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.
Matter of Elvira LARIOS-GUTIERREZ DE PABLO and Juan PABLO-LARIOS
Retroactive notice-to-appear rule
The Board reviewed the termination of removal proceedings based on notices to appear that omitted the initial hearing date and time. It held that its earlier rule in Matter of Fernandes, which generally requires an objection before the close of pleadings, clarified existing law rather than changing…
Michael J. Osten v. Electric Boat Corporation
Osten v. Electric Boat Corporation (BRB 24-0029): denial of back surgery coverage affirmed
Michael Osten sought coverage for back surgery after several injuries during his work for Electric Boat Corporation. The company had paid temporary disability benefits for his 2016 injury, but disputed whether his later surgery was needed because of work rather than chronic degenerative disc…
J.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Naperville Post Office
Board upholds four rulings on injury claims (ECAB 25-0011)
A postal employee sought to add bilateral sacroiliitis to an accepted injury claim and sought wage-loss benefits for two periods in 2023. The Board found that he had not established the additional condition or the claimed disability for September 16 through 23. It also found that his later…
H.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center
Board orders medical review of remaining disability claim (ECAB 24-0881)
A VA employee sought wage-loss compensation for remaining days of disability beginning March 4, 2024, after an accepted 2017 injury. The Board found that the medical evidence required further development before those days could be decided. It directed OWCP to obtain a reasoned second opinion based…
R.D. and U.S. Postal Service, City of Industry Post Office
Board reverses ankle-claim rescission but upholds benefit termination (ECAB 22-1203)
A postal employee challenged OWCP's rescission of an accepted left ankle impingement condition and termination of benefits for an accepted ankle sprain. The Board held that OWCP had not met its burden to rescind acceptance of the impingement condition. It found sufficient evidence to terminate…
T.R. and Department of Justice, Federal Correctional Complex Coleman
Board upholds six percent arm impairment award (ECAB 22-0673)
A federal correctional employee sought a larger award for permanent impairment of his left upper extremity. The Board found that the later medical opinion repeated arguments previously considered and did not rate additional impairment under the applicable guides. It affirmed OWCP's finding that…
Y.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Atco Post Office
Board orders specialist review of lumbar condition claim (ECAB 22-0121)
A postal clerk asked OWCP to include a lumbar condition in a claim for an accepted 2004 work injury. Her physician's opinion did not establish causation but was enough to require further development. The Board directed OWCP to obtain a specialist opinion addressing whether the injury caused or…
Gary Cochran v. Lone Mountain Processing, Incorporated
Cochran v. Lone Mountain Processing (BRB 24-0224): black lung benefits denial affirmed
Former coal miner Gary Cochran appealed the denial of his black lung benefits claim without representation. The judge credited him with 41 years of qualifying coal mine work but found that the evidence did not prove complicated pneumoconiosis or total respiratory disability. The Board upheld the…
Wahed A. Hanifzai v. Mission Essential Personnel
Hanifzai v. Mission Essential Personnel (BRB 23-0291): alternative job finding returned for review
Wahed Hanifzai sought Defense Base Act benefits for physical and psychological injuries from his work as a linguist in Afghanistan. The judge awarded benefits but found that other jobs were available to him, limiting his disability award. The Board held that the judge had not fully accounted for a…
G.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Chicago Loop Station
Board orders review of possible duplicate shoulder award (ECAB 25-0085)
A postal carrier sought an additional schedule award for right upper extremity impairment. OWCP denied it because an earlier claim had paid a larger award for the same member, but the Board could not tell whether the current impairment duplicated that earlier award. It directed OWCP to combine the…
L.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery Medical Center
Board upholds denial of late written-review request (ECAB 25-0048)
A VA employee requested review of the written record more than 30 days after OWCP's December 2023 decision. The Board found that she had no hearing right after that deadline and that OWCP reasonably declined to grant discretionary review. It affirmed the denial.
D.S. and Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Board upholds disease-claim denial and hearing abandonment (ECAB 25-0034)
A CDC microbiologist sought compensation for an occupational disease. The Board found that he had not established a diagnosed medical condition connected to the accepted work factors. He also failed to join a scheduled telephone hearing or explain his absence within 10 days. The Board affirmed both…
V.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Mail Processing Annex
Board upholds overpayment and fault findings (ECAB 24-0182)
A postal employee returned to full-time work but continued receiving total disability checks from July 25 through September 9, 2023. The Board found that this created a $4,786.04 overpayment. Because she cashed the checks after being warned to return benefits paid following a return to work, the…
J.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Akron Five Points Post Office
Board orders new leg impairment opinion (ECAB 22-0991)
A postal mail carrier sought more than a one percent award for permanent impairment of his left leg. The Board found that OWCP's examining physician did not adequately explain the one percent rating. It directed OWCP to obtain a new second opinion and issue a new decision. The degree of impairment…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2338 and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, John J. Pershing VA Medical Center, Poplar Bluff, Missouri
AFGE Local 2338 and John J. Pershing VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-5977): Authority upholds grievance dismissal
AFGE Local 2338 filed a grievance alleging that a VA medical center failed to process employee dues deductions. The agency proposed dates for the required Step 3 grievance meeting, but the union did not respond because its president did not check the government email address to which the messages…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, John J. Pershing VA Medical Center, Poplar Bluff, Missouri and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2338
John J. Pershing VA Medical Center and AFGE Local 2338 (FLRA 0-AR-5934): Authority dismisses noncompliant exceptions
The Department of Veterans Affairs filed exceptions to an arbitration award but did not properly serve the union with the complete filing. The Authority directed the agency to cure service and file proof, then issued two show-cause orders after the agency sent a response to the wrong Authority…
Secretary of Labor v. Cactus Canyon Quarries, Inc.
Premature interlocutory petition denied
Cactus Canyon asked the Commission to review an ALJ order that denied its motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and failure to state a claim. No merits hearing had occurred, and the Commission had not issued a final decision. The Commission therefore treated the filing as a…
Ewell V. Daniels, Sr. v. Mountainside Coal Company Incorporated
Daniels v. Mountainside Coal Company (BRB 24-0014): subsequent claim denial affirmed
Former coal miner Ewell Daniels appealed the denial of his second black lung benefits claim without representation. The judge credited him with at least 21 years of qualifying coal mine work but found that he had not proved a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board upheld the judge's…
Ewell V. Daniels, Sr. v. Mountainside Coal Company Incorporated
Daniels v. Mountainside Coal Company (BRB 24-0014): subsequent claim denial affirmed
Former coal miner Ewell Daniels appealed the denial of his second black lung benefits claim without representation. The judge credited him with at least 21 years of qualifying coal mine work but found that he had not proved a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board upheld the judge's…
Roy C. Bailey v. New South Resources Incorporated
Bailey v. New South Resources (BRB 24-0009): black lung benefits award affirmed
New South Resources challenged a benefits award to former coal miner Roy Bailey. The parties agreed that Bailey had 21 years of qualifying mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment, giving him the statutory presumption that his disability was due to pneumoconiosis. The company relied…
George Krulyac, Jr. v. Chevron Mining, Incorporated
Krulyac v. Chevron Mining (BRB 23-0388): black lung benefits award affirmed
Chevron Mining challenged a benefits award to former coal miner George Krulyac. The judge found that Krulyac's medical impairment prevented him from performing all the duties of his bulldozer operator job, which sometimes required physical labor. The Board upheld that finding even though most of…
S.W. and Department of the Air Force, Air Force Materiel Command
Board denies claimed work-related emotional condition (ECAB 24-0954)
An Air Force program analyst attributed mental health symptoms to being placed on leave without pay and other personnel actions. The Board found that she had not corroborated error or abuse in those administrative matters. Without a compensable work factor, it did not reach the medical evidence. It…
C.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Belleville Annex Post Office
Board denies claimed work-related knee condition (ECAB 24-0893)
A postal city carrier attributed a right knee condition to walking, carrying mail, and other job duties. The Board gave greater weight to the impartial medical examiner's reasoned opinion that the accepted work factors did not cause the condition. It found the causal connection unproven and…
T.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Canton Post Office
Board denies claimed intermittent wage loss (ECAB 24-0851)
A postal rural carrier associate sought wage-loss compensation for intermittent absences between February 2020 and September 2022 after an accepted neck injury from a vehicle accident. The Board found the medical evidence insufficient to establish disability from work on the claimed dates due to…
Oscar Wynn v. Harlan KY VA Coal Incorporated
Wynn v. Harlan KY VA Coal (BRB 24-0167): black lung benefits denial affirmed
Former coal miner Oscar Wynn appealed the denial of his black lung benefits claim without representation. The judge calculated 8.97 years of coal mine employment from earnings records and other evidence, short of the 15 years needed for one statutory presumption. The record also lacked evidence of…
Roger L. Edwards v. Edwards Trucking Company, Incorporated
Edwards v. Edwards Trucking (BRB 24-0112): black lung benefits award affirmed
Edwards Trucking challenged an award of black lung benefits to Roger Edwards after an earlier Board remand. Although he lacked enough qualifying coal mine work for the statutory presumption, the judge found that medical evidence established legal pneumoconiosis and that it contributed to his total…
Danny K. Campbell v. Manalapan Mining Company, Incorporated
Campbell v. Manalapan Mining (BRB 24-0047): black lung benefits award affirmed
Manalapan Mining challenged a benefits award to former repairman Danny Campbell. The judge found that his respiratory impairment prevented him from doing his heavy coal mine work, despite test results that did not independently qualify as proof of total disability. The Board held that the judge…
Arben Zyberi v. Toifor Hungary KFT/KBR Government Operations
Zyberi v. Toifor Hungary (BRB 24-0021): Defense Base Act claim denial affirmed
Arben Zyberi sought benefits for a psychological condition he attributed to traumatic events during his work as a driver in Iraq. The judge accepted that the events occurred but found that Zyberi had not proved a work-related psychological injury after weighing the medical evidence and testimony…
M.F. and Department of the Army, Fort Hamilton
Board reverses termination of injury benefits (ECAB 25-0013)
An Army employee challenged termination of benefits for an accepted back injury. OWCP's physician said the worker's current condition came from degeneration, but did not adequately explain whether the accepted injury still contributed to the symptoms and disability. The Board found that this…
E.L. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service National Office
Board recognizes knee lacerations but denies other claimed conditions (ECAB 24-0924)
An IRS tax examiner was struck by a car while entering work and sought recognition of several injuries. The Board found that the evidence established bilateral knee lacerations from the accepted incident. It found no sufficient causal proof for the additional claimed conditions. The Board reversed…
R.C. and Department of the Air Force, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson
Board orders proper review of recurring disability claim (ECAB 24-0863)
An Air Force equipment operator returned to full duty after an accepted injury and stopped work again within 90 days. OWCP assessed his new disability claim under a causation standard suited to a later recurrence. The Board held that the short interval required OWCP to focus on disability under its…
O.Z. and U.S. Postal Service, North Texas Processing and Distribution Center
Board denies back claim and upholds hearing abandonment (ECAB 24-0853)
A postal rural carrier sought recognition of a low back condition after an accepted December 2023 work incident. The Board found the medical evidence insufficient to connect the condition to that incident. He also missed a scheduled oral hearing and did not explain the absence within 10 days. The…
J.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Porterville Post Office
Board cuts overpayment collection rate (ECAB 24-0852)
A postal employee received FECA wage-loss benefits and Social Security age-related retirement benefits without the required offset, creating a $56,386.33 overpayment. The Board found that she was without fault but was not entitled to waiver. It held that OWCP abused its discretion by deducting $575…
W.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Hilburn Annex
Board upholds overpayment and fault findings (ECAB 22-1284)
A postal employee returned to full-time work in March 2022 but received a disability check covering days after his return. The Board found that $1,357.23 of the payment was an overpayment. Because he cashed the check after being warned to return payments received after returning to work, it found…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth, Kansas and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 919, Council of Prison Locals 33
U.S. Penitentiary Leavenworth and AFGE Local 919 (FLRA 0-AR-5813): Authority remands augmentation dispute
During the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Penitentiary Leavenworth temporarily reassigned noncustodial staff to custodial posts in circumstances unrelated to mandatory training. An arbitrator found that the reassignments violated the agreement and a memorandum addressing augmentation during mandatory…
Tulalip Tribes of Washington Wastewater Treatment Plant and Lummi Tribal Sewer and Water District
In re Tulalip Tribes of Washington and Lummi Tribal Sewer and Water District (EAB NPDES Appeal Nos. 24-02 and 24-03): petitions dismissed after permit withdrawal
The Northwest Environmental Advocates petitioned for review of three NPDES permit decisions issued by EPA Region 10 for wastewater treatment facilities in Washington. The Board consolidated the two petitions. Before EPA filed its response, Region 10 withdrew the three permits under 40 C.F.R. §…
Elizabeth H. VanDyke, on behalf of the Estate of Clayton R. VanDyke v. Beatrice Pocahontas Company
VanDyke v. Beatrice Pocahontas (BRB 24-0321): black lung benefits award affirmed
Elizabeth VanDyke pursued her late husband Clayton's black lung claim on behalf of his estate. Beatrice Pocahontas challenged the judge's finding that he had complicated pneumoconiosis, which triggered an irrebuttable disability presumption. The Board held that the judge could give less weight to…
Jean E. Penley, widow of Isaac G. Penley v. Island Creek Coal Company
Penley v. Island Creek Coal Company (BRB 24-0090): survivor's benefits denial sent back
Jean Penley sought survivor's benefits after the death of her husband, former coal miner Isaac Penley. The judge denied the claim after finding that he had not been totally disabled by a respiratory impairment. The Board found that the judge had treated the case as a miner's claim and had not…
Management & Training Corp. v. Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL
Premature SCA appeal dismissed
Management & Training Corporation sought Board review of a Service Contract Act wage-determination decision issued by a Wage and Hour Division branch chief. The company and the Administrator jointly asked for dismissal because the branch chief's decision was not the Administrator's final decision…
E.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Coppell Post Office
Board upholds arm impairment awards (ECAB 25-0036)
A postal employee sought larger awards for permanent impairment of both upper extremities. The Board found that the submitted opinions did not establish a rating above 14 percent for either arm under the applicable impairment guides. It affirmed OWCP's decision.
W.A. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Harry S. Truman Memorial VA Hospital
Board denies claimed period of back disability (ECAB 24-0896)
A VA employee sought compensation for work absence from August 29 through September 8, 2023, following an accepted August 2022 injury. The Board gave weight to a physician's reasoned opinion that the claimed disability was not caused by the accepted injury. It found the required causal link…
E.Z. and U.S. Postal Service, Edison Post Office
Board denies claimed work-related stress condition (ECAB 24-0826)
A postal supervisor attributed anxiety and other symptoms to workplace stress and alleged harassment and retaliation. The Board found that he had not corroborated the alleged misconduct or established another compensable work factor. It therefore did not assess the medical evidence and affirmed the…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL v. America's Staffing Partner Inc.
Three-year SCA debarment affirmed
America's Staffing Partner and two company officials did not dispute that they underpaid required wages or fringe benefits on federal service contracts at three military facilities. They sought relief from the Service Contract Act's automatic three-year debarment by arguing that unusual…
N.Y. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Board denies hearing-loss schedule award (ECAB 25-0052)
A retired Homeland Security employee sought an award for hearing loss and tinnitus. The Board found that his measured hearing loss was not ratable under the applicable impairment guides. Because there was no ratable hearing loss, tinnitus could not be added to the rating. It affirmed OWCP's…
P.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Canal Winchester Post Office
Board upholds left leg impairment award (ECAB 25-0023)
A postal employee sought a greater award for permanent impairment of her left leg. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish a rating above the 10 percent impairment already awarded. It affirmed OWCP's decision.
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Greensboro Processing and Distribution Center, Pleasant Ridge Annex
Board denies stress claim and merits reconsideration (ECAB 25-0015)
A postal delivery employee sought compensation for an emotional condition she attributed to work. The Board found that she had not established a compensable employment factor. It also found that her reconsideration request did not warrant reopening the merits of the claim. It affirmed both OWCP…
C.C. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Protective Service
Board denies schedule award for neck and shoulder claim (ECAB 24-0951)
A federal protective service employee sought an impairment award after accepted neck and shoulder injuries. The Board found no current medical evidence establishing ratable impairment of a scheduled member under the applicable guides. A spine condition alone cannot receive a schedule award without…
R.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Grand Rapids Processing and Distribution Center
Board recognizes work incident and orders medical review (ECAB 24-0907)
A postal distribution clerk reported shoulder pain while pushing mail at work on February 6, 2024. The Board found his accounts consistent and detailed enough to establish that the workplace incident occurred. It reversed OWCP's contrary decisions and directed OWCP to assess whether the incident…
Deseret Generation and Transmission Co-operative Bonanza Power Plant
In re Deseret Generation and Transmission Co-operative Bonanza Power Plant (EAB CAA Appeal No. 24-01): motion for reconsideration denied
The EAB previously denied review of EPA Region 8's renewal of a Clean Air Act Title V permit for the Deseret Generation and Transmission Co-operative Bonanza Power Plant. The Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation moved for reconsideration and argued, among other things, that the…
E.L. and U.S. Postal Service, San Francisco Network Distribution Center
Board upholds denial of shoulder surgery request (ECAB 24-0898)
A postal employee requested right shoulder arthroscopic procedures after an accepted shoulder sprain. The Board found that the treating reports did not explain why the proposed surgery was medically necessary for that accepted condition. It held that OWCP had not abused its discretion by denying…
G.M. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Board upholds denial of late hearing request (ECAB 24-0878)
A Border Patrol employee requested an oral hearing after the filing period had expired. The Board found that he was no longer entitled to a hearing as of right and that OWCP reasonably declined to grant one as a matter of discretion. It affirmed the denial.
L.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Dominick V. Daniels Processing and Distribution Center
Board denies intermittent wage loss and upholds hearing abandonment (ECAB 24-0589)
A postal employee sought compensation for intermittent work absences from January 2022 through October 2023 after an accepted injury. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish work-related disability for the claimed periods. She also missed a scheduled telephone hearing and did…
K.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Plainfield Post Office
Board denies claimed disability after postal injury (ECAB 24-0260)
A postal employee sought wage-loss compensation for disability beginning November 30, 2023, after an accepted May 2022 injury. The Board found that the medical submissions did not establish that the accepted injury caused disability during the claimed period. It noted that reports from nurse…
Ultramar Inc.
In re Ultramar Inc. (EAB CAA Appeal No. 24-11): permit appeal dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
Genghmun Eng asked the Environmental Appeals Board to reverse the Administrator's order denying a petition to object to a Title V operating permit issued by the South Coast Air Quality Management District for the Ultramar refinery in Los Angeles County, California. The Board explained that the…
V.A. and U.S. Postal Service, North Houston Processing and Distribution Center
Board denies claimed period of disability (ECAB 24-0886)
A postal employee claimed disability beginning January 20, 2024, after an accepted August 2023 injury. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish that the accepted injury caused disability from work during that period. It affirmed two OWCP decisions denying the claim.
B.G. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Board recognizes work incident and orders medical review (ECAB 24-0869)
A Border Patrol employee reported an October 28, 2023 workplace incident. The Board found that the incident occurred in the performance of duty as alleged. Because OWCP had rejected the incident, it had not evaluated whether it caused an injury. The Board reversed the contrary decisions and…
V.V. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Palo Alto VA Medical Center
Board denies claimed shoulder condition after patient assist (ECAB 24-0807)
A VA nursing assistant reported shoulder pain after catching a falling patient during an accepted January 2024 work incident. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish a diagnosed condition connected with the incident. It affirmed OWCP's denial.
M.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Monroe Post Office
Board orders specialist review of injury claim (ECAB 24-0800)
A postal employee sought recognition of medical conditions after an accepted October 2019 work incident. The Board found that a physician's opinion did not establish the claim but required OWCP to develop the medical evidence further. It directed OWCP to obtain a specialist opinion addressing…
G.S. and Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service
Board denies claimed medical condition after work incident (ECAB 24-0271)
A Forest Service employee sought recognition of an injury after an accepted August 2023 work incident. The Board found that the medical submissions did not establish a diagnosed condition connected with that incident. It affirmed OWCP's denial.
United States Department of the Army, National Guard Bureau, Kentucky Army National Guard and Association of Civilian Technicians, Kentucky Long Rifle Chapter
Kentucky Army National Guard and Association of Civilian Technicians (FLRA 0-AR-5832): Authority remands military-leave dispute
A dual-status Kentucky National Guard technician sought accrued military leave after serving about nine months on active-duty operational-support orders as a transportation trainer. An arbitrator held that the leave exclusion applied only to a different category called AGR duty, rejected 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.