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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M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, North Bay General Mail Facility, Petaluma, CA
M.M. (ECAB 12-335): Part-time earnings could not support wage capacity finding
M.M., a full-time postal clerk when injured, later worked six hours a day in a limited-duty position. OWCP treated the pay from that part-time position as her wage-earning capacity and later refused to change the determination. The Board found that OWCP's procedures in effect at the time prohibited…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 12 and United States Department of Labor
AFGE Local 12 and Department of Labor (FLRA 0-AR-4827): Reduced suspension upheld
The Department of Labor suspended an employee for ten days after repeated late arrivals while he was on leave restriction. An arbitrator found just cause for discipline but reduced the suspension to five days. The union argued that the arbitrator should have applied Federal Circuit decisions…
Bethlehem Apparatus Company, Inc.
In re Bethlehem Apparatus Company, Inc. (EAB TSCA 12-03C): $103,433 penalty paid and case resolved
Bethlehem Apparatus Company, Inc. was accused of violating sections 8(a), 12(b), and 13 of the Toxic Substances Control Act. EPA's complaint proposed a $103,433 civil penalty. The company paid the full proposed penalty, and EPA informed the Environmental Appeals Board that it had received the…
Bethlehem Apparatus Company, Inc.
In re Bethlehem Apparatus Company, Inc. (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 12-02C): $103,433 penalty resolved by payment
EPA's Office of Civil Enforcement charged Bethlehem Apparatus Company, Inc. with violations of sections 8(a), 12(b), and 13 of the Toxic Substances Control Act. The complaint proposed a civil penalty of $103,433. Under the Consolidated Rules of Practice, the company could resolve the proceeding by…
Chemtura Corporation
In re Chemtura Corporation (EAB TSCA 12-02C): $55,901 penalty paid and case resolved
Chemtura Corporation was accused of violating section 8(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act. EPA's complaint proposed a $55,901 civil penalty. Chemtura paid the full proposed penalty, and EPA informed the Environmental Appeals Board that it had received the payment instrument. The Board issued a…
Bonita Grande Aggregates
Default vacated after ownership change and misdirected answer
Bonita Grande Properties acquired the mine after a penalty case had already begun and later learned that the case had gone into default. The previous owner said it timely answered the Secretary's penalty petition but sent the answer only to an MSHA representative because it did not know a copy also…
Memphis Stone & Gravel Company
Default vacated after answer reached MSHA
Memphis Stone & Gravel Company asked the Commission to reopen a penalty case after its failure to answer a petition led to a default. The company said it timely responded to the show-cause order and continued negotiating with an MSHA representative, so it did not know a default had taken effect…
Trivette Trucking
Defaults vacated so settlements could proceed
Trivette Trucking asked the Commission to reopen two penalty cases after show-cause orders became defaults. The company said it did not forward the penalty petitions to counsel because it believed answers had already been filed, and counsel did not receive the show-cause orders. Trivette had also…
Bledsoe Coal Corporation
Defaults vacated in the interest of justice
Bledsoe Coal Corporation asked the Commission to reopen two penalty cases after show-cause orders became defaults. The company said it had timely answered both penalty petitions and believed those earlier answers were enough to avoid default. The Secretary did not oppose reopening and confirmed…
D.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Seattle, WA
D.G. (ECAB 12-644): Occupational disease denial upheld without medical evidence
D.G., a physician at a Department of Veterans Affairs medical center, attributed hand and nerve symptoms to repeated keyboard and mouse use. She claimed carpal tunnel syndrome and right-sided neuritis, but provided no medical evidence to OWCP before it denied her claim. The Board found that the…
H.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Santa Ana Performance Cluster, City of Industry, CA
H.R. (ECAB 12-319): Reconsideration request postmarked on the deadline was timely
H.R., a postal mail processor, sought compensation for time missed from work after an accepted injury. OWCP denied that claim on August 26, 2010. Her request for reconsideration was postmarked August 26, 2011, but OWCP treated it as late and required clear evidence of error. The Board held that the…
H.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Dallas, TX
H.G. (ECAB 12-318): Compensation termination reversed over impartial examiner selection
H.G., a nurse at a Department of Veterans Affairs medical center, received compensation for a head and neck injury before OWCP terminated her benefits. OWCP relied on a physician chosen to resolve conflicting medical opinions about her continuing disability. The record did not establish that he was…
K.P. and Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Albuquerque, NM
K.P. (ECAB 12-302): Denial of additional knee condition and surgery upheld
K.P., a Forest Service employee, had an accepted right knee injury and later developed a blood clot after authorized knee surgery. He sought to add postoperative scar tissue to the claim and obtain approval for another arthroscopy. His treating surgeon and an OWCP referral physician disagreed about…
G.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Fort Lyons Medical Center, Fort Lyons, KY
G.S. (ECAB 12-253): Schedule award claim returned for a new impartial examination
G.S., a nursing assistant with an accepted back injury, sought a schedule award for permanent impairment of her legs. Medical opinions conflicted, and OWCP relied on a physician it had selected as an impartial examiner to deny the claim. The record contained referral and appointment forms but no…
A.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Manassas, VA
A.R. (ECAB 12-250): Occupational disease claim returned for review of submitted medical reports
A.R. sought reconsideration after OWCP denied his occupational disease claim. He submitted several reports from his treating physician before OWCP issued its May 24, 2011 decision. OWCP said the medical evidence was insufficient but did not acknowledge or discuss those reports. The Board found that…
W.R., claiming as widow of W.R., and Department of the Treasury, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms, Sioux Falls, SD
W.R. (ECAB 12-243): Widow's compensation claim not reopened for review
W.R. sought survivor compensation after her husband, a federal special agent with accepted heart conditions, died in 2005. OWCP had denied the claim, and her later request asked it to reconsider. The Board found that the death certificate and medical reports she submitted repeated evidence and…
R.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Phoenix, AZ
R.J. (ECAB 12-174): Schedule award denial returned because counsel was not served
R.J., a postal employee, appealed OWCP's denial of his claim for an increased schedule award. OWCP had recognized his attorney as his authorized representative but did not send the attorney a copy of its decision. The Board held that a decision is not properly issued unless copies have been sent to…
L.D. and Department of Agriculture, Inspection Operations Program, Albuquerque, NM
L.D. (ECAB 12-81): Partial disability pay returned for calculation from earnings records
L.D., a former Department of Agriculture veterinary medical officer, worked for a private employer while receiving compensation for an accepted injury. OWCP denied additional partial disability pay because it said her earnings records were incomplete and inconsistent. The Board found that her pay…
S.F. and Department of Homeland Security, Citizen & Immigration Services, Lincoln, NE
S.F. (ECAB 12-66): Workplace exposure claim denied for lack of a medical link
S.F., an immigration services officer, attributed sinus infections and other health conditions to dust and mold in his workplace. The Board did not dispute that he had encountered environmental factors at work. It found that his physicians had not given a sufficiently reasoned explanation tying…
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Washington, IL
D.C. (ECAB 12-51): Wage capacity decision void because representative was not served
D.C., a postal employee, had authorized a representative to receive OWCP correspondence about her compensation claim. OWCP did not send him its 2009 decision finding that her earnings ended her wage-loss compensation. It later relied on that decision to deny compensation after work became…
G.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Kearny, NJ
G.V. (ECAB 11-2137): Leg award claim returned to compare earlier injury records
G.V., a postal employee, sought an additional award for impairment of her left leg after an accepted knee injury. OWCP denied the request because an earlier back injury claim had already produced a larger award for the same leg. The Board could not determine whether the awards would duplicate each…
R.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cranbury, NJ
R.K. (ECAB 11-2074): Bilateral shoulder schedule award upheld
R.K., a postal distribution clerk with an accepted left shoulder injury, received a schedule award for permanent impairment of both arms after OWCP added a right shoulder condition to her claim. She sought a greater award. The Board found that her physician's measurements and impairment ratings…
C.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chicago, IL
C.G. (ECAB 11-2020): Wage capacity reconsideration returned for a complete claim file
C.G. asked OWCP to reconsider a decision tied to an earlier wage-earning capacity determination. OWCP declined to reopen the claim for merits review. On appeal, the Board found that the original wage capacity decision and its claim file were missing from the record before it. Because those records…
G.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tampa, FL
G.M. (ECAB 11-1978): Schedule award claim returned for medical review
G.M., a postal employee with an earlier right arm impairment award, sought a larger schedule award. OWCP denied the increase after its medical adviser concluded that a new examination did not establish additional impairment. The Board found that the medical adviser had not considered the accepted…
C.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Dayton, OH
C.C. (ECAB 11-1900): Prior impairment awards upheld
C.C., a retired employee of a veterans medical center, had received schedule awards for reflex sympathetic dystrophy in her left arm and leg. She sought an increase, saying her impairment had worsened. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish impairment beyond the 61 percent left…
Y.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bedford Park, IL
Y.K. (ECAB 11-1623): One percent left leg award upheld
Y.K., a postal distribution clerk, injured her left leg and ankle when a container knocked her down. She received a schedule award for one percent leg impairment and sought a larger award based partly on scarring. The Board found that OWCP's medical adviser had correctly rated the leg impairment…
D.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Gothenburg, NE
D.J. (ECAB 11-1611): Five percent shoulder award upheld
D.J., a postal clerk, sought a larger schedule award for an accepted right shoulder injury. Her doctors estimated eight and 14 percent impairment, while OWCP's medical adviser rated it at five percent. The Board found that the higher estimates did not adequately follow the applicable impairment…
K.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Bulk Mail Center, Des Moines, IA
K.C. (ECAB 11-1259): Schedule award start date upheld
K.C., a postal employee with an accepted cervical disc condition, received a schedule award for 12 percent right arm impairment. He disputed when the award began, arguing that he had reached maximum medical improvement in May 2009. The Board found that the 2009 doctor's report used an outdated…
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-4802): Canine training overtime award narrowed
Customs and Border Protection canine handlers studied after hours during a required training program. An arbitrator found that instructors had directed the study and awarded overtime under the Customs Officer Pay Reform Act, with an alternative remedy under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The agency…
Forrest Aggregate
Defaults vacated after MSHA follow-up failed
Forrest Aggregate asked the Commission to reopen two penalty cases after unanswered show-cause orders became defaults. The operator said it had requested a conference and spoke several times with an MSHA paralegal, who said someone would contact it, but no one did before a Treasury bill arrived…
Leeco, Inc.
Roof-plan violation upheld but significant and substantial designation rejected
Leeco admitted that a continuous miner cut a corner clip larger than the 5-foot-by-5-foot limit in its approved roof control plan. A roof fall in the transition area struck and injured the continuous-miner operator. Judge Avram Weisberger affirmed the violation but found that the Secretary did not…
Mid-Tex Minerals, Inc.
Settlement approval vacated for factual review
Mid-Tex Minerals asked the Commission to reopen an approved settlement and payment order. The operator said it did not understand that telephone discussions with MSHA had produced a final settlement and had sent MSHA a letter saying the discussions were unsatisfactory. The Secretary said the MSHA…
E.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Patrol, Tucson, AZ
E.M. (ECAB 12-0477): Vehicle accident injury claim denied
E.M., a border patrol agent, was rear-ended in a vehicle while working and reported neck, shoulder and back pain. OWCP denied his injury claim. The Board found that the hospital note was signed by a physician, contrary to one of OWCP's stated reasons for denial. It nevertheless found no medical…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, North Malta, NY
M.M. (ECAB 12-0446): Vehicle accident injury claim denied
M.M., a postal carrier, sought compensation for back and leg problems after a vehicle accident on his route. The Board had rejected the claim once before, and he submitted additional medical reports saying the accident aggravated a preexisting spinal condition. The Board found that the reports did…
T.A. and Department of the Air Force, Maui Space Surveillance Center
T.A. (ECAB 12-0368): Travel reimbursement denial upheld
T.A., an Air Force police officer stationed on Maui, traveled to Washington State for treatment of an accepted shoulder injury. He requested reimbursement after saying he could not promptly find a local orthopedist who would take his claim. The Board found that OWCP had warned him to seek approval…
S.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Albany, NY
S.G. (ECAB 12-0277): Mail carrier's injury claim denied
S.G., a postal letter carrier, reported back and right leg symptoms after carrying extra mail. The Board accepted that he carried the added weight at work. It found that his doctors listed changing diagnoses but gave no medical explanation connecting any of them to the work, relying instead on…
A.B. and Department of Homeland Security, Long Beach, CA
A.B. (ECAB 12-0262): Seven percent right arm award upheld
A.B., a Homeland Security screener, received an award for impairment after an accepted right shoulder injury. She sought more than the seven percent OWCP awarded. The Board found that her doctor's rating used an outdated edition of the impairment guides, while OWCP's medical adviser used the…
A.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Oklahoma City, OK
A.M. (ECAB 12-0225): Emotional condition denial upheld on different ground
A.M., a postal clerk, linked anxiety and stress to schedule changes, workplace disputes and alleged harassment. OWCP denied the claim for lack of medical proof connecting his condition to a work factor it had accepted. The Board reached an earlier step of the analysis and found that he had not…
R.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, City of Industry, CA
R.M. (ECAB 11-1425): Wage capacity decision reversed
R.M., a postal employee with an accepted shoulder injury, challenged a reduction in wage-loss compensation based on his supposed ability to work as an office helper or clerk. The Board found that the job description did not establish that its lifting demands fit his doctor's restrictions. It also…
Michels Corporation
Highwall citation vacated for lack of proof of loose rock
Michels operated a limestone quarry where blasting contractors worked below a 60-foot highwall. An MSHA inspector cited the company after observing fractured rock and concluding that loose material could fall on workers, but he inspected only from the base and did not see any rock fall. Michels and…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Reuben Shemwell v. Armstrong Coal Company, Inc. and Armstrong Fabricators, Inc.
Temporary reinstatement ordered after respirator complaint
Reuben Shemwell worked as a welder maintaining equipment for affiliated Armstrong companies and complained that existing respirators did not protect welders from smoke and fumes. Soon afterward, he received disciplinary warnings for cell-phone use and was later terminated. Judge Jerold Feldman…
Matter of Orlando FERNANDEZ TAVERAS
Adjustment applicants bear the admissibility burden
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal after an Immigration Judge granted a Dominican respondent adjustment of status and a waiver despite his admissions to two crimes involving moral turpitude. The respondent had previously received cancellation of removal based on a…
L.T., claiming as widow of E.T., and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Station
L.T., widow of E.T. (ECAB 12-0406): Survivor benefits denial affirmed
E.T., a Navy training officer, sustained a hip fracture at work in 1986 and died in 2010. His widow sought survivor benefits, arguing that treatment for the injury contributed to his kidney disease and death. The Board found no medical opinion explaining how the accepted hip injury or its treatment…
G.B. and Department of Transportation, Motor Carrier Safety Administration
G.B. (ECAB 12-0310): Hearing loss award affirmed
G.B., a motor vehicle inspector, developed hearing loss after workplace exposure to loud truck engines and air brakes. OWCP granted a schedule award for 20 percent binaural hearing loss, including a five percent allowance for tinnitus. G.B. sought a larger award. The Board found that the…
C.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Orangeburg, SC
C.G. (ECAB 12-0288): Right leg impairment award affirmed
C.G., a postal carrier, had accepted right foot and ankle conditions and underwent foot surgery. OWCP awarded compensation for two percent impairment of his right leg, and C.G. sought a larger award. The Board found that the examining orthopedic surgeon used the applicable impairment guide and…
B.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
B.B. (ECAB 12-0275): Overpayment upheld, waiver issue remanded
B.B., a postal employee, kept receiving disability compensation after returning to full-time work. The Board upheld OWCP's finding that she was overpaid $8,029.83. It found that she was at fault for accepting two later deposits totaling $5,916.72 because she should have known they were incorrect…
T.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Columbus, OH
T.K. (ECAB 12-0271): Left arm award and payment period affirmed
T.K., a postal clerk with accepted left carpal tunnel syndrome, received a schedule award for six percent impairment of her left arm. She disputed the award's timing after returning to work. The Board found the medical rating supported six percent impairment, equal to 18.72 weeks of compensation…
G.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Tennessee Valley Health Care System
G.W. (ECAB 12-0269): Left shoulder impairment award affirmed
G.W., a Veterans Affairs police instructor, injured his left shoulder during training and received a schedule award for three percent left arm impairment. His treating surgeon estimated five percent, but did not explain that figure using the applicable impairment guide. The Board found that OWCP's…
A.R. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Gateway National Recreation Area
A.R. (ECAB 12-0207): Additional impairment claim remanded
A.R., a National Park Service painter, received a schedule award for 18 percent left arm impairment after an accepted shoulder injury and surgery. He sought additional compensation, but OWCP denied it. The Board found that the range of motion measurements underlying the impairment rating did not…
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office
D.C. (ECAB 12-0202): Reconsideration refusal affirmed
D.C., a postal employee, sought reconsideration of a wage-earning capacity ruling based on his pay after returning to work. He submitted records of earlier wage rates and argued that his compensation while off work had been too low. The Board found that the new records did not bear on the…
D & D Masonry Services, Inc.
Scaffold violations largely affirmed with reduced penalties
D & D Masonry used a multilevel scaffold for masonry work at a Georgia construction site. OSHA found wide platform gaps, damaged planks, unsecured scaffold legs, missing fall protection and a midrail, and a closed stepladder used as access. The judge affirmed those scaffold and ladder conditions as…
N.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center
N.B. (ECAB 11-1968): Back injury claim denial affirmed
N.B., a former Veterans Affairs employee, claimed that duties in several federal jobs caused or aggravated back conditions. A separate back injury claim from 2002 had already been accepted; this appeal concerned earlier duties and incidents. The Board found that his doctor's opinion did not…
D.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Dallas, TX
D.M. (ECAB 11-1549): Wage capacity modification denied
D.M., a former postal supervisor with an accepted depressive disorder, worked as a private delivery driver after vocational rehabilitation. OWCP based his partial disability compensation on that job's earnings after deducting work expenses. D.M. later stopped working and sought to change the…
Raymond Sand and Gravel
Unanswered admissions establish highwall and backup-alarm violations
MSHA cited Raymond Sand and Gravel for leaving unsupported, overhanging material on a 100-foot quarry highwall and for operating a loader with a backup alarm that could not be heard over surrounding noise. The operator did not answer the Secretary's requests for admission, did not respond to the…
Puna Rock, Ltd.
Fall-protection and access violations upheld with penalties cut to $6,000
Two miners at Puna Rock's quarry climbed over a guardrail onto a wet, muddy, narrow surface more than six feet above rocky ground to repair a conveyor motor. The usual manlift was unavailable, and the miners used neither fall protection nor another safe means of access. Judge Margaret A. Miller…
7/11 Materials, Inc.
Late-notification settlement approved for $750
A miner fell, struck his head, and suffered a concussion and bleeding at 7/11 Materials. MSHA alleged that the company failed to report an injury with a reasonable potential to cause death within 15 minutes. The company said it called emergency services immediately and notified MSHA within 15…
Magic Valley Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Hard-hat penalty cut from $60,000 to $10,000
A miner helping construct a screen tower at Magic Valley's sand-and-gravel mine worked beneath suspended steel braces without a hard hat. A brace fell and struck his head, causing a concussion, skull fracture, and serious ear injury. The company agreed that the hard-hat violation was S&S…
M.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, West Hartford, CT
M.W. (ECAB 12-0489): Foot injury claim not reopened
M.W., a postal letter carrier, reported a right foot injury after catching her foot between a curb and the street while delivering mail. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the claim because the medical evidence did not adequately connect it to her diagnosed conditions. On…
J.S. and Peace Corps, Pretoria, South Africa
J.S. (ECAB 12-0485): Wage-loss claim not reopened
J.S., a Peace Corps volunteer teacher, sought wage-loss benefits after injuries from a fall. OWCP had ended her wage-loss payments but later reinstated medical benefits. She asked OWCP to reconsider the wage-loss decision and submitted two reports from her orthopedic surgeon. The Board found that…
B.H. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons
B.H. (ECAB 12-0474): Reconsideration denial set aside
B.H., a Bureau of Prisons correctional officer, had received compensation for injuries from a workplace fall. OWCP ended his benefits after a second opinion found that the accepted conditions had resolved. B.H. requested reconsideration and submitted a neurosurgeon's report. OWCP refused to reopen…
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.