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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American Federation of Government Employees, Council 220 (Union) and Social Security Administration, Baltimore, Maryland (Agency)
AFGE Council 220 and Social Security Administration (FLRA 0-AR-4509): Performance discussion grievance remanded
The union challenged the Social Security Administration's practice of assigning more than one manager to an employee's initial performance expectations discussion. An arbitrator rejected the grievance because he believed a limit on the number of managers would unlawfully interfere with management's…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Complex, Coleman, Florida (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 506 (Union)
Coleman Correctional Complex and AFGE Local 506 (FLRA 0-AR-4371): Investigation file award stands
At a federal prison, investigators interviewed officers accused of misconduct and put investigator-written accounts in their investigation files. An arbitrator ruled that an officer could also place the investigator's questions and an affidavit written in the officer's own words in the file. The…
PBS Coals, Inc. & Musser Engineering, Inc.
PBS assessed $55,000 for inaccurate mine map
Nine miners were trapped for three days after mining at Quecreek No. 1 broke into water-filled abandoned workings shown inaccurately on the mine map. An earlier ALJ decision held PBS Coals and Musser Engineering liable under the accurate-map standard and assessed maximum penalties. The Commission…
J.K. and Department of the Air Force, Pittsburgh IAP Air Reserve Station, Coraopolis, PA
J.K. (ECAB 10-1055): Body-armor incident accepted but injury claim denied
J.K. reported that a box of body armor fell onto his shoulder at work, and the Board accepted that incident. His doctor diagnosed shoulder and neck conditions but described a different mechanism and did not explain medically how the accepted incident caused them. A chiropractor’s claimed spinal…
C.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Peekskill, NY
C.T. (ECAB 10-2354): Mail-lifting back claim denied as modified
C.T., a postal carrier, attributed a back condition to lifting mail trays. The Board accepted that she performed the described duties but found her doctor’s checked causation box lacked medical reasoning and that another report supplied no firm diagnosis. It affirmed the occupational disease…
J.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Louisville, KY
J.D. (ECAB 10-1899): Food-drive lifting injury claim denied
J.D., a postal carrier, collected donations during a food drive and attributed later neck and shoulder problems to lifting on that day. The Board accepted the work activities but found the medical opinions did not explain how the specific work caused or aggravated the conditions. The reports also…
S.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Air Mail Center, St. Paul, MN
S.E. (ECAB 10-1888): Late written-record review request denied
S.E. signed a request for review of the written record within 30 days of an OWCP merit decision, but the envelope was postmarked after the deadline. The Board held that the postmark controlled timeliness. It also found OWCP had considered whether to allow discretionary review and had reasonably…
A.S. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Richmond, VA
A.S. (ECAB 10-1696): Delayed ankle injury claim denied
A.S. reported a workplace slip and left ankle injury but filed the claim more than two years later. The Board accepted that the incident occurred. It found the later physicians’ reports did not adequately explain how the incident caused the continuing ankle condition or account for the delayed…
A.B. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Irvine, CA
A.B. (ECAB 10-1670): Air-marshal emotional condition claim denied
A.B., a federal air marshal, attributed anxiety in part to the vigilance required during flights. The Board examined her statements and the employer’s records and found her documented concerns centered on personal family circumstances, including her child’s safety. It concluded she had not…
P.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Martinsburg Veterans Medical Center, Martinsburg, WV
P.W. (ECAB 10-1658): Lumbar injury claims returned for a combined decision
P.W. appealed the denial of a claimed work-related lumbar injury. OWCP had relied in part on another back-injury file that was outside the record before the Board. The Board found that the files should be combined to avoid an incomplete or inconsistent decision. It set aside the denial and directed…
J.S. and U.S. Army, Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District, St. Louis, MO
J.S. (ECAB 10-1654): Wage-earning capacity request returned for merit review
J.S. asked OWCP to resume compensation for total wage loss, citing continued symptoms from accepted injuries. OWCP treated his request as ordinary reconsideration and refused merit review. The Board held that OWCP should have evaluated whether to modify the existing wage-earning capacity…
J.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Airmail Facility, Seattle, WA
J.S. (ECAB 10-1559): Disability claim returned for a qualified referee examination
J.S. contested OWCP’s decision concerning her claimed recurrence of disability following a low-back injury. Earlier OWCP hearing representatives had called for a pain specialist. The Board found that OWCP's selected physician lacked certification in the needed pain-medicine subspecialty. It set…
G.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Carol Stream Processing & Distribution Center, Carol Stream, IL
G.M. (ECAB 10-1542): Recurrence of disability denial affirmed
G.M. sought compensation for total disability from September 1 through 27, 2009, linking it to an accepted December 2002 lumbar injury. OWCP denied the recurrence claim. The Board found the second-opinion physician’s report well reasoned and credited his conclusion that the accepted lumbosacral…
C.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
C.M. (ECAB 10-1540): Postmaster’s emotional condition claim returned for medical review
C.M., a postmaster, attributed anxiety and depression to persistent unwanted conduct by a customer during her work. OWCP had recognized only that the customer lingered at the post office. The Board found that corroborated evidence established more extensive conduct she encountered while performing…
J.A. and Department of Justice, Federal Correctional Institute, Edgefield, SC
J.A. (ECAB 10-1248): Vocational rehabilitation benefit reduction affirmed
J.A. stopped participating in vocational rehabilitation training for an appointment clerk position. OWCP reduced his compensation based on the wages he likely could have earned had he completed the training. The Board found the job suitable and reasonably available and found no medical evidence…
L.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
L.W. (ECAB 10-1146): Wage-earning capacity issue returned for proper review
L.W. sought wage-loss compensation after OWCP had determined that earnings from her part-time modified job represented her wage-earning capacity. A hearing representative treated the dispute as ordinary claims for wage loss. The Board held that the hearing request raised the existing wage-earning…
Susan Lucero v. Powder River Coal, LLC
Discrimination complaint dismissed for lack of adverse action or motive
Susan Lucero alleged that Powder River Coal supervisors bullied or interfered with her after she raised safety concerns about haul-road holes, oil on electrical wires, and backing a company van, and that the company delayed her promotion in retaliation. Judge David F. Barbour found that each safety…
Mize Granite Quarries, Inc, and Robert W. Mize, III and Clayborn Lewis
Mize Granite Quarries, Inc. (FMSHRC SE 2009-401-M, et al.): Nine company violations and agent liability findings
MSHA cited Mize Granite Quarries for unsafe access, missing fall protection, an excessive grinder-tool-rest gap, an uncapped oxygen cylinder, a worn crane hook, exposed metal in a blasting-cap magazine, missing handrails, unsecured high-pressure hose connections, and an untested grounding system…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fort Washington, MD
D.S. (ECAB 10-2049): Late hearing request denial affirmed
D.S. requested a hearing more than 30 days after OWCP’s decision. The Board found she had no right to a hearing after that deadline and that OWCP reasonably denied one as a matter of discretion. A later OWCP hearing representative had separately set aside the injury denial and ordered medical…
R.S. and Department of the Navy, Naval Aviation Depot, Cherry Point, NC
R.S. (ECAB 10-1923): Increased arm impairment award denied
R.S. sought a larger schedule award for impairment of both arms after work-related carpal tunnel syndrome. He had already received awards for 42 percent impairment of the left arm and 25 percent of the right arm. The Board found the new medical rating did not establish impairment beyond those…
S.H. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Systems Command, San Diego, CA
S.H. (ECAB 10-1867): Existing bilateral arm impairment awards upheld
S.H. challenged schedule awards for two percent permanent impairment of each arm. The Board reviewed the medical ratings under the sixth edition of the A.M.A. Guides, which governed OWCP’s 2010 decision. It found that an earlier physician’s higher hand rating was unexplained and appeared to use an…
L.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bunker Hill, IL
L.H. (ECAB 10-1509): Actual earnings supported wage capacity ruling
L.H. returned to a modified rural carrier job following accepted hand and elbow conditions. OWCP concluded that her actual earnings fairly represented her wage-earning capacity and showed no wage loss. The Board found that she performed the job for more than 60 days within her medical restrictions…
G.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Bulk Mail Center, Atlanta, GA
G.S. (ECAB 10-1502): Reconsideration refusal affirmed
G.S. sought to reopen a denied claim that depression resulted from her accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. OWCP refused merit review of her reconsideration request. The Board found that the submitted material did not provide relevant new evidence or argument on the causal connection at…
L.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tacoma, WA
L.C. (ECAB 10-1339): Emotional condition claim not reopened
L.C. asked OWCP to reconsider an earlier denial of her work-related emotional condition claim. OWCP declined to reopen the claim for merit review. The Board found that her request did not provide relevant new evidence or argument meeting the reconsideration criteria. It affirmed that refusal and…
P.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Copiague, NY
P.A. (ECAB 10-1225): Recurrence claim returned for a focused medical opinion
P.A. claimed a recurrence of total disability beginning June 13, 2009 after an accepted 2005 injury. OWCP obtained a second-opinion examination but had not asked the physician to address disability on the claimed recurrence date. The Board held that OWCP needed an opinion on that specific question…
V.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Louis, MO
V.H. (ECAB 10-1053): Off-premises lunch trip injury denial affirmed
V.H. was injured in a motor vehicle accident while driving off postal premises to buy lunch. She sought compensation for neck, shoulder, and back conditions. The Board found she was on a personal lunch trip and was not performing work duties or subject to the employer’s control at the time. It…
J.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Media, PA
J.N. (ECAB 10-0606): Wage-loss claim returned to resolve medical conflict
J.N. sought wage-loss compensation beginning May 7, 2007 after an accepted back injury. OWCP’s examining physician gave inconsistent statements about whether and when the injury caused total or partial disability. The Board held that OWCP could not rely on that unresolved opinion to deny the claim…
Essroc Cement Corporation
Cement grinding facility held subject to MSHA jurisdiction
Essroc Cement Corporation argued that its Michigan facility was a cement grinding and shipping terminal, not a mine subject to the Mine Act. Judge David F. Barbour held that the facility fell within the Act because grinding is a milling process and the statutory definition of a mine includes…
Matter of Julio Cesar AHORTALEJO-GUZMAN
Conviction records control moral-turpitude findings
The Board reviewed a Mexican respondent's appeal from the denial of cancellation of removal after an assault conviction. The Immigration Judge relied on a police report and testimony that the assault involved domestic violence, even though the judgment and sentence stated that the offense did not…
Henry R. Stevenson, Jr. Individually And as Owner of Parkwood Land Company
In re Henry R. Stevenson, Jr. Individually And as Owner of Parkwood Land Company (EAB CWA Appeal No. 11-02): appeal dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
Henry R. Stevenson, Jr., individually and as owner of Parkwood Land Company, appealed an EPA Region 6 administrative order concerning dredged and fill material discharged into 1.26 acres of wetlands. The order alleged unpermitted discharges under the Clean Water Act and required a restoration plan…
J.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Wilkes-Barre, PA
J.S. (ECAB 10-1983): Low-back injury claim denial affirmed
J.S. reported back pain after lifting a bucket at work. The Board accepted that the lifting incident occurred but found the medical reports did not establish a diagnosed injury caused by it. His later reconsideration request supplied no relevant new evidence or argument addressing that deficiency…
S.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Brockton, MA
S.C. (ECAB 10-1882): Carpal tunnel disease claim denied for lack of causation evidence
S.C., a mail processing clerk, attributed bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome to repetitive grasping and other tasks. The Board found that her medical reports did not provide a reasoned explanation linking the condition to those work duties. Some reports offered no causation opinion at all. It…
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Plainfield, NJ
J.B. (ECAB 10-1863): Knee condition claim returned for impartial examination
J.B. claimed that letter carrier duties aggravated his right knee osteoarthritis. His physicians connected the condition to repetitive work, while OWCP’s examiner attributed it to aging and degeneration. The Board found a conflict between the medical opinions. It set aside the denial and directed…
T.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Ann, MO
T.T. (ECAB 10-1841): Hernia-related impairment claim returned for medical rating
T.T. sought a schedule award after surgery for an accepted work-related inguinal hernia. The medical record documented continuing right inguinal and testicular symptoms, but it did not adequately rate any resulting testicular impairment under the applicable guide. The Board found OWCP’s medical…
T.U. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Mead, WA
T.U. (ECAB 10-1663): Five percent right arm impairment award affirmed
T.U. sought a larger schedule award for a right shoulder condition and argued that an attending physician had rated his right arm impairment at 14 percent. The Board found that the physician had not adequately explained the rating under the A.M.A. Guides and had declined to clarify it. It found no…
M.E. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Reserves, Fort Sam Houston, TX
M.E. (ECAB 10-1590): Insurance-premium overpayment and waiver denial affirmed
OWCP had deducted too little for M.E.’s life insurance premiums over several years, creating a $12,578.56 compensation overpayment. It found he was without fault but denied waiver because he did not provide requested financial records. The Board held that lack of fault alone did not establish…
J.L. and Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers, Peterson, AL
J.L. (ECAB 10-1468): Termination of wage loss and medical benefits reversed
OWCP reduced J.L.’s wage-loss benefits to zero and ended medical benefits for an accepted back injury. The Board found OWCP’s medical evidence insufficiently reasoned and too remote in time to show that injury-related disability and medical residuals had ended. It held OWCP had not met its burden…
G.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Air Marshal Service, Newark Field Office, West Orange, NJ
G.M. (ECAB 10-1424): Arm impairment dispute returned for an impartial examination
G.M. challenged a schedule award for four percent permanent impairment of his left arm after a biceps tendon injury. His physician and OWCP’s medical adviser disagreed on the appropriate impairment rating. The Board found an unresolved medical conflict that the adviser could not settle. It set…
M.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Denver, CO
M.H. (ECAB 10-1337): Rescission of commuting injury claim affirmed
M.H., a federal air marshal, was injured in a motor vehicle accident while driving from home to his assigned airport. OWCP rescinded its earlier acceptance of the claim. The Board found that mileage reimbursement did not make the commute a work duty and that the trip was an ordinary journey to…
Tilden Mining Company, L.C.
Extension-cord grounding tests required
MSHA cited Tilden Mining for failing to test and record the resistance of extension cords used as part of the mine's grounding system. Judge Alan G. Paez held that grounding conductors in extension cords are essential components of a grounding system and therefore fall within section 56.12028. He…
E.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Austin, TX
E.M. (ECAB 10-1852): Emotional condition claim denial affirmed
E.M. attributed an emotional condition to her supervisor’s conduct and workplace demands after an incident in which she felt ill at work. The Board found that her allegations of abusive management and work pressure lacked adequate supporting detail or corroboration. The record did not establish…
R.R. and Department of the Navy, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, NH
R.R. (ECAB 10-1849): Hearing award affirmed with corrected impairment rating
R.R. sought a larger schedule award for work-related hearing loss and tinnitus. The Board recalculated his left ear loss at four percent, below the 5.6 percent figure used in OWCP’s award, but found no basis to increase the compensation already granted. It also found no medical evidence that…
J.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Baytown, TX
J.R. (ECAB 10-1778): Wrist and nerve condition claim returned for medical development
J.R. attributed bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and ulnar nerve entrapment to his postal work. His physicians’ reports were not fully reasoned, but they consistently suggested a connection to the identified work activities and were not substantially contradicted. The Board found this…
D.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Sevierville, TN
D.F. (ECAB 10-1774): Knee injury claim denied after incident not established
D.F. reported twisting her left knee while stepping off a postal delivery platform. The Board found that medical histories gave conflicting accounts of how and when the injury occurred. She did not clarify those discrepancies, and the claim was filed about four months after the reported incident…
R.J. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Dallas, TX
R.J. (ECAB 10-1583): Emotional condition claim returned for medical review
R.J., an IRS equal employment opportunity specialist, attributed depression to his work. The Board found that some of his regular duties were established employment factors, although other allegations about management actions lacked support. OWCP had denied the claim without assessing medical…
W.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tuscaloosa, AL
W.K. (ECAB 10-1420): Termination for refusal of suitable work affirmed
The Postal Service offered W.K. a full-time modified job consistent with the medical restrictions for her accepted heel conditions. She refused the offer. The Board credited the impartial medical examiner’s opinion that she could perform the work and found the position medically and vocationally…
K.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Hammond Post Office, Hammond, IN
K.D. (ECAB 10-1413): Emotional condition claim returned for medical review
K.D. said her postal duties aggravated a preexisting emotional condition. The Board found that casing and delivering mail, delivering express packages, and using a scanner were established regular work duties. OWCP had found no covered work factor and had not assessed the medical evidence in…
F.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Beaufort, NC
F.H. (ECAB 10-1359): Back injury claim denied: incident and causation unproved
F.H. sought compensation for a back condition she attributed to an August 2006 work incident. She later underwent surgery for lumbar disc findings. The Board found that she had not established that the reported incident occurred, given the long delay in reporting it and the absence of…
K.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Albuquerque, NM
K.C. (ECAB 10-0709): Emotional condition claim denial affirmed
K.C. attributed an emotional condition to events at her VA workplace. The Board reviewed her allegations and the supporting record for a covered employment factor. It found the evidence did not establish the claimed workplace harassment or employer error that would support coverage. Without an…
S.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Carol Stream, IL
S.H. (ECAB 10-1697): Shoulder and neck injury claim denial affirmed
S.H., a postal letter carrier, claimed that carrying mail on March 21, 2008 injured her left shoulder and neck. Although she filed an occupational disease form, the Board treated the claim as a traumatic injury because her account described an event during one workday. The Board found that her…
V.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Ann Arbor, MI
V.S. (ECAB 10-2015): Request to reopen injury claim denied
V.S., a nurse at a VA medical center, sought to reopen a previously denied claim for a June 2008 work injury. OWCP declined further review, and the Board considered only that refusal. The Board found that her request repeated earlier arguments or raised points that did not address the basis for the…
B.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
B.C. (ECAB 10-1886): Late reconsideration request denied
B.C., a postal worker, sought to reopen a denied claim that repetitive mail work had aggravated his neck, shoulder, and back conditions. He requested reconsideration more than one year after OWCP’s last merits decision. The Board agreed that the request was late and examined whether his submission…
S.T. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Paradise Steam Plant, Drakesboro, KY
S.T. (ECAB 10-1804): Pulmonary claim returned for a new medical opinion
S.T., a former Tennessee Valley Authority mechanic, claimed that exposure to coal dust, asbestos, and gasoline fumes caused a pulmonary condition. Following an earlier Board remand, OWCP obtained a supplemental opinion from an impartial physician and denied the claim again. The Board found that the…
K.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, James A. Haley Veterans Medical Center, Tampa, FL
K.B. (ECAB 10-1718): Bilateral arm condition claim denial affirmed
K.B., a VA practical nurse, claimed that patient care duties caused numbness and tingling in both arms. OWCP accepted that she identified the work duties she considered responsible but denied the claim for lack of medical evidence linking them to her condition. The Board found that her orthopedic…
R.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Carol Stream, IL
R.A. (ECAB 10-1691): Upper extremity award claims returned for review
R.A. appealed OWCP’s denial of a schedule award for impairment of both upper extremities. OWCP had combined her claims involving injuries from 2001 and 2005, and a separate eight percent award for each arm had since been set aside for further medical development. The Board found that the linked…
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Boone, NC
J.C. (ECAB 10-1690): Compensation forfeited for unreported work
J.C., a postal supervisor receiving injury compensation, reported no work or earnings on two required disclosure forms. An investigation found that he performed custodial work at a performing arts center and received payments for other labor during the periods covered by those forms. The Board…
T.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Boston, MA
T.D. (ECAB 10-1679): Late request to revisit impairment award denied
T.D., a postal letter carrier, sought reconsideration of a 1996 decision leaving in place a schedule award for 25 percent impairment of his right testicle. His 2010 request came more than one year after that decision, so OWCP considered whether it showed clear evidence of error. The Board found…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Norman, OK
D.S. (ECAB 10-1643): Emotional condition claim returned for duty review
D.S., a postal worker, claimed that events surrounding his transfer and later work in Oklahoma aggravated an emotional condition. The Board found no supporting evidence of error or abuse in the transfer and personnel actions he described. It identified a separate issue in his psychiatrist’s report…
G.L. and Department of Justice, Federal Prisons System, Oakdale, LA
G.L. (ECAB 10-1463): Overpayment period narrowed and amount returned for calculation
G.L. received injury compensation while working in a plant nursery and reporting his earnings to OWCP. OWCP found a $103,117.02 overpayment covering August 2005 through October 2008. The Board found that OWCP had not established an understatement on the first earnings form, so compensation for…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Panorama City, CA
D.S. (ECAB 10-1376): Emotional condition claim denial affirmed
D.S., a former postal letter carrier, claimed an emotional condition associated with his employer’s return to work process and later removal from service. He was on medical leave when the claimed condition began. The Board found that he had not established his allegation of being escorted from the…
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.