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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Association of Civilian Technicians, Puerto Rico Army Chapter (Union) and United States, Department of Defense, National Guard Bureau, Puerto Rico National Guard, San Juan, Puerto Rico (Agency)
Puerto Rico National Guard and civilian technicians (FLRA 0-NG-2519): Reimbursement proposal rejected on remand
The union proposed reimbursing Puerto Rico National Guard technicians for unavoidable personal expenses when the agency canceled approved leave for a compelling need. On remand from a federal court, the Authority examined whether reimbursement could count as official business and whether the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 131 (Union) and United States, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Tuscaloosa, Alabama (Agency)
Tuscaloosa VA and AFGE Local 131 (FLRA 0-AR-3949): Union's arbitration exceptions denied
AFGE Local 131 challenged an arbitration award involving the Tuscaloosa VA medical center. The Authority's published decision does not describe the underlying grievance or the terms of the award. It states that the union failed to establish a defect under 5 U.S.C. § 7122(a), citing standards for…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2145 (Union) and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Richmond, Virginia (Agency)
Richmond VA and AFGE Local 2145 (FLRA 0-AR-3919): Union's arbitration exception denied
AFGE Local 2145 challenged an arbitration award involving the Richmond VA medical center. The Authority's short published decision does not describe the underlying grievance or the arbitrator's ruling. It states that the union failed to show that the award departed from the parties' agreement under…
United States, Department of Agriculture, Food and Consumer Service, Dallas, Texas (Agency) and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 265 (Union)
USDA Dallas and NTEU Chapter 265 (FLRA 0-AR-3868): Temporary promotion award set aside as classification matter
A USDA employee performed GS-12 duties while holding a GS-11 position for more than two years. An arbitrator awarded a retroactive temporary promotion and backpay. The Authority found that the agency's desk audit and subsequent removal of the higher grade duties showed a dispute about the grade of…
Elaine Polly (widow of Douglas Polly) v. D & K Coal Company
Polly v. D & K Coal (BRB 04-0737 BLA): survivor benefits remanded on prior finding
Elaine Polly sought survivor benefits after her husband Douglas, a coal miner who received black lung benefits, died. The administrative law judge relied on the earlier benefits decision to prevent D & K Coal from disputing pneumoconiosis and its connection to coal work, then awarded survivor…
Sumas Energy 2 Generation Facility
In re Sumas Energy 2 Generation Facility (EAB PSD Appeal No. 05-03): permit extension upheld
The Province of British Columbia challenged an amendment to a Prevention of Significant Deterioration permit for Sumas Energy 2, Inc.'s proposed 660-megawatt electric generating facility in Sumas, Washington. The amendment extended the deadline to begin construction by 18 months, until April 17…
Middlesex School Wastewater Treatment Facility
In re Middlesex School Wastewater Treatment Facility (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 05-03): petition dismissed with prejudice
Middlesex School of Concord, Massachusetts, petitioned for review of NPDES Permit No. MA0102466. The school and EPA Region 1 jointly asked the Environmental Appeals Board to dismiss the appeal after Region 1 withdrew a contested permit condition and proposed a permit modification that satisfied…
United States, Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Marion, Illinois (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2483 (Union)
Marion VA and AFGE Local 2483 (FLRA 0-AR-3917): Police officers' temporary promotion award set aside
Five GS-6 police officers at the Marion VA medical center sought temporary promotions for periods when they filled in for a GS-7 lead officer. An arbitrator found they performed higher grade duties for enough time under the parties' agreement and ordered the parties to calculate the pay periods…
United States, Department of Veterans Affairs, Alaska VA Healthcare System, Anchorage, Alaska (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3028 (Union)
Alaska VA and AFGE Local 3028 (FLRA 0-AR-3908): Grievance meeting staffing award set aside
Two managers attended a first step grievance meeting at the Alaska VA, and a bargaining unit employee prepared the agency's response. An arbitrator found both practices inconsistent with the parties' agreements and ordered them to stop. The Authority set aside the response ruling because the…
Benson Associates
Scaffold foundation, inspection, and fall-protection items affirmed
Benson Associates used a pump-jack scaffold and planks 13 to 14 feet above the ground while installing soffit and fascia on a Denver house. OSHA found that the scaffold legs lacked proper base plates and that the makeshift fall protection consisted of an Alumibench and boards attached with…
Fastrack Erectors
Attorney-fee application denied
Fastrack Erectors sought $13,091.40 in attorney fees and expenses after a steel-erection fall-protection citation was vacated. OSHA's compliance officer had observed and videotaped two employees working without fall protection on a roof about 30 feet above the ground and believed they came within…
United States, Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Washington, D.C. (Agency) and National Treasury Employees Union (Union)
IRS and NTEU (FLRA 0-AR-3889): Reduction in force notice award set aside as moot
The IRS gave NTEU notice of a planned reduction in force in its information technology operations before a competitive sourcing study was complete. An arbitrator found the notice premature under the parties' agreement and ordered it rescinded. After the award, the agency determined that reduced…
United States, Department of Homeland Security, Border and Transportation Security Directorate, Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, Washington, D.C. (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, National Border Patrol Council, AFL-CIO (Charging Party/Union)
Customs and Border Protection and National Border Patrol Council (FLRA WA-CA-02-0811): Firearms policy complaint dismissed
Customs and Border Protection changed which personally owned handguns officers could use and reduced the remedial firearms training specified in its policy from 80 hours to 8. An administrative law judge found that the union had waived bargaining over the handgun change but that the agency violated…
United States, Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Houston, Texas (Agency) and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 222 (Union)
IRS Houston and NTEU Chapter 222 (FLRA 0-AR-3885): Promotion consideration award upheld
The IRS used a score cutoff to place three applicants on a best-qualified list for tax examining assistant vacancies. Three other applicants grieved their exclusion. An arbitrator found the cutoff inconsistent with the parties' agreement and ordered priority consideration for the grievants in…
Library of Congress (Agency) and Congressional Research Employees Association, IFPTE, Local 75 (Union)
Library of Congress and Congressional Research Employees Association (FLRA 0-AR-3835): Reconsideration of performance award ruling denied
An arbitrator ordered the Library of Congress to pay performance awards to senior employees who left after the appraisal year but before pay adjustments took effect. The Authority had set aside that part of the award because the parties' agreement tied these payments to pay adjustments for…
Harpoon Partnership
In re Harpoon Partnership (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 04-02): liability and penalty affirmed
Harpoon Partnership owned nine apartment units in Chicago and used a property manager to lease them. EPA charged Harpoon with failing to include required lead-based-paint disclosure statements, records information, acknowledgments, and signatures in the leases or as attachments. The Board held that…
Suburban Sand & Gravel
Penalty reopening request remanded for good-cause review
Suburban Sand & Gravel asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final after the company did not timely contest it. Suburban said that MSHA sent the proposed assessment to the company rather than to its counsel, even though counsel had requested service. The Secretary did…
Oak Grove Resources, LLC
Default dismissals remanded for good-cause review
An ALJ entered default dismissals against Oak Grove Resources after it failed to answer the Secretary's penalty petitions and then failed to respond to show-cause orders. Oak Grove's safety director said the company was new to the assessment process, the employee who received certified mail did not…
In re Jose Mauricio LOVO-Lara, Beneficiary of a visa petition filed by Gia Teresa LOVO-Ciccone, Petitioner
State-recognized marriage qualified for immigration benefits
The Board reviewed a United States citizen's appeal from the denial of a visa petition for her spouse, a citizen of El Salvador. The marriage took place in North Carolina after the petitioner had undergone sex reassignment surgery, and North Carolina recognized her as female and treated the…
U.S. Steel Mining Company, L.L.C.
Coal injection system violation remanded for reconsideration
U.S. Steel was cited after an inspector found a half-inch hole in a conveyor in the granular coal injection system at its Concord coal preparation plant. The ALJ held that the hole violated the requirement to maintain equipment in safe operating condition and assessed a $55 penalty. The Commission…
Perry County Coal Corp.
Two electrical citations dismissed and one affirmed
MSHA cited Perry County Coal after an electrician received electrical burns while attempting to energize a pump at the HZ4-1 mine. Judge Avram Weisberger dismissed one citation because the Secretary did not prove that the power center lacked a breaker capable of providing the required short-circuit…
Centimark Roofing Systems
Suspended-load and crane-rigging items vacated
Centimark hired an independent crane company to hoist roofing materials and trash-chute parts to a warehouse roof. During the second chute-parts lift, the load shifted and an eight-foot steel bar slipped out and struck the crane operator. The crane operator had helped rig the load and signaled the…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 143 (Union) and United States, Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, Port of El Paso, El Paso, Texas (Agency)
NTEU Chapter 143 and Customs and Border Protection (FLRA 0-AR-3883): El Paso bridge assignment award upheld
Customs and Border Protection changed bridge assignments and regular days off for inspectors at the Port of El Paso. The local union asked to bargain and challenged the refusal through arbitration. The arbitrator denied the grievance, finding that a lawfully implemented national assignment policy…
Stephen K. Korsen, d/b/a MDI Remodeling and Construction
Citations affirmed by default
MDI Remodeling and Construction initially failed to answer the Secretary's complaint and later submitted an answer after receiving additional time. The company then did not respond to a planning-conference notice, its provided telephone numbers were disconnected, and it stopped defending the case…
United States, Department of the Air Force, Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson, Arizona (Respondent/Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2924 (Charging Party/Union)
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and AFGE Local 2924 (FLRA DE-CA-02-0172): Drug testing agreement complaint dismissed
An Air Force facility removed employees after positive drug tests, including employees who entered rehabilitation. An administrative law judge found that the facility repudiated local agreements addressing rehabilitation and job status. The Authority majority found a reasonable interpretation of…
Zichelle Steel Erectors, Inc.
Willful steel-erection fall violation affirmed
OSHA observed Zichelle employees working near the edge of a fourth-floor steel structure about 44 feet above the ground without effective fall protection. On the first day, one connector was not wearing a harness; on the next day, after OSHA had raised the issue, two connectors wore harnesses but…
Wake Stone Corp.
$60 penalty set after parties' stipulation
After an earlier Commission decision, the parties submitted an amended joint stipulation addressing the statutory penalty factors for Wake Stone's violation. They agreed that the operator was large, moderately negligent, promptly compliant, and affected by a moderate, non-serious violation, with no…
In re A-M-, Respondent
60-day voluntary departure reinstated after relief was denied
The Board reviewed an Indonesian respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge denied asylum and withholding of removal and granted 60 days of voluntary departure. The Board held that he had not shown a qualifying exception to the one-year asylum filing deadline, past persecution, a pattern or…
Summit Contractors, Inc.
Missing stairway guardrail citation vacated
Summit Contractors was the general contractor for an apartment project where a temporary laborer died after falling 15 feet from an unguarded stairway landing. The guardrail had been removed, but Summit disputed that it knew the temporary crew would enter the building or that the railing was…
Independence Coal Company d/b/a Progress Coal Company
Penalty reopening request remanded for good-cause review
Progress Coal asked the Commission to reopen two penalty assessments that became final after the company failed to contest them. The company said it discovered the assessments during an internal investigation after they had been misplaced and the contest deadline had expired. The Secretary did not…
Barrick Goldstrike Mines
Misplaced assessment remanded for good-cause review
Barrick Goldstrike Mines received a proposed penalty assessment but misplaced it before its safety department could act, and its later contest was untimely. The Secretary did not oppose reopening the assessment, which had become a final Commission order after the 30-day contest period. The…
Scott L. Crosby v. Kennecott Utah Copper Corp.
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Scott L. Crosby alleged that Kennecott Utah Copper Corp. retaliated against him after he complained about brakes on a cable truck at the Bingham Canyon copper mine. He claimed the company suspended and disqualified him from cable-truck work, selected him for a layoff, and denied him cross-training…
Secretary of Labor v. Sidney Coal Company, Inc.
Sidney Coal Company, Inc. (FMSHRC KENT 2005-177): Penalty reopening request remanded for good-cause review
Sidney Coal said it marked a proposed penalty assessment to contest one citation, but MSHA never received the contest. The Secretary did not oppose the company’s request to reopen the assessment, which had become a final Commission order after the 30-day contest period. The Commission held that…
In re X-K-, Respondent
Custody jurisdiction recognized after positive credible fear finding
The Board reviewed a Department of Homeland Security appeal challenging an Immigration Judge's authority to redetermine custody for an alien initially screened for expedited removal and later placed in section 240 removal proceedings after a positive credible fear determination. The Board held that…
Caretti, Inc.
Control-room deck fall citation vacated
Caretti performed masonry work near an unguarded control-room deck that was 15 feet, 4 inches above an auditorium floor. Its foreman placed yellow caution tape across the rear of the deck and instructed employees not to enter the area. OSHA observed employees working beside the deck and one foreman…
Association of Civilian Technicians, New York State Council (Union) and United States, Department of Defense, National Guard Bureau, State of New York Division of Military and Naval Affairs (Agency)
New York National Guard and civilian technicians (FLRA 0-AR-3877): Indoor smoking policy award upheld
After New York restricted workplace smoking indoors, the New York National Guard barred smoking in facilities it occupied. The civilian technicians' union grieved, saying the agency had to bargain under their agreement and had committed unfair labor practices. The arbitrator found that the…
United States, Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Denver, Colorado (Agency) and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 32 (Union)
IRS Denver and NTEU Chapter 32 (FLRA 0-AR-3871): Leave swapping reconsideration denied
An arbitrator found that the IRS unlawfully refused to bargain over a union proposal to let employees swap approved leave. The Authority had set aside that ruling because the parties' agreement already addressed how leave was granted. The union sought reconsideration, arguing that the Authority…
United States, Department of Veterans Affairs (Agency/Activity) and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO (Union/Petitioner)
Veterans Affairs and AFGE (FLRA SF-RP-04-0030): Secretary remains in bargaining unit
AFGE sought to include a VA secretary and office assistant in its nationwide nonprofessional bargaining unit. The VA argued that the employee was confidential because she supported the director of a chaplain and social work service. A regional director found that the director had not been…
Lone Mountain Processing, Inc.
One violation affirmed, three citations dismissed, settlement approved
Lone Mountain was cited at its underground coal mine for electrical conditions involving circuit-breaker identification, a ground-check circuit, damaged conduit, and a missing breaker handle. Judge Avram Weisberger dismissed the circuit-breaker citation because the breaker was marked with a number…
Vernon Holden v. Ross Island Sand & Gravel Co.
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Vernon Holden alleged that Ross Island Sand & Gravel Co. retaliated after he raised concerns about rest breaks and later questioned whether haul trucks should exceed posted speed limits. He claimed the company laid him off and did not call him back because of those concerns. Judge Michael E…
Georges Colliers, Incorporated
EAJA fee application denied
Georges Colliers sought attorney fees and expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act after a judge reduced proposed penalties from $332,701 to $72,398 in a proceeding involving 559 citations. The Commission held that the record of repeated violations, including many significant-and-substantial…
The Cincinnati Gas & Electric Co.
Coal-dust housekeeping citation vacated as preempted
OSHA cited Cincinnati Gas & Electric under the general housekeeping standard for combustible coal dust accumulated on surfaces in a power plant. The Secretary argued that disturbed dust could become airborne and fuel a secondary explosion. The Commission found that the record did not identify how a…
Exelon Generating Corp., LaSalle County Station
Personal sign-on required for group lockout
Exelon's group lockout procedure listed covered maintenance employees but allowed a lead worker to notify them verbally when protection was applied or removed. The Commission held that group lockout requires each authorized employee to maintain personal control by attaching and removing a personal…
United States, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, United States Border Patrol, El Paso, Texas (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1929, National Border Patrol Council (Union)
El Paso Border Patrol and AFGE Local 1929 (FLRA 0-AR-3897): Delayed suspension notice award upheld
The Border Patrol suspended an employee for one day after a government vehicle accident. An arbitrator found that the agency waited more than a month after a disciplinary recommendation to issue a proposed suspension notice, contrary to the agreement's earliest practicable date requirement. He…
North Star Mining, Inc., and Jim Brummett
Discrimination settlement approved
The case involved a discrimination complaint filed by the Secretary on behalf of Mark Gray against North Star Mining and Jim Brummett. On remand, the judge approved settlement agreements under which Brummett would pay a $1,000 civil penalty, North Star would pay a $5,000 civil penalty, and North…
United States, Department of Commerce, Patent and Trademark Office, Arlington, Virginia (Agency) and Patent Office Professional Association (Union)
Patent and Trademark Office and POPA (FLRA 0-AR-3801): Term labor agreement award upheld
The Patent and Trademark Office and its union disputed whether an unsigned 1986 interest arbitration award had become their term collective bargaining agreement. An arbitrator found that their conduct adopted the portions approved by the agency head and that the agency later repudiated the…
Dicaperl Minerals Corporation
Misplaced assessment remanded for good-cause review
Dicaperl Minerals timely contested a citation, but later misplaced the proposed penalty assessment for that citation and did not forward it to counsel before the contest deadline. The Secretary did not oppose reopening the assessment, which had become a final Commission order. The Commission held…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Missent contest sent back for good-cause review
Jim Walter Resources operated the No. 5 Mine in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The company received a proposed penalty assessment but mistakenly mailed its contest to the Department of Labor's Division of Coal Mine Worker's Compensation instead of MSHA's Office of Assessments. By the time the contest was…
Active Oil Service, Inc.
Fatal tank-vault violations affirmed, with one item reduced to serious
An Active Oil Service employee was killed and a foreman was seriously burned when an oxy-acetylene torch ignited vapors while they worked in an underground vault above a pyro-oil tank. The Commission held that the shallow vault was still a permit-required confined space because entry and exit were…
James Carney Construction
Default order vacated for notice review
James Carney Construction was in a civil penalty proceeding after failing to answer the Secretary of Labor's penalty petition. The Chief ALJ entered a default order, and the company's owner later said he had not received the show cause order. The Commission treated his letter as a timely petition…
Turning Stone Casino Resort
OSHA jurisdiction over tribal casino upheld and case remanded
Turning Stone Casino, owned and operated by the Oneida Indian Nation, moved to dismiss OSHA citations on tribal-sovereignty, treaty, and consultation grounds. The Commission applied the rule that generally applicable federal statutes cover tribal enterprises unless a recognized exception applies…
United States, General Services Administration, Northeast and Caribbean Region, New York, New York (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Council 236, Region 2 (Union)
GSA Northeast Region and AFGE Council 236 (FLRA 0-AR-3900): Reduced suspension award upheld
GSA suspended a union vice president for 14 days after a confrontation during negotiations. An arbitrator found that some of his conduct warranted discipline but rejected the charge that he had made a false statement and reduced the suspension to a warning letter. GSA challenged the award…
Harvey W. Buche Road Building, Inc.
Settlement reopened case and reduced penalty
Harvey W. Buche Road Building failed to timely respond to the Secretary of Labor's penalty petition and a later show cause order. The company said it had reached a settlement but had misplaced the agreement, and the judge reopened the penalty assessment under Rule 60(b). The judge approved a…
United States, Department of Veterans Affairs, Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy, Leavenworth, Kansas (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 85 (Charging Party)
VA Leavenworth pharmacy and AFGE Local 85 (FLRA DE-CA-02-0321): Saturday schedule complaint dismissed
A VA mail pharmacy and its union signed two local agreements that removed Saturdays from the regular workweek and set procedures for weekend overtime. As prescription workload grew, the pharmacy proposed restoring a six-day schedule and invited bargaining; the union refused, citing the agreements…
Association of Civilian Technicians, Wichita Air Capitol Chapter (Union) and United States, Department of Defense, National Guard Bureau, Kansas National Guard, Topeka, Kansas (Agency)
Wichita Air Capitol technicians and Kansas National Guard (FLRA 0-NG-2581): Military training proposal reconsideration denied
The technicians' union proposed notice and procedures for assigning military training as work to Kansas National Guard employees. After a court remand, the Authority had found the combined proposal outside the duty to bargain because its fifth paragraph substantially restricted management's right…
United States, Department of Commerce, Patent and Trademark Office (Agency) and Patent Office Professional Association (Union)
Patent and Trademark Office and POPA (FLRA 0-AR-3904): Special pay alternative award set aside
The Patent and Trademark Office agreed to request special pay adjustments and to discuss alternatives with its union if the Office of Personnel Management refused a request. After OPM denied an adjustment, an arbitrator found that the agency had not discussed a monetary alternative in good faith…
Federal Aviation Administration, Airways Facilities Division, Northwest Mountain Region, Renton, Washington (Respondent) and Professional Airways Systems Specialists, AFL-CIO (Charging Party)
FAA Northwest Mountain Region and PASS (FLRA SF-CA-04-0200): EEO mediation notice violation upheld
FAA managers met with a bargaining unit employee and her attorney to mediate a formal EEO complaint without notifying the union or offering it a chance to attend. An administrative law judge found that the mediation sessions were formal discussions about a grievance and that the FAA violated the…
Commercial Painting, Inc.
Forklift-supported work-platform violations affirmed
Commercial Painting used a rough-terrain forklift to support an employee-built work platform about 21 feet above the ground. The judge held that rough-terrain forklifts are equipment similar to front-end loaders under the scaffold standard and may support personnel platforms only when the…
Structural Grouting Systems Excavating, Inc.
Default judgment vacated after missed conference
A judge entered a $60,500 default judgment after Structural Grouting Systems missed one pretrial telephone conference and did not answer a show-cause order. The employer had timely sought Commission review, but its petition was inadvertently never circulated before the default became final. The…
Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association, District No. 1 - PCD (Union) and United States, Department of the Navy, Military Sealift Command, Virginia Beach, Virginia (Agency)
Military Sealift Command and marine engineers (FLRA 0-NG-2776): Ship supervision proposal outside bargaining duty
After the Navy transferred the USS Coronado to Military Sealift Command, the marine engineers' union proposed keeping a civilian master to supervise civilian mariners and paying a higher ship classification rate from an earlier date. The Authority found the supervision proposal outside the duty to…
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.