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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T.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, Bloomington, IN
T.B. (ECAB 09-2246): Withdrawal of modified job did not change wage capacity ruling
T.B., a postal worker with accepted arm and shoulder conditions, returned to a full-time modified job at her previous pay. OWCP determined in 2006 that those earnings represented her wage-earning capacity, leaving no compensable wage loss. The Postal Service later abolished that position, and she…
R.M. and National Transportation Safety Board, Washington, DC
R.M. (ECAB 09-2105): Reconsideration denial returned after delay endangered appeal rights
R.M., a National Transportation Safety Board employee, sought reconsideration after OWCP denied his emotional condition claim. His attorney provided a copy and mailing record for a request sent in November 2008, but OWCP recorded receipt in March 2009 and issued a nonmerit denial in June. Applying…
P.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Westchester Station, La Tijera, CA
P.M. (ECAB 09-2057): Emotional condition claim denied without a proven work factor
P.M., a postal distribution clerk, attributed an emotional condition to supervisory conduct and workplace conditions. She alleged that a supervisor yelled at her and raised concerns about lighting and a workplace door policy. The Board found no corroborating evidence of the alleged verbal abuse or…
F.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bellmawr, NJ
F.D. (ECAB 09-1346): Arm impairment claim returned to assess possible preexisting arthritis
F.D., a postal clerk, had received a schedule award for nine percent impairment of her left arm after a work injury to her wrist. An impartial specialist assigned a lower rating and excluded thumb arthritis because he did not connect it to the injury. The Board found the record unclear on whether…
Social Security Administration, Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (Agency) and Association of Administrative Law Judges, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (Union)
SSA disability adjudication office and ALJ union (FLRA 0-AR-4402): Notice required before bias findings against judges
The Social Security Administration's Appeals Council found bias in decisions by two administrative law judges before telling them about the allegations or allowing them to respond. An arbitrator found that the judges' collective bargaining agreement and agency rules required earlier notice and an…
Eugene Badonie v. Peabody Western Coal Company
Shift-transfer retaliation claim dismissed
Eugene Badonie filed a life-threatening safety alert about haul trucks crossing rough windrows and learned the next morning that he would remain on the midnight shift. Judge Gary Melick found that the safety report was protected activity and that the close timing initially supported an inference of…
San Jacinto River Authority
In re San Jacinto River Authority (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 09-09): review denied in part and remanded in part
The San Jacinto River Authority operated a public wastewater treatment plant in Montgomery County, Texas, under an NPDES permit issued by EPA Region 6. The dispute concerned whole-effluent-toxicity testing requirements for fathead minnows and C. dubia, a water flea, including reporting methods…
Matter of Julio E. VELASQUEZ
Misdemeanor family assault is not categorically violent
The Board reviewed a Salvadoran respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge found him removable and denied cancellation of removal based on a Virginia misdemeanor assault and battery conviction involving a family member. Applying the Supreme Court's decision in Johnson v. United States, the…
B.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Salisbury, NC
B.H. (ECAB 10-145): Knee claim denied despite accepted backhoe incident
B.H., a Veterans Affairs tractor operator, twisted his left knee while exiting a backhoe at work. OWCP accepted that the incident happened but denied the injury claim. His physician described degenerative changes and several possible acute diagnoses without adequately explaining how the incident…
J.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Dominick V. Daniels Processing & Delivery Plant, Kearney, NJ
J.S. (ECAB 10-3): Refusal to reopen postal worker's claim upheld
J.S., a postal clerk, sought compensation after she was sent home from a work assignment. OWCP denied her claim and its hearing representative upheld that denial. J.S. then requested reconsideration using arguments and a physician's report that were already before OWCP. The Board held that she had…
K.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Michael E. DeBakey Medical Center, Houston, TX
K.H. (ECAB 09-2319): Suitable work termination reversed after physician changed assessment
K.H., a Veterans Affairs program support assistant with accepted work injuries, was offered a modified position. Her orthopedic surgeon approved the offer but, after examining her four days later, reported that the injury still prevented her from returning to work for an expected six months. K.H…
B.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, Chicago, IL
B.C. (ECAB 09-2174): Old injury claim barred by filing deadline
B.C., a postal employee, sought compensation years after a claimed November 1986 neck and arm injury. The Board found that her later claims were filed beyond the three-year limit. An earlier recurrence form and her supervisor's knowledge of pain did not establish timely notice of a new work-related…
G.H. and Department of the Navy, Naval Sea Systems Command, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Norfolk, VA
G.H. (ECAB 09-2080): Total disability recurrence claim denied for lack of medical explanation
G.H., a Navy shipyard employee, had an accepted back strain and sacroiliac subluxation after a fall at work. OWCP denied his later claim that he became totally disabled again. On reconsideration, he supplied a physician's note stating that his continuing symptoms related to the original injury. The…
W.Y. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Chantilly, VA
W.Y. (ECAB 09-2012): Travel-related illness claim denied without medical link to a trip
W.Y., a federal air marshal, developed severe abdominal symptoms after international work travel. He claimed a traumatic injury and submitted medical reports diagnosing gastrointestinal conditions. The Board accepted that he traveled for work but found that the physicians had not explained how a…
B.S. and Department of Homeland Security, Grand Rapids, MI
B.S. (ECAB 09-2000): Pharmacy technician wage capacity reduction reversed
B.S., a former transportation security screener with accepted elbow conditions, worked part time as a pharmacy technician. OWCP reduced her compensation using estimated full-time pharmacy technician wages instead of her actual earnings. The standard job description required occasional lifting up to…
A.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Louis, MO
A.H. (ECAB 09-1679): Emotional condition claim denied without a compensable work factor
A.H., a postal letter carrier, attributed an emotional condition to disciplinary, leave, and supervisory matters. The Board found that these were administrative actions rather than his assigned job duties. It found no evidence that the employer had acted erroneously or abusively in those matters…
M.A. and Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Marketing Service, Cotton Programs, Classing Office, Corpus Christi, TX
M.A. (ECAB 09-1581): Cotton dust lung condition claim denied for lack of medical link
M.A., a seasonal cotton classing employee, reported years of cotton dust exposure and sought compensation for bronchiectasis and other lung conditions. OWCP accepted the exposure but denied a causal connection. An OWCP referral pulmonologist did not find evidence that bronchiectasis or another lung…
C.O. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Portland, OR
C.O. (ECAB 10-189): Shoulder injury claim returned for review of approved therapy
C.O., a transportation security screener with an accepted back injury, developed left shoulder symptoms while performing weight exercises during OWCP-approved physical therapy. OWCP denied his claim that the shoulder condition was a consequence of that treatment. The Board found that therapy…
E.V. and Department of Veterans Affairs, John D. Dingell Medical Center, Detroit, MI
E.V. (ECAB 10-129): Late reconsideration request failed clear-error standard
E.V., a Veterans Affairs nursing assistant, had sought compensation for an emotional condition attributed to workplace treatment. OWCP denied the claim in March 2005 because she had not established a compensable work factor. She requested reconsideration in June 2009, more than three years after…
S.L. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Air Marshal Service, Reston, VA
S.L. (ECAB 10-96): Leg impairment awards upheld despite dispute over start date
S.L., a federal air marshal with an accepted back injury and leg symptoms, received awards for 10 percent permanent impairment of each leg. He did not challenge the percentages but argued that an earlier date of maximum medical improvement entitled him to 63 more days of payment. The Board…
K.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Chicago, IL
K.H. (ECAB 10-80): Back injury benefits termination reversed over incorrect accepted condition
K.H., a Veterans Affairs housekeeping aide, received compensation after an accepted low back injury. OWCP ended benefits based on an impartial specialist's opinion that her lumbar strain had resolved. The Board found that OWCP's statement of accepted facts identified a herniated disc at the wrong…
C.B. and Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Columbus, OH
C.B. (ECAB 10-34): Termination of back injury benefits upheld
C.B., a Defense Logistics Agency material verifier, received benefits for an accepted lumbar strain and chronic pain syndrome from a 1993 injury. OWCP ended wage loss compensation and medical benefits in January 2009 after an orthopedic surgeon examined her. He found no remaining effects of the…
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, South Sound Distribution Center, Fife, WA
J.C. (ECAB 10-15): Claimed recurrence after mail handler's fall rejected
J.C., a Postal Service mail handler, injured his neck when he tried to sit in a chair that had been moved. He later claimed that disability and a sacroiliac condition beginning in January 2008 arose from that injury. OWCP had accepted a neck sprain and contusions, but the medical evidence did not…
P.P. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Aurora, CO
P.P. (ECAB 09-2370): Suitable work termination reversed
P.P., a transportation security screener, received compensation for accepted knee injuries after a chair struck his leg at work. His employer offered a modified screening job, and OWCP ended compensation when he declined it. The Board found that his physician had not adequately explained why he…
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Carrier Annex, Yardville, NJ
M.S. (ECAB 09-2262): Ten percent leg impairment award upheld
M.S., a Postal Service clerk, injured her left knee in a fall and later received a schedule award for permanent leg impairment. Her physician estimated 30 percent impairment, while other examination findings differed. OWCP sent her to an impartial examiner, who rated impairment at 10 percent based…
M.W. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, CA
M.W. (ECAB 09-2130): Disability denial reversed after termination was vacated
M.W., a transportation security screener, received compensation for accepted back and shoulder injuries. OWCP later vacated a decision that had terminated his benefits, but did not restore compensation beyond September 2008. It then required him to prove continuing disability. The Board held that…
W.P. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, New Orleans, LA
W.P. (ECAB 09-1776): Emotional condition claim denied for lack of medical link
W.P., an IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service employee, claimed an emotional condition after a taxpayer interaction and disputes with supervisors. An OWCP hearing representative recognized his increased workload as a compensable work factor. The Board found that the medical reports did not adequately…
C.S. & S. Coal Corporation
Final penalty assessment reopened
C.S. & S. Coal Corporation asked the Commission to reopen a proposed penalty assessment that had become a final order after no timely contest. The Secretary did not oppose the request. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission reopened the assessment and remanded the matter to the Chief…
Dodge Hill Mining Company, LLC
Reopening denied without prejudice
Dodge Hill Mining intended to contest six penalties from an assessment covering sixteen citations but failed to return the contest form. The company described the failure only as a clerical error, and the Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission held that the unexplained label did not…
S.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Birmingham, AL
S.B. (ECAB 10-162): Foot impairment award denied for missing measurements
S.B., a Postal Service clerk, had an accepted foot condition and sought a schedule award for permanent impairment. A physical therapist estimated impairment in both legs and feet, and her surgeon endorsed the rating. The report did not record the joint motion measurements used to calculate those…
J.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Memphis, TN
J.F. (ECAB 10-160): Knee injury claim denied without medical explanation
J.F., a Postal Service mail handler, reported twisting her right knee while cleaning her work area. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred, and her physician later diagnosed meniscus tears. His reports did not describe the turn at work or explain how it caused or worsened her knee condition. The…
R.G. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Baton Rouge, LA
R.G. (ECAB 10-84): Occupational back disease claim denied
R.G., a transportation security screener, claimed that her work caused or worsened lumbar degenerative disease. She referred to repetitive, strenuous screening work and to a prior 2006 injury. The Board found that she had not specified the nature, extent, and duration of the duties she believed…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fort Worth, TX
M.M. (ECAB 10-82): Arm injury claim denied for lack of medical causation
M.M., a Postal Service distribution clerk, had a right biceps tendon tear and claimed that casing mail and other duties aggravated it. Her physicians diagnosed the condition and prescribed restrictions. Their reports did not explain how the identified work factors caused or worsened the tear. Some…
M.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Vehicle Maintenance Facility, Bellmawr, NJ
M.R. (ECAB 09-2251): Leg impairment award sent back for a new medical opinion
M.R., a Postal Service automotive technician, received a schedule award for six percent impairment of his right leg after an accepted injury. His examining physician and OWCP's medical adviser had given substantially different ratings, so OWCP used an impartial specialist. The Board found that the…
A.R. and Department of Justice, U.S. Marshal's Service, Miami, FL
A.R. (ECAB 09-2109): Thumb impairment award sent back for proper rating
A.R., a deputy marshal, sought a schedule award for an accepted right thumb condition. His physician used a Florida rating schedule, while OWCP's second opinion physician reported a whole body percentage without adequately explaining its calculation under the required medical guide. The Board found…
T.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pleasant Prairie, WI
T.F. (ECAB 09-1910): Disability denial and benefits termination upheld
T.F., a Postal Service rural carrier, had an accepted aggravation of a herniated lumbar disc. She claimed disability from November 2006 through June 2007 and challenged OWCP's later termination of benefits. The Board found that she had not submitted sufficient medical evidence proving disability…
Kirtley Sheetmetal, Inc.
Ladder and repeat roof-fall violations affirmed
Kirtley Sheetmetal employees used an eight-foot stepladder to reach a roof even though the ladder did not extend above the landing, was not secured, and was not designed for that use. Employees also worked on a low-slope roof 19 to 28 feet above the ground without being tied off while lifelines…
S.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Vehicle Maintenance Facility, Huntsville, AL
S.B. (ECAB 09-1654): New witness statement required reconsideration
S.B., a Postal Service clerk, claimed an emotional condition related to alleged harassment and verbal abuse at work. OWCP denied the claim and later refused to reopen it for reconsideration. S.B. submitted a new statement from a person she had spoken to about her work problems near the time of the…
J.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Manhasset, NY
J.N. (ECAB 09-1621): Suitable work termination reversed over bending requirement
J.N., a Postal Service custodian, received compensation for accepted back and shoulder injuries. The Postal Service offered a part time modified custodian job, and OWCP ended monetary benefits when he did not accept it. The job description included bending, although the physical limits section said…
United States Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection (Agency) and National Treasury Employees Union (Union)
CBP and NTEU (FLRA 0-AR-4363): National bargaining required for local assignment policy changes
Customs and Border Protection ended local bargaining over inspection assignments under a revised national policy. Local managers then changed assignment practices at several ports without giving NTEU notice and an opportunity to bargain at the national level. An arbitrator found an unfair labor…
Secretary of Labor v. Knox Creek Coal Corporation
Second show-cause order issued before default ruling
The Secretary sought $25,996 for eleven alleged violations, but Knox Creek did not timely answer the penalty petition or respond to an initial show-cause order. The company answered only after the Secretary moved for summary disposition and said the case had not been assigned to outside counsel…
Y.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Milwaukee, WI
Y.G. (ECAB 10-108): Seven percent leg impairment award upheld
Y.G., a Postal Service clerk, fractured her right ankle in a fall and sought a schedule award. Her physicians gave impairment estimates, but one did not use the required guide. OWCP's medical adviser applied the sixth edition of the A.M.A. Guides to the measured loss of ankle motion and rated her…
S.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Memphis, TN
S.L. (ECAB 10-163): Sciatica schedule award denied for lack of leg impairment
S.L., a Postal Service clerk, had an accepted work related aggravation of sciatica and sought a schedule award. Her physician estimated 50 percent impairment without identifying the affected scheduled body part or showing how the figure came from the medical guide. An OWCP referral specialist…
J.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Mount Clemens, MI
J.A. (ECAB 10-149): Late reconsideration request denied
J.A., a Postal Service employee, sought reconsideration of OWCP's denial of a claimed recurrence of disability. Her April 2009 request came more than one year after the latest merits decision. The later medical records she submitted did not address the claimed 2005 disability period or show clear…
C.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Des Moines, IA
C.B. (ECAB 10-66): Reconsideration denied without a merits review
C.B., a Postal Service employee, asked OWCP to reconsider its refusal to add bilateral cubital tunnel syndrome to his accepted claim. He submitted medical records that documented nerve findings and other wrist conditions. The Board found that the new records did not explain whether his work caused…
R.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Air Marshal Service, Cleveland, OH
R.R. (ECAB 09-2348): Knee injury claim denied for lack of medical link
R.R., a federal air marshal on light duty, reported left knee pain after carrying a vacuum while cleaning agency vehicles. He had a history of knee surgery and arthritis. His physicians described knee conditions and work restrictions, but did not explain how carrying the vacuum or cleaning the…
M.C. and Department of the Army, Corpus Christi Depot, Corpus Christi, TX
M.C. (ECAB 09-2233): Second knee surgery authorization denied
M.C., an Army aircraft electrician, injured both knees in a work fall and underwent authorized knee surgeries. After a later left knee meniscus finding, his surgeon proposed another operation. OWCP asked the surgeon to explain how the new tear and proposed surgery related to the original injury or…
T.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Overland Park, KS
T.P. (ECAB 09-1997): Back and neck occupational disease claim denied
T.P., a Postal Service clerk, claimed that a modified assignment caused upper back and neck problems. She identified workstation tasks and a commute she said exceeded her physician's driving limits. The Board found that the principal physician's reports relied on an inaccurate account of the job…
M.C. and Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration, Norton, VA
M.C. (ECAB 09-1974): Wage capacity and surgery issues sent back for impartial review
M.C., a Mine Safety and Health Administration employee, sought to modify an existing wage earning capacity determination and obtain approval for cervical and lumbar surgery. His treating physicians and OWCP's referral physician disagreed about his ability to perform the rated job and whether the…
D.C. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Station, San Diego, CA
D.C. (ECAB 09-1087): Emotional condition claim denied for lack of medical link
D.C., a Navy aircraft mechanic, sought benefits for depression and anxiety that she attributed to alleged workplace harassment and other events. The Board recognized one documented harassment incident as a compensable work factor. It found that the physicians' reports did not connect her diagnosed…
Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company
Partial settlement approved, one reduction denied
The parties proposed settling seven of eight citations by reducing total proposed penalties from $23,491 to $4,184 and asked to stay the remaining citation. Judge William B. Moran accepted most of the settlement terms and dismissed with prejudice a citation that the Secretary acknowledged did not…
G.B. and Department of the Air Force, Robins Air Force Base, GA
G.B. (ECAB 10-139): Hearing award reconsideration denied, medical benefits sent back
G.B., a retired Air Force electronics mechanic, had an accepted claim for work related hearing loss. OWCP denied a schedule award and later refused to reconsider that ruling. The Board agreed that his reconsideration request offered no relevant new legal argument or evidence on the award. But OWCP…
A.A. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Philadelphia, PA
A.A. (ECAB 10-125): Schedule award reconsideration refused
A.A., an IRS employee, sought reconsideration after OWCP denied a schedule award for her right arm. She argued that an earlier end to wage loss benefits did not bar an award and that an older medical report conflicted with a newer evaluation. The Board found that the first point was irrelevant to…
A.M. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Richmond, VA
A.M. (ECAB 10-83): Occupational neck and back claim denied
A.M., an IRS tax examiner technician, claimed neck and back conditions related to interactions with coworkers. She described coworkers shouting near her hearing aids and said turning to respond affected her neck. The Board found that she had not described the conduct and movements with enough…
R.Z. and Department of the Army, Corpus Christi Army Depot, Corpus Christi, TX
R.Z. (ECAB 10-50): Reconsideration refused when promised evidence was missing
R.Z., an Army aircraft repair inspector, claimed a right knee injury after twisting it while entering an aircraft. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the claim for lack of medical evidence linking it to a diagnosed condition. R.Z. later requested reconsideration and said he was…
R.C. and Department of Agriculture, National Finance Center, New Orleans, LA
R.C. (ECAB 09-2328): Compensation suspension for missed examination upheld
R.C., a Department of Agriculture computer specialist, received compensation for an accepted asthma aggravation. OWCP directed her to attend a pulmonary examination after she moved to South Carolina. She instead saw a doctor who had previously treated her, despite OWCP's explanation that this…
E.M. and Department of the Army, Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Landstuhl, Germany
E.M. (ECAB 09-2326): Reconsideration refusal upheld
E.M., an Army mail clerk, had an accepted lumbar injury and received wage loss compensation. After OWCP denied continuing disability, she sought reconsideration with a new physician's report. That report attributed her inability to work to conditions OWCP had not accepted as work related, rather…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Conneaut, OH
S.M. (ECAB 09-2290): Postmaster's emotional condition claim remanded
S.M., a Postal Service postmaster, reported an emotional condition after responding to a workplace security incident and taking part in later personnel duties connected to it. OWCP denied the claim because it found no compensable work factor. The Board held that investigating the building alarm…
A.H. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Secret Service, Washington, DC
A.H. (ECAB 09-2288): Elbow impairment award remanded for a supported rating
A.H., a Secret Service agent, injured his left elbow during training and received a one percent arm impairment award. His own physician later rated the impairment at five percent. The Board found that OWCP's medical adviser had not explained a key sensory deficit figure in the one percent…
F.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Mail Processing Center, Kearny, NJ
F.G. (ECAB 10-779): Emergency hospital bills sent back for review
F.G., a Postal Service mail carrier, fell while delivering mail and received hospital care after an accepted injury. OWCP declined to pay bills from the hospitalization because the billing code concerned a condition outside its accepted list. The Board found that OWCP had not considered whether 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.