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.
R.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Rockford, IL
R.M. (ECAB 14-0625): Reconsideration request was timely
R.M. sought reconsideration of OWCP’s decision maintaining a termination of compensation for refusing suitable work. OWCP treated his request as late by measuring the deadline from an earlier Board decision. The Board found that OWCP had issued a later merits decision in March 2013 and had received…
M.M. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institute Terminal Island, San Pedro, CA
M.M. (ECAB 14-0602): Right arm impairment rating needs a supported calculation
M.M., a correctional officer, received a schedule award for 34 percent permanent impairment of his right arm after a work injury and wrist treatment. His treating physician rated impairment at 44 percent but relied on an outdated edition of the impairment guides. OWCP’s medical adviser used the…
E.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
E.W. (ECAB 14-0584): Wage-loss reduction based on unsuitable job reversed
E.W., a postal worker with an accepted back injury, received wage-loss compensation after the Postal Service could no longer accommodate her restrictions. OWCP reduced her benefits based on what it said she could earn as a doctor’s office clerk. Both her treating physician and OWCP’s referral…
D.A. and Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Atlanta, GA
D.A. (ECAB 14-0577): Fall during attempted air conditioner repair not shown to be in duty
D.A., a Department of Labor benefits assistant, fell from a table while attempting to repair a ceiling air conditioner at work. OWCP asked for details about why he undertook the repair and whether it was connected to his duties, but he did not respond. The Board held that the location of the fall…
G.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Valley Stream, NY
G.W. (ECAB 13-1943): Mail delivery fall established, but injury causation unproved
G.W., a postal carrier, fell while delivering mail and sought compensation for several claimed injuries. OWCP denied the claim on the ground that the incident had not been established. The Board found that her account, a witness statement, and medical histories did establish the fall. It…
G.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Central Alabama Veterans Healthcare System, Montgomery, AL
G.W. (ECAB 13-1922): Emotional condition review relied on incomplete work facts
G.W., a Veterans Health Administration ultrasound technician, claimed an emotional condition related to her work. In an earlier appeal, the Board had identified two compensable work factors and directed OWCP to assess medical causation. OWCP gave its referral psychiatrist a statement of facts that…
V.N. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Fayetteville, NC
V.N. (ECAB 13-1909): Wage-loss claim lacked medical evidence for the claimed dates
V.N., a patient services assistant, had accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and sought wage-loss compensation after she stopped working. The Board found that her physicians’ reports did not give a reasoned explanation linking disability during the claimed dates to the accepted condition. It…
R.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Baltimore, MD
R.B. (ECAB 13-1663): Need for renewed treatment not linked to accepted injury
R.B., a postal truck driver, had accepted neck and right shoulder conditions from a 2005 work injury. After returning to full duty, he sought renewed medical treatment for later neck and left shoulder symptoms. OWCP denied his recurrence claim. The Board found that his physicians described the…
A.B. and Department of the Navy, Marine Corps, Camp Lejeune, NC
A.B. (ECAB 13-1487): Arm and leg impairment awards need separate supported ratings
A.B., a Marine Corps pipefitter, sustained work-related burns requiring skin grafts. OWCP granted schedule awards for 15 percent impairment of his right leg and 4 percent of his right arm. The Board found that the doctors who assigned or adopted those ratings had used skin impairment criteria…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1547 (Union) and United States Department of the Air Force, Luke Air Force Base, Arizona (Agency)
AFGE Local 1547 and Luke Air Force Base (FLRA 0-NG-3143): Base exchange access provision upheld
A union sought broader access to the Luke Air Force Base Shoppette for civilian employees who worked on the base. After an impasse arbitrator directed the parties to include that access in their agreement, the Air Force disapproved the provision. The Authority held that access concerned the…
Paul Losacano v. Electric Boat Corporation
Losacano v. Electric Boat (BRB 13-0554): settlement order restored to agreed terms
Paul Losacano and Electric Boat agreed to settle his work-related lung and hearing claims for $91,000, with medical benefits left open. Losacano died after signing, and his estate appealed the administrative law judge's approval order. The judge had made the federal settlement depend on approval of…
P.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Edison, NJ
P.B. (ECAB 14-0899): Overpayment amount and waiver need new review
P.B. received a right arm schedule award after earlier awards for that arm. OWCP found that it had failed to deduct the earlier impairment and sought to recover $19,548.52, holding her at fault. The Board found that part of the later award concerned an elbow impairment not shown to duplicate…
A.A. and Department of the Navy, Fire Department, Naval Air Station, Key West, FL
A.A. (ECAB 14-0764): Employer hearing tests made claim timely
A.A., a retired Navy firefighter, claimed hearing loss from jet noise during crash and rescue drills. OWCP denied his claim as late because it found that he had not filed within three years of becoming aware of the condition and that his supervisor lacked timely notice. The Board found that…
S.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Los Angeles, CA
S.E. (ECAB 14-0686): Late reconsideration request did not show clear error
S.E. sought reconsideration of an earlier denial of her postal injury claim. She argued that a certified-mail receipt proved she had asked for reconsideration within the one-year period. The Board found that OWCP had received documents then, but the record contained no reconsideration request. It…
R.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Sun Valley, CA
R.B. (ECAB 14-0668): Knee arthritis not added to accepted claim
R.B., a postal carrier, had an accepted left knee and leg sprain and sought to add left knee chondromalacia or arthritis to his claim. His physician said that walking and other work duties could aggravate the degenerative knee condition. The Board found that the reports did not explain medically…
R.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Kansas City, MO
R.H. (ECAB 14-0429): Attorney fee approval upheld
R.H., a postal custodian, disputed fees requested by an attorney who had represented him in a compensation matter. OWCP approved 14.5 hours at $150 per hour, less time and a lower rate than the attorney requested. The Board found that OWCP had considered the fee application, R.H.’s objections, and…
R.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Salem, NJ
R.M. (ECAB 13-2127): Wage-loss termination reversed because medical conflict remained
R.M., a postal carrier, had accepted shoulder and spinal sprains and received wage-loss benefits. OWCP ended those benefits based on a referral physician’s opinion that the accepted conditions had resolved. Her treating physician disagreed about the work-related condition and resulting disability…
J.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Dayton, OH
J.S. (ECAB 13-2022): Cervical claim requires a second medical opinion
J.S., a postal letter carrier, claimed neck and shoulder problems after carrying mail and performing lifting at work. OWCP denied the claim for a cervical condition because the medical evidence did not fully explain causation. The Board agreed that his physician’s reports were not sufficient by…
T.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Springfield-Greisemer Carrier Annex, Springfield, MO
T.G. (ECAB 13-1837): Claimed one-day foot injury not established
T.G., a postal city carrier, reported foot pain while walking her route and later claimed a stress fracture from a specific day of work. She continued working for weeks before seeking treatment and did not describe a specific traumatic event on the claimed date. The Board found that the record did…
National Electric Coil Co., L.P.
Case remanded for settlement approval
National Electric Coil initially disputed whether an informal settlement agreement signed by its human-resources vice president was enforceable. The administrative law judge found that the representative had actual and apparent authority, rejected the company's attempted unilateral withdrawal, and…
D.G. and Department of Labor, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, Kansas City, MO
D.G. (ECAB 13-0899): Carpal tunnel impairment ratings require referee clarification
D.G., an OWCP employee with accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, sought additional schedule awards for her arms. An impartial examiner rated her impairment but did not explain how he used the required guide tables and grade modifiers. OWCP then relied on its medical adviser’s different…
Furmanite America, Inc.
Facility work-rule violation affirmed, training items vacated
Furmanite America installed an isolation plug in a pipeline at a process facility. An employee who was not trained or assigned to that service line attempted to remove the plug, which was forced from the pipe by built-up pressure and caused a serious head injury. The judge vacated the training item…
Warren Simmons v. Huntington Ingalls, Incorporated (Avondale Operations)
Simmons v. Huntington Ingalls (BRB 14-0015): employer not liable for unpaid attorney fee liens
Warren Simmons received Longshore Act disability benefits after a work injury. His lawyer agreed to collect approved fees from Simmons's compensation through liens, because the employer was not liable for those fees. After Simmons died, counsel sought to make Huntington Ingalls pay the unpaid fees…
T.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brooklyn Center, MN
T.K. (ECAB 14-0935): Late reconsideration request did not show clear error
T.K., a postal carrier, challenged an earlier termination of compensation for a neck injury. OWCP treated his October 2013 reconsideration request as late and found that it did not show clear error. The Board agreed that the request came more than one year after the last merits decision. It found…
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Orleans, LA
D.C. (ECAB 14-0772): Back injury claim lacked reasoned medical causation evidence
D.C., a postal carrier, reported back pain after lifting heavy boxes on his route. OWCP accepted that the lifting occurred but denied his claim for a compensable back injury. His doctors identified lumbar conditions and offered opinions supporting a work connection. The Board found those opinions…
N.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brookfield, CT
N.H. (ECAB 14-0717): Cervical surgery request returned for a new referee opinion
N.H., a postal clerk, sustained accepted neck and shoulder conditions in a work-related vehicle accident. After an authorized cervical fusion, her treating surgeon sought approval for additional surgery at the adjacent C4-5 level. OWCP’s second-opinion physician disputed the connection to the work…
L.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Newburgh, NY
L.D. (ECAB 14-0325): Fall at work did not establish a compensable injury
L.D., a postal clerk, fell while pulling down stacked mail hampers and claimed an injury to her lower back and shoulders. OWCP accepted the workplace fall but denied her traumatic injury claim. The Board found that her physicians identified back and shoulder conditions without adequately explaining…
V.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, White Plains, NY
V.P. (ECAB 14-0306): Right knee claim lacked reasoned medical causation evidence
V.P., a postal automotive technician, said he twisted his right knee when he slipped while stepping out of a vehicle at work. OWCP accepted the incident but denied his injury claim. The Board found that his doctor had not adequately explained how the incident caused or aggravated the knee…
E.G., claiming as mother of J.G., and Department of the Interior, Fish & Wildlife Service, Tulsa, OK
E.G. (ECAB 13-2125): Wildlife survey volunteer counted as a federal employee
J.G., an unpaid college student volunteer, drowned while helping a Fish & Wildlife Service team sample a river during an endangered species survey. His mother challenged OWCP’s determination that he was a covered federal employee under FECA. The Board found that federal law authorized the agency to…
Secretary of Labor v. Pinnacle Mining Company, LLC
Low-air ventilation violation upheld as S&S
At Pinnacle's gassy underground coal mine, an MSHA inspector measured longwall-face air velocity at 435 feet per minute, below the 500 feet-per-minute minimum in the approved ventilation plan, while coal was actively being cut. Pinnacle admitted the violation and low negligence but disputed whether…
Secretary of Labor v. Twentymile Coal Company
Remand settlement removes S&S findings and sets $60,700 penalty
An earlier decision upheld a combustible-material order and a preshift-examination citation as significant and substantial, but the Commission vacated the S&S findings and remanded for further proceedings. On remand, Twentymile Coal and the Secretary agreed to change both gravity findings from…
Secretary of Labor v. Mize Granite Quarries, Inc.; Robert W. Mize III; and Clayborn Lewis
Individual penalties reaffirmed after remand
An earlier decision held quarry president Robert Mize III and foreman Clayborn Lewis personally liable under section 110(c) for three serious violations, setting total penalties of $1,500 for Mize and $900 for Lewis. After multiple Commission remands, Judge Priscilla M. Rae clarified that all three…
Matter of Martin CHAIREZ-Castrejon, Respondent
Matter of Martin CHAIREZ-Castrejon (BIA ID 3807): Utah firearm conviction produces mixed removability ruling
The Board reviewed a Mexican lawful permanent resident's appeal after an Immigration Judge ordered him removed based on a Utah conviction for felony discharge of a firearm. The Board held that the statute was not shown to be divisible regarding the mental state needed for a crime-of-violence…
K.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Facility, Denver, CO
K.S. (ECAB 14-0752): Wage-loss reduction based on cashier work reversed
K.S., a postal mail handler, received wage-loss compensation after an accepted knee injury. OWCP reduced her benefits by assigning earnings she could supposedly make as a Cashier II. Her doctor limited her to lifting five pounds and restricted standing and walking, while the standard Cashier II…
M.K. and Department of Labor, Job Corps, Brunswick, GA
M.K. (ECAB 14-0677): Hand injury claim lacked a physician’s causation opinion
M.K., a Job Corps apprentice trainee, reported right hand pain after punching a metal door. An x-ray later showed a fracture at the base of his fifth metacarpal. OWCP accepted that the reported incident occurred but denied the traumatic injury claim. The Board found that the x-ray was a diagnostic…
E.R. and Department of the Navy, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Keyport Division, Keyport, WA
E.R. (ECAB 14-0645): Hearing loss claim returned for timeliness evidence
E.R., a Navy electronics engineer, attributed hearing loss to noise exposure during his federal work. OWCP rejected his 2013 claim as filed too late, using a 2004 last exposure date. The Board found conflicting information about when his workplace noise exposure ended, and a supervisor had reported…
B.W. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard, Baltimore, MD
B.W. (ECAB 14-0627): Reconsideration denial upheld without reopening schedule award claim
B.W., a Coast Guard employee, sought to reopen a prior denial of a schedule award for right arm impairment. OWCP refused because his reconsideration request supplied no new relevant medical evidence or qualifying legal argument. The Board found that his arguments did not address the medical proof…
C.H. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Paradise Fossil Plant, Drakesboro, KY
C.H. (ECAB 14-0608): Hearing loss not linked to federal workplace noise
C.H., a retired Tennessee Valley Authority plant worker, claimed that occupational noise caused his bilateral hearing loss. OWCP accepted that he had been exposed to noise at work but denied the claim. His treating physicians diagnosed hearing loss without specifically linking it to his federal…
Secretary of Labor v. John Richards Construction
Three citations settled for $150
John Richards Construction contested three $100 citations involving a removed equipment guard, an equipment travel area that the company disputed was a mine roadway, and a temporary electrical splice. The operator asserted that the guard was removed for repairs, a spotter guided the equipment…
C.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tampa, FL
C.L. (ECAB 14-0765): Termination of benefits for accepted spinal sprains upheld
C.L., a postal processing clerk, received compensation for accepted neck and back sprains following a 2011 work injury. Her treating doctor said she remained disabled, while an OWCP referral doctor found the sprains resolved. OWCP obtained an impartial orthopedic opinion, which found no continuing…
J.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Teterboro, NJ
J.P. (ECAB 14-0685): Back injury residuals ruling reversed; surgery question remanded
J.P., a postal building mechanic, had a back contusion and an accepted temporary aggravation of degenerative disc disease after a work fall. OWCP found that the aggravation had resolved and denied his request for lumbar surgery. His treating surgeon disagreed with OWCP’s second-opinion doctor on…
M.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Nashville, TN
M.H. (ECAB 14-0634): Vehicle crash claim lacked reasoned medical causation evidence
M.H., a postal carrier, reported neck, shoulder, hip and back problems after a vehicle collision on her delivery route. OWCP accepted that the collision occurred but denied her injury claim. The Board found that her physicians identified medical conditions without adequately explaining how the…
F.W. and Department of the Army, White Sands Missile Range, NM
F.W. (ECAB 14-0344): Two percent awards for each leg affirmed
F.W., an Army toxic materials handler, received schedule awards for a two percent impairment of each leg after an accepted back injury. He sought a greater award based on a surgeon’s 19 percent spinal rating and challenged the method OWCP used to rate spinal nerve impairment. The Board explained…
J.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Tacony Station, Philadelphia, PA
J.S. (ECAB 13-2132): Ankle impairment award returned for medical review
J.S., a postal letter carrier, broke his left ankle after stepping from a truck, and OWCP accepted a distal fibular fracture. OWCP awarded a one percent left leg impairment based on a medical adviser’s rating that discounted the accepted fracture. The Board found the adviser’s opinion weakened…
J.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Francisco, CA
J.A. (ECAB 13-1586): Refusal to reopen disability claim affirmed
J.A., a postal mail handler with an accepted bilateral carpal tunnel condition, sought wage-loss compensation. After OWCP denied the disability claim, J.A. requested reconsideration and disputed whether the Postal Service had offered suitable modified work. The Board reviewed only OWCP’s later…
M.S. and The Presidio Trust, San Francisco, CA
M.S. (ECAB 13-1211): Disability period returned for a focused medical opinion
M.S., a heavy equipment mechanic, had an accepted neck injury after falling from a ladder at work. OWCP denied wage-loss compensation for July 19 through August 19, 2012 despite reports from treating physicians supporting time away from work. Its second-opinion doctor found that M.S. could not…
Energy Answers, LLC
In re Energy Answers, LLC (EAB PSD Appeal No. 14-04): second reconsideration motion denied
Leonardo Ramos-Hernandez filed a second motion seeking reconsideration of the dismissal of his appeal concerning the Energy Answers renewable energy project in Puerto Rico. He also asked for recusal of the panel based on his assertion of incompetence. The Board stood by its earlier dismissal and…
Secretary of Labor v. Four Star Resources, LLC
Loss-of-control citation upheld with $52,500 penalty
A loaded Caterpillar 777 dump truck lost control on Four Star Resources' steep, wet haul road, crossed a low berm, traveled 84 feet down an embankment, and stopped against a tree. The driver was not injured, but the truck was extensively damaged. Four Star admitted violating the mobile-equipment…
North County Sand & Gravel, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor
$40,923 EAJA award paid and case dismissed
North County Sand & Gravel sought attorney fees and litigation expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act after prevailing in the underlying WEST 2010-365-M proceeding. An earlier interim decision found the company eligible for an award and directed the parties to negotiate the amount. They…
M.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hopewell Junction, NY
M.P. (ECAB 14-0762): Hernia claim returned for medical development
M.P., a postal clerk with a preexisting umbilical hernia, reported pain and swelling after lifting pallets at work. OWCP denied the injury claim, finding that the treating surgeon’s opinion lacked an accurate history. The Board disagreed: the surgeon knew about the earlier hernia and explained how…
N.N. and Department of Energy, Office of Human Capital Management, Washington, DC
N.N. (ECAB 14-0603): Overpayment proved for 65 hours; amount returned for calculation
N.N. received compensation for four hours of wage loss per day while working part time after an accepted back injury. OWCP found a much larger overpayment over nearly a decade and held her at fault, barring waiver. The Board found that the time records supported only 65 overpaid hours on identified…
J.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
J.S. (ECAB 14-0515): Shoulder impairment award returned for range-of-motion records
J.S., a postal clerk, received a five percent left arm schedule award after an accepted shoulder injury and surgery. Her treating doctor rated the arm at 14 percent using shoulder range of motion, while OWCP’s medical adviser used a diagnosis-based rating and questioned the motion measurements. The…
J.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Atlanta, GA
J.G. (ECAB 14-0139): Late request to reopen dental claim denied
J.G. sought dental treatment for teeth damaged in a fall after an accepted work injury. OWCP denied that treatment, and J.G. requested reconsideration more than a year after the last merit decision. A new physician’s report linked the later fall to the work injury through a reported seizure, but an…
G.U. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Nashville, TN
G.U. (ECAB 13-1874): Workstation-related neck and shoulder claim denied
G.U., a physician’s assistant at a veterans medical center, claimed that repeated computer work at a poorly arranged workstation caused neck and shoulder conditions. The Board found the occupational disease claim timely because G.U. continued working with the alleged exposure. It upheld the claim…
B.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Wilmington, DE
B.C. (ECAB 13-1855): Right leg impairment increased; other ratings returned
B.C., a postal mail handler, sought an additional schedule award for impairments associated with an accepted back injury. OWCP had combined earlier right and left leg ratings into one award, then used that total to deny an increase even though its medical adviser rated the right leg higher than…
E.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Denver, CO
E.W. (ECAB 13-1295): Upper extremity schedule award denied
E.W., a postal tractor trailer operator, sought an upper extremity schedule award after an accepted neck injury and surgery. One doctor supplied a whole-person spinal rating, which FECA does not use for a schedule award. Another rated each arm at ten percent based on possible spinal nerve effects…
N.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, East Brunswick, NJ
N.D. (ECAB 13-0108): Dismissed appeal reinstated for a later decision
The Board had dismissed N.D.’s appeal of an OWCP decision as untimely. N.D. sought reconsideration and submitted a certified mail receipt and counsel’s affidavit about when the appeal was mailed. The Board found the appeal timely, set aside its dismissal, and ordered the appeal to go forward for a…
Secretary of Labor v. R7 Enterprises, LLC
Defective hydroseeding truck citation settled for $18,000
MSHA cited R7 Enterprises after finding excessive slack in a hydroseeding truck's steering components and an inoperative rear brake while the truck was in use at a surface coal mine. The inspector characterized the equipment violation as S&S, reasonably likely to cause a fatality, and attributable…
D.B. and Department of the Navy, Naval Station Everett, Everett, WA
D.B. (ECAB 14-0836): New medical report required reconsideration of back claim
D.B., a Navy safety specialist, reported a lower back injury while passing through a partly blocked doorway aboard a ship. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the claim for lack of medical evidence connecting the back condition to it. D.B. later submitted a physician’s report…
G.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bellflower, CA
G.D. (ECAB 14-0813): Wage loss for two dates denied without medical evidence
G.D., a postal carrier with accepted knee and back conditions, worked part time after knee surgery and sought wage-loss compensation for two additional dates. He said knee pain kept him from work on June 1, 2013, and that he went to a scheduled treatment appointment on June 17 but the provider was…
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.