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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Boulder Scientific Company
In re Boulder Scientific Company (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 14-01C): $14,450 penalty paid and matter resolved
EPA alleged that Boulder Scientific Company violated sections of the Toxic Substances Control Act involving chemical reporting and enforcement requirements. The complaint sought a $14,450 civil penalty. Boulder Scientific paid the penalty in full, which waived its rights to contest the allegations…
Daniel Pensado v. L-3 Communications Corporation
Pensado v. L-3 Communications (BRB 14-0116): employer must fund its defense examinations
Daniel Pensado injured his knee while working as a shipyard machinist for L-3 Communications. During his pending Longshore Act claim, the employer requested medical and vocational examinations in San Diego. The administrative law judge ordered Pensado, who lived in nearby Rosarito, Mexico, to…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Martinsburg, West Virginia (Agency) and National Association of Government Employees, Local R4-78 (Union)
VA Martinsburg and NAGE Local R4-78 (FLRA 0-AR-5017): Overtime award left in place
An arbitrator awarded 38.25 hours of overtime in a dispute involving the VA medical center in Martinsburg. The agency filed exceptions, and the Authority issued an expedited decision. It dismissed the argument that the overtime award was arbitrary and capricious because the agency did not state a…
United States Department of Energy, Western Area Power Administration, Lakewood, Colorado (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3824 (Union)
Western Area Power Administration and AFGE Local 3824 (FLRA 0-AR-5001): Interest on overtime award reduced
A Western Area Power Administration employee grieved a missed overtime opportunity. An arbitrator found that the agency mishandled the grievance under the labor agreement and awarded twelve hours of overtime pay with 9% annual interest. The Authority declined to consider the agency's objections to…
United States Department of Health and Human Services, Region IX, Indian Health Service (Agency) and Laborers' International Union of North America, Local 1386 (Union)
Indian Health Service Region IX and LIUNA Local 1386 (FLRA 0-AR-4984): Arbitration award upheld
The Indian Health Service challenged an arbitration award involving LIUNA Local 1386. The Authority granted the agency's request for an expedited, abbreviated decision because the union did not oppose that format and the case met the regulation's criteria. After reviewing the record, it denied the…
United States Department of the Air Force, Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Council 214 (Union)
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and AFGE Council 214 (FLRA 0-AR-4976): Travel-card reinstatement set aside
The Air Force stopped using a controlled spending account card for official travel and replaced it with a standard government travel card. AFGE Council 214 argued that this breached their agreement, and an arbitrator ordered the old program restored. Under that program, employees could use a…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 12 (Union) and United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (Agency)
Bureau of Labor Statistics and AFGE Local 12 (FLRA 0-AR-4950): Five-day suspension award upheld
The Bureau of Labor Statistics suspended an employee for five days for inappropriate behavior and failure to follow a supervisory instruction. An arbitrator found just cause for the suspension and denied the grievance. The Authority dismissed union arguments that could have been raised at…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1367 (Union) and United States Department of the Air Force, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas (Agency)
Lackland Air Force Base and AFGE Local 1367 (FLRA 0-AR-4926): Suspension grievance denied
A dual-status Air Force employee was suspended from his civilian job for seven days after an altercation during an overseas assignment and was later demoted in military rank. The union challenged both actions in arbitration. The arbitrator upheld the civilian suspension and found that he lacked…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1968 (Union) and United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Cass Job Corps Center, Ozark, Arkansas (Agency)
Forest Service Cass Job Corps and NFFE Local 1968 (FLRA 0-AR-4914): On-call remedy denial upheld
A Forest Service Job Corps employee grieved long periods of on-call work without pay. An arbitrator found that some scheduling conditions violated the labor agreement but limited any remedy to the thirty days before the grievance was filed. He awarded nothing because the union had not proved a…
Martin County Coal Corporation v. Secretary of Labor
Roof and rib citations modified, examination order vacated
MSHA cited Martin County Coal for unsupported roof and rib conditions along three conveyor belts and for inadequate on-shift examinations at its Voyager No. 7 underground mine. Judge Jerold Feldman credited the issuing inspectors enough to affirm the three roof-and-rib violations as significant and…
Fred Estrada v. Runyan Construction, Inc.
Premature review petition denied while damages remained pending
An ALJ found that Runyan Construction discriminated against Fred Estrada but retained jurisdiction to determine specific remedies and monetary damages. Runyan filed a petition for discretionary review before that relief was resolved. The Commission denied the petition because section 113(d) permits…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1770 (Union) and United States Department of the Army, XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, Womack Army Medical Center, Fort Bragg, North Carolina (Agency)
Womack Army Medical Center and AFGE Local 1770 (FLRA 0-AR-4905): Five-day suspension upheld
Womack Army Medical Center suspended an employee for five days after finding that she repeatedly used unwanted terms of address toward a coworker, contrary to its sexual harassment policy. An arbitrator found just cause for the suspension and denied the union's grievance. The Authority denied the…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Charles Riordan v. Knox Creek Coal Corporation
Economic reinstatement denied without agreed offset terms
After Charles Riordan was ordered temporarily reinstated, Knox Creek Coal proposed economic reinstatement instead of returning him to work. The parties could not agree whether income from other employment should reduce Knox Creek's payments, and both the Secretary and Riordan opposed the company's…
M.C. and Department of Commerce, 2010 Decennial Census, Dallas, TX
M.C. (ECAB 14-0283): Continuing knee disability not established
M.C. sought reinstatement of compensation after termination of benefits for accepted left knee conditions. The Board gave weight to an impartial specialist’s opinion that the knee sprain and meniscus tear had resolved. It found no basis to attribute continuing disability to those accepted…
T.D., widow of D.D., and Department of the Army, Red River Army Depot, Texarkana, TX
T.D. (ECAB 14-0262): Death benefits claim lacked medical causation
T.D. sought survivor benefits after her husband’s death, asserting that his accepted work injuries contributed to it through sepsis. The Board found that the supporting physician lacked a complete factual basis and did not explain how the accepted conditions led to sepsis. Other medical evidence…
T.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
T.G. (ECAB 14-0226): Workplace collision established but injury claim denied
T.G., a Postal Service letter carrier, claimed injuries after her vehicle was struck by a taxi while she worked. OWCP denied the claim because it found both the workplace incident and a medically connected injury unproved. The Board found that the collision did occur in the performance of duty, but…
J.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Houston, TX
J.H. (ECAB 14-0118): Late reconsideration request failed clear-error review
J.H. sought reconsideration of an old OWCP decision denying a schedule award after refusal of suitable work. The request was untimely, so she had to show clear evidence of error. The Board found that her assertions about claim development and depression did not raise a substantial question about…
N.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration, Orlando, FL
N.R. (ECAB 14-0114): Claimed wage-loss periods lacked disability proof
N.R. sought wage-loss compensation for two periods in September 2012 after accepted work injuries. The Board found that her medical records did not give a reasoned explanation of disability on those dates. Reports from a licensed mental health counselor did not qualify as physician evidence under…
W.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, White City, OR
W.H. (ECAB 14-0092): Timely reconsideration request returned for proper review
W.H. requested reconsideration of a denial of her work-related emotional condition claim. OWCP called the request untimely and applied the stricter clear-error standard. The Board found that OWCP received it exactly one year after the earlier decision, within the allowed period. It set aside the…
D.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Honolulu, HI
D.R. (ECAB 14-0057): Assault injury claim returned for specialist evaluation
D.R., a transportation security officer, reported an assault at work and sought compensation for resulting injury. The Board found that her medical reports did not fully establish a diagnosis and causal link but raised a substantial inference of injury from the incident. It set aside OWCP’s denial…
W.W. and U.S. Postal Service, General Mail Facility, Brooklyn, NY
W.W. (ECAB 13-2106): Injury denial affirmed with treatment authorization issue open
W.W. claimed a right hip injury after pushing a mail container at work. The Board found that he had not proved a diagnosed injury caused by the incident and affirmed OWCP’s denial. It noted that the employing agency had issued a Form CA-16 authorizing treatment, which can create a separate payment…
American Phoenix, Inc.
Combustible-dust citation partly affirmed
American Phoenix manufactured custom rubber compounds using mixers, hoppers, and multiple dust-collection systems. OSHA alleged that combustible dust in the collectors created fire and explosion hazards under the general duty clause. The judge found fire hazards in the Rotoclone, Pre-Weigh, and…
Secretary of Labor v. The American Coal Company
Mine-fire rulings vacated for lack of briefing opportunity
MSHA issued a section 103(k) order after inspectors saw what they believed was a mine fire on a coal stockpile, and cited The American Coal Company for failing to report the event immediately. The Commission had previously held that a mine fire can include smoldering combustion with a reasonable…
D.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Camden, NJ
D.B. (ECAB 14-0295): Knee injury claim lacked medical causation
D.B., a Postal Service city carrier, reported that his left knee buckled as he stepped down at work. The Board found that the submitted medical reports did not provide a reasoned explanation linking his knee condition to that incident. It affirmed OWCP’s denial of the traumatic injury claim.
R.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Capital Heights, MD
R.P. (ECAB 14-0267): Recurrence of total disability not established
R.P. had accepted thoracic and lumbar sprains after a mail container shelf fell on him at work. He later claimed a recurrence of total disability. The Board found that his physicians relied on disc herniation and radiculopathy that OWCP had not accepted, without explaining how the accepted sprains…
N.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Baltimore, MD
N.E. (ECAB 14-0197): Continuing knee condition returned for impartial review
N.E. sought compensation for continuing effects after a workplace motor vehicle accident. Her doctor and OWCP’s examiner disagreed about whether a right knee condition and surgical findings were related to the accepted injury. The Board found that the physician previously chosen as a referee had…
R.M. and Department of the Air Force, Ogden Utah OAMA, Randolph Air Force Base, TX
R.M. (ECAB 14-0131): Hearing loss award of two percent upheld
R.M., an Air Force aircraft mechanic supervisor, challenged a schedule award for two percent hearing loss in his right ear. The Board reviewed the audiogram and the method used to calculate the award. It found that the evidence did not establish greater impairment and that OWCP properly set the…
P.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Baltimore, MD
P.H. (ECAB 14-0117): Wage capacity determination left in place
P.H. sought to change a 2007 loss of wage-earning capacity determination, saying she was now totally disabled. The Board found that the medical reports did not give a reasoned explanation of a material change in her accepted work conditions. She also did not show that the earlier determination was…
R.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Castle Point, NY
R.G. (ECAB 14-0113): Patient-care incident established; injury claim denied
R.G. reported neck and back symptoms after helping care for a resistant patient at work. OWCP accepted the patient-care incident but denied her injury claim. The Board found that Dr. Doti gave a firm cervicalgia diagnosis supported by examination findings but did not explain how the accepted…
P.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bellmawr, NJ
P.C. (ECAB 14-0112): Foot claim reconsideration returned for omitted report
P.C. asked OWCP to reconsider a denied occupational foot claim and submitted a podiatrist’s report linking his foot condition to long-term work on concrete floors. OWCP called the evidence repetitive but did not discuss that report. The Board found that OWCP had received the report before deciding…
W.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Bulk Mail Center, Jersey City, NJ
W.G. (ECAB 13-2084): Injury claim returned for omitted medical report
W.G. claimed an injury while lifting and pulling mail trays. OWCP accepted that the work incident occurred but denied the claim on the medical evidence. The Board found that OWCP had not reviewed one physician report already in the record. It set aside the denial and directed OWCP to consider that…
N.T., widow of J.R., and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Tallahassee, FL
N.T. (ECAB 13-2050): Survivor overpayment and fault affirmed
N.T. received survivor compensation on behalf of her son after her husband’s death. The Board found that payments continued after the son turned 23, when he no longer qualified as a student dependent under FECA. It upheld a $53,541.67 overpayment and found that she knew or should have known the age…
V.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bellmawr, NJ
V.S. (ECAB 13-0156): Wage loss case returned for missing record
V.S. appealed OWCP’s denial of compensation for a period in 2011. The record sent to the Board omitted the challenged decision and months of case documents, even after an order to complete it. The Board could not review the claim on that incomplete record. It set aside OWCP’s decision and returned…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 54 (Union) and United States Department of the Army, U.S. Army Medical Department Activity, Fort Benning, Georgia (Agency)
Fort Benning medical activity and AFGE Local 54 (FLRA 0-AR-4990): Seven-day suspension upheld
An Army medical activity suspended a paramedic and union steward for seven days after a comment to a coworker about overtime pay caused a workplace disturbance. An arbitrator found just cause for the suspension. The Authority denied the union's factual challenge because the coworker's reaction had…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Joshua D. Burkhart v. Peabody Midwest Mining, LLC
Merits defenses excluded from temporary-reinstatement hearing
Before Joshua Burkhart's temporary-reinstatement hearing, the Secretary moved to exclude evidence that Peabody Midwest Mining offered to justify the discharge and establish affirmative defenses. Judge Priscilla M. Rae explained that the preliminary hearing asks only whether the discrimination…
C.K. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Romulus, MI
C.K. (ECAB 14-0341): Wage capacity modification and benefit termination affirmed
C.K. challenged OWCP’s modification of a wage-earning capacity determination and termination of medical and wage-loss benefits. The Board credited a reasoned medical opinion that her accepted 2003 injury had resolved and attributed her current problems to other conditions. Later reports did not…
L.D. and Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, Arlington, VA
L.D. (ECAB 14-0319): Written-record review request denied as late
L.D. requested review of the written record after OWCP denied a schedule award claim. Her request was postmarked after the 30-day deadline. The Board found that OWCP had considered whether to grant a discretionary review and reasonably declined because she could seek reconsideration instead. It…
T.J. and Department of the Navy, Norfolk Navy Shipyard, Portsmouth, VA
T.J. (ECAB 14-0314): Hearing loss claim lacked qualifying medical evaluation
T.J., a shipyard structural shipfitter, claimed hearing loss from workplace noise. The Board found that his only audiometric report lacked required details and did not contain a physician’s opinion connecting hearing loss to his work. It held that the submission did not establish even a prima facie…
C.S. and Department of Health and Human Services, National Disaster Medical Services, Bethesda, MD
C.S. (ECAB 14-0203): Infection claim lacked medical link to deployment
C.S. sought compensation for a serious infection he attributed to a deployment to Haiti. His physician said the infection might be related to the deployment but did not explain the medical path from the claimed exposure to the diagnosed condition. The Board found the opinion speculative and…
R.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, Miami, FL
R.R. (ECAB 14-0014): Post-termination payments created overpayment
R.R. received compensation after his FECA benefits had been terminated. The Board’s analysis found a $5,049.14 overpayment, held that he was at fault for accepting the payments, and found waiver unavailable. It affirmed OWCP’s decision. The PDF contains inconsistent figures and a contrary waiver…
S.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New York, NY
S.F. (ECAB 13-2110): Leg and foot claim lacked reasoned medical causation
S.F. claimed right knee, ankle, and foot conditions from Postal Service duties. The Board found that the physician reports did not give a reasoned explanation tying the conditions to her physical work activity. Work schedules, job descriptions, and imaging could not substitute for a medical…
E.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Eustis, FL
E.D. (ECAB 13-2024): Lower-extremity schedule award denied
E.D. sought a schedule award for impairment of his legs attributed to accepted lumbar injuries. The Board credited a physician’s explanation that there was no objective neurologic impairment of either lower extremity originating in the spine. It affirmed OWCP’s denial of the award. The PDF’s…
C.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Las Vegas, NV
C.C. (ECAB 13-1399): Right-arm award stays at two percent
C.C. sought a larger schedule award for her right arm following an accepted thumb condition. She challenged the impairment rating and cited continued pain. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish more than the two percent impairment already awarded under the applicable A.M.A…
B.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
B.O. (ECAB 13-1135): Incomplete claim record sent back to OWCP
B.O. appealed OWCP decisions concerning her injury claims. The Board found that the record omitted the origin and development of the traumatic injury claim and that several related claim files needed to be consolidated. It set aside the January 11, 2013 decision and remanded the case for…
Secretary of Labor v. Sequoia Energy, LLC
Mobile-equipment penalties vacated over outdated comparison baseline
An ALJ affirmed four S&S citations involving defective exhaust and lighting, mirrors, hydraulic-oil accumulation, and an inoperative backup alarm on Sequoia Energy refuse trucks, but substantially reduced the proposed penalties. The Commission majority held that the judge improperly used older…
G.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Morris Plains, NJ
G.M. (ECAB 14-0356): Reconsideration refusals affirmed
G.M. asked OWCP to reopen his claim arising from a fall while delivering mail. The Board could review only OWCP’s nonmerit decisions, because the appeal came too late for review of the last merit decision. It found that his arguments and duplicate evidence did not meet the requirements for further…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Columbia, SC
S.M. (ECAB 14-0312): Refusal to reopen shoulder claim affirmed
S.M. sought reconsideration of OWCP’s denial of her shoulder injury claim. Her appeal was too late for the Board to review the last merit decision. The Board found that the newly submitted medical report concerned a different, earlier work incident, while another report repeated evidence already…
W.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bellmawr, NJ
W.F. (ECAB 14-0235): Right shoulder and neck injury claim denied
W.F. claimed right shoulder and neck injuries while placing mail in a mailbox. The Board found that the physicians’ reports did not adequately explain how the July 16, 2011 work incident caused or contributed to those conditions. It affirmed OWCP’s August 28, 2013 denial of compensation.
S.M. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Santa Rosa, CA
S.M. (ECAB 14-0224): Emotional condition claim sent back for medical review
S.M., a manager with the Federal Aviation Administration, claimed an emotional condition arising from his work duties. The Board found that managing difficult employees was a compensable employment factor. OWCP had found no compensable factor and therefore had not considered the medical evidence…
C.H. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Complex, Coleman, FL
C.H. (ECAB 13-2179): Wage-earning capacity ruling left in place
C.H. sought modification of OWCP’s loss of wage-earning capacity determination after reducing his hours at a private employer. The Board found that the evidence attributed the worsening of his psychiatric condition to stress in that private employment. It also found no probative medical opinion…
L.C. and Department of Defense, Defense Agencies, Columbus, OH
L.C. (ECAB 13-2013): No ratable impairment for accepted hand conditions
L.C. sought a schedule award for accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and tendinitis. The Board gave weight to the impartial specialist’s report, which found no ratable impairment of either upper extremity under the applicable A.M.A. Guides. It affirmed OWCP’s denial of the schedule award.
C.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Houston, TX
C.C. (ECAB 13-2002): Overpayment upheld; waiver issue sent back
C.C. received compensation after OWCP terminated her benefits. The Board upheld OWCP’s finding that the resulting overpayment was $27,295.68. It found that OWCP had not adequately explained why it denied waiver of recovery despite her financial submissions. The Board set aside that part of the…
D.B. and U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, Chicago, IL
D.B. (ECAB 13-1996): Leg impairment award percentages unchanged
D.B. sought a larger schedule award for impairment of both legs. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish more than the 30 percent right-leg and 15 percent left-leg impairment already awarded under the applicable A.M.A. Guides. It affirmed OWCP’s August 19, 2013 decision.
J.P. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Fresno, CA
J.P. (ECAB 13-1395): Delayed reconsideration requires merit review
J.P. sought reconsideration of OWCP’s denial of a recurrence claim. OWCP waited more than four months to deny the request without a merit review, which the Board found had effectively prevented a timely appeal of the last merit decision. The Board set aside the nonmerit denial and remanded for a…
American Federation of Government Employees, National Border Patrol Council, Local 2595 (Union) and United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Border Patrol, Yuma Sector (Agency)
Yuma Border Patrol and AFGE Local 2595 (FLRA 0-AR-4961): Uniform recovery challenge denied
After a Border Patrol trainee was fired, supervisors sought to recover his issued uniforms. A union representative helped the trainee, and a dispute arose at the trainee's home. An arbitrator found that the agency's uniform recovery followed its policy and that its response did not show anti-union…
S.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Dallas Processing & Distribution Center, Dallas, TX
S.S. (ECAB 14-0305): Late request for written-record review denied
S.S. asked OWCP for a review of the written record after the deadline following its April 22, 2013 merit decision. The Board could review only the later nonmerit ruling. It found no evidence of a timely request and no abuse of discretion in OWCP’s refusal to grant a late review. It affirmed the…
D.N. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Loma Linda, CA
D.N. (ECAB 14-0216): Bilateral shoulder injury claim denied
D.N. claimed that his work duties caused a bilateral rotator cuff condition. The Board found that the medical reports did not adequately explain how his duties caused the diagnosed shoulder conditions. It affirmed OWCP’s October 7, 2013 denial of the occupational disease claim.
R.A. and Department of the Air Force, Kirkland Air Force Base, NM
R.A. (ECAB 14-0210): Intermittent wage-loss claim denied
R.A. sought wage-loss compensation for intermittent periods after an accepted injury. The Board found no reasoned medical opinion showing that the accepted conditions prevented work during the claimed periods. It also found no evidence of medical treatment on the alleged dates of disability. The…
B.L. and Department of the Army, Installation Management Command, Fort McCoy, WI
B.L. (ECAB 14-0169): Lifting injury claim denied for lack of medical causation
B.L. filed a traumatic injury claim for a left back strain after lifting at work. A physician later diagnosed a recurrent disc herniation. The Board found that his physicians did not explain how the November 16, 2012 incident caused or contributed to that condition, particularly in light of his…
C.D. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Care System, West Haven, CT
C.D. (ECAB 14-0168): Emotional condition claim denied over leave dispute
C.D. claimed an emotional condition arising from events involving leave at work. The Board treated the handling of leave as an administrative matter and found no established error or abuse by the employer. It did not decide counsel’s consequential-injury theory in this appeal; it said counsel…
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.