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.P. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Border Patrol
Board orders renewed review of thumb impairment award (ECAB 25-0025)
A Border Patrol employee sought a larger award for left-hand impairment after prior awards involving the same arm. The Board found OWCP improperly relied on comparing impairment percentages without determining whether the current thumb impairment duplicated compensation previously paid. It ordered…
M.K. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Air Marshal Service
Board denies air marshal's shoulder injury claim (ECAB 25-0016)
A federal air marshal reported shoulder pain after training drills. A physician diagnosed rotator cuff problems but did not explain whether the accepted training incident caused them. The Board found the medical record insufficient to establish causation and affirmed the denial.
A.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Wilmington Box Post Office
Board denies claimed neck and back injury conditions (ECAB 24-0928)
A postal employee attributed neck and back conditions to an accepted February 2024 work incident. A physician suggested a connection but did not explain the medical basis for it. The Board found the record insufficient to establish causation and affirmed the denial.
R.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Portland Air Cargo Center
Board upholds vocational rehabilitation sanction (ECAB 24-0806)
A postal employee stopped cooperating with vocational rehabilitation and OWCP reduced his wage-loss compensation to zero. The Board found the sanction supported by the record. It also held his request for written-record review was filed after the applicable deadline. It affirmed both OWCP decisions.
Larry M. Ramey v. Talon Resources, Incorporated and West Virginia Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis Fund
Ramey v. Talon Resources (BRB 24-0121): black lung benefit award affirmed
Larry Ramey filed a subsequent black lung claim after an earlier denial for lack of proof of total disability. An administrative law judge credited him with 21.76 years of qualifying coal mine work and found a totally disabling respiratory impairment based on medical opinions. Talon Resources…
Allen G. Hilbert v. Dominion Coal Corporation
Hilbert v. Dominion Coal (BRB 24-0018): disability evidence needs a new review
Allen Hilbert sought black lung benefits on a subsequent claim after an earlier claim failed to establish total disability. An administrative law judge found 32.5 years of qualifying mine work and credited one doctor's disability opinion over a contrary opinion, invoking the statutory presumption…
M.P. and Department of the Navy, Fleet Readiness Center Southwest
Board dismisses late appeal from Navy worker (ECAB 25-0081)
A Navy employee appealed an April 12, 2024 OWCP decision on October 31, after the October 9 end of the 180-day filing period. The Board found no documented compelling circumstance for the delay and dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.
N.S. and U.S. Postal Service, San Diego Post Office
Board dismisses appeal filed beyond 180 days (ECAB 25-0080)
A postal employee appealed an October 2023 OWCP decision in November 2024. The Board found the filing was outside its 180-day period and that no documented compelling circumstance explained the delay. It dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.
K.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Morgan Processing and Distribution Center
Board dismisses late appeal from OWCP decision (ECAB 25-0075)
A postal employee appealed a February 2024 OWCP decision in late October 2024. The Board found the filing came after its 180-day deadline and that no documented compelling circumstance explained the delay. It dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.
B.N. and U.S. Postal Service, James C. Brown Jr. Post Office
Board denies long-distance treatment travel reimbursement (ECAB 24-0938)
A postal employee sought reimbursement for travel from Nevada to Florida for hernia surgery. The Board found the record did not establish medical necessity for treatment with that distant surgeon, about 2,000 miles away. It held OWCP had not abused its discretion in denying the travel expense.
R.M. and Department of the Navy, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
Board upholds termination of benefits for old injury (ECAB 24-0894)
A former Navy employee challenged termination of benefits tied to an accepted 1992 injury. The Board found OWCP's medical evidence established that no continuing disability or residuals remained from that injury. It affirmed the termination effective October 2023.
A.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Oakland Processing and Distribution Center
Board denies right-leg schedule award (ECAB 24-0850)
A postal employee sought a permanent impairment award after an accepted right-leg injury. The Board found the medical evidence did not establish ratable permanent impairment of a covered body member under the applicable guides. It affirmed the denial.
Y.R. and U.S. Postal Service, New Orleans Post Office
Board denies shoulder claim for missing diagnosis (ECAB 25-0047)
A postal carrier reported a shoulder injury after lifting a package at work. The submitted physician report described pain but did not establish a diagnosed medical condition connected to the accepted incident. The Board affirmed the denial.
S.S. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Board denies knee injury claim and late hearing request (ECAB 25-0026)
An FBI employee sought compensation for a left-knee condition after an accepted March 2024 incident. The Board found the medical evidence did not establish causation. It also held her request for an oral hearing or written-record review arrived outside the 30-day period. It affirmed both decisions.
P.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Clifton East End Post Office
Board reverses reduced wage-loss benefits based on constructed job (ECAB 24-0912)
OWCP reduced a postal employee's benefits based on expected earnings as a customer service representative. The medical opinion used to assess her capacity was more than 18 months old, and its five-pound lifting, pushing, and pulling restriction conflicted with the job's physical demands. The Board…
J.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Houston Post Office
Board upholds refusal to reopen old injury claim (ECAB 24-0883)
A postal employee sought to reopen a longstanding injury claim after the ordinary one-year reconsideration period. She argued that OWCP had overlooked statements and an earlier medical report. The Board found the submission did not demonstrate clear evidence of error and affirmed the refusal to…
K.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Brockton Processing and Distribution Center
Board orders review of work factors behind employee's fall (ECAB 24-0871)
A postal mechanic fainted and fell after receiving news of a coworker's death, and he described other work stressors. OWCP treated the fall as an unexplained personal event. The Board found it had not adequately developed whether employment factors contributed to the emotional condition and fall…
A.O. and Department of Labor, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management
Board orders opinion on disputed disability dates (ECAB 24-0769)
A Labor Department employee sought compensation for intermittent disability in July and August 2015 following an accepted 2014 injury. OWCP obtained a second opinion about his current condition but did not ask the physician to address the claimed historical dates. The Board directed OWCP to obtain…
United States Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 68
Internal Revenue Service and NTEU Chapter 68 (FLRA 0-AR-5702): Authority denies reconsideration after missed briefing order
The Authority previously set aside an award that raised an IRS employee's performance rating because the union did not show that the enforced contract provision fit an exception to management rights. The union sought reconsideration, saying it never received the Authority's order inviting…
Avadek, Inc.
Competent-person inspection citation vacated
Avadek installed an entrance canopy at a sports and event center in Bryan, Texas. During later quality-control work, a foreman died after falling from the canopy, and OSHA cited Avadek for allegedly failing to maintain frequent and regular competent-person inspections. The judge found that Avadek's…
Sofidel America Corp.
Rewinder lockout and training violations affirmed
Sofidel operated a paper-products rewinder at its Circleville, Ohio, facility, where operators routinely entered the machine and used its jogging controls to clear jams. An employee's hand was caught between a moving roller and a guide plate while two employees cleared a jam, causing a degloving…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL v. Covanex, Inc.
H-1B back-pay appeal dismissed
This H-1B case concerned an administrative judge's decision reducing a back-wage assessment against Covanex from $816,830.50 for eighteen workers to $7,719.37 for one worker. The Wage and Hour Division Administrator obtained additional time to decide whether to seek Board review. Before the…
A.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Southern Maryland Processing and Distribution Center
Board denies claimed eye condition after work incident (ECAB 25-0057)
A postal worker sought recognition of eye conditions after an accepted October 2021 incident. OWCP's referral physician diagnosed several eye conditions but did not connect them to the work event. The Board found the medical evidence insufficient to establish causation and affirmed the denial.
T.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Pasadena Processing and Distribution Center
Board corrects handling of postal worker’s earning capacity request (ECAB 25-0004)
A postal mail processing clerk with accepted arm and other conditions asked OWCP to change a 2018 loss of wage-earning capacity determination based on a part-time information clerk job. OWCP treated her request as late reconsideration. The Board held that it was a request to modify the earning…
T.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Pasadena Processing and Distribution Center
Board reverses reconsideration ruling but keeps wage-capacity decision (ECAB 24-0914)
A postal employee asked to modify a 2018 loss-of-wage-earning-capacity determination. OWCP improperly treated one request as late reconsideration. The Board reversed that procedural ruling but found she had not met any ground for modifying the wage-earning-capacity determination. It affirmed the…
E.R. and U.S. Postal Service, San Jose Post Office
Board orders correct review of late reconsideration request (ECAB 24-0910)
A postal employee again sought reconsideration of an old injury claim. OWCP assessed the request using rules for timely filings even though it needed to decide timeliness and apply the clear-evidence-of-error standard for a late request. The Board directed OWCP to apply the correct standard and…
K.L. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service
Board upholds refusal to reopen medical-bill claim (ECAB 24-0906)
An IRS investigator requested payment of an emergency-room bill after a vehicle incident during surveillance. He acknowledged that he sustained no injury and sought reconsideration of OWCP's denial. The Board found his submission did not meet the standard for reopening a merit decision and affirmed…
W.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection
Board orders completion of leg impairment examination (ECAB 24-0855)
A Customs and Border Protection employee sought more than 31 percent permanent impairment for each leg. OWCP decided the additional award claim before an impartial medical examination it had arranged took place. The Board found that decision premature and directed OWCP to reschedule the examination…
D.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Southern Arizona VA Health Care System
Board orders review of overlooked treatment report (ECAB 24-0667)
A VA employee sought authorization for additional care following an accepted adverse reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine. OWCP denied the request while stating that no supporting evidence had been received, but it had received a physician's report addressing the requested treatment. The Board directed…
M.G. and Department of the Air Force, 565th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
Board denies claimed condition after maintenance incident (ECAB 23-1049)
An Air Force maintenance employee sought compensation for a condition attributed to an accepted May 2023 work incident. The Board found the medical reports did not adequately explain how the diagnosed back conditions were caused by that incident. It affirmed OWCP’s denial.
Penneco Environmental Solutions, LLC
In re Penneco Environmental Solutions, LLC (EAB UIC Appeal Nos. 23-01 and 24-02): permit review denied
Penneco Environmental Solutions, LLC, sought to convert the Sedat #4A gas-production well in Plum Borough, Pennsylvania, into a Class II-D commercial disposal injection well for fluids from oil and gas production. Protect PT, Three Rivers Waterkeeper, Patricia B. Carr, and Matthew Kelso challenged…
Penneco Environmental Solutions, LLC
In re Penneco Environmental Solutions, LLC (EAB UIC Appeal Nos. 23-01 and 24-02): Review denied
Penneco Environmental Solutions, LLC sought to convert an existing gas-production well in Pennsylvania into a Class II-D commercial injection well for oil and gas production fluids. Two groups of petitioners challenged the permit under the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Clean Water Act, Pennsylvania…
David Matney v. Jewell Ridge Coal Corporation
Matney v. Jewell Ridge Coal (BRB 24-0180): judge must apply the correct proof burden
David Matney sought black lung benefits after eleven years of coal mine work. Because he did not have the 15 years needed for the statutory presumption, he had to prove that he had legal pneumoconiosis and that it substantially contributed to his disability. The administrative law judge awarded…
G.R. and U.S. Postal Service, West Palm Beach Processing and Distribution Center
Board upholds denial of late reconsideration (ECAB 25-0041)
A postal employee sought reconsideration of an earlier injury claim more than a year after the relevant merit decision. The Board found that her submission did not demonstrate clear evidence of error in OWCP's decision. It affirmed the denial of reconsideration without reaching the underlying…
T.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Cardiss Collins Post Office
Board denies wage loss for treatment visits (ECAB 24-0909)
A Chicago postal employee sought wage-loss compensation for time spent obtaining medical treatment during March 4 through 8, 2024, after an accepted November 2022 injury. The Board found that she had not supplied the evidence required to establish that the claimed time away from work was for…
M.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Stockyard Post Office
Board orders recalculation of forfeiture overpayment (ECAB 22-1079)
A postal employee failed to report work activity while receiving compensation, causing forfeiture for June 2016 through January 2017. The Board agreed that an overpayment occurred and that she was at fault, barring waiver. It found OWCP's $13,779.34 calculation inconsistent with the payment record…
A.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Providence Processing and Distribution Center
Board upholds benefits suspension for missed examination (ECAB 22-0709)
A postal employee failed to attend a scheduled medical examination, and OWCP suspended his compensation. He later requested an oral hearing but did not appear after notice. The Board found both the suspension and the hearing-abandonment determination supported by the record and affirmed them.
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, West Palm Beach VA Medical Center and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 507
West Palm Beach VA Medical Center and AFGE Local 507 (FLRA 0-AR-5913): Authority sets aside medical-technologist promotion award
GS-9 medical technologists at the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center claimed that they performed GS-11 grade-controlling duties more than 25% of the time and sought immediate permanent promotions. An arbitrator agreed that the agency should review them for promotion, directed higher compensation if…
Billy Bayless v. Consol Mining Company, LLC
Bayless v. Consol Mining (BRB 24-0108): black lung award affirmed
Billy Bayless won black lung benefits after a judge found 16 years of underground coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. Consol Mining challenged the medical findings and argued that the judge's delay in issuing his decision should shift benefit liability to the Black Lung…
Sonny Brock v. Straight Creek Mining and Old Republic Insurance Company
Brock v. Straight Creek Mining (BRB 24-0038): black lung denial affirmed after remand
Sonny Brock sought black lung benefits on a subsequent claim and appealed without a representative. A prior Board decision had sent the case back for a closer review of his pulmonary function studies and medical opinions. On remand, the judge found the qualifying new studies invalid for inadequate…
Carmen Talerico v. JWR-Walter Energy and Warrior Met Coal, LLC
Talerico v. JWR-Walter Energy (BRB 23-0486): disability denial needs a new review
The late miner Carmen Talerico's wife continued his black lung claim after an earlier denial. On modification, the judge found that Talerico was not totally disabled, discounting a qualifying 2021 pulmonary function study and the supporting doctor's opinion. The Board vacated those findings. It…
C.L. and U.S. Postal Service, John F. Kennedy Airport Post Office
Board upholds late reconsideration denial in COVID-19 claim (ECAB 25-0056)
A postal mail handler with an accepted COVID-19 claim sought reconsideration of a prior decision on disability benefits. Her request was untimely, and the Board found that the submitted medical material did not demonstrate clear evidence of error in OWCP's decision. It affirmed the denial without…
D.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, West Consolidated Patient Account Center
Board upholds denial of second hearing request (ECAB 25-0019)
A VA medical reimbursement technician requested an oral hearing after a decision on her carpal tunnel claim. She had already received a hearing or written-record review on the same issue. The Board found that a second hearing was a matter of discretion and that OWCP reasonably denied the request…
D.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Mooresville Post Office, Northlake Station
Board dismisses appeal of void termination decision (ECAB 24-0875)
A postal employee appealed a June 2024 decision terminating her wage-loss and medical benefits. The same underlying issue was already pending before the Board in another appeal when OWCP issued that decision. The Board held the later OWCP decision null and void and dismissed this appeal for lack of…
C.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Englewood Post Office
Board reverses termination of injury benefits (ECAB 22-0953)
A postal employee challenged termination of benefits for an accepted wrist injury. The impartial medical examiner did not rely on the statement of accepted facts and disregarded an accepted condition. The Board found that the examiner's opinion could not resolve the medical conflict and that OWCP…
G.B., widow of M.B., and Department of the Navy, Mare Island Naval Shipyard
Board orders further review of shipyard worker's death claim (ECAB 22-0446)
A widow sought survivor benefits, alleging that her husband's stomach cancer and death were related to accepted asbestos exposure at a Navy shipyard. The Board found that the medical opinions did not yet establish causation but required OWCP to develop the evidence further. It directed OWCP to…
American Federation of Government Employees, Council 220 and Social Security Administration
AFGE Council 220 and Social Security Administration (FLRA 0-NG-3679): Authority rejects guaranteed adjudication time
AFGE Council 220 proposed guaranteed blocks of adjudication time for Social Security field-office employees to work on pending cases and backlogs while offices were open to the public. The proposal required four hours on one day and 30 to 60 minutes on every other workday, with suspended time…
Andrew McFarland, United States Department of the Army, U.S. Army Garrison, Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO
Andrew McFarland, Fort McCoy, and AFGE (FLRA CH-RP-24-0004): Authority denies firefighter severance
A Fort McCoy firefighter sought to sever fire-department employees from an existing AFGE bargaining unit and hold an election on continued representation. The regional director found that the union had not abandoned or unfairly treated the firefighters and that the existing unit remained…
Harold K. Hornbeck v. Industrial Contracting of Fairmont, Incorporated
Hornbeck v. Industrial Contracting of Fairmont (BRB 24-0182): COPD opinion needs reconsideration
Harold Hornbeck sought black lung benefits after 14 years of coal mine work. A judge found him totally disabled by a respiratory condition but denied benefits after finding no legal pneumoconiosis. The Board held that the judge had mischaracterized a doctor's opinion that both coal dust exposure…
Bonnal L. O’Quinn v. D & L Coal Company, Incorporated 2&3
O’Quinn v. D & L Coal Company (BRB 23-0305): benefit denial returned for a new review
Former coal miner Bonnal O’Quinn appealed the denial of his black lung benefits claim without representation. The judge found that he had pneumoconiosis but had not proved complicated pneumoconiosis or a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board held that the judge did not adequately…
M.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Morgan Park Station Post Office
Board orders merits review of injury claim (ECAB 25-0022)
A postal employee sought reconsideration of an injury claim. The Board found that the medical evidence he submitted warranted reopening the claim for review on the merits. It reversed OWCP's refusal and directed OWCP to combine the related claim files before issuing a new decision. Entitlement to…
L.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Atlantic City Carrier Annex Post Office
Board upholds termination of injury benefits (ECAB 24-0887)
A postal employee challenged the termination of benefits for an accepted July 2018 injury. The Board found OWCP's medical evidence sufficient to show that work-related disability and residuals had ended by December 6, 2022. It also found that her later reports did not establish continuing…
G.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Kansas City Post Office
Board upholds leg impairment awards (ECAB 24-0844)
A postal employee sought greater schedule awards for permanent impairment of both legs. OWCP calculated a total impairment of 21 percent for each leg and accounted for earlier awards when determining the additional amounts payable. The Board found no proof of greater impairment and affirmed the…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Alvaro Saldivar v. Grimes Rock, Inc.
Temporary-reinstatement payments calculated on remand
The Commission remanded this long-running temporary-reinstatement matter to calculate what Grimes Rock still owed Alvaro Saldivar after an earlier enforcement order and to determine interest on late payments. The Judge treated the Commission's prior rulings as settled and rejected Grimes Rock's…
Thomas W. Culver v. Peabody Coal Company, LLC
Culver v. Peabody Coal Company (BRB 23-0387): legal services fee sent back for review
Thomas Culver’s lawyer appealed a fee award for work on his black lung benefits claim. The district director had reduced the requested rates for a paralegal and legal assistant to $50 per hour, cut previously approved time entries, and denied a $6.50 medical records expense. The Board held that the…
J.S. and Department of the Navy, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command
Board orders clarification of hearing-loss opinion (ECAB 25-0051)
A retired Navy electronics technician claimed hearing loss from workplace noise exposure. OWCP's physician attributed it to recreational noise but did not adequately address whether accepted work exposure also contributed. The Board directed OWCP to obtain a supplemental opinion or a new…
G.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Oxford Post Office
Board reverses termination of injury benefits (ECAB 25-0032)
A postal rural carrier challenged the termination of benefits for an accepted March 2007 injury. Her treating physician and OWCP's second opinion physician disagreed on whether her continuing disability and symptoms were work related. The Board held that OWCP should have obtained an impartial…
I.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Rancho Santa Margarita Post Office
Board upholds denial of late reconsideration (ECAB 25-0021)
A postal city carrier asked OWCP to reopen an occupational disease claim after the filing period for ordinary reconsideration had expired. The Board found that the submitted material did not show clear evidence of error in the earlier decision. It affirmed the refusal to reopen the claim without…
P.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Golden Post Office
Board orders new finger impairment examination (ECAB 24-0897)
A postal employee sought a greater schedule award for a right middle finger injury. The Board found that the impartial examiner's report did not adequately explain the extent of her work-related conditions or provide a sound impairment rating under the applicable guides. It directed OWCP to obtain…
D.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Flushing Processing and Distribution Center
Board orders recalculation of overpayment (ECAB 21-0753)
A postal employee received total disability compensation while earning money from private babysitting work during March through June 2020. The Board agreed that this created an overpayment. OWCP had treated all of her babysitting earnings as the debt without calculating what partial wage-loss…
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.