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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Z.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Santa Clarita Post Office
Board orders further review of bilateral foot condition (ECAB 25-0138)
A postal worker attributed bilateral foot problems to repeated walking, standing and other delivery duties. Her physician described hammertoe deformities and explained how chronic work stress might affect the plantar structures. The Board found the opinion insufficient alone to prove causation but…
B.A. and Peace Corps, Volunteer Services Tonga
Board denies renewed treatment and back claim expansion (ECAB 25-0137)
A former Peace Corps volunteer sought treatment for an accepted injury and asked OWCP to add a low back condition. The Board found the medical evidence insufficient to show that the later treatment need or the back condition was caused by the accepted service injury. It affirmed both denials.
N.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Richmond Post Office
Board orders combined review of related knee claims (ECAB 25-0087)
A postal employee claimed his left knee condition resulted from an earlier accepted right knee injury. OWCP reviewed the new claim without combining it with the older right knee file. The Board found that adjudicating the alleged consequential injury required both records. It ordered OWCP to…
W.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Little Rock Post Office
Board upholds suspension for missed medical examination (ECAB 25-0074)
A postal worker receiving benefits was scheduled for an impartial medical examination. OWCP warned that failing to attend could suspend compensation. The Board found he missed the appointment without sufficient justification and upheld the suspension effective July 22, 2024.
Greg Beeche Logistics
Suspension-scaffold support-line violation affirmed
Greg Beeche Logistics designed and supplied two-point suspension scaffolds for a high-rise curtain-wall replacement project in Boston. The scaffolds used automatic locking devices on the suspension ropes but lacked the separate independent support lines required when workers attach their…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Kenneth M. Adkins v. Greenbrier Minerals, LLC, and its Successors
Summary decision denied
Kenneth M. Adkins worked as a mobile equipment operator at Greenbrier's surface coal mines. The Secretary alleged that Adkins reported equipment hazards and later faced suspension and termination after telling management that he believed his assignments were retaliation for contacting MSHA…
Lone Star Auto Parts, Inc.
In re Lone Star Auto Parts, Inc. (EAB CAA Appeal No. 25-03C): diesel defeat-device settlement approved
Lone Star Auto Parts, Inc. sold aftermarket parts for diesel trucks, including exhaust gas recirculation delete hardware, exhaust aftertreatment delete pipes, and other defeat devices. EPA alleged that the company manufactured or sold at least 827 parts that bypassed or rendered inoperative…
BP Products North America Inc.
In re BP Products North America Inc. (EAB CAA Appeal No. 25-02C): fuel-standard and reporting settlement approved
BP Products North America Inc. operated refineries and fuel terminals producing diesel and gasoline during the relevant period. EPA alleged that BP produced 1,092,252 gallons of ultra-low-sulfur diesel with a composite sulfur result above the 15 parts-per-million standard, produced 140,280 gallons…
L.B. and Department of Defense, National Security Agency
Board denies inflation adjustments to schedule award rate (ECAB 25-0165)
A Defense Department employee sought consumer price index adjustments to the pay rate used for a schedule award after an accepted knee fracture. The Board found that she had not received wage-loss compensation for a prior disability period. Under the applicable rule, her schedule award used the pay…
P.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Honolulu Post Office
Board changes repayment amount while upholding overpayment (ECAB 25-0105)
A postal employee received FECA wage-loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service without an offset. The Board upheld OWCP’s $61,051.79 overpayment and its denial of waiver. It found OWCP improperly set recovery at $962.60 from continuing benefits every…
E.K. and Department of Labor, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs
Board rejects work-related vision claim (ECAB 25-0077)
A Labor Department claims examiner attributed vision problems to years of computer-based review work. Medical reports listed several eye conditions but did not explain whether her work duties caused or aggravated them. The Board found the causal evidence insufficient and affirmed the denial.
R.A. and Department of the Air Force
Board upholds suspension for missed examination (ECAB 25-0076)
An Air Force employee receiving benefits was directed to attend a second opinion medical examination. OWCP sent notice warning that failure to attend could suspend benefits. The Board found he did not attend the appointment without sufficient justification. It affirmed suspension effective…
L.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Jack D. Watson Processing and Distribution Center
Board upholds report suspension and retirement overpayment (ECAB 23-1130)
A postal employee failed to return a required Form EN-1032, leading OWCP to suspend wage-loss compensation. OWCP also found that he had received FECA wage-loss and Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service without the necessary offset. The Board upheld a $138,588.08…
M.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Queens Processing and Distribution Center
Board splits review of intermittent disability periods (ECAB 22-1382)
A postal supervisor sought intermittent wage-loss compensation after an accepted 2019 workplace injury. The Board found the record needed further development for absences in September and October 2019 and May and June 2020. It found the evidence insufficient for two later periods in December 2020…
R.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Cleveland Heights Post Office
Board declines to change earning-capacity finding (ECAB 22-0412)
A former postal window clerk sought to change a 2016 decision measuring his wage-earning capacity after an accepted knee injury. The Board found he had performed the identified sales and service job for years and had not established a basis to alter the earlier determination. It affirmed OWCP’s…
Matter of Leobardo DE JESUS-PLATON
Conviction vacatur insufficient for remand
The Board reviewed a Mexican respondent's challenge to his ineligibility for cancellation of removal after a California conviction for criminal threats. The respondent submitted evidence that a state court had allowed him to withdraw his guilty plea under California Penal Code section 1473.7 and…
Matter of John ARCINIEGAS-PATINO
Electronic briefing notice
The respondents’ appeal had been summarily dismissed after their representative did not file a required brief. They asked the Board to reconsider, saying counsel did not see the electronic briefing notice because it was delivered to a spam folder and they expected paper service. The Board held that…
Secretary of Labor obo Robert Baumann v. MOSenecaManufacturer, LLC d/b/a American Tripoli
Secretary of Labor obo Robert Baumann v. American Tripoli (FMSHRC CENT 2023-0251): Fabricated-case filings led to dismissal
After directing review, the Commission received an American Tripoli motion relying on purported cases that could not be identified from the citations provided. The Commission ordered the operator to submit copies, but it did not respond. A later show-cause response offered no explanation for that…
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Vancleave Post Office
Board denies renewed treatment and reconsideration (ECAB 25-0121)
A postal rural carrier sought treatment beginning in January 2024 for an earlier accepted injury. The Board found insufficient medical evidence tying the renewed need for care to that injury. It also upheld OWCP’s denials of two requests to reconsider the merits. The decisions were affirmed.
C.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Brooklyn Processing and Distribution Center
Board denies wrist claim and hearing request (ECAB 25-0072)
A postal mail clerk reported a left wrist and hand injury while moving a metal rack. The Board found that a report describing pain did not establish a diagnosed condition, and other submissions did not cure the gap. It also upheld OWCP’s denial of her oral hearing request. It affirmed both…
M.M. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Secret Service
Board denies renewed knee treatment and record review (ECAB 24-0858)
A Secret Service employee sought treatment for a left knee condition years after an accepted training injury. The Board found the evidence did not establish that the later treatment need was caused by the accepted injury. It also upheld OWCP’s refusal of a review of the written record. Both…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 506 and United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Complex, Coleman, Florida
AFGE Local 506 and Federal Correctional Complex Coleman (FLRA 0-AR-5967): Authority upholds historical attorney-fee rates
AFGE Local 506 prevailed on an overtime grievance and later sought more than $416,000 in attorney fees using the lawyers' current hourly rates to account for delayed payment. An arbitrator awarded about $282,000 using the rates in effect when the work was performed. The Authority held that applying…
S.C. and Department of the Army, Madigan Army Medical Center
Board denies spine claim for lack of qualifying diagnosis (ECAB 25-0155)
An Army employee submitted chiropractic reports after an accepted work incident. The reports listed thoracic and lumbar conditions but did not establish spinal subluxation by x-ray, the condition under which a chiropractor’s report qualifies as physician evidence for FECA. The Board found no…
B.M. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service
Board requires reasons for reconsideration refusal (ECAB 25-0128)
A National Park Service worker asked OWCP to reconsider a denied foot injury claim. OWCP rejected his late request without explaining whether his submission demonstrated clear evidence of error. The Board found the decision lacked the required findings and reasons. It ordered OWCP to explain its…
Secretary of Labor v. Greenbrier Minerals, LLC
One-day-late contest reopened
Greenbrier Minerals filed its penalty contest one day after the thirty-day deadline. It attributed the delay to its safety specialist’s unusually heavy workload, short staffing, and the death of the safety manager’s mother. Greenbrier sought reopening promptly, and the Secretary did not oppose. The…
Secretary of Labor v. Potter South East, LLC
Repeated deficient reopening motions denied
Potter South East sought to reopen three final penalty assessments with a one-sentence motion stating that the penalty amount was a surprise and that it had implemented corrective procedures. The motion did not explain why the contests were late or why Potter delayed after receiving delinquency…
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Boston Processing and Distribution Center
Board upholds forfeiture for unreported work (ECAB 22-1272)
A postal worker receiving compensation failed to report work, volunteer activity and earnings. The Board found the omissions knowing and upheld forfeiture for November 2018 through November 2020. It affirmed a $91,543.07 overpayment and a fault finding that barred waiver. It also upheld deductions…
S.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Voorhees Post Office
Board orders combined review of knee impairment claims (ECAB 22-0665)
A postal distribution clerk sought a larger schedule award for impairment of her legs. She had several prior accepted knee claims and an earlier award for the left leg. The Board found OWCP had not combined the related files needed to evaluate whether a new award was due. It ordered a combined…
K.K. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration
Board finds airport exit fall outside duty (ECAB 22-0173)
A TSA employee fell near an airport exit after leaving work early and claimed a shoulder injury. The Board found the timing of the fall consistent with leaving work but concluded the doorway and adjoining area were not controlled by TSA or part of its actual or constructive premises. It held that…
National Labor Relations Board and National Labor Relations Board Union
National Labor Relations Board and NLRB Union (FLRA 0-AR-5903): Authority dismisses premature stale-grievance exceptions
The NLRB Union waited until 2023 to initiate arbitration of grievances referred in 2009 and 2012. The agency asked the arbitrator to dismiss them as stale and moot, but the arbitrator found the negotiated procedure required the agency first to request withdrawal and give the union 30 days to act…
Cleary v. CSX Transportation, Inc.
FRSA settlement approved and case dismissed
Cliff Cleary alleged that CSX Transportation retaliated against him in violation of the Federal Railroad Safety Act. After an administrative judge granted CSX summary decision and Cleary appealed, the parties submitted a signed settlement and asked the Board to dismiss the matter with prejudice…
Siddiqui v. Transit Administrative Center, Inc.
Transit whistleblower coverage dismissal affirmed
Fouaz Siddiqui supervised cashiering for Transit Administrative Center, which processed payments for Chicago taxicab affiliations participating in a regional paratransit program. He alleged that the company fired him after he objected to withholding driver payments and paid a driver whose account…
J.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Richmond Post Office
Board denies work-related carpal tunnel claim (ECAB 25-0109)
A postal sales and distribution employee attributed bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome to repeated mail sorting and service tasks. Doctors documented hand pain and carpal tunnel diagnoses. The Board found that the reports did not adequately explain how accepted job duties caused or aggravated the…
D.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Kilmer Post Office
Board rejects workplace exposure condition claim (ECAB 24-0492)
A postal employee claimed symptoms after exposure to wastewater from a roof at work. Medical records described symptoms and vocal strain, but the Board found they did not establish a reasoned connection between a diagnosed condition and the accepted work factors. It affirmed OWCP’s denial.
M.L. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency
Board recognizes hotel fall during official travel (ECAB 23-1023)
A FEMA employee on a temporary field deployment fell at her assigned hotel while going to her vehicle for luggage. OWCP denied the claim as outside the performance of duty. The Board found the luggage retrieval reasonably incidental to her official travel and held that the fall occurred during…
R.S.A. Corp.
In re R.S.A. Corp. (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 25-01Q): $15,342 penalty paid and matter resolved
EPA alleged that R.S.A. Corp. violated Toxic Substances Control Act requirements involving the chemical inventory and chemical imports and exports. The complaint alleged violations of TSCA sections 8(b) and 13, related requirements at 40 C.F.R. parts 707 and 710, and TSCA section 15. EPA's…
Gilbert H. Daniels v. Jewell Ridge Mining Corporation
Daniels v. Jewell Ridge Mining (BRB 23-0438): black lung benefits award affirmed
Gilbert Daniels sought black lung benefits in a subsequent claim after an earlier claim was denied for lack of total disability. The administrative law judge credited 15.42 years of qualifying coal mine work and found a totally disabling respiratory impairment, triggering the fifteen year…
P.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Clifton East End Post Office
Board upholds suspension for missing earnings form (ECAB 25-0159)
A postal employee receiving wage-loss benefits was asked to complete Form EN-1032 about employment and earnings. OWCP sent the form and warned that failure to return it within 30 days could suspend benefits. The Board found the request properly mailed and the form not returned as required. It…
D.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Tucson VA Medical Center
Board upholds termination of VA employee benefits (ECAB 25-0086)
A VA employee challenged termination of compensation for an accepted injury. OWCP relied on a referral physician’s examination finding no continuing work-related disability or residuals. The Board found the medical opinion sufficient to meet OWCP’s burden. It affirmed termination effective October…
O.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration
Board declines added knee and quadriceps conditions (ECAB 25-0070)
A former transportation security officer sought to add a right knee or quadriceps condition to accepted injuries. After an earlier appeal identified conflicting medical opinions, OWCP obtained an impartial examination. The Board found the developed record did not establish the proposed additional…
V.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Weathers Post Office
Board upholds retirement overpayment but changes recovery (ECAB 25-0063)
A postal employee received FECA wage-loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service without an offset. The Board upheld OWCP’s $11,322.23 overpayment and denial of waiver, although she was without fault. It found that OWCP improperly set recovery at…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Timothy Barnes and Brandon Hall v. Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC
Retaliatory discipline and terminations remedied
Timothy Barnes and Brandon Hall operated a longwall shearer at Warrior Met's No. 7 Mine and were disciplined after running it more slowly than management directed under conditions they believed were unsafe. They were placed on probation and later terminated near the end of that probation after a…
Colin Halcomb v. Locust Grove, Incorporated and Kentucky Employers’ Mutual Insurance
Halcomb v. Locust Grove (BRB 23-0504): black lung benefits award affirmed
Colin Halcomb received an award of black lung benefits after the administrative law judge found that he had worked in coal mining for 18.51 years and was totally disabled by a respiratory impairment. Locust Grove and its insurer challenged the company's liability, arguing that Halcomb's reclamation…
Juan Sosa Vera v. National Steel & Shipbuilding Company
Sosa Vera v. National Steel (BRB 23-0403): part of attorney fee award remanded
Juan Sosa Vera sought Longshore Act benefits for back and knee injuries from his shipbuilding work. His attorney requested fees for work on the claims, and a district director ordered the employer to pay most of the request. The Board upheld the fee for the first period before the workers'…
G.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Middletown Post Office
Board denies PTSD claim expansion and disability period (ECAB 25-0103)
A postal employee sought to add PTSD to an accepted June 2023 injury claim and sought compensation for work disability from August through November 2023. The Board found the evidence insufficient to establish either that PTSD was caused by or consequential to the accepted injury or that the injury…
J.F. and Department of Health and Human Services
Board denies federal employee's stress-related claim (ECAB 25-0100)
An HHS employee attributed anal fissures and hemorrhoids in part to alleged overwork and personnel actions. The Board found that the employing agency rebutted his account of understaffing and higher-grade duties, and that he did not substantiate alleged errors in his appraisal and feedback. With no…
R.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Byers Post Office
Board reverses postal worker's wage-loss termination (ECAB 25-0095)
OWCP terminated a postal worker's wage-loss benefits after he declined a modified position it described as temporary. The written job offer did not identify the position as temporary. The Board found OWCP had failed to prove a required basis for the termination, reversed the July 2024 decision, and…
M.H. and Department of the Army, Defense Language Institute
Board upholds retirement offset overpayment recovery (ECAB 25-0065)
An Army employee received FECA wage-loss compensation while also receiving age-related Social Security retirement benefits without the required offset. The Board upheld OWCP’s $20,718.09 overpayment calculation and found that the employee was without fault. It affirmed denial of waiver and recovery…
B.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Indianapolis Processing and Distribution Center
Board rejects claimed recurrence of disability (ECAB 25-0049)
A postal employee sought wage-loss compensation for a claimed recurrence of disability from September 2012 through December 2016 following an accepted 2004 injury. The Board found his medical reports too speculative, outside the claimed period, or lacking an explanation connecting disability to the…
T.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Mechanicsville Post Office
Board denies postal worker's occupational disease claim (ECAB 24-0948)
A postal worker sought compensation for Lyme disease, migraine headaches, and intracranial hypertension that he attributed to work. The Board credited OWCP referral physicians who found no work-related neurological injury or persuasive evidence of Lyme disease. It held that the medical evidence did…
H.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, St. Cloud VA Medical Center
Board denies coworker-related stress claim (ECAB 24-0926)
A VA medical clerk reported distress after a dispute with a coworker about front desk duties and described further workplace tension. The Board found the alleged harassment and employer misconduct were not established by reliable evidence. It concluded that the record showed no compensable work…
Yates v. Superior Air Charter LLC
AIR21 attorney-fee appeal withdrawn and dismissed
An administrative judge awarded attorney fees to Colin Yates in his AIR21 case against Superior Air Charter, doing business as JetSuite Air. Yates petitioned the Board to review that award. He later asked to withdraw the petition and stated that the withdrawal did not result from a settlement…
Nix v. Symphony Technology Solutions, Inc.
AIR21 settlement approved and case dismissed
Randall Nix alleged that Symphony Technology Solutions and Holder Construction retaliated against him in violation of AIR21. After an administrative judge granted the companies summary decision and Nix appealed, the parties submitted a signed settlement and jointly requested dismissal with…
United States Department of the Navy, Commander Navy Region Southwest, San Diego, California and Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 12
Navy Region Southwest and Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 12 (FLRA 0-AR-5751): Authority upholds supervisory-selection grievance
The Navy used college education as a screening factor for a supervisory vacancy even though the announcement did not list a degree requirement and the agency had not previously used one. A union grievance alleged that bargaining-unit applicants were denied interviews and that the agency changed…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, John J. Pershing VA Medical Center, Poplar Bluff, Missouri and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2338
John J. Pershing VA Medical Center and AFGE Local 2338 (FLRA 0-AR-5644): Authority upholds appointment remedy
AFGE Local 2338 challenged a VA medical center's failure to select its union president for a permanent voluntary-services-specialist position. An arbitrator found anti-union animus, violations of negotiated promotion procedures, improper destruction of requested selection records, and an unfair…
Anderson v. United States Postal Service
Postal worker's antitrust retaliation claim denied
Postal Service employee Alyce Anderson alleged retaliation related to grievances, Equal Employment Opportunity complaints, and her refusal of a settlement offer. The Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act protects reports and other actions involving criminal antitrust violations. Anderson did not…
Secretary of Labor v. Tata Chemicals Soda Ash Partners, LLC
Due-date mistake justified reopening
Tata Chemicals retrieved a proposed assessment from its post office four days after delivery and calculated the contest deadline from the pickup date. Its contest of the unpaid penalties was five days late under the actual delivery date. Tata supplemented its reopening motion to explain the…
Secretary of Labor v. L Rock Industries, Inc.
Vague mail explanation did not reopen default
L Rock Industries defaulted after failing to answer a penalty petition and the Chief Judge’s order to show cause. It sought reopening by stating that it had mailed a conference request and had experienced confusion receiving MSHA mail after an ownership change. The Secretary responded that the…
Secretary of Labor v. Blanchard Machinery Co.
Unknown recipient justified reopening
Blanchard Machinery sought to reopen a penalty assessment that it said it never received. The assessment was addressed to an employee with no mining or safety duties and signed for by a person whom neither Blanchard nor its carrier employed at the time. Blanchard investigated promptly after…
Phillips 66 Company
In re Phillips 66 Company (EAB CAA Appeal No. 24-12C): diesel sampling settlement approved
Phillips 66 operates a fuel manufacturing facility in Rodeo, California. EPA alleged that the facility failed to demonstrate homogeneity for diesel batches produced during compliance years 2021, 2022, and two months of 2023. EPA also alleged that Phillips 66 failed to report the presumed…
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.