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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W.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cincinnati, OH
W.J. (ECAB 10-1594): Two percent right leg impairment award upheld
W.J., a postal mail handler, sought a larger schedule award after surgery for an accepted right knee injury. OWCP had awarded benefits for two percent permanent impairment of his right leg. His physician later rated impairment at six percent, but that calculation assumed a total meniscectomy. The…
D.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Des Moines, IA
D.P. (ECAB 10-1504): Three percent left foot impairment award upheld
D.P., a postal worker, sought a larger schedule award after accepted fractures in his left foot. Following an earlier Board remand, OWCP's medical adviser rated the lasting impairment at three percent of the foot, including the one percent already awarded. The Board found that the adviser used the…
M.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tchula, MS
M.J. (ECAB 10-1484): Schedule-award reconsideration request rejected
M.J., a former postal rural carrier with an accepted back strain, sought a schedule award for claimed effects in his legs. OWCP denied the award in 2009 because he had not submitted medical evidence of permanent leg impairment from that injury. His 2010 reconsideration request checked the request…
S.G. and Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Conway, NH
S.G. (ECAB 10-1405): No increase to prior left eye impairment award
S.G., a Forest Service forestry technician, had received schedule awards totaling 50 percent impairment of his left eye after a work injury. He sought a higher award based on physicians' estimates of greater vision loss. The Board found that the most recent examination and the applicable impairment…
C.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Richmond, KY
C.W. (ECAB 10-1403): Emotional injury denial upheld; physical claim returned
C.W., a postal rural carrier, attributed emotional and physical conditions to workplace events and a heavier mail route. The Board upheld denial of the emotional injury claim because the record lacked medical evidence linking a diagnosed condition to her duties and did not substantiate the alleged…
S.L. and Department of the Army, Keller Army Hospital, West Point, NY
S.L. (ECAB 10-1126): Emotional condition claim denied for missing work and medical proof
S.L., an Army hospital medical clerk, attributed an emotional condition to workplace stress, including concern about encountering a former supervisor involved in an earlier assault. The Board found no documented error or abuse in the employer's response to his safety concerns. It also found that…
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, Livonia, MI
M.S. (ECAB 10-0538): Shoulder recurrence claim and second-hearing request denied
M.S., a postal letter carrier, sought benefits for renewed disability after an accepted right shoulder condition. The Board found that her medical reports did not adequately connect the claimed November 2008 disability or left shoulder symptoms to the accepted right shoulder condition. It also…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Complex, Victorville, California (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3969 (Union)
Bureau of Prisons Victorville and AFGE Local 3969 (FLRA 0-AR-4596): Teachers' overtime status and leave coverage upheld
At a federal correctional facility, an arbitrator found that teachers spent most of their time on custody duties and did not qualify for an exemption from the Fair Labor Standards Act. She ordered backpay until the teachers were reclassified as nonexempt. She also found that a labor agreement…
Dickenson-Russell Coal Co., LLC
Imminent-danger roof order affirmed, penalty reduced
Dickenson-Russell operated the underground Cherokee Mine, where an MSHA inspector saw the roof cracking and a large slab of rock easing down above a track used by miners. The judge affirmed the imminent-danger withdrawal order because the deteriorating roof could have caused serious injury before…
Left Fork Mining Company, Inc.
Assessment reopened after settlement agreement
Left Fork Mining asked the Commission to reopen a final penalty assessment. The Secretary initially opposed the request but withdrew that opposition after Left Fork and MSHA agreed on settlement terms. The Secretary asked for reopening solely so the parties could submit their settlement for…
David L. Wilson v. Service Employees International, Incorporated and Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania
Wilson v. Service Employees International (BRB 10-0261R): employer fee liability upheld on reconsideration
David Wilson received disability benefits for work injuries in Iraq, but his employer did not pay a cost of living increase due on his permanent total disability benefits. In an earlier decision, the Board held that this failure made the employer liable for Wilson's attorney fee and sent the case…
C.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Fort Worth Performance Cluster, Fort Worth, TX
C.G. (ECAB 10-1571): Reimbursement for multilevel neck surgery denied
C.G., a postal mail processor with accepted spine conditions, sought reimbursement for a two-level neck surgery performed after OWCP declined to authorize it. The Board found that OWCP could rely on its medical adviser's explanation that the proposed device use went beyond its approval for one…
R.T. and Department of the Air Force, O'Hara Aircraft Rescue & Firefighting Facility, Chicago, IL
R.T. (ECAB 10-1547): Therapy-related back and hip claim returned for review
R.T., an Air Force employee with an accepted right knee injury, reported new back and hip symptoms during physical therapy after an approved knee replacement. OWCP denied a claim that those conditions followed from the accepted injury. The Board found that the treating reports did not fully…
G.H. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Garrison, Fort George G. Meade, MD
G.H. (ECAB 10-1518): Wage loss denial affirmed; other knee compensation questions returned to OWCP
G.H., an Army management analyst, sought wage loss compensation after left knee replacement surgery. She argued that an accepted right knee injury and the resulting difficulty walking had accelerated the deterioration of her left knee. The Board found that her surgeon had offered a possible medical…
A.B. and Department of Agriculture, Santa Fe National Forest, Santa Fe, NM
A.B. (ECAB 10-1479): Refusal to reopen knee compensation claim affirmed
A.B., a Forest Service worker with an accepted right knee injury, sought to recover compensation that OWCP had suspended after he missed a scheduled medical examination. He later asked OWCP to reconsider and submitted a copy of a passport he had held at the time, arguing that he could have used it…
R.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Rugby Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
R.R. (ECAB 10-1448): Denial of postal worker's claimed disability recurrence affirmed
R.R., a postal letter carrier, had an accepted left lower leg contusion after she jumped onto a car to escape a dog while delivering mail. She later claimed that swelling and other symptoms while delivering mail in July 2003 marked a recurrence of disability caused by that injury. OWCP denied the…
E.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Minneapolis Processing & Distribution Center, Minneapolis, MN
E.P. (ECAB 10-1441): Schedule award reconsideration denial set aside
E.P., a postal clerk with accepted carpal tunnel syndrome, disputed the pay rate OWCP used to calculate her right arm schedule award. She submitted pay stubs and argued that OWCP had used an incorrect recurrence date. OWCP refused to reopen the award for a merits review, calling the submissions…
R.S. and Department of the Treasury, Customs Service, Elizabeth, NJ
R.S. (ECAB 10-1353): $141,631 third-party recovery overpayment affirmed
R.S., a customs inspector, received workers' compensation after an accepted injury and later recovered damages from a third party. Her attorney repaid OWCP for earlier benefits and identified $141,631.40 of the recovery as a surplus to be credited against future compensation. OWCP continued paying…
C.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Camden Post Office, Camden, NJ
C.F. (ECAB 10-0951): Upper extremity schedule awards affirmed
C.F., a postal carrier, sought larger schedule awards for accepted wrist and elbow conditions. Her treating physician and an OWCP medical adviser gave different impairment ratings, so OWCP obtained an examination by an impartial orthopedic specialist. The specialist corrected his initial…
G.B. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Troop Support Agency, Fort Sill, OK
G.B. (ECAB 10-0634): Back injury recurrence and reconsideration denials affirmed
G.B., an Army stock clerk, claimed that disability beginning in March 1980 was a recurrence of an accepted 1975 back strain. The Board found no reasoned medical opinion connecting the claimed disability to that injury, and noted that later work activities could have intervened. It affirmed OWCP's…
United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1917 (Union)
Immigration and Customs Enforcement and AFGE Local 1917 (FLRA 0-AR-4649): Reprimand removed
Immigration and Customs Enforcement reprimanded a legal assistant after two late arrivals and failures to follow reporting instructions. An arbitrator found that the agency had not shown just cause under the labor agreement and ordered the reprimand removed from the employee's records. The agency…
Social Security Administration (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1760 (Union)
Social Security Administration and AFGE Local 1760 (FLRA 0-AR-4320): Retired union president's access restored
The Social Security Administration cut off a local union president's email, intranet, and official time tracking access when he retired, even though he continued serving as union president. An arbitrator found that the labor agreement and a tracking system memorandum entitled him to limited access…
Kevin Baird v. PCS Phosphate Company, Inc.
Stay of temporary reinstatement denied
PCS Phosphate asked the Commission to stay its decision restoring miner Kevin Baird's economic reinstatement while the company appealed to the Fourth Circuit. The Commission majority found that PCS had not shown a substantial likelihood of success or irreparable harm because temporary reinstatement…
Essroc Cement Corporation
Three citations upheld, four vacated
MSHA issued seven citations at Essroc's Indiana cement plant and proposed $16,021 in penalties for conditions involving explosives storage, openings, hydraulic fluid, electrical equipment, housekeeping, handrails, and machine guarding. The judge upheld the combustible-material citation at low…
T.L. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration
T.L. (ECAB 10-1794): Shoulder impairment award returned for an impartial examination
T.L., a transportation security officer, injured his right shoulder while clearing jammed luggage and later underwent surgery. OWCP awarded a schedule award based on four percent permanent impairment of his right arm. His surgeon rated impairment at 10 percent using the diagnosis of an AC joint…
M.D. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Honolulu, HI
M.D. (ECAB 10-1661): Refusal to reopen fall claim affirmed
M.D., a Veterans Health Administration teller, lost consciousness at work and sought compensation for injuries from her fall. OWCP denied the claim after finding that the fall resulted from a personal medical condition and that no workplace hazard contributed. M.D. asked OWCP to reconsider…
P.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Rocky River, OH
P.N. (ECAB 10-1641): Pre-surgery wage loss denial affirmed
P.N., a postal clerk with accepted knee conditions, sought compensation for time off from a modified job before an authorized left knee replacement. Her surgeon said she needed to stop pain medication before surgery and could not work, but did not explain why medication had to stop for a month or…
R.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Ocean Park, WA
R.W. (ECAB 10-1464): Mail worker's carpal tunnel claim denial affirmed
R.W., a postal sales and service associate, attributed right carpal tunnel syndrome to years of moving, unloading, and sorting mail. The Board accepted that he performed those duties and had the diagnosed condition. It found that his physicians described a timing connection but did not explain…
R.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Stillwell, KS
R.K. (ECAB 10-1360): Denial of light-duty recurrence claim affirmed
R.K., a postal worker with accepted hand and wrist conditions, worked in a modified assignment and later claimed a recurrence of disability when she stopped working. She said the Postal Service had withdrawn suitable light-duty work, while the employer said it had taken her off work because of…
K.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New York, NY
K.J. (ECAB 10-1354): Knee fracture claim denied for lack of medical causation evidence
K.J., a postal letter carrier, reported that he slipped on steps while delivering mail and injured his left knee. An MRI later showed a fracture, and OWCP accepted that the slip occurred. The Board found that the medical reports did not accurately describe the reported incident or explain how it…
S.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office
S.W. (ECAB 10-1348): Light-duty recurrence claim denial affirmed
S.W., a postal worker with accepted back and elbow strains from 2003, said the Postal Service had no light-duty work within her restrictions in April 2009. She also had other conditions and a separate accepted injury from a 2009 vehicle accident. The Board found that her doctors listed diagnoses…
T.S. and Department of Agriculture, Federal Grain Inspection Service, Portland, OR
T.S. (ECAB 10-1286): Wage loss denial after shoulder injury affirmed
T.S., a temporary program clerk for a federal grain inspection office, stopped working after an accepted left rotator cuff strain. She sought wage loss compensation beginning June 10, 2008. The Board found that her orthopedic surgeon allowed full-time work with restrictions and did not identify a…
C.K. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Los Angeles, CA
C.K. (ECAB 10-1066): Reduced compensation based on contract administrator work upheld
C.K., a federal attorney with accepted back and neck injuries, received compensation for total disability after he stopped working. OWCP reduced his benefits based on a vocational assessment that he could earn $1,646 a week as a contract administrator. The Board found that a second opinion…
R.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Milford, CT
R.S. (ECAB 10-1652): Postal worker's neck injury claim returned for medical review
R.S., a postal letter carrier, reported neck pain after turning quickly toward a loud crash at work. OWCP accepted that the incident happened but denied his injury claim because it found the medical explanation of causation inadequate. The Board agreed that the physician's reports did not yet…
F.M. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Bremerton, WA
F.M. (ECAB 10-1438): Shipyard hearing loss claim returned for medical clarification
F.M., a retired Navy shipyard rigger and foreman, sought acceptance of a hearing loss claim after years of workplace noise exposure. OWCP denied the claim based on a specialist's view that his present hearing loss was not caused by federal work. The Board found that the same specialist had also…
A.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Seattle, WA
A.H. (ECAB 10-1325): Refusal to reopen wage loss claim upheld
A.H., a postal employee, asked OWCP to reconsider an earlier wage loss decision and argued that his light duty job had been removed. OWCP declined to reopen the claim because the submission did not present a new relevant argument or evidence. The Board found that the argument and much of the…
M.M. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Garrison, Fort McPherson, GA
M.M. (ECAB 10-1197): Termination of injury benefits reversed
M.M., an Army human resources assistant, received benefits after a workplace fall caused several accepted injuries. OWCP ended her wage loss compensation and medical benefits after obtaining medical opinions that her accepted conditions had resolved. The Board found that the impartial examiner had…
A.S., daughter of M.S., power of attorney for D.S., and Department of Veterans Affairs, Wade Park Medical Center, Cleveland, OH
A.S. (ECAB 10-1147): Denial of survivor benefits affirmed
M.S., a former VA nurse, received compensation for accepted anxiety and related conditions before her death. Her daughter A.S. sought survivor benefits on behalf of another adult daughter who could not support herself. OWCP denied the claim because the medical evidence did not establish that the…
T.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Orleans, LA
T.J. (ECAB 10-1116): Emotional condition claim denial affirmed
T.J., an acting postmaster, attributed anxiety and other medical conditions to long hours, understaffing, and criticism during a work conference call. OWCP accepted overwork as a compensable employment factor but denied the claim because the medical evidence did not establish that overwork caused a…
J.S. and Department of Defense, DIA-Defense Distribution Region -- East, New Cumberland, PA
J.S. (ECAB 10-1051): Eight percent right arm award upheld
J.S., a defense distribution worker, injured his right wrist while pulling carts. OWCP awarded him compensation for eight percent permanent impairment of the right arm. His physician proposed seven percent using a rating for a ruptured tendon, but OWCP's medical adviser used a wrist sprain rating…
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chester Heights, PA
M.S. (ECAB 10-0980): Thirteen percent right arm impairment upheld
M.S., a retired postal clerk with an accepted right carpal tunnel condition, sought a larger right arm schedule award. His physician and an OWCP medical adviser disagreed about wrist motion and grip strength ratings but agreed on a 10 percent median nerve sensory rating, so OWCP obtained an…
O.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Nashville, TN
O.L. (ECAB 10-0924): Wage-loss termination and cervical surgery denial upheld
O.L., a postal custodian with accepted neck and back injuries, declined a modified mail handler job offered by the Postal Service. An impartial physician found he could do the offered work within restrictions, and the Board held that OWCP gave the required notice before ending wage-loss…
Pike Electric, Inc.
Settlement approved as final order
After the Secretary petitioned for review of the administrative law judge's disposition and the Commission directed the case for review, the parties signed a settlement agreement. The Commission reviewed and approved the agreement under Commission Rule 100. The short final order does not describe…
National Treasury Employees Union (Union) and United States Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Public Debt, Washington, D.C. (Agency)
NTEU and Bureau of the Public Debt (FLRA 0-NG-3076): Agency disapproval of five agreement provisions rescinded
The Bureau of the Public Debt disapproved five provisions of its agreement with the National Treasury Employees Union. Two required written performance expectations for employees on short details or temporary promotions. Another required counseling before imposing documentation requirements for…
National Association of Independent Labor, Local 5 (Union) and United States Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Distribution Depot Red River (Agency)
NAIL Local 5 and Defense Distribution Depot Red River (FLRA 0-AR-4592): Employee transfer remedy upheld
The Defense Logistics Agency moved an administrative support assistant into a position outside the bargaining unit under a new personnel system without notifying the union. An arbitrator found that the agency had violated the agreement's consultation requirement. He ordered the agency either to…
National Association of Independent Labor, Local 5 (Union) and United States Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Distribution Depot Red River, Texarkana, Texas (Agency)
NAIL Local 5 and Defense Distribution Depot Red River (FLRA 0-AR-4577): Supervisory transfer remedy upheld
The Defense Logistics Agency permanently moved a bargaining unit employee into a supervisory position under a new personnel system without notifying the union. An arbitrator found that the agency had violated the agreement's consultation requirement and ordered the employee returned to her former…
United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Columbia-Cascades Area Office, Yakima, Washington (Activity) and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 77, AFL-CIO (Union/Petitioner)
Bureau of Reclamation Columbia-Cascades and IBEW Local 77 (FLRA SF-RP-10-0010): Two employees remain outside unit
After a Bureau of Reclamation reorganization, IBEW Local 77 sought to add two Green Springs Power Plant employees to its bargaining unit without an election. A regional director found that the reorganized office succeeded the prior employer for the existing unit, but denied the request to add the…
C.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jacksonville, FL
C.W. (ECAB 10-1689): Plantar fasciitis disability claim denied for lack of medical proof
C.W., a postal mail processor, had an accepted bilateral plantar fasciitis claim and worked limited duty. She sought compensation for a full day missed in June 2009 and reduced hours beginning in July 2009. A hospital note did not explain medical findings supporting the missed day, and her visit to…
S.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Edward Hines Jr. Hospital, Hines, IL
S.B. (ECAB 10-1587): Reconsideration denial upheld without reopening schedule award
S.B., a Veterans Affairs pharmacy technician, sought a larger schedule award for an accepted right hand and wrist injury. OWCP had awarded 13 percent impairment of her right upper extremity, then denied a later request for reconsideration without reviewing the merits. The Board could review that…
F.B. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA
F.B. (ECAB 10-1532): Hearing loss claim barred by filing deadline
F.B., a retired Navy shipyard training instructor, filed an occupational hearing loss claim in February 2009. He said he knew of the condition and its work connection in 1988 and last encountered the claimed workplace noise when he retired in July 1999. The three-year filing period therefore…
J.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
J.R. (ECAB 10-1505): Continuing disability claim denied after earlier termination of benefits
J.R., a postal employee, sought compensation for disability after June 15, 2007, when OWCP had terminated his benefits for a prior back injury. The Board had upheld that termination in an earlier appeal. His treating orthopedist reported disc herniations and inability to work, but did not explain…
J.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Perry, OH
J.F. (ECAB 10-1451): Carpal tunnel claim denied for lack of medical causation evidence
J.F., a retired rural letter carrier, attributed bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome to repetitive wrist and hand movements while casing and delivering mail. OWCP accepted the described work activities but denied the occupational disease claim. An electromyogram supported the diagnosis, yet it gave no…
A.F. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Regional Office, Baltimore, MD
A.F. (ECAB 10-1344): Workplace fall claim returned for proper fact findings
A.F., a Veterans Affairs service representative, fell at work and claimed injuries to his hand, neck, and back. OWCP treated the fall as caused by his preexisting hypertension and denied the claim. The Board found that the medical record did not explain how hypertension caused the fall and that…
C.G. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Orlando, FL
C.G. (ECAB 10-1342): Reconsideration refusal upheld after termination of injury benefits
C.G., a Transportation Security Administration screener, sought reconsideration of OWCP’s termination of benefits for an accepted 2003 lifting injury. The Board could review the reconsideration refusal but lacked jurisdiction over the earlier merits decision. Her new medical reports did not address…
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Dallas, TX
D.C. (ECAB 10-1293): Hernia surgery supports part of wage loss claim
D.C., a postal letter carrier, sought wage loss compensation after an accepted left inguinal hernia. His surgeon reported that surgery on February 21, 2006 kept him from work until March 20, 2006. The Board found that evidence sufficient to support disability during that recovery period. It upheld…
E.S. and Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
E.S. (ECAB 10-502): Crohn’s disease disability dispute returned for a new medical opinion
E.S. sought compensation for disability after June 16, 1978 from an accepted temporary work-related aggravation of preexisting Crohn’s disease. Earlier appeals left a conflict between medical opinions on whether that disability continued. OWCP used an impartial specialist’s reports to deny the…
Shell Gulf of Mexico, Inc. and Shell Offshore, Inc.
In re Shell Gulf of Mexico, Inc. and Shell Offshore, Inc. (EAB OCS Appeal Nos. 10-01 through 10-04): remand reconsideration denied and clarified
Shell Gulf of Mexico, Inc. and Shell Offshore, Inc. sought reconsideration or clarification of an earlier order remanding their OCS PSD permits for the Frontier Discoverer drillship and associated vessels. The Environmental Appeals Board denied Shell's request to reconsider the definition of when…
K.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Gwinn, MI
K.L. (ECAB 10-1633): Higher right leg award and left knee claim denied
K.L., a postal employee, had accepted right knee injuries after a 1996 workplace fall and a schedule award for 51 percent right leg impairment. He sought a higher right leg award and compensation for his left knee. The Board found that the competing medical ratings did not establish more than 51…
S.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Ringwood Post Office, Ringwood, IL
S.L. (ECAB 10-1478): Reduced work hours do not change established earning capacity
S.L., a rural mail carrier with accepted cervical conditions, had returned to modified work. OWCP had based her wage-earning capacity on that job’s actual earnings. When the Postal Service later reduced her hours, she sought wage loss compensation and a change to the prior earning-capacity…
D.D. and Department of the Navy, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, ME
D.D. (ECAB 10-1467): Hearing award upheld with corrected ear calculations
D.D., a retired Navy shipyard electronics mechanic, received a schedule award for three percent binaural hearing loss from occupational noise. The Board corrected the medical adviser’s separate right- and left-ear calculations but found that the combined loss still rounded to three percent. That…
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.