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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W.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Air Mail Center, Atlanta, GA
W.R. (ECAB 12-1818): Wage-loss claim returned after modified work withdrawn
W.R., a postal mail handler with an accepted lumbar strain, worked in a limited-duty position until the Postal Service withdrew it under the National Reassessment Process. He claimed total wage-loss compensation beginning April 4, 2011. OWCP denied the claim, finding insufficient medical evidence…
K.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pittsburgh, PA
K.F. (ECAB 12-1790): Refusal to reopen neck injury claim affirmed
K.F., a postal clerk, claimed a neck condition after lifting parcels at work. OWCP accepted the reported 2008 lifting incident but denied the injury claim for lack of sufficient medical evidence linking her condition to it. In seeking reconsideration, she repeated that both a single incident and…
T.C. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Charlotte, NC
T.C. (ECAB 12-1668): Fall injury denial and reconsideration refusal affirmed
T.C., a transportation security screener, fell from a low platform while carrying a bag at work and claimed several injuries. The Board accepted that the fall occurred but found his physicians had not explained how it caused or aggravated the diagnosed conditions. It therefore upheld OWCP’s May 18…
C.K. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Systems Command, Orlando, FL
C.K. (ECAB 12-1550): Wage-loss claim denial after parking lot fall affirmed
C.K., a Navy administrative assistant, fell in an employer-controlled parking lot and had an accepted lumbar sprain and left knee contusion. She sought wage-loss compensation for a later period when she said she could not work. The Board found that her disability certificate listed conditions OWCP…
V.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Waldorf, MD
V.J. (ECAB 12-1528): Schedule award denial for extremity impairment affirmed
V.J., a postal mail carrier, had accepted cervical and lumbar disc conditions after a work-related vehicle accident. She sought a schedule award for claimed permanent impairment of her arms and legs. Two physicians gave impairment ratings, but the Board found their methods did not adequately apply…
K.K. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Orlando, FL
K.K. (ECAB 12-1032): Back claim returned for clear classification and decision
K.K., a transportation security officer with earlier accepted back claims, reported back and lower body symptoms after work in June 2011. OWCP denied her claim, saying the medical evidence did not link the conditions to the reported incident. The Board found the basis for denial unclear because…
Boh Brothers Construction Company, LLC
Rescue-skiff and crane-operation items affirmed
Boh Brothers was constructing bridges over Lake Pontchartrain when a crane tipped on the sloped bridge deck. The operator fell into the lake and later died from his injuries. The Commission held that the company's rescue system could not be expected to reach a worker within the three-to-four-minute…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Douglas A. Pilon v. ISP Minerals, Inc.
Safety complainant's discharge found discriminatory
Douglas Pilon repeatedly reported safety and health concerns at ISP's Kremlin Plant, including an aluminum-chloride exposure shortly before his suspension and discharge. Judge Priscilla M. Rae found that management viewed Pilon as a complainer, treated him more harshly than coworkers, and used…
M.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Minneapolis, MN
M.R. (ECAB 13-0020): Knee injury claim denial affirmed
M.R., a postal letter carrier, said he injured his right knee in a fall on steps during his mail route in January 2012. The Board found that he reported the incident to the employer weeks later and supplied no supporting supervisor statement. A medical report described an earlier knee injury but…
S.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bend, OR
S.C. (ECAB 12-1898): Wage-loss denial upheld but merits review required
S.C., a postal custodian with an accepted head contusion from a fall, sought disability compensation for April 16 through May 4, 2012. The Board found her physician’s initial report did not adequately explain why the accepted injury prevented her from working on those dates, so it affirmed OWCP’s…
R.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cataldo, ID
R.B. (ECAB 12-1771): Refusal to reopen therapy authorization claim affirmed
R.B., a postal rural carrier, had an accepted lumbar strain from a 2004 lifting injury and later requested physical therapy. OWCP denied authorization, then refused to reopen that decision on reconsideration. The Board found that a new physician report described back pain and a need for therapy but…
L.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Merrifield, VA
L.P. (ECAB 12-1765): Denial of claim for leg injury affirmed
L.P., a postal clerk, said an unsecured gate fell on her left leg at work in April 2006. OWCP accepted that the gate fell but denied her claim because the medical evidence did not connect a diagnosed condition to that event. The Board found that the initial doctor's note gave no clear diagnosis or…
M.K. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA
M.K. (ECAB 12-1762): Finding that hearing request was abandoned affirmed
M.K., a Navy shipyard student trainee, sought a hearing after OWCP denied a claim concerning her accepted back injury. OWCP mailed notice of a video hearing to her address of record more than 30 days before it was scheduled. She did not appear, request a postponement, or explain her absence within…
L.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Monroe, NY
L.S. (ECAB 12-1714): Termination of wage-loss and medical benefits affirmed
L.S., a postal letter carrier, received benefits for an accepted lumbar sprain and vertebral fracture after a January 2011 work injury. OWCP ended his wage-loss and medical benefits effective February 14, 2012, finding that the accepted conditions had resolved. The Board found that a second-opinion…
C.B. and Department of Housing & Urban Development, Atlanta, GA
C.B. (ECAB 12-1514): Benefits termination set aside for impartial medical review
C.B., a housing department legal technician, received benefits for contact dermatitis and esophagitis accepted after a 1992 workplace exposure. OWCP ended her benefits after its examining physician said the accepted conditions had resolved. C.B.'s treating physician reported continuing skin…
M.J. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Independence, MO
M.J. (ECAB 12-1412): Denial of emotional-condition claim affirmed
M.J., a National Park Service maintenance and pest control worker, sought compensation for stress and related symptoms that he attributed to supervisors' actions. He described work assignments, safety concerns, criticism, and alleged harassment. The Board found that the documented supervisory…
D.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Middletown, CA
D.L. (ECAB 12-1036): Fifteen percent arm award and denial of leg award affirmed
D.L., a postal postmaster, sought schedule awards after a fall injured her left shoulder, knee and lower back. OWCP awarded 15 percent permanent impairment of her left arm but found no ratable impairment of a leg from the accepted lumbar conditions. The Board upheld the arm rating under the…
Cleveland Wrecking Company
Falling-debris case remanded
Cleveland Wrecking was demolishing high-rise buildings in Dallas when a bobcat struck a buried steel beam and dislodged part of an exterior wall. The debris fell into a pit and killed a truck driver and a flagger employed by other companies. The Commission set aside the judge's willful findings and…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Russell Ratliff v. Cobra Natural Resources, LLC
Layoff did not toll temporary reinstatement
Russell Ratliff was discharged days after raising ventilation-plan concerns at a safety meeting and submitting ten safety cards. Cobra argued that even if he qualified for temporary reinstatement, the obligation should end when a later reduction in force would supposedly have included him based on…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Douglas A. Pilon v. ISP Minerals, Inc.
Thin layoff evidence did not toll reinstatement
ISP asked to suspend Douglas Pilon's economic reinstatement for two weeks during an asserted reduction in force caused by low sales. Judge Priscilla M. Rae denied the request because ISP submitted only a vague letter and a list labeling employees as indefinitely laid off. The company supplied no…
Secretary of Labor v. The American Coal Company
Commission remand on mine-fire interpretation
MSHA issued a section 103(k) control order after inspectors observed smoke, ash, heat waves, and the smell of burning coal at five locations on a large stockpile, although they saw no flames. The ALJ vacated the order because he read "mine fire" to require a flame. The Commission vacated the…
Safe Environment Corporation of Indiana (Cleveland Trencher Site)
In re Safe Environment Corporation of Indiana (Cleveland Trencher Site) (EAB CERCLA 106(b) Petition No. 12-02): reimbursement petition dismissed after payment
Safe Environment Corporation of Indiana filed a petition for reimbursement of costs, fees, and other expenses concerning the Cleveland Trencher Site. With the concurrence of EPA Region 5 counsel, the company moved to dismiss the petition with prejudice and reported that EPA had paid it and that all…
Safe Environmental Corporation of Indiana (Cleveland Trencher Site)
In re Safe Environmental Corporation of Indiana (EAB CERCLA 106(b) Petition No. 12-02): reimbursement petition dismissed
Safe Environment Corporation of Indiana sought reimbursement of costs, fees, and other expenses in a CERCLA section 106(b) matter. The company moved for dismissal with prejudice with the concurrence of counsel for EPA Region 5. It stated that EPA had paid the claim and that all claims had been…
Secretary of Labor v. Kemper Equipment, Inc.
Mistaken dual-filing default reopened
Kemper timely contested a citation and order, but its vice president did not forward the later proposed penalty assessment to counsel because she mistakenly believed the earlier contests also covered the penalties. The Mine Act requires separate filings: contesting a citation does not contest its…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Randy White v. GS Materials, Inc.
Temporary economic reinstatement approved
The Secretary alleged that GS Materials fired sand plant superintendent Randy White after he complained that an annual refresher-training class was inadequate. The parties settled the temporary-reinstatement application without resolving the merits. Judge Jacqueline R. Bulluck approved economic…
Secretary of Labor v. Barber & Sons Aggregate
Omitted assessment reopened after global settlement
Barber's office manager believed she had sent a proposed penalty assessment to counsel, but counsel never received it. Meanwhile, Barber and MSHA negotiated a global settlement intended to cover all outstanding violations, yet the missed assessment was omitted. After Treasury collection contact…
G.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Babylon, NY
G.D. (ECAB 12-1817): Injury claim returned for consolidation of case files
G.D., a postal worker, filed a new claim after his right knee gave out while he was walking his mail route in 2011. OWCP had accepted an earlier claim involving both knees, but the Board did not have that earlier case file when it reviewed the new claim denial. The Board found that medical evidence…
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Basking Ridge, NJ
M.B. (ECAB 12-1722): Wage-loss claim returned for combined case record
M.B., a postal employee, sought wage-loss compensation connected to an accepted occupational disease claim involving her hands. Her attorney identified an earlier right-wrist claim whose medical evidence might bear on the wage-loss question. The Board found that the earlier file was not part of the…
S.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Absecon, NJ
S.B. (ECAB 12-1434): Emotional-condition claim returned for combined files
S.B., a postal employee, sought compensation for an emotional condition she attributed to workplace harassment and bullying. OWCP denied the claim and said several alleged work factors had been raised in an earlier claim. The Board found it could not tell whether the earlier file contained relevant…
Mountain Village Parks, Inc.
In re Mountain Village Parks, Inc. (EAB SDWA Appeal No. 12-02): Default order remanded for liability and penalty clarification
EPA Region 8 alleged that Mountain Village Parks, a public water system in Wyoming, violated Safe Drinking Water Act requirements and an administrative order. The presiding officer entered a default order finding liability and assessing a $5,000 penalty after the company failed to answer. On its…
Bernice Moser v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs
Moser v. Director, OWCP (BRB 12-0293): subsequent survivor benefits denial affirmed
Bernice Moser filed a new survivor benefits claim after earlier denials involving her late husband's black lung benefits and her first survivor claim. The Board upheld the denial of the new claim under the rule for subsequent survivor claims because the earlier unmet conditions concerned the…
V.R. and Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Billings, MT
V.R. (ECAB 13-0130): Suspension of wage-loss benefits affirmed
V.R., a Bureau of Indian Affairs equipment operator, received wage-loss benefits after an accepted 2002 work injury. OWCP requested a Form EN1032 reporting his work and earnings and warned that benefits could be suspended if the form was not returned within 30 days. V.R. did not submit it before…
H.Y. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Kearny, NJ
H.Y. (ECAB 12-1969): Wage-loss termination for refusing a job reversed
H.Y., a postal mail processing clerk, refused a modified clerk job after OWCP accepted conditions affecting her hands and neck. OWCP ended her wage-loss benefits on the ground that the offered work was suitable. The Board found that OWCP had not adequately developed the medical evidence about her…
S.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Frankfort, KY
S.C. (ECAB 12-1871): Overpayment and $250 recovery deduction affirmed
S.C., a postal letter carrier, returned to part-time work while receiving payments calculated for total disability. The Board upheld OWCP's finding that the difference between what he received and what he was owed was $1,637.70. It found him at fault because OWCP had told him to report a return to…
D.H. and Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers, Pittsburgh, PA
D.H. (ECAB 12-1857): Leg impairment award returned for impartial examination
D.H., an Army Corps of Engineers tow boat pilot, sought a schedule award after work-related fractures of his left lower leg. His physician rated a 32 percent impairment using ankle range of motion, while an OWCP medical adviser rated 17 percent using a diagnosis-based method. The Board found a…
S.P. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Imperial, CA
S.P. (ECAB 12-1799): Eight percent left arm award affirmed
S.P., a border patrol agent, fractured his left clavicle during vehicle training and received a schedule award for eight percent arm impairment. His physician proposed a 10 percent rating, while an OWCP medical consultant used the physician's shoulder measurements to calculate eight percent under…
S.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Cincinnati Bulk Mail Center, Cincinnati, OH
S.E. (ECAB 12-1558): Compensation reduction for leaving rehabilitation affirmed
S.E., a postal mail handler with accepted back conditions, participated in vocational rehabilitation before stopping his job-search activities. OWCP warned him that failure to resume without good cause could reduce his compensation. He said his medical condition kept him from participating, but the…
C.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Trenton, NJ
C.S. (ECAB 12-0880): Knee claim returned for clarification of medical opinion
C.S., a postal clerk, sought benefits for knee osteoarthritis from a 2007 claim. OWCP accepted a right shoulder aggravation but denied the knee conditions after an impartial physician reported no objective evidence of work aggravation. The Board found his report unresolved because he also said…
T.H. and Department of the Army, Air National Guard, Springfield, IL
T.H. (ECAB 12-0764): Hearing-loss award affirmed with rounding correction
T.H., an aircraft maintenance technician, received a schedule award for hearing loss from work-related noise exposure. OWCP calculated 29.1 percent loss in both ears, including an earlier 19.7 percent award, and paid 18 additional weeks. The Board said OWCP should round the additional award to nine…
M.L. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Hampton, GA
M.L. (ECAB 12-0354): Air traffic controller's emotional-condition claim remanded
M.L., an air traffic controller, sought compensation for anxiety after an aircraft he had recently handed off to another control facility crashed. OWCP accepted his participation in the later investigation as a work factor but excluded his response to the incident because he no longer controlled…
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, General Mail Facility, Phoenix, AZ
D.C. (ECAB 12-0154): Disability recurrence claim returned for review of changed duties
D.C., a postal mail handler with an accepted neck condition, had worked in a modified security position for years before the employer offered a different modified job. OWCP denied his claim that the change caused a recurrence of total disability. The Board found that OWCP had not adequately…
Clintwood Elkhorn Mining Company, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor
Loss-of-control citation reinstated
A loaded haul truck lost its brakes on a steep mine road, crashed through a berm and utility pole, and rolled onto its side near a 30-foot drop. The ALJ vacated the loss-of-control citation because the condition no longer existed when cited and because MSHA did not prove the truck was overloaded…
D.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bayonne, NJ
D.T. (ECAB 13-0041): Denial of claimed knee injury affirmed
D.T., a postal letter carrier, reported that her right knee gave out while she was working in December 2011. OWCP denied her traumatic injury claim. The Board found that her accounts and medical histories differed about when and how her knee problem began, including a possible earlier incident. It…
C.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Bulk Mail Center, Los Angeles, CA
C.T. (ECAB 13-0012): Bilateral arm impairment awards affirmed
C.T., a postal maintenance support clerk, fractured both wrists in a workplace fall and later underwent authorized right elbow surgery. OWCP awarded 10 percent permanent impairment of his right arm and 5 percent of his left. His physician calculated a higher right arm rating using an older edition…
O.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Wilmington, DE
O.C. (ECAB 12-1858): Arm impairment award returned for referee opinion
O.C., a postal custodian, received a schedule award after an accepted right shoulder strain and neck nerve condition. His examining physician rated 15 percent right arm impairment, while OWCP's medical adviser rated 12 percent. The Board found the reports similarly persuasive and identified an…
K.E. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration, Houston, TX
K.E. (ECAB 12-1784): Denial of back injury claim affirmed
K.E., a Veterans Affairs loan specialist, reported back and leg pain after lifting files at work in June 2011. OWCP accepted that the lifting occurred but denied her claim for lack of medical evidence connecting a diagnosed condition to it. The Board found that her physicians documented symptoms…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Houston, TX
S.M. (ECAB 12-1414): Termination of wage-loss benefits affirmed
S.M., a postal letter carrier, had accepted neck, back and right shoulder conditions and received wage-loss compensation. OWCP ended those payments after an impartial orthopedic specialist reported no objective evidence of continuing work-related disability. The Board found his report sufficiently…
J.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Syosset, NY
J.G. (ECAB 12-1348): Denial of disability payments after back injury affirmed
J.G., a postal distribution clerk, sought disability payments after an accepted October 2007 lumbar sprain and temporary aggravation of preexisting disc disease. The Board treated her chiropractor's reports as medical evidence because x-rays showed a spinal subluxation. It found, however, that…
G.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Dallas Bulk Mail Center, Dallas, TX
G.G. (ECAB 12-1168): Denial of increased leg awards affirmed
G.G., a postal mail handler, had prior schedule awards for accepted foot and ankle conditions and sought larger awards based in part on arthritis in both knees. His physician linked the knee condition to his accepted foot problems, while an impartial specialist found no persuasive medical basis for…
D.T. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, DC
D.T. (ECAB 12-0923): Finding that hearing request was abandoned affirmed
D.T., an air traffic control specialist, requested a hearing after OWCP denied his claim for an emotional condition. OWCP mailed notice of the hearing to his address of record more than 30 days before its scheduled date. D.T. did not appear, seek a postponement or explain his absence within 10…
V.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New York, NY
V.L. (ECAB 12-0834): Refusal to change wage-earning capacity reversed
V.L., a postal customer service supervisor, worked full time when she sustained an accepted neck injury. She later returned to a modified position for 20 hours a week, and OWCP used those earnings to determine her wage-earning capacity. The Board cited OWCP procedure saying that part-time…
R.B. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Records Management Division, Winchester, VA
R.B. (ECAB 12-0455): Rescission of accepted psychiatric claim reversed
R.B., an FBI records division employee, filed a psychiatric injury claim after seeing a toy monkey hanging by its neck in his workplace. OWCP accepted the claim, then rescinded acceptance after receiving a redacted inspector general report about the display. The Board found the report insufficient…
Secretary of Labor v. Coal River Mining, LLC
Premature challenge to lifted stay denied
Coal River sought Commission review after the Chief Judge reassigned three cases and the presiding judge lifted an earlier stay, set prehearing requirements, and scheduled a hearing. The Commission held that none of those rulings was a final decision. Coal River also had not asked the judge to…
R.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Grand Rapids, MI
R.W. (ECAB 13-0044): Injury denial and late record-review refusal affirmed
R.W., a postal mail handler, reported an insect bite at work in May 2012. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the claim because the evidence then before it lacked a physician's diagnosis and reasoned opinion connecting a condition to the bite. The Board found that the submitted…
O.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, San Juan, PR
O.M. (ECAB 13-0013): Occupational back injury denial affirmed
O.M., a Veterans Health Administration health technician, attributed a back condition to prolonged standing and other physical duties during surgery shifts. OWCP denied the occupational disease claim because the medical evidence did not establish a causal link to the accepted work activities. Two…
L.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bedford Park, IL
L.T. (ECAB 12-1958): Shoulder disability recurrence denial affirmed
L.T., a postal mail handler, sought benefits for a January 2010 recurrence of disability after an accepted 1996 right shoulder injury. OWCP had denied the recurrence, and the Board had affirmed that denial in an earlier appeal. On reconsideration, a surgeon reported renewed shoulder problems and…
J.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Kansas City, MO
J.G. (ECAB 12-1915): Bilateral knee claim denial affirmed
J.G., a postal letter carrier, sought compensation for degenerative conditions in both knees that he attributed to his work duties. OWCP denied the claim because the medical evidence did not connect the conditions to his employment. The Board found that the physicians documented knee diagnoses and…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
M.M. (ECAB 12-1884): Shoulder injury wage-loss denial affirmed
M.M., a postal mail clerk, sought wage-loss compensation after OWCP accepted a right shoulder impingement from an August 2010 work incident. OWCP denied compensation for August 6 through December 3, 2010. The Board found that her physician described shoulder symptoms and work restrictions but…
P.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Louis, MO
P.S. (ECAB 12-1819): Refusal to reopen wage-loss claim affirmed
P.S., a postal letter carrier with an accepted back injury, sought compensation after his light-duty work hours were reduced. OWCP denied the wage-loss claim for insufficient medical evidence, then declined to reopen it on reconsideration. The Board found that P.S.’s argument about a reduction in…
S.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Burbank, CA
S.F. (ECAB 12-1801): Left knee injury claim denial affirmed
S.F., a postal mail processing clerk, reported left knee pain as she left a restroom during her work shift. OWCP initially questioned whether the incident occurred as described, then denied the claim because the medical evidence did not establish causation. The Board accepted that the workplace…
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.