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.L. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Purvis, MS
P.L. (ECAB 13-1592): Knee impairment award and reconsideration denied
P.L. sought a schedule award for permanent right leg impairment after an accepted knee ligament strain. A physician rated two percent impairment but described the injury as a fall, while the claim record described knee symptoms while stepping out of a trailer. The Board found that the inaccurate…
E.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Butler, NJ
E.M. (ECAB 13-1497): Termination of wage loss and medical benefits affirmed
E.M., a postal letter carrier, had accepted right shoulder, lower back and coccyx conditions after a fall. Her treating physician and OWCP’s examining physician disagreed about continuing disability, so OWCP obtained an impartial orthopedic opinion. The specialist found no objective residuals of…
V.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Miami, FL
V.J. (ECAB 13-1460): Claimed workplace shoulder injury not established
V.J., a postal mail carrier, said that her supervisor pushed her against a mail container, injuring her left shoulder and arm. Several coworkers who witnessed the workplace exchange told investigators that the supervisor did not make physical contact with her. The Board also found material…
D.Y. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Materiel Command, Kansas City, MO
D.Y. (ECAB 13-1120): Cervical condition claim returned for review of submitted evidence
D.Y. had accepted left shoulder injuries after tripping over a paint can at work. She sought to add a cervical spine condition to the claim and authorize related surgery. After an OWCP hearing, she submitted additional treatment, surgery and diagnostic records. OWCP’s decision said that no medical…
G.R. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Coleman, FL
G.R. (ECAB 13-1889): Injury claim denied without physician evidence of causation
G.R., a prison officer, tripped while exiting a government van and reported neck, shoulder and upper back symptoms. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred. A nurse practitioner diagnosed cervical strain and linked it to the fall, but the Board held that her report was not physician evidence under…
A.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Oakland, CA
A.C. (ECAB 13-1810): New arm impairment claim required a merits decision
A.C., a postal clerk, had prior schedule awards for impairment of both arms. She submitted later medical evidence seeking an additional right arm award. OWCP treated her filing as an untimely request to reconsider the earlier award. The Board found that she was claiming additional impairment based…
C.F. and Department of the Navy, Naval Supply Center, Bremerton, WA
C.F. (ECAB 13-1807): Hearing loss claim barred by filing deadline
C.F., a former Navy forklift operator, said he became aware of work related hearing loss in 1995 and was last exposed to workplace noise when he retired in September 1999. He filed a claim in December 2012. The Board found that the three year filing period ran from his last exposure and had…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Omaha, NE
M.M. (ECAB 13-1776): Back injury claim lacked qualified medical evidence
M.M., a postal clerk, reported back and hip pain after repeatedly lifting and stacking bundled mail at work. Coworkers supported her account of the work activity. Her medical submissions came from a chiropractor who described spinal misalignment and muscle symptoms but did not diagnose a spinal…
S.J. and Department of Energy, Bonneville Power Administration, Portland, OR
S.J. (ECAB 13-1753): Termination of back injury benefits affirmed
S.J. had an accepted aggravation of a herniated lumbar disc related to prolonged sitting at work. Her treating physician said the condition continued to disable her, while OWCP’s examining physician found that the aggravation had ended. An impartial orthopedic specialist concluded that her ongoing…
J.M. and Department of the Air Force, Kessler Air Force Base, MS
J.M. (ECAB 13-1668): Lumbar condition not linked to accepted running injury
J.M., an Air Force human resources specialist, developed right leg compartment syndrome while running during required physical training. OWCP accepted that condition. He later sought to add lumbar radiculitis or disc disease to the claim. His physician referred generally to repetitive running and…
K.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Aurora, IL
K.A. (ECAB 13-1652): Actual wages established no loss of earning capacity
K.A., a postal mail processing clerk, returned to a full time modified position after an accepted shoulder and neck injury. Her earnings in that job equaled or exceeded her pay at the time of injury. She argued that the job was specially created for her and that her facility might close later. The…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
J.M. (ECAB 13-1564): Compensation termination reversed over conflicting medical opinions
J.M., a postal mail processor, had accepted wrist, knee and shoulder conditions and received compensation. OWCP ended her benefits after its examining physician found the conditions resolved. Her treating physician reported continuing shoulder impingement and knee findings and disagreed that she…
T.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cincinnati, OH
T.S. (ECAB 13-1539): Duplicate hearing award overpayment upheld
T.S., a postal tractor trailer operator, had received a schedule award for 33 percent hearing loss and later qualified for an additional 17 percent. OWCP mistakenly paid the later award as though the entire 50 percent impairment were new, creating a $46,888.88 overpayment. The Board agreed that…
S.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Ann Arbor, MI
S.C. (ECAB 13-1523): Medicine bag incident did not establish a compensable injury
S.C., a Veterans Affairs pharmacist, claimed head, neck and shoulder injuries after her supervisor tossed a bag of medication at work. She alleged that the supervisor intentionally hit her head and verbally abused her. The Board found that the bag accidentally struck her left shoulder and that the…
W.H. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA
W.H. (ECAB 13-1470): Hearing loss at retirement did not qualify for a schedule award
W.H., a retired Navy shipyard electrician, sought a schedule award for hearing loss after years of workplace noise exposure. OWCP accepted bilateral hearing loss and authorized hearing aids, but denied a schedule award. The Board found that his audiogram near retirement in 1998 showed no ratable…
D.W. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Rosemont, IL
D.W. (ECAB 13-1387): Schedule award and reconsideration denials upheld
D.W., a customs and border protection officer, had an accepted claim for aggravation of cervical spondylosis and bilateral ulnar neuropathy after firearms qualification at work. He sought a schedule award for permanent impairment of his arms. His treating physician said he had reached maximum…
C.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Providence, RI
C.P. (ECAB 13-1341): Social Security offset overpayment and recovery affirmed
C.P., a postal custodian, received wage loss compensation after a work injury while also receiving Social Security retirement benefits attributable in part to federal service. OWCP had not applied the required offset and found that C.P. received $19,225.52 too much from December 2010 to October…
Secretary of Labor, MSHA v. Liggett Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Liggett Mining, LLC (FMSHRC KENT 2012-1214): Roof-control citation affirmed after major fall
Liggett Mining experienced a roof fall approximately 25 feet by 25 feet and eight feet thick at an intersection in its underground Liggett No. 3 mine. Judge William B. Moran found that extensive draw rock and deep roof cracks had warned the operator of an adverse condition before the fall. Although…
J.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Juan, PR
J.G. (ECAB 13-1199): Emotional condition claim denied for lack of a substantiated work factor
J.G., a postal mail handler, said a coworker yelled at and intimidated him and claimed an emotional condition related to those encounters. The Postal Service investigated his complaint and reassigned the coworker as a preventive measure. The Board found that the record did not sufficiently…
A.S. and Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Los Angeles, CA
A.S. (ECAB 13-1793): Untimely reconsideration denial affirmed
A.S., a temporary Census Bureau recruiting assistant, sought wage loss compensation for a period after an accepted back and neck injury. OWCP denied that compensation and later refused to reconsider its decision. The Board found that OWCP received her reconsideration request more than a year after…
M.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Albuquerque, NM
M.A. (ECAB 13-1783): Reconsideration request timely after Sunday deadline
M.A. asked OWCP to reconsider its denial of a claimed workplace injury. OWCP received his request on February 11, 2013 and treated it as late because the earlier decision was dated February 10, 2012. The Board found the request timely: the one year anniversary fell on a Sunday, so the deadline…
K.W. and Corporation for National & Community Service, AmeriCorps VISTA Enrollees, Habitat for Humanity, Spokane, WA
K.W. (ECAB 13-1762): Back and shoulder injury claim lacked medical support
K.W., an AmeriCorps VISTA resource development specialist, reported back and shoulder injuries after moving tables and chairs at work. OWCP accepted that the incident happened but denied her claim for lack of sufficient medical evidence of a resulting injury. The Board found that her physician…
F.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Edmonds, WA
F.G. (ECAB 13-1676): Termination of anxiety injury benefits affirmed
F.G., a postal bulk mail clerk, had received benefits for an accepted work-related anxiety disorder. OWCP ended his compensation and medical treatment authorization after a second-opinion psychiatrist found no remaining effects of that accepted condition. The Board found the psychiatrist’s report…
K.F. and Department of Defense, Education Activity, Alexandria, VA
K.F. (ECAB 13-1662): Physician-signed report required merit review
K.F., a Defense Department custodial worker, claimed back and right leg injuries after lifting a trash can at work. OWCP denied the claim for insufficient medical evidence and later refused to reopen it, calling his reconsideration evidence repetitive. The Board found that a report first submitted…
M.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Clementon, NJ
M.C. (ECAB 13-1605): Left foot injury denial affirmed for lack of medical link
M.C., a postal letter carrier, reported a left foot injury after slipping in sand on her delivery route. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the claim for lack of a medical explanation linking it to her condition. The Board found that her physician diagnosed plantar fasciitis yet…
R.W. and Department of the Army, Installation Management Command, Fort Stewart, GA
R.W. (ECAB 13-1573): Right hand claim and reopening refusal affirmed
R.W., an Army logistics specialist, claimed that typing, tool use, and other work duties aggravated a right ring finger condition. OWCP denied the claim because the medical reports did not adequately explain how those duties caused or worsened his condition. The Board agreed that the physicians did…
S.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Lenox Hill Station, New York, NY
S.R. (ECAB 13-1566): Recurrence denial reversed for failing to follow prior order
OWCP had previously accepted S.R.’s recurrence claim and later attempted to withdraw that acceptance. In an earlier appeal, the Board directed OWCP to explain the rescission properly so she could address its grounds. OWCP instead obtained a second medical opinion and again denied recurrence without…
J.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Aurora, IL
J.P. (ECAB 13-1543): Refusal to reopen additional arm award claim affirmed
J.P., a postal mail handler, had earlier received schedule awards for 20 percent impairment of each arm. OWCP denied an additional award and later refused to reopen that decision. J.P.’s reconsideration request focused on a claimed right trigger finger condition, with reports from her surgeon…
T.M. and Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Logistics Base, Albany, GA
T.M. (ECAB 13-1310): Timely chemical exposure claim denied as a duplicate
T.M., a Marine Corps logistics mechanic, filed a 2012 occupational disease claim alleging that exposure to a workplace chemical aggravated his heart condition. OWCP denied it as late and as a duplicate of a claim he had filed in 2002. The Board found the claim timely because his supervisor had…
J.M. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis, MO
J.M. (ECAB 13-0581): Modified job supported no wage loss finding
J.M., a temporary lock and dam operator with an accepted hip condition, returned to a temporary modified position after surgery. OWCP found that his earnings in that job equaled or exceeded the current pay of his job when injured, leaving no loss of wage-earning capacity. J.M. argued that the…
C.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cedar Rapids, IA
C.M. (ECAB 13-0579): New impairment report required merit review
C.M., a postal letter carrier with accepted right foot and ankle conditions, received a schedule award for right leg impairment. He asked OWCP to reconsider the award and submitted a physician’s later report stating an 18 percent total leg impairment. OWCP refused to reopen the claim, treating the…
J.Y. and Department of the Air Force, Travis Air Force Base, CA
J.Y. (ECAB 13-0471): OWCP ordered to explain reconsideration ruling
J.Y., a former Air Force aircraft mechanic, sought a schedule award after OWCP accepted a temporary work-related aggravation of psoriasis. OWCP had denied the award and later gave several different responses to his reconsideration requests. Its December 18, 2012 response pointed him to appeal…
Secretary of Labor, MSHA on behalf of Clinton Ray Ward v. Argus Energy WV, LLC
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Clinton Ray Ward v. Argus Energy WV, LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2013-597-D): Discrimination complaint denied
The Secretary alleged that Argus Energy fired chief electrician Clinton Ray Ward because he raised staffing and water-related safety concerns at Deep Mine No. 8. Judge William S. Steele found that the evidence did not credibly establish Ward's claimed safety reports or show that management knew of…
R.H. and Department of the Navy, Navy Region Southeast, Jacksonville, FL
R.H. (ECAB 13-1899): Hernia claim denied for lack of a medical link to work
R.H., a Navy plastic fabricator, attributed a right inguinal hernia to operating a floor stripper at work over several days. OWCP denied the claim for insufficient medical evidence connecting the condition to those duties. The Board found that his surgeon identified a preexisting hernia and checked…
J.K. and Department of the Air Force, Randolph Air Force Base, TX
J.K. (ECAB 13-1725): Additional neck and shoulder conditions not established
J.K., an Air Force boiler plant mechanic, reported neck and shoulder pain after a coworker grabbed his elbows at work. OWCP accepted a cervical strain and later added left shoulder sprains, but denied his request to add other diagnosed conditions. The Board found that one physician did not explain…
H.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Alexandria Louisiana Hospital, Alexandria, LA
H.B. (ECAB 13-1704): Benefit termination and late hearing denial affirmed
H.B., a VA nurse with accepted neck and nerve conditions after pushing a medication cart at work, received compensation benefits. OWCP ended those benefits after a second-opinion surgeon found no remaining effects of the accepted injury. The Board found the opinion reasoned and supported by the…
C.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Grand Junction, CO
C.S. (ECAB 13-1674): Emotional condition claim denial affirmed
C.S., a postal carrier technician, claimed that pressure to complete a route within eight hours caused panic attacks. OWCP asked him for a detailed statement identifying the work events he believed caused his condition. He submitted a medical report but did not provide the requested account. The…
J.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, North Augusta, SC
J.G. (ECAB 13-1671): Injury claim denial affirmed for lack of medical explanation
J.G., a postal sales and distribution associate, reported neck and right arm pain after lifting a customer’s package from a scale. OWCP accepted that the August 24, 2012 incident occurred but denied her claim because the medical evidence did not show that it caused an injury. Her orthopedic surgeon…
G.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Santa Ana, CA
G.S. (ECAB 13-1649): Leg impairment award returned for a new assessment
G.S., a postal letter carrier, had accepted lower back conditions and received a schedule award for one percent impairment of his right leg, with none for his left leg. He sought a larger award. His physician rated impairment of the spine, which is not itself eligible for a schedule award under…
K.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cherry Hill, NJ
K.C. (ECAB 13-1453): Denial of new back injury claim affirmed
K.C., a postal mail handler with an earlier accepted back claim, reported back and leg pain while working in a rewrap assignment and taping a box. OWCP treated her filing as a claim for a new traumatic injury and denied it. The Board accepted that the February 4, 2011 work activity occurred, but…
E.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New York, NY
E.W. (ECAB 13-1277): Right leg impairment dispute returned for impartial examination
E.W., a postal clerk, sought a schedule award for right leg impairment after an accepted back injury. His physician rated the impairment at 21 percent, while a physician selected by OWCP found none. OWCP had treated that physician as an impartial referee and denied the claim based on his opinion…
R.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Nashville, TN
R.P. (ECAB 13-0986): Wage-loss termination and overpayment reversed
R.P., a postal letter carrier, received wage-loss benefits after surgeries for accepted right wrist and carpal tunnel conditions. OWCP ended those benefits effective July 1, 2012 based on her surgeon’s opinion that she could return to full duty, then found that later payments created a $10,994.69…
G.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Wichita, KS
G.S. (ECAB 13-0495): Refusal to reopen recurrence and consequential injury claim affirmed
G.S., a VA biological technician with an accepted work-related infection, sought recognition of a later pain condition and a recurrence of disability. OWCP denied those claims and then refused to reopen them on reconsideration. The Board found that several reports G.S. submitted had already been…
Secretary of Labor, MSHA v. Wolf Run Mining Company
Secretary of Labor v. Wolf Run Mining Company (FMSHRC WEVA 2007-600, WEVA 2008-247): High negligence and unwarrantable failure restored for delayed Sago notifications
An explosion at Wolf Run's Sago Mine killed 12 miners and left one survivor after management delayed contacting MSHA and mine rescue. A Commission majority held that the duty to report began at 6:36 a.m., when an underground foreman told surface management that an explosion had occurred and…
The Doe Run Company v. Secretary of Labor, MSHA
The Doe Run Company v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC CENT 2013-334-RM, CENT 2013-369-RM): Hoist-chair citations vacated
MSHA cited Doe Run for not providing chairs or other blocking devices beneath hoist conveyances at its Buick and Sweetwater lead-zinc mines. Judge David P. Simonton held that the standard requires blocking only when wire-rope stretching or contraction could create a hazard. He found that the cited…
Emile Cline v. Huntington Ingalls, Incorporated (Avondale Operations)
Cline v. Huntington Ingalls (BRB 13-0260): lung injury award returned for causation findings
Emile Cline developed a serious respiratory condition while working as a shipfitter for Huntington Ingalls. An administrative law judge awarded benefits after finding that Cline's exposure to welding fumes could cause the condition and that the employer had not rebutted the presumption connecting…
R.D. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Beckley, WV
R.D. (ECAB 13-1854): Unexplained workplace fall sent back for injury review
R.D., a Veterans Affairs maintenance mechanic leader, reported falling in a stairwell at work and injuring several parts of his body. OWCP denied his claim after treating the fall as caused by a personal medical condition because he had a history of dizziness. The Board found no medical evidence…
J.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, San Antonio, TX
J.R. (ECAB 13-1845): Hearing loss award affirmed with rating corrected
J.R., a customs and border protection officer, developed accepted hearing loss after workplace noise exposure. OWCP’s physician calculated a 7.5 percent binaural impairment, including tinnitus, and the award decision stated that figure. The Board held that the final percentage should have been…
T.U. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Trenton, NJ
T.U. (ECAB 13-1745): Right foot injury claim denial affirmed
T.U., a postal custodian, reported right foot pain and swelling after walking his assigned route at work. OWCP accepted that he walked the route on July 9, 2012, but denied his claim for a new traumatic injury. His podiatrist attributed the symptoms to walking and also referred to an earlier…
W.W. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Charleston, SC
W.W. (ECAB 13-1622): Denial of 2005 baggage injury claim affirmed
W.W., an airport passenger screener, reported back and right side pain after lifting a heavy bag at work in May 2005. OWCP accepted that the lifting event occurred, but the claim remained dormant until 2012. The medical records mostly concerned a separate 2007 work injury, and she had not sought…
J.E. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, Brownsville, TX
J.E. (ECAB 13-1603): Eight percent hearing loss award affirmed
J.E., a customs and border protection technician, received a schedule award for accepted workplace noise-related hearing loss. He sought an award for more than eight percent binaural impairment. The Board found that OWCP’s medical adviser properly applied the hearing loss formula to the…
D.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
D.R. (ECAB 13-1496): Postal injury claim denied for lack of medical causation
D.R., a Brooklyn mail carrier, reported shoulder, back, hip, thigh, and knee pain after carrying mail and climbing stairs on her route. OWCP accepted that the April 12, 2013 work incident occurred but denied the claim because the medical evidence did not link it to a diagnosed injury. The Board…
L.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Baton Rouge, LA
L.P. (ECAB 13-1266): Total disability claim denied after medical review
L.P., a former Baton Rouge postal carrier, sought wage loss compensation for total disability after stopping work in 2000. OWCP had accepted a right knee aggravation and right shoulder tendinitis. Following an earlier Board remand, an orthopedic surgeon found residual knee problems but concluded…
R.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Linthicum Incoming Mail Facility, Linthicum, MD
R.C. (ECAB 13-1075): Emotional condition claim denied for lack of a compensable work factor
R.C., a postal supervisor, attributed chest pain, breathing trouble, and stress to a January 2012 exchange with a plant manager over mail processing. He alleged that the manager shouted at and threatened him; the manager denied doing so. The Board found no witness who observed the exchange or…
Imperial Aluminum
Furnace-explosion citation vacated
Imperial Aluminum was installing a new rotary furnace when an outside contractor troubleshooting its gas-flow controls allowed natural gas to accumulate and then opened the furnace door while the pilot remained lit. The resulting explosion damaged ductwork and released a fireball, but no employees…
D.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Carrier Annex, Inglewood, CA
D.J. (ECAB 13-2126): Late reconsideration request failed clear error test
D.J., a postal employee with accepted shoulder and neck conditions, sought wage loss compensation after May 5, 2009. OWCP denied that claim, and her request to reconsider its last merits decision arrived more than one year after the decision. The Board found that even receipt one day earlier, as…
J.M. and Department of Health & Human Services, Federal & Drug Administration, Bothell, WA
J.M. (ECAB 13-1747): Thoracic outlet claim denied for lack of medical causation
J.M., an HHS consumer safety officer, attributed thoracic outlet symptoms to her work space and lack of a suitable chair. She sought compensation for work hours lost because of the condition. Her physician diagnosed neck and arm pain and suspected thoracic outlet syndrome, then recommended…
C.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New York, NY
C.M. (ECAB 13-1733): Suitable work refusal ends wage loss and schedule award compensation
C.M., a postal carrier with accepted lumbar injuries, declined a four hour modified clerk position offered after a medical evaluation. OWCP found the position matched the referral surgeon’s restrictions and ended his wage loss and schedule award compensation. The Board agreed that the job was…
M.D. and Department of the Army, U.S. Medical Command, Fort Gordon, GA
M.D. (ECAB 13-1629): Late reconsideration request did not show clear error
M.D., an Army dental purchase care coordinator, attributed cardiomyopathy to a required flu vaccination. OWCP denied the injury claim, then received her reconsideration request more than a year after its last merits decision. The Board found the request late. Her doctor’s new statement again…
B.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cincinnati, OH
B.H. (ECAB 13-1611): Missing related claim files require a new OWCP decision
B.H., a postal employee, claimed that modified work aggravated earlier neck, back, and shoulder conditions. An OWCP hearing representative had instructed the agency to combine several related claim files before obtaining a medical opinion. The Board lacked those files and two medical reports on…
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.