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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North Shore Strapping Company
Four roofing fall-protection violations affirmed
North Shore Strapping used employees and company managers to replace the roof of its Ohio manufacturing facility. OSHA observed an employee riding an aerial lift without tying off and workers installing roofing material near a 25-foot roof edge without an effective fall-protection system. The judge…
United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 218
HHS Office for Civil Rights and NTEU Chapter 218 (FLRA 0-AR-5462): Late exceptions dismissed
An arbitrator found that HHS improperly removed an employee from an alternative work schedule. The agency filed its exceptions one day after the thirty-day deadline and asked for equitable tolling based on its representative's family bereavement, scheduled leave, and mistaken deadline calculation…
Secretary of Labor v. Hoffman Construction Company, Inc.
Missing haul-road berm citation affirmed
Hoffman Construction used a newly built mine road for active haulage while about 75 feet of the road lacked a berm beside a steep drop-off measuring 7 to 10 feet. Tire tracks showed that large articulated haul trucks traveled within a few feet of the unprotected edge multiple times per day. Judge…
D.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Vero Beach, FL
19-0814 (ECAB): Right-arm award returned for complete rating
D.V. sought a schedule award greater than five percent right upper extremity impairment. The Board found that OWCP had not fully developed the shoulder impairment assessment and needed relevant evidence from a prior award file. It set aside OWCP’s February 19, 2019 decision granting a five percent…
D.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Hibiscus Carrier Annex, Miami, FL
19-0803 (ECAB): Ankle and hip injury claim denied
D.H. claimed he twisted his right ankle at work in July 2018 and aggravated other symptoms. The Board accepted the incident but found the medical reports’ causal statements conclusory and unsupported by explanation. It affirmed OWCP’s September 17, 2018 denial.
L.D. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Augusta, GA
19-0779 (ECAB): Right-arm condition claim denied
L.D. sought compensation for right upper extremity conditions after an accepted December 2015 workplace incident. The Board found that the medical reports did not adequately explain how the incident caused the diagnosed conditions. It affirmed OWCP’s September 7, 2018 denial.
L.N. and General Services Administration, Delaware Valley Field Office, Camden, NJ
19-0727 (ECAB): Leg and lumbar injury claim denied
L.N. claimed left leg and lumbar conditions after a workplace fall in May 2017. The Board accepted the incident but found the medical evidence did not adequately explain how it caused or aggravated the diagnosed conditions. It affirmed OWCP’s January 4, 2019 denial.
C.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Oakland, CA
19-0621 (ECAB): Back condition claim returned for impartial review
C.N. sought acceptance of a back condition related to or following an accepted 2013 work injury. His treating physician and OWCP’s second opinion physician disagreed about causation. The Board found an unresolved medical conflict and set aside the August 30, 2018 decision. It remanded for an…
W.K. and Department of the Interior, Fish & Wildlife Service, Shirley, NY
19-0558 (ECAB): Intermittent disability recurrence denied
W.K. claimed intermittent periods of total disability after an accepted March 2017 injury. He did not allege that the duties of his modified job had changed. The Board found the medical evidence insufficient to establish that his accepted conditions had worsened so he could not work on the claimed…
R.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Fort Worth, TX
18-0368 (ECAB): Right-shoulder rating returned for measurement
R.G. sought a schedule award greater than 12 percent right upper extremity impairment. OWCP’s medical adviser rejected a range-of-motion rating because the examination lacked three independent measurements. The Board held that OWCP should have requested those measurements or obtained a new…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Warwick, RI
18-0235 (ECAB): Left-leg rating returned for impartial review
M.M. sought a schedule award greater than 31 percent left lower extremity impairment. His examining physician and OWCP’s medical adviser disagreed over the functional-history modifier and use of a lower limb questionnaire. The Board found their opinions of nearly equal weight and ordered an…
R.J. and Library of Congress, Copyright Office, Washington, DC
Right knee injury claim denial upheld
R.J., a library technician, claimed a right knee condition after moving a tub of books at work. One physician’s report described a different incident involving a child, and a revised report did not adequately explain how moving the tub aggravated his knee conditions. The Board held that the medical…
Allen R. Madden v. Consol of Kentucky, Incorporated
Madden v. Consol of Kentucky (BRB 18-0479 BLA): benefits award affirmed
Allen Madden received black lung benefits on remand after the judge credited at least 16.5 years of underground work and the employer conceded total respiratory disability. The statutory presumption applied. Consol again contested the claim's timeliness and the finding that it had not rebutted the…
Ruby L. Allen v. Crown Energy Corporation and American Resources Insurance Company
Allen v. Crown Energy (BRB 18-0393 and 18-0394 BLA): reconsideration denied and fee awarded
Crown Energy sought reconsideration of a Board order concerning the labor judge's appointment in Ruby Allen's miner and survivor benefits cases. The Board held that the company filed its reconsideration motion too late for the interlocutory appointment order. It denied the motion and approved an…
Larry A. Herron v. Drummond Company, Incorporated
Herron v. Drummond (BRB 18-0255 BLA): payment liability sent back
Larry Herron's black lung benefits award was unchallenged, but Drummond disputed whether it was the operator required to pay. The Board found that the labor judge had not fully considered evidence bearing on whether a later coal mine operator employed Herron for at least one year. It affirmed…
B.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Oxford Post Office, Oxford, MA
Lumbar condition claim denial upheld
B.H., a rural mail carrier, attributed lumbar problems to years of lifting parcels and other repetitive work. Her physician said the conditions were likely related to overuse, but did not explain how the work duties caused or aggravated the diagnosed conditions. The Board affirmed OWCP’s denial of…
M.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Air Marshal Service, College Park, GA
Termination of air marshal’s injury benefits reversed
M.H., a federal air marshal, received benefits after a work related lumbar strain. OWCP ended those benefits on the opinion of a second physician who said the strain had resolved. That physician requested a functional capacity evaluation, but the first attempt could not be completed because of…
V.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tooele, UT
Schedule award reconsideration request sent back
V.O. asked OWCP to reconsider the amount of a schedule award for her earlier work injury. She supplied a new medical report that addressed her permanent impairment and the accepted injury. The Board held that this relevant new evidence warranted a review of the merits. It set aside the refusal to…
M.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Springfield, IL
Existing leg impairment award upheld
M.C. sought a larger schedule award for impairment of his left leg after an accepted back injury. OWCP had awarded 13 percent permanent impairment of the left lower extremity. The Board found the district medical adviser’s rating properly applied the impairment guides and that no persuasive medical…
T.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, Corning, NY
Shoulder recurrence claim returned for proper review
T.H., a rural mail carrier, reported a recurrence of disability shortly after returning to work following an accepted shoulder injury. OWCP converted her filing into a new occupational disease claim without following its procedures for determining which benefits she sought. The Board set aside the…
B.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Jesse Brown Veterans Administration Medical Center, Chicago, IL
Workplace stress claim denial upheld
B.B., a nurse, said management harassment caused insomnia and stress. OWCP asked for details of the incidents, but she provided no account of specific conduct or other factual support. The Board held that a general allegation of harassment did not establish a compensable work factor and affirmed…
C.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Atwood, TN
Reduced wage loss compensation upheld
C.P., a rural carrier with an accepted back injury, received wage loss compensation. OWCP reduced her payments based on the wages she could earn as a general office clerk. The Board found that her physician’s restrictions permitted that work, her training prepared her for it, and the position was…
C.R. and Department of the Navy, Office of General Counsel, Pensacola, FL
Untimely reconsideration request returned for evidence review
C.R. sought wage loss compensation after an accepted back injury and later asked OWCP to reconsider a denial. The Board agreed her reconsideration request was late, but found OWCP had failed to address relevant medical evidence and complete development it had undertaken. It set aside OWCP’s denial…
United States Department of State, Passport Services and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1998, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
Passport Services and NFFE Local 1998 (FLRA 0-AR-5472): Grievance remains arbitrable
NFFE filed a grievance at Step 1 even though the agreement required nationwide issues to begin at Step 2. Passport Services forwarded the filing to the proper Step 2 official, who issued a Step 2 response. An arbitrator agreed that the filing began at the wrong step but found that the agency's…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration, Nashville Regional Office and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2470
VA Nashville Regional Office and AFGE Local 2470 (FLRA 0-AR-5388): Privacy Act award vacated
While preparing to defend a performance-standards grievance, VA in-house counsel obtained unredacted performance standards and appraisals for the union representatives handling the case. An arbitrator found that the internal disclosure violated the Privacy Act and the parties' agreement and ordered…
Clifford v. Conoco Phillips
Water-pollution whistleblower complaint filed late
Conoco Phillips notified regulatory supervisor Judith Clifford on April 7, 2016, that her employment would end on April 27. She filed a Water Pollution Control Act retaliation complaint 46 days after receiving that notice, beyond the statute's 30-day deadline. The Board held that the filing period…
Harte v. Metropolitan Transportation Authority/New York City Transit Authority and Mark Ruggiero
Harte v. Metropolitan Transportation Authority/New York City Transit Authority (DOL ARB 2017-0002): transit workplace-safety retaliation award affirmed
New York City Transit Authority employee Janathan Harte reported safety hazards and participated in a state inspection at a shop that fabricated track components. After he disputed management's claim that an unguarded drill press was inoperable by turning it on, a supervisor threatened his overtime…
M.C. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Pine Knot, KY
Board upholds denial of prison worker’s foot fracture claim (ECAB 19-0673)
M.C., a federal prison employee, claimed that her work duties caused a right foot fracture. The Board found that her medical evidence did not provide a reasoned explanation linking the fracture to the accepted employment factors. Reports from providers who were not physicians under FECA could not…
V.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Baltimore Veterans Administration Medical Center, Baltimore, MD
Board upholds denial of food service worker’s back injury claim (ECAB 19-0643)
V.B., a VA food service worker, reported slipping on a greasy mat at work in October 2018. OWCP accepted the incident, but the Board found that the medical evidence did not establish a diagnosed condition caused by it. A report describing symptoms without a diagnosis or reasoned causation opinion…
M.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, San Diego, CA
Board orders merits review of VA worker’s reconsideration request (ECAB 19-0607)
M.S., a VA worker, sought reconsideration of an injury claim. The record contained new medical reports addressing whether her condition was related to the accepted work injury, including a second-opinion examination OWCP ordered. The Board found that the reports were relevant to the medical…
L.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Baltimore, MD
Board upholds refusal to reopen postal carrier’s schedule award claim (ECAB 19-0592)
L.S., a postal letter carrier, asked OWCP to reconsider a schedule award decision. The Board found that her correspondence was a reconsideration request rather than a new claim for an increased award. The new materials did not address the current extent of permanent impairment, and a cited…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Diego, CA
Board upholds denial of carrier’s leg and groin condition claim (ECAB 19-0556)
S.M., a postal carrier, attributed left leg and groin conditions to long periods of standing and walking, carrying a satchel, and repeated vehicle exits. The Board found that the medical reports did not explain with sufficient certainty how those work duties caused the diagnosed conditions. One…
R.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Coeur d’Alene Postal Annex, Coeur d’Alene, ID
Board upholds termination of postal worker’s injury benefits (ECAB 19-0552)
R.S., a postal rural carrier associate, received compensation for accepted left knee and ankle injuries after a workplace fall. OWCP ended wage loss and medical benefits effective February 21, 2018. The Board found that OWCP had met its burden to show the accepted injuries had resolved and that…
R.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Loma Linda Health Care System, Loma Linda, CA
Board upholds termination of VA worker’s injury benefits (ECAB 19-0204)
R.B., a VA medical instruction technician, sought compensation after a work fall that caused an accepted pelvic fracture and shoulder strain. The Board upheld termination of wage loss and medical benefits effective December 5, 2017 because the accepted injury no longer caused disability or…
A.B. and Department of the Air Force, Security Forces Materiel Command, Randolph Air Force Base, TX
Board orders renewed review of Air Force worker’s disability recurrence (ECAB 18-0978)
A.B., an Air Force police officer, sought compensation after stopping a modified position because of an accepted left foot condition. The Board found that OWCP had applied the wrong focus by asking whether the new duties worsened her condition. The second opinion physicians also had not fully…
Red Lake Nation Fisheries, Inc.
Tribal-enterprise citations dismissed
Red Lake Nation Fisheries was a commercial fishing and fish-processing enterprise owned and operated by the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians on its Minnesota reservation. After two employees drowned while harvesting fish, OSHA cited the enterprise for not requiring personal flotation devices and…
G.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Carol Stream, IL
Board orders review of evidence omitted from reconsideration decision (ECAB 18-0159)
G.M., a postal processing clerk, sought reconsideration after OWCP terminated benefits for accepted upper extremity and cervical conditions. He supplied a statement and medical materials disputing the impartial examiner’s account. The Board found that OWCP had not addressed or shown awareness of…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1998, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and United States Department of State, Charleston Passport Center, Charleston, South Carolina
NFFE Local 1998 and Charleston Passport Center (FLRA 0-NG-3414): Travel proposals dismissed
NFFE Local 1998 proposed compensatory time for employee travel between passport offices and a method for selecting volunteers for temporary assignments. The Authority found that federal law already specifically governed compensatory time for otherwise noncompensable travel, and the union did not…
C.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Network Distribution Center, Dallas, TX
Board reverses postal worker’s $3,737.04 overpayment finding (ECAB 19-0732)
C.P. elected retirement benefits after receiving FECA compensation for an accepted shoulder injury. OWCP found a $3,737.04 overpayment for a period when it continued to pay compensation. The Board found no proof that she had actually received retirement benefits for that same period. It reversed…
L.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Mail Processing Annex, Orlando, FL
Board upholds refusal to add right knee arthritis to injury claim (ECAB 19-0724)
L.C., a postal employee, asked OWCP to add right knee degenerative arthritis as a consequence of an accepted 2011 injury. The Board gave special weight to an impartial physician’s opinion resolving the conflict between treating and referral physicians. It found that the evidence did not establish…
S.H. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Oklahoma City, OK
Board upholds denial of FAA worker’s back and vascular claim (ECAB 19-0631)
S.H., an FAA employee, attributed a lumbar condition and lower leg vascular disorder to prolonged sitting, lifting, walking on concrete, and opening and closing heavy doors at work. The Board found that the medical opinions asserted a connection but did not explain how the work duties caused or…
J.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Prescott, AZ
Board orders new rating of postal worker’s shoulder impairment (ECAB 19-0527)
J.D., a postal employee, sought an award beyond the 30 percent right arm impairment already recognized. Her physician and OWCP’s district medical adviser reached different ratings using shoulder range of motion measurements. The Board found that neither rating adequately applied and explained the…
C.T. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration Regional Office, Oakland, CA
Board orders better medical explanation for VA worker’s lumbar claim (ECAB 19-0508)
C.T., a VA employee, attributed a lumbar condition to accepted work factors, including an improperly sized chair. OWCP obtained an impartial medical opinion after physicians disagreed about causation. The Board found that the impartial physician did not adequately explain why the work factors could…
N.W. and Department of Defense, Defense Finance & Accounting Service, Cleveland, OH
Board orders more fact finding on workplace security incident (ECAB 19-0280)
N.W., a Defense Finance employee, alleged that a security officer grabbed her wrist during a workplace inspection and caused an upper back strain. OWCP denied the claim after other security staff reported that video did not show the alleged contact. The Board found the record incomplete because…
N.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
Board upholds termination and disability denials for postal worker (ECAB 19-0143)
N.G., a postal employee, sought compensation for an earlier period of total disability and continuing benefits after an accepted injury. The Board found that she had not proved total disability for May through September 2016. It also found that OWCP met its burden to end wage loss and medical…
Northpac Corporation d/b/a Northpac Construction
Contest dismissed after discovery defaults
OSHA cited Northpac Construction after inspecting a worksite in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. The employer timely contested one serious and two repeat violations carrying $12,197 in proposed penalties. During the case, Northpac repeatedly provided incomplete discovery responses, failed to…
Secretary of Labor v. The Monongalia County Coal Co., successor to Consolidation Coal Co.
Secretary of Labor v. The Monongalia County Coal Company (FMSHRC WEVA 2015-0074): Accumulation cases settled for $40,500
The Secretary cited Monongalia County Coal for three combustible-material accumulation violations and two inadequate belt-examination violations across three dockets. The accumulation citations had also been identified as possible predicates for a repeated flagrant theory in related litigation. The…
J.M. and Department of the Army, Madigan Army Medical Center, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA
Hearing loss schedule award denied
J.M. had accepted work related hearing loss and sought a schedule award. The audiogram showed no ratable hearing impairment under the governing rating method, a calculation OWCP’s medical adviser confirmed. The Board affirmed the denial of a schedule award.
D.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, La Crosse, WI
Left hand injury claim denial upheld
D.W. sought benefits for a left hand injury after a work incident. The only report diagnosing a finger infection and lymphadenopathy was signed by a physician assistant and was not countersigned by a physician. The Board held that this report could not establish a medical diagnosis under FECA and…
B.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Lebanon Veterans Administration Medical Center, Lebanon, PA
Patient assistance injury claim denial upheld
B.B., a nursing assistant, claimed a neck and shoulder injury while helping a patient. OWCP sought more detail about the incident and earlier injuries, but he did not answer its questionnaire or provide a narrative account. The Board held that the factual basis for the claimed incident remained…
S.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jamaica, NY
Mailbag lifting injury claim denial upheld
S.H. reported neck, shoulder, and back pain after lifting a heavy mailbag. His physician listed diagnoses and checked that they were work related, but did not explain how the accepted incident caused them. The Board found the medical opinions too conclusory to establish causation and affirmed…
K.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Nyssa, OR
Leg impairment claim reopened for merit review
K.S. sought reconsideration of a denial of a schedule award for her left leg. She supplied new medical evidence addressing permanent impairment of her accepted knee condition. The Board held that this relevant evidence justified a review of the merits, even though an earlier claim for other…
K.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Duluth, GA
Shoulder injury claim and late hearing request denied
K.W., a postal clerk, claimed a shoulder injury after handling mail sacks with metal labels. The Board found that the medical evidence did not adequately connect his shoulder conditions to the accepted May 23, 2018 incident. It also found that OWCP acted within its discretion when it denied his…
C.F. and U.S. Defense Agencies, Lakehurst Commissary, Lakehurst, NJ
Recurrence claim returned for proper development
C.F. sought benefits after returning to limited duty following an accepted knee and elbow injury. OWCP converted his recurrence filing into a new occupational disease claim without first determining which benefits he sought. The Board directed OWCP to develop the recurrence claim under the correct…
M.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Detroit, MI
Existing arm impairment awards upheld
M.L. sought greater schedule awards for both arms. OWCP’s medical adviser rated each upper extremity at five percent permanent impairment under the applicable guides. The Board found that the adviser applied the rating method correctly and that the record did not establish a higher impairment. It…
L.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Homewood, IL
Disability record returned for missing surveillance videos
L.K. challenged OWCP’s finding on continuing disability after a prior benefits termination. OWCP relied on four surveillance video discs, but those discs were missing from the record sent to the Board. The Board set aside the decision and ordered OWCP to reconstruct the record, obtain the videos…
C.K. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Ann Arbor Medical Center, Ann Arbor, MI
Fall claim reconsideration sent back for explanation
C.K., an occupational therapist, sought reconsideration of a denied injury claim after a fall near her workplace. She submitted a map and parking evidence relevant to whether the fall happened on the employer’s premises. OWCP refused to reopen the claim without clearly explaining whether it had…
H.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Seattle, WA
Recurrence of disability claim returned for explanation
H.D., a postal worker, sought intermittent wage loss compensation after an accepted work related emotional condition. OWCP denied the recurrence claim while relying on a second physician’s report, but did not explain why that report carried the weight of the evidence. The Board set aside the…
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cary, NC
Termination for refusing modified work reversed
J.C., a rural carrier, was offered temporary modified work after an injury. OWCP ended wage loss compensation when J.C. refused the assignment. The Board found the offer required two hours of casing mail, although the second opinion physician had barred that task. Because the offer exceeded the…
L.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
Foot and ankle claim denial upheld
L.W. attributed foot and ankle conditions to postal work. Her physician described possible mechanisms but did not state that the established work factors caused the diagnosed conditions; another report checked that a specific work incident had not caused them. The Board found the medical record…
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.