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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E.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Minneapolis, MN
19-0833 (ECAB): Thumb and shoulder occupational claim denied
E.D. attributed a left thumb condition to her postal duties and said it caused overuse of her right shoulder. The medical reports discussed the diagnosed conditions but did not adequately connect either one to the accepted work factors. The Board found no sufficiently reasoned causation opinion. It…
I.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Orlando Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Orlando, FL
19-0808 (ECAB): Fall claim not reopened on reconsideration
I.S. sought reconsideration after OWCP found that she had not sufficiently described a claimed workplace fall. Her request offered no new relevant legal argument, and the added medical material did not address whether the fall occurred as alleged. The Board found no basis for a merits review. It…
A.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Linthicum, MD
19-0617 (ECAB): Carpal tunnel claim denied without reasoned causation opinion
A.B. attributed bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome to repetitive postal work. One surgeon diagnosed and treated the condition without giving a work-causation opinion. Another physician attributed it to her duties but did not explain how those duties caused the condition. The Board found no reasoned…
M.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Broomfield, CO
19-0498 (ECAB): Emotional condition claim and reconsideration denied
M.K. reported an emotional condition after a coworker criticized her work. OWCP asked for a fuller account of the alleged incident, but she did not provide one. The Board found that the sparse description did not establish what occurred at the stated time and place. It also upheld the refusal to…
G.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Administration Medical Center, Cleveland, OH
19-0490 (ECAB): Workplace ankle incident established; medical issue remanded
G.G. said she twisted her ankle while carrying an EKG machine to a patient at work in May 2015. OWCP rejected her account of the incident. The Board found her statements and testimony consistent with the surrounding evidence and accepted that the incident happened in the performance of duty. It…
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service, General Mail Facility, Cleveland, OH
19-0425 (ECAB): Overpayment upheld; fault finding set aside
M.B. received FECA wage-loss payments while also receiving Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service. The Board upheld OWCP’s $63,148.71 overpayment calculation. It found that he was without fault in creating the overpayment and set aside the contrary finding. The case…
D.P. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Federal Air Marshal Service, Irvine, CA
19-0964 (ECAB): Shoulder award and reconsideration denials affirmed
D.P. sought a schedule award for permanent left shoulder impairment after an accepted injury. OWCP asked for a medical evaluation using the required rating guides, but the submitted evidence did not provide one. The Board found no proof of ratable impairment and no basis to reopen the claim on…
J.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Syosset, NY
19-0937 (ECAB): Long-running disability claim denied without causation opinion
J.G. sought compensation for disability beginning December 10, 2007 after an accepted injury. Later medical reports identified spinal conditions but did not explain her inability to work during the claimed period or relate it to that injury. Earlier evidence had already been considered in prior…
D.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Carl T. Hayden Veterans Medical Center, Phoenix, AZ
19-0931 (ECAB): Request to add shoulder conditions denied
D.H. sought to add right shoulder tears to a claim for an accepted May 2017 work injury. Physicians diagnosed a rotator cuff and biceps problem but did not provide a reasoned opinion connecting those diagnoses to the accepted incident. The Board found the medical evidence insufficient to expand the…
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Rockford, IL
19-0840 (ECAB): Knee osteoarthritis claim denied without causal rationale
M.B. attributed osteoarthritis in both knees to heavy carrying and repetitive postal duties. Her physician identified the work activities and diagnosed arthritis but did not explain the physiological connection between them. The Board found the causation evidence insufficient, including an…
L.D. and Department of the Army, Medical Command, Fort Jackson, SC
19-0797 (ECAB): Thirteen percent leg impairment award affirmed
L.D. sought a larger schedule award for his left leg. His treating reports lacked enough objective findings and rating details, while a second-opinion physician gave a higher estimate. The Board found that OWCP’s medical adviser gave the only rating that properly applied the required guides. It…
C.W. and Department of Defense, Defense Commissary Agency, Fort Benning, GA
19-0754 (ECAB): Lifting incident established; medical injury remanded
C.W. reported shoulder, back, and neck symptoms while lifting bags from pallets at work in August 2018. Her employer confirmed the described activity, and prompt treatment was consistent with the account. The Board found that the incident occurred as alleged. It remanded for OWCP to decide whether…
B.B. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Bremerton, WA
19-0625 (ECAB): Occupational hearing-loss claim denied
B.B. attributed binaural hearing loss to workplace noise at the naval shipyard. Some audiograms were not physician opinions, and the signed studies did not address causation. OWCP’s second-opinion physician reviewed the history and tests and found that work noise did not cause the loss. The Board…
A.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chula Vista, CA
19-0138 (ECAB): Wage loss awarded for later period only
A.M. sought compensation for several periods of disability related to accepted injuries. The Board found no adequate medical evidence for December 2 through 6, 2016. For February 9 through March 3, 2017, her physician’s restrictions ruled out the modified job OWCP said she could perform. It…
G.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Plainfield, IL
19-0933 (ECAB): Hand osteoarthritis not added to accepted claim
G.M. sought to add right hand osteoarthritis to an accepted wrist and hand injury claim. Her physician supported additional treatment but did not explain how the accepted injuries caused the osteoarthritis. The Board found the causation evidence insufficient to expand the claim. It affirmed OWCP’s…
J.G. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Laredo, TX
19-0891 (ECAB): Hearing-loss schedule award denied for nonratable loss
J.G. had work-related hearing loss, but the second-opinion audiogram yielded zero percent ratable loss in each ear under the required guides. His own audiograms were not certified by a physician. The Board found the hearing loss insufficient for a schedule award and affirmed OWCP’s February 26…
J.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Wheeling, IL
19-0838 (ECAB): Ankle occupational claim denied for conclusory causation
J.H. attributed worsening left ankle instability to his postal work. His doctor said the condition was aggravated by job duties but did not identify the specific activities or explain how they caused the worsening. The Board found the opinion conclusory and the remaining evidence insufficient. It…
K.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Palo Alto Veterans Administration Health Care Center, Palo Alto, CA
19-0785 (ECAB): Knee impairment claim returned for accepted-condition rating
K.C. sought a schedule award for left knee impairment. OWCP had accepted only a temporary aggravation of osteoarthritis, but its medical adviser rated a total knee replacement that OWCP attributed to a preexisting condition. The Board found that the rating did not address the accepted temporary…
C.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Amarillo, TX
19-0760 (ECAB): Life-insurance overpayment upheld; fault set aside
OWCP failed to deduct postretirement basic life-insurance premiums from C.G.’s compensation for more than ten years. The Board upheld its $13,382.57 overpayment calculation. It found no clear evidence that C.G. knew the premiums were not being withheld, so OWCP had improperly assigned fault. The…
C.E. and Department of the Air Force, Civil Engineer Squadron, Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany
19-0661 (ECAB): Termination of long-running injury benefits affirmed
C.E. received benefits for a 1989 back injury. OWCP’s referral physician found that the accepted condition had resolved and that current symptoms lacked objective support linking them to the injury. The Board credited that reasoned opinion and found OWCP had met its burden to terminate benefits…
R.W. and Department of the Navy, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, VA
19-0532 (ECAB): Shoulder impairment claim returned for full measurements
R.W. had a prior award for 12 percent right-arm impairment and requested a higher rating. The record did not clearly contain the three independent shoulder motion measurements needed to evaluate the motion-based method. The Board found that OWCP had to obtain those measurements and complete the…
S.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Palatine, IL
19-0387 (ECAB): Emotional condition claim returned for investigation records
S.L. attributed an emotional condition to a coworker’s alleged shouting and swearing at work. An earlier Board remand had directed OWCP to obtain the employer’s investigation results. The employer’s brief response did not supply those records or factual detail. The Board ordered OWCP to seek the…
City of Nezperce, Idaho
In re City of Nezperce, Idaho (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 19-02): permit remanded for reconsideration and petition dismissed
The City of Nezperce sought review of an NPDES permit for its wastewater treatment plant. The City objected to effluent limitations for total ammonia and argued that the permit did not include a compliance schedule or adequately address the City's comments. EPA Region 10 asked the EAB to remand the…
Secretary of Labor v. Solar Sources Mining, LLC
Settlement denial reversed and agreement approved
A miner was seriously injured after an obstructing rope caused him to bend on a truck catwalk and a severely corroded handrail chain broke, resulting in a nearly 14-foot fall. Solar Sources agreed to accept three S&S, moderate-negligence citations as written and pay $13,644 instead of the proposed…
Earth Science Laboratories, Inc.
In re Earth Science Laboratories, Inc. (EAB FIFRA Appeal No. 19-02C): misbranding settlement requires $125,000 penalty
EPA alleged that Earth Science Laboratories, Inc. distributed or sold misbranded pesticide products, including PristineBlue, EarthTec, and Cleanwater Blue, on at least 308 occasions. The alleged labeling problems included missing environmental hazard statements and false or misleading statements…
Louise Kachik v. Director, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs
Kachik v. Director, OWCP (BRB 18-0602 BLA): survivor claim denial upheld
Louise Kachik sought modification of a denied survivor benefits claim for her husband, who spent nearly 30 years in coal mine employment. The labor judge found that the evidence did not establish total respiratory disability or complicated pneumoconiosis, so neither statutory presumption applied…
Gary Randy Jones v. Island Fork Construction Limited and Anesthesiologists Professional Employers Risk
Jones v. Island Fork Construction (BRB 18-0475 BLA): disability opinion needs review
Gary Jones filed a subsequent black lung claim after more than 15 years of underground coal mine work. The labor judge denied it after finding no total respiratory disability. The Board upheld his treatment of the lung function and blood gas studies and one doctor's opinion, but found that he had…
Louise G. Cress v. Westmoreland Coal Company
Cress v. Westmoreland Coal (BRB 18-0447 BLA): new hearing ordered
Louise Cress appealed the denial of survivor benefits and asked the Board to consider whether the labor judge had been properly appointed. The judge had held a hearing and taken evidence before the Secretary of Labor ratified his appointment. The Board held that those earlier significant actions…
Department of Defense, Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools, Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico and Antilles Consolidated Education Association
Fort Buchanan schools and Antilles Consolidated Education Association (FLRA BN-CA-17-0170): Reconsideration denied
An earlier Authority decision held that Fort Buchanan schools unlawfully refused to implement part of an Impasses Panel agreement but that several work-hours and compensation provisions were unenforceable. It ordered the parties to bargain further over those subjects. The agency sought…
Kelly v. State of Alabama Public Service Commission
Environmental whistleblower review denied
Gregory Kelly filed several complaints under environmental whistleblower statutes, including the Clean Air Act. OSHA dismissed the complaints as untimely and for lacking reasonable cause, and the ALJ gave Kelly an opportunity to address timeliness and jurisdiction. The ALJ found his submissions…
Courtland Construction Corp.
Concrete finisher wage determination affirmed
Courtland Construction asked the Wage and Hour Division to add a Concrete Finisher classification to a Vermont Davis-Bacon wage determination at $25.34 per hour without fringe benefits. The Administrator rejected that proposal because it fell below every skilled-classification rate in the contract…
Perez v. Citigroup, Inc.
Mexico-based SOX claim dismissed
Antonio Perez worked entirely in Mexico for a Mexican subsidiary of Citigroup and alleged retaliation after reporting misconduct involving a U.S. account. The ALJ dismissed his Sarbanes-Oxley Act complaint because it required an impermissible extraterritorial application of Section 806. The Board…
Social Security Administration and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3627
Social Security Administration and AFGE Local 3627 (FLRA 0-AR-5501): Moving-expense remedy vacated
An employee moved from Virginia to Kentucky after discussing possible long-distance telework with a supervisor, but the agency later denied the request. The employee accepted a lower-graded hardship transfer and filed a grievance alleging several contract violations. An arbitrator found no…
David Boudreau v. Industrial Resources, Incorporated and Seabright Insurance Company
Boudreau v. Industrial Resources (BRB 18-0562): reconsideration denied
David Boudreau sought en banc reconsideration of the Board's July 8, 2019 decision in his Longshore Act case. His motion was timely, and the employer did not respond. No permanent Board member voted to vacate or change the prior decision. The Board therefore denied reconsideration without reopening…
Danny R. Dorton v. Powell Mountain Coal Company
Dorton v. Powell Mountain Coal (BRB 19-0039 BLA): benefits award affirmed
Danny Dorton received black lung benefits after the labor judge credited more than 25 years of underground coal mine work and found a totally disabling respiratory impairment. Those findings triggered the statutory presumption that pneumoconiosis caused his disability. Powell Mountain Coal…
Jerry Martin v. Sextet Mining Corporation and Arrowpoint Capital Security Insurance Company of Hartford
Martin v. Sextet Mining (BRB 18-0527 BLA): benefits award affirmed
Jerry Martin and Sextet Mining stipulated that he had 21 years of underground coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The labor judge applied the statutory presumption of disability due to pneumoconiosis and awarded benefits. The company argued that smoking, rather than coal…
Walter H. Christian, Jr. v. Westmoreland Coal Company
Christian v. Westmoreland Coal (BRB 18-0339 BLA): new hearing ordered
Walter Christian appealed a denial of black lung benefits and asked the Board to review the labor judge's appointment under the Appointments Clause. The judge had held a hearing and taken testimony before the Secretary of Labor ratified his appointment. The Board found those significant earlier…
Social Security Administration (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1122 (Union)
Social Security Administration and AFGE Local 1122 (FLRA 0-AR-5458): Delayed grievance hearing can proceed
An SSA employee challenged a 14-day suspension through a union grievance. The collective bargaining agreement called for an arbitration hearing within two and a half years, but scheduling delays pushed the hearing beyond that period. The arbitrator found that both parties shared responsibility for…
United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2018
Marine Corps Twentynine Palms and AFGE Local 2018 (FLRA 0-AR-5444): Promotion award set aside
An employee at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center performed duties alleged to be above the employee's grade. The union sought compensation and a promotion under the parties' agreement, and an arbitrator awarded a temporary promotion with backpay. Relying on a nearly identical dispute…
Secretary of Labor v. M-Class Mining, LLC
Glove-use summary ruling vacated and remanded
A maintenance foreman was hospitalized after receiving an electric shock while kneeling beside an open, energized continuous-miner control panel without protective gloves. An ALJ granted summary decision to M-Class Mining and vacated MSHA's section 75.1720(c) order, reasoning that the record did…
Scott Hubbard v. KBR, LLC/Service Employees International and Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania
Hubbard v. KBR (BRB 14-0027 and 19-0136): appeals dismissed for settlement review
Scott Hubbard asked the Board to dismiss his two appeals without prejudice so the district director could consider the parties' settlement agreement. Neither the employer nor the Director of the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs objected. The Board granted the motion and sent the case to the…
Richard N. Yonts v. Consol of Kentucky, Incorporated
Yonts v. Consol of Kentucky (BRB 18-0571 BLA): benefits award affirmed
Richard Yonts received black lung benefits after the labor judge credited nearly 28 years of underground mine work and the parties stipulated that he had a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The statutory presumption of disability due to pneumoconiosis applied. On a second appeal, Consol…
Robert W. Baker v. Wyoming Pocahontas Land Company
Baker v. Wyoming Pocahontas Land (BRB 18-0548 BLA): paralegal fee rate sent back
Robert Baker's lawyer appealed the fee order following Baker's black lung benefits award. The labor judge granted attorney fees and expenses but reduced the paralegal's requested hourly rate from $150 to $100. The Board held that the judge had not explained the basis for that reduction. It affirmed…
Scott Hubbard v. KBR, LLC/Service Employees International and Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania
Hubbard v. KBR (BRB 14-0027 and 19-0136): appeals dismissed for settlement review
Scott Hubbard and the employer reached a proposed settlement of his Defense Base Act claims. Hubbard asked the Board to dismiss two pending appeals without prejudice and return the case to the district director to consider the agreement. The other parties did not object. The Board granted the…
Carter v. CPC Logistics, Inc.
Truck-driver retaliation complaint denied
CPC Logistics discharged tractor-trailer driver Roderick Carter after repeated delays, policy violations, discipline, and performance problems. Carter alleged that the company acted because he took safety-related fatigue and illness breaks protected by the Surface Transportation Assistance Act…
Jeter v. Premier Transportation
Appeal dismissed after briefing stopped
Keith Jeter pursued an appeal involving Premier Transportation under the Surface Transportation Assistance Act. After Jeter did not file his opening brief, the Board ordered him to explain the omission by August 13, 2018. He responded that he was seeking counsel and needed more time, but the Board…
Varess v. Persian Broadcast Service Global, Inc.
E-3 wage denial reversed and remanded
Persian Broadcast Service Global filed two labor condition applications promising television producer Majid Varess annual wages of $45,000 and $60,000, but paid him irregular amounts. The Board held that the employer remained bound by those wage promises after Varess entered employment. His work…
Yates v. Superior Air Charter LLC d/b/a JetSuite Air
Pilot retaliation award affirmed with notice relief removed
JetSuite Air discharged pilot Colin Yates after he reported safety concerns to the National Transportation Safety Board about a crash landing and the aircraft's braking system. The Board upheld the ALJ's findings that Yates's NTSB interview and email were protected activity, that the activity…
Przytula v. Grand Trunk Western Railroad Co.
Non-work illness did not trigger FRSA medical-treatment protection
Grand Trunk Western Railroad discharged locomotive engineer Todd Przytula after repeated absences violated its attendance policy and his latest last-chance agreement. Przytula claimed the Federal Rail Safety Act protected his absences because he was following a physician's instructions. The Board…
L.C. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Imperial, CA
18-0787 (ECAB): Partial wage-loss and reconsideration denials affirmed
L.C. sought wage-loss compensation after moving to modified work, citing reduced Sunday and holiday premium pay. OWCP applied its wage-earning-capacity formula and found no compensable loss for the claimed period. The Board upheld that calculation and found no basis to reopen the merits on…
W.F. and Office of Personnel Management, Boyers Personnel Service Center, Boyers, PA
18-0653 (ECAB): Termination of injury benefits reversed
W.F. received benefits for accepted shoulder and arm conditions. OWCP terminated them based on an impartial examiner’s opinion. The examiner questioned whether the accepted work injury could have caused the condition, contrary to OWCP’s own accepted facts. The Board found the report defective and…
D.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Edinburg, TX
18-0285 (ECAB): Fifteen percent left-eye impairment award affirmed
D.M. sought a larger schedule award for permanent impairment of his left eye. His physician described serious functional difficulties, including loss of depth perception, but the proposed higher rating did not conform to the required impairment guides. The Board found no guide-compliant evidence…
J.J. and Department of the Navy, Commander Navy Installations Command, San Diego, CA
17-0617 (ECAB): Hearing-loss claim denied for insufficient noise history
J.J., a Navy police officer, attributed hearing loss to noise from industrial patrol areas and periodic firearms use. The Board found that his description did not identify the specific sources, settings, proximity, or duration of his claimed workplace noise exposure in enough detail. It affirmed…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2145 and United States Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Richmond, Virginia
AFGE Local 2145 and Richmond VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-5460): Attorney-fee issue remanded
VA employees traveled from their duty stations to Richmond for mandatory training without receiving compensatory time or reimbursement of travel expenses. An arbitrator awarded compensatory time and travel reimbursement but denied interest and attorney fees. The Authority upheld the denial of…
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-5431): Backpay denial upheld
An arbitrator found that the VA had violated its agreement for years by failing to use a roster to distribute overtime fairly and equitably. He ordered bargaining over compliant rosters but denied backpay because the union did not show which employees were available and would have accepted…
Matter of Jorge GONZALEZ LEMUS
Matter of Gonzalez Lemus (BIA ID 3961): methamphetamine conviction supported removability
The Board reviewed a Mexican lawful permanent resident's appeal from a removability finding based on convictions for possessing methamphetamine and marijuana under Iowa law. The Board held that the identity of the controlled substance is an element of the Iowa offense, making the statute divisible…
Willie A. Sowards v. Trojan Mining, Incorporated, doing business as Sun Glo Coal Company, Incorporated, and Old Republic Insurance Company
Sowards v. Trojan Mining (BRB 18-0582 BLA): benefits continue during inspector work
Willie Sowards was awarded black lung benefits, but the employer argued that payments should be suspended while he worked as a federal mine inspector. On remand, the labor judge found that the inspector job required less physical effort and different skills than his coal mine jobs. The Board upheld…
Jessee D. Cooke v. Bluff Spur Coal Corporation and American International South/Chartis
Cooke v. Bluff Spur Coal (BRB 18-0522 BLA): benefits award affirmed
Jessee Cooke received black lung benefits on remand after a labor judge credited more than 34 years of underground coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The employer again disputed whether it had rebutted the presumption that pneumoconiosis caused his disability. The Board…
Bobby S. Welch v. Dominion Coal Corporation
Welch v. Dominion Coal (BRB 18-0501 BLA): fee and expense award affirmed
Bobby Welch's counsel sought attorney fees and expenses after successfully prosecuting his black lung claim. The labor judge reduced some billed time and a legal assistant's hourly rate, then awarded $6,757.50 in fees and $3,350.18 in expenses. Dominion Coal challenged the lead attorney's hourly…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Troy, MI
19-0925 (ECAB): Occupational condition claim denied on impartial opinion
D.S. attributed upper-body conditions to her postal duties, including headset use. Her treating physician and OWCP’s referral physician disagreed on causation. An impartial orthopedic examiner found that the duties did not cause or aggravate the claimed conditions, and the Board gave his reasoned…
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.