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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P.D. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Gainesville, FL
P.D. (ECAB 16-1399): Late reconsideration request denied
A Veterans Affairs food service worker asked OWCP to reconsider its 2014 denial of an emotional condition claim. His request arrived more than a year after the last merit decision. The Board found that new medical disagreement with the earlier decision did not clearly demonstrate error on OWCP’s…
L.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Houston, TX
L.M. (ECAB 16-1374): Late written record review request denied
A Veterans Affairs nursing assistant sought written record review after OWCP denied her occupational disease claim involving an infection. Her request was postmarked more than 30 days after the claim decision. The Board found it late and found no abuse of discretion in OWCP’s refusal to grant…
L.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Staten Island, NY
L.D. (ECAB 16-1289): Work incident recognized; injury denial upheld
A postal window clerk reported a pop in her left calf while turning after helping a customer. The Board accepted the work incident based on her account and witness statements, changing OWCP’s factual finding. It nonetheless found no adequate medical opinion linking a diagnosed condition to the…
G.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Santa Ana, CA
G.S. (ECAB 16-1086): Additional leg impairment award denied
A postal employee with accepted lumbar conditions sought more than one percent permanent impairment of his right leg and an award for his left leg. The Board found the current medical record did not establish greater impairment under the applicable rating guide. Other progress reports gave no…
Secretary of Labor v. Varra Companies, Inc.
Final penalty assessment reopened
Varra Companies' MSHA penalty assessment became a final Commission order after MSHA recorded no timely contest. Varra said it mailed contests for several assessments at the same time and supplied certified-mail receipts dated October 28 and October 30, 2014. Varra said MSHA received the contests…
Secretary of Labor v. Robinson Construction
Missed penalty contest reopened after counsel mix-up
Robinson Construction failed to contest a proposed penalty within the Mine Act's 30-day deadline, so the assessment became a final Commission order. The operator said it had contested two related orders and fully intended to contest the penalty, but a miscommunication left both the company and its…
Secretary of Labor v. South Central Coal Company, Indiana, LLC
Two-day-late penalty contest reopened after staff illness
South Central Coal received an MSHA penalty assessment on February 13, 2015, but did not contest it within the Mine Act's 30-day deadline, so the assessment became a final Commission order on March 16. The operator said its contest form was filed two days late because the company's executive…
Secretary of Labor v. The Ohio Valley Coal Company
Contest form filed four days late by a new safety director, reopened
Under section 105(a) of the Mine Act an operator has 30 days from receiving a proposed penalty assessment to tell the Secretary it wants to contest it. Miss that window and the assessment becomes a final order of the Commission automatically. MSHA delivered Ohio Valley Coal's assessment on July 18…
Secretary of Labor v. Revelation Energy, LLC
Holiday closure excused three-day-late penalty contest
Revelation Energy did not contest an MSHA penalty assessment within the Mine Act's 30-day deadline, so the assessment became a final Commission order on January 26, 2015. The operator said the mine had been closed for several days during the Christmas holiday break, and the Secretary confirmed that…
The Doe Run Company v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. The Doe Run Company
The Doe Run Company v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC CENT 2016-283 RM, et al.): Amended escapeway settlement preserves one penalty docket
MSHA cited five Doe Run mines under 30 C.F.R. § 57.11050(a), alleging that two escapeways were not provided from all working areas. Doe Run argued that the two-escapeway requirement applied only to the mines' lowest levels, and the parties completed a four-day trial before settling. Under the…
Secretary of Labor v. Southway Construction Company, Inc.
Claimed mailed contest reopened without delivery proof
Southway Construction's proposed penalty became a final Commission order after MSHA recorded no contest within the Mine Act's 30-day deadline. The company said it mailed the contest form four days before the deadline, but it had no certified-mail delivery proof, and MSHA had no record of receiving…
E.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Paradise, CA
E.B. (ECAB 16-1468): Back disability recurrence denied
A postal distribution clerk claimed renewed disability for April 2016 after returning to modified work following accepted neck and back conditions. Her doctors described upper back pain and strain but did not connect the claimed disability to the accepted injuries. One report described pain after…
K.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Canton, OH
K.P. (ECAB 16-1447): Late reconsideration request denied
A postal employee sought reconsideration of a 2014 claim denial through a motion received in February 2016. The Board found the request late because it arrived more than one year after the merit decision. The attorney argued that OWCP had overlooked a physician’s report, but the earlier decision…
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Portland, ME
M.S. (ECAB 16-1362): Ankle and foot injury claim denied
A postal mail clerk tripped on plastic strapping at work and claimed left ankle and foot conditions. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred, but the Board found that a physician’s checked box and other reports did not explain how the incident caused the diagnosed conditions. Imaging reports…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Vorhees, NJ
S.M. (ECAB 16-1312): Right thumb occupational disease claim denied
A rural postal carrier attributed a right thumb condition to repetitive job duties. OWCP accepted the duties as factual, but the Board found the medical record did not establish that they caused or aggravated the condition for which she underwent surgery. The claimant’s belief alone could not…
G.R. and Department of the Air Force, Fairchild Air Force Base, Airway Heights, WA
G.R. (ECAB 16-1201): Carpal tunnel claim expansion denied
An Air Force employee sought to add carpal tunnel syndrome to a claim that already covered left arm and shoulder injuries and an ulnar nerve lesion. The Board gave weight to an impartial examiner’s opinion that the carpal tunnel condition was unrelated to the accepted work injury. A contrary…
G.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Brunswick, NJ
G.C. (ECAB 16-1109): Ankle injury benefits termination reversed
A postal worker with accepted ankle fractures challenged termination of compensation and medical benefits. OWCP’s first referral physician could not determine whether later ankle arthritis arose from the injuries or another cause, and OWCP did not seek the required clarification. It instead relied…
H.W. and Department of the Army, Red River Army Depot, Texarkana, TX
H.W. (ECAB 16-1060): Shoulder and lumbar claim expansion denied
An Army depot worker sought to add a left shoulder rotator cuff tear and lumbar radiculopathy to injuries accepted from a 1989 incident. The Board found no reasoned medical opinion tracing those later conditions to the accepted injuries as natural consequences. The physician supporting the claim…
K.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Sierra Nevada Healthcare System, Reno, NV
K.C. (ECAB 16-1476): Late reconsideration request denied
A Veterans Affairs nursing assistant sought reconsideration of a December 2014 traumatic injury denial. Her request reached OWCP more than one year later and was untimely. She resubmitted medical materials previously considered without showing clear error in the earlier decision. The Board affirmed…
R.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, West Los Angeles Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
R.G. (ECAB 16-1419): Transit station injury outside work duty
A Veterans Affairs housekeeping aide injured his ankle at a downtown train station while traveling to authorized overtime work. The Board found that the station was not controlled by his employer and that the trip did not itself constitute a special work service. It held the injury occurred outside…
E.V. and Department of the Navy, Naval Medical Center, San Diego, CA
E.V. (ECAB 16-1356): Early arrival parking fall outside work duty
A Navy medical center social worker fell in an employer parking lot about 50 minutes before her shift began. The Board found she arrived early to secure a preferred parking spot and had not shown that she performed work at that time. Although the fall occurred on employer premises, her early…
D.B. and Department of the Army, Yakima Training Center, Yakima Firing Center, WA
D.B. (ECAB 16-1214): Lung impairment claim reopened for merits review
An Army equipment mechanic sought a schedule award for lung impairment after OWCP accepted a temporary aggravation of bullous emphysema. OWCP refused to reopen the claim, but the Board found he had submitted new pulmonary function studies addressing a specific gap identified in the prior decision…
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pittsburgh, PA
J.B. (ECAB 16-1192): Knee injury claim lacked medical causation
A postal carrier assistant injured his knee while training to deliver mail, and OWCP accepted that the incident occurred. The Board found the physician reports did not explain how the incident caused the diagnosed knee tendinitis. Nurse practitioner notes and records with illegible signatures could…
R.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Harrisburg, PA
R.W. (ECAB 16-1064): Suitable work termination reversed
A postal carrier challenged termination of benefits after declining an offered position. OWCP had found conflicting medical opinions about her work restrictions and selected an impartial examiner, but based the termination on an earlier referral report instead of resolving that conflict. The Board…
R.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Palatine, IL
R.H. (ECAB 16-1045): Right arm impairment award denied
A postal worker sought a schedule award for residuals of an accepted 1991 right shoulder dislocation. An impartial examiner rated no permanent right arm impairment under the applicable guide, and an OWCP medical adviser concurred. The Board gave the examiner’s reasoned opinion special weight. It…
Secretary of Labor v. Kentucky Fuel Corporation
Truck blocking and 103(k) violations draw $55,500
At Kentucky Fuel's Beech Creek Surface Mine, a mechanic worked beneath an unblocked grease truck and struck its starter with a hammer while another miner sat in the cab. The truck started and rolled backward about two feet, causing several broken ribs and a punctured lung; the mechanic later…
Williams v. Grand Trunk Western Railroad Co.
December 2016 decision later vacated
Webster Williams, a locomotive engineer, alleged that Grand Trunk Western Railroad fired him for absences linked to medical treatment and leave. An administrative law judge found that the railroad retaliated against him in violation of the Federal Rail Safety Act and awarded reinstatement, wages…
D.W. and Department of Labor, Mine Safety & Health Administration, Franklin, TN
D.W. (ECAB 16-1495): Fall injury claim lacked medical causation
A mine safety inspector slipped during a work equipment inspection and reported right side, shoulder, and neck symptoms. The Board found that his physicians did not adequately explain how the fall caused diagnosed medical conditions. The official decision’s issue and conclusion refer to a left…
M.H. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institute, Berlin, NH
M.H. (ECAB 16-1382): Repeated argument did not reopen emotional condition claim
A correctional officer sought reconsideration of an emotional condition claim based on alleged unfair treatment at work. Her request repeated arguments already in the record and included no pertinent new evidence. The Board found no new legal ground requiring review of the underlying claim. It…
A.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Melville, NY
A.F. (ECAB 16-1342): Bilateral foot disease claim lacked medical causation
A postal worker attributed bilateral foot conditions to prolonged standing and walking on uneven surfaces at work. OWCP accepted those duties and the diagnoses, but the Board found his treating report lacked a reasoned medical explanation connecting them. It held that symptoms during work do not…
S.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Los Angeles, CA
S.E. (ECAB 16-1258): Late reconsideration request denied
A postal employee asked OWCP to reconsider a 2010 merit denial years after its issuance. The Board found her 2015 request untimely and held that the evidence and arguments did not clearly demonstrate error in the prior decision. It treated her claim that she had not received the earlier decision as…
J.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Dallas, TX
J.S. (ECAB 16-1097): Termination of injury benefits upheld
A postal worker challenged termination of benefits for accepted injuries and claimed continued disability. The Board gave special weight to the impartial medical examiner’s reasoned opinion that work related residuals had ended. It rejected objections to the examiner’s selection and the statement…
G.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Santa Clarita, CA
G.B. (ECAB 16-1003): Total disability claim denied
A postal electronics technician sought compensation for total disability beginning in March 2015 under accepted work injury claims. The Board found that the medical reports did not explain how those accepted conditions prevented work during the claimed period. It affirmed the denial of wage loss…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 779 (Union) and United States Department of the Air Force, 82 TRW/JA, Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas (Agency)
AFGE Local 779 and Sheppard Air Force Base (FLRA 0-AR-5200): Union exceptions rejected
AFGE Local 779 filed exceptions to an arbitration award involving Sheppard Air Force Base. The union's filing was timely because the postmark showed that the filing period began two days later than the award's stated date suggested. The Authority dismissed the union's hearsay argument because the…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Jeffrey Pappas v. CalPortland Company and Riverside Cement Company
Summary decision denied over disputed hiring motive
Riverside Cement and CalPortland each sought summary decision against the Secretary's claim that Jeffrey Pappas suffered employment discrimination after earlier mine-safety complaints. Riverside argued that it laid off its entire workforce after the mine sale, but the Secretary's claim also…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Jeffrey Pappas v. CalPortland Company and Riverside Cement Company
Privileged discrimination records shielded from discovery
CalPortland and Riverside Cement asked Judge Alan G. Paez to compel the Secretary to produce an MSHA interview, an email, a memorandum, and other documents from Jeffrey Pappas in his discrimination case. The judge found the motion untimely because it came after the discovery deadline and more than…
E.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Newark, NJ
E.R. (ECAB 16-1591): Dependent rate overpayment upheld
A Transportation Security Administration worker continued receiving the augmented FECA rate after her daughter ceased to qualify as a dependent student. The Board upheld the $6,237.45 overpayment and found the worker at fault because a form she signed explained the dependent age and student rules…
R.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Waukesha, WI
R.S. (ECAB 16-1303): Back injury and subpoena denials upheld
A postal worker sought benefits for a back condition after a November 2014 work incident and asked for a subpoena during the claim proceedings. The Board found his physicians did not explain how the accepted incident caused the diagnosed condition; other records could not supply a qualifying…
Z.L. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital, Columbia, MO
Z.L. (ECAB 16-1291): Work duties recognized; cervical condition claim denied
A Veterans Affairs clerk attributed cervical stenosis and radiculopathy to repeated upper body twisting at work. The Board found those duties occurred, correcting OWCP’s factual finding. It nonetheless found no adequate physician opinion explaining how the duties caused or aggravated the cervical…
R.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Blackwood, NJ
R.C. (ECAB 16-1272): Bilateral foot disease claim denied
A postal carrier attributed a bilateral foot condition to walking and carrying mail. The Board accepted that his work involved those duties but found no reasoned medical opinion connecting them to the condition. A form checkmark and reports without a causation opinion were insufficient. The Board…
M.E. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Fort Worth, TX
M.E. (ECAB 16-1216): Right leg impairment award denied
A corrections officer sought an award for permanent right leg impairment under accepted fracture and peroneal nerve injury conditions. The Board gave weight to OWCP’s referral examiner and medical adviser, who found no ratable right leg impairment under the applicable guide. No current qualifying…
L.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Milpitas, CA
L.A. (ECAB 16-0911): Disability and written review denials upheld
A postal employee sought compensation for total disability during a period in 2015 after a right shoulder injury. The Board found her physicians had not explained why she could not perform her modified duties before surgery. Her written record review request was postmarked after the 30 day…
D.B. and Department of the Air Force, Tinker Air Force Base, OK
D.B. (ECAB 16-0798): Low back injury claim lacked medical causation
An Air Force worker felt low back pain while installing a rivet on an aircraft wing. OWCP accepted the incident, but the Board found his medical reports did not adequately explain how it caused or aggravated the diagnosed conditions against a history of prior back problems. It affirmed the claim…
United State Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, National Border Patrol Council, Local 3725 (Union)
CBP and National Border Patrol Council Local 3725 (FLRA 0-AR-5154): Attorney-fee denial upheld
An arbitrator rescinded a border patrol agent's fourteen-day suspension because Customs and Border Protection had not provided the proposed disciplinary notice at the earliest practicable date required by the parties' agreement. The arbitrator later denied the union's request for attorney fees…
Matter of L-T-P-
Mariel parole did not establish refugee or asylee status
The Board reviewed a Cuban respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge denied adjustment of status and a waiver of inadmissibility. The respondent had entered during the 1980 Mariel migration as a Cuban/Haitian Entrant with parole documentation for Cuban asylum, but the Board held that this did…
N.A. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Calexico, CA
N.A. (ECAB 16-1298): Emotional condition claim returned for evidence review
A Customs and Border Protection employee sought benefits for an emotional condition linked to alleged supervisor harassment. OWCP denied the claim while stating she had not responded to its evidence request. The Board found that OWCP had received her response and several medical reports on the day…
D.S. and Department of Health & Human Services, Indian Health Service, Window Rock, AZ
D.S. (ECAB 16-1252): Lunch break trail fall outside work duty
An Indian Health Service medical records technician fractured her arm after slipping on a walking trail during lunch. The Board found the off premises walk was unrelated to her work and exposed her to a hazard shared by the public. The fact that she was on a lunch break did not bring the trail…
J.S. and U.S. Air Force, Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps, Champaign, IL
J.S. (ECAB 16-1240): Late reconsideration request denied
An Air Force ROTC student sought reconsideration of a 2014 traumatic injury denial. Her request arrived more than one year after the merit decision, and the Board found no clear evidence of error in the materials submitted. She said OWCP correspondence went to her ROTC detachment, but the record…
B.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Chillicothe, OH
B.W. (ECAB 16-1193): Permanent impairment award denied
A Veterans Affairs employee sought an impairment award after accepted back and left shoulder injuries from a fall. The Board found that a later physician’s rating did not establish residual impairment from those accepted conditions, which earlier examinations found had resolved. It affirmed the…
W.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Houston, TX
W.C. (ECAB 16-0991): Late reconsideration request denied
A postal carrier sought reconsideration of an earlier injury decision more than a year after the last merit ruling. His physician proposed additional spinal conditions and disability, but the Board found the reports did not clearly demonstrate error in the prior decision. The reports also did not…
R.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Moravia, NY
R.E. (ECAB 16-0947): Knee claim and written review denials upheld
A postal employee sought benefits for right knee conditions after an accepted August 2015 work incident. The Board found the medical record did not establish a causal relationship between the incident and the knee conditions. It also found his request for written record review untimely. The Board…
R.C. and Department of the Army, Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, AL
R.C. (ECAB 16-0594): Rescission of accepted disability periods reversed
An Army contract specialist had been told she was entitled to compensation for several dates of disability arising from accepted emotional conditions. OWCP later denied those periods without a sufficiently detailed factual basis or clear explanation for rescinding its prior acceptance. The Board…
R.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Harrisburg, PA
R.B. (ECAB 15-0871): Light duty recurrence claim denied
A postal worker claimed renewed disability after a change in her light duty assignment. The Board compared the offered assignment with her physician’s restrictions and found the duties remained within them. She did not establish that the modified position was unavailable or medically unsuitable…
Secretary of Labor v. Rock n Roll Coal Company, Inc.
All six citations and orders affirmed as written for $29,613
Rock N Roll Coal operates the underground Mine No. 7 in West Virginia. MSHA inspector Morgan issued six citations and orders across two 2015 inspections. They covered a missing directional cone on the secondary escapeway lifeline, a carbon monoxide monitor placed about 250 feet from its required…
Secretary of Labor v. Linwood Mining and Minerals Corporation
Default vacated after request citing safety director's illness
MSHA proposed civil penalties against Linwood Mining and Minerals in September 2014. Linwood never filed an answer, so the Chief Administrative Law Judge issued a show cause order in June 2015 that became a default order the next month. Linwood asked the Commission to reopen, explaining that the…
McNiece v. Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc.
McNiece v. Dominion Nuclear Connecticut (DOL ARB 2015-0083): Untimely complaint dismissal affirmed
Adam McNiece alleged that Dominion Nuclear Connecticut retaliated after he reported nuclear safety violations by creating a hostile work environment for his wife. A Labor Department judge dismissed his Energy Reorganization Act complaint because it did not allege a qualifying adverse action within…
American Federation of Government Employees, National Council 118 (Union) and United States Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Agency)
AFGE Council 118 and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (FLRA 0-AR-5194): Official-time and overtime ruling upheld
During the 2013 federal shutdown, the president of AFGE Council 118 temporarily returned from a full-time union schedule to agency work as a deportation officer and accepted a future overtime assignment. Immigration and Customs Enforcement returned him to full-time official time when the shutdown…
Secretary of Labor v. Cemex Southeast, LLC
Elevator exam citation vacated for lack of fair notice
Cemex runs a cement plant in Demopolis, Alabama. After an elevator fatality at a different cement plant in Louisville, MSHA ran a spot inspection of the Demopolis elevators and cited Cemex under the workplace examination standard, 30 C.F.R. § 56.18002(a), for not having a competent person examine…
M.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Houston, TX
M.O. (ECAB 16-1242): Knee treatment recurrence denied
A postal employee sought renewed treatment for knee problems years after an accepted injury and several surgeries. The Board found her physicians did not explain how the current left knee condition or proposed treatment remained connected to the old work injury. It affirmed the denial of a…
B.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tilton, NH
B.G. (ECAB 16-1239): Late reconsideration request denied
A rural carrier sought reconsideration of a 2012 denial of a neck injury claim. Her request arrived more than three years after the merit decision. The Board found the submitted materials did not clearly show error in treating the reported March 2012 event as a new injury rather than a recurrence…
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.