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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S.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
S.R. (ECAB 12-1098): Foot injury denial and refusal to reopen upheld
S.R., a Postal Service letter carrier, claimed a right foot injury after feeling pain while walking his route on February 3, 2011. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the claim because the medical evidence did not establish that it caused his foot condition. The Board found that his…
T.B. and Department of the Army, Army National Guard, Kingsport, Tennessee
T.B. (ECAB 12-0844): Overpayment and recovery order upheld
T.B., an Army National Guard equipment repairer, received disability compensation at the higher rate for workers with dependents after his divorce. He informed OWCP that he no longer had a dependent, but the higher payments continued. The Board found an $11,489.17 overpayment and held that T.B…
M.B. and U.S. Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington
M.B. (ECAB 12-0817): Hearing loss award denial upheld
M.B., a Navy shipyard tools and parts attendant, sought a schedule award for hearing loss after years of workplace noise exposure. OWCP accepted that his hearing loss was work related and authorized hearing aids, but denied a monetary award. The Board found that the audiogram averages for both ears…
T.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fort Dodge, Iowa
T.C. (ECAB 12-0574): Additional right arm award denied
T.C., a Postal Service letter carrier, sought an additional schedule award after a later right shoulder injury and surgery. He had already received an award for seven percent right arm impairment from an earlier injury. An OWCP medical adviser rated the current impairment at five percent under the…
D.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pittsfield, Maine
D.M. (ECAB 12-0226): Termination for abandoning suitable work upheld
D.M., a Postal Service carrier with accepted lumbar injuries, stopped performing a modified job in January 2001. OWCP terminated his wage-loss compensation on the ground that he abandoned suitable work. The Board found no medical evidence showing that an emotional condition or worsening back injury…
M.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Colorado-Wyoming Performance Cluster, Denver, Colorado
M.P. (ECAB 11-1571): Withdrawn Postal Service job requires new compensation decision
M.P., a Postal Service letter carrier with accepted left elbow conditions, worked in a modified full-time position. The Postal Service later withdrew her limited-duty tasks under its National Reassessment Process, and she sought wage-loss compensation. OWCP denied her request to change an earlier…
K.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Mount Prospect, Illinois
K.O. (ECAB 11-1201): Reduced Postal Service hours require new wage-loss decision
K.O., a Postal Service letter carrier with accepted shoulder injuries, worked in a modified full-time position. The Postal Service reduced his hours under its National Reassessment Process, and he claimed partial wage-loss compensation. OWCP denied a change to its wage-earning capacity…
A.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Sunset Station, Pueblo, Colorado
A.T. (ECAB 11-0375): Withdrawn carrier job requires new wage-loss decision
A.T., a Postal Service letter carrier with accepted knee injuries, worked in a modified carrier position that OWCP used to measure his wage-earning capacity. The Postal Service later reported that no work was available for him under its National Reassessment Process. He sought wage-loss…
ACME Energy Services dba Big Dog Drilling
Rig-floor struck-by citation affirmed
Big Dog Drilling employees were extending an oil rig's telescoping mast when the hydraulic ram failed and large suspended equipment fell onto the rig floor. A driller assigned to watch the mast from the rig floor was fatally struck. The judge vacated OSHA's general duty clause citation, finding…
National Treasury Employees Union and United States Securities and Exchange Commission
NTEU and SEC (FLRA 0-AR-4835): Telework fee ruling stands after reconsideration request
An SEC employee sought to recover leave he said he used after the agency denied his request for four-day telework. An arbitrator found the evidence did not establish a specific loss of leave or pay and denied the union's attorney-fee request. The Authority had already denied the union's exceptions…
Jaunt, Inc.
Unserved show-cause order could not create a final default
Jaunt did not answer a civil-penalty petition, and a show-cause order was treated as becoming a default order after thirty days. The operator later said it did not understand that another answer was required after contesting the proposed assessment. The record also showed that Jaunt was omitted…
Canyon Fuel Company, LLC
Missed contest form reopened after prompt delinquency response
Canyon Fuel's safety manager instructed an employee to pay uncontested penalties and mail a contest form. The employee sent the payment but did not mail the form, causing the assessment to become a final Commission order. The Secretary did not oppose reopening because Canyon acted shortly after…
Timber Savers, Inc.
Gravel-crushing operation held subject to MSHA jurisdiction
MSHA cited a gravel-crushing site identified as Timber Savers, while its owner said the operation had been renamed Solid Rock Gravel Company. Judge William B. Moran allowed the petition to be amended because both names referred to the same Idaho site and owner. He also granted partial summary…
Chemalloy Company, Inc.
In re Chemalloy Company, Inc. (EAB TSCA 12-05C): $204,971 penalty paid and case resolved
Chemalloy Company, Inc. was accused of failing to comply with TSCA reporting requirements and the Inventory Update Reporting Rule. EPA's complaint proposed a $204,971 civil penalty. Chemalloy paid the full amount, which waived its right to contest the allegations and appeal the order under the…
M.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Kansas City, Missouri
M.R. (ECAB 12-1146): Termination of cervical injury benefits reversed
M.R., a Postal Service employee, had an accepted cervical spine injury from 2004. OWCP ended her compensation and medical benefits in April 2012 after a second-opinion examination. The Board found that the examiner did not clearly say the accepted condition had resolved or that M.R. no longer had…
L.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jamacia, NY
L.G. (ECAB 12-1010): Injury claim denied on a different ground
L.G., a Postal Service mail handler, reported right shoulder and neck pain after lifting a heavy mail bag. OWCP denied her injury claim because it found that she had not established the workplace incident. The Board found that her account, medical reports, prompt treatment, and supervisor's…
C.D. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Baltimore, MD
C.D. (ECAB 12-0895): Missing medical report requires a new OWCP decision
C.D., a Customs and Border Protection employee, sought acceptance of syncope and headaches after OWCP accepted a head contusion from an incident in which she lost consciousness at work and struck her head. OWCP denied the additional conditions. Both C.D. and OWCP's hearing representative referred…
J.P. and Social Security Administration, Fort Lauderdale, FL
J.P. (ECAB 12-0877): Injury denial upheld after conflicting accounts
J.P., a Social Security Administration service representative, filed a traumatic injury claim after returning to work from an earlier injury. Her claim form attributed right shoulder pain to sitting and using a computer on July 8, 2011. She later said the injury occurred while throwing away office…
P.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Antonio, TX
P.M. (ECAB 12-0836): Forklift incident established, injury claim denied
P.M., a Postal Service mail handler, was operating a forklift when a truck moved away from the loading dock and the forklift fell. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied his claim for neck, back, shoulder, arm, leg, and hand injuries. The Board found that the emergency room reports…
R.A. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Training & Doctrine Command, Monterey, CA
R.A. (ECAB 12-0730): Wage-loss denial upheld for claimed disability period
R.A., an Army instructor, had an accepted claim for physical injuries from a fall at work. She sought wage-loss compensation for a later period, but OWCP denied the request, and the Board had previously upheld that denial. After she requested reconsideration, her physician described anxiety and…
P.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New York City, NY
P.D. (ECAB 12-0712): Schedule award denial upheld for lack of related impairment
P.D., a Postal Service clerk, sustained an accepted cervical strain after a shelf fell against her head at work. She later sought a schedule award, relying in part on a neurologist's rating of right arm impairment. The Board found that the neurologist rated conditions OWCP had not accepted and did…
C.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
C.W. (ECAB 12-0677): Refusal to reopen recurrence claim upheld
C.W., a Postal Service maintenance laborer, had an accepted 1992 work injury and later sought compensation for a claimed recurrence of disability. OWCP denied the recurrence claim, then refused to reopen it after C.W. submitted a new medical report. The Board could review only OWCP's refusal to…
S.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Omaha Mail Processing Plant, Omaha, NE
S.S. (ECAB 11-1972): Reduced-duty hours require further OWCP review
S.S., a Postal Service distribution clerk with an accepted work injury, held a modified-duty position that OWCP used in a prior wage-earning capacity determination. The Postal Service later reduced his hours under its National Reassessment Process, and he sought wage-loss compensation. OWCP denied…
M.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Baldwin Park, CA
M.R. (ECAB 11-0057): Reduced work hours require further wage-loss review
M.R., a Postal Service letter carrier with an accepted knee injury, worked in a modified full-time position that OWCP used to determine her wage-earning capacity. The Postal Service later reduced her hours under its National Reassessment Process, and she sought wage-loss compensation. OWCP denied…
City of Palmdale (Palmdale Hybrid Power Project)
In re City of Palmdale (Palmdale Hybrid Power Project) (EAB PSD Appeal No. 11-07): PSD permit review denied
The City of Palmdale proposed a 570-megawatt hybrid power plant combining natural gas generation with a 50-megawatt solar component in California. A petitioner challenged the Region's decision not to extend or reopen the public comment period, its greenhouse-gas best available control technology…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Suitland, MD
M.M. (ECAB 12-1360): Additional arm impairment award denied
M.M., a Postal Service distribution clerk, had accepted right shoulder and carpal tunnel conditions and had received schedule awards totaling 20 percent right arm impairment. She sought an additional award based on a new impairment evaluation. The Board found that the most favorable current rating…
JLD Custom Carpentry
Business pressures did not excuse late contest
OSHA issued JLD Custom Carpentry five serious items after inspecting residential re-roofing work in Pennsylvania and proposed $18,000 in penalties. The owner's wife received the citation and scheduled an informal conference, but miscommunicated the date and the company missed the conference and…
S.G. and Federal Judiciary, U.S. Probation Office, San Diego, CA
S.G. (ECAB 12-0779): Overpayment upheld; waiver sent back for review
S.G., a federal probation clerk, retroactively chose federal retirement benefits while also receiving workers' compensation for the same months. The Board upheld OWCP's finding that the overlapping payments created a $3,868.33 overpayment. OWCP had found her without fault but denied waiver after…
E.C. Stokes Mechanical Contractor, Inc.
Misplaced citation did not excuse late contest
E.C. Stokes was installing plumbing and air-conditioning systems at a Florida hospital project when OSHA cited two serious oxygen and acetylene cylinder-storage violations. The proposed penalties totaled $4,760. An experienced office employee received the certified citation, scanned it, believed it…
W.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Hickory, NC
W.L. (ECAB 12-0693): Shoulder injury claim denied after conflicting accounts
W.L., a Postal Service mail handler, said he injured his right shoulder while lifting a heavy tub of mail. A coworker and an acting supervisor described him leaving work that day without reporting an injury, while his first orthopedic report said he denied trauma. W.L. disputed those accounts and…
L.C. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard, Kodiak, AK
L.C. (ECAB 12-0395): Firefighter cost-of-living pay calculation sent back
L.C., a Coast Guard firefighter in Alaska, received a schedule award after an accepted knee injury. He challenged the pay rate OWCP used to calculate the award. The Board agreed that OWCP correctly calculated his weekly firefighter pay before the cost-of-living adjustment. It found, however, that…
Y.C. and Department of the Army, Army National Guard, Indianapolis, IN
Y.C. (ECAB 11-1943): Rescission of emotional-condition claim upheld
Y.C., an Army National Guard public affairs specialist, filed an emotional-condition claim arising from workplace events. OWCP first accepted an aggravation of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, then rescinded that acceptance. The Board agreed that sexual harassment by a superior in…
C.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Marlboro, NJ
C.H. (ECAB 11-1801): End date for temporary aggravation changed
C.H., a Postal Service employee, had an accepted temporary aggravation of a spinal condition after her delivery vehicle lost power steering. OWCP found that the aggravation ended on November 9, 2006 and denied her claim of continued work disability. After an earlier Board remand, an impartial…
M.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Detroit Performance Cluster, Detroit, MI
M.T. (ECAB 11-1674): Withdrawn postal duty requires new wage-loss review
M.T., a Postal Service city carrier with an accepted knee injury, worked in a modified position that OWCP used to determine she had no loss of wage-earning capacity. The Postal Service later withdrew that position under its National Reassessment Process and offered her much shorter hours. OWCP…
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Wheeler Street Station, Saginaw, MI
J.C. (ECAB 11-1598): Loss of light duty requires renewed wage-loss review
J.C., a Postal Service mail processor with an accepted left shoulder injury, worked in a modified position that OWCP had used to determine her wage-earning capacity. The Postal Service later withdrew limited-duty work under its National Reassessment Process, and she sought compensation for lost…
T.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Detroit Performance Cluster, Detroit, MI
T.H. (ECAB 11-0993): Shortened postal schedule requires new wage-loss review
T.H., a Postal Service carrier with an accepted left ankle injury, worked in a restricted full-time position that OWCP used to determine her wage-earning capacity. After the Postal Service reassessed the position under its National Reassessment Process, she was assigned a schedule of only 90…
Domino Window Cleaning, Inc.
Fourth-floor fall hazard citation affirmed
A Domino employee cleaning a fourth-floor New York window without fall protection fell 40 feet to the sidewalk and died from his injuries. The evidence showed that he had been working from the exterior ledge and that Domino also instructed employees to clean from an interior sill beside a large…
Cumberland Sand and Gravel, LLC
Default vacated and penalty case remanded
Cumberland Sand and Gravel defaulted after failing to answer the Secretary's penalty petition. The company said it had timely responded to the later show-cause order, but its response contained a typographical error in the docket number. Cumberland supplied its communications and certified-mail…
Mountain Edge Mining, Inc.
Settlement motion remanded to the judge
Mountain Edge Mining obtained Commission review of Judge William Moran's civil-penalty decision. After review was granted, the operator and the Secretary jointly asked the Commission to approve a settlement and direct payment under their agreement. The Commission did not decide the settlement…
Barrick Turquoise Ridge, Inc.
Default reopened despite repeated filing failures
Barrick failed to answer a civil-penalty petition, and an order to show cause became a final default order. Its counsel said the petition was not received, the show-cause order went to a former office address, and a prepared answer was mistakenly placed in a file instead of mailed. The Secretary…
Conaway Mining Company, LLC
Default reopened and remanded
Conaway Mining defaulted after the Commission did not receive an answer to the Secretary's penalty petition. Conaway said it had timely answered and learned of the default only after agreeing to settle the case. The Secretary did not oppose reopening, and her representative confirmed receiving…
Dominion Coal Corporation
Ten defaults reopened and remanded
Dominion Coal defaulted in ten penalty cases after personnel changes and staffing shortages caused it to miss answer deadlines. The company also said the resulting default orders did not reach the correct employee. Its compliance coordinator took responsibility for the process, trained staff on…
Brookside Materials, LLC
Default reopened after answer reached MSHA
Brookside Materials timely contested a proposed penalty but later defaulted after failing to answer the Secretary's penalty petition at the Commission. Brookside said it received nothing after its original contest until MSHA sent a delinquency notice. The Secretary did not oppose reopening and…
Powell Mountain Energy, LLC
Default reopened after address change
Powell Mountain Energy timely contested a proposed penalty but later defaulted after it did not answer the Secretary's penalty petition. The company said it never received the petition, and counsel discovered the problem by checking MSHA's online mine data. The Secretary did not oppose reopening…
MMR Constructors, Inc.
Late contest reopened after safety director's absence
MMR Constructors missed the deadline to contest a proposed penalty while its safety director was away from the office for an unusually long period. The safety director forwarded the assessment to the legal department after returning, by which time it had become a final Commission order. MMR said…
S.S. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service National Office, Richmond, VA
S.S. (ECAB 12-1009): Office workstation injury claim denied
S.S., an Internal Revenue Service collections representative, attributed neck, shoulder, arm, and hand symptoms to long hours at a computer workstation. OWCP accepted that she performed the described desk work but denied the claim for lack of medical proof of causation. The Board found that one…
P.J. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Milwaukee, WI
P.J. (ECAB 12-0871): Left arm impairment rating sent back for explanation
P.J., a Veterans Affairs cook, received a schedule award for eight percent left arm impairment after an accepted shoulder injury and surgery. He sought a greater award and submitted physician ratings of 20 and 12 percent. The Board found that one rating lacked objective support for a claimed nerve…
W.Y. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Materiel Command, Tobyhanna, PA
W.Y. (ECAB 12-0794): Six percent hearing-loss award upheld
W.Y., an Army sheet metal mechanic, developed accepted hearing loss after years of workplace noise exposure. OWCP awarded compensation for six percent hearing loss in both ears, and he sought a larger award. The Board found that OWCP's medical adviser correctly applied the impairment guides to the…
P.K. and Department of the Navy, Naval Facilities, San Diego, CA
P.K. (ECAB 12-0721): Compensation suspension after missed examination upheld
P.K., a Navy employee with an accepted back injury, was directed to attend an impartial examination to resolve conflicting medical opinions about further treatment. He declined the appointment, objecting to the statement of accepted facts and the selected physician. OWCP suspended future…
I.C. and Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Washington, DC
I.C. (ECAB 12-0704): Ankle injury denial upheld despite accepted workplace slip
I.C., a passport processing supervisor, reported right ankle pain after stepping on a binder clip at work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied her injury claim. The Board found that her treating orthopedic surgeon linked the ankle condition to the incident without addressing earlier…
J.M. and Department of Agriculture, Fresh Products Branch, Everett, MA
J.M. (ECAB 12-0589): Termination of wage-loss compensation upheld
J.M., an Agriculture Department administrative support assistant, received wage-loss benefits after an accepted back injury and later recurrence of disability. Her treating physician said she remained unable to work because of the injury, while an OWCP referral physician disagreed. An impartial…
K.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Princeton Junction, NJ
K.J. (ECAB 12-0195): Withdrawn modified job requires new wage-loss decision
K.J., a Postal Service letter carrier injured in a vehicle collision, worked in a modified clerk position that OWCP used to determine she had no loss of wage-earning capacity. When the Postal Service withdrew the position under its National Reassessment Process, she sought wage-loss compensation…
D.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Seattle, WA
D.H. (ECAB 11-1633): Retroactive wage-capacity rating sent back for review
D.H., a Postal Service letter carrier with accepted injuries, worked in a modified position that the agency later reduced under its National Reassessment Process. OWCP then retroactively used the old position to find no loss of wage-earning capacity and denied his request to change that finding…
S.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, St. Paul, MN
S.G. (ECAB 11-1588): Withdrawn postal job requires new wage-loss decision
S.G., a Postal Service mail processor with accepted back injuries, worked in a modified position that OWCP used to determine she had no loss of wage-earning capacity. The Postal Service later withdrew the work under its National Reassessment Process, and she sought wage-loss compensation. OWCP…
D.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Cheyenne Veterans Administration Medical Center, Cheyenne, WY
D.W. (ECAB 12-1005): Reconsideration request was timely
D.W., a Veterans Affairs nurse, received an accepted thumb injury and sought compensation for a later period of missed work. OWCP denied total disability benefits but allowed four hours for each date she received medical treatment. D.W. requested reconsideration on October 3, 2011, and OWCP…
I.M. and Department of the Air Force, Air Mobility Command, Charleston Air Force Base, SC
I.M. (ECAB 12-0943): Part-time job could not set full-time worker's wage capacity
I.M., an Air Force fabric worker, held a full-time job when he sustained an accepted back injury. He later returned to a modified position for 30 hours a week, and OWCP used its earnings to determine his wage-earning capacity. After he stopped working, OWCP refused to modify that determination. The…
H.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Seattle, WA
H.J. (ECAB 12-0930): Hand and wrist injury denial upheld
H.J., a Postal Service mail clerk, claimed that repetitive mail handling caused conditions in both hands and wrists. OWCP denied the claim, and the Board had previously upheld that denial. On reconsideration, H.J. submitted new reports diagnosing bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and hand tendinitis…
V.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Goldsboro, NC
V.E. (ECAB 12-0913): Neck injury denial upheld after accepted work task
V.E., a Postal Service employee, claimed a neck injury after pulling metal shelf dividers at work. OWCP accepted that the task occurred but denied the injury claim, and the Board had previously upheld that denial. On reconsideration, her surgeon said the task probably aggravated her preexisting…
B.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Lakeland District, Palatine, IL
B.C. (ECAB 12-0809): Postal job loss requires new wage-capacity review
B.C., a Postal Service distribution clerk with accepted arm conditions, worked in a modified position that OWCP used to determine he had no loss of wage-earning capacity. The Postal Service later ended that work under its National Reassessment Process, and he sought wage-loss compensation. OWCP…
S.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Harrisonville, MO
S.L. (ECAB 12-0734): Delayed reconsideration requires merits decision
S.L., a Postal Service employee, sought reconsideration of OWCP's denial of an occupational disease claim. OWCP waited more than 10 months before denying a merits review of that request. The Board found that the delay put S.L. beyond the period for appealing the underlying merits decision, while…
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.