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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Westar Energy
Electrical citation vacated for unpreventable misconduct
A Westar Energy apprentice was electrocuted after entering the minimum approach distance of an energized transformer compartment without the required high-voltage rubber gloves. The company did not dispute the unsafe condition or that the foreman was present, but asserted unpreventable employee…
United States, Department of the Air Force, 60TH Air Mobility Wing, Travis Air Force Base, California (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1764, AFL-CIO (Union)
Travis Air Force Base and AFGE Local 1764 (FLRA SF-CA-02-0660): Retaliatory detail violated labor law
A lead clerk at a Travis Air Force Base child development center filed four grievances. Soon afterward, her supervisor raised those grievances with the squadron commander, who temporarily moved her to another center. An administrative law judge found that the grievances motivated the detail and…
Gillette Masonry, Inc.
Unopposed late contest dismissed
OSHA issued Gillette Masonry serious and other-than-serious citations with a $500 penalty after inspecting its Pennsylvania workplace. The company submitted its notice of contest after the 15-working-day deadline. The Secretary moved to dismiss the late filing, and the employer filed no response…
Wal-Mart Super Center
Repeat blocked-egress violation affirmed
Boxes, pallets, a forklift, and a conveyor system obstructed routes to the designated emergency exit in a Wal-Mart stockroom during the holiday receiving season. The judge found that three of four aisles were completely blocked and that employees beyond the conveyor could not make full and instant…
Marine Propulsion Services, Inc.
Lathe item affirmed, milling-machine item vacated
Marine Propulsion Services operated a mobile machine shop at a Portland ship-repair site. The judge found that an unguarded lathe chuck exposed the machinist to rotating jaws and surfaces that could catch clothing, rags, hair, or fingers, and that an available transparent barrier guard was…
United States, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington, D.C. (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees National Council of HUD, Locals 222, AFL-CIO (Union)
HUD and AFGE Council of HUD Locals 222 (FLRA 0-AR-3718): Promotion grievance returned for clarification
HUD employees challenged vacancy announcements for positions with promotion potential to GS-13, while similar employees held positions with promotion potential to GS-12. An arbitrator ruled that the grievance was arbitrable and directed a merits hearing. HUD argued that the dispute concerned…
Francis E. Reed v. Bath Iron Works Corporation and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company
Reed v. Bath Iron Works (BRB 03-0345): state compensation payment kept federal claim timely
Francis Reed sought Longshore Act disability benefits for a back injury after receiving payments under Maine workers' compensation law. A judge dismissed his federal claim as untimely because Reed filed more than a year after learning that the condition was work-related. The Board held that the…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 82 (Union) and United States, Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Martinsburg Computing Center, Kearneysville, West Virginia (Agency)
NTEU Chapter 82 and IRS Martinsburg Computing Center (FLRA 0-NG-2722): Grade progression proposal dismissed
The IRS planned to convert help desk jobs to a different series with annual grade steps instead of two-grade steps. NTEU Chapter 82 proposed letting employees who had not reached the top grade keep the two-grade progression until they reached it. The Authority found that the proposal would require…
In re Luis VARGAS-Sarmiento, Respondent
First-degree manslaughter is a crime of violence
The Board reconsidered an Immigration Judge's removal order after the Second Circuit vacated an earlier Board decision and remanded the case for reconsideration. The respondent had a New York conviction for first-degree manslaughter, and the Board considered whether that offense was a crime of…
F.R. Carroll, Incorporated
Denial-of-entry citation affirmed with increased penalty
An MSHA inspector arrived at F.R. Carroll's sand and gravel operation for an inspection and was refused entry after the company president claimed that the inspector needed a search warrant and later called the county sheriff. The judge held that the Mine Act gave the inspector a right of entry…
RAG Shoshone Coal Corporation
Dust-sampling citations vacated without rulemaking
RAG Shoshone Coal challenged MSHA enforcement action requiring a different designated-occupation sampling method at its longwall mine. The ALJ had affirmed two citations, but the Commission held that MSHA's use of the 060 sampling code was a substantive change in the respirable-dust rules that…
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 FCI Oxford (FLRA 0-AR-3772): Union exceptions denied
AFGE Local 3495 challenged an arbitration award involving the Federal Correctional Institution in Oxford, Wisconsin. The Authority reviewed the union's exceptions under the statutory grounds for setting aside an award. It concluded that the union had not shown the award to be deficient and denied…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Prior charging documents admitted as evidence
The Secretary offered prior charging documents alleging similar violations of the combustible-material standard in two Jim Walter Resources contest proceedings. The operator argued that the documents were inadmissible because they were not final and raised other objections about their use to show…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3529 (Union) and United States, Department of Defense, Defense Contract, Audit Agency, Central Region, Irving, Texas (Agency)
AFGE Local 3529 and Defense Contract Audit Agency (FLRA 0-NG-2694): Child care subsidy proposal dismissed
AFGE Local 3529 proposed a child care subsidy program for employees of the Defense Contract Audit Agency. The union explained that the program would use only the federal personnel office's rules, rather than the additional child care requirements that apply to Defense Department agencies. The…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3529 (Union) and United States, Department of Defense, Defense Contract Audit Agency, Central Region, Irving, Texas (Agency)
AFGE Local 3529 and Defense Contract Audit Agency (FLRA 0-AR-3733): Benefits bargaining grievance denied
AFGE Local 3529 asked the Defense Contract Audit Agency to bargain over payment for professional credentials and health insurance premiums for reservists after new laws permitted those benefits. The agency declined, and an arbitrator found that the labor agreement could be reopened only when a…
United States, Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Asheville, North Carolina (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 446 (Union)
VA Asheville Medical Center and AFGE Local 446 (FLRA 0-AR-3712): Shuttle driver's temporary promotion needs qualification review
The VA Asheville Medical Center assigned a WG-4 employee to drive a shuttle van normally driven by a GS-7 program support assistant. An arbitrator found that the employee had performed higher-grade duties and awarded backpay for a temporary promotion. The Authority rejected the VA's arguments that…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3230 (Union) and United States, Equal Employment, Opportunity Commission (Agency)
AFGE Local 3230 and EEOC (FLRA 0-AR-3687): Performance plan grievance returned for merits review
An EEOC employee challenged a performance improvement plan, alleging that it retaliated against her for an earlier grievance. After the employee completed the plan and the agency removed it from her file, an arbitrator dismissed the grievance as moot. The Authority held that the alleged unfair…
Social Security Administration, Region 1, Boston, Massachusetts (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1164 (Union)
Social Security Administration Boston and AFGE Local 1164 (FLRA 0-AR-3677): Written warning remedy set aside
The Social Security Administration suspended an employee for two days for unauthorized database access and personal use of government property. An arbitrator found discipline warranted but reduced the suspension to a written warning, then changed that remedy to an official reprimand after the union…
Consumers Scrap Recycling, Inc.
In re Consumers Scrap Recycling, Inc. (EAB CAA Appeal No. 02-06, CWA Appeal No. 02-06, RCRA (3008) Appeal No. 02-03, MM Appeal No. 02-01): CAA issues left for hearing, RCRA issues remanded
Consumers Scrap Recycling, Inc. operated a Detroit scrap metal recycling facility that handled appliances and drums containing used oil. EPA alleged that the company had not obtained or maintained required verification records for chlorofluorocarbon removal and had violated used-oil management…
U.S. Steel Mining Company, LLC
Discrimination complaint dismissed
David Mullens alleged that U.S. Steel Mining suspended him because he complained about a safety issue involving a continuous miner's methane monitor. The judge found that Mullens engaged in protected activity, but concluded that the suspension was based on unprotected conduct during a confrontation…
American Federation of Government Employees, Council 236 (Union) and United States, General Services Administration, New York City, New York (Agency)
AFGE Council 236 and GSA (FLRA O-AR-3721): Union exceptions to arbitration award denied
AFGE Council 236 challenged an arbitrator's award in a dispute with the General Services Administration's New York City office. The Authority reviewed the union's exceptions under the statutory grounds for setting aside an award and cited its standards for claims that an arbitrator exceeded her…
RK Hydro-Vac, Inc.
Roof-edge fall violation affirmed
An RK Hydro-Vac employee leaned over the unprotected edge of a 30-foot roof without tying off after returning from lunch. The company had adequate written fall-protection rules, supplied each worker with equipment, and provided extensive initial and twice-yearly training. The judge nevertheless…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1858 (Union) and United States, Department of the Army, U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Security Assistance Management Directorate (Agency)
AFGE Local 1858 and Army Aviation and Missile Command (FLRA 0-AR-3760): Union exceptions to arbitration award denied
AFGE Local 1858 challenged an arbitration award in a dispute with the Army Aviation and Missile Command's Security Assistance Management Directorate. The union argued that the award conflicted with three articles of the parties' labor agreement. The Authority treated that argument as a claim that…
United States, Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth, Kansas (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 919, Council of Prison Locals, Council 33 (Union)
Bureau of Prisons and AFGE Local 919 (FLRA 0-AR-3682): Leavenworth overtime award partly set aside
Employees at the Leavenworth federal prison sought pay for time spent collecting equipment and traveling to their posts before a scheduled shift, then reversing those steps afterward. An arbitrator awarded overtime for those activities and for some shift handoffs. The Authority left standing the…
United States, Environmental Protection Agency, Narragansett, Rhode Island (Agency) and National Association of Government Employees, Local R1-240 (Union)
EPA Narragansett and NAGE Local R1-240 (FLRA 0-AR-3698): Removal grievance exceptions dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
An EPA office in Narragansett notified an employee that he would be removed for unacceptable performance. The union filed a grievance challenging the removal, and the employee retired before the removal's effective date. An arbitrator ruled that the grievance could proceed because it challenged the…
Pearl Glenn White v. New White Coal Company, Incorporated and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company
White v. New White Coal (BRB 03-0367 BLA): subsequent black lung claim denial affirmed
Pearl Glenn White filed a new black lung claim after a prior denial that found he had not established pneumoconiosis or total disability from the disease. The judge found that the new x-ray and medical opinion evidence still did not establish pneumoconiosis or a totally disabling respiratory…
Mark Pollock v. Kennecott Utah Copper Corp.
Hiring discrimination complaint dismissed
Mark Pollock alleged that Kennecott Utah Copper refused to hire him as a haul truck driver at the Bingham Canyon Mine because of safety complaints, MSHA activity, and discrimination complaints he made while working at Barney's Canyon. Judge Richard W. Manning found that Pollock established a prima…
Arby Construction Company
Trench cave-in violation affirmed
Three Arby Construction employees worked in a six-foot-deep, vertical-sided Type B soil trench without sloping, shoring, or a trench box. The judge rejected the foreman's claim that he believed the trench was under five feet deep, finding the condition obvious from his position directly above the…
Artistic Enterprises, Inc.
Five scaffold and hard-hat violations affirmed
Two stucco workers used a two-level scaffold without hard hats, full planking, safe ladder access, fall protection, or toeboards at an Alabama hotel project. Artistic Enterprises argued that another company employed the workers, but the judge rejected that claim based on the workers' statements…
Bremerton Metal Trades Council (Union) and United States, Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (Agency)
Bremerton Metal Trades Council and Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (FLRA 0-AR-3642): Grievance arbitration deadline upheld
The Bremerton Metal Trades Council filed a grievance seeking environmental differential pay for workers at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. An arbitrator found that the union had waited too long to request arbitration after the shipyard's grievance decision, although the shipyard still had to meet…
Georges Colliers, Incorporated
EAJA fee ruling remanded
Georges Colliers, Inc. sought attorney fees and expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act after an administrative law judge reduced proposed Mine Act penalties from $332,701 to $72,298. The judge denied the fee application, but the Commission held that he used the wrong legal framework for an…
United States, Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration (Agency) and National Air Traffic Controllers Association (Union)
FAA and air traffic controllers union (FLRA 0-AR-3704): Retiree sick leave award set aside
The air traffic controllers union sought a lump-sum payment for unused sick leave on behalf of a retired FAA employee who had changed retirement systems. An arbitrator ruled that the retiree should be offered a choice between a cash payment under the labor agreement and use of the leave in…
Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital, Inc.
Temporary-worker violations affirmed as non-willful
Froedtert used temporary-agency housekeepers who were exposed to bloodborne-pathogen and chemical hazards at the hospital. The Commission held that Froedtert was their common-law employer because it controlled their assignments, daily activities, tools, work location, and performance, even though…
United States, Department of Justice, U.S. Immigration, and Naturalization Service, Kansas City, Missouri (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3983 (Union)
Immigration Service Kansas City and AFGE Local 3983 (FLRA 0-AR3710): Lunch interruption remedy split
Criminal investigators in Kansas City were required to answer supervisors' calls and perform duties during unpaid lunch periods. An arbitrator ruled that time spent responding to those interruptions could count toward the unscheduled duty hours used to qualify for law enforcement availability pay…
Martin County Coal Corporation
Impoundment citations partly sustained
Martin County Coal and its engineering consultant GEO/Environmental Associates were cited after the Big Branch refuse impoundment failed and released waste-laden water in October 2000. Judge Irwin Schroeder found that Martin County failed to report unusual South Mains Portal flow changes, that…
William E. Comley Inc. & Bleach TEK Inc.
In re William E. Comley, Inc. & Bleach Tek, Inc. (EAB FIFRA Appeal No. 03-01): liability and $22,000 penalty affirmed
William E. Comley, Inc. packaged, relabeled, and distributed a sodium hypochlorite pesticide from an establishment that was not registered with EPA. The Environmental Appeals Board also found that the company knowingly provided false information and sold a misbranded pesticide, while Bleach Tek…
United States, Department of Veterans Affairs, Carl T. Hayden Medical Center, Phoenix, Arizona (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2382 (Union)
VA Phoenix Medical Center and AFGE Local 2382 (FLRA 0-AR-3715): Suspension award exceptions dismissed
A police officer at the VA's Phoenix medical center challenged a 30-day suspension through the negotiated grievance process. The agency later withdrew the suspension, but an arbitrator held a hearing and awarded remedies for the suspension and a related unfair labor practice finding. The agency…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2004 (Union) and United States, Department of Defense, Defense Distribution Depot, Susquehanna, Pennsylvania (Agency)
AFGE Local 2004 and Defense Distribution Depot (FLRA 0-AR-3670): Demotion award exceptions dismissed
A Defense Distribution Depot police officer grieved a proposed removal that the agency later replaced with a reduction in grade. An arbitrator upheld the reduction on some charges but rejected an absence without leave charge and awarded monetary relief, including overtime. The union challenged the…
Social Security Administration, Memphis, Tennessee (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3438 (Union)
Social Security Administration Memphis and AFGE Local 3438 (FLRA 0-AR-3719): Comp time remedy reduced
Employees in the Social Security Administration's Memphis office worked extra hours and received compensatory time off instead of overtime pay. An arbitrator found that supervisors pressured some employees to accept compensatory time when they needed to finish their workloads. The Authority upheld…
United States, Department of Labor, Washington, D.C. (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 12 (Union)
Department of Labor and AFGE Local 12 (FLRA O-AR-3699): Priority consideration promotion upheld
A settlement agreement gave a Department of Labor employee priority consideration for the next GS-14 economist opening in the Mine Safety and Health Administration. He applied but was not selected, and the parties agreed that he had not received the promised priority consideration. An arbitrator…
Original Sixteen to One Mine, Incorporated
, WEST 2002-226-M): Fatal-clearance and training violations affirmed
Original Sixteen to One Mine was cited after a miner was fatally injured when his head struck an unmarked ore chute while he operated a locomotive underground. Judge Gary Melick affirmed the clearance-warning violation and a separate locomotive-defect violation, finding both significant and…
United States, Department of Defense, Defense Commissary Agency, Fort Lee, Virginia (Agency) and National Association of Government Employees, Local R4-27 (Union)
Defense Commissary Agency and NAGE Local R4-27 (FLRA 0-AR-3708): Promotion remedy remanded for clarification
The Defense Commissary Agency filled two trainee positions after giving two eventual selectees earlier training in the work. An arbitrator found that the agency had not given all applicants the full and fair consideration required by the labor agreement and ordered a new selection process. Her…
Simon Roofing and Sheet Metal, Inc.
Late contest dismissed for deficient mail handling
A temporary employee signed for Simon Roofing's OSHA citation, but the document was misplaced and did not reach the corporate safety manager until months after the contest deadline. The judge held that businesses must maintain orderly procedures for handling important documents and that employee…
Vandervoort's Dairy Foods Company
Lockout/tagout training citation vacated
Vandervoort's Dairy Foods Company distributed dairy products and fruit drinks at a Fort Worth plant where an employee died after being caught in a depalletizer. OSHA cited the company for inadequate training under the lockout/tagout standard. The judge found the cited standard inapplicable to the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1395 (Union) and Social Security Administration (Agency)
AFGE Local 1395 and Social Security Administration (FLRA 0-AR-3755): Union exceptions denied
AFGE Local 1395 challenged an arbitration award involving the Social Security Administration. The Authority reviewed the union's exceptions under the statutory standards for setting aside an award. It concluded that the union had not shown a legal defect or another recognized basis to overturn the…
American Federation of Government Employees, National Council of Field Labor Locals, Local 2391 (Union) and United States, Department of Labor, Employee Benefit Security Administration, Seattle, Washington (Agency)
AFGE Local 2391 and DOL Employee Benefit Security Administration (FLRA 0-AR-3680): Performance standards upheld
The Department of Labor adopted performance standards for investigators and auditors, including a critical element for administrative work and data entry. AFGE Local 2391 challenged the standards in arbitration, arguing that the agency lacked proper approval and that the administrative work did not…
United States, Department of the Navy, Navy Public Works Center, Norfolk, Virginia (Agency) and Tidewater Virginia, Federal Employees Metal Trades Council (Union)
Navy Public Works Center and Tidewater Metal Trades Council (FLRA 0-AR-3679): Discipline award returned for clarification
The Navy Public Works Center suspended a heating and air conditioning mechanic for three days, charging him with leaving his work site without permission. An arbitrator ordered the suspension rescinded and the employee's record cleared, citing unequal discipline and a contract violation. The…
McElroy Coal Company
Contest dismissal vacated and remanded
MSHA issued McElroy Coal an order alleging a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 62.130(a), and McElroy filed a contest with a request for expedited proceedings. The company withdrew only the request for an expedited hearing after learning that the order might be modified, but the administrative law judge…
Drummond Company, Inc.
Methane citation dismissed
Drummond Company contested a citation issued after methane readings above 5 percent were found in an underground longwall entry at the Shoal Creek Mine. The company lowered a ventilation curtain and made other ventilation changes after learning of the readings, and later methane readings were below…
Cougar Coal Company, Inc.
Settlement approved with $5,000 penalty
After the Commission reversed an earlier finding that Cougar Coal had not violated the reporting standards, the parties negotiated a settlement covering civil penalties. Judge Avram Weisberger found that the agreement was consistent with the Mine Act and ordered the parties to follow its terms…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 429 (Union) and United States, Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Community Services, Parris Island, South Carolina (Agency)
AFGE Local 429 and Marine Corps Community Services (FLRA 0-AR-3694): Removal challenge dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
Marine Corps Community Services removed a store detective at Parris Island, and an arbitrator upheld the removal for just cause. AFGE Local 429 challenged the award, disputing the arbitrator's handling of witness credibility and the penalty. The Authority did not reach those arguments. It held that…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Joseph M. Ondreako v. Kennecott Utah Copper Corp.
Temporary reinstatement dissolved
Judge Richard W. Manning had ordered Kennecott Utah Copper to temporarily reinstate Joseph M. Ondreako while MSHA investigated his discrimination allegations. MSHA later determined that the facts did not constitute a violation of section 105(c) and informed the judge that it would not file a…
Plateau Mining Corporation
Ventilation citations affirmed with S&S findings narrowed
Plateau Mining operated the Willow Creek underground coal mine in Utah, where a methane and hydrocarbon explosion killed two miners and injured eight others. MSHA alleged that Plateau’s bleeder system did not continuously dilute and move methane from the worked-out area, that the mine did not…
United States, Department of the Air Force, Air Force Materiel Command, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 987 (Union)
Robins Air Force Base and AFGE Local 987 (FLRA 0-AR-3737): Agency exceptions denied
Robins Air Force Base filed a grievance accusing AFGE Local 987 of several contract breaches, including witness pressure and misuse of official time. An arbitrator upheld one part of the grievance but rejected the parts the agency later challenged. The Authority agreed that the arbitrator was wrong…
United States, Department of the Air Force, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1967 (Union)
Air Force Academy and AFGE Local 1967 (FLRA 0-AR-3727): Arbitration costs split equally
An arbitrator found that the Air Force Academy had improperly removed a flight simulator technician from her position and later awarded back pay, attorney fees, and costs. The Academy challenged only the award of $948 in arbitration costs, pointing to a labor agreement that required the parties to…
United States, Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Southwest Region, Fort Worth, Texas (Agency) and National Air Traffic Controllers Association (Union)
FAA Southwest Region and NATCA (FLRA 0-AR-3740): Pay replaces official time remedy
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association challenged the FAA's requirement that union officials name specific hours and subcategories when requesting official time. An arbitrator found that the parties' agreement did not require those details and ordered a remedy for employees who used…
United States, Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Atlanta, Georgia (Agency) and National Treasury Employees Union (Union)
FDA Atlanta and NTEU (FLRA 0-AR-3723): Flexible schedule call-in award upheld
FDA employees on flexible schedules were required to give exact arrival and departure times and to call in if they expected to arrive more than an hour later than planned. An arbitrator found those requirements inconsistent with the parties' agreement on flexible time bands and tardiness. The FDA…
United States, Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington, D.C. (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 12 (Union)
Bureau of Labor Statistics and AFGE Local 12 (FLRA 0-AR-3691): Technology notice remedies upheld
AFGE Local 12 grieved that the Bureau of Labor Statistics had introduced new computer equipment without the notice required by its labor agreement. An arbitrator found a violation involving a large photocopying machine and later ordered information sharing, a joint technology team, and ergonomics…
United States, Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, El Reno, Oklahoma (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Council of Prison Locals, Local 171 (Union)
FCI El Reno and AFGE Local 171 (FLRA 0-AR-3689): Union witness requirement for workspace searches upheld
At the federal prison in El Reno, a lieutenant searched an officer's desk and personal belongings without a union representative present. An arbitrator found that the search violated a local agreement and ordered the prison to follow its union witness rule for future desk and workstation searches…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Settlement approved after No. 5 Mine explosion cases
Jim Walter Resources operated the No. 5 Mine, where two explosions killed 13 miners and seriously injured three others. MSHA sought penalties for 310 alleged violations in 17 consolidated proceedings, although the decision states that none of the alleged violations was claimed to have caused the…
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.