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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M.G. and Department of the Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH
18-1482 (ECAB): Right knee schedule award reconsideration reopened
M.G., an Air Force firefighter, had received a schedule award for 34 percent right leg impairment after an accepted knee injury. He requested reconsideration, arguing that a Board precedent supported a higher rating. OWCP declined to reopen the claim. The Board found his legal argument relevant and…
T.B. and Department of the Army, Army Corps of Engineers, Pomeroy, WA
18-1449 (ECAB): Retirement benefit overpayment and repayment upheld
T.B., an Army Corps employee, received FECA compensation while also receiving Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service. OWCP found a $1,465.20 overpayment and classified him as without fault. The Board nevertheless upheld denial of waiver because he did not provide…
E.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Los Angeles, CA
18-1423 (ECAB): Mail handling condition claim denied for lack of medical link
E.W., a postal foreign air mail clerk, attributed migraines and neck and back pain to lifting, pushing, and pulling at work. OWCP accepted the work factors but denied her occupational disease claim. The Board found the medical evidence did not adequately explain how those duties caused or…
K.O. and Department of the Treasury, U.S. Mint, West Point, NY
18-1422 (ECAB): Cervical, shoulder, and blood pressure claims denied
K.O., a U.S. Mint machine operator, reported neck and shoulder symptoms and increased blood pressure that she attributed to work. OWCP accepted identified employment factors but denied her occupational disease claim. The Board found the medical evidence insufficient to connect the diagnosed…
S.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New York, NY
18-1249 (ECAB): Left leg condition not linked to postal duties
S.S., a postal city carrier assistant, attributed a left leg condition to walking, climbing stairs, bending, pushing, and pulling in her job. OWCP accepted her work duties but denied the occupational disease claim. The Board found her medical evidence did not adequately explain how those duties…
E.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Macon, GA
17-1497 (ECAB): Additional hip, knee, and spine conditions not accepted
E.B., a postal rural carrier associate, was injured in a motor vehicle collision while delivering mail in February 2014. She sought to expand her accepted claim to cover additional left hip, right knee, and spinal conditions. The Board found the medical evidence did not adequately link those…
A.F. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, Calexico, CA
17-1374 (ECAB): Back injury claim denied for lack of medical diagnosis
A.F., a border patrol agent, reported back pain after another participant pulled his leg during a training exercise. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the injury claim. The Board found that the physician diagnosed only low back pain, which is a symptom rather than a specific…
B.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Atlanta, GA
17-0479 (ECAB): Medical travel overpayment sent back for complete record
B.H., a postal employee with accepted arm conditions, received reimbursement for travel to medical care. OWCP alleged that many claims were improper and assessed a $24,800.96 overpayment. The Board found the record contained only a small sample of the travel forms underlying the allegation and did…
CSA Equipment Company, LLC
Forklift struck-by citation affirmed
CSA Equipment handled steel coils at the Port of Mobile, where a forklift struck and killed a clerk checking a coil. The Commission found that separating clerks from forklifts until coil checks were complete was a feasible way to materially reduce the struck-by hazard. CSA had successfully used…
George Scoles v. Harrison County Coal Co.
Original scanner-policy discrimination ruling
This is the original release of the decision denying George Scoles' discrimination and interference claims against Harrison County Coal. The Judge found that Scoles was a prominent safety advocate but that credible company records showed he was discharged after five missed hand-scanner entries…
HCI Industrial & Marine Coatings, Inc.
Barge fall-protection items partly affirmed
HCI employees were sandblasting and painting inside a barge storage tank when an employee fell from staging and was hospitalized. The judge vacated the general fall-protection item because the Secretary did not prove that HCI knew or should have known the employee was working without fall…
Packers Sanitation Services, Inc.
Drain, machine-guarding, and recordkeeping items partly affirmed
Packers Sanitation cleaned equipment at a poultry processing plant where an employee's hand was caught in an operating quill puller, causing a fingertip amputation. The judge affirmed one walking-surface instance because managers stepped over inadequately covered drains in the normal route to the…
Jesse D. Taylor v. The Marion County Coal Company/Murray Energy Corporation
Taylor v. Marion County Coal (BRB 18-0223): disability question returned to the judge
Jesse Taylor appealed a denial of black lung benefits despite 33 years of underground coal mine work and evidence of clinical pneumoconiosis. The judge found that he had not proved total respiratory disability. The Board held that the judge had overlooked one doctor's disability opinion and had not…
Martha A. Johnson (on behalf of and widow of Raymond L. Johnson) v. Consolidation Coal Company
Johnson v. Consolidation Coal (BRB 17-0634 and 18-0054): miner and survivor awards vacated
Consolidation Coal appealed benefits awards in Raymond Johnson's miner claim and Martha Johnson's survivor claim. The Board upheld some findings but held that the judge had not adequately evaluated the medical evidence on whether the employer disproved legal pneumoconiosis. It vacated the miner's…
Martha A. Johnson (on behalf of and widow of Raymond L. Johnson) v. Consolidation Coal Company
Johnson v. Consolidation Coal (BRB 17-0634 and 18-0054): miner and survivor awards vacated
Consolidation Coal appealed benefits awards in Raymond Johnson's miner claim and Martha Johnson's survivor claim. The Board upheld some findings but held that the judge had not adequately evaluated the medical evidence on whether the employer disproved legal pneumoconiosis. It vacated the miner's…
George N. Gindo v. AECOM National Security Programs, Incorporated and Continental Insurance Company
Gindo v. AECOM (BRB 17-0418): reconsideration of retirement ruling denied
George Gindo asked the Board to reconsider its treatment of his delayed-onset post-traumatic stress disorder as an occupational disease and its finding that he had voluntarily retired before becoming disabled. The Board rejected his argument that war-zone events could not produce an occupational…
A.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Orleans, LA
18-1796 (ECAB): Noise-related headache and muscle spasm claim denied
A.W., a postal maintenance office support clerk, attributed headaches and muscle spasms to noise near her workstation. OWCP accepted identified work factors but denied the occupational disease claim. The Board found her medical evidence did not adequately connect those factors to the diagnosed…
T.C. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Union, NJ
18-1767 (ECAB): Left arm condition not linked to security duties
T.C., a transportation security explosives specialist, attributed left shoulder and arm symptoms to years of lifting heavy equipment cases at work. OWCP accepted the identified duties but denied the occupational disease claim. The Board found that the medical evidence did not provide a sufficient…
N.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Trenton, NJ
18-1584 (ECAB): Ankle disability recurrence and surgery authorization denied
N.M., a postal mail handler, had an accepted right ankle injury after being thrown from a dock plate. He later claimed renewed total disability and sought authorization for ankle surgery. The Board found the medical evidence did not show that the accepted injury caused the claimed disability or…
J.G. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Systems Command, San Diego, CA
18-1432 (ECAB): Felony incarceration overpayment and fault finding upheld
J.G., a former Navy aircraft mechanic, received FECA compensation while incarcerated after a felony conviction. OWCP found he was paid too much during part of that period and assessed a $4,728.42 debt. The Board upheld the overpayment and fault finding because he gave OWCP an incorrect reason for…
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Port Arthur, TX
18-1425 (ECAB): Back condition not linked to postal duties
D.C., a postal rural carrier, attributed back pain to work duties that included handling mail. OWCP accepted identified employment factors but denied the occupational disease claim. The Board found the medical evidence did not adequately explain how those duties caused or aggravated her back…
R.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Ann Arbor, MI
18-1316 (ECAB): Lumbar condition not linked to carrier duties
R.L., a postal carrier technician, attributed lower back symptoms to his work. OWCP accepted the identified duties but denied the occupational disease claim. The Board found that the medical reports did not adequately explain how those duties caused or aggravated a lumbar condition. It affirmed the…
H.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
18-1240 (ECAB): Two percent right leg impairment award upheld
H.B., a postal city carrier, injured her right hip area after slipping on an icy curb at work. OWCP granted a schedule award for two percent right leg impairment. She sought a higher award, but the Board found the medical evidence did not establish additional ratable impairment. It affirmed OWCP’s…
William C. Culbertson v. TDL Coal Company, Incorporated and Old Republic Insurance Company
Culbertson v. TDL Coal (BRB 18-0312 and 18-0381): benefits and fee awards vacated
TDL Coal appealed a black lung benefits award to William Culbertson and related attorney fee orders. The company challenged the judge's appointment under the Constitution's Appointments Clause. The Board held that the same judge's later ratification of his earlier actions did not provide the new…
William C. Culbertson v. TDL Coal Company, Incorporated and Old Republic Insurance Company
Culbertson v. TDL Coal (BRB 18-0312 and 18-0381): benefits and fee awards vacated
TDL Coal appealed a black lung benefits award to William Culbertson and related attorney fee orders. The company challenged the judge's appointment under the Constitution's Appointments Clause. The Board held that the same judge's later ratification of his earlier actions did not provide the new…
James D. Higgins v. Academi and Starr Indemnity and Liability Company
Higgins v. Academi (BRB 18-0310): cardiac disability benefits denial affirmed
James Higgins sought Defense Base Act benefits for a heart condition that he attributed to a virus contracted while working in Afghanistan. The judge found the employer had rebutted the presumption linking the condition to work. After weighing the full record, the judge found Higgins had not proved…
Anthony T. Taft v. Lockheed Martin Corporation and Ace American Insurance Company
Taft v. Lockheed Martin (BRB 18-0006): reconsideration of wage ruling denied
Anthony Taft sought reconsideration of the Board’s earlier decision affirming the calculation of his average weekly wage for a work-related PTSD injury. He argued that another Board decision required use of his full overseas wages and that the judge needed to explain the wage calculation further…
J.G. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Terre Haute, IN
19-0555 (ECAB): Late oral hearing request properly denied
J.G., a Bureau of Prisons secretary, requested an oral hearing after OWCP denied her claim. Her hearing request was postmarked more than 30 days after the merits decision. The Board held that she had missed the deadline for a hearing as of right and that OWCP reasonably declined to grant one as a…
H.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Louis, MO
18-1660 (ECAB): Carpal tunnel claim not reopened for merits review
H.H., a postal carrier, attributed right arm nerve conditions to sorting and moving mail. After OWCP denied his occupational disease claim, he sought reconsideration. The Board found that his request did not supply a qualifying new legal argument or relevant new evidence for merits review. It…
S.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Kearney, NJ
18-1648 (ECAB): Emotional condition claim from job assignment denied
S.K., a postal mail clerk, reported anxiety after a supervisor offered a new modified duty assignment and changed her work hours. The Board found that assigning work was an administrative act and that the evidence did not show management error or abuse. It therefore found no compensable work factor…
L.T. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Coatesville VAMC, Coatesville, PA
18-0797 (ECAB): Wage-earning capacity modification sent back for medical review
L.T., a Veterans Affairs nurse, had an accepted back injury and later underwent authorized surgery. She asked OWCP to revise its earlier wage-earning capacity finding because she could no longer perform the position used for that finding. The Board found the impartial examiner’s report did not…
C.C. and Department of Commerce, Office of the Secretary, Washington, DC
18-0316 (ECAB): Hypertension claim not reopened for merits review
C.C., a Department of Commerce lawyer, had once received acceptance of a hypertension claim before OWCP rescinded it. She requested reconsideration of the rescission. The Board found her submission did not meet the requirements for reopening the merits. It affirmed OWCP’s nonmerit denial.
Randolph Bessard v. C & D Production Specialist Company, Incorporated
Bessard v. C & D Production Specialist (BRB 18-0512): attorney fee petition denied as untimely
Randolph Bessard’s former attorney sought fees for work performed before a labor judge from 2004 to 2006. The judge denied the petition because the attorney filed it in 2016, nearly three years after a benefits award and roughly ten years after the work. The attorney argued that no filing deadline…
Kathleen Godfrey (widow of Shawn Godfrey) v. Tappan Zee Constructors, LLC
Godfrey v. Tappan Zee Constructors (BRB 18-0510): death benefits award affirmed
Shawn Godfrey collapsed after working on the new Tappan Zee Bridge and died a week later. His widow received death benefits after a judge found that his work activities contributed to his fatal heart condition. The employer disputed the weight given to the medical opinions and argued that the judge…
Ana Bertha Perez v. Navy Exchange Service Command
Perez v. Navy Exchange Service Command (BRB 18-0488): limited injury benefits ruling affirmed
Ana Perez worked at a Navy Exchange warehouse and received six days of temporary total disability benefits after a box fell on her at work in 2010. She sought additional benefits for an alleged 2011 accident and for cumulative trauma from her work. The Board upheld the judge’s finding that the…
Guillermo Maldonado v. Gulf Copper Dry Dock & Rig Repair
Maldonado v. Gulf Copper Dry Dock (BRB 18-0345): disability and medical awards affirmed
Guillermo Maldonado injured his back and knees while working as a sandblaster and painter. On remand, a judge awarded ongoing temporary total disability and medical benefits. The employer challenged the claim’s timeliness, the finding that Maldonado had not reached maximum medical improvement, and…
Bettye J. Johnson (widow of Franklin Johnson) v. Jim Walter Resources, Incorporated
Johnson v. Jim Walter Resources (BRB 18-0077 BLA): survivor’s claim returned for medical review
Bettye Johnson received survivor’s black lung benefits after a judge found that her late husband had 27 years of underground mining and a totally disabling respiratory condition. The employer challenged the medical findings and the conclusion that it had not rebutted the presumption linking his…
M.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Tulsa, OK
18-1737 (ECAB): Shoulder condition not linked to conveyor belt incident
M.H., a transportation security officer, stepped onto a moving baggage conveyor belt and reported a right shoulder injury. OWCP accepted the incident but denied the injury claim. The Board found the medical evidence did not adequately explain how that event caused or aggravated her shoulder…
T.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Channahon, IL
18-1736 (ECAB): Back condition not linked to accepted route incident
T.H., a postal rural carrier, reported straining her lower back while on her route. OWCP accepted the work incident but denied the injury claim. The Board found that the medical reports did not adequately explain how the incident caused or aggravated her diagnosed lumbar condition. It affirmed the…
T.E. and U.S. Postal Service, New York International Service Center, Jamaica, NY
18-1595 (ECAB): Postcollision condition expansion sent back for clearer opinion
T.E., a postal police officer, was injured when another vehicle struck her postal vehicle. She sought to add headaches, dizziness, vestibular symptoms, postconcussion syndrome, and cervical radiculopathy to her accepted claim. The Board found OWCP’s medical adviser gave an unclear explanation that…
A.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Kansas City, MO
18-1587 (ECAB): Emotional condition not linked to accepted work factor
A.E., a postal stamp fulfillment clerk, attributed an emotional condition to a coworker’s conduct. The Board identified a compensable workplace factor but found the medical reports did not explain how that specific event caused or aggravated her diagnosed condition. It affirmed OWCP’s denial for…
G.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chicago, IL
18-1369 (ECAB): Claimed total disability after shoulder injury denied
G.T., a postal city carrier, had accepted shoulder and neck conditions after pulling an overhead door at work. He claimed total disability for a later period. The Board found the medical evidence did not sufficiently explain why the accepted conditions prevented all work from June 30 through…
E.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New York, NY
18-1320 (ECAB): Retirement benefit overpayment and fault finding upheld
E.F., a postal electronic technician, received FECA compensation while also receiving federal retirement benefits from October 15, 2017 through March 31, 2018. OWCP found the overlap created a $23,335.74 overpayment. The Board upheld the debt and found him at fault in its creation. It affirmed…
G.J. and Department of State, American Embassy Kabul, Kabul, Afghanistan
18-1292 (ECAB): Schedule award pay rate cap upheld
G.J., a State Department employee injured in a vehicle bomb blast in Afghanistan, received a schedule award for lasting knee impairment. He challenged the pay rate used to calculate it. The Board found OWCP selected the proper disability date and applied the statutory maximum weekly compensation…
S.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Steubenville, OH
18-1242 (ECAB): Left wrist carpal tunnel claim denied for lack of causation
S.C., a postal sales and service associate, attributed left hand and wrist symptoms to decades of repetitive clerk work. OWCP accepted identified duties but denied her occupational disease claim. The Board found the medical evidence did not sufficiently explain how those duties caused or aggravated…
City of Ruidoso Downs and Village of Ruidoso Wastewater Treatment Plant
In re City of Ruidoso Downs and Village of Ruidoso Wastewater Treatment Plant (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 17-03): Nutrient limits upheld under antibacksliding exception
EPA Region 6 issued an NPDES permit for the City of Ruidoso Downs and Village of Ruidoso wastewater treatment plant in New Mexico. Rio Hondo Land and Cattle Company challenged the permit's nitrogen and phosphorus limits, arguing that EPA could not use the Clean Water Act's antibacksliding exception…
John G. Pearn v. Inspectorate America, Corporation
Pearn v. Inspectorate America (BRB 18-0463): back injury claim returned for further findings
John Pearn reported back pain after a harness and oxygen tank shifted while he worked for Inspectorate America. A judge denied benefits, finding that Pearn’s current lumbar condition was not caused by the work incident. The Board held that the record established a work-related thoracic strain and…
Kathy Sue Helton (widow of and on behalf of Druble Helton) v. ANR Coal Company
Helton v. ANR Coal (BRB 18-0176 BLA and 18-0195 BLA): miner claim denied, survivor claim returned
Kathy Helton pursued her late husband Druble Helton’s black lung claim and her own survivor claim. The Board upheld the denial of the miner’s claim because the evidence did not establish a totally disabling respiratory or pulmonary impairment. That denial also prevented automatic survivor benefits…
Charles E. Hauber v. Energy West Mining Company
Hauber v. Energy West Mining (BRB 18-0184 BLA): black lung award returned for rebuttal review
Charles Hauber received black lung benefits after a judge found 22 years of qualifying coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board upheld the disability finding and application of the fifteen-year presumption. It found, however, that the judge had used the wrong legal…
Kathy Sue Helton (widow of and on behalf of Druble Helton) v. ANR Coal Company
Helton v. ANR Coal (BRB 18-0176 BLA and 18-0195 BLA): miner claim denied, survivor claim returned
Kathy Helton pursued her late husband Druble Helton’s black lung claim and her own survivor claim. The Board upheld the denial of the miner’s claim because the evidence did not establish a totally disabling respiratory or pulmonary impairment. That denial also prevented automatic survivor benefits…
Edward G. Piper v. Eighty Four Mining Company
Piper v. Eighty Four Mining (BRB 18-0173 BLA): black lung award returned for rebuttal review
Edward Piper received black lung benefits after a judge found 27.63 years of underground coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The employer disputed whether it had rebutted the resulting fifteen-year presumption. The Board found that the judge had applied the wrong legal…
Donna C. Thomas (widow of and on behalf of Jerry Thomas) v. Crager Fork Mining
Thomas v. Crager Fork Mining (BRB 18-0167 BLA and 18-0168 BLA): benefits upheld, operator issue returned
Donna Thomas pursued black lung benefits for her late husband Jerry Thomas and survivor benefits for herself. The Board upheld the finding of complicated pneumoconiosis, the miner’s benefits award, and her derivative survivor benefits award. Crager Fork Mining also disputed its designation as the…
Donna C. Thomas (widow of and on behalf of Jerry Thomas) v. Crager Fork Mining
Thomas v. Crager Fork Mining (BRB 18-0167 BLA and 18-0168 BLA): benefits upheld, operator issue returned
Donna Thomas pursued black lung benefits for her late husband Jerry Thomas and survivor benefits for herself. The Board upheld the finding of complicated pneumoconiosis, the miner’s benefits award, and her derivative survivor benefits award. Crager Fork Mining also disputed its designation as the…
Tufa Iuvale v. Coastal Marine Services
Iuvale v. Coastal Marine Services (BRB 18-0159): employer reconsideration denied
Coastal Marine Services and its carrier asked the Benefits Review Board to reconsider its earlier decision in Tufa Iuvale’s case. Iuvale opposed the motion, and the employer replied. No member of the Board voted to vacate or modify the earlier decision. The Board denied reconsideration and affirmed…
Mike Wilder v. Long Beach Container Terminal and Ports America
Wilder v. Long Beach Container Terminal (BRB 18-0013): reconsideration denied during remand
Mike Wilder asked the Board to reconsider its earlier decision concerning when he became aware that a claimed knee injury might be related to work. The Board granted reconsideration to clarify its reasoning but denied his requested change to the remand instructions. It held that the judge’s…
Wayne D. Powers v. Cumberland River Coal Company/Arch Coal, Incorporated
Powers v. Cumberland River Coal (BRB 16-0666 BLA): employer reconsideration denied
Cumberland River Coal sought Board reconsideration in Wayne Powers’s black lung case. No Board member voted to vacate or modify the earlier decision. The Board denied the employer’s motion in an en banc order. This short order does not describe the underlying benefits ruling.
S.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Aurora, IL
18-1734 (ECAB): Mail dolly injury claim not reopened
S.D., a postal mail handler, reported injuries to her arms, back, and knees after pushing a mail dolly. After OWCP denied her claim, she asked for reconsideration. The Board found her submission did not satisfy the requirements for a new merits review. It affirmed OWCP’s nonmerit denial.
R.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, North Charleston, SC
18-1695 (ECAB): Groin injury disability recurrence denied
R.C., a postal clerk, had an accepted groin condition after handling mail trays. She later claimed that it caused renewed total disability from March 30, 2015. The Board found the medical evidence did not establish that the accepted injuries prevented work during the claimed period. It affirmed…
G.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Corona, CA
18-1665 (ECAB): Benefit termination not reopened for merits review
G.D., a postal letter carrier, reported a back injury when a cluster mailbox door struck her during a delivery. OWCP accepted her lumbar strain, later terminated wage loss and medical benefits, and denied modification of that termination in 2017. She then sought reconsideration. The Board found…
S.W. and Department of Defense, Defense Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC
18-1653 (ECAB): Jogging injury denial affirmed amid conflicting source conclusion
S.W., a Defense Intelligence Agency civilian employee, reported back pain during jogging and sprints. OWCP denied his injury claim because the record lacked details showing how the activity related to his duties and how the injury occurred. The Board’s analysis agreed that factual detail was…
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.