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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J.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Sewell, NJ
Carpal tunnel claim returned for complete record (ECAB 17-1356)
J.B., a postal rural carrier associate, sought compensation for bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. OWCP denied her claim using reports from a separate claim file that were missing from the record before the Board. The Board could not review the evidence on which OWCP relied. It set aside the denial…
T.M. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Buffalo, NY
Compensation overpayment decision returned to OWCP (ECAB 17-0464)
T.M., an IRS employee, challenged OWCP’s finding that she had received an $18,366.83 compensation overpayment and was at fault. The Board found that an earlier timely reconsideration request concerning termination of her benefits had no responsive OWCP decision in the record. That unresolved…
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, North Metro, GA
Additional lumbar surgery request denied (ECAB 17-0185)
D.C., a former postal carrier with an accepted lumbar injury and several authorized back surgeries, requested another fusion procedure. OWCP denied authorization. The Board found that OWCP’s referral physician gave the better explained opinion that the proposed surgery was unnecessary for the…
P.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Battle Creek, MI
Compensation overpayment recovery upheld (ECAB 16-1671)
P.G., a VA employee with an accepted claim, received FECA compensation and Social Security retirement benefits based partly on federal service. The Board upheld OWCP’s $16,511.37 overpayment finding, although P.G. was not at fault. It found that her financial information did not justify waiving…
D.C. and Department of the Army, Enlisted Records & Evaluation Center, Fort Benjamin Harris, IN
Reconsideration refusal upheld (ECAB 16-1619)
D.C., an Army personnel clerk with previously accepted arm conditions, sought reopening of a later benefits decision. OWCP declined to review the merits. The Board found that the new physician report repeated earlier information and focused on conditions outside the accepted claim. It affirmed…
T.M. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Buffalo, NY
Recurrence rulings returned to OWCP (ECAB 16-1467)
T.M., an IRS employee, challenged OWCP’s rescission of an accepted period of disability and its denial of a recurrence claim. The Board found that OWCP had not responded to a timely earlier reconsideration request about the termination of her benefits. Because that issue underlay the later rulings…
C.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Lexington, NC
Wage loss reduction based on receptionist work upheld (ECAB 16-1448)
C.S., a postal rural carrier associate with an accepted left shoulder injury, received wage loss benefits. OWCP reduced those benefits based on her capacity to work as a receptionist. The Board found that the selected position fit the medical restrictions and that OWCP properly determined her…
R.C. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Dallas, TX
Late reconsideration request denied (ECAB 16-1433)
R.C., a transportation security screener, sought reconsideration of an earlier decision terminating benefits after a suitable work dispute. OWCP received her request after the one year filing period. The Board found that her new medical submissions did not clearly show error in the earlier…
Secretary of Labor v. Argus Energy WV, LLC
Full penalty imposed after contest withdrawn
MSHA cited Argus Energy after a haul truck was operated with a broken spot mirror and no completed pre-operational inspection record, alleging a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 77.1606(a). The parties first proposed reducing the $666 penalty to $532 and modifying the S&S and gravity findings, but Judge…
Secretary of Labor v. Consolidation Coal Company now The Ohio County Coal Co.
Revised $39,875 settlement approved
The Secretary and Ohio County Coal sought approval of a settlement covering five citations at the Shoemaker Mine, principally involving deteriorated ribs under 30 C.F.R. § 75.202(a). Judge William B. Moran had denied the first motion because it did not provide enough facts to justify the proposed…
C.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Forest Park, IL
Reconsideration of short disability claim refused (ECAB 17-1313)
C.J., a postal employee, sought wage loss compensation for a brief period in 2015. OWCP denied payment because the medical evidence did not establish disability from her accepted conditions, then declined to reopen the case. The Board found that her reconsideration request supplied no relevant new…
D.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Denver Acquisition & Logistics Center, Lakewood, CO
Benefits termination for refusing work reversed (ECAB 17-1014)
D.H., a VA voucher examiner with accepted shoulder and adjustment conditions, refused an offered modified position. OWCP terminated her wage loss benefits as a result. The Board found that OWCP had not shown she could perform the offered work given her accepted psychological condition and other…
C.K. and Department of the Army, Army Research Laboratory, Adelphi, MD
Reconsideration refusal upheld in disability dispute (ECAB 17-0341)
C.K., an Army employee, sought reopening of a denied recurrence of disability claim. OWCP declined to revisit the merits. The Board found that her request did not identify legal error, present a new relevant argument, or provide pertinent new medical evidence about the claimed disability. It…
K.M. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA
Shipyard lung disease claim held untimely (ECAB 16-1701)
K.M., a retired Navy shipyard worker, attributed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to work aboard ships. OWCP denied his occupational disease claim as late. The Board found that the claim was received more than three years after his last work exposure and that the record did not establish…
T.D. and Department of the Air Force, Air Force Materiel Command, Hill Air Force Base, UT
Ankle claim reconsideration refused (ECAB 16-1644)
T.D., an Air Force machinist, sought reconsideration after OWCP denied an ankle injury claim. The Board found that the submitted reports did not address whether the claimed 2014 work incident caused her ankle condition. Other reports repeated evidence already in the record. It affirmed OWCP’s…
L.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Duluth, GA
Compensation forfeiture and overpayment upheld (ECAB 16-1385)
L.B., a postal employee, did not report work and volunteer activities as a pastor on compensation disclosure forms. The Board found that his omissions required forfeiture of compensation paid between October 2007 and November 2014. It also upheld a $271,743.45 overpayment and found that his fault…
S.K. and Department of the Navy, Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington, DC
Claim for fall after workplace meeting denied (ECAB 16-0970)
S.K., a Navy security specialist, fell after a stressful meeting with her supervisor. OWCP denied her injury claim. The Board found that the medical evidence attributed the fall to a fainting episode and that the record did not establish an injury in the performance of duty as alleged. It affirmed…
T.P. and Department of the Air Force, Randolph Air Force Base, TX
Aircraft stair fall injury claim denied (ECAB 17-1249)
T.P., an Air Force sheet metal mechanic, reported a left foot injury after losing his footing while descending an aircraft stairwell. OWCP accepted that the incident happened but denied the injury claim. The Board found that the submitted x-ray report supplied neither a firm diagnosis nor a medical…
M.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland Heights, OH
Arm impairment award returned for new rating (ECAB 17-1114)
M.R., a postal employee, sought a schedule award for more than 10 percent permanent impairment of her right arm. The Board found that OWCP had applied inconsistent methods for rating upper extremity impairment under the medical guides. It set aside the award decision and returned the case for a new…
D.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Coppell, TX
Overpayment recovery schedule upheld (ECAB 17-0810)
D.M., a postal employee, did not dispute a $61,900 compensation overpayment but requested waiver. OWCP found that she was not at fault yet denied waiver based on her financial information. The Board upheld that finding and the deduction of $600 every 28 days from continuing compensation. It found…
T.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Salt Lake City, UT
Back injury claim denied for lack of causation evidence (ECAB 17-0773)
T.N., a postal employee, reported back pain after slipping while lifting at work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the injury claim. The Board found that the physician’s checked form and later reports did not adequately explain how the incident caused the diagnosed back…
J.F. and Department of the Army, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Aberdeen, MD
Knee condition claim denied (ECAB 17-0458)
J.F., an Army employee, claimed that work duties caused or aggravated conditions in both knees. OWCP accepted the duties and the diagnoses but denied compensation. The Board found that the physicians described a connection in general terms without adequately explaining how the specific work…
R.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Louisville, KY
Mail clerk cervical condition claim denied (ECAB 16-1895)
R.G., a postal mail processing clerk, claimed that repetitive work caused a cervical spine condition. OWCP accepted the work factors but denied the claim. The Board found that the medical reports diagnosed cervical stenosis and described restrictions without explaining how the accepted work…
M.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, North Hollywood, CA
Rescission of accepted stress claim reversed (ECAB 16-0125)
M.R., a postal supervisor, had an accepted claim for work related aggravation of post traumatic stress disorder. OWCP later withdrew that acceptance. The Board found that OWCP had not adequately explained the basis for rescission, including why previously accepted overtime did not support the…
Secretary of Labor v. Upland Rock
Misaddressed contest documents reopened
Upland Rock attempted to contest a penalty shortly after receiving the assessment, but postal records showed that its first certified mailing never left a California processing facility. The operator later sent a letter showing its intent to contest to a local MSHA office in Vacaville rather than…
Secretary of Labor v. Croell Redi-Mix, Inc.
Nine-day-late contest reopened
Croell Redi-Mix said it received two proposed penalty assessments on different dates after one mine inspection. It mistakenly believed both assessments shared the later deadline and waited to return the first contest until after receiving the second assessment. MSHA received the first contest…
Secretary of Labor v. Jose Rodriguez
Language-barrier default reopened
Jose Rodriguez did not timely contest a proposed penalty because he could not read the English-language assessment and was unable to reach MSHA for assistance despite repeated calls. He submitted a translated affidavit, moved to reopen only 17 days after the assessment became final, and stated that…
Secretary of Labor v. Kenamerican Resources, Inc.
Lifeline and conveyor-guard violations affirmed
MSHA cited KenAmerican Resources for two escapeway lifelines hung alongside similarly sized communications and tracking cables and for hog-wire guarding above a moving conveyor tail roller. Judge Alan G. Paez found that the lifeline arrangements could confuse miners and delay escape during an…
Secretary of Labor v. Horizon AG Products
Timely contest sent to wrong office reopened
Horizon AG Products mailed a penalty contest within the 30-day period, but sent it to MSHA's Dallas field office instead of the Arlington office listed for penalty contests. Tracking records and an MSHA email confirmed that the Dallas office received the package. Horizon's safety director said he…
Secretary of Labor v. CSA Materials, Inc.
Misrouted penalty contest reopened
CSA Materials intended to contest a proposed penalty but mailed the contest form to MSHA's St. Louis payment office with payment for a different citation instead of sending it to the Arlington contest office. After receiving a delinquency notice, the operator moved to reopen within 30 days and…
Cobb v. FedEx Corporate Services, Inc.
Cobb v. FedEx Corporate Services (DOL ARB 2016-0030): Dismissal of retaliation claim upheld
Guy Cobb said FedEx Corporate Services fired him for reporting safety concerns about a tunnel beneath a runway at the FedEx Memphis facility. The Board accepted that he had communicated those concerns but upheld the judge's dismissal of his aviation whistleblower complaint. Cobb did not present…
Secretary of Labor v. Coal Field Construction Company, LLC
Fall-protection settlement approved at $5,009
MSHA cited Coal Field Construction after a miner lost his balance on a six-inch pipe about eight feet above a preparation-plant floor and fell while not wearing fall protection. The citation alleged a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 77.1710(g) and carried a specially assessed $15,700 penalty. The operator…
Koch Supply & Trading, LP
In re Koch Supply & Trading, LP (EAB CAA Appeal No. 17-04C): consent agreement ratified
Koch Supply & Trading, LP entered into a Consent Agreement with EPA to resolve a Clean Air Act enforcement matter. The Environmental Appeals Board incorporated the agreement into its Final Order and ratified it under 40 C.F.R. § 22.18(b)-(c). The Board ordered Koch Supply & Trading to comply with…
Irwin v. Nashville Plywood, Inc.
Irwin v. Nashville Plywood (DOL ARB 2016-0033): Truck safety retaliation remedy upheld
Truck driver Paul Irwin complained that Nashville Plywood's trucks were overloaded and refused to drive one after weighing it. The company fired him the next day. An administrative law judge found retaliation under the Surface Transportation Assistance Act and ordered reinstatement, back pay, and…
L.M. and Department of the Navy, Fleet Readiness Center East, Cherry Point, NC
Disability recurrence and subpoena denial upheld (ECAB 17-0159)
L.M., a Navy machinist supervisor with an accepted beryllium related respiratory condition, claimed renewed disability. The Board found that the medical reports attributed his inability to work chiefly to a separate condition rather than the accepted injury. It also found that OWCP properly denied…
S.T. and Department of Health & Human Services, Food & Drug Administration, Memphis, TN
Travel injury claim returned for development (ECAB 16-1710)
S.T., an FDA employee, was injured in a motor vehicle collision while driving home from official travel. OWCP denied her claim on the ground that she was outside the scope of employment. The Board found that she was still on authorized travel and had returned to her direct route when the collision…
V.D. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Fort Detrick, MD
Skin test injury claim denied (ECAB 16-1345)
V.D., an Army biologist, reported a reaction to a routine tuberculosis skin test at work and claimed that it worsened other symptoms. OWCP accepted that the test occurred but denied the injury claim. The Board found that the reports described symptoms without a firm diagnosis or a reasoned…
R.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fort Myers, FL
Benefits termination for refusing suitable work upheld (ECAB 16-1275)
R.L., a postal employee with accepted back and chest injuries, refused an offered modified mail processing job. He could no longer drive while taking prescribed medication, but OWCP found that the sedentary job fit his restrictions and that he could commute by public transit. The Board agreed that…
P.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Germantown, MD
Extended wage loss claim denied (ECAB 16-0491)
P.T., a postal mail handler, had an accepted right shoulder contusion after containers struck her in an elevator. She sought wage loss compensation for a later extended period. The Board found that OWCP’s referral physician supplied the better explained opinion that the accepted injury had resolved…
Gummala v. Carnival Cruise Lines, Inc.
Gummala v. Carnival Cruise Lines (DOL ARB 2015-0088): Seaman coverage dismissal vacated
Devendra Gummala alleged that Carnival Cruise Lines fired him after he made safety complaints while working as a photographer aboard a cruise ship. The administrative law judge dismissed his Seaman's Protection Act claim because the ship's parent company was incorporated in Panama. The Board held…
R.T. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Moab, UT
Arm impairment and overpayment decision remanded (ECAB 17-0774)
R.T., a National Park Service employee, challenged an overpayment finding based on the rating of permanent impairment in his left arm. The Board found that OWCP had used inconsistent methods for rating upper extremity impairment. It set aside the decision and directed a new impairment assessment…
F.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Occupational Health Clinic, Gainesville, FL
Benefits termination for refusing work reversed (ECAB 17-0723)
F.B., a VA employee with an accepted right wrist injury, refused an offered information receptionist job. OWCP terminated wage loss and schedule award benefits. The Board found that OWCP had not established her capacity to perform the job because the medical review did not adequately account for…
E.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fort Worth, TX
Heat illness claim denied (ECAB 16-1857)
E.E., a postal employee, claimed heat exhaustion after delivering mail during very hot weather. OWCP accepted the work incident but denied compensation. The Board found that the physician did not adequately explain the medical mechanism linking his diagnosed condition to the delivery work. It…
C.R. and Department of the Navy, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC
Workplace mold respiratory claim denied (ECAB 16-1849)
C.R., a Navy electrical engineer, reported respiratory symptoms after mold and mildew appeared in a flooded office. OWCP accepted the exposure but denied his occupational disease claim. The Board found that the physician’s opinion relied on general statements about mold without adequately…
J.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Montrose, NY
Additional wrist and nerve conditions denied (ECAB 16-1740)
J.H., a VA employee, sought to add further wrist and nerve conditions to claims arising from two workplace injuries. OWCP had accepted sprains and effectively recognized bilateral wrist cartilage tears. The Board found that the remaining claimed osteoarthritis and nerve conditions lacked a…
F.S. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Beaumont, TX
Arm award returned; leg impairment denial upheld (ECAB 16-0783)
F.S., a Bureau of Prisons employee, sought a larger schedule award for his right arm and an award for lower extremity impairment. The Board upheld the denial of lower extremity impairment because the submitted ratings addressed the back or whole person rather than compensable impairment of the…
P.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bronx, NY
Earlier wage loss period returned for review (ECAB 16-0700)
P.T., a postal mail handler, sought wage loss compensation for September 29 to October 17, 2014 after an accepted shoulder injury. OWCP denied this period without addressing a supplemental medical opinion received before its decision. The Board set aside the denial and directed OWCP to consider…
T.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pittsburgh, PA
Foot injury disability recurrence denied (ECAB 16-0433)
T.M., a postal letter carrier with accepted right foot conditions, sought total disability compensation after working a part time modified schedule. The Board found no reasoned medical opinion showing that the accepted conditions had worsened enough to cause total disability from August 18, 2014…
Secretary of Labor v. ICG Beckley, LLC
Full brake citation penalty imposed after withdrawal
MSHA cited ICG Beckley after a roof bolter's parking brake failed to hold the machine on a grade and allowed it to creep downhill, alleging a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.1725(a). The parties proposed reducing the $1,607 penalty to $1,292 without modifying the citation, based on arguments that the…
Coastal Energy Corporation
In re Coastal Energy Corporation (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 17-04): petition dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
Jill Bailey sought review of Missouri Permit No. MO-G491369, a state general operating permit issued by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to Coastal Energy Corporation. The Board explained that its permit-review authority covers EPA-issued permits, not state-issued permits. It also noted…
E.J. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Loma Linda Health Care System, Loma Linda, CA
Shower cart wrist injury claim denied (ECAB 17-1167)
E.J., a VA health technician, reported a wrist injury while moving a shower cart. OWCP denied his claim. The Board found that he had not provided enough detail to establish that the incident happened as alleged, including which wrist was injured, and had not answered OWCP’s request for more facts…
J.B. and Department of the Army, Watervliet Arsenal, Watervliet, NY
Wage earning capacity ruling left in place (ECAB 17-0442)
J.B., a former Army machine tool operator, sought to change an earlier wage earning capacity ruling after his modified job ended in a reduction in force. The Board found that losing the job did not itself meet the criteria for changing the formal earning capacity determination. It affirmed OWCP’s…
C.P. and Department of the Treasury, U.S. Mint, Philadelphia, PA
Total disability claim denied (ECAB 16-1869)
C.P., a U.S. Mint employee with accepted lumbar radiculopathy, sought compensation for total disability beginning in February 2015. The Board found that the physician stated she could not work without explaining how the accepted condition prevented all work during the claimed period. It affirmed…
R.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Tucson, AZ
Back claim expansion and recurrence denied; benefits termination upheld (ECAB 16-1700)
R.B., a VA employee, had an accepted lumbar sprain and sought to add more back conditions and claim a recurrence of disability. The Board found that the medical reports did not adequately link the additional diagnoses or claimed disability to the accepted injury. It also found that OWCP had…
A.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chesapeake, VA
Recurrence reconsideration refused (ECAB 16-1595)
A.S., a former postal carrier, requested reconsideration of a denied recurrence of disability claim. The Board found that the submitted pay records, physician biography, and older form did not address whether his accepted back conditions caused disability beginning in October 2013. He also supplied…
The Lane Construction Corporation
Work-zone traffic citation vacated
A dump truck backing through a nighttime highway milling operation struck and killed a Lane Construction superintendent. OSHA alleged that Lane failed to implement an effective internal traffic control plan separating pedestrians from moving vehicles. The judge found that OSHA did not prove its…
C.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Denver, CO
Hearing abandonment ruling upheld (ECAB 16-0412)
C.M., a postal employee, requested a hearing after OWCP denied her injury claim. The Board found that OWCP mailed proper notice of the scheduled hearing, that she did not attend, and that the record did not rebut the presumption of receipt. It affirmed the ruling that she abandoned her hearing…
D.G. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Philadelphia, PA
Part time earning capacity ruling reversed (ECAB 16-0075)
D.G., an IRS employee, challenged a wage earning capacity determination based on her actual earnings in a modified part time job. She had worked full time when injured. The Board found that the procedures in force when OWCP made the original determination did not permit using part time reemployment…
Florence Copper, Inc.
In re Florence Copper, Inc. (EAB UIC Appeal Nos. 17-01 and 17-03): UIC permit challenges denied
EPA Region 9 issued Florence Copper, Inc. a Class III Underground Injection Control permit for a copper production test facility in Pinal County, Arizona. The facility would drill wells and inject acid into copper ore to recover copper, with conditions covering construction, operation, monitoring…
Florence Copper, Inc.
In re Florence Copper, Inc. (EAB UIC Appeal Nos. 17-01 and 17-03): Permit review denied
EPA Region 9 issued Florence Copper, Inc. a Class III Underground Injection Control permit for an in-situ copper recovery facility in Pinal County, Arizona. John L. Anderson and the Town of Florence, together with SWVP-GTIS MR, LLC, challenged the permit and raised concerns about drinking-water…
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.