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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A.M. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Board orders merits review of intelligence officer claim (ECAB 24-0190)
An FBI intelligence officer reported symptoms beginning during duty in Guantanamo Bay in 2017. OWCP refused to reopen his claim for a merits review. The Board found his reconsideration request raised a new, relevant legal argument about latent disability and when the filing period began. It set…
Charles M. Thacker v. Humphreys Enterprises Incorporated
Thacker v. Humphreys Enterprises (BRB 24-0481): benefits award affirmed after remand
Charles Thacker received black lung benefits after an administrative law judge found that his employer had not rebutted the presumption arising from forty years of qualifying coal mine work and total disability. The employer asked the Board to revisit an earlier ruling that established disability…
Rendell N. Bartlebaugh v. Eighty-Four Mining Company
Bartlebaugh v. Eighty-Four Mining Company (BRB 24-0147): benefits award affirmed after remand
Rendell Bartlebaugh received black lung benefits after an administrative law judge found that his employer had not rebutted the presumption that his total disability was due to pneumoconiosis. On this appeal, the employer challenged how the judge weighed a doctor's opinion that Bartlebaugh's lung…
V.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Sunset Station
Board upholds disability denial but reopens hand-condition review (ECAB 25-0503)
A postal carrier with an accepted right-hand injury sought disability benefits beginning in May 2023 and expansion of the accepted conditions. The Board found the submitted reports did not establish disability caused by the accepted injury for the claimed period. It also found a physician report…
N.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Seven Hills Post Office
Board recognizes postal worker pallet-moving incident (ECAB 25-0494)
A postal worker reported a groin injury while moving pallets and sorting mail trays during a shift. OWCP had denied the claim on the ground that the work incident was not established. The Board found her account and a coworker statement established that the October 2, 2024 incident occurred in the…
P.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Middletown Post Office
Board reverses suitable-work benefit cutoff (ECAB 25-0484)
A postal distribution associate had accepted right-shoulder injuries and was offered modified work. OWCP ended wage-loss compensation and schedule award entitlement after she refused the offer. The Board found the medical assessment supporting the offer failed to address all her conditions…
B.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Hartford Processing & Distribution Center
Board upholds denial of short disability recurrence (ECAB 25-0469)
A postal mail handler with an accepted emotional-condition claim sought compensation for another week away from work in August 2024. The Board found the medical reports did not adequately connect that week of disability to the accepted conditions. It also upheld OWCP's denials of an untimely…
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Richmond Main Post Office
Board orders review of overlooked hernia reports (ECAB 25-0447)
A postal processing clerk reported abdominal pain after lifting mail tubs and pushing carts. OWCP denied her hernia claim but did not address medical reports it received before issuing that decision, including reports received on the same day. The Board set aside the denial and directed OWCP to…
Pettengill Family Restoration, LLC
Four construction citations vacated
Pettengill Family Restoration subcontracted crews to assemble panelized houses at residential construction sites. Four OSHA inspections produced serious and repeat-serious citations involving head and eye protection, fall protection, scaffolds, and ladders, with proposed penalties totaling $78,701…
C.S. and Department of the Air Force, Eglin Air Force Base, Hurlburt Field Commissary
Board upholds refusal to reopen commissary worker claim (ECAB 25-0502)
A former commissary store checker asked OWCP to reconsider a decision concerning benefits for an accepted shoulder and neck injury. The Board found her submissions repeated arguments already considered and offered no relevant new evidence or legal ground requiring merits review. It affirmed OWCP's…
P.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Miami International Airport
Board upholds suspension for missing earnings questionnaire (ECAB 25-0477)
An airport screener received wage-loss compensation for an accepted back injury. OWCP sent him an earnings and employment questionnaire and warned that benefits would be suspended if he did not return it. The Board found that the form was properly mailed and not completed within the required…
J.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Willow Springs Post Office
Board upholds rural carrier wage-earning reduction (ECAB 25-0471)
A rural postal carrier received wage-loss benefits after a work-related vehicle accident. OWCP reduced those benefits based on her ability to earn wages in a constructed telephone-information supervisor position. The Board found the medical work restrictions and vocational evidence supported the…
T.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Sapulpa Post Office
Board returns overpayment amount for work-hours review (ECAB 25-0406)
A rural postal carrier continued receiving total-disability compensation after returning to modified work. The Board agreed that this created some overpayment. It found conflicting evidence about whether he worked full time or only two days a week, so OWCP had not established the proper period and…
F.A. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Brown Field Station
Board orders review of omitted border agent medical reports (ECAB 24-0626)
A border patrol agent sought to add conditions to an accepted injury claim after a work-related vehicle accident. OWCP denied expansion without addressing two physician reports submitted before its decision. The Board set aside the denial and directed OWCP to consider those reports and issue a new…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Woodland Post Office
Board dismisses appeal without final adverse decision (ECAB 25-0515)
A postal worker appealed March 2025 OWCP decisions that vacated an earlier disability denial. The Board held those decisions were not final adverse rulings it could review. It dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction without deciding the disability claim.
D.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Dominick V. Daniels Processing & Distribution Center
Board upholds denial of late overpayment hearing request (ECAB 25-0501)
A postal mail handler requested a hearing on OWCP's preliminary overpayment determination. The request was postmarked February 13, 2025, one day after the 30-day deadline. The Board found no exception to the filing period for a prerecoupment hearing and affirmed OWCP's denial. It did not decide the…
A.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Albany Post Office
Board upholds refusal to reopen Albany postal claim (ECAB 25-0449)
A postal vehicle dispatcher reported a neck and shoulder injury but did not provide enough detail to establish the alleged July 2023 work incident. He later requested reconsideration. The Board found he submitted no new, pertinent evidence about whether the incident occurred and no new legal…
B.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Champlain Post Office
Board orders combined review of postal back claims (ECAB 25-0405)
A rural carrier claimed a new back injury after pushing a cart at work and had a prior accepted lumbar claim. OWCP denied the new claim without administratively combining the files. The Board found the two claims involved the same part of the body and needed to be reviewed together. It set aside…
M.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Palatine Post Office
Board grants postal worker withdrawal of appeal (ECAB 25-0401)
A postal worker appealed an OWCP merits decision and then asked to withdraw the appeal so she could request reconsideration before OWCP. The Board granted her withdrawal request and dismissed the appeal. It did not decide the underlying compensation dispute.
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Brek Pinkerton v. RMC Mining Development, LLC, et al.
Discrimination default and damages ordered
The Secretary brought a Mine Act discrimination case for miner Brek Pinkerton against RMC Mining Development, American Mining Properties, Russ Myers, and Matthew Head. The respondents repeatedly failed to answer, participate in discovery, attend depositions, respond to show-cause orders, or oppose…
Dwight W. Estep v. Brooks Run South Mining, LLC
Estep v. Brooks Run South Mining (BRB 24-0474): benefits denial affirmed
Dwight Estep sought black lung benefits after more than fifteen years of qualifying coal mine work. An administrative law judge denied his later claim because the evidence did not establish complicated pneumoconiosis or total respiratory disability. Estep appealed without representation. The Board…
David Fowler v. M.T.C. East d/b/a Ports America, Incorporated
Fowler v. M.T.C. East (BRB 22-0199): notice ruling retained on reconsideration
David Fowler sought additional longshore compensation because his employer filed a notice contesting his hearing loss claim with the district director but did not give him a copy. The Board had previously held that service on the claimant was required and sent the issue back to the administrative…
Kossen v. Asia Pacific Airlines
Summary dismissal affirmed where timing alone did not show retaliation
Former pilot Darren Kossen alleged that Asia Pacific Airlines retaliated by sending inaccurate pilot records to a prospective employer more than four years after protected activity. He did not oppose the airline's summary-decision motion despite extensions, leaving no additional evidence linking…
A.F. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Board dismisses border officer appeal filed outside deadline (ECAB 25-0520)
A Customs and Border Protection worker appealed OWCP's September 2024 decision in May 2025. The Board found the 180-day filing period had expired in March 2025. It dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction without deciding the underlying benefits issue.
S.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Medical Center, Tampa
Board dismisses VA worker appeal filed outside deadline (ECAB 25-0517)
A VA employee appealed an OWCP decision issued in July 2023. The Board found the 180-day appeal period ended in January 2024, but the appeal was not filed until April 2025. It dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction without reviewing the underlying claim.
B.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Phoenix Post Office
Board upholds refusal to reopen postal wrist claim (ECAB 25-0475)
A rural carrier reported wrist pain and swelling she attributed to her postal duties. After OWCP denied her claim, she requested reconsideration. The Board found no new legal argument or relevant new evidence requiring OWCP to reopen the merits. It affirmed OWCP's refusal to reconsider the claim.
R.C. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard
Board orders new impartial review of impairment claim (ECAB 25-0414)
A Coast Guard pipefitter sought a schedule award after an accepted back injury. OWCP relied on an impartial examiner to deny permanent impairment, but later evidence required clarification and that examiner had retired. The Board found OWCP should have referred the claim to a new impartial examiner…
R.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital
Board orders specialist review of hospital worker foot fracture (ECAB 25-0404)
A VA medical support assistant reported slipping in water at work and later received a left-foot fracture diagnosis. OWCP denied her claim. The Board found her physician's explanation linking the inversion injury to the fracture was not enough to establish compensation on its own, but did require…
Matter of Wendi Del Carmen LOPEZ-TICAS
Pleadings withdrawal and termination order vacated
The Board reviewed DHS's appeal from the Immigration Judge's decision granting the respondent's motions to withdraw pleadings and terminate removal proceedings. The Board held that a notice to appear lacking the time and place of hearing did not make the respondent's admissions untrue or justify…
Freezetone Products, LLC
In re Freezetone Products, LLC (EAB CAA Appeal No. 25-06C): HFC-import settlement approved
Freezetone Products, LLC imported bulk hydrofluorocarbons in two shipments that arrived in the United States on June 29, 2024, and August 17, 2024. EPA alleged that the company imported 31,346.1 kilograms of regulated substances without expending the required consumption or application-specific…
Shirley Maynard v. Preparation Maintenance, Incorporated
Maynard v. Preparation Maintenance (BRB 24-0319, 24-0323): benefits denials returned for new findings
Shirley Maynard pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor's claim. The administrative law judge denied both after finding that the miner did not have a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board found that the judge had not adequately explained why he accepted a 2020…
Shirley Maynard v. Preparation Maintenance, Incorporated
Maynard v. Preparation Maintenance (BRB 24-0319, 24-0323): benefits denials returned for new findings
Shirley Maynard pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor's claim. The administrative law judge denied both after finding that the miner did not have a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board found that the judge had not adequately explained why he accepted a 2020…
Fred W. Ford, Jr. v. Kingston Mining Company
Ford v. Kingston Mining (BRB 24-0265): benefits award returned for new medical findings
Fred Ford sought black lung benefits after thirty-eight years of qualifying coal mine work. An administrative law judge awarded benefits after finding he had complicated pneumoconiosis, which invokes an irrebuttable presumption of disability due to the disease. The Board held that the judge had not…
Doris Browning v. Arch of Kentucky / Apogee Coal Company
Browning v. Apogee Coal (BRB 24-0230, 24-0231): miner and survivor awards affirmed
Doris Browning pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor's claim. An administrative law judge awarded both after finding that the miner had complicated pneumoconiosis related to his coal work. The employer and carrier appealed the judge's authority to decide the case and Arch…
Doris Browning v. Arch of Kentucky / Apogee Coal Company
Browning v. Apogee Coal (BRB 24-0230, 24-0231): miner and survivor awards affirmed
Doris Browning pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor's claim. An administrative law judge awarded both after finding that the miner had complicated pneumoconiosis related to his coal work. The employer and carrier appealed the judge's authority to decide the case and Arch…
Linda Carol Christian v. Star Services Corporation
Christian v. Star Services (BRB 24-0117): survivor benefits award affirmed
Linda Christian sought black lung survivor benefits after her husband, a coal miner, died. An administrative law judge awarded benefits, finding that the miner had thirty years of underground coal work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment at death. Star Services challenged its designation…
Billy R. Belcher v. Vecellio & Grogan Incorporated
Belcher v. Vecellio & Grogan (BRB 24-0116): benefits award returned for new findings
Billy Belcher sought black lung benefits after twenty-seven years of qualifying coal mine work. An administrative law judge awarded benefits after finding that he had complicated pneumoconiosis caused by coal mine employment. The Board majority found that she had conflated the presence of…
Estate of Glover S. McCutcheon v. Island Creek Coal Company
Estate of McCutcheon v. Island Creek Coal (BRB 24-0058): black lung benefits award affirmed
Glover McCutcheon's estate pursued his later black lung claim after his death. An administrative law judge awarded benefits, finding that his underground coal work and disabling respiratory impairment invoked a statutory presumption of disability due to pneumoconiosis. Island Creek Coal challenged…
Ferrell McGlothlin v. Island Creek Coal Company
McGlothlin v. Island Creek Coal (BRB 24-0050): benefits denial returned for new medical findings
Ferrell McGlothlin sought black lung benefits after 22.5 years of underground coal work. An administrative law judge denied his claim, finding that he had not proved complicated pneumoconiosis or a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board found that the judge needed to revisit how she…
Jeffrey McCue and Stephanie Finch-Rova v. Colberg, Incorporated
McCue v. Colberg (BRB 24-0003): attorney fee award affirmed
The estate of Margaret McCue settled a Longshore Act death benefits claim arising from her husband's death. The settlement left attorney fees and costs unresolved. The administrative law judge awarded counsel $244,433.40, less than the amount requested, after reducing hourly rates, hours, and…
Migbil Sulejmani v. Ecolog International/Dyncorp International, Incorporated
Sulejmani v. Ecolog/Dyncorp (BRB 23-0260): Defense Base Act award vacated and remanded
Migbil Sulejmani sought compensation for a psychological injury he attributed to work as a water truck driver at military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. An administrative law judge awarded disability benefits after finding the injury work related. The Board held that the judge had wrongly excluded…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL v. Ten West Cattle, Inc.
J-1 intern wage claims excluded from H-2A corresponding employment
Ten West Cattle operated a Nebraska feedlot and hosted J-1 exchange-program interns while employing H-2A agricultural workers. The Wage and Hour Administrator sought H-2A wage protections for the interns as workers in corresponding employment. The Board majority held that the applicable definition…
Jerry E. Davis v. Apogee Coal Company
Davis v. Apogee Coal (BRB 24-0088): benefits award and carrier finding remanded
Jerry Davis sought black lung benefits in a later claim after 15.55 years of qualifying coal mine work. An administrative law judge awarded benefits and held Apogee Coal and Arch Resources responsible as operator and carrier. The Board found that the judge mistakenly treated a 2022 blood gas study…
Curtis D. McCoy v. Cumberland River Coal Company/Arch Coal, Incorporated
McCoy v. Cumberland River Coal (BRB 24-0084): benefits award affirmed
Curtis McCoy sought black lung benefits after twenty-nine years of qualifying coal mine work. An administrative law judge awarded benefits after finding that McCoy had a totally disabling respiratory impairment and that his employer failed to rebut the statutory presumption linking the disability…
Jones v. Exclusive Jets, LLC
Board awards $103,195 in AIR21 appellate attorney fees
Exclusive Jets terminated Michael Jones, and the Board had previously affirmed a finding that the company violated AIR21, modifying only the formula for interest on back pay. Jones requested $99,072.50 in attorney fees for the Board appeal and another $4,122.50 for preparing his reply on the fee…
Magic Valley Crushing & Excavation, LLC, dba The Rock Yard
Unstable shelving storage violation affirmed
Magic Valley Crushing operated The Rock Yard, an Idaho landscaping-supply store with an overstock storage area. After a manager relocated several metal shelving units, the units were not bolted back together and heavy boxes of hardware were stacked more heavily on the upper shelves. One unit leaned…
Florim USA, Inc.
In re Florim USA, Inc. (EAB CAA Appeal No. 25-07C): HFC-product import settlement approved
Florim USA, Inc. imported four self-contained heat-exchange products containing R-410A on or about February 13, 2025. EPA alleged that the products used a regulated substance with a global warming potential above the applicable limit for the product sector, violating the Technology Transition…
F.S. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Coleman Federal Correctional Complex
Board dismisses appeal of proposed benefit cutoff (ECAB 25-0510)
A federal prison employee appealed a notice proposing to terminate wage-loss and medical benefits. The Board found the notice gave her time to respond and was not a final adverse OWCP decision. It dismissed the appeal without deciding whether benefits should be terminated.
A.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Morgan Processing & Distribution Center
Board upholds termination of postal handler benefits (ECAB 25-0492)
A postal mail handler received benefits for accepted aggravations of joint and spine conditions. OWCP terminated wage-loss and medical benefits after a second-opinion evaluation found no remaining disability or residuals from the work injury. The Board found the medical record supported that…
A.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Louisville Post Office
Board upholds denial of total disability claim (ECAB 25-0250)
A postal customer service supervisor sought total-disability compensation beginning April 2024 for an accepted occupational injury. The Board found a physician report listed other spinal diagnoses and work limits but did not explain how the accepted injury caused the claimed inability to work. It…
T.J. and U.S. Postal Service, City of Industry Processing & Distribution Center
Board dismisses appeal from void OWCP decision (ECAB 25-0232)
A postal worker appealed an OWCP ruling on a workplace fall. The Board found OWCP had issued that ruling while the same merits issue was already pending before the Board in an earlier appeal. Because the agencies could not simultaneously decide the same issue, OWCP's later decision was null and…
United States Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 149
Customs and Border Protection and NTEU Chapter 149 (FLRA 0-AR-5978): Authority dismisses premature work-unit exceptions
An arbitrator found that Customs and Border Protection violated its collective-bargaining agreement when it configured work units for an annual employee-bidding process. He ordered the agency to bring the units into compliance, directed make-whole relief for lost overtime, sent the remedy details…
Matter of C-I-R-H- & H-S-V-R-
Asylum grant vacated and CAT issue remanded
The Department of Homeland Security appealed an Immigration Judge's grant of asylum to a Honduran mother and her minor daughter. The Board held that the record did not show a connection between the family's killings and the proposed family-based social group beyond speculation, so the nexus…
S.T. and Department of the Navy, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Board dismisses late shipyard appeal (ECAB 25-0509)
A Navy shipyard worker appealed a November 2023 OWCP decision in April 2025. The Board found the 180-day period to appeal had ended in May 2024. It dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction without reviewing the underlying decision.
D.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Saint Louis Post Office
Board upholds denial of postal driver wage-loss period (ECAB 25-0463)
A postal tractor-trailer operator had an accepted left-knee injury and surgery. He sought wage-loss compensation for July 27 through August 9, 2024. The Board found the treating physician's reports described work restrictions and a return to full duty but did not adequately establish work-related…
W.B. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Federal Air Marshal Service
Board recognizes air marshal work exposures for claim review (ECAB 25-0441)
A retired federal air marshal reported pulmonary symptoms he associated with duty travel and cold-weather training. OWCP denied the claim on the ground that the alleged work factors were not established. The Board found his accounts and supporting records established the described travel exposures…
M.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Albany Post Office
Board upholds late reconsideration denial after road accident (ECAB 25-0435)
A postal mail handler reported injuries after the vehicle in which he was riding was hit by a tractor trailer at work. He requested reconsideration more than a year after OWCP's last merits decision. The Board found the request untimely and the submitted material insufficient to show clear evidence…
A.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, San Franciso VA Medical Center
Board dismisses late VA worker appeal (ECAB 25-0508)
A VA employee appealed two OWCP decisions in April 2025. The Board found the 180-day period after the newer September 2024 decision expired in March 2025. Because the appeal was late as to both decisions, it dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction.
P.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Providence Post Office
Board dismisses Providence postal appeal as late (ECAB 25-0491)
A postal employee appealed a March 2024 OWCP decision in April 2025. The Board found the 180-day filing period ended in August 2024. It dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction without reviewing the underlying claim.
J.J. and U.S. Postal Service, International Service Center New York NY
Board upholds termination of mail handler ankle benefits (ECAB 25-0341)
A mail handler received benefits for accepted left-foot and ankle sprains after tripping on a hand jack at work. OWCP terminated wage-loss and medical benefits after an impartial examiner found no remaining disability or injury residuals. The Board gave that opinion special weight and affirmed…
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.