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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M.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office
M.R. (ECAB 11-84): Denial of larger arm and leg awards upheld
M.R., a postal employee, sought increases to earlier awards for 17 percent right arm and 12 percent right leg impairment. She also challenged the use of the sixth edition of the A.M.A. Guides. The Board found no greater ratable impairment and held that the sixth edition governed the decision on…
D.M. and Social Security Administration, Regional Field Office, Jackson, MS
D.M. (ECAB 11-64): Benefits termination reversed and emotional claim established
D.M., a Social Security employee, challenged termination of benefits for accepted conditions and sought recognition of an emotional condition. The Board found a medical conflict about continuing residuals, so OWCP had not justified terminating benefits. It also found that she established the…
C.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bolton, NC
C.B. (ECAB 10-2359): Leg schedule award claim remanded
C.B., a retired postal carrier, sought a schedule award for leg impairment. OWCP developed medical evidence, but the report did not adequately address the degree of impairment or its connection to the accepted injury. The Board held that OWCP needed a complete medical evaluation once it undertook…
L.G. and Department of Agriculture, Food Safety Inspection Service, Winesburg, OH
L.G. (ECAB 10-2188): Recurrence acceptance rescission affirmed
L.G., a food inspector, had accepted back and leg conditions and later received acceptance of two claimed disability recurrences. OWCP rescinded those acceptances after reviewing the medical record. The Board found that the evidence did not establish the claimed disability periods as consequences…
J.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Buffalo, NY
J.O. (ECAB 10-785): Order clerk wage capacity reduction reversed
J.O., a postal carrier, challenged a reduction based on a constructed order clerk position. The Board found that OWCP had not adequately shown the job was within his skills and medical restrictions or reasonably available in his commuting area. It also relied on an insufficient vocational…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 987 (Union) and United States Department of the Air Force, Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia (Agency)
AFGE Local 987 and Robins Air Force Base (FLRA 0-AR-4724): Overtime underpayment and damages ordered
Robins Air Force Base paid an employee too little when it converted unused compensatory time into cash. An arbitrator denied relief because the payroll error came from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, which the base did not control. The Authority held that the base remained responsible…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 858 (Union) and United States Department of Agriculture, Risk Management Agency, Kansas City, Missouri (Agency)
NFFE Local 858 and USDA Risk Management Agency (FLRA 0-AR-4614): Overtime ruling upheld, fee amount remanded
Employees at the USDA Risk Management Agency disputed receiving compensatory time instead of overtime pay, and claimed they had also worked unpaid hours during lunch or after their shifts. An arbitrator awarded overtime pay and liquidated damages to two employees but rejected the other claims. The…
American Federation of Government Employees, Council 215 (Union) and Social Security Administration, Office of Disability Adjudication and Review, Falls Church, Virginia (Agency)
AFGE Council 215 and SSA (FLRA 0-AR-4528): Employee award remedies upheld
AFGE Council 215 challenged how the Social Security Administration approved employee recognition awards and reallocated unspent award money. An arbitrator found that some managers used the wrong nomination forms and that some awards were decided by officials who lacked the role assigned in the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2328 (Union) and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Hampton, Virginia (Agency)
AFGE Local 2328 and Hampton VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-4472): Retroactive nurse pay denied
Nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists at the Hampton VA Medical Center sought separate local pay schedules and retroactive pay. The center established the schedules after their union filed a grievance. An arbitrator found that the earlier failure to establish them breached a duty, but…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Belt-examination order modified
Jim Walter Resources did not conduct an on-shift examination of three belt haulageways during a shift when the belts operated and miners worked nearby, while coal was produced elsewhere in the mine. Judge Jacqueline Bulluck held that section 75.362(b) required examination of each operated belt…
Matter of Paula CRUZ DE ORTIZ
Rescission limits do not bar removal after immigrant-visa admission
The Board reviewed DHS's appeal after an Immigration Judge terminated removal proceedings against a Dominican lawful permanent resident. The respondent had been admitted with an immigrant visa after a prior conviction and alleged immigration fraud, and the Immigration Judge applied the 5-year…
C.M. and Department of the Navy, San Francisco Bay Area, Oakland, CA
C.M. (ECAB 11-982): Pay-rate overpayment and waiver denial affirmed
C.M. disputed the pay rate used for wage-loss compensation and the resulting $4,927.41 overpayment. She also sought waiver of recovery. The Board found that OWCP used the correct rate, established the overpayment, and properly denied waiver. It affirmed the decision.
B.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Grottoes, VA
B.D. (ECAB 11-519): Emotional claim reconsideration refused
B.D., a rural postal carrier, sought reconsideration of an emotional condition claim involving her supervisor’s conduct. The earlier denial rested on the lack of a proven compensable work factor. Her new medical records addressed symptoms and treatment but did not establish that missing work…
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Mount Pleasant, MI
J.C. (ECAB 11-455): Twenty-one percent right-leg award affirmed
J.C., a postal letter carrier, sought a larger right-leg schedule award and compared the rating with an earlier left-leg award. The Board found that the applicable medical rating supported 21 percent right-leg impairment. It held that the sixth edition of the A.M.A. Guides properly applied to…
T.M. and Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Logistics Base, Albany, GA
T.M. (ECAB 11-449): Travel lodging reimbursement denied
T.M., a Navy mechanic, sought reimbursement for an overnight hotel stay and parking tied to medical travel. OWCP found the trip was shorter than the thresholds for lodging reimbursement, and he had not obtained advance authorization. The Board agreed and affirmed the denial of those expenses.
S.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Dallas National Distribution Center, Dallas, TX
S.B. (ECAB 11-403): Sixteen percent left-leg impairment affirmed
S.B., a postal mail handler, sought a higher award after a container rolled over her left foot. The Board found 16 percent total left-leg impairment under the rating guide. Fourteen percent had been paid for an earlier claim, leaving two percent attributable to the current claim. It affirmed OWCP’s…
P.W. and Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Fort Belvoir, VA
P.W. (ECAB 11-352): Treatment-day compensation allowed; other wage loss denied
P.W. sought compensation for time off in April 2010 due to accepted wrist and emotional conditions and requested written review of OWCP’s decision. The Board found that she was entitled to compensation for medical treatment on April 22 but had not proved disability for the other claimed dates. It…
W.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Las Vegas, NV
W.C. (ECAB 11-346): Finger cyst occupational claim denied
W.C., a letter carrier, attributed a finger cyst to handling and placing mail. OWCP accepted the described work factors but found the medical evidence insufficient to connect them to the cyst. The Board agreed that a reasoned causal opinion was missing and affirmed the denial.
S.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Mobile Parcel and Delivery Center, Mobile, AL
S.R. (ECAB 11-344): Wage-loss overpayment and fault affirmed
S.R., a postal employee, continued receiving wage-loss compensation based on a 20-hour workweek after increasing her work to 30 hours. The Board found that this produced a $6,797.44 overpayment. It also upheld OWCP’s finding that she was at fault and could not receive waiver. The decision was…
M.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Corpus Christi, TX
M.H. (ECAB 11-335): Six percent right-arm award affirmed
M.H., a postal mail clerk, sought a larger award after accepted right shoulder and forearm conditions. The medical ratings under the A.M.A. Guides supported six percent permanent right-arm impairment. The Board found that her ongoing symptoms did not establish a higher ratable percentage. It…
K.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Flint, MI
K.T. (ECAB 11-269): Emotional condition claim denial affirmed
K.T., a postal mail handler, sought compensation for an emotional condition she attributed to her supervisor’s conduct. The Board found insufficient evidence to substantiate her allegations of sexual harassment or other harassment. It acknowledged two workplace remarks but found that they did not…
D.G. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, Daisy, TN
D.G. (ECAB 11-232): Termination of back-injury benefits upheld with a correction
D.G., a former Tennessee Valley Authority electrician, received benefits for a 1978 lower-back strain. OWCP ended his compensation and medical benefits in January 2010, finding that the work injury no longer caused disability or required treatment. The Board found that OWCP had wrongly treated the…
A.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Austin, TX
A.S. (ECAB 11-224): Additional right-leg award denied
A.S., a postal employee with an accepted right-knee injury, had already received a schedule award for 19 percent right-leg impairment. He requested an additional award after further knee treatment and surgery. His physician and OWCP’s medical adviser rated his current impairment at 17 percent under…
J.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Louis, MO
J.W. (ECAB 11-167): Wage-earning capacity determination left in place
J.W., a former postal automobile mechanic with accepted back injuries, later worked for AutoZone. OWCP based his wage-earning capacity on that job’s earnings, and he sought to change the determination after back pain caused him to stop working there. The Board found that heavier duties at the…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Federal District 1, Local 1998, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (Union) and United States Department of State, Passport Services, Washington, D.C. (Agency)
NFFE Local 1998 and State Passport Services (FLRA 0-NG-3097): Seven office design proposals negotiable
Passport Services employees sought to bargain over the layout and equipment at a new work location. Their proposals covered access to office machines, counter acoustics, window desks, work storage, cubicle space, shredders, and adjustable desks. The Authority found those seven proposals within the…
Ronnie L. McDonald v. AECOM Technology Corporation and ACE American Insurance Company
McDonald v. AECOM (BRB 10-0720): employer-paid attorney fee affirmed
Ronnie McDonald worked for AECOM in Afghanistan and obtained benefits for lung and related psychological conditions. The employer appealed an order requiring it to pay his attorney's fee, disputing both the governing circuit law and the fee amount. The Board held that the law of the circuit…
J.M. and Department of Agriculture, APHIS Wildlife Services, Louisville, KY
J.M. (ECAB 11-526): Refusal to reopen back-injury claim affirmed
J.M., a federal wildlife specialist, claimed a back injury after setting an explosive charge to remove a dam. OWCP had accepted that the incident occurred but denied the injury claim for lack of medical evidence linking his condition to it. The Board reviewed only OWCP’s later refusal to reopen the…
K.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Yukon, OK
K.W. (ECAB 11-474): Shoulder-injury claim denial affirmed
K.W., a postal rural carrier, reported left shoulder and neck pain while delivering mail in September 2010. OWCP asked her to explain the specific work incident that caused the claimed injury, but she submitted medical records without a clarifying factual statement. The Board found that her account…
B.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Beulah, MI
B.D. (ECAB 11-464): Vehicle-accident injury claim denial affirmed
B.D., a postal rural carrier, reported neck symptoms after a June 2008 vehicle accident while working. OWCP accepted that the accident happened, but she did not seek medical treatment until about six months later. The Board found that her medical reports did not give a reasoned explanation linking…
R.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Kearny, NJ
R.G. (ECAB 11-439): Late reconsideration request remained closed
R.G., a postal letter carrier, filed one occupational disease claim for neck and wrist conditions. OWCP accepted the carpal tunnel condition but denied the cervical condition. She asked OWCP to reconsider the cervical denial more than one year after its merits decision. The Board found the request…
S.O. and Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Sandpoint, ID
S.O. (ECAB 11-434): Schedule-award reconsideration refusal affirmed
S.O., a Forest Service technician, received a schedule award for one percent left-arm impairment after a shoulder injury. He asked OWCP to reconsider, arguing that his physician’s higher rating under an earlier edition of the A.M.A. Guides should control. The Board reviewed only OWCP’s refusal to…
I.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Louisiana Performance Cluster, New Orleans, LA
I.D. (ECAB 11-296): Emotional condition claim denial affirmed
I.D., a postal customer-service supervisor, sought compensation for an emotional condition after a confrontation with his supervisor, the officer in charge for the postmaster. He alleged physical contact and abusive treatment during a discussion of work performance. The Board found no persuasive…
R.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, New Orleans, LA
R.C. (ECAB 11-267): Oral argument granted in pending appeal
R.C. appealed an OWCP decision refusing merits review of her claim. She requested oral argument and raised concerns about the handling of her case. The Board found that the request was timely and exercised its discretion to grant oral argument. It did not decide the underlying claim or whether OWCP…
B.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hanson, KY
B.P. (ECAB 11-226): Cardiac condition and wage-loss denials affirmed
B.P., a rural mail carrier, fainted while working on a hot day, and OWCP accepted a single episode of heat syncope. He sought coverage for a cardiac condition and wage-loss compensation from August 23 through September 10, 2010. The Board found that his physicians had not adequately explained how…
E.T. and General Services Administration, Federal Acquisition Service, Kansas City, MO
E.T. (ECAB 11-161): Twelve percent right-arm award affirmed
E.T., a federal property disposal specialist, injured her right shoulder in a workplace fall. OWCP awarded her 12 percent right-arm impairment, while her treating surgeon proposed higher ratings. The Board found that the surgeon had not adequately explained those ratings under the A.M.A. Guides. It…
L.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Bulk Mail Center, Des Moines, IA
L.D. (ECAB 11-87): Disability decision set aside for medical development
L.D., a postal mail handler with an accepted foot injury and complex regional pain syndrome, sought wage-loss compensation. An OWCP hearing representative directed further inquiry into whether her doctor had released her to unrestricted work after August 28, 2009. OWCP issued later disability…
J.P. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA
J.P. (ECAB 10-2038): Hearing-loss schedule award denial reversed
J.P., a former Navy shipyard worker, had an accepted noise-related hearing-loss claim. OWCP denied a schedule award based on an older audiologic report that showed no ratable loss. The Board found that the qualifying 2010 test and medical adviser’s calculation established 22.5 percent binaural…
R.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Las Vegas, NV
R.M. (ECAB 10-1998): Termination of injury benefits reversed
R.M., a transportation security officer, received benefits for accepted spinal sprains after a workplace fall. OWCP ended her wage-loss and medical benefits based on a consultant’s opinion that her work injuries had resolved. The Board found that the consultant had described different injuries and…
L.B., claiming as widow of G.B., and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Los Angeles, CA
L.B. (ECAB 10-1374): Survivor claim remanded for impartial medical review
L.B. sought survivor benefits after her husband, a former IRS revenue officer with accepted employment-related depression, died in 2008. The claim turned on whether that accepted condition contributed to his death, which the death certificate attributed to hypertension with asthma as a contributing…
T & F Systems, Inc.
Willful low-slope roof fall violation affirmed
T & F Systems employees installed roofing material on an Ohio high school roof about 25 feet above lower levels. The judge found that the roof was about 80 feet wide, so a safety-monitoring system alone could not satisfy the cited fall-protection standard. The evidence also showed that the company…
United States Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service (Agency) and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 233 (Union)
IRS and NTEU Chapter 233 (FLRA 0-AR-4646): Parking reimbursement set aside, bargaining ruling upheld
The IRS raised employee parking charges after the General Services Administration raised the rates it charged the agency. An arbitrator found that the IRS had to bargain with NTEU Chapter 233 before changing what employees paid and ordered several remedies, including reimbursement of the higher…
B.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, North Reading, MA
B.B. (ECAB 11-583): Carpal tunnel claim denial affirmed
B.B., a postal clerk, attributed bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome to years of repetitive hand and wrist work. OWCP accepted her account of the work activities but denied the claim because her physician did not explain how those duties caused the condition. The Board found that his brief causation…
D.H. and Department of Agriculture, Fremont National Forest, Lakeview, OR
D.H. (ECAB 11-450): Recurrence claim remanded for a fuller medical opinion
D.H., a former Forest Service worker, claimed that accepted lower-extremity conditions caused a recurrence of disability when he retired in June 2005. OWCP asked an impartial examiner to assess his right knee but did not ask about his accepted thrombophlebitis in both legs. The Board found that the…
R.F. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Bay Pines, FL
R.F. (ECAB 11-435): Finding of abandoned hearing request affirmed
R.F., a Veterans Affairs training instructor, requested a telephone hearing after OWCP denied his injury claim. OWCP mailed hearing details to his address and later reminded him of the date, but he did not call in, seek a postponement, or explain his absence within ten days. The Board found that…
J.E. and Department of the Army, Red River Army Depot, Texarkana, TX
J.E. (ECAB 11-395): Late overpayment-hearing request denied
J.E., an Army depot mechanic, received a hearing-loss schedule award that OWCP later treated as a proposed overpayment. He requested a prerecoupment hearing about fault and waiver after OWCP sent its preliminary overpayment notice. The Board found that his request was postmarked on the 31st day…
A.S. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, CA
A.S. (ECAB 11-356): Late reconsideration request denied
A.S., a Navy sheet metal worker, said she injured her knee in a restroom fall at work. OWCP denied her claim in 2006 because the evidence did not establish the alleged workplace incident. She sought reconsideration in 2010, beyond the one-year deadline. The Board found that her new statement and…
M.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Fort Washington Post Office, Fort Washington, MD
M.P. (ECAB 11-166): Emotional condition claim denial affirmed
M.P., a postal letter carrier, attributed an emotional condition to reductions in work hours, assignments, and alleged mistreatment while on light duty. The Board treated the scheduling and assignment complaints as personnel matters and found no evidence of error or abuse that would make them…
K.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Buffalo, NY
K.T. (ECAB 11-37): Neck and back claim denial affirmed
K.T., a postal mail processing clerk, attributed neck and back conditions to repetitive sweeping, lifting, and twisting. The Board found that her chiropractor qualified as a physician under FECA for the cervical and thoracic findings shown on x-rays. His reports, however, did not explain how her…
B.T. and Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Fort Morgan, CO
B.T. (ECAB 10-2338): Compensation reduction for nonparticipation affirmed
B.T., a federal food inspector with accepted back injuries, received wage-loss benefits while OWCP pursued vocational rehabilitation. An impartial physician found he could perform sedentary work, and a counselor identified a suitable debt collector position. The Board found that B.T. stopped…
K.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Spokane, WA
K.L. (ECAB 10-2319): Suitable-work benefit termination reversed
K.L., a postal worker with accepted thoracic outlet conditions, was offered a general clerk position. OWCP initially deemed the job suitable, then obtained a new impartial medical opinion after a conflict arose about her ability to work. The Board found that OWCP relied on the new opinion without…
T.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Jose, CA
T.T. (ECAB 10-2311): Wage-loss claim for accepted back strain denied
T.T., a temporary postal letter carrier, injured his lower back while lifting mail, and OWCP accepted a lumbar strain. He sought wage-loss compensation after stopping work. The Board found that his physician did not explain how the accepted strain caused disability during the claimed period. The…
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Kansas City, MO
M.B. (ECAB 10-2165): Bilateral carpal tunnel awards affirmed
M.B., a former postal human resources specialist with bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, sought larger schedule awards after earlier arm awards. OWCP added four percentage points to her left-arm award, bringing it to eight percent, and found no additional right-arm impairment beyond the 15 percent…
A.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Wallingford, CT
A.H. (ECAB 10-448): Mail-container injury claim denial affirmed
A.H., a postal mail handler, reported back pain after pushing a container of mail. OWCP accepted that the workplace incident occurred but denied the injury claim for lack of medical causation evidence. The Board found that his physician listed symptoms and checked a form box indicating a work…
Broan-Nutone Storage Solutions, LP
Power-press supervision and guarding violations affirmed
A Broan-Nutone machine operator's hand was amputated when a mechanical power press cycled while she was clearing a jam. The judge found that she received almost no instruction or supervision when assigned to the press, which lacked the light-curtain protection used on the facility's other presses…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1164 (Union) and Social Security Administration (Agency)
AFGE Local 1164 and Social Security Administration (FLRA 0-NG-3055): Union office floor plan outside bargaining duty
The Social Security Administration planned to move its six-employee Newport, Rhode Island office and place each worker at a single workstation beside a wall separating staff from the public. AFGE Local 1164 proposed separate interview and back-office workstations instead. The Authority found that…
Carter Roag Coal Company
Final assessment reopened
Carter Roag Coal Company asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final after no timely contest. The Secretary did not oppose the request. After reviewing the request and the circumstances, the Commission reopened the assessment and remanded it for further proceedings. It…
Big River Mining, LLC
Three reopening motions denied
Big River sought to reopen three assessments covering 147 enforcement actions and $281,919 in proposed penalties. Delivery records showed that each assessment was received and signed for at the mine, but the documents did not reach the superintendent or safety director while the idled mine reduced…
H&D Mining, Inc.
Years-late reopening request denied
H&D Mining sought to reopen penalty assessments three to five years after they became final, citing a mine shutdown and unfamiliarity with the contest process. The Secretary opposed relief, noting years of unanswered delinquency notices, $207,278 referred for collection, and a federal collection…
Con-Agg of MO, LLC
Renewed reopening request granted
Con-Agg renewed a request to reopen six penalty citations after the Commission denied its first request for insufficient detail. The operator explained that it discovered the assessment in MSHA's database during a company sale, could not locate the original package, promptly paid the citations it…
C.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Portland, ME
C.S. (ECAB 11-1274): Health-premium overpayment amount sent back
C.S., a postal employee receiving FECA compensation, remained enrolled in federal health insurance while OWCP failed to deduct her share of the premiums. The Board agreed that this created an overpayment and that she was without fault. It found that OWCP’s worksheet did not explain the proposed…
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.