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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Kirby Stone Company
Missed penalty contest remanded for good-cause review
Kirby Stone Company operates the Roach Quarry II. It asked to reopen a penalty assessment after confusion caused by the transfer of business responsibilities during a personal illness led to a missed hearing request. Kirby said it did not learn about the proposed assessment until its quarry manager…
Hershel Davis v. Delaware River Stevedores, Incorporated
Davis v. Delaware River Stevedores (BRB 04-0489): late Fund application barred
Hershel Davis had been awarded temporary total disability benefits for work injuries to his foot and hip. His employer later requested Special Fund relief as the parties addressed permanent disability benefits. The district director required the Fund application to arrive by December 13, 2002; the…
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Local 2830 (Union) and United States, Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs (Agency)
Justice Programs and AFSCME Local 2830 (FLRA 0-NG-2768): Workspace search proposal outside bargaining duty
The union proposed that managers could open an employee's desk, cabinet, or regular workspace only for an officially authorized management activity. The union explained that the agency head would have to approve searches directly or through a standing directive. The Authority found the proposal…
Wabash Mine Holding Co.
Caption modified and penalty motion deferred
The judge corrected the respondent's name from Foundation Midwest Holding Company to Wabash Mine Holding Company, an affiliated operator. The Secretary did not oppose the caption change. Wabash had also asked to vacate proposed penalties under the Mine Act's reasonable-time requirement, but the…
Colorado Lava, Inc.
Prevailing party cannot recover fees under excessive-demand provision
Colorado Lava sought attorneys' fees and expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act after prevailing in the underlying Mine Act discrimination proceeding. The company argued that the Secretary's demand was substantially excessive and unreasonable under the EAJA provision for excessive demands…
Taj Mahal Contracting/Gen Construction Company
Jurisdiction established on remand
The Commission remanded this late-contest case for a clearer determination of whether Taj Mahal Contracting was the employer at the inspected New York construction site. The compliance officer testified that workers identified Taj Mahal and its president, the company's accountant identified…
Norman C. Mayes
In re Norman C. Mayes (EAB RCRA (9006) Appeal No. 04-01): UST liability and penalty affirmed
Norman C. Mayes operated a small commercial airport in Tennessee with three underground storage tanks. EPA found that he failed to register two tanks, provide required release-detection systems, and upgrade or permanently close the tanks. The Board held that those duties were continuing…
Kiva Hotel & Convention Center
Citations affirmed after respondent abandoned cases
Kiva Hotel & Convention Center contested citations in two consolidated cases and initially participated through an attorney. A planned settlement was never filed, the business closed, and the attorney could no longer locate the owner. The company did not answer requests for admissions, so the…
Baylor Mining, Inc.
Interlocutory review granted on miner-informant disclosures
The Secretary sought interlocutory review of an administrative law judge's order concerning Baylor Mining's request for documents. The dispute involved statements by miners who also served as witnesses and whether disclosure could reveal informant status. The Commission granted the petition for…
National Air Traffic Controllers Association, AFL-CIO (Union) and United States, Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration (Agency)
FAA and air traffic controllers union (FLRA 0-AR-3918): Nonfact exception denied
The air traffic controllers union challenged an arbitration award involving the Federal Aviation Administration. The Authority denied the union's exception after finding that it had not established that the award was based on a nonfact under 5 U.S.C. § 7122(a). The published decision does not…
American Federation of Government Employees, Council of Prison Locals, Local 1612 (Union) and United States, Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Medical Center for Federal Prisoners, Springfield, Missouri (Agency)
Springfield federal prison medical center and AFGE Local 1612 (FLRA 0-AR-3916): Union exceptions denied
AFGE Local 1612 challenged an arbitration award involving the federal prison medical center in Springfield, Missouri. The Authority reviewed the record and denied the union's exceptions, finding that the union had not established a ground for setting aside the award under 5 U.S.C. § 7122(a). The…
James L. Fann, employed by Qmax Company
Individual penalty contest sent back for good-cause review
MSHA issued James L. Fann a proposed civil penalty for an individual violation under section 110(c) of the Mine Act. Fann said that he had notified MSHA by fax that he intended to contest the citations, but MSHA later wrote that he had missed the deadline. Fann said MSHA subsequently told him by…
Dicaperl Minerals Corporation
Mail-processing mistake sent back for good-cause review
MSHA issued a proposed penalty assessment to Dicaperl Minerals Corporation’s El Grande Plant. An employee who was new to mail processing signed for the assessment but did not bring it to management’s attention, so Dicaperl missed the 30-day deadline to request a hearing. The company moved to reopen…
National Cement Company of California, Inc. and Tejon Ranch Corp.
Interlocutory review granted on private-road jurisdiction
An ALJ ruled that a private road leading to National Cement’s plant was a mine under the Mine Act. The judge certified the ruling for interlocutory review after National Cement moved for certification, the Secretary opposed it, and Tejon Ranch supported it. The Commission granted review of whether…
United States, Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Los Padres National Forest, Goleta, California (Respondent) and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 2023, AFL-CIO (Charging Party)
Los Padres National Forest and NFFE Local 2023 (FLRA SF-CA-02-0133): Union notice required for EEO mediations
Los Padres National Forest held three mediation sessions about employees' formal equal employment opportunity complaints without notifying their union or allowing it to attend. An administrative law judge found that each session was a formal discussion covered by the union representation right. The…
Rogers Group, Inc.
Missed penalty deadline sent back to assess good cause
Rogers Group’s Lowell Quarry received a proposed penalty assessment from MSHA but did not file a hearing request within 30 days because of an error by its safety administrator. The assessment therefore became a final Commission order. Rogers asked the Commission to reopen it, and the Secretary did…
Blackstone Group, LLC
Late notice of contest accepted for excusable neglect
Blackstone filed its notice of contest 44 days late after its site superintendent relied on a subcontractor's promise to contest citations issued to both companies. The judge found that the delay was within Blackstone's reasonable control because the superintendent knew the deadline and could have…
Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc.
Power-press inspection program had to cover concealed parts
Siemens performed monthly inspections of 23 mechanical power presses but limited them to visible parts and operating checks. After a press component broke and injured an operator, a repair company found missing springs, loose anchors, oily brakes, and improper adjustments in concealed areas. The…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3432 (Union) and United States, Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Northeast Region (Agency)
National Park Service and AFGE Local 3432 (FLRA 0-AR-3881): Official time limits upheld
The National Park Service refused official time for a union president to represent an employee outside her organizational group and declined to extend an acting steward appointment beyond the agreement's 10-day emergency period. An arbitrator found those actions consistent with the parties'…
United States, Department of Defense, Defense Finance and Accounting Service (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees (Union)
Defense Finance and Accounting Service and AFGE (FLRA 0-AR-3756): Reduced attorney fee award stands
The Authority had reduced an arbitrator's attorney fee award from $74,700 to $33,412.50 after finding excessive hours and insufficient billing judgment. The union asked the Authority to reconsider, disputing the hour counts and the legal approach to fee reasonableness. The Authority denied the…
C. W. Mining Company
Six citations modified or affirmed with $6,000 penalty
C. W. Mining Company operated the Bear Canyon Nos. 1 and 3 underground coal mines in Utah. The judge found violations involving miner training, preshift examinations, diesel-equipment testing records, and mine ventilation. Several citations were modified, including changes to negligence findings…
Arenero Rafael Colon, Inc.
Temporary reinstatement ordered after safety complaint
Arenero Rafael Colon operated a sand processing facility in Puerto Rico and discharged heavy equipment operator Wilfredo Morales after he refused to drive a loaded truck down a wet and slippery slope. The judge found that Morales’s safety-based work refusal was protected activity and that the…
Peabody Western Coal Company
In re Peabody Western Coal Company (EAB CAA Appeal No. 04-01): permit review denied
Peabody Western Coal Company operated the Black Mesa and Kayenta surface coal mines and coal preparation operations on Hopi and Navajo Nation lands. Peabody challenged the Title V permit's decision not to include a potential-to-emit limit for particulate matter and objected to daily…
United States, Department of the Air Force, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1942 (Charging Party/Union)
Eglin Air Force Base and AFGE Local 1942 (FLRA AT-CA-02-0595): Retaliation claim dismissed, bargaining remedy retained
An Eglin Air Force Base nurse who was union president received a lower performance rating after seeking additional official time. An administrative law judge found retaliation for protected union activity and also found that the agency had changed performance standards without bargaining. The…
Carson Concrete Corp. and Carco Construction Corp.
Citations affirmed after refusal to proceed
Carson Concrete and Carco Construction sought a continuance four days before a long-scheduled hearing after changing counsel and disavowing earlier discovery responses. The judge found that the companies had known the hearing date for months, had not opposed key motions, and had waited until the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 520 (Union) and United States, Department of Veterans Affairs, Regional Office, Columbia, South Carolina (Agency)
Columbia VA office and AFGE Local 520 (FLRA 0-NG-2762): Cubicle telephone proposal outside bargaining duty
A VA employee moved to a resource center without the telephone he previously had at his cubicle. His union proposed that he retain a telephone at the new cubicle. The Authority found the proposal outside the duty to bargain because it affected the agency's choice of work technology and the union…
Arenero Rafael Colon, Inc.
Late discrimination complaint allowed to proceed
Arenero Rafael Colon asked the judge to dismiss the Secretary’s temporary-reinstatement application because Wilfredo Morales filed his discrimination complaint 72 days after the Mine Act’s 60-day period. The judge held that the filing deadline was not jurisdictional and that ignorance of the right…
Sawyer Steel, Inc.
Steel-joist and fall-protection items partly affirmed
A Sawyer Steel ironworker died after unbridged joists rolled while he released a crane choker from a bundle of perimeter angle that had been landed on the joists. The judge affirmed that the company began steel erection without written concrete-strength notification, failed to attach joists…
Secretary of Labor v. Asphalt Paving Company
Unguarded conveyor pinch point leads to $214 penalty
Asphalt Paving operated the Ralston Quarry in Colorado, where a worker entered a conveyor tunnel and injured his arm at an unguarded return roller while the belt was running. Judge Richard W. Manning held that the tunnel was a walking or working surface and that the pinch point had to be guarded…
National Cement Company of California, Inc.
Interlocutory certification granted on private-road jurisdiction
National Cement challenged a citation involving berms or guardrails on a private road leading to its Lebec cement plant. The ALJ had ruled that the road was subject to Mine Act jurisdiction and certified National Cement’s request for interlocutory review. The judge found no outstanding factual…
Secretary of Labor v. Placerville Industries, Inc.
Slate mine citations produce $180 penalty
Placerville Industries operated a slate mine in California where MSHA cited an unguarded hoist trolley rail and deep material accumulations in a work area. Judge Richard W. Manning found that the missing trolley stop violated the equipment-safety standard, but the condition was not serious and the…
AA Plumbing, Inc.
Pro se default judgment set aside and case remanded
A judge entered default against AA Plumbing after the pro se employer did not answer the Secretary's complaint, affirming serious and willful citations with $26,250 in penalties. AA Plumbing told the Commission that it had never received the complaint and learned of the dismissal motion only after…
Professional Airways Systems Specialists (Union) and United States, Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, D.C. (Agency)
FAA and Professional Airways Systems Specialists (FLRA 0-NG-2748): Contractor work proposals outside bargaining duty
The union proposed written confirmations when FAA employees performed contractor work, when management allowed schedule changes to contractor maintenance, and when employees were told to leave contractors unattended. It said the records would help employees defend performance ratings or discipline…
United States, Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Austin, Texas (Agency) and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 247 (Union)
Austin IRS and NTEU Chapter 247 (FLRA 0-AR-3861): Call center start times restored
Austin IRS call center employees worked alternative schedules that allowed some to start before 8 a.m. Local management changed the earliest start time to 8 a.m. without agreement from the union. An arbitrator found the change violated the parties' schedule agreements and ordered the earlier tours…
Amerada Hess Corporation, Port Reading Refinery Facility
In re Amerada Hess Corporation, Port Reading Refinery Facility (EAB PSD Appeal No. 04-03): permit remanded
Amerada Hess Corporation sought a Clean Air Act prevention of significant deterioration permit for modifications to a fluid catalytic cracking unit at its Port Reading, New Jersey refinery. Hess challenged testing, monitoring, pollution-prevention, opacity, and emissions requirements in the permit…
American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 3614 (Union) and United States, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (Agency)
EEOC and AFGE Local 3614 (FLRA 0-AR-3821): Overtime claims returned for clarification
Employees in three EEOC field offices sought compensation for overtime, including work allegedly allowed by supervisors without advance approval. An arbitrator denied a unit-wide backpay claim while acknowledging that some individual claims might need resolution and that some employees received…
Robert R. Tolley v. Moab Salt, LLC
Warning removed after asbestos complaints
Robert R. Tolley complained to Moab Salt, MSHA, and Utah environmental officials about asbestos-containing siding at the Cane Creek plant. Judge Richard W. Manning found that the company issued Tolley a written warning for missing an asbestos-awareness meeting partly because of his protected…
Secretary of Labor v. Eighty Four Mining Company
Settlement approved for $85,000
Eighty Four Mining Company and the Secretary reached a settlement in a civil penalty proceeding involving Mine 84. The parties agreed that one order would be vacated, other charging documents would be modified, and the total penalty would be reduced to $85,000. Judge Gary Melick found the…
In re A-H-, Respondent
Asylum denied and further protection review required
The Attorney General reviewed a BIA decision granting asylum to an Algerian leader-in-exile associated with the Islamic Salvation Front. The Attorney General held that the record required further consideration of whether the respondent had incited, assisted, or otherwise participated in…
Major Construction Corp., Inc. and Michael J. Polites
Fall citations largely affirmed with $223,200 penalty
Major Construction was the concrete subcontractor on a 32-story structure where OSHA documented extensive fall-protection and related violations, including violations after an imminent-danger notice was posted. The Commission largely upheld the judge's findings on feasibility, employer…
Secretary of Labor v. Marfork Coal Company, Inc.
Default case remanded for good-cause finding
The Commission reviewed Marfork Coal's request to reopen a default order dismissing a civil penalty proceeding after the company allegedly failed to answer the Secretary's petition. Marfork said it had filed an answer, but the Commission could not determine from the record whether the answer was…
Secretary of Labor v. Leeco Incorporated
Roof-control and ventilation penalties set at $7,000
Leeco operated an underground Kentucky coal mine where MSHA cited failures to follow the approved roof-control plan and ventilation plan. Judge Michael E. Zielinski found the roof-control violation significant and substantial and the result of unwarrantable failure, based on extensive and obvious…
Hercules, Inc. and Alliant Techsystems, Inc.
Recordkeeping failure-to-abate notices vacated
OSHA issued Hercules failure-to-abate notices after a settlement required correction of old injury logs and certifications. The underlying citation listed only broad injury categories and counts, while OSHA repeatedly declined to identify the employees and incidents that had to be added. The…
Samuel Filisko d/b/a Associated Contractors Group
$141,000 default set aside for uncertain service
A judge entered default against Associated Contractors Group for failing to answer or respond to a show-cause order, affirming citations with $141,000 in proposed penalties. The employer's late answer reached the judge's office after he issued notice of the default decision. The service certificate…
Davis H. Elliot Company
Power-line citation vacated for unpreventable misconduct
A Davis H. Elliot Company foreman was electrocuted when a 6-foot-4-inch ground wire contacted a 7,200-volt line about 52 inches away. He did not use the available rubber gloves, sleeves, or insulating hoses. The judge found that the ground wire breached the minimum approach distance and that the…
United States, Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, South Texas District (Agency) and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 52 (Union)
South Texas IRS and NTEU Chapter 52 (FLRA 0-AR-3880): Higher grade duties grievance was arbitrable
An IRS employee sought a retroactive temporary promotion and backpay for years spent on a GS-9 rotational assignment, arguing that she performed GS-11 duties. An arbitrator ruled that the grievance could be heard but denied it because she had not shown enough grade-defining GS-11 work. Although the…
United States, Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers, Northwestern Division and Portland District (Agency) and United Power Trades Organization, Colfax, Washington (Union)
Army Corps of Engineers and United Power Trades (FLRA 0-AR-3876): Contractor ban removed from supplemental award
An arbitrator had ordered the Army Corps of Engineers to fill an educational director position for a hydropower training program. A later dispute arose when the Corps proposed contracting out the position, and the arbitrator issued a supplemental award requiring a government employee. The Authority…
In re R-A-, Respondent
Reconsideration ordered after final rule
The Attorney General remanded the case to the Board of Immigration Appeals for reconsideration following final publication of a proposed rule. The order directed the Board to reconsider its decision in light of the final rule. It did not resolve the merits of the respondent's claim.
Goddard Engineers, Scientists and Technicians Association, IFPTE, Local 29 (Union) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland (Agency)
NASA Goddard and IFPTE Local 29 (FLRA 0-AR-3879): Late appraisal and promotion grievance remained barred
A NASA Goddard employee grieved late performance appraisals and an alleged promise to promote him from GS-12 to GS-13. An arbitrator found the appraisal claims filed after the agreement's deadline and the promotion claim both late and outside the negotiated grievance procedure as a classification…
In re Fructoso LUVIANO-Rodriguez, Respondent
Expunged firearms conviction remained a conviction
The Attorney General reviewed the Board's 1996 decision holding that a state firearms conviction expunged under section 1203.4 of the California Penal Code did not count as a conviction for immigration purposes. Applying the federal statutory definition of conviction enacted during the case, the…
In re Erick MARROQUIN-Garcia, Respondent
Expunged firearms conviction remained a conviction
The Attorney General reviewed the Board's decision holding that a state firearms conviction expunged under section 1203.4 of the California Penal Code did not count as a conviction for immigration purposes. The Attorney General held that the federal definition of conviction includes a conviction…
Social Security Administration (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO (Labor Organization/Petitioner)
Social Security Administration and AFGE (FLRA BN-RP-04-0032): Program experts excluded from unit
AFGE sought to add three Social Security Administration program experts in Philadelphia to its nationwide nonprofessional bargaining unit. A regional director excluded them after finding they exercised supervisory judgment and served in confidential roles. The Authority denied AFGE's review…
Purler-Cannon-Schulte, Inc.
Repeat cave-in protection violation affirmed
Purler-Cannon-Schulte was installing a 72-inch storm sewer line when OSHA found its foreman working near an almost vertical wall in an excavation about 11 feet deep. The soil was Type B, and the south wall lacked adequate sloping, benching, shoring, or shielding. The judge rejected the company's…
David R. Coleman, employed by Lodestar Energy, Inc.
EAJA liability partly granted
David R. Coleman, a Lodestar Energy foreman, prevailed in an underlying Mine Act case involving alleged personal liability for inadequate truck brakes after a fatal accident. Judge Jerold Feldman found that the Secretary had a reasonable basis to investigate and begin the case, but that the…
Gail M. Stalinski v. Electric Boat Corporation
Stalinski v. Electric Boat (BRB 04-0424): clerical work excluded from coverage
Gail Stalinski processed inspection and installation records for submarine parts at Electric Boat and later sought benefits for carpal tunnel conditions. The Board agreed that her paperwork supported shipbuilding, but held that it was still office clerical and data processing work under the Act's…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1917 (Union) and United States, Department of Homeland Security, United States, Customs and Border Patrol, Jamaica, New York (Agency)
AFGE Local 1917 and Customs and Border Patrol (FLRA 0-AR-3906): Union's arbitration exception denied
AFGE Local 1917 challenged an arbitration award involving a Customs and Border Patrol office in Jamaica, New York. The Authority's short decision does not describe the underlying grievance or the arbitrator's ruling. It found no basis to set aside the award under the union's exception and denied…
United States, Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Airways Facility Service, National Airway Systems, Engineering Division, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (Agency) and National Air Traffic Controllers Association (Union)
FAA engineers and NATCA (FLRA 0-AR-3888): Differential pay award upheld
FAA engineers in Oklahoma City and Atlantic City received operational responsibility differential pay under different local procedures. An arbitrator found that the Oklahoma City procedure improperly denied some engineers the pay required by an FAA order and awarded back pay with interest. The FAA…
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 bargaining order set aside
An IRS office in Denver refused to bargain over a union proposal that would let employees transfer approved annual leave periods to other employees. An arbitrator found an unfair labor practice and ordered bargaining over negotiable parts of the proposal. The Authority set aside that portion of the…
United States, Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration (Agency) and National Air Traffic Controllers Association, AFL-CIO (Union)
FAA and air traffic controllers union (FLRA 0-AR-3856): Rehabilitation agreement rewrite set aside
FAA air traffic controllers who referred themselves for alcohol or drug treatment received rehabilitation agreements that included an abstinence requirement. The union challenged a policy requiring career-long abstinence. An arbitrator found that requirement consistent with the contract but ordered…
National Labor Relations Board and General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (Agency) and National Labor Relations Board Professional Association (Union)
NLRB and its professional association (FLRA 0-AR-3834): Detail assignment and data order set aside
The NLRB offered headquarters employees temporary details to selected field offices. An arbitrator ordered a new solicitation, granted four employees their chosen details, and found that the agency unlawfully withheld staffing and workload information requested by the union. The Authority set aside…
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.