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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N.B. and U.S. Postal Service, North Kenner Post Office, Kenner, LA
N.B. (ECAB 09-1015): Overpayment upheld, fault finding reversed
N.B., a postal clerk, promptly told OWCP that she had returned to work on January 13, 2009. OWCP could not stop its scheduled direct deposit, which included $253.07 in compensation for days after her return. The Board upheld the amount of the overpayment but found that N.B. did not cause it: she…
L.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Melvindale, MI
L.C. (ECAB 09-0696): Compensation termination and continuing disability denial upheld
L.C., a postal mail handler, received compensation for accepted back and ankle conditions after a 2000 fall. OWCP ended her benefits after an impartial orthopedic specialist found no remaining work-related injury or restrictions. The Board gave the impartial specialist’s reasoned opinion weight…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Medical Center, Carswell, Texas (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1006 (Union)
Carswell federal prison and AFGE Local 1006 (FLRA 0-AR-4510): early exceptions dismissed
AFGE Local 1006 filed a grievance alleging that employees at the Carswell federal medical center performed work without pay in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. An arbitrator ruled on only a subset of positions and later awarded damages and attorney fees for that part of the case. The…
Secretary of Labor v. Highland Mining Company
Reopening deadline extended by 20 days
Highland Mining had filed motions to reopen four penalty assessments that became final when they were not timely contested. The Commission had denied one motion with prejudice and allowed Highland 30 days to renew the other three with fuller explanations and measures to prevent future missed…
United States Department of the Navy, Commander, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic Public Safety Program Manager (Agency) and International Brotherhood of Police Officers (Labor Organization/Petitioner)
Navy Mid-Atlantic and Police Officers union (FLRA WA-RP-09-0080): certification wording unchanged
The International Brotherhood of Police Officers won an election to represent a Navy Mid-Atlantic public safety unit. The certified unit description did not expressly name police officers, though the parties agreed the wording was accurate and unambiguous. The union asked to add that term after the…
RS&W Coal Company, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor
Ventilation citation and withdrawal order affirmed
RS&W Coal operated its small anthracite mine without an approved ventilation map after refusing to retain a monitoring point and add airflow-direction arrows for a worked-out section. Judge Alan G. Paez found that MSHA and the operator had negotiated in good faith and that MSHA gave a rational…
C.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, EKHCS-Topeka, Leavenworth, KS
C.S. (ECAB 09-1850): Refusal to reopen back injury claim upheld
C.S., a Veterans Affairs medical administrator, claimed a back injury after reaching for files at work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the claim because the medical evidence did not connect a diagnosed condition to it. In seeking reconsideration, C.S. described her symptoms and…
S.H. and Department of the Navy, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Newport, RI
S.H. (ECAB 09-1756): Refusal to reopen hand impairment claim upheld
S.H., a Navy training manager, had accepted carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands and sought a permanent impairment award. OWCP denied the award in 2008, then declined to reopen the claim after she sought reconsideration. The Board found that a report from her longtime surgeon, Dr. Burns, restated…
F.A. and Department of the Air Force, Travis Air Force Base, Fairfield, CA
F.A. (ECAB 09-1755): Late reconsideration denial upheld
F.A., a former Air Force aircraft mechanic, sought to reopen a claim linking current back problems to accepted injuries from 1967 and 1977. His request came more than a year after OWCP’s March 15, 2007 merits decision, so he needed to show clear evidence that decision was wrong. The Board found…
H.L. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Nuclear Power-Decatur, AL, Chattanooga, TN
H.L. (ECAB 09-1734): Occupational hearing loss claim denied
H.L., a retired Tennessee Valley Authority supervisor, claimed that workplace noise caused his hearing loss. The Board accepted that he had been exposed to noise at work and had hearing loss when examined in 2009. His earlier audiograms did not show significant loss, however, and were not certified…
M.C. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Phoenix, AZ
M.C. (ECAB 09-1718): Sidewalk fall outside federal premises not covered
M.C., an IRS disclosure assistant, slipped on water on a sidewalk outside her office building after her shift. She was walking toward a garage where she parked her private vehicle. The Board found that a private lessor controlled the public sidewalk and garage, and the IRS neither maintained the…
R.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Carlsbad, CA
R.F. (ECAB 09-1716): Left foot schedule award denial upheld
R.F., a postal letter carrier, had accepted foot conditions and sought a schedule award for permanent impairment. His treating surgeon found that the left plantar fasciitis had become stationary but produced no measurable impairment. An OWCP medical adviser also found no ratable impairment from…
T.V. and Department of Homeland Security, Law Enforcement Support Center, Williston, VT
T.V. (ECAB 09-1687): Refusal to reopen hip injury claim upheld
T.V., a Homeland Security law enforcement technician, claimed a hip injury after falling on stairs at work in 2003. OWCP denied the claim, then refused to reopen it after a reconsideration request. The Board found that T.V. resubmitted a doctor’s report OWCP had already considered and argued that…
W.J. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Jonesville, VA
W.J. (ECAB 09-1596): Left arm impairment award increased to three percent
W.J., a Bureau of Prisons employee, injured the left arm and other areas in a workplace fall and received a schedule award for two percent left arm impairment. The Board found that the larger ratings proposed by two examining doctors did not adequately follow or explain the required impairment…
H.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bloomfield, NJ
H.M. (ECAB 09-1548): Injury denial upheld with work-duty finding corrected
H.M., a postal clerk, claimed that handling heavy mail containers and other repeated duties caused right arm, shoulder and neck conditions. OWCP denied her claim because it found her description of those duties insufficient. The Board found that her consistent account established the work…
S.J. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Bensalem, PA
S.J. (ECAB 09-1427): Right arm impairment rating sent back for medical clarification
S.J., an IRS employee, received a schedule award for 21 percent impairment of the right arm. The impartial examiner had given a much higher rating, but OWCP’s medical adviser found that the examiner used the wrong impairment table. The Board held that the adviser could review the report but could…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Washington, D.C. (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Council of Prison Locals, Council 33 (Union)
Bureau of Prisons and AFGE Council 33 (FLRA 0-AR-4225): roster-change bargaining duty upheld
The Bureau of Prisons introduced a nationwide cost-saving roster program that eliminated correctional posts it considered noncritical. AFGE Council 33 sought bargaining over the program's impact and implementation, but the bureau said its existing agreement already covered rosters. An arbitrator…
K.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brewer, ME
K.D. (ECAB 09-1793): Trigger finger claim and reconsideration refusal upheld
K.D., a postal retail clerk, said repetitive mail sorting, money counting and window work caused or aggravated a right trigger finger condition. Her surgeon linked the condition to her work but did not discuss the specific duties or explain the medical connection. The Board found the opinion too…
W.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Stockton, NJ
W.S. (ECAB 09-1781): Leg impairment award sent back for an impartial examination
W.S., a rural letter carrier with an accepted back injury, received a schedule award for three percent impairment of each leg. His physician rated each leg at 24 percent, based on motor deficits and pain. OWCP’s medical adviser rejected those findings and based the award on a sensory deficit. The…
B.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Washington, DC
B.N. (ECAB 09-1775): Schedule award denial upheld for lack of an impairment rating
B.N., a postal employee with an accepted aggravation of a cervical nerve condition, sought a schedule award. OWCP asked for a medical assessment of permanent impairment to an eligible body member. His physician diagnosed conditions but did not give an impairment rating or say whether the accepted…
P.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bellmawr, NJ
P.J. (ECAB 09-1770): Arm impairment ratings upheld after impartial examination
P.J., a postal distribution clerk with accepted carpal tunnel syndrome, sought higher schedule awards for both arms. P.J.’s physician and OWCP’s medical adviser gave different impairment ratings, so OWCP obtained an impartial orthopedic examination. The examiner rated impairment at five percent in…
A.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Capitol Heights, MD
A.L. (ECAB 09-1592): Refusal of overpayment hearing upheld
A.L., a postal mail handler receiving disability compensation, was notified of a proposed $6,868.44 overpayment for insurance premiums OWCP had failed to deduct. The October 10, 2008 notice gave her 30 days to request a prerecoupment hearing. She requested one on November 26, after OWCP had issued…
W.S. and Department of Health & Human Services, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, Fairchance, PA
W.S. (ECAB 09-1584): Refusal to reconsider consequential injury claim upheld
W.S., a physical science technician, claimed that a fall in an emergency room was a consequence of an accepted work injury. OWCP denied that additional injury claim, and W.S. asked it to reconsider. His request referred to a physician's evidence but included no new medical report in the record OWCP…
D.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Springfield, MO
D.R. (ECAB 09-1570): Additional arm award sent back for carpal tunnel evaluation
D.R., a postal distribution clerk, had an eight percent left arm schedule award and sought a higher rating. Her accepted conditions included de Quervain’s disease and carpal tunnel syndrome. The Board agreed that an additional rating for de Quervain’s disease was premature because OWCP’s…
B.K. and Department of the Army, Fort Riley Range Control, Fort Riley, KS
B.K. (ECAB 09-1513): Schedule award denial upheld without proof of permanent impairment
B.K., an Army maintenance worker, had accepted injuries from a fall, including fractures, a disc condition and restless leg syndrome. He sought a schedule award for permanent impairment. The Board found that the back itself is not a scheduled body member and that his medical reports did not show…
Turner Industries Group, LLC
Pipe-machine guarding citation affirmed
Turner employees were being trained on a pipe-facing machine with one accessible cutting point left completely unguarded. A manufacturer's trainer unexpectedly started the machine while two employees were making measurements and adjustments, injuring one employee's hand. The judge found that Turner…
E.R. and Department of Justice, U.S. Marshals Service, Baltimore, MD
E.R. (ECAB 09-1722): Back injury claim denial upheld for lack of medical explanation
E.R., a deputy U.S. marshal, reported back pain after breaking up a fight between two prisoners at work. OWCP accepted that the incident happened but denied the claim because the medical evidence did not establish that it caused an injury. The Board found that one physician described spinal…
R.B. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Columbus, OH
R.B. (ECAB 09-1717): Injury denial upheld because reported incident was not established
R.B., a Transportation Security Administration employee, said he hurt his back when he pushed against falling boxes at work on September 25, 2006. OWCP treated the account as a new injury claim, separate from his accepted 2004 lifting injury. The Board found that he did not report the box incident…
T.D. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, IL
T.D. (ECAB 09-1635): Wage-loss reduction based on order clerk work upheld
T.D., a transportation security officer with accepted back injuries, received wage-loss compensation after leaving work. OWCP found that she could perform a full-time sedentary order clerk position and reduced her wage-loss benefit to zero. She argued that her part-time security guard earnings…
M.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Canton, OH
M.H. (ECAB 09-1626): Hearing denial upheld because agency letter was informational
M.H., a mail carrier with an accepted arm and shoulder condition, requested a hearing after OWCP wrote that his claim remained open for medical care. OWCP denied the request because its letter gave information about the existing claim and did not make a new decision. The Board agreed that the…
M.P. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Goleta, CA
M.P. (ECAB 09-1616): Termination of compensation and medical benefits upheld
M.P., a transportation security screener, had an accepted claim for thoracic and lumbar strains after lifting a suitcase. OWCP ended her wage-loss compensation and medical benefits after an impartial orthopedic specialist concluded that the accepted strains had resolved. The Board gave special…
M.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Lake Charles, LA
M.G. (ECAB 09-1608): Wage-loss claim denied after later lifting incident
M.G., a postal carrier, had an accepted neck and back strain claim after a dog attacked her on her mail route. She later stopped working and sought wage-loss compensation beginning December 4, 2008. Her treating doctor linked the increase in symptoms to lifting a heavy box at work after the…
J.J. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, El Paso, TX
J.J. (ECAB 09-1523): Injury claim denied for lack of medical explanation
J.J., an airport security screener, said his right arm became numb and locked while he checked travelers’ documents during training. OWCP accepted that the described work duties occurred but denied his injury claim. The Board found that his physician diagnosed right arm conditions without…
L.G. and Environmental Protection Agency, Human Studies Facility, Chapel Hill, NC
L.G. (ECAB 09-1517): Refusal to reopen schedule award upheld
L.G. had received a schedule award for a total 13 percent permanent impairment of her right foot after an accepted ankle injury. She asked OWCP to reconsider the award, arguing that pain, a scar, and possible impairment extending into her leg warranted more compensation. OWCP declined to reopen the…
D.P. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA
D.P. (ECAB 09-1337): Continued disability after benefit termination not established
D.P., a medical center file clerk, had an accepted claim for thoracic and lumbar strains after a 1991 work injury. OWCP ended his compensation in January 2002, and the Board upheld that termination in an earlier appeal. In this appeal, he sought continued benefits and argued that his disc disease…
D.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Lake Mary, FL
D.V. (ECAB 09-1109): Recurrence denial set aside for a new OWCP decision
D.V., a postal mail handler, sought compensation for a claimed recurrence of total disability after returning to limited duty following an accepted neck and shoulder injury. OWCP later accepted an aggravation of cervical disc disease and granted compensation for May 14, 2005 through July 14, 2006…
Secretary of Labor v. Lakeview Rock Products, Inc.
Highwall citation vacated, grounding settlement approved
MSHA alleged that large rocks on a recessed quarry bench could fall toward a loader traveling on the pit floor. Judge Jerold Feldman found that the rocks had remained stationary for years, sat about 100 feet back from the highwall base, and could be moved only by a very large dozer. He also found…
City of Marlborough Westerly Wastewater Treatment Facility
In re City of Marlborough Westerly Wastewater Treatment Facility (EAB NPDES Appeal Nos. 10-01, 10-02, and 10-03): petitions dismissed as moot
The City of Marlborough, the Town of Stow, and the Organization for the Assabet River petitioned for review of a modification to the NPDES permit for the Westerly Wastewater Treatment Facility. EPA Region 1 withdrew that permit modification and said it would prepare a new draft permit for notice…
J.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Diego, CA
J.H. (ECAB 09-2202): Wage-capacity decision returned for proper appeal rights
J.H., a postal letter carrier, asked OWCP to change a decision reducing her compensation based on an information clerk job. OWCP labeled its response a refusal to reconsider, but the Board found that OWCP had actually reviewed whether to modify the wage-earning capacity decision on the merits. OWCP…
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Brunswick, NJ
J.B. (ECAB 09-1657): Schedule award denial upheld because medical stability was not established
J.B., a postal carrier technician, had an accepted left shoulder and nerve injury and sought a schedule award for permanent impairment. One doctor rated a 13 percent left arm impairment without explaining why her condition was stable. Her treating specialist first said she had not reached maximum…
B.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Houston, TX
B.W. (ECAB 09-1578): Claimed mailroom fall not established on this record
B.W., a postal customer service representative, said she injured her left leg and lower back after falling into a hamper while handling mail. She filed the claim about two years later and submitted an incident note that the postal service said it had no record of receiving at the time. The Board…
R.P. and Department of the Air Force, Peterson Air Force Base, CO
R.P. (ECAB 09-1544): Two percent hearing-loss award upheld
R.P., an Air Force maintenance supervisor, claimed hearing loss and tinnitus from workplace noise. OWCP accepted the hearing-loss claim and awarded compensation for a two percent loss across both ears. The Board found that the OWCP referral physician’s audiogram supported that rating and that the…
D.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Bulk Mail Center, Dallas, TX
D.J. (ECAB 09-1533): Injury denial and late review refusal upheld
D.J., a postal mail handler, said he hurt his left shoulder while pushing a container at work. OWCP denied the claim because he did not establish that the incident occurred as alleged. The Board agreed, pointing to the limited description, lack of corroboration, and a doctor’s account of a fall…
P.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Burlington Station, Knoxville, TN
P.M. (ECAB 09-1521): Wage-earning capacity reduction remains in place
P.M., a rural letter carrier with accepted right shoulder injuries, worked in a modified postal position that OWCP used to set his wage-earning capacity. He later stopped working after the postal service offered the same duties and pay on a different shift, and he asked OWCP to change its earlier…
B.A. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Patrol, Honolulu, HI
B.A. (ECAB 09-1512): Seven percent left arm award upheld
B.A., a Customs and Border Patrol officer, had accepted left shoulder and biceps injuries after falling from a shipping container. He sought a schedule award, and OWCP rated his permanent left arm impairment at seven percent based on measured limits in shoulder motion. He argued that the referral…
P.L., Executor of the Estate of G.L., and Department of Defense, Federal Aviation Administration, Avoca, PA
Estate of G.L. (ECAB 09-1488): Overpayment and fault finding upheld
P.L., executor of G.L.’s estate, challenged an OWCP overpayment decision after G.L. died. OWCP had continued paying G.L. at the higher rate for workers with dependents after his wife’s death, and his annual forms continued to list her as a dependent. The Board upheld the $56,428.97 calculation and…
L.B. and Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Waterville, ME
L.B. (ECAB 09-1236): Zero wage-loss reduction reversed over earnings calculation
L.B., a part-time Census field representative, received wage-loss benefits after an accepted knee and heel injury. OWCP later counted earnings from two part-time jobs and reduced those benefits to zero. The Board agreed that OWCP could use earnings from part-time work because L.B. had worked part…
S.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Destin, FL
S.P. (ECAB 09-1010): Additional partial disability hours not established
S.P., a postal clerk with an accepted neck sprain, returned to a full-time modified job but later worked four-hour days. OWCP approved time spent in treatment and certain procedures, while denying another 95.99 hours she claimed from March to April 2008. The Board found that the medical reports did…
J.J. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Reno, NV
J.J. (ECAB 09-1724): Wage-loss suspension for missing earnings form upheld
J.J., a former medical center nurse receiving compensation for an accepted back injury, was asked twice to report her work and earnings on Form CA-1032. OWCP warned that her wage-loss benefits would be suspended if she did not return the form within 30 days. The Board found that OWCP sent the…
T.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, New Jersey Health Care System, East Orange, NJ
T.W. (ECAB 09-1719): Knee and ankle recurrence claim denied
T.W., a program support clerk, had accepted left knee and ankle conditions after a fall at work. She later claimed a recurrence of disability while also being treated under a separate back claim. Her orthopedic surgeon described knee findings and possible future surgery but did not explain how the…
D.R. and Department of the Navy, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, VA
D.R. (ECAB 09-1700): Hearing-loss denial upheld on a different ground
D.R., a former Navy shipyard rigger, claimed hearing loss from workplace noise. His claim said he knew of the loss and its connection to federal work by 1991, when his federal employment ended, but he filed the claim in 2008. OWCP denied it for insufficient medical evidence. The Board instead held…
B.G. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Falls Church, VA
B.G. (ECAB 09-1663): Illness claim during official travel denied
B.G., a federal special agent, became ill after eating dinner while traveling for work and suspected food poisoning or accidental ingestion of a toothpick. OWCP accepted that he was on official travel but denied his injury claim. The Board explained that travel status could cover an injury from…
A.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Baltimore, MD
A.D. (ECAB 09-1585): Respiratory disease claim denied for lack of medical link
A.D., a postal clerk, claimed that dust from a mail-sorting machine caused or aggravated sinusitis, bronchitis, and other respiratory and allergy conditions. OWCP accepted that she encountered workplace dust but denied the claim for lack of a supported medical connection. The Board found that one…
J.P. and Department of the Army, Department of Military Science, Northwestern State University, Natchitoches, LA
J.P. (ECAB 09-1520): Ten percent hearing-loss award and start date upheld
J.P., a federal employee with an accepted work-related hearing-loss claim, challenged the percentage and start date of her schedule award. She sought a higher rating that included five percent for tinnitus and an earlier award date. The Board accepted the OWCP medical adviser’s 10 percent rating…
S.T. and Department of the Army, National Guard Bureau, Austin, TX
S.T. (ECAB 09-1500): Benefit termination reversed over unresolved medical conflict
S.T., a former Army mechanic, received compensation and medical benefits after an accepted lumbar disc injury. OWCP terminated those benefits based on a second-opinion physician’s view that his remaining back problems were unrelated to the work injury. His treating physician disagreed and…
L.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Louis, MO
L.R. (ECAB 09-1487): Back injury claim denied for insufficient medical explanation
L.R., a postal mail handler, said she hurt her lower back while moving mail on a loading dock. OWCP accepted that the work incident occurred but denied her claim for lack of medical evidence connecting it to a diagnosed injury. The Board found that the submitted reports described pain or a disc…
J.R. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Cumberland Fossil Plant, Cumberland, TN
J.R. (ECAB 09-1204): Emotional condition claim returned for medical review
J.R., a Tennessee Valley Authority electrician, claimed an emotional condition after workplace events following a head injury. OWCP denied the claim after finding no compensable work factor. The Board found most of his allegations about assignments, training, examinations, and job security…
S.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cincinnati, OH
S.S. (ECAB 09-0865): Injury claim denied because the alleged date was unproven
S.S., a postal letter carrier, claimed that walking in deep snow aggravated pain in her left thigh. OWCP denied her injury claim after accepting the alleged March 8, 2008 incident but finding the medical evidence insufficient to link it to her condition. At a hearing, S.S. said the aggravating snow…
Michael Phillips v. PMB Safety & Regulatory, Incorporated
Phillips v. PMB Safety & Regulatory (BRB 09-0614): injury during rig break arose in employment
Michael Phillips worked on an offshore oil rig and reported an injury after a co-worker pulled him from a bunk during a break and twisted his arm. An administrative law judge denied benefits, finding that Phillips was outside the course of his employment and that another person's conduct relieved…
A.B. and Department of the Air Force, Norton Air Force Base, CA
A.B. (ECAB 10-0206): Late reconsideration request did not show clear error
A.B., a former Air Force mechanic, sought to reopen a 2002 decision upholding the termination of compensation for his back injury. His September 2009 reconsideration request challenged the medical examination underlying the termination and asked OWCP to restore benefits. The Board found the request…
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.