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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I.M. and Department of the Air Force, Air Mobility Command, Charleston Air Force Base, SC
I.M. (ECAB 14-0564): Late injury claim and resolved back aggravation
I.M., an Air Force fabric worker, claimed increased back and leg pain from work on March 17, 2010. He filed his traumatic injury claim in August 2010, beyond FECA’s 30-day deadline for continuation of pay. OWCP accepted a temporary aggravation of his lumbar disc condition but found that it had…
D.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Schaumburg, IL
D.R. (ECAB 14-0551): Shoulder impairment award sent back for review of omitted evidence
D.R., a former postal letter carrier, received a schedule award for three percent impairment of her right upper extremity after an accepted shoulder injury. Her orthopedic surgeon had submitted a separate 12 percent rating before OWCP decided the claim. OWCP’s decision did not mention that rating…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, General Mail Facility, Denver, CO
M.M. (ECAB 14-0530): Prior wage-earning capacity finding upheld
M.M., a postal mail processor with accepted back conditions, challenged an earlier finding that she could earn wages as a customer service representative. The Board had previously sent the case back because the record lacked proof that OWCP properly selected its referee physician. OWCP then…
A.D. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Hanover, MD
A.D. (ECAB 14-0477): Elbow impairment award remanded for a proper rating
A.D., a federal air marshal, injured his left elbow during defensive measures training. OWCP awarded compensation for two percent impairment of his left upper extremity. His physician’s higher rating relied on range-of-motion measurements that lacked the detail needed to verify the method. OWCP’s…
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service, 30th Street Main Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
J.B. (ECAB 14-0313): Impartial examination defeats request to expand injury claim
J.B., a former postal employee, had accepted claims involving her right wrist and arm. She sought to add a cervical condition and left carpal tunnel syndrome to those claims. OWCP appointed an impartial orthopedic surgeon to resolve a conflict between medical opinions. The Board found that the…
D.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, La Guardia Airport, New York City, NY
D.H. (ECAB 14-0244): Unreadable surveillance record sends rescission back to OWCP
D.H., an airport security officer, reported a shoulder and upper back injury after lifting bins. OWCP first accepted the claim, then rescinded acceptance after reviewing a workplace surveillance DVD. The copy supplied to the Board was encrypted and unreadable, leaving the Board unable to assess…
W.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA
W.R. (ECAB 14-0084): Related claim file required before decision
W.R., a Veterans Affairs nurse, claimed that repetitive duties in a limited-duty position aggravated several neck, shoulder, and arm conditions. OWCP denied her occupational disease claim for lack of medical evidence linking those conditions to work. Its hearing decision referred to another claim…
V.D. and Department of the Navy, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, VA
V.D. (ECAB 14-0782): Hearing-loss award increased to include tinnitus
V.D., a Navy shipyard pipefitter leader, received a schedule award for 14 percent hearing loss in both ears. OWCP had accepted tinnitus as part of his work-related claim but assigned it no additional impairment. A consulting physician described how constant humming affected V.D.’s concentration…
A.B. and Department of the Army, Rock Island Arsenal, Rock Island, IL
A.B. (ECAB 14-0720): Late injury claim and reconsideration denial affirmed
A.B., an Army machinist, filed a traumatic injury claim in June 2013 for an incident he said occurred in October 2009. The Board found that he filed beyond FECA’s three-year limit. Although he said he had told his supervisor about the injury, the record did not show that the supervisor knew within…
W.F. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Butler, PA
W.F. (ECAB 14-0673): Medical report did not link spinal conditions to bus ride
W.F. said a bumpy ride while driving a small bus at work injured his neck and low back. After an earlier denial, he submitted another report from his orthopedic surgeon and sought reconsideration. The surgeon compared imaging from years apart and said the jarring could aggravate spinal stenosis or…
L.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Columbia, SC
L.R. (ECAB 14-0514): Later work absence not linked to accepted injury
L.R., a postal tractor trailer operator, had accepted injuries from a 2009 vehicle accident and later returned to full duty. While working for a private trucking company, he stopped work for several weeks in late 2012 and claimed a recurrence of disability from the earlier injury. His physicians…
J.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Eatontown, NJ
J.K. (ECAB 14-0512): Hip recurrence claim lacked reasoned causation evidence
J.K., a postal employee, returned to regular work after an accepted right hip sprain sustained while moving mail hampers. She stopped work months later and claimed a recurrence tied to the original injury. Her orthopedic surgeon diagnosed avascular necrosis and performed a hip replacement, but the…
A.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bellmawr, NJ
A.D. (ECAB 13-1655): Ankle injury denial set aside for medical development
A.D., a postal letter carrier, returned to work after an earlier accepted right ankle fracture. He reported a sharp pain and tearing sensation in the ankle while delivering mail on July 19, 2012. OWCP denied his new injury claim, finding the account of the incident insufficient. The Board found…
City of Homedale Wastewater Treatment Plant
In re City of Homedale Wastewater Treatment Plant (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 13-10): Phosphorus limits upheld
The City of Homedale operated a wastewater treatment plant that discharged to Idaho's Snake River. The Idaho Conservation League challenged the permit's monthly and weekly total-phosphorus limits, arguing that the permit needed a daily maximum limit to match the Mid-Snake River total maximum daily…
K.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Front Royal, VA
K.B. (ECAB 14-0832): Workplace fall claim denied as personal in origin
K.B., a temporary postal carrier, fainted at work and struck her face on a concrete floor. She had recently undergone dental treatment, had a painful mouth infection, and had eaten very little. OWCP denied her injury claim after finding that the fall arose from a condition unrelated to work. The…
N.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Charlotte, NC
N.B. (ECAB 14-0803): Arm impairment awards upheld
N.B., a postal rural carrier, underwent surgery for accepted shoulder and left carpal tunnel conditions. OWCP awarded compensation for five percent permanent impairment of her right arm and seven percent of her left arm. Her physician proposed higher ratings, initially expressed as whole-body…
P.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Versailles, KY
P.B. (ECAB 14-0616): Knee compensation termination upheld
P.B., a postal clerk, tore both menisci in her left knee while unloading a cage from a truck. OWCP accepted the tears, paid disability compensation, and later ended those benefits after finding that the tears had healed. The Board found that her treating surgeon agreed that the accepted tears had…
R.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, North Canton, OH
R.M. (ECAB 14-0483): Shoulder and knee claim expansion denied
R.M., a postal letter carrier technician, had accepted postconcussion syndrome and post-traumatic stress disorder after a work-related vehicle accident. He later sought to add right shoulder and knee conditions to the claim. His treating surgeon linked those conditions to the accident, while an…
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Doral, FL
M.S. (ECAB 14-0435): Work incident established; injury claim remanded
M.S., a postal carrier, said her feet slipped while she loaded a tub into her vehicle and that she fell forward into it. OWCP first denied her claim because it questioned whether the incident occurred. A hearing representative found the incident established but found the medical evidence…
R.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Columbus, OH
R.P. (ECAB 14-0413): Kidney claim denial and refusals to reopen upheld
R.P., a postal letter carrier, fainted while driving a postal truck during very hot weather and sought compensation for a kidney condition. OWCP accepted that the work incident occurred but denied the claim for lack of medical proof connecting the condition to work. The Board found that the medical…
L.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, LaPlace, LA
L.C. (ECAB 14-0402): Claimed wage loss after back injury not established
L.C., a postal letter carrier, had an accepted lumbar nerve condition after bending to pick up dropped mail. He sought leave buyback beginning December 21, 2010 and wage loss compensation beginning February 24, 2011. OWCP denied those claims because the medical evidence did not establish that the…
E.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Denver, CO
E.M. (ECAB 14-0311): Right leg impairment award increased to 24 percent total
E.M., a postal clerk, had accepted foot and knee conditions and a prior award for 15 percent impairment of her right leg. OWCP added eight percent after knee surgery, bringing the right leg total to 23 percent. Her physician proposed a 30 percent knee rating based on limited motion, while OWCP’s…
S.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Omaha Mail Processing Plant, Omaha, NE
S.S. (ECAB 14-0272): Impairment claim returned for a current medical rating
S.S., a postal processing plant clerk, had previously received a 10 percent schedule award for permanent impairment of the penis after an accepted work injury. He requested an increased award. OWCP referred him to a urologist, who discussed urinary and sexual functions but gave several possible…
United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, National Immigration and Customs Enforcement Council 118 (Union)
ICE and AFGE Council 118 (FLRA 0-AR-4946): Bargaining order over webmail block upheld
Immigration and Customs Enforcement blocked employees' access to personal webmail on its network without first bargaining with their union. An arbitrator found that the agency had not shown an urgent need to implement the block without bargaining and ordered it to bargain over the change's impact…
Secretary of Labor v. West Alabama Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Briefing stay lifted after discretionary review
The Commission had granted the Secretary of Labor's petition for discretionary review in August 2012 and stayed briefing in the case. After reconsideration, it concluded that briefing would help resolve the issues and lifted the stay. The Secretary was directed to file an opening brief within 30…
J.H. and Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service, Dillon, MT
J.H. (ECAB 14-0786): Refusal to reopen back injury claim upheld
J.H., a Forest Service archaeology technician, reported slipping on an icy slope while working in 1990. OWCP denied his injury claim years later because it found no medical diagnosis linked to the incident. He asked OWCP to reconsider and submitted a later physician’s report attributing his current…
K.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Legree Daniel Processing & Distribution Center, Harrisburg, PA
K.T. (ECAB 14-0678): Refusal to reopen knee injury claim upheld
K.T., a postal mail handler, claimed a right knee injury from work in March 2012. OWCP denied the claim after finding conflicting accounts of the date and work activity and no firm medical diagnosis. Her later request for reconsideration supplied information about counsel but did not clarify the…
J.P. and Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Fort Belvoir, VA
J.P. (ECAB 14-0659): Hearing loss claim denied for lack of work causation
J.P., a Defense Logistics Agency quality assurance specialist, claimed hearing loss from years of workplace noise. After an earlier Board remand, OWCP obtained a new examination. The otolaryngologist diagnosed bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus but attributed the hearing decline to age rather than…
B.B. and Department of the Air Force, Travis Air Force Base, CA
B.B. (ECAB 14-0647): No schedule award for nonratable hearing loss
B.B., an Air Force plastic worker, reported exposure to loud machinery and developed hearing loss and tinnitus. OWCP accepted both conditions as work related but denied a schedule award. The Board calculated the impairment from the tested hearing thresholds and found a zero percent rating in each…
E.M. and Department of the Army, National Guard Bureau, Arlington, VA
E.M. (ECAB 14-0612): Pulmonary and leg condition claim denied for lack of causation
E.M., a National Guard Bureau procurement analyst, claimed that walking long distances into work worsened her left leg condition and that workplace smoke and carpet glue affected her breathing. She submitted medical reports documenting knee pain, asthma symptoms, cough, and limits on walking and…
T.J. and Department of Justice, Federal Prison Camp, Bryan, TX
T.J. (ECAB 14-0556): No leg impairment shown for a back injury schedule award
T.J., a correctional officer, injured her lower back during prisoner transportation training. OWCP accepted the lumbar injury, and she later requested a schedule award. Her clinicians gave a 12 percent rating for impairment of the spine or whole person. The Board explained that FECA does not pay a…
L.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Homewood, IL
L.K. (ECAB 14-0526): Termination of wage loss compensation upheld
L.K., a postal carrier, received wage loss compensation after accepted back injuries and later worked in a modified clerk position. OWCP ended the compensation effective July 3, 2010, relying on an orthopedic surgeon’s examination. The Board found that OWCP had not established a medical conflict…
P.M. and Department of Labor, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, San Francisco, CA
P.M. (ECAB 14-0184): Late injury claim barred despite supervisor’s knowledge of incident
P.M., an OWCP senior claims examiner, became unwell during a meeting with her supervisor in June 2010 and was taken to a hospital. In August 2013 she filed a claim alleging that the meeting caused a panic attack, high blood pressure, and increased blood sugar. The Board found the claim was filed…
S.S. and Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Raleigh, NC
S.S. (ECAB 13-2021): Accepted back strain did not establish long-term wage loss
S.S., a Census Bureau enumerator, injured her back in a work vehicle accident, and OWCP accepted a lumbar strain. She sought wage loss compensation for total disability from May 3, 2010 through January 18, 2012. The physician whose report supported acceptance of the strain did not explain how it…
West Bay Exploration Co.
In re West Bay Exploration Co. (EAB UIC Appeal No. 14-67): permit review denied
Sandra K. Yerman challenged EPA Region 5’s UIC permit for West Bay Exploration Company’s Haystead #9 SWD injection well in Jackson County, Michigan. The Board accepted her petition even though it arrived two days late because she had timely mailed it and the Postal Service caused the delay. The…
E.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Houston, TX
E.C. (ECAB 14-0826): $3,169.74 insurance premium overpayment upheld
E.C., a postal mail handler receiving injury compensation, had Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance coverage. OWCP failed to deduct $3,169.74 in premiums from compensation paid between April 2011 and June 2013. The Board found that the missed deductions created an overpayment in that amount…
M.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Rutland, VT
M.L. (ECAB 14-0728): Refusal to reopen knee claim upheld
M.L., a postal letter carrier, claimed that years of delivery work caused a right knee meniscus tear. OWCP denied the claim because the medical reports did not explain how his work caused the condition. He sought reconsideration and resubmitted a work injury tracking form, along with an argument…
A.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Keller, TX
A.R. (ECAB 14-0712): Back condition claim denied for lack of medical causation
A.R., a postal lobby director with prior delivery and mail handling work, claimed that her work duties caused back pain radiating into her right leg. OWCP accepted the work activities she described as a lobby director but denied the claim for insufficient medical proof of causation. Her physiatrist…
D.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, East Austin, TX
D.B. (ECAB 14-0641): Thirteen percent left leg impairment award upheld
D.B., a postal employee, had an accepted inguinal hernia and ilioinguinal nerve injury and had received schedule awards totaling 13 percent impairment of the left leg. Earlier Board remands sought an explanation of whether the nerve injury affected a scheduled body part. The examining physician…
V.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Redmond, WA
V.H. (ECAB 14-0433): Emotional condition claim remanded for a sound medical review
V.H., a postal customer service supervisor, sought compensation for depression and panic symptoms she attributed to work. An OWCP hearing representative accepted as compensable work factors a manager’s instructions to enter false mail scans and work hours and to allow improper leave. A psychiatrist…
J.T. and Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, North Platte, NE
J.T. (ECAB 14-0293): Census worker’s schedule award pay rate upheld
J.T., a temporary census enumerator, received a schedule award for 10 percent permanent impairment of her left arm after a work vehicle accident. She challenged the pay rate used to calculate the award, pointing to a higher figure in an earlier OWCP memorandum. The Board found that she had worked…
D.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Kansas City, MO
D.A. (ECAB 14-0208): Refusal to reopen hernia claim upheld
D.A., a postal mail handler, developed a right inguinal hernia and claimed it followed a specific incident while pushing a loaded mail container. OWCP denied the claim because the medical evidence did not adequately link the hernia to that incident. D.A. later asked OWCP to reconsider, resubmitting…
P.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Carol Stream, IL
P.W. (ECAB 14-0027): Knee impairment award sent back for impartial medical review
P.W., a postal letter carrier, injured her right knee while delivering mail. OWCP accepted a leg and knee sprain and meniscus tear, then awarded compensation for seven percent permanent impairment of her right lower extremity. Her examining physician rated the impairment at eight percent, while…
Y.N. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Lyons Campus of VANJHCS, Lyons, NJ
Y.N. (ECAB 14-0705): Refusal to reopen shoulder claim upheld
Y.N., a VA food service worker, claimed she hurt her left shoulder and arm while lifting soiled trays. OWCP accepted that the reported incident occurred but denied her claim because the record lacked a physician’s diagnosis tied to it. She sought reconsideration, arguing that her employer delayed…
M.C. and Department of the Army, Fort Richardson, AK
M.C. (ECAB 14-0666): Wage-loss denial sent back for medical opinion
M.C., an Army health systems assistant, stopped work after slipping in a parking lot and injuring her back and leg. OWCP accepted a hip contusion and lumbar disc disorder but denied wage-loss benefits for the period she claimed. It relied in part on a second-opinion physician who said she could…
M.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bustleton Station, Philadelphia, PA
M.L. (ECAB 14-0604): Continuing disability claim denied after benefits ended
M.L., a postal vending technician, received compensation after a cart toppled onto her and injured her neck, back, shoulders and knees. OWCP later ended her wage-loss and medical benefits based on an impartial orthopedic examiner’s opinion that the accepted injuries had resolved. She claimed she…
R.C. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, San Antonio, TX
R.C. (ECAB 14-0502): Hearing loss award sent back to correct payment
R.C., an immigration enforcement agent, received a schedule award for work-related hearing loss. OWCP rated his right-ear impairment at four percent and used a weekly pay rate of $2,944.04, reflecting his last exposure to hazardous noise. The Board upheld both figures and the 2.08-week award…
F.H. and Department of the Air Force, Robins Air Force Base, GA
F.H. (ECAB 14-0268): Hearing loss denial sent back for medical clarification
F.H., an Air Force aircraft mechanic, claimed his hearing loss resulted from noise at work. OWCP accepted his noise exposure but denied the claim after a referral physician attributed the loss to other causes. The Board found that the physician had also said the workplace noise was intense and long…
A.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bronxville, NY
A.T. (ECAB 14-0153): Benefit termination reversed; cervical claim sent back
A.T., a postal mail carrier, received benefits for back strain and shoulder impingement after carrying a mailbag. OWCP terminated his benefits in 2009 based on an impartial examiner’s opinion that those conditions had resolved. The Board found the opinion inadequate because OWCP’s statement of…
C.M. and Department of Defense, Defense Commissary Agency, Fort Lee, VA
C.M. (ECAB 14-0116): Assault at home not shown to arise from work
C.M., a defense commissary meat cutter, reported that three masked people assaulted him at his home after work and caused several injuries. He believed the attack was connected to concerns he had raised about conduct at the commissary. OWCP denied his compensation claim because the incident…
P.S. and Department of the Air Force, Robins Air Force Base, GA
P.S. (ECAB 13-2027): Disability pay denial and late hearing refusal upheld
P.S., an Air Force inventory management specialist, had an accepted claim for inflammation in both elbows. She sought wage-loss compensation for August 15 through 24, 2012 after receiving elbow injections. Her doctor directed her to remain off work but gave no medical explanation tying the claimed…
D.L. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, San Antonio, TX
D.L. (ECAB 13-0754): Knee impairment award sent back over rating method
D.L., a transportation security screener, injured her right knee while lifting a bag onto a conveyor belt. OWCP awarded compensation for 10 percent permanent impairment of her right leg, based on limited knee motion. Her doctor had also calculated a nine percent diagnosis-based impairment for knee…
Secretary of Labor v. The American Coal Company
Settlement-review question certified for interlocutory appeal
The Secretary sought interlocutory review after Judge William B. Moran denied approval of a proposed settlement and rejected reconsideration. The Judge declined to certify the Secretary's three framed questions because he found that they misstated and improperly narrowed the dispute over the…
Matter of P-S-H-, Respondent
Matter of P-S-H- (BIA ID 3805): asylum termination for fraud requires two showings
The Board reviewed an Indian respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge terminated his asylum grant based on fraud in the original application. The Board held that the Department of Homeland Security must prove by a preponderance of the evidence both that fraud existed in the application and…
W.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, North Philadelphia Station, Philadelphia, PA
W.S. (ECAB 14-1022): Package lifting injury claim denied for lack of medical link
W.S., a postal letter carrier, reported left arm pain after lifting and delivering a large package. The Board found that the lifting incident occurred, but the claim also required medical evidence linking a diagnosed condition to that specific event. Early physician reports described pain without…
C.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Clarksville, TN
C.R. (ECAB 14-0783): Vehicle collision claim denied without physician evidence
C.R., a rural postal carrier associate, was rear-ended by another vehicle while delivering mail. OWCP accepted the incident but denied her claim because the medical record did not establish a diagnosed injury through a qualified physician. A physician’s assistant diagnosed neck and back strain, but…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Forest Park, IL
S.M. (ECAB 14-0759): Late reconsideration request denied
S.M., a postal worker with an accepted carpal tunnel claim, had repeatedly sought review of a denial of compensation for a claimed recurrence of disability. His 2013 reconsideration request came more than one year after the last merits decision in 1999. He argued that OWCP had failed to provide a…
E.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
E.C. (ECAB 14-0588): Overpayment fault finding set aside again
E.C., a retired postal letter carrier, received OWCP compensation during a period when he had elected federal retirement benefits. In an earlier appeal, the Board found that he was overpaid but was not at fault because he had not received retirement payments during the period at issue. It ordered…
B.I. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Morrisville, NC
B.I. (ECAB 14-0578): Back injury claim sent back to combine related files
B.I., a transportation security officer, claimed a back injury after lifting luggage in December 2011. OWCP denied the claim for lack of medical proof linking his condition to that incident. He also said the condition was a recurrence of an accepted 2009 back injury, but OWCP adjudicated only the…
D.W. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Salt Lake City, UT
D.W. (ECAB 14-0571): Hearing loss claim and reconsideration denied
D.W., an FBI special agent, attributed hearing loss to years of firearms and tactical training. The Board accepted that he had been exposed to gunfire and diversion devices at work. OWCP denied the claim because he provided no medical report or hearing test to establish a diagnosed loss related to…
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.