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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Eugenio Rodriguez v. National Steel & Shipbuilding Company
Rodriguez v. National Steel & Shipbuilding (BRB 23-0350): attorney fee award affirmed
Eugenio Rodriguez pursued Longshore Act benefits for knee injuries from work at National Steel & Shipbuilding. After an earlier appeal returned his claim for consideration as a modification request, the parties settled the disability dispute for $50,000 and kept future knee care open. A judge…
Christopher S. Preece v. Eagle Coal Company
Preece v. Eagle Coal (BRB 23-0344): black lung benefits award affirmed
Christopher Preece sought black lung benefits after seventeen years of underground coal mine work. A judge found that he had a totally disabling respiratory impairment and awarded benefits under the fifteen year presumption. The employer challenged the disability finding, arguing that doctors had…
Robert E. Lee v. American Energy, LLC
Lee v. American Energy (BRB 23-0331): disability claim returns for review of existing medical evidence
Robert Lee sought black lung benefits for his coal mine work, but an administrative law judge denied his claim after reopening the record to admit new medical evidence. The Board held that reopening the record departed from its earlier remand instructions without a sufficient basis. It reversed…
Larry R. Blackburn v. Coal River Mining, LLC
Blackburn v. Coal River Mining (BRB 23-0326): black lung benefits affirmed
Larry Blackburn worked in underground coal mines for 44 years and sought black lung benefits. The judge found that a doctor's opinion, considered alongside his heavy job duties and pulmonary testing, established total disability. Coal River Mining argued that other tests and opinions defeated that…
Yvette Fulton v. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Incorporated
Fulton v. Huntington Ingalls (BRB 23-0313): attorney fee award returned for review
Yvette Fulton was injured while working as a deck electrician for Huntington Ingalls and later received an award of partial disability benefits. Her lawyer sought fees and costs from the employer, and a judge awarded $31,454.32. The Board found that the judge had not properly compared the…
James A. Brewster Jr. v. Brooks Run Coal Company, LLC
Brewster v. Brooks Run Coal (BRB 23-0307): black lung benefits award affirmed after remand
James Brewster sought black lung benefits after at least fifteen years of qualifying coal mine work. On remand, a judge again found that a respiratory impairment prevented him from performing his roof bolter job and awarded benefits under the fifteen year presumption. The employer challenged the…
Ronald W. Jones v. Windsor Coal Company
Jones v. Windsor Coal Company (BRB 23-0219): black lung award affirmed
Ronald Jones had 18.5 years of underground coal mine work and sought black lung benefits. A judge found him totally disabled based on an exercise blood gas study and awarded benefits under the statutory presumption. Windsor Coal argued that later resting tests and a doctor's opinion defeated that…
Oliver H. Ede v. ICTSI Oregon, Incorporated, and Jones Stevedoring Company
Ede v. ICTSI Oregon (BRB 22-0400): later employer's liability affirmed
Oliver Ede injured his neck while working as a crane operator for Jones Stevedoring, then returned to waterfront work for several employers, including ICTSI Oregon. A judge initially held Jones Stevedoring responsible for his disability benefits. After Jones sought modification, the judge found…
C.D. and Department of the Air Force
Board finds hearing-loss claim timely (ECAB 24-0902)
A retired Air Force machinist filed an occupational hearing-loss claim in February 2024. OWCP denied it as untimely. The Board found that the evidence, including the employer's hearing conservation program, supported treating the claim as timely under FECA. It reversed the timeliness denials and…
C.M. and U.S. Postal Service
Board upholds abandonment of oral hearing (ECAB 24-0895)
A postal carrier requested an oral hearing after OWCP declined to expand an accepted claim to include a neck fracture. He did not call in to the scheduled hearing or notify the hearing office within the allowed period to explain his absence. The Board affirmed OWCP's finding that he abandoned the…
R.J. and U.S. Postal Service
Board denies occupational carpal tunnel claim (ECAB 24-0885)
A postal rural carrier attributed carpal tunnel syndrome to repetitive job activities. The Board found that her medical submissions identified symptoms and a diagnosis but did not adequately explain how the accepted work factors caused the condition. It affirmed OWCP's denial.
R.W. and U.S. Postal Service
Board orders new examination for arm impairment (ECAB 24-0746)
A postal employee sought awards above the four percent right arm and one percent left arm impairment previously awarded. The Board found the record still contained a medical conflict over her present permanent impairment. It set aside OWCP's decision and directed a new impartial medical examination…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service
Board orders medical review of back injury claim (ECAB 24-0664)
A postal carrier reported back pain after lifting a heavy package at work. A treating physician supplied an opinion relating a diagnosed disc condition to the accepted May 2023 lifting incident. The Board found that OWCP needed additional medical review addressing that opinion. It set aside the…
M.P. and U.S. Postal Service
Board finds OWCP denied fall claim too early (ECAB 24-0636)
A postal carrier claimed injuries after slipping on icy stairs during a delivery. OWCP asked for more evidence and told her she had 60 days from March 4, 2024 to respond, but denied the claim on April 12 before that period expired. The Board found the denial premature. It set aside the decision and…
P.T. and U.S. Postal Service
Board orders more review of hip condition (ECAB 24-0039)
A postal letter carrier attributed hip osteoarthritis to repeated walking, bending, and other delivery duties. The Board found that a treating physician gave an opinion linking the hip condition to those work factors and that OWCP needed further medical development. It set aside the denial and…
A.D. and U.S. Postal Service
Board orders review of foot stress fracture (ECAB 23-0987)
A postal employee sought acceptance of a foot stress fracture after a March 2019 work incident. The Board found that the existing medical evidence warranted a new opinion on whether the accepted incident caused or aggravated the fracture. It set aside OWCP's denial and directed a new decision after…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service
Board orders review of ankle injury after fall (ECAB 22-0916)
A postal carrier reported a right ankle injury after stepping into a hole while walking a route. The Board found that a treating physician described how the twisting incident could cause the diagnosed ankle condition. OWCP needed a further medical opinion addressing that explanation. The Board set…
W.K. and Department of Homeland Security
Board recognizes overwork factor and remands claim (ECAB 22-0404)
A supervisory Customs and Border Protection officer attributed an emotional condition partly to overwork in her regular duties. The Board found sufficient evidence to treat that overwork as a compensable employment factor. It set aside OWCP's denial and directed a new decision after medical review…
Shepherd Chemical Company
In re Shepherd Chemical Company (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 24-03C): new-chemical settlement approved
Shepherd Chemical Company voluntarily disclosed that it had manufactured a chemical substance identified in the order as Chemical A before submitting a required pre-manufacture notice. EPA alleged that Chemical A was not on the TSCA Inventory when it was manufactured, and the company agreed to…
William T Burnett & Co.
In re William T Burnett & Co. (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 24-02Q): penalty paid and matter resolved
EPA alleged that William T Burnett & Co. violated TSCA section 8(a) and the Chemical Data Reporting Rule by failing to meet reporting requirements. EPA's complaint sought a $28,039 penalty. The company paid the full proposed penalty, which waived its right to contest the allegations and appeal the…
The Shyft Group, Inc.
In re The Shyft Group, Inc. (EAB CAA Appeal No. 24-10C): uncertified vocational-vehicle settlement approved
The Shyft Group, Inc. manufactured and sold vocational vehicles. EPA alleged that between May 1, 2017, and July 20, 2020, Shyft sold and introduced into commerce 65 Class 7 and 4,250 Class 8 diesel vocational vehicles without an applicable certificate of conformity or exemption. The alleged…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL v. L'uomo Creatives, LLC
SCA matter closed without review petition
An administrative judge entered a default judgment against L'uomo Creatives and Vince Akins in a Service Contract Act case. Nearly three years later, the respondents uploaded a copy of that public decision to the Board's filing system, but the document did not identify challenged findings, legal…
Johnson v. Shamrock Trucking
STAA appeal dismissed for missed filings
Eric Johnson sought Board review after an administrative judge dismissed his Surface Transportation Assistance Act complaint. The Board ordered him to file an opening brief by September 2, 2024, but he did not do so. It then gave him another opportunity to submit the brief and explain the missed…
J.M. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Board dismisses late FBI employee appeal (ECAB 24-0920)
An FBI employee appealed a June 7, 2023 OWCP decision on September 13, 2024. The Board found that the 180-day filing period ended on December 4, 2023. The appellant supplied no documented compelling circumstances for the delay, and the Board dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. It did not…
D.G. and Department of the Army
Board dismisses late Army employee appeal (ECAB 24-0915)
An Army employee appealed a January 23, 2024 nonmerit OWCP decision on September 9, 2024. The Board found that the 180-day appeal deadline expired on July 21. With no documented compelling circumstances explaining the delay and no later final adverse OWCP decision to review, it dismissed the…
G.E. and Department of Veterans Affairs
Board orders review of overlooked disability evidence (ECAB 24-0856)
A VA nurse appealed OWCP's denial of a reconsideration request concerning claimed disability from an accepted upper-extremity condition. OWCP treated the request as late and discussed one medical report, but did not address several other reports relevant to the claimed disability period. The Board…
K.H. and U.S. Postal Service
Board orders disability review and impartial surgery exam (ECAB 24-0817)
A postal employee sought wage-loss benefits after an accepted right arm injury and authorization for right cubital tunnel surgery. The Board found that OWCP needed more medical review of whether the accepted injury caused the claimed disability. It also found a conflict between the treating…
S.S. and U.S. Postal Service
Board denies claimed back-injury disability period (ECAB 24-0814)
A postal labor relations clerk injured her back while lifting and delivering heavy boxes and sought disability compensation from June 17, 2022 through September 24, 2023. The Board found that the medical reports did not adequately explain how the accepted injury caused inability to work throughout…
E.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs
Board upholds termination of knee-injury benefits (ECAB 24-0775)
A VA medical supply technician received benefits for an accepted knee injury. OWCP terminated wage-loss compensation and medical benefits effective June 5, 2023 after an impartial medical examiner found no continuing work-related disability or residuals. The Board gave that reasoned opinion special…
N.A. and U.S. Postal Service
Board grants withdrawal of postal employee appeal (ECAB 24-0720)
A postal employee appealed a January 29, 2024 OWCP merit decision. Her representative later asked to withdraw the appeal. The Board granted the request and dismissed the appeal without deciding the claim merits.
V.A. and U.S. Postal Service
Board splits overpayment and condition claims (ECAB 24-0601)
A postal employee challenged an overpayment and sought acceptance of additional conditions from an earlier work injury. The Board upheld a $3,354.04 overpayment caused by overlapping FECA and Social Security retirement benefits and upheld denial of a waiver despite finding her without fault. It…
T.B. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Board orders specialist review of knee claim (ECAB 24-0573)
A customs officer attributed a left knee condition to years of work while carrying protective gear and equipment. A physician described how the accepted job factors could cause a meniscal tear and cartilage damage. The Board found that this opinion required further development. It set aside OWCP's…
M.T. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Board denies COVID-related disability and travel claims (ECAB 24-0465)
A customs officer with an accepted work-related COVID-19 claim sought wage-loss compensation for several periods in 2023 and reimbursement for travel to medical appointments. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish disability caused by the accepted infection on the claimed…
J.C. and Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency
Board rejects workplace stress claim (ECAB 24-0280)
A Defense Logistics Agency employee attributed anxiety and other symptoms to criticism by managers and insufficient training for a project. The Board found that the allegations concerned personnel matters and that the record did not establish employer error or abuse. Without a compensable work…
L.K. and Department of the Air Force
Board orders merits review of hearing-loss claim (ECAB 22-0571)
A former Air Force inventory specialist sought reconsideration of an occupational hearing-loss claim. She supplied a new statement with additional detail about hazardous noise exposure during federal work. The Board found that this was relevant new evidence on whether compensable work factors…
J&G Manufacturing, LLC
In re J&G Manufacturing, LLC (EAB FIFRA Appeal No. 24-01C): pesticide settlement approved
J&G Manufacturing, LLC sold and distributed Woodlock Bioshield products marketed for preventing mold and mildew on wood pallets. EPA alleged that the products were unregistered pesticides, were misbranded, and were supported by five knowingly falsified production reports. The company agreed to pay…
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service
Board upholds retirement-benefit overpayment recovery (ECAB 24-0876)
A postal employee received both FECA wage-loss benefits and Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service without the required offset. The Board upheld OWCP's $31,277.07 overpayment finding for April 2021 through November 2023. Although the employee was without fault, it…
D.A. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons
Board upholds denial of late reconsideration request (ECAB 24-0845)
A Bureau of Prisons employee sought reconsideration of an OWCP decision after the filing period had expired. The Board found that the request was untimely and did not demonstrate clear evidence of error in the prior decision. It affirmed OWCP's refusal to reopen the claim. The Board did not decide…
M.B. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Board reverses termination of carpal tunnel benefits (ECAB 24-0820)
An FBI language specialist had received benefits for accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. OWCP terminated wage-loss and medical benefits after a second-opinion doctor said the condition had resolved. The Board found an unresolved conflict between that opinion and treating doctors' reports…
E.A. and U.S. Postal Service
Board upholds $51,788.66 benefit overpayment (ECAB 24-0810)
A postal employee received FECA wage-loss benefits alongside Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service. The Board upheld OWCP's $51,788.66 overpayment finding for November 2011 through April 2021. It found the employee without fault but upheld denial of a waiver and…
E.C. and U.S. Postal Service
Board denies occupational foot-condition claim (ECAB 24-0668)
A postal employee attributed a right foot condition to prolonged standing and walking at work. A physician diagnosed several foot conditions and said work aggravated them, but did not explain how the accepted duties caused or worsened the diagnoses in light of preexisting problems. The Board found…
M.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs
Board orders review of intermittent disability dates (ECAB 24-0562)
A VA employee sought compensation for intermittent disability after an accepted August 2021 injury. OWCP obtained a second-opinion medical report, but the examiner was not asked to address the specific dates for which disability was claimed. The Board found that OWCP had not completed the medical…
B.H. and Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Board orders review of complete knee medical report (ECAB 24-0297)
A Justice Department legal assistant sought wage-loss compensation after an accepted right knee injury. OWCP's hearing representative treated a surgeon's December 2019 report as incomplete when assessing disability dates. The Board found that the full report had actually been received before the…
J.G. and Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Logistics Base
Board finds retired mechanic hearing-loss claim timely (ECAB 23-0943)
A retired Marine Corps maintenance mechanic filed an occupational hearing-loss claim in 2023. OWCP denied it as late. The Board found that employer hearing-conservation records and his report to a supervisor showed the employer had actual notice of possible work-related hearing loss in 1990. It…
U.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs
Board orders new shoulder impairment review (ECAB 23-0614)
A VA nurse sought a schedule award above the six percent right arm impairment already awarded after a shoulder injury. OWCP's medical adviser compared her injured shoulder with the opposite one but was not given a complete history of a prior left shoulder injury. The Board found that the impairment…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Elkton, Ohio and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 607
Federal Correctional Institution Elkton and AFGE Local 607 (FLRA 0-AR-5957): Authority upholds teacher overtime award
Federal Correctional Institution Elkton teachers alleged that the Bureau of Prisons had failed to pay the Fair Labor Standards Act overtime rate during the three years before their grievance. An arbitrator found willful violations and held that a national resolution changing teachers from exempt to…
Secretary of Labor v. Garcia Mining Company, LLC
Timely emailed contest made assessment nonfinal
Garcia emailed its penalty contest to MSHA's Civil Penalty Office two days after receiving the proposed assessment. MSHA did not docket the contest, and Garcia later received a delinquency notice. The company supplied email evidence of its timely filing and sought reopening after MSHA directed it…
Marcus Schulmeister v. Blackwater USA
Schulmeister v. Blackwater USA (BRB 23-0255): shoulder claim returned for review
Marcus Schulmeister settled claims related to psychological injuries and previously reported physical injuries from work for Blackwater. He later sought benefits for a left shoulder condition and a left knee injury. A judge ruled without a hearing that the earlier settlement covered both. The Board…
J.G. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration
Board denies hearing-loss schedule award (ECAB 24-0874)
A Homeland Security investigator had accepted work-related hearing loss and tinnitus and sought a schedule award. The Board found that testing yielded zero percent ratable hearing loss in both ears under the applicable guides. Tinnitus could not add an impairment percentage without ratable hearing…
C.W. and U.S. Postal Service
Board denies claim for finger injury (ECAB 24-0854)
A postal carrier reported injuring a finger while opening a jammed mail cluster box. The Board accepted that the incident occurred but found no qualifying physician's report establishing a diagnosed condition tied to it. The submitted medical reports were signed by nurse practitioners, who do not…
S.B. and U.S. Postal Service
Board orders review of overlooked stress-claim evidence (ECAB 24-0774)
A postal maintenance manager reported a stress condition after a disputed encounter with a postal police officer during a locker check. OWCP denied the claim without addressing a physician's report received the same day as its decision. The Board set aside that denial and directed OWCP to review…
V.C. and U.S. Postal Service
Board upholds termination of injury benefits (ECAB 24-0766)
A postal supervisor received benefits for an accepted work injury after reporting symptoms during a short-staffed shift. OWCP ended wage-loss and medical benefits effective June 1, 2023. The Board found that the medical evidence supported the end of work-related disability and residuals and that…
A.M. and Department of Homeland Security
Board denies training-related stress claim (ECAB 24-0460)
A Homeland Security trainee attributed anxiety to participation in a firearms training class. OWCP asked for details about the alleged work incident, but received no response. The Board found the factual record too sparse to establish a specific compensable work factor and affirmed the denial…
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service
Board denies postal COVID exposure claim (ECAB 24-0109)
A postal counter worker attributed COVID-19 to customer contact at work. She described routine public interaction and a customer who said she had recently had COVID-19, but did not establish when that encounter occurred or identify a specific work exposure tied to her illness. The Board found that…
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson Hazardous Waste Management Facility
In re Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson Hazardous Waste Management Facility (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 23-01): petition dismissed after settlement
The United States Air Force petitioned the Environmental Appeals Board to review provisions of the hazardous waste permit for Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. The parties later reached an agreement through the Board's Alternative Dispute Resolution program. After the Air Force completed the agreed…
U.S. Department of Energy and Triad National Security, L.L.C.
In re U.S. Department of Energy and Triad National Security, L.L.C. (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 23-04): Outfall 051 permit review denied
Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety, Honor Our Pueblo Existence, and Veterans for Peace challenged an NPDES permit for Los Alamos National Laboratory. Their challenge focused on Outfall 051, which authorizes treated wastewater discharges from the Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility into…
Double R Diesel, LLC
In re Double R Diesel, LLC (EAB CAA Appeal No. 24-08C): defeat-device settlement approved
Double R Diesel, LLC manufactures and sells automotive parts for light and medium heavy-duty diesel trucks. EPA alleged that the company manufactured, sold, or offered for sale at least 4,897 defeat devices, including 4,154 tuning products and 743 exhaust aftertreatment delete pipes, for use with…
T.W. and U.S. Postal Service
Board dismisses appeal filed one day late (ECAB 24-0859)
A postal employee appealed a February 22, 2024 OWCP merit decision on August 21. The Board found that the 180-day filing period had ended on August 20. With no documented compelling circumstances for the delay, it dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction and did not review the underlying claim.
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service
Board denies incident claim without medical diagnosis (ECAB 24-0857)
A postal customer service supervisor reported injuries after a coworker ran into her and she fell. OWCP accepted that the workplace incident occurred, but received no medical evidence establishing a diagnosed condition. The Board affirmed the claim denial because the record did not establish the…
E.R. and U.S. Postal Service
Board denies left foot claim and reopening request (ECAB 24-0805)
A postal carrier attributed left foot fractures and other foot symptoms to getting in and out of a work vehicle. The Board found that the medical reports did not explain how the accepted February 2024 incident caused the diagnosed conditions. A later report listed diagnoses but still did not…
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.