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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M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Oakland, CA
M.M. (ECAB 13-2029): Travel reimbursement overpayment upheld
M.M., a former Postal Service mail processor with an accepted back injury, received travel reimbursements while collecting FECA compensation. The Board found that he had claimed travel for physical therapy when the trips were instead to an Alcoholics Anonymous support group that OWCP had not…
W.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Little Rock, AR
W.P. (ECAB 13-1992): Recurrence of disability claim denied
W.P., a Postal Service letter carrier, had accepted work-related carpal tunnel syndrome, left elbow epicondylitis, and shoulder impingement. After returning to full duties, he claimed that these conditions caused renewed disability beginning in June 2012. His treating physician attributed worsening…
D.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, El Cerrito, CA
D.P. (ECAB 13-0769): Emotional condition claim denial upheld
D.P., a former Postal Service casual clerk, attributed a depressive condition to treatment by supervisors and to personnel actions. The Board found that her claim concerned administrative matters rather than her regular job duties. It found insufficient evidence that supervisors erred or acted…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 67 (Union) and United States Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service (Agency)
NTEU Chapter 67 and IRS (FLRA 0-AR-5014): Late fee request remains denied
An IRS employee won arbitration requiring the agency to reevaluate her performance rating. The parties agreed that any related attorney-fee request would be filed within twenty days after the reevaluation. The union submitted its request more than a year and a half after the agency issued the…
Secretary of Labor v. Oak Grove Resources, LLC
Interlocutory review of flagrant-violation order denied
An ALJ set out proposed criteria for proving repeated flagrant violations and ordered the Secretary to file a prehearing statement applying those criteria. The ALJ later certified the order for interlocutory review after finding that the Secretary's statement did not clarify the controlling legal…
D.S. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Nuclear Power Division, Chattanooga, TN
D.S. (ECAB 14-1194): Zeroing of wage-loss compensation reversed
D.S., a Tennessee Valley Authority employee with an accepted back injury, had a wage-earning capacity determination based on his work as a program administrator. OWCP later treated him as able to return to his former, more demanding boilermaker job and reduced his wage-loss compensation to zero…
L.A. and Department of the Navy, Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia, PA
L.A. (ECAB 14-1138): Termination of back injury benefits reversed
L.A., a former Navy shipyard painter, received compensation for back conditions accepted after a 1982 fall at work. OWCP terminated his wage-loss and medical benefits based on a referral physician’s opinion that the work injury had resolved. The Board found that the physician discounted a back…
D.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Kearny, NJ
D.D. (ECAB 14-1119): Repetitive work injury claim denial upheld
D.D., a former Postal Service mail clerk, claimed that decades of repetitive sorting work caused conditions in her wrists, hands, forearms, and neck. Her treating physician and an OWCP physician disagreed about whether work caused bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome or cervical radiculopathy. OWCP…
D.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Greenfield, WI
D.B. (ECAB 14-0879): Two percent awards for each arm upheld
D.B., a Postal Service letter carrier, received schedule awards for permanent impairment after accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and a right trigger thumb. He sought greater awards based on his surgeon’s estimate of five percent impairment in each upper extremity. The Board found that the…
M.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pittsburgh, PA
M.R. (ECAB 14-0833): Schedule award denial upheld after impairment review
M.R., a Postal Service worker, sought a schedule award for accepted left elbow and back injuries. His physician rated no left arm impairment but estimated 12 percent whole person impairment from the spinal injury. The Board explained that FECA does not provide a schedule award for the spine itself…
D.J. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, East Orange, NJ
D.J. (ECAB 14-0784): Knee claim and late hearing denial upheld
D.J., a Veterans Affairs security assistant, reported striking her left knee on a desk at work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but found insufficient medical evidence connecting it to her knee condition. The Board agreed because the medical opinions did not adequately explain causation or…
P.F. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Columbia, SC
P.F. (ECAB 13-0728): Total disability recurrence denial upheld
P.F., a Veterans Affairs nurse, sought compensation for total disability after returning to modified work following an accepted injury. OWCP later added permanent aggravation of cervical and shoulder conditions to her claim but denied the claimed recurrence of total disability. The Board found that…
Secretary of Labor v. Pickett Mining Group
Tractor-guarding citation vacated for lack of Mine Act jurisdiction
Pickett Mining Group operated a commercial gold mine on property that also contained a separate recreational campground and gold-panning business. MSHA cited an antique tractor with unguarded fan blades and a drive belt while it was parked in a shared storage area near the mine. Judge Priscilla M…
Secretary of Labor, on behalf of Kenneth P. Lear, Jr. v. Kenamerican Resources, Inc.
Miner temporarily reinstated pending discrimination case
Kenneth Lear alleged that Kenamerican Resources ended his employment after he refused an assignment that he believed would disrupt mine ventilation and endanger miners. Kenamerican disputed that he received the assignment, engaged in protected activity, or was fired, arguing that he quit or was…
O.O. and U.S. Postal Service, International Service Center, Chicago, IL
O.O. (ECAB 14-1321): Late hearing denial upheld
O.O., a Postal Service mail handler, sought a hearing after OWCP denied her occupational disease claim. She mailed the hearing request on January 4, 2014, more than 30 days after the January 23, 2013 claim decision. The Board found that the request was too late for a hearing as a matter of right…
K.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Rockford, IL
K.S. (ECAB 14-1206): Back injury claim denial affirmed
K.S., a Postal Service letter carrier, reported back pain after another vehicle struck his postal truck from behind. OWCP accepted that the collision occurred but denied his injury claim because the medical evidence did not establish a diagnosed condition caused by the incident. The Board agreed…
V.W. and Department of Agriculture, Food Safety & Inspection Service, Nashville, AR
V.W. (ECAB 14-1183): Termination of wrist injury benefits affirmed
V.W., a former federal food inspector, had received benefits for a right wrist injury sustained in 1986. OWCP ended his wage-loss and medical benefits after his treating physicians reported that the accepted wrist injury no longer caused symptoms or required treatment. One physician attributed…
E.O. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Richmond, VA
E.O. (ECAB 14-1015): Refusal to reopen wage-loss claim affirmed
E.O., an IRS group secretary with accepted arm and hand conditions, sought wage-loss compensation for a period in 2012 and 2013. OWCP denied that claim, and she later asked it to reconsider. The Board found that her new medical reports did not address whether she was disabled from work during the…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Airport Station, Mobile, AL
M.M. (ECAB 14-0581): Wage-loss claim partly affirmed and remanded
M.M., a Postal Service rural carrier with accepted elbow injuries, sought wage-loss compensation for periods when she said her employer could not accommodate her restrictions. The Board found that her medical reports did not establish disability caused by those injuries during the claimed periods…
M.B., claiming as widow of T.B., and Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, Springfield, VA
M.B. (ECAB 14-0446): Survivor-benefit overpayment affirmed
M.B. received FECA death benefits after her husband, a federal agent, died following an assault at work. OWCP determined that it had failed to offset Social Security benefits attributable to his federal service, creating a $167,721.39 overpayment. The Board upheld that calculation and found that…
W.C. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Patrol, Brownsville, TX
W.C. (ECAB 14-0240): Hearing loss award of 37 percent affirmed
W.C., a Customs and Border Protection officer, received a schedule award for work-related hearing loss. He appealed the finding that his permanent binaural impairment was 37 percent. The Board found that the examining physician applied the hearing-loss tables in the adopted impairment guide…
V.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Merrifield, VA
V.D. (ECAB 13-1101): Pay-rate overpayment affirmed
V.D., a former Postal Service letter carrier, returned to FECA wage-loss benefits after a schedule award period. OWCP paid her at a weekly rate of $1,827.00 instead of the applicable $493.38 rate, producing a $116,155.03 overpayment. The Board found that the payment notices and size of the checks…
Secretary of Labor v. Carl Moore, employed by Calvary Coal Corporation
Secretary of Labor v. Carl Moore (FMSHRC VA 2012-356): Mine foreman ordered to respond or risk default
The Secretary sought a $3,300 individual penalty against Calvary Coal foreman Carl Moore under section 110(c) after combustible accumulations were cited at the mine. Judge Jerold Feldman observed that Moore's knowledge of the accumulations might support the operator's unwarrantable-failure finding…
T.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Greensboro, NC
T.P. (ECAB 14-1200): Arm impairment ratings sent back to OWCP
T.P., a Postal Service letter carrier with accepted carpal tunnel syndrome and elbow conditions, received schedule awards based on five percent impairment of each arm. He sought a higher rating. The Board found that OWCP’s medical adviser had not explained how the five percent ratings followed the…
Y.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Capitol Heights, MD
Y.O. (ECAB 14-1179): One percent ankle impairment award upheld
Y.O., a Postal Service mail carrier, had an accepted left ankle injury and received a schedule award for one percent impairment of her left leg. She sought a higher award, supported by medical opinions assigning larger ratings. The Board found that one physician used an inapplicable table and…
D.L. and Department of Defense, Fort Benning, GA
D.L. (ECAB 14-1126): Two percent left leg award affirmed
D.L., a former Department of Defense custodian, received a schedule award for two percent impairment of his left leg after an accepted knee injury. He sought a higher award based partly on a physician’s rating of his back condition. The Board found that the knee rating remained two percent under…
L.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Facility, San Bernardino, CA
L.B. (ECAB 14-1089): Left hip condition claim denied
L.B., a Postal Service mail clerk, claimed that lifting, pushing, and other work activities caused a left hip condition. OWCP accepted that she performed the reported work activities but denied the claim. The Board found medical evidence of a left hip lesion, yet no physician explained how her work…
E.T. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Terre Haute, IN
E.T. (ECAB 14-1087): Injury claim denial affirmed after inmate incident
E.T., a Bureau of Prisons instructor, reported hand abrasions and back strain after an attempted assault by an inmate. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied compensation because the evidence did not connect the claimed conditions to it. The Board found the abrasions too vaguely…
R.P. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Fairton, NJ
R.P. (ECAB 14-0988): Twelve percent left leg award upheld
R.P., a Bureau of Prisons correctional officer, received schedule awards totaling 12 percent impairment of his left leg after an accepted ankle fracture. He sought a higher award based on a physician’s proposed class 2 rating. The Board gave greater weight to the impartial specialist, who explained…
M.C. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Newark, NJ
M.C. (ECAB 13-1954): Hip impairment question remanded
M.C. sought a schedule award for permanent impairment. A referee physician recorded hip flexion of 100 degrees but also described the measurements as normal, and OWCP’s medical adviser did not address the range-of-motion finding. The Board found that the record left open whether a range-of-motion…
Secretary of Labor v. Lhoist North America of Virginia, Inc.
Five blasting-rig violations affirmed and $44,040 assessed
After its regular blasting rig failed, Lhoist directed miners to convert a Ford pickup into a temporary rig for transporting and loading ANFO explosive material. Judge Priscilla M. Rae upheld five violations involving unsafe access to the ANFO tank, missing pressure-relief and pressure-indicating…
H.W. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service National Office, Richmond, VA
H.W. (ECAB 14-0948): Eye impairment rating remanded
H.W., an IRS criminal investigator, received a schedule award for 10 percent impairment after an accepted left eye injury. She sought a higher award. The Board found that OWCP’s medical consultant had used corrected vision to rate her eye, although FECA requires the loss of vision to be measured…
J.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Louisville, KY
J.S. (ECAB 14-1147): Right shoulder schedule award denied
J.S., a Postal Service letter carrier, sought a schedule award after an accepted shoulder injury and surgical repair. OWCP’s examining physician found no permanent right arm impairment from the accepted injury, and the Board gave his examination the greatest weight. Later imaging suggested a new…
S.R. and Department of the Interior, BR-Regular Employee Functions, Billings, MT
S.R. (ECAB 14-1103): Seven percent shoulder award affirmed
S.R., a Department of the Interior drill rig operator, received a schedule award after accepted right shoulder tendon injuries. Dr. Petrisko rated the arm at 10 percent impairment using range-of-motion measurements, while OWCP’s medical adviser rated it at seven percent using the diagnosis-based…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Redondo Beach, CA
S.M. (ECAB 14-1052): One percent left leg award affirmed
S.M., a Postal Service letter carrier, received a schedule award for one percent left leg impairment after an accepted groin strain. Her physician proposed a three percent whole-person rating using a hernia table. The Board found that no hernia had been accepted or shown on imaging, and FECA does…
R.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, Louisville, KY
R.M. (ECAB 14-0926): Cashier wage-capacity finding upheld
R.M., a Postal Service clerk with an accepted back injury, had her benefits reduced based on her capacity to work as a cashier. She sought to change that determination using a later medical report. The Board found that the report continued to rule out her original mail-clerk job but did not show a…
C.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Trenton, NJ
C.C. (ECAB 14-0884): Refusal to reopen shoulder award claim affirmed
C.C., a Postal Service distribution clerk, sought an additional schedule award after receiving an 18 percent right arm award for an accepted shoulder condition. OWCP denied the additional award and then refused to reopen the case on reconsideration. The Board found that her repeated medical reports…
J.W. and National Aeronautics & Space Administration, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
J.W. (ECAB 14-0825): Reconsideration refusal set aside
J.W., a NASA engineer, sustained a leg fracture when he fell from his wheelchair while leaving an agency vehicle on agency grounds. OWCP denied his claim on the ground that he had deviated from work and later declined to reconsider. The Board found that his reconsideration request raised new…
J.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chadds Ford, PA
J.D. (ECAB 13-2120 and 14-0033): Benefit termination upheld, ankle claim remanded
J.D., a Postal Service rural carrier, had an accepted bilateral plantar fasciitis claim and a separate claim for a left ankle tendon condition. OWCP ended benefits for the plantar fasciitis and denied the ankle claim. The Board found that the medical opinion supporting termination showed the…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Kansas City, Missouri (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2663 (Union)
VA Kansas City and AFGE Local 2663 (FLRA 0-AR-5028): Discipline award upheld
The VA Kansas City medical center challenged an arbitration award that overturned an employee's suspension and directed backpay. The Authority issued an abbreviated decision denying the agency's exceptions after finding no ground that made the award deficient under the federal labor statute. A…
Dickenson-Russell Coal Co., LLC v. Secretary of Labor
Direct safeguard contest dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
Dickenson-Russell Coal challenged an MSHA notice requiring sanding devices on certain track-mounted personnel carriers before MSHA issued any citation or order for violating the safeguard. The operator argued that the safeguard functioned like a citation and that due process required immediate…
Helen M. Rothwell v. Heritage Coal Company
Rothwell v. Heritage Coal (BRB 14-0044): survivor claim need not await final miner award
Helen Rothwell sought black lung survivor benefits after her husband Ronald died while his own benefits case was pending. An administrative law judge had awarded Ronald benefits, but the employer's challenge meant the award was not final. A second judge sent Helen's claim back to the district…
K.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bedford Park, IL
K.M. (ECAB 14-1160): Back injury denial and reconsideration refusal affirmed
K.M., a Postal Service mail processor, claimed a back injury after lifting heavy trays at work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but found no medical opinion explaining how it caused her diagnosed condition. The Board agreed and treated the claim as a new traumatic injury rather than a…
Q.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Edison, NJ
Q.K. (ECAB 14-1142): One reconsideration refusal upheld, another remanded
Q.K., a Postal Service mail carrier, sought reconsideration of a denied injury claim. OWCP reviewed her first request on the merits. The Board found that the material supporting her second request lacked relevant new evidence, so OWCP could refuse to reopen the case in October 2013. But OWCP…
G.R. and Social Security Administration, Salinas, CA
G.R. (ECAB 14-1057): Claimed wage loss for a right wrist condition denied
G.R., a Social Security Administration claims representative, sought wage-loss compensation after OWCP accepted a right wrist condition attributed to repetitive work. She claimed disability for September 23 and 24, 2010, and December 22, 2010 through February 8, 2011. The Board found that one…
L.B. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Olathe, KS
L.B. (ECAB 14-0911): Emotional condition claim returned for medical review
L.B., a Federal Aviation Administration air traffic control specialist, claimed an emotional condition following an April 2010 incident at work. OWCP had accepted that she experienced stress while performing her duties and that a coworker harassed and retaliated against her by publicly accusing her…
J.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Providence, RI
J.J. (ECAB 14-0785): Claimed benefit overpayment returned for proof
J.J., a Postal Service rural carrier, received workers’ compensation after a work injury. OWCP determined that she had received a $5,564.20 overpayment because part of her Social Security benefits was attributable to federal service, and it ordered repayment through deductions of $200 every 28…
P.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Kansas City, MO
P.R. (ECAB 14-0346): Emotional condition claim denied without a compensable work factor
P.R., a Postal Service postmaster, attributed anxiety, depression, and other health concerns to treatment at work and the absence of a relief postmaster. The Board found that her allegations about harassment, office conditions, and the handling of leave and staffing were either uncorroborated or…
E.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hammond, IN
E.C. (ECAB 14-0022): Wage capacity and overpayment rulings upheld
E.C., a Postal Service letter carrier, challenged a wage-earning capacity determination based on a medical record coder position and an associated overpayment decision. The Board found that she had not shown the capacity determination was erroneous or that her work-related condition had materially…
P.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Los Angeles, CA
P.J. (ECAB 13-1927): Closed-period disability ruling returned under correct burden
P.J., a Postal Service letter carrier, had an accepted work-related left knee condition and received compensation for a period ending June 24, 2008. She sought compensation after that date, but OWCP denied the request because it concluded that she had not proved continued disability. The Board…
Footprint Power Salem Harbor Development, LP
In re Footprint Power Salem Harbor Development, LP (EAB PSD Appeal No. 14-02): PSD permit review denied
Massachusetts issued Footprint Power Salem Harbor Development, LP a Clean Air Act prevention-of-significant-deterioration permit for a combined-cycle electric generating facility in Salem, Massachusetts. Four petitioners challenged the best available control technology analysis, including limits…
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tampa, FL
J.B. (ECAB 14-1191): Termination of wage-loss and medical benefits reversed
J.B., a Postal Service rural carrier, received benefits after a work-related vehicle collision. OWCP ended her wage-loss compensation and medical benefits on the ground that her accepted injuries had resolved. Her treating physician reported that she could return to full duty, but also documented…
J.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chicago, IL
J.J. (ECAB 14-0951): Benefits ended after refusal of suitable work
J.J., a Postal Service clerk with accepted right shoulder conditions, was offered a modified job after receiving wage-loss benefits. The Board found that the offered duties fit the restrictions given by her orthopedic surgeon and that OWCP followed the required notice procedure for a suitable work…
A.P. and Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Logistics Base, Albany, GA
A.P. (ECAB 14-0851): Wage capacity ruling and refusal to reopen upheld
A.P., a Marine Corps Logistics Base employee, sought to change a 2001 wage-earning capacity determination based on a modified recycling specialist position. The Board found that his physician had not explained how the accepted lumbar conditions had materially worsened so that he could no longer…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Coppell, TX
D.S. (ECAB 14-0755): Wage-loss denial upheld, appointment time reconsidered
D.S., a Postal Service rural carrier, claimed wage-loss compensation after an accepted back injury. The Board found that her physician did not adequately explain disability for July 22 through September 20, 2013 and gave inconsistent opinions about whether she could work with restrictions. Reports…
G.S. and Department of the Navy, Naval Station, Norfolk, VA
G.S. (ECAB 14-0754): Emotional condition claim denied without a compensable work factor
G.S., a Navy electrician, claimed anxiety after a confrontation with a manager and alleged a broader hostile work environment. The Board found that the record did not support his allegations of discrimination or establish that the manager acted unreasonably in directing him to leave a coworker’s…
K.R. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Bremerton, WA
K.R. (ECAB 14-0732): Refusals to reopen knee claim upheld
K.R., a Navy lead library technician, sought reconsideration after OWCP denied her right knee condition claim. The Board could review only OWCP’s refusals to reopen, not the earlier merits denial. It found that her physician’s later letters substantially repeated opinions OWCP had already…
J.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Philadelphia Bulk Mail Center, Philadelphia, PA
J.E. (ECAB 14-0586): Medical benefit termination reversed; disability denial set aside
J.E., a Postal Service employee, sought medical benefits and intermittent disability compensation after an August 2010 work injury. His physician and OWCP’s referral physician disagreed about whether the injury caused conditions beyond a neck strain, including a shoulder injury and aggravated neck…
A.B. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Seattle, WA
A.B. (ECAB 14-0354): Termination of knee injury benefits upheld
A.B., a Bureau of Prisons medical records technician, received benefits for an accepted right knee injury. OWCP terminated wage-loss compensation and medical benefits after a physician concluded that the accepted injury had resolved and that she could return to work without knee restrictions. The…
J.B. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Systems Command Stations, Cherry Point, NC
J.B. (ECAB 13-2155): Termination of back injury benefits reversed
J.B., a Navy public affairs officer, had received benefits for accepted back conditions after a work injury. OWCP terminated wage-loss compensation and medical benefits based on an impartial physician’s opinion that no work-related disability or residuals remained. The Board found that the…
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.