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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R.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, West Sacramento, CA
R.W. (ECAB 12-375): Neck injury benefits ended and wage-loss claim denied
R.W., a Postal Service mail handler, had an accepted neck sprain after moving mail cages. OWCP ended medical benefits after finding that the work-related injury had resolved, and it denied wage-loss compensation for January through April 2009. The Board gave special weight to an impartial…
Matter of Rocco OPPEDISANO, Respondent
Matter of Rocco OPPEDISANO (BIA ID 3793): ammunition possession by a convicted felon is an aggravated felony
The Board reviewed an Italian lawful permanent resident's appeal from an order of removal based on a conviction for unlawful possession of ammunition by a convicted felon. The respondent argued that the aggravated-felony provision for offenses relating to firearms did not cover ammunition and that…
R.S. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, New York City, NY
R.S. (ECAB 13-1670): Injury claim denied despite accepted workplace altercation
R.S., an immigration services officer, intervened when an applicant attacked a coworker at work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied his claim for back, knee, and arm injuries. The Board found that emergency treatment records listed pain without a firm medical diagnosis or an…
T.J. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Hines, IL
T.J. (ECAB 13-1477): Hip injury claim lacked a matching medical history
T.J., a Veterans Affairs police officer, reported hip pain after helping arrest someone at work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the injury claim. His physician linked a hip strain to a fall while subduing the person, whereas T.J.’s claim form described pushing the person…
S.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Northport Veterans Hospital, Northport, NY
S.B. (ECAB 13-1441): Wage-earning capacity modification sent for merits review
S.B., a Veterans Affairs respiratory therapist, challenged OWCP’s earlier determination of her wage-earning capacity. She argued that the original determination was wrong and that her condition had worsened. OWCP treated the request as an untimely reconsideration application and declined to review…
L.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hillsborough, NC
L.T. (ECAB 13-1239): Repeated safety-check argument did not reopen claim
L.T., a Postal Service rural carrier, sought compensation after slipping on ice while walking from her house toward her vehicle. She argued that she was checking the vehicle for safety problems as part of her job. Following an earlier Board remand, OWCP considered that argument on the merits and…
D.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Edison, NJ
D.P. (ECAB 13-1222): Fall established but lumbar injury claim still denied
D.P., a Postal Service carrier, reported falling on steps while delivering mail. OWCP rejected the reported fall because her accounts differed in detail. The employing establishment also argued that her clothes should have been wet. The Board found that her accounts consistently described a fall…
M.T. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Safety Administration, Philadelphia, PA
M.T. (ECAB 13-983): Knee impairment rating returned for cartilage measurement
M.T. challenged a schedule award based on 17 percent impairment of her left leg. The Board agreed that her physician had not justified rating two arthritis diagnoses in the same knee separately. It found, however, that OWCP’s medical adviser had not given the precise cartilage measurement needed to…
W.F. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Phoenix, AZ
W.F. (ECAB 13-620): Medical billing job supported compensation reduction
W.F. had accepted arm and back conditions that kept her from returning to her earlier job. She completed vocational training in medical billing but did not find a job during placement assistance. OWCP reduced her compensation based on the earnings it found she could make as a hospital insurance or…
E.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Boston, MA
E.L. (ECAB 13-199): Hip schedule award start date needs medical support
E.L. received a schedule award for permanent impairment after work-related hip conditions led to replacement of both hips. He challenged the award’s start date, arguing that maximum medical improvement occurred in March 2006. OWCP’s award listed that month but began payment in October 2010. The…
Henry Stevenson and Parkwood Land Co.
In re Henry Stevenson and Parkwood Land Co. (EAB CWA Appeal No. 13-01): Liability affirmed and penalty remanded
Henry Stevenson and Parkwood Land Co. were found liable for discharging fill material into wetlands near the Neches River in Texas without an authorizing permit. Parkwood argued that the wetlands were outside federal Clean Water Act jurisdiction and that Nationwide Permit 3 covered the truck ramp…
C.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Washington, DC
C.O. (ECAB 13-1680): Schedule award denied, but new evidence requires review
C.O., a Postal Service clerk, sought a schedule award for accepted cervical and right shoulder conditions. The Board found that the record before OWCP on January 2, 2013 did not establish ratable permanent impairment. After that decision, she submitted examination and imaging reports with new…
J.M. and Defense Agencies, Defense Finance & Accounting Service, Indianapolis, IN
J.M. (ECAB 13-1382): Repeated wrist causation opinion did not reopen claim
J.M., an accounting technician, sought compensation for right wrist tendinitis she attributed to computer work. After an earlier denial, she requested reconsideration and submitted a new addendum from her physician. The Board found that the addendum repeated his earlier conclusion about repetitive…
J.L. and Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers, Sault Sainte Marie, MI
J.L. (ECAB 13-1371): Later ankle treatment not linked to accepted injury
J.L., a Corps of Engineers lock and dam operator, had an accepted left ankle tendon injury in 2007 and returned to work without restrictions later that year. Nearly five years later she sought further medical care for her ankle. Her physician discussed an altered gait and later ankle symptoms but…
K.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hartford, CT
K.W. (ECAB 13-1153): Hip award start date returned for medical clarification
K.W. received a schedule award for left leg impairment from accepted aggravation of hip and knee osteoarthritis. He argued that the award should begin in March 2001, while OWCP used January 2013. The impartial examiner identified the earlier date but also said the condition worsened afterward, and…
F.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Medford, OR
F.T. (ECAB 13-1073): Vocational rehabilitation penalty ended when cooperation resumed
F.T., a Postal Service employee, was referred for vocational rehabilitation after an impartial examiner found that he could work with restrictions. He interrupted the process for travel abroad and did not respond to OWCP’s notice within the required period. The Board upheld the resulting reduction…
F.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Willimantic, CT
F.B. (ECAB 13-1052): Mail truck back condition claim denied
F.B., a Postal Service mail carrier, reported back pain after turning to leave his truck and riding on snowy roads. OWCP accepted that the reported work incident happened. The Board found that his physician’s opinion did not adequately explain how the truck movements caused or aggravated a…
T.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Scottsdale, AZ
T.S. (ECAB 13-1039): Hernia claim lacked a supported work link
T.S., a Postal Service rural carrier, attributed a femoral hernia to moving mail trays in his vehicle. The Board found that hospital records noted the onset of symptoms but did not identify a work cause. His physician said the condition could have resulted from lifting heavy objects, without…
V.P., Administratrix of the Estate of P.P., and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
V.P. (ECAB 13-945): Posthumous increase in schedule award denied
P.P., a Postal Service mechanic, had received a schedule award for a work-related knee condition before his death. His estate later filed a new claim for a larger award. The Board held that FECA permits payment of an award left unpaid at death when a valid claim was filed during the employee’s…
E.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN
E.S. (ECAB 13-671): Schedule award claim returned to combine related files
E.S. sought a schedule award for lower extremity impairment associated with an accepted lumbar condition. He argued that OWCP had not considered a separate earlier federal injury claim involving his back. The Board found that the other claim file might contain evidence relevant to the award and was…
A.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Columbus, OH
A.H. (ECAB 13-266): Total disability recurrence not established
A.H., a Postal Service clerk, had accepted back conditions and worked in a modified job with sitting duties. He stopped working in February 2010 and sought benefits for total disability. The Board found no evidence that the modified job had been withdrawn or changed. A referral physician said he…
C.S. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Atlanta, GA
C.S. (ECAB 13-1423): Dependent-rate overpayment and repayment affirmed
C.S., a Bureau of Prisons employee, continued to receive the higher compensation rate for a claimant with a dependent after he no longer had dependents. The Board upheld OWCP’s calculation of a $2,819.15 overpayment. It also upheld denial of waiver and repayment deductions of $470.84 from…
I.C., claiming as widow of B.C., and Department of the Army, Installation Management Command, Fort Huachuca, AZ
I.C. (ECAB 13-1419): Repeated medical-conflict argument did not reopen survivor claim
I.C. sought survivor benefits after her husband, an Army police officer, collapsed during a physical agility test and died. OWCP had denied the claim because the evidence did not establish that his death was caused by his work. In a later reconsideration request, she argued that an OWCP adviser’s…
K.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Portland, OR
K.M. (ECAB 13-1313): Reconsideration was timely because deadline fell on Sunday
K.M. asked OWCP to reconsider a denial of her traumatic injury claim. OWCP treated her request as late and required clear evidence of error. The Board found that the one-year deadline fell on a Sunday, making the following Monday the timely filing date. OWCP received the request that Monday. The…
V.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jacksonville, FL
V.S. (ECAB 13-1278): Overpayment affirmed but initial deposit fault set aside
V.S., a Postal Service employee, continued receiving partial disability payments after returning to full-time work. The Board upheld OWCP’s $11,835.61 overpayment calculation. It found no evidence that she knew the first direct deposit included an improper payment when it arrived, so it set aside…
N.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
N.G. (ECAB 13-1230): Carpal tunnel benefits ended after recovery
N.G., a Postal Service carrier, received benefits for work-related carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists and underwent surgery. OWCP ended benefits after a referral surgeon found that the accepted condition had resolved and that she could return to her earlier job. The Board found that examination…
M.P. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Pembroke Pines, FL
M.P. (ECAB 13-1225): Seven percent leg impairment award affirmed
M.P., a Customs and Border Protection agent, received a schedule award for seven percent permanent impairment of his right leg after a work-related knee injury and surgery. He sought a larger award based on his surgeon’s rating. The Board found that the surgeon used Florida impairment guidelines…
C.W. and Department of the Air Force, Air Combat Command, Randolph Air Force Base, TX
C.W. (ECAB 13-1168): Hearing loss award increased to 44 percent
C.W., an Air Force maintenance mechanic supervisor, received a schedule award for 39 percent hearing impairment caused by workplace noise. A referral specialist calculated that amount from an audiogram and added five percent because tinnitus affected daily activities. OWCP’s medical adviser used…
D.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Quincy, CA
D.W. (ECAB 13-1009): Late injury form barred continuation of pay
D.W., a Postal Service clerk, filed a written claim in July 2012 for an ankle injury she said occurred at work in July 2011. OWCP accepted the injury claim and paid compensation but denied continuation of pay. The Board held that continuation of pay required a written claim within 30 days of the…
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Portland, ME
D.C. (ECAB 13-302): Knee award start dates returned for medical development
D.C. received a schedule award for permanent impairment of both legs after accepted work-related knee conditions. He argued that the awards should begin in 1999 and 2001, rather than the 2011 examination date used for payment. The Board found that his physician had not identified objective findings…
G.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Coppell, TX
G.G. (ECAB 13-1417): Reported wasp incident established but shoulder claim denied
G.G., a Postal Service supervisor, said he fell while delivering mail after wasps emerged from a mailbox. OWCP questioned whether the event occurred. The Board found that his prompt report and consistent account established the incident. His medical records, however, did not connect his later…
J.C. and Tennessee Valley Authority, John Sevier Fossil Plant, Rogersville, TN
J.C. (ECAB 13-1413): Hearing award and hearing aid refusal affirmed
J.C., a Tennessee Valley Authority employee, challenged a schedule award for six percent impairment of his left ear and OWCP’s refusal to authorize hearing aids. The Board found that he had not established a higher compensable hearing loss rating. The referral physician did not recommend hearing…
A.D. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Brockton, MA
A.D. (ECAB 13-1311): Seizure at work was not linked to work factors
A.D., a Veterans Affairs nursing assistant, reported a seizure while at work. She described its cause as unknown and did not identify a specific work condition or activity that contributed to it. OWCP sent a questionnaire about the event, but she did not answer its questions. The Board found that…
L.L. and Department of Agriculture, Inspection Operations Program, Minneapolis, MN
L.L. (ECAB 13-1227): Later wage-loss claim denied after lumbar strain
L.L., a federal food inspector, had an accepted lumbar strain and was awarded disability compensation through November 30, 2011. She sought additional benefits from December 1. Her treating reports noted pain but did not give a clear opinion that the accepted injury disabled her during the later…
R.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Oak Lawn, TX
R.S. (ECAB 13-1189): Late reconsideration request showed no clear error
R.S. sought reconsideration of a 2008 denial of benefits for a claimed recurrence of disability. He submitted his request in December 2012, after the one-year filing period. His doctors described worsening back pain but did not supply objective findings or reasoning showing that the earlier denial…
R.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Mountain Home Veterans Administration Medical Center, Mountain Home, TN
R.M. (ECAB 13-1186): Knee condition did not establish disability recurrence
R.M., a Veterans Affairs employee, returned to limited-duty work after accepted right arm and wrist conditions. She later claimed renewed disability and submitted reports about a left knee condition and surgery. The Board found that her physicians did not explain how the knee condition or resulting…
D.G. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Artesia, NM
D.G. (ECAB 13-1056): Border patrol trainee disability claim returned for findings
D.G., a border patrol trainee, sought wage-loss benefits after a training injury and termination of his employment. The Board found that the termination itself was attributed to performance and conduct rather than physical inability to train. It also found that OWCP had not adequately addressed…
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Little Rock, AR
J.B. (ECAB 13-876): Retirement disability notice did not reopen capacity claim
J.B. sought reconsideration of a prior wage-earning capacity determination. He submitted a federal retirement agency notice finding him disabled for a mail processing job because of hemophilia and a knee replacement. The Board found that he did not explain how the notice related to the wage-earning…
A.A. and Department of the Air Force, Air Education & Training Command, Randolph AFB, TX
A.A. (ECAB 13-828): Overpayment hearing request filed too late
A.A. received notice of a preliminary compensation overpayment determination and had 30 days to request a prerecoupment hearing. OWCP received her faxed request after that period and after it issued a final overpayment decision. The Board held that the late request did not preserve the right to a…
D.R. and Department of the Interior, Fish & Wildlife Service, Denver, CO
D.R. (ECAB 13-1531): Retirement overlap overpayment lacked payment proof
D.R., a Fish and Wildlife Service employee, was found by OWCP to have received overlapping workers’ compensation and federal retirement benefits. The Board found that the record showed OWCP payments but lacked records establishing when, for what period, and in what amount she actually received…
R.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Camuy Post Office, Camuy, PR
R.R. (ECAB 13-1405): Asthma claim returned for translation of medical reports
R.R., a Postal Service employee in Puerto Rico, claimed that fungal spores, dust, and termites at work aggravated his existing asthma. OWCP accepted the exposure but denied the occupational disease claim for insufficient medical proof. The Board found that some relevant medical reports contained…
J.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Edward Hines, Jr., Veterans Affairs Hospital, Hines, IL
J.M. (ECAB 13-1087): Shoulder impairment rating reduced to six percent
J.M., a Veterans Affairs supply technician, received a schedule award for seven percent permanent impairment of his right arm after a rotator cuff injury. The Board accepted the physician’s use of a severe tear category and an adjustment for functional effects. It found that the physician had also…
C.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
C.P. (ECAB 13-1058): Dependent-rate overpayment and fault affirmed
C.P., a Postal Service employee, continued to receive the higher compensation rate for a dependent after her adult daughter stopped attending school full time. The Board upheld the $8,867.44 overpayment for May 2010 through June 2012. It found that forms and letters had explained the dependent…
J.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New York, NY
J.R. (ECAB 13-720): Suitable-work termination reversed
J.R., a Postal Service employee, received compensation for an accepted lumbar condition. OWCP terminated her benefits after she declined a modified position. The Board found that OWCP had acted before resolving a medical conflict about her work capacity. It also found no confirmation that the…
G.E. and Department of Agriculture, Sequoia National Forest, Portersville, CA
G.E. (ECAB 13-649): Telemarketer capacity challenge returned for merits review
G.E., a Forest Service employee, challenged OWCP’s earlier reduction of compensation based on her capacity to work as a part-time telemarketer. She argued that the job was unsuitable because of commuting and physical limits and disputed the wage calculation. OWCP treated her filing as a…
M.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Long Beach, CA
M.P. (ECAB 13-622): Five percent right shoulder award affirmed
M.P., a Postal Service carrier, received a five percent right arm schedule award for an accepted shoulder condition. He sought a larger rating based on an attending physician’s measurements of shoulder motion. The Board found that the physician did not justify using the motion method or document…
R.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Plainfield, NJ
R.J. (ECAB 13-605): Knee benefit termination reversed for conflicting medical report
R.J., a Postal Service mail carrier, received benefits for an accepted knee sprain after falling on a wet dock. OWCP ended her benefits based on a referral physician’s opinion that the injury had resolved. The Board found that his report described imaging as showing no meniscal tear while also…
M.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bayonne, NJ
M.D. (ECAB 13-567): Right leg impairment requires merits review
M.D., a Postal Service employee, received schedule awards for three extremities after two accepted injury claims were combined. She argued that OWCP had omitted her right leg impairment from the award and had not prepared a unified statement of accepted facts. OWCP denied reconsideration without a…
M.L. and Department of Defense, Pentagon Force Protection Agency, Washington, DC
M.L. (ECAB 13-107): Post-traumatic stress claim filed outside statutory period
M.L., a federal police officer, claimed a mental health condition related to his duties around September 11, 2001. He said he did not recognize the work connection until a diagnosis in 2012. The Board found that his account and medical history described recurring anniversary symptoms for many…
L.J. and Department of Justice, Medical Center for Federal Prisoners, Springfield, MO
L.J. (ECAB 13-104): Facial disfigurement award denied
L.J., a Justice Department employee, sought a schedule award for permanent facial disfigurement after accepted facial fractures. OWCP’s medical adviser reviewed photographs and medical reports and found a minimally visible scar that did not hinder employability. The district director concurred. The…
Matter of Konan Waldo DOUGLAS, Respondent
Matter of Konan Waldo DOUGLAS (BIA ID 3792): derivative citizenship under former section 321(a)
The Board reviewed a Jamaican respondent's appeal from the denial of his claim to derivative United States citizenship and an order of removal. His mother became a naturalized citizen while he was under 18, after he entered the United States as a lawful permanent resident, and his parents later…
Arc Erecting, Inc.
Access, crane, and welding citations affirmed
Arc Erecting was the structural steel subcontractor on a Maine arena project. Employees climbed to the top of steel joists about 10 feet above the ground without a ladder, and a crane operated near a power line without the required marked work-zone boundary and elevated warning line. A welder also…
Toby Bell d/b/a South Texas Pigeon Removal
Late contest dismissed despite employer-status defense
OSHA issued Toby Bell d/b/a South Texas Pigeon Removal a serious citation with a proposed $2,800 penalty. Bell personally received the citation, which clearly stated the 15-working-day contest deadline, but did not submit a contest until after the deadline. Bell later asserted that the exposed…
Roofing Concepts Unlimited/Florida, Inc.
Late contest dismissed after citation was misplaced
OSHA mailed Roofing Concepts Unlimited/Florida a citation proposing $24,640 in penalties after inspecting a condominium roofing project. The company's receptionist signed for the certified mailing, but the citation was misplaced and management did not learn of it until after the 15-working-day…
Manhattan Construction "Florida", Inc
Falling-object citation vacated after shoring accident
Manhattan Construction managed a Florida resort project where crane chains unexpectedly caught a concrete subcontractor's shoring scaffold, tipped it, and sent aluminum beams from the seventh floor to the entrance below, injuring two subcontractor employees. Manhattan controlled the multi-employer…
E.C. Concrete, Inc.
Four construction-safety items vacated after shoring accident
E.C. Concrete was erecting shoring on the seventh floor of a Florida resort project when crane chains unexpectedly caught a scaffold brace, tipped the scaffold, and sent aluminum beams to the ground, injuring two employees. OSHA withdrew one fall-protection item and pursued allegations involving an…
Monroe Drywall Construction, Inc.
Serious-item penalties increased to $6,300
Monroe Drywall employees worked near exposed energized wires at a Florida construction site where a worker died after contacting the electrical hazard. The affirmed violations involved failure to train employees to recognize and avoid unsafe conditions and failure to determine the status of exposed…
Evelyn Thorne v. Eastover Mining Company
Thorne v. Eastover Mining (BRB 13-0136): survivor benefits upheld despite offset of miner's federal payments
Evelyn Thorne sought black lung survivor benefits after her husband Calvin died in 2010. He had been awarded federal black lung benefits, but payments were offset by a state workers' compensation award. Eastover Mining argued that the offset meant he was not receiving federal benefits at death, and…
K.A. and Department of the Navy, Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, CA
K.A. (ECAB 13-1349): Hearing loss claim filed after the statutory period
K.A., a former Navy shipyard employee, claimed hearing loss from workplace noise. He reported knowing of the work connection by 1980 and retired in 1989, but did not file the claim until 2012. The Board found that the three-year filing period ran from his last noise exposure when he retired. He…
E.E. and Department of the Air Force, Kelly Air Force Base, San Antonio, TX
E.E. (ECAB 13-1280): Older wage-loss dispute not reopened
E.E., a former Air Force employee, sought additional wage-loss benefits for 1989 through 2005 based on a prior back injury. His December 2012 reconsideration request was filed more than a year after the most recent merits decision. The Board found that the medical reports repeated information…
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.