Federal Agency Decisions
Federal workers' compensation appeals from the Department of Labor's Employees' Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB), federal-sector labor-relations cases from the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), Longshore Act and Black Lung Benefits Act appeals from the Department of Labor's Benefits Review Board (BRB), precedent decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), environmental permit and penalty appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB), and whistleblower and other labor appeals from the Department of Labor's Administrative Review Board (ARB), each with a plain-English summary, the law it cites, and whether it counts as precedent. More agencies are coming.
No decisions match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3448 (Union) and Social Security Administration, Region V (Agency)
AFGE Local 3448 and SSA Region V (FLRA 0-AR-4590): union arbitration exceptions denied
AFGE Local 3448 challenged an arbitration award involving Social Security Administration Region V. The Authority found that the union had not shown the award to be deficient under the grounds raised. Its short decision cites standards for challenges based on evidence, arbitrator bias or excess of…
Joel Lamplot and Teri Lamplot
In re Joel Lamplot and Teri Lamplot (EAB NPDES Appeal Nos. 09-02 and 09-03): review denied
Joel Lamplot and Teri Lamplot challenged four NPDES permits issued by EPA Region 7 to concentrated animal feeding operations in Nebraska. They argued that Nebraska, rather than EPA, should have issued the permits and disputed whether non-Indian-owned fee land within the Omaha and Winnebago…
Black Beauty Coal Company
Settlement-review questions certified to Commission
Judge Margaret A. Miller had denied proposed settlements in three Black Beauty penalty dockets because the record did not adequately support large penalty reductions under the Mine Act's six penalty criteria and deterrent purpose. The Secretary asked for immediate review. The Judge certified…
R.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Wallingford, CT
R.R. (ECAB 09-2320): Schedule-award claim not reopened
R.R., a postal rehabilitation clerk with accepted neck and low-back sprains, sought a schedule award for permanent impairment. OWCP had denied the award, and R.R. later asked it to reconsider. The Board found that his argument repeated a claim OWCP had already considered, while his newer treatment…
L.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jacksonville, FL
L.B. (ECAB 09-2261): Hand-injury claim lacked a causal medical explanation
L.B., a postal letter carrier, reported that two fingers on his right hand locked while he was casing mail. OWCP accepted that the workplace incident occurred but denied his claim because the medical evidence did not explain how it caused his trigger-finger condition. The Board found that one…
L.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Herman, NE
L.T. (ECAB 09-2128): Timely reconsideration request sent back to OWCP
L.T., a postal carrier with an accepted knee injury, asked OWCP to reconsider its denial of a later right ankle fracture claim. OWCP received her request after the one-year period and applied the stricter standard for late requests. The Board found that OWCP had not kept the mailing envelope, so…
C.L. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, San Diego, CA
C.L. (ECAB 09-1905): Recurrence denial upheld; reconsideration refusal set aside
C.L., a former VA nurse, sought compensation for a claimed recurrence of disability decades after an accepted lower-back injury. The Board upheld OWCP's September 2008 denial because the medical opinion OWCP relied on outweighed the evidence then supporting a connection between the claimed…
M.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Trenton Processing & Distribution Center, Trenton, NJ
M.P. (ECAB 09-1752): Recurrence of disability not established
M.P., a postal clerk, sustained accepted back and shoulder sprains while loading mail and then returned to limited-duty work. He sought wage-loss benefits, claiming that those injuries caused a new period of disability beginning in November 2007. The Board found that his medical reports did not…
J.S. and Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Butte, MT
J.S. (ECAB 09-1690): Herbicide-related disease claim denied
J.S., a former seasonal laborer for the Bureau of Land Management, claimed that exposure to 2,4-D herbicide at work caused polyneuropathy and other conditions. OWCP denied the claim after obtaining an impartial medical opinion on the disputed cause of his condition. The Board found that the…
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Southeastern, PA
D.C. (ECAB 09-1129): Additional left arm schedule award denied
D.C., a Postal Service employee with accepted left carpal tunnel syndrome, sought an award beyond the 16 percent left arm impairment she had already received. An impartial examiner rated the accepted condition at five percent under the A.M.A. Guides, and OWCP found no basis for a further award. A…
Performance Coal Company
Reopening request dismissed after full payment
Performance Coal sought to reopen penalties for 62 violations totaling $95,627 after MSHA recorded no timely contest. The company said counsel mailed the contest within 30 days of the date its safety director stamped on the assessment. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but explained that the…
M.T. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, San Diego, CA
M.T. (ECAB 09-2298): Refusal to reopen disability claim upheld
M.T., a retired VA human resources specialist, had accepted arm and shoulder conditions attributed to years of clerical work. She sought compensation for a later claimed period of total disability and asked OWCP to reconsider its denial. The Board found that her request repeated earlier legal…
W.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Landover, MD
W.W. (ECAB 09-2252): Injury claim and late hearing request denied
W.W., a postal dock clerk, was struck by a container at work and reported injuries to several parts of her body. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied her claim because the submitted records did not contain a physician's diagnosis and reasoned opinion connecting an injury to it. The…
M.M. and Department of the Army, Fort Sam Houston, TX
M.M. (ECAB 09-2250): Back injury claim denied for lack of medical link
M.M., an Army police officer, reported that a metal locker fell onto his back at work in 2006 and that wearing body armor and a duty belt later worsened his symptoms. OWCP accepted that the locker incident occurred and that he wore the equipment, but denied his injury claim. The Board found that…
C.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Celina, OH
C.E. (ECAB 09-2216): Overpayment waiver denial and recovery rate upheld
OWCP had overpaid C.E., a postal worker, by $5,846.62 after failing to deduct health insurance premiums. The Board had already upheld the debt but returned the waiver issue to OWCP. OWCP requested updated financial information, and C.E. did not provide the required questionnaire or supporting…
P.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bardstown, KY
P.B. (ECAB 09-2055): Suitable-work compensation termination reversed
P.B., a postal rural carrier with accepted neck and shoulder injuries, received an offer of modified work. Her treating physician and OWCP's second opinion physician disagreed about her capacity to work, so OWCP sought an impartial examination. The Board found that the selected examiner was not…
M.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Police Section, Long Beach, CA
M.G. (ECAB 09-2023): Chair-collapse injury claim denied for lack of medical link
M.G., a VA police officer, fell at work when his chair collapsed in September 1998. OWCP accepted that the fall occurred but denied his injury claim. The Board found that the contemporaneous nursing note was not physician evidence under FECA. Later doctors diagnosed spinal conditions but did not…
M.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Egg Harbor City, NJ
M.R. (ECAB 09-2006): Left shoulder claim not reopened
M.R., a postal rural carrier, claimed a left shoulder condition from repeated reaching for mail. OWCP denied the claim, and she made further reconsideration requests. Her first request referred to a new physician report but did not include it. When she later submitted the report, the Board found it…
R.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Lackawanna Post Office, Buffalo, NY
R.B. (ECAB 09-1688): Additional left foot impairment award denied
R.B., a postal letter carrier, injured his left foot in several work incidents and received schedule awards totaling 22 percent impairment of the left lower extremity. He sought another award based on medical opinions assigning higher impairment ratings. The Board found those opinions did not apply…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3448 (Union) and Social Security Administration (Agency)
AFGE Local 3448 and Social Security Administration (FLRA 0-AR-4643): union arbitration exceptions denied
AFGE Local 3448 challenged an arbitration award involving the Social Security Administration. The Authority concluded that the union had not shown the award to be deficient under the grounds raised. It cited precedent holding that a conflict with other arbitration awards does not establish a…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Transfer Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 171, Council of Prison Locals (Union)
Bureau of Prisons Oklahoma City and AFGE Local 171 (FLRA 0-AR-4640): agency arbitration exceptions denied
The Bureau of Prisons challenged an arbitration award involving its Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City and AFGE Local 171. The Authority found that the agency had not shown the award to be deficient under the grounds raised. The decision cites standards for claims that an award conflicts with…
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 Mid-Atlantic (FLRA 0-AR-4622): union exceptions to arbitration award denied
Firefighters Local F-25 challenged an arbitration award involving Navy Mid-Atlantic Fire and Emergency Services. The Authority found no basis under the union's properly raised exceptions to set aside the award. It dismissed additional assertions about a patient care report and agency regulations…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2157 (Union) and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Willamette National Cemetery, Portland, Oregon (Agency)
AFGE Local 2157 and Willamette National Cemetery (FLRA 0-AR-4618): arbitration exception denied
AFGE Local 2157 challenged an arbitration award involving the VA's Willamette National Cemetery. The Authority found no basis under the union's exception to set the award aside. It cited the standard for showing that an award fails to draw its essence from a labor agreement. The Authority declined…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 0083 (Union) and United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, La Tuna, Texas (Agency)
AFGE Local 0083 and FCI La Tuna (FLRA 0-AR-4616): union arbitration exceptions denied
AFGE Local 0083 challenged an arbitration award involving the Bureau of Prisons' La Tuna facility. The Authority concluded that the union had not shown the award to be deficient under the grounds raised. The short decision cites standards for arbitrator bias, excess of authority, an unfair hearing…
Secretary of Labor obo Strattis v. ICG Beckley, LLC
Temporary reinstatement date corrected
Judge William B. Moran corrected a statement in his June 1, 2010 temporary-reinstatement order for Mr. Strattis. The earlier order mistakenly said reinstatement was effective on the date of discharge. The Judge explained that this would make the later discrimination proceeding pointless on the…
Rockhouse Creek Development, LLC
Four one-day-late contests reopened
Rockhouse Creek's four contest forms were due on January 21, 2010, but counsel mailed them one day later. Counsel said the company did not deliver the assessments to him until January 20 and that he was out of the office until January 22. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. In the interests of…
Cemex, Inc.
Two missed penalty contests reopened
MSHA sent two assessments to Cemex's Knoxville plant after its health and safety manager left and before a replacement was hired. A manager at another plant reviewed the forms and instructed Knoxville staff which penalties to pay and which to contest. The staff made the payments but failed to…
B.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Tustin Post Office, Tustin, CA
B.C. (ECAB 10-1208): Right foot claim denied
B.C., a postal customer service supervisor, sought compensation for right foot ulcers and surgery. He said his condition related to work duties requiring standing and walking or to an earlier work injury. The Board found that his podiatrist connected the ulcers to diabetes but did not adequately…
A.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Postal Inspection Service, Los Angeles, CA
A.C. (ECAB 09-2176): Late reconsideration request denied
A.C., a postal police officer, sought compensation for an emotional condition after witnessing a coworker struck by a vehicle. OWCP accepted that she had witnessed the incident but denied the claim for lack of medical evidence connecting her condition to it. She requested reconsideration more than…
P.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Diego, CA
P.W. (ECAB 09-2160): Wage loss reduction reversed
P.W., a postal employee with accepted wrist and carpal tunnel conditions, had been receiving compensation and was working as a cashier. OWCP reduced her benefits using the higher wages it attributed to an available receptionist position. The Board held that OWCP first had to decide whether her…
G.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pittsburgh, PA
G.M. (ECAB 09-2142): Schedule award denied for lack of ratable impairment
G.M., a postal general clerk, had accepted bilateral carpal tunnel and trigger finger conditions and underwent surgery. She sought a schedule award for permanent impairment of her arms. A second opinion physician found full motion, intact sensation, and no ratable impairment under the applicable…
R.T. and Department of Defense, Education Activity, Arlington, VA
R.T. (ECAB 09-2034): Schedule award denied after back injury
R.T., a custodial worker, injured her back and elbow after slipping while working. OWCP accepted the injuries, and she later sought a schedule award. The Board explained that a back impairment itself does not qualify for a schedule award, though a resulting leg impairment can. Her physician…
T.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Wilkes-Barre, PA
T.K. (ECAB 09-1857): Five percent impairment upheld, award calculation remanded
T.K., a postal letter carrier, received a schedule award for five percent impairment of his right leg after a work related ankle injury. The Board agreed with the physician's rating of three percent for ankle laxity and two percent for a nerve lesion. It could not tell from OWCP's decision whether…
G.B. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, DC
G.B. (ECAB 09-1790): Overpayment upheld, fault finding set aside
G.B., an air traffic controller, returned to full time work but received a direct deposit of wage loss compensation covering the next 27 days. The Board agreed that this produced a $4,841.70 overpayment. It found, however, that he was not at fault for the first incorrect direct deposit because the…
K.H. and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Field Office, Cleveland, OH
K.H. (ECAB 09-1651): Increased workload can support emotional condition claim
K.H., an EEOC investigator, sought compensation for an emotional condition she attributed in part to a larger caseload and more frequent intake assignments. OWCP denied the claim after finding no compensable work factor. The Board held that the documented increase in regular duties was compensable…
Performance Coal Company
Stay denied and penalty hearings scheduled
Performance Coal requested hearings on citations, orders, and proposed penalties in six Upper Big Branch-South Mine dockets. Judge Margaret A. Miller denied the Secretary's motion to stay these proceedings and placed them on a hearing schedule. She required the parties to exchange information about…
M.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Reno, NV
M.H. (ECAB 10-1021): Three percent left leg schedule award affirmed
M.H., a postal letter carrier, injured his lower back while pulling a hamper of magazines and later underwent two spine operations. OWCP granted a schedule award for three percent permanent impairment of his left leg. The Board found that OWCP’s medical adviser properly rated the sensory deficit…
L.B. and Department of the Navy, Human Resources, Washington, DC
L.B. (ECAB 10-0469): Injury denial upheld; emergency medical costs remanded
L.B., a Navy police officer, became ill at work and was transported by ambulance to a hospital. OWCP denied her traumatic injury claim, and she sought a review of the written record more than 30 days after its decision. The Board upheld the injury denial and the refusal of the late review request…
J.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Nashville, TN
J.K. (ECAB 09-2242): Late hearing request denial upheld
J.K., a postal letter carrier with an accepted shoulder injury, received a schedule award for five percent arm impairment. More than three years after that decision, he requested an oral hearing to pursue a larger award. The Board found that the hearing request missed the 30-day period following…
L.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Merrifield, VA
L.J. (ECAB 09-2224): Back and leg claim lacked a work-causation opinion
L.J., a postal letter carrier, claimed that his work duties aggravated low-back and leg conditions. OWCP accepted the work activities he identified but denied the claim for lack of medical evidence connecting them to a diagnosed injury. The Board found that his doctors described symptoms and…
G.K. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Des Moines, IA
G.K. (ECAB 09-2123): Knee-related wage-loss period not proved
G.K., a transportation security officer, had accepted left-knee conditions from an incident at work and sought wage-loss compensation for a later ten-day period. The Board found that her medical reports did not explain how the accepted conditions caused total disability on the claimed dates. One…
M.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Oak Forest, IL
M.W. (ECAB 09-2036): Emotional-condition claim lacked proof of workplace abuse
M.W., a postal customer service supervisor, attributed stress and other symptoms to confrontations and scheduling actions by her postmaster. OWCP denied her claim after finding no compensable workplace factor. The Board explained that emotional reactions to personnel actions are generally outside…
R.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cleveland, OH
R.W. (ECAB 09-1869): Wage-loss period not linked to accepted back injury
R.W., a postal clerk, had an accepted back contusion after an incident at work and sought wage-loss compensation for days between December 2007 and January 2008. The Board found that his physician described pain and some disability but did not explain how the accepted contusion prevented work…
W.W. and Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Alcova, WY
W.W. (ECAB 09-1619): Welding-exposure disease claim denied
W.W., a Bureau of Reclamation mechanic and welder, claimed that workplace fumes, dust and chemicals caused sarcoidosis and other medical conditions. OWCP accepted that he encountered those exposures but denied the occupational disease claim. The Board found that his treating physician's reports did…
A.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fort Lewis, NJ
A.R. (ECAB 09-1566): Compensation termination reversed over medical-referee selection
A.R., a postal rural carrier, received compensation for accepted back conditions after lifting and carrying mail bags. OWCP terminated his benefits after relying on a medical referee's opinion that the work injury no longer caused disability. The Board found that the record did not show the referee…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1592 (Union) and United States Department of the Air Force, Hill Air Force Base, Utah (Agency)
AFGE Local 1592 and Hill Air Force Base (FLRA 0-AR-4637): attorney fee request returned to arbitrator
An arbitrator awarded a Hill Air Force Base employee three hours of compensatory time off for travel but denied attorney fees. She reasoned that compensatory time was not pay, an allowance, or a differential under the Back Pay Act. The Authority held that compensatory time off counts as backpay for…
Secretary of Labor obo Rickey Joe Strattis v. ICG Beckley, LLC
Dozer operator economically reinstated
Rickey Joe Strattis sought temporary reinstatement to his dozer-operator position at ICG Beckley's Beckley Pocahontas Plant. He had filed a discrimination complaint in November 2009, and MSHA requested information from the company on April 9, 2010. ICG Beckley discharged him three business days…
C.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Providence, RI
C.J. (ECAB 09-2103): Delayed reconsideration denial sent back for merits review
C.J., a postal employee, sought reconsideration of OWCP's denial of her emotional-condition claim. OWCP took almost five months to issue a nonmerit refusal. The Board found that this delay jeopardized C.J.'s opportunity to seek Board review of the underlying merits decision. It held that OWCP…
R.H. and Department of Health & Human Services, Social Security Administration, Philadelphia, PA
R.H. (ECAB 09-1785): Existing arm awards upheld without increase
R.H., a former Social Security benefit authorizer, had accepted carpal tunnel syndrome and existing schedule awards for both arms. She sought larger awards based on her physician's ratings of sensory loss and reduced pinch strength. The Board favored OWCP's medical adviser, who explained why the…
W.R. and U.S. Postal Service, West Farms Station, Bronx, NY
W.R. (ECAB 09-1742): Termination of ankle-injury medical benefits upheld
W.R., a postal letter carrier, received benefits for a left-ankle ligament injury and challenged OWCP's decision to end medical coverage. Her treating doctor said she still had symptoms, while OWCP's second-opinion doctor found no continuing injury-related condition. The Board gave special weight…
R.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Houston, TX
R.R. (ECAB 09-1736): No added leg award; late hearing denial upheld
R.R., a VA nursing assistant, had already received a schedule award for 30 percent impairment of her left leg and sought an additional award. The Board found that the later medical rating supported only 20 percent impairment, below the amount already awarded. It therefore upheld OWCP's refusal of a…
S.E. and Department of Defense, Defense Commissary Agency, Little Creek Commissary, Norfolk, VA
S.E. (ECAB 09-1706): Heel-condition wage-loss claim and reconsideration denied
S.E., a commissary sales checker, had an accepted right plantar fasciitis condition and sought wage-loss compensation for a period extending from June 2004 to April 2008. The Board found that her medical records did not explain how the accepted condition caused disability throughout the claimed…
L.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Ukiah, CA
L.S. (ECAB 09-1698): Wage-loss denial reversed after brief return to work
L.S., a postal rehabilitation clerk, had an accepted back condition and briefly returned to a full-time limited-duty position. She stopped after her treating physician found that the repetitive work and workstation demands aggravated her back symptoms. OWCP denied further wage-loss compensation…
S.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Thornton Branch, Denver, CO
S.G. (ECAB 09-1677): Emotional-condition claim remanded for medical review
S.G., a postal supervisor, claimed an emotional condition related to his work environment. OWCP denied the claim after finding no compensable work factor. The Board found that handling grievances, EEO claims and related investigative interviews was part of S.G.'s regular managerial duties and…
J.C. and Department of Health & Human Services, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
J.C. (ECAB 09-1526): Five-percent arm award and overpayment upheld
J.C., an NIH printing specialist, received an 11-percent left-arm schedule award after surgery for work-related carpal tunnel syndrome, but OWCP later reduced the rating to five percent. The Board found that the later medical examination and OWCP medical adviser's review supported the five-percent…
Upper Blackstone Water Pollution Abatement District
In re Upper Blackstone Water Pollution Abatement District (EAB NPDES Appeal Nos. 08-11 to 08-18 and 09-06): permit remanded in part
Upper Blackstone Water Pollution Abatement District operates a wastewater treatment plant in Millbury, Massachusetts, that discharges to the Blackstone River. Several parties challenged conditions in the District's renewed NPDES permit, including limits for nitrogen, phosphorus, fecal coliform, and…
Upper Blackstone Water Pollution Abatement District
In re Upper Blackstone Water Pollution Abatement District (EAB NPDES Appeal Nos. 08-11 through 08-18 and 09-06): review denied in part and remanded in part
The Upper Blackstone Water Pollution Abatement District operated a wastewater treatment plant in Millbury, Massachusetts, under an NPDES permit for discharges into the Blackstone River. The consolidated appeals challenged co-permittee provisions, limits for nitrogen, phosphorus, fecal coliform, and…
United States Department of the Air Force, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson, Arizona (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2924 (Charging Party/Union)
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and AFGE Local 2924 (FLRA DE-CA-07-0377): union denied notice of EEO mediation
An Air Force employee at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base mediated an Equal Employment Opportunity complaint with management. The employee had asked that the union not attend, and the base gave AFGE Local 2924 no advance notice of the session. An administrative law judge dismissed the union's unfair…
United States Department of Labor, Washington, D.C. (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 12 (Union)
Department of Labor and AFGE Local 12 (FLRA 0-AR-4368): economist classification award set aside
Two Department of Labor economists held GS-13 positions but said they performed GS-14 duties. An arbitrator found their position descriptions inaccurate and ordered a desk audit and backpay at the higher rate. The agency challenged the award as an impermissible position classification decision. The…
Overseas Private Investment Corporation (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1534 (Union)
Overseas Private Investment Corporation and AFGE Local 1534 (FLRA 0-AR-4303): reconsideration granted, dismissal preserved
An arbitrator sustained a union grievance but made his award conditional on a determination that the employee belonged to the bargaining unit. The Authority had dismissed the agency's exceptions without prejudice because deciding them before unit status was resolved could amount to an advisory…
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.