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.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Edison, NJ
J.D. (ECAB 15-0481): Life insurance overpayment finding set aside
J.D., a postal carrier receiving compensation after a workplace injury, was told she had a $4,375.18 overpayment because premiums for a no-reduction life insurance option had not been withheld. OWCP relied on an Office of Personnel Management letter saying she had enrolled in that option. The Board…
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, Washington, D.C. (Respondent/Agency) and Independent Union of Pension Employees for Democracy and Justice (Charging Party/Union)
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and IUPEDJ (FLRA WA-CA-13-0719): Phone logs ordered, coworker records withheld
The union requested a coworker's performance materials and a supervisor's after-hours phone logs to support a promotion grievance and compare the supervisor's treatment of employees. The Authority held that the coworker's strong privacy interest outweighed the limited public interest in one…
Secretary of Labor v. Cemex Construction Materials, Atlantic, LLC
Elevator-examination citation vacated for lack of fair notice
After a fatal elevator accident at another Cemex plant, MSHA cited the Knoxville Cement Plant for not assigning a competent person to examine each elevator every shift. Judge David F. Barbour found that an elevator can be a working place when employees use it to transport work equipment, but held…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Adam Whiton v. Wharf Resources (USA), Inc.
Five management interview memoranda ordered disclosed
Wharf Resources moved to compel 18 documents from MSHA's investigation of Adam Whiton's discrimination complaint. After reviewing the documents privately, Judge Thomas P. McCarthy held that the agency's case analysis, investigative report, internal memoranda, handwritten notes, and…
Arvind Gupta v. Compunnel Software Group, Inc.
Gupta v. Compunnel Software Group (DOL ARB 2016-0056): Settlement challenge dismissed
Arvind Gupta's H-1B employment case against Compunnel had returned to an administrative law judge after an earlier Board remand. The parties signed a settlement under which Compunnel agreed to pay Gupta $28,000, and the judge approved it and dismissed the case. Gupta petitioned the Board to set…
Secretary of Labor v. Allstate Materials, LLC, et al.
Eight late contests reopened after MSHA office move
Eight operators asked the Commission to reopen penalty assessments that had become final after MSHA did not receive their contest notices. Each operator said it mailed a timely contest to the Arlington address printed on the assessment, but the mail was lost or returned as undeliverable. The…
Secretary of Labor v. Blue Diamond Coal Company, et al.
Twelve reopening motions dismissed after timely contests found
Twelve operators moved to reopen penalty assessments after MSHA appeared not to have received their contest notices following its headquarters move. MSHA later received a large batch of mail that had not been forwarded to its new address, including all twelve timely notices. The agency processed…
Secretary of Labor v. Maxxim Rebuild Company, LLC
MSHA jurisdiction extends to off-site mining-equipment shop
Maxxim Rebuild operated the Sidney Shop in Kentucky, where employees repaired, rebuilt, fabricated, and stored equipment and parts used mainly at coal mines and preparation plants. At least 75 percent of the shop's work involved equipment for Alpha Natural Resources mines, although the shop also…
Dwight Bohanon v. Grand Trunk Western Railroad Co.
Bohanon v. Grand Trunk Western Railroad (DOL ARB 2016-0048): Late review petition denied
An administrative law judge found that Grand Trunk Western Railroad retaliated against Dwight Bohanon for reporting a safety concern. The railroad had 14 days from the judge's decision to seek Board review, but its counsel counted from receipt instead of issuance and missed the deadline. The…
Graves v. MV Transportation, Inc. and Broadspire Service, Inc.
Graves v. MV Transportation (DOL ARB 14-098): Transit whistleblower settlement approved
Michael Graves appealed a judge's dismissal of his transit whistleblower complaint against MV Transportation and Broadspire. Before the Board reached the appeal's merits, Graves and MV Transportation submitted a settlement agreement and a voluntary dismissal. The Board approved the agreement only…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Springfield, MA
M.M. (ECAB 16-0541): Claimed disability after foot injury not established
M.M., a postal expediter, sought wage-loss compensation for three periods in 2014 after OWCP accepted a 2012 right foot contusion. Her physician attributed ongoing pain and inability to work to a possible condition called reflex sympathetic dystrophy. The Board found that he offered no objective…
G.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Decatur, GA
G.W. (ECAB 16-0517): Wrist injury claim and review denial affirmed
G.W., a medical supply technician, reported wrist pain after lifting a tray at work in November 2014. OWCP accepted that the lifting incident happened but denied her claim because the medical reports gave no diagnosis tied to it. The Board agreed that a physician’s description of a “right wrist…
C.K. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Loma Linda Healthcare System, Loma Linda, CA
C.K. (ECAB 16-0297): Refusal to reopen disability claim affirmed
C.K., a nurse, sought compensation for time off work in November 2013 after an accepted elbow injury. OWCP denied the disability claim and later refused to reopen it on reconsideration. The Board reviewed only the refusal to reopen because the earlier merits decision was outside its review period…
K.S. and Department of the Navy, Naval Sea Systems Command, Jacksonville, FL
K.S. (ECAB 16-0035): Hearing loss claim denied for lack of medical link
K.S. attributed bilateral hearing loss to noise exposure while working as a machinist at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. The Board accepted that he had been exposed to hazardous workplace noise. It found that the physicians’ reports did not give a reasoned explanation connecting his current…
C.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Houston, TX
C.C. (ECAB 15-1882): Compensation termination after job refusal affirmed
C.C., a rural mail carrier, received compensation for accepted bilateral hernias after a 2012 work injury. The Postal Service offered a modified carrier position, but he declined it because he believed his heart and other medical conditions prevented him from working. The Board found that the…
L.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Kearny, NJ
L.A. (ECAB 15-1213): Compensation overpayment and fault finding affirmed
L.A., a postal mail handler, received wage-loss compensation while earning income from child care work in 2010 and 2011. OWCP calculated a $21,074.30 overpayment by offsetting those earnings against compensation for the periods at issue. The Board upheld the amount and rejected an argument that…
P.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Burlington, VT
P.V. (ECAB 15-1077): Nine percent right leg award affirmed
P.V., a postal letter carrier, received a schedule award for nine percent right lower extremity impairment after an accepted knee condition and surgery. She sought a higher award based on her physician’s 10 percent rating using knee range of motion. The Board found that OWCP’s medical adviser…
JMD Roofing & Siding, LLC
Late contest dismissed after employer stopped participating
OSHA issued JMD Roofing & Siding several serious and other-than-serious construction citations with proposed penalties totaling $8,400. The company received the citation and was told in Spanish how and when to contest it, but filed its notice about six weeks after the deadline. It later stopped…
Matthew A. Varady v. Veris Gold USA, Inc. and Jerritt Canyon Gold, LLC
Immediate review of successor-liability ruling denied
After Jerritt Canyon Gold bought Veris Gold's mine assets through bankruptcy, Judge William B. Moran allowed Matthew Varady to add Jerritt Canyon as a possible successor in his discrimination case. Jerritt Canyon argued that the bankruptcy sale, automatic stay, res judicata, and federal bankruptcy…
S.M. and U.S. Air Force, Robins Air Force Base, Forest Park, IL
S.M. (ECAB 16-0270): Late reconsideration request denied
S.M. again asked OWCP to reconsider a long-standing denial of compensation for an alleged recurrence of disability beginning in 1989. OWCP found his August 2015 request untimely and found no clear evidence of error in its earlier merits decision. The Board agreed that the request came long after…
L.W. and Department of Health & Human Services, Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Baltimore, MD
L.W. (ECAB 15-1788): Late request to reopen emotional condition claim denied
L.W. sought to reopen an emotional condition claim that OWCP had denied as filed too late. His March 2015 reconsideration request came more than a year after the last merits decision in September 2009. The Board found that the new arguments and documents did not show clear error in OWCP’s earlier…
M.Z. and Department of Homeland Security, Emergency Preparedness & Response, Forrest Hills, NY
M.Z. (ECAB 15-1744): Timely reconsideration request sent back to OWCP
M.Z. sought to add a lumbar condition to a claim accepted for a shoulder injury after a fall at work. OWCP treated his reconsideration request as late and denied it under the stricter clear-error standard. The Board found that OWCP had received an earlier request on September 4, 2014, within one…
B.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Ellsworth, ME
B.D. (ECAB 15-1627): Foot and ankle occupational disease claim denied
B.D., a rural mail carrier, attributed foot and ankle conditions to walking over uneven ground and using her delivery vehicle. OWCP accepted that those work activities occurred but denied the claim for lack of a medical link. The Board gave greater weight to an examining surgeon’s opinion, based on…
R.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
R.R. (ECAB 15-1186): Claim arising from workplace altercation denied
R.R., a postal letter carrier, claimed head, eye, and shoulder injuries after he said a coworker punched him at their workplace entrance. The coworker described a different sequence, and a supervisor’s account supported the coworker on who was struck in the face. The Board also noted that an…
P.M. and Department of the Navy, Navy Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, VA
P.M. (ECAB 15-0689): Claimed recurrence of hip disability denied
P.M., a Navy utility worker, returned to full duty after receiving compensation for hip and thigh sprains from a 2013 injury. She later sought benefits for a claimed recurrence of disability beginning in May 2014. Her physician diagnosed other hip and pelvic conditions but did not explain how the…
S.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Hato Rey Station, San Juan, PR
S.R. (ECAB 15-0243): Medical benefit cutoff reversed; wage claim remanded
S.R., a postal supervisor, had an accepted temporary aggravation of PTSD after a workplace event and sought wage-loss compensation. OWCP characterized its September 2014 decision as terminating both wage-loss and medical benefits. The Board found that OWCP had not been paying wage-loss…
BHP Copper, Inc. and Tetra Tech Construction Services v. Secretary of Labor
Accident-investigation facts ordered produced
A Tetra Tech contractor died after falling through a floor opening during rehabilitation work at BHP Copper's Pinto Valley mine. BHP and Tetra Tech conducted an internal ICAM accident investigation and withheld the report, emails, photographs, video, and witness statements from MSHA as attorney…
American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 1815 (Respondent) and United States Department of the Army, U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence, Fort Rucker, Alabama (Charging Party)
AFGE Local 1815 and Army Aviation Center of Excellence (FLRA AT-CO-12-0582): Union ordered to execute agreement
AFGE Local 1815 and the Army negotiated a successor agreement, initialed the articles they resolved, and submitted the last disputed article to the Federal Service Impasses Panel. After the Panel issued its binding decision, the union announced a membership ratification requirement for the first…
B.R. and Social Security Administration, Suisan City, CA
B.R. (ECAB 16-0456): Wrist injury claim denied despite accepted incident
B.R., a Social Security service representative, reported hurting her left wrist and arm while moving a desk at work in October 2014. OWCP accepted that the incident happened but found the medical evidence did not establish an injury caused by it. The Board noted that her physician’s reports…
A.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bedford Park, IL
A.T. (ECAB 16-0447): Knee occupational disease claim denied
A.T., a postal distribution clerk, attributed knee conditions to standing and walking on concrete floors during long workdays. One physician connected her condition to kneeling and squatting, duties she had not reported, while a later form report named walking and standing without reconciling the…
B.B. and Defense Agencies, Education Activities, Fort Bragg, NC
B.B. (ECAB 16-0262): Injury claim denied after accepted classroom fall
B.B., an educational aide, fell in a classroom after a student grabbed her arm. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied her injury claim. The Board found that the treating doctors had checked boxes linking her symptoms and diagnoses to the fall without explaining how it caused a…
S.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Dorris, CA
S.K. (ECAB 16-0171): Wage-earning capacity ruling left in place
S.K., a postal clerk with an accepted aggravation of scoliosis, received partial wage-loss compensation based on a 2008 finding that she could work in a limited-duty, part-time position. She later sought to change that finding after her work hours fell and she stopped working for a period. The…
J.R. and Department of the Air Force, Tinker Air Force Base, OK
J.R. (ECAB 15-1904): Wage-loss denial affirmed
J.R., an aircraft electrician, injured his left shoulder while moving parts at work, and OWCP accepted several shoulder and arm conditions. He sought wage-loss compensation for May 6 through August 18, 2014. His physician identified days when he could not work, but the Board found that the reports…
A.T. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Gulfport, MS
A.T. (ECAB 15-1896): Late reconsideration requests denied
A.T., a transportation security screener with an accepted back injury, sought a schedule award for permanent impairment. After OWCP denied the award, he requested reconsideration of its last decision on the merits. The Board found that OWCP received his requests more than one year after that…
A.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fort Lauderdale, FL
A.R. (ECAB 15-1095): Compensation overpayment ruling affirmed
A.R., a postal clerk receiving compensation for an accepted back injury and other conditions, was paid at an incorrect weekly rate for several years. The Board agreed with OWCP that this produced a $33,491.34 overpayment. Although OWCP found she was not at fault, the Board upheld its refusal to…
J.P. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Secret Service, Laurel, MD
J.P. (ECAB 16-0510): Left-arm injury claim denied
J.P., a federal police officer, reported left-arm weakness after pull-ups during mandatory fitness training. OWCP accepted that the training incident happened but denied his injury claim. The Board found that the medical reports did not adequately explain how the incident caused or aggravated a…
L.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Buffalo, NY
L.S. (ECAB 16-0375): Reconsideration denial set aside
L.S., a nursing assistant, sought benefits for a right shoulder injury after moving a bed at work. OWCP denied the claim and later refused to reopen it, reasoning that a new physician’s report lacked a valid signature. The Board found a handwritten physician signature on the report, along with…
J.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Dearborn Annex, Dearborn Heights, MI
J.S. (ECAB 16-0330): Postal carrier’s disease claim sent back
J.S., a letter carrier, claimed that her work caused or aggravated problems in her knees, feet, legs, and back. OWCP denied the occupational disease claim after obtaining a second medical opinion. The Board found that the examining physician misunderstood which claim he was evaluating and had not…
W.M. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Port Angeles, WA
W.M. (ECAB 16-0259): Food poisoning claim denial affirmed
W.M., a National Park Service forestry technician, reported becoming ill after eating food at work. His physician documented vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea, but did not connect those symptoms to the work incident or explain how work caused them. The Board found that the medical evidence did…
L.J. and Department of the Air Force, Sheppard Air Force Base, TX
L.J. (ECAB 15-0485): Foot treatment benefits restored
L.J., an Air Force secretary, received compensation and medical treatment after a work injury to her left foot, with an accepted temporary aggravation of a back condition. OWCP terminated both wage-loss compensation and medical benefits. The Board found sufficient medical evidence to support ending…
Cranesville Aggregate Companies, Inc., d/b/a Scotia Bag Plant
Divided Commission leaves six OSHA citations vacated
OSHA issued Cranesville Aggregate three safety citations and three health citations for its bag plant, with proposed penalties totaling $508,500. The judge vacated all six after finding that Mine Safety and Health Administration authority over the facility preempted OSHA jurisdiction. The two…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Jennifer Morreale v. Veris Gold U.S.A., Inc. and its successors
Successor facts ordered developed before bankruptcy ruling
Jennifer Morreale had a Commission-approved discrimination settlement with Veris Gold that remained unpaid after Jerritt Canyon Gold bought the mine assets through bankruptcy. She sought to add Jerritt Canyon Gold, Eric Sprott, and Whitebox Asset Management as successors, while Jerritt Canyon and…
Invensys Systems, Inc.
In re Invensys Systems, Inc. (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 15-10): petition dismissed after settlement
Invensys Systems, Inc. petitioned for review of NPDES Permit No. MA0004120, issued by EPA Region 1. The parties later settled their differences by agreeing to an administrative order requiring compliance with the permit. The Board granted their joint request and dismissed the appeal in its entirety…
OFCCP, USDOL v. Bank of America
1993 hiring discrimination ruling affirmed in part
The Labor Department's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs challenged Bank of America's hiring of African-American applicants for entry-level jobs at its Charlotte facility. An administrative law judge found intentional discrimination in 1993 and 2002–2005 and ordered back pay and other…
M.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Nashville, TN
M.H. (ECAB 16-0453): Shoulder injury claim sent back for fact finding
M.H., a rural postal carrier, said he injured his shoulder when he slipped on steps at work. OWCP denied the claim because it found insufficient evidence that the incident happened as alleged. The Board noted that his supervisor initially recorded receiving notice the next day, then changed that…
K.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cincinnati, OH
K.P. (ECAB 16-0425): Refusal to reopen wrist claim affirmed
K.P., a postmaster, sought compensation for a wrist and hand condition she attributed to repetitive work. After OWCP denied the claim, she requested reconsideration and submitted medical reports. The Board found that some reports had already been considered and the newer ones repeated substantially…
R.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chicago, IL
R.B. (ECAB 16-0345): Shoulder disease claim denial affirmed
R.B., a postal tractor trailer driver, claimed that his work caused left shoulder arthritis. The Board found that he had not described the specific tasks, frequency, and duration of the work he said caused the condition, despite OWCP’s request for that information. A physician’s general references…
M.S. and Department of the Navy, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, VA
M.S. (ECAB 16-0289): Overpayment amount sent back for calculation
M.S., a Navy employee receiving compensation after a wrist injury, returned to part-time work while still receiving payments for total disability. The Board agreed that this created an overpayment. But OWCP had treated all $7,872.76 paid during the period as an overpayment without calculating the…
D.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Lincoln, NE
D.G. (ECAB 16-0281): Overpayment during continuation of pay affirmed
D.G., a rural postal carrier with an accepted foot injury, received $757.29 in wage-loss compensation from OWCP during a period when his employing agency was responsible for continuation of pay. The Board held that compensation from OWCP could not begin until the continuation-of-pay period ended…
S.W. and Department of the Army, Health Services Command, Fort Benning, GA
S.W. (ECAB 16-0208): Late reconsideration request denied
S.W., an Army custodial worker with an accepted shoulder condition, sought to reopen a denial of a later disability recurrence. The Board found that OWCP received her reconsideration request more than one year after its last decision on the merits. She said illness prevented a timely request, but…
L.E. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration, Chicago, IL
L.E. (ECAB 16-0191): Neck and hand injury claim denied
L.E., a veterans benefits representative, reported neck pain after reaching for a form on a high shelf at work and sought benefits for neck and hand conditions. The Board found that the medical reports did not adequately explain how that incident caused or aggravated the diagnosed conditions. It…
Secretary of Labor v. ACI Tygart Valley
Mailed penalty contest reopened
ACI Tygart Valley said it mailed a timely contest of a proposed penalty assessment, but MSHA had no record of receiving it. The assessment therefore became a final Commission order. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but urged ACI to improve its procedures for future contests. The Commission…
Secretary of Labor v. C.R. Meyer & Sons Company, Inc.
Mistaken penalty payment reopened for contest
C.R. Meyer had already contested the underlying citation, but its accounting department inadvertently paid the later proposed assessment instead of sending it to counsel for contest. Counsel had been tracking the case, believed he would receive the assessment, and promptly moved to reopen after…
Secretary of Labor v. Kentucky Fuel Corporation
$39,256 default left final after bad-faith record
Kentucky Fuel missed the deadline to contest a $39,256 proposed assessment and blamed a new safety director who was unfamiliar with MSHA's contest process. The Secretary opposed reopening because the company had extensive unpaid penalties, including $351,696 across 140 cases at its mines. Kentucky…
E.H. and U.S. Marine Corps, Marine Corps Installation East, Albany, GA
E.H. (ECAB 16-0379): Missed hearing treated as abandoned
E.H., a Marine Corps materials expediter, sought a hearing after OWCP denied his claim for breathing problems following fume exposure at work. OWCP mailed notice of a telephone hearing, but he did not call at the scheduled time or request another hearing within 10 days. The Board held that these…
C.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Charlotte, NC
C.K. (ECAB 16-0291): Back injury claim denial affirmed
C.K., a postal mail handler, reported back and hip pain after lifting a heavy tub of mail. OWCP treated her filing as a new injury claim and denied it. The Board found that her physicians diagnosed spinal conditions and discussed lifting at work, but did not give a sufficiently reasoned explanation…
S.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Roxbury, MA
S.J. (ECAB 16-0279): Additional nerve injury and surgery unproven
S.J., a postal carrier, had accepted right foot and ankle conditions and underwent several authorized operations. After he twisted his foot while carrying suitcases at home in 2014, he sought acceptance of a sural nerve condition and authorization for another operation. The Board found that his…
W.O. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Carl Vinson Veterans Medical Center, Dublin, GA
W.O. (ECAB 16-0268): Shoulder claim remanded for complete record
W.O. claimed that lifting a heavy pump at work reinjured his right shoulder. OWCP denied the claim while referring to evidence from an earlier accepted shoulder claim. The Board could not access that earlier claim file and therefore could not review all the evidence OWCP had used. It set aside the…
Y.I. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Denver, CO
Y.I. (ECAB 16-0260): Back injury incident not established
Y.I., a casual postal mail handler, claimed a back injury after a fall at work. The Board found conflicting accounts of the date and cause of the injury in his claim form, supervisors’ statements, and medical records. He did not provide the requested detailed account to resolve those differences…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Memphis, TN
S.M. (ECAB 15-1667): Wage-loss claim after modified job denied
S.M., a postal mail handler with accepted wrist and elbow conditions, refused a modified job offer and sought wage-loss compensation. She argued that the new assignment exceeded her medical restrictions. The Board found that her physician had not explained why the accepted arm conditions prevented…
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.