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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R.L. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Southern Nevada Healthcare System, Las Vegas, NV
R.L. (ECAB 10-1516): Knee injury claim denied for missing causal explanation
R.L. knelt and stood during a workplace ground blessing ceremony and later received treatment for a right knee condition. The Board accepted that the kneeling incident occurred. It found that the doctors who attributed his meniscal tear to the incident did not explain medically how the movement…
G.J. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA
G.J. (ECAB 10-1508): Increased hearing loss claim denied
G.J., a retired naval shipyard employee, had previously established work-related hearing loss and later claimed an increase from continued federal noise exposure. An OWCP ear specialist found the increased loss was not caused by the later work exposure and explained why the noise levels and pattern…
Pine Ridge Coal Company, LLC
Four-day roof-fall reporting delay draws $6,000 penalty
A large roof fall struck a continuous miner at Pine Ridge Coal Company's Big Mountain No. 16 mine, pulled out roof supports, displaced a ventilation curtain, and left the No. 6 face unsafe to reach. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy found that the unplanned fall occurred in active workings and both impaired…
Master Products Corporation
Late reopening granted for extraordinary circumstances
Master Products timely sent its penalty contest to the wrong MSHA office and repeatedly sought help after receiving delinquency and collection notices, but MSHA did not correct the company's understanding that its case was under review. The company asked the Commission to reopen the assessment 16…
Matter of Hilmer Leonel CUBOR-Cruz
Personal service on minors age 14 or older is effective
The Board reviewed a Guatemalan respondent's appeal from an in absentia removal order and his motion to reopen for lack of proper notice. The respondent was 17 when he was personally served with the Notice to Appear and argued that notice also had to be served on his stepfather or a legal guardian…
Helen L. Fairman v. Helen Mining Company
Fairman v. Helen Mining Company (BRB 10-0494): automatic survivor award affirmed
Helen Fairman sought survivor benefits after her husband, a miner receiving federal black lung benefits, died. Her claim was pending when Congress restored automatic benefits for qualifying survivors. Helen Mining argued that the amendment conflicted with other parts of the Black Lung Benefits Act…
Albert D. Harris v. Cannelton Industries, Incorporated
Harris v. Cannelton Industries (BRB 10-0420): old stipulation cannot settle new claim
Albert Harris sought black lung benefits in a new claim after an earlier claim had been denied. The judge relied on Cannelton Industries' stipulation to pneumoconiosis from the 1980s and awarded benefits. The Board held that a rule adopted in 2001 making prior stipulations binding in later claims…
W.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Teaneck, NJ
W.B. (ECAB 10-1890 and 10-1752): Existing arm and leg impairment awards upheld
W.B. sought larger schedule awards for both arms and his right leg. His lawyer argued that earlier impairment calculations under the fifth edition of the impairment guides should control. The Board held that the awards issued after the sixth edition took effect and that OWCP correctly used that…
W.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Teaneck, NJ
W.B. (ECAB 10-1752 and 10-1890): Existing arm and leg impairment awards upheld
W.B. sought larger schedule awards for both arms and his right leg. His lawyer argued that earlier impairment calculations under the fifth edition of the impairment guides should control. The Board held that the awards issued after the sixth edition took effect and that OWCP correctly used that…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1164 (Union) and Social Security Administration (Agency)
AFGE Local 1164 and Social Security Administration (FLRA 0-AR-4738): Union exceptions denied
AFGE Local 1164 challenged an arbitration award in a grievance involving the Social Security Administration. The Authority denied the union's exceptions, finding that they did not show the award was deficient under the statutory standard for reviewing arbitration awards. Its brief decision notes…
United States Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration (Agency) and National Air Traffic Controllers Association, Aircraft Certification Service (Union)
FAA and NATCA (FLRA 0-AR-4608): One-day suspension remedy upheld
The Federal Aviation Administration suspended an employee for one day for an alleged unauthorized absence. An arbitrator found the suspension unwarranted and ordered the agency to rescind and expunge it. The agency challenged the award because it had not received a copy of the union's post-hearing…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Charles George VA Medical Center, Asheville, North Carolina (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 446 (Union)
Asheville VA Medical Center and AFGE Local 446 (FLRA 0-AR-4550): Missed union dues reimbursed
The Asheville VA Medical Center failed to deduct and remit union dues from a new employee's first two paychecks, though she had authorized the deductions. An arbitrator ordered the center to reimburse the union and not recover the amount from the employee. The Authority denied the center's…
National Treasury Employees Union, Local 233 (Union) and United States Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Small Business/Self Employed Operating Division, Laguna Niguel, California (Agency)
NTEU Local 233 and IRS (FLRA 0-AR-4497): Hardship transfer backpay denied
An arbitrator found that the IRS violated its agreement by failing to consider a worker seeking a hardship transfer for temporary vacancies. In a later remedy award, he denied backpay because she was not available for the remaining vacancy on its December 26, 2004, start date. The union challenged…
Elk Run Coal Company, Inc.
Default vacated after timely answer went unfiled
A judge defaulted Elk Run Coal Company after the Commission did not receive an answer to the Secretary's penalty petition. Elk Run showed that its counsel had timely served the answer on the Secretary, after which the parties began discovery and settlement discussions, but the answer was never…
Cortez Joint Venture
Reopening request dismissed because contest was timely
Cortez Joint Venture asked the Commission to reopen a proposed penalty assessment that it believed might have become final. After reviewing its records, the Secretary confirmed that Cortez had timely contested the assessment. The Commission therefore held that the assessment never became a final…
American Coal Company
Proposed 55 percent penalty reduction rejected
A dozer dropped into a void above an operating coal feeder at American Coal Company's Galatia Mine, followed by an ignition that caused severe burns to the operator. The Secretary and the company proposed reducing negligence from moderate to low and cutting the penalty from $7,578 to $3,405 because…
Cam Mining, LLC
Ground-control violation affirmed, blasting-area citation dismissed
Flyrock from two surface-mine blasts traveled more than 1,570 feet and struck a mechanic in an equipment staging area, causing a fatal injury. Judge Avram Weisberger found that Cam Mining's ground-control plan contained no specific drilling or blasting procedures to prevent flyrock, so he affirmed…
Daniel S. Raymond v. Blackwater Security Consulting, L.L.C. and Fidelity and Casualty Company of New York/CNA International
Raymond v. Blackwater Security Consulting (BRB 10-0454 and 10-0454A): ongoing partial disability restored
Daniel Raymond injured his back while working for Blackwater Security Consulting in Afghanistan and later took lower paying work in the United States. A judge awarded permanent partial disability benefits through August 2011 but planned to reduce the award to $1 per week because Raymond had…
National Association of Independent Labor, Local 5 (Union) and United States Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Distribution Red River, Texas (Agency)
NAIL Local 5 and Defense Logistics Agency Red River (FLRA 0-AR-4736): Union exceptions denied
National Association of Independent Labor Local 5 challenged an arbitration award involving the Defense Logistics Agency's Red River distribution facility. The Authority denied the union's exceptions because they did not establish that the award was deficient under 5 U.S.C. § 7122(a). Its brief…
Social Security Administration, Louisville, Kentucky (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3627 (Union)
Social Security Administration Louisville and AFGE Local 3627 (FLRA 0-AR-4350): Awards process rerun upheld
Nine Social Security Administration employees grieved how their Louisville office handled Recognition of Contribution award nominations. An arbitrator found that supervisors had approved awards and supplied reasons using the designated deciding official's signature instead of having that official…
United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1917 (Union)
ICE and AFGE Local 1917 (FLRA 0-AR-4290): Written notice of operations policy required
Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a memorandum setting priorities and a target of 1,000 apprehensions or closed cases per fugitive operations team. The union grieved that the agency had not followed the agreement's procedure for explaining a proposed policy change to the union. An…
Marfork Coal Company, Inc. Settlement Agreement
Marfork Coal Company, Inc. (FMSHRC WEVA 2009-1367-R, et al.): 83 dockets settled for $627,714
Marfork Coal Company and the Secretary submitted a comprehensive settlement covering 83 contest and civil-penalty dockets involving several company mines. The agreement reduced total assessed penalties from $784,659 to $627,714, a reduction of $156,945, with the docket-by-docket amounts listed in…
United States Department of the Air Force, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1867 (Charging Party/Union)
Air Force Academy and AFGE Local 1867 (FLRA DE-CA-07-0305): Base taxi service restored
Air Force Academy employees had used the base taxi service for trips to and from their union office for years. The Academy stopped providing those rides without giving AFGE Local 1867 notice or a chance to bargain. Reversing the administrative law judge, the Authority found that the taxi use was an…
Birdair, Inc.
Compliance officer's phone records protected by informer's privilege
Birdair subpoenaed the personal cellular-phone records of the OSHA compliance officer who investigated it. The Commission held that the informer's privilege protected the records because phone numbers, call frequency, and call duration could identify people who assisted OSHA and reveal how much…
National Air Traffic Controllers Association, Local ZHU (Union) and United States Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, D.C. (Agency)
NATCA Local ZHU and FAA (FLRA 0-NG-2982): Bargaining ordered on air traffic proposals
The FAA created a new air traffic control sector, and the controllers' union proposed terms addressing certification, pay, training, workspace, and accountability for errors. The Authority found several proposals negotiable as arrangements for employees affected by management decisions or as…
Fraternal Order of Police, Pentagon Police Labor Committee (Union) and United States Department of Defense, Pentagon Force Protection Agency (Agency)
Pentagon Police Labor Committee and Pentagon Force Protection Agency (FLRA 0-AR-4705): Overtime backpay stands
A Pentagon police officer lost overtime opportunities while on light duty pending review of a hearing condition he had disclosed when hired. An arbitrator found that the agency unreasonably delayed returning him to full duty and awarded backpay for lost overtime, but denied attorney fees and…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 302 (Union) and United States Department of the Treasury, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (Agency)
NTEU Chapter 302 and Comptroller of the Currency (FLRA 0-AR-4681): Pay grievances return to arbitration
An employee challenged the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's denial of a pay increase under its established policy. The union also grieved the agency's refusal to provide information about that request. An arbitrator dismissed both grievances under Authority precedent that treated the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Council of Prison Locals, Local 4052 (Union) and United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Metropolitan Detention Center, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico (Agency)
AFGE Local 4052 and Guaynabo Detention Center (FLRA 0-AR-4650): Staffing remedy remanded
A settlement required the Guaynabo detention center to assign an additional officer to a housing unit when its inmate count reached 150. An arbitrator found that the agency violated the settlement when it stopped making those assignments, but declined to award a remedy because he believed…
United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, El Centro Sector (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, National Border Patrol Council, Local 2554 (Union)
Border Patrol El Centro Sector and AFGE Local 2554 (FLRA 0-AR-4647): Suspension award stands
After a Border Patrol vehicle became stuck in sand and its bumper came loose, an officer was ordered to write an incident memorandum. He included a paragraph reserving constitutional protections against compelled self-incrimination and refused orders to remove it. The agency suspended him for…
Matter of Paul Wilson DORMAN
DOMA cancellation-of-removal questions remanded for findings
The Attorney General reviewed a Board of Immigration Appeals decision applying Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act to a respondent's request for cancellation of removal. The Attorney General vacated the Board's decision and remanded the matter for findings about whether the respondent's…
Altor, Inc., and/or Avcon, Inc.
Eight willful items affirmed with $412,000 penalty
OSHA cited extensive hard-hat, open-edge, and floor-hole hazards during construction of a sixteen-story concrete building. The Commission held that Altor and Avcon operated as a single employer because they shared a worksite, management, ownership, office support, and integrated operations. The…
L.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Savannah, GA
L.W. (ECAB 10-1425): Earlier recurrence pay rate upheld
L.W. sought a higher compensation pay rate after modified postal work was withdrawn in 2009. The Board found that her postinjury jobs were limited-duty positions created around her restrictions, not a return to regular full-time employment. That meant the 2009 work stoppage did not qualify her for…
P.C. and Environmental Protection Agency, Region II, Edison, NJ
P.C. (ECAB 10-1386): Third-party recovery overpayment and waiver denial upheld
P.C. received FECA payments for an asthma claim after a third-party settlement had created a surplus that should have been credited against those payments. The Board confirmed a $43,622.07 overpayment, including a small prescription reimbursement. Although OWCP found she was not at fault, the Board…
S.C. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Medford, OR
S.C. (ECAB 10-1364): Late reconsideration denial upheld
S.C. sought reconsideration of a 2007 termination of compensation for refusing suitable work. The Board found her 2009 request untimely and reviewed it only for clear evidence of error. She submitted an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission decision finding discrimination by her employer, but…
T.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Orleans, LA
T.S. (ECAB 10-1362): Late reconsideration reopened for clear error
T.S. filed for reconsideration after the one-year period, requiring clear evidence of error. The Board found that OWCP had omitted an accepted permanent aggravation of his right knee disease from the statement of accepted facts sent to reviewing doctors. Their opinions therefore did not address the…
E.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fenton, MO
E.D. (ECAB 10-1245): Long-period wage-loss claim denied
E.D. had an accepted left ankle injury and sought wage-loss compensation from December 1995 through August 2004. The Board found no medical opinion establishing that the accepted conditions prevented her from working during that period. One doctor had released her to unrestricted duty, and later…
W.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fort Wayne, IN
W.S. (ECAB 10-0053): Recurrence claim returned for medical development
W.S. returned to work after accepted lumbar conditions, then claimed renewed disability in August 2008. Her doctor connected later back findings and inability to work to the prior injury, but did not fully explain how the additional disc conditions arose or why they worsened at that time. The Board…
KS Energy Services, Inc.
Review withdrawn and judge's decision made final
The Commission vacated its earlier direction for review of the case. As a result, the administrative law judge's decision became the Commission's final order on April 26, 2011. The order does not discuss the underlying citations or explain why review was withdrawn. It expressly states that the…
Trinity Yachts, LLC, and its Successors
Argon-training case remanded for excluded testimony
After a welder died while working with argon in a yacht's enclosed vent trunk, the judge affirmed a training violation but vacated atmospheric-testing and mechanical-ventilation items. The Commission did not decide the merits. It held that the judge improperly cut off testimony from Trinity's…
R.G. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Newark, NJ
R.G. (ECAB 10-1418): Right leg award upheld; left leg award denied
R.G. sought larger leg schedule awards after accepted sciatica and lumbar radiculitis. His doctors’ impairment ratings conflicted, so OWCP obtained an impartial examination and medical adviser review. The Board rejected a challenge to the examiner’s selection and accepted the supported rating of 13…
R.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, St. Louis, MO
R.S. (ECAB 10-1377): Recurrence claim denied for missing medical explanation
R.S. claimed she became unable to perform light-duty work years after an accepted lumbar strain. The Board found no evidence that the job requirements changed. Her doctor documented symptoms, restrictions, and later diagnoses but did not explain how the accepted strain had worsened or why it…
ADM Milling Company
Manlift guarding citation vacated under grandfather provision
OSHA cited ADM Milling for failing to guard the lower pulley and moving steps of a continuous-belt manlift installed in 1954. The judge held that the manlift standard's grandfather provision, reinforced by OSHA's own 1991 interpretation letter, made the standard inapplicable to manlifts installed…
S.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Mobile, AL
S.E. (ECAB 10-1167): Suitable-work termination reversed
S.E. declined a modified postal job offered after accepted injuries. OWCP terminated wage-loss compensation for refusing suitable work. The Board found that OWCP had not fully considered his accepted conditions in both knees, prior surgeries, and updated medical restrictions when assessing the job…
Waterford Aluminum Company, Inc.
Pro se default set aside and case remanded
A judge entered default against Waterford Aluminum after the company failed to answer the Secretary's complaint or respond to a show-cause order. The Commission set the default aside because the record did not establish that Waterford received the show-cause order, a broken water pipe had closed…
K.M. and Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC
K.M. (ECAB 10-1139): Emotional condition claim sent back for medical review
K.M. claimed an emotional condition related to sexual harassment by a coworker and his employer’s response. The Board found compensable employment factors in the record, including the employer’s failure to follow its procedures after his reports and requests to move his workstation. It found the…
B.M. and National Archives & Records Administration, Federal Records Center, Dayton, OH
B.M. (ECAB 10-1092): Data-entry wage capacity reduction reversed
B.M. received compensation after an accepted injury, and OWCP reduced it based on a selected data-entry clerk job. The medical restrictions limited her sitting to four to six hours a day. The job description required keyboard work throughout an eight-hour shift and did not identify breaks or other…
R.G. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Las Vegas, NV
R.G. (ECAB 10-0947): Emotional condition claim sent back after suspension error
R.G. claimed an emotional condition from several employment actions at the Internal Revenue Service. The Board agreed that an improper pay decision was a covered work factor and found another covered factor: an indefinite suspension imposed before a tax investigation was complete. An arbitration…
C.S. and Department of Defense, Great Lakes Naval Center, Military Medical Suport Office, Great Lakes, IL
C.S. (ECAB 10-0840): Stress-related medical claim denied
C.S. attributed a cerebrovascular accident and heart failure to disciplinary actions, supervisor discussions, claim-form handling, and other workplace disputes. The Board reviewed whether those alleged events were covered employment factors. It found no supported error or abuse in the…
K.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fort Worth, TX
K.M. (ECAB 10-0072): Coworker harassment claim returned for medical review
K.M. claimed an emotional condition from harassment at her postal workplace. The Board found her allegations against supervisors lacked independent proof of administrative error or abuse. Separate coworker statements and a manager’s investigation, however, supported her account of harassment by a…
M.H. and Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Stations Base, Albany, GA
M.H. (ECAB 09-1955): Lumbar sprain benefit termination upheld
M.H. received benefits for an accepted lumbar strain. An OWCP second opinion doctor reviewed her examinations and spine scans and concluded that the work-related strain had resolved, while current symptoms reflected degenerative disease. The Board found that opinion well supported and noted no…
R.C. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Los Angeles, CA
R.C. (ECAB 10-1789): Consequential knee condition claim denied
R.C. sought to add bilateral knee conditions to accepted claims that included lumbosacral strain. His physician attributed knee problems partly to spinal disease and an altered gait, but the Board noted that the spinal condition he relied on had not been accepted. Later opinions did not adequately…
C.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Memphis, TN
C.M. (ECAB 10-1700): Patient-handling back claim denied
C.M. reported back pain after helping move a patient at work, and OWCP accepted that the incident occurred. The Board found that his doctors did not provide a reasoned explanation linking the incident to a diagnosed back condition. One report did not supply a diagnosis or causation opinion, and…
P.L. and Department of the Army, Red River Army Depot, Texarkana, TX
P.L. (ECAB 10-1349): Rescission of lumbar stenosis acceptance upheld
P.L. initially received acceptance of a lumbar spinal stenosis claim after reporting a vehicle-related workplace incident. OWCP later rescinded acceptance, and the Board found the record contained material inconsistencies about the date and circumstances of the claimed event. It also noted delayed…
W.S. and Department of Agriculture, Food Safety & Inspection Service, Denison, IA
W.S. (ECAB 10-1338): Shoulder denial affirmed; reconsideration reopened
W.S. attributed a right shoulder condition to repetitive work duties. The Board found the medical evidence before OWCP’s first decision did not explain a causal connection and affirmed that denial. On reconsideration, however, his doctor submitted a more detailed report describing the duties and…
F.J. and Small Business Administration, Government Contracting & Business Development, Washington, DC
F.J. (ECAB 10-1303): Treatment-time wage loss awarded
F.J. missed two and a half hours of work on each of two days for medical appointments related to accepted shoulder, arm, and neck sprains. OWCP denied wage-loss compensation because it found no disability from work. The Board held that reasonable time away from work for treatment of accepted…
R.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jamaica, NY
R.L. (ECAB 10-1288): Hernia recurrence and reconsideration denials affirmed
R.L. claimed a recurrence decades after an accepted left inguinal hernia. The Board found his doctors did not adequately explain how a later right hernia or other disabling conditions followed from that injury, especially in light of intervening injuries and the long gap in evidence of symptoms…
I.V. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Cheyenne, WY
I.V. (ECAB 10-1026): Medical-benefit termination reversed
I.V. had accepted shoulder, neck, and thoracic strains. OWCP terminated medical benefits based on an impartial examiner’s report. The Board found the report inconsistent: it linked chronic pain to work but said no further treatment was needed, without explaining whether accepted residuals remained…
D.J. and Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Harper’s Ferry, WV
D.J. (ECAB 10-1004): Workplace injury denial reversed
D.J., a Forest Service manager, was struck while trying to separate two people fighting at work. OWCP accepted that the incident happened but found no firm injury diagnosis. The Board found she was performing her duties and that a same-day doctor’s note documented bruising from the incident. It…
W.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Newark, NJ
W.H. (ECAB 10-0683): Attorney fee and hearing denial upheld
W.H. challenged approval of a $22,282.25 attorney fee and sought an oral hearing. The Board found the fee application itemized the services and time, while she had not provided a specific supported objection to OWCP before its decision. Her hearing request came more than 30 days after the fee…
United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3923 (Union)
USCIS and AFGE Local 3923 (FLRA 0-AR-4727): Early appeal of compliance ruling dismissed
An arbitrator awarded a USCIS employee priority consideration for a job and later ordered further relief after finding that the award had not been followed. During continuing compliance proceedings, Immigration and Customs Enforcement asked to be dismissed, arguing that it was a separate component…
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.