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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T.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Duluth, GA
T.W. (ECAB 12-0458): Benefit termination upheld; earlier wage loss claim remanded
T.W., a postal employee, sought compensation after the Postal Service withdrew her light duty assignment under the National Reassessment Program. OWCP denied wage loss for the period before April 11, 2011 and terminated benefits from that date. The Board found that OWCP had not followed its…
G.A. Denison & Sons, Inc.
Default set aside because show-cause order arrived late
OSHA issued G.A. Denison & Sons seven serious and five willful citation items with $110,000 in proposed penalties. During mandatory settlement proceedings, the company failed to submit several required filings and financial documents. The judge ordered Denison to show cause by July 23 why it should…
K.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Bulk Mail Center, Chicago, IL
K.S. (ECAB 11-1966): Withdrawn light duty claim returned for review
K.S., a mail handler, sought wage loss compensation after the Postal Service withdrew her limited duty position under the National Reassessment Program. OWCP declined to change an earlier decision setting her wage earning capacity based on that position. The Board found that OWCP had used its usual…
S.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
S.C. (ECAB 11-1608): Emotional condition denial upheld with changed reasoning
S.C., a postal supervisor, attributed an emotional condition to disputes with another manager and an assault before an association meeting. OWCP denied the claim on the ground that his representational activity was outside his federal duties. The Board found that his earlier representational…
H.I. Stone and Son, Inc.
Default reopened to consider settlement
H.I. Stone and Son defaulted after it did not answer the Secretary's penalty petition. The company acknowledged receiving the show-cause order but said it later settled with MSHA and paid the agreed amount. The Secretary did not oppose reopening for the limited purpose of allowing the judge to…
Austin Powder Company
Two late contests reopened after internal miscommunication
Austin Powder missed the contest deadlines for two proposed penalty assessments. It said that, in one case, its safety specialist misunderstood the safety director's instructions while management was deciding whether to contest. In the other, the specialist believed the safety director had already…
Beaver Excavating Company
Settlement decision reopened over disputed terms
Beaver Excavating asked to reopen an approved settlement because it believed the written decision did not match the parties' agreement. Beaver said the Secretary had agreed to reduce the special-assessment classification based on unwarrantable failure, but the settlement order did not reflect that…
D.P. and Department of the Air Force, Nellis Air Force Base, NV
D.P. (ECAB 12-1364): Late reconsideration denial affirmed
D.P., a former Air Force store worker, requested reconsideration of a denied recurrence of disability claim involving accepted back injuries. OWCP found her request untimely and declined to reopen the claim. The Board agreed that she requested reconsideration more than one year after the last…
M.C. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Newark, NJ
M.C. (ECAB 12-0790): Impairment claim returned for medical adviser review
M.C., a transportation security officer, sought a schedule award for permanent impairment after an accepted lumbar strain. Her physician found impairment in her lower extremities, while OWCP's second opinion physician found none. An impartial specialist reported no permanent impairment but noted…
C.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Melville, NY
C.H. (ECAB 12-0766): Overpayment decision returned for combined claim files
OWCP found that C.H., a Postal Service worker, had received $5,103.01 in excess compensation because it had not applied an offset for Social Security retirement benefits. The Board found indications that he had a second accepted claim with compensation records relevant to the calculation. Without…
A.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Redwood City, CA
A.L. (ECAB 12-0757): Earlier back injury file needed for withdrawn light duty claim
A.L., a Postal Service worker, sought compensation after the agency withdrew her light duty assignment in September 2009. OWCP denied recurrence and wage loss, treating her continuing back problems as unrelated to work. The Board found that OWCP's medical referral assumed a preexisting nonwork back…
W.L. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Systems Command, San Diego, CA
W.L. (ECAB 12-0694): Overpayment upheld; fault finding set aside
W.L., a Navy mechanic, received wage loss compensation for days after he returned to work. The Board agreed that this created an overpayment of $1,083.02. OWCP had also found him at fault for accepting the payment. The Board found no proof that he knew or should have known the direct deposit was…
A.R. and Department of the Army, Red River Army Depot, Texarkana, TX
A.R. (ECAB 12-0690): Hearing loss award claim requires merits review
A.R., an Army depot worker, had received a schedule award for accepted hearing loss. He later submitted a new audiogram with a request for another award. OWCP treated the filing as a late request to reconsider the earlier award and denied review. The Board found that the new evidence instead…
J.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
J.S. (ECAB 12-0622): Impartial specialist selection ordered again
J.S., a Postal Service employee, sought an increased schedule award for impairment of his legs. In an earlier appeal, the Board found a medical conflict and directed OWCP to allow him to participate in choosing an impartial specialist because he had documented concerns about the specialist…
J.C. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Richmond, VA
J.C. (ECAB 12-0611): Three hours of pay allowed for knee imaging visit
J.C., an Internal Revenue Service employee, requested three hours of wage loss compensation for a knee imaging appointment. OWCP denied the request because the imaging report was missing and it found insufficient proof connecting the absence to her accepted injury. The Board found that the record…
D.G. and Defense Logistics Agency, Naval Supply Center, Norfolk, VA
D.G. (ECAB 12-0576): Hearing loss claim returned for complete files
D.G., a Defense Logistics Agency worker, sought compensation for hearing loss. OWCP denied the claim while relying in part on findings in his earlier compensation files. The Board could not access one of those files in the record sent for review. It set aside the denial and directed OWCP to combine…
L.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Los Angeles, CA
L.B. (ECAB 12-0487): Wage earning capacity review needs related injury file
OWCP reduced L.B.'s compensation based on its finding that he could earn wages as a surveillance systems monitor. Its hearing representative relied in part on a separate claim file for a left hand injury, including findings about continuing impairment. The Board found that the related file could…
K.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Facility, Denver, CO
K.S. (ECAB 12-0470): Cashier wage capacity ruling needs earlier injury files
OWCP reduced K.S.'s compensation after finding that she could earn wages as a cashier. Its decision relied on medical evidence from two earlier work injury files. Those files were missing from the record supplied to the Board, preventing an informed review of the wage earning capacity ruling. The…
M.B. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Systems Command, San Diego, CA
M.B. (ECAB 12-0371): Emotional condition claim denied for lack of work factor
M.B., a Navy material handler, attributed an emotional condition to a heavy workload, personnel decisions, and alleged harassment. The Board found that he had not provided enough detail or supporting evidence to establish overwork. It also found no proven error or abuse in the employer's handling…
K.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pittsburgh, PA
K.K. (ECAB 12-0188): Leg impairment claim needs impartial clarification
K.K., a postal carrier, sought a schedule award for leg impairment after accepted knee and back injuries. Her physician rated permanent impairment, while an OWCP medical adviser found none. The impartial specialist's report did not resolve that conflict, and the medical adviser then criticized the…
M.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Mail Processing Annex, Aurora, CO
M.F. (ECAB 11-2106): Dual benefit question returned after separate back claim ruling
M.F., a former Postal Service employee, had accepted claims for an aggravated psychiatric condition and a lumbar condition. OWCP suspended wage loss benefits on the psychiatric claim because it suspected he was also receiving veterans benefits for the same disability. The Board had separately sent…
S.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Los Angeles, CA
S.C. (ECAB 11-1679): Additional carpal tunnel impairment award denied
S.C., a postal employee, sought an increased schedule award for accepted carpal tunnel syndrome in both arms. She had already received awards totaling 23 percent impairment for each arm. The Board found that the physicians' newer ratings were lower than the existing awards. It also found flaws in…
S.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Sequim, WA
S.B. (ECAB 11-1332): Back surgery claim returned for another medical opinion
S.B., a rural postal carrier, sought coverage for back surgery following an accepted lumbar subluxation. OWCP denied the claim after a second opinion physician attributed the procedure to degenerative disc disease and narrowing around spinal nerves. The Board found that his reports did not explain…
R.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Spokane, WA
R.G. (ECAB 11-1190): Withdrawn light duty requires wage capacity review
R.G., a postal clerk with an accepted thumb condition, sought wage loss after his limited duty position was withdrawn under the National Reassessment Process. OWCP denied modification of an earlier wage earning capacity decision. The Board found that OWCP had applied the usual modification criteria…
Matter of E-A-
Political motive does not outweigh serious destructive crimes
The Board reviewed a Cote d'Ivoire applicant's appeal after an Immigration Judge denied asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture. The applicant had participated in a political group that burned passenger buses and cars, threw stones, and disrupted…
Lee A. Smith, Jr. v. Labor Finders
Smith v. Labor Finders (BRB 12-0035): oil spill beach cleanup did not meet maritime status rule
Lee Smith worked on cleanup of oil residue from Horn Island after the Deepwater Horizon spill. He injured his back and shoulders in a trailer collision on the island and sought Longshore Act benefits. An administrative law judge dismissed the claim for lack of maritime employee status and a covered…
A.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Triboro Performance Cluster, Flushing, NY
A.A. (ECAB 12-0928): Late reconsideration request did not show clear error
A.A., a postal driver, requested reconsideration of a 2009 decision terminating his benefits after he refused an offered modified job. OWCP found the 2011 request late and declined to reopen the claim. The Board agreed that he had filed beyond the one year deadline. His arguments about driving…
J.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
J.H. (ECAB 12-0902): Overpayment waiver and recovery rate upheld
J.H., a Postal Service employee, had received a $1,213.04 overpayment when compensation continued after her return to full time work. OWCP found that she was not at fault but denied a waiver of repayment. The Board found that she had been told what financial records were needed and had not supplied…
D.C. and Department of Commerce, Decennial Census, Dallas, TX
D.C. (ECAB 12-0831): Receptionist wage capacity ruling upheld as modified
D.C., a census employee, received compensation during surgery and recovery for an accepted knee condition. OWCP later found that she could again earn wages as a receptionist. The Board agreed, relying on an impartial specialist's opinion that she could perform that job. It clarified that the…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Natick, MA
S.M. (ECAB 12-0719): Termination of knee treatment benefits upheld
S.M., a postal employee, received medical benefits for an accepted right quadriceps strain. OWCP terminated them after his treating physician reported that the strain had resolved and examination findings were essentially normal. The Board found that OWCP could rely on that opinion and that S.M…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Staatsburg, NY
J.M. (ECAB 12-0453): Ten percent arm impairment award upheld
J.M., a postal employee, sought a higher schedule award for his right arm. His treating physician had rated impairment at 25 percent under an older edition of the A.M.A. Guides. A later evaluation using the applicable sixth edition produced a 10 percent rating, which an OWCP medical adviser agreed…
K.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bellmawr, NJ
K.S. (ECAB 12-0184): Information clerk wage capacity reduction upheld
K.S., a postal employee, contested a reduction of compensation based on a selected information clerk position. An impartial physician found him capable of at least sedentary work, and a vocational counselor reported that the clerk position fit his restrictions and was available in his commuting…
P.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Islandia, NY
P.S. (ECAB 12-0117): Termination for refusing modified job reversed
P.S., a postal employee with an accepted back condition, refused an offer of modified window clerk work. OWCP terminated his wage loss benefits on the ground that the job was suitable. The Board found that a later medical report left his work limitations uncertain and recommended further evaluation…
R.R. and Department of the Navy, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia, PA
R.R. (ECAB 11-2120): Wage capacity change request requires its own decision
R.R., a former Navy shipyard worker, sought renewed benefits after an earlier ruling found that he could earn wages as a telephone solicitor. He submitted a physician's report stating that his work related condition had worsened and he could no longer perform that job. OWCP treated the filing as a…
M.H. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Systems, Point Mugu, CA
M.H. (ECAB 11-1333): Shoulder recurrence claim lacked medical connection
M.H., a Navy electronics technician, had an accepted hand contusion from a 1995 workplace accident. He later claimed that right arm and shoulder problems caused disability in December 2009. The Board found that his physician described the newer condition but did not explain how it was caused by the…
M.S. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Jamaica, NY
M.S. (ECAB 12-1037): Travel to social worker visits not reimbursable
M.S., a former air traffic controller with an accepted emotional condition, sought repayment of travel costs for visits with a social worker. OWCP denied the request because those visits had not been approved as treatment. The Board explained that a social worker is not a physician under FECA and…
R.N. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Harriman, TN
R.N. (ECAB 12-1003): Hearing loss claim needs reasoned noise exposure opinion
R.N., a Tennessee Valley Authority employee, attributed hearing loss to years of workplace noise. A second opinion physician initially questioned the connection but later described high frequency loss consistent with noise exposure. The Board found that neither he nor OWCP's medical adviser…
F.J. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Atlanta, GA
F.J. (ECAB 12-0882): Twenty five percent leg impairment award upheld
F.J., a Transportation Security Administration employee, sought a higher schedule award for his right leg. His physician rated impairment under an older edition of the A.M.A. Guides and also gave a whole person rating. The Board found that the newer sixth edition governed the award and that FECA…
C.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jacksonville, FL
C.D. (ECAB 12-0835): Reconsideration denial omitted new medical reports
C.D., a postal employee, sought reconsideration of a claim for disability during a period between 2007 and 2010. OWCP denied review after describing his submission as duplicate treatment notes and a statement. The Board found that he had also submitted several new medical reports and therapy notes…
A.G. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Las Vegas, NV
A.G. (ECAB 12-0563): Large schedule award overpayment reversed
A.G., a Customs and Border Protection employee, received two schedule awards for right leg impairment. OWCP treated the later award as an overpayment after comparing its total impairment percentage with the earlier rating. The Board found that the awards covered different components of knee…
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Oakland, CA
M.B. (ECAB 12-0361): Additional left arm impairment award denied
M.B., a postal worker, sought a larger award for accepted left arm and hand conditions. Her physician's reports did not clearly calculate impairment under the sixth edition of the A.M.A. Guides or show a rating above her existing 28 percent award. Two OWCP medical advisers calculated lower current…
H.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Downtown Delivery Annex, Baltimore, MD
H.G. (ECAB 12-0230): Back and neck benefits termination upheld
H.G., a postal worker, had accepted neck and back sprains. A prior appeal required OWCP to resolve conflicting medical opinions before ending his benefits. OWCP obtained an impartial specialist's report finding that the accepted strains had resolved, and the Board found that report sufficiently…
T.D. and Department of Defense, Defense Finance & Accounting Service, Columbus, OH
T.D. (ECAB 11-1952): Benefits termination upheld; overpayment remanded and arm award raised
T.D., a Defense Department employee, challenged benefit termination, an overpayment finding, and a left arm schedule award. The Board upheld termination for conditions other than her thumb because a reasoned impartial medical opinion found no remaining work related restrictions. It set aside the…
John R. Jurgensen Company
Night paving safety citations vacated
Jurgensen performed nighttime highway paving in Ohio while subcontractor dump trucks backed through a designated work route. A dump truck struck and killed a Jurgensen laborer who had left the crew's immediate work area. OSHA alleged that the contractor lacked an adequate safety program and had not…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Canteen Service, Martinsburg, West Virginia and National Association of Government Employees, Local R4-78
Veterans Canteen Service Martinsburg and NAGE Local R4-78 (FLRA 0-AR-4819): Removal grievance ruled nonarbitrable
The Veterans Canteen Service in Martinsburg removed a non-preference-eligible employee for alleged security-procedure violations and absence without official leave. NAGE Local R4-78 filed a grievance, and an arbitrator ruled that the grievance could proceed under the parties' agreement. The agency…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Canteen Service, Houston, Texas and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1633
Veterans Canteen Service Houston and AFGE Local 1633 (FLRA 0-AR-4818): Removal award set aside
The Veterans Canteen Service in Houston removed a non-preference-eligible employee for alleged absence without leave and excessive absenteeism. AFGE Local 1633 grieved the removal. An arbitrator held that the grievance was arbitrable, found no just cause for the removal, and sustained it. The…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Canteen Service, Dayton, Ohio and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2209
Veterans Canteen Service Dayton and AFGE Local 2209 (FLRA 0-AR-4808): Removal awards set aside
The Veterans Canteen Service in Dayton removed a non-preference-eligible employee for misconduct. AFGE Local 2209 grieved the removal. An arbitrator first ruled that the grievance was arbitrable, then found no just cause after the agency conceded it could not prove the removal on the merits. He…
L.L. and Department of Agriculture, Inspection Operations Program, Minneapolis, MN
L.L. (ECAB 12-0940): Disability denial returned for clear findings
L.L., an Agriculture Department employee, sought compensation for continuing disability after an accepted lumbar sprain. OWCP denied payment after August 30, 2011. The Board found that OWCP's decision did not clearly say whether the denial rested on insufficient medical evidence or on refusal of an…
W.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Northern Ohio Performance Cluster, Cleveland, OH
W.B. (ECAB 12-0933): Overpayment and repayment deduction upheld
W.B., a postal employee, received excess compensation because OWCP used an incorrect night differential and withheld too little for health benefits. The Board found the records established a $13,354.51 overpayment. OWCP denied a waiver after comparing his documented income with ordinary and…
D.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Portland, OR
D.M. (ECAB 12-0872): Recurrence claim lacked medical evidence for disputed dates
D.M., a postal clerk, had an accepted claim for hand sprains and a neuropathic condition, then returned to full duty. She later claimed a recurrence of disability starting in August 2011. The Board found that her medical reports predated the claimed period by several months and did not address…
R.H. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Kansas City, MO
R.H. (ECAB 12-0859): Recurrence of total disability not established
R.H., an Internal Revenue Service computer assistant, returned to modified work after an accepted lumbar condition. She later sought compensation for total disability, saying she could no longer work. The Board found that the medical evidence did not show a material worsening of the accepted…
A.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fort Worth, TX
A.R. (ECAB 12-0688): Overpayment upheld; fault finding reversed
A.R., a postal employee, received total disability compensation for days after she returned to work. The Board agreed that the $960.84 payment for those days was an overpayment. It found no evidence that she knew or should have known the first incorrect direct deposit was wrong when she received…
E.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bellmawr, NJ
E.R. (ECAB 12-0573): Reconsideration denied after impairment guide changed
E.R., a postal carrier, sought reconsideration of a denied schedule award for hip impairment. She argued that OWCP should have obtained an impartial specialist to resolve differing ratings from her physician and an agency physician. The Board found that those earlier ratings used an edition of the…
J.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chillicothe, IL
J.G. (ECAB 12-0410): Three percent shoulder impairment award upheld
J.G., a postal clerk, sought a higher schedule award for her left shoulder condition. Her evaluator added impairment ratings for several diagnoses in the same shoulder region without explaining why they should be combined. The Board found that the diagnosis method supported a two percent rating…
R.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Northern Illinois Performance Cluster, Carol Stream, IL
R.W. (ECAB 11-2111): Later fall not linked to accepted work injury
R.W., a postal employee, had accepted knee and ankle injuries from a June 2008 fall at work. He claimed that those injuries caused a later fall at home and further injuries. Treating and agency physicians disagreed, so OWCP obtained an impartial specialist's opinion. The Board found that the…
A.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Seattle, WA
A.H. (ECAB 11-1876): Withdrawn light duty claim needs special review
A.H., a postal employee, claimed wage loss after his limited duty position was withdrawn under the National Reassessment Process. OWCP denied modification of a prior wage earning capacity decision using its ordinary criteria. The Board found that OWCP had not followed guidance requiring it to…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Combustible accumulations affirmed after scoop fire
MSHA cited Jim Walter Resources after a scoop-battery fire and after an inspector found float coal dust on energized components inside a transformer. The operator argued that laboratory samples showed the accumulated material contained enough rock dust to be noncombustible. Judge Jacqueline R…
Marshall Mining, Inc.
Borehole-plan violation affirmed near flooded workings
Marshall Mining advanced an underground coal entry within 200 feet of an abandoned, water-filled mine. Its approved plan required 30-foot boreholes and limited mining cuts to 20 feet so at least a 10-foot drilled buffer remained ahead of the face. MSHA found only two boreholes about three feet…
A.T. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Birmingham, AL
A.T. (ECAB 12-0909): Heat related occupational disease claim denied
A.T., a Federal Emergency Management Agency field specialist, attributed symptoms including fatigue and headaches to work in Alabama heat. The Board accepted that she canvassed as part of her duties but found that her medical reports did not adequately establish causation. One physician first said…
W.O. and Department of the Army, Pine Bluff Arsenal, Pine Bluff, AR
W.O. (ECAB 12-0893): Late reopening request failed clear error standard
W.O., an Army arsenal worker, sought reconsideration of a 2003 denial of a pulmonary condition claim involving accepted asbestos exposure. He filed more than eight years after the merits decision. The Board agreed that the request was untimely and found that later medical reports did not show clear…
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.