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.
No decisions match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
Southern Solar
Ladder-use and training items vacated for insufficient proof
A Southern Solar employee used a stepladder that did not extend three feet above the parapet used as the upper landing surface. The judge found that OSHA did not prove the company's lead worker knew or reasonably should have known how that ladder was being used. OSHA also cited Southern Solar for…
T.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Oklahoma Performance Cluster, Oklahoma City, OK
T.L. (ECAB 11-0276): Additional right leg impairment award denied
T.L., a postal mechanic, received a one percent right leg impairment award after a work-related back injury. He sought a larger award and submitted reports rating his leg and whole-person impairment. The Board found that the reports did not establish additional permanent leg impairment caused by…
D.S. and University of Utah, ROTC Detachment 850, Salt Lake City, UT
D.S. (ECAB 11-0249): Injury denial affirmed, medical bills remanded
D.S., an Air Force ROTC cadet, developed abdominal pain while participating in a training program. OWCP denied his injury claim, saying the record lacked a firm diagnosis. The Board found a diagnosis of constipation, but the medical reports did not explain how the training incident caused or…
M.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Bulk Mail Center, Memphis, TN
M.P. (ECAB 11-0221): Thirteen percent right arm award affirmed
M.P., a retired postal mail handler, received a schedule award for right shoulder impairment after a work injury. She challenged the date OWCP used for maximum medical improvement, while the treating surgeon and OWCP's medical adviser agreed on the 13 percent impairment rating. The Board found that…
W.C. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, DC
W.C. (ECAB 11-0215): Injury and hearing denials affirmed, medical bills remanded
W.C., an FAA air traffic control specialist, alleged exposure to legionella bacteria at work and sought compensation for respiratory illness. His physician diagnosed legionnaires' disease and bronchitis but did not explain how the workplace incident caused or aggravated them. The Board affirmed…
R.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Hope Mills Post Office, Hope Mills, NC
R.S. (ECAB 11-0027): Overpayment and denial of waiver affirmed
R.S., a postal employee, received FECA wage-loss compensation while also receiving federal disability retirement benefits and earning wages from other work. OWCP calculated a $13,519.75 overpayment for April 2008 through October 2009. R.S. did not contest that amount, and the Board found the…
Z.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing and Distribution Center, San Francisco, CA
Z.J. (ECAB 10-2285): Wage-earning capacity and reconsideration denials affirmed
Z.J., a postal tractor trailer operator, had returned to a modified job after a shoulder and elbow injury. OWCP found that his actual earnings in that job represented his wage-earning capacity, then denied his request to change that finding after the job was withdrawn. The Board found no showing…
H.S. and Department of the Navy, Naval Weapons Station, Goose Creek, SC
H.S. (ECAB 10-2262): Two overpayments and recovery terms affirmed
H.S., a Navy employee, received compensation without deductions for health and life insurance premiums and at an incorrect pay rate. OWCP found two resulting overpayments, one for $1,419.52 and another for $486.75. The Board agreed with both calculations. Although H.S. was not at fault, he did not…
P.B. and Department of the Navy, MWR Gymnasium, Lakehurst, NJ
P.B. (ECAB 10-2153): Eight percent left leg award affirmed
P.B., a Navy recreation assistant, sought a larger schedule award for a work-related left knee injury. An earlier physician report had rated her leg under the fifth edition of the AMA impairment guides, but later assessments under the sixth edition found eight percent impairment. The Board accepted…
Shamokin Filler Company, Inc.
Jurisdiction and testimony issues accepted for review
Shamokin sought reconsideration after the Commission initially refused interlocutory review of an ALJ ruling that its carbon plant was subject to MSHA jurisdiction. The company then disclosed that the issue affected many pending dockets and blocked meaningful settlement talks, and the Secretary…
J.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Carol Stream, IL
J.W. (ECAB 11-0271): Postal clerk's shoulder claim denial affirmed
J.W., a postal clerk, sought compensation for a right shoulder rotator cuff tear that she attributed to her work. After earlier denials, she submitted a surgeon's opinion saying that work-related tendon overload was the likely explanation. The Board found that the opinion did not explain how her…
D.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Houston, TX
D.G. (ECAB 11-0255): Carpal tunnel claim denial affirmed
D.G., a postal letter carrier, attributed carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists to repeated hand use while delivering mail. OWCP accepted that she performed the described work but denied the occupational disease claim. Her diagnostic tests and physician reports established carpal tunnel syndrome…
R.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, San Antonio, TX
R.B. (ECAB 11-0231): Left leg schedule award denied
R.B., a Veterans Affairs vocational nurse, sought a left leg schedule award after an accepted work-related lumbar strain. The Board explained that an injury originating in the spine can support an extremity award if it causes permanent impairment of that extremity. Here, the treating physician and…
W.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chicago, IL
W.O. (ECAB 11-0173): Left ankle occupational disease claim denied
W.O., a postal city carrier, attributed left ankle tibial tendinitis to repeated walking, stairs, and getting in and out of a mail vehicle. The Board accepted that his job required walking and climbing stairs, and physicians diagnosed an ankle condition. The medical reports did not explain how…
C.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Louis, MO
C.P. (ECAB 11-0117): Three percent arm impairment award affirmed
C.P., a postal clerk, injured her right shoulder at work and underwent surgery to repair a rotator cuff tear and labral injury. OWCP awarded compensation for three percent permanent impairment of her right arm, and she sought a higher award. The Board found that OWCP's medical adviser correctly…
S.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Kansas City, KS
S.N. (ECAB 10-2301): Additional left arm impairment award denied
S.N., a postal distribution clerk, had received schedule awards totaling six percent impairment of her left arm after accepted wrist and hand conditions. She sought an additional award based on medical reports that gave higher ratings. The Board found that the older reports used an outdated edition…
F.L. and Department of the Air Force, Tinker Air Force Base, OK
F.L. (ECAB 10-2264): Abandoned hearing finding affirmed
F.L., an Air Force aircraft electrician, requested a hearing after OWCP denied an occupational disease claim. OWCP mailed notice of a scheduled telephone hearing to his address of record, but he did not call in or explain the absence within ten days. F.L. said the notice went to an old address. The…
A.B. and U.S. Postal Service, New Jersey International and Bulk Mail Center, Newark, NJ
A.B. (ECAB 10-2124): Nine percent left arm impairment award affirmed
A.B., a postal mail handler, sought a larger schedule award after a work-related left wrist injury and carpal tunnel syndrome. One physician rated much higher impairment using the fifth edition of the AMA impairment guides. The Board found that the sixth edition applied to the award decision and…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Diego, CA
D.S. (ECAB 10-2076): Termination of wage-loss and medical benefits affirmed
D.S., a postal letter carrier, had received compensation for a work-related cervical strain after her limited-duty job ended. OWCP terminated benefits after a referral physician concluded that the accepted strain had resolved and that continuing neck symptoms came from degenerative disc disease…
Social Security Administration (Agency) and Association of Administrative Law Judges, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (Union)
Social Security Administration and Association of ALJs (FLRA 0-AR-4588): Denied dental leave restored
The Social Security Administration denied an administrative law judge's sick leave request for a dental appointment and marked the time as absence without leave. An arbitrator found that the agency had not established a violation of the labor agreement's leave procedures and ordered it to restore…
Mississippi Lime Company
In re Mississippi Lime Company (EAB PSD Appeal No. 11-01): permit remanded for revised BACT and air-quality analyses
Sierra Club challenged Clean Air Act prevention of significant deterioration permit conditions for Mississippi Lime Company’s proposed lime manufacturing plant in Illinois. The EAB found that the Illinois EPA had not adequately supported its BACT analyses for startup and shutdown emissions, sulfur…
E.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bartlett, TN
E.G. (ECAB 11-0295): Suitable-work dispute reopened for merits review
E.G., a postal rural carrier, lost compensation after refusing a modified job that OWCP considered suitable. He later requested reconsideration and argued that OWCP had not properly considered all of his medical conditions when judging the job offer. He also supplied a new psychiatrist's report…
S.Y. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Brockton, MA
S.Y. (ECAB 11-0206): Back injury claim denial affirmed as modified
S.Y., a Veterans Affairs police officer, reported back pain after lifting, carrying bags, and restraining a patient during a shift. OWCP accepted that he performed those duties but denied his injury claim. The Board found that a physician had diagnosed a lower back strain, yet the medical reports…
P.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fort Lauderdale, FL
P.S. (ECAB 11-0177): Emotional condition claim denial affirmed
P.S., a postal letter carrier, attributed panic attacks to her route assignments, leave decisions, and alleged harassment related to her medical restrictions. The Board treated the route and leave disputes as administrative matters and found no evidence establishing management error or abuse. It…
A.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Maywood, IL
A.D. (ECAB 11-0149): Recurrence of disability claim denied
A.D., a postal letter carrier, returned to full duty after a 2009 work injury and later stopped working again. She sought wage-loss compensation, saying her accepted injuries had not healed. The Board found that her chiropractor's opinion could not establish medical causation under FECA without an…
D.R. and Department of Agriculture, Food Safety & Inspection Service, Pico Rivera, CA
D.R. (ECAB 11-0135): Late reconsideration request rejected
D.R., a retired veterinary medical officer with accepted work-related hearing loss, had earlier lost his claim for wage-loss compensation. More than a year after the Board's prior merit decision, he sent OWCP a reconsideration request and a physician's hearing-loss report. The Board found the…
K.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Goleta, CA
K.M. (ECAB 11-0125): Compensation suspension for missed testing affirmed
K.M., a transportation security screener, received compensation for accepted work-related back and rib sprains. An OWCP referral physician recommended additional imaging to assess her disability, but she missed two scheduled appointments. She cited concern about radiation exposure and said she…
H.M. and Department of the Navy, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, VA
H.M. (ECAB 11-0108): Hearing loss claim returned for audiogram review
H.M., a retired Navy shipyard rigger, had an accepted claim for work-related hearing loss but was denied a schedule award and medical benefits. Two physician-associated audiograms showed different levels of hearing loss, and OWCP calculated no ratable impairment using only the later one. The Board…
J.B. and Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg, MS
J.B. (ECAB 11-0060): Five percent bilateral hearing award affirmed
J.B., an Army Corps of Engineers employee, had accepted work-related hearing loss after years around machinery and river boats. He sought a larger schedule award than the five percent bilateral rating OWCP granted. The Board found that the workplace audiograms lacked information needed to verify…
D.F. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Primary Care Clinic, Anchorage, AK
D.F. (ECAB 10-2282): Neck and shoulder claim remanded for medical development
D.F., a Veterans Affairs patient services assistant, attributed neck and shoulder conditions to repeated reaching and workstation setup. OWCP denied her occupational disease claim. The Board found that her internist identified specific duties and diagnosed cervical strain and bilateral shoulder…
United States Department of the Air Force, NAS Joint Reserve Base (NASJRB), Fort Worth, Texas (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1364 (Union)
Air Force Fort Worth and AFGE Local 1364 (FLRA 0-AR-4694): Uniform order must be rescinded
The Air Force required bargaining unit Air Reserve Technicians at its Fort Worth base to wear military uniforms while working in civilian status. Their labor agreement let them choose whether to wear the uniform, and an arbitrator found that the agreement remained in effect during contract…
Coal Country Mining
Default denied after delayed prehearing exchange
The Secretary sought default and $3,971 in penalties because Coal Country Mining had not completed its prehearing exchange or meaningfully discussed settlement. The company's representative explained that the business had closed and the owner was difficult to contact, but that witness information…
Coal Country Mining
Labor-broker liability defense struck with penalty caveat
MSHA treated Coal Country Mining as jointly liable for six citations issued at Pay Car Mining's No. 58 Mine. Coal Country argued that it merely processed payroll, had no control over the workers or equipment, and therefore could not comply with the cited rules. Judge William B. Moran held that an…
Alsea Quarries
Quarry violations modified and $1,965 assessed
MSHA cited Alsea Quarries for an unguarded elevated opening and a group of equipment and work-practice conditions involving horns, windows, defect records, brakes, berms, fall protection, suspended loads, electrical boxes, machine guards, and seat-belt use. Judge David F. Barbour found the cited…
Matter of Pablo De Jesus HENRIQUEZ RIVERA
DHS may need to provide a prior TPS application
The Board reviewed DHS's appeal after an Immigration Judge terminated removal proceedings against a Salvadoran respondent who renewed a denied Temporary Protected Status application. It held that an Immigration Judge may, when appropriate, require DHS to provide the TPS application previously filed…
M.P. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Bay Pines, FL
M.P. (ECAB 10-2333): Benefit termination upheld; later disability question remanded
M.P., a Veterans Affairs nurse, injured her lower back while lifting a patient, and OWCP accepted a lumbar strain. OWCP later ended her wage-loss and medical benefits based on an impartial orthopedic surgeon's opinion that the accepted strain had resolved. The Board found that the surgeon's…
D.C. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Beaver, WV
D.C. (ECAB 11-51): Wage-earning capacity reduction reversed
D.C., a Bureau of Prisons welder supervisor, sustained a back injury while helping a coworker and received wage-loss compensation. OWCP reduced his benefits after a rehabilitation specialist identified computer assistant/scheduler as a job he could perform. The Board accepted the specialist's view…
C.B. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Seattle, WA
C.B. (ECAB 10-2321): Thoracic back claim denial affirmed
C.B., a transportation security officer, attributed thoracic disc changes to years of lifting heavy luggage and other work duties. OWCP denied her occupational disease claim. The Board found that a neurologist linked the changes to heavy lifting but did not explain medically how the identified work…
W.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Atlanta Medical Center, Decatur, GA
W.W. (ECAB 10-2306): One day of wage-loss compensation allowed
W.W., a Veterans Affairs nurse, injured her back in a workplace fall and later sought acceptance of additional lumbar disc conditions and compensation for several periods away from work. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish that the additional disc conditions were caused by…
K.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Long Beach, CA
K.W. (ECAB 10-2201): Untimely reconsideration denial affirmed
K.W. sought reconsideration of OWCP's 2005 decision terminating benefits for an accepted adjustment disorder. Her 2010 request was filed more than a year after the last merit decision, so she had to show clear evidence of error. She argued that a psychologist's 2006 report had been faxed earlier…
N.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Atlanta, GA
N.M. (ECAB 10-2017): Emotional condition claim remanded for medical development
N.M., a postal letter carrier, witnessed a child being struck and killed by a school bus while he was delivering mail and attempted to help at the scene. He later sought compensation for an emotional condition, and OWCP denied the claim on the view that he was not directly involved in the accident…
C.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Newberg, OR
C.M. (ECAB 10-1997): Sacroiliac injury claim denial affirmed
C.M., a postal letter carrier, reported sacroiliac pain after lifting a tub of mail. OWCP denied the claim because the medical evidence did not establish that the incident caused a diagnosed injury. The Board found that the chiropractor's spinal subluxation diagnosis was based on physical findings…
J.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Valrico, FL
J.W. (ECAB 10-1970): Right foot benefit termination affirmed
J.W., a postal rural carrier, injured her right foot while entering her mail vehicle, and OWCP accepted a sprain. OWCP later ended her compensation based on an orthopedic surgeon's opinion that the sprain had resolved. The Board found that the surgeon's examination and imaging review supported the…
M.B. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Atlanta, GA
M.B. (ECAB 10-1914): Low back injury claim remanded for medical development
M.B., a Bureau of Prisons correctional officer, slipped on wet stairs at work and reported injuries including low back pain. OWCP accepted injuries to her right knee, shoulder, and upper arm, but denied the low back claim. The Board found that her physician had documented the fall, observed a back…
Social Security Administration, Office of Disability Adjudication and Review, Dallas Region, Dallas, Texas (Activity) and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO (Petitioner/Labor Organization) and National Treasury Employees Union (Labor Organization/Incumbent)
Social Security Administration Dallas Region and AFGE (FLRA DA-RP-11-0005): Regional employees remain in NTEU unit
Several Social Security Administration employees had been treated as members of an AFGE bargaining unit while working at a Dallas district office, although they were assigned to a regional disability adjudication office. After the employees moved to the regional office's location, a regional…
D.B. and Department of Defense, Defense Information Systems Agency, St. Louis, MO
D.B. (ECAB 11-209): Four hours of wage loss allowed for medical visit
D.B., a Defense Information Systems Agency specialist, had an accepted left knee condition from a workplace fall. She sought 24 hours of wage-loss compensation for September 18, 22, and 23, 2009, saying she was off work on her physician's advice. The Board found that the medical reports did not say…
M.Q. and Department of the Air Force, Air National Guard, Fort Dix, NJ
M.Q. (ECAB 11-196): Three percent right leg schedule award affirmed
M.Q., an Air National Guard aircraft mechanic, injured his right knee while entering an aircraft and later received a three percent right leg schedule award. He argued that OWCP's delay in deciding the claim improperly subjected his award to the sixth rather than fifth edition of the impairment…
T.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Bulk Mail Center, Jacksonville, FL
T.S. (ECAB 11-0121): Refusal to reopen shoulder claim affirmed
T.S., a postal equipment operator, claimed a left shoulder injury after his work vehicle crossed a bump. OWCP denied the injury claim, and the Board upheld that denial in an earlier appeal. T.S. later sought reconsideration but resubmitted a physician's report that OWCP and the Board had already…
L.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Washington, DC
L.E. (ECAB 11-0085): Wage-earning capacity issue remanded for medical evidence
L.E., a postal employee, sought wage-loss compensation after stopping work in October 2005. OWCP had previously determined her wage-earning capacity after accepting several injuries from a 2002 work-related vehicle accident. The Board found that OWCP's examining physicians had not addressed whether…
J.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Bulk Mail Center, Cincinnati, OH
J.E. (ECAB 10-2406): Lumbar benefit termination affirmed
J.E., a postal mail handler, received benefits for an accepted work aggravation of lumbar degenerative disc disease. OWCP ended the benefits after an impartial orthopedic specialist found that the aggravation had resolved and that her continuing back condition was unrelated to the accepted injury…
P.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Hunter Holmes McGuire Medical Center, Richmond, VA
P.W. (ECAB 10-2402): Workplace exposure found, disease claim denied
P.W., a Veterans Affairs rehabilitation technician, reported eye, nose, throat, and other symptoms during construction near her work area. OWCP denied her occupational disease claim after disputing that workplace exposure had occurred. The Board found the contemporaneous accounts and medical…
S.C. and Department of the Army, Watervliet Arsenal, Watervliet, NY
S.C. (ECAB 10-2351): Lower extremity neurologic condition claim denied
S.C. had accepted back, left foot, and left knee injuries and later reported neurologic symptoms in both legs. OWCP declined to add a bilateral lower extremity neurologic condition to the claim. The Board found that a treating physician described weakness and numbness but did not explain how the…
R.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Orangeburg, SC
R.C. (ECAB 10-2342): Carpal tunnel claim denial affirmed
R.C., a postal rural carrier, attributed right carpal tunnel syndrome to years of casing, loading, driving, and delivering mail. OWCP accepted that she performed those duties but denied the claim for lack of sufficient medical proof of causation. The Board found that her physicians diagnosed the…
L.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bellingham, MA
L.C. (ECAB 10-2340): Reconsideration denial affirmed after rehabilitation dispute
L.C., a postal carrier with accepted knee osteoarthritis, had her compensation reduced to zero after OWCP found that she failed to participate in vocational rehabilitation without good cause. She asked OWCP to reconsider, saying she had participated and was unable to work. The Board reviewed only…
R.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Butler Veterans Medical Center, Butler, PA
R.M. (ECAB 10-2329): Benefit termination upheld; continuing residuals remanded
R.M., a Veterans Affairs tractor operator, had an accepted thoracic disc herniation after lifting a heavy trash bag. OWCP terminated compensation based on a second opinion neurosurgeon's finding that the condition had resolved. The Board found that opinion sufficient to support termination as of…
S.C. and Department of the Army, Watervliet Arsenal, Watervliet, NY
S.C. (ECAB 10-2327): Wage-earning capacity request remanded
S.C. asked OWCP to modify an earlier wage-earning capacity determination based on his earnings as an identification clerk. He submitted evidence that the position required activities his physician had restricted. OWCP treated his request as an untimely reconsideration request and denied it without…
G.F. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Sanford, FL
G.F. (ECAB 10-2309): Termination of back injury benefits reversed
G.F., a transportation security screener, received benefits for an accepted lumbar disc injury, lumbago, and permanent aggravation of degenerative disc disease after lifting luggage. OWCP terminated benefits based on a second opinion orthopedic surgeon's view that the work aggravation had been…
L.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office
L.M. (ECAB 10-2279): Three percent left arm schedule award affirmed
L.M., a postal worker, had accepted left hand, forearm, and nerve injuries after being struck by a truck trunk. The Board had earlier sent the schedule award case back because the impartial examiner had not adequately explained the impairment rating. In a supplemental report, that examiner…
S.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Odessa, FL
S.B. (ECAB 10-2234): Back and shoulder claim denial affirmed
S.B., a postal rural carrier associate, reported shooting pain in her back and shoulder while pulling mail on light duty. OWCP accepted that the work incident occurred but denied her injury claim for lack of medical proof connecting it to a diagnosed condition. The Board found that disability notes…
Calhoun Quarry, Inc.
Final assessment reopened
Calhoun Quarry 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…
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.