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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C.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Crockett Post Office
Board denies postal carrier’s claimed disability period (ECAB 24-0394)
A Crockett postal worker sought wage-loss compensation from April 4 through May 9, 2023 after an accepted shoulder injury. Her physician noted increased pain but did not provide objective findings or a reasoned explanation of why she could no longer perform her existing work. Other reports did not…
C.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Lieutenant Colonel Charles S. Kettles VA Medical Center
Board denies continuation pay and late written review (ECAB 23-1035)
A VA medical clerk sought continuation of pay after reporting COVID-19 in early 2023. The Board found she had not met the filing requirement for that benefit. Her later written-record-review request also missed the 30-day deadline, and OWCP did not abuse its discretion in declining late review. The…
K.D. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
Board reverses shipyard worker’s calculated overpayment (ECAB 23-0982)
A Navy shipyard employee challenged an overpayment based on his wage-loss pay rate. OWCP used an earlier recurrence date even though a later accepted recurrence could produce a new pay rate, and its calculation also raised a pay-component question. The Board found the amount and fact of overpayment…
O.R. and Federal Judiciary, U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services
Board denies expansion of probation officer’s injury claim (ECAB 23-0929)
A federal probation officer was injured in a work vehicle accident and sought acceptance of further spine conditions. The Board reviewed competing medical reports and found the record did not adequately link the additional conditions to the accepted accident. It gave weight to the reasoned opposing…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, James A. Haley Veterans Hospital and Clinics and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 0547
James A. Haley Veterans Hospital and AFGE Local 0547 (FLRA 0-AR-5845): Authority upholds corrected performance rating
A VA medical support assistant received a lower rating after the agency treated failure to enter information in a scheduling comment field as an error. An arbitrator found that the agency had never communicated or trained the employee on that rule and had violated agreement provisions requiring…
C.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Energy Center Station
Board orders full shoulder impairment measurements (ECAB 24-0453)
A Lafayette postal worker sought more than the two percent permanent impairment awards previously granted for each upper extremity. OWCP’s medical adviser used a diagnosis-based rating but lacked three sets of range-of-motion measurements for the shoulder method. The Board found that OWCP had to…
C.A. and U.S. Postal Service, San Bernardino Main Post Office
Board reverses suitable-work benefit termination (ECAB 24-0442)
A San Bernardino postal worker declined an offered position while receiving benefits for a shoulder injury. Her treating doctor and OWCP’s second-opinion doctor disagreed about her ability to perform the job. The Board held OWCP had to resolve that medical conflict before imposing the suitable-work…
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Henry McGee Post Office
Board orders merit review of postal worker’s knee and back claim (ECAB 24-0438)
A Chicago postal carrier sought reconsideration of a back and knee occupational disease claim. She submitted a physician report describing her work duties and how they involved twisting, bending, and sustained pressure on her back and knees. The Board found that report relevant new evidence…
K.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Iron Mountain VA Medical Center
Board denies expansion of VA worker’s accepted injury (ECAB 24-0414)
A VA worker asked OWCP to include left leg weakness and several right shoulder conditions under an earlier accepted work injury. The Board found the medical evidence did not adequately explain how the injury caused or contributed to these additional conditions. Some reports gave no causation…
J.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Ybor City Processing & Distribution Center
Board orders combined review of postal stress claims (ECAB 24-0402)
A postal worker filed a stress-related condition claim after an earlier claim involving similar alleged harassment. OWCP denied the new claim without combining the two files. The Board found that a joint record was needed to decide whether the second claim duplicated the first and to avoid…
G.H. and U.S. Postal Service, South Suburban Vehicle Maintenance Facility
Board denies larger bilateral arm impairment awards (ECAB 23-1116)
A retired postal maintenance clerk sought larger schedule awards for both upper extremities after accepted repetitive-use conditions. OWCP asked for a current impairment evaluation using the applicable guides, but she did not submit one. The recent medical report did not establish maximum medical…
C.L. and Department of the Navy, Naval Surface Warfare Center Corona
Board returns Navy engineer’s emotional-condition claim (ECAB 22-0499)
A Navy electronics engineer alleged an emotional condition tied to employer conduct during an EEO complaint. The Board found evidence of improper interference in processing that complaint, creating a compensable employment factor. Other harassment and discrimination allegations remained unproven…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2342 and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Black Hills Health Care System, Fort Meade, South Dakota
AFGE Local 2342 and VA Black Hills Health Care System (FLRA 0-AR-5902): Authority dismisses grade-reduction exceptions
The Department of Veterans Affairs concluded that it had mistakenly hired a chaplain at GS-12, retroactively reduced the position to GS-9 and later GS-11, and rejected the employee for a GS-13 supervisory position for lack of qualifying GS-12 experience. The union grieved both the grade reductions…
Secretary of Labor v. R.J. Valente Gravel, Inc.
Assessment reopened after administrative error
R.J. Valente Gravel said it failed to forward a proposed assessment to counsel, who learned of the penalty while checking its status. Counsel argued that an earlier citation contest showed Valente's intent to challenge the citation; Valente moved to reopen within 30 days after learning of the…
Secretary of Labor v. Holcim-WCR, Inc.
Proactive assessment check supported reopening
Holcim-WCR missed the contest deadline because a proposed assessment was not routed to its regional health and safety manager. The manager found the assessment by checking MSHA's data system seven days after it became final, and Holcim immediately began seeking reopening before MSHA sent any…
P.A. and Social Security Administration, Lebanon Field Office
Board denies Social Security worker’s leg injury claim (ECAB 24-0435)
A Social Security field office employee sought compensation for a right leg condition after a January 2022 work incident. The Board reviewed medical reports and found they did not adequately explain a causal connection between the incident and a diagnosed lower extremity condition. Other supporting…
T.C. and U.S. Postal Service, New Orleans Post Office
Board orders joint review of prior shoulder awards (ECAB 24-0418)
A New Orleans postal worker sought another upper extremity schedule award. OWCP denied it because an earlier claim had already paid a larger award for both arms. The Board found OWCP had not explained whether the new impairment duplicated what the earlier award compensated. It ordered the related…
L.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Beechnut Post Office
Board combines related neck and back claim files (ECAB 24-0398)
A Houston postal carrier sought wage-loss compensation after a neck and upper back injury. She also had an earlier accepted claim involving similar neck and thoracic spine conditions. The Board found the two files had to be combined before OWCP could fairly decide disability for the claimed period…
S.A. and Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration, Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery
Board denies cemetery worker’s impairment award (ECAB 24-0397)
A cemetery caretaker sought a schedule award after an accepted low back injury. His examining doctor and OWCP’s medical adviser found no ratable lower extremity impairment from the spine condition. The Board found no motor, sensory, or reflex findings supporting a compensable rating. It affirmed…
C.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Ashburn Post Office
Board denies increased left arm impairment award (ECAB 24-0380)
A Chicago postal worker sought a higher impairment rating after an accepted fall injured her left wrist and arm. Two physicians calculated three percent permanent impairment of the left upper extremity under the applicable guides. The Board found those opinions properly reasoned and found no…
A.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Wilmette Post Office
Board upholds injury denial and late hearing ruling (ECAB 24-0377)
A Wilmette postal worker claimed a condition arising from accepted work factors. The Board found the record did not establish a diagnosed medical condition through competent physician evidence. Her request for an oral hearing also arrived after the statutory deadline, and OWCP reasonably declined a…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, West Richmond Post Office
Board denies larger bilateral thumb awards (ECAB 24-0372)
A West Richmond postal worker sought increased schedule awards for both thumbs. OWCP’s doctors calculated 26 percent impairment of each thumb under the applicable guides and found no impairment extending to adjoining parts of the hands or arms. The Board found the ratings supported and no medical…
Secretary of Labor v. Northshore Mining Company, Roger Peterson, and Matthew Zimmer
Secretary of Labor v. Northshore Mining Company (FMSHRC LAKE 2017-0248): Court mandate sent flagrant penalty back for reassessment
The Commission had previously upheld reckless-disregard and unwarrantable-failure findings, deleted a flagrant designation, and rejected individual liability for two Northshore Mining employees. The Eighth Circuit reversed the Commission on the flagrant and individual-liability issues. Its mandate…
Paul G. Chapman v. Apogee Coal Company and Arch Resources
Chapman v. Apogee Coal (BRB 23-0200 BLA and 23-0200 BLA-A): Benefits denial sent back for medical review
Paul Chapman, a former coal mine equipment operator, sought black lung benefits. An administrative law judge found that he had 24.81 years of qualifying mine work but denied benefits after finding no totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board held that the judge had not adequately…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL v. The GEO Group
$1.28 million prevailing-wage award affirmed
The GEO Group operated a federal correctional facility in Michigan and paid corrections officers $17 per hour under a collective bargaining agreement used at a Georgia facility. The applicable Michigan prevailing-wage determination set a $26.21 hourly rate. The Board held that the lower…
M.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Los Angeles Post Office
Board accepts postal worker's account of a box-lifting incident (ECAB 24-0439)
A Los Angeles postal worker reported shoulder pain after lifting cardboard boxes at work. OWCP denied the claim after questioning whether the incident occurred as alleged. The Board found his account supported by a handwritten claim form, a witness statement about the worksite's handling of boxes…
J.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Houston Medical Center
Board orders a second shoulder impairment evaluation (ECAB 24-0429)
A Houston postal carrier sought a schedule award for a left shoulder injury. OWCP awarded compensation for six percent permanent impairment of his left arm. The claimant's physician had not supplied shoulder range of motion measurements, and OWCP's medical adviser could not calculate a rating by…
D.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, Tecate
Board upholds denial of review for medical appointment wage loss (ECAB 24-0427)
A Customs and Border Protection officer sought four hours of wage loss compensation for a medical appointment related to her accepted conditions. OWCP denied the claim, and she requested reconsideration. The Board found that her statements did not establish a legal error or new legal argument. Her…
K.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Tallahassee
Board upholds denial of late reconsideration request (ECAB 24-0396)
A Tallahassee postal employee sought further wage loss compensation for an accepted shoulder injury. OWCP denied her recurrence claim in August 2022, and she requested reconsideration in January 2024. The Board found the request fell outside OWCP's one-year window. Although she said she had not…
B.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Los Angeles
Board recognizes a compensable workplace factor and orders medical review (ECAB 24-0335)
A Los Angeles postal employee sought compensation for an emotional condition after a coworker criticized employees on limited duty during a workplace meeting. OWCP found no compensable workplace factor and denied the claim. The Board found that the employee's account and a coworker's statement…
Johnny L. Newsome v. Matrix Energy, LLC and Kentucky Employers’ Mutual Insurance
Newsome v. Matrix Energy (BRB 23-0293): Black lung benefits denial affirmed
Johnny Newsome, an underground belt examiner with 22 years of mine work, sought black lung benefits in a subsequent claim. A judge denied benefits after finding that the evidence did not establish a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board upheld his weighing of two blood gas studies…
Brenda G. Sturgill (on behalf of Gladys E. Yorke) v. Clinchfield Coal Company
Sturgill v. Clinchfield Coal (BRB 23-0269): Survivor benefits award affirmed
Brenda Sturgill pursued her late mother Gladys Yorke's survivor claim following the death of miner Donald Yorke. A judge had denied the claim, but a later judge corrected a factual finding and awarded benefits after finding 25 years of qualifying mine work and a totally disabling breathing…
Brian K. Perkins v. North Fork Coal Corporation and American International South/AIG
Perkins v. North Fork Coal (BRB 23-0156): Black lung benefits award affirmed
Brian Perkins worked 23 years in underground coal mines and received an award of black lung benefits. North Fork Coal and its carrier challenged the finding that he had a totally disabling breathing impairment. The Board held that a physician could rely on a reduced diffusion capacity to assess…
Devon Adams v. DynCorp International, LLC and Starr Indemnity and Liability Company
Adams v. DynCorp (BRB 23-0153): Defense Base Act claim returned for employment analysis
Devon Adams accepted a conditional offer to work as a firefighter in Afghanistan and traveled from Curaçao to Miami for required predeployment medical testing. After an examination, he was shot by a stray bullet while traveling to dinner and sought Defense Base Act benefits for his shoulder injury…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL v. Vet Reporting, LLC
Contract withholding allowed pending hearing
Wage and Hour investigators found that Alpha4 Solutions owed $456,483.62 to medical transcriptionists under federal service contracts. After Alpha4 sold contracts to related entities, the Veterans Affairs Department withheld funds from Vet Reporting contracts on the theory that it was the same…
B.M. and Department of Defense, Defense Commissary Agency, Fort Eisenhower
Board affirms denial of renewed knee treatment claim (ECAB 24-0444)
A Defense Commissary Agency employee sought renewed medical treatment related to an accepted 2002 injury. Her more recent records discussed wear in a knee replacement and a later femur fracture. The Board found the physicians did not explain whether her current treatment need was caused by the…
C.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Utica
Board affirms denial of mail handler's back injury claim (ECAB 24-0428)
A Utica mail handler reported back pain after opening a trailer door at work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the injury claim. The Board found that the physicians' reports did not give a reasoned explanation linking a diagnosed back condition to the incident; some described…
C.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Palatine Processing & Distribution Center
Board affirms denial of increased leg impairment awards (ECAB 24-0240)
A Palatine postal employee sought larger schedule awards for permanent impairment of both legs. She had previously received awards totaling 10 percent for each lower extremity. The Board found her evidence did not establish greater impairment under the applicable rating guide. It accepted the…
M.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, John F. Kennedy International Airport
Board orders related injury files combined before schedule award decision (ECAB 23-0770)
A transportation security officer sought an increased schedule award for a left shoulder injury. OWCP had awarded 14 percent impairment and then denied a higher award. The Board found he also had an earlier accepted claim involving the same region of the body, but the files had not been combined…
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Downtown Corpus Christi Post Office
Board returns schedule award claim but upholds benefit termination (ECAB 23-0699)
A Corpus Christi postal employee appealed both a denied schedule award and termination of benefits after an accepted shoulder and knee injury. The Board found OWCP had failed to send a second opinion report back to its medical adviser before denying the impairment award. It set aside that denial…
M.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Blue Valley Branch, Shawnee Mission
Board affirms denial of a claimed recurrence of disability (ECAB 21-1386)
A Kansas postal employee with an accepted wrist injury sought wage loss compensation after stopping modified-duty work in March 2021. Her physician described increased work restrictions and said her condition had worsened. The Board found the medical reports did not explain how or why the accepted…
Secretary of Labor v. J.R. Vinagro Corporation
New tracking controls supported reopening
A proposed assessment for one of nine citations issued during a fatality investigation was placed with other investigation papers instead of being sent to J.R. Vinagro's new safety director. The director learned in late February that this and two other assessment forms were delinquent. Vinagro…
Secretary of Labor v. Pocahontas Coal Company, LLC
Bare error claim and unexplained delay barred reopening
Pocahontas Coal said an administrative error delayed delivery of a proposed assessment to outside counsel. It did not identify the error, the people involved, or when its safety manager learned that the contest deadline had been missed. The company also filed more than two months after MSHA mailed…
Secretary of Labor v. Ramaco Resources, LLC
Email failure and collection-stage delay barred reopening
Ramaco Resources said an email-system malfunction prevented its vice president of safety from receiving a scanned assessment. MSHA sent a delinquency notice in February and hand-delivered a scofflaw letter in March concerning unpaid penalties, but Ramaco did not move to reopen until May. The…
Robert Lauter d/b/a Prime Cut Paint
In re Robert Lauter d/b/a Prime Cut Paint (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 24-(01)): review declined and initial decision becomes final
The Presiding Officer issued an Initial Decision and Order on Penalty concerning Robert Lauter d/b/a Prime Cut Paint on April 17, 2024. Neither party appealed. The Environmental Appeals Board declined to exercise sua sponte review, so the Initial Decision and Order on Penalty became a final order…
David E. Newcomb v. Redhawk Mining, LLC and Kentucky Employers’ Mutual Insurance
Newcomb v. Redhawk Mining (BRB 23-0308): Benefits denial remanded for disability analysis
David Newcomb sought black lung benefits after 35 years of coal mine work. A judge denied the claim, finding no totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board majority held that the judge had not identified the physical demands of Newcomb’s usual mine work or compared them with the medical…
Cole v. CSX Transportation
FRSA appeal dismissed for failure to prosecute
Tristain Cole alleged that CSX Transportation and Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway retaliated against him under the Federal Rail Safety Act. An administrative judge dismissed the complaint as untimely, and Cole petitioned the Board for review. Cole did not file the required opening brief and did not…
S.Y. and Department of Health & Human Services, Food & Drug Administration
Board affirms shoulder impairment and injection denials (ECAB 24-0443)
A Food and Drug Administration employee with an accepted left shoulder rotator cuff injury sought a larger schedule award and platelet-rich plasma injections. The Board found that the medical evidence supported a total 12 percent left upper-extremity impairment, including a four percent increase…
G.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Portsmouth Main Post Office
Board denies hip and pelvic condition expansion (ECAB 24-0388)
A city letter carrier sought to expand a claim arising from a 2001 motor vehicle accident to include bilateral hip and pelvic conditions. OWCP had accepted neck and thoracic and lumbar back sprains, later accepted aggravation of thoracic disc degeneration, and accepted lumbar radiculopathy after…
C.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Santa Ana Window Services Post Office
Board dismisses appeal from favorable claim expansion (ECAB 24-0378)
A Santa Ana postal employee appealed an OWCP decision expanding the conditions accepted in her compensation claim. The Board found that the expansion was favorable, so it was not an adverse decision within its appeal jurisdiction. It dismissed the appeal without deciding any underlying injury issue.
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Conyers Post Office
Board confirms overpayment but reverses postal worker's fault finding (ECAB 24-0359)
A Conyers postal employee received disability payments after returning to full-time work. The Board agreed that the overlapping payments created a $5,611.10 overpayment. It found no evidence he knew the first two direct deposits following his return were wrong, so he was without fault. It returned…
C.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jacksonville
Board confirms overpayment but reverses fault finding (ECAB 23-0769)
A Jacksonville postal employee continued receiving disability payments after returning to full-time work. The Board agreed that this created a $2,452.40 overpayment. It found no evidence he knew the first two direct deposits after his return were incorrect, so it reversed OWCP's finding that he was…
T.E. and Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health
Board upholds refusal to reopen NIH worker's claim (ECAB 23-0233)
An NIH employee requested reconsideration after OWCP ended her wage loss and medical benefits. The Board found she had offered no new relevant legal argument or evidence that OWCP had misapplied the law. A nerve study she pointed to had already been summarized in a medical report in the record, so…
D.L. and Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services
Board orders more evidence about injury during telework break (ECAB 22-1043)
An Agriculture Department employee fell in her garage while teleworking and obtaining her car's odometer reading for a bank. OWCP denied her injury claim because it found she was outside her work duties. The Board noted conflicting employer statements about her work use of the car and whether the…
B.C., Executrix of the Estate of B.W., and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, Columbus
Board confirms overpayment but orders its amount recalculated (ECAB 22-0864)
The estate of a Columbus postal employee challenged an $89,691.54 overpayment determination tied to concurrent FECA wage loss and Social Security retirement benefits. The Board agreed that an overpayment occurred. It found OWCP had included a period when the employee received a schedule award…
Matter of M-N-I-
Venue controls the choice of circuit law
The Board reviewed a Moroccan respondent’s appeal from the denial of deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture. It held that the controlling circuit law depends on the Immigration Court venue, and that an administrative transfer of docket control does not change venue. Because the…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL v. Rivet & Sons, LLC
H-2A subpoena appeal dismissed
The Wage and Hour Division alleged that Rivet & Sons and related individuals violated H-2A program requirements and assessed civil penalties and a three-year debarment. Before the scheduled merits hearing, the administrative judge quashed a subpoena request. The respondents asked the Board to…
Kreb v. Integra Aviation, LLC
AIR21 appeal dismissed for failure to prosecute
Robert Kreb brought an AIR21 whistleblower complaint against Integra Aviation, doing business as Apollo MedFlight. An administrative judge dismissed the complaint after Kreb repeatedly failed to comply with discovery orders despite at least five warnings. Kreb appealed but did not file the opening…
B.B. and U.S. Postal Service, League City Post Office
Board dismisses untimely appeal (ECAB 24-0527)
A League City postal employee appealed an OWCP decision issued on October 12, 2023. The Board found that the 180-day period ended on April 9, 2024, but the appeal was filed on April 22. Because the appellant did not provide sufficient support for compelling circumstances, the Board dismissed the…
J.B. and Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
Board dismisses untimely appeal (ECAB 24-0501)
A Department of Labor employee appealed an OWCP decision issued on October 4, 2023. The Board found that the 180-day period ended on April 1, 2024, but the appeal was filed on April 5. Because the appellant did not provide sufficient support for compelling circumstances, the Board dismissed the…
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.