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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R.S. and Department of the Army, San Antonio, TX
R.S. (ECAB 09-0588): Cervical injury claim returned for medical clarification
R.S., an Army unit administrator, injured his lower back after slipping off a platform at work. OWCP accepted several lower back and related conditions but denied his request to add a cervical spine condition. The Board found that an early treating report supported a cervical sprain and that…
T.S. and Department of the Treasury, U.S. Mint, Denver, CO
T.S. (ECAB 09-0551): Cashier wage capacity and medical benefit termination upheld
T.S., a former U.S. Mint machine tool operator, had accepted back, neck, wrist and pain-related conditions. OWCP ended medical benefits for several conditions and reduced his compensation based on a cashier II job. The Board affirmed both actions. It gave weight to an impartial physician's opinion…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Augusta, GA
S.M. (ECAB 09-0987): Emotional condition claim denied for lack of medical link
S.M., a Postal Service mail handler, claimed stress, depression and anxiety related to workplace events and supervisors' conduct. OWCP recognized three incidents as compensable work factors but denied the claim for lack of supporting medical evidence. The Board affirmed. It found that several other…
J.K. and Department of the Air Force, Peterson Air Force Base, CO
J.K. (ECAB 09-0983): Surveillance monitor wage capacity reduction upheld
J.K., a former Air Force shipment clerk, had an accepted lower back injury and received compensation after she stopped work. OWCP reduced her compensation based on a sedentary surveillance systems monitor position. The Board affirmed because a second opinion physician found that she could work…
C.M. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg, PA
C.M. (ECAB 09-0940): Suspension for missed medical exam upheld
C.M., a National Park Service laborer with accepted knee and back injuries, missed an examination arranged to resolve conflicting medical opinions about his disability. He told OWCP in advance that he needed to care for his wife after surgery. OWCP suspended his compensation, and the Board affirmed…
B.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Personnel Operations Support, Dallas, TX
B.C. (ECAB 09-0653): Travel injury claim returned for medical review
B.C., a Postal Service purchasing agent, fell and injured her leg while returning to her car after dinner during an authorized business trip. OWCP denied her claim on the ground that she was outside the performance of duty. The Board held that eating dinner was an ordinary incident of work travel…
R.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Paul, MN
R.L. (ECAB 09-0475): Benefit termination and disability denial affirmed
R.L., a Postal Service tractor trailer operator, had accepted neck and lower back conditions after a work-related collision. OWCP ended his benefits after an impartial orthopedic surgeon concluded that the accepted injuries had resolved and that continuing symptoms came from degenerative conditions…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3354 (Union) and United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Development Centralized Servicing Center (Agency)
AFGE Local 3354 and USDA Rural Development (FLRA 0-AR-4326): Bilingual performance standards upheld
USDA Rural Development changed performance standards for bilingual telephone representatives. The union argued that the changes violated the labor agreement and treated bilingual employees differently. An arbitrator denied the grievance after finding that the agency followed the agreement's…
United States Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Detroit, Michigan (Agency) and National Air Traffic Controllers Association (Union)
FAA Detroit and NATCA (FLRA 0-AR-4314): Union office cleaning reimbursement set aside
Mold contaminated FAA facilities, and the union paid to clean its office. An arbitrator directed the FAA and union to ask the Office of Personnel Management about hazardous-duty pay and ordered the FAA to reimburse the union's cleaning cost. The Authority dismissed the FAA's challenge to the OPM…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Charleston, WV
J.M. (ECAB 09-1123): Data entry injury claim denied for lack of medical explanation
J.M., a Postal Service data conversion operator, attributed wrist and arm symptoms and headaches to keying information at work. OWCP accepted that she performed the described computer work but denied her occupational disease claim. The Board affirmed because her physician checked a box linking…
J.A. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Tucson, AZ
J.A. (ECAB 09-1265): Two percent right leg schedule award upheld
J.A., a Bureau of Prisons correctional officer, injured his right knee while walking down stairs at work. He received a schedule award for two percent permanent impairment after surgery removed about half of the lateral meniscus. His surgeon proposed a higher rating based on a total meniscus…
A.J. and Department of the Army, USA TACOM, Warren, MI
A.J. (ECAB 09-0951): Benefit termination upheld, psychiatric claim returned
A.J., an Army mechanical engineer, had accepted concussion, postconcussion syndrome and neck sprain after a collision during work travel. OWCP terminated his wage loss and medical benefits, and the Board affirmed because an impartial specialist found that the accepted neurological and neck…
A.N. and Department of the Army, Army Corps of Engineers, Alexandria, VA
A.N. (ECAB 09-0928): Back injury claim denied despite accepted flight incident
A.N., an Army Corps of Engineers mechanic leader, reported back pain after an abrupt maneuver on a flight from Baghdad during work travel. OWCP accepted that the incident happened but denied compensation because it found no medically established injury caused by it. The Board affirmed. The medical…
C.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Marlboro, NJ
C.H. (ECAB 09-0883): Disability period returned for referee clarification
C.H., a Postal Service letter carrier, developed back symptoms after driving a delivery truck without power steering. OWCP accepted a temporary aggravation of spinal disease through November 9, 2006 but denied disability afterward. The Board set aside that denial because the impartial examiner did…
C.K. and Department of Defense, Defense Contract Management Agency, Fort Huachca, AZ
C.K. (ECAB 09-0531): Emotional and vascular condition claims denied
C.K., a Defense Contract Management Agency quality assurance specialist, attributed emotional and vascular conditions to alleged physical incidents and treatment by coworkers and managers. The Board affirmed OWCP's denial because the record did not establish the claimed assaults or harassment as…
J.P. and Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Suitland, MD
J.P. (ECAB 09-0494): Recurrence denied and meniscus tear acceptance rescinded
J.P., a Census Bureau secretary, injured her knee and other areas when she slipped on a wet floor at work. After returning to light duty, she claimed a recurrence of total disability beginning October 10, 2007. The Board affirmed OWCP's denial because the medical reports did not explain a…
T.S. and Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Bonners Ferry, ID
T.S. (ECAB 09-1308): Right knee schedule award returned for overlap review
T.S., a Forest Service supervisory forestry technician, injured his right knee at work and later had meniscus surgery. His surgeon and an OWCP medical adviser rated the resulting right leg impairment at 10 percent. OWCP denied another schedule award because T.S. had already received a 22 percent…
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Mail Facility, Raleigh, NC
D.C. (ECAB 09-1293): Finger injury claim denied for lack of medical link
D.C., a Postal Service automotive technician, reported that his hand was caught between a vehicle door and a pole at work in August 2007. OWCP accepted the incident but denied his later claim involving a mass on his left ring finger. The Board affirmed because his physician did not explain how a…
E.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Benton Harbor, MI
E.W. (ECAB 09-1247): Reconsideration denial upheld after repeated medical reports
E.W., a former Postal Service carrier, had previously been denied compensation for a claimed work-related worsening of hip arthritis. He requested reconsideration and submitted two more reports from his treating surgeon. The Board upheld OWCP's refusal to reopen the merits because the reports…
P.T. and Department of the Navy, Family Housing Office, Oakland, CA
P.T. (ECAB 09-1146): Five percent awards for both arms upheld
P.T., a Navy housing manager with accepted carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists, received schedule awards for five percent impairment of each upper extremity. She sought a higher rating after prior release surgeries. The Board affirmed the awards because the Office medical adviser's rating…
V.M. and Department of Agriculture, Food & Safety Inspection Service, Office of Field Operations, Minneapolis, MN
V.M. (ECAB 09-1081): Poultry inspection injury claim denied without medical opinion
V.M., a federal poultry inspector, attributed back, shoulder, arm and neck symptoms to repetitive inspection work. OWCP accepted that he was exposed to the work conditions he described but denied his occupational disease claim. The Board affirmed because the record did not contain a physician's…
J.I. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, Bellevue, WA
J.I. (ECAB 09-1014): Back strain claim denied for lack of causal explanation
J.I., a Postal Service mail collector, reported back symptoms after repeatedly lifting mail and hampers when his truck's lift gate was broken. OWCP accepted that his job involved picking up mail but denied his occupational disease claim. The Board affirmed because his physician diagnosed a thoracic…
F.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Airport Station, Los Angeles, CA
F.M. (ECAB 09-0959): Recurrence of disability claim denied
F.M., a Postal Service sales associate, had an accepted lumbar strain from bending to retrieve stamps in 2004. She stopped work in October 2007 and claimed that her earlier work injury had again caused disability. The Board affirmed OWCP's denial because the treating reports described pain…
J.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Newark, NJ
J.L. (ECAB 09-0735): Compensation termination after back injury upheld
J.L., a Postal Service mail handler, had accepted thoracic and lumbar nerve conditions after pushing a heavy container at work. OWCP ended her benefits after an impartial orthopedic surgeon found no remaining work-related residuals or disability and said she could return to her regular job. The…
F.F. and U.S. Postal Service, General Mail Facility, Harrisburg, PA
F.F. (ECAB 09-0668): Suitable work termination reversed
F.F., a Postal Service employee, had accepted injuries involving his neck, right arm, knee, and headaches after a workplace accident. OWCP terminated his wage loss compensation effective December 21, 2008 when he declined a full time modified clerk position. The Board found that OWCP had not proved…
Gilco Contracting Co., Inc.
Repeat excavation violation affirmed
A Gilco crew entered an excavation to expose a waterline and install a saddle valve. Three walls were properly sloped, but the western wall was vertical, the excavation was more than five feet deep, and no trench box or other protective system was present. The judge rejected Gilco's argument that…
Secretary of Labor v. Litts & Son Stone Company
Retaliation counterclaim dismissed
Litts & Son Stone Company alleged that MSHA inspectors had taken retaliatory or vindictive actions that violated the company's First Amendment rights. It asked the Judge to enjoin further retaliation and require MSHA to assign a fair and impartial inspector. Judge David F. Barbour held that the…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Altoona, PA
M.M. (ECAB 09-1347): Emotional condition claim denial affirmed
M.M., a Postal Service rural letter carrier, claimed that his back injury, the handling of his physical injury claim, and related events caused depression and anxiety. OWCP denied his emotional condition claim, and the Board affirmed. The Board found that a clinical social worker's opinion did not…
L.C. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Glynco, GA
L.C. (ECAB 09-1316): Schedule award claim returned for medical development
L.C., a federal law enforcement training instructor, injured her neck when another instructor accidentally dropped a bag on her. OWCP accepted several conditions but denied her later schedule award claim, finding no evidence of permanent arm impairment. The Board found that OWCP's referral…
Y.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New York, NY
Y.S. (ECAB 09-1248): Compensation and medical benefit termination reversed
Y.S., a Postal Service letter carrier, had accepted right hand and wrist conditions after a restroom door struck her hand at work. OWCP ended her compensation and medical benefits after a second opinion surgeon found no remaining disability or need for treatment. Her treating physician disagreed…
J.P. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Van Nuys, CA
J.P. (ECAB 09-1100): Wrist injury compensation termination upheld
J.P., a Federal Aviation Administration clerk, injured her right wrist when she tripped over telephone wires at work in 1990. OWCP later ended her wage loss compensation and medical benefits based on her own orthopedic surgeon's examinations in 2007 and 2009. He found no objective basis for…
K.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Wrightstown, NJ
K.L. (ECAB 09-0822): Recurrence of disability denial affirmed
K.L., a Postal Service employee with accepted arm and wrist conditions, claimed that she could no longer perform light duty beginning April 22, 2006. After an earlier Board decision rejected her recurrence claim, she sought reconsideration with additional medical reports and statements from…
G.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Medford, OR
G.S. (ECAB 09-0764): Emotional condition claim returned for medical review
G.S., a Postal Service supervisor, claimed an emotional condition arising from management actions after she gave a statement in a coworker's discrimination case. OWCP found no compensable employment factor and denied the claim. The Board found that the record established reprisal by her postmaster…
G.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Francisco, CA
G.H. (ECAB 09-0606): Dependent benefit overpayments upheld
G.H., a Postal Service mail handler with two accepted injury claims, received compensation at the higher rate for workers with dependents after she had stopped documenting her adult son's qualifying student status. OWCP found overpayments of $2,091.21 and $1,223.25. The Board affirmed both amounts…
Y.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pittsburgh, PA
Y.D. (ECAB 09-0595): Wage loss claim after clerk transfer denied
Y.D., a Postal Service letter carrier with an accepted ankle and knee injury, moved to a modified distribution clerk job in February 2002. She claimed compensation because carrier wages increased differently from clerk wages. The Board found that her pay was the same immediately before and after…
L.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
L.D. (ECAB 09-0520): Benefit termination and related denials upheld
L.D., a Postal Service employee, had accepted ankle, knee, and lower back injuries. OWCP ended her disability compensation and medical benefits, denied an increased right leg schedule award and a claimed recurrence, and later declined further reconsideration. The Board gave special weight to an…
Social Security Administration, Southeastern Program Service Center, Birmingham, Alabama (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2206 (Union)
SSA Birmingham and AFGE Local 2206 (FLRA 0-AR-4200): Forfeited credit hours restored
An SSA employee lost 8¼ credit hours when her recorded balance exceeded the 24-hour carryover limit after days of official time. An arbitrator ordered the hours restored, finding that the agency was responsible for accurate credit-hour records and that the employee had sought a correction. The…
J.L. and Department of the Navy, Naval Medical Commands, San Diego, CA
J.L. (ECAB 09-1322): Six percent leg schedule award upheld
J.L., a Navy supervisory nurse specialist, fractured bones in her left foot in a fall at work. OWCP granted a schedule award for six percent permanent impairment of her left leg. Her physician assessed impairment from the metatarsal fractures and superficial peroneal nerve symptoms using the…
Y.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Carol Stream, IL
Y.S. (ECAB 09-1320): Refusal to reopen emotional condition claim upheld
Y.S., a Postal Service mail handler, had previously claimed an emotional condition related to her supervisor's actions. After OWCP and the Board rejected earlier challenges, she requested reconsideration with records about her later removal from employment and additional medical reports. The Board…
T.D. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Palo Alto Veterans Administration Hospital, Palo Alto, CA
T.D. (ECAB 09-1311): Workplace incident recognized, injury denial upheld
T.D., a nurse at a Veterans Affairs hospital, said a coworker bumped her shoulder in a hallway at work and injured her neck and shoulder. OWCP's hearing representative denied her claim on the ground that the incident stemmed from personal animosity. The Board found that the dispute arose from…
A.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bridgeview, IL
A.A. (ECAB 09-1228): Reconsideration denial set aside
A.A., a Postal Service letter carrier, had accepted lower back and other injuries after a fall at work. OWCP later terminated his compensation, and he asked it to reconsider whether medical treatment it had paid for caused a lasting, compensable condition. OWCP refused to reopen the case. The Board…
L.S. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Seattle, WA
L.S. (ECAB 09-1198): Compensation reduction for missed job training upheld
L.S., a Transportation Security Administration supervisor, had an accepted right shoulder injury and participated in vocational rehabilitation. Her counselors tried to arrange classes toward a high school equivalency certificate to expand her job options, but she did not attend regularly. OWCP…
Liberty View Construction, Inc.
Late notice of contest dismissed
OSHA issued Liberty View Construction a citation after two inspections of a New Jersey worksite. The company received the citation on May 29, 2009, making June 19 the deadline for a notice of contest, but it filed on June 24. The judge treated the company's later letter as a request to excuse the…
L.F., claiming as widow of H.F., and Department of the Air Force, McConnell Air Force Base, Wichita, KS
L.F. (ECAB 09-1058): Survivor benefit denial upheld
H.F., an Air Force woodworker, had an accepted back injury and received compensation for disability until his death. His widow, L.F., sought survivor benefits, arguing that the injury and its effects contributed to his heart condition. The death certificate identified ischemic cardiomyopathy as the…
J.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Houston, TX
J.F. (ECAB 09-1027): Untimely reconsideration refusal upheld
J.F., a Postal Service employee, sought another review of an injury claim that OWCP had last decided on the merits in April 2002. He filed his reconsideration request in November 2008 and argued that OWCP had made procedural errors and overlooked medical evidence about his shoulder. The Board found…
G.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pontiac, MI
G.S. (ECAB 09-0925): Wage capacity determination left in place
G.S., a Postal Service employee with an accepted lower back injury, returned to modified work, and OWCP found that his earnings showed no loss of wage earning capacity. He later stopped work and sought to change that determination because of increased back pain. The Board found that his physician's…
T.A. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Burlington, MA
T.A. (ECAB 09-0753): Stroke claim denial upheld
T.A., an immigration enforcement agent, had a stroke and claimed that extensive work travel by air and car caused or contributed to it. OWCP accepted that his job involved such travel but denied the injury claim. The Board found that the medical reports did not adequately explain a causal…
J.H. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Cherry Hill, NJ
J.H. (ECAB 09-0450): Consequential emotional condition denial upheld
J.H., an Internal Revenue Service employee, claimed that pain from an accepted lower back strain and workplace circumstances caused depression and anxiety. OWCP had previously ended benefits for that strain after finding no remaining work related residuals. The Board found that J.H. had not…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company
Unexplained three-month delay defeated reopening
A 70-citation assessment reached Consol Pennsylvania's Bailey Mine during a holiday period while the superintendent was away and the mine was idle. The safety director received it later and mistakenly treated that date as the original receipt date, causing an 11-penalty contest to be filed four…
C.K. and Department of the Army, Army Research Laboratory, Adelphi, MD
C.K. (ECAB 09-1461): Oral hearing refusal upheld
C.K., an Army Research Laboratory employee, sought an oral hearing after OWCP had denied parts of her injury claim and considered her reconsideration requests. OWCP refused the hearing, and the Board affirmed. A claimant who has already requested reconsideration of a decision has no right to a…
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fairbanks, AK
M.S. (ECAB 09-1286): Knee injury claim returned for medical review
M.S., a Postal Service letter carrier, reported twisting her right knee after slipping on snow covered trash at work. OWCP denied the claim for lack of medical proof connecting the incident to her knee condition. Her physician later said the incident at least aggravated the condition, though his…
C.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Remote Encoding Center, Salt Lake City, UT
C.L. (ECAB 09-1246): Duplicate payment and waiver denial upheld
C.L., a Postal Service data conversion operator with an accepted arm condition, received two wage loss payments covering the same period. OWCP found a $4,124 overpayment and determined that she was not at fault, but denied her request to waive recovery. The Board agreed that payment twice for the…
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Louis, MO
M.S. (ECAB 09-1225): Refusal to reopen knee claim upheld
M.S., a Postal Service administrative clerk, sought additional medical care for a left knee injury accepted after a workplace fall. OWCP repeatedly denied her claimed recurrence of the need for treatment, then refused another reconsideration request. The Board found that the latest request referred…
S.B. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Atlanta, GA
S.B. (ECAB 09-1187): Shoulder benefit termination upheld
S.B., a federal correctional officer, injured his left shoulder while restraining an inmate. OWCP accepted shoulder bursitis and later ended his wage loss and medical benefits after a second opinion orthopedic surgeon found the work related condition had resolved. The surgeon reported good shoulder…
S.T. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Decatur, GA
S.T. (ECAB 09-1134): Shoulder claim and reconsideration denials upheld
S.T., a Veterans Affairs pharmacy technician, attributed left shoulder symptoms to tearing and collating paper from a printer for several hours each day. OWCP accepted those duties as work factors but denied the claim for lack of medical evidence connecting them to a diagnosed condition. The Board…
J.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Atlanta, GA
J.W. (ECAB 09-1086): Untimely reconsideration refusal upheld
J.W., a Postal Service employee, sought another review of a claim concerning an alleged 1996 workplace incident. OWCP's last merits decision in 2001 had found the claim too late and no evidence that her supervisor knew of the alleged injury within 30 days. J.W. requested reconsideration in 2009 and…
J.S. and Department of the Air Force, McClellan Air Force Base, CA
J.S. (ECAB 09-0989): Carpal tunnel wage loss termination upheld
J.S., an Air Force aircraft electrician equipment technician, had accepted carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands. OWCP ended his wage loss compensation after an impartial orthopedic surgeon found that he could perform his original job without restrictions from those conditions. The Board gave the…
P.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tom's River, NJ
P.C. (ECAB 09-0973): Left leg award increased to eight percent
P.C., a Postal Service carrier technician, injured his left knee at work and received a schedule award for seven percent left leg impairment. The Board gave special weight to an impartial orthopedic surgeon's examination and use of the applicable impairment guide. It corrected one part of the…
United States Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration (Agency) and Professional Airways Systems Specialists (Union)
FAA and Professional Airways Systems Specialists (FLRA 0-AR-4169): Training travel reimbursements upheld
Two Alaska-based FAA employees used authorized rental cars while attending training in Oklahoma City. The FAA refused to reimburse their gasoline expenses and reduced one employee's travel reimbursement using a comparison with different trip starting points. An arbitrator ordered reimbursement…
Secretary of Labor v. Consolidation Coal Company
Portal-move filing error excused
Consolidation Coal misplaced two proposed assessments while changing portals at its mine. The forms were put into a box of already processed assessments that remained at the vacated portal. When the company discovered them, it promptly requested reopening. The Secretary did not oppose relief. The…
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.