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.
No decisions match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
Isaaya Alinaitwe v. Sabre International Security
Alinaitwe v. Sabre International Security (BRB 23-0288): Defense Base Act benefits denial affirmed
Isaaya Alinaitwe worked as a security guard in Iraq and later sought benefits for psychological symptoms and hearing loss. The judge found that the employer had rebutted the presumption connecting those conditions to work. After weighing the medical evidence, the judge credited the employer's…
Larry E. Stiltner v. Misty Bec Coal Company
Stiltner v. Misty Bec Coal (BRB 23-0280): benefits award sent back for work history calculation
Larry Stiltner sought black lung benefits after a prior claim was denied. A judge found 15.02 years of qualifying coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory condition, then applied the fifteen year presumption and awarded benefits. The Board found that the judge had used 125 workdays alone…
Margaret Sanchez (on behalf of and widow of Jose D. Sanchez) v. Chevron Mining, Incorporated, self-insured, c/o Broadspire/Crawford & Company
Sanchez v. Chevron Mining (BRB 23-0267 and 23-0268 BLA): miner and survivor benefits affirmed
Margaret Sanchez pursued a subsequent black lung claim for her late husband, Jose Sanchez, and her own survivor claim against Chevron Mining. The administrative law judge found only seven years of coal mine employment, so the fifteen year presumption did not apply, but found clinical and legal…
Margaret Sanchez on behalf of and widow of Jose D. Sanchez v. Chevron Mining, Incorporated
Sanchez v. Chevron Mining (BRB 23-0267 and 23-0268): miner and survivor benefits affirmed
Margaret Sanchez pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor claim. Jose Sanchez had seven years of coal mine employment, so his claim did not qualify for the fifteen year presumption. The judge instead found direct evidence of clinical and legal pneumoconiosis, total…
A.M. claiming as widow of C.M. and U.S. Railroad Retirement Board
Board refuses to reopen death benefit claim (ECAB 24-0737)
A widower sought reconsideration of a death-benefit claim arising from his wife’s accepted work-related emotional condition. He submitted old medical records, agency letters, and an article, but no new reasoned medical opinion linking her death to the accepted injury. The Board found his submission…
R.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs
Board denies nursing assistant back injury claim (ECAB 24-0711)
A VA nursing assistant reported back pain after pulling a patient up in bed. OWCP accepted the November 16, 2022 incident, but the Board found the medical reports did not adequately explain how it caused the diagnosed lower back condition. An unsigned report and diagnostic imaging alone also could…
B.C. and U.S. Postal Service
Board accepts reported parking lot collision (ECAB 24-0702)
A postal mail handler reported being struck by a moving vehicle in the work parking lot during a fire drill on November 9, 2023. The Board found her account, subsequent actions, and medical evidence sufficiently established the incident. OWCP had not evaluated whether it caused a medical injury…
L.T. and U.S. Postal Service
Board accepts reported mail scanning injury incident (ECAB 24-0700)
A postal employee reported lower back pain after scanning packages at work on April 9, 2022. The Board found her account and the surrounding record established the workplace incident despite a date error in one medical report. OWCP had rejected the claim without deciding whether the incident caused…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service
Board orders review of omitted shoulder records (ECAB 24-0643)
A postal mail processing clerk sought wage-loss compensation after an accepted left shoulder injury. OWCP denied the claim for a period in 2022 but did not discuss treating physician reports and work status forms addressing disability in that period. The Board held that OWCP must review all…
D.J. and U.S. Postal Service
Board accepts workplace eye incident for medical review (ECAB 24-0638)
A postal carrier technician reported that a supervisor threw a pen and papers at her face, striking her left eye. The Board found her prompt report, a witness statement, and treatment record sufficiently established the January 24, 2024 workplace incident. OWCP had rejected the claim before…
J.P. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration
Board upholds end of PTSD benefits (ECAB 23-0075)
A Federal Aviation Administration employee had received benefits for accepted work-related post-traumatic stress disorder. The Board found an impartial medical examiner’s opinion supported OWCP’s termination of wage-loss and medical benefits effective December 13, 2019. The later reports did not…
MFA Enterprises Inc., dba West Central Agri Services
Willful railcar fall-protection violation affirmed
MFA Enterprises operated a grain-storage and railcar-loading facility in Adrian, Missouri. Employees regularly walked on top of railcars about 15 feet above the ground without using the installed fall-protection system, including an employee who was on a railcar when a grain-elevator explosion…
J.K. and Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service
Board denies vehicle rollover injury claim (ECAB 24-0771)
A Forest Service biological science technician reported neck and back symptoms after his work vehicle rolled while he avoided a deer. OWCP accepted the September 20, 2023 incident, but the Board found the submitted evidence did not establish a diagnosed medical condition connected with it. Nurse…
S.N. and U.S. Postal Service
Board denies total disability from lumbar sprain (ECAB 24-0742)
A postal rural carrier associate sought compensation for total disability after an accepted lumbar sprain. His physicians described him as partly disabled and able to perform limited-duty work, but did not give a reasoned basis for total disability during the claimed period. The Board affirmed…
C.H. and U.S. Postal Service
Board upholds cost of living date and hearing abandonment (ECAB 24-0741)
A postal letter carrier challenged the timing of a cost-of-living adjustment after a recurrent disability pay rate took effect in December 2021. The Board held he was not entitled to that adjustment until March 1, 2023. It also found he missed a properly noticed telephone hearing and did not…
Y.H. and U.S. Postal Service
Board orders review of omitted knee evidence (ECAB 24-0679)
A postal sales and service associate with accepted knee conditions sought wage-loss compensation for two days in October 2020. Before denying that request in June 2024, OWCP received evidence the employee had submitted in April, but it did not consider or discuss that material. The Board set aside…
E.R. and U.S. Postal Service
Board denies clerk’s arm condition claim (ECAB 24-0641)
A postal clerk attributed right arm and wrist conditions to his work. The Board found the medical evidence did not explain how the accepted work factors caused the diagnoses. Reports that only listed conditions and diagnostic studies alone did not establish causation. It affirmed OWCP’s denial.
D.T. and U.S. Postal Service
Board denies shoulder and neck schedule award (ECAB 24-0588)
A postal rural carrier sought a schedule award after accepted shoulder and cervical conditions. The Board credited a medical adviser’s impairment evaluation that found no permanent impairment of a scheduled upper extremity under the applicable guides. A separate whole-body rating could not support…
J.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs
Board orders specialist opinion on nurse’s back injury (ECAB 24-0754)
A VA nurse reported back and leg symptoms after trying to prevent a patient from falling. A physician later explained how the April 1, 2019 incident could have caused or aggravated lumbar conditions and distinguished earlier symptoms. The Board found that report warranted further development, set…
B.C. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Board denies respiratory exposure claim (ECAB 24-0707)
A Border Patrol agent reported asthma symptoms after preparing powdered training aids for canine narcotics work. The Board found the medical submissions did not provide a reasoned explanation linking a respiratory diagnosis to the accepted work exposure. A nurse practitioner report and an unsigned…
J.A. and U.S. Postal Service
Board denies new mail container back claim (ECAB 24-0633)
A postal mail handler claimed a new back injury while pushing a mail container in April 2023. He had a previously accepted lumbar injury from a separate 2016 incident. The Board found the medical evidence did not adequately link a lumbar or thoracic condition to the accepted 2023 work incident. It…
B.S. and U.S. Postal Service
Board orders specialist review of back claim (ECAB 22-1289)
A postal letter carrier reported lower back pain after picking up a letter at work. The Board found his physician’s reports, while not enough to establish causation by themselves, warranted more medical development. It set aside OWCP’s denial and directed a specialist review of whether the accepted…
R.D. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons
Board denies recurrence of knee disability (ECAB 21-0857)
A federal prison electrician sought compensation for total disability beginning August 1, 2020 after an accepted 2019 right knee injury. The Board found the physician’s reports did not adequately explain how the accepted injury caused the later claimed disability. Imaging and reports from…
S.A. and Department of Veterans Affairs
Board dismisses years-late appeal (ECAB 24-0768)
A VA employee sought Board review in 2024 of a June 2019 OWCP decision. The Board found the appeal was filed well after the 180-day deadline and lacked documented compelling circumstances to excuse the delay. It dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction without reviewing the underlying claim.
D.J. and U.S. Postal Service
Board upholds bar on ankle schedule award (ECAB 24-0640)
A former postal mail handler sought a schedule award for a 1976 left ankle injury. OWCP had terminated his compensation in 1988 for refusing suitable work. The Board held that this prior termination bars a later schedule award for the same injury and affirmed the denial. It noted that the bar does…
D.P. and U.S. Postal Service
Board reverses termination but upholds overpayment (ECAB 23-0374)
A postal carrier sought to add conditions to a claim after a workplace fall, while OWCP also terminated her benefits and assessed an overpayment. The Board remanded the claim expansion issue and reversed the wage-loss and medical benefit termination because OWCP had not met its burden. It upheld a…
L.S. and U.S. Postal Service
Board rejects late knee disability reconsideration (ECAB 22-1327)
A postal letter carrier asked OWCP to reconsider a prior denial of disability compensation after the one-year deadline. The Board found the added arguments and a medical report about a later fall did not show clear error in the earlier decision about disability beginning March 18, 2017. It affirmed…
T.S. and U.S. Postal Service
Board orders opinion on wrist disability recurrence (ECAB 22-0059)
A postal expeditor sought compensation for a recurrence of work disability beginning July 7, 2020 after an accepted wrist injury. OWCP obtained a second-opinion examination, but the Board found the physician had not adequately addressed the claimed recurrence period. It set aside the denial and…
U.S. Postal Service
Repeat blocked-exit violation affirmed
After a roof collapse closed another New Jersey processing center, the Postal Service rerouted a large volume of packages to its Teterboro plant. OSHA found pallets, boxes, mail, and processing materials obstructing an exit route and found access to fire extinguishers obstructed during two…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 25 and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration
AFGE Local 25 and Veterans Benefits Administration (FLRA 0-AR-5959): Authority upholds reprimand
The Veterans Benefits Administration reprimanded an employee after she failed to complete an assigned case recertification despite a reminder and a commitment to finish it. An arbitrator found just cause, declined to mitigate the discipline, and denied the grievance in full. The union argued that…
M.L. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Board recognizes border agent's neck strain and returns causation question (ECAB 25-0659)
A Border Patrol agent reported a neck injury during work physical therapy exercises. OWCP denied the claim for lack of a diagnosed condition. The Board found a physician's report diagnosed neck muscle strain in connection with the accepted incident. It reversed that ruling and returned the case for…
W.F. and U.S. Postal Service
Board refuses to reopen knee recurrence claim (ECAB 23-0371)
A postal letter carrier sought merits reconsideration of a denied recurrence of disability after an accepted knee injury. She submitted records concerning later knee replacements and imaging, but the Board found they did not address whether the accepted injury caused the claimed period of…
Ryan Simms v. Kinder Morgan
Simms v. Kinder Morgan (BRB 23-0355): request for employer paid attorney fee denied
Ryan Simms sought a higher weekly compensation rate after a work related shoulder injury. Kinder Morgan initially disputed the higher rate but kept paying weekly benefits, then corrected the rate and paid the shortfall. Simms's lawyer asked the employer to pay attorney fees for obtaining the…
Justin Evdell Johnson v. ICG Knott County, LLC
Johnson v. ICG Knott County (BRB 23-0274): black lung benefits award affirmed after remand
Justin Johnson worked underground in coal mines for thirty-one years. After a prior Board remand, a judge again found him totally disabled and awarded black lung benefits under the fifteen year presumption. The employer challenged the reliability of three breathing tests performed during medical…
Michael B. Morgan v. Teknotherm, Incorporated, Alma Mutual, Bowman Refrigeration, Signal Mutual Indemnity Association, Limited, Ludybros Welding, LLC, and Alaska National Insurance Company
Morgan v. Teknotherm (BRB 23-0028 and 23-0028A): modified welding and wage capacity require remand
Michael B. Morgan injured his right shoulder while working as a marine welder for Teknotherm and later worked in modified welding jobs for other employers. The administrative law judge found that the Teknotherm injury permanently aggravated a preexisting shoulder condition, that later employers did…
Michael B. Morgan v. Teknotherm, Incorporated
Morgan v. Teknotherm (BRB 23-0028 and 23-0028A): partial disability amount sent back for review
Marine welder Michael Morgan injured his right shoulder while working for Teknotherm. A judge held Teknotherm responsible and awarded disability benefits, using jobs from a labor market survey to calculate Morgan's earning capacity. The Board upheld the finding that later welding work did not…
B.B. and U.S. Postal Service
Board orders development of shoulder disability claim (ECAB 24-0745)
A postal distribution clerk claimed wage-loss compensation after an accepted right shoulder injury. OWCP denied the disability claim without first giving him the opportunity required by its procedures to supply missing evidence. The Board set aside the denial and ordered OWCP to develop the claim…
D.L. and U.S. Postal Service
Board rejects late shoulder claim reconsideration (ECAB 23-0117)
A postal city carrier asked OWCP to reconsider a longstanding decision involving an accepted shoulder and neck injury. The Board found the request was filed after the applicable period and that the new material did not show clear error on the face of the earlier ruling. It affirmed OWCP’s refusal…
J.L. and Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service
Board upholds Social Security offset overpayment (ECAB 22-1393)
A retired food inspector received FECA wage-loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service without the required offset. The Board upheld a $130,459.31 overpayment for April 2012 through October 2021, although she was without fault. It also upheld denial of…
S.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs
Board dismisses appeal of void OWCP decision (ECAB 22-1151)
A VA employee appealed an OWCP reconsideration ruling issued on July 27, 2022. The Board found it was already considering the same issue in a separate appeal when OWCP issued that ruling. The OWCP decision was therefore null and void, leaving no final adverse decision for this appeal. The Board…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 228 and United States Small Business Administration
AFGE Local 228 and Small Business Administration (FLRA 0-AR-5954): Authority dismisses preparation-time exception
The Small Business Administration approved official time for a union representative to attend a joint performance-systems committee meeting but denied an additional hour to prepare. An arbitrator found that the proposed coordinated preparation with other union representatives was internal union…
O.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs
Board denies nurse’s COVID claim (ECAB 24-0214)
A VA nurse reported COVID-19 after caring for a patient who had tested positive and submitted a positive test result. The Board found the medical evidence did not explain how the accepted work exposure caused her illness. It affirmed OWCP’s denial.
A.G. and U.S. Postal Service
Board denies carrier’s COVID claim (ECAB 24-0137)
A postal carrier reported illness after a workweek and a later positive COVID-19 test. The Board found he had not submitted probative medical evidence establishing a COVID-19 diagnosis caused by the accepted employment exposure. It affirmed OWCP’s denial.
M.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs
Board denies pharmacist’s work-related COVID claim (ECAB 23-1174)
A VA pharmacist reported COVID-19 after working near a patient who had tested positive. Her physician said there was a high likelihood of transmission from the May 2023 contact, but the Board found he did not provide medical reasoning for that conclusion. Positive test results established illness…
O.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs
Board denies VA employee’s COVID claim (ECAB 23-1072)
A VA administrative officer reported COVID-19 symptoms after an accepted workplace exposure and submitted a positive test. The Board found the medical evidence did not explain how the accepted February 2023 exposure caused her diagnosed illness. It affirmed OWCP’s denial for lack of a reasoned…
H.C. and U.S. Postal Service
Board denies custodian’s COVID claim (ECAB 23-1071)
A postal custodian attributed COVID-19 to exposure to infected coworkers. The Board found the submitted medical evidence did not establish a diagnosed condition causally related to the accepted workplace exposure. It affirmed OWCP’s denial.
R.S. and U.S. Postal Service
Board denies work-related COVID claim (ECAB 23-1016)
A postal rural carrier reported a positive COVID-19 test after alleged workplace exposure. The Board found his physician documented the diagnosis but did not give an opinion specifically connecting it to the accepted work exposure. It affirmed OWCP’s denial because the record did not establish…
Secretary of Labor v. GCC Dacotah, Inc.
Repeated email-address errors barred reopening
GCC Dacotah failed to file two penalty contests because employees typed MSHA's contest email address incorrectly. The same mistake had already caused another missed contest, after which the company said it circulated a preventive memorandum. The Commission found that GCC Dacotah made the same error…
Gordon Gendron v. Electric Boat Corporation
Gendron v. Electric Boat (BRB 23-0342): knee surgery benefits denial affirmed
Gordon Gendron injured his right knee while working as a welding instructor for Electric Boat in 2015. He later sought coverage for knee surgery, arguing that the work incident caused a meniscal tear or worsened arthritis. The judge found that the employer had rebutted the presumption linking his…
K.M. and U.S. Postal Service
Board upholds lumbar injection and hearing denials (ECAB 24-0587)
A postal employee sought authorization for bilateral L5-S1 injections after an accepted lower back strain. The Board found her physicians did not explain why the injections were medically necessary for the accepted condition or linked to the work injury. It also upheld OWCP’s denial of an oral…
P.B. and U.S. Postal Service
Board upholds athletic director earning capacity (ECAB 24-0566)
A former postal carrier challenged a reduction of wage-loss benefits based on his ability to work as an athletic director. The Board found vocational evidence that the position was reasonably available and suited to his experience, and medical restrictions allowed its sedentary duties. It affirmed…
E.P. and Department of the Navy
Board reverses unsupported retirement offset overpayment (ECAB 24-0528)
OWCP assessed a $45,363.88 overpayment on the theory that a Navy employee received FECA wage-loss benefits alongside Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service. The Board found OWCP had used forms suited to a different retirement plan and had not told Social Security that…
R.T. and Department of the Army, Defense Health Agency
Board denies disability and additional injury conditions (ECAB 24-0149)
An Army health aid technician sought disability compensation for March 2021 through March 2022 after a workplace fall and asked OWCP to add more conditions to the accepted claim. The Board found the medical reports did not explain how the accepted injury caused the claimed work disability or…
A.T. and U.S. Postal Service
Board orders impartial arm impairment rating (ECAB 23-0309)
A postal mail processing clerk sought a schedule award greater than eight percent impairment of her right arm. The Board found a medical conflict between her physician and OWCP’s examining and advising physicians about the extent of permanent impairment. It set aside OWCP’s ruling and directed an…
Secretary of Labor v. CalPortland
Business-day deadline mistake excused
CalPortland misread the 30-day contest deadline as 30 business days. It filed its reopening motion on the thirtieth business day after receiving the assessment, which was 12 days after the assessment became final. The Commission found that timing consistent with the company's explanation and that…
John P. Ivory v. Tanoma Mining Company, Incorporated
Ivory v. Tanoma Mining (BRB 23-0449 BLA): benefits denial remanded for review of medical opinions
John Ivory sought black lung benefits after 18.86 years of qualifying coal mine employment. The administrative law judge found legal pneumoconiosis but denied benefits because he found no totally disabling respiratory or pulmonary impairment. The Board affirmed the unchallenged work history and…
Roger L. Lester v. Vaco Resources, Incorporated
Lester v. Vaco Resources (BRB 23-0419 BLA): attorney fee award narrowed and remanded
Roger Lester won black lung benefits on a claim filed in 2014 after an earlier claim had been denied. His former law firm sought fees and expenses for work on both claims, and the administrative law judge awarded $20,054.79. The employer challenged the portion linked to the unsuccessful earlier…
Jeffrey Hess (on behalf of Shelden M. Hess, deceased) v. Clinchfield Coal Company
Hess v. Clinchfield Coal Company (BRB 23-0410): denial of black lung benefits affirmed
Jeffrey Hess pursued his deceased father's black lung benefits claim without representation. The judge credited Shelden Hess with 9.96 years of coal mine employment, short of the fifteen years needed for a statutory presumption, and found that the evidence did not establish pneumoconiosis. The…
William J. Burton v. Delta Terminal Services
Burton v. Delta Terminal Services (BRB 23-0312): denial of later attorney fees affirmed
William Burton received Longshore Act disability and medical benefits after work injuries, then sought an employer-paid fee for his lawyer's later work on medical bills and reimbursement. The district director denied the new fee petitions. The Board held that the employer's original fee liability…
T.S. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard
Board rejects late hand claim reconsideration (ECAB 24-0698)
A Coast Guard budget analyst sought reconsideration of an earlier ruling concerning continuing disability or residuals from accepted left hand conditions. The Board found the request was late and counsel’s argument that her condition worsened did not show clear error in the earlier decision. It…
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.