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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C.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Malden, MA
C.H. (ECAB 11-0261): Knee injury claim remanded for medical development
C.H., a mail carrier, reported left knee pain during her regular duties on February 10, 2010. The Board found that the work incident occurred as she described. Her orthopedist explained how ordinary walking and carrying mail could cause a meniscal tear, but his report did not establish the claim by…
L.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Newark, NJ
L.S. (ECAB 11-0210): Back and leg injury claim denied
L.S., a mail handler, claimed that lifting a military trunk at work on December 21, 2009 injured his back and leg. The Board accepted that the lifting incident occurred. His medical submissions did not give a reasoned explanation connecting the diagnosed conditions to that incident. The Board…
A.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Newark, NJ
A.B. (ECAB 11-0182): Right arm schedule award denial affirmed
A.B., a mail handler, sought a schedule award for permanent right arm impairment after an accepted workplace injury that included a right wrist sprain. Her impairment ratings depended on a right carpal tunnel condition that OWCP had not accepted. The Board found that the medical reports did not…
V.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Sun Prairie, WI
V.W. (ECAB 11-0156): Emotional condition reconsideration denial affirmed
V.W., a postal clerk, sought reconsideration of a denied emotional condition claim based on workplace harassment and work-hour restrictions. The Board could review only OWCP’s refusal to reopen the claim because the appeal came more than 180 days after the last merits decision. It found no relevant…
J.G. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Installation Management Agency, Fort Leavenworth, KS
J.G. (ECAB 11-0140): Neck injury and reconsideration denials affirmed
J.G., an Army firefighter, reported neck and arm symptoms after lifting a file box overhead at work on May 19, 2010. The Board accepted the lifting event but found that the medical reports did not adequately explain how it caused his diagnosed cervical condition. His reconsideration request…
A.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Baltimore, MD
A.W. (ECAB 11-0132): Recurrence of disability denial affirmed
A.W., a mail handler with accepted back and related conditions, claimed a recurrence of disability beginning June 28, 2010. Her medical reports did not adequately connect disability at that time to the accepted conditions. Some reports predated the claimed recurrence, and a neurologist did not…
E.M. and Department of Defense, Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Columbus, OH
E.M. (ECAB 11-0070): Emotional condition claim remanded for clarification
E.M., an accountant, attributed depression and anxiety to the demands of a new work assignment and computer system. An earlier Board ruling had accepted her accounting duties as a compensable work factor. An impartial specialist said those duties did not contribute to depression in a meaningful…
Mammoth Coal Co.
Interlocutory review and stay denied
The Secretary amended a penalty petition to allege two flagrant escapeway violations and increased the proposed penalties from $133,000 to $335,200. Mammoth Coal sought interlocutory review, arguing that allowing the amendment improperly modified the original assessment before the Commission's de…
E.S. and Environmental Protection Agency, Philadelphia, PA
E.S. (ECAB 11-0476): Cervical claim reconsideration denial affirmed
E.S., an EPA employee, sought reconsideration of a claim involving cervical radiculopathy after an accepted cervical strain. She repeated an argument the Board had already addressed and invoked a recurrence standard that did not apply to her request to expand the accepted conditions. The Board…
V.S. and Department of Agriculture, Departmental Administration, New Orleans, LA
V.S. (ECAB 11-0392): Insect bite reconsideration denial affirmed
V.S., a financial management technician, claimed a spider bite while sitting at her desk. After OWCP denied the injury claim, she sought reconsideration with spider warnings, workplace emails, and an unsupported assertion of medical misdiagnosis. The Board found that these materials did not address…
N.C. and Department of Health & Human Services, National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle, NC
N.C. (ECAB 11-0378): Writer editor wage capacity decision affirmed
N.C., a writer-editor with accepted wrist conditions, returned to her regular position with voice software and an ergonomic chair. She argued that the work was makeshift and did not represent her wage-earning capacity. The Board found a defined regular position rather than a job created solely…
L.D. and Department of the Air Force, 402nd Aircraft Maintenance Group, Robins Air Force Base, GA
L.D. (ECAB 11-0338): Twenty four percent right arm award affirmed
L.D., a retired Air Force supervisor, sought an award greater than 24 percent for permanent right arm impairment from an accepted shoulder injury. The Board found that OWCP’s physician applied the governing impairment guide and that the record did not support a higher rating. Because L.D. had…
M.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New York, NY
M.G. (ECAB 11-0324): Wrist claim remanded for merits review
M.G., a letter carrier, sought reconsideration after OWCP denied her occupational disease claim for wrist conditions. She submitted a new physician report addressing carpal tunnel syndrome and a ganglion cyst. The Board found the report relevant to the disputed medical issue, even though it did not…
S.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, O’Fallon, IL
S.J. (ECAB 11-0321): Fall related injury claim denial affirmed
S.J., a mail carrier, slipped and fell while delivering mail on February 13, 2010 and later reported head and hip symptoms. The Board accepted that the fall occurred. His physicians did not provide a reasoned opinion linking a diagnosed injury to the fall, and one report gave no history of trauma…
I.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Dallas, TX
I.S. (ECAB 11-0273): Overpayment finding set aside for missing record
I.S., a Veterans Affairs employee, received compensation for temporary total disability after surgery. OWCP found an overpayment based on compensation allegedly payable under another claim, but the record before the Board lacked proof of that other entitlement. The Board found no evidentiary basis…
A.S. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Paradise Fossil Plant, Drakesboro, KY
A.S. (ECAB 11-0260): Hearing loss claim remanded for noise evidence
A.S., a power plant employee, claimed that workplace noise caused hearing loss. The Board found that OWCP had not obtained peak decibel information for the locations he identified or explained the employer’s exposure averages. The second opinion physician’s report also needed clarification in light…
S.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Edison, NJ
S.T. (ECAB 11-0237): Mail clerk injury claim denied for missing medical link
S.T., a postal clerk, attributed arm, shoulder and other conditions to lifting and repetitive mail processing work. The Board found that the medical reports did not explain how the specific work activities caused or aggravated a diagnosed condition. One physician’s opinion was speculative and…
V.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Youngstown Post Office, Youngstown, OH
V.L. (ECAB 11-0192): Hand condition claim denied without reasoned causation
V.L., a rehabilitation custodian, reported hand symptoms after cutting cardboard at work and claimed bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. The Board found that his medical reports lacked a fully reasoned opinion based on an accurate history explaining how the work caused or aggravated the claimed…
S.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Salt Lake City, UT
S.H. (ECAB 11-0180): Fast food job wage capacity reduction reversed
S.H., a TSA screener with accepted left shoulder and related conditions, had compensation reduced based on assumed earnings as a fast food manager. The selected position required use of his left arm for food preparation and packing. The medical evidence did not clearly show that he could perform…
D.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
D.K. (ECAB 11-0136): Emotional claim reconsideration denial affirmed
D.K., a postal clerk, sought reconsideration of a denied emotional condition claim arising from a workplace altercation. The Board could review only OWCP’s refusal to reopen because her appeal was too late for the last merits decision. Her submission did not establish a relevant new fact about a…
R.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Newark, OH
R.G. (ECAB 11-0079): Existing bilateral leg impairment ratings affirmed
R.G., a postal employee, sought greater schedule awards than the previously granted ten percent right leg and seven percent left leg ratings. The Board reviewed competing impairment reports and found no reliable basis for higher ratings under the applicable impairment guide. It affirmed OWCP’s…
Chief Mining, Inc.
Final assessment reopened
Chief Mining 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 the matter to the Chief Administrative Law…
Hinkle Trucking, Inc.
Final assessment reopened
Hinkle Trucking 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 directed…
Ash Grove Cement Company
Final assessment reopened
Ash Grove Cement 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…
Clean Harbors Environmental Services, Inc.
Misdirected assessment reopened
Clean Harbors missed a contest deadline after MSHA addressed the assessment to a former employee, delaying delivery to the company's general counsel. Outside counsel filed a notice that the general counsel mistakenly believed was timely, and the company moved to reopen within 30 days of receiving a…
Cemex California Cement, LLC
Final assessment reopened
Cemex California Cement 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 the matter to the Chief…
Lehigh Southwest Cement Co.
Final assessment reopened
Lehigh Southwest Cement asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final after the company did not timely contest it. The Secretary did not oppose the request. After reviewing the request and the circumstances, the Commission reopened the assessment and remanded the matter…
Banner Blue Coal Company
Two-day-late contest reopened
Banner Blue sent its contest form and payment for uncontested citations to MSHA's payment center two days after the assessment became final. The payment center forwarded the contest to the civil-penalty office, which processed it as late. The operator said it was implementing new procedures for…
G & R Mineral Services, Inc.
Final assessment reopened
G & R Mineral Services 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…
Black Panther Mining, LLC
Final assessment reopened
Black Panther Mining 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 the matter to the Chief…
Byholt, Inc.
Reopening denied without prejudice
Byholt sought to reopen two assessments after misunderstanding when it needed to contest several section 104(d) citations and orders. The Secretary opposed relief because the assessment forms contained contest instructions and the operator did not explain delays of three and four months after…
Big Ridge, Inc.
Multiple violations decided and penalties assessed
Big Ridge contested enforcement actions involving hazardous-condition examinations, its roof-control plan, combustible accumulations, electrical equipment, a tool-transport safeguard, and equipment permissibility at the Willow Lake Portal mine. Judge Gary Melick affirmed four enforcement actions as…
Meridian Aggregates Company, LP
Final assessment reopened
Meridian Aggregates asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final. Meridian said it mailed its contest three days after receiving the assessment but learned that MSHA had not received it only when a delinquency notice arrived. The company filed its motion within 30 days…
Dolet Hills Lignite Co., LLC
Final assessment reopened
Dolet Hills Lignite 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…
Nelson Quarries, Inc.
Inadvertently paid citation reopened
Nelson Quarries timely paid a proposed assessment in full even though it intended to contest one citation and believed it had evidence of compliance. The operator said the citation's penalty was paid inadvertently and moved to reopen about five weeks after the assessment became final. The Secretary…
Robert's Coffee & Vending Service, LLC
Final assessment reopened
Robert's Coffee & Vending Service 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 the matter to the…
Allied Custom Gypsum
Final assessment reopened
Allied Custom Gypsum 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…
Higman Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Final assessment reopened
Higman Sand & Gravel asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final after the company did not timely contest it. The Secretary did not oppose the request. After reviewing the request and the circumstances, the Commission reopened the assessment and remanded the matter to…
R.C. and Department of the Army, Red River Army Depot, Texarkana, TX
R.C. (ECAB 11-0748): Cervical disc condition claim denial affirmed
R.C., an Army depot fuel worker, was involved in a vehicle accident while working on July 26, 2010 and claimed a cervical disc condition. The Board accepted the incident but found that his physician did not adequately explain how it caused or aggravated the degenerative C5-6 condition. It affirmed…
E.C. and Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Wolf Creek Job Corps Center, Glide, OR
E.C. (ECAB 11-0510): Abandoned hearing finding set aside after notice failed
E.C., a former contract arts and crafts instructor, missed a scheduled telephone hearing. OWCP found that she had abandoned her request. The notice mailed to her correct address was returned as undeliverable, and the copy sent to her attorney had a misspelled street address. The Board held that…
C.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Tulsa, OK
C.H. (ECAB 11-0385): Knee injury and reconsideration denials affirmed
C.H., a mail handler with prior knee surgery, reported sudden left knee pain while moving heavy mail trays. The Board found insufficient medical evidence linking a diagnosed injury to the June 20, 2009 event. Her reconsideration submission repeated a physician report already in the record and did…
G.P. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Oberlin, OH
G.P. (ECAB 11-0363): Emotional condition benefits termination affirmed
G.P., an FAA employee, had an accepted employment-related emotional condition. An impartial examiner concluded that its effects were temporary and had resolved, with no remaining work disability. The Board gave that opinion special weight and found that OWCP had met its burden to terminate…
G.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Lincoln, NE
G.T. (ECAB 11-0304): Knee claim reconsideration denial affirmed
G.T., a postal clerk, sought reconsideration after OWCP denied her left knee occupational disease claim. She repeated assertions that years of walking, standing and overtime caused or worsened the condition. The Board could review only the refusal to reopen and found no relevant new evidence or…
D.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Francisco, CA
D.L. (ECAB 11-0294): Two disability recurrence denials affirmed
D.L., a former letter carrier, claimed that a 1992 work injury caused disability beginning in May 2001 and again in November 2008. The accepted injury involved a knee strain, hip contusion and back strain. The Board found the medical and factual evidence insufficient to connect either later…
K.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Bulk Mail Center, Greensboro, NC
K.W. (ECAB 11-0283): Overpayment and waiver denial affirmed
K.W., a mail handler, received total disability compensation after returning to full-time limited duty without wage loss. OWCP found a $764.09 overpayment. Although K.W. was not at fault, she did not provide the financial information needed to support waiver. The Board affirmed both the overpayment…
L.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pembroke Pines, FL
L.N. (ECAB 11-0266): Claimed disability period denied without medical proof
L.N., a postal clerk with an accepted lumbar sprain, claimed total disability from October 23 through November 6, 2009. The Board found no medical opinion establishing that residuals of the accepted condition prevented her from working during that period. Some reports addressed a different alleged…
M.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Smithtown, NY
M.D. (ECAB 11-0246): Refusal to restore cervical strain benefits upheld
M.D., a letter carrier, had an accepted cervical and shoulder strain from lifting mail in 2000. OWCP ended medical benefits for the cervical strain on July 28, 2008 after a physician found that condition had resolved. The Board found the physician’s opinion sufficiently reasoned and supported by…
K.C. and Securities & Exchange Commission, Benefits Branch, Washington, DC
K.C. (ECAB 11-0225): Intermittent disability claim returned for medical clarification
K.C., a securities compliance examiner, sought wage loss for intermittent periods after an accepted lifting injury. OWCP used an impartial specialist's report to deny disability. The Board found that OWCP properly referred the conflicting medical opinions to that specialist, but his report did not…
C.M. and Department of Labor, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, Johnstown, PA
C.M. (ECAB 11-0185): Carpal tunnel occupational disease denial affirmed
C.M., a DOL office automation clerk, claimed that clerical duties caused right carpal tunnel syndrome. The Board accepted that she performed the described duties and had the diagnosis. Her physicians, however, did not explain how those duties caused or aggravated the condition. It affirmed OWCP's…
W.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Park Hill Post Office, Denver, CO
W.D. (ECAB 11-0157): Wage capacity decision reversed for insufficient work period
W.D., a postal letter carrier with accepted neck and back strains, challenged a 1995 wage capacity determination. The employing establishment had offered him several positions with different duties and physical requirements. He had not worked in the position used for the determination, or any later…
L.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Herman, NE
L.T. (ECAB 11-0147): Consequential ankle and knee injury denial affirmed
L.T., a postal worker with an accepted right knee injury, later fractured her right ankle in a fall at home and claimed a left knee condition. She argued that her right knee buckled and that favoring it affected her left knee. The Board found no sufficiently reasoned medical opinion linking either…
Otis Elevator Company
Remaining fall-protection item withdrawn
OSHA cited Otis Elevator over fall protection used while installing a new elevator platform system. The administrative law judge vacated two scaffold-based allegations but affirmed an alternative allegation that employee lifelines were attached to the same overhead beam used for the platform's…
United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2789, National Border Patrol Council (Union)
CBP and AFGE Local 2789 (FLRA 0-AR-4679): Desk duty exceptions dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
A Border Patrol employee was assigned to desk duty while CBP investigated misconduct charges and was later removed from service. An arbitrator upheld the removal but found that the desk assignment lacked cause and ordered a remedy for lost overtime opportunities. CBP challenged the desk duty…
Hidden Splendor Resources, Inc.
Special-assessment review form protected from discovery
Hidden Splendor sought MSHA's Special Assessment Review form, which contained facts and agency officials' recommendations used to classify violations as flagrant and enhance penalties. Judge Priscilla M. Rae held that the form was prepared in anticipation of likely litigation and was protected work…
Black Mountain Industrial Minerals, LLC
Final assessments reopened
Black Mountain Industrial Minerals asked the Commission to reopen two penalty assessments that had become final after no timely contests. The Secretary did not oppose the requests. After reviewing the requests and the circumstances, the Commission reopened both assessments and remanded the matter…
Drumlummon Gold Corporation
Final assessment reopened after manager's leave
Drumlummon Gold failed to contest assessments for 13 violations while the safety manager responsible for processing them was on unexpectedly extended medical leave. The company had no backup system, but it filed for reopening within days of the manager's return and about one month after the…
Twentymile Coal, LLC
Final assessment reopened
Twentymile Coal asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final after no timely contest. After reviewing the request, the circumstances, and the Secretary's response, the Commission reopened the assessment and remanded the matter to the Chief Administrative Law Judge. It…
Keokee Mining LLC
Final assessment reopened
Keokee Mining 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 the matter to the Chief Administrative…
Grove City Materials
Final assessment reopened
Grove City Materials 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 the matter to the Chief…
Sterzinger Construction
Assessment never became final after failed delivery
MSHA tried to deliver Sterzinger Construction's proposed penalty assessment by Federal Express and then by mail, but neither attempt succeeded. Sterzinger later learned of the assessment and received a faxed copy from MSHA. The Commission held that the assessment had not become a final order…
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.