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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S.Y. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Alameda, CA
S.Y. (ECAB 16-0772): Impairment overpayment upheld
A Postal Service worker received a left leg impairment award that later review found unsupported by medical evidence. The Board upheld the resulting $4,095.26 overpayment for April 2012 through May 2014. It agreed that he was not at fault, but he had not documented income and expenses sufficiently…
National Treasury Employees Union and United States Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection
NTEU and CBP (FLRA 0-NG-3278): Seating proposal outside bargaining duty
NTEU proposed that CBP officers conducting airport passenger inspections at automated passport kiosks could choose to sit on agency-provided chairs or stools. CBP required those officers to stand, citing sightlines, reaction time, and the lack of physical barriers at the kiosk podiums. The…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1698 (Union) and United States Department of the Navy, Naval Supply Systems Command, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania (Agency)
AFGE Local 1698 and Naval Supply Systems Command (FLRA 0-AR-5190): Full-time telework accommodation denial upheld
A Navy contract negotiator requested full-time telework as a reasonable accommodation for a medical condition that limited travel from home. The agency denied the request after previously ending once-weekly telework because of attendance, unscheduled telework, and performance concerns. An…
E.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tampa, FL
E.H. (ECAB 16-1465): Retirement offset figures require clarification
A Postal Service employee challenged a claimed overpayment arising from a federal service retirement offset. Social Security had sent OWCP two sets of conflicting benefit figures for the same period, and she asserted that some benefits derived from her deceased husband. The Board found that OWCP…
R.F. and Department of the Army, Chemical Munitions Command, Tooele, UT
R.F. (ECAB 16-1398): Hearing records require merit reconsideration
An Army employee sought reconsideration of a hearing injury claim. He submitted supervisor records and hearing conservation audiograms that bore on whether the agency had timely notice of injury. The Board found the evidence new and relevant to the underlying issue, so OWCP should have reopened the…
D.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Edison, NJ
D.P. (ECAB 16-1358): Bilateral foot claim denied
A Postal Service letter carrier attributed bilateral foot conditions to her duties. The Board found that the medical reports documented conditions and treatment but did not provide a full explanation of how the specific work duties caused or aggravated them. It affirmed the denial.
C.W. and Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service, Blakely, GA
C.W. (ECAB 16-1137): Claim not reopened on repeated report
An Agriculture Department employee sought reconsideration of an occupational disease denial. He resubmitted a physician report already reviewed and gave no new legal argument. The Board found that duplicative evidence did not meet the requirements for reopening the merits. It affirmed the nonmerit…
A.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
A.K. (ECAB 16-1133): Physical injury denial upheld, emotional claim returned
A Postal Service worker sought compensation after a confrontation with a customer at work. The Board found that the record did not establish neck, chest, or shoulder injuries from the event. It also found that the confrontation was a compensable work factor and that physicians’ reports about the…
J.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bryan, OH
J.S. (ECAB 16-0951): Right leg impairment needs new examination
A Postal Service worker sought an increase beyond a six percent right leg impairment award. Her examining physician’s functional findings differed from OWCP’s medical adviser’s interpretation. The Board found enough support in the examination to require additional development and directed OWCP to…
Daniel B. Lowe v. Veris Gold USA, Inc. and Jerritt Canyon Gold, LLC and Matthew Varady v. Veris Gold USA, Inc. and Jerritt Canyon Gold, LLC
Daniel B. Lowe and Matthew Varady v. Veris Gold USA, Inc. and Jerritt Canyon Gold, LLC (FMSHRC WEST 2014-614 DM, WEST 2014-307 DM): Premature bankruptcy dismissals vacated and reassigned
A bankruptcy court enjoined Daniel Lowe and Matthew Varady from pursuing successor-liability claims against the purchaser of Veris Gold's assets. The FMSHRC judge then dismissed both Mine Act discrimination cases on his own initiative, although neither side had requested dismissal. The Commission…
Matter of W-A-F-C-
Deficient service on a minor can be corrected
The Board reviewed DHS's appeal after an Immigration Judge terminated removal proceedings against a 12-year-old respondent because the notice to appear had not been served according to the rule for minors under 14. The Board agreed that service was deficient, but held that DHS should receive…
N.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hamburg, NY
N.A. (ECAB 16-1499): Left leg schedule award denied
A Postal Service worker sought an impairment award for accepted left ankle and leg conditions. The Board found that his physician had not provided a permanent impairment rating or established maximum medical improvement. A functional capacity report by an occupational therapist did not supply a…
D.G. and Department of the Navy, Marine Corps, Camp Lejeune, NC
D.G. (ECAB 16-1486): Hearing loss award denied
A Marine Corps employee had accepted work-related hearing loss and sought a schedule award. The Board found that the audiogram did not show hearing loss ratable under the applicable guides. It also found no medical support for authorization of hearing aids. It affirmed the denial.
T.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Muskegon, MI
T.S. (ECAB 16-1477): Consequential injury expansion denied
A Postal Service worker sought to add cervical, left shoulder, and back conditions to a claim involving a 2013 fall. The Board found that the medical reports did not adequately distinguish preexisting conditions and other claims from consequences of that fall. They also lacked a reasoned…
J.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, Madison, WI
J.A. (ECAB 16-1458): Bilateral leg impairment awards upheld
A Postal Service worker sought larger awards for both legs. The Board found no objective neurologic deficits supporting additional spinal nerve impairment and no supported rating above the 37 percent already awarded for either leg. It affirmed OWCP’s decision.
T.N. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Hampton Medical Center, Hampton, VA
T.N. (ECAB 16-1099): Claimed assault injury unproven
A Veterans Affairs employee reported that a patient grabbed him during work. The Board found his account too vague to establish how the alleged incident occurred or caused injury. He did not provide the requested detailed statement, and the physician’s later account could not cure the missing…
T.N. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, San Diego, CA
T.N. (ECAB 16-0895): Reconsideration and impairment denials upheld
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement worker sought further review of a wage-loss claim and a schedule award for accepted upper body conditions. The Board found no qualifying new evidence or argument requiring reopening of the wage-loss merits. It also found no physician rating establishing…
K.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Logistics & Distribution Center, Charlotte, NC
K.W. (ECAB 16-1656): Injury and reconsideration denials upheld
A Postal Service employee claimed a workplace injury in June 2015. The Board found that the record did not establish that the incident occurred as alleged. His later reconsideration submission addressed other workplace grievances rather than the disputed incident and did not warrant reopening. It…
F.O. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs & Border Patrol, Miami, FL
F.O. (ECAB 16-1500): Right hand injury claim denied
A Customs and Border Patrol worker sought benefits for a right hand injury. The Board found that one report came from a physician assistant, another had an illegible signature whose author could not be identified, and no qualifying physician had diagnosed an injury caused by the work incident. It…
L.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Lake Mary, FL
L.A. (ECAB 16-1420): Recurrence of disability not established
A postal clerk with accepted head and cervical spine injuries stopped working in November 2015 and claimed a recurrence of disability. The Board found that two physicians did not address whether the accepted conditions worsened during the claimed period. Another physician attributed her symptoms to…
E.P. and Department of the Air Force, Robins Air Force Base, Warner Robins, GA
E.P. (ECAB 16-1402): Late reconsideration request denied
An Air Force employee sought reconsideration of a 1991 decision denying a recurrence claim arising from an accepted back injury. The Board found his 2016 request untimely because he did not establish mental incapacity during the year following that decision. His new and repeated medical reports did…
R.Y. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Honolulu, HI
R.Y. (ECAB 16-1301): Late reconsideration request denied
A Veterans Affairs employee sought benefits for an emotional condition that he attributed to work assignments and restrictions on coworker contact. His reconsideration letter was dated one year after OWCP’s last merit decision but reached OWCP after the one year deadline. The Board found that…
M.F. and National Aeronautics & Space Administration, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA
M.F. (ECAB 16-1296): No ratable hearing loss for a schedule award
A retired NASA fabrication specialist sought a schedule award for hearing loss and tinnitus after decades of workplace noise exposure. OWCP accepted the conditions, but its medical testing yielded no ratable binaural hearing impairment under the applicable guide. The Board found the other…
W.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
W.H. (ECAB 16-0806): Knee impairment award returned for further medical review
A postal worker challenged a two percent right leg schedule award following an accepted knee injury and surgery. His physician rated the impairment at 28 percent, while an OWCP referral physician rated it at two percent. The Board found OWCP had obtained a second impartial examiner before seeking…
H.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
H.F. (ECAB 16-1603): Back injury claim lacked medical causation evidence
A postal clerk reported back pain after reaching for a package at work, and OWCP accepted that the incident occurred. The Board found that one physician initially diagnosed only pain and did not connect later diagnoses to the incident. Another physician expressed only clinical suspicion, while a…
J.R. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Stockton, CA
J.R. (ECAB 16-1460): Arm and leg impairment awards upheld
An Internal Revenue Service employee sought greater schedule awards after fracturing his right arm and femur in a fall down stairs at his residence. He was on flexiplace and packing for approved work travel when he fell. OWCP’s examiner rated permanent impairment at 12 percent of the right arm and…
B.S. and Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers, J. Strom Thurmond Power Plant, Clark Hill, SC
B.S. (ECAB 16-1451): Knee disability recurrence denied
An Army power plant operator sought benefits for renewed right knee disability years after an accepted 2006 injury and surgeries. The Board found a long gap in medical records and substantial work at other jobs during the intervening years. His surgeon linked arthritis to the old injury but did not…
M.J. and Department of the Air Force, McGuire Air Force Base, NJ
M.J. (ECAB 16-1339): Repeated evidence did not reopen disability claim
An Air Force sheet metal mechanic sought reconsideration of a denial of continuing disability from an accepted lumbar contusion. His attorney asserted a conflict between treating and referral physicians and submitted further reports from the treating physician. The Board found that the argument and…
M.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Maryville Gardens Station, St. Louis, MO
M.F. (ECAB 16-1089): Schedule award overpayment returned for calculation
A postal employee challenged an asserted $4,128.44 overpayment arising from prior knee schedule awards. The Board found that OWCP had not properly resolved her underlying impairment rating before calculating an overpayment. Its examiner had excluded possible preexisting medial compartment arthritis…
R.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration, Calverton, NY
R.B. (ECAB 16-1071): Work duty for early morning knee incident not established
A cemetery employee claimed a left knee injury while lifting a door stop at 7 a.m., an hour before his regular shift. He did not provide the requested details showing why he was on site early or whether he was performing assigned work. The Board found the record insufficient to establish an injury…
C.M. and Department of the Army, Materiel Command Headquarters, Anniston, AL
C.M. (ECAB 16-0529): Additional hearing loss award denied
An Army employee who had received a schedule award for 32 percent binaural hearing loss sought a higher award. The Board found no reliable medical evidence that a greater loss was caused by his federal work. A referral physician found inconsistent responses in both the initial hearing test and a…
Briones Utility Company
Trench cave-in citation reinstated with reduced penalty
Briones Utility Company used hydraulic shoring while employees exposed underground utility lines in a seven-foot-deep trench. The judge vacated OSHA's cave-in protection citation after finding that employee exposure was not proven and that entering the trench was necessary to install another shore…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Waco Regional Office, Waco, Texas (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2571 (Union)
VA Waco Regional Office and AFGE Local 2571 (FLRA 0-AR-5197): Earlier EEO complaint bars grievance
The VA denied a newly elected union president's request to spend all her work time on union duties, allowing half instead. She filed an equal employment opportunity complaint before the union filed a grievance about the same denial. An arbitrator ordered a hearing on the grievance while leaving its…
Matter of M-S-B-
A time-barred asylum application can still be frivolous
The Board reviewed a Guinean respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge found that his asylum application was frivolous and denied his other requested relief. The respondent had misstated his date of entry by more than two years, affecting whether the application met the one-year filing…
V.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Indianapolis, IN
V.N. (ECAB 16-1427): Foot condition claim lacked medical causation evidence
A postal window clerk attributed foot neuropathy and plantar fasciitis to prolonged standing at work. The Board found the medical reports did not give a reasoned opinion connecting the diagnosed conditions to his work duties. An unsigned report had little evidentiary value, and an earlier Veterans…
V.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Grand Rapids, MI
V.M. (ECAB 16-1383): Right leg impairment claim denied
A postal clerk sought a schedule award after accepted right foot and ankle sprains. The impartial orthopedic examiner found no objective residuals from those injuries and attributed the remaining impairment to preexisting arthritis. The Board gave weight to that explanation and found no ratable…
J.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Paragould, AR
J.P. (ECAB 16-0954): Right arm injury claim lacked medical causation
A rural carrier claimed a right arm injury after collapsing at work in June 2011. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred, but the Board found no reasoned medical opinion connecting it to a diagnosed injury. Later shoulder records and other treatment materials did not establish that causal link…
T.C. and Department of Agriculture, Food Safety & Inspection Service, Waltham, MA
T.C. (ECAB 16-0755): Emotional condition claim lacked a compensable work factor
An Agriculture Department investigator attributed an emotional condition to workplace actions and alleged harassment. The Board found that he had not established error or abuse in administrative or personnel matters. It also found no corroborating evidence for the harassment allegations; grievances…
G.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Carl Vinson Veterans Medical Center, Dublin, GA
G.R. (ECAB 16-0455): Suitable work termination reversed
A Veterans Affairs file clerk receiving compensation after accepted injuries was offered sedentary work. OWCP ended her wage loss benefits and schedule award entitlement when she refused the offer. The Board found OWCP had not completed the medical development needed to establish that the job was…
M.F. and Department of the Air Force, Robins Air Force Base, GA
M.F. (ECAB 16-0107): Impairment remanded; travel expense denial upheld
An Air Force employee challenged a schedule award of two percent impairment in each leg and a denial of long distance medical travel reimbursement. The Board found a conflict between the impairment rating from Dr. Ellis, whom the employee visited for an evaluation, and the rating from OWCP's second…
United States Department of Defense, Education Activity, U.S. Department of Defense Dependents Schools (Agency) and Federal Education Association (Union)
DOD Dependents Schools and Federal Education Association (FLRA 0-AR-5172): Leave-program implementation award upheld
An arbitrator had issued a merits award and two supplemental awards addressing pay, leave, and the voluntary leave transfer program for employees at overseas DOD schools. After finding that the agency had not implemented those remedies, she issued another award directing immediate compliance. The…
M.D. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, East Orange, NJ
M.D. (ECAB 16-1596): Knee injury claim lacked medical causation
A Veterans Affairs housekeeping aide claimed a left knee injury after kneeling to clean a floor at work. OWCP accepted the work incident, but the Board found that the medical reports did not adequately link a diagnosed knee condition to it. One physician described a knee twist on the day of the…
M.W. and Department of the Air Force, Maxwell Air Force Base, AL
M.W. (ECAB 16-1554): Higher arm impairment award denied
An Air Force employee sought a larger schedule award after receiving compensation for 30 percent permanent impairment of her left arm. The Board found that the records submitted with her new claim did not rate additional arm impairment or describe its extent. Without medical evidence supporting an…
N.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Plymouth, MI
N.G. (ECAB 16-1421): January 2016 total disability claim denied
A postal carrier sought compensation for total disability over three days after an accepted back contusion; OWCP had already paid two hours for each day under her work restrictions. Her physician did not explain how the accepted injury prevented work during those dates. Other notes attributed later…
M.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pittsburgh, PA
M.L. (ECAB 16-1353): Repeated evidence did not reopen shoulder claim
A postal mail processor sought reconsideration of a shoulder injury claim. Her attorney repeated an argument that two physicians’ reports conflicted and resubmitted work restriction and medical materials already considered. The Board found no new legal argument or pertinent new evidence warranting…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Orleans, LA
S.M. (ECAB 16-1127): Duplicate payment overpayment upheld
A postal employee received a paper check and an electronic payment of $2,985.20 each for the same four-week period in 2015, creating a $2,985.20 overpayment. The Board upheld OWCP’s finding that she was at fault for the overpayment. It also found her request for a prerecoupment hearing late because…
M.B. and Social Security Administration, Cleveland ODAR Office, Cleveland, OH
M.B. (ECAB 16-0878): Knee injury claim lacked medical causation
A Social Security Administration employee twisted his left knee while trying to keep a computer from falling off a cart at work. OWCP accepted the incident, but the Board found the submitted medical records did not adequately explain how it caused or aggravated his knee condition, particularly…
I.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Georgetown, TX
I.D. (ECAB 16-0581): Harassment and supervisory error established; medical issue remanded
A postal worker claimed an emotional condition from workplace harassment. The Board found that an official personnel decision supported her account that a supervisor had distributed an intimate video to coworkers, establishing a compensable work factor. It also found corroborated error or abuse by…
Secretary of Labor v. C.R. Meyer & Sons Company, Inc. and C.R. Meyer & Sons Company, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor
Secretary of Labor v. C.R. Meyer & Sons Company, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 2014-482-M): MSHA may cite an operator for ignoring a temporary reinstatement order
C.R. Meyer & Sons, a contractor at the Mountain Pass mine and mill, laid off pipefitter Dustin Rodriguez, who then filed a discrimination complaint. A Commission judge ordered the company to reinstate him immediately while the complaint was pending. The company told the judge it would not put…
Secretary of Labor v. Red River Coal Company, Inc.
Bathhouse waiver lapse supports a $100 citation
Red River Coal's Stoker Plant could not support plumbing, so the company relied on an annually renewed waiver instead of providing bathing, changing, and flush-toilet facilities. MSHA denied the 2015 renewal, and Red River deliberately waited nearly five months without seeking an extension or…
B.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Cleveland, OH
B.J. (ECAB 16-1825): Knee osteoarthritis claim lacked medical causation
A postal data collection technician attributed bilateral knee osteoarthritis to years of walking and standing at work. Her physician diagnosed the condition and imposed work restrictions but gave no opinion connecting it to those duties. The Board held that the timing of symptoms alone did not…
D.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, North Chicago, IL
D.H. (ECAB 16-1455): Leg impairment award denied
A Veterans Affairs nursing assistant sought an award for permanent impairment of both legs following an accepted lumbar sprain. The Board found her physician’s impairment assessment did not properly apply the accepted rating standards. OWCP’s medical adviser found no ratable motor or sensory…
J.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hollis, NY
J.V. (ECAB 16-1246): Termination of injury benefits upheld
A postal employee challenged termination of benefits effective April 17, 2015 for accepted work injuries. The Board found OWCP could rely on its referral physician’s opinion that work related residuals had ended. The employee’s later reports did not explain how the accepted injuries still required…
S.B. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Washington, DC
S.B. (ECAB 16-0933): Knee injury benefits termination upheld
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement employee challenged the end of benefits for an accepted right knee contusion. The Board found that OWCP had resolved a conflict in the medical evidence through an impartial examiner, whose opinion supported that work related residuals and disability had ended…
M.G., widow of R.G., and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, San Ysidro, CA
M.G., widow of R.G., (ECAB 16-0625): Survivor claim returned for workplace evidence
The widow of a Customs and Border Protection officer sought survivor benefits, alleging work stress contributed to his death from cardiovascular disease. The Board found that OWCP had asked the employer for information about his duties and possible stressors but had not obtained a response. The…
B.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Rochester, NY
B.R. (ECAB 16-0567): Social Security offset overpayment upheld
A former postal carrier received both full FECA compensation and Social Security benefits for a period spanning 2009 to 2014. OWCP calculated an $83,388.25 overpayment because a dual benefit offset had not been applied. The Board upheld that amount and found the claimant at fault because she…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1812 (Union) and Broadcasting Board of Governors (Agency)
AFGE Local 1812 and Broadcasting Board of Governors (FLRA 0-AR-5212): Temporary workspace relocation upheld
The Broadcasting Board of Governors bargained with AFGE Local 1812 over a temporary workspace relocation, declared an impasse, and later implemented the move. An arbitrator found that the agreement's normal ten-day notice period was not mandatory and that the agency completed its contractual…
R.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, New York Harbor Healthcare System
R.S. (ECAB 16-1469): Work incident injury claim lacked medical causation
A Veterans Affairs employee sought benefits for a condition he attributed to a June 2014 work incident. The Board found that the later medical reports did not account adequately for his preexisting conditions or give a reasoned explanation linking a diagnosed injury to that incident. A physician’s…
C.A. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Patrol, San Diego, CA
C.A. (ECAB 16-1442): Late oral hearing request denied
A Border Patrol agent sought an oral hearing after OWCP denied a schedule award for a prior neck injury. His request was postmarked more than 30 days after the award denial, so the Board found it untimely. OWCP also acted within its discretion in denying a later hearing because reconsideration…
A.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Pittsburgh, PA
A.C. (ECAB 16-1432): Cervical disc claim expansion denied
A postal clerk asked OWCP to add cervical degenerative disc disease to a claim that already covered right shoulder injuries. The Board found that his physicians gave differing explanations for the cervical condition and did not provide a clear, reasoned link to the accepted mail casing work. OWCP’s…
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.