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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J.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Colorado Springs, CO
J.T. (ECAB 13-0604): Wage-earning capacity reduction affirmed
J.T. challenged OWCP’s reduction of his wage-loss compensation based on potential earnings as a customer service representative. He argued that physical limitations kept him from performing the job and that the medical evidence conflicted. The Board gave weight to the medical opinions supporting…
J.H., widow of D.H., and Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration, Boulder City, NV
J.H. (ECAB 13-0505): Death benefits claim returned for medical clarification
J.H. sought survivor benefits after her husband, a Mine Safety and Health Administration employee, died in 2001. The dispute concerned whether his federal work contributed to his cardiac condition and death. The impartial medical examiner said work stress could worsen a cardiac condition but…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1923 (Union) and United States Department of the Navy, Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC Washington) (Agency)
Navy NAVFAC Washington and AFGE Local 1923 (FLRA 0-AR-4907): Contract specialists' overtime classification upheld
Navy contract specialists challenged the agency's treatment of their jobs as exempt from Fair Labor Standards Act overtime coverage. An arbitrator found that the agency had determined the positions were exempt and that the specialists' duties met the administrative exemption. The union argued that…
Christopher Pulliam and Deborah L. Pulliam v. Sterling Materials
Miner-witness recording ordered for private review
Sterling Materials sought an audio recording that Christopher Pulliam planned to play at the discrimination hearing, while Pulliam argued that disclosure would identify a miner and risk retaliation. Judge John Kent Lewis held that the miner-informant privilege in Rule 61 belongs to the government…
E.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, St. Louis, MO
E.M. (ECAB 14-0667): Late reconsideration request did not show clear error
E.M. requested reconsideration of an earlier OWCP decision involving claimed workplace mold exposure and a respiratory condition. Her request was untimely, so OWCP required clear evidence of error before reopening the claim. The Board found that repeated medical and workplace reports did not shift…
D.A. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, Jamaica, NY
D.A. (ECAB 14-0377): Reconsideration request did not require merit review
D.A. asked OWCP to reconsider an earlier termination of compensation for accepted cervical disc conditions. The Board could review only the later refusal to reopen the claim, not the termination’s merits. It found that her legal arguments did not show error or present a valid new ground for review…
P.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Murfreesboro, TN
P.H. (ECAB 14-0231): Impairment award and imaging reimbursement denied
P.H. appealed two OWCP decisions concerning accepted cervical injuries. She sought a schedule award for impairment of her upper extremities and reimbursement for an abdominal CT scan after removal of a pain pump. The Board found no ratable upper-extremity impairment causally linked to the accepted…
R.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pueblo, CO
R.B. (ECAB 14-0214): Occupational disease claim denied
R.B., a Postal Service letter carrier, claimed that years of work aggravated ankle, knee, and back conditions. His physician attributed some degeneration to work duties but used tentative language and relied in part on alleged injuries OWCP had not accepted. The Board found that the medical opinion…
K.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Nashville, TN
K.A. (ECAB 14-0213): Collision injury claim returned for specialist review
K.A., a Postal Service rural carrier, was rear-ended while stopped at a mailbox during her route. She was diagnosed with a bladder rupture three days later and underwent surgery. The Board found that her physician’s causation opinion was incomplete but gave a plausible medical explanation…
P.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jefferson, OH
P.G. (ECAB 13-2025): Benefit termination supported by impartial examination
P.G. challenged OWCP’s termination of wage-loss and medical benefits for accepted right ankle and knee tendinitis. An impartial examiner found that those conditions had resolved and attributed her remaining limitations to other conditions. The Board found that the opinion was reasoned and based on…
T.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Boston, MA
T.F. (ECAB 13-1895): Information clerk job supported compensation reduction
T.F., a Postal Service clerk with an accepted lumbar sprain, challenged a reduction in compensation based on potential earnings as an information clerk. The Board found that the sedentary position fit his medical restrictions and experience and was available in his commuting area. OWCP used its…
V.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Mahopac, NY
V.P. (ECAB 13-0580): Recurrence ruling returned for impartial examination
V.P., a Postal Service rural letter carrier, challenged OWCP’s decisions finding no recurrence of disability from accepted injuries. The Board found that OWCP had already accepted a recurrence and bore the burden to rescind it. His treating physician and OWCP’s referral physician disagreed about…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Fred McKinsey v. Pretty Good Sand Company, Inc.
Maintenance mechanic temporarily reinstated after safety complaints
Fred McKinsey reported mobile-equipment and highwall safety concerns to the owner of Pretty Good Sand Company and later contacted MSHA, prompting an inspection of the North Carolina sand pit. He said that management then began criticizing and harassing him, demoted him from supervisor, reduced his…
K.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Quakertown, PA
K.M. (ECAB 14-0334): Impairment rating returned for clearer explanation
K.M. appealed an OWCP schedule award assigning four percent impairment to each upper extremity. The Board found that OWCP’s medical adviser had not adequately explained his choice of a functional-history grade modifier. He discounted a treating physician’s findings without explaining why his…
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Richmond, CA
J.B. (ECAB 14-0292): Termination of shoulder medical benefits affirmed
J.B., a Postal Service mail handler, received medical benefits for an accepted left shoulder strain. OWCP ended those benefits after a physician found no continuing residuals from the work injury. The Board found that a contrary opinion suggesting possible tendinitis was equivocal and that later…
S.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Nashville, TN
S.R. (ECAB 14-0238): Emotional condition claim lacked medical causation
S.R., a Postal Service employee, sought compensation for an emotional condition attributed to workplace stress. OWCP accepted overwork as a compensable employment factor. The Board found that his medical opinion discussed workplace stress in general but did not adequately explain a causal link to…
K.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Dowagiac, MI
K.B. (ECAB 14-0237): Benefit termination review returned for omitted report
K.B. asked OWCP to reconsider termination of her compensation benefits. Her physician submitted a report discussing continued work restrictions and noting another physician’s recommendation for cervical spine surgery before OWCP issued its decision. The Board found that OWCP had acknowledged other…
D.A. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Richmond, VA
D.A. (ECAB 14-0223): Wrist tendinitis claim denied over conflicting injury histories
D.A. claimed that her right wrist tendinitis developed through work at a Veterans Affairs medical center. The Board found that her descriptions of the condition’s onset and cause conflicted across several claims and statements. Because the factual basis of the alleged occupational disease was not…
L.S. and Department of the Army, Installation Management Command, Fort Bragg, NC
L.S. (ECAB 14-0222): Benefit overpayment and recovery affirmed
L.S. received a $7,444.40 overpayment because OWCP had not deducted health insurance premiums from her compensation. OWCP found that she was not at fault but denied waiver and set recovery at $300 from each continuing payment. The Board upheld the overpayment calculation, waiver denial, and…
P.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Bulk Mail Center, Denver, CO
P.H. (ECAB 13-2183): New depositions required merits review
P.H., a Postal Service distribution clerk with an accepted post-traumatic stress disorder claim, sought reconsideration of an OWCP decision. OWCP refused to reopen the case because it considered her evidence repetitive. The Board found that two physician depositions added relevant new information…
J.W. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service National Office, Richmond, VA
J.W. (ECAB 13-2093): Cervical surgery request returned for proper referee review
J.W. requested authorization for cervical surgery after an accepted work incident. Her treating physician and OWCP’s second opinion physician disagreed, requiring an impartial examination. The Board found that OWCP had not documented why it selected the referee physician, and the record did not…
E.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, Newark, NJ
E.M. (ECAB 13-1947): Knee injury claim lacked proof of training incident
E.M. claimed a right knee injury during a defensive-tactics training exercise at Customs and Border Protection. The employing agency disputed her description of how physical the exercise was. The Board found that she had not supplied the requested details or corroboration to establish that the…
J.E. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Phoenix, AZ
J.E. (ECAB 13-1571): Injury claim returned for review of timely medical evidence
J.E. claimed injuries after her chair moved while she reached down at work and she fell. OWCP denied the claim without discussing medical reports it had received on the decision date. The Board held that OWCP had to consider relevant evidence received before issuing its decision, including evidence…
Secretary of Labor v. Farnham & Pfile Construction, Inc.
Filing error excused and penalty assessment reopened
Farnham & Pfile Construction received an MSHA proposed penalty assessment on May 1, 2013, but did not contest it within 30 days, so it became a final Commission order. The company's vice president said his filing error caused the late response on June 27. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but…
P.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Coppell, TX
P.J. (ECAB 14-0337): Knee osteoarthritis claim lacked causation opinion
P.J., a Postal Service distribution clerk, claimed that repeated walking and standing on concrete floors caused her left knee condition. OWCP accepted those job duties and her osteoarthritis diagnosis. The Board found that the medical reports offered no opinion connecting the condition to her work…
R.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Uniontown, AL
R.M. (ECAB 14-0330): Emotional condition claim returned for omitted reports
R.M. claimed depression and anxiety related to alleged workplace stress at the Postal Service. OWCP denied her occupational disease claim without considering three physician reports it received on the date of its decision. The Board set aside the denial and directed OWCP to reconstruct and review…
V.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Iselin, NJ
V.T. (ECAB 14-0296): Additional leg award returned for overlap analysis
V.T. sought an additional schedule award for impairment of her right leg after a later work injury. OWCP denied it because she had previously received a larger percentage award for the same leg. The Board found that OWCP had not shown whether the earlier foot-bunion impairment duplicated the…
B.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA
B.G. (ECAB 14-0288): Left arm injury claim lacked causal evidence
B.G. claimed left hand and arm symptoms after resting her arms on a coffee table at work. The Board accepted the incident but found that Dr. Drabicki did not give a firm diagnosis or causation opinion, while Dr. Kupas diagnosed nerve entrapment without explaining its cause. It affirmed OWCP’s two…
C.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Greenville, MI
C.E. (ECAB 14-0286): Reconsideration refused without merit review
C.E. asked OWCP to reconsider an earlier denial of his claim involving workplace personnel matters. The Board could review only the refusal to reopen the claim. It found that his additional medical records did not establish a compensable work factor and that his legal argument and other evidence…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Fleetwood Station, Houston, TX
J.M. (ECAB 14-0280): Overpayment waiver returned for requested conference
J.M. requested waiver of recovery of a $1,332.52 overpayment balance after insurance adjustments. She asked for a formal telephone conference, but the record showed only a brief phone contact and no scheduled conference. The Board held that OWCP denied waiver without giving her the requested chance…
D.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Salisbury, NC
D.C. (ECAB 14-0193): Recurrence claim lacked current medical evidence
D.C., a Veterans Affairs nursing assistant, had an accepted lumbar strain from lifting a patient. She later sought wage-loss compensation for a claimed recurrence of disability beginning in October 2008. The Board found that she submitted no current medical evidence showing a worsening of the…
D.A. and Department of the Navy, Public Works Department, Meridian, MS
D.A. (ECAB 14-0047): Hearing loss claim lacked work-related causation
D.A. claimed hearing loss from noise exposure in Navy employment. OWCP accepted the exposure, but a specialist found that the hearing loss was consistent with age-related change and was not caused by his work history. The Board gave that opinion weight and found insufficient contrary medical…
C.L. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, New Orleans, LA
C.L. (ECAB 14-0005): Injury denial affirmed; treatment expenses remanded
C.L. claimed facial and oral injuries from a March 2012 workplace incident. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish a causal link between the incident and his diagnosed conditions, so it affirmed OWCP’s injury denial. It separately directed OWCP to consider whether medical…
B.R. and Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration, Denver, CO
B.R. (ECAB 13-2005): Emotional condition claim returned for omitted statement
B.R., a Mine Safety and Health Administration employee, claimed an emotional condition linked to alleged unfair workplace treatment. OWCP denied the claim without discussing a factual statement she had submitted months earlier. The Board held that OWCP had to consider the statement before deciding…
G. Santos Masonry, Inc. d/b/a Roberto Santos
Late contest dismissed despite shutdown confusion
OSHA issued G. Santos Masonry ten serious items with $13,600 in proposed penalties. An informal conference was canceled during the 2013 federal government shutdown, and OSHA internally extended the contest deadline but did not notify the company of the new date. The judge recognized that this…
H.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Southeastern, PA
H.M. (ECAB 13-0817): Benefit termination supported by impartial opinion
H.M. challenged OWCP’s termination of wage-loss and medical benefits for accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and a right ulnar nerve lesion. She argued that the impartial examiner had relied on an incomplete factual history. The Board found that the examiner reviewed the medical record…
KSP Enterprises, Inc.
Willful excavation violation affirmed
KSP Enterprises had workers in a 6.7-foot-deep excavation with nearly vertical Type B soil walls and no cave-in protection. The company argued that it was a family business without employees, but the judge found that a working co-owner was an employee and that another worker was also an employee…
Secretary of Labor v. Nevada Ready Mix Corporation
Unknown recipient signature excused and assessment reopened
MSHA records showed that Nevada Ready Mix's proposed assessment was delivered on May 7, 2013, but the company said an unknown person signed for it. Nevada discovered the delinquency on June 18 after receiving a different proposed assessment and sought reopening shortly afterward. The Secretary did…
Secretary of Labor v. HR Wagstaff Company, Inc.
Assessment never became final after address error
HR Wagstaff asked the Commission to reopen a proposed penalty assessment it said it never received because MSHA mailed it to a Colorado address rather than the company's Utah address of record. The Secretary discovered an error in the contractor-ID posting and withdrew his opposition. The…
Secretary of Labor v. Luminant Mining Company, LLC
Vacation oversight excused despite dissent over repeated mistakes
Luminant Mining failed to timely contest a proposed assessment after an administrative assistant returned from vacation and overlooked it. The Commission majority reopened the assessment in the interest of justice and remanded for a penalty petition, but warned that the company's bare explanation…
F.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Murfreesboro, TN
F.W. (ECAB 14-0407): Additional impairment reconsideration denied
F.W. sought reconsideration of OWCP’s denial of an additional right arm schedule award. The Board could review only OWCP’s refusal to reopen the case. It found that the submitted rehabilitation billing statements did not provide relevant evidence of greater permanent impairment. The Board affirmed…
G.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Joliet, IL
G.H. (ECAB 14-0404): Right foot claim lacked medical causation evidence
G.H., a Postal Service city letter carrier, claimed that long days of walking caused a right foot stress fracture, tendon inflammation, and arthritis. The Board found that a physician’s report did not establish a reasoned causal link to his work and that an unsigned report could not be credited as…
N.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Indianapolis, IN
N.M. (ECAB 14-0348): Wage capacity modification request sent for merits decision
N.M. sought to modify an earlier wage-earning capacity determination using medical evidence and argument about prior periods of disability. OWCP treated her correspondence as an untimely reconsideration request. The Board found that she had raised a distinct request to modify the wage-earning…
W.B. and Department of the Navy, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, VA
W.B. (ECAB 14-0276): Hearing loss claim found timely and returned for causation review
W.B., a former Norfolk Naval Shipyard pipefitter, filed a hearing loss claim many years after his last exposure. OWCP denied it as untimely. The Board found that the employing establishment had documented his hearing loss and knew he attributed at least part of it to work within the required notice…
M.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chester, VA
M.N. (ECAB 14-0245): Foot condition reconsideration denied
M.N. sought reconsideration after OWCP denied her occupational claim for foot arthritis. She sent photographs and imaging but a physician letter she referenced was absent from the case record. The Board found that her submission did not meet the standard for reopening the case and could not…
R.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Grand Rapids, MI
R.H. (ECAB 14-0220): Injury claim and subpoena denial affirmed
R.H. claimed that a February 2010 work incident caused low blood glucose and hyperkalemia. The Board found that he had not established the required medical causal link. It also upheld OWCP’s refusal to subpoena two coworkers because the incident itself was accepted and their written statements were…
D.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Effingham, IL
D.K. (ECAB 14-0191): Wage loss claim lacked disability proof
D.K. had an accepted right shoulder impingement condition and sought wage-loss compensation for a claimed period of disability. The Board found that her physician’s reports did not clearly establish inability to work during that period. She also had not shown that suitable light-duty work was…
L.A. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Phoenix, AZ
L.A. (ECAB 13-2150): Emotional condition claim returned for voicemail recording
L.A., a Veterans Affairs psychiatrist, claimed an emotional condition after receiving a threatening patient voicemail at work. OWCP reviewed a transcript but neither it nor the Board had the recording itself. The Board found that listening to the message could matter to assessing the claim and that…
T.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jacksonville, FL
T.M. (ECAB 13-2116): No wage loss for scheduled day off
T.M. sought eight hours of wage-loss compensation for February 10, 2013, a scheduled day off. The Board held that compensation for lost work was unavailable on a day he was not scheduled to work, even if he attended a medical appointment then. It lacked jurisdiction to review his separate complaint…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Joshua D. Burkhart v. Peabody Midwest Mining, LLC
Injured ram-car driver temporarily reinstated after work refusal
Joshua Burkhart injured his shoulder while hanging cable at Peabody Midwest Mining's Francisco underground mine and received light-duty restrictions and medication that impaired driving and machinery operation. He said management nevertheless pressed him to work underground, while Peabody said it…
Fred Estrada v. Runyan Construction
Stay denied and damages schedule set after liability ruling
Judge William B. Moran had already found Runyan Construction liable for discriminating against Fred Estrada but retained jurisdiction until the parties resolved reinstatement, back pay, fees, and other relief. Runyan sought a stay and filed a petition for Commission review before the judge entered…
H.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Greensboro, NC
H.J. (ECAB 14-0382): Travel reimbursement denied for undocumented visit
H.J., a Postal Service rural carrier with accepted injuries, requested mileage reimbursement for October 15, 2012. OWCP asked for proof that he received authorized medical treatment that day. The Board found that he had supplied no medical record documenting a visit on that date. It held that OWCP…
B.W. and Department of Defense, Defense Commissary Agency, Newport, RI
B.W. (ECAB 14-0362): Back injury claim lacked medical causation
B.W. claimed a back injury from a March 2013 lifting incident at work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred. The Board found that the physician evidence did not adequately explain a causal link between the lifting and her back condition. Reports from a nurse practitioner without a physician’s…
V.L. and Department of the Navy, Subic Naval Base, Olongapo City, Philippines
V.L. (ECAB 14-0270): Occupational disease claim lacked medical evidence
V.L. claimed an occupational condition related to her duties as an electronics technician at a naval base. OWCP accepted her description of the work but requested better medical evidence. The only medical slip was largely illegible and did not provide a clear diagnosis or explain how work caused a…
S.S. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Los Angeles, CA
S.S. (ECAB 14-0211): Hand condition recurrence and therapy request denied
S.S., an FBI occupational health nurse, sought recognition of a recurrence of her accepted hand condition and authorization for physical therapy. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish that her renewed condition or requested therapy was caused by the accepted injury or surgery…
J.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Bernardino, CA
J.A. (ECAB 14-0134): Retirement and wage-loss overlap caused overpayment
J.A. received both FECA wage-loss compensation and federal retirement benefits during the same period. OWCP found a $2,944.55 overpayment and held him at fault. The Board found that his election paperwork and award information told him the two benefits generally could not be received concurrently…
S.L. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Salt Lake City, UT
S.L. (ECAB 14-0081): Cervical condition claim and reconsideration denied
S.L. sought compensation for a cervical spine condition she attributed to work at a Veterans Affairs medical center. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish a causal link to her work. It also found that her reconsideration submission did not address causation with relevant new…
A.B. and Social Security Administration, Atlanta, GA
A.B. (ECAB 14-0050): Knee claim reconsideration refused
A.B., a Social Security Administration legal assistant, asked OWCP to reconsider its denial of a knee condition she attributed to an unsuitable desk. The Board could review only the refusal to reopen the claim. It found that her photographs and statements did not provide relevant new medical…
T.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia
T.D. (ECAB 13-2130): Medical benefits termination returned for consolidated record
T.D. challenged OWCP’s termination of medical benefits. The Board found that OWCP had not complied with an earlier instruction to combine her related claim files. Evidence in the separate file could bear on the termination question, and deciding the appeal on the incomplete record risked…
M.M. and Department of Labor, Employment Standards Administration, San Francisco, CA
M.M. (ECAB 13-1404): Benefit termination reversed; additional condition denied
M.M., a retired claims examiner with accepted upper-extremity injuries, lost compensation after OWCP found that she had refused suitable modified work. The Board found that the full-time job offer did not match her physician’s limits on work hours and other activities, so it reversed 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.