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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V.P. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Portland, OR
V.P. (ECAB 13-0484): Vehicle collision claim denied for lack of medical explanation
V.P., a VA motor vehicle operator, was rear-ended while driving a government vehicle on duty. OWCP accepted the collision but denied his claim for neck, back, and wrist conditions. His doctor diagnosed strains and supported a work connection, but the Board found he had not explained how the…
R.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Leandro, CA
R.G. (ECAB 13-0272): Earlier wage loss determination remains in place
R.G., a postal mail carrier, injured her neck in a 1990 fall and later worked four hours a day in a light-duty position. OWCP used those earnings to set her wage-earning capacity in 2004. After she stopped working in August 2006, she sought full wage loss compensation based on a worsening of an…
R.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Denver, CO
R.G. (ECAB 13-0220): Right arm impairment award returned for a new evaluation
R.G., a former VA medical center employee, received a schedule award for nine percent right arm impairment from carpal tunnel syndrome. She sought a larger award based on additional arm and shoulder conditions. The Board found that OWCP’s records conflicted over whether a right ganglion was an…
T.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jacksonville, AL
T.G. (ECAB 13-0203): Jaw disorder and related wage loss not linked to accepted threat
T.G., a postal clerk, was threatened by a coworker in August 2010, and OWCP accepted a temporary stress reaction. She later claimed that stress caused a temporomandibular joint disorder and sought wage loss compensation for part of 2012. Her doctors linked her jaw symptoms generally to stress, but…
E.W. and Department of the Navy, North Island Naval Air Rework Facility, San Diego, CA
E.W. (ECAB 12-1961): Wage capacity reduction remains in place
E.W., a former Navy employee, had accepted lumbar injuries from 1979 and received wage-loss compensation. OWCP reduced his compensation in 2010 based on a small products assembler job that it found he could perform and that was available locally. E.W. sought to undo the reduction, submitting…
D.M. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Fort Dix, NJ
D.M. (ECAB 12-1947): Continuing wage loss after elbow surgery not established
D.M., a correctional officer, had accepted left shoulder and elbow injuries and received wage-loss compensation during recovery from elbow surgery. OWCP ended that compensation in July 2011 after its examining physician said she could return to her regular job. Her treating physician disagreed and…
J.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Boston, MA
J.K. (ECAB 12-1807): Left leg award stays at 23 percent after knee replacement
J.K., a postal mail handler, had a left knee replacement after accepted work injuries. OWCP awarded him 23 percent permanent impairment of the left leg, and he sought a larger award. The Board found that higher ratings from his surgeon and an earlier OWCP medical adviser did not adequately apply…
C.L. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Green Bay, WI
C.L. (ECAB 12-1610): Benefits restored after deficient suitable work process
C.L., a transportation security officer with accepted shoulder injuries, declined a modified job offer and lost compensation benefits. An OWCP hearing representative set aside the first termination because the record did not establish whether the offered job was permanent. OWCP obtained a later…
M.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Spring Valley, CA
M.P. (ECAB 12-1458): Insurance clerk earnings capacity upheld
M.P., a former postal letter carrier with accepted back and hip conditions, could not return to her prior duties. OWCP selected a sedentary insurance clerk position after vocational training and reduced her compensation based on $400 in weekly earning capacity. M.P. argued that she had been unable…
Four Star Resources, LLC Premium Coal Company, Inc. Virginia Fuel Corporation Double Bonus Coal Company Chief Mining, Inc. Superior Processing Inc.
Four Star Resources, LLC, et al. (FMSHRC VA 2011-583, et al.): Nonattorney representative ordered to seek permission in 18 dockets
A nonattorney representative had filed appearances in three earlier matters without first requesting the judge's permission as required by the Commission's procedural rules. Judge Priscilla M. Rae later permitted him to appear in those matters but directed him to request permission and file notices…
M.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Saint Louis, MO
M.J. (ECAB 13-598): Schedule award denial affirmed
M.J., a postal mail processing clerk, sought a schedule award after OWCP accepted several lumbar conditions resulting from a lifting injury. Her surgeon reported improvement after surgery and did not rate any lasting impairment in her legs. A functional capacity evaluation found no leg weakness…
T.E. and Department of the Army, Defense Language Institute, Foreign Language Center, Presidio of Monterey, CA
T.E. (ECAB 13-461): Reconsideration denied without a merit review
T.E. had claimed that lifting computer printers at work aggravated a preexisting back condition. The Board had previously affirmed denial of that claim because the medical evidence did not establish the connection. Her attorney then requested reconsideration and said new medical evidence was…
L.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Audie L. Murphy Veterans Hospital, San Antonio, TX
L.G. (ECAB 13-459): Injury denial upheld on different grounds
L.G., a medical technologist, reported that her walker caught in a sidewalk near work and that she then developed back, neck, and knee symptoms. OWCP denied her claim because it found the incident had not occurred as described. The Board found the walker incident did occur, but that L.G. did not…
J.M. and Department of the Air Force, Air Training Command, Laughlin Air Force Base, TX
J.M. (ECAB 13-299): No additional award for right toe injury
J.M., an Air Force firefighter, received a schedule award in 1995 for 10 percent impairment of his right foot after a work-related great toe fracture. He later sought an additional award, and his physician rated his current right leg impairment at five percent under the applicable impairment…
L.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tampa, FL
L.H. (ECAB 13-288): Schedule award denied for lack of an impairment report
L.H., a postal mail clerk, sought a schedule award for permanent impairment after OWCP accepted his right carpal tunnel syndrome claim. OWCP asked him for a physician’s impairment evaluation using the required medical guides, but none was in the record when it decided the claim. L.H. said his…
N.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pittsburgh, PA
N.A. (ECAB 13-93): Additional upper extremity conditions not established
N.A., a postal worker with an accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome claim, sought recognition of shoulder and other arm nerve conditions related to her mail handling duties. OWCP denied the additional conditions because it found the medical evidence insufficient to connect them to work. The…
J.J. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Latham, NY
J.J. (ECAB 13-21): Knee injury claim and late hearing request denied
J.J., a federal criminal investigator, reported right knee pain after moving large bales from a tractor-trailer. OWCP accepted that the work activity occurred but denied compensation because the medical reports did not establish a definite diagnosis linked to it. The Board agreed that reports…
C.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Blackwood, NJ
C.T. (ECAB 12-1303): Ankle award sent back for an impartial examiner
C.T., a postal carrier, received a schedule award for 10 percent impairment of her left lower extremity after a work-related ankle fracture. Her physician rated the impairment at 12 percent, while OWCP’s second opinion physician found none. OWCP relied on a third physician as an impartial examiner…
B.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Sparta, NJ
B.D. (ECAB 13-403): Recurrence claim returned for medical development
B.D., a postal mail carrier with accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, claimed that the condition again prevented him from working in November 2011. OWCP denied the recurrence claim and discounted a physiatrist’s report because he was not an orthopedic surgeon or neurologist. The Board held…
D.B. and Department of the Navy, Navy Medical Command, Great Lakes, IL
D.B. (ECAB 13-369): Fall accepted, claimed ankle conditions unproven
D.B., a Navy nursing assistant, fell on ice at work and later sought compensation for right ankle and foot conditions. OWCP accepted that the fall occurred but found the medical evidence insufficient to connect her diagnosed conditions to it. The Board agreed. Her physicians reported an ankle…
C.B. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Nuclear Security, Chattanooga, TN
C.B. (ECAB 13-43): Disability payments denied for two claimed periods
C.B., a Tennessee Valley Authority security sergeant, had accepted left elbow and shoulder injuries and sought disability compensation for October 25 through December 30, 2011 and January 3 through 13, 2012. OWCP denied the payments because it found insufficient proof that the injury prevented her…
F.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Newark, NY
F.G. (ECAB 13-40): Back injury claim lacked a reasoned medical link
F.G., a postal maintenance technician, reported back pain after servicing mail processing machines and removing a maintenance lock. OWCP accepted his account of the work activities but denied the claim because the medical reports did not establish that those activities caused his diagnosed back…
J.A. and Department of the Air Force, Air Education & Training Command, Denver, CO
J.A. (ECAB 12-1793): Overpayment finding set aside for missing forfeiture analysis
J.A., a former Air Force mechanic receiving injury compensation, was accused of failing to report work and earnings from a remodeling business. OWCP found a $382,003.56 overpayment and held him at fault, but a prior hearing decision had effectively set aside the forfeiture finding that supplied the…
A.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Air Mail Facility, San Francisco, CA
A.L. (ECAB 12-1634): Appointment clerk wage capacity finding reversed
A.L., a postal worker injured when struck by a forklift, received wage-loss compensation. OWCP reduced it based on a sedentary appointment clerk job with estimated weekly wages of $400. The Board found that OWCP had not shown the job fit her medical restrictions, including limits on sitting and…
R.S. and Department of the Navy, Naval Aviation Depot, Cherry Point, NC
R.S. (ECAB 12-1628): No greater arm impairment award established
R.S., a former Navy sandblaster with accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, sought a greater schedule award for both arms. He had previously received compensation for 27 percent impairment of the left arm and 15 percent of the right. His physician rated 17 percent left arm impairment, below the…
L.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
L.D. (ECAB 12-1518): Cervical injury claim returned for medical development
L.D., a postal worker with an earlier accepted hand and arm claim, sought recognition of a cervical spine condition related to heavier mail handling duties. OWCP denied the new claim, questioning both the identified duties and the medical link. The Board found that L.D. had described work…
S.B. and Peace Corps, Peace Corps Volunteer Service, Washington, DC
S.B. (ECAB 12-1255): Volunteer coordinator wage capacity left in place
S.B., a former Peace Corps volunteer with an accepted back condition, received wage-loss compensation until OWCP reduced it based on the earnings of a volunteer services coordinator. She later sought modification, arguing that the position was unsuitable or unavailable and that her condition had…
Christopher Brinson, Gerald Hastings, and Ronald Colson employed by Kentucky-Tennessee Clay Co.
Delayed individual penalty cases allowed to proceed
MSHA sought individual penalties against three Kentucky-Tennessee Clay managers after a rail-car accident, but it did not issue the assessments until almost two and a half years after citing the company. Judge Jeffrey Tureck held that the Mine Act's reasonable-time period began when MSHA completed…
B.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Princeton, NJ
B.B. (ECAB 13-398): Mail carrier’s nerve condition claim denied
B.B., a postal letter carrier, claimed that years of sorting, lifting, and carrying mail caused or aggravated hand and arm conditions. OWCP accepted the described duties and the medical diagnoses but denied the claim for lack of proof that the work caused them. His physician said repetitive work…
R.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Antonio, TX
R.K. (ECAB 13-396): Ankle occupational disease claim lacked a consistent account
R.K., a postal rural carrier, claimed that work aggravated a preexisting right ankle condition. He described twisting his ankle on two workdays and also attributed the condition to repetitive duties over time. The Board held that his account did not specify how the ongoing work aggravated the…
C.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Arnold, MO
C.J. (ECAB 13-342): One percent award for each arm upheld
C.J., a postal letter carrier, received treatment for accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and a right trigger finger. After surgery, her hand surgeon reported good relief of numbness, normal fingertip sensation, and no triggering, but did not give an impairment percentage. OWCP’s medical…
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Isabella, PR
J.C. (ECAB 13-202): Physical occupational disease claim denied
J.C., a postal letter carrier, claimed that duties such as lifting, walking, and repetitive activity caused back, neck, and upper extremity conditions. OWCP accepted that he performed the described work but denied the physical claim for lack of medical proof linking the diagnosed conditions to…
S.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bedford, IL
S.L. (ECAB 13-91): Late reconsideration request failed clear error test
S.L., a postal carrier, sought reconsideration of OWCP’s 2010 denial of a claim arising from being struck by a car while working. His 2012 request came after the reconsideration deadline, so he needed to show clear evidence that OWCP had erred. He relied partly on a chiropractor’s later statement…
R.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Francisco, CA
R.C. (ECAB 12-1635): Customer complaint clerk wage capacity upheld
R.C., a postal letter carrier with an accepted forearm injury, received total disability compensation. OWCP selected a sedentary customer complaint clerk position and reduced his benefits based on $440 in weekly earning capacity. The Board found the position fit his medical restrictions and prior…
Matter of B-R-, Respondent
Dual national without fear in one country was not a refugee
The Board reviewed a Venezuelan respondent’s appeal from the denial of asylum and an order of removal. The respondent had been admitted as a visitor, overstayed, and claimed that pro-Chavez groups had attacked and threatened him in Venezuela. The Immigration Judge found that he was also a citizen…
Weaver's Cove Energy, LLC
In re Weaver's Cove Energy, LLC (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 13-05): petition dismissed after withdrawal
Weaver's Cove Energy, LLC was the permit holder in an NPDES appeal involving permit no. MA0004871. Cecile Scofield moved to withdraw her petition for review, which had been filed on April 18, 2013. The Board dismissed the petition with prejudice. The Board also found moot a Region 1 motion seeking…
D.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Vandalia, OH
D.A. (ECAB 13-629): Right foot injury claim denied again
D.A., a postal carrier, claimed that delivering mail on December 8, 2009 caused a right foot injury. The Board had previously accepted that he delivered mail that day but upheld denial of the claim for lack of medical proof of causation. On reconsideration, two physicians linked his foot problems…
S.S. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Fort Dix, NJ
S.S. (ECAB 13-458): Wrist injury benefits termination upheld
S.S., a Bureau of Prisons secretary, received benefits for an accepted left wrist sprain from training. OWCP ended the benefits after a second opinion physician found that the sprain had resolved and that she needed neither work restrictions nor further treatment for it. The Board found his…
B.D. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Black Hills Health Care System, Fort Meade, SD
B.D. (ECAB 13-457): Medical recurrence claim denied
B.D., a VA nurse, sought further medical benefits after an accepted lumbar sprain. She later received treatment for right hip pain and conditions, including bursitis and a tendon tear. OWCP denied her recurrence claim because the reports did not show that this new need for care arose from the…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bellmawr, NJ
M.M. (ECAB 13-439): Knee injury claim returned for a second opinion
M.M., a postal letter carrier, slipped on a stair while delivering mail and twisted his right knee. OWCP denied his injury claim for lack of a definite diagnosis and causal proof. The Board found the incident undisputed and noted that emergency and orthopedic reports supported a knee condition…
V.E. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Chicago, IL
V.E. (ECAB 13-434): Standing factor accepted, back claim denied
V.E., a transportation security officer, claimed lower back pain and sciatica related to her work. OWCP denied the claim because it said she had identified no specific employment factor. The Board found that her physician’s report did identify standing at her workstation as the relevant factor. It…
H.L. and Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Albuquerque, NM
H.L. (ECAB 13-373): New medical report required a merit review
H.L., a Forest Service technician, claimed an injury after working in heat while carrying a heavy backpack. OWCP initially denied the claim for insufficient factual and medical evidence, then refused reconsideration after she supplied an emergency physician’s report. The Board found that the report…
D.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Columbus, OH
D.R. (ECAB 13-219): Intermittent partial disability claim denied
D.R., a postal carrier with accepted shoulder, neck, and back injuries, worked a modified assignment. She sought compensation for intermittent hours in early 2011, saying the available work exceeded her medical restrictions. OWCP paid 12.96 hours when no work was available but denied 25.49 other…
M.H. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, Brownsville, TX
M.H. (ECAB 13-135): Accepted hearing loss did not support a schedule award
M.H., a Customs and Border Protection officer, had accepted work-related bilateral hearing loss and reported ringing in his ears. He sought a schedule award, but audiometric results produced zero percent ratable loss in each ear under the required impairment method. A physician proposed an…
K.C. and Securities & Exchange Commission, Benefits Branch, Washington, DC
K.C. (ECAB 12-1386): Disability periods sent to a new impartial specialist
K.C., a securities compliance examiner, claimed intermittent wage loss after accepted back conditions related to lifting heavy document boxes. OWCP had asked an impartial specialist to clarify which periods of disability resulted from those injuries. In a supplemental report, he said the work…
L.M. and Department of Agriculture, Food Safety & Inspection Service, Tar Heel, NC
L.M. (ECAB 13-476): Skin impairment award claim sent back for review
L.M., a federal food inspector, sought a schedule award for accepted contact dermatitis on both hands. OWCP denied the claim based on a medical adviser’s zero percent hand rating, but the Board found that the adviser had not explained the rating under the required impairment guides. Skin was added…
J.Q. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Los Angeles, CA
J.Q. (ECAB 13-395): Receptionist wage capacity supported the reduction
J.Q., a postal letter carrier with accepted foot conditions, received wage-loss compensation after her modified job ended. OWCP reduced it based on her capacity to earn $320 a week as a receptionist. Her physician had released her to sedentary work with restrictions, and vocational staff found the…
J.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Offfice, Hermiston, OR
J.T. (ECAB 13-378): Back claim lacked a reasoned causal opinion
J.T., a postal rural carrier, reported back pain after returning to heavy mail duties following ankle surgery. OWCP accepted that she worked extra hours and handled more mail but denied her back claim for lack of medical causation evidence. Her surgeon said the heavy work most likely brought on the…
C.D. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Atlanta, GA
C.D. (ECAB 13-377): Missed hearing request treated as abandoned
C.D., a transportation security screener receiving injury compensation, requested a telephone hearing about OWCP’s wage-earning capacity reduction. He received notice but did not join the scheduled call, and he made no written request within 10 days to reschedule it. On appeal, he explained that he…
B.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Mount Vernon, NY
B.B. (ECAB 13-269): Recurrence claim lacked medical link to accepted injury
B.B., a postal letter sorting machine operator, had an accepted 1983 injury involving aggravation of cervical spine arthritis after a coworker punched her in the face. She later claimed that disability had recurred because of that injury. Her medical records described serious cervical and lumbar…
R.G. and Department of Defense, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA
R.G. (ECAB 13-68): Travel injury claim returned for more fact finding
R.G., a naval shipyard employee on temporary duty in San Diego, was in a car with coworkers when it was struck from behind after work. OWCP denied his injury claim, finding that the group had departed from work travel to sightsee. R.G. said they were looking for dinner, while the driver’s account…
B.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Brick, NJ
B.H. (ECAB 13-28): No additional leg impairment award established
B.H., a medical center housekeeping aide, sustained an accepted lumbar sprain aggravation while lifting laundry bags. He sought a schedule award for additional permanent leg impairment beyond an earlier three percent award. After the Board ordered further medical development in a prior appeal, OWCP…
W.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, White Plains, NY
W.B. (ECAB 12-1369): Workplace treatment claim lacked a compensable factor
W.B., a postal maintenance mechanic, alleged that his supervisor’s harassment and retaliation aggravated his heart condition. He described questions about his lunch break, restrictions on entering a maintenance shop, an accusation concerning union work, and a suspension later resolved through a…
Paramont Coal Company Virginia, LLC
Dust citation upheld and one belt-abatement order vacated
MSHA cited Paramont Coal for float coal dust along a conveyor and for a misaligned belt rubbing hangers, then issued two withdrawal orders when it concluded that the conditions were not timely abated. Judge George A. Koutras affirmed both underlying violations but kept the dust citation non-S&S and…
C.R. Meyer and Sons Company
Stay of temporary reinstatement denied
An administrative law judge ordered C.R. Meyer and Sons to temporarily reinstate Dustin Rodriguez while his discrimination case proceeded. The operator sought a stay during its Commission appeal, arguing that no work was available and that it could not recover wages and benefits if it ultimately…
J.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Phoenix, AZ
J.L. (ECAB 13-653): Late written claim barred continuation of pay
J.L., a postal custodian, injured his neck and left shoulder at work in July 2012. OWCP accepted the injury but denied continuation of pay because he filed the written injury claim in October, more than 30 days later. J.L. argued that he had reported the injury to his supervisor on the day it…
R.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Alhambra, CA
R.C. (ECAB 13-450): Reconsideration letter was timely despite its wording
R.C., a postal custodian, sought compensation for back and hip conditions he attributed to repeated work duties. OWCP denied the claim, and later treated his request for reconsideration as late because he expressly requested it more than a year after the merit decision. The Board found that an…
S.G. and Department of the Treasury, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Champaign, IL
S.G. (ECAB 13-426): Accident accepted, but medical evidence did not establish injury
S.G., a national bank examiner, was rear-ended while driving home from a bank examination. OWCP accepted that the accident occurred but found that the medical evidence did not establish an injury caused by it. Her only timely medical report came from a chiropractor who diagnosed neck and upper back…
A.T. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Cherokee, NC
A.T. (ECAB 13-425): No further left leg schedule award established
A.T., a National Park Service employee, had an accepted left knee injury and had received three schedule awards totaling 75 percent permanent left leg impairment. After knee replacement surgery and a later infection, he sought an additional award. His physician rated the leg at 50 percent using a…
M.T. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, Laredo, TX
M.T. (ECAB 13-386): Wage loss was not linked to accepted back sprain
M.T., a seized property specialist, injured his back in a workplace fall, and OWCP accepted a lumbar sprain. He later sought wage-loss compensation for a period when his doctor kept him off work. The doctor also diagnosed degenerative lumbar disc disease and probable disc disruption, which OWCP had…
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.