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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Michael Barr d/b/a Barr Construction
Roofing, scaffold, and ladder citations affirmed
Barr Construction reroofed a residence using ladder-jack scaffolds and a steep roof. An OSHA inspector observed employees without fall protection on the scaffolds in the morning and again on the roof later that day, with fall exposures of about 18 to more than 20 feet. The inspector also observed…
M.H. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, Detroit, MI
M.H. (ECAB 18-0873): Vehicle collision claim denied for lack of diagnosed injury
An immigration services assistant was in a government vehicle that was rear-ended while she traveled to a work ceremony. The Board accepted the June 2017 incident but found that the medical reports described symptoms without establishing a diagnosed injury caused by it. It affirmed OWCP’s denial.
Social Security Administration and Association of Administrative Law Judges
Social Security Administration and AALJ (FLRA 0-AR-5449): Forty-five-hearing remedy vacated
The Social Security Administration denied an administrative law judge's telework request because the judge proposed scheduling thirty-seven hearings per month instead of fifty. An arbitrator found that neither number was appropriate, set forty-five hearings as reasonably attainable, and ordered…
Michael J. Osten v. Electric Boat Corporation
Osten v. Electric Boat (BRB 19-0306): medical benefits denial sent back
Michael Osten sought medical benefits for a back condition following work injuries. The Board upheld the finding that Electric Boat had rebutted the statutory presumption linking the condition to work. It found that the labor judge had not adequately weighed the conflicting evidence or addressed…
Dorothy E. Novak v. Helen Mining Company and Valley Camp Coal Company
Novak v. Helen Mining (BRB 19-0064 BLA): survivor award sent back
Dorothy Novak sought survivor benefits after her husband’s death. The labor judge awarded benefits under the fifteen-year presumption. The Board found that the judge had not addressed medical evidence that could refute total respiratory disability at the time of death. It vacated the total…
T.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Kissimmee Carrier Annex, Kissimmee, FL
T.H. (ECAB 19-1353): Back injury claim denied for lack of diagnosed condition and causation proof
A postal custodian reported back pain after squatting to clean under a toilet rim at work. OWCP accepted the incident but denied his injury claim. The Board found that the physicians’ reports largely identified pain or addressed work capacity without a firm diagnosis and reasoned causal…
M.B. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, Orlando, FL
M.B. (ECAB 19-1329): Right knee claim denied for lack of reasoned causation opinion
A customs field technology officer reported right knee symptoms after moving equipment at work. He had earlier knee injuries and surgery. The Board found that the medical reports did not adequately explain how the 2017 work incident caused or aggravated the diagnosed knee conditions, particularly…
V.J. and Social Security Administration, Atlanta, GA
V.J. (ECAB 19-1225): May 29 wage loss denied for missed therapy and inadequate medical proof
A Social Security specialist sought 5.25 hours of wage loss on May 29, 2018 after an accepted back and sacroiliac injury. She was scheduled for physical therapy that day, but the provider recorded that she did not attend. Her physician’s note excused her from work without explaining why her…
J.S. and Department of the Treasury, Bureau of Engraving, Fort Worth, TX
J.S. (ECAB 19-1147): Late reconsideration ruling returned for merits review
A Bureau of Engraving plate printer with accepted hearing loss sought disability compensation and recognition of an anxiety condition. OWCP denied reconsideration without addressing a hearing specialist’s letter submitted before its ruling. It also issued the ruling more than 90 days after his…
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chester, PA
M.B. (ECAB 19-1098): Wage loss claim returned for a clearer medical opinion
A postal carrier sought wage loss for a two-year period after an accepted 2011 fall on ice. OWCP denied the claim based on its second opinion physician’s assessment that any work-related aggravation had ended. The Board found that physician’s explanations of the disability period and the role of…
T.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, St. Cloud Health Care System, St. Cloud, MN
T.M. (ECAB 19-1065): Related injury files must be combined before new claim ruling
A VA information technology specialist alleged renewed disability from an accepted 2011 injury and later filed a new occupational disease claim. OWCP denied the newer claim, but the record before the Board omitted the earlier accepted injury file. The Board could not determine whether the evidence…
J.C. and Department of the Air Force, 309th Maintenance Support Squadron, Hill Air Force Base, UT
J.C. (ECAB 18-0318): Disability claim returned for complete work history and medical review
A retired Air Force maintenance supervisor sought disability compensation for accepted back and carpal tunnel conditions. OWCP denied the claim and later refused reconsideration. Its second opinion physician had relied on an outdated statement of facts that omitted the accepted carpal tunnel…
R.G. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Union, NJ
R.G. (ECAB 18-0236): Neck and back injury claim denied for missing medical explanation
A TSA safety specialist reported neck and back problems after moving a table at work. OWCP accepted that the March 2, 2017 incident occurred but denied his claim for cervical and lumbar conditions. The Board found that the medical reports did not adequately explain how that incident caused or…
Katherine Baker v. Perry County Coal Corporation and Gatliff Coal Company
Baker v. Perry County Coal (BRB 19-0023 BLA): survivor benefits denial upheld
Katherine Baker appealed the denial of survivor benefits after her husband’s death. The Board upheld the labor judge’s finding that the record did not establish total respiratory disability, so Baker could not invoke the fifteen-year presumption. It also upheld the finding that pneumoconiosis had…
Judy Carol Taylor v. Nats Creek Mining Company and Old Republic Insurance Company
Taylor v. Nats Creek Mining (BRB 18-0612 and 18-0613 BLA): attorney fee upheld
The employer and carrier appealed an attorney fee order in Judy Taylor’s black lung claims. The Board rejected the challenge to the labor judge’s appointment as untimely in this fee appeal. The majority found that the judge had adequately supported counsel’s hourly rate and had not abused his…
Joe Hall, Jr. v. Bullion Hollow Mining and Old Republic Insurance Company
Hall v. Bullion Hollow Mining (BRB 18-0561 BLA): benefits award upheld
Joe Hall received black lung benefits after the labor judge found more than fifteen years of qualifying coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The employer and carrier appealed the award. The Board upheld the findings that Hall invoked the fifteen-year presumption and that…
J.C. and Department of the Air Force, 309th Aircraft Maintenance Group, Hill Air Force Base, UT
J.C. (ECAB 19-1293): Oral hearing request denied after reconsideration
A retired Air Force aircraft mechanic sought an oral hearing in his hearing loss claim after OWCP had denied the claim and a later reconsideration request. The Board held that choosing reconsideration first meant he no longer had an oral hearing as a matter of right. It found that OWCP reasonably…
I.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Baltimore, MD
I.R. (ECAB 19-1217): Neck and back occupational disease claim denied
A postal motor vehicle operator attributed neck and back conditions to repeated climbing, loading, and pushing at work. He had preexisting cervical disease and claimed work aggravated it. The Board found that the physicians’ opinions either did not address causation or said only that job activities…
A.A. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Atlanta, GA
A.A. (ECAB 19-1165): Lumbar radiculopathy not added to accepted back claim
A prison warehouse worker had an accepted lumbar sprain from raising a trailer door in 2011. He later asked OWCP to add lumbar radiculopathy to the accepted conditions. The Board found that his physician asserted a causal connection without explaining it, while OWCP’s medical adviser found the…
B.C. and Department of the Navy, Commander, Navy Installations Command, San Diego, CA
B.C. (ECAB 19-1112): Fall claim denied for lack of medical causation proof
A Navy contract liaison officer slipped in a workplace restroom and reported shoulder and other injuries. OWCP accepted that the August 2018 fall occurred but denied the injury claim. The Board found that the physicians did not provide a definite diagnosis and reasoned opinion linking the claimed…
M.P. and Department of the Treasury, Bureau of Printing & Engraving, Washington, DC
M.P. (ECAB 19-0674): Late reconsideration request rejected
A Bureau of Printing and Engraving sheet examiner sought reconsideration of OWCP’s termination of wage loss and medical benefits. His request arrived more than a year after the last merits decision. The Board found that a physician’s earlier report was not itself a valid reconsideration request and…
Guaranteed Home Improvements, LLC
Ladder citations split after employee fall
Guaranteed Home Improvements used an extension ladder to access a snow-covered convenience-store roof. The ladder slid on wet, snowy pavement while an employee descended, causing a fall that resulted in multiple serious injuries. The judge vacated the allegation that the ladder failed to extend…
D.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Perrysburg, OH
D.D. (ECAB 19-0548): Carpal tunnel claim denied as untimely
A retired postal carrier claimed that casing mail caused carpal tunnel syndrome. He reported knowing of the condition and its work connection in 2003, retired in 2011, and filed his claim in 2018. The Board found that the filing came more than three years after his last work exposure and that no…
United States Department of Agriculture
Department of Agriculture (FLRA 0-PS-47): Default ground rules request denied
The Department of Agriculture asked the Authority to establish default ground rules for bargaining new collective bargaining agreements. It also sought a change to the rule treating ground rules as a mandatory subject of bargaining. The Authority denied the request, pointing to an executive order…
John A. McCullough v. Keystone Coal Mining Corporation and Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company
McCullough v. Keystone Coal (BRB 19-0035 BLA): rebuttal finding sent back
John McCullough received a black lung benefits award after the labor judge applied the fifteen-year presumption. The Board upheld the finding of total respiratory disability but found that the judge had not adequately explained his weighing of an employer physician’s opinion on legal…
James Bailey v. Ronnie Ison Trucking Company
Bailey v. Ronnie Ison Trucking (BRB 18-0550 BLA): modified benefits award upheld
James Bailey sought modification of a prior denial of black lung benefits. The labor judge awarded benefits after finding that Bailey invoked the fifteen-year presumption and that the employer had not rebutted it. The Board upheld the judge’s evaluation of the medical opinions and his determination…
James M. Hacker v. Shamrock Coal Company, Incorporated
Hacker v. Shamrock Coal (BRB 18-0494 BLA): new labor judge ordered
James Hacker appealed the denial of his black lung benefits claim and challenged the labor judge’s appointment. The Board found that the judge had received evidence and heard argument before the Secretary of Labor ratified his appointment. It vacated the denial and sent the case for reassignment to…
Charles Gilbert v. Shamrock Coal Company, Incorporated
Gilbert v. Shamrock Coal (BRB 18-0399 BLA): new labor judge ordered
Charles Gilbert appealed the denial of his black lung benefits claim and raised a constitutional challenge to the labor judge’s appointment. The Board found that the judge had presided over the hearing before the Secretary of Labor ratified his appointment. It vacated the denial and ordered…
Johansen v. Illinois Central Railroad Co.
Complaint dismissed after federal filing
Thomas Johansen alleged that Illinois Central Railroad Company retaliated against him in violation of the Federal Railroad Safety Act. An ALJ granted the railroad summary decision, and Johansen petitioned the Board for review. While Board review was pending, Johansen elected the statutory option to…
J.E. and Department of the Air Force, Warner Robins Air Force Base, Warner Robins, GA
J.E. (ECAB 19-1325): Accepted hearing loss did not warrant a schedule award
An Air Force sheet metal mechanic had accepted work-related bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus. He sought a schedule award for permanent hearing impairment. The Board recalculated the right-ear figures after noting an arithmetic error by OWCP’s medical adviser, but the corrected calculation still…
D.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Summerville, SC
D.L. (ECAB 19-1176): Knee and shoulder claims denied after two delivery incidents
A rural postal carrier attributed right knee and shoulder conditions to a sudden stop while driving in May 2014 and a fall the following month. Her newer medical reports did not link diagnosed conditions to the June fall and gave a speculative, insufficiently explained account of how the May event…
S.K. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Holtsville, NY
S.K. (ECAB 19-0391): Cervical spine claim denied after chair incident
An IRS tax examiner reported neck and shoulder symptoms after a chair armrest broke while he was standing up. He had undergone cervical fusion years earlier, and later imaging showed a new disc herniation. The Board found that the physicians identified conditions or checked a causation box without…
J.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Buffalo, NY
J.P. (ECAB 19-0216): Shoulder claim denied for missing medical explanation
A postal mail handler reported a right shoulder injury after reaching for a container wheel at work. Imaging later showed a rotator cuff tear as well as preexisting joint degeneration. His physician linked the tear to the incident but did not adequately explain how the work event caused it. The…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs
Department of Veterans Affairs (FLRA 0-PS-42): Adverse-effect guidance denied
The Department of Veterans Affairs asked the Authority to narrow when unions may bargain over arrangements for employees adversely affected by management decisions. It proposed a rebuttable presumption that exercising a management right does not adversely affect employees unless a union supplies…
United States Department of Agriculture (Petitioner)
Department of Agriculture (FLRA 0-PS-37): General impasse guidance denied
The Department of Agriculture asked the Authority for general guidance on when a bargaining impasse exists, including after a failed union ratification vote. It also asked about the Federal Service Impasses Panel's responsibilities and whether a Panel-imposed article requires ratification. The…
U.S. Department of the Army, Fort Wainwright Law Center, Fort Wainwright, Alaska (Petitioner) and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Locals 1712 and 1834 (Exclusive Representatives)
Fort Wainwright Law Center and AFGE (FLRA SF-RP-19-0020 et al.): Ten bargaining-unit petitions returned for findings
The Army sought representation elections in several Alaska bargaining units, saying it had good-faith doubts that AFGE still had majority support. A regional director denied the requests after considering evidence of union activity and dues payment. The Authority found that the director's findings…
Matter of Y-I-M-
Inconsistencies supported the adverse credibility finding
The Board reviewed a Ukrainian applicant's appeal after an Immigration Judge denied applications for asylum and withholding of removal and denied protection under the Convention Against Torture. The Immigration Judge found the applicant not credible based on inconsistencies in his testimony…
White Mullins, Jr. v. Dickenson Russell Coal Company
Mullins v. Dickenson Russell Coal (BRB 19-0026 BLA): benefits award upheld
White Mullins received black lung benefits after the labor judge found more than 28 years of underground coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The employer challenged the medical findings used to apply the fifteen-year presumption and the finding that it had not rebutted…
Lynch v. Beaulieu Group, LLC
Summary decision affirmed
Marty Lynch alleged that Beaulieu Group fired him after he raised concerns about truck tire pressure, vehicle weight, and missing tire covers. Beaulieu moved for summary decision and presented evidence that Lynch fell behind on his log books, was told not to drive until he completed them, and then…
E.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, North Massapequa, NY
E.B. (ECAB 19-1443): $28,268.65 benefit overpayment and recovery upheld
A postal worker received FECA wage loss payments and Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service for the same period. The Board affirmed OWCP’s calculation of a $28,268.65 overpayment from May 2017 through March 2019. It also upheld denial of waiver because his reported…
T.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Knoxville, TN
T.M. (ECAB 19-1360): Foot stress fracture claim denied for missing causation opinion
A postal mail handler attributed a right foot stress fracture to long shifts walking on concrete. Her physician diagnosed the fracture but did not give an opinion on whether her work caused it. The Board found that laboratory results also could not establish medical causation. It affirmed OWCP’s…
W.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Miami, FL
W.H. (ECAB 19-1022): Personal attendant allowance denied
A postal carrier with an accepted serious aortic injury sought payment for care provided by his wife over nearly three years. OWCP denied the attendant allowance. The Board found that the governing rule required personal care from a home health aide, licensed nurse, or similarly trained individual…
A.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Coppell, TX
A.P. (ECAB 18-1690): Shoulder and neck occupational disease claim denied
A postal worker attributed shoulder and neck problems to repeated pushing and pulling at work. Her physician diagnosed several conditions and stated that the repetitive work caused them. The Board found that he did not explain the medical process connecting those duties to the diagnosed conditions…
E.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Monmouth, ME
E.M. (ECAB 18-1546): Back claim denial upheld under occupational disease theory
A postal worker attributed a back condition to several days of extra lifting and sorting work in October 2017. OWCP treated her filing as a single traumatic injury, but the Board held that the alleged work exposure spanned multiple days and was an occupational disease claim. The Board nevertheless…
R.C. and Department of Health & Human Services, Food & Drug Administration, Lenexa, KS
R.C. (ECAB 19-1350): Arm impairment award returned for correct rating method
An FDA worker sought an additional schedule award for upper extremity impairment from an accepted cervical injury. OWCP’s examiner rated the impairment using an A.M.A. Guides table for brachial plexus injuries. The Board found that conditions originating in the cervical spine required a different…
T.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
T.O. (ECAB 19-1291): Shoulder claim and reconsideration denial upheld
A postal mail handler attributed a left rotator cuff tear and biceps tendinitis to his work duties. The Board found that his physician stated a work connection without enough medical explanation, while another report lacked a valid signature. It affirmed OWCP’s denial of the occupational disease…
S.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Greensboro, NC
S.D. (ECAB 19-1240): Ankle and knee claim denied after accepted fall
A city carrier assistant reported left ankle and knee injuries after tripping from a step at work. OWCP accepted the February 2019 fall but denied the injury claim. The physician’s report gave only a possible knee diagnosis and did not address causation; other forms came from a nurse practitioner…
D.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Everson, WA
D.K. (ECAB 19-0637): Reconsideration request required merits review
A rural postal carrier had accepted right hand and wrist injuries and disputed the end of her disability payments. OWCP denied reconsideration without reopening the merits. Her lawyer had presented a new argument that an independent examiner’s report did not adequately explain when the accepted…
T.E. and Department of the Navy, Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, Pearl Harbor, HI
T.E. (ECAB 19-0348): $4,471.05 overpayment and recovery upheld
A retired Navy shipyard worker received FECA wage loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service for the same period. The Board affirmed OWCP’s $4,471.05 overpayment calculation and found him without fault. It upheld denial of waiver because the financial…
Jesse J. Deel v. Clinchfield Coal Company
Deel v. Clinchfield Coal (BRB 19-0059 BLA): disability finding sent back
Jesse Deel received a black lung benefits award under the fifteen-year presumption. The Board found that the labor judge had not considered deposition testimony from two physicians who said that qualifying blood gas results did not necessarily show disability for a miner of Deel’s age. It vacated…
James D. Hicks v. Motivation Coal Company and Pittston Company
Hicks v. Motivation Coal (BRB 19-0051 BLA): benefits award upheld
James Hicks received black lung benefits after the labor judge found more than 26 years of qualifying coal mine work and total respiratory disability. The employer challenged the finding that it failed to rebut the fifteen-year presumption. The Board upheld the judge’s assessment of the medical…
Daniel D. Fields v. Abundance Coal Incorporated #2 and National Union Fire/Chartis
Fields v. Abundance Coal (BRB 18-0595 BLA): benefits award upheld
Daniel Fields received black lung benefits after the labor judge found complicated pneumoconiosis. The employer challenged the evidence and requested an offset related to state workers’ compensation benefits. The Board upheld the judge’s weighing of the medical evidence and affirmed the award and…
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Watertown Annex, Waltham, MA
J.C. (ECAB 19-1374): Knee claim reconsideration denied without merits review
A postal carrier reported a right knee injury while carrying a large package up steps. After OWCP denied his claim, he sought reconsideration and asserted that he had already provided enough medical evidence and that OWCP had changed its reasons. The Board found no new relevant legal argument or…
M.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Mill Valley Post Office, Mill Valley, CA
M.C. (ECAB 19-1349): Wage loss claim not reopened on reconsideration
A postal distribution clerk sought to reopen a denied wage loss claim related to an accepted shoulder injury. His reconsideration statement argued that the frozen shoulder was connected to work rather than a preexisting diabetic condition. The Board found that the causation question required new…
R.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Savannah, GA
R.M. (ECAB 19-1319): Left knee replacement authorization denied
A TSA officer with an accepted left knee meniscus tear asked OWCP to pay for a total knee replacement. His physician and an OWCP referral physician disagreed about whether OWCP should authorize the proposed surgery. The impartial examiner attributed the need for replacement to degenerative…
A.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Milwaukee, WI
A.A. (ECAB 19-1219): Late reconsideration denial upheld in nose injury claim
A postal city carrier sought to reopen a denied nose injury claim arising from a workplace fall. The Board found that his reconsideration request reached OWCP more than one year after its last merits decision. Later medical material did not show on its face that the earlier causation ruling was…
R.M. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Fresno, CA
R.M. (ECAB 19-1044): Wage loss for pharmacy trip denied
An IRS worker with accepted carpal tunnel syndrome and neck strain claimed two hours of wage loss to pick up prescribed hand medication. OWCP denied payment for those hours. The Board held that compensable time away for medical care covered examination, testing, or treatment, while the record…
E.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, City of Industry, CA
E.H. (ECAB 19-0859): Reconsideration request returned for correct late-filing standard
A postal mail handler disputed OWCP’s denial of a right arm injury claim after a workplace container incident. He requested reconsideration more than one year after the last merits decision. OWCP reviewed the request using the standard for timely submissions, rather than the clear-evidence-of-error…
Y.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Oakland, CA
Y.J. (ECAB 18-0495): Late reconsideration request denied
A postal worker sought reconsideration of a long-denied left hand and wrist injury claim. The last Board merits review was in October 2008, but OWCP did not receive this reconsideration request until March 2017. Her arguments about earlier correspondence and surveillance images did not provide…
S.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Orlando, FL
S.C. (ECAB 19-1305): Left arm claim not reopened on reconsideration
A postal mail handler claimed that repetitive lifting caused a left arm condition while she relied more heavily on that arm after a separate right shoulder injury. OWCP denied the left arm claim and later refused to reopen it. The Board found that new medical reports discussed only her right…
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.