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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F.C. and Department of Agriculture, Inspection Operations Program, Minneapolis, MN
F.C. (ECAB 11-992): Chemical exposure injury claim denied
F.C., a federal food inspector at a poultry plant, reported headaches, skin irritation, eye problems, and respiratory symptoms that she attributed to chemicals and gas vapors at work. OWCP accepted that she was exposed to those substances but denied the occupational disease claim. The Board found…
R.H. and Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, CA
R.H. (ECAB 11-889): Wage loss claim during modified duty period denied
R.H., a Marine Corps materials handler, had an accepted back injury and later worked in a modified office position. He stopped working in March 2010 and sought wage loss compensation through early May, saying increased back and leg pain prevented him from continuing. The Board found that the…
K.F. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Lexington Veterans Medical Center, Lexington, KY
K.F. (ECAB 11-708): Recurrence denial and late hearing refusal upheld
K.F., a Veterans Affairs nurse, returned to limited duty after OWCP accepted several conditions caused by an injury while helping prevent a patient from falling. She later sought compensation for a recurrence of total disability from May 21 through August 12, 2010. The Board found no change in her…
J.R. and Department of Transportation, Internal Revenue Service, Florence, KY
J.R. (ECAB 11-410): Termination of back injury benefits upheld
J.R., a clerk, received benefits after a fall at work caused an accepted lumbar strain and herniated disc. Her treating physician said she still had work-related limitations, while an OWCP referral physician said the accepted conditions had resolved. OWCP sent her to an impartial orthopedic surgeon…
R.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
R.K. (ECAB 11-359): Right arm impairment award raised to five percent
R.K., a postal distribution associate, received a schedule award for four percent permanent impairment of his right arm after treatment and surgery for an accepted elbow condition. His examining physician rated the impairment at five percent using the medical guide’s adjustment for the MRI…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2145 (Union) and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Richmond, Virginia (Agency)
AFGE Local 2145 and Richmond VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-4272): Exceptions after remand denied
After an earlier Authority remand, an arbitrator decided the merits of a grievance involving the Richmond VA Medical Center. AFGE Local 2145 challenged that later award. The Authority concluded that the union had not shown a defect under the statutory standard for reviewing arbitration awards. It…
Steyer Fuel Mining Co., Inc.
Two final assessments reopened without opposition
Steyer Fuel Mining filed motions to reopen two penalty assessments that had become final after no timely contests were recorded. The Secretary did not oppose either request. The Commission reopened both assessments in the interests of justice and remanded them for further proceedings. It directed…
White Buck Coal Company
Reopening denied without prejudice after repeated filing failures
White Buck's parent-company legal analyst overlooked a contest while preparing SEC disclosures and processing 33 other assessments, causing the filing to arrive two days late. The Secretary did not oppose reopening because the delay was short and promptly discovered, but she described repeated…
Appalachian Leasing, Inc. and Double Bonus Coal Company
Haulage operator status required a hearing
MSHA cited Double Bonus after a contract truck driver was fatally run over during coal haulage from Mine No. 65 to a preparation plant. Double Bonus sought summary decision, arguing that the haul road was not a mine and that it was not an operator responsible for the cited training, inspection, and…
Barrick Turquoise Ridge, Inc.
Assessment reopened after undelivered contest letter
Barrick told its counsel to contest both citations in a proposed assessment. Counsel's paralegal prepared the contest letter, but an oversight prevented its hand delivery to MSHA's Office of Assessments. Counsel discovered the delinquency on August 31, 2011, while reviewing MSHA’s online data. The…
Canyon Fuel Company, LLC
First-time payment error excused and assessment reopened
Canyon Fuel's safety manager was out for surgery when a safety engineer asked an accounts payable clerk to pay three citations and return the contest for a fourth. The clerk, handling assessments for the first time, did not know that the contest form had to be sent to MSHA's Civil Penalty…
Graymont (PA) Inc.
Paid assessment reopened after second inspector questioned citation
Graymont paid the full assessment based on the citing inspector's explanation. It later decided to contest one citation after a second inspector caused it to question whether the condition was actually a violation. The Secretary did not oppose reopening, and the Commission majority reopened and…
Matter of Saiful ISLAM
Separate credit card offenses are not one criminal scheme
The Board reviewed the appeal of a Bangladeshi lawful permanent resident who had convictions for forgery and possession of stolen property after using multiple stolen credit or debit cards at several stores. The Board held that the offenses did not arise from a single scheme of criminal misconduct…
R.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Honolulu, HI
R.B. (ECAB 11-1163): Package lifting injury claim denied
R.B., a postal mail carrier, reported shoulder and arm symptoms after lifting a heavy package from a truck. OWCP accepted that the July 12, 2010 incident occurred but denied the claim because the medical evidence did not establish that it caused or aggravated his cervical and shoulder conditions…
R.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Biloxi, MS
R.M. (ECAB 11-1093): Short order cook wage capacity finding reversed
R.M., a Veterans Affairs cook, received compensation after a work fall caused a cervical disc injury. OWCP reduced his benefits based on its finding that he could earn wages as a short order cook. The Board found that the constructed job required frequent reaching and lifting beyond the limits…
M.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Plainfield, NJ
M.D. (ECAB 11-934): Claim over predisciplinary call denied
M.D., a postal postmaster, reported chest symptoms and hospitalization after a call scheduling a meeting about undelivered mail. He argued that the call was intimidating and did not properly advise him of representation rights. The Board treated the claim as one arising from that single incident…
C.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Clarksburg, WV
C.H. (ECAB 11-910): One percent left arm impairment award upheld
C.H., a Veterans Affairs practical nurse, injured her left shoulder while helping restrain a patient and later received a one percent schedule award. Physicians retained by C.H. calculated much higher impairment ratings from shoulder motion measurements. The Board found that those measurements did…
L.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Greensboro, NC
L.M. (ECAB 11-904): Leave buyback and subpoena denials upheld
L.M., a postal distribution supervisor with an accepted bilateral knee condition, sought to buy back leave used during intermittent absences from work. The Board found that her medical reports did not explain whether the accepted injury disabled her on the particular dates claimed. Its finding was…
K.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Washington, DC
K.J. (ECAB 11-881): Refusal to reopen back injury claim upheld
K.J., a postal clerk, reported back pain after a tray handle broke while he was working. OWCP eventually accepted that the incident occurred but denied his injury claim for lack of medical evidence linking his back condition to it. He asked OWCP to reconsider and submitted new treatment notes. The…
T.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
T.R. (ECAB 11-717): Four percent left arm impairment award upheld
T.R., a postal letter carrier, developed left carpal tunnel syndrome from repetitive work and received a schedule award for a four percent permanent impairment of his left arm. He sought a larger award, citing a physician’s rating that also counted degenerative disease in his left wrist. The Board…
A.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bellmawr, NJ
A.R. (ECAB 11-692): Knee disease claim sent back for a sound medical opinion
A.R., a postal letter carrier, claimed that years of climbing stairs at work caused or worsened disease in both knees. OWCP denied the claim after its second opinion physician discussed a single event in 2003 instead of the repeated work duties described in the accepted facts. The Board found that…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
J.M. (ECAB 11-642): Denial of arm injury claim upheld
J.M., a postal worker, said two bundles of magazines fell onto her hands at work in January 2003 and caused bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. OWCP accepted that the incident happened but denied her injury claim. After earlier remands, an impartial orthopedic specialist submitted a supplemental…
A.A. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Tallahassee, FL
A.A. (ECAB 11-1272): Knee injury denial and refusal to reopen upheld
A.A., a federal customs agent, reported pain in both knees after a work training exercise in September 2009. OWCP accepted that the exercise occurred but denied the injury claim because the medical report did not firmly diagnose a knee condition or explain how the exercise caused it. The Board…
E.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office
E.S. (ECAB 11-1162): No increase to right leg impairment award
E.S., a postal letter carrier, had received schedule awards totaling 18 percent impairment of his right leg for accepted foot and walking conditions, including osteoarthritis. He sought an additional award using a podiatrist’s impairment report. The Board found that the report did not document the…
M.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Miami, FL
M.T. (ECAB 11-1121): Denial of attendant care payment upheld
M.T., a postal clerk with accepted back and related conditions, asked OWCP to pay for help with personal care and household tasks. Her physician initially described a temporary need for help with activities that included bathing and dressing. The Board found that she had not shown that the people…
T.M. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA
T.M. (ECAB 11-1001): Compensation reduction reversed over job demands
T.M., a naval shipyard welder with an accepted shoulder injury, received disability compensation while seeking other work. OWCP reduced his compensation after identifying a customer service representative job as a measure of his earning capacity. The Board accepted that the job was vocationally…
J.Y. and Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, Atlanta, GA
J.Y. (ECAB 11-971): Hearing loss award and hearing aids denied
J.Y., a Drug Enforcement Administration agent, developed hearing loss after years of work-related noise exposure. OWCP accepted the condition but denied a schedule award and hearing aids. The Board found that the qualifying hearing test produced no ratable impairment under the applicable formula…
K.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Faxon, OK
K.F. (ECAB 11-966): Arm impairment ratings reduced on appeal
K.F., a rural letter carrier with accepted nerve conditions in both arms, appealed OWCP’s schedule award calculation. The Board agreed that OWCP properly used a second impartial specialist after the first specialist’s reports failed to resolve the medical conflict. It gave the second specialist’s…
D.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Arlington, VA
D.D. (ECAB 11-808): Benefits termination set aside on agreed remand
D.D. appealed OWCP’s termination of his compensation after it found that he refused suitable work. OWCP’s Director asked the Board to set aside that decision because the offered job lacked a sufficiently detailed description and included duties beyond D.D.’s restrictions. The Director also said…
J.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Boston, MA
J.L. (ECAB 11-771): Injury denial upheld, reconsideration refusal reversed
J.L., a postal letter carrier, claimed that carrying a heavy mailbag caused shoulder and back conditions. The Board upheld OWCP’s initial denial because the physicians had not explained how particular work duties caused or aggravated the diagnosed conditions. It reached a different result on J.L.’s…
T.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chandler, AZ
T.B. (ECAB 11-737): Separate hand injury claim denied
T.B., a postal letter carrier, had an earlier accepted carpal tunnel claim and later filed a separate claim for worsening hand symptoms after returning to limited duty. The Board accepted that he worked one day greeting customers and stocking light supplies, but found no evidence that he performed…
R.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Southeastern Processing & Distribution Center, Southeastern, PA
R.B. (ECAB 11-645): Late written review request sent back for discretion
R.B., a postal worker with an earlier accepted occupational disease claim, requested written review of a compensation reduction years after OWCP issued it. The Board agreed that her request came after the 30 day window for review as a matter of right. OWCP could still consider a late request in its…
American Federation of Government Employees, General Committee (Union) and Social Security Administration (Agency)
AFGE General Committee and Social Security Administration (FLRA 0-AR-4723): Employee-awards remedy upheld
AFGE challenged how the Social Security Administration distributed and transferred funds for employee performance awards in fiscal year 2008. An arbitrator found one improper transfer between award funds and ordered the agency to stop making that transfer, but declined to order retroactive…
Guam Waterworks Authority
In re Guam Waterworks Authority (EAB NPDES Appeal Nos. 09-15 and 09-16): review denied
Guam Waterworks Authority sought to renew Clean Water Act section 301(h) waivers that allowed its Northern District and Agana wastewater treatment plants to operate without secondary treatment. The EAB held that GWA did not show that it met all statutory and regulatory waiver criteria, and it had…
Vernie Dotson v. McCoy Elkhorn Coal Corporation
Dotson v. McCoy Elkhorn Coal Corporation (BRB 10-0706): survivor benefits begin at miner's death
Vernie Dotson filed an initial survivor claim in 2006 after her husband, a miner receiving black lung benefits, died in August 1998. A judge awarded her benefits under the restored automatic survivor provision but did not set a payment start date. The employer argued that benefits could begin no…
L.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Birmingham, AL
L.R. (ECAB 11-1405): Injury denial and hearing abandonment upheld with medical expense issue open
L.R., a postal clerk, said a forklift struck her at work and caused ankle and back injuries. The Board found that conflicting witness accounts and an ambulance report did not establish that the incident happened as she described. It also upheld OWCP’s finding that she abandoned her requested…
R.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pittsburgh, PA
R.K. (ECAB 11-1260): Refusal to reopen back claim upheld
R.K., a postal clerk, claimed that her work caused a herniated disc and appealed OWCP’s refusal to reopen her denied claim. Her reconsideration request checked a box on an OWCP form but supplied no new evidence or argument. The Board held that the request met none of the requirements for another…
L.E. and Department of Health & Human Services, Social Security Administration, Office of Hearings & Appeals, Birmingham, AL
L.E. (ECAB 11-1226): Disability compensation denial upheld
L.E., a legal assistant, had an accepted bilateral carpal tunnel claim and sought wage-loss compensation for periods when she was suspended and later separated from work. The Board found no medical evidence that the accepted condition prevented her from earning her usual wages during either period…
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Springfield, IL
M.B. (ECAB 11-1114): Finger impairment award and reopening denied
M.B., a postal mail handler, injured his left middle finger while removing a glove from a mail sorting machine. OWCP accepted the injury, but he submitted no medical impairment evaluation when he requested a schedule award. The Board held that the record did not establish any permanent impairment…
C.Y. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tampa, FL
C.Y. (ECAB 11-1068): Emotional condition claim and hearing denial upheld
C.Y., a postal letter carrier, attributed stress and anxiety to supervisors’ conduct, vehicle safety disputes, and disciplinary actions. The Board found that the record did not establish the harassment or supervisory error he alleged, so it identified no compensable employment factor and did not…
M.L. and Social Security Administration, Portsmouth, NH
M.L. (ECAB 11-999): Continued massage therapy authorization denied
M.L., a Social Security Administration worker, had an accepted neck strain and sought continued payment for weekly massage therapy. Her physician reported that the treatment helped relieve pain and maintain daily function, and OWCP had authorized it in the past. The Board found that his reports did…
J.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Washington, DC
J.D. (ECAB 11-629): Left ankle impairment award denied
J.D., a postal clerk, had an accepted left ankle strain and sought a schedule award for permanent leg impairment. His neurologist attributed larger impairment ratings to complex regional pain syndrome, but OWCP had accepted only an ankle strain. The Board found that her reports used an outdated…
T.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, White Plains, NY
T.S. (ECAB 11-601): Refusal to reopen knee claim upheld
T.S., a postal worker, sought reconsideration of a denied claim involving right knee pain after work on one day in February 2009. She submitted a cane prescription, a work restriction note, and a partly legible duty status report. The Board found that those records did not address whether the…
F.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Postal Inspection Service, Washington, DC
F.C. (ECAB 11-522): Termination of injury benefits upheld
F.C., a postal police officer, received benefits after a work-related vehicle accident caused accepted neck and back conditions. OWCP ended wage-loss and medical benefits after an impartial neurologist found that the accepted conditions had resolved and that she could return to her regular job. The…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Complex, Tucson, Arizona (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Council of Prison Locals, Local 3955 (Union)
FCC Tucson and AFGE Local 3955 (FLRA 0-AR-4772): Overtime award narrowed
Employees at the Tucson federal prison complex grieved unpaid work before and after their shifts. An arbitrator found willful violations of federal pay laws and awarded backpay, liquidated damages, and interest to employees in several departments. The Authority removed all relief for employees in…
United States Department of the Air Force, 442nd Fighter Wing, Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2361 (Union)
442nd Fighter Wing and AFGE Local 2361 (FLRA 0-AR-4394): Civilian uniform ruling upheld
The 442nd Fighter Wing sought to require Air Reserve Technicians to wear military uniforms while working in their civilian status. An arbitrator found that the existing Air Force instruction allowing civilian dress was incorporated into the parties' agreement and that the new requirement violated…
Elk Run Coal Company
Amended $52,500 assessment allowed and dismissal denied
The Secretary sought to amend a proposed assessment to $52,500 after an order had been modified to significant and substantial before the initial assessment issued. Elk Run objected and sought dismissal, arguing that the assessment was not proposed within a reasonable time. Judge William B. Moran…
Moltan Company, LP
Two communication errors excused and assessments reopened
Moltan missed one contest after a new employee omitted a word from counsel's email address and failed to send the planned fax. It missed a second after counsel tried to forward the assessment by cell phone from North Dakota, where a sporadic signal prevented delivery to another attorney. The…
A.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Indianapolis, IN
A.C. (ECAB 11-1142): Wrist disease claim returned for a complete record
A.C., a postal worker, appealed the denial of a claim involving wrist, arm, and carpal tunnel conditions attributed to years of repetitive duties. The Board found that an earlier claim raised substantially the same allegations, but its medical evidence was missing from the record on appeal. Without…
T.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Carl Vinson Medical Center, Dublin, GA
T.W. (ECAB 11-1070): Four percent right arm award upheld
T.W., a respiratory therapist at a veterans medical center, injured her right elbow while pushing a medication cart. OWCP accepted lateral epicondylitis, and she later underwent surgery and received a schedule award for four percent right arm impairment. The Board reviewed her surgeon’s rating…
M.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Performance Cluster, Boston, MA
M.G. (ECAB 11-1008): Attempt to uphold earlier benefits termination reversed
M.G., a postal mechanic, lost compensation in 2005 after OWCP said he had refused suitable modified work. The Board reversed that termination in 2010 because OWCP had not accounted for all his conditions when assessing the job. OWCP obtained a new medical opinion in 2011 and again treated the…
R.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Duluth, GA
R.A. (ECAB 11-973): Back disease claim denial upheld
R.A., a postal clerk, attributed back symptoms and disc findings to lifting, bending, twisting, and other work duties. OWCP accepted that he performed the claimed duties but denied the claim for lack of a reasoned medical link to his back condition. The Board found that his physician’s reports…
R.J. and Department of Homeland Security, Department of Transportation Security, Jamaica, NY
R.J. (ECAB 11-929): Two percent left leg award upheld
R.J., a federal security screener, received a schedule award for two percent left leg impairment after an accepted knee injury and surgery. He submitted higher impairment ratings from other physicians. The Board found that OWCP’s medical adviser was the only physician who properly applied the…
S.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Oakdale, NY
S.B. (ECAB 11-925): Disability claim returned for wage capacity review
S.B. sought compensation after stopping work, asserting disability related to accepted shoulder and neck conditions. OWCP denied her claim as an unproved recurrence of disability. The Board found that OWCP had earlier reduced her compensation based on actual earnings, and the new medical evidence…
D.G. and Federal Judiciary, U.S. District Court, Santa Ana, CA
D.G. (ECAB 11-923): Benefits termination reversed because medical report was overlooked
D.G., a federal court reporter with accepted arm and shoulder conditions, appealed OWCP’s termination of her compensation. Her physician submitted a report responding to the proposed termination before OWCP issued its decision. OWCP’s decision said no new medical evidence had arrived, and its…
M.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Indianapolis, IN
M.G. (ECAB 11-855): Refusal to revisit terminated benefits upheld
M.G., a postal worker with earlier accepted back strains and a repaired hernia, asked OWCP to reconsider the termination of his compensation. He submitted new medical records describing current back conditions and letters disputing a physician’s earlier examination. The Board found that the new…
S.B. and U.S. Postal Service, North Bay Processing & Distribution Center, Petaluma, CA
S.B. (ECAB 11-853): Foot condition claim denial upheld
S.B., a postal clerk, claimed that years of standing on a cement floor and other duties caused plantar fasciitis and foot pain. OWCP accepted that the identified duties occurred but denied the claim on medical causation. The Board found that his physician checked a form box linking the condition to…
S.R. and General Services Administration, Mid-Atlantic Region, Public Building Service, Kansas City, MO
S.R. (ECAB 11-827): Use of current impairment guides upheld
S.R., a federal procurement technician, challenged which edition of the impairment guides OWCP used for her schedule award. Her attorney did not dispute the award amount but argued that OWCP’s timing deprived her of review under the earlier edition and a hearing on that question. The Board found no…
D.G. and Social Security Administration, Jersey City Teleservice, Jersey City, NJ
D.G. (ECAB 11-760): Denial of continuing disability benefits upheld
D.G., a Social Security Administration employee, had accepted neck and back conditions from a 2004 elevator malfunction. OWCP ended her compensation effective June 2, 2008, and the Board had previously upheld that termination. She sought reinstatement, submitting medical reports that described…
A.L. and Department of the Army, Installation Management Agency, Food Service Branch, Wiesbaden, AE
A.L. (ECAB 11-525): Knee impairment award sent back for a new rating
A.L., an Army food service worker, injured his right knee after slipping on a wet floor. OWCP awarded compensation for a 31 percent impairment of his right leg. The Board found that the physicians had used neurological impairment tables without an established neurological injury and had not applied…
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.