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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Spencer Quarries, Inc.
Corrected order adds two citations and $200
Judge Richard W. Manning corrected an earlier decision that had omitted two citations resolved without a hearing. Spencer Quarries had agreed to pay the proposed $100 penalty for each citation. The Judge found those penalties appropriate, affirmed both citations, and corrected the total amount due…
S.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, City of Industry, CA
S.S. (ECAB 10-1135): Late appeal dismissed
S.S. appealed an OWCP claim denial more than 180 days after its May 6, 2009 issuance. She asked the Board to extend the filing period because she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent treatment. The Board found that her evidence did not establish that she was incapacitated or unable…
H.J. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Tampa International Airport, Tampa, FL
H.J. (ECAB 09-2366): Schedule award claim returned for medical review
H.J., an airport security screener, sought a schedule award after an accepted lumbar strain. OWCP denied the claim because the medical ratings addressed her spine or whole person, neither of which is directly compensable under the schedule award provisions. The Board agreed that those ratings did…
C.R. and Architect of the Capitol, Washington, DC
C.R. (ECAB 09-2362): Termination of medical benefits reversed
C.R., a subway car operator in the Capitol complex, sustained accepted rib fractures, an arm and shoulder contusion, and spinal sprains in a work accident. She returned to full duty in March 2008, but her physician continued treating symptoms from the accepted injuries. OWCP terminated benefits in…
S.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, North Metro, GA
S.P. (ECAB 09-2322): Rescission upheld, impairment claim returned
S.P., a postal security guard, had accepted right shoulder and left knee injuries. OWCP first granted a two percent right arm award, then rescinded it after finding that the medical report used to calculate it measured his left shoulder instead. The Board held that OWCP adequately explained the…
L.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Mobile, AL
L.W. (ECAB 09-2264): Lifting injury claim denial affirmed
L.W., a city mail carrier, claimed that lifting mail trays injured his left shoulder and arm on January 31, 2009. His medical and physical therapy records, the employer's account, and his claim form gave different dates for the alleged incident. OWCP asked him to explain the discrepancies, but he…
I.B. and Department of Defense, Naval Air Station, Alameda, CA
I.B. (ECAB 09-1887): Wage earning capacity ruling reversed
I.B. had an accepted neck injury, and OWCP reduced his compensation in 2000 based on his supposed ability to work as an assistant manager at a truck terminal. The agency relied on a physician's work restrictions from 1994 to find that position suitable, even though later medical reports described…
T.W. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Seattle, WA
T.W. (ECAB 09-1859): Wage loss denial after shift change affirmed
T.W., an airport security worker with an accepted lumbar strain, had returned to light duty. She declined a modified job beginning at 5:00 a.m. and sought wage loss compensation for the period until her employer offered a later shift. Her physician recommended an 11:30 a.m. start to help her use a…
D.H. and Department of Defense, Defense Finance & Accounting Service, Indianapolis, IN
D.H. (ECAB 09-1804): Right eye award and reconsideration refusal affirmed
D.H. had accepted right eye conditions following a workplace injury and received schedule awards totaling 50 percent impairment of that eye. He argued for a 100 percent rating based on his condition before surgery and correction. The Board held that FECA required an uncorrected vision rating, but…
D.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Stow, OH
D.B. (ECAB 09-1691): Depression disability claim returned for review
D.B., a postal employee, had an accepted depression claim arising from overwork and other established job duties. She later sought compensation for leave and wage loss over specified periods. OWCP denied the request by questioning whether her emotional condition was related to work, even though it…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3911 (Union) and United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2 (Agency)
AFGE Local 3911 and EPA Region 2 (FLRA 0-AR-4628): union arbitration exceptions denied
AFGE Local 3911 challenged an arbitration award involving EPA Region 2. In a short decision, the Authority concluded that the union had not shown the award to be deficient under the grounds it raised. The decision cites standards for claims that an arbitrator exceeded her authority or interpreted a…
National Air Traffic Controllers Association (Union) and United States Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Fort Worth, Texas (Agency)
National Air Traffic Controllers Association and FAA (FLRA 0-AR-4420): interest added to hazardous duty backpay
An FAA aeronautical engineer sought hazardous duty pay after being assigned to investigate an airplane crash in rural Texas. An arbitrator awarded the pay but withheld interest because the grievance had taken years to reach a hearing. The union challenged that omission. The Authority held that the…
Social Security Administration, Office of Disability Adjudication and Review, Baltimore, Maryland (Petitioner/Activity) and Association of Administrative Law Judges, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, AFL-CIO (Exclusive Representative/Union)
Social Security hearing centers and ALJ union (FLRA WA-RP-09-0057): hearing center judges excluded from bargaining unit
Social Security asked whether administrative law judges at its Falls Church and Albuquerque National Hearing Centers belonged in a bargaining unit. A Regional Director found that the judges supervised attorneys and excluded them from the unit. The judges' union sought review, arguing that the…
W.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, League City, TX
W.R. (ECAB 09-2336): Late reconsideration request denied
W.R., a mail carrier, sought reconsideration of an OWCP denial of his occupational disease claim. He contacted a congressional office during the one year period but did not file his own reconsideration request with OWCP until June 2009, more than a year after the last merits decision. The Board…
S.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Des Moines, IA
S.O. (ECAB 09-2315): Hip condition claim denial affirmed
S.O., a postal letter carrier, attributed right hip and thigh pain to long hours and walking routes on ice and snow. OWCP accepted that the described work activities occurred but denied the claim for lack of medical proof of a work-related condition. The Board found that the submitted reports…
R.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Zablocki Medical Center, Milwaukee, WI
R.C. (ECAB 09-2313): Retirement overpayment amount sent back
R.C., a former VA nursing assistant, elected federal retirement benefits effective January 2009 but continued receiving wage loss compensation checks through July. The Board agreed that receiving both benefits for the same period created an overpayment. R.C. said she had returned two uncashed…
W.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Alexandria, LA
W.S. (ECAB 09-2239): Refusal of work benefit termination reversed
W.S., a VA utility systems operator with an accepted lumbar fracture, was offered a modified human resources secretary position. He declined it, and OWCP ended his compensation for refusing suitable work. The Board found that the job met the physical restrictions in the medical evidence. But OWCP…
M.H. and Department of Labor, Mine Safety & Health Administration, Morgantown, WV
M.H. (ECAB 09-2147): Tick bite claim timeliness sent back
M.H., a mine safety inspector, reported a tick bite during a 2002 worksite inspection and filed a claim after a later Lyme disease diagnosis. The Board held that a claim based on a single known bite was a traumatic injury claim and that the ordinary three year filing period began with the bite. It…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jamaica Plains, MA
J.M. (ECAB 09-1805): Hernia claim denial affirmed
J.M., a letter carrier, felt groin pain while climbing stairs to deliver mail and later had surgery for bilateral hernias. The Board accepted that the stair climbing incident occurred but found that his physicians did not explain how it caused or aggravated the hernias. One physician's form even…
D.T. and U.S. Coast Guard, Baltimore, MD
D.T. (ECAB 09-1442): Overpayment and recovery rate affirmed
D.T., a former Coast Guard structural worker, returned to paid private employment while a compensation check still covered days after his return. OWCP calculated that the excess payment for those days was $336.64. The Board upheld the calculation and found D.T. at fault because he had been told to…
C.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Flushing, NY
C.A. (ECAB 09-1158): Recurrence denials and reconsideration refusal affirmed
C.A., a postal mail handler with accepted abdominal, inguinal and groin conditions, claimed renewed disability after returning to modified work. She said that the assigned mail handling duties exceeded her restrictions. The Board found no medical report showing that her accepted conditions had…
Matter of Jesus INTERIANO-ROSA
Timely applications are not abandoned for missing supplements
The Board reviewed a respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge deemed applications for special rule cancellation of removal under NACARA and voluntary departure abandoned because supporting records and a requested brief were missing or late. The Board held that when an application for relief…
P.P. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Aurora, CO
P.P. (ECAB 09-2370): June release reversing suitable work termination
P.P., an airport security screener with accepted left knee injuries, declined a modified screening job. OWCP ended his compensation for refusing suitable work. The Board found that his physician had not adequately explained how P.P. could perform the job's lifting duties despite ongoing knee and…
R.M. and Department of the Air Force, Hill Air Force Base, UT
R.M. (ECAB 09-2368): Late overpayment hearing request denied
OWCP issued a final overpayment decision concerning R.M., a former Air Force secretary, in January 2008. She requested a prerecoupment hearing in July 2009. The Board held that the right to such a hearing had to be exercised within 30 days of OWCP's preliminary overpayment notice. Once OWCP issued…
V.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Richmond, VA
V.C. (ECAB 09-2245): Reconsideration refusal affirmed
V.C., a rural mail carrier with accepted elbow conditions, refused a modified job before OWCP terminated her compensation in November 2008. She accepted the job after the deadline and later returned to work. She asked OWCP to reconsider the termination, arguing that her return showed it was wrong…
D.S. and Department of Defense, Portsmouth Naval Yard, Portsmouth, NH
D.S. (ECAB 09-2107): Gun belt injury claim returned for medical opinion
D.S., a naval yard police officer, reported hip and thigh pain after repeatedly getting into a patrol car and climbing stairs while wearing a heavy gun belt. OWCP accepted that the activities occurred but denied his injury claim for insufficient medical proof of causation. Two physicians associated…
M.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Englewood, CO
M.C. (ECAB 09-1880): Emotional condition claim returned for new opinion
M.C., a postal letter carrier, sought compensation for an emotional condition she associated with her workload and treatment at work. OWCP accepted three factors involving route growth, out of sequence mail and unanswered requests for job guidance or a route audit. The Board found that the treating…
G.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chicago, IL
G.M. (ECAB 09-1835): Compensation suspension reversed for lack of notice
G.M., a postal letter carrier with accepted back conditions, declined a rescheduled OWCP medical examination. The Board found that OWCP reasonably required the examination and that her objections did not excuse attendance. But before suspending compensation, OWCP had to give her 14 days to explain…
J.W. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Charleston, SC
J.W. (ECAB 09-1800): Wage earning capacity reduction reversed
J.W., a transportation security screener with accepted back injuries, could not return to her former job. OWCP reduced her wage loss compensation based on an estimated ability to earn wages as a cosmetics and toiletries sales clerk. OWCP’s second-opinion physician limited how long she could stand…
Black Beauty Coal Company
Loose conveyor guards upheld as unwarrantable
MSHA cited Black Beauty because guards around a conveyor tailpiece were hung with chains and rusty tie wire, could move under slight pressure, and had been pushed apart by mud and coal fines. Judge Margaret A. Miller found that the guards were not securely in place and that a miner could slip near…
Matter of Luis CASTILLO-PADILLA
Conditional parole is not immigration parole
The Board reviewed a Mexican respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge denied adjustment of status based on his marriage to a United States citizen. The respondent had been released from Department of Homeland Security custody on a $12,000 cash bond and received a Form I-94 showing conditional…
M.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Grand Rapids, MI
M.P. (ECAB 09-2360): Denial of reconsideration upheld
M.P., a rural postal carrier with accepted shoulder injuries, had received schedule awards for permanent impairment of both arms. OWCP denied her request for larger awards, and she sought reconsideration. The new medical report she submitted gave a lower impairment rating than the awards she…
S.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Milwaukee, WI
S.B. (ECAB 09-2356): Hernia claim denial upheld
S.B., a postal worker, claimed that lifting heavy parcels at work caused a right inguinal hernia. His surgeon diagnosed and repaired the hernia but said he was unsure whether work caused or aggravated it. S.B. also supplied general information about hernias and heavy lifting. The Board found that…
A.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fairfield, CT
A.W. (ECAB 09-2351): Reconsideration denied after duplicate reports
A.W., a postal employee, sought a schedule award for permanent impairment linked to previously accepted injuries. After OWCP denied the award, she requested reconsideration and submitted two medical reports that OWCP had already reviewed. The Board found that the duplicate reports were not relevant…
H.B. and Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration, Hebron, OH
H.B. (ECAB 09-2240): Lung impairment award denial upheld
H.B., a federal mine inspector exposed to dust at work, had an accepted claim for coal workers' pneumoconiosis. He sought a schedule award for permanent impairment of his lungs. Two physicians evaluated his pulmonary function tests under the applicable impairment guide and found a zero percent…
R.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bellmawr, NJ
R.B. (ECAB 09-1868): Arm impairment award sent back for medical clarification
R.B., a postal mail processor with accepted left shoulder bursitis and bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, received schedule awards based on 13 percent impairment of her left arm and 3 percent of her right arm. An impartial examiner supplied those ratings after other physicians disagreed. The Board…
D.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tampa, FL
D.L. (ECAB 09-1796): Denial of continued compensation upheld
D.L., a postal employee, had an accepted emotional condition related to a 1994 workplace assault. OWCP ended her compensation in March 2007 after an impartial psychiatrist concluded that the work-related condition had resolved. The Board gave that opinion special weight because it explained the…
G.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Upland, CA
G.M. (ECAB 09-1788): Recurrence of disability claim denied
G.M., a postal clerk with accepted heel spurs and plantar fasciitis, sought wage loss compensation beginning September 21, 2007. He had stopped working in a modified position after being placed off duty for workplace conduct, and he argued that his employer had not provided suitable accommodations…
W.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Columbus, OH
W.A. (ECAB 09-309): Traumatic injury claim denial upheld
W.A., a postal letter box mechanic, reported back and knee injuries after slipping while closing a truck door at work. OWCP accepted that the incident happened but denied his injury claim. The Board found that his chiropractor's reports lacked the x-ray evidence needed for them to count as…
United States Department of the Interior, United States Park Police (Agency) and Fraternal Order of Police, United States Park Police Labor Committee (Union)
United States Park Police and police union (FLRA 0-AR-4330): overtime ruling left in place
The Park Police sought reconsideration of an Authority ruling on officers' overtime compensation. That earlier ruling left in place the arbitrator's conclusion that the Fair Labor Standards Act and a District of Columbia law apply together, with officers receiving whichever provides the greater…
Independence Coal Company, Inc.
Flooded secondary escapeway citation affirmed
More than 300 feet of Independence Coal's secondary escapeway was covered rib to rib by dark water that reached at least 15 inches deep and concealed track, ties, loose rock, and an uneven floor. Judge Margaret A. Miller found that miners, including stretcher teams, could not pass quickly and…
Snapperfarm, Inc.
In re Snapperfarm, Inc. (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 09-19): petition dismissed with prejudice
Snapperfarm, Inc. sought review of its NPDES Permit No. PR0026361. The company asked to withdraw its petition after settlement negotiations with EPA Region 2. Region 2 clarified its interpretation of certain permit terms and issued an Administrative Order giving Snapperfarm additional time to…
Spencer Quarries, Inc.
Icy-walkway citation vacated, contractor-training citation affirmed
MSHA cited Spencer Quarries for ice and snow on an elevated walkway and for failing to tell a construction contractor about MSHA training obligations. Judge Richard W. Manning vacated the walkway citation because the plant was closed that day, the walkway had been cleared at the end of the prior…
J.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Roseland Postal Facility, Chicago, IL
J.D. (ECAB 09-2374): Untimely reconsideration denial upheld
J.D., a postal employee whose respiratory condition claim had been denied, requested reconsideration more than a year after the Board's earlier decision. She said she had sent an earlier request to the wrong address, but OWCP found no timely request in its claim files. The medical records…
M.P. and Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Sacramento, CA
M.P. (ECAB 09-2364): Denial of merit review upheld
M.P., a federal safety specialist, claimed that workplace stress contributed to medical conditions including a perforated ulcer. OWCP denied the claim because she had not established a compensable work factor. In requesting reconsideration, she submitted a statement, medical records, a coworker's…
C.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Montrose, CO
C.R. (ECAB 09-2273): Right arm impairment award increased
C.R., a postal clerk with an accepted right shoulder injury, received a schedule award based on 15 percent impairment of her right arm. Her physician rated the arm at 20 percent, while OWCP's medical adviser used different shoulder motion measurements. The Board found that her physician's more…
S.V. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Milwaukee, WI
S.V. (ECAB 09-2193): Wage earning capacity decision left in place
S.V., a medical clerk with accepted work injuries, sought compensation for periods away from work and for a difference in pay after an earlier wage earning capacity decision. The Board found that her medical reports did not explain a material change in an accepted condition or establish disability…
J.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Valrico, FL
J.W. (ECAB 09-1844): Emotional condition claim denial upheld
J.W., a rural postal carrier, claimed an emotional condition after disputes about her work restrictions, assignments, and treatment by supervisors. The Board accepted one incident as a compensable work factor: her supervisor's call to her doctor's office seeking clarification of a work status form…
C.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Antioch, CA
C.R. (ECAB 09-1791): Termination of compensation reversed
C.R., a postal letter carrier, received benefits for accepted bilateral plantar fasciitis after a work injury. OWCP terminated them based on a physician it had treated as an impartial examiner. The Board found that the supposed conflict about a back condition was invalid because a podiatrist's…
S.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Indianapolis, IN
S.O. (ECAB 09-1553): One treatment visit added to wage loss claim
S.O., a postal mail carrier with accepted neck and shoulder conditions, sought compensation for intermittent hours missed between July 2006 and November 2007. OWCP had allowed some treatment time but denied 198.27 additional hours. The Board found that her doctor's January 25, 2007 visit supported…
Pritchard Mining Company, Inc.
Reopening denied for unexplained delay
Pritchard Mining asked the Commission to reopen a proposed assessment after stating that it had timely contested the underlying citations but did not receive the later penalty form because of an unspecified error. The Secretary opposed reopening because the company did not explain the missed…
F.P. and Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service, Dumas, AR
F.P. (ECAB 10-417): Overpayment reduced by one day's award
F.P. received schedule award payments for a right arm impairment after the award period ended, creating an overpayment. OWCP calculated the debt at $24,798.01. The Board found that OWCP had omitted one day of compensation still due within the award period and reduced the debt to $24,757.43…
R.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Albuquerque, NM
R.W. (ECAB 09-2353): Life insurance premium overpayment finding reversed
R.W., a retired federal employee receiving compensation, was told he owed $3,689.38 because of life insurance premium withholding errors. The Board found that OWCP's notice gave an inadequate and inconsistent explanation of how the amount arose. A worksheet suggested several different withholding…
R.T. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Systems Command, Cherry Point, NC
R.T. (ECAB 09-2295): Hearing loss award and hearing aid denials upheld
R.T., a federal aircraft examiner, had an accepted claim for work-related hearing loss. OWCP denied a schedule award because the qualifying audiogram produced a zero percent impairment rating under its hearing loss formula. The Board upheld that calculation and found that older audiograms lacked…
B.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Bulk Mail Center, Philadelphia, PA
B.L. (ECAB 09-2225): Termination of carpal tunnel benefits reversed
B.L., a postal maintenance mechanic, had an accepted claim for bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. OWCP terminated his compensation and medical benefits after a doctor concluded that the condition had ended. The Board found that the doctor had been selected to resolve a dispute about other claimed…
E.W. and U.S. Postal Service, North Houston Processing and Distribution Center, Houston, TX
E.W. (ECAB 09-1876): Suitable work penalty reversed for missing notice
E.W., a postal mail handler with accepted shoulder and neck injuries, accepted a modified work offer but did not return to the position. OWCP terminated her monetary benefits for neglecting suitable work. After the initial notice, E.W. supplied medical reports addressing her ability to work. The…
D.F. and Department of the Air Force, Scott Air Force Base, IL
D.F. (ECAB 09-1232): Three percent award for each leg upheld
D.F., an Air Force employee with accepted back and sciatic conditions, received a schedule award for three percent impairment of each leg. One physician had estimated much higher ratings, so OWCP obtained an impartial examination. The impartial surgeon found no objective motor weakness or atrophy…
C.W. and Department of Defense, Defense General Supply Center
C.W. (ECAB 09-916): Emotional condition claim denial upheld
C.W., a Defense Department employee, claimed an emotional condition after alleging sexual misconduct by a supervisor and mistreatment during the agency's response. The Board found that the claimed misconduct and retaliation had not been substantiated by the evidence in this compensation record. It…
Broadcasting Board of Governors, Office of Cuba Broadcasting (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1812 (Union)
Office of Cuba Broadcasting and AFGE Local 1812 (FLRA 0-AR-4585): office move remedy upheld
The Office of Cuba Broadcasting moved an employee from a studio to a newsroom without finishing bargaining over the new workspace under its union agreement. An arbitrator found a contractual violation and later ordered the employee returned from a subsequent office to the newsroom. The agency…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 987 (Union) and United States Department of the Air Force, Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia (Agency)
AFGE Local 987 and Robins Air Force Base (FLRA 0-AR-4529): attorney fee denial sent back for explanation
An arbitrator reduced a Robins Air Force Base employee's three-day suspension to a written reprimand and awarded three days of backpay. He denied the union's request for attorney fees in one sentence. The Authority held that the employee was a prevailing party because he obtained a reduced penalty…
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.