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.O. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, San Juan, PR
J.O. (ECAB 16-0905): Extremity impairment ratings require explanation
A Bureau of Prisons employee sought higher schedule awards for permanent impairment of both arms and both legs. OWCP’s medical adviser rated each extremity at one percent but did not explain why possible motor deficits were excluded. The Board directed OWCP to obtain a reasoned evaluation under the…
S.G. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Minneapolis, MN
S.G. (ECAB 16-1683): Fifty percent hearing loss rating upheld
An FBI employee sought an additional hearing loss schedule award beyond an existing award. OWCP calculated a total 50 percent binaural impairment, including an additional 22 percent over an earlier 28 percent award. The Board found that the medical adviser properly applied the hearing loss formula…
J.M. and Department of Agriculture, Food Safety & Inspection Service, Jamaica, NY
J.M. (ECAB 16-1674): Neck, back, and leg injury claim denied
A Food Safety and Inspection Service employee sought compensation for neck, back, and right leg conditions after a workplace incident. OWCP denied the claim because the medical evidence did not explain how the incident caused the diagnosed conditions. The Board agreed that test results, physical…
D.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Austin, TX
D.G. (ECAB 16-1492): Suitable work termination reversed
A Postal Service worker lost compensation after declining a modified letter carrier position that OWCP deemed suitable. The Board found the medical evidence did not clearly show that he could perform the offered duties in light of all his work-related conditions. Because OWCP had not obtained a…
M.J. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Burbank, CA
M.J. (ECAB 16-1375): Claimed period of total disability denied
A Transportation Security Administration worker sought compensation for a period of total disability after an accepted left shoulder injury. He asserted that his modified duties exceeded his restrictions, but the record did not corroborate that assertion. The Board found that the physicians had not…
O.G. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Widows Creek Fossil Plant, Stevenson, AL
O.G. (ECAB 16-1354): Pulmonary disease claim denied
A Tennessee Valley Authority worker claimed pneumoconiosis, asbestosis, and bronchitis from dust and fume exposures. One physician attributed the conditions to a 37 year work history without distinguishing the worker’s roughly 4.8 years of federal employment. The Board gave greater weight to a…
J.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA
J.S. (ECAB 16-0777): Head injury claim returned for medical review
A Veterans Affairs employee reported a concussion after boxes fell onto his head at work. OWCP accepted the incident and a forehead contusion but denied the further head injury claim. The Board found that treating reports did not fully prove causation yet strongly suggested a link between the…
F & H Coatings, LLC
Unsecured pressure-vessel hazard citation affirmed
F & H Coatings prepared to sandblast and paint a 12,000-pound cylindrical pressure vessel that rested unsecured on round pipe racks. The vessel became unstable, rolled off the racks, and fatally crushed an employee who was partly inside its manway. The judge found that the setup created a…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1667 (Union) and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York (Agency)
AFGE Local 1667 and Brooklyn VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-5213): Non-unit promotion grievance remains barred
A bargaining-unit employee challenged the process used to fill a supervisory position outside the bargaining unit. An arbitrator found that the parties' agreement did not extend the grievance procedure to selection for that non-unit position and denied the grievance as substantively nonarbitrable…
Secretary of Labor v. C.R. Briggs
A settlement penalty of zero dollars cannot be approved
MSHA and C.R. Briggs asked Judge William B. Moran to approve a settlement wiping out all penalties on 13 citations, dropping the originally assessed $29,691 to zero. The operator had filed for bankruptcy protection and its assets were being sold through a trustee, and the Secretary agreed to…
Matter of Miguel Angel ALVARADO
California perjury is an aggravated felony
The Board reconsidered a Guatemalan respondent's case after the Ninth Circuit remanded it for further analysis of a California perjury conviction. The Board held that the generic definition of perjury requires a knowing or willful material false statement made under an authorized oath or…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Topeka, Kansas (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 906 (Union)
Topeka VA Medical Center and AFGE Local 906 (FLRA 0-AR-5237): Systems-of-records exceptions dismissed
AFGE Local 906 alleged that the Topeka VA Medical Center failed to provide the contractually required list of systems containing records retrievable by employee identifiers. An arbitrator directed the agency to provide additional information and conditionally ordered removal of discipline based…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2663 (Union) and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Medical Center, Kansas City, Missouri (Agency)
AFGE Local 2663 and Kansas City VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-5220): Premature attorney-fee denial struck
An arbitrator reduced a VA employee's fourteen-day suspension to seven days and awarded backpay after finding that the agency overlooked possible mitigating circumstances. The union asked the arbitrator to retain jurisdiction so it could later seek attorney fees, but the arbitrator denied fees…
Secretary of Labor v. Acha Construction, LLC
Undersized loading ramp berms upheld as unwarrantable failure
An MSHA inspector cited Acha Construction at its Crusher 1 sand and gravel operation in Nevada for berms on a loading ramp that were not maintained at the height 30 C.F.R. § 56.9300(b) requires. Berms are the raised edges that keep a truck from going over the side of an elevated roadway. Acha…
K.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Harrisburg, PA
K.A. (ECAB 16-1330): Neck and arm occupational claim denied
A Postal Service worker attributed neck and left arm conditions to his duties. OWCP denied the claim after finding no adequate medical explanation linking the conditions to specific work factors. The Board found that speculative opinions, imaging without a causation opinion, and a physician…
Secretary of Labor v. Commonwealth Mining, LLC
A foreman's guilty plea does not prove the company's civil violation
A miner died at Commonwealth Mining's Tinsley Branch HWM 61 mine in October 2014 after entering a highwall mining hole, which 30 C.F.R. § 77.1502 prohibits without district manager approval. MSHA issued one citation designated significant and substantial, unwarrantable failure, and flagrant. The…
Matter of DHANASAR
National-interest waiver framework adopted
The Administrative Appeals Office reviewed a petition from an aerospace engineering researcher and educator who sought an immigrant classification and a waiver of the job-offer and labor-certification requirements. The decision vacated the framework from Matter of New York State Department of…
A.C. and Department of the Navy, Fleet Forces Command-Shipyards Fleet HRO, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, VA
A.C. (ECAB 16-1587): Back injury claim denied
A Navy employee claimed a back injury from a workplace incident in December 2015. OWCP denied the claim because the submitted records did not establish a firm medically supported injury caused by that incident. The Board found that a chiropractor’s report lacked the x-ray-based spinal subluxation…
C.P. and Department of the Navy, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, VA
C.P. (ECAB 17-0042): Lumbar condition claim denied
A Norfolk Naval Shipyard employee reported worsening back symptoms after working on condenser tubes. OWCP accepted the June 2016 work incident but denied the claim for lack of a supported medical link to his lumbar condition. The Board found that the physicians did not explain how the work…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Providence, RI
M.M. (ECAB 16-1751): Left arm condition claim denied
A Postal Service worker sought benefits for a left arm condition after a workplace incident. The treating physician diagnosed lateral epicondylitis but did not adequately explain how the June 2015 incident caused or aggravated it. Physical therapy notes did not supply a physician opinion under…
Y.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Belmar, NJ
Y.C. (ECAB 16-1592): Motor vehicle injury claim returned for review
A Postal Service letter carrier sought benefits after a work-related rear-end collision. OWCP accepted that the crash occurred but denied the injury claim. The Board found that physicians’ reports describing cervical symptoms and a possible link to the crash warranted further development of medical…
G.N. and Department of the Army, Corpus Christi Army Depot, Corpus Christi, TX
G.N. (ECAB 16-1327): Carpal tunnel opinion needs fuller reasoning
An Army depot worker sought compensation for carpal tunnel and other conditions attributed to work. OWCP denied the claim based on a second opinion that treated carpal tunnel syndrome as age related. The Board found that the physician relied on general medical literature without examining the…
R.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pico Rivera, CA
R.G. (ECAB 16-1129): Overpayment amount must be recalculated
A Postal Service worker returned to part-time work while still receiving total disability compensation. The Board agreed that this overlap created an overpayment. OWCP had calculated $385.75 as if he worked full days, despite records showing only 16 hours of work across the four days. The Board…
Peace Industry Group (USA) Inc. and Blue Eagle Motor, Inc.
In re Peace Industry Group (USA) Inc. and Blue Eagle Motor, Inc. (EAB CAA Appeal No. 16-03C): Consent Agreement ratified
Peace Industry Group (USA) Inc. and Blue Eagle Motor, Inc. resolved an EPA matter through a Consent Agreement. The Environmental Appeals Board incorporated that agreement by reference into its Final Order and ratified it under 40 C.F.R. § 22.18(b)-(c). The Board ordered the Respondents to comply…
P.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Melville, NY
P.J. (ECAB 16-1774): Shoulder injury claim denied
A Postal Service employee sought benefits after removing a stuck mail container at work. OWCP accepted that the incident happened but found no supported medical link to his left shoulder condition. The Board found that the physicians had not explained how the incident caused a new injury or…
C.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
C.W. (ECAB 16-1478): Late reconsideration request denied
A Postal Service worker asked OWCP to reconsider denial of a claimed recurrence after an earlier accepted injury. His latest request came too late for ordinary reconsideration and resubmitted medical records already in the file. The Board found that the repeated evidence did not demonstrate clear…
B.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Atlanta, GA
B.H. (ECAB 16-1411): Fifty percent leg award upheld
A Postal Service worker sought a higher award for permanent left leg impairment. The Board found no more than the previously awarded 50 percent impairment. It also held that OWCP properly denied reconsideration because her argument about an additional 31 percent award repeated an issue already…
P.P. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Fairton, NJ
P.P. (ECAB 16-1232): Claimed disability recurrence denied
A Bureau of Prisons worker sought wage-loss compensation for disability beginning in February 2013 after an accepted 2012 back and shoulder area injury. The Board found that his physicians did not adequately explain why the accepted rhomboid and thoracic conditions prevented him from performing…
A.M. and Department of the Interior, Geological Survey, Jean Lafitte National Historical Park & Preserve, Marrero, LA
A.M. (ECAB 16-1038): Federal employee status needs factual review
A worker claimed benefits for an incident during a limited service engagement at a federal site. OWCP concluded that he was not a federal employee, but the employing agency supplied only a procurement order and did not answer all questions about control of his work. The Board directed OWCP to…
Gene Estella v. Newmont USA Limited
Miner fired after anonymous MSHA safety complaints wins reinstatement
Gene Estella worked in the copper leach area at Newmont's Phoenix Mine in Nevada. He and coworkers made anonymous safety complaints to MSHA, an inspection followed, and citations were issued. Two weeks later Newmont suspended and then fired Estella and two other employees from that same area…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Richmond, Virginia (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2145, AFL-CIO (Charging Party/Union) and Denise O'Brien (Charging Party/Individual)
Richmond VA Medical Center and AFGE Local 2145 (FLRA WA-CA-15-0116, 15-0117, 15-0157, 15-0224): Union-access bargaining order upheld
The Richmond VA Medical Center required a retired employee serving as a union steward to register under its volunteer policy before representing bargaining-unit employees on site. An FLRA administrative law judge found that applying the policy to non-employee union representatives was a change in…
Houston Refining LP
In re Houston Refining LP (EAB CAA Appeal No. 16-04C): Consent Agreement ratified
Houston Refining LP resolved an EPA matter through a Consent Agreement. The Environmental Appeals Board incorporated that agreement by reference into its Final Order and ratified it under 40 C.F.R. § 22.18(b)-(c). The Board ordered Houston Refining LP to comply with all terms of the Consent…
Peace Industry Group
In re Peace Industry Group (EAB CAA Appeal No. 16-01): Mobile-source penalty reduced and service upheld
EPA's Air Enforcement Division brought a Clean Air Act mobile-source enforcement action against two Chinese corporations for importing or selling motorcycles and recreational vehicles without required certificates of conformity and for related warranty-information violations. After the corporations…
Carter v. CPC Logistics, Inc.
Carter v. CPC Logistics (DOL ARB 2015-0050): Dismissal initially affirmed, later vacated
Roderick Carter, a truck driver, claimed CPC Logistics fired him after he refused to drive while fatigued and reported his need for rest breaks. An administrative law judge found that one communication about fatigue was protected but did not contribute to Carter's discharge. The judge instead…
J.P. and Department of the Army, Tooele Army Depot, Tooele, UT
J.P. (ECAB 16-1594): Back claim reconsideration denied
An Army depot worker sought reconsideration of a decision concerning his continuing back condition. He submitted an MRI scan DVD and argued that the medical evidence supported him. The Board found that the scan information had already been discussed in the record and did not address whether the…
C.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Howell Mill Station, Atlanta, GA
C.B. (ECAB 16-1562): Injury and late hearing denials upheld
A Postal Service worker claimed an injury from a January 2016 incident. The Board found that she had not established that the incident occurred as alleged, so the claim failed without reaching medical causation. It also found her June 2016 hearing request too late to qualify for a hearing as a…
P.A. and Department of the Army, Civilian Personnel Advisory Center, Fort Drum, NY
P.A. (ECAB 16-1547): Reconsideration request was timely
An Army employee requested reconsideration of an occupational knee claim denial exactly one year after OWCP’s merit decision. OWCP overlooked the request’s actual receipt date and treated it as late. The Board found the request timely and required OWCP to apply the standard for timely…
C.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Aurora, IL
C.M. (ECAB 16-1459): Weekend extended reconsideration deadline
A Postal Service worker requested reconsideration of a right knee claim denial. OWCP treated the request as late because it arrived two calendar days after the one year anniversary of the merit decision. The Board found that the anniversary fell on a Saturday, extending the deadline through Monday…
M.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Kingsville, TX
M.H. (ECAB 16-1403): Insurance premium overpayment upheld
A Postal Service worker received compensation without proper health and life insurance premium deductions. The Board upheld the resulting $3,625.37 overpayment, comprising unpaid deductions for both types of insurance. OWCP found him without fault, but his documented monthly income exceeded his…
V.R. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Houston, TX
V.R. (ECAB 16-1167): Emotional condition claim needs development
An IRS employee filed a recurrence claim involving an accepted emotional condition. OWCP converted it to a new occupational disease claim and denied it without requesting a detailed account of the alleged workplace events. The Board found the record incomplete and directed OWCP to obtain the…
N.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Belleville, NJ
N.A. (ECAB 16-1096): Work factors established, medical link unresolved
A Postal Service worker claimed neck and right arm conditions from repetitive mail handling. The Board found that the record established the asserted work activities. A physician’s uncontradicted report also supplied enough support for a possible link to require further medical development, though…
T.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, North Metro, GA
T.B. (ECAB 16-0977): Request to add pain conditions denied
A Postal Service worker sought to expand an accepted injury claim to include myofascial pain and cervicalgia. The Board found that her medical reports did not adequately explain how the accepted 2011 injury caused those additional conditions. It affirmed OWCP’s refusal to expand the claim.
Social Security Administration, Region VII, Kansas City, Missouri (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1336, AFL-CIO (Charging Party/Union)
SSA Region VII and AFGE Local 1336 (FLRA CH-CA-15-0349): Bargaining ordered over reassigned lower-graded duties
The Social Security Administration promoted four service representatives and reassigned their lower-graded administrative duties to eleven incumbent claims representatives. An FLRA administrative law judge found that the claims representatives spent forty to sixty percent of their time on the new…
Myron K. Herron v. North American Central School Bus, LLC
Herron v. North American Central School Bus (DOL ARB 2016-0040): Late hearing request dismissed
Myron Herron alleged that a school bus company refused to hire him for protected safety activity. OSHA rejected both his occupational safety and transportation whistleblower complaints and gave him different review instructions for each. Herron timely sought review of the occupational safety…
Smith v. CRST International, Inc.
Smith v. CRST International (DOL ARB 2015-0004): Refusal-to-hire complaint dismissed
Harry Smith complained about an unsafe trailer while driving for a leasing company and later alleged that CRST International refused to hire him in retaliation. After a hearing, a Labor Department judge found that CRST's hiring decision was based on a personnel notice reporting an unreported…
B.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Lexington, KY
B.E. (ECAB 16-1761): Receptionist earning capacity modification needs decision
A Postal Service worker disputed an earlier finding that she could earn wages as a receptionist after reporting worsening neck and arm symptoms. OWCP treated her submission as a late reconsideration request and denied it under the clear evidence of error standard. The Board found that it raised a…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Orleans, LA
D.S. (ECAB 16-1593): Suitable work termination upheld
A Postal Service worker stopped performing a modified mail processing clerk job on May 29, 2013, the day his disability retirement became official. OWCP found the job suitable and terminated compensation after he declined to return. The Board found that retirement alone did not justify leaving…
D.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Warrendale, PA
D.D. (ECAB 16-1472): Left ankle injury claim denied
A Postal Service worker sought benefits for a left ankle condition after a November 2015 workplace incident. The Board found that the submitted medical records did not adequately explain how that incident caused or aggravated a diagnosed ankle condition. Unsigned and physician assistant reports did…
L.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Fort Dearborn Station, Chicago, IL
L.G. (ECAB 16-1438): Intermittent wrist disability claim denied
A Postal Service worker claimed total disability on scattered dates in 2013 from accepted right wrist tendinitis. Her physician listed absences but did not explain why she could not perform her modified duties on those dates. The Board found the medical evidence insufficient to establish the…
R.P. and Department of the Army, Radford Army Ammunition Plant, Radford, VA
R.P. (ECAB 16-0867): Emotional condition claim denied
An Army ammunition plant employee attributed an emotional condition to supervisors’ conduct and working conditions. The Board found that allegations of harassment and unfair treatment were not supported by sufficient evidence, while the supervisors disputed them. Because he had not established a…
K.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Canteen Services, Chicago, IL
K.R. (ECAB 16-0542): Six percent arm impairment award upheld
A Veterans Affairs employee sought a larger schedule award for his right arm. The Board gave weight to an impartial specialist’s detailed examination and impairment rating. It found no other persuasive medical evidence showing more than the six percent already awarded. It affirmed OWCP’s refusal to…
A.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Bustleton Station, Philadelphia, PA
A.M. (ECAB 16-0530): Leg impairment conflict requires impartial exam
A Postal Service worker disputed the rating of permanent left leg impairment. Her physician rated the leg at 13 percent, while OWCP’s referral physician rated it at two percent. The Board found an unresolved conflict between opinions of equal weight and ordered an impartial specialist examination…
Secretary of Labor v. WESCO
Flyrock landing on a neighbor's yard put a person inside the blast area
WESCO is a blasting contractor that loaded and shot the explosives at the Adams Claim Mine, a surface gypsum mine in Lyon County, Nevada, operated by Art Wilson Company. Three days after an October 16, 2015 blast, a woman who lives next to the mine complained to MSHA that rock had rained down…
R.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Coppell, TX
R.E. (ECAB 16-1605): Occupational disease claim denied
A Postal Service worker attributed neck and arm conditions to keying, lifting, and carrying mail. The Board found no medical diagnosis of the claimed carpal tunnel syndrome and no physician opinion explaining how the work duties caused or aggravated the other diagnosed conditions. It affirmed…
M.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Orlando, FL
M.S. (ECAB 16-1497): Left knee injury claim denied
A Veterans Affairs employee sought compensation for a left knee condition after an August 2015 workplace incident. The Board found that the medical reports did not adequately explain how the accepted incident caused or aggravated his knee condition. It affirmed OWCP’s denial.
K.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bellmawr, NJ
K.N. (ECAB 16-1412): Undelivered decision must be reissued
A Postal Service worker appealed an OWCP decision that had been returned to the agency as undeliverable. OWCP knew the notice had not reached her but made no further attempt to issue it. The Board found that she had lost the opportunity to appeal on time and required OWCP to issue a new decision.
K.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Boston, MA
K.L. (ECAB 16-1341): Unreviewed medical report requires reconsideration
A Postal Service worker sought reconsideration and submitted a physician’s report. OWCP received the report one day before denying reconsideration but did not address it. The Board directed OWCP to consider the report and decide whether it required reopening the merits.
A.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Orleans, LA
A.M. (ECAB 16-1250): Reconsideration request met deadline
A Postal Service worker sought reconsideration exactly one year after the latest OWCP merit decision. OWCP treated the request as late and applied a clear evidence of error standard. The Board found it timely and required OWCP to decide it under the proper standard.
L.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Decatur, GA
L.W. (ECAB 16-1179): Arm awards and overpayment upheld
A Veterans Affairs worker sought larger schedule awards for both arms. The Board found no more than two percent permanent impairment in each arm and upheld a $12,425.80 overpayment for which she was not at fault. She had not supplied complete requested family financial information, so OWCP could…
R.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Newark, NJ
R.D. (ECAB 16-0982): Wage loss and medical benefits termination upheld
A Postal Service worker challenged the termination of benefits for a long-standing work injury. The Board gave weight to an impartial medical examiner’s opinion that the accepted injury no longer caused disability or required treatment. Later reports did not supply enough reasoned evidence to…
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.