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.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Racine, WI
18-0228 (ECAB): Foot surgery authorization denial upheld
J.E. asked OWCP to authorize surgery on his left foot. An impartial specialist attributed the need for surgery to preexisting flatfoot deformity and degenerative changes rather than the accepted work condition. The Board found the specialist’s opinion well reasoned and gave it special weight over…
United States Department of the Army, Corpus Christi Army Depot, Corpus Christi, Texas and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2142
Corpus Christi Army Depot and AFGE Local 2142 (FLRA 0-AR-5393): Reduced discipline upheld
At a helicopter-repair facility, an employee dropped a small part that required quality testing, mixed it with twenty-four identical parts, and told an inspector the dropped part could no longer be identified. The agency imposed a fourteen-day suspension. An arbitrator found the conduct serious but…
Charles Burchett v. Uptown Mining Corporation
Burchett v. Uptown Mining Corporation (BRB 18-0445 BLA): subsequent black lung claim denial affirmed
Charles Burchett filed a new black lung claim after an earlier claim was denied for lack of total respiratory disability. The administrative law judge found that the new evidence still did not prove total disability. On appeal, Burchett argued that the judge had misread a 2017 pulmonary function…
Bertha L. Colvin, widow of Foster Colvin v. Eastover Mining Company
Colvin v. Eastover Mining Company (BRB 18-0278 BLA): reconsideration of survivor benefits denial denied
Bertha Colvin sought reconsideration after the Board affirmed the denial of survivor benefits on her late husband Foster Colvin's black lung claim. The Board had found no qualifying proof that he was totally disabled by a respiratory condition before his cardiac-related death and no evidence that…
P.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Atlanta Veterans Administration Medical Center, Decatur, GA
19-0507 (ECAB): Injury and reconsideration denials upheld
P.C., a motor vehicle operator, claimed an injury after an accepted April 2018 work incident. He supplied no medical evidence diagnosing a condition caused by that incident despite OWCP’s request. His later reconsideration submission did not meet the requirements for reopening the claim. The Board…
C.C. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Secret Service, Washington, DC
19-0467 (ECAB): Hand impairment claim remanded for corrected rating
C.C., a Secret Service officer, sought a larger schedule award for a hand injury caused by an assigned canine bite. OWCP’s second opinion examiner rated his right arm impairment at ten percent, while its medical adviser rated it at six percent. OWCP had not sought the required clarification or a…
N.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Walled Lake, MI
19-0454 (ECAB): Disability period remanded for medical clarification
N.S. sought wage loss after a postal vehicle accident and an accepted injury. Her own physicians did not clearly explain disability from the accepted conditions. OWCP’s second opinion examiner, however, indicated that those conditions may have disabled her for part of the disputed April 2016…
R.W. and Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Logistics Base, Barstow, CA
19-0451 (ECAB): Life insurance overpayment and recovery upheld
OWCP had underwithheld R.W.’s elected life insurance premiums for years, creating a $24,321.34 overpayment. It found him without fault but denied waiver after he did not supply complete financial information. The Board also upheld deductions of $762.13 from continuing benefits every 28 days. It…
R.A. and Department of Agriculture, Food Safety Inspection Service, Minneapolis, MN
19-0423 (ECAB): Post-concussion claim remanded for specialist review
R.A. reported symptoms after a work-related vehicle accident and sought to establish post-concussion syndrome. His physician gave a detailed explanation of a possible link to the accident, while acknowledging preexisting conditions from an earlier crash. The Board found that opinion insufficient to…
K.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Washington, PA
19-0413 (ECAB): Intermittent disability recurrence denied
K.R. returned to full postal duties after an accepted back injury, then claimed intermittent wage loss beginning in March 2018. Her physicians imposed limits but did not document objective findings showing renewed disability on the claimed dates or identify the work she could not perform. The Board…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chicago, IL
19-0397 (ECAB): Consequential knee claim remanded to impartial examiner
S.M. argued that limping after an accepted right knee injury caused a left knee condition. The Board found that OWCP had incorrectly treated a weak medical adviser report as creating a conflict with his treating physician. A later second opinion did create a genuine conflict about causation. The…
New Finish Construction, LLC
Electrical and conductive-ladder violations affirmed
New Finish Construction installed a metal roof at a Pennsylvania residence. After the owner threw a steel roof anchor from the roof and it caught on a 12,000-volt power line, an employee climbed an aluminum ladder and used a metal pole to try to dislodge it; he was electrocuted and died. The judge…
O.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bayamon, PR
18-0359 (ECAB): Emotional condition and reconsideration denials upheld
O.G. attributed an emotional condition to alleged harassment and discrimination by postal management. The Board found that he gave detailed factual allegations, but did not establish a compensable employment factor under FECA. His later reconsideration submission added no relevant new factual…
Goodnight Midstream Bakken, L.L.C.
In re Goodnight Midstream Bakken, L.L.C. (EAB UIC Appeal No. 19-01): appeal dismissed as moot after permit expired
The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation petitioned for review of an Underground Injection Control permit that EPA Region 8 issued to Goodnight Midstream Bakken, L.L.C. The permit authorized construction and operation of a saltwater disposal well in Dunn County, North Dakota. During a stay of the…
Brenda Brigham-Beasley v. Metro Cruise Services and Signal Mutual Indemnity Association Limited
Brigham-Beasley v. Metro Cruise Services (BRB 19-0041): compensation claim dismissed as untimely
Brenda Brigham-Beasley injured a finger while working for Metro Cruise Services and later reported shoulder pain. The employer stopped paying temporary total disability benefits on August 15, 2014, and she filed a compensation claim on October 2, 2015. She argued that the filing period did not…
Ronald Eckhoff v. Huntington Ingalls Incorporated
Eckhoff v. Huntington Ingalls (BRB 19-0031): hearing loss claim remanded to reconsider causation presumption
Ronald Eckhoff reported hearing loss more than thirty years after working for about four weeks in a noisy shipyard job. An administrative law judge denied his Longshore claim after finding that the employer had rebutted the presumption that the hearing loss was work-related. The Board held that…
James B. Duncan v. Martinka Coal Company and Peabody Energy Corporation
Duncan v. Martinka Coal Company (BRB 18-0453 BLA): benefits award vacated for new hearing
James Duncan received a black lung benefits award after a judge found sixteen years of underground coal mine employment, total respiratory disability, and no rebuttal of the fifteen-year presumption. Martinka Coal and Peabody Energy challenged the judge's appointment under the Appointments Clause…
Hubert L. Payne v. Virginia Crews Coal Company and West Virginia Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis Fund
Payne v. Virginia Crews Coal Company (BRB 18-0440 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Hubert Payne filed a subsequent black lung claim after nearly 36 years of qualifying coal mine work. A judge found total respiratory disability and applied the fifteen-year presumption of disability due to pneumoconiosis. The employer and carrier argued that smoking and lung cancer surgery, rather…
M.B. and Department of the Army, Pueblo Chemical Depot, Pueblo, CO
19-0596 (ECAB): Gym injury and reconsideration denials upheld
M.B., a security guard, reported injuring her knee while exercising at the workplace gym. She did not answer OWCP’s request for details about how and when the claimed injury happened. The Board found the factual account insufficient to establish the incident as alleged and did not reach medical…
G.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Marlborough, MA
19-0539 (ECAB): Lumbar occupational disease claim denied
G.M., a letter carrier, attributed several lumbar conditions to his postal duties. A physician agreed with a nurse practitioner’s account but did not explain how the accepted work factors caused or worsened the conditions shown on imaging. The MRI report identified conditions without addressing…
M.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
19-0510 (ECAB): Wrist impairment award remanded for clarified rating
M.D. sought more than the five percent left arm impairment already awarded after a workplace fall. The impartial examiner’s report did not explain the rating under the required edition of the impairment guides or calculate the permitted range-of-motion method. The Board found the medical conflict…
A.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bound Brook, NJ
19-0328 (ECAB): Benefit suspension upheld; examination refusal reversed
A.P. missed scheduled medical examinations, and OWCP suspended his wage-loss and medical benefits. He later offered to attend if OWCP rescheduled, but the agency refused after he elected civil service retirement benefits. The Board held that the initial suspension was proper while the refusal to…
E.P. and Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Services, Tunkhannock, PA
18-1147 (ECAB): Total disability recurrence claim denied
E.P. sought benefits for total disability beginning in January 2016, decades after an accepted injury. His medical reports described cervical conditions and asserted disability, but did not adequately explain how the accepted injury caused the claimed recurrence. Other reports gave no causal…
A.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Nashville, TN
18-0596 (ECAB): Reconsideration denial upheld without new submission
A.B. appealed OWCP’s decision refusing to reconsider his occupational disease claim. His reconsideration request included no additional evidence or argument. The Board held that it met none of the regulatory requirements for a merit review. It affirmed the October 13, 2017 nonmerit decision without…
L.G. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Ronkonkoma, NY
18-0140 (ECAB): Claimed total disability period lacked medical support
L.G. sought wage loss for February through May 2015 following an accepted injury. One physician did not address disability during those dates, and other reports stated that she could not work without explaining why the accepted condition caused total disability. The Board found no reasoned medical…
Lloyd v. Thomas Petroleum
Administrative complaint dismissed after district-court filing
Juan Lloyd alleged that Thomas Petroleum violated the Surface Transportation Assistance Act's employee protections. An ALJ granted summary decision against him, and he timely petitioned the Board for review. Lloyd later invoked the Act's option for a federal district-court action when the Secretary…
D.V. and Department of the Air Force, Patrick Air Force Base, FL
19-0588 (ECAB): Late reconsideration failed clear-error standard
D.V. asked OWCP to revisit its denial of a knee claim from a work-related event. OWCP received his request more than one year after its last merit decision. The Board found that the new surgery note and employer correspondence did not clearly show error in OWCP’s medical causation ruling. It…
E.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Port Orchard, WA
19-0567 (ECAB): Abandoned telephonic hearing finding upheld
E.S. requested a hearing after OWCP denied her occupational disease claim. OWCP mailed notice of the scheduled telephone hearing to her last known address. She did not call in, request postponement, or explain her absence within the permitted period. The Board affirmed OWCP’s November 28, 2018…
J.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Mail Carrier Annex, San Fernando, CA
19-0462 (ECAB): Knee claim denied for insufficient causation evidence
J.K. reported knee pain after rising from a low seat in a postal vehicle. His physicians repeated his account and diagnosed knee conditions, but did not explain in medical terms how that movement caused them. One opinion was phrased as a possibility. The Board affirmed OWCP’s September 21, 2018…
C.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Arcadia Station, Phoenix, AZ
19-0409 (ECAB): Thumb occupational disease claim denied
C.H. attributed thumb problems to repeated gripping during postal work after an earlier fall at home. One physician said the work may have aggravated the thumb, but expressed the opinion in uncertain terms. Other reports gave no causal opinion. The Board affirmed OWCP’s November 1, 2018 denial.
R.B. and Department of the Navy, Naval Sea Systems Command, Jacksonville, FL
19-0257 (ECAB): Additional hearing loss award denied
R.B. sought a larger schedule award for hearing loss. OWCP’s medical adviser calculated additional impairment from newer testing, raising the compensated binaural rating to 52 percent. The Board found no probative current medical evidence supporting a higher rating. It affirmed OWCP’s October 10…
C.L. and Department of the Army, Corpus Christi Army Depot, Corpus Christi, TX
19-0242 (ECAB): Overpayment and fault finding upheld
C.L. continued to receive wage-loss compensation after returning to paid work. OWCP calculated a $10,289.19 overpayment for April through July 2018. The Board found that she knew or should have known she could not receive both wages and wage-loss benefits for the same time. It affirmed OWCP’s…
J.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Decatur, AL
18-0259 (ECAB): Retirement-related overpayment finding reversed
J.A. elected federal retirement benefits while FECA wage-loss payments continued. OWCP declared an overpayment, but the record did not establish that she actually received retirement annuity payments during the same period. The Board held that the election date alone did not prove simultaneous…
C.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, North Miami, FL
18-0225 (ECAB): Knee injury claim denied for lack of medical link
C.P. reported twisting her knee while stepping from a mail truck. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred, and physicians diagnosed a knee sprain. Their reports did not explain how the accepted incident caused the condition; one causation response was only a checked box. The Board affirmed OWCP’s…
Secretary of Labor v. Northshore Mining Company
Radio announcement gave prohibited advance notice
An MSHA inspector arrived before dawn at Northshore Mining's iron ore processing plant and asked the control room operator to find an escort. The operator announced over the department radio that someone was needed to accompany MSHA on an inspection. Judge Jacqueline R. Bulluck held that the…
Henry Jones v. Island Operating Company, Incorporated, and Louisiana Workers' Compensation Corporation
Jones v. Island Operating Company (BRB 19-0117): offshore worker's temporary disability award affirmed
Henry Jones reported back and leg pain after offloading groceries and using an industrial drill during an offshore oil rig shift. An administrative law judge found that the work aggravated a pre-existing back condition and awarded temporary total disability benefits. Island Operating Company argued…
D.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, Grand Rapids, MI
19-0394 (ECAB): Shoulder occupational claim denied for weak causal opinion
D.P., a rural carrier, attributed a right shoulder condition to repetitive postal work. A physician linked the condition to her duties but did not explain the medical basis for that opinion. The chiropractor’s reports did not satisfy FECA’s rule for qualifying as physician evidence. The Board…
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pembroke Pines, FL
19-0282 (ECAB): Leg award upheld; arm award remanded
M.S. sought schedule awards above two percent for her left leg and sixteen percent for her left arm. The Board found no basis for a larger leg award. The arm rating lacked the required motion measurements and a diagnosis-based comparison. It affirmed OWCP’s September 25, 2018 decision in part, set…
S.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Honolulu, HI
19-0186 (ECAB): Wage earning capacity modification upheld
S.J. had a wage-earning-capacity determination based on a general clerk job after an accepted back injury. He later worked and advanced in a Veterans Affairs position with substantially greater earnings. The Board found that his vocational rehabilitation and new earnings supported modifying the…
P.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Central Square Post Office, Cambridge, MA
18-1539 (ECAB): Delayed overpayment decision reversed
OWCP identified a possible overpayment after P.H. returned to part-time work in 2009 but did not issue a preliminary notice until more than seven years later. The amount in its later notice also differed from its earlier calculation. The Board found that OWCP had failed to follow the required…
O.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Miami, FL
18-1458 (ECAB): Knee claim lacked proof linking accepted incident
O.R. attributed a right knee condition to an accepted August 2014 incident during physical therapy. The medical opinions he submitted linked his symptoms mainly to earlier 2013 work injuries, or gave no opinion about the accepted 2014 event. The Board found no adequate medical proof tying the knee…
L.W. and Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Hyattsville, MD
18-1437 (ECAB): Arm and leg impairment awards remanded
L.W. sought schedule awards for several limbs after an accepted fall. OWCP had improperly offset her left leg impairment against a prior award for her right leg. Its left arm rating also required further review under the permitted rating methods. The Board set aside the June 25, 2018 decision and…
I.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Saint Louis, MO
18-0606 (ECAB): Foot condition claim denied for lack of medical explanation
I.S., a mail carrier, reported heel pain while walking his route. A physician diagnosed plantar fasciitis but did not explain how the accepted July 2016 incident caused or contributed to it. Another physician diagnosed foot conditions without addressing their cause. The Board affirmed OWCP’s…
Jersey City Medical Center
Electrical-safety and willful training violations affirmed
A Jersey City Medical Center maintenance mechanic received an electric shock while working on a 277-volt light fixture, fell from a ladder, and later died from his injuries. OSHA cited the hospital for failing to deenergize live parts, use electrical lockout/tagout procedures, maintain compliant…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Lynchburg, VA
19-0563 (ECAB): Knee surgery authorization denial upheld
M.M. requested arthroscopic surgery after an accepted work-related right knee sprain. Her surgeon identified a meniscus tear but did not explain how the accepted incident caused that additional condition or why surgery was needed for the accepted sprain. The Board found OWCP had not abused its…
C.S. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Bakersfield, CA
19-0484 (ECAB): Wage loss claim must receive merit reconsideration
C.S. sought reconsideration of an OWCP wage-loss denial. Her counsel raised a new legal argument about the absence of a written light-duty job offer. The Board held that this argument met the threshold for reopening the claim, without deciding whether it would ultimately succeed. It set aside…
C.S. and Social Security Administration, Chicago, IL
19-0421 (ECAB): Back injury claim remanded for corrected medical review
C.S. claimed a back injury after coworkers struck her with a folding table. OWCP’s second opinion examiner discounted her account partly because he believed there was no prompt treatment record. Her treating physician’s reports showed treatment shortly after the incident. The Board found the second…
D.T. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Washington, DC
19-0399 (ECAB): Historical disability recurrence claims denied
D.T. sought benefits for three claimed dates of total disability years after an accepted 1989 injury. Several older medical records could not be attributed to an identified provider, and later reports did not explain disability on the specific dates at issue. The Board found the proof insufficient…
R.K. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Patrol, San Diego, CA
19-0247 (ECAB): Leg impairment rating remanded to impartial examiner
R.K. sought a larger right leg schedule award after knee replacement. Treating and second opinion physicians assessed 31 percent impairment, while OWCP’s medical adviser assessed a lower rating. The Board found a genuine conflict about the correct impairment class and calculation. It set aside…
A.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, James A. Haley Veterans Medical Center, Tampa, FL
19-0220 (ECAB): Termination of back injury benefits reversed
OWCP ended A.G.’s benefits after an impartial examiner said her accepted back strain had resolved. The examiner’s earlier report had found mild residuals and called for an MRI scan, but his later change of view came without that scan or an adequate explanation. The Board found the later report…
S.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Pembina, ND
19-0124 (ECAB): Overlooked x-ray evidence requires new injury decision
OWCP denied S.M.’s claim after saying it had no qualifying physician diagnosis or evidence of spine x-rays. A chiropractor’s report about x-rays had reached OWCP before its decision, but the agency did not address it. The Board directed OWCP to consider the submitted evidence. It set aside the…
E.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Monterey Park, CA
18-0667 (ECAB): Additional leg award and late reconsideration denied
E.R. sought a larger schedule award for impairment of both legs and reconsideration of an earlier refusal to expand his accepted claim. The Board found no proof of greater ratable impairment than OWCP had already awarded. His reconsideration request was late, and the submitted material did not show…
M.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, North Reading, MA
18-0074 (ECAB): Unproved dual-benefit overpayment reversed
M.C. elected federal retirement benefits effective April 2017 while receiving FECA compensation. OWCP declared an overpayment based on concurrent benefits, but the record did not establish that she actually received retirement payments during the same period. The Board reversed OWCP’s August 23…
Matter of H-G-G-
TPS does not cure an uninspected entry for adjustment of status
The applicant, a citizen of El Salvador, entered the United States without inspection or admission in 1990 and later received Temporary Protected Status. After receiving a family-based immigrant visa classification, he applied to adjust status to lawful permanent residence. The Administrative…
Rimini v. J.P. Morgan Chase & Company
Successive SOX complaints dismissed as late
Thomas Rimini filed successive Sarbanes-Oxley complaints concerning a 2011 email exchange that he discovered during litigation in October 2016. His December 2017 complaint came 414 days after that discovery, and neither it nor his April 2018 complaint identified an adverse action within the…
Booker v. Exelon Generation Company, LLC
Nuclear-access retaliation claims require a hearing
Exelon employee Patricia Booker reported backdating of safety-related records at the Peach Bottom nuclear plant, then alleged harassment, loss of duties, revocation of unescorted access, and eventual termination. The ALJ granted summary decision to Exelon after weighing competing evidence and…
Charlie Gibbons v. Jeffboat, Incorporated
Gibbons v. Jeffboat (BRB 19-0147): employer-paid attorney fee award reversed
Charlie Gibbons filed a Longshore claim for work-related hearing loss, and Jeffboat paid benefits after an informal conference. The parties later settled the claim for additional compensation and future medical care. An administrative law judge ordered Jeffboat to pay Gibbons's attorney $2,877.50…
Paul Mattingly v. Jeffboat, Incorporated, and Signal Mutual Indemnity Association, Limited
Mattingly v. Jeffboat (BRB 19-0011): disability and medical benefits award affirmed
Paul Mattingly developed pulmonary fibrosis after years of welding for Jeffboat and later underwent a double lung transplant. An administrative law judge found his condition work-related and awarded permanent total disability benefits plus reasonable and necessary medical care. Jeffboat did not…
William R. McCullough v. Fred Wahl Marine Construction and ALMA/FARA
McCullough v. Fred Wahl Marine Construction (BRB 19-0002): reconsideration denied
William McCullough requested reconsideration of the Benefits Review Board's May 20, 2019 decision in his Longshore case against Fred Wahl Marine Construction and ALMA/FARA. The employer and carrier opposed the request. The Board reported that no panel member voted to vacate or modify the earlier…
Willie E. Fields v. Frasure Creek Mining, LLC, dba Trinity Coal Marketing, and Rockwood Casualty Insurance Company
Fields v. Frasure Creek Mining (BRB 18-0420 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Willie Fields sought black lung benefits after forty years of qualifying coal mine employment. On remand, the administrative law judge admitted Fields's deposition about the demands of his end-loader job and found that medical opinions established a totally disabling respiratory impairment. Frasure…
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.