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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D.B. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Oxford, WI
Total knee replacement authorization denied
D.B., a prison correctional officer, had an accepted left meniscus tear and authorized arthroscopic surgery. He later sought authorization for a total knee replacement after a physician linked severe arthritis to the injury. The Board found that OWCP reasonably relied on medical opinions that the…
M.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Boston, MA
Leg claim denial upheld, reconsideration reopened
M.C., a postal employee, claimed a left leg and calf injury after an accepted June 2017 work incident. The evidence before OWCP’s merit denial did not include a physician’s reasoned opinion linking a diagnosed condition to the incident, so the Board affirmed that denial. Later physician reports…
G.L. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Renton, WA
Large overpayment finding returned for adequate reasons
G.L., an FAA employee, disputed an overpayment finding tied to alleged failure to report rental income. OWCP’s hearing representative found an overpayment of $306,919.56 and fault, but the Board found the decision lacked adequate facts and reasons supporting the amount and forfeiture period. It set…
K.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Little Rock, AR
Knee recurrence claim returned to combine case files
K.T., a postal city carrier, claimed renewed right knee disability after an earlier accepted workplace injury. OWCP converted the filing to an occupational disease claim and denied it without the medical record from the earlier injury file. The Board held that the two files needed to be combined…
Matter of L-A-B-R- et al.
Continuance requests require a good-cause analysis
The Attorney General addressed how immigration judges should evaluate requests to pause removal proceedings while a respondent pursues relief from another authority, such as a visa petition. The decision held that the good-cause requirement for a continuance is substantive and requires a…
Gary D. Foster v. Terry Eagle Coal Company, LLC and West Virginia Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis Fund
Foster v. Terry Eagle Coal Company (BRB 17-0585 BLA): benefits award vacated
Gary Foster received a black lung benefits award under the statutory presumption for miners with qualifying employment and total respiratory disability. The judge found that the employer had not rebutted the presumption, discounting opinions that attributed Foster's asthma to causes other than coal…
S.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Vallejo, CA
Thumb abscess claim lacked medical causation
S.D., a postal mail carrier, sought benefits for a left thumb abscess after an accepted July 3, 2017 workplace incident. One physician did not diagnose an injury; another diagnosed the abscess but did not explain how the incident caused it. The Board found the medical evidence insufficient to…
M.Y. and U.S. Postal Service, San Jose Processing and Distribution Facility, San Jose, CA
Social Security overpayment amount returned for recalculation
M.Y., a postal employee, received FECA compensation and Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service. The Board found that an overpayment existed, but OWCP’s notices used conflicting periods and amounts. They did not clearly account for a benefit suspension or an earlier…
C.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, Alexandria Bay, NY
Lumbar injury claim lacked a reasoned causal opinion
C.M., a customs officer, reported a lumbar condition after an accepted September 28, 2016 workplace incident. The Board found that the medical evidence did not explain how that incident caused or aggravated the diagnosed back conditions. It affirmed OWCP’s denial of the injury claim.
L.H. and Architect of the Capital, Construction Division, Washington, DC
Disability recurrence claim returned to combine records
L.H., a federal electrician, claimed a recurrence of disability from an accepted 2006 back injury. OWCP denied the claim while relying on medical evidence from a separate 2015 injury file that was not in the record before the Board. The Board held that the related files or evidence had to be…
E.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing and Distribution Center, North Houston, TX
Schedule award hearing request filed late
E.K., a postal employee, requested an oral hearing after OWCP granted a three percent right arm schedule award. His request was postmarked more than 30 days after the July 27, 2016 decision. The Board found no right to a hearing at that point and affirmed OWCP’s denial of the late request.
R.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Grand Rapids, MI
One percent right leg impairment award upheld
R.J., a postal employee, sought a schedule award greater than one percent for right leg impairment related to accepted spinal conditions. The Board found no persuasive medical evidence supporting a higher ratable impairment. It affirmed OWCP’s award decision.
D.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Baton Rouge, LA
Wage earning capacity request returned to rebuild record
D.H., a postal employee, sought modification of an earlier loss of wage earning capacity decision. The Board found that the transmitted record lacked medical evidence from before 2001, including material needed to assess his argument about an impartial examiner’s work restrictions. It could not…
Berwick Electric Company
Heavy-cable training violation affirmed
Berwick electricians pulled a roughly 11,000-pound cable through rollers and sheaves at a power plant, and one employee broke his arm when a suspended section shifted while he tried to move it by hand. The judge found that general warnings about pinch points and using a buddy did not prepare…
Z.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Baltimore, MD
Delivery incidents recognized as emotional claim work factors
Z.S., a postal letter carrier, claimed an emotional condition after attempting to deliver a package containing illegal drugs and being followed and questioned about it on his route. The Board found those events were part of his regular duties and therefore compensable work factors. It did not find…
Robert Katagiri v. Matson Terminals, Incorporated and Signal Mutual Indemnity Association
Katagiri v. Matson Terminals (BRB 18-0149): late modification request rejected
Robert Katagiri had received temporary disability and medical benefits after a screw broke in his prosthetic right knee while he worked as a wharf clerk. He later sought permanent partial disability benefits for the same injury after obtaining an impairment rating. The judge treated the later…
Mark S. Hilton v. C & N Mining, LLC and Kentucky Employers Mutual Insurance
Hilton v. C & N Mining (BRB 17-0524 BLA): benefits award affirmed
Mark Hilton filed a subsequent black lung benefits claim after an earlier claim had been denied for lack of total respiratory disability. The judge credited him with 28 years of underground coal mine work and found that the new exercise blood gas studies and medical opinions established total…
G.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing and Distribution Center, Roanoke, VA
Lumbar strain claim and reopening requests denied
G.C., a postal employee, reported a lumbar strain after an accepted February 2017 lifting incident. His physicians identified back symptoms but did not give a reasoned explanation connecting a firm diagnosis to that incident. Later submissions did not meet the standard for reopening the denied…
K.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Joint Ambulatory Care Center, Pensacola, FL
Knee injury claim lacked a firm diagnosis
K.C., a VA employee, reported a pop and pain behind his left knee when stepping into a government van at work. OWCP accepted the February 13, 2017 incident. An x-ray was negative, and the medical reports described pain or a possible sprain without a firm diagnosis and reasoned causal opinion. The…
M.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, East Meadow, NJ
Neck and shoulder injury claim lacked reasoned causation
M.C., a postal letter carrier, attributed neck and right shoulder conditions to lifting a tray from a shelf at work. Her doctors diagnosed conditions and described symptoms, but did not explain how the April 14, 2017 incident caused or aggravated them. Prior accepted neck and shoulder conditions…
F.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Houston, TX
New knee conditions not linked to accepted injuries
F.L., a postal employee, sought to connect left knee synovitis and a meniscus tear to two older accepted work injuries. Her doctors described current knee symptoms and diagnoses but did not give a clear, reasoned opinion connecting them to either injury or its consequences. The Board affirmed…
B.C. and Department of the Army, Medical Command, Fort Shafter, HI
Disability recurrence rescission returned for proper procedure
B.C., an Army radiologic technologist, received a 2016 OWCP decision accepting renewed disability and additional lumbar conditions. OWCP later sent a letter rescinding the recurrence acceptance while adjudicating wage loss, without issuing the required proposed and final rescission decisions. The…
A.S. and Department of the Army, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center, Presidio of Monterey, CA
Lumbar claim lacked a reasoned link to workplace fall
A.S., an Army language institute professor, fell at work in July 2016 after recent lumbar surgery. OWCP accepted the fall. His physicians diagnosed back conditions but used speculative language or did not explain how the fall caused or aggravated them apart from the recent surgery and existing…
C.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Columbus, OH
Total disability after accepted injury not established
C.R., a postal employee, sought compensation for total disability beginning October 29, 2013 after an accepted July 2013 injury. Her treating physician listed disability periods but did not explain medically why the accepted injury prevented work on those dates. Other reports did not address the…
T.F. and Department of the Navy, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery Stations, Patuxent River, MD
Hip and sciatica conditions not added to accepted claim
T.F., a Navy employee, sought to add left hip strain and sciatica to a claim arising from a March 2015 workplace slip. Medical reports and testing mentioned hip or leg symptoms but did not adequately explain how the incident caused the additional conditions. Early treatment records did not diagnose…
M.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing and Distribution Center, Brooklyn, NY
Wrist disability claim returned for full period review
M.K., a postal mail handler, sought disability compensation beginning June 13, 2015 for an accepted right wrist ganglion cyst. OWCP denied only the period beginning June 13, 2016 and did not address the preceding year of the same claim. The Board found that deciding just part of the period risked…
Colonial Oil Industries, Inc.
In re Colonial Oil Industries, Inc. (EAB CAA Appeal No. 18-07C): consent agreement ratified
The EPA EAB order concerns Colonial Oil Industries, Inc. The two-page release does not describe the underlying alleged violation or the specific obligations in the incorporated Consent Agreement. The Board relied on EPA's Consolidated Rules of Practice and Clean Air Act section 205(c)(1)…
Theodore R. Lester v. Triple Canopy and Continental Casualty Company
Lester v. Triple Canopy (BRB 18-0169): back injury modification denied
Theodore Lester worked in security at the United States Embassy in Baghdad and received temporary disability benefits for a work-related foot fracture and lower back contusion. An earlier decision found that his lumbar spine conditions at L4-5 and L5-S1 were not caused or worsened by the work…
Christopher Paris v. Electric Boat Corporation
Paris v. Electric Boat Corporation (BRB 18-0102): ankle care claim remanded
Christopher Paris worked as a welder for Electric Boat and sought medical benefits for left ankle arthritis that he said his work aggravated. The judge denied benefits after finding that the employer rebutted the statutory presumption of a work-related injury. The Board held that the medical…
David F. Persianni, Sr. v. Top Gun Coal Company, Incorporated and West Virginia CWP Fund
Persianni v. Top Gun Coal Company (BRB 17-0648 BLA): attorney fee affirmed
Top Gun Coal Company accepted liability for benefits in David Persianni's black lung claim, and his counsel sought payment for work before the administrative law judge. After reducing requested hourly rates and some billed time, the judge awarded $7,213.76 in fees and expenses. On appeal, the…
Ollie J. Noble v. Kentucky Fuel Corporation and Chartis Casualty Company
Noble v. Kentucky Fuel Corporation (BRB 17-0531 BLA): benefits award affirmed
Ollie Noble worked for 29 years at surface coal mines and was found to have a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board upheld the judge's finding that Noble's work as a blaster, driller, and grader regularly exposed him to coal mine dust for more than 15 years, allowing him to invoke the…
W.M. and Department of the Navy, Navy Installations Command, Meridian, MS
Late heel injury reconsideration denied
W.M., a Navy police officer, sought reconsideration of a denied claim for a right heel condition after mandatory running at work. His request arrived more than a year after the last merit decision. A later report from his treating orthopedic surgeon said a heel deformity and required running…
C.C. and U.S. Postal Service, General Mail Facility, Tallahassee, FL
Vehicle accident claim returned for work duty evidence
C.C., a rural mail carrier, was injured in a car crash after retrieving his repaired personal vehicle following his mail route. He said he needed that vehicle to deliver mail the next day. The Board found the record lacked the Postal Service’s policy and evidence about whether he was required to…
C.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Amarillo, TX
No increase in leg impairment award
C.G., a postal mail processor, sought a larger schedule award for leg impairment associated with accepted lumbar conditions. He had already received an award for seven percent right leg impairment. An impartial specialist found no objective sensory or motor deficit in either leg attributable to…
D.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Bronx, NY
Hepatitis C not linked to accepted needlestick
D.B., a VA employee, had an accepted right hand needlestick injury after drawing a patient’s blood in 2001. She later sought to add hepatitis C to the claim. The patient’s test showed no hepatitis C antibody, and contemporaneous records showed that she declined an offered blood test. The Board…
P.J. and Department of Commerce, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Arlington, VA
$20,237.63 compensation overpayment recovery upheld
P.J., a Patent and Trademark Office employee, received disability benefits calculated using a full time weekly pay rate after returning briefly to part time work. The Board found OWCP should have used her earlier, higher eligible rate instead, creating a $20,237.63 overpayment from June 2008 to…
D.W. and Department of the Navy, Commander Navy Region Mid-Atlantic, San Diego, CA
Emotional condition claim lacked a compensable work factor
D.W., a Navy police captain supervisor, attributed depression and anxiety to management decisions and conflict with coworkers. He challenged performance ratings, shift and job assignments, leave decisions, reprimands, and a subordinate’s conduct. The Board found no proven error or abuse in the…
S.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Valley, AL
Shoulder claim and late hearing request denied
S.S., a postal employee, sought benefits for a right rotator cuff tear attributed to work duties. Her surgeon diagnosed and repaired the tear but did not address whether work caused it. The Board affirmed the injury claim denial for lack of a reasoned causal opinion. It also affirmed denial of her…
M.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fort Dearborn, IL
Rehabilitation benefit reduction reopened for merit review
M.P., a postal letter carrier, sought reconsideration of an OWCP decision reducing compensation to zero for alleged failure to cooperate with vocational rehabilitation. Her representative argued that therapist reports about her effort during functional capacity testing could not support the…
F.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Leandro, CA
Interim disability after workplace fall not established
F.S., a postal carrier, collapsed and fell at work in August 2015, and OWCP accepted head and neck conditions. He sought total disability compensation for October 14 through December 16, 2015. Medical notes placed him off work, but did not explain how the accepted conditions caused total disability…
R.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Flemington, NJ
Leg impairment rating returned for new impartial examination
R.B., a postal employee, sought a further schedule award for right leg impairment from accepted conditions. OWCP relied on an impartial examiner, but his reports did not apply the required grade modifiers and adjustment formula when rating the leg. The Board found that the medical disagreement…
J.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Edison, NJ
Shoulder and neck claim lacked reasoned causation
J.A., a postal mail handler, reported right shoulder and neck symptoms after pulling or lifting mail trays at work. OWCP accepted that the September 2015 incident occurred. The emergency report gave no causal opinion, and the treating physician did not adequately explain how the specific movements…
S.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Knoxville, TN
Retirement benefit overpayment returned for proof of payment
S.F., a postal employee, elected federal retirement benefits while receiving FECA compensation. OWCP found a $9,384.35 overpayment based on supposed overlapping benefits. The Board found the record did not establish when retirement payments began or how much was actually paid. It set aside the…
J.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
Termination of injury benefits upheld
J.R., a postal employee, received benefits for cervical, thoracic, lumbar, and right shoulder strains from a 1989 workplace injury. An impartial examiner found no objective residuals of those accepted strains and attributed her current work restrictions to later injuries and degenerative changes…
M.L. and Department of Labor, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, Chicago, IL
Elbow and shoulder claim lacked reasoned causation
M.L., an OWCP claims examiner, attributed elbow and right shoulder conditions to long hours of computer work at a poorly fitted workstation. OWCP accepted the work duties and medical diagnoses. Her physician identified several conditions but did not explain how those specific duties caused or…
United States Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintanence Facility, Bremerton, Washington (Agency) and Bremerton Metal Trades Council (Union)
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and BMTC (FLRA 0-AR-5240): Apprentice promotion award vacated
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard apprentices were eligible for noncompetitive promotions at six-month intervals as they advanced from WT-1 to WT-8 and met academic, work, and training requirements. One apprentice's WT-4 promotion was processed after her six-month anniversary. An arbitrator found a…
Kevin Nemitz v. Washington United Terminals and Signal Mutual Indemnity Association, Limited
Nemitz v. Washington United Terminals (BRB 17-0659): hearing loss liability affirmed
Kevin Nemitz developed hearing loss after working around loud noise in longshore employment. A judge awarded permanent partial disability benefits for a 40.69 percent binaural loss and denied Washington United Terminals relief from part of its liability under section 8(f) of the Longshore Act. The…
Helen Sizemore (on behalf of and widow of John H. Sizemore) v. Shamrock Coal Company and American Resources Insurance Company
Sizemore v. Shamrock Coal Company (BRB 17-0518 BLA and 17-0519 BLA): survivor's award remanded
The judge denied John Sizemore's black lung claim but awarded survivor benefits to his widow, Helen, finding that his death was caused by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease related in part to coal mine dust exposure. The employer appealed the survivor award; no party challenged the miner claim's…
Troy Blackburn v. Pontiki Coal Corporation/MAPCO
Blackburn v. Pontiki Coal Corporation (BRB 17-0509 BLA and 17-0509 BLA-A): benefits award affirmed
Troy Blackburn received a black lung benefits award under the statutory presumption for miners with at least 15 years of qualifying work and total respiratory disability. Pontiki Coal appealed, arguing that the judge applied the wrong rebuttal standard and mishandled its physicians' opinions about…
V.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Stanton, CA
Rotator cuff claim not reopened
V.D., a postal customer service supervisor, sought reconsideration of a denied rotator cuff occupational disease claim. Her request was timely, but later physician reports repeated examination findings and asserted a medical conflict without providing pertinent new evidence on work causation. The…
R.F. and Department of the Air Force, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, NC
Shoulder injury claim lacked medical causation
R.F., an Air Force school liaison officer, reported right shoulder and arm symptoms after moving chairs and tables at work. OWCP accepted the November 2015 incident. One physician diagnosed bursitis and said the account fit the symptoms, but did not explain how that single event caused the…
K.F. and Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Albuquerque, NM
Snowmobile injury claim not reopened
K.F., a Forest Service snow ranger, sought reconsideration after OWCP denied a left shoulder claim arising from righting a snowmobile at work. His later physician report repeated diagnoses but gave no new opinion linking the condition to the incident. The Board found no new legal argument or…
R.P. and Department of Agriculture, Inspections Operations Program, Minneapolis, MN
No increase in bilateral arm impairment awards
R.P., a federal food inspector, sought additional schedule awards for accepted carpal tunnel and left ring finger conditions. He had already received three percent impairment awards for each arm. A second opinion and medical adviser found no greater ratable impairment, and the treating report did…
D.V. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Ann Arbor Veterans Administration Medical Center, Ann Arbor, MI
Back and leg claim lacked reasoned causation
D.V., a VA motor vehicle operator, attributed back and left leg conditions to prolonged sitting and grounds maintenance duties. His medical evidence did not adequately distinguish effects of his work from prior conditions or explain causation. The Board affirmed the occupational disease claim…
J.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing and Distribution Center, Kansas City, MO
Benefit termination reversed and related claims returned
J.S., a postal employee, had an accepted right thigh contusion and sought recognition of additional conditions and wage loss after the injury. OWCP relied on a second opinion that gave little explanation and did not address the additional conditions adequately. The Board reversed termination of…
J.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Little Falls, NY
Right leg impairment award denied
J.S., a postal rural carrier, sought a schedule award for right leg impairment after accepted right ankle conditions. Her physician proposed a one percent rating but did not adequately explain how he applied the impairment guide. Another medical adviser found no ratable impairment. The Board held…
Estate of Gerald Guess v. Electric Boat Corporation
Estate of Gerald Guess v. Electric Boat (BRB 17-0589): total disability bars separate scheduled hand award
Gerald Guess had work-related wrist injuries and received temporary total disability benefits until his death. His estate sought separate scheduled permanent partial benefits for lasting hand impairments. An administrative law judge instead modified the award to permanent total disability benefits…
Thomas G. Arnett v. Scrubet, Incorporated and Kentucky Employers Mutual Insurance
Arnett v. Scrubet (BRB 17-0489 BLA): disability finding remanded
Thomas Arnett received a black lung benefits award after a judge found that medical opinions established total respiratory disability and invoked the statutory presumption. The judge had found that the pulmonary function and blood gas studies, viewed separately, did not establish disability, giving…
C.M. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Paradise Steam Plant, Drakesboro, KY
Late compensation forfeiture reconsideration denied
C.M., a former Tennessee Valley Authority ironworker, requested reconsideration of a forfeiture of compensation tied to a fraud conviction. His 2017 request came nearly a decade after the last merit decision on forfeiture. His arguments about worsening health and innocence did not clearly show…
K.R. and U.S. Defense Agencies, March ARB Commissary, Riverside, CA
Back reinjury claim lacked reasoned causation
K.R., a commissary store associate, reported reinjuring her back in March 2016 after an earlier work injury. Her physicians identified lumbar conditions but did not adequately explain how the March incident caused them or distinguish its effects from the earlier condition. The Board affirmed OWCP’s…
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.