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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Lorene Mathias (Widow of and on behalf of Patrick Mathias) v. Altec Energy, Incorporated
Mathias v. Altec Energy (BRB 17-0391 and 17-0392): benefits award affirmed
Lorene Mathias pursued benefits in a miner's claim and a related survivor's claim after Patrick Mathias's death. The administrative law judge credited Patrick with at least 29 years of underground coal mine employment, found a totally disabling respiratory impairment, and applied the statutory…
Evette E. Hagy (Widow of Jerry R. Hagy) v. Wellmore Coal Company
Hagy v. Wellmore Coal (BRB 17-0363): survivor benefits award vacated for employment and medical findings
Evette E. Hagy pursued survivor benefits after the death of Jerry R. Hagy, a coal miner. The administrative law judge found thirteen years of coal mine employment, found legal pneumoconiosis and death due to pneumoconiosis, and awarded benefits without applying either statutory presumption. The…
James L. Graham v. Kentucky Harlan Coal, Incorporated
Graham v. Kentucky Harlan Coal (BRB 17-0345): benefits denial sent back for disability causation review
James L. Graham pursued a subsequent Black Lung benefits claim against Kentucky Harlan Coal. The administrative law judge credited him with 5.42 years of coal mine employment, accepted that he had a totally disabling respiratory impairment, and found both clinical and legal pneumoconiosis, but…
L.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Ukiah, CA
Board upholds postal worker’s $7,430.53 duplicate-payment debt (ECAB 18-0105)
L.W., a postal worker, received wage loss compensation under two claim files after returning to work. The Board upheld OWCP’s $7,430.53 duplicate-payment finding for September 2015 through March 2016. It found her at fault because she claimed additional compensation while already receiving it under…
M.G. and Department of Health & Human Services, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
Board upholds denial of NIH worker’s requested computer equipment (ECAB 18-0099)
M.G., a former NIH worker with accepted right hand conditions, sought voice recognition and ergonomic computer equipment. The Board found her physician had not adequately explained its medical necessity, and OWCP reasonably relied on its medical adviser in denying authorization. It also upheld…
T.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Titusville, FL
Board upholds denial of carrier’s emotional condition claim and reopening request (ECAB 17-1578)
T.H., a postal carrier, attributed an emotional condition to a supervisor’s route assignment and alleged harassment on March 17, 2017. The Board found she had not proved employer error, abuse, or harassment and thus established no compensable work factor. Later medical reports did not address that…
M.W. and Department of Agriculture, Swan Lake Ranger Station, Bigfolk, MT
Board reverses termination of ranger station worker’s wage benefits (ECAB 17-1205)
M.W., an Agriculture Department worker, lost wage loss benefits after declining a job OWCP deemed suitable. The Board found the medical examination used to approve the offer was too old to establish her ability to perform the job when it was offered. OWCP lacked reasonably current medical support…
J.B. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Portland, OR
Board upholds TSA worker’s wage-earning capacity reduction (ECAB 17-0817)
J.B., a TSA worker, challenged OWCP’s finding that he could earn wages as a security services dispatcher. The Board found the position fit his medical restrictions, education, and work experience and was reasonably available in his commuting area. It also upheld OWCP’s wage calculation. The Board…
E.T. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Covington, KY
Board upholds denial of IRS worker’s emotional and heart condition claim (ECAB 17-0672)
E.T., an IRS clerk, attributed emotional distress and a heart attack to work assignments, performance management, counseling, and alleged harassment. The Board treated the identified management actions as administrative matters and found no proved error, abuse, or harassment. Because he established…
Secretary of Labor v. Sims Crane
Unnecessary walk under suspended spreader bar violated standard
Sims Crane employees walked beneath a 625-pound spreader bar suspended 25 to 35 feet above the ground while a crane was being prepared for work. The Commission rejected an interpretation that would make necessary crane rigging impossible. Reading the suspended-load and maintenance standards…
Delores C. Hubbard (on behalf of George L. Hubbard) v. Westmoreland Coal Company
Hubbard v. Westmoreland Coal (BRB 17-0364): benefits award returned for medical findings
Delores C. Hubbard pursued George L. Hubbard's Black Lung claim after his death. The administrative law judge awarded benefits under the fifteen year presumption, finding that George had a totally disabling respiratory impairment and that the employer failed to rebut the presumption. The Board…
Jessie Browning v. Little Bear Mining Company, Incorporated
Browning v. Little Bear Mining (BRB 17-0346): Black Lung benefits award affirmed
Jessie Browning filed a subsequent Black Lung benefits claim after 15.64 years of underground coal mine work. The employer agreed that he had a totally disabling respiratory or pulmonary impairment, so the administrative law judge applied the statutory presumption that the disability was due to…
Linda Kay Coleman (Widow of and on behalf of James Edward Coleman) v. Stump Coal Company, Incorporated
Coleman v. Stump Coal (BRB 17-0280 and 17-0350): miner and survivor benefits affirmed
Linda Kay Coleman pursued James Edward Coleman's subsequent Black Lung claim and a related survivor claim after his death. The judge awarded miner benefits after finding legal pneumoconiosis, total disability due to that disease, and an April 2012 benefit start date. The Board rejected the…
Freedia Combs v. Lance Coal Corporation and R & B Falcon Corporation
Combs v. Lance Coal Corporation (BRB 17-0252 BLA): case remanded for a merits decision
Freedia Combs, acting on behalf of the estate of Virgil Combs, appealed in a black lung benefits case against Lance Coal Corporation and R & B Falcon Corporation. The Board had ordered the parties to show cause why the case should not return to the administrative law judge. The Director did not…
Rosemary Helmondollar v. West Virginia Solid Energy and Old Republic Insurance Company
Helmondollar v. West Virginia Solid Energy (BRB 17-0245 BLA and 17-0246 BLA): cases remanded for a merits decision
West Virginia Solid Energy and Old Republic Insurance Company appealed in two black lung benefits cases brought by Rosemary Helmondollar, the widow and claimant. The Board had ordered the parties to show cause why the cases should not return to the administrative law judge. The Director did not…
C.W. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Dulles, VA
Board upholds denial of TSA worker’s additional back conditions and therapy (ECAB 17-1636)
C.W., a TSA officer, had an accepted lumbar sprain after helping a passenger leave a wheelchair. She sought to add lumbar disc disease and spondylosis and to continue physical therapy. The Board gave greater weight to OWCP’s examiner, who found no objective residuals from the sprain or support for…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Memphis, TN
Board recognizes mail clerk’s foot incident but upholds injury denial (ECAB 17-1522)
M.M., a postal processing clerk, reported that a defective mail container rolled into her right foot at work. Her supervisor corroborated the September 4, 2016 incident. The Board found the work event established but no physician had diagnosed an injury caused by it; an x-ray showed no acute…
H.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, North Hollywood, CA
Board upholds denial of postal clerk’s claimed disability recurrence (ECAB 17-1338)
H.L., a postal clerk with accepted shoulder conditions, sought compensation for a period after his light duty work stopped. The Board found the work stoppage followed an employment misconduct matter rather than withdrawal of light duty because of the accepted injury. His medical reports also did…
B.S. and U.S. Postal Service, South Destination Delivery Unit Station, Manchester, NH
Board upholds refusal to reopen postal supervisor’s neck claim (ECAB 17-0697)
B.S., a postal customer services supervisor, sought to add a neck condition to an accepted injury claim. His reconsideration request repeated the argument that existing medical evidence supported the condition, but supplied no new medical evidence or relevant new legal point. The Board upheld…
A.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Baldwin Park, CA
Board upholds refusal to reopen carrier’s upper extremity claim (ECAB 17-0652)
A.H., a postal carrier, asked OWCP to reopen a decision ending benefits for accepted upper extremity conditions. His new submissions repeated medical opinions and arguments OWCP had already considered. The Board found no relevant new evidence or new legal argument meeting the reopening standard. It…
B.W. and Department of the Army, Joint Manufacturing & Technology Center, Rock Island, IL
Board upholds denial of Army welder’s right shoulder claim (ECAB 17-0005)
B.W., an Army welder, sought compensation for a right shoulder condition he attributed to work. OWCP accepted his described duties but found the medical evidence did not connect them to the diagnosed condition. His physician referred broadly to work activities without identifying which duties…
AEROTEK
Manlift floor-opening citation vacated
Aerotek supplied temporary employees to a ceramics manufacturing facility where workers used an older belt manlift. An Aerotek employee fell through a manlift floor opening after the lift jerked and sustained serious injuries. OSHA amended its citation from a manlift design standard to the general…
Will Willis v. Jeffrey Tyler for Heart of Nature (NV), LLC
MSHA given one final deadline to address document production
In Will Willis's private Mine Act discrimination case, the court had asked MSHA whether it would provide Willis with his own discrimination complaint and investigator interview. MSHA sought more time, citing the Privacy Act and the need to contact Willis. Judge William B. Moran explained that MSHA…
Ronald A. Stevens v. Howard Bowers Contracting Company, Incorporated
Stevens v. Howard Bowers Contracting (BRB 17-0383 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Ronald Stevens sought black lung benefits after working in coal mining. The administrative law judge credited him with 16.43 years of qualifying mine work and found a totally disabling respiratory impairment, triggering the 15-year presumption that the disability was due to pneumoconiosis. Howard…
James E. Lyle v. Energy West Mining Company
Lyle v. Energy West Mining (BRB 17-0354 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
James Lyle worked underground in coal mining for 28 years and sought black lung benefits. The administrative law judge found that qualifying blood gas studies and medical evidence established total respiratory disability, which triggered the 15-year presumption that the disability was due to…
H.L. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Division of Natural Resource Operations, Norris, TN
Board reverses termination of TVA worker’s wage benefits (ECAB 17-1969)
H.L., a TVA biological associate, challenged termination of wage benefits for an accepted back injury. OWCP’s physician acknowledged continuing injury residuals but concluded he could perform his former job, attributing other limitations to unrelated conditions. The Board found the physician did…
D.F. and Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Renton, WA
Board upholds denial of transportation worker’s emotional condition claim (ECAB 17-1324)
D.F., a transportation agency clerk, attributed an emotional condition to a supervisor’s alleged conduct. The Board found she had not established a compensable work factor for the claim. Her reconsideration request repeated earlier allegations without new relevant factual evidence, so OWCP properly…
M.D. and Defense Agencies, Cheatham Annex, Williamsburg, VA
Board upholds refusal to reopen warehouse worker’s vocational case (ECAB 17-1250)
M.D., a former warehouse worker, challenged a compensation reduction tied to noncooperation with vocational rehabilitation. His reconsideration materials repeated medical information about back pain but did not address whether he had cooperated with rehabilitation. The Board found no new relevant…
D.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Affairs New Jersey Health Care System, Lyons, NJ
Board upholds termination of VA nurse’s foot injury benefits (ECAB 17-1152)
D.G., a VA practical nurse, had an accepted right foot fracture after a work fall. OWCP ended benefits after a second opinion physician found the fracture healed without injury-related residuals. The Board found the contrary reports about possible complex regional pain syndrome equivocal at the…
A.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Washington Beach, FL
Board upholds denial of carrier’s knee treatment recurrence (ECAB 17-0521)
A.C., a bicycle letter carrier, had accepted knee contusions after falling from his bicycle. He later sought additional treatment for a left knee meniscal tear. His physician did not explain how contusions that had improved after the accident progressed to a tear about ten months later. The Board…
C.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
Board upholds denial of carrier’s knee replacement surgery (ECAB 17-0230)
C.L., a postal carrier, had accepted left knee meniscus injuries and sought a total knee replacement. Her physician linked the need for surgery to the work injury and later treatment, while an impartial specialist attributed it to preexisting degenerative disease. The Board gave the impartial…
J.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chicago, IL
Board upholds denial of postal worker’s schedule award (ECAB 18-0073)
J.D. sought a schedule award for permanent impairment she attributed to accepted umbilical hernias and their repairs. The Board had previously found that she had not established impairment of a scheduled body member. The later operative report and imaging studies did not provide a medical opinion…
S.T. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Huntington Medical Center, Huntington, WV
Board upholds denial of VA worker’s disability recurrence claim (ECAB 17-1720)
S.T. sought compensation for disability beginning May 2, 2016 after an accepted 2005 left knee injury. She had continued in light duty until stopping work in 2016. The Board found no evidence that the VA withdrew or changed her light-duty assignment beyond her restrictions. Her physicians did not…
W.H. and Department of the Air Force, Air National Guard, Schenectady, NY
Board affirms denial of two recurrences and rescission of an earlier acceptance (ECAB 17-1390)
W.H., an Air National Guard technician, sought compensation for total disability beginning in April 2002 and September 2006 after an accepted 1996 back injury. The Board found no medical opinion based on a complete history that linked the claimed April 2002 disability to that injury. OWCP had…
D.H. and Department of the Army, Anniston Army Depot, Anniston, AL
Board upholds denial of Army painter’s wrist injury claim (ECAB 17-0520)
D.H., an Army painter, sought compensation for right wrist conditions after a March 17, 2016 work incident. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred. Her physician diagnosed tendinitis and carpal tunnel syndrome, but did not explain how the incident caused or aggravated them. A checked box…
E.K. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Dallas, TX
Board upholds denial of VA worker’s emotional condition claim (ECAB 17-0246)
E.K., an office automation assistant, claimed anxiety and stress after a dispute with a coworker. She alleged that the coworker struck her with a folder and threatened her. The Board found that the witness account and the employer’s investigation did not establish the alleged assault, threat, or…
Southern Hens, Inc.
Lockout and machine-guarding items split
Southern Hens operated a poultry-processing facility where sanitation employees cleaned production machinery during the night shift. An employee's hand was caught in an operating tumbler drive mechanism while she cleaned it, resulting in the permanent loss of part of her thumb. The judge vacated…
United States Department of Labor (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 12 (Union)
Department of Labor and AFGE Local 12 (FLRA 0-AR-5280): Promotion grievance barred as classification matter
An employee alleged that the Department of Labor assigned him higher-level work without proper grade or pay. An arbitrator issued an interim ruling that treated the claim as a temporary-promotion grievance rather than a challenge to the classification of the employee's permanent position. The…
Matter of Jorge Isaac SANCHEZ-LOPEZ
California stalking statute was too broad for removal
The Board reconsidered the removal of a Peruvian lawful permanent resident convicted under California's stalking statute. It held that the statute was broader than the generic immigration definition of a crime of stalking because its reference to fear for a person's safety could include nonphysical…
J.S. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, NJ
Board upholds Navy welder’s schedule award pay rate (ECAB 17-1277)
J.S. challenged the pay rate OWCP used for his schedule award after a 2003 back injury. He argued that later retained pay during light duty warranted a higher recurrent pay rate. The Board found that he had not returned to regular full-time work as a welder for the required six months. OWCP…
D.B. and Department of the Army, Noncommissioned Officer Academy Dining Facility, Baumholder, Germany
Board reverses termination of Army cook’s wage loss benefits (ECAB 17-1045)
D.B. had received disability compensation after an accepted cervical injury. OWCP terminated her wage loss benefits after its examiner said she could perform sedentary to light work. The Board found that the examiner limited her to lifting 20 pounds, while her job as a cook required lifting up to…
M.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Syracuse, NY
Board upholds foot injury denial and late hearing request ruling (ECAB 17-1026)
M.L., a postal mechanic, claimed a right foot injury after moving equipment at work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred, but his physician did not explain how it caused or aggravated a diagnosed foot condition. M.L. also requested review of the written record more than 30 days after OWCP’s…
T.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Merrifield, VA
Board upholds denial of postal worker’s wage loss claim (ECAB 17-0567)
T.R. sought wage loss compensation for September 23 through 28, 2016 after an accepted left great toe injury. His physician recommended time off for arthritis, which OWCP had not accepted as part of the work injury. The physician’s other reports also indicated that T.R. could work full time. The…
K.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
Board returns postal worker’s recurrence claim for a complete record (ECAB 17-0403)
K.P. claimed a recurrence of disability after an accepted 2014 injury. A prior accepted injury was documented in a separate OWCP file, which the Board did not have. The Board found that it could not decide the recurrence claim on the incomplete record. It set aside OWCP’s August 25, 2016 decision…
P.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, El Paso, TX
Board upholds denial of postal worker’s request to change doctors (ECAB 16-1139)
P.M. requested a different treating physician for her accepted work injury. OWCP found no evidence that the current physician provided inadequate care and rejected her allegations about office practices and missing records. The Board found that OWCP acted within its discretion because the physician…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center (Agency) and National Association of Government Employees, Local R5-136 (Union)
VA Medical Center and NAGE Local R5-136 (FLRA 0-AR-5337): Agency exception denied
The Department of Veterans Affairs filed an exception to an arbitration award involving NAGE Local R5-136. The Authority designated the matter for an expedited, abbreviated decision under 5 C.F.R. § 2425.7. After reviewing the record and its precedent, it held that the agency had not shown the…
V.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
Board denies increase to postal worker’s bilateral arm schedule awards (ECAB 18-0118)
V.R., a postal mail handler, had accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and trigger finger conditions. She had previously received schedule awards for five percent impairment of each arm and sought an increase. The current medical evaluations found three percent impairment of the right arm and…
R.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cranston, RI
Board upholds hand claim denial and late written review ruling (ECAB 18-0090)
R.M., a postal clerk, claimed repetitive parcel sorting caused pain in her right hand and wrist. Her physician diagnosed thumb conditions but did not explain how the accepted work activities caused or aggravated them. She asked for written record review more than 30 days after OWCP denied the…
S.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Washington, DC
Board questions postal worker’s $13,384 overpayment calculation (ECAB 18-0003)
OWCP found that postal worker S.F. had received a $13,384.24 overpayment on a schedule award for both arms. The Board found that the award decision did not identify the impairment percentages and that OWCP’s comparison counted the weeks for one arm when the record addressed both. The amount already…
B.L. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Lexington, KY
Board orders new impairment rating before prison worker’s overpayment ruling (ECAB 17-1970)
B.L. challenged OWCP’s finding that he had four percent permanent impairment of his left arm, rather than the six percent for which he had received a schedule award. OWCP used the reduced rating to declare a $4,244.78 overpayment. The Board found that upper extremity impairment had to be…
E.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Federal Way, WA
Board upholds denial of postal driver’s shoulder injury claim (ECAB 17-1364)
E.G., a postal tractor trailer operator, claimed that his work caused left shoulder pain. His accounts did not make clear whether the claimed injury came from closing trailer doors on one day or repetitive overuse, and he did not supply the work details OWCP requested. The Board found that he had…
T.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Oakland, CA
Board sends postal worker’s overpayment calculation back to OWCP (ECAB 17-0495)
T.H., a postal maintenance mechanic, received FECA wage loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits. OWCP found a $57,781.12 overpayment, denied waiver, and ordered $600 monthly deductions. The Board found that OWCP had not explained why its overpayment period began January 1, 2008…
R.P. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Lexington, KY
Board orders impartial medical review of proposed sacroiliac surgery (ECAB 17-0428)
R.P., a correctional officer, slipped on a wet floor at work in 2010 and had several accepted injuries. He sought authorization for sacroiliac joint fusion surgery. His surgeon and OWCP’s medical adviser gave opposing, equally weighted opinions on whether the joint condition was caused or…
P.T. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Brockton, MA
Board upholds denial of nurse’s back injury claim (ECAB 17-0374)
P.T., a Veterans Health Administration nurse, reported back pain after closing difficult windows in a treatment room. OWCP accepted that the September 15, 2014 incident happened, but denied her claim that it caused a lumbar condition. The Board found that the medical reports did not give a reasoned…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Roanoke, VA
Board upholds denial of intermittent disability benefits (ECAB 18-0012)
D.S., a postal city carrier, sought compensation for intermittent total disability beginning October 12, 2013 after an accepted cervical condition. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish total disability on the claimed dates due to that condition. One physician described work…
D.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
Board upholds denial of additional wage loss for knee treatment dates (ECAB 17-1954)
D.W., a postal mail handler with accepted knee, forearm, and hip injuries, sought wage loss for hours missed in October 2016. OWCP had allowed four hours for treatment on October 6 and 20, but she sought more time on those dates and 2.32 hours on October 5. The Board found no medical report…
L.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Huntsville, AL
Board orders three postal occupational disease claims combined (ECAB 17-1863)
L.S., a postal laborer and custodian, filed separate claims for hip and knee arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, and rotator cuff tears attributed to his work. OWCP developed the claims separately and reached inconsistent procedural results. The Board held that the related claim files should be…
M.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, London, KY
Board orders further review of postal worker’s right arm award claim (ECAB 17-1747)
M.P., a rural carrier with accepted injuries from a vehicle collision, sought a schedule award beyond her prior nine percent right arm rating. She missed a scheduled second opinion examination that OWCP considered necessary. The Board held that OWCP had not followed its procedure of giving her 14…
P.C. and Smithsonian Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington, DC
Board orders more medical review of zoo worker’s disability claim (ECAB 17-1638)
P.C., a National Zoological Park utility systems operator, sought compensation for intermittent disability after she fell on wet stairs at work. Her physician described later lumbar findings and explained how the fall might have worsened her condition. The Board found his reports insufficient to…
S.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Clement J. Zablocki Medical Center, Milwaukee, WI
Board upholds denial of disability recurrence and shoulder surgery (ECAB 17-1279)
S.H., a VA sales clerk, sought benefits for a claimed recurrence of total disability and authorization for another right shoulder operation after a workplace injury. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish that the accepted injury caused the claimed recurrence. It also gave…
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.