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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B.P. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Richmond, VA
B.P. (ECAB 11-803): Emotional condition claim denial upheld
B.P., an IRS tax-examining assistant, claimed anxiety and depression related to her work. In an earlier appeal, the Board had accepted some of her tax-account duties and deadlines as compensable employment factors and sent the case back for medical review. The Board now found that her physicians…
D.C. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Leavenworth, KS
D.C. (ECAB 11-795): Existing knee impairment awards upheld
D.C., a Bureau of Prisons electrician, sought larger schedule awards for accepted injuries to both knees. An earlier Board decision had returned the case because the impartial physician had not adequately explained his impairment calculations. On remand, the physician explained the functional…
T.F. and Department of Labor, Office of the Solicitor, Kansas City, MO
T.F. (ECAB 11-763): Recurrence of total disability denied
T.F., a Labor Department attorney, retired after years of treatment and accommodated work following an accepted back injury. He claimed a recurrence of total disability from the date of retirement. The Board found that his physician gave work limits and described symptoms but did not explain with…
D.C. and Department of Defense, DeCA Southwest Region, Fort Lee, VA
D.C. (ECAB 11-555): Injury claim reopened for a merits review
D.C., a Defense Department store associate, claimed a neck and back injury from lifting and arranging produce at work. OWCP denied the claim and later refused to reopen it when he sought reconsideration. The Board found that his new account of his duties and a contemporaneous medical note bore…
N.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Rio Grande Performance Cluster, San Antonio, TX
N.W. (ECAB 11-530): Mail-truck incident established, injury issue sent back
N.W., a temporary postal carrier, said his back pain increased while loading mail and placing a ramp on a truck. His original claim gave May 20, 2010 as the date, but the Board found that the work incident occurred on May 19. It concluded that witness accounts, supervisor statements, and prompt…
Ember Contracting Corporation
Full $226,508 penalty assessed
Ember Contracting accepted one order and 247 citations across 29 consolidated dockets but argued that the proposed penalties would prevent it from continuing in business. Judge Alan G. Paez found that Ember remained capable of resuming mining and had not proved that the assessment itself caused its…
W.R. and Department of the Army, National Guard Bureau, Army Aviation Support Facility, Ronkonkoma, NY
W.R. (ECAB 11-1020): Disability recurrence established after loss of civilian job
W.R., a civilian Army aircraft mechanic, had an accepted back injury from a fall during his civilian work. His position required Army National Guard membership. The Board found that the accepted back conditions led to his medical disqualification from that membership and the withdrawal of his…
I.P. and Department of Commerce, 2010 Decennial Census, Dallas, TX
I.P. (ECAB 11-939): Claimed months of disability not established
I.P., a census enumerator, had an accepted right knee and left foot contusion after a fall at work. She sought wage-loss compensation for several months beginning about seven weeks later. The Board found that her physicians discussed other conditions that OWCP had not accepted, gave little medical…
T.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Tuskeegee, AL
T.M. (ECAB 11-844): One disability period denied, another sent back
T.M., a Veterans Affairs information technology specialist, sought compensation for two periods after accepted injuries to his back, knees, and left foot. The Board upheld denial of the December period because planned right knee surgery did not take place and the medical record did not establish…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Norfolk, VA
D.S. (ECAB 11-833): Leg impairment rating returned for clarification
D.S., a former postal clerk, sought a larger schedule award for leg impairment associated with an accepted lumbar injury. Her physician and an OWCP medical adviser disagreed on the impairment rating, so OWCP obtained an impartial examination. The examiner agreed with a four percent left-leg rating…
A.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Louis, MO
A.W. (ECAB 11-802): Hernia claim denial upheld
A.W., a postal carrier, reported groin pain while lifting a mail tub at work and later underwent hernia repair. OWCP accepted that the July 2008 lifting incident occurred. Her surgeon diagnosed a hernia but initially said it was not caused by work and later said only that a work connection was…
J.H. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Blaire, WA
J.H. (ECAB 11-666): Knee condition recurrence not established
J.H., a former customs inspector, had an accepted left knee meniscus tear and later reported worsening knee symptoms while working in the private sector. He claimed that his 2010 condition was a recurrence of the original federal injury. The Board found that his physician did not adequately explain…
N.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Warrenton, VA
N.B. (ECAB 11-630): Knee incident established and medical review ordered
N.B., a postal carrier, reported knee symptoms after stepping off a curb while loading his vehicle. His initial claim referred to the right knee, but later evidence identified the left knee. The Board found the work incident sufficiently established and no contrary evidence on that factual…
S.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Eatontown, NJ
S.G. (ECAB 11-611): Erratum corrects an OWCP decision date
The Board issued an erratum to its October 11, 2011 decision and order. It changed the OWCP decision date stated in that order from October 10 to October 4, 2010. The erratum ordered the earlier Board decision corrected.
S.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Eatontown, NJ
S.G. (ECAB 11-611): Eight-percent left arm award upheld
S.G., a postal clerk, received a schedule award for impairment associated with accepted carpal tunnel syndrome. Dr. Becan, an orthopedic surgeon to whom S.G.’s counsel referred her, rated additional impairment for a left trigger thumb, but OWCP had not accepted that condition as work related. The…
C.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Francisco, CA
C.A. (ECAB 11-556): Closed period of wage loss sent back for review
C.A., a postal mail handler, stopped working when the employer withdrew tasks that met her medical restrictions. OWCP denied compensation because she had an existing wage-earning capacity determination from modified work. The Board explained that a claim for a closed period of total wage loss may…
N.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cartersville, GA
N.S. (ECAB 11-443): Disability recurrence after neck strain denied
N.S., a rural postal carrier, had an accepted neck strain after a vehicle collision at work and later returned to full duty. She claimed a recurrence of disability in 2010 based on neck, arm, and other symptoms. The Board found that her physician said some symptoms could be related to the collision…
C.J. and Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Wallula, WA
C.J. (ECAB 11-254): Wage-loss reduction reversed
C.J., a federal meat inspector, received wage-loss compensation for accepted carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands. OWCP reduced his benefits based on expected earnings as a parts salesperson. The Board found that the job’s frequent reaching, handling, and fingering were not clearly consistent with…
United States Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service (Agency) and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 97 (Union)
IRS and NTEU Chapter 97 (FLRA 0-AR-4627): Overtime backpay set aside and remedy remanded
The IRS released seasonal employees for lack of work, then offered overtime to other employees without recalling them or adequately discussing its distribution with their union. An arbitrator found that the IRS breached the parties' agreement and awarded each affected employee pay for 50 overtime…
Omya Arizona
Unlabeled power-switch citation upheld and $300 assessed
MSHA cited three violations at Omya Arizona's quarry and crusher operation, with proposed penalties totaling $300. Judge Margaret A. Miller upheld the contested citation because an unlabeled disconnect switch could not be readily identified by its location, even though maintenance personnel knew…
Barnhardt Manufacturing Company
In re Barnhardt Manufacturing Company (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 10-17): appeal withdrawn and dismissed
Barnhardt Manufacturing Company sought review of several conditions in an NPDES permit issued by EPA Region 1. Barnhardt later filed a motion to withdraw its appeal. The Environmental Appeals Board granted the request and dismissed NPDES Appeal No. 10-17 with prejudice. The order does not state a…
B.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Sequim, WA
B.G. (ECAB 11-1088): Termination of wage-loss and medical benefits reversed
B.G., a postal carrier, had accepted claims for thoracic subluxation and a coccyx contusion. OWCP ended wage-loss and medical benefits based on a referral physician’s opinion that the conditions had resolved. The Board found that the physician explicitly rejected the accepted thoracic subluxation…
W.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Dallas, TX
W.H. (ECAB 11-922): Late reconsideration request denied
W.H., a postal carrier, sought reconsideration of a 2009 denial of his occupational foot condition claim. His January 2011 request came more than a year after OWCP’s last merits decision. The Board found it untimely and concluded that the added medical reports did not show clear evidence that…
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Petersburg, FL
J.B. (ECAB 11-916): Knee condition and surgery claim sent to impartial specialist
J.B., a postal letter carrier, claimed that years of standing and walking aggravated arthritis in his right knee and led to knee replacement surgery. His treating physician attributed the worsening condition and surgery to his work, while OWCP’s second-opinion physician attributed the arthritis to…
D.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, James A. Haley Veterans Medical Center, Tampa, FL
D.B. (ECAB 11-903): Disability periods after back sprain denied
D.B., a Veterans Affairs nurse, had an accepted lumbar sprain after a workplace fall. She later sought compensation for several periods away from work. The Board found that most disability notes did not link those periods to the accepted injury. One physician later attributed a herniated disc and…
M.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
M.G. (ECAB 11-789): Medical benefits termination reversed
M.G., a postal letter carrier, had an accepted sacroiliac sprain and continued working with restrictions. OWCP ended her medical benefits after a referral physician said the injury had resolved. The Board found that her treating physician had already given a conflicting opinion about continuing…
T.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Waterloo, IA
T.S. (ECAB 11-740): Three-percent awards for each arm upheld
T.S., a postal mail handler, received schedule awards after accepted shoulder conditions and surgery. His treating surgeon estimated ten percent impairment of the left arm, but did not explain how he calculated that figure under the A.M.A. Guides. The Board found that an OWCP medical adviser’s…
J.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Durham, NC
J.T. (ECAB 11-619): Disability recurrence and knee surgery request denied
J.T., a postal carrier, had accepted left knee ligament and meniscus injuries after a fall during a dog attack. He later claimed renewed disability from back and leg symptoms and sought authorization for surgery addressing a left knee cruciate ligament abnormality. The Board found that the medical…
T.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Detroit, MI
T.S. (ECAB 11-531): Claimed disability recurrence periods denied
T.S., a postal carrier, worked part-time light duty after accepted back and ankle injuries and an authorized spinal operation. She claimed additional total disability for intermittent days and then for several months in 2009. The Board found no evidence that her employer changed the limited-duty…
M.C. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, Casa Grande, AZ
M.C. (ECAB 11-380): Claim denial upheld, reconsideration sent back
M.C., a border patrol agent, claimed an emotional condition related to stressful incidents in his work. The Board upheld OWCP’s initial denial because no witness statements or other evidence corroborated the alleged incidents before the October 27, 2010 decision. On reconsideration, he submitted…
P.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Performance Cluster, San Diego, CA
P.D. (ECAB 11-312): Retirement incentive overpayment upheld
P.D., a postal letter carrier receiving disability compensation, also received a $10,000 gross payment as an incentive to retire. The Board held that she could not receive that separation payment concurrently with total disability compensation, so OWCP properly found an overpayment in the gross…
K.B. and Department of Defense, DLA Distribution Region East, Fort Belvoir, VA
K.B. (ECAB 11-228): Injury denial upheld for lack of medical explanation
K.B., a Defense Department distribution worker, claimed that a December 24, 2009 incident at work injured her neck and right shoulder. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the claim because the medical evidence did not connect it to the diagnosed conditions. The Board agreed that her…
N.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Mesa, AZ
N.C. (ECAB 10-1747): Reconsideration granted; knee claims returned for combined review
N.C., a Postal Service employee, appealed an OWCP denial of a right knee injury claim. The Board had previously remanded the case after treating an acceptance of a knee sprain as part of the same claim. On reconsideration, it found that the acceptance belonged to a separate OWCP file and set aside…
United States Department of Homeland Security, United States Customs and Border Protection (Agency) and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 231 (Union)
CBP and NTEU Chapter 231 (FLRA 0-AR-4734): Reassignment remedy upheld, fee issue remanded
Customs and Border Protection permanently reassigned two officers from small user-fee airports to Denver International Airport. An arbitrator found that the agency had not shown a service need for a permanent move under the parties' agreement, and ordered the officers returned with lost pay and…
R.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, North Metro, GA
R.A. (ECAB 11-1062): Late reconsideration request denied
R.A., a postal letter carrier, claimed back injuries after his mail truck was struck by another vehicle. OWCP denied the claim and later refused to reopen it after he requested reconsideration more than a year after its last merits decision. The Board agreed that the request was late and found that…
J.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Little Rock, AR
J.S. (ECAB 11-1010): Emotional injury reconsideration denial affirmed
J.S., a postal mail handler, sought benefits for anxiety, depression, and insomnia that she attributed to workplace harassment and management actions. OWCP had denied her claim after finding that she had not established compensable work factors. The Board reviewed only her later request to reopen…
V.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Greensboro, NC
V.L. (ECAB 11-953): Additional shoulder schedule award denied
V.L., a postal mail processor, had already received a schedule award for 15 percent permanent impairment of her right arm after shoulder injuries and surgeries. She sought a larger award after another operation, relying on her surgeon’s estimate of 20 percent impairment. The Board found that the…
A.T. and Department of the Air Force, Robbins Air Force Base, GA
A.T. (ECAB 11-902): Noise-related hearing loss claim denied
A.T., an Air Force machinist, claimed hearing loss from workplace noise exposure. OWCP accepted his history of noise exposure but denied the claim for lack of medical proof of a related condition. The Board found that the specialist’s testing yielded inconsistent results and no reliable finding of…
I.K. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY
I.K. (ECAB 11-860): Recurrence claim reconsideration denied
I.K., a Veterans Affairs nurse, suffered an accepted sacrum and coccyx fracture after slipping at work. OWCP later denied a claimed recurrence of disability and declined to add other conditions to the claim. The Board reviewed only OWCP’s refusal to reconsider those decisions. It found that her…
C.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Tucson, AZ
C.R. (ECAB 11-840): One percent knee impairment award upheld
C.R., a Border Patrol officer, injured his right knee during driver training and underwent surgery. OWCP awarded a schedule award for one percent permanent impairment of his right leg. The Board applied the required impairment guides to the medical findings, including his normal gait and stable…
A.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Keansburg, NJ
A.A. (ECAB 11-787): Knee injury claim denied for lack of medical proof
A.A., a postal carrier, said she injured her left knee when it struck a car door at work. OWCP accepted the incident but denied her injury claim. The Board found that several medical forms could not be authenticated as physician reports, a nurse practitioner was not a physician under FECA, and the…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Charleston, WV
J.M. (ECAB 11-783): Carpal tunnel and headache claim denial upheld
J.M., a postal data conversion operator, attributed carpal tunnel syndrome and headaches to repetitive keying. OWCP denied her occupational disease claim, and she submitted another physician report on reconsideration. The Board found that the report focused on cervical disc problems without…
H.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hartford, CT
H.B. (ECAB 11-656): Back injury claim denial upheld
H.B., a postal mail handler, claimed that bending to remove mail from a container caused low back pain. He had an older accepted back injury but described a new workplace event. The Board agreed that OWCP properly treated this as a new traumatic injury claim rather than a spontaneous recurrence. It…
E.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, North Metro, GA
E.P. (ECAB 11-614): Left arm impairment award returned for medical explanation
E.P., a postal letter carrier, received a schedule award for 11 percent permanent impairment of his left arm after an accepted shoulder and neck injury. OWCP based the rating on C7 spinal nerve sensory and motor deficits. He sought a higher rating. The Board found that OWCP’s medical adviser had…
S.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Riverdale, IL
S.T. (ECAB 11-1089): Two percent knee impairment award upheld
S.T., a postal letter carrier, received a schedule award for two percent permanent impairment of his right leg after an accepted knee injury and surgery. He argued for a 25 percent rating based on his surgeon’s description of lost shock absorption. The Board found that the surgeon had not assigned…
G.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Brooklyn Heights, OH
G.M. (ECAB 11-961): Recurrence of disability claim denied
G.M., a former federal air marshal, worked in a limited-duty position after an accepted left knee injury. He resigned after the agency declined to make that temporary position permanent, then claimed a recurrence of disability and wage-loss benefits. The Board found no showing that his medical…
D.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Sun Valley, ID
D.R. (ECAB 11-907): Whole-person back rating did not qualify for schedule award
D.R., a postal clerk, had accepted injury claims involving her back and sought a schedule award. Her physician rated her at 10 percent whole-person impairment from back conditions. The Board explained that FECA does not provide a schedule award for impairment of the back or whole person, although a…
J.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Louisville, KY
J.N. (ECAB 11-843): Left shoulder claim denial upheld
J.N., a postal carrier, sought to add a left shoulder condition to an accepted claim after falling at work. The Board found that her medical reports did not give a reasoned explanation linking the shoulder condition to the November 18, 2008 incident. One physician characterized it as degenerative…
V.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Lebanon, MO
V.G. (ECAB 11-722): Additional impairment reconsideration denied
V.G., a postal rural carrier with accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, sought a larger schedule award. After OWCP awarded one additional percent for her left arm, she argued that a second opinion physician should clarify a higher rating in an addendum. The Board reviewed only OWCP’s refusal…
W.Z. and Department of the Air Force, Los Angeles Air Force Base, El Segundo, CA
W.Z. (ECAB 11-718): Neck and back injury denial upheld
W.Z., an Air Force employee, claimed neck and back injuries after an accepted work-related motor vehicle accident. The Board found that he had not submitted medical evidence diagnosing an identifiable injury caused by the accident. A chiropractor’s letter gave no diagnosis, and the chiropractor did…
J.J. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Indianapolis, IN
J.J. (ECAB 11-693): Compensation suspension for obstructed examination upheld
OWCP suspended J.J.’s compensation after a scheduled independent medical examination did not go forward. The Board found that witness and physician statements showed that he arrived late, said he was carrying a handgun, and behaved in a way that made the physician and staff fear for their safety…
J.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bellmawr, NJ
J.P. (ECAB 11-564): Overpayment finding returned for work-status verification
OWCP found that J.P., a postal employee, had received a $2,241.61 overpayment after returning to work on August 4, 2010. J.P. disputed that he had returned. The Board found that OWCP relied on a single employer form without verifying the return date after he challenged it. It set aside the…
F.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Macon, GA
F.H. (ECAB 11-533): Carpal tunnel claim returned for medical development
F.H., a postal mail processing clerk, claimed carpal tunnel syndrome from years of repetitive work. OWCP denied the occupational disease claim. The Board found that her physician’s opinion lacked enough explanation to establish causation, but described her work and condition closely enough to…
A.B. and U.S. Postal Service, South Jersey District, Bellmawr, NJ
A.B. (ECAB 11-491): Knee injury and late hearing request denials upheld
A.B., a postal rural carrier, felt a pop in her left knee while walking across grass at work. The Board accepted that the incident occurred but found that her physicians did not explain how it caused the diagnosed strain. It also held that her request for review of the written record arrived more…
K.A., claiming as widow of S.A., and Department of Defense, Defense Education Activity, Arlington, VA
K.A. (ECAB 11-186): Survivor benefits denial upheld
K.A. sought survivor benefits after her husband, a Defense Department teacher with accepted work-related emotional conditions, died of a heart attack and ischemic heart disease. The Board found that the medical reports did not adequately explain how the accepted conditions caused or contributed to…
United States Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service (Agency) and National Treasury Employees Union (Union)
IRS and NTEU (FLRA 0-AR-4308): Union agreement protections survive IRS challenge
When its national agreement expired, the IRS announced that it would stop enforcing several union partnership provisions and another provision allowing union meetings after certain agency meetings. An arbitrator found that parts of the announcement violated the agreement and the federal labor…
United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Agency/Petitioner) and National Treasury Employees Union (Labor Organization/Exclusive Representative)
NRC investigators and NTEU (FLRA WA-RP-10-0019): Four more investigators excluded from union unit
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission sought to exclude criminal investigators from a union bargaining unit because their work affected national security. A regional director excluded 12 investigators who accessed classified information but kept 12 others in the unit. On review of those remaining 12…
United States Department of the Navy, Naval Air Station Whiting Field (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1960 (Union)
Naval Air Station Whiting Field and AFGE (FLRA 0-AR-4728): Earlier uniform allowance reduced
Police officers at Naval Air Station Whiting Field were required to wear uniforms, and their union challenged the station's failure to provide allowances under updated regulations. An arbitrator ordered $800 annual uniform allowances retroactively from fiscal year 2007 through April 2010. The…
Mining & Property Specialists
Record-book violation upheld with one-dollar penalty
Mining & Property Specialists kept a personnel carrier's electrical examination book at its office 9.1 miles from the mine rather than at the mine site. Judge William B. Moran held that 30 C.F.R. § 75.512 requires the record to be available at the mine, where MSHA and miners can access it when…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Summary decision vacated for possible premature rulings
The Secretary and Jim Walter Resources both sought review of an ALJ summary decision addressing a violation, S&S, unwarrantable failure, and the civil penalty. The Secretary said the parties and judge had agreed that their cross-motions would address only whether a violation occurred, leaving 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.