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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G.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Berkeley, CA
G.S. (ECAB 12-412): Identification clerk job supported reduced benefits
G.S., a former Postal Service letter carrier, had received disability compensation after several accepted back and neck injuries. OWCP reduced his benefits based on a finding that he could work full time as an identification clerk earning $440 a week. The Board found that updated medical reports…
G.N. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Fort Smith, AR
G.N. (ECAB 12-261): Airport parking lot fall fell outside employment
G.N., a Transportation Security Administration officer, fell on ice beside his vehicle in an airport employee parking lot after his shift. He sought compensation for a fractured left leg, arguing that the lot was connected to his workplace and that he was directed to park there. The Board found…
M.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Kansas City, MO
M.R. (ECAB 11-2084): Shoulder condition not added to accepted injury claim
M.R., a postal mail processor, sought to add a right shoulder condition to a claim that OWCP had accepted for a cervical spine injury after a 2004 workplace incident. Her records described shoulder symptoms, imaging findings, and later surgery. The Board found that the medical opinions did not…
J.B. and Department of Agriculture, U.S. National Arboretum, Washington, DC
J.B. (ECAB 11-2005): Health premium overpayment upheld, fault finding reversed
J.B., a former National Arboretum employee receiving injury compensation, remained enrolled in federal health benefits while OWCP failed to deduct premiums from his payments. The Board upheld the resulting $17,285.42 overpayment for June 16, 2002 through January 19, 2008. It found, however, that…
S.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Gallup, NM
S.W. (ECAB 11-1687): Overpayment waiver denied, repayment rate sent back
S.W., a former Veterans Administration respiratory therapist, received compensation without a required offset for retirement related Social Security benefits. OWCP found a $70,171.87 overpayment, reduced the collectible principal to $29,300, denied waiver, and set a $300 deduction from continuing…
M.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Times Plaza Station, Brooklyn, NY
M.H. (ECAB 11-1294): Accepted knee sprain had resolved
M.H., a Postal Service letter carrier, received benefits for an accepted left knee and leg sprain after a 2009 delivery injury. OWCP ended her benefits after a second opinion physician found that the accepted strain had resolved and she could work without restrictions. The Board found his…
Rock Utility, Inc.
Trench and ladder items affirmed, vest item vacated
Rock Utility was installing a water line in Quincy, Massachusetts, when OSHA inspected a trench that reached 6.3 feet deep. An employee worked in the deeper end of the Type C soil trench without sloping, benching, or a trench box. The judge also found that the company's informal safety discussions…
American Federation of Government Employees, Council of Prison Locals 33, Local 506 and United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Complex, Coleman, Florida
AFGE Local 506 and FCC Coleman (FLRA 0-NG-3117): Bargaining ordered on watch screening
After a maximum-security prison installed two metal detectors near its recreation yard, AFGE Local 506 proposed changes to the screening area. The Authority required bargaining over a proposal to remove inmate watches that trigger the detectors because it found that reducing nuisance alarms would…
Haldor Topsoe, Inc.
In re Haldor Topsoe, Inc. (EAB TSCA 12-04C): $202,779 penalty paid and matter resolved
Haldor Topsoe, Inc. was accused of failing to comply with TSCA reporting requirements and the Inventory Update Reporting Rule. EPA's complaint proposed a $202,779 civil penalty. Haldor Topsoe paid the full amount, which waived its right to contest the allegations and appeal the final order under…
Matter of Jean Ro Saclolo VALENZUELA
K-4 status limited to the original K visa petition
The Board reviewed a Filipino 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, later married a United States citizen, and sought adjustment through…
G.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Salem, VA
G.S. (ECAB 12-521): No ratable leg impairment from accepted back injury
G.S., a Veterans Health Administration food service worker, sought a schedule award for leg impairment after an accepted low back injury. One physician assigned a six percent left leg rating, while OWCP's medical adviser found no reliably documented sensory or motor deficit that could be rated…
L.M. and Department of the Army, Directorate of Public Works, Fort Carson, CO
L.M. (ECAB 12-520): New knee evidence required a merits review
L.M., an Army construction representative, sought compensation after his right knee gave way while descending a stoop at work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the claim for lack of medical proof connecting it to his knee condition. When L.M. requested reconsideration with a…
J.D. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Tucson, AZ
J.D. (ECAB 12-482): Back surgery did not establish ratable leg impairment
J.D., a Customs and Border Protection officer, sought a schedule award after an accepted back injury and lumbar surgeries. Two physicians rated impairment of his spine or whole person, but FECA schedule awards do not cover those ratings. The Board found that their reports also did not use the…
H.G. and Department of the Army, Army Corps of Engineers, Shorterville, AL
H.G. (ECAB 12-431): Hearing-loss claim returned for a fuller medical review
H.G., an Army Corps of Engineers power plant mechanic, claimed hearing loss from workplace noise. OWCP denied the claim after a second opinion physician attributed the loss chiefly to aging. The Board found that OWCP's statement of accepted facts omitted measured noise levels and that the…
H.G. and Department of the Army, Army Corps of Engineers, Shorterville, AL
H.G. (ECAB 12-431): Board corrects the decision's issuance year
The Board's earlier decision in H.G.'s hearing-loss case gave its issuance date as July 6, 2011. This erratum says the correct date should have been July 6, 2012. The Board said it would issue a corrected copy with a new date alongside the erratum. The accompanying reissued decision bears the date…
P.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Livonia, MI
P.K. (ECAB 12-364): Evidence did not link additional conditions to postal work
P.K., a postal distribution clerk, sought to add cervical and upper extremity conditions to her accepted work injury. An earlier Board decision had returned that question to OWCP for more evidence, and OWCP obtained a new examination. The Board held that this examiner was a second opinion…
M.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Tampa, FL
M.B. (ECAB 12-300): Spine ratings did not support a schedule award
M.B., a Veterans Health Administration medical support assistant, sought a schedule award after an accepted work injury involving his neck and back. His physicians rated impairment of the spine and described disability, but they did not rate permanent impairment of an arm or leg under the required…
M.T. and Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency, Warwick, RI
M.T. (ECAB 12-98): Training dispute did not establish a compensable work factor
M.T., a Farm Service Agency county executive director, claimed stress and anxiety related chiefly to a lengthy training assignment away from home. She also alleged poor management, threatening comments, harassment, and discrimination. The Board found that the training and other challenged actions…
C.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Indianapolis Veterans Administration Medical Center, Indianapolis, IN
C.B. (ECAB 12-27): Medical reports did not establish a work-related back injury
C.B., a Veterans Affairs medical instrument technician, reported back pain after helping lift a patient at work. The Board accepted that the lifting incident occurred but found that the medical evidence did not adequately link an injury or disability to it. One physician described a possible…
E.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Atlanta, GA
E.J. (ECAB 11-1672): Impartial examination supported ending benefits
E.J., a postal flat sorter clerk, received compensation after an accepted neck and right shoulder injury that required shoulder surgery. OWCP ended her benefits after doctors disagreed about whether the accepted conditions still caused disability. The Board found that OWCP properly referred the…
National Treasury Employees Union and United States Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Office of Chief Counsel
NTEU and IRS Chief Counsel (FLRA 0-NG-3130): Sick-leave provision approved, loan report rejected
The IRS Office of Chief Counsel disapproved two provisions of its agreement with NTEU. One required counseling before the agency could impose a written documentation requirement for future sick-leave absences. The Authority ordered the IRS to rescind that disapproval because the provision still…
National Association of Independent Labor, Local 15 and United States Department of the Navy, Naval School Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida
NAIL Local 15 and Naval School EOD (FLRA 0-AR-4822): Hazard-pay fee denial upheld
A Navy school employee pursued hazard pay differential through arbitration. The arbitrator found him eligible for differential pay for specified duties, but later denied the union's request for attorney fees because the arbitration record did not show an actual loss of pay. The union pointed to a…
T.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Warren, OH
T.P. (ECAB 12-97): Board upheld one overpayment and returned two findings
T.P., a postal carrier receiving benefits for an accepted ankle injury, was paid at a weekly rate calculated from her brief work history. The Board found that OWCP should have used comparable-employee earnings and that an overpayment resulted, but sent the claimed $1,589.64 amount back for a…
E.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Houston, TX
E.A. (ECAB 12-522): One additional point of arm impairment upheld
E.A., a postal letter carrier, previously received a schedule award for 14 percent impairment of her right arm following a shoulder injury. After further shoulder and wrist treatment, she sought a larger award. Her physician and OWCP's medical adviser rated the shoulder at six percent and right…
D.D. and Department of Homeland Security, Border Patrol, Chula Vista, CA
D.D. (ECAB 12-512): Dust exposure did not prove a work-related lung infection
D.D., a Border Patrol seized property specialist, developed a pulmonary fungal infection and attributed it to dust blown from construction next to his work site. The Board accepted that he encountered dirt and dust particles there. It found no testing or other evidence showing the particles…
C.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hartford, CT
C.D. (ECAB 12-486): Workplace dispute did not establish a compensable factor
C.D., a postal clerk, attributed stress and anxiety to his postmaster's assignments, scheduling, and alleged hostile conduct. The Board treated work assignments and scheduling as administrative matters and found no evidence of employer error or abuse in those actions. Coworkers described the…
J.H. and Department of the Navy, San Diego, CA
J.H. (ECAB 12-366): Left-ear loss was work related but not ratable
J.H., a Navy sheet metal mechanic, claimed hearing loss after years of workplace noise. A second opinion physician found that the pronounced right-ear loss was more consistent with other disease, given the lack of greater noise exposure on that side and the associated vertigo. The Board accepted…
W.C. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Baltimore, MD
W.C. (ECAB 12-185): Reconsideration evidence did not address medical causation
W.C., an Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent, reported a leg cut and hand pain after a vehicle collision while on duty. OWCP denied his injury claim for lack of medical evidence linking the claimed conditions to the collision. In seeking reconsideration, he submitted a crash report…
D.B. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Federal Medical Center, Devens, MA
D.B. (ECAB 11-1932): Prison work claims lacked support for specific events
D.B., a Bureau of Prisons accounting technician and former correctional officer, claimed anxiety and depression from the stress of prison work. She described possible disease exposure, inmate supervision and threats, noise, and confined spaces. The Board acknowledged some evidence that her inmate…
D.W. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Wawona, CA
D.W. (ECAB 11-1144): Seasonal wages did not justify reducing benefits
D.W., a National Park Service seasonal visitor use assistant, received compensation for an accepted lumbar sprain. OWCP reduced her benefits based on earnings from another temporary seasonal job. The Board reversed that finding because the later job lasted only 70 days, short of the 90 days…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2128 and United States Department of Defense, Defense Contract Management Agency, San Antonio, Texas
AFGE Local 2128 and Defense Contract Management Agency (FLRA 0-AR-4815): Saturday schedule upheld
The Defense Contract Management Agency rotated employees onto a Tuesday-through-Saturday schedule to support time-sensitive work at a defense contractor. AFGE Local 2128 argued that the change violated the parties' agreement and federal work-scheduling rules because it avoided Saturday overtime. An…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Zablocki VA Medical Center and Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals, Veterans Affairs Staff Nurses Council, Local 5032
Zablocki VA Medical Center and Nurses Local 5032 (FLRA 0-AR-4788): Off-site parking remedy narrowed
An arbitrator found that off-site parking offered to nurses at a VA medical center failed to meet the parties' safe-parking agreement and past practice. His remedy required a shuttle and armed VA police patrols and escorts at the off-site lot. On review, the union did not contest the agency's legal…
Matter of Roberto CUELLAR-Gomez
Municipal marijuana convictions and aggravated felony treatment
The Board reviewed a Salvadoran lawful permanent resident's appeal from an order of removal based on a Wichita municipal marijuana-possession judgment and a later Kansas conviction for marijuana possession after a prior conviction. The Board held that the municipal judgment was a conviction because…
O.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Embarcadero Postal Center, San Francisco, CA
O.H. (ECAB 12-609): Unresolved medical conflict defeated benefit termination
O.H., a postal mail handler, received benefits after accepted back injuries. OWCP terminated them after obtaining an impartial examination to resolve a conflict between her treating physicians and an OWCP referral physician. The Board found that the impartial examiner did not answer whether she…
F.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Dayton, OH
F.W. (ECAB 12-604): Repeated medical report did not reopen knee claim
F.W., a postal mail carrier, claimed that a work incident aggravated a preexisting left knee condition. The Board had previously affirmed denial of that injury claim for lack of sufficient medical causation evidence. In a later reconsideration request, she submitted a copy of a physician's report…
T.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Salem, MA
T.C. (ECAB 12-580): Hand condition lacked reasoned medical link to mail work
T.C., a postal letter carrier, reported thumb and hand pain from repetitive mail sorting. OWCP accepted that he performed the described duties but denied the claim because the medical reports did not adequately explain how those duties caused or aggravated his diagnosed conditions. The Board found…
C.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pittsburgh, PA
C.B. (ECAB 12-526): New work stress did not prove recurrence of accepted condition
C.B., a postal clerk, had an accepted depression and dysthymia claim linked to an earlier knee injury. She claimed a recurrence of total disability in 2010 and identified uncertainty about job assignments and retirement matters as sources of stress. Her treating physicians reported worsening…
Align Roofing, LLC
Late notice of contest dismissed
Align Roofing received an OSHA citation on December 16, 2011, making January 9, 2012 the last day to file a written notice of contest. The company had been told before the citation issued that any contest had to be in writing, but it did not send its notice until January 20, eleven days late. The…
J.B. and Department of the Navy, Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia, PA
J.B. (ECAB 12-251): Knee evidence did not increase earlier leg award
J.B., a former naval shipyard machinist, had a work-related knee injury and a prior schedule award for 30 percent impairment of his left leg. He sought an increased award after a physician rated his impairment at 50 percent using the later edition of the impairment guides. An OWCP medical adviser…
J.Y. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Gig Harbor, WA
J.Y. (ECAB 12-131): Record did not support another arm impairment award
J.Y., a former postal rural carrier, had several accepted wrist and shoulder conditions and a prior one percent right-arm schedule award. She sought additional awards based on a physician's higher impairment ratings. The Board found that his first report used the wrong edition of the impairment…
Straight Ahead Construction, Inc.
Excavation water and cave-in items vacated
Straight Ahead Construction dug a street excavation in Miami to install drainage structures during intermittent rain. OSHA alleged that employees worked in accumulated water and lacked cave-in protection in an excavation more than 5 feet deep. The judge found no reliable measurement showing that…
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Little Rock, AR
J.C. (ECAB 11-1980): Back claim lacked a reasoned link to transmission lifting
J.C., a postal auto technician, lifted transmissions at work in July 2008. OWCP accepted an aggravated hemorrhoid condition from that incident, and he later sought to add a low back condition. His physicians diagnosed disc and nerve conditions and associated the symptoms generally with the lifting…
W.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Colonial Heights, VA
W.R. (ECAB 11-1953): Foot-ulcer claim returned for a second opinion
W.R., a postal letter carrier with diabetes, claimed that increased walking on a reassigned route aggravated an ulcer on his left foot. His treating physicians described the ulcer and linked it to walking and pressure during mail delivery. The Board found their reports were not fully reasoned…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Martinsburg, West Virginia and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local Lodge 1798
Martinsburg VA Medical Center and NFFE Local 1798 (FLRA WA-CA-11-0258): Reprimand remedy upheld
An FLRA complaint alleged that the Martinsburg VA medical center proposed and issued reprimands to a union official in retaliation for protected activity. The center did not answer the complaint on time, and an administrative law judge found no good cause to excuse the missed deadline. Under the…
West Alabama Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Unwarrantable failure removed and fall-protection penalty reduced to $760
An independent truck driver climbed onto a loaded trailer about ten feet above the ground without fall protection while at West Alabama Sand & Gravel's mine. The operator did not dispute the violation or its significant-and-substantial designation, but it challenged the unwarrantable-failure…
Christian County Generation, LLC
In re Christian County Generation, LLC (EAB PSD Appeal No. 12-01): petition dismissed as moot after permit withdrawal
Christian County Generation, LLC was the permit holder for PSD Permit No. 02106ACB in Illinois. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency withdrew the permit in its entirety while a petition by the Sierra Club and Natural Resources Defense Council was pending before the Environmental Appeals…
F.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Catoosa, OK
F.B. (ECAB 12-379): Impartial rating did not exceed earlier leg award
F.B., a former postal postmaster, received a schedule award for 10 percent impairment of her right leg from accepted back-related conditions. She sought an increased award. Physicians gave differing ratings, and OWCP obtained an impartial examination to resolve the conflict. The Board gave special…
Social Security Administration, Office of Disability Adjudication and Review and Association of Administrative Law Judges, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers
SSA Disability Adjudication and ALJ Union (FLRA CH-CA-10-0540): Unsigned settlement complaint dismissed
An SSA attorney told the administrative law judges' union that he could settle a grievance concerning eight employees, but the agency later refused to sign the proposed settlement. An FLRA administrative law judge found that the attorney lacked settlement authority and recommended dismissal of the…
W.W. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Charleston, SC
W.W. (ECAB 12-514): New report did not reopen groin injury claim
W.W., a transportation security screener, claimed that a longer walk after a shift change aggravated her hip and groin condition. OWCP denied the occupational disease claim, and she asked it to reconsider. The Board found that her request repeated earlier arguments. A new physician report described…
H.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Augusta, GA
H.B. (ECAB 12-452): Shoulder recurrence and surgery lacked causal proof
H.B., a postal rural carrier, had accepted left shoulder injuries from 2007 and 2009. He claimed a recurrence of disability in July 2009 and sought authorization for further shoulder surgery. The Board found that his physicians did not adequately explain a spontaneous worsening from the accepted…
M.T. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, St. Petersburg, FL
M.T. (ECAB 12-419): Missing employment report supported benefit suspension
M.T., a Veterans Affairs nurse, received compensation after an accepted back injury. OWCP asked him twice in 2011 to report his employment activity for the preceding 15 months and warned that nonresponse could suspend his wage-loss benefits. The record before OWCP showed no response by the time it…
W.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Hartford, CT
W.M. (ECAB 12-381): Compensation after return to work created overpayment
W.M., a postal mail handler, returned to full-time work on November 8, 2010 but received wage-loss compensation through November 20. The Board upheld OWCP's calculation that the overlapping payment created a $1,213.88 overpayment. It also upheld the finding that he should have known the payment was…
R.M. and Department of the Navy, Naval Weapon Station, Yorktown, VA
R.M. (ECAB 12-326): Cashier work supported reduced compensation
R.M., a former Navy motor vehicle operator, received compensation for an accepted left-knee injury. OWCP reduced his benefits after selecting a cashier position as a measure of his wage-earning capacity. The Board found that vocational evidence showed the position was available locally and within…
Recon Refractory & Construction, Inc.
Mine Act jurisdiction applied during cement-plant construction
RECON was a subcontractor building part of a new cement-processing facility at Drake Quarry before the plant or adjoining quarry had begun operating. It argued that MSHA lacked jurisdiction because the site had produced no cement or miner hours and Arizona administered its own OSHA plan. Judge Alan…
S.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Newark, NJ
S.B. (ECAB 12-697): Foot reports did not prove renewed total disability
S.B., a postal employee, had an accepted claim for plantar fasciitis and heel spurs and returned to light duty. She sought compensation for a claimed recurrence of total disability beginning in 2005. Her physician later described foot pain and recommended surgery, but the Board found that his…
D.C. and Department of the Navy, Naval Medical Command Station, San Diego, CA
D.C. (ECAB 12-628): Late reconsideration request showed no clear error
D.C., a Navy financial technician, sought compensation for a back injury after a fall at work. OWCP denied the claim and later affirmed that denial. She requested reconsideration more than a year after OWCP's September 28, 2010 merits decision. The Board found the request late and reviewed whether…
T.M. and Department of the Air Force, Air National Guard, Selfridge, MI
T.M. (ECAB 12-550): Accepted hearing loss did not meet award threshold
T.M., an Air National Guard firefighter, developed bilateral hearing loss from occupational noise exposure, and OWCP accepted the condition. He sought a schedule award for permanent hearing impairment. The Board reviewed the audiogram and found that the average hearing thresholds in both ears fell…
R.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Lock Haven, PA
R.F. (ECAB 12-527): Leg impairment claim returned for proper rating
R.F., a postal clerk, had an accepted herniated lumbar disc and sought a schedule award for resulting leg impairment. OWCP denied the award in part because his earlier wage-loss and medical benefits had been terminated. The Board held that termination did not bar a later award if permanent leg…
W.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Portland, ME
W.S. (ECAB 12-525): Long-term walking did not support claimed one-day injury
W.S., a postal letter carrier, claimed bilateral plantar fasciitis as a traumatic injury on a specified day in September 2010. The Board found that he had not identified any particular work event or duties on that day that caused the condition. When he sought reconsideration, he instead attributed…
C.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cincinnati, OH
C.L. (ECAB 12-127): Current arm rating was below earlier award
C.L., a postal letter carrier, had accepted left shoulder, elbow, and wrist conditions and had already received a schedule award for 36 percent impairment of his left arm. He requested a larger award after additional surgery and treatment. His physician and OWCP's medical adviser rated the current…
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.