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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M.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Preuss Post Office
Board affirms existing impairment ratings for postal employee (ECAB 24-0114)
A postal employee sought larger schedule awards for permanent impairment of both arms and both legs. She had already received awards for eight percent impairment of each arm and one percent of each leg. The Board found that the submitted medical evidence did not establish impairment above those…
Schooler v. Ford Motor Co.
SOX appeal withdrawn and dismissed
Charles Schooler alleged that Ford Motor Company retaliated against him in violation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. An administrative judge entered summary decision for Ford after finding that Schooler had not engaged in protected activity. Schooler missed the Board's opening-brief deadline and then…
R.O. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Truman VA Hospital
Board dismisses late appeal of VA employee’s claim (ECAB 24-0488)
A VA hospital employee appealed OWCP’s September 14, 2023 decision on April 5, 2024. The Board’s 180-day appeal period ended March 12, 2024. The employee did not provide documentation establishing compelling circumstances for the delay. The Board dismissed the appeal without reviewing the claim’s…
C.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Brentwood Post Office
Board affirms denial of left ankle injury claim (ECAB 24-0339)
A postal custodian reported that his left foot rolled on a rock and off a curb while cutting grass, causing ankle and foot injuries. An emergency physician diagnosed a left ankle sprain but did not address its cause. An MRI showed several ankle findings, and later work status notes kept him off…
C.B. and U.S. Postal Service, San Antonio Processing & Distribution Center
Board affirms right knee claim denial and hearing abandonment (ECAB 24-0301)
C.B., a postal general expeditor, claimed that poorly maintained dock doors and the leg effort required to use them caused a right knee meniscus tear. The Board found that she did not describe the alleged work exposure clearly, gave inconsistent injury histories, and did not provide the requested…
B.L. and Department of Labor, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs
Board affirms wage-loss and claim-expansion denials (ECAB 24-0292 and 24-0204)
B.L., an Office of Workers' Compensation Programs claims examiner, sought wage-loss compensation after a May 11, 2018 work injury and asked to add lumbar radiculopathy, shoulder tears, and right shoulder bursitis to the accepted conditions. The Board held that her medical evidence did not directly…
B.L. and Department of Labor, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs
Board affirms denials of wage loss and added injury conditions (ECAB 24-0204)
An OWCP claims examiner injured her shoulders and back while opening a heavy door and pushing a chair at work. OWCP accepted shoulder, lumbar, and pelvic strains. She sought wage loss for June 26 through September 2, 2018 and asked OWCP to accept additional conditions. The Board found that the…
B.P. and Department of Veterans Affairs, James H. Quillen VA Medical Center
Board upholds denial of late reconsideration request in VA knee claim (ECAB 24-0139)
A VA nursing assistant said she twisted her left knee when she slipped while responding to a patient. OWCP denied her injury claim in February 2018. She requested reconsideration in June 2023 and resubmitted a physician’s earlier report. The Board held that the request was outside the one-year…
B.E. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Penitentiary Atlanta
Board remands prison officer’s emotional condition claim for medical review (ECAB 22-1285)
A supervisory correctional officer reported anxiety after a manager required her to write a memorandum explaining an absence caused by her son’s death. OWCP denied the claim because it found no compensable work factor. The Board held that preparing the memorandum was a specially assigned duty, so…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Complex Lompoc, California and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 4397, Council of Prison Locals 33
Federal Correctional Complex Lompoc and AFGE Local 4397 (FLRA 0-AR-5866): Authority narrows discipline award
Federal Correctional Complex Lompoc temporarily reassigned an officer during an investigation into missed special-housing-unit rounds and later imposed a 14-day suspension. An arbitrator found that delayed investigation and inadequate process violated just-cause requirements, set aside the…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration and American Federation of Government Employees, National Veterans Affairs Council
Veterans Health Administration and AFGE National Veterans Affairs Council (FLRA 0-AR-5834): Authority remands firefighter accreditation dispute
VA firefighters had long used state-accredited training to satisfy agency certification requirements, but the agency later insisted on nationally accredited programs. An arbitrator found a 22-year enforceable past practice permitting the state training and ordered its continuation until the parties…
New Prime, Inc.
In re New Prime, Inc. (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 24-(01)): review declined and initial decision becomes final
The Presiding Officer issued an Initial Decision and Order concerning New Prime, Inc. on March 27, 2024. Neither party appealed. The Environmental Appeals Board declined to exercise sua sponte review, so the Initial Decision and Order became a final order on May 13, 2024 under the cited EPA rules.
Eddie Noble v. Paramont Contura, LLC
Noble v. Paramont Contura (BRB 23-0405): Black lung benefits award affirmed
Eddie Noble sought black lung benefits after thirty years of underground coal mine work. The judge found that his x-rays established complicated pneumoconiosis, triggering an irrebuttable presumption of disability due to the disease. Paramont Contura argued that the judge had improperly counted…
Carter Lawson v. Paramont Coal Company Virginia, LLC and Summitpoint Insurance Company, Incorporated
Lawson v. Paramont Coal (BRB 23-0319): Black lung award vacated and remanded
Carter Lawson received a black lung benefits award after the judge found complicated pneumoconiosis, which would trigger an irrebuttable presumption of disability due to the disease. Paramont Coal challenged the judge’s reading of the medical evidence. The Board found that the judge had incorrectly…
Regina Harless v. Millers Cove Energy Company, Incorporated
Harless v. Millers Cove Energy (BRB 23-0245, 23-0246): Black lung benefit denials affirmed
Regina Harless pursued black lung claims for her late parents, miner Cecil Parsons and his widow Barbara Parsons. The judge credited Cecil Parsons with 13.95 years of coal mine work and found a disabling respiratory condition, but did not find clinical or legal pneumoconiosis. The Board upheld the…
Regina Harless v. Millers Cove Energy Company, Incorporated
Harless v. Millers Cove Energy (BRB 23-0245, 23-0246): Black lung benefit denials affirmed
Regina Harless pursued black lung claims for her late parents, miner Cecil Parsons and his widow Barbara Parsons. The judge credited Cecil Parsons with 13.95 years of coal mine work and found a disabling respiratory condition, but did not find clinical or legal pneumoconiosis. The Board upheld the…
Carol A. Keen v. Dominion Coal Corporation
Keen v. Dominion Coal (BRB 23-0026, 23-0027): Miner’s and survivor’s benefit denials affirmed
Carol Keen pursued her late husband Roger’s black lung claim and her own survivor’s claim. The judge found that his coal mine work did not reach the fifteen years needed for a statutory presumption and that the medical evidence did not establish clinical or legal pneumoconiosis. The Board upheld…
Carol A. Keen v. Dominion Coal Corporation
Keen v. Dominion Coal (BRB 23-0026, 23-0027): Miner’s and survivor’s benefit denials affirmed
Carol Keen pursued her late husband Roger’s black lung claim and her own survivor’s claim. The judge found that his coal mine work did not reach the fifteen years needed for a statutory presumption and that the medical evidence did not establish clinical or legal pneumoconiosis. The Board upheld…
M.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Cardiss Collins Post Office
Board dismisses postal employee’s late appeal (ECAB 24-0491)
A postal employee appealed an OWCP decision issued October 13, 2022. The appeal was filed April 8, 2024, long after the 180-day period expired. The Board found no supported compelling circumstances for the delay and dismissed the appeal without deciding the claim’s merits.
K.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Albany Post Office
Board dismisses Albany postal employee’s late appeal (ECAB 24-0473)
A postal employee appealed an OWCP decision dated August 4, 2023. The Board’s appeal deadline was January 31, 2024, but the employee filed on April 2, 2024. He supplied no documentation showing compelling circumstances for the late filing. The Board dismissed the appeal without reaching the merits.
D.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Hilo Post Office
Board dismisses Hilo postal employee’s appeal filed four days late (ECAB 24-0463)
A postal employee appealed OWCP’s September 27, 2023 decision. The 180-day filing period ended March 25, 2024, but the appeal was filed March 29. He did not provide documentation establishing compelling circumstances for the delay. The Board dismissed the appeal without reviewing the merits.
G.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Oklahoma City Post Office
Board dismisses untimely appeal of postal injury decision (ECAB 24-0461)
G.H. appealed a May 19, 2021 OWCP decision on March 19, 2024. The Board held that the appeal was filed after the 180-day filing period had expired and that the appellant had not shown compelling circumstances excusing the delay. It dismissed the appeal without reviewing the underlying injury…
S.P. and Department of Defense, McChord Air Force Base Commissary
Board upholds $5,714.13 dual-benefit overpayment and waiver denial (ECAB 24-0324)
A former Defense commissary worker received FECA wage-loss compensation while also receiving Social Security retirement benefits attributable in part to federal service. OWCP calculated a $5,714.13 overpayment for August 1, 2022 through March 25, 2023 and found him without fault. He requested…
Clean Venture, Inc., also d/b/a ACV Enviro
In re Clean Venture, Inc., also d/b/a ACV Enviro (EAB CAA Appeal No. 24-06C): HFC-import settlement approved
Clean Venture, Inc., also doing business as ACV Enviro, imported bulk hydrofluorocarbons for a shipment that arrived in Wilmington, Delaware. EPA alleged that the company imported HFC-134a, R-407C, and R-404A without expending the required consumption or application-specific allowances. The…
B.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Kenmore Post Office
Board remands right foot injury claim for combined-file review (ECAB 24-0311)
B.H., a city carrier, reported right foot and ankle pain while entering and leaving a postal delivery vehicle. OWCP found that the incident occurred and that a medical condition was diagnosed, but denied the claim because causation was not established. The Board directed OWCP to combine the new…
L.J. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Alexandria VA Medical Center
Board remands schedule-award claim to consider new evidence (ECAB 24-0308)
L.J., a nurse, sought a schedule award for an accepted lumbar injury and related conditions. Before OWCP denied reconsideration, she submitted a neurosurgeon's report discussing chronic lumbar radiculopathy and diagnostic testing. The Board held that OWCP failed to consider that evidence and…
J.L. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Roseburg VA Medical Center
Board recognizes COVID-test incident and remands voice injury claim (ECAB 24-0296)
J.L., a VA social worker, said a workplace COVID-19 throat swab injured her vocal cords and caused dysphonia. The Board found her account of the July 11, 2022 incident consistent and not refuted by persuasive evidence. Because OWCP had rejected the incident without evaluating whether it caused an…
L.F. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Biloxi VA Medical Center
Board denies continuation of pay for late-filed VA nurse claim (ECAB 24-0272)
A VA nurse reported a fall at work on August 6, 2020. OWCP accepted the injury, but he did not file the injury claim form until November 11, 2020. The Board held that this was beyond the 30-day filing period for continuation of pay. It affirmed denial of that benefit without disturbing the accepted…
C.F. and Department of Defense, Defense Commissary Agency
Board declines to expand commissary worker’s accepted injury to back conditions (ECAB 24-0251)
A Defense Commissary Agency employee tripped and fell at work in June 2017. OWCP accepted knee and elbow injuries, and he asked to add lumbar spine conditions and right leg radiculitis. After an earlier remand for clarification, a medical specialist explained why the evidence did not show trauma to…
R.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Chicago International Service Center
Board upholds postal overpayment but remands fault finding (ECAB 24-0222)
A postal employee returned to full-time work on February 9, 2023 while still receiving wage loss compensation for total disability through April 22. The Board agreed that the overlapping payments created an $8,756.34 overpayment. It found the record insufficient to sustain OWCP’s determination that…
D.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Kansas City Post Office
Board remands postal mechanic’s schedule award claim for medical clarification (ECAB 24-0203)
A postal mechanic helper injured his neck while pulling down an air hose in 1999 and later received schedule awards for impairment of both legs. He requested more than the previously awarded 11 percent impairment of each leg. The Board found that a second opinion impairment rating did not…
D.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Roswell Post Office
Board affirms wage loss denial for postal employee’s vein condition (ECAB 24-0175)
A postal sales service assistant had an accepted lower extremity varicose vein condition from a 2005 workplace injury. She sought disability compensation for December 23, 2017 through April 27, 2019. Her physician recommended work restrictions, but did not explain how the accepted condition caused…
T.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Parsippany
Board affirms denial of intermittent wage-loss compensation (ECAB 24-0300)
A city carrier assistant sought compensation for intermittent disability after a December 3, 2018 right knee injury. The Board had previously affirmed the denial for the same period. On reconsideration, the appellant submitted a narrative statement but no additional medical evidence addressing the…
P.H. and Department of the Navy, Radiological Control Office, Norfolk Naval Shipyard
Board finds hearing-loss claim timely and remands for merits review (ECAB 24-0298)
P.H., a Navy supervisory health physicist, claimed hearing loss from workplace noise and filed the claim after the three-year period measured from her stated awareness date. The Board held that audiometric testing through the employer's hearing-conservation program provided constructive notice of…
C.H. and Department of the Air Force, 97 Maintenance Directorate, Warner Robins Air Force Base
Board reverses termination of wage-loss compensation (ECAB 24-0282)
An Air Force aircraft mechanic with accepted bilateral cubital tunnel and carpal tunnel conditions challenged OWCP’s termination of his wage-loss compensation. OWCP relied on his treating physician’s statements that he could return to full duty, but the physician also documented ongoing symptoms…
L.R. and Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Distribution Depot Red River
Board declines to increase depot worker’s arm impairment awards (ECAB 24-0257)
A Defense Logistics Agency laborer had accepted shoulder, arm, and carpal tunnel conditions. She sought additional schedule awards after receiving compensation for 42 percent right arm impairment and 41 percent left arm impairment. The Board found that the new medical evaluations did not establish…
A.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Beulah Post Office
Board orders specialist review of rural carrier’s lumbar claim (ECAB 24-0192)
A rural carrier reported recurrent back symptoms after years of driving, sitting, bending, lifting, and twisting while delivering mail. He had undergone disc surgery before those symptoms returned in 2019. A physician related his lumbar condition to the work duties, but the Board found the record…
C.B. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol
Board affirms suspension of wage loss benefits for missing earnings form (ECAB 24-0188)
A Border Patrol communications assistant was receiving wage loss compensation for an accepted knee injury. OWCP mailed her Form EN-1032 and warned that benefits would be suspended if she did not return it within 30 days. The record showed no timely response. The Board held that OWCP properly…
M.O. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service
Board reduces park worker’s overpayment and remands waiver request (ECAB 22-1376)
A National Park Service forester elected federal retirement benefits effective April 25, 2021 but continued receiving FECA wage loss compensation through June 18, 2022. OWCP calculated a $10,697.05 overpayment. The Board subtracted $5,000 already collected by the retirement agency, leaving…
Hope v. Performance Food Service Corp.
Matter closed without a petition for review
Shane Hope alleged that Performance Food Service violated the Surface Transportation Assistance Act. An administrative judge dismissed the complaint after both parties failed to follow prehearing directives and failed to attend a conference. Hope then uploaded a copy of the judge's decision to the…
Andrew Urick v. Director, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs
Urick v. Director, OWCP (BRB 23-0150): Denial of $300 in medical interpretation costs affirmed
Andrew Urick’s lawyer sought reimbursement for $300 spent on a doctor’s CT scan and x-ray interpretations during a successful black lung claim. The district director had awarded $1,875 in attorney fees but denied the interpretation costs, and counsel appealed only the costs. The Board majority…
Deborah Halstead v. Peabody Coal Company, LLC and Peabody Investments, Incorporated
Halstead v. Peabody Coal (BRB 22-0433): Survivor’s modification denial affirmed
Deborah Halstead pursued her late mother Maxine Hudson’s survivor’s claim following the death of miner Charles Hudson. A prior denial could be changed only if there had been a factual mistake, and Halstead argued that the medical evidence showed complicated pneumoconiosis. The Board majority upheld…
Secretary of Labor v. Morton Salt, Inc.
Ground-control and access citations upheld
Five litigated citations at Morton Salt's Weeks Island underground mine concerned loose ground, inadequate ground examinations, unsafe access near washouts, and folded matting in a passageway. The judge affirmed all five violations and their significant and substantial designations. Four were…
J.T. and Department of the Army, U.S. Military Academy
Board denies West Point clerk’s knee claim and upholds hearing abandonment (ECAB 24-0299)
A West Point clerk struck her left knee as she rose from her desk. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the injury claim. The Board found that a physician checked a causation box without explaining how the incident caused the diagnosed condition. It also upheld OWCP’s finding that…
S.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Office Little Rock Post Office
Board dismisses new appeal and late reconsideration petition (ECAB 24-0273)
A postal employee appealed what he described as a December 7, 2023 OWCP decision. The Board found no final adverse OWCP decision within its jurisdiction. December 7 was the date of the Board’s own earlier decision, and the January 25, 2024 filing also came too late to seek reconsideration of that…
T.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Columbus Post Office
Board dismisses appeal of informational OWCP letter (ECAB 24-0245)
A postal employee sought to appeal an OWCP letter about how to request modification of an earlier earning capacity determination. The November 2023 letter supplied information about the process but did not decide his claim. With no final adverse OWCP decision to review, the Board dismissed the…
S.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Florham Park Post Office
Board reverses wage loss denial for postal carrier’s shoulder injury (ECAB 24-0202)
A postal letter carrier tore his right rotator cuff in a fall at work. An impartial medical examiner found that the injury limited his lifting to 50 pounds, below the 70 pounds required by his original job. The employer had not made a written offer of suitable modified work. The Board held that he…
J.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Central Carrier Annex
Board recognizes foot laceration but denies additional forklift injury conditions (ECAB 24-0169)
A postal mail handler said a forklift jerked and threw him against a wall, trapping his left leg. OWCP accepted the workplace incident but denied the injury claim. The Board found that a contemporaneous treatment summary supported a visible left foot laceration, which could be accepted without a…
B.G. and Department of the Army, Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command, Anniston Army Depot
Board declines to increase Army mechanic’s leg impairment award (ECAB 24-0027)
An Army depot mechanic slipped on water and injured his left hip and knee at work. He had received a schedule award for seven percent permanent impairment of the left leg and sought a higher rating. The Board found that the additional medical evidence did not establish impairment above seven…
M.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Sanford Station
Board remands postal carrier’s recurrence claim for work availability evidence (ECAB 23-0713)
A postal carrier with accepted shoulder injuries returned to modified work, then claimed disability from December 17, 2022 through January 16, 2023. Employer worksheets said suitable work was unavailable on certain dates, but the record did not contain all the referenced medical restrictions and…
C.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Salmon Post Office
Board upholds end of shoulder benefits but remands added-condition request (ECAB 23-0012)
A rural postal carrier had an accepted right rotator cuff injury after lifting a heavy parcel. OWCP terminated benefits in March 2021 after a second opinion found the accepted condition resolved. The Board found the termination supported and found no proof of continuing disability or residuals…
Malik Salaam v. Ceres Marine Terminals, Incorporated
Salaam v. Ceres Marine Terminals (BRB 23-0224): Meniscus injury benefit denial affirmed
Malik Salaam hurt his left hand, ankle, and knee when he slipped while leaving a van at Ceres Marine Terminals. The judge awarded temporary disability and medical benefits for work-related sprains but found that his meniscus tear and later knee replacement were due to a pre-existing condition…
Lucky Drummond v. C P & O, LLC and Ports America
Drummond v. C P & O (BRB 23-0114): Disability question returned for review
Lucky Drummond hurt his neck and back in a fall while working aboard a ship for C P & O. The judge found his physical and psychological conditions work related and awarded medical care, but denied additional disability payments after concluding he could return to his usual gangway job. The Board…
R.J. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
Board upholds refusal to reconsider additional tinnitus award (ECAB 24-0316)
A Navy crane operator sought compensation for hearing loss that he attributed to occupational noise. OWCP had accepted his hearing loss claim, granted a two percent binaural schedule award, and added tinnitus. He sought reconsideration after OWCP denied an additional schedule award for tinnitus…
M.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Little Rock Post Office
Board upholds postal overpayment but reverses collection rate (ECAB 24-0303)
A retired postal carrier received FECA wage loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service without the required offset. The Board upheld OWCP’s $21,595.46 overpayment calculation and denial of waiver, although the employee was without fault. OWCP’s…
P.W. and U.S. Postal Service, North Shepherd Post Office
Board declines to increase postal worker’s right arm impairment award (ECAB 24-0295)
A postal carrier technician developed accepted carpal tunnel syndrome after repetitive hand work. She received a schedule award for six percent permanent impairment of the right arm and sought a larger award. Her treating physician’s rating and the district medical adviser’s review both supported…
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Coppell Post Office
Board orders combined review of postal worker’s arm impairment awards (ECAB 24-0284)
A postal dispatching clerk had a prior award for nine percent right arm impairment involving his shoulder and elbow. He later sustained accepted neck and shoulder injuries and received an eight percent left arm award. The record was unclear whether his new right arm rating represented impairment…
B.F. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Dallas VA Medical Center
Board upholds denial of VA worker’s disputed knee injury claim (ECAB 24-0250)
A VA food service worker said she injured her left knee while docking a truck at 4:30 p.m. on June 6, 2023. Employment records placed her away from duty between 2:00 and 5:00 p.m. that day, creating a material conflict about the reported incident. The Board held that she had not established the…
L.P. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Board upholds abandonment of ICE employee’s oral hearing request (ECAB 24-0207)
An ICE inspector sought an oral hearing after OWCP denied his claim arising from a work vehicle accident. OWCP mailed notice of a November 6, 2023 telephone hearing to his address of record with instructions to participate. He did not appear or provide an adequate explanation. The Board upheld…
B.C. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Station Patuxent River
Board upholds denial of late reconsideration in Navy neck claim (ECAB 24-0022)
A Navy systems accountant had an accepted aggravation of cervical stenosis after a fall at work. Years after OWCP declined to add further cervical conditions, he requested reconsideration of that decision. The Board found the request outside the one-year period and held that the submission did not…
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.