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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Brody Mining, LLC
Late review petition dismissed
Brody Mining sought Commission review of an administrative law judge's order denying dismissal and accepting the Secretary's late penalty petition. The judge issued that order on April 9, 2010. The Commission did not receive Brody's petition for discretionary review until May 12, more than 30 days…
Elcon Construction, Inc.
Final penalty assessment reopened
Elcon Construction asked the Commission to reopen a proposed penalty assessment that had become a final order after no contest was recorded. Elcon said it mailed the contest form within the 30-day period but later received a Treasury collection notice. The Secretary had no record of receiving the…
General Chemical (Soda Ash) Partners
Penalty assessment reopened after missing contest
General Chemical asked the Commission to reopen a proposed penalty assessment after MSHA treated it as uncontested. The company said it requested a conference on several citations and sent a contest form for the citation at issue, but later received a delinquency notice. It sought reopening within…
Alaska Mechanical, Incorporated
Fatal-accident settlement rejected for missing factual support
MSHA cited Alaska Mechanical after a manlift tipped over at its Nome Operations and two miners died. The parties proposed reducing total penalties from $115,000 to $80,000, including a reduction from $55,000 to $20,000 for a training citation. Chief Judge Robert J. Lesnick found that the parties…
DJ Drilling and Blasting, Inc.
Missing penalty contest reopened
DJ Drilling asked the Commission to reopen a proposed penalty assessment that had become final after MSHA recorded no timely contest. The company said it mailed a contest letter and form within the deadline. After receiving a delinquency notice, it contacted MSHA, learned that the contest was not…
Enterprise Mining Company LLC
Missed penalty contest reopened
Enterprise Mining asked the Commission to reopen a proposed penalty assessment that became final when its contest was not filed on time. The company attributed the missed deadline to confusion over whether outside counsel or its safety director would send the form and to a mistaken belief that it…
Secretary of Labor v. Manalapan Mining Co., Inc.
Wet belt conditions split four accumulation charges
MSHA issued four section 104(d) charges for coal accumulations along conveyor belts at Manalapan Mining's wet underground coal mine. Judge Jerold Feldman found that combustible material and ignition risks near the working face supported affirming the No. 4 belt citation as significant and…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1345 (Union) and United States Department of the Army, Army Medical Department Agency, Army Dental Activity, Fort Carson, Colorado (Agency)
AFGE Local 1345 and Fort Carson Army Dental Activity (FLRA 0-NG-3025): Personal opt-out from flu vaccination held nonnegotiable
Fort Carson's Army Dental Activity required civilian health care workers with direct patient contact to receive annual influenza vaccination, with exceptions for documented medical or religious reasons. AFGE Local 1345 proposed allowing employees to refuse for any personal reason as well. The…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1770 (Union) and United States Department of Defense, Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools, Fort Bragg Schools, North Carolina District, Fort Bragg, North Carolina (Agency)
AFGE Local 1770 and Fort Bragg Schools (FLRA 0-NG-3003): Agency disapproval of five contract provisions rescinded
The head of the Fort Bragg schools agency disapproved five provisions in its agreement with AFGE Local 1770. Three addressed pay and official time for union representatives who bargained during periods when school employees might otherwise be off duty. Two called for fair distribution of overtime…
National Treasury Employees Union (Union) and United States Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Washington, D.C. (Agency)
NTEU and IRS (FLRA 0-AR-4328): Seasonal employee agreements continued after national contract expired
After its national agreement expired, the IRS kept using provisions allowing it to set terms through individual agreements with seasonal employees. NTEU claimed those provisions were a waiver of its bargaining rights that it could withdraw when the agreement expired. An arbitrator rejected a…
United States Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service (Agency) and National Treasury Employees Union (Union)
IRS and NTEU (FLRA 0-AR-4277): Survey information remedy narrowed to response and notice
The IRS changed how it administered employee surveys and discussed their results with staff. NTEU claimed the agency failed to bargain, bypassed the union, and withheld requested survey information. An arbitrator rejected the bargaining and bypass claims but found that the IRS both failed to answer…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2145 (Union) and United States Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Richmond, Virginia (Agency)
AFGE Local 2145 and Richmond VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-4272): reclassification delay grievance returns to arbitration
A Richmond VA employee requested a desk audit, and the agency reclassified her position at a higher grade about a year later. AFGE Local 2145 grieved the time taken to complete the reclassification process under its labor agreement. The arbitrator treated that claim as a barred…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, National Veterans Affairs Council (Union)
VA health administration and AFGE national council (FLRA 0-AR-4260): Saturday premium pay review must be redone
A VA arbitrator ordered the agency to reconsider which health care positions qualified for Saturday premium pay, including Federal Wage Service positions it had excluded as a group. The agency developed a new definition of covered work, added ten positions, but again excluded all Federal Wage…
Shelton Brothers Enterprises
Twelve-month penalty payment plan approved
An earlier settlement reduced Shelton Brothers Enterprises' penalty from $1,500 to $1,050 and required payment within 30 days. The company then requested permission to pay the reduced amount over twelve months. Judge Jerold Feldman held that he retained jurisdiction because the case was not to be…
A.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Seattle, WA
A.J. (ECAB 10-0619): Makeshift mail job cannot support wage-capacity finding
A.J., a postal clerk with accepted shoulder conditions, worked in a limited-duty mail assignment that OWCP used to set her wage-earning capacity in 2003. The assignment was tailored to her restrictions, excluded regular clerk tasks and allowed special help with heavier work. It ended when the…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Charleston, WV
D.S. (ECAB 10-0423): Late reconsideration request did not show clear error
D.S., a postal customer-service manager, sought reconsideration of OWCP's 2007 denial of his cervical condition claim. His March 2009 request came more than a year after the merits decision. He said he had requested a hearing in December 2007, but the copy in the record was marked received in April…
D.H. and Department of the Army, Army National Guard, Carson City, NV
D.H. (ECAB 10-0095): Injury claim denied for lack of medical proof
D.H., an Army National Guard mechanic, reported slipping from a catwalk and landing on his elbow and pelvis. The Board accepted that the fall occurred. A nurse's note reported a back sprain and contusions, while a physician's x-ray report found no acute fracture and raised only a question about…
S.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Central Texas Veterans Health Care System, Temple, TX
S.S. (ECAB 09-2365): Reconsideration refusal upheld in hearing loss claim
S.S., a pharmacy technician, claimed that workplace noise caused her hearing loss. OWCP denied the claim after a specialist found essentially normal hearing and insufficient workplace noise to cause hearing loss. In seeking reconsideration, S.S. submitted information about a coworker's accepted…
K.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Sam Dexter, MO
K.P. (ECAB 09-2329): Back condition claim lacked reasoned medical support
K.P., a rural letter carrier, attributed a lumbar disc condition to bending and twisting while delivering mail. The Board accepted that she had disc bulges and performed those work activities. It found the medical opinions insufficient to establish causation: one doctor recorded only K.P.'s belief…
P.C. and Department of the Air Force, Tinker Air Force Base, OK
P.C. (ECAB 09-2205): Duplicate evidence did not reopen hearing loss award
OWCP accepted P.C.'s work-related hearing loss and authorized hearing aids, but later found his impairment was not ratable for a schedule award. P.C. sought reconsideration using copies of material already in the record. The Board held that duplicate documents did not meet the standard for…
V.F. and Department of Veterans Affairs, John J. Pershing Veterans Medical Center, Popular Bluff, MO
V.F. (ECAB 09-2117): Emotional condition claim returned for medical review
V.F., a Veterans Affairs supervisor, attributed anxiety to difficulties supervising an assistant and completing tasks he left unfinished. OWCP denied the claim after finding no compensable employment factor. The Board found that supervising the assistant and completing unfinished work were part of…
V.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Macon, GA
V.N. (ECAB 09-2004): Standard leave documentation letter was not abuse
V.N., a postal employee on extended sick leave, attributed an aggravation of her emotional condition to a supervisor's letter seeking updated medical documentation. She saw its warning about possible absence without leave or discipline as threatening. The Board found the letter followed standard…
D.T. and Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration, Hazard, KY
D.T. (ECAB 09-1958): Hearing loss claim returned for impartial examination
D.T., a federal coal mine inspector, had documented hearing loss and substantial workplace noise exposure. One ear specialist attributed the hearing loss to causes other than federal employment noise; another found it compatible with occupational noise exposure. The Board found their opinions of…
R.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
R.L. (ECAB 09-1948): Schedule award claim requires its own decision
R.L. sought a schedule award after OWCP terminated wage-loss and medical benefits for an earlier accepted injury. OWCP treated her request as an untimely challenge to that termination. The Board held that permanent impairment and wage-loss disability are distinct issues. OWCP could not refuse to…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1122 (Union) and Social Security Administration (Agency)
AFGE Local 1122 and Social Security Administration (FLRA 0-AR-4635): union exceptions to arbitration award denied
AFGE Local 1122 challenged an arbitration award in a dispute with the Social Security Administration. The agency opposed the union's exceptions. The Authority concluded that the award was not deficient under the grounds raised or under the statutory test for reviewing arbitration awards. It denied…
International Association of Firefighters, Local F-25 (Union) and United States Department of the Navy, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic, Fire and Emergency Services (Agency)
Firefighters Local F-25 and Navy Region Mid-Atlantic (FLRA 0-AR-4622): reconsideration denied in patient report case
A Navy fire and emergency services employee was suspended after an incomplete Pre-Hospital Patient Care Report. An arbitrator found that the employee was the Attendant-in-Charge responsible for the report, and the Authority had rejected the union's challenge to that finding. Firefighters Local F-25…
United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3145 (Union)
Gettysburg National Military Park and AFGE Local 3145 (FLRA 0-AR-4283): ranger's active commission must be restored
An arbitrator had ordered Gettysburg National Military Park to restore a ranger's law-enforcement commission after finding its revocation improper. The park restored the commission only to inactive status and required basic training before active status. In a compliance award, the arbitrator…
A.N. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Glynco, GA
A.N. (ECAB 09-2324): Knee injury claim lacked medical causation opinion
A.N., a Bureau of Prisons administrator, reported injuring his right knee while walking on steps at work. A physician diagnosed an anterior cruciate ligament tear, and an MRI showed a small tear. The Board found the incident established, but the physician's notes did not describe it or explain how…
B.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Riverdale, MD
B.B. (ECAB 09-2258): Late reconsideration lacked clear evidence of error
B.B. asked OWCP in 2009 to reconsider its November 1985 finding that residuals of a 1981 lumbar strain had ended. Her request was decades beyond the one-year deadline. She cited medical reports that she believed showed the old decision was wrong, but the Board found they did not establish error on…
P.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Priority Mail Center, Romulus, MI
P.F. (ECAB 09-2237): Surgery and disability not linked to accepted aggravation
OWCP accepted a temporary aggravation of P.F.'s degenerative lumbar arthritis. She later sought wage-loss compensation after back surgery. A second opinion physician said the surgery treated the underlying degenerative condition, and the Board found OWCP acted reasonably in relying on that opinion…
A.L. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, George Washington Memorial Parkway, McLean, VA
A.L. (ECAB 09-1921): Occupational disease claim lacked medical causation proof
A.L., a National Park Service planner, attributed neck and other conditions to duties that included drafting, travel and field work. The Board accepted that he performed those duties and had diagnosed cervical conditions. It found the physicians' reports lacked a reasoned explanation tying a…
T.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New York, NY
T.C. (ECAB 09-1911): Termination of foot injury benefits upheld
OWCP had accepted T.C.'s foot and ankle injuries after a power jack fell on his foot. His treating physicians and an OWCP examiner disagreed about ongoing disability, so OWCP obtained an impartial specialist's opinion. The Board gave that reasoned opinion special weight and found OWCP had met its…
T.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Clinton, OH
T.T. (ECAB 09-1907): Left arm award and pay rate affirmed
T.T. challenged both the impairment percentage and pay rate for her left arm schedule award. The Board accepted an OWCP medical consultant's correction of a referral physician's shoulder range-of-motion calculation, leaving eight percent impairment. Because T.T. had worked only about four months as…
L.H. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Civilian Personnel Advisory Center, Walla Walla, WA
L.H. (ECAB 09-1848): Neck injury claim lacked reasoned medical link
L.H., an Army Corps electrician, reported neck pain and left-sided numbness after moving suddenly to avoid a car while driving for work. The Board accepted that the incident happened. His surgeon attributed later cervical surgery to it, but did not explain how the incident caused or aggravated a…
N.P. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Flushing, NY
N.P. (ECAB 09-1837): Termination of injury benefits upheld
OWCP accepted N.P.'s neck, chest, elbow and back injuries after a workplace fall. Her treating physician and an agency examiner disagreed about continuing disability, so OWCP obtained an impartial neurologist's opinion. The Board gave that reasoned report special weight and held that OWCP had shown…
V.N. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Deportation and Removal Operations, San Francisco, CA
V.N. (ECAB 09-1600): Lumbar sprain benefits termination upheld
V.N., an immigration enforcement agent, sustained a lumbar sprain in a vehicle accident. A treating physician and an OWCP examiner disagreed about continuing effects, so OWCP obtained an impartial specialist's opinion. The Board gave that reasoned opinion special weight: the specialist found the…
In the Matter of L.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Vehicle Maintenance Facility, Capitol Heights, MD
L.H. (ECAB 09-0777): Disputed attorney fee returned for review
The claimant's lawyer sought approval of $6,842.29; the claimant said he had agreed to pay only $2,500. OWCP approved the lower figure, but the Board found the record lacked contemporaneous evidence of their original fee agreement. OWCP also had not assessed the services and local fee factors…
Lynette M. Rice v. Service Employees International, Incorporated and Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania
Rice v. Service Employees International (BRB 09-0785): permanent psychological disability benefits awarded
Lynette Rice worked as a truck driver in Kuwait and Iraq and developed a work-related psychological condition after stressful events during that employment. The administrative law judge awarded temporary total disability benefits but denied benefits after her symptoms abated away from the war zone…
United States Department of the Navy, Commander, Navy Region Hawaii, Federal Fire Department, Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Honolulu, Hawaii (Agency) and Federal Firefighters of Hawaii, International Association of Federal Firefighters, Local F-263 (Union)
Pearl Harbor Federal Fire Department and firefighters union (FLRA 0-AR-4580): suspension and attorney fee awards stand
An arbitrator found that the Pearl Harbor Federal Fire Department lacked just cause to suspend firefighters for seven days and ordered backpay. He later awarded the union $39,525 in attorney fees. The Navy challenged both rulings, but the Authority dismissed its objections to the initial suspension…
United States Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service (Agency) and National Treasury Employees Union (Union)
IRS and National Treasury Employees Union (FLRA 0-AR-4335): separate bargaining over local work schedules violated good faith duty
After its national labor agreement expired, the IRS insisted that the union bargain separately at the national level over changes to local alternative work schedule agreements. An arbitrator found that the agency acted in bad faith because those local agreements were covered by the expired national…
United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service (Agency) and National Federation of Federal Employees, Forest Service Council (Union)
Forest Service and NFFE Forest Service Council (FLRA 0-AR-4193): new objection to hurricane-duty overtime award dismissed
Forest Service law enforcement officers worked on Hurricane Katrina assignments in 2005. An arbitrator ruled that the days they spent on that duty should be excluded when calculating their later administratively uncontrollable overtime pay rates. The Forest Service challenged the award under the…
R.M. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Honolulu, HI
R.M. (ECAB 09-2255): Reported workplace fall not established
R.M., a Bureau of Prisons employee, said he slipped in water while escorting inmates and injured his neck and back. He did not report the fall at the time and filed his claim more than a month later. When he missed work in April, he told a supervisor that he had twisted his back at home; early…
W.W. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Forces Command, Fort Polk, LA
W.W. (ECAB 09-2243): Bilateral arm award returned for medical review
W.W., an Army plumber with accepted carpal tunnel syndrome in both arms, received a schedule award based on two physicians' five percent ratings. The physicians used different rating tables but neither adequately explained why his table applied or how he chose grade modifiers. The Board also…
J.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Westville Post Office, Westville, NJ
J.P. (ECAB 09-2137): Termination of foot injury benefits reversed
J.P., a postal carrier, received benefits after a work-related right foot injury and surgery. OWCP ended them based on a second opinion physician's statement that he had recovered and could return to full duty. But that physician also found pain while walking in a particular gait and tenderness…
C.M., claiming as widow of J.M. and Department of the Navy, Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, CA
C.M. (ECAB 09-1944): Widow's death benefit denial affirmed
C.M. sought death benefits after her husband, a former Navy shipyard employee with accepted injuries from 1984, died in 2008. His death certificate listed renal disease, heart failure and dementia. A physician discussed his disability and later health problems but did not link his death to the work…
R.G. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Baton Rouge, LA
R.G. (ECAB 09-1943): Recurrence of disability denial affirmed
R.G. worked as a transportation security screener and had accepted neck, shoulder and arm strains from pulling luggage through an x-ray machine. After returning to a limited-duty ticket checking job, she stopped work and claimed a recurrence of disability beginning June 6, 2008. The Board found…
P.V. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Pittsburgh, PA
P.V. (ECAB 09-1852): Two percent left arm award affirmed
P.V., a federal air marshal, injured his left shoulder during training and later had surgery for a partial rotator cuff tear. His physician initially rated his left arm impairment at nine percent using the fifth edition of the impairment guides. OWCP required a new rating under the sixth edition…
S.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Kansas City, MO
S.D. (ECAB 09-1828): Arm impairment awards and basic pay rate affirmed
S.D., a postal bulk mail technician, had accepted conditions affecting both arms and had previously received impairment awards. OWCP awarded one additional percentage point for each arm, bringing the totals to 13 percent for the right arm and 16 percent for the left. The Board found that the…
United States Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration (Agency) and National Air Traffic Controllers Association (Union)
FAA and National Air Traffic Controllers Association (FLRA 0-AR-4604): remedy for improper controller decertification upheld
After an air traffic incident in which two aircraft took evasive action, the FAA decertified a radar controller and ordered remedial training. An arbitrator found that the decertification violated FAA rules because the controller had no prior performance problems. She ordered the FAA to remove the…
United States Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 222, National Council 118, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Union)
ICE and AFGE Local 222 (FLRA 0-AR-4525): late reconsideration motion dismissed
Immigration and Customs Enforcement sought reconsideration after the Authority dismissed its exceptions to an arbitration award. The agency filed its reconsideration motion after the deadline and requested a waiver without stating the union's position, which the Authority's rules require. The…
United States Department of Homeland Security, United States Customs and Border Protection (Agency) and National Treasury Employees Union (Union)
Customs and Border Protection and NTEU (FLRA 0-AR-4396): arbitration award narrowed to the submitted grievance
After the National Treasury Employees Union was certified to represent a new Customs and Border Protection unit, the agency announced changes to dues withholding, official time, facilities, and grievance procedures tied to expired union agreements. An arbitrator found that the agency had unlawfully…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Louis Stokes Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 31 (Union)
Cleveland VA medical center and AFGE Local 31 (FLRA 0-AR-4325): priority consideration remedy upheld
The Cleveland VA medical center filled a heavy mobile equipment mechanic job after considering applicants from inside the facility and then opening recruitment more widely. A union grievance challenged how an internal applicant was considered. The arbitrator found that the medical center had…
7/11 Materials, Inc.
New owner given time to contest assessment
MSHA issued a proposed assessment to the Hiatt Ready Mix Mine before 7/11 Materials said it acquired the mine. The new owner stated that it had not received the citations or assessment and began contacting MSHA after receiving a delinquency notice. The Secretary did not oppose reopening and…
Bowie Resources, LLC
Seven missing penalty contests reopened
Bowie Resources said it marked seven citations and orders for contest on a proposed assessment form and mailed that contest to MSHA's Civil Penalty Compliance Office. It separately paid $3,974 for the remaining citations. MSHA received the payment but had no record of receiving the contest form…
ASARCO, LLC
Good cause for late contest sent to judge
ASARCO said it returned a proposed assessment form identifying the citations it wished to contest, but it did not state when the form was sent. MSHA had no record of receiving the contest. After receiving a delinquency notice, ASARCO sought reopening and also made a late payment of $28,197. The…
Aggregates USA LLC
Accounting omission reopened penalty contest
Aggregates USA contested Citation No. 6595211 before MSHA issued the related proposed assessment. The company said it then marked the $100 penalty for contest and paid $1,409 for the remaining citations, but its accounting office failed to mail the contest form. MSHA received the payment and had no…
Phillips Companies
Paid penalty reopened for contested citation
Phillips Companies requested a conference on one of five citations covered by a proposed penalty assessment. The company said it never received the assessment and paid it in full after learning it was delinquent, then asked to reopen the penalty for the disputed citation. The Secretary did not…
John S. Olynick, Inc.
Reopening denied after estoppel concern resolved
John S. Olynick paid a proposed penalty assessment and later learned that MSHA had begun a possible personal-liability investigation of the company's owner. The company asked to reopen the assessment because it had not understood that payment might be treated as admitting the violation and used…
Matter of Luis Felipe GARCIA ARREOLA
Post-TPCR release must be tied to the detention ground
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal from an Immigration Judge's decision granting a Mexican respondent release from custody on a $3,000 bond. The Board held that mandatory detention under section 236(c) applies only when a person is released from non-DHS custody after…
Knife River Midwest LLC
Mistaken penalty payment reopened
Knife River had already contested a citation when MSHA later issued the related proposed penalty assessment. The company mistakenly paid that penalty instead of contesting the assessment. Counsel discovered the error on the day the assessment became a final Commission order, and Knife River sought…
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.