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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D.R. and Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Pico Rivera, CA
D.R. (ECAB 11-1862): Claimed emotional consequence of hearing loss not established
D.R., a retired federal veterinary medical officer, had accepted noise-induced hearing loss and sought to add an emotional condition as a consequence of that injury. He described stress and concern about working around noisy equipment, but the Board found no reasoned medical opinion diagnosing a…
E.A. and Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Fort Belvoir, VA
E.A. (ECAB 11-1845): Knee injury during voluntary training not covered
E.A., a Defense Logistics Agency police supervisor, reported a knee injury while running at his duty station to prepare for a fitness test. The activity took place on his day off, without a direction to train or overtime status. The Board found that the agency permitted use of the premises and had…
A.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Bay Valley Performance Cluster, Oakland, CA
A.E. (ECAB 11-1803): Arm schedule awards denied after zero impairment rating
A.E., a Postal Service clerk, had accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and crush injuries to her hands after mail tubs fell on them. She underwent carpal tunnel surgery on both sides and sought schedule awards for permanent arm impairment. OWCP's medical consultant used the sixth edition of…
G.S. and Department of the Air Force, Forward Support Squadron, Andrews Air Force Base, MD
G.S. (ECAB 11-1744): Request to reopen back injury claim denied
G.S., an Air Force carpenter, claimed that a workplace incident caused a back injury. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but found that the medical evidence did not connect it to the claimed injury. G.S. requested reconsideration and submitted another report from his physician and an unsigned…
L.J. and Department of Defense, Defense Commissary Agency, Fort Gillem, GA
L.J. (ECAB 11-1533): $107,580 compensation overpayment and fault finding upheld
L.J. returned to work after an accepted shoulder injury, and OWCP told her that her wage-loss payments would fall to $115 every four weeks. It instead paid her more than $1,300 every four weeks from November 2001 through February 2008. The Board upheld OWCP's calculation of a $107,580.44…
D.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Central Carrier Annex, Chicago, IL
D.W. (ECAB 11-1361): Arm impairment award sent back for medical explanation
D.W., a Postal Service clerk, received a schedule award for one percent impairment of her left arm after accepted wrist and forearm injuries. She sought a greater award. OWCP's medical adviser cited a table in the A.M.A. Guides but did not explain the diagnosis category or evaluate the required…
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tampa, FL
J.B. (ECAB 11-1082): Mail truck incident claim denied for lack of medical causation
J.B., a Postal Service letter carrier, became dizzy in a hot mail truck and reported striking his head. OWCP accepted that the workplace incident occurred but denied his injury claim. The Board found that the medical reports did not give a firm diagnosis and reasoned explanation connecting his…
Lehigh Southwest Cement Company
Final assessment reopened for merits proceedings
Lehigh Southwest Cement asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become a final order after no timely contest was recorded. The Secretary did not oppose the request. After reviewing the parties' submissions, the Commission reopened the matter in the interests of justice. It…
Thompson Creek Mining Company
Default vacated after answer found in case file
A Chief ALJ entered default after Thompson Creek did not answer a penalty petition in the Commission's file by the show-cause deadline. Thompson Creek sought reopening, and the Secretary did not object because the regional Solicitor's office had an October 2010 answer in its case file. Although the…
Central State Aggregates, LLC
Default vacated after papers went to physical address
Central State Aggregates said it did not receive the penalty petition or show-cause order because they were sent to the mine's physical address instead of its mailing address. The resulting default became effective in April 2011. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but directed the company to…
RES Coal, LLC
Default vacated after timely answer was confirmed
A Chief ALJ entered default after the Commission did not receive RES Coal's answer to a penalty petition or its response to a show-cause order. RES Coal stated that it never received the show-cause order and had timely answered the original petition. The Secretary did not oppose reopening, and…
Bledsoe Coal Corporation
Default vacated after MSHA received timely answer
A Chief ALJ entered default after the Commission did not receive Bledsoe Coal's answer to a penalty petition or its response to a show-cause order. Bledsoe stated that it had timely answered the petition, and the Secretary confirmed that MSHA's District 7 office received the answer in July 2010…
San Juan Coal Company
Two citations sent back after partial settlement
A Chief ALJ approved a settlement covering two San Juan Coal citations. San Juan Coal asserted that the decision had mistakenly been applied to the entire assessment case and said it still intended to contest two other citations. The Secretary did not oppose reopening and confirmed that the…
Peabody Western Coal Company
In re Peabody Western Coal Company (EAB CAA Appeal No. 11-01): Title V permit review denied
NNEPA administered a federal Clean Air Act Title V permit for Peabody Western Coal Company's Kayenta Mine under authority delegated by EPA. The permit cited both federal requirements and parallel Navajo Nation Operating Permit Regulations, and NNEPA used tribal procedures while processing permit…
B.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, Chicago, IL
B.C. (ECAB 12-0544): Late reconsideration request denied
B.C. sought to reopen an earlier termination of medical benefits for injuries from her Postal Service work. She requested OWCP reconsideration in December 2011, more than one year after the Board's May 2008 merits decision. The Board found that the request was late. Her repeated arguments and…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pearland, TX
J.M. (ECAB 11-1829): Orthopedic mattress request denied
J.M. sought an orthopedic mattress to treat back pain after an accepted vehicle accident while working for the Postal Service. Her physician recommended the mattress but did not explain whether the current pain was related to the accepted injury or why the mattress was medically necessary. An OWCP…
J.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Hines Veterans Hospital, Hines, IL
J.H. (ECAB 11-1818): Right arm award increased to 11 percent
J.H. had accepted right shoulder and wrist conditions and had received schedule awards totaling 10 percent right arm impairment. The Board found that the shoulder motion measurements yielded 10 percent impairment, one point more than the physicians calculated, and that the wrist condition added one…
D.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Healthcare System, Miami, FL
D.M. (ECAB 11-1762): Back condition occupational disease claim denied
D.M., a VA nurse, said that her work in July 2008 aggravated a preexisting back condition. The Board accepted that she performed the reported nursing tasks, including managing charts and pushing wheelchairs. It found that Dr. Pagan did not sufficiently explain how the July 2008 work factors caused…
S.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Southern Connecticut P & DC, Wallingford, CT
S.C. (ECAB 11-1665): Compensation reduction for rehabilitation noncooperation reversed
S.C. had accepted left knee conditions and was referred to vocational rehabilitation. OWCP reduced her compensation to zero for failing to cooperate with those efforts. Before the final reduction, her physician recommended further knee surgery, and OWCP authorized it. The Board found that OWCP had…
A.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chino Valley, AZ
A.S. (ECAB 11-1510): Shoulder injury claim denied for lack of medical causation
A.S., a Postal Service clerk, reported shoulder pain after pulling tubs apart and handling mail. The Board accepted that the September 2009 incident occurred. It found that the physician's notes did not explain how the incident caused or aggravated his shoulder condition. Records from a nurse…
P.K. and Department of the Army, Army National Guard, Columbus, OH
P.K. (ECAB 11-1296): Cardiac injury claim denied for lack of medical causation
P.K., an Army National Guard aircraft mechanic, reported chest pain while walking from the flight line to a hangar and claimed a work-related heart attack. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred. The Board found that earlier records showed a preexisting cardiac condition and that later medical…
E.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New York, NY
E.F. (ECAB 11-1268): Reduction based on maintenance supervisor job reversed
E.F., a Postal Service technician, received compensation for accepted neck and back conditions. OWCP reduced his benefits based on an assumed ability to work as a maintenance supervisor. The Board compared the selected job's reaching and hand-use requirements with the limits given by the impartial…
A.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pinellas Park, FL
A.G. (ECAB 11-0490): Disability claim remanded for clarification of medical restrictions
A.G., a Postal Service letter carrier, claimed disability beginning in December 2005 after OWCP accepted cervical and lumbar sprains and bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. Her treating physician's reports did not establish total disability due to those accepted conditions. An OWCP referral physician…
Palmer Coking Coal Co., LLP
Mixed berm and electrical rulings yield $1,500 penalty
Palmer Coking Coal contested five citations at a Washington sand and gravel mine. Judge David F. Barbour upheld an S&S berm citation because rocks along a well-traveled road no longer provided adequate guidance above a steep drop-off, but reduced negligence from high to moderate and removed…
A.J. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Los Angeles, CA
A.J. (ECAB 11-1894): Recurrence of total disability claim denied
A.J. fell at work and OWCP accepted a thoracic sprain, right shoulder sprain and chest wall contusion. She later sought compensation for total disability after returning to light duty. The Board found that the medical reports did not clearly connect the claimed later disability to the accepted…
C.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Coppell, TX
C.C. (ECAB 11-1872): Hip and back claim and reconsideration denial upheld
C.C., a Postal Service letter carrier, claimed that her duties caused hip joint disease and lower back pain. OWCP accepted that she performed the described work but found that she did not submit a firm medical diagnosis or a reasoned opinion connecting a condition to her duties. She sought…
A.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Carol Stream, IL
A.C. (ECAB 11-1859): Right leg claim remanded to consolidate case files
A.C., a Postal Service employee, claimed right leg lymphedema from standing and walking at work and from compensating for an earlier accepted left knee injury. The medical opinion supporting the new claim referred to the earlier injury, but the record of that claim was missing. The Board found that…
A.P. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Detroit, MI
A.P. (ECAB 11-1748): Late hearing request denied
A.P., an IRS fuel compliance officer, sought an oral hearing after OWCP denied her injury claim. Her request came more than 30 days after the claim decision, so the Board held that she had no hearing as of right. It also found no abuse of discretion in OWCP's decision to deny a discretionary…
G.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New York, NY
G.J. (ECAB 11-1743, 11-1663): Two injury appeals remanded to consolidate records
G.J., a Postal Service employee, appealed denials in two related claims involving head and neck symptoms and an asserted later recurrence. The Board found that the two claims involved overlapping conditions and work factors, but one appeal record lacked the development of the earlier accepted…
L.A. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Memphis, TN
L.A. (ECAB 11-1740): Knee injury claim remanded for specialist opinion
L.A., an IRS employee, reported hitting her knee against a desk ledge while moving her chair. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the injury claim. A surgeon thought the incident could have caused the diagnosed knee damage, but his explanation was not detailed enough to prove the…
D.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, New York, NY
D.R. (ECAB 11-1631): Benefits termination after hand and wrist injuries upheld
D.R., a VA information technology specialist, had accepted carpal tunnel syndrome and hand and wrist tenosynovitis. OWCP ended her wage-loss and medical benefits after an impartial examiner found no remaining disability or need for treatment from the accepted conditions. The Board found that the…
W.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Los Angeles, CA
W.S. (ECAB 11-1621): Disability claim remanded because OWCP overlooked reports
W.S., a Postal Service employee, sought compensation for disability beginning in November 2010. Her treating physician sent two reports about a right wrist and hand condition before OWCP decided the request. OWCP's decision did not acknowledge or address either report. The Board set the decision…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Birmingham, AL
M.M. (ECAB 11-1544): Injury denial upheld; medical expense issue left for OWCP
M.M., a Postal Service mail handler, reported a back injury after another truck bumped the trailer he was loading. The Board accepted that the workplace incident occurred but found that the medical reports did not adequately explain how it caused his back condition. It upheld the injury claim…
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Sidney, MT
D.C. (ECAB 11-1426): Wage capacity appeal remanded to combine prior claim records
D.C., a Postal Service employee, sought to modify an earlier loss of wage-earning capacity decision. The appeal record contained that decision but lacked the supporting evidence from an earlier back injury claim file. The Board found that it could not evaluate the modification request on the…
K.B. and U.S. Postal Service, ML Sellers Facility, San Diego, CA
K.B. (ECAB 11-1249): Emotional condition claim remanded for medical review
K.B., a Postal Service physician, claimed an emotional condition after workplace disputes with his supervisor. The Board found that the supervisor erred by directing him to release confidential medical information to a person who did not meet the employer's definition of physician. That error was a…
R.M. and Department of the Navy, U.S. Naval Air Station, Pensacola, FL
R.M. (ECAB 11-1216): Left arm impairment award of 23 percent upheld
R.M., a Navy firefighter, sought a greater schedule award after accepted shoulder, finger and cervical conditions. OWCP had awarded him 23 percent impairment of his left arm. The Board found that his evidence did not establish a higher left arm rating. His physician also assessed the right arm, but…
D.Y. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Vancouver, WA
D.Y. (ECAB 11-1132): Knee impairment award remanded to reconstruct record
D.Y., a Postal Service employee, challenged a schedule award based on 31 percent right leg impairment after a knee replacement. OWCP sent the Board a record that omitted the operative report on which its medical adviser had relied. The Board found that it could not fairly assess the impairment…
D.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bellmawr, NJ
D.T. (ECAB 11-0751): Off premises injury claim remanded for errand inquiry
D.T., a Postal Service custodian, was injured on a public street while taking a postal vehicle to a repair shop. OWCP denied the claim after finding that he lacked permission to take the postal vehicle for repair, so the accident was outside the performance of duty. The Board found conflicting…
Weatherguard Construction Co., Inc.
Subcontractor roof fall violation affirmed
About seven roofing-subcontractor employees installed tar paper on a two-story house without fall protection. Weatherguard was the general contractor and controlling employer, and its field supervisor had visited the site, seen the roof work, and acknowledged that the same subcontractor had also…
Turner Industries Group, LLC
Chemical-turnaround training and assessment items affirmed
Turner employees replaced chemical-processing equipment during a plant turnaround in an area containing Tris, ethylene dichloride, and other hazardous substances. The company's special meeting focused mainly on Tris, did not cover all chemical hazards, and missed at least one employee who was sent…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 953 (Union) and United States Department of the Army, Pine Bluff Arsenal, Pine Bluff, Arkansas (Agency)
AFGE Local 953 and Pine Bluff Arsenal (FLRA 0-AR-4760): Hazard pay denial upheld
Pine Bluff Arsenal reassigned security guards to industrial work making ammunition with white phosphorus and black powder, while temporarily retaining their General Schedule pay and grade. The Army initially paid a hazardous duty differential, then stopped, and the union grieved. An arbitrator…
Matter of Roderick B. LANFERMAN
Divisible firearms statute supports removability
The Board reconsidered the removal case of a Guyanese lawful permanent resident convicted in New York of second-degree menacing. The question was whether the New York statute was divisible for the modified categorical approach and whether the respondent's conviction involved a firearm offense. The…
A.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Houston, TX
A.K. (ECAB 11-1834): Fall injury claim denied for lack of medical causation
A.K., a Postal Service carrier, reported falling while delivering mail and claimed a sprain to her hip and buttocks. OWCP accepted that the fall occurred. The Board found that her physician diagnosed contusions but did not adequately explain how the fall caused the diagnosed condition. It affirmed…
R.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Ventura, CA
R.M. (ECAB 11-1773): Benefits termination reversed for missing notice to counsel
R.M., a Postal Service carrier, designated an attorney after OWCP proposed to terminate her benefits. OWCP acknowledged the designation but did not send the proposed termination notice to her attorney before issuing the final decision. The Board found that this failure denied her a required…
L.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Baldwin, NY
L.B. (ECAB 11-1705): Back injury recurrence claim remanded for medical clarification
L.B., a Postal Service employee, sought compensation for a recurrence of disability after an accepted lumbar sprain. OWCP obtained a second opinion that generally supported a link between the injury and later work restrictions. The Board found that the opinion did not fully explain whether he was…
R.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Columbus, IN
R.R. (ECAB 11-1646): Short recurrence claim denied
R.R., a Postal Service mail processor, sought compensation for a brief period away from work after an accepted neck and shoulder condition. Her modified job had supported an earlier wage-earning capacity determination. She reported increased pain after more repetitive work, but the Board found the…
S.A. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Atlanta, GA
S.A. (ECAB 11-1517): Reconsideration of hip claim denied
S.A. sought reconsideration of an earlier denial involving a right hip condition. She submitted a personal statement saying that her federal work caused the condition. The Board found that the statement did not address the medical causation issue and that she made no new relevant legal argument. It…
A.C. and Department of Homeland Security, TSA Federal Air Marshal Service, McLean, VA
A.C. (ECAB 11-1339): Back injury recurrence claim denied
A.C., a federal air marshal, had an accepted lumbar sprain and later sought compensation for another period of back disability. His later reports diagnosed degenerative disease and radiculopathy. The Board found that his physicians did not adequately explain why the later condition and disability…
S.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Indianapolis, IN
S.B. (ECAB 11-0969): Late reconsideration request denied
S.B. asked OWCP to reconsider an earlier merits decision after the one-year filing period. The Board found that her request was untimely. It also found that the submitted material did not show clear evidence of error that would permit review despite the late filing. It affirmed OWCP's denial…
A.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Illiana Healthcare System, Danville, IL
A.C. (ECAB 11-0952): After hours fall claim denied as outside performance of duty
A.C., a VA nursing assistant, injured her ankle in a fall on the employer's premises more than four hours after her shift ended. She did not explain why she remained there or show that she was performing work activity at the time. The Board found that she had not established that the fall occurred…
W.F. and Department of the Army, Red River Army Depot, Texarkana, TX
W.F. (ECAB 11-0877): Cashier wage capacity upheld; benefit suspension reversed
W.F. had accepted right arm injuries, and OWCP determined that cashier work fairly represented his wage-earning capacity. The Board upheld that determination because an impartial physician approved light work within his limits. It also upheld a refusal to reopen the claim based on repeated medical…
Matter of Svetislav ILIC
Derivative section 245(i) eligibility depends on the principal beneficiary
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal from an Immigration Judge's grant of adjustment of status under section 245(i) to a Serbian respondent who had entered without inspection. The respondent claimed derivative grandfathered status through an immigrant visa petition filed…
S.P. and Department of Agriculture, Food & Nutrition Service, Dallas, TX
S.P. (ECAB 11-1604): Bilateral arm schedule awards upheld
S.P., a Department of Agriculture technician, had accepted bilateral arm conditions after repetitive typing work. OWCP's awards totaled 12 percent left arm and 27 percent right arm impairment. The Board found that a new left wrist rating duplicated an earlier award and that the right arm…
J.H. and Department of Housing & Urban Development, St. Louis, MO
J.H. (ECAB 11-1581): Spine surgery authorization denial upheld
J.H. sought authorization for additional spine surgery after accepted back conditions. An impartial physician reviewed her records, examined her and advised against the proposed lumbar fusion. The Board gave his reasoned opinion special weight and upheld OWCP's denial. The release calls the…
S.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chicago, IL
S.N. (ECAB 11-1548): Arm impairment claim remanded to resolve medical conflict
S.N. sought schedule awards for her arms after accepted wrist and hand conditions. A treating physician rated substantial impairment, while an OWCP examiner found none. The Board found that OWCP had wrongly treated the latter as an impartial examiner when a medical conflict still needed resolution…
W.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Washington, DC
W.W. (ECAB 11-1433): Five percent awards for each arm upheld
W.W. had accepted cervical and bilateral carpal tunnel conditions and received awards for five percent impairment of each arm. His treating physician reported a larger rating without identifying which arm it covered or applying the required modifiers. The Board found that OWCP's medical adviser…
D.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Airmail Facility, Reagan National Airport, Washington, DC
D.R. (ECAB 11-1233): Late reconsideration request denied
D.R. requested reconsideration in December 2010, more than one year after the last merits decision. The Board found that the request was untimely and did not show clear evidence of error in the prior decision. It affirmed OWCP's refusal to reopen the claim without addressing the underlying merits.
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tiverton, RI
J.C. (ECAB 11-1148): Rehabilitation noncooperation penalty upheld
J.C. had accepted back conditions and was referred to vocational rehabilitation within medical work limits. OWCP found that he failed to cooperate in the early stages of the program and warned him to participate or explain his refusal. The Board found that the record supported noncooperation…
C.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Charlotte, NC
C.P. (ECAB 11-0884): Carpal tunnel benefits termination upheld
C.P., a Postal Service employee, had accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. Her physician believed she remained disabled, while an OWCP referral physician found no residuals. An impartial examiner found that the accepted condition had resolved and that she could return to her prior work. The…
H.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Diego, CA
H.M. (ECAB 11-0781): Back occupational disease claim denied
H.M., a Postal Service clerk, claimed that repetitive modified duties worsened her back condition. The Board accepted that she performed the described tasks and had a diagnosed back condition. It found that her physician's causation opinion relied on an inaccurate account of her duties and did not…
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.