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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J.B. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Washington, DC
J.B. (ECAB 19-1042): Knee claim lacked reasoned connection to park work
A National Park Service employee claimed a right knee condition from repetitive work duties. The Board found that his physician did not identify a specific period of exposure or adequately distinguish work effects from a prior knee injury and degeneration. His report did not provide a reasoned…
E.C. and Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, SC
E.C. (ECAB 19-1007): Hearing award needs new audiology evaluation
A Navy materials handler sought a schedule award for hearing loss greater than the previously compensated 70 percent binaural impairment. The Board found that the evidence did not adequately determine whether federal noise exposure had increased his loss. It set aside the denial and ordered a…
F.D. and Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service, Bronx, NY
F.D. (ECAB 19-0890): Reconsideration refusal upheld for lack of new grounds
A Department of Agriculture employee asked OWCP to reopen an earlier claim decision. The Board found that the request repeated prior arguments and contained no new evidence. It held that none of the regulatory grounds for merit review had been met. The Board affirmed OWCP’s February 25, 2019…
S.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tomball, TX
S.S. (ECAB 19-0641): Cervical claim requires further medical review
A postal worker claimed a cervical condition from her federal work. The Board found her physician’s reports insufficiently reasoned to prove causation but substantial enough to require OWCP to develop the medical record further. It set aside the denial and directed OWCP to obtain a specialist’s…
K.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Gridley Post Office, Gridley, CA
K.W. (ECAB 19-0553): Schedule award reconsideration requires merit review
A postmaster sought reconsideration of a schedule award decision. His request raised new arguments about the method used to rate permanent impairment and the handling of a second opinion report. The Board found those arguments relevant and previously unaddressed. It set aside OWCP’s nonmerit denial…
Pete Tartaglia, Jr. v. Freeport-McMoRan Bagdad, Inc.
Final settlement order reopened and remanded
Pete Tartaglia sent the Commission a letter one day after the deadline to seek review of an ALJ decision that approved and enforced a settlement of his discrimination case. The Commission treated the letter as a request for relief from a final order under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)…
B.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Hudson Post Office, Hudson, FL
B.B. (ECAB 19-1102): Upper extremity claim lacked medical causal proof
A postal rural carrier claimed bilateral upper extremity conditions from her work duties. The Board found no sufficiently reasoned physician opinion connecting those conditions to the accepted factors of employment. Diagnostic studies did not discuss causation, and nonphysician notes could not…
C.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Bay Shore Post Office, Bay Shore, NY
C.P. (ECAB 19-1072): Wage loss reduction upheld after light duty offer
A postal worker declined a temporary light duty assignment. OWCP reduced his wage loss compensation based on what he would have earned in that assignment. The Board found that the offered duties were within his documented restrictions and that a contrary doctor’s note lacked reasoning showing he…
R.N. and Department of the Army, National Museum of Health and Medicine, Silver Spring, MD
R.N. (ECAB 19-0994): Recurrence and expanded conditions denied
An Army museum employee sought compensation for a later recurrence of disability and expansion of her accepted February 28, 2014 injury claim to additional conditions. The Board found that the medical record did not adequately establish either a work related recurrence starting September 11, 2014…
C.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Niles, MI
C.P. (ECAB 19-0985): Reconsideration refusal upheld for irrelevant evidence
A postal rural carrier sought reconsideration of an injury claim. The Board found that the new MRI report, duty status form, and her own factual statement did not address the controlling medical causation issue. Other physician reports repeated material already in the record. It affirmed OWCP’s…
D.I. and Small Business Administration, King of Prussia, PA
D.I. (ECAB 19-0534): Emotional claim requires employer work records
A Small Business Administration employee claimed an emotional condition from workplace demands and performance practices. The Board found that OWCP had not obtained the employer records needed to evaluate his allegations, including assignments, leave, and how performance measures were applied. It…
A.S. and Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Athens, GA
A.S. (ECAB 18-0679): Knee impairment award needs complete MRI record
An Agriculture Department laboratory worker sought a schedule award for permanent left leg impairment. OWCP’s second opinion physician had not received the MRI report on which the accepted knee conditions were based. The Board found that missing record necessary for a reliable impairment opinion…
R.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing and Distribution Center, Long Beach, CA
R.A. (ECAB 18-0379): Late reconsideration request denied
A postal mail processing clerk sought reconsideration of a much older disability compensation decision. The Board found that her request was filed outside the deadline and did not demonstrate clear evidence that OWCP’s earlier decision was wrong. The additional material did not resolve the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3310 and United States Department of the Army, United States Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg District and Engineer Research and Development Center
AFGE Local 3310 and Army Corps Vicksburg facilities (FLRA 0-AR-5467; 0-AR-5468): Liquidated damages denied
The Army Corps reviewed employee positions at two facilities, changed eligible employees from exempt to nonexempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and paid two years of unpaid overtime with interest. The union sought liquidated damages, arguing that the reimbursements were inadequate. An…
Secretary of Labor obo Kevin R. Shaffer v. The Marion County Coal Company
Threat finding defeated retaliation claim
Kevin Shaffer complained about transmission, lighting, air-conditioning, and radio problems with haulage trucks at Marion County's underground coal mine. Management addressed the equipment issues but discharged Shaffer after concluding that he threatened to fight his foreman during a later argument…
Secretary of Labor obo Tyler Herrera v. Field Lining Systems, Inc.
Temporary economic reinstatement approved
Judge Priscilla M. Rae had previously ordered Field Lining Systems to return Tyler Herrera to his laborer position while his discrimination claim remained pending. After the company stopped employing him, the parties agreed to replace physical reinstatement with temporary economic reinstatement…
Secretary of Labor obo Anthony Vega v. Syar Industries, Inc.
Safety activity did not cause termination
Anthony Vega raised concerns about smoke from a hose-cutting saw and a quarry haul road while serving as a miners' representative and union steward at Syar Industries. Syar later fired him after he repeatedly wrote messages on coworkers' pay envelopes and signed them with a manager's initials…
Ronald Eckhoff v. Huntington Ingalls, Incorporated
Eckhoff v. Huntington Ingalls (BRB 19-0031): reconsideration denied
Ronald Eckhoff and Huntington Ingalls each asked the Board to reconsider its August 6, 2019 decision; Eckhoff also requested review by the full Board. A majority of permanent Board members did not vote to vacate or modify the decision. The Board denied the reconsideration motions.
Y.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, San Juan Veterans Medical Center, San Juan, PR
Y.G. (ECAB 19-1188): Cervical claim lacked explanation of work causation
A VA social worker claimed a cervical spine condition from lifting at work. Her physician suggested a connection but did not explain how the accepted duties caused or aggravated the diagnosed condition. An MRI supplied findings without a causal opinion. The Board affirmed OWCP’s April 24, 2019…
D.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
D.D. (ECAB 19-1037): Impairment award split; shoulder rating sent back
A postal clerk sought a schedule award for upper extremity impairment after accepted cervical and shoulder conditions. The Board upheld the finding of no ratable impairment from the cervical sprain. It found a medical conflict over impairment from the accepted left shoulder condition because two…
E.F. and Smithsonian Institution, Office of Public Affairs, Washington, DC
E.F. (ECAB 19-1019): Reduction to zero reversed for incomplete job record
A former Smithsonian employee worked as a full time reference librarian after her accepted injury. OWCP reduced her compensation to zero based on that job’s actual earnings. The Board found that the record lacked the written job description needed to determine whether its physical demands fit her…
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Erie, PA
M.B. (ECAB 19-0882): Back claim lacked causal medical reasoning
A postal worker claimed back conditions from her work duties. The Board found no reasoned physician opinion connecting those conditions to accepted employment factors. A lumbar MRI identified findings but did not explain their cause. The Board affirmed OWCP’s September 13, 2018 denial.
N.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Marcola, OR
N.D. (ECAB 19-0853): Lumbar claim lacked reasoned physician opinion
A postal worker claimed lumbar conditions from federal work factors. The Board found that her physician did not explain how those duties caused the diagnosed conditions. An x-ray report did not address causation, and physical therapy notes could not provide a physician’s opinion under FECA. It…
K.L. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Spokane, WA
K.L. (ECAB 19-0729): Termination reversed because medical conflict remained
A transportation security employee received benefits for accepted work injuries. OWCP ended her wage loss compensation and medical benefits based on a second opinion that the accepted injuries did not warrant work restrictions. The Board found that her treating physician disagreed about ongoing…
E.R. and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Washington, DC
E.R. (ECAB 18-0446): Impairment reconsideration needs merit review
An FDIC employee challenged the method used to evaluate her upper extremity schedule award. She argued that both range of motion and diagnosis based methods should be considered. The Board found this a relevant new legal argument and held that OWCP abused its discretion by refusing merit review. It…
Infra-Red Building and Power Service Inc.
Electrical safety citations split
Infra-Red employees replaced batteries in an energized uninterruptible power supply at a police station, and one employee sustained a serious hand burn during the work. OSHA issued four serious electrical-safety citation items addressing training, safety-related work practices, personal protective…
Secretary of Labor obo Anthony Vega v. Syar Industries, Inc.
Original retaliation decision superseded
Anthony Vega raised concerns about smoke from a hose-cutting saw and a quarry haul road while serving as a miners' representative and union steward at Syar Industries. Syar later fired him after he repeatedly wrote messages on coworkers' pay envelopes and signed them with a manager's initials…
C & S Enterprises, LLC
In re C & S Enterprises, LLC (EAB CWA Appeal No. 19-(01)): review declined and initial decision becomes final
The case concerns C & S Enterprises, LLC. The official EAB PDF identifies the underlying docket as CWA-07-2018-0095, while the database listing identifies it as CWA-07-2918-0095. The Presiding Officer issued an Initial Decision on September 30, 2019. Neither party appealed, and the Environmental…
Emery Westerfield v. Arch on the North Fork, Incorporated and Arch Coal, Incorporated
Westerfield v. Arch on the North Fork (BRB 18-0580 BLA): benefits award upheld
Emery Westerfield received black lung benefits on a subsequent claim. The labor judge found eighteen years of qualifying coal mine work and total respiratory disability, invoking the fifteen-year presumption. The Board upheld the judge’s evaluation of the medical evidence and finding that the…
Y.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Glynco, GA
Y.H. (ECAB 19-1194): Overpayment confirmed, amount sent back
OWCP paid Y.H. a schedule award installment extending past the award’s February 11, 2019 end date and sought to recover $3,109.86. The Board agreed that a payment after that date created an overpayment. It found OWCP had counted February 3 through 11, when the award was still payable, so the stated…
T.U. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
T.U. (ECAB 19-1089): Merit review denial upheld for no new evidence
A postal worker requested reconsideration after OWCP found residuals of accepted neck, shoulder, and elbow conditions had ceased. She argued that OWCP had not acted on an older schedule award reconsideration request and submitted occupational therapy notes. The Board found those points did not…
K.E. and Department of Homeland Security, National Protection & Programs Directorate, Arlington, VA
K.E. (ECAB 19-1020): Late reconsideration denial upheld
OWCP had accepted sprains from a 2012 workplace fall and later terminated compensation after finding the accepted conditions resolved. K.E. requested reconsideration in February 2019, two years after the last merit termination decision. The Board held the request was late and that the new reports…
E.J. and Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, Tacoma, WA
E.J. (ECAB 19-0952): Hearing claim denial upheld for missing causal opinion
A DEA investigator and firearms instructor claimed left hearing loss and tinnitus after a May 26, 2017 firearms training incident. The Board found that one physician discussed gradual noise damage without connecting the conditions to that incident, another relied on the timing of symptoms, and a…
T.Y. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Fresno, CA
T.Y. (ECAB 19-0654): Harassment evidence sent back for medical review
A VA medical staff credentialer claimed an emotional condition from workplace incidents. The Board found that most of her asserted conflicts lacked sufficient support, but photographs established that a hateful message had been left on her desk and a racial slur written on her door. It treated…
K.D. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Louis Stokes Veterans Administration Medical Center, Cleveland, OH
K.D. (ECAB 19-0628): Wage loss denial upheld for lack of medical reasoning
A VA medical records technician sought wage loss for June 26 through August 18, 2017 after returning to limited duty following accepted shoulder and carpal tunnel conditions. Her physician took her off work but described pain and numbness without objective findings explaining why she could not…
E.A. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Richmond, VA
E.A. (ECAB 19-0325): Wage loss claim sent back for full medical review
OWCP had accepted a tax examiner’s bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome but denied wage loss for August 2014 through July 2017. On reconsideration, OWCP addressed recent medical reports and did not discuss earlier reports that overlapped the claimed disability period. The Board found it could not…
M.D. and Department of the Army, NATO Special Operations Headquarters, Shape, Belgium
M.D. (ECAB 19-0229): Renal claim sent back for accepted facts
An Army comptroller attributed hypertension and kidney failure to long hours and demanding duties. OWCP accepted his account of the work factors but denied the claim for lack of medical proof linking them to his conditions. The Board found OWCP had not prepared the statement of accepted facts…
S.V. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Charlotte, NC
S.V. (ECAB 18-1299): Shuttle injury claim sent back for parking facts
A TSA employee claimed neck, arm, and back injuries after an employee shuttle bus braked sharply on her trip to the parking lot after work. OWCP denied the claim, finding she was outside the performance of duty. The Board found the record lacked details about employer control of the parking lots…
Star Quarries LLC v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. Star Quarries LLC
Star Quarries LLC v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC SE 2019-0063 RM, SE 2019-0064 RM, SE 2019-0065 RM, SE 2019-0091): Settlement approved and penalty reduced
Star Quarries LLC faced proposed penalties totaling $1,791 across three contest dockets and one civil penalty docket. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy approved a settlement reducing the total penalty to $789. Citation No. 9425093 was vacated. Citation No. 9425094 was modified to reduce the likelihood of…
D.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Randolph, OH
D.K. (ECAB 19-1034): Foot claim denial upheld for speculative medical link
A postal carrier attributed right foot and ankle conditions to walking long routes while carrying mail. Her podiatrist wrote that work could have caused a condition, but that statement was speculative; a later work-related opinion lacked medical reasoning. Other reports diagnosed conditions without…
A.K. and Department of Veterans Affairs, West Los Angeles Veterans Administration Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
A.K. (ECAB 19-0988): Back injury claim denial upheld without physician report
A VA vocational nurse reported back pain after helping move a patient from a gurney to a wheelchair. OWCP accepted the October 9, 2018 event but asked her for a physician’s diagnosis and explanation of its medical effect. She submitted only the injury claim form and no medical report in response…
R.O. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Fresno, CA
R.O. (ECAB 19-0885): Benefit termination reversed after medical report gap
OWCP terminated an IRS employee’s wage loss and medical benefits for accepted injuries from a 2015 workplace fall. Conflicting medical opinions led to an impartial examination, but OWCP received further evidence and did not obtain the specialist’s requested supplemental report before ending…
J.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Albany, NY
J.S. (ECAB 19-0863): Back injury claim denial upheld for missing causal opinion
A postal clerk claimed a low back and buttock injury after lifting and turning with a tray of damaged mail. OWCP accepted the November 6, 2015 work event but denied the medical claim. The Board found that the physician who attributed sciatica to work did not explain how the movement caused the…
M.I. and U.S. Postal Service, Okemos Post Office, Okemos, MI
M.I. (ECAB 19-0035): Overpayment decision reversed for late notice
OWCP found that a postal worker had received $27,998.65 in excess benefits while also receiving Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service. It identified the potential overpayment in March 2017 but did not send its required preliminary notice until September 2017. The Board…
D.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Southeastern, PA
D.M. (ECAB 18-0985): Impairment rating sent back for proper development
A postal worker sought a greater upper extremity schedule award than the four percent OWCP had recognized. After an earlier Board remand, OWCP relied on a physician it called an impartial referee without a valid conflict between probative medical opinions. OWCP also did not develop the rating under…
C.D. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Lyons, NJ
C.D. (ECAB 18-0677): Schedule award denial upheld for missing accepted impairment
A VA nurse sought a schedule award for left upper extremity impairment after an accepted work injury. The Board had previously rejected her physician’s 16 percent rating because it rested on nerve conditions OWCP had not accepted. His new report repeated the same rating without new findings or a…
United States Department of the Treasury, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and National Treasury Employees Union, Local 299
Comptroller of the Currency and NTEU Local 299 (FLRA 0-AR-5384): Performance-rating award set aside
An arbitrator sustained challenges to an employee's 2014 and 2015 performance evaluations and ordered higher ratings with retroactive merit pay. The Authority held that the 2014 grievance missed a clear six-month contractual deadline for scheduling a hearing and that past practice could not…
National Weather Service Employees Organization (Union) and United States Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service (Agency)
National Weather Service Employees Organization and NWS (FLRA 0-AR-5363): Contract termination after 90 days upheld
The National Weather Service ended its collective bargaining agreement after the parties failed to agree on a replacement within the contract's 90-day negotiation period. The union argued that earlier ground rules talks and its request for a federal mediator prevented termination, and an arbitrator…
National Weather Service Employees Organization (Union) and United States Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service (Agency)
National Weather Service and NWSEO (FLRA 0-AR-5363): Contract termination award vacated
The National Weather Service ended portions of its collective bargaining agreement after successor negotiations went beyond the agreement's 90-day period. An arbitrator found that the agency had breached the agreement, although he rejected the union's unfair labor practice claim. The Authority held…
Matter of C-A-S-D-
Waiver denied after violent-crime and hardship review
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal from an Immigration Judge's grant of a waiver of inadmissibility and adjustment of status to a Cuban refugee with convictions for conspiracy to commit robbery, false imprisonment, and assault. The Board held that a person found to be…
J.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Flushing, NY
J.D. (ECAB 19-1184): Late reconsideration denial upheld
A postal mail handler sought reconsideration of OWCP’s 2017 denial of a claim arising from a workplace fall. His October 2018 request was filed more than a year after the last merit decision. A new medical note described symptoms but did not give a reasoned causal opinion or show clear error in…
B.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Fortson Post Office, Fortson, GA
B.M. (ECAB 19-1105): Hernia claim denial upheld for missing causal opinion
A rural mail carrier claimed a hernia after lifting and carrying a package of weights to a customer’s door. OWCP accepted the March 12, 2018 work incident but denied the medical claim. The Board found no reasoned physician opinion connecting the hernia to that lifting event; unsigned and…
B.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Milwaukee Main Post Office, Milwaukee, WI
B.L. (ECAB 19-1056): Disability claim denial upheld for unrelated later limits
A postal worker sought disability beginning November 21, 2017 from an accepted May 2015 low back injury. An examining physician found that injury had resolved and attributed later work limits to a separate 2003 injury. Her treating physician listed restrictions without linking them to the May 2015…
J.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Elkins Park, PA
J.W. (ECAB 19-0896): Ankle claim denial upheld for missing medical reasoning
A postal carrier reported twisting her right ankle on snow-covered steps while delivering mail. OWCP accepted the March 3, 2018 incident but denied the claimed ankle conditions. One physician named an ankle sprain and ligament tear without explaining how the incident caused them; her other reports…
C.E. and U.S. Postal Service, International Service Center, John F. Kennedy Airport, Jamaica, NY
C.E. (ECAB 19-0614): Suitable work termination reversed over chair need
OWCP ended a postal worker’s wage loss and schedule award entitlement after she declined a modified mail processing job. Her physician said she needed a straight-back chair to tolerate sitting, but the record did not establish whether the offered job would provide one. The Board held OWCP had not…
D.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Dade City, FL
D.B. (ECAB 19-0002): Recurrence claim sent back to combine files
A postal worker sought renewed medical treatment for bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. OWCP denied recurrence while relying on a medical report from a separate accepted carpal tunnel claim file that it had not combined with the current file. The Board found the evidence used to decide the claim…
H.K. and National Archives & Records Administration, Federal Records Center, Suitland, MD
H.K. (ECAB 18-0528): One percent impairment rating upheld
A federal records center employee sought a larger left upper extremity schedule award for an accepted carpal tunnel condition. OWCP referred conflicting medical opinions to an impartial specialist, who rated one percent impairment and found no cervical radiculopathy on examination. The Board found…
R.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Canarsie Station, Brooklyn, NY
R.H. (ECAB 18-0382): Ankle schedule award denial upheld
A postal letter carrier sought a schedule award for right ankle impairment from an accepted 1997 work injury. Her physician rated the lower extremity at seven percent but did not explain how a resolved ankle sprain still caused permanent functional loss. The Board found no medical evidence…
W.S. and Department of the Navy, Naval Weapons Station, Yorktown, VA
W.S. (ECAB 18-0231): Shoulder recurrence sent back for physician review
A Navy material handler sought treatment for a shoulder condition after an accepted 2015 fall had injured her face. OWCP denied the shoulder claim and later denied reconsideration. Before that reconsideration request, it had received an orthopedic surgeon’s report discussing shoulder impingement…
Hershel Williams v. Big Elk Coal Company, Incorporated, and American Mining Insurance Company
Williams v. Big Elk Coal (BRB 18-0597 BLA): Black lung benefits award upheld
Hershel Williams received black lung benefits after a labor judge found that his coal mine work qualified him for the statutory fifteen-year presumption and that his employer had not rebutted it. In an earlier appeal, the Board had upheld the disability and rebuttal findings but returned the case…
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.