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.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Norfolk, VA
Board upholds refusal to add spinal conditions after baggage fall (ECAB 17-0325)
S.M., a transportation security officer, fell over baggage at work, and OWCP accepted a back contusion. She asked OWCP to add herniated discs and other spinal conditions. The Board found that her surgeon had not adequately explained how the fall aggravated a preexisting disc condition or caused the…
T.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, West Dennis, MA
Board upholds denial of mail truck hand injury claim (ECAB 17-0111)
T.S., a rural carrier, felt right hand pain while pulling a mail truck door and releasing its brake. OWCP accepted the incident and a hand mass diagnosis but denied the injury claim for lack of medical causation evidence. The Board found that one physician merely linked the onset of pain to work…
Matter of A-B-
Private-violence asylum claims require an established group analysis
The Attorney General reviewed an asylum case involving a respondent who reported domestic abuse by her former husband in El Salvador. The decision held that an applicant relying on membership in a particular social group must show a group with a common immutable characteristic, particularity, and…
S.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Affton, MO
Board upholds denial of postal carrier’s occupational disease claim (ECAB 18-0242)
S.S., a postal city carrier, alleged that his work caused disc and pelvic conditions. OWCP asked him to describe the particular job activities he believed caused the conditions, but he did not respond. The Board found that he had not established the factual work factors needed for an occupational…
R.C. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Danbury, CT
Board finds prison worker’s reconsideration request timely (ECAB 18-0311)
R.C. challenged OWCP’s denial of authorization for treatment following an accepted neck sprain. OWCP rejected her later reconsideration request as late and applied the stricter clear evidence of error test. The Board found that the one year deadline fell on a Saturday, so her request received the…
F.M. and General Services Administration, Federal Acquisition Service, Kansas City, MO
Board upholds refusal to reopen GSA worker’s injury claim (ECAB 18-0211)
F.M., a GSA program analyst, reported a shoulder and arm injury after slipping in a washroom stall. After OWCP denied his injury claim, he asked for reconsideration. The Board found that his request offered no new relevant legal argument or medical evidence; a resubmitted physician report was…
D.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, New York City, NY
Board remands TSA injury claim over unreadable surveillance disc (ECAB 18-0121)
D.H., a TSA officer, said he injured his shoulder and back lifting bins. OWCP rescinded its earlier acceptance after relying on a surveillance disc. On a third appeal, the Board again found that the disc sent with the record was unreadable and differed from the disc identified by the employer…
L.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing and Distribution Center, Kearny, NJ
Board upholds denial of upper extremity schedule award (ECAB 18-0065)
L.G., a former postal processing clerk, had accepted carpal tunnel syndrome and other arm and neck conditions. She sought a schedule award for permanent upper extremity impairment. An impartial examiner had found no impairment under the earlier edition of the impairment guides, and the Board found…
E.C. and Department of the Treasury, Richmond, VA
Board upholds termination of Treasury worker’s injury benefits (ECAB 17-1645)
E.C., a Treasury customer service representative, injured his back when elevator doors closed on him at work. OWCP ended his wage loss and medical benefits after an impartial examiner found that the accepted injury no longer caused disability or needed treatment. The Board gave that reasoned…
D.K. and Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Fort Myers, FL
Board upholds denial of investigator’s vehicle accident claim (ECAB 17-1186)
D.K., an FDA investigator, was in a vehicle accident while working and reported neck, shoulder, and back symptoms. OWCP accepted the accident but found no competent medical opinion establishing a diagnosed condition caused by it. The Board found that a physician described spasm and pain without…
C.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Newport, RI
Board orders further review of postal carrier’s hip arthritis (ECAB 17-0951)
C.F., a former letter carrier, claimed that repeated job duties permanently aggravated arthritis in both hips. OWCP accepted a temporary aggravation but denied a permanent one after consulting a second opinion examiner and another specialist. The Board found that both physicians disregarded the…
J.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hartford, CT
Board upholds denial of custodian’s hand and elbow claim (ECAB 17-0460)
J.P., a postal custodian, attributed carpal tunnel syndrome and elbow pain to repetitive cleaning tasks and using a backpack vacuum. OWCP accepted her account of those duties but denied the claim for lack of medical proof linking them to her conditions. The Board found that her physicians…
Dallas Blanton v. Rex Coal Company, Incorporated and Chartis Casualty Company/AIG
Dallas Blanton v. Rex Coal Company, Incorporated (BRB 17-0430 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Dallas Blanton won black lung benefits under the statutory presumption. Rex Coal challenged the judge's finding that total disability was established, including the weighing of blood gas study and medical opinion evidence. The Board upheld that finding and the rejection of the employer's medical…
G.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Houston, TX
Board upholds denial of VA worker’s wage loss claim (ECAB 18-0288)
G.H., a VA medical center employee, had accepted sprains after a fall at work. She sought wage loss compensation for several weeks of total disability. The Board found that her physician attributed disability to a lumbar condition OWCP had not accepted, misstated the fall date, and did not explain…
E.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing and Distribution Center, Palatine, IL
Board upholds denial of mail handler’s injury claim (ECAB 18-0275)
E.M., a postal mail handler, attributed physical conditions to pushing and pulling postal equipment and handling mail. OWCP accepted the work factors but denied the claim for lack of a reasoned medical explanation linking them to her diagnoses. The Board found that her physician described the…
J.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Columbus Processing and Distribution Center, Columbus, OH
Board sustains overpayment but reopens waiver question (ECAB 18-0212)
J.L., a postal processing clerk, received excess compensation because OWCP did not deduct health and life insurance premiums. The Board agreed that the $2,374.50 overpayment existed. It found no evidence that J.L. knew or reasonably should have known the increased payments came from missing…
A.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hermitage, PA
Board upholds denial of carrier’s renewed disability claim (ECAB 18-0144)
A.G., a rural postal carrier associate, had an accepted work injury involving her left ankle and other minor conditions. Her physician released her from care for the accepted conditions, and she later fell at home before stopping work. She claimed that her earlier injury had again caused total…
W.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jersey City, NJ
Board orders impartial review of postal worker’s shoulder injuries (ECAB 17-1994)
W.B., a postal worker, was struck by a heavy box at work and had accepted right shoulder and upper arm contusions. She sought acceptance of additional shoulder conditions. Her treating physician and OWCP’s second opinion physician gave conflicting, comparably supported views about whether the work…
A.B. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Seattle, WA
Board orders missing psychiatric reports added to prison worker’s claim (ECAB 17-1480)
A.B., a prison medical records technician, had accepted depression and PTSD and sought disability compensation beginning in November 2012. OWCP had referred her to a psychiatrist, but his reports were missing from the record before the Board. The Board found that deciding the appeal without those…
W.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Austin, TX
Board accepts carrier’s account of fall and orders medical review (ECAB 17-0287)
W.R., a postal letter carrier, said he fell while delivering mail and injured his right side, shoulder, and knee. OWCP rejected the claim because it viewed the stated address and time as inconsistent with delivery scans and a supervisor’s account. The Board found that his account remained…
United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, El Paso, Texas (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, National Border Patrol Council, Local 1929 (Union)
CBP El Paso and AFGE Local 1929 (FLRA 0-AR-5125): Shift-trade bargaining award vacated after remand
CBP changed how it handled shift-trade requests at its Las Cruces Border Patrol station, and AFGE Local 1929 challenged the change. In an earlier appeal, the Authority found that Article 28 of the parties' agreement covered shift trades and removed the claimed statutory duty to bargain, but it…
A.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cartersville, GA
Board upholds denial of carrier’s rotator cuff claim (ECAB 18-0221)
A.T., a postal worker, reported a shoulder injury while repeatedly opening mailboxes and lifting mail. The Board accepted that the work activities occurred but found the medical link to a degenerative rotator cuff tear unproven. His physician said ordinary activities can complete such a tear but…
D.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Albany, NY
Board orders review of VA worker’s suspended benefits (ECAB 17-1793)
D.W., a VA medical center employee, asked OWCP to reinstate compensation after submitting a requested work activity report. OWCP treated the letter as a late reconsideration request and denied it under the clear error standard. The Board held that OWCP should instead decide whether the submitted…
T.R. and Department of the Army, Physical Security Division, Fort McCoy, WI
Board upholds denial of Army worker’s knee surgery requests (ECAB 17-1775)
T.R., an Army physical security employee, had an accepted right knee sprain and temporary aggravation after a work fall. Her physician sought coverage for surgeries on both knees, while an agency physician disagreed. An impartial examiner found that the procedures were not medically necessary for…
L.W. and Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Baltimore, MD
Board upholds refusal to reopen old occupational disease claim (ECAB 17-1630)
L.W. sought to reopen an occupational disease claim that OWCP had denied in 2009 as untimely. His 2016 reconsideration request came more than one year after that decision, so he needed clear evidence of error. The Board found that his statements about the injury date and agency conduct did not show…
D.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fayetteville, AR
Board upholds denial of sacroiliac surgeries and recurrence (ECAB 17-1411)
D.M., a postal worker with accepted lumbar injuries, sought acceptance of bilateral sacroiliitis and approval for sacroiliac fusion surgery. An impartial examiner found no objective evidence of sacroiliac dysfunction or medical need for the proposed procedures, and the Board gave that opinion…
A.D. and Smithsonian Institution, Office of Facilities Management and Reliability, Washington, DC
Board upholds denial of Smithsonian worker’s back claim (ECAB 17-1310)
A.D., a Smithsonian facilities worker, reported back and leg pain after lifting a bag of salt at work. OWCP accepted the lifting incident but denied the injury claim for lack of reasoned medical proof linking a diagnosis to it. The Board found that chiropractic reports did not meet FECA’s…
General Dynamics Land Systems, Inc.
Stacked-crate citation vacated
General Dynamics Land Systems stored Stryker vehicle parts in stacked crates at an Alabama warehouse. Seven crates fell from an 11-foot stack while an employee was taking inventory, causing serious injuries. The judge found that the crates were not interlocked and that the stack was not stable and…
Matter of A-C-M-
Forced labor was material support to a terrorist organization
The Board reviewed an El Salvadoran respondent's applications for cancellation of removal, asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture after guerrillas kidnapped her and forced her to perform cooking, cleaning, and laundry. The Board held that material…
Earl D. Fleenor v. Westmoreland Coal Company
Benefits denial on modification affirmed
Earl Fleenor sought modification of a denial of a subsequent black lung claim. The judge found that he had not established pneumoconiosis through the medical evidence. The Board upheld the judge's assessment of the physician opinions, x-rays, and treatment records. Without proof of pneumoconiosis…
Galena L. Knapp (on behalf of and widow of John M. Knapp) v. Island Fork Construction Limited
Miner and survivor awards affirmed
Galena Knapp pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor claim. The Board upheld the miner's benefits award. Because he was eligible for benefits at death, the Board also upheld her derivative survivor award under the statute. Both awards were affirmed.
J.O. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, DC
Board upholds denial of FAA worker’s crash injury claim (ECAB 18-0214)
J.O., an FAA engineering technician, was driving a work truck towing fence materials when it overturned. He reported pain in his head, back, neck, shoulders, and side. The Board accepted the crash but found that the medical reports identified pain without a diagnosed injury linked to the event. It…
S.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Billings, MT
Board upholds denial of late VA worker hearing request (ECAB 18-0191)
S.R., a VA housekeeping aide, sought a hearing on OWCP’s April 2016 injury decision. His request was made more than a year after that decision, well beyond the 30 day period for a hearing as of right. The Board found that OWCP also reasonably declined to grant a discretionary hearing because he…
F.U. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Atlanta, GA
Board upholds denial of TSA officer’s ankle claim (ECAB 18-0078)
F.U., a TSA officer, reported hurting his right ankle while patting down a passenger. OWCP accepted that the work event occurred. His physician, however, recorded only ankle and foot pain without a diagnosed medical condition or specific injury history. The Board held that pain alone did not…
D.L. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Air Marshal Service, Orlando, FL
Board increases air marshal’s right leg impairment rating (ECAB 18-0046)
D.L., a federal air marshal with accepted knee conditions, sought greater schedule awards for both legs. The Board found no qualifying evidence for more than 10 percent impairment of the left leg. It accepted the examining physician’s corrected range of motion explanation for the right knee and…
P.W. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Station, Kingsville, TX
Board upholds refusal to reopen Navy worker’s impairment claim (ECAB 17-1911)
P.W., a Navy worker, sought a larger schedule award after OWCP denied an additional award for lack of a qualifying medical rating. He later said his condition had worsened and asked OWCP to reconsider. The Board found that he supplied no new impairment evaluation or supported legal argument to…
T.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, Cincinnati, OH
Board denies decades of claimed postal disability pay (ECAB 17-1761)
T.B., a postal worker, sought disability pay under a 1995 hand, wrist, and shoulder injury claim for a period spanning nearly two decades. OWCP had terminated compensation on a separate 1997 claim after finding that she refused suitable work, which barred further compensation on earlier claims…
D.G. and Department of the Air Force, Elmendorf Air Force Base, AK
Board rejects expansion of Air Force worker’s injury claim (ECAB 17-1748)
D.G. had accepted shoulder injuries from falls at work and sought to add spinal stenosis to the claim for a 2015 fall. His physician’s reports largely connected the back condition to a different, unaccepted 2013 incident. The Board found no reasoned medical opinion tying spinal stenosis to the…
R.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Canton Performance & Distribution Center, Canton, OH
Board orders new rating of postal worker’s left arm impairment (ECAB 17-1117)
R.B. sought a schedule award beyond the four percent left arm impairment previously recognized by OWCP. The Board found that OWCP’s physicians had inconsistently used two methods from the impairment guides to rate upper extremity losses. That inconsistency prevented a uniform result for his claim…
R.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Atlanta, GA
Board upholds denial of postal worker’s foot impairment award (ECAB 17-1069)
R.H. sought a schedule award for permanent impairment following an accepted right foot injury. His physician said he had reached maximum medical improvement but supplied no impairment rating, pending the result of orthotics. The Board found that this did not establish a compensable impairment…
American Federation of Government Employees, National Council of Field Labor Locals and United States Department of Labor
AFGE Field Labor Locals and Department of Labor (FLRA 0-AR-5360): Authority denies unsupported contract exception
The AFGE National Council of Field Labor Locals challenged an arbitration award involving the Department of Labor. The abbreviated decision does not describe the underlying grievance or the arbitrator's ruling. The union argued that the award did not draw its essence from one section of the…
Secretary of Labor v. Rockwell Mining, LLC
Interlocutory review certified over settlement-support standard
After denying a proposed settlement for inadequate factual support, Judge William B. Moran granted the Secretary's request to certify the dispute for interlocutory review. The judge framed the controlling question as whether merely identifying an operator's factual contentions, without…
E.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Reseda Post Office, Reseda, CA
Board upholds denial of renewed treatment for postal worker (ECAB 18-0202)
E.R., a postal worker, sought renewed treatment for a lower back condition following an accepted 2015 injury. Her physician diagnosed a contusion and lumbar spondylosis and requested physical therapy. The Board found that the report did not explain whether the need for further treatment arose from…
T.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Phoenix, AZ
Board sustains recovery of postal worker’s insurance overpayment (ECAB 17-1989)
T.G., a postal worker, received $2,405.30 too much compensation because OWCP failed to deduct health and life insurance premiums. The Board agreed he was not at fault, but he provided no requested income, expense, or asset information to support waiver. It upheld OWCP’s refusal to waive recovery…
M.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Bustleton Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
Board orders new rating of postal worker’s right arm impairment (ECAB 17-1608)
M.L. sought an award beyond the four percent right arm impairment previously recognized. The Board found that OWCP had inconsistently applied diagnosis based and range of motion methods from the impairment guides to upper extremity claims. Without a uniform approach, her rating could not be…
Y.F. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Columbia, SC
Board denies addition of left shoulder condition to VA claim (ECAB 17-1187)
Y.F., a VA employee, had an accepted right shoulder sprain and said that compensating with her left arm caused a new shoulder problem. Her physician diagnosed left shoulder impingement but said only that overuse might have caused it and that certainty was impossible. The Board found that equivocal…
S.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Somerset, NJ
Board upholds denial of postal worker’s back injury claim (ECAB 17-1106)
S.S., a postal worker, sought compensation for back conditions after a 2013 work incident. He also had an earlier accepted back injury. The Board found that his physician did not adequately explain how the newer event, rather than the earlier condition, caused or aggravated the diagnosed problems…
A.G. and Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Albuquerque, NM
Board upholds denial of survey worker’s collision injury claim (ECAB 17-1093)
A.G., a Geological Survey employee, was in a vehicle collision while working and sought reimbursement for an emergency visit. The Board accepted the collision but found that the emergency report identified left shoulder pain without a medical diagnosis of injury. It upheld denial of the injury…
Secretary of Labor v. The Ohio County Coal Company
Settlement denial certified for interlocutory review
Judge William B. Moran granted the Secretary's motion to certify an earlier settlement denial for interlocutory review. The proposed agreement kept four citations and their penalties unchanged but reduced negligence and the penalty for a citation alleging work under unsupported roof. The appended…
Magnolia Waco Properties, LLC d/b/a Magnolia Homes
In re Magnolia Waco Properties, LLC d/b/a Magnolia Homes (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 18-01C): consent agreement ratified
The EPA EAB order concerns Magnolia Waco Properties, LLC, doing business as Magnolia Homes. The two-page release does not describe the underlying alleged violation or the specific obligations in the incorporated Consent Agreement. The Board incorporated the Consent Agreement into its Final Order…
Secretary of Labor v. Bradley Pate employed by The American Coal Company
Summary decision denied in section 110(c) case
Bradley Pate sought summary decision in an individual-liability case arising from an allegedly unsecured raised front-end loader. Judge David P. Simonton declined to deem Pate's requests for admission admitted merely because the Secretary answered eight days late. Commission Rule 58 gave the judge…
Prime Pak Foods, Inc.
Late contest dismissed
Prime Pak Foods received a serious OSHA citation by certified mail on November 6, 2017, but did not file its notice of contest by the November 29 deadline. The company argued that OSHA failed to hold a closing conference and should have sent the citation to its counsel. The judge held that service…
B.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hobart, IN
Board upholds denial of carrier’s shoulder disease claim (ECAB 17-1079)
B.M., a postal city carrier, linked a right shoulder condition to years of lifting and overhead work. His physician suggested a work connection but did not explain how the duties caused or aggravated the condition, particularly in light of degeneration. Other reports diagnosed shoulder problems…
P.P. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Richmond, VA
Board reverses termination of IRS worker’s heart injury benefits (ECAB 17-0023)
P.P., an IRS employee, had an accepted work related aggravation of coronary artery disease and received ongoing benefits. OWCP ended the benefits after an agency physician said the aggravation had resolved. The Board found that P.P.’s treating physician gave a contrary opinion about continuing work…
K.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Seeley Lake, MT
Board upholds denial of postal worker’s disability pay (ECAB 16-1526)
K.C., a postal worker, sought disability compensation for February 20 through March 4, 2016 after an accepted injury. Her physician held her off work but did not adequately explain how the accepted condition had worsened enough to prevent work during those dates. She later requested reconsideration…
J.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Islip, NY
Board upholds denial of postal worker’s fall injury claim (ECAB 18-0189)
J.D., a postal worker, alleged cervical and eye conditions after an accepted work incident. His treating physicians identified neck symptoms and a later retinal detachment, but did not provide reasoned opinions connecting either condition to the event. The Board found that his belief about the…
A.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Trenton, NJ
Board awards postal worker another nine percent left leg impairment (ECAB 18-0169)
A.G., a postal worker, previously received an award for 18 percent left leg impairment from an ankle injury. A later accepted knee condition produced a separate nine percent impairment. The Board found that the knee rating did not duplicate the earlier ankle award, as OWCP’s medical adviser…
I.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Washington, DC
Board upholds denial of late postal claim reconsideration (ECAB 18-0145)
I.B. sought reconsideration of a March 2015 injury denial. Her signed request reached OWCP in March 2017, beyond the one year deadline; an earlier letter from a doctor’s office manager was not signed by her or an authorized representative. The new medical reports did not address causation and did…
J.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Hudson Valley Health Care System, Castle Point, NY
Board upholds denial of VA worker’s patella fracture claim (ECAB 18-0128)
J.S., a VA employee, claimed a right knee fracture after an accepted work incident. One physician report diagnosed a patella fracture but did not discuss its cause. A later report attributed the fracture to work without explaining how the incident caused it. The Board found the medical proof…
T.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration, New Orleans, LA
Board upholds denial of VA worker’s cabinet injury claim (ECAB 17-1662)
T.G., a VA employee, tried to stop a filing cabinet from falling at work and claimed several neck, back, leg, and hand conditions. OWCP accepted the incident but denied the medical link. The Board found that her physician described the event without adequately explaining how it caused each…
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.