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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Social Security Administration, Office of Hearings and Appeals, Montgomery, Alabama (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3627 (Charging Party/Union)
SSA Montgomery and AFGE Local 3627 (FLRA AT-CA-03-0352): Bargaining required before metal detector removal
The SSA's Montgomery hearing office used a metal detector at its entrance for almost two and a half years. After a regional office ordered its removal, the agency did not give AFGE Local 3627 advance notice or a chance to bargain over the change's impact. The Authority upheld a finding that this…
National Cement Company of California, Inc.
Private access road held within Mine Act jurisdiction
National Cement operated a cement plant on Tejon Ranch and used a private 4.3-mile road as the only paved vehicle route to the plant. MSHA cited the company under 30 C.F.R. § 56.9300(a) for failing to provide berms or guardrails beside roadway drop-offs. Judge Jerold Feldman held that the road was…
Drummond Company, Inc., and Michael Earl, Employed by Drummond Company, Inc.
Drummond Company, Inc., and Michael Earl (FMSHRC SE 2004-106 and SE 2004-91): Loader-bucket riding violation affirmed
Drummond operated the Shoal Creek coal mine, where foreman Michael Earl rode in the bucket of a front-end loader while it traveled forward. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found that the conduct violated an MSHA safeguard because Earl was being transported rather than positioning to work at creep speed. The…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Mark Gray v. North Star Mining, Inc. and Jim Brummett
Threat claim remanded
An MSHA investigator interviewed Mark Gray about alleged mine safety violations, and Gray was subpoenaed in a related federal grand-jury investigation. After a foreman asked whether Gray had testified, the foreman said, "then I'll kill you," and later made another threatening statement. The ALJ had…
Christy Minerals Company
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Aaron R. Randolph v. Christy Minerals Company (FMSHRC CENT 2005-68-DM): Temporary reinstatement ordered
The Secretary sought temporary reinstatement for Aaron R. Randolph under section 105(c)(2) of the Mine Act. Christy Minerals withdrew its request for a hearing and did not contest Randolph's temporary reinstatement. Judge Jerold Feldman ordered the company to immediately return Randolph to his…
Baylor Mining, Inc.
Interlocutory-review certification denied
The Secretary asked the judge to certify an earlier discovery ruling for interlocutory Commission review. The ruling required the Secretary to disclose miner-witness names and statements before the hearing. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found that the request did not present a controlling question of law…
United States, Department of the Army, XVII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, Womack Army Medical Center, Fort Bragg, North Carolina (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1770 (Union)
Womack Army Medical Center and AFGE Local 1770 (FLRA 0-AR-3847): Retention bonus award set aside
Womack Army Medical Center used a plan that paid respiratory therapists different retention bonuses based on experience. An arbitrator found that the plan violated federal rules and awarded one therapist a 25 percent allowance with back pay. The Authority agreed that the plan had not been validly…
Akwesasne Mohawk Casino
Treaty-based OSHA dismissal reversed and case remanded
OSHA inspected the tribal casino and a nearby warehouse and issued two citations. The judge dismissed them on the theory that applying the OSH Act would violate treaties covering the Six Nations. The Commission held that the St. Regis Indians and their reservation were governed by different…
R S & W Coal Company
Imminent-danger order dismissed
R S & W Coal operated a coal mine where MSHA issued an imminent-danger order covering several conditions along an elevated haulage track. The cited conditions included a cracked rail, unsupported ties, missing controls against overtravel, missing fall protection, and a gap between ties. Judge Avram…
Daniel Koury Construction, Inc.
Default vacated after one missed conference
A judge entered default against Daniel Koury Construction after its president missed one pretrial telephone conference, affirming a citation and a $600 proposed penalty. The show-cause order was not sent by the certified mail required by Commission rules, the record did not establish receipt, and…
Thomas Lindstrom & Co., Inc.
Fifth-floor fall-protection violations affirmed
Thomas Lindstrom & Co. employees performed steel erection on the fifth level of a Philadelphia building about 60 feet above the ground. An OSHA compliance officer recorded three ironworkers near an unprotected edge without being tied off. The judge credited the officer and the video over employee…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 12 (Union) and United States, Department of Labor (Agency)
AFGE Local 12 and Department of Labor (FLRA 0-NG-2757): Three proposals require bargaining
AFGE Local 12 asked the Department of Labor to bargain over eight proposals in a collective bargaining dispute. The Authority ordered bargaining on proposals to maintain an employee exercise facility, set ground rules for future negotiations, and provide leave and official time for a labor…
United States, Department of the Navy, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Division (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1923 (Union)
Navy Indian Head and AFGE Local 1923 (FLRA 0-AR-3866): Overtime remedy upheld, attorney fees set aside
A Navy employee at the Indian Head division complained that available overtime was not distributed fairly under the union agreement. An arbitrator found that allowing employees to schedule other employees' overtime violated the agreement and ordered the agency to stop that practice. The arbitrator…
United States, Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Washington, D.C. (Agency) and American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Local 3870 (Union)
USDA Rural Development and AFSCME Local 3870 (FLRA 0-AR-3862): Pay for denied union time upheld
The president of AFSCME Local 3870 requested official time for union work, but her USDA supervisor denied parts of her requests. An arbitrator found that the denials violated an established practice and that she performed 25 hours of union duties on her own time as a result. The arbitrator awarded…
United States, Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Supply Center Columbus, Columbus, Ohio (Activity) and International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 7 (Petitioner) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1148 (Petitioner)
Columbus Defense Supply Center and two unions (FLRA CH-RP-02-0025, CH-RP-02-0031): Partial review granted on unit placement
Two unions disputed which bargaining unit should include newly created product specialist jobs at the Defense Supply Center in Columbus. A regional director had placed those jobs in AFGE's unit based on the wording of the unions' certificates. The Authority rejected claims that the director…
Soltek Pacific
Floor-hole violation reduced to other-than-serious with no penalty
Soltek Pacific was the general contractor for a multi-story barracks project at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. OSHA found two uncovered seven-inch floor openings above electrical subcontractor employees working on the level below. Soltek did not dispute that covers were required, but challenged…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3809, Council of Prison Locals (Union) and United States, Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institute Big Spring, Big Spring, Texas (Agency)
AFGE Local 3809 and Big Spring prison (FLRA 0-AR-3892): Indefinite suspension exceptions dismissed
A senior correctional officer at the Big Spring federal prison was indefinitely suspended after a criminal indictment. An arbitrator denied the union's grievance challenging that suspension. The union filed exceptions that also raised back pay and the timing of the officer's reinstatement after the…
United States, Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2028 (Union)
VA Pittsburgh and AFGE Local 2028 (FLRA 0-AR-3854): Unilateral compressed schedule award upheld
The VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System imposed four ten hour workdays on about 60 employees without reaching an agreement with AFGE Local 2028. It treated the schedule as a compressed work schedule and did not pay overtime for the extra two hours each day. An arbitrator found that the schedule was not…
United States, Department of the Navy, Navy Public Works Center, Norfolk, Virginia (Agency) and Tidewater Virginia, Federal Employees Metal Trades Council (Union)
Navy Norfolk Public Works Center and metal trades union (FLRA 0-AR-3864): Detail mileage award upheld
A Navy employee was detailed to another work site in the local area and sought reimbursement for the longer commute. An arbitrator found that the Navy failed to give timely written notice of a detail expected to last at least 30 days, as the union agreement required. He awarded mileage…
Southern Foods, d/b/a Meadow Gold Dairies
Most lockout and guarding items vacated after trimmer injury
A Meadow Gold Dairies employee lost a finger while clearing a jam from a milk-jug trimmer after employees propped its reset button in the on position. The judge vacated a lockout-procedure item because the company's written procedures addressed the hazardous energy sources identified for the…
Harvey W. Buche Road Building, Inc.
Default relief sent to judge for good-cause decision
The chief administrative law judge dismissed Buche's civil penalty proceeding after the company failed to answer a show-cause order. Buche said it had been negotiating a settlement and had misplaced the agreement. The Commission treated its letter as a timely petition for review and granted review…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3495 (Union) and United States, Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Oxford, Wisconsin (Agency)
AFGE Local 3495 and Oxford prison (FLRA 0-AR-3857): One day suspension upheld
A correctional treatment specialist at the Oxford federal prison received a one day suspension after shouting profanity during a dispute with an inmate. An arbitrator found just cause for the discipline and denied the union's grievance. The Authority denied the union's exceptions. It found that…
Bricks, Inc.
In re Bricks, Inc. (EAB EAJA Appeal No. 04-02): fee award vacated
EPA Region V appealed an Administrative Law Judge's award of $79,174.15 in attorneys' fees and expenses to Bricks, Inc. under the Equal Access to Justice Act. The award followed an earlier decision reversing a $65,000 Clean Water Act penalty because EPA had not proved a hydrological connection…
Kerr Enterprises, Inc.
BEECO facility held within Mine Act jurisdiction
Kerr Enterprises operated the BEECO facility, which continuously extracted and sold clay, sand, topsoil, and sand-clay material to commercial customers. The operator argued that the site was a borrow pit subject to OSHA rather than Mine Act jurisdiction. Judge Jerold Feldman held that the full-time…
Michael D. Cheetham v. Bath Iron Works Corporation
Cheetham v. Bath Iron Works (BRB 04-0338): Maine earnings form did not trigger Longshore benefit forfeiture
Michael Cheetham injured his back while working as a shipfitter at Bath Iron Works and later received a Longshore Act permanent partial disability award. Bath Iron Works argued that he should forfeit benefits because he understated earnings on a Maine workers' compensation reporting form. The Board…
Wayne Jackson and Phillip Atkins v. Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company
Jackson and Atkins v. Newport News Shipbuilding (BRB 03-0629 and 03-0651): fee awards on reconsideration
Newport News Shipbuilding asked the Board to reconsider an earlier ruling that its offers of Longshore Act compensation were not valid tenders because they required workers to sign stipulations. The Board rejected its reliance on two unpublished decisions, which it said involved different facts and…
National Lime & Stone Company
Poison-ivy illness was reportable
A miner at National Lime's Lima Plant developed a reaction after workplace exposure to poison ivy and received a physician-administered injection. The operator did not report the condition to MSHA and challenged a citation under the accident and illness reporting rules. Judge Michael E. Zielinski…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 12 (Union) and United States, Department of Labor (Agency)
AFGE Local 12 and Department of Labor (FLRA 0-AR-3894): Arbitration exceptions denied
AFGE Local 12 challenged an arbitration award involving the Department of Labor. The Authority's brief decision does not describe the grievance or the award's terms. It reviewed the union's exceptions under the statutory grounds for setting aside an award and denied them. The decision cites…
United States, Department of the Navy, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Division Newport (Agency) and Federal Union of Scientists and Engineers, National Association of Government Employees, Local R1-144 (Union)
Naval Undersea Warfare Center and NAGE Local R1-144 (FLRA 0-AR-3878): Conditional leave ruling upheld
After an audit, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center reduced annual leave balances that it believed had been restored improperly. A union grievance covered four employees, but the Navy's exception concerned only one whose bargaining unit status was disputed. The arbitrator did not decide that status…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 137 (Union) and United States, Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (Agency)
NTEU Chapter 137 and Customs and Border Protection (FLRA 0-AR-3823): Fort Pierce local bargaining denial upheld
Customs and Border Protection assigned Sunday inspection work at Fort Pierce to a supervisor instead of an inspector on overtime. NTEU Chapter 137 claimed the agency had to bargain locally over that change. An arbitrator denied the grievance, and the Authority denied the union's exceptions. The…
United States, Department of Homeland Security, United States, Customs and Border Protection, Port of Seattle, Seattle, Washington (Agency) and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 139 (Union)
Customs and Border Protection, Seattle, and NTEU Chapter 139 (FLRA 0-AR-3785): Local overtime bargaining award set aside
Customs and Border Protection changed overtime assignment practices at the Port of Seattle after implementing a revised national inspectional assignment policy. NTEU Chapter 139 sought local bargaining over the changes. An arbitrator found that the refusal to bargain locally violated the labor…
United States, Department of Homeland Security, United States, Customs and Border Protection (Agency) and National Treasury Employees Union (Union)
Customs and Border Protection and NTEU (FLRA 0-AR-3768): Local bargaining award set aside
At the Port of Roosville, Customs and Border Protection began assigning one armed inspector alongside National Guard personnel on outbound operations, where two armed inspectors had previously been assigned. An arbitrator found that the agency had to bargain locally over the change's impact and…
United States, Department of Veterans Affairs (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 31 (Union)
VA Brecksville and AFGE Local 31 (FLRA 0-AR-3842): Union office location award upheld
At a VA facility in Brecksville, Ohio, management sought to relocate AFGE Local 31's office from Building 1 to Building 3. An arbitrator found that signed meeting minutes and a later management memo formed a binding agreement to keep the union office in Building 1 until a child care program needed…
Wendy Fortier v. Electric Boat Corporation
Fortier v. Electric Boat (BRB 04-0351): diligent job search sustained total disability award
Wendy Fortier injured her shoulders, arms, and hands while working as an electrician for Electric Boat. After she could no longer perform her usual work, the employer identified security guard jobs that she could physically do and challenged her permanent total disability award. The Board agreed…
Social Security Administration (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 836 (Union)
SSA and AFGE Local 836 (FLRA 0-AR-3818): Part of union travel pay award set aside
An SSA union officer traveled from Boston to a grievance hearing in Colorado. After the agency changed her authorized return date to Saturday, she kept plans to return the following Tuesday, but a snowstorm delayed her travel until Wednesday. An arbitrator awarded several additional days of per…
C. W. Mining Company
Citations affirmed, modified, and vacated
C. W. Mining faced 18 citations at its Bear Canyon coal mines, including issues involving preshift examinations, electrical grounding, and electrical equipment. Judge Richard W. Manning vacated one citation, affirmed or modified the others, and assessed penalties based on the Mine Act criteria. The…
W.G. Yates & Sons Construction Co., Inc., Heavy Division
Slope fall-protection violations affirmed
A Yates crew installed grass matting on a slope ending at a 65-foot drop. The foreman worked without any fall protection, while two crew members wore their harnesses backward with the foreman's permission because the supplied lanyards were too short for the work. The judge found that the foreman's…
Darby Creek Excavating
Four excavation items vacated and one inspection violation affirmed
Darby Creek Excavating was installing a water line when OSHA found an employee in a deep excavation with accumulated water, no ladder, and no cave-in protection. The judge vacated the general duty clause item because the Secretary did not prove that failing to barricade the excavator's swing radius…
Kentucky-Tennessee Clay
Stanley Quackenbush v. Kentucky-Tennessee Clay (FMSHRC SE 2003-83-DM): Discipline claim granted; work assignment claim denied
Stanley Quackenbush complained about a tree-limb hazard near company rail tracks and later received a disciplinary write-up and a track-clearing assignment. Judge Jerold Feldman found that the disciplinary notice was motivated by protected safety activity. He found that the work assignment instead…
United States, Department of the Navy, Naval District Washington (Activity) and International Association of Firefighters locals, Fraternal Order of Police, AFGE, and other petitioning and interested labor organizations
Naval District Washington and petitioning unions (FLRA WA-RP-04-0024): Election choice expanded
A Navy reorganization moved about 1,425 employees into Naval District Washington, prompting competing petitions from several unions. The regional director found four bargaining unit arrangements appropriate but planned elections in only three, excluding a combined unit of firefighters, police…
Guiseppe Manente v. Sea-Land Service, Incorporated
Manente v. Sea-Land Service (BRB 04-0360): new medical opinion supported denial of additional benefits
Guiseppe Manente fell from a vehicle while working for Sea-Land Service and later sought more benefits for a torn right rotator cuff. In an earlier appeal, the Board found that the injury was work-related on the medical record then before it and returned the case for consideration of additional…
Saiia Construction
Concrete-pipe lifting hazard citation vacated
Saiia Construction was installing concrete pipe in an excavation when OSHA investigated a worksite accident. The remaining citation alleged that an employee in the trench was exposed to being struck by a concrete pipe as an excavator lifted it. The judge found that the hazard was recognized but…
In re E-L-H- et al., Respondents
Attorney General vacated and remanded the Board decision
The Attorney General reviewed the Board decision in In re E-L-H-. He vacated that decision and remanded it for reconsideration in light of Matter of A-H-. The order does not state what relief the Board decision had granted and does not resolve the underlying claim.
In re C-Y-Z-, Applicant
Attorney General declined review
The Attorney General considered a request to certify the Board of Immigration Appeals decision for review. The Attorney General denied that request. The order therefore left the Board decision unchanged.
David L. Clark v. Chugach Alaska Corporation and ACE USA Insurance Company
Clark v. Chugach Alaska (BRB 04-0246): employer owed fee after paying contested claim
David Clark sought Defense Base Act benefits after injuring his hand while working on Kwajalein Atoll. Chugach Alaska initially contested the claim, then agreed to pay disability and medical benefits after Clark hired counsel and attended an informal conference. The employer argued that no attorney…
United States, Department of the Army, Letterkenny Army Depot, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania (Respondent/Agency) and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1442 (Charging Party/Union)
Letterkenny Army Depot and NFFE Local 1442 (FLRA BN-CA-01-0670): Child care closure bargaining ordered
Letterkenny Army Depot closed its School Age Services child care program in August 2001 after withdrawing from negotiations with NFFE Local 1442. The Authority had previously dismissed the union's complaint because it had not sought bargaining after a 1997 closure notice. After a federal appeals…
Department of Veterans Affairs, Ralph H. Johnson Medical Center, Charleston, South Carolina (Respondent) and National Association of Government Employees, Local R5-136, SEIU, AFL-CIO (Charging Party/Union)
Charleston VA Medical Center and NAGE Local R5-136 (FLRA AT-CA-00101): Parking changes violated bargaining duty
The Charleston VA Medical Center changed employee parking arrangements without bargaining over the union's proposals. The Authority had earlier dismissed two related unfair labor practice complaints. On review, a federal appeals court reversed the dismissal of the refusal-to-bargain complaint and…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 217 (Union) and United States, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Augusta, Georgia (Agency)
AFGE Local 217 and Augusta VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-3836): Career ladder promotion denial upheld
A contract specialist intern at the Augusta VA Medical Center sought promotion from GS-9 to GS-11. An arbitrator found that the VA had failed to provide the employee a required career ladder plan, but denied the grievance because he had not completed the courses needed for promotion. The Authority…
American Federation of Government Employees, Council 215 (Union) and Social Security Administration, Office of Hearings and Appeals, Falls Church, Virginia (Agency)
AFGE Council 215 and SSA Hearings and Appeals (FLRA 0-AR-3833): Split overtime ruling upheld
AFGE Council 215 challenged how Social Security hearing offices assigned voluntary overtime. An arbitrator found that employees could not choose the exact hours within a negotiated overtime window because management retained the right to decide when work would be done. He also found that the agency…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 98 (Union) and United States, Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Memphis Accounting Management Center, Memphis, Tennessee (Agency)
NTEU Chapter 98 and IRS (FLRA 0-AR-3815): Future overtime remedy upheld
An arbitrator found that an IRS center violated its labor agreement by denying some employees opportunities to work overtime. He ordered the agency to stop the violation and offer overtime in accordance with the agreement, but declined to award backpay. The union challenged that remedy. The…
General Services Administration, Northeast and Caribbean Region, New York, New York (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Council 236 (Union)
GSA and AFGE Council 236 (FLRA 0-AR-3779): Arbitrability award set aside after court ruling
A GSA manager circulated a memorandum about union negotiations that an employee later made available to the agency's staff. The union filed a grievance alleging libel and slander. An arbitrator ordered a hearing to determine whether the manager acted within the scope of his employment, because her…
Hobet Mining Company, Inc.
Abandoned reclamation sites held outside Mine Act jurisdiction
Hobet Mining contested citations and orders issued at abandoned coal preparation and mine facilities after mining and reclamation activity had ended. Judge Jerold Feldman held that the Secretary had not shown a sufficient mining or reclamation connection to establish Mine Act jurisdiction over the…
May W. Tucker v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs
Tucker v. Director, OWCP (BRB 04-0205 BLA): subsequent survivor benefits award reversed
May Tucker, the miner's surviving divorced spouse, first sought survivor benefits in 1980. Her claim was denied because she had not established dependency at the time of his death. She filed another claim in 2002, and a judge awarded benefits after considering new evidence of dependency. The Board…
United States, Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1923 (Union)
CMS and AFGE Local 1923 (FLRA 0-AR-3817): Conditional backpay for promotion set aside
A CMS employee used priority consideration to apply for a Health Insurance Specialist position but was not selected. An arbitrator found that she met the minimum qualifications and ordered her placed in the GS-7 position. He also ordered backpay for a later GS-9 promotion if she qualified after a…
Currituck Sand, Inc.
Good-cause question remanded after default
Currituck Sand failed to answer a civil-penalty petition, and the judge entered a default order on October 14, 2004. The company said it confused the case with another proceeding and believed it had 30 days from receiving the show-cause order to respond. It said it filed an answer on October 18…
Simon Roofing and Sheet Metal, Inc.
Late-notice case remanded for excusable-neglect analysis
Simon Roofing filed its notice of contest months late after a temporary employee signed for the OSHA citation and the document was misplaced. The judge denied relief, finding that the company's mail-handling procedures were inadequate. The Third Circuit later vacated the Commission's final order on…
United States, Department of the Air Force, 72nd Mission Support Group, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 916 (Union)
Tinker Air Force Base and AFGE Local 916 (FLRA O-AR-3841): Leave correction upheld
A Tinker Air Force Base employee missed work while incarcerated and during two other periods. An arbitrator upheld his five-day suspension for the unexplained absences but found that he had adequately notified the agency of his incarceration through a friend. The arbitrator ordered the agency to…
United States, Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2, New York, New York (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3911 (Union)
EPA Region 2 and AFGE Local 3911 (FLRA 0-AR-3891): Arbitration award upheld
EPA Region 2 challenged an arbitration award involving AFGE Local 3911. The Authority denied the agency's exceptions after reviewing the record and its precedent on factual errors and contract interpretation. It concluded that the agency had not shown a ground for setting aside the award under 5…
United States, Department of the Air Force, 81st Training Wing, Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2760 (Union)
Keesler Air Force Base and AFGE Local 2760 (FLRA 0-AR-3844): Temporary promotion award set aside
A Keesler Air Force Base human resources assistant performed duties that an arbitrator found belonged to a higher graded position. The arbitrator ordered a retroactive temporary promotion to GS-7 and backpay. The Authority held that the grievance could be arbitrated because it concerned temporary…
United States, Department of the Army, Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District, Portland, Oregon (Respondent) and United Power Trades Union (Charging Party/Union)
Portland Army Corps District and United Power Trades Union (FLRA SF-CA-04-0066): Investigative report must be provided
The United Power Trades Union requested portions of a Portland Army Corps District investigative report concerning alleged nepotism at the Dalles-John Day Project. The district refused, arguing that the union lacked a particularized need and that the report was management advice related 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.