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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Secretary of Labor v. Rogers Group, Inc.
Five-year delay defeats renewed reopening request
Rogers Group's 2009 penalty assessment became final after it failed to contest within 30 days, and the Commission denied its first reopening request without prejudice in January 2010 because the explanation was insufficient. The operator did not renew the request until 2015, attributing the delay…
Secretary of Labor v. Kentucky Fuel Corporation
Timely response defeated default
Kentucky Fuel did not answer the Secretary's penalty petition, and a show-cause order was later deemed a default order when no response appeared under the correct docket number. The operator showed that it had responded before the deadline but mistakenly labeled its letter “WEVA 2013-1050” instead…
Matter of N-A-I-
Adjustment to permanent resident status ends asylee status
The Board reviewed a respondent's appeal after the Fifth Circuit remanded the case for further consideration. The respondent, a native and citizen of Pakistan, had been granted asylum, later adjusted status under section 209(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to that of a lawful permanent…
Laidler v. Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company
Laidler v. Grand Trunk Western Railroad (DOL ARB 2015-0087): Safety refusal claim remanded
Wayne Laidler refused to inspect an oncoming train from the ground because he considered the terrain unsafe. A judge found that Grand Trunk Western Railroad unlawfully fired him and awarded relief under the Federal Rail Safety Act. The Board agreed that refusing the ground inspection was a…
S.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Chicago, IL
S.H. (ECAB 17-1101): New disability opinion requires merits review
S.H., a postal mail handler with an accepted shoulder condition, sought wage-loss compensation beginning February 11, 2015. OWCP denied a claimed recurrence and later refused to reopen the claim. On reconsideration, she submitted a new report from Dr. Mass addressing whether her shoulder condition…
C.H., widow of W.H., and Department of the Navy, Alameda Naval Air Station, Alameda, CA
C.H. (ECAB 17-0729): Survivor benefits denied for lack of medical causation
C.H. sought survivor benefits after her husband’s 2012 death. She argued that cervical spinal cord compression listed on his death certificate related to his accepted work conditions. The certificate did not explain that connection. An OWCP medical adviser and the autopsy instead linked the…
M.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Warren, MI
M.G. (ECAB 17-0708): Refusal to reopen terminated-benefits claim upheld
M.G., a postal carrier, requested reconsideration after OWCP terminated compensation and medical benefits for her back condition. Her objections to the medical evidence repeated arguments already considered. A mistaken reference to a schedule award in the earlier decision was harmless, and the…
S.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Baltimore, MD
S.G. (ECAB 17-0245): Late reconsideration of continuation-of-pay denial rejected
S.G., a VA nurse, sought reconsideration of a September 2014 denial of continuation of pay after a left knee injury. OWCP received his request in June 2016, beyond the one-year deadline. An email from the nurse manager said he had notified her of the incident, but his injury claim had still been…
D.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Michigan Metroplex Processing & Delivery Center, Pontiac, MI
D.B. (ECAB 17-0214): Recurrence and added disc condition denied
D.B., a postal processing clerk, sought compensation for total disability beginning November 7, 2014 after an accepted shoulder and neck injury. His physicians did not supply a reasoned explanation of why his accepted conditions prevented his limited-duty work on that date. He also sought to add a…
M.D. and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Arlington, VA
M.D. (ECAB 17-0086): Parking garage fall accepted, injury claim denied
M.D., an FDIC financial analyst, reported tripping in a parking garage leased with his office building. The Board found that the employer controlled assigned spaces, making the garage part of its premises, and accepted that the fall occurred as reported. The medical evidence did not adequately…
R.C. and Department of the Air Force, National Guard Bureau, Mansfield, OH
R.C. (ECAB 17-0058): Social Security offset returned for reliable figures
R.C. received FECA wage-loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits. OWCP assessed a $3,868.45 overpayment based on a federal retirement offset. The Social Security Administration had supplied three conflicting sets of benefit rates, and OWCP did not explain why it used the last set…
Secretary of Labor obo Stacey Wayne Puckett v. Panther Creek Mining, LLC
Economic reinstatement replaces temporary reemployment
A July 12, 2017 order had temporarily reinstated fireboss Stacey Wayne Puckett while the Secretary investigated his discrimination complaint against Panther Creek Mining. The parties later agreed to economic reinstatement instead of immediate reemployment, with full pay and benefits effective from…
Secretary of Labor v. Morris Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Unbermed lake roadways draw $2,000 penalty
Morris Sand & Gravel operated dredging lakes at a small sand-and-gravel mine and used mobile equipment on roadways around its south lake. MSHA found no berms or guardrails on three sides of the lake, with equipment tracks as close as two feet from a three-to-four-foot drop into the water. Judge…
L.K. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Minneapolis, MN
L.K. (ECAB 17-0830): Carpal tunnel claim not reopened
L.K., a VA medical support assistant, sought reconsideration of a denied carpal tunnel claim tied to chart preparation. She referred to new medical reports and testing in her request, but OWCP did not receive those materials. Her request also supplied no new relevant legal argument. The Board…
B.R. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Bull Run Fossil Plant, Clinton, TN
B.R. (ECAB 17-0635): Wage-earning capacity challenge returned for review
B.R. challenged an earlier finding that he could earn wages as a receptionist. He filed a 2016 form requesting a hearing and argued that the constructed position exceeded his work restrictions. OWCP treated the form only as a late hearing request. The Board found that the substance of his filing…
P.B. and Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Stations, Logistics Base, Barstow, CA
P.B. (ECAB 17-0395): Arm impairment claim returned for uniform rating
P.B. sought more than seven percent left arm impairment and an award for right arm impairment. The Board found that OWCP had applied competing diagnosis and range-of-motion methods inconsistently when rating upper extremities. It set aside the decision so OWCP could use a uniform method and issue a…
P.R. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, San Francisco, CA
P.R. (ECAB 17-0201): Schedule award claim remains closed after reconsideration request
P.R. sought reconsideration of a denied schedule award for accepted hand, wrist, and neck conditions. His counsel repeated arguments about an impairment report already reviewed, and the new reports did not address ratable impairment from accepted conditions. The Board treated the submission as a…
K.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Riverdale, GA
K.J. (ECAB 17-0050): Emotional-condition recurrence denial upheld
K.J., a former postal carrier, sought compensation for a recurrence of disability beginning November 5, 2015 based on accepted depression and anxiety. Her physician did not adequately explain how those conditions caused the new disability. His reports also misstated the accepted work factors and…
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Southfield, MI
D.C. (ECAB 16-1630): Right arm impairment rating returned for uniform method
D.C. sought more than the five percent right arm impairment previously awarded. The Board found that OWCP physicians were applying competing diagnosis and range-of-motion rating methods inconsistently in upper extremity cases. It set aside the award decision and directed OWCP to apply a uniform…
G.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Boston, MA
G.W. (ECAB 16-0525): Bilateral leg impairment awards upheld
G.W., a postal employee, sought greater schedule awards for both legs. OWCP rated 23 percent permanent impairment of the left lower extremity and 8 percent of the right. The Board found that OWCP’s medical adviser had corrected errors in another doctor’s use of the A.M.A. Guides, including the…
Secretary of Labor v. Larry Anderson, formerly employed by AK Coal Resources, Inc.
Discovery appeal and requested stay denied
In a Mine Act section 110(c) individual-liability case, Larry Anderson noticed depositions of a Labor Department attorney and an unnamed MSHA official. After the judge partly denied the Secretary's requests for protective orders, the Secretary sought interlocutory Commission review and a suspension…
S.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Rochester, NH
S.W. (ECAB 17-0811): Wrist claim and written-record review denials upheld
S.W., a letter carrier, claimed that casing and delivering mail caused right wrist tendinitis. Her physician checked a causation box but supplied no explanation of how the work caused the condition. The Board affirmed the claim denial. Her written-record review request was postmarked one day after…
S.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tomball, TX
S.S. (ECAB 17-0755): Postal carrier’s back condition claim denied
S.S., a letter carrier, attributed her lumbar disc conditions to repetitive bending, twisting, walking, and lifting. The Board accepted that those duties were part of her work. Her physician concluded that they caused or aggravated her condition but did not explain the medical mechanism. The Board…
P.J. and Department of Homeland Security, Air Marshal Service, Brooklyn Heights, OH
P.J. (ECAB 17-0722): Shoulder injury denial upheld
P.J. reported shoulder pain while performing pull-ups during a 2008 fitness examination. OWCP accepted the incident, but the physicians did not provide a reasoned explanation linking it to the diagnosed shoulder conditions, particularly those diagnosed years later. The Board affirmed denial of the…
J.T. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Air Marshal Service, Chicago Field Office, Chicago, IL
J.T. (ECAB 17-0686): Eye impairment award returned after arithmetic error
J.T. received a six percent visual impairment award after an accepted injury. The physician’s visual acuity calculation added 110, 70, and 330 as 470, though their sum is 510; OWCP’s medical adviser adopted the error. The Board set aside the award decisions and required a reasoned new assessment…
S.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Newberg, OR
S.J. (ECAB 17-0543): Termination of compensation reversed
S.J., a rural carrier, received benefits for accepted injuries from a 2012 incident. OWCP terminated them based on a referee examiner’s report. The examiner had declined to clear her to drive without further evaluation and said he did not know the full duties of a rural carrier. The Board found…
D.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Jesse Brown Medical Center, Chicago, IL
D.M. (ECAB 16-1517): Increased-typing injury claim denied
D.M. claimed that increased typing after removal of voice recognition software caused or aggravated carpal tunnel and other neck and arm conditions. Her physicians described the work factor and diagnosed conditions but did not adequately explain the medical process connecting them. One opinion was…
J.H. and Department of the Navy, Naval Medical Command, Portsmouth, VA
J.H. (ECAB 16-1390): Retirement offset overpayment affirmed
J.H. received FECA benefits and Social Security retirement benefits attributable in part to federal service. The Board upheld OWCP’s $5,643.15 overpayment calculation for April 2010 through May 2015. Although OWCP found her without fault, she did not submit the requested financial information…
Daniel B. Lowe and Matthew A. Varady v. Jerritt Canyon Gold, LLC, et al.
Interference complaint dismissed after bankruptcy asset sale
Daniel Lowe and Matthew Varady alleged that Jerritt Canyon Gold, related entities, and several attorneys interfered with their Mine Act rights by seeking to enforce a bankruptcy court order and warning them to dismiss related Commission cases. Judge Richard W. Manning dismissed the complaint…
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Twentymile Mining, LLC
Split Commission leaves ventilation-stopping citation in place
Peabody Twentymile Mining used non-strength-enhancing polyurethane foam to seal the perimeter of a dry-stacked concrete block ventilation stopping at its Foidel Creek Mine. MSHA cited the company under 30 C.F.R. § 75.333(e)(1)(i), and the judge affirmed the violation and assessed the proposed $162…
Secretary of Labor v. Jermyn Supply Co., LLC
Quarry screening operation falls under MSHA jurisdiction
Jermyn Supply used two portable screening plants at its Mayfield Quarry to separate excavated material into differently sized stockpiles. The company argued that the site was only a borrow pit, that its work was intermittent and minimal, and that OSHA rather than MSHA had jurisdiction. Judge John…
Crystal L. Billman and Bryant C. Cole; Wardell Orthopaedics, P.C. v. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Incorporated
Billman and Cole v. Huntington Ingalls (BRB 16-0537): medical provider may recover legal fees
Wardell Orthopaedics treated two Huntington Ingalls workers and disputed the employer's partial payments for their care. The district director calculated additional amounts owed, which the employer paid after the cases reached an administrative law judge. The judge ruled that the provider could not…
Dollar Tree Stores, Inc., #2828
Late contest dismissed and $152,100 penalty affirmed
OSHA inspected Dollar Tree store #2828 in Billings, Montana, and sent the resulting citation to the company's corporate office by certified mail. The corporate mailroom received it on March 3, 2017, making March 24 the deadline to contest, but the citation was not routed to the correct person…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1547 (Union) and United States Department of the Air Force, 56 FSS/FSMC, Luke Air Force Base, Arizona (Agency)
AFGE Local 1547 and Luke Air Force Base (FLRA 0-NG-3332): Chief-negotiator provision rejected
AFGE Local 1547 and Luke Air Force Base negotiated ground rules for bargaining a labor agreement. One provision required the agency to identify a chief negotiator who would serve as its highest-ranking bargaining-team member and spokesperson. The Authority held that the provision dictated the…
Darrell L. Boyd v. Island Creek Coal Company
Darrell Boyd v. Island Creek Coal (BRB 16-0524): benefits award vacated for evidentiary errors
Darrell Boyd won black lung benefits before an administrative law judge after the judge applied the presumption for miners with qualifying work and total respiratory disability. Island Creek Coal appealed the judge's admission of a late supplemental medical report from a government examiner and the…
Secretary of Labor v. Alex Energy, Inc., et al.
$803,156 global settlement approved
The Secretary and multiple Alpha Natural Resources subsidiaries presented a global settlement covering 97 civil penalty proceedings, six related contest proceedings, and 523 citations and orders. The proposed penalties totaled $1,606,312. The parties agreed to reduce that amount to $803,156 while…
Daniel B. Lowe and Matthew A. Varady v. Jerritt Canyon Gold, LLC, et al.
Original interference dismissal later corrected
Daniel Lowe and Matthew Varady alleged that Jerritt Canyon Gold, related entities, and several attorneys interfered with their Mine Act rights by seeking to enforce a bankruptcy court order and warning them to dismiss related Commission cases. Judge Richard W. Manning dismissed the complaint…
M.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Montgomery, AL
M.W. (ECAB 17-0369): Disability claims for specified dates denied
M.W., a VA correspondence clerk with accepted sinusitis, rhinitis, and asthma, sought compensation for two days in March and a week in May 2016. The reports she submitted did not provide a qualifying physician’s opinion addressing disability on those dates from the accepted conditions. Some reports…
E.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office
E.W. (ECAB 17-0333): Right leg schedule award denial upheld
E.W. sought a right leg schedule award for an accepted sciatic nerve aggravation. An impartial medical examiner had found no ratable impairment from the accepted injury. A later report from E.W.’s physician revised an older rating without a current physical examination. The Board found that report…
C.S. and Federal Aviation Administration, Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, Charlotte, NC
C.S. (ECAB 17-0257): Higher trainee pay rate denied
C.S., an air traffic controller trainee, argued that compensation should reflect the higher pay he expected after certification. At the time of injury he had completed about half the training. Advancement depended on substantial additional hours and demonstrated performance, with no set completion…
P.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Edison, NJ
P.S. (ECAB 17-0194): Knee claim denied for unproved work factors
P.S. claimed that extensive walking and several trips, near falls, and knee impacts at work worsened her right knee. Her supervisor did not corroborate the claimed incidents or the amount of walking, and the record lacked supporting witness or workplace evidence. The Board found that she had not…
T.R. and Department of the Air Force, Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Robins Air Force Base, GA
T.R. (ECAB 17-0047): Lung schedule award denial upheld
T.R. had an accepted temporary aggravation of asthma from workplace chemical exposure and sought a permanent lung impairment award. His physician used an outdated edition of the A.M.A. Guides and did not substantiate a higher rating under the applicable edition. Referral testing placed lung…
J.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Long Beach, CA
J.G. (ECAB 16-1290): Disability and reopening denials upheld
J.G., a postal worker with accepted leg and knee injuries, sought wage-loss compensation for June through September 2015. His doctors released him to sedentary work, and he did not establish that the Postal Service failed to offer suitable work. A later physician report did not independently verify…
William Trahant, Jr. Construction, Inc.
Roofing violations affirmed, including willful fall protection
William Trahant, Jr. Construction performed residential roofing work where employees lacked hard hats, used inadequate fall-arrest anchorages, and had access to a defective ladder. Employees also worked at least 20 feet above the ground without being tied off, and one worker had no harness or…
Secretary of Labor v. Rain-For-Rent
Air-tank and gasoline-can citations affirmed with lower negligence
Rain-For-Rent used a mine-service truck carrying a compressed-air receiver tank and two fuel cans at a sand and gravel operation. Judge Richard W. Manning held that the tank violated 30 C.F.R. § 56.13015 because the company could not show an inspection by a National Board-commissioned inspector…
Florence Copper, Inc.
In re Florence Copper, Inc. (EAB UIC Appeal No. 17-02): petition dismissed with prejudice
The Gila River Indian Community asked the Environmental Appeals Board to dismiss its appeal concerning Florence Copper's UIC permit. The Community reported that it had reached a settlement with Florence Copper and no longer sought relief from the Board. EPA Region 9 did not oppose the motion. The…
V.U. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Eckert, CO
V.U. (ECAB 17-0860): Repetitive-duty medical condition claim denied
V.U., a rural carrier associate, linked neck, arm, knee, and other conditions to repetitive mail duties. Some submitted reports came from physician assistants or physical therapists, who could not provide qualifying causation opinions under FECA. Physicians diagnosed conditions but did not explain…
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Townsend Carrier Annex, San Francisco, CA
M.S. (ECAB 17-0856): Shoulder occupational disease claim denied
M.S. attributed a shoulder condition to repetitive reaching and lifting while handling mail. OWCP accepted those work duties. Her physician’s opinions did not adequately account for prior shoulder injuries or explain how the duties caused or aggravated the diagnosed conditions. The Board found the…
T.G. and Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Billings, MT
T.G. (ECAB 17-0632): Back condition claim denied for lack of causal opinion
T.G. reported back pain while putting packing paper in a trash can at work in August 2016. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred. The medical reports diagnosed lumbar conditions but did not explain how the incident caused or aggravated them, especially given his preexisting degenerative disease…
E.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Monterey Park, CA
E.R. (ECAB 17-0540): Refusal to reopen expanded-condition claim upheld
E.R. sought to add knee, hip, and back conditions to an accepted injury claim. His new physician reports repeated an earlier altered-gait theory, while a physical therapist’s note could not supply qualifying physician evidence under FECA. The Board found no new relevant evidence or legal argument…
D.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chicago, IL
D.G. (ECAB 17-0506): Right arm schedule award denied
D.G. sought an award for right arm impairment from accepted cubital tunnel and brachial neuritis conditions. His physician said he had reached maximum medical improvement and described limited arm extension. The report did not provide the examination findings or an impairment percentage needed to…
D.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
D.M. (ECAB 17-0335): Left arm award returned for consistent rating
D.M. sought more than two percent impairment of his left arm from accepted wrist sprain and cubital tunnel syndrome. His physician and OWCP’s medical adviser disagreed about impairment modifiers, creating a medical conflict. The Board also found that upper extremity rating methods had been applied…
K.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Big Bear Lake, CA
K.C. (ECAB 16-1181): Back injury claim denied after package incident
K.C., a rural carrier, reported back pain after a package shifted while she unloaded it in July 2014. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred. Her physicians’ reports did not provide a sufficiently reasoned, non-speculative explanation linking a diagnosed back or hip condition to it. The Board…
Secretary of Labor v. The American Coal Company
Review granted on five of six questions
The American Coal Company asked the Commission to review an administrative law judge's ruling. The Commission granted review on the first five questions presented in the company's petition. It denied review of the sixth question, which challenged the legal standard used to assess the penalty for…
J.M. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Cherokee, NC
J.M. (ECAB 17-0874): Bite injury and reopening denials upheld
J.M., a park ranger, was bitten on the right arm while helping restrain a patient. OWCP accepted the incident but received no physician evidence establishing a diagnosed injury from it. On reconsideration, J.M. supplied nurse practitioner records and a treatment authorization but no qualifying new…
D.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Chillicothe, OH
D.G. (ECAB 17-0531): Piriformis syndrome claim not reopened
D.G. sought to add piriformis syndrome to a previously accepted injury claim. Several physician reports repeated material OWCP had already considered, while other records discussed hip symptoms or treatment without addressing whether the work injury caused the claimed syndrome. Physical therapy…
W.L. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Altoona, PA
W.L. (ECAB 17-0338): Suitable-work abandonment termination upheld
W.L. worked as a modified-duty security clerk after an accepted injury, then resigned to return to school. The position fit his treating physician’s work restrictions, and he offered no medical reason he could not perform it. The Board held that returning to school did not justify abandoning…
S.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
S.W. (ECAB 17-0240): Recurrence of disability denied
S.W. sought compensation after her light-duty postal work ended in March 2015. OWCP had accepted back and lower-leg contusions from a 2009 injury. Her physicians did not explain a work-related change in those accepted conditions that made her unable to perform the light-duty job. The record also…
T.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Buffalo, NY
T.H. (ECAB 17-0091): Foot neuropathy claim denied
T.H., a postal carrier, linked peripheral neuropathy in both feet to long periods of walking and standing. OWCP accepted the work duties and the diagnosis. His physician later clarified that work worsened the pain symptoms but did not cause or aggravate the underlying neuropathy condition. The…
D.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Patrol, San Diego, CA
D.M. (ECAB 16-1527): Wage-earning capacity calculation returned
D.M. worked in a modified technician position after an accepted injury. The Board agreed that the position represented his wage-earning capacity and that later grade increases did not change the date-of-injury earnings comparison. OWCP used a recurrence pay rate for the next calculation step…
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.