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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P.C., claiming as widow of L.C., and Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Agency, Houston, TX
P.C., claiming as widow of L.C., (ECAB 14-0164): Survivor benefit calculation sent back for explanation
P.C. sought survivor benefits after her husband’s death. OWCP approved benefits but did not explain how it calculated the amount payable every 28 days. The Board set aside the September 25, 2013 decision and remanded for findings about the employee’s pay rate and a reasoned calculation.
B.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Louis, MO
B.M. (ECAB 14-0110): Unreviewed medical reports require a new decision
B.M. sought reconsideration of OWCP’s denial of authorization for surgery. The Board found that OWCP received two medical reports on September 18, 2013, the day it issued its decision, but failed to acknowledge or review them. It set aside that decision and remanded for consideration of the…
C.W. and Department of Agriculture, Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service, Brooklyn, NY
C.W. (ECAB 14-0059): Untimely reconsideration request denied
C.W. sought reconsideration of OWCP’s termination of compensation for an accepted back strain. The Board found the request untimely and concluded that his submissions did not show clear evidence of error in the termination decision. It affirmed OWCP’s July 23, 2013 refusal to reopen the claim.
A.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Lincolnton, NC
A.H. (ECAB 13-1961): Conflicting impairment ratings require impartial review
A.H. sought larger schedule awards for his left arm and leg. His physician and OWCP’s medical adviser disagreed about whether the accepted injury caused additional permanent impairment. The Board set aside OWCP’s decisions and remanded for an impartial medical specialist to resolve the conflict…
D.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Ronkonkoma, NY
D.M. (ECAB 14-0353): Additional shoulder conditions not accepted
D.M. sought acceptance of a left shoulder partial-thickness tear and effusion as related to an accepted work injury. The Board gave special weight to the impartial medical specialist’s reasoned report, which found no basis to connect those conditions to the injury. It affirmed OWCP’s June 18, 2013…
V.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jacksonville, FL
V.H. (ECAB 14-0324): Left knee injury claim denied
V.H. claimed a left knee injury from a February 8, 2013 work incident. The Board found that he had not submitted a reasoned medical report linking the knee condition to the incident. It affirmed OWCP’s August 1, 2013 denial of the traumatic injury claim.
D.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
D.P. (ECAB 14-0308): Late hearing request denied
D.P. requested a hearing after the deadline following OWCP’s May 20, 2013 merit decision. The Board had no jurisdiction over the underlying termination of benefits. It found the hearing request untimely and held that OWCP reasonably exercised its discretion by directing her to reconsideration…
P.M. and Department of Labor, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, San Francisco, CA
P.M. (ECAB 14-0188): Emotional condition claim denied
P.M. claimed an emotional condition and resulting physical symptoms related to workplace actions. The Board found that the challenged request for medical documentation of her absence was an administrative matter and that the employer had not committed error or abuse. Without a compensable…
L.P. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Miami Veterans Affairs Healthcare, Miami, FL
L.P. (ECAB 14-0157): Injury denial and late hearing denial affirmed
L.P. appealed both the denial of her injury claim and the refusal to grant a hearing. The Board found that the evidence did not establish that the February 7, 2013 work incident caused an injury. It also found that her hearing request was postmarked after the 30-day deadline and that OWCP did not…
J.L. and Department of the Navy, Naval Facilities Engineering Command Stations, Philadelphia, PA
J.L. (ECAB 13-2124): Permanent impairment claim requires new examination
J.L. sought a schedule award for permanent impairment from accepted injuries. His physician assigned a lower-extremity impairment rating, but OWCP’s medical adviser rejected it in part by comparing older examinations. The Board found the record insufficient for a decision, set aside OWCP’s July 16…
C.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Miami, FL
C.M. (ECAB 13-2107): No increase above existing left-leg award
C.M. sought more than the 16 percent left-leg impairment already awarded. The Board gave special weight to the impartial examiner’s finding of 15 percent impairment. It therefore found no basis for a larger award and affirmed OWCP’s August 20, 2013 decision as modified. The existing 16 percent…
I.R. and U.S. Postal Service, New York Prior Mail Processing Center, Bethpage, NY
I.R. (ECAB 13-2045): Refusal to reopen back strain claim affirmed
I.R. sought reconsideration of her claim concerning an accepted low back strain. The Board could review only OWCP’s nonmerit decision. It found that a newly submitted operative report did not address whether the accepted strain caused continuing disability and therefore was not relevant evidence…
Secretary of Labor v. Wake Stone Corporation
Inoperative horns violated maintenance rule despite pre-use discovery
An MSHA inspector found that service horns on a Wake Stone excavator and dozer did not work during pre-operational examinations conducted immediately before the equipment inspection. An ALJ vacated the citations because the checks found the defects before the machines were operated and he believed…
W.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tampa, FL
W.S. (ECAB 13-1169): Physical therapy request requires impartial review
W.S. sought continued physical therapy for an accepted lumbar condition. His attending physicians and OWCP’s medical adviser disagreed over whether further therapy would help. The Board found that OWCP had failed to resolve the medical conflict before denying authorization. It set aside the…
N.U. and U.S. Postal Service, New York Performance Cluster, New York, NY
N.U. (ECAB 14-0094): Occupational disease claim sent back for medical review
N.U. claimed that sorting and casing mail in limited-duty work caused medical conditions. The Board found that he had described and established the work factors despite OWCP’s factual denial of the claim. Because OWCP had not adequately evaluated the medical evidence against those factors, the…
C.M. and U.S. Postal Service, South Jersey Performance Cluster, Bellmawr, NJ
C.M. (ECAB 14-0088): Separate back injury claim denied
C.M. reported a recurrence of her earlier back injury after lifting mail on August 11, 2012. OWCP developed the filing as a new traumatic injury claim. The Board found that the treating physician’s causation opinion did not adequately address her earlier symptoms or explain how the work event…
N.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Jackson Street Post Office, Monroe, LA
N.J. (ECAB 13-2164): Life insurance overpayment calculation sent back
OWCP found that N.J. had received a $1,905.37 compensation overpayment related to life insurance premiums. The Board found conflicting dates for when deductions should have begun and an unexplained difference between the salary figures used in the calculation. It set aside the August 28, 2013…
S.Y. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Dayton, OH
S.Y. (ECAB 13-2096): Disability recurrence claim requires impartial opinion
S.Y. sought compensation for a recurrence of total disability beginning April 10, 2012. Her treating physician and an OWCP referral physician disagreed about whether the accepted condition prevented work. The Board found that conflict unresolved, set aside OWCP’s July 12, 2013 decision, and…
D.B. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Nuclear Power, Chattanooga, TN
D.B. (ECAB 13-1988): Noise exposure established, hearing loss claim denied
D.B. claimed work-related hearing loss. The Board found that the record established occupational noise exposure from 1979 to 1983, contrary to OWCP’s factual finding. It nonetheless found the audiometric evidence inadequate to establish hearing loss caused by that exposure. It affirmed OWCP’s May…
S.I. and U.S. Postal Service, South Jersey Performance Cluster, Bellmawr, NJ
S.I. (ECAB 13-1880): Termination of compensation upheld
OWCP terminated S.I.’s wage-loss compensation and medical benefits effective January 14, 2013. The Board credited the impartial medical examiner’s opinion that she no longer had residuals of her accepted work injury. It affirmed OWCP’s June 12, 2013 termination decision.
D.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Antonio, TX
D.D. (ECAB 13-1669): Compensation terminated after suitable work refusal
D.D. declined a modified sales and service associate position offered by the postal service. The Board found that OWCP had established the position was suitable and that D.D. had not justified refusing it. It affirmed the May 2, 2013 decision terminating compensation effective January 13, 2013.
D.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Fayetteville, AR
D.W. (ECAB 14-0229): Overpayment upheld; part of fault finding set aside
D.W. received total disability compensation after returning to part-time work, creating an overpayment of $1,155.27. The Board found she was without fault for the first six days but at fault for the rest of the overpayment period. It affirmed the overpayment finding, set aside part of the fault…
W.J. and Department of the Air Force, Hill Air Force Base, UT
W.J. (ECAB 14-0215): Hearing award and pay rate affirmed with date correction
W.J. sought a larger schedule award for binaural hearing loss and a higher pay rate. The Board upheld the 10 percent impairment rating and found that OWCP had used the proper pay amount. It corrected the injury date to the last noise exposure on August 16, 1987, but found OWCP’s earlier date…
M.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bloomfield Hills, MI
M.G. (ECAB 14-0106): New medical evidence warrants merit review
M.G. sought reconsideration of OWCP’s claim decision. The Board could not review the underlying merits on this appeal, but found that a newly submitted medical report discussed work duties and medical causation in greater detail than earlier evidence. That was enough to require a merit review. The…
P.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Merrifield, VA
P.B. (ECAB 14-0062): Refusal to reopen emotional condition claim affirmed
P.B. sought reconsideration of her emotional condition claim. The Board could review only OWCP’s nonmerit decision. It found that the new medical report did not address the threshold issue of whether a compensable employment factor existed. The Board affirmed OWCP’s April 8, 2013 refusal to reopen…
W.B. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Nashville, TN
W.B. (ECAB 14-0061): Right foot drop claim needs further medical development
W.B. sought acceptance of right foot drop as related to an accepted injury. The Board found that the OWCP referral physician’s report did not adequately explain its conclusion against the claimed relationship. Because OWCP had undertaken medical development, it had to obtain a sufficient opinion…
P.M. and Department of Labor, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, San Francisco, CA
P.M. (ECAB 13-1621): Compensation termination for resolved knee sprain upheld
OWCP terminated P.M.’s compensation for an accepted right knee sprain. The Board found that the weight of the medical opinions showed the sprain had resolved, regardless of questions about other knee conditions. It affirmed OWCP’s January 25, 2013 termination decision.
T.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, Los Angeles, CA
T.S. (ECAB 13-1608): Work fall established, leg injury claim denied
T.S. claimed a right leg injury from a June 11, 2012 fall at work. The Board found that the unexplained fall occurred in the performance of duty, but the medical evidence did not adequately link the claimed leg injury to it. It affirmed OWCP’s February 28, 2013 denial as modified to recognize the…
E.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Savannah, GA
E.R. (ECAB 13-0719): Two reconsideration refusals affirmed
E.R. appealed nonmerit reconsideration decisions in two claim files. The Board found that the request in one file was untimely and did not show clear evidence of error. In the other, the submitted medical evidence did not address the relevant accepted condition or establish a basis for merit…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1858 (Union) and United States Department of the Army, U.S. Army Aviation, Missile and Research Development and Engineering Center (Agency)
Army aviation center and AFGE Local 1858 (FLRA 0-AR-4982): Arbitration exception dismissed
AFGE Local 1858 challenged an arbitration award involving an Army aviation center. The Authority issued an expedited, abbreviated order and dismissed the union's exception because it did not establish a legally recognized ground for setting aside the award. The published order gives no facts about…
Ronald E. Keim, III v. Cordero Mining, LLC
Discrimination complaint dismissed for lack of causal link
Ronald Keim, a welder at Cordero Mine, claimed that the company unfairly disciplined him after he complained that a coworker created a hostile environment that made safe work more difficult. His Mine Act discrimination complaint was filed 108 days after the final warning, 48 days beyond the…
Secretary of Labor v. Big Ridge, Inc. (amended)
Secretary of Labor v. Big Ridge, Inc. (FMSHRC LAKE 2013-66, et al.): Eight litigated violations resolved and 25 others settled
Big Ridge operated the underground Willow Lake Portal coal mine, where MSHA issued 33 contested violations with proposed penalties totaling $801,018. The parties settled 25 violations for $296,571, while Judge David P. Simonton decided eight after a hearing. He affirmed several accumulation…
Manuel A. Garza v. Hanson Aggregates, LLC
Retaliatory discharge found after safety complaints
Manuel Garza worked at Hanson Aggregates' Servtex Plant for 21 years and repeatedly raised concerns about wall scaling, fall protection, and other safety practices. The plant manager had criticized Garza for safety work that slowed production, demoted him, treated him harshly, and disciplined him…
C.F. and Department of Agriculture, Inspection Operations Program, Morton, MS
C.F. (ECAB 14-0273): Recurrence claim and reconsideration refusal affirmed
C.F. sought benefits for a claimed recurrence of a medical condition after an accepted injury. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish a causal relationship between the claimed recurrence and the work injury. It also found no basis to reopen the claim on her later…
H.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hagerstown, MD
H.G. (ECAB 14-0143): Long-term disability claim denied
H.G. sought wage-loss compensation for disability from November 2005 through September 2012 after an accepted work injury. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish inability to perform her modified work during the claimed period. It affirmed OWCP’s June 3, 2013 denial.
Y.B. and Department of Justice, U.S. Marshals Service, Washington, DC
Y.B. (ECAB 14-0093): Late reconsideration request denied
Y.B. sought reconsideration of a traumatic injury claim after the filing deadline. The Board could not review the underlying merits. It found that his submissions did not present clear evidence of error in OWCP’s denial and affirmed the October 25, 2013 refusal to reopen.
B.G. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Detention & Removal Operation, Newark, NJ
B.G. (ECAB 14-0076): Left-leg impairment rating sent back
B.G. appealed schedule awards for left-leg impairment. The Board found that OWCP’s medical adviser wrongly excluded preexisting knee arthritis from the impairment rating. The Board also noted that a relevant x-ray report was absent from its record. It set aside the June 5 and September 24, 2013…
S.S. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs & Border Patrol, Buffalo, NY
S.S. (ECAB 14-0023): Right foot injury claim denied
S.S. claimed a right foot injury after an incident on stairs at work. The Board found that the medical evidence did not adequately explain how the June 3, 2010 incident caused or aggravated a diagnosed foot condition. It affirmed OWCP’s June 18, 2013 denial.
B.W. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard, Baltimore, MD
B.W. (ECAB 13-2154): Binaural hearing award capped at 63 percent
B.W. sought a larger schedule award for hearing loss and an additional award for tinnitus. The Board found no more than 63 percent binaural impairment under the applicable rating method. It also found no medical report explaining that tinnitus affected his daily activities. It affirmed OWCP’s June…
T.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Martinsburg, WV
T.D. (ECAB 13-1749): Claim denied after inconsistent incident history
T.D. claimed a lumbar injury from a June 24, 2011 work incident. Although OWCP had found that the incident occurred, the Board found serious inconsistencies in the accounts of when and how it happened. It therefore found that the incident was not established as alleged and affirmed the June 10…
C.M. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Gatlinburg, TN
C.M. (ECAB 13-1638): Seasonal wages used for earning-capacity determination
C.M. challenged OWCP’s use of his earnings in a modified seasonal laborer position to determine wage-earning capacity. The Board found that the position lasted more than 90 days and fairly represented his capacity to earn wages. It affirmed OWCP’s May 17, 2013 decision.
United States Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service (Agency) and National Weather Service Employees Organization (Union)
National Weather Service and NWSEO (FLRA 0-AR-4970): Jury-service court leave award upheld
A National Weather Service employee who worked rotating shifts requested paid court leave during a period of jury service, including two scheduled weekend shifts and a holiday. An arbitrator found that the labor agreement required court leave for those dates and ordered the agency to make him…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 32 (Union) and United States Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Automated Collection Service, Denver, Colorado (Agency)
IRS Denver and NTEU Chapter 32 (FLRA 0-AR-4967): Attorney-fee request returned to arbitrator
IRS employees worked through an unpaid lunch period after a snowstorm and received thirty minutes of overtime in arbitration. The arbitrator split his own fees between the parties and denied the union's attorney-fee request. The Authority upheld the fee split because the union did not show that the…
Town of Uxbridge Wastewater Treatment Facility
In re Town of Uxbridge Wastewater Treatment Facility (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 13-06): petition dismissed after settlement
The Town of Uxbridge Sewer Commission sought review of an NPDES permit for the Uxbridge Wastewater Treatment Facility in Massachusetts. Uxbridge told the Environmental Appeals Board that it and EPA Region 1 had executed settlement terms and asked to withdraw its petition. Region 1 agreed to the…
C.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Nashville, TN
C.M. (ECAB 14-0290): Additional wage-loss compensation denied
C.M. sought wage-loss compensation for a period from December 2011 to May 2013. The Board found that the evidence did not establish disability for the claimed period. OWCP had already paid for time missed for several medical appointments, and the Board found no basis for additional wage-loss…
T.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Orleans, LA
T.C. (ECAB 14-0264): Overpayment case sent back for requested conference
T.C. timely requested a telephone conference after OWCP proposed a $1,179.41 overpayment. OWCP issued a final decision without holding the conference. The Board found that she had been denied the chance to provide testimonial evidence and remanded for a proper response to her request and a new…
K.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Ann Arbor, MI
K.S. (ECAB 14-0257): Late reconsideration request denied
K.S. sought reconsideration of OWCP’s earlier compensation termination. The Board found her request untimely and concluded that the submitted evidence did not show clear error in the termination decision. It affirmed OWCP’s June 11, 2013 refusal to reopen the claim.
A.P. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration Medical Center, Tuskegee, AL
A.P. (ECAB 14-0221): Electrical shock claim requires medical development
A.P. claimed injury after encountering a faulty light switch at work. The Board found that her physician’s reports raised an inference of a causal connection, though they did not yet establish the claim. It set aside OWCP’s October 8, 2013 denial and remanded for a specialist’s evaluation of the…
A.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chicago, IL
A.W. (ECAB 14-0202): Disability recurrence claim denied
A.W. sought compensation for a recurrence of disability beginning January 3, 2009 after an accepted 2001 work injury. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish renewed disability caused by that injury. One report appeared to attribute her condition to later work activities…
M.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Livonia, MI
M.H. (ECAB 14-0098): Right hip injury claim denied
M.H. claimed a right hip condition related to a February 5, 2011 work incident. The Board found that she had not provided a reasoned medical opinion explaining how the incident caused or aggravated the hip condition. It affirmed OWCP’s October 4, 2013 denial.
S.R. and Department of Labor, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, Boston, MA
S.R. (ECAB 14-0046): Right-leg impairment award remains at three percent
S.R. sought a larger schedule award for right-leg impairment. The Board found that her physician’s nine percent rating relied on a condition not verified by the surgical reports. It credited the medical adviser’s reasoned three percent rating under the applicable A.M.A. Guides and affirmed OWCP’s…
A.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Charlotte, NC
A.M. (ECAB 14-0009): Shoulder claims consolidated for new decision
A.M. appealed denial of a right shoulder injury claim. The Board found that the current claim overlapped with an earlier right shoulder claim and that OWCP needed to consider both files together. It set aside the April 11, 2013 decision and remanded for consolidation and a decision addressing…
C.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Canandaigua, NY
C.S. (ECAB 13-2070): Timely reconsideration request must be reviewed under proper standard
C.S. sought reconsideration within one year of OWCP’s November 23, 2011 merit decision. OWCP treated the request as late and applied the stricter clear-error standard. The Board found it timely, set aside the March 12, 2013 denial, and remanded for consideration under the proper standard.
D.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Santa Maria, CA
D.L. (ECAB 13-1696): Extended wage-loss claim denied
D.L. sought disability compensation from November 2005 through March 2012 after an accepted injury. The Board found that she had not established disability for that period, including after her return to a suitable lobby director position. It affirmed OWCP’s May 30, 2013 denial.
A.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
A.P. (ECAB 13-1245): Incomplete claim files require consolidation
A.P. appealed an OWCP decision concerning claimed conditions from her postal work. The Board found the record incomplete because a related claim file had not been consolidated. It remanded for reconstruction and consolidation, followed by further medical review of the claimed conditions.
S.O. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Grand Canyon, AZ
S.O. (ECAB 13-1083): Foot fracture claim denied for lack of medical causation
S.O. claimed a right foot injury after falling near a sidewalk while attending work training. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred and a condition was diagnosed, but found the medical explanation of causation inadequate. The Board agreed and affirmed the March 4, 2013 denial.
Secretary of Labor v. Wolf Run Mining Company
Flagrant designation removed in $70,000 settlement
The Secretary and Wolf Run Mining proposed settling a civil penalty proceeding involving Order No. 6605922. Judge David F. Barbour approved the agreement, removed the order's flagrant designation, and reduced the penalty from $142,900 to $70,000. Wolf Run was ordered to pay within 30 days.
C.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
C.A. (ECAB 14-0086): Overpayment, waiver denial, and recovery rate upheld
C.A. challenged OWCP’s finding of a $2,558.99 compensation overpayment, denial of waiver, and repayment schedule. The Board found the overpayment established and upheld the waiver denial. Because she had not provided financial information, it also upheld deductions of $300 every 28 days from…
P.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
P.J. (ECAB 13-1998): Benefit termination reversed; earlier wage-loss denial upheld
P.J. challenged OWCP’s termination of wage-loss benefits and denial of compensation for an earlier period. The Board found OWCP had not carried its burden to terminate benefits effective September 4, 2012. It also found that P.J. had not established disability from June 18 through July 27, 2012…
Robinson Masonry
Late contests dismissed
Two OSHA inspections resulted in seventeen serious items and one other-than-serious item against Robinson Masonry, with $22,400 in proposed penalties. The company attended an informal settlement conference but did not reach an agreement and did not submit a written contest within the 15-working-day…
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.