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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R.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Phoenix, AZ
R.R. (ECAB 19-0368): Back injury files must be combined
A postal carrier reported renewed back problems after an accepted 2014 injury and also filed a new occupational disease claim. OWCP denied the new claim without bringing the prior injury file into the record or explaining how it had handled the recurrence claim. The Board directed OWCP to combine…
W.H. and Department of the Air Force, Air National Guard, Schenectady, NY
W.H. (ECAB 19-0346): Recurrence decision omitted a medical report
A former Air National Guard mechanic disputed OWCP’s handling of a back injury and recurrence claim. OWCP’s October 2018 decision did not review a July 2017 supplemental report from its second opinion physician, even though OWCP had received it before deciding. The Board held that the agency had to…
W.F. and U.S. Postal Service, North Texas Processing & Distribution Center, Coppell, TX
W.F. (ECAB 18-1526): Emotional condition claim lacked proven work factors
A postal distribution supervisor attributed an emotional condition to alleged harassment and disputed management actions. The Board found no evidence that management acted abusively in handling the cited administrative matters, and the claimant did not corroborate her allegations of harassment or…
R.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Capitol Heights, MD
R.G. (ECAB 18-1251): Augmented-rate overpayment and recovery affirmed
A postal worker kept receiving the higher compensation rate for a dependent after his daughter graduated from college and no longer qualified. The Board affirmed the $43,633.21 overpayment for May 2007 through January 2017 and found him at fault because he knew or should have known the payments…
J.N. and Department of the Navy, Naval Sea Systems Command, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, PA
J.N. (ECAB 17-1890): Overpayment reversed after late preliminary notice
A retired Navy shipyard worker received federal injury compensation while also receiving Social Security retirement benefits partly attributable to federal service. OWCP found a $57,434.82 overpayment, but issued its preliminary notice more than 30 days after identifying the overlap. The Board held…
National Air Traffic Controllers Association and United States Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration
NATCA and Federal Aviation Administration (FLRA 0-AR-5471): Premium-pay grievance denied
Traffic Management Coordinators at Boston's air traffic control facility sought premium pay when they worked alone without a supervisor in their unit. An arbitrator found that premium pay applied to controller-in-charge watch supervision over an airspace area, while the Traffic Management Unit was…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, John J. Pershing VA Medical Center and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2338
John J. Pershing VA Medical Center and AFGE Local 2338 (FLRA 0-AR-5470): Deficient exceptions dismissed
The VA timely filed arbitration exceptions but submitted an incomplete copy of the award. The Authority sent a deficiency order requiring complete copies by a stated deadline, and certified-mail tracking showed delivery to the agency. The agency did not respond and later said that its…
Qendrim Bajrami and Astrit Bajrami v. BL Harbert International, LLC and Allied World National Assurance Company
Bajrami v. BL Harbert International (BRB 19-0395 and related dockets): early appeals dismissed
Qendrim and Astrit Bajrami and their employer appealed a labor judge’s order about coverage under the Defense Base Act. No benefits had yet been awarded or denied. The Board found that the coverage order could be reviewed after a final decision and did not qualify for immediate review. It dismissed…
Qendrim Bajrami and Astrit Bajrami v. BL Harbert International, LLC and Allied World National Assurance Company
Bajrami v. BL Harbert International (BRB 19-0395 and related dockets): reconsideration denied
BL Harbert International asked the Board to reconsider its earlier order dismissing appeals in Qendrim and Astrit Bajrami's cases as interlocutory. A majority of the panel did not vote to grant reconsideration. The Board therefore denied the motion. Its short order did not decide either claimant's…
Ernest L. Nelson, Jr. v. Day, LLC and Brickstreet Mutual Insurance
Nelson v. Day (BRB 19-0018 BLA): mine work calculation sent back
Ernest Nelson received black lung benefits after the labor judge credited him with 15.08 years of underground coal mine work. The Board found that the judge had adopted a district director’s calculation without adequately considering employment evidence or explaining the method. It vacated the…
Danny Slone on behalf of the Estate of Raymond Slone v. Island Creek Kentucky Mining Company
Slone v. Island Creek Kentucky Mining (BRB 19-0006 BLA): benefits start date sent back
The estate of Raymond Slone obtained modification and an award of black lung benefits. The Board upheld the finding that the employer failed to rebut the fifteen-year presumption. It found that the labor judge had set a benefits start date in August 2015, more than five years after the miner died…
Walter A. Sutton v. Donaldson Mine Company
Sutton v. Donaldson Mine (BRB 18-0601 BLA): benefits award upheld
Walter Sutton received black lung benefits on a subsequent claim. The labor judge credited him with sixteen years of underground coal mine work and found total respiratory disability. The Board upheld the findings that he invoked the fifteen-year presumption and that the employer had not rebutted…
Gracie L. Proctor on behalf of the Estate of Doyle W. Proctor v. Sunrise Coal, Incorporated
Proctor v. Sunrise Coal (BRB 18-0593 BLA): disability findings sent back
Gracie Proctor appealed rulings in the late miner’s black lung claim. The Board upheld one labor judge’s clarification order and part of another judge’s benefits denial. It found that the second judge had not properly compared medical opinions about respiratory impairment with the physical demands…
Joe A. Hicks v. Mill Branch Coal Corporation and Old Republic Insurance Company
Hicks v. Mill Branch Coal (BRB 18-0546 BLA): rebuttal finding sent back
Joe Hicks appealed the denial of his black lung benefits claim. The Board upheld the finding that the employer disproved clinical pneumoconiosis, but found that the labor judge had not adequately assessed whether it also disproved legal pneumoconiosis. It vacated that rebuttal finding and remanded…
Cot v. University of South Carolina
State sovereign immunity required dismissal
The Wage and Hour Division found that the University of South Carolina owed researcher Juan Jose Arnaiz Cot H-1B back wages, which the university paid. Cot then pursued other alleged violations as the prosecuting party before an ALJ. The ALJ held that the university was an arm of South Carolina and…
M.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Riverdale, IL
M.A. (ECAB 19-1119): June wage-loss days lacked proof of total disability
A postal carrier sought wage-loss compensation for seven days in June 2018 after an accepted left ankle injury. Her physician’s reports allowed sedentary work with limits on walking and standing; they did not say she could not perform her modified job on those dates. Later medical reports postdated…
J.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fort Mill, SC
J.G. (ECAB 19-1116): Shoulder claim lacked reasoned causation proof
A postal rural carrier reported reinjuring her right shoulder on a vehicle door at work. One physician repeated her account and checked a form box for work causation without explaining it. Other medical reports referred to shoulder problems that predated the incident but did not provide a reasoned…
G.U. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Harrisburg, PA
G.U. (ECAB 19-1002): Back strain claim lacked a reasoned medical link
A postal mail processing clerk reported back pain after pulling a tray of mail from a rack. A physician diagnosed lumbar strain but repeated the account of the incident without explaining medically how it caused the condition. Other records described pain or came from providers whose reports could…
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Hazleton Post Office, Hazleton, PA
M.S. (ECAB 19-0913): Finger arthritis claim lacked medical causation rationale
A letter carrier attributed arthritis in his left middle finger to repetitive job duties. His physician documented joint pain and arthrosis but did not adequately explain how the work activities caused or aggravated the condition. The Board emphasized the need to distinguish any work effect from…
T.G. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Chicago, IL
T.G. (ECAB 19-0904): Back claim denied and written-record request late
A Bureau of Prisons nurse reported hurting her lower back while pushing a medication cart at work. The Board found that her medical evidence lacked a firm diagnosis and reasoned opinion connecting a back injury to the accepted incident. Her written-record review request was postmarked more than 30…
V.U. and U.S. Postal Service, Eckert Post Office, Denver, CO
V.U. (ECAB 19-0755): Osteoarthritis claim and reconsideration denial affirmed
A rural carrier attributed degenerative osteoarthritis to repetitive postal duties or their aggravating effect. The Board found that the medical reports did not provide a reasoned explanation connecting the condition to her work. Her reconsideration request repeated an argument already considered…
C.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Bustleton Station, Philadelphia, PA
C.S. (ECAB 18-1760): Knee disability decision omitted a medical report
A postal carrier sought wage-loss compensation for periods following an accepted left knee injury. Before OWCP issued its April 2018 decision, his surgeon submitted a report limiting him to sedentary or light work. OWCP’s hearing representative did not discuss that report. The Board ordered OWCP to…
United States Office of Personnel Management
Office of Personnel Management (FLRA 0-PS-36): Midterm bargaining guidance denied
The Office of Personnel Management asked whether an agency must bargain at a union's request over a subject during an existing collective bargaining agreement when the agreement does not cover it. The Authority denied a new policy statement. It found that existing precedent provided enough guidance…
Roy J. McKinney v. Westmoreland Coal Company
McKinney v. Westmoreland Coal (BRB 18-0392 BLA): Trust Fund to pay benefits
Westmoreland Coal reported that its bankruptcy plan left it without enough assets to satisfy Roy McKinney’s black lung claim. The Director accepted liability for the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund and did not contest McKinney’s entitlement. The Board dismissed the employer’s appeal and remanded…
G.G. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Patrol, Harlingen, TX
G.G. (ECAB 19-1249): Ear symptom report lacked a firm injury diagnosis
A border patrol agent reported ringing and a plugged sensation in his right ear after a work vehicle radio emitted a loud sound. A physician recorded tinnitus and noise effects but did not give a firm diagnosis of an injury or a reasoned explanation linking a diagnosed condition to the incident…
S.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Central Office, Washington, DC
S.B. (ECAB 19-1136): Fitness-program incident found work related
A VA program manager reported hearing damage after an event during an employer-approved fitness program. OWCP had rejected the claim as outside the performance of duty. Her supervisor confirmed that the activity was authorized and part of the formal program, so the Board found that the incident…
J.M. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, NJ
J.M. (ECAB 19-1134): Knee claim relied on inconsistent injury history
A Navy aircraft mechanic struck his knee against equipment at work and later sought benefits for additional knee conditions. His physician attributed a meniscus tear to a twisting fall, but that version differed from the original claim and contemporaneous accounts, which did not describe a fall or…
T.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Crete, IL
T.A. (ECAB 19-1030): Spinal procedure request lacked medical necessity proof
A postal rural carrier sought cervical and thoracic facet radiofrequency ablation after accepted injuries from a vehicle accident. Her physicians described persistent symptoms and recommended the procedure, but did not explain why it was medically necessary for the conditions OWCP had accepted. The…
A.S. and Department of the Navy, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, VA
A.S. (ECAB 19-0915): Leg condition claim lacked sound causation evidence
A Navy shipyard mechanic reported a left leg injury after slipping at work in June 2013. His doctors described symptoms and conditions, but the Board found their reports insufficient to explain how the accepted incident caused the claimed condition. Some reports did not offer a causation opinion at…
J.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Fort Worth, TX
J.J. (ECAB 19-0789): Back condition claim warranted medical development
A postal clerk attributed worsening lumbar conditions and failed surgical hardware to years of lifting and twisting at work. His physician described those duties and explained how repeated loading could aggravate the preexisting condition. The Board found that opinion sufficiently reasoned to…
R.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New York, NY
R.B. (ECAB 19-0434): Emotional claim lacked evidence of reported threats
A postal customer service supervisor attributed an emotional condition to alleged workplace threats and harassment. He did not supply evidence corroborating the incidents, while witness accounts did not support the reported threat. The Board found no proven compensable employment factor and did not…
E.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Southwest Carrier Annex, Chicago, IL
E.T. (ECAB 18-0262): Impairment claim needed a specialist examination
A postal carrier sought a larger schedule award for accepted shoulder and lower extremity conditions. A physical therapist reported increased impairment, but OWCP’s medical adviser could not rely on that rating because a physician had not countersigned it. The Board held that the indication of…
Matter of Onesta REYES, Respondent
Attorney General referred the aggravated-felony question
The Attorney General referred the Board’s decision in Onesta Reyes’s case for review. The order asks whether a conviction is necessarily an aggravated felony when every element and means of committing the offense corresponds to either an aggravated-felony theft offense or an aggravated-felony fraud…
Tower Exterminating Corp., aka Tower & Son Exterminating Corp. and Wilson J. Torres Rivera
In re Tower Exterminating Corp., aka Tower & Son Exterminating Corp. and Wilson J. Torres Rivera (EAB FIFRA Appeal No. 19-(01)): review declined and initial decision becomes final
Regional Judicial Officer Helen S. Ferrara issued an Initial Decision and Default Order in the case involving Tower Exterminating Corp., Tower & Son Exterminating Corp., and Wilson J. Torres Rivera. The decision was served on the parties, and neither party appealed. The Environmental Appeals Board…
Billy J. Hamilton v. Westmoreland Coal Company
Hamilton v. Westmoreland Coal (BRB 19-0003 BLA): Trust Fund to pay benefits
Westmoreland Coal reported that its bankruptcy plan left it without enough assets to satisfy Billy Hamilton’s black lung claim. The Director accepted liability for the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund and did not contest his entitlement. The Board dismissed the employer’s appeal and remanded to the…
Newell v. Airgas, Inc.
STAA complaint denied after remand
Rickey Newell alleged that Airgas fired him after he objected to driving assignments that violated hours-of-service rules. The ALJ found on remand that Newell had previously raised protected concerns but did not communicate an objection about the two assignments central to his termination. The…
Mehra v. West Virginia University
Earlier wage complaint equitably tolled
Deepak Mehra alleged that West Virginia University underpaid him while he worked under the H-1B visa program. He first filed the wage claim with the Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General in April 2014, which referred it to the Wage and Hour Division, and later filed another complaint in…
E.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Madison Heights Carrier Annex, Troy, MI
E.B. (ECAB 19-1179): Hip recurrence lacked proof of work disability
A postal carrier sought benefits for disability beginning September 10, 2015 after an accepted 2012 injury that included aggravation of right hip osteoarthritis. He did not claim that his modified job had changed. His physician discussed hip conditions and treatment but did not explain how the…
B.M. and Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service, Ozark, AR
B.M. (ECAB 19-1069): Nine percent left leg award upheld
A Forest Service cook sought a greater schedule award after an accepted lumbar injury and fusion surgery. An impartial specialist resolved conflicting medical opinions and rated the left lower extremity at nine percent, with no ratable impairment of the right. The Board gave that reasoned opinion…
S.R. and Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Tracy, CA
S.R. (ECAB 19-1061): Valley Fever claim lacked an individual work link
A Defense Logistics Agency warehouse supervisor said he contracted Valley Fever through dust or soil exposure at work. His physician diagnosed the disease and observed that it may occur among exposed warehouse or field workers. The report did not say whether this claimant’s particular work caused…
J.K. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, DC
J.K. (ECAB 19-0720): Mandatory training was a compensable work factor
An air traffic control specialist attributed anxiety to an FAA training video he was required to watch. The record showed that the mandatory video included violent images and fatalities. The Board held that his response to an assigned training requirement arose from a compensable employment factor…
S.W. and Department of the Air Force, 283rd Combat Communications Squadron, Dobbins Air Force Base, GA
S.W. (ECAB 19-0653): Equipment-moving incident established at work
An Air Force security manager reported back pain after an elliptical machine slipped while he and another worker moved it. His claim form gave January 2, 2018, but contemporaneous treatment records and his later clarification established December 26, 2017 as the incident date. The Board found the…
L.D. and Department of Health & Human Services, Indian Health Service Crownpoint Medical Center, Crownpoint, NM
L.D. (ECAB 19-0606): Retirement benefit overpayment and recovery affirmed
An Indian Health Service nurse received FECA wage-loss benefits while also receiving Social Security retirement benefits attributable in part to federal service. The Board upheld OWCP’s $31,966.52 overpayment finding and its determination that she was without fault. She did not provide the…
M.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration NY Harbor Health Care System, Brooklyn, NY
M.M. (ECAB 19-0061): Knee benefit denials and termination affirmed
A VA pharmacist sought to add further knee conditions to an accepted bilateral contusion claim and claimed total disability from March through July 2015. The Board found inadequate medical proof linking those additional conditions or the claimed disability to the work injury. It also held that OWCP…
M.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Emeryville, CA
M.L. (ECAB 18-1058): Shoulder rescission and disability denial upheld
A postal window clerk sought total disability benefits after a right shoulder claim. Her medical reports did not establish disability during the period beginning October 25, 2014. A reasoned second opinion and new medical records showed that the shoulder instability arose from a prior nonwork…
Gavilon Grain, LLC
Machine-guarding citation vacated, dust-housekeeping citation affirmed
OSHA inspected Gavilon's corn mill and cited an unguarded rotating shaft bushing and grain-dust accumulations near an outdoor grain leg. The judge vacated the machine-guarding item because employees performing maintenance used a hatch about five feet away while the equipment was locked out, and…
Casale Construction Services, Inc., d/b/a Casale
Repeat trench violations affirmed
Casale Construction installed a pipeline using a trench about six feet deep near an active roadway. A foreman directed a laborer to work for up to three hours in the trench without cave-in protection while excavated material remained at the trench edge. The judge rejected the company's…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1998, International Association of Machinists and Workers (Union) and United States Department of State, Passport Services (Agency)
NFFE Local 1998 and Passport Services (FLRA 0-NG-3417): Agency must bargain over compressed schedules
The union representing Passport Services employees proposed several terms for alternative work schedules. The Authority dismissed six proposals without prejudice because the agency no longer disputed their legality. It found the remaining proposal, which addressed participation in compressed…
Secretary of Labor v. Hoover Excavating & Trucking, Inc., and its successors and Secretary of Labor v. Reginald S. Hoover, employed by Hoover Excavating & Trucking, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Hoover Excavating & Trucking, Inc. and Reginald S. Hoover (FMSHRC WEST 2019-0277): Blasting violations and agent liability affirmed
A blast detonated prematurely at Hoover Excavating's surface stone mine while eight miners remained in the pit area, and three miners were seriously injured by flyrock and debris. Judge Margaret A. Miller found that mine owner Reginald Hoover ignored the initiating device's warning not to connect…
Christopher Kasule v. Triple Canopy, Incorporated and Continental Casualty Company
Kasule v. Triple Canopy (BRB 19-0378): appeal dismissed for settlement review
Christopher Kasule asked the Board to return his Defense Base Act claim to the district director for consideration of a settlement agreement. The employer did not object. The Board dismissed the appeal without prejudice and remanded for settlement review. It said Kasule could seek reinstatement of…
Paul B. Harris v. Virginia International Terminals, LLC
Paul B. Harris v. Virginia International Terminals (BRB 19-0177): fenced chassis yard remains part of marine terminal
Paul Harris injured his knee while working as a forklift operator in a chassis yard beside the Portsmouth Marine Terminal. The employer argued that a fence separated the yard from the terminal, placing the injury outside the Longshore Act's covered sites. The Board affirmed the benefits award…
Michael J. Long v. Tappan Zee Constructors, LLC
Michael J. Long v. Tappan Zee Constructors (BRB 19-0087): bridge pier is outside Longshore Act waters coverage
Michael Long worked as an ironworker building the replacement Tappan Zee Bridge across the Hudson River. He alleged a back injury while standing on a temporary platform attached to a bridge pier. An administrative law judge dismissed his Longshore Act claim because the pier was anchored in the…
Estate of Edward C. Woodard v. Lone Mountain Processing, Incorporated
Woodard v. Lone Mountain Processing (BRB 19-0030 BLA): qualifying mine work sent back
The estate of Edward Woodard received black lung benefits under the fifteen-year presumption. The Board found that the labor judge had not adequately explained whether enough of the miner’s work qualified as underground or substantially similar surface coal mine employment. It vacated the…
Johnny H. Coffee v. Westmoreland Coal Company
Coffee v. Westmoreland Coal (BRB 19-0004 BLA): Trust Fund to pay benefits
Westmoreland Coal reported that its bankruptcy plan left it without enough assets to satisfy Johnny Coffee’s black lung claim. The Director accepted liability for the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund and did not contest his entitlement. The Board dismissed the employer’s appeal and remanded to the…
Nancy Bailey on behalf of and widow of Charles Bailey v. Director, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs
Bailey v. Director, OWCP (BRB 18-0504 and 18-0505 BLA): state payment offset upheld
Nancy Bailey challenged the calculation of federal black lung benefits in the miner’s and survivor’s claims. The labor judge had allowed an offset for amounts paid under a lump sum settlement of the miner’s state workers’ compensation claim. The Board upheld the calculation and affirmed the offset…
A.K. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Downers Grove, IL
A.K. (ECAB 19-1210): Duplicate medical reports did not reopen crash claim
An ATF special agent sought reconsideration after denial of a claim arising from a work vehicle crash. He supplied no new legal argument, and the medical reports accompanying his request duplicated material already in the case file. The Board held that the request did not meet any condition for…
F.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Richmond, VA
F.H. (ECAB 19-1209): Cart incident account did not establish claimed injury event
A postal carrier said he hurt his left arm or shoulder while moving a wire mail container. His accounts differed on whether the container jammed, pulled his arm, or fell back, and the histories given to medical providers also varied. The Board found the mechanism of the claimed injury…
J.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Port Isabel Detention Center, Los Fresnos, TX
J.M. (ECAB 19-1111): Knee treatment recurrence and late hearing denied
An immigration enforcement agent sought further treatment years after an accepted left knee injury. His physician did not explain how the conditions requiring new care were related to the accepted injury after a long treatment gap. His request for an oral hearing also came more than 30 days after…
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Atlanta, GA
J.B. (ECAB 19-1101): Abdominal claim denied; record review request late
A postal mail processing clerk reported abdominal pain after bending to lift a mail tray. Her physician diagnosed a strain but did not adequately explain its causal connection to the accepted incident. She also sought written-record review after the 30-day request period. The Board affirmed OWCP’s…
R.A. and Department of the Air Force, Office of Special Investigations, Quantico, VA
R.A. (ECAB 19-0938): Fall claim lacked medical proof of a head injury
An Air Force administrative assistant reported falling from a step stool while scanning files and striking her head and shoulder. Doctors described headaches, a syncopal episode, and work restrictions, but did not give a reasoned opinion connecting a diagnosed head condition to the accepted fall…
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.