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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D.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Charleston, WV
D.W. (ECAB 10-1015): Carpal tunnel occupational claim denied
D.W., a postal electronics technician, attributed carpal tunnel and related nerve conditions to repetitive hand use while repairing and cleaning equipment. OWCP accepted the described duties but denied the claim. The Board found that his physicians did not describe the specific work tasks and their…
W.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Columbia, PA
W.C. (ECAB 10-0971): Left knee injury claim after stair descent denied
W.C., a postal carrier, felt sharp left knee pain while descending steps on his delivery route. OWCP accepted the work activity but denied the injury claim. He had documented knee problems before the incident, and his physician said the work activity may have destabilized an existing cartilage…
K.H. and Department of the Army, Letterkenny Army Depot, Chambersburg, PA
K.H. (ECAB 10-0965): Continuation of pay after fume exposure denied
K.H., an Army purchasing agent, received an accepted acute headache claim after reporting an odor at work on April 6, 2009. He sought continuation of pay for later work absence. The Board found that the emergency physician had cleared him to return the next day and that the later medical reports…
M.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Islandia, NY
M.D. (ECAB 10-0938): Carpal tunnel claim barred by filing deadline
M.D., a postal letter carrier, filed a bilateral carpal tunnel claim in 2009 after leaving the job in 2003. The Board found that he knew of a possible work connection by his last exposure and that the three-year filing period had expired. He did not establish that his supervisor had timely notice…
M.W. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Tuscumbia, AL
M.W. (ECAB 10-0377): Claimed workplace asthma episode not established
M.W., a Tennessee Valley Authority technician with preexisting asthma, claimed that a particular workday exposure to dust or fumes worsened her condition. The Board found conflicting evidence about what she encountered on June 23, 2008 and held that she had not established a specific workplace…
Burch Construction
Eye-protection violation affirmed for overhead joint-compound work
Burch Construction was performing drywall and stucco work when an employee applied wet joint compound at and above eye level without safety glasses. The product warnings and safety data sheets called for eye protection because contact could irritate the eyes. The judge found that the employee…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Mark Gray v. North Fork Coal Corporation
Temporary reinstatement survives Secretary's no-discrimination finding
Mark Gray was temporarily reinstated after alleging that North Fork discharged him for safety complaints and a protected work refusal. When the Secretary later determined that she would not file a discrimination case, the judge dissolved reinstatement, but Gray filed his own section 105(c)(3)…
S.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Carol Stream, IL
S.H. (ECAB 10-1332): Late reconsideration request denied
S.H., a postal mail processor, asked OWCP to reconsider an earlier denial of her occupational back condition claim. Her request came more than one year after the last merits decision. The Board found no record that a physician had submitted the earlier reconsideration request she described. It also…
J.B. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, DC
J.B. (ECAB 10-1285): Termination of depressive episode benefits upheld
J.B., an FAA human relations specialist, had an accepted work-related depressive episode and received compensation through October 27, 2009. Her treating psychiatrist reported that the episode had resolved by his examination that day and that she showed no current inability to work or need for…
J.J. and Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Services, Decatur, IN
J.J. (ECAB 10-1114): Refusal to reopen West Nile virus claim upheld
J.J. attributed West Nile virus encephalitis to mosquito exposure during federal work. OWCP denied the claim and later refused to reopen it after he resubmitted materials about the disease’s prevalence near his work and a physician’s renewed opinion. The Board could review only the refusal to…
K.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Capital Heights, MD
K.M. (ECAB 10-1099): Termination of back injury benefits upheld
K.M., a postal clerk, had received benefits for an accepted 2003 low back injury. OWCP terminated them after an impartial orthopedic specialist found no ongoing residuals or disability from that injury. The Board gave his opinion special weight as the resolution of conflicting medical views and…
A.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Las Vegas, NV
A.F. (ECAB 10-1064): Carpal tunnel claim filed after deadline
A.F., a retired postal window service technician, filed a carpal tunnel claim in October 2009. She had identified a possible work connection years earlier and last performed the implicated duties before retiring in 2006. The Board held that the claim was filed more than three years after her last…
E.D. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Memphis, TN
E.D. (ECAB 10-0967): Left knee schedule award denied
E.D., an IRS clerk, sought a schedule award after an accepted left knee meniscus tear and surgery. The treating surgeon reported that E.D. had reached maximum medical improvement but supplied no permanent impairment rating. OWCP’s medical adviser found no left leg impairment, and the Board found no…
R.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Oakland, CA
R.K. (ECAB 10-0930): Neck injury claim returned for medical review
R.K., a postal mail processing clerk, said that an assignment monitoring computer screens for extended periods worsened her neck condition. OWCP denied the claim because it found her account of the duties inconsistent. The Board found her descriptions consistent enough to establish the relevant…
M.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Glendale, WI
M.E. (ECAB 10-0902): Left leg impairment rating returned for explanation
M.E., a postal carrier, received a schedule award for 10 percent left leg impairment after two accepted foot injuries. Her physician had proposed a higher rating, but OWCP relied on its medical adviser’s lower calculation. The Board found that the adviser had used a citation from an older edition…
W.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Salem, NJ
W.M. (ECAB 10-0605): Bilateral leg schedule awards affirmed
W.M., a postal letter carrier, sought a higher schedule award for accepted bilateral knee conditions. His physician rated each leg at 30 percent impairment, and OWCP’s medical adviser rated each at 27 percent. The Board gave special weight to the impartial orthopedic specialist’s reasoned…
Loretto-Oswego Residential Health Care Facility
Repeat violations reduced to serious
Loretto-Oswego operated a nursing home affiliated with two other Loretto facilities that had prior final orders for substantially similar violations. The judge treated the related corporations as a single employer and affirmed seven items as repeat. The Commission reversed because the facilities…
United States Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, National Joint Council of Food Inspection Locals (Union)
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service and AFGE (FLRA 0-AR-4520): Intermittent higher-grade work supports backpay award
A Food Safety and Inspection Service employee in a GS-8 position performed GS-9 duties twice a week. An arbitrator found that the collective bargaining agreement required a temporary promotion and awarded backpay with interest for the days worked at the higher grade. The agency argued that the…
Brown Excavation Company, Inc.
Show cause issued over paid penalties
Brown Excavation asked the Commission to reopen two final penalty assessments, and the Secretary opposed the requests. MSHA's data system later showed that Brown had paid the penalties, but neither party filed an update after the initial pleadings. The Commission ordered Brown to explain within 30…
A.B.C. Sand & Rock Co., Inc.
Final penalty assessment reopened
A.B.C. Sand & Rock asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final when it was not contested within 30 days. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission granted the request and remanded the matter to the Chief Administrative…
Dynatec Mining Corporation
Default vacated after petition for review
A Chief Administrative Law Judge entered default judgment after concluding that Dynatec had not answered the Secretary's penalty petition or a later show-cause order. Dynatec said its answer to the penalty petition was timely and that it later responded to the show-cause order. The Commission did…
Keokee Mining LLC
Final penalty assessment reopened
Keokee Mining asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final when it was not contested within 30 days. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission granted the request and remanded the matter to the Chief Administrative Law…
Kevin Baird v. PCS Phosphate Company, Inc.
Temporary reinstatement restored after Secretary withdrew case
Kevin Baird alleged that PCS Phosphate discharged him because of safety complaints made by his wife, who worked for a contractor at the mine. The Secretary obtained temporary economic reinstatement and filed a discrimination complaint, but later withdrew it after deciding she could not prove a…
McCoy Elkhorn Coal Corporation
Mistakenly paid contested citation reopened
McCoy Elkhorn had filed a notice contesting one citation but later paid its penalty inadvertently while paying 16 other penalties on the same assessment. The company discovered the mistake during the underlying contest and sought reopening within a month. The Secretary opposed the request as…
J.H. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Richmond, VA
J.H. (ECAB 10-1388): Spinal subluxation evidence returned for conflict resolution
J.H., an IRS clerk, reported back and other symptoms after pulling a rack of undeliverable mail at work. OWCP accepted that the incident happened but denied her claim after its medical adviser disputed a chiropractor’s x-ray finding of spinal subluxations. The Board held that a chiropractor may…
R.N. and Department of Justice, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Fairview Heights, IL
R.N. (ECAB 10-1355): Right leg award affirmed; left leg rating remanded
R.N., a federal special agent, received schedule awards after an accepted back injury affected his legs. The Board found that the physician had supported the 26 percent right leg rating with the impairment guides and his finding of right foot drop. The physician had not explained how he calculated…
C.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, North Canton, OH
C.A. (ECAB 10-1341): Chronic thoracic strain claim denied
C.A., a postal carrier, claimed that continuing delivery duties made a previously accepted thoracic strain chronic. The Board accepted that she performed the described work but found that her physician had not explained how those duties caused a new strain or made the earlier injury chronic. It…
J.A. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Charlotte, NC
J.A. (ECAB 10-1157): Baggage lifting injury claim denied
J.A., a TSA screener, reported lower back injury after lifting a bag from a conveyor at work. The Board accepted that she lifted the bag but found that the medical reports did not adequately connect the incident to a diagnosed condition. Several reports omitted the lifting event, addressed other…
D.T. and Department of the Interior, Badlands National Park, Interior, SD
D.T. (ECAB 10-1012): Seasonal earnings reduction reversed
D.T. returned to work as a seasonal visitor use assistant after an accepted back injury. OWCP used his actual earnings in that job to reduce his compensation. The Board held that wages from a temporary position could be used for this purpose only if the job was available for at least 90 days. The…
W.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hamilton, OH
W.S. (ECAB 10-1009): Late reconsideration request denied
W.S. asked OWCP to reconsider a 2007 decision affirming termination of his compensation, but he filed the request in January 2010, beyond the one-year deadline. The Board found that the new physician’s report lacked reasoning sufficient to show clear evidence of error in the earlier decision. It…
R.L. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Materiel Command, Corpus Christi, TX
R.L. (ECAB 10-0991): Private subcontractor worker outside FECA coverage
R.L. alleged an exposure related condition from working on Army helicopters while employed by Page Airways, a private subcontractor. The Board found no evidence that the federal government hired, supervised, or paid him, or that a statute otherwise brought his work within federal employee coverage…
C.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Santa Clarita, CA
C.A. (ECAB 10-0912): Emotional condition claim denied
C.A., a postal clerk, attributed an emotional condition to denied job assignments and alleged employer rule violations, discrimination, and harassment. The Board found that he had not established the factual basis for the claimed rule violations or a compensable error or abuse in the personnel…
D.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Union, NJ
D.R. (ECAB 10-0899): Baggage incident established; injury claim denied
D.R., a TSA officer, reported a left foot and leg injury while moving a bag from a luggage belt. OWCP rejected both the incident and the medical claim. The Board found the workplace incident supported by witness and supervisor records, but held that the medical evidence did not explain how it…
J.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bellmawr, NJ
J.F. (ECAB 10-0865): Claimed shoulder injury incident not established
J.F., a postal mail handler, claimed that pulling a hook at work caused a left shoulder injury. The Board found material inconsistencies between his account and the workplace records and witness statements, so it held that the alleged incident had not been established. An arbitrator’s ruling on the…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 476, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Federal District 1 (Union) and United States Department of the Army, U.S. Army Communications-Electronic Research, Development and Engineering Center, Fort Monmouth, New Jersey (Agency)
NFFE Local 476 and Army research center (FLRA 0-AR-4702): Union's arbitration exceptions denied
NFFE Local 476 challenged an arbitration award in a dispute with an Army research center at Fort Monmouth. The Authority rejected the union's exceptions, finding no showing that the award failed the governing standards for interpreting the agreement or staying within the arbitrator's authority. The…
G.G. and U.S. Capital Police, Dignitary Protection Division, Washington, DC
G.G. (ECAB 10-1329): Back injury claim denied for lack of reasoned medical evidence
G.G., a police officer, attributed a herniated lumbar disc to long shifts of standing, walking, and sitting while wearing protective equipment. Although he first filed a traumatic injury claim, the Board agreed that OWCP should treat it as an occupational disease claim because he described duties…
J.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Washington, DC
J.F. (ECAB 10-1255): Claimed workplace assault lacked factual detail
J.F., a postal mail handler, said a coworker punched her at work and that she suffered physical and emotional harm. OWCP asked her and her employer for details of the altercation, but neither responded before the decision. The Board found that her claim form and supervisor’s check marks did not…
R.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Milwaukee, WI
R.P. (ECAB 10-1238): Left arm impairment award returned for medical development
R.P., a postal flat sorter clerk, received a two percent left arm schedule award after treatment for accepted elbow and nerve conditions. The physician’s handwritten rating did not explain its calculation under the impairment guides. OWCP’s medical adviser also did not address the accepted cubital…
F.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Roxbury, MA
F.L. (ECAB 10-1182): Elbow recurrence claim denied after six-year evidence gap
F.L., a postal letter carrier, had an accepted left elbow fracture from a 2001 fall and reported new left hand symptoms in 2008. His surgeon linked later ulnar nerve problems to the old injury, but the Board found no medical evidence bridging the period from 2002 to 2008. The surgeon did not…
H.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Seattle, WA
H.J. (ECAB 10-1096): Hand and wrist claim lacked a reasoned causation opinion
H.J., a postal mail clerk, attributed bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and hand tendinitis to repetitive mail handling. Her supervisor described the work tasks, and physicians documented the conditions and imposed restrictions. The Board found that the physicians did not explain how those…
R.B. and Department of Agriculture, Office of the Inspector General, Temple, TX
R.B. (ECAB 10-0867): Contract clerk wage capacity reduction reversed
R.B., an Agriculture Department special agent, received benefits for accepted back injuries. OWCP reduced his compensation based on a supposed ability to work as a contract clerk, despite conflicting medical opinions about that job’s suitability. The impartial examiner addressed a general desk job…
M.G. and Department of the Interior, National Capitol Park Central, Washington, DC
M.G. (ECAB 10-0653): Three percent right leg award and hearing denial affirmed
M.G., a park maintenance worker with an accepted knee injury, sought a right leg impairment award above the three percent already paid. The Board found that the medical record did not support a higher rating under the applicable impairment guides. M.G. also requested a hearing more than 30 days…
L.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Upstate New York Health Care System, Buffalo, NY
L.W. (ECAB 10-0631): Cervical injury did not support an arm impairment award
L.W., a VA nurse, had an accepted cervical disc injury and surgery and sought a schedule award. A second opinion physician initially rated impairment of the cervical spine, but spine impairment itself was not eligible for a schedule award. He later agreed with OWCP’s medical adviser that the…
J.J. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Leavenworth, KS
J.J. (ECAB 10-0568): Schedule award pay rate corrected to date-of-injury rate
J.J., a Bureau of Prisons employee with an accepted leg injury, disputed the pay rate used for earlier schedule awards. OWCP calculated a $795.19 weekly rate from when she stopped work for surgery, while the earlier awards had used an unsupported $849.18 rate. The Board found that her pay at the…
Lonnie Belcher v. Bates Contracting and Construction and Surface Minerals Company
Safety record defeats retaliation claim
Lonnie Belcher, a contract truck driver on a reclamation project, reported several mechanical problems with his truck and was removed from the job after the truck went through a berm and rolled onto its side. The judge found that his mechanical complaints were protected activity and that the close…
The American Coal Company
Summary challenge to five safeguards denied
American Coal argued that five mine-specific transportation safeguards were facially invalid because they did not identify hazards or required corrective conduct with enough precision. The judge held that a safeguard must specify the hazardous condition and remedy, but need not list every possible…
The American Coal Company
Forty-eight safeguard citations affirmed
Across 18 consolidated dockets, American Coal had resolved all non-safeguard citations through earlier partial settlements. Two summary-decision orders found the remaining underlying safeguards valid, and the parties stipulated to gravity, negligence, and penalty terms for 48 safeguard citations so…
D.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Union, NJ
D.L. (ECAB 10-1163): Bilateral arm impairment awards upheld
D.L., a postal employee, sought larger awards for accepted carpal tunnel, elbow, and left shoulder conditions. OWCP had sent her to a physician described as an impartial referee. The Board found that no qualifying conflict of medical opinion existed, so his report carried no special referee weight…
D.A. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA
D.A. (ECAB 10-1305): Hearing loss claim denied for lack of work causation proof
D.A., a retired Navy shipyard storekeeper, attributed hearing loss to workplace noise. OWCP accepted that he had been exposed to noise, but the examining physician attributed the later worsening of his hearing to arterial disease and found that its audiogram pattern did not fit industrial noise…
B.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Buffalo, NY
B.D. (ECAB 10-1268): Accepted vehicle accident lacked medical causation proof
B.D., a postal city carrier, reported injuries after a vehicle struck her parked postal vehicle as she got out. OWCP accepted that the accident happened. The Board found that the medical reports did not give a reasoned explanation linking a head contusion, headaches, or a later shoulder diagnosis…
G.J. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Philadelphia Veterans Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA
G.J. (ECAB 10-1260): Reconsideration refusal upheld because evidence missed timeliness issue
G.J., a former VA nurse, sought reconsideration of a denial of an emotional condition claim filed years after the events she described. The question before the Board was whether OWCP should reopen the case, not whether the claimed condition was work related. Her medical reports discussed the…
P.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Islandia, NY
P.R. (ECAB 10-1244): Overpayment amount sent back for recalculation
P.R., a postal mail handler, returned to part-time work but continued receiving compensation for total disability. OWCP found an overpayment and denied waiver after he did not provide requested financial records. The Board agreed that an overpayment occurred and that OWCP had to deny waiver without…
P.P. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Salisbury, NC
P.P. (ECAB 10-1201): Wage-loss denial upheld after referee examination
P.P., a VA nursing assistant, sought wage-loss compensation after OWCP accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. Her treating physician said the condition disabled her from work, while a second-opinion physician disagreed. A referee physician found no objective basis for disability beginning April…
F.D. and Department of the Navy, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Naval Foundry & Propeller Center, Philadelphia, PA
F.D. (ECAB 10-1175): Hearing award denied but hearing-aid question sent back
F.D., a Navy ship fitter, had an accepted work-related hearing loss and sought a schedule award and hearing aids. The audiogram yielded zero percent ratable impairment under the schedule-award formula, so the Board affirmed the award denial. A nonratable loss could still support hearing-aid…
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fort Dodge, IA
M.B. (ECAB 10-0900): Shoulder injury denial and late review refusal upheld
M.B., a postal carrier, reported right shoulder pain after closing a mail-truck door. The Board found that the medical evidence did not adequately explain how that incident caused a diagnosed injury. He also requested a review of the written record more than 30 days after the claim denial. The…
R.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hemet, CA
R.H. (ECAB 10-0807): Constructed-position compensation reduction upheld
R.H., a postal window clerk, received compensation for an accepted left hand and wrist injury. OWCP reduced her benefits after finding she could earn wages in a customer complaint clerk position. The Board found the position within her medical restrictions and qualifications, and found the wage…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Rodney Payne v. Spiro Mining, LLC, and Its Successors
Economic reinstatement ends after missed filing deadline
Spiro Mining had agreed to temporarily reinstate Rodney Payne economically while his discrimination complaint was pending. The Secretary later determined that no violation occurred and dismissed her case, but the judge kept reinstatement in place for 30 days so Payne could file his own section…
Flanagan Contracting, LLC
Unprotected excavation violation affirmed
Flanagan Contracting opened an excavation to connect a sewer line at a residential construction site. Its foreman worked for thirty to forty minutes in the approximately eight-foot-deep excavation without a trench shield or adequate sloping. The judge found that the excavation was in previously…
N.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, Lexington, SC
N.S. (ECAB 10-1239): Hearing abandonment finding upheld
N.S. requested an oral hearing concerning her compensation claim. OWCP mailed notice of a scheduled telephone hearing to her and her attorney at their addresses of record more than 30 days ahead. She did not call for the hearing or explain the absence within 10 days. The Board applied the…
D.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Clarksville, TN
D.G. (ECAB 10-1164): Carpal tunnel claim denied for lack of medical causation
D.G., a postal distribution clerk, attributed bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome to years of manually sorting mail. The Board accepted that she performed those duties and had the diagnosis. Her physician later said the work might have aggravated the condition, but did not explain the causal…
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.