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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D.S. and Department of the Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH
D.S. (ECAB 13-0659): No additional arm or leg impairment award established
D.S. had accepted injuries from falls at work in 1991 and 2006 and had received an award for 11 percent impairment of her right arm. She sought an additional award for her arms and legs. Her physician and OWCP’s examiner disagreed about the degree of impairment, so OWCP obtained an impartial…
J.D. and Department of the Navy, Lemoore Naval Air Base, San Diego, CA
J.D. (ECAB 13-0627): Board affirms denials of additional injury benefits
J.D., a Navy fuel distribution worker, had accepted back injuries after falling from a ladder in 2009. He sought a schedule award for permanent impairment, recognition of dementia as work related, and wage-loss benefits beginning in December 2011. The Board found no supported impairment of a…
Prairie State Generating Company, LLC v. Secretary of Labor
Plan dispute partly affirmed and partly remanded
Prairie State and MSHA disputed ventilation and roof control provisions for the new Lively Grove underground coal mine. The Commission majority held that the judge correctly reviewed the district manager's decisions for arbitrariness, caprice, or abuse of discretion. It affirmed MSHA's requirements…
Secretary of Labor v. Hanson Aggregates Midwest, LLC
Quarry citations resulted in $1,317 total penalties
Hanson Aggregates operated the Upton Quarry, a surface limestone mine in Kentucky. MSHA cited a broken pressure gauge on a portable air tank, the absence of a visible no-smoking sign at a used-oil fire hazard, and defective access steps on a haul truck. Judge Michael E. Zielinski affirmed all three…
E.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Denver, CO
E.C. (ECAB 13-1051): Missed hearing request treated as abandoned
E.C., a postal custodian with an accepted back injury and related psychological conditions, requested a hearing after OWCP ended medical benefits for the psychological conditions. OWCP mailed notice of a September 2012 hearing, but he did not attend or request another hearing within 10 days. On…
T.L. and Department of Veterans Affairs, New Mexico Hospital Center, Albuquerque, NM
T.L. (ECAB 13-0934): Fall accepted, but medical link to claimed conditions unproved
T.L., a hospital housekeeping aide, slipped on a freshly waxed floor while working in March 2012. OWCP accepted that the fall occurred but found the medical evidence insufficient to link his claimed neck spasms, arm numbness, and headaches to it. The Board agreed that his physicians had not…
D.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Hudson Valley Health Care Service, Castle Point, NY
D.G. (ECAB 13-0870): Claimed work incident not established
D.G., a registered nurse, claimed that her work duties on February 26, 2012 aggravated a back condition. OWCP denied her traumatic injury claim because she had not established the alleged work incident or supplied medical evidence connecting an injury to that date. The Board found that she had not…
A.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Edison, NJ
A.C. (ECAB 13-0711): Mailbag dispute requires another recurrence decision
A.C., a postal letter carrier with accepted spine injuries, claimed a recurrence of disability after the Postal Service allegedly required her to carry a mailbag despite her limited-duty restrictions. OWCP denied the claim. The Board found that a supervisor’s routing slip left unclear whether the…
R.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Sunset Station, Los Angeles, CA
R.W. (ECAB 13-0656): Disability denied, treatment-related wage loss remanded
R.W., a postal clerk with an accepted lumbar sprain and radiculopathy, sought wage-loss compensation for May 3 to 18, 2012. The Board found that her medical reports did not adequately connect inability to work during that period to the accepted conditions. Some reports addressed other conditions or…
J.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Detroit, MI
J.J. (ECAB 13-0521): Right leg impairment award upheld
J.J., a former postal mail handler, had an accepted claim for worsening of right knee osteoarthritis and underwent an authorized knee replacement. OWCP granted a schedule award based on 21 percent impairment of his right leg. The Board found that the examining orthopedic surgeon and OWCP’s medical…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
J.M. (ECAB 13-1111): Related claim files must be combined
J.M., a postal worker, claimed a work-related back and upper extremity condition. OWCP denied his occupational disease claim after referring to medical evidence from an earlier accepted lumbar sprain claim. The Board found that the earlier claim file was missing from the record available for…
B.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Nashville, TN
B.O. (ECAB 13-0914): Late request does not reopen compensation claim
B.O. sought to reinstate wage-loss compensation that OWCP had terminated years earlier. OWCP declined to reopen her claim after finding her October 2012 reconsideration request late and unsupported by clear evidence of error. The Board agreed that the request came more than a year after the last…
L.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bustleton, PA
L.E. (ECAB 13-0845): Gradual foot condition does not establish one-day injury
L.E., a postal letter carrier, reported left foot and ankle pain while delivering mail on September 28, 2011. He attributed the condition to many years of walking at work and sought benefits through a traumatic injury claim. The Board found that the medical reports described a gradual or repetitive…
F.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
F.H. (ECAB 13-0790): Repeated medical opinion does not reopen claim
F.H., a postal worker, sought reconsideration of the denial of her claim for a lower back and leg condition. She submitted a 2012 report from a neurosurgeon who linked the condition to carrying mail and other work duties. The Board found that OWCP had already considered earlier reports from that…
J.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Youngstown, NY
J.S. (ECAB 13-0764): New account of fall requires merits review
J.S., a postal letter carrier, claimed he injured his back after slipping on mud at work. OWCP denied the claim in part because he had not supplied a detailed account of the incident, then refused to reopen it on reconsideration. The Board found that his reconsideration request included a statement…
D.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Southwest Carrier Annex, Chicago, IL
D.T. (ECAB 13-0466): Medical evidence did not link knee condition to work incident
D.T., a postal carrier, reported left knee pain while entering and leaving his vehicle on his route in August 2012. OWCP denied his traumatic injury claim, and D.T. appealed two decisions that denied compensation. His physician listed knee, back, and shoulder diagnoses but did not explain how the…
J.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Dallas, TX
J.W. (ECAB 12-1576): Mail lifting incident established, but medical causation unproved
J.W., a mail handler, claimed that lifting sacks of mail in October 2010 caused neck and shoulder conditions. OWCP questioned whether the incident had occurred because of differing accounts of her symptoms. The Board found that the lifting incident was established: J.W. reported it promptly, and…
C.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Monroe Township, NJ
C.P. (ECAB 13-0831): Vehicle incident established, but claimed back injury unproved
C.P., a postal custodian, claimed a back injury after a postal vehicle went over a curb in April 2012. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied compensation because the medical evidence did not establish an injury caused by it. The Board agreed that several medical reports lacked an…
T.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA
T.C. (ECAB 13-0568): Medical evidence overlooked; lumbar claim sent back
T.C., a Veterans Affairs nurse, injured his left knee while raising a patient’s bed. OWCP accepted a knee condition but rejected his claimed lumbar condition and later ended medical and wage-loss benefits. The Board found that both OWCP decisions failed to address treatment notes from a physician…
D.F. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Boise, ID
D.F. (ECAB 13-0551): Termination of medical benefits and disability denial upheld
D.F., a transportation security officer, had an accepted neck sprain and temporary aggravation of a cervical condition after using bolt cutters at work. OWCP ended medical benefits in May 2012 and denied his claim that the injury caused total disability beginning in January 2012. The Board gave…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bellmawr, NJ
D.S. (ECAB 13-0228): Shoulder tendinitis termination reversed; sprain findings upheld
D.S., a rural mail carrier, received compensation after a fall at work caused accepted back and shoulder conditions. OWCP later ended benefits, relying on a medical opinion that the injuries had resolved. The Board agreed that the accepted back and shoulder sprains had resolved, but found that OWCP…
S.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Detroit, MI
S.A. (ECAB 12-1174): $14,720 overpayment and recovery upheld
S.A., a postal carrier receiving partial disability benefits, worked more hours after OWCP set her payments using an average of 2.8 work hours a day. OWCP kept paying at that rate and calculated a $14,720.15 overpayment. The Board upheld the amount because S.A.’s actual hours had risen to about 5.5…
Secretary of Labor v. S & S Dredging Company
Defective loader steps were significant and substantial
S & S Dredging used a wheel loader whose loose bottom step was unusable, leaving the first usable step three feet above the ground. The operator admitted the defect had existed for about two years and conceded the underlying equipment-maintenance violation. The Commission reversed the judge's…
L.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Marti, UT
L.H. (ECAB 13-0946): Accepted fall lacked medical proof of claimed injury
L.H., a postal carrier, reported falling at work in December 2011 and injuring her tailbone and knee. OWCP accepted that the fall happened but denied the injury claim. The Board found that a physician’s note offered only a tentative knee diagnosis and did not clearly connect a diagnosed condition…
E.B. and Department of the Army, Army Depot, Anniston, AL
E.B. (ECAB 13-0897): Duplicate schedule award overpayment and waiver denial upheld
E.B., an Army Depot vehicle operator, received a schedule award for nine percent impairment of his right arm after OWCP had already paid an award for ten percent impairment of that arm under an earlier work injury claim. The Board upheld OWCP’s finding that the second award caused an $18,282.38…
H.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pensacola, FL
H.C. (ECAB 13-0745): Untimely reconsideration requests denied
H.C., a Postal Service employee, sought reconsideration of a decision ending compensation after he refused an offered position. His three 2012 requests came more than one year after the last merit decision, so OWCP required clear evidence of error. H.C. submitted a state attorney’s letter saying an…
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Newark, NJ
J.C. (ECAB 13-1178): Shoulder injury benefit termination reversed
J.C., a Postal Service letter carrier, received benefits after a work-related right shoulder injury and two authorized surgeries. OWCP ended her wage-loss and medical benefits after its referral physician reported no remaining injury-related limitations. Her treating surgeon reported continuing…
J.L. and Department of the Army, Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle, WA
J.L. (ECAB 13-0784): Disability benefits denied for an unproved period
J.L., an Army Corps of Engineers realty specialist, had an accepted work-related cervical disc condition. OWCP paid compensation through August 25, 2012, but denied her claim for the following month. Her physicians described symptoms and treatment, yet neither identified disability on specific…
J.G. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Hauppauge, NY
J.G. (ECAB 13-0722): Seven percent left leg schedule award upheld
J.G., an Internal Revenue Service special agent, injured his left knee during a work fitness assessment and received a schedule award for seven percent impairment of his left leg. He argued that medical reports supported a higher rating. The Board found that his physician’s higher ratings either…
R.G. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Tallahassee, FL
R.G. (ECAB 13-1146): Medical travel reimbursement termination reversed
R.G., a Bureau of Prisons supervisor, received authorized treatment for work-related shoulder and back injuries at facilities in Jacksonville, Florida. OWCP had reimbursed his travel but stopped payment, saying comparable care was available nearer his home. The Board found no evidence in the record…
B.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Los Angeles, CA
B.S. (ECAB 13-0920): Occupational disease claim denial upheld
B.S., a Postal Service mail handler equipment operator, claimed that years of lifting, pushing, pulling, and other repetitive duties caused or worsened carpal tunnel and spinal conditions. OWCP accepted that she performed the described work but denied the claim because the medical evidence did not…
N.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Charles, MO
N.L. (ECAB 13-0835): Disability denial upheld, treatment visit pay remanded
N.L., a Postal Service rural carrier, sought wage-loss compensation for days in April and May 2012 after an accepted neck and back strain. The Board found that her medical records did not establish work-related disability on the claimed dates, so it upheld the denial of disability pay. OWCP had…
G.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Richmond, CA
G.G. (ECAB 13-0770): Partial disability payment sent back for recalculation
G.G., a Postal Service clerk, received partial disability compensation after a work-related shoulder condition limited her earnings. OWCP calculated her payment using a pay rate from May 2009, when she stopped working again. The Board agreed with OWCP’s 41 percent wage-earning capacity ratio but…
Thomas J. Flaherty, claiming as attorney for B.W., and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Carthage, NC
Thomas J. Flaherty (ECAB 13-0683): Attorney fee denial upheld
Thomas J. Flaherty sought approval of $5,350 in legal fees for work on B.W.’s workers’ compensation claim. OWCP declined because B.W. had previously authorized other representatives and had not withdrawn those authorizations. The Board also found that the fee request lacked B.W.’s signed statement…
A.J. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare, North Little Rock, AR
A.J. (ECAB 13-0614): Intermittent disability pay denial upheld
A.J., a Veterans Affairs nurse, returned to modified duty after an accepted work-related lumbar sprain. She claimed additional wage-loss compensation for several days in July, August, and September 2012. The Board found that her physicians described symptoms or advised time off but did not explain…
P.G. and Department of the Air Force, Air Force Commissary Service, San Angelo, TX
P.G. (ECAB 13-0589): Social Security offset overpayment upheld
P.G., a former Air Force Commissary Service employee, received FECA wage-loss compensation while also receiving Social Security retirement benefits. The portion of those retirement benefits attributable to federal service required an offset, creating a $7,166.96 overpayment between March 2008 and…
D.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Duluth, GA
D.H. (ECAB 13-0489): Refusal to reopen compensation claim upheld
D.H., a Postal Service clerk with an accepted wrist, knee, and back injury, sought wage-loss compensation for later periods when she did not work. OWCP denied those claims and later declined to reopen them on reconsideration. The Board could review only the June 2012 refusal to reopen, because her…
S.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Bulk Mail Center, Philadelphia, PA
S.G. (ECAB 13-0035): Benefit termination upheld, emotional condition claim remanded
S.G., a Postal Service mail handler, injured his head and neck while operating a forklift at work. OWCP later ended compensation and medical benefits for the accepted physical injuries after an impartial specialist found those injuries had resolved. The Board gave that opinion controlling weight…
E.L. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Orlando, FL
E.L. (ECAB 13-0894): Left leg impairment rating sent back for clarification
E.L., a Veterans Affairs employee, received a schedule award for one percent permanent impairment of her left leg after a work-related knee injury. Her physician proposed a higher percentage but did not explain the calculation under the required impairment guide. The Board found that OWCP’s medical…
R.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Louisville, KY
R.H. (ECAB 13-0888): Partial disability claim denial upheld
R.H., a Postal Service city carrier with an accepted work-related hip condition, returned to a modified position and later claimed pay for hours he said he could not work. He reported that suitable work was unavailable on some days and that he attended medical appointments on others. The Board…
J.S. and Department of the Army, Directorate of Public Works, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA
J.S. (ECAB 13-0871): Knee injury claim and reconsideration denials upheld
J.S., an Army tool and parts attendant, reported twisting her left knee while unloading a truck at work. OWCP accepted that the incident happened but denied her injury claim for lack of a supported medical explanation connecting the incident to the diagnosed knee strain. The Board agreed that her…
P.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office
P.G. (ECAB 13-0776): Refusal to reopen shoulder claim upheld
P.G., a Postal Service mail handler, sought compensation for a right shoulder condition she attributed to lifting, pushing, and pulling at work. OWCP denied the occupational disease claim in 2011 for lack of medical evidence linking her rotator cuff tear to those duties. She later requested…
T.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Greater Michigan Performance Cluster, Grand Rapids, MI
T.S. (ECAB 13-0767): Older schedule award pay rate sent back for review
T.S., a Postal Service letter carrier, received schedule awards totaling 28 percent impairment of his left leg. He did not dispute the impairment percentage but argued that OWCP used an unsupported date of maximum medical improvement for his 1990 award, affecting the pay rate. OWCP rejected his…
S.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Albemarle, NC
S.C. (ECAB 13-0738): Timely reconsideration request sent back for review
S.C., a Postal Service clerk, sought compensation for carpal tunnel syndrome after reporting that her hand struck a postbox at work. OWCP denied her claim and later refused to reconsider it, treating her request as late and requiring clear evidence of error. Her attorney had sent a letter within…
B.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cincinnati, OH
B.H. (ECAB 13-0666): Disability recurrence and reopening denials upheld
B.H., a Postal Service mail handler working modified duty, sought compensation for time off work from November 2011 through February 2012. OWCP had accepted several neck, shoulder, and back conditions from her employment, but denied this later disability claim. The Board found that her medical…
B.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New York, NY
B.E. (ECAB 13-0593): Denial of disability recurrence after retirement upheld
B.E., a Postal Service mail carrier with an accepted left knee injury, worked a light-duty position before retiring on June 30, 2010. She claimed a recurrence of disability from that date, arguing that her condition had worsened or that her light-duty work was no longer available. The Board found…
D.I. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Honolulu, HI
D.I. (ECAB 13-0226): Foot injury schedule award denial upheld
D.I., a Postal Service letter carrier, had an accepted claim for a condition affecting both feet and later sought a schedule award for permanent leg impairment. His treating podiatrist examined his feet and ankles and found no permanent impairment under the rating guide used for FECA awards. Other…
R.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jamestown, NC
R.F. (ECAB 13-0892): Reconsideration and second hearing refusals upheld
R.F., a Postal Service letter carrier, reported injuries from a vehicle accident while working. OWCP accepted a neck sprain, but its hearing representative found no related disability or additional compensable conditions. R.F. twice sought reconsideration using a medical report that the hearing…
R.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Artesia, NM
R.R. (ECAB 13-0885): Knee injury claim denial upheld
R.R., a border patrol agent supervisor, reported twisting his right knee during a required training exercise. OWCP accepted that the exercise occurred, but denied his injury claim for lack of medical proof connecting his knee condition to it. His doctor noted arthritis, a prior knee surgery, and a…
D.G. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Milwaukee, WI
D.G. (ECAB 13-0852): Delayed reconsideration request sent back for merit review
D.G., an IRS tax consultant, had an accepted temporary aggravation of a preexisting back condition and later claimed a recurrence of disability. OWCP denied that claim, and she promptly asked for reconsideration. OWCP overlooked her March 2012 request and waited until January 2013 to issue a…
J.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Covington, KY
J.H. (ECAB 13-0732): Additional knee impairment award upheld
J.H., a Postal Service clerk, had accepted right knee conditions and underwent surgery, including a total knee replacement. OWCP had already awarded her 10 percent right leg impairment and later granted an additional 15 percent. She argued that her total impairment exceeded 25 percent. The Board…
R.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Orleans, LA
R.R. (ECAB 13-0613): Stroke compensation claim denial upheld
R.R., a Postal Service employee, suffered a stroke while carrying out his assigned duties in 1997. The Board had previously accepted those duties as a compensable work factor, but the question remained whether they caused or contributed to the stroke. The Board found that claims about unpaid…
J.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Air Marshal Service, Egg Harbor Township, NJ
J.H. (ECAB 13-0310): Hearing loss claim sent to impartial specialist
J.H., a federal air marshal, claimed that exposure to firearms during required training caused hearing loss in his left ear. OWCP denied the claim after its second opinion specialist attributed the loss to an unknown cause. J.H.'s own specialist found a high probability that prolonged work noise…
T.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Detroit, MI
T.M. (ECAB 13-0251): Emotional condition claim denial upheld
T.M., a Postal Service letter carrier, sought compensation for an emotional condition after a dispute about her route assignment and an interaction with supervisors. She said a supervisor had denied her seniority rights, spoken abusively, and threatened to mark her absent without leave when she…
L.W. and Department of the Army, Anniston, AL
L.W. (ECAB 13-0098): Hearing aid denial sent back despite zero percent award rating
L.W., an Army mechanic, had an accepted work-related hearing loss and sought both a schedule award and hearing aids. OWCP's rating method placed his hearing impairment at zero percent, so the Board upheld the denial of a monetary schedule award. But OWCP's own second opinion physician recommended…
M.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Milwaukee, WI
M.W. (ECAB 12-1547): Back condition claim denials upheld
M.W., a Postal Service distribution manager, attributed back conditions to walking and checking mail containers at work. OWCP accepted those duties but denied his occupational disease claim for lack of medical proof connecting them to his spinal conditions. One doctor attributed a neck condition to…
D.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs, North Texas Health Care System, Dallas, TX
D.R. (ECAB 12-1228): Benefit termination void for failure to notify representative
D.R., a Veterans Affairs nursing assistant with an accepted neck and shoulder injury, had her compensation terminated in 2000 for refusing a job OWCP considered suitable. Years later she sought reconsideration, arguing that OWCP had failed to send the termination decision to her authorized union…
A.G. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia, PA
A.G. (ECAB 12-1076): Impairment and overpayment decisions sent back
A.G., a National Park Service clerk with accepted neck and back injuries, received several schedule awards before OWCP decided that she had no ratable impairment and had been overpaid $15,943.48. A medical conflict had led OWCP to obtain an impartial physician's opinion, but the doctor could not…
J.B. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Rework Facility, Cherry Point, NC
J.B. (ECAB 12-0818): Reduction of compensation for missed rehabilitation upheld
J.B., a former Navy rotor blade helper with accepted knee and back injuries, had received disability compensation for many years. After an impartial doctor found he could perform restricted sedentary work, OWCP referred him for vocational rehabilitation. The rehabilitation counselor repeatedly…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Darrick Piper v. KenAmerican Resources, Inc.
Laid-off miner remained eligible for temporary reinstatement
KenAmerican laid off Darrick Piper, who later filed a discrimination complaint and then alleged that the company refused to recall him because he had filed that complaint. The judge found the second complaint was not frivolously brought and ordered Piper's temporary reinstatement. KenAmerican…
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.