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.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Woodville, WI
J.E. (ECAB 16-0509): Left shoulder injury claim denied
J.E., a postal worker, claimed that an October 4, 2011 work incident injured her left shoulder. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but disputed its medical connection to her condition. The Board found that her physician’s opinion was speculative and did not adequately explain how a cart shelf…
K.M. and Department of Labor, Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program, Denver, CO
K.M. (ECAB 15-1660): Insect bite injury claim denied
K.M., a DOL employee, alleged that an August 2008 workplace insect bite caused an injury. The work exposure was accepted, but prior appeals found the medical evidence insufficient to establish a resulting injury. In this appeal, the Board found that her physician still had not adequately explained…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pearland, TX
J.M. (ECAB 15-1634): Late schedule award reconsideration denied
J.M., a postal employee, asked OWCP to reconsider an earlier schedule award decision concerning her arm. Her request was received on December 16, 2014, one day after the extended deadline. The Board found that she supplied no relevant new impairment evidence and no clear evidence that the earlier…
T.R. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Beaumont, TX
T.R. (ECAB 15-1374): Compensation overpayment and fault findings upheld
T.R., a Bureau of Prisons maintenance supervisor, received wage loss compensation while also receiving sick leave pay for the same period. OWCP found an overpayment of $4,708.79 for August 24 through December 13, 2014. The Board found that he knew or should have known that he could not receive both…
Matter of Samuel Alberto IBARRA
Coerced extortion consent counts as a theft taking
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal after an Immigration Judge terminated removal proceedings against a Nicaraguan lawful permanent resident convicted of two California robberies committed by force or fear. The Immigration Judge treated robbery as outside the generic…
H.H. and Department of the Navy, Charleston Naval Shipyard, Charleston, SC
H.H. (ECAB 16-1063): Retirement offset overpayment upheld; fault finding set aside
H.H., a former Navy shipyard employee, received FECA compensation and Social Security benefits that included a FERS retirement component during the same period. OWCP did not apply the required offset and found a $42,774.01 overpayment. The Board upheld the overpayment amount but found insufficient…
K.K. and Department of Agriculture, Food Safety & Inspection Service, Springdale, AR
K.K. (ECAB 16-0955): Foot ulcer aggravation claim denied
K.K. alleged that walking at work aggravated an ulcer on his left foot. OWCP accepted the described work activity but found the medical proof insufficient. The Board held that his physician did not explain how the walking caused or aggravated the ulcer and relied partly on standing, which K.K. said…
K.W. and Corporation for National & Community Service, AmeriCorps VISTA Enrollees, Habitat for Humanity, Spokane, WA
K.W. (ECAB 16-0568): Tent work injury claim denied
K.W. moved furniture and disassembled a tent during her AmeriCorps VISTA work and claimed lumbar and shoulder injuries. OWCP accepted that those activities occurred. The Board found that her physician could not connect his later findings to the 2012 work events, and the other materials did not…
L.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Homewood, IL
L.K. (ECAB 15-0659): Reconsideration request returned for merits review
L.K., a postal employee, sought reconsideration of OWCP’s termination of wage loss compensation. OWCP refused merits review because it considered her legal brief repetitive. The Board found that the brief raised relevant legal arguments OWCP had not previously considered. It directed OWCP to review…
J.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tampa, FL
J.R. (ECAB 15-0387): Retirement benefit overpayment and fault upheld
J.R., a postal employee, received FECA disability compensation while also receiving disability retirement benefits for the same period. He had elected retirement benefits retroactive to December 1, 2008, but FECA payments continued. The Board upheld OWCP’s $89,062.79 overpayment calculation and…
S.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Central Facility, Chicago, IL
S.J. (ECAB 15-0029): Wage capacity finding reversed; carpal tunnel claim remanded
S.J., a postal employee with an accepted wrist injury, challenged a wage earning capacity decision based on a modified job. The Board found that the job was makeshift and did not fairly represent her earning capacity, so it reversed that determination. It also found that her doctor’s opinion linked…
Secretary of Labor v. J.L. Sherman Excavation Co.
Judge sought briefing on Solicitor's dual role
The Secretary alleged that J.L. Sherman Excavation fired Kelly Rawley after he reported unsafe loader brakes to MSHA. At the same time, the Secretary was seeking individual civil penalties against Rawley for earlier alleged safety violations. Judge David F. Barbour identified a potential conflict…
Armstrong v. Flowserve US, Inc.
Nuclear safety complaint remanded
Robert Armstrong was a machinist for Flowserve, which made equipment for the nuclear power industry. He reported concerns about a pump part and its testing to coworkers and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, then claimed Flowserve fired him in retaliation. An administrative law judge dismissed his…
R.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Salisbury, MD
R.S. (ECAB 16-1263): Late schedule award reconsideration denied
R.S., a postal employee with accepted left shoulder conditions, sought a schedule award but provided no medical impairment evaluation. More than a year after OWCP denied the award, he requested reconsideration and asked OWCP to arrange a second opinion exam. The Board found the request untimely and…
G.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Postal Inspection Service, Oakland, CA
G.B. (ECAB 16-0996): PTSD benefit termination reversed
G.B., a Postal Inspection Service employee, had an accepted claim for delayed-onset PTSD. OWCP ended her benefits based on a second opinion physician’s view that she no longer had work-related PTSD. Her treating psychiatrist disagreed and explained why he believed the condition persisted. The Board…
A.S. and Department of Defense, Defense Supply Center, Columbus, OH
A.S. (ECAB 16-0538): Retirement offset overpayment narrowed and fault set aside
A.S. received FECA compensation and Social Security retirement benefits partly based on federal service. The Board found an overpayment while she received wage loss compensation from July 2006 to June 2007. It rejected OWCP’s overpayment finding for the later period because she was then receiving a…
G.B. and Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review, Falls Church, VA
G.B. (ECAB 16-0515): Two hours of medical appointment wage loss awarded
G.B., a legal assistant, attended a presurgical clearance appointment before an OWCP-authorized right hip operation. OWCP denied her request for two hours of wage loss compensation for the visit. The Board found that the dated medical report confirmed the presurgical appointment and that it…
D.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
D.B. (ECAB 16-0381): Standby premium pay claim denied
D.B., a VA medical center employee, sought compensation for lost on-call or standby premium pay after an accepted injury. His doctors said medication limited nighttime driving and calls but did not explain why he could not take daytime on-call shifts. The record also showed that he had asked to…
M.B. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Palm Beach International Airport, West Palm Beach, FL
M.B. (ECAB 15-1125): Shoulder injury benefit termination upheld
M.B., a TSA employee, had accepted left shoulder conditions and received compensation benefits. OWCP terminated those benefits after a second opinion physician concluded that the work injury had resolved. The Board found that the physician’s examination and explanation were sufficient to support…
S.E. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Materiel Command, Tobyhanna, PA
S.E. (ECAB 15-0888): Recurrence claim after temporary appointment ended denied
S.E., an Army Materiel Command employee, had an accepted 2009 injury and worked under a temporary appointment. He sought recurrence compensation after that appointment expired on July 4, 2011. The Board held that the end of a temporary job did not itself establish disability from the accepted…
D.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Maryland Health Care System, Baltimore, MD
D.M. (ECAB 15-0591): Hearing loss award claims returned for consolidated record
D.M., a VA food service worker, had one accepted hearing loss claim and a later claim involving additional noise exposure. He sought an increased schedule award, but the record indicated that OWCP had not combined the two claim files. The Board held that both records were needed to decide the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2145 (Union) and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Richmond, Virginia (Agency)
AFGE Local 2145 and Richmond VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-5153): Locality-pay exceptions dismissed as premature
Employees at a VA outpatient clinic in Fredericksburg received lower Richmond locality pay even though the clinic fell within the Washington locality-pay area. An arbitrator found the grievance nonarbitrable for registered nurses but sustained it in part for licensed practical nurses and other…
D.V. and Department of the Air Force, Travis Air Force Base, CA
D.V. (ECAB 16-1168): Reconsideration request denied without merits review
D.V., an Air Force employee with accepted carpal tunnel conditions, sought renewed review of a denial of disability benefits. Her reconsideration request challenged a referee physician’s report that had been addressed in earlier proceedings. The Board found no new relevant evidence or legal…
M.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Uniontown, OH
M.G. (ECAB 16-0948): Late written record review request denied
M.G., a postal employee, requested review of an OWCP decision after the 30-day period for that review had passed. OWCP denied review as a matter of right and declined to grant it in its discretion. The Board found that the request was late and that OWCP could reasonably direct her to the…
L.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Macon, GA
L.L. (ECAB 16-0896): Back and knee injury claim denied
L.L., a postal employee, reported being frightened by a dog during an accepted October 6, 2014 work incident and later sought benefits for back and knee conditions. The Board found that her physician checked a causal relationship box without explaining how the incident caused the diagnosed…
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Distribution Center, Des Moines, IA
M.S. (ECAB 16-0503): Carpal tunnel recurrence claim denied
M.S., a postal employee, had accepted bilateral arm conditions including carpal tunnel syndrome. She stopped work on March 18, 2015 and claimed a recurrence of disability. The Board found that her doctor described increased symptoms but did not explain a spontaneous change in an accepted condition…
B.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Beckley, WV
B.M. (ECAB 16-0326): Late emotional condition reconsideration denied
B.M., a VA employee, sought reconsideration years after OWCP’s last merits decision denying an emotional condition claim. She submitted litigation papers, leave records, medication receipts, and a physician’s statement. The Board found that the request was late and that the materials did not show…
P.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Clearwater, FL
P.M. (ECAB 15-1338): Left knee injury claim denied for unproven incident
P.M., a postal employee, said she injured her left knee after tripping on material from a palm tree while delivering mail. The employer did not receive notice until more than a year later, and medical reports gave different injury dates. The Board found that the delayed notice and inconsistent…
S.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jackson, GA
S.C. (ECAB 15-0941): Oral hearing to be rescheduled after returned notice
S.C., a postal employee, requested an oral hearing after OWCP denied his emotional condition claim. OWCP mailed the hearing notice, but it was returned as undeliverable before the scheduled date. OWCP nevertheless treated his absence as abandonment of the request. The Board held that the returned…
C.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hartford, CT
C.V. (ECAB 15-0615): Forklift incident established; injury claim remanded
C.V., a postal employee, reported that he blacked out while operating a forklift and struck a pole at work. OWCP denied the claim because it found the incident inadequately established. The Board found that prompt emergency treatment, a timely claim, and consistent accounts supported his…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Division v. John Peroulis and Sons Sheep, Inc.
Administrator v. John Peroulis and Sons Sheep (DOL ARB 2014-0076): Housing penalty adjusted
John Peroulis and Sons Sheep housed H-2A sheepherders in mobile wagons on its Colorado ranch. The Wage and Hour Division assessed civil penalties for housing and other violations. An administrative law judge reduced the mobile housing penalties after considering the employer's reasons for putting…
N.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Albany, NY
N.T. (ECAB 16-0995): Higher right leg impairment award denied
N.T., a postal employee, had a right ankle injury from a work fall and received schedule awards totaling 14 percent impairment of her right lower extremity. She sought a higher award using a physician’s proposed 45 percent rating. The Board found that the physician did not explain how he calculated…
L.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Melrose Park, IL
L.H. (ECAB 16-0868): Back injury denial and refusal to reopen upheld
L.H., a postal carrier, reported a back injury while lifting a mail tub. OWCP accepted the lifting event but found no qualified medical evidence establishing an injury from it. The Board held that her chiropractor had not documented an x-ray showing spinal subluxation, and a physician assistant’s…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, McKinney, TX
D.S. (ECAB 16-0756): Emotional condition claim denied over performance of duty
D.S., a rural letter carrier, encountered a deceased customer inside the customer’s home while on her mail route. OWCP denied her claim, and the Board considered whether entering the home was part of her work duties or incidental to them. The Board found that her claim form did not adequately…
J.H. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Material Command, Corpus Christi, TX
J.H. (ECAB 16-0590): Wage loss claim returned for corrected medical review
J.H., an Army sheet metal mechanic, sought wage loss compensation after an accepted hip and back injury. OWCP relied on an impartial physician who said the work injury had resolved. The Board found that his opinion disregarded accepted conditions and rested on an inaccurate account of the incident…
H.O. and Department of Agriculture, Food Safety & Inspection Service, Minneapolis, MN
H.O. (ECAB 16-0329): Hearing loss claim returned for second opinion clarification
H.O., a federal food safety employee, claimed that workplace noise contributed to his hearing loss. OWCP’s referral physician said the loss was due to age and genetics, but his form also stated that workplace noise exposure was sufficient to cause it. The Board found the reports inconsistent and…
T.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Riverhead, NY
T.W. (ECAB 16-0280): Vehicle crash injury claim denied for insufficient medical rationale
T.W., a postal employee, sought benefits for several conditions after an accepted work-related vehicle collision. Her physician listed sprains and asserted causation but did not explain how the collision produced the varied diagnoses or later worsening symptoms. Chiropractor reports did not…
S.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Logistics & Distribution Center, Tampa, FL
S.S. (ECAB 15-1783): Emotional condition claim denied for unproven harassment
S.S., a postal employee, alleged harassment after a coworker displayed a sexually explicit object at work. The Board accepted that the coworker displayed the object but found the evidence insufficient to show he directed the act toward S.S. or called her name. It also found her other alleged…
R.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
R.W. (ECAB 15-1287): Compensation status returned for termination review
R.W., a postal employee, received benefits after an accepted shoulder injury. Later personnel actions related to her work status were reversed and removed from her record. The Board found that OWCP still had the burden to terminate compensation properly, but the record lacked a valid termination…
Matter of Elvis GUZMAN-POLANCO
Circuit law controls indirect force in crime-of-violence analysis
The Board reconsidered its earlier decision concerning a respondent's Puerto Rico aggravated-battery conviction. It reaffirmed that the Puerto Rico simple-battery statute is too broad to categorically establish a crime of violence under 18 U.S.C. § 16(a), because it covers injury through any means…
R.W. and Department of Agriculture, Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, Alpena, MI
R.W. (ECAB 16-1013): Dental recurrence claim denied
R.W., an Agriculture Department employee, had an accepted head injury after an incident involving a cow at work. Years later he sought coverage for dental treatment, including a root canal, as a recurrence of that injury. The Board found that his dentists did not adequately explain how the later…
R.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Reading, PA
R.G. (ECAB 16-0994): Knee injury and late written review denials affirmed
R.G., a postal employee, claimed a right knee injury after pushing an overloaded container. The Board found that his physician’s form checked a causal relationship box but did not explain how the work incident caused the diagnosed condition. It also found that his request for written record review…
L.S. and Department of the Army, Army Medical Command, Fort Rucker, AL
L.S. (ECAB 16-0921): Computer work eye condition claim denied
L.S., an Army Medical Command employee, alleged that computer work on August 15, 2012 caused or aggravated eye symptoms. Her physician discussed dry eye and vein occlusion in general terms but did not explain how that day’s computer activity caused or worsened her specific conditions. The Board…
G.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
G.M. (ECAB 16-0705): Right ankle impairment award of 13 percent upheld
G.M., a postal employee with an accepted right ankle injury and later fusion surgery, sought a higher schedule award. His physician rated 56 percent impairment using a classification that the Board found inapplicable to the type of ankle fusion shown in the record. OWCP’s medical adviser calculated…
P.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Needham, MA
P.R. (ECAB 16-0146): Back aggravation claim returned for impartial examination
P.R., a postal employee, argued that an orthotic boot worn for an accepted foot injury aggravated his preexisting back condition. His treating physicians attributed the aggravation to changes in gait, while OWCP’s second opinion physician disagreed. The Board found the opposing opinions of nearly…
S.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Plant, Denver, CO
S.L. (ECAB 15-1963): Bank teller wage capacity finding upheld
S.L., a postal employee with accepted lumbar conditions, challenged OWCP’s finding that he could earn wages in a constructed bank teller position. The Board found that the job fit the work restrictions used in the original determination. His physician later imposed a tighter limit on standing and…
G.T. and Department of the Army, Defense Language Institute, Monterey, CA
G.T. (ECAB 15-1314): Retirement offset overpayment recovery upheld
G.T., an Army language instructor, received FECA compensation and Social Security retirement benefits without the required federal service offset, creating a $39,608.74 overpayment. OWCP found him without fault but denied waiver after reviewing the financial information he supplied. The Board found…
Secretary of Labor v. Leeco Incorporated
Penalty cut to $4,500 on remand after Commission found no negligence
A continuous mining machine operator at Leeco's No. 68 Mine was fatally pinned against the rib in June 2010 after entering the machine's red zone, two months after the mine superintendent had counseled him about operating too close to that zone. Leeco stipulated to the violation of its roof control…
Matter of Safraz KHAN
Immigration Judges lack U visa waiver jurisdiction
The Board reviewed a Guyanese lawful permanent resident's appeal after an Immigration Judge denied his request for a waiver of inadmissibility connected to his petition for U nonimmigrant status. The Board held that Immigration Judges do not have authority to adjudicate a section 212(d)(3)(A)(ii)…
Raye v. Pan Am Railways, Inc.
Raye v. Pan Am Railways (DOL ARB 2014-0074): Railroad retaliation award affirmed
Jason Raye filed a Federal Rail Safety Act complaint against Pan Am Railways. An administrative law judge found that Pan Am retaliated against him for filing the complaint, awarded $10,000 for emotional distress and $250,000 in punitive damages, and ordered his personnel record cleared of the…
K.S. and Department of the Air Force, Connecticut Air National Guard, Middletown, CT
K.S. (ECAB 16-1001): Late cardiac injury reconsideration denied
K.S., an Air National Guard employee, sought reconsideration of a denied claim involving cardiac arrest after a practice run. OWCP received his request more than a year after its last merits decision. The Board found that the new and repeated medical materials did not show clear error in the…
D.Y. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Merrillville, IN
D.Y. (ECAB 16-0987): Three percent right leg impairment award upheld
D.Y., a postal employee, had an accepted lumbar disc injury with right leg symptoms and received a three percent lower extremity schedule award. He sought a higher rating and challenged the date of maximum medical improvement. The Board found that the examining physician and OWCP medical adviser…
D.S. and Department of the Army, Army National Guard, Latham, NY
D.S. (ECAB 16-0903): Late review denial upheld; hearing loss claim remanded
D.S., an Army National Guard worker, claimed hearing loss from workplace noise. His request for written record review came after the 30-day deadline, and the Board upheld OWCP’s discretionary refusal to grant that review. On the claim itself, the Board found that noise surveys and employer…
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Washington, DC
M.B. (ECAB 16-0884): Bilateral hip arthritis claim denied
M.B., a postal letter carrier, attributed bilateral hip osteoarthritis to years of walking and standing at work. His physician said the work likely aggravated the condition but did not explain the medical basis for that conclusion or distinguish natural progression of preexisting arthritis. The…
E.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Dallas Processing & Distribution Center, Dallas, TX
E.C. (ECAB 15-1743): Emotional condition claim denied for unproven work factors
E.C., a postal supervisor, attributed an emotional condition to management actions and the aftermath of a coworker’s serious workplace injury. The Board found no proof of error or abuse in the management actions and insufficient details to establish his claimed role in the coworker incident as a…
M.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Orleans, LA
M.F. (ECAB 15-1378): Unsupported compensation overpayment reversed
M.F., a postal employee, was told she had received excess compensation after a scheduled return to work. OWCP relied on a return date without payroll records showing what she actually earned or whether a suitable job was available during the alleged overpayment period. The Board found that OWCP had…
L.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Plant City, FL
L.S. (ECAB 15-1246): Suitable work refusal termination reversed
L.S., a postal employee with an accepted hernia, declined a modified carrier job and submitted medical evidence in response to OWCP’s suitability notice. OWCP terminated his benefits without first telling him that his explanation was unacceptable and giving the required additional 15 days to accept…
Grismer Tire Co.
Three serious items vacated after fatal backhoe accident
A tire technician died while changing rear tires on a backhoe, but no one witnessed the accident and emergency crews disturbed the scene before OSHA's investigation. The judge found that Grismer gave the technician adequate tire-service training. The Secretary also failed to prove that the ground…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2883 (Union) and United States Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Agency)
AFGE Local 2883 and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (FLRA 0-AR-5198): Union exceptions denied
AFGE Local 2883 filed exceptions to an arbitration award involving the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Authority rejected an argument that the union's fair-hearing claim was procedurally barred and found it unnecessary to decide whether one contract argument was barred because that…
F.S. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Tampa, FL
F.S. (ECAB 16-1008): Left ear hearing award rounded to four percent
F.S., a retired aviation safety inspector, sought a larger schedule award for work-related hearing loss. OWCP had awarded 3.75 percent loss of hearing in his left ear based on a February 2016 audiogram. The Board found that OWCP procedures required rounding that figure up to four percent. It…
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.