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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C.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Litchfield, IL
Occupational disease claim denied for missing work details
C.L., a postal employee, alleged wrist and arm problems from repeated mail handling. OWCP asked her to describe the specific duties she believed caused the conditions, but she did not provide the requested factual statement. The Board found that without those work details, the alleged employment…
S.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, North Metro, GA
Bilateral foot condition claim denied
S.G., a postal labor custodian, attributed bilateral foot problems to prolonged standing and walking at work. OWCP accepted his duties and the diagnosed conditions but denied the occupational disease claim. The Board found that his physician described the foot conditions without explaining whether…
E.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Compton, CA
Left arm impairment rating returned for review
E.M., a former postal carrier technician, sought a schedule award beyond the 46 percent left arm impairment already recognized. The Board found that OWCP had not used a consistent approach to choosing between diagnostic based and range of motion ratings under the sixth edition of the A.M.A. Guides…
G.E. and Department of Health & Human Services, Indian Health Service, Window Rock, AZ
Increased arm impairment claim returned
G.E., an Indian Health Service employee, had a prior four percent right arm schedule award. After OWCP accepted additional right arm conditions and he submitted evidence of greater impairment, he asked for another award. OWCP treated his request as reconsideration of the earlier decision and…
B.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Akron, OH
Consequential arm injury claim returned for medical review
B.S., a postal employee with accepted left foot and leg conditions, claimed that her leg buckled and caused a fall injuring her left arm. OWCP sent its second opinion physician an outdated and inaccurate statement of accepted facts, then rejected his report partly because of that information. The…
J.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Manchester, CT
Arm schedule award returned for consistent rating
J.R., a postal rural carrier, sought a schedule award greater than the five percent right arm impairment OWCP had recognized. His treating physician used the fifth edition of the A.M.A. Guides, while OWCP physicians used the sixth edition and differed on rating methods. The Board found that OWCP…
M.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Sutter Creek, CA
Forfeiture based overpayment returned for review
M.O., a postal employee, challenged an asserted $148,642.64 overpayment based on forfeiture of compensation. An OWCP hearing representative addressed the overpayment without reviewing whether the underlying forfeiture decision was correct. The Board found that the overpayment amount and fault could…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2419 (Union) and United States Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Health (Agency)
AFGE Local 2419 and National Institute of Health (FLRA 0-AR-5278): Dismissal reconsideration denied
The Authority dismissed AFGE Local 2419's exceptions after the union did not timely answer an order to explain why the Authority had jurisdiction. The union sought reconsideration, arguing that the order had been mailed to its old address, took twenty days to be forwarded, and reached its…
Wilhelmsen Ships Services
In re Wilhelmsen Ships Services (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 17-01C): consent agreement ratified
Wilhelmsen Ships Services resolved a Toxic Substances Control Act enforcement matter through a Consent Agreement with EPA. 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 the respondent to comply with…
Secretary of Labor v. Keith Miller employed by Oak Grove Resources and Chase Guin, formerly employed by Oak Grove Resources and William Edwards, employed by Oak Grove Resources
Secretary of Labor v. Keith Miller, Chase Guin, and William Edwards (FMSHRC SE 2017-92): Discovery allowed into four-year penalty delay
MSHA sought personal civil penalties against three Oak Grove Resources shift foremen almost four years after issuing accumulation and preshift-examination enforcement actions under 30 C.F.R. §§ 75.400 and 75.360(a)(1). The respondents sought testimony and tracking records from MSHA's investigation…
Secretary of Labor v. Rex Coal Company, Inc.
$228 rib-control settlement approved
MSHA cited Rex Coal for loose ribs under 30 C.F.R. § 75.202(a) and originally proposed a $285 penalty. The parties explained that the foreman had completed the required preshift examination without observing warning signs, the inspector could not determine how long the isolated condition existed…
J.O. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, San Juan, PR
Extremity schedule award returned for explanation
J.O., a federal correctional officer, sought a larger schedule award for arm and leg impairment from accepted injuries. After an earlier Board remand, OWCP obtained a new medical adviser report, but the adviser changed his ratings without explaining the change or addressing the motor deficit issue…
S.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Memphis, TN
Wage loss termination and late hearing refusal upheld
S.G., a VA employee with an accepted injury, challenged termination of wage loss compensation and the denial of her later hearing request. The Board found that an examining physician gave a supported opinion that the accepted injury no longer disabled her from work, and she had no persuasive…
D.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Dallas, TX
Asbestos related lung cancer claim denied
D.M., a retired postal general clerk, claimed that asbestos exposure at work caused her lung cancer. OWCP accepted the alleged workplace factors, and medical records diagnosed lung adenocarcinoma. The Board found that the medical evidence did not identify workplace asbestos exposure as a cause or…
C.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hartford, CT
Fall injury and reconsideration denials upheld
C.C., a postal clerk, reported shoulder and knee injuries after tripping on a plastic strap at work. OWCP accepted the fall but denied her claim because the medical reports did not adequately explain how it caused the claimed conditions. The Board agreed that the causation evidence was…
E.V. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Washington, DC
Training incident back injury claim denied
E.V., a customs and border patrol officer, reported back pain after striking a training bag with his baton. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred and that he had diagnosed back conditions. The Board found that one physician did not address causation, while another asserted a connection without…
O.V. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Newark, NJ
Wage capacity reduction and benefit suspension upheld
O.V., a TSA employee receiving wage loss compensation, challenged two OWCP decisions. The Board upheld a reduction based on her ability to earn wages in a customer complaint clerk job after reviewing its suitability and the wage capacity analysis. It also upheld suspension of benefits when she did…
G.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Boston, MA
Right arm impairment rating returned
G.G., a postal employee with accepted right shoulder conditions, sought a schedule award beyond the seven percent right arm impairment already recognized. An impartial examiner had rated the impairment using one diagnosis. The Board found a broader problem: OWCP had applied the diagnostic based and…
Secretary of Labor v. Newtown Energy, Inc.
$7,578 electrical lockout citation affirmed on remand
A Newtown Energy mine superintendent repaired a shuttle-car power cable with an exposed conductor while the cable connector's lock still held its key, violating the lockout and tagout requirement in 30 C.F.R. § 75.511. The Commission had already held that the violation was S&S, involved high…
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…
Secretary of Labor v. Arnold Stone, Inc.
Unwarrantable failure restored; $10,000 penalty stands
Arnold Stone used a skid loader for about 18 months with a known malfunction in its seatbelt lockout system, allowing the machine to move while the belt was unbuckled and creating a risk that the operator or a nearby miner could be seriously injured. The judge affirmed an S&S violation of 30 C.F.R…
A.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Network Distribution Center, Jersey City, NJ
Full testicle loss award ordered
A.A., a postal employee, underwent removal of his right testicle because of an accepted work condition. OWCP had awarded compensation for seven percent impairment, or 3.64 weeks. The Board held that complete removal entitled him to the full 52 week schedule award for that organ, regardless of the…
E.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Bulk Mail Center, Memphis, TN
Late hearing request denial upheld
E.E., a postal employee, requested an oral hearing months after OWCP’s September 12, 2016 termination decision. The Board had no jurisdiction over the underlying claim in this appeal. It found that her March 2017 hearing request missed the 30 day deadline. OWCP also considered the late request…
C.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Northport, NY
Additional conditions and wage loss denied
C.H., a VA nursing assistant, sought to add several spine and other conditions to an accepted neck sprain claim. She also sought wage loss compensation beginning December 13, 2015. The Board found no reasoned medical opinion connecting the additional diagnoses to the work injury. The disability…
C.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Spring Hill, FL
Later disability claim denied
C.W., a postal employee with accepted neck and shoulder sprains and earlier accepted conditions, claimed disability beginning July 28, 2015. Her physician attributed broad degenerative and other conditions to the work activity but did not explain how seated paperwork tasks caused or aggravated…
C.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Merchandise Mart Post Office, Chicago, IL
Suitable work refusal ended wage loss benefits
C.H., a postal employee with accepted back conditions, received wage loss compensation after surgery. The Postal Service offered a modified sales and distribution job, which OWCP found compatible with restrictions set by an impartial medical examiner. The Board found that OWCP had properly…
T.V. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration, Indianapolis, IN
Emotional condition claim denial upheld
T.V., a VA employee, attributed an aggravation of mental health conditions to a hostile work environment and management decisions. The Board found that disputes over leave and telework were administrative matters and the record did not show error or abuse in handling them. The evidence also did not…
C.R. and Department of the Army, Fort Detrick, MD
Hearing loss claim returned for full noise review
C.R., an Army laboratory employee, claimed hearing loss from workplace noise. A second opinion physician linked some of his hearing loss to federal work, while an OWCP medical adviser rejected that connection. The Board found that the adviser had not accounted for all periods and levels of…
J.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Houston, TX
Overpayment decision returned after undelivered notice
J.B., a VA employee, challenged a $1,454.34 overpayment finding and related recovery issues. OWCP mailed the preliminary overpayment notice, but the postal service returned it as undeliverable before OWCP issued a final determination. The Board held that the returned notice rebutted the usual…
L.L. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Camp Springs, MD
Shoulder medical recurrence claim denied
L.L., an FAA employee, sought renewed treatment for left shoulder conditions after an accepted rotator cuff sprain. His physician described a partial tear and other conditions and explained how a later, nonwork lifting incident worsened symptoms. The Board found that the report did not explain how…
A.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Grosse Pointe, MI
Recurrence disability claim denied
A.C., a postal employee, claimed renewed disability after returning to work following an accepted dog attack and fall. One physician released her to full duty, while another said she could not work later the same day without explaining why or identifying objective findings. Other reports listed…
A.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Atlanta, GA
Closed period disability claim denied
A.S., a postal mail handler with accepted shoulder and back conditions, sought total disability compensation from December 21, 2015 through February 19, 2016. The Postal Service had withdrawn a modified position used in an earlier wage capacity determination. The Board found that the medical…
T.S. and Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Albuquerque, NM
Emotional condition claim denial upheld
T.S., a Forest Service administrative clerk, attributed stress to a difficult transition to a new financial system that slowed her bank deposit work. The Board acknowledged the system problems but found that the employer had provided training, communication, and assistance during the change. It…
H.H. and Department of the Navy, Naval Surface War Center, Port Hueneme, CA
Later wage loss and reconsideration claims denied
H.H., a Navy employee with accepted cervical and shoulder conditions, sought wage loss compensation after retiring. Before retirement, she had performed her regular duties without restrictions. The Board found no persuasive medical evidence that the accepted conditions prevented her from working…
M.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bel Air, MD
Late reconsideration request rejected
M.C., a postal employee, requested reconsideration of a traumatic injury denial more than one year after OWCP’s merit decision. The Board found that the request was received after the deadline. It also found that her new arguments and records did not show clear evidence of error in the earlier…
T.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, East Hampton, NY
Reconsideration refusal upheld
T.B., a postal employee, sought reconsideration of a denial based on the late filing of his emotional condition claim. He repeated arguments about when he learned of the condition and when his employer knew of it. The Board found those arguments had already been considered; a repeated article and a…
H.D. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Houston, TX
Shoulder treatment recurrence denied
H.D., a federal immigration employee, sought renewed medical treatment for a right shoulder condition linked to a 1998 work injury. OWCP had accepted a right shoulder strain, but a later MRI showed a tendon tear without identifying its cause. The Board found no medical opinion connecting that…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hartford, CT
Knee injury reconsideration refusal upheld
J.M., a postal employee, asked OWCP to reconsider its denial of a left knee injury claim. His physician’s addendum again said that a fall at work caused a new knee injury, but repeated the opinion already in the record. The Board found no new legal argument or relevant new evidence requiring merit…
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Phoenix, AZ
Reconsideration refusal upheld
J.B., a postal employee, sought reconsideration of a denied injury claim after stepping into a hole at work. Her new physician report described the same causal theory that OWCP had already reviewed in an earlier report. The Board found that substantially repetitive evidence did not meet the…
K.G. and Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Wellington, FL
Overpayment finding returned for new notice
K.G., a Census Bureau employee, challenged an overpayment arising from concurrent compensation and Social Security benefits. After an earlier Board remand concerning the amount, OWCP issued another final overpayment decision without sending a new preliminary determination. The Board found that this…
S.F. and Department of Labor, Mine Safety & Health Administration, Barbourville, KY
Occupational disease and hearing denials upheld
S.F., a federal mine safety inspector, claimed that his duties caused several back, shoulder, neck, hand, and knee conditions. The Board found that medical records listed conditions and test findings without a reasoned opinion connecting them to the accepted work duties. His later hearing request…
I.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Middle Village, NY
Mail cart injury claim denied
I.L., a postal employee, attributed right elbow and shoulder conditions to pushing a mail cart and delivering mail. One physician checked a causation box without explaining how the work caused the diagnosed condition. Other reports either lacked causation reasoning or had an unidentified signature…
A.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Mid-Island Postal & Distribution Center, Melville, NY
Shoulder injury claim denied
A.B., a postal employee, reported a left shoulder injury after reaching to clear a jammed machine. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the injury claim. The Board found that her physicians listed shoulder and neck diagnoses without explaining how the reaching motion caused or…
Secretary of Labor obo Rickey Simmons v. B & N Coal, Inc.
Truck-safety complainant temporarily reinstated
Rickey Simmons alleged that B & N Coal discharged him after he refused to operate a rock truck whose CB radio and rearview camera were not working and which he believed was unsafe. The company asserted that the truck was safe and that Simmons was fired for threatening his foreman, but it waived a…
Matter of Juan DELGADO
California robbery is categorically aggravated-felony theft
The Board reviewed a Mexican lawful permanent resident's appeal from a removal order based on five California robbery convictions. It held that California robbery under Penal Code section 211 is categorically an aggravated-felony theft offense because its asportation element narrows the offense to…
G.N. and Department of the Air Force, Air Force National Guard, Phoenix, AZ
Four percent hearing award upheld
G.N., a retired Air Force National Guard automotive mechanic supervisor, sought a larger award for accepted noise related hearing loss. OWCP’s medical adviser used the prescribed audiogram calculation and found four percent binaural impairment. The Board found that the OWCP-referred…
T.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Morgan Processing & Distribution Center, New York, NY
Neck injury claim denial upheld
T.H., a postal employee, reported neck pain after opening mail bags at work. OWCP accepted the incident but denied the injury claim. The Board found that chiropractic reports did not identify x-ray supported spinal subluxation and that another physician did not explain how opening bags caused or…
R.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Alhambra, CA
Two reconsideration refusals upheld
R.C., a postal employee, sought reconsideration of a denied back and hip occupational disease claim twice. The underlying claim required medical evidence linking his conditions to his work duties. The Board found that the physicians’ later reports repeated causal opinions OWCP had already…
S.T. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Paradise Steam Plant, Drakesboro, KY
Pulmonary claim returned to impartial examiner
S.T., a former Tennessee Valley Authority plant employee, claimed a work related pulmonary condition. An impartial medical examiner requested further imaging but did not resolve whether work caused or aggravated the condition. OWCP instead relied on another referral physician’s reading to deny the…
R.B. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Glynco, GA
Training injury claim returned for clear decision
R.B., a federal agent trainee, reported back pain during required physical training and later weight lifting. OWCP first denied that the incident occurred, then issued a later decision that seemed to use a different basis without clearly stating its findings. The Board could not tell which part of…
T.G. and Department of Defense, Defense Information Systems Agency, Scott Air Force Base, IL
Stress claim returned for findings on all allegations
T.G., a Defense Information Systems Agency employee, claimed emotional and physical conditions from workplace events over several years. OWCP denied the claim after discussing only a portion of the incidents in her lengthy statement. The Board found that OWCP had not addressed substantial earlier…
J.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Baldwin, NY
Shoulder surgery refusal and suitable work termination upheld
J.P., a postal employee with an accepted left shoulder injury, sought authorization for another shoulder operation and challenged termination of compensation after refusing a modified job. The Board found that OWCP reasonably relied on a medical opinion against the requested surgery; the treating…
Secretary of Labor v. Coeur Rochester, Inc.
Misplaced assessment page excused
Coeur Rochester intended to contest two citations but missed the deadline after its safety coordinator resigned and the safety manager who assumed the coordinator's duties misplaced one page of the proposed assessment. The company paid the citation shown on the remaining page, discovered the…
Secretary of Labor v. Oak Grove Resources, LLC
Unforwarded contest forms excused
Oak Grove's safety manager reviewed a proposed assessment but forgot to send his contest recommendations and notice-of-contest forms to company counsel before the deadline. The company timely paid the citations it did not intend to contest, discovered the filing error quickly, and promptly moved to…
Secretary of Labor obo Larry Groves v. Con-Ag, Inc.
Safety-complaint discharge found discriminatory
Larry Groves reported several mine-safety concerns to MSHA, including highwall material, work inside an energized crusher, and a mixer truck with faulty brakes, and he met with an MSHA investigator five days before Con-Ag discharged him. Con-Ag said it fired Groves because of threatening remarks…
J.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Houston, TX
Hearing abandonment finding set aside
J.H., a postal employee, requested a telephone hearing, then sent OWCP a letter asking to cancel it and use written record review instead. OWCP received the letter before the hearing but found she had abandoned it when she did not call in. The Board held that she had not abandoned her request. Her…
Secretary of Labor v. Bam Heavy Equipment & Repair
Misissued contractor citation reopened
BAM Heavy Equipment & Repair said it did not receive notice of a citation until months after the proposed assessment became final. The citation concerned a BAM employee's new-miner training, but it was initially served only on the mine owner and later corrected because it had been issued to the…
Roland L. Griffith v. Terry Eagle Coal Company, LLC
Roland Griffith v. Terry Eagle Coal (BRB 16-0587): benefits award vacated for incorrect rebuttal standard
Roland Griffith received a black lung benefits award after an administrative law judge found 28 years of underground coal mine work and total respiratory disability. Terry Eagle Coal and its carrier appealed the judge's analysis of whether they had rebutted the resulting presumption of…
N.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Worcester, MA
Timely reconsideration request returned for review
N.L., a postal employee, requested reconsideration exactly one year after OWCP’s last merit decision. OWCP treated the request as late and applied the stricter clear error standard. The Board found it was timely under the one year filing rule. It set aside the refusal and directed OWCP to apply the…
D.L. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Washington, DC
Reconsideration refusal returned for explanation
D.L., a federal agent, sought reconsideration of a denied claim that workplace dust exposure caused chronic lymphocytic leukemia. OWCP called his later request untimely and rejected it without discussing a physician report submitted with the request. The Board set aside the refusal because OWCP had…
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.