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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B.C. and Department of Justice, Federal Correctional Institution, Greenville, IL
B.C. (ECAB 09-0937): Work-related hand cut established; benefits sent back for review
B.C., a correctional officer, reported cutting the back of his right hand on a locker at work and later developing an infection. He filed an occupational disease claim, but the Board held that OWCP should have treated the cut as a traumatic injury. The employer and medical records supported that…
P.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Central Alabama HCS-East Campus, Tuskegee, AL
P.G. (ECAB 09-0917): Diagnoses did not connect illness to ambulance trip
P.G., a Veterans Affairs nursing assistant, reported shortness of breath, muscle aches, and weakness while riding in an ambulance transporting a veteran. OWCP accepted that the October 7, 2008 event occurred and treated her claim as a traumatic injury claim. Medical records diagnosed pneumonia and…
S.C. and Department of the Air Force, Air National Guard, Nevada National Guard-HRO-ICPA, Carson City, NV
S.C. (ECAB 09-0913): Injury claim and subpoena request lacked required support
S.C., a Nevada Air National Guard inventory technician, reported that a metal bin lid struck her at work in December 2003. OWCP accepted that the incident happened but denied the claim for lack of a medical opinion connecting her later neck and shoulder conditions to it. The Board found that the…
J.A. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
J.A. (ECAB 09-0887): Late reconsideration request did not show clear error
J.A. reported a back injury from moving boxes while working for a Veterans Affairs medical center. OWCP denied the injury claim in November 2005 for insufficient medical evidence. After J.A. withdrew a Board appeal to seek OWCP reconsideration, he asked for reconsideration in April 2007. The Board…
O.C. and U.S. Postal Service, El Paso Management Center, El Paso, TX
O.C. (ECAB 09-0853): Knee impairment rating returned for medical review
O.C., a Postal Service employee with accepted knee injuries, had received schedule awards for 12 percent right-leg impairment. He sought an additional right-leg award based partly on cartilage loss in two areas of the knee. OWCP's medical adviser counted only the more severe area, asserting that…
S.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Westchester, IL
S.L. (ECAB 09-0835): Schedule award overpayment upheld without waiver
S.L., a Postal Service clerk, received separate schedule awards for left-arm impairments from a thumb injury and later wrist and elbow injuries. OWCP paid the second award without combining it with the earlier rating, resulting in a $1,842.36 overpayment. The Board affirmed that amount and accepted…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Levittown, PA
M.M. (ECAB 09-0829): Late reconsideration request did not establish clear error
M.M., a Postal Service letter carrier, reported neck, shoulder, and back pain after reaching for a letter at work. OWCP accepted that the June 2005 incident occurred but denied the injury claim for insufficient medical evidence. M.M. requested reconsideration in August 2008, more than a year after…
A.S. and Department of Defense, Defense Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC
A.S. (ECAB 09-0585): Asthma benefit termination and subpoena denial upheld
A.S., a Defense Intelligence Agency procurement analyst, had an accepted claim that workplace exposure aggravated her preexisting asthma. OWCP later ended her benefits after a pulmonary specialist concluded that the work-related aggravation had ceased once she left the workplace; she still had…
V.B. and U.S. Postal Service, James Griffith Station, Houston, TX
V.B. (ECAB 09-0448): Rescission of accepted back claim reversed
V.B., a Postal Service rural carrier, had an accepted back claim and later filed a separate claim alleging that modified work in 1994 caused a herniated disc. OWCP accepted the later claim in 2003, then rescinded it because V.B. had stopped working in 1994. The Board held that this reason…
M.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, Sugarland, TX
M.H. (ECAB 09-0252): Refusal-of-work termination reversed after return to job
M.H., a Postal Service letter carrier with accepted neck and shoulder injuries, was offered a modified mail processing job with a 60-mile round-trip commute. OWCP ended her compensation after treating her response as a refusal of suitable work. The Board found that OWCP had not adequately addressed…
Secretary of Labor v. Westside Trucking
Good-cause inquiry ordered for late contest
Westside Trucking asked to reopen a penalty assessment after the employee responsible for company paperwork suddenly left. Its owner also described serious financial problems, while the Secretary characterized the company's explanation as conclusory but supported a further opportunity to respond…
United States Department of Defense, Army Aeronautical Services Agency, Fort Belvoir, Virginia (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO (Labor Organization/Petitioner)
Army Aeronautical Services Agency and AFGE (FLRA WA-RP-08-0091): Security position returned for further findings
After a Fort Belvoir representation election, AFGE challenged the regional director's exclusion of an aeronautical information specialist whose work might involve classified information. The Authority found the record unclear about whether he regularly accessed classified information, a fact needed…
Secretary of Labor v. Holcim (US), Inc.
Missed penalty contest reopened
Holcim intended to contest penalties in two assessments, but a misunderstanding with counsel caused it to miss the deadline for the single penalty in one assessment. The company moved promptly after discovering the mistake, and the Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission reopened the…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Lige Williamson v. CAM Mining, LLC
Temporary reinstatement denial reversed
Miner Lige Williamson alleged that CAM Mining discharged him after he raised a ventilation concern. An administrative law judge denied temporary reinstatement after finding no reasonable connection between the safety complaint and the discharge. The Commission held that the judge applied an unduly…
M.C. and Department of the Interior, Fish & Wildlife Service, Texas Midcoast Refuge Complex, Angleton, TX
M.C. (ECAB 09-0852): Overpayment upheld, waiver sent back for current finances
M.C., a Fish and Wildlife Service fire management officer, received a lung impairment schedule award that OWCP later rescinded. The Board upheld the resulting $34,582.97 overpayment and agreed M.C. was not at fault. OWCP denied waiver using household income that included his wife's salary, although…
D.B. and Department of Defense, Defense Information Systems, Slidell, LA
D.B. (ECAB 09-0846): Left-arm impairment rating needs grip-strength evidence
D.B., a Defense Department employee, had accepted carpal tunnel conditions in both arms and a left-elbow condition. She sought a larger schedule award for her left arm after OWCP rated its total impairment at six percent. The Board found no evidence of greater impairment from carpal tunnel syndrome…
R.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Richmond, CA
R.M. (ECAB 09-0788): Stair-climbing aggravation claim lacked medical support
R.M., a Postal Service mail handler with earlier accepted injuries, said repeated stair climbing during a workplace elevator outage aggravated her foot, leg, and back conditions. OWCP accepted that she had to use the stairs but denied the new claim. The Board found that her doctors described…
E.D. and Department of the Navy, Parris Island, SC
E.D. (ECAB 09-0768): Back disability recurrence claim lacked causal explanation
E.D., a Navy cement worker, had an accepted lower-back injury from lifting a concrete post in 2003 and returned to work. He later claimed that the injury caused renewed disability in January 2006 and underwent back surgery in 2007. The Board found that his doctor's statement linking the surgery to…
T.M. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Prison Leavenworth, Leavenworth, KS
T.M. (ECAB 09-0679): Surveillance monitor wage capacity reduction upheld
T.M., a federal prison correctional officer with accepted right-ankle injuries, challenged a reduction in his wage-loss benefits. OWCP found that he could earn wages as a surveillance system monitor based on medical restrictions and a vocational counselor's assessment of the job's duties and local…
D.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA
D.S. (ECAB 09-0674): Additional leg award and claimed wage loss denied
D.S., a Veterans Affairs nurse with an accepted lumbar radiculopathy claim, sought a right-leg schedule award above the four percent already paid and compensation for time off work in 2005. The Board gave special weight to an impartial specialist's examination and found no supported impairment…
W.D. and Department of the Air Force, Tinker Air Force Base, OK
W.D. (ECAB 09-0658): Later aneurysm disability not linked to accepted fall
W.D., an Air Force employee, fell at work in September 2005 and had an accepted claim for neck and wrist strain and headaches. In June 2006 he was hospitalized for bleeding from a brain aneurysm and sought compensation for the resulting time off work. The Board found that his treating doctors…
L.D. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard, Warwick, RI
L.D. (ECAB 09-0519): Retroactive wage-loss claim lacked medical causal link
L.D., a Coast Guard construction representative, stopped working after a fall on a wet dock in 1992. OWCP accepted neck and lower-back sprains, and L.D. later received a federal disability retirement annuity. In 2007 he elected to seek OWCP wage-loss compensation instead, retroactive to August 9…
B.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Houston, TX
B.P. (ECAB 09-0304): Four-percent right-arm schedule award upheld
B.P., a Postal Service mail handler with accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, sought a larger award for lasting impairment of his right arm after surgery. His treating surgeon and OWCP's medical adviser each rated the right-arm impairment at four percent based on reduced wrist flexion and…
J.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cincinnati, OH
J.G. (ECAB 09-0164): Claimed back injury lacked medical causal explanation
J.G. said that turning a patient during a bath at work worsened her lower-back condition. She had back and leg symptoms and had been advised to consider surgery before the January 2008 incident. The Board found that her doctors did not adequately explain how the incident caused or aggravated a…
Matter of Raul CARRILLO
Cuban Adjustment Act rollback set admission date
The Board reviewed a removal order based on a lawful permanent resident's conviction for crimes involving moral turpitude. The respondent had adjusted status under the Cuban Refugee Adjustment Act, which records lawful admission using a statutory rollback date. The Board held that this rollback…
D.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Bulk Mail Center, Greensboro, NC
D.D. (ECAB 09-1214): Late stress-claim reconsideration showed no clear error
D.D., a Postal Service mail handler, sought reconsideration of a 1998 denial of his claim for an emotional condition he attributed to work. He requested reconsideration in 2007, well beyond the one-year period after OWCP's merits decision. The Board held that the later material did not clearly show…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Detroit, MI
M.M. (ECAB 09-0920): Claimed asthma aggravation lacked a specific medical link
M.M., a Postal Service bulk mail clerk with asthma, said fumes from a floor-cleaning solution at work aggravated her condition in April 2008. She reported an asthma attack hours later while asleep. The Board found that her doctor's general statement about bleach fumes did not establish what she was…
R.K. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Kansas City, MO
R.K. (ECAB 09-0905): Late request for an injury-claim hearing denied
R.K., a Veterans Affairs nurse, filed a claim for a left-arm injury she attributed to patient care duties. OWCP denied the claim in December 2007, and she requested an oral hearing in November 2008. The Board held that the request came after the 30-day period for a hearing as of right. It found…
M.T. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Little Rock, AR
M.T. (ECAB 09-0784): Health premium overpayment and waiver denial upheld
M.T., a Transportation Security Administration screener receiving compensation for an accepted hip injury, had too little withheld from his benefits for health insurance because OWCP used the wrong enrollment code. The Board upheld the $773.30 difference as an overpayment, even though OWCP found…
J.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Dominick V. Daniels Processing & Distribution Center, Kearny, NJ
J.G. (ECAB 09-0737): Knee recurrence and lost-light-duty claims unproved
J.G., a Postal Service mail processor with an accepted right-knee strain, claimed several periods of disability in 2007. She attributed worsened pain to standing and mail-processing tasks and also said the employer had reduced or withdrawn her light-duty work. The Board held that new work…
M.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Blackwood, NJ
M.H. (ECAB 09-0732): Left-thumb impairment rating needs underlying measurements
M.H., a Postal Service employee with an accepted left trigger-thumb condition, had received schedule awards totaling 13 percent left-arm impairment. She sought a higher rating. After an earlier impartial examiner was disqualified for improper selection, OWCP relied on a second examiner who also…
M.H. and Department of the Navy, Military Sealift Command, Virginia Beach, VA
M.H. (ECAB 09-0724): Nineteen-percent left-leg schedule award upheld
M.H., a Navy civil service mariner, injured his left ankle aboard a ship and later underwent ankle and subtalar joint fusion. OWCP awarded 19 percent left-leg impairment, and he sought a higher rating. The Board explained that the rating guide assigned 10 percent for each fused joint and combined…
E.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
E.C. (ECAB 09-0435): Late back-claim reconsideration showed no clear error
E.C., a Postal Service letter carrier with an accepted back injury, sought reconsideration of a 2006 denial of a claimed recurrence of disability. He filed the request in July 2008, beyond the one-year period. The Board found no proof that the 2006 decision had failed to reach him and no evidence…
C.O. and Department of Agriculture, National Finance Center, New Orleans, LA
C.O. (ECAB 09-0217): Workplace confrontation sent back for injury review
C.O., a Department of Agriculture financial management specialist, reported stress-related symptoms after a coworker confronted her at her work desk about a church matter. OWCP denied the claim because the conversation's subject was personal. The Board found that C.O. and the coworker had no prior…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Forest Park, IL
S.M. (ECAB 09-0151): Schedule award did not prove old disability recurrence
S.M., a Postal Service employee with accepted left carpal tunnel syndrome, sought reconsideration of an old denial of a claimed disability recurrence after he stopped limited-duty work in 1989. His May 2008 request came more than a year after OWCP's last merits decision. He argued that receiving a…
J.G. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Warrenton, VA
J.G. (ECAB 09-1378): Late hearing request denied; wage loss claim returned for evidence review
J.G., an FAA supervisory air traffic control specialist, sought compensation for a week of missed work after an accepted lumbar sprain. OWCP denied her claim, saying she had not answered its request for more evidence. Her oral hearing request was postmarked April 9, 2009, one day after the 30-day…
J.K. and Department of the Army, Defense Language Institute, Monterey, CA
J.K. (ECAB 09-0859): Army employee's arm injury claim returned for consequential injury review
J.K., an Army assistant professor, said her right knee collapsed after authorized physical therapy and she fell, fracturing her left arm and elbow. OWCP had accepted her earlier knee injury but denied the arm claim because the fall occurred away from work. The Board held that OWCP had failed to…
M.L. and Department of Homeland Security, Citizenship & Immigration Services, Fresno, CA
M.L. (ECAB 09-0839): Overpayment and denial of late hearing upheld
M.L., a federal adjudications officer, kept receiving partial disability payments after returning to full-time work on May 2, 2008. OWCP found that he had received $2,124.11 too much through July 5 and was at fault because he had been told to report a return to work and return checks covering…
D.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
D.W. (ECAB 09-0821): General opinion on repetitive work did not prove medical causation
D.W., a Postal Service mail processing clerk, claimed that repetitive work caused or worsened conditions involving her hands, shoulder, and spine. OWCP accepted that her job involved repetitive tasks but found the medical evidence did not connect those tasks to her diagnoses. After an earlier Board…
D.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Durham Veterans Medical Center, Durham, NC
D.M. (ECAB 09-0797): Fall accepted, but medical injury and grounds for review unproved
D.M., a VA housekeeping aide, slipped and fell at work and claimed knee and hip injuries. OWCP accepted that the fall occurred but found no adequate medical proof that it caused a diagnosed injury. The Board agreed: unsigned notes, reports from a nurse or physical therapist, and physician reports…
E.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Merced, CA
E.J. (ECAB 09-0793): Shoulder claim and unsupported reconsideration request denied
E.J., a Postal Service letter carrier, attributed left shoulder pain to holding mail, lifting mail containers, and repeatedly raising a vehicle's rear door. OWCP denied the occupational disease claim because the medical evidence did not explain how those duties caused a diagnosed condition. The…
S.R. and Social Security Administration, Dallas, TX
S.R. (ECAB 09-0640): Schedule award returned for review of additional arm impairment
S.R., a Social Security Administration claims representative, received schedule awards for permanent impairment of both arms after accepted upper extremity conditions. OWCP based the awards on a July 2008 medical report and its medical adviser's agreement with that report. Her physician later…
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Ladson, SC
D.C. (ECAB 09-0608): Knee impairment upheld; overpayment finding reversed
D.C., a part-time Postal Service clerk, received schedule awards for accepted knee and toe conditions. She challenged the impairment percentages and an asserted $1,357.56 overpayment resulting from OWCP's revised pay rate. The Board upheld the 16 percent right leg and 5 percent left leg impairment…
C.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Austin, TX
C.H. (ECAB 09-0478): Board accepts hamper incident but upholds injury claim denial
C.H., a Postal Service clerk, said a hamper struck her at work and caused back and hip problems. OWCP rejected the claimed incident because a coworker's clock-in time seemed inconsistent with her estimate of when it happened. The Board found the incident established by her account, a coworker's…
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Manchester, CT
M.S. (ECAB 09-0364): Compensation reduction continued after rehabilitation noncooperation
M.S., a Postal Service worker with an accepted foot injury, sought restoration of benefits previously reduced to zero for failure to cooperate with vocational rehabilitation. He told OWCP he wanted to resume rehabilitation, but the record showed that officials and a counselor could not reliably…
P.E. and Department of the Navy, Navy Aviation Depot, Marine Aircorps Station, Cherry Point, NC
P.E. (ECAB 09-1039): Old recurrence claim not reopened on late reconsideration request
P.E., a Navy supervisor, had an accepted hip and lower back strain from a 1994 workplace fall. OWCP denied her claimed recurrence of disability in September 1995. She sought reconsideration in September 2008 and submitted reports describing later back symptoms and other conditions. The Board held…
K.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Canal Street Station, New York, NY
K.P. (ECAB 09-0866): Reconsideration request without grounds did not reopen injury claim
K.P., a Postal Service mail carrier, reported an assault while working in July 2008. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied his injury claim because the submitted medical records did not give a physician's diagnosis and an explanation connecting a condition to the incident. K.P. timely…
J.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Dayton, OH
J.G. (ECAB 09-0854): Hip injury claim and request to reopen both denied
J.G., a Postal Service mail handler, reported left hip and groin pain while cleaning a mail sorting machine in April 2008. OWCP denied her injury claim, finding that her medical evidence did not establish a work-related condition. The Board held that her orthopedic surgeon's report gave no final…
J.T. and Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Albuquerque, NM
J.T. (ECAB 09-0827): Hearing loss claim filed after the statutory deadline
J.T., a retired Forest Service worker, filed a hearing loss claim in November 2007 based on noise from chainsaws and other equipment. He said he had recognized a work connection around 1986 and retired in January 1997. The Board held that even if his noise exposure continued until retirement, the…
B.H. and Federal Judiciary, Court Services & Offender Supervision Agency, Pretrial Services Agency, Washington, DC
B.H. (ECAB 09-0826): Workplace eye incident recognized, injury claim still denied
B.H., a federal case manager, said she struck her left eye with paper while working in April 2008. OWCP denied her claim, finding both that the incident was unproven and that the medical evidence did not connect an injury to it. The Board found that her account and her supervisor's agreement…
V.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fresno, TX
V.A. (ECAB 09-0810): Arm and elbow claim lacked medical evidence
V.A., a Postal Service carrier, reported right arm and elbow pain that she attributed to repetitive motion at work. OWCP accepted that the claimed work events occurred but asked her for a physician's report diagnosing a condition and explaining the connection to her duties. She did not submit…
V.B. and Social Security Administration, Southeastern Program Service Center, Birmingham, AL
V.B. (ECAB 09-0467): Emotional injury claim lacked proof of a compensable work factor
V.B., a Social Security benefit authorizer, claimed an emotional injury after her manager placed her on a performance assistance plan and, she alleged, repeatedly harassed her. The Board held that an emotional reaction to a personnel action is covered only when the evidence establishes…
E.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Bulk Mail Center, Philadelphia, PA
E.P. (ECAB 09-0457): No increase to four percent arm impairment award
E.P., a Postal Service worker with an accepted right shoulder injury, had previously received a schedule award for four percent permanent impairment of his right arm. A disagreement between his physician and OWCP's physician over worsening shoulder motion led to an impartial examination. The…
S.D. and Panama Canal Commission, Industrial Division, Cristobal, Panama
S.D. (ECAB 09-0449): Late request did not reopen back disability claim
S.D. had an accepted 1979 back injury and separately had an accepted 1990 knee injury. A claimed recurrence of disability beginning in 1994 under the back injury file had been denied, and the Board affirmed that denial in 1999. He sought reconsideration in 2006, also mentioning his knee file and…
G.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bainbridge, GA
G.G. (ECAB 09-0384): Termination for declining modified postal job reversed
G.G., a Postal Service carrier with an accepted left shoulder injury, declined a modified carrier position, and OWCP terminated her wage-loss compensation. The Board found that the job's shoulder-level mail casing did not appear to fit the impartial physician's restrictions on reaching and lifting…
Mountain Coal Company, LLC
Damaged hydraulic hoses affirmed but reduced to non-S&S
MSHA cited Mountain Coal after finding 13 damaged hydraulic hoses on the longwall at its West Elk Mine. Judge Richard W. Manning found that the more severely damaged hoses were not in safe operating condition because continued abrasion and mine exposure could further weaken them, despite their…
P.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Cheyenne, WY
P.W. (ECAB 09-0857): Pay-rate error produced a recoverable overpayment
P.W., a Veterans Affairs employee with accepted injuries from a workplace fall, received wage-loss compensation calculated using a weekly pay rate of $832.85. OWCP later determined that her actual weekly pay rate was $749.50, because the higher figure reflected a different pay grade. The Board…
C.O. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Perry Point, MD
C.O. (ECAB 09-0806): Shoulder recurrence claim and hearing abandonment rulings upheld
C.O., a Veterans Affairs nurse, had an accepted right shoulder strain from moving a patient in 2004. She later claimed a recurrence of that condition in March 2008, but submitted no medical evidence connecting her current symptoms to the accepted injury before OWCP denied the claim. The Board…
M.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Newark International Airport, Newark, NJ
M.H. (ECAB 09-0800): Knee and ankle benefits terminated after impartial examination
M.H., an airport security screener, had accepted right knee and left ankle conditions after a workplace fall. His treating surgeon reported continuing work-related symptoms and disability, while an OWCP referral surgeon found the accepted conditions had resolved. An impartial orthopedic surgeon…
D.K. and Department of the Army, Fort Campbell, KY
D.K. (ECAB 09-0747): Reconsideration evidence did not reopen hernia recurrence claim
D.K., an Army painter, had an accepted hernia from lifting signs at work in 2001 and later reported recurring swelling and drainage near the surgical site. OWCP denied his claim for a recurrence of that condition in February 2008. He requested reconsideration and supplied reports about a possible…
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.