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.
H.N. and Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Minneapolis, MN
H.N. (ECAB 09-1628): Information clerk job supported reduced wage-loss benefits
H.N., a former food inspector, received wage-loss benefits for accepted hand and wrist conditions. OWCP determined that he could work full time as an information clerk and reduced his benefits using that job's expected wages. The Board found that the job fit his medical restrictions and that a…
Summit Contractors Inc.
Multi-employer electrical citation affirmed
Summit Contractors supplied a generator and spider box without ground-fault circuit interrupter protection for subcontractor employees at an apartment construction project. The Commission overruled its earlier Summit decision and restored its precedent allowing citations to controlling and creating…
T.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Salt Lake City, UT
T.M. (ECAB 10-0405): Later impairment evidence requires a new award decision
T.M., a postal worker with accepted spinal conditions, sought an additional schedule award for leg impairment. OWCP treated his later request as an untimely attempt to reconsider a 2007 denial. The Board found that he had submitted medical reports concerning subsequent impairment and was asking for…
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pottsville, PA
J.C. (ECAB 10-0286): Knee treatment dispute requires an impartial examination
J.C., a postal carrier, had an accepted right knee injury and later sought additional treatment, including a total knee replacement. His treating surgeon said the work injury worsened preexisting arthritis. An OWCP examining surgeon attributed the current condition to the natural course of…
S.C. and Department of Defense, Defense Commissary Agency, Camp Pendleton, CA
S.C. (ECAB 10-0243): Order clerk capacity supported reduced compensation
S.C., a commissary worker with accepted back conditions, had received compensation for total disability. Her surgeon later released her to full-time work with permanent restrictions. OWCP selected an order clerk position to measure her remaining earning capacity and reduced wage-loss benefits. The…
C.M. and Department of the Interior, Elko Bureau of Land Management, Elko, NV
C.M. (ECAB 10-0209): Knee impairment rating needs clinical support
C.M., a Bureau of Land Management worker, had an accepted right knee injury and received a three percent leg impairment award. Neither his treating doctor nor OWCP's examining doctor gave an impairment rating. An OWCP medical adviser assigned three percent after reviewing the records, relying on a…
W.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Cincinnati Performance Cluster, Pittsburgh, PA
W.H. (ECAB 10-0127): Shoulder condition not linked to earlier back injury
W.H., a postal worker, had accepted back conditions from a 1984 work injury. He claimed those conditions caused his legs to give out in a 2006 fall that injured his right shoulder. A doctor connected the shoulder condition to the earlier injury, but the Board found that he did not explain how the…
C.K. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Fairview Heights, IL
C.K. (ECAB 09-2371): Arm award rating needs nerve impairment clarification
C.K., a federal agent, previously received schedule awards totaling 48 percent impairment of his left arm after a shoulder injury and surgeries. OWCP's medical adviser rated the current impairment under the sixth edition of the standard guides and found no basis for an additional award. The Board…
W.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Dallas, TX
W.G. (ECAB 09-2306): Overpayment stands despite finding of no fault
W.G., a postal worker, continued receiving temporary total disability payments after returning to full-time work. The Board agreed that this created a $1,190.49 overpayment for June 24 through July 5, 2008. OWCP found him without fault, but it asked for financial information to decide whether…
T.H. and Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Hines, OR
T.H. (ECAB 09-2269): Conflicting opinions require review of disability recurrence
T.H., a former Forest Service employee, claimed that accepted neck and back conditions caused him to become unable to operate his music store in 2004. His treating physicians linked the later disability to the earlier work injury and discussed continuing spinal symptoms. OWCP's examining physicians…
P.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Long Branch, NJ
P.C. (ECAB 09-1783): OWCP must compare later earnings before denying wage loss
P.C., a postal clerk, could not return to her former duties after an accepted left knee injury but worked for private employers. OWCP denied wage-loss compensation for April 2003 through May 2006, saying the record did not show a compensable loss of earnings. The Board found that she had submitted…
M.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing and Delivery Center, Bellmawr, NJ
M.D. (ECAB 09-1364): Right arm award affirmed, left arm rating remanded
M.D., a postal worker with accepted carpal tunnel syndrome in both arms, challenged her schedule awards. The Board found that the 10 percent right arm rating was supported and that she had not shown greater impairment there. For the left arm, her doctor and OWCP's medical adviser disagreed about…
Performance Coal Company
Temporary relief from accident-control order denied
After the Upper Big Branch Mine explosion killed 29 miners, MSHA issued a section 103(k) order controlling access and participation in the accident investigation. Performance Coal sought temporary relief from protocols imposed under that order. The Commission majority held that a judge's ruling on…
Hydro Aluminum North America, Inc. and Hydro Aluminum Precision Tubing North America, LLC
In re Hydro Aluminum North America, Inc. and Hydro Aluminum Precision Tubing North America, LLC (EAB MM 10-01C): consent agreement approved
Hydro Aluminum North America, Inc. and Hydro Aluminum Precision Tubing North America, LLC consented to entry of a Final Order resolving an EPA enforcement matter under the Clean Air Act, EPCRA, RCRA, and Clean Water Act docket numbers listed above. EPA published notice of the proposed Final Order…
N.C. and Department of Labor, Job Corps, Miami, FL
N.C. (ECAB 10-0391): Accepted assault incident lacked medical injury evidence
N.C., a Job Corps apprentice, reported facial trauma after another student assaulted him. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied his compensation claim for lack of supporting medical evidence. The Board found that the only medical item in the record was a prescription note with no…
R.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Coppell, TX
R.W. (ECAB 10-0374): Package incident lacked medical link to respiratory condition
R.W., a postal supervisor, reported throat irritation and coughing near a suspicious package at work. A hazardous materials team examined the package and found rocks. OWCP accepted the workplace incident but denied his claim for a respiratory injury. The Board found that the doctors' reports…
D.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Logistics and Distribution Center, Sterling, VA
D.A. (ECAB 10-0370): New report did not warrant reopening recurrence claim
D.A., a former postal worker, sought reconsideration after OWCP denied a claimed recurrence of disability beginning in 2002. He relied on a later foot treatment report. The Board found that the report gave no current diagnosis or opinion about whether he was disabled in the disputed period because…
M.G. and Department of the Navy, Customer Support Division, Gulfport, MS
M.G. (ECAB 10-0331): Supervisory disputes did not establish a work factor
M.G., a Navy employee, attributed stress to supervisors' monitoring of his work, comments about medication, and alleged mistreatment. OWCP denied his emotional condition claim. The Board held that monitoring work was an administrative action and the record did not show error or abuse in that…
M.G. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA
M.G. (ECAB 10-0297): Hearing loss was not linked to shipyard noise
M.G., a Navy shipyard electrician, claimed that workplace noise caused his hearing loss. OWCP denied the claim, and he appealed. The Board accepted that he had been exposed to noise during federal employment. It found, however, that records showed high-frequency hearing loss when he began the job…
M.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
M.G. (ECAB 09-2265): Existing left arm award was supported by the impairment rating
M.G., a postal mailhandler, sought a larger schedule award after an accepted left elbow and forearm injury. OWCP combined a new two percent impairment rating with an earlier 12 percent left arm award, producing a total of 14 percent. His physician rated the new impairment at 15 percent, including a…
J.K. and Department of the Army, Army Material Command, Fort Monmouth, NJ
J.K. (ECAB 09-1339): Benefit termination upheld for orthopedic conditions but reversed for neurological conditions
J.K., an Army inventory management specialist, received compensation after a workplace window struck her head in 2002. OWCP later terminated benefits, finding that her accepted conditions and disability had resolved. The Board found that an impartial orthopedic specialist's reasoned opinion…
Consolidation Coal Company
Refuge-plan citation affirmed
Consolidation Coal Company operated the underground Buchanan Mine No. 1 near Mavisdale, Virginia. MSHA cited the company after concluding that its emergency response plan did not show that Strata refuge units would safely maintain trapped miners when mine temperatures exceeded 70 degrees. Consol…
C.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
C.S. (ECAB 10-0401): No ratable left leg impairment after foot injury
C.S., a postal letter carrier, sought a schedule award after an accepted left ankle sprain and foot fracture. Her physician rated her left leg impairment at 19 percent. An Office referral physician found no impairment, prompting OWCP to obtain an impartial examination. That examiner found normal…
W.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Kalamazoo, MI
W.R. (ECAB 10-0288): Reconsideration request did not warrant a new merits review
W.R., a postal truck driver, sought compensation for periods of disability following an accepted aggravation of right knee osteoarthritis. OWCP denied the recurrence claims in December 2008 and later refused to reopen them on reconsideration. The Board had jurisdiction over the reconsideration…
J.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Seattle East Delivery & Distribution Center, Redmond, WA
J.T. (ECAB 10-0270): New medical reports required reconsideration of migraine claim
J.T., a postal mail processor, claimed that bright workplace lighting triggered migraines and dizziness. OWCP denied the claim and later refused to reopen it on reconsideration. The Board could review only the reconsideration ruling because the appeal of the underlying merits decision was late. It…
R.V. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Omaha, NE
R.V. (ECAB 09-2345): Vehicle accident was established but medical causation was not
R.V., a Veterans Affairs police officer, claimed a back injury after a government vehicle in which he was riding was struck from behind. OWCP accepted that the accident happened but denied the claim for lack of medical evidence linking it to a diagnosed injury. The Board found that a nurse…
S.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Jackson, MS
S.R. (ECAB 09-2332): Wheelchair authorization rescinded after impartial examination
S.R., a Veterans Affairs nurse with an accepted back injury and other conditions, had received authorization for an electric wheelchair and later sought a vehicle lift. OWCP revisited the wheelchair authorization after its medical adviser questioned whether the equipment was needed for an accepted…
P.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cincinnati, OH
P.T. (ECAB 09-2289): Evidence did not establish the alleged workplace fall
P.T., a postal mail handler, claimed that he fell over debris at work in September 2006 and injured several body parts, including his right eye. He filed the claim more than two years later. The Board found that his accounts of the incident and the timing of his eye symptoms were inconsistent with…
F.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Fenkell Station, Detroit, MI
F.T. (ECAB 09-2282): Benefits termination upheld after medical review
F.T., a postal letter carrier, received benefits after two dogs attacked her during a 1998 mail delivery, causing physical injuries and accepted emotional conditions. OWCP later ended her compensation and medical benefits, finding that the work-related conditions had resolved. The Board found that…
B.M. and Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Clovis, CA
B.M. (ECAB 09-2232): Left leg impairment award sent back for recalculation
B.M., a Forest Service firefighter, injured his left knee while clearing brush and later received a schedule award for four percent permanent impairment of his left leg. OWCP's medical adviser used a pain rating of four percent instead of the treating surgeon's two percent rating for a partial…
S.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Toledo, OH
S.P. (ECAB 09-2195): Claim denial upheld, reconsideration sent back
S.P., a postal letter carrier, claimed a back injury after struggling with a coworker over mail trays. OWCP denied her claim because it disputed her account of the incident. The Board found that the incident occurred as alleged, but her doctors had not adequately explained how it caused the claimed…
ASM-Sanders, Inc.
Trench violations affirmed and pipe-testing item vacated
A subcontractor's worker was killed when a PVC pipe exploded during compressed-air leak testing at an Air Force base construction project. The judge vacated the general duty clause item because ASM-Sanders' superintendent had explicitly delayed testing until the next day and did not know the…
J.S. Redpath Corporation
Misdirected penalty contest reopened
J.S. Redpath Corporation timely sent its contest of nine proposed penalties to an MSHA district office instead of the Civil Penalty Compliance Office. The company said it discovered the mistake after receiving a delinquency notice and promptly requested reopening. Although the Secretary opposed…
Cherry Berry B1-25-SWD
In re Cherry Berry B1-25-SWD (EAB UIC Appeal No. 09-02): review denied for nonspecific permit challenge
EPA Region 5 issued a Class II underground injection control permit for the Cherry Berry B1-25 SWD well in Grand Traverse County, Michigan. Grobbel Environmental and Planning Associates, LLC, petitioned for review, raising concerns about groundwater protection, the need for the well, and possible…
Power Holdings of Illinois, LLC
In re Power Holdings of Illinois, LLC (EAB PSD Appeal No. 09-04): review denied
Power Holdings of Illinois, LLC sought to construct a synthetic natural gas manufacturing plant in Jefferson County, Illinois, under a PSD permit issued by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. The Sierra Club challenged the permit's flare minimization plan, the use of synthetic or natural…
Charles Scott Howard v. Cumberland River Coal Company
Camera-policy warning found discriminatory
Charles Scott Howard recorded leaking mine seals and later showed the video while testifying at an MSHA public hearing. Cumberland River Coal Company then placed a written warning in his personnel file for using a non-permissible camera and violating its photography policy. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon…
Matter of Hugo Heredia PEDROZA
Petty theft does not bar nonpermanent-resident cancellation
The Board reviewed a Mexican respondent's appeal from the denial of cancellation of removal for certain nonpermanent residents. The Immigration Judge treated his California misdemeanor theft conviction as a bar, even though the offense qualified for the petty-offense exception and carried a maximum…
Matter of Maria De Jesus CORTEZ Canales
Welfare fraud conviction bars cancellation
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal from an Immigration Judge's grant of cancellation of removal to a Mexican respondent convicted of misdemeanor welfare fraud. The Board held that the conviction was for a crime involving moral turpitude punishable by up to one year in…
Peabody Western Coal Company
In re Peabody Western Coal Company (EAB CAA Appeal No. 10-01): voluntary remand granted
Peabody Western Coal Company operated the Black Mesa Complex, an existing surface coal mine near Kayenta, Arizona, under a Clean Air Act Title V permit issued by the Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency under delegated EPA authority. Peabody challenged permit conditions that relied on…
A.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pearl River, LA
A.M. (ECAB 10-0324): Recurrence of disability after workplace robbery unproven
A.M., a postal worker, had accepted emotional conditions after a 1989 robbery at work. She later claimed that those conditions caused a new period of disability beginning in May 2001. The Board found that her physicians tied the return or worsening of symptoms to later workplace events, including a…
J.H. and Department of the Air Force, Hill Air Force Base, UT
J.H. (ECAB 10-0142): Reconsideration denial upheld without impairment review
J.H., an Air Force machinery mechanic, received a schedule award for eight percent permanent impairment of his right arm after a 2005 workplace injury. He later asked OWCP to reconsider the award, but his request form did not explain a qualifying legal error or present relevant new evidence…
J.L. and Department of the Army, Dental Clinic, Fort Dix, NJ
J.L. (ECAB 09-2334): Arm impairment awards require a new medical examination
J.L. had received schedule awards for 32 percent impairment of her right arm and 28 percent of her left arm. OWCP denied any additional award after relying on reports from an impartial physician. The Board found those reports too vague to resolve the conflict in medical evidence: they lacked…
C.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, Winter Haven, FL
C.R. (ECAB 09-2301): Leg award upheld, separate impairment issue sent back
C.R., a postal custodian, received a schedule award for eight percent impairment of his left leg after accepted lower back injuries. The Board found that the medical rating supported no greater left leg award. His physician also reported sexual dysfunction that he attributed to the same spinal…
R.C. and Department of Defense, Defense Contract Management Agency, West Valley City, UT
R.C. (ECAB 09-2284): Prior arm award deducted from combined impairment
R.C., a Defense Department procurement technician, developed work-related right carpal tunnel syndrome and had earlier received an award for a separate right elbow condition. Her doctors rated the carpal tunnel impairment at five percent and combined it with the earlier 21 percent arm impairment…
D.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Andover, NJ
D.P. (ECAB 09-1893): Benefits termination reversed over unresolved medical evidence
D.P., a postal rural carrier, sustained a cervical sprain and facial lacerations in a work-related vehicle accident and received intermittent disability compensation and medical benefits. OWCP terminated those benefits after obtaining an impartial orthopedic examination. The Board found that the…
R.M. and Department of Defense, Defense Contracting Management Agency East, Stratford, CT
R.M. (ECAB 09-1890): Termination upheld after knee and back strains resolved
R.M., a Defense Department contract administrator, received benefits after a workplace fall caused accepted low back and right knee strains. OWCP later ended the benefits based on a second opinion orthopedic surgeon's reports. The Board found those reports sufficiently reasoned: the surgeon…
G.P. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Charlotte, NC
G.P. (ECAB 09-1753): Overpayment recovery upheld after benefits reduction
G.P., a federal air marshal, received wage-loss benefits after a work-related neck injury. OWCP reduced his benefit rate based on his capacity to earn wages in another job, but continued paying the higher total-disability rate for about nine months. The Board confirmed that the difference was…
W.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Little Rock, AR
W.J. (ECAB 09-1641): Claimed neck condition not linked to passport clerk duties
W.J., a postal rehabilitation passport clerk, claimed that his 2006 and 2007 duties caused or aggravated a neck condition. The Board found that the evidence established passport processing but did not support his account of prolonged, strenuous repetitive work, and his doctors did not explain how…
City and County of Honolulu Sand Island Wastewater Treatment Plant and Honouliuli Wastewater Treatment Plant
In re City and County of Honolulu wastewater treatment plants (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 09-07): variance denials upheld
The City and County of Honolulu operated the Sand Island and Honouliuli wastewater treatment plants under Clean Water Act section 301(h) variances from secondary treatment requirements. EPA Region 9 denied the City's requests to renew the variances after finding that the facilities could not…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Lawrence Pendley v. Highland Mining Company, LLC
Retroactive reinstatement date left unchanged
The Commission revived Lawrence Pendley's temporary reinstatement and made it retroactive to May 28, 2010, the date of the court of appeals mandate. Highland Mining asked the ALJ to apply reinstatement only from July 2, when the Commission issued its order, because the company said it lacked notice…
M.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Angola, NY
M.C. (ECAB 10-0279): Medical reports did not link conditions to mail lifting
M.C., a postmaster, reported hip pain after lifting a tub of flat mail and said her leg gave out later that day. OWCP accepted that the lifting occurred but denied her injury claim. The Board found that her chiropractor's reports did not qualify as medical evidence under FECA because the stated…
P.L. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Purvis, MS
P.L. (ECAB 09-2338): Disability after job ended not linked to accepted knee strain
P.L., a FEMA receiving and dispatch clerk, had an accepted right knee ligament strain after stepping out of a trailer at work. Her employment ended in April 2008 because her services were no longer required, and she claimed wage-loss compensation from that date. The Board found that her doctors…
J.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Alexandria, LA
J.S. (ECAB 09-2253): Recurrence of disability after light duty unproven
J.S., a Veterans Affairs nursing assistant, sustained accepted thoracic and lumbar sprains while repositioning a patient and later worked in a light-duty clerk position. She claimed a new period of total disability in 2008 without asserting that her job duties had changed. Her doctors listed pain…
N.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bend, OR
N.A. (ECAB 09-2236): Reconsideration denial upheld after suitable work dispute
N.A., a postal distribution clerk with accepted hand and wrist conditions, lost monetary benefits after OWCP found that she refused suitable work. She sought reconsideration and described later efforts to return to work with accommodations. The Board found that those later events did not show error…
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bellmawr, NJ
J.B. (ECAB 09-2229): Continuing compensation denied after impartial examination
J.B., a postal distribution clerk, had received compensation for right carpal tunnel syndrome and other right-sided conditions associated with her work. After an earlier termination and remand, OWCP obtained an impartial orthopedic examination to address whether work-related symptoms remained. The…
S.C. and Department of Health & Human Services, Social Security Administration, Office of Hearings & Appeals, Middlesboro, KY
S.C. (ECAB 09-1751): Carpal tunnel impairment claim needs a new assessment
S.C., a paralegal specialist, had an accepted left carpal tunnel condition and sought a schedule award after surgery. OWCP denied the award because the medical evidence did not establish a valid impairment rating. The Board agreed that the examining orthopedist's rating used findings outside the…
K.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Castle Rock, CO
K.V. (ECAB 09-1639): Wage-earning capacity determination left in place
K.V., a postal carrier with accepted cervical, carpal tunnel, and thoracic outlet conditions, worked four hours a day in a modified position near her home. OWCP used those actual earnings to set her wage-earning capacity in 1999. After she stopped working, she sought to change that determination…
C.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Processing & Distribution Center, Reno, NV
C.T. (ECAB 09-1557): Emotional condition claim denied without proven work factor
C.T., a postal custodian, attributed anxiety and other health concerns to workplace stress and alleged harassment by supervisors and coworkers. The Board found that many of the incidents concerned personnel decisions or work monitoring, with no evidence that management had acted abusively or in…
D.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
D.F. (ECAB 09-1463): Right leg schedule award denied after impartial examination
D.F., a postal custodian, fractured her right fibula in a workplace fall and later sought a permanent impairment award. Her doctor rated the leg at 23 percent, while an OWCP medical adviser estimated three percent. An impartial orthopedic surgeon examined her, reviewed imaging, and found that the…
Harry Holiday v. Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company
Holiday v. Newport News Shipbuilding (BRB 06-0345): attorney fee raised to $8,799
Harry Holiday's Longshore Act benefits award had already been affirmed by the Fourth Circuit, but the court sent his lawyer's fee for Board work back for a better supported hourly rate. The Board had previously used $250 per hour, while counsel requested $420. On remand, the Board found that…
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.