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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A.M. and Department of Agriculture, Farmers Home Administration
A.M. (ECAB 12-0223): Untimely reconsideration denial affirmed
A.M. requested reconsideration years after the last merit decision denying her injury claim. Her account of a workplace fall was accepted, but medical causation remained unproved. The Board found her 2011 request outside the one-year filing period and found that repeated arguments and previously…
L.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Louisville Post Office
L.P. (ECAB 12-0213): Denial of reconsideration affirmed
L.P. submitted additional medical records in support of a claim for continuing residuals of accepted work conditions. The Board found that some reports duplicated material already considered and the new ones did not address whether her accepted injuries caused disability or residuals after the…
V.B. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Agency
V.B. (ECAB 12-0114): Wage-loss claim denial affirmed
V.B. had an accepted nerve condition and sought wage-loss compensation after leaving his modified TSA job. The Board found no medical evidence that the accepted condition prevented him from working before his employment ended; light duty remained available. His later removal for absence without…
V.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Memphis Post Office
V.B. (ECAB 11-2099): Schedule award and hearing denial affirmed
V.B. sought a higher schedule award for bilateral wrist conditions and a hearing. The Board found the evidence supported five percent impairment of each upper extremity, with no larger award established. It also rejected her request for the augmented compensation rate because the record did not…
P.J. Spillane Company, Inc.
Respirator and scaffold citation items split
P.J. Spillane employees performed masonry tuck-pointing from scaffolds at a Boston worksite. The judge affirmed a serious respirator-program item after OSHA found a dirty, deteriorated respirator and facial hair that interfered with face seals. A missing safety data sheet for a corrosive cleaner…
National Association of Independent Labor, Local 5 (Union) and United States Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Distribution Depot Red River, Texarkana, Texas (Agency)
Defense Distribution Depot Red River and NAIL Local 5 (FLRA 0-AR-4811): Reconsideration denied after late arbitration exceptions
An arbitrator emailed an award to NAIL Local 5 and the Defense Distribution Depot Red River on a Sunday. The union filed exceptions with the Authority more than 30 days later, arguing that the filing period should start after the weekend. The Authority dismissed the exceptions as untimely because…
United States Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Depot Maintenance Command, Barstow, California and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1482
Marine Corps Depot Maintenance Command and AFGE Local 1482 (FLRA 0-AR-4804): Reconsideration denied over service defect
The Marine Corps Depot Maintenance Command challenged an arbitration award, but the Authority dismissed its exceptions after it failed to show proper service on the union's representative despite two orders to correct the filing. The agency then sought reconsideration, arguing that sending the…
R.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Longview Post Office
R.W. (ECAB 12-0282): Earlier wage capacity finding left in place
R.W. sought to change a wage-earning capacity determination based on his modified rural carrier job. OWCP accepted that his condition changed when he underwent shoulder surgery in January 2011, but denied compensation for the preceding months. The Board found that the earlier medical reports did…
C.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Oklahoma Performance Cluster
C.D. (ECAB 12-0249): Bilateral arm schedule awards affirmed
C.D. sought larger awards for impairments associated with bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and cervical conditions. The Board upheld an examiner's six percent rating for each arm under the sixth edition of the impairment guides. It found that the much higher competing rating assumed a nerve root…
D.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Boston Post Office
D.R. (ECAB 12-0218): Abandoned hearing finding affirmed
D.R. requested a hearing after OWCP denied his traumatic injury claim. OWCP sent notice of the scheduled hearing to his address of record. He did not appear, request a postponement, or explain the absence within ten days. The Board found the requirements for abandonment met and affirmed that…
C.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Energy Center Station
C.P. (ECAB 12-0197): Overpayment decision vacated and remanded
OWCP issued a final overpayment decision saying C.P. had not responded to its preliminary finding. The record showed that OWCP received her response, financial questionnaire, and other information before issuing that decision. The Board directed OWCP to review the submitted material and issue a new…
W.S. and Department of the Army, Red River Army Depot
W.S. (ECAB 12-0190): Part-time wage capacity finding reversed
W.S. had worked full time when injured. OWCP later based his wage-earning capacity on earnings from a 20-hour-per-week clerk job. The Board found that OWCP's procedures did not treat part-time reemployment as a fair measure of capacity for a claimant who worked full time at injury. It held the…
V.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Columbia Post Office
V.P. (ECAB 12-0162): Denial of reconsideration affirmed
V.P. sought further review of whether she had continuing residuals of accepted right arm conditions. The Board found that many submitted reports had already been considered. A newer medical report described symptoms and diagnoses but did not address the particular issue of continuing work-related…
S.S. and Department of Agriculture, Food Safety & Inspection Service
S.S. (ECAB 12-0149): Termination of back injury benefits affirmed
OWCP accepted a lumbar strain after S.S. injured his back at work. A second-opinion physician concluded that the temporary strain had resolved and attributed remaining symptoms to a preexisting degenerative condition. The Board found his examination and explanation more persuasive than the treating…
D.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Port Reading Post Office
D.D. (ECAB 12-0136): Knee injury claim remanded for combined record
D.D. claimed that a 2009 incident aggravated a right knee condition from an earlier accepted claim. OWCP's denial referred to information in the older file, but the full record from that file was not before the Board. The Board found that fair review required combining the claims and sent the case…
B.W. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons
B.W. (ECAB 12-0133): Arm impairment claim remanded
B.W. sought a schedule award for arm impairment associated with an accepted cervical condition. The impartial examiner's reports conflicted and did not properly address possible spinal nerve impairment of the arms under the applicable rating method. The Board directed OWCP to obtain clarification…
S.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Atlanta General Mail Facility
S.N. (ECAB 12-0123): Termination of compensation affirmed
OWCP accepted a right ankle laceration and an embolism from S.N.'s work injury. It later terminated benefits based on a second-opinion examiner's finding that those conditions had resolved. The Board found his opinion well supported by examination and record review. It also rejected objections…
J.F. and Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census
J.F. (ECAB 11-2145): Occupational disease claim denial affirmed
J.F. attributed upper back, neck, and right shoulder symptoms to computer work. The Board found that the physician reports did not explain how the work caused or aggravated the diagnosed conditions. The chiropractor's reports did not meet FECA's requirements for a physician's opinion, and physical…
J.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Raleigh Post Office
J.P. (ECAB 11-2141): Termination of benefits affirmed
OWCP accepted lumbar and left shoulder sprains from a postal work incident. The Board found the medical evidence supported termination of benefits effective April 20, 2011. Later reports did not adequately connect continuing symptoms or restrictions to the accepted sprains, and physician assistant…
R.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Colorado-Wyoming Performance Cluster
R.R. (ECAB 11-2063): Part-time wage capacity finding reversed
R.R. worked full time when injured and later returned to modified postal work for 20 hours a week. OWCP used the part-time earnings to determine his wage-earning capacity. The Board held that OWCP's procedures did not allow that job to represent capacity when its tour of duty was shorter than the…
W.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Atlanta Air Mail Center
W.R. (ECAB 11-1935): Withdrawal of light duty claim remanded
The Postal Service sent W.R. home when it could no longer provide light duty within his medical restrictions. He claimed compensation for the resulting wage loss, but OWCP denied the claim without addressing its guidance for such withdrawals under the National Reassessment Process. The Board sent…
J.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Orleans, LA
J.T. (ECAB 11-1934): Schedule award claim remanded for review of omitted impairment evidence
J.T., a postal letter carrier, sought a schedule award for an accepted left knee injury after a dog attack. OWCP denied the award and later refused to modify its decision. A physician concurred with a physical therapist's two percent left leg impairment rating, but OWCP did not consider the rating…
N.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pittsburgh, PA
N.A. (ECAB 11-1836): Shoulder claim remanded because OWCP omitted the related claim file
N.A., a postal employee, claimed work-related shoulder and brachial plexus conditions while receiving benefits on an earlier carpal tunnel claim. OWCP denied the new claim partly on medical reports from the earlier file. The Board found that the record before it lacked that complete file, including…
G.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Clarksburg, WV
G.S. (ECAB 11-1731): Left arm impairment claim returned for an impartial examination
G.S., a postal maintenance technician, had received a schedule award for 25 percent impairment of his left arm after an accepted shoulder injury. He sought a greater award, supported by a different rating from his treating physician. The Board found that a conflict in medical opinions remained…
Cranesville Block Company, Inc. / Clark Division
Respirator violations affirmed and drowning item vacated
Cranesville manufactured ready mix concrete at its Teall Avenue plant in Syracuse, New York. An employee chipping hardened concrete from a mixer drum was exposed to silica at four times the permissible limit while wearing an organic-vapor cartridge instead of the appropriate particulate filter. The…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1804 (Union) and United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (Agency)
HUD and NFFE Local 1804 (FLRA 0-AR-4801): Dismissal of remaining grievance upheld
NFFE Local 1804 brought a grievance for employees in HUD's Detroit office alleging wage and contract violations. After an award concerning one group of employees, the union asked to postpone hearings for the remaining groups while its appeal was pending. The arbitrator found that the union had…
Signal Peak Energy LLC
Reporting and accident-site violations bring $83,750 ALJ penalty
A longwall roof cave created an air blast that damaged 78 stoppings and propelled miner Mike Stewart 50 to 80 feet, causing serious injuries. Signal Peak did not notify MSHA, resumed mining through the accident area, and MSHA learned of the event from a newspaper reporter days later. Judge William…
G.S. and Department of the Air Force, Warner Robins Air Force Base, GA
G.S. (ECAB 12-0535): Separate 2011 carpal tunnel claim denied for lack of medical explanation
G.S., an Air Force sheet metal mechanic, claimed that his work caused bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome in 2011. He had a separate claim for the same condition accepted in 2002, but that earlier claim was not before the Board. The medical report submitted for the 2011 claim was nine years old and…
C.T. and Department of Defense, Stevens Elementary School, Fort Benning, GA
C.T. (ECAB 12-0295): Leg impairment claim returned for medical adviser review
C.T., a Defense Department school employee, sought a schedule award after an accepted back injury. Her physician rated left leg impairment, but OWCP denied the claim without sending the medical evidence to its district medical adviser. The Board explained that a spine injury itself is not covered…
J.O. and Department of the Army, Fort Sam Houston, TX
J.O. (ECAB 12-0267): Continuation of pay denied because traumatic injury was not established
J.O., an Army materials handler, reported leg and back symptoms after stepping off a workplace shuttle bus. OWCP denied his traumatic injury claim and then denied continuation of pay for lost time. The Board held that he was not eligible for continuation of pay because no job-related traumatic…
J.O. and Department of the Army, Fort Sam Houston, TX
J.O. (ECAB 12-0266): Shuttle bus incident covered, but injury claim still denied
J.O., an Army materials handler, reported that his leg gave out as he stepped off a workplace shuttle bus before his shift. OWCP denied his injury claim, questioning whether he was on duty and whether the incident occurred. The Board found that his arrival 15 minutes before work on the employer's…
D.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Sarasota, FL
D.R. (ECAB 12-0132): Consequential left shoulder and hip claims denied for lack of medical causation
D.R., a transportation security employee, had an accepted right shoulder injury and later sought coverage for left shoulder and hip conditions as consequences of that injury. Her left shoulder imaging showed abnormalities, but the Board found that her physicians did not adequately explain how the…
W.H. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA
W.H. (ECAB 12-0038): Hearing loss award claim remanded for a clarified medical rating
W.H., a retired Navy shipyard crane operator, had an accepted claim for hearing loss from workplace noise and sought a schedule award. An examining physician rated no compensable loss using a 1992 test near the end of his federal employment, while an OWCP medical adviser rated a later test at 16.6…
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Sunrise Post Office, Fort Lauderdale, FL
J.C. (ECAB 12-0021): Wage capacity dispute remanded after physicians received incomplete work history
J.C., a former postal employee with accepted major depression, challenged a wage-earning capacity finding based on his later job as a private-sector sales associate. OWCP obtained differing psychiatric opinions about his ability to work. The Board found that the statement of accepted facts sent to…
National Steel Erection, Inc.
Gas-cylinder barrier violation affirmed
National Steel Erection stored oxygen, acetylene, and propane cylinders on a rack at a Tennessee construction site. The oxygen and acetylene cylinders were adjacent to each other behind a quarter-inch metal partition with one-inch gaps on both sides. The judge found that the partition lacked the…
B.K. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA
B.K. (ECAB 11-2129): Left wrist injury claim denied for lack of medical causation
B.K., a Veterans Affairs radiology technician, reported left wrist pain after moving patients onto and off an examination table. OWCP accepted that the work incident occurred, and physicians diagnosed wrist tendinitis. The Board found that their reports did not adequately explain how that incident…
V.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chicago, IL
V.L. (ECAB 11-2048): Increased right arm schedule award denied under sixth edition guides
V.L., a postal employee with an accepted right shoulder injury, had received a schedule award for 33 percent arm impairment and sought a higher rating. Treating physicians proposed higher ratings using the fifth edition of the impairment guides. The Board explained that OWCP decisions issued after…
M.J. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Carl Vinson Veterans Administration Medical Center, Dublin, GA
M.J. (ECAB 11-1704): Late hearing request denial affirmed
M.J., a former VA nursing assistant with an accepted back and knee injury, sought a hearing after OWCP denied wage-loss compensation for a later work stoppage. He mailed the hearing request more than 30 days after OWCP's decision. The Board found that he had no right to a hearing after that…
West Boise Wastewater Treatment Facility
In re West Boise Wastewater Treatment Facility (EAB NPDES 12-02): petition withdrawn and dismissed with prejudice
EPA Region 10 issued an NPDES permit to the City of Boise for the West Boise Wastewater Treatment Facility. Idaho Rivers United petitioned the Environmental Appeals Board for review and later asked to withdraw its petition after the Region, the City of Boise, and the Idaho Department of…
Lander Street Wastewater Treatment Facility
In re Lander Street Wastewater Treatment Facility (EAB NPDES 12-01): petition withdrawn and dismissed with prejudice
EPA Region 10 issued an NPDES permit to the City of Boise for the Lander Street Wastewater Treatment Facility. Idaho Rivers United petitioned the Environmental Appeals Board for review and later asked to withdraw its petition after the Region, the City of Boise, and the Idaho Department of…
Matter of O. VAZQUEZ
Timely action under the Child Status Protection Act
The Board reviewed a Mexican respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge denied adjustment of status under the Child Status Protection Act and ordered him removed. The Board held that an alien may satisfy the Act's one-year "sought to acquire" requirement by properly filing an adjustment…
D.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Vehicle Maintenance Facility, Austin, TX
D.P. (ECAB 12-0352): Late reconsideration request did not reopen emotional condition claim
D.P., a postal vehicle mechanic, asked OWCP in 2011 to reconsider its 1998 denial of his work-related emotional condition claim. He said he had not received the 1998 decision after losing his home, but the Board found that OWCP sent it to his last known address and had no notice of an address…
S.L. and Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Moultrie, GA
S.L. (ECAB 12-0315): Right knee injury claim denied for lack of medical causation
S.L., a federal food safety inspector, reported right knee symptoms after slipping while stepping down from a stand at work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred, and a physician diagnosed knee conditions. The Board found that the physician's treatment notes did not explain how the incident…
G.A. and Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review, Falls Church, VA
G.A. (ECAB 12-0308): Hand, wrist, neck and shoulder claims denied for lack of medical causation
G.A., a Justice Department legal assistant, attributed hand, wrist, neck and shoulder conditions to filing, keyboard use and other work duties. The Board recognized the diagnosed conditions and the physical demands of the job but found no reasoned physician opinion tying the specific duties to…
T.B. and Environmental Protection Agency, Headquarters, Washington, DC
T.B. (ECAB 12-0244): Wage-loss denial and late hearing refusal affirmed
T.B., an EPA financial specialist with an accepted elbow contusion and back sprain, sought intermittent wage-loss compensation for March through May 2009. The Board found that the physician records did not explain disability on the claimed dates from the accepted injuries. A chiropractor's reports…
G.K. and Department of Labor, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Phoenix, AZ
G.K. (ECAB 12-0210): Left hand claim denied for lack of medical explanation
G.K., a federal attorney, reported a left hand injury after walking into a glass wall on the way to a deposition. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the injury claim. The Board found that a treating surgeon's report did not explain how the collision caused the diagnosed finger…
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pittsburgh, PA
J.C. (ECAB 12-0199): Termination of back injury benefits upheld
J.C., a postal letter carrier, injured his lower back while retrieving mail from a vehicle in April 2010. OWCP accepted a lumbar sprain and later terminated his compensation and medical benefits for that injury. The Board found that a second opinion physician examined J.C., reviewed his history…
G.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Raleigh, NC
G.K. (ECAB 12-0193): Knee arthritis claim lacked a reasoned medical link to work
G.K., a mail handler, claimed that standing and walking on hard floors at work caused or worsened arthritis in both knees. The Board found that her treating physician supported a work connection but did not explain how those activities caused or aggravated the condition in light of other possible…
D.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chattanooga, TN
D.E. (ECAB 12-0158): Denial of lump sum schedule award upheld
D.E., a postal worker with an accepted left knee injury, requested that OWCP pay his schedule award in one lump sum or advance five months of payments. The Board explained that FECA provides no advance of part of a schedule award and gives OWCP discretion to grant a lump sum when it serves the…
V.F. and Department of the Army, Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, Tuscaloosa, AL
V.F. (ECAB 12-0088): Shoulder condition lacked a reasoned link to carrying files
V.F., an Army human resources technician, reported left shoulder problems after carrying stacks of files at work. The Board accepted that she carried the files but found that the medical reports did not adequately explain how that work caused or aggravated her shoulder condition. Her treating…
V.H. and Department of Agriculture, Plant Protection & Quarantine, Riverdale, MD
V.H. (ECAB 11-2127): Right leg impairment rating sent back for medical review
V.H., an Agriculture Department employee, injured her right knee at work and later had a total knee replacement. OWCP awarded a total 37 percent right leg impairment, while her treating surgeon rated it at 73 percent. The Board found that OWCP's medical adviser identified an impairment class but…
Buddy Rooks v. Lafarge Building Materials, Inc.
Untimeliness dismissal denied pending receipt-date evidence
Buddy Rooks filed a Mine Act discrimination complaint with the Commission after MSHA concluded that no discrimination had occurred. Lafarge sought dismissal, arguing that the complaint arrived after the 30-day filing period and failed to state a claim. Rooks asserted that he filed within 30 days…
Matter of Cezareo SANCHEZ SOSA, et al.
Continuances for pending U visa petitions
The Board reconsidered whether removal proceedings should be continued while a U nonimmigrant visa petition is pending. It held that an Immigration Judge should consider the Department of Homeland Security's response, whether the petition is prima facie approvable, and the reason for the…
J.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Raleigh, NC
J.W. (ECAB 12-0668): Late reconsideration request did not show clear error
J.W., a postal worker, reported right shoulder pain while boxing mail. OWCP denied her injury claim in March 2010 because the medical evidence did not establish a work connection. Her May 2011 reconsideration request came more than one year later, so OWCP considered whether it showed clear evidence…
G.K. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Nashville, TN
G.K. (ECAB 12-0388): Back injury claim lacked a medical diagnosis and causal explanation
G.K., a nurse at a Veterans Affairs medical center, felt faint in a hot operating room and later reported back pain. OWCP accepted that she fainted at work but denied her claim for a resulting back injury. The Board found that the only physician's note mentioned treatment for fainting and back pain…
C.H. and Department of the Air Force, Robins Air Force Base, GA
C.H. (ECAB 12-0350): Wrist claim lacked a diagnosis and medical explanation
C.H., an Air Force management analyst, reported right wrist pain after repeatedly using hole punches to prepare files at work. The Board accepted the described work activity but found that her medical records did not establish a definite wrist diagnosis or explain how the activity caused it. One…
E.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
E.T. (ECAB 12-0252): No additional left arm schedule award
E.T., a postal letter carrier, sought a larger schedule award for impairment of his left arm after a prior Board remand required evaluation of his shoulder. An OWCP referral physician rated two percent impairment for a nerve condition and one percent for the shoulder, for a combined three percent…
S.K. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, San Diego, CA
S.K. (ECAB 12-0237): Claimed knee disability period lacked a medical link to work injury
S.K., a customs officer with an accepted left knee injury, sought wage loss compensation for several weeks after a fall at home in August 2011. The Board found no evidence that the home fall resulted from the accepted work injury. Her doctors described pain and disability but did not explain why…
S.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Herrin, IL
S.R. (ECAB 12-0082): Emotional condition claim lacked a proven work factor
S.R., a postal rural carrier, attributed stress and anxiety to alleged verbal abuse and harassment by coworkers. The Board found that her statements and the witness accounts did not give enough detail to establish any claimed instance of verbal abuse as a compensable work factor. It also found…
R.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, McAllen, TX
R.M. (ECAB 12-0053): Five percent hearing loss award and hearing refusal upheld
R.M., a Customs and Border Protection agent exposed to aircraft noise, received a schedule award for five percent hearing loss in both ears. The Board found that OWCP's medical adviser correctly calculated that rating from an audiogram. A different physician added impairment for tinnitus without…
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.