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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M.R. and Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, Bellingham, WA
M.R. (ECAB 10-0386): Hearing loss claim lacked a supported work connection
M.R., a DEA special agent, claimed that firearms training and work-related shootings caused his hearing loss. The Board accepted that his job involved prolonged noise exposure but found the medical evidence insufficient to connect that exposure to his condition. A second-opinion specialist…
E.V. and Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration, Mesa, AZ
E.V. (ECAB 10-0308): Mine inspection duties not linked to later knee and back conditions
E.V., a mine inspector, had a previously accepted right knee and back injury from April 2008. He claimed that stair climbing during mine inspections later caused or aggravated knee and back conditions, which OWCP considered as a new occupational disease claim. The Board found that his physicians…
Aracoma Coal Company, Inc.
Commission refuses to reopen a $200,000 assessment
Aracoma Coal asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment exceeding $200,000 after missing the 30-day contest deadline. The company said a newly adopted internal process should have placed the contest in the mail on July 27, 2009. The record instead showed a September 2 postmark, and Aracoma…
Harvey Trucking, Inc.
Reopening requests denied without prejudice
Harvey Trucking asked the Commission to reopen two proposed penalty assessments that became final when the company did not contest them within 30 days. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission found the company's explanations too general because one request cited an office closure due…
L.B. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Material Command, Tobyhanna, PA
L.B. (ECAB 10-0532): Medical benefit termination and late hearing denial affirmed
L.B., an Army electronics mechanic, had an accepted subdural hematoma after a workplace fall on ice. OWCP later ended his medical benefits based on a second-opinion examination finding no remaining effects of the accepted injury. The Board gave that examination greater weight than reports…
C.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, James A. Haley Veterans Hospital, Tampa, FL
C.H. (ECAB 10-0521): Hip injury claim and late hearing request denied
C.H., a VA nurse, reported right hip pain after rising quickly from a chair in an operating room to get supplies. Imaging later showed a partial tear of the hip labrum, but the Board found that no physician explained how the workplace incident caused or aggravated a diagnosed condition. It upheld…
J.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Little Rock, AR
J.O. (ECAB 10-0509): Recurrence of disability after mail truck injury not proved
J.O., a postal letter carrier, had accepted neck and back strains from a 2004 mail truck collision. She claimed a recurrence of disability in August 2005 after developing pain while walking her route, although she continued working full time with restrictions. The Board found no evidence that her…
D.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Airport Mail Center, Philadelphia, PA
D.A. (ECAB 10-0473): Shower fall requires further review of knee disability claim
D.A., a postal clerk, had an accepted left knee contusion from striking a table at work in 2008. She later fell in her shower when her left leg gave way and claimed total disability beginning that day. OWCP denied the claim without deciding whether the shower fall resulted from the accepted knee…
E.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Ware Shoals, SC
E.P. (ECAB 10-0428): Earlier wage-loss claim remanded; later disability denied
E.P., a postal carrier, had accepted left knee and lumbar conditions after a workplace fall. She sought wage-loss compensation for two periods while receiving a schedule award for left knee impairment during the earlier one. The Board upheld denial of total disability compensation for January 2009…
C.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Leavenworth, KS
C.S. (ECAB 10-0421): Workplace conditions not medically linked to rash
C.S., a VA medical administration specialist, reported a rash and respiratory symptoms after moving to a new office. Her employer confirmed that the space needed cleaning, and later testing found inadequate ventilation but no significant interior mold. The Board found that her physicians recorded…
P.K. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA
P.K. (ECAB 10-0373): Reconsideration refused after late knee claim denial
P.K., a Navy shipyard data technician, sought reconsideration of OWCP’s ruling that his occupational disease claim for both knees was filed too late. The Board’s review was limited to whether his submission required OWCP to reopen that ruling. It found that resubmitted medical records were…
Long Branch Energy
Misplaced assessment explanation is too vague for reopening
Long Branch Energy sought to reopen penalties for three citations after its proposed assessment form was misplaced. The company described the missed deadline only as inadvertence or mistake. The Commission found that explanation too conclusory, particularly because the Secretary identified another…
Secretary of Labor v. Wolf Run Mining Company
Safeguard violations may be designated S&S
Wolf Run Mining violated a mine-specific safeguard requiring a safe way to cross a moving conveyor belt after someone crossed beneath a return belt with no crossover. The parties stipulated to the violation, moderate negligence, a $1,304 penalty, and facts supporting serious injury, but the…
L.G. Everist, Inc.
Vague mistake claim does not justify reopening
L.G. Everist asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment covering eight citations and one order after missing the 30-day contest deadline. The company said it intended to contest one proposed penalty, but the assessment form was not processed on time because of inadvertence and mistake by…
D.E. and Department of Justice, Federal Prisons System, U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners, Springfield, MO
D.E. (ECAB 10-1042): Late reconsideration request did not show clear error
D.E., a federal prison officer, received benefits for an accepted right ankle injury. OWCP ended his wage-loss compensation in March 2008 but left the medical benefits claim open. He requested reconsideration more than a year after the termination decision and repeated objections to the impartial…
C.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Knoxville, TN
C.M. (ECAB 10-0760): Verbal injury report did not qualify for continuation of pay
C.M., a postal carrier, was injured when his delivery vehicle collided with another vehicle in March 2008. He promptly told his supervisor about the accident, and OWCP later accepted a left shoulder injury and paid disability compensation. His written traumatic injury claim seeking continuation of…
J.L. and Department of Health & Human Services, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, Atlanta, GA
J.L. (ECAB 10-0715): Groin pain after carrying files lacked injury diagnosis
J.L., a CDC utility systems worker, reported sharp groin pain after carrying and setting down a box of files at work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied his claim for a possible hernia. The Board found no medical evidence diagnosing a hernia. A radiology report noted diverticulosis…
S.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Palatine P & DC, Palatine, IL
S.J. (ECAB 10-0705): Impairment assessment returned for medical clarification
S.J., a former postal distribution clerk, sought a greater schedule award for permanent impairment of both arms. OWCP had accepted upper extremity conditions, including bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, but concluded that she was entitled to no more than the one percent impairment previously…
B.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Colorado Springs, CO
B.J. (ECAB 10-0556): Knee injury claim returned for medical development
B.J., a postal rural carrier, reported slipping on ice while delivering mail and later sought benefits for a right knee condition. OWCP accepted that he fell at work but denied the claim because it found the medical evidence insufficient to link the fall to his knee condition. His treating…
J.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Hicksville Vehicle Maintenance Service, Hicksville, NY
J.L. (ECAB 10-0530): Late reconsideration request denied
J.L., a Postal Service clerk, sought reconsideration of a previously denied emotional condition claim. The Board had issued the last merits decision in September 2005, but she requested reconsideration in March 2009. The Board held that her request was outside the one-year filing period. It also…
F.A. and Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Atlanta, GA
F.A. (ECAB 10-0389): Workplace allegations did not establish a compensable factor
F.A., a Census Bureau information specialist, attributed an emotional condition to alleged harassment by his supervisor and coworkers and to the agency’s handling of workplace disputes. The Board found insufficient evidence that the claimed harassment occurred. Witnesses disputed his account of a…
D.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bemidji, MN
D.M. (ECAB 10-0341): Modified carrier earnings supported wage capacity finding
D.M., a postal rural carrier with accepted shoulder and carpal tunnel conditions, worked in a modified position before his disability retirement took effect. He later tried to withdraw his retirement application and sought wage-loss compensation after the position was filled. OWCP measured his…
Performance Coal Company
Stay denial was not ready for Commission review
Performance Coal operated the Upper Big Branch Mine, where an April 2010 explosion caused multiple fatalities. The Secretary sought to stay 44 civil penalty dockets because of a related criminal investigation, and the operator agreed that a temporary stay was appropriate. The judge denied a stay…
Trivette Trucking
Three final assessments reopened
Trivette Trucking asked the Commission to reopen three penalty assessments that had become final orders after the contest deadline passed. The Secretary did not oppose the requests. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission reopened all three matters and remanded them for further…
Matter of CHAWATHE
Publicly traded U.S. corporations can qualify as American firms
The Administrative Appeals Office reviewed an applicant's appeal from the denial of an application to preserve residence for naturalization purposes. It held that a publicly held corporation can qualify as an American firm or corporation when the applicant shows that the corporation is incorporated…
Matter of AL WAZZAN
An unapproved petition is not valid after 180 days
The Administrative Appeals Office reviewed an applicant's appeal from the denial of an application to adjust status to permanent resident. The applicant argued that an employment-based immigrant visa petition should remain valid after 180 days under the job-portability provision, even though USCIS…
B.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Duluth, GA
B.B. (ECAB 10-1206): Late request did not reopen disability claim
B.B. sought reconsideration of an earlier denial of disability benefits associated with an accepted postal work injury. His most recent merits decision had been issued in June 2005, and OWCP received the request in August 2009. The Board held that the request missed the one-year deadline. An…
S.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Gary Plant, Gary, IN
S.B. (ECAB 10-0825): Reconsideration request supplied no new basis for review
S.B., a postal automation clerk, claimed that repetitive work caused bilateral shoulder and back conditions. OWCP denied that claim for insufficient medical evidence of causation. She requested reconsideration but submitted no evidence with the request and identified no legal error or new legal…
L.C. and Department of the Navy, Marine Corps, Barstow, CA
L.C. (ECAB 10-0742): Repeated evidence did not reopen knee injury claim
L.C., a Marine Corps equipment inspector, reported a knee injury after losing his balance in a man-lift basket at work. OWCP accepted the incident but denied the claim for lack of medical proof that it caused his diagnosed meniscus tear. When he sought reconsideration, he resubmitted records OWCP…
D.A. and Department of Justice, Immigration & Naturalization Service, Los Angeles, CA
D.A. (ECAB 10-0740): New knee report required merits review
D.A., a retired federal special agent, sought benefits for a later left knee condition after OWCP had accepted an earlier work-related knee strain and authorized surgery. OWCP had denied his recurrence claim, then refused to reopen it when he requested reconsideration. His physician submitted a new…
A.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Coppell, TX
A.H. (ECAB 10-0687): Schedule award and reconsideration denials affirmed
A.H., a postal clerk, sought a schedule award for lasting left arm impairment after OWCP accepted neck and left shoulder sprains. Her physicians’ impairment findings conflicted, so OWCP scheduled a second opinion examination. She did not attend it. The Board found that the remaining medical…
J.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chandler, AZ
J.E. (ECAB 10-0501): Four percent arm impairment award upheld
J.E., a postal clerk, received a schedule award for four percent permanent impairment of his right arm after treatment for an accepted shoulder condition and ulnar nerve lesion. He sought a larger award based on his surgeon’s higher rating. The Board found that the surgeon had initially rated…
L.T. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Brown Field Station, Chula Vista, CA
L.T. (ECAB 10-0442): Recurrence and reconsideration denials affirmed
L.T., a former border patrol administrative assistant, sought benefits for disability after July 1996. OWCP had accepted anxiety, adjustment and gastrointestinal conditions for a closed period tied to rotating shift work. The Board found no reasoned medical opinion connecting the later claimed…
V.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Stafford, VA
V.C. (ECAB 10-0332): Shoulder and new elbow injury claims denied
V.C., a postal rural carrier with a previously accepted elbow condition, claimed a new shoulder injury and new elbow injury after two days of modified mail duties. Her physician described a shoulder tear and elbow symptoms and attributed them to work. The Board found that his reports did not…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Sheridan, Oregon (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3979 (Union)
Federal Correctional Institution Sheridan and AFGE Local 3979 (FLRA 0-AR-4630): Overtime award partly set aside and partly remanded
Correctional officers at the Sheridan federal prison sought overtime pay for work before and after their shifts. An arbitrator awarded fifteen minutes of overtime per shift to ten groups of officers, using a quarter-hour rounding provision in their agreement. The Authority set aside pay for housing…
United States Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration (Agency) and National Air Traffic Controllers Association (Union)
FAA and National Air Traffic Controllers Association (FLRA 0-AR-4414): Facility review order upheld
Air traffic controllers at FAA facilities in Los Angeles, Houston, and Miami sought reviews that could raise their facilities' grade levels and affect their pay. An arbitrator found that the FAA violated a memorandum of understanding by stopping the agreed validation process because of concerns…
David L. Wilson v. Service Employees International, Incorporated
Wilson v. Service Employees International (BRB 10-0261): fee denial reversed and amount remanded
David Wilson received disability benefits after injuries sustained while driving a truck in Iraq. His counsel sought a fee after winning permanent total disability benefits with annual cost of living adjustments. The judge denied an employer-paid fee because the employer had paid benefits and the…
Ralph Bomback v. Marine Terminals Corporation
Bomback v. Marine Terminals (BRB 10-0129): medical settlement and benefit amounts sent back
Ralph Bomback sought Longshore Act benefits for knee and neck injuries linked to his work at Marine Terminals. The Board found that the judge had approved a $15,000 settlement of future medical benefits without assessing likely future treatment or its cost. It also rejected a stipulated seven…
E.K. and Department of the Air Force, Hill Air Force Base, UT
E.K. (ECAB 10-0761): Hearing loss too slight for award or hearing aids
E.K., a retired Air Force quality assurance specialist and former aircraft mechanic, had an accepted work-related hearing loss after years of noise exposure. OWCP denied a schedule award because the hearing loss was not ratable under the applicable impairment guides. The Board upheld that…
R.Z. and Department of the Army, McAlester Ammunition Plant, McAlester, OK
R.Z. (ECAB 10-0735): Later back disability not tied to accepted strain
R.Z., an Army ammunition plant employee, sought benefits for disability beginning in April 2007 after an accepted low back strain in March 2006. Following an earlier Board remand, OWCP obtained a second opinion from an orthopedic surgeon. He reviewed the injury history, examination and imaging and…
B.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, San Francisco, CA
B.C. (ECAB 10-0691): Call center duties lacked medical link to claimed conditions
B.C., a VA medical center program support clerk, attributed shoulder, neck, back and other symptoms to operating a message and call center without a headset. OWCP accepted that he performed the described work but denied his claim for insufficient medical evidence connecting it to a diagnosed…
A.G. and Department of the Army, Materiel Command, Corpus Christi, TX
A.G. (ECAB 10-0656): No medical evidence supported riveting injury claim
A.G., an Army sheet metal worker, attributed neck, shoulder and back problems to repeated riveting work on helicopters. OWCP accepted that he performed riveting duties but denied the claim because he supplied no medical evidence. He described his symptoms and cervical surgery at a hearing, where…
C.Q. and Department of the Treasury, Bureau of Engraving & Printing, Fort Worth, TX
C.Q. (ECAB 10-0528): Notes did not reopen knee injury claim
C.Q., a Treasury Bureau of Engraving and Printing employee, sought reconsideration of a denied claim for a knee injury after rising from a chair at work. OWCP had accepted the incident but found no medical proof that it caused the claimed condition. With his reconsideration request, C.Q. submitted…
C.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
C.W. (ECAB 10-0484): Request to reconsider misread as hearing request
C.W., a postal maintenance worker with an accepted back injury, wrote to OWCP years after it denied a recurrence claim. OWCP treated his letter as a late request for an oral hearing and denied it. The Board read the letter as a request for reconsideration because C.W. explicitly asked OWCP to…
M.P. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Salisbury, NC
M.P. (ECAB 10-0387): Dependent benefit overpayment recoverable
M.P., a VA medical center worker receiving compensation for a back injury, continued to receive the higher rate for workers with dependents after her husband died in 2001. OWCP calculated that she had been overpaid $19,530.54 through September 2008. The Board agreed with the amount and found her at…
B.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pittsburgh, PA
B.F. (ECAB 10-0356): Arm impairment awards returned for new examination
B.F., a postal clerk with accepted carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists, challenged schedule awards of 23 percent impairment of the left arm and five percent of the right. The Board found that neither her examiner nor OWCP’s medical adviser had properly applied the impairment guides to the test…
B.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Richmond, TX
B.R. (ECAB 10-0306): Refusal of suitable work ended wage benefits
B.R., a postal letter carrier with an accepted back injury, received wage-loss benefits after stopping work. OWCP offered a modified position answering telephones within the restrictions set by an impartial orthopedic specialist. B.R. declined, citing pain, difficulty sitting and the possibility of…
Twentymile Coal Company
Dust and examination violations yield $143,538 penalty
Twentymile operated the large underground Foidel Creek coal mine in Colorado. Judge Richard W. Manning affirmed two coal-dust accumulation orders as S&S and unwarrantable failure, and he found a related inadequate preshift examination S&S while reducing its negligence to moderate. He modified…
Blue Mountain Production Co.
Seven citations affirmed and one guarding citation vacated
Blue Mountain operated the Jasper Creek Mine in Mississippi and contested eight citations from August 2008 inspections. Judge Margaret A. Miller affirmed an S&S and unwarrantable-failure citation for operating a conveyor with accessible, unguarded moving parts, assessing $2,000 for that violation…
L.T. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Louis B. Stokes Veterans Administration Medical Center, Cleveland, OH
L.T. (ECAB 10-0810): Knee claim lacked medical link to shuttle bus slip
L.T., a VA medical center nurse, reported slipping while exiting an employer shuttle bus and injuring her right knee. OWCP accepted the slip but denied the injury claim for lack of medical evidence connecting it to her knee conditions. Her orthopedic surgeon diagnosed several knee conditions and…
B.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Gaithersburg, MD
B.B. (ECAB 10-0722): Leave dispute did not establish emotional injury claim
B.B., a postal mail processor, reported an anxiety attack after a supervisor called her into his office about leave slips. She alleged that he acted abusively and wrongly marked her absence as unauthorized. The Board found no persuasive evidence of error or abuse in the employer’s handling of the…
C.T. and Department of the Army, Army National Guard, Grand Ledge, MI
C.T. (ECAB 10-0696): Accepted hearing loss did not qualify for award
C.T., a retired Army National Guard aircraft mechanic, had an accepted noise-related hearing loss. OWCP denied a schedule award after applying the impairment formula to a physician-certified audiogram. The Board found that the hearing thresholds at the relevant frequencies produced no ratable…
T.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bay Village, OH
T.M. (ECAB 10-0674): Part-time modified job set earning capacity
T.M., a postal carrier with accepted foot conditions, worked four hours a day in a permanent modified position after his injury. OWCP used his earnings from that job to calculate a 33 percent loss of wage-earning capacity. T.M. argued that his earlier pay and hours were understated. The Board found…
M.I. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Roswell, NM
M.I. (ECAB 10-0491): Impartial examination supported ending wage benefits
M.I., a former postal distribution clerk, had accepted right hand conditions from a work injury and had received compensation. His treating physician and an OWCP physician disagreed about his ability to work, so OWCP obtained an impartial orthopedic examination. The impartial specialist found no…
S.W. and Department of the Air Force, Robbins Air Force Base, GA
S.W. (ECAB 10-0476): Missing insurance deductions created overpayment
S.W., an Air Force aircraft electrician receiving compensation for an accepted injury, had optional life insurance premiums that OWCP failed to withhold from her benefits. The missed deductions totaled $1,405.50. The Board upheld that overpayment amount and noted that OWCP found her without fault…
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Dayton, OH
D.C. (ECAB 10-0449): No ratable impairment from accepted neck and jaw injuries
D.C., a postal letter carrier, sought a schedule award after an accepted neck strain and jaw contusion from a work-related vehicle accident. Her physician rated left arm impairment, but an OWCP examiner found none. An impartial orthopedic specialist found no lasting arm impairment from the accepted…
R.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jacksonville, FL
R.W. (ECAB 10-0382): Disc conditions and disability need medical review
R.W., a postal mail handler, sought wage-loss benefits after a loaded mail container struck his back at work. OWCP accepted a low back contusion but denied compensation from July 2008 because it found no proven link between the incident and his later disability or claimed disc conditions. His…
C.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Painesville, OH
C.K. (ECAB 10-0369): Back disease claim lacked reasoned work connection
C.K., a postal letter carrier with other accepted foot and ankle conditions, claimed that walking and carrying mail caused or worsened lumbar disc disease. A podiatrist attributed her back symptoms to an altered gait, and a pain specialist said even limited postal duties aggravated her back…
Y.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Baltimore Carrier Annex, Baltimore, MD
Y.J. (ECAB 10-0364): Dual payments created recoverable overpayment
Y.J., a postal carrier with an accepted work injury, received OWCP disability compensation and continuation of pay for the same period in July and August 2008. The Board upheld OWCP’s finding that the duplicate payments created a $2,670.70 overpayment. OWCP found her without fault, but the Board…
T.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Owensboro, KY
T.P. (ECAB 10-0305): Full-time return made wage checks an overpayment
T.P., a postal letter carrier receiving compensation for an accepted shoulder sprain, returned to full-time work in March 2009. She then received a compensation check covering weeks when she had worked, apart from a limited amount of intermittent wage loss. OWCP calculated a $2,408.56 overpayment…
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.