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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D.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Carrier Annex, Albany, NY
D.P. (ECAB 12-1521): Foot impairment dispute needs corrected referee review
D.P., a postal letter carrier with an accepted right ankle injury and foot drop, sought a schedule award for permanent impairment. His physician and an OWCP medical adviser gave conflicting ratings. The Board found that OWCP properly replaced the first referee after he did not respond to a…
W.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Ralph H. Johnson Medical Center, Charleston, SC
W.S. (ECAB 12-0992): Pay disparity evidence requires a merits review
W.S., a Department of Veterans Affairs clinic manager, alleged that workplace factors aggravated an emotional condition. OWCP had rejected his claim and later refused to reopen it. W.S. submitted an EEOC decision finding that he had been paid less than a similarly situated female administrator in…
C.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Francisco, CA
C.A. (ECAB 12-1952): Withdrawn light duty requires wage-capacity review
C.A., a Postal Service mail handler with accepted upper body injuries, sought wage-loss compensation after her limited-duty assignment was withdrawn. OWCP had previously set her wage-earning capacity and denied the new claim because the record did not show a medical worsening. The Board held that…
M.E. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Augusta, GA
M.E. (ECAB 12-1870): Reconsideration of wage-loss denial refused
M.E., a medical center nurse, had an accepted shoulder and neck injury after a patient grabbed her. OWCP later denied compensation for claimed periods of wage loss. In asking OWCP to reconsider, she submitted medical reports that had already been reviewed and material that did not address the…
M.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Rochester, MN
M.N. (ECAB 12-1763): Right shoulder disease claim denied
M.N., a postal city letter carrier, attributed right shoulder pain to handling and delivering mail. OWCP accepted the described duties but found no medical proof of a diagnosed shoulder condition caused by them. The Board agreed: a radiology report showed no firm diagnosis or causal opinion, and…
B.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration Southern New Health Care System, North Las Vegas, NV
B.C. (ECAB 12-1742): Continuing injury residuals not established
B.C., a Department of Veterans Affairs employee, sought continued benefits after OWCP had terminated compensation for accepted back and shoulder conditions. A prior Board decision upheld the termination effective March 9, 2010. To establish later entitlement, she needed medical evidence linking…
I.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Perth Amboy, NJ
I.N. (ECAB 12-1717): Disability and medical benefit termination upheld
I.N., a postal letter carrier, had an accepted cervical condition after falling plaster struck her head at work. OWCP later ended both wage-loss compensation and medical treatment benefits. The Board gave weight to an impartial medical examiner who reviewed the diagnostic studies and found no…
L.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Gainesville, FL
L.M. (ECAB 12-1706): Overpayment upheld, fault and waiver reconsidered
L.M., a Veterans Affairs employee, received federal retirement benefits while also receiving FECA wage-loss compensation. The Board affirmed an $18,866.00 overpayment for the overlapping payments. It rejected OWCP’s broad assumption that L.M. should have known from the outset that she could not…
J.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Jefferson Street Post Office, Lafayette, LA
J.T. (ECAB 12-1552): Schedule award denial upheld, overpayment returned
J.T., a postal carrier, had an accepted lumbar injury and sought a schedule award. The Board upheld denial because the record did not show a ratable impairment of a covered body member. OWCP also claimed a $1,597.02 overpayment after J.T. elected retirement benefits instead of compensation. The…
W.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Los Angeles, CA
W.S. (ECAB 12-1546): Total disability from wrist injury not proven
W.S., a Postal Service employee, had an accepted right wrist injury and had worked limited duty. She sought compensation for total disability beginning in November 2010. Some physicians said she could not work, but their reports did not explain why the accepted wrist conditions prevented work…
L.B. and General Services Administration, U.S. Court House, Hyattsville, MD
L.B. (ECAB 12-1202): Social Security offset overpayment upheld
L.B., a former General Services Administration custodial worker, received FECA compensation and Social Security benefits attributable to her federal service. The overlap resulted in a $67,221.63 overpayment. The Board upheld denial of waiver because the record did not show that recovery would…
Secretary of Labor v. Eastern Associated Coal LLC
MSHA interview notes ordered disclosed
MSHA cited Eastern Associated Coal after two apprentice miners allegedly worked near an unguarded moving belt tail pulley, and a related section 110(c) investigation followed. Eastern sought inspector and special-investigator interview notes that the Secretary withheld as attorney work product…
Secretary of Labor v. Consolidation Coal Company
MSHA jurisdiction ended at empty river barges
A preparation-plant foreman drowned after apparently falling from an empty barge on the Ohio River while checking barges for water at Consolidation Coal's Ireland River Loading Facility. The company accepted MSHA jurisdiction over the land-based facility but disputed coverage of the loading dock…
Secretary of Labor v. Highland Mining Company, LLC
Two high-negligence findings upheld, one S&S designation removed
Highland Mining conceded three violations at its Highland #9 Mine but disputed their gravity, negligence, or penalties. Judge William B. Moran found an admitted roof-and-rib-control violation S&S and highly negligent because four obvious loose ribs were located along a heavily traveled supply road…
D.A. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigrations & Customs Enforcement, Los Angeles, CA
D.A. (ECAB 12-1956): Food poisoning claim lacks medical link
D.A., an immigration enforcement employee, reported stomach symptoms after eating a burrito from a workplace snack bar. OWCP accepted that she ate the food there but denied the injury claim. Later medical reports identified digestive conditions and an infection, yet did not explain how the meal…
S.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Des Moines, IA
S.C. (ECAB 12-1779): One late injury claim upheld, another returned
S.C., a postal carrier, filed claims in 2011 for falls he said occurred at work in January and April 2008. The Board upheld the finding that he gave no timely notice of the April incident. For the January falls, statements from a postmaster suggested that supervisors may have learned of the falls…
J.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tampa, FL
J.F. (ECAB 12-1751): Later work exposure is not a spontaneous recurrence
J.F., a postal laborer, returned to full duty after an accepted fall that injured his ankle, arm, and shoulder. He later claimed a period of disability from those injuries. His physician attributed worsening symptoms to continued work activity after the return, rather than a spontaneous change in…
J.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Houston, TX
J.F. (ECAB 12-1749): Late reconsideration shows no clear error
J.F., a postal employee, sought to reopen a 2002 denial of a claimed shoulder injury after a coworker touched him at work. His March 2012 request came more than a year after the last merits decision. The Board found that he repeated arguments addressed in earlier appeals and identified no evidence…
W.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Laguna Niguel, CA
W.J. (ECAB 12-1746): Late request to revisit knee award denied
W.J., a postal letter carrier, had an accepted bilateral knee condition and an earlier schedule award. He asked OWCP years later to reconsider the award, saying his knees had worsened and his earnings were lower. The Board found the request untimely and lacking clear evidence of error in the prior…
D.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Mountain View, CA
D.L. (ECAB 12-1485): Telephone turn injury claim denied
D.L., a postal employee, claimed that turning her head to use a telephone at work caused a neck and nerve injury. Earlier conflicting medical opinions led to an impartial examination. The Board found that the impartial specialist reviewed the record, addressed the disputed incident, and gave a…
P.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Long Branch, NJ
P.C. (ECAB 12-1437): Earnings from outside claim period excluded
P.C., a postal employee, sought partial disability compensation for January 2003 through December 2006. OWCP calculated her average earnings using figures from 2007 as well. The Board held that earnings from a year for which P.C. had not claimed or elected FECA benefits should be excluded. It…
S.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Coleman, WI
S.P. (ECAB 12-1216): Neck injury after parcel strike not established
S.P., a postal clerk, reported that a parcel struck her lip at work and later sought benefits for neck pain and cervical radiculopathy. The work incident was established, but the Board found no adequate physician’s explanation linking it to the cervical condition. The medical history also included…
S.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Myersville, MD
S.S. (ECAB 12-0707): Postal pay rate calculation upheld
S.S., a postal rural carrier with accepted upper body conditions, disputed the pay rate used for a period of wage-loss compensation. She argued that more of her earnings should count as regular wages. The Board found OWCP correctly used her $59,876 annual salary and a 40-hour week to calculate a…
C.F. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Paradise Fossil Plant, Drakesboro, KY
C.F. (ECAB 12-0546): Lung impairment rating needs further medical review
C.F., a Tennessee Valley Authority coal tower foreman, received a schedule award for six percent lung impairment after OWCP accepted a pleural condition. Other physicians’ testing suggested a higher rating, and the record also discussed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The Board found the…
G.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Oceanside, CA
G.B. (ECAB 12-1938): Carpal tunnel claim lacks causation opinion
G.B., a postal mail processing clerk, attributed right carpal tunnel syndrome to repetitive work handling mail, scanning parcels, and entering information. OWCP accepted that she performed those duties, and a diagnostic study showed carpal tunnel findings. Her physician did not discuss whether the…
L.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
L.M. (ECAB 12-1864): Late knee claim reconsideration denied
L.M., a postal carrier, sought to revisit an earlier denial of a right knee injury claim. Her reconsideration request came after the one-year deadline measured from the Board’s February 2011 merits decision. A later physician’s report disagreed with that ruling but did not reconcile differing…
B.M. and Department of Interior, National Business Center, Washington, DC
B.M. (ECAB 12-1831): Thoracic condition yields no ratable extremity impairment
B.M., a Department of Interior foreman, had accepted thoracic spine conditions after falling on a damaged step. He sought a schedule award for permanent impairment. The Board explained that FECA does not pay a schedule award for the spine or whole-person impairment, though an injury originating in…
D.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Baltimore, MD
D.B. (ECAB 12-1806): Higher bilateral arm award not proven
D.B., a postal employee with accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, had earlier awards for 23 percent right arm and 10 percent left arm impairment. She sought higher awards based on a later physician’s report. The Board found that the report stated percentages without explaining the…
T.C. and Department of the Army, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, NY
T.C. (ECAB 12-1766): Tool carrying back claim lacks medical explanation
T.C., a maintenance mechanic at the U.S. Military Academy, reported back pain after carrying tools up stairs at work. OWCP accepted that the incident happened but denied the injury claim. The physician diagnosed lumbar strain and checked a form box linking it to work without explaining how the…
B.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Palatine, IL
B.C. (ECAB 12-1507): Occupational back claim and recurrence denied
B.C., a postal clerk, alleged that repeated lifting before August 1992 caused a back condition. She also claimed a recurrence of disability after stopping work in 2010. The Board found the medical reports did not explain how the repetitive duties caused the diagnosed back problems. Because the…
JP Gallagher Electric
Late electrical-citation contest dismissed
OSHA issued JP Gallagher Electric a serious citation with a proposed $2,400 penalty for electrical work on a circuit that was allegedly not locked out or otherwise made inoperative. The company received the citation on October 7, 2011, but did not file its notice of contest by the October 31…
W.F. and Department of the Navy, Fleet Readiness Center East, Cherry Point, NC
W.F. (ECAB 12-1420): Leg impairment from lumbar injury not established
W.F., a Navy aircraft electrician, had accepted lumbar conditions after a fall and sought a schedule award. His surgeon rated impairment of the spine as a whole and later described leg symptoms. The Board explained that FECA did not provide a schedule award for spinal or whole-person impairment…
B.W. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard, Baltimore, MD
B.W. (ECAB 12-1105): Hearing loss request must be treated as a new claim
B.W., a Coast Guard employee with an earlier hearing loss award, sought additional compensation for hearing loss after more noise exposure. OWCP repeatedly told him to file a separate occupational disease form and denied his latest reconsideration request. The Board held that a written claim need…
P.Y. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Louis, MO
P.Y. (ECAB 12-0921): Compensation allowed for three foot treatment visits
P.Y., a postal clerk with accepted left foot conditions, sought wage-loss compensation for several intermittent absences and medical visits. The Board found that physician records supported up to four hours of compensation for treatment on December 27, 2010 and January 17 and March 28, 2011. They…
T.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
T.T. (ECAB 12-0736): Benefit termination reversed, recurrence denied
T.T., a postal employee with accepted neck and arm conditions, challenged termination of benefits and denial of a later recurrence of disability. The Board found the impartial examiner’s reports contradictory and insufficiently explained, leaving a medical conflict unresolved. OWCP therefore had…
Redline Pipeline, LLC
Trench items affirmed, water and asbestos items vacated
Redline Pipeline was the general contractor for replacement of water lines that likely contained asbestos. Two subcontractor employees entered a roughly 9-to-10-foot-deep trench after its protective box had been removed, although the previously disturbed Type B soil was not properly sloped. The…
Secretary of Labor v. Manalapan Mining Company, Inc.
Belt-accumulation findings remanded under full unwarrantable-failure test
MSHA issued section 104(d) orders for combustible coal accumulations along two conveyor belts at Manalapan Mining's underground mine. The judge found the violations but removed their unwarrantable-failure designations, relying heavily on the wet and muddy conditions and the resulting level of…
B.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Injury Compensation Office, Newark, NJ
B.C. (ECAB 12-1904): Benefits suspended after missed examination
B.C., a postal employee, had claimed a recurrence of disability and sought a ruling on whether tendinitis was work related. OWCP scheduled a medical examination to address those questions after an earlier Board remand. B.C. did not attend and supplied no evidence that she could not do so. The Board…
R.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Morrisville, NC
R.R. (ECAB 12-1832): Specific disability dates not medically established
R.R., a Transportation Security Administration employee with an accepted hand condition, sought wage-loss compensation for several dates in March through July 2012. She had undergone carpal tunnel surgery, and her physician discussed work restrictions and pain medication. The Board found the…
A.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pinellas Park, FL
A.G. (ECAB 12-1770): Letter carrier disability period needs calculation
A.G., a postal letter carrier with accepted cervical, lumbar, and carpal tunnel conditions, claimed disability after stopping full-duty work in December 2005. Medical restrictions showed she could not meet the lifting requirements of her carrier job at that time. The Board held that she had…
B.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Las Vegas, NV
B.T. (ECAB 12-1764): Continuation of pay claim filed too late
B.T., a postal mail processing clerk, reported a January 17, 2012 shoulder injury but filed the required traumatic injury form on May 11. She sought continuation of pay for time away from work. The Board held that the form was filed beyond the 30-day deadline for that benefit. It affirmed OWCP’s…
B.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chicago, IL
B.W. (ECAB 12-1723): Knee surgery absence not tied to accepted injury
B.W., a postal letter carrier, had accepted left knee injuries from a 2006 fall and later worked modified duty. She stopped work in September 2008 for right knee replacement surgery. The Board found no reasoned medical opinion linking that work stoppage to the accepted left knee injury and no…
C.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Westlake Post Office, Westlake, OH
C.W. (ECAB 12-1693): Wrist and shoulder disease claim denied
C.W., a postal letter carrier, attributed bilateral wrist degeneration and shoulder problems to his work duties. Conflicting medical opinions led to an impartial specialist’s examination. The Board found that specialist’s explanation against a work connection persuasive. Later treating reports did…
D.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
D.P. (ECAB 12-1581): No ratable arm impairment from cervical condition
D.P., a postal dock clerk, had an accepted aggravation of cervical spinal stenosis and sought an arm schedule award. A physician rated whole-person spinal impairment, while an OWCP examiner found no objective upper extremity neurological impairment. The Board explained that FECA does not pay a…
V.G. and Department of the Army, Fort Bragg, NC
V.G. (ECAB 12-1513): Cashier tendinitis claim lacks causal explanation
V.G., an Army cashier, attributed arm and shoulder tendinitis to repetitive scanning at work. The Board found that physician reports did not adequately explain how the specific duties caused the diagnosed condition. Reports from a nurse practitioner and occupational therapist could not supply the…
S.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, El Paso, AR
S.G. (ECAB 12-1428): Unreviewed impairment report requires new award decision
S.G., a postal employee with a one percent left arm schedule award, submitted a physician’s impairment report before OWCP decided her request for a larger award. OWCP’s first decision said no new medical evidence was submitted, and its reconsideration denial incorrectly said the report had already…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Toa Alta, PR
D.S. (ECAB 12-1405): Emotional condition claim lacks verified work factor
D.S., a postal employee, alleged that a coworker made hostile remarks and pushed a mail cart into her at work. The Board found that the witness statements did not verify the specific incidents on which her claim rested. Although OWCP recognized a diagnosed emotional condition, the Board found no…
D.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, East Austin, TX
D.B. (ECAB 12-1150): Hernia-related impairment needs a new rating
D.B., a postal employee, challenged a 13 percent left leg impairment rating related to a hernia and ilioinguinal nerve condition. The medical reports converted a whole-person nerve rating into a leg rating without explaining how the nerve affected his leg. Examination findings instead described…
Secretary of Labor v. Riverton Investment Corporation
Seven-month delinquency delay defeated reopening
Riverton Investment sought to reopen a $224,136 MSHA assessment after an Essroc safety manager requested an informal conference but did not file a timely contest. Essroc discovered the failure after the manager resigned, amid other delinquency notices and collection actions involving its penalty…
Secretary of Labor v. Inman Energy, Process Energy, Spartan Mining Company, Inc., and Aracoma Coal Company
Five late contests reopened
Four Alpha Natural Resources subsidiaries asked the Commission to reopen five MSHA penalty assessments that had become final after late contests. Alpha's executive assistant said she handled contest filings for acquired Legacy Massey Energy mines and fell behind because of a holiday break and…
Secretary of Labor v. Dominion Coal Corporation
Eleven-month default delay barred reopening
Dominion Coal defaulted after failing to answer MSHA's penalty petition or a later show-cause order. It sought reopening eleven months after the show-cause order, citing personnel changes, staffing shortages, misrouted mail, and unsuccessful settlement efforts. The Secretary opposed relief and…
Secretary of Labor v. Dennis S. Bell and Michael P. Duffy, employed by Duffy, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Dennis S. Bell and Michael P. Duffy (FMSHRC PENN 2013-86-M, PENN 2013-87-M): Two individual assessments reopened
Counsel for Duffy, Inc. sought to reopen individual section 110(c) assessments against Dennis Bell and the company's late owner, Michael Duffy. The corporate secretary said both contest forms were mailed on September 7, 2012, but MSHA had no record of receiving them. Michael Duffy had died in a…
D.M. and Department of the Army, Camp LeJeune, NC
D.M. (ECAB 12-1638): Later wage-loss claims need a reasoned decision
D.M., an Army employee, sought wage-loss compensation for periods after an earlier Board decision and claimed a later recurrence of disability. OWCP replied by letter that the old Board decision had already disposed of the matter. The Board found the new periods and condition allegations were not…
Secretary of Labor v. Highland Mining Company LLC
Four belt and noise violations upheld
Highland Mining contested four citations involving its No. 4 unit, conceding two underlying violations but disputing their gravity and negligence. Judge William B. Moran upheld an S&S citation for a misaligned conveyor belt rubbing six warm frames and an S&S noise citation after a continuous-miner…
Matter of G-K-
The UNTOC does not create independent immigration relief
The Board reviewed a Ghanaian lawful permanent resident's appeal after an Immigration Judge ordered his removal following a heroin-trafficking conviction. The respondent argued that the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime required protection because he had cooperated…
S.L. and Social Security Administration, Center for Human Resources, Baltimore, MD
S.L. (ECAB 12-1575): Additional conditions require merit reconsideration
S.L., a Social Security Administration employee, had an accepted carpal tunnel claim but sought acceptance of right thumb, neck, and shoulder conditions as well. OWCP denied those additional conditions and later said there was no appealable decision to reconsider. The Board found the earlier denial…
R.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Las Vegas, NV
R.S. (ECAB 12-1464): Postmarked reconsideration request was timely
R.S., a postal employee, sought reconsideration of a February 9, 2011 injury denial. His request was postmarked exactly one year later but arrived at OWCP the next day. OWCP treated it as late and required clear evidence of error. The Board held that the applicable procedure measured timeliness by…
D.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Southwest Area Office, Houston, TX
D.B. (ECAB 12-0775): Four percent right arm award upheld
D.B., a postal employee, argued he was entitled to a 28 percent right arm award mentioned in an OWCP letter from 2007. The Board found that the letter was informational and did not grant a final award with findings and appeal rights. OWCP first decided the right arm award in 2011, when the sixth…
J.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Saint Rose, LA
J.H. (ECAB 12-0562): Recurrence reconsideration request was timely
J.H., a Transportation Security Administration screening manager, sought reconsideration of a September 2011 recurrence denial. OWCP received his request the following month but called it untimely and applied the clear-error standard. The Board found the request was well within the one-year…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Reuben Shemwell v. Armstrong Coal Company, Inc. and Armstrong Fabricators, Inc.
Oral argument set on retaliatory-lawsuit claim
Armstrong filed a Kentucky tort lawsuit against welder Reuben Shemwell after he pursued Mine Act discrimination claims arising from his discharge. The Secretary then alleged that the lawsuit itself interfered with Shemwell's protected rights under section 105(c)(1). Judge Jerold Feldman scheduled…
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.