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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L.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Valrico, FL
Forearm injury claim and reopening request denied
L.A., a rural postal carrier, reported a right forearm strain after another vehicle backed into her postal vehicle. OWCP accepted the September 2016 incident, but the medical evidence did not adequately link a diagnosed forearm injury to it. Her later submissions did not satisfy the rules for…
C.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bakersfield, CA
Back disability recurrence claim returned for medical review
C.C., a former postal carrier, claimed renewed disability beginning in 2008 from an accepted 1982 lumbar injury. OWCP’s second opinion linked her current symptoms and treatment needs to that injury, but its reports were inconsistent and did not address whether the injury caused disability during…
K.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bellmawr, NJ
Recurrence claim returned for a new decision
K.N., a postal mail processor with accepted hand and elbow conditions, claimed a recurrence of disability after her limited duty assignment ended. The Board had previously ordered OWCP to issue a new decision because an earlier decision was not delivered to her. OWCP instead reissued the old…
L.G. and Panama Canal Commission, Locks Division, Panama City, Panama
Leg impairment affirmed, award pay rate returned
L.G., a retired Panama Canal Commission lock master, sought a larger schedule award for his left leg and challenged the pay rate used to calculate compensation. The Board found no medical basis for more than 21 percent impairment. It found the pay rate record incomplete, including evidence…
J.T. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Philadelphia, PA
Foot and ankle claim lacked medical causation
J.T., a National Park Service painter, reported a left foot and ankle injury after catching his heel on a curb while leaving equipment at work. The Board found that the medical evidence did not adequately explain how the accepted incident caused his diagnosed conditions. His later reconsideration…
A.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Torrance, CA
Late benefit termination reconsideration denied
A.G., a former postal carrier, sought reconsideration of an older decision upholding the end of benefits for a 1998 ankle injury. Her requests in 2012, 2013, and 2014 came more than a year after the last merit decision in 2002. A later physician supported continuing symptoms, but the Board found…
K.V. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Chattanooga, TN
Hearing loss not linked to work noise
K.V., a Tennessee Valley Authority truck driver, attributed hearing loss to workplace noise. A second opinion explained that his asymmetric audiogram lacked the pattern typically seen with noise induced loss. The competing physician did not explain how the audiogram showed a work related condition…
R.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Franklin, MA
Shoulder claim and reconsideration denial upheld
R.S., a postal letter carrier, attributed a left shoulder condition to repetitive work duties. The Board found that the medical record did not adequately connect the condition to accepted work factors. His later reconsideration request did not meet the requirements for another merit review. The…
J.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Wauwatosa, WI
Left foot surgery not linked to right ankle injury
J.S., a postal employee with an accepted right foot and ankle injury, sought coverage for later left foot and ankle conditions and surgery. A second opinion found the left side conditions unrelated to the accepted injury, while other reports did not give a reasoned contrary explanation. The Board…
J.B. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA
Termination of emotional condition benefits reversed
J.B., a former Navy secretary, received benefits for depressive neurosis caused by accepted overwork and deadlines in the early 1970s. OWCP ended her benefits based on a second opinion that treated the claim as a single incident on one date instead of the accepted pattern of work. The Board found…
D.S. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA
Right leg impairment increased to 25 percent
D.S., a Navy shipyard employee, sought an increased schedule award after receiving awards totaling 24 percent right leg impairment. The Board found that the proper combined rating for his right hip and leg conditions was 25 percent. It set aside OWCP’s refusal to grant an increase and returned the…
Matter of Julio MEDINA-JIMENEZ
Protection-order conviction barred cancellation of removal
The Board reconsidered a Mexican respondent's eligibility for cancellation of removal after an Oregon court convicted him of violating a protection order. The Board held that the categorical approach does not govern whether a protection-order violation is an offense under the immigration statute…
B.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bell, CA
Later disability from accepted injury not established
B.M., a postal mail handler, had accepted neck and shoulder strains after a box fell on her back at work. She sought disability compensation beginning October 16, 2017. Her physician described similar symptoms and kept the same modified work restrictions that had applied earlier, without explaining…
N.C. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Los Angeles, CA
Vocational rehabilitation pay rate upheld
N.C., a TSA screener, challenged the pay rate used when OWCP reduced compensation for failure to participate in vocational rehabilitation. After an earlier Board remand, OWCP recalculated the rate using his injury period pay, premium pay, and the agency’s pay band formula. The Board found the…
M.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Merrifield, VA
Abandoned hearing finding reversed for wrong address
M.C., a postal customer service manager, requested a hearing after denial of an emotional condition claim. OWCP mailed the hearing notice to her old address despite receiving a new address on her appeal form, then treated her failure to appear as abandonment. The Board found OWCP had not shown…
A.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Langhorne, PA
Arm impairment ratings upheld, payment amount returned
A.W., a postal mail handler, sought schedule awards above seven percent for each arm after accepted carpal tunnel conditions. The Board upheld the seven percent ratings and rejected separate ratings for nerve deficits already counted in them. It found that OWCP still needed to determine whether the…
S.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Discovery Bay, CA
Overpayment fault split between direct deposits
S.D., a postal employee, received $838.64 in excess compensation when paid at an augmented rate without proof that her daughter qualified as a dependent. The Board upheld the overpayment and found her at fault for the later deposit after OWCP warned her about the missing proof. It found her without…
D.V. and Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Salem, OR
Lyme disease not linked to road clearing work
D.V., a Bureau of Land Management equipment operator, developed symptoms after clearing storm damage and culverts at work. OWCP accepted the work activity and his Lyme disease diagnosis. The medical reports did not explain that an insect bite occurred during that activity or connect the disease to…
Matter of Agustin ORTEGA-LOPEZ
Animal fighting conviction barred cancellation of removal
The Board reconsidered a Mexican respondent's eligibility for cancellation of removal after he was convicted under federal law for sponsoring or exhibiting an animal in an animal fighting venture. The Board held that the offense is categorically a crime involving moral turpitude because it requires…
K.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Denver, CO
Psychological claim and earning capacity review returned
K.D., a postal employee with an accepted back injury, sought recognition of a consequential psychological condition and modification of a loss of wage earning capacity finding. OWCP did not adequately address its own psychiatric referral opinion and failed to consider an impartial medical opinion…
Michael P. Adkins v. North Branch Coal Company, Incorporated and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company
Adkins v. North Branch Coal Company (BRB 17-0512 BLA): benefits award affirmed
Michael Adkins received a black lung benefits award after the employer conceded that he had 18.5 years of coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The judge applied the statutory presumption that the disability was due to pneumoconiosis and found that the employer had not…
James E. Fennell v. R & PCC, LLC
Fennell v. R & PCC (BRB 17-0413 BLA): benefits award affirmed
James Fennell received a black lung benefits award under the statutory presumption for miners with at least 15 years of qualifying work and total respiratory disability. The employer challenged the judge's finding of about 17 years of underground coal mine employment, but the Board held that Social…
Robert C. Gillenwater v. Ranger Fuel Corporation
Gillenwater v. Ranger Fuel Corporation (BRB 17-0061 BLA): claim remanded for further action
The Board had previously vacated part of a benefits award to Robert Gillenwater and sent his black lung claim back to an administrative law judge. After denying the employer's reconsideration request, it asked the parties whether the judge should reconsider all prior substantive and procedural…
G.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, La Puente, CA
$58,814.34 compensation overpayment recovery upheld
G.D., a postal employee, received FECA compensation and Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service at the same time. The Board upheld OWCP’s $58,814.34 overpayment calculation for April 1999 through December 2012. It found her at fault because she accepted payments she knew…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bloomington, IL
Seven percent left leg impairment award upheld
S.M., a postal rural carrier, sought a schedule award above seven percent for accepted left ankle and knee injuries. A second opinion rated the talus fracture at five percent and the meniscus injury at two percent using the impairment guide. A medical adviser agreed, and the record lacked support…
K.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Port Huron, MI
Carpal tunnel disability period not established
K.B., a postal rural carrier, sought total disability compensation from January 2013 through February 2014 for accepted left carpal tunnel syndrome. Following an earlier remand for merit review, OWCP denied the period again. The Board gave greater weight to a referral physician who found no…
T.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Oakland, CA
Hip disability recurrence not established
T.P., a postal mail processing clerk, claimed renewed total disability beginning June 2015 after an accepted right hip and thigh contusion. She had been working modified duties before the claimed recurrence. Medical reports did not explain that the accepted contusion had worsened enough to prevent…
J.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Detroit, MI
Knee condition not linked to dog attack
J.L., a postal carrier, was bitten by dogs and fell while trying to avoid further bites at work. She later sought benefits for a left knee condition. Her physician said the attack could explain some swelling but did not give a firm, reasoned explanation connecting the diagnosed knee condition to…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1633 (Union) and United States Department of Veteran Affairs, Michael E. Debakey VAMC (Agency)
DeBakey VA and AFGE Local 1633 (FLRA 0-AR-5344): Return to regular schedule upheld
A diagnostic radiologic technician volunteered to cover the compressed schedule of a coworker on extended leave. When the coworker returned, the DeBakey VA directed the technician to resume her prior regular schedule. The union argued that this was a workplace change requiring bargaining under the…
Clarence J. Ceasar, Jr. v. Sea-Land Services, Incorporated and Universal Maritime Service Company
Ceasar v. Sea-Land Services (BRB 18-0049 and 18-0049A): disability award modified
Clarence Ceasar injured his neck and back while working for Sea-Land in 1997 and later injured his hands and shoulder while working for Universal Maritime in 2011. Sea-Land argued that the second accident also aggravated the earlier neck and back conditions, shifting medical care liability to…
Bernie D. Johnson v. Westmoreland Coal Company
Johnson v. Westmoreland Coal Company (BRB 17-0520 BLA): benefits award affirmed
Bernie Johnson received a black lung benefits award on a subsequent claim. The employer had stipulated to at least 15 years of underground coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment, so the judge applied the statutory presumption that his disability was due to pneumoconiosis…
B.D. and Department of the Army, Aviation and Missile Command, Corpus Christi, TX
Telephone hearing request deemed abandoned
B.D., an Army avionics inspector, requested a telephone hearing after OWCP denied a recurrence of treatment claim for an accepted knee sprain. OWCP sent hearing notice to his address of record, but he did not join the scheduled call or provide a timely explanation. The Board affirmed OWCP’s…
K.O. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Wilkes-Barre, PA
Aortic aneurysm claim not reopened
K.O., a VA engineer, sought reconsideration of a denied claim that workplace stress caused or aggravated an aortic aneurysm. The Board had already addressed his arguments about medical literature and the role of stress in an earlier merit decision. His later submissions did not meet the standard…
D.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, Berkeley, CA
Back and leg work factors not established
D.V., a postal distribution and sales associate, attributed back and left leg symptoms to standing, walking, and service counter duties. Her account conflicted with other records about the injury date and duties, and she did not provide requested job details. The Board found the alleged work…
R.O. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Atlanta, GA
Overpayment waiver and recovery denial upheld
R.O., a Bureau of Prisons employee, had received excess wage loss compensation after returning to work. An earlier Board decision left him without fault for the initial portion of that overpayment. On this appeal, he did not provide the financial information OWCP requested to assess waiver for that…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Customer Care Center, Los Angeles, CA
Earlier disability claim not reopened
S.M., a postal customer care agent, sought reconsideration of a denial of disability compensation for periods before a May 2017 shoulder surgery. Several new medical items did not address disability before the May 2017 surgery, while reports addressing the earlier period repeated evidence OWCP had…
M.J. and Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
Claimed light fixture injury not established
M.J., a National Institutes of Health maintenance mechanic, claimed neck, shoulder, and arm injury from reaching up to remove a light fixture lens at work. Records from his same day emergency visit described symptoms but did not mention that workplace incident, and other contemporaneous reports…
C.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Evansville, WI
Shoulder impairment award upheld, new rating evidence returned
C.M., a postal employee, sought more than the five percent left arm schedule award she had received for accepted shoulder conditions. The Board upheld the original rating on the record then before OWCP. Later physician reports described reduced shoulder motion that earlier reports did not show. The…
D.M. and Department of the Navy, Civilian Personnel Department, Mayport, FL
Overpayment recovery and schedule award denial upheld
D.M., a Navy employee, received FECA compensation and Social Security benefits attributable to federal service at the same time. The Board upheld a $48,000.17 overpayment for August 2004 through July 2016 and found him at fault, barring waiver. It affirmed recovery at $100 every 28 days from…
Secretary of Labor v. The Ohio County Coal Company
Roof-bolter settlement approved on interlocutory review
Ohio County Coal and the Secretary proposed settling five citations for $7,087 instead of $10,075. Four citations and their penalties remained unchanged. For a citation alleging that a miner worked under unsupported roof while one automated temporary roof support pad did not contact the roof, the…
Secretary of Labor v. Rockwell Mining, LLC
Settlement denial vacated under wrong standard
Rockwell Mining and the Secretary proposed settling seven citations by vacating one, leaving three unchanged, and reducing three penalties based on the operator's factual contentions and the Secretary's observations. The judge denied approval because the motion did not state that the contentions…
Secretary of Labor v. The American Coal Company
Uniform-percentage settlement denial vacated
On a second interlocutory appeal, the Commission reviewed an amended settlement covering 32 citations, keeping every citation as written while reducing each penalty by 30 percent. The judge again denied approval because the submission was not tied rigidly enough to the six statutory penalty…
L.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Crementon, NJ
Sciatica not added to accepted lumbar claim
L.R., a postal employee, had an accepted lumbar strain after lifting a mail tray. She sought to add sciatica to the claim. An unsigned or unidentified duty status report listed sciatica, but no identifiable physician diagnosed it or linked it to the incident. The Board affirmed OWCP’s refusal to…
T.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Foresight Carrier Annex, Grand Junction, CO
Neck and shoulder claim reopened for merit review
T.P., a postal mail processing clerk, sought to add cervical and left shoulder aggravation to an accepted injury claim. On reconsideration he argued that OWCP’s physician had been given a statement of accepted facts that was not updated as a hearing representative had directed. The Board found this…
N.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Phoenix City, AL
Late shoulder claim reconsideration denied
N.C., a postal employee, sought reconsideration of a denied claim for left arm and shoulder pain more than a year after the merit decision. Her later submissions included symptoms and treatment records but did not clearly show an error in the earlier finding that work causation was unproven. The…
S.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
$12,486.46 retirement benefit overpayment recovery upheld
S.O., a postal employee, received FECA compensation and Social Security benefits attributable to federal service concurrently. The Board upheld OWCP’s $12,486.46 overpayment for June 2014 through January 2017 and found him at fault, barring waiver. It affirmed recovery by deducting $600 every 28…
B.I. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Cleveland, OH
PTSD recurrence claim returned for review
B.I., a VA employee, had accepted PTSD after being robbed at gunpoint near a workplace parking facility. He reported renewed symptoms when passing the site and sought medical treatment for a recurrence. OWCP accepted renewed medical treatment but required a new claim for disability. The Board found…
S.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Long Island Performance Cluster, Melville, NY
New knee injury not linked to 2016 work incident
S.O., a postal carrier, had a prior accepted left knee sprain and later claimed another knee injury from September 2016 work activity. The Board treated the later claim as a new injury because it involved a new event. His medical reports did not adequately explain how that incident caused the…
K.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Emergency Preparedness and Response FEMA, Washington, DC
Retirement benefit overpayment amount returned
K.H., a FEMA employee, received FECA and Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service. The Board agreed that the overlap created an overpayment but found the claimed $30,076.20 amount unsupported. OWCP had not established when FECA wage loss payments began and lacked a…
L.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Newbury Park, CA
Shoulder disability recurrence not established
L.J., a postal carrier with accepted bilateral shoulder conditions, claimed total disability after modified customer care work ended in May 2015. Her physician added restrictions but did not explain that the accepted conditions prevented that modified job. An impartial examiner found she remained…
Excelsior Mining Arizona, Inc.
In re Excelsior Mining Arizona, Inc. (EAB UIC Appeal No. 18-03): petition dismissed after withdrawal
Sharon Rock appealed a Class III Underground Injection Control permit issued by EPA Region 9 to Excelsior Mining Arizona, Inc. for the Gunnison Copper Project in Cochise County, Arizona. She later sent a letter seeking to formally rescind the appeal. The Environmental Appeals Board treated that…
M.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Macon, GA
Shoulder claim hearing request filed late
M.T., a postal rural carrier associate, requested an oral hearing years after OWCP denied a shoulder injury claim. Her request was postmarked well beyond the 30 day filing period. The Board found that OWCP reasonably declined a discretionary hearing because reconsideration could address the claim…
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Medical Unit, Detroit, MI
Ice fall claim returned for premises findings
M.S., a postal occupational health nurse, reported injuries after slipping on ice outside her workplace while moving items to her car. OWCP denied the claim as outside her work duties without determining whether the fall occurred on the employer’s premises or within the proximity rule. The Board…
C.D. and Department of the Navy, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Norfolk, VA
Hearing loss award returned for correct rounding
C.D., a Navy employee, challenged a schedule award for 4.25 percent binaural hearing loss. OWCP’s medical adviser rounded the hearing thresholds for each ear before completing the formula, contrary to its procedure to round only the final percentage. The Board set aside the award decision and…
R.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Hilburn Post Office, Raleigh, NC
Lumbar claim lacked reasoned medical causation
R.A., a postal rural carrier, reported back pain after lifting a heavy tray of mail at work. OWCP accepted the September 2015 incident. Her physician described pain with sciatica and said the injury could have occurred at work, but did not provide a firm diagnosis and reasoned explanation of…
L.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Grand Rapids, MI
Earning capacity job suitability returned for review
L.V., a postal flat sorter clerk, challenged a loss of wage earning capacity finding based on a selected customer service representative job. A psychological report described learning and executive function limits that could affect the job’s computer, billing, and customer tasks. The Board found…
S.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Miami, FL
Termination of injury benefits upheld
S.S., a postal mail carrier, received benefits for accepted spine sprains and a temporary aggravation of depression after a 1997 injury. Later physical and psychiatric second opinions found no remaining work related residuals. The Board found those opinions sufficient to support OWCP’s termination…
C.B. and Department of the Navy, Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, CA
Late benefit termination reconsideration denied
C.B., a former Navy shipfitter, sought reconsideration of an old decision upholding termination of benefits for a 1985 injury. His request arrived more than 15 years after the last merit decision. Recent spine studies and a medical report did not clearly show that OWCP erred in the earlier…
Secretary of Labor v. Rain for Rent
Air-tank inspection and fuel-label citations affirmed
MSHA cited Rain for Rent after its mine-service truck carried a compressed-air tank without proof of the required post-installation National Board inspection and a gasoline safety can without a label identifying its contents. The Commission unanimously held that a manufacturer's construction plate…
Julia A. Engblom v. Georgia-Pacific, LLC and ACE American Insurance Company
Engblom v. Georgia-Pacific (BRB 17-0662): total disability award remanded for job availability findings
Julia Engblom sought Longshore Act benefits after years of forklift work at Georgia-Pacific and worsening back symptoms that led to surgery. The judge found that her work aggravated her lumbar condition and awarded medical care and total disability benefits. The Board upheld the work-related injury…
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.