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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B.W. and Department of Defense, Frankfurt Military Community, Heidelberg, Germany
B.W. (ECAB 15-0892): Late reconsideration request lacked clear error
B.W. sought reconsideration of a previously denied disability claim. OWCP found the request untimely and found no clear evidence that its earlier decision was wrong. The Board agreed that the medical material submitted with the late request did not meet the demanding clear-error standard. It…
M.R. and Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Philadelphia, PA
M.R. (ECAB 15-0583): Carpal tunnel and disability claims rejected
M.R., a Census Bureau field representative, sought recognition of bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and wage-loss compensation after an accepted vehicle accident. The Board gave weight to a medical opinion finding no causal link between the accident and carpal tunnel syndrome. It also found…
R.B. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Egg Harbor Township, NJ
R.B. (ECAB 15-0577): Disability claim lacked reasoned medical support
R.B., a transportation security specialist, had accepted hand and knee contusions after falling into a hole at work. She sought disability compensation for a later period. The Board found that the medical evidence did not adequately explain how the accepted injuries disabled her during that period…
A.J. and Department of the Army, Redstone Arsenal, AL
A.J. (ECAB 14-1988): Recurrence and reconsideration denials upheld
A.J., an Army human resources specialist, sought additional treatment for a recurrence of accepted hip and sacroiliac sprains after a workplace fall. The Board found insufficient medical evidence connecting the renewed condition to the original injury. It also held that the later reconsideration…
W.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hartford, CT
W.B. (ECAB 14-1982): Board raises both knee impairment ratings
W.B., a postal letter carrier with accepted work-related knee arthritis, challenged schedule awards of 31 percent for each leg after bilateral knee replacement. The Board reviewed the impairment calculations under the medical guides. It found that the appropriate rating was 37 percent for each leg…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1858 (Union) and United States Department of the Army, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama (Agency)
AFGE Local 1858 and Army Space and Missile Defense Command (FLRA 0-AR-5116): Arbitration exceptions dismissed
AFGE Local 1858 challenged an arbitration award involving the Army Space and Missile Defense Command at Redstone Arsenal. The Authority dismissed a management-rights argument because the union could have raised it before the arbitrator but the record did not show that it did. It dismissed the…
United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Agency) and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 160 (Union)
CBP and NTEU Chapter 160 (FLRA 0-AR-5102): Night pay for official time upheld
CBP denied official-time requests from customs officers on night shifts unless they moved their union representational work to a day shift and gave up night pay. An arbitrator found that this practice violated the parties' agreement and federal labor law and ordered CBP to stop, post a notice, and…
Secretary of Labor v. Brody Mining, LLC
Seven safety findings vacated for reconsideration
MSHA challenged an ALJ's reduced gravity, negligence, and unwarrantable-failure findings for seven orders issued at Brody Mine No. 1 involving coal accumulations, ventilation, a preshift examination, a flooded escapeway, and an unguarded shuttle-car opening. The Commission vacated the challenged…
Secretary of Labor v. John Richards Construction
Mine-entry refusal affirmed with $1,000 penalty
An MSHA inspector arrived unannounced at John Richards Construction's Montana sand and gravel mine, but the owner repeatedly said the inspector could not enter until the owner returned several hours later and directed staff to lock the gate. Judge Jacqueline R. Bulluck held that the verbal refusal…
Secretary of Labor v. Kenamerican Resources, Inc.
Ambiguous mine call did not prove advance notice
MSHA inspectors investigating a hazard complaint overheard an underground miner ask the dispatcher whether there was "company outside," and the dispatcher replied, "yeah, I think there is." MSHA cited Kenamerican Resources for giving prohibited advance notice of an inspection. Judge L. Zane Gill…
T.K. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, San Francisco, CA
T.K. (ECAB 15-1300): Hand injury claim lacked reasoned causal opinion
T.K., a National Park Service maintenance worker, reported pain and weakness in both hands while repairing a damaged fence with a grinder and hammer. OWCP accepted the work activity but denied that the medical evidence established a resulting injury. The Board found that the physician's opinion did…
S.R. and Defense Agencies, DECA Southern Region, Fort Lee, VA
S.R. (ECAB 15-1274): Inconsistent accounts defeated pallet injury claim
S.R., a store associate, said she felt tingling and an electric shock while pulling a pallet of spare ribs. The evidence gave inconsistent accounts of when and how the claimed injury occurred. The Board found that she had not established the alleged workplace incident with a consistent, detailed…
S.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Belton, MO
S.O. (ECAB 15-1199): Repeated arguments did not reopen hip claim
S.O., a postal clerk with an accepted hip injury, requested reconsideration of an OWCP decision. His representative repeated arguments about treatment that OWCP had already considered. The Board found no new relevant evidence, new legal argument, or showing that OWCP had misapplied the law. It…
Y.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Prescott, AZ
Y.M. (ECAB 15-1196): Foot injury claim lacked competent causal evidence
Y.M., a postal letter carrier, said she injured her left foot after stepping on a sharp rock during work. The Board found the medical material insufficient to establish that her foot condition was caused by that incident. Some submissions came from providers who did not qualify as physicians under…
F.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Metro North Post Office
F.C. (ECAB 15-1134): Medical reports did not reopen harassment claim
F.C., a postal clerk, had claimed anxiety from alleged supervisor harassment. OWCP denied the claim because he had not established a compensable workplace factor. In seeking reconsideration, he submitted medical reports that did not supply the missing factual proof of harassment or administrative…
K.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Wilmington, DE
K.M. (ECAB 15-0724): Knee disease claim lacked medical causation
K.M., a mail carrier, sought compensation for a left knee condition that OWCP developed as a new occupational disease claim. He had a prior accepted knee injury, but the Board found no reasoned medical opinion tying his current condition to identified work duties. Reports referring only to the…
R.L. and U.S. Postal Service, West Roxbury Station, West Roxbury, MA
R.L. (ECAB 15-0313): Hip arthritis acceleration claim lacked rationale
R.L., a postal letter carrier, claimed that his work permanently accelerated hip osteoarthritis. The Board found that the supporting medical opinions did not adequately explain how his duties caused the progression of the condition. It noted the record's marked difference between the right and left…
A.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Miami, FL
A.M. (ECAB 14-1767): Knee injury incident not established
A.M., a transportation security officer, claimed that he hurt his left knee when turning off a mat at work. The Board found the record insufficient to establish the alleged workplace incident. Without proof that the incident happened as claimed, it did not need to weigh medical causation. It…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Complex - Allenwood, White Deer, Pennsylvania (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 4047 (Union)
FCC Allenwood and AFGE Local 4047 (FLRA 0-AR-5096): Backpay for suspended awards set aside
The federal correctional complex at Allenwood suspended its employee awards program for fiscal year 2013 during budget sequestration. An arbitrator found no violation of the union agreement but ordered recognition in personnel records and backpay through quality-step increases for employees with…
Nathaniel E. Raiford v. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Incorporated
Raiford v. Huntington Ingalls (BRB 15-0003): shift change claim denial affirmed
Nathaniel Raiford worked in a shipyard paint department and was reassigned to a later shift after his sign shop closed. He later stopped working after medical and psychological problems, and his estate pursued benefits based on the shift change. The Board affirmed the denial because the only…
D.S. and Department of the Army, Army Material Command, Texarkana, TX
D.S. (ECAB 15-1244): Schedule award premature before maximum improvement
D.S., an Army materials expediter, sought a schedule award for accepted left foot and ankle conditions. Her impairment examiner said she had not yet reached maximum medical improvement, and an OWCP medical adviser agreed that further evaluation depended on her treatment choice. The Board held that…
P.F. and Department of Justice, U.S. Marshals Service, San Diego, CA
P.F. (ECAB 15-1227): Reconsideration request did not reopen claim
P.F., an administrative support assistant, had claimed medical conditions from computer and document work. After an earlier Board decision, she asked OWCP to reconsider the claim. The Board found that her request supplied no new pertinent evidence, new legal argument, or showing that OWCP…
R.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, New York Harbor Healthcare System, Brooklyn Campus
R.S. (ECAB 15-1166): Office injury claim lacked causal medical proof
R.S., a VA program support assistant, said he injured his neck and back after his chair and walker caught together in a crowded office. The Board found the medical evidence insufficient to establish that the workplace event caused a diagnosed injury. It upheld OWCP's denial of the traumatic injury…
K.C. and Securities and Exchange Commission, Benefits Branch, Washington, DC
K.C. (ECAB 15-1086): Disability claim needs new impartial medical opinion
K.C., a Securities and Exchange Commission examiner, sought compensation for intermittent disability after accepted back conditions from lifting heavy boxes. The Board found the existing medical evidence inadequate to resolve whether the accepted injuries caused disability during the claimed…
M.M. and Department of the Army, Fort Bliss, TX
M.M. (ECAB 15-1054): Training injury lacked competent medical proof
M.M., an Army security guard, reported that combative training aggravated a prior hernia repair. The Board accepted that the training incident occurred but found no competent medical evidence establishing a resulting injury. The identified physicians’ reports gave no specific diagnosis or opinion…
D.D. and Department of the Army, Fort Sam Houston, TX
D.D. (ECAB 15-0460): Claimed disability periods lacked medical link
D.D., an Army security guard, sought disability compensation for periods in 2011 and 2012 after an accepted workplace injury. The Board found no adequately reasoned medical opinion connecting the claimed periods of inability to work, including time related to surgery, to the accepted injury. It…
R.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cross Plains, WI
R.M. (ECAB 15-0368): Wage-capacity reduction based on available job upheld
R.M., a postal clerk with an accepted right leg fracture, challenged a reduction in compensation based on his ability to work as a data entry operator clerk. The Board found that OWCP considered his physical restrictions, work background, age, qualifications, and the availability of suitable jobs…
C.B. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Southeast Region, Atlanta, GA
C.B. (ECAB 14-0671): Discrepant accounts defeated wrist injury claim
C.B., a National Park Service administrative assistant, claimed a right wrist and thumb injury from typing and writing on a particular day. The Board found discrepancies in her account, including statements about whether she suffered a traumatic injury. It concluded that the alleged September 19…
Lammon Brothers, LLC
Reverse-alarm citation vacated for lack of audibility proof
Lammon Brothers delivered concrete to an Ohio freeway-repaving project where one of its backing dump trucks struck and killed an employee of the general contractor. The truck's reverse alarm was operating and sounding at the time. OSHA later measured traffic noise and the alarm at different…
Secretary of Labor v. Nally & Hamilton Enterprises, Inc.
Highwall orders split with $51,484 total penalty
Nally & Hamilton contested highwall and examination citations at its Kentucky surface coal operations, while resolving several other citations by settlement. Judge John Kent Lewis affirmed two early violations involving loose material and an inadequate examination, but reduced each to non-S&S, low…
Matter of M-A-F- et al.
Later asylum application date controls
The Board reviewed a Pakistani respondent's asylum, withholding of removal, and Convention Against Torture claims after he filed one asylum application in 2003 and a substantially different one in 2006. The Board held that a later asylum filing is a new application when it presents a new or…
P.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Peru, NY
P.B. (ECAB 15-1211): Shoulder claim not reopened for merit review
P.B., a postal rural carrier associate, sought reconsideration of a shoulder injury claim arising from a fall while stepping off a porch. The Board found that her request did not satisfy any of the regulatory grounds for reopening the claim. It affirmed OWCP's refusal to conduct another merits…
B.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Airmail Center, Seattle, WA
B.S. (ECAB 15-1189): Medical recurrence claim lacked causal proof
B.S., a postal employee with a previously accepted injury, claimed a recurrence of her medical condition beginning June 28, 2013. Her compensation benefits had been terminated in an earlier Board case. The Board found no reasoned medical evidence linking the newly claimed condition to the accepted…
G.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New York, NY
G.G. (ECAB 15-0985): Termination of leg-injury benefits upheld
G.G., a postal parcel carrier, fractured his left leg in a work fall and later received wage-loss and medical benefits. OWCP ended those benefits after medical evidence showed the accepted injury had resolved. The Board found that OWCP met its burden to terminate benefits and that G.G. did not…
J.B. and Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Santa Fe, NM
J.B. (ECAB 15-0933): Creek-fall claim lacked medical diagnosis and causation
J.B., a fire range technician, reported falling into a creek while scouting a fire line and experiencing dehydration, hypothermia, and fatigue. The Board found no probative physician opinion diagnosing a condition and explaining how the accepted incident caused it. A report of symptoms and the…
C.W. and Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service, Blakely, GA
C.W. (ECAB 15-0881): Carpal tunnel claim lacked medical causation
C.W., a physical science technician, attributed carpal tunnel syndrome to lifting bags and grinding samples at work. The Board found no probative physician opinion explaining how those duties caused or aggravated the diagnosed condition. It held that a diagnosis and a history of work activity…
M.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Long Beach, CA
M.B. (ECAB 15-0638): Allergen exposure claim lacked factual foundation
M.B., a VA medical support assistant, attributed respiratory and allergy symptoms to conditions in a workplace booth. The Board found that she had not established exposure to the particular allergens named in her medical evidence. Because the physician's causal opinion assumed an unproved exposure…
D.L. and Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistical Service, Washington, DC
D.L. (ECAB 15-0272): OWCP must consider timely impairment report
D.L. sought an additional schedule award for accepted arm and hand conditions. OWCP received a July 24, 2014 impairment report before denying the claim but did not discuss that report in its decision. The Board held that OWCP must consider all evidence received before issuing a final decision. It…
R.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Customer Care Center, Detroit, MI
R.C. (ECAB 15-0097): Late request upheld but clear-error review remanded
R.C., a postal employee, sought reconsideration after OWCP terminated wage-loss benefits. The Board agreed that OWCP received his request more than a year after its merit decision. It found, however, that OWCP had not explained why the submitted evidence failed to show clear error. The Board…
M.I. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Palm Springs, CA
M.I. (ECAB 14-1784): Temporary job could not support wage-capacity ruling
M.I., a transportation security screener with an accepted shoulder injury, challenged a loss of wage-earning capacity ruling based on a limited-duty travel document checker position. The Board found that OWCP had treated a temporary assignment as a permanent measure of earning capacity. That…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 299 (Union) and United States Department of the Treasury, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (Agency)
NTEU Chapter 299 and OCC (FLRA 0-AR-5068): Additional telework day denial upheld
An ethics attorney at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency asked to add one telework day to a schedule that already allowed four telework days per two-week pay period. OCC denied the request, and an arbitrator found that its interest in face-to-face collaboration was a genuine, reasonable…
Gunther v. Deltek, Inc.
Stay motions denied after court appeal
The Board had earlier upheld, with a modification, relief awarded to Dinah Gunther for a Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower violation by Deltek. Deltek petitioned the Fourth Circuit to review that decision and later asked the court to stay it, but the court denied the request. Deltek then asked the Board…
J.C. and Department of Defense, DLA Distribution Region East, Fort Belvoir, VA
J.C. (ECAB 15-1294): Hearing loss not ratable for schedule award
J.C., a defense supply specialist, sought a schedule award for hearing loss after work noise exposure. The Board found that OWCP's medical adviser properly applied the impairment standards to his audiogram. The measured hearing loss did not reach a ratable level. It affirmed denial of an award on…
D.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
D.R. (ECAB 15-1292): Arm-condition claim not reopened
D.R., a postal mail handler, had claimed a bilateral arm condition from repetitive heavy lifting. She asked OWCP to reconsider its denial. The Board found that her request did not meet a ground for further merit review. It affirmed the refusal to reopen and did not decide whether the arm condition…
D.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Santa Clarita, CA
D.K. (ECAB 15-1232): Carpal tunnel claim and late hearing denial upheld
D.K., a letter carrier, claimed right carpal tunnel syndrome from his postal duties. The Board found that he had not established the occupational disease with sufficient evidence. He also requested review of the written record after the 30-day deadline. The Board held that OWCP acted within its…
C.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Midlothian, VA
C.W. (ECAB 15-1011): Rotator cuff disease claim lacked medical explanation
C.W., a postal rural carrier, attributed torn rotator cuffs in both shoulders to his work. The Board found that the medical evidence did not explain how specific duties caused or aggravated those conditions. A diagnosis and work history alone did not establish the required causal relationship. It…
M.D. and Department of the Army, Lexington Bluegrass Army Depot, Richmond, KY
M.D. (ECAB 15-0811): Timely reconsideration requests require proper review
M.D. asked OWCP to reconsider a compensation decision. OWCP treated the requests as late and applied the demanding clear-error standard. The Board found that OWCP had improperly classified a timely reconsideration request as untimely. It set aside the denials and directed OWCP to review the request…
C.T. and Department of the Air Force, Buckley Air Force Base, Aurora, CO
C.T. (ECAB 15-0647): Emotional-condition claim lacked compensable factor
C.T., an Air Force supply technician, attributed depression and anxiety to allegedly hostile workplace conditions. The Board found that the record did not substantiate harassment, retaliation, discrimination, or error or abuse in personnel matters. Without an established compensable employment…
M.B. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Chamblee, GA
M.B. (ECAB 15-0287): Board recognizes work-related finger laceration
M.B., an IRS contact representative, cut her right index finger on the underside of a toilet paper dispenser at work. The event and visible laceration were not disputed, and she did not claim wage-loss disability. The Board held that a medical report was unnecessary to establish this…
P.K. and Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Randlett, UT
P.K. (ECAB 14-1642): Overpayment finding required explained calculation
P.K., a Fish and Wildlife Service maintenance worker, challenged an OWCP finding that he had been overpaid $2,777.56. The Board found that OWCP had not adequately explained the factual basis and calculation of the alleged overpayment. That failure also prevented resolution of waiver and recovery…
G.J. and Department of Commerce, Decennial Census, Jackson, MS
G.J. (ECAB 14-1416): Post-termination benefits need impartial medical review
G.J., a Census office manager, received benefits after an accepted back injury while moving a soda machine. The Board found that OWCP had met its burden to terminate benefits as of July 15, 2013. It also found conflicting medical opinions about whether residuals or disability continued after that…
M.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Northport, NY
M.W. (ECAB 14-0621): Suitable-work refusal justified benefits termination
M.W., a VA pay technician with accepted carpal tunnel syndrome, declined an offered position. She argued that its computer work exceeded her restrictions. The Board found that the offered duties were medically suitable, including computer use of up to one hour a day. It held that OWCP properly…
Fleming v. The Shaw Group
Dismissal of whistleblower claim affirmed
Anthony Fleming, an electrician for The Shaw Group, alleged that the company denied him a foreman position and laid him off because he had filed a whistleblower complaint against a former employer. At the hearing, Fleming did not testify or present evidence connecting those actions to his earlier…
K.T. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, San Antonio, TX
K.T. (ECAB 15-1202): Denial of treating-physician change upheld
K.T., a Customs and Border Protection employee with accepted injuries, asked OWCP to change his treating physician. The Board reviewed OWCP's exercise of discretion under the applicable treatment rules. It found no manifest error or unreasonable judgment in the denial. The Board affirmed without…
K.W., widow of S.W., and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Miami, FL
K.W., widow of S.W., (ECAB 15-1187): Late survivor reconsideration lacked clear error
K.W. sought survivor benefits after her postal employee husband's death and later asked OWCP to reconsider a denial. OWCP found her request late. The Board held that her assertion that he was working overtime at the time of death was unsupported and did not show clear error in the earlier decision…
J.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Columbus, OH
J.L. (ECAB 15-1142): Timely knee-claim request judged under wrong rule
J.L., a postal mail handler, sought reconsideration of a denied work-related knee arthritis claim. OWCP treated his request as untimely and demanded clear evidence of error. The Board found that the request was timely, so OWCP had used the wrong legal standard. It remanded for a fresh…
K.K. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, East Orange, NJ
K.K. (ECAB 15-1037): Disability recurrence after chair fall not proved
K.K., a VA medical clerk, had an accepted left thumb sprain after a chair slipped out from under her at work. She claimed a recurrence of disability beginning December 3, 2014 and sought to expand the accepted conditions. The Board found no sufficient medical evidence linking the later disability…
K.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Washington, DC
K.B. (ECAB 15-0418): Emotional-condition allegations lacked factual proof
K.B., a postal equal employment opportunity specialist, claimed an emotional condition from workplace conduct and policies. The Board found that the factual record did not establish the alleged verbal abuse or other compensable workplace conduct. Cited cases about harassment could not substitute…
B.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Bulk Mail Center, Jacksonville, FL
B.O. (ECAB 15-0385): Resolved injuries supported benefits termination
B.O., a postal mail handler, had accepted injuries from earlier workplace accidents. OWCP terminated benefits after medical evidence showed no continuing residuals or disability from those conditions. The Board found no adequately supported physician opinion showing otherwise. It affirmed the…
S.V. and U.S. Postal Service, North Houston Processing and Distribution Center
S.V. (ECAB 15-0165): Late request needs explained clear-error review
S.V., a former postal mail handler, sought reconsideration after a decision concerning her accepted back injury. The Board agreed that the request was late but found that OWCP had not adequately evaluated the submitted evidence under the clear-error standard. Its decision lacked the required…
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.