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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S.A. and Department of Defense, Department of the Army, Gordon Elementary School, Cameron, NC
S.A. (ECAB 13-1446): Abdominal injury claim denied
S.A., an Army school training instructor, reported that a toddler kicked her abdomen at work. OWCP accepted the incident but denied her injury claim because the record before it lacked medical evidence linking a diagnosed condition to the event. The Board affirmed the May 6, 2013 decision. It could…
R.S. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, San Francisco, CA
R.S. (ECAB 13-1348): Off-duty assault claim denied
R.S., a customs officer, was shot in his home driveway and sought FECA benefits. He argued that his public safety role and use of his car for work made the injury duty related. The Board found that the assault occurred away from the employer’s premises and was not shown to arise from his work…
M.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Oklahoma City, OK
M.M. (ECAB 13-1115): Schedule award denied
M.M., a VA worker, sought a schedule award for impairment related to accepted pelvis and back conditions. Her physician proposed leg impairment ratings, but an impartial examiner found no ratable impairment attributable to the accepted conditions. The Board gave weight to the impartial assessment…
L.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bakersfield, CA
L.A. (ECAB 13-1059): Related claim files must be combined
L.A., a postal worker, claimed an occupational neck and shoulder condition while a related injury claim remained in a separate OWCP file. OWCP denied the new claim without considering the medical evidence in the related file. The Board directed OWCP to combine the records, review the full evidence…
A.M. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Forces Command, Fort Campbell, KY
A.M. (ECAB 13-0964): Permanent impairment award denied
A.M., an Army maintenance worker, requested a schedule award after accepted back and hip injuries. The Board reviewed the medical conflict and the impartial examiner’s assessment. It found that the record did not establish permanent impairment of a scheduled member from the accepted conditions. It…
P.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Rochester, NY
P.H. (ECAB 13-0955): Recurrence of disability unproved
P.H., a postal clerk, sought compensation for renewed disability after an accepted neck, back, and trunk injury. She had returned to full duty before the claimed recurrence in December 2012. The Board found that the submitted medical reports did not adequately connect renewed work disability to the…
K.M. and Department of Labor, Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program, Denver, CO
K.M. (ECAB 13-0827): Workplace pest injury claim denied
K.M., a Labor Department claims examiner, reported bites from insects or other pests at work. The Board found the reported workplace exposure consistent with witness accounts, but the medical reports did not give a reasoned diagnosis and causal link to that exposure. It upheld the injury claim…
Secretary of Labor v. Lone Mountain Processing, Inc.
Repeatedly misplaced assessments did not justify reopening
After a D.C. Circuit remand, the Commission reconsidered Lone Mountain's requests to reopen three final penalty assessments totaling roughly $496,000. The operator had contested 11 underlying citations, but three times claimed that later penalty assessments were misplaced while moving between…
D.L. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Albany, NY
D.L. (ECAB 13-1653): Recurrence of disability unproved
D.L., a VA worker, sought compensation for renewed disability after an accepted back injury. She had returned to light duty and later reported worsening symptoms. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish that the accepted condition caused a recurrence of disability beginning…
C.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chippewa Falls, WI
C.C. (ECAB 13-1587): Injury denial lacked adequate reasons
C.C., a postal worker, claimed a shoulder injury and submitted chiropractic reports. OWCP denied the claim while describing the medical evidence as showing only pain, without discussing diagnoses in those reports. The Board found that the decision did not adequately explain the evidence or address…
M.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Conway, PA
M.D. (ECAB 13-1561): Knee impairment conflict requires referee
M.D., a postal carrier, sought a larger schedule award than the 25 percent left leg impairment already awarded. The medical opinions conflicted about instability and loss of motion in his injured knee. The Board held that an impartial medical specialist was needed to resolve that conflict. It set…
C.W. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Philadelphia, PA
C.W. (ECAB 13-1362): Work incident did not prove injury
C.W., an IRS worker, reported an incident at work and claimed right knee, neck, and back conditions. OWCP accepted that the event happened but denied the injury claim. The Board found that the medical reports did not adequately explain how the incident caused or aggravated her preexisting…
C.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, North Charleston, SC
C.C. (ECAB 13-1281): Schedule award claim not reopened
C.C., a postal worker, requested reconsideration of a one percent left leg schedule award. The Board considered only OWCP’s later refusal to reopen because the earlier merit decision was outside its review period. It found that the reconsideration submission did not meet a legal or evidentiary…
S.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tulsa, OK
S.S. (ECAB 13-1220): Left leg award calculation remanded
S.S., a postal worker, sought higher impairment ratings for both legs. The Board upheld OWCP’s determination that no additional right leg impairment was due. For the left leg, the medical adviser’s deductions for prior impairment lacked a clear explanation. The Board set aside that part of the…
L.L., also known as L.P., and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Houston, TX
L.L. (ECAB 13-1203): Suitable work refusal termination upheld
L.L., a postal worker, challenged OWCP’s termination of compensation for refusing suitable work. The Board gave weight to the impartial physician’s assessment of her ability to perform sedentary work. It found that OWCP had properly offered suitable work and followed the required procedure before…
M.D. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA
M.D. (ECAB 13-1202): Related Navy injury files need combined review
M.D. sought wage-loss compensation related to an accepted shoulder injury. OWCP denied the claim while related injury information remained in another case file. The Board found that OWCP needed to combine the records and then reconsider the claim using the complete evidence. It set aside the…
L.B. and Department of the Army, Health Services Command, Fort Gordon, GA
L.B. (ECAB 13-1158): Leg award and late reopening denial upheld
L.B., an Army worker, sought more than a six percent schedule award for her left leg and reconsideration of a separate recurrence denial. The Board found that the impairment evidence did not support a larger award. It also found her reconsideration request untimely and insufficient to show clear…
J.B. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Irvington, AL
J.B. (ECAB 13-1057): Hearing loss referee report needs clarification
J.B., an Army Corps boat operator, sought a schedule award for worsening accepted hearing loss. An impartial examiner gave inconsistent explanations about whether increased loss since 1999 was caused by work noise or aging. The Board held that OWCP needed a supplemental report from that examiner…
Tire Centers, LLC
Tire-rim trajectory citation vacated for lack of employer knowledge
A Tire Centers technician died when a large off-road tire and multi-piece rim exploded while he was working alone at the company's Alabama service center. The evidence showed that he was inside the rim-component trajectory zone, contrary to a clear company rule. The judge found that Tire Centers…
Delta Elevator Service Corp., d/b/a Delta Beckwith Elevator Co.
Electrical PPE citation vacated because construction standards applied
Delta Elevator Service was hired by a demolition project's general contractor to operate a building elevator so workers and materials could move between floors. OSHA cited Delta under a general-industry electrical PPE standard after mechanics performed diagnostic and operating work on the elevator…
Brody Mining, LLC v. Secretary of Labor, MSHA
Brody Mining, LLC v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC WEVA 2014-83-R, et al.): Temporary relief from pattern orders denied
Brody Mining sought temporary relief from a pattern-of-violations notice and four resulting withdrawal orders. Judge William S. Steele described Brody's challenges to the pattern rule, screening criteria, and use of nonfinal violations as complex and, in some respects, questions of first…
P.T. and U.S. Postal Service, DeMoss Station, Houston, TX
P.T. (ECAB 13-1851): Finger injury claim denied
P.T., a postal carrier, reported injuring her right little finger during a work incident. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the injury claim. The Board found no firm medical diagnosis of a finger condition and no reasoned opinion connecting an injury to the event. It affirmed…
T.H. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Richmond, VA
T.H. (ECAB 13-1699): Injury claim not reopened
T.H., an IRS worker, sought reconsideration after a claim involving a fall at work. OWCP declined to reopen the case. The Board found that her filing did not identify a legal error, present a new relevant legal argument, or supply pertinent new evidence. It affirmed OWCP’s June 11, 2013 nonmerit…
L.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cincinnati, OH
L.W. (ECAB 13-1565): Knee injury claim denied
L.W., a postal sales associate, claimed a right knee condition after an accepted workplace incident. OWCP denied the traumatic injury claim. The Board found that her medical evidence did not adequately explain how the event caused or aggravated the knee condition. It affirmed OWCP’s May 20, 2013…
J.D. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Jackson, MS
J.D. (ECAB 13-1546): Asthma claim not reopened
J.D., a VA worker, sought reconsideration after OWCP ended compensation and medical benefits for an accepted asthma aggravation. The Board reviewed two later refusals to reopen, not the earlier termination itself. It found that her submissions did not show a legal error, offer a new relevant…
R.G. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Medical Command, Fort Shafter, HI
R.G. (ECAB 13-1426): Left ear award upheld
R.G., an Army worker, sought a larger schedule award for hearing loss. The Board found that the audiogram supported four percent hearing loss in the left ear and no ratable loss in the right. That yielded 2.08 weeks of compensation. The Board clarified that the two-week award period did not mean…
A.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Miami Sunset Branch, Miami, FL
A.D. (ECAB 13-1339): Wage and medical benefits termination upheld
A.D., a postal worker, challenged termination of wage-loss and medical benefits for accepted neck and arm conditions. OWCP resolved conflicting medical opinions through an impartial examiner. The Board found that the impartial opinion supported the conclusion that the accepted conditions no longer…
E.R. and Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service, Raleigh, NC
E.R. (ECAB 13-1074): Injury benefits termination upheld
E.R., an Agriculture Department worker, challenged OWCP’s termination of benefits for accepted head, leg, neck, and back conditions. The Board found that OWCP’s medical evidence showed those work-related conditions had resolved without residuals. It affirmed termination effective February 13, 2013.
D.S. and U.S. Postal Office, Post Office, Paoli, PA
D.S. (ECAB 13-0578): Intermittent wage claim needs medical clarification
D.S., a postal clerk, sought intermittent wage-loss compensation for a period after accepted carpal tunnel conditions. OWCP denied the claim because the evidence did not show that her wage loss resulted from the accepted injury. The Board found that the physician had not adequately addressed…
L.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Nashville, TN
L.B. (ECAB 13-0552): Emotional condition claim needs employer response
L.B., a VA worker, attributed an emotional condition to workplace actions and alleged discrimination. OWCP denied the claim without obtaining an employer statement responding to her detailed allegations. The Board found that OWCP needed to develop that factual record before deciding which alleged…
Secretary of Labor v. SCH Terminal Company, Inc.
MSHA jurisdiction extended to barge-loading work
SCH Terminal blended coal to customer specifications at a land facility and loaded the finished blends onto barges at its Tennessee River dock. Its deckhands staged, moved, pumped, measured, and secured the barges so coal could be loaded, but SCH argued that the Mine Act did not reach that…
Secretary of Labor, MSHA v. Revelation Energy, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Revelation Energy, LLC (FMSHRC KENT 2011-71-R): Off-site flyrock event held a mine accident
A blast at Revelation Energy's surface mine sent a two-ton rock through a residential yard and into a creek near a road, without injuring anyone. The Commission held that the Mine Act's definition of accident is not limited to the specifically listed events because Congress used the word…
S.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Bulk Mail Center, Richmond, CA
S.T. (ECAB 13-1722): Knee benefits termination reversed
S.T., a postal clerk, challenged OWCP’s termination of compensation for accepted right knee conditions. The second opinion physician discussed a different, unaccepted knee condition without directly addressing the accepted bursitis and enthesopathy. The Board found that the report did not meet…
D.C. and Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC
D.C. (ECAB 13-1713): Occupational claim not reopened
D.C., a Homeland Security officer, sought reconsideration of an occupational disease claim. The Board considered only OWCP’s January 2013 refusal to reopen, because the earlier merit denial was outside its review period. It found that the new submission did not identify legal error, advance a new…
A.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Seattle, WA
A.H. (ECAB 13-1606): Shoulder injury claim denied
A.H., a VA nurse, reported a shoulder injury after a patient inadvertently struck him during care. OWCP accepted that the work event occurred but denied the injury claim. The Board found that the medical evidence did not adequately show that the event caused his right shoulder condition. It…
M.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Hudson Valley Health Care System, Castle Point, NY
M.C. (ECAB 13-1563): Emotional condition claim must reopen
M.C., a VA worker, sought reconsideration of an emotional condition claim and supplied a statement describing workplace stressors. The Board found that the statement contained new, relevant allegations that could constitute compensable work factors if established. OWCP should have reopened the…
D.M. and Department of the Army, Anniston Army Depot, Oxford, AL
D.M. (ECAB 13-1390): Hearing award upheld
D.M., an Army depot welder, sought a larger schedule award for work-related hearing loss. OWCP awarded compensation for 35 percent binaural loss. The Board found that the audiometric evidence and medical adviser’s calculation supported that rating and did not establish greater impairment. It…
W.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Miami, FL
W.M. (ECAB 13-1321): Wage and medical benefits termination upheld
W.M., a postal carrier, challenged OWCP’s termination of wage-loss and medical benefits for accepted work conditions. The Board found that OWCP met its burden to show the accepted conditions no longer caused disability or needed treatment. It also found no proof of renewed work-related disability…
C.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Charlotte, NC
C.P. (ECAB 13-1293): Carpal tunnel award requires rating review
C.P., a postal worker, sought a schedule award for accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. OWCP denied it because an earlier examination found no continuing need for treatment or work disability. The Board held that permanent impairment was a separate question and could exist without current…
R.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
R.D. (ECAB 13-0868): Knee conditions need specialist review
R.D., a postal worker, claimed bilateral knee conditions related to years of physical mail duties. His physician’s report did not fully establish causation, but the Board found it raised an uncontradicted inference that work contributed to the conditions. The Board directed OWCP to obtain a…
S.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Portland, OR
S.L. (ECAB 13-0172): Emotional condition claim denied
S.L., a postal worker, claimed an emotional condition from incidents and conditions at work. OWCP denied the claim after finding no compensable employment factor established. The Board reviewed the alleged events and found the record insufficient to establish an emotional injury in the performance…
Secretary of Labor v. Andalex Resources, Inc.
Five violations assessed at $167,000
MSHA cited three extensive coal-accumulation conditions along operating underground conveyor belts, unsupported roof-control props displaced by a coal burst, and damaged rollers turning in loose dry coal. Judge Richard W. Manning affirmed all five violations as S&S. He also upheld the…
D.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Carol Stream, IL
D.F. (ECAB 13-1688): Right arm award upheld
D.F., a postal carrier, sought a higher schedule award for accepted right shoulder and carpal tunnel conditions. Her physician and OWCP’s medical adviser agreed on a three percent right arm rating. The Board found no medical evidence supporting greater impairment under the applicable guide. It…
M.J. and Department of the Navy, Washington DC Navy Yard, Washington, DC
M.J. (ECAB 13-1559): Termination and hearing denial upheld
M.J., a Navy police officer, challenged termination of benefits for accepted back and wrist sprains. The Board found that OWCP’s second opinion medical evidence showed the accepted conditions had resolved. It also upheld OWCP’s denial of his later hearing request. It affirmed the March and May 2013…
L.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Santa Clarita, CA
L.P. (ECAB 13-1527): Overpayment and fault affirmed
L.P., a postal postmaster, received temporary disability payments while also working. OWCP found an overpayment of $1,451.46 and held her at fault. The Board found that she knew or should have known the continued payments were incorrect after returning to work. It affirmed both the overpayment and…
A.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Kansas City, MO
A.K. (ECAB 13-1430): Neck condition recurrence denied
A.K., a postal worker, sought renewed medical benefits for an accepted neck sprain after returning to full duty. The Board found that the medical reports did not adequately connect her condition in March 2011 to the January 2007 work injury. It affirmed OWCP’s April 19, 2013 denial.
G.M. and Department of Labor, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, Dallas, TX
G.M. (ECAB 13-1367): Repetitive work injury claim denied
G.M., a Labor Department claims examiner, attributed a right elbow and upper extremity condition to years of typing, filing, and writing. The Board found that the medical submissions did not adequately explain how those duties caused or aggravated the claimed conditions. It affirmed OWCP’s January…
J.B. and Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Billings, MT
J.B. (ECAB 13-1320): Back injury claim requires specialist review
J.B., a Bureau of Reclamation laborer, reported a back injury while carrying a backpack vacuum at work. OWCP accepted the incident but denied the injury claim. The Board found that his physician’s reports did not fully prove causation but raised enough support to require further development. It set…
D.T. and Department of the Air Force, Robins Air Force Base, Warner Robins, GA
D.T. (ECAB 13-1269): Left arm award upheld
D.T., an Air Force aircraft mechanic, sought a larger schedule award for accepted left shoulder impairment. The Board reviewed the medical ratings and found no proof of more than 21 percent permanent impairment of his left arm. It affirmed OWCP’s January 7, 2013 award decision.
B.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Lakeland District, Palatine, IL
B.C. (ECAB 13-0850): Later wage-loss disability unproved
B.C., a postal worker, sought wage-loss compensation from July 12, 2010 for accepted right arm and elbow injuries. OWCP had earlier found that his modified job fairly represented his wage earning capacity. The Board found the later medical submissions did not establish work-related disability for…
G.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Houston, TX
G.J. (ECAB 13-0151): Left arm award upheld
G.J., a postal worker, sought a larger schedule award for accepted left hand and wrist injuries. OWCP awarded one percent permanent impairment of his left arm. The Board found that the medical calculation supported that rating and did not require an impartial referee on this record. It affirmed…
David A. Stache v. Alvin J. Coleman & Son, Inc.
Discrimination complaint dismissed over intimidating misconduct
Haul-truck driver David Stache raised safety concerns and invoked section 105(c) minutes before his supervisor fired him. Judge David F. Barbour found that Stache established a prima facie discrimination case because management knew of his protected complaints, some were close in time to the…
Secretary of Labor v. Adam Whitt and Edward Paynter
Agent cases survive delay challenge
MSHA sought individual penalties against Inman Energy employees Adam Whitt and Edward Paynter under section 110(c), nearly three years after the underlying citations but only 13 days after completing its agent-liability investigation. The respondents argued that the delay violated section 105(a)'s…
B.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Helena Post Office, Helena, MT
B.L. (ECAB 13-1620): Knee and foot claim not reopened
B.L., a postal worker, requested reconsideration of a denial involving knee and foot conditions. The Board reviewed only OWCP’s later refusal to reopen. It found that his submission did not show legal error, present a new relevant argument, or provide pertinent new evidence for merit review. It…
D.D. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Chattanooga, TN
D.D. (ECAB 13-1576): Late written review request denied
D.D., a TVA worker, requested review of the written record after OWCP denied a hearing loss claim. His request was postmarked more than 30 days after the November 6, 2012 denial. The Board found the request untimely and upheld OWCP’s exercise of discretion in declining review. It affirmed the May…
D.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Decatur, IL
D.D. (ECAB 13-1562): Leg schedule award denied
D.D., a postal worker, sought a schedule award for lower extremity impairment after accepted spine injuries. Medical opinions differed, and OWCP obtained an impartial examination. The Board found that the impartial evidence did not establish ratable work-related impairment of the legs. It affirmed…
M.V. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Medical Command, Fort Bliss, TX
M.V. (ECAB 13-1502): Claim denial upheld, reopening required
M.V., an Army medical clerk, appealed an occupational disease denial and a later refusal to reopen. The Board affirmed the original injury denial on the record then available. It found that OWCP had wrongly treated a physician-signed report as only a physician assistant’s report when considering…
O.S. and Government Printing Office, Washington, DC
O.S. (ECAB 13-1329): Back claim not reopened
O.S., a Government Printing Office worker, requested reconsideration of a back injury claim. The Board found her new filing did not establish legal error, offer a new relevant argument, or present pertinent new evidence. It affirmed OWCP’s November 16, 2012 refusal to reopen the merits.
J.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Westchester Processing & Distribution Center, White Plains, NY
J.A. (ECAB 13-1319): Late reconsideration denied
J.A., a postal worker, sought reconsideration of an injury claim after the one-year period had expired. OWCP received the request in September 2012, more than a year after the last merit decision. The Board found that her submission did not show clear evidence of error. It affirmed OWCP’s November…
P.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Santa Ana, CA
P.G. (ECAB 13-1316): Recurrence claim must reopen
P.G., a postal carrier, sought reconsideration of a recurrence and disability claim tied to an accepted leg injury. She submitted new information from a former postmaster and an accommodation decision about limits on her work duties. The Board found that OWCP wrongly dismissed this evidence as…
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.