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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R.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Seattle, WA
R.W. (ECAB 11-362): Established workplace confrontation requires medical review
R.W., a postal mail handler, claimed an emotional condition after a confrontation with a supervisor. OWCP denied the claim without analyzing the medical evidence because it found no compensable work factor. The Board found that witness accounts supported R.W.'s description of the supervisor…
K.Y. and U.S. Postal Service, Rochester Processing & Distribution Center, Rochester, NY
K.Y. (ECAB 11-97): Shoulder award denied for unsupported rating
K.Y., a postal mail handler, sought a right shoulder schedule award after accepted shoulder and biceps strains and surgery. His surgeon proposed a 25 percent impairment rating but did not identify the A.M.A. Guides edition or tables used, or explain the rating's link to the accepted conditions. The…
Florida Power and Light Company
Arc-flash citations affirmed
An electrical contractor at Miami International Airport needed Florida Power and Light to open a meter can and remove a protective plate so it could replace wiring and a breaker. The FPL employee raised an energized bypass handle without first asking what work had been done or inspecting the…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Burdette Billings v. Proppant Specialists, LLC
Temporary reinstatement affirmed
Burdette Billings worked as a front-end loader operator at Proppant Specialists' Oakdale Wet Plant. The Secretary alleged that Billings raised concerns about miners walking through extremely hot sand, complained to MSHA, and was discharged one day after MSHA issued four citations. An administrative…
Prairie State Generating Co.
Original flooding-report decision later amended
Heavy rain caused unplanned flooding in the slope of Prairie State's underground Lively Grove Mine while it was under construction. Management decided the event was not an inundation and did not notify MSHA within 15 minutes. Judge L. Zane Gill held that the flooding was reportable under 30 C.F.R…
American Coal Company
Seven violations upheld and $37,300 assessed
MSHA litigated eight violations involving American Coal's large underground Galatia Mine after the parties resolved 32 other violations. Judge Michael E. Zielinski upheld the validity of a mine-specific safeguard requiring loose or dislodged bridge boards to be secured or removed from travelways…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Los Angeles, CA
S.M. (ECAB 11-1625): Late reconsideration request denied
S.M. sought reconsideration of an old determination that his accepted work-related condition had resolved. His 2011 request came years after the last merits ruling. The Board found that his statements and resubmitted medical records did not show clear evidence that OWCP had erred. It affirmed the…
R.H. and Department of the Army, Army Depot, Corpus Christi, TX
R.H. (ECAB 11-998): Elbow condition recurrence not established
R.H., a retired Army Depot sheet metal mechanic, claimed that elbow pain in 2010 was a recurrence of an accepted 2001 work condition. The later pain followed mowing his yard. The Board found that the medical note did not explain a connection between the new symptoms and the earlier work injury, and…
L.L. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, FL
L.L. (ECAB 11-610): Missing workplace audiograms require remand
L.L., a retired Navy sheet metal mechanic, claimed hearing loss from occupational noise. The employer referred to earlier audiograms but did not provide them, so the physicians reviewed an incomplete record and reached differing views on causation. The Board held that L.L. should not bear the…
M.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Akron, OH
M.W. (ECAB 11-574): Thirteen percent leg award upheld
M.W., a postal dock mail handler, received a schedule award for 13 percent permanent impairment of his right leg after an accepted knee injury. He sought a higher rating and questioned the date OWCP used for maximum medical improvement. The Board found no medical evidence supporting more than 13…
P.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, San Francisco, CA
P.D. (ECAB 11-545): Later disability not linked to accepted injury
P.D., a postal station clerk, stopped work in 2008 after an accepted 2005 injury and other later injuries. She sought wage-loss compensation linked to the 2005 injury. The Board found that her physician documented disability but did not explain how the accepted 2005 conditions caused her inability…
C.J. and U.S. Postal Service, M.L. Sellars Processing & Distribution Center, San Diego, CA
C.J. (ECAB 11-413): Personal detour on work travel excluded injury claim
C.J. injured his knee while walking in Detroit during temporary-duty training. He first described walking toward a museum after dinner, then said he was returning directly to his motel. The Board credited the earlier account and found the museum trip was a personal detour from activities incidental…
L.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Yorktown Heights, NY
L.A. (ECAB 11-374): Overpayment and late hearing request upheld
L.A., a postal letter carrier, received wage-loss compensation after returning to work. OWCP found a $6,767.49 overpayment and held him at fault for accepting payments he should have known were incorrect. The Board agreed with those findings. It also found that his request for a hearing on recovery…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3701 (Union) and United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Cleveland Area Office, Cleveland, Ohio (Agency)
AFGE Local 3701 and HUD Cleveland (FLRA 0-AR-4766): Five-day suspension upheld
A HUD employee and union president was suspended for five days after a dispute over his office furniture during a move. An arbitrator rejected one charge but found that insulting language and disruptive conduct supported the suspension. The union argued to the Authority that the employee's union…
Mark Gray v. North Fork Coal Corporation
Discrimination complaint dismissed, later vacated
Roof bolter Mark Gray alleged that North Fork Coal fired him after he refused to bolt an illegally deep cut and raised concerns about ventilation curtains. Judge Priscilla M. Rae found that Gray did not prove the claimed protected activities occurred, crediting testimony that the mine's poor roof…
F.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Missouri City Carrier Annex, Missouri City, TX
F.N. (ECAB 11-1180): Reconsideration request was timely
F.N. asked OWCP to reconsider a merit decision, but OWCP treated her request as late and required clear evidence of error. The Board found that the request was dated within a year of the most recent merit decision. OWCP had not kept the mailing envelopes, so the dates on the letters controlled. The…
L.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jackson, MI
L.W. (ECAB 11-972): Reconsideration evidence did not reopen claim
L.W. sought reconsideration of a denial of wage-loss compensation tied to an accepted right carpal tunnel condition. The new medical reports addressed later treatment but did not discuss disability during the period under review. Other materials repeated evidence already considered. The Board held…
S.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, West Sacramento, CA
S.F. (ECAB 11-959): Late oral hearing request denied
S.F., a postal city carrier, requested an oral hearing after an adverse OWCP decision. Her request was postmarked after the 30-day period for a hearing as of right. OWCP also declined a discretionary hearing because she could seek reconsideration. The Board found no abuse of discretion and affirmed…
R.M. and Department of the Army, Civil Personnel Advisory Center, Fort Jackson, SC
R.M. (ECAB 11-941): Fox blood exposure did not establish injury
R.M. was exposed to fox blood at work and sought coverage for preventive rabies treatment. The Board accepted that the exposure occurred but found no medical diagnosis of an injury and no bite. It held that exposure alone did not qualify as an injury under FECA and that the cited preventive…
W.P. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Los Angeles, CA
W.P. (ECAB 11-819): Left arm occupational disease claim denied
W.P., a baggage screener, sought compensation for left arm symptoms he attributed to years of lifting luggage. OWCP accepted that he performed the lifting but found the medical evidence insufficient to connect a diagnosed condition to that work. The Board found that one physician gave no specific…
W.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chicago, IL
W.C. (ECAB 11-813): Hand condition claim and reconsideration refusal affirmed
W.C., a postal carrier, claimed that his work caused hand and wrist problems. His physician’s work release note listed diagnoses and restrictions but did not explain how his postal duties caused the conditions. The Board therefore affirmed OWCP’s denial of the claim. It also affirmed OWCP’s refusal…
S.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Vehicle Maintenance Facility, Huntsville, AL
S.B. (ECAB 11-766): Emotional condition claim denial affirmed
S.B., a postal clerk, attributed an emotional condition to alleged verbal abuse and sexual harassment at work. Earlier Board decisions had resolved her other allegations about administrative and personnel matters and sent the abuse and harassment allegations back for development. The alleged…
P.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Islandia, NY
P.B. (ECAB 11-615): Benefit termination reversed and knee surgery request remanded
P.B., a postal letter carrier, had accepted injuries in both knees after a work incident. OWCP terminated her compensation and denied authorization for bilateral knee replacement surgery, relying heavily on a medical specialist’s report. The Board found that the specialist had overlooked accepted…
M.B. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Coleman, FL
M.B. (ECAB 11-518): Customer service wage-earning capacity determination affirmed
M.B., a correctional officer injured during a contraband search, could no longer perform his regular job but could work full time in a sedentary position. OWCP reduced his wage-loss compensation based on entry-level customer service work available in his commuting area. The Board agreed that his…
B.P. and Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Alturas, CA
B.P. (ECAB 11-208): Vocational rehabilitation benefit reduction reversed
B.P., a firefighter with an accepted back injury, was referred for vocational rehabilitation. OWCP reduced his compensation after he was incarcerated and missed training. The Board found no probative evidence that he had failed to participate in the required efforts: he had contacted the counselor…
American Federation of Government Employees, Council of Prison Locals 33, Local 3976 (Union) and United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Estill, South Carolina (Agency)
AFGE Local 3976 and FCI Estill (FLRA 0-AR-4755): Union's arbitration exceptions denied
The Bureau of Prisons barred an employee from returning to work until he provided a medical certificate clearing him for unrestricted duty. The union grieved the action, but the arbitrator found the grievance procedurally deficient because its notice of intent to arbitrate did not state the issue…
Eastman Kodak Co.
In re Eastman Kodak Co. (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 11-05(C)): $41,748 penalty settlement approved
The United States Environmental Protection Agency and Eastman Kodak Company signed and consented to entry of an attached Consent Agreement under Section 16 of the Toxic Substances Control Act. The Environmental Appeals Board incorporated that agreement into its Final Order. The Board ordered…
Nally & Hamilton Enterprises, Inc.
Inoperative backup alarm yields $469 penalty
MSHA cited Nally & Hamilton after an inspector found that a lube truck's reverse warning alarm did not work. The Commission had reversed an earlier ALJ decision vacating the citation and remanded only the S&S and penalty issues. Judge Jerold Feldman found the violation S&S because mine personnel…
Matter of Benno RIVENS
DHS burden for returning lawful permanent residents
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal from an Immigration Judge's decision terminating removal proceedings against a returning lawful permanent resident. The respondent had convictions for offering a false instrument for filing in New York and for being an accessory after…
D.V. and Department of Agriculture, Food Safety & Inspection Service, Amarillo, TX
D.V. (ECAB 11-1019): Vestibular function schedule award denied
D.V., a retired veterinary medical officer, had an accepted claim for Meniere’s disease and tinnitus and had received hearing-loss awards. He sought an additional schedule award for disequilibrium. The Board held that vestibular function is not among the body parts or functions covered by FECA’s…
C.K. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Illiana Health Care System, Mattoon, IL
C.K. (ECAB 11-905): Parking lot fall claim denied
C.K., a VA nurse, slipped on ice in a parking lot shortly before his shift. The lot was open to the public, shared with nearby businesses, and neither controlled nor maintained by his employer. The Board found it was outside the employer’s premises and treated the fall as part of the ordinary trip…
J.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tampa, FL
J.A. (ECAB 11-859): Thumb impairment award sent back for measurements
J.A., a postal clerk with accepted osteoarthritis in both thumbs, challenged a four percent impairment rating. The Board found that the medical report lacked required joint measurements and contained an unexplained inconsistency about thumb motion. OWCP’s medical adviser also used a calculation…
D.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Ronkonoma, NY
D.M. (ECAB 11-851): Some accepted conditions upheld and others remanded
D.M., a Transportation Security Administration employee, sought recognition of additional neck and shoulder conditions from an accepted 2004 injury. OWCP had accepted two conditions but denied others after an impartial medical examination. The Board found that the examiner did not adequately…
D.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Birmingham, AL
D.M. (ECAB 11-790): Neck and shoulder claim and reopening refusal affirmed
D.M., a postal mail handler, attributed neck and shoulder pain to repetitive mail preparation. The Board found that his physician’s reports described symptoms without a specific diagnosis or a reasoned link to the accepted work activities. His later reconsideration request promised more evidence…
J.S. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Orlando, FL
J.S. (ECAB 11-735): Termination of back and hip injury benefits reversed
J.S., a security screener, had accepted back and right hip conditions from a work injury. OWCP ended his benefits based on a medical report concluding that work-related residuals had ceased. The Board found that the physician did not clearly address whether all accepted conditions, including spinal…
L.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Burlington, MA
L.M. (ECAB 11-618): Glaucoma occupational disease claim denied
L.M., a deportation officer, attributed worsening eye symptoms and glaucoma to prolonged computer work and reviewing detainee files. The Board found that the physician’s opinions did not explain how those tasks caused or aggravated the diagnosed condition, and one opinion was speculative. OWCP had…
M.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Honolulu, HI
M.V. (ECAB 11-594): Ankle and back occupational disease denials affirmed
M.V., a postal letter carrier, claimed that carrying mail caused or aggravated left ankle and back conditions. The Board found that the medical evidence did not adequately connect either condition to his work or address preexisting conditions. It also found some submissions lacked probative medical…
C.M. and Department of the Army, Military Enlistment Processing Center, Rock Island, IL
C.M. (ECAB 11-503): Wage-loss benefit termination reversed
C.M., an Army supervisory specialist, received compensation after a workplace fall. OWCP ended her wage-loss benefits based on an examiner’s conclusion that she could resume her regular duties. The Board found that the examiner had given little reasoning for that conclusion despite noting…
V.J. and Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine, Robinsonville, NJ
V.J. (ECAB 11-351): Six percent right leg award affirmed
V.J. sought a larger schedule award for a right leg condition. V.J.’s physician, Dr. Becan, rated her impairment at six percent under the sixth edition of the A.M.A. Guides, and OWCP’s medical adviser agreed. The Board found that the rating followed the applicable methods and that she supplied no…
D.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Bellmawr, NJ
D.J. (ECAB 11-181): Arm impairment rating remanded for independent specialist
D.J., a postal employee, challenged a four percent left upper extremity impairment award. A prior conflict in medical opinion had been referred to an independent examiner, but OWCP later relied on other physicians when it applied the sixth edition of the A.M.A. Guides. The Board held that the…
J.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Waco, TX
J.F. (ECAB 11-133): Modified duty earnings accepted as wage capacity
J.F., a postal distribution clerk, worked in a modified duty clerk position after a back injury. OWCP found that her actual earnings fairly reflected her wage-earning capacity. The Board agreed that the position was medically suitable and that her pay rate in it exceeded the rate for her…
R.G. and Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Services, Chillicothe, MO
R.G. (ECAB 11-67): Emotional condition claim denial affirmed
R.G. attributed an emotional condition to workplace management actions and alleged mistreatment. The Board examined his allegations and the employer’s responses and found no supported compensable work factor. It held that the record did not establish error or abuse in the cited personnel matters or…
Secretary of Labor, MSHA on behalf of Jerome D. George v. Freeport-McMoRan, Bagdad, Inc.
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Jerome D. George v. Freeport-McMoRan, Bagdad, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 2011-1423-DM): Economic reinstatement settlement approved
The Secretary sought temporary reinstatement for Jerome D. George after Freeport-McMoRan terminated him. Shortly before the scheduled hearing, the parties agreed that Freeport would economically reinstate George effective September 21, 2011. Judge Jerold Feldman approved the settlement and ordered…
Consolidation Coal Co.
Late amendment to fire-protection order denied
MSHA sought $199,300 for five alleged violations at Consolidation Coal's Buchanan Mine No. 1. After the hearing, the Secretary moved to change the standard listed in an order involving an inoperable firefighting waterline and defective belt rollers. Judge Jeffrey Tureck denied the motion because…
John Gary Jarvis v. Highland Mining Company, LLC
Union-membership claim falls outside Mine Act protection
John Gary Jarvis alleged that Highland Mining subjected him to a tougher roof-bolter proficiency test because he was a United Mine Workers of America member. For summary-decision purposes, Judge William B. Moran assumed Jarvis had been tested differently from other applicants. The Judge…
Ivan Ramos v. Container Maintenance of Florida and Signal Mutual Indemnity Association, Limited
Ramos v. Container Maintenance of Florida (BRB 11-0130): Longshore benefits award reversed
Ivan Ramos repaired shipping containers and chassis for Container Maintenance of Florida and injured his wrist at its Alta Drive depot in Jacksonville. A judge found that both his work and the injury site qualified for coverage under the Longshore Act and awarded disability benefits. The Board…
W.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Orleans, LA
W.R. (ECAB 11-1024): Postal supervisor's emotional condition claim remanded
W.R., a postal supervisor, reported an emotional condition after being directed to remove two employees from the workplace and then learning that management had reversed the instruction. The Board held that carrying out the removal directive was a specially assigned duty and therefore a compensable…
C.R. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Richmond, VA
C.R. (ECAB 11-991): Late written-record review request denied
C.R. sought a review of the written record after OWCP denied her compensation claim. Her request was postmarked more than 30 days after the denial, so she had no right to that review. The Board held that OWCP reasonably declined to grant a discretionary review because reconsideration remained an…
P.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Eastern Colorado Health Care System, Denver, CO
P.M. (ECAB 11-975): Bare reconsideration request denied
P.M. sought reconsideration of an OWCP compensation denial. Her timely request consisted only of a mark on an appeal form and supplied no evidence or argument. The Board held that it met none of the requirements for reopening the merits. It affirmed OWCP’s refusal to reconsider without deciding…
K.L. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington, DC
K.L. (ECAB 11-955): Injury denial affirmed with medical-payment issue reserved
K.L. claimed a spinal injury after a workplace door struck her. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred, but the Board found the chiropractor’s reports did not give a reasoned causal opinion for a spinal subluxation and could not establish other diagnoses under FECA. It affirmed the claim denial…
D.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Omaha, NE
D.W. (ECAB 11-940): Finger award reconsideration refusal affirmed
D.W. sought a larger schedule award after a work-related finger amputation. His reconsideration request described sensitivity, potential nail problems, and the injury’s social effects but supplied no new medical evidence or qualifying legal argument. The Board held that those statements did not…
N.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Los Angeles, CA
N.B. (ECAB 11-924): Occupational disease denial and late hearing refusal affirmed
N.B., a postal mail handler, attributed hand, arm, shoulder, and neck conditions to repetitive work. The Board found that the physician’s reports listed diagnoses but did not adequately explain how the duties caused or aggravated them; a checked box was not enough. Her oral hearing request was also…
T.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chicago, IL
T.M. (ECAB 11-897): Knee injury benefit termination affirmed
T.M., a postal carrier, had an accepted right knee injury and received benefits. OWCP ended them after medical evaluation found no continuing work-related residuals. The Board found that the medical evidence supported termination and that her later submissions did not establish continuing…
M.H. and Department of the Army, Installation Management Agency, Fort Sill, OK
M.H. (ECAB 11-868): Back injury claim denied for inconsistent incident history
M.H. alleged that lifting boxes at work injured his back. The record gave conflicting dates and accounts of whether he injured his back, right arm, or both. The Board held that these inconsistencies prevented him from proving the incident as alleged. It affirmed the denial without reaching medical…
M.S. and Department of Health & Human Services, Indian Health Service, Phoenix, AZ
M.S. (ECAB 11-849): Abandoned hearing request finding affirmed
M.S. requested a hearing about her benefits but did not attend. She said she had not received the hearing notice after moving. The Board found that OWCP sent notice to her last known address and that the record did not show she had notified OWCP of an address change. It affirmed the abandonment…
C.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Chillicothe, OH
C.W. (ECAB 11-754): Claimed workplace infection exposure not established
C.W., a VA employee, attributed a diagnosed MRSA infection to contact with a patient at work. The Board found that the claimed exposure lacked enough detail, including its timing, and that the medical report did not explain how employment caused the condition. It affirmed the denial because both…
G.S. and Department of the Army, Fort Leonard Wood, MO
G.S. (ECAB 11-710): Head injury claim denied for lack of medical evidence
G.S. reported that his head became caught between a truck and a warehouse curtain during work. The Board accepted that the incident occurred. He supplied no medical report identifying a head condition or linking it to the incident, even after OWCP requested one. The Board therefore affirmed the…
A.A. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, San Antonio, TX
A.A. (ECAB 11-658): Seven percent right arm impairment award affirmed
A.A., a border patrol officer, sustained hand and arm injuries when a dog bit him at work. OWCP awarded seven percent right upper extremity impairment based on sensory loss in two fingers. The Board reviewed the medical ratings and agreed that the combined impairment was seven percent under the…
P.B. and U.S. Postal Service, International Station, Seattle, WA
P.B. (ECAB 11-542): New back occupational disease claim denied
P.B., a postal employee with an earlier accepted back condition, reported new back pain after changes in how she carried mail. The Board treated the alleged ongoing exposure as a new occupational disease claim rather than a recurrence of the old injury. Her physician diagnosed a lumbar sprain but…
V.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tampa, FL
V.S. (ECAB 11-197): Disability claim reopening refusal affirmed
V.S. sought reconsideration after OWCP denied a claimed period of disability. The Board found that her submissions repeated evidence already in the record or lacked medical value for the issue under review. They did not meet a regulatory ground for reopening the merits. The Board affirmed 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.