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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E.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Kearny, NJ
E.B. (ECAB 12-1760): Carpal tunnel benefit termination affirmed
E.B., a postal keyer, had an accepted bilateral carpal tunnel condition and received wage-loss compensation and medical benefits. OWCP terminated both after an impartial orthopedic examiner found no remaining impairment or need for treatment from the accepted condition. The Board held that OWCP had…
S.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Miami, FL
S.S. (ECAB 12-1302): Compromised compensation overpayment upheld
S.S., a former Postal Service mail handler, received FECA compensation while also receiving Social Security retirement benefits attributable to his federal service. OWCP found that the overlapping benefits caused a $36,772.58 overpayment between October 1992 and July 2011. It found him without…
T.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Miami, FL
T.R. (ECAB 12-0988): Additional arm impairment awards granted
T.R., a Postal Service employee, had accepted carpal tunnel and spinal injuries and previously received awards for five percent impairment of each arm and two percent of the left leg. OWCP denied his request for any additional schedule award. The Board found that OWCP’s medical adviser had rounded…
Secretary of Labor v. Dickenson-Russell Coal Company, LLC
Settlement rejected and S&S-review question certified
The Secretary and Dickenson-Russell proposed reducing a $971 citation penalty to $500 and removing its S&S designation. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy rejected the amended settlement because the parties did not request corresponding gravity and affected-miner modifications and because the Secretary…
John A. Biewer Co. of Toledo, Inc. and John A. Biewer Co. of Ohio, Inc.
In re John A. Biewer Co. of Toledo, Inc. and John A. Biewer Co. of Ohio, Inc. (EAB RCRA Appeal Nos. 10-01 and 10-02): Zero penalties affirmed
EPA Region 5 alleged that two John A. Biewer subsidiaries violated RCRA closure requirements for drip pads at wood-treatment facilities in Ohio. The subsidiaries conceded the underlying violations, while the parent company disputed direct and derivative liability. After the Region refused to…
T.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Albany, NY
T.H. (ECAB 12-1820): Knee claim denial upheld, reconsideration returned
T.H., a Postal Service letter carrier, reported knee pain after descending stairs on his mail route. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied his injury claim because the medical report did not explain how the incident caused his diagnosed iliotibial band syndrome. The Board affirmed…
N.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Madison, WI
N.S. (ECAB 12-1768): Fall claim denied for lack of qualifying medical evidence
N.S., a Postal Service letter carrier, slipped on concrete stairs while delivering mail and reported back and pelvic pain. OWCP accepted that the fall occurred but denied the claim because the record did not establish a resulting injury through qualifying medical evidence. His chiropractor…
F.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Southeastern, PA
F.G. (ECAB 12-1761): Hip claim reconsideration denials upheld
F.G., a Postal Service mail handler, sought to have his 2008 hip replacement included in a claim accepted for a left hip sprain. OWCP twice declined to reopen the claim after he submitted additional treatment records. The Board could review those reconsideration denials, but the older merits…
R.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Oakland, CA
R.R. (ECAB 12-1712): Denial of wage-capacity modification set aside
R.R., a Postal Service clerk with accepted elbow conditions, worked in a modified position that the Postal Service later withdrew. OWCP denied her wage-loss claim because she had not met its usual criteria for modifying a 2003 wage-earning capacity determination. The Board found that OWCP had…
P.D. and Department of Homeland Security, New Orleans International Airport, Metairie, LA
P.D. (ECAB 12-1690): Wage-loss denial and medical-benefits termination upheld
P.D., a federal security screener, had an accepted neck strain after lifting luggage in 2005. She sought wage-loss benefits for part of 2007 and 2008 and challenged OWCP's termination of medical benefits in 2011. Her treating physician and OWCP's examiner disagreed about whether the work injury…
R.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chesapeake, VA
R.B. (ECAB 12-1669): Right arm impairment rating sent back for clarification
R.B., a postal letter carrier, received a schedule award for 12 percent permanent impairment of his right arm after two shoulder operations. He sought a higher rating, relying on later motion measurements. OWCP's medical advisers disagreed about when his condition reached maximum medical…
C.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Paris, OH
C.B. (ECAB 12-1572): Termination of wage-loss and medical benefits upheld
C.B., a postal carrier, had an accepted aggravation of lumbar scoliosis and related back conditions from her mail delivery work. Her treating physician said the work injury still caused symptoms and disability, while an OWCP examiner said the accepted conditions had resolved. OWCP obtained an…
C.C. and Department of the Treasury, Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Washington, DC
C.C. (ECAB 12-556): Currency worker's carpal tunnel claim denial upheld
C.C., a federal currency verifier, claimed that repetitive hand counting at work caused bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. OWCP accepted her account of the work and the diagnosis but denied the claim for lack of medical evidence connecting them. The Board found that her physician asserted a work…
C.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Theodore, AL
C.S. (ECAB 12-163): Cervical injury benefit termination upheld
C.S., a postal carrier, had accepted cervical strain and aggravation of degenerative disc disease from a 2000 work injury. OWCP terminated her benefits after a second-opinion physician concluded that the accepted conditions had resolved. The Board found his later examination and review of the…
C.B. and U.S. Department of Commerce, Patent and Trademark Office, Arlington, VA
C.B. (ECAB 13-06): Refusal to reopen wrist schedule award claim upheld
C.B., a Patent and Trademark Office employee, sought a schedule award for permanent impairment from accepted tendinitis in both wrists. After OWCP denied the award, she asked it to reconsider and submitted a nerve study. The Board found that the new study did not address whether the accepted wrist…
B.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Oak Harbor, WA
B.H. (ECAB 12-1851): Emotional condition claim denial and refusal to reopen upheld
B.H., a postal letter carrier, claimed work-related stress after a supervisor denied her request to leave early. The Board found that she had not provided a detailed account or supporting evidence showing a compensable work event or error or abuse in the leave decision. It therefore affirmed the…
G.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Orleans, LA
G.M. (ECAB 12-1804): Carpal tunnel claim sent back for medical development
G.M., a postal distribution clerk, claimed that repetitive duties on a new mail processing machine caused carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists. Her physicians described the work and attributed her symptoms to it, but their reports did not fully explain the medical connection. The Board held that…
S.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Prarieville, LA
S.K. (ECAB 12-1798): Leg impairment award denial upheld
S.K., a former postal rural carrier, had accepted lumbar conditions after a work vehicle accident. S.K. sought a schedule award for lasting impairment of the legs, and two physicians gave conflicting ratings. An impartial orthopedic examiner found no documented work-related radiculopathy or lower…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Sioux City, IA
M.M. (ECAB 12-1737): Request to increase 34 percent leg award denied
M.M., a Postal Service employee, received a schedule award for 34 percent impairment of the right leg after an accepted knee sprain and authorized surgery. Years later, physicians gave higher impairment estimates, and M.M. sought an increased award. The Board found that their reports did not…
J.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Springhill, FL
J.D. (ECAB 12-1687): Wage-loss claims for two dates denied
J.D., a postal worker with an accepted right shoulder injury, claimed wage-loss compensation for time away from work on two dates in 2011. OWCP had paid benefits for other dates but denied payment for August 15 and September 14. The Board found that a doctor's note for August 15 did not identify…
M.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Topeka, KS
M.H. (ECAB 12-1594): Wage-capacity modification denial sent back for medical clarification
M.H., a postal warehouse worker with an accepted aggravation of cervical and thoracic conditions, returned to a modified job that OWCP used in a 2006 wage-earning capacity decision. She later sought to modify that ruling, submitting reports that described increased restrictions and reduced work…
M.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Los Angeles, CA
M.C. (ECAB 12-1040): Emotional condition claim sent back for fact development
M.C., a postal electronics technician, claimed an emotional condition arising from an emergency suspension and police escort from the workplace. OWCP denied the claim, but the Board found unresolved factual questions about notice of the suspension and the officer's use of a control hold. It…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Houston, TX
M.M. (ECAB 12-813): Back injury benefit termination upheld
M.M., a postal distribution clerk, had accepted back contusion, lumbar sprain, and left lumbosacral radiculitis after a 2009 work injury. Her treating physician and an OWCP examiner disagreed about whether the accepted conditions still caused disability, so OWCP obtained an impartial orthopedic…
Wellmark International
In re Wellmark International (EAB FIFRA 13-02C): consent agreement ratified
Wellmark International was the respondent in a Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act matter before the Environmental Appeals Board. The Board incorporated the attached Consent Agreement into its Final Order by reference and ratified it. The Board ordered Wellmark to comply with all…
S.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Albuquerque, NM
S.J. (ECAB 13-89): Emergency medical expense denial upheld
S.J., a postal mail handler, sought payment for ambulance and hospital services after reporting chest pain at work. OWCP had denied his underlying injury claim and declined to pay for the April 20, 2010 care. The Board found that the Postal Service had not issued a treatment authorization and that…
T.C. and Department of the Air Force, Hill Air Force Base, UT
T.C. (ECAB 12-1894): Thoracic outlet claim denial upheld
T.C., an Air Force aircraft electrician, claimed that repetitive wire harness work caused or aggravated thoracic outlet syndrome. OWCP accepted the described duties and the diagnosis but denied the claim for lack of a medical explanation connecting them. The Board found that the physician's reports…
C.J. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Washington, DC
C.J. (ECAB 12-1791): Refusal to reopen back injury claim upheld
C.J., an IRS criminal investigator, claimed a back injury during tennis activity in an employer-authorized fitness plan. OWCP denied the claim for lack of medical evidence connecting the incident to a back condition. C.J. later requested reconsideration and referred to a witness statement, but OWCP…
L.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pittsburgh, PA
L.J. (ECAB 12-1680): Late reconsideration request denied
L.J., a postal worker, had received benefits for an accepted back condition until OWCP terminated them in June 2010. OWCP denied modification in October 2010, then refused L.J.'s December 2011 request to reconsider that decision because it was late and did not show clear error. The Board found the…
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, Denton, TX
J.B. (ECAB 12-1676): Benefit termination returned for merits review
J.B., a postal carrier, received wage-loss and medical benefits for accepted injuries to her upper limbs, shoulder, face, scalp, and neck. OWCP ended those benefits in January 2012 after finding that the accepted conditions had resolved. J.B. requested reconsideration, arguing that her…
A.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New York, NY
A.P. (ECAB 12-1644): Disability recurrence claim denied
A.P., a retired postal mechanical engineer, had an accepted right Achilles injury and right tarsal tunnel syndrome. He claimed a recurrence of total disability tied to his 1998 work injury. The Board found that his doctors described pain, neuropathy, and work limitations but did not adequately…
L.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cincinnati, OH
L.W. (ECAB 12-1613): Leg impairment award denied
L.W., a postal mail handler, sustained an accepted lumbar strain while moving a container in 1998. She sought a schedule award for permanent leg impairment, and her physician rated a 19 percent impairment of the left leg. OWCP's second opinion physician disagreed, so an impartial specialist…
P.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
P.M. (ECAB 12-1451): Wage loss reduction upheld
P.M., a postal letter carrier with an accepted lower back injury, received wage-loss compensation after her limited-duty work ended. OWCP determined that she could work as a hospital admitting clerk and reduced her compensation based on that job's wages. The Board found that a physician's work…
L.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Francisco, CA
L.N. (ECAB 12-1372): Intermittent wage loss claim denied
L.N., a postal custodial laborer, had an accepted work-related umbilical hernia and underwent surgery. He later sought wage-loss compensation for several periods of absence beginning in March 2009. The Board found that the medical records did not adequately explain how the accepted condition caused…
J.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Rock River, WY
J.T. (ECAB 12-1903): Finger injury claim and reopening refusal upheld
J.T., a substitute postmaster, said she hurt her right thumb and finger while lifting a heavy box at work. OWCP accepted that the lifting incident occurred but denied the claim for lack of qualifying medical evidence connecting it to an injury. The Board agreed: the submitted reports were signed by…
A.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Carthage, NC
A.S. (ECAB 12-1803): Compensation suspension for missing earnings report upheld
A.S., a rural mail carrier, received compensation after a work-related vehicle collision caused an accepted neck sprain. OWCP asked her to complete an EN1032 form reporting employment activity and warned that benefits could be suspended if she did not respond within 30 days. She did not return the…
D.H. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA
D.H. (ECAB 12-1767): Occupational hearing loss claim denied
D.H., a retired shipyard assistant fire chief, claimed that workplace noise caused his hearing loss. His noise exposure during federal employment was undisputed. After reviewing work-era audiograms, a physician concluded that the later hearing decline was inconsistent with noise-related loss and…
M.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
M.M. (ECAB 12-1674): Hearing request after Board decision denied
M.M., a VA employee, sought an OWCP hearing after the Board had already upheld the termination of his compensation. OWCP denied the hearing request. The Board explained that an OWCP hearing office could not review its earlier final decision, and OWCP had issued no later final decision that could be…
D.H. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Miami, FL
D.H. (ECAB 12-1586): Late request to reopen shoulder claim denied
D.H., a prison electronics technician, claimed he injured his right shoulder while moving a television at work. OWCP denied the claim after finding inconsistencies in the account of the incident. His later reconsideration request arrived more than one year after the last merits decision, and the…
M.G. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, New London, CT
M.G. (ECAB 12-1218): Operations manager wage capacity finding upheld
M.G., a FEMA logistical support worker, received compensation for accepted knee and cervical conditions. OWCP selected an operations manager position to measure his wage-earning capacity and reduced his compensation. The Board found that the position fit his most recent medical restriction to…
D.S. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, JFK International Airport, Jamaica, NY
D.S. (ECAB 12-1166): Knee injury benefits termination upheld
D.S., a customs liquidation specialist, received benefits after a workplace fall caused accepted left knee injuries. OWCP terminated wage-loss compensation after an impartial physician found that she still had injury residuals but could return to her sedentary job. The Board found that his reasoned…
J.D. and Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, Philadelphia Field Division, Philadelphia, PA
J.D. (ECAB 12-0920): Request to help select impartial examiner denied
J.D., a DEA special agent, had accepted injuries from gunshot wounds sustained during a search warrant. His doctors and OWCP's examiner disagreed about his ability to work, so OWCP selected an impartial medical examiner. J.D. asked to participate in that selection, citing decisions that rejected…
J.S. and Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, El Toro, CA
J.S. (ECAB 12-0906): Heart attack claim denial upheld
J.S., a defense environmental protection specialist, had accepted work-related anxiety and an aggravation of angina. He later claimed that those conditions caused heart attacks in 2003 and 2007. After an earlier Board denial, he submitted new doctors' reports. The Board found that they offered…
T.H. and Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Dallas, TX
T.H. (ECAB 12-0842): Overpayment upheld; earlier fault finding set aside
T.H., a temporary census enumerator, received disability compensation calculated using an incorrect full-time pay rate. The Board upheld OWCP's finding that this caused a $9,952.52 overpayment. It found T.H. was not at fault for payments through November 28, 2010 because he had not yet been shown…
Roberts Sand Company, LLLP
Clay-pit highwall violation affirmed
Roberts Sand Company operated an intermittent clay pit with a nearly vertical highwall more than 20 feet high. An equipment operator was working near the wall when it collapsed onto the excavator cab, causing his death. The judge found a recognized collapse hazard and concluded that feasible…
Secretary of Labor v. Taran Brothers, Inc.
Incomplete contest form default reopened
Taran Brothers said it timely returned a proposed penalty form. The Secretary said MSHA received a signed but otherwise unmarked copy and did not process it as a contest. The assessment became final, and Taran learned of the delinquency months later from the Department of Treasury. Treasury…
Secretary of Labor v. Ten-Mile Coal Company, Inc.
Repeated paperwork failure excused with warning
Ten-Mile's superintendent mixed a proposed penalty assessment with other paperwork during a period of heavy employee turnover, causing the company to miss its contest deadline. The office manager discovered the assessment about five weeks after it became final and promptly contested it, and the…
Secretary of Labor v. Black Mountain Industrial Minerals, LLC
Paper-clipped assessment reopened
Black Mountain said it missed the contest deadline because the proposed assessment had been paper-clipped to the back of a magazine. The company found the assessment after receiving MSHA's delinquency notice and revised its procedures for handling agency correspondence. The Secretary did not oppose…
Secretary of Labor v. Applied Conveyor Technology, Inc.
Final assessment reopened without opposition
Applied Conveyor asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become a final order after the company did not timely contest it. The official release does not state why the deadline was missed. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. After reviewing the request and response, the…
Secretary of Labor v. Queenstake Resources, USA, Inc.
Paper-clipped assessment reopened
Queenstake's new compliance manager missed a proposed assessment because an administrative assistant had paper-clipped it behind another assessment. He discovered the mistake about a week after the 65 penalties became final and promptly notified counsel. After Queenstake clarified that it intended…
Woodrow Wilson Cosby v. Shaw Maintenance Group
Discharge claim settled for payment and employment protections
Woodrow Wilson Cosby alleged that Shaw Maintenance Group unlawfully discharged him from the Nestle-Purina site under the Mine Act's discrimination provisions. The parties settled before the hearing record opened. Shaw agreed to pay Cosby $5,000, remove material about the dispute from his personnel…
Secretary of Labor v. Matt Rudnianyn and Jeff D. Farley, employed by Commercial Industrial Corp.
Secretary of Labor v. Matt Rudnianyn and Jeff D. Farley (FMSHRC SE 2012-531-M, SE 2012-532-M): Two individual assessments reopened
MSHA assessed Matt Rudnianyn and Jeff Farley personally under section 110(c), but neither assessment was timely contested. Rudnianyn said Commercial Industrial and its agents did not know about the assessments until delinquency notices arrived and suggested that any received papers may have been…
Secretary of Labor v. Rocky Point Rock Quarry, Inc.
Unopened mail default reopened
Rocky Point missed its penalty-contest deadline because administrative staff left mail addressed to the company president unopened on his desk while he was away. The company changed its procedures to allow administrative staff to open MSHA correspondence and avoid future missed deadlines. The…
Secretary of Labor v. Travis Alexander, employed by Tycon Excavating Contractor, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Travis Alexander (FMSHRC SE 2012-439-M): Wrong-address individual assessment reopened
MSHA assessed Travis Alexander personally under section 110(c) of the Mine Act, but he did not timely contest the proposed penalty and it became a final Commission order. Alexander said he never received the assessment or delinquency notice because MSHA mailed both to the wrong address. The…
Secretary of Labor v. White Rock Quarry, LLC
Misrouted assessment reopened despite opposition
A White Rock employee signed for the proposed assessment, but the document never reached the company's specially marked MSHA-penalty folder, and the owner said he also did not receive the delinquency notice. White Rock discovered the default through MSHA's online data system and moved to reopen…
L.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Coronado Station, Santa Fe, NM
L.B. (ECAB 13-0047): Compensation termination reversed
L.B., a postal custodial worker, received benefits for accepted neck and back injuries after a box struck him at work. OWCP terminated the benefits based on a referral doctor's opinion that the work effects had ended. His treating physician gave a contrary opinion linking current conditions and…
T.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tulsa, OK
T.H. (ECAB 12-1942): Earlier wage loss claim denial upheld
T.H., a postal worker, had accepted cervical and lumbar conditions and sought wage-loss compensation for September 2005 through February 2007. The Board had previously denied compensation for that period because the medical evidence did not establish work-related disability on the claimed dates…
J.M. and Department of the Navy, Naval Supply Systems Command, Gulfport, MS
J.M. (ECAB 12-1906): Schedule award issue remanded; wage loss reopening denied
J.M., a Navy materials handler, sought reconsideration of denials of a schedule award and wage-loss compensation. OWCP treated the entire request as late and denied review for lack of clear error. The Board found a later arm impairment evaluation that OWCP had not reviewed, so the schedule award…
R.R. and Department of the Air Force, Warner Robins GA WRAMA, Randolph Air Force Base, TX
R.R. (ECAB 12-1840): Hearing loss award denial affirmed with correction
R.R., an Air Force sheet metal mechanic, had accepted work-related hearing loss in the left ear. The Board found his hearing loss was below the impairment threshold for a schedule award, and no physician recommended hearing aids for his work-related condition. It also found some hearing loss in the…
J.M. and Department of the Navy, Naval Supply Systems Command, Gulfport, MS
J.M. (ECAB 12-1699): Hearing request after Board decision denied
J.M., a Navy materials handler, requested an OWCP hearing after the Board had already upheld the denial of his schedule award. OWCP denied the request because there was no later final OWCP decision to review. The Board agreed that the hearing office could not review a prior Board decision. It…
V.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Landover Hills, MD
V.T. (ECAB 12-1185): Foot and ankle injury claim denied
V.T., a postal letter carrier, attributed foot and ankle conditions to years of walking and climbing steps at work. His doctors diagnosed several conditions but did not give a reasoned medical explanation connecting them to his duties. A chiropractor's reports did not qualify as medical evidence…
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.