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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Matter of Hugo PORTILLO-GUTIERREZ
Stepchild qualifies in hardship analysis
The Board reviewed a respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge denied cancellation of removal but granted voluntary departure. The Board held that a stepchild who meets the statutory definition of a child is a qualifying relative when hardship is evaluated for cancellation of removal. Because…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 171, Council of Prison Locals 33 (Union) and United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, El Reno, Oklahoma (Agency)
AFGE Local 171 and FCI El Reno (FLRA 0-NG-2980): Search representation proposal negotiable
The union proposed having a representative present when prison management searches an employee's personal property at a work station based on reasonable suspicion, unless an overriding exigency exists. The Bureau of Prisons argued that the proposal would interfere with internal security and delay…
National Treasury Employees Union (Union) and United States Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service (Agency)
NTEU and IRS (FLRA 0-AR-4293): Reclassification bargaining claim returned for findings
The IRS reclassified some positions without first bargaining with the union, saying employee duties, grades, and pay would not change. An arbitrator dismissed the union's grievance as an excluded classification matter. The Authority held that the union's claim concerned the effects of the…
United States Department of Homeland Security, United States Customs And Border Protection, Washington, D.C. (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, National Border Patrol Council, Local 1458 (Union)
Customs and Border Protection and AFGE Local 1458 (FLRA 0-AR-4280): Attorney-fee award upheld
Customs and Border Protection suspended an employee for two days after finding that she had failed to safeguard diplomatic passports during her family's hurricane evacuation. An arbitrator upheld the misconduct finding but reduced the penalty to a written reprimand because of mitigating…
American Federation of Government Employees, Council of Prison Locals 33, Locals 1007 And 3957 (Union) and United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Complex, Oakdale, Louisiana (Agency)
AFGE and Oakdale prison complex (FLRA 0-AR-4213): Consolidation bargaining grievance denied
The Oakdale federal prison complex planned to let correctional officers assigned to leave-replacement rosters cover posts at either of two facilities. The union claimed the Bureau of Prisons implemented that change without good-faith bargaining over its impact. An arbitrator denied the grievance…
M.P. and Department of Labor, Occupational Safety & Health Administration, Baltimore, MD
M.P. (ECAB 09-844): Emotional-condition claim from supervisor call denied
M.P., an OSHA compliance officer, claimed that a telephone call from her supervisor aggravated an existing anxiety condition. She said he angrily challenged her compensation claim forms and demanded that she come to the office. The Board found no independent evidence establishing that the…
Francisco Zamora v. Friede Goldman Halter, Incorporated
Zamora v. Friede Goldman Halter (BRB 08-0857): attorney fee split after insurer impairment
Francisco Zamora settled a Longshore Act claim for a workplace back injury after his employer entered bankruptcy and its insurer became insolvent. An administrative law judge ordered the Texas Property and Casualty Insurance Guaranty Association to pay counsel's entire $25,109.71 fee and expenses…
Morris Beckwith v. Horizon Lines, Incorporated
Beckwith v. Horizon Lines (BRB 08-0416): counsel awarded $11,132 after appeal withdrawn
Horizon Lines appealed approval of Morris Beckwith's vocational rehabilitation plan, then withdrew its appeal. Beckwith's counsel requested $14,858 for work on the appeal and subsequent fee dispute. The Board held that counsel had successfully defended the plan because the withdrawn appeal left it…
D.M. and Department of Commerce, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, Norfolk, VA
D.M. (ECAB 09-1209): Diving-related injury claim denied
D.M., a Commerce Department seaman, claimed decompression sickness after training dives. She received emergency evaluation and hyperbaric oxygen treatment after her behavior changed, but the treating physicians could not identify a definite diagnosis or cause tied to the dives. The Board held that…
M.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New York, NY
M.E. (ECAB 09-1191): Reconsideration of eye-strain wage claim denied
M.E., a Postal Service mail carrier, had an accepted work-related aggravation of eye strain and visual discomfort. OWCP later denied wage-loss compensation for a short period in 2007 because the record did not establish disability from work. M.E. asked OWCP to reconsider and submitted new medical…
D.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Sheridan, WY
D.B. (ECAB 09-1138): Termination of medical benefits reversed
D.B., a Veterans Affairs nursing assistant, had accepted lumbar conditions after helping a patient at work. OWCP stopped her medical benefits after a referral physician concluded that her work-related conditions had ended. The Board found that the physician had not adequately explained why an…
V.T. and Department of the Navy, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia, PA
V.T. (ECAB 09-1021): Leg award returned for proper medical review
V.T., a former Navy shipyard employee, received a schedule award for eight percent permanent impairment of his right leg after an accepted knee injury. A first impartial specialist rated a greater impairment, but OWCP obtained a second impartial examination without first seeking clarification from…
F.Y. and Department of the Navy, Southwest Region, Seal Beach, CA
F.Y. (ECAB 09-949): Duplicate-payment recovery upheld
F.Y., a former Navy employee, received and cashed two compensation checks for the same four-week period. The Board upheld OWCP's finding that the duplicate payment created a $2,568.20 overpayment. Both checks showed the covered dates, so the Board found that F.Y. knew or should have known he was…
F.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Des Moines, IA
F.D. (ECAB 09-876): Late schedule-award reconsideration denied
F.D., a Postal Service letter carrier, sought a schedule award after treatment for accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. OWCP denied the award in July 2007 because the medical record did not establish a ratable permanent impairment from that condition. F.D. asked for reconsideration in…
J.L. and Internal Revenue Service, Holtsville, NY
J.L. (ECAB 09-559): Compensation termination upheld after job refusal
J.L., an Internal Revenue Service employee, had accepted shoulder and hip conditions after a workplace fall. OWCP offered a light-duty job after an impartial orthopedic specialist found she could work within restrictions. J.L. declined the job and argued that pain prevented her from performing its…
A.R. and Department of Labor, Employment Standards Administration, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, Jacksonville, FL
A.R. (ECAB 09-402): Emotional-condition claim denied
A.R., a Department of Labor claims examiner, attributed stress and headaches to insufficient training, excessive workload, and supervisors' conduct. The Board explained that some workplace duties or proven misconduct can support an emotional-condition claim. It found that A.R. had not established…
United States Department of the Army, United States Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District (Agency) and United Power Trades Organization (Union)
Army Corps Portland District and United Power Trades Organization (FLRA 0-AR-4331): Temporary-duty mileage award upheld
An Army Corps employee sought mileage reimbursement for travel to a temporary assignment. His supervisor denied the request because the temporary commute was shorter than his usual one. An arbitrator later ordered reimbursement after the employee filed a certified claim, finding that the original…
United States Department of Health And Human Services, National Institutes of Health (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2419 (Union)
NIH and AFGE Local 2419 (FLRA 0-AR-4181): Contracting-out notice award upheld
During a long property-management review, NIH used contractors to cover staffing shortages in work previously performed by bargaining-unit employees. An arbitrator found that NIH had failed to give the union notice and a chance to confer about the effect on employees, as required by the labor…
Cellco Partnership doing business as Verizon Wireless
Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless (EAB CWA 09-01C, EPCRA 09-01C, CAA 09-01C): consent agreement approved
EPA and Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, consented to a final order in three penalty dockets. The Environmental Appeals Board approved their consent agreement and incorporated it into the order by reference. It ordered Cellco to comply with the agreement immediately. The one…
Betty Balonek v. Texcom, Incorporated
Balonek v. Texcom (BRB 09-0519): temporary cable work at shipyard lacked maritime status
Betty Balonek was injured in a fall while installing computer and telephone cables in a building at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for Texcom. An administrative law judge denied her Longshore Act claim, finding that her temporary installation assignment was not maritime employment. The Board affirmed…
B.S. and Department of the Army, Alabama National Guard, Montgomery, AL
B.S. (ECAB 09-1203): Foot schedule award denied
B.S., an Army National Guard mechanic supervisor, sought a schedule award for accepted conditions affecting both feet. His podiatrist estimated a 10 to 12 percent impairment but did not explain how she calculated it under the A.M.A. Guides. An OWCP medical adviser found that the records did not…
D.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Romulus, MI
D.M. (ECAB 09-1124): Reconsideration of wage-loss denial refused
D.M., a Transportation Security Administration employee, sought to reopen an earlier denial of wage-loss compensation following a workplace altercation. He submitted statements, regulations, and general information about post-traumatic stress disorder. The Board found that the dispute over…
J.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Detroit, MI
J.F. (ECAB 09-1105): Knee schedule award denied
J.F., a former Postal Service letter carrier, sought a schedule award after an accepted injury to both knees. OWCP had accepted knee contusions and abrasions, but its referral physician found no permanent impairment caused by those conditions. The Board found that J.F.'s other physicians had not…
D.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, West Newton, IN
D.F. (ECAB 09-1104): Additional left eye impairment award upheld
D.F., a postmaster, had an accepted left eye injury and previously received a 15 percent impairment award. Following an earlier Board remand, OWCP relied on an ophthalmologist's assessment of her uncorrected vision and awarded another 20 percent. The Board found that the 35 percent total rating…
W.S. and Department of the Army, Army Corps of Engineers, Portland, OR
W.S. (ECAB 09-0946): Hearing loss award and reconsideration denial upheld
W.S., a retired power plant operator, developed hearing loss after workplace noise exposure and received an award for 13 percent loss in both ears. The Board found that OWCP used the applicable hearing loss formula, began the award when he reached maximum medical improvement, and used the proper…
G.W. and Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Yakima, WA
G.W. (ECAB 09-0930): Right arm award and late record review denial upheld
G.W., a utility worker, injured his right hand and wrist in a fall at work and received a 43 percent right arm impairment award. He challenged the award calculation, sought a whole person rating, and requested review of the written record. The Board found that the medical adviser properly combined…
P.P. and Department of the Navy, Naval Facilities Engineering Command Stations and Bases, Philadelphia, PA
P.P. (ECAB 09-0898): Left knee claim returned for medical clarification
P.P., an air conditioning mechanic, claimed that his work activities and an accepted right knee injury contributed to arthritis in his left knee. His treating physician supported a connection, while OWCP's medical adviser disagreed. OWCP referred him to an impartial specialist and then denied the…
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Baltimore, MD
J.C. (ECAB 09-0834): Leg impairment award returned for left hip review
J.C., a postal carrier, had an accepted back injury and schedule awards for three percent left leg and 12 percent right leg impairment. He argued that OWCP had not accounted for his left hip arthritis when rating his leg impairment. The Board found evidence of left hip impairment but said OWCP had…
D.G. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Memphis, TN
D.G. (ECAB 09-0660): Cardiac benefit termination and hearing abandonment upheld
D.G., an air traffic control specialist, had an accepted temporary aggravation of cardiomyopathy from work stress. OWCP ended benefits for that condition after an impartial cardiologist found that the aggravation had resolved by November 2007. The Board gave that opinion special weight and upheld…
Social Security Administration, Newark, New Jersey (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2369 (Union)
SSA Newark and AFGE Local 2369 (FLRA 0-AR-4291): Retroactive promotion award stands
An SSA employee was not selected for several claims representative vacancies despite being rated well qualified. An arbitrator found that SSA had failed to give serious consideration to her stalled advancement and ordered a retroactive promotion with back pay. SSA argued to the Authority that the…
United States Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Atlanta, Georgia (Agency) and Professional Airways Systems Specialists (Union)
FAA and Professional Airways Systems Specialists (FLRA 0-AR-4130): Union representative's incentive pay agreement upheld
An FAA specialist kept his formal assignment to a facility eligible for incentive pay while working full time on union representational duties from home. The FAA had settled an earlier grievance by agreeing to continue his incentive pay during his tenure in the union position, but later stopped the…
Secretary of Labor v. Beylund Construction, Inc.
Scoria crusher violations affirmed
Beylund Construction operated a small scoria pit and crusher in North Dakota and admitted 18 violations involving guarding, electrical safety, training, filings, and other mine requirements. The company argued that MSHA lacked jurisdiction when the crusher was not running and objected to…
C.J. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, Daisy, TN
C.J. (ECAB 09-1490): Termination of back injury benefits reversed
C.J., an electrician at a nuclear plant, received compensation after a 1977 work injury aggravated a degenerative back condition. OWCP set his wage-earning capacity in 1981 based on a sedentary assembler job, then ended his benefits and changed that determination in 2009. The Board found that…
B.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Atlanta, GA
B.T. (ECAB 09-1249): Right leg schedule award denial affirmed
B.T., a Postal Service mail carrier, sought a schedule award after a vehicle collision caused an accepted right leg injury. Her treating surgeon rated a 30 percent impairment based on atrophy and pain, while OWCP's referral surgeon and medical adviser found no ratable impairment. The Board found…
T.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bowling Green, OH
T.H. (ECAB 09-1166): Schedule award denial affirmed without an impairment rating
T.H., a Postal Service window clerk, sought a schedule award after a fall caused accepted back and right hand conditions. He claimed impairment of his right arm and both legs. OWCP asked for a medical rating under the A.M.A. Guides, but his physician's progress reports described symptoms without…
W.Y. and Department of the Navy, Naval Facility Engineering Command, Norfolk, VA
W.Y. (ECAB 09-0875): Hearing abandonment set aside for short notice
W.Y., a Navy electrician with an accepted left carpal tunnel claim, sought a schedule award and requested a hearing after OWCP denied it. He missed the scheduled hearing, and OWCP treated his request as abandoned. The Board found that OWCP had mailed the notice less than 30 days before the hearing…
C.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Bluemont, VA
C.H. (ECAB 09-0772): Recurrence of disability claim denied
C.H., a FEMA human services specialist, returned to regular work after an accepted 2004 injury from a fall. She later claimed that disability beginning June 19, 2008 was a recurrence of that injury. The Board found that the doctors' reports either did not connect the later disability to the…
B.Q. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Richmond, VA
B.Q. (ECAB 09-0689): Injury claim and late hearing request denied
B.Q., an IRS agent, fell while conducting a work audit and sought payment for resulting medical care. OWCP accepted that the fall occurred but denied the injury claim because the emergency department instructions did not explain how the fall caused the diagnosed conditions. The Board agreed that…
M.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Southeastern, PA
M.E. (ECAB 09-0550): Six percent right arm award upheld
M.E., a Postal Service mail handler, injured his right biceps tendon and received a schedule award for six percent impairment of his right arm. His physician estimated 44 percent by adding strength, grip and pain ratings. The Board found that the physician had not justified a separate strength…
J.H. and Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Texarkana, TX
J.H. (ECAB 09-0399): Suitable work termination reversed
J.H., a Defense Logistics Agency preservation servicer, received compensation for accepted arm, hand, back and other conditions. OWCP ended his benefits after he declined a woodworker job that it considered suitable. The Board found that the impartial medical examiner had not adequately explained…
P.A. and Department of the Army, Rock Island Arsenal, Rock Island, IL
P.A. (ECAB 09-0319): Benefit termination upheld; other condition claims returned
P.A., an Army employee, had an accepted brief depressive disorder associated with a 1995 workplace incident. OWCP ended benefits after a referral psychiatrist concluded that the accepted condition no longer caused disability or required treatment. The Board upheld that termination as of May 18…
Sport Air Traffic Controllers Organization (Union) and United States Department of the Air Force, Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California (Agency)
Sport Air Traffic Controllers Organization and Edwards Air Force Base (FLRA 0-AR-4573): Arbitration exceptions denied
The Sport Air Traffic Controllers Organization challenged an arbitration award involving Edwards Air Force Base. The Authority reviewed the union's exceptions under the standards for legal error, arbitrator authority, a fair hearing, factual error, and interpretation of a labor agreement. It found…
Matter of Catherine VELASCO
Voluntary-departure bond rule applied prospectively
The Board reconsidered an earlier order that had reinstated a respondent's 60-day period of voluntary departure after the respondent failed to post the required bond. The Board held that the voluntary-departure regulations effective January 20, 2009, did not apply retroactively to a…
G.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Bulk Mail Facility, Denver, CO
G.S. (ECAB 09-0907): Left shoulder occupational disease claim denied
G.S., a Postal Service mail handler, said weeks of repetitive mail handling caused a left shoulder condition while he was working with an existing right shoulder injury. OWCP treated the claim as an occupational disease claim because the reported activity lasted longer than one work shift. The…
M.R. and Department of Labor, Employment Standards Administration, Denver, CO
M.R. (ECAB 09-0803): Life insurance premium overpayment upheld
M.R., a Department of Labor claims examiner receiving disability compensation, was undercharged for life insurance premiums. The Board affirmed OWCP's stated $3,687.03 overpayment, although it also found M.R. was not at fault. Because she did not submit the requested financial information, the…
M.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Newton, PA
M.W. (ECAB 09-0715): Three percent right arm award affirmed
M.W., a former Postal Service clerk, sought a larger schedule award after a work injury that included a fractured right shoulder. Her physician rated right arm impairment at 20 percent, relying on sensory and muscle strength findings. The Board found that his report did not identify a qualifying…
E.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Hunting Park Station, Philadelphia, PA
E.M. (ECAB 09-0711): Two percent right leg award affirmed
E.M., a Postal Service letter carrier, sought a larger schedule award after an accepted knee injury and surgery. His physician rated right leg impairment at 15 percent by combining muscle weakness and pain. The Board found that the muscle test results were not supported by other findings or…
D.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Loma Linda, CA
D.G. (ECAB 09-0666): Recurrence of knee disability not established
D.G., a VA pharmacy technician, had an accepted left knee meniscus tear from a 2002 workplace fall. She claimed a recurrence of total disability beginning in May 2007 after bending to pick up keys at home. Her physician described a worsening knee tear and linked the knee condition to the earlier…
R.C. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, New York, NY
R.C. (ECAB 09-0523): Duplicate payment upheld; fault finding sent back
R.C., a former customs employee receiving compensation, cashed both an original check and a replacement check for the same benefit period. The Board agreed that this created an $875.40 overpayment. It found that OWCP had not developed evidence about R.C.'s mental capacity before deciding whether…
C.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fort Worth, TX
C.G. (ECAB 09-0445): Additional right arm award denied
C.G., a Postal Service mail processor, already had a schedule award for 11 percent right arm impairment after accepted neck and arm conditions. He sought an additional award based on a physician's higher rating. The Board found that the physician did not adequately explain how the later nerve…
S.B. and Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers, Washington, DC
S.B. (ECAB 08-2447): Workplace air exposure claim denied
S.B., an Army Corps of Engineers planner working in a federal office building, attributed multiple medical conditions to suspected mold, chemicals and other workplace air exposures. The Board reviewed several environmental studies of the building and found that they did not establish harmful…
Nuprecon LP dba Nuprecon Acquisition LP
Fall-protection citation remanded
Nuprecon employees used a Bobcat to push demolition debris through a 21-foot-wide open edge about 36.5 feet above a lower level. OSHA cited the company for inadequate fall protection and failure to retrain employees. The judge vacated the fall-protection item on his own theory that demolition…
C.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Aumsville, OR
C.R. (ECAB 09-1126): Carpal tunnel occupational disease claim denied
C.R., a Postal Service clerk, said repetitive work with mail caused carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists. The Board found that the record before OWCP contained no physician's diagnosis of that condition, even though a postmaster's reports mentioned it. C.R. also had not described the specific job…
L.B. and Department of the Army, Headquarters U.S. Army Signal Court, Fort Gordon, GA
L.B. (ECAB 09-1062): Back injury claim and reconsideration denial affirmed
L.B., an Army clinical nurse, reported back pain after helping care for a patient at work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied her claim because the record lacked medical evidence showing that it caused an injury. The Board agreed that she had not established the medical part of her…
D.C. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Material Command, Richmond, KY
D.C. (ECAB 09-0999): Leg schedule award denied after back injury
D.C., an Army materials handler, sought a leg schedule award after an accepted lower back disc injury. One physician rated whole-person impairment, which cannot support a FECA schedule award for the back. Another rated left leg impairment but did not adequately explain how the accepted injury…
J.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA
J.W. (ECAB 09-0858): Later disability not linked to accepted injury
J.W., a VA medical records technician, returned to full duty after an accepted ankle sprain and hip contusion from a workplace fall. She claimed another period of disability beginning July 10, 2008. One treating physician said her current back pain had developed gradually and was unrelated to a…
L.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tampa, FL
L.S. (ECAB 09-0856): Additional disability benefits denied after termination
L.S., a Postal Service data conversion operator, had accepted hand and arm conditions and received wage-loss compensation. OWCP ended wage-loss benefits and most medical coverage in November 2007 while continuing treatment for one accepted nerve condition. L.S. later submitted reports describing…
M.P. and Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Baltimore, MD
M.P. (ECAB 09-0847): Inspector's emotional condition claim denied
M.P., an OSHA compliance officer, said a confrontation during a workplace inspection aggravated her existing anxiety condition. The Board found no independent evidence corroborating her account of harassment by the business owner and employees. It also noted that her descriptions differed about…
C.L. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, Jamaica, NY
C.L. (ECAB 09-0781): Hip condition and wage-loss claims denied
C.L., a customs officer, moved office equipment at work and received an accepted right knee injury. She also claimed a right hip fracture, bursitis, groin pain and several months of disability from the incident. The Board found that her physician's causal opinion about the hip conditions was…
O.W. and Department of the Army, Red River Army Depot, Texarkana, TX
O.W. (ECAB 09-0427): Eight percent left leg award upheld
O.W., a depot worker, injured his back lifting a track at work and later sought a schedule award for impairment of his left leg. OWCP granted an eight percent left leg award, relying on a second opinion physician's rating under the applicable impairment guides. The Board found that O.W.'s physician…
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.