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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Secretary of Labor obo Louis Silva, Jr. v. Aggregate Industries WRC, Inc.
Temporary reinstatement dissolved after discrimination dismissal
Aggregate Industries had been providing Louis Silva temporary economic reinstatement while his Mine Act discrimination case was pending. Judge Richard W. Manning later dismissed Silva's underlying discrimination complaint after an evidentiary hearing. Because no party petitioned for Commission…
J.D. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Salisbury, NC
Board upholds VA worker’s lost pay and arm award denials (ECAB 18-0034)
J.D., a VA police officer with an accepted right rotator cuff tear, claimed lost premium pay and wages after a reassignment, plus a permanent arm impairment award. The Board found he supplied no evidence establishing injury-related wage loss during the claimed period. He also provided no medical…
Maryland Performance Diesel, LLC
In re Maryland Performance Diesel, LLC (EAB CAA Appeal No. 18-05C): consent agreement ratified
The EPA EAB order concerns Maryland Performance Diesel, LLC. 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 and ratified it under EPA's…
Bobby D. Mann v. Turner Brothers, Incorporated
Modification denial affirmed
Bobby Mann sought modification of a denied black lung claim. The judge found no factual mistake warranting modification, and the additional records did not show coal dust related disease. The Board upheld those findings. It affirmed the denial of modification.
Sterling M. Hall v. White Flame Energy, Incorporated and BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Company
Sterling M. Hall v. White Flame Energy, Incorporated (BRB 17-0390 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Sterling Hall won black lung benefits. His employer and carrier challenged the award and the carrier's liability, citing when its insurance began. The Board upheld the award and found that late liability material could not be considered without extraordinary circumstances. The award was affirmed.
D.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
Board upholds denial of postal worker’s incident claim (ECAB 18-0190)
D.P., a postal worker, said an object struck her at work and injured her back. Witnesses agreed that a forklift hit objects nearby, but their accounts conflicted with her assertion that she was struck. Other statements also differed about the body part she said was hurt. The Board found that the…
P.K. and Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration, Mountain Home National Cemetery, Mountain Home, TN
Board upholds temporary suspension of cemetery worker’s benefits (ECAB 18-0179)
P.K., a National Cemetery Administration employee, missed a scheduled medical examination. He said a doctor limited his travel, but supplied no evidence supporting that claim. The Board found no good cause for missing the examination and held that suspension was proper until he stated he would…
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Deltona, FL
Board upholds therapy and travel reimbursement denials (ECAB 18-0080)
D.C., a postal worker with accepted shoulder, elbow, and wrist conditions, requested more physical therapy and reimbursement for travel to his doctor. The Board found that his physician had not explained why continuing therapy was medically necessary after extensive prior treatment. D.C. also…
B.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Dedham, MA
Board remands postal worker’s leg award and upholds other denials (ECAB 17-1157)
B.M., a postal worker, contested the denial of a permanent work-related hip aggravation, a right leg schedule award, and requested subpoenas. The signed order affirms the hip and subpoena rulings. It remands the leg award because the physician’s seven percent rating lacked enough explanation under…
S.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Long Beach, CA
Board upholds refusal to reopen postal worker’s disability claim (ECAB 17-0790)
S.T., a postal carrier, sought to reopen a denied claim for partial disability from January 9 to April 3, 2015. Her reconsideration request was timely, but the new medical reports addressed later work restrictions or a separate cervical condition. The Board found that none addressed disability…
T.C. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, St. Ann, MO
Board upholds denial of hearing loss schedule award (ECAB 17-0576)
T.C., a former federal special agent, had accepted hearing loss and tinnitus linked to an antimalarial drug taken during employment. He sought a schedule award. The Board found that his audiogram showed no ratable hearing loss under the applicable guides. Tinnitus could not support an added award…
Matter of Shuying DING
Keeping a place of prostitution was an aggravated felony
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal after an Immigration Judge terminated removal proceedings against a Chinese lawful permanent resident convicted under Wisconsin law of keeping a place of prostitution. The Board held that prostitution for purposes of the…
Anthony T. Taft v. Lockheed Martin Corporation and ACE American Insurance Company
Anthony T. Taft v. Lockheed Martin Corporation (BRB 17-0618r): employer reconsideration denied
Lockheed Martin sought full Board reconsideration after its appeal of an administrative judge's decision was dismissed as premature. The Board held that a timely motion for reconsideration before the judge made the employer's appeal premature. The employer had not filed a new appeal after the judge…
Ralph Abell v. Island Creek Coal Company
Attorney fee award affirmed
Ralph Abell's counsel sought fees for work on his black lung claim. The judge approved attorney and paralegal time but disallowed a small amount of paralegal time as clerical. The Board upheld that distinction and affirmed a total award of $16,079.10 including expenses. The order addresses fees…
Betty Lee Hall (widow of William Harold Hall) v. Dags Branch Coal Company, Incorporated and Old Republic Insurance Company
Betty Lee Hall (widow of William Harold Hall) v. Dags Branch Coal Company, Incorporated (BRB 17-0454 BLA): survivor benefits denial affirmed
Betty Hall sought black lung survivor benefits after her miner husband's death. The judge found that the medical evidence did not prove pneumoconiosis caused or hastened his death. The Board upheld the judge's weighing of the physician opinions. It affirmed the denial.
R.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Phoenix, AZ
Board orders postal worker’s shoulder claim files combined (ECAB 18-0244)
R.G., a postal worker, claimed a right shoulder condition from repetitive work duties while she was on limited duty for an earlier left shoulder injury. OWCP relied on medical evidence in her earlier claim file but did not place that evidence in the current case record. The Board found that the…
K.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Moundsville Post Office, Moundsville, WV
Board upholds refusal to reopen postal worker’s shoulder claim (ECAB 18-0193)
K.T., a postal worker, sought to reopen a denied occupational disease claim for shoulder conditions. She submitted a description of her work duties and an operative report. The Board found that neither supplied a medical opinion linking her shoulder conditions to those duties, which was the issue…
W.R. and Department of the Navy, Naval Medical Command, San Diego, CA
Board upholds suspension of Navy worker’s compensation (ECAB 18-0133)
W.R., a Navy employee receiving wage loss compensation, did not return a requested EN1032 form reporting employment and earnings. OWCP warned that failure to return the completed form within 30 days would suspend benefits. The Board found that the reporting duty applied and that OWCP properly…
C.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bronx, NY
Board upholds benefit termination but remands residual disability claim (ECAB 17-1262)
C.R., a postal worker, received benefits for accepted lumbar disc injuries. The Board credited an impartial physician who found the injuries had resolved, so it upheld OWCP’s termination of wage loss and medical benefits. But OWCP had separately accepted related lumbar conditions in another file…
C.A. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Federal Corrections Complex -- Carswell, Fort Worth, TX
Board upholds denial of prison worker’s knee injury claim (ECAB 17-1050)
C.A., a Bureau of Prisons employee, claimed a right knee injury after stepping down from a bus. OWCP accepted the incident but denied the claim because the only medical report described imaging findings without linking them to the incident. The Board found that his own description of pain could not…
M.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Manasota, FL
Board upholds denials of postal worker’s late review requests (ECAB 17-0892)
M.W., a postal worker, filed two requests to reconsider an earlier claim decision years after the last merit ruling. The Board found both requests untimely. It also found that his submissions did not clearly demonstrate error in the prior decision, the standard required for late reconsideration. It…
R.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Reno, NV
Board upholds denial of postal worker’s emotional condition claim (ECAB 17-0883)
R.L., a postal operations support specialist, reported anxiety and other symptoms after a management interview and alleged harassment. The Board found that her claims concerned supervisory and personnel actions rather than her assigned work duties. The record did not establish error or abuse in…
R.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, West Los Angeles Veterans Administration Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
Board upholds denial of VA worker’s ankle disability recurrence (ECAB 17-0720)
R.W., a VA worker, had an accepted right ankle sprain and foot contusion and was released to full duty. She later claimed that disability recurred. The Board found that her physician relied on pain and other diagnoses without objective findings explaining why the accepted conditions prevented her…
Kenneth H. Neal v. Ports America Outer Harbor Terminal and Ports Insurance Company
Kenneth H. Neal v. Ports America Outer Harbor Terminal (BRB 17-0624): medical and compensation denial affirmed
Kenneth Neal injured his left hand at work in April 2013 and later sought additional compensation and medical benefits, claiming lasting impairment and complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). The judge found that the injury had resolved by June 4, 2013, without permanent impairment and that Neal did…
Rogelio Hernandez-Garcia v. Ice Floe, LLC dba Nichols Brothers and American Longshore Mutual Association
Rogelio Hernandez-Garcia v. Ice Floe, LLC dba Nichols Brothers (BRB 17-0536): end of disability benefits affirmed
Rogelio Hernandez-Garcia challenged the denial of additional Longshore Act disability benefits after November 29, 2012. The judge found that medical evidence did not show his work injury prevented a return to his usual job after that date. The Board upheld the judge's rejection of opinions based on…
Duaine Sizemore v. Hacker & Smith Trucking Company, Incorporated and American Resources Insurance Company
Duaine Sizemore v. Hacker & Smith Trucking Company, Incorporated (BRB 17-0456 BLA): subsequent claim benefits denial affirmed
Duaine Sizemore sought benefits on a subsequent black lung claim. The judge found that he had not established total respiratory disability, even if the new evidence showed pneumoconiosis. The Board upheld that disability finding and affirmed the denial. Total disability remained an essential…
Minnie Joyce Birman (widow of George Birman) v. Lone Mountain Processing, Incorporated
Survivor benefits award affirmed
Minnie Birman won black lung survivor benefits after the judge found her late husband had complicated pneumoconiosis. The Board upheld the judge's weighing of autopsy evidence showing a lesion that would appear large enough on an x-ray. The disease's connection to coal mine work was unchallenged…
Dayton G. Lane v. Pocahontas Coal Company
Black lung benefits denial affirmed
Dayton Lane appealed a denial of black lung benefits. The judge found that he did not prove total respiratory disability. The Board upheld the weighing of the medical tests and other evidence. Without total disability, Lane could not invoke the statutory presumption or receive benefits.
H.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Paris, TX
Board upholds denial of postal worker’s lumbar injury claim (ECAB 18-0313)
H.H., a postal worker, reported a lower back injury while pushing heavy equipment. OWCP accepted the incident and the presence of a lumbar diagnosis. The Board found that her doctors did not explain how the incident caused or contributed to the disc and nerve conditions. It affirmed the denial for…
F.M. and Department of the Interior, Sherman Indian High School, Riverside, CA
Board upholds denial of late hearing request (ECAB 18-0161)
F.M., an employee at Sherman Indian High School, requested an oral hearing on OWCP’s shoulder claim decision. His request was postmarked more than 30 days after that decision. The Board found he had no hearing right at that point and that OWCP reasonably exercised its discretion to deny a late…
P.K. and Department of the Air Force, Hanscom Air Force Base, Bedford, MA
Board upholds Air Force worker’s arm impairment ratings (ECAB 17-1743)
P.K., an Air Force employee, sought more than his prior eight percent award for each arm. The Board found that his additional treatment and diagnostic reports gave no qualifying impairment rating under the applicable guides. The same evidence did not warrant reopening the claim on reconsideration…
D.Q. and Department of the Navy, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia, PA
Board upholds Navy worker’s wage earning capacity decision (ECAB 17-1220)
D.Q., a former Navy shipyard painter with an accepted left knee injury, sought to change an earlier wage earning capacity decision after a later left leg amputation. The Board found that the amputation had not been accepted as work related and that the medical reports did not explain how his…
L.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Philadelphia Veterans Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA
Board upholds refusal to reopen VA worker’s pay claim (ECAB 17-1171)
L.W., a VA employee, sought to reopen an earlier decision concerning continuation of pay. She repeated claims about a supervisor’s handling of her injury form and submitted related correspondence. The Board found that OWCP had already considered those arguments and that the new material was…
Ovation Plumbing, Inc.
Fall-protection citation affirmed with reduced penalty
Ovation Plumbing worked on a multi-unit residential construction project where a foreman and another employee crossed a guardrail onto an unprotected second-floor balcony more than 10 feet above the ground. They entered the balcony area to measure for a future regulator-vent installation. The judge…
Matter of CASTRO-TUM, Respondent
Attorney General limited administrative closure
The Attorney General affirmed the Board’s order and remanded for further proceedings. He held that Immigration Judges and the Board do not have general authority to suspend immigration proceedings indefinitely through administrative closure. Such closure is allowed only when a prior regulation or a…
Ralph Napier v. R & R Mining, LLC and American Mining Insurance Company
Ralph Napier v. R & R Mining, LLC (BRB 17-0490 BLA): black lung claim remanded for new decision
Ralph Napier's black lung claim reached the Board after an administrative judge's decision. The Board asked whether the judge should reconsider prior procedural and substantive actions. The federal program director and employer agreed that remand was appropriate. The Board returned the case for…
Connie Damron Hatfield (widow of Bryant Hatfield) v. Laurel Run Mining Company
Survivor benefits denial affirmed
Connie Hatfield sought black lung survivor benefits after her husband's death. The judge found that the employer rebutted the presumption that pneumoconiosis caused his death. The Board upheld the judge's weighing of medical opinions that attributed the death to other causes and found no…
Boettcher v. Washington River Protection Solutions
Complaint dismissed after notice of district court action
Ed Boettcher had an employee protection complaint under the Energy Reorganization Act pending before the Board. He notified the Board that he intended to bring the matter to a federal district court in Washington and said he was giving 15 days' notice. The Board explained that a complainant may…
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Eau Claire Station, Columbia, SC
Board upholds refusal to reopen postal worker’s knee and shoulder claim (ECAB 18-0312)
M.S., a postal worker, sought to reopen a denied occupational disease claim. OWCP had denied it because he did not give a detailed account of the work duties he said caused his condition. His reconsideration materials discussed a general report about repetitive motion and asserted medical support…
H.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Miami, FL
Board upholds denial of postal worker’s foot injury claim (ECAB 18-0177)
H.H., a postal worker, said a coworker stepped on her right foot during a workplace encounter. Witnesses confirmed the close encounter but did not corroborate that her foot was stepped on. The Board also noted the absence of early medical documentation of a new traumatic foot injury. It found that…
P.L. and Department of the Air Force, Edwards Air Force Base, CA
Board upholds denial of aircraft mechanic’s back injury claim (ECAB 18-0125)
P.L., an Air Force aircraft mechanic, reported back pain after a coworker unexpectedly lowered a manifold they were lifting. OWCP accepted the incident. The Board found no physician’s report diagnosing a condition caused by it; the submitted assistant and nursing reports did not satisfy the medical…
P.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Oil City, PA
Board upholds finding that postal worker abandoned hearing (ECAB 17-1958)
P.M., a postal clerk, requested a telephone hearing after OWCP denied her occupational disease claim. The Board found that notice went to her address of record, but she did not call at the scheduled time, seek postponement, or explain her absence within ten days. It rejected her assertion that she…
M.J. and Department of the Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH
Board upholds denial of Air Force worker’s neck injury claim (ECAB 17-0725)
M.J., an Air Force employee, attributed a herniated cervical disc to lifting whiteboards at work. OWCP accepted the incident. The Board found that her physician had not explained how the lifting caused or aggravated the disc condition, especially in light of a preexisting neck condition and early…
C.H. and Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service, Hayward, WI
Board upholds denial of Forest Service worker’s knee claim (ECAB 17-0266)
C.H., a Forest Service employee, claimed a left knee injury during a tactical training course. Physicians identified knee conditions but did not explain how the accepted incident caused them, and some reports described the event differently. The Board found the causal evidence insufficient. It also…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Bastrop, Texas (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3828 (Union)
FCI Bastrop and AFGE Local 3828 (FLRA 0-AR-4921): Security-screening overtime award vacated
Correctional officers at a federal prison sought overtime for time spent passing through required security screenings before and after their shifts. After an earlier remand, the arbitrator again found the screenings compensable under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The Authority held that the…
David R. Maddox v. Lodestar Energy, Incorporated and Kentucky Employers Mutual Insurance
David R. Maddox v. Lodestar Energy, Incorporated (BRB 17-0460 BLA): attorney fee award affirmed
David Maddox's counsel appealed a partly granted attorney fee request in his black lung matter. The Board rejected counsel's challenges to the time and expense reductions. It affirmed $8,111.25 for attorney work, $1,540 for paralegal work, and $505.32 in expenses. The total affirmed award was…
Leah H. Shaw (widow of Harold D. Shaw) v. Director, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs
Survivor benefits denial affirmed
Leah Shaw sought black lung survivor benefits after her husband's death from lung cancer. The judge found that his pneumoconiosis did not contribute to the death. The Board upheld the judge's reliance on a physician's explanation that the disease had not affected cancer treatment or caused an…
Andrew L. Chekan v. Roxcoal Incorporated and Rockwood Casualty Insurance Company
Andrew L. Chekan v. Roxcoal Incorporated (BRB 17-0434 BLA): modification benefits denial affirmed
Andrew Chekan sought modification of a denied black lung claim. The judge found that a medical opinion offered to show total disability did not establish a change in conditions. The Board upheld the judge's assessment of that opinion and affirmed the denial of benefits on modification.
Billy Ray Salyers v. Kentucky Prince Mining Company and Security Insurance Company of Hartford
Billy Ray Salyers v. Kentucky Prince Mining Company (BRB 17-0415 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Billy Ray Salyers won black lung benefits under the statutory presumption. The employer challenged the judge's weighing of medical opinions on disability causation. The Board upheld the decision to discount an opinion denying legal pneumoconiosis after the employer had failed to disprove that…
Allen E. Lester v. Speed Mining, Incorporated and BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Company
Allen E. Lester v. Speed Mining, Incorporated (BRB 17-0370 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Allen Lester won black lung benefits under the statutory presumption. The employer challenged whether it had rebutted the presumption with medical evidence. The Board upheld the judge's analysis and found the employer had not rebutted the disease or disability causation findings. It affirmed the…
W.B. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Plentywood, MT
Board upholds denial of border agent’s arm impairment award (ECAB 17-1698)
W.B., a border agent injured in a work snowmobile accident, sought a schedule award for left arm impairment. Medical opinions conflicted, and OWCP referred him to an impartial neurologist. The Board found that the referral was properly selected and that the neurologist’s examination supported no…
S.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Facility, New Castle, DE
Board upholds termination of postal worker’s compensation (ECAB 17-1427)
S.F., a postal worker with accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, challenged the end of her wage loss and medical benefits. The Board credited the impartial physician who found the accepted condition had resolved and found no later disability tied to it. Her reports also did not adequately…
R.E. and Department of the Army, Schofield Barracks Commissary, Wahiawa, HI
Board upholds commissary worker’s wage capacity ruling (ECAB 17-1288)
R.E., a former Army commissary worker, challenged the pay calculation and argued that her accepted back strains had worsened. The Board found that OWCP used the proper pay rate for her later work location and that the calculation followed agency procedures. Her physician did not adequately explain…
L.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Diego, CA
Board upholds denial of postal carrier’s arm condition claim (ECAB 17-0842)
L.A., a rural postal carrier, attributed conditions in both arms to repetitive work. The Board found that one doctor’s report linked cubital tunnel symptoms to work without explaining how the duties caused or aggravated the condition, including why symptoms worsened after she stopped working. Other…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Baltimore, MD
Board orders review of missing knee claim records (ECAB 17-0558)
J.M., a postal tractor trailer operator, claimed a right knee injury after rising from his seat in a truck. OWCP denied the claim while relying on medical evidence from an earlier knee claim file that was absent from the current record. The Board held that it could not review the denial without…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, St. Petersburg Regional Benefit Office (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1594 (Union)
VA St. Petersburg and AFGE Local 1594 (FLRA 0-AR-5168): Credentialing remedy vacated
A union official sought access to office space at the VA's St. Petersburg benefits office. After an earlier Authority remand, the arbitrator ordered the VA to let the official enter its identity-card credentialing process and to issue a card if he completed it. The VA argued that federal…
M.R. and Department of the Air Force, Tinker Air Force Base, OK
Board upholds refusal to reopen Air Force worker claim after late reconsideration request (ECAB 18-0142)
M.R., an Air Force employee, sought reconsideration more than one year after the last merit decision. OWCP had denied his claim because his accounts of the incident were inconsistent. The Board found that previously submitted medical reports did not show clear evidence of error in that factual…
M.T. and Department of Defense, Defense Commissary Agency, Fort Sam Houston, TX
Board upholds denial of commissary worker’s home fall claim (ECAB 17-1695)
M.T., a commissary employee, fell at home while he said he was moving work materials between his residence and duty station. The Board found that his supervisor had directed him to report to the commissary and had not authorized repeated trips home during the workday. The fall therefore did not…
C.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Lovington, NM
Board upholds denial of postal worker’s hearing request (ECAB 17-0944)
C.A., a postal carrier, requested a hearing after repeatedly seeking reconsideration of an earlier injury claim denial. The Board held that he no longer had a hearing right after those reconsideration requests. OWCP could grant a discretionary hearing, but reasonably denied one because he could…
J.O. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Las Vegas, NV
Board upholds denials of officer’s exposure claim and late hearing request (ECAB 17-0789)
J.O., a federal immigration officer, reported that a suspect spat in his face and saliva entered his mouth. OWCP accepted the incident, but the Board found no diagnosed medical condition caused by the exposure. His request for a hearing also came after the 30 day deadline, and OWCP reasonably…
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.