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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E.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Beaver Falls Post Office, Beaver Falls, PA
E.S. (ECAB 09-2019): Shoulder surgery reimbursement and subpoena denials upheld
E.S., a postal letter carrier, received treatment for accepted neck and elbow injuries after a fall, and later sought reimbursement for left shoulder surgery. The Board gave special weight to the impartial orthopedic surgeon, who attributed the shoulder condition to degeneration and earlier surgery…
N.M. and Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Mayaguez, PR
N.M. (ECAB 09-1971): Termination of wage-loss and medical benefits reversed
N.M., a federal loan specialist, received benefits after an accepted neck and back injury in a work-related vehicle accident. OWCP terminated her wage-loss and medical benefits after relying on a physician it had designated as an impartial examiner. The Board found that OWCP had misread an earlier…
R.W. and Government Printing Office, Maintenance Department, Washington, DC
R.W. (ECAB 09-1607): Compensation forfeiture and $226,821.74 overpayment reversed
R.W., a former federal elevator repairman receiving wage-loss compensation, owned interests in rental properties. OWCP found that he had failed to report property management work, forfeited compensation for May 2002 through September 2007, and owed $226,821.74. The Board found that the…
American Federation of Government Employees, National Joint Council of Food Inspection Locals (Union) and United States Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Alameda, California (Agency)
Food Safety and Inspection Service and AFGE food inspection council (FLRA 0-AR-4495): Travel advance offsets upheld
A Food Safety and Inspection Service inspector requested travel advances, but the Treasury Department applied most of the money to his overdue child support obligations. An arbitrator rejected the union's grievance, finding that Treasury made lawful offsets rather than wage garnishments and that…
Consolidation Coal Company
Five S&S violations upheld and four citations settled
MSHA cited conditions at Consolidation Coal Company's Robinson Run No. 95 mine involving combustible accumulations, ventilation, a scoop's emergency brake, and an impermissible roof-bolter light. Consol admitted the five litigated violations but challenged their significant and substantial…
K.S. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Miami, FL
K.S. (ECAB 10-0195): Eight percent right leg impairment award upheld
K.S., an immigration officer, ruptured his right quadriceps tendon during work training and underwent surgical repair. His surgeon first estimated 18 percent leg impairment using the fifth edition of the A.M.A. Guides, but the award decision required the sixth edition. OWCP's medical adviser…
D.P. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Los Angeles, CA
D.P. (ECAB 10-0121): Disability recurrence claim remanded to resolve medical conflict
D.P., a transportation security screener with an accepted lower back injury, returned to modified duty and later stopped working because of worsening symptoms. OWCP denied her recurrence claim after its referral physician said she remained able to do the modified work. Her attending physician had…
P.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Ball Ground Post Office, Ball Ground, GA
P.B. (ECAB 10-0103): Two percent left arm impairment award upheld
P.B., a postal rural carrier, sustained left elbow fractures in a work-related vehicle accident and underwent surgery. Her treating surgeon reported six percent left arm impairment but did not explain the calculation or identify the edition of the A.M.A. Guides he used. OWCP's medical adviser used…
C.H. and Department of the Air Force, Minot Air Force Base, Minot, ND
C.H. (ECAB 10-0089): Workplace fall claim lacked medical link to knee condition
C.H., an Air Force secretary, slipped on a wet floor at work and claimed a left knee injury. OWCP accepted that the fall happened but denied benefits because the medical reports did not explain its effect on her knee. The Board found that the physician reports described symptoms or imaging without…
D.G., claiming as widow of W.G., and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Memphis, TN
D.G. (ECAB 10-0043): Widow's request to reopen survivor claim denied
D.G. sought survivor benefits after her husband, a former air traffic controller with accepted anxiety conditions, died in 2005. Earlier decisions had found that the medical evidence did not adequately link his death to those accepted conditions. In a new reconsideration request, D.G.'s attorney…
L.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Southeastern, PA
L.S. (ECAB 09-2207): Bilateral arm impairment awards remanded for impartial examination
L.S., a postal clerk with accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, received schedule awards for 23 percent impairment of each arm. Her treating physician used a higher grade of sensory loss than OWCP's medical adviser and calculated 31 percent impairment of each arm, plus a right-hand pinch…
S.B. and Department of Defense, Dependent School, Fort Campbell, KY
S.B. (ECAB 09-2060): Termination of wage-loss compensation upheld
S.B., a school secretary, received compensation for accepted contact dermatitis, asthma, and allergic rhinitis after exposure to printing materials. OWCP ended her wage-loss benefits in 2007 while continuing medical benefits. The Board gave weight to two referral physicians who found that her skin…
S.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Louis, MO
S.C. (ECAB 09-2020): Truck driver's occupational disease claim denial upheld
S.C., a postal tractor-trailer operator, attributed back, knee, arm, and hand conditions to years of driving a truck with poor suspension and doing related work. OWCP accepted that he drove for work but denied his disease claim for lack of medical causation evidence. The Board found that one…
Genesis, Inc.
Mistaken contest letter supported reopening
Genesis requested a safety and health conference and later sent MSHA's regional office a detailed letter stating that it wanted to contest citations. Its safety director believed that step also contested the proposed penalties, and the company later paid the violations it did not dispute. The…
Vulcan Construction Materials, LP
Final assessments reopened
Vulcan Construction Materials asked the Commission to reopen two proposed penalty assessments that had become final orders after no timely contests. The Secretary did not oppose the requests. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission reopened both matters and remanded them to the Chief…
Dunlap Stone, Inc.
Penalty contest reopened with citation deadline
Dunlap Stone said an MSHA field office instructed it to contest the proposed assessment when received and that it submitted a contest as directed. After a later status inquiry produced no information, the company received a delinquency letter. The Secretary did not oppose reopening, but Dunlap had…
National Lime & Stone Company
Final assessments reopened
National Lime & Stone asked the Commission to reopen two proposed penalty assessments that had become final orders after no timely contests. The Secretary did not oppose the request. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission reopened both matters and remanded them to the Chief…
General Drilling, Division of GE
Penalty petition dismissed after 28-month delay
General Drilling timely contested a $2,000 penalty involving a cracked drill-cab windshield, but the Secretary filed the penalty petition about 28 months after its deadline. MSHA's records showed that the contest package was not transmitted to the Solicitor's Office and that no process caught the…
Mainline Rock and Ballast, Inc.
Citation assessment reopened
Mainline Rock and Ballast asked the Commission to reopen the penalty assessment for Citation No. 7885927 after it became a final order. The Secretary did not oppose the request. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission reopened that assessment and remanded it to the Chief Administrative…
Flint Hills Resources, LP
In re Flint Hills Resources, LP (EAB CAA Appeal No. 10-03): petition dismissed with prejudice
Flint Hills Resources, LP petitioned the Environmental Appeals Board to review a letter from EPA Region 6 concerning its Clean Air Act Title V permit. Region 6 later declared the letter void and of no effect. Flint Hills asked to withdraw its petition, and Region 6 did not oppose the request. The…
Alfred F. Wakeley v. Knutson Towboat Company and SAIF Corporation
Wakeley v. Knutson Towboat (BRB 09-0833 and 09-0833A): maritime coverage established, benefits remanded
Alfred Wakeley worked as a carpenter at Knutson Towboat's Oregon facilities and injured his back while repairing the roof of the Millington shop. The administrative law judge found that the property was a covered maritime site because barges were unloaded there and maritime equipment was repaired…
R.S. and Department of Health & Human Services, Office of the Secretary, Cleveland, OH
R.S. (ECAB 10-0159): Back injury claim denied for lack of reliable medical link
R.S., a federal administrative law judge, reported back pain after reaching over a desk to work with files. OWCP accepted that an incident occurred but denied the injury claim for lack of adequate medical evidence. His osteopath diagnosed a thoracic sprain and later muscle spasm, yet described…
J.S. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Belleville, MI
J.S. (ECAB 10-0158): Termination of wage-loss and medical benefits upheld
J.S., an aviation safety inspector, received compensation after a work-related fall caused accepted injuries to both knees and his right shoulder. OWCP ended his wage-loss and medical benefits after two examining physicians found no continuing work-related residuals. The Board found that OWCP had…
R.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Baton Rouge, LA
R.O. (ECAB 10-0153): New traumatic injury claim from dust-mop work denied
R.O., a postal employee, reported muscle spasms while pushing a dust mop at work in 2004. An earlier appeal directed OWCP to consider the event as a new traumatic injury claim rather than a recurrence of his older injury. OWCP asked for further evidence, and R.O. did not respond within the allotted…
W.R. and Department of the Navy, Naval Medical Command, San Diego, CA
W.R. (ECAB 10-0147): Holiday premium pay dispute sent back for record development
W.R., a former Navy ambulance driver, asked OWCP to include holiday premium pay in the pay rate used for his injury compensation. OWCP had already corrected the rate to include night and Sunday premiums but denied the holiday request because it found no record that he worked holidays. The Board…
D.L. and Department of the Navy, Military Sealift Command Afloat Management Center, Norfolk, VA
D.L. (ECAB 10-0133): Late reconsideration did not show clear error
D.L., a former Navy deck engineer, sought reconsideration of a denied claim for conditions he attributed to a 1996 work accident and his duties. The Board found that his request arrived more than a year after the May 2007 merit decision, even using the earlier filing date shown by the record. A…
C.P. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Buffalo, NY
C.P. (ECAB 09-2375): Repeated medical opinion did not reopen recurrence claim
C.P., a VA practical nurse, had an accepted cervical disc injury and later claimed that disability recurred after she returned to unrestricted work. OWCP denied the recurrence claim and later refused another merit review. With her April 23, 2009 reconsideration request to OWCP, C.P. submitted a…
S.A. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Albany, NY
S.A. (ECAB 09-2339): Consequential ankle fracture claim denial upheld
S.A., a VA nurse with an accepted left hip and pelvis strain, fractured her right ankle after falling on steps while going to church. She said her right knee and leg buckled, and her physicians attributed the fracture to her earlier groin injury. The Board found that one physician did not explain…
K.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
K.S. (ECAB 09-2092): Temporary work stoppage not proved as disability recurrence
K.S., a VA nurse with an accepted left shoulder condition, worked in a modified position and later stopped work for about two weeks. She said the position required patient handling beyond its stated restrictions, but the Board found the evidence too general to show a change in the job requirements…
G.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cincinnati, OH
G.C. (ECAB 09-1929): Right knee impairment dispute remanded for impartial rating
G.C., a postal worker with prior schedule awards for both legs, sought an additional award after a right knee replacement. His treating surgeon and OWCP's medical adviser rated the right leg at 37 percent, below the 41 percent already awarded. Another physician used the knee replacement tables of…
W.B. and Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Lapwai, ID
W.B. (ECAB 09-1656): Refusal to reconsider benefits termination upheld
W.B., a former Bureau of Indian Affairs soil conservationist, had an accepted claim for major depression. OWCP terminated his benefits after an impartial psychiatrist found that his current conditions were unrelated to his former employment, and the Board affirmed that termination in 2008. W.B…
Eureka Rock, LLC
Owner hours had to be reported to MSHA
Eureka Rock argued that its local screening operation did not affect interstate commerce and that an owner-operator with no other employees did not have to report work hours to MSHA. Judge Gary Melick held that the operation fell under the Mine Act because local mines collectively affect interstate…
S.T. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Decatur, AL
S.T. (ECAB 10-257): Hearing loss claim denied for lack of medical link to plant noise
S.T., a retired Tennessee Valley Authority quality assurance evaluator, attributed bilateral hearing loss to plant noise. The Board accepted that he had encountered work noise, but found that the submitted audiograms lacked a physician's explanation connecting the hearing loss to that exposure. An…
T.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jacksonville, FL
T.M. (ECAB 10-194): Overpayment and fault finding upheld after return to part-time work
T.M., a Postal Service mail processor, returned to part-time modified work on June 17, 2009 while receiving compensation for total disability. He accepted a July 4 check covering June 7 through July 4, though he was entitled only to partial disability compensation after returning to work. OWCP…
N.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Newark, NJ
N.H. (ECAB 10-183): Back injury claim denied for lack of medical causation evidence
N.H., a postal employee, reported lower back pain after connecting a bulk mail carrier to her tow tractor at work. OWCP accepted the May 2, 2009 incident but denied the injury claim for lack of medical causation evidence. Two physicians diagnosed lumbar conditions without explaining how that…
A.M. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Fresno, CA
A.M. (ECAB 10-151): Arm injury claim denied without a reasoned medical link
A.M., an IRS accounting technician, reported that an elevator door struck her right arm at work on April 20, 2009. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied her injury claim. An emergency physician described pain and later diagnosed an elbow strain, yet did not explain whether the door…
S.E. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Augusta Veterans Administration Medical Center, Augusta, GA
S.E. (ECAB 10-124): Fault findings upheld for two compensation overpayments
S.E., a VA nurse receiving compensation for an accepted knee injury, returned to work for four hours a day in February 2009 and resumed full-time duty in March. She received wage-loss payments covering work periods, creating two overpayments of $828.79 and $1,424.71. OWCP had warned her to report a…
F.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, DeSoto, MO
F.B. (ECAB 10-99): Wage capacity modification request sent back for decision
F.B., a former postal employee, sought to change OWCP's 2008 wage-earning capacity determination based on a cashier position. She said her medical restrictions and the local job market made the position unsuitable. OWCP treated her letter as a request for reconsideration and refused a merits…
H.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jacksonville, FL
H.F. (ECAB 10-77): Wage loss denied for five days without a medical link to accepted injury
H.F., a postal rural carrier, had an accepted concussion, contusions, and cervical strain after a 2007 work-related vehicle accident. She sought wage-loss compensation for five days in 2008 and 2009 when she said migraines kept her from working. Her neurologist stated that headaches can follow head…
F.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bellwood, PA
F.L. (ECAB 10-65): Knee injury claim denied for lack of a supported work connection
F.L., a postal city carrier, claimed that walking with mail for four to five hours a day caused a left knee meniscus tear. His surgeon attributed the tear to work, pointing to pain that appeared during a shift, but did not adequately explain how repeated mail delivery caused the diagnosed…
R.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
R.E. (ECAB 09-2071): Knee injury benefits termination reversed after flawed referee referral
R.E., a postal letter carrier, received compensation for a right knee injury sustained while delivering mail. His treating doctor and an OWCP referral doctor disagreed about his continuing injury and ability to work, so OWCP consulted an impartial specialist. That specialist found continuing…
L.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Norfolk, VA
L.T. (ECAB 09-1550): Suitable work termination reversed after incomplete medical review
L.T., a postal employee, received compensation after a fall at work caused knee and back injuries. OWCP ended his monetary benefits when he refused a modified processing clerk position. The Board found that the medical review supporting termination had not adequately considered his other documented…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3937 (Union) and Social Security Administration, Region X (Agency)
AFGE Local 3937 and Social Security Administration Region X (FLRA 0-AR-4648): Earlier local agreements did not survive national agreement
The Social Security Administration stopped following twelve local memoranda of understanding after a new national labor agreement took effect. The union claimed the agency had to bargain before ending those local terms. An arbitrator found that the local agreements had expired with the prior…
United States Department of the Navy, Naval Air Engineering Station, Lakehurst, New Jersey (Agency) and National Association of Government Employees, Local R2-84 (Union)
Lakehurst Naval Air Engineering Station and NAGE Local R2-84 (FLRA 0-AR-4638): Lunch pay award set aside after earlier unfair labor practice charge
Civilian police officers at the Lakehurst naval station had received pay while eating during their shifts. After the Navy ended that practice, the union filed an unfair labor practice charge alleging repudiation of the agreement. It later filed a grievance that also alleged repudiation, and an…
United States Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1924 (Union)
ICE and AFGE Local 1924 (FLRA 0-AR-4600): Attorney fee award reduced to agreed hourly rate
An arbitrator reduced an ICE employee's seven-day suspension to a reprimand and awarded backpay, then granted part of the union's request for attorney fees. ICE challenged the fee award. The Authority upheld the arbitrator's finding that the agency should have known its chosen penalty would not…
R.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Milwaukee, WI
R.D. (ECAB 10-152): Arm impairment award returned for a complete rating
R.D., a postal city carrier, injured his left shoulder in a fall at work and later had rotator cuff surgery. OWCP granted a schedule award for five percent permanent impairment of his left arm. Its medical adviser chose a rating under the sixth edition of the impairment guides but did not evaluate…
H.M. and Department of Energy, Bonneville Power Administration, Spokane, WA
H.M. (ECAB 10-110): Compensation reduction upheld based on receptionist wages
H.M., a former electrician, had received compensation for total disability after accepted work injuries. His treating physician said he could work eight hours a day in a sedentary position and approved the physical demands of receptionist work. An OWCP rehabilitation counselor found that he had…
J.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
J.L. (ECAB 10-101): Hernia claim denied for lack of a supported work connection
J.L., a postal letter carrier, experienced abdominal pain while working and underwent emergency surgery for an incisional hernia that day. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the injury claim. His surgeon checked a form box indicating a work connection and later said the hernia…
M.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Louis, MO
M.J. (ECAB 10-35): Leg impairment award returned for review of pain and sensory loss
M.J., a postal supervisor, developed accepted conditions in both feet after frequent standing and walking at work. OWCP awarded her compensation for 11 percent permanent impairment of each leg, calculated from reduced ankle motion. The Board found that the medical assessment had not adequately…
M.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fairhope, AL
M.K. (ECAB 09-2209): Benefits termination upheld after refusal of modified work
M.K., a postal city carrier, received compensation after an accepted back injury. The Postal Service offered him a full-time modified carrier job with limits on lifting and other physical tasks, plus a stool and lifting assistance. An OWCP referral physician found that he could work within those…
D.H. and Department of Defense, Defense Information Services Agency, Denver, CO
D.H. (ECAB 09-2152): Asthma benefits termination reversed over unsupported medical opinion
D.H., a Defense Department information technology specialist, had an accepted episode of asthma exacerbation linked to cold air at work. OWCP ended his wage-loss and medical benefits after an impartial specialist concluded he had no asthma or related work limitations. The Board found that the…
M.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Flushing, NY
M.L. (ECAB 09-1963): Total disability recurrence claim denied after modified work
M.L., a postal clerk with accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and a ganglion condition, returned to a four-hour modified assignment answering telephones. She stopped working about a month later and claimed a recurrence of total disability, saying the duties exceeded her restrictions. The…
C.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bellmawr, NJ
C.P. (ECAB 09-1784): Wage capacity reduction based on medical office work upheld
C.P., a former postal mail handler with an accepted back injury, received compensation for total disability. She completed medical office training through vocational rehabilitation but did not secure a job. OWCP reduced her compensation using a constructed medical office administrator position with…
T.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Glassboro, NJ
T.P. (ECAB 09-1636): Leg impairment claim returned to clarify neuropathy rating
T.P., a postal employee, had received schedule awards for five percent impairment of each leg after accepted foot conditions and surgery. He sought an additional award. An impartial specialist described neuropathy as unrelated to work, found no neurological deficit, yet assigned an eight percent…
MVM Contracting, Corp.
Excavation violation restored to willful
MVM employees performed masonry work in an excavation deeper than five feet without cave-in protection. The judge affirmed the violation as serious, but the Commission found it willful. An OSHA compliance officer had explained the excavation requirements to MVM's superintendent, yet work continued…
Pinnacle Mining Company, LLC
Late penalty petitions accepted
The Secretary filed two penalty petitions after the 45-day deadline, and Pinnacle Mining moved to dismiss both cases. Pinnacle did not claim that the delay prejudiced its defense. The Secretary attributed the delay to an unprecedented number of contests and insufficient staff to process the…
United Rock Products Corp.
Assessment reopened after staffing transition
United Rock Products said the employee responsible for routing a proposed assessment was terminated in a reduction in force before bringing it to management's attention. A replacement later discovered the delinquency, and the company attempted to contest the eleven penalties. After MSHA rejected…
J.U. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Suring, WI
J.U. (ECAB 10-215): Refusal to reopen emotional condition claim upheld
J.U., a postal clerk, had sought compensation for an emotional condition she attributed to workplace treatment. OWCP denied the claim because she had not established a compensable employment factor. In seeking reconsideration, she submitted letters, psychiatric reports, and documents from a…
J.H. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, Rosemont, IL
J.H. (ECAB 10-185): Injury outside home before commute held outside duty
J.H., a customs and border protection officer, slipped on ice two steps outside his home while leaving for work and injured his shoulder. OWCP denied the claim under the general rule excluding injuries during an ordinary commute. The Board found no evidence before OWCP showing that a recognized…
R.S. and Department of the Army, Army Corps of Engineers, Ensley Engineering Yard, Memphis, TN
R.S. (ECAB 09-2327): Hearing loss award denied without medical link to workplace noise
R.S., an Army Corps equipment operator, reported years of workplace noise exposure and sought compensation for hearing loss. OWCP accepted that he had been exposed to noise but found no medical proof that it caused his hearing loss. An OWCP referral specialist diagnosed mild hearing loss yet could…
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.