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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Matter of N-E-R-S-
Cooperative agreement bar remanded for application
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's interlocutory appeal from an Immigration Judge's decision denying a motion to pretermit asylum, withholding of removal, and Convention Against Torture protection applications filed by Venezuelan respondents. DHS argued that the respondents…
Matter of E-A-R-M-
Oral asylum cooperative agreement notice was sufficient
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's interlocutory appeal from an Immigration Judge's decision denying a motion to pretermit asylum, withholding of removal, and Convention Against Torture protection applications filed by Venezuelan and Colombian respondents. DHS had orally moved…
Jeanette G. Loudermilk (survivor of and on behalf of Terry Loudermilk) v. Eastwood Construction, Inc.
Loudermilk v. Eastwood Construction (BRB 25-0443-A and 25-0444-A): Claimant's cross-appeals withdrawn
Jeanette Loudermilk filed cross-appeals in two black lung cases involving Eastwood Construction and its insurer. She later asked the Benefits Review Board to withdraw those cross-appeals. The Board granted her request and dismissed them under its withdrawal rule. Its short order expressly says that…
Robert J. Trozzi v. CONSOL Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Trozzi v. CONSOL Pennsylvania Coal (BRB 25-0198): Denial returned for disability findings
Robert Trozzi sought black lung benefits after 16 years of underground coal mine work. The administrative law judge found pneumoconiosis but denied benefits because he found no total respiratory disability. Trozzi appealed, and the employer cross-appealed the pneumoconiosis finding. The Board held…
United States Department of Agriculture, Research, Education and Economics, Agricultural Research Service, Southeast Area and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1752
USDA Agricultural Research Service and NFFE Local 1752 (FLRA AT-RP-26-0003): Authority leaves election order in place
The Agriculture Department questioned whether NFFE Local 1752 still represented a majority of employees in an existing bargaining unit. The regional director found a good-faith doubt because the union had undertaken no identified bargaining, grievance, appeal, or officer activity and had no…
M.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Ioannis A. Lougaris VA Medical Center
VA worker's emotional condition claim denied for lack of causal opinion (ECAB 26-0413)
A VA respiratory therapist described vandalism involving racial slurs and swastikas on his car and sought compensation for an emotional condition. Physicians diagnosed conditions, but the Board found their reports did not adequately explain how the accepted incident caused the claimed condition. It…
A.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Columbia Post Office
Postal carrier's shoulder diagnosis established and claim returned (ECAB 26-0347)
A postal city carrier reported a shoulder injury in an accepted May 2025 work incident. Doctors later diagnosed right shoulder strain and instability. The Board found that these diagnoses were established in connection with the incident, reversing OWCP's contrary denial. It returned the claim for…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, North Houston Post Office
Postal carrier's lumbar radiculopathy expansion denied (ECAB 26-0287)
A postal rural carrier associate asked OWCP to add lumbar radiculopathy to her accepted work injury. The Board reviewed reports addressing continuing back symptoms and the proposed additional diagnosis. It found that the medical evidence did not adequately establish that radiculopathy was caused…
Allen G. Hilbert v. Dominion Coal Corporation
Hilbert v. Dominion Coal (BRB 25-0211): Black lung benefits award affirmed
Allen Hilbert sought black lung benefits after more than 32 years of qualifying coal mine work. On remand, the administrative law judge found that blood gas testing and medical opinions showed total respiratory disability and awarded benefits under the 15-year presumption. Dominion Coal challenged…
Glen Harold Dotson v. Island Creek Kentucky Mining
Dotson v. Island Creek Kentucky Mining (BRB 25-0194): Black lung benefits affirmed
Glen Harold Dotson sought black lung benefits after more than 29 years of qualifying coal mine work. The administrative law judge found a totally disabling respiratory impairment, applied the 15-year presumption, and awarded benefits. Island Creek Kentucky Mining and its carrier challenged both the…
Hall v. Eastern Panhandle Anesthesia Associates Inc.
ARB affirms lack of AIR21 coverage
Timothy Hall, an anesthesiologist for Eastern Panhandle Anesthesia Associates, alleged that the company and City Hospital retaliated against him for reporting safety concerns under AIR21. The ARB affirmed the ALJ's determination that the respondents were not covered entities under the pre-2020…
L.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Cardiss Collins Post Office
Postal carrier's bilateral knee condition claim denied (ECAB 26-0432)
A postal city carrier claimed work duties caused pain and degenerative findings in both knees. Her physician described the knee findings and her symptoms. The Board found the report did not adequately explain how the accepted employment factors caused or aggravated the diagnosed condition. It…
P.F. and Department of Housing and Urban Development
Retired HUD worker's hospital bed reimbursement denied (ECAB 26-0395)
A retired Housing and Urban Development appraiser sought FECA reimbursement for a semi-electric hospital bed and mattress. OWCP denied the requested equipment. The Board reviewed the medical and reimbursement evidence and found that OWCP had not abused its discretion in denying payment. It affirmed…
L.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, John L. McClellan Memorial Veterans Hospital
VA worker's early-arrival assault claim denied (ECAB 25-0918)
A VA food service worker reported an assault while sitting in her vehicle on the employer's premises before her shift. The Board found that the incident occurred 55 minutes before her authorized start time and was outside a reasonable arrival interval. It held that being on the premises alone did…
K.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Levittown Main Office
Postal worker's reconsideration request returned for the correct issue (ECAB 25-0854)
A postal letter carrier asked OWCP to reconsider its rescission of acceptance of a cervical condition. OWCP instead treated the request as a challenge to a later benefit termination. The Board found that OWCP had decided the wrong issue and failed to explain the actual reconsideration request. It…
B.H. and U.S. Postal Service, North Texas Processing & Distribution Center
Postal truck driver's dock plate incident accepted; injury question returned (ECAB 26-0399)
A postal tractor trailer operator reported tripping over a raised dock plate and falling in his trailer. His claim form and later explanation gave different July 2024 dates, and OWCP rejected the incident. The Board found his clarification credible and held that a work incident occurred. It…
T.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Lakedale Post Office
Postal carrier's knee injury denial upheld (ECAB 26-0397)
A rural carrier said her right knee buckled while she walked down a driveway at work. OWCP accepted the incident but denied her claim for a medical condition. Her surgeon diagnosed arthritis and said work aggravated it, yet did not explain how the particular incident did so. The Board affirmed…
M.D. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service
Park Service worker's late reconsideration request denied (ECAB 26-0316)
A National Park Service worker asked OWCP to reconsider an earlier claim decision. OWCP received his January 2026 request outside the one-year filing period. The Board found that the request also failed to demonstrate clear evidence that OWCP had erred. It affirmed the refusal to reopen the merits.
Secretary of Labor v. Asarco LLC
Penalty assessment reopened and remanded
Asarco did not timely contest a proposed penalty after the assessment was delayed during a management staffing change. The company emailed its contest two days after the penalty became final and filed its motion to reopen three days after discovering the error. The Secretary opposed reopening…
Montalban Oil and Gas Operations, Inc.
In re Montalban Oil and Gas Operations, Inc. (EAB UIC Appeal No. 26-02): petition dismissed as untimely
Angela Otero petitioned for review of two Class V Underground Injection Control permits issued by EPA Region 8 to Montalban Oil and Gas Operations, Inc. The Region served notice of the final permit decisions on May 1, 2026, making June 1 the filing deadline because the thirtieth day fell on a…
Matter of R-A-N-
Conscription was not a standalone asylum ground
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal from an Immigration Judge's decision granting asylum to a Russian citizen who feared forced military conscription because of his political views. The Board held that conscription is not a standalone basis for asylum and that any…
Christopher v. Prime Logistics Corp
Case administratively closed after STAA kick-out
Wesley Christopher alleged that Prime Logistics and related respondents retaliated against him in violation of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act. While the case was pending before the Department of Labor, he filed a civil action in federal district court under the STAA's kick-out provision…
C.W. and U.S. Postal Service, San Francisco Processing & Distribution Center
Postal worker's ankle claim and reconsideration refusal upheld (ECAB 26-0405)
A postal distribution associate attributed left ankle and foot conditions to moving containers and packages at work. A physician said the duties aggravated a preexisting tendon tear but did not adequately explain the connection or separate the prior condition's effects. The Board found the medical…
M.J. and U.S. Postal Service, 30th Street Post Office
Postal worker's benefit suspension reversed after form arrived (ECAB 26-0403)
A postal worker receiving compensation was asked to return a signed Form EN-1032. OWCP received her completed form on January 27, 2026 but suspended payments the next day for supposedly failing to respond. The Board found the stated basis for suspension wrong and reversed it. OWCP must reinstate…
J.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Huron Post Office
Postal carrier's wage loss and medical benefit termination reversed (ECAB 26-0393)
A postal carrier received benefits for an accepted right knee injury. OWCP ended wage loss and medical benefits after a second opinion doctor said the accepted conditions had resolved. The doctor found knee pain and effusion but attributed the continuing symptoms and work restrictions to other…
J.L. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration
Air marshal's hearing loss rating upheld; award underpayment corrected (ECAB 26-0350)
A federal air marshal sought a larger schedule award for work-related hearing loss and tinnitus. The Board upheld OWCP's seven percent binaural impairment rating and its pay rate calculation. It found that OWCP used the correct 14-week period but paid $32,847.22 instead of $40,151.44. The Board…
T.R. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Butner Federal Correctional Facility
Correctional officer's disability claim denial upheld (ECAB 26-0283)
A correctional officer sought wage loss compensation for a period following accepted foot conditions. The Board reviewed medical reports describing plantar fasciitis, pes planus, and work restrictions. It found that the reports did not adequately explain how the accepted conditions caused…
S.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Cross County Post Office
Postal worker's schedule award denial returned after record error (ECAB 25-0689)
A postal worker appealed denial of a schedule award. OWCP's decision referred to a district medical adviser report, but the Director told the Board the file had never been sent to that adviser and no such report existed. The Board granted the Director's request to set aside the denial. OWCP must…
Professional Aviation Safety Specialists and United States Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration
Professional Aviation Safety Specialists and FAA (FLRA 0-AR-5968): Authority finds identity-login change de minimis
Federal Aviation Administration employees had to begin using Login.gov or ID.me to access a Veterans Affairs training system, which required Social Security numbers and government-issued identification. An arbitrator found the login change de minimis and denied the union's grievance alleging that…
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Medina Carrier Annex
Postal worker's ankle claim returned to combine related files (ECAB 26-0400)
A postal worker appealed a decision involving a left ankle claim. Two earlier claim files also concerned her left ankle, but they had not been combined with the present file. The Board could not review evidence in those files and found the record incomplete. It directed OWCP to combine the files…
D.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Mountain View Post Office
Postal carrier's oral hearing request properly denied (ECAB 26-0358)
A postal carrier requested an oral hearing in a long-running injury claim. She had previously sought reconsideration of the disputed recurrence decision several times. The Board held she no longer had a hearing as of right and found OWCP reasonably exercised its discretion because she could pursue…
D.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Clayton Post Office
Postal carrier's neck claim returned for specialist opinion (ECAB 26-0279)
A postal rural carrier sought compensation for neck and related symptoms after loading a truck. A physician connected his cervical condition to work incidents and explained a possible aggravation mechanism, but the opinion was not fully reasoned. The Board found the report sufficient to require…
L.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Oklahoma City VA Medical Center
VA analyst's late reconsideration request denied (ECAB 26-0270)
A VA budget analyst asked OWCP to reconsider a decision rescinding acceptance of her emotional condition claim. Her October 2025 request came more than one year after the January 2024 merits decision. The Board found that her renewed arguments and evidence did not clearly show OWCP had erred when…
Secretary of Labor v. Big Spring Sands LLC
Front-end loader brake order affirmed
Big Spring Sands operates a surface mine and processing facility that mines, cleans, and sells sand. MSHA found that the parking or emergency brake on a CAT 980M front-end loader could not hold the equipment with its typical load, and the pre-shift reports had identified the brake problem for at…
Reitz v. Moderna, Inc.
Appeal dismissed as untimely
Naomi Reitz appealed an ALJ's dismissal of her Sarbanes-Oxley Act complaint after she failed to comply with discovery and deposition orders. She filed her petition for review eight days after the 14-day deadline and asked the ARB to excuse the delay through equitable tolling, equitable estoppel, or…
C.R. and Department of the Navy, Nader Alameda Naval Air Station
Navy worker's appeal and reconsideration petition dismissed as late (ECAB 26-0549)
A former Navy worker filed a 2026 appeal referring to a purported 2017 OWCP decision. The latest OWCP decision was actually issued in 2015, outside the Board's 180-day appeal period. Treating the filing as a request to reconsider the Board's August 2017 ruling did not help because it also came…
C.C. and Department of the Navy, Military Sealift Command
Navy technician's benefit overpayment and repayment plan upheld (ECAB 26-0404)
A Navy electronic technician received wage loss benefits at the higher rate for a worker with an eligible dependent. OWCP determined that he had no eligible dependent during the payment period and calculated a $6,568.80 overpayment, although he was without fault. The Board upheld the calculation…
B.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Oakland Processing & Distribution Center
Postal worker's injury appeal returned to combine related files (ECAB 26-0391)
A postal mail handler appealed a decision on a back and foot injury claim. Four other claim files also involved his back or left lower extremity, but OWCP had not combined them. The Board found that it could not make an informed decision without reviewing those related records. It ordered OWCP to…
L.B. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Army worker's fall injuries recognized; causation issue returned (ECAB 26-0389)
A temporary Army Corps worker reported tripping over a cable during a work safety meeting. OWCP accepted the incident but found no diagnosed condition connected with it. The Board found a physician's report established diagnoses following the fall. It returned the claim for OWCP to evaluate medical…
Matter of Juan Andres VIZCAINO AYBAR
Bond venue follows the place of detention
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal from an Immigration Judge's decision releasing a detained respondent on an $8,000 bond. The respondent had been transferred from Massachusetts to a detention facility in Texas before filing the custody redetermination request at issue…
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Blue Island Post Office
Postal worker's late appeal dismissed (ECAB 26-0562)
A postal worker filed a Board appeal in June 2026 from an OWCP decision issued in May 2024. The Board's appeal period for that decision was 180 days and had expired in November 2024. It found no final adverse OWCP decision within 180 days of the new filing. The Board dismissed the appeal without…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, New Jersey International Bulk Mail & Network Distribution Center
Postal worker's recurrence claim denial upheld (ECAB 26-0377)
A postal mail processing worker sought renewed disability benefits after an accepted 2022 injury. Her medical reports did not adequately explain why the accepted condition caused her to stop working again in December 2024. Other reports did not address that period, and a referral physician found no…
D.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Mountain View Post Office
Postal worker's reconsideration request returned for full review (ECAB 26-0344)
A postal carrier challenged OWCP's refusal to reconsider an older claim decision. OWCP issued its decision on the same day it received additional statements from her, but did not address those statements. The Board held that OWCP had to consider evidence received before it issued a final decision…
J.S. and Department of the Navy, Norfolk Naval Shipyard
Shipyard worker's schedule award claim returned for missing medical report (ECAB 26-0343)
A Navy shipyard pipefitter sought a schedule award after a work injury. OWCP scheduled a second opinion examination but decided his claim without obtaining that doctor's report. The Board held that OWCP had to complete the medical development it undertook before deciding the award. It set aside the…
W.E. and Department of Labor, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs
DOL examiner's request for larger arm impairment award denied (ECAB 26-0322)
A DOL claims examiner sought more schedule award compensation for bilateral arm impairment attributed to repetitive computer work. He asked for a new second opinion examination but provided no medical evidence showing that his condition had worsened. The Board found no current evidence supporting…
C Pacific Corporation, dba Five Star Builders
Three scaffold violations affirmed with a grouped penalty
C Pacific Corporation was a construction subcontractor installing aluminum cladding on a car dealership in Puerto Rico, Saipan. OSHA found employees working on a four-level scaffold with incomplete planking, missing stair rails, and missing guardrails, creating fall exposures of 5 to 20 feet. The…
Jimmy Viars v. Island Creek Coal Company
Viars v. Island Creek Coal (BRB 25-0149): Benefit award vacated for medical opinion review
Jimmy Viars sought black lung benefits after 20 years of underground coal mine work. The administrative law judge found a totally disabling respiratory impairment, applied the 15-year presumption, and awarded benefits. Island Creek Coal challenged the judge's comparison of doctors' opinions on…
Eddie Gewarges v. CWU, Incorporated
Gewarges v. CWU (BRB 24-0381): Shoulder injury claim returned for medical review
Eddie Gewarges claimed injuries after a fall while working as a translator for CWU in Germany under the Defense Base Act. The administrative law judge awarded five days of temporary disability benefits for work-related neck and back injuries but found his shoulder condition was not work-related…
Deborah R. Baker (on behalf of and widow of Alger R. Baker, Jr.) v. Hobet Mining, Incorporated
Baker v. Hobet Mining (BRB 24-0355 and 24-0356): Trust Fund directed to pay benefits
Deborah R. Baker pursued black lung claims on behalf of and as the widow of Alger R. Baker, Jr. After a Fourth Circuit decision held that Arch could not be held liable as a self-insurer for benefits arising from a former Hobet subsidiary when Patriot Coal later became bankrupt, Core Natural…
Deborah R. Baker (on behalf of and widow of Alger R. Baker, Jr.) v. Hobet Mining, Incorporated
Baker v. Hobet Mining (BRB 24-0355 and 24-0356): Trust Fund directed to pay both claims
Deborah Baker pursued her late husband Alger Baker's black lung claim and her own survivor's claim. Following a federal appeals court ruling on insurer liability, the Board dismissed Hobet Mining and Arch Resources from payment responsibility. The Director of the Office of Workers' Compensation…
Calvin Allen v. Hobet Mining, Incorporated
Allen v. Hobet Mining (BRB 24-0282): Trust Fund directed to pay benefits
Calvin Allen sought black lung benefits in a claim involving Hobet Mining and its former parent company's insurance. After a federal appeals court ruling on liability, the Board dismissed Hobet as the responsible operator. The Director of the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs did not oppose…
T.B. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation
FBI agent's knee injury claim denied (ECAB 26-0372)
An FBI special agent said his left knee buckled while sprinting during a required fitness test. OWCP accepted the incident but denied a medical condition caused by it. A physician's causation report described an ankle roll and fall that differed from the agent's account. The Board found that…
International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers locals, National Federation of Federal Employees locals, and individual petitioners
IFPTE locals, NFFE locals, and individual petitioners (FLRA 0-MC-0037): Authority denies proposed abeyance rules
Unions and individuals affected by presidential orders excluding agencies from federal labor-management law asked the Authority to amend its rules for cases held in abeyance during litigation over those orders. Their proposal would allow requests for temporary relief or immediate jurisdictional…
Matter of T-D-E-
Credibility finding remanded for fuller review
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal from an Immigration Judge's decision granting asylum to respondents from Burkina Faso. The Board held that an Immigration Judge may not find a respondent credible solely because the respondent candidly admitted to lying on earlier visa…
Learmon E. Mounts v. Kingston Mining, Incorporated
Mounts v. Kingston Mining (BRB 25-0162): Black lung benefits affirmed
Learmon Mounts sought black lung benefits after more than 33 years of underground coal mine work. The administrative law judge found complicated pneumoconiosis and applied the irrebuttable presumption of total disability due to that disease. Kingston Mining and its carrier challenged her assessment…
Duggan v. FreedomRoads LLC
Case remanded to resolve motion for reconsideration
Daniel Duggan petitioned the Administrative Review Board after an ALJ dismissed his Consumer Financial Protection Act case. The ARB had already remanded the matter so the ALJ could decide Duggan's pending motion for reconsideration. Duggan then treated an email from the ALJ's chambers rejecting a…
V.C. and U.S. Postal Service, North Houston Post Office
Postal carrier's wrist condition claim denied (ECAB 26-0380)
A rural carrier reported left wrist and hand pain associated with opening mailbox doors. A surgeon diagnosed several wrist and thumb conditions and attributed them generally to repetitive postal work. The Board found his reports did not adequately explain how the accepted September 2024 incident…
J.C. and U.S. Government Publishing Office
Government printer's knee surgery and expanded claim returned for medical review (ECAB 26-0371)
A Government Publishing Office carpenter sought to add right knee conditions to an accepted injury claim and obtain approval for knee replacement surgery. OWCP asked its second opinion physician for a clarifying report but denied the request before receiving it. The Board found that decision…
B.S. and U.S. Postal Service, North Texas Processing & Distribution Center
Postal worker's missed treatment time claim denied (ECAB 26-0369)
A postal mail handler sought compensation for time away from work for medical treatment after an accepted injury. OWCP disputed the remaining hours claimed on three dates in 2025. The Board found no medical evidence showing that he attended treatment for the accepted injury on those dates and lost…
V.S. and Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration
Railroad agency worker's reconsideration request denied (ECAB 26-0363)
A Federal Railroad Administration human resources specialist sought reconsideration of a denied emotional condition claim. Her request challenged OWCP's account of medical evidence and referenced an unresolved discrimination complaint. The Board found those points did not address the underlying…
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.