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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N.B. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Westbury, NY
Board upholds refusal to reopen air traffic controller’s claim (ECAB 17-0927)
N.B., an air traffic control specialist, sought reconsideration of an emotional condition claim arising from an aircraft separation incident. His request repeated an argument about medical causation without supplying new relevant medical evidence or a qualifying legal argument. The Board found that…
D.L. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Tomah, WI
Board upholds denial of pharmacist’s anxiety claim (ECAB 17-0220)
D.L., a VA pharmacist, claimed anxiety connected to hearing problems he attributed to a workplace air conditioner. The Board found that the physician’s reports did not explain medically how the accepted work factor caused or worsened his anxiety. The nurse practitioner’s notes could not supply the…
Will Willis v. Jeffrey Tyler for Heart of Nature (NV), LLC
MSHA directed to address access to complaint records
Will Willis filed his own section 105(c)(3) discrimination case after MSHA declined to prosecute, but he lacked copies of both his initiating complaint and his signed investigator interview. Judge William B. Moran explained that those records were central because a private discrimination case is…
Secretary of Labor obo Louis Silva, Jr. v. Aggregate Industries WRC, Inc.
Loader-collision termination was not discriminatory
Aggregate Industries fired quality-control technician Louis Silva after his pickup collided with a front-end loader. Silva alleged retaliation for raising traffic-safety concerns and reporting a concussion. Judge Richard W. Manning assumed the traffic discussions were protected and agreed that…
Andrea Woods on behalf of Larry David Daniels v. Consolidation Coal Company and Consol Energy, Incorporated
Woods on behalf of Daniels v. Consolidation Coal (BRB 17-0389 BLA): benefits award affirmed after remand
Andrea Woods continued her father's black lung claim after he died. In an earlier appeal, the Board upheld the finding that the 15-year presumption applied but sent the case back for another assessment of an employer doctor's opinion on whether Daniels had legal pneumoconiosis. The administrative…
Betty G. Poseno, widow of Paul D. Poseno v. U.S. Steel Mining Company, LLC
Poseno v. U.S. Steel Mining (BRB 17-0348 BLA): survivor's benefits award affirmed
Betty Poseno sought survivor's benefits after the death of her husband, Paul, who had worked underground in coal mining for at least 15 years. The administrative law judge found that Paul had a totally disabling respiratory impairment, triggering the presumption that his death was due to…
B.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Southeastern, PA
Board orders new rating of postal clerk’s arm impairments (ECAB 17-1923)
B.N., a postal clerk with accepted carpal tunnel syndrome and shoulder tendinitis, sought awards beyond 12 percent left arm and 6 percent right arm impairment. Her physician used shoulder range of motion to calculate a higher rating. The Board held that OWCP’s medical adviser should have calculated…
T.G. and Department of the Navy, Military Sealift Command, Oakland, CA
Board upholds end of seaman’s wage loss benefits (ECAB 17-1848)
T.G., a former Navy seaman, received compensation for accepted right carpal tunnel syndrome. OWCP terminated wage loss benefits effective January 12, 2017. The Board found that OWCP had met its burden to establish that he was no longer disabled by the accepted condition and that he did not prove…
G.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Newaygo, MI
Board orders new rating of rural carrier’s left shoulder impairment (ECAB 17-1550)
G.R., a rural carrier, sought an award beyond one percent permanent impairment of her left arm. The Board found that OWCP had used inconsistent approaches to diagnosis based and range of motion ratings under the impairment guide. It ordered OWCP to apply its clarified procedure and issue a new…
E.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration, Zachary, LA
Board recognizes cemetery work stress but upholds claim denial (ECAB 17-1372)
E.S., a cemetery caretaker, claimed an emotional condition from burial related duties and an increased workload across three cemeteries. The Board found that some substantiated job duties were compensable work factors, contrary to OWCP’s finding. It nevertheless held that the medical reports did…
M.K. and Department of Agriculture, Inspection Operations Program, St. Cornelia, GA
Board upholds reduced compensation based on earning capacity (ECAB 17-0208)
M.K., a federal consumer safety inspector, received compensation for accepted asthma attacks and a consequential right wrist condition. OWCP reduced her compensation effective October 29, 2015 based on her capacity to earn wages as a customer service representative. The Board found that the…
L.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Harrisburg, PA
Board reverses denial of postal carrier’s disability recurrence (ECAB 16-0872)
L.F., a postal carrier with an accepted back injury, claimed a recurrence after a change in modified duties. The Board found that the offered city carrier position exceeded his physical limitations. It held that he had established a recurrence of disability beginning October 11, 2010. The Board…
S.J. and Department of Homeland Security, Border & Customs Protection, Imperial, CA
Board upholds denial of border agent’s neck injury claim (ECAB 17-1214)
S.J., a border patrol agent, reported a neck injury while changing a tire on a work vehicle. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish an injury caused by the accepted incident. It also found that the reconsideration request did not meet the requirements for reopening the claim…
Clyde Fannin v. Wescar Resources, Incorporated and West Virginia Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis Fund
Fannin v. Wescar Resources (BRB 17-0372 BLA): benefits award sent back for study review
Clyde Fannin filed another black lung claim after an earlier denial. The administrative law judge credited him with 22.57 years of qualifying coal mine work and awarded benefits after finding total respiratory disability and applying the 15-year presumption. Wescar Resources and its carrier…
Lonnie D. Strunk v. Becky Coal Company, Incorporated
Strunk v. Becky Coal (BRB 17-0358 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Lonnie Strunk filed another black lung claim after an earlier denial. The administrative law judge credited him with at least 15 years of underground coal mine work and found total respiratory disability, triggering the 15-year presumption. Becky Coal challenged only the finding that it had failed…
Hazel Faye Hoskins, widow of Hobart Hoskins v. Appolo Fuels, Incorporated and National Union Fire/Chartis
Hoskins v. Appolo Fuels (BRB 17-0336 BLA): survivor's benefits denial affirmed
Hazel Hoskins sought survivor's benefits after the death of her husband, Hobart, who had worked in coal mining for 30 years. The administrative law judge found that the evidence did not establish total respiratory disability or complicated pneumoconiosis, so neither statutory presumption of death…
Lawson v. Kwik Kargo, Inc.
Board case dismissed after district court filing
Kristy Lawson alleged that Kwik Kargo and related respondents violated the Surface Transportation Assistance Act's truck driver whistleblower protections. OSHA found no violation, an administrative law judge dismissed her complaint, and she appealed to the Board. Lawson later filed a new action in…
J.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Danville, VA
Board upholds denial of carrier’s shoulder and wrist claim (ECAB 17-2016)
J.D., a postal carrier, attributed left shoulder and wrist conditions to carrying a mail satchel. The Board found that the medical opinions did not adequately explain how the work factors caused or aggravated the claimed conditions. It affirmed OWCP’s denial.
K.L. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA
Board upholds end of VA nurse’s knee injury benefits (ECAB 17-2003)
K.L., a VA nurse, received benefits after a patient kicked her knee at work. OWCP ended wage loss and medical benefits effective March 22, 2017. The Board found that the accepted injury no longer caused disability or a need for medical treatment and that K.L. had not proved continuing related…
R.A. and Department of the Air Force, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, OH
Board upholds late hearing denial and remands emotional condition claim (ECAB 17-1030)
R.A., an Air Force logistics employee, claimed an emotional condition arising from workplace management actions, including a grievance hearing confrontation. The Board upheld denial of his oral hearing request because it was filed beyond the deadline. It found that OWCP needed information from the…
G.P. and Department of the Army, Center for Health Promotion & Preventative Medicine, Aberdeen, MD
Board reverses termination and remands parts of overpayment dispute (ECAB 17-0873)
G.P., an Army employee with accepted injuries from a workplace fall, had compensation suspended after his conduct caused a provider to cancel a scheduled evaluation. The Board upheld the suspension for obstruction but found insufficient evidence to terminate ongoing wage loss and medical benefits…
J.M. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Systems Command, Fleet Readiness Center East, Cherry Point, NC
Board orders new rating of Navy mechanic’s shoulder impairment (ECAB 17-0475)
J.M., a Navy mechanic with an accepted right shoulder injury, sought a schedule award beyond his prior 10 percent right arm rating. Citing its earlier finding that OWCP physicians used different methods inconsistently across upper extremity claims, the Board set aside this rating and ordered OWCP…
M.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Power Springs, GA
Board upholds denial of rural carrier’s arm and neck claim (ECAB 17-0363)
M.C., a rural carrier, attributed arm, shoulder, and neck conditions to repeated lifting and reaching while handling mail. OWCP accepted her work duties but found the medical evidence insufficient to show they caused or aggravated the conditions. The Board agreed that the reports lacked a reasoned…
United States Department of Defense, Defense Information Systems Agency (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO (Union/Petitioner)
Defense Information Systems Agency and AFGE (FLRA WA-RP-17-0007): Consolidation petition dismissed
AFGE sought to consolidate numerous Defense Information Systems Agency bargaining units into one nationwide unit. A regional director approved consolidation after finding a shared mission, chain of command, and human-resources structure. The Authority held that those broad facts did not establish a…
Secretary of Labor v. Brand Energy & Infrastructure Services
Scaffold-collapse citation vacated
A scaffold erected by Brand Energy inside a cement-plant calciner collapsed while another contractor, K&G, performed refractory removal. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy found that K&G had substantially and unreasonably overloaded the scaffold with debris. The Secretary did not prove that Brand's Cuplok…
D.J. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, L. Strokes Cleveland VAMC, Cleveland, OH
Board upholds denial after VA worker was struck by vehicle (ECAB 17-0364)
D.J., a VA motor vehicle operator, was struck by a stolen vehicle while standing on a curb during work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred. The Board found that the medical submissions did not establish that a diagnosed condition was causally related to it. It affirmed the denial of the…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Kansas City VA Medical Center, Kansas City, Missouri (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO (Petitioner/Union)
Kansas City VA Medical Center and AFGE (FLRA CH-RP-16-0024): Staffing assistants excluded from unit
AFGE petitioned to include seven human-resources staffing assistants in a Kansas City VA bargaining unit. A regional director included them after finding that they did not exercise enough independent judgment or discretion to trigger the statutory personnel-work exclusion. The Authority rejected…
D.F. Osborne Construction, Inc.
D.F. Osborne Construction (DOL ARB 2017-0042): Wage appeal dismissed before review
D.F. Osborne Construction challenged the assigned glazier wage rate for a Topeka Housing Authority renovation project. The Board explained that an interested person may appeal a wage determination only after seeking reconsideration from the Wage and Hour Administrator and receiving a denial…
J.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Summit, NJ
Board upholds refusal to add knee conditions to carrier’s claim (ECAB 18-0028)
J.L., a postal letter carrier, had an accepted right knee sprain and contusion after falling on stairs at work. He sought to add several other right knee diagnoses, including meniscus tears and arthritis. The Board found that the medical evidence did not adequately connect those additional…
J.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Big Rapids, MI
Board upholds denial of carrier’s vehicle collision back claim (ECAB 18-0026)
J.H., a postal rural carrier associate, claimed a middle back injury after a vehicle collision. The Board found that she had not established the alleged injury in the performance of duty. Her reconsideration request merely selected that option on a form without adding argument or evidence. The…
D.E. and Department of the Army, Army Garrison, Fort Shafter, HI
Board reverses termination of Army worker’s injury benefits (ECAB 17-1794)
D.E., an Army maintenance worker, received benefits for accepted cervical conditions following an earlier work injury. OWCP terminated his benefits based on an impartial physician’s opinion. The Board found that the opinion lacked a reliable factual foundation and did not carry the weight needed to…
L.J. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, San Diego, CA
Board upholds denial of TSA worker’s disability recurrence (ECAB 17-1342)
L.J., a TSA supervisory officer, sought total disability benefits after an accepted back and ankle injury from a workplace fall. She had returned to seated modified duty. The Board found no persuasive medical evidence that her accepted conditions changed so that she could no longer perform that…
A.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Albuquerque, NM
Board upholds denial of postal clerk’s back injury claim (ECAB 17-0522)
A.E., a postal clerk, reported back pain while lifting advertising mail at work. The Board found that her account lacked enough detail to establish the alleged traumatic incident. Without proof of the incident, the injury claim could not succeed. It affirmed OWCP’s denial.
M.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Blackwood, NJ
Board upholds end of postal clerk’s injury benefits (ECAB 17-0457)
M.R., a postal clerk, received benefits for accepted physical and stress related conditions after a shelf struck her at work. OWCP ended wage loss and medical benefits effective December 13, 2015. The Board found that OWCP had met its burden to terminate benefits and that M.R. had not established…
R.D. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms, Dallas, TX
Board reverses termination of federal officer’s injury benefits (ECAB 17-0415)
R.D., a federal officer, received benefits for accepted injuries after an armored vehicle struck an obstacle during a work assignment. OWCP relied on an impartial physician to end benefits. The Board found that the physician had not seen key imaging films, leaving his opinion based on an incomplete…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Complex, Beaumont, Texas (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1010, Council of Prison Locals #33 (Union)
FCC Beaumont and AFGE Local 1010 (FLRA 0-AR-5289): Between-shift travel award vacated
Correctional officers volunteered for hospital guard shifts that began one hour after their regular prison shifts ended. An arbitrator awarded overtime pay for travel from the prison to the hospitals and reimbursement for mileage. The Authority held that the mileage remedy lacked the statutory…
United States Department of Labor (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 12, AFL-CIO (Union/Petitioner)
Department of Labor and AFGE Local 12 (FLRA WA-RP-16-0027): Two confidential employees excluded
AFGE petitioned to include a support specialist and a program analyst in a Department of Labor bargaining unit. A regional director found that neither employee had a confidential relationship involving labor-management policy. The Authority held that the support specialist helped management develop…
Kyier T. Thomas v. Mid-Atlantic Terminal and American Longshore Mutual Association Limited c/o AERS
Thomas v. Mid-Atlantic Terminal (BRB 17-0365): lumbar disability denial returned for review
Kyier Thomas, a longshoreman at the Port of Baltimore, sought benefits for lumbar, cervical, and thoracic spine conditions after two workplace incidents in May 2011. The employer accepted that the lumbar injury was work-related, but the judge found that Thomas had not proved the cervical and…
Joe Frye v. West Virginia Electric Corporation
Frye v. West Virginia Electric (BRB 17-0340 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Joe Frye worked in coal mining for 11.86 years and sought black lung benefits. Because he had fewer than 15 years of mine work, he could not use the 15-year presumption and had to establish his condition and its cause directly. The administrative law judge found that his disabling emphysema was…
Thelma O. Jasper, on behalf of and widow of Frank V. Jasper v. Consolidation Coal Company
Jasper v. Consolidation Coal (BRB 17-0273 and 17-0275 BLA): modification dispute remanded
Thelma Jasper pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor's claim. Consolidation Coal sought to modify the miner's benefits award, arguing that his total respiratory disability was not caused by pneumoconiosis. The administrative law judge denied modification, but the Board…
Robert Schafer v. John S. Meek Construction Company and Chubb Insurance Company
Schafer v. John S. Meek Construction (BRB 14-0431): disability and medical benefits affirmed
Robert Schafer worked more than 30 years as a pile driving foreman and developed cumulative injuries to his knees, hips, back, and left shoulder. He stopped working after a May 2, 2012 job, and the judge awarded ongoing temporary total disability benefits using the parties' stipulated average…
T.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Littleton, CO
Board upholds refusal to reopen carrier’s knee claim (ECAB 18-0089)
T.T., a postal city carrier, sought reconsideration of a denied left knee injury claim. OWCP had found that the alleged work incident was not established. Her new medical materials did not address that factual gap, and she supplied no qualifying new legal argument. The Board affirmed the refusal to…
A.C. and Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Housing, Milwaukee, WI
Board orders review of lunch area chair collapse claim (ECAB 17-1927)
A.C., a HUD account executive, reported injury when a chair collapsed during lunch near a coffee stand in her work building. OWCP denied the claim because she was on a lunch break. The Board found that OWCP had not analyzed whether the location was part of the agency’s actual or constructive…
B.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Birmingham, AL
Board upholds denial of postal worker’s lumbar claim (ECAB 17-1572)
B.P., a postal sales and distribution associate, reported slipping on a wet floor at work and developing lower back pain. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred. The Board found that the medical reports did not adequately explain how the incident caused the claimed lumbar conditions. It affirmed…
L.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Providence, RI
Board upholds benefit termination for refusal of suitable work (ECAB 17-1247)
L.L., a postal clerk with an accepted wrist condition, declined a job OWCP found suitable within her restrictions. The Board found that OWCP had established the job’s suitability and followed the required offer procedure. It also upheld denial of her subpoena request because the requested records…
R.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, San Jose, CA
Board upholds late reconsideration denial of TSA claim (ECAB 17-1210)
R.R., a TSA officer, sought reconsideration of a denied occupational disease claim. OWCP received his request more than one year after the merits decision. The Board found that he had not shown clear evidence of error to justify review despite the late filing. It affirmed the refusal to reopen.
R.J. and Department of the Navy, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, DC
Board upholds denial of Navy worker’s fume exposure claim (ECAB 17-0819)
R.J., a Navy executive secretary, reported breathing and neurological symptoms after exposure to fumes during roof work at her building. The Board accepted that the exposure occurred. It found that the medical opinions did not adequately connect her diagnosed conditions to the fumes. It affirmed…
M.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Rosco, IL
Board upholds denial of request to change treating physician (ECAB 17-0377)
M.D., a postal rural carrier with accepted injuries, asked to replace her treating physician. She cited her proposed physician’s office hours and willingness to support her compensation matters. The Board found that she had not shown a medical management problem or another sufficient reason…
A.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Queens Performance & Distribution Center, Flushing, NY
Board orders new rating of postal worker’s left shoulder (ECAB 17-0286)
A.H., a postal mail handler with an accepted left rotator cuff tear, sought an award beyond her prior six percent left arm impairment rating. The Board found that OWCP had applied the diagnosis based and range of motion rating methods inconsistently. It ordered a new evaluation under the clarified…
Kenneth Carrell v. B & S Welding, Incorporated and Signal Mutual Indemnity Association, Limited
Carrell v. B & S Welding (BRB 17-0560): employer must pay counsel's fee after hearing-loss settlement
Kenneth Carrell worked as a crane operator and supervisor on offshore oil rigs and sought benefits for hearing loss. B & S Welding initially paid for a one percent impairment, but an informal conference led the district director to recommend benefits based on a 29.1 percent impairment. The employer…
Christopher McGuckin v. Global Terminal & Container Services, Incorporated and Signal Mutual Indemnity Association, Limited c/o Acclaim Risk Management
McGuckin v. Global Terminal & Container Services (BRB 17-0232R): reconsideration denied while remand continues
Christopher McGuckin, representing himself, asked the Benefits Review Board to reconsider its December 2017 ruling in his Longshore Act claim against Global Terminal & Container Services. That ruling had added a month of total disability benefits, preserved his permanent partial disability award…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Bulk Mail Center, Forest Park, IL
Board upholds denial of reconsideration filed years late (ECAB 18-0075)
S.M., a former postal mail handler, sought reconsideration of a disability determination almost 18 years after the last merits decision. The Board found that the request was well beyond the one year limit. It also found no clear evidence of error that would support late reconsideration. It affirmed…
C.S. and Federal Aviation Administration, Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, Charlotte, NC
Board orders new review of controller’s overpayment waiver (ECAB 17-2013)
C.S., an FAA air traffic controller, challenged denial of a waiver for a $16,749.25 compensation overpayment and deductions from continuing benefits. The Board found that OWCP had relied on older financial information rather than obtaining current income, expense, and asset figures. It ordered a…
J.B. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Washington, DC
Board upholds denial of park worker’s knee arthritis claim (ECAB 17-1870)
J.B., a National Park Service pipefitter, attributed knee osteoarthritis to years of plumbing work. The Board found that his physician’s statement that the condition could have resulted from his work was insufficiently certain and reasoned. It affirmed OWCP’s denial.
S.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Oklahoma City, OK
Board reverses termination for alleged refusal of suitable work (ECAB 17-1797)
S.B., a postal carrier with accepted spine injuries, declined a modified position because she said it exceeded her restrictions. OWCP ended compensation without assessing her timely new evidence or giving the required final 15 day chance to accept the job. The Board found that OWCP had not followed…
Y.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, East Orange Campus, East Orange, NJ
Board upholds refusal to reopen VA nurse’s stress claim (ECAB 17-1212)
Y.C., a VA nurse, sought reconsideration of an emotional condition claim involving encounters with a patient. OWCP had accepted work factors but found the medical explanation of causation inadequate. The Board found that her reconsideration request provided no qualifying new medical evidence or…
T.P. and Department of the Navy, Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia, PA
Board narrows forfeiture periods and orders overpayment recalculation (ECAB 17-0717)
T.P., a former Navy machinist, had received wage loss compensation while involved in a business. The Board upheld forfeiture for periods covered by forms on which he failed to disclose work activity, but set aside periods that the record did not support. It also upheld the finding that he was at…
C.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Dallas, TX
Board upholds $7,397.63 benefits overpayment recovery (ECAB 17-0167)
C.S., a postal worker, received FECA compensation alongside Social Security benefits without the required offset. The Board upheld a $7,397.63 overpayment and found that he was not at fault. It nevertheless affirmed denial of a waiver and recovery through $75 deductions every 28 days from…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Fort Point Station, Boston, MA
Board narrows postal worker’s forfeiture overpayment (ECAB 16-1612)
S.M., a former postal carrier, had received wage loss benefits while performing volunteer business activities omitted from reporting forms. The Board upheld forfeiture and an overpayment for the supported period through October 30, 2014. It found no proof of those activities for the later period…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Complex, Fort Worth, Texas (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1287, Council of Prison Locals (Union)
FCC Fort Worth and AFGE Local 1287 (FLRA 0-AR-5301): Between-shift travel award vacated
Correctional officers volunteered for hospital guard shifts scheduled shortly after their regular prison shifts. An arbitrator treated the travel between sites as part of a continuous workday and awarded overtime pay, liquidated damages, and mileage. The Authority held that the hospital assignments…
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.