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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K.N. and Department of the Treasury, Bureau of Engraving & Printing, Washington, DC
K.N. (ECAB 15-0260): Late reconsideration refusal affirmed
K.N., a Treasury printing plant worker, sought reconsideration of an earlier occupational asthma claim denial. The request came more than three years after the last merit decision, and the Board found that it provided no relevant evidence or argument clearly showing error. It affirmed OWCP’s…
J.H. and Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, SC
J.H. (ECAB 15-0195): Overpayment upheld, fault finding remanded
J.H., a Navy civilian electrician, received a $1,651.15 compensation overpayment. The Board upheld the fact and amount of the overpayment. It found that OWCP had not adequately explained why he was at fault when the incorrect payment was deposited directly into his account. It set aside the fault…
W.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, White City, OR
W.H. (ECAB 15-0185): Refusal to reopen emotional condition claim affirmed
W.H., a VA social worker, sought another review of a denied emotional condition claim. The Board found that her submission repeated earlier allegations or lacked new relevant evidence or argument about covered employment factors. It affirmed OWCP’s refusal to reopen the claim for merit review.
J.M. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Holtsville, NY
J.M. (ECAB 15-0021): Refusal to reopen fall injury claim affirmed
J.M., an IRS employee, asked OWCP to reopen a claim after a workplace fall. The Board found that her new photographs and repeated account did not address the medical issue behind the earlier denial. It held that the request did not warrant further merit review and affirmed OWCP’s refusal.
L.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Decatur, GA
L.W. (ECAB 14-2055): Prerecoupment hearing refusal set aside
L.W., a retired VA patient guide, asked for a hearing before OWCP recovered an alleged compensation overpayment. The Board found that OWCP had wrongly treated her request as late. It set aside the refusal and directed OWCP to hold the prerecoupment hearing and issue a new decision. The Board did…
Secretary of Labor v. Big Laurel Mining Corporation
Float coal dust order reduced to $3,000 citation
MSHA found an accumulation of float coal dust along a conveyor belt at Big Laurel's underground coal mine and issued an unwarrantable-failure withdrawal order. Judge Alan G. Paez affirmed the violation and high negligence because the accumulation was obvious, the mine had received repeated…
T.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Oklahoma City, OK
T.J. (ECAB 15-0248): Back injury claim denied; treatment authorization flagged
T.J., a postal carrier, claimed a lower back injury after lifting at work. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish a diagnosed injury caused by the reported activity. It affirmed OWCP’s denial and separately directed OWCP to address whether a treatment authorization required…
S.S. and Department of Justice, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Washington, DC
S.S. (ECAB 15-0210): Thirteen percent leg impairment award upheld
S.S., a federal investigator, sought a larger award for permanent impairment of his right leg. The Board found that his physician’s higher rating did not follow the required impairment guide. It credited OWCP’s medical adviser, who applied the guide and rated the leg at 13 percent. It affirmed the…
T.T. and Department of the Navy, Commander U.S. Pacific Fleet Shipyards, Bremerton, WA
T.T. (ECAB 15-0200): Late reconsideration refusal affirmed
T.T., a Navy mechanic, asked OWCP to reconsider a denied knee condition claim after the filing period. The Board found that the repeated medical report and other submissions did not clearly show error in the earlier decision. It affirmed OWCP’s refusal to reopen the merits.
D.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Twin Falls, ID
D.M. (ECAB 15-0180): Broken chair injury claim denied
D.M., a postal employee, reported falling after sitting in a broken chair at work. The Board accepted that the incident occurred but found no physician’s report diagnosing a condition and linking it to the fall. It affirmed OWCP’s injury claim denial.
V.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Shaker Heights, OH
V.B. (ECAB 15-0157): Overpayment upheld; waiver issue remanded
V.B., a postal mail handler, received a $586.92 compensation overpayment for March 9 through July 26, 2014. The Board upheld the fact and amount of the overpayment and found that he was without fault. It found that OWCP had failed to consider financial evidence submitted before denying waiver. It…
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fort Lauderdale, FL
J.C. (ECAB 14-1422): Termination of lumbar strain benefits upheld
J.C., a postal carrier, received benefits for an accepted lumbar strain after falling from a chair. OWCP terminated wage loss and medical compensation effective May 4, 2013. The Board found that the accepted strain had resolved and that he had not established continuing disability from it. It…
E.Z. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard, Washington, DC
E.Z. (ECAB 14-0274): Board remand decision reissued after mailing error
The Board had set aside OWCP’s September 9, 2013 decision and remanded for consideration of evidence received on the decision date. Its clerk mailed that decision to an incorrect address. This erratum held that the decision had not been properly issued and ordered it reissued. The erratum made no…
E.Z. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard, Washington, DC
E.Z. (ECAB 14-0274): Electrical shock injury claim returned for evidence review
E.Z., a Coast Guard office clerk, reported symptoms after an electric shock from a phone charger at work. The Board found that OWCP had received a relevant medical report on the same day it issued its denial but had not considered it. It set aside the denial and directed OWCP to review that…
Elementis Chromium, Inc.
In re Elementis Chromium, Inc. (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 13-03): Reporting penalty vacated
EPA alleged that Elementis Chromium, Inc., a chromium-chemical manufacturer, violated TSCA section 8(e) by failing to report an occupational epidemiology study concerning hexavalent chromium and lung-cancer risk. An administrative law judge found liability and assessed a $2,571,800 penalty. The…
Secretary of Labor v. Northern Aggregate, Inc.
Thirteen citations resolved for $19,070
MSHA litigated 13 citations and orders from Northern Aggregate's portable crusher and two processing plants, involving flying rock, compressed-gas storage, platforms, guards, electrical cables and grounding, equipment defects, brakes, and warning horns. Judge Priscilla M. Rae upheld seven…
T.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Crete, IL
T.M. (ECAB 15-0151): Termination of injury benefits affirmed
T.M., a postal carrier, received benefits for an accepted sacroiliac injury. OWCP ended her wage-loss compensation and medical benefits after an impartial orthopedic specialist found no remaining effects of that injury. The Board found that the specialist had reviewed the record, examined her, and…
R.A. and Department of the Air Force, Air Mobility Command, Randolph Air Force Base, TX
R.A. (ECAB 15-0138): Hearing loss award increased for tinnitus
R.A., an Air Force equipment mechanic, received a schedule award for 17 percent binaural hearing loss from workplace noise. He sought an additional five percent for tinnitus. The Board found that the examining physician had properly rated both the hearing loss and tinnitus under the impairment…
D.E. and Department of Agriculture, Ranger District, Superior, MT
D.E. (ECAB 15-0124): Back injury claim denial affirmed
D.E., a forestry technician, reported low back pain after digging a fire line and moving supplies. The Board accepted that the work incident happened but found that the medical evidence did not establish that it caused a diagnosed back condition. His physician did not adequately explain the medical…
M.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Kingsville, TX
M.H. (ECAB 15-0071): Additional wage-loss compensation denied
M.H., a postal carrier with accepted back and leg conditions, returned to part-time modified work after back surgery. He sought additional wage-loss compensation for March 27, 2014 and after April 1, 2014. The Board found no medical evidence that he could not work his scheduled hours on March 27…
E.S. and Department of Energy, Bonneville Power Administration, Vancouver, WA
E.S. (ECAB 15-0049): Hearing and reconsideration requests denied
E.S. sought further review of wage-loss compensation for periods connected to an accepted carpal tunnel claim. The Board held that he had no right to an OWCP hearing after the Board had already reviewed the relevant OWCP decisions. His later reconsideration request was untimely, and the evidence…
A.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Burlington, WI
A.R. (ECAB 14-1709): Injury claim denial affirmed after delivery-route incident
A.R., a rural postal carrier, reported injury after her work vehicle slid into a ditch and she fell while seeking help. The Board accepted that the vehicle incident occurred, but her earliest accounts did not report a head strike during the fall. It found that her physicians did not adequately…
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Buffalo Processing & Distribution Center, Buffalo, NY
J.B. (ECAB 14-1474): Recurrence of disability denial affirmed
J.B., a postal worker, had an accepted ankle injury and later an accepted diagnosis of reflex sympathetic dystrophy. He claimed a recurrence of disability beginning February 2, 2013. The Board found that his physicians described symptoms and work limitations but did not adequately explain how the…
Sandra G. McDonald v. TMK Enterprise Security
Amendment denied and complaint dismissed
Sandra McDonald filed a discrimination complaint against TMK Enterprise Security based on her work as a mine-site security guard. Judge Jerold Feldman found that the incorporated entity had been terminated before McDonald's employment and that she had instead worked for individuals who continued…
Secretary of Labor v. Humphreys Enterprises, Inc.
Steep spoil banks and missed examinations bring $4,000
Humphreys Enterprises mined between two spoil banks whose slopes exceeded the 45-degree maximum in its approved ground control plan. Judge Alan G. Paez found that removing material at the toe, water seepage, and freeze-thaw conditions made slope failure reasonably likely while equipment operators…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Carlton Johnson v. BASF Corporation
Economic temporary reinstatement approved
Carlton Johnson alleged that BASF discharged him after he raised concerns about unsafe electrical work and filed a safety complaint with MSHA. Judge Janet G. Harner found the complaint was not frivolously brought based on the special investigator's declaration. She ordered temporary reinstatement…
R.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Coppell, TX
R.H. (ECAB 15-0213): Denial of additional work conditions affirmed
R.H., a postal mail handler, had accepted shoulder and arm conditions and a partial left rotator cuff tear. He sought acceptance of several additional wrist, foot, and shoulder diagnoses. The Board found that his physician had not explained how the additional conditions were caused by work or…
T.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Dallas, TX
T.M. (ECAB 15-0203): Workplace fall claim returned for medical review
T.M., a VA nurse, said he slipped and fell on stairs at work. OWCP denied his injury claim because it doubted that the fall occurred. The Board found his account sufficiently consistent and noted that witnesses saw him on the stairs in a dazed condition. It set aside the denial and sent the case…
J.B. and Department of the Air Force, Ogden Utah-OAMA, Randolph Air Force Base, TX
J.B. (ECAB 15-0155): Hearing loss award increased for tinnitus
J.B. received a schedule award for 12 percent binaural hearing loss caused by workplace noise. OWCP had also accepted tinnitus, and both the examining physician and OWCP’s medical adviser rated its effect on daily activities at four percent. The Board found that the award had omitted that supported…
S.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Memphis, TN
S.S. (ECAB 15-0090): Two-percent impairment awards affirmed
S.S., a postal worker with accepted carpal tunnel syndrome in both arms, received a schedule award for two percent impairment of each arm. Her surgeon initially rated each arm at six percent, then agreed with OWCP’s lower rating after finding that the earlier calculation used the wrong diagnosis…
R.S. and Department of the Navy, Naval Aviation Depot, Cherry Point, NC
R.S. (ECAB 14-1951): Additional carpal tunnel award denied
R.S., a former Navy sandblaster with accepted carpal tunnel syndrome, sought an additional schedule award. He had already received awards for 42 percent impairment of his left arm and 28 percent of his right. His surgeon’s newer examination rated each arm at one percent, and the Board noted that…
S.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Cleveland, OH
S.H. (ECAB 14-1814): Claimed bleach exposure injury denied
S.H., a VA nursing assistant, claimed that she was exposed to bleach at work on March 4, 2013. The Board treated the single-day exposure allegation as a traumatic injury claim. It found that she had not identified the worker involved, the location or manner of exposure, or corroborating witnesses…
S.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Charlotte, NC
S.H. (ECAB 14-0562): Disability, impairment, and reconsideration denials affirmed
S.H., a postal worker with accepted left wrist, hand, thumb, and shoulder sprains, claimed renewed disability and a schedule award. The Board found that her physicians did not adequately link the claimed disability period to the accepted injury. It also found their impairment opinions too cursory…
Matter of Carlos Eugenio VIDES CASANOVA, Respondent
Matter of Carlos Eugenio VIDES CASANOVA (BIA ID 3827): command responsibility supported removability
The Board reviewed an appeal by a former Director of the Salvadoran National Guard and Minister of Defense who was ordered removed for participating in acts of torture and extrajudicial killings in El Salvador. The Board held that the totality of the record supported the conclusion that his command…
A.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, North Metro, GA
A.C. (ECAB 14-1998): Injury claim returned to consider omitted statement
A.C., a postal carrier, sought review of OWCP’s denial of an injury claim. She had submitted a statement describing her work duties before OWCP issued its decision, but OWCP did not review it. The Board set aside the denial and ordered OWCP to consider that statement, complete any needed…
C.C. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Rouses Point, NY
C.C. (ECAB 14-1800): Home exercise injury claim denial affirmed
C.C., an immigration enforcement employee, claimed an injury while exercising in a home gym. He argued that the activity was part of his employer’s voluntary fitness program. The Board treated OWCP’s July 2014 ruling as a merits decision because it had evaluated the claim despite calling the ruling…
J.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Lakeland Processing & Distribution Center, Tampa, FL
J.A. (ECAB 14-1443): Occupational knee claim denial affirmed
J.A., a postal worker, alleged that repeated work duties aggravated his right knee condition. His physicians gave differing accounts of how the injury occurred. One doctor explained how twisting at work could tear the meniscus but did not address the earlier degenerative condition, the other…
V.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Circle Branch Post Office, Trenton, NJ
V.C. (ECAB 14-1252): Medical benefits retained after wage-loss termination
V.C., a postal worker, challenged termination of compensation after a shoulder injury and sought wage-loss payments after retiring. The Board found that medical evidence supported ending the earlier compensation and that he had not shown disability from his modified duties when he retired. OWCP had…
T.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration Medical Center, Gainesville, FL
T.R. (ECAB 14-0882): Wrist injury claim denial affirmed
T.R., a VA nursing assistant, reported wrist injury while transferring a patient. The Board accepted that the transfer occurred but found no reasoned medical opinion connecting it to her wrist condition. One physician described symptoms that had begun before the transfer and progressed without a…
Broadcasting Board of Governors and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1812, AFL-CIO
Broadcasting Board of Governors and AFGE Local 1812 (FLRA WA-CA-12-0532): Agency ordered to comply with arbitration awards
The Broadcasting Board of Governors did not comply with final arbitration awards concerning its selection of employees for vacant positions. The awards required, among other relief, equivalent positions and backpay for named employees. An administrative law judge found that the failure to comply…
AMVAC Chemical Corporation
In re AMVAC Chemical Corporation (EAB FIFRA Appeal No. 15-01C): $34,320 recordkeeping settlement
AMVAC Chemical Corporation, a pesticide company based in Newport Beach, California, agreed to resolve an EPA enforcement action under FIFRA. EPA alleged that AMVAC failed to retain required raw data for pesticide studies, submitted false compliance statements about laboratory practices, and failed…
J.K. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Richmond, VA
J.K. (ECAB 15-0198): Lunch-break accident claim denial affirmed
J.K., an IRS employee working from home, was in a vehicle accident while driving to a park during a lunch break. The Board found that he had left his work space for a personal walk. No evidence showed a work errand or another exception to the rule for injuries off premises during lunch. It affirmed…
D.M. and Department of the Air Force, Wurtsmith Air Force Base, MI
D.M. (ECAB 15-0119): Long-running back injury benefits terminated
D.M. received benefits for an accepted back injury from 1969. OWCP ended her medical and wage-loss benefits after a second-opinion physician found that the accepted strain and disc condition had resolved and that current disability came from other back conditions. The Board found his opinion…
M.L. and Department of the Interior, Yakama Nation Tribal Forestry, Toppenish, WA
M.L. (ECAB 15-0014): Firefighter knee claim denial affirmed
M.L., a wildland firefighter, reported hyperextending his knee while working on unstable ground at a fire. The Board accepted that the incident happened. But the record before OWCP contained no medical evidence connecting a diagnosed knee condition to it, despite a request for a physician’s report…
F.Y. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Jackson, MS
F.Y. (ECAB 14-1679): Additional impairment claim returned for merits decision
F.Y. had received a schedule award for five percent right-arm impairment. She later submitted medical testing and sought an increased award. OWCP treated her filing as an untimely request to reconsider the earlier award. The Board found that she was seeking a new award based on later evidence and…
Secretary of Labor v. Excel Mining, LLC
Pump permissibility findings and $49,000 affirmed
Two de-watering pump starter boxes in Excel Mining's underground coal mine lacked packing that would contain an internal ignition, and one cable had been cut down to fit the box. The Commission affirmed that the violations were S&S because the pumps were near methane-releasing seals, five returns…
J.Z. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Laredo, TX
J.Z. (ECAB 15-0208): Claim after loss of consciousness denied
J.Z., a border protection employee, lost consciousness while attending training at work and claimed a stroke. The Board found that the record did not identify a specific work factor causing his condition. Hospital records diagnosed syncope rather than a stroke, and the physicians did not give a…
T.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Boston, MA
T.K. (ECAB 15-0187): Occupational hernia claim denial affirmed
T.K., a postal carrier, claimed that repeated route walking and carrying mail caused a right inguinal hernia. The Board treated the claim as occupational disease despite OWCP’s mistaken reference to a traumatic injury. It found that OWCP had considered the stated work factors and that the label…
D.P. and Department of Agriculture, Veterinary Services, Oklahoma City, OK
D.P. (ECAB 15-0173): Hearing denied; impairment claim returned for decision
D.P. sought a hearing long after OWCP denied an earlier schedule award request. The Board upheld the hearing denial because the request was late and OWCP reasonably declined a discretionary hearing. D.P. also submitted new medical evidence of later permanent impairment. The Board found that this…
T.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Forest Park, IL
T.B. (ECAB 15-0168): Late reconsideration denial affirmed
T.B. asked OWCP to reconsider an earlier denial of a right-leg schedule award. The Board found that his request arrived more than a year after that decision and that the record did not rebut the presumption that he received it in due course. His later impairment evidence might support benefits, but…
S.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Niagara Falls, NY
S.D. (ECAB 15-0164): Carpal tunnel claim and hearing denials affirmed
S.D., a postal employee, claimed that her work caused carpal tunnel syndrome. OWCP accepted the work factors and diagnosis, but the medical reports before it did not give a reasoned opinion linking the two. The Board affirmed the claim denial on that basis. It also affirmed denial of her hearing…
T.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Raleigh, NC
T.M. (ECAB 15-0149): Compensation overpayment returned for pay-rate findings
OWCP said that T.M., a postal carrier, had received $12,345 too much compensation because it used the wrong weekly pay rate. The Board found that OWCP had not adequately determined whether his position could have provided work for substantially a full year, a fact that affects the statutory…
S.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Westside Medical Center, Chicago, IL
S.C. (ECAB 15-0146): Recurrence and hearing denials affirmed
S.C. sought further treatment for a right-hand condition after an accepted 1989 injury that involved finger amputations. The Board found that her doctors diagnosed later wrist and carpal tunnel conditions but did not explain how they resulted from the accepted injury. It affirmed denial of the…
M.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Lemont, IL
M.W. (ECAB 15-0082): Occupational neck condition claim denied
M.W., a retired postal carrier, claimed that repetitive delivery duties caused or aggravated a cervical spine condition. Several physicians linked the condition to work in general terms. The Board found that their reports did not adequately explain how the specific duties aggravated underlying…
M.B. and Department of the Army, Aliasolen Airport, Kuwait
M.B. (ECAB 15-0076): Reduced compensation based on clerk work affirmed
M.B., an Army safety specialist with an accepted knee injury, could perform full-time work within agreed physical restrictions. OWCP reduced his disability compensation based on potential earnings as a clerk-typist. He argued that the job classification was outdated and that such jobs no longer…
R.A. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Biloxi, MS
R.A. (ECAB 15-0075): Dual-benefits overpayment and fault affirmed
R.A. received federal retirement benefits while also receiving wage-loss compensation for a later FEMA work injury. The Board found that the law barred the concurrent payments and that a claimed waiver had neither been approved nor covered the payment period. OWCP had notified him of the…
E.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Office of the Inspector General, Oakland, CA
E.E. (ECAB 15-0073): Hip injury claim denial affirmed
E.E., a Postal Service Office of Inspector General special agent, claimed a hip injury after jumping a fence during an operation. The Board accepted that the work incident occurred. His physician linked later severe hip osteoarthritis to the jump mainly because pain began afterward, but did not…
N.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Gaithersburg, MD
N.J. (ECAB 14-2054): Dependent-benefit overpayment and fault affirmed
N.J. continued receiving compensation at the higher rate for workers with eligible dependents after his children turned 18. The record did not show that either child met the student or disability requirements to remain eligible. OWCP calculated an $11,437.62 overpayment. The Board found that signed…
R.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Irving, TX
R.R. (ECAB 14-2031): Hearing-award overpayment returned for recalculation
R.R. received overlapping schedule awards for hearing loss and tinnitus. The Board found that the initial tinnitus award lacked the required measurable binaural loss and that his later awards paid 7.28 more days than the authorized total. OWCP had calculated the debt using eight excess days, so the…
J.Y. and General Services Administration, Public Buildings Service, Kansas City, MO
J.Y. (ECAB 14-1807): Right-leg award affirmed; left-leg rating returned
J.Y. received schedule awards after an accepted injury to both knees. The Board upheld the one-percent right-leg rating because the right meniscus tear used in his doctor’s higher rating was not accepted. OWCP later accepted a left meniscus tear, creating a conflict between medical opinions rating…
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.