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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S.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Bellmawr, NJ
Shoulder and neck injury denial affirmed
S.G. reported right shoulder pain after putting ink supplies away at work in June 2014. OWCP accepted the work incident but denied that it caused the claimed shoulder and neck conditions. The Board found that reports checking a box for work causation and later descriptions of worsening symptoms did…
D.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Detroit, MI
Termination of hand and wrist benefits reversed
D.W. had accepted hand and wrist conditions from postal work, including bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and an aggravation of thumb joint arthritis. OWCP ended medical benefits for the carpal tunnel and right wrist conditions and ended wage loss and medical benefits for the arthritis aggravation…
Pharmasol Corporation
Warehouse storage violations affirmed, forklift items split
Pharmasol manufactured pharmaceutical and personal-care products and used powered industrial trucks in its warehouse. The judge vacated a general duty clause item because OSHA did not prove that the trucks could pass beneath rack beams and expose operators to the alleged crushing hazard. He…
J.P. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Northern Arizona Healthcare System, Prescott, AZ
Respiratory and voice conditions were not linked to mop exposure
J.P. attributed respiratory, nasal, and vocal-cord conditions to handling mop heads cleaned with chemicals at work. The Board accepted the exposure as an employment factor but found the medical evidence insufficient to link it to the claimed conditions. One doctor described chemical exposure as…
D.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland Heights, OH
Later disability was not linked to accepted hand frostbite
OWCP accepted D.G.’s 2014 bilateral hand frostbite claim. She later sought wage-loss compensation for intermittent disability beginning in December 2016. The Board found that her doctors did not explain how the old injury caused the later symptoms or show that those symptoms made her totally unable…
S.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Tampa Processing & Distribution Center, Tampa, FL
Schedule-award case remanded for required impairment measurements
S.L. challenged OWCP’s determination of permanent impairment in both upper extremities for schedule-award purposes. After an earlier remand, OWCP relied on a medical adviser who used the diagnosis-based rating method because the examining physician had not supplied three independent range-of-motion…
R.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
Lumbar injury claim lacked a reasoned causal opinion
R.T., a letter carrier, reported back pain after lifting a caster at work on October 15, 2014. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied his claim for a lumbar condition. The Board found that the medical reports did not adequately explain how the lifting caused or aggravated his diagnosed…
D.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Seattle, WA
Hearing-abandonment ruling set aside for inadequate notice
D.W. requested a telephone hearing after OWCP denied her compensation claim. OWCP rescheduled the hearing several times and gave her the exact revised time for the October 20, 2017 hearing on October 2. The Board found that this notice came less than the required 30 days before the hearing. It set…
M.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Baton Rouge, LA
Claim for five days of total disability lacked medical support
M.D. sought wage-loss compensation for October 8 through 12, 2017 following an accepted August 23, 2017 injury. Her physician reported pain, stiffness, and work restrictions. The Board found that the reports did not explain how the accepted myositis condition caused total disability during the…
C.B. and Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers, Galveston, TX
Late reconsideration request did not show clear error
C.B. sought reconsideration of OWCP’s denial of a recurrence claim related to her accepted tailbone fracture and lumbar strain. Her March 2016 and June 2017 requests came more than one year after the July 18, 2014 merit decision. The Board found that the new and resubmitted medical records did not…
C.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Riverton, UT
Intermittent disability dates were not supported by medical evidence
OWCP accepted C.J.’s left wrist tenosynovitis claim and approved several periods of wage-loss compensation. It denied compensation for other intermittent dates between September and December 2016. The Board found that the medical reports did not explain why the accepted condition prevented her from…
River Hill Coal Company, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. River Hill Coal Company, Inc.
River Hill Coal Company, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC PENN 2014-956 R): Deteriorated-plant violations affirmed
River Hill idled two coal-processing buildings but kept them powered and allowed an electrician to enter monthly despite severely corroded beams, floors, stairs, columns, and walkways. Judge L. Zane Gill rejected the operator's fair-notice defense because the structural-maintenance standard clearly…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Atlanta, GA
Late reconsideration request lacked clear evidence of error
M.M. sought reconsideration of the termination of her wage-loss compensation and medical benefits. Her January 2018 request came more than one year after the Board’s October 2011 merit decision. The Board found that her argument and medical report did not show clear evidence that OWCP had erred in…
G.G. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Patrol, Laredo, TX
Hearing loss did not qualify for a schedule award
G.G., a canine enforcement agent, sought a schedule award for work-related hearing loss. An OWCP referral physician found binaural sensorineural loss related to workplace exposure. The Board agreed with the district medical adviser’s calculation under the applicable rating method: the measured…
V.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Lake Forest, IL
Shoulder claim lacked a diagnosed condition
V.G. claimed a right shoulder injury from an accepted July 13, 2017 work incident. The Board found that the submitted medical reports described shoulder pain or injury but did not establish a firm medical diagnosis. Some reports also gave no opinion on the cause of her symptoms. It affirmed OWCP’s…
T.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Franklin Branch, Franklin, WI
Right arm conditions were not linked to repeated work duties
T.B. claimed that repeated work duties caused or aggravated right upper extremity conditions. The Board found that two physicians diagnosed conditions without giving an opinion on their cause. Another physician connected his diagnoses to a single elbow impact rather than the repeated duties…
M.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Haven, CT
Reconsideration denied without reopening injury claim
OWCP had denied M.D.’s traumatic injury claim because the medical evidence did not establish a diagnosis connected to the accepted work incident. In seeking reconsideration, he supplied a personal statement about his circumstances rather than pertinent new medical evidence. The Board held that the…
R.Y. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Santa Clarita, CA
Impairment rating remanded for comparison of two methods
R.Y. sought a schedule award for more than 11 percent permanent impairment of his left upper extremity. OWCP’s medical adviser questioned both the range-of-motion method and the validity of the shoulder measurements. The Board held that FECA Bulletin No. 17-06 required calculation under both the…
D.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Delivery Center, Brooklyn, NY
Claim expansion, disability, and late hearing request denied
OWCP accepted a puncture of D.R.’s left eyelid after she was struck by a metal pole at work. She sought to add cervical conditions and PTSD to the claim and sought compensation for total disability beginning April 23, 2017. The Board found that the medical reports did not adequately link those…
E.K. and Department of Defense, Defense Commissary Agency, Quantico, VA
Overpayment recovery upheld with one-cent correction
E.K. received both FECA compensation and Social Security benefits attributable to federal service from March 2013 to September 2016. The Board agreed that this created an overpayment, but corrected OWCP’s total upward by one cent to $29,127.14 because of an addition error. Although OWCP found her…
T.H. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Greenville, IL
Thumb injury claim lacked a reasoned causal opinion
T.H., a correctional officer, claimed a right thumb injury following an accepted May 5, 2016 work incident. His physicians diagnosed an ulnar collateral ligament tear but did not describe the incident in detail or explain how it caused the condition. The Board held that their reports did not…
K.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Oakland, CA
Late reconsideration request showed no clear error
K.W. requested reconsideration of OWCP’s denial of a claimed right knee injury. Her October 2017 request came more than one year after the last merit decision in January 2008. The Board found that she repeated her earlier account of the alleged work incident without submitting evidence that clearly…
G.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, Ronkonkoma, NY
Back condition was not linked to accepted work incident
G.G. sought compensation for a back condition following an accepted January 23, 2016 work incident. The Board found that one physician diagnosed spinal conditions but gave no opinion about their cause. A chiropractor’s reports lacked the x-ray-supported subluxation diagnosis required for those…
P.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Birmingham Veterans Medical Center, Birmingham, AL
Benefits termination affirmed after refusal of suitable work
P.S., a licensed practical nurse, refused a modified position offered by her employer. The Board found that the job fit the restrictions identified by her physicians and that OWCP followed the required notice procedure before imposing the refusal-of-suitable-work penalty. It affirmed termination of…
J.B. and Department of the Navy, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, NH
Finger impairment rating remanded to compare methods
J.B. sought a schedule award above the 30 percent left index-finger impairment already awarded. An OWCP-referred physician supplied range-of-motion measurements but calculated impairment only with the diagnosis-based method. The Board held that FECA Bulletin No. 17-06 required OWCP’s medical…
R.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Springfield, MA
Telephone-hearing abandonment finding affirmed
R.H. requested an oral hearing after OWCP denied compensation for two periods. OWCP sent a hearing notice to her address of record more than 30 days before the scheduled telephone hearing. The Board found no evidence that the notice went undelivered or that she promptly told OWCP about her claimed…
B.B. and Department of the Navy, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, NH
Schedule-award claim remained closed on reconsideration
OWCP denied B.B.’s schedule-award claim after finding no established permanent impairment of a scheduled member from his accepted injury. He sought reconsideration and disputed the medical ratings, but supplied no pertinent new medical evidence or new legal argument. The Board held that his request…
W.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, California, PA
Compensation termination remanded for missing video evidence
OWCP relied on surveillance video in terminating W.M.’s compensation benefits. The Board had previously remanded because the video was missing, then reinstated the appeal after OWCP said it had located the disc. The supplied disc contained audio files but no video data, so the record remained…
Manua’s, Inc., dba Manua’s Discount Store
Crane power-line violations affirmed
Manua’s hired a crane contractor to unload structural steel near an energized power line, and three Manua’s employees were fatally electrocuted when the crane contacted the line. The Commission affirmed summary judgment on four serious violations involving the crane work zone, the 20-foot…
Kiewit Power Constructors Co.
Construction quick-drenching citation vacated
OSHA cited Kiewit under the construction quick-drenching rule, which requires immediate eye or body flushing facilities where employees may encounter corrosive materials. The rule originated under the Walsh-Healey Act and applied to federal supply contractors, not construction employers. In a…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Medical Center Carswell, Fort Worth, Texas (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1006, Council of Prison Locals #33 (Union)
Federal Medical Center Carswell and AFGE Local 1006 (FLRA 0-AR-5328): Clinical-intern award vacated
A doctoral psychology intern at Federal Medical Center Carswell received negative clinical assessments and remediation plans, and the program's chief psychologist declined to issue a completion certificate. The union alleged disparate treatment, and an arbitrator found violations of the agreement…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Miami, Florida (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 501, Council of Prison Locals #33 (Union)
FCI Miami and AFGE Local 501 (FLRA 0-AR-5313): Promotion and backpay upheld
FCI Miami limited a sports-specialist vacancy to applicants within the local commuting area. The selected applicant listed a residence within the area but worked outside it, and an arbitrator found that the agency had ignored its own restriction and the agreement's fair-treatment requirement. The…
United States Small Business Administration (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Council 228 (Union)
SBA and AFGE Council 228 (FLRA 0-AR-5290): Arbitrator's expanded jurisdiction vacated
AFGE first grieved the SBA's classification of employees as exempt from overtime and then filed a second grievance alleging that the agency had failed to process the first. The parties selected an arbitrator for the second grievance and stipulated that she would decide whether that processing…
United States Department of the Air Force, 355th FSS/FSMC, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2924 (Union)
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and AFGE Local 2924 (FLRA 0-AR-5272): Wrong-procedure award vacated
AFGE became the representative of employees previously represented by NFFE, but the parties had not completed a replacement agreement. AFGE challenged a five-day suspension using the grievance procedure in its agreement for a different employee group, while the Air Force maintained that the expired…
Justin Robinson v. AC First, LLC
Justin Robinson v. AC First (BRB 18-0120): voluntary job change does not foreclose disability compensation
Justin Robinson worked as a mechanic in Afghanistan, then resigned and took a lower-paying railroad job in the United States. An administrative law judge found that Robinson had work-related post-traumatic stress disorder but denied disability compensation because his decision to leave overseas…
BP Products North America, Inc., and BP-Husky Refining, LLC
Most refinery PSM items vacated
OSHA alleged 65 willful process safety management violations at BP’s Ohio refinery and proposed $2.87 million in penalties. Fifty-six items concerning pressure-relief equipment, cross-connections, and facility siting reached the Commission. The Commission vacated the pressure-relief items because…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2145 (Union) and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Richmond, Virginia (Agency)
Richmond VA and AFGE Local 2145 (FLRA 0-AR-5307): Social-worker overtime denial upheld
Licensed clinical social workers at a VA mental-health clinic sometimes had to stay after their shifts to finish patient evaluations, documentation, and urgent-care handoffs. Their supervisors knew this occurred, but the agency required advance written overtime authorization from a designated…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Denver Regional Office (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1557 (Union)
Denver VA and AFGE Local 1557 (FLRA 0-AR-5349): Official-time reprimand removed
An AFGE local president served on 100% official time but did not use the VA's SharePoint system to obtain advance approval on eleven occasions. The agency issued a reprimand under a memorandum requiring union representatives to obtain approval before using official time. An arbitrator found that…
United States Department of the Air Force, Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 4046 (Union)
Minot Air Force Base and AFGE Local 4046 (FLRA 0-AR-5323): Hazard-pay grievance barred
Minot Air Force Base stopped accepting a form that had supported hazardous-duty pay after determining that the employees' work did not qualify. AFGE first filed an unfair-labor-practice charge alleging an unlawful change that caused lost pay and later filed a grievance challenging the end of hazard…
United States Department of Defense, Education Activity (Agency) and Federal Education Association (Union)
DOD Education Activity and FEA (FLRA 0-AR-5312): Institutional-pay arbitrability award vacated
The Federal Education Association combined numerous employee pay claims into an institutional grievance. DOD Education Activity objected that the grievance lacked detail, was late, combined claims without sufficient commonality, and repeated previously decided individual grievances. The arbitrator…
United States Department of the Navy, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia (Agency) and International Brotherhood of Police Officers, Local 800 (Union)
Navy Region Mid-Atlantic and IBPO Local 800 (FLRA 0-AR-5291): Agility-test reconsideration denied
The Navy announced an instruction requiring security officers to complete an agility test, and the union filed several unfair-labor-practice charges alleging implementation without bargaining. Years later, it grieved the Navy's application of the test to two officers and obtained an arbitration…
Independent Union of Pension Employees for Democracy and Justice (Respondent/Union) and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (Charging Party/Agency)
IUPEDJ and PBGC (FLRA WA-CO-13-0227, WA-CO-15-0158): Arbitrator-pool remedy expanded
A predecessor union and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation had established a permanent rotating arbitrator pool in a collective-bargaining agreement and memorandum. The successor union asked arbitrators to be interviewed, urged several to resign when they declined, accused them of ethics…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Denver Regional Office, Denver, Colorado (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1557, AFL-CIO (Charging Party)
Denver VA and AFGE Local 1557 (FLRA DE-CA-17-0309): Late answers leave ULP order intact
Three complaints alleged that the Denver VA investigated a union steward's protected meetings and official time, required employees under threat of discipline to disclose whether they met with the steward, and suspended the steward for two days. The agency filed its answers after the deadline and…
Norman W. Fries, Inc. d/b/a Claxton Poultry Farms
Conveyor guarding citation vacated
A poultry-processing employee suffered a compound forearm fracture when his glove and arm were pulled into the underside of a seasoning-line conveyor. OSHA cited Claxton Poultry for failing to guard the conveyor’s ingoing nip-point. The judge found that the accident alone did not establish that…
Pro-Spec Corporation dba Pro-Spec Painting
Two worksite citation sets affirmed
Pro-Spec performed abrasive blasting and painting at water-tank projects in Easton and Quakertown, Pennsylvania. OSHA cited respiratory-protection, scaffold, fall-protection, ladder, electrical-wiring, confined-space, and recordkeeping violations after a suspended scaffold collapsed at the Easton…
Secretary of Labor v. Rockwell Mining, LLC
$5,232 settlement approved on remand
The Commission vacated an earlier order denying Rockwell Mining's settlement and directed the Judge to reconsider it under the Commission's settlement-review standard. The agreement resolved seven citations, left three penalties unchanged, reduced three penalties, and vacated a cleanup-program…
Secretary of Labor obo George M. Scoles v. Harrison County Coal Co.
Secretary of Labor on behalf of George M. Scoles v. Harrison County Coal Co. (FMSHRC WEVA 2016-274 D): Retaliatory suspension found
George Scoles was a miners' representative and frequent safety advocate whose supervisor, George McCauley, responded aggressively to his complaints and head-butted him during a workplace dispute. Days after Scoles reported the incident, McCauley singled him out to throw a d-rail, removed him from a…
Secretary of Labor v. The American Coal Company
$31,063 settlement approved on remand
The Commission vacated an earlier denial of American Coal's settlement and directed reconsideration under its AmCoal and Rockwell decisions. The agreement kept all 32 citations as written while reducing every proposed penalty by 30 percent. American Coal supplied citation-specific assertions, and…
M.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Portland, OR
Work incident established; injury claim remanded
M.T., a postal custodian, said she was injured while lifting a heavy garbage bag from a hamper at work on April 19, 2016. OWCP rejected the claim because it found inconsistencies in her account of the incident. The Board held that the core account was consistent and corroborated by a coworker, so…
L.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Kearney, NJ
Knee injury and recurrence claims lacked causation evidence
L.C. claimed a right knee injury from delivering mail on January 21, 2012 and also alleged a recurrence of disability from an accepted 1991 knee injury. The Board found that the medical opinions did not adequately explain how the 2012 duties caused a new condition. It also found insufficient…
W.R. and Department of the Air Force, Materiel Command, Tinker Air Force Base, OK
Leg impairment awards remanded over conflicting ratings
W.R. sought schedule awards beyond 40 percent permanent impairment of her left lower extremity and 20 percent of her right. The Board identified conflicts between her treating physician and OWCP’s medical adviser about both leg ratings. It held that the case could not be decided on the existing…
A.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Punta Gorda, FL
Wage-loss termination and reconsideration denial affirmed
OWCP accepted an aggravation of A.M.’s lumbar degenerative disc disease and later ended wage-loss compensation effective March 1, 2016. The Board found that her treating physician had reviewed her modified rural-carrier job and concluded she could perform it. Later reports changed his opinion…
S.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Robley Rex Veterans Administration Medical Center, Louisville, KY
Emotional condition claim lacked a compensable work factor
S.W., a registered nurse, attributed an emotional condition to reassignments and other personnel actions at a VA medical center. OWCP denied the claim because it found no compensable employment factor. The Board held that he did not establish error or abuse in the administrative actions or…
United States Department of the Navy, Naval Supply Systems Command, Fleet Logistics Center (Agency) and National Association of Independent Labor, Local 17 (Union)
Naval Supply Fleet Logistics Center and NAIL Local 17 (FLRA 0-AR-5325): Injury-treatment overtime vacated
A fuel-sampling employee was injured just before her unpaid lunch break and spent time at the agency medical center, leaving the facility one hour after her normal end time. She was present for 9.5 hours but received eight hours of pay and sought 1.5 hours of overtime. An arbitrator read the…
Matter of M-G-G-
Bond-hearing issue referred for Attorney General review
The Attorney General referred a Board of Immigration Appeals decision for review of whether immigration judges may hold bond hearings for certain people who entered removal proceedings after expedited removal screening. The order asked whether earlier BIA precedent should be overruled in light of a…
Matter of S-O-G- & F-D-B-
Removal proceedings cannot end on an Immigration Judge's inherent discretion
The Attorney General reviewed two removal matters involving motions to dismiss or terminate proceedings. In the first, the Board had affirmed dismissal after the Department of Homeland Security discovered that the respondent was already subject to a final removal order, and the Attorney General…
Secretary of Labor obo Justin Hickman v. Huber Carbonates, LLC
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Justin Hickman v. Huber Carbonates, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2018-343 DM): Temporary reinstatement granted
Justin Hickman supervised the Ball Mill Complex at Huber's calcium carbonate plant and raised concerns about untrained equipment operation, dust overexposure, respirator fit testing, and alleged manipulation of MSHA dust sampling. Huber placed him on a performance improvement plan and terminated…
C.V. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Dallas Medical Center, Dallas, TX
Emotional condition claim lacked a compensable work factor
C.V., a surgical technician, attributed an emotional condition to alleged harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and other workplace actions. The Board found that his allegations concerned personnel matters rather than the performance of his regular duties. It held that the record did not…
K.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tama, IA
Disability claim remained closed on reconsideration
OWCP had denied K.M.’s claim for disability on February 6, 2016 because the medical evidence did not show that an accepted 2014 injury prevented her from working that day. She requested reconsideration and resubmitted medical records already considered. The Board found that she supplied no relevant…
B.C. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA
Wage-capacity modification remanded for impartial medical review
B.C. sought modification of a 2009 loss-of-wage-earning-capacity determination after OWCP accepted work-related lymphedema. His treating physician and OWCP’s second-opinion physician disagreed about the condition and his work restrictions. The Board found their conflicting opinions of equal weight…
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.