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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M.S. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Station Fire Department, Meridian, MS
M.S. (ECAB 13-1024): Hearing loss files sent back for consolidation
M.S., a Navy fire department employee, claimed that federal work caused hearing loss. OWCP denied an occupational disease claim and later refused to reopen it. M.S. pointed to another claim involving his left ear that OWCP had accepted, but the record before the Board lacked that claim file. The…
J.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Albany, NY
J.W. (ECAB 13-978): Attorney fee dispute returned to OWCP
The official PDF displays the docket as 13-978; the official filename uses 13-0978. J.W. appealed OWCP’s approval of an attorney fee, asserting that he had signed a contingency fee agreement for 30 percent of the compensation recovered. He raised that agreement for the first time on appeal, where…
A.V. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Coppell, TX
A.V. (ECAB 13-643): Rescission of travel injury claim affirmed
A.V., an air marshal, was struck by a vehicle while in London on a work trip. OWCP first accepted an arm fracture and knee sprain, then rescinded acceptance after examining where and when the incident occurred. The Board found that, after dinner and socializing, he went farther from his hotel on a…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 215 (Union) and United States Department of Health and Human Services, Seattle, Washington (Agency)
NTEU Chapter 215 and HHS (FLRA 0-AR-4939): Additional travel per diem denied
An HHS employee stayed at a conference destination for personal time after the conference ended on Friday, then flew home on Wednesday at agency expense. The agency paid a partial travel per diem for Wednesday but none for Friday. An arbitrator denied a grievance seeking another day's per diem. The…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3571 (Union) and Social Security Administration, Region V (Agency)
AFGE Local 3571 and Social Security Administration Region V (FLRA 0-AR-4912): Office temperature grievance denied
A Social Security Administration office briefly fell below 68 degrees on a workday. The union claimed that this violated its labor agreement, but an arbitrator found that the current agreement set no required temperature range and that the agency had responded reasonably. The Authority denied the…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 32 (Union) and United States Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Denver, Colorado (Agency)
NTEU Chapter 32 and IRS Denver (FLRA 0-AR-4890): Alternative schedule denials upheld
IRS taxpayer assistance specialists requested alternative schedules that would place some work hours outside public service hours. The agency denied their requests, and an arbitrator found no violation of the work schedules law or the labor agreements. The Authority denied the union's exceptions…
Secretary of Labor, MSHA v. MJM Electric Construction
Secretary of Labor v. MJM Electric Construction (FMSHRC SE 2013-259-M): Quiet backup-alarm citation affirmed with lower negligence
An MSHA inspector cited MJM Electric Construction because a pickup truck's voluntarily installed backup alarm could not be heard above the surrounding engine and traffic noise. Judge George A. Koutras held that once an operator provides an alarm, the standard requires it to be audible above the…
B.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Houston, TX
B.M. (ECAB 13-1949): Board could not review overpayment collection method
B.M., a postal carrier, received wage-loss compensation after returning to full-time work, and OWCP found a $25,846.55 overpayment. She did not challenge the amount, fault finding or waiver denial on appeal. She argued that she could not repay the entire amount at once. The Board held that it could…
D.S. and Department of the Navy, Naval Computer & Telecommunications Area Master Station, Pacific, Wahiawa, HI
D.S. (ECAB 13-1861): Back injury claim lacked medical causation evidence
D.S., a Navy custodial worker, reported low back pain while turning an electric pallet jack at work in April 2012. OWCP accepted that the incident happened but denied the injury claim. His physician described a possible muscle strain and later diagnosed back pain, without clearly identifying a…
D.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Newington, CT
D.B. (ECAB 13-1843): Eleven percent right arm award affirmed
D.B., a postal rural carrier, injured his right shoulder in a work fall and later received a schedule award for permanent arm impairment. His surgeon estimated 15 percent impairment using the fifth edition of the A.M.A. Guides. OWCP’s medical adviser used the required sixth edition and calculated…
B.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT
B.B. (ECAB 13-1730): Parking lot injury outside duty denied
B.B., a VA police officer, slipped at his vehicle in an employer-controlled parking lot while retrieving his cellphone. He argued that he needed the phone for work. The Board found that the incident occurred about an hour before his scheduled shift and that the employer neither required him to…
L.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Interbay Annex, Seattle, WA
L.B. (ECAB 13-1675): Additional left arm award and reconsideration denied
L.B., a postal carrier, sought an additional schedule award after surgery on her left thumb. She had already received an award for 19 percent left arm impairment. The Board corrected the way diagnosis-based and nerve impairments were combined under the sixth edition of the A.M.A. Guides, finding a…
K.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Wickliffe, OH
K.F. (ECAB 13-1437): Right leg impairment sent for impartial examination
K.F., a postal carrier, had accepted right foot injuries after walking through snow and ice at work. Her treating physician rated right leg impairment at 11 percent, while an OWCP referral physician rated it at one percent. The Board found a conflict over whether the accepted foot sprain caused…
D.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Flagstaff/Pulliam Airport, Phoenix, AZ
D.M. (ECAB 13-1352): Concussion disability claim returned for new opinion
D.M., a transportation security officer, had an accepted concussion and postconcussion syndrome after a gate struck his head at work. He sought wage-loss compensation after his employment ended in August 2012. OWCP’s second-opinion physician found him unable to work but gave conflicting…
C.B. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Union, NJ
C.B. (ECAB 12-1849): Claim rescission and medical overpayment upheld
C.B., an airport security screener, fell on ice in a parking lot while traveling to a shuttle stop before her shift. OWCP initially accepted her injuries and paid for medical treatment, then rescinded the claim after learning that the employer did not own, maintain or control the lot. The Board…
United States Department of Homeland Security, National Protection and Programs Directorate, Federal Protective Service (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 918 (Union)
Federal Protective Service and AFGE Local 918 (FLRA 0-AR-4947): Agency arbitration exceptions denied
The Federal Protective Service challenged an arbitrator's award, and the union opposed the agency's exceptions. The Authority used its expedited decision procedure and denied the agency's exceptions. It found no defect under the statutory standard for reviewing arbitration awards on the grounds…
Secretary of Labor, MSHA v. Leeco, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Leeco, Inc. (FMSHRC KENT 2010-1126): Ventilation violations reduced to section 104(a)
MSHA cited Leeco after inspectors found required ventilation curtains missing and measured airflow below the approved minimum on a working section. Judge L. Zane Gill held that the two citations were not duplicative because the ventilation-plan standard and minimum-airflow standard imposed separate…
M.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Birmingham, AL
M.C. (ECAB 13-1884): Right foot occupational disease claim denied
M.C., a postal supervisor, claimed that walking and standing at work caused or worsened a right foot hammertoe condition. His treating podiatrist said work activity caused pain but gave no clear medical explanation linking it to the deformity; he also expressed uncertainty about the cause of…
M.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veteran Administration Medical Center, Alexandria, LA
M.M. (ECAB 13-1832): Wage-earning capacity request requires merits review
M.M., a VA nurse with accepted spine conditions, had her compensation reduced after returning to limited-duty work. In a December 2012 letter, her attorney sought to change the earlier wage-earning capacity determination. OWCP treated the letter as a late request for reconsideration and denied it…
L.F. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Hines Illinois Veterans Administration Medical Center, Hines, IL
L.F. (ECAB 13-1804): Elbow injury claim denied despite employer parking lot
L.F., a VA health aide, fractured his elbow after slipping on ice in an employer-controlled parking lot. He was walking to a friend’s car for a ride home near the end of his scheduled shift. The Board found that the lot was part of the employer’s premises, but the record did not explain why he had…
V.B. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, West Palm Beach, FL
V.B. (ECAB 13-1646): Termination of foot injury benefits affirmed
V.B., a transportation security employee, had accepted left foot and ankle crush injuries and reflex sympathetic dystrophy. Her treating physicians reported continuing symptoms, while an OWCP referral physician found that the accepted conditions had resolved. An impartial specialist reviewed…
D.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Clement J. Zablocki Medical Center, Milwaukee, WI
D.R. (ECAB 13-1644): EEOC ruling did not reopen emotional condition claim
D.R., a VA health technician, previously lost a claim that workplace treatment caused an emotional condition. She requested reconsideration in December 2012 and submitted an EEOC decision finding disability discrimination in her termination. The Board held that the request came more than a year…
G.A. and Department of Homeland Security, Emergency Preparedness & Response, Biloxi, MS
G.A. (ECAB 13-1351): Personnel clerk capacity reduction affirmed
G.A. received total disability compensation after a work-related vehicle accident and back surgery. OWCP later selected a personnel clerk position to measure her capacity to earn wages. The Board found that both her treating physician and an OWCP second-opinion physician supported full-time work…
M.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Orlando, FL
M.R. (ECAB 13-1292): No ratable arm impairment from cervical injury
M.R., a federal air marshal, had an accepted neck sprain and cervical disc condition after lifting exercise equipment while working. He sought a schedule award based on arm symptoms. A treating surgeon first rated whole-person impairment from the spine and later suggested an arm rating, but the…
R.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, San Juan, PR
R.C. (ECAB 13-408): Chair fall claim returned for medical development
R.C., a VA nurse, fell when her chair moved as she tried to sit at work. The Board found that the incident occurred as reported. Her physicians documented coccyx symptoms and a possible fracture after the fall, but their reports did not fully explain causation. The Board found that the reports…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2823 (Union) and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Cleveland Regional Office, Cleveland, Ohio (Agency)
AFGE Local 2823 and VA Cleveland (FLRA 0-AR-4920): Video terminal break grievance denied
A union claimed that the VA's Cleveland regional office violated a labor agreement provision requiring breaks for employees using video display terminals. An arbitrator found no evidence that an employee had requested and been denied such a break. The Authority denied the union's exceptions because…
Boart Longyear Company v. Secretary of Labor, MSHA
Boart Longyear Company v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC WEST 2012-422-M, et al.): Imminent-danger order vacated and four violations modified
MSHA cited Boart Longyear after a driller worked on a five-foot-high flatbed without fall protection, used a toolbox door for access, operated a truck with a defective backup alarm, and worked without required Part 46 training. Judge David F. Barbour vacated the imminent-danger withdrawal order…
F.M. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA
F.M. (ECAB 13-1900): Knee recurrence and reconsideration denials affirmed
F.M., a former shipyard employee, claimed a recurrence involving severe arthritis in both knees. OWCP had previously found that an accepted temporary aggravation had resolved. The Board found that his physicians described current knee disease but did not adequately explain why it was caused by the…
S.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Montclair, NJ
S.H. (ECAB 13-1850): Continuing disability after sprains not established
S.H., a postal clerk, had accepted lumbar and right shoulder sprains after lifting parcels. OWCP later terminated wage-loss benefits, and she sought compensation for continuing disability. The Board could review only whether she proved disability after February 10, 2011, because the earlier…
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Austin, TX
M.B. (ECAB 13-1848): Wage-loss denial reversed for unsuitable modified job
M.B., a postal carrier with accepted right knee and left shoulder conditions, sought wage-loss compensation after being offered modified work. OWCP denied benefits for June 19 through August 18, 2010. The Board found that the offered job required more standing, walking, pushing and pulling than his…
C.H. and Department of the Army, Training & Doctrine Command, Fort Sill, OK
C.H. (ECAB 13-1826): Ten percent right arm award affirmed
C.H., an Army human resources assistant, injured her hands in a work fall and later sought a right arm schedule award after thumb surgery. Her surgeon gave a five percent estimate, while an OWCP referral physician used the sixth edition of the A.M.A. Guides to calculate 10 percent impairment. The…
R.C. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Imperial, CA
R.C. (ECAB 13-1757): Arm impairment award sent back for medical review
R.C., a border patrol supervisor, had accepted cervical and hand sprains after an assault at work. OWCP granted an eight percent right arm schedule award. His attending physician also rated left arm impairment related to a cervical nerve finding, but OWCP’s medical adviser rejected it without…
F.B. and U.S. Postal Service, West Wabash Station, Evansville, IN
F.B. (ECAB 13-1755): Eleven percent right leg impairment award affirmed
F.B., a postal letter carrier, developed a blood clot behind his right knee after prolonged sitting in his vehicle. OWCP had awarded him nine percent permanent right leg impairment and later granted an additional two percent. His physician used a table for whole person impairment from thrombotic…
L.O. and Department of the Air Force, Air National Guard, Newington, CT
L.O. (ECAB 13-1578): Compensation reduction and suspension affirmed
L.O., an aircraft equipment repairer, received compensation for a work related back injury. After a physician found that he could work part time, OWCP referred him for vocational rehabilitation. He missed a scheduled meeting and did not complete the counselor’s requested tasks. The Board found no…
K.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Des Moines, IA
K.G. (ECAB 13-1511): Back condition claim denied without a medical explanation of causation
K.G., a postal mailhandler, attributed a back condition to work that involved sorting trays, lifting, twisting and bending. Two physicians diagnosed lumbar spasm or sciatica and described his work duties. Neither physician explained how those duties caused or aggravated the diagnosed condition. The…
T.D. and Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Base, Camp LeJeune, NC
T.D. (ECAB 13-1505): Consequential right knee claim and surgery request denied
T.D., a material handler leader, had an accepted left knee injury and underwent three left knee surgeries. She later reported that her left knee gave way, causing falls and a right knee meniscus tear. She sought acceptance of the right knee condition and authorization for surgery. The Board found…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1482 (Union) and United States Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Logistics Base, Barstow, California (Agency)
Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow and AFGE Local 1482 (FLRA 0-AR-4973): Overtime grievance denied
A Marine Corps logistics base assigned overtime to a contractor working under one supervisor without offering it to a bargaining unit employee under another supervisor. An arbitrator found that the labor agreement tied overtime assignments to the assigning supervisor's own employees, and denied the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Council 215 (Union) and Social Security Administration, Office of Disability Adjudication and Review, Region VI, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (Agency)
AFGE Council 215 and Social Security Administration (FLRA 0-AR-4859): Appraisal remedy reconsideration denied
An arbitrator found that the Social Security Administration improperly appraised an employee, but his clarified award did not raise her ratings. The Authority had rejected the union's challenge to that remedy. The union then asked the Authority to reconsider, arguing that older performance…
Secretary of Labor, MSHA v. National Cement Company of Alabama, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. National Cement Company of Alabama, Inc. (FMSHRC SE 2013-91-M): Unsafe board access held non-S&S
Miners periodically crossed a wet, unsecured one-foot-wide board over a shallow pit to clean a cement chute. Judge David F. Barbour held that National Cement failed to provide safe access because the board was slippery, lacked rails, required climbing over a handrail, and was used with fall…
L.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration, North Little Rock, AR
L.C. (ECAB 13-2123): Emotional condition claim denied without a proven work factor
L.C., a claims examiner, attributed depression and anxiety to what she believed was improper discussion of her vocational rehabilitation case and disclosure of private information. Her former supervisor denied discussing the case as alleged, and the employer found that her privacy complaint did not…
M.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Marysville, WA
M.H. (ECAB 13-1901): Reconsideration request was timely because deadline fell on Saturday
OWCP denied M.H.’s occupational disease claim on June 29, 2012. It received his request for reconsideration on Monday, July 1, 2013, and rejected the request as late. The Board found that the one year deadline fell on Saturday, June 29, 2013. Because the deadline extended to the next business day…
L.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New York, NY
L.S. (ECAB 13-1839): Termination of compensation and medical benefits affirmed
L.S., a postal carrier, had accepted headache and spinal radiculopathy conditions after an elevator door struck her head at work. OWCP terminated her wage loss compensation and medical benefits after a physician found no continuing neurological residuals. Her treating physician disagreed, and OWCP…
S.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Nashville, TN
S.H. (ECAB 13-1768): Additional arm impairment award denied
S.H., a patient services assistant, had received schedule awards for five percent impairment of each arm due to accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. She later underwent another surgery on each wrist and sought an increased award. Her attending physician still rated each arm at five percent…
K.R. and Department of Labor, Job Corps Centers, Astoria, OR
K.R. (ECAB 13-1756): Suspension for missed medical examination reversed
K.R., a Job Corps student with accepted injuries, missed a medical examination scheduled by OWCP. She said forwarded mail brought the appointment notice to her only on the examination date. She promptly called to request a new appointment. OWCP acknowledged that it had routed her call to the wrong…
E.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Corpus Christi, TX
E.B. (ECAB 13-1705): Mail processing incident established, but injury claim still denied
E.B., a postal mail clerk, said that processing a bulk mailing involved lifting and twisting that injured her lower back. A coworker supported her account of the assignment, and her supervisor acknowledged that she processed mail that day. The Board found that the work incident occurred as alleged…
K.B. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Laguna Niguel, CA
K.B. (ECAB 13-1455): Recurrence of total disability not established
K.B., a former safety manager, had accepted plantar fasciitis and back conditions and returned to a modified mission support position. He later resigned and claimed a recurrence of total disability, asserting that his duties had changed and exceeded his medical restrictions. The Board found no…
D.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bellmawr, NJ
D.F. (ECAB 13-1394): Benefit termination reversed because medical opinions conflicted
D.F., a postal clerk, had accepted upper extremity conditions and received compensation. OWCP ended her benefits after its examining physician concluded that the accepted conditions had resolved and her remaining symptoms were unrelated to work. Her treating physician disagreed, citing examination…
D.E. and Department of the Navy, Naval Research Laboratory, Patuxent, MD
D.E. (ECAB 13-1327): Wage earning capacity decision returned for a reasoned ruling
D.E. sought modification of an existing loss of wage earning capacity determination. In an earlier appeal, the Board had directed OWCP to apply the standards for modifying that determination. OWCP then denied the claim for lack of medical support for total disability. The Board could not tell from…
E.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Largo Post Office, Largo, FL
E.S. (ECAB 13-1322): New impairment evidence required a merits decision
E.S. had previously received a decision finding no more than 32 percent permanent impairment of each arm. He then submitted a physician’s new impairment rating seeking a larger schedule award. OWCP treated his filing as an untimely request to reconsider the earlier decision. The Board found that he…
R.W. and Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service, Albuquerque, NM
R.W. (ECAB 13-428): Compensation termination for refusing suitable work affirmed
R.W., a seasonal forestry technician, received compensation after a work injury to his neck and left arm. The Forest Service offered him a modified information receptionist position at the same facility, and OWCP found the duties within his medical restrictions. R.W. reported to work but left when…
H.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
H.S. (ECAB 13-365): Additional leg impairment award denied
H.S., a former postal mail handler, sought an additional schedule award for leg impairment after accepted back injuries and surgeries. Physicians had given differing impairment ratings, so OWCP obtained an impartial orthopedic examination. H.S. challenged the specialist’s selection and findings…
K.E.R. Enterprises, Inc. d/b/a Armadillo Underground
EAJA fees awarded after pipe citation was vacated
Armadillo Underground defended citations arising from a PVC water-pipe explosion that injured four workers. The underlying general duty clause item was vacated because OSHA did not prove that tightening the joint bolts while the line remained pressurized was a recognized hazard, and a separate…
Town of Newmarket Wastewater Treatment Plant
In re Town of Newmarket Wastewater Treatment Plant (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 12-05): motion for reconsideration denied
The Town of Newmarket operated a wastewater treatment plant under an NPDES permit issued by EPA Region 1. The Great Bay Municipal Coalition moved for reconsideration after the Board denied review of the permit's nitrogen effluent limit. The Coalition argued that the Board used the wrong review…
Secretary of Labor, MSHA v. BHP Navajo Coal Company
Secretary of Labor v. BHP Navajo Coal Company (FMSHRC CENT 2012-199): Fuel, electrical, and dust citations split
MSHA brought nine citations concerning dust visibility, gasoline storage and piping, electrical conditions, workplace examinations, and other surface-mine hazards at BHP Navajo's large New Mexico coal mine. Judge Richard W. Manning vacated the dust-visibility citation because the Secretary did not…
J.R. and Department of the Treasury, Bureau of Engraving & Printing, Washington, DC
J.R. (ECAB 13-1946): Compensation suspension for missing earnings report affirmed
J.R., a plate printer with an accepted right elbow injury, received compensation benefits. OWCP mailed him a Form EN-1032 requesting information about work and earnings during the previous 15 months, but he did not return it within 30 days. He said on appeal that he had moved and had not received…
C.G. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Washington, DC
C.G. (ECAB 13-1887): Late reconsideration request did not show clear error
C.G., a park police volunteer, reported leg pain after a horse fell on her leg. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied her injury claim because the medical evidence did not establish a firm diagnosis from it. She requested reconsideration more than a year later. The Board found the…
P.V. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, El Paso, TX
P.V. (ECAB 13-1870): Accepted hearing loss did not qualify for a schedule award
P.V., a customs and border protection officer, had accepted work related hearing loss and tinnitus after noise exposure. OWCP’s medical adviser applied the sixth edition of the A.M.A. Guides to his audiogram and found no ratable impairment in either ear. The Board explained that a real hearing loss…
G.T. and Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Vancouver, WA
G.T. (ECAB 13-1818): Reconsideration request arrived after the one year deadline
G.T., an engineering technician, had an accepted temporary aggravation of a back condition but was denied later wage loss compensation. His request to reconsider that denial reached OWCP more than one year after its last merits decision. He argued that the request had been postmarked earlier. The…
D.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Freeland, PA
D.T. (ECAB 13-1773): Countersigned injury report required review
D.T., a postal carrier, reported striking his elbow after slipping on icy steps during mail delivery. OWCP accepted that the fall occurred but denied his injury claim, treating an urgent care report signed by a physician assistant as lacking a physician’s signature. The Board found that a board…
D.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Durham, NC
D.H. (ECAB 13-1642): Schedule award denied for lack of ratable leg impairment
D.H., a former medical technician, had accepted lumbar conditions and sought a schedule award for leg impairment. Her physician calculated three percent impairment using a peripheral nerve table, but applied adjustment grids for the spine and included a physical examination adjustment that the leg…
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.