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.Y. and U.S. Postal Service, North Texas Processing and Distribution Center, Coppell, TX
M.Y. (ECAB 14-0957): Leg awards and debt deduction affirmed
M.Y., a postal clerk, received leg impairment awards after an accepted back and right hip injury. The Board found that her physician had properly rated one percent impairment of the left leg and 15 percent of the right under the applicable guides. OWCP deducted an earlier $7,425.40 overpayment from…
J.S. and Department of Justice, Federal Correctional Institute Safford, Safford, AZ
J.S. (ECAB 14-0873): Five percent right arm award affirmed
J.S., a correctional institute warehouse worker, received a five percent right arm award after an accepted elbow and biceps injury. His surgeon estimated 50 percent impairment without showing how he applied the required rating guides. OWCP’s medical adviser applied the guides to the surgeon’s…
L.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Raleigh, NC
L.H. (ECAB 14-0798): 2014 refusal to reopen later set aside
L.H., a postal mail expeditor, sought reconsideration of a claim about whether a vascular condition followed an accepted work injury. In this 2014 decision, the Board found that his latest request supplied no new medical evidence or relevant legal argument and affirmed OWCP’s refusal to reopen. The…
S.G. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, North Syracuse, NY
S.G. (ECAB 14-0797): Refusal to reopen back claim affirmed
S.G., a transportation security officer, sought reconsideration of a denied claim for a low back condition. She said she enclosed new evidence with her request, but no additional evidence entered the record before OWCP decided it. The Board found no new medical evidence or relevant legal argument…
L.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Macon, GA
L.P. (ECAB 14-0481): Carpal tunnel claim denial affirmed
L.P., a postal supervisor, had accepted shoulder and cervical spine conditions after a workplace lifting injury. She asked OWCP to add carpal tunnel syndrome to her claim. The Board found that her physicians diagnosed or considered carpal tunnel syndrome but did not explain how the accepted…
G.B. and Department of the Navy, Navy Public Works Center, Naval Station, San Diego, CA
G.B. (ECAB 14-0419): Retirement benefit overpayment and repayment affirmed
G.B., a Navy carpenter, received FECA compensation while also receiving Social Security retirement benefits attributable in part to federal service. OWCP had failed to apply the required offset and calculated a $3,369.55 overpayment. The Board upheld that amount. Although OWCP found G.B. without…
American Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor
Smoldering stockpile held a reportable mine fire
MSHA issued a section 103(k) order after inspectors observed smoking and smoldering areas, heat waves, white ash, and a sulfur odor on American Coal's surface stockpile, then cited the operator for not reporting the event within 15 minutes. On second remand, Judge Margaret A. Miller held that the…
P.R. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cincinnati, OH
P.R. (ECAB 14-1007): Knee injury claim denial affirmed
P.R., an FBI paralegal, said a coworker collided with her wheelchair at work and injured her left knee. OWCP accepted that the collision happened but found insufficient medical evidence of a resulting injury. The Board held that her chiropractor did not qualify as a physician for this claim because…
S.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Ben Franklin Station, Washington, DC
S.E. (ECAB 14-0963): Knee replacement request returned for impartial examination
S.E., a postal carrier, had an accepted left knee injury and later sought authorization for a right knee replacement. His treating surgeon attributed the need for surgery to years of greater weight bearing on the right leg after the left knee injury. OWCP’s referral physician viewed the right knee…
W.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cincinnati, OH
W.M. (ECAB 14-0953): Additional one percent left arm award affirmed
W.M., a postal distribution clerk, sought a larger schedule award after an accepted left thumb injury and earlier elbow impairment awards. Dr. Fritzhand, an occupational medicine physician whose assessments OWCP requested, calculated 17 percent total left arm impairment. OWCP’s medical adviser used…
G.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Tennessee Performance Cluster, Nashville, TN
G.T. (ECAB 14-0859): Emotional condition claim and reopening denial affirmed
G.T., a postal clerk and carrier, said threats and a hostile work environment caused stress, anxiety, and depression. The Board found that he had not identified specific incidents with enough detail to establish a compensable work factor. He later submitted medical records with a reconsideration…
L.C. and Department of the Navy, Norfolk Naval Air Station, Norfolk, VA
L.C. (ECAB 14-0725): Two compensation overpayments and waiver denials affirmed
L.C., a Navy worker, received too much compensation during a period when he had higher actual earnings than OWCP used in a wage-earning capacity calculation. He later received wage-loss compensation after returning to full-time paid work. The Board upheld overpayments of $27,298.93 and $4,322.44…
B.M. and U.S. Postal Service, LAX-Dockweiler Station, Los Angeles, CA
B.M. (ECAB 14-0714): Neck and shoulder claim and late review denial affirmed
B.M., a postal city carrier, claimed that his work duties caused neck and right shoulder conditions. The Board found that his physician described diagnoses and earlier incidents but did not explain how specific duties caused the current conditions. B.M. also requested review of the written record…
L.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tampa, FL
L.R. (ECAB 14-0674): Right leg impairment award returned for new examination
L.R., a postal letter carrier, sought a larger schedule award after an accepted knee injury. His physician rated ten percent right leg impairment using range of motion; OWCP’s medical adviser rated two percent using a diagnosis-based method. The Board found that the treating physician did not…
R.P., daughter of L.P., and Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Oracle, AZ
R.P. (ECAB 14-0136): Survivor benefit overpayment returned for disability review
R.P. received survivor benefits after her father died during federal employment. OWCP found a $12,979.54 overpayment because payments continued after she turned 23. R.P. had reported that she was disabled and unable to support herself, a possible basis for continued benefits. The Board found that…
D.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
D.K. (ECAB 13-1707): Insurance premium overpayment and denial of waiver affirmed
D.K., a postal sales associate receiving disability compensation, elected to continue postretirement life insurance coverage. OWCP did not receive timely notice of that election and underwithheld premiums from February 26, 2011 through April 18, 2013. The Board found that the unpaid $2,790.04 in…
P.H. and Department of Labor, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, Division of Energy Employees’ Compensation, Jacksonville, FL
P.H. (ECAB 13-1391): Emotional condition claim reopened for merit review
P.H., a Department of Labor claims examiner, sought compensation for an emotional condition she attributed to events at work. OWCP denied the claim in 2010, finding no compensable work factor, and later refused to reopen it on reconsideration. The Board found that P.H. had submitted new, relevant…
Secretary of Labor v. Quality Materials and CDG Materials, Incorporated
Secretary of Labor v. Quality Materials and CDG Materials, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 2009-557-M, et al.): Eight citations affirmed and $47,700 assessed
MSHA inspectors found two miners standing on an operating cone crusher without fall protection, while the person acting as site foreman also lacked a hard hat and safety glasses. They also found an accessible tail pulley unguarded and, two weeks after it was cited and guarded, found the same pulley…
Secretary of Labor v. Armstrong Coal Company, Inc.
Late-filed $25,000 settlement approval affirmed
Armstrong Coal and the Secretary agreed to settle a section 75.325(b) citation for $25,000 instead of the proposed $40,300. The Secretary repeatedly missed deadlines for filing the settlement motion and then submitted it without answering three questions in the judge's show-cause order. Armstrong…
Corrections Corporation of America
Wage determination appeal withdrawn
Corrections Corporation of America sought Board review of a wage determination. It later decided to withdraw its petition after considering the costs of appeal and limits on the Board's ability to overturn a wage determination retroactively. The Wage and Hour Division did not oppose withdrawal. The…
H.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, Chicago, IL
H.S. (ECAB 14-0971): Late hearing request denied
H.S., a postal mail handler equipment operator, had an accepted left ankle fracture. OWCP denied his later request for a schedule award, and he requested an oral hearing nearly a year after that decision. The Board found that the hearing request was outside the 30-day period for a hearing as of…
P.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tampa, FL
P.B. (ECAB 14-0837): Back injury claim denied for lack of medical explanation
P.B., a postal rural carrier, reported lower back pain after bending to retrieve mail at work. OWCP accepted that the incident happened but denied the injury claim. The Board found that her physicians had not adequately explained how the incident caused or aggravated her diagnosed back conditions…
K.L. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, East Orange, NJ
K.L. (ECAB 14-0815): Reconsideration of schedule award denial refused
K.L., a nurse, sustained accepted knee and back conditions after slipping at work. OWCP denied her schedule award claim because she had not provided a medical impairment rating. She asked for reconsideration, explaining that she could not find a physician to perform the rating and submitting other…
M.A. and U.S. Postal Service, North Bay Processing & Distribution Center, Petaluma, CA
M.A. (ECAB 14-0700): Wage-earning capacity reduction left in place
M.A., a postal worker with accepted arm and shoulder conditions, received compensation after her modified job was withdrawn. OWCP later reduced her benefits based on its finding that she could work as a surveillance system monitor. M.A. sought modification, arguing that the position exceeded her…
A.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Denver, CO
A.A. (ECAB 14-0507): Shoulder impairment award increased to 14 percent
A.A., a postal mail clerk, fractured her right shoulder after falling on ice at work. OWCP awarded five percent right arm impairment, using a diagnosis-based rating, but the Board found that the applicable shoulder grid also allowed a range of motion rating. Her physician’s measurements supported…
M.W. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA
M.W. (ECAB 14-0457): Consequential hip and back claim sent for impartial examination
M.W., a Navy engineering technician, had an accepted foot and ankle injury after a fall at work. Years later, he sought coverage for hip and back conditions that he said resulted from his altered gait. His treating physician linked the conditions to the gait, while OWCP’s medical adviser disputed…
D.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Rahway, NJ
D.B. (ECAB 14-0451): Refusal to reopen knee benefits termination affirmed
D.B., a postal letter carrier, had an accepted left knee injury, but OWCP later terminated her compensation and medical benefits. She requested reconsideration, arguing that her employer’s investigators improperly showed surveillance video to her treating physician. The Board found that the…
C.J. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Milwaukee, WI
C.J. (ECAB 14-0420): Three percent arm award and late hearing denial affirmed
C.J., a nursing assistant, sustained accepted neck and back conditions when an elevator fell at work. OWCP awarded three percent permanent impairment of her left arm, and she sought a larger award. The Board found that OWCP’s medical adviser used the proper impairment method and that the competing…
R.G. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA
R.G. (ECAB 14-0040): Dinner trip during temporary duty held within employment
R.G., a Navy employee on temporary duty in San Diego, was a passenger in a car struck from behind while he and coworkers looked for a place to eat dinner. OWCP denied his injury claim, citing gaps in the account of what the group did after work. The Board held that travel for dinner was a normal…
Secretary of Labor v. Virginia Drilling Company, LLC
Inadequate post-blast examination affirmed with $23,229 penalty
Virginia Drilling's certified blaster inspected a blast from one vantage point, declared the area clear, and missed approximately 10 to 12 undetonated holes that remained while heavy equipment and miners resumed work. Judge L. Zane Gill held that the post-blast examination was inadequate under 30…
D.W. and Department of the Navy, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, VA
D.W. (ECAB 14-0931): Hearing award returned for tinnitus explanation
D.W., a Navy marine machinist supervisor, had accepted hearing loss from workplace noise. OWCP awarded four percent binaural hearing impairment, while its examining physician calculated a higher figure after adding three percent for tinnitus. The Board agreed with the four percent hearing loss…
D.B., claiming as child of T.B., and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jacksonville, FL
D.B. (ECAB 14-0916): Hearing request deemed abandoned
T.B., a postal mail clerk, filed a claim after fainting and falling at work. OWCP denied the claim, and he requested an oral hearing before his death. His child, D.B., appealed OWCP’s later finding that the hearing request had been abandoned. The Board found that OWCP mailed notice of the scheduled…
J.A. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard, Cape May, NJ
J.A. (ECAB 14-0848): Right leg impairment award affirmed at 31 percent
J.A., a Coast Guard construction representative, had accepted leg osteoarthritis and underwent knee replacements. OWCP had awarded 25 percent right leg impairment, then added six percent after an impartial examiner rated the total impairment at 31 percent. J.A. sought a higher rating based on his…
S.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jackson, NJ
S.F. (ECAB 14-0792): Back injury claim denied for insufficient causation evidence
S.F., a postal worker with a previously accepted lumbar injury, reported new back pain after casing, loading, and delivering mail on October 4, 2010. OWCP accepted that she performed those duties but denied the new injury claim. Her physician linked the condition to the workday without explaining…
R.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Burnett, TX
R.B. (ECAB 14-0789): Shoulder injury claim denied for lack of medical causation
R.B., a rural postal carrier, reported injuring his shoulder while delivering mail after his finger caught in a mailbox. OWCP accepted that he delivered mail that day but found the medical evidence insufficient to link a shoulder condition to the incident. The MRI report identified degenerative…
C.E. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Canadaigua, NY
C.E. (ECAB 14-0710): Knee injury claim denied despite accepted work incident
C.E., a nurse, reported knee pain after performing chest compressions at work. OWCP accepted that the event occurred but found insufficient medical evidence tying a knee condition to it. The Board found that her surgeon diagnosed a meniscus problem without explaining how the work activity caused…
S.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Emergency Preparedness Response, Baton Rouge, LA
S.H. (ECAB 14-0473): Total disability claim denied for lack of period-specific proof
S.H., a community specialist, fell at work and had accepted elbow, back, and knee conditions. She sought wage-loss compensation for total disability from September 7 through December 14, 2012. Physicians initially cleared her for restricted work, and the record showed that she declined a light-duty…
United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (Agency) and National Federation of Federal Employees Local 5300 (Union)
Forest Service and NFFE Local 5300 (FLRA 0-AR-5000): Scheduled overtime pay upheld
Forest Service law enforcement officers worked more than eight hours during planned marijuana garden eradications in Angeles National Forest. The agency coded the extra hours as administratively uncontrollable overtime rather than overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act. An arbitrator found…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2431 (Union) and United States General Services Administration (Agency)
GSA and AFGE Local 2431 (FLRA 0-AR-4996): Separate records hearing unavailable
A GSA union sought an employee's performance records while grieving his rating. An arbitrator found that the labor agreement did not allow a separate preliminary hearing to decide whether the agency had to provide the records, and he denied the grievance. The Authority treated that ruling as one…
J.V. and Department of Agriculture, Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service, Fort Pierce, FL
J.V. (ECAB 14-0624 and 14-1088): Temporary job expiration did not establish disability
J.V., a temporary Agriculture Department plant protection technician, had accepted injuries from a work-related vehicle accident. He later worked in a temporary light-duty position that ended after 60 days and sought wage-loss compensation for the weeks following its expiration. The Board found…
J.D. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Cleveland, OH
J.D. (ECAB 14-0936): Vehicle accident claim denied without a medical diagnosis
J.D., a Veterans Affairs health technician, was in a government vehicle that another vehicle struck. OWCP accepted that the work accident occurred but denied his injury claim. The only medical note described pain in several areas and work restrictions without diagnosing an injury. The Board held…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, West Palm Beach P & DC, West Palm Beach, FL
J.M. (ECAB 14-0910): Shoulder impairment award denied without a physician rating
J.M., a postal mail handler, had accepted conditions affecting both shoulders and sought a schedule award. OWCP requested a physician’s impairment rating under the applicable guides, but the physicians’ treatment notes did not supply one or state whether he had reached maximum medical improvement…
S.P. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Jessup, GA
S.P. (ECAB 14-0900): Later knee rupture not established as recurrence
S.P., a correctional officer, had an accepted left knee injury. About a year later, his knee gave way while he was jogging, and he sought benefits for a later tendon rupture and time off work. The Board found that the jogging incident was an intervening event, so the claim did not fit the…
E.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fremont, CA
E.M. (ECAB 14-0867): Inconsistent injury dates defeat groin strain claim
E.M., a postal custodian, claimed she strained her groin while picking up outdoor trash at work. Her claim form, written statement, and hearing testimony gave three different dates for the incident. Medical records also gave inconsistent onset dates, and she did not file the claim until April 25…
K.C. and Securities & Exchange Commission, Benefits Branch, Washington, DC
K.C. (ECAB 14-0791): Disability claim remanded after incomplete examiner instructions
K.C., a securities compliance examiner, had accepted back conditions related to lifting boxes at work and sought wage-loss compensation for intermittent periods beginning in November 2005. OWCP denied the claim based on an impartial examiner’s opinion. The Board found that OWCP had not given the…
D.M. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA
D.M. (ECAB 14-0742): Pulmonary disability claim returned for medical clarification
D.M., a Navy budget analyst, had accepted pulmonary conditions related to workplace exposures. She claimed wage-loss compensation beginning when she retired in September 2008. OWCP’s impartial medical specialist described severe current impairment but did not say when any work-related disability…
F.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Doraville Post Office, Atlanta, GA
F.T. (ECAB 14-0553): Two percent awards for each arm affirmed
F.T., a postal letter carrier, had accepted carpal tunnel syndrome in both arms and sought schedule awards. His surgeon rated each arm at five percent using the fifth edition of the impairment guides. OWCP’s medical adviser used the required sixth edition and rated each arm at two percent. The…
K.W., claiming as widow of S.F., and Al-Tijan General Contracting Company, Ltd., Baghdad, Iraq
K.W. (ECAB 13-2091): Direct war hazards death benefit claim denied
K.W.’s husband, a Defense Department contractor in Iraq, was kidnapped and killed in 2006. A Longshore District Director awarded death benefits to K.W. and her son under the Defense Base Act, but K.W. reported that the uninsured employer never paid them. She sought direct federal benefits under the…
Pocahontas Coal Company, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor
Discovery into pattern-of-violations facts partly allowed
Pocahontas Coal contested nine citations and orders connected to MSHA's notice that its Affinity Mine had a pattern of significant and substantial violations. The operator sought to question two MSHA officials about the facts behind the mine-specific pattern determination, while the Secretary asked…
Knife River Construction v. Secretary of Labor
Brake citation reduced but imminent-danger order upheld
Knife River Construction operated an aggregate plant where an MSHA inspector saw a loaded scraper fail to stop on a steep grade and found two unattended vehicles parked on a slope without chocks or their wheels turned into a bank. Judge Richard W. Manning affirmed the imminent-danger withdrawal…
R.P. and Department of the Interior, Sandstone Visitor Center, Sandstone, WV
R.P. (ECAB 14-0883): Two percent left arm award affirmed after snake bite
R.P., an Interior Department education technician, was bitten on his left little finger by a snake while working. OWCP accepted the injury and awarded two percent permanent impairment of his left arm. The examining surgeon measured reduced finger motion and rated the little finger at 21 percent…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, North Metro, GA
M.M. (ECAB 14-0865): Additional wrist impairment award denied
M.M., a postal worker, had accepted left shoulder and wrist conditions. A prior appeal left open whether her wrist produced impairment beyond an existing 12 percent left arm award. On remand, her current treating surgeon found that the wrist symptoms had resolved and that she had no wrist…
P.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Milwaukee, WI
P.K. (ECAB 14-0847): Back injury claim denied for lack of qualified medical evidence
P.K., a postal clerk, reported back pain after bending to lift a letter tray at work. OWCP accepted that the work incident occurred but denied the injury claim. His chiropractor diagnosed symptoms and noted a spinal subluxation, but did not state that an x-ray showed the subluxation. Under FECA…
J.S. and Social Security Administration, Teleservice Center, Oakland, CA
J.S. (ECAB 14-0818): Shoulder and neck occupational disease claim denied
J.S. attributed left shoulder and neck conditions to prolonged sitting and computer and telephone work. OWCP denied her occupational disease claim. The Board found that supportive physicians had not adequately explained how the specific duties caused or aggravated the diagnosed conditions…
D.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Network Distribution Center, Jacksonville, FL
D.B. (ECAB 14-0672): New back injury claim denied for insufficient medical explanation
D.B., a postal mail clerk with a prior work-related back injury, reported increased back pain after lifting a heavy box in January 2013. OWCP treated his filing as a new injury claim and accepted that the lifting incident occurred. One physician discussed the older injury without clearly…
L.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chester, VA
L.J. (ECAB 14-0523): Wage-loss claim denied for accepted neck and back strains
L.J., a postal rural carrier, had accepted neck and lumbar strains after a vehicle collision at work. She sought wage-loss compensation for several months beginning in late 2011. The Board found that her medical reports did not explain why the accepted strains caused disability during the claimed…
B.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA
B.G. (ECAB 14-0439): Physical therapy request returned for a clearer decision
B.G., a nursing assistant, had accepted hip injuries after being pinned against a wall by a wheelchair. Her physician requested physical therapy, but OWCP denied authorization based on a later examiner’s opinion that she had recovered. The Board found that OWCP had not identified the dates of…
K.L. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Fargo Veterans Administration Health Care System, Fargo, ND
K.L. (ECAB 13-1758): Emotional condition claim denied for lack of a proven work factor
K.L., a facility revenue technician, attributed anxiety and depression to her supervisor’s treatment of her at work. She described perceived favoritism, unequal treatment over leave and training, and a lack of compassion. Coworkers submitted statements about the supervisor’s management style. The…
L.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Northport, NY
L.S. (ECAB 13-1742): Fall at work established; medical question returned to OWCP
L.S., a housekeeping aid, reported falling while handling trash at a loading dock. OWCP denied his injury claim because a coworker’s account differed from his description of the fall. The Board found that the coworker’s account did not strongly contradict L.S.’s account and that the surrounding…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Complex, Coleman, Florida (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Council of Prison Locals #33, Local 506 (Union)
Coleman Federal Correctional Complex and AFGE Local 506 (FLRA 0-AR-4972): Investigation remedy upheld
After a federal prison transferred an inmate from a high-security facility to a medium-security facility, the inmate assaulted and injured three employees. An arbitrator found that the transfer violated the prison's policy and the labor agreement. He ordered a joint committee to investigate 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.