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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Garden Ridge, Store # 46
Compactor item vacated and records item affirmed
Garden Ridge operated a garbage compactor with a hatch-door interlock that was not working properly. Employees normally stood outside the hatch and used a ten-foot board to push trash down a ten-foot chute toward the compaction chamber. The judge vacated the machine-guarding item because the…
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Atlanta, GA
D.C. (ECAB 10-0986): Emotional condition denial upheld
D.C., a postal mail clerk, attributed an emotional condition to disputes over leave without pay and alleged mistreatment by supervisors. The Board found no evidence that management erred or abused its discretion in handling the leave request. It also found the harassment allegations…
D.M. and Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Orofino, ID
D.M. (ECAB 10-0857): Benefits termination reversed for unresolved cardiac aggravation
D.M., a Forest Service law enforcement officer, had an accepted temporary aggravation of coronary disease associated with stressful work. OWCP found the aggravation had resolved by September 22, 2002 and ended benefits. The Board found its supporting physician’s opinion equivocal and lacking an…
R.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Moriches Post Office, Moriches, NY
R.M. (ECAB 10-0836): Back injury recurrence denial upheld
R.M., a postal clerk, had an accepted back sprain and later stopped limited-duty work after reporting a recurrence. The medical reports did not explain how the accepted injury caused total disability beginning September 18, 2009. Several addressed a separate ankle injury or earlier back treatment…
M.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fort Lauderdale, FL
M.K. (ECAB 10-0830): Receptionist wage-capacity reduction reversed
M.K., a postal distribution clerk, had accepted shoulder and neck conditions. OWCP reduced her compensation using wages for a receptionist position. Its second-opinion physician allowed more lifting than her attending surgeon, who had also recommended surgery that OWCP approved. The Board found an…
B.J., claiming as son of B.J., and Tennessee Valley Authority, Shawnee Fossil Plant, Chattanooga, TN
B.J., claiming as son of B.J., (ECAB 10-0777): Death benefits denial upheld for lack of causation evidence
B.J. sought death benefits after his father, a Tennessee Valley Authority worker, died of metastatic renal cell cancer. He attributed the death to workplace contaminants. The Board found the evidence of exposure insufficient and the medical reports did not explain how any established work exposure…
E.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
E.D. (ECAB 10-0590): Mail-route knee fall sent back for causation review
E.D., a postal carrier, fell when her right knee buckled while walking her mail route. OWCP called the fall idiopathic and denied the claim without accepting a work incident. The Board found that walking the route when the fall occurred was an established employment incident. OWCP had not assessed…
C.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Southeastern, PA
C.T. (ECAB 10-0517): Left leg impairment sent back; right leg claim denied
C.T., a postal custodian, sought a larger left leg schedule award and an award for right leg impairment after an accepted back injury. The Board found conflicting medical opinions on the extent of left leg impairment and directed OWCP to obtain an impartial examination. It found the claimed right…
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): permits remanded for source and environmental-justice analysis
EPA Region 10 issued Shell Gulf of Mexico, Inc. and Shell Offshore, Inc. OCS PSD permits for the Frontier Discoverer drillship and associated support vessels in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. Petitioners challenged the treatment of support-vessel emissions, the point when the drillship became an…
Long Branch Energy
Detailed renewed request reopens assessment
The Commission had denied Long Branch's first reopening request without prejudice because it did not explain the company's normal contest process or why that process failed. The renewed request supplied an affidavit and records showing that the assessment reached the president's desk for contest…
Black Beauty Coal Company
Settlement and two orders result in $18,653 penalty
Black Beauty settled five citations for $14,153, down from $79,886 proposed, after MSHA reduced gravity or negligence findings, changed one citation to non-S&S, and vacated two citations. The judge separately affirmed a non-S&S violation for combustible trash and debris in an oil-and-diesel…
Secretary of Labor v. Knox Creek Coal Corporation
Tiller No. 1 cases produce $71,707 penalty
These consolidated cases covered dozens of citations and an order issued during an impact inspection at Knox Creek's methane-prone Tiller No. 1 underground coal mine. The litigated matters involved roof and rib control, preshift examinations, electrical permissibility and trailing cables, equipment…
Cemex, Inc.
Inadequate-examination citation vacated, four settled
MSHA cited Cemex's cement plant for allegedly failing to report obvious hazards during on-shift workplace examinations. The inspector who testified had not inspected the cited areas, did not have the issuing inspectors' citations or notes, could not identify the specific locations or conditions…
Humphreys Enterprises, Inc.
MSHA review form protected from discovery
Humphreys Enterprises sought MSHA's Possible Knowing/Willful Violation Review Form for a highwall citation, arguing that it needed the information to prepare its defense. Judge Alan G. Paez found that the form recorded the inspector's and supervisors' evaluations used to decide whether a knowing or…
Clintwood Elkhorn Mining Company, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor
Truck-overloading enforcement vacated
A loaded haul truck lost its brakes, went through a berm and utility pole, and rolled onto its side, but the driver received no medical treatment and continued performing his duties. MSHA focused its investigation on alleged overloading and required the company to obtain and use…
Mohammed Aitmbarek v. L-3 Communications
Aitmbarek v. L-3 Communications (BRB 10-0425): stipulated benefits order vacated
Mohammed Aitmbarek sustained back and ankle injuries while working as a linguist in Iraq, and he and L-3 Communications submitted stipulated Defense Base Act benefits for approval. The Director of the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs challenged the resulting order because the stipulations…
J.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Green Bay, WI
J.D. (ECAB 10-0905): Seven percent right leg award upheld
J.D., a postal letter carrier, sought a larger award for permanent right leg impairment after an accepted knee injury. OWCP’s medical adviser used the knee arthritis table in the sixth edition of the impairment guides and rated her at seven percent. The Board found the calculation supported by the…
M.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Spooner, WI
M.R. (ECAB 10-0885): Back and shoulder injury denial upheld
M.R., a postal mail processor, said lifting a parcel bag on May 15, 2008 injured his back, neck, and shoulder. His physician discussed work activities over time but did not adequately explain how the claimed incident caused or aggravated the diagnosed conditions. The other medical reports did not…
M.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
M.R. (ECAB 10-0862): Impairment rating upheld; dependent rate sent back
M.R., a postal employee, challenged her leg impairment ratings and the basic rate used to pay a schedule award. The Board accepted the medical adviser’s rating of no more than five percent impairment in each leg attributable to the 1989 injury. The hearing representative had not made findings about…
J.J. and U.S. Postal Service, International Annex, Jacksonville, FL
J.J. (ECAB 10-0839): Six percent awards for both arms upheld
J.J., a postal mail sorter, had accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and ulnar nerve compression. An OWCP medical adviser combined the median and ulnar nerve ratings under the sixth edition of the impairment guides to reach six percent for each arm. The Board found the method appropriate and…
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
M.B. (ECAB 10-0832): Elbow disability recurrence denial upheld
M.B., a postal clerk with accepted right elbow epicondylitis, stopped working after objecting to window service in a limited-duty assignment. Her physician later restricted window work, but did not explain the change or show that she could not perform the offered duties as of April 8, 2009. The…
E.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Santa Clarita, CA
E.M. (ECAB 10-0776): Disability and wage-capacity claims sent back
E.M., a postal worker with accepted conditions, sought modification of an earlier wage-earning capacity determination and compensation for total disability from February 13 to May 13, 2009. Several attending physicians reported worsened symptoms and periods of inability to work. Their reports did…
D.W. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Wawona, CA
D.W. (ECAB 10-0361): Overpayment decision reversed for earnings review
D.W., a National Park Service worker, received total disability compensation while working intermittently in a clerical job. OWCP calculated an overpayment through April 2009, although the work had ended in October 2008. The Board found that OWCP had not properly applied its procedures for sporadic…
B.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Romulus, MI
B.M. (ECAB 10-0316): Screener back injury denial upheld
B.M., a transportation security screener, claimed he injured his back while handling trays and bins at work. Witness accounts and treatment records gave differing descriptions of his symptoms, the incident, and the diagnosed condition. The Board found the factual and medical evidence too…
B.B. and Department of Homeland Security, Emergency Preparedness & Response, Alexandria, VA
B.B. (ECAB 10-0024): Yard foreman wage-capacity finding reversed
B.B. worked as a yard foreman for an employer who was his friend after an accepted work injury. OWCP used those actual wages to reduce his compensation. The Board found the position appeared tailored to his restrictions and the record lacked a detailed job description or reliable proof that it…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1148 (Union) and United States Department of Defense, Defense Supply Center, Columbus, Ohio (Agency)
AFGE Local 1148 and Defense Supply Center (FLRA 0-AR-4685): Attorney-fee request returns to arbitrator
An arbitrator found that a Defense Supply Center employee's five-day suspension lacked just cause and ordered the employee made whole for lost pay. The union then requested attorney fees. The arbitrator refused to consider the request because the parties had not expressly submitted a fee question…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 987 (Union) and United States Department of the Air Force, Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Warner Robins Air Force Base, Georgia (Agency)
AFGE Local 987 and Warner Robins Air Logistics Center (FLRA 0-AR-4653): Bargaining grievance returns for a merits hearing
AFGE Local 987 sought bargaining over local implementation of an Air Force training program. The arbitrator and parties had agreed to hear arbitrability first and the merits later, but the arbitrator found a contract violation after the first hearing without providing a remedy. The Authority…
Social Security Administration, Dallas Region (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 3506
SSA Dallas Region and AFGE Local 3506 (FLRA 0-AR-3999): Promotion remedy upheld after unequal interview process
An SSA Dallas Region employee was the only candidate on a best-qualified list who was not interviewed for a supervisory paralegal position. She was on leave abroad when interviews were scheduled. The arbitrator found that excluding her denied fair and equitable consideration and violated the…
Secretary of Labor v. Wolf Run Mining Company
Lightning-arrester rulings remanded
After the 2006 Sago Mine explosion, MSHA cited five electrical conditions under the lightning-arrester standard, although none was alleged to have contributed to the explosion. The Commission held that an insulated conductor can still be "exposed" when it is subject to lightning and that Wolf Run…
John W. Thornton v. Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, Incorporated
Thornton v. Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding (BRB 10-0336): separate knee awards paid in sequence
John Thornton received scheduled Longshore Act compensation for injuries to both knees suffered in separate workplace accidents. After his right knee impairment rating increased, Northrop Grumman waited to pay the additional right leg award until scheduled payments for his left leg ended. Thornton…
Elsie Stacy (widow of Howard Stacy) v. Olga Coal Company
Stacy v. Olga Coal (BRB 10-0113): survivor entitled to benefits under amended law
Elsie Stacy's husband was receiving federal black lung benefits under a final award when he died, but an administrative law judge denied her survivor claim under the law then applied. While her appeal was pending, Congress restored automatic survivor entitlement for qualifying claims under 30…
B.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cincinnati, OH
B.S. (ECAB 10-1058): Great toe award sent back for additional rating
B.S., a postal equipment mechanic, received a schedule award for 17 percent impairment of his right great toe. The range-of-motion calculation supported that figure, but OWCP had not evaluated a possible higher diagnosis-based rating for the toe fracture. It also had not determined whether nerve…
P.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Lebanon Veterans Medical Center, Lebanon, PA
P.G. (ECAB 10-1052): Wrist surgery authorization denial upheld
P.G., a VA practical nurse, had an accepted left wrist sprain after a patient grabbed her wrist. She later requested carpal tunnel surgery and wrist arthroscopy. Her surgeon said conservative treatment had failed but did not explain how the proposed procedures treated the accepted work injury. The…
M.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Orleans, LA
M.T. (ECAB 10-0944): Shoulder occupational disease denial upheld
M.T., a postal letter carrier, attributed left shoulder, arm, and neck problems to his work. OWCP accepted that he performed the claimed duties. His doctors diagnosed a shoulder condition but did not give a sufficiently reasoned explanation tying it to those duties, especially in light of an…
R.A. and U.S. Postal Service, General Mail Facility, White Plains, NY
R.A. (ECAB 10-0844): Cervical strain benefits termination upheld
R.A., a postal employee, had an accepted cervical strain and disputed the end of her compensation and medical benefits. An impartial orthopedic specialist concluded the accepted strain had resolved and attributed remaining symptoms to other conditions. The Board found that opinion reasoned and…
T.S. and Department of Labor, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, Seattle, WA
T.S. (ECAB 10-0692): Emotional condition denial upheld
T.S., an OWCP claims examiner, attributed an emotional condition to criticism, reassignment, and alleged harassment by supervisors. The Board found no corroborated error or abuse in the administrative actions. The evidence also did not establish harassment or verbal abuse; raised voices alone did…
D.S. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA
D.S. (ECAB 10-0620): Right leg award sent back for duplication analysis
D.S., a Navy equipment operator, had a 21 percent right leg impairment rating after a hip replacement and had received an earlier right leg award. The Board accepted the new impairment calculation. OWCP had not explained whether the new impairment duplicated the injury compensated by the earlier…
S.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Bronx, NY
S.S. (ECAB 10-0490): Patient-handling injury denial upheld
S.S., a VA nursing assistant, reported shoulder and back symptoms after turning and pulling a patient. The Board accepted that the patient-handling incident occurred. The medical reports did not adequately explain how it caused or aggravated her diagnosed conditions, and some addressed a different…
E.P. and Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Services, Tunkhannock, PA
E.P. (ECAB 10-0414): Arm awards upheld; reconsideration denial reversed
E.P., a district conservationist, sought larger schedule awards for both arms and reconsideration of the impairment findings. The Board found the existing evidence did not establish more than one percent impairment in either arm. A new medical report addressed the disputed impairment issue and was…
M.V. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Ayer, MA
M.V. (ECAB 10-0293): Prison employee emotional claim denial upheld
M.V., a Bureau of Prisons employee, attributed depression and anxiety to scheduling disputes, supervisory actions, and claimed risks of inmate work. The Board found no evidence that the administrative decisions were erroneous or abusive. It also found insufficient factual detail to establish…
United States Department of the Air Force, Edwards Air Force Base, California (Agency) and Sport Air Traffic Controllers Organization (Union)
Edwards Air Force Base and air traffic controllers (FLRA 0-AR-4625): Brief administrative leave award upheld
Air traffic controllers at Edwards Air Force Base sometimes had no duties during the last hour of a shift. Their supervisors had discretion under the parties' agreement to grant up to 59 minutes of administrative leave when operations permitted. The base ended that practice, and an arbitrator found…
United States Department of the Air Force, Air Force Materiel Command (Agency) and International Association of Fire Fighters, Locals F-78, F-88 & F-211 (Union)
Air Force Materiel Command and firefighter locals (FLRA 0-AR-4433): Aircraft fire vehicle staffing award upheld
At three Air Force bases, the command began dispatching pairs of aircraft fire vehicles with three people in one vehicle and one in the other. A firefighter union grieved the reduced staffing. An arbitrator found violations of the parties' agreements and an agency instruction and ordered either…
National Association of Independent Labor, Local 7 (Union) and United States Department of the Air Force, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, Goldsboro, North Carolina (Agency)
Seymour Johnson Air Force Base and Local 7 (FLRA 0-AR-4390): Supervisor selection grievance denied
An Air Force base selected a minimally qualified applicant for a sheet metal mechanic supervisor position over two applicants rated best qualified. The union grieved the selection, arguing that the applicant should not have appeared on the referral list sent to the selecting official. The…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3380 (Union) and United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (Agency)
AFGE Local 3380 and HUD (FLRA 0-AR-4311): Union's promotion grievance exceptions denied
HUD filled two senior project manager positions in Richmond without selecting a union member who had received the highest score under its crediting plan. An arbitrator found that HUD violated the agreement by failing to notify the union before filling an additional position, but found no violation…
J.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
J.H. (ECAB 10-1222): Reconsideration required on missed examination
J.H., a postal processing clerk, challenged the suspension of compensation after she missed a scheduled medical examination. Her representative had supplied an explanation before OWCP suspended benefits, but the suspension decision said none had been given. The Board held that her reconsideration…
F.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Devon, PA
F.L. (ECAB 10-1125): Increased right arm award denied
F.L., a postal mail handler, sought an increase over his existing right arm impairment award for accepted finger and elbow conditions. An impartial physician found no current physical evidence of the accepted diagnoses that would support a higher rating. The Board found the opinion reasoned and…
S.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Bedford Park, IL
S.J. (ECAB 10-1108): Left foot occupational disease denial upheld
S.J., a postal mail handler, attributed left foot neuroma and plantar fasciitis to standing and shifting weight at a sorting machine. Her physicians supported a work connection in general terms but did not explain how the identified duties caused or aggravated the conditions. They also did not…
G.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hendersonville, NC
G.W. (ECAB 10-0870): Twenty-seven percent right arm award upheld
G.W., a postal worker, sought a larger award for right arm impairment. An impartial physician rated loss of shoulder motion and a clavicle procedure under the applicable impairment guides, reaching 27 percent. The Board found the rating supported and rejected a proposed extra strength-loss rating…
A.E. and Department of the Navy, Sealift Command, Norfolk, VA
A.E. (ECAB 10-0860): Wrist claim denial upheld; merits review required
A.E., a Navy supply officer, claimed a right wrist condition related to his work but initially provided too little detail about the alleged incidents. The Board affirmed the claim denial on that record. On reconsideration, he supplied a claim form and workplace treatment note describing an April…
M.K. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Atlanta, GA
M.K. (ECAB 10-0811): Left knee benefits termination upheld
M.K., a Bureau of Prisons technician, had accepted left knee strain and meniscus tear after restraining an inmate. A second-opinion surgeon found the knee surgery successful and no remaining disability from those accepted conditions. The Board found the treating reports did not give enough…
B.J. and Department of Defense, Defense Commissary Agency, Fort Carson, CO
B.J. (ECAB 10-0801): Customer complaint clerk reduction reversed
B.J., a Defense Commissary Agency employee, received wage-loss benefits for accepted upper extremity conditions. OWCP selected a customer complaint clerk job as a constructed measure of her earning capacity. The job description involved frequent computer and telephone use, while her physicians…
P.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Western Facilities Service Office, Englewood, CO
P.E. (ECAB 10-0791): Neck claim and hearing abandonment upheld
P.E., a postal customer service representative, claimed work duties aggravated preexisting neck conditions. The Board found the medical evidence did not adequately link those duties to the conditions. She also missed a scheduled in-person hearing after OWCP declined her request for a telephone…
G.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bay Shore, NY
G.M. (ECAB 10-0783): Occupational disease and reconsideration denials upheld
G.M., a postal letter carrier, attributed a new period of disability to repeated lifting, pulling, and pushing. The Board found insufficient medical reasoning connecting those duties to the claimed occupational disease. Her reconsideration materials repeated known duties or concerned a separate…
E.S. and Department of Agriculture, Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service, Edinburg, TX
E.S. (ECAB 10-0565): Wage-loss termination reversed
E.S., an Agriculture Department employee, challenged the end of wage-loss benefits for an accepted back condition. The impartial physician said he could return to full duty but did not reconcile that conclusion with disc and nerve test findings, ongoing symptoms, or the physical demands of his job…
Trinity Yachts, LLC and its Successors
Case returned for possible correction of the judge's decision
OSHA cited Trinity Yachts for three alleged violations of shipyard employment standards and proposed $13,500 in penalties. The judge affirmed two items, vacated one, and assessed $9,000. After Trinity sought review, the Commission identified possible clerical or omission errors near the end of the…
United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Agency) and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 164 (Union)
Customs and Border Protection and NTEU Chapter 164 (FLRA 0-AR-4609): Officer's discipline remedy upheld
Customs and Border Protection suspended an officer for five days and reassigned him after alleging inattention to duty and unprofessional conduct. An arbitrator found the suspension unjustified and ordered rescission, lost pay, priority transfer to the Port of Bellingham when an opening arose, and…
United States Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service (Agency) and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 238 (Union)
IRS and NTEU Chapter 238 (FLRA 0-AR-4418): Grade and pay retention award set aside
An IRS employee affected by a reorganization applied for a lower-grade revenue officer position that had been announced with transition benefits. Before she accepted that position, the IRS made her existing GS-11 position permanent and offered the GS-5 job without retained GS-11 grade or pay. An…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1770 (Union) and United States Department of Defense, Defense Commissary Agency, Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Fort Bragg commissary and AFGE Local 1770 (FLRA 0-AR-4342): Cashier rating grievance denied
A cashier at the Fort Bragg commissary received a "fully successful" rating and grieved because she believed her work merited "excellent." The arbitrator found that two work variances and a customer complaint supported the ratings on four critical elements and denied the grievance. The union argued…
Dora Stanhope (widow of Enos Stanhope) v. Electric Boat Corporation
Stanhope v. Electric Boat (BRB 06-0924): attorney fee petition needs more evidence
Dora Stanhope's counsel requested $7,745 in fees for work on her Longshore Act appeal against Electric Boat Corporation. The underlying benefits claim had been awarded after court review, and the fee request concerned work before the Benefits Review Board. The Board found that counsel had not…
L.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
L.D. (ECAB 10-1476): Low back injury denial upheld
L.D., a postal worker, slipped by a delivery vehicle and fell against its bumper. The incident was accepted, but a later physician report did not give a firm back diagnosis or explain how the incident caused one. The physician chiefly relied on the absence of earlier symptoms. The Board found 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.