Federal Agency Decisions
Workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), and environmental appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board, each with a plain-English summary, the standards it cites, and whether it counts as precedent. More agencies are coming.
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McQuay v. Lone Tree Services, Inc.
Pipeline retaliation appeal dismissed after federal court filing
Mac McQuay appealed an ALJ’s summary decision in his pipeline safety retaliation case against Lone Tree Services. He later informed the Board that he had filed an action for a fresh review in federal district court and requested administrative closure. The Board explained that the Pipeline Safety…
Secretary of Labor v. U.S. Aggregates, Inc.
Five-month reopening delay denied
U.S. Aggregates timely contested two citations issued after a miner was fatally electrocuted but did not separately contest the later proposed penalties. The company discovered the final penalties in MSHA's database, attempted an untimely email contest, and acknowledged the need for a Commission…
Matter of L-T-A-
Firm resettlement bar affirmed
The respondent, a Nepali national, was persecuted by Maoists in Nepal and later lived and worked in India for about five years before traveling to the United States. The Board held that the India-Nepal Treaty gave her an enduring legal right to enter, live, work, and own property in India, which…
Huffman v. Swift Prepared Foods
Food safety retaliation appeal dismissed for failure to file a brief
Kevin Huffman appealed an ALJ’s rejection of his food safety retaliation complaints against Swift Prepared Foods. The Board dismissed his appeal after he twice failed to file an opening brief despite instructions and a warning that dismissal could follow. His numerous emails did not satisfy the…
Pleasant Mount Welding, Inc.
Flexible-cord item vacated and reporting item affirmed
Pleasant Mount Welding was a Pennsylvania structural-metal fabricator inspected under OSHA's amputation-hazard emphasis program. OSHA cited the company for using flexible cords with a milling machine and a bending machine, and for failing to electronically submit its 2023 OSHA 300A injury and…
Matter of Sergio Rodolfo LAURENT CASTRO
Matter of LAURENT CASTRO (BIA ID 4155): in absentia order reinstated
The respondent was ordered removed in absentia after receiving a notice of hearing that supplied the date and time, even though his initial notice to appear had said those details would be set later. The Board held that the Supreme Court's decision in Campos-Chaves required reinstating its earlier…
Secretary of Labor v. Central Stone Company
Depositions compelled and exhibit motion denied
Central Stone sought depositions of three MSHA officials in four civil penalty proceedings involving its Huntington Plant. Judge David P. Simonton found that the officials could have relevant, non-cumulative information and were not protected as high-ranking government officials. He also found that…
Liow v. Westrock Co.
SOX settlement approved with protections for reporting to authorities
Siew Ying Liow and Westrock settled while her appeal from the denial of a Sarbanes-Oxley retaliation complaint was pending. The Board approved the agreement as fair, adequate, reasonable, and consistent with the public interest, and dismissed her petition with prejudice. Its review covered the SOX…
Ronald Lockhart v. Panther Creek Mining, LLC and Blackhawk Mining, LLC
Part 90 discrimination claim proceeds
Ronald Lockhart alleged that Panther Creek Mining and Blackhawk Mining discharged him after he was diagnosed with complicated pneumoconiosis and pursued Part 90 protections and black-lung benefits. Judge Alan G. Paez granted summary decision on the theory based only on the diagnosis and state or…
Secretary of Labor v. Wyo-Ben, Inc.
Missing delivered assessment reopened
Wyo-Ben timely contested a citation but could not locate the later penalty assessment, which postal records showed had been retrieved from its address. When the expected assessment still had not surfaced, the vice president proactively checked MSHA's database and discovered that it had become…
Wego Chemical Group, LP
In re Wego Chemical Group, LP (EAB CAA Appeal No. 25-13C): HFC reporting settlement approved
Wego Chemical Group, LP imports hydrofluorocarbons. EPA alleged that Wego failed to submit advance notification reports on time for the shipments listed in the settlement attachment. The agreement identifies five late advance reports and five failures to provide advance reporting, and sets a…
Robert Thomas v. CalPortland Company
Discrimination case remanded for damages
Miner Robert Thomas alleged that CalPortland suspended and terminated him because of protected safety activity. After multiple Commission and Ninth Circuit decisions, the court held that the Commission had misapplied substantial-evidence review and that the ALJ's findings established Thomas's…
Mobil Oil Mariana Islands, Inc., Mobil Saipan Terminal
In re Mobil Oil Mariana Islands, Inc., Mobil Saipan Terminal (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 25-03): petition dismissed as moot
Mobil Oil Mariana Islands, Inc. filed a petition for review concerning NPDES Permit No. MP0020397 for its Saipan Terminal. EPA Region 9 asked the Environmental Appeals Board to dismiss the petition as moot and represented that it had withdrawn the contested permit provisions under 40 C.F.R. §…
Matter of M-C-C-
Fraud waiver denied and removal ordered
The respondent, a Bosnian national who entered the United States as a derivative refugee and later became a lawful permanent resident, did not disclose his service in the Bosnian Serb military during the Bosnian War on refugee and adjustment applications. The Board held that the omission was…
Marks v. Conopco, Inc.
Immediate appeal of ALJ recusal denial rejected
Russell Marks sought immediate review of an ALJ’s refusal to recuse herself from his Taxpayer First Act case against Conopco, doing business as Unilever. He alleged bias based on the judge’s involvement in a previous case he had filed. The Board denied the interlocutory appeal after he failed to…
Matter of B-S-H-
VAWA motion to reopen denied
The Board denied an Indian respondent's motion to reconsider and motion to reopen proceedings to pursue adjustment of status and special-rule cancellation of removal under the Violence Against Women Act. The Board held that the statutory waiver for extraordinary circumstances or extreme hardship…
Monk v. Hubbell Inc.
Pipeline appeal closed because no petition for review was filed
Nathaniel Monk sent the Board a copy of an ALJ’s decision denying his pipeline safety retaliation complaint against Hubbell. The Board explained that a copy of the decision did not satisfy the requirement for a written petition identifying specific objections. It gave Monk a deadline to file a…
Matter of K-S-H-
Asylum denial affirmed
The respondent, a Sikh citizen of India, sought protection after members of the Hindu religion and the RSS party attacked and threatened him over his relationship with a Hindu woman. The Board held that his single unsuccessful attempt to report one incident to local police, without further harm…
ZPMC North America Inc.
In re ZPMC North America Inc. (EAB CAA Appeal No. 25-12C): HFC import settlement approved
ZPMC North America Inc. imported 202 kilograms of HFC-227ea, a regulated hydrofluorocarbon, through the Port of Newark in July 2025. EPA alleged that ZPMC imported the bulk substance without expending the required allowances and failed to submit an advance notification report. ZPMC agreed to the…
Matter of Miguel Angel Otoniel CAHUEC TZALAM
Matter of CAHUEC TZALAM (BIA ID 4138): administrative closure vacated and remanded
The Department of Homeland Security appealed an Immigration Judge's administrative closure of removal proceedings for an 18-year-old citizen of Guatemala who had a pending petition for special immigrant juvenile classification. The Board held that the respondent had not submitted evidence showing…
Harvest Four Corners, LLC
In re Harvest Four Corners, LLC (EAB CAA Appeal No. 24-09): permit appeal dismissed after revision
Harvest Four Corners, LLC petitioned the Environmental Appeals Board to review provisions of its Clean Air Act Title V operating permit. The Board held the matter in abeyance while the parties pursued settlement and EPA Region 6 reopened and revised the permit. EPA issued the revised permit on…
Matter of Jose Alejandro RODRIGUEZ PENA
Matter of RODRIGUEZ PENA (BIA ID 4150): bond release vacated
The respondent had been released on a $7,500 bond while removal proceedings were pending. The Board held that a recent arrest based on a threat to kill someone, an escalated reaction to police intervention, the use of an alias to evade arrest, and a false claim of U.S. citizenship showed that he…
Matter of L-A-G-B-
CAT deferral vacated
The Department of Homeland Security appealed an Immigration Judge's grant of deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture to a citizen of Panama with a drug-trafficking conviction. The Board held that the Immigration Judge's prediction of future torture relied on unsupported inferences…
Matter of N-P-A-
Protection claims denied
The Department of Homeland Security appealed an Immigration Judge's grant of asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture to a citizen of Moldova from the Transnistria region. The Board held that an identical summons had not harmed the respondent's son, that…
Matter of C-I-G-M- & L-V-S-G-
Asylum cooperative agreement bar applied and case remanded
The Department of Homeland Security brought an interlocutory appeal after an Immigration Judge denied its motion to pretermit the respondents' asylum, withholding of removal, and Convention Against Torture protection applications. The respondents, natives and citizens of Guatemala, argued that they…
Matter of Jose Antonio LEMA MIZHIRUMBAY
Matter of LEMA MIZHIRUMBAY (BIA ID 4148): cancellation of removal vacated
The Department of Homeland Security appealed an Immigration Judge's grant of cancellation of removal to Jose Antonio Lema Mizhirumbay, a citizen of Ecuador and the father of five United States citizen children. The Board recognized his family ties, church service, employment history, and the…
Matter of J-A-N-M-
Discretionary termination of withholding-only proceedings vacated
The Department of Homeland Security appealed after an Immigration Judge granted discretionary termination of withholding-only proceedings for a Honduran applicant who had reentered the United States after a prior removal. The applicant had expressed fear of return, but the Immigration Judge had…
Matter of Negusie
Stay vacated and prior persecutor-bar opinion operative
The Attorney General reviewed a referral involving an applicant whose asylum and withholding claims had been denied under the persecutor bar, while deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture had been granted. The Attorney General vacated the stay of the Board's March 16, 2021, order…
Matter of Gholam GHANBARI
Matter of GHANBARI (BIA ID 4153): bond order vacated
The respondent had received a bond order after an Immigration Judge found that the Department of Homeland Security was substantially unlikely to prove he was removable for providing material support to the Mojahedin-e-Khalq, or MEK. The Board held that the record, including the respondent's prior…
Matter of Chong Sik KIM
Cancellation of removal denied
The Department of Homeland Security appealed an Immigration Judge's grant of cancellation of removal to a lawful permanent resident from South Korea who had engaged in repeated fraud and theft for decades. The Board held that the respondent's extensive criminal history, repeated incarceration, and…
Metro Ports, d/b/a Southeast Crescent Shipping
Five lead and cadmium items vacated
Metro Ports operated a marine terminal at the Port of Wilmington, North Carolina, where it handled sealed bulk containers of Waelz oxide containing trace lead and cadmium. OSHA cited five serious violations involving respiratory-hazard evaluation, housekeeping, hazard communication, and…
Matter of J-H-M-H-
CAT appeal dismissed after stipulation rejected
The respondent, a transgender woman from Honduras, and the Department of Homeland Security jointly stipulated that she was eligible for deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture. The Immigration Judge rejected the stipulation, denied CAT protection, and later denied a joint motion to…
Matter of Israel PALMA-OLVERA
Matter of PALMA-OLVERA (BIA ID 4149): cancellation of removal vacated
The Department of Homeland Security appealed an Immigration Judge's grant of cancellation of removal to Israel Palma-Olvera, who had two convictions for driving while intoxicated during the relevant period. The Board held that the convictions triggered a rebuttable presumption that he lacked good…
Secretary of Labor v. Harrison County Coal Resources, Inc.
Three coal-mine citations upheld with one negligence reduction
MSHA cited Harrison County Coal Resources for an inadequately guarded shuttle-car cable reel, travel under unsupported roof, and a hole in a permanent ventilation stopping. The Judge found that gaps in a makeshift rubber cover could allow contact with the moving chain and spool, even though an…
Walker v. Transport Refrigeration Services
SOX dismissal vacated because private-company status did not defeat jurisdiction
Jeffrey Walker alleged that Transport Refrigeration Services fired him after he threatened to report false inventory data provided to Walmart. An ALJ dismissed his Sarbanes-Oxley complaint for lack of jurisdiction because the employer was not publicly traded. The Board vacated that order and sent…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapters 296 and 336 and United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Washington, D.C.
NTEU Chapters 296 and 336 and National Park Service (FLRA 0-NG-3729): Authority rejects 90-day remote-work recall rule
NTEU Chapters 296 and 336 challenged the National Park Service's disapproval of a telework and remote-work provision. One subsection would prevent termination of most remote-work agreements on less than 90 days' notice and require an opportunity to improve before termination. The Authority held…
United States Small Business Administration and American Federation of Government Employees, Council 228
Small Business Administration and AFGE Council 228 (FLRA 0-AR-5936): Authority upholds removal of suspension
The Small Business Administration suspended a loan specialist for three days based on performance, failure-to-follow-directives, and unprofessional-communication charges. An arbitrator found misconduct but concluded that the suspension lacked just and sufficient cause after considering the…
United States Department of Agriculture, Office of the Chief Financial Officer and Office of the Chief Information Officer and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2341
USDA offices and AFGE Local 2341 (FLRA AT-RP-25-0035): Authority rejects affiliation change
AFGE Local 2341 voted to change its national affiliation from AFGE to the National Treasury Employees Union and sought an amended bargaining-unit certification. The regional director dismissed the petition because the meeting notices and ballot described only a national-affiliation change and…
O'Reilly v. Industrial Automation, Inc.
Clean Air Act complaint dismissal upheld for discovery noncompliance
Ray O’Reilly alleged that Industrial Automation fired him after he complained about workplace air quality and respiratory problems. The Board upheld the ALJ’s dismissal with prejudice of his Clean Air Act retaliation complaint as a discovery sanction. It found that he repeatedly failed to answer…
Matter of Maricruz JIMENEZ-AYALA
Matter of JIMENEZ-AYALA (BIA ID 4142): cancellation of removal vacated
The Department of Homeland Security appealed an Immigration Judge's grant of cancellation of removal to a lawful permanent resident of Mexico who had been convicted of child endangerment. The Board held that the respondent's long-term methamphetamine use, drug use in the presence of her children…
Matter of L-A-L-T-
Asylum grant vacated and record remanded
The Department of Homeland Security appealed an Immigration Judge's grant of asylum to a citizen of El Salvador who said Salvadoran police and gang members harmed him because they believed he was a gang member. The Board held that the proposed group of perceived Salvadoran gang members was not…
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
In re Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (EAB CAA Appeal No. 25-11C): HFC vehicle air-conditioning settlement approved
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. manufactures light-duty passenger vehicles. Between October 24, 2024 and January 21, 2025, it manufactured 1,012 Model Year 2025 Atlas vehicles using HFC-134a in their air-conditioning equipment. The compound has a global warming potential of 1,430, above the 150…
Matter of Oscar Alfredo DUBON MIRANDA
Matter of DUBON MIRANDA (BIA ID 4144): bond order vacated
The Department of Homeland Security appealed an Immigration Judge's order releasing the respondent on a $7,000 bond. The Board held that the respondent's inappropriate behavior toward his stepdaughter, convictions for driving under the influence and disturbing the peace, and the lack of information…
Secretary of Labor v. Morton Salt, Inc.
Review petition withdrawn
An administrative law judge removed the significant and substantial designations from two MSHA citations issued to Morton Salt. The Commission granted the Secretary of Labor's petition to review that ruling and later heard oral argument. The Secretary then asked to withdraw the petition, and Morton…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Co.
Two S&S citations affirmed
MSHA cited Consol's Bailey Mine for a missing keeper pin on a longwall shield and cracked light globes on a continuous miner. The Commission held that substantial evidence supported the judge's findings that the missing pin created a projectile hazard and the cracked globes could contribute to a…
Matter of J-C-A-G-
CAT deferral vacated
The Department of Homeland Security appealed an Immigration Judge's grant of deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture to a citizen of Mexico who had cooperated with United States law enforcement against a drug-trafficking conspiracy. The Board held that generalized evidence of…
United States Department of the Navy, Commander Navy Region Northwest, Fire and Emergency Services and International Association of Firefighters, Local F-282
Navy Region Northwest Fire and Emergency Services and IAFF Local F-282 (FLRA 0-AR-6008): Authority upholds clarified rotation award
The Navy rotated a firefighter for one shift to another station within the same battalion. An arbitrator first found that the move violated the agreement, but after the agency requested clarification, he issued a second award finding that the agreement permitted the rotation and denied the…
Sunbelt Rentals Scaffold Services LLC, dba Sunbelt Rentals
Circular-saw training citation vacated
Sunbelt Rentals assigned two employees to build the floor of a temporary paint-storage structure at a Port Arthur, Texas, staging site. One employee sustained tendon and bone injuries when a cordless circular saw contacted his hand, and OSHA cited Sunbelt for allegedly inadequate instruction on…
Secretary of Labor obo Timothy Barnes, et al. v. Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC
Discrimination cases settled
A judge found that Warrior Met Coal Mining discriminated against miners Timothy Barnes and Brandon Hall for exercising rights protected by the Mine Act. The judge ordered reinstatement and backpay relief, assessed $40,000 in civil penalties, required removal of related employment records, and…
Matter of Beresford A. LANDERS, Jr., Attorney
Appeal dismissed and disbarment ordered
The Board reviewed an attorney's appeal from an adjudicating official's decision disbarring him from practice before the Board, the Immigration Courts, and the Department of Homeland Security. The disciplinary counsels alleged that he continued practicing during a suspension by preparing and filing…
Auguste v. Safe Tech USA
Aviation retaliation complaint dismissal upheld after repeated discovery failures
Daniel Auguste appealed the dismissal with prejudice of his AIR21 retaliation complaint against Safe Tech USA. The Board upheld dismissal because he repeatedly failed to provide required discovery despite clear instructions, warnings, and an earlier lesser sanction. It rejected his claim that a car…
Borris v. U.S. Department of Energy
Energy retaliation appeal dismissed after district court action
Philip Borris sought Board review of an ALJ’s dismissal in his Energy Reorganization Act case against the Department of Energy. He later notified the Board that he intended to seek a fresh review in federal district court and supplied a filed copy of that complaint. The Board held that the Labor…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Holiday extended contest deadline
Consol received a proposed penalty assessment on October 10, 2024, and submitted its contest on November 11. The Secretary treated November 9 as the deadline and argued that the assessment had become final. The Commission applied Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 6(a), because the thirtieth day was a…
Matter of W-F-
CAT deferral vacated
The Department of Homeland Security appealed an Immigration Judge's grant of deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture to a citizen of Haiti who had been convicted of carjacking and had cooperated with federal law enforcement. The Board agreed that the conviction was a particularly…
Powertech (USA), Inc.
In re Powertech (USA), Inc. (EAB UIC Appeal No. 25-01): Review denied for reissued uranium-injection permits
Powertech (USA), Inc. holds two Underground Injection Control area permits for in-situ uranium recovery at the Dewey-Burdock project in South Dakota. The Oglala Sioux Tribe, Black Hills Clean Water Alliance, and NDN Collective challenged EPA Region 8's reissued permits, arguing that the…
Secretary of Labor v. Nally & Hamilton Enterprises, Inc.
Highwall examination ruling reversed
A tree fell from above a surface mine highwall onto a truck traveling below, killing one miner and seriously injuring another. MSHA alleged that Nally & Hamilton's on-shift examinations failed to identify, report, and correct the tree hazard, but the judge vacated the order because the land above…
Matter of H-A-A-V-
Asylum applications pretermitted and appeal dismissed
The Board reviewed a Peruvian respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge pretermitted his applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture and ordered him removed to Peru. The Board held that an Immigration Judge may pretermit applications…
3M Company
In re 3M Company (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 25-05C): new-chemical and import settlement approved
3M Company manufactured and imported a chemical substance subject to a low-volume exemption under TSCA. EPA alleged that 3M manufactured the substance at facilities in New Ulm, Minnesota, and Valley, Nebraska, before submitting the required low-volume exemption application or site notice. EPA also…
Matter of Jonathan Javier YAJURE HURTADO
Bond request dismissed for lack of Immigration Judge authority
The Board reviewed a Venezuelan respondent's appeal from an Immigration Judge's denial of a bond redetermination request. The respondent had entered the United States without inspection and argued that his residence in the country made him eligible for a bond hearing under the detention provisions…
Matter of Iurii DOBROTVORSKII
Bond grant vacated and detention ordered
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal from an Immigration Judge's order releasing the respondent on a $10,000 bond and alternatives to detention. The Board held that a valid, reliable, and credible sponsor is relevant to assessing flight risk and that Immigration Judges…
What these documents are
- The agencies: Workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), and environmental permit and penalty appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB). Each decision page names its agency.
- Commission and Board decisions: Rulings by the agency's highest review level (the Commission at OSHRC and FMSHRC, 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.