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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L.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Boston, MA
L.T. (ECAB 16-0751): Postal carrier’s street fall claim denied
L.T., a postal carrier, sought compensation after falling over a raised grate while crossing a street before her shift. The Postal Service disputed that the street was part of its premises. The Board found that the record did not establish where the fall occurred with enough detail to show that she…
K.O. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Wilkes-Barre, PA
K.O. (ECAB 16-0391): Work stress aneurysm claim denied
K.O., a Veterans Affairs engineer, claimed that work stress caused high blood pressure and an aortic aneurysm. OWCP accepted several workplace events as compensable factors, but physicians disagreed about medical causation. The Board gave special weight to the impartial examiner’s reasoned opinion…
B.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Baltimore, MD
B.J. (ECAB 15-1961): Thoracic outlet surgery request remanded for new examination
B.J., a postal mail processor with an accepted neck injury, asked OWCP to authorize thoracic outlet surgery. The Board found that the impartial specialist relied on an old examination and did not adequately explain his conclusion against surgery. It set aside OWCP’s denial and directed the agency…
M.D. and Department of Homeland Security, Emergency Preparedness & Response, Denton, TX
M.D. (ECAB 15-1796): Overtime stress claim remanded for medical review
M.D., a Department of Homeland Security employee, claimed that overwork and harassment caused an emotional condition. The Board found that her documented overtime between November 2012 and February 2013 was a compensable employment factor. OWCP had found no compensable factors and therefore had not…
B.A. and Department of the Army, Army Sustainment Command, West Point, NY
B.A. (ECAB 15-1277): Electric shock injury claim denied for lack of medical causation
B.A., an Army food service worker, reported an electric shock while plugging in a hot cart at work. The Board accepted that the incident occurred, but found that the medical reports did not explain how it caused her claimed left elbow or left hip conditions. It affirmed OWCP’s denial of her injury…
B.T. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Forces Command, Fort McCoy, WI
B.T. (ECAB 15-1033): Additional limb impairment award and merit review denied
B.T. sought a larger schedule award for her left arm and left leg and reconsideration of OWCP’s decision. She had previously received awards for 35 percent impairment of each limb. The Board found that she had not established greater impairment and that her reconsideration request did not meet the…
L.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jacksonville, FL
L.S. (ECAB 15-0358): Additional awards granted for both legs
L.S., a postal mail handler, sought additional schedule awards for impairment of both legs after an accepted back injury. The Board found 15 percent permanent impairment in each leg, above the previously compensated 12 percent in the left leg and 9 percent in the right. It modified OWCP’s decision…
Secretary of Labor v. Couch Aggregates, LLC
Disputed injury facts required a hearing
A Couch Aggregates miner was injured in an electrical control room, and MSHA cited the operator for not reporting within 15 minutes an accident that allegedly had a reasonable potential to cause death. Couch sought partial summary decision, arguing that the miner recovered quickly and that the…
Matter of Martin CHAIREZ-Castrejon, Respondent; Matter of Vera SAMA, Respondent
Matter of Martin CHAIREZ-Castrejon and Matter of Vera SAMA (BIA ID 3869): Attorney General lifted stay and remanded cases to the Board
The Attorney General had referred the cases of Martin Chairez-Castrejon and Vera Sama to himself for review of the Board’s decisions concerning the proper approach to determining whether a criminal statute is divisible under Descamps v. United States. The cases had been automatically stayed while…
United States Department of the Air Force, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts (Activity) and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1384 (Union/Petitioner)
Hanscom Air Force Base and NFFE Local 1384 (FLRA BN-RP-16-0009): Unit-status petition remains dismissed
An Air Force electronics technician left his civilian job for extended active military service in 2008. After his laboratory closed, the agency placed him on paper in a different position associated with another bargaining unit, but he had not returned or performed any duties in that job. NFFE…
G.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Sarasota, FL
G.A. (ECAB 16-1015): Repetitive mail work injury claim denied
G.A., a postal mail processing clerk, claimed that repetitive overhead work caused neck, shoulder, and hand conditions. The Board accepted her description of the work tasks but found that her physician did not explain how those tasks caused or aggravated the diagnosed conditions. It affirmed OWCP’s…
D.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Dallas Performance Cluster, Coppell, TX
D.B. (ECAB 16-0988): Compensation forfeiture and overpayment affirmed
D.B., a postal mail processor, appealed the termination of his compensation after a fraud conviction and an associated overpayment finding. The Board found that his guilty plea triggered forfeiture under FECA as of September 24, 2015. It upheld the $1,008.51 overpayment for benefits paid after that…
J.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Francisco, CA
J.S. (ECAB 16-0912): Wrist surgery and wage claim remanded to combine files
J.S., a postal employee, sought left wrist surgery and wage-loss benefits after two work incidents involving the same wrist. OWCP decided the request under the 2014 injury file while the separate 2015 injury file remained under development. The Board found that it could not decide the request on an…
B.K. and Department of the Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, Camp Pendleton, CA
B.K. (ECAB 16-0698): Firefighter harassment claim denied
B.K., a Marine Corps firefighter, claimed an emotional condition from alleged workplace harassment involving a baby monitor placed in sleeping quarters. The Board found that the single documented incident, in which the monitor was not turned on, did not establish harassment or another compensable…
C.H. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Greensboro, NC
C.H. (ECAB 16-0292): Claimed disability period lacked medical support
C.H., an IRS employee with accepted injuries, sought wage-loss compensation for July 30, 2011 through October 8, 2013. The Board found that the medical reports did not adequately explain why her accepted conditions prevented work during that period. It affirmed OWCP’s denial of the claimed total…
S.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bethesda, MD
S.P. (ECAB 15-1366): Postal carrier’s wage loss claim denied
S.P., a postal letter carrier with an accepted 2003 injury, sought wage-loss compensation for November 2013 through April 2014. She argued that the Postal Service had not provided a limited-duty position within her restrictions. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish total…
G.H. and Department of Labor, Mine Safety & Health Administration, Mesa, AZ
G.H. (ECAB 15-0896): Mine inspector’s fall injury claim denied
G.H., a mine safety inspector, reported falling at work and injuring his shoulder and head. OWCP accepted that the fall occurred, but the Board found that the medical opinions did not adequately connect a diagnosed condition to the incident. It affirmed OWCP’s denial of the injury claim.
E.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Vienna, VA
E.C. (ECAB 16-0900): Postal worker’s emotional condition claim denied
E.C., a postal worker, sought compensation for an emotional condition after a young man entered her work area and hugged her. A customer intervened. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred. The Board found that the medical reports did not adequately explain how the incident caused the diagnosed…
L.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Coppell, TX
L.R. (ECAB 16-0736): Right knee occupational disease claim denied
L.R., a postal mail clerk, claimed that repetitive walking and standing on hard surfaces caused a right knee condition. The Board found that the medical evidence did not sufficiently explain how those work activities caused or aggravated the diagnosed knee condition. It affirmed OWCP’s denial of…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Havelock, NC
S.M. (ECAB 16-0591): Workplace stair fall injury claim denied
S.M., a postal employee, reported falling down stairs at work and sought compensation for injuries including knee and shoulder conditions. The Board found that the medical reports did not provide a reasoned explanation connecting a diagnosed injury to the accepted October 14, 2015 incident. It…
D.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Orleans, LA
D.R. (ECAB 16-0189): Rescission of accepted foot claim reversed
D.R., a postal employee, challenged OWCP’s rescission of its earlier acceptance of several right foot conditions. The Board found that OWCP’s rescission decision lacked the required findings and analysis explaining why the acceptance was wrong. It reversed the rescission, leaving the earlier…
R.B. and Department of the Army, Army Post Office, AE
R.B. (ECAB 15-1946): Compensation forfeiture and corrected overpayment upheld
R.B., a former Army employee, contested forfeiture of wage-loss benefits, a related overpayment, and termination of ongoing benefits. The Board upheld the forfeiture, found her at fault for the overpayment, and upheld the termination and denial of further merit review. It corrected the overpayment…
H.E. and Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, WA
H.E. (ECAB 15-0963): Merit reconsideration denied for duplicate evidence
H.E., a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration employee, sought reconsideration of a compensation decision involving his pay rate. He submitted an employer letter and a supervisor’s statement that OWCP had already considered. The Board found that the repeated evidence did not require OWCP…
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Network Distribution Center, Philadelphia, PA
J.C. (ECAB 15-0765): Guardrail collision injury claim denied
J.C., a postal employee, said he was leaning against a guardrail when a work vehicle struck it. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish a diagnosed injury caused by the July 17, 2012 collision. It affirmed OWCP’s denial of the claim.
American Federation of Government Employees, National Immigration and Naturalization Service Council and United States Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection
AFGE National INS Council and CBP (FLRA 0-AR-5167): Inspection assistant upgrade grievances dismissed
The union and employees claimed CBP should have raised inspection assistants from GS-5 to GS-7 under a 2002 border security statute. An arbitrator dismissed their grievances as classification matters excluded from the negotiated grievance procedure. An employee designated by the union filed…
Secretary of Labor v. Lopke Quarries, Inc.
Premature reinstatement order vacated after service error
The Secretary applied to temporarily reinstate Steve Glosson and certified that Lopke Quarries had been served by email. Judge Priscilla M. Rae relied on that certification and issued a temporary-reinstatement order after the apparent deadline for requesting a hearing passed. The Solicitor then…
Arizona Public Service Company
In re Arizona Public Service Company (EAB PSD Appeal No. 16-01): Energy-storage BACT challenge denied
Maricopa County issued Arizona Public Service Company a Clean Air Act prevention-of-significant-deterioration permit for five new natural-gas-fired combustion turbines at the Ocotillo Power Plant in Tempe, Arizona. Sierra Club argued that the County's Best Available Control Technology analysis for…
E.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bellmawr, NJ
E.A. (ECAB 16-1030): Termination of shoulder and neck benefits reversed
E.A., a postal employee, challenged OWCP’s termination of wage-loss and medical benefits for accepted shoulder and cervical conditions. The Board found that OWCP relied on a physician’s opinion written before it accepted cervical stenosis and had not obtained an updated opinion addressing that…
P.J. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, San Diego, CA
P.J. (ECAB 16-1018): Ear injury denial upheld; reconsideration remanded
P.J., a border patrol agent, claimed that an insect bit his right ear while he worked in the field. The Board upheld OWCP’s initial injury denial because the record then available did not establish that the incident occurred as alleged. It found that P.J.’s later account and employer form were new…
C.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, West Sacramento, CA
C.V. (ECAB 16-0986): Return-to-work overpayment and fault affirmed
C.V., a postal employee, continued receiving compensation for a week after he returned to work. The Board found a $662.71 overpayment for September 26 through October 2, 2015. It also upheld OWCP’s finding that he was at fault, so recovery could not be waived.
M.C. and Department of the Army, Picatinny Arsenal, NJ
M.C. (ECAB 16-0824): After-hours softball injury held outside duty
M.C., an Army employee, injured his Achilles tendon while playing in an optional softball game after work. The Board found that the employer’s recreational program did not make participation part of his employment, even though the game was on employer premises. It affirmed OWCP’s denial because the…
R.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Blaine, WA
R.W. (ECAB 16-0173): Claimed 2014 disability period denied
R.W., a postal employee with an accepted 2012 injury, sought wage-loss compensation for May 28 through October 31, 2014. The Board found that the evidence did not establish total disability from work during that period caused by the accepted injury. It affirmed OWCP’s denial.
G.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Dodge City, KS
G.W. (ECAB 15-1646): Cervical surgery request remanded for medical clarification
G.W., a postal employee, sought authorization for cervical spine surgery. The Board found that the impartial examiner’s report conflicted with the statement of accepted facts and did not adequately resolve whether the surgery was related to accepted conditions. It set aside OWCP’s denial and…
N.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Canal Street Station, New York, NY
N.P. (ECAB 15-1580): Continuing disability after termination not established
N.P., a postal employee, sought continuing benefits after OWCP terminated compensation for an accepted 2010 injury. The Board found that the impartial medical examiner’s reasoned opinion established no continuing work-related disability after May 20, 2013. It affirmed OWCP’s denial of continuing…
J and M Miller Construction, LLC
Worker-status defense rejected and $13,800 assessed
OSHA cited J and M Miller Construction after two residential construction inspections found unprotected roof work, inadequate fall-hazard training, missing eye protection, and a narrow scaffold platform. The judge found that the workers were employees, not independent contractors, because the…
West Bay Exploration Company
In re West Bay Exploration Company (EAB UIC Appeal No. 15-03): motion for clarification denied
Peter Bormuth asked the Environmental Appeals Board to clarify how its remand order for West Bay Exploration Company's West Bay #22 SWD underground injection permit affected two other wells and what technical issues EPA Region 5 had to address on remand. The Board said the remand concerned only the…
United States Department of the Air Force, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1101 (Union)
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and AFGE Local 1101 (FLRA 0-AR-5182): Admonishment remedy narrowed
The Air Force issued an employee an oral admonishment after another supervisor reported that he had been argumentative on the telephone. An arbitrator found that the agency violated its agreement by preparing the admonishment without seeking the employee's account or permitting union involvement…
Secretary of Labor obo Jacob Hamilton v. American Mining and Tunneling, LLC
Drilling near misfires justified termination
Jacob Hamilton raised safety concerns about blocked access, unsupported ground, and the proposed method for handling undetonated explosives at the Fire Creek Mine. Judge Richard W. Manning found those concerns protected under the Mine Act but concluded that American Mining and Tunneling did not…
Secretary of Labor v. Hecla Limited and Secretary of Labor v. Doug Bayer employed by Hecla Limited
Secretary of Labor v. Hecla Limited and Doug Bayer (FMSHRC WEST 2012-760 M, WEST 2012-986 M, WEST 2014-591 M): No fair notice of technical ground-analysis duty
A massive ground fall at Hecla's Lucky Friday Mine fatally injured a miner after the company used an unprecedented method that undercut a waste-rock pillar for about 72 feet. MSHA alleged that Hecla violated 30 C.F.R. § 57.3401 by failing to conduct an examination and test capable of identifying…
Scott D. McGlothlin v. Dominion Coal Corporation
Two citations in remand decision corrected
Judge Jerold Feldman issued this order to correct two typographical errors in the Decision on Remand released the same day in Scott McGlothlin's discrimination case against Dominion Coal. The corrected citation for the Decision on Relief on page 3 is 38 FMSHRC 255, 268 (Feb. 2016) (ALJ). The…
Scott D. McGlothlin v. Dominion Coal Corporation
Additional attorney fees awarded after successful appeal
Scott McGlothlin prevailed on a Mine Act discrimination claim after Dominion Coal reduced his pay while he sought Part 90 protection at the Dominion No. 7 Mine. After the Commission approved $88,975.48 in previously requested attorney fees, it remanded the case for the Judge to consider another…
Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District, Navajo Generating Station
In re Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District, Navajo Generating Station (EAB NSR Appeal No. 16-01): Opacity-monitoring challenge denied
EPA Region 9 issued a federal minor New Source Review permit to the Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District for a refined coal treatment system at the Navajo Generating Station on the Navajo Indian Reservation in Arizona. The system was intended to reduce mercury and…
Secretary of Labor v. The American Coal Company
First flagrant accumulation affirmed, second remanded
MSHA issued two section 75.400 orders five days apart for extensive loose-coal and float-coal-dust accumulations at belt transfer points in American Coal's methane-prone Galatia Mine. The Commission affirmed the first violation as flagrant because the operator knew the accumulations persisted over…
Vinnett v. Mitsubishi Power Systems
Dismissal affirmed after hearing
William Vinnett worked for Mitsubishi Power Systems on turbine projects, including at a nuclear power plant. He claimed the company fired him because of protected safety activity. After a hearing, an administrative law judge dismissed the complaint, finding that Mitsubishi would have fired him for…
Dick v. Tango Transport
Truck driver's complaint remanded
Curtis Dick drove trucks for Tango Transport and complained about interruptions to required breaks and problems with his truck. After medical leave following a work injury, Tango ended his employment and later declined to rehire him. He alleged retaliation under the Surface Transportation…
Secretary of Labor v. Newtown Energy, Inc.
Key left in a lockout lock is significant and substantial, and the Commission restates the Mathies hazard test
During a 2010 inspection at Newtown Energy's Coalburg No. 2 Mine in West Virginia, an MSHA inspector asked the mine superintendent to lock out a shuttle car's power connection so the trailing cable could be inspected. The superintendent borrowed a lock, could not get the key back out, and left the…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Steve Glosson v. Lopke Quarries, Inc.
Economic reinstatement ordered, then vacated after service error
Loader operator Steve Glosson alleged that he repeatedly reported brake, lighting, window, wiper, climate-control, and oil-leak problems at Lopke Quarries' Dunn Construction limestone quarry. He also objected to a supervisor's instruction to let loaders coast toward the hopper rather than use their…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Manhattan, IL
M.M. (ECAB 16-0981): Shoulder impairment claim remanded for medical adviser review
M.M., a postal employee with an accepted right shoulder and upper arm sprain, sought a schedule award for permanent impairment. The Board found that her physician had provided an impairment rating, but OWCP decided the claim without sending the medical record to its medical adviser. It set aside…
J.J. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Hauppauge, NY
J.J. (ECAB 16-0958): Knee injury claim remanded for specialist opinion
J.J., an IRS revenue officer, sought compensation for a knee injury following a September 2013 incident while teleworking. A physician later connected her meniscal tears to a twisting mechanism consistent with the incident. The Board found that the report was sufficient to require further medical…
M.O. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Knoxville Community Based Outpatient Clinic, Knoxville, TN
M.O. (ECAB 16-0822): Unexplained workplace fall claim remanded
M.O., a Veterans Affairs employee, was found on the floor after a fall at work. OWCP denied her claim on the theory that a personal medical condition caused the fall. The Board found that the record did not establish such a cause, so the fall was unexplained and occurred during activities…
A.W. and Department of Labor, Mine Safety & Health Administration, Barbourville, KY
A.W. (ECAB 16-0795): Hearing loss did not qualify for schedule award
A.W., a mine safety employee, sought a schedule award for work-related hearing loss. The Board found that the audiometric measurements did not produce a ratable hearing impairment under the applicable method. It affirmed OWCP’s denial of a schedule award.
A.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Twinlake Post Office, Federal Way, WA
A.B. (ECAB 16-0480): Termination of cervical injury benefits upheld
A.B., a postal employee, challenged OWCP’s termination of wage-loss and medical benefits for an accepted cervical condition. The Board found that the second opinion physician’s examination and review supported OWCP’s conclusion that the temporary work-related aggravation had ended. It affirmed the…
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Wilmer Processing & Distribution Center, Edison, NJ
D.C. (ECAB 16-0430): Termination of injury benefits upheld
D.C., a postal employee, challenged termination of benefits for accepted conditions after a 2013 injury. The Board gave special weight to the impartial medical examiner’s reasoned opinion that the accepted conditions had resolved. It also found that later evidence did not establish continuing…
Secretary of Labor obo Thomas McGary and Ron Bowersox and United Mine Workers of America International Union v. The Marshall County Coal Co., et al.
Secretary of Labor obo Thomas McGary and Ron Bowersox, et al. v. The Marshall County Coal Co., et al. (FMSHRC WEVA 2015-583 D, et al.): Mandatory reporting rule unlawfully chilled confidential MSHA complaints
After Murray Energy acquired five West Virginia coal mines, CEO Robert Murray held mandatory meetings that told miners they were required to report to management the same safety concerns they submitted confidentially to MSHA under section 103(g). The presentations also criticized complaints that…
Secretary of Labor v. The American Coal Company
Special assessments cannot anchor a judge's penalties
The American Coal Company received five S&S citations involving roof and rib support and a transportation safeguard at its New Era Mine. MSHA specially proposed $69,600 in penalties, and the Judge affirmed the violations while assessing a reduced total of $43,200. The Commission held that MSHA has…
J.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Danville, VA
J.D. (ECAB 16-1293): Shoulder and hand claim remanded to combine files
J.D., a postal employee, sought compensation for left shoulder and hand conditions. OWCP considered evidence from a separate claim file but did not include that file in the record sent to the Board. The Board set aside the denial and directed OWCP to combine the two files, review all relevant…
C.C. and Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Fort Belvoir, VA
C.C. (ECAB 16-0812): Back injury claim denied for unclear work incident
C.C., a Defense Logistics Agency employee, claimed that stowing items at work injured her lower back. The Board found that she did not describe the activity, its duration, or the items involved with enough detail to establish the alleged incident. It affirmed OWCP’s denial of the traumatic injury…
R.M. and Department of the Navy, Pearl Harbor, HI
R.M. (ECAB 16-0807): Intermittent disability after ankle injury denied
R.M., a Navy employee with an accepted June 2014 ankle injury, sought wage-loss compensation for intermittent disability beginning June 19, 2014. The Board found that the medical reports did not adequately explain how the accepted injury caused the claimed periods away from work. It affirmed OWCP’s…
C.W. and Department of the Air Force, Headquarters Air Force Space Command, Randolph Air Force Base, TX
C.W. (ECAB 16-0749): Right leg award request remanded for merits decision
C.W., an Air Force employee, filed a new claim for a right leg schedule award after OWCP denied an earlier claim. OWCP treated her later request as an untimely application for reconsideration of that denial. The Board found that the new medical evidence and award claim required a merits decision…
R.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Miami, FL
R.F. (ECAB 16-0521): Knee fall held outside performance of duty
R.F., a postal employee, fell after her left knee gave way while she moved a chair at work. The Board found that the fall resulted from personal knee pathology, not a workplace hazard or an accepted earlier injury. It affirmed OWCP’s denial because the January 2014 fall was outside the performance…
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.