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.B. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA
J.B. (ECAB 15-1474): Hearing loss claim denied for lack of work link
J.B., an electrician leader at a naval shipyard, claimed that years of workplace noise caused hearing loss in both ears. He submitted workplace audiograms, but no physician’s opinion connecting their results to his job. An OWCP referral physician diagnosed hearing loss and tinnitus but concluded…
R.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, East Providence, RI
R.V. (ECAB 15-0912): Shoulder claim not reopened for merit review
R.V., a postal letter carrier, claimed that repetitive mail handling caused a right shoulder condition. OWCP had denied the claim for insufficient medical proof connecting it to work. In seeking reconsideration, he submitted another report from his physician linking the shoulder condition to…
R.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
R.O. (ECAB 15-0228): Parking lot knee claim denied for lack of medical link
R.O., a postal mail handler, reported injuring his right knee when he fell in a parking lot while leaving work. His doctors diagnosed knee conditions, but one report described a possible aggravation and another gave no reasoned explanation connecting the conditions to the April 16, 2014 incident…
United States Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Northwestern Division (Agency) and United Power Trades Organization (Union)
Army Corps Northwestern Division and UPTO (FLRA 0-AR-5137): Temporary warehouseman backpay upheld
The Army Corps temporarily assigned a general maintenance worker from another bargaining unit to perform warehouseman duties for more than three weeks. An arbitrator found that he spent all of that time doing the critical work of the higher-paid bargaining-unit position and qualified for a…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3911 (Union) and United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2, New York, New York (Agency)
AFGE Local 3911 and EPA Region 2 (FLRA 0-AR-5134): Two-bag reimbursement policy upheld
EPA Region 2 required employees to state on travel authorizations how many personal bags they intended to check and disputed whether a traveler could be reimbursed for two bags. An arbitrator held that employees choosing to check up to two personal bags were entitled to reimbursement, while the…
In re: Disciplinary Referral
Attorney disciplinary referral terminated
A complainant asked the Commission to investigate whether an attorney made a false statement while withdrawing from a Mine Act discrimination hearing. The attorney had said he hoped his firm would represent the successor mine operator, although the firm was already serving as that company's Nevada…
Secretary of Labor v. Hibbing Taconite Company
Arbitrary abatement deadlines invalidate withdrawal orders
MSHA issued four section 104(b) withdrawal orders after Hibbing Taconite did not finish correcting three housekeeping violations and a damaged fan housing by 8:00 a.m. the morning after the citations. The inspector used the same next-morning deadline to prompt quick action even though some…
M.L. and Department of the Air Force, Hill Air Force Base, UT
M.L. (ECAB 16-0187): Injury claim denied over conflicting accounts
M.L., a mechanic at Hill Air Force Base, claimed ankle, calf, and finger injuries after a coworker’s chair struck her at work. Her 2013 account described a blow to her right foot, while the injury claim filed two years later said her left ankle twisted. The Board found that the conflicting…
R.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Fort Worth Processing & Distribution Center, Fort Worth, TX
R.T. (ECAB 16-0165): Hand and elbow claim returned for medical review
R.T., a postal custodian and laborer, claimed repetitive work duties caused conditions in his left hand and wrist and both elbows. OWCP rejected the factual basis of his claim. The Board found no evidence disputing that he repeatedly handled trash cans, cleaned workroom floors, and replaced paper…
T.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Fresno, CA
T.W. (ECAB 16-0033): Emotional condition claim not reopened
T.W., a Veterans Health Administration social worker, claimed an emotional condition related to alleged workplace retaliation. OWCP had denied the claim after finding no established compensable work factor. In seeking reconsideration, he cited additional Board cases and repeated arguments about the…
L.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
L.W. (ECAB 15-1962): Wage-loss claim returned for clearer medical opinion
L.W., a postal letter carrier, sought wage-loss compensation from April 24 through December 2, 2011 for an accepted aggravation of lumbar spondylosis. OWCP obtained a second opinion stating that he could not perform carrier duties but could do sedentary work. The Board found that the physician did…
R.C. and Department of Health & Human Services, Food & Drug Administration
R.C. (ECAB 15-1612): Existing arm impairment awards upheld
R.C., a Food and Drug Administration investigator, sought larger schedule awards for both arms after a work-related bus incident aggravated accepted neck conditions. His treating physician rated impairment at 14 percent for each arm, while OWCP’s medical adviser rated two percent on the right and…
I.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Parcel Post Annex, Cleveland, OH
I.S. (ECAB 15-1128): Schedule award claim returned for combined file review
I.S., a Postal Service employee, sought an additional schedule award for left leg impairment following accepted injuries. OWCP denied the request because it found his earlier awards exceeded the current impairment rating. The Board found that the record lacked the prior claim file on which OWCP…
A.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Orleans, LA
A.R. (ECAB 14-1681): Life insurance premium overpayment upheld
A.R., a Postal Service carrier receiving disability compensation, had too little withheld for federal life insurance premiums. OWCP found a $5,358.52 overpayment and determined that she was without fault. The Board upheld the amount and OWCP’s refusal to waive recovery because A.R. did not submit…
P.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Portland, ME
P.B. (ECAB 14-1049): Wage capacity finding upheld after limited duty ended
P.B., a Postal Service clerk with an accepted right wrist injury, sought to change a 1998 wage-earning capacity finding after the Postal Service withdrew limited duty work under its National Reassessment Process. She argued that the original clerk assignment was a makeshift job that could not…
J.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Salt Lake City, UT
J.S. (ECAB 16-0184): Right hand injury claim denial upheld
J.S., a Postal Service clerk, reported numbness and weakness in his right little finger after transferring trays of mail at work. OWCP accepted that the July 2015 incident occurred but denied the injury claim for lack of medical proof that the work caused his hand conditions. The Board found that…
H.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA
H.C. (ECAB 16-0145): Part of PTSD wage loss claim allowed
H.C., a Veterans Affairs employee, sought wage-loss compensation after a recurrence of an accepted PTSD condition. OWCP denied payment for April 7 through 21, 2015. The Board found her psychiatrist’s reports did not explain her inability to work from April 7 through 15, but a later report supported…
R.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Five Points Station, Akron, OH
R.V. (ECAB 16-0099): Refusal to reopen knee claim upheld
R.V., a Postal Service letter carrier, sought reconsideration of a denied claim for a torn left knee meniscus. OWCP had accepted her reported work activities and the diagnosis but found no adequate medical link between them. Her reconsideration request included physical therapy notes, which the…
S.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, G.V. Montgomery Veterans Medical Center, Jackson, MS
S.B. (ECAB 15-1948): Carpal tunnel claim denial upheld
S.B., a Veterans Affairs nurse, claimed that prolonged keyboarding at work caused carpal tunnel conditions in both hands and wrists. Her employer confirmed that her duties involved six to eight hours of keyboarding on workdays. One physician said the condition was most likely caused by typing, but…
N.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Oklahoma City Medical Center, Oklahoma City, OK
N.M. (ECAB 15-1553): Disability denial and benefit termination upheld
N.M., a Veterans Affairs nursing assistant, sought additional compensation after accepted abdominal and lower back sprains from moving a patient in a wheelchair. OWCP denied her claim for total disability from November 6, 2013 through August 11, 2014 and later terminated her wage-loss and medical…
A.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Detroit, MI
A.P. (ECAB 15-1513): Claimed disability recurrence denied
A.P., a Postal Service letter carrier, had accepted back and right hip injuries from a 2013 fall at work. She sought disability compensation for November 16 through 20, 2013 and from February 15, 2014 onward, after new work restrictions and worsening symptoms. The Board found that her physician did…
L.A. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Richmond, VA
L.A. (ECAB 15-1136): Repetitive work injury claim denial upheld
L.A., an Internal Revenue Service tax specialist, said that stamping, mouse use, twisted sitting, and opening heavy office doors aggravated her arm, wrist, neck, and back conditions. OWCP accepted that she performed the reported tasks but denied the claim for lack of medical causation evidence. The…
V.N. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Marion, IL
V.N. (ECAB 16-0238): Lung condition claim denial upheld
V.N., a Bureau of Prisons cook, attributed a lung condition to exposure while supervising the removal of bird nests and waste at work. OWCP accepted the reported work exposure but denied the claim for lack of medical proof of causation. One physician suspected an earlier Histoplasma infection…
B.B. and Department of the Air Force, Nellis Air Force Base, NV
B.B. (ECAB 16-0139): Illness during aircraft work not linked to duties
B.B., an Air Force aircraft overhaul leader, became lightheaded and vomited while doing maintenance work. OWCP accepted that he was working and that he had been diagnosed with vomiting, fainting, and dehydration, but found no medical link to his duties. The Board noted that the emergency physician…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
S.M. (ECAB 15-1641): Late written record review request denied
S.M., a Postal Service letter carrier, sought review of an OWCP schedule award for right leg impairment. She mailed her request for review of the written record more than 30 days after OWCP issued the award decision. The Board held that the request was too late for review as a matter of right and…
H.R. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Las Vegas, NV
H.R. (ECAB 15-1617): Later wage loss claim denial upheld
H.R., a former FBI agent who later worked as a teacher, sought wage-loss compensation beginning July 7, 2014 for accepted back injuries from earlier FBI work. Her orthopedic surgeon described worsening back pain and recommended further surgery while placing her on temporary total disability. The…
T.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chicago, IL
T.C. (ECAB 15-1534): Ankle benefit termination upheld
T.C., a Postal Service carrier, received benefits after OWCP accepted a right ankle sprain from a fall while delivering mail. OWCP ended wage-loss and medical benefits in April 2013, relying on an impartial orthopedic surgeon who found that the accepted sprain had resolved and she could return to…
M.S. and Department of the Navy, Pacific Fleet Shipyard, Pearl Harbor, HI
M.S. (ECAB 15-1520): Right arm award upheld, left arm rating remanded
M.S., a Navy shipyard mechanic, challenged schedule award ratings for both arms and an overpayment based on a prior left arm award. The Board found that OWCP’s medical adviser adequately supported a 14 percent right arm impairment rating. But the adviser did not explain why he changed his earlier…
T.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Dover, NJ
T.S. (ECAB 15-0930): Mail delivery incident established, injury question remanded
T.S., a Postal Service carrier with an earlier accepted left arm injury, reported left wrist and shoulder symptoms after delivering mail on August 8, 2012. She first filed for recurrence of the earlier disability and later filed a new traumatic injury claim. OWCP denied the new claim because it…
Secretary of Labor v. Mach Mining, LLC
Five citations affirmed and one penalty reduced
MSHA cited Mach Mining for unsafe truck transportation, broken elevated handrails, inadequate face ventilation, defective roof-bolter dust collectors, and inadequate conveyor guarding. Judge Kenneth R. Andrews affirmed the truck safeguard violation as S&S and highly negligent because two miners…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Division and Ingvarsdottir v. Datalink Computer Products, Inc.
Ingvarsdottir v. Datalink (DOL ARB 14-096): H-1B wage award reduced for three days
Helga Ingvarsdottir said Datalink Computer Products and its president, Vickram Bedi, had failed to pay required wages during her H-1B employment. A Labor Department judge ordered $341,693.03 in back wages plus interest and held Bedi individually liable. The Board upheld the wage obligation because…
Bondurant v. Southwest Airlines, Inc.
Air cargo safety complaint remanded
Jeffrey Bondurant managed air cargo for Southwest Airlines. He alleged that Southwest fired him after he reported hazardous cargo and concerns about reporting safety incidents to federal authorities. An administrative law judge dismissed his whistleblower complaint before a hearing, finding…
Sandra G. McDonald v. George King, Mark Toler, Frasure Creek Mining, LLC and Guardco Security, LLC
Sandra G. McDonald v. George King, et al. (FMSHRC WEVA 2014-387-D): Complainant ordered to justify adding two companies
Sandra McDonald alleged that she was fired from a mine-site security job after protected safety complaints. After the Commission allowed her to amend the case, she added mine operator Frasure Creek and security company Guardco to the individual respondents. Judge Jerold Feldman questioned whether…
The Davey Tree Expert Company
Line-clearance logging citations vacated
A Davey Tree crew was felling dead trees near power lines when two trees fell toward the crew and one fatally struck an employee. OSHA pursued two logging-standard items concerning first-aid kit contents and spacing between workers. The Commission applied its companion Davey Tree decision and held…
The Davey Tree Expert Company
Logging citation vacated for utility line-clearance work
A Davey Tree crew was clearing trees near utility lines when a falling tree struck other trees and dislodged a limb that fatally injured an employee. OSHA cited the company under the logging rule for inadequate spacing between workers. The Commission held that the logging standard covers the…
Secretary of Labor v. Rex Coal Company, Inc.
Fire-reporting and preshift violations affirmed
A foreman discovered an underground fire while only one other miner was working below ground, searched for that miner, and did not notify MSHA within the required 15 minutes. MSHA also found from the foreman's gas-detector data that he could not have completed the recorded preshift methane and…
K.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Gary, IN
K.P. (ECAB 16-0236): Shoulder claim not reopened
K.P., a Postal Service mail processing clerk, claimed a left shoulder injury after lifting mail trays at work. OWCP denied the claim because it found the medical evidence insufficient to link the diagnosed condition to the incident. K.P. requested reconsideration with a new report from her…
J.T. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Atlanta, GA
J.T. (ECAB 16-0200): Late claim barred continuation of pay
J.T., a Veterans Affairs nursing assistant, injured his back while turning a patient in November 2014. OWCP accepted a lumbar strain but denied continuation of pay because he filed the written injury claim more than 30 days after the incident. The Board held that the filing deadline for…
R.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Health Care System, Sioux Falls, SD
R.S. (ECAB 16-0142): Reconsideration denied after repeated medical evidence
R.S., a Veterans Affairs practical nurse, reported that a patient’s urine splashed into her left eye during catheter care. OWCP denied her injury claim, and she asked OWCP to reconsider, submitting a physician’s addendum and an employer letter about her treatment expense. OWCP refused to reopen the…
L.Z. and Department of Health & Human Services, National Institute of Health, National Institute of Environmental Health Services, Research Triangle Park, NC
L.Z. (ECAB 16-0034): Reconsideration denied after repeated wrist diagnosis
L.Z., a federal biologist, said repetitive pipetting and increased use of her left hand caused pain and osteoarthritis in her left wrist. OWCP accepted that she performed the work and had the diagnosis but denied her claim because the medical evidence did not connect the condition to her duties…
A.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Charlottesville, VA
A.V. (ECAB 16-0024): Claimed recurrence of disability not established
A.V., a postal letter carrier, injured her back and shoulders in a fall while delivering mail in January 2015. OWCP accepted back and shoulder contusions and a back sprain. She later claimed that she became disabled again in May, with renewed pain in her neck, shoulder, and arm. The Board held that…
J.C. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA
J.C. (ECAB 15-1517): Hearing loss claim returned for notice inquiry
J.C., a retired Navy shipyard rigger, filed a hearing loss and tinnitus claim decades after leaving federal work. OWCP denied it as untimely because the record did not show that his supervisor had timely notice of the injury. J.C. said an employer audiologist had documented the conditions, but the…
J.G. and Social Security Administration, Headquarters, Baltimore, MD
J.G. (ECAB 15-1116): Claimed benefit overpayment returned for proof
J.G., a former Social Security Administration employee receiving workers’ compensation for a head injury, was told he had been overpaid $49,769.17 because of a missing offset for retirement benefits. OWCP found him without fault but denied waiver and ordered deductions from his continuing benefits…
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, National Council of HUD Locals 222 (Union)
HUD and AFGE Council 222 (FLRA 0-AR-4586): Promotion-implementation orders upheld
A long-running HUD grievance produced a remedy requiring retroactive placement and promotion of employees who had been denied opportunities for GS-13 career-ladder positions. After years of nonimplementation, the arbitrator held a series of meetings, identified eligible employees by job series and…
United Steelworkers, Local No. 5114, on behalf of Miners v. Hecla Limited
Compensation limited to miners who worked during noncompliance
Hecla failed to take stress-gauge readings required by an amendment to a section 103(k) order at the Lucky Friday Mine. Nineteen miners continued working in the affected area until a second rock burst led to their withdrawal, while the union sought compensation for 218 miners idled during the full…
Jonathan Bethel Woodward v. Carmeuse Lime and Stone
MSHA ordered to submit discrimination investigation file
Jonathan Woodward brought his own Mine Act discrimination case against Carmeuse Lime and Stone after an MSHA investigation. Carmeuse requested a subpoena for MSHA's investigative file, while an earlier Freedom of Information Act request faced a delay that would make production too late for the…
Matter of Elvis GUZMAN-POLANCO
Puerto Rico aggravated battery is not categorically a crime of violence under section 16(a)
The Board reviewed a Dominican respondent's removal order based on a Puerto Rico aggravated-battery conviction. The Board held that a state offense qualifies as a crime of violence under 18 U.S.C. § 16(a) only if the statute requires the use, attempted use, or threatened use of violent physical…
K.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Richmond, VA
K.S. (ECAB 16-0164): Claimed disability period lacked medical support
K.S., a postal laborer custodian, injured her right shoulder in a workplace fall. OWCP accepted several right shoulder conditions, but denied compensation for a claimed period of total disability from February 22 through May 11, 2010. The Board found that her chiropractor’s opinion could not…
S.H. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Victorville, CA
S.H. (ECAB 16-0114): Knee injury claim lacked a reasoned medical link
S.H., a Bureau of Prisons heating, ventilating, and air conditioning foreman, said he injured his knees and back while lifting a washing machine at work. His orthopedic surgeon linked bilateral knee problems to the incident, but early reports did not account for S.H.’s prior knee injuries and…
Y.B. and Department of Labor, Wage & Hour Division, Orlando, FL
Y.B. (ECAB 16-0093): Dinner trip during work travel fell within duty
Y.B., a Labor Department employee attending a conference in Washington, took a taxi from her hotel to dinner with her daughter after the day’s meetings. The taxi was struck from behind, and she claimed several injuries. OWCP denied the claim because it considered the dinner trip a personal errand…
S.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Diego, CA
S.L. (ECAB 16-0040): Postal vehicle accident claim lacked medical causation
S.L., a rural postal carrier, reported neck and arm soreness after her postal vehicle rolled backward and tipped onto its side while she delivered mail. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied her injury claim. Her physicians diagnosed neck conditions without explaining how the incident…
S.H. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Houston, TX
S.H. (ECAB 15-1940): Later disability claims lacked date-specific medical support
S.H., an IRS secretary, sustained accepted sprain injuries when she fell while moving an office chair. She later sought compensation for disability beginning June 18, 2013, after working a reduced schedule. Her doctors supported continued work restrictions but did not explain why the accepted…
P.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Harrisburg, PA
P.M. (ECAB 15-1895): Modified postal job did not exceed restrictions
P.M., a postal carrier with an accepted back injury, stopped working after receiving a new modified duty offer. He believed that casing and delivering mail would require more twisting than his physician allowed. The Board found that the written offer limited twisting to two hours, matching his…
R.P. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Chattanooga, TN
R.P. (ECAB 15-1893): Conflicting lung opinions required an impartial examiner
R.P., a Tennessee Valley Authority worker, claimed that dust, ash, fumes, and asbestos exposure caused lung disease. OWCP accepted workplace exposures but denied the claim after its referral pulmonologist found no pneumoconiosis on a CT scan. R.P.’s pulmonologist, a certified B-reader, diagnosed…
Steven Ritzheimer v. Triple Canopy, Incorporated
Ritzheimer v. Triple Canopy (BRB 15-0233): injury in required overseas housing covered
Steven Ritzheimer worked as a force protection officer in Israel under a Defense Department contract. After a shift, he slipped while leaving the shower in an apartment that Triple Canopy required him to occupy. The administrative law judge awarded benefits for his physical injuries and related…
Memory Care at Seven Lakes Assisted Living
Wage classification petition dismissed
Connell Resources asked the Administrative Review Board to review a Wage and Hour Division decision denying proposed rates for several power equipment operator classifications. Before the Board ruled on the classifications, Connell Resources withdrew its petition. The Board gave the Wage and Hour…
R.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Carson City, NV
R.B. (ECAB 16-0169): Intermittent missed hours lacked disability proof
R.B., a postal carrier with accepted back and thumb conditions, sought compensation for intermittent time missed from work in April, May, and June 2010. OWCP paid some hours missed for medical treatment but denied another 95.41 hours. The Board found that a nurse’s work restriction could not serve…
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Sayreville, NJ
J.C. (ECAB 15-1957): Falling mail tubs claim lacked medical causation
J.C., a postal carrier, said stacked empty tubs fell onto his head and neck at work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied his injury claim. One physician attributed cervical conditions to the incident without explaining the medical link or accounting for earlier degenerative…
G.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Grand Shelby Station, Detroit, MI
G.T. (ECAB 15-1803): Accepted elbow condition needed an impairment rating
G.T., a postal employee, had received schedule awards for shoulder and carpal tunnel impairment. He sought additional compensation for an accepted left elbow condition. OWCP had referred him to physicians for shoulder and carpal tunnel ratings without asking either physician to assess the accepted…
B.H. and Department of the Air Force, Materiel Command, Hill Air Force Base, UT
B.H. (ECAB 15-1106): Psychological evaluation request returned for review
B.H., an Air Force aircraft mechanic, sustained accepted shoulder and back conditions in a workplace fall. He requested authorization for psychological testing and diagnostic evaluation. OWCP denied the request as unrelated to his accepted conditions, but its decision did not address a prior report…
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.