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.W. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, CA
M.W. (ECAB 11-759): Overtime excluded from compensation pay rate
M.W., a transportation security screener, said his regular workdays included two additional hours and that OWCP should count that pay in his FECA compensation rate. The Board found that ordinary overtime pay was excluded by the statute. An administrative exception covered a specific annual premium…
G.S., claiming as widow of R.S., and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Sacramento, CA
G.S., claiming as widow of R.S. (ECAB 11-695): Survivor claim returned for review of surgeon's reports
G.S. sought survivor benefits after her husband died following surgery for accepted work-related cervical conditions. OWCP denied the claim, but the Board found that it had not considered two reports from the surgeon who performed the authorized procedure. Those reports addressed the surgery and…
S.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Carol Stream, IL
S.B. (ECAB 11-0521): Six percent shoulder impairment award affirmed
S.B., a mail processor, sought a larger schedule award for her accepted right shoulder injury and asked that the Board account for pain after surgery. OWCP’s medical adviser used the sixth edition of the impairment guides to rate her loss of shoulder motion at six percent of the right upper…
C.D. and Department of the Navy, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, VA
C.D. (ECAB 11-0504): Late reconsideration request denied
C.D., a former Navy supply clerk, sought reconsideration of OWCP’s 2008 denial of her occupational disease claim. She filed the request more than one year after that decision. The Board found that her arguments and evidence did not show clear error in OWCP’s earlier finding that her claim was filed…
J.P. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, DC
J.P. (ECAB 11-0438): Hearing loss claim remanded for merits decision
J.P. appealed OWCP’s ruling that his hearing loss claim was filed too late. After that ruling, he submitted a reconsideration request with new factual and medical evidence, arguing that his supervisor knew of the hearing loss. OWCP had not acted on the request. The Board remanded so OWCP could…
B.F. and Department of the Navy, Mare Island Navy Shipyard, Vallejo, CA
B.F. (ECAB 11-0433): Late reconsideration request rejected
B.F., a former shipyard mechanic, sought to reopen the termination of his compensation for accepted skin conditions. He requested reconsideration more than nine years after the latest merits decision. The Board found that a new CT scan did not address disability from the accepted conditions and…
P.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cherry Hill, NJ
P.V. (ECAB 11-0348): Sixth edition impairment guide applies to award
P.V., a postal clerk, challenged the use of the sixth edition of the impairment guides for her schedule award. Her attorney argued that delay in deciding the claim deprived her of a right to an evaluation under the fifth edition. The Board held that the edition applicable on the date of OWCP’s…
R.S. and Department of the Air Force, Offutt Air Force Base, Bellevue, NE
R.S. (ECAB 11-0323): Knee injury claim denied for lack of medical explanation
R.S., an Air Force painter, reported left knee pain after kneeling and cutting wallpaper at work. OWCP accepted that the work event occurred, but questioned whether it caused the diagnosed knee condition. The Board found that the doctors who linked the condition to work did not explain the medical…
D.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pittsfield, ME
D.M. (ECAB 11-0322): Recurrence denial returned for clear findings
D.M. appealed an OWCP hearing decision that had already set aside the suitable-work termination in part but denied his claimed recurrence of disability. The hearing representative treated recurrence as the issue without discussing the medical evidence. The Board found that the decision did not…
R.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, East Islip, NY
R.B. (ECAB 11-0163): Knee surgery request returned for consolidated record
R.B. sought authorization for a right knee replacement after an accepted 2005 knee injury. He had also filed a 1995 right knee injury claim, but that earlier claim file was absent when OWCP decided the surgery request. Both physicians discussing the surgery related his current knee condition to the…
J.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Washington, DC
J.J. (ECAB 11-0123): Postal worker's lumbar strain accepted
J.J., a postal distribution clerk, reported back pain after moving a heavy parcel at work. OWCP accepted the incident but denied the injury claim for lack of medical causation. The Board found that a physician’s examination and diagnosis supported a work-related lumbar strain. It modified the…
F.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Huntsville, TX
F.H. (ECAB 11-0105): Cervical condition claim remanded for medical development
F.H., a rural carrier associate, claimed that repeated lifting, reaching, sorting, and driving caused neck, shoulder, and arm conditions. The Board found that her chiropractor’s reports did not qualify as medical opinions under FECA because he had not diagnosed spinal subluxation by x-ray. A…
H.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Cheektowaga Post Office, Cheektowaga, NY
H.S. (ECAB 11-0031): Schedule award claim remanded after new impairment finding
H.S. appealed OWCP’s denial of a schedule award and its refusal to reconsider that denial. After the appeal was filed, a second opinion examination and medical adviser review found permanent impairment related to her accepted conditions. The Director asked the Board to return the case because OWCP…
M.M. and Department of the Interior, Centennial Job Corps Center, Nampa, ID
M.M. (ECAB 10-2197): Knee recurrence claim denied
M.M., a Job Corps training technician, sought further treatment after a fall months after surgery for an accepted right knee injury. The Board found that his surgeon documented degenerative joint disease and proposed treatment, but did not explain how the new need for care related to the work…
R.W. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency, Tooele, UT
R.W. (ECAB 10-2006): Knee impairment dispute sent to impartial examiner
R.W., an Army toxic materials handler, received a two percent right-leg schedule award after a meniscus injury. His examining physician rated ten percent impairment, including a component for ACL strain, while OWCP’s medical adviser disputed that component. The Board found the medical opinions of…
T.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Laurel, MT
T.D. (ECAB 10-1624): Wage loss claim remanded for complete medical review
T.D., a rural carrier associate, sought wage-loss compensation after a work-related vehicle collision. OWCP accepted several orthopedic injuries but denied wage-loss benefits for the claimed period. The Board found that OWCP’s medical reviewers had not assessed disability during that period or…
J.D. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Lakewood, CO
J.D. (ECAB 10-1308): Termination of emotional condition benefits reversed
J.D., a National Park Service attorney adviser, challenged OWCP’s termination of benefits for an accepted temporary aggravation of an emotional condition. OWCP relied on a physician it had designated as an impartial specialist. The Board found that OWCP had not documented his selection through the…
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3956, Council 222 (Union)
HUD and AFGE Local 3956 (FLRA 0-AR-4594): Telework bargaining award stands
HUD ended its employees' telework agreements and offered new agreements allowing one telework day per week instead of up to two. An arbitrator found that HUD had changed the telework policy without giving AFGE Local 3956 notice and an opportunity to bargain as their agreement required. HUD…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1976 (Union)
VA North Florida/South Georgia and AFGE Local 1976 (FLRA 0-AR-4450): Union steward's suspension award upheld
A VA facility suspended an employee and union steward for fourteen days after a contentious meeting with a manager. An arbitrator found that the employee's conduct did not justify the suspension under the parties' contract, and he did not decide the separate unfair-labor-practice question. The VA…
Matter of Antonio FIGUEROA
New evidence may support a renewed TPS application
The Board reviewed the appeal of a Salvadoran respondent whose Temporary Protected Status application had been denied by USCIS for insufficient proof of continuous residence. It held that an Immigration Judge considering a renewed TPS application in removal proceedings may consider any material and…
C.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, North Chicago, IL
C.W. (ECAB 11-0507): Hernia claim denied without medical causation opinion
C.W., a Veterans Health Administration housekeeping aide, reported groin pain after moving a chair at work. OWCP accepted the work incident, and a physician diagnosed an inguinal hernia. The physician’s report did not describe the incident or explain whether it caused or aggravated the hernia. The…
N.T. and Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Logistics Base, Barstow, CA
N.T. (ECAB 11-0407): Knee claim and late hearing denial affirmed
N.T., a Navy mechanic, twisted his left knee after falling from a vehicle at work. OWCP accepted the incident but denied the claim because the physician’s reports did not adequately explain how the fall caused or aggravated his arthritis. N.T. requested an oral hearing more than 30 days after that…
D.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Charlotte, NC
D.K. (ECAB 11-0340): Knee injury claim denied for insufficient medical evidence
D.K., a postal clerk, reported twisting his left knee while pushing loaded mail equipment. OWCP accepted that the event occurred, but the Board found that the physicians’ reports did not explain how it caused the diagnosed knee condition. The record also did not address a vehicle accident the…
F.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Richmond Processing & Distribution Center Annex, Sandston, VA
F.T. (ECAB 11-0339): Twenty-one percent shoulder award affirmed
F.T., a postal processing clerk, argued that his left-arm impairment exceeded the 21 percent schedule award. The Board noted that OWCP’s medical adviser had wrongly combined a shoulder range-of-motion rating with a diagnosis-based rating under the impairment guides. It nevertheless found no…
Jn.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, White Hall, IL
Jn.R. (ECAB 11-0326): Bilateral arm impairment awards remanded for clarification
Jn.R., a postal carrier, received schedule awards for three percent impairment of each arm after treatment for accepted cervical radiculopathy. OWCP’s medical adviser used a peripheral nerve table but did not identify the affected nerve, explain grade adjustments, or use the required severity…
G.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA
G.B. (ECAB 11-0297): Duplicate occupational disease claim denied
G.B. filed a second occupational disease claim for arm and shoulder conditions already covered by an earlier accepted claim based on the same typing duties. She and her attorney acknowledged that the later claim duplicated the first. The Board affirmed OWCP’s denial of the duplicate claim. It also…
C.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Fayetteville Veterans Medical Center, Fayetteville, NC
C.M. (ECAB 11-0284): Reconsideration denied without new relevant evidence
C.M., a VA nursing assistant, sought reconsideration of a denial of wage-loss compensation after an accepted shoulder strain. She argued that the work event also injured her neck, but OWCP had already rejected that claim. The records she resubmitted were duplicates, and a general medical article…
M.S. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Paradise Fossil Plant, Drakesboro, KY
M.S. (ECAB 11-0263): Lung disease claim remanded for impartial specialist
M.S., a Tennessee Valley Authority worker, claimed lung disease after years of exposure to asbestos and other workplace dust. His physician diagnosed occupational lung disease, while OWCP’s examining physician found no respiratory disease. The Board found an unresolved conflict about diagnosis and…
M.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Charlotte, NC
M.P. (ECAB 11-0245): Wage earning capacity reduction reversed
M.P., a former mail handler with accepted bilateral elbow conditions, received disability compensation after several surgeries. OWCP reduced his benefits based on assumed earnings as a surveillance system monitor. The Board found that the job’s reaching and frequent hand-use duties conflicted with…
L.R. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Pine Knot, KY
L.R. (ECAB 11-0165): Injury denial affirmed but medical expenses remanded
L.R., a correctional officer, reported injuries after a vehicle accident during prisoner transport. The Board found no qualifying physician’s diagnosis or reasoned causation opinion, so it affirmed OWCP’s denial of the traumatic injury claim. The agency had issued a treatment authorization…
C.R. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Materiel Command, Richmond, KY
C.R. (ECAB 11-0118): Wage earning capacity modification denied
C.R. sought to change a 2002 wage-earning capacity decision based on a companion position after an accepted back injury. The Board found that the original decision accounted for her physical limits and the position’s availability. Later medical reports described back symptoms but did not show a…
A.C. and Department of Defense, Defense Distribution Depot, Norfolk, VA
A.C. (ECAB 11-0022): Recurrence of disability claim denied
A.C. claimed that accepted back conditions left her unable to continue light-duty work beginning in October 1999. The Board found no change in the job’s duties and no reasoned medical report tying an inability to perform that work to the accepted strain and lumbago. Some reports discussed other…
K.B. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Depot, San Diego, CA
K.B. (ECAB 10-2324): Termination of back injury benefits affirmed
K.B., an aircraft sheet metal worker, challenged the termination of benefits for accepted lumbar strain and back sprain. Treating doctors and OWCP’s examiner disagreed about continuing injury effects, so OWCP obtained an impartial orthopedic examination. The Board found the impartial specialist’s…
A.U. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Houston, TX
A.U. (ECAB 10-2224): Knee hip and back claim denied for lack of causal explanation
A.U., a postal worker, reported hyperextending his left knee and twisting his right knee and hip when a knee brace gave way at work. OWCP accepted the incident, and physicians diagnosed knee, hip, and back conditions. The Board found that their reports did not explain how the incident caused or…
American Federation of Government Employees, National Border Patrol Council (Union) and United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Border Patrol, Washington, D.C. (Agency)
Border Patrol Council and CBP (FLRA 0-AR-4562): Vehicle pursuit policy award upheld
The Border Patrol Council challenged CBP's revised vehicle pursuit policy after the agency ended an initial bargaining session. The union wanted employees involved in a pursuit to receive copies of any available recordings before being required to make statements in an investigation. An arbitrator…
Matter of Francisco HERRERA DEL ORDEN
New evidence may support a conditional-residence waiver
The Board reviewed the respondent's challenge to the denial of his waiver of the joint-petition requirement for removing the conditional basis of his lawful permanent resident status. The Immigration Judge had limited the review to evidence previously submitted to DHS, even though the respondent…
D.C. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, West Palm Beach, FL
D.C. (ECAB 11-0146): Hernia claim denied without work causation evidence
D.C., a transportation security officer, claimed that repeated luggage lifting caused a right inguinal hernia. OWCP accepted the lifting duties, but the physicians who diagnosed and treated the hernia did not explain how those duties caused or aggravated it. The Board found no reasoned medical…
P.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Indianapolis, IN
P.S. (ECAB 11-1411): Oral argument granted in arm injury appeal
P.S. appealed OWCP’s denial of his left-arm injury claim and timely requested oral argument. He asked to address the record and OWCP’s review of the medical evidence. The Board exercised its discretion to grant argument. It did not decide whether the claimed injury was compensable.
F.W. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Oak Harbor, WA
F.W. (ECAB 11-1348): Oral argument granted in consolidated appeals
F.W. appealed OWCP’s refusal to reopen his claim for merits review in two consolidated dockets. His attorney sought oral argument about the treatment of newly submitted medical reports and the scope of the Board’s review. The Board granted the timely request. It did not decide the reconsideration…
R.S. and Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Washington, DC
R.S. (ECAB 11-1085): Oral argument granted on reconsideration appeal
R.S. appealed OWCP’s refusal to reconsider her claim, arguing that it had overlooked medical reports she submitted. She timely requested oral argument to address those records. The Board granted the request but did not rule on the evidence or the underlying compensation claim. Its review remained…
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Omaha, NE
J.C. (ECAB 11-0515): Schedule award reconsideration denied
J.C., a postal carrier, sought reconsideration after OWCP denied a schedule award for conditions it had accepted only as temporary aggravations. He resubmitted medical reports already in the record and repeated his argument that the conditions had become permanent. The Board found no relevant new…
J.L. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, O’Hare International Airport, Chicago, IL
J.L. (ECAB 11-0377): Stroke claim denied as occupational disease
J.L., an airport maintenance technician, attributed a stroke to increased work demands over three months. Although he filed a traumatic injury form, the Board treated the claim as an occupational disease because the alleged factors spanned more than one shift. One physician said work causation was…
P.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Houston, TX
P.F. (ECAB 11-0311): Oral argument granted in overpayment appeal
P.F. appealed OWCP’s finding that she was at fault for a $27,159.35 overpayment and its denial of waiver. She argued that she had reported increased work hours and that repayment would cause hardship. The Board granted her timely request for oral argument. It did not decide fault, waiver, or the…
S.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fair Oaks, CA
S.P. (ECAB 11-0281): Hand condition claim denied without medical evidence
S.P., a city letter carrier, claimed that repeated casing, grasping, and delivering mail caused left thumb trigger finger and arthritis in both hands. The Board accepted his account of the hand-intensive duties. He submitted no medical evidence establishing a firm diagnosis or explaining how those…
B.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Edison, NJ
B.D. (ECAB 11-0247): Mail handler occupational disease claim denied
B.D., a former mail handler, claimed that unloading heavy mailbags caused or aggravated neck, back, leg, and hip conditions. The Board accepted the described work duties and noted several medical diagnoses. It found that the physicians’ reports lacked a complete and consistent history or a reasoned…
M.H. and Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Rainelle, WV
M.H. (ECAB 11-0204): Rescission of knee injury acceptance affirmed
M.H., a temporary Census Bureau employee, injured his knee after slipping on the sidewalk outside his home. OWCP initially accepted the claim, then rescinded acceptance after learning that he had no scheduled testing work that day. The Board found that even if he intended to drive to work, he was…
E.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Phoenix, AZ
E.L. (ECAB 11-0203): Suitable work reconsideration denied
E.L. sought reconsideration of OWCP’s termination of compensation after she refused an offered modified job. Her new submissions addressed a schedule award, treatment, and a workplace complaint, but did not provide a medical opinion showing she could not perform the offered job when benefits ended…
E.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Little Rock, AK
E.B. (ECAB 11-0148): Recurrence of disability denied
E.B., a postal clerk with accepted arm, shoulder, and neck conditions, stopped a modified job and claimed a recurrence of total disability. The Board found that her physician had not explained a spontaneous worsening of an accepted condition that prevented the light work. It also found no factual…
T.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Nashville, TN
T.R. (ECAB 11-0144): Elbow condition claim denied for weak medical rationale
T.R., a transportation security screener, claimed that repetitive luggage lifting caused right elbow lateral epicondylitis. The Board accepted the lifting duties and the diagnosis, but found that the physicians’ statements that work likely contributed to the condition lacked a detailed explanation…
S.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Information & Technology, Washington, DC
S.S. (ECAB 11-0134): Additional conditions not accepted after fall
S.S. sought acceptance of additional conditions after a work-related fall on ice. OWCP had accepted a knee abrasion and cervical subluxations. The Board found that the physician reports did not clearly diagnose the additional shoulder and leg conditions or explain their connection to the fall. A…
P.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chicago, IL
P.C. (ECAB 11-0112): Back injury denial and reconsideration refusal affirmed
P.C. claimed a back injury from an accepted 2006 work incident. The Board found that the medical reports did not provide a reasoned connection between her later diagnosed disc condition and that incident. It also found no evidence that a medical report she said she mailed with her reconsideration…
D.A. and Department of the Navy, Portsmouth, VA
D.A. (ECAB 11-0103): Termination of injury benefits affirmed
D.A., a Navy paint blaster, challenged termination of compensation after accepted neck, wrist, and sacroiliac sprains. Treating and OWCP physicians disagreed about continuing effects, so OWCP obtained an impartial examination. The Board found that the impartial specialist’s reasoned opinion…
W.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fergus Falls, MN
W.C. (ECAB 11-0092): Part time job cannot support full time wage capacity
W.C. sought modification of a wage-earning capacity determination based on a 20-hour weekly rehabilitation assignment. He had worked full time when injured. The Board found that OWCP had not explained why the part-time assignment fairly represented his earning capacity in the open labor market and…
M.S. and Department of the Navy, Pacific Fleet Shipyard, Pearl Habor, HI
M.S. (ECAB 11-0055): Arm impairment awards returned for supported ratings
M.S., a Navy worker, received schedule awards for four percent right-arm and three percent left-arm impairment from accepted shoulder and cervical conditions. The second opinion physician supplied no rating under the applicable guides. OWCP’s medical adviser then assigned percentages without…
S.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Odessa, FL
S.B. (ECAB 10-2226): Benefit termination reversed for insufficient notice
S.B., a rural carrier associate, challenged termination of benefits after an accepted injury. OWCP’s proposed-termination notice identified only medical benefits for cervical and lumbar conditions. Its final decision also terminated wage-loss benefits and benefits for a shoulder condition without…
R.P. and Deparment of the Air Force, McGuire Air Force Base, NJ
R.P. (ECAB 11-0500): Hearing loss claim and reconsideration denial affirmed
R.P. claimed that noise in federal jobs with the Department of the Army at Fort Dix caused bilateral hearing loss. The base was later taken over by the Air Force. The Board found a diagnosis but no physician’s opinion linking the loss to job noise; OWCP’s examiner attributed the progression to age…
D.M. and Department of Transportation, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, NY
D.M. (ECAB 11-0417): Cardiac injury claim denied for lack of causation evidence
D.M. experienced chest pain while doing masonry work at the Merchant Marine Academy and sought compensation for a cardiac condition. His physician described a longstanding history of coronary disease but did not explain how the work activity caused or worsened it. The Board held that timing alone…
R.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Morrisville, NC
R.R. (ECAB 11-0388): Bilateral knee arthritis claim denied
R.R., a transportation security employee, claimed that work activities including standing, bending, and squatting caused arthritis in both knees. Physicians documented knee findings and treatment, but none gave a reasoned explanation linking the conditions to her duties. The Board found the medical…
R.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Salt Lake City, UT
R.J. (ECAB 11-0307): Intermittent wage loss denied for insufficient medical support
R.J. sought compensation for missed work on April 29 and 30 and May 8 and 10, 2010, after accepted left knee conditions. His doctor’s notes stated that he could not work but did not explain why the accepted conditions disabled him on those dates before surgery. A physician assistant’s notes could…
J.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Castle, DE
J.W. (ECAB 11-0289): Twelve percent right arm impairment award affirmed
J.W., a postal letter carrier, sought a larger right-arm schedule award after treatment for accepted shoulder impingement. OWCP’s medical adviser rated impairment at 12 percent using the applicable diagnosis and grade adjustments. The Board found that another physician’s proposed rating included…
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.