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.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New York City, NY
S.S. (ECAB 12-0294): Benefit termination and consequential claim denial upheld
S.S., a postal mail handler, received benefits for accepted lumbar radiculopathy and later reported menstrual irregularities after an authorized steroid injection. OWCP ended her wage-loss and medical benefits after a second-opinion orthopedic surgeon found no remaining symptoms of the accepted…
H.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Northern Ohio Performance Cluster, Cleveland, OH
H.S. (ECAB 12-0106): Earlier wage capacity period left unchanged
H.S., a former postal carrier with accepted knee injuries, had compensation adjusted in 2000 based on the wages of an available customer service clerk position. OWCP later accepted that his work-related condition had worsened by October 25, 2004 and increased compensation from then, but declined to…
P.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Sioux Falls, SD
P.M. (ECAB 11-2132): Termination upheld after accepted shoulder strain resolved
P.M., a medical center nurse, received benefits for an accepted right shoulder and upper arm strain. OWCP ended the benefits after a second-opinion orthopedic surgeon examined her and concluded that the accepted strain had resolved and she could work without restrictions. The Board found his…
T.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pittsburgh, PA
T.E. (ECAB 11-1805): Impairment dispute remanded for clearer medical report
T.E., a postal employee with accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and thoracic outlet syndrome, disputed the impairment percentages used for her arm schedule awards. OWCP obtained an impartial orthopedic examination to resolve conflicting ratings. The Board found that the examiner had not…
A.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Antioch, CA
A.M. (ECAB 11-1795): Schedule awards for both legs upheld at 19 percent
A.M., a postal letter carrier, injured her knees and ankles in a fall during mail delivery. She challenged OWCP's schedule award based on 19 percent permanent impairment of each leg and sought a higher rating. Her treating physician rated each leg at 35 percent under the fifth edition of the A.M.A…
Dawes Rigging & Crane Rental
Suspended crane boom violation upheld with $2,500 penalty
Dawes Rigging & Crane Rental was assembling a large crane at the Tilden Mine when a gust of wind pushed a suspended 93,000-pound boom toward an occupied crane cab. The crew foreman directed a worker to cross under the boom with a tag line to prevent the collision. Judge David F. Barbour held that…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Reuben Shemwell v. Armstrong Coal Company, Inc. and Armstrong Fabricators, Inc.
Economic temporary reinstatement agreement approved
Reuben Shemwell sought temporary reinstatement to the welder position he held before Armstrong Coal Company and Armstrong Fabricators terminated him while his discrimination complaint was being investigated. After a remand and hearing, Judge Jerold Feldman ordered the companies to reinstate…
Matter of Mahvash AKRAM
K-4 status requires immigrant visa eligibility through an I-130
The Board reviewed a Pakistani respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge denied her application to adjust status and granted voluntary departure. She had entered the United States as a K-4 derivative of her mother's K-3 visa, but her mother's marriage to the United States citizen petitioner…
N.F. and U.S. Postal Service, South Shore Annex, Staten Island, NY
N.F. (ECAB 12-95): Evidence did not establish residuals after benefit termination
N.F., a postal mail handler, had an accepted 2006 back and groin injury. OWCP terminated his compensation and medical benefits effective February 6, 2008, and the Board had previously affirmed that termination. After an earlier remand for review of overlooked medical evidence, OWCP again declined…
L.B., widow of G.B., and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Los Angeles, CA
L.B. (ECAB 12-699): Survivors' benefits denied after impartial medical review
L.B. sought survivors' benefits after the death of her husband, a former IRS revenue officer with an accepted work-related depressive disorder. His death certificate listed hypertension as the immediate cause of death. After the Board identified conflicting medical opinions in an earlier appeal…
C.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Lexington, KY
C.H. (ECAB 12-665): Arm award replaces shorter hand award
C.H., a nursing assistant with an accepted right hand injury and right arm pain condition, challenged a schedule award for 20 percent impairment of her right hand. Her physician used an outdated edition of the A.M.A. Guides, but OWCP's medical adviser applied the sixth edition to his examination…
T.S. and Department of the Army, Fort Polk, LA
T.S. (ECAB 12-624): Health premium underpayment remained repayable
T.S., an Army nursing assistant receiving compensation for an accepted ankle injury, had too little deducted from her benefits for health insurance premiums. OWCP calculated a $2,301.20 overpayment for January 17, 2010 through August 17, 2011 and found she was without fault. It asked for financial…
R.R. and Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Puerto Rico
R.R. (ECAB 12-578): Travel-related neck condition lacked a reasoned medical link
R.R., an FDA investigator, reported neck and shoulder symptoms during and after official travel that involved long hours, schedule stress, and luggage handling. OWCP accepted those work activities but found the medical evidence insufficient to connect them to a diagnosed condition. One physician…
M.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Francisco, CA
M.V. (ECAB 12-447): Duplicate schedule payment created repayable overpayment
M.V., a postal letter carrier receiving a schedule award for shoulder impairment, reported that one payment check had not arrived. OWCP issued a replacement by direct deposit, but he later cashed the original check as well, resulting in two payments for the same period. The Board found that he knew…
T.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New York, NY
T.C. (ECAB 12-444): Later evidence did not show continued foot injury residuals
T.C., a postal employee, had an accepted 2004 left foot and ankle injury. OWCP ended his benefits effective November 6, 2008 after an impartial physician found the accepted conditions had resolved, and the Board had previously affirmed that termination. T.C. later submitted reports describing…
A.W. and Department of the Navy, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, NH
A.W. (ECAB 12-420): Attorney fee argument did not reopen claim
A.W., a Navy shipyard worker with an accepted back injury, sought reimbursement of attorney fees connected to his FECA claim. OWCP denied payment, and he asked it to reconsider based on the Equal Access to Justice Act. The Board reviewed only OWCP's later refusal to reopen the fee issue, because…
L.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Port Charlotte Carrier Annex, Port Charlotte, FL
L.P. (ECAB 11-1889): Earlier full-time pay rate remained higher
L.P., a postal employee, received compensation after an accepted shoulder and cervical condition led to periods of disability. When her modified part-time work hours were reduced in December 2009, OWCP used the pay rate from an earlier recurrence in November 1998. The Board agreed that the reduced…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital and American Federation of Government Employees, Locals 903 and 3399
Truman Veterans Hospital and AFGE Locals 903 and 3399 (FLRA 0-AR-4837): Snowstorm leave award stands
During a three-day snowstorm, a VA hospital adopted a liberal leave policy but refused paid authorized absences for employees who could not report to work. An arbitrator found violations of the master and local agreements and an agency handbook. He awarded authorized absences for the first two…
Barbara A. Copley v. Buffalo Mining Company
Copley v. Buffalo Mining (BRB 11-0713): survivor award returned for death causation findings
Barbara Copley sought survivor benefits after her husband Howard died. An administrative law judge invoked the fifteen-year presumption based on his coal mine work and disabling respiratory impairment, then awarded benefits. The Board upheld invocation of the presumption and the finding that…
Roy’s Construction, Inc.
Roofing, respirator, and ladder violations affirmed
Roy’s Construction was repairing the roof of the Legislature Building in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. OSHA saw employees working without fall protection on a steep roof that the site supervisor said was 36 feet high. Employees also wore company-supplied respirators near asbestos-removal work without…
Petro Hunt, LLC
Flame-resistant-clothing citation vacated at oil production site
Petro Hunt operated an oil production facility in North Dakota where a treater shed caught fire shortly after two employees left the site. OSHA cited the company because it did not require employees who gauged tanks and worked around hydrocarbon pressure vessels to wear flame-resistant clothing…
Michael Macklin v. Huntington Ingalls Incorporated
Macklin v. Huntington Ingalls (BRB 11-0776 and 11-0776A): knee disability award partly upheld and partly remanded
Michael Macklin injured his left knee while working as a rigger and later received treatment for unrelated prostate cancer. An administrative law judge awarded disability benefits for two weeks when his knee kept him from work, but denied a later period because cancer also kept him from working…
United States Department of the Army, Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1858
Army Redstone Arsenal and AFGE Local 1858 (FLRA AT-RP-11-0030): Executive secretary excluded from unit
AFGE Local 1858 sought to include the secretary to the executive director of an Army research center in its bargaining unit. A regional director found that the secretary handled confidential labor-relations files and correspondence for an executive who made labor-relations policy, and excluded the…
S.E. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Federal Transfer Center, Oklahoma, OK
S.E. (ECAB 12-430): Overlooked medical report requires new claim decision
S.E., a Bureau of Prisons employee, claimed that his work duties caused shoulder conditions. OWCP denied the claim and later refused reconsideration, saying he had supplied no new and relevant evidence. The Board found that OWCP had received a physician's report discussing a possible link between…
P.T. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Albuquerque, NM
P.T. (ECAB 12-394): Spinal surgery was not shown to treat accepted sprain
P.T., a VA housekeeping aide, had an accepted lumbar sprain from lifting at work in 2009. Two years later, a physician proposed spinal surgery for lumbar stenosis. OWCP denied authorization because the medical evidence did not show that the stenosis was caused by the accepted sprain. The Board…
P.T. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Albuquerque, NM
P.T. (ECAB 12-394): Erratum corrects panel signature
The Board identified an incorrect signature for one judge on its earlier decision in P.T.'s case. The erratum states that the three listed judges had unanimously decided the matter. It directs reissuance of the decision with their correct signatures. The erratum does not describe the issues decided…
United States Department of the Air Force, Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1770
Pope Air Force Base and AFGE Local 1770 (FLRA 0-AR-4830): Early arbitration appeal dismissed
An arbitrator found that Pope Air Force Base should have bargained with AFGE Local 1770 before implementing alternative and compressed work schedules. The parties had deferred the remedy, and the arbitrator retained jurisdiction if they could not agree on it. The Air Force challenged the liability…
Bear Lake Properties, LLC
In re Bear Lake Properties, LLC (EAB UIC Appeal No. 11-03): partial reconsideration denied
EPA Region 3 issued two permits authorizing Bear Lake Properties, LLC to construct and operate Class II underground injection wells. In its June 28, 2012 decision, the Environmental Appeals Board remanded part of the permit matter and denied review of other issues, including the petitioners'…
Charles M. Lamon v. A-Z Corporation
Lamon v. A-Z Corporation (BRB 11-0322R): disability award returned for causation findings
Charles Lamon worked as a welder and experienced temporary aggravations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease from workplace fumes. The Board had affirmed a total disability award, and A-Z Corporation sought reconsideration. It did not disturb the finding that Lamon sustained a work-related…
J.F. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Medical Center, Hines, IL
J.F. (ECAB 12-718): Resolved work strain supported benefit termination
J.F., a VA housekeeping aide, received benefits for a lumbosacral strain accepted after a 1976 lifting injury. OWCP later ended the benefits after a referral physician found that the accepted strain had resolved. The physician attributed J.F.'s continuing back symptoms and inability to work to…
C.R. and Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, NC
C.R. (ECAB 12-577): Wage earning capacity request needs merits review
C.R., a Navy employee with an accepted right knee injury, sought renewed compensation and challenged a prior wage earning capacity determination. He said the job underlying that determination was improper and that his knee condition had worsened. OWCP treated his requests only as applications for…
M.J. and Department of the Army, Little Falls, MN
M.J. (ECAB 12-534): Lung condition lacked a reasoned link to workplace exposure
M.J., an Army maintenance mechanic, claimed that years of exposure to paint, solvent, brake dust, fumes, and other workplace substances caused or aggravated a pulmonary condition. His physicians described possible contributions from work exposure but did not explain how particular substances caused…
S.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Madison, WI
S.C. (ECAB 12-509): Wage loss claim remanded for review of all medical evidence
S.C., a postal employee with accepted neck injuries, claimed total disability and wage loss from November 13, 2008 through October 13, 2009. OWCP denied payment on the ground that the medical evidence did not establish disability. The Board found that S.C. had supplied numerous relevant medical…
B.S. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Washington, DC
B.S. (ECAB 12-507): Medical evidence did not establish claimed wage loss period
B.S., a transportation security officer, had an accepted lumbar sprain from lifting bags in 2007. He sought disability compensation for May 13 through August 17, 2010. An OWCP referral physician found that the accepted sprain had resolved and attributed remaining symptoms to degenerative changes…
B.F. and Department of Justice, Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York, NY
B.F. (ECAB 12-476): Sixth edition governed knee schedule award
B.F., a correctional supervisor with an accepted right knee injury, received a schedule award based on 37 percent impairment of his right leg. His attorney did not challenge that rating itself but argued that OWCP had delayed the claim until the sixth edition of the A.M.A. Guides applied, reducing…
A.O. and Department of Homeland Security, Citizenship and Immigration Services, New York, NY
A.O. (ECAB 12-462): Emotional condition claim lacked a covered work factor
A.O., an immigration services officer, attributed depression and post-traumatic stress symptoms to workplace treatment after a suspension and to denial of a requested transfer or limited duty. The Board found that his allegations concerned administrative or personnel actions rather than his regular…
R.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Charlotte, NC
R.W. (ECAB 12-287): Incomplete claim files require consolidation
R.W., a postal carrier, appealed a schedule award for left leg impairment and additional right arm impairment. OWCP had used a prior right arm award from a separate claim file to calculate the new amount. The Board found that the record on appeal lacked the factual and medical material underlying…
B.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
B.B. (ECAB 12-165): Fall location on postal premises remained unproven
B.B., a postal letter carrier, reported that his kneecap dislocated and he fell while walking toward his car shortly after work. The Board found that the timing was within a reasonable interval after his shift. The disputed issue was where the fall occurred: B.B. said he fell on postal property…
A.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
A.H. (ECAB 11-2080): Existing four percent arm award upheld
A.H., a postal employee with an accepted right shoulder injury, sought more than the four percent right arm schedule award she had received. After an earlier Board remand, OWCP obtained an impartial orthopedic examination. The impartial physician found no additional ratable impairment, and OWCP's…
Y.T. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Denver, CO
Y.T. (ECAB 11-1954): Claimed intermittent disability lacked date-specific support
Y.T., a transportation security officer with accepted back and neck strains, sought compensation for intermittent time away from work in June 2010 and January through February 2011. OWCP had paid some hours but denied the disputed periods. The Board found that the medical reports did not adequately…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Forest Park, IL
S.M. (ECAB 12-714): Late reconsideration request showed no clear error
S.M., a postal employee with an accepted carpal tunnel condition, again sought review of a long-standing denial of a disability recurrence claim. His January 2012 reconsideration request came more than a year after the last merits decision in March 1999. He argued that OWCP had failed to address…
D.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pittsburgh, PA
D.R. (ECAB 12-696): Related claim files needed for back condition decision
D.R., a postal employee, claimed a low back condition following treatment for an accepted knee injury. OWCP denied her separate occupational disease claim while relying on evidence and findings from other claim files. The Board found that the complete records from those files were missing from the…
R.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Western New York Performance Cluster, Buffalo, NY
R.K. (ECAB 12-681): Same-day medical reports require recurrence review
R.K., a postal distribution clerk with an accepted cervical condition, claimed a recurrence of total disability beginning April 14, 2011. OWCP denied the claim on December 12, 2011. The Board found that OWCP had received two physician reports on that same day but had not considered them before…
A.K. and Department of Defense, Dependents Schools, Vilseck, Germany
A.K. (ECAB 12-613): Reported classroom assault was not established
A.K., a teacher at a Defense Department school, claimed shoulder injury and elevated blood pressure after a confrontation with a student at her classroom door. She said the student pushed against her and pulled the door while her hand was on it. The Board compared her account with a military police…
L.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Milledgeville, GA
L.F. (ECAB 12-608): Claim denials upheld, reconsideration remanded
L.F., a postal employee, reported back pain after trying to move a wire cage at work. The Board found that the medical evidence considered in OWCP's July and November 2011 decisions did not adequately connect her diagnosed back condition to that incident, so it affirmed those denials. It also found…
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing and Distribution Center, Los Angeles, CA
J.B. (ECAB 12-598): Three percent impairment for each leg upheld
J.B., a postal employee with accepted back-related nerve conditions, challenged a schedule award for three percent impairment of each leg. An examining physician had calculated four percent per leg using a table in the sixth edition of the A.M.A. Guides. OWCP's medical adviser instead applied the…
S.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Long Beach, CA
S.L. (ECAB 12-595): Left leg award upheld at 21 percent
S.L., a postal employee with accepted left knee arthritis and bilateral plantar fasciitis, sought more than a 21 percent left leg schedule award. Her physician rated the result of a total knee replacement under the fifth edition of the A.M.A. Guides, which did not apply to OWCP's 2011 decision…
J.G. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA
J.G. (ECAB 12-583): Nonratable work hearing loss supported left aid only
J.G., a former Navy shipyard metal forger, had accepted work-related hearing loss in his left ear. The Board found that his audiogram near retirement did not reach the threshold for a ratable hearing impairment under the A.M.A. Guides, so he was not entitled to a schedule award. The medical…
D.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Portland Air Cargo Center, Portland, OR
D.A. (ECAB 12-540): Medical reports supported limited duty after November 2010
D.A., a postal clerk with an accepted lumbar sprain, claimed total disability after November 21, 2010. His treating physicians instead described restrictions under which he could perform limited duty, and a later physician reported that his lumbar symptoms had resolved. The Board found no medical…
D.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Edison, NJ
D.A. (ECAB 12-311): Referee physician selection lacked required record
D.A., a postal employee, received benefits for an accepted lumbosacral condition. OWCP terminated them after obtaining a referee medical opinion to resolve conflicting views about continuing disability. The Board found that the record showed the selected physician's appointment but lacked…
T.H. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Station, Fort Worth, TX
T.H. (ECAB 12-191): Overpayment decision lacked required preliminary notice
T.H., a Navy employee receiving compensation for an accepted shoulder injury, was told he had received an overpayment. OWCP changed its calculation after finding both a period of duplicate leave and disability payments and a separate underpayment. It then issued a final overpayment decision without…
S.D. and Panama Canal Commission, Industrial Division, Cristobal, Panama
S.D. (ECAB 11-2004): Earlier Spanish-language filing needs review
S.D., a former Panama Canal Commission employee, challenged OWCP's finding that his request to reconsider a disability recurrence denial came too late. The record contained a Spanish-language letter referring to the Board's 1999 merits decision and medical reports, all received by OWCP in July…
M.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Kahului, HI
M.A. (ECAB 12-316): Withdrawn limited duty requires capacity review
M.A., a postal employee with accepted shoulder, wrist, and spine conditions, had a formal wage earning capacity determination based on a rehabilitation clerk assignment. After the Postal Service reassessed limited-duty work and withdrew her assignment, she claimed wage loss beginning November 13…
O.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Portland, OR
O.B. (ECAB 11-2013): Back disease lacked a reasoned link to mail work
O.B., a postal clerk, said years of turning, bending, and lifting mail aggravated his lower back condition. His records included an earlier work injury, degenerative changes, and several motor vehicle accidents. A treating physician linked severe episodes of pain to work but did not explain how the…
B.Y. and U.S. Postal Service, Embarcadero Postal Center, San Francisco, CA
B.Y. (ECAB 11-1798): Forfeiture reversed for lack of proof of work
B.Y., a postal carrier receiving compensation for a knee injury, was seen at a cleaning business partly owned by his wife. OWCP found that he knowingly failed to report work or earnings on benefit forms and declared his compensation forfeited. The Board found that the surveillance video showed some…
National Treasury Employees Union and United States Securities and Exchange Commission
NTEU and SEC (FLRA 0-AR-4835): Telework leave and fee denial stands
An SEC employee won an arbitration ruling requiring the agency to grant his four-day telework request after it failed to consider all relevant factors. In a related grievance, the arbitrator also found retaliation and ordered personnel records removed. The union then sought restoration of leave and…
United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and National Treasury Employees Union
Customs and Border Protection and NTEU (FLRA 0-AR-4598): Overtime award partly set aside
Customs officers sought overtime under both the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Customs Officers Pay Reform Act (COPRA). The Authority upheld liquidated damages under the FLSA because Customs and Border Protection did not show that it tried to determine its legal obligations before denying…
V.F. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Iron Mountain, MI
V.F. (ECAB 12-564): Back condition lacked a reasoned link to nursing duties
V.F., a nursing assistant for the Veterans Health Administration, said repeated lifting and repositioning of patients caused a back condition. OWCP accepted that those duties occurred but denied her claim for lack of medical proof connecting them to her diagnosed condition. The Board found that her…
D.R. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms, Brooklyn, NY
D.R. (ECAB 12-478): Pulmonary claim lacked a reasoned medical link to workplace exposure
D.R., a criminal investigator, sought compensation for a pulmonary condition that he attributed to contaminants in his office. OWCP accepted that he was exposed to potentially harmful contaminants but found the medical evidence insufficient to connect that exposure to his condition. The Board…
T.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Oakland Main Post Office, Oakland, CA
T.O. (ECAB 12-426): Unreported pizza businesses led to forfeiture and overpayment
T.O., a former Postal Service truck driver receiving disability compensation, owned or worked at pizza franchises while repeatedly reporting no work or earnings on benefit forms. An investigation documented the business activities, and T.O. acknowledged owning the franchises and helping operate the…
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.