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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K.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Westmont, IL
K.T. (ECAB 15-1101): Disability claim after loss of light duty denied
K.T., a Postal Service letter carrier with accepted back and neck injuries, worked in a modified position until the employer withdrew it. The Board found that the withdrawal and later termination arose from conduct involving his compensation forms rather than from his accepted injury. His medical…
T.P. and Department of the Navy, Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia, PA
T.P. (ECAB 15-1016): Earnings forfeiture returned for specific findings
T.P., a former Navy machinist, challenged OWCP's finding that he had failed to report earnings and must forfeit compensation over many years. The Board found gaps between the earnings reporting forms and insufficient findings about what he knowingly omitted or understated on each form. It set aside…
Tricon International Ltd., d/b/a as Tricon Energy Limited and Tricon Dry Chemicals, LLC
In re Tricon International Ltd., d/b/a as Tricon Energy Limited and Tricon Dry Chemicals, LLC (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 16-02C): consent agreement ratified
Tricon International Ltd., doing business as Tricon Energy Limited, and Tricon Dry Chemicals, LLC entered a Consent Agreement with EPA. The Environmental Appeals Board incorporated the agreement into its Final Order and ratified it under the Consolidated Rules of Practice. The respondent was…
Clintwood Elkhorn Mining Company, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor
Runaway-truck citation reduced to section 104(a)
A contract haul-truck driver lost control on Clintwood's steep haul road after the truck ran out of fuel, crossed the preparation plant access road, and overturned near a 30-foot drop. The Commission had already held that Clintwood violated the full-control standard and remanded for gravity…
J. Becher & Associates, Inc.
J. Becher & Associates (DOL ARB 2016-0034): Review petition dismissed by consent
J. Becher & Associates petitioned the Administrative Review Board over a Davis-Bacon wage determination for a Minnesota project. The Wage and Hour Division Administrator asked the Board to dismiss the petition and suspend the briefing schedule, reporting that the company had consented. The Board…
Sorenson v. Terracare Associates, LLC
Sorenson v. Terracare (DOL ARB 2016-0005): Appeal dismissed over missing service certificate
Kelly Sorenson appealed a case involving Terracare Associates to the Board. The Board rejected his first brief because it did not meet filing requirements and gave him another chance because he was representing himself. His second brief lacked the required certificate showing that he had served it…
Kennedy v. Stericycle, Inc.
Kennedy v. Stericycle (DOL ARB 2016-0002): Appeal dismissed after no brief or show cause response
Joseph Kennedy appealed a case involving Stericycle to the Board. The Board ordered him to file an opening brief by October 23, 2015 and warned that missing the deadline could lead to dismissal. He did not file a brief. The Board then ordered him to explain by February 1, 2016 why the appeal should…
W.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Melville, NY
W.K. (ECAB 16-0150): Knee injury claim returned for medical development
W.K., a Postal Service letter carrier, reported twisting his left knee while walking on ice at work. OWCP accepted that the February 6, 2014 incident occurred but denied his claim for a meniscal tear. Several physicians consistently described the incident, diagnosed a tear, and linked the two…
L.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Crystal City, MO
L.M. (ECAB 16-0144): $327.64 overpayment and waiver denial affirmed
L.M., a Postal Service city carrier assistant, received compensation calculated at a higher pay rate than her prior-year earnings supported. The Board affirmed OWCP's $327.64 overpayment calculation. Although she was without fault, she supplied no financial information to show why recovery should…
T.T. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Air Marshal Service, Coraopolis, PA
T.T. (ECAB 15-0944): Seven percent knee impairment award affirmed
T.T., a training instructor for the Federal Air Marshal Service, sought a larger award for an accepted right knee meniscus tear and aggravated arthritis. His physician rated the leg impairment at nine percent. OWCP's medical adviser found that the higher calculation used an outdated guide and…
B.G. and Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Los Padres National Forest, Albuquerque, NM
B.G. (ECAB 15-0757): Back injury disability claim for past period denied
B.G., a Forest Service employee, had an accepted lumbar sprain and disc herniation. She sought total disability compensation for a period after she stopped working in a modified-duty position. The Board found a substantial gap in medical evidence near the start of that period and no reasoned…
L.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Denver, CO
L.S. (ECAB 15-0470): Disability claim returned to clarify psychiatric opinion
L.S., a Veterans Health Administration nurse, injured her wrist when an elevator door closed on her hand. She sought disability compensation for June 2012 through February 2013, including effects of depression that she said followed the injury. The impartial examiner linked her mental health…
R.M. and Department of Justice, U.S. Marshals Service, Del Rio, TX
R.M. (ECAB 15-0461): Schedule award pay rate returned for comparison
R.M., a deputy U.S. marshal with several accepted knee injuries, challenged the pay rate used for his schedule award. OWCP had used a 1990 rate, but the award involved injuries in later years as well. The record lacked employer pay information for those later injury dates. The Board directed OWCP…
Matthew A. Varady v. Veris Gold USA, Inc. and Jerritt Canyon Gold, LLC
Discovery authorized on proposed successors
After proving discrimination by Veris Gold, Matthew Varady sought to add Whitebox-related entities and individuals as successors alongside Jerritt Canyon Gold. Judge William B. Moran held that the Commission had jurisdiction to determine successor status, but that Varady's allegations and the…
M.L. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Patrol, Casa Grande, AZ
M.L. (ECAB 16-0295): Overpayment and waiver denial upheld
M.L., a border patrol agent, returned to full-time light-duty work on March 1, 2015, but received disability compensation through March 7. OWCP found that the overlapping payment created a $1,238.43 overpayment and found him without fault. He did not respond to OWCP’s request for financial…
A.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New York, NY
A.L. (ECAB 16-0278): Knee disease claim denial upheld
A.L., a postal city carrier, attributed bilateral knee pain to stair climbing and pushing carts at work. The Board accepted that he performed those duties and had diagnosed knee conditions. His physicians did not explain how the work caused or aggravated those conditions. Some additional medical…
M.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Visalia, CA
M.L. (ECAB 16-0272): Carpal tunnel claim denial upheld
M.L., a postal letter carrier, claimed bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome from repetitive casing and carrying of mail. OWCP accepted the described work and the diagnosis was supported by nerve studies. One physician did not discuss causation, while another said the condition appeared work related…
R.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Charlotte, NC
R.A. (ECAB 16-0090): Back disease claim found timely
R.A., a postal processing clerk, attributed a back condition to lifting, bending, twisting, and working on concrete floors. OWCP denied the claim as untimely because he reported awareness of a work related problem in 1998 but filed in 2015. The Board held that his continuing exposure to the alleged…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Westchester Postal & Distribution Center, White Plains, NY
S.M. (ECAB 16-0070): Mail tray injury claim denial upheld
S.M., a postal mail handler, reported neck, back, and wrist injuries after lifting a tray of magazines. OWCP accepted that the workplace incident happened. The emergency physician diagnosed strains but did not explain how the incident caused them, and the wrist pain entry was not a firm diagnosis…
D.D. and Department of the Navy, Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth Neurodevelopmental Pediatrics Clinic, Portsmouth, VA
D.D. (ECAB 15-1132): Norovirus exposure claim denial upheld
D.D., a pediatric occupational therapist, reported becoming ill after exposure to a patient with norovirus and fainting during the illness. OWCP accepted the workplace exposure. The Board found that the treatment records explained her symptoms and injuries but did not connect the illness to the…
Secretary of Labor v. North American Quarry and Construction Services, LLC
Parent-company discovery compelled
The Secretary sought documents, an interrogatory answer, and a corporate deposition concerning whether North American Quarry and its parent, Austin Powder, should be treated as a unitary operator. Judge Alan G. Paez held that the requested information addressed interrelated operations, common…
A.K. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Air Marshal Service, Hanover, MD
A.K. (ECAB 16-0124): Wage loss termination upheld
A.K., a federal air marshal, received wage loss compensation after an accepted back injury. Her treating physicians and an OWCP physician disagreed about whether she remained unable to work. OWCP obtained an impartial orthopedic examination to resolve that conflict. The Board found the impartial…
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pittsburg, PA
J.C. (ECAB 15-1854): Lumbar injury claim denial upheld
J.C., a postal truck driver, reported back pain after bending to retrieve work gloves. OWCP accepted that the January 2015 incident occurred. A neurologist linked a disc herniation to the event, but the Board found that his opinion did not sufficiently distinguish the new findings from the earlier…
S.W. and Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers, Gainesville, AL
S.W. (ECAB 15-1756): Late reconsideration refusal upheld
S.W. sought reconsideration of OWCP’s 2008 termination of compensation for an accepted back injury. She requested review in February 2015 and submitted a newer medical report describing continuing disability. The Board could review only OWCP’s 2015 refusal to reopen, because the earlier merits…
B.M. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Richmond, VA
B.M. (ECAB 15-1650): Parking lot injury claim denial upheld
B.M., an IRS revenue officer, slipped and fell in the workplace parking lot while retrieving a work item from her car. OWCP accepted the incident as occurring in the performance of duty. Her physician described neck, back, and shoulder conditions but did not adequately explain how the fall caused…
C.B. and Department of Homeland Security, Citizenship & Immigration Services, Los Angeles, CA
C.B. (ECAB 15-1350): Shoulder injury claim denial upheld
C.B., an immigration services officer, said she injured her right shoulder and neck while carrying a heavy file and opening a door. Her physician associated the conditions with that event, but the Board found he did not explain the medical mechanism or reconcile his earlier report describing months…
D.P. and Department of Justice, U.S. Marshals Service, Omaha, NE
D.P. (ECAB 15-1331): Late reconsideration refusal upheld
D.P., a criminal investigator, sought reconsideration of a 2013 denial of his claim for a 2013 back incident. OWCP received the request more than a year after its merits decision. The Board found that the later submissions did not show clear evidence of error in the earlier denial. It affirmed…
V.H. and Department of the Air Force, Hill Air Force Base, UT
V.H. (ECAB 15-1262): Merit review refusal upheld
V.H. asked OWCP to reconsider a decision involving claimed physical and psychological conditions after an accepted workplace assault. His timely request repeated arguments about the prior medical evidence and added no new evidence. The Board found that those repeated arguments did not meet the…
Polo Development, Inc., AIM Georgia, LLC, and Joseph Zdrilich
In re Polo Development, Inc., AIM Georgia, LLC, and Joseph Zdrilich (EAB CWA Appeal No. 16-01): Untimely appeal dismissed
An EPA administrative law judge found Polo Development, Inc., AIM Georgia, LLC, and Joseph Zdrilich liable for discharging dredged or fill material into navigable waters without compliance with the Clean Water Act and assessed a $32,550 penalty. The respondents sought permission to appeal after the…
R.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jersey City, NJ
R.C. (ECAB 16-0365): Knee benefit termination upheld
R.C., a postal maintenance mechanic, had an accepted right knee meniscus tear and underwent surgery. OWCP terminated wage loss and medical benefits after a second opinion physician reported no objective findings requiring further treatment or preventing work. The Board gave that detailed opinion…
D.R. and Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Medford, OR
D.R. (ECAB 16-0211): Finger schedule award denial upheld
D.R., a Bureau of Land Management clerk, sought a schedule award for an accepted left index finger joint sprain. Her physician estimated a 20 percent loss of function but did not supply the clinical findings or explain how he calculated that figure under the impairment guides. The Board affirmed…
W.D. and Department of Health & Human Services, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, Atlanta, GA
W.D. (ECAB 16-0148): Emotional condition claim denial upheld
W.D. attributed an emotional condition to errors in how the employing agency handled job applications. The agency acknowledged that it had incorrectly rated her qualifications for one opening and gave her priority consideration for a similar position. The Board found that the corrected…
D.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Romulus, MI
D.H. (ECAB 15-1960): Back benefit termination upheld
D.H., a transportation security officer, had an accepted acute worsening of a preexisting lumbar condition after a fall. An OWCP second opinion physician found that the acute effects had resolved, although longstanding back problems still limited him. The Board found that this opinion supported…
I.H. and Department of the Air Force, Maintenance Working Capital Fund, Randolph Air Force Base, TX
I.H. (ECAB 15-1798): Hand benefit termination upheld
I.H., an Air Force electrician, received compensation for accepted left hand tendinitis and carpal tunnel syndrome. His treating and OWCP physicians disagreed about continuing residuals, so OWCP obtained an impartial orthopedic examination. The Board gave that examiner’s reasoned opinion special…
J.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Edward Hines Jr. Medical Center, Hines, IL
J.C. (ECAB 15-1780): Three benefit rulings upheld
J.C., a Veterans Affairs housekeeping aide, sought a schedule award and claimed a recurrence of disability after an accepted low back injury. The Board found no ratable lower extremity impairment under the applicable rating method; the lumbar spine itself was not a scheduled member. His medical…
M.C. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Bryan, TX
M.C. (ECAB 15-1757): Eleven percent shoulder award upheld
M.C., a Bureau of Prisons teacher, sought a greater schedule award for an accepted right shoulder injury. His physiatrist estimated 14 percent impairment using an outdated edition of the impairment guides. An OWCP medical adviser applied the required edition and calculated 11 percent right upper…
David Dzenutis d/b/a Royal Construction Company
Roofing and ladder violations affirmed
Royal Construction employees performed roofing work without a compliant hazard communication program, a nearby fire extinguisher, or adequate fall protection. OSHA also cited unsafe roof access, insufficient ladder extension, carrying a load while descending, and failure to keep one hand on the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Immigration and Customs Enforcement National Council 118 (Union) and United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Agency)
ICE Council 118 and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (FLRA 0-NG-3248): Overtime proposal reconsideration denied
ICE Council 118 proposed ground rules protecting bargaining-team members from losing administratively uncontrollable overtime eligibility or premium rates because they spent time in negotiations. The Authority had found the proposal negotiable after rejecting statutory, regulatory, and covered-by…
E.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chicago, IL
E.L. (ECAB 16-0209): Heel condition claim denial upheld
E.L., a postal letter carrier, attributed plantar fasciitis and heel spurs to years of walking and standing on concrete. The Board accepted the work factors and diagnoses. Her podiatrist stated that the conditions were work related but did not explain medically how the walking or other duties…
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Providence, RI
J.B. (ECAB 16-0157): Back disability recurrence denial upheld
J.B., a postal mobile unit operator, had an accepted back strain and returned to regular work. He later claimed a recurrence of disability beginning June 19, 2014. The Board found that a reported new aggravation from regular work would be a new injury rather than a spontaneous recurrence. The…
J.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Roseland Post Office, Chicago, IL
J.D. (ECAB 16-0085): Leg awards and subpoena ruling upheld
J.D., a postal employee, sought greater schedule awards for both legs and asked an OWCP hearing representative to subpoena an examining physician and x-rays. The Board found that the supported impairment ratings were 33 percent for the right leg and 10 percent for the left. It also held that the…
J.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Fort George Station, New York, NY
J.J. (ECAB 16-0047): Suitable work termination reversed
J.J., a postal carrier, lost wage loss benefits after OWCP found that he refused a suitable customer care position. OWCP relied on a medical examination from 2012 to assess his capacity when it terminated compensation in 2014. The Board held that the opinion was too old to establish his current…
S.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Washington, DC
S.M. (ECAB 15-1804): Back disability recurrence denial upheld
S.M., a customs officer, sought compensation for a claimed recurrence of disability in April 2013 after an accepted 2004 lumbar injury. She had returned to full-time limited duty years earlier. The Board found that the newer medical reports did not adequately explain how the accepted injury caused…
A.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Santa Clarita, CA
A.W. (ECAB 15-1548 and 15-1574): Knee benefit denials upheld
A.W., a postal processing clerk, had accepted temporary aggravations of osteoarthritis in both knees. She sought disability benefits for July through November 2013 and challenged OWCP’s later termination of wage loss and medical benefits. The Board found her evidence insufficient to establish…
G.M. and Department of the Air Force, Air Force National Guard Title 32, Tacoma, WA
G.M. (ECAB 16-0220): Hearing loss claim found untimely
G.M., a retired aircraft mechanic, filed a compensation claim in 2014 based on a 1984 workplace collision and later hearing loss. His supervisor knew about the collision and visible injuries when they occurred. The Board found no evidence that a supervisor had timely notice of a work-related…
C.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Captain James A. Lovell Federal Healthcare Center, North Chicago, IL
C.M. (ECAB 16-0046): Late hearing request denial upheld
C.M., a Veterans Affairs ward administrator, sought an oral hearing after OWCP denied her hip and thigh occupational disease claim. Her hearing request was postmarked more than 30 days after the decision. The Board held that she had no hearing right after that deadline and that OWCP properly…
K.B. and Department of the Air Force, Maintenance Working Capital Fund, Robins Air Force Base, GA
K.B. (ECAB 15-1527): Door incident claim denial upheld
K.B., an Air Force sheet metal worker, said a building door struck her and caused a fall during her return to work. The Board reviewed her account against an agency investigation, photographs, and witness descriptions of where she was found. It concluded that the incident did not occur in the…
D.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Birmingham, AL
D.D. (ECAB 15-1075): Back and neck benefit termination upheld
D.D., a postal mail processor, received benefits for accepted aggravated spine conditions. OWCP ended wage loss and medical benefits after its second opinion physician reviewed examination findings and surveillance evidence and found the accepted effects had resolved. The Board gave that opinion…
S.B. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Portland International Airport, Portland, OR
S.B. (ECAB 15-1060): Wage capacity reduction reversed
S.B., a transportation security employee, had accepted back conditions and received compensation for disability. OWCP reduced her benefits based on an assumed ability to earn wages as a general office clerk. The Board found that the medical restrictions did not clearly fit the physical demands of…
C.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tomball, TX
C.H. (ECAB 15-0620): Shoulder claim and hearing denial upheld
C.H., a postal rural carrier, attributed a right shoulder condition to repeated overhead mail casing. She did not provide the requested details of the claimed work exposure, and the medical note lacked a diagnosis or causal explanation. The Board affirmed OWCP’s denial of the occupational disease…
United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Agency) and National Treasury Employees Union, Local 141 (Union)
Customs and Border Protection and NTEU Local 141 (FLRA 0-AR-5161): Leave remedy limited to grievants
Customs and Border Protection denied six officers' ad hoc annual-leave requests even though leave slots were available under the local ten-percent-plus-one practice. An arbitrator found that the agreement applied the same workload and staffing standard to annual-draw and ad hoc leave, did not…
Daniel B. Lowe v. Veris Gold USA, Inc. and Jerritt Canyon Gold, LLC
Asset purchaser added for successor inquiry
Daniel Lowe had already proven that Veris Gold discriminated against him when he asked to add Jerritt Canyon Gold, the purchaser of Veris's mine assets, as a potential successor. Jerritt Canyon argued that the bankruptcy automatic stay, free-and-clear sale order, claim preclusion, and bankruptcy…
D.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hartford, CT
D.B. (ECAB 16-0059): Cervical condition award denial upheld
D.B., a postal mail handler, sought a schedule award after an accepted cervical radiculopathy condition. Her physician estimated eight percent spinal impairment based on subjective symptoms. The Board explained that FECA does not authorize a schedule award for the spine itself and found no…
A.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Stamford, CT
A.B. (ECAB 15-1947): Suitable work termination reversed
A.B., a postal clerk, lost wage loss benefits after OWCP found that he refused a suitable job offer. Treating and OWCP physicians disagreed about his work capacity, and an impartial examiner was asked to resolve the conflict. The Board found that examiner’s report incomplete: it omitted important…
M.P. and Department of the Air Force, Air Force National Guard, Latham, NY
M.P. (ECAB 15-1857): Knee injury claim denial upheld
M.P., an Air Force aircraft electrician, reported a knee pop while carrying equipment and changing direction at work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred, and a physician diagnosed a strain and meniscus tear. The Board found that the physician’s opinion did not adequately explain how the…
M.S. and Department of Labor, Mine Safety & Health Administration, Trinidad, CO
M.S. (ECAB 15-1465): Dust exposure disease claim denial upheld
M.S., a retired mine inspector, claimed that workplace dust exposure caused breathing problems and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. OWCP accepted that the exposure occurred, and imaging showed a lung condition. The Board found that no physician explained how his federal work exposure caused…
G.W. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Dallas, TX
G.W. (ECAB 15-1439): Claimed consequential elbow injury denied
G.W. attributed left elbow symptoms to using his arms to rise from a chair after an accepted low back injury. The Board found that the main supporting report identified pain but did not diagnose an elbow condition or explain how the back injury led to one. Other studies and treatment notes did not…
A.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bronx, NY
A.A. (ECAB 15-0870): Mail carrier knee claim denial upheld
A.A., a postal letter carrier, attributed a torn right knee meniscus to walking, standing, stairs, and moving heavy mail at work. OWCP accepted the described duties. Her surgeon linked the tear to postal work but did not adequately explain how the specific duties caused or aggravated it. The Board…
R.G. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Dallas, TX
R.G. (ECAB 15-0425): Computer work carpal tunnel claim denied
R.G., an IRS contact representative, attributed bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome to frequent computer and mouse use. OWCP accepted the work duties and the diagnosis. Her medical records confirmed the condition but did not explain its cause or address the specific job tasks, despite a prior history…
Rosebud Mining Co. v. Secretary of Labor
Single seal counted as a set requiring drainage
Rosebud proposed sealing an interconnected mine area with three seals at one location and a fourth seal 2,600 feet away and 123 feet lower, but planned a water drain only at the fourth seal. Judge Janet G. Harner held that the phrase "set of seals" in the drainage rule can include a single seal…
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.