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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Secretary of Labor obo Thomas McGary and Ron Bowersox, et al. v. The Marshall County Coal Co., et al.
Mandatory reporting rule interfered with confidential MSHA complaints
Murray Energy's CEO held mandatory meetings at five West Virginia underground coal mines and told miners that anyone making a safety complaint to MSHA was also required to report it to management. Judge Margaret A. Miller found that the policy and statements connecting complaints to mine closures…
Scott D. McGlothlin v. Dominion Coal Corporation
Unconditional confidentiality denied while relief remained under review
Scott McGlothlin and Dominion Coal submitted proposed relief after an earlier ruling found that Dominion interfered with McGlothlin's Part 90 pay-protection rights. Their revised filing preserved the liability finding because Dominion waived its right to appeal, but the parties asked to keep the…
Novero v. Duke Energy Florida, Inc.
DOL complaint dismissed after district court filing
Primo Novero had an employee protection complaint pending before the Administrative Review Board against Duke Energy Florida and two other respondents. The respondents asked the Board to dismiss because Novero had filed his claim in federal district court. The Board had no record that Novero filed…
Kirk v. Rooney Trucking Inc.
Relief for sick truck driver affirmed
Donny Kirk told Rooney Trucking that he was too ill to drive a commercial vehicle and was laid off soon afterward. An administrative law judge found that his refusal to drive while ill was protected under the Surface Transportation Assistance Act and that it contributed to his layoff. The Board…
E.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Greater Los Angeles Healthcare Center, Los Angeles, CA
E.B. (ECAB 15-1594): Continuation of pay denied for late injury form
E.B., a Veterans Affairs recreation specialist, injured her left knee while moving tables at work. OWCP accepted a left knee and leg sprain but separately denied continuation of pay. Although E.B. said she told her supervisor about the injury within two weeks, she did not file the required written…
B.T. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Patrol, Columbus, NM
B.T. (ECAB 15-1579): Late hearing request denied
B.T., a border patrol officer, requested a hearing after OWCP denied her claim for a knee injury during training. She mailed the hearing request more than 30 days after the claim decision. The Board held that she had no right to a hearing after that deadline. It found that OWCP had also properly…
L.C. and Department of Energy, Office of Secure Transportation, Albuquerque, NM
L.C. (ECAB 15-1560): Accepted hearing loss did not qualify for schedule award
L.C., a Department of Energy employee, had accepted bilateral hearing loss from workplace noise exposure. He sought a schedule award for permanent impairment. An ear specialist attributed the hearing loss to work, but the medical adviser calculated zero percent ratable impairment in each ear under…
J.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Manteo, NC
J.R. (ECAB 15-1556): Increased wrist award claim not reopened
J.R., a postal carrier, had an accepted right wrist fracture and received a schedule award for eight percent arm impairment. OWCP later denied an increased award after a medical evaluation rated her arm impairment at six percent. She sought reconsideration, arguing that the later rating should be…
T.S. and Department of the Army, Fort Polk, LA
T.S. (ECAB 15-1539): Benefits termination for refusing suitable work upheld
T.S., an Army nursing assistant, had an accepted ankle fracture and received disability compensation. OWCP terminated her wage loss benefits after she declined a modified nursing assistant job that two physicians said fit her restrictions; the Board had upheld that termination in an earlier appeal…
W.W. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Memphis, TN
W.W. (ECAB 15-1486): Elbow injury claim and reconsideration denied
W.W., an Army Corps deckhand, said he hit his elbow against a vessel bulkhead while painting. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the injury claim. The Board found the physicians’ reports did not adequately link his diagnosed elbow condition to that incident; one discussed two…
S.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Raleigh, NC
S.A. (ECAB 15-1355): Emotional condition claim lacked a proven work factor
S.A., a postal distribution clerk, attributed an emotional condition to disputes with her supervisor over leave, scheduling, work monitoring, and alleged harassment. The Board found that the personnel actions were not compensable work factors without proof of error or abuse, which the record…
S.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, O’Fallon, IL
S.J. (ECAB 15-1249): Injury claim denied after fall on concrete
S.J., a postal carrier, slipped and fell on concrete in bad weather and claimed head and hip injuries. The Board accepted that the fall occurred but found no adequate medical explanation linking it to the diagnosed conditions. A physician listed several conditions and attributed them to the fall…
J.H. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Asheville, NC
J.H. (ECAB 15-0280): Reconsideration denial reversed for overlooked evidence
J.H., a National Park Service equipment operator, challenged OWCP’s termination of wage loss compensation. His reconsideration request arrived more than a year after the last merits decision, so it was untimely. The Board found clear evidence of error anyway: before that decision, OWCP had received…
Secretary of Labor v. LM Heavy Civil Construction, LLC
Late penalty contest reopened after correspondence misunderstanding
LM Heavy Civil Construction missed the 30-day deadline to contest an MSHA penalty assessment, causing the assessment to become a final Commission order. LM said it misunderstood correspondence from MSHA in another matter and moved to reopen promptly after receiving a delinquency notice. The…
Secretary of Labor v. Cemex Construction Materials, LP
Late penalty contest reopened after temporary staffing reduction
Cemex Construction Materials missed the 30-day deadline to contest an MSHA penalty assessment, causing the assessment to become a final Commission order. Cemex said a temporary reduction in administrative staff prevented timely processing and that it moved to reopen immediately after discovering…
Secretary of Labor v. Georgetown Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Final assessment reopened after personnel and paperwork problems
Georgetown Sand & Gravel intended to contest an MSHA penalty assessment but missed the 30-day deadline, causing the assessment to become a final Commission order. The company attributed the missed filing to a series of personnel issues and said it had adopted new office procedures for handling MSHA…
Secretary of Labor v. RiverStone Group, Inc.
One-day-late penalty contest reopened after assessment was misplaced
RiverStone Group misplaced an MSHA proposed penalty assessment and filed its contest one day after the 30-day deadline, causing the assessment to become a final Commission order. The company promptly moved to reopen the case. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but urged RiverStone to ensure…
Secretary of Labor v. M-Class Mining, LLC
Three-day-late penalty contest reopened after filing mistake
M-Class Mining missed the 30-day deadline to contest an MSHA penalty assessment, causing the assessment to become a final Commission order. The company said it accidentally placed the contest with paperwork for another pending MSHA matter, which made its filing three days late. The Secretary did…
Secretary of Labor v. Buzzi Unicem USA
Penalty contest reopened after mistaken assumption that it was filed
Buzzi Unicem missed the 30-day deadline to contest an MSHA penalty assessment, causing the assessment to become a final Commission order. Buzzi said it mistakenly believed the contest had been filed when it submitted partial payment for the uncontested penalties. The Secretary did not oppose…
Secretary of Labor v. White County Coal, LLC
Six litigated citations affirmed and partial settlement approved
White County Coal operates the Pattiki underground coal mine in Illinois, where MSHA issued citations involving ventilation, roof support, and damaged trailing-cable splices. After the company settled 31 citations, it contested the gravity or negligence findings for six others but conceded the…
A.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Fresno, CA
A.R. (ECAB 15-1716): Occupational exposure established; injury question remanded
A.R., a Veterans Affairs medical clerk, claimed that years of telephone and computer work contributed to neck and arm symptoms. OWCP denied the claim because it found his description of the work exposure too vague. The Board disagreed: his statement gave enough detail about the daily calls…
C.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Kearny, NJ
C.F. (ECAB 15-1649): Shoulder injury claim denied on medical causation
C.F., a postal dock clerk, repeatedly opened and closed truck and dock bay doors at work and developed right shoulder problems. The Board accepted those duties and the diagnoses, including a rotator cuff tear. His physicians attributed the conditions to years of repetitive work but did not explain…
J.B. and Department of the Army, Army Ammunition Plant, McAlester, OK
J.B. (ECAB 15-1567): Hearing loss and tinnitus did not qualify for award
J.B., an Army ammunition plant worker, had accepted bilateral hearing loss from workplace noise exposure and sought a schedule award. A specialist measured hearing loss and also proposed a tinnitus impairment rating. The Board found that the standard calculation produced zero percent ratable…
C.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Kansas City, MO
C.B. (ECAB 15-1565): Back injury claim denied despite x-ray evidence
C.B., a Veterans Affairs police officer, claimed a back injury after helping restrain a patient at work. OWCP denied the claim because it did not treat his chiropractor’s reports as evidence from a physician. The Board found that x-rays supported a spinal subluxation diagnosis, so the chiropractor…
F.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tinley Park, IL
F.K. (ECAB 15-1528): Reconsideration request did not reopen postal injury claim
F.K., a postal letter carrier, had received benefits for a cervical condition after a vehicle collision during mail delivery. OWCP later withdrew its acceptance of that condition and terminated benefits. Her attorney sought another review of the merits, arguing that the impartial examiner’s opinion…
R.L. and Department of the Navy, Commander U.S. Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor, HI
R.L. (ECAB 15-1356): Termination of long-running injury benefits upheld
R.L., a Navy machinist, received compensation for physical and mental health conditions accepted after a 1983 workplace assault. OWCP ended his wage loss and medical benefits after examinations by a neurologist, orthopedic surgeon, and psychiatrist found no continuing disability or treatment need…
L.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Suffolk, VA
L.O. (ECAB 15-1346): Second written-record review request denied
L.O., a postal letter carrier, sought compensation for a right shoulder condition. After OWCP denied her claim, she obtained a review of the written record from an OWCP hearing representative, who upheld the denial. She then requested another written-record review. The Board held that she had no…
T.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Taylor, MI
T.K. (ECAB 15-1570): Late reconsideration request did not show clear error
T.K., a postal letter carrier with accepted right foot and ankle conditions, sought compensation for days he took off work in 2012. OWCP denied that claim and later refused to reopen it when his next reconsideration request arrived more than one year after the latest merits decision. The Board…
S.Y. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Francisco, CA
S.Y. (ECAB 15-1510): Weekend deadline made reconsideration request timely
S.Y., a postal mail clerk, had received benefits for accepted arm and wrist conditions until OWCP terminated them. She requested reconsideration of a later decision upholding that termination. OWCP treated her request as late because it arrived one year and two days after its February 21, 2014…
C.P. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Loretto, PA
C.P. (ECAB 15-1495): Later disc condition not linked to accepted back sprain
C.P., a federal corrections officer, sustained an accepted lumbosacral sprain while removing an inmate from a cell in 2010. He later sought coverage for a lumbar disc herniation and surgeries after back symptoms worsened in 2012. The Board found no reasoned medical explanation connecting the later…
R.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Greensboro, NC
R.E. (ECAB 15-1343): Foot claim not reopened on repetitive and unrelated evidence
R.E., a postal letter carrier, claimed that prolonged walking at work injured both feet. OWCP denied the claim because the medical evidence did not link her foot condition to the reported work incident. She sought another merits review and submitted reports about her later left foot surgery and…
L.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cinnaminson, NJ
L.G. (ECAB 15-1226): Knee claim lacked reasoned medical evidence of work causation
L.G., a postal distribution clerk, reported knee symptoms after pulling equipment at work. She sought compensation for a left knee ACL tear and aggravation of preexisting arthritis. OWCP accepted that the work incident occurred but found the medical evidence insufficient to connect it to those…
R.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Buffalo, NY
R.H. (ECAB 15-1224): Shoulder claim denied for lack of medical causation opinion
R.H., a postal automation clerk, claimed that moving mail carts and other duties caused a right shoulder condition. OWCP accepted his account of the work activities but denied the claim because the medical evidence did not adequately link them to the diagnosed shoulder conditions. The Board found…
O.B. and U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Washington, DC
O.B. (ECAB 15-0993): Pulmonary claim lacked medical link to workplace air
O.B., a program analyst at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, attributed asthma and other respiratory conditions to poor workplace air quality and exposure to a coworker who used mothballs. OWCP accepted that those general workplace conditions existed but denied the claim after a prior…
R.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Belleville Branch, Jersey City, NJ
R.G. (ECAB 15-0492): Benefit termination reversed for missing notice
R.G., a postal employee with an accepted shoulder injury, returned to a modified job and then retired. OWCP terminated her wage loss and schedule award benefits on the ground that she had abandoned suitable work. She submitted new medical evidence after OWCP gave her 30 days to respond to its job…
United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Washington, D.C. and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1917
ICE and AFGE Local 1917 (FLRA BN-CA-12-0092): Refusal to arbitrate local grievances violated labor law
AFGE Local 1917 sought arbitration of grievances over ICE employees' webmail access and a detainer form. ICE held those local grievances while related national grievances proceeded. The Authority held that ICE violated federal labor law by refusing to arbitrate unresolved grievances and that its…
H.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Columbus, OH
H.L. (ECAB 15-1733): Occupational disease claim lacked medical causation evidence
H.L., a postal clerk and lobby assistant, claimed that walking and standing on concrete floors worsened physical conditions and that workplace interactions caused stress. OWCP denied his occupational disease claim for insufficient medical evidence. The Board accepted that he walked on concrete…
P.H. and Department of the Interior, Colorado River Agency, Poston, AZ
P.H. (ECAB 15-1608): Hearing request abandoned after missed telephone hearing
P.H., an irrigation system operator, sought a hearing after OWCP denied his shoulder injury claim. OWCP mailed notice of a scheduled telephone hearing to his address of record, but he did not attend or request another hearing within 10 days. He said he had not received the notice and argued that it…
M.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Staten Island, NY
M.C. (ECAB 15-1561): Knee recurrence did not establish total disability
M.C., a postal letter carrier, had accepted knee injuries after a fall and later returned to four hours of modified work each day. She claimed a recurrence of total disability when knee pain and swelling led her to stop work in November 2013. The Board found that her physicians had not explained…
H.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Columbus, OH
H.L. (ECAB 15-1386): Claimed parcel cart incident not established
H.L., a postal employee on modified duty, claimed right hip pain after pushing a cart of parcels at work. OWCP asked him for more facts about the alleged January 6, 2015 event and for medical evidence, but received no response. The Board found that his initial account lacked enough detail to…
W.C. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Oyster Bay, NY
W.C. (ECAB 15-1280): Overpayment upheld, later fault finding reversed
W.C., a National Park Service ranger receiving injury compensation, also received Social Security retirement benefits partly based on federal service. OWCP had not offset that portion and found a $61,947.91 overpayment, which the Board upheld. The Board also upheld fault through April 2, 2014…
W.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Houston, TX
W.C. (ECAB 15-1123): Inconsistent account defeated occupational disease claim
W.C., a postal general expeditor, claimed that moving mail containers and other work duties aggravated several physical conditions. The Board found his account of when and how the conditions arose inconsistent. It pointed to a long delay in seeking care and filing the claim, conflicting…
T.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Columbus, OH
T.W. (ECAB 15-1020): Referee opinion supported ending injury benefits
T.W., a postal clerk, had accepted hip, back, and knee conditions after a 2009 work incident. OWCP ended compensation and medical benefits based on a referee physician’s opinion that the accepted conditions had resolved. The Board gave that reasoned opinion special weight because it addressed the…
T.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Bulk Mail Center, Memphis, TN
T.M. (ECAB 15-0147): Overpayment and hearing abandonment findings upheld
T.M., a postal employee, continued to receive disability checks after OWCP terminated her benefits. The Board upheld OWCP’s finding that those payments totaled a $12,435.25 overpayment and that she was at fault because she knew or should have known the checks were incorrect. It also upheld the…
M.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Ponca City, OK
M.F. (ECAB 14-2012): Claimed injury during authorized examination returned to OWCP
M.F., a postal carrier, alleged that a second opinion examination arranged for an earlier knee claim caused a new left knee injury. OWCP denied his claim because he was not performing work duties during the examination. The Board held that this was the wrong basis for deciding the claim: an injury…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3828 (Union) and United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Complex, Bastrop, Texas (Agency)
AFGE Local 3828 and FCC Bastrop (FLRA 0-AR-5113): Liquidated damages added for unpaid travel time
Correctional officers traveled from their regular shifts at FCC Bastrop to overtime hospital assignments guarding inmates. An arbitrator found that the agency violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to pay for that travel time, but denied liquidated damages and attorney fees. The Authority…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Division v. E-Business International, Inc.
Administrator v. E-Business International (DOL ARB 2015-0082): appeal denied for missing proof of service
Siddhartha Maity asked the Administrative Review Board to review an administrative law judge's refusal to reopen his complaint against E-Business International. The Board directed him to show that he had served his petition on the other parties and the judge, as required by the H-1B review rule…
J.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Jackson Veterans Administration Medical Center, Jackson, MS
J.M. (ECAB 15-1537): Reconsideration did not reopen total disability claim
J.M., a Veterans Affairs human resources specialist, sought total disability compensation after leaving a four-hour modified assignment. OWCP and an earlier Board decision found the evidence insufficient to show he could not perform that assignment. In a later reconsideration request, he submitted…
S.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Metroplex Post Office, Detroit, MI
S.H. (ECAB 15-1518): Work standing established, but DVT claim still denied
S.H., a postal automation clerk with a history of deep vein thrombosis, claimed that standing at sorting machines worsened her condition. The Board found that she did stand at those machines, correcting OWCP’s contrary factual finding. It nevertheless held that her physician had not sufficiently…
R.L. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Del Rio, TX
R.L. (ECAB 15-1473): Accepted hearing loss did not yield a schedule award
R.L., a Customs and Border Protection communication assistant, had accepted bilateral hearing loss attributed to workplace noise. She sought a schedule award for permanent impairment. The Board found that the measured hearing thresholds at the four frequencies used for the award calculation…
D.B. and Department of Justice, U.S. Marshals Service, Washington, DC
D.B. (ECAB 15-1162): Denial of additional lumbar surgery upheld
D.B., a U.S. Marshals Service inspector, had accepted back conditions after a work fall and had undergone earlier authorized surgeries. His treating neurosurgeon recommended another lumbar decompression and fusion, but OWCP declined to authorize it. The Board found that an OWCP medical adviser had…
P.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Santa Clarita, CA
P.L. (ECAB 15-1058): Hand injury benefits ended after referee examination
P.L., a postal letter carrier, had accepted wrist and hand conditions and received compensation after modified work became unavailable. Her treating doctor attributed continuing restrictions to those conditions, while an OWCP referral doctor disagreed. The Board found that the referee physician’s…
E.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Balcones Station, Austin, TX
E.R. (ECAB 15-1046): Wage loss denial upheld and extra shoulder award reversed
E.R., a postal mail carrier with an accepted shoulder injury, sought wage loss compensation for a period when he held a modified assignment. The Board found no medical opinion showing he could not perform that work and noted that the assignment paid more than his preinjury job. He also sought an…
P.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
P.R. (ECAB 15-0906): Business records did not reopen compensation review
P.R., a postal letter carrier with an accepted adjustment disorder, sought wage loss compensation for a period when he also operated a business. OWCP had found that his employment and earnings information was insufficient to determine compensation for July 2004 through May 2010. His reconsideration…
C.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Albany, NY
C.G. (ECAB 15-0328): Injury benefit termination reversed over incomplete facts
C.G., a postal clerk, had received compensation for accepted back, knee, and emotional conditions stemming from a 1987 work injury. OWCP ended her wage loss and medical benefits based on a second opinion physician’s view that the accepted conditions had resolved. The Board found that OWCP’s…
F.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Albany, NY
F.C. (ECAB 14-0560): Referee opinion supported ending injury benefits
F.C., a postal clerk, received benefits for accepted shoulder, elbow, and wrist conditions. OWCP ended those benefits after a referee orthopedic surgeon found that he could return to his regular job and had no disabling residuals from the accepted conditions. The Board found the referee’s opinion…
E.T. and Department of the Navy, Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, MS
E.T. (ECAB 15-1669): Later lung treatment not linked to accepted temporary asthma
E.T., a Navy shipbuilding production controller, had an accepted temporary asthma condition associated with workplace exposure. He later sought coverage for renewed pulmonary treatment and argued that his asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were permanent work-related conditions. The…
R.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Wicker Park Post Office, Chicago, IL
R.J. (ECAB 15-1431): Work fall established, but hand injury diagnosis missing
R.J., a temporary postal carrier, reported landing on her left hand after tripping while delivering mail. OWCP accepted that the fall occurred but denied compensation because the medical evidence did not establish a specific diagnosed condition caused by it. The Board found that a physiatrist’s…
T.S. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Europe, Kaiserslautern, Germany
T.S. (ECAB 15-1420): Late reconsideration request did not reopen mold claim
T.S., an Army finance technician in Germany, claimed that damp and mold-affected workplace conditions caused skin and other symptoms. OWCP accepted some reported building conditions but denied his injury claim for lack of a sufficient medical link. His next reconsideration request arrived more than…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
M.M. (ECAB 15-1376): Mailed reconsideration request arrived after deadline
M.M., a postal carrier, sought reconsideration after OWCP denied her claim for a back injury involving a mail cart. She mailed the request one day before the one-year deadline, but OWCP received it three days after the deadline. The Board corrected OWCP’s mistaken identification of a later…
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.