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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G.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Los Angeles, CA
G.C. (ECAB 15-1231): Emotional condition claim denied for lack of compensable work factor
G.C., a postal manager, attributed stress and physical symptoms to her supervisor’s management style, leave decisions, work assignments, and alleged harassment. The Board reviewed the specific events she described. It found no established error or abuse in the documented personnel actions, and held…
T.O. and Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Philadelphia, PA
T.O. (ECAB 15-1146): Termination of compensation reversed over unresolved medical conflict
T.O., a Defense Logistics Agency employee, had accepted hand, wrist, and nerve conditions and received wage-loss and medical benefits. OWCP terminated those benefits after relying on a physician it called impartial. The Board found that the referral did not address an existing conflict about…
E.C. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington, DC
E.C. (ECAB 15-0823): Fall claim returned for decision, emotional injury denial upheld
E.C., an FBI analyst, reported fainting and falling at work in November 2008. OWCP handled her claim as an emotional condition claim based on reported workplace stress, although she had filed a traumatic injury form. The Board found that OWCP had never decided whether the fall itself was…
Secretary of Labor v. Apogee Coal Company, LLC
Unverified clerical-error claim did not justify reopening
Apogee Coal failed to contest a proposed penalty assessment within 30 days and later sought reopening based only on a claimed clerical error, inadvertence, or mistake. The assertion came from counsel without facts, supporting documents, or an affidavit from anyone with direct knowledge. Apogee also…
S.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Sanchez Annex, Santa Clara, CA
S.G. (ECAB 16-0045): Renewed foot treatment claim denied without current medical report
S.G., a retired postal supervisor, had several accepted left foot and leg conditions after a workplace gate rolled over his foot. He sought further treatment in 2015, reporting continued pain and swelling after moving to another state. His last documented treatment was in September 2013, when his…
K.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New York, NY
K.T. (ECAB 15-1916): Back claim denial upheld on a different ground
K.T., a postal carrier, reported back pain after bending to lift a tub of mail. OWCP denied her claim because it found that she had not established the event. The Board disagreed on that factual point: she reported the incident promptly, her supervisor confirmed the circumstances, and she received…
A.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA
A.C. (ECAB 15-1892): Hernia claim denial upheld on medical causation ground
A.C., a Veterans Affairs housekeeping aide, reported abdominal pain after lifting heavy boxes at work. OWCP had denied the claim because it found the incident unproven, but the Board accepted his consistent account and prompt treatment. He had a preexisting umbilical hernia. The surgeon diagnosed a…
N.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Naperville, IL
N.T. (ECAB 15-1827): Right arm impairment award held at 11 percent
N.T., a postal laborer and custodian, had accepted right wrist osteoarthritis after steering a stiff mower and underwent wrist fusion surgery. OWCP awarded compensation for 11 percent permanent right arm impairment. He sought an increase, but a later physician evaluation also rated the impairment…
R.J. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Ann Arbor, MI
R.J. (ECAB 15-1525): Additional daily wage-loss hours denied
R.J., a Veterans Affairs medical technician, had accepted left knee and lower limb conditions and worked a modified four-hour schedule. She sought compensation for the remaining four hours each day, asserting that worsening symptoms prevented even part-time work after December 16, 2013. Her…
D.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Rainier, OR
D.T. (ECAB 15-1114): Renewed back treatment claim denied for missing medical link
D.T., a former postal rural carrier, had accepted back conditions from a 2002 work injury and later sought renewed treatment. Records from several intervening years dealt with other conditions, while later reports mentioned back pain without explaining its connection to the original injury. The…
D.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
D.B. (ECAB 15-0258): First deposit fault finding set aside, waiver returned for review
D.B., a postal carrier, continued receiving total disability payments after returning to part-time work in March 2014. The Board found that OWCP’s figures actually yielded a $5,647.50 overpayment, but affirmed only the $5,247.50 amount of which D.B. had received notice. It held that she was not at…
G.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, West Palm Beach, FL
G.V. (ECAB 14-1270): Some claimed disability established; order remands reconsideration ruling
G.V., a postal mail processing clerk, sought wage-loss compensation after a work injury to her knees and leg. The Board found disability from July 31 through August 7, 2013 because her employer had not offered a written limited-duty position before August 8. Medical reports also established…
Secretary of Labor v. Lee Mechanical Contractors, Inc.
Abandoned paperwork supported reopening
Lee Mechanical's safety coordinator delegated a penalty contest to an accounts-payable employee because of a heavy workload. The employee resigned unexpectedly, and the company discovered that the contest and other paperwork had not been completed or mailed. Lee changed its filing procedures, and…
Secretary of Labor v. U.S. Silica Company
Impact-inspection workload did not excuse late contest
U.S. Silica missed a penalty-contest deadline while handling added paperwork and responsibilities from an impact inspection. Its counsel had contacted the company around the deadline, and the company stated that it intended to contest, but it still waited 38 days after finality to seek reopening…
Secretary of Labor v. Thelen Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Counsel's leave supported reopening
Thelen Sand & Gravel's general counsel took a leave of absence, and the company's president assumed responsibility for reviewing MSHA assessments. The first assessment received during that period was not routed directly to him, and he could not locate it despite intending to contest the citation…
Secretary of Labor v. Southern Ohio Sand
Final assessment reopened after claimed nonreceipt
Southern Ohio Sand said it did not receive a proposed penalty assessment before the contest deadline. When it contacted MSHA and obtained a copy, it mailed a contest the same day, which the Secretary confirmed. The operator then changed its contest procedures, and the Secretary did not oppose…
D.M. and U.S. Postal Service, General Mail Facility, Phoenix, AZ
D.M. (ECAB 16-0049): Pharmacy travel reimbursement denial upheld
D.M., a postal worker with accepted shoulder injuries, asked OWCP to reimburse trips of 60 or 80 miles roundtrip to his chosen pharmacy. He said he had used it for 20 years, it was open all day, and OWCP had reimbursed earlier trips. OWCP found a pharmacy one mile from his home and another open 24…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Gilbert, AZ
J.M. (ECAB 15-1936): Back injury claim denied for lack of causal medical opinion
J.M., a rural postal carrier associate, reported back pain while bending to pick up a bundle of magazines at work. OWCP accepted that the incident happened but denied her claim because the medical evidence did not connect her diagnosed lumbar sprain to it. Her doctor recorded her account, diagnosed…
J.K. and Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Fort Belvoir, VA
J.K. (ECAB 15-1917): Overpayment upheld; later fault period returned for waiver review
J.K., a Defense Logistics Agency employee receiving FECA disability benefits, also received Social Security retirement benefits based partly on federal service. OWCP had not offset the federal-service portion, causing a $34,594.18 overpayment, which the Board upheld. The Board found him at fault…
D.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Memphis, TN
D.H. (ECAB 15-1876): Knee arthritis claim denied for lack of work-related medical opinion
D.H., a postal supervisor, claimed that years of walking and standing on concrete floors aggravated arthritis in both knees. The Board accepted that his job involved those activities but found no adequate medical opinion linking them to the knee condition. One physician recorded D.H.’s belief about…
R.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cincinnati, OH
R.H. (ECAB 15-1785): Additional conditions not linked to accepted knee injury
R.H., a former postal employee, sought to add right ankle, left knee, hip, and psychiatric conditions to his accepted right knee injury claim. His surgeon said an altered gait after knee fusion had aggravated arthritis elsewhere, but the Board found that the diagnoses and medical explanation were…
American Federation of Government Employees, National Council 118 and United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operation, Washington, D.C.
AFGE Council 118 and ICE (FLRA 0-AR-5108): Detainer form grievance partly remanded
ICE changed the detainer form its officers use in 2011 and again in 2012 without bargaining with AFGE Council 118. An arbitrator denied the union's grievances after finding no more than minimal effect on officers' working conditions. The Authority upheld the ruling on the 2012 changes, but found…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Jesup, Georgia (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Council of Prison Locals, Local 3981 (Union)
FCI Jesup and AFGE Local 3981 (FLRA 0-AR-5031): Overtime remedy modified and remanded
An arbitrator found that FCI Jesup failed to pay employees for compensable work before and after shifts and awarded fifteen minutes per day for equipment pickup and travel, with thirty minutes for food-service employees. The Authority held that the arbitrator used the wrong test when denying…
Secretary of Labor v. Black Beauty Coal Company
Modified belt-travelway safeguard upheld
MSHA issued Black Beauty Coal a safeguard requiring 24-inch travelways beside belt conveyors after fallen coal and rock blocked both sides of a belt. A later modification required those travelways to be clear of mud and water, and MSHA issued four citations for violating the modified safeguard. The…
Fousseini Tounkara v. Glacier Fish Company
Tounkara v. Glacier Fish Company (BRB 15-0217): ship repair worker's benefits affirmed
Fousseini Tounkara worked on the Pacific Glacier while it was undergoing extensive repairs and upgrades at a Seattle shipyard. He claimed that exposure to electric arc welding during fire watch work caused cataracts. An administrative law judge awarded temporary total disability and medical…
T.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Sierra Vista, AZ
T.L. (ECAB 15-1958): Back strain claim denied for insufficient medical explanation
T.L., a rural postal carrier associate, reported back pain after moving a parcel weighing less than two pounds at work. OWCP accepted that the parcel incident occurred but denied the claim for lack of a medical explanation connecting it to her back condition. Her physicians diagnosed or treated a…
S.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Lakewood, NJ
S.D. (ECAB 15-1921): Incomplete claim record returned to OWCP
S.D. appealed OWCP’s refusal to review his claim on the merits. His counsel said he had requested reconsideration and submitted more evidence, but those materials were absent from the record sent to the Board. A hearing transcript was also missing, making it unclear what other evidence had been…
P.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tacoma, WA
P.M. (ECAB 15-1902): Heel injury claim and merit review denial upheld
P.M., a postal carrier, reported right heel pain after stepping out of a vehicle at work. OWCP accepted that the incident happened, but his podiatrist linked his plantar fasciitis to walking and standing over time rather than to that single incident. The Board found no medical opinion supporting…
C.S. and Department of the Army, Army Medical Command, Fort Hood, TX
C.S. (ECAB 15-1829): Medical reports did not establish claimed injuries from workplace altercation
C.S., an Army cook, claimed a back strain and left thigh contusion after a workplace altercation with a coworker. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred and that the conditions were diagnosed, but found no adequate medical link between them. The Board found that one physician’s thigh opinion…
S.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Coppell, TX
S.W. (ECAB 15-1740): Impairment rating returned for impartial examination
S.W., a postal carrier with accepted left ankle and foot conditions, sought a schedule award above the one percent left leg impairment OWCP had allowed. The Board found her physician’s proposed eleven percent rating unsupported because his range of motion measurements differed sharply from other…
E.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bridgeport, CT
E.G. (ECAB 15-1739): Two and three percent arm impairment awards upheld
E.G., a postal sales and service associate, sought higher schedule awards after surgery for accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and a left wrist condition. Her treating surgeon proposed five percent impairment of each wrist but did not explain how he calculated that rating under the…
L.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA
L.G. (ECAB 15-1334): Continuing disability after accepted injury not established
L.G., a VA registered nurse, sought compensation for disability continuing after September 10, 2012 from an accepted injury involving her neck and back. An impartial orthopedic examiner concluded that the accepted strains and temporary disc aggravation had resolved without remaining disability. The…
M.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Wilmington, DE
M.G. (ECAB 15-1015): Wage loss request returned for review under existing capacity decision
M.G., a postal carrier with an accepted back injury, sought additional compensation after a later period of disability. OWCP treated the request as a claim for recurrence of disability and denied it. The Board found that OWCP had already issued a formal wage-earning capacity decision based on…
B.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chicago, IL
B.C. (ECAB 15-0550): Late reconsideration requests denied
B.C., a former postal employee, asked OWCP in 2014 to reconsider the termination of benefits for injuries accepted in 1985. The Board found the requests untimely because the last merit decision had been issued in 2008. It also held that her repeated arguments and added medical report did not meet…
M.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Little Rock, AR
M.T. (ECAB 15-0079): Insurance premium overpayment finding set aside
M.T., a postal employee receiving FECA compensation, was told she had a $3,483.77 overpayment because OWCP had not deducted premiums for postretirement basic life insurance. OWCP relied on a letter from the Office of Personnel Management identifying a no reduction coverage option. The Board found…
Secretary of Labor v. Kentucky Fuel Corporation
Settlement denied for insufficient factual support
The Secretary proposed reducing two penalties against Kentucky Fuel from $69,400 to $45,000. One citation described numerous defects on a grease truck, including braking, steering, access, tire, wheel, fuel, and fluid hazards; the other alleged mine-wide failures to record and correct hazardous…
T.A. and Department of the Army, Tank Automotive & Armaments Command, Anniston, AL
T.A. (ECAB 16-0170): Hearing loss denial returned for review of existing evidence
T.A., an Army heavy equipment repairer, claimed hearing loss from years of workplace noise. OWCP denied the claim on the view that he had not provided requested details about his exposure and history. The Board found that he and his employer had already submitted questionnaires, job information…
J.L. and Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration, Santa Fe, NM
J.L. (ECAB 15-1935): Knee injury claim denied for lack of causal medical opinion
J.L., a national cemetery caretaker, reported knee pain after slipping on an incline while checking a gravesite. OWCP accepted that the work incident occurred but denied the injury claim for lack of medical causation evidence. His physician diagnosed a knee sprain but did not clearly give his own…
C.Q. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA
C.Q. (ECAB 15-1933): No ratable right arm impairment shown
C.Q., a VA health technician, sought a schedule award for lasting right arm impairment after treatment and surgery for accepted wrist and forearm conditions. Her surgeon and an OWCP examiner concluded that the de Quervain’s condition had resolved without a ratable permanent impairment. A different…
Sterling Technologies, Inc.
Incomplete settlement order set aside and remanded
OSHA issued Sterling Technologies a serious citation with two items. The judge approved an informal settlement that resolved only one item but mistakenly submitted the order for final docketing. Before the order became final, the parties filed an amended settlement resolving both items, but the…
R.L. and Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Job Corps Program Staff, Albuquerque, NM
R.L. (ECAB 15-1337): Wage capacity and separate disability denials upheld
R.L., a Forest Service employee with accepted back conditions, sought to change a wage-earning capacity decision based on an office assistant job and to receive compensation for total disability from December 14, 2014 through January 10, 2015. The Board found no sufficient evidence that her…
R.M. and Department of State, American Embassy, Maharajgunj, Kathmandu
R.M. (ECAB 15-1261): New legal argument required merit review of embassy injury claim
R.M., a Foreign Service officer, claimed an injury after being pushed into a pool at an embassy event for departing officers. OWCP had denied the claim as outside the performance of duty and later refused to reopen it. The Board found that R.M.’s reconsideration request raised new, relevant legal…
G.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Barbara Jordan Post Office, Houston, TX
G.J. (ECAB 15-1151): Existing nine percent arm impairment award upheld
G.J., a postal motor vehicle operator, sought an increased schedule award for his accepted left shoulder and neck conditions. He had already received awards totaling nine percent left arm impairment: eight percent for shoulder motion loss and one percent for a finger condition. Later shoulder…
R.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Carson City, NV
R.B. (ECAB 15-1143): Three-day disability claim after thumb treatment denied
R.B., a postal carrier with accepted back and right thumb conditions, sought compensation for three days off work after a steroid injection in his thumb. His surgeon initially released him to work without restrictions, then wrote later notes saying he could not use the hand and could resume work on…
W.P. and Department of the Navy, Commander U.S. Pacific Fleet, Bremerton, WA
W.P. (ECAB 15-0597): Hearing loss claim returned for fuller medical review
W.P., a retired Navy shipyard sheet metal mechanic, claimed bilateral hearing loss after decades of workplace noise. OWCP relied on an employer physician who attributed the loss mainly to age and other factors. The Board found that opinion inadequate because it did not address the full duration and…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Bastrop, Texas (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3828 (Union)
FCI Bastrop and AFGE Local 3828 (FLRA 0-AR-4921): Pre-shift overtime awards narrowed and remanded
An arbitrator awarded correctional officers overtime for pre-shift and post-shift security screening, donning duty belts, flipping accountability chits, collecting equipment, travel, and shift exchanges. The Authority removed relief for a control-center post not included in the grievance and held…
Secretary of Labor obo Adam Whiton v. Wharf Resources (USA), Inc.
Economic reinstatement terms approved
Adam Whiton and Wharf Resources agreed to temporary economic reinstatement instead of returning him to work while his discrimination complaint was investigated and litigated. The agreement preserved his former pay, qualifying company 401(k) contributions, health insurance, and other payroll…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Division v. Mesa Mail Service, LLC
Administrator v. Mesa Mail Service (DOL ARB 14-075): Hearing required before SCA ruling
The Labor Department accused Mesa Mail Service and Richard and Mary Edwards of violating the Service Contract Act. The judge decided the case on a written record, found a violation, and ordered debarment after a representative reportedly waived a hearing during a telephone conference. The Edwards…
Mawhinney v. American Airlines
Dismissal for arbitration vacated
Robert Mawhinney filed an aviation whistleblower complaint against American Airlines after his employment ended. A judge dismissed it and compelled arbitration under a clause in an earlier settlement agreement. The Board held that the old agreement did not clearly bar a later Labor Department…
Burdette v. ExpressJet Airlines, Inc.
Burdette v. ExpressJet Airlines (DOL ARB 14-059): Dismissal of pilot's complaint affirmed
Alex Burdette, an airline pilot, opposed the program allowing trained federal flight deck officers to carry firearms in cockpits. After being assigned to fly with one, he directed the other pilot to fly every leg of a trip and refused to alternate, and the airline terminated his employment…
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Richmond, VA
D.C. (ECAB 16-0129): Later disability not linked to accepted neck injury
D.C., a postal carrier with accepted neck disc injuries from a 2000 fall, sought compensation for reduced work hours beginning in March 2014. Her neurosurgeon said the reduced schedule related to the old injury but did not explain how, especially given imaging showing a good surgical result and…
R.O. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Mammoth Cave, KY
R.O. (ECAB 16-0021): Knee injury claim lacked a qualified medical opinion
R.O., a National Park Service ecologist, reported knee pain while repeatedly kneeling and standing during cave stream monitoring. OWCP accepted that the activity occurred but found no qualified medical opinion linking it to a diagnosed injury. The only physician report in the record interpreted a…
G.T. and Department of Veterans Affairs, James A. Haley Veterans Hospital, Tampa, FL
G.T. (ECAB 16-0013): Three percent leg award and review refusal upheld
G.T., a VA housekeeping aide, received a schedule award for three percent left leg impairment after an accepted meniscus tear and surgery. The Board found that OWCP’s examining surgeon and medical adviser properly applied the impairment guides and that no evidence supported a higher rating. G.T…
S.G. and Department of the Army, Army Health Clinic, Schweinfurt, Germany
S.G. (ECAB 15-1919): Three percent leg award upheld; new arthritis evidence sent for review
S.G., an Army clinic social worker, received a schedule award for three percent left leg impairment after an accepted meniscus injury. The Board upheld that award because the record before OWCP at the time did not establish a higher rating from the accepted condition. His surgeon later submitted a…
N.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Quincy, IL
N.O. (ECAB 15-1844): Knee arthritis claim lacked a reasoned work connection
N.O., a postal carrier, claimed that years of walking with a heavy mailbag on uneven ground and stairs contributed to arthritis in both knees. Her physician diagnosed severe arthritis and said her work was a significant factor in its progression. The Board found that his added report repeated…
L.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bedford Park, IL
L.G. (ECAB 15-1289): Prior three percent awards for each arm upheld
L.G., a postal clerk with accepted bilateral nerve and wrist conditions, sought a larger schedule award than the three percent impairment previously paid for each arm. One physician proposed forty-three percent for each arm, but the Board questioned his report because it relied partly on a…
D.S. and Department of State, Bureau of Administration, Washington, DC
D.S. (ECAB 15-1930): Back condition not medically linked to van ride
D.S., a State Department vehicle operator with existing back conditions, claimed that a work van ride and repeated entry and exit aggravated his lower back. His physicians recorded his account and diagnosed several conditions, but the Board found they did not explain how those activities caused or…
D.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, New York City, NY
D.H. (ECAB 15-1863): Claim rescission returned again for readable video
D.H., a transportation security officer, challenged OWCP’s rescission of an accepted injury claim. OWCP had relied on surveillance video, but the copy sent to the Board was unreadable. The Board had already returned the case once for this problem, and the new record again contained an unreadable…
T.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Inspection Service, Washington, DC
T.M. (ECAB 15-1774): Emotional condition claim lacked a supported work factor
T.M., a postal inspector, attributed an emotional condition to long hours, staffing shortages, leave issues, and alleged hostile treatment. The Board recognized that substantiated overwork can be a compensable work factor, but found the record did not establish his claimed excessive workload. It…
T.D. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Temple, TX
T.D. (ECAB 15-1577): Rescission of accepted back injury claim reversed
T.D., a nurse at a veterans medical center, claimed a back injury while helping a patient with a bedpan. OWCP accepted lumbar intervertebral disc displacement, then rescinded acceptance after finding differences between her accounts of the incident. The Board found her accounts consistently…
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.