Federal Agency Decisions
Federal workers' compensation appeals from the Department of Labor's Employees' Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB), federal-sector labor-relations cases from the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), Longshore Act and Black Lung Benefits Act appeals from the Department of Labor's Benefits Review Board (BRB), precedent decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), environmental permit and penalty appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB), and whistleblower and other labor appeals from the Department of Labor's Administrative Review Board (ARB), each with a plain-English summary, the law it cites, and whether it counts as precedent. More agencies are coming.
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C.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Wauchula, FL
C.M. (ECAB 13-0900): Rural carrier's neck and back claim denial upheld
C.M., a Postal Service rural carrier, attributed neck and back conditions to repetitive movements while delivering mail. OWCP denied her claim because the medical evidence did not adequately link the conditions to her work. Her orthopedic surgeon cited the carrier job and said she had been without…
H.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Hamilton Carrier Annex, Yardville, NJ
H.S. (ECAB 13-1240): Termination of wrist injury benefits upheld
H.S., a Postal Service letter carrier, received benefits for accepted left wrist and lower arm conditions after a 2003 work injury. OWCP later ended those benefits after a second opinion orthopedic surgeon found no current objective evidence of the accepted conditions or related inability to work…
E.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Trenton, NJ
E.B. (ECAB 13-1156): Neck treatment termination upheld, concussion termination reversed
E.B., a Postal Service mail handler technician, had accepted neck sprain and concussion conditions after a truck door struck his head and neck. OWCP ended medical benefits for both conditions, relying on medical opinions that it said showed recovery. The Board gave weight to an impartial orthopedic…
G.S. and Department of the Army, Army Corps of Engineers, Huntington, WV
G.S. (ECAB 13-0881): Denial of late hearing request upheld
G.S., an Army Corps of Engineers structural ironworker, sought a hearing after OWCP denied compensation for a period of disability and a request to repurchase leave. His hearing request was postmarked August 12, 2011, more than 30 days after OWCP’s July 11 decision. The Board held that he was no…
N.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Paterson, NJ
N.F. (ECAB 13-0846): Wage capacity decision sent back for job review
N.F., a Postal Service letter carrier with an accepted back injury, had her compensation reduced to zero based on earnings in a modified position. After the Postal Service changed her assignment, she argued that the original position had been a makeshift job and that OWCP should revise its…
T.J. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Mountain Home, TN
T.J. (ECAB 13-0751): Four-limb impairment rating sent to referee physician
T.J., a Veterans Affairs nurse, had an accepted pain condition affecting both arms and legs after a work injury and received schedule awards for all four limbs. Her doctor rated her permanent impairment higher than OWCP’s medical adviser did under the required guide. The Board found a medical…
J.J. and Department of the Navy, U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD
J.J. (ECAB 13-0565): Additional shoulder impairment award denied
J.J., a Naval Academy engineering technician, injured his left shoulder in a 2010 fall after an earlier accepted shoulder injury and award. He sought another schedule award for the same arm, arguing that the new injury added impairment. The Board found that his doctor's method improperly combined…
C.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Thiensville, WI
C.H. (ECAB 13-0423): $12,047 schedule award overpayment upheld
C.H., a Postal Service employee, received schedule award payments after the award period ended on April 27, 2012. OWCP calculated $12,047.14 in payments through August 25 and found her at fault for accepting them. The Board upheld the amount, which C.H. did not dispute. It also upheld the fault…
R.N. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Harriman, TN
R.N. (ECAB 13-0284): Hearing aid refusal sent back after zero percent rating
R.N., a Tennessee Valley Authority employee, had work-related hearing loss accepted after an earlier Board remand. OWCP rated the permanent loss at zero percent under its schedule award formula and denied both an award and hearing aids. The Board upheld the zero percent rating and the resulting…
Pinnacle Mining Company, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor
Discovery compelled in stayed contest cases
Pinnacle Mining filed contests to two MSHA orders, and the cases were stayed while proposed penalties were pending. The Secretary moved to compel complete discovery responses and depositions or, alternatively, to dismiss the contests. Pinnacle said it wanted assurance that discovery would not lead…
R.W. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Chicago, IL
R.W. (ECAB 13-0861): Knee condition claim denial upheld
R.W., a transportation security screener, sought compensation for a left knee condition he attributed to work. Imaging showed a torn meniscus and a cyst, but the claim and medical reports did not identify a specific work activity that caused them. One doctor described knee pain without a firm…
C.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fort Worth, TX
C.G. (ECAB 13-0808): Compensation reduction based on receptionist work upheld
C.G., a Postal Service mail handler with accepted medical conditions, had received total disability compensation. Her treating physician later found that she could work eight hours a day with restrictions. A rehabilitation counselor identified receptionist work within those limits and available in…
V.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Harrison, AK
V.W. (ECAB 13-0763): Shoulder condition claim denial upheld
V.W., a Postal Service clerk, attributed left shoulder pain to repeated mail handling duties. Medical records identified impingement and a rotator cuff tear, and she underwent shoulder surgery. OWCP accepted that she performed the described work and had a diagnosed condition, but denied the claim…
C.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Concord Station, Knoxville, TN
C.C. (ECAB 13-0680): Back injury benefit terminations upheld
C.C., a Postal Service rural carrier, received compensation for an accepted aggravation of a preexisting back condition. Her treating doctor and an OWCP referral doctor disagreed about whether the work-related aggravation continued, so OWCP obtained an impartial orthopedic examination. The…
M.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, West Covina, CA
M.F. (ECAB 13-0672): Cervical condition claim denial upheld
M.F., a Postal Service letter carrier, attributed a neck condition to years of carrying mail and other physical duties. Imaging showed cervical disc protrusions, and a doctor diagnosed radiculopathy. The doctor checked a form box linking the condition to work and said carrying a mailbag may have…
W.A. and General Services Administration, Burlington, NJ
W.A. (ECAB 13-0544): Knee award percentage and basic payment rate upheld
W.A., a General Services Administration material handler, received a schedule award after an accepted left knee injury and surgery. He sought a larger impairment percentage based on arthritis and the higher compensation rate available to workers with a dependent. The Board found that his doctor had…
P.F. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Bay Pines, FL
P.F. (ECAB 12-1711): Emotional condition aggravation claim denial upheld
P.F., a Veterans Affairs housekeeping aide, claimed that changes and added cleaning duties aggravated a preexisting emotional condition. OWCP accepted several work factors, including interruptions to her cleaning schedule and additional tasks, but denied the claim on medical causation. Her treating…
J.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tacoma, WA
J.L. (ECAB 12-1587): Disability compensation claim returned for medical review
J.L., a postal letter carrier, sought compensation for 54 hours between December 14, 2009 and February 6, 2010 after an accepted shoulder and thoracic strain. OWCP denied the claim based in part on a referral physician’s report. The Board found that OWCP had not asked that physician whether the…
R.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System, New Orleans, LA
R.S. (ECAB 12-1466): Existing leg impairment awards upheld
R.S., a VA painter, had received schedule awards for 11 percent impairment of his left leg and 10 percent impairment of his right leg after an accepted lower back injury. A prior Board remand called for a new impartial medical examination. The new examiner found no additional leg impairment under…
G.D. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Chattanooga, TN
G.D. (ECAB 13-863): Abandoned telephone hearing ruling upheld
G.D., a former Tennessee Valley Authority sheet metal worker, sought a hearing after OWCP denied his hearing loss claim as untimely. OWCP mailed notice of a scheduled telephone hearing to his address of record, but he did not call in, ask for a postponement, or explain his absence within 10 days…
V.P. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Washington, DC
V.P. (ECAB 13-714): Public walkway fall during commute was outside employment
V.P., a FEMA benefits adviser, fell on a wet floor in a public building while walking from a commuter bus toward an employer shuttle stop. OWCP denied her injury claim as outside the performance of duty. The Board found that she had not started work, the area was open to the public and was not…
C.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Trenton, NJ
C.M. (ECAB 13-709): Claimed recurrence of disability denied
C.M., a postal worker, returned to modified duty after a work injury that OWCP accepted as left ankle and knee sprains. She stopped work and claimed a recurrence of disability beginning November 19, 2010. The Board found that her physician did not adequately explain how the accepted sprains caused…
R.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Georgetown, KY
R.M. (ECAB 13-654): Late reconsideration request did not show clear error
R.M., a rural mail carrier, sought compensation for periods of disability after a work-related vehicle accident. More than two years after OWCP’s last merit decision, she requested reconsideration, arguing that medical evidence of fibromyalgia had been overlooked. The Board found her request…
T.P. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Fort Dix, NJ
T.P. (ECAB 13-483): Late request for written-record review denied
T.P., a federal correctional officer, sought review of OWCP’s denial of his claim following a work-related vehicle accident. His request for written-record review was postmarked more than 30 days after OWCP issued the denial. The Board found that he had no right to that review after the deadline…
D.I. and Department of the Navy, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, VA
D.I. (ECAB 13-469): Overpayment amount corrected; recovery waiver denied
D.I., a Navy technician, returned to full-time work after treatment for an accepted injury, but OWCP continued paying total disability benefits. The Board calculated an overpayment of $7,156.17 for June 6 through August 27, 2011, correcting OWCP’s figure by $1.60. Although D.I. was not at fault…
L.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Francisco, CA
L.N. (ECAB 13-404): Wage-loss claim lacked medical proof for the claimed dates
L.N., a postal custodian, injured his right shoulder while loading a pallet, and OWCP accepted a shoulder contusion. He sought wage-loss compensation after his continuation of pay ended on June 14, 2011. The Board found that one physician only tentatively linked rotator cuff damage to the incident…
K.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Aumsville, OR
K.S. (ECAB 13-338): Wage-earning capacity challenge returned for merit review
K.S., a rural mail carrier with accepted shoulder conditions, challenged a wage-earning capacity decision based on a modified carrier job. She argued that the job exceeded her restrictions and submitted new material, including a physician’s report about a worsening hip condition. OWCP treated her…
Applied Masonry, Inc.
Repeat scaffold access and planking items affirmed
Applied Masonry used fabricated-frame scaffolds while renovating a city courthouse. An employee climbed cross braces to reach an upper platform and walked across platforms that were not fully planked. The judge rejected the company's claim that the scaffold was being dismantled because the employee…
L.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Raleigh, NC
L.L. (ECAB 12-1692): Termination of wage-loss and medical benefits reversed
L.L., a postal clerk, received benefits for an accepted lumbar strain and aggravation of lumbar disc disease. OWCP terminated her wage-loss and medical benefits based on a second opinion finding that the work-related conditions had resolved. The Board found that the physician had not considered…
Secretary of Labor v. Trivette Trucking
Loss-of-control citation reduced and brake order vacated
A Trivette Trucking driver was fatally injured after his loaded coal truck left a steep mine haul road and overturned. MSHA alleged that the truck was overloaded, that the driver failed to maintain control, and that defective brakes were inadequate, seeking $140,000 for two violations. Judge…
Livingston Stone Company, Inc.
Missed penalty contest remained final
Livingston Stone Company asked the Commission to reopen a proposed penalty assessment that became final when no contest was filed within 30 days. The company's safety director had sent the assessment and supporting materials to counsel, but counsel mistakenly believed the company had already filed…
Matter of Ivan Enedelio FLORES-Aguirre, Respondent
Matter of Ivan Enedelio FLORES-Aguirre (BIA ID 3786): distributing drug proceeds is not illicit trafficking
The Board reviewed a Mexican lawful permanent resident's appeal from an order of removal and the denial of cancellation of removal. The respondent had pleaded guilty to traveling in interstate commerce with intent to distribute proceeds from an unlawful drug business. The Board held that this…
Secretary of Labor v. Amistad Ready Mix
Five final penalty assessments remained closed
Amistad Ready Mix asked the Commission to reopen five penalty assessments that had become final after the company did not contest them within 30 days. Four motions were filed more than one year after the assessments became final, making them untimely under the rule governing relief for mistake…
Secretary of Labor v. L & W Quarries, Inc.
Company payment did not prejudice individual defenses
L & W Quarries paid a final penalty assessment but later asked the Commission to reopen it after MSHA proposed individual penalties against two employees. The company wanted to ensure that its payment would not be treated as an admission by the employees in later section 110(c) litigation. The…
Secretary of Labor v. L & L Gravel
Late reopening motion denied with prejudice
L & L Gravel asked the Commission to reopen a final penalty assessment because its office manager had forgotten to mark one citation on the contest form. The assessment became final in November 2011, and the company did not file its reopening motion until December 2012. The Commission applied the…
Matter of V-X-, Respondent
Matter of V-X- (BIA ID 3785): asylum termination comes before removal issues
The Board reviewed an Albanian respondent's appeal from an order of removal and denials of asylum, withholding of removal, and Convention Against Torture protection. The respondent had received derivative asylum and later pleaded guilty in Michigan to drug offenses and home invasion, with one…
E.S. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Pacific, Fort Shafter, HI
E.S. (ECAB 13-777): Examination suspension affirmed; reconsideration remanded
E.S. missed an OWCP-directed medical examination, and OWCP suspended his compensation. The Board held that his initial account of family business did not establish good cause for missing the appointment, so it affirmed the suspension decision. E.S. later supplied letters indicating that he was out…
E.C. and Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, Albuquerque, NM
E.C. (ECAB 13-839): Thumb injury claim lacked a reasoned causal opinion
E.C., a federal agent, said he hyperextended his right thumb during training in June 2000. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but did not accept a related thumb condition. The Board found that medical reports described a ligament injury and preexisting thumb problems without explaining how…
J.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Wichita, KS
J.J. (ECAB 13-826): Reconsideration refusal upheld in late-filed disease claim
J.J., a former postal carrier, had claimed that years of mail delivery caused several medical conditions. OWCP denied the claim as untimely, finding that he reasonably should have linked his symptoms to work before the date he asserted. In seeking reconsideration, J.J. repeated his earlier account…
W.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Charlie Norwood Veterans Administration Medical Center, Augusta, GA
W.C. (ECAB 13-675): Wage-loss denial upheld for periods outside accepted surgery absence
W.C., a VA food service supervisor, had an accepted work-related right rotator cuff rupture. OWCP recognized disability from July 25 through August 23, 2011, but denied compensation for June 21 through July 24 and August 24 through November 14, 2011. The Board found that the medical reports did not…
C.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Reno, NV
C.S. (ECAB 13-624): Disability recurrence returned for impartial examination
C.S., a VA purchasing agent, returned to part-time modified duty after an accepted fall injury. She claimed that she could no longer work beginning in October 2011. An OWCP second opinion physician found she could perform four hours of light duty each day, while her attending physician found she…
W.R. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Coleman, FL
W.R. (ECAB 13-492): Additional schedule award denied for lack of scheduled impairment
W.R., a correctional officer, sought a further schedule award after accepted neck, back, knee, and foot injuries. Her physician rated spinal impairment using a state compensation schedule and included a right carpal tunnel condition that OWCP had not accepted. A second opinion physician found no…
M.Z. and Department of Homeland Security, Transporation Security Administration, Newark, NJ
M.Z. (ECAB 13-414): Order requires combined review of recurrence and new-injury files
M.Z. reported disability she linked to a prior work injury. OWCP treated her filing as a new injury claim, but the Board found that OWCP had not adequately explained that choice or included the earlier accepted-injury file in the record. The Board ordered OWCP to combine the files, decide whether…
G.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Farmingdale, NY
G.T. (ECAB 13-125): Existing 14 percent right arm award upheld
G.T., a postal equipment operator, had received a schedule award for 14 percent permanent impairment of his right arm after an accepted shoulder injury. His attending surgeon estimated 24 percent impairment, but did not properly connect his measurements to the applicable sixth edition rating…
C.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, El Paso, TX
C.H. (ECAB 13-34): Wage-loss termination reversed
C.H., a border patrol agent, received compensation for an accepted lower back injury. OWCP terminated his wage-loss benefits after his treating surgeon had at one point expressed hope that he could return to full duty. The surgeon later said C.H. remained unable to work, and no physician had…
B.H. and Department of Homeland Security, TSA-Federal Marshal Service, Chantilly, VA
B.H. (ECAB 12-1900): Ten percent left arm schedule award upheld
B.H., a federal air marshal, injured his left shoulder and arm during a passenger altercation. OWCP accepted a shoulder and upper arm sprain and ruptured biceps tendon, then granted a 10 percent left arm schedule award after surgery. The Board reviewed the clinical measurements and the OWCP medical…
L.B. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Olathe, KS
L.B. (ECAB 12-1617): Emotional condition claim returned for merit review
L.B., an FAA air traffic control specialist, claimed an emotional condition after an alleged retaliatory accusation of an operational error. OWCP had accepted stress from her training duties as a work factor but found the medical evidence insufficient to link it to her condition. In seeking…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chicago, IL
M.M. (ECAB 13-841): Back condition claim lacked qualifying medical evidence
M.M., a mail carrier, said repetitive lifting and casing mail caused a low back condition. OWCP accepted the described work activities, but the medical submissions came from chiropractors. The Board explained that a chiropractor’s report counts as a physician’s opinion under FECA only for treatment…
T.R. and Department of the Army, Anniston Army Depot, Anniston, AL
T.R. (ECAB 13-771): Hearing loss award claim returned for combined review
T.R. had an existing schedule award for 12 percent hearing loss in both ears and sought a further award. OWCP denied the request after a medical adviser asserted without explanation that hearing loss cannot progress after workplace noise exposure ends. The Board said that a later increase can…
G.A. and Department of the Air Force, Disposal Division, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, AZ
G.A. (ECAB 13-750): Pulmonary claim denial affirmed on timeliness grounds
G.A., a retired Air Force worker, claimed that workplace asbestos exposure caused a pulmonary condition. OWCP denied the claim for insufficient medical evidence. The Board found that G.A. had identified a possible link between the condition and his work by mid-2007 but did not file until June 2012…
D.C. and Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Taos, NM
D.C. (ECAB 13-747): Telemarketer wage-capacity reduction upheld
D.C., a Forest Service firefighter, received total disability benefits after an accepted lower back injury and surgery. Medical reports later found he could work eight hours with physical limits. A vocational counselor identified telemarketing as suitable, and state employment information showed…
M.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Detroit, MI
M.D. (ECAB 13-698): Repeated medical opinion did not reopen trauma claim
M.D., a postal carrier, claimed post-traumatic stress disorder after being robbed at gunpoint while delivering mail. OWCP accepted the incident but denied the medical claim for insufficient evidence of causation. In a later reconsideration request, she submitted a psychiatrist’s form that repeated…
A.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, The Dalles, OR
A.H. (ECAB 13-686): Suitable-work refusal termination reversed for missing notice
A.H., a postal worker with an accepted shoulder injury, was offered a modified job while receiving total disability benefits. He told a rehabilitation counselor why he could not accept the offer. OWCP terminated his compensation without telling him that it found those reasons inadequate or giving…
J.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Marlton, NJ
J.F. (ECAB 13-684): Upper extremity awards returned for combined claim review
J.F., a postal carrier, had several accepted hand and arm conditions in separate claim files. OWCP awarded five percent left arm impairment but denied a further right arm award based on an earlier award in another file. The Board found that the current appeal record lacked the prior files and that…
D.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Marion, IL
D.G. (ECAB 13-633): Back injury claim returned for combined file review
D.G., a VA nursing assistant, claimed a lower back injury after a patient fell onto her. OWCP denied the claim while referring to evidence from two earlier accepted back injury files. The Board found that those files could bear on whether the new incident caused or aggravated her lumbar condition…
R.S. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration -- Federal Air Marshall Service, New York Field Office, East Elmhurst, NY
R.S. (ECAB 13-464): Total disability recurrence claim denied
R.S., a federal air marshal, returned to part-time modified work after an accepted right knee injury. He then claimed he could no longer perform any work before undergoing authorized knee surgery. His surgeon took him off work because of instability but did not adequately explain why he could no…
J.R. and Department of the Army, Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville, FL
J.R. (ECAB 13-211): Late reconsideration lacked clear evidence of error
J.R.’s compensation had been reduced to zero after he failed to cooperate with OWCP vocational rehabilitation. Years later, he sought reconsideration and argued that participation in a state rehabilitation program showed cooperation. The Board found the requests far beyond the one-year deadline and…
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Colorado Springs, CO
J.B. (ECAB 13-63): Right arm award claim returned for combined file review
J.B. sought a schedule award for accepted right carpal tunnel syndrome. OWCP found five percent impairment from that condition but denied an additional award because a separate claim had already yielded a 17 percent right arm award for a shoulder condition. The Board found that OWCP relied on the…
G.A. and Department of Defense, San Antonio, TX
G.A. (ECAB 12-1826): Teller wage-capacity reduction upheld
G.A., a Defense Department cashier, received compensation for accepted neck, shoulder, and wrist conditions. OWCP reduced her benefits after identifying teller as a suitable job she could perform. The Board credited two referral physicians’ restrictions, which allowed the physical demands of teller…
J.G. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, San Antonio, TX
J.G. (ECAB 13-905): Forty-one percent hearing loss award upheld
J.G., a Customs and Border Protection officer, had accepted workplace noise-related hearing loss. OWCP rated his loss at 41 percent in both ears, including a five percent allowance for tinnitus, and granted 82 weeks of schedule award compensation. The Board found that the medical adviser correctly…
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.