Federal Agency Decisions
Workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), and environmental appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board, each with a plain-English summary, the standards it cites, and whether it counts as precedent. More agencies are coming.
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Adamas Construction and Development Services, PLLC, and Nathan Pierce
In re Adamas Construction and Development Services, PLLC, and Nathan Pierce (EAB CWA Appeal No. 25-01): $7,725 penalty affirmed
Adamas Construction and Development Services, PLLC, and its owner Nathan Pierce were found liable for failing to develop and retain records and certifications required of appliers of Class B sewage sludge. The Environmental Appeals Board affirmed the finding of liability and the administrative…
Dean v. Health Care District of Palm Beach County
Palm Beach health district denied sovereign immunity in aviation retaliation case
Simon Dean alleged that the Health Care District of Palm Beach County fired him after he reported unsafe conditions and possible aviation violations. In this interlocutory appeal, the Board upheld the ALJ’s ruling that the district was not entitled to Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity. It found…
Secretary of Labor v. Gentry Mountain Mining, LLC
One-day-late contest reopened
MSHA mailed Gentry Mountain Mining's proposed penalty assessment to an old address that still appeared on one of the operator's legal identity records. Gentry said its current address had been used for years and that it requested a hearing within 30 days after learning of the assessment. The…
Secretary of Labor v. Heidelberg Materials US Cement LLC
Receipt denial contradicted
Heidelberg Materials asked to reopen a penalty assessment after its safety manager said the mine never received it. MSHA showed that the assessment went to the current address of record and that the plant manager signed for delivery. The Commission found Heidelberg's explanation cursory and…
Secretary of Labor v. Hard Rock Sand and Gravel
Change of mind did not reopen penalties
Hard Rock Sand and Gravel did not contest proposed penalties when they arrived because it wanted to see the effect of earlier citations, then later decided it should contest. It also said it missed an email from its bookkeeper. The Commission held that changing one's mind is not a basis for Rule…
Matter of S-S-F-M-
Asylum standards reinstated and case remanded
The Attorney General reviewed a case referred by the Board after a federal court remanded it for further consideration. The decision overruled Matter of A-B-, 28 I&N Dec. 307 (A.G. 2021), reinstated the standards from Matter of A-B-, 27 I&N Dec. 316 (A.G. 2018), and reaffirmed the standards from…
Matter of S-S-F-M-
Referral accepted and case remanded
The Attorney General directed the Board of Immigration Appeals to refer its decision for review. The order states that the case is remanded to the Board for further proceedings under the accompanying opinion. This order itself does not resolve the respondent's underlying claims.
Matter of R-E-R-M- & J-D-R-M-
Family social-group standard reinstated and case remanded
The Attorney General reviewed a case involving a Salvadoran respondent and her minor son who sought asylum and withholding of removal based in part on family and kinship ties. The decision overruled Matter of L-E-A-, 28 I&N Dec. 304 (A.G. 2021), reinstated the holding of Matter of L-E-A-, 27 I&N…
Matter of R-E-R-M- & J-D-R-M-
Referral accepted and case remanded
The Attorney General directed the Board of Immigration Appeals to refer its decision for review. The order states that the case is remanded to the Board for further proceedings under the accompanying opinion. This order itself does not resolve the respondents' underlying claims.
Singh v. Intel Corporation
Antitrust retaliation dismissal upheld after federal court election
Mandeep Singh appealed dismissal of his antitrust whistleblower complaint against Intel. He had amended a federal district court complaint to request relief under the Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act after more than 180 days had passed without a final Labor Department decision. The Board…
Matter of Alessandro COTRUFO
Bond order vacated and no-bond detention ordered
The Department of Homeland Security appealed an Immigration Judge's order releasing the respondent on a $6,500 bond and allowing alternatives to detention at DHS' discretion. The respondent had recent convictions involving unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, and the record included conflicting…
Matter of J-A-F-S-
Continuance vacated and hearing remanded
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's interlocutory appeal from an Immigration Judge's continuance of an individual hearing. The respondent sought more time to investigate possible eligibility for special-rule cancellation of removal based on alleged abuse, but had not filed an…
United States Government Publishing Office, Local 713-S, Printing, Packaging and Production Workers Union of North America, and International Brotherhood of Teamsters
Government Publishing Office, Local 713-S, and Teamsters (FLRA WA-RP-24-0078): Authority upholds representation election
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters won a mail-ballot election to represent Government Publishing Office plant employees, and incumbent Local 713-S filed thirteen objections. The regional director found that delayed service did not prejudice the incumbent, the petition fell within the…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL v. Five Star Automatic Fire Protection LLC
Back wages upheld for sprinkler work; three-year debarment sent back
Five Star Automatic Fire Protection classified three workers installing a fire protection system at Holloman Air Force Base as general laborers. The Board upheld the finding that their work required pipefitter wages under the applicable wage determination and local collective bargaining agreement…
United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and National Treasury Employees Union, Local 172
U.S. Customs and Border Protection and NTEU Local 172 (FLRA 0-AR-6024): Authority rejects overtime for compressed-schedule carryover
Customs and Border Protection employees on rotating compressed schedules sometimes recorded more than 80 hours in one pay period and fewer than 80 in another because overnight shifts crossed the pay-period boundary. The agency carried hours between periods and paid 80 straight-time hours rather…
Secretary of Labor v. Iron Mountain Quarry LLC
Impact-inspection citations largely affirmed
MSHA issued numerous citations during an impact inspection of Iron Mountain's quarry, including housekeeping violations, falling-material hazards under conveyor belts, an unsafe sagging catwalk, and a missing electrical cover plate. After a two-day hearing, the Judge credited the inspectors'…
Packers Sanitation Services, Inc., Ltd., dba PSSI
Conveyor lockout violation affirmed
PSSI provided overnight sanitation services at an automated sandwich plant in Bolingbrook, Illinois. A sanitation worker wedged a conveyor's foot pedal so the belt would run continuously while he dried it with an air hose, and his clothing became caught in the conveyor sprockets. The judge found…
Matter of G-C-I-
Withholding and CAT denials affirmed
The Board reviewed a Georgia respondent's appeal from the denial of withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture. The respondent claimed that police had harmed and threatened him because of his support for an opposition political party. The Board held that…
HF Sinclair Tulsa Refining LLC - West Refinery
In re HF Sinclair Tulsa Refining LLC - West Refinery (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 25-01): petition dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
Fred F. Storer petitioned the Environmental Appeals Board for review of a RCRA Corrective Action and Post-Closure permit issued to HF Sinclair Tulsa Refining LLC for its West Refinery in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality issued the permit under Oklahoma's authorized…
SiteOne Landscape Supply, Inc.
In re SiteOne Landscape Supply, Inc. (EAB FIFRA Appeal No. 25-01C): misbranded herbicide settlement approved
SiteOne Landscape Supply, Inc. distributed LESCO Dimension, a registered herbicide-fertilizer product. EPA found that 137 shipments made between December 2020 and August 2023 involved labels missing an ingredient statement and certain directions for use, and carrying an unapproved alternate brand…
Pacific Rim International West, Inc.
In re Pacific Rim International West, Inc. (EAB CAA Appeal No. 25-10C): dirt-bike import settlement approved
Pacific Rim International West, Inc. imports and sells recreational nonroad vehicles, including dirt bikes. EPA alleged that Pacific Rim imported, sold, or offered for sale at least 61,741 off-highway motorcycles that were not covered by a competition exemption between October 1, 2020, and December…
Ahntech, Inc. v. Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL
Service contractor withdraws appeal before a final wage ruling
Ahntech sought a price adjustment under a federal service contract after a collective bargaining agreement raised wages. It petitioned the Board after requesting a Wage and Hour Division determination but receiving no response. The Board asked why the appeal should not be dismissed because its…
Rashad v. Ryder Integrated Logistics, Inc.
Timeliness dismissal vacated because delivery of OSHA findings was uncertain
Muhammad Rashad challenged OSHA’s rejection of his truck-safety retaliation complaint against Ryder Integrated Logistics more than three years after the findings were issued. He asserted that he first received the findings when OSHA emailed them in January 2025, and he objected the next day. The…
Iwaseczko v. Teton County Weed & Pest Control District
Dismissal of health-benefit retaliation claims affirmed
Marta Iwaseczko and Thomas Spatafore alleged that a Wyoming weed and pest control district retaliated against them for raising concerns about discrimination in health benefits. Spatafore challenged a negative evaluation, eviction from employee housing, and failure to rehire him; Iwaseczko…
Matter of Samuel Michael McDONALD
Cancellation grant vacated and removal ordered
The Department of Homeland Security appealed an Immigration Judge's discretionary grant of cancellation of removal to a Canadian lawful permanent resident. The Board held that the Immigration Judge improperly discounted serious and recent criminal conduct and improperly treated the charging record…
Secretary of Labor v. Ohio County Coal Resources, Inc.
Mail backlog supported reopening
A temporary problem with MSHA's mail provider interrupted Ohio County Coal Resources' receipt of proposed assessments for several months. When delivery resumed, a larger-than-normal batch increased the safety director's workload, and the operator paid some penalties but failed to send the contest…
Secretary of Labor v. Prospect Mining & Development Company, LLC
Counsel's missed filing excused
Prospect Mining sent a proposed penalty assessment to outside counsel with instructions to contest it before the deadline. Counsel missed the filing while establishing a new law firm and moving offices. The operator sought reopening less than 30 days after the assessment became final, and the…
Semper Tek, Inc. v. Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL
Premature wage-conformance appeal dismissed and remanded
Semper Tek sought review of two Davis-Bacon Act wage-conformance decisions issued by the Wage and Hour Division. The Board questioned whether those decisions were final agency rulings that it could review. The company and the Acting Administrator jointly requested dismissal without prejudice, and…
Secretary of Labor v. Drake Cement, LLC
Contest sent to payment address
Drake Cement intended to contest ten citations and mailed the contest form before the deadline, but a new safety manager sent it with the penalty payment to MSHA's payment lockbox instead of the contest office. The manager later checked MSHA's database, discovered the problem, and sent the…
Secretary of Labor v. S&G Excavating, Inc.
Two misaddressed contests reopened
S&G Excavating mailed two penalty contests with its payments for uncontested penalties to MSHA's payment lockbox instead of the contest office. It sent the paperwork about three weeks before the deadline, then sought MSHA guidance and moved to reopen within a month after receiving delinquency…
Matter of Carlos Esteban FRIAS ULLOA
Termination vacated and proceedings reinstated
The Department of Homeland Security appealed an Immigration Judge's termination of removal proceedings for a respondent convicted under New Jersey law of possessing fentanyl with intent to distribute. The Board held that the relevant New Jersey statute was divisible by controlled substance and that…
Lear v. GFL Environmental
Reconsideration denied and earlier STAA ruling made final
Michael Lear sought reconsideration after the Board affirmed dismissal of his STAA retaliation complaint against GFL Environmental. He also filed a petition with the Eleventh Circuit while reconsideration remained pending. The Board held that it retained authority to decide reconsideration because…
Kossen v. Asia Pacific Airlines
Reconsideration denied in airline retaliation case
Darren Kossen asked the Board to reconsider its decision affirming summary dismissal of his AIR21 retaliation complaint against Asia Pacific Airlines. He challenged the causation analysis, alleged procedural errors and bias, and claimed evidence had been suppressed. The Board found that most…
Matter of J-A-
CAT deferral reversed and respondent ordered removed
The Department of Homeland Security appealed an Immigration Judge's grant of deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture to a citizen of Uzbekistan. The respondent separately challenged the denials of asylum and withholding of removal, based on allegations that Uzbek authorities would…
Matter of GARCIA-FLORES
Cancellation grant vacated and removal ordered
The Department of Homeland Security appealed an Immigration Judge's discretionary grant of cancellation of removal to a Mexican lawful permanent resident who had been convicted of indecency with a child. The Board held that an Immigration Judge may consider the circumstances of a conviction in…
Matter of Luis Angel GARCIA MARTINEZ
Fee waiver denied and motion rejected
The Board considered a non-detained respondent's motion to reconsider, which included a request to waive the filing fee. The Board held that a non-detained person represented by private counsel is presumed able to pay the filing fee, and that a fee-waiver request reporting zero income in every…
Johnson v. United Parcel Service
Late STAA petition dismissed without equitable extension
Jacquelyn Johnson petitioned for review of an order dismissing her STAA complaint against United Parcel Service for failure to prosecute. Her petition was due April 4, 2025, but she filed it on May 23. Johnson said she had overlooked the emailed decision among other filing notifications and…
Mitchell v. Warren Paving, Inc.
Dismissal upheld after repeated discovery violations
Rico Mitchell alleged that Warren Paving fired him after he reported safety problems with his assigned truck. The administrative law judge dismissed his STAA complaint after repeated failures to provide complete discovery responses despite orders and warnings. The Board found that Mitchell…
Pettengill Family Restoration, LLC
EAJA fee application denied
Pettengill Family Restoration framed panelized houses as a subcontractor and successfully challenged four OSHA cases totaling $78,701 in proposed penalties. The underlying decision vacated all four citations because OSHA did not prove that the workers assembling the houses were Pettengill employees…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 105 and United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
NTEU Chapter 105 and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (FLRA 0-AR-5980): Authority upholds split-days-off ruling
Customs and Border Protection employees volunteered for a pilot assignment after solicitations warned that operational needs would dictate their shifts and days off. The union later alleged that scheduling some employees with nonconsecutive regular days off violated federal law and the parties'…
Secretary of Labor v. CONSOL Mining Company, LLC
Constitutional dismissal motion denied
CONSOL Mining Company sought dismissal of a civil penalty proceeding at the Itmann No. 5 Mine, arguing that the Mine Act gives it a Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial and that the removal protections for FMSHRC administrative law judges violate the Constitution. Judge Alan G. Paez held that…
Secretary of Labor v. Argos Puerto Rico Corp.
Wrong ZIP code prevented finality
Argos Puerto Rico said it never received MSHA's proposed penalty assessment and asked the Commission to reopen the matter. At the Commission's request, the Secretary produced mailing records showing that MSHA used the wrong ZIP code and that multiple delivery attempts failed. Because section 105(a)…
Secretary of Labor v. Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC
Methane, reporting, and accident-scene citations upheld
Warrior Met contested three citations involving a miscalibrated methane monitor and its response to an elevator accident caused by falling ice. The Judge found the monitor violation significant and substantial because the mine liberates large amounts of methane and the inaccurate reading could…
Massachusetts Port Authority
In re Massachusetts Port Authority (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 23-03): petition dismissed after settlement
The Massachusetts Port Authority petitioned the Environmental Appeals Board to review provisions of an NPDES permit issued by EPA Region 1. The parties participated in the Board's Alternative Dispute Resolution program, entered into a Settlement Agreement, and completed the permit modification…
Matter of Jose Luis SALAS PENA
Bond grant vacated and detention ordered
The Department of Homeland Security appealed an Immigration Judge's order releasing the respondent on a $5,000 bond. The Board held that a pending charge may be considered in assessing danger to the community and that the Immigration Judge was not limited to the respondent's prior convictions when…
Michigan Potash Operating, LLC
In re Michigan Potash Operating, LLC (EAB UIC Appeal No. 25-02): petition dismissed as moot
Michigan Potash Operating, LLC held six Underground Injection Control permits issued by EPA Region 5. On July 29, 2025, EPA Region 5 notified the Environmental Appeals Board that it was unilaterally withdrawing the permits in their entirety under 40 C.F.R. § 124.19(j). Because the withdrawal…
Matter of Benjamin FELIX-FIGUEROA
Drug-conviction issue remanded for realistic-probability showing
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal from an Immigration Judge's termination of removal proceedings based on an Arizona drug statute. The Board held that when a party claims a state controlled-substance definition is broader than the federal definition because of…
Secretary of Labor v. Morton Salt, Inc.
Ground-control and fire-boss citations upheld
MSHA issued 23 citations at Morton Salt's Weeks Island underground salt mine, a Class II-A domal salt mine with hazards from loose salt scales and unpredictable methane releases. The parties settled 17 citations for $38,320, including one vacatur and several reductions in gravity, negligence, and…
Keller v. Pittsburgh Baptist Church
Dismissal sanction vacated for lack of supporting analysis
Taren Keller appealed dismissal of her Taxpayer First Act retaliation complaint against Pittsburgh Baptist Church. The judge had referred to discovery problems, changes to a proposed settlement, and delay in preparing for the hearing. The Board found that the dismissal lacked enough analysis to…
Enwright Roofing, LLC
Repeat fall-protection and ladder violations affirmed
Enwright Roofing was a small New York residential roofing contractor replacing shingles on a home in Oswego. OSHA observed the owner and an employee working 8 to 10 feet above the ground without fall protection and using two extension ladders whose rails did not extend three feet above the roof…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3972 and United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Multifamily Housing, Denver, Colorado
AFGE Local 3972 and HUD Office of Multifamily Housing (FLRA 0-AR-5983): Authority upholds telework changes
The Department of Housing and Urban Development increased in-office work for certain employees from one to two days per week and directed them to update their telework agreements. AFGE Local 3972 alleged that the agency had to bargain over the change and had bypassed the union by dealing directly…
Secretary of Labor v. Nelson Quarries, Inc.
Undetailed contest claim rejected
Nelson Quarries said it timely tried to contest proposed penalties but may have sent the notice to the wrong MSHA office. Commissioner Baker, joined by Commissioner Marvit, found that the operator supplied no details or evidence of that attempt and had received filing instructions nine days before…
Matter of O-Y-A-E-
CAT deferral vacated and removal ordered
The Department of Homeland Security appealed an Immigration Judge's grant of deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture to a Venezuelan former military officer. The Board held that the Immigration Judge made a material factual error about when the respondent was last threatened and…
Matter of Diego Geovanny BURI MORA
Cancellation grant vacated and removal ordered
The Department of Homeland Security appealed an Immigration Judge's grant of cancellation of removal to an Ecuadorian respondent with three United States citizen children and a United States citizen wife. The Board held that the record did not show exceptional and extremely unusual hardship from…
Matter of K-E-S-G-
Sex-based social groups rejected and cancellation issue remanded
The Board reviewed a Salvadoran respondent's applications for asylum and withholding of removal after a remand from the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The Board held that proposed social groups defined only by sex, or by sex and nationality, are too broad and insufficiently…
Nano-C Inc.
In re Nano-C Inc. (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 25-04Q): $64,138 penalty paid and matter resolved
EPA alleged that Nano-C Inc. violated Sections 12(b) and 13 of the Toxic Substances Control Act and related reporting requirements at 40 C.F.R. part 707. EPA's complaint sought a $64,138 penalty. Nano-C paid the full proposed penalty, which waived its rights to contest the allegations and appeal…
Simmons v. Fourteenth Avenue Cartage Co., Inc.
STAA appeal dismissed after missed briefing and show-cause deadlines
Raymond Simmons appealed an order denying his STAA claim against Fourteenth Avenue Cartage. The Board directed him to file an opening brief by June 9, 2025, but he did not do so. It then gave him until July 2 to submit the brief and explain the missed deadline, warning that silence could lead to…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL v. A&M Labor Management, Inc.
Job-order penalties restored while layoff findings and no debarment stand
The Wage and Hour Administrator appealed rulings concerning A&M Labor Management's corn-harvesting operations under the H-2A program. The Board upheld the finding that 13 U.S. workers were fired for refusing to work in rain and mud, rather than unlawfully laid off, and rejected the related…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Caesar Miranda v. Dixon Rock and Materials, LLC
Temporary reinstatement ordered
Caesar Miranda worked as a laborer at Dixon Rock and Materials, an aggregate surface mine. He alleged that he raised safety concerns about work pace and requested a respirator, after which he was sent home, removed from the schedule, and told to leave the mine. Judge Jacqueline R. Bulluck found…
Robles v. Quirch Foods, LLC
Administrative dismissal affirmed after employee elected federal court
Alex Robles alleged that Quirch Foods violated the STAA when it terminated him. While his administrative case remained pending, he filed a federal district-court complaint after the statutory 210-day period had elapsed without a final Labor Department decision. The administrative judge dismissed…
What these documents are
- The agencies: Workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), and environmental permit and penalty appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB). Each decision page names its agency.
- Commission and Board decisions: Rulings by the agency's highest review level (the Commission at OSHRC and FMSHRC, 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.