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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C.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Philadelphia Processing & Distribution Center, Philadelphia, PA
C.B. (ECAB 15-0746): Left shoulder occupational disease claim denied
C.B., a postal mail processing clerk, claimed that his work caused or aggravated a left arm and shoulder condition. OWCP accepted that he performed duties involving pushing, pulling, feeding, and sweeping. The Board found that one physician diagnosed shoulder tendinitis and impingement but did not…
M.M. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Covington, KY
M.M. (ECAB 15-0650): Fall at work established, injury claim denied
M.M., an Internal Revenue Service clerk, reported falling over carts at work and injuring her wrist, hand, and ankle. The Board accepted that the fall occurred during her employment. It found that the records she submitted did not establish a medical connection between the fall and a diagnosed…
J.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Drexel Hill, PA
J.H. (ECAB 15-0546): Board again remands lower extremity award calculation
J.H., a postal letter carrier, sought a larger schedule award for impairment of both lower extremities. The Board had previously directed OWCP to explain how it applied the impairment guide’s criteria and grade modifiers. On remand, a new physician adopted the earlier rating without answering those…
N.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Dallas, TX
N.J. (ECAB 15-0454): Wage earning capacity request sent back for decision
N.J., a postal worker, challenged an earlier decision reducing her compensation based on her ability to work in an administrative clerk position. OWCP treated her later request as an untimely application for reconsideration. The Board found that her arguments raised the distinct question of whether…
C.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Plainview, NY
C.H. (ECAB 15-0417): Back injury denial and reconsideration refusal affirmed
C.H., a postal letter carrier, developed low back pain while handling mail at work. The Board accepted the work incident and the diagnosis of lumbar strain. It found that his physician did not adequately explain how the work caused or aggravated the strain, including in light of degenerative…
Y.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jackson, MI
Y.S. (ECAB 15-0406): Schedule award reconsideration requests denied
Y.S., a postal mail processing clerk, had accepted work-related foot conditions and sought a schedule award. OWCP denied the award, and she twice requested reconsideration. The Board found that much of her supporting medical evidence duplicated reports already considered. Newer records addressed…
S.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fenton, MI
S.R. (ECAB 15-0317): Wrist condition claim not reopened
S.R., a postal worker, had previously been denied compensation for claimed wrist conditions associated with her mail carrier duties. She asked OWCP to reconsider and submitted a physician’s new report and a list of her work activities. The Board found that the report repeated an earlier opinion it…
P.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Carol Stream, IL
P.J. (ECAB 15-0295): Two wage earning capacity adjustments upheld
P.J., a postal carrier with accepted back injuries, had her compensation adjusted based on the wages she could earn as a receptionist. The Board found that the constructed receptionist position was suitable and reasonably available. After she began work as a modified city carrier, OWCP used her…
Gestamp Alabama, LLC
Lockout citation vacated for lack of hazard exposure proof
Gestamp Alabama manufactured auto parts with a 400-ton mechanical blanking press at its McCalla facility. Operators periodically entered a fenced scrap area to remove rejected metal, normally using a captive-key system that powered down the press before opening the gate. OSHA observed an operator…
D.K. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Tank-Automotive & Armaments, Fort Hood, TX
D.K. (ECAB 14-1084): PTSD disability period established, benefits sent back
D.K., an Army logistics employee, had an accepted work-related post-traumatic stress disorder claim. OWCP denied his request for disability compensation, but the Board found the physicians’ reports established total disability from April 28 through May 25, 2011. It reversed the denial and directed…
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Goddard Space Flight Center, Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Virginia (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO (Union/Petitioner)
NASA Wallops Flight Facility and AFGE (FLRA WA-RP-14-0056): Election objections rejected
Unrepresented employees at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility voted 27 to 23 against joining an existing union bargaining unit. The union objected after an employee obtained voter names and email addresses and urged eligible voters to oppose representation. A regional director found that the union had…
Patrick Grierson v. Marine Terminals Corporation
Grierson v. Marine Terminals (BRB 14-0314): part of welfare plan fee award remanded
The ILWU-PMA Welfare Plan paid medical and disability benefits to injured worker Patrick Grierson while his Longshore Act claim was disputed. After the worker won benefits, the plan sought reimbursement, enforced a lien, and received a $17,425.03 employer-paid attorney fee award. The Board held…
M.T. and Department of the Army, Army Corps of Engineers, Ensley Shipping Yard, Memphis, TN
M.T. (ECAB 15-0744): Late reconsideration request did not show clear error
M.T., an Army Corps of Engineers electrician, had been denied compensation for a claimed back injury after a workplace incident. He requested reconsideration more than one year after OWCP’s denial. The Board found the request untimely and examined whether the new material showed clear error in the…
V.M. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Dun Glen, WV
V.M. (ECAB 15-0601): Seasonal worker’s back disability recurrence denied
V.M., a National Park Service seasonal maintenance worker, had accepted back sprains after slipping while working on a roof. He later claimed a recurrence of disability after returning to work. The Board held that the end of his seasonal appointment did not itself establish a recurrence. His…
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Topeka, KS
M.S. (ECAB 15-0520): Wage earning capacity modification sent back for medical review
M.S., a postal worker with accepted neck and upper back conditions, sought modification of an earlier wage-earning capacity determination. In a prior appeal, the Board had directed OWCP to clarify whether her accepted conditions had worsened and prevented her modified work. The supplemental…
H.B. and Department of Health & Human Services, Phoenix Area Indian Health Service, Phoenix, AZ
H.B. (ECAB 15-0262): Termination of head injury benefits reversed
H.B., an Indian Health Service maintenance mechanic, had accepted concussion and postconcussion conditions after striking his head at work. OWCP ended his medical and wage-loss benefits based on a second opinion physician’s report. His treating physician disagreed about whether the accepted…
B.T. and Department of the Navy, Bangor Naval Submarine Base, Silverdale, WA
B.T. (ECAB 14-1909): Overpayment decision set aside for missing notice
B.T., a Navy employee, challenged OWCP’s revised $3,031.23 overpayment decision after an earlier Board remand. The Board found that OWCP had recalculated the amount but failed to send a revised preliminary determination. That omission deprived B.T. of notice of his rights to challenge the amount…
Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 12 (Union) and United States Department of the Navy, Commander Navy Region Southwest (Agency)
Navy Region Southwest and FOP Lodge 12 (FLRA 0-AR-5078): Physical agility test upheld
The Navy required its civilian police and security guards to pass annual physical agility testing. Their union argued that the tests screened out employees with disabilities in violation of the Rehabilitation Act. An arbitrator found that the program included repeat attempts, alternate tests, and a…
Secretary of Labor v. ARJ Construction Company, Inc.
Calendar-entry error excused
ARJ Construction missed the deadline to contest an MSHA penalty assessment because its counsel entered January 23 instead of January 15 in the office scheduling system. ARJ said the isolated entry mistake did not reflect unreliable procedures because the office had reliably scheduled hundreds of…
Secretary of Labor v. David Vukmanic, formerly employed by Consolidation Coal Company
Secretary of Labor v. David Vukmanic (FMSHRC WEVA 2014-1998): Wrong-address assessment never became final
MSHA proposed an individual penalty against former Consolidation Coal employee David Vukmanic under section 110(c) of the Mine Act. Vukmanic asked to reopen after learning that MSHA had mailed the assessment to the wrong address. The Secretary confirmed the addressing error and reported that…
Secretary of Labor v. Justin Hershman, formerly employed by Consolidation Coal Company
Secretary of Labor v. Justin Hershman (FMSHRC WEVA 2014-1997): Wrong-address individual assessment remained open
MSHA proposed an individual penalty against former Consolidation Coal employee Justin Hershman under section 110(c) of the Mine Act. Hershman asked to reopen after learning that MSHA had mailed the assessment to the wrong address. The Secretary confirmed the addressing error and reported that…
Secretary of Labor v. Eastern Associated Coal, LLC
Safety-manager transition excuses missed contest
Eastern Associated Coal missed the deadline to contest an MSHA penalty assessment during a change in safety personnel. The safety manager responsible for reviewing citations and deciding which penalties to contest was on medical leave. A replacement manager had begun assuming those duties shortly…
Secretary of Labor v. Montana Rock & Stone, LLP
Missing citation copies justify reopening
Montana Rock & Stone received an MSHA penalty contest form listing citation numbers and proposed penalties but said it did not receive many of the underlying citations. Without the citation documents, the operator said it could not determine which penalties to contest. It sent MSHA a letter…
Secretary of Labor v. U.S. Silver - Idaho, Inc.
Misaddressed contest reopened
U.S. Silver - Idaho sought to reopen an MSHA penalty assessment that had become a final Commission order. The company said a clerical error caused its timely contest notice to be combined with payment for uncontested penalties and sent to MSHA's payment office instead of the civil-penalty…
Secretary of Labor v. Petro Chemical Insulation, Inc.
Shutdown-delayed contest remained timely
Petro Chemical Insulation attempted to contest an MSHA penalty assessment during the October 2013 federal government shutdown. The company produced a UPS delivery report and said it had requested a conference and repeatedly followed up with MSHA. The Secretary confirmed that the contest was…
Secretary of Labor v. Barnhill Contracting Company
First-time assessment mistake excused
Barnhill Contracting contested an MSHA citation but did not separately contest the later proposed penalty assessment. The company said it was unfamiliar with the two-step process and failed to send the assessment to counsel. Barnhill attributed the mistake to inexperience because this was the first…
Secretary of Labor v. U.S. Silica Company
Contest sent with payment accepted for reopening
U.S. Silica sought to reopen an MSHA penalty assessment that had become a final Commission order. The company said a clerical error caused its timely contest notice to be combined with payment for uncontested penalties and mailed to MSHA's payment office instead of its civil-penalty compliance…
Secretary of Labor v. River View Coal, LLC
Contest lost in payment mailing reopened
River View Coal said it mailed payment for several MSHA citations together with a contest form identifying the citations it wished to challenge. A mailing error allegedly prevented the Secretary from receiving the contest notice, and the assessment became a final Commission order. MSHA's payment…
Matter of Bouchra AGOUR, Respondent
Matter of Bouchra AGOUR (BIA ID 3837): adjustment of status counts as admission for a fraud waiver
The Board reviewed a Moroccan respondent's removal case after she adjusted to conditional lawful permanent resident status through her marriage to a United States citizen and later admitted submitting a fraudulent lease in support of her petition to remove the residence conditions. The Immigration…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Littleton, Colorado (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, Council of Prison Locals, Local 709, AFL-CIO (Charging Party)
FCI Englewood and AFGE Local 709 (FLRA DE-CA-14-0338): Prison must bargain over compressed schedules
The union asked a federal prison in Colorado to negotiate compressed work schedules for correctional services employees. The prison refused, arguing that the national labor agreement already covered the subject. An administrative law judge found that the agreement permitted local negotiations and…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Oxford, Wisconsin (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3495, AFL-CIO (Charging Party)
FCI Oxford and AFGE Local 3495 (FLRA CH-CA-12-0403): Prison must bargain over compressed schedules
The union asked a federal prison in Wisconsin to negotiate a compressed work schedule for correctional services employees. The prison refused, arguing that the national labor agreement already covered their schedules. An administrative law judge found an unlawful refusal to bargain and also found…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution Williamsburg, Salters, South Carolina (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 525 (Charging Party)
FCI Williamsburg and AFGE Local 525 (FLRA AT-CA-11-0462): Prison must bargain over compressed schedules
The union asked a federal prison in South Carolina to bargain over compressed work schedules for officers assigned to morning watch in its housing units. The prison refused, saying that the national agreement already settled how those employees are scheduled. An administrative law judge found a…
M.P. and Department of Veterans Affairs, West Palm Beach Veterans Administration Medical Center, West Palm Beach, FL
M.P. (ECAB 15-0747): Back injury claim denied despite accepted work incident
M.P., a Veterans Affairs health technician, reported hurting her back while moving equipment at work. The Board accepted that the July 9, 2014 incident occurred. It found that the medical reports did not adequately explain how the incident caused or aggravated her diagnosed back conditions…
E.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Durham, NC
E.B. (ECAB 15-0631): Left knee injury claim denied for unclear medical evidence
E.B., a Veterans Affairs cook, reported twisting her left knee while trying to catch falling eggs at work. The Board found that her physician’s reports did not clearly distinguish findings about her left knee from findings about her right knee. They also did not adequately explain how the incident…
W.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Bulk Mail Center, Edison, NJ
W.G. (ECAB 15-0573): Back claim denied for insufficient medical explanation
W.G., a postal clerk with a prior accepted back injury, reported new pain while moving boxes and operating a machine at work. The Board accepted that the July 31, 2012 work activities occurred. His physician attributed later back conditions and surgery to those activities, but the Board found the…
R.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jersey City, NJ
R.T. (ECAB 15-0356): Right foot occupational disease claim denied
R.T., a postal letter carrier, claimed that years of walking, standing, and climbing stairs caused or aggravated osteoarthritis in his right big toe joint. His podiatrist linked the condition to repeated weight bearing at work. The Board found that the reports did not adequately explain how those…
P.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Loganport, IN
P.E. (ECAB 15-0334): Foot pain condition and disability recurrence claims denied
P.E., a postal worker, had accepted knee and lower leg contusions from a work-related motor vehicle accident. She sought recognition of complex regional pain syndrome in her left foot and ankle and claimed a later recurrence of disability. The Board found that her physicians did not adequately…
M.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Decatur, IL
M.C. (ECAB 14-1993): Information clerk wage capacity reduction upheld
M.C., a postal letter carrier with accepted knee and other injuries, had received disability compensation after knee surgery. OWCP reduced her benefits based on wages she could earn as an information clerk. The Board found that medical opinions showed she could perform sedentary work with…
C.L. and Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, Washington, DC
C.L. (ECAB 14-1904): Corrected awareness date requires merit review
C.L., a Department of Energy budget analyst, claimed that work stress aggravated a heart condition. OWCP denied the claim as untimely based on the awareness date he gave on his original claim form, then refused to reopen it. C.L. submitted a corrected form with a later date and explained why the…
E.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Carol Stream Processing & Distribution Center, Carol Stream, IL
E.B. (ECAB 14-1666): Overpayment after return to work upheld
E.B., a postal distribution clerk, continued receiving disability compensation checks after returning to full-time work at her regular salary. OWCP found a $4,483.25 overpayment for the period after her return. The Board upheld that finding and agreed she was at fault because OWCP had told her to…
Tewa Women United, Dr. Maureen Merritt, and Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety
In re Tewa Women United, Dr. Maureen Merritt, and Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety (EAB CAA Appeal No. 15-03): petition dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
Tewa Women United, Dr. Maureen Merritt, and Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety asked the Environmental Appeals Board to review New Mexico Title V Operating Permit No. P100-R2. The permit was issued by the New Mexico Environment Department for the U.S. National Nuclear Safety Administration’s…
D.R. and Department of Defense, Defense Commissary Agency, Jacksonville, FL
D.R. (ECAB 15-0749): Meat cutter’s back condition claim denied
D.R., a Defense Commissary Agency meat cutter, claimed that years of lifting meat aggravated a preexisting back condition. OWCP accepted the lifting as a work factor. The Board found that his physicians did not adequately identify the preexisting condition or explain how the lifting caused or…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Edison, NJ
M.M. (ECAB 15-0607): Neck, back, and shoulder condition claim denied
M.M., a postal parcel machine operator, claimed that repetitive lifting and mail processing caused neck, back, and shoulder conditions. The Board found the diagnoses established but held that her physicians did not adequately explain how the specific work duties caused them. One opinion relied on…
R.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, El Centro, CA
R.S. (ECAB 15-0415): Knee occupational disease claim lacked medical evidence
R.S., a postal letter carrier with a prior knee injury, claimed that continued walking at work aggravated his left knee. OWCP requested a description of the work factors and a medical report explaining causation, but received neither before deciding the claim. The Board found no medical evidence in…
T.M. and Department of Energy, Albuquerque Operations Office, Albuquerque, NM
T.M. (ECAB 15-0335): Termination of longstanding back benefits upheld
T.M., a Department of Energy employee, received benefits for an accepted back sprain and aggravation of degenerative disc disease. OWCP ended compensation and medical benefits after a second opinion physician found no remaining disability or need for treatment from the accepted injuries. The Board…
T.F. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Data Management, Washington, DC
T.F. (ECAB 14-2078): Late elevator injury reconsideration request denied
T.F., a Veterans Affairs worker, claimed back pain after an elevator incident at work. OWCP had denied his injury claim, and he sought reconsideration more than one year after its last merits decision. The Board found the request untimely and concluded that the additional accounts and medical…
E.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Akron, OH
E.E. (ECAB 14-1813): Left shoulder occupational disease claim denied
E.E., a postal mail handler, claimed that years of repetitive work injured his left shoulder. OWCP accepted that he performed the described duties and had a diagnosed condition, but denied the claim for lack of medical evidence connecting the two. The Board found that an orthopedic surgeon’s 1999…
M.F. and Department of the Navy, Human Resources Office, Camp Pendleton, CA
M.F. (ECAB 14-1739): Right knee disability recurrence denied
M.F., a Navy military pay technician, sought compensation for a March 2014 recurrence of disability from an accepted 2010 right knee injury. She had returned to full duty in 2011. Her surgeon reported that she could not work while awaiting surgery, but did not explain how the accepted injury caused…
J.C. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Miami, FL
J.C. (ECAB 15-0284): Neck injury benefits termination and attorney fee affirmed
J.C., an immigration services clerk, received compensation after injuring his neck while lifting file boxes. OWCP ended his wage-loss and medical benefits effective June 1, 2014, and separately approved a $4,560 fee for his former counsel. The Board found that the medical evidence supported…
R.J. and Department of the Navy, Naval Base Kitsap, Bremerton, WA
R.J. (ECAB 15-0271): Firefighter compensation overpayment and waiver denial upheld
R.J., a Navy firefighter, received wage-loss compensation after injuring her arm and ankle at work. OWCP later found it had used an incorrect base pay figure to calculate her compensation. The Board upheld the resulting overpayment, explaining how the firefighter pay formula converted her annual…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Oregon City, OR
S.M. (ECAB 15-0261): Right shoulder benefits termination upheld
S.M., a postal rural carrier associate, injured her right shoulder while delivering telephone books in 2008. OWCP accepted a sprain and dislocation, paid wage-loss compensation, and later ended her medical and wage-loss benefits effective March 10, 2013. The Board gave special weight to an…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 919 (Union) and United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Leavenworth, Kansas (Agency)
AFGE Local 919 and Leavenworth prison (FLRA 0-AR-5045): Overtime grievance returned for a merits decision
Prison staff complained that new overtime-roster software skipped employees for assignments. The union first filed an unfair labor practice charge alleging that the Bureau of Prisons had failed to bargain over the software, then filed a grievance alleging that its overtime assignments breached the…
K.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Wallingford, CT
K.B. (ECAB 15-0651): Back injury claim denial affirmed
K.B., a postal sorting clerk, reported back pain after bending to clear a machine jam on October 27, 2014. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred, but denied her claim because the medical evidence did not link a diagnosed condition to it. The Board found that physicians diagnosed lumbar disc…
J.F. and Department of Defense, Education Activity, Alexandria, VA
J.F. (ECAB 15-0608): Late reconsideration denial affirmed
J.F., a Defense Department tractor operator, had accepted hand, wrist, and foot injuries from incidents in 1990 and 1997. OWCP denied his 1998 claim for a recurrence of disability, and he requested reconsideration in 2014. The Board found that the request was filed far beyond the one-year OWCP…
R.B. and Department of Health & Human Services, Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Woodlawn, MD
R.B. (ECAB 15-0548): Recurrence of total disability not established
R.B., a management analyst at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, sought compensation for a recurrence of total disability beginning July 27, 2010. OWCP had accepted bilateral carpal and cubital tunnel conditions from her work and later accepted mild dysthymia. The Board found that the…
O.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Embarcadero Postal Center, San Francisco, CA
O.H. (ECAB 15-0495): Disability claim remanded for combined review
O.H., a Postal Service mail handler, stopped working in November 2013 and sought compensation for total disability. OWCP denied the claim after reviewing her back injuries, but the record also discussed an accepted foot condition in a separate claim file. The Board found that the medical and…
P.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Commack, NY
P.P. (ECAB 14-2048): Overpayment upheld, fault finding partly remanded
P.P., a Postal Service letter carrier receiving workers’ compensation, also received Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service. OWCP found a $30,761.91 overpayment because it had not offset those benefits, found him at fault, and ordered deductions of $550 every 28 days…
K.A. and Department of Housing & Urban Development, Headquarters, Washington, DC
K.A. (ECAB 14-1626): Termination of wage loss benefits affirmed
K.A., a Housing and Urban Development staff assistant, injured her left knee and ankle when she slipped at work in 2009. OWCP ended her wage loss benefits effective June 7, 2013, relying on an impartial physician’s opinion that she no longer had disabling residuals from the accepted injury. The…
A.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Miami, FL
A.M. (ECAB 14-1229): Postal worker overpayment reduced, fault finding upheld
A.M., a postal mail clerk, received total disability compensation while earning wages from seasonal work at H&R Block during four periods between 2009 and 2013. OWCP calculated a $22,225.27 overpayment and found him at fault for accepting the payments. The Board accepted OWCP’s use of his actual…
The Home Depot #8954
Forklift-light violation reduced from repeat to serious
Home Depot used an electric reach truck to unload trailers at its Dublin, Georgia store after the truck's optional headlights stopped working. The receiving manager knew about the defect for at least a week but kept the truck in service, even though testing showed trailer illumination was below two…
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.