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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National Weather Service Employees Organization (Union) and United States Department of Commerce, National Weather Service, Alaska Region, Anchorage, Alaska (Agency)
Weather Service and NWSEO (FLRA 0-NG-2782): Anchorage staffing proposal must be bargained
The National Weather Service Employees Organization proposed adding ten specified positions at the Anchorage forecast office after a new computerized forecasting system increased work there. The Authority had earlier dismissed the union's negotiability petition, but a federal appeals court returned…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 53 (Union) and United States Department of the Navy, Fleet and Industrial Supply Center, Crane Detachment, Crane, Indiana (Agency)
AFGE Local 53 and Navy Crane Detachment (FLRA 0-AR-4578): union exception denied
AFGE Local 53 challenged an arbitration award involving the Navy's Crane Detachment in Indiana. The Authority's brief decision does not describe the underlying grievance or the award's remedy. It applied its standard for claims that an award rested on a factual error and found no basis to overturn…
D.H. and Department of the Army, Fort Lee, VA
D.H. (ECAB 09-1925): Knee replacement expense and wage claims denied
D.H., an Army information technology specialist, sustained accepted right knee injuries in a fall at work and later underwent a total knee replacement. OWCP denied payment for that operation and the resulting time away from work. The treating surgeon's reports gave conflicting answers about whether…
A.T. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Baton Rouge, LA
A.T. (ECAB 09-1914): Unexplained workplace fall claim returned
A.T., a FEMA field inspector, fainted and fell at work, reporting left ankle pain. OWCP denied the claim on the premise that a personal medical condition caused the fall. The Board found no evidence establishing such a cause, so it treated the event as an unexplained fall that occurred in the…
R.D. and Department of the Army, Material Command, Fort Belvoir, VA
R.D. (ECAB 09-1891): Emotional condition claim denied
R.D., an Army supervisory historian, claimed that disputes with his supervisor over leave and telework caused anxiety and stress. OWCP denied the claim after finding no compensable employment factor. The Board found no reliable evidence that management acted improperly in requesting documentation…
S.B. and Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers, Wilmington, DE
S.B. (ECAB 09-1853): Shoulder award returned for impartial examination
S.B., an Army Corps pipelineman, sustained accepted left shoulder and upper arm sprains and later had shoulder surgery. OWCP awarded a 10 percent left arm schedule award. His doctor rated impairment at 44 percent, while an OWCP second opinion doctor found none. The Board found an unresolved medical…
T.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Barry Place Station, Stamford, CT
T.G. (ECAB 09-1351): Shoulder impairment rating returned for explanation
T.G., a letter carrier, had an accepted right shoulder injury after a vehicle struck his postal truck. OWCP granted a 13 percent right arm schedule award, which a hearing representative affirmed. The Board found that the medical adviser adequately supported some components of the rating but did not…
J.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Shawnee Mission, KS
J.G. (ECAB 09-1350): Wage-earning capacity determination remains in place
J.G., a postal employee with an accepted right shoulder injury, had returned to modified work. OWCP determined in 2005 that his actual earnings showed no loss of wage-earning capacity. J.G. later sought to change that determination, saying his shoulder had worsened and new jobs exceeded his…
J.W. and Department of the Army, Red River Depot, Texarkana, TX
J.W. (ECAB 09-1282): Termination reversed because job suitability was unproved
J.W., an Army depot employee with accepted lower back conditions, was offered a light-duty clerk position after an impartial physician imposed detailed limits on sitting, standing, movement and breaks. He declined the job, and OWCP terminated his compensation for refusing suitable work. The Board…
P.D. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Station Miramar, San Diego, CA
P.D. (ECAB 09-1220): Leg impairment claim returned for a new examination
P.D., a Navy maintenance worker, sought a schedule award for leg impairment after accepted back injuries and permanent aggravation of spinal conditions. An impartial examiner said he had no ratable leg impairment, and OWCP denied the claim. The Board found that the examiner disputed the accepted…
M.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Carol Stream, IL
M.P. (ECAB 09-1916): Three-year delay requires a merits decision
M.P., a postal mail processor, claimed an injury after a restroom fixture allegedly struck her at work. OWCP denied the injury claim, and she requested reconsideration in June 2006. OWCP waited three years to deny that request without reviewing the merits. The Board found that the delay prevented…
D.D. and Department of the Air Force, Tinker Air Force Base, OK
D.D. (ECAB 09-1915): Hearing loss did not qualify for a schedule award
D.D., an Air Force quality assurance specialist, developed hearing loss after workplace noise exposure. OWCP accepted his hearing loss and authorized a hearing aid, but found that the measured loss did not meet the schedule award threshold. The Board agreed that the medical adviser had applied the…
N.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, North Ridgeville, OH
N.K. (ECAB 09-1900): Wage-loss claim lacked medical support
N.K., a postal carrier, had accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and right elbow epicondylitis. She sought wage-loss compensation for a period before returning to limited duty. The Board found that her doctors had not explained how the accepted conditions prevented her from working during the…
R.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Pembroke Pines Processing & Distribution Center, Pembroke Pines, FL
R.C. (ECAB 09-1843): Late reconsideration request did not show clear error
R.C., a postal employee, sought benefits for an injury from a car accident while commuting home during Hurricane Katrina. The Board had previously affirmed denial of that claim. He requested reconsideration more than a year later, pointing to emergency declarations and arguing that his travel was…
J.K. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, College Park, GA
J.K. (ECAB 09-1766): Claimed wrist and shoulder conditions lacked a medical link
J.K., an FAA engineering technician, had an accepted back injury and sought to add wrist and shoulder conditions to his claim. He said that back pain forced him to use his arms to sit and stand. The Board found that his doctors had not identified and explained a specific upper extremity condition…
L.E. and Social Security Administration, Office of Hearings & Appeals, Birmingham, AL
L.E. (ECAB 09-1750): Parent’s benefits precluded augmented compensation
L.E., a Social Security Administration legal assistant, received arm schedule awards after accepted carpal tunnel syndrome. She sought a higher compensation rate because she supported her mother. The Board found that her mother’s monthly Social Security benefits were a consequential source of…
R.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Charlotte, NC
R.A. (ECAB 09-1429): Wage-loss termination upheld after return-to-work release
R.A., a postal letter carrier, received wage-loss compensation for an accepted left ankle injury. His treating surgeon later released him to his regular job without restrictions, and OWCP ended wage-loss payments while continuing medical benefits. The Board found that the surgeon’s opinion…
G.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Bustleton Station, Philadelphia, PA
G.L. (ECAB 09-1280): Knee injury claim and medical-benefit termination upheld
G.L., a postal carrier, had an accepted left knee sprain and later claimed that physical therapy aggravated arthritis in his right knee. The Board found that his physician did not explain how exercise caused the right knee condition, while OWCP’s examiner attributed it to natural progression. That…
B.H. and Department of Health & Human Services, Indian Health Services, Phoenix, AZ
B.H. (ECAB 09-1168): Arm impairment ratings require an impartial examination
B.H., an Indian Health Services programmer, received schedule awards for 59 percent impairment of her right arm and 42 percent of her left arm after accepted wrist, nerve and shoulder conditions. Her physician rated both arms more severely than OWCP’s medical adviser did. The Board found an…
Charles Honaker v. Mar Com, Incorporated
Honaker v. Mar Com (BRB 09-0663): dismissed third party suits did not forfeit benefits
Charles Honaker had an award of disability and medical benefits after a work injury involving a hydraulic cylinder. Mar Com stopped paying when it learned that Honaker had not reported the dismissal of two lawsuits against third parties. An administrative law judge ordered payment to resume and…
L.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Oakland, CA
L.C. (ECAB 09-346 and 09-2038): Disability questions returned for medical review
L.C., a postal employee with accepted hand and wrist conditions, challenged a 2002 wage-earning capacity determination and sought disability compensation beyond September 20, 2005 following surgery. The Board found that the first impartial examiner did not adequately address whether her accepted…
T.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Burns, TN
T.J. (ECAB 09-1821): Carpal tunnel claim lacked a medical explanation of causation
T.J., a rural postal carrier, claimed that repetitive hand work and driving caused left carpal tunnel syndrome. OWCP accepted that she performed the described work but denied the injury claim. The Board found that her medical reports established a diagnosis yet did not explain how the specific job…
T.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chelsea, MA
T.P. (ECAB 09-1683): Unrelated and repeated records did not reopen the claim
T.P., a postal letter carrier, had sought benefits for carpal tunnel syndrome and cervical radiculopathy that she attributed to her work. OWCP denied the claim for lack of medical evidence connecting the conditions to her duties. In seeking reconsideration, she submitted records already considered…
D.F. and U.S. Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton, CA
D.F. (ECAB 09-1674): Work connection for a hand injury was unproved
D.F., a Marine Corps information technology specialist, cut his left hand with scissors while repairing an earplug connection during work hours. The Board accepted that the laceration occurred but found that the record did not establish whether the repair was related to his job or a personal…
K.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Louis, MO
K.B. (ECAB 09-1665): Reconsideration and hearing refusals upheld
K.B., a postal clerk with an accepted elbow injury, sought wage-loss compensation for a period when she did not return to offered modified work. OWCP denied total disability benefits for that period. On reconsideration, her attorney asserted that the job exceeded her restrictions but gave no…
C.S. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Philadelphia, PA
C.S. (ECAB 09-1613): Knee replacement request returned for impartial review
C.S., an IRS customer service representative, requested a total right knee replacement after an accepted fall and two authorized knee procedures. Her surgeon attributed the need for surgery to the work injury, while OWCP’s physicians attributed it to preexisting arthritis. The Board found an…
C.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Management Section Center, Baltimore, MD
C.K. (ECAB 09-1142): Leg impairment award returned for a referee opinion
C.K., a former postal mail processor, received a one percent left leg schedule award after an accepted low back injury. Her physician rated leg impairment at 24 percent, while OWCP’s medical adviser found only one percent. The Board found a conflict between those opinions about the extent of…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Santa Clarita, CA
D.S. (ECAB 09-1115): Back disability remanded; emotional disability cutoff upheld
D.S., a postal letter carrier, had an accepted lumbar strain and a work-related adjustment disorder. OWCP denied disability compensation for the back injury and ended compensation for the emotional condition after a three-week period. The Board found that OWCP’s orthopedic examiner had not…
Kevin Baird v. PCS Phosphate Company, Inc.
Temporary reinstatement dissolved after Secretary withdrew case
Kevin Baird received temporary economic reinstatement while the Secretary pursued a discrimination complaint against PCS Phosphate. After the Secretary withdrew that complaint, PCS asked Judge Jacqueline R. Bulluck to end the reinstatement, while the Secretary argued it should continue through any…
City of Twin Falls Wastewater Treatment Plant
In re City of Twin Falls Wastewater Treatment Plant (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 09-13): petition dismissed as moot
The City of Twin Falls received an NPDES permit allowing discharges from its Wastewater Treatment Facility into the Snake River. The Idaho Conservation League challenged permit condition 1.B.1 and Appendix A, which addressed pollutant trading, in NPDES Appeal No. 09-13. EPA Region 10 later withdrew…
Mach Mining, LLC
Shaft dewatering violations affirmed with reduced penalties
Mach Mining used a non-permissible electric pump below the collar of a water-filled bleeder shaft and lacked an approved plan describing how the shaft would be dewatered. Judge David F. Barbour held that dewatering was part of the shaft excavation process, so the pump had to be permissible under 30…
Abundance Coal, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor
EAJA liability found, fee record left open
Abundance Coal prevailed in an expedited contest after a judge vacated a citation under 30 C.F.R. § 75.336(c) because the standard did not apply to its 120 psi mine seals. The company then sought $13,911.59 in attorney fees and costs under the Equal Access to Justice Act. Judge Gary Melick held…
A.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Winthrop, ME
A.S. (ECAB 09-1913): Ankle injury claim lacked medical proof of causation
A.S., a postal letter carrier, claimed that she injured her right ankle while walking on her route on April 28, 2009. OWCP accepted that the work activity occurred but denied the claim for lack of medical proof connecting it to an ankle injury. The Board found that the x-ray report did not address…
Y.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Miami, FL
Y.R. (ECAB 09-1912): Overpayment reduced to the check received
Y.R., a VA laboratory technician, returned to full-time work but received and cashed a disability compensation check covering time after his return. OWCP found a $2,149.28 overpayment and held him at fault. The Board found that the check he actually received was $1,987.45, so it reduced the…
L.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Glenbrook Station, Stamford, CT
L.C. (ECAB 09-1862): Back treatment recurrence lacked a medical link
L.C., a postal clerk, had an accepted back injury from 2003 and sought renewed medical treatment for symptoms in December 2007. The Board found that his doctor did not explain how the new condition or need for treatment was connected to the accepted injury. Physical therapy notes and diagnostic…
M.H. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Charlotte, NC
M.H. (ECAB 09-1689): Increased hearing award claim returned for medical review
M.H., a retired FBI agent, had received a schedule award for 56 percent hearing loss in his right ear and later claimed a greater loss. OWCP denied an additional award because he had no further occupational noise exposure after retirement. The Board found that the medical adviser had not adequately…
B.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Dallas, TX
B.S. (ECAB 09-1652): Emotional condition claim lacked a compensable work factor
B.S., a postal customer service supervisor, attributed an anxiety episode to a manager’s instruction about use of her time card and to work that day. The Board found no evidence that the instruction involved managerial error or abuse. It also found that her account did not identify a specific work…
K.N. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Wilkes-Barre Veterans Administration Medical Center, Wilkes-Barre, PA
K.N. (ECAB 09-1602): Later back episode did not establish a recurrence
K.N., a VA pharmacy technician, had an accepted back strain from 2004 and later reported back pain after bending to tie her shoe while off duty in July 2007. She claimed a recurrence of disability related to the earlier injury. The Board found that the new bending episode did not meet the…
D.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Sunnyslope Post Office, Phoenix, AZ
D.V. (ECAB 09-1583): Late reconsideration request did not show clear error
D.V., a postal employee, sought to revisit denial of an emotional condition claim based on alleged workplace treatment and a changed work assignment. She requested reconsideration more than a year after the Board’s prior merits decision. The Board found that the new and repeated materials did not…
N.H. and Department of Agriculture, Food Safety Inspection Service, Louisville, KY
N.H. (ECAB 09-1400): Thirty percent hearing award upheld
N.H., a retired USDA meat and poultry inspector, had accepted hearing loss from workplace noise. OWCP awarded compensation for 30 percent loss of hearing in both ears based on a physician’s audiogram. The Board found that its medical adviser applied the required hearing loss formula correctly. It…
T.T. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Air Marshal Service, Coraopolis, PA
T.T. (ECAB 09-1379): Four percent knee impairment award upheld
T.T., an air marshal service instructor, had two operations after an accepted left knee meniscus tear. He sought a higher schedule award based on a rating method that could yield 20 percent leg impairment. The Board found that his treating physician had applied the impairment tables incorrectly and…
A.W. and Department of Labor, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Manpower, Washington, DC
A.W. (ECAB 08-0897): Termination of heart-related compensation upheld
A.W., a former DOL manpower specialist, had an accepted 1974 heart attack after work-related stress and later sought continuing compensation. The Board found that OWCP’s cardiology evidence supported a temporary aggravation of coronary disease but did not establish that current disease was a…
Claysville Quarry
New-miner training penalty reduced to $240
Claysville Quarry used nine contract employees to stack dimensional stone without giving them the required new-miner training. Owner Dennis Roy Hinch admitted the violation and did not dispute its significant-and-substantial designation, leaving only the penalty amount unresolved. Judge Jerold…
S.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Danville, IL
S.C. (ECAB 09-1906): COPD exposure claim denial upheld
S.C., a nursing assistant at a Veterans Affairs medical center, claimed that workplace aromatherapy worsened her chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The employer confirmed exposure to an aromatherapy device, and medical records documented her breathing symptoms. The Board found that her…
A.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Portland, ME
A.L. (ECAB 09-1851): Late hearing request denial upheld
A.L., a postal mail carrier, claimed a lower back strain from lifting an overhead door. OWCP denied his injury claim on December 15, 2008. His undated request for an oral hearing arrived on February 3, 2009, after the 30-day deadline. The Board found that OWCP had considered whether to grant a late…
A.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Louis, MO
A.S. (ECAB 09-1711): Back injury claim returned for medical development
A.S., a postal letter carrier, reported back pain while walking his route with a mailbag on November 12, 2008. OWCP accepted that the work event occurred but denied his injury claim for lack of medical proof. The Board found that his physicians’ reports were incomplete but consistently supported a…
V.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fort Worth, TX
V.R. (ECAB 09-1701): Injury claim denial affirmed with factual correction
V.R., a postal sorting clerk, claimed knee and shoulder conditions from bending, lifting and handling trays. OWCP denied her claim in part because it found that she had not established the work duties she described. The Board found her descriptions sufficient to establish those duties, but the old…
M.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Decatur, GA
M.W. (ECAB 09-1643): Termination of injury benefits upheld
M.W., a Veterans Affairs program support assistant, had accepted neck, back, hip and elbow conditions after slipping on a wet floor in 2005. OWCP ended his wage-loss and medical benefits based on a later orthopedic examination. The Board found that the examiner reviewed the record, explained why…
L.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Las Vegas, NV
L.J. (ECAB 09-1625): Emotional and shoulder injury denial upheld
L.J., a postal carrier technician, claimed emotional distress and a shoulder injury after physical contact with a supervisor at work on April 5, 2008. OWCP accepted that contact occurred but denied the claim for lack of sufficient medical proof. The Board found that the psychologist’s report did…
P.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Diamond Station, Santa Ana, CA
P.H. (ECAB 09-1534): Back condition recurrence denial upheld
P.H., a postal clerk, had an accepted temporary aggravation of lumbar spondylosis from work in 1990. Years later, she sought medical treatment for renewed back problems and claimed a recurrence of that accepted condition. The Board found that her physicians documented later spinal conditions and…
M.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Times Plaza Station, Brooklyn, NY
M.K. (ECAB 09-1385): Compensation termination for refusing suitable work upheld
M.K., a postal letter carrier, received compensation for an accepted back injury and later declined a modified position. OWCP terminated his monetary benefits effective October 11, 2008. The Board gave greater weight to an impartial orthopedic examiner who concluded that M.K. could perform the…
T.M. and Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Logistics Base, Albany, GA
T.M. (ECAB 09-1090 and 09-2226): Overpayment waiver sent back for review
T.M., a Navy heavy equipment mechanic, received schedule award compensation based on a higher pay rate than the one OWCP later found applicable to his 2000 injury. The Board upheld the corrected weekly rate of $703.56 and OWCP’s stated $5,000.31 overpayment. It found, however, that OWCP denied…
R.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Molokai Airport, Maunaloa, HI
R.R. (ECAB 09-1841): Refusal to reopen chest injury claim upheld
R.R., an airport transportation screener, sought to reopen a previously denied claim that a lifting incident caused a chest condition. He submitted later reports from his treating physician. The Board found that the reports repeated earlier observations of chest pain and atelectasis but did not…
R.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Ossining, NY
R.R. (ECAB 09-1673): Mail carrier’s back condition claim denial upheld
R.R., a postal letter carrier, claimed that carrying heavy mail caused or worsened his low back condition. His records also showed a back injury from a motor vehicle accident before the claimed work condition. The Board found that his doctors documented symptoms and spinal diagnoses but did not…
L.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Phoenix, AZ
L.J. (ECAB 09-1591): Carpal tunnel claim and reconsideration denials upheld
L.J., a postal electronic technician, claimed that years of tool use, driving and other work caused or worsened carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists. OWCP accepted his described duties but denied compensation. The Board found that his doctor diagnosed carpal tunnel syndrome without explaining how…
E.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing and Distribution Facility, Sioux City, IA
E.T. (ECAB 09-1564): Finding that accepted back aggravation ended reversed
E.T., a postal clerk, had an accepted temporary aggravation of a lumbar disc condition from repetitive work. OWCP found that the aggravation ended on November 20, 2006 based on a second opinion physician’s reports. The Board found that the physician had guessed at the end date and did not provide…
K.S. and Department of the Air Force, Tinker Air Force Base, OK
K.S. (ECAB 09-1531): Three percent hearing award upheld
K.S., an Air Force welder, had accepted work-related hearing loss and received a schedule award for three percent impairment of both ears. The Board found that OWCP correctly applied its hearing loss calculation to the audiogram, yielding six weeks of compensation. K.S. said a workplace audiogram…
L.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Portland, OR
L.C. (ECAB 09-1173): Additional wage-loss compensation denied
L.C., a Veterans Affairs nurse, had an accepted right thumb injury and received compensation for part-time disability. She sought additional wage-loss benefits, claiming she could not work at all beginning February 17, 2007. The Board found that her treating surgeon consistently released her to…
T.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Newport Beach Post Office, Newport Beach, CA
T.C. (ECAB 09-1097): Emotional condition claim denial affirmed
T.C., a postal letter carrier, claimed that harassment and mistreatment by coworkers and supervisors caused depression and anxiety. OWCP denied the claim, and the Board affirmed. The Board found that witness accounts did not establish a pattern of sexual harassment or verbal abuse and that the…
C.J. and Department of the Navy, Military Sealift Command, Virginia Beach, VA
C.J. (ECAB 09-1025): Ankle disability recurrence denial upheld
C.J., a Navy ship utility worker, had accepted sprains in both ankles after a 2005 fall. He later claimed that those injuries caused renewed disability and a need for treatment. The Board found that his doctor described arthritis and other conditions but did not explain how disability at the later…
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.