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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C.W. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Philadelphia, PA
C.W. (ECAB 13-1537): Suitable work termination reversed
C.W., an IRS tax examination assistant, received compensation for accepted wrist and forearm conditions. The IRS offered a customer service job. OWCP later ended her compensation after she worked two days and did not return. The Board found that OWCP’s referral doctor had assessed restrictions…
J.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Trenton, NJ
J.S. (ECAB 13-1524): Compensation termination reversed over unresolved medical conflict
J.S., a postal letter carrier, had several accepted back and neck conditions from work injuries. OWCP ended his medical and wage loss benefits after its referral doctor concluded that he could work without restrictions. Treating physicians continued to identify residual conditions and work…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, North Reading, MA
M.M. (ECAB 13-1360): Six percent left arm award affirmed
M.M., a postal mail processor with an accepted shoulder sprain, sought a larger schedule award. Her treating surgeon rated her left arm impairment at 25 percent, while OWCP’s medical adviser calculated six percent from shoulder tendinitis and long thoracic nerve palsy. The Board found that the…
N.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Delivery Center, Southeastern, PA
N.D. (ECAB 13-1314): Conflicting arm ratings require impartial examination
N.D., a postal mail handler with accepted left shoulder tendinitis, received a schedule award for one percent arm impairment. Her physician calculated four percent, including a rating for ulnar nerve entrapment. OWCP’s medical adviser used a different shoulder impairment category and excluded the…
L.J. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Imperial, CA
L.J. (ECAB 13-1246): Leg award denial and late hearing refusal affirmed
L.J., a border patrol agent, sought a schedule award after accepted thoracic vertebra fractures from a work vehicle accident. His doctor rated whole person impairment from spinal injuries, but OWCP’s medical adviser found no ratable impairment of either leg. The Board held that FECA provides no…
T.O. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA
T.O. (ECAB 13-1213): Recurrence claim returned for wage capacity review
T.O., a VA medical support assistant with an accepted injury and post traumatic stress disorder, stopped working in December 2011 and sought total disability compensation. OWCP denied her claim as a recurrence of disability. The Board found that an earlier formal wage earning capacity decision…
P.J. and Department of Commerce, U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, Alexandria, VA
P.J. (ECAB 13-1191): Babysitting wages did not support capacity reduction
P.J., a full time legal instrument examiner at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office with accepted neck, shoulder, and wrist conditions, received disability compensation. OWCP reduced it based on wages she reported for occasionally watching her grandchildren. The Board found that the babysitting was…
American Federation of Government Employees, Council of Prison Locals C-33, Local 720 (Union) and United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Complex, Terre Haute, Indiana (Agency)
Terre Haute federal prison and AFGE Local 720 (FLRA 0-AR-4884): Food service staffing award upheld
A federal prison sometimes left one of two food service supervisory posts unstaffed for part of a shift. The union claimed this violated contract provisions on workplace hazards and overtime staffing. An arbitrator found that occasional reassignment did not increase the inherent risk to supervisors…
United Power Trades Organization (Union) and United States Department of the Army, United States Army Corps of Engineers, Northwestern Division (Agency)
United Power Trades Organization and Army Corps (FLRA 0-AR-4844): Wage freeze applied to Corps employees
A union representing Army Corps of Engineers operations and maintenance employees sought wage increases comparable to those of certain Energy and Interior Department employees. An arbitrator found that the 2011 federal pay freeze prevented the adjustments. The Authority denied the union's…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, D.C. (Agency) and Delaware and Southern New Jersey Healthcare System, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Wilmington, Delaware (Activity/Wilmington) and Veterans Readjustment Counseling Service, Region 1B, Towson, Maryland (Activity/VRCS) and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO (Union/Petitioner)
VA vet-center employees and AFGE (FLRA WA-RP-12-0050): Unit clarification petition denied
Seven VA vet-center employees were mistakenly placed on a voter eligibility list for an election among employees of the Wilmington VA medical center. After the election, the VA corrected its records to show that the vet-center employees were outside the certified unit, and AFGE sought to include…
Harrell's LLC
In re Harrell's LLC (EAB FIFRA Appeal No. 13-05C): consent agreement ratified in final order
Harrell's LLC was the respondent in an EPA proceeding under docket number FIFRA-HQ-2014-0002. The Environmental Appeals Board ratified the attached Consent Agreement under 40 C.F.R. § 22.18(b)-(c). The Board ordered Harrell's LLC to comply with all terms of the Consent Agreement, effective…
D.P. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Philadelphia, PA
D.P. (ECAB 13-1849): Medical records did not reopen disputed incident claim
D.P., an IRS contact representative, claimed a left wrist injury from repetitive hand motions at work. OWCP denied the claim because the alleged work incident was not established. In seeking reconsideration, D.P. submitted new medical records but no new factual evidence about the disputed incident…
J.B. and Department of the Army, Tooele Army Depot, Tooele, UT
J.B. (ECAB 13-1830): Old records did not reopen benefit termination
J.B., a former Army depot worker, had received compensation for an accepted back sprain before OWCP ended benefits in December 2012. He asked OWCP to reconsider and submitted medical records from 1994 and 1995. The Board found that those records did not address whether he still had disability or…
S.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cincinnati, OH
S.L. (ECAB 13-1771): Shoulder injury claim lacked medical causation
S.L., a postal employee, slipped while descending a ladder at work and grabbed a gutter to regain his footing. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied his left shoulder injury claim. The Board found that the medical reports did not explain how the incident caused or aggravated his…
K.S. and Social Security Administration, Office of Management & Budget, East Brunswick, NJ
K.S. (ECAB 13-1769): Copier dispute did not establish a work injury
K.S., a Social Security teleservice representative, claimed an emotional condition after a dispute with a coworker about a noisy copier near her cubicle. She described the coworker’s response as bullying and harassment. The Board found that the record did not establish harassment or another…
C.T. and Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Fort Belvoir, VA
C.T. (ECAB 13-1651): Wrist diagnoses lacked a work causation opinion
C.T., a Defense Logistics Agency analyst, attributed bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and tendinitis to years of computer work. OWCP accepted her description of the work duties but denied the occupational disease claim. The Board found that the medical reports established wrist diagnoses without a…
W.C. and General Services Administration, Kansas City, MO
W.C. (ECAB 13-1552): Prior arm awards exceeded the new impairment rating
W.C., a former General Services Administration worker, sought an additional schedule award for his left upper extremity. He had already received awards totaling 62 percent impairment. The second opinion physician measured 33 and 34 percent impairment using different approaches. The Board found no…
R.P. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Alexandria, VA
R.P. (ECAB 13-1439): Timely reconsideration request sent back to OWCP
R.P., a Federal Emergency Management Agency worker, requested reconsideration of an OWCP decision affecting her compensation benefits. OWCP refused to reopen her case, treating her request as untimely and applying the clear evidence of error standard. The Board found that the request was timely…
K.M. and Department of the Army, Army National Guard, Fort Stewart, GA
K.M. (ECAB 13-1406): Disability and reconsideration denials affirmed
K.M., an Army National Guard painter, sought wage loss compensation for a period after an accepted workplace harassment incident. The Board found that her medical evidence did not establish employment-related disability from October 12, 2010 to June 5, 2011. It also found that her reconsideration…
J.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jackson, MS
J.G. (ECAB 13-1198): Higher arm impairment award denied
J.G., a postal letter carrier, received a schedule award for 10 percent impairment of his left arm after an accepted shoulder injury. He later sought an increased award based on a physician’s 15 percent rating. The Board found that the physician had not adequately explained how he applied the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1858 (Union) and United States Department of the Army, U.S. Army Garrison-Redstone Agency, Huntsville, Alabama (Agency)
AFGE Local 1858 and Army Garrison Redstone (FLRA 0-AR-4919): Arbitration exceptions dismissed
After an Army garrison suspended an employee, the union filed a grievance. An arbitrator found the grievance procedurally defective because the union missed the contract deadline to contact the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service for an arbitrator list. The union challenged that ruling…
Social Security Administration, Region V (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3448 (Union)
Social Security Administration Region V and AFGE Local 3448 (FLRA 0-AR-4900): Appraisal exceptions dismissed
An arbitrator found that the Social Security Administration had given an employee an incorrect performance rating and directed a higher rating and a retroactive quality step increase remedy. The agency challenged only the step increase portion of the award. The Authority dismissed all of the…
United States Department of Defense, Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools (Agency) and Federal Education Association, Stateside Region (Union)
Defense schools and Federal Education Association (FLRA 0-AR-4893): Teacher pay award upheld
A Defense Department teacher moved from an overseas school to a domestic school in June 1999 while continuing to teach the same online classes. Years later, the domestic school reduced her pay and recouped what it considered an overpayment. An arbitrator found that she had been reassigned before…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2145 (Union) and United States Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Richmond, Virginia (Agency)
Richmond VA Medical Center and AFGE Local 2145 (FLRA 0-AR-4891): Temporary promotion claim denied
Medical technicians at the Richmond VA sought temporary promotions and higher pay for work they said carried greater responsibility. An arbitrator found that a proposed higher grade position had never been funded or established, so the employees had not been detailed to such a position under the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3723 (Union) and United States Department of the Navy, Naval Weapons Station, Seal Beach, California (Agency)
Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station and AFGE Local 3723 (FLRA 0-AR-4885): Past overtime claim denied
Civilian police officers at the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station sought overtime pay for putting on protective gear and preparing weapons before shifts and for related work afterward. An arbitrator found that those tasks qualified as compensable work and directed future payment, but denied past…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 103 (Union) and United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Port of Long Beach, Long Beach, California (Agency)
NTEU Chapter 103 and CBP Long Beach (FLRA 0-AR-4874): Overtime give-away practice ended
Customs and Border Protection ended a practice that had allowed Long Beach officers to transfer assigned overtime to another qualified officer. The union grieved the change, but an arbitrator found that the new labor agreement set the only authorized overtime assignment procedures and superseded…
E. I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company
In re E. I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company (EAB MM Appeal No. 13-04C): settlement amendment ratified
E. I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company was the respondent in a multimedia EPA proceeding involving its Washington Works Facility in Washington, West Virginia. The Environmental Appeals Board granted the joint motion to amend Appendix A of the Consent Agreement under 40 C.F.R. §§ 22.4(a) and 22.16…
United States Department of the Air Force, Air Force Materiel Command (Agency) and International Association of Firefighters (Union)
Air Force Materiel Command and International Association of Firefighters (FLRA CH-RP-12-0012): Eight firefighters excluded from unit
The International Association of Firefighters sought to include eight Air Force firefighters in its bargaining unit. A regional director excluded five Wright-Patterson station chiefs as supervisors and a Wright-Patterson training chief plus two Tinker station chiefs as confidential employees. The…
United States Department of the Navy, Naval Support Activity, Crane, Indiana (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1415, AFL-CIO (Charging Party)
Naval Support Activity Crane and AFGE Local 1415 (FLRA CH-CA-10-0414): Firefighter overtime complaint dismissed
The FLRA General Counsel alleged that Naval Support Activity Crane changed its method for assigning firefighter overtime without giving the union a chance to bargain. Two firefighters promoted to paramedic trainee positions remained in the same overtime pool and kept performing the same duties. The…
T.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pluckemin, NJ
T.T. (ECAB 13-1764): Late reconsideration request did not reopen claim
T.T., a postal employee, requested reconsideration of a denied emotional condition claim. OWCP received her request after the one-year deadline, even though she and her representative dated it the day before that deadline. The Board found that the additional medical report did not show clear error…
L.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Charlotte, NC
L.M. (ECAB 13-1751): Carrier’s work duties lacked medical causation proof
L.M., a postal city carrier, claimed that his work duties caused physical and mental conditions. OWCP accepted that he performed the duties described in his claim. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish a causal link between those duties and an injury. It affirmed OWCP’s June…
N.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Oakland Processing & Distribution Center, Oakland, CA
N.V. (ECAB 13-1533): Information clerk job supported reduced benefits
N.V., a postal worker with accepted arm and shoulder conditions, challenged OWCP’s reduction of her compensation based on an information clerk job. Her physician said she could work with restrictions, and a vocational counselor identified the job as available in her area. The Board found that the…
M.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Honolulu, HI
M.O. (ECAB 13-1488): Door handle incident lacked injury causation proof
M.O., a postal custodian, said that pulling a door handle at work injured his neck and right shoulder. OWCP accepted that the incident happened. The Board found that the medical reports did not explain how the incident caused or aggravated a condition, and offered limited objective findings. It…
J.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bellmawr, NJ
J.H. (ECAB 13-1475): Conflicting leg ratings required an impartial specialist
J.H., a postal carrier, received a schedule award for seven percent right leg impairment after an accepted ankle injury. His attending physician rated the impairment at 15 percent, while OWCP’s medical adviser rated it at seven percent. The Board found a genuine conflict over how the impairment…
G.B. and Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers, Rogue River Basin Project, Trail, OR
G.B. (ECAB 13-1474): Missing investigative DVD required remand
G.B., a Corps of Engineers worker, appealed OWCP’s termination of his compensation benefits. The Board found that the record sent to it lacked an investigative DVD reviewed by a second opinion physician and cited in the termination process. Without that evidence, the Board could not decide the…
P.R. and Department of the Air Force, Dobbins Air Base Reserve Fire Department, Marietta, GA
P.R. (ECAB 13-1334): Heat exposure lacked atrial fibrillation causation proof
P.R., an Air Force firefighter, said that sitting in a fire truck without air conditioning during hot weather aggravated his atrial fibrillation. OWCP accepted the September 24, 2012 workplace incident. The Board found that the medical evidence did not explain how the incident caused or aggravated…
L.T. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Coatesville, PA
L.T. (ECAB 13-1290): Unexplained impairment ratings sent back for review
L.T., a Veterans Health Administration nurse, received a schedule award for four percent right leg impairment after an accepted back injury. She sought a higher award based on an 11 percent rating from her physician. The Board found that her physician had not applied the standard OWCP used for…
United States Department of the Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, Marine Corps Base, Quantico (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1786 (Union)
Marine Corps Base Quantico and AFGE Local 1786 (FLRA 0-AR-4927): Holiday and Sunday pay award upheld
Five civilian police officers at Marine Corps Base Quantico worked regular ten-hour shifts but received at most eight hours of holiday or Sunday premium pay for those shifts. An arbitrator found that their recurring four-day schedule was a compressed work schedule under the parties' practice and…
United States Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, National Border Patrol Council, Local 2913 (Union)
Customs and Border Protection and AFGE Local 2913 (FLRA 0-AR-4875): Relocation payments set aside
A Border Patrol agent's relocation agreement promised more temporary housing reimbursement than the legal maximum, and the agency delayed forwarding his application to a home sale program. An arbitrator awarded the unpaid amount from the agreement plus expenses for the agent's former home during…
United States Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 286 (Union)
Executive Office for Immigration Review and AFGE Local 286 (FLRA 0-AR-4870): Interim arbitration challenge dismissed
Clerks at the New York Immigration Court grieved that they had temporarily performed higher grade legal assistant duties without higher pay. An arbitrator ruled that the grievance could proceed because it sought compensation for temporary duties, not reclassification of the clerks' positions. The…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 376 (Union) and United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service (Agency)
NFFE Local 376 and Forest Service (FLRA 0-AR-4843): Travel pay grievance denied
A Forest Service heavy equipment operator traveled to an alternate worksite during fire season and sought overtime pay for the travel plus mileage and per diem reimbursement. An arbitrator found that the trip was within the applicable 50-mile radius for travel overtime and was ordinary travel to…
Boart Longyear Company v. Secretary of Labor, MSHA
Boart Longyear Company v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC WEST 2012-422-M, et al.): Original fall-protection and training decision
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 order but upheld and…
Secretary of Labor, MSHA v. Austin Powder Company
Secretary of Labor v. Austin Powder Company (FMSHRC SE 2011-583-M): Blast-area citation affirmed after flyrock reached home
Flyrock from an Austin Powder stripping blast left the quarry, penetrated the roof of a nearby occupied home, and landed in a bedroom shortly after a resident left the room. Judge David F. Barbour held that the home was within the blast area and that Austin Powder failed to clear the resident to a…
K.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Diego, CA
K.T. (ECAB 13-1473): Higher arm impairment award denied
K.T., a postal carrier, received a schedule award for 12 percent impairment of her right arm after an accepted shoulder condition. She sought a higher award. The Board found that OWCP’s medical adviser properly applied the impairment guides to the attending physician’s examination findings and that…
Charles Lake v. L-3 Communications
Lake v. L-3 Communications (BRB 13-0107): permanent disability rate raised to current cap
Charles Lake was permanently and totally disabled after work-related injuries while serving as a law enforcement instructor in Iraq. An administrative law judge applied the fiscal year 2006 benefit cap to his first period of permanent total disability, even though that status began in December…
M.P. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Patrol, El Paso, TX
M.P. (ECAB 13-1790): Hearing loss claim lacked a noise exposure link
M.P., a Customs and Border Patrol officer, claimed left ear hearing loss from noise at work. OWCP accepted that he had workplace noise exposure. The Board credited a second opinion physician who attributed the hearing loss to another possible cause and explained why the evidence did not support…
A.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Huntington Beach, CA
A.W. (ECAB 13-1735): Benefit termination reversed after unsuitable notice process
A.W., a postal supervisor with accepted arm conditions, faced termination of wage loss benefits after declining a customer service supervisor position. She gave OWCP reasons for refusing the job during the response period. The Board found that OWCP finalized its suitability determination and…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, North Malta, NY
M.M. (ECAB 13-1613): Vehicle collision did not establish a medical injury
M.M., a postal employee, was in a vehicle struck from behind while working in December 2007. OWCP accepted the collision but denied his injury claim. The Board found that the medical reports did not adequately explain how the collision caused or aggravated a condition in light of his preexisting…
S.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Warner Robins, GA
S.A. (ECAB 13-1551): Foot condition lacked medical work causation proof
S.A., a postal clerk, claimed that her work duties caused a right foot and ankle condition. OWCP accepted the work factors she described. The Board found that the medical evidence did not adequately connect those duties to the claimed condition. It affirmed OWCP’s March 18, 2013 denial.
G.M. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Richmond, VA
G.M. (ECAB 13-1538): Continuation of pay and reopening denied
G.M., an Internal Revenue Service clerk, sustained an accepted right forearm wound at work. She sought continuation of pay for August 1 through 6, 2012. The Board found no medical evidence establishing disability from work during that period. It also upheld OWCP’s refusal to reopen her claim on…
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
D.C. (ECAB 13-1503): Decision mailed to wrong apartment sent back
D.C., a postal motor vehicle operator, appealed a refusal to reconsider his ankle injury claim. OWCP had mailed its original denial to apartment 14 although his correct apartment was 1H. The Board found that the original decision had not been properly issued because it was sent to the wrong…
B.H. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Richmond, VA
B.H. (ECAB 13-1486): Timely reconsideration request sent back
B.H., an Internal Revenue Service worker with an accepted carpal tunnel claim, requested reconsideration of a denied recurrence claim. OWCP treated the request as untimely and applied the stricter clear evidence of error standard. The Board found that the record showed an August 7, 2012 request…
M.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Outreach Clinic, Wilmington, OH
M.R. (ECAB 13-1131): Asthma claim lacked proof of alleged air exposure
M.R., a Veterans Affairs nurse, claimed that poor air quality at work aggravated her asthma. OWCP had accepted an earlier asthma exacerbation that had resolved. In this claim, the Board found that she had not established the workplace exposure she alleged, which the employer disputed. It affirmed…
B.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Danville, CA
B.E. (ECAB 14-0063): Shoulder claim lacked medical work causation
B.E., a postal carrier, said repetitive lifting, reaching and opening doors at work caused a left shoulder condition. OWCP accepted her description of those duties. The Board found that the medical reports did not explain how the specific work activities caused or aggravated her shoulder condition…
R.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
R.C. (ECAB 13-1679): Repeated impairment evidence did not reopen claim
R.C., a postal employee, sought reconsideration of a schedule award dispute. His attorney relied on medical evidence already considered and supplied a new report that gave no impairment rating. The Board found no qualifying legal argument or new relevant evidence for merit review. It affirmed…
S.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Remote Encoding Center, Kearny, NJ
S.C. (ECAB 13-1658): Current examination showed no ratable impairment
S.C., a postal data conversion worker, sought a schedule award for accepted wrist conditions. An earlier impairment opinion relied on an examination conducted years before the rating. The Board gave greater weight to a recent examination that found no permanent impairment under the applicable…
D.J. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Campo Station, Campo, CA
D.J. (ECAB 13-1637): Replacement mattress request denied
D.J., a border patrol agent with an accepted lumbar subluxation, asked OWCP to pay for a replacement orthopedic mattress. His physician said a mattress had helped him previously but did not explain why the requested mattress was medically necessary for the accepted condition. The Board found that…
E.O. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, China Lake, CA
E.O. (ECAB 13-1401): Accepted workplace incident lacked medical injury proof
E.O., a Navy computer scientist, claimed injuries after hitting his head while cleaning at work in April 2011. The Board accepted that the incident occurred. It found that the medical evidence did not establish that the incident caused the claimed conditions. It affirmed OWCP’s January 3, 2013…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Forest Park, IL
S.M. (ECAB 13-1383): Wrong reconsideration standard required remand
S.M., a postal employee, requested reconsideration of a claim that had not received a merits decision since 1999. OWCP reviewed his March 2013 request using the standard for a timely request. The Board found that the request was late and required a different standard. It set aside OWCP’s May 10…
B.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Danville, CA
B.E. (ECAB 13-1372): Intermittent disability lacked medical proof
B.E., a postal carrier with accepted wrist and elbow conditions, sought compensation for intermittent partial disability from January 22 through March 8, 2013. The Board found that her medical evidence did not sufficiently establish disability related to the accepted conditions during those…
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.