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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Pattison Sand Company, LLC
Roof-fall withdrawal order modification returned to the ALJ
MSHA issued a section 103(k) withdrawal order after a roof fall at Pattison Sand's Iowa sandstone mine, barring activity in broad unbolted and unmeshed areas. An ALJ upheld the order and concluded that the Commission lacked authority to modify it. The Eighth Circuit affirmed that the roof fall was…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Miami, Florida (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Council of Prison Locals, Local 3690 (Union)
FCI Miami and AFGE Local 3690 (FLRA 0-AR-4807): Suspension reversal and backpay upheld
A correctional officer at FCI Miami received a seven-day suspension after an incident in which a protective vest struck a coworker. The agency's investigation lasted more than two years, despite a mandatory directive calling for completion within 120 days, and an interim order restricted the…
B.B. and U.S. Postal Service
B.B. (ECAB 12-1308): Limited-duty wage claims remanded
B.B., a postal employee, sought compensation after her limited-duty hours were cut and challenged a wage-earning capacity rating. The Board found that OWCP had not followed its procedures for evaluating a withdrawn limited-duty position. It set aside the rulings and remanded for further development…
T.Y. and U.S. Postal Service
T.Y. (ECAB 12-0898): Elbow condition and reopening denials upheld
T.Y., a postal employee, claimed right elbow epicondylitis from his work. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish a causal link. It also upheld OWCP's refusal to reopen the claim on reconsideration.
C.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs
C.S. (ECAB 12-0875): Back injury claim denied
C.S., a Veterans Affairs medical support assistant, claimed a lower back injury from his work. The Board found that the evidence did not establish an injury in the performance of duty. It affirmed OWCP's denial of the claim because the required elements of a work-related injury were not established…
G.R. and U.S. Postal Service
G.R. (ECAB 12-0796): Reconsideration refusal upheld
G.R., a postal employee, asked OWCP to reopen a compensation claim. The Board found that her submission did not meet the requirements for renewed merits review. It affirmed OWCP's refusal without deciding the underlying claim again.
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service
M.B. (ECAB 12-0728): Suitable-work termination upheld
M.B., a postal employee, declined a modified mail processing job offered after accepted wrist and hand conditions. The Board credited an impartial specialist's opinion that the job met her restrictions. It found that disability retirement did not excuse refusal of suitable work and upheld the…
N.L. and Department of Veterans Affairs
N.L. (ECAB 11-2134): Disability recurrence claim denied
N.L., a Veterans Affairs employee, claimed renewed disability from accepted 2003 work injuries. The Board found that she had not established a causal link between those injuries and disability beginning August 20, 2009. It affirmed OWCP's denial.
L.C. and Department of the Navy
L.C. (ECAB 11-2123): Actual-earnings wage capacity ruling reversed
L.C., a Navy employee, challenged a compensation reduction based on earnings in a later electronics technician job. The Board found that OWCP had not verified the position's terms or shown that it was permanent and full time. It reversed the reduction.
F.G. and U.S. Postal Service
F.G. (ECAB 11-1926): Retroactive wage capacity ruling reversed
F.G., a postal employee, challenged a retroactive wage-earning capacity rating based on a modified position later withdrawn. The Board found that OWCP had not followed the required procedures for withdrawn limited-duty jobs. It reversed the capacity ruling.
A.P. and Department of the Navy
A.P. (ECAB 11-1767): Disability period remanded for medical development
A.P., a Navy employee, sought compensation for disability following accepted wrist and hand conditions. Her physician's reports supported a work connection but lacked enough explanation to resolve the claimed period. The Board ordered OWCP to develop the medical record and decide the disability…
F.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Philadelphia Processing & Distribution Center
F.S. (ECAB 11-0863): Termination of Postal Service worker's benefits reversed
F.S., a Postal Service mail handler, received benefits for an accepted right ankle injury. OWCP ended her wage-loss and medical benefits after relying on a treating doctor's work-capacity form. Postal Service investigators had met with the doctor in person, discussed a fraud investigation, and…
F.L. and Department of Commerce, Census Bureau
F.L. (ECAB 11-0424): Termination of wage-loss benefits upheld
F.L., a Census Bureau clerk, received wage-loss benefits after an accepted back injury. OWCP terminated those benefits after an impartial medical examiner found that he could work full time with restrictions and that his former clerk job fit those restrictions. The Board gave special weight to the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1938 (Union) and United States Department of the Army, Army Corps of Engineers, Huntington, West Virginia (Agency)
Huntington Army Corps and AFGE Local 1938 (FLRA 0-NG-3114): Travel proposal outside bargaining duty
The Army Corps of Engineers uses a traveling repair crew to maintain locks, dams, and flood-control projects across its Huntington District. After the agency changed its local travel policy, the union proposed mileage and travel-time rules for employees assigned to temporary worksites. One…
United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Agency) and National Treasury Employees Union (Union)
Customs and Border Protection and NTEU (FLRA 0-AR-4359): Reconsideration of inspector general ruling denied
Customs and Border Protection asked the Authority to reconsider a decision that left in place an arbitrator's ruling about procedures for inspector general interviews of employees. The agency argued that the Authority had introduced a new legal standard, wrongly applied the Inspector General Act…
P.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Mail Processing Center, Abilene, Texas
P.B. (ECAB 12-0960): Wrist claim denial affirmed with corrected factual finding
P.B., a Postal Service sorting clerk, attributed wrist tendinitis to repetitive work on mail processing machines. OWCP denied her claim, questioning both the work events and the medical link to her condition. The Board found that her account established the work duties because no contrary evidence…
E.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, San Juan Medical Center
E.M. (ECAB 12-0950): Knee and shoulder claim denial upheld
E.M., a radiologic technologist at a Veterans Affairs medical center, claimed that years of lifting patients and other work caused right knee and shoulder conditions. The record supported his account of those duties and documented the conditions. His treating physician linked the knee condition to…
T.B. and U.S. Customs Service, Office of Investigations
T.B. (ECAB 12-0866): Wage-loss termination after suitable-work refusal upheld
T.B., a Customs Service special agent, received wage-loss compensation after an accepted right calf injury. The agency offered him a sedentary investigative assistant job, but he declined it because he said he could not perform its duties. An impartial physician had found that T.B. could work with…
C.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Baxter Annex
C.S. (ECAB 12-0663): Compensation termination for refusing part-time work upheld
C.S., a Postal Service rural carrier associate, received compensation for accepted left arm and shoulder conditions. The Postal Service offered a part-time modified position that an impartial medical examiner said she could perform within specified lifting and movement restrictions. C.S. did not…
A.W. and Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency
A.W. (ECAB 12-0660): Disability compensation denial for seven-month period upheld
A.W., a Defense Logistics Agency police officer, injured both knees during a required fitness run. OWCP accepted knee sprains, but denied wage-loss compensation for a later seven-month period. The Board found that his doctors did not adequately explain how the accepted sprains prevented him from…
L.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office
L.D. (ECAB 12-0567): Neck injury claim and reconsideration denial upheld
L.D., a Postal Service clerk, said repetitive sweeping and reaching aggravated chronic neck pain. Her chiropractor reported a cervical subluxation, but did not diagnose it by x-ray or state that he treated it by spinal manipulation. The Board found that his report did not qualify as a physician's…
J.R. and Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency
J.R. (ECAB 11-2049): Appeal remanded after claim record went missing
J.R. appealed an OWCP decision involving a Defense Logistics Agency claim. After the Board asked OWCP to transmit the case record, OWCP reported that its physical portion could not be found. The Board said it could not decide the appeal on an incomplete record. It set aside OWCP's decision and sent…
T.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, West Hartford, Connecticut
T.C. (ECAB 11-1880): Disability recurrence claim remanded for Postal Service review
T.C., a Postal Service mail handler, worked in a limited-duty job after an accepted back injury. The Postal Service withdrew that assignment under its National Reassessment Process, and he claimed a recurrence of disability. OWCP denied the claim after focusing on whether his condition had…
M.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Oakland, California
M.A. (ECAB 11-1741): Wage capacity claim remanded after light-duty job ended
M.A., a Postal Service clerk, worked in a light-duty position after accepted arm and shoulder injuries. OWCP had found that her earnings in that job represented her wage-earning capacity. The Postal Service later withdrew the position under its National Reassessment Process, and she sought…
S.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Zephyrhills, Florida
S.D. (ECAB 11-0577): Compensation suspension for missing earnings form upheld
S.D., a Postal Service letter carrier, received compensation for an accepted condition. OWCP mailed her an EN1032 form requesting information about work activity and warned that benefits would be suspended if she did not return it within 30 days. She did not respond, and OWCP suspended compensation…
National Treasury Employees Union (Union) and United States Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Office of Chief Counsel, Washington, D.C. (Agency)
NTEU and IRS Chief Counsel (FLRA 0-NG-3130): Reconsideration of contract provision ruling denied
The IRS Office of Chief Counsel asked the Authority to reconsider an order requiring it to rescind disapproval of a union contract provision affecting discipline. The agency argued that the Authority should return to an older test for deciding whether an agreed provision excessively interferes with…
National Treasury Employees Union (Union) and United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Agency)
NTEU and Customs and Border Protection (FLRA 0-NG-3073): Inspector general interview ruling stands
The Department of Homeland Security sought reconsideration of an Authority order requiring it to rescind disapproval of contract procedures for inspector general interviews of bargaining-unit employees. DHS argued that the Inspector General Act barred bargaining over those procedures and that it…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Canteen Service, Martinsburg, West Virginia (Agency) and National Association of Government Employees, Local R4-78 (Union)
Veterans Canteen Service and NAGE Local R4-78 (FLRA 0-AR-4856): Removal grievance cannot proceed
The Veterans Canteen Service removed a non-preference-eligible employee from a canteen position for alleged misconduct. An arbitrator heard her grievance, found the removal lacked just cause, and ordered lost wages and benefits. The agency argued that employees appointed under the Veterans Canteen…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 231 and United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Scobey, Montana
NTEU Chapter 231 and CBP Scobey (FLRA 0-AR-4842): Missed overtime must be repaid
At the Scobey port of entry, security cameras failed after closing and a Customs and Border Protection officer was needed to watch the port overnight. The agency assigned the port director instead of the officer who had the lowest earnings and was available. An arbitrator found that the assignment…
Broadcasting Board of Governors, Office of Cuba Broadcasting and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1812
Office of Cuba Broadcasting and AFGE Local 1812 (FLRA 0-AR-4800): Layoff award remains in place
The Office of Cuba Broadcasting laid off employees after a budget reduction. AFGE Local 1812 grieved the agency's refusal to bargain over the layoffs' impact and implementation. An arbitrator found that the agency had a contractual bargaining duty, had failed to follow several layoff provisions…
B.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Petersburg, Florida
B.A. (ECAB 12-0961): Witness statements require review of emotional-condition claim
B.A., a Postal Service letter carrier, claimed an emotional condition related to alleged supervisor harassment. OWCP denied the claim and later refused to reopen it for merit review. Her reconsideration request included three new witness statements about interactions with the supervisor. The Board…
P.A. and Department of Defense, Education Activity
P.A. (ECAB 12-0959): Termination of wage-loss and medical benefits upheld
P.A., an education technician, received benefits after an accepted back injury from a workplace fall. OWCP ended wage-loss and medical benefits after a second-opinion orthopedic surgeon found no continuing condition or disability related to that fall. The Board found the surgeon's reports detailed…
F.M. and U.S. Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
F.M. (ECAB 12-0590): Finding that work-related knee aggravation ended upheld
F.M., a Navy shipfitter, claimed that years of climbing, kneeling, and squatting aggravated arthritis in both knees. OWCP accepted a temporary aggravation but found it had resolved by the time he left work in April 2004. The first impartial medical opinion was contradictory, so OWCP obtained…
T.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, Ohio
T.B. (ECAB 12-0325): Reduced light-duty hours require new wage claim review
T.B., a Postal Service worker with accepted upper-extremity conditions, worked in a modified position that OWCP had used to set her wage-earning capacity. The Postal Service later reduced her available light-duty hours under its National Reassessment Process, and she sought compensation for the…
M.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Morgan Processing & Distribution Center
M.L. (ECAB 11-1500): Reduced Postal Service work hours sent back for review
M.L., a Postal Service sorting worker, held a modified job after an accepted left foot injury. OWCP had used her earnings in that job to determine her wage-earning capacity. The Postal Service later cut the available light-duty work from eight to six hours a day under its National Reassessment…
R.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Warrenville Post Office
R.T. (ECAB 11-1406): Withdrawn light-duty job requires new wage claim review
R.T., a Postal Service rural carrier, worked in a modified job after accepted right hand and elbow conditions. OWCP used his earnings in that job to determine his wage-earning capacity. The Postal Service later withdrew limited-duty work under its National Reassessment Process, and he sought…
K.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
K.N. (ECAB 11-1283): Withdrawn Postal Service job requires new wage decision
K.N., a Postal Service mail handler, worked in a modified position after accepted injuries from two workplace incidents. OWCP used her earnings in that job to determine her wage-earning capacity. The Postal Service later withdrew the light-duty position under its National Reassessment Process, and…
Bolton Fencing and Construction, LLC
Trench items reduced from willful to serious
Bolton supported oil and gas pipeline work in Colorado and sent two employees into an unprotected excavation with walls between 5 and 8 feet high. The soil was Type B, no sloping, shoring, or trench box was used, and the competent person left the site after directing the employees into the…
H.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Minneapolis, Minnesota
H.N. (ECAB 11-0155): Withdrawn modified job requires new wage claim decision
H.N., a Postal Service mail clerk, held modified assignments after accepted wrist and shoulder injuries. OWCP used her earnings in one assignment to set her wage-earning capacity. The Postal Service later withdrew limited-duty work under its National Reassessment Process, and she claimed a…
US Borax, Inc.
Electrical-cover citation reduced while hoist guarding violation remained S&S
US Borax faced nine citations at its large California boron operation, with seven resolved by settlement for $21,675. Judge Margaret A. Miller upheld a citation for a missing insulating cover over energized timer connections but removed the S&S designation because the locked room and timer were…
Titanium Metals Corporation
In re Titanium Metals Corporation (EAB TSCA 12-06C): consent agreement ratified and $258,176 penalty assessed
Titanium Metals Corporation was the respondent in a Toxic Substances Control Act proceeding involving its Morgantown, Pennsylvania facility. The Consent Agreement describes four failures to submit required chemical-inventory reports and 126 failures to submit import certifications for titanium. The…
Matter of Edgar LEAL
Arizona reckless endangerment is a crime involving moral turpitude
The Board reviewed a Mexican respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge denied cancellation of removal based on his Arizona endangerment conviction. The conviction involved recklessly endangering another person with a substantial risk of imminent death, and Arizona's definition of recklessness…
E.M. and Department of Labor, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs
E.M. (ECAB 12-1051): Computer-work occupational disease claim denial upheld
E.M., a Department of Labor claims examiner, attributed neck symptoms, carpal tunnel syndrome, and migraines to computer and telephone work. The Board accepted that she had described her duties and submitted evidence of diagnosed conditions. Her doctors said the conditions affected her work or…
C.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bolingbrook, Illinois
C.P. (ECAB 12-1021): Late request for OWCP hearing denied
C.P., a Postal Service worker, sought another hearing about a 2001 OWCP decision that ended her benefits after a suitable-work dispute. Her request arrived in 2012, well after the 30-day deadline for a hearing as of right. OWCP considered whether to grant a discretionary hearing but denied it…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Bernardino, California
D.S. (ECAB 12-0869): Bilateral arm impairment award upheld
D.S., a Postal Service letter carrier, received a schedule award after accepted upper-extremity conditions. OWCP rated her right arm impairment at six percent and her left at five percent, payable over 34.32 weeks. She sought a higher award based on her treating surgeon's ratings. The Board found…
B.A. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Pollack, Louisiana
B.A. (ECAB 12-0549): Recurrence and spinal fusion denials upheld
B.A., a Bureau of Prisons case manager, had an accepted lumbar sprain from breaking up an inmate altercation in 2003. He later claimed a recurrence of disability after a nonwork fall in 2007 and sought authorization for spinal fusion. The Board credited an impartial orthopedic examiner who found no…
T.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Orleans, Louisiana
T.S. (ECAB 11-2033): Termination of benefits reversed
T.S., a Postal Service clerk, had accepted knee and back conditions from injuries in 1983 and 1984. OWCP terminated his compensation and medical benefits in 2006. After an earlier appeal found that OWCP had omitted an accepted knee condition from its statement of facts, OWCP obtained another second…
R.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Piedmont Post Office, Oakland, California
R.M. (ECAB 11-0220): Wage-loss claim returned for further review
R.M., a Postal Service mail carrier, worked in a modified position after accepted foot conditions. OWCP found that the position's earnings represented his wage-earning capacity with no loss. The Postal Service later withdrew the modified work under its National Reassessment Process, and R.M. sought…
Matter of Y-N-P-
Section 212(h) waiver unavailable for special rule cancellation
The Board reviewed a Mexican respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge denied special rule cancellation of removal and a section 212(h) waiver based on her criminal conviction and inadmissibility. The Board held that an applicant for special rule cancellation under section 240A(b)(2) cannot…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Norman Deck v. FTS International Proppants, LLC
Temporary reinstatement affirmed after anonymous accident report
Norman Deck anonymously told MSHA that an accident at FTS International Proppants' Brewer Quarry had not been reported, and FTS fired him fourteen days later. An ALJ found the discrimination complaint was not frivolously brought and ordered temporary reinstatement. The Commission held that…
B.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Charleston, West Virginia
B.W. (ECAB 12-1143): Retirement benefit overpayment upheld
B.W., a Postal Service rural mail carrier, received injury compensation after a work vehicle collision. She later retired on disability but continued to receive wage-loss payments from OWCP while receiving federal retirement benefits. The Board found a $1,653.86 overpayment for the 34 days from…
N.J. and U.S. Postal Service, International Service Center, Jamaica, New York
N.J. (ECAB 12-0974): Late reconsideration request denied
N.J., a Postal Service mail handler, sought benefits for a left knee condition after symptoms at work in 2009. OWCP denied the injury claim and later rejected her January 2012 request to reconsider a November 2010 merit decision. The Board found the request came more than one year after that…
C.H., claiming as widow of L.H., and Department of the Navy, Naval Shipyard, Long Beach, California
C.H. (ECAB 12-0861): Death-benefits claim returned for medical review
C.H. sought death benefits after her husband, a Navy shipyard boilermaker with an accepted 1981 back injury, died in 2009. His physician attributed his fatal heart condition to a chain of effects from chronic pain associated with the work injury. An OWCP medical adviser disputed that causal link…
T.D. and Department of the Air Force, Aerospace Maintenance Recreation Center, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona
T.D. (ECAB 12-0731): Termination of elbow injury benefits upheld
T.D., an Air Force aircraft mechanic, received compensation for a right elbow condition accepted after a 1997 work injury. OWCP later terminated wage-loss and medical benefits after a second opinion examiner found no remaining effects of that condition. The Board credited the examiner's review of…
C.S. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington
C.S. (ECAB 12-0626): Wage-earning capacity issue sent back to OWCP
C.S., a Navy shipyard welder, had an accepted right knee injury. OWCP later set his wage-earning capacity based on an electronics worker position and reduced his compensation. After he claimed that lingering effects of the injury caused him to stumble and reinjure his knee, OWCP denied a recurrence…
F.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Antonio, Texas
F.S. (ECAB 12-0369): Knee injury claim denied over conflicting account
F.S., a Postal Service rural carrier, reported that his right knee popped while he walked down stairs during work. A coworker's statement indicated that he had described a knee injury a week earlier. OWCP asked him to address that account and any prior knee symptoms, but he did not respond. The…
E.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hayward, California
E.G. (ECAB 11-1950): Wage-loss claim returned for fuller review
E.G., a Postal Service employee with accepted left shoulder and arm conditions, worked in modified positions after her injury. OWCP found that her actual earnings in a modified carrier role represented her wage-earning capacity with no loss. The Postal Service later withdrew limited-duty work under…
L.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Redding, California
L.L. (ECAB 11-1778): Additional-condition claim returned for findings
L.L., a Postal Service letter carrier, sought acceptance of additional physical and mental health conditions after a 2004 work vehicle collision. OWCP denied the request and reaffirmed its denial after reconsideration. The Board found that OWCP had not adequately discussed her medical submissions…
S.E. and U.S. Postal Service, South Suburban Post Office, Bedford Park, Illinois
S.E. (ECAB 11-1696): Right arm award upheld, left arm issue remanded
S.E., a Postal Service clerk, sought an increased schedule award for her upper extremities. The Board found no medical evidence supporting more than her existing seven percent right arm award. It could not review the left side because the record lacked the original award decision and did not…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Canteen Service, Leavenworth, Kansas and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 85
Veterans Canteen Service Leavenworth and AFGE Local 85 (FLRA 0-AR-4821): Removal award set aside
The Veterans Canteen Service in Leavenworth removed a non-preference-eligible employee appointed under its special hiring statute. An arbitrator found the removal lacked just cause, reduced it to a written reprimand, and ordered reinstatement with make-whole relief. The agency challenged the award…
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.