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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E.H. and Department of the Treasury, Bureau of Engraving, Washington, DC
E.H. (ECAB 14-1780): New ankle tendon injury claim denied
E.H. felt a pop while climbing stairs at work and later imaging showed tearing of a right ankle tendon. He had a prior accepted ankle injury and surgery. The Board accepted the stair-climbing event but found his physician had not explained how that event caused or contributed to the newly diagnosed…
N.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Columbus, OH
N.B. (ECAB 14-1092): Restroom stop injury returned for break policy evidence
N.B. was struck by a toilet-paper dispenser while using a restaurant restroom between two delivery routes. The restaurant lay between those routes, but her supervisor said it was an approved lunch stop rather than an approved break stop. The Board found the record lacked the employer’s policy for…
S.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA
S.R. (ECAB 14-1086): Arm injury claim denied despite established duties
S.R. attributed arm and shoulder symptoms to telephone-operator work. The Board disagreed with OWCP’s finding that no work factors were established: her job description supported regular computer and telephone use. It still affirmed the denial because the main medical opinion assumed unproven…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Ralph Keele v. Energy West Mining Company
Retaliatory firing brings reinstatement and $20,000 penalty
Ralph Keele, a diesel mechanic and union safety committee chairman at Energy West's Deer Creek Mine, repeatedly tagged out unsafe equipment and reported safety concerns to management and MSHA. After those reports, management sharply curtailed his inspection and underground duties and later fired…
R.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Mechanicsville, NY
R.J. (ECAB 15-0088): Carpal tunnel claim denied for lack of medical explanation
R.J. described repetitive sorting, casing, and delivery of mail, and testing confirmed carpal tunnel syndrome. Her doctors associated symptoms with work, but the Board found they had not explained medically how those particular tasks caused or aggravated the diagnosed condition. A pattern of…
L.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Illiana Healthcare System, Danville, IL
L.C. (ECAB 15-0005): Knee injury claim and refusal to reopen affirmed
A supervisor saw L.C. slip and strike her right knee at work. The Board accepted the fall but found that the medical reports did not explain how it caused a knee strain first diagnosed about two months later. Repeated restriction notes and limited-duty letters did not supply relevant new causation…
R.S. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA
R.S. (ECAB 14-1995): Hearing loss claim denied on medical causation
R.S. had workplace noise exposure at the shipyard and later hearing loss. An OWCP second-opinion physician reviewed older audiograms and explained why the pattern better fit age-related change. The Board gave that opinion greater weight than a treating report that attributed some loss to work…
R.A. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Law Enforcment Training Camp, Glynco, GA
R.A. (ECAB 14-1828): Later hearing loss claim returned for combined record
OWCP had previously accepted R.A.’s hearing loss and awarded impairment compensation, but later denied a new hearing loss claim. Its referral physician did not clearly know about the earlier accepted claim, and the Board could not access the prior file on appeal. The Board required the files to be…
M.S., claiming as widow of M.S., and Department of Veterans Affairs, Bay Pines Veterans Medical Center, Bay Pines, FL
M.S. (ECAB 14-0930): Widow’s death-benefit claim found untimely
The employee suffered a fatal cardiac arrest at work in June 2007, and his widow filed for FECA death benefits in December 2011. The Board found the claim exceeded the three-year limit and that no statutory notice or exceptional-circumstance exception was established. It therefore modified OWCP’s…
M.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Louis, MO
M.A. (ECAB 14-0589): Late oral hearing request denied
M.A. requested an oral hearing in August 2013 but did not clearly identify which earlier decision she wished to challenge. The Board found the request was more than 30 days after either the 2010 wage-earning-capacity decision or the July 2013 schedule award. OWCP also considered a discretionary…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2595 (Union) and United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Border Patrol, Yuma Sector (Agency)
AFGE Local 2595 and CBP Yuma Sector (FLRA 0-AR-4937): Suspension for official-time meeting vacated
CBP suspended an AFGE Local 2595 officer after he tossed an official-time form onto his supervisor's floor during a private meeting and briefly refused to retrieve it. An arbitrator reduced the two-day suspension to one day, finding that the incident was not protected union activity. The Authority…
K.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Seattle, WA
K.H. (ECAB 15-0148): Third lumbar surgery not authorized
K.H.’s treating surgeon recommended another L5-S1 operation after two earlier surgeries. A second-opinion doctor disagreed, and OWCP obtained an impartial examination. The Board gave that examiner’s detailed explanation special weight: the objective findings did not show the proposed operation was…
M.W. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Fort Pierce, FL
M.W. (ECAB 15-0015): Slip-related spine injury claim denied
M.W. slipped on water at work and caught herself on chairs. The Board accepted the incident but found that her physicians did not explain how that movement caused or permanently aggravated the diagnosed spine conditions, given earlier spine disease and a motor vehicle accident. Later imaging and…
M.D. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, Soddy Daisy, TN
M.D. (ECAB 14-2037): Pulmonary disease claim sent back for medical review
M.D., a boilermaker and welder, claimed that workplace exposure to asbestos, coal dust, and fumes caused pulmonary disease. OWCP denied the claim after relying on a physician who did not diagnose an employment-related condition. The Board found that M.D.’s pulmonary specialist supplied enough…
A.T. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Hampton, VA
A.T. (ECAB 14-1970): Shoulder injury claim sent back for medical review
A health technician said she hurt her left shoulder while helping a patient on March 27, 2014. OWCP rejected the claim because it doubted that the incident occurred as described. The Board found her detailed account consistent with the surrounding evidence, including a prompt medical visit and…
B.R., claiming as widow of D.R., and Department of the Navy, Secretariat Headquarters, Washington, DC
B.R. (ECAB 14-1644): Survivor claim denied for lack of civilian employment proof
B.R. sought survivor benefits after her husband’s death, alleging that work-related asbestosis contributed to it. OWCP asked her for proof that he had held a civilian federal job, because the records suggested military service. The Board affirmed the denial because the submitted record did not…
R.L. and Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency, St. Louis, MO
R.L. (ECAB 14-1342): Late reconsideration request denied
R.L. challenged OWCP’s refusal to reconsider its denial of her claim for injuries from a fall during a lunch break. The Board found that OWCP received her reconsideration request more than one year after the last merits decision. Her accident report and administrative leave did not clearly prove…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2607 (Union) and United States Department of Education, Federal Student Aid (Agency)
AFGE Local 2607 and Federal Student Aid (FLRA 0-AR-5074): Three-day suspension award stands
Federal Student Aid suspended an employee for three days after he came to the office while management had authorized him to telework during an investigation. The union challenged the arbitrator's award, raising objections to the suspension, the grievance procedure, alleged bias, and prehearing…
Scott McGlothlin v. Dominion Coal Corporation
Hearing continued for Part 90 summary-decision briefing
Scott McGlothlin claimed that Dominion Coal reduced his hourly pay after he exercised Part 90 protections based on pneumoconiosis. Part 90 allows an eligible miner to transfer to a lower-dust job without losing the regular rate of pay received immediately before exercising that option. Judge Jerold…
Secretary of Labor v. Manalapan Mining Co., Inc.
Wet belt accumulation modified to moderate-negligence citation
MSHA cited Manalapan Mining for combustible-material accumulations along an underground conveyor belt. The Commission had reinstated the Belt No. 2 violation under the law-of-the-case doctrine and remanded for a decision on unwarrantable failure. Judge Jerold Feldman found that the extensive and…
R.S. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Sequoia National Park, Three Rivers, CA
R.S. (ECAB 15-0150): Meningitis claim denied for lack of medical causation proof
A Sequoia National Park worker claimed that exposure to horses and mules at work caused his meningitis. OWCP accepted the animal exposure but denied the occupational disease claim. The Board found that the medical reports did not explain with adequate reasoning how the accepted exposure caused or…
K.A. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Gallatin Fossil Plant, Gallatin, TN
K.A. (ECAB 15-0057): Pulmonary disease claim denied
K.A., a boilermaker, claimed that exposure to asbestos, dust, and fumes during federal employment caused pneumoconiosis, asbestosis, and bronchitis. OWCP’s specialist found no clinical evidence of pneumoconiosis or asbestosis and attributed the symptoms to asthma and bronchitis unrelated to the…
M.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Princeton, NJ
M.F. (ECAB 14-1948): Request to reopen disability claim denied
M.F. asked OWCP to reconsider a denial of disability benefits related to accepted workplace injuries. OWCP declined to reopen the claim, and she appealed that refusal. The Board found that her reconsideration request offered previously considered medical reports and no new legal argument or other…
J.S. and Department of the Navy, Naval Station, Great Lakes, IL
J.S. (ECAB 14-1929): Limited wage loss allowed for knee treatment visit
A Navy police officer sought intermittent wage-loss compensation following an accepted left knee injury. The Board found that his medical reports did not establish disability on the claimed dates, but a documented September 24, 2010 treatment visit supported up to four hours of compensation for…
P.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Houston, TX
P.M. (ECAB 14-1625): Emotional condition claim denied
A nurse attributed anxiety, headaches, and other symptoms to supervisors’ actions, staffing, and workplace interactions. The Board found no substantiated compensable work factor: the record did not show error or abuse in personnel matters, establish the alleged harassment, or corroborate overwork…
C.V. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, Tucson, AZ
C.V. (ECAB 14-1293): Timely reconsideration request sent back for review
C.V. sought reconsideration of a denied foot and ankle occupational disease claim. OWCP treated her request as late by counting from its 2011 decision and applied the stricter clear-evidence-of-error standard. The Board found that its own July 2013 merits decision started a new one-year period and…
S.B. and Department of the Army, Installation Management Command, Fort Bliss, TX
S.B. (ECAB 14-0959): Existing leg impairment awards upheld
An Army security guard sought larger schedule awards for accepted conditions affecting both feet. OWCP had granted an additional one percent for her right leg, bringing that rating to two percent, while retaining a one percent left-leg rating. The Board found that OWCP’s medical adviser applied the…
J.S. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Holtsville, NY
J.S. (ECAB 15-0089): Carpal tunnel claim denied for lack of medical explanation
An IRS customer service representative claimed that repetitive computer and document work caused a right hand condition. Her testing showed carpal tunnel syndrome, and another physician diagnosed a thumb condition and arthritis. The Board found that the physicians did not adequately explain how her…
F.S. and Department of Justice, Federal Correctional Complex, Coleman, FL
F.S. (ECAB 15-0030): Separate knee injury claim denied
A correctional officer said she twisted her left knee after stepping on a sidewalk crack at work. She had an earlier accepted left knee claim, but the Board considered this October 2011 claim separately. It found that the medical reports did not adequately link a diagnosed injury to the reported…
E.R. and Department of the Navy, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Keyport Division, Keyport, WA
E.R. (ECAB 14-2035): Hearing loss claim barred by filing deadline
A retired Navy electronics engineer filed a hearing loss claim in 2013, stating that he recognized its work connection in December 2004. The Board found that the three-year filing period had expired and that the record did not show timely written notice or a supervisor’s timely actual knowledge of…
L.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, San Juan, PR
L.H. (ECAB 14-1655): Late reconsideration request denied
A transportation security officer sought reconsideration of a denied neck condition claim. OWCP received her request more than a year after its last merits decision, although she said she mailed it before the deadline and weather delayed delivery. The Board held that the receipt date controlled and…
V.L. and Department of Justice, U.S. Probation Department, New York City, NY
V.L. (ECAB 14-1040): Neck injury claim sent back for medical review
A probation officer reported neck pain after a government vehicle struck a pothole. OWCP accepted the incident but denied the injury claim because the suspected disc herniation had not been confirmed by an MRI scan. The Board found that her physician’s clinical findings and explanation supplied…
D.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Marina Processing and Distribution Center, Inglewood, CA
D.M. (ECAB 14-0548): Retirement-benefit overpayment calculation sent back
A retired postal worker elected federal retirement benefits retroactive to a period when she received FECA wage-loss payments. OWCP found a $17,595.25 overpayment and held her at fault. The Board found that OWCP had not explained that amount and that she was entitled to the FECA payments when she…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1917 and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, New York District
AFGE Local 1917 and USCIS New York (FLRA 0-AR-5073): Union's arbitration exceptions denied
AFGE Local 1917 challenged an arbitration award involving USCIS's New York District. The Authority issued an abbreviated decision, denying the union's claim that the award was too incomplete, ambiguous, or contradictory to implement because the union did not support that claim. It also rejected the…
National Association of Government Employees, Service Employees International Union, Local 551 (Union) and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Richard L. Roudebush Medical Center, Indianapolis, Indiana (Agency)
NAGE Local 551 and Roudebush Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-5049): Attorney-fee request returned to arbitrator
A medical support assistant at the Roudebush VA Medical Center performed higher-grade duties and received an arbitration award for temporary-promotion pay. The arbitrator rejected a challenge to the denial of a permanent promotion and refused interest and attorney fees. The Authority dismissed or…
C.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Turner, ME
C.H. (ECAB 14-2009): Cervical spine occupational disease claim denied
A rural mail carrier attributed cervical spine conditions to repetitive duties and several reported incidents at work. OWCP accepted repetitive motion as a work factor but did not establish the separate reported incidents in this claim. The Board found that the medical opinions did not adequately…
D.C. and Central Intelligence Agency, Vienna, VA
D.C. (ECAB 14-1960): Request to reopen fall claim denied
A CIA employee sought further review after OWCP denied her claim for a neck and back condition following a workplace fall. Her attorney pointed to imaging findings and the absence of earlier neck pain, but submitted no new medical evidence. The Board found that the argument did not meet the rules…
T.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, New York, NY
T.M. (ECAB 14-1920): Fitness-test back injury claim denied
An immigration enforcement agent reported back pain after doing sit-ups during a work fitness test in April 2010. OWCP accepted that the exercise occurred but denied the injury claim. The Board found that the physicians did not explain how the sit-ups caused the diagnosed lumbar condition, and that…
S.P. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Jerry L. Pettis Memorial Medical Center, Loma Linda, CA
S.P. (ECAB 14-1879): Claimed period of wage loss denied
A nurse practitioner with an accepted lumbar injury sought wage-loss benefits for a period when she stopped modified work. Her physician attributed the absence to pain but did not examine her during the claimed period or explain why the accepted condition prevented the available modified duties…
M.D. and Department of the Army, Red River Army Depot, Texarkana, TX
M.D. (ECAB 14-1637): Benefit termination reversed, overpayment upheld
An Army worker challenged OWCP’s wage-earning capacity ruling, an overpayment determination, and termination of his disability benefits after shoulder surgery. The Board upheld the capacity ruling because he had been a term employee when injured and the temporary alternate job met the applicable…
J.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Bay Pines Veterans Medical Center, Bay Pines, FL
J.B. (ECAB 14-0893): Health premium overpayment sent back for recalculation
OWCP assessed a $4,376.36 overpayment after deducting health insurance premiums at the single-coverage rate rather than the family rate. The Board found that OWCP had applied the family rate to a period before J.B. elected family coverage in November 2012. It vacated the calculation and sent the…
T.R. and Department of the Navy, Naval Health Clinic, Industrial Hygiene Division, Philadelphia, PA
T.R. (ECAB 14-0554): Request to reopen cart incident claim denied
A Navy industrial hygienist sought reconsideration of a denied claim involving a cart collision while transporting Girl Scout cookies. OWCP had found no medical proof of a related injury and also found the incident outside the performance of duty. The Board held that her leave emails and a…
S.L. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Battle Creek, MI
S.L. (ECAB 14-0485): Wage-earning capacity reduction reversed
OWCP reduced a former VA housekeeping aide’s compensation based on the wages of a laundry job he had declined. The Board found that, because he never took the job, OWCP had to follow the process for a constructed wage-earning capacity rather than rely on actual earnings. The vocational record…
D.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Greensboro, NC
D.T. (ECAB 15-0143): Claim based on coworker altercation denied
A postal worker said a coworker pushed him during an altercation and that he struck his head on a concrete floor. He filed the claim and sought medical treatment more than six months after the reported incident. The Board found that he had not supplied the requested details or corroborating…
W.D. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Station, Key West, FL
W.D. (ECAB 14-2044): Computer tower injury claim denied
A Navy security assistant reported pain after trying to move a computer tower beneath his desk. OWCP initially alleged willful misconduct, but its hearing representative accepted the incident and rejected that ground for denial. The Board found that the principal physician described a different…
E.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Richmond, VA
E.S. (ECAB 14-2018): Schedule award claim not reopened
A postal worker sought reconsideration after OWCP denied a schedule award for an accepted condition. She submitted new treatment and test records, but they did not include a physician’s permanent impairment rating tied to that condition. The Board found the records did not address the issue OWCP…
H.L. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Plantation, FL
H.L. (ECAB 14-1910): Ammunition-moving injury claim denied
An immigration enforcement agent reported several conditions after moving a large quantity of ammunition at work. OWCP accepted that the activity occurred. The Board found that the physicians listed diagnoses and described the work but did not explain how that activity caused or worsened the…
C.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Central Texas Veterans Health Care System, Waco, TX
C.M. (ECAB 14-1831): Request to add lumbar conditions denied
A nurse sought to add lumbar disc disease and radiculopathy as consequences of accepted back injuries from 2005. The Board found that her treating neurologist diagnosed the conditions but did not adequately explain how the earlier work injury caused or worsened them. Other medical reports did not…
B.B. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Aviation Administration, Denver, CO
B.B. (ECAB 14-1575): Termination of back injury benefits upheld
An air traffic control specialist challenged termination of benefits for an accepted temporary aggravation of a preexisting lumbar condition. The Board found that OWCP had properly selected an impartial medical examiner to resolve conflicting opinions. After reviewing additional treatment records…
T.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Portland, OR
T.N. (ECAB 14-1331): Postal worker’s low back claim denied after remand
A postal clerk attributed a herniated lumbar disc to repetitive lifting and other work duties. An earlier Board decision had required more medical development, and OWCP obtained a second-opinion examination. The Board gave that examiner’s conclusion against a work connection more weight than the…
N.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, City of Industry, CA
N.N. (ECAB 14-1291): Wage-loss claim not reopened
A postal carrier sought reconsideration of denied wage-loss compensation for a period before knee surgery. Her physician expanded on earlier reports about reduced leg sensation and fall risk. The Board found that the explanation repeated medical information OWCP had already considered and did not…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1858 (Union) and United States Department of the Army, Redstone Test Center, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama (Agency)
AFGE Local 1858 and Redstone Test Center (FLRA 0-AR-5088): Union exceptions dismissed
AFGE Local 1858 challenged an arbitrator's award involving an employee at the Army's Redstone Test Center. The published order gives few facts about the underlying dispute. A footnote shows that the union questioned the nexus for alleged misconduct, the level of proof, and the efficiency of the…
National Association of Independent Labor, Local 17 (Union) and United States Department of the Navy, Fleet Readiness Center Mid-Atlantic, New Orleans, Louisiana (Agency)
NAIL Local 17 and Navy Fleet Readiness Center (FLRA 0-AR-5018): Furlough award and split fees upheld
The Navy rejected three employees' proposed furlough schedules even though an arbitrator found that the schedules would not disrupt mission or workload needs under the parties' agreement. The arbitrator ordered restoration of annual leave or compensatory time to two employees but found no such…
Clarkson Construction Company, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor
Four enforcement actions vacated for lack of MSHA jurisdiction
Clarkson Construction operated an OSHA-regulated concrete batch plant on property owned by a quarry operator and bought material from the quarry. MSHA cited Clarkson after two of its truck drivers used a tarping area on mine property without fall protection and with a truck running and unchocked…
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing and Distribution Center, Kansas City, MO
J.C. (ECAB 15-0036): Knee disease claim and late record-review request denied
A postal supervisor claimed that walking at work caused his knee conditions. The Board found that he had not detailed the work walking or supplied a medical opinion linking it to the diagnoses. It also held that his request for review of the written record came after the 30-day deadline, and OWCP…
J.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Denver, CO
J.F. (ECAB 14-2051): Knee injury claim denied despite accepted fall
A postal worker reported a workplace slip and later underwent surgery for a right knee meniscus tear. The Board accepted that the slip occurred but found the medical evidence did not explain how it caused the tear. Earlier reports recorded no specific knee injury and conflicted with the later…
B.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tampa, FL
B.N. (ECAB 14-2003): Receptionist wages support reduced compensation
A postal letter carrier with accepted work-related osteoarthritis in both knees received disability compensation. OWCP found that she could earn wages as a receptionist and reduced her benefits. The Board found the sedentary job fit the medical restrictions set by the referral surgeon and accepted…
T.P. and Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, National Forests in Alabama, Albuquerque, NM
T.P. (ECAB 14-1946): Wage loss after knee injury lacked medical proof
A Forest Service summer aide injured her right knee in 1979, and OWCP later accepted knee conditions and a recurrence for medical treatment. She sought wage-loss compensation for a claimed period of disability beginning in July 1999. The Board found that the medical reports did not explain how the…
I.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Textile Finance Post Office, Los Angeles, CA
I.C. (ECAB 14-1927): Repetitive work injury claim lacked medical link
A postal sales associate attributed neck, shoulder, arm, and hand symptoms to repetitive work. OWCP accepted that she performed the described duties but denied the injury claim. The Board found that most medical reports did not address causation, while an orthopedic surgeon's opinion connecting her…
G.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
G.L. (ECAB 14-1844): Back pain did not prove a new disability recurrence
A postal carrier had an accepted back strain and later returned to limited duty. She claimed a new period of total disability beginning in September 2011 after her back pain worsened. The Board found no change in her limited-duty assignment and no reasoned medical opinion linking a spontaneous…
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.