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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C.C. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Milwaukee, WI
C.C. (ECAB 10-1442): Chiropractor evidence requires merit review of injury claim
C.C., a Transportation Security Administration employee, sought reconsideration of an injury claim after submitting a chiropractor’s report based on spinal x-rays. OWCP refused to reopen the claim, reasoning that the x-rays were taken too long after the injury to have value. The Board held that the…
S.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Dallas, TX
S.S. (ECAB 10-1408): Narrative request did not justify reopening injury claim
S.S., a postal employee, asked OWCP to reconsider an injury claim it had denied for lack of medical evidence on causation. He submitted a narrative statement discussing material already in the record, without new medical evidence. The Board could review the reconsideration refusal but not the older…
J.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Aurora, IL
J.P. (ECAB 10-1381): Repeated impairment argument did not reopen schedule award claim
J.P., a postal carrier, sought a new review of his schedule award and argued that OWCP should use an older edition of the impairment guide. His attorney repeated that position and disagreed with the agency medical adviser’s rating without identifying a specific error. The Board found that OWCP…
A.P. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Homestead, FL
A.P. (ECAB 10-1319): Dive-related ear injury claim returned for medical development
A.P., a National Park Service biological science technician, reported right-ear pain and hearing loss after a work scuba dive. OWCP accepted that the dive occurred but denied a causal link to the ear condition. The Board found that prompt examination, witness evidence, and medical reports supported…
M.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Louis, MO
M.W. (ECAB 10-964): Two days of disability after injection not medically established
M.W., a postal employee with an accepted trigger thumb condition, sought compensation for two days after a cortisone injection. OWCP had paid compensation for the injection date but denied the following days. The physician’s earlier report predated the disputed period, and the later records did not…
W.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
W.T. (ECAB 10-763): Mail route back injury claim denied for lack of medical causation proof
W.T., a transitional postal carrier, reported low-back pain while delivering mail in August 2008. The Board accepted that the work activity occurred but found the medical evidence did not explain how it caused or aggravated an injury. Some doctors did not account for a separate back injury from…
Signal Peak Energy LLC
Final assessment reopened and remanded
Signal Peak Energy asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final after the company did not contest it within 30 days. The Secretary did not oppose reopening, and Signal Peak later requested expedited consideration. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission…
Powertech (USA) Inc.
In re Powertech (USA) Inc. (EAB UIC Appeal Nos. 11-01 and 11-02): petitions dismissed as moot
EPA Region 8 issued an Underground Injection Control permit to Powertech (USA) Inc. Coloradoans Against Resource Destruction and James B. Woodward petitioned the Environmental Appeals Board to review the permit. Before the Board ruled on the petitions, Region 8 withdrew the permit and said it…
Centre Crown Mining, LLC
Sixty citations resolved for $37,069
The case resolved 60 citations issued at Centre Crown's underground Crown III Mine, including hazards involving conveyor belts, ventilation controls, parking brakes, roof support, and the mine's approved plans. The judge approved a settlement of 44 citations for $14,641 and decided 16 more after a…
ICG Knott County, LLC
Water-inundation violations affirmed and modified
ICG cut from an active section into a bleeder area without drilling boreholes or conducting a preshift examination, allowing pooled water to enter the Calvary Mine's working section. The judge affirmed that violation as S&S and an unwarrantable failure, assessed ICG $35,000, and held superintendent…
A.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jacksonville, FL
A.J. (ECAB 10-1537): Fraud-conviction benefits termination not reopened
A.J., a postal employee, requested reconsideration after OWCP terminated her compensation benefits following a federal fraud conviction. She had pleaded guilty in open court in July 2008 to concealing treatment by other physicians who prescribed pain medication. The Board found that her arguments…
R.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Spokane, WA
R.B. (ECAB 10-1492): Wage loss after accepted injury not medically linked to that injury
R.B., a Veterans Affairs laundry machine operator, sought wage loss compensation from August 3 through November 23, 2005 after an accepted January 2005 workplace injury. Her physician described later pain and difficulty with laundry work, but did not connect disability during the claimed period to…
S.E. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Charlie Norwood Veterans Administration Medical Center, Augusta, GA
S.E. (ECAB 10-1462): Nurse’s shoulder injury claim lacks medical causation explanation
S.E., a Veterans Affairs nurse, reported right shoulder symptoms after repeatedly handling telephone and patient call-light receivers at work. The Board accepted that she performed those duties. Her doctor diagnosed shoulder impingement but did not explain how the specific work activities caused or…
J.J. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, New York, NY
J.J. (ECAB 10-1435): Back injury claim and reconsideration request denied
J.J., a National Park Service employee, reported a back injury after a September 2009 work incident. The Board accepted that the incident happened but found that he had not submitted a medical opinion explaining how it caused the claimed back condition. His later reconsideration request did not…
N.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, La Junta, CO
N.F. (ECAB 10-1399): Additional wage loss for November 2009 not established
N.F., a postal letter carrier, sought total disability compensation for November 7 through 18, 2009 after an accepted 2007 back sprain. OWCP had already paid 48 hours for that period under another claim, and a claimant cannot be paid twice for the same hours. For any unpaid time, his doctor…
K.H. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Material Command, Chambersburg, PA
K.H. (ECAB 10-1294): Unrelated evidence did not reopen workplace injury claim
K.H., an Army employee, sought reconsideration of a claim denied for failure to establish a workplace injury. His submission included newspaper articles about a commercial wine venture and referred to a witness statement that was not in the record. The Board found that the materials did not address…
T.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Osawatomie, KS
T.M. (ECAB 10-1281): Higher right leg impairment award not established
T.M., a postal carrier with an accepted right knee injury, sought an increased schedule award above seven percent right leg impairment. Her doctor used an outdated edition of the impairment guide and did not provide enough clinical findings for a reliable rating. A physical therapist’s testing did…
E.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
E.T. (ECAB 10-894): Left arm impairment needs a complete medical evaluation
E.T., a postal employee, already had schedule awards totaling five percent left arm impairment and sought an additional award. The Board found gaps in both sides of the medical evidence: the attending physician did not adequately explain a separate nerve rating, while the agency referral physician…
M.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Lemont, IL
M.C. (ECAB 10-769): Knee disability recurrence not linked to older injury
M.C., a postal carrier, claimed a recurrence of knee disability in March 2009 from an accepted 1999 injury sustained while running from a dog. Her doctors did not give a reasoned explanation linking the current condition to that injury. One report discussed other knee injuries, and another…
US Pagoda, Inc.
Post-retirement decision remanded for further action
OSHA inspected US Pagoda, Inc.'s construction work site and issued a citation and proposed penalty. The employer filed its notice of contest more than ten weeks after the statutory deadline, and former Chief Administrative Law Judge Irving Sommer denied relief and affirmed the citation. The…
North American Dismantling Corp.
The deciding judge had already retired when his decision issued, so the Commission remands
The company and the work. North American Dismantling Corp. is a demolition contractor with its main office in Lapeer, Michigan. In September 2007 it owned and was demolishing a pulp mill in Berlin, New Hampshire. Part of the job was bringing down three large smokestacks, and the company hired Dykon…
Y.K. and Department of Defense, Defense Contract Management Agency, Carson, CA
Y.K. (ECAB 10-1600): Repeated harassment allegations did not reopen claim
Y.K., a Defense Department employee, asked OWCP to reconsider a claim based on alleged workplace harassment and unfair treatment. OWCP had denied the claim because the factual record did not substantiate those allegations. Her request repeated the allegations without new corroborating evidence or a…
D.G. and Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
D.G. (ECAB 10-1534): Unsupported reconsideration request did not reopen injury claim
D.G., a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employee, asked OWCP to revisit a denied traumatic injury claim. His reconsideration request did not include evidence or argument meeting the rule for reopening. The Board could review the refusal but lacked jurisdiction over the older merits…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Millbrae, CA
D.S. (ECAB 10-1475): Postal route disease claim lacked work details and medical explanation
D.S., a postal employee, attributed neck and back conditions to a change from a driving route to a walking route with hills and heavy loads. The Board found that he did not clearly describe when the route change occurred, how long it lasted, or the duties involved. His doctor mentioned increased…
P.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Lubbock, TX
P.M. (ECAB 10-1440): Knee disease claim and late record-review request denied
P.M., a city letter carrier, attributed bilateral knee arthritis and a left knee replacement to her mail delivery work. Her physician stated a work connection but did not explain the mechanism or address her medical history, so the Board found the causal evidence insufficient. She also requested…
C.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Administration Medical Center, Brecksville, OH
C.M. (ECAB 10-1371): Finger injury recurrence claim lacked proof of inability to do modified work
C.M., a Veterans Affairs pharmacy technician, had an accepted right index finger contusion and was working modified duty. She claimed a short period of renewed total disability in March 2009 because of hand pain and swelling. The medical notes did not explain why she could not perform the modified…
B.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Memphis, TN
B.W. (ECAB 10-1335): Late reconsideration request showed no clear error
B.W., a postal employee, again challenged an older termination of compensation for refusing suitable work. Her March 2010 reconsideration request came more than a year after the last merit decision and repeated an argument about the employer’s response to a 1993 inquiry. The Board found no…
L.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
L.M. (ECAB 10-1299): Knee claim denied, possible calf injury returned for review
L.M., a postal carrier, reported leg symptoms while walking back to her vehicle at work in June 2007. The Board found inconsistencies between the later knee injury account and early medical notes, and her doctor did not adequately explain a work-related knee tear or fracture. It affirmed the denial…
C.R. and Federal Judiciary, Federal Public Defender Service, Washington, DC
C.R. (ECAB 10-1273): Termination of injury and medical benefits reversed
C.R., a Federal Public Defender Service employee, had accepted neck and back conditions from a 1984 work vehicle accident. OWCP terminated his compensation and medical benefits, relying on an impartial examiner’s opinion that the conditions no longer disabled him. The Board found that the examiner…
B.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Cliffdale Station, Fayetteville, NC
B.M. (ECAB 10-1266): Termination of knee injury benefits upheld
B.M., a postal employee, had accepted left knee strain and related conditions. Her treating doctor concluded in 2008 that those accepted conditions had resolved and released her from care, although he noted separate arthritis. The Board found that opinion sufficient for OWCP to terminate wage-loss…
C.L. and Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Rockville, MD
C.L. (ECAB 10-1204): Shoulder condition recurrence not established
C.L., a Food and Drug Administration medical officer, had an accepted right shoulder and upper arm sprain from computer overuse. He claimed the condition recurred in September 2008 while using a keyboard and mouse. The Board found no sufficient medical explanation connecting the later condition to…
Coalfield Services, Inc.
Reopening denied without prejudice
Coalfield Services asked the Commission to reopen a final penalty assessment, stating only that a clerical error caused it to miss the contest deadline. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but urged the company to improve its procedures. The Commission found the explanation too conclusory and…
Nevada Ready-Mix Corporation
Final assessment reopened and remanded
Nevada Ready-Mix asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final after the company did not contest it within 30 days. The Secretary did not oppose the request. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission reopened the assessment and remanded the matter to the Chief…
Harvey W. Buche Road Building, Inc.
Miscommunication supported reopening
Harvey W. Buche Road Building missed a penalty-contest deadline after its president and consultant each believed the other would submit the contest form. The Secretary opposed reopening, arguing that an unreliable internal process and an inadequately detailed explanation did not justify relief…
Fairbanks Gold Mining, Inc.
Final assessment reopened and remanded
Fairbanks Gold Mining asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final after the company did not contest it within 30 days. The Secretary did not oppose the request. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission reopened the assessment and remanded the matter to the…
Oak Grove Resources LLC
Reopening denied pending fuller explanation
Oak Grove sought to reopen an assessment of nearly $125,000 covering 80 citations and orders, intending to contest 27 penalties totaling nearly $111,000. It blamed a miscommunication between counsel and its safety director and said a contest form went to MSHA's payment address, while the Secretary…
Oak Grove Resources LLC
Late renewed reopening motion denied
Oak Grove sought permission to file a renewed motion to reopen a final penalty assessment after the deadline set by the Commission. The Commission had denied its first request without prejudice and expressly required any renewed motion within 30 days. Oak Grove waited nearly 90 days. The Commission…
Detroit Salt Company, LLC
Second reopening request denied
Detroit Salt asked the Commission to reopen a final penalty assessment, saying it intended to contest one citation but may have omitted the contest form from documents sent with its payment. The company did not explain why the contest was late. The Secretary opposed reopening because an earlier…
Nally & Hamilton Enterprises, Inc.
Reopening denied without prejudice
Nally & Hamilton asked the Commission to reopen an assessment covering eight citations, saying clerical staff failed to route it and the employee who normally handled assessments was ill. The Secretary opposed reopening because the assessment was signed for, no backup employee had been assigned…
Iron Eagle Enterprises LLC
Final assessment reopened and remanded
Iron Eagle Enterprises asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final after the company did not contest it within 30 days. The Secretary did not oppose the request. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission reopened the assessment and remanded the matter to the…
S.H. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Secret Service, Washington, DC
S.H. (ECAB 10-1585): No ratable hearing loss or right to late oral hearing
S.H., a Secret Service agent, claimed permanent hearing loss from his work and sought a schedule award. The Board found that the applicable audiogram produced zero percent ratable loss in each ear under the standard formula. It also upheld OWCP’s denial of his oral-hearing request. The Board…
D.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing and Distribution Center, Columbia, SC
D.T. (ECAB 10-1358): Lifting incident established but hernia causation unproved
D.T., a postal mail handler, reported abdominal pain while unloading a truck and later sought compensation for a ventral hernia. The Board found sufficient evidence that the lifting incident occurred, correcting OWCP on that factual point. His doctors did not give a complete, definite medical…
B.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Albuquerque, NM
B.C. (ECAB 10-1322): Shoulder condition not linked to August 2008 work incident
B.C., a postal distribution clerk, reported right shoulder symptoms while working at a computer in August 2008. She had earlier accepted shoulder, arm, neck, and upper back conditions. An agency referral physician reviewed her history and concluded that the new symptoms reflected progression of…
A.V. and Department of the Navy, Fleet Readiness Center Southwest, San Diego, CA
A.V. (ECAB 10-1321): Hearing loss claim returned after missed-exam procedure error
A.V., a Navy employee, claimed hearing loss from workplace noise. He attended one scheduled medical visit, but a scheduling mix-up prevented the hearing test. When he missed a later appointment, OWCP denied the claim the next day. The Board held that OWCP should first have given him 14 days to…
L.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Rockaway, NJ
L.R. (ECAB 10-1301): Late reconsideration request lacked clear evidence of error
L.R., a postal employee, asked OWCP to reconsider an injury claim more than a year after its last merit decision. Her attorney repeated earlier arguments about an emergency room record, and her doctor repeated his earlier view that a leg condition arose at work. The Board found that this material…
A.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Washington, DC
A.G. (ECAB 10-1240): Bilateral foot claim lacked a medical work connection
A.G., a postal employee, linked bilateral foot conditions to prolonged standing, walking, and lifting at work. OWCP accepted those duties but denied the occupational disease claim. Her physician described foot diagnoses and surgery without explaining how often she performed the work activities or…
M.C. and Department of the Navy, Naval Shipyard, Long Beach, CA
M.C. (ECAB 10-881): Benefits forfeiture shortened and overpayment recalculation ordered
M.C., a former Navy shipyard employee, failed to report employment activity while receiving compensation. The Board upheld OWCP’s termination of future benefits and forfeiture for September 19, 2001 through August 3, 2009. It reversed forfeiture for the later period through November 13, 2009, while…
J.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Oakland, CA
J.T. (ECAB 10-808): Additional shoulder impairment award denied
J.T., a postal custodian, had accepted rotator cuff tears in both shoulders and prior schedule awards for 23 percent impairment of each arm. He sought a higher award. The Board reviewed the loss-of-motion and surgery ratings and found the current calculated impairment below the percentage already…
P.W. and Department of the Navy, Mare Island Shipyard, Vallejo, CA
P.W. (ECAB 10-266): Consolidated disability, surgery, and new injury claims denied
P.W., a former Navy shipyard painter, brought two related appeals involving older accepted injuries and a later alleged left leg and back injury. He sought compensation for new periods of disability and proposed back surgery under one claim, and sought recognition of a January 2008 injury under the…
Beckley Crane & Construction, Inc.
Tagline violation affirmed
A Beckley Crane crew moved and positioned a 13,000-to-14,000-pound powder-storage bin by crane without attaching a tagline, while a ground worker pushed and held a bin leg to align it over anchor bolts. The judge found that the suspended bin required guidance and steadying, so the tagline standard…
Consolidation Coal Company
Accumulation and preshift citations vacated
MSHA cited Consol after an inspection of the Buchanan No. 1 Mine for combustible accumulations and an inadequate preshift examination, proposing $1,934 in penalties. The judge credited evidence that the section and equipment had been cleaned before coal production began and that the observed coal…
J.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Los Angeles, CA
J.R. (ECAB 10-1636): Supervisor statement did not reopen injury claim
J.R., an Immigration and Customs Enforcement employee, requested reconsideration of a denied injury claim. OWCP had accepted the reported work incident but found the medical causation evidence inadequate. His new supervisor statement addressed the incident, not whether it caused a medical…
P.V. and Department of Defense, Defense and Accounting Service, Indianapolis, IN
P.V. (ECAB 10-1604): Knee abrasion accepted but other claimed injuries unproved
P.V., a Defense Department analyst, reported knee, hand, and rib injuries from a workplace fall. The Board found that his promptly reported right knee abrasion was a visible minor injury that could be accepted without a physician’s report, especially because he claimed no wage loss. The medical…
N.B. and Department of Justice, National Advocacy Center, Columbia, SC
N.B. (ECAB 10-1373): Repeated nurse practitioner reports did not reopen back claim
N.B., a Justice Department employee, sought reconsideration of a denied back injury claim involving lifting boxes of books. She resubmitted reports from a nurse practitioner that OWCP had already considered. The Board found that those reports were neither new nor competent physician evidence on the…
B.H. and Department of the Army, Anniston Army Depot, Anniston, AL
B.H. (ECAB 10-1241): Higher binaural hearing award not established
B.H., an Army depot equipment repairer, sought a schedule award above 47 percent binaural hearing loss from occupational noise. OWCP had already paid for 24 percent loss and then awarded an additional 23 percent, equal to 46 more weeks of compensation. The Board found that the medical adviser…
R.L. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, CA
R.L. (ECAB 10-1237): Late schedule-award reconsideration showed no clear error
R.L., a Navy employee, challenged an older schedule award and argued that earlier impairment calculations should have produced a larger award. His reconsideration request came after the one-year deadline. The Board found that his complaints about earlier handling did not show clear error in the…
D.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Eugene, OR
D.L. (ECAB 10-1228): Old medical reports did not reopen disability claim
D.L., a postal employee, sought reconsideration of a claim for intermittent disability from accepted cervical conditions in 2006 and 2007. Most submitted medical reports had already been considered, and the others did not address the disputed disability periods. The Board could review only the…
C.T. and Department of Agriculture, Food Safety Inspection Service, Vienna, GA
C.T. (ECAB 10-1190): Claim not reopened on assertion that records had been sent
C.T., a Department of Agriculture employee, sought reconsideration after OWCP denied a recurrence claim for lack of a firm medical diagnosis. She said her doctor’s office had sent records that were missing from the earlier decision. The Board found that her request did not itself supply new…
R.B. and Department of the Navy, Charleston Naval Shipyard, Charleston, SC
R.B. (ECAB 10-1013): Work-related binaural hearing loss established; impairment still to be rated
R.B., a former Navy shipyard supply technician, claimed hearing loss in both ears from workplace noise. OWCP had already accepted left-ear hearing loss but denied the new claim. The Board found that a specialist’s report linked part of the right-ear hearing loss to the work exposure, establishing a…
C.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Richmond, KY
C.W. (ECAB 10-915): Back and neck disability recurrence not linked to 1997 accident
C.W., a rural mail carrier, had accepted neck and back sprains from a 1997 mail truck collision. She claimed renewed disability in September 2008. Her doctor discussed current disc disease, pain, and work stress, but did not explain how the old accepted sprains caused the later disability. 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.