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.
No decisions match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
L.H. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Grand Teton National Park, Moose, WY
L.H. (ECAB 17-0552): Wage-loss benefit termination upheld
L.H., a National Park Service laborer, had an accepted right ankle sprain after slipping at work. OWCP later terminated wage-loss compensation based on a physician’s reasoned evaluation of the accepted condition and work ability. The Board found that report sufficient to support termination and…
F.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Sandston, VA
F.W. (ECAB 17-0436): Finger injury denial reversed
F.W., a postal groundskeeper, cut his right little finger on a metal door plate at work and received sutures. The Board found that contemporaneous treatment notes adequately connected the documented laceration to the accepted incident. It reversed the injury denial and returned the question of…
C.M., II and U.S. Department of Labor, Wage & Hour Division, Falls Church, VA
C.M., II (ECAB 17-0027): Emotional condition claim denied
C.M., a Labor Department compliance specialist, attributed anxiety and depression to alleged supervisory harassment and discrimination. The Board found that his account was not sufficiently corroborated to establish a compensable employment factor. Because that threshold was unmet, it did not…
C.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Duluth, GA
C.C. (ECAB 17-0016): Wage capacity reduction recalculated
C.C., a postal worker with accepted work-related aggravation of bilateral tarsal tunnel syndrome, had benefits reduced based on her ability to earn wages as a receptionist. The Board found that OWCP could use that constructed position but had to calculate the reduction using a weekly rate of…
A.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Louis, MO
A.M. (ECAB 16-1552): Shoulder injury claim denied
A.M., a postal custodian, reported injuring his left shoulder while moving furniture at work. The Board accepted the August 23, 2015 work incident but found that the medical evidence did not sufficiently explain how it caused the diagnosed shoulder condition. It upheld the injury claim denial.
M.H. and Department of the Air Force, Lackland Air Force Base, TX
M.H. (ECAB 17-0766): Compensation overpayment recovery upheld
M.H., an Air Force employee, received compensation at an incorrect pay rate from June 20, 2015 through September 17, 2016. The Board upheld OWCP’s $2,684.39 overpayment calculation and its refusal to waive recovery. It also upheld deductions of $81.82 every 28 days from continuing compensation…
C.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Duluth, GA
C.B. (ECAB 17-0726): Foot and ankle occupational disease claim denied
C.B., a postal mail handler, attributed bilateral foot and ankle symptoms to her work duties. The Board accepted the work factors but found that the medical evidence did not adequately explain how those factors caused the claimed conditions. It upheld the occupational disease denial.
P.E. and Department of the Navy, North Island Naval Air Station, San Diego, CA
P.E. (ECAB 17-0408): Hand disease and reconsideration claims denied
P.E., a Navy financial technician supervisor, attributed carpal tunnel syndrome and trigger fingers to repetitive work. The Board found that the medical record did not establish causal relationship between her duties and the claimed conditions. It also found that her reconsideration submission did…
N.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, City of Industry, CA
N.M. (ECAB 17-0262): Wage capacity modification request returned
N.M., a postal city carrier, had accepted arm and shoulder conditions and a wage earning capacity determination. She later submitted evidence seeking modification of that determination. OWCP treated the submission as an untimely reconsideration request. The Board found that OWCP had to evaluate the…
N.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Kearney, NJ
N.V. (ECAB 17-0107): Knee occupational disease claim denied
N.V., a postal city carrier assistant, attributed left knee symptoms to walking, bending, standing, and climbing stairs at work. The Board found that the medical opinion did not explain how those specific duties caused her diagnosed knee condition. It affirmed the occupational disease denial.
C.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Batavia, NY
C.S. (ECAB 16-1918): Medical condition recurrence denied
C.S., a VA shuttle bus operator, had an accepted right shoulder strain after manually closing a bus door. He later requested further treatment as a recurrence of that condition. The Board found that the submitted evidence did not establish that his later medical condition was causally related to…
K.V., widow of K.V., and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Kansas City, MO
K.V. (ECAB 16-1610): Survivor claim and reconsideration denied
K.V. sought survivor benefits after her husband, a postal employee, died in 2013. The Board found that the submitted medical evidence did not establish that his death was caused by factors of his federal employment. It also found that her reconsideration submission did not meet a ground for…
Camarata Masonry Systems, LTD
Crate-handling training citation vacated
Camarata Masonry Systems installed stone at a Houston construction project where an experienced forklift operator unloaded a damaged crate containing nearly 3,000 pounds of marble slabs. The operator removed a stabilizing strap while the load remained unstable, and the crate fell and injured him…
J.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bedford Park, IL
J.L. (ECAB 15-1629): Arm impairment rating returned for uniform method
J.L., a former postal secretary, had several accepted right arm and hand conditions and an award for two percent right arm impairment. She sought a higher rating. The Board found that OWCP physicians had applied the impairment guide inconsistently in upper extremity cases. It returned her claim for…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Delayed fatal-potential injury report upheld
A contractor miner at Consol's Bailey Mine was crushed between a battery scoop and a rail car, could not move or feel one leg, and developed abdominal swelling that raised concern about internal bleeding. Consol called for emergency transportation but did not notify MSHA until about two hours after…
Lamaine T. Watson; Wardell Orthopaedics, P.C. v. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Incorporated
Watson v. Huntington Ingalls (BRB 16-0545): judge may resolve medical fee claim but not private contracts
Wardell Orthopaedics treated Huntington Ingalls worker Lamaine Watson for a work-related knee injury. The employer paid less than Wardell requested and argued that private contracts entitled it to reduced medical rates. The Board accepted an interlocutory appeal to settle the scope of the…
Arthur B. Taylor v. SSA Cooper, L.L.C. and Homeport Insurance Company
Taylor v. SSA Cooper (BRB 16-0174): paid medical care does not defeat fee claim for denied disability benefits
Arthur Taylor sought medical and disability benefits after injuring his leg while working as a longshoreman. SSA Cooper paid for medical care but paid no disability benefits within 30 days after receiving notice of his claim. Taylor later obtained temporary disability benefits with a lawyer's help…
Hoffman v. NOCO Energy Corp.
Hoffman v. NOCO Energy (DOL ARB 2015-0070): Truck driver retaliation claim remanded
Todd Hoffman, a propane delivery driver, complained about NOCO Energy's hours of service practices and refused an on call delivery assignment. After his employment ended, an administrative law judge found retaliation and awarded back pay, reinstatement, and attorney fees. The Board upheld the…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Division, USDOL v. Strates Shows, Inc.
WHD Administrator v. Strates Shows (DOL ARB 2015-0069): June 2017 order later vacated
The Wage and Hour Division assessed Strates Shows for alleged violations involving its H-2B workers. After a federal court vacated the regulations underlying the assessment, the agency asked an administrative law judge to dismiss this enforcement case without prejudice. Strates Shows sought…
United States Department of the Air Force, 4th Fighter Wing, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina (Agency) and National Association of Independent Labor, Local 7 (Union)
Seymour Johnson Air Force Base and NAIL Local 7 (FLRA 0-AR-5222): Uniform ruling set aside
Air Reserve Technicians are federal civilian employees who also serve in the Air Force Reserve. An arbitrator held that the Air Force could not require them to wear military uniforms while performing civilian duties because she read 10 U.S.C. § 772(j)(2) as covering only organizations similar to…
Archer Daniels Midland Company
In re Archer Daniels Midland Company (EAB UIC Appeal No. 17-05): Carbon-sequestration permit modification upheld
EPA Region 5 modified Archer Daniels Midland Company's Class VI Underground Injection Control permit for an injection well used to geologically sequester carbon dioxide. The modification incorporated project-specific information from well construction and pre-operational testing. Jeffrey Sprague…
Secretary of Labor v. Argus Energy WV, LLC
Fact-free settlement motion denied
MSHA cited Argus Energy after a haul truck was operated with a broken spot mirror and no completed pre-operational inspection record. The citation alleged a significant-and-substantial violation of 30 C.F.R. § 77.1606(a) and carried a proposed penalty of $666. The parties proposed removing the S&S…
B.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Los Angeles, CA
B.B. (ECAB 17-0919): Shoulder occupational disease claim denied
B.B., a postal letter carrier, attributed persistent right shoulder pain to casing and carrying mail after an earlier vehicle accident. The Board found that the medical evidence did not adequately explain how the accepted work duties caused or aggravated her shoulder condition. It upheld the…
J.B. and Department of the Navy, Naval Medical Command, Camp Lejeune, NC
J.B. (ECAB 17-0628): Foot award reconsideration denied
J.B., a Navy office secretary, had an accepted left foot fracture and received a schedule award. She sought reconsideration of the impairment rating based on her own reading of the medical guide. The Board found that her lay interpretation was not medical evidence and did not meet a ground for…
C.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chicago, IL
C.M. (ECAB 17-0627): Vehicle collision injury claim denied
C.M., a postal tractor trailer operator, reported a head-on collision during a night shift and claimed a neck injury. The Board found that the account lacked sufficient detail and corroboration to establish the incident as alleged. The Board also noted that an emergency report was not signed by a…
M.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Santa Clarita, CA
M.N. (ECAB 16-1410): Reconsideration denial affirmed
M.N., a postal letter carrier, had accepted shoulder, carpal tunnel, and elbow conditions and later disputed an adverse claim decision. She repeated earlier arguments and submitted new medical evidence about a later surgery. The Board found that the new evidence did not address the disability…
C.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Garland, TX
C.F. (ECAB 16-0916): Compensation forfeiture affirmed in part and recalculation ordered
OWCP found that C.F., a postal city carrier, forfeited wage-loss compensation by failing to report outside work and assessed a $37,151.04 overpayment. The Board upheld forfeiture for May 13 through December 24, 2014 and found C.F. at fault, barring waiver. It set aside the finding for December 25…
National Archives and Records Administration (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2578 (Union)
National Archives and AFGE Local 2578 (FLRA 0-AR-5269): Forced-leave exception dismissed
The National Archives placed an employee on involuntary leave for more than four months after finding that medical restrictions prevented him from performing essential duties. An arbitrator treated the forced leave as an improperly implemented suspension under the labor agreement and awarded…
Brown v. Synovus Financial Corp.
Brown v. Synovus Financial (DOL ARB 2017-0037): Reconsideration denied
Michael Brown sought reconsideration of the Board's earlier dismissal of his Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower appeal. The Board had treated his earlier filing as a petition for review but found it too late after he learned that his attorney had not filed the promised petition. Brown then asked the…
C.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Las Vegas, NV
C.H. (ECAB 17-0623): Attorney fee approval upheld
C.H., a transportation security officer, challenged attorney fees approved for services related to her compensation claim. The Board found no clear error or abuse of discretion in OWCP’s review of the fee application, including the hourly rate. It upheld the $4,720.83 fee approval.
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brooksville, FL
D.C. (ECAB 17-0538): Knee disability claim returned for combined files
D.C., a postal letter carrier, had an accepted right knee injury and later claimed disability beginning October 29, 2015. Another claim file involved a subsequent knee injury. The Board found that OWCP needed to combine the related files before deciding whether disability resulted from the accepted…
D.A. and Department of the Army, Fort Drum, NY
D.A. (ECAB 17-0535): Back claim reconsideration denied
D.A., an Army administrative clerk, reported increased back pain after changes in her modified work duties. OWCP denied the resulting occupational disease claim, and she sought reconsideration. The Board found that her additional factual information did not address the medical causation issue and…
S.C. and Department of the Air Force, Air National Guard, Raleigh, NC
S.C. (ECAB 17-0490): Cervical injury claim denied
S.C., an Air National Guard air traffic control specialist, reported cervical spine and left shoulder symptoms after rotating a jack handle at work. The Board found that the medical opinions did not sufficiently explain how the accepted incident caused or aggravated his cervical condition. It…
D.B. and Department of the Air Force, Ogden Utah -- OAMA, Randolph Air Force Base, TX
D.B. (ECAB 17-0446): Bilateral arm impairment ratings returned
D.B., an Air Force sheet metal mechanic, had accepted shoulder conditions and schedule awards of seven percent impairment for each arm. He sought higher ratings. The Board found that OWCP physicians had applied the impairment guide inconsistently in upper extremity cases. It returned the claim for…
E.M. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Kansas City, MO
E.M. (ECAB 16-1695): Emotional condition claim returned for medical review
E.M., an IRS tax examiner, attributed an emotional condition to workplace events, including an incident with a manager. A witness account established that the manager made physical contact with her, which the Board held was a compensable work factor. OWCP had not evaluated the medical evidence on…
C.S. and Department of Homeland Security, Secret Service, New York, NY
C.S. (ECAB 17-0945): Shoulder impairment rating returned to OWCP
C.S., a Secret Service agent, sought a schedule award above the three percent impairment rating already assigned to his left arm after a training injury. The Board found that OWCP had used inconsistent methods to rate upper extremity impairment under the impairment guides. It held that the case was…
E.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Juan, PR
E.R. (ECAB 17-0742): Back injury and hearing denials upheld
E.R., a postal electrical technician, claimed a lumbar injury after reaching beneath a conveyor at work. The Board found that he did not establish the claimed traumatic injury in the performance of duty. It also found that his request for a telephonic hearing was untimely. The Board upheld both…
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Sandston, VA
D.C. (ECAB 17-0621): Knee impairment award denied
D.C., a postal clerk, sought a schedule award for permanent impairment from an accepted left knee condition. The Board found that her physician’s assessment did not adequately apply the required edition of the impairment guides or explain the rating. The evidence therefore did not establish a…
A.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Madison, WI
A.J. (ECAB 17-0302): Late reconsideration request denied
A.J., a postal mail carrier, asked OWCP to reconsider the denial of her knee injury claim. OWCP received the request more than one year after the Board’s last merits decision. The Board found that her submissions did not show clear evidence of error, the standard for an untimely request. It upheld…
F.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Winder, GA
F.M. (ECAB 16-1504): Emotional condition claim denied
F.M., a postal customer service supervisor, attributed depression, anxiety, stress, and insomnia to treatment by his supervisor. The Board found that his allegations concerned personnel and administrative matters. The record did not establish error or abuse in those matters or other compensable…
M.G. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Washington, DC
M.G. (ECAB 16-1434): Wage capacity claim returned for the correct review
M.G. sought to change an earlier determination that he could earn wages as an operations manager. OWCP considered whether its original adjustment of his compensation was proper. The Board held that OWCP instead needed to decide whether M.G. met the standard for modifying the existing wage earning…
T.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Charlotte, NC
T.L. (ECAB 16-1408): Knee disability claim partly returned to OWCP
T.L., a postal rural carrier, sought compensation after a knee injury and claimed a later recurrence of disability. The Board found that the evidence did not establish disability during the claimed period. It returned the question of compensation for three medical appointments to OWCP because that…
Sport Air Traffic Controllers Organization (Union) and United States Department of the Air Force, Edwards Air Force Base, California (Agency)
Sport Air Traffic Controllers Organization and Edwards Air Force Base (FLRA 0-AR-5225): Additional medical-test reimbursement denied
An air-traffic controller at Edwards Air Force Base had to maintain an FAA medical certificate and undergo an annual exam. The FAA also required pulmonary-function and vision tests, but the Air Force reimbursed only the annual exam. The union argued that 5 C.F.R. § 339.304 and a memorandum of…
S.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Pittsburgh, PA
S.T. (ECAB 17-0913): Shoulder injury claim denied
S.T., a postal employee, claimed a right shoulder injury after slipping while leaving a work vehicle. The Board found that the submitted scan and physician note did not adequately connect a diagnosed shoulder condition to the accepted incident. It upheld OWCP’s denial of the claim.
R.K. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park, WY
R.K. (ECAB 17-0599): Hand injury claim denied
R.K., a National Park Service employee, claimed injury to his left hand and fingers from an accepted work incident. The Board found that the medical submissions did not give a diagnosis and a supported opinion connecting a condition to the incident. It upheld OWCP’s denial of the claim.
P.S. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Glenville, WV
P.S. (ECAB 17-0598): Back and arm injury claim denied
P.S., a Bureau of Prisons employee, claimed back and arm injuries after an inmate’s weight struck his arm during a work incident. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred. The Board found that the medical evidence did not adequately explain how it caused the claimed conditions. It upheld the claim…
G.W. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Garrison, Fort McPherson, GA
G.W. (ECAB 17-0020): Reconsideration denial upheld
G.W., a former Army utility systems repairer, challenged an earlier schedule award assessment. The Board found that his request did not claim a new increase in impairment or show that OWCP had misapplied the law to the existing award. His objections to an examining physician did not require OWCP to…
J.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Columbia, SC
J.H. (ECAB 16-1329): Chiropractor evidence requires further review
J.H., a VA nurse practitioner, claimed that work aggravated a preexisting spinal condition. OWCP rejected his chiropractor’s opinion because it did not consider the chiropractor a physician under the compensation statute. The Board found that the chiropractor diagnosed spinal subluxation based on x…
D.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Saint Louis, MO
D.B. (ECAB 16-1224): Benefit overpayment amount returned for recalculation
D.B., a postal employee, received workers’ compensation and Social Security retirement benefits attributable in part to federal service. The Board found that this created an overpayment, but OWCP had calculated $61,659.25 using information for the wrong retirement system. The record showed that…
M.S. and Department of the Air Force, Air Force Technical Applications Center, Patrick Air Force Base, FL
M.S. (ECAB 16-1039): Back injury claim denied
M.S., an Air Force information technology specialist, claimed that moving computers at work injured her back. The Board found that her account did not adequately establish how the claimed injury happened. She did not answer OWCP’s request for details, and medical histories differed from her…
SJ Pyo Corp
Nine-item citation affirmed by default
SJ Pyo Corp. stopped participating in its citation contest despite repeated court communications, conference calls, scheduling requirements, and two show-cause orders. Because the owner had limited English proficiency, the court provided Korean interpretation for calls and issued court documents in…
United States Department of the Navy, Naval Facilities Engineering Command Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 1415, Crane, Indiana (Labor Organization) and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 2326, Great Lakes, Illinois (Labor Organization) and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 53, Norfolk, Virginia (Labor Organization) and National Association of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Local R7-51, Great Lakes, Illinois (Labor Organization)
NAVFAC Mid-Atlantic and affected unions (FLRA WA-RP-16-0017): Transferred employees placed in existing units
The Navy closed NAVFAC Midwest and moved public-works employees at its Crane and Great Lakes bases under NAVFAC Mid-Atlantic. The agency sought to place the transferred employees in two existing NAVFAC Mid-Atlantic bargaining units, while two incumbent locals asked to continue representing separate…
D.F. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Quantico, VA
D.F. (ECAB 17-0694): Reconsideration denial upheld
D.F., an FBI supervisory special agent, sought reconsideration of a decision denying recurrence of a medical condition. He argued that OWCP had overlooked a physician’s report. The Board found that OWCP had considered the report and that his request did not raise a new legal ground or relevant…
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Buchanan Station, Chicago, IL
M.B. (ECAB 17-0536): Workplace assault claim returned for investigation
M.B., a postal worker, reported being punched by a coworker during an altercation in a workplace restroom. The Board found that the record did not establish whether the assault arose from her employment. The postal service had referred to an investigation but had not supplied its report to OWCP…
J.I. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Morgan City, LA
J.I. (ECAB 17-0485): Total disability claim denied
J.I., a postal worker, sought compensation for total disability beginning December 12, 2015 after an accepted neck and left shoulder injury. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish that the accepted injury caused total disability during the claimed period. It upheld OWCP’s…
C.L. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Jamaica, NY
C.L. (ECAB 17-0249): Added back conditions denied
C.L., a transportation security officer, had an accepted lumbar sprain after lifting luggage at work. He sought to add herniated disc conditions to the accepted claim. The Board found that the medical evidence did not adequately explain how the work injury caused those additional conditions. It…
T.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Long Beach, CA
T.M. (ECAB 16-1033): Termination of injury benefits upheld
T.M., a VA employee, challenged the termination of compensation for accepted work injuries. The Board found that the medical opinions relied on by OWCP established that the accepted conditions no longer caused disability or required treatment by October 20, 2013. Later evidence did not establish…
Secretary of Labor v. Consolidation Coal Co., now The Ohio County Coal Co.
Sparse rib-control settlement support rejected
The Secretary and Ohio County Coal proposed settling five citations at the Shoemaker Mine for $39,875 instead of $72,500. Four citations alleged inadequately controlled ribs, while a fifth alleged that the roof-control plan was no longer suitable for changing mine conditions. The agreement proposed…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Late penalty petition accepted after clerical error
MSHA issued Consol a section 104(d)(1) citation concerning a miner-tracking system at the Harvey Mine, and Consol timely contested it. The Secretary filed the penalty petition almost eight months after the procedural deadline because a short-term district employee apparently failed to enter the…
K.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Portland, OR
K.W. (ECAB 17-0864): Ankle impairment rating upheld
K.W., a VA employee, sought a schedule award above the two percent left leg impairment rating assigned after an accepted ankle sprain. The Board reviewed the impairment evaluation under the required guides and found no basis for a higher rating. It upheld the two percent award.
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.