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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Dickenson-Russell Coal Company, LLC
Interlocutory review vacated after contest withdrawal
The Commission had accepted interlocutory review of whether the Secretary could remove an S&S designation in settlement without Commission approval. Dickenson-Russell Coal then paid the penalty and withdrew its contest of the citation. The Commission held that immediate review would no longer…
M.J. and Department of the Navy, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Norfolk, VA
M.J. (ECAB 13-0307): Five percent hearing loss award affirmed
M.J., a Navy boiler plant worker, developed hearing loss after years of workplace noise exposure. OWCP granted a schedule award for five percent binaural hearing loss. An OWCP second-opinion physician proposed an additional rating for tinnitus, but did not explain whether it affected M.J.’s daily…
H.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Postal Store, Anchorage, AK
H.L. (ECAB 13-0276): Untimely reconsideration request denied
H.L., a postal sales associate, sought benefits for carpal tunnel syndrome that she linked to repetitive work. OWCP denied the claim on the merits in September 2009. Her December 2011 reconsideration request came more than one year later. The Board found that the new medical reports did not show…
J.S. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, Weslaco, TX
J.S. (ECAB 13-0252): Hearing loss claim barred by filing deadline
J.S., a retired customs inspector, alleged that workplace noise caused hearing loss. He reported knowing of a possible work connection in June 2002 and continued working until January 2008. The Board held that the three-year filing period began no later than his last exposure when he retired, but…
E.M. and Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, New Cumberland, PA
E.M. (ECAB 13-0249): Medical recurrence denial affirmed
E.M., a Defense Logistics Agency truck inspector, had an accepted lumbosacral strain from a 1997 workplace incident. In 2011 he claimed that he needed further treatment, including a personal mobility vehicle, because of that injury. His physician described several later back and nerve conditions…
R.H. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Dublin, CA
R.H. (ECAB 12-1909): Untimely reconsideration denial affirmed
R.H., a Bureau of Prisons maintenance mechanic, claimed a left elbow injury after closing a heavy gate at work. OWCP denied the claim in January 2011 because the medical evidence did not establish a causal link. His April 2012 reconsideration request was filed beyond the one-year period and…
D.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Houston, TX
D.P. (ECAB 12-1859): Emotional condition claim denial affirmed
D.P., a postal carrier, attributed depression and other symptoms to alleged workplace harassment. She submitted witness statements about her supervisors’ treatment and medical reports about her condition. The Board found that the witness accounts lacked enough detail to establish harassment and…
L.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Indianapolis, IN
L.B. (ECAB 12-1796): Injury claim denied despite accepted fall
L.B., a postal letter carrier, slipped on snow-covered ice while delivering mail in January 2012. OWCP accepted that the fall happened but denied her injury claim because the medical record did not establish that it caused a diagnosed condition. The Board found that imaging reports, discharge…
J.P. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Anchorage, AK
J.P. (ECAB 12-1596): Timely reconsideration request remanded
J.P., a Federal Aviation Administration employee, sought wage loss compensation for an accepted post-traumatic stress disorder. After OWCP denied that benefit, he requested reconsideration in a letter dated one day before the one-year deadline. OWCP treated the request as late because it arrived…
K.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
K.B. (ECAB 12-1438): Benefit termination and surgery denial affirmed
K.B., a postal letter carrier, had an accepted claim for left foot plantar fasciitis. OWCP ended her wage loss and medical benefits in November 2011 and declined to cover a bunionectomy she had undergone. The Board gave weight to an impartial orthopedic specialist’s reports finding that the…
S.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Alexandria Medical Center, Pineville, LA
S.S. (ECAB 13-0318): Coworker assault claim denial affirmed
S.S., a nursing assistant at a Veterans Affairs medical center, was struck by a coworker while feeding a patient. OWCP denied her injury claim after finding that the dispute arose from a personal relationship outside work. The Board found that the work setting did not cause or contribute to the…
B.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
B.P. (ECAB 13-0196): Schedule award denied for lack of ratable impairment
B.P., a postal employee, sought a schedule award for impairment associated with an accepted aggravation of a skin condition. The Board had earlier returned the case for a better medical evaluation. On remand, an examining physician found no ratable skin or left leg impairment and explained his use…
M.M. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Philadelphia, PA
M.M. (ECAB 13-0094): Disability claim remanded for medical evidence review
M.M., an Internal Revenue Service employee, had an accepted left shoulder strain from an October 2011 work incident. She claimed total disability beginning in February 2012 and submitted medical notes for several periods. OWCP denied the claim largely because she used a wage loss claim form rather…
H.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Mount Laurel, NJ
H.P. (ECAB 13-0042): Termination of injury benefits affirmed
H.P., a postal distribution clerk, received compensation for bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and a right shoulder sprain. OWCP ended her benefits in January 2012 after an impartial orthopedic examiner found no remaining work-related residuals. The Board held that his examination and explanation…
K.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pelham, AL
K.M. (ECAB 13-0032): Reconsideration refusal affirmed
K.M., a postal rural letter carrier, claimed that work duties caused or aggravated a cervical condition. OWCP denied the underlying claim for lack of sufficient medical evidence of causation. Her later reconsideration request repeated arguments and medical reports that OWCP had already considered…
W.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Francisco, CA
W.B. (ECAB 12-1896): Possible consequential back condition remanded
W.B., a postal human resources specialist, had accepted bilateral knee injuries and later sought to add a back condition to her claim. Her physicians associated worsening back symptoms with a limp caused by the knee conditions. The Board found that their reports did not yet fully establish…
L.L. and Department of the Air Force, Griffiss Air Force Base, Rome, NY
L.L. (ECAB 12-1724): Overpayment and full recovery affirmed
L.L., a former Air Force electrician, received FECA compensation and Social Security benefits during the same period. A portion of his Social Security benefits came from federal service and should have reduced his FECA payments. The Board upheld OWCP’s calculation of a $19,436.05 overpayment and…
D.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Chief Personnel Services, Tuskegee, AL
D.B. (ECAB 12-1653): Dependent benefit overpayment affirmed
D.B., a former Veterans Affairs nursing assistant, received compensation at a higher rate because she claimed her daughter as a dependent. OWCP kept paying that rate after the daughter turned 23, when she no longer qualified under the student dependent rule. The Board upheld OWCP’s calculation of a…
R.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
R.F. (ECAB 12-1646): Overpayment reduced by one cent
R.F., a postal rural carrier, received total disability compensation for a period after he returned to full-time work. The Board agreed that this created an overpayment and that he was at fault because OWCP had told him to return any payment covering work time. It found a one-cent arithmetic error…
Jesco, Inc.
Aerial-lift modification item narrowed to clamped beam
Jesco used an aerial lift to move 31-foot, 325-pound ceiling beams at an industrial facility. It secured the first beam to the basket's guardrails with vise clamps, then moved ten later beams by resting them on the guardrails without clamps. The Commission held that the field-modification standard…
Secretary of Labor v. Hunt Martin Materials, LLC
Highwall fall-protection citation affirmed
Two blasters loaded holes near the edge of a 26-to-28-foot highwall without using available fall-protection equipment. Judge David P. Simonton credited the inspectors' contemporaneous notes and testimony that some holes were only two to three feet from the edge, rejecting the operator's claim that…
D.C. and Department of Defense, Joint Task Force National Capital Region Medical Command, Arlington, VA
D.C. (ECAB 13-0192): Injury denial affirmed, reconsideration remanded
D.C., a dental assistant, slipped on a wet floor at work and claimed a left knee injury. The Board upheld OWCP’s initial denial because the medical evidence then before it did not explain how the fall caused or worsened her knee condition. D.C. later submitted new records from an internist who…
K.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Ingleside, TX
K.H. (ECAB 13-0176): Additional shoulder award denied
K.H., a postal letter carrier, had received a schedule award for 15 percent permanent impairment of his left upper extremity after a shoulder injury. He later sought an increased award following additional treatment. New evaluations rated his current impairment at five or 12 percent, based on…
L.J. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Medical Center for Federal Prisoners, Springfield, MO
L.J. (ECAB 13-0104): Facial disfigurement award claim remanded
L.J., a Bureau of Prisons sports specialist, was injured when a softball bat struck his head at work. He later sought compensation for facial disfigurement. OWCP’s medical adviser reviewed three photographs and concluded that the visible scar did not warrant an award, but those photographs were…
P.M. and Department of Defense, DECA Southwest Region, Fort Lee, VA
P.M. (ECAB 13-0002): Dependent benefit overpayment affirmed
P.M. received compensation at a higher rate while a son qualified as a student dependent. The son graduated from high school in June 2010, but OWCP continued paying the higher rate through February 2011. The Board upheld the $2,117.57 overpayment and found P.M. at fault because signed disclosure…
A.C. and Department of Agriculture, Inspection Operations Program, Minneapolis, MN
A.C. (ECAB 12-1957): Occupational disease claim denial affirmed
A.C., a food safety inspector, attributed left shoulder, back and neck problems to repetitive inspection of cattle parts. One physician linked her symptoms to work but did not explain how the duties caused or aggravated a diagnosed condition, including a preexisting cervical condition. Another…
M.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Willowick, OH
M.R. (ECAB 12-1932): Schedule award claim remanded for medical review
M.R., a postal employee with accepted back and left elbow injuries, sought a schedule award. OWCP denied the claim based on medical reports finding no permanent lower extremity impairment. M.R. later submitted a report from another physician identifying possible impairment, but OWCP did not send…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Phoenix, AZ
M.M. (ECAB 12-1892): Compensation suspension affirmed
M.M., a postal carrier, did not attend a scheduled examination arranged by OWCP to assess her accepted shoulder injury. She said the office was too far away, travel was unaffordable, and she distrusted the physician. The Board found that OWCP offered help with transportation and that M.M. had not…
A.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Detroit, MI
A.A. (ECAB 12-1828): Recurrence denial and review refusal affirmed
A.A., a postal worker with accepted shoulder and arm conditions, returned to a modified job for one shift and then claimed a recurrence of total disability. The Board found no reasoned medical evidence showing that the accepted conditions prevented her from performing that job during the claimed…
R.T. and Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Fort Belvoir, VA
R.T. (ECAB 12-1809): Hearing loss schedule award affirmed
R.T., a Defense Logistics Agency materials handler, had accepted hearing loss from workplace noise. OWCP used a specialist’s audiogram to calculate 25 percent permanent hearing loss in both ears and granted 50 weeks of schedule award compensation. The Board found that the calculation followed the…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Ringgold, GA
J.M. (ECAB 12-1679): Rural carrier injury claim remanded
J.M., a postal rural letter carrier, appealed OWCP decisions denying an injury claim. OWCP had first accepted that the reported work incident occurred, then questioned that finding while deciding the claim again without addressing new medical evidence. OWCP’s Director asked the Board to return the…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Media, PA
J.M. (ECAB 12-1630): Wage loss claim denial affirmed
J.M., a postal letter carrier, had accepted lumbar injuries and sought wage loss compensation for part of 2007. After an earlier remand, OWCP obtained a new orthopedic opinion addressing the duties of her modified job. The physician found that the accepted conditions did not prevent her from…
A.C. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, MacArthur Airport, Ronkonkoma, NY
A.C. (ECAB 12-1114): Benefit termination for refusing suitable work affirmed
A.C., a Transportation Security Administration officer, received compensation after a right shoulder injury. His employer offered a modified security and clerical position, but he declined it as beyond his physical limits. An impartial orthopedic physician had found that A.C. could work full time…
J.P. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Linthicum, MD
J.P. (ECAB 12-0145): Travel status injury claim denial affirmed
J.P., a transportation security inspector on a work training trip, injured his leg during an altercation at a hotel after dinner. Employees traveling for work generally remain covered during ordinary activities such as eating away from home. The Board found, however, that the weight of witness and…
Secretary of Labor v. Wolf Run Mining Co.
Secretary ordered to define flagrant-violation theory
The Commission reversed an earlier ALJ interpretation that barred consideration of an operator's past violations when deciding whether a violation was a repeated-failure flagrant violation. On remand, Judge David F. Barbour found that the Secretary's theory remained unclear because it had changed…
T.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Grand Rapids, MI
T.S. (ECAB 13-0281): Additional leg amputation award ordered
T.S., a postal worker, had a right leg amputation below the knee after a work injury and had received a schedule award for 70 percent impairment. He requested a higher award. The Board held that FECA treats an amputation above the ankle as loss of the leg, so the statutory rule controls over a…
S.G. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Brooklyn, NY
S.G. (ECAB 13-0096): Termination of knee injury benefits affirmed
S.G., a Bureau of Prisons food service supervisor, injured his right knee when a food cart struck it in 2000. OWCP later ended his wage-loss compensation and medical benefits based on an orthopedic examination finding no remaining effects of the accepted injury. The Board found that the examiner's…
T.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration, New Orleans, LA
T.G. (ECAB 13-0076): Filing cabinet injury claim denial affirmed
T.G., a VA claims examiner, said she hurt her back when she stopped a filing cabinet from falling at work. OWCP accepted that the incident happened but denied compensation because the medical evidence did not establish that it caused her diagnosed conditions. The Board found that her physician did…
R.K. and Department of the Navy, Naval Facilities Engineering Command Stations, San Diego, CA
R.K. (ECAB 13-0072): Suspension for missing earnings report affirmed
R.K., a Navy rigger who had received benefits for a work-related back injury, did not return the annual earnings affidavit that OWCP requested twice. OWCP suspended his compensation effective July 28, 2012. The Board held that the requests and lack of a timely response justified the suspension. It…
B.H. and Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration, Norton, VA
B.H. (ECAB 12-1960): Twelve percent lung impairment award upheld
B.H., a federal coal mine inspector, developed coal workers' pneumoconiosis after exposure to coal dust. OWCP awarded compensation for six percent permanent impairment of each lung, totaling 12 percent. B.H. sought a larger award based on his treating physician's higher ratings. The Board found…
S.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Memphis, TN
S.H. (ECAB 12-1891): Late reconsideration request denied
S.H., a postal distribution clerk, sought to challenge the termination of benefits for an accepted cervical condition. OWCP treated a 2012 filing as a reconsideration request, years after its last decision on the merits in 2005. The Board held that the request missed the one-year deadline and that…
C.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Santa Clarita, CA
C.M. (ECAB 12-1877): Additional shoulder and knee conditions denied
C.M., a postal sales associate, fell at work in 2009. OWCP accepted contusions of her shoulders and upper arms but denied a right rotator cuff tear and bilateral knee conditions. The Board found no medical opinion linking the knee conditions to the fall and found the opinions about the rotator cuff…
W.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Petersburg, FL
W.R. (ECAB 12-1874): Pulmonary embolism award denied
W.R., a postal maintenance mechanic, had a work-related vehicle accident and later developed a pulmonary embolism that OWCP accepted under his claim. He sought a schedule award for permanent lung impairment. The Board held that the accepted embolism should be rated under the pulmonary artery…
O.S. and Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Albuquerque, NM
O.S. (ECAB 12-1432): Oral hearing denial affirmed
O.S., a Forest Service district ranger, sought benefits for an emotional condition he attributed to workplace conduct. After OWCP denied the claim and ruled on reconsideration, he requested an oral hearing. The Board held that a claimant who has already requested reconsideration of a decision has…
M.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Devon, PA
M.W. (ECAB 12-1398): Knee impairment rating sent for impartial review
M.W., a postal clerk with an accepted right knee injury, had received schedule awards totaling seven percent impairment of her right leg. She sought a larger award based on newer knee x-rays and her physician's higher rating. OWCP's medical adviser measured the joint space differently and opposed…
D.W. Caldwell, Inc.
Steep-roof fall violation affirmed as serious
D.W. Caldwell employees installed metal panels on a steep roof with an eave 32 feet above the ground. The crew wore harnesses but, with one temporary exception, did not connect them to anchor points, and the foreman knowingly allowed the practice after the general contractor warned him the previous…
Secretary of Labor v. Elk Run Coal Company
Continuance denied despite backlog-office closure
The Secretary asked to postpone the hearing in three of four consolidated penalty dockets because counsel expected office-closing work connected with the shutdown of MSHA's Arlington backlog project and anticipated difficulty completing post-hearing briefs. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy denied the…
L.S. and Department of the Air Force, Randolph Air Force Base, TX
L.S. (ECAB 13-0637): Reconsideration denied without merits review
L.S., an Air Force medical support assistant, claimed that an unsuitable workstation caused neck, shoulder, back and leg symptoms. OWCP accepted that the alleged work factor occurred but found no reasoned medical evidence connecting it to a diagnosed condition. L.S. later requested reconsideration…
P.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Antonio, TX
P.M. (ECAB 13-0279): Right knee injury claim denied
P.M., a postal city carrier, said she felt a pop in her right knee while walking down a driveway at work. An MRI scan later showed a meniscal tear, but OWCP denied her claim. The Board found that one physician had not explained how walking caused the tear or addressed earlier degenerative findings…
A.R. and Department of the Navy, Norfolk Naval Air Station, Norfolk, VA
A.R. (ECAB 13-0191): Cellulitis claim denied for lack of medical link
A.R., an assistant cook aboard a Navy supply ship, said long work hours and contact with ship ladders aggravated sores on his leg. OWCP accepted his work duties but denied his cellulitis claim. The Board found that his treating doctor's notes diagnosed and treated the infection but did not explain…
L.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Newark, NJ
L.C. (ECAB 13-0074): Postal worker's injury claim sent back for medical review
L.C., a postal worker, said a vehicle collision in an employer parking lot injured his neck and back. After an earlier Board remand, OWCP again denied his claim based on a second opinion examination. The Board found that the examiner's report was vague about whether the accident caused or…
K.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Detroit, MI
K.P. (ECAB 13-0056): Zero dollar benefit reduction reversed
K.P., a postal worker with an accepted knee injury, received wage-loss compensation after knee replacement surgery. OWCP reduced his compensation to zero after finding that he had not cooperated with vocational rehabilitation. The Board found that OWCP's second opinion physician had imposed…
S.S. and Department of the Navy, Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, CA
S.S. (ECAB 13-0011): Insurance clerk capacity supports benefit reduction
S.S., a former Navy rigger with an accepted back injury, received total disability compensation after surgery. OWCP later reduced his compensation based on a finding that he could earn wages as an insurance clerk. The Board found that his physician's work restrictions permitted the sedentary job…
R.C. and Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Bethesda, MD
R.C. (ECAB 12-1879): Recurrence and reconsideration denials affirmed
R.C., an FDA press officer, had accepted neck, back, shoulder and foot conditions from a 2009 work injury. She claimed that the injury caused a new period of total disability from September 27 through November 15, 2011. The Board found that her doctors' work excuses did not adequately explain why…
M.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Marianna, AR
M.A. (ECAB 12-1800): Carpal tunnel claim and reopening denial affirmed
M.A., a postmaster, claimed that years of repetitive work caused bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. The Board accepted that she performed repetitive duties and that testing showed carpal tunnel syndrome. It found, however, that no physician explained how her work caused or aggravated the condition…
A.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tampa, FL
A.D. (ECAB 12-1656): Late reconsideration request rejected
A.D., a postal mail handler, sought benefits for an emotional condition she attributed to discrimination and a hostile workplace. OWCP denied the claim in June 2011 because it found no compensable employment factor. Her July 2012 reconsideration request came more than one year after that merits…
J.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA
J.W. (ECAB 12-1452): Knee replacement authorization denial upheld
J.W., a VA housekeeping aide, had an accepted left knee sprain and later underwent a total knee replacement. His surgeon said the work injury aggravated preexisting arthritis and made the surgery necessary. An impartial orthopedic specialist found that the sprain had resolved and that the injury…
Secretary of Labor v. Wolf Run Mining Company
Past violations may support a repeated-failure flagrant penalty
Wolf Run challenged a $142,900 flagrant penalty for combustible-material accumulations. The ALJ held that a repeated-failure flagrant violation could be based only on repeated failures to eliminate the particular cited condition, not on prior similar violations. The Commission reversed. It held…
Shawn Walker v. Todd Pacific Shipyards
Walker v. Todd Pacific Shipyards (BRB 12-0180 and 12-0315): disability award reopened on reconsideration
Shawn Walker was enrolled in a vocational rehabilitation program while receiving Longshore Act disability benefits. On reconsideration, his employer argued that evidence about expected wages after the program created a factual dispute that barred summary decision on total disability benefits. The…
D.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing and Distribution Center, Spokane, WA
D.B. (ECAB 12-1536 and 13-255): Knee award and overpayment sent back
D.B., a postal electronics technician, had received a schedule award for 59 percent right leg impairment after a knee replacement. OWCP later reduced the rating to 37 percent and assessed a $54,008.31 overpayment. The Board found that the physicians originally agreed on the 59 percent rating, so…
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.