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.
Secretary of Labor v. Hanson Aggregates New York, Inc.
Training record omission upheld with $50 penalty
Hanson Aggregates completed annual refresher training at its crushed-limestone plant but used MSHA Form 5000-23 without listing the instructors or the duration of training. Judge Alan G. Paez found the recordkeeping rule ambiguous because the form itself did not request that information, but held…
Pocahontas Coal Company, LLC v. Secretary of Labor
Direct challenge to pattern notice dismissed
Pocahontas Coal filed a second direct challenge to MSHA's written notice that the Affinity Mine had a pattern of violations, this time invoking the Mine Act's temporary-relief provision. Judge Margaret A. Miller held that the Commission lacked jurisdiction because a pattern notice is not itself a…
M.H. and U.S. Postal Service, University City Branch, St. Louis, MO
M.H. (ECAB 14-1058): Knee injury claim denied for lack of a reasoned medical link
M.H., a postal carrier technician, reported falling down stairs at work and hurting his left knee. OWCP accepted that the fall occurred. His physician described knee symptoms and a possible partial patellar tendon tear, but did not give a firm diagnosis or explain how the fall caused or aggravated…
J.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jackson, MI
J.H. (ECAB 14-1038): Reconsideration request denied without reopening injury claim
J.H., a former rural mail carrier, sought another review of her neck and back injury claim. Earlier Board decisions had affirmed the claim’s denial. She submitted another report from her treating physician attributing her conditions to repetitive mail carrier duties. The Board found that the report…
S.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Munger Station, Wichita, KS
S.W. (ECAB 14-0967): New medical report required reconsideration of back injury claim
S.W., a city carrier, claimed a back injury after stepping off a high porch while working. OWCP denied the claim, then refused to reopen it when he sought reconsideration. His physician had submitted a new report identifying affected spinal levels and explaining why he believed the incident…
K.C. and Department of Health & Human Services, Indian Health Services, Oklahoma City, OK
K.C. (ECAB 14-0949): No additional award for right knee impairment
K.C. had accepted right knee conditions after twisting his knee on stairs at work. He had already received schedule awards totaling 26 percent permanent impairment of his right leg. A later physician rated the impairment at 30 percent by combining two knee diagnoses. The Board found that the…
M.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Kalamazoo, MI
M.E. (ECAB 14-0809): Long-distance examination travel was not reimbursable
M.E., a Michigan postal carrier, traveled to Oklahoma City for an examination concerning impairment of his left thumb and elbow. He sought reimbursement for airfare and a rental car, explaining that he had difficulty finding a physician closer to home. The Board found no evidence that OWCP had…
S.B. and Department of the Treasury, Bureau of Printing & Engraving, Fort Worth, TX
S.B. (ECAB 14-0749): Carpal tunnel claim lacked a medical link to printing work
S.B. worked as a plate printer for the Bureau of Printing and Engraving and reported carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands. His work involved repeated use of his hands and wrists, and a nerve study documented the diagnosis. The Board found that the medical reports did not explain how the specific…
P.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Coppell, TX
P.D. (ECAB 14-0744): Intermittent wage-loss claim lacked date-specific medical support
P.D., a postal distribution clerk, had accepted back conditions and previously received compensation for time missed from work. She later sought payment for 54.9 hours of intermittent absence over several months. Her physician described continuing pain and treatment, but the Board found that his…
B.B. and Department of the Interior, Sequoia National Park Services, Three Rivers, CA
B.B. (ECAB 14-0631): Four percent left arm impairment award affirmed
B.B., a forestry technician, injured his left shoulder and arm while throwing boxes from a truck. OWCP accepted several shoulder conditions and authorized two surgeries. A second opinion physician rated the permanent impairment at four percent of the left upper extremity using the applicable…
L.B. and Department of the Air Force, Robins Air Force Base, GA
L.B. (ECAB 14-0479): Accepted hearing loss did not meet schedule award threshold
L.B., an Air Force supply technician, developed hearing loss after occupational noise exposure. OWCP accepted bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. The Board reviewed the certified audiogram and the medical adviser’s calculation under the applicable impairment guide. The measured losses yielded a…
United States Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Combat Development Command, Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Virginia (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1786 (Union)
Marine Corps Base Quantico and AFGE Local 1786 (FLRA 0-AR-4848): Firefighter bargaining award upheld
The Marine Corps replaced separate position descriptions for lead and other firefighters at Quantico with one description. The change eliminated benefits associated with the lead role, including the sergeant title and certain vehicle duties. An arbitrator found that the agency had to notify the…
Secretary of Labor v. Scott Carpenter
Delayed individual penalty case allowed to proceed
MSHA sought to hold former section foreman Scott Carpenter personally liable for a ventilation-control violation under section 110(c) of the Mine Act. Carpenter asked to dismiss the case because MSHA took years to notify him of the proposed assessment, repeatedly sent notices to obsolete addresses…
Secretary of Labor v. S&S Dredging Company
Loader-step citation changed to section 104(a) with $350 penalty
S&S Dredging used a loader for about two years with a missing bottom step and a bent second step three feet above the ground. An earlier ALJ found the equipment defect was not significant and substantial and was not an unwarrantable failure, but the Commission restored the S&S designation and…
Cloverlick Coal Company, LLC v. Secretary of Labor
Imminent danger upheld but safe-access citation vacated
Cloverlick Coal's contractor excavated a foundation hole below a steep, wet bank containing loose rock and soil for a new coal-stacker support. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy upheld MSHA's imminent-danger order because construction was about to continue, miners had entered or would need to enter the…
Matter of M-L-M-A-, Respondent
Matter of M-L-M-A- (BIA ID 3808): VAWA cancellation eligibility and discretion established, with background checks pending
The Board reviewed a Mexican respondent's application for special rule cancellation of removal under the Violence Against Women Act after an Immigration Judge found her ineligible and denied relief as a matter of discretion. The Board held that false testimony and a fraudulent asylum application…
P.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pittsburgh, PA
P.M. (ECAB 14-0956): New records did not warrant reopening collision injury claim
P.M., a rural carrier associate, reported arm and shoulder pain after a vehicle collision while delivering mail. OWCP accepted that the collision occurred but denied the claim because the record lacked a medical diagnosis of an injury from it. On reconsideration, P.M. submitted emergency care…
L.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Corpus Christi, TX
L.M. (ECAB 14-0923): Cervical condition claim lacked a clear medical explanation
L.M., a transportation security officer, attributed neck problems to repeated looking and reaching up and down while checking passengers’ documents in a seated position. OWCP accepted that she performed those duties. Her physician supported a work connection, but his report mixed the 2012 document…
B.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Grand Rapids, MI
B.J. (ECAB 14-0904): Insurance deduction overpayment and waiver denial affirmed
B.J. received wage-loss compensation after an accepted right foot injury. OWCP withheld too little for basic and optional life insurance and did not withhold postretirement basic life insurance premiums. The Board agreed that the missed deductions created a $7,085.34 overpayment. Although OWCP…
P.M. and Department of Labor, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, San Francisco, CA
P.M. (ECAB 14-0718): One percent left arm impairment award affirmed
P.M., an OWCP claims examiner, injured her left wrist and forearm while lowering her desk. OWCP accepted de Quervain’s disease and forearm tendinitis. She sought a schedule award after wrist surgery. Dr. Swartz rated impairment from de Quervain’s disease at one percent of the left upper extremity…
C.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Oakland Performance & Distribution Center, Oakland, CA
C.S. (ECAB 14-0704): Overnight work incident established; injury question remanded
C.S., a mail processing clerk, reported hurting her right thumb and wrist while trying to move a pie-cart during an overnight shift. OWCP denied the claim because forms gave differing dates for the incident. The Board found that the shift crossed midnight and that the filing history and supporting…
R.S. and Architect of the Capitol, Washington, DC
R.S. (ECAB 14-0651): Later back aggravation claim lacked a medical link to work duties
R.S., a painter decorator, had undergone spinal fusion and later sustained an accepted work injury in 2007. He claimed that standing, lifting, and handling materials after returning to work in 2008 further aggravated his back condition. The Board found that his work activities and back diagnoses…
P.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Denver, CO
P.T. (ECAB 14-0598): Knee occupational disease claim lacked specific work exposure evidence
P.T., a city letter carrier, attributed knee arthritis and ligament or meniscus conditions to years of walking, lifting, and other duties. The Board found his description of duties at different work locations too general to establish the particular occupational exposure claimed. His medical reports…
C.G. and Department of Health & Human Services, Social Security Administration, Atlanta, GA
C.G. (ECAB 14-0461): Mold and chemical exposure claim lacked a reasoned medical link
C.G., a claims representative, reported respiratory and other symptoms after suspected mold and chemical exposure at work. OWCP accepted some mold exposure, and an air study recorded environmental molds and elevated moisture. Several physicians attributed symptoms to pesticides or chemicals but did…
M.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Louis, MO
M.G. (ECAB 13-1570): Labeling incident established; medical development ordered
M.G., a postal worker, reported neck pain after about 15 minutes of work at a labeling machine. OWCP denied her traumatic injury claim because it found the incident unproven. The Board found her account consistent and unrefuted, and concluded that the work incident occurred. Her physician supported…
N.G. and Department of the Navy, Fleet Readiness Center Southwest, San Diego, CA
N.G. (ECAB 14-1023): Knee claim lacked incident detail and a medical diagnosis
N.G., a Navy painter, reported that his right knee was caught and hyperextended when another worker pushed an aircraft stand. The workplace clinic imposed work restrictions but did not identify a specific knee diagnosis. OWCP asked N.G. for a fuller account and a medical report, but he did not…
C.S. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Glynco, GA
C.S. (ECAB 14-0934): Knee injury denial and late hearing request affirmed
C.S., a law enforcement instructor, reported left knee pain after a training exercise. His physician diagnosed a torn meniscus and other knee conditions, but did not explain how the described exercise caused them. The Board found a checked box on a medical form insufficient to establish that link…
K.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bronx, NY
K.C. (ECAB 14-0819): Reconsideration refusal set aside for overlooked medical report
K.C. sought reconsideration of a denied injury claim and submitted a medical report clarifying the claimed injury history. OWCP declined a merit review, stating that it had not received the report. The Board found that OWCP had received it before issuing the refusal. It set aside the decision and…
K.C. and Department of the Air Force, Randolph Air Force Base, TX
K.C. (ECAB 14-0757): Elbow claim and late written review request denied
K.C., an Air Force maintenance mechanic, reported elbow pain while doing demolition work. OWCP accepted that he performed the work but denied the injury claim because the records came from a physician assistant and physical therapist without a physician’s signature. The Board found no qualifying…
C.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
C.W. (ECAB 14-0727): Late reconsideration request showed no clear error
C.W., a postal custodian, sought to reopen a claim denied in November 2000 for lack of medical proof linking his conditions to a scrubber incident at work. He requested reconsideration years after that decision and submitted later medical and other records. The Board found the request outside the…
G.H. and Department of the Navy, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, VA
G.H. (ECAB 14-0721): Proposed back surgery not linked to accepted sprain
G.H., a shipyard pipefitter, had accepted sprains from a 1988 work injury and later sought authorization for lumbar fusion surgery. His treating physicians recommended surgery and related his later spine condition to the injury. An impartial orthopedic surgeon concluded that the current…
A.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Shreveport, LA
A.G. (ECAB 14-0687): Overlooked medical reports required a new claim decision
A.G., a medical support assistant, claimed carpal tunnel syndrome from typing and telephone work. She submitted physician reports that noted a carpal tunnel diagnosis. OWCP denied the claim the next day, stating that it had received no medical evidence. The Board found that the reports had reached…
D.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Toledo, OH
D.H. (ECAB 14-0518): Three percent awards for each arm affirmed
D.H., a postal letter carrier, had accepted carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands and underwent several surgeries. A second opinion physician rated permanent impairment at three percent for each upper extremity, and OWCP’s medical adviser agreed. The Board found that no other medical report…
A.R. and Department of Housing & Urban Development, Washington, DC
A.R. (ECAB 14-0185): Limit on travel reimbursement for longtime physician affirmed
A.R. had accepted back and related conditions and had long received psychiatric treatment connected to her work injury. After moving away from her physician’s office, she continued to travel more than 200 miles round trip for appointments. OWCP limited reimbursable travel to 100 miles per trip. The…
K.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Proctor Station, Tacoma, WA
K.A. (ECAB 14-0017): Grievance findings established work factors in emotional condition claim
K.A., a postal letter carrier, attributed depression and anxiety to treatment by a coworker and management. OWCP denied the claim because it found no compensable work factors. The Board found that grievance settlements established specific errors, including the withholding of vacation mail, keeping…
D.D. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Tallahassee, FL
D.D. (ECAB 13-1940): Wage-loss termination upheld; medical benefit termination reversed
D.D., a prison laundry supervisor, had accepted neck and upper back sprains after a fall at work. OWCP ended both wage-loss and medical benefits based on a second opinion physician’s finding that the accepted sprains had resolved. The Board found that opinion sufficient to support ending wage-loss…
Tidewater Virginia Federal Employees, Metal Trades Council (Union) and United States Department of the Navy, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Mid-Atlantic (Agency)
Tidewater Metal Trades Council and Navy Facilities Command (FLRA 0-AR-5034): Arbitration award upheld
The Tidewater Metal Trades Council challenged an arbitration award involving the Navy's Mid-Atlantic Naval Facilities Engineering Command. The Authority reviewed the union's exceptions in an expedited, abbreviated decision and found no basis under the federal labor statute to set aside the award…
Andrew B. Chase, a/k/a Andy Chase, and related companies
In re Andrew B. Chase and related companies (EAB RCRA (9006) Appeal No. 13-04): UST penalty increased
Andrew B. Chase and three related companies operated six retail gasoline stations in upstate New York. EPA alleged violations of underground storage tank leak detection, prevention, and correction requirements, and the ALJ assessed a $127,069 civil penalty for 19 violations. The Board upheld the…
J.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Elmira, NY
J.F. (ECAB 14-0978): Five percent left arm impairment award affirmed
J.F., a postal mail handler, had an accepted left biceps tendon rupture. One physician rated left arm impairment at 11 percent using shoulder range of motion, while a second opinion physician rated it at five percent using a diagnosis-based method. The Board found that the first physician did not…
A.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Louisville, KY
A.G. (ECAB 14-0938): Eye injury claim lacked a firm medical diagnosis
A.G., a rural postal carrier, reported that a piece of flat mail grazed her right eye while she was delivering it. OWCP accepted that the incident happened. Hospital records described a minor eye injury without an abrasion, but the Board found that this was not a firm medical diagnosis and did not…
T.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Roseland Post Office, Chicago, IL
T.P. (ECAB 14-0914): Schedule award claim returned for combined case record
T.P., a postal carrier technician, sought an additional schedule award for an accepted left foot and ankle injury. OWCP denied the request based on a prior 28 percent left leg award in another claim file. The Board did not have the prior file in the record and could not determine whether another…
R.D. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Miami, FL
R.D. (ECAB 14-0896): Timely reconsideration request requires a new OWCP decision
R.D., a Veterans Health Administration technician, sought compensation for a right shoulder injury she attributed to reaching for equipment and supplies at work. OWCP denied the injury claim and later refused to reconsider it, treating her February 2014 request as late. The Board found that a…
C.C. and Department of the Army, Southern Command, Fort Sam Houston, TX
C.C. (ECAB 14-0823): Ulnar nerve benefit termination upheld; carpal tunnel issue returned
C.C., an Army writer and editor, had received benefits for bilateral ulnar nerve entrapment attributed to repetitive work. OWCP terminated her wage-loss and medical benefits after a referral physician found no remaining signs of that accepted condition. The Board upheld the termination because the…
B.B. and Department of Homeland Security, Emergency Preparedness & Response, Alexandria, VA
B.B. (ECAB 14-0810): No additional left arm schedule award established
B.B. had received a schedule award for 39 percent permanent impairment of his left arm after a work injury involving his shoulder. He sought an additional award based on continued problems and a treating surgeon’s estimate of 75 percent shoulder impairment. The Board found that the surgeon had not…
L.M. and Department of the Air Force, Randolph Air Force Base, TX
L.M. (ECAB 14-0773): Accepted hearing loss did not support a schedule award
L.M., a retired Air Force mechanic, had accepted hearing loss from years of workplace noise exposure. OWCP denied a schedule award because its certified audiogram showed no ratable impairment under the applicable guides. The Board agreed with that calculation and found that the other audiogram did…
P.G. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Alexandria, VA
P.G. (ECAB 14-0430): Lumbar claim returned for combined case record
P.G., a FEMA travel specialist, claimed that her work aggravated a preexisting lumbar condition. OWCP denied the claim, but the record suggested that another OWCP file from an earlier injury may already have accepted an aggravation of lumbar disease. That earlier file was absent from the record…
S.N. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Fresno, CA
S.N. (ECAB 14-0352): OWCP must consider omitted medical report
S.N. challenged OWCP’s termination of benefits for an accepted urinary condition. In seeking reconsideration, she submitted a physician’s report stating that her urological condition remained related to her work injury and disputing the medical opinion OWCP had relied on. OWCP denied modification…
D.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Arlington, MA
D.K. (ECAB 13-1526): Knee impairment rating requires further medical explanation
D.K., a postal letter carrier, received a schedule award for 31 percent impairment of his right leg after a work injury and knee replacement. He sought a higher rating, disputing how OWCP’s medical adviser evaluated his reported functional limitations under the impairment guides. The Board found…
S.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Visalia, CA
S.N. (ECAB 13-1209): Wage loss claim returned for consequential injury review
S.N., a postal carrier, had an accepted aggravation of hip osteoarthritis. She sought wage-loss compensation for two days after her hip gave way and she fell on a sidewalk. OWCP denied the claim because it treated the fall as a new injury outside the accepted claim. The Board explained that an…
R.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pahrump, NV
R.G. (ECAB 13-0818): Emotional condition claim denied for lack of a compensable work factor
R.G., a postal clerk, attributed emotional and other conditions to workplace scheduling, discipline, management actions, and alleged harassment. The Board found that she had not linked the claim to her regular duties or proved error or abuse in the personnel actions she challenged. It also found…
Kingston Mining, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor
Safeguard contest stayed until MSHA issues a citation
After a mobile coal-hauler accident, MSHA issued a mine-specific safeguard requiring cameras on Kingston Mining's battery-powered haulers and cable-powered shuttle cars. Kingston sought an expedited pre-enforcement hearing, while the Secretary moved to dismiss because MSHA had not yet issued a…
ESSROC Cement Corporation
In re ESSROC Cement Corporation (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 13-03): Mercury limit remanded for risk-assessment review
ESSROC Cement Corporation operated a Portland cement facility in Logansport, Indiana, that burned hazardous waste as fuel. EPA Region 5 imposed an annual mercury feed-rate limit after a second site-specific risk assessment under the RCRA omnibus authority and the hazardous-waste-combustor rules…
Social Security Administration (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1923 (Union)
SSA and AFGE Local 1923 (FLRA 0-AR-4948): Attendance-record remedy set aside
A union sought overtime policies and employee attendance records while pursuing an overtime grievance against the Social Security Administration. An arbitrator found a need for the policies but not for the full seven years of attendance records requested. He nevertheless drafted a narrower…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Regald Robbins v. Alden Resources, LLC
Miner temporarily reinstated as section foreman
Regald Robbins alleged that Alden Resources suspended him, moved him to a less favorable shift, and fired him after he raised concerns about a faulty scrubber and unsafe roof conditions. The company said he was discharged for unexcused absences and disputed his account of the scheduling changes…
E.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Memphis, TN
E.J. (ECAB 14-0874): Refusal to reopen back injury claim upheld
E.J., a postal mail handler, claimed lower back pain from unloading trucks. A treating physician later recorded a history of pushing a heavy mail container. OWCP denied the claim and later refused to reopen it for merits review. The Board found that the medical reports submitted with her…
W.S. and Department of the Navy, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Keyport, WA
W.S. (ECAB 14-0842): Hearing loss award decision must be sent to counsel
OWCP granted W.S. a schedule award for three percent binaural hearing loss. Before that decision, W.S. had designated an attorney to represent him, but OWCP did not send the attorney a copy. The Board held that a decision is not properly issued unless both the claimant and authorized representative…
G.E. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Nuclear Power, Soddy Daisy, TN
G.E. (ECAB 14-0768): Hearing loss claim was timely filed
G.E., a boilermaker and welder, claimed hearing loss from noise during his work for the Tennessee Valley Authority. OWCP denied the claim as late. The Board found that the employer’s hearing conservation tests documented a progression of hearing loss and gave it knowledge of a possible work injury…
D.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Villa Park, IL
D.H. (ECAB 14-0761): Conflicting medical opinions require a referee examination
D.H., a postal letter carrier, had an accepted shoulder injury followed by surgery and treatment. She asked OWCP to recognize inflamed cervical lymph nodes as a consequence of that injury and treatment. Her surgeon linked the lymph condition to the surgeries and injections, while OWCP medical…
C.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Topeka, KS
C.C. (ECAB 14-0745): Decisions mailed to an outdated address must be reissued
C.C. notified OWCP of a new address before it denied her injury claim. OWCP sent the denial and a later decision refusing written-record review to her old address. The Board held that she could not be expected to request review within a deadline measured from a decision she did not receive because…
L.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Nancy B. Jefferson Station, Chicago, IL
L.E. (ECAB 14-0684): Left foot injury claim lacked medical causation evidence
L.E., a postal city carrier assistant, reported foot pain after bumping her feet on stairs during a mail route. OWCP accepted that the workplace incident occurred but denied the claim for a left foot injury. The Board found that her podiatrist’s form reports gave inconsistent answers about…
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.