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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L.H. and Department of Health & Human Services, Social Security Administration, Seattle, WA
L.H. (ECAB 11-1314): Reconsideration denied for lack of relevant new evidence
L.H., a disability examiner with accepted bilateral tendinitis, sought to add a cervical spine condition to her compensation claim. After OWCP denied expansion, she requested reconsideration and submitted medical records and argument. The Board found that the central report had already been…
E.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
E.L. (ECAB 11-1234): Wage-loss claim denied for lack of supported recurrence
E.L., a postal employee with accepted back injuries, had been working light duty when she sought wage-loss compensation for a period in 2010. Her physician reported increased pain and took her off work. The Board found that his reports did not explain how the accepted injury caused her inability to…
B.A. and Department of the Army, Army Corps of Engineers, Old Hickory, TN
B.A. (ECAB 11-1160): Occupational lung disease claim denied on medical causation
B.A., an Army Corps of Engineers mechanic, had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and reported long-term exposure to concrete dust, fumes and asbestos at work. The Board accepted that the exposures occurred but found the medical evidence insufficient to connect them to the condition. It gave…
R.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Baltimore Performance Cluster, Baltimore, MD
R.P. (ECAB 11-1115): Existing arm impairment awards affirmed
R.P., a postal employee with accepted carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists, sought larger schedule awards. The Board found that OWCP's medical adviser properly used the applicable edition of the impairment guides to rate each arm at eight percent. No probative medical evidence showed a greater…
R.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Olathe, KS
R.S. (ECAB 11-850): Higher shoulder impairment awards denied
R.S., a postal carrier with accepted shoulder conditions, sought larger schedule awards than he had previously received. His physicians reported higher impairment ratings using range of motion measurements. The Board found that their reports did not explain why they used that method in place of the…
S.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Grove City, OH
S.A. (ECAB 11-788): Occupational disease denial affirmed as modified
S.A., a postal employee, claimed that lifting mail tubs and prolonged standing and walking caused lower back, leg and foot conditions. The Board found that some lifting and window duties were established for part of the claimed period. Her physician's report, however, did not accurately distinguish…
L.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Birmingham, AL
L.D. (ECAB 11-620): Higher leg impairment awards denied
L.D., a postal employee with an accepted lumbar injury, sought more than his existing schedule awards for each leg and argued for a whole-person award. The Board accepted the impairment rating of OWCP's referral physician, which an OWCP medical adviser confirmed. It found no medical evidence…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1923 (Union) and Social Security Administration (Agency)
AFGE Local 1923 and Social Security (FLRA 0-AR-4773): Classification grievance dismissed
A Social Security employee at the GS-4 level grieved that she was performing work of a GS-5 position and sought a promotion and backpay. An arbitrator found that the grievance concerned position classification, which the federal labor statute excludes from negotiated grievance procedures. The…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor
Ignition orders and mine-wide training upheld
After a welding ignition at Jim Walter Resources' methane-liberating No. 7 Mine, MSHA issued a telephone section 103(j) order, converted it to a section 103(k) order when an inspector arrived, and required ignition training for all underground miners. Judge William B. Moran rejected the operator's…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Charles Scott Howard v. Cumberland River Coal Company
Charles Scott Howard v. Cumberland River Coal Company (FMSHRC KENT 2011-1379-D): Medical-return emails ordered produced
Charles Scott Howard alleged that Cumberland River Coal used a supplemental medical opinion to prevent his return to work and terminate him because of protected safety activity. The company withheld 77 pages of emails, notes, and letters concerning his medical appointments and return-to-work status…
Matter of R-A-M-
Child pornography conviction is particularly serious crime
The Board reviewed DHS's appeal from an Immigration Judge's grant of withholding of removal to a Honduran respondent who had been convicted of possessing child pornography. It held that the conviction was an aggravated felony and, based on the nature of the offense and the specific facts, a…
A.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Louis, MO
A.R. (ECAB 11-1358): Reconsideration denied after repeated medical opinions
A.R., a postal employee with an accepted right arm and shoulder injury, sought reconsideration of a denied recurrence claim. The medical report submitted with her request repeated opinions already in the record. The Board held that cumulative evidence did not satisfy the standard for reopening the…
B.H. and Department of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Richmond, VA
B.H. (ECAB 11-1324): Total disability recurrence not established
B.H., an IRS secretary with accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, claimed that her condition had caused total disability after she returned to limited duty. The Board found no established change in her limited-duty job requirements. Her physicians recommended a shorter workweek but did not…
M.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Fred Weathers Post Office, St. Louis, MO
M.T. (ECAB 11-1244): Knee impairment award and reconsideration denial affirmed
M.T., a postal carrier with accepted right knee meniscus tears, sought more than a three percent right leg schedule award. The Board found that OWCP's medical adviser correctly applied the applicable impairment tables to a partial meniscectomy; a higher rating submitted by M.T.'s physician treated…
C.M. and Department of Defense, DLA-Distribution Region West, Tracy, CA
C.M. (ECAB 11-1240): Five percent left arm impairment award affirmed
C.M., a defense distribution worker with accepted left elbow and nerve conditions, sought a larger schedule award. The Board found that OWCP's referral physician and medical adviser correctly applied the current impairment guides and agreed on a five percent left arm rating. An earlier physician's…
C.J. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Station Alameda, Alameda, CA
C.J. (ECAB 11-1221): Late reconsideration request failed clear-error standard
C.J. sought reconsideration of an older OWCP decision about a recurrence of disability. He filed more than one year after that decision. The Board found that his earlier medical records did not directly address the disputed 2001 recurrence, and an MRI report had already been considered. His…
P.O. and Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Glidden, WI
P.O. (ECAB 11-1203): Elbow claim and reconsideration denial affirmed
P.O., a Forest Service technician, reported left elbow problems after repeated chain saw work. OWCP accepted that he performed that work, but the Board found no physician's opinion linking the elbow condition to it. The report submitted with his reconsideration request did not address causation…
R.S. and Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Washington, DC
R.S. (ECAB 11-1085): Reconsideration denied after termination of benefits
R.S. challenged OWCP's termination of benefits for accepted right carpal tunnel syndrome. Her reconsideration request repeated an argument about the impartial medical specialist's opinion, and the physician reports she said she enclosed were absent from the record. The occupational therapist's…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Miami, FL
J.M. (ECAB 11-856): Termination of wage-loss benefits affirmed
J.M., a postal employee with accepted left shoulder conditions, challenged the termination of her wage-loss benefits. Her attending surgeon reported residual discomfort but concluded she could return to full duty without restrictions. Although one interim report recommended light duty, he later…
B.B. and Department of the Interior, Sequoia National Park Services, Three Rivers, CA
B.B. (ECAB 11-824): Recurrence claim denied after further smoke exposure
B.B., a forestry technician, sought compensation for a recurrence of disability after a 2003 firefighting injury involving smoke and ash. OWCP had accepted respiratory conditions from the 2003 exposure but denied the claimed recurrence beginning in February 2007. The Board found that the medical…
Kronos Worldwide, Inc.
In re Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (EAB TSCA 11-07(C)): $61,382 penalty assessed under Consent Agreement
Kronos Worldwide, Inc. was the respondent in a TSCA matter before the Environmental Appeals Board. The parties signed and consented to entry of an attached Consent Agreement, which the Board incorporated into its Final Order. The Board assessed a $61,382 civil penalty and ordered Kronos to pay it…
Cam Mining, LLC
Late penalty petitions remained unsupported on remand
Cam Mining obtained summary decision dismissing three late-filed penalty petitions after the Secretary did not respond to its motion or dispute its facts. The Commission vacated that ruling and remanded for an explanation of why the judge had not followed an earlier order allowing the late filings…
Pattison Sand Company, LLC
Ground-control dismissal and summary motions denied
MSHA cited hazardous cracked and loose ground extending about 242 feet at Pattison Sand's mine and restricted the area to miners correcting the condition. Pattison argued that this restriction effectively closed the entire mine and exceeded the authority of a section 104(a) citation. The Secretary…
D.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bakersfield, CA
D.D. (ECAB 11-1400): Work stress claim lacked a substantiated work factor
D.D., a postal employee, attributed emotional and physical symptoms to conflicts with her supervisor and an excessive workload. After an earlier Board remand, OWCP considered her additional allegations and again denied the claim. The Board found insufficient evidence of verbal abuse, error or abuse…
D.M. and Department of the Navy, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, China Lake, CA
D.M. (ECAB 11-1376): Truck unloading injury claim lacked incident evidence
D.M., a Navy sheet metal mechanic, said he injured his right knee while jumping from a flatbed truck during unloading. OWCP requested additional facts and medical evidence, but he did not submit a narrative account or other information to establish that the incident occurred as alleged. The Board…
E.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Durham, NC
E.S. (ECAB 11-1364): Fall established, but medical causation unproven
E.S., a Veterans Health Administration medical technician, fell after stepping on rocks at work and claimed injuries to her left wrist, left knee and right hip. OWCP ultimately accepted that the June 2010 fall occurred but found the medical evidence insufficient to connect her conditions to it. The…
D.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Gulfport, MS
D.K. (ECAB 11-1151): Refusal to reopen schedule award claim upheld
D.K., a postal carrier supervisor with an accepted back injury, sought reconsideration of a schedule award for leg impairment. He argued that the award did not cover his total disability period and that repurchasing sick leave caused financial hardship. The Board held that these points did not…
E.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Trenton, NJ
E.M. (ECAB 11-1106): Emotional condition not linked to accepted injuries
E.M., a postal letter carrier, sought to add an emotional condition to claims for accepted knee and back injuries. His psychologist attributed the condition to workplace accidents and their effects, but the Board found that the opinion relied in part on conditions OWCP had not accepted and…
N.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Delivery Distribution Center, Fife, WA
N.D. (ECAB 11-1073): Parking lot fall outside course of employment
N.D., a postal mail processing clerk, slipped on ice in a parking lot before her scheduled shift and sought FECA compensation. The Board found that the lot was used by employees and the public but was not shown to be owned, maintained or controlled by the Postal Service. It applied the rule for…
J.C. and Department of the Navy, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia, PA
J.C. (ECAB 11-1055): Schedule award claim not reopened for merit review
J.C., a former Navy shipyard employee with accepted spinal strains, sought a schedule award and later asked OWCP to reconsider its denial. The Board could review only OWCP's March 2011 refusal to reopen because the earlier merits decision was outside its appeal period. Although J.C. submitted a new…
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
M.S. (ECAB 11-946): Disability claim lacked proof tied to accepted foot condition
M.S., a postal employee, claimed total disability after she stopped working in December 2008. OWCP had accepted bilateral plantar fibromatosis but had not accepted her bunion condition as work related. The Board found that her physicians did not explain why the accepted condition, rather than other…
S.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Davie Branch, Davie, FL
S.J. (ECAB 11-744): Dependent-rate overpayment and recovery upheld
S.J., a postal employee receiving FECA compensation, was paid at the higher rate for claimants with qualifying dependents during a period when OWCP found she had none. The Board upheld OWCP's calculation of a $357.65 overpayment for October through December 2007. It found her at fault because prior…
R.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration, Asheville, NC
R.B. (ECAB 11-390): Eye condition claim remanded for medical conflict
R.B., a former Veterans Administration surgeon, sought to add right eye vision loss to a claim that included accepted consequences of a work-related illness and a later fall. His treating ophthalmologist linked the eye condition to the fall and subdural hematoma, while an OWCP medical adviser…
Lehigh Southwest Cement
Contractor-training violation affirmed with $12,248 penalty
Contract construction workers spent several months rebuilding a fuel station at Lehigh Southwest Cement's active California plant but received only site-specific hazard training. Judge Alan G. Paez held that construction workers at an active mine are miners under Part 46 and must receive…
Excel Mining, LLC
Pump permissibility violations yield $49,000 penalty
Two de-watering pump starter boxes in Excel Mining's underground coal mine lacked packing needed to contain an internal ignition, and the defects had remained for at least a month. Judge Gary Melick found the violations S&S because the pumps were near methane-releasing seals, multiple return air…
Clark Mining, Inc.
Assessment reopened after mailing to wrong address
Clark Mining's proposed penalty assessment was mailed to the Kentucky mine and signed for there, even though MSHA's address-of-record form listed the company's Virginia consultant. The consultant said he did not receive the assessment until MSHA faxed it after the contest deadline. He said he…
C.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Detroit, MI
C.S. (ECAB 11-1349): Schedule award reconsideration required a merits review
C.S., a postal letter carrier with an accepted left knee condition, challenged the calculation of his additional schedule award. He argued that OWCP's medical adviser had used the wrong adjustment formula in the impairment guide for a class 4 rating. OWCP refused to reopen the claim because C.S…
S.E. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Charlie Norwood Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Augusta, GA
S.E. (ECAB 11-1212): Knee condition claim remanded for medical development
S.E., a Veterans Affairs nurse, claimed that patient care duties aggravated her right knee condition. OWCP accepted that she performed the described duties but denied the claim for lack of sufficient medical proof of causation. The Board found that her physician's report did not fully establish the…
L.T. and Department of the Army, Army Corps of Engineers, Memphis, TN
L.T. (ECAB 11-1187): Eight percent ring finger impairment award upheld
L.T., an Army Corps of Engineers winchman, received a schedule award after a right ring finger fracture healed with malunion. His hand surgeon rated the permanent impairment at eight percent of the ring finger, and OWCP's medical adviser agreed. The Board found the rating followed the applicable…
M.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcement/Office of Intelligence, Washington, DC
M.R. (ECAB 11-1103): Back injury claim lacked medical causation evidence
M.R., a Homeland Security research analyst on temporary duty in Ecuador, reported back pain after an accident involving a shuttle bus. OWCP accepted that the April 2010 incident occurred in the performance of duty. The Board found that health unit notes did not diagnose a specific injury or explain…
R.J. and Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Distribution Region West, Stockton, CA
R.J. (ECAB 11-994): Benefit termination upheld after refusal of suitable work
R.J., a Defense Logistics Agency worker with accepted back conditions, declined a supply technician job offered within his physical work restrictions. He said medication made the long drive unsafe and that he lacked computer skills. The Board found no medical driving restriction in the record when…
H.H. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Power Service Shops, Muscle Shoals, Chattanooga, TN
H.H. (ECAB 11-938): Increased hearing loss claim returned for a merits decision
H.H., a retired Tennessee Valley Authority sheet metal worker, had an accepted work-related hearing loss claim and a 2006 schedule award for 12 percent bilateral hearing loss. He later submitted a new audiogram and medical reports and sought an additional award. OWCP treated the request as an…
M.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Morgan Park Station Post Office, Chicago, IL
M.K. (ECAB 11-899): Recurrence claim and request to reopen denied
M.K., a Postal Service letter carrier, had an accepted lumbar sprain after a 2007 workplace injury and later claimed that the injury caused renewed disability in September 2009. The Board found that his doctors' reports did not adequately connect that later disability to the accepted sprain, while…
R.T. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Togus, ME
R.T. (ECAB 11-749): New medical report requires review of hearing loss claim
R.T., a maintenance mechanic supervisor at a Veterans Affairs medical center, claimed that years of workplace noise contributed to his hearing loss. OWCP denied the claim and later refused to reopen it after he submitted a report from his physician. The Board found the physician's report was new to…
S.P. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Fort Smith, AR
S.P. (ECAB 11-703): Additional conditions not linked to workplace fall
S.P., a nurse at a Veterans Affairs medical center, fell at work in August 2009. OWCP accepted several sprains, strains and a knee abrasion, but she also sought recognition of other conditions including arthritis, fibromyalgia, incontinence, high blood pressure and headaches. The Board found that…
H.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Gulf Winds Station, St. Petersburg, FL
H.S. (ECAB 11-628): Shoulder impairment needs further medical assessment
H.S., a Postal Service worker, had received schedule awards for 25 percent impairment of his left arm and 21 percent of his right arm. He sought a larger award for accepted upper extremity conditions. OWCP's impartial examiner declined to rate either shoulder because H.S. could not undergo an MRI…
Copeland Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Two final assessments reopened
Copeland Sand & Gravel asked the Commission to reopen two penalty assessments that had become final after the contest deadline passed. The official order does not explain why the deadlines were missed or describe the supporting evidence. The Secretary did not oppose either request. In the interest…
Buckingham Slate Company
Unopposed penalty reopening granted
Buckingham Slate asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final after the contest deadline passed. The official order does not explain why the deadline was missed or describe the supporting evidence. The Secretary did not oppose the request. In the interest of justice…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Methane imminent-danger order affirmed
An MSHA inspector found at least 5.6 percent methane in a roof cavity near active equipment and miners at Jim Walter Resources' underground No. 7 Mine. The mine argued that no ignition source could reach the elevated methane and that its separate duty to withdraw miners at 1.5 percent methane made…
Hibbing Taconite Company
Unopposed penalty reopening granted
Hibbing Taconite asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final after the contest deadline passed. The official order does not explain why the deadline was missed or describe the supporting evidence. The Secretary did not oppose the request. In the interest of justice…
Hibbing Taconite Company
Unopposed penalty reopening granted
Hibbing Taconite asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final after the contest deadline passed. The official order does not explain why the deadline was missed or describe the supporting evidence. The Secretary did not oppose the request. In the interest of justice…
Warrior Coal, LLC
Unopposed penalty reopening granted
Warrior Coal asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final after the contest deadline passed. The official order does not explain why the deadline was missed or describe the supporting evidence. The Secretary did not oppose the request. In the interest of justice, the…
Continental Coal, Inc.
Unopposed penalty reopening granted
Continental Coal asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final after the contest deadline passed. The official order does not explain why the deadline was missed or describe the supporting evidence. The Secretary did not oppose the request. In the interest of justice…
Texas Architectural Aggregate, Inc.
Unopposed penalty reopening granted
Texas Architectural Aggregate asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final after the contest deadline passed. The official order does not explain why the deadline was missed or describe the supporting evidence. The Secretary did not oppose the request. In the interest…
Spiro Mining, LLC
Jurisdiction and failure-to-state-a-claim motions denied
MSHA cited Spiro Mining for allegedly interfering with an inspector at the Calder Mine. Spiro sought dismissal, arguing that its preliminary operation had not produced minerals or affected interstate commerce and that the Secretary had failed to state a claim. Judge Alan G. Paez held that the Mine…
L.S. and Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration, Norton, VA
L.S. (ECAB 11-1628): Cancelled hearing was withdrawn, not abandoned
L.S., a Mine Safety and Health Administration inspector, requested a hearing after OWCP denied his knee injury claim. Two days before the scheduled telephone hearing, OWCP received his letter saying the hearing was no longer needed because his private insurer had paid the medical bills. OWCP then…
P.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Islandia, NY
P.W. (ECAB 11-1447): Wage-loss termination reversed over conflicting medical opinions
P.W., a Postal Service mail handler, received compensation after OWCP accepted a lumbar sprain from lifting mail. OWCP ended her benefits based on a consulting doctor's opinion that the strain had resolved and she could return to work. Her treating doctors continued to diagnose a back strain and…
C.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing and Distribution Center, Oakland, CA
C.L. (ECAB 11-1375): Termination upheld after impartial medical examination
C.L., a Postal Service mail processing clerk, received benefits for accepted right wrist strain and right lateral epicondylitis. Her treating doctor and an OWCP consulting doctor disagreed about whether work-related symptoms and disability remained. OWCP sent her for an impartial examination, and…
R.S. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Fort Worth, TX
R.S. (ECAB 11-1280): Overpayment upheld after return to full-time work
R.S., a Bureau of Prisons correctional officer, received wage-loss compensation after accepted knee and wrist injuries. He returned to full-time work on February 14, 2011, but an automatic payment covered 27 further days of disability, totaling $3,130.45. The Board agreed that this was an…
J.M. and Department of the Air Force, Keesler Air Force Base, MS
J.M. (ECAB 11-1186): Wage-earning capacity determination left in place
J.M., an Air Force maintenance worker, returned to a full-time light-duty facility maintenance controller job after an accepted back injury. In 1999 OWCP used his actual wages in that job to determine he had no wage loss. After he stopped working in 2009, he sought compensation and argued that the…
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.