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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V.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Spring, TX
V.S. (ECAB 14-0389): Compensation termination for refusing suitable work upheld
V.S., a postal distribution clerk, received benefits for accepted left shoulder and wrist conditions. Her treating surgeon released her for full-time work with permanent limits on lifting and reaching. The Board found that the offered modified clerk position fit those limits and that OWCP had given…
D.H. and Department of the Navy, Commander Fleet Forces Command, Shipyards, Portsmouth, VA
D.H. (ECAB 14-0294): Fall injury claim denial upheld
D.H., a Navy engineering technician, fell against boxes while reaching into a safe at work. The Board accepted that the incident occurred. Her doctor diagnosed spinal and shoulder sprains and sciatica but did not explain medically how the fall caused the conditions; a checked causation box did not…
G.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing and Distribution Facility, Gary, IN
G.S. (ECAB 14-0281): Wage loss denial and reconsideration refusal upheld
G.S., a postal processing clerk, sought wage loss benefits after an accepted left hand contusion from a fall. Her doctor listed periods when she could not work and also mentioned a left knee condition, which OWCP had not accepted. The Board found that the certificates did not explain medically how…
D.H. and Department of the Navy, U.S. Marine Corporation, Camp Pendelton, CA
D.H. (ECAB 14-0263): Chest condition claim denial upheld
D.H., a motor vehicle operator, reported chest pain after lifting tires into a truck at work. Doctors diagnosed costochondritis and recorded that the incident was work related. The Board found that their reports did not explain medically how the lifting caused or aggravated the condition. Other…
A.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Washington, DC
A.T. (ECAB 13-1908): Schedule award denial and reporting suspension upheld
A.T., a former postal distribution clerk, sought a schedule award for impairment from accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. Her treating doctor gave conflicting answers over time about whether her condition had reached maximum medical improvement, which the Board said was needed for an award…
A.W. and Department of the Navy, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, NH
A.W. (ECAB 13-1429): Overpayment waiver denial sent back for explanation
A.W., a Navy pipefitter, sought waiver of recovery after OWCP rescinded a schedule award and identified an $11,587.25 overpayment. He submitted income, expense, and other financial records to support his request. OWCP denied waiver in a short statement without making findings or explaining why his…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, Sumner, WA
D.S. (ECAB 13-1397): Dispatcher wage capacity reduction reversed
D.S., a postal employee, received compensation for accepted left leg conditions after his limited-duty assignment ended. OWCP reduced his benefits using wages it attributed to a dispatcher job. The Board agreed he could physically perform a sedentary dispatcher position and that jobs were available…
American Federation of Government Employees, National Veterans Affairs Council No. 53 (Union) and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Medical Center, Reno, Nevada (Agency)
VA Reno and AFGE Council 53 (FLRA 0-AR-5004): Representation-rights award upheld
After a VA Reno presentation about employee representation rights, the union grieved statements by agency representatives and the case went to arbitration. The arbitrator decided that the representatives had to follow the labor agreement's representation-rights language. The union challenged the…
Secretary of Labor v. Oak Grove Resources, LLC
Directional-control citation vacated
MSHA cited Oak Grove Resources for allegedly failing to use sightlines or another directional control while cutting slanted storage areas in an underground coal mine. Judge Alan G. Paez held that 30 C.F.R. § 75.203(b) requires use of a directional control, but does not create a separate duty to…
Ethel L. Richardson v. Huntington Ingalls, Incorporated
Richardson v. Huntington Ingalls (BRB 13-0476): disputed disability settlement upheld
Ethel Richardson injured her shoulder while working as a welder for Huntington Ingalls and could no longer return to that work. She and the employer settled disputed disability issues for $140,500 in compensation, plus $10,000 for medical benefits. The district director thought the compensation…
B.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Atlanta, GA
B.S. (ECAB 14-0576): Continuing disability question sent back for impartial exam
B.S., a postal employee, had an accepted temporary aggravation of depression and panic disorder after a stressful work call. OWCP concluded that the work-related aggravation had resolved by August 2007 and denied later disability. Its referral psychiatrist said the aggravation had ended, while…
P.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Seattle, WA
P.P. (ECAB 14-0563): Right ear award upheld; left ear claim denied
P.P., a postal mechanic, sought a greater right ear schedule award and recognition of hearing loss in his left ear. OWCP had accepted right ear hearing loss with tinnitus and awarded 15 percent impairment. The Board found that the audiogram and medical opinions supported that rating and that…
W.L. and Government Printing Office, Washington, DC
W.L. (ECAB 14-0393): Emotional condition claim returned for fact development
W.L., a Government Printing Office power truck operator, claimed that harassment and retaliation at work caused an emotional condition. He described incidents involving supervisors and submitted a coworker’s account of one confrontation. OWCP asked the employing agency for a knowledgeable…
J.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hartford, CT
J.S. (ECAB 14-0373): Carpal tunnel claim denial upheld
J.S., a postal customer service manager, attributed bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome to extensive computer use at work. OWCP accepted his job duties and diagnosis but found no adequate medical opinion linking them. The Board agreed: his physician said computer use could cause the condition but did…
L.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Staten Island, NY
L.J. (ECAB 14-0357): Repeated reconsideration request did not reopen treatment claim
L.J., a postal mail processing clerk, had an accepted cervical injury from lifting in 2005. OWCP later denied authorization for treatment of additional conditions, and she sought reconsideration. Her second request repeated the arguments from a request OWCP had already considered and included no…
M.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, San Antonio, TX
M.M. (ECAB 14-0192): 42 percent hearing loss award upheld
M.M., a Customs and Border Protection officer, developed work-related hearing loss after years of noise exposure. OWCP accepted the condition and awarded compensation for 42 percent loss of hearing in both ears. Its medical adviser calculated 37 percent loss from an audiogram and added five percent…
R.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
R.T. (ECAB 14-0095): Compensation suspension for obstructed examination upheld
R.T., a postal mail handler with accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, appeared for an OWCP-directed examination to assess permanent impairment. She refused to complete and sign a short intake form, and the physician did not examine her. OWCP suspended her compensation after warning her about…
J.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Topeka, KS
J.S. (ECAB 13-2060): Emotional condition claim returned for findings
J.S., a Veterans Health Administration program support assistant, reported that workplace demands aggravated her emotional conditions. Her paperwork also referred to neck and shoulder symptoms, and OWCP combined two claim files. OWCP denied the claim after evaluating a neck condition, but it did…
L.K. and Department of the Air Force, Robins Air Force Base, GA
L.K. (ECAB 13-1775): Injury claim returned to clarify earlier case records
L.K. reported vertigo, hearing loss and tinnitus that she said had progressed after a 1999 work head injury. OWCP treated her 2013 filing as a new injury claim and rejected it as untimely, then refused to reopen the case. The Board found that the filing appeared to concern consequences of the…
J.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
J.L. (ECAB 13-1443): Denial of continued knee disability benefits upheld
J.L., a postal letter carrier, injured her left knee at work and had surgery for an accepted meniscus tear. OWCP later accepted that the injury accelerated mild osteoarthritis but denied further wage-loss compensation. A referral physician found that the meniscus condition had resolved and that she…
C.G. and Social Security Administration, Office of Hearings and Appeals, Boston, MA
C.G. (ECAB 13-1145): Overpayment waiver decision returned for financial review
C.G. received wage-loss compensation after returning to full-time work, leading OWCP to identify a $3,072 overpayment. She requested a telephone conference and submitted financial records in support of a waiver. OWCP denied waiver, stating that she had provided no proof of financial obligations…
G.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Marlborough, MA
G.T. (ECAB 14-0653): Retirement offset overpayment and recovery upheld
G.T., a former postal letter carrier, received FECA wage-loss compensation while receiving Social Security retirement benefits partly attributable to federal service. OWCP had not applied the required offset for that federal-service portion, producing a $7,657.03 overpayment. The Board upheld the…
M.L. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Alexandria, LA
M.L. (ECAB 14-0524): Claimed workplace fall not established
M.L., a medical clerk at a VA medical center, claimed that she fell over a floor tile at work and injured her hip and other body parts. She filed the claim about nine months after the alleged fall. Hospital records made shortly after the event described a fall at home, while later medical reports…
C.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Logistics and Distribution Center, Tampa, FL
C.G. (ECAB 14-0315): Wage-loss denial and examination suspension upheld
C.G., a postal mail handler, sought wage-loss compensation for a period in 2011 under an accepted 2009 injury claim. The Board found that she could not be paid twice for periods already compensated under a separate claim, and her physicians had not explained how the 2009 injury caused disability…
G.J. and Department of the Air Force, Scott Air Force Base, IL
G.J. (ECAB 14-0032): Suitable-work dispute not reopened
G.J., an Air Force office automation secretary, had accepted right arm conditions and later lost monetary benefits after declining an offered modified job. She sought reconsideration, arguing that earlier problems with workplace accommodations showed the offer was unsuitable. The Board found that…
M.B. and Department of the Army, Civilian Personnel Branch, Warren, MI
M.B. (ECAB 13-1716): PTSD wage-loss claim returned for medical opinion
M.B., a civilian Army inventory specialist, had an accepted post-traumatic stress disorder claim connected to her service in Afghanistan. She sought compensation for periods when she did not work. OWCP denied wage-loss benefits because much of her submitted evidence came from a physician assistant…
Pocahontas Coal Company, LLC v. Secretary of Labor
Standalone pattern-notice contest dismissed
MSHA issued Pocahontas Coal Company a written notice alleging a pattern of significant-and-substantial violations at its Affinity Mine. Pocahontas tried to contest the written notice by itself under section 105(d) of the Mine Act. Judge Margaret A. Miller dismissed the proceeding because section…
Matter of Eunice Villaluna JACKSON, Respondent; Matter of Geruen Hewlett Andreu Villaluna ERANDIO, Respondent
Matter of JACKSON and ERANDIO (BIA ID 3802): Adam Walsh Act applies to earlier convictions
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal after an Immigration Judge terminated removal proceedings against a mother and child. The respondents' family-based immigration petition was affected by the United States citizen petitioner's 1979 conviction for sexual abuse of a…
Matter of Iris INTROCASO, Beneficiary of a visa petition filed by Russell Leopold Introcaso, Petitioner
Matter of INTROCASO (BIA ID 3801): circumstance-specific review applies to Adam Walsh Act offenses
The Board reviewed a petitioner's appeal from the denial of a family-based visa petition for his wife. The denial followed the petitioner's convictions for endangering the welfare of children and criminal sexual contact, and the Board considered whether the convictions were specified offenses…
Matter of Tatiana ACEIJAS-QUIROZ, Beneficiary of a visa petition filed by Aubrey Edward Haverly, Petitioner
Matter of ACEIJAS-QUIROZ (BIA ID 3800): no-risk determinations are not reviewable
The Board reviewed a United States citizen petitioner's appeal from the denial of a visa petition for his wife. The petitioner had convictions for sexual abuse and contributing to the sexual delinquency of a minor, and the Department of Homeland Security determined that the Adam Walsh Act barred…
J.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Little Rock, AR
J.S. (ECAB 14-0394): Recurrence claim not reopened
J.S., a postal mail handler with accepted hand and wrist conditions, sought wage-loss benefits after her modified-duty assignment was withdrawn. OWCP had denied the recurrence claim and later refused another request for reconsideration. The Board reviewed only that refusal because the latest merits…
I.B. and Department of the Navy, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, San Diego, CA
I.B. (ECAB 14-0388): Lung impairment award denied despite accepted asbestosis
I.B., a retired Navy boilermaker and boiler plant operator, had accepted lung disease from work-related asbestos exposure. He sought a schedule award for permanent lung impairment. Pulmonary function testing showed values above the thresholds for a compensable impairment under the adopted rating…
D.W. and Department of Agriculture, National Forest Service, Harrisburg, IL
D.W. (ECAB 14-0338): Termination of back injury benefits upheld
D.W. had accepted back and sacral conditions after falls during her federal work. She later reported continuing pain and stopped working at a private-sector nursing job. Her treating physicians and an OWCP referral physician disagreed about whether the accepted injuries still caused disability or…
M.G. and Department of the Army, White Sands Missile Range, NM
M.G. (ECAB 14-0252): Erroneous tinnitus award recoverable
M.G., an Army electrician, had accepted work-related hearing loss and received a $6,616.87 schedule award after OWCP added five percent for tinnitus. The medical evidence showed no ratable hearing impairment, so tinnitus could not support the award by itself. OWCP treated the full payment as an…
S.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Nashville, TN
S.C. (ECAB 14-0233): Total-disability recurrence claim denied
S.C., a former postal worker, had accepted plantar fasciitis and heel spurs and previously received schedule awards for leg impairment. She sought wage-loss compensation for a later period, claiming a recurrence of total disability. The Board found no evidence that her limited-duty job had been…
T.S. and Department of the Army, Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, Fort Eustis, VA
T.S. (ECAB 14-0180): Carpal tunnel claim denied for lack of causal opinion
T.S., an Army safety and occupational health specialist, attributed carpal tunnel syndrome to years of typing and computer use. OWCP accepted her description of the work but denied the claim for insufficient medical proof of causation. Her doctor said keyboarding possibly caused the condition but…
K.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Portland, ME
K.W. (ECAB 14-0073): 38 percent right leg award rating upheld
K.W., a postal letter carrier, had accepted aggravation of right hip and knee osteoarthritis and received a schedule award for 38 percent right leg impairment. His physician rated the leg at 69 percent, while OWCP’s medical adviser rated it at 38 percent. OWCP obtained an impartial orthopedic…
C.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Fayetteville Main Post Office, Fayetteville, GA
C.G. (ECAB 13-1172): Wage-loss and recurrence denials upheld
C.G., a postal rural carrier associate, had accepted right wrist conditions and later worked in a modified position. She sought wage-loss compensation for a multiyear period and claimed a recurrence of disability after stopping modified work in November 2004. The Board found no reasoned medical…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 190 (Union) and United States Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Public Debt, Parkersburg, West Virginia (Agency)
Treasury Bureau of the Public Debt and NTEU Chapter 190 (FLRA 0-AR-4935): Performance appraisal award upheld
A senior customer service specialist at the Bureau of the Public Debt received a lower rating in one appraisal category than the year before and did not receive a performance award. An arbitrator found that the agency did not have to counsel her before assigning the rating and that the appraisal…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Martinsburg, West Virginia (Respondent) and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local Lodge 1798, IAMAW, AFL-CIO (Charging Party)
Martinsburg VA Medical Center and NFFE Lodge 1798 (FLRA WA-CA-12-0593): Telework remedies expanded
A union official at the Martinsburg VA Medical Center requested full-time telework after injuring her ankle. The medical center did not answer an unfair labor practice complaint on time, so the Authority judge treated its allegations as admitted and found unlawful interference and discrimination…
Secretary of Labor v. The American Coal Company
Five orders modified and flagrant findings removed
MSHA alleged five serious violations at American Coal's large, methane-liberating Galatia Mine involving energized electrical work, unsupported roof and ribs, inadequate preshift and on-shift examinations, and extensive belt-line combustible accumulations. Senior Judge Michael E. Zielinski upheld…
S.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Greensboro, NC
S.C. (ECAB 14-0555): Late reconsideration request did not reopen back claim
S.C., a postal letter carrier, claimed that lifting and bending at work aggravated her back condition. OWCP denied the claim in July 2012 for lack of medical evidence connecting it to work. OWCP received her request for reconsideration two days after the one-year deadline. A new physician report…
P.J. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Myrtle Beach, SC
P.J. (ECAB 14-0498): Shoulder claim not reopened
P.J., a Transportation Security Administration screener, claimed a right shoulder injury from an accepted workplace incident. OWCP denied compensation because his physician had not explained how the incident caused the diagnosed conditions. P.J. requested reconsideration with a position…
J.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Charlotte, NC
J.L. (ECAB 14-0396): $245.57 wage-loss overpayment recoverable
J.L., a postal rural carrier, increased her modified work schedule from 10 to 32 hours per week. OWCP continued paying wage-loss compensation at the rate based on the shorter schedule for four days, resulting in a $245.57 overpayment. The Board upheld the calculation and OWCP’s finding that she was…
J.S. and Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Valley Stream, NY
J.S. (ECAB 14-0291): Vehicle accident injury claim denied for lack of medical link
J.S., a Fish and Wildlife Service investigator, was in a vehicle accident while working and claimed head, neck, back, arm and shoulder injuries. OWCP accepted the accident but denied the claim because the medical evidence did not establish a resulting injury. An emergency room report did not…
Q.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Santa Clarita, CA
Q.W. (ECAB 14-0147): Disability-period claim not reopened
Q.W., a postal worker with accepted shoulder and back injuries, sought compensation for a period when she said she could not perform modified work. OWCP denied the claim because the medical evidence did not explain her inability to perform that work during the claimed dates. OWCP later accepted…
L.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Long Island City, NY
L.C. (ECAB 13-2153): Zero-benefit reduction for missing rehabilitation upheld
L.C., a postal worker with accepted shoulder, neck and hand conditions, received wage-loss compensation after stopping work. An impartial orthopedic examiner found that he could do sedentary work with restrictions and participate in vocational rehabilitation. L.C. did not meet with the assigned…
R.A. and Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General, Oakland, CA
R.A. (ECAB 13-1498): Treatment-visit wages allowed; other claimed hours denied
R.A., an auditor with an accepted thoracic sprain, sought leave buyback for intermittent absences in 2010. OWCP approved some hours but denied 60 hours without contemporaneous medical support. The Board agreed that the remaining records did not establish total disability on the disputed dates: an…
E.J. and Department of Defense, Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Columbus, OH
E.J. (ECAB 13-0517): End of left arm RSD treatment benefits upheld
E.J., a Defense Department accounting technician, had accepted left hand and arm conditions after her hand was caught in a door. Her treating physician and an OWCP physician disagreed about whether left arm reflex sympathetic dystrophy still required treatment. An impartial neurologist examined the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Council of Prison Locals, Local 405 (Union) and United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Complex, Butner, North Carolina (Agency)
Butner prison complex and AFGE Local 405 (FLRA 0-AR-4866): Overtime backpay gains interest
At a federal prison complex, management stopped allowing employees represented by AFGE Local 405 to take overtime shifts that overlapped with their regular shifts, while employees represented by two other locals could continue. An arbitrator found that the unequal treatment violated the parties'…
Secretary of Labor v. Crater Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Default and final assessment reopened
Crater Sand & Gravel asked the Commission to reopen a defaulted penalty case and a separate proposed assessment that had become final without a timely recorded contest. Crater showed that it mailed an answer, was actively responding to discovery, and believed it had contested the underlying…
Secretary of Labor v. L & W Quarries, Inc.
One assessment reopened and two remained final
L & W Quarries asked the Commission to reopen penalties for one order and two citations after the proposed assessment became final without a timely contest. The operator said it mistakenly believed that earlier citation contests meant it did not need to forward the later assessment form to counsel…
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
J.B. (ECAB 14-0342): Back injury claim not reopened
J.B., a postal distribution operator, claimed a back injury after keying mail at work. OWCP accepted that the March 2013 incident occurred but denied compensation because the medical evidence did not connect his back condition to it. J.B. requested reconsideration and submitted an appointment note…
S.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Greensboro, NC
S.C. (ECAB 14-0173): Carpal tunnel claim and reconsideration denial upheld
S.C., a postal human resources specialist, attributed bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and other arm symptoms to repetitive work with her hands. Testing supported the carpal tunnel diagnosis, but her physicians did not offer a reasoned opinion tying it to her job duties. The Board upheld OWCP’s…
M.M. and Department of the Navy, Military Sealift Command, Virginia Beach, VA
M.M. (ECAB 13-2018): Termination of lumbar sprain benefits upheld
M.M., a Navy boatswain mate, had an accepted lumbar sprain from carrying a cabinet and received compensation after stopping work. OWCP obtained a second-opinion examination and functional testing to assess whether the accepted injury still caused disability or required treatment. The examiner found…
S.S. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Warwick, RI
S.S. (ECAB 13-1919): Hypertension claim denial upheld
S.S., a Transportation Security Administration administrative officer, claimed that a threatening email from a former employee and the agency’s response aggravated his hypertension. OWCP accepted that he received the email but denied his claim because the medical evidence did not establish a…
M.R. and Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Athens, GA
M.R. (ECAB 13-1871): Emotional condition claim denial upheld
M.R., an Agriculture Department human resources officer, claimed that overwork and treatment by his supervisors caused an emotional condition. The Board accepted overwork as a compensable employment factor but found insufficient evidence of error or abuse in administrative matters such as…
B.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, Chicago, IL
B.C. (ECAB 13-1824): Medical benefit reconsideration sent back for a proper ruling
B.C., a Postal Service employee, asked OWCP to reconsider its termination of medical benefits for two earlier work injuries. OWCP instead ruled on whether she had sustained a recurrence of disability. The Board found that OWCP had addressed the wrong issue and declared its March 18, 2013 decision…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pembroke Pines, FL
M.M. (ECAB 13-1787): Disability claim returned to resolve conflicting medical opinions
M.M., a Postal Service mail processing clerk, had an accepted low-back contusion after a workplace fall and claimed wage-loss compensation beginning in February 2010. Her treating physician said lumbar symptoms prevented her from working. OWCP’s referral physician found that the accepted contusion…
D.F. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Primary Care Clinic, Anchorage, AK
D.F. (ECAB 13-0971): Occupational disease claim returned for specialist review
D.F., a Veterans Affairs patient services assistant, claimed that repetitive work activities caused pain in her neck, shoulders, and other areas. After an earlier Board remand, OWCP’s orthopedic referral physician found no work-related orthopedic condition but recommended a rheumatology evaluation…
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.