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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D.M., widower of T.M., and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Salem, VA
D.M. (ECAB 14-0460): Nurse death claim returned for specialist review
D.M. sought survivor benefits after his wife, a Veterans Affairs nurse, died from meningococcal disease. The Board treated nursing as high-risk work for exposure to infectious material but found the existing medical opinions too general to establish where she acquired the infection. The physicians…
Secretary of Labor obo Thomas McGary and Ron Bowersox, et al. v. The Marshall County Coal Co., et al.
Stay partly granted during interference appeal
A Judge found that five Murray-affiliated coal operators interfered with miners' rights by requiring miners who made safety complaints to MSHA to give the same complaints to management. The operators sought to stay remedies requiring policy rescission, corrective notices, a personal statement by…
United Mine Workers of America obo Mark A. Franks and Ronald M. Hoy v. Emerald Coal Resources, LP
Interference claims remanded after court reversal
A Judge found that Emerald Coal discriminated against miners Mark Franks and Ronald Hoy for protected Mine Act activity and awarded back pay. The Commission had affirmed in result, but its members split between discrimination and interference rationales. The Third Circuit vacated that decision…
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Durham, NC
J.C. (ECAB 16-0057): Repetitive hand condition claim denied
J.C., a postal mail clerk, developed carpal tunnel syndrome and a trigger thumb and attributed them to repetitive sorting and other duties. The Board accepted that she performed those duties and had the diagnoses. Her physicians described the conditions but did not explain how the specific work…
K.P. and Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers, Memphis, TN
K.P. (ECAB 15-1945): Arm award returned for missing prior claim record
K.P., a retired Army Corps motor vehicle operator, received a new schedule award for arm impairment. OWCP subtracted a reported earlier 16 percent left arm award when calculating the additional amount. The Board could not examine that earlier award or its supporting medical evidence because OWCP…
J.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chicago, IL
J.D. (ECAB 15-1879): Thoracic disc claim and review denials affirmed
J.D., a former postal mail clerk, sought to add three thoracic disc herniations to an accepted injury claim. The Board credited an impartial orthopedic specialist who found the thoracic changes age related and identified no documented work injury to that area. It also upheld the denial of a…
J.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chicago, IL
J.D. (ECAB 15-1768): Hernia-related schedule award denied
J.D., a postal mail clerk, sought a schedule award for claimed permanent impairment following accepted umbilical hernias and repairs. She submitted imaging and other tests showing several conditions, including leg nerve findings, but no physician explained that the accepted hernias had caused…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fort Worth, TX
S.M. (ECAB 15-1491): Commute injury claim returned for special errand inquiry
S.M., a postal carrier, was injured in a motorcycle crash while traveling to work after being called in on a scheduled day off. OWCP denied the claim because the injury occurred off duty and away from the workplace. The Board held that the record did not establish enough about the employer’s…
D.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chatham, NJ
D.G. (ECAB 15-0948): New back injury and reconsideration denials affirmed
D.G., a postal carrier, reported worsening back symptoms while lifting mail trays on August 27, 2012. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but treated the filing as a new injury claim because it described new work factors. The Board found that his physicians described different injury events or…
Matter of Henry Javier MENDOZA OSORIO
New York child-endangerment offense qualifies as child abuse
The Board reviewed a removal order against an Ecuadorian lawful permanent resident convicted under New York Penal Law § 260.10(1) of endangering the welfare of a child. The Board held that the statute categorically defines a crime of child abuse, child neglect, or child abandonment because it…
A.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Westampton, NJ
A.R. (ECAB 15-1694): Arm award and related overpayment remanded
A.R., a postal letter carrier with accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, challenged OWCP’s finding of two percent impairment in each arm and a resulting $7,734.99 schedule award overpayment. The Board found the impartial examiner’s rating unclear and inconsistent with the impairment guides: he…
V.W. and Department of the Army, Army Corps, Wilmington, VA
V.W. (ECAB 15-1657): Zero compensation for missed rehabilitation affirmed
V.W., a former Army Corps electrical worker with accepted back and leg injuries, was referred for vocational rehabilitation after a physician found he could work within limits. The Board found that he repeatedly declined job search steps and did not cooperate with a work adjustment placement…
R.I. and U.S. Post Office, Post Office, San Antonio, TX
R.I. (ECAB 15-1205): Mail handling incident established; injury issue remanded
R.I., a postal mail processing clerk, reported left shoulder pain while dumping mail from sacks during a work shift. OWCP denied his claim because it found the incident had not been established. The Board found his account consistent with work records, other statements, and treatment near the time…
D.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Tennessee Valley Health Care System, Nashville, TN
D.H. (ECAB 15-1065): Back and leg occupational claim denied
D.H., a Veterans Affairs medical supply technician, attributed back and leg symptoms to repeated lifting and moving heavy trays and carts. The Board accepted that she performed those duties. It found that her physicians did not provide a complete account of the work or a reasoned explanation…
R.S. and Department of the Army, McAlister Army Ammunition Plant, McAlister, OK
R.S. (ECAB 15-0502): Wage capacity ruling returned for omitted medical reports
R.S., an Army ammunition plant employee, sought modification of a wage-earning capacity determination based on his work as a tools and parts attendant. Before denying modification, OWCP received two physician reports that described worsening accepted neck conditions and additional symptoms…
Secretary of Labor obo Jeffrey Pappas v. CalPortland Company
Temporary reinstatement survived mine sale
Jeffrey Pappas had worked at the Oro Grande cement plant for 16 years and previously settled a discrimination complaint that returned him to work. When CalPortland bought the plant, it retained most of the existing workforce but did not offer Pappas a position after consulting the predecessor's…
Scott D. McGlothlin v. Dominion Coal Corporation
Back pay awarded and attorney fees reduced
An earlier liability ruling found that Dominion Coal interfered with Scott McGlothlin's Part 90 pay protection by reducing his pay after he sought medical-transfer status. The parties proposed $45,942.61 in back pay and expenses plus $88,975.48 in attorney fees, but Judge Jerold Feldman treated the…
Scott D. McGlothlin v. Dominion Coal Corporation
Interlocutory fee-review request denied
Scott McGlothlin's counsel asked the Judge to certify immediate Commission review of whether agreed damages and attorney fees in a discrimination case prevented the Commission from reviewing the relief for reasonableness. Judge Jerold Feldman denied certification because section 105(c)(3) limits…
R.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Carson City, NV
R.B. (ECAB 16-0168): Refusal to reopen disability claim upheld
R.B., a postal carrier, sought compensation for missed work in February and July 2011 after OWCP accepted several back and thumb conditions related to his work. OWCP had found that the medical evidence did not establish disability on those dates. The Board reviewed only OWCP’s later refusal to…
M.G. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Washington, DC
M.G. (ECAB 16-0038): Timely reconsideration request sent back to OWCP
M.G., a former FEMA logistical support worker, challenged OWCP’s reduction of his compensation based on an operations manager position it found he could perform. OWCP treated his latest reconsideration request as late because it used March 19, 2015 as the receipt date, more than a year after its…
T.M. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Paradise Fossil Plant, Drakesboro, KY
T.M. (ECAB 16-0022): Pulmonary claim returned for an impartial medical opinion
T.M., a retired heavy equipment operator at a Tennessee Valley Authority plant, claimed that years of asbestos and coal dust exposure caused pulmonary disease. His pulmonologist diagnosed occupational pneumoconiosis with pulmonary asbestosis and attributed it to those exposures. An OWCP referral…
R.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Waycross, GA
R.M. (ECAB 15-1849): Refusal to reopen syncope claim upheld
R.M., a postal employee, sought compensation after reporting that he fainted at work and injured his head and teeth. He later argued that prolonged standing at work caused repeated episodes of syncope. After OWCP denied the claim, he requested another merit review and submitted physician reports…
C.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Los Angeles, CA
C.D. (ECAB 14-2082): Continuing shoulder disability claim denied
C.D., a postal distribution clerk, received compensation after a right shoulder injury in 2000. OWCP terminated benefits in 2008 based on an impartial specialist’s finding that the accepted injury had resolved. C.D. sought compensation for continuing disability and supplied scans and physician…
Secretary of Labor obo Jesse R. Stolzenfels v. Marion County Coal Company, and its successors
Secretary of Labor obo Jesse R. Stolzenfels v. Marion County Coal Company (FMSHRC WEVA 2016-0134-D): Economic reinstatement settlement remained binding
Marion County Coal did not request a hearing on Jesse Stolzenfels's temporary-reinstatement application and instead joined a settlement providing economic reinstatement. The agreement stated that payments would continue until MSHA declined the discrimination complaint or the matter reached a final…
Secretary of Labor obo Richard B. Harrison v. Marion County Coal Company, and its successors
Secretary of Labor obo Richard B. Harrison v. Marion County Coal Company (FMSHRC WEVA 2015-0811-D): Economic reinstatement agreement remained binding
Richard Harrison was initially ordered physically reinstated, but Marion County Coal and the Secretary later agreed to temporary economic reinstatement to avoid workplace disruption. Their agreement provided that payments would continue until MSHA declined the discrimination complaint or the case…
Lakeshore Plaza Holding, LLC
Lakeshore Plaza Holding (DOL ARB 14-072): $14,696.76 in prevailing-wage back pay affirmed
Monaco Electrical performed work on two federally assisted shopping plaza renovations in Euclid, Ohio. The Labor Department found that five workers performed electrical work but received lower laborer rates, leaving $14,696.76 in unpaid prevailing wages and fringe benefits. A judge upheld the…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Suitland, MD
M.M. (ECAB 16-0058): Compensation suspension for missing earnings form upheld
M.M., a former postal distribution clerk receiving compensation for accepted shoulder and arm conditions, was asked to report her work and earnings on Form EN1032. OWCP mailed the form to her address of record and warned that benefits would be suspended if she did not return it within 30 days. She…
J.T. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Patrol, Los Angeles, CA
J.T. (ECAB 16-0014): Back injury claim denied for lack of medical causation evidence
J.T., an agricultural specialist, reported sharp back and leg pain after sitting in an ill-fitting chair at work on May 19, 2014. His records documented diagnosed back conditions and a history of earlier low back problems. The Board found that his physicians described the symptoms or repeated his…
D.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Almeda Post Office, Houston, TX
D.R. (ECAB 16-0005): Additional spinal conditions not established after postal vehicle accident
D.R., a postal carrier, was injured in a vehicle accident while delivering mail. OWCP accepted several sprains and chronic pain syndrome, but he sought to add cervical and lumbar disc conditions as consequences of the accident. His physician attributed the additional conditions to the accepted…
C.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing and Distribution Center, Atlanta, GA
C.J. (ECAB 15-1697): Parking lot fall claim denied despite documented wrist fracture
C.J., a postal carrier, fell in an employee parking lot during her lunch break and received treatment for a fractured left wrist that day. The Board accepted the fall and acknowledged imaging that showed the fracture. It held, however, that records from physician assistants did not count as…
M.S. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Estes Park, CO
M.S. (ECAB 15-1674): Animal packer’s occupational disease claim denied
M.S., a National Park Service animal packer, attributed pain in his hands, arms, shoulders, and legs to years of handling livestock and heavy loads. His employer confirmed that the job was physically demanding. A physician diagnosed shoulder osteoarthritis and said heavy, repetitive work would…
P.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Denver, CO
P.B. (ECAB 15-1462): Social Security offset overpayment and recovery upheld
P.B., a former Veterans Administration medical center food service worker, received FECA compensation and Social Security retirement benefits. OWCP had not offset the portion of his Social Security benefit attributable to federal employment, creating an $8,974.23 overpayment for August 2001 through…
P.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Baton Rouge, LA
P.L. (ECAB 15-1285): Gynecological condition and schedule award claims denied
P.L., a postal maintenance control clerk, had accepted psychiatric conditions connected to workplace sexual harassment. She sought acceptance of a gynecological condition and later hysterectomy as consequences of those conditions, along with a schedule award. The Board had previously found an…
S.J. Louis Construction of Texas
Confined-space citation vacated for lack of employer knowledge
Two S.J. Louis Construction employees died after entering an active sewer manhole containing hydrogen sulfide and very low oxygen. The judge found that the general-industry confined-space rules did not apply to the construction work, but affirmed an alternative general duty clause citation. The…
Secretary of Labor obo Cheryl Garcia v. Veris Gold USA, Inc.
Successor-liability briefing ordered
A default had been entered against Veris Gold USA in Cheryl Garcia's discrimination case after the company stopped participating while liquidating through an asset sale. Before assessing penalties or damages, Judge David P. Simonton sought to determine whether the mine's new operator, Jerritt…
Ellis & Eastern Company v. Secretary of Labor
Fees awarded for litigating fee application
Ellis & Eastern had already received $21,450.96 under the Equal Access to Justice Act for fees and expenses in the underlying case. It then requested another $5,248.49 for the cost of successfully litigating the fee application itself. Judge L. Zane Gill held that the EAJA covers all phases of…
Hudson River Park Trust
In re Hudson River Park Trust (EAB CWA Appeal No. 16-01): petition dismissed with prejudice
The City Club of New York, Robert Buchanan, and Tom Fox asked the Environmental Appeals Board to review a matter involving the Hudson River Park Trust and a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers public notice. After the Board issued an order to show cause, the petitioners withdrew their request for review…
F.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing and Distribution Center, Melville, NY
F.D. (ECAB 16-0167): Chest injury claim and late hearing request denied
F.D., a postal tractor trailer operator, reported chest pain that he attributed to pushing heavy equipment at work. The Board found that he had given little detail about the alleged incident, while emergency room records described intermittent pain over two weeks and recorded his denial of an…
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Bern, NC
J.B. (ECAB 15-1931): Wrist injury claim denied for unestablished work incident
J.B., a postal clerk, reported a right wrist injury from lifting and pulling letter trays. OWCP asked her to describe the specific circumstances of the July 18, 2015 incident, including where and when it happened. The Board found that she did not provide those details or other requested…
H.L. and Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Socorro, NM
H.L. (ECAB 15-1887): Injury claim denied without medical evidence of a fracture
H.L., a Bureau of Reclamation equipment operator, reported that he fractured his fibula after stepping on a fuel hose while climbing down from a truck. OWCP accepted his account of the work incident and asked him for a physician’s report diagnosing an injury and connecting it to the event. It…
R.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pearl City, HI
R.W. (ECAB 15-1886): Missed hearing finding set aside for misaddressed notice
R.W., a postal carrier, requested a hearing after OWCP denied his back and elbow injury claim. His attorney gave OWCP a new suite number in the hearing request, but OWCP sent the hearing notice to the attorney’s former suite. Neither R.W. nor his attorney attended, and OWCP found the request…
M.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Antonio, TX
M.N. (ECAB 15-1868): Refusal to reopen medical treatment claim upheld
M.N., a former postal mail processing clerk, had an accepted 1992 cervical sprain and later sought additional medical treatment. OWCP denied the recurrence claim, and she requested reconsideration while asking to keep her treating doctor. The Board reviewed only OWCP’s refusal to reopen. It found…
Y.Z. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Baltimore, MD
Y.Z. (ECAB 15-1704): Overpayment fault upheld, amount returned for recalculation
Y.Z., a postal carrier, continued to receive FECA wage-loss compensation after returning to work in September 2013. The Board held that this created an overpayment and that she was at fault because she had been told to return payments received while working and did not do so. It affirmed that…
J.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, Punta Gorda, FL
J.T. (ECAB 15-1424): Shoulder impairment rating returned for proper calculation
J.T., a postal carrier, developed accepted shoulder conditions from repetitive work and received a four percent right arm schedule award. His request for an oral hearing came more than 30 days after OWCP’s award decision, and the Board upheld its denial. The Board found that the four percent rating…
N.D. and U.S. Postal Service, General Mail Facility, Brooklyn, NY
N.D. (ECAB 15-0027): Wage loss and reconsideration denials upheld
N.D., a postal mail processing clerk, had accepted right shoulder and arm strains and sought wage-loss compensation for two weeks in 2013. The Board found that the Postal Service had offered a modified passport call center job within her physicians’ restrictions and that OWCP had followed the…
Social Security Administration (Agency) and International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Association of Administrative Law Judges (Union)
Social Security Administration and AALJ (FLRA 0-AR-5132): Telework discretion restored
The agreement allowed Social Security hearing-office chief judges to approve administrative law judges' requests to telework more than eight days per month. The agency then directed those supervisors to use their discretion to deny all such requests. An arbitrator found that this instruction…
Michael Wilson v. Jarrod Farris, David Taylor, & Ross Glazer
No adverse action from miners' inquiry
Michael Wilson, a nonemployee miners' representative, alleged that three ram-car drivers asked an MSHA inspector how they could remove him as a representative and keep him off mine property. He sought training and cease-and-desist relief against the miners individually, not their employer. Judge…
Ebdah v. Global Foundaries, Inc.
Ebdah v. Global Foundaries (DOL ARB 2016-0011): Appeal dismissed after missed briefing deadline
Mohammad Ebdah appealed a Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act whistleblower case to the Board. After receiving one extension to file his opening brief, he sought another but refused to serve his motion and its basis on the respondent. The Board denied that request and ordered him to explain why…
R.R. and Department of the Army, Army National Guard, Concord, NH
R.R. (ECAB 16-0212): Request for a physician referral did not reopen fall claim
R.R., an Army National Guard human resources assistant, reported falling on the employer’s premises during a lunch break. OWCP denied his injury claim because the record lacked a firm medical diagnosis connected to the fall. He sought reconsideration and said he needed a referral to a physician…
C.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Louis, MO
C.R. (ECAB 16-0078): Knee injury claim denied without a medical diagnosis
C.R., a postal carrier, reported twisting his right knee while stepping out of a mail vehicle at work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred, but denied the claim for lack of medical evidence of an injury. The only physician note gave dates for missed work and return to duty without a diagnosis…
G.R. and Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Hill Air Force Base, UT
G.R. (ECAB 15-1265): Lumbar schedule award denied without leg impairment
G.R., a Defense Logistics Agency supply technician, had accepted lumbar strain and temporary aggravation of disc degeneration after lifting boxes at work. She sought a schedule award for permanent impairment. Her physician gave a whole-person spinal rating but later said he could not identify a…
W.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing and Distribution Facility, Rocky Mount, NC
W.J. (ECAB 15-0777): Telephonic hearing request deemed abandoned
W.J., a postal electronics technician, requested a telephone hearing after OWCP denied his injury claim. OWCP sent instructions to call a number and enter a pass code for the December 10, 2014 hearing. The Board found that he did not call in, request postponement, or seek another hearing within 10…
R.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Savannah, GA
R.H. (ECAB 15-0392): Wage-loss termination reversed and overpayment calculation returned
R.H., a postal clerk, received compensation at a full-time pay rate even though he was a part-time flexible employee when his back condition arose. The Board found an overpayment for July 2006 through August 2007, but returned its amount and the later period for more findings about when he entered…
Carbon Injection Systems, LLC
In re Carbon Injection Systems, LLC (EAB RCRA (3008) Appeal No. 15-01): ALJ decision vacated and enforcement case dismissed on other grounds
EPA Region 5 charged Carbon Injection Systems, LLC and its owner/operators with storing and treating hazardous waste without a permit after the company supplied liquid hydrocarbon materials for injection into an iron blast furnace in Warren, Ohio. The dispute centered on whether the materials were…
Carbon Injection Systems, LLC
In re Carbon Injection Systems, LLC (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 15-01): ALJ dismissal vacated and enforcement action dismissed
Carbon Injection Systems supplied liquid hydrocarbon materials for use in an iron blast furnace in Warren, Ohio. EPA alleged that the materials were hazardous waste and that the company and its owners stored and treated waste without a permit. The Board held that burning the injectants for…
Secretary of Labor v. Lone Mountain Processing, Inc. and Lone Mountain Processing, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor
Secretary of Labor v. Lone Mountain Processing, Inc. (FMSHRC KENT 2014-817, et al.): Rock-burst citations settled for $75,000
A rock burst during deep-cover retreat mining at Lone Mountain Processing's Huff Creek mine killed continuous-miner operator Lenny Gilliam and seriously injured two other miners. MSHA issued three citations alleging failures to respond to pressure data, follow retreat-mining protocol, and stop…
S.A. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Chicago, IL
S.A. (ECAB 16-0073): Bag lifting claim denied without a firm back diagnosis
S.A., a transportation security officer, reported back pain after lifting a bag from airport screening rollers to a table. OWCP accepted that the March 8, 2014 work event happened. Her physician diagnosed low back pain and suggested that a strain could involve muscle, a facet joint, a disc, or…
C.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Temple Hills Post Office, Temple Hills, MD
C.B. (ECAB 16-0060): Shoulder schedule award denied without impairment evaluation
C.B., a postal letter carrier, had accepted right shoulder and arm conditions and underwent two shoulder surgeries. She later requested a schedule award for permanent impairment. OWCP asked for an attending physician’s impairment evaluation under the A.M.A. Guides, but she did not provide one…
B.M. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Pine Knot, KY
B.M. (ECAB 15-1941): Refusal to reopen correctional officer’s back claim upheld
B.M., a correctional officer, reported back and leg pain after bending to pick up a can at work. OWCP denied his injury claim because the medical record did not establish a causal link to the work incident. On reconsideration, his lawyer argued that the incident aggravated a prior accepted injury…
D.V. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Brockton Veterans Administration Medical Center, Brockton, MA
D.V. (ECAB 15-1845): Compensation termination for refusing suitable work upheld
D.V., a Veterans Affairs housekeeping aide, received compensation for an accepted right knee injury. An impartial orthopedic specialist set work restrictions, and the employer offered a modified housekeeping position within them. The Board had previously found the job suitable. D.V. submitted a…
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.