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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Ladd v. Babcock & Wilcox Conversion Services
Retaliation settlement approved
Ricky Ladd brought two whistleblower complaints against Babcock & Wilcox Conversion Services, alleging termination after reports of unsafe workplace conditions and a prior claim. Administrative law judges dismissed both complaints, and appeals were pending before the Board when the parties settled…
A.K. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Victorville, CA
Board orders new review of correctional officer’s ankle impairment (ECAB 18-0462)
A.K., a federal correctional officer, received a schedule award for 13 percent permanent left leg impairment after accepted ankle injuries and OWCP approved fusion surgery. A later second opinion physician rated zero impairment, attributing the findings to an earlier nonwork injury. The Board found…
T.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Albany, NY
Board upholds denial of carrier’s elbow and shoulder claim (ECAB 18-0433)
T.M., a postal letter carrier, attributed right elbow and shoulder symptoms to repeatedly opening a vehicle door with a faulty latch. The employer confirmed earlier latch problems, but her only diagnosis in the record before OWCP came from a nurse practitioner. The Board held that this report did…
P.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Iselin, NJ
Board upholds suspension of letter carrier’s benefits over examination (ECAB 17-1426)
P.B., a postal letter carrier with accepted knee, shoulder, and cervical injuries, attended an OWCP directed examination to assess her ongoing condition and work capacity. The examining physician reported that she declined questions and parts of the physical tests, leaving him unable to give those…
M.S. and Department of the Army, Forward Operating Base Hammer, Iraq
Board upholds denial of Army analyst’s neurological disease claim (ECAB 17-0980)
M.S., an Army human terrain analyst, attributed amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or a similar motor neuron disease to exposures during his deployment in Iraq. OWCP accepted reported work exposure and a diagnosis, but denied the claim for lack of medical causation evidence. One physician said the cause…
K.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Orleans, LA
Board upholds late reconsideration denial in postal driver’s surgery claim (ECAB 17-0899)
K.C., a postal motor vehicle operator, sought review of OWCP’s 1997 finding that two lumbar procedures were unrelated to an accepted 1995 work injury. His 2016 reconsideration request was years beyond the one year deadline. The Board found that the medical evidence did not show he had been unable…
R.D. and Department of the Air Force, Air National Guard, Fort Dix, NJ
Board upholds denial of added leg impairment award for aircraft mechanic (ECAB 17-0334)
R.D., an Air National Guard aircraft mechanic, received a schedule award for 16 percent permanent left leg impairment after a work related knee injury. He sought an additional award based on a physician’s later 25 percent rating. An OWCP medical adviser found that the physician had rated a subtotal…
C.D. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Cleveland, OH
Board upholds denial of VA technician’s additional disability pay (ECAB 17-0292)
C.D., a VA training technician, had accepted hand and wrist tenosynovitis and sought compensation for periods she said she could not work. Her physician reported pain and concern that prescribed medication affected her balance and thinking. The Board found that his reports did not adequately…
Barry T. Brown v. CP&O, LLC/P&O Ports Virginia, Incorporated and Ports Insurance Company
Barry T. Brown v. CP&O, LLC/P&O Ports Virginia, Incorporated (BRB 17-0669): partial disability finding affirmed
Barry Brown challenged the reduction of his Longshore Act disability status from total to partial. The judge found that he had not diligently sought suitable alternative work. The Board upheld the judge's assessment of his job search and the information he gave prospective employers. It affirmed…
Terry Bias v. Ingram Industries, Incorporated and Signal Mutual Indemnity Association
Terry Bias v. Ingram Industries, Incorporated (BRB 17-0587): hospitalization medical benefits remanded
Terry Bias challenged a denial of medical benefits for a May 2015 hospitalization. The Board found that the judge needed to decide whether a stomach condition was linked to his work injury or its medication and whether the hospitalization was reasonable and necessary. It vacated that portion of the…
John W. Cutright v. Sewell Coal Company
Black lung award partly vacated for rebuttal review
John Cutright received black lung benefits on modification. The Board found that the judge needed to reconsider medical opinions on whether the employer disproved legal pneumoconiosis. It vacated the related rebuttal and modification findings and remanded. If Cutright remains entitled, the judge…
James Warren Fannin v. Bizzack Construction, Incorporated and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company
James Warren Fannin v. Bizzack Construction, Incorporated (BRB 17-0436 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
James Fannin won black lung benefits after the judge found a disabling respiratory impairment and qualifying coal mine work. The Board upheld the judge's weighing of medical opinions and the resulting statutory presumption. The employer did not challenge the finding that it had failed to rebut the…
Santiago v. Metro-North Commuter Railroad Co., Inc.
Santiago v. Metro-North (DOL ARB 2013-0062): Earlier retaliation ruling vacated after court review
Anthony Santiago alleged that Metro-North interfered with medical treatment by reclassifying his back injury as unrelated to work. After an earlier remand, an administrative law judge found interference and awarded damages, and the Board affirmed. The Second Circuit held that substantial evidence…
D.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Nashville, TN
Board upholds denial of postal clerk’s shoulder claim (ECAB 18-0335)
D.M., a postal clerk, alleged that her daily duties caused or aggravated a left shoulder rotator cuff tear. She said she lifted mail trays, and a physician recorded that account and diagnosed a tear. The Board found that her account did not describe the work activities, frequency, or duration in…
T.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Irvington, NY
Board upholds refusal to add disc herniations to fall claim (ECAB 18-0240)
T.P., a postal carrier assistant, fell down stairs at work. OWCP accepted several sprains and a cervical strain, but declined to add multilevel disc herniations. The Board found that her physician diagnosed the disc conditions without explaining how the fall caused them or addressing the earlier…
C.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Plano Coit Station, Plano, TX
Board upholds injury denial and late hearing denial (ECAB 18-0213)
C.L., a letter carrier, reported back and right wrist pain after pushing a mail cart at work. OWCP accepted the incident but denied his injury claim because the medical evidence before its July 31, 2017 decision did not establish a diagnosis connected to that incident. The Board agreed that a wrist…
T.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Fort Point Station, Boston, MA
Board orders further development of letter carrier’s knee claim (ECAB 17-1486)
T.R., a letter carrier, claimed that decades of walking, carrying mail, and other work activities caused or aggravated arthritis in both knees. OWCP denied his claim because it found his surgeon’s causation opinion insufficiently reasoned. The Board found that the surgeon’s four reports, read…
A.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Dallas, TX
Board upholds disability denial and earnings form suspension (ECAB 17-0793)
A.D., a postal tractor trailer driver, claimed disability from accepted left knee and hip conditions. OWCP denied compensation for August 16, 2015 through October 19, 2016 because his medical evidence did not adequately explain how the accepted injury prevented work during that period. The Board…
A.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Monroe Township, NJ
Board upholds refusal to add emotional condition to postal worker’s claim (ECAB 17-0127)
A.A., a postal sales associate, was struck by a customer at work. OWCP accepted a facial scratch, and she asked it to add post-traumatic stress disorder to her claim. The Board agreed that the assault was a compensable work event. It found that her internist’s reports lacked a medical explanation…
M.U. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, La Puente, CA
Board orders new review of postal carrier’s cervical surgery request (ECAB 16-1822)
M.U., a postal city carrier, requested surgery for cervical conditions after a claim involving repetitive lifting and parcel handling. OWCP obtained an impartial examiner’s opinion against surgery, then accepted additional cervical disc conditions based on that examiner’s report. The Board found…
Secretary of Labor v. The American Coal Company
Amended settlement approved after two tie votes
The Commission had twice divided two-to-two on American Coal's proposed settlement, which effectively denied approval and led the operator to seek federal court review. The court held the appeal in abeyance while the parties submitted an amended settlement motion to the Commission. The amended…
Melyndia Ann Bryan (widow of Bert Fowler Bryan) v. Island Creek Coal Company
Derivative survivor benefits affirmed
Melyndia Bryan sought black lung survivor benefits after her husband had been found eligible for benefits. The judge awarded derivative survivor benefits under the statute. The Board asked the parties to explain why it should not affirm, and no response showed error. It affirmed the survivor award.
Matthew W. Cline v. Brooks Run Mining Company and BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Company
Matthew W. Cline v. Brooks Run Mining Company (BRB 17-0452 BLA): black lung award partly vacated
Matthew Cline received black lung benefits after the judge found simple clinical coal workers' pneumoconiosis from x-ray evidence and disability causation. The Board held that the judge relied on a mere count of positive readings without weighing treatment records, CT scans, and medical opinions on…
Eddie L. Ingle v. Clinchfield Coal Company
Black lung benefits award affirmed
Eddie Ingle won black lung benefits under the statutory presumption. Clinchfield Coal challenged whether its medical opinions rebutted the presumption. The Board upheld the judge's finding that the employer had neither disproved pneumoconiosis nor excluded it as a cause of disability. It affirmed…
C.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Peoria, AZ
Board upholds denial of carpal tunnel claim (ECAB 18-0016)
C.H., a rural carrier, attributed pain and numbness in both hands to years of casing and pulling down mail. OWCP accepted those work activities, and testing supported a carpal tunnel syndrome diagnosis. The Board found that neither treating physician explained whether those duties caused or…
E.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Voorhees Post Office, Voorhees, NJ
Board upholds elbow denial but remands lumbar claim (ECAB 17-2005)
E.F., a postal clerk, reported elbow and back injuries after a mail container stopped suddenly and he struck it. The Board found that the medical evidence did not adequately explain how the incident caused a diagnosed left elbow condition. It reached a different result for the lumbar claim because…
P.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Clifton Station, Baltimore, MD
Board upholds denial of letter carrier’s ankle claim (ECAB 17-0939)
P.S., a letter carrier, reported twisting her right ankle on steps while delivering mail. OWCP accepted the incident but denied the injury claim for lack of competent medical evidence connecting an ankle condition to it. Most treatment reports were completed by physician assistants, whose opinions…
F.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chelsea, MA
Board upholds denial of separate knee injury claim (ECAB 17-0468)
F.A., a letter carrier, reported a pop in his left knee while stepping onto a curb with a full mail satchel. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the injury claim for lack of medical causation evidence. The Board found that his surgeon’s later report addressed a different September…
M.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bellmawr, NJ
Board orders new medical opinion on ankle disability claim (ECAB 17-0331)
M.A., a postal carrier assistant, claimed disability after an accepted left ankle sprain. She underwent foot and ankle surgery that OWCP had not authorized. OWCP’s second opinion physician gave inconsistent answers about the relationship between her work injury, surgery, and disability. The Board…
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tampa, FL
Board upholds denial of claimed workplace knee fall (ECAB 17-0161)
D.C., a rural carrier who had undergone right knee replacement surgery, claimed that she slipped on a wet floor at work and hurt that knee. OWCP denied the claim because the factual record did not establish the alleged fall. The Board found the witness account too vague to identify the date or…
C.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Suisun, CA
Board upholds earnings form suspension and reconsideration denial (ECAB 17-0043)
C.C., a postal carrier receiving compensation for an accepted condition, did not return an EN1032 form within 30 days of OWCP’s request. OWCP suspended her benefits effective July 29, 2016. She later submitted the form, and OWCP reinstated the benefits retroactively to that date. The Board held…
United States, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, National Council, 118-ICE (Union)
ICE and AFGE National Council 118 (FLRA 0-AR-5229): Overtime calculation award set aside
ICE had excluded annual and sick leave when calculating administratively uncontrollable overtime for its law-enforcement employees, which could raise their eligibility or premium pay. The agency stopped that practice to comply with Office of Personnel Management regulations and offered bargaining…
Enel Green Power North America, Inc.
In re Enel Green Power North America, Inc. (EAB MM 18-01C): consent agreement ratified
The EPA EAB order concerns Enel Green Power North America, Inc. and four consolidated program docket numbers covering the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. The two-page release does not describe the…
S.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jackson, MS
Board upholds denial of late reconsideration request (ECAB 17-0196)
S.J., a mail carrier, sought reconsideration after OWCP denied her claim for an emotional condition attributed to workplace harassment. OWCP received her request more than one year after its merit decision. The Board found that her new statement lacked details establishing the alleged workplace…
J.O. and Department of the Army, Aviation & Missile Command, Corpus Christi Army Depot, TX
Board upholds denial of hearing loss schedule award (ECAB 17-1618)
J.O., a retired Army depot sheet metal mechanic, had an accepted claim for noise related hearing loss and tinnitus. He sought a schedule award. The Board agreed with OWCP’s medical adviser that the tested losses in each ear fell below the impairment threshold under the applicable Guides. It also…
R.V. and Social Security Administration, Long Beach, CA
Board upholds refusal to reopen disability claims (ECAB 17-1124)
R.V., a Social Security contact representative with accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, sought compensation for two earlier periods of claimed total disability. OWCP had denied those claims and later refused to reopen them. The Board found that the resubmitted test was duplicate evidence and…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Highland, IN
Board upholds denial of increased leg impairment award (ECAB 17-0878)
M.M., a letter carrier with an accepted lumbar condition, had received schedule awards totaling 34 percent impairment of each leg. He sought an increased award. The Board found that OWCP’s medical adviser correctly applied the spinal nerve impairment method and rated current impairment at three…
E.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Indianapolis, IN
Board upholds denial after accepted delivery fall (ECAB 17-0164)
E.B., a mail carrier, fell while delivering mail and claimed back and arm injuries. OWCP accepted that the fall occurred but denied the injury claim for lack of competent medical evidence. The Board found that two medical reports were from providers whose identities could not be determined. The…
J.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Edison, NJ
Board upholds denial of recurrent disability claim (ECAB 17-0120)
J.J., a mail processor with accepted hand and wrist conditions, stopped working after returning to a limited duty customer care job. He asserted that the job demanded more use of his hands than his medical restrictions allowed. The Board found no sufficient evidence that the job requirements…
S.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Columbia, SC
Board upholds denial of claimed disability after postal vehicle crash (ECAB 17-0049)
S.T., a rural carrier associate, sustained accepted lumbar and pelvis injuries in a postal vehicle crash. She claimed total disability for January 9 through March 4, 2016. The Board found that her physician said she could not work but did not explain how the accepted conditions prevented her from…
Secretary of Labor v. Original Sixteen to One Mine, Inc.
Portal combustibles and unsafe escapeway violations affirmed
Original Sixteen to One Mine contested two citations involving combustible wood near a mine portal and mud and water in a secondary escapeway. Judge William B. Moran held that the wood violated the limit on storing more than a one-day supply of combustible material within 100 feet of a mine…
Secretary of Labor v. Jamestown Quarries and Secretary of Labor v. Rocky Ridge Custom Crushing, LLC
MSHA jurisdiction covered quarry garage and processing shop
Jamestown Quarries and Rocky Ridge Custom Crushing disputed MSHA's jurisdiction over a garage and stone-processing shop beside an active Tennessee quarry. Judge David P. Simonton held that the garage was a mine facility because it was adjacent to the quarry, stored a service truck and quarry…
Marjorie Bell Smith (mother of Timothy M. Bell) v. Service Employees International, Incorporated
Death benefits denial affirmed
Marjorie Smith sought death benefits as the mother of a deceased Defense Base Act worker. The judge found that she did not qualify as a dependent under the applicable provision. The Board rejected her argument that a separate court decision changed the dependency rule. It affirmed the denial after…
Charles Zumwalt v. National Steel and Shipbuilding Company
Charles Zumwalt v. National Steel and Shipbuilding (BRB 17-0048R): late fee reconsideration did not extend appeal time
After Charles Zumwalt won Longshore Act benefits, an administrative law judge awarded attorney fees. Zumwalt moved for reconsideration 13 days after the fee award was filed and served, and both sides later appealed the fee award. The Board had dismissed the appeals as late; on reconsideration by…
M.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Millbrae, CA
Board upholds denial of carrier’s shoulder claim (ECAB 18-0215)
M.E., a city carrier, attributed shoulder arthritis and a left rotator cuff tear to years of carrying a mail satchel and other delivery duties. OWCP accepted those duties and the diagnoses but found no adequate medical link between them. The Board held that his surgeon relied on the timing of…
L.H. and Department of the Treasury, Bureau of Engraving & Printing, Fort Worth, TX
Board upholds denial of hearing loss schedule award (ECAB 17-1957)
L.H., a materials handler, had an accepted claim for workplace noise related hearing loss and tinnitus. She sought a schedule award. The Board found that the tested loss averaged 23.75 decibels in each ear, below the 25 decibel threshold in the applicable Guides. With no measurable hearing…
L.B. and Department of the Treasury, Bureau of Engraving & Printing, Fort Worth, TX
Board orders review of disputed schedule award payment (ECAB 17-1752)
L.B., a retired plate printer, challenged the payment calculation for an increased left leg schedule award. OWCP’s decision stated a weekly amount of $1,728.75 after adjustments but listed $4,052.00 as the continuing payment every four weeks. The Board found that multiplying the stated weekly…
M.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cincinnati, OH
Board upholds denial of recurrent right leg disability (ECAB 17-1489)
M.D., a letter carrier, had an accepted right leg condition and returned to full duty after surgery. He later claimed recurrent disability due to right leg swelling. His physician diagnosed a partially occluded vein but did not say what caused it or whether it prevented work. The Board found no…
Coleman Hammons Construction Co., Inc.
Late contest dismissed
Coleman Hammons Construction did not contest two OSHA citations within the required 15 working days, so they became a final order by operation of law. A corporate officer signed for the citations and left them unopened on the desk of a project superintendent who was away from the office through the…
S.Y. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hammonton, NJ
Board orders further review of carrier’s locked knee claim (ECAB 17-0585)
S.Y., a rural carrier associate with a prior right knee replacement, reported that her knee locked after she twisted while sorting mail. OWCP accepted the work incident but denied the injury claim. Her surgeon performed a tibial insert revision and linked the locked knee to the twisting incident…
T.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Birmingham, AL
Board upholds denial of knee and back claim after fall (ECAB 17-0328)
T.W., a maintenance mechanic, slipped on rainwater near an elevator at work. OWCP accepted the fall but found that he had not proved it caused his knee and back conditions. The Board held that his orthopedist listed diagnoses without explaining how the fall caused or aggravated them, especially…
P.W. and Department of Homeland Security, Emergency Preparedness & Response, Washington, DC
Board upholds denial after work related vehicle crash (ECAB 17-0163)
P.W., a program manager, was in a vehicle crash while leaving a temporary duty station to get lunch. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred in the performance of duty. The Board found that right knee pain was a symptom rather than a clear diagnosis and that the treating physician did not explain…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3627 and Social Security Administration
AFGE Local 3627 and Social Security Administration (FLRA 0-AR-5359): Authority rejects grievant's arbitration challenges
A grievant, with written permission from AFGE Local 3627, filed exceptions to an arbitration award involving the Social Security Administration. The abbreviated decision does not describe the underlying grievance or the arbitrator's ruling. The Authority refused to consider statutory and regulatory…
G.S. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Victorville, CA
Board upholds denial of increased right leg award (ECAB 18-0299)
G.S., a Bureau of Prisons teacher, had received schedule awards totaling 13 percent impairment of his right leg after accepted injuries. He later sought an increased award and submitted knee and lumbar MRI scans. The Board found that the scans described conditions but did not measure permanent…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Las Vegas, NV
Board upholds denial of carrier’s right knee claim (ECAB 18-0280)
D.S., a rural carrier, reported a painful crack in her right knee while stepping out of a mail vehicle. OWCP accepted the incident but denied the injury claim. The Board found that the physicians who diagnosed knee strain or bursitis did not explain how the step caused those conditions. Imaging…
D.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Springfield, MA
Board upholds disability denial for modified duty period (ECAB 18-0239)
D.A., a postal mechanic, had accepted shoulder, elbow, and back conditions after a transformer fell on his toe and he pushed it away. He returned to a modified duty position in April 2016 but claimed compensation for several later absences. The Board found that his physician had released him to…
L.C. and Department of the Navy, Military Sealift Command, Virginia Beach, VA
Board upholds denial of late hip claim reconsideration (ECAB 18-0107)
L.C., a boatswain’s mate, sought to reopen an old claim concerning a hip fracture after a fall aboard a ship. OWCP had accepted that the 1994 fall occurred but denied the injury claim for lack of sufficiently linked medical evidence. His 2017 reconsideration requests came years after the last merit…
I.P. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, San Diego, CA
Board orders medical review of border officer’s emotional condition claim (ECAB 17-1178)
I.P., a border officer, attributed an emotional condition to dangerous encounters at work, extensive overtime, personnel actions, and alleged harassment. OWCP had denied the claim after finding no compensable work factor. The Board found that incident reports substantiated encounters with combative…
S.H. and Department of Labor, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, Dallas, TX
Board upholds wage loss reduction based on available clerk job (ECAB 17-0990)
S.H., a former OWCP claims examiner with accepted carpal tunnel syndrome and depression, received wage loss benefits. After vocational rehabilitation, OWCP selected a customer complaint clerk position available in her labor market and reduced compensation based on its estimated wages. The Board…
P.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Midland, MI
Board orders three related postal injury files combined (ECAB 17-0935 and 17-0936)
P.M. appealed two OWCP denials involving related postal injury and recurrence claims. The Board found that OWCP had reviewed separate files with different sets of evidence, although an earlier accepted injury file also bore on the claimed recurrence. It set aside the October 28 and December 14…
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.