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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Cantera Hipodromo, Inc.
Undelivered show-cause order supported vacating default
An ALJ entered a default against Cantera Hipodromo after the company did not answer a penalty petition or respond to a show-cause order. The record showed that the show-cause envelope was returned as undeliverable, and Cantera said it never received the order. The Secretary did not oppose relief…
Alsop Sand Company, Inc.
Final assessment reopened and remanded
Alsop Sand asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become a final order after no timely contest was recorded. The Secretary did not oppose the request. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission reopened the assessment and remanded the matter to the Chief Administrative…
United States Department of the Army, Fort Carson, Colorado (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1345 (Union)
Army Fort Carson and AFGE Local 1345 (FLRA 0-AR-4711): Lost overtime remedy upheld
Fort Carson removed a civilian police officer from transport duties while investigating an incident, then delayed issuing a letter of reprimand after its investigation was complete. An arbitrator found no just cause for the letter and found that the delay violated the labor agreement. She ordered…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 0405 (Union) and United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Complex, Butner, North Carolina (Agency)
AFGE Local 0405 and BOP Butner (FLRA 0-AR-4710): Union exceptions denied
AFGE Local 0405 challenged an arbitration award involving the Federal Bureau of Prisons complex in Butner, North Carolina. The Authority reviewed the union's exceptions against the statutory grounds for setting aside an award. It concluded that the union had not shown that the award was deficient…
National Association of Independent Labor, Local 15 (Union) and United States Department of the Navy, Naval School Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida (Agency)
NAIL Local 15 and Navy Explosive Ordnance School (FLRA 0-AR-4687): Diving hazard pay denied
An explosive ordnance disposal instructor at a Navy school sought a hazard pay differential for underwater training work. An arbitrator denied the claim because the governing pay schedule covers diving required for scientific or engineering work or search and rescue, and the instructor's dives…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2923 (Union) and United States Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina (Agency)
AFGE Local 2923 and NIEHS (FLRA 0-AR-4443): Reduced suspension left in place
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences suspended a union vice president for 14 days after he sent an email accusing a supervisor of mistreating another employee to several recipients, including people outside the agency. An arbitrator found just cause for discipline but reduced the…
M.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA
M.C. (ECAB 10-2394): Back injury recurrence and injections denied
M.C., a practical nurse, had an accepted work-related lumbar sprain and later stopped working while reporting increased back and leg pain. Her physicians did not explain how the accepted sprain caused the later disability or why epidural injections were needed to treat that sprain. The Board held…
L.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pompano Beach, FL
L.S. (ECAB 10-1744): Bilateral shoulder award upheld
L.S., a letter carrier, had accepted bilateral shoulder conditions and underwent surgery on each shoulder. OWCP awarded five percent impairment of each upper limb based on measured limits in shoulder movement. The Board found the measurements supported those ratings under the applicable impairment…
F.D. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, Little Rock, AR
F.D. (ECAB 10-1612): Depression disability period returned for medical opinion
F.D., a procurement clerk, had an accepted aggravation of preexisting depression from workplace factors. He sought wage-loss benefits for February 17, 2004 through November 30, 2005. The physician OWCP selected did not adequately address whether the accepted aggravation caused disability during…
M.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Denver, CO
M.R. (ECAB 10-1609): Late written-record review request denied
M.R., a postal employee, asked for written-record review of a November 2006 wage-earning capacity decision in April 2010. The request came after the 30-day deadline for review as a matter of right. OWCP considered whether to allow late review and directed her to the reconsideration process. The…
T.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Mount Vernon, KY
T.R. (ECAB 10-1580): Late request for written-record review denied
T.R., a rural carrier, sought written-record review of an October 6, 2009 injury decision. His request was postmarked five days after the 30-day deadline. OWCP considered discretionary review but found he could address the issue through reconsideration. The Board found no abuse of discretion and…
T.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Greenville, MI
T.B. (ECAB 10-1574): Mail carrier's shoulder and back claim denied
T.B., a rural carrier, reported upper back and shoulder pain after stacking mail in his vehicle. OWCP accepted that the November 21, 2009 work event occurred. The Board found that the medical reports did not adequately diagnose an injury and explain how that event caused the later shoulder or…
J.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Oakland, CA
J.H. (ECAB 10-1312): Late reconsideration of benefits termination denied
J.H., a postal employee, asked OWCP in 2009 to revisit its 2001 termination of benefits, which the Board had upheld in 2002 for refusing suitable work. The request came after the one-year deadline. His assertion of a miscommunication had already been considered, and later medical reports did not…
R.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Capital Performance Cluster, Washington, DC
R.D. (ECAB 10-1259): Compensation forfeiture and overpayment upheld
R.D., a postal employee receiving compensation, failed to report her employment as a data entry clerk and substitute teacher on a required form. The Board found she knowingly omitted material employment information and forfeited compensation for September 27, 2006 through December 27, 2007. That…
G.M. and Department of Labor, Mine Safety & Health Administration, Vincennes, IN
G.M. (ECAB 10-1242): Additional right leg award denied
G.M., a mine safety training specialist, sought an increased award for an accepted right knee injury. The Board found the second opinion physician's two-percent impairment rating supported by the examination and applicable guide. The treating reports did not rate any additional impairment. G.M…
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Carterville, MO
J.B. (ECAB 10-1073): Left knee surgery and disability claim denied
J.B., a city mail carrier, had an accepted work-related exacerbation of arthritis in both knees and a longstanding left knee condition. She claimed that work duties made left knee surgery necessary and caused the resulting disability. Physicians disagreed about the connection. The Board gave…
Matter of Samuel Esaul GUEVARA ALFARO
Statutory rape can qualify as a crime involving moral turpitude
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal after an Immigration Judge terminated removal proceedings against a Salvadoran lawful permanent resident. The Board held that the Attorney General's interpretation of statutory rape involving a victim under 16 as a crime involving…
M.P., claiming as widow of H.P., and Tennessee Valley Authority, Cumberland Fossil Plant, Chattanooga, TN
M.P., claiming as widow of H.P., (ECAB 10-1372): Survivor claim reopened for merits review
M.P. sought survivor benefits after H.P.'s death and submitted a new physician report about workplace exposures and cancer. OWCP treated the report as cumulative and refused to review the claim's merits. The Board found that the new report addressed the very causation issue on which the earlier…
Patrick Obadiaru v. ITT Corporation, Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania, and ACE American Insurance Company
Obadiaru v. ITT Corporation (BRB 10-0372): wage calculation corrected; disability award upheld
Patrick Obadiaru injured his back while working as a mechanic for ITT in Kuwait and later developed increased pain while doing modified work there. A judge found that the later work aggravated his condition, assigned liability to the insurer then on the risk, and awarded temporary total disability…
T.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Santa Maria, CA
T.M. (ECAB 10-1584): Left thumb occupational claim denied
T.M., a letter carrier, attributed a left thumb and hand condition to years of gripping and handling mail. Her physician identified symptoms and related them to her work history but did not explain how the duties caused or aggravated a diagnosed condition. The Board found that medical explanation…
M.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Orlando, FL
M.H. (ECAB 10-1456): Timely reconsideration request returned for review
M.H. sought reconsideration of a January 26, 2009 emotional condition decision. OWCP denied her request as late and applied the more demanding clear-error standard. The envelope was missing from the record, so the Board used the January 22, 2010 letter date and found the request timely. It directed…
V.F. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Columbia, MO
V.F. (ECAB 10-1394): Schedule award overpayment and fault upheld
V.F. received payments after her schedule award period had ended. The Board found a $5,231.93 overpayment for February 19 through May 13, 2006. The award notice told her when payments would end, so she knew or should have known the later checks were incorrect. It upheld the fault finding and denial…
A.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Springfield, MA
A.P. (ECAB 10-1212): Wage-loss overpayment and fault upheld
A.P., a postal mail handler, received four wage-loss checks after OWCP terminated monetary benefits for abandoning suitable work. She cashed the checks despite written notice that benefits ended July 10, 2005. The Board found the $3,456.00 paid through October 29, 2005 was an overpayment that she…
D.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Merrill, IA
D.M. (ECAB 10-1193): Light truck driver wage capacity finding reversed
D.M., a postal employee with an accepted lumbar injury, had wage-loss benefits reduced to zero based on a proposed light truck driver job. OWCP relied on a treating physician's ambiguous response about whether D.M. could perform that job. The Board found OWCP had not established his capacity for…
J.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Mountain Home Veterans Administration Medical Center, Mountain Home, TN
J.S. (ECAB 10-1183): Back injury claim remains denied
J.S., a Department of Veterans Affairs detective, fell on stairs at work in August 2007. OWCP accepted a left shoulder strain and labral tear but denied his claim that the fall also caused a back condition. The Board found that the medical evidence did not adequately explain how the accepted…
W.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hartford, CT
W.F. (ECAB 10-1087): Postal worker's back claim sent for further medical review
W.F., a postal letter carrier, reported back and leg pain after reaching around a snowbank to deliver mail in December 2007. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied his claim for L5 radiculopathy. The Board found that his physician's reports did not fully establish causation because…
C.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Springfield, MO
C.M. (ECAB 10-1010): Recurrence and lumbar radiculopathy claims denied
C.M., a postal carrier, had an accepted lumbar and sacroiliac sprain from a 2005 work incident. She later claimed that renewed disability in July 2008 stemmed from that injury and that her lumbar radiculopathy was caused by her work. The Board found no reasoned medical explanation linking the later…
Shawn Telsi, d/b/a Life Time Homes, Green Pines, and/or Telsi Builders
Excavation violations affirmed with $91,200 penalty
Telsi controlled a temple-construction site where subcontractor employees worked in a deep excavation with vertical walls, large spoil piles at the edges, no nearby safe egress, uncovered holes, defective ladders, and uncapped rebar. The judge found Telsi was both the controlling and creating…
Paramount Advanced Wireless, LLC
$19,276.65 EAJA award granted
Paramount prevailed after a fall-protection citation arising from a fatal tower accident was vacated, then sought fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act. The judge found the Secretary's litigation position was not substantially justified because it rested on a readily correctable…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R1-144, Federal Union of Scientists and Engineers (Union) and United States Department of the Navy, Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport, Newport, Rhode Island (Agency)
NAGE Local R1-144 and Navy Newport (FLRA 0-NG-3015): Union telework proposal negotiable
A Navy research center challenged a union proposal allowing up to five union officials to perform representational duties on official time while teleworking from home, for up to 20 hours a week each. The Authority read the proposal as making officials eligible for telework, subject to supervisor…
United States Department of the Treasury, Financial Management Service, Emeryville, California (Agency) and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 214 (Union)
Treasury Financial Management Service and NTEU Chapter 214 (FLRA 0-AR-4677): Earlier work schedules restored
The Financial Management Service changed check production employees' schedules after new supervisors began arriving at 7 a.m. An arbitrator found that the labor agreement permitted such changes for a workload change or lack of adequate supervision, neither of which the agency had established. She…
Liggett Mining, LLC
Unconfirmed emails insufficient to reopen assessments
Liggett Mining asked the Commission to reopen three assessments covering 54 citations and $67,544 in penalties. Its human-resources manager said the assessments were emailed to the company's representative for contesting, but the company could not confirm that the emails were received. The…
F.D., claiming as widow of S.D., and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Spring Valley, CA
F.D. (ECAB 10-1719): Survivor claim sent for an impartial medical opinion
F.D. sought survivor benefits after her husband, a postal employee, died from colon cancer. OWCP had accepted employment factors contributing to an emotional condition but denied that the condition caused or hastened his death. The Board found a conflict between the employee's physician and an OWCP…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, El Paso, TX
M.M. (ECAB 10-1513): Occupational disease denial and review refusal affirmed
M.M., a postal clerk, reported hand numbness and tingling that he attributed to sorting mail and parcels. OWCP accepted that he performed those duties but found that he submitted no medical evidence documenting a diagnosed condition and its connection to his work. The Board upheld that denial. It…
B.P. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Dental Service, Biloxi, MS
B.P. (ECAB 10-1205): Compensation suspension for missed examination upheld
B.P. received compensation for accepted work injuries and was asked to attend a second opinion examination to assess her continuing disability. She missed the December 2008 appointment and said she could not travel because of her health. OWCP offered transportation and gave her an opportunity to…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Dominick V. Daniels Processing & Distribution Center, Kearney, NJ
D.S. (ECAB 10-1189): Emotional condition claim denial upheld
D.S., a postal clerk, attributed an emotional condition to a supervisor's treatment, including a warning letter and alleged harassment and discrimination. The Board found that statements from other employees did not identify specific incidents involving D.S. It also found that the warning letter's…
D.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Chillum Place, Washington, DC
D.W. (ECAB 10-1148): Total disability claim after knee injury denied
D.W., a postal employee with an accepted left knee injury, had returned to part-time light duty before stopping work in January 2009. She sought compensation for total disability through early May. OWCP directed payment for four hours of daily wage loss but denied the additional claim. The Board…
W.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Spencer, IA
W.S. (ECAB 10-1103): May wage claim remanded; later denial affirmed
W.S., a postal employee with accepted lumbar annular tears, sought wage-loss compensation for two periods after returning to light duty. For the May 2009 period, the Board found that OWCP had failed to consider a physician's report received on the date of its decision. It set that denial aside and…
J.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Charlotte, NC
J.H. (ECAB 10-1002): Mail tray incident established, back injury claim denied
J.H., a postal mail handler, said she strained her back while pulling a tray of letters from a mail sleeve in May 2002. OWCP denied her claim, finding both the incident and a resulting injury unproved. The Board found her account of the incident consistent with the record and modified OWCP's…
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Wichita Falls, TX
M.B. (ECAB 10-0787): Refusal of suitable postal work upheld
M.B., a postal letter carrier with an accepted back injury, was offered a part-time position answering phones and filing. OWCP ended her wage-loss compensation after she refused that work. The Board found the offer fit the restrictions set by an impartial physician and that OWCP gave the required…
A.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Sunnyvale, CA
A.C. (ECAB 10-0553): Late reconsideration requests rejected
A.C., a former postal letter carrier with accepted foot conditions, asked OWCP to reconsider its 2001 denial of disability benefits. OWCP denied his 2008 and 2009 requests because they were filed beyond the one-year window and did not show clear evidence of error. The Board agreed that the later…
Emerald Coal Resources, LP
Two unwarrantable violations modified, $38,709 assessed
MSHA issued Emerald Coal two section 104(d) orders for extensive combustible accumulations and an inadequate preshift examination at Emerald Mine No. 1. Judge Kenneth R. Andrews found that the accumulations and examination failures were caused by unwarrantable failure and high negligence. He…
Fox Knob Coal Company
Berm citation vacated, steering violations modified
MSHA cited Fox Knob Coal at a surface mine for an inadequate dump-site berm and unsafe steering mechanisms on two large rock trucks. Judge L. Zane Gill vacated the berm citation because a dozer operator was actively spotting trucks by radio, which qualified as a similar means of preventing…
C.T. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Brownsville, TX
C.T. (ECAB 10-1606): Hearing loss award of 70 weeks upheld
C.T., a Customs and Border Protection supervisory inspector, developed hearing loss from noise exposure at work. OWCP awarded compensation for 35 percent hearing loss across both ears, and he argued that the award should reflect the greater loss in his left ear. The Board found that OWCP's medical…
J.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Medical Center Station, Houston, TX
J.S. (ECAB 10-1586): Right arm impairment raised to nine percent
J.S., a postal city carrier, sought a schedule award after a work injury to his right shoulder and rotator cuff. OWCP awarded benefits for eight percent right arm impairment, while his own physician rated it at 12 percent. The Board gave less weight to that rating because it used an outdated…
R.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, LaMarque, TX
R.D. (ECAB 10-1564): Two percent impairment award for each arm upheld
R.D., a postal letter carrier, sought a larger award after surgery for work-related carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists. OWCP rated permanent impairment at two percent for each arm. The Board found that a chiropractor's much higher rating could not establish arm impairment under FECA because his…
K.H. and Department of the Army, Letterkenny Army Depot, Chambersburg, PA
K.H. (ECAB 10-1480): Workplace exposure claim returned for fact development
K.H., an Army depot purchasing agent, reported a headache and a fall at the workplace clinic after exposure to odors at work. OWCP denied his injury claim, finding the alleged exposure unproved and the fall unsupported by medical evidence of injury. The Board found that the employer's response did…
L.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
L.K. (ECAB 10-1144 and 11-0265): Arm impairment award and medical benefit termination upheld
L.K., a postal letter carrier, appealed the amount of her arm impairment award and OWCP's termination of medical benefits after several accepted work injuries. The Board found that an OWCP medical adviser correctly applied the impairment guide to rate her left arm at 12 percent and her right arm at…
K.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jackson, NJ
K.P. (ECAB 10-1131): Impairment claim returned for a fuller medical evaluation
K.P., a postal letter carrier, sought a schedule award for lasting impairment after accepted neck and right shoulder injuries. Her physicians reported different findings, and she sustained another right shoulder injury before OWCP's later examination. The Board found that one rating used an…
L.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fairbury, IL
L.M. (ECAB 10-1095): Refusal of modified postal work upheld
L.M., a postal mail processing clerk with accepted carpal tunnel syndrome, was offered a modified position with limits on lifting and repetitive tasks. OWCP ended her monetary compensation after she declined it. The Board found that the actual job duties fit her medical restrictions and that an…
T.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fort Mill, SC
T.G. (ECAB 10-0920): Injury during ride to work fell outside job coverage
T.G., a rural postal carrier, sustained a right femur fracture while riding to work in a coworker's car after her own car would not start. She normally used her own vehicle for mail delivery and argued that the trip should count as work travel. The Board found that she was a passenger on an…
M.B. and Department of the Air Force, Aircraft Quality Branch, Tinker Air Force Base, OK
M.B. (ECAB 10-0882): Rescission of accepted hearing-loss claim reversed
M.B., an Air Force aircraft quality specialist, had an accepted hearing-loss claim after years of workplace noise exposure. OWCP later withdrew its acceptance, relying on medical reports that attributed his right-ear loss primarily to a conductive condition. The Board found those reports did not…
Social Security Administration (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3627 (Union)
Social Security Administration and AFGE Local 3627 (FLRA 0-AR-4584): Selection challenge dismissed on procedural grounds
The Social Security Administration selected an employee for a senior legal assistant position. An arbitrator found that the employee lacked the experience required by the vacancy announcement and that the selection violated the labor agreement. The agency challenged the award as an improper…
Spartan Mining Company
Final assessment reopened and remanded
Spartan Mining asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become a final order after no timely contest was recorded. The Secretary did not oppose the request. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission reopened the assessment and remanded the matter to the Chief…
Thunder Basin Coal Company, LLC
Final assessment reopened and remanded
Thunder Basin Coal asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become a final order after no timely contest was recorded. The Secretary did not oppose the request. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission reopened the assessment and remanded the matter to the Chief…
Johnson Construction Materials
Office move and unforwarded mail supported reopening
Johnson Construction Materials asked the Commission to reopen an assessment it did not receive on time after relocating its office. A business at the former location had signed for Johnson's mail but did not forward it. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but noted that operators must keep their…
Holschbach Excavating, Inc.
Final assessment reopened and remanded
Holschbach Excavating asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become a final order after no timely contest was recorded. The Secretary did not oppose the request. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission reopened the assessment and remanded the matter to the Chief…
Matter of Michael Alexander NELSON
Departure does not restart the cancellation clock
The Board reviewed a Jamaican lawful permanent resident's appeal from the denial of his application for cancellation of removal. The Board held that an offense that stops the accrual of the required period of continuous residence cannot be followed by a departure and return that restarts the…
S.A. and Department of the Army, Picatinny Arsenal, Picatinny, NJ
S.A. (ECAB 10-1933): Reconsideration denied for evidence unrelated to work coverage
S.A., an Army mechanical engineer, reported injuries during an arrest by security personnel at his workplace. OWCP denied his claim because it found the incident unrelated to his job duties. In seeking reconsideration, S.A. submitted medical information and described treatment and missed work. The…
F.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hattiesburg, MS
F.T. (ECAB 10-1595): Ankle injury claim denied for lack of medical explanation
F.T., a postal city carrier, reported twisting his right ankle when he stepped into a hole while delivering mail. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied compensation because the medical reports did not explain how it caused the diagnosed condition. The Board found that a physician's…
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.