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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L.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Capital Performance Cluster, Washington, DC
L.J. (ECAB 10-0009): Board denies June 2009 ankle-related wage loss
L.J., a postal carrier, had an accepted right ankle injury and later worked in a modified position. She sought wage-loss compensation for June 1 to 17, 2009, saying her medication made her drowsy and she was sent home. Her surgeon documented ankle symptoms but advised that she could keep working…
C.S. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, El Paso, TX
C.S. (ECAB 09-2061): Suitable-work termination reversed, emotional claim remanded
C.S., a border patrol agent, received benefits after a work-related fall that caused accepted head, back, and neck injuries. OWCP ended her monetary compensation after offering an office position that it called suitable. The Board found the job record incomplete and conflicting about duties, pay…
J.D. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Installation Management Agency, Fort Dix, NJ
J.D. (ECAB 09-2015): Knee impairment award sent for new impartial review
J.D., an Army plumber, received a two percent right-leg schedule award after an accepted knee injury and surgery. An osteopath rated his right-leg impairment at 30 percent, while an OWCP medical adviser rated it at 14 percent, creating a medical opinion conflict. OWCP used another orthopedic…
S.J. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA
S.J. (ECAB 09-1794): Dispatcher wages support reduced compensation
S.J., a Navy shipyard welder, received compensation for accepted conditions affecting his elbows, wrists, and hands. OWCP reduced his wage-loss benefits after finding that he could work as a motor vehicle dispatcher. The Board gave special weight to an impartial orthopedic specialist who reviewed…
Performance Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor, MSHA
Upper Big Branch investigation protocols upheld
After the accident at Performance Coal's Upper Big Branch Mine, MSHA and West Virginia officials adopted protocols governing underground investigation teams, photography, mapping, dust sampling, and evidence testing. Performance sought to modify the section 103(k) order so it could conduct more of…
Secretary of Labor v. Blue Diamond Coal Company and Gary L. Jent
Estoppel and witness-exclusion motions denied
Blue Diamond argued that an earlier decision barred relitigation of airflow at the last open crosscut. Judge Alan G. Paez denied the motion because the earlier case concerned missing stoppings under section 75.333(b)(2), while the current order alleged a ventilation-plan violation under section…
A.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, El Paso, TX
A.H. (ECAB 10-0650): Eye injury claim denied without medical evidence
A.H., a border patrol agent, reported a right eye abrasion after a vehicle rollover during work. His supervisor confirmed that the accident occurred during regular work hours. OWCP asked A.H. for additional information, but he submitted no medical evidence before the agency denied his claim. The…
D.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, Ohio
D.T. (ECAB 10-0585): Repeated evidence does not reopen knee and back claim
D.T., a postal mail processor, claimed that her work caused knee and back conditions. OWCP denied the claim in November 2008 because the evidence did not connect the conditions to her work duties. She later sought reconsideration and submitted copies of medical records and a limited duty offer…
R.L. and Department of the Army, Installation Management Agency, Fort Lewis, WA
R.L. (ECAB 10-0506): Five percent right-arm award affirmed
R.L., an Army welder and shipfitter, had accepted right carpal tunnel syndrome and trigger finger of his right ring finger. He received a schedule award for five percent impairment of his right arm, covering 15.6 weeks. An OWCP medical adviser applied the sixth edition of the impairment guides to…
A.R. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Richmond, VA
A.R. (ECAB 10-0388): Compensation termination reversed
A.R., an IRS revenue examiner, received compensation for accepted neck and pain-related conditions. OWCP stopped her benefits after relying on a physician it treated as an impartial specialist. The Board found there was no medical opinion conflict on whether A.R. still had injury residuals, so that…
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
D.C. (ECAB 10-0379): No additional left-leg schedule award
D.C., a postal worker, had received schedule awards totaling 32 percent impairment of his left leg after an accepted knee injury. He sought an additional award based on his physician's 42 percent rating. That physician combined separate ratings for three diagnoses in the same knee region. The Board…
M.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Portland, ME
M.K. (ECAB 10-0352): Workplace complaint did not establish covered emotional condition
M.K., a postal rural carrier associate, reported distress and chest symptoms after learning that a coworker had sent a complaint about her to management. She also said management would not give her a copy of the letter and described an argument with the coworker. The Board treated the employer's…
R.M. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms, Albuquerque, NM
R.M. (ECAB 10-0322): Training incident did not establish back injury claim
R.M., a federal special agent, participated in a training exercise in which he received a brief taser exposure to his back. OWCP accepted that the event occurred but denied his later claim for a back injury. The Board found that early treatment records did not identify the training event as the…
G.E. and Department of the Army, Fort Monmouth, NJ
G.E. (ECAB 10-0081): Eleven percent right-arm award affirmed
G.E., an Army contract specialist, sustained several accepted injuries after a fall onto her right side. OWCP awarded 34.32 weeks of compensation based on an 11 percent permanent impairment of her right arm. Her physician proposed a higher rating that included loss of grip strength. The Board gave…
L.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Galatin Field Airport, Billings, MT
L.H. (ECAB 10-0029): Jaw condition not linked to accepted head injury
L.H., an airport security screener, sustained an accepted head and neck injury when she struck a metal beam at work. Years later she sought benefits for a jaw joint condition. Her early medical records did not document jaw symptoms, and one examining physician described the joint condition as…
National Air Traffic Controllers Association (Union) and United States Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration (Agency)
NATCA and FAA (FLRA 0-AR-4444): Time-off bargaining remedy returned to arbitrator
The FAA ended a local program that gave error-free air traffic controllers nine hours of time off each year. The union proposed a revised program with sixteen hours, but an arbitrator found the FAA had no duty to bargain over its substance. The Authority disagreed. It held that the proposal…
C.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bayshore, NY
C.P. (ECAB 10-0589): Knee benefits termination reversed
C.P., a postal carrier, received compensation after injuring both knees in a fall while delivering mail. OWCP ended her wage-loss and medical benefits based on a physician it treated as an impartial examiner. The Board found that the two earlier physicians both attributed continuing disability at…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Oklahoma City, OK
J.M. (ECAB 10-0467): Thumb rating did not increase arm award
J.M., a postal mail handler, received an award for 19 percent impairment of his left arm after a work injury partially amputated his thumb. He sought an additional award after a physician rated his thumb impairment at 41 percent. The Board explained that the two percentages describe different body…
L.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Dallas, TX
L.J. (ECAB 10-0462): Earlier wage capacity rating remains in place
L.J., a postal clerk, had an accepted neck injury and later worked in a part-time modified position. OWCP used her actual wages in that job to determine her earning capacity and paid compensation for the remaining loss. After L.J. stopped work, she sought a full wage-loss award, saying her injury…
J.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Washington, PA
J.P. (ECAB 10-0403): Repeated impairment report did not reopen award claim
J.P., a postal carrier, received a schedule award for 17 percent impairment of his right upper extremity after a shoulder injury and several surgeries. He sought reconsideration with another report from his orthopedic surgeon, who again estimated 30 percent impairment. The Board found that the new…
J.R. and Department of the Air Force, Hill Air Force Base, UT
J.R. (ECAB 10-0399): Missing medical report left claim unopened
J.R. sought compensation for back and neck conditions she attributed to work duties. OWCP denied the claim after relying on an impartial medical examiner's opinion that the conditions were not work related. J.R. requested reconsideration and referred to a new medical report, but did not include it…
A.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
A.M. (ECAB 10-0360): No increase beyond existing arm awards
A.M., a postal employee, sought an increased schedule award for both arms after an accepted scalp contusion and neck strain. OWCP had previously awarded four percent impairment of the right arm and three percent of the left. The Board found that earlier medical reports were too weak to create a…
C.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
C.C. (ECAB 09-2359): Right-arm award increased by one percent
C.C., a postal letter carrier, had accepted right shoulder conditions and received a schedule award for 22 percent arm impairment. She challenged the rating after evaluations by her physician and OWCP medical advisers differed. The Board found that both early evaluations omitted a one percent…
R.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Stockbridge, MI
R.O. (ECAB 09-2241): Environmental exposure claim sent for impartial review
R.O., a postmaster, claimed that exposure to substances during roof and ceiling repairs caused several medical conditions. OWCP accepted that he encountered mold and asbestos but denied the claim after its consulting physician found no resulting disease. R.O.'s physician attributed several…
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Erie, PA
J.C. (ECAB 09-1954): Six percent right-leg award remains
J.C., a postal employee, received a schedule award for six percent impairment of his right leg after accepted back injuries. After earlier Board remands, OWCP combined his case files and had a medical adviser review the records for additional impairment. The adviser found that other physicians and…
Double Bonus Coal Company
Signed certified mail defeats reopening requests
Double Bonus Coal sought to reopen two penalty assessments, first claiming it had not received them because MSHA used certified mail rather than Federal Express. The record showed that both assessments were delivered to the operator's legal address and signed for. Double Bonus then acknowledged…
M & M Clays, Inc.
Unopposed assessment reopening granted
M & M Clays asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become a final order after the contest period expired. The Secretary did not oppose the request. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission reopened the assessment and remanded it for further proceedings. It directed…
P.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Spring, TX
P.W. (ECAB 10-0483): Overpayment waiver denied for missing financial details
P.W. received $2,606.56 in disability compensation after returning to work, creating an overpayment established in an earlier Board appeal. OWCP found she was without fault but asked for income, asset, and expense records before deciding whether repayment could be waived. She reported no income or…
K.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, Louisville, KY
K.J. (ECAB 10-0457): Back disability recurrence needs further review
K.J., a postal custodian, returned to modified work after an accepted back injury and several authorized surgeries. He later claimed a recurrence of disability after worsening back and leg pain. OWCP denied the claim because his physicians did not explain why he could no longer perform the modified…
D.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Atlanta Airport Mail Center, Atlanta, GA
D.T. (ECAB 10-0455): No ratable arm or leg impairment shown
D.T., a postal clerk, was injured when a bulk mail container struck her and pinned her against a wall. OWCP accepted back and right shoulder conditions, and D.T. sought a schedule award for impairment of her arms or legs. Her physicians proposed impairment ratings, while OWCP's examining physician…
B.G. and Department of the Navy, Naval Medical Command, Washington, DC
B.G. (ECAB 10-0406): Later total disability not established
B.G., a Navy medical records technician, had accepted shoulder and elbow conditions from repetitive work. She returned to a modified information receptionist job but stopped working again in October 2006. OWCP accepted an earlier period of disability and denied her claim for a new period of total…
J.S. and Department of the Army, National Guard Bureau, Lansing, MI
J.S. (ECAB 10-0385): Late reconsideration request showed no clear error
J.S., an Army tool and parts attendant, had accepted back injuries and sought a schedule award. OWCP denied the award in March 2008 because the medical evidence did not establish permanent impairment of a covered body member. She asked OWCP to reconsider more than a year later, describing ongoing…
R.F. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA
R.F. (ECAB 10-0295): Late reconsideration request did not reopen leukemia claim
R.F., a Navy shipyard electronics technician, claimed that workplace exposures caused chronic myelocytic leukemia. OWCP denied the claim after finding insufficient medical evidence of a causal connection. More than a year after the last merits decision, R.F. requested reconsideration and submitted…
L.M. and Department of Justice, U.S. Penitentiary, Atlanta, GA
L.M. (ECAB 10-0120): Diabetes claim and medication request denied
L.M., a correctional officer, had accepted post-traumatic stress disorder after a workplace hostage incident. He claimed that a prescribed medicine caused diabetes and sought authorization for another medicine to address nightmares and flashbacks. The Board found no physician report explaining a…
F.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Green Tree Post Office, Pittsburgh, PA
F.T. (ECAB 10-0075): Lifting incident did not establish neck injury claim
F.T., a postal letter carrier, reported neck and right shoulder symptoms after lifting a mail container at work. OWCP accepted that the lifting incident occurred but denied the injury claim. Treating physicians diagnosed cervical and shoulder conditions and attributed them to the incident. The…
R.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Torresdale Station, Philadelphia, PA
R.S. (ECAB 09-2321): Foot condition claim sent back for medical clarification
R.S., a postal letter carrier, claimed that extensive walking and carrying mail caused or aggravated conditions in both feet and led to surgery. His podiatrist attributed the conditions to his work, while an OWCP physician disagreed. OWCP obtained an impartial orthopedic opinion and denied the…
Richard C. Budine
Final assessment reopened without opposition
Richard C. Budine asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become a final order after the contest period expired. The Secretary did not oppose the request. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission reopened the assessment and remanded it for further proceedings. It…
Casella Construction Inc.
Final assessment reopened and remanded
Casella Construction asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become a final order after the contest period expired. The Secretary did not oppose the request. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission reopened the assessment and remanded it for further proceedings. It…
Climax Molybdenum Company
Final assessment reopened and remanded
Climax Molybdenum asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become a final order after the contest period expired. The Secretary did not oppose the request. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission reopened the assessment and remanded it for further proceedings. It…
Sierra Rock Products
Final assessment reopened and remanded
Sierra Rock Products asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become a final order after the contest period expired. The Secretary did not oppose the request. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission reopened the assessment and remanded it for further proceedings. It…
German Alaverez v. Loudoun Quarries / Chantilly Crushed Stone
Discrimination case dismissed as moot
German Alvarez alleged that he was fired for reporting a broken dump-truck seat to an MSHA inspector and initially sought reinstatement and back pay. At the hearing, he repeatedly testified that he had not wanted to return to the employer from the day after his discharge onward. His counsel agreed…
Oak Grove Resources LLC
Final assessment reopened without opposition
Oak Grove Resources asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become a final order after the contest period expired. The Secretary did not oppose the request. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission reopened the assessment and remanded it for further proceedings. It…
Keystone Cement Company
Final assessment reopened after conference request
Keystone Cement missed the penalty-contest deadline after a plant manager submitted a conference request for seven citations in the assessment. The Secretary opposed reopening because the conference acknowledgment explained that the assessment still had to be contested and a conference request does…
Essroc Cement Corporation
Final assessment reopened and remanded
Essroc Cement asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become a final order after the contest period expired. The Secretary did not oppose the request. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission reopened the assessment and remanded it for further proceedings. It directed…
Matter of C-T-L-
One central reason standard applies to withholding of removal
The Board reviewed a Brazilian respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge denied asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture. The Board held that the REAL ID Act's one central reason standard applies to withholding of removal claims as well as asylum…
Austin Powder Company
Final assessment reopened and remanded
Austin Powder asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become a final order after the contest period expired. The Secretary did not oppose the request. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission reopened the assessment and remanded it for further proceedings. It directed…
Khani Company, Inc.
Mine Act covers equipment setup before production starts
Khani Company was preparing to resume sand and gravel production at a crusher and screen operation in New Mexico when MSHA inspected the site. Judge William B. Moran held that Mine Act coverage begins during setup because equipment to be used in mining presents the same hazards before and after…
J.B. and Department of Defense, Naval Air Station, Fallon, AZ
J.B. (ECAB 10-0539): Late reconsideration did not reopen emotional condition claim
J.B. sought compensation for an emotional condition he attributed to events at work. OWCP denied the claim because he had not established a compensable work factor, and the Board previously affirmed that ruling. More than a year after the last merits decision, J.B. sought reconsideration with a…
B.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Long Beach, CA
B.D. (ECAB 10-0411): Late hearing request properly denied
B.D., a postal clerk, had an accepted aggravation of rheumatoid arthritis in her hands. OWCP denied a short period of claimed disability in 1993. After seeking a schedule award in 2009, she asked for a hearing, but OWCP treated the request as a challenge to the old decision and denied it as late…
B.G. and U.S. Postal Service, New Jersey International & Bulk Mail Center, Jersey City, NJ
B.G. (ECAB 10-0393): Work stoppage not linked to accepted knee injury
B.G., a postal tractor-trailer operator, had an accepted right knee sprain and returned to limited-duty work after surgery. He stopped working on September 17, 2007 and claimed a recurrence of disability from the knee injury. The records from that day instead documented chest pain and an emergency…
E.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, North Sebring, FL
E.A. (ECAB 10-0339): Shoulder injury did not establish claimed wage loss
E.A., a postal employee, sustained an accepted left shoulder injury when he tried to catch a falling parcel. He kept working for a time and later claimed wage-loss benefits covering nearly three years. The Board found that his physicians gave restrictions or brief work excuses without adequately…
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pomona, NJ
D.C. (ECAB 10-0301): Seven percent arm award not increased
D.C., a postal clerk, had an accepted right shoulder injury and received a schedule award for seven percent arm impairment. He sought a higher award based on a physician's 17 percent rating. The Board found that the surgery was an acromioplasty, not the joint resection procedure used to justify a…
C.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Rosemead Station, Carrollton, TX
C.W. (ECAB 10-0263): Duplicate payment must be repaid
C.W., a postal letter carrier, received two compensation checks covering the same period after a work injury. OWCP identified the $1,986.34 duplicate check as an overpayment caused by a computer error. The Board found that the payment periods were stated on the checks and that C.W. knew or should…
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Bulk Mail Center, Chicago, IL
J.C. (ECAB 10-0237): Termination of compensation upheld
J.C., a postal employee, had received compensation following a June 2001 employment injury. His treating surgeon said he could work only four hours a day, while an OWCP second-opinion physician said he could work eight. OWCP selected a referee physician to resolve the conflict. The referee found no…
Y.T. and U.S. Postal Service, John T. Buchanan Post Office, Chicago, IL
Y.T. (ECAB 10-0060): Recurrence claim returned for job-duty evidence
Y.T., a postal letter carrier, claimed that her limited-duty work worsened the conditions OWCP had accepted after a 2007 injury. She said the work required lifting and repeated movements beyond her medical restrictions. OWCP denied her claim for a recurrence of total disability. The Board found…
G.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Los Angeles, CA
G.L. (ECAB 10-0047): Cardiac and stress claim denied for lack of medical link
G.L., a retired postal clerk, attributed chest pain and stress to her duties in a registry cage and other mail work. OWCP accepted some of her described work duties as potential causes but found no medical evidence connecting them to a diagnosed condition. The Board found that her claims of…
Wolf Run Mining Company
Sago reporting violations affirmed with mitigation later reversed
The Sago Mine investigation produced 15 citations and orders, although the Secretary did not allege that any of them contributed to the explosion that caused 12 fatalities and one serious injury. The parties settled 13 matters for $71,800, leaving two allegations that Wolf Run delayed notifying…
Secretary of Labor v. Carmeuse Lime & Stone
Withdrawal of dismissal motion allowed
MSHA sought a $138 penalty after an Excel Air & Oil Equipment worker stood on a bulk oil tank without fall protection while installing a flow meter. The Secretary first moved to dismiss because she believed Excel was a contractor, then sought to withdraw that motion after treating Excel as a…
Matter of Jorge ANYELO
In absentia removal order requires proper notice
The Board reviewed a Venezuelan respondent's appeal from an in absentia removal order and the denial of motions to reopen and reconsider. The Board held that its rule requiring receipt, or a proper basis to charge receipt, of the notice to appear's address warnings applies in the Eleventh Circuit…
Matter of Armando GARCIA
A petty offense does not trigger the stop-time rule
The Board reviewed a Mexican lawful permanent resident's appeal from the denial of cancellation of removal. The Immigration Judge found that a single misdemeanor assault and battery conviction made the respondent removable and stopped his period of continuous residence, but the conviction qualified…
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.