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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S.G. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Warwick, RI
S.G. (ECAB 13-1993): New submissions did not require claim reconsideration
S.G., a transportation security officer, fell on packed snow at work and later sought compensation for a left knee condition. OWCP accepted that the fall occurred but denied the claim for lack of medical proof connecting it to the condition. When S.G. sought reconsideration, she supplied witness…
Peck Brothers, LLC
Roof fall-protection citation vacated
Peck Brothers was replacing a deteriorated gutter and reflashing a low-slope roof at a Home Depot store. OSHA alleged that employees near the roof edge lacked fall protection and cited the general rule for unprotected sides and edges, with the low-slope roofing rule pleaded in the alternative. The…
Secretary of Labor v. Oak Grove Resources, LLC
Secretary ordered to detail proof for repeated flagrant charge
Oak Grove faced a repeated flagrant designation for extensive combustible accumulations under 30 C.F.R. § 75.400. Judge Jerold Feldman concluded that the Secretary's proposed test did not adequately distinguish a flagrant violation from an ordinary significant-and-substantial violation. He ruled…
Matter of E-F-H-L-, Respondent
Matter of E-F-H-L- (BIA ID 3803): asylum applicants are entitled to a merits hearing
The Board reviewed a Honduran respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge denied asylum and withholding of removal without holding a merits hearing. The Immigration Judge had concluded that the written application did not establish prima facie eligibility based on the proposed family-based…
Secretary of Labor v. The Doe Run Company
Untied electrician brings $2,106 penalty
The Doe Run Company operated the Buick Mine/Mill, which mined lead, copper, and zinc in Missouri. An electrician climbed onto a cabinet more than seven feet above a concrete floor in a darkened electrical room without fall protection while preparing to pull cable. Judge Margaret A. Miller rejected…
C.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Huntington, WV
C.H. (ECAB 14-0650): Canteen exposure claim lacked factual and medical proof
C.H., a VA nurse, reported a burning sensation after drinking from a canteen fountain dispenser and said a worker identified the substance as sanitizer. OWCP denied her injury claim. The Board found that the record did not establish what she had consumed because the canteen worker had not provided…
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Burbank, CA
M.B. (ECAB 14-0635): Back claim lacked medical evidence linking it to postal work
M.B., a letter carrier, reported lower back pain after lifting heavy parcels over two days and described months of repetitive lifting at work. OWCP treated the filing as an occupational disease claim because the account covered more than one work shift. The Board agreed with that classification and…
K.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Rugby Station, Brooklyn, NY
K.J. (ECAB 14-0531): Board upholds refusal to reopen postal worker’s claim
K.J., a postal letter carrier, sought to reopen an OWCP decision that left in place the termination of compensation for her accepted back and knee sprains. She argued that the medical evidence outweighed the physician opinion OWCP had relied on. The Board found that her argument did not supply a…
F.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Los Angeles Bulk Mail Center, Bell, CA
F.W. (ECAB 14-0504): Overpayment decision set aside for a hearing
F.W., a postal distribution clerk with an accepted work injury, appealed OWCP’s decision finding him at fault for a compensation overpayment. He mailed a request for a prerecoupment hearing within the 30-day period stated in OWCP’s preliminary notice. OWCP issued its final decision without giving…
W.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hillsdale, MI
W.S. (ECAB 14-0501): Postal worker’s shoulder and neck claim denied
W.S., a city letter carrier, fell on concrete while delivering mail and later sought compensation for shoulder and neck problems. OWCP accepted that the fall occurred but denied the claim for lack of medical proof linking the claimed conditions to it. The Board found that her physician described…
A.G. and Department of the Interior, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Mineral, CA
A.G. (ECAB 14-0499): Board upholds refusal to reconsider treatment reimbursement
A.G., a former national park vehicle operator, requested reimbursement for massage therapy and personal training after an accepted work injury. OWCP denied reimbursement and later refused to reopen that decision on reconsideration. The Board found that A.G.’s request repeated his position that his…
S.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
S.K. (ECAB 14-0412): Board upholds termination of injury benefits
S.K., a postal carrier, had accepted chest and ankle contusions after a vehicle struck her on her mail route. OWCP ended her benefits after a second opinion physician reported that the accepted conditions had resolved and she could resume regular work. The Board found his examination and review of…
R.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Richmond, VA
R.S. (ECAB 14-0138): No additional award for foot and knee impairment
R.S., a postal letter carrier, sought a larger schedule award for impairment from accepted conditions affecting both feet and his right knee. His evaluator used the fifth edition of the impairment guides, but the Board said the sixth edition applied to this rating. OWCP’s medical adviser calculated…
J.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Bulk Mail Center, Cincinnati, OH
J.K. (ECAB 13-2115): Wage capacity decision set aside for more findings
J.K., a postal mail handler, sought to change a wage-earning capacity determination after his modified job was withdrawn. In an earlier appeal, the Board had directed OWCP to find out whether the job used for that determination was a genuine position. OWCP sought information from the Postal…
Pocahontas Coal Company, LLC v. Secretary of Labor
Direct safeguard contests dismissed
MSHA issued five mine-specific safeguard notices governing transportation at Pocahontas Coal's Affinity Mine. Pocahontas contested the notices before MSHA issued any citation or order alleging that the company had violated them. Judge Margaret A. Miller held that section 105(d) authorizes contests…
R.M. and Department of the Army, Doctrine and Training Command, Fort Bliss, TX
R.M. (ECAB 14-0599): Board upholds refusal to reopen impairment claim
R.M., an Army cook, had received a schedule award for 28 percent permanent impairment of his right arm after an accepted injury. He later sought an additional award and asked OWCP to reconsider its denial. The Board found that the later physician reports repeated information already in the record…
M.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Colorado Springs, CO
M.H. (ECAB 14-0591): Shoulder and knee award denials set aside
M.H., a transportation security screener, sought schedule awards for accepted left shoulder and right knee conditions. The Board found OWCP’s shoulder analysis incomplete because its medical adviser gave conflicting views and overlooked that a shoulder condition had been accepted in a related…
V.N. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Fayetteville, NC
V.N. (ECAB 14-0575): Travel to distant hand specialist not reimbursed
V.N. sought reimbursement for travel to the hand specialist treating her accepted carpal tunnel syndrome and scar. In an earlier appeal, the Board required OWCP to identify closer options rather than refer vaguely to other specialists. OWCP then named hand specialists in Pinehurst and Holly…
M.R. and Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service, Taos, NM
M.R. (ECAB 14-0549): Duplicate payment recovery upheld
M.R., a former Forest Service firefighter, reported that a compensation check had not arrived, so OWCP issued a replacement. The original check was also negotiated, leaving two payments for the same period. The Board found that M.R. knew or should have known he could not keep both payments and…
D.F. and Architect of the Capital, Washington, DC
D.F. (ECAB 14-0450): Hernia claim lacked a medical link to work incident
D.F., a laborer, reported that a trash cart pushed into his right side while he was emptying it at work. He later had surgery for an inguinal hernia. The Board found that one doctor described a lifting incident rather than the cart impact D.F. reported, while the surgeon did not explain whether the…
D.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Atlanta Veterans Administration Medical Center, Decatur, GA
D.S. (ECAB 14-0378): Board upholds recovery of wage-loss overpayment
D.S., a police officer at a VA medical center, received wage-loss compensation for part of the period after he returned to full-time work. OWCP found an overpayment of $1,026.91 but determined he was not at fault because the payment arrived electronically. The Board upheld the overpayment and found…
S.K. and U.S. Postal Service, West Chester Performance & Distribution Center, White Plains, NY
S.K. (ECAB 14-0239): Shoulder claim returned for medical development
S.K., a postal mail handler, reported injuring his right shoulder while moving tubs at work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the claim because his doctors had not sufficiently explained how it caused the diagnosed shoulder problems. The Board agreed that the reports did not yet…
L.D. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard, Warwick, RI
L.D. (ECAB 14-0132): Late reconsideration requests rejected
L.D. sought reconsideration of OWCP’s April 4, 2012 denial of wage-loss compensation beginning in 1992. His first request was mailed before the one-year anniversary but reached OWCP the following day, too late under the receipt rule. Later requests challenged that timeliness finding. The Board…
Windfall Oil & Gas, Inc.
In re Windfall Oil & Gas, Inc. (EAB UIC Appeal Nos. 14-04 through 14-62): appeals dismissed after voluntary remand
EPA Region 3 issued Windfall Oil & Gas, Inc. a permit to construct a Class II-D injection well and inject fluids associated with oil and gas production into the Huntersville Chert/Oriskany formation. Fifty-seven petitions sought review of the permit, and the Board consolidated the related appeals…
Secretary of Labor v. Tuscaloosa Resources
Highwall violations affirmed with $100,000 penalty
Tuscaloosa Resources operated the Highway 59 No. 1 surface coal mine in Alabama. A 230-foot section of highwall failed, overtopped a berm, and swept a haul truck and its driver over an adjacent bench lip, causing a broken sternum, internal bleeding, a concussion, and a bruised heart. Judge David P…
N.S. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Union, NJ
N.S. (ECAB 14-0731): Board upholds termination of foot injury benefits
N.S., a transportation security screener, had accepted foot conditions aggravated by long periods of standing at work and had undergone authorized surgery. OWCP ended her wage-loss and medical benefits after a referral physician reported that the accepted conditions had resolved and she could…
C.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Energy Center Station, Lafayette, LA
C.J. (ECAB 14-0644): Overpayment waiver denial set aside again
C.J., a postal employee, sought a waiver of repayment after OWCP had recovered money from compensation it owed her. The Board had previously established the overpayment amount and returned the waiver issue to OWCP. OWCP then counted the amount it had withheld as an asset when denying waiver. The…
C.B. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Imperial, CA
C.B. (ECAB 14-0536): Fault finding set aside; waiver sent back
C.B., a Customs and Border Protection instructor, received compensation for days when he was still working full time before shoulder surgery. The Board upheld OWCP’s calculation of a $1,026.82 overpayment. It rejected the fault finding because this was the first incorrect direct deposit and the…
G.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, North Babylon, NY
G.S. (ECAB 14-0494): Knee claim returned for specialist opinion
G.S., a postal letter carrier, reported twisting her left knee as she stepped out of a truck. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied her injury claim for lack of proof that it caused the diagnosed condition. Her orthopedic surgeon linked a meniscal tear to the incident and…
G.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Chattanooga Processing & Distribution Center, Chattanooga, TN
G.S. (ECAB 14-0408): Schedule award overpayment and fault upheld
G.S., a postal worker, received a lump-sum schedule award after OWCP had terminated his monetary benefits for refusing suitable work. The Board had upheld that earlier termination. It found that the later $34,840.69 award was an overpayment because the termination also barred a schedule award for…
T.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Philadelphia Veterans Administration, Philadelphia, PA
T.B. (ECAB 13-1979): Knee claim remanded for clearer medical opinion
T.B., a VA housekeeping aide, claimed that his work aggravated arthritis in both knees. His doctor and an OWCP doctor gave conflicting opinions, so OWCP obtained an impartial examination. The specialist said work played a minor role but did not clearly address whether it aggravated the condition…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Louis, MO
M.M. (ECAB 13-1136): No increase in right arm impairment award
M.M., a postal mail processor with an accepted right shoulder strain, sought a larger schedule award after receiving one for seven percent right arm impairment. Her doctors described pain, weakness and limited motion and proposed higher ratings. The Board found that they did not adequately explain…
L.T. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Lyons, NJ
L.T. (ECAB 13-0997): Schedule award denied after current impairment exam
L.T., a VA cook with several accepted back injuries, sought a schedule award for impairment of his legs. An earlier physician proposed impairment ratings, but the Board found they relied on examination findings from eight years before the current assessment. The properly selected impartial…
L.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
L.S. (ECAB 14-0605): Ten percent impairment awards for each arm upheld
L.S., a postal clerk, sought larger schedule awards for conditions affecting her arms, shoulder, hands and thumb. OWCP’s medical adviser rated her right arm at 10 percent based on shoulder surgery and her left arm at 10 percent based on thumb surgery, using the applicable sixth edition of the…
V.L. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Chicago, IL
V.L. (ECAB 14-0573): Two percent impairment award for each arm upheld
V.L., an IRS employee, sought larger schedule awards after surgery for accepted carpal tunnel syndrome in both arms. A physician rated two percent impairment of each arm from the carpal tunnel condition and proposed an additional percentage for cubital tunnel syndrome. OWCP’s medical adviser agreed…
D.D. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Phoenix, AZ
D.D. (ECAB 14-0572): Health premium overpayment upheld, fault set aside
D.D., a VA physician receiving injury compensation, remained enrolled in federal health coverage while OWCP failed to deduct premiums from her payments for more than a year. The Board upheld the resulting $2,997.16 overpayment. It found D.D. was not at fault because there was no evidence she…
A.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Kansas City, MO
A.R. (ECAB 14-0550): Shoulder claim and reopening request denied
A.R., a postal mail handler, reported a shoulder injury when a container rolled into her after a forklift struck it. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied her claim for lack of a medical explanation connecting it to the diagnosed shoulder conditions. The Board found that her doctor…
B.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Greensboro, NC
B.B. (ECAB 14-0535): Additional four percent arm award upheld
B.B., a postal carrier, had previously received schedule awards totaling 53 percent impairment of his right arm after an accepted injury. He sought a further award after his shoulder prosthesis was replaced. His physician calculated 57 percent total impairment under the applicable guide, leaving an…
A.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Orange, CA
A.K. (ECAB 14-0437): Emotional condition claim denied over route supervision
A.K., a postal letter carrier, attributed an emotional condition to managers observing his route, criticizing his timing, and changing his delivery instructions. The Board treated monitoring and assigning work as management functions that could support this kind of claim if shown to involve error…
Q.U. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, Los Angeles, CA
Q.U. (ECAB 14-0241): Traumatic injury claim denied for lack of a specific work incident
Q.U., a Customs and Border Protection technician, claimed a heart attack after working long hours, lifting suitcases, and rotating among terminals. He filed a traumatic injury claim for symptoms on November 14, 2012. The Board said his account described general working conditions but did not…
S.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tampa, FL
S.B. (ECAB 14-0160): Emotional condition denial and refusal to reopen affirmed
S.B., a postal mail handler, attributed anxiety and depression to a coworker’s alleged stalking, harassment, and efforts to turn others against her. She also said managers failed to stop the conduct. The Board found that her statements lacked witness accounts or other evidence corroborating the…
Secretary of Labor v. Marco Crane
Stored damaged slings did not violate cited hoisting standard
Marco Crane provided hooking and hoisting services at the Freeport McMoRan Miami mine. An MSHA inspector found two frayed slings stored with other slings in a flatbed trailer compartment, but did not see the damaged slings being used and destroyed them after issuing the citation. Judge L. Zane Gill…
N.Y. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Upland, CA
N.Y. (ECAB 14-0609): Abandonment of telephone hearing request upheld
N.Y., a postal supervisor, requested a telephone hearing after OWCP denied his injury claim. OWCP mailed hearing instructions for December 11, 2013, but he did not appear. The Board found no record that he requested postponement or wrote to OWCP within 10 days to explain his absence. He gave a…
M.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, City of Industry, CA
M.C. (ECAB 14-0596): Refusal to reopen heel injury claim affirmed
M.C., a postal mail carrier, claimed that her work caused a heel condition. After OWCP denied the claim, she asked it to reconsider and said her podiatrist held her medical records. She submitted no evidence with that request. The Board found that she had supplied neither a new relevant argument…
W.Z. and U.S. Postal Service, South Shore Annex, Staten Island, NY
W.Z. (ECAB 14-0508): Overpayment fault finding set aside for lack of hearing opportunity
W.Z., a postal worker, had a $33,161.07 compensation overpayment after forfeiting benefits for failing to report earnings from a singing engagement. The Board had already upheld the fact and amount of that overpayment but sent the fault issue back because OWCP used the wrong standard. OWCP then…
M.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Rochester, MN
M.N. (ECAB 14-0484): Knee injury claim denied for insufficient medical explanation
M.N., a city letter carrier, attributed a left knee condition to repeated walking and falls while delivering mail. OWCP accepted that she performed those duties and fell at work. The Board found that her surgeon’s suggestions of possible repetitive injury were speculative and did not explain how…
L.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pittsburgh, PA
L.B. (ECAB 14-0387): Arthritis issue reopened while schedule award review remains denied
L.B., a postal worker with an accepted left knee injury, sought a larger leg impairment award and acceptance of an aggravation of her knee arthritis. OWCP refused to reopen either issue on reconsideration. The Board found no new medical impairment opinion to support reopening the award question…
L.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tampa, FL
L.R. (ECAB 14-0302): Emotional condition claim over workplace safety information denied
L.R., a postal letter carrier, reported anxiety, panic symptoms, and chest pain after receiving information about possible asbestos and lead at a building where he was to work. The Board found that the safety training and information concerned an administrative matter rather than his regular or…
J.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Malvern, PA
J.S. (ECAB 13-2129): Fifteen percent left leg impairment award upheld
J.S., a rural postal carrier injured in a fall, challenged the 15 percent permanent impairment rating for her left leg. OWCP had granted two percent for a hip condition and 13 additional percent for a nerve-related motor deficit. The Board gave weight to an impartial specialist’s examination and…
D.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Providence, RI
D.B. (ECAB 13-0959): Injury denial and late hearing ruling affirmed
D.B., a nurse at a veterans medical center, attributed migraine and other symptoms to a workplace encounter with a coworker. The Board found that her description did not explain enough about what happened to establish the alleged work incident. It therefore upheld OWCP’s denial of her traumatic…
Sierra Pacific Industries
In re Sierra Pacific Industries (EAB PSD Appeal Nos. 14-03, 14-05, and 14-06): appeals dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
Region 9 issued Sierra Pacific Industries a Clean Air Act Prevention of Significant Deterioration permit after the Board had remanded an earlier version for a public hearing. Marily Woodhouse, Russ Wade, and the Center for Biological Diversity petitioned for review of the reissued permit. The Board…
Revelation Energy, LLC v. Secretary of Labor
Flyrock violations affirmed with $76,300 penalty
Revelation Energy operated two surface coal mines in Kentucky where blasting sent large rocks beyond mine boundaries toward homes and a public road. At the S-4 Netley Branch Mine, four rocks landed in residential yards and one struck the window of an occupied home after the mine failed to follow…
C.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Honolulu, HI
C.W. (ECAB 14-0570): Refusal to reopen wage loss claim affirmed
C.W., a postal automation clerk with an accepted shoulder condition, sought compensation for intermittent work hours she said she missed in 2012. OWCP denied that claim and later declined to reopen it on reconsideration. The Board found that the doctor’s notes she sent with her reconsideration…
D.B. and Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, New Cumberland, PA
D.B. (ECAB 14-0527): Termination of wage loss benefits reversed
D.B., a Defense Logistics Agency materials handler, received wage loss benefits after a work injury involving a crane. OWCP accepted both a physical condition and psychiatric conditions, then ended her wage loss benefits. The Board found that the brief responses OWCP relied on did not explain why…
H.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing and Distribution Center, Carol Stream, IL
H.S. (ECAB 14-0525): Wage earning capacity determination left in place
H.S., a postal mail processing clerk with accepted shoulder conditions, worked in a modified assignment. OWCP used his actual earnings in that job to set his wage earning capacity. He sought a change based on another Board decision that rejected an earnings estimate for a job its claimant had not…
C.O. and Department of the Army, Materiel Command, Fort Rucker, AL
C.O. (ECAB 14-0516): Emotional condition claim denied for lack of corroborated work factors
C.O., an Army quality assurance specialist, attributed depression and anxiety to supervisors’ alleged harassment and handling of leave, promotion, and other personnel matters. The Board found that the personnel actions could support this type of claim only if the employer had acted in error or…
R.H. and Department of Justice, U.S. Marshals Service, Alexandria, VA
R.H. (ECAB 14-0449): Fitness exercise injury claim denied for insufficient medical explanation
R.H., a deputy U.S. marshal, claimed neck and left shoulder injuries from dip exercises in a required fitness program. OWCP accepted that the exercise took place. His orthopedic surgeon diagnosed neck and shoulder conditions and attributed them to the exercise, but the Board found the reports did…
G.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Portland, ME
G.P. (ECAB 14-0395): Surgery for cubital tunnel syndrome left unauthorized
G.P., a rural postal carrier, had an accepted right shoulder condition and sought approval for surgery on both elbows. The Board gave special weight to an impartial orthopedic specialist’s opinion that the cubital tunnel syndrome was unrelated to the earlier work injury. It noted the absence of…
L.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Palatine, IL
L.R. (ECAB 14-0361): Disability claim returned after development letter went to old address
L.R., a postal mail processing clerk with an accepted right shoulder condition, claimed compensation for time missed in June 2013. OWCP asked for more medical evidence but sent its letter to an old address, despite a newer address on her claim form. After she said she never received the request and…
E.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Westchester Processing and Distribution Center, White Plains, NY
E.S. (ECAB 13-1309): Carpal tunnel impairment awards upheld
E.S., a postal mail processor, had accepted carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists and underwent surgery. He challenged OWCP’s ratings of two percent right arm impairment and four percent left arm impairment. His treating surgeon proposed 15 percent for each arm but did not show how he applied 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.