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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Sunol Aggregates
Settlement motion denied over requested operator change
The Secretary vacated two citations issued to Sunol Aggregates and asked to modify two others so they would instead be issued to Sunol's contractor, DeSilva Gates. Chief Judge Robert J. Lesnick explained that the Secretary has enforcement authority to issue citations, while Commission judges…
W.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Houston Performance Cluster, Houston, TX
W.T. (ECAB 12-1324): Schedule award denial for back condition upheld
W.T., a postal worker, sought a schedule award for permanent impairment associated with an accepted lumbar sprain. The Board explained that FECA does not provide a schedule award for the back or a whole-person rating. A related leg impairment could qualify, but the medical evidence did not identify…
United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, El Paso, Texas (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, National Border Patrol Council, Local 1929, AFL-CIO (Charging Party/Union)
Customs and Border Protection, El Paso (FLRA DA-CA-09-0393): Computer access change required bargaining
Customs and Border Protection removed computer access from Border Patrol agents assigned to administrative duty while under investigation. An administrative law judge found that the change affected working conditions but dismissed the complaint because she considered its impact minimal. The…
Y.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Redondo Beach, CA
Y.S. (ECAB 12-1954): Late reconsideration request did not show clear error
Y.S., a postal mail carrier, sought reconsideration of a denied claim for a right elbow condition. OWCP found her request untimely and concluded that the evidence did not show clear error in its earlier denial. The Board agreed that a physician's later report, while relevant to causation, did not…
L.N. and Department of the Navy, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, VA
L.N. (ECAB 12-1326): Hearing loss claim reopened for review of notice evidence
L.N., a Navy shipyard worker, sought reconsideration of a hearing loss claim that OWCP had denied as untimely. His counsel argued that the employer's hearing conservation program and audiograms showed the employer had actual knowledge of a work-related hearing loss, a fact relevant to timely notice…
R.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Millersville, MD
R.S. (ECAB 12-1315): Reduced limited-duty hours require further review
R.S., a postal worker, claimed partial wage loss after the Postal Service cut hours in his limited-duty job under the National Reassessment Process. OWCP denied modification of an earlier wage-earning capacity finding using its usual criteria. The Board found that OWCP also needed to follow its…
V.W. and Department of the Army, Installation Management Agency (Command), Fort Bragg, NC
V.W. (ECAB 12-1180): Claimed period of ankle-related disability denied
V.W., an Army employee, sought wage-loss compensation for August 2 through October 7, 2011 based on an accepted left ankle injury. The Board found that her medical submissions did not adequately explain how residuals of that injury caused total disability during the claimed period. Some reports…
I.B. and Department of the Army, Red River Army Depot, Texarkana, TX
I.B. (ECAB 12-1055): Hearing loss claim remains closed after reconsideration
I.B., an Army civilian employee, sought reconsideration of a denied hearing loss claim involving alleged workplace and travel noise. She repeated earlier arguments and submitted position descriptions already in the record. A new industrial hygiene memorandum did not specifically address her…
E.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Philadelphia, PA
E.H. (ECAB 12-935): Knee injury claim returned for medical development
E.H., a transportation security officer, reported that her right knee gave way while she turned toward an x-ray image at work. Later imaging showed a torn ligament, and physicians offered opinions linking it to the incident. The Board found their reasoning insufficient to establish the claim…
C.A. and Department of the Navy, Naval Supply Systems Command, Bremerton, WA
C.A. (ECAB 12-830): Hearing loss did not qualify for a schedule award
C.A., a Navy employee, sought a schedule award for work-related hearing loss. The Board found that the selected audiogram and medical adviser's calculation showed no ratable impairment under the applicable impairment guide. It affirmed the schedule award denial. The decision notes that OWCP had not…
J.W., claiming as widow of F.W., and Department of the Air Force, Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Tinker Air Force Base, OK
J.W., widow of F.W. (ECAB 12-778): Survivor benefit denial affirmed
J.W. sought survivor's benefits after her husband, a federal geologist on assignment in Afghanistan, died in 2009. OWCP accepted his exposure to rocket attacks, the sound of automatic weapons, and earthquakes during the assignment. The Board found that the submitted medical opinions did not…
United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, Laredo Sector (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2455, National Border Patrol Council (Union)
Border Patrol Laredo and AFGE Local 2455 (FLRA 0-AR-4828): Removal exceptions dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
The Border Patrol removed a preference-eligible veteran from an internship before his trial period ended, citing his inability to complete training after an on-duty injury. An arbitrator set aside the removal and ordered reinstatement and backpay. The agency challenged the award before the…
Hess Newark Energy Center
In re Hess Newark Energy Center (EAB PSD Appeal No. 12-02): petition dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
The Ironbound Community Corporation and the New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance challenged parts of an integrated permit for Hess Newark Energy Center's planned 655-megawatt natural-gas-fired power plant. They argued that the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection should have…
G.C. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Bureau of Citizenship & Immigration Services, Ontario, CA
G.C. (ECAB 12-1551): Late recurrence reconsideration request denied
G.C. sought reconsideration of OWCP's denial of a claimed 2010 recurrence related to an accepted 1994 work injury. His request came more than a year after the last merits decision, so OWCP applied the clear-error standard. The Board found that physical therapy notes were not physician evidence and…
K.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, New York, NY
K.W. (ECAB 12-1454): Injury denial issued before response period ended
K.W., a medical center housekeeping aide, reported neck and throat soreness after a disputed incident with a coworker. OWCP asked him for more factual and medical evidence and said he had 30 days to respond. It denied the claim after only 28 days. The Board held that OWCP had to allow the full…
C.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Weyman, MA
C.A. (ECAB 12-1399): Postal carrier's back condition not linked to work
C.A., a city letter carrier, attributed recurring back symptoms to lifting and carrying mail. Her physician documented symptoms and diagnoses but did not explain how specific job duties caused or aggravated a diagnosed condition. The Board also found that imaging and a nurse practitioner's notes…
T.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bethesda, MD
T.W. (ECAB 12-1191): Right leg impairment award stays at eight percent
T.W., a postal worker, sought a larger schedule award for permanent right leg impairment after receiving awards totaling eight percent. OWCP's medical adviser calculated a two percent rating for the knee under the applicable impairment guide. The Board found that a higher rating offered by another…
T.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Rochester, NY
T.G. (ECAB 12-1147): Right leg impairment rating of 37 percent upheld
T.G., a postal worker, sought a schedule award based on a right leg impairment rating greater than 37 percent. The Board reviewed competing medical calculations under the applicable impairment guide. It found that OWCP's medical adviser explained the rating method and that the evidence offered for…
B.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Yonkers, NY
B.A. (ECAB 12-1135): No permanent impairment shown for schedule award
B.A., a postal mail carrier, sought a schedule award after OWCP accepted lumbar and neck sprains from a work injury. Her medical reports discussed symptoms and work restrictions but did not rate permanent impairment of a body member covered by the award schedule. She also did not attend a scheduled…
D.H. and Department of the Army, Civilian Personnel Advisory Center, Fort Hood, TX
D.H. (ECAB 12-1063): Carpal tunnel claim lacked a firm diagnosis
D.H., an Army management assistant, attributed right hand symptoms to prolonged typing and computer use and claimed carpal tunnel syndrome. Her physician reported wrist pain and linked the complaints to repetitive work, but did not firmly diagnose a medical condition or adequately explain causation…
H.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Fort Meade, SD
H.B. (ECAB 12-840): Unexplained workplace fall returned for injury review
H.B., a practical nurse, reported falling at work after a blackout episode and claimed neck and shoulder injury. OWCP denied the claim as a fall caused by a personal medical condition. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish what caused the fall, so it had to be treated as an…
L.G. and Department of the Air Force, Robins Air Force Base, Warner Robins, GA
L.G. (ECAB 12-274): Overpayment upheld, first deposit sent back for waiver review
L.G., an Air Force aircraft engine repairer, received disability compensation after returning to full-time work. The Board agreed with OWCP's calculation of a $3,294.63 overpayment. It found that he lacked advance knowledge of the first incorrect direct deposit, so he was without fault for…
D.C. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Birmingham, AL
D.C. (ECAB 12-1472): Termination of lumbar sprain benefits upheld
D.C., a transportation security employee, received benefits for a lumbar sprain from a 2006 work injury. OWCP ended benefits after a medical evaluation found no remaining effects of that accepted injury. The Board found the evaluation reasoned and noted that D.C.'s treating physician attributed…
P.B. and Department of the Army, U.S. Corps of Engineers, Haddon Height, NJ
P.B. (ECAB 12-1225): Termination of shoulder injury benefits reversed
P.B. challenged OWCP's termination of benefits for a 2004 right shoulder injury. An OWCP referral physician attributed his most significant limitations to a separate neurological condition, but his explanation left open continued effects of the work injury. Another physician also identified…
J.M. and Department of the Army, Green River Lake, Campbellsville, KY
J.M. (ECAB 12-1094): Late reconsideration request did not show clear error
J.M. sought to reopen an older decision ending benefits for a work injury. Her representative submitted physician reports attributing current symptoms to the 1989 injury and challenging an earlier impartial examination. The Board found that even these reports did not meet the strict clear-error…
W.O. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Nebraska/Western Iowa Health Care, Omaha, NE
W.O. (ECAB 12-1066): Disputed loading-dock fall claim denied
W.O., a Veterans Affairs employee, reported slipping on ice at a loading dock and injuring his right shoulder. The employer disputed his account, relying in part on surveillance footage and statements about the dock's condition. OWCP asked him to address the discrepancies, but the record lacked a…
W.M. and Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Charlotte, NC
W.M. (ECAB 12-1058): Reconsideration request supplied no new basis for review
W.M. asked OWCP to reconsider a denied work injury claim. He supplied no new evidence with the request and did not identify a legal error or a new relevant argument. The Board found that none of the requirements for reopening a claim had been met. It affirmed OWCP's refusal to conduct another…
M.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, El Paso, TX
M.H. (ECAB 12-1053): Typing-related hand claim lacked medical link
M.H. attributed a left hand condition to typing at work. A nerve study showed findings consistent with carpal tunnel syndrome, but no physician linked that diagnosis to the typing duties. Her treating surgeon instead discussed an earlier fall and hand arthritis. The Board found the causal evidence…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Radio City Station, New York, NY
S.M. (ECAB 12-407): Later disability periods not tied to accepted back injury
S.M., a postal letter carrier, sought compensation for periods of disability after an accepted 2009 back injury while pushing a mail cart. Her medical reports documented symptoms and some work restrictions, but did not adequately explain which later periods of inability to work were caused by the…
M.M. and Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Honolulu, HI
M.M. (ECAB 12-298): Accident during social outing excluded from travel duty
M.M., a Census Bureau employee on temporary work travel, was injured in a vehicle accident while traveling with coworkers to a casino after a conference dinner. The Board found that the outing was voluntary, occurred during free time, and was not organized by her employer. It treated the trip as a…
Apartment Investment and Management Company
In re Apartment Investment and Management Company (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 12-07C): consent agreement terminated after compliance
Apartment Investment and Management Company asked the Environmental Appeals Board to terminate a 2002 consent agreement concerning lead-based paint compliance at certain properties. The company reported that it had fully performed the agreement, maintained compliance with the lead-based paint…
District of Columbia Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4)
In re District of Columbia Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 11-06): petition dismissed with prejudice after settlement
Friends of the Earth, Anacostia Riverkeeper, Inc., Potomac Riverkeeper, Inc., and Natural Resources Defense Council sought review of the District of Columbia municipal separate storm sewer system permit. They moved to dismiss their petition after reaching a settlement with EPA Region 3 and reported…
Leeco, Inc.
Settlement restored significant and substantial designation
An administrative law judge had found that Leeco's violation of its approved ventilation plan was not significant and substantial, reduced negligence, and assessed a $10,000 penalty. The Commission directed review on the significant and substantial issue. The parties then agreed to modify the…
Matter of Jaime Enrique VALENZUELA-FELIX
Parole for prosecution and later proof of inadmissibility
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal after an Immigration Judge terminated removal proceedings against a Mexican lawful permanent resident who had been paroled into the United States for prosecution. The Board held that when a returning lawful permanent resident is…
L.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Santa Clarita, CA
L.B. (ECAB 12-1424): Missed hearing request treated as abandoned
L.B., a postal letter carrier, requested a hearing about a schedule award. OWCP mailed notice of a November 2011 hearing to his address of record, and he did not attend or timely explain the absence. He later said he had not received the notice. The Board applied the presumption that properly…
G.A. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, North Las Vegas, NV
G.A. (ECAB 12-1357): Late arm-condition reconsideration request denied
G.A. sought to reopen a denied occupational disease claim involving an arm condition. OWCP found her request late and considered whether the submitted evidence showed clear error in its earlier decision. The Board found that repeated medical reports and a wrist imaging result did not explain how…
R.P. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Richmond, VA
R.P. (ECAB 12-1322): Injury claim filed after the statutory deadline
R.P., an IRS employee, filed a claim in November 2011 for a workplace incident she said occurred in May 2007. The Board found the filing outside FECA's three-year period. She did not provide evidence that a supervisor had timely actual knowledge or written notice, which could have preserved the…
G.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Torrance, CA
G.M. (ECAB 12-1060): Receptionist job supported wage-capacity reduction
G.M., a postal worker, challenged OWCP's calculation of her wage-earning capacity using a selected receptionist position. The Board found that OWCP had considered the job's physical suitability, availability, and her qualifications. It also found that OWCP used the required formula to calculate the…
G.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Northern Arizona Veterans Administration Health Care System, Prescott, AZ
G.B. (ECAB 12-1023): Knee conditions not medically linked to work walking
G.B., a Veterans Affairs employee, attributed conditions in both knees to walking at work. A physician suggested that work activities worsened knee tears but did not explain the medical mechanism or establish when the tears arose. The Board found that the opinion relied on speculation and lacked an…
J.A. and Department of Labor, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, Jacksonville, FL
J.A. (ECAB 12-777): Emotional-condition claim not reopened
J.A., an OWCP claims examiner, asked for reconsideration of a denied emotional-condition claim involving work interactions and workload. The Board found that some material repeated evidence already considered, while the newer reports did not address whether accepted work factors caused the claimed…
B.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Little Rock, AR
B.B. (ECAB 12-695): Disputed contact with supervisor not established
B.B., a postal mail handler, alleged that a supervisor struck him at work and caused physical and emotional injury. The supervisor denied any contact, and the submitted witness statements did not corroborate the alleged incident. The Board found the factual record insufficient to establish that the…
A.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Charlotte, NC
A.J. (ECAB 12-548): Stair-climbing incident established, knee injury unproved
A.J., a postal carrier, reported knee symptoms while climbing steps on his delivery route. OWCP rejected the account of the incident, but the Board found that he had established climbing the stairs and feeling his knee give way. The Board still denied compensation because the medical reports did…
B.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Vorhees, NJ
B.F. (ECAB 12-146): Conflicting opinions on consequential back injury
B.F., a postal worker, argued that an altered gait from accepted leg injuries caused or worsened a back condition. Her physician supported that connection, while OWCP's second-opinion physician attributed the back condition to other causes. The Board found the opposing medical opinions created a…
Riverton Investment Corporation
Reopening motions denied as more than one year late
Two proposed penalty assessments became final Commission orders in September and October 2010 after Riverton Investment Corporation did not timely contest them. Riverton did not file its motions to reopen until February 2012. The Commission applied the one-year limit for relief based on mistake…
Cam Mining, LLC
Coal-dust citation reduced and examination citation vacated
MSHA cited Cam Mining for float coal dust inside an energized transformer box and for an allegedly inadequate weekly electrical examination that did not identify the accumulations. Judge Jerold Feldman affirmed the accumulation violation but found the Secretary had not proved it was significant and…
Kuhlman Construction
Reopening denied for unreliable assessment handling
Kuhlman Construction had contested underlying citations but later paid two proposed assessments instead of sending them to counsel for contest. Its corporate secretary could not recall receiving the assessments and acknowledged that the company lacked paperwork controls for identifying which…
Standard Gravel Company Inc.
Off-site repair shop held subject to MSHA jurisdiction
Standard Gravel challenged MSHA jurisdiction over an off-site shop that repaired and fabricated mining equipment, with 98 percent of its work supporting the company's mines. Judge Priscilla M. Rae applied the Mine Act's broad definition of a mine and held that the shop's function made it an…
W.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Zachary Post Office, Zachary, LA
W.A. (ECAB 12-1544): Disability claim returned for impartial medical opinion
W.A., a postal worker, sought wage-loss compensation related to an accepted aggravation of lumbar disc disease. Her treating surgeon described continuing disability, while an OWCP second-opinion surgeon found she could perform full-time light duty. The Board found an unresolved conflict between the…
I.P. and Department of the Navy, Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, San Francisco, CA
I.P. (ECAB 12-670 & 12-1250): Lung awards rescinded, overpayment upheld
I.P., a former naval shipyard worker, had received schedule awards for lung impairment after asbestos exposure. The Board found that his last work exposure occurred in 1961, before the lung was added to FECA's award schedule, and the later change did not apply retroactively. It upheld OWCP's…
R.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hackensack, NJ
R.G. (ECAB 12-1236): Emotional condition denial and reconsideration refusal upheld
R.G., a postal window clerk, attributed an emotional condition to a meeting with supervisors, alleged harassment, and workplace policies. The Board found no proven error or abuse in the supervisors' administrative actions and no substantiated harassment. Without a compensable work factor, it did…
C.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office Annex, Egg Harbor Township, NJ
C.W. (ECAB 12-1211): Thirteen percent right arm impairment award upheld
C.W., a postal employee, sought a greater schedule award for accepted right shoulder, wrist, and thumb conditions. An impartial examiner rated the combined right upper extremity impairment at 13 percent under the sixth edition of the impairment guides. The Board found that OWCP properly selected…
M.R. and U.S. Penitentiary, Atlanta, GA
M.R. (ECAB 12-0998): Leg impairment claim returned for medical review
M.R., a federal correctional officer, sought a schedule award after accepted back injuries. A second opinion examiner found no ratable leg impairment, but a later physician reported lumbar radiculopathy affecting the legs. The Board held that OWCP should have sent the later reports to its district…
T.S. and Department of the Air Force, Headquarters Air Force Pentagon, Washington, DC
T.S. (ECAB 12-0904): Reconsideration refusal upheld after repeated medical report
T.S., an Air Force mail clerk, requested reconsideration after OWCP denied her emotional condition claim. She submitted a psychiatrist's later report that repeated the substance of a report OWCP had already considered. The Board held that the report supplied no pertinent new evidence or new legal…
N.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, South Amboy, NJ
N.C. (ECAB 12-0900): Knee injury claim denied for lack of medical causation
N.C., a postal letter carrier with a history of right knee problems, reported knee pain while stepping out of his truck to deliver a parcel. OWCP accepted that the June 15, 2009 incident occurred. The Board found that the medical reports did not explain how the incident caused a new knee injury or…
V.B. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Safety Administration, Vandalia, OH
V.B. (ECAB 12-0541): Disability recurrence denial upheld
V.B. returned to work after an accepted psychological injury and initially reported improvement. Her condition worsened after she received a proposed removal notice. The Board found that this intervening event, rather than a spontaneous worsening of the accepted condition, caused her renewed…
Left Fork Mining Company, Inc.
Timely answers prevented default orders from becoming final
Two show-cause orders provided that Left Fork Mining would default if it did not answer the Secretary's penalty petitions. Left Fork produced Postal Service tracking records showing that it had timely answered both petitions, and the Secretary confirmed receiving those answers and did not oppose…
K.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Reno, NV
K.R. (ECAB 12-1254): Termination of wage and medical benefits reversed
K.R., a federal security screener, had accepted lumbar and knee injuries after a workplace fall. Her treating surgeon and OWCP's second opinion surgeon disagreed about whether her continuing condition and need for surgery stemmed from that fall. The Board found a medical conflict that required an…
D.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Cardiss Collins Post Office, Chicago, IL
D.A. (ECAB 12-1214): Late reconsideration refusal upheld
D.A., a postal employee, again sought compensation for reduced work hours beginning in July 2006. Her October 2011 reconsideration request came more than one year after the last merits decision on that issue. The Board found no clear evidence that OWCP's earlier decision was wrong. It affirmed the…
I.V. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Cheyenne, WY
I.V. (ECAB 12-0997): Intermittent wage-loss claim denied
I.V., an IRS employee with accepted shoulder and spinal strains, sought wages for intermittent absences in 2009 through 2011. The Board found no medical evidence supporting disability on the claimed dates or showing that her independent exercise had to occur during work hours. The chiropractic…
J.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Union City, NJ
J.T. (ECAB 12-0982): Back condition claim sent to impartial examiner
J.T., a postal letter carrier, claimed that limited-duty mail work worsened his back condition after an accepted injury. His physician attributed the condition and work loss to his duties, while OWCP's referral physician attributed them to preexisting degeneration. The Board found a medical…
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.