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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E.R. and U.S. Postal Service
Board upholds OWCP denial of late recurrence reconsideration (ECAB 24-0681)
A postal employee sought to revisit an earlier decision about a claimed recurrence and shoulder condition. The Board found his request was late and mainly repeated an earlier argument and report. It held the submission did not show clear error in OWCP’s prior decision and affirmed denial of…
C.H. and U.S. Postal Service
Board denies addition of shoulder arthritis (ECAB 24-0658)
A postal clerk asked OWCP to add aggravation of left-shoulder arthritis to her accepted injury claim. An impartial examiner concluded that the shoulder condition was unrelated to the accepted injury or the rehabilitation program. The Board gave his reasoned opinion special weight and affirmed…
M.G. and U.S. Postal Service
Board rejects disability-claim reconsideration (ECAB 24-0650)
A postal mail handler asked OWCP to reopen a decision on disability after December 6, 2019. The Board found his own summary of the claim and requests for medical supplies did not supply relevant new medical evidence on the claimed disability. It affirmed OWCP’s denial of merit review without…
R.R. and U.S. Postal Service
Board denies work-related right hip claim (ECAB 24-0624)
A postal clerk and special delivery messenger linked a right-hip condition to lifting mail and other duties. A physician diagnosed avascular necrosis and hip pain but did not explain whether work caused those conditions. The Board found the medical evidence insufficient to establish causation and…
C.R. and U.S. Postal Service
Board denies work-related hip and back claim (ECAB 24-0590)
A postal employee attributed right-hip and lower-back conditions to accepted work factors. The Board found the medical evidence did not establish a causal link. In particular, a physician’s statement that work could have caused the conditions was too speculative. It affirmed OWCP’s denial.
D.C. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration
Board denies expansion of back injury claim (ECAB 24-0464)
A TSA compliance officer sought to add further conditions to an accepted back injury claim after a workplace trip and strain. The Board found the submitted medical reports did not adequately explain how the accepted injury caused the additional diagnoses. Unsigned reports also lacked probative…
D.B. and Department of the Navy
Board finds hearing-loss claim timely (ECAB 24-0274)
A retired Navy shipyard rigger filed a hearing-loss claim in 2023. The Board found the employer’s hearing conservation records showed worsening hearing while he was employed, giving the employer actual knowledge of a possible work-related loss within the relevant period. It reversed OWCP’s…
H.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs
Board recognizes harassment factor in emotional claim (ECAB 23-0188)
A VA pharmacy technician reported an emotional reaction after a coworker showed her a sexually inappropriate image at work. The Board found the incident established a compensable harassment factor even though the employer did not classify it as sexual harassment. Because OWCP had stopped its review…
KeHE Distributors, LLC
Forklift aisle-marking citation vacated
KeHE operated a large food-distribution warehouse in Romeoville, Illinois, where pedestrians and forklifts shared much of the work area. An employee walked into the side of a moving forklift in a palletizing area and suffered an injury requiring hospitalization. OSHA cited KeHE for failing to mark…
A.E. and U.S. Postal Service
Board upholds two-percent leg impairment award (ECAB 22-0344)
A postal worker sought a larger schedule award for permanent impairment of her left leg. An impartial medical examiner explained why the accepted conditions warranted two percent impairment under the proper rating method, rather than a proposed five percent. The Board gave his opinion special…
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Twentymile Mining, LLC
Disability and untrained handoff excused
Peabody's safety manager, who normally processed assessments, was unexpectedly absent on short-term disability. The assessment went to an employee taking over compliance duties who had not been told that processing it was his responsibility and had not been trained. Peabody discovered the final…
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service
Board denies treatment recurrence and reconsideration (ECAB 24-0689)
A postal rural carrier sought renewed treatment for accepted hand conditions beginning January 3, 2024. The Board found no sufficient medical evidence connecting the renewed need for treatment to the accepted injury. She also submitted no relevant new medical evidence with her reconsideration…
D.F. and U.S. Postal Service
Board denies claimed shoulder disability period (ECAB 24-0623)
A postal rural delivery specialist sought disability compensation after an accepted right-shoulder injury. The Board found the medical evidence did not adequately link disability from November 17, 2022 through January 3, 2023 to that injury. A diagnostic scan alone did not address work capacity…
G.K. and Department of the Navy
Board reverses suitable-work benefit termination (ECAB 24-0594)
A Navy automotive mechanic with an accepted back injury refused a job OWCP considered suitable. OWCP ended his wage-loss compensation and schedule award entitlement. The Board found an unresolved conflict between his treating physician and OWCP’s examiner about work capacity and restrictions, so…
S.J. and U.S. Postal Service
Board denies additional neck, shoulder, and knee conditions (ECAB 24-0408)
A postal worker sought to add cervical, shoulder, and knee conditions to an accepted injury claim. The Board found a physician’s reasoned opinion that the accepted lumbar condition did not cause the claimed degenerative knee problems outweighed the contrary evidence. The record also did not…
S.W. and Department of the Army
Board denies pneumonia claim for lack of medical link (ECAB 24-0302)
An Army medical center physician claimed cavitary pneumonia after an accepted work incident in February 2023. The Board found the medical reports did not explain how the incident caused the condition. A work status note from a nonphysician provider also did not establish causation. It affirmed…
R.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs
Board denies later disability after accepted COVID injury (ECAB 23-0859)
A VA psychologist had an accepted October 2022 COVID-19 work injury and sought disability compensation beginning February 12, 2023. The Board found the medical reports did not explain how that accepted injury disabled her during the later claimed period. It affirmed OWCP’s denial of compensation…
N.S. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration
Board orders pulmonologist review of workplace exposure (ECAB 23-0535)
A TSA scheduling employee claimed respiratory illness after exposure to water-damaged ceiling tiles and particles at work. Her physician’s opinion was not enough by itself to prove causation, but it raised an uncontroverted inference requiring further development. The Board ordered a…
M.B. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Board reverses unsupported wage-loss termination (ECAB 24-0697)
A Customs and Border Protection employee challenged termination of wage-loss benefits following an accepted injury. OWCP relied on an impartial examiner, but the Board found his opinion did not explain how his findings supported the conclusion that she could work. Because the medical conflict…
A.G. and U.S. Postal Service
Board upholds termination after resolved injury (ECAB 24-0662)
A postal mail handler received benefits after an accepted injury involving her sacroiliac area. An impartial medical examiner found the accepted conditions had resolved and that she could work full duty. The Board gave that opinion special weight and affirmed termination of wage-loss and medical…
L.M. and U.S. Postal Service
Board denies two claimed disability periods (ECAB 24-0654)
A postal city carrier sought wage-loss benefits for February 19 through March 2 and March 4 through 7, 2024 after an accepted December 2023 injury. The Board found the medical evidence did not adequately establish that the accepted injury disabled her during those periods. It affirmed OWCP’s three…
F.D. and Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service
Board orders review of overlooked disability reports (ECAB 24-0555)
An Agriculture Department commodity grader sought wage-loss benefits after accepted shoulder injuries. OWCP said he had submitted no evidence supporting disability, although the record contained physician reports and an authorized surgery record. The Board set aside the denial and ordered OWCP to…
M.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Air Marshal Service
Board upholds end of resolved back injury benefits (ECAB 24-0470)
A federal air marshal received benefits after an accepted lumbar strain. OWCP’s second-opinion physician concluded the strain had resolved and that a separate sacroiliac joint condition was unrelated to it. The Board found his reasoned opinion carried the weight of the medical evidence and affirmed…
Grimes Rock, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. Grimes Rock, Inc.
Grimes Rock, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC WEST 2022-0334): Enforcement citations and withdrawal order affirmed
Grimes Rock did not timely pay $12,533.94 in temporary economic reinstatement that an earlier judge had ordered for miner Alvaro Saldivar. MSHA cited the company, issued a section 104(b) withdrawal order when it failed to abate, and issued another citation when mine operations continued despite…
Secretary of Labor v. Brand Industrial Services, LLC
Five-day late contest excused
A Brand employee mistakenly routed the proposed assessment to the wrong department. Brand attempted to contest the assessment five days after the deadline and then promptly filed a reopening motion. The Secretary opposed relief and argued that the company had unreliable procedures. The Commission…
United States Department of the Army, United States Army Garrison, Directorate of Emergency Services, Fort Huachuca, Arizona and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1662
Fort Huachuca and AFGE Local 1662 (FLRA 0-AR-5907): Authority allows firefighter damages process to continue
Fort Huachuca reassigned most firefighters after an earlier arbitration award had required consideration of seniority for those moves. A second arbitrator found that the mass reassignments violated the agreement and prior award and retaliated against employees for the union's first grievance…
Secretary of Labor obo Alvaro Saldivar v. Grimes Rock, Inc.
Judge retained jurisdiction after premature appeal
The Commission had remanded Saldivar's discrimination case to the ALJ for additional findings. Before the ALJ ruled on remand, Grimes Rock appealed to the Ninth Circuit. The court dismissed the appeal because a Commission remand order is not a final agency decision and later returned jurisdiction…
Billie Nida (widow of Glen Nida) v. Bi Mor Coal Incorporated
Nida v. Bi Mor Coal (BRB 23-0341 BLA): survivor's black lung benefits affirmed
Billie Nida sought survivor's black lung benefits after the death of her husband, Glen, who had 15.16 years of qualifying underground coal mine employment. The administrative law judge found that a physician's opinion established a totally disabling respiratory impairment when measured against Glen…
Terry B. Fee v. Powell Mountain Coal Company Incorporated
Fee v. Powell Mountain Coal (BRB 23-0247 BLA): denial of black lung benefits affirmed
Terry B. Fee sought black lung benefits after 27 years of coal mine employment. The administrative law judge found that he had not proved complicated pneumoconiosis or a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board found the judge's failure to consider one positive x-ray reading harmless: it…
Klinger v. BNSF Railway Co.
Injury-report retaliation ruling affirmed
Travis Klinger reported a work-related shoulder injury and took approved medical leave from BNSF Railway. BNSF enrolled him in a nominally voluntary medical-management program, repeatedly sought medical records, and imposed a serious 30-day record suspension after his doctor's office failed to send…
Roy R. Allen v. Frasure Creek Mining, LLC
Allen v. Frasure Creek Mining (BRB 23-0427 BLA): denial of black lung benefits affirmed
Roy R. Allen filed another black lung claim after a prior denial, with 39 years of coal mine employment credited to him. The judge found that CT scans and other evidence did not prove complicated pneumoconiosis and that Allen had not proved total respiratory disability. The Board upheld the judge's…
Stephanie Arotin (on behalf of Donald C. Lowmaster) v. Tanoma Mining Company, Incorporated
Arotin v. Tanoma Mining (BRB 23-0329 BLA): disability established, rebuttal remanded
Stephanie Arotin pursued Donald C. Lowmaster's pending black lung claim on behalf of his children after his death. Lowmaster had 28.15 years of underground coal mine work, but the administrative law judge again denied benefits after finding no total respiratory disability. The Board held that Dr…
Humbolt B. Pritt, III v. ICG Tygart Valley, LLC
Pritt v. ICG Tygart Valley (BRB 23-0205 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed after remand
Humbolt B. Pritt, III sought black lung benefits after 34 years of underground coal mine work. Following an earlier Board remand, the administrative law judge found that Pritt could not perform his heavy work as a shuttle car operator because of a respiratory impairment. The Board upheld the…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, John J. Pershing VA Medical Center, Poplar Bluff, Missouri and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2338
John J. Pershing VA Medical Center and AFGE Local 2338 (FLRA 0-AR-5937): Authority upholds full-time official-time award
AFGE Local 2338 assigned its chief steward to represent employees at three clinics and added hours from its official-time bank, producing a total request for full-time official time. A VA medical center approved only 25%, citing an internal memorandum and a travel-claims backlog. An arbitrator…
Vivian Preece (widow of Charles Preece) v. Preece Coal Company
Preece v. Preece Coal (BRB 23-0277 BLA): survivor's benefits denial affirmed
Vivian Preece sought survivor's black lung benefits after the death of her husband, Charles Preece. The judge found that Charles had less than 15 years of coal mine work and that the evidence did not prove pneumoconiosis or death caused by it. The Board upheld the judge's finding that two negative…
Robert L. Corley v. Consol Mining Company, LLC
Corley v. Consol Mining (BRB 23-0192 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Robert L. Corley filed a new black lung claim after an earlier claim file had been destroyed. The judge credited 28 years of underground coal mine work, found total respiratory disability, and awarded benefits under the 15-year presumption. The Board rejected the employer's claim that loss of the…
Miller v. Rhino, Inc.
Discovery default and damages vacated
Eugene Mitchell alleged that Rhino fired him in violation of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act, and Rhonda Miller later continued the case on his behalf. After Rhino failed to respond to discovery and several orders, an administrative judge entered default and awarded back pay, interest…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL v. TAFS Corp.
Wage penalties restored to $45,722.75
Mohammed Tahir operated two Pennsylvania gas stations and convenience stores that repeatedly and willfully violated minimum-wage, overtime, and recordkeeping requirements. The Wage and Hour Division found that 52 employees were owed $39,944.90 after its later investigations and assessed $45,722.75…
S.W. and U.S. Postal Service
Board finds written-record review request timely (ECAB 23-1149)
A postal letter carrier asked for written-record review after OWCP denied a COVID-19 exposure claim. The Board found his review request was dated within 30 days of the denial, so OWCP wrongly rejected it as late. It reversed the hearing ruling and set aside the underlying claim decision as moot…
James O. Patrick v. Island Fork Construction Limited
Patrick v. Island Fork Construction (BRB 24-0010): black lung benefits award affirmed
James Patrick sought to modify an earlier denial of black lung benefits after submitting new pulmonary function studies. A judge found the two 2021 studies showed total respiratory disability and, together with Patrick's nineteen years of underground coal mine work, invoked the statutory…
Wilmer P. Wylie v. AMFIRE Mining Company, LLC
Wylie v. AMFIRE Mining (BRB 23-0476): black lung benefits award sent back for medical evidence review
Wilmer Wylie sought black lung benefits after thirty-six years of underground coal mine work. On reconsideration, a judge awarded benefits after finding that a CT scan established complicated pneumoconiosis. The Board found that the judge had overlooked a doctor's report interpreting two CT scans…
Bernidita P. Vialpando (widow of and on behalf of Ernest G. Vialpando) v. Chevron Mining, Incorporated
Vialpando v. Chevron Mining (BRB 23-0467 and 23-0468 BLA): benefits awards remanded for blood gas review
Bernidita P. Vialpando pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor claim against Chevron Mining. The administrative law judge credited Ernest Vialpando with 31 years of qualifying coal mine employment, found a totally disabling respiratory impairment, applied the fifteen year…
Bernidita P. Vialpando, widow of and on behalf of Ernest G. Vialpando v. Chevron Mining, Incorporated
Vialpando v. Chevron Mining (BRB 23-0467 and 23-0468): miner and survivor awards sent back
Bernidita Vialpando pursued her late husband Ernest's black lung claim and her own survivor's claim. A judge awarded benefits after finding that the miner's thirty-one years of qualifying coal mine work and a disabling respiratory impairment triggered a statutory presumption. The Board upheld the…
Michael J. Aden v. Monterey Coal Company
Aden v. Monterey Coal (BRB 23-0446): black lung benefits denial sent back again
Michael Aden sought black lung benefits after seventeen years of qualifying coal mine work. A judge again denied benefits on remand, finding that he had not established a totally disabling respiratory condition. The Board held that the judge focused too heavily on whether test results met…
Raymond Simpson v. Bluestone Industries
Simpson v. Bluestone Industries (BRB 23-0433): black lung benefits start date moved to 2011
Raymond Simpson was awarded black lung benefits after the parties agreed he had complicated pneumoconiosis. A judge started payments in February 2020, the month Simpson filed his claim, because she found the disease's onset date was unknown. The Board found that a biopsy from October 2011 was the…
Gerald Tatum v. Dominion Coal Corporation
Tatum v. Dominion Coal (BRB 23-0237): benefits award affirmed with Trust Fund liability
Gerald Tatum was awarded black lung benefits after a judge found that his coal mine work and disabling respiratory impairment triggered a statutory presumption that the responsible operator did not rebut. The dispute on appeal was which entity must pay. The Board upheld the finding that Tatum's…
Tony L. Terry v. Electric Boat Corporation
Terry v. Electric Boat (BRB 23-0182): added hand injury compensation sent back for disability findings
Tony Terry, a pipefitter, received compensation for work-related impairments in both hands in 2004 and later reported increased symptoms after continued work. In an earlier appeal, the Board held that his later aggravation injury was work-related, but left open whether it caused additional…
Jimmy H. Sparks v. West Virginia Electric Corporation
Sparks v. West Virginia Electric (BRB 23-0132 BLA): benefits award partly vacated and remanded
Jimmy H. Sparks received a black lung benefits award based on a finding that he was totally disabled by legal pneumoconiosis. The Board vacated the judge's calculation of 14.35 years of coal mine work because he had treated 125 working days as a full year without establishing a calendar year of…
Bruce N. Arp v. Peabody New Mexico Services
Arp v. Peabody New Mexico Services (BRB 23-0037 BLA): supplemental attorney fee affirmed
After Bruce N. Arp's black lung benefits award was affirmed, his counsel sought a supplemental fee for defending an earlier fee petition. The judge awarded $930 for attorney and paralegal work, and the employer appealed. The Board upheld the use of the Utah market to set counsel's $290 hourly rate…
L.R. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Board denies addition of further injury conditions (ECAB 24-0554)
A Citizenship and Immigration Services employee sought to add further conditions to an accepted 2017 injury claim. The Board found the medical evidence did not adequately connect the additional diagnoses to the accepted injury. It affirmed OWCP’s denial of claim expansion.
K.C. and U.S. Postal Service
Board denies emotional claim and reconsideration (ECAB 24-0226)
A postal city carrier attributed mental distress to being overworked. The Board found the factual record did not establish a compensable employment incident as alleged. His reconsideration submission did not address that factual defect, so the Board also upheld OWCP’s refusal to reopen the claim.
B.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs
Board orders new shoulder impairment examination (ECAB 24-0223)
A VA licensed practical nurse sought more than a seven-percent schedule award for his right arm after a shoulder injury. The Board found OWCP’s impairment development incomplete, including the required independent range-of-motion measurements. It set aside the award decision and ordered a new…
T.L. and U.S. Postal Service
Board denies recurrence of total disability (ECAB 22-0881)
A postal worker sought compensation for a recurrence of total disability beginning April 24, 2021 after an accepted 2017 injury. The Board found no reasoned physician opinion connecting the renewed inability to work to that injury. A shoulder MRI alone did not establish the causal link. It affirmed…
K.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Trion Post Office
Board accepts postal carrier's reported vehicle crash (ECAB 24-0678)
A rural postal carrier reported that her vehicle struck a gate and brick post after she delivered a package. Her original claim gave February 26 as the crash date, but she later clarified that it occurred on February 27. The Board found her account consistent with the surrounding evidence and her…
B.J. and U.S. Postal Service, North Texas Processing & Distribution Center
Postal worker's overpayment and lung award decisions affirmed (ECAB 24-0599)
A postal worker received wage-loss benefits after a work-related COVID-19 illness while also receiving Social Security retirement benefits. The Board affirmed a $5,797.36 overpayment because the required offset was missing. Although she was without fault, she did not provide the requested financial…
N.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Oxnard Post Office
Postal worker's cervical condition claim denied (ECAB 24-0510)
A retired postal delivery specialist said years of carrying mail and other duties aggravated her cervical spine conditions. The Board had previously found her claim timely, and OWCP then denied it on the merits. The Board found that her doctors did not adequately explain how the accepted work…
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service
Board dismisses appeal from void OWCP decision (ECAB 23-1136)
The postal worker already had a Board appeal pending over the same emotional-condition claim when OWCP issued another decision in June 2023. The Board held OWCP lacked authority to decide the same issue while that appeal was pending, making the June decision void. With no valid new adverse decision…
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service
Board rejects emotional-claim reconsideration (ECAB 23-0589)
A postal city carrier sought to reopen a denied emotional-condition claim alleging workplace discrimination and other misconduct. The Board found his reconsideration request offered no new evidence addressing whether a compensable employment factor had occurred. It affirmed OWCP’s refusal to reopen…
Maryland Air National Guard, International Association of Fire Fighters, and Association of Civilian Technicians
Maryland Air National Guard, IAFF, and ACT (FLRA WA-RP-24-0002): Authority remands firefighter representation petition
Maryland Air National Guard firefighters moved from state to Title 5 federal employment, and the International Association of Fire Fighters sought an election to represent them. A regional director treated the firefighters as automatically included in an existing Association of Civilian Technicians…
Johnny L. Wallace v. Clinchfield Coal Company
Wallace v. Clinchfield Coal (BRB 23-0318): black lung benefits award affirmed
Johnny Wallace filed a new black lung claim after an earlier denial. The judge credited him with 13.44 years of coal mine work, short of the fifteen years needed for a statutory presumption, but found that medical evidence independently established a disabling lung disease related to coal dust. 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.