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.
No decisions match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
Secretary of Labor v. Caballo Coal Company, LLC
Snow citation reduced to non-S&S with a $100 penalty
Caballo Coal Company operates a surface coal mine in Wyoming. MSHA cited the company because snow and ice on regularly used walkways had not been sanded, salted, or cleared as soon as practicable. Judge Richard W. Manning found a technical violation because miners had used the walkways and salt was…
United States Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO (Labor Organization/Petitioner) and National Treasury Employees Union (Labor Organization/Petitioner)
TSA and federal employee unions (FLRA WA-RP-10-0033): Screening officers' election petitions revived
AFGE and NTEU petitioned for elections to represent Transportation Security Administration screening officers. A Regional Director dismissed both petitions under an earlier Authority ruling that the agency's ban on collective bargaining also barred exclusive representation. The Authority overruled…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Seagoville, Texas (Activity) and American Federation of Government Employees, Council of Prison Locals, Local 1030 (Petitioner/Labor Organization)
Bureau of Prisons Seagoville and AFGE Local 1030 (FLRA DA-RP-10-0013): Investigator stays in unit
A union sought to include a Special Investigative Support technician at the Seagoville prison in its bargaining unit. The Regional Director found that staff investigations took up less than half of the technician's work and included the position in the unit. The Bureau of Prisons argued that…
D.A. and Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Inspector General, Washington, DC
D.A. (ECAB 10-1133): Neck injury claim denied for missing medical causation opinion
D.A., an EPA criminal investigator, reported neck and arm symptoms after building a law enforcement booth with his arms raised for an extended period. OWCP accepted that the work occurred but denied his injury claim. The Board found that the medical reports identified cervical conditions without…
M.J. and Department of Homeland Security, Citizenship & Immigration Services, Hartford, CT
M.J. (ECAB 10-1093): File-lifting injury claim denied for lack of medical evidence
M.J., an immigration services clerk, said she injured her neck, back, arms, and legs while moving files at work. OWCP accepted that she lifted and moved the files but denied the claim for lack of medical proof of a new injury. The physician’s report she supplied addressed restrictions from a…
N.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Houston, TX
N.C. (ECAB 10-999): Two percent left arm schedule award affirmed
N.C., a postal mail processing clerk, had accepted left carpal tunnel syndrome and sought a schedule award after surgery. One physician gave a five percent rating using outdated editions of the impairment guides. An OWCP referral physician used the applicable sixth edition and rated the left arm at…
S.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Charles, MO
S.C. (ECAB 10-996): Refusal to reopen terminated compensation affirmed
S.C., a former postal messenger, had accepted back and knee injuries from a workplace fall and received disability compensation for years. OWCP terminated the compensation in 2008, and its hearing representative upheld that decision. S.C. sought reconsideration with arguments and medical reports…
P.Z. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Kansas City, KS
P.Z. (ECAB 10-883): Cervical surgery denial set aside for medical clarification
P.Z., a postal rural carrier, had an accepted work-related aggravation of cervical disc disease and requested authorization for surgery. Her treating surgeon recommended a cervical discectomy, while an OWCP physician opposed it. The impartial specialist said P.Z. might be a surgery candidate but…
S.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Los Angeles Processing & Distribution Center, Los Angeles, CA
S.H. (ECAB 10-855): Late hearing request denial affirmed
S.H., a postal mail clerk, sought a hearing on OWCP’s 2007 denial of her emotional condition claim. She requested the hearing in September 2009, well beyond the 30-day period for a hearing as of right. The Board found that OWCP had also considered whether to grant a late hearing in its discretion…
G.N. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Chicago, IL
G.N. (ECAB 10-850): Both leg impairment ratings returned for explanation
G.N., a Veterans Affairs food service worker, had accepted injuries to her right ankle and lower back after a fall at work. OWCP awarded three percent permanent impairment for each leg. The Board found that the medical adviser had not explained the diagnosis class and grade modifiers used to rate…
F.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
F.R. (ECAB 10-701): Right arm award increased to nine percent
F.R., a postal worker, injured his right shoulder while handling parcels and later received a schedule award for eight percent arm impairment. His attending physician rated the impairment at nine percent by adding a functional-history adjustment to the shoulder motion rating. OWCP’s medical adviser…
G.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Corona, CA
G.F. (ECAB 10-363): Emotional condition claim denied for lack of proven work factors
G.F., a postal carrier supervisor, attributed an emotional condition to his work after returning from treatment for a stroke. He cited extra duties, disputes over requested accommodations, unfair discipline, and harassment by managers. The Board found his account of assigned duties too general to…
Pinky's Aggregates, Inc.
Commission reopens defaulted penalties after finding an overlooked letter
Pinky's Aggregates failed to contest $463 in proposed penalties within 30 days, and the assessment became a final Commission order. The Commission had twice denied reopening because the operator had not adequately explained the late filing. A three-member majority later found an overlooked letter…
F.Z. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Harlingen, TX
F.Z. (ECAB 10-1184): Unsupported reconsideration request did not reopen claim
F.Z., a postal letter carrier, attributed leg and other conditions to his delivery duties. OWCP denied his occupational disease claim because the medical evidence did not link the conditions to those duties. He requested reconsideration but submitted no evidence or argument with the request. The…
H.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tarboro, NC
H.P. (ECAB 10-962): Seven percent right leg award affirmed
H.P., a postal letter carrier, had an accepted right knee condition and received a seven percent right leg schedule award. He sought a 13 percent rating by combining arthritis findings from two parts of the same knee. The Board found that OWCP had not accepted patellofemoral arthritis and that the…
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Sandston, VA
M.S. (ECAB 10-853): Thirty-one percent right leg award affirmed
M.S., a postal equipment operator, had an accepted right knee condition and later underwent knee replacement surgery. OWCP awarded 31 percent right leg impairment, while M.S. pointed to an earlier 49 percent rating under the fifth edition of the impairment guides. The Board held that the 2010 award…
A.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Hillcrest Post Office, San Diego, CA
A.N. (ECAB 10-806): Late reconsideration of back-benefit termination denied
A.N., a former postal letter carrier, sought reconsideration of OWCP’s 1996 termination of his back-related wage and medical benefits. His 2009 request came well after the one-year deadline, so he had to show clear evidence of error in the termination decision. The Board found that a later…
D.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Mid-Hudson Processing & Distribution Center, Newburgh, NY
D.W. (ECAB 10-805): Back injury claim denied despite accepted mail-labeling event
D.W., a postal mail clerk with an earlier back condition, reported back and leg pain while labeling mail. OWCP accepted that the workplace event occurred but denied her injury claim. The Board found that her physicians described lumbar conditions without adequately explaining how the May 2008…
P.T. and Department of the Air Force, Tinker Air Force Base, OK
P.T. (ECAB 10-773): Late request did not reopen emotional condition claim
P.T., a former Air Force tool and parts attendant, sought to reopen her emotional condition claim after OWCP denied it for lack of a proven compensable work factor. Her April 2009 reconsideration request came more than a year after OWCP’s November 2007 merit decision. She said she had not received…
R.V. and Department of Veterans Affairs, James H. Quillen Medical Center, Mountain Home, TN
R.V. (ECAB 10-652): Emotional condition claim lacked a proven work factor
R.V., a Veterans Affairs maintenance mechanic, claimed that supervision and alleged harassment worsened his post-traumatic stress disorder. He described a confrontation with a former coworker who had become his supervisor and said the agency should have transferred him sooner. The Board found that…
D.C. and Department of Labor, Occupational Safety & Health Administration, Braintree, MA
D.C. (ECAB 10-567): Knee claim lacked a reasoned medical link to kneeling at work
D.C., an OSHA program assistant with earlier knee problems, reported pain after kneeling to look for cable outlets at work. OWCP accepted that she knelt as described but denied her claim for lack of medical proof that the event caused or aggravated a knee condition. The Board found that the later…
A.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Clifton, NJ
A.B. (ECAB 10-327): Knee impairment claim returned for medical review
A.B., a former postal letter carrier, sought a schedule award for permanent impairment of her left leg after OWCP accepted left knee chondromalacia patella. Her physician assessed 15 percent leg impairment, but OWCP rejected the claim partly because it considered his injury history inaccurate. The…
S.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Phoenix, AZ
S.S. (ECAB 10-1369): Shoulder claim returned after flawed aggravation review
S.S., a postal window clerk with an accepted earlier shoulder injury, claimed that her modified job duties worsened her right shoulder condition. OWCP relied on a referee physician who distinguished increased symptoms from an aggravation of the underlying condition. The Board found that OWCP had…
N.M. and Department of the Navy, Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia, PA
N.M. (ECAB 10-978): Leg impairment claim returned for a properly selected referee
N.M., a former Navy shipyard pipe fitter, had already received schedule awards for 14 percent permanent impairment of his left leg. A conflict between medical opinions required OWCP to choose an impartial specialist to assess whether his impairment was greater. The Board found that the record did…
M.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Huntsville, AL
M.C. (ECAB 10-970): Emotional condition claim lacked a proven work factor
M.C., a postal mail carrier, attributed depression, stress, and anxiety to alleged harassment and the handling of discipline, leave, and work records. OWCP denied her claim because it found no compensable employment factor. The Board held that personnel actions could count only if the employer…
B.H. and Transportation Security Administration, Lihue Airport, Lihue, HI
B.H. (ECAB 10-907): Baggage lifting claim lacked a clear diagnosis and medical link
B.H., an airport security officer, reported back and leg symptoms after lifting a heavy bag onto a screening machine. OWCP accepted that the lifting event occurred but denied his injury claim. The Board found that his physician’s reports repeatedly gave injury dates different from the claimed…
T.T. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Jesse Brown Veterans Administration Medical Center, Chicago, IL
T.T. (ECAB 10-880): Impairment award returned for a supported rating
T.T., a Veterans Affairs health technician, received additional schedule awards for leg and right arm impairment after a patient-moving injury. He appealed the December 8, 2009 schedule award decision. The Board found that his physician used a spine and pelvis table to rate leg impairment and cited…
F.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Francisco, CA
F.R. (ECAB 10-821): Shoulder disease claim lacked a reasoned medical link to job duties
F.R., a postal labor custodian, claimed that years of job duties caused a right shoulder condition. His physician attributed a rotator cuff tear partly to an alleged floor-buffer incident, which belonged to a separate traumatic injury claim and was not established in this appeal. The physician also…
R.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Teterboro, NJ
R.C. (ECAB 10-617): Forklift contact established, but injury claim still denied
R.C., a postal mail handler, claimed injuries after a forklift contacted the cart he was pushing. OWCP denied the claim because it found inconsistencies in accounts of the incident. The Board found that witness statements and the forklift driver’s account established contact between the forklift…
K.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Sioux Falls, SD
K.B. (ECAB 10-525): Wage claim denied and neck and shoulder benefits ended
K.B., a Veterans Affairs food service worker, had accepted neck and shoulder conditions after lifting a bucket of ice. She sought wage-loss compensation for May 6 through 23, 2009, but the Board found no reasoned medical opinion connecting disability during that period to the work injury. OWCP also…
D.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Paramount, CA
D.E. (ECAB 10-458): Duplicate wage payments created an overpayment
D.E., a postal letter carrier with an accepted shoulder injury, received federal wage-loss compensation for May 24 through July 17, 2003 while also using paid sick or annual leave for the same period. The Board found that the overlapping payments created a $4,372.47 overpayment. D.E. said he had…
S.S. and U.S. Postal Service, North Bay Processing & Distribution Center, Petaluma, CA
S.S. (ECAB 10-67): Wage and medical benefit termination reversed
S.S., a postal manual clerk, had an accepted work-related aggravation of a preexisting lumbar condition and received wage-loss and medical benefits. OWCP terminated those benefits based on a referral physician’s report. The Board found that the same physician described continuing work-related…
Secretary of Labor v. Newtown Energy, Inc.
Roof-control citation affirmed with negligence reduced
Newtown Energy operated the underground Coalburg Number One Mine in West Virginia. MSHA cited the company because deteriorated roof conditions and ineffective bolts exposed the weekly examiner to a roof-fall hazard in a worked-out area awaiting approval for sealing. Judge David F. Barbour affirmed…
Larry Maggard v. International Coal Group, Knott County, LLC
Maggard v. International Coal Group (BRB 09-0271 BLA): counsel awarded $975 fee
Larry Maggard's counsel requested $1,100 for attorney and legal assistant work in a black lung appeal. After the Board found the first petition incomplete, counsel submitted an amended request stating his normal billing rate and listing comparable prior awards. The Board accepted $300 per hour for…
L.L. and Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Seattle, WA
L.L. (ECAB 10-1098): Survey box injury claim and reopening refusal affirmed
L.L., a Census Bureau survey clerk, claimed a back and neck injury from preparing heavy boxes for mailing. OWCP accepted the work activity but denied the claim because the medical evidence did not establish a current condition caused by it. The Board found that her neurologist did not address the…
E.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Riverdale, GA
E.C. (ECAB 10-1088): Overpayment waiver denied after income review
E.C., a postal employee, had already lost a prior appeal about the existence and amount of a $2,627.61 overpayment. The remaining issue was whether OWCP should waive recovery because he was without fault. OWCP counted monthly household income of $9,550 and expenses of $9,482, including expenses…
V.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pico Rivera, CA
V.M. (ECAB 10-809): Mail route pressure established, but medical link unproved
V.M., a postal mail carrier, attributed anxiety, hypertension, and a stroke to the pressure of completing a difficult route and to alleged management misconduct. OWCP accepted the pressure of regular route duties as a compensable work factor, and the Board agreed. The Board found that she had not…
P.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Racine, WI
P.A. (ECAB 10-739): Knee replacement award returned for impartial rating
P.A., a postal clerk, received a schedule award for 25 percent left leg impairment and 37 percent right leg impairment after bilateral knee replacement surgery. Her physician assessed higher percentages than OWCP’s district medical adviser. The Board found that neither physician adequately showed…
C.P. and Department of Agriculture, Food Safety & Inspection Service, Carrollton, GA
C.P. (ECAB 10-726): Wage-loss rating reduced to zero after accepted conditions resolved
C.P., a federal food inspector, had accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and right wrist tenosynovitis and later received wage-loss compensation based on an accounting technician job. OWCP reduced her loss of wage-earning capacity to zero after a referral physician found that those accepted…
G.R. and Department of the Navy, Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, VA
G.R. (ECAB 10-702): Foot injury claim and reopening refusal affirmed
G.R., a Navy cook, claimed she fractured her right foot while boarding a ship from a launch craft. OWCP accepted the September 2007 incident after a coworker corroborated it, but denied the claim for lack of medical proof that it caused the fracture. The Board found that medical reports described a…
T.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pittsburgh, PA
T.P. (ECAB 10-572): Compensation reduced after missed vocational testing
T.P., a postal employee with an accepted bilateral shoulder condition, was referred to vocational rehabilitation after a physician found he could work with restrictions. He attended an initial interview but cancelled vocational testing and said he would not participate further. The Board found that…
A.M. and Department of Agriculture, Farmers Home Administration, Lares, PR
A.M. (ECAB 10-526): Late reconsideration did not reopen old injury claim
A.M. sought to reopen a claim arising from a 1994 slip and fall at her federal workplace. The incident itself had been accepted, but her claim was denied for lack of medical evidence connecting it to the claimed conditions. Her 2009 reconsideration request came long after the last merit decision…
L.M. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Division of Agri-Chemical Development, Chattanooga, TN
L.M. (ECAB 10-876): Two percent right-ear hearing award affirmed
L.M., a Tennessee Valley Authority instrument mechanic, had an accepted work-related hearing loss in both ears. OWCP awarded 1.04 weeks of compensation for two percent permanent impairment of the right ear. The Board reviewed the physician’s certified audiogram and the required hearing-loss…
R.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Gary, IN
R.M. (ECAB 10-845): Cold exposure during fire drill not linked to diagnosed injury
R.M., a postal mail processing clerk, spent 15 to 20 minutes outside in roughly 40-degree weather during a workplace fire drill. OWCP accepted that exposure but denied her claim for arm and shoulder conditions. The Board found that her physician did not explain how the brief exposure caused or…
B.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
B.P. (ECAB 10-786): Five percent right leg award covered knee pain
B.P., a postal employee with an accepted right knee contusion, received a schedule award for five percent right leg impairment based on patellofemoral pain and crepitation. Her physician proposed another three percent for pain under a separate chapter of the impairment guides. The Board found that…
S.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Kearny, NJ
S.H. (ECAB 10-714): Right knee claim lacked a link to accepted mail duties
S.H., a postal mail processor, attributed a right meniscus tear and knee swelling to years of moving mail trays and pushing loaded containers. OWCP accepted that she performed those duties but denied the claim for lack of medical causation evidence. Her physician said the knee condition was work…
E.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, San Francisco, CA
E.J. (ECAB 10-671): Left carpal tunnel claim lacked work history in medical opinions
E.J., a former postal mail handler, claimed left carpal tunnel syndrome from years of repetitive work. She had later worked in a limited-duty position that did not require use of her hands and stopped work before left-sided symptoms were documented. Her physicians diagnosed left upper extremity…
L.M. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, San Diego, CA
L.M. (ECAB 10-625): Chemical sensitivity and encephalopathy claims denied
L.M., an air traffic control specialist, attributed multiple chemical sensitivity and toxic encephalopathy to exposure to a coworker’s cologne and other fragrances. After an earlier remand to resolve conflicting medical opinions, OWCP obtained an impartial allergist’s evaluation. The Board gave…
P.M. and Department of Defense, DECA Southwest Region, Fort Lee, VA
P.M. (ECAB 10-340): Disability request required wage-capacity review
P.M., a former federal store worker, sought total disability compensation after an earlier decision had set her wage-earning capacity using a billing clerk position. OWCP treated her 2009 submission as an untimely reconsideration request. The Board found that she had presented medical evidence of…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Salt Lake City, UT
S.M. (ECAB 10-1269): Late shoulder reconsideration did not show clear error
S.M., a postal worker, sought to reopen a shoulder claim denied for lack of a reasoned medical link to repetitive sorting duties. Her physician later provided a fuller report relating shoulder symptoms to overhead arm work. The Board found that the report might have supported an ordinary timely…
A.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Salem Veterans Administration Medical Center, Salem, VA
A.S. (ECAB 10-1047): Patient incident established, hand injury unproved
A.S., a Veterans Affairs practical nurse, reported that a patient bent her thumb backward and twisted her wrist. OWCP accepted that the November 2009 incident occurred and asked her for medical evidence of a resulting injury. She did not submit any medical report before OWCP denied the claim. The…
B.B. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Aviation Administration, Denver, CO
B.B. (ECAB 10-983): Back benefit termination reversed amid medical conflict
B.B., an air traffic control specialist with an accepted lumbar aggravation after walking down many flights of stairs, had his compensation benefits terminated after an OWCP physician found the aggravation temporary. His treating physician gave a detailed contrary opinion that it was permanent and…
F.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA
F.C. (ECAB 10-982): Late form barred continuation of pay
F.C., a Veterans Affairs cytotechnologist, suffered an accepted cervical disc injury while moving a heavy processing machine in December 2008. He told his supervisor about the injury in January but did not file the required injury form until April, more than 30 days after the incident. The Board…
D.W. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Depot, Cherry Point, NC
D.W. (ECAB 10-817): Arm impairment claim returned for medical adviser review
D.W., a Navy machinist, had accepted aggravation of cervical disc disease and osteoarthritis and sought a schedule award. One physician rated impairment of the spine, which is not itself payable as a schedule award. Another described arm weakness and sensory loss but rated each arm under an older…
L.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Indianapolis, IN
L.G. (ECAB 10-603): Foot claim lacked medical link to resumed walking route
L.G., a postal letter carrier with earlier foot injuries, claimed that walking her route after returning to full duty worsened her left foot condition. OWCP accepted the repetitive walking but denied the occupational claim. The Board found that her physicians did not explain how the accepted…
S.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Urbandale, IA
S.O. (ECAB 10-601): Carpal tunnel award request returned for proper rating
S.O., a postal letter carrier with accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, sought a larger schedule award after repeat wrist surgeries. OWCP’s examiner rated his arms using wrist range of motion, producing percentages below his earlier awards, and OWCP denied additional compensation. The Board…
N.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, New Jersey Healthcare System, East Orange, NJ
N.S. (ECAB 10-0310): Schedule award denied for lack of permanent impairment
N.S., a Department of Veterans Affairs accountant, injured her back and right elbow after tripping on a computer wire. OWCP accepted a lumbar strain and right lateral epicondylitis but denied her request for a permanent impairment award. Her osteopath rated impairment of the right arm and both…
B.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Nashville, TN
B.D. (ECAB 10-0296): Disability recurrence claim denied
B.D., a postal mail handler, had accepted left shoulder and upper arm sprains and later worked in a modified position. She stopped work in August 2009 after presenting new restrictions and claimed that no work within them was available. The Board found that her employer had not changed the modified…
Secretary of Labor v. U.S. Silica Company
Three plant citations result in $700
U.S. Silica operated a sand-processing plant in Jackson, Tennessee. Judge Margaret A. Miller affirmed an S&S guarding citation because sharp edges protruded from a loose conveyor guard in an area employees regularly entered, and she assessed $500. She also affirmed two housekeeping citations for…
D.D. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Weapons Station, China Lake, CA
D.D. (ECAB 10-0921): Stress-related claim denied for lack of proven work incident
D.D., a Navy air-conditioning mechanic, reported chest and arm symptoms after what he described as a hostile encounter with a coworker. The Board found evidence that the coworker was upset about D.D.’s assignment but no witness or other sufficient proof of the alleged verbal confrontation. It held…
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.