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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SSA Pacific, Inc.
Gangway citation vacated for lack of employer knowledge
SSA Pacific was unloading vehicles from a ship when someone tied a short plank to a midship gangway that had been designated unsafe and raised out of service. The plank lacked required rails and obstructed passage, and a superintendent used it while trying to have the condition corrected. The judge…
Secretary of Labor v. Buzzi Unicem USA
Quarry lighting citation vacated
Buzzi Unicem operated a small limestone quarry where employees walked across docked barges before sunrise while wearing cap lights. MSHA cited the company under 30 C.F.R. § 56.17001 after a miner said he could not see past the second barge and the inspector identified a possible trip-and-fall…
Comcast Cable Communications, LLC
In re Comcast Cable Communications, LLC (EAB MM Appeal No. 15-01C): consent agreement ratified
Comcast Cable Communications, LLC entered a Consent Agreement with EPA in a Clean Water Act and Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act penalty matter. The Environmental Appeals Board incorporated the agreement into its Final Order and ratified it under the Consolidated Rules of…
E.A. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, San Francisco, CA
E.A. (ECAB 15-1937): Late oral hearing request denied
E.A., a technical enforcement officer, requested an oral hearing more than six months after OWCP denied his emotional condition claim. The Board held that the request missed the 30 day deadline for a hearing as of right. It also found that OWCP had exercised its discretion reasonably by declining…
T.N. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, San Diego, CA
T.N. (ECAB 15-1821): Foot injury denial and reconsideration refusal affirmed
T.N., a customs and border patrol officer, claimed that prolonged standing and walking at work caused bilateral foot strain. The Board accepted that these were work duties but found that his physician’s opinion did not explain their causal connection to a diagnosed condition and used speculative…
E.V. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Northampton Veterans Medical Center, Leeds, MA
E.V. (ECAB 15-1759): Workplace mold respiratory claim denied
E.V., a nurse at a Veterans Affairs medical center, claimed that mold and poor ventilation at work caused her respiratory illness. Medical reports documented her pneumonia and described the workplace conditions. The Board found that one physician gave no opinion linking the illness to work, while…
J.J. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Orlando, FL
J.J. (ECAB 15-1621): Typing related wrist claim denied
J.J., a Veterans Affairs administrative assistant, claimed that extensive typing at work caused carpal tunnel syndrome or another wrist condition. Her employer confirmed the repetitive computer work. The Board found that her physician diagnosed only wrist pain, which is a symptom rather than a…
Rheem Manufacturing Co., Inc.
Late-contest ruling set aside for an evidentiary hearing
Rheem Manufacturing filed its notice of contest three weeks late after a security guard signed for the OSHA citation but the document never reached the responsible personnel. Rheem sought relief for excusable neglect and described its mail-handling procedures through an affidavit. The judge denied…
D.F. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, White Deer, PA
D.F. (ECAB 15-0664): Knee impairment award returned for examination
D.F., a Bureau of Prisons correctional officer, injured his right knee and received a schedule award for two percent permanent impairment of the right leg. A physician who examined him at counsel’s request measured restricted knee movement, but his treating physician’s earlier records described…
C.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, North Metro, GA
C.T. (ECAB 14-1826): Claimed recurrence of disability denied
C.T., a Postal Service clerk, had accepted back and left shoulder injuries from a 2006 mail handling incident. She claimed that she could not work beginning February 22, 2014, after reporting pain during mail lifting in November 2013. The Board found that her physicians did not give a reasoned…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 12 (Union) and United States Department of Labor (Agency)
AFGE Local 12 and Department of Labor (FLRA 0-AR-5138): Merit-staffing exceptions rejected
AFGE Local 12 challenged an arbitration award concerning a Department of Labor merit-staffing selection made from a corrected certificate of eligible applicants. The Authority refused to consider the agency's untimely opposition and show-cause response. It dismissed the union's claim that the…
Lee Ranch Coal Company (El Segundo Mine)
In re Lee Ranch Coal Company (El Segundo Mine) (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 14-04): petition dismissed after settlement
Lee Ranch Coal Company sought review of conditions in an NPDES permit for the El Segundo Mine. The company moved to dismiss its petition after reaching a settlement agreement with EPA Region 6. The company stated that the executed agreement led to a permit modification proceeding that resolved the…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Northvale, NJ
J.M. (ECAB 15-1906): Knee occupational disease claim denied
J.M., a Postal Service mail carrier, claimed that extensive walking and standing at work worsened his bilateral knee condition. The Board accepted that walking was part of his job. His orthopedic surgeon said the duties contributed to progression of knee arthrosis but did not explain how they…
K.H. and Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service, Halsey, NE
K.H. (ECAB 15-1809): Fungicide exposure injury claim denied
K.H., a Forest Service biological technician, reported symptoms after fungicide was sprayed in an adjacent field while she worked nearby. OWCP accepted that she was exposed during one work shift. The Board treated the event as a traumatic injury claim, even though she had filed an occupational…
B.W. and Department of the Army, Medical Command, Fort Sam Houston, TX
B.W. (ECAB 15-1690): Elevator injury denial and late review refusal affirmed
B.W., an Army nurse, reported that an elevator door struck her right arm and shoulder. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred, but the Board found that her physicians described pain without diagnosing and explaining a related medical condition. It affirmed the injury claim denial. Her request for…
L.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Edison, NJ
L.M. (ECAB 15-1585): Increased knee schedule award denied
L.M., a Postal Service mail handler, had received a schedule award for 50 percent permanent impairment of his right leg after a work related knee injury. He sought an increase. An impartial orthopedic surgeon calculated a 40 percent rating but also found that the knee had not reached maximum…
O.L. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Covington, KY
O.L. (ECAB 15-1541): Termination of respiratory benefits affirmed
O.L., an IRS clerk with preexisting asthma, had an accepted aggravation of chronic bronchitis after entering a room sprayed for bed bugs at work. OWCP later stopped her wage loss and medical benefits. The Board credited a pulmonary specialist’s opinion that the work related aggravation had ended…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Kernersville, NC
M.M. (ECAB 15-0869): Conflicting incident accounts defeat injury claim
M.M., a Postal Service mail carrier, claimed that she felt numbness after bending to lift a tray of mail on July 24, 2014. Other statements and records described a vehicle jolt on July 23 or gave different accounts of the event. The Board found that these inconsistencies cast serious doubt on…
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company
Combustible-dust case settled and dismissed
OSHA cited Cooper Tire over alleged carbon-black dust hazards at its Tupelo tire plant. After withdrawals and a partial settlement, the judge vacated the remaining general duty, hazardous-location, and housekeeping items because the Secretary did not prove the cited combustible-dust conditions…
Independent Union of Pension Employees for Democracy and Justice (Union) and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (Agency)
IUPEDJ and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (FLRA 0-AR-5075): Newsletter reconsideration denied
An arbitrator found that the union violated the agreement and federal labor law by publishing a newsletter article that threatened an employee. The Authority had dismissed or denied challenges to the contract's applicability, the arbitrator's appointment and procedure, factual findings, the finding…
Grigsby v. The Kansas City Southern Railway Company
Grigsby v. Kansas City Southern Railway (DOL ARB 14-093): Railroad settlement approved
Mark Grigsby appealed a judge's dismissal of his railroad whistleblower complaint against Kansas City Southern Railway. While the appeal was pending, the parties jointly submitted a settlement agreement and asked the Board to dismiss the complaint. The Board found the agreement fair, adequate, and…
K.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Detroit, MI
K.W. (ECAB 15-1912): Foot injury claim denied
K.W., a Postal Service city carrier, claimed that years of walking on her route caused bilateral foot conditions including Achilles tendinitis. The Board accepted her walking duties but found that her podiatrist did not explain how they caused or aggravated the diagnosed conditions. Other medical…
W.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, Washington, DC
W.C. (ECAB 15-1878): Hip and shoulder occupational disease claim denied
W.C., a Postal Service city carrier, claimed that years of walking, lifting, and other mail duties caused hip and shoulder conditions. His doctor described those conditions as possible overuse injuries associated with work. The Board found that the reports used speculative language and did not…
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Francisco, CA
M.S. (ECAB 15-1874): Overpayment recovery affirmed
M.S., a Postal Service clerk, received excess compensation because an OWCP computer error used the wrong pay rate. OWCP found a $2,645.41 overpayment and determined that she was not at fault. The Board nevertheless upheld denial of waiver because she did not supply the financial information…
P.M. and Department of Labor, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, San Francisco, CA
P.M. (ECAB 15-1873): Untimely reconsideration refusal affirmed
P.M., a Labor Department equal employment opportunity specialist, asked OWCP to reconsider a December 2013 denial of a trigger finger occupational disease claim. OWCP received her request three days after the one year deadline. The Board found that the new reports addressed a separate carpal tunnel…
M.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Ravenwood Station, Chicago, IL
M.O. (ECAB 15-1830): Lower leg impairment award denied
M.O., a Postal Service letter carrier, sought a schedule award for impairment of her legs associated with an accepted lumbar sprain. Her physician rated impairment of the spine but did not identify a ratable lower extremity deficit. The Board noted that FECA does not provide a schedule award for…
D.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, McAllen, TX
D.G. (ECAB 15-1811): Reconsideration refusal affirmed
D.G., a Postal Service parcel distribution machinist, claimed that lifting a heavy parcel injured her shoulders. OWCP denied the claim because it found the incident had not been established as alleged. In asking for reconsideration, she submitted a coworker’s description of general clerk duties…
M.T. and Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Austin, TX
M.T. (ECAB 14-0366): Back injury causation claim denied
M.T., a federal safety auditor, reported back pain after lifting a heavy suitcase while preparing for work travel in April 2011. OWCP administratively approved limited medical expenses, although the record does not establish whether it paid for examination or treatment. The Board found that the…
Daniel B. Lowe v. Veris Gold USA, Inc.
Secretary's reconsideration motion denied
Daniel Lowe had prevailed on his self-filed Mine Act discrimination complaint against Veris Gold, but the Judge had not yet determined damages or other relief. The Secretary of Labor asked the Judge to vacate that ruling, arguing that an order to file a civil-penalty petition effectively made the…
V.F. and Department of the Army, Army Medical Command, Fort Hood, TX
V.F. (ECAB 15-1860): Claimed back disability recurrence denied
V.F., an Army materials handler, had an accepted lumbar sprain from lifting a laundry basket in 2010. She claimed she could no longer work beginning October 29, 2013, while pulling and pushing heavy linen carts. The Board found that her physician did not explain which duties she could not perform…
S.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Richmond, VA
S.F. (ECAB 15-1859): Specific period of disability not established
S.F., a Postal Service letter carrier, had an accepted work related aggravation of rheumatoid arthritis in both hands and wrists. She requested wage loss benefits for January 11 through 24, 2014. Her doctor described significant symptoms and work restrictions but did not state that the accepted…
J.O. and Department of the Army, Civilian Personnel Advisory Center, Fort Carson, CO
J.O. (ECAB 15-1700): Emotional condition claim denied
J.O., an Army office automation assistant, attributed stress, depression, and anxiety to a lack of support from management and alleged harassment by coworkers. OWCP asked for specific incidents and supporting evidence, but the Board found that the record did not provide enough detail or…
T.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Carol Stream Processing & Distribution Center, Carol Stream, IL
T.S. (ECAB 15-1597): Increased arm impairment awards denied
T.S., a Postal Service clerk, sought larger schedule awards for work related conditions in both arms. Her treating physician rated the right arm at 37 percent impairment, but the Board found that he had not properly applied the impairment guide. It credited OWCP’s medical adviser, who applied the…
D.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Merrick, NY
D.P. (ECAB 15-1595): Knee injury denial affirmed on different ground
D.P., a Postal Service letter carrier, slipped on ice while delivering mail and reported a left knee injury. OWCP denied the claim on the ground that no medical condition had been diagnosed. The Board found that his physician did diagnose synovitis but did not explain how the fall caused it, so it…
J.C. and Department of Homeland Security, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Jamaica, NY
J.C. (ECAB 15-1084): Denial of recurrence and additional knee injury affirmed
J.C., a Department of Homeland Security import specialist, injured her wrist, shoulder, knee, and neck when she slipped on water at work. After returning to limited duty, she claimed that her accepted injuries caused total disability beginning June 28, 2013 and an additional left knee condition…
R.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Carson City, NV
R.B. (ECAB 16-0001): Wage loss for one workday not established
R.B., a Postal Service carrier, sought wage-loss compensation for March 11, 2011 after an accepted occupational injury involving his back and right thumb. His physician wrote that he should miss work because of increased pain and later said he could not work while taking Oxycodone. The Board found…
B.C. and Department of Justice, Marshals Service, Alexandria, VA
B.C. (ECAB 15-1823): Late reconsideration request denied
B.C., a deputy marshal, reported lower back pain after another driver rear-ended his government vehicle. OWCP denied his injury claim in 2012 because he had submitted no medical evidence. He requested reconsideration in December 2014 and supplied a later medical report, arguing that administrative…
S.B. and Department of the Navy, Navy Region Southwest Human Resources Offices, San Diego, CA
S.B. (ECAB 15-1767): Emotional condition claim denied for lack of proven work factors
S.B., a Navy transportation assistant, claimed that her work duties and workplace events caused an emotional condition. After an earlier Board decision rejected her allegations about management actions, she submitted new statements describing stress from balancing several duties. The Board found…
E.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Westlake Post Office, Bethesda, MD
E.T. (ECAB 15-1765): Compensation termination reversed because work suitability evidence was stale
E.T., a Postal Service carrier, received disability compensation after an accepted aggravation of lumbar disc disease. OWCP ended his compensation after concluding that he had refused a suitable modified carrier position. The Board found that OWCP relied on a medical examination conducted more than…
R.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Garland, TX
R.T. (ECAB 15-1760): Request for high wheel base vehicle denied
R.T., a former Postal Service vehicle operations maintenance assistant, had accepted right knee injuries and later accepted neck conditions. He asked OWCP to authorize a high wheel base vehicle to make getting in and out easier. His orthopedic surgeon agreed that he needed such a vehicle but did…
O.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Las Vegas, NV
O.H. (ECAB 15-1692): No ratable left leg impairment from accepted knee injuries
O.H., a Postal Service tractor trailer operator, injured his left knee when he slipped from a truck step. OWCP accepted a knee strain and contusion, but he also had osteoarthritis and later underwent a knee replacement that OWCP had not authorized as work related. He sought a schedule award for…
Mauricio Diaz Construction
Repeat residential fall violation affirmed
Three Mauricio Diaz Construction workers performed framing work near the peak of a two-story duplex roof. OSHA photographs showed that harnesses were not connected to lifelines or anchor points, despite the owner's claim that workers stayed tied off. The judge credited the inspector and found the…
BHP Navajo Coal Co. v. Secretary of Labor
Electrical citation reduced to moderate negligence
BHP Navajo installed an open exhaust-fan motor and unsealed electrical components above the x-ray room of its coal-sample laboratory. Judge Jacqueline R. Bulluck held that 30 C.F.R. § 77.516 incorporated the 1968 National Electrical Code, not the edition current when the motor was installed in…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Eric Greathouse, Ricky Baker, Levi Allen, Michael Payton, Ann Martin, and Mark Richey v. Murray Energy respondents
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Eric Greathouse, et al. v. Murray Energy respondents (FMSHRC WEVA 2015-905-D, et al.): Bonus-plan interference claims allowed to proceed
The Secretary alleged that production bonus plans at six Murray Energy coal mines discouraged miners from exercising Mine Act rights. The plans withheld crew bonuses after certain S&S citations, withdrawal orders, lost-time injuries, and absences from a full shift, including time used by miner…
Secretary of Labor v. C.R. Briggs
Misrouted penalty contest reopened
C.R. Briggs did not contest a proposed penalty assessment within 30 days, so the assessment became a final Commission order. The operator said an internal processing error caused the delay and supplied letters showing that it sent a partial payment and apparently the contest form to MSHA's payment…
Secretary of Labor v. Cemex, Inc.
Reconsideration of elevator-hoist ruling denied
MSHA cited Cemex for allegedly failing to use a systematic inspection, testing, and maintenance procedure for three traction elevators at its Demopolis Plant. Judge Priscilla M. Rae had ruled on partial summary decision that the elevators qualified as hoists covered by 30 C.F.R. § 56.19120. Cemex…
Secretary of Labor v. Mach Mining, LLC
Continuous-miner red-zone citation affirmed
An MSHA inspector saw a Mach Mining employee remotely tramming a continuous mining machine while standing between its angled tail and the mine rib. That position was inside the roof control plan's red zone, where the moving machine could pin or crush the operator. Mach disputed the inspector's…
Secretary of Labor v. GMS Mine Repair
Four S&S citations affirmed
GMS Mine Repair provided underground maintenance and contracting services at the Lively Grove Mine. MSHA issued four citations after finding loose roof-bolter dust filters and silica-bearing dust beyond the filters, an inadequate on-shift examination that missed those conditions, a damaged 995-volt…
Secretary of Labor v. Dyer Quarry, Inc.
Final assessment reopened after claimed nonreceipt
Dyer Quarry did not timely contest a proposed penalty assessment, so the assessment became a final Commission order. The operator said it never received the assessment because its address had changed. Dyer later updated its address of record with MSHA, and the Secretary did not oppose reopening…
Secretary of Labor v. Petro Chemical Insulation, Inc.
Manlift safety citations affirmed
Petro Chemical Insulation used a mobile manlift at a coal-processing construction site with a fire extinguisher whose gauge showed that it needed recharging and a travel alarm that could not be heard over the work environment. Judge David P. Simonton found that the gauge reliably showed the…
Secretary of Labor v. Clarkson Construction Company, Inc.
Two-day-late penalty contest reopened
Clarkson Construction failed to contest a proposed penalty assessment within 30 days, making the assessment a final Commission order. The company's safety director believed counsel would file the contest, while counsel believed the safety director had already filed it. That miscommunication caused…
R.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, City of Industry, CA
R.G. (ECAB 15-1927): Late reconsideration request did not show clear error
R.G., a Postal Service letter carrier, had his compensation reduced to zero after OWCP found that he did not participate in vocational rehabilitation efforts. He later sought reconsideration of that reduction. The Board found that even his April 2012 letter arrived more than a year after the April…
B.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Alexandria, VA
B.A. (ECAB 15-1824): Reconsideration denied because submission repeated prior material
B.A., a Postal Service letter carrier, sought wage-loss compensation after accepted foot conditions and a claimed withdrawal of limited duty. OWCP and the Board had earlier rejected his claim for total disability over the disputed period. He again requested OWCP reconsideration, arguing that his…
K.S. and Department of the Army, National Ground Intelligence Center, Charlottesville, VA
K.S. (ECAB 15-1426): Emotional condition claim lacked proven employment factors
K.S., an Army program support assistant, claimed that overwork, deadlines, and conduct by coworkers and supervisors caused an emotional condition. The Board said that proven workload and deadlines could be covered, but she had not supplied evidence establishing those claimed duties. It also found…
H.G. and Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Maquoketa, IA
H.G. (ECAB 15-1413): Reconsideration denial set aside for unauthorized signature
H.G. appealed OWCP’s refusal to reconsider a compensation claim. The Board found that a communications specialist had signed OWCP’s decision denying his request as untimely and lacking clear evidence of error. OWCP’s procedures assigned authority for that type of decision to claims staff, including…
R.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Houston, TX
R.J. (ECAB 15-1316): Late reconsideration request did not establish clear error
R.J., a Postal Service transportation supervisor, claimed wage-loss compensation after an accepted lumbar sprain. OWCP denied compensation for April 27 to May 20, 2010 because his medical evidence did not adequately connect disability during that period to the accepted injury. He later requested…
V.P. and Department of the Army, Civilian Personnel Advisory Center, Arlington, VA
V.P. (ECAB 15-1190): Recurrence of neck condition not established
V.P., an Army paralegal specialist, injured her neck while moving boxes in 2001, and OWCP accepted a cervical strain. OWCP later terminated her medical and wage-loss benefits based on an impartial physician’s opinion that the strain had resolved. In 2012 she sought renewed treatment for neck pain…
G.R. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA
G.R. (ECAB 15-1047): Overpayment decision returned for missing interview recordings
G.R., a Navy shipyard welder, received compensation after an accepted left shoulder injury. OWCP found that he had failed to report work activities and assessed an overpayment of $64,519.57. Its hearing representative relied on recorded interviews with investigators, but the recordings were missing…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing and Distribution Center, Akron, OH
J.M. (ECAB 15-1843): Hand condition claim returned for second medical opinion
J.M., a Postal Service mail handler, claimed bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and finger tenosynovitis from repetitive work. On an earlier appeal, the Board found his treating physician’s reports sufficient to require more medical development. OWCP asked the physician for clarification, but his…
B.A. and Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Base, Kaneohe Bay, HI
B.A. (ECAB 15-1818): Timely reconsideration request returned for proper review
B.A., a Marine Corps base maintenance worker, sought wage-loss compensation after an accepted lumbar strain. OWCP denied compensation for a period in 2012, and he asked it to reconsider that decision. OWCP treated his request as late because it relied on the date it received a duplicate copy. The…
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.