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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T.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, North Houston, TX
T.S. (ECAB 19-1228): Continuation of pay denial returned for retroactive review
A postal worker sought continuation of pay after an accepted work injury. The employer received a physician’s disability report more than ten days after the claim was filed, and OWCP denied the pay benefit on that timing ground. The Board held that the late report could justify a temporary stop…
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Urbana, OH
M.S. (ECAB 19-1001): Shoulder occupational disease claim and reconsideration denied
A postal worker with prior right shoulder surgeries claimed that duties from her earlier federal employment caused a shoulder condition. The Board found that her physician described continuing shoulder problems but did not explain how those earlier duties caused or aggravated them rather than the…
L.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Detroit, MI
L.H. (ECAB 19-0818): Foot condition claim filed too late
A retired postal processing clerk attributed bilateral foot conditions to her work. The Board found that she knew or reasonably should have known of a possible work connection by her last exposure in December 2007, but filed the claim in September 2016. The record also did not establish the timely…
M.S., widow of J.S., and Department of the Army, Womack Army Medical Center, Fort Bragg, NC
M.S. (ECAB 19-0806): Survivor claim returned to resolve conflicting medical opinions
The widow of an Army medical center physician sought survivor benefits, arguing that his accepted work-related aggravation of retinitis pigmentosa contributed to his death. OWCP denied the claim after medical review. The Board found that one examiner had disregarded the accepted condition and that…
A.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Park Place Post Office, Houston, TX
A.R. (ECAB 19-0385): Wage loss allowed for treatment visits, denied for other dates
A postal city carrier sought wage loss for June 9 through July 6, 2018 after an accepted right shoulder injury. OWCP denied the claimed period. The Board found that she was entitled to compensation for time spent at authorized physical therapy and a physician visit on specified dates, generally up…
B.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
B.W. (ECAB 19-0126): Life insurance premium overpayment returned for proof of salary
OWCP asserted that a postal worker owed $18,266.03 because it had withheld too little for federal life insurance premiums over many years. The Board found that the record did not substantiate the $56,000 annual salary on which OWCP based its calculation. It set aside the overpayment decision and…
L.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, McAllen, TX
L.R. (ECAB 18-0823): Accepted hearing loss did not qualify for schedule award
A border patrol agent had work-related hearing loss from occupational noise exposure. OWCP’s medical adviser applied the standard hearing impairment calculation and found zero percent ratable loss in each ear. The Board affirmed denial of a schedule award because the accepted hearing loss did not…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1502 (Union) and United States Department of the Army, Madigan Army Medical Center, Fort Lewis, Washington (Agency)
AFGE Local 1502 and Madigan Army Medical Center (FLRA 0-NG-3447): Negotiability petition dismissed as premature
During contract talks, AFGE Local 1502 asked Madigan Army Medical Center for a written statement that a union proposal was nonnegotiable. The agency did not provide one, and the union petitioned the Authority two days after its written request. The Authority held that meeting minutes summarizing an…
Matter of O-F-A-S-
Rogue-official rule and denial of relief upheld
The Board reviewed a Guatemalan respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge denied asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture. The respondent said five men wearing national police insignia beat, robbed, and threatened him, but the Immigration Judge found…
N.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Louisville, KY
N.R. (ECAB 19-1366): Elbow claim denied for missing causation opinion
A postal processing clerk reported left elbow soreness during a work shift. OWCP accepted that the November 2018 work incident occurred but denied her injury claim. Physicians diagnosed elbow effusion or epicondylitis without explaining how the work event caused either condition; imaging and…
G.T. and Department of the Navy, Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, VA
G.T. (ECAB 19-1307): Alleged shipboard injury lacked a consistent event account
A Navy assistant storekeeper claimed arm and back injuries from an injection and moving boxes while aboard a ship. The Board found conflicting dates and descriptions for both alleged events, leaving the claimed November 2, 2017 incident unproven. Because the factual event was not established, it…
K.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Chicago International Service Center, Chicago, IL
K.J. (ECAB 19-0901): Five percent leg impairment award upheld
A postal mail handler injured his left big toe when a loader struck it and received a schedule award for five percent impairment of the left lower extremity. He sought a higher rating. The Board found that OWCP’s examining physician and medical adviser used the applicable A.M.A. Guides foot and…
L.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Denver, CO
L.A. (ECAB 19-0820): Right arm occupational disease claim denied
A postal worker attributed right arm and shoulder conditions to repeated work duties. The Board found that the physician supporting her claim had largely relied on her own causal belief and did not explain how the duties produced the diagnosed conditions; other physicians did not address causation…
P.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Louis Stokes Veterans Administration Medical Center, Cleveland, OH
P.M. (ECAB 18-0826): Arm impairment claim returned for both rating methods
A VA nurse sought more than the one percent right-arm impairment award previously granted for wrist and elbow conditions. The Board found that the rating physicians had not followed FECA Bulletin 17-06, which required comparison of diagnosis-based and range-of-motion methods for the relevant…
R.M. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, DC
R.M. (ECAB 18-0752): Prior hearing award matched ratable loss
An FAA worker sought an increased hearing loss schedule award. OWCP had awarded two percent monaural loss in the left ear and found zero percent ratable loss in the right. The Board reviewed the audiogram calculations and found that the left-ear method yielded more compensation than the binaural…
Shi v. Moog Inc.
Foreign-worksite AIR21 claim dismissed
Charles Shi worked in China for a Chinese subsidiary of Moog and alleged that he was fired after reporting counterfeit aircraft parts. He argued that AIR21 applied because Moog's parent was a U.S. company and the parts were used in aircraft manufactured and flown in the United States. The Board…
M.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Duluth, GA
M.W. (ECAB 19-1347): Tendon claim and surgery request returned for impartial opinion
A postal supervisor with accepted plantar fasciitis sought to add a right posterior tibial tendon condition and obtain related surgery. Her treating physician linked the tendon problem to the work injury, while OWCP’s medical adviser disagreed. The Board found that both opinions were reasoned…
G.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Fort Hamilton Station Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
G.L. (ECAB 19-0898): Claimed recurrence from 1999 back injury denied
A postal worker sought compensation for a recurrence of disability beginning September 2011 from an accepted 1999 back injury. Her physician described later lumbar conditions and repeated work exposure, but did not adequately explain a spontaneous worsening of the accepted injury that prevented her…
B.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Memphis, TN
B.F. (ECAB 19-0740): August 2018 wage loss claim denied
A postal police officer sought wage loss for August 4 through 16, 2018 after an accepted back and hip injury. His physician took him off work following a reported pain flare, but did not provide objective findings or a reasoned explanation showing that the accepted conditions caused disability for…
Z.D. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, McCarren Airport, Las Vegas, NV
Z.D. (ECAB 19-0662): Benefit termination upheld; overpayment amount returned
A TSA worker received FECA compensation after an accepted injury and later earned real estate commissions while receiving benefits. The Board upheld OWCP’s January 2018 termination of wage loss and medical benefits because his treating physician found no remaining work-related disability or…
R.S. and U.S. Capitol Police, Washington, DC
R.S. (ECAB 19-0180): Late reconsideration denied in back injury claim
A Capitol Police employee sought reconsideration of OWCP’s denial of a claimed lumbar injury. His request arrived more than one year after the last merits decision. The Board found that the later medical statement, work restrictions, and modified job offer did not show clear error in OWCP’s 2017…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jamaica Plain, MA
J.M. (ECAB 18-0847): Recurrent disability after mail carrier injury unproven
A postal carrier sought compensation for a claimed recurrence of disability beginning in January 2017 after an accepted 2014 neck condition. His physicians documented neck symptoms and work restrictions, but did not adequately explain how the earlier accepted injury caused his later inability to…
United States Army Corps of Engineers, Little Rock District and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 2219, AFL-CIO and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 953, AFL-CIO
Army Corps Little Rock District, IBEW Local 2219, and AFGE Local 953 (FLRA DA-RP-18-0026): Two units remain appropriate
The Army Corps of Engineers reorganized management of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System and asked to combine two existing bargaining units under the larger union. A regional director found that the reorganization did not materially change employee duties, locations, working…
Cleatis Cline v. Mingo Logan Coal Company
Cline v. Mingo Logan Coal (BRB 18-0543 BLA): operator liability sent back
Cleatis Cline received black lung benefits after the labor judge found complicated pneumoconiosis. The Board upheld the entitlement findings and the benefits award. It found that the judge had not addressed evidence and arguments about whether another coal company more recently employed Cline for…
R.T. and Department of the Air Force, Air Force Materiel Command, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, AZ
R.T. (ECAB 19-1346): Elbow claim denied for missing medical causation opinion
An Air Force aircraft mechanic reported hyperextending his right elbow while reaching for a heavy object at work. Physicians diagnosed lateral epicondylitis but did not explain whether the December 2018 incident caused it, particularly given elbow pain that preceded the event. An x-ray and an…
D.D. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Washington, DC
D.D. (ECAB 19-1334): Vehicle accident injury claim denied without medical evidence
A FEMA housing unit crew leader reported several injuries after a work-related vehicle accident. OWCP asked for a physician’s diagnosis and explanation linking any condition to the October 2018 incident, but she supplied only the injury claim form. The Board accepted that the accident occurred yet…
G.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Richmond, VA
G.W. (ECAB 19-1281): One percent impairment award for each arm upheld
A postal worker sought a larger schedule award than the one percent impairment previously granted for each upper extremity. A new examining physician calculated one percent under the diagnosis-based method and no ratable loss under the range-of-motion method; OWCP’s medical adviser agreed. The…
J.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Augusta Veterans Administration Medical Center, Augusta, GA
J.R. (ECAB 19-1280): Hand and wrist claim not reopened on reconsideration
A VA nurse sought to reopen an occupational disease claim involving both hands and wrists from keyboard and mouse use. OWCP had accepted the work activities but found insufficient medical proof of causation. Her new physician report diagnosed a right wrist condition without discussing its cause…
A.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Nashville, TN
A.M. (ECAB 19-1269): Shoulder occupational disease claim lacked specific work factors
A postal worker attributed left shoulder pain to a temporary assignment handling letters and flats. Her original statement described the work activities only generally. OWCP asked for more detail in a questionnaire, but she did not respond. The Board affirmed the denial on that factual ground and…
M.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chino, CA
M.A. (ECAB 19-1017): Emotional condition claim lacked a proven compensable work factor
A postal worker attributed an emotional condition to alleged changes in her route and pay code and to a postmaster’s alleged conduct. The Board found that route and pay decisions were administrative matters unless error or abuse was shown, and her evidence did not substantiate those allegations or…
P.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Dallas, TX
P.C. (ECAB 19-1003): Written-record review request filed too late
A postal carrier sought review of the written record in a right shoulder occupational disease claim years after OWCP’s 2013 decision. The request came beyond the 30-day period for review as a matter of right. The Board found that OWCP reasonably exercised its remaining discretion by directing him…
Robert Rivera v. Ceres Marine Terminals, Incorporated
Rivera v. Ceres Marine Terminals (BRB 19-0390): benefits denial upheld
Robert Rivera sought disability and medical benefits after a work injury while employed as a deckman. The labor judge found that he had not shown an inability to return to his usual work after April 20, 2017. The Board upheld that finding and affirmed the denial of disability benefits. It also…
Earl S. Darnell v. Darnell & Sons Trucking and ACE/USA/ESIS Workers Compensation Center
Darnell v. Darnell & Sons Trucking (BRB 19-0075 BLA): benefits award upheld
Earl Darnell received black lung benefits after the labor judge found more than fifteen years of qualifying coal mine employment and total respiratory disability. The employer and carrier challenged the findings under the fifteen-year presumption. The Board upheld the judge’s weighing of the…
Johnny W. Burrell v. Jim Walter Resources, Incorporated and Warrior Met Coal, LLC
Burrell v. Jim Walter Resources (BRB 19-0057 BLA): benefits award upheld
Johnny Burrell received black lung benefits after the labor judge found more than 23 years of underground coal mine work and total respiratory disability. The employer contested the finding that it had not rebutted the fifteen-year presumption. The Board upheld the judge’s reasons for discounting…
Doris Sloan v. Drummond Company, Incorporated
Sloan v. Drummond (BRB 19-0056 BLA): survivor modification denied
Doris Sloan sought modification of a prior denial of survivor benefits. The Board upheld the labor judge’s finding that the new evidence did not establish a factual mistake in the earlier denial. It affirmed the denial of modification and benefits.
S.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Pittsburgh, PA
S.S. (ECAB 19-1091): Termination reversed for lack of new advance notice
A postal mail handler received benefits for an accepted right index finger ligament injury. After a hearing representative vacated OWCP’s first termination, OWCP obtained a supplemental medical opinion and terminated benefits again without a new advance notice. The Board held that the new decision…
C.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Plainfield, IL
C.C. (ECAB 19-1031): Calf injury did not establish claimed period of disability
A postal carrier assistant injured her left calf stepping down from a delivery truck, and OWCP accepted the muscle strain. She claimed disability from January 7 through February 2, 2018. Her physician had first cleared her for full-time light duty, later said she was totally disabled, and then…
M.K. and City of New York Police Department, New York, NY
M.K. (ECAB 19-0995): Cervical claim rescission required a proper decision
A retired New York City police officer sought an upper extremity schedule award related to a cervical condition. OWCP had treated that condition as accepted in some case records, then denied the award after saying the acceptance had been erroneous. The Board found that this amounted to rescission…
B.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Rockford, MI
B.W. (ECAB 19-0965): Shoulder impairment claim sent back for a usable examination
A postal clerk sought a schedule award for lasting right arm impairment after an accepted shoulder sprain. OWCP’s second opinion physician could not complete an examination because she reported severe pain, and OWCP denied the claim without resolving that problem. The Board held that OWCP had to…
V.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Louis, MO
V.H. (ECAB 19-0807): Wage loss denied; late reconsideration decision remanded
A postal employee sought intermittent wage-loss benefits for October and November 2018 and review of an earlier denial. The record did not support the additional time claimed for medical visits, so the Board affirmed the wage-loss denial. OWCP took 155 days to decide her separate reconsideration…
A.S. and Department of the Navy, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, VA
A.S. (ECAB 18-1810): Hip disability recurrence lacked medical support
A Navy shipyard mechanic with an accepted left hip injury sought wage-loss compensation for total disability beginning July 11, 2016. He had worked in a modified position after the injury and did not claim that the position had been withdrawn. His surgeon documented hip symptoms and a revision…
Theodore M. Latusek, Jr. v. Consolidation Coal Company
Latusek v. Consolidation Coal (BRB 19-0321 BLA): attorney fee rate sent back
Counsel for Theodore Latusek appealed a district director’s supplemental attorney fee award for work in his black lung claim. The Board found that the district director had not considered whether the long delay in payment justified a higher hourly rate for earlier work. It affirmed parts of the fee…
D.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Kennebunk, ME
D.G. (ECAB 19-1348): Reconsideration evidence did not reopen accident claim
A rural carrier associate sought reconsideration of a denied injury claim following a work-related vehicle accident. She gave no new legal argument, and a physician’s letter repeated an opinion OWCP had already considered without explaining the injury mechanism. Chiropractic notes did not establish…
T.M. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Metropolitan Correctional Center, Chicago, IL
T.M. (ECAB 19-1283): Elbow injury claim lacked reasoned medical causation
A correctional officer reported striking her right elbow on a pillar while working. Doctors documented elbow conditions, including a tendon tear, but did not explain how the accepted incident caused them. One form checked a causation box without reasoning, while other reports merely repeated her…
T.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Santa Clarita, CA
T.K. (ECAB 19-1222): Two percent left leg impairment award upheld
A postal distribution clerk sought a larger schedule award for left leg impairment associated with accepted aggravation of lumbar stenosis. The second opinion physician initially discussed motor deficits but later clarified that examination findings supported only sensory losses at two nerve roots…
D.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, West Haven, CT
D.M. (ECAB 19-1181): Heart attack consequence claim required further medical review
A postal carrier said heart attacks followed treatment for an accepted back condition. His physician attributed the events partly to an epidural steroid injection and high-dose ibuprofen used for back pain. OWCP’s second opinion physician attributed the heart condition to hypertension and diabetes…
S.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bellmawr, NJ
S.H. (ECAB 19-1128): Cervical condition and total disability not proven
A postal employee sought to add cervical radiculopathy to a claim involving an accepted syncopal episode and sought compensation for total disability beginning January 26, 2013. The Board found that Dr. Eisenberg gave no opinion linking the cervical condition to the accepted episode. He also…
Chambers Construction Co.
Roof fall and training citations affirmed
Chambers Construction assigned two employees to patch leaks on a low-slope commercial roof four to five stories above the ground. The employees used no compliant fall-protection system, and one had received no training on recognizing and minimizing fall hazards. The company believed the roof's…
M.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Whitehaven Post Office, Memphis, TN
M.C. (ECAB 18-1659): Late reconsideration request did not show clear error
A mail carrier disputed OWCP’s earlier denial of continuation of pay for a right hip condition. His request for reconsideration arrived more than one year after the April 2016 merits decision, so he had to show clear evidence of error. He repeated that the hip problem began when he climbed stairs…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Division v. HCL America, Inc.
Review granted and appeals consolidated
The Wage and Hour Division declined to pursue the full H-1B back-wage amount claimed by Vimalraj Manoharan, and the ALJ dismissed the case. The Board granted Manoharan's petition to review whether that dismissal was proper despite his request for a hearing. It administratively dismissed a duplicate…
Ralph L. Lawson v. Little David Coal Company, Incorporated
Lawson v. Little David Coal (BRB 19-0020 BLA): benefits denial upheld
Ralph Lawson appealed a denial of black lung benefits without counsel. The labor judge credited him with more than fifteen years of underground coal mine work but found that the record did not establish total respiratory disability. The Board upheld that finding, so Lawson could not invoke the…
Paul Stover v. Donaldson Mining Company
Stover v. Donaldson Mining (BRB 18-0608 BLA): benefits award upheld
Paul Stover received black lung benefits on a subsequent claim. He had fewer than fifteen years of coal mine work, so the labor judge did not apply the fifteen-year presumption. The Board upheld the judge’s findings that Stover had pneumoconiosis arising from coal mine work and that the disease…
Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Decatur, Georgia and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 2102
Decatur VA Medical Center and NFFE Local 2102 (FLRA AT-CA-17-0545): Unredacted investigation records ordered
VA social workers raised concerns about alleged bullying, retaliation, and manipulation of performance data in a housing program for veterans. After an administrative investigation led to discipline for two managers, NFFE requested the hearing transcript, report, and recommendations to assess…
Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs v. JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Interlocutory review denied
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs brought an administrative complaint against JPMorgan Chase under Executive Order 11246. After the ALJ denied the company's motion to dismiss, JPMorgan asked the Board to immediately review four legal issues before the administrative case ended. The…
G.E. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC Veterans Administration Medical Center, Washington, DC
G.E. (ECAB 19-1190): Wrist tear claim lacked reasoned causation proof
A VA nurse reported a right wrist ligament injury after lifting and moving patients at work. The Board found that Dr. A. Jones had not addressed earlier wrist conditions, while two other physicians did not explain how lifting a patient tore the ligament. Imaging and therapy notes did not resolve…
O.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Kansas City, MO
O.R. (ECAB 19-0973): Knee award record omitted another claim file
A postal processing clerk sought a left knee schedule award after an accepted injury and surgery. OWCP’s hearing representative relied on medical evidence from another of her injury files, but that evidence was not included in the case record before the Board. The Board directed OWCP to combine the…
M.L. and Department of Labor, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, Chicago, IL
M.L. (ECAB 19-0813): Workstation claim lacked a medical mechanism
A DOL claims examiner attributed right shoulder and both elbow conditions to repetitive desk work at a workstation she considered too high. Her physician named the work activities and diagnoses but did not explain medically how those activities caused or aggravated the conditions. The Board held…
W.L. and Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Installation Facilities & Environment Division, Quantico, VA
W.L. (ECAB 19-0774): Cardiac claim lacked medical causation opinion
A Navy high-voltage electrician experienced a heart attack while at work and sought FECA benefits. Medical reports documented the cardiac event, coronary disease, and treatment but did not offer a physician’s opinion connecting a cardiac condition to his accepted work factors. Diagnostic tests and…
P.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Melville, NY
P.D. (ECAB 19-0763): Recurrence claim developed under wrong timing rule
A postal truck operator claimed disability again within 90 days after returning to full-duty work following an accepted cervical strain. OWCP instructed him to provide evidence under the rule used for recurrences after 90 days, then denied the claim. The Board held that the shorter-period standard…
R.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Kona, HI
R.S. (ECAB 19-0416): Related injury files needed before disability ruling
A postal rural carrier sought wage-loss compensation after a work-related vehicle accident. OWCP’s hearing representative referred to medical evidence in two older injury files, but those files had not been combined with the current record. The Board held that a decision based on evidence outside…
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.