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.
No decisions match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
V.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pulaski, TN
V.D. (ECAB 14-1424): Hand impairment award claim not reopened
V.D., a rural mail carrier with accepted thumb conditions, had received an award for 10 percent impairment of each hand. She sought additional compensation, citing pain and limitations, and resubmitted medical material OWCP had already considered. The Board found that she had offered no new…
A.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Washington, DC
A.M. (ECAB 14-1351): Reconsideration denial returned for findings on receipt date
A.M. sought reconsideration of a decision on her compensation claim. OWCP treated a January 2014 resubmission as her request and denied it as late, without addressing the earlier submission or its accompanying evidence. The earlier document carried a November 7, 2012 receipt stamp that could make…
D.V. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Brockton Veterans Administration Medical Center, Brockton, MA
D.V. (ECAB 14-1181): Benefits termination upheld after refusal of suitable work
D.V., a Veterans Affairs housekeeping aide with accepted right knee injuries, declined a modified housekeeping job. The Board credited an impartial physician’s finding that he could perform sedentary work within specified movement and driving limits. It found the offered position accommodated those…
B.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing and Distribution Center, Southeastern, PA
B.N. (ECAB 14-0937): Arm impairment ratings returned for impartial examination
B.N., a postal clerk with accepted shoulder and carpal tunnel conditions, disputed the ratings used for his arm schedule awards. His attending physician and OWCP’s second opinion physician gave differing, reasoned impairment ratings. The Board found a medical conflict requiring an impartial…
V.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Distribution Center, Memphis, TN
V.T. (ECAB 14-0875): Respiratory claim returned for medical review of established exposures
V.T., a postal mail handler, claimed that dust, mold, dirt, fumes, and asbestos at work contributed to her respiratory condition. The Board found her account of those exposures sufficiently established despite conflicting statements about any preexisting asthma. It found that her physicians’…
T.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, New Orleans, LA
T.G. (ECAB 14-0751): Injury denial upheld after cabinet incident
T.G., a Veterans Affairs claims examiner, reported injuries after she grabbed a falling file cabinet at work. OWCP accepted that the incident happened but denied her claim for back, leg, neck, and hand conditions. A physician’s supplemental report attributed multiple diagnoses to the incident, but…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1815 (Union) and United States Department of the Army, U.S. Army Aviation Center and Fort Rucker, Army Aeromedical Center (Agency)
AFGE Local 1815 and Army Aeromedical Center (FLRA 0-AR-5044): Union exceptions dismissed
An Army Aeromedical Center employee sought an upgrade to her position description based on added duties and objected when told she would have to compete for the higher graded position. An arbitrator found that the grievance concerned the classification of her position and was excluded from…
United States Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection (Agency) and National Treasury Employees Union (Union/Petitioner)
Customs and Border Protection and NTEU (FLRA WA-RP-13-0039): Supply-chain specialists remain in unit
NTEU sought to include supply-chain specialists in its bargaining unit at Customs and Border Protection. A regional director found that their investigative and security work related to national security but did not directly affect it, so the specialists belonged in the unit. The agency challenged…
Secretary of Labor v. Extra Energy, Inc.
Unsafe haul-truck steering violation affirmed
An MSHA inspector found one inch of vertical play in a steering ball joint on Extra Energy's Caterpillar 777B haul truck, along with a loose nut and a sheared cotter-pin keeper. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy found that the defects compromised wheel alignment and steering and required the truck to be…
A.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Laguna Hills, CA
A.T. (ECAB 14-1362): Disability claim returned after light-duty job withdrawal
A.T., a postal distribution clerk with an accepted back injury, sought compensation after his light-duty job was withdrawn under the National Reassessment Process. OWCP denied compensation for two periods without discussing the job withdrawal, specific medical reports, or the possible effect of his…
K.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Columbus, OH
K.P. (ECAB 14-1330): Fall claim denied for lack of medical causation
K.P., a postmaster, reported left arm and neck conditions after she tripped over a mail tub and fell at work. OWCP accepted that the fall occurred but found the medical evidence insufficient to link those conditions to it. The Board found one physician’s opinion speculative because he relied mainly…
W.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Palm Desert, CA
W.A. (ECAB 14-1192): Shoulder claim denied for lack of reasoned medical opinion
W.A., a former city mail carrier, claimed that repetitive work caused a right rotator cuff injury. A physician attributed her shoulder tear to repetitive duties, but the Board found that his report did not explain the timing: the confirming scan and treatment came roughly a year after she stopped…
J.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Federal Way, WA
J.J. (ECAB 14-0746): Timely reconsideration request returned to OWCP
J.J., a postal employee, sought reconsideration of an occupational disease claim denial. OWCP rejected the request as late and applied the standard for untimely requests. The Board found that OWCP received the request on the last day of the one-year filing period. It set aside the rejection and…
R.J. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
R.J. (ECAB 14-0521): Duplicate nursing reimbursements created recoverable overpayment
R.J., a former Veterans Affairs work-study student, received reimbursements for nursing services after an accepted back injury. He submitted two reimbursement claims for the same period and received payments totaling $5,172.30 above the amount requested. The Board found that the duplicate payments…
Secretary of Labor v. State of Alaska, Department of Transportation
Highway gravel operation falls under Mine Act
Alaska's transportation department excavated sand and gravel from pits along the Dalton Highway and used a portable screener to separate material into different sizes for road maintenance. An ALJ dismissed two equipment citations after treating the sites as borrow pits outside Mine Act…
Secretary of Labor v. Warrior Investments Company, Inc.
Emergency-training citation affirmed and settlements approved
Warrior Investments operated the Maxine-Pratt Mine without anyone trained at that mine as the responsible person for directing miners during a fire, explosion, or other emergency. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy affirmed the responsible-person training citation as S&S, high negligence, and an…
Secretary of Labor v. The American Coal Company
Two unions allowed into settlement-review case
The UMWA and USW sought to intervene in a case concerning how section 110(k) governs Commission review of Mine Act settlements. The Secretary opposed intervention because neither union represented miners at the mine involved. The Commission found that both unions had a sufficient legally…
K.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Durham Veterans Administration Medical Center, Durham, NC
K.H. (ECAB 14-1442): Food-cart injury denial and refusal to reopen upheld
K.H., a Veterans Affairs food service worker, reported back and hip symptoms after steering a heavy food cart. OWCP accepted that the January 2014 incident occurred but found no sufficient medical opinion linking it to a diagnosed condition. The Board agreed, finding that the physicians did not…
N.A. and Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Austin, TX
N.A. (ECAB 14-1411): Shoulder treatment recurrence claim denied
N.A., a Fish and Wildlife Service biologist, injured both shoulders in an accepted 1998 work accident. He sought further medical treatment after left shoulder pain returned in 2012, years after surgery. His surgeon said the new symptoms were related to the original injury, but the Board found that…
E.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, West Stockbridge, MA
E.S. (ECAB 14-1349): Achilles rupture claim denied for lack of causal explanation
E.S., a rural letter carrier, reported a right Achilles tendon rupture after walking around mail tubs at work. His surgeon diagnosed and repaired the rupture, then attributed it to the work incident. The Board found that the surgeon did not explain how the described movement caused the rupture. His…
J.B. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Federal Air Marshal Service, El Segundo, CA
J.B. (ECAB 14-1306): Five percent arm impairment award upheld
J.B., a federal air marshal, injured his right shoulder while stowing equipment on a plane. OWCP accepted a shoulder sprain and rotator cuff tear, then awarded compensation based on a five percent arm impairment rating. A second opinion physician had rated the impairment at four percent, but OWCP’s…
J.R. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, DC
J.R. (ECAB 14-1190): Dual-benefit overpayment and fault finding upheld
J.R., a former air traffic controller, received federal workers’ compensation while also drawing a federal retirement annuity from 2008 to 2012. OWCP determined that the overlapping benefits produced a $31,526.25 overpayment. The Board agreed and found that an earlier written notice had told J.R…
G.J. and Department of the Navy, Systems Center, North Charleston, SC
G.J. (ECAB 14-0528): Schedule award claim returned for a reasoned decision
G.J., a Navy accounting technician with an accepted back injury, sought a schedule award for claimed leg impairment. A treating physician rated lower extremity impairment, while OWCP’s medical advisers found no ratable impairment. The Board found that OWCP’s decision did not discuss those…
J.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Loma Linda, CA
J.S. (ECAB 14-0465): Refusal to reopen disability claim upheld
J.S., a former Veterans Affairs materials handler with an accepted back sprain, sought compensation after his employment ended. OWCP denied the disability claim, and he later asked it to reconsider. The Board found that the submitted records either repeated earlier evidence or did not address…
J.C., widow of G.C., and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Newark, NJ
J.C., widow of G.C. (ECAB 14-0299): Emotional condition claim denial upheld
G.C., a postal distribution clerk, claimed that workplace harassment and bullying caused an emotional condition. After his death, his widow pursued the appeal. The Board found that the statements and other evidence did not sufficiently establish harassment, abuse, or another compensable work…
Academy Roofing Corp.
Fire-extinguisher citation vacated for lack of quantity proof
Academy Roofing employees used flammable cleaner and adhesive while working on a construction-site roof. After a small fire exhausted the available extinguishers, OSHA cited the company under a rule requiring an extinguisher within 50 feet when more than five gallons of flammable or combustible…
R.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Federal Way, WA
R.M. (ECAB 14-1512): Finding of abandoned telephone hearing upheld
R.M., a postal mail processor with an accepted shoulder injury, requested a hearing after OWCP denied a recurrence claim. She did not join the scheduled telephone hearing or ask for another hearing within the required time. On appeal she said she never received notice, but the Board found that OWCP…
N.I. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Patrol, West Palm Beach, FL
N.I. (ECAB 14-1439): Shoulder claim denied after boat boarding incident
N.I., a marine interdiction agent, reported shoulder pain after gripping a rail while boarding another vessel at work. OWCP accepted that the incident happened, but denied his claim for a left shoulder condition. His physician described the incident and diagnosed shoulder problems, yet the Board…
E.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Greensboro, NC
E.J. (ECAB 14-1338): Hand condition claim denied for lack of medical link to postal work
E.J., a former rural mail carrier, claimed that lifting, sorting, and driving at work caused left thumb arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands. OWCP did not dispute the work duties but denied the claim. The Board found that the treating surgeon said the duties could predispose E.J. to…
K.K. and Defense Agencies, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Springfield, VA
K.K. (ECAB 14-1318): Ankle impairment rating returned for proper measurements
K.K., a federal team leader, received a schedule award for two percent right leg impairment after an accepted ankle injury. Her treating physician and a second opinion physician gave higher ratings. OWCP’s medical adviser found an error in the second opinion rating, but the Board found that neither…
R.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
R.R. (ECAB 14-1272): Late reconsideration request did not show clear error
R.R., a postal electronic technician, challenged OWCP’s termination of compensation after he declined a modified job offer. His reconsideration request reached OWCP two days after the one-year deadline, although he said it had been mailed earlier. The Board held that receipt, rather than mailing…
A.P. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Renton, WA
A.P. (ECAB 14-1228): Continuing disability claim denied after benefits ended
A.P., an aircraft mechanic with an accepted neck sprain, sought to establish continuing work-related disability after OWCP ended his benefits in 2010. Earlier Board decisions had upheld the termination and found his medical evidence insufficient. On reconsideration he resubmitted the same physician…
R.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Waycross, GA
R.M. (ECAB 14-1213): Refusal to reopen fall claim upheld
R.M., a postal sales and systems distributor, sought to reopen a claim arising from a reported fall at work. Prior Board decisions had found the medical evidence insufficient to establish the claimed injury and had addressed his theory that work conditions caused him to faint. In a new request, his…
F.S. and Department of Defense, Defense Commissary Agency, Redstone Arsenal, AL
F.S. (ECAB 14-0972): Spinal surgery authorization denial upheld
F.S., a commissary specialist, had an accepted lumbar strain from lifting groceries at work. Years later, her surgeon sought authorization for spinal fusion to treat degenerative disc disease. The Board found that the surgeon did not explain how the proposed surgery related to the accepted strain…
S.A. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Terminal Island, CA
S.A. (ECAB 14-0611): Claim after prison hostage incident held untimely
S.A., a former federal correctional officer, claimed an emotional condition after a 1978 hostage incident at work. He filed the compensation claim in 1997, after the three-year filing period. The Board found that contemporaneous records showed awareness of the incident but did not show that his…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Jeffery Harris v. Hanson Aggregates Mid-Pacific, Inc.
Temporary reinstatement dissolved after MSHA declines case
Jeffery Harris had been temporarily economically reinstated under a settlement while MSHA investigated his discrimination complaint against Hanson Aggregates. MSHA later found insufficient evidence and told the parties that the Secretary would not file a merits discrimination case. Judge Alan G…
Secretary of Labor v. Black Beauty Coal Company
Oral argument scheduled on cross-petitions
Black Beauty Coal and the Secretary filed cross-petitions for discretionary review on two separate issues, and the Commission granted both petitions. Black Beauty then requested oral argument. The Commission granted that request and scheduled argument for October 29, 2014. Each party received 15…
D.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, El Paso, TX
D.M. (ECAB 14-1473): Neck injury claim denied for lack of medical causation
D.M., a border patrol agent, reported neck and arm symptoms after pulling herself out of a work vehicle. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the neck injury claim. The Board found that her orthopedic surgeon and chiropractor described her symptoms and the event without explaining…
C.V. and Department of the Navy, Navy Public Works Center, Oakland, CA
C.V. (ECAB 14-1449): Refusal to revisit hearing award upheld
C.V., a retired Navy equipment operator, had an accepted claim for work-related hearing loss and tinnitus and received a schedule award for 16 percent hearing impairment in both ears. He requested reconsideration, arguing that his tinnitus warranted more compensation and questioning the award…
E.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, Pembroke Pines, FL
E.R. (ECAB 14-1436): Elbow injury claim denied for lack of qualifying medical evidence
E.R., a customs officer, reported elbow pain after extending his arm to open a container door at work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but found insufficient medical evidence of a resulting injury. His chiropractor diagnosed an elbow condition, but the Board held that the chiropractor did…
W.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cincinnati, OH
W.R. (ECAB 14-1428): Hernia claim denied for lack of causal explanation
W.R., a postal mail clerk, claimed that lifting and carrying mail at work caused an umbilical hernia. OWCP accepted that he performed some of those duties but denied the claim. The Board found that his physician described a possible work connection without specifying the relevant duties or…
A.B. and Department of the Air Force, Norton Air Force Base, CA
A.B. (ECAB 14-1367): Late reconsideration request lacked clear error
A.B., a former Air Force mechanic, sought to revisit a termination of compensation for accepted back conditions. His reconsideration request reached OWCP more than one year after the most recent merit decision. The Board found that his new physician report and arguments did not clearly show that…
S.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Vineland, NJ
S.R. (ECAB 14-1340): Wage-loss claim denied after accepted foot injury
S.R., a city letter carrier, had an accepted claim for left foot conditions arising from her work duties. She sought wage-loss benefits from the date her postal employment ended. Her podiatrist said the conditions limited her ability to perform regular duties, but the Board found that he did not…
D.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, East Orange, NJ
D.B. (ECAB 14-1290): Neck condition recurrence claim denied
D.B., a Veterans Affairs fire protection inspector, had accepted injuries from a 2003 fall and later reported renewed neck symptoms. He sought a recurrence beginning in October 2013. The Board found that OWCP had not accepted a cervical condition and that the current x-ray did not link his neck…
M.P. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Miami, FL
M.P. (ECAB 14-1172): Emotional condition claim after aircraft crash denied
M.P., an air traffic controller, learned during her shift that an aircraft she had earlier transferred to another control center had crashed, killing those aboard. She reported an acute stress condition. The Board found that she had no operational responsibility for the aircraft after transferring…
S.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Edison, NJ
S.D. (ECAB 14-0741): Ankle fracture did not establish accepted-injury recurrence
S.D., a postal worker with an accepted lumbar disc injury, fractured her ankle after tripping at home. Her surgeon said chronic footdrop caused the fall and was related to her earlier back injury. The Board found that OWCP had never accepted footdrop as a work-related condition and that the…
Sport Air Traffic Controllers Organization (Union) and United States Department of the Air Force, Edwards Air Force Base, California (Agency)
Sport Air Traffic Controllers and Edwards Air Force Base (FLRA 0-AR-5011): Furlough award upheld
Edwards Air Force Base began furloughing air traffic controllers before bargaining and impasse procedures over the furlough plan were complete. An arbitrator found that the timing was necessary for the agency's operations and rejected the union's grievance. The Authority held that the arbitrator…
J.S. and Department of the Air Force, Robins Air Force Base, Warner Robins, GA
J.S. (ECAB 14-1435): Thumb injury claim lacked a medical diagnosis
J.S., an Air Force sheet metal mechanic, reported that another employee drilled into his left thumb while he held a metal structure at work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied his injury claim for lack of medical evidence of a diagnosed condition related to it. His physician…
L.M. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans, LA
L.M. (ECAB 14-1404): Written record review request was late
L.M., an Army Corps of Engineers machinist, asked OWCP to review the written record concerning its April 2011 decision reducing his compensation to zero. OWCP received the request in May 2014, beyond the 30-day period for review as a matter of right. The Board found that OWCP reasonably declined to…
E.D. and Department of the Army, Army Depot, Corpus Christi, TX
E.D. (ECAB 14-1373): One percent leg impairment award upheld
E.D., an Army Depot production controller, injured her left foot when she stumbled at work. OWCP granted a schedule award for one percent impairment of her left leg, or 2.88 weeks of compensation. She appealed because she believed the rating was too low and reported continuing pain and difficulty…
R.A. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Miami, FL
R.A. (ECAB 14-1327): Wage-loss claim lacked medical support for the claimed dates
R.A., a prison cook foreman, sought wage-loss compensation for April 14 through May 4, 2013 after a workplace fall. OWCP had accepted chest and elbow contusions but denied compensation for that period. The Board found that his doctors did not explain how those accepted conditions disabled him on…
E.B. and U.S. Postal Service, General Mail Facility, Colorado Springs, CO
E.B. (ECAB 14-1171): Carpal tunnel claim lacked a medical link to mail work
E.B., a postal mail handler, attributed bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome to duties such as sorting and handling mail. His supervisor confirmed that he performed those duties, and OWCP denied his occupational disease claim. The Board found that medical reports diagnosed carpal tunnel syndrome…
R.P. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Alexandria, VA
R.P. (ECAB 14-1162): Repeated medical report did not reopen benefits case
R.P., a FEMA employee, sought reconsideration after OWCP terminated her benefits for an accepted workplace injury. A prior Board decision had required OWCP to treat her requests as timely. OWCP then applied the timely-request standard but declined to reopen the merits. The Board found that the…
R.W. and U.S. Postal Service, West Carrier Annex, Miami, FL
R.W. (ECAB 14-1136): Late reconsideration request did not show clear error
R.W., a postal worker, sought reconsideration of OWCP’s denial of a claim that his work duties caused or aggravated a back condition. His request came more than one year after the last merit decision. The Board found that the new medical reports described work-related back pain but did not explain…
D.S. and Department of the Navy, Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest, San Diego, CA
D.S. (ECAB 14-0466): Back injury denials set aside for further medical review
D.S., a Navy dispatcher, reported back and leg pain after dropping into a workplace chair whose settings had changed. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied his claim because it found the medical evidence insufficient to link his lumbar condition to it. The Board found that his…
R.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Carol Stream, IL
R.W. (ECAB 14-0195): Overpayment upheld, waiver question sent back
R.W., a postal worker, received an additional schedule award for arm impairment that OWCP later found duplicated impairment covered by earlier awards. The Board upheld OWCP’s finding that the resulting overpayment was $31,473.32 and that R.W. was not at fault. It set aside OWCP’s refusal to waive…
United States Department of the Navy, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Division Keyport (Agency) and Bremerton Metal Trades Council, AFL-CIO (Union/Petitioner)
Navy Keyport and Bremerton Metal Trades Council (FLRA SF-RP-14-0002): Detachment employees remain outside unit
The Bremerton Metal Trades Council sought to add Naval Undersea Warfare Center detachment employees to its existing bargaining unit without an election. A regional director found that changes in the detachments' names and organizational codes had not meaningfully changed employees' duties…
Wisconsin Industrial Sand Co. v. Secretary of Labor
Expedited hearing denied for abated citation
Wisconsin Industrial Sand contested an escapeway citation and requested an expedited hearing because it viewed abatement as expensive or unnecessary and believed MSHA may have abused its discretion. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy found no extraordinary or unique circumstances requiring faster treatment…
J.M. and Department of the Interior, Fish & Wildlife Service, Neosho, MO
J.M. (ECAB 14-1387): Shoulder claim lacked a medical explanation of causation
J.M., a Fish and Wildlife Service biologist, reported that he hurt his shoulder in a fall while taking down a tent at work. OWCP accepted that the fall occurred but denied the injury claim. The Board found that his physician diagnosed shoulder conditions without adequately explaining how the fall…
W.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Kearny, NJ
W.A. (ECAB 14-1336): Shoulder claim lacked a reasoned medical link to sorting work
W.A., a postal clerk with a prior accepted shoulder injury, reported severe shoulder pain after returning to limited work sorting letters. OWCP accepted that she performed the described duties but denied her claim for a new injury. The Board found that her physician described chronic shoulder…
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.