her shift. OWCP denied the claim for lack of a medical diagnosis without resolving whether it occurred in the performance of duty. The Board set aside that…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, West Sacramento, CA
S.M. (ECAB 18-1195): Shoulder claim sent back for further medical review
A postal sales and distribution associate said he hurt his right shoulder while handling an undeliverable parcel. After an earlier Board ruling, he submitted a physician’s report explaining how the accepted lifting incident could have injured his shoulder. The Board found that report sufficient to…
J.D. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Romulus, MI
J.D. (ECAB 18-0279): Fall injury claim sent back for medical development
A transportation security officer said a broken chair caused her to fall and injure her hip and back. The Board found that her physician’s detailed explanation of sacroiliac and lumbar conditions after the fall did not yet prove the claim, but was substantial and uncontradicted enough to require…
E.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Enfield, CT
E.C. (ECAB 18-0274): Back and hernia claim denied for lack of causal proof
A postal carrier assistant said he injured his back while lifting a box at work. He also claimed bilateral inguinal hernias. The Board found that his physicians did not adequately explain how the accepted July 19, 2017 incident caused or aggravated his conditions, particularly in light of earlier…
C.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs, West Los Angeles Veterans Administration Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
C.R. (ECAB 19-1427): Disability benefits denied after workplace fall
A VA medical supply supervisor fell at work after her walker caught under a chair. OWCP accepted knee contusions from the incident. She sought wage loss beginning June 10, 2018, but the Board found that the medical evidence did not adequately explain why the accepted injuries prevented her from…
R.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Imperial, CA
R.R. (ECAB 19-1314): One-percent knee schedule award upheld
A Customs and Border Protection fleet supervisor appealed OWCP’s one-percent schedule award after an accepted right knee injury and surgery. Physicians rated his impairment differently under the applicable guide. The Board found that the evidence did not establish more than the one percent right…
V.Q. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Montgomery, AL
V.Q. (ECAB 19-1309): Arm injury claim not reopened on reconsideration
A transportation security officer claimed a left arm and shoulder injury after a coworker touched or pushed her at work. OWCP had denied the underlying claim. In her reconsideration request, she submitted another medical report discussing possible complex regional pain syndrome. The Board found…
A.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital, Bedford, MA
A.W. (ECAB 19-1277): Lumbar occupational disease claim denied
A VA medical assistant said walking, standing, and patient care duties aggravated her lumbar conditions. The Board found that the physician reports did not adequately explain how the accepted work factors caused or aggravated those conditions. It affirmed OWCP’s claim denial.
S.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Network Distribution Center, Philadelphia, PA
S.D. (ECAB 19-1245): Carpal tunnel disability recurrence denied
A postal mail handler with accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome sought wage loss for a claimed recurrence of total disability beginning July 9, 2016. The Board found that her evidence did not establish that the accepted condition made her unable to work during the claimed period. It affirmed…
E.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Compton, CA
E.M. (ECAB 19-1041): Additional shoulder impairment award granted
A former postal carrier sought an increased schedule award for his accepted right shoulder condition. Two medical evaluators rated his right upper extremity at 25 percent permanent impairment using range of motion. The Board found that this supported an additional 17 percent impairment beyond his…
GTA Co., Inc.
Late contest of willful citation dismissed
OSHA issued GTA excavation citations, including a willful item carrying a proposed $56,908 penalty. The company received the citations on January 15, 2019, making February 6 the deadline to file a written contest, but it did not contact OSHA until mid-March. The judge found no excusable neglect…
J.D. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Washington, DC
J.D. (ECAB 19-0382): Workplace knee incident accepted but claim still denied
A National Park Service line sergeant said he hurt his left knee while jogging for physical training and stepping on uneven ground. OWCP had questioned whether the work incident occurred. The Board accepted his account of the May 2, 2018 incident but found that the medical evidence did not…
Matter of Haji Osman SALAD
Terroristic threats offense categorically involves moral turpitude
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal in the removal case of a Somali citizen who had been admitted as a refugee and later became a lawful permanent resident. An Immigration Judge had found him removable based on convictions for burglary and giving a false name to a police…
M.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Easton, MD
M.V. (ECAB 19-1515): Back injury claim denied for lack of medical causal proof
A postal bulk mail technician reported a sharp back pain while unloading flat tubs at work. OWCP accepted the May 2, 2018 work incident. The Board found that her medical evidence did not establish an injury caused by that incident. It affirmed OWCP’s claim denial.
D.O. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Pine Bluff Arsenal, Pine Bluff, AR
D.O. (ECAB 19-1437): Pulmonary fibrosis claim denied for lack of causal proof
An Army arsenal industrial worker attributed a pulmonary condition to factors of her work. Medical records documented lung findings and pulmonary fibrosis. The Board found that the reports did not give a reasoned opinion linking the accepted work factors to her condition. It affirmed OWCP’s denial.
G.H. and Department of the Army, Fort Riley, KS
G.H. (ECAB 19-1141): Aneurysm claim returned to identify the proper claim type
An Army equipment specialist claimed that work travel and stressful conditions contributed to a brain aneurysm rupture. OWCP had treated the filing as a traumatic injury claim without investigating other alleged work factors or deciding whether it should be an occupational disease claim. The Board…
R.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Aministration Medical Center, San Diego, CA
R.W. (ECAB 19-1109): Shoulder award claim returned for accurate accepted facts
A VA nursing assistant sought a larger schedule award for his right shoulder after earlier accepted injuries and surgeries. OWCP denied the increase using medical opinions based on a statement of accepted facts that omitted claims, surgeries, and conditions. The Board found that those opinions…
G.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Los Angeles, CA
G.A. (ECAB 19-1080): Back claim returned because OWCP overlooked medical records
A postal customer care agent claimed lower back pain from sitting at work for eight to ten hours a day. He submitted medical records before OWCP denied his occupational disease claim. The Board found that OWCP’s decision incorrectly said no further evidence had been received and did not review…
E.W. and Department of Justice, U.S. Penitentiary, Florence, CO
E.W. (ECAB 19-0963): Compensation reduction upheld after rehabilitation refusal
A federal prison employee challenged OWCP’s reduction of his compensation for failing to cooperate with vocational rehabilitation. The Board found that medical evidence showed he could perform restricted light-duty work and that he did not have good cause for failing to cooperate with the…
K.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Westport, WA
K.F. (ECAB 19-0888): Carpal tunnel claim returned for evidence review
A postal clerk claimed that repetitive casing and boxing of mail aggravated bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. OWCP denied the claim without discussing a physician’s later report that described diagnostic testing and gave a causal opinion. The Board found that OWCP had to address that report before…
R.B. and Department of the Army, Civilian Personnel Advisory Center, Fort McCoy, WI
R.B. (ECAB 19-0810): Back injury claim sent back for specialist opinion
An Army equipment repair supervisor said he hurt his back after slipping on ice in a work parking lot. OWCP denied the claim despite a physician report explaining a possible connection between the fall and diagnosed back conditions. The Board found that the uncontradicted report did not yet prove…
L.F. and Department of the Army, Army Corps of Engineers, Craney Island Project, Portsmouth, VA
L.F. (ECAB 19-0324): Past disability claim and late reconsideration denied
An Army Corps equipment operator sought benefits for intermittent disability between 1987 and 1994 after an accepted 1987 injury involving his knees. The Board found that he had not proved the claimed disability was caused by that injury. It also agreed that his later reconsideration request was…
B.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Air Marshal Service, Chantilly, VA
B.M. (ECAB 18-0448): Training injury claim sent back for medical development
A federal air marshal attributed right shoulder and neck problems to heavy bag strikes and pull-ups during squad training. The Board found that a physician’s explanation of how those activities could cause the diagnosed conditions was insufficient to prove the claim but substantial enough to…
Basic Energy Services, LP
Well-servicing rig hazard citation affirmed
Basic Energy Services used a mobile well-servicing rig to pull pipe stuck thousands of feet underground. A derrick hand remained on a platform about 60 feet above the rig floor while the crew substantially increased pulling force and used jars to free the pipe. The rig tipped over, killing the…
Freddy Day v. Whitaker Coal Corporation
Day v. Whitaker Coal (BRB 19-0094 BLA): benefits denial upheld
Freddy Day appealed the denial of his black lung claim after a labor judge credited a little more than ten years of coal mine work. That was too little for the 15-year presumption, and the judge found the medical evidence did not otherwise establish pneumoconiosis. The Board held that the judge…
Michael H. Hardin v. Brooks Run Mining Company, LLC and Brickstreet Mutual Insurance Company
Hardin v. Brooks Run Mining (BRB 19-0063 BLA): mine work length sent back
Michael Hardin received black lung benefits after the labor judge credited more than 20 years of underground coal mine work and applied the 15-year presumption. The employer challenged how the judge calculated his employment periods. The Board found that the judge needed to use available evidence…
A.N. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, Santee, CA
A.N. (ECAB 19-1496): Oral hearing request deemed abandoned
A border patrol agent requested a hearing after OWCP denied his back injury claim. OWCP mailed notice of a scheduled telephone hearing to his last known address, but he did not participate or contact the agency within the allowed period. The Board held that OWCP properly found his hearing request…
A.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Peachtree Processing & Distribution Center, Atlanta, GA
A.J. (ECAB 19-1289): Lip and tooth injuries established after workplace fall
A postal mail handler fell face first on a concrete floor at work and injured her lip and upper teeth. OWCP denied the claim, but the Board found that witness and medical records established a left upper lip laceration and loss of upper incisors caused by the accepted fall. It reversed OWCP’s…
E.T. and Defense Agencies, Defense Commissary Agency, Parris Island Commissary, Parris Island, SC
E.T. (ECAB 19-1046): Overpayment claim returned for a complete calculation
OWCP found that a commissary employee received a Social Security offset overpayment, but its calculation worksheet was cut off and did not cover the full period it claimed. The Board found that the record did not clearly show how OWCP reached the stated $76,441.93 amount. It set aside the…
T.C. and U.S. Postal Service, North Texas Processing & Distribution Center, Coppell, TX
T.C. (ECAB 19-1013): Schedule award claim returned to combine related files
A postal clerk sought a schedule award for cervical-related upper extremity impairment. OWCP denied an additional award by referring to earlier wrist and shoulder awards in separate files that were not part of the current record. The Board found it could not review the denial without those records…
E.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office EPC North, San Francisco, CA
E.M. (ECAB 19-0857): Social Security offset overpayment upheld
A former postal letter carrier received FECA wage loss benefits and Social Security age-related benefits. The Board upheld OWCP’s finding of a $29,665.95 overpayment for October 2016 through April 2018 because the federal service portion of Social Security benefits was not offset. It also upheld…
M.E. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Florence, KY
M.E. (ECAB 19-0856): Social Security overpayment claim returned for clarification
An IRS employee challenged OWCP’s finding that she had received an $8,278.13 overpayment because Social Security benefits tied to federal service were not offset from her wage loss benefits. She said some benefits came through her deceased spouse, and Social Security had not clarified the amounts…
P.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Douglas, MA
P.B. (ECAB 19-0329): Overpayment upheld; fault ruling partly set aside
A rural postal carrier received $24,748.44 in compensation overpayments after returning to private sector work. The Board upheld the overpayment amount but changed OWCP’s fault findings for two parts of the period. It found her without fault for May 9 through 30, 2015 and January 23, 2016 through…
B.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Los Angeles, CA
B.S. (ECAB 19-0273): Shoulder award claim reopened for merit review
A postal letter carrier sought reconsideration of a schedule award issue involving her accepted left shoulder condition. She submitted new range of motion measurements and a physician’s updated impairment rating. The Board found that this new medical evidence was relevant enough to require a merits…
D.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Pittsburgh Network Distribution Center, Pittsburgh, PA
D.B. (ECAB 19-0262): Hand condition claim returned for missing case records
A postal custodian claimed bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and had an earlier accepted neck injury. OWCP denied the hand claim while relying on medical evidence from the neck injury file that it had not placed in the current record. The Board could not review that missing evidence and set aside…
E.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bell, CA
E.A. (ECAB 18-1798): Termination of knee injury benefits upheld
A postal maintenance mechanic received benefits for an accepted left knee sprain after a workplace fall. OWCP terminated his wage loss and medical benefits effective March 24, 2017. The Board found that OWCP had proved he no longer had residuals or disability from the accepted injury and that he…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Rib and energized-cable violations affirmed
MSHA cited Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company after inspectors found an unsupported rib overhang and a damaged energized cable at the Enlow Fork underground coal mine. Judge John Kent Lewis found that the roughly 620-pound overhang was loose, located in a traveled area, and reasonably likely to cause…
Michael S. Ayers v. Jones Stevedoring Company and Kinder Morgan, Incorporated
Ayers v. Jones Stevedoring and Kinder Morgan (BRB 19-0110 and 19-0236): awards upheld
Michael Ayers appealed fee and benefits orders arising from Longshore Act claims involving Jones Stevedoring and Kinder Morgan. The Board affirmed the fee order and denial of reconsideration in the Jones Stevedoring matter, and it affirmed the benefits award in the Kinder Morgan matter. It also…
Jeffery D. Barnette v. Regent Allied Carbon Energy and Rockwood Casualty Insurance Company
Barnette v. Regent Allied Carbon Energy (BRB 19-0070 BLA): benefits award affirmed
Jeffery Barnette received black lung benefits after the labor judge found 27 years of underground coal mine work and total respiratory disability. The employer argued that asthma, rather than coal dust, explained his impairment. The Board upheld the judge's decision to give less weight to medical…
Carl G. Sigler v. Windsor Coal Company and West Virginia CWP Fund
Sigler v. Windsor Coal (BRB 18-0599 BLA): complicated pneumoconiosis review reopened
Carl Sigler appealed the denial of black lung benefits. The labor judge accepted at least 20 years of underground mine work but found no total disability or complicated pneumoconiosis. The Board upheld some of the disability analysis but found that the evidence concerning complicated pneumoconiosis…
C.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Western New York Healthcare System, Batavia, NY
C.S. (ECAB 19-1279): Claim denied after shuttle passenger incident
A VA motor vehicle operator said he hurt his right shoulder, arm, knee, and ankle while catching a veteran who fell while exiting a shuttle. The Board found that the medical reports did not establish that the accepted June 2013 incident caused or aggravated the claimed conditions. It affirmed…
I.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Memphis, TN
I.J. (ECAB 19-1278): Claim reopened on new workplace facts
A modified postal carrier sought reconsideration of a claim involving her work assignment and alleged workplace incidents. Her new statement added details about duties outside her restrictions and interactions with supervisors. The Board found this factual material relevant to whether a compensable…
J.Z. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Warrensville Heights, OH
J.Z. (ECAB 19-1005): Emotional condition claim returned for medical report review
A postal carrier claimed an emotional condition after a hostile customer confrontation that OWCP accepted as a work factor. OWCP denied reconsideration without addressing a report signed by a psychiatrist and psychologist diagnosing post-traumatic stress disorder related to that event. The Board…
J.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Teterboro, NJ
J.A. (ECAB 19-0981): Shoulder claim returned for review of omitted report
A postal mail handler sought benefits for a right arm and shoulder injury after lifting mail trays. OWCP denied the claim without discussing a physician’s addendum that addressed the diagnosis and work causation. The Board held that OWCP had to consider the report before a new decision. It set…
P.J. and Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency State Office, Albuquerque, NM
P.J. (ECAB 19-0962): Reconsideration request found timely
A Farm Service Agency worker sought reconsideration of an occupational disease claim involving alleged exposure from a workplace heating system. OWCP treated her August 13, 2018 request as late because the earlier merit decision was dated August 11, 2017. The Board held that the one-year deadline…
J.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, North Houston, TX
J.J. (ECAB 19-0448): Impairment claim returned for review of omitted report
A postal tractor trailer operator sought a schedule award after an accepted lower back injury. His neurologist submitted a supplemental lower extremity impairment report explaining the rating, but OWCP and its medical reviewers did not address it. The Board set aside the denial and ordered an…
S.B. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn, NY
S.B. (ECAB 19-0027): Knee claim denied for lack of causal proof
A prison police lieutenant said he hurt his left knee when he ran to help another officer after an alarm at work. The Board found that the medical reports did not adequately explain how the accepted June 2017 incident caused his knee condition, in light of earlier symptoms and osteoarthritis. It…
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.