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.
No decisions match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
G.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Meridian, ID
Left knee replacement request denied
A Postal Service rural carrier requested knee replacement surgery after a work-related fall. OWCP had accepted a left knee sprain and right hip contusion, while imaging also showed advanced preexisting arthritis and meniscal tears. Her surgeon did not give a reasoned explanation tying the need for…
C.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Evanston, IL
Ankle impairment and claim expansion denied
A Postal Service letter carrier had an accepted left ankle sprain after twisting her ankle at work. She sought a schedule award and acceptance of additional ankle and foot conditions. The diagnostic reports did not establish maximum medical improvement or rate permanent impairment under the…
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Midwest Mining, LLC
Rib order reduced to a $40,000 citation
MSHA issued Peabody Midwest Mining a section 104(d)(2) order for loose coal ribs across 13 entries at its Francisco Underground Pit and specially assessed a $165,700 penalty. Judge William B. Moran found that Peabody violated the rib-control standard and that the violation was significant and…
William R. McCullough v. Fred Wahl Marine Construction and ALMA/FARA
McCullough v. Fred Wahl Marine Construction (BRB 19-0002): attorney fee denial affirmed
William McCullough's counsel sought attorney fees after the employer withdrew a request to modify his compensation award. The first administrative law judge directed counsel to report on fee settlement talks, but counsel did not provide a final report. Years later, counsel submitted an amended fee…
Rhonda G. Cooper v. Jericol Mining, Incorporated and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company
Cooper v. Jericol Mining (BRB 18-0406 BLA): survivor benefits denial affirmed
Rhonda Cooper sought survivor benefits after the death of her husband, a coal miner. The employer accepted that he had simple coal workers' pneumoconiosis, but the administrative law judge found no evidence of a totally disabling respiratory impairment or that pneumoconiosis contributed to his…
G.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Algonac, MI
Knee claim denied for missing physician explanation
A Postal Service clerk reported that her left knee popped while she moved a tub of mail at work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred. An orthopedic surgeon diagnosed a meniscal tear and checked a form box saying it was work related, but left the explanation blank. A physician assistant’s…
J.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Houston, TX
Late shoulder-claim reconsideration refused
J.F., a Postal Service mail processor when he filed his original claim, asked OWCP to reconsider a shoulder injury denial issued in April 2002. The new request arrived in July 2018, almost 16 years after that merits decision. His representative repeated earlier arguments and submitted records…
A.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Scarsdale, NY
Additional knee conditions not linked to accepted sprain
A Postal Service carrier twisted her left knee when her foot caught on a vehicle seat bracket. OWCP accepted a medial collateral ligament sprain. She asked it to accept other knee conditions, including a meniscal tear and arthritis. Her physicians listed diagnoses and attributed them to the…
H.Y. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, East Rockaway, NY
Termination and later disability denial affirmed
A Postal Service carrier had received benefits for contusions and neck and lower-back sprains after a workplace fall. An OWCP referral surgeon found that those accepted conditions had resolved and that the worker could return to full duty. The Board credited that reasoned opinion and upheld…
P.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jamaica, NY
Termination of injury benefits affirmed after resolved conditions
A Postal Service letter carrier received benefits after accepted right knee, shoulder, wrist, and elbow injuries. OWCP’s examining physician found normal objective function and explained why the accepted conditions had resolved. Her treating physician reported continued pain and recommended surgery…
C.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Palm Desert Post Office, Palm Desert, CA
Old disability periods denied for lack of new evidence
A Postal Service worker sought disability compensation for periods in 1982 to 1986 and 2000 to 2006 based on an accepted right foot injury. He submitted no supporting evidence with the new claim and did not respond when OWCP requested proof of lost wages and disability. The Board held that earlier…
Bige Messer v. Andalex Resources, Incorporated and Old Republic Insurance Company
Messer v. Andalex Resources (BRB 18-0272 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Bige Messer sought black lung benefits after underground coal mine work and a disabling respiratory impairment. On remand, the administrative law judge credited him with more than fifteen years of mine work, applied the fifteen-year presumption of disability due to pneumoconiosis, and reinstated…
Leiva v. Union Pacific Railroad Company
Settlement breach did not create a new FRSA claim
Daniel Leiva previously settled a successful Federal Rail Safety Act case in which Union Pacific agreed not to use or disclose records of 2012 discipline tied to his protected activity. He filed a new FRSA complaint after the company supplied those records to a Public Law Board considering a later…
N.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Mexico, MO
19-0248 (ECAB): Seven percent right arm schedule award affirmed
N.A., a rural mail carrier, had an accepted right shoulder rotator cuff injury and underwent several surgeries. OWCP awarded her compensation for seven percent permanent impairment of the right upper extremity. The Board agreed with the medical adviser’s use of the diagnosis-based method because it…
J.T. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Ann Arbor, MI
18-1791 (ECAB): $22,979.73 overpayment and recovery affirmed
J.T., a Veterans Health Administration employee, received FECA wage-loss compensation while also receiving Social Security retirement benefits partly based on federal service. OWCP calculated that the overlap from March 2012 through March 2018 produced a $22,979.73 overpayment. The Board upheld…
P.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Melville, NY
18-1738 (ECAB): Additional shoulder conditions lacked causation proof
P.J., a postal mail handler, reported a shoulder injury while separating mail containers. OWCP eventually accepted a left shoulder humeral head subluxation but declined to add a rotator cuff tear, labral tear, chondromalacia, and aggravation of preexisting joint disease. His physician attributed…
E.R. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, San Francisco, CA
18-1646 (ECAB): Schedule award and reconsideration denials affirmed
E.R., a National Park Service maintenance worker, sought a schedule award after an accepted low back injury and surgery. His physician initially rated whole-person impairment using an older edition of the impairment guides, but FECA schedule awards require impairment of a covered body member, and…
M.M. and Department of the Navy, Military Sealift Command, Naval Station, Norfolk, VA
18-0817 (ECAB): Left foot injury did not establish a year of total disability
M.M., a Navy utility mechanic, had an accepted left foot injury and two foot surgeries. He sought wage-loss compensation for total disability from June 1, 2016 to June 1, 2017. His surgeon initially released him to full duty and later corrected a mistaken note about work hardening, but did not…
Q.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Inglewood, CA
18-0345 (ECAB): OWCP must review new arguments about terminated benefits
Q.M., a postal mail processor, had received compensation for accepted arm and shoulder conditions. OWCP terminated her benefits after she pleaded guilty to insurance fraud and later reinstated them when a California court dismissed the criminal case, but OWCP then reversed the reinstatement. She…
R.R. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Ashland, KY
18-0068 (ECAB): Refusal to reopen knee recurrence claim affirmed
R.R., a former Bureau of Prisons correctional counselor, had an accepted left knee meniscus injury and later sought benefits for worsening knee problems. OWCP denied his recurrence claim, and he requested reconsideration after a total knee replacement. For his later request to reopen the case, he…
E.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Chicago, IL
19-0251 (ECAB): Right knee records did not prove left knee disability
E.M., a federal air marshal, injured his left knee during work fitness activities, and OWCP accepted left prepatellar bursitis. He later claimed that the condition had worsened and caused total disability. The medical reports he supplied concerned examinations and surgery of his right knee; none…
W.P. and Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Corpus Christi, TX
19-0148 (ECAB): Back pain records did not establish a work injury
W.P., a Defense Logistics Agency employee, reported low back pain after picking debris up from the floor at work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the claim for lack of a diagnosed condition tied to it. A nurse practitioner recorded back pain, but her report was not countersigned…
R.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Baltimore Performance Cluster, Baltimore, MD
19-0057 (ECAB): Carpal tunnel benefit termination affirmed
R.P., a former postal letter sorting machine operator, had an accepted bilateral carpal tunnel condition and underwent surgery in the 1980s. Her treating doctor reported continuing work-related symptoms, while other examining doctors disagreed about their cause and her ability to work. OWCP…
E.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Boston, MA
18-1808 (ECAB): Left knee claim limit and subpoena denials affirmed
E.C., a retired postal mail handler and custodian, sought to add permanent aggravation of left knee arthritis to her accepted work-related knee conditions. OWCP had accepted permanent acceleration of right knee arthritis and temporary aggravation of left knee arthritis. An impartial orthopedic…
C.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Memphis, TN
18-1716 (ECAB): Shoulder impairment award returned for complete measurements
C.T., a postal letter carrier, injured her left shoulder in a fall while delivering mail. Her physician rated six percent permanent impairment from shoulder motion loss, while OWCP’s medical adviser rated three percent using a diagnosis-based method because the physician had taken only one set of…
Social Security Administration, Office of Hearings Operations and International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Association of Administrative Law Judges
SSA Office of Hearings Operations and AALJ (FLRA 0-AR-5346): Grievance barred by earlier EEO filing
An employee filed an EEO complaint alleging that the agency opened a misconduct investigation in retaliation for protected activity. After the investigation led to a written reprimand, the union filed a grievance and an arbitrator found no just cause for the discipline. The Authority held that the…
Amy H. Bednar and nine other claimants; Arthur W. Wardell v. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Incorporated
Bednar and other claimants v. Huntington Ingalls Industries (BRB 18-0619 through 18-0628): medical provider attorney fee affirmed
Huntington Ingalls disputed bills from Dr. Arthur Wardell for treatment of ten workers with compensable injuries. Dr. Wardell sought payment through the Longshore Act process, and the employer paid the disputed medical charges before hearings. An administrative law judge awarded Wardell's counsel…
Linda S. Gumm v. Molloy Mining, Incorporated and West Virginia Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis Fund
Gumm v. Molloy Mining (BRB 18-0354 BLA): survivor award returned for review of breathing tests
Linda Gumm received survivor benefits after an administrative law judge found that her late husband had at least fifteen years of underground coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. Molloy Mining challenged the judge's reliance on lung function and blood gas studies. The…
Ryan A. Teer v. Huntington Ingalls, Incorporated, Pascagoula Operations
Ryan A. Teer v. Huntington Ingalls (BRB 18-0257): prior home modification cost cannot offset current care
Ryan Teer was injured while working at Huntington Ingalls' shipyard and later needed a wheelchair and accessible housing. The employer paid $35,743 to modify his parents' home, where he had lived. After Teer moved, the administrative law judge held that the employer owed modifications to his…
G.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Mount Greenwood Post Office, Chicago, IL
19-0105 (ECAB): New lumbar aggravation claim denied after impartial review
G.M., a postal letter carrier with previously accepted back conditions, reported renewed back and leg symptoms after returning to physically demanding duties in late 2012. She sought acceptance of a pinched nerve or degenerative disc disease linked to those duties. Her treating surgeon and an OWCP…
T.K. and Department of the Navy, Defense Logistics Agency, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA
19-0074 (ECAB): Hearing loss lacked a medical link to work noise
T.K., a retired federal supply management specialist, claimed hearing loss from workplace noise. OWCP accepted a history of hazardous noise exposure and obtained a specialist’s examination. The specialist found hearing loss in the left ear but normal hearing in the right, and reasoned that…
K.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Aurora, OH
18-1725 (ECAB): Training commute fell outside work injury coverage
K.G., a postal employee on a modified assignment, reported shoulder pain while driving home from training at a different postal station. She had finished her shift and was not paid for travel time, though the Postal Service reimbursed the mileage difference from her regular commute. The Board found…
J.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bellingham, MA
18-1635 (ECAB): Thumb award returned for medical adviser review
J.S., a postal letter carrier, received a schedule award after an accepted left thumb condition and surgery. OWCP’s medical adviser rated 10 percent impairment of the hand but lacked measurements needed to compare that rating with a thumb motion rating. OWCP then obtained a second opinion that…
S.N. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Hunter Holmes McGuire Hospital, Richmond, VA
18-1627 (ECAB): Fall claim lacked reasoned medical link
S.N., a Veterans Affairs nurse, slipped on water at work and reported pain in her knee, shoulder, neck, and back. OWCP accepted that the fall occurred but denied her injury claim. Some doctors described pain without a firm diagnosis, and others recorded diagnosed conditions without explaining their…
S.J., Brown and Department of the Army, Fort Benning, GA
18-1513 (ECAB): Disputed injury date did not reopen shoulder claim
S.J., an Army mobile equipment servicer, claimed a shoulder injury from moving a heavy lift at work. OWCP accepted that the incident happened but denied the claim because the medical evidence did not adequately connect the diagnosed conditions to it. On reconsideration, S.J. disputed the date…
United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and American Federation of Government Employees, National Border Patrol Council, Chapter 2499
Customs and Border Protection and Border Patrol Council Chapter 2499 (FLRA 0-AR-5382): Official-time award set aside
A union president requested sixty-four hours of official time for several broad categories of representational work but did not state how much time each activity required. The agency denied the request after he declined to provide more information, and an arbitrator found that the agreement did not…
David Olney v. Electric Boat Corporation
Olney v. Electric Boat Corporation (BRB 19-0123): late disability claims dismissed while medical award stands
David Olney, a pipefitter at Electric Boat, filed later claims for temporary disability and medical benefits related to both knees. An administrative law judge dismissed those claims as late. Olney challenged the ruling on medical benefits, arguing that they could not be barred by the filing…
Michael E. Lesh v. Advantage Federal Resourcing and Allied World National Assurance Company
Lesh v. Advantage Federal Resourcing (BRB 18-0496): supplemental attorney fee affirmed
After Michael Lesh's Defense Base Act claim was settled, his attorney sought a supplemental fee for work performed in 2016 and 2018. An administrative law judge awarded an additional $3,961.20 using hourly rates derived from a rate the Board had previously affirmed. Counsel appealed, seeking a…
Billy Ray Osborne v. Buffalo Mining Company and Pittston Company
Osborne v. Buffalo Mining Company (BRB 18-0297 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Billy Ray Osborne had 22.5 years of underground coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The administrative law judge applied the fifteen-year presumption of disability due to pneumoconiosis and awarded benefits after finding that Buffalo Mining did not rebut it. The…
Terry L. Shipley v. Consolidation Coal Company and Consol Energy, Incorporated
Shipley v. Consolidation Coal Company (BRB 18-0032 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Terry Shipley had more than forty years of qualifying coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. An administrative law judge applied the fifteen-year presumption of disability due to pneumoconiosis and awarded benefits after finding that Consolidation Coal did not rebut it. The…
M.S. and Social Security Administration, Richmond, CA
19-0189 (ECAB): Repetitive computer work claim lacked a reasoned medical link
M.S., a Social Security claims representative, attributed right elbow and shoulder conditions to repetitive computer work. OWCP denied her occupational disease claim for lack of sufficient medical evidence connecting the conditions to her duties. The Board found that one physician diagnosed the…
R.A. and Department of the Air Force, 27th Combat Support Group, Cannon Air Force Base, NM
19-0065 (ECAB): Termination for refusing temporary work reversed
R.A., an Air Force food service worker, received compensation for an accepted back injury. He declined a temporary light-duty laborer position, and OWCP terminated his benefits for refusing suitable work. OWCP based the position's suitability on a physician's July 2016 work restrictions. The Board…
T.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Lake Grove, OR
18-1622 (ECAB): Three percent elbow impairment award affirmed
T.T., a postal letter carrier, fractured his right elbow in a fall while delivering mail. OWCP granted a schedule award for three percent permanent impairment of his right arm. His examining surgeon calculated six percent based on loose bodies in the elbow, but the Board found that this condition…
D.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Merrifield, VA
18-1359 (ECAB): Medical reports did not link neck and shoulder conditions to work
D.B., a postal custodian, reported neck and left shoulder pain after pushing a heavy hamper at work. OWCP accepted that the August 2017 incident occurred but denied the claim for lack of medical evidence connecting it to a diagnosed condition. The Board found that the physicians' reports gave no…
A.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Farmington, MI
18-0589 (ECAB): Postal carrier’s wage-loss claim returned for work-status evidence
A.W., a postal city carrier, sustained accepted shoulder and neck strains while lifting a package. She claimed wage-loss compensation beginning in September 2017 after working a modified assignment. Her account left unclear whether she stopped work because her physician found her totally disabled…
S.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hobe Sound, FL
18-0126 (ECAB): Late reconsideration request did not show clear error
S.C., a postal rural carrier, alleged that she injured her back while lifting a parcel on her delivery route. OWCP ultimately accepted that the incident occurred but denied the claim because the medical evidence did not establish a causal link to her diagnosed conditions. She requested…
M.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Las Vegas, NV
17-1980 (ECAB): Emotional condition claim not reopened
M.B. alleged that a supervisor’s treatment at work caused an emotional condition. OWCP denied the claim, finding that most alleged events were not established and that the one established administrative matter did not show error or abuse. On reconsideration, M.B. submitted medical reports about…
Abdul Waziri v. Mission Essential Personnel, LLC and Zurich American Insurance Company
Waziri v. Mission Essential Personnel (BRB 19-0330): appeal dismissed for settlement review
Abdul Waziri and Mission Essential Personnel agreed to settle his Defense Base Act claim while the employer's appeal was pending before the Benefits Review Board. The employer asked the Board to send the case back for settlement review. The Board granted the request, dismissed the appeal without…
Ford v. Zebra Carriers, Inc. and Ford v. TCM Transport, LLC
Ford v. Zebra Carriers, Inc. and TCM Transport, LLC (DOL ARB 2018-0057 and 2019-0023): review dismissed after brief not filed
Michael Ford sought Board review in two matters involving Zebra Carriers and TCM Transport. The Board first ordered him to explain why the appeal should not be dismissed for failure to file his petition, then granted him more time and amended the briefing schedule. It warned that failure to follow…
J.C. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Bothell, WA
19-0182 (ECAB): Chiropractic care not shown necessary for accepted stress conditions
J.C., a FEMA emergency manager, had accepted work-related post-traumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder. She asked OWCP to authorize chiropractic treatment for back pain, arguing that it helped her mood and treated effects of the accepted conditions. OWCP’s consulting psychiatrist…
A.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Raleigh, NC
19-0153 (ECAB): Knee arthritis claim returned for medical development
A.G., a postal mail handler, attributed bilateral knee osteoarthritis to years of standing, bending, and other work activities. OWCP denied the claim for lack of a sufficient medical link. His orthopedic surgeon described how repeated joint stress could worsen arthritis and addressed the effects of…
B.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Memphis, TN
19-0123 (ECAB): Brief disability claim lacked medical explanation
B.F., a postal police officer, had accepted back and hip injuries after slipping on ice at work. He claimed wage-loss compensation for four days in July and August 2018 after a reported flare-up. His physician stated that he should stay off work but did not explain how the accepted injuries had…
S.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Mill Valley, CA
18-1634 (ECAB): Medical-visit wage loss not linked to accepted neck injury
S.H., a postal carrier, had an accepted neck sprain after a vehicle collision at work. He sought wage-loss compensation for time spent at psychiatric appointments and other intermittent absences in 2017. The Board found that the appointment notes did not establish that psychiatric care was a…
All-Pro Construction Services, Inc.
Two residential fall protection citations affirmed
All-Pro Construction Services performed roofing work on new homes in central Florida. OSHA observed two separate three-person crews working on sloped roofs without required fall protection, first at a height of about 18 feet and then two days later at about 9 feet. The judge found that the…
C.B. and U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, Miami, FL
18-0071 (ECAB): Neck and shoulder claim lacked medical proof of aggravation
C.B., a federal court administrator, reported neck and left shoulder pain after moving carts and chairs at work. OWCP accepted the November 2015 incident but found that the medical evidence did not establish a related injury. Her records documented preexisting shoulder and cervical conditions and…
J.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Modesto, CA
18-0066 (ECAB): Reconsideration request returned for correct review standard
J.D., a former postal carrier, sought reconsideration after OWCP terminated compensation and medical benefits for an accepted back injury. His request arrived January 10, 2017, one day after the adjusted one-year filing deadline. OWCP denied it using the standard for timely requests. The Board held…
R.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Newport News, VA
18-0027 (ECAB): Disability claim lacked proof tied to accepted condition
R.G., a postal letter carrier, had an accepted adjustment disorder with anxiety arising from a workplace incident. He sought wage-loss compensation for total disability beginning April 13, 2017. His psychologist discussed post-traumatic stress disorder and other symptoms but did not explain how the…
E.D. and Department of the Army, Research, Development & Engineering Command, Moffett Field, CA
19-0256 (ECAB): Accepted hearing loss did not qualify for a schedule award
E.D., an Army engineering technician, experienced accepted work-related noise exposure and hearing loss. He sought a schedule award. His audiogram showed some loss, but the standard calculation yielded zero percent ratable impairment in each ear and zero percent binaural impairment. The Board held…
W.H. and U.S. Postal Service, New Jersey Processing & Distribution Center, Kearny, NJ
19-0168 (ECAB): Recurrence claim lacked proof of disability or withdrawn work
W.H., a postal mail handler, had accepted injuries from being pinned by a container and later worked in a modified assignment. She stopped work for treatment of unrelated brain aneurysms and then claimed a recurrence when she sought to return. The Board found no reasoned medical opinion showing…
D.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bethesda, MD
19-0070 (ECAB): Reported bite lacked a physician’s diagnosis
D.N., a postal mail carrier, reported that something bit his left leg while he delivered mail. OWCP accepted the August 2018 incident but found no medical diagnosis connected to it. The only work-release form came from a physician assistant and did not establish a diagnosis through a physician…
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.