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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B.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Albany, OR
19-0711 (ECAB): Termination of injury benefits reversed
B.S., a rural carrier, sustained an accepted neck injury while lifting a parcel. OWCP ended her wage-loss and medical benefits effective February 15, 2018. The Board found an unresolved conflict between her treating physician and OWCP’s second-opinion physician about continuing injury residuals and…
C.B. and Peace Corps, Medical Services Division, Mombo, Tanzania
19-0089 (ECAB): Decision not served on representative; claim remanded
C.B. designated her physician as an authorized representative when she requested reconsideration. OWCP denied reconsideration but did not send the decision to that representative. The Board held that the decision had not been properly issued under the notice rule. It set the decision aside and…
L.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Knoxville, TN
18-1255 (ECAB): Late reconsideration request rejected
L.M. sought reconsideration of a 1998 occupational disease denial in November 2017. OWCP rejected the request as untimely. The Board found that she filed well beyond the one-year period and that her submission did not clearly establish error in the earlier decision. It affirmed the February 2, 2018…
J.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Manchester, NH
18-0729 (ECAB): Reconsideration denial returned for clear reasons
J.M. contested OWCP’s treatment of her reconsideration request and the timeliness of her occupational disease claim. OWCP’s February 2018 denial did not address counsel’s argument that a 2012 reconsideration request was timely. The Board also directed OWCP to examine whether an earlier decision had…
SACO AEI Polymers
In re SACO AEI Polymers (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 19-02Q): $22,479 penalty paid and matter resolved
EPA's Office of Civil Enforcement filed a complaint alleging that SACO AEI Polymers violated the chemical data reporting regulations of section 8(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act. The complaint sought a $22,479 penalty. EPA notified the Environmental Appeals Board that it received an…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Eleven safety citations affirmed with reduced penalties
MSHA issued 11 citations at Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company's Harvey Mine involving unsupported-roof warnings, damaged electrical and hoisting cables, equipment certification and mapping records, training documentation, noise exposure, and ventilation controls. Judge William B. Moran affirmed…
Matter of J-G-P-
Oregon menacing offense is moral turpitude
The Board reviewed a Mexican respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge denied cancellation of removal, asylum, and withholding of removal. The Board held that Oregon's menacing offense, which requires an intentional attempt to place another person in fear of imminent serious physical injury…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2338 and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, John J. Pershing VAMC
AFGE Local 2338 and John J. Pershing VAMC (FLRA 0-AR-5410): Official-time grievance denied
AFGE Local 2338 alleged that the VA refused to bargain over official time for preparation and research by its bargaining team. An arbitrator found that an earlier Federal Service Impasses Panel order resolved most of the official-time issues and required the union to satisfy tracking and other…
C.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, North Houston, TX
19-0999 (ECAB): Finger injury claim denied without a medical diagnosis
C.S., a postal mail handler, reported cutting his left middle finger at work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied his compensation claim. The only medical note excused him from work and did not identify a physician’s diagnosis or explain causation. The Board affirmed because the…
D.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chicago, IL
19-0912 (ECAB): Reconsideration refused without new relevant evidence
D.D. sought reconsideration of a recurrence claim involving an accepted finger injury. She submitted a health insurer’s billing letter mentioning an osteoarthritis diagnosis. The Board found that the letter was not relevant medical evidence and that she raised no new legal argument or demonstrated…
K.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Del Paso Heights Station Post Office, Sacramento, CA
19-0894 (ECAB): Occupational disease claim denied on sparse medical record
K.K., a postal associate, attributed foot, back, and neck symptoms to her work. Her only medical submission was a work excuse citing fibromyalgia flares and plantar fasciitis pain. The Board found the submission insufficient to establish a diagnosed condition connected to the accepted work factors…
A.F. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Fayetteville, NC
19-0893 (ECAB): Shoulder impairment rating returned for required measurements
A.F. received a schedule award for ten percent right-arm impairment after an accepted shoulder injury. She sought a larger award. The Board found that OWCP had not obtained the three independent shoulder motion measurements required for comparing the available rating methods. It set aside the award…
A.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Nampa Carrier Annex Post Office, Nampa, ID
19-0745 (ECAB): Knee replacement surgery denial affirmed
A.S. requested authorization for a total left knee replacement after an accepted injury. Her treating surgeon recommended the operation, while OWCP’s medical adviser found it was not medically necessary for the accepted injury. The Board found OWCP’s adviser gave a reasoned assessment of the…
J.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Albany, NY
19-0483 (ECAB): Right-shoulder impairment claim returned for full rating
J.S. sought a schedule award for his right arm following an accepted shoulder injury. Medical reports differed on whether and how to rate his shoulder motion loss. The Board found that OWCP had not obtained the required independent measurements or completed the comparison of rating methods. It…
D.D. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Chicago, IL
19-0455 (ECAB): Abandoned telephonic hearing ruling affirmed
D.D. requested a telephonic hearing after OWCP denied his recurrence claim. OWCP mailed hearing instructions to his address of record, and the notice was not returned. He did not call in, seek postponement, or explain his absence within ten days. The Board applied the presumption of receipt and…
B.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Rockford Carrier Annex, Rockford, MI
19-0370 (ECAB): Left-arm impairment award raised to 24 percent
B.W. received a schedule award for seven percent impairment of her left arm after an accepted shoulder injury. The Board found that OWCP’s medical adviser improperly handled the range-of-motion method. A reasoned rating supported 24 percent total impairment. The Board modified the award to add 17…
P.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, North Brookfield, MA
18-1806 (ECAB): Overpayment decision reversed for missed notice procedure
P.H. received FECA wage-loss payments while also receiving Social Security retirement benefits with a federal-service component. OWCP assessed a $106,475.38 overpayment years after it was first told of the concurrent payments. The Board found that OWCP had not issued the required preliminary notice…
T.M. and Department of Defense, Defense Contract Management Command, East Hartford, CT
18-1763 (ECAB): Overpayment decision reversed for late preliminary notice
T.M. received FECA wage-loss benefits while also receiving Social Security retirement benefits with a federal-service component. OWCP assessed a $15,483.59 overpayment. The Board found that OWCP issued the preliminary overpayment notice more than 30 days after it identified the concurrent payments…
United States Department of the Army, United States Army Medical Department Activity, Fort George G. Meade, Maryland and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1923
Fort Meade Medical Department Activity and AFGE Local 1923 (FLRA 0-AR-5457): Promotion award set aside
Fort Meade assigned a GS-7 hospital housekeeping assistant additional duties previously performed by a GS-11 supervisor. The union sought a permanent GS-9 promotion based on accretion of higher-graded duties, and an arbitrator ordered the promotion. The Authority held that deciding the proper grade…
Douglas L. Driver v. L-3 Communications/MPRI and ACE American Insurance Company
Driver v. L-3 Communications/MPRI (BRB 19-0240): home modification dispute returned to the judge
Douglas Driver, who was disabled during work in Afghanistan, needed modifications to his home. The parties agreed to interim stipulations for a plan, and the labor judge approved them. Driver appealed, arguing that the plan was only a starting point and that the parties had misunderstood the…
Mary Louise Brothers v. Pittsburg & Midway Coal Mining Company
Brothers v. Pittsburg & Midway Coal (BRB 18-0528 BLA): survivor benefits denial affirmed
Mary Louise Brothers appealed the denial of survivor benefits after the fourth remand of her claim. The labor judge found a 2002 blood gas study unreliable and concluded that the record did not prove her husband had a totally disabling respiratory impairment. Without that showing, the presumption…
D.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA
19-0968 (ECAB): Carpal tunnel claim denied for lack of causation evidence
D.W. attributed bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome to her federal work. OWCP accepted the described work factors but denied the claim. The Board found that the medical reports discussed symptoms and diagnoses without a reasoned explanation connecting the condition to the accepted job duties. It…
D.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Louis, MO
19-0947 (ECAB): Total disability claim denied without period-specific rationale
D.M. sought compensation for total disability from March 26 through July 6, 2018 after an accepted work injury. His doctor linked an accepted hip condition to altered gait and back symptoms but did not explain how the accepted condition prevented work for the claimed period. The Board found the…
S.L. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Mann-Grandstaff Veterans Administration Medical Center, Spokane, WA
19-0858 (ECAB): Late reconsideration request rejected
S.L. requested reconsideration more than a year after OWCP’s March 31, 2017 claim denial. OWCP rejected the request as untimely. The Board considered a later physician’s report but found that it did not clearly show an error in the earlier decision. It affirmed OWCP’s September 13, 2018 refusal to…
D.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Laurinburg, NC
19-0791 (ECAB): Back strain claim denied without causation opinion
D.M. reported a lumbar injury from an accepted August 30, 2018 work incident. His physician diagnosed lumbar strain but did not explain how the incident caused it. The nurse-practitioner and therapy records did not supply a qualifying medical causation opinion under FECA. The Board affirmed OWCP’s…
C.H., widow of W.H. and Department of the Navy, Alameda Naval Air Station, Alameda, CA
19-0669 (ECAB): Death-benefit reconsideration refused
C.H. sought reconsideration of a denied survivor claim concerning W.H.’s death. Her counsel repeated arguments about medical causation that had already been considered and submitted no new relevant evidence. The Board found no basis to reopen the merits. It affirmed OWCP’s November 26, 2018…
K.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Swansea, MA
18-1517 (ECAB): Schedule award denied without impairment evaluation
K.F. sought a schedule award for permanent impairment after an accepted shoulder and neck injury. OWCP asked for a physician’s rating of impairment under the required medical guides. The reports she supplied did not address permanent impairment caused by the accepted conditions. The Board found the…
M.T. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Gulfport, MS
18-1104 (ECAB): Emotional condition claim returned for employer response
M.T. claimed an emotional condition arising from events involving coworkers, customers, and management at her IRS workplace. A customer gave an account of a complaint allegedly encouraged by another employee. The Board found that OWCP had not fairly developed the record because it lacked an…
K.C. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Widows Creek Fossil Plant, Stevenson, AL
18-0532 (ECAB): Hearing-loss claim denied on causation evidence
K.C. attributed binaural hearing loss to accepted noise exposure at federal work. OWCP’s second-opinion physician found that the hearing pattern was consistent with age-related loss rather than work exposure. The Board gave that opinion the weight of the medical evidence and found no other report…
Arthur Lewis v. Fluor Federal Global Projects, Incorporated and Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania
Lewis v. Fluor Federal Global Projects (BRB 19-0272 and 19-0272A): permanent total disability award upheld
Arthur Lewis sought modification of a Defense Base Act award after a work-related neck injury and later psychological symptoms. The labor judge found his depression, stress, and anxiety connected to chronic cervical pain and awarded permanent total disability benefits from May 16, 2018. Lewis…
B.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Trenton Processing & Distribution Center, Trenton, NJ
19-0777 (ECAB): Elbow injury claim denied for lack of reasoned causation opinion
B.P. reported a left elbow injury from an accepted March 2014 work incident. Drs. Chen and Weiss attributed elbow conditions to the incident, but the Board found their causation opinions lacked sufficient medical reasoning. Other forms and an unsigned report did not fill the gap. The Board affirmed…
E.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Central Arkansas Healthcare System, North Little Rock, AR
19-0736 (ECAB): Knee claim and late record-review request denied
E.C. attributed a left knee condition to an accepted February 2018 work incident. The Board found that her medical submissions did not adequately explain causal relationship. It also found that she requested review of the written record after the filing period and that OWCP reasonably declined…
P.L., widow of R.L. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Lacey, WA
19-0492 (ECAB): Survivor claim denied for lack of death causation evidence
P.L. claimed that her husband’s death was connected to his FEMA employment. The Board accepted his temporary-duty travel as a compensable work factor but found no medical opinion establishing that it caused his death. The record also discussed other cardiovascular risk factors. The Board affirmed…
S.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Facility, Charleston, SC
19-0130 (ECAB): Ankle claim remanded to combine prior injury files
S.H. claimed that postal duties worsened a right ankle condition following an earlier accepted work injury. OWCP considered the prior injury but did not place the earlier case file’s evidence in the record for this claim. The Board could not review the decision on an incomplete record. It ordered…
R.Q. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Butner, NC
18-0964 (ECAB): Overpayment and waiver denial affirmed
R.Q. returned to work without a pay loss but continued to receive wage-loss compensation for January 22 through February 3, 2018. OWCP calculated a $1,622.85 overpayment. The Board agreed that he was paid for a period with actual earnings and found no abuse of discretion in denying waiver. It…
R.R. and U.S. Postal Service, General Mail Facility, San Juan, PR
18-0804 (ECAB): Fraud forfeiture affirmed; overpayment remanded
R.R. was convicted of making false statements to OWCP about employment while receiving FECA benefits. The Board affirmed termination of compensation effective the verdict date, May 19, 2017. It set aside the separate $11,376.07 overpayment decision because OWCP did not hold a timely requested…
D.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Lagoon Park Post Office, Montgomery, AL
18-0438 (ECAB): Traumatic injury claim denied without medical rationale
D.T. attributed arm, back, neck, and buttocks conditions to an accepted April 2017 work incident. Her physician listed diagnoses and checked a form box stating that they were work-related. The Board found that the forms did not explain how the incident caused the conditions. It affirmed OWCP’s…
K.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Little Rock, AR
17-0009 (ECAB): Suspension wage loss denied; later recurrence remanded
K.T. claimed a recurrence of disability beginning May 23, 2012. He filed the claim before his postal employer removed him from a modified-duty position in July; an arbitrator later reduced that removal to a suspension. The Board held that a suspension unrelated to the accepted injury did not create…
United States Department of State, Passport Services and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1998
Passport Services and NFFE Local 1998 (FLRA 0-AR-5432): Bargaining violation upheld
Passport Services removed overhead storage bins from adjustable employee desks after three bins fell and injured employees at two offices. An arbitrator found that the agency had a reasonable safety concern but not the sudden emergency required by the agreement to make the change before completing…
W.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chicago, IL
19-0550 (ECAB): Assault claim remanded for employment-related facts
W.W. reported that a supervisor stabbed him during a lunch break away from postal premises. OWCP denied the claim because he was off the clock and away from the workplace. The Board found that OWCP had not investigated whether the assault arose from their work relationship or obtained statements…
Gail S. Cobb v. Ceres Marine Terminals, Incorporated
Cobb v. Ceres Marine Terminals (BRB 19-0288): dismissal of thumb injury claim affirmed
Gail Cobb sought more Longshore Act benefits after injuring her thumb while working for Ceres Marine Terminals. She did not answer the employer's requests for admissions despite repeated orders and opportunities to respond. The labor judge deemed the requested facts admitted, then granted summary…
Robert Novak v. Navy Exchange Service Command and Abercrombie Simmons and Gillette
Novak v. Navy Exchange Service Command (BRB 19-0189): disability and surgery claims sent back
Robert Novak injured his back while changing tires at a Navy facility and later underwent lumbar fusion surgery. The labor judge denied further disability and medical benefits. The Board held that she had not addressed all relevant medical opinions about his ability to return to his usual work or…
Alva A. Mullens v. Island Creek Coal Company and Consol Energy, Incorporated
Mullens v. Island Creek Coal (BRB 18-0568 BLA): benefits denial affirmed
Alva Mullens's widow pursued his black lung benefits claim after his death. Although the labor judge credited 21 years of qualifying coal mine work, she found that the medical evidence did not show total respiratory disability. The Board held that she reasonably weighed the blood gas studies and…
M.C. and Department of the Army, Army Benefits Center, Richmond, KY
19-1063 (ECAB): Repeated medical report did not reopen knee claim
M.C. requested reconsideration of a denied left knee injury claim. He submitted the same physician’s report OWCP had already considered and raised no new relevant legal argument. The Board found that the request met none of the requirements for a merits review. It affirmed OWCP’s January 17, 2019…
B.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Detroit, MI
19-0960 (ECAB): Knee schedule award denied without impairment rating
B.J. sought a schedule award after an accepted left knee contusion. The medical records discussed knee complaints, but no physician gave a permanent impairment rating using the required edition of the rating guides. The Board found that the record did not establish ratable left-leg impairment. It…
L.O. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Fresno VA Medical Center-VA Central California, Fresno, CA
19-0953 (ECAB): Recurrence disability claim denied without medical explanation
L.O. claimed that accepted knee and back conditions disabled her from October 20 through November 17, 2017 after she had worked in a light-duty position. She did not claim that the job changed or was withdrawn. The Board found that her medical reports did not explain how the accepted conditions…
V.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Diego, CA
19-0936 (ECAB): Arthritis claim denied without reasoned work-causation opinion
V.S. attributed arthritis in both hands and feet to repetitive postal work. Physicians stated that her duties aggravated her preexisting conditions, but the Board found their reports lacked a reasoned explanation of that relationship. The Board did not reconsider evidence from its earlier appeal…
M.C. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Elkins, WV
19-0459 (ECAB): Termination of injury benefits affirmed
M.C. received benefits for accepted cervical and lumbar strains after a work injury. OWCP’s referral physician concluded that the strains had resolved and that current complaints related to degenerative conditions. The Board gave that opinion the weight of the evidence and found the treating…
A.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Staten Island, NY
18-1243 (ECAB): Benefit termination and fusion denial affirmed
A.M. sought continued compensation and authorization for L5-S1 fusion after an accepted spinal injury. An impartial medical examiner found that the accepted conditions had resolved and that the proposed surgery addressed conditions not caused by the work injury. The Board gave his reasoned opinion…
J.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Houma, LA
19-0922 (ECAB): Arm impairment claim remanded for motion measurements
J.F. sought a schedule award for arm impairment following accepted neck and shoulder conditions. OWCP’s medical adviser found no impairment on the available findings but could not calculate a shoulder motion rating because the examinations lacked required measurements. The Board directed OWCP to…
S.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Mason, OH
19-0916 (ECAB): Knee injury claim denied without incident-linked diagnosis
S.H. reported a right knee condition after an accepted September 2017 work incident. The medical records described a meniscus tear and surgery but did not adequately identify how that condition arose from the accepted incident. Other records gave no reasoned causation opinion. The Board affirmed…
Y.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Kennersville Health Care Center, Kennersville, NC
19-0835 (ECAB): Knee claim and reconsideration denial affirmed
Y.H. reported injuring her right knee while pushing a gurney at work in April 2017. Her physician’s reports discussed other injury dates and did not explain how the accepted incident caused the diagnosed conditions. The Board found the medical evidence insufficient and also upheld OWCP’s refusal to…
J.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Madison, WI
19-0824 (ECAB): Overpayment upheld; fault finding reversed
J.S. received FECA wage-loss payments while also receiving Social Security retirement benefits attributable in part to federal service. The Board upheld OWCP’s $12,887.77 overpayment calculation. It found insufficient evidence that he knew or should have known the concurrent payments were…
C.A. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Brooklyn Harbor Healthcare System Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY
19-0597 (ECAB): Late reconsideration request denied
C.A. requested reconsideration more than a year after OWCP denied her ankle injury claim. OWCP rejected the request as untimely. The Board found that her submissions did not clearly establish an error in the prior decision. It affirmed OWCP’s November 16, 2018 nonmerit decision.
T.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chanute, KS
18-1702 (ECAB): Shoulder causation claim remanded for impartial review
T.S. claimed that postal duties caused or aggravated conditions in both shoulders. His treating physician and OWCP’s second-opinion physician disagreed. The impartial examiner’s response was equivocal and did not resolve that conflict. The Board ordered OWCP to obtain a reasoned opinion from…
K.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Peshtigo, WI
18-0999 (ECAB): Wrist injury claim remanded after physician cosignature
K.A. reported a left wrist sprain after falling in a workplace parking lot. OWCP accepted the incident but rejected the medical record because a physician assistant initially authored it. The Board found that a physician later cosigned the emergency record and thereby endorsed the wrist sprain…
R.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Elk Grove, IL
18-0486 (ECAB): Cervical surgery authorization denial affirmed
R.K. requested a cervical discectomy and fusion. OWCP had accepted a lumbar sprain, but no cervical condition under the claim. Its reviewing physician explained why the proposed surgery was neither related to the accepted condition nor medically warranted for it. The Board found OWCP acted…
Pacific Tech Construction, Inc.
Table-saw and electrical citations affirmed
Pacific Tech Construction renovated a medical clinic at an Air National Guard base. OSHA observed employees ripping plywood on an unguarded table saw and found multiple uncovered 110-volt outlets and switches that remained energized while employees painted and worked nearby. The judge found that…
F.D. and Department of the Army, Civilian Personnel Advisory Center, Fort Gordon, GA
19-0932 (ECAB): Injury claim denied for conclusory medical opinion
F.D. sought compensation for back, leg, and elbow conditions after an accepted March 2018 work incident. A physician diagnosed several conditions and stated that the incident caused them, but did not explain how it produced each condition. The Board found the opinion conclusory and the remaining…
V.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
19-0849 (ECAB): Injury claim denied without signed physician evidence
V.G. sought compensation for a condition following an accepted February 2018 work incident. She submitted an unsigned hospital report and physical therapy records. The Board found that the report did not identify a physician author and that therapists’ records were not competent medical opinions…
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.