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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J.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Selma Post Office
Board sends postal worker's shoulder claim back for causation review (ECAB 24-0166)
A postal rural carrier reported neck, shoulder, and back symptoms after twisting while retrieving mail. OWCP accepted the work incident but denied the claim on the ground that no diagnosed condition had been established. The Board found physician diagnoses of cervical radiculitis, right shoulder…
Rhonda L. Disney v. Enterprise Coal Company, LLC and Coastal Coal Company, LLC
Disney v. Enterprise Coal Company (BRB 23-0315, 23-0316): Both black lung benefit denials affirmed
Rhonda Disney pursued black lung benefits for her late husband, Herman Disney, and a separate survivor’s claim. He had at least fifteen years of qualifying coal mine work, but the judge found no reliable proof that he had a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board agreed that a…
Rhonda L. Disney v. Enterprise Coal Company, LLC and Coastal Coal Company, LLC
Disney v. Enterprise Coal Company (BRB 23-0315, 23-0316): Both black lung benefit denials affirmed
Rhonda Disney pursued black lung benefits for her late husband, Herman Disney, and a separate survivor’s claim. He had at least fifteen years of qualifying coal mine work, but the judge found no reliable proof that he had a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board agreed that a…
J.V. and U.S. Postal Service, San Juan Post Office
Board affirms denial of right foot injury claim (ECAB 24-0383)
A letter carrier reported that a box fell on his right foot while he unloaded packages at work. His supervisor acknowledged the incident, but the medical evidence did not provide a firm diagnosis and reasoned opinion connecting a condition to the event. Later medical notes had illegible signatures…
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Holiday City Post Office
Board affirms denial of postal carrier’s PTSD claim (ECAB 24-0346)
A postal carrier technician reported that a customer kicked her truck, pointed a gun at her, and followed her after a package dispute. A psychiatrist diagnosed PTSD and attributed it generally to work trauma, but did not recount the incident or provide medical rationale linking it to the diagnosis…
S.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Coppell Post Office
Board affirms zero impairment schedule-award denial (ECAB 24-0319)
S.V., a rural carrier, sought a schedule award for permanent impairment after an accepted lumbar and sacroiliac strain. A physician found maximum medical improvement and rated the impairment of the spinal nerves affecting the lower extremities at zero percent. The Board held that this report did…
S.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Delta Carrier Annex
Board denies expansion of postal worker's shoulder claim (ECAB 24-0220)
A postal letter carrier with accepted left shoulder conditions sought to add right shoulder problems that she attributed to compensating for the left side. Physicians disagreed about whether the right shoulder conditions resulted from the accepted injury. The Board found that reports opposing the…
R.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, James H. Quillen VA Medical Center
Board denies VA nursing assistant's COVID claim and pay request (ECAB 24-0155)
A VA nursing assistant reported exposure to patients with COVID-19 over several workdays and later had a positive PCR test. OWCP accepted an employment exposure but denied the claim because the record lacked a physician's opinion connecting it to her diagnosis. The Board held that the positive test…
M.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Montgomery Post Office
Board orders independent shoulder impairment exam (ECAB 23-0529)
A postal clerk sought a larger schedule award for lasting impairment after an accepted right shoulder injury. OWCP had compensated 12 percent impairment based on its medical adviser's rating, while the treating physician calculated 21 percent using shoulder range of motion. The physicians disagreed…
Secretary of Labor obo Kenneth M. Adkins v. Greenbrier Minerals, LLC
Equipment operator temporarily reinstated
Kenneth Adkins repeatedly documented safety problems with his assigned dozer, and an MSHA inspection followed after his wife reported the conditions. He later complained that reassignment to haul-truck work was retaliation and was terminated after a dispute about a work assignment. At the…
Judith E. Jarvis v. West Ken Coal Corporation c/o Andalex Resources and American Resources Insurance Company
Jarvis v. West Ken Coal (BRB 23-0135, 23-0136): Miner’s and survivor’s benefit awards affirmed
Judith Jarvis pursued her late husband William’s black lung claim and her own survivor’s claim. The judge found that at least fifteen of his nineteen years as a surface mine dozer operator involved regular coal dust exposure, and the parties agreed that he had a totally disabling respiratory…
Judith E. Jarvis v. West Ken Coal Corporation c/o Andalex Resources and American Resources Insurance Company
Jarvis v. West Ken Coal (BRB 23-0135, 23-0136): Miner’s and survivor’s benefit awards affirmed
Judith Jarvis pursued her late husband William’s black lung claim and her own survivor’s claim. The judge found that at least fifteen of his nineteen years as a surface mine dozer operator involved regular coal dust exposure, and the parties agreed that he had a totally disabling respiratory…
Wilbert Houdeshell v. Manor Mining and Contracting and Old Republic General Insurance Corp.
Houdeshell v. Manor Mining (BRB 23-0113): Black lung benefits denial affirmed after remand
Wilbert Houdeshell sought black lung benefits after working 13.30 years in qualifying coal mine jobs. The judge found he had a totally disabling respiratory impairment but denied benefits because the evidence did not establish pneumoconiosis. On an earlier appeal, the Board sent the case back for a…
Evans Ratliff, Jr. v. Dominion Coal Corporation
Ratliff v. Dominion Coal (BRB 23-0021): Black lung benefits award affirmed
Evans Ratliff sought black lung benefits in a subsequent claim after an earlier denial. The judge awarded benefits after finding he had a disabling lung condition significantly related to coal mine dust exposure. Dominion Coal challenged the judge’s appointment and removal protections, as well as…
S.L. and Department of Justice, U.S. Marshals Service
Board partly expands injury claim and affirms hearing denial (ECAB 24-0312)
S.L., a U.S. Marshals Service employee, sought to expand an accepted injury claim after a fall on ice to include a thoracic spine condition and two right shoulder tears. An impartial medical examiner linked a temporary aggravation of thoracic spine degenerative disc disease to the fall, and the…
N.L. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Danville VA Medical Center
Board affirms denial of VA secretary's COVID claim (ECAB 23-1107)
A VA secretary said she developed COVID-19 after exposure to an infected coworker and reported a positive home test. OWCP accepted an employment exposure but denied the claim for lack of competent medical evidence connecting that exposure to a diagnosis. The Board found that the only medical report…
A.A. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Raymond G. Murphy Medical Center
Board affirms denial of VA mail clerk's COVID claim (ECAB 23-1066)
A VA mail clerk who visited mail stops around the medical center sought compensation after a positive COVID-19 antigen test. OWCP accepted his reported work exposure but denied the claim for lack of medical evidence linking it to his infection. The Board held that the test confirmed a diagnosis but…
J.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Leavenworth Post Office
Board upholds refusal to reopen postal back claim (ECAB 23-0974)
A postal carrier with an accepted back injury asked OWCP to reconsider a later claim decision. His request repeated legal arguments and resubmitted medical reports that OWCP had already reviewed. The Board found that the arguments and reports were cumulative and supplied neither a new relevant…
C.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital
Board affirms denial of VA dental assistant's COVID claim (ECAB 23-0865)
A VA dental assistant reported working with a physician who tested positive for COVID-19 before she did. OWCP accepted an employment exposure but denied her compensation claim for lack of a medical opinion connecting the exposure to her infection. The Board found that a nurse practitioner's letter…
T.W. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Board affirms denial of border officer's COVID claim (ECAB 23-0717)
A Customs and Border Protection officer reported exposure to a coworker who later tested positive for COVID-19. He then tested positive by PCR and sought compensation. OWCP accepted the employment exposure but denied the claim for lack of medical evidence connecting that exposure to his diagnosis…
Todd O. Brown v. Global Integrated Security, Incorporated and Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania
Brown v. Global Integrated Security (BRB 23-0086, 23-0086A): Back injury award affirmed
Todd Brown injured his back while working for Global Integrated Security in Iraq and later received disability benefits for the traumatic injury. The employer appealed the judge’s finding that his injury notice was timely and challenged the wage figure used to calculate benefits. Brown…
Todd O. Brown v. Global Integrated Security, Incorporated and Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania
Brown v. Global Integrated Security (BRB 23-0086, 23-0086A): Back injury award affirmed
Todd Brown injured his back while working for Global Integrated Security in Iraq and later received disability benefits for the traumatic injury. The employer appealed the judge’s finding that his injury notice was timely and challenged the wage figure used to calculate benefits. Brown…
Glenda Sue Smith v. Amherst Coal Company and Arch Coal, Incorporated
Smith v. Amherst Coal (BRB 23-0050, 23-0051): Black lung awards and Arch Coal liability affirmed
Glenda Sue Smith pursued her late husband Sherman Smith’s black lung claim and her own survivor’s claim. The judge awarded benefits after finding complicated pneumoconiosis and made Amherst Coal the responsible operator and Arch Coal the responsible carrier. On appeal, Arch did not challenge the…
Glenda Sue Smith v. Amherst Coal Company and Arch Coal, Incorporated
Smith v. Amherst Coal (BRB 23-0050, 23-0051): Black lung awards and Arch Coal liability affirmed
Glenda Sue Smith pursued her late husband Sherman Smith’s black lung claim and her own survivor’s claim. The judge awarded benefits after finding complicated pneumoconiosis and made Amherst Coal the responsible operator and Arch Coal the responsible carrier. On appeal, Arch did not challenge the…
M.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration
Board upholds refusal to reopen lead exposure claim (ECAB 24-0340)
A VA maintenance mechanic sought reconsideration of the denial of his claim for lead poisoning after removing lead paint at work. He filed more than one year after OWCP’s October 18, 2021 merit decision and submitted arguments, workplace correspondence, medical records, and a later medical report…
L.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Riverview Post Office
Board upholds untimely written-record review denial (ECAB 24-0327)
A rural carrier asked for review of the written record after OWCP suspended her compensation for missing a second opinion examination. She filed the request on September 14, 2023, more than 30 days after OWCP’s July 21 suspension decision. The Board held that the request was untimely, and that OWCP…
K.S. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution Ashland
Board reverses constructed wage-earning capacity reduction (ECAB 24-0314)
K.S., a correctional systems officer with several accepted injuries, challenged OWCP's reduction of his wage-loss compensation based on a dispatcher position. The second-opinion physician evaluated the position using a statement of accepted facts that omitted other accepted claims and conditions…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Wilmington Box
Board affirms denial of wage loss for postal worker’s concussion claim (ECAB 24-0164)
A postal mail handler was struck in the face by a turnstile while leaving work. OWCP accepted a concussion, and she sought wage loss compensation beginning on the injury date. Her physicians described headaches and other symptoms, but the Board found that their opinions did not adequately explain…
G.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Fayetteville VA Medical Center
Board remands VA clerk’s knee injury claim for a causation decision (ECAB 23-0984)
A VA medical clerk fell after her shoes became tangled in wires as she rose from a chair at work. OWCP accepted the fall but denied the injury claim, finding no diagnosed condition connected with it. The Board found that a physician diagnosed symptomatic arthritis in both knees in connection with…
T.W. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Board orders specialist review of deckhand’s back injury claim (ECAB 23-0825)
An Army Corps deckhand reported back injury after bending to remove a line at work in 2016. OWCP denied the claim, and the Board had affirmed earlier denials. A new physician opinion did not establish that the incident caused or aggravated the diagnosed back conditions, but the Board found it…
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Belmont Post Office
Board reverses termination of postal carrier’s compensation (ECAB 24-0390)
A city carrier had accepted lumbar conditions, low testosterone secondary to narcotics intake, and chronic pain disorder after a 1997 workplace fall. OWCP terminated his wage-loss and medical benefits based on a second opinion report stating that the work-related conditions had resolved after…
E.L. and Department of the Navy, Naval Installations Command
Board establishes firefighter’s knee incident and remands causation review (ECAB 24-0341)
A Navy firefighter reported sharp left knee pain while handling hose lines and tools at a structure fire. His supervisor confirmed that he reported the injury at the scene, the employing establishment acknowledged that he was performing duty, and medical records documented knee problems shortly…
S.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration
Board splits fault finding on $12,151.05 overpayment and remands waiver review (ECAB 24-0338)
A Transportation Security Administration officer returned to full-time work on April 24, 2023 but continued receiving FECA wage-loss payments through August 12. The Board upheld the $12,151.05 overpayment. It found that he could not be expected to know the first direct deposit was incorrect, but…
M.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Morgan Processing & Distribution Center
Board reverses optional-life-insurance overpayment finding (ECAB 24-0291)
M.W., a postal electronics technician receiving FECA compensation, was assessed a $14,027.97 overpayment for optional life-insurance premiums that OWCP had not deducted. The Board held that OWCP had not produced a signed election or other evidence showing which coverage M.W. selected and when it…
E.W., widow of N.W. and Department of the Air Force, Joint Base San Antonio-March Air Force Base
Board requires reasons for reconsideration denial in widow's lung cancer claim (ECAB 24-0283)
A widow sought reconsideration of OWCP’s denial of her late husband’s occupational disease claim for lung cancer. OWCP treated her request as untimely and said she had not shown clear evidence of error, but did not discuss her contentions or the evidence she submitted and cited an enclosure that…
C.M. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Garrison, Carlisle Barracks
Board upholds denial of late reconsideration request in firefighter’s claim (ECAB 23-0958)
An Army firefighter sought compensation for a back and pelvic condition after an incident at work. OWCP denied the injury claim in December 2021. Her reconsideration request reached OWCP on December 21, 2022, more than one year later. The Board found the request untimely and held that the…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, United States Penitentiary McCreary, Pine Knot, Kentucky and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 614, Council of Prison Locals 33
U.S. Penitentiary McCreary and AFGE Local 614 (FLRA 0-AR-5921): Authority upholds on-call phone overtime
Medical staff at U.S. Penitentiary McCreary rotated overnight on-call duty and answered calls requiring medical advice and prescriptions, but the agency stopped paying overtime for the calls. An arbitrator distinguished uncompensated availability from time spent performing the employees' principal…
Tom Deschene, Jr. v. Peabody Western Coal Company and Peabody Energy Corporation
Deschene v. Peabody Western Coal (BRB 23-0172): Employer’s appeal dismissed after withdrawal
Peabody Western Coal and Peabody Energy appealed in Tom Deschene’s black lung case. The employers filed a withdrawal of their appeal on February 8, 2024. The Board granted that request and dismissed the appeal under 20 C.F.R. § 802.401(a). The one-page order gives no ruling on the underlying…
Robert L. Dyer v. M & H Trucking, LLC and KESA
Dyer v. M & H Trucking (BRB 23-0070): Black lung benefits award affirmed
Robert Dyer sought black lung benefits after driving a coal truck for years. The judge credited him with 12.725 years of coal mine employment and found that coal dust contributed to his disabling chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. M & H Trucking challenged the work history, smoking history, and…
Marshall A. Teaster v. Mingo Logan Coal Company and West Virginia Coal Workers’ Pneumoconiosis Fund
Teaster v. Mingo Logan Coal (BRB 23-0066): Attorney fee and costs affirmed
Marshall Teaster’s lawyer sought payment for work on a successful black lung benefits claim. The judge allowed a fee petition filed about thirty days after her deadline, reduced some requested time and one hourly rate, and awarded $10,643.75 in fees plus $3,883.08 in costs. Mingo Logan Coal argued…
S.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Central Park Post Office
Board reverses suitable-work termination for notice error (ECAB 24-0361)
A city letter carrier with an accepted right wrist injury declined a suitable-work offer and submitted a medical work capacity form in response to OWCP’s notice. OWCP terminated her wage-loss and schedule award benefits without first giving her the additional 15-day acceptance period required after…
D.G. and U.S. Postal Service, North Texas Processing & Distribution Center
Board remands postal worker’s emotional condition claim for agency evidence (ECAB 24-0357)
A postal expeditor alleged that supervisors harassed and bullied him after an EEO complaint, causing stress and depression. The Board had previously directed OWCP to obtain a detailed employer response. OWCP requested comments from a knowledgeable supervisor, but the employing establishment did not…
L.G. and Department of the Interior, Fish & Wildlife Service
Board remands disability claim for de novo decision and full appeal rights (ECAB 24-0342)
A Fish and Wildlife Service biological technician sought disability compensation related to a 2010 neck injury. An earlier Board order directed OWCP to consider all submitted evidence and issue a de novo decision. OWCP instead issued a decision denying modification and gave appeal rights that…
D.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Doris Miller VA Medical Center
Board affirms denial of VA nursing assistant’s injury claim (ECAB 24-0328)
A VA nursing assistant reported neck, lower back, shoulder, and hand symptoms after a patient jerked her arm while she tried to restrain him. Her physician diagnosed several conditions and attributed them to the incident, but did not explain physiologically how the incident caused or aggravated…
C.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Hazelwood Post Office
Board upholds refusal to reopen back injury claim (ECAB 24-0317)
C.J., a mail handler, sought reconsideration of a denied claim for a lower-back injury he said occurred while lifting a box at work. The Board could not review the merits because more than 180 days had passed since OWCP's last merit decision, so it considered only whether OWCP properly refused to…
J.R. and Department of the Army, Montana Army National Guard
Board affirms denial of additional right-eye schedule award (ECAB 24-0293)
J.R. lost the use of his right eye in a 1960 workplace accident and had already received a 160-week schedule award. He later sought an additional award based on a medical adviser’s suggested whole-person impairment rating. The Board held that FECA provides the full 160 weeks for total loss of an…
Bobby D. Smith v. Shamrock Coal Company, Incorporated and SunCoke Energy, Incorporated
Smith v. Shamrock Coal (BRB 23-0207): Black lung benefits award affirmed
Bobby Smith sought black lung benefits after 15.71 years of underground coal mine work. The judge found that breathing tests established total respiratory disability, which triggered the fifteen-year presumption that pneumoconiosis caused it. Shamrock Coal challenged the test findings and argued…
Daejinkwon Philpot-Hill v. Virginia International Terminals, LLC and Signal Mutual Indemnity Association, Ltd
Philpot-Hill v. Virginia International Terminals (BRB 23-0142): Injury claim denial affirmed
Daejinkwon Philpot-Hill injured his back and neck when a forklift he was operating stopped abruptly at Virginia International Terminals. The judge found that the initial strains were work related but that the evidence did not link his chronic spinal conditions or continuing symptoms to the…
M.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Bedford Post Office
Board upholds $24,518.41 dual-benefit overpayment and repayment plan (ECAB 24-0344)
A letter carrier received FECA wage-loss compensation while also receiving Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service. OWCP calculated a $24,518.41 overpayment for August 1, 2022 through August 12, 2023 and found him without fault. The Board upheld the amount, denied waiver…
L.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Norcross Post Office
Board affirms denial of cervical injury claim (ECAB 24-0325)
A city carrier alleged that modified duty caused a cervical injury on October 22, 2022. OWCP asked her for a detailed description of the incident and supporting evidence, but she did not respond. The Board found that the record did not establish that the alleged employment incident occurred as…
K.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Denham Springs Post Office
Board affirms wage-loss denial for claimed disability period (ECAB 24-0320)
K.M., a postal customer service supervisor, sought wage-loss compensation for disability from May 2 through June 25, 2017 related to an accepted 2015 motor vehicle injury. OWCP paid compensation for a later period but denied the earlier dates because the evidence did not establish disability during…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Rocky Mount Processing & Distribution Center
Board reverses termination of wage-loss compensation (ECAB 24-0318)
S.M., a mail processing machine operator clerk with accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, declined a temporary limited-duty assignment. OWCP terminated her wage-loss compensation after finding that a second-opinion physician considered the assignment within her work restrictions. The Board…
G.K. and Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center
Board dismisses appeal of non-adverse fee decision (ECAB 24-0313)
G.K. appealed an OWCP decision that approved $1,425 in attorney fees for counsel's services. The Board held that this decision was not adverse to G.K. and therefore was not appealable. The Board also noted that a separate decision ending compensation after refusal of temporary work was not before…
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Bronx Post Office
Board dismisses appeal of proposed termination for lack of final decision (ECAB 24-0158)
A postal employee appealed documents that OWCP issued on November 28, 2023. Those documents proposed ending benefits, expanded the accepted claim, and asked for more evidence on a schedule award. None was a final adverse decision. The Board dismissed the appeal without deciding the merits.
E.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Bellmawr Carrier Annex
Board orders new impairment evaluation for postal carrier (ECAB 23-0515)
A postal letter carrier with an accepted lumbar disc condition sought a schedule award for permanent impairment. The physicians assessing impairment relied on statements of accepted facts that omitted an OWCP-authorized back surgery. The Board found their opinions inadequate to resolve the…
H.H. and Department of the Army, Training & Doctrine Command
Board affirms zero percent hearing loss schedule award denial (ECAB 24-0345)
A lead firefighter’s claim for hearing loss caused by helicopter noise was accepted, but OWCP denied a schedule award. A district medical adviser applied the required audiometric formula and calculated zero percent impairment in both ears and overall. The Board found that the accepted condition was…
L.H. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Board affirms denial of right carpal tunnel claim (ECAB 24-0326)
A procurement analyst alleged that repetitive typing and computer work caused right carpal tunnel syndrome. Her physician documented the condition and related ulnar nerve treatment but said he lacked direct evidence linking it to her duties; his later statement that there “can” be a causal link was…
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service
Board affirms denial of postal police lumbar claim (ECAB 24-0315)
J.C., a postal police officer, claimed that wearing heavy protective gear and driving a patrol vehicle caused or worsened a lumbar condition. OWCP accepted that he had a diagnosed condition but denied the claim for lack of medical proof connecting it to the claimed work factors. The Board found…
D.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Castaic Post Office
Board affirms denial of postal worker’s back claim (ECAB 24-0237)
A postal employee claimed a back condition after an August 23, 2023 workplace incident. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the injury claim. The Board found that the medical reports gave diagnoses without a reasoned explanation of how the incident caused or aggravated the back…
P.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Honolulu Post Office
Board affirms denial of wage loss for postal worker’s finger injury (ECAB 24-0131)
A postal employee injured her right little finger at work on March 6, 2023. OWCP accepted the injury, and she claimed disability beginning in May 2023. Her physician discussed the finger condition, but the Board found the evidence did not adequately explain a work incapacity caused by that injury…
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.