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.
L.E. and Department of the Navy, Naval Base Kitsap, Bremerton, WA
L.E. (ECAB 18-1612): Shelf stocking incident established, medical issue remanded
L.E., a Navy base store worker, said he felt back and torso pain while reaching to stock a high shelf. OWCP denied the claim after questioning whether a specific work incident had occurred. The Board found his account supported by medical reports and his manager's statement, despite delayed notice…
S.S. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Washington, DC
S.S. (ECAB 18-1604): Lunch break traffic injury held outside performance of duty
S.S., a Customs and Border Protection employee, was struck by a car in a crosswalk while away from her workplace to get lunch. Her employer did not control the location of the accident. The Board held that the trip was personal and that the exceptions for a special errand, an employment hazard, or…
D.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Columbus, OH
D.R. (ECAB 18-1592): Upper extremity claim denied without medical evidence
D.R., a postal clerk, claimed that work caused left carpal tunnel syndrome, a left thumb condition, and symptoms on her right side. OWCP asked for a medical report addressing diagnosis and causation. She did not submit medical evidence in response. The Board held that symptoms during employment…
J.V. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Cleveland, OH
J.V. (ECAB 18-1534): Denial of reconsideration of exposure claim affirmed
J.V., a VA pharmacy volunteer and intern, sought reconsideration of a claim involving alleged chemical exposures and several medical conditions. The Board reviewed only OWCP's refusal to reopen the case, because the appealed decision was nonmerit. It found that his request raised no new relevant…
V.H. and Social Security Administration, Gastonia, NC
V.H. (ECAB 18-0848): Shoulder impairment award returned for complete medical rating
V.H., a Social Security Administration employee, sought more than the 10 percent left arm impairment award OWCP had granted after rotator cuff surgery. Her surgeon rated 14 percent impairment, while OWCP's medical adviser rated 10 percent without explaining key calculations. The Board found the…
G.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bonita Springs, FL
G.A. (ECAB 18-0266): Claim denial set aside after notices went to wrong address
G.A., a postal rural carrier associate, claimed a shoulder injury from lifting bags of food off mailboxes. OWCP sent its development letter and denial to an incorrect street number even though later claim forms gave the correct address; both mailings came back undeliverable. The Board held that the…
L.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing and Distribution Center, Los Angeles, CA
L.L. (ECAB 18-0117): Wage capacity letter treated as appealable decision
L.L., a postal tractor trailer operator, sought to modify an earlier wage earning capacity decision. OWCP wrote that it would not modify the decision but omitted appeal rights, then called its letter informational and declined his hearing request. The Board held that the first letter was a final…
T.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Springfield, TN
T.T. (ECAB 18-1682): Refusal to reopen knee injury claim affirmed
T.T., a postal city carrier, sought reconsideration after OWCP denied his right knee claim for insufficient medical causation evidence. His request repeated the incident history and said a doctor recommended surgery. The Board found no new relevant legal argument or pertinent medical evidence…
R.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA
R.H. (ECAB 18-1602): Late hearing request denial affirmed
R.H., a VA inventory management specialist, sought a hearing after OWCP denied her claim for workplace allergy symptoms. Her hearing request was postmarked more than 30 days after OWCP's December 18, 2017 decision. The Board found that she had no hearing right under the filing deadline and that…
S.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chicago, IL
S.H. (ECAB 18-1579): Shoulder claim denied for insufficient physician evidence
S.H., a postal tool and parts clerk, reported pulling her left shoulder while lifting heavy parts at work. Physician assistants diagnosed shoulder conditions, but their reports could not establish medical causation under FECA. A physician later diagnosed a rotator cuff tear using the wrong injury…
R.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Natchez, MS
R.R. (ECAB 18-1562): Refusal to reopen hand condition claim affirmed
R.R., a postal city carrier, sought reconsideration after OWCP denied his occupational disease claim involving right hand and wrist conditions. He submitted another report that repeated diagnoses and described his own belief that repetitive mail handling caused symptoms. The doctor did not give an…
J.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Palatine, IL
J.J. (ECAB 18-1545): Left shoulder occupational claim denied for lack of medical reasoning
J.J., a postal mail processing clerk, attributed a left shoulder injury to lifting packages from a moving belt. One physician diagnosed shoulder conditions without addressing their cause. Another called the conditions work related but did not explain how the accepted duties caused or aggravated…
Y.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Harrisburg, PA
Y.R. (ECAB 18-1464): Wage capacity modification request requires merits review
Y.R., a postal rural carrier associate, challenged a wage earning capacity calculation after an accepted vehicle crash injury. She submitted pay records and argued that the earlier determination used an incorrect pay rate. OWCP treated her request as an untimely reconsideration petition and applied…
D.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Macclesfield, NC
D.M. (ECAB 18-1434): Back injury claim remains unproved after second appeal
D.M., a postal rural carrier, said she hurt her back while turning to move mail trays. The Board had previously upheld denial of that claim. On this appeal, new records largely addressed a different account involving stepping in a hole and a knee condition. The Board found no competent, reasoned…
F.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Newhall, CA
18-1421 (ECAB): Wrist claim and reconsideration denials affirmed
F.W., a mail carrier, attributed left wrist osteoarthritis to repetitive work. The Board found that he had not described his repetitive work duties in enough detail to establish the alleged occupational exposure. He did not answer OWCP’s questionnaire seeking those facts. It also found that his…
K.F. and Department of the Air Force, 309th Maintenance Support Squadron, Hill Air Force Base, UT
18-1279 (ECAB): Achilles injury reconsideration refusal affirmed
K.F., an Air Force maintenance mechanic, claimed an Achilles injury sustained while playing basketball at an on-site fitness center. OWCP denied the claim and later refused to reopen it. The Board reviewed only the refusal to reopen. It found that the physical therapy notes submitted with the…
L.H. and Department of the Army, Richardson Training Area, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, AK
18-1277 (ECAB): Late hearing loss reconsideration request denied
L.H., a range maintenance worker, sought compensation for hearing loss and tinnitus attributed to workplace noise. He requested reconsideration more than a year after OWCP’s last merits decision. The Board found that his objections to the medical evaluation did not demonstrate clear evidence of…
S.W. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Laguna Niguel, CA
18-1261 (ECAB): Back injury reconsideration refusal affirmed
S.W., a tax examiner, claimed a back injury after experiencing pain while walking at work. OWCP denied the claim and later refused to reopen it. The Board found that her reconsideration statement raised no new relevant legal argument and that the supporting documents duplicated material OWCP had…
C.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Costa Mesa, CA
18-1102 (ECAB): Foot injury reconsideration refusal affirmed
C.R., a postal mail handler, had an accepted left foot sprain. She sought further review concerning continuing effects and additional claimed conditions. The Board found that her reconsideration arguments repeated matters OWCP had already considered and that she supplied no pertinent new evidence…
C.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, North Metro, GA
C.J. (ECAB 18-0994): Timely reconsideration request sent back to OWCP
C.J. requested reconsideration of an OWCP decision concerning an accepted injury. The one year deadline fell on Saturday, October 24, 2015, and her request reached OWCP on Monday, October 26. The Board held that the deadline extended to the next business day, making the request timely. It set aside…
C.L. and Department of Labor, Occupational Safety & Health Administration, Atlanta, GA
18-0812 (ECAB): Parking garage fall claim denial affirmed
C.L., a safety and health clerk, slipped on wet concrete in a parking garage just after leaving work. The Board found that the fall occurred within a reasonable time after her shift but that the parking garage was outside the employing agency’s premises. It also found no special circumstance that…
C.V., widow of P.V. and Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Albuquerque, NM
18-0751 (ECAB): Widow’s late reconsideration requests denied
C.V. sought survivor benefits after her husband’s death, asserting a connection to his accepted work-related asthma. OWCP denied the claim, and she made two later reconsideration requests. The Board found both requests untimely and concluded that the submitted evidence did not show clear error in…
S.W. and U.S. Postal Service, North Metro Processing & Distribution Center, North Metro, GA
18-0326 (ECAB): Timely reconsideration request remanded
S.W., a postal employee, sought reconsideration of a prior OWCP decision. OWCP treated her request as late and applied the clear evidence of error standard. The Board found the request timely because it was received within one year of the last merits decision. It set aside the refusal and remanded…
E.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Southern Maryland General Mail Facility, Capital Heights, MD
17-1502 (ECAB): Overpayment and recovery affirmed
E.M. received augmented compensation after her daughter ceased to qualify as a dependent. The Board upheld OWCP’s $32,775.66 overpayment finding and concluded that E.M. was at fault, barring waiver. It also upheld recovery of $225 every 28 days from continuing compensation and the denial of her…
HRI Hospital, Inc., d/b/a Arbour-HRI Hospital
Patient-violence citation vacated
Arbour-HRI operated an inpatient behavioral health hospital where employees experienced assaults and other aggressive acts by patients. The judge found that patient-on-staff violence was a recognized hazard at the facility and could cause serious injury. HRI already used violence-prevention…
United States Department of the Army, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Research, Development and Administration, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland (Agency) and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 178 (Union)
Army Aberdeen Proving Ground and NFFE Local 178 (FLRA 0-AR-5366): Interview-panel award set aside
The Army used a four-member interview panel to evaluate candidates after it received a referral certificate for several vacancies. An arbitrator found that the panel violated contract requirements for rating-panel members because only one interviewer had the specified occupational experience, and…
Rantz v. The Blake School
STAA settlement approved after reinstatement award
An ALJ found that The Blake School violated the Surface Transportation Assistance Act by terminating Ronald Rantz, ordered reinstatement, and awarded damages, attorney fees, and costs. The school sought Board review, then the parties submitted a confidential settlement. The Board found the…
L.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Oak Park, IL
18-1603 (ECAB): Knee and ankle injury claim denial affirmed
L.T., a postal worker, claimed right knee and left ankle conditions from an accepted April 14, 2018 work incident. The Board found that the medical evidence did not adequately explain how the incident caused those conditions. It affirmed OWCP’s denial of compensation.
S.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Sebastian, FL
18-1559 (ECAB): Back injury claim sent for medical review
S.O., a postal employee, sought compensation for a back injury. OWCP denied his claim after finding that he had not established the claimed work factors. The Board found that the work factors were established and that OWCP still needed to consider the medical evidence. It set aside two decisions…
A.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pittsburgh, PA
18-1550 (ECAB): Retirement benefit overpayment recovery affirmed
A.C. received federal wage-loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service during the same period. The Board upheld OWCP’s $57,721.53 overpayment finding. Although OWCP found her without fault, the Board agreed that her finances did not justify waiver. It…
D.P. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Leesburg, VA
18-1384 (ECAB): Wage-earning capacity modification request remanded
D.P., a former air traffic controller, challenged an earlier wage-earning capacity determination. OWCP treated her submission as a reconsideration request and refused to reopen the claim. The Board found that medical evidence of a worsened work-related condition required OWCP to consider the…
T.M. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Buffalo, NY
18-1368 (ECAB): Compensation termination for refused suitable work affirmed
T.M., an IRS employee, was offered a modified secretary position within her medical restrictions. She declined the position. The Board found that OWCP had established the work was suitable and that she gave no valid reason for refusing it. It affirmed termination of wage-loss and schedule award…
A.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Seattle, WA
18-1155 (ECAB): Benefits suspension for missed examination affirmed
A.F., a postal employee, was scheduled for a medical examination to assess his impairment. OWCP notified him of the appointment and the consequences of failing to attend. The Board found no adequate explanation for his absence. It affirmed suspension of compensation until he agrees to attend the…
S.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Oklahoma City, OK
18-1113 (ECAB): Emotional condition claim denial affirmed
S.B., a letter carrier, claimed stress, depression, and anxiety linked to work assignments and supervisor conduct. The Board found that the evidence did not establish a compensable employment factor underlying her claim. It therefore did not need to address the medical evidence. The Board affirmed…
B.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Denver, CO
18-1075 (ECAB): Late hearing request denial affirmed
B.S., a Veterans Affairs voucher examiner, requested an oral hearing concerning her injury claim. The request was postmarked more than 30 days after OWCP’s decision. The Board found that OWCP properly exercised its discretion to deny the late request because the claim could instead be addressed…
S.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Stanwood, WA
18-0992 (ECAB): Schedule award reconsideration refusal affirmed
S.C. sought reconsideration of a schedule award decision. OWCP received no new evidence of permanent impairment with the request. The Board found no new relevant legal argument or pertinent evidence that required OWCP to reopen the merits. It affirmed the refusal to reconsider.
T.M. and Department of Labor, Mine Safety & Health Administration, Barbourville, KY
18-0887 (ECAB): Knee claim remanded to combine related files
T.M. appealed OWCP decisions denying his left knee injury claim. The Board found that related knee claim files had not been combined and that the record before it was incomplete. It set aside both decisions and ordered OWCP to combine the files, develop the record, and issue a new decision. The…
J.J. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, Selfridge, MI
18-0829 (ECAB): Late reconsideration denial remanded for explanation
J.J. requested reconsideration of an injury claim after the filing period expired. OWCP denied the request without explaining how the submitted evidence failed to show clear evidence of error. The Board agreed the request was late but found that the decision lacked required findings and reasons. It…
A.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chicago, IL
18-0727 (ECAB): Shoulder claim remanded for proper classification
A.J., a postal clerk, attributed a shoulder condition to repetitive work over many years. OWCP treated the claim as a single traumatic injury. The Board found that her account described an occupational disease developing over more than one shift. It set aside the denial and directed OWCP to…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Milwaukee, MI
18-0627 (ECAB): Delayed reconsideration decision remanded for merits review
M.M. requested reconsideration of OWCP’s November 2015 merits decision. OWCP waited about 24 months to deny reopening, which left him unable to seek timely Board review of the underlying decision. The Board set aside the delayed refusal and directed OWCP to decide the merits to preserve his review…
M.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Oklahoma City, OK
18-0563 (ECAB): Plantar fasciitis claim and reconsideration denials affirmed
M.D., a postal building mechanic, attributed plantar fasciitis to walking extensively while carrying equipment at work. The Board found that his medical evidence did not adequately connect the foot condition to the accepted work factors. It also found that his reconsideration request did not…
W.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Milwaukee, WI
18-0451 (ECAB): Shoulder impairment rating remanded for proper comparison
W.G., a postal employee, sought a schedule award for shoulder impairment. The Board found that OWCP had not applied its guidance requiring comparison of the permitted range-of-motion and diagnosis-based rating methods. It set aside the September 1, 2017 schedule award decision and ordered further…
J.Z. and Department of Labor, Mine Safety & Health Administration, Warrendale, PA
18-0428 (ECAB): Delayed reconsideration decision remanded for merits review
J.Z. asked OWCP to reconsider its emotional condition claim decision. OWCP took about 10 months to deny reopening, leaving him unable to seek timely Board review of the underlying merits decision. The Board set aside the delayed refusal and ordered OWCP to issue a merits decision preserving his…
BHC Northwest Psychiatric Hospital LLC d/b/a Brooke Glen Behavioral Hospital
Patient-violence citation affirmed
Brooke Glen operated an inpatient psychiatric hospital where OSHA identified numerous incidents of patients assaulting staff. The judge found that patient-on-staff violence was a recognized hazard capable of causing serious injury or death. Existing controls were inadequate because communication…
Florida Gas Contractors, Inc.
Three excavation violations affirmed
Florida Gas employees dug a trench beneath an adjacent concrete structure while installing a gas line. The Commission held that the structure was appurtenant to the sidewalk and that undermining it without support violated the standard without separate proof that collapse was likely. The Commission…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 777 (Union) and United States Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Agency)
NFFE Local 777 and Army Corps of Engineers (FLRA 0-AR-5356): Unsupported exceptions denied
NFFE Local 777 challenged an arbitration award involving the Army Corps of Engineers and requested an expedited, abbreviated decision. The union asserted several grounds, including conflicts with law and regulations and an ambiguity that allegedly made implementation impossible, but it submitted…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Jason Wylie v. Allegheny Mineral Corporation
Confidential relief settlement approved
Jason Wylie and Allegheny Mineral agreed to settle Wylie's compensatory-relief claim, including keeping the settlement amount confidential. The Secretary objected to confidentiality and had withdrawn support for an earlier agreement, but Wylie repeatedly told the Commission that he wanted to accept…
Carlos M. Cajeira v. Kinder Morgan Liquid Terminal
Cajeira v. Kinder Morgan Liquid Terminal (BRB 18-0520): disability period sent back for review
Carlos Cajeira sought disability benefits after a neck injury while working for Kinder Morgan Liquid Terminal. The Board upheld the finding that the employer had suitable work available through February 26, 2015. Later restrictions were stricter, and a company letter contradicted a manager's…
Joseph Donohue v. Bath Iron Works Corporation
Donohue v. Bath Iron Works (BRB 18-0468): disability benefits and fund liability remanded
Joseph Donohue, an insulator at Bath Iron Works, received disability benefits after a work injury to his shoulder. The employer qualified for relief that shifts liability to the Longshore Act's Special Fund after 104 weeks of permanent disability. The Director challenged whether Donohue's work…
Curtis Coffey v. Service Employees International, Incorporated
Coffey v. Service Employees International (BRB 17-0483): attorney fee award remanded
Curtis Coffey's counsel challenged the fee awarded after Coffey obtained medical benefits under the Defense Base Act. The judge used Atlanta as the market for setting the hourly rate, reduced the requested rate, and denied travel costs for counsel based in Florida. The Board found that the judge…
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Midwest Mining, LLC
Five unwarrantable-failure orders upheld
MSHA issued Peabody Midwest Mining five section 104(d)(2) orders involving loose ribs, an inadequate weekly examination, extensive combustible accumulations along a belt line, an inadequate belt examination, and inaccurate preshift records. Judge Priscilla M. Rae found 35 loose ribs across about…
K.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hagerstown, MD
18-0970 (ECAB): Dog bite claim reconsideration refusal affirmed
K.W., a mail carrier, reported a dog bite and head contusion at work. OWCP denied his injury claim for lack of medical evidence connecting the condition to the incident. The Board found that his reconsideration statement supplied no pertinent new medical evidence on that issue. It affirmed OWCP’s…
Audrey V. Drennen v. Amvest West Virginia Coal, LLC
Drennen v. Amvest West Virginia Coal (BRB 18-0348): black lung benefits award upheld
Audrey Drennen sought black lung benefits in a later claim after an earlier denial. On remand, the administrative judge credited medical evidence that Drennen's respiratory disease arose from coal dust and substantially contributed to his total disability. Amvest challenged the judge's weighing of…
Kenneth Lawson, Jr. v. Consolidated of Kentucky, Incorporated
Lawson v. Consolidated of Kentucky (BRB 17-0633): benefits award on modification upheld
Kenneth Lawson sought modification of a prior denial of black lung benefits. The judge credited 30 years of underground coal mine work and found a totally disabling respiratory impairment, invoking the statutory presumption that the disability was due to pneumoconiosis. Consolidated of Kentucky…
James H. Neeley, Jr. v. Consolidation Coal Corporation
Neeley v. Consolidation Coal (BRB 17-0602): benefits award sent back for medical evidence review
James Neeley received black lung benefits after a judge found 23.5 years of qualifying coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The employer challenged the judge's finding that it failed to rebut the resulting disability presumption. The Board held that the judge had not…
R.T. and Department of the Air Force, Nellis Air Force Base, NV
18-1590 (ECAB): Occupational disease claim held untimely
R.T., a retired Air Force employee, sought compensation for osteoarthritis in his back, knees, and ankles. The Board found that his claim was filed outside the statutory time limit. It also found no established exception excusing the delay. It affirmed OWCP’s denial without reaching the medical…
C.Y. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Birmingham, AL
18-1400 (ECAB): Knee claim reconsideration refusal affirmed
C.Y., a Veterans Affairs nurse, sought reconsideration concerning a left knee condition after an accepted work-related right knee injury. The Board found that the submitted reports did not address whether the accepted injury or subsequent surgeries caused or aggravated the left knee condition…
T.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, University Way, WA
18-1272 (ECAB): Injury claim and late hearing denial affirmed
T.R., a postal employee, claimed an injury from an accepted October 25, 2017 work incident. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish a causal link between the incident and her claimed injury. It also found that her request for an oral hearing was late and that OWCP did not abuse…
R.K. and Social Security Administration, New York, NY
18-1269 (ECAB): Parking lot fall claim remanded for premises evidence
R.K., a Social Security Administration claims representative, fell on ice while walking from a parking lot to work. The Board found that OWCP had not adequately determined whether the employer managed or controlled the parking lot. It set aside the claim denial and directed OWCP to obtain that…
J.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Greenwood Station, Los Angeles, CA
18-1266 (ECAB): Overpayment upheld; recovery method remanded
J.L. received $1,778.70 in compensation to which she was not entitled. The Board upheld the overpayment amount and found that she was at fault, so waiver was unavailable. It set aside OWCP’s requirement that she pay $100 each month directly because continuing compensation was still payable and a…
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.