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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T.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Fredericksburg Main Post Office
Board reverses postal worker’s wage-loss reduction (ECAB 24-0370)
A Fredericksburg postal worker had wage-loss benefits reduced based on supposed capacity to work as an administrative clerk. The referral physician’s stated work limits did not match the functional assessment on which he relied, and OWCP had not asked him to evaluate the selected job duties. The…
J.K. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center
Board orders further review of VA worker’s Achilles condition (ECAB 24-0307)
A VA human resources assistant asked OWCP to add left Achilles tendinitis to an accepted knee injury claim. A medical opinion suggested that knee problems or altered gait could affect the tendon but did not fully resolve causation. Because OWCP had undertaken medical development, the Board directed…
S.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Irvington Post Office
Board orders disability review for Irvington postal worker (ECAB 24-0269)
An Irvington mail carrier sought compensation for disability from July 2018 through July 2019. An impartial medical examiner supported work restrictions tied to accepted cervical and carpal tunnel conditions, but OWCP had not resolved whether they caused disability in the claimed period. The Board…
Wesley Mallery v. El Segundo Coal Company, LLC
Pro se discrimination complaint dismissed
Wesley Mallery alleged that El Segundo retaliated after he raised concerns about blasting procedures and other workplace issues. The judge found that his January 2023 safety reports qualified as protected activity. She nevertheless concluded that paid administrative leave and disability benefits…
James Mullins v. Lodestar Energy Incorporated
Mullins v. Lodestar Energy (BRB 23-0411): black lung benefits award affirmed
James Mullins sought black lung benefits after a prior claim was denied. An administrative law judge found that x-rays established complicated pneumoconiosis and awarded benefits under the irrebuttable presumption. Lodestar Energy challenged how the judge handled competing x-ray readings, arguing…
Tracy R. Evans, Jr. v. Paramont Coal Company Virginia LLC
Evans v. Paramont Coal (BRB 23-0322): benefits denial returned for treatment record review
Tracy Evans appealed without a representative after an administrative law judge denied his black lung claim. Evans had 36 years of underground coal mine work, but the judge found no complicated pneumoconiosis or total disability. The Board upheld the complicated pneumoconiosis finding and the…
S.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Greens North Post Office
Board orders independent rating of postal worker’s left leg (ECAB 24-0529)
A Houston postal worker sought more than the two percent permanent impairment award for her left leg. Her physician rated impairment at 12 percent, while OWCP’s medical adviser rated it at two percent. The Board found the competing opinions equally weighted and in conflict. It sent the case back…
T.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration, Florida National Cemetery
Board denies continuation of pay for late injury notice (ECAB 24-0455)
A Florida National Cemetery employee reported injuring his shoulder while backfilling a gravesite on October 27, 2023. He filed the written traumatic injury notice on November 29, 2023. The Board applied the 30-day filing requirement for continuation of pay and found the notice arrived too late. It…
G.R. and Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort
Board orders new rating of Marine Corps worker’s arm (ECAB 24-0376)
A Marine Corps air station worker sought more than the 14 percent impairment already awarded for her left arm. OWCP’s referral doctor received a statement of accepted facts that omitted accepted conditions and used the wrong impairment table for spine-related arm effects. The Board found the…
S.B. and Department of Labor, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs
Board denies DOL examiner’s right arm condition claim (ECAB 24-0267)
A DOL claims examiner attributed worsening right arm symptoms to federal work after an earlier nonwork cubital tunnel injury. An impartial examiner found a temporary rise in symptoms but no work-related aggravation or acceleration of the underlying condition. The Board gave that reasoned opinion…
M.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Calexico
Board orders reconstruction of missing postal claim record (ECAB 22-0364)
A Calexico postal worker sought review of an old suitable-work benefit termination. The Board found the transmitted claim file missing a letter that OWCP cited as giving him time to return to work. Without that document, the Board could not determine whether the termination process complied with…
Secretary of Labor v. Ramaco Resources, LLC
Unknown staff-turnover error did not justify reopening
Ramaco Resources sought to reopen 11 citations after a proposed assessment did not reach its vice president of safety for a timely contest. The company pointed to employee turnover, said it could not identify the specific error, and reported that it later trained new employees. The Commission…
Secretary of Labor v. Dyno Nobel
Prompt self-check excused a one-time address lapse
Dyno Nobel did not receive a proposed assessment because it had moved without updating its address of record with MSHA or the Postal Service. The contractor had already contested the underlying citation, later checked why no assessment had arrived, and moved to reopen less than two weeks after…
Darrell L. Johnson v. Kokosing Construction Company, Incorporated
Johnson v. Kokosing Construction (BRB 23-0402): benefits denial returned for medical opinion review
Darrell Johnson appealed without a representative after an administrative law judge denied his black lung claim. The Board upheld the finding that the blood gas studies, considered together, did not establish total disability. It returned the medical opinion issue because the judge had discounted a…
D.W. and Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency
Board denies warehouse worker’s lumbar injury claim (ECAB 24-0479)
A Defense Logistics Agency employee reported a lumbar injury following a September 2022 work incident. His physician linked a disc condition to lifting and turning, but relied mainly on the absence of prior symptoms despite a preexisting lumbar condition. The Board found the opinion did not explain…
L.P. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Fayetteville VA Medical Center
Board upholds denial of VA worker’s injury claim (ECAB 24-0474)
A Fayetteville VA worker attributed medical conditions to a July 2023 workplace incident. The Board found the physician’s report did not adequately establish a compensable diagnosis and causal connection. Imaging studies alone did not explain causation, and a physician assistant’s…
E.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Mid-Island Processing and Distribution Center
Board recognizes knee contusion but denies additional conditions (ECAB 24-0471)
A postal employee struck his left knee on a vehicle door at work. The Board found the visible knee contusion sufficiently connected to the accepted incident. It found the medical opinions insufficient to establish the additional fracture and meniscal conditions because they did not explain how the…
L.C. and Department of the Navy, Military Sealift Command
Board dismisses appeal from vocational rehabilitation notices (ECAB 24-0458)
A Navy employee appealed two OWCP letters warning that nonparticipation in vocational rehabilitation could lead to reduced compensation. The letters gave him a chance to comply or explain and did not themselves reduce benefits. The Board held they were interlocutory notices rather than final…
C.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration
Board reverses TSA worker’s wage-loss reduction (ECAB 24-0336)
A TSA worker’s benefits were reduced based on supposed ability to work as a surveillance system monitor. OWCP relied on a medical report more than two years old, issued before it accepted additional work-related conditions. The Board found the report too stale to establish her current work capacity…
R.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Little Rock Post Office
Board upholds right arm rating and reopens left arm rating (ECAB 23-1188)
A Little Rock postal worker sought increases over two percent permanent impairment of each arm. The Board found the right arm rating supported by the medical evidence. It found the left arm assessment incomplete and directed OWCP to develop and rate that side further. The decision affirmed in part…
D.J., claiming as widow of T.J., and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Death Valley National Park
Board returns park employee survivor pay-rate calculation (ECAB 21-1344)
The widow of a Death Valley National Park employee challenged the pay rate used to calculate survivor benefits after his death following a work swim test. The Board found the employment and wage information insufficient to calculate the proper rate for a comparable employee. It directed OWCP to…
Shirley Ann Thornton (widow of Barry Lee Thornton) v. Itmann Coal Company
Thornton v. Itmann Coal (BRB 23-0283): survivor benefits award affirmed
Shirley Ann Thornton sought survivor benefits following the death of her husband, who had 21.25 years of qualifying coal mine work. After an earlier Board remand, the administrative law judge found that a pulmonary function study performed during his treatment was reliable evidence of total…
Billy Wilson v. Lone Mountain Processing, Incorporated c/o Arch Coal
Wilson v. Lone Mountain Processing (BRB 23-0194): benefits denial returned for blood gas study review
Billy Wilson appealed a second denial of his black lung claim after at least twenty-five years of qualifying coal mine work. The Board found that the administrative law judge had discounted a qualifying blood gas study without deciding whether it was performed for treatment or in anticipation of…
Suzanne Floyd (survivor and on behalf of John F. Floyd) v. High Power Energy and West Virginia Coal Workers’ Pneumoconiosis Fund
Floyd v. High Power Energy (BRB 23-0129 and 23-0130): miner and survivor benefits affirmed
Suzanne Floyd pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor's claim. The administrative law judge credited him with at least twenty years of qualifying coal mine work and found him totally disabled by a respiratory impairment, invoking the fifteen-year presumption. The Board…
Suzanne Floyd (survivor and on behalf of John F. Floyd) v. High Power Energy and West Virginia Coal Workers’ Pneumoconiosis Fund
Floyd v. High Power Energy (BRB 23-0129 and 23-0130): miner and survivor benefits affirmed
Suzanne Floyd pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor's claim. The administrative law judge credited him with at least twenty years of qualifying coal mine work and found him totally disabled by a respiratory impairment, invoking the fifteen-year presumption. The Board…
R.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Pittsburgh VA Medical Center
Board dismisses withdrawn VA employee appeal (ECAB 24-0578)
A VA employee appealed OWCP’s April 1, 2024 decision through counsel on May 8, 2024. The Board assigned docket 24-0578 to the appeal. The appellant asked for dismissal in a letter dated and received May 24, 2024. The Board granted the request and dismissed the appeal without reviewing OWCP’s…
R.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Hamilton Post Office
Board grants withdrawal of Hamilton postal appeal (ECAB 24-0546)
A Hamilton postal worker appealed OWCP’s April 19, 2024 nonmerit decision on April 29, 2024. The Board assigned docket 24-0546 to the appeal. The appellant then sent a letter asking to withdraw it, which the Board received on May 21, 2024. The Board granted withdrawal and dismissed the appeal…
B.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Jefferson Barracks St. Louis VA Medical Center
Board orders complete rating for finger amputation (ECAB 24-0433)
A VA employee received a schedule award for a 60 percent permanent impairment of the left index finger after an amputation. The Board found the record lacked validated range-of-motion measurements and an explanation of why the impairment should be rated as a finger rather than a hand or upper…
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Watford City Post Office
Board orders period-specific disability opinion for postmaster (ECAB 23-1125)
A Watford City postmaster sought wage-loss compensation for January 2018 through June 2020 following an accepted shoulder injury. OWCP’s referral doctor found him disabled by chronic pain and right arm symptoms, but did not address that specific period. The Board found the record incomplete and…
J.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Mid-Island Processing & Distribution Center
Board reverses suitable-work termination of postal benefits (ECAB 23-1010)
A postal worker with an accepted knee condition declined an offered job. Her treating physician and an OWCP referral physician disagreed about whether she could perform the work. The Board found that medical conflict unresolved when OWCP imposed the suitable-work penalty. OWCP therefore had not met…
T.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Denver
Board upholds hip claim denial but orders merit reconsideration (ECAB 23-0928)
A Denver mail handler attributed hip and leg problems to repetitive postal work. The Board found the original medical evidence insufficient to prove causation and upheld denial of a late written-record request. A later physician report addressed the work connection and qualified as relevant new…
G.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Mid-Island Processing & Distribution Center
Board denies postal driver’s off-duty injury claim (ECAB 22-0351)
A postal tractor trailer operator claimed a traumatic injury after leaving work early without documented permission. The Board found the unscheduled departure was outside a reasonable interval around his shift and not incidental to his employment. It did not rely on a misconduct theory to decide…
Matilda Jerry (on behalf of Tony O. Jerry) v. Peabody Western Coal Company
Jerry v. Peabody Western Coal (BRB 23-0395): black lung benefits award affirmed
Matilda Jerry pursued her late husband's black lung claim after an administrative law judge awarded benefits. The Board upheld the finding that his twenty-nine years of surface coal mine work involved regular dust exposure, qualifying him for the fifteen-year presumption when combined with a…
Jesse Watson v. Murriell-Don Coal, Incorporated
Watson v. Murriell-Don Coal (BRB 23-0279): black lung benefits award affirmed
Jesse Watson received a black lung benefits award after the administrative law judge credited twenty-seven years of underground coal mine work and found him totally disabled by a respiratory impairment. Those findings invoked the fifteen-year presumption, leaving Murriell-Don Coal and its carrier…
Rogers Avendaño Gabriel v. SOC, LLC
Gabriel v. SOC (BRB 23-0167): Defense Base Act benefits denial affirmed
Rogers Avendaño Gabriel sought Defense Base Act benefits for a psychological condition he attributed to security guard work in Iraq. The administrative law judge found that Gabriel initially qualified for the presumption that the condition was work related, but SOC rebutted it with a medical…
C.E. and Department of Defense, Defense Counterintelligence & Security Agency
Board returns sidewalk fall claim for workplace inquiry (ECAB 24-0490)
A Defense Department program assistant reported falling on a sidewalk near her workplace before her shift. The Board found the record incomplete about who controlled the sidewalk, whether it was a necessary route to work, and the timing of her shift. Those facts mattered to whether the injury arose…
R.L. and Department of the Air Force, Hanscom Air Force Base
Board reverses Air Force mechanic’s wage-earning capacity ruling (ECAB 24-0475)
An Air Force mechanic challenged a wage-earning capacity finding based on his supposed ability to work as a customer service representative. OWCP relied on a physician who discounted a back condition that OWCP had already accepted as permanently aggravated by work. The Board found that opinion…
J.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center Finance Post Office
Board denies expanded hand claim and larger arm awards (ECAB 24-0373)
A San Francisco postal clerk sought acceptance of bilateral thumb arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome as work-related. She also sought more than the four percent permanent impairment awards already paid for each arm. The Board found the medical evidence insufficient to link the additional…
A.P. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Complex Coleman
Board denies larger prison worker’s leg impairment award (ECAB 24-0348)
A federal prison employee sought a schedule award greater than nine percent permanent impairment of his right leg. An impartial medical examiner reviewed the accepted conditions and found no additional neurological deficit from the back injury. The Board gave that reasoned opinion special weight…
E.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Carrier Square Post Office
Board returns postal worker’s hip condition claim for medical review (ECAB 24-0329)
A St. Louis mail processing clerk attributed right hip bursitis and tendon injury to repetitive postal duties. Her physician described a possible mechanism linking the work and imaging findings, although the opinion did not fully prove the claim. The Board found it sufficient to require OWCP to…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Santa Clarita
Board denies postal worker’s emotional-condition claim (ECAB 23-1196)
A Santa Clarita postal worker attributed emotional distress to supervisor conduct over leave requests and alleged bullying. The Board treated the leave dispute as a personnel matter and found no evidence of employer error or abuse. It also found the harassment allegations insufficiently…
K.J. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Lyons VA Medical Center
Board upholds denial of late reconsideration of suitable-work ruling (ECAB 23-0924)
A VA worker sought reconsideration of a benefit termination for refusing suitable work years after the decision. The Board applied the clear-error standard for late reconsideration. The new evidence did not show that refusing the work was justified by residual disability from the accepted…
L.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Diamond Bar Post Office
Board orders combination of related knee claim files (ECAB 24-0486)
A retired postal carrier claimed bilateral knee conditions from years of standing and walking on her route. OWCP denied the new claim while referring to an earlier accepted right knee claim. The Board found that fair adjudication required the two knee claim files to be combined so their evidence…
M.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Houston
Board orders accurate facts for bilateral leg impairment rating (ECAB 24-0457)
A Houston postal worker sought higher permanent impairment ratings for both legs, above 33 percent on the right and 31 percent on the left. The statement of accepted facts given to OWCP’s medical adviser omitted relevant knee surgeries and did not clearly identify conditions from a related claim…
C.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Aloha Post Office
Board denies postal carrier’s right foot injury claim (ECAB 24-0454)
An Aloha postal carrier reported right foot pain after walking up stairs on his route. The work incident was accepted, but the supporting notes came from a physician assistant, a nurse practitioner, or an author whose signature could not be identified. The Board held those records could not…
T.H. and Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau
Board reverses premature suspension of census worker’s benefits (ECAB 24-0451)
A Census Bureau worker returned an annual benefits questionnaire with several answers marked only with an X. OWCP gave her 30 days from January 23, 2024 to correct it, then suspended benefits on February 15, before the deadline expired. The Board found the suspension premature and reversed it. A…
H.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, New Orleans VA Medical Center
Board returns VA nurse’s COVID continuation-pay claim (ECAB 23-1054)
A New Orleans VA nurse sought continuation of pay after reporting a COVID-19 illness linked to patient care. OWCP denied the benefit based on when he filed the injury form. The Board found OWCP had not applied its guidance using the last workplace exposure before diagnosis as the injury date. It…
D.B. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcement
Board denies ICE analyst’s stress claim (ECAB 23-0858)
An ICE program analyst attributed stress symptoms to disputes about training, leave, performance review, and supervisor conduct. The Board treated those as personnel matters and found no proof that the employer erred or acted abusively. The harassment allegations also lacked corroboration. With no…
United Airlines, Inc.
Aircraft towing hazard citation affirmed
United Airlines technicians were moving an aircraft from a hangar at Newark Liberty International Airport when a wheel ran over an employee's foot. The employee sustained crushing injuries, underwent multiple surgeries, and had all five toes amputated. OSHA cited United under the General Duty…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Oakland Processing & Distribution Center
Board confirms retirement offset but returns overpayment amount (ECAB 21-0621)
An Oakland postal employee received both FECA wage-loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits without the required offset. The Board upheld the finding that an overpayment occurred. Bank statements and other evidence conflicted with the Social Security amounts OWCP used to calculate…
Leonard Martin v. Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC
Martin v. Warrior Met Coal Mining (BRB 23-0423): benefits denial returned after employer concession
Leonard Martin appealed a black lung benefits denial despite twenty-four years of stipulated underground coal mine work. The administrative law judge found that pulmonary function studies supported total disability but concluded that the full record did not. The Board held that Warrior Met Coal had…
Jimmy D. Mullins v. Consolidation Coal Company
Mullins v. Consolidation Coal (BRB 23-0412): black lung benefits denial affirmed
Jimmy Mullins appealed without a representative after an administrative law judge again denied his black lung claim following a Board remand. The judge credited thirty-four years of underground coal mine work but found no totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board held that the judge could…
Beverly Holt (on behalf of Thomas D. Holt) v. Consolidation Coal Company
Holt v. Consolidation Coal (BRB 23-0407): August 2009 benefits start date affirmed
Beverly Holt pursued her late husband's black lung claim after the Board had already upheld the benefits award and sent back only the start date. The administrative law judge set that date at August 2009, the month after denial of the miner's earlier claim became final. The Board majority held that…
Phillip Scott v. Long Branch Energy
Scott v. Long Branch Energy (BRB 23-0324): black lung benefits award affirmed
Phillip Scott received a black lung benefits award after twenty-three years of underground coal mine work. Long Branch Energy challenged the administrative law judge's finding that Scott was totally disabled by a respiratory impairment. The Board held that the judge could give greater weight to a…
Calvin F. Chaffers v. Jeffboat, Incorporated
Chaffers v. Jeffboat (BRB 23-0108 and 23-0301): respiratory benefits and attorney fee affirmed
Calvin Chaffers worked in painting and related jobs at Jeffboat's Indiana shipyard and sought Longshore Act benefits for a respiratory impairment he attributed to workplace exposures. The administrative law judge credited a doctor's opinion connecting the impairment to those exposures and rated it…
Roger D. Yates v. Island Creek Coal Company
Yates v. Island Creek Coal (BRB 23-0242): benefits award after remand affirmed
Roger Yates received a black lung benefits award after a prior Board remand for fuller analysis of total disability. The Board held that the administrative law judge could credit Dr. Raj's reasoned opinion that Yates could not perform his coal mine work even though his pulmonary function and blood…
Calvin F. Chaffers v. Jeffboat, Incorporated
Chaffers v. Jeffboat (BRB 23-0108 and 23-0301): respiratory benefits and attorney fee affirmed
Calvin Chaffers worked in painting and related jobs at Jeffboat's Indiana shipyard and sought Longshore Act benefits for a respiratory impairment he attributed to workplace exposures. The administrative law judge credited a doctor's opinion connecting the impairment to those exposures and rated it…
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service, West Babylon Post Office
Board reverses termination of postal carrier’s wage-loss benefits (ECAB 24-0478)
A postal carrier receiving wage-loss benefits was offered a modified carrier position. OWCP ended his compensation on the premise that he refused temporary work. The Board found the offer did not establish that the position was temporary, a fact necessary for the rule OWCP used. It reversed the…
B.J. and Department of the Army, Red River Army Depot
Board upholds denial of late reconsideration request (ECAB 24-0430)
An Army depot worker asked OWCP to reconsider a 2014 occupational disease denial long after the usual filing period. The underlying denial rested on failure to establish the claimed work factors. New medical reports and statements did not demonstrate clear error in that factual ruling. The Board…
C.H. and Department of the Air Force, Tinker Air Force Base
Board returns part of late hearing and reconsideration dispute (ECAB 24-0425)
An Air Force worker sought review of a hearing-loss claim through a late written-record request and a late reconsideration request. The Board upheld the refusal to grant written-record review and agreed reconsideration was untimely. It found, however, that OWCP had not adequately explained its…
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.