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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Matter of Keon RICHMOND
Avoiding removal is a purpose under the false-citizenship bar
The Board reconsidered the case of a Trinidad and Tobago citizen who sought adjustment of status after making false claims to United States citizenship during interviews with Department of Homeland Security officers. The Board held that inadmissibility for a false citizenship claim requires…
Charles Anderson v. Yusen Terminals, Incorporated and Signal Mutual Indemnity Association, Limited
Anderson v. Yusen Terminals (BRB 16-0037 and 16-0037A): employer waived Special Fund relief
Charles Anderson, a dock worker, received disability benefits after he was struck by a utility truck rig. Yusen Terminals and its carrier sought relief under a Longshore Act provision that can limit an employer's liability for permanent disability. The employer and Anderson settled some past…
Treur v. Magnum Express, Inc.
Treur v. Magnum Express (DOL ARB 2015-0001): Weather refusal case remanded
Truck driver Bruce Treur refused an assigned route after seeing forecasts of blizzard conditions in Iowa and Nebraska. He alleged that Magnum Express fired him for the refusal. An administrative law judge found his refusal was not protected because the hazardous weather had not yet reached his…
Daniel B. Lowe v. Veris Gold USA, Inc. and Jerritt Canyon Gold, LLC
Successor discovery set for Elko or telephone
Daniel Lowe had already proved that Veris Gold discriminated against him, but Veris had entered bankruptcy and sold the Jerritt Canyon Mill, leaving the parties to litigate whether Jerritt Canyon Gold was a successor responsible for relief. Lowe asked the Judge to set the location for depositions…
Pennyrile Energy, LLC v. Secretary of Labor
Disagreeing with MSHA's reading of a training rule does not earn an expedited hearing
MSHA issued Order No. 9048420 to Pennyrile Energy at the Riveredge Mine in June 2016, alleging that an underground miner working on the surface area of the mine lacked the training required by 30 C.F.R. § 48.25. Pennyrile contested the order and asked for an expedited hearing, arguing the order was…
In re Selco Air Conditioning, Inc.
Selco Air Conditioning (DOL ARB 2014-0078): Wage classifications returned for review
Selco Air Conditioning sought to add three job classifications to the Davis-Bacon wage determination for apartment renovation work in California. The Wage and Hour Division approved the request, and a sheet metal workers' union challenged it. The Board found the record lacked information about what…
D.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Iowa City Veterans Medical Center, Iowa City, IA
D.W. (ECAB 16-0945): Late reconsideration request rejected
D.W., a VA locksmith, asked OWCP to reconsider denial of a bilateral elbow condition claim. His request arrived more than a year after the last merits decision. The Board found that his disagreement and repeated discussion of work duties did not establish clear error in that decision. It affirmed…
C.S. and Federal Aviation Administration, Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, Charlotte, NC
C.S. (ECAB 16-0881): Trainee pay rate remanded
C.S. argued that his compensation should reflect the higher pay he would likely have earned after completing FAA training. The Board found conflicting and incomplete employer information about whether training would have led to promotion and whether completion was probable. It directed OWCP to…
T.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Midlothian, VA
T.V. (ECAB 16-0656): Shoulder occupational disease claim denied
T.V., a rural letter carrier, attributed diagnosed left shoulder conditions to repetitive lifting of mail and overhead work. Her duties and diagnoses were not disputed. The Board found that the medical evidence did not adequately explain how those tasks caused or aggravated the conditions. It…
M.C. and Department of the Interior, Fish & Wildlife Service, Elkins, WV
M.C. (ECAB 16-0652): Sacroiliac condition claim denied
M.C. sought to connect sacroiliac joint instability to an accepted 2006 work injury. Her physicians and OWCP’s medical advisers disagreed, so OWCP obtained an impartial examination. The Board gave that examiner’s reasoned finding of no objective sacroiliac injury special weight. It found the…
M.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Newark, NJ
M.J. (ECAB 15-0784): Three disability recurrences unproven
M.J. sought total disability compensation for three dates in 2011 and 2012 after accepted neck and shoulder sprains. She argued that changed duties exceeded her restrictions. The Board found insufficient medical evidence that the job actually became incompatible with her restrictions or that her…
R.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Denver, CO
R.R. (ECAB 15-0645): Benefits termination reversed over examiner contact
OWCP used an impartial physician’s opinion to terminate R.R.’s benefits after his treating and referral physicians disagreed. During the evaluation, the impartial physician contacted an occupational therapist to discuss her earlier testing. The Board held that this nonadministrative contact…
P.W. and Department of the Air Force, Hill Air Force Base, UT
P.W. (ECAB 15-0590): Unreceived denial required a new decision
P.W. requested a hearing after learning of an earlier denial of his occupational disease claim. He said he had never received the mailed decision, and the employing agency reported nonreceipt too. The Board held that the combined evidence rebutted the usual presumption that a properly addressed…
R.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Dallas, TX
R.G. (ECAB 15-0144): Mileage overpayment and recovery upheld
R.G. received travel reimbursement for medical appointments using mileage greater than the route OWCP verified. OWCP found a $7,657.10 overpayment and found her without fault. The Board upheld the amount, denial of waiver, and $300 monthly recovery from continuing compensation. Being without fault…
Secretary of Labor v. Tim M. Ball, employed by Mountain Materials, Inc. and Secretary of Labor v. Ricky A. Rose, employed by Materials, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Tim M. Ball and Ricky A. Rose, employed by Mountain Materials, Inc. (FMSHRC VA 2014-148-M): Two supervisors personally penalized for plant buildups and blank exam records
This case penalized two supervisors personally, not their employer. Section 110(c) of the Mine Act lets MSHA assess individual penalties against a corporate agent who knowingly authorizes, orders, or carries out a violation. An MSHA inspector arrived at Mountain Materials' Castlewood limestone…
West Bay Exploration Company
In re West Bay Exploration Company (EAB UIC Appeal No. 15-03): Brine-injection permit remanded for aquifer review
EPA Region 5 issued West Bay Exploration Company a Class II Underground Injection Control permit for a well in Jackson County, Michigan, to dispose of brine from oil and gas production. Peter Bormuth challenged the Region's conclusion that several geologic layers would confine the injected waste…
OSRAM SYLVANIA, Inc.
In re OSRAM SYLVANIA, Inc. (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 16-03C): consent agreement ratified
OSRAM SYLVANIA, Inc. and EPA submitted a Consent Agreement to resolve the matter. The Environmental Appeals Board ratified the agreement after the parties clarified that payment would resolve only the company's federal civil penalty liability for the violations and facts alleged in the agreement…
Coyne Chemical Corporation
In re Coyne Chemical Corporation (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 16-01Q): $31,590 penalty paid and matter resolved
EPA alleged that Coyne Chemical Corporation violated the Toxic Substances Control Act reporting requirements and sought a $31,590 penalty. Coyne Chemical paid the penalty in full under EPA's quick-resolution procedure. The payment waived the company's rights to contest the allegations and appeal…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2258, AFL-CIO (Respondent/Union) and Sherie R. Mullins (Charging Party/Individual)
AFGE Local 2258 and Sherie R. Mullins (FLRA DA-CO-14-0439): Union discipline request found unlawful
A bargaining-unit employee openly criticized the vice president of AFGE Local 2258 for how she performed union duties. The vice president then reported the employee to Social Security Administration management, described the exchange as an uncontrolled verbal attack, and requested discipline. An…
Polo Development, Inc., AIM Georgia, LLC, and Joseph Zdrilich
In re Polo Development, Inc., AIM Georgia, LLC, and Joseph Zdrilich (EAB CWA Appeal No. 16-02): second untimely appeal dismissed
Polo Development, Inc., AIM Georgia, LLC, and Joseph Zdrilich asked the Environmental Appeals Board for a second extension of time to appeal an Initial Decision and Order entered on December 1, 2015. The Board denied the request because the respondents did not show a demonstrable error in the…
J.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Dallas, TX
J.S. (ECAB 16-0926): Hip and knee occupational disease claim denied
J.S. attributed left hip and knee conditions to years of lifting, pulling, pushing, and standing as a postal associate. OWCP accepted those work duties and the diagnoses. The Board found that the medical reports did not give a reasoned explanation linking the conditions to the duties. It affirmed…
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Buffalo Processing & Distribution Center, Buffalo, NY
J.B. (ECAB 16-0863): Recurrence claim remanded for medical development
J.B. stopped working in February 2013 and sought disability compensation after an accepted ankle fracture. OWCP later accepted deep vein thrombosis and reflex sympathetic dystrophy as related conditions. His physician linked worsening symptoms to the claimed inability to perform truck driving, but…
M.E. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Paradise Fossil Plant, Drakesboro, KY
M.E. (ECAB 16-0770): Hearing loss claim needs a reasoned medical opinion
M.E. claimed hearing loss after sustained noise exposure at a TVA plant. OWCP’s second-opinion physician rejected work causation by relying partly on an OSHA noise limit and the absence of an audiogram notch. The Board found that explanation inadequate because work-related hearing loss can occur…
T.W. and Small Business Administration, Loan Division, El Paso, TX
T.W. (ECAB 16-0527): Claimed disability periods unproven
T.W. sought disability compensation for a long period in 2013 and 2014 and for two medical-appointment dates in 2015 after accepted injuries. The Board found that physician reports did not explain why the accepted conditions prevented work during the claimed period. The record also did not show…
M.B. and Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, New Cumberland, PA
M.B. (ECAB 16-0440): Ankle disability recurrence denied
M.B. returned to regular duty after an accepted right ankle sprain, then claimed total disability beginning April 20, 2015. His physicians reported ankle symptoms but did not give a reasoned link between his later condition and the accepted sprain. The record also described pain after snow…
D.L. and Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, Springfield, VA
D.L. (ECAB 16-0342): Reconsideration request did not reopen claim
D.L. sought reconsideration of an injury denial and argued that OWCP had overlooked her physician’s report and imposed too high a burden. The Board found that OWCP had considered the report and that her submission supplied no new relevant medical evidence or valid new legal argument. It affirmed…
G.Q. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Oakland, CA
G.Q. (ECAB 16-0048): One-day-late reconsideration request denied
G.Q. asked OWCP to reconsider a May 9, 2014 wage-loss denial. Because the one-year deadline fell on a Saturday, it extended to Monday, May 11, 2015; OWCP received her request on May 12. The Board found the request untimely and held that repeated medical reports and arguments did not show clear…
Central Florida Equipment Rentals, Inc.
Unsafe berm operation affirmed after dump-truck fatality
Central Florida used a 25-ton articulated dump truck to carry fill along a narrow berm beside a retention pond. The truck fell into the pond and its operator died. The Commission found that the company did not accurately determine the truck's clearance or whether the berm could support its loaded…
Secretary of Labor v. Blaze White, employed by Newmont USA Limited
Nearly three years of MSHA delay criticized but not grounds for dismissal yet
Blaze White was a shift supervisor at Newmont's Exodus Mine when a load-haul-dump vehicle fell about 40 feet into an open stope in June 2013, killing a miner. MSHA cited the operator within a month, but the individual penalty case against White under section 110(c) of the Mine Act moved far more…
Secretary of Labor v. Blanchard Machinery Company
Stepping out of the cab leaves a truck unattended, but one flustered lapse is not operator negligence
A Blanchard rental representative was sitting in a company pickup at the Haile Gold Mine when an MSHA inspector walked up behind him. He hopped out to shake hands and forgot to set the parking brake, and the inspector cited the company under 30 C.F.R. § 56.14207, which requires mobile equipment…
Secretary of Labor v. Locust Grove, Inc.
Highwall case settles mid-hearing after the inspector's own testimony wavers
Locust Grove runs Ben's Branch Mine, a surface coal mine in Perry County, Kentucky. In June 2014 an MSHA inspector reported loose rocks lying or hanging near the crest of an active highwall with three miners working about 10 feet from its base, and found that the shift examination records for the…
B.C. and Department of the Navy, Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, MD
B.C. (ECAB 16-0971): Late subluxation reconsideration rejected
B.C. requested reconsideration more than one year after OWCP denied his claimed spinal subluxations. He repeated medical material and a prior Board citation that OWCP had considered. The Board held that these submissions did not show clear error in OWCP’s July 21, 2014 merit decision and affirmed…
K.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Marrero, LA
K.W. (ECAB 16-0838): Bilateral knee disease claim denied
K.W. attributed severe arthritis in both knees to sorting and distributing mail, lifting, bending, walking, and moving equipment. OWCP accepted those tasks as work factors. The Board found that her medical reports did not adequately explain how the duties caused or aggravated the knee conditions…
D.Y. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA
D.Y. (ECAB 16-0767): Shipyard hearing loss claim remanded
D.Y. worked at a naval shipyard for decades with accepted hazardous noise exposure. OWCP’s second-opinion physician attributed his hearing loss mainly to age and medical conditions but also said earlier workplace noise was sufficient to cause or aggravate hearing loss. The Board found those…
J.G. and Department of the Army, Tank-Automotive & Armaments Command, Red River Army Depot, Texarkana, TX
J.G. (ECAB 16-0688): Back injury claim remanded for specialist opinion
J.G. reported back and leg pain after crawling beneath floor plates at work to inspect equipment. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred. His physician’s reports supported a causal link but lacked enough explanation to establish the claim by themselves. The Board directed OWCP to obtain a…
D.M. and Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune, NC
D.M. (ECAB 16-0659): Carpal tunnel disability recurrence denied
D.M. claimed disability beginning December 23, 2014 from accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. His physicians reported symptoms and testing but did not explain how the accepted condition had progressed to disable him from his job on that date. The Board found the medical evidence insufficient…
B.H. and Department of Transportation, Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, NY
B.H. (ECAB 15-0456): Head injury claim remanded after work fall established
B.H. fell and struck his head while performing assigned work at the Merchant Marine Academy. OWCP questioned whether the incident happened as described because the claim was filed later. The Board found contemporaneous emergency records and an eyewitness account sufficient to establish the work…
Sterling Suffolk Racecourse, LLC
In re Sterling Suffolk Racecourse, LLC (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 15-12): petition dismissed after settlement
Sterling Suffolk Racecourse, LLC challenged conditions in the NPDES permit for Suffolk Downs, a horseracing facility in Revere and East Boston, Massachusetts. The parties reached a settlement covering a draft permit modification, and EPA Region 1 agreed to publish the draft and accept public…
Secretary of Labor v. River View Coal, LLC
Signing off a dust exam before the dust box was opened is high negligence, not unwarrantable failure
An MSHA inspector at River View Mine in Kentucky checked a roof bolting machine whose on-shift respirable dust examination had already been certified complete on the board underground. Opening the dust collection box, he found a damaged filter and rock drill dust on the clean side of both filters…
Secretary of Labor v. Kentucky Fuel Corporation
Loose boulders above working loaders and a skipped pre-split, both citations upheld
An MSHA inspector at Kentucky Fuel's Bevins Branch Surface Mine in Kentucky found large loose boulders sitting on top of a 70-foot highwall while two end loaders worked below, and cited the company for failing to strip loose hazardous material under 30 C.F.R. § 77.1001. At a second pit he found a…
United States Department of the Air Force, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts (Agency) and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1384 (Union/Petitioner)
Hanscom Air Force Base and NFFE Local 1384 (FLRA BN-RP-16-0003): Remote directorate employees remain outside unit
NFFE Local 1384 represented professional employees of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center who were duty-stationed at Hanscom Air Force Base. It sought to add employees in two directorates who reported through Hanscom leadership but physically worked at locations around the country. A…
T.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Marblehead Post Office, Marblehead, MA
T.D. (ECAB 16-0771): Knee injury claim denied for lack of causation
T.D. reported a February 2015 work incident and a right knee condition. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred and that a knee diagnosis existed. The Board found the medical evidence insufficient to explain how the incident caused the condition and affirmed the denial.
B.W. and Department of Energy, Bonneville Power Administration, Portland, OR
B.W. (ECAB 16-0120): Wage-loss termination for refusing suitable light duty upheld
B.W. was offered a temporary full-time light-duty assignment after accepted injuries. The Board found that its tasks met his medical restrictions and that the job paid wages equal to his prior position. He declined the offer after notice of the consequences. The Board held that OWCP followed the…
T.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Greensboro, NC
T.P. (ECAB 15-1399): Existing arm impairment awards upheld
T.P. had received schedule awards for five percent impairment of each arm after accepted carpal tunnel and elbow conditions. He sought higher ratings based on his physician’s use of older nerve studies. The Board found the medical adviser’s lower rating better supported by the records and…
M.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hartford, CT
M.H. (ECAB 15-0849): Lumbar injury and reopening denials affirmed
M.H. claimed a lumbar condition after an accepted August 2014 work incident. The Board found that her medical reports did not adequately link the condition to the incident. Her reconsideration submission did not meet a standard for further merits review. It affirmed both the injury denial and the…
Secretary of Labor obo Jeffrey S. Brewer v. Monongalia County Coal Company
Late discrimination complaints survive without prejudice
Monongalia County Coal moved to dismiss Jeffrey Brewer's Mine Act discrimination case because Brewer filed his MSHA complaint 29 days after the 60-day period and the Secretary filed the Commission complaint 21 days late. Brewer said he misunderstood the filing requirements and believed he first had…
B.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Madison, WI
B.K. (ECAB 16-0809): Letter carrier back condition claim denied
B.K. attributed lumbar conditions to repetitive letter-carrier duties. OWCP accepted that he performed those tasks. The Board found that his physicians did not adequately explain how the accepted work factors caused or aggravated the diagnosed back conditions. It affirmed the denial.
C.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Kansas City, MO
C.H. (ECAB 16-0808): Timely reconsideration still failed reopening test
C.H. asked OWCP to reconsider her claim within one year of the Board’s last merits decision, so the request was timely. The Board found that her lay statements repeated earlier arguments and that she supplied no relevant new medical evidence or legal argument. It affirmed the refusal to review the…
C.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Canandaigua Veterans Medical Center, Canandaigua, NY
C.S. (ECAB 16-0784): Federal retirement offset upheld
C.S. received FECA wage-loss compensation for accepted asthma and Social Security retirement benefits. OWCP used Social Security figures to calculate the portion attributable to federal employment and deducted $124.62 from continuing compensation. The Board found the calculation supported and no…
P.H. and Department of the Air Force, Air Force Space Command, Cape Canaveral, FL
P.H. (ECAB 16-0654): Right knee injury claim denied
P.H. claimed that a September 2014 work incident caused right knee conditions. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred. The Board found the medical evidence insufficient to explain how it caused or aggravated the diagnosed knee conditions. It affirmed the claim denial.
D.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Carol Stream, IL
D.B. (ECAB 16-0648): Benefits termination reversed over incomplete medical facts
OWCP used a physician selected to resolve a dispute about surgery to assess whether all of D.B.’s accepted conditions had ended. The Board held that the physician had not been an impartial examiner on that broader question. His report also relied on a statement of accepted facts that omitted the…
R.O. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Atlanta, GA
R.O. (ECAB 16-0186): Overpayment upheld; first-deposit waiver remanded
R.O. returned to work but continued receiving total disability compensation by direct deposit. The Board upheld the $8,405.72 overpayment. It found no proof that he knew the first deposit was wrong when received, though he should have known by later deposits. It ordered OWCP to consider waiver for…
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Irving, TX
J.B. (ECAB 15-1273): Misfiled medical report required merits review
J.B. sought reconsideration of a claim involving back and knee conditions from letter-carrier duties. Counsel argued that OWCP had misfiled part of a physician’s report and had not reviewed the complete record before denying the claim. A case memorandum supported the imaging error. The Board held…
Secretary of Labor v. Arnold Stone, Inc.
Broken loader lockout upheld, penalty cut to $10,000
Arnold Stone used a skid-steer loader at its surface limestone mine with a safety lockout that allowed the machine to move while the operator's seat belt was unbuckled. Judge Margaret A. Miller credited evidence that the defect had existed for about 18 months, was known to the site supervisor, and…
T.K. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Westbury, NY
T.K. (ECAB 16-0813): Emotional condition claim remained closed
T.K. sought reconsideration of an emotional condition claim after an accepted work incident. The Board found that his submission did not supply relevant new medical evidence or another basis for further merits review. It affirmed OWCP’s refusal to reopen the claim, without deciding medical…
T.R. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Butner, NC
T.R. (ECAB 16-0797): Post-return overpayment and waiver denial upheld
T.R. received total disability compensation after returning to work. OWCP found her without fault but determined that she had not shown hardship or inequity sufficient for waiver. Her financial questionnaire omitted wages from her job, and the available figures showed income exceeding listed…
R.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Scottsboro, AL
R.B. (ECAB 16-0691): Mail carrier neck and back claim denied
R.B. attributed neck and back conditions to nearly 30 years of mail-carrier duties. OWCP accepted that he performed the described standing, driving, bending, and lifting. The Board found the medical reports lacked a detailed explanation of how those duties aggravated his conditions. It affirmed…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chicago, IL
M.M. (ECAB 16-0674): Short disability claims and reopening denied
M.M. sought compensation for several days of missed work or therapy after an accepted injury. The Board found insufficient evidence that the claimed absences and occupational therapy were required by the accepted condition. Her reconsideration submission did not meet a standard for reopening the…
W.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Health & Resource Management Office, Charlotte, NC
W.C. (ECAB 16-0643): Quadriceps rupture claim denied
W.C. reported feeling a pull while squatting at work and was diagnosed with a quadriceps muscle rupture. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred. The Board found that the physician’s reports did not explain how that movement caused or aggravated the rupture. It affirmed denial of the injury claim…
E.P. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Anthony, TX
E.P. (ECAB 16-0582): Arm impairment ratings remanded
E.P. sought schedule awards for both arms after accepted carpal tunnel syndrome and hand and wrist tenosynovitis. His physician and OWCP’s medical adviser used the impairment guide differently and did not adequately explain how a disability questionnaire changed the ratings. The Board found both…
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.