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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L.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Mankato, MN
L.B. (ECAB 13-1253): Back injury claim returned for evidence review
L.B., a postal clerk, claimed a low back injury from lifting a parcel at work. The Board found that OWCP’s denial did not address a physician’s narrative report received before the decision. It set aside the denial and directed OWCP to consider all relevant evidence and issue a new decision.
D.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, West Los Angeles Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
D.H. (ECAB 13-1085): Recurrence and additional conditions denied
D.H., a VA employee, claimed a recurrence of disability and additional conditions after an accepted work injury. The Board found that his medical submissions did not establish renewed disability from the accepted injury or adequately link the additional shoulder, hip, back, and neck conditions to…
J.F. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Medical Command, Redstone Arsenal, AL
J.F. (ECAB 13-1082): Injury claim and late hearing denial affirmed
J.F., an Army employee, claimed an occupational injury and requested an oral hearing after OWCP denied the claim. The Board found that she did not establish the work-related injury and that the hearing request was untimely. It affirmed both decisions.
Y.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, San Juan, PR
Y.C. (ECAB 13-944): Foot tendon claim sent back for combined record
Y.C., a VA nurse, claimed a left foot tendon tear related to an earlier accepted ankle injury. The Board found that the record before it lacked evidence from the prior claim needed to decide the relationship. It directed OWCP to combine the two case records, consider the evidence, and issue a new…
P.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Iselin, NJ
P.B. (ECAB 13-803): Wage-loss termination reversed for lack of notice
P.B., a postal employee, declined a modified job offer after an accepted injury. OWCP terminated compensation for refusal of suitable work. The Board found that OWCP did not give the required notices and opportunities to respond before imposing that penalty. It reversed the termination and directed…
L.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Valley Stream, NY
L.M. (ECAB 13-697): Termination of back injury benefits affirmed
L.M., a postal employee, had accepted thoracic and rhomboid strains. The Board found that OWCP properly terminated wage-loss and medical benefits after the accepted conditions resolved. It also found that he had not established continuing disability or additional spinal conditions related to those…
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Scranton, PA
J.C. (ECAB 13-465): Benefits termination and disability denial affirmed
J.C., a postal letter carrier, had accepted neck and right shoulder conditions. OWCP ended wage-loss and medical benefits effective July 19, 2012. The Board found that the accepted injuries no longer caused residuals after that date. It also found that J.C. had not established work-related…
Doyle K. Beckham d/b/a DKB Construction
PPE payment item reduced and forklift tire item vacated
DKB Construction performed framing, roofing, and carpentry work at an assisted-living project on the Hopi Indian Reservation. Its written policy required employees to supply and maintain basic personal protective equipment, and the evidence showed that workers paid for items such as hard hats and…
S.L. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Richmond, VA
S.L. (ECAB 13-1353): Disability claim denial affirmed
S.L., an IRS employee, sought compensation for disability beginning November 30, 2010 after an accepted work injury. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish a causal link between that injury and the claimed disability period. It affirmed OWCP’s denial.
J.D. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Port Angeles, WA
J.D. (ECAB 13-1272): Possible consequential injury sent back
J.D., a National Park Service forestry technician, claimed neck and right arm conditions related to an earlier work injury. The Board found that OWCP had not adequately evaluated whether the new conditions were a consequence of the accepted injury. It set aside the denial and directed further…
S.C. and Department of Health and Human Services, Health Service Administration, Oklahoma City, OK
S.C. (ECAB 13-1164): Nurse occupational disease claim denied
S.C., a registered nurse, attributed low back, left hip, and left knee conditions to lifting and repositioning patients. The Board found that the medical evidence did not adequately establish a causal connection between her duties and the claimed lumbar condition. It affirmed OWCP’s denial of the…
M.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Grand Rapids, MI
M.W. (ECAB 13-1126): Wage-loss termination affirmed
M.W., a postal employee, received wage-loss compensation for accepted shoulder, neck, and wrist conditions. OWCP ended the payments after finding that the accepted conditions had resolved. The Board found that the medical evidence supported that conclusion. It affirmed the termination effective…
K.P. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration Medical Center, East Orange, NJ
K.P. (ECAB 13-1042): Leg impairment and overpayment issues remanded
K.P., a VA employee, contested leg impairment awards and a related overpayment. The Board found that OWCP had not adequately documented its selection of the impartial medical examiner whose opinion it used. It directed OWCP to select a new examiner and resolve the medical conflict. The schedule…
R.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Minneapolis Veterans Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN
R.B. (ECAB 13-906): Schedule award reconsideration denied
R.B., a VA food service worker, asked OWCP to reconsider a schedule award decision. The Board found that the medical evidence submitted with her request was duplicative and did not warrant reopening the merits. It affirmed the reconsideration denial without deciding whether her award should be…
M.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Conway, AK
M.K. (ECAB 13-542): One percent arm impairment award affirmed
M.K., a postal maintenance mechanic, sought a schedule award for more than one percent permanent impairment of his left arm. The Board reviewed the medical evidence and found that it did not support a larger impairment rating. It affirmed OWCP’s award.
P.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Baton Rouge, LA
P.L. (ECAB 13-208): Consequential condition and schedule award denied
P.L., a postal employee with accepted psychological conditions, claimed that a gynecological condition resulted from those conditions and sought a schedule award. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish the claimed causal relationship. It also found no permanent impairment of a…
J.R. and Department of the Navy, Naval Supply Station, Oakland, CA
J.R. (ECAB 13-1284): Late reconsideration request did not show clear error
J.R., a Navy warehouseman, injured his right hand while driving a truck in 1980. OWCP accepted carpal tunnel syndrome but terminated his compensation in 1987, and its last merit review of that termination was in 1993. The Board found his December 2012 reconsideration request untimely under the…
L.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Las Vegas, NV
L.M. (ECAB 13-1201): Late request did not reopen emotional condition claim
L.M., a postal customer service supervisor, claimed an emotional condition after an encounter with a supervisor at work. OWCP denied the claim, finding that she had not established a compensable employment factor, and last reviewed its merits in October 2010. The Board held that her December 2012…
P.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Cheyenne, WY
P.W. (ECAB 13-1184): Asthma claim lacked qualified medical evidence
P.W., a medical center program support assistant, reported an asthma attack after exposure to a patient’s odor at work. OWCP accepted that the January 15, 2013 exposure occurred. The Board found that the records about her resulting symptoms came from a nurse practitioner and were not countersigned…
T.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Perry, OK
T.S. (ECAB 13-1155): Right leg impairment award affirmed at 17 percent
T.S., a postal city carrier, sought a larger right leg schedule award after an accepted back and neck injury. One physician rated her at 30 percent whole person impairment, which FECA does not pay as a schedule award. A second physician rated the right leg at 18 percent, but OWCP’s medical adviser…
C.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Syracuse, NY
C.B. (ECAB 13-1091): Curb fall claim returned for consequential injury review
C.B., a VA practical nurse, tripped over a curb at work in March 2012 and reported injuries to her knee and foot. She said foot drop from an accepted 2004 back injury caused her to trip. OWCP denied the new claim, but the Board found that her physician had diagnosed injuries and explained how the…
T.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Portland, OR
T.N. (ECAB 13-1000): Back condition claim returned for medical review
T.N., a postal clerk, claimed that repetitive lifting, pushing, and sorting of mail caused a low back condition. OWCP denied the claim for lack of sufficient medical proof of causation. The Board found that her physicians’ reports linked the condition to her work but did not fully explain that…
J.H. and Department of the Navy, Naval Sea Systems Command, Philadelphia, PA
J.H. (ECAB 13-693): No ratable left leg impairment established
J.H., a Navy sheet metal mechanic, sought a schedule award for left leg impairment after an accepted aggravation of lumbar disc disease. An impartial orthopedic examiner found no lasting neurological deficit in either leg and rated the left leg at zero percent impairment. OWCP’s medical adviser…
D.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Carrollwood Post Office, Tampa, FL
D.D. (ECAB 12-1739): Emotional condition claim lacked a compensable work factor
D.D., a postal letter carrier, attributed depression and anxiety to disciplinary actions and alleged harassment at work. The Board found no proven error or abuse in the employer’s handling of the administrative matters and no sufficient factual proof of harassment. An EEOC settlement that reduced a…
N.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Attleboro, MA
N.A. (ECAB 12-1299): Left hip award returned for start-date review
N.A., a postal letter carrier with an accepted aggravation of left hip arthritis, received a schedule award for 51 percent left leg impairment. He disputed the date OWCP used to start the award. The Board found that the record did not establish the 2007 date OWCP listed for maximum medical…
B.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, White Plains, NY
B.H. (ECAB 13-1034): Repetitive work injury claim lacked detail on duties
B.H., a postal letter carrier, attributed neck, arm, and wrist symptoms to repetitive duties. OWCP asked her to describe the work activities she believed caused the condition, including how often and how long she performed them, but she did not respond. The Board found that her general statement…
C.C. and Department of Agriculture, Grain Inspection, Packers & Stockyard Administration, League City, TX
C.C. (ECAB 13-1134): Emotional condition claim lacked a compensable factor
C.C. attributed an emotional condition to alleged harassment and the handling of a previous compensation claim and other personnel matters. The Board found no reliable evidence establishing harassment, discrimination, or employer error or abuse in those administrative actions. It noted that her…
A.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
A.S. (ECAB 13-1099): Written review request was postmarked too late
A.S., a postal clerk, sought review of OWCP’s denial of compensation for 261.57 hours of wage loss. He said he mailed a written review request in October 2011, but the request first appeared in the record with a February 2013 postmark. The Board held that the postmark, rather than the date written…
L.B. and Department of the Navy, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, NH
L.B. (ECAB 13-1088): Asbestosis award returned for rating and calculation
L.B., a retired Navy quality assurance specialist with accepted asbestosis, challenged OWCP’s lung impairment award. Two physicians reached different ratings using different pulmonary test results, and the Board ordered OWCP to clarify why the results used by its medical adviser were appropriate…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Little Rock, AR
M.M. (ECAB 13-1017): Physical benefits termination upheld, emotional claim returned
M.M., a postal rural carrier, received benefits for a lumbar strain and right leg contusion after a work vehicle accident. OWCP ended those benefits effective February 22, 2012, and the Board found that medical opinions supported the conclusion that the accepted physical conditions had resolved…
J.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Portland, OR
J.L. (ECAB 13-1016): Treatment-hours denial and overpayment upheld
J.L., a postal rural carrier with accepted right toe conditions, claimed wage loss for a July 5, 2012 medical appointment. The Board found no medical evidence showing treatment for those conditions on that date, so it upheld the denial. It also found that she received $1,283.32 too much in…
S.T. and Department of Labor, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, Jacksonville, FL
S.T. (ECAB 13-752): Emotional condition claim lacked a proven work factor
S.T., a federal claims examiner, attributed depression and anxiety to job demands, a performance improvement plan, and alleged mistreatment by his supervisor. The Board said stress from assigned duties can be a compensable work factor, but he had not supplied enough detail or evidence about the…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Concord, NC
J.M. (ECAB 13-601): Intermittent wage loss not linked to accepted knee injury
J.M., a postal employee with accepted left knee conditions, sought wage-loss compensation for intermittent disability in June and July 2012. He said he could not perform the driving duties in a modified job because of sleep apnea. The Board found no evidence that those duties violated restrictions…
M.S. and Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, St. Maries, ID
M.S. (ECAB 13-1093): Late request did not reopen right arm award
M.S., a Forest Service forestry technician, received a schedule award for 10 percent permanent impairment of his right arm after an accepted shoulder injury. The Board had upheld that award in 2011. His February 2013 request for OWCP reconsideration came more than one year after the last merit…
R.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, Montclair, NJ
R.W. (ECAB 13-1080): Postal worker’s injury denial affirmed
R.W., a postal sales service associate, reported neck, back, arm, and hand symptoms after distributing mail to carriers’ cases in December 2011. OWCP accepted that the work activity occurred but denied the injury claim. The Board found that her neurologist diagnosed several conditions without…
L.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Cleveland, OH
L.M. (ECAB 13-855): Right knee condition not added to accepted injury claim
L.M., a Veterans Affairs secretary, slipped on ice at work in February 2000. OWCP accepted neck and back strains and injuries to her right thigh, arm, and shoulder. She later sought to add right knee osteoarthritis to the claim. Her surgeon attributed the knee condition to the fall, but the Board…
B.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Clementon, NJ
B.M. (ECAB 13-691): No additional right arm award
B.M., a postal letter carrier, injured his shoulders and right elbow in a 2003 fall and received a schedule award for two percent right arm impairment. He sought an additional award. The Board gave greater weight to a later examination finding no ratable impairment than to an earlier report based…
H.S. and Department of the Air Force, El Segundo, CA
H.S. (ECAB 13-519): Pay continuation and additional heart conditions denied
H.S., an Air Force contract specialist, had a heart attack after walking between buildings and climbing stairs at work in December 2008. OWCP accepted a temporary aggravation that resolved by January 2009. He sought continuation of pay and recognition of additional heart and stress-related…
M.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Trenton Carrier Annex, Trenton, NJ
M.A. (ECAB 13-300): Left arm award returned for a new adviser’s review
M.A., a postal carrier, sought a larger schedule award for permanent impairment of his left arm after an accepted 2008 shoulder injury. His physician and OWCP’s medical adviser disagreed on the rating, so OWCP obtained an impartial examination. The Board found a procedural error: the same OWCP…
M.L. and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Office of Administrative Litigation, Washington, DC
M.L. (ECAB 12-1786): Workplace exchange did not establish a covered injury factor
M.L., a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission trial attorney, claimed an injury after a heated exchange with another lawyer during a break in a work teleconference. OWCP denied the claim, treating the exchange as an administrative or personnel matter. The Board disagreed with that characterization…
J.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Drexel Hill, PA
J.H. (ECAB 12-1625): Leg impairment ratings returned for fuller review
J.H., a postal worker, had accepted back and vascular conditions and prior schedule awards for 18 percent right leg and 20 percent left leg impairment. He sought higher ratings. The physicians rated his deep vein thrombosis but did not separately address its effect on the legs under the vascular…
F.B. and Internal Revenue Service, Philadelphia Field Office, Philadelphia, PA
F.B. (ECAB 12-1230): Termination of lumbar injury benefits affirmed
F.B., an Internal Revenue Service employee, had an accepted lumbar strain from a 2005 fall. OWCP terminated her wage-loss and medical benefits effective November 2011 after obtaining an impartial medical examination. She challenged the physician selection and sought compensation for an earlier…
J.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Minerva, OH
J.E. (ECAB 13-1206): Repeated knee impairment opinion did not reopen award claim
J.E., a postal letter carrier, received a 10 percent right leg schedule award for an accepted knee condition. He asked OWCP to reconsider the rating and resubmitted his physician’s 28 percent impairment opinion. The Board found that the opinion repeated evidence OWCP had already considered and did…
A.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Port of Brownsville, TX
A.M. (ECAB 13-1078): Additional hearing loss award affirmed
A.M., a customs officer, claimed hearing loss from workplace noise and had already received an award for 43 percent binaural loss. A new hearing test supported a 74 percent total rating, including tinnitus. The Board found that OWCP correctly awarded only the 31 percentage points not previously…
C.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Baltimore, MD
C.M. (ECAB 13-1028): Reconsideration refusal in knee claim affirmed
C.M., a Veterans Affairs police officer, sought to reopen a denied claim that his duties aggravated a left knee condition. He argued that his job description supported the claim, but OWCP had already considered that description. The Board found that the request supplied no new relevant evidence or…
L.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Diego, CA
L.G. (ECAB 13-1007): Bilateral knee award amounts upheld
L.G., a postal letter carrier, had accepted knee and leg conditions, including a left knee replacement, and sought larger schedule awards. OWCP determined that her total impairment was 50 percent of the right leg and 35 percent of the left. The Board found that her physician used an outdated…
J.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Antonio, TX
J.R. (ECAB 13-1005): Management dispute did not establish covered work factor
J.R., a postal customer service supervisor, attributed anxiety, depression, and worsening fibromyalgia to his manager’s scheduling decisions and alleged mistreatment. The Board found that he had not shown error or abuse in those personnel decisions or substantiated the alleged harassment. It…
L.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Coronado Station, Santa Fe, NM
L.B. (ECAB 13-968): Benefit suspension returned for physician selection review
L.B., a postal worker, appealed OWCP’s suspension of compensation for missing a scheduled impartial medical examination. He challenged the selection of the physician. The Board found that OWCP’s record lacked the system records needed to verify a fair and unbiased selection. It set aside the…
R.M. and Department of Homeland Security, William P. Hobby Airport, Houston, TX
R.M. (ECAB 13-931): Right arm impairment award affirmed
R.M., a transportation security supervisor, sought more than the 11 percent right arm impairment awarded after accepted shoulder and cervical conditions. The Board found that her physician’s rating included a cervical spine percentage that could not itself support a schedule award. A second opinion…
K.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bulk Mail Center, Jersey City, NJ
K.C. (ECAB 13-757): Wage capacity reduction left in place
K.C., a postal mail handler, received compensation for accepted left shoulder conditions. OWCP later reduced her wage-loss benefits based on the earnings of a customer order clerk position it found she could perform. She sought to modify that determination, relying on her physician’s view that she…
T.K. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, CA
T.K. (ECAB 13-210): Larger right leg award denied
T.K., a Navy aircraft examiner, received a two percent right leg schedule award for an accepted knee meniscus tear and sprain. His physician sought an additional rating for an ACL tear, a condition OWCP had not accepted. The Board found that the medical guides did not permit adding separate…
S.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Fenton, MI
S.R. (ECAB 13-1166): Wrist condition claim denial affirmed
S.R., a postal letter carrier, claimed that repetitive mail handling caused de Quervain’s disease and intersection syndrome in her wrist. OWCP accepted that she performed the described duties but denied the claim. On this second appeal, the Board found that her physician disputed another examiner’s…
R.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tuscaloosa, AL
R.W. (ECAB 13-1108): Overpayment and fault finding affirmed
R.W., a postal clerk, returned to full-time work on January 30, 2013 but continued to receive total disability compensation through February 9. OWCP found a $1,140.30 overpayment and denied a waiver because he was at fault. The Board found the payment calculation supported by the record. It also…
V.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tiburon, CA
V.R. (ECAB 13-1065): Finger fracture wage-loss claim denied
V.R., a postal carrier, sustained an accepted left ring finger fracture in June 2012 and sought wage-loss pay for August 10 through September 24. Her doctors gave work excuse notes but did not explain why the finger injury prevented all work during that period. Other reports said she could perform…
W.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
W.T. (ECAB 13-1026): Earlier shoulder disability period not established
W.T., a postal worker, had an accepted right shoulder injury and received compensation for a June 7 to 12, 2011 recurrence of disability. He also sought pay for June 2 to 6. The Board found that the medical reports began with treatment on June 7 and did not explain why the accepted condition…
D.I. and U.S. Postal Service, South Suburban General Mail Facility, Bedford Park, IL
D.I. (ECAB 13-993): Wage capacity decision returned for fuller review
D.I., a postal mail processor, worked in a modified position after accepted back injuries and a 1997 wage-earning capacity determination. The Postal Service withdrew that position in 2011, and she sought to change the determination. OWCP denied her request under its usual modification criteria. The…
P.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Kansas City, MO
P.B. (ECAB 13-951): Elbow and cubital tunnel claim expansion denied
P.B., a retired postal mail handler, had an accepted bilateral carpal tunnel claim and asked OWCP to add elbow epicondylitis and cubital tunnel syndrome. His physician changed an earlier opinion and attributed those conditions to work. The Board found that the physician did not explain how the…
L.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
L.D. (ECAB 13-856): Left shoulder claim denial affirmed
L.D., a postal mail processor, attributed a left shoulder condition to increased use of that arm after a prior right shoulder injury and to repetitive mail sorting. The Board found that the medical reports did not adequately explain how her work activities caused or aggravated the left shoulder…
E.P. and Department of the Air Force, Robins Air Force Base, Warner Robins, GA
E.P. (ECAB 13-734): Decades-late reconsideration request denied
E.P., an Air Force worker, sought reconsideration of a 1991 merit decision denying a claimed recurrence of disability after an accepted 1988 injury. His January 2013 request came well beyond the one-year deadline. The Board found that he supplied no new evidence with the request and did not…
B.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Cardwell Station, Fresno, CA
B.H. (ECAB 13-583): General office clerk wage capacity finding affirmed
B.H., a postal worker, received benefits for accepted head and neck injuries. OWCP reduced his wage-loss compensation based on a general office clerk job it found he could perform. The Board found that the job fit his medical restrictions and was vocationally available in his commuting area. It…
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.