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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Matter of F-C-S-
Expedited-removal regulation does not apply to these section 240 proceedings
The Board reviewed a Salvadoran respondent’s challenge to the denial of withholding of removal and Convention Against Torture protection after the Immigration Judge excluded late-filed evidence. It held that 8 C.F.R. § 1240.17 applies only to respondents first placed in expedited removal whose…
Donald A. Hunter v. Southern Ohio Coal Company and CONSOL Energy, Incorporated
Hunter v. Southern Ohio Coal (BRB 23-0302 BLA): COPD-related black lung award affirmed
Donald Hunter worked underground in coal mines for eleven to twelve years and sought black lung benefits for a disabling lung condition. Because that work history was shorter than fifteen years, he could not use the Act's fifteen-year presumption. His examining doctor diagnosed severe COPD caused…
Braun v. United Airlines, Inc.
AIR21 settlement approved and FOIA request denied
Michael Braun and United Airlines settled an AIR21 retaliation case while Braun's appeal from summary dismissal was pending. The Board reviewed the agreement only to determine whether it fairly and reasonably resolved the AIR21 claim. It rejected the parties' request to declare the agreement exempt…
Dick v. USAA
STAA retaliation dismissal affirmed
Curtis Dick alleged that USAA and Contracted Driver Services retaliated against him in violation of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act. The Board upheld the finding that Dick did not engage in protected activity during his USAA assignment because his concern about the electronic logging…
V.W. and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Dallas Regional Office
Board corrects timeliness ruling on FDIC worker’s reconsideration request (ECAB 24-0236)
An FDIC legal technician sought reconsideration of an earlier compensation decision. OWCP treated her request as more than one year late and applied the stricter clear evidence of error standard. The Board found that OWCP had received the request within one year of the May 25, 2022 merit decision…
P.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Gary Processing & Distribution Center
Board reverses denial of postal handler’s written record review (ECAB 24-0216)
A postal mail handler challenged denial of a claim involving back and leg symptoms after dock work. OWCP rejected her request for written record review as late. The Board found that the missing or insufficient postmark evidence did not establish untimeliness under the hearing rules. It reversed…
C.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Detroit Post Office
Board upholds denial of parcel worker’s leg injury claim (ECAB 24-0196)
A postal parcel machine operator reported cutting his lower leg on a pallet while handling a box. OWCP accepted the event but denied the traumatic injury claim for lack of a supported diagnosis linked to it. The Board found that work restriction and wound care records did not supply the required…
T.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Nashville Post Office
Board upholds denial of carrier’s delayed foot injury claim (ECAB 24-0189)
A postal letter carrier said she rolled her right ankle while delivering a package in June 2021, then filed a claim in November 2022. The Board found the incident description vague and noted the delay in reporting and absence of contemporaneous medical records describing that injury. Later records…
F.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Wappingers Falls Post Office
Board upholds denial of carrier’s late reconsideration request (ECAB 24-0145)
A postal city carrier had an accepted right ankle sprain after he rolled his ankle while walking on an uneven sidewalk. He later asked OWCP to reconsider a March 2022 benefit termination. The Board found that the request was filed beyond the one year period and that a new physician report did not…
C.A. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Wm. Jennings Bryan Dorn VA Medical Center
Board denies VA nurse’s carpal tunnel claim (ECAB 24-0134)
A VA nurse attributed right thumb and wrist symptoms to clipping toenails and paring calluses in a nail clinic. The Board found that the medical evidence did not adequately explain how the accepted work activities caused right carpal tunnel syndrome. It upheld OWCP’s denial of the occupational…
A.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Bethlehem Airport Post Office
Board denies postal clerk’s neck, shoulder, and arm claim (ECAB 24-0116)
A postal distribution clerk reported left neck, shoulder, and arm pain after heavy lifting, moving equipment, and handling letters and flats. The Board found the medical opinions did not sufficiently explain how those work factors caused the diagnosed conditions. It upheld OWCP’s July 2023 denial…
Little Leaf Farms, LLC
In re Little Leaf Farms, LLC (EAB CAA Appeal No. 24-03C): HFC import settlement approved
Little Leaf Farms, LLC imported 742 kilograms of XP40/R-449A refrigerant in 14 cylinders through New York and Newark. EPA alleged that the company imported the bulk regulated HFCs without expending the required allowances or obtaining a non-objection notice. The shipment was valued at $8,570 and…
R.P. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol
Board orders combined file review of border agent’s thumb impairment (ECAB 24-0266)
A Border Patrol agent sought a schedule award after an accepted left thumb injury during training. OWCP had previously awarded impairment for another left upper extremity claim but did not combine the two files before obtaining a second opinion. The Board found the related records needed to be…
C.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Louisiana District Post Office
Board upholds denial of postal worker’s cervical fusion surgery (ECAB 24-0249)
A postal city delivery specialist sought cervical fusion surgery after an accepted neck strain. Treating and second opinion physicians disagreed about whether the operation was necessary for the work injury. OWCP obtained an impartial medical examination, and the Board found that examiner’s…
A.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration
Board upholds end of TSA worker’s Valley Fever coverage (ECAB 24-0219)
A TSA compliance officer contracted Valley Fever while deployed on temporary duty and obtained acceptance of an acute pulmonary infection. OWCP later found the work related condition had resolved. The Board found the medical evidence supported that determination as of July 5, 2023 and upheld the…
R.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Chicago International Service Center
Board denies postal clerk’s left shoulder occupational claim (ECAB 24-0112)
A postal mail recovery clerk attributed a left shoulder condition to lifting heavy sacks and moving postal equipment. OWCP accepted work factors but denied the claim. The Board found that the medical reports did not adequately explain how those duties caused or aggravated the diagnosed shoulder…
P.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Long Beach Processing and Distribution Center
Board upholds postal worker’s prior leg impairment ratings (ECAB 24-0057)
A postal processing worker sought additional schedule award compensation for lower extremity impairment. OWCP had previously compensated 31 percent impairment of each leg. The Board found that the medical evidence did not support a higher rating under the applicable impairment method. It upheld…
M.S. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration
Board orders disability opinion addressing FAA employee’s claimed start date (ECAB 23-0965)
An FAA employee with an accepted 2018 injury worked in a modified position, then stopped working and sought total disability compensation beginning February 2019. OWCP obtained several second opinions about her later work capacity. The Board found that none addressed when her claimed disability…
R.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Henry W. McGee Post Office
Board reverses end of postal carrier’s medical benefits and remands impairment claim (ECAB 23-0580)
A postal letter carrier received treatment for accepted bilateral heel conditions. OWCP ended medical benefits based on a second opinion that the conditions had resolved, and denied a schedule award. The Board found that opinion internally inconsistent and inadequate to support termination. It also…
Gregory G. Clark (deceased) v. Eighty-Four Mining Company and CONSOL Energy, Incorporated
Clark v. Eighty-Four Mining (BRB 23-0125 BLA): benefits denial affirmed after disability review
Gregory Clark's children or estate pursued his black lung claim after his death. The judge credited 33 years of underground coal mine work and found legal pneumoconiosis, but denied benefits because the evidence did not establish a totally disabling respiratory impairment at death. On appeal, the…
Stuart Zion v. American Seafoods Company, LLC, Kloosterboer Dutch Harbor, LLC, and Signal Mutual Indemnity Association, Limited
Zion v. American Seafoods (BRB 23-0115): employer relief issue remanded for a benefits order
Stuart Zion was injured by ammonia released from freezer coils while working in Dutch Harbor, Alaska. His employer voluntarily paid disability and medical benefits, then sought Section 8(f) relief based on Zion's pre-existing orthopedic condition. The administrative law judge denied that request…
V.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Manchester VA Medical Center
Board upholds abandonment of VA worker’s scheduled hearing (ECAB 24-0238)
A former VA clinical research coordinator sought a hearing after OWCP denied authorization for prescription medication related to an accepted injury. OWCP scheduled a telephone hearing and gave notice, but she did not appear or explain the absence within the required time. The Board upheld the…
R.S. and Department of the Air Force, Air Education & Training Command
Board denies Air Force worker’s schedule award claim (ECAB 24-0217)
An Air Force employee sought a FECA schedule award following accepted injuries. The Board found that the submitted medical evidence did not establish permanent impairment of a body member or function covered by the schedule award provisions for this claim. It therefore upheld OWCP’s denial, while…
B.T. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution Estill
Board orders fuller finger impairment assessment for prison worker (ECAB 24-0174)
A federal prison maintenance supervisor injured his right hand when it was caught between a gate and a stopper. He sought more than the five percent right arm impairment already awarded. The Board found the record lacked measurements needed to assess the range of motion method alongside the…
T.S. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard Sector New York, Vessel Traffic Center
Board orders Coast Guard employer evidence in vaccine related stress claim (ECAB 24-0111)
A Coast Guard vessel traffic operator claimed that a workplace COVID-19 vaccine mandate aggravated preexisting anxiety and depression. OWCP denied the emotional condition claim after asking the worker for information but without requesting an account from the employer. The Board found the employer…
N.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Los Angeles Processing & Distribution Center
Board upholds refusal to reopen postal worker’s stress claim (ECAB 24-0021)
A postal mail handler sought reconsideration of a denied workplace stress claim arising from an alleged incident of sexual harassment by a manager. The Board found that the new statement repeated arguments already considered and that a submitted social media post was not pertinent new evidence…
K.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Johnstown Processing & Distribution Center
Board upholds reduced benefits after refusal of temporary postal assignment (ECAB 24-0007)
A postal mail processing clerk had an accepted back injury and was offered a temporary limited duty assignment. She declined the assignment, and OWCP reduced her wage loss compensation based on what she would have earned in it. The Board found that OWCP met its burden to show the offered work was…
S.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Minneapolis Post Office
Board orders combined review of carrier’s two left foot claims (ECAB 23-0939)
A postal city carrier claimed a left foot injury after stepping from a work truck. She had a prior accepted claim involving a left foot stress fracture and arthritis, but OWCP had not combined the files before denying reconsideration of the newer claim. The Board found that the overlapping…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, John J. Pershing Veterans' Administrative Center, Poplar Bluff, Missouri and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2338
John J. Pershing Veterans' Administrative Center and AFGE Local 2338 (FLRA 0-AR-5945): Authority upholds Step 3 grievance filing
AFGE Local 2338 filed a grievance directly at Step 3 because it alleged an unfair labor practice, an equal-employment-opportunity violation, and discrimination against the union president. The VA then filed its own grievance claiming the union had violated the negotiated procedure by skipping Steps…
Solvay Specialty Polymers USA, L.L.C.
In re Solvay Specialty Polymers USA, L.L.C. (EAB EPCRA Appeal No. 24-01C): toxic chemical reporting settlement approved
Solvay Specialty Polymers USA, L.L.C. operated a facility in West Deptford, New Jersey. EPA alleged that the company failed to timely report nitric acid and nitrate compounds, and submitted significantly inaccurate quantities for hydrochloric acid aerosols and 1-chloro-1,1-difluoroethane, also…
Elizabeth Gentile, widow of John Gentile, v. Electric Boat Corporation
Gentile v. Electric Boat (BRB 23-0131): death benefits denial affirmed
John Gentile received permanent disability benefits after back injuries while working for Electric Boat. After his death decades later, his widow sought death benefits, arguing that the injuries contributed to the medical conditions that caused his death. The judge applied the Act's presumption…
Jerry W. Gillespie v. CONSOL Buchanan Mining Company, LLC
Gillespie v. CONSOL Buchanan Mining (BRB 23-0023 BLA): benefits award and April 2018 start affirmed
Jerry Gillespie received a black lung benefits award after 36 years of qualifying coal mine work and a finding of total respiratory disability. That evidence invoked the fifteen-year presumption that his disability was due to pneumoconiosis. CONSOL Buchanan argued that its doctors had rebutted the…
R.W. and Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration
Board upholds denial of courier’s late reconsideration request (ECAB 24-0235)
A nuclear material courier had reported back pain after pulling a medical bag toward himself during inventory work. He later sought reconsideration of an earlier merits decision. The Board found the request arrived beyond the one year deadline and did not demonstrate clear evidence that OWCP had…
J.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Atlanta Network Distribution Center
Board reverses postal worker’s unproven retirement benefit overpayment (ECAB 24-0228)
A postal mail processing clerk received FECA compensation and elected federal retirement benefits. OWCP alleged she had received $16,947.84 in prohibited overlapping payments from March through July 2023. The Board found that the record lacked the exact Office of Personnel Management benefit…
L.W. and Department of Defense, Tinker Air Force Base
Board upholds denial of vague eye exposure claim (ECAB 24-0197)
An Air Force base sheet metal mechanic reported eye symptoms from an unknown substance or possible allergies at work. The Board found her account too imprecise to identify a specific incident or exposure on August 2, 2023. Without a sufficiently described event in the performance of duty, it upheld…
W.V. and Department of Veterans Affairs, VA New Jersey Health Care System, Ambulatory Care Service
Board denies VA clerk’s later foot disability period (ECAB 24-0185)
A VA technical information service clerk had an accepted left foot injury after a tablet fell onto a previously operated area of her foot. She sought wage loss compensation for disability beginning the following month. The Board found the submitted medical evidence did not adequately establish that…
S.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Brooklyn Carrier Annex
Board upholds postal carrier’s 21 percent leg impairment rating (ECAB 23-1170)
A postal letter carrier sought a higher schedule award for the right leg following an accepted injury after being chased by a dog. OWCP had already compensated 21 percent permanent impairment. The Board found the medical evidence did not support a higher rating under the applicable impairment…
A.K. and Department of Justice, U.S. Marshals Service
Board orders new shoulder impairment opinion for deputy marshal (ECAB 23-1135)
A U.S. Marshals Service employee sought more than 10 percent permanent impairment for each shoulder. OWCP obtained an impartial medical examiner after conflicting ratings, but that examiner incorrectly treated the range of motion method as unavailable under the AMA Guides. The Board found the…
R.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Cardiss Collins Post Office
Board orders fuller rating of postal worker’s left arm impairment (ECAB 23-0390)
A postal machine operator sought more than the four percent left arm impairment previously awarded. The district medical adviser rated the wrist and elbow under a diagnosis based method, but did not supply a range of motion rating or explain whether the current rating duplicated an older award. The…
GSP Schiller LLC
In re GSP Schiller LLC (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 23-02): petition dismissed after settlement
Sierra Club and Conservation Law Foundation petitioned the Environmental Appeals Board to review conditions of an NPDES permit issued by EPA Region 1 to GSP Schiller LLC. The petition concerned NPDES Permit No. NH0001473. After participating in the Board's Alternative Dispute Resolution program…
Isom G. Smith, II v. Stillhouse Mining, LLC and American International South/AIG
Smith v. Stillhouse Mining (BRB 23-0210 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed after remand
Isom Smith won black lung benefits after an earlier Board remand required a new review of the disease evidence. The judge found that Smith had legal pneumoconiosis in the form of chronic bronchitis caused by both coal dust and smoking, and that it contributed to his total disability. Stillhouse…
B.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Ottsville Post Office
Board upholds termination of postal carrier’s injury benefits (ECAB 24-0233)
A postal rural carrier associate received benefits after an accepted left arm injury while opening a faulty mail truck door. OWCP later ended compensation and medical benefits after an impartial medical examination concluded that no work related disability or residuals remained. The Board gave…
S.G. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Board raises FBI worker’s hearing award and remands pay calculation (ECAB 24-0225)
An FBI employee received a schedule award for five percent binaural hearing loss. The Board found the rating should be eight percent after accounting for tinnitus. It also found conflicting information about the pay used to calculate the award. It affirmed the pay rate date but returned the case…
R.C. and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Southwest Region
Board upholds refusal to reopen CFPB worker’s benefit claim (ECAB 24-0194)
A CFPB financial institution examiner had accepted aggravation of heart conditions and disputed how federal injury compensation interacted with his retirement pension. He sought reconsideration of an earlier OWCP decision. The Board found his submission did not meet the rule for reopening the…
S.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Washington Dulles International Airport
Board denies TSA worker’s shoulder injury claim (ECAB 24-0141)
A TSA employee reported right shoulder pain after a day pulling heavy bags from an X-ray machine. OWCP accepted the work incident but denied the medical claim. The Board found the physician evidence did not adequately explain how that specific incident caused or aggravated a diagnosed shoulder…
R.B. and U.S. Postal Service, International Service Center New York
Board remands postal worker’s disability recurrence under correct standard (ECAB 24-0110)
A postal worker sought compensation for disability recurring in September 2022 after an accepted August 2021 injury. OWCP evaluated the claim under a standard for recurrence after more than 90 days back at duty. The Board found that standard did not fit the worker’s return to work history. It…
F.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Highland Hills Station
Board upholds leg rating but remands arm impairment and award pay (ECAB 23-1014)
A postal letter carrier sought higher schedule awards for left leg and right arm impairment and challenged the pay used for those awards. The Board found no basis to raise the five percent left leg rating. It found the right arm medical record lacked range of motion testing needed for a complete…
B.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Detroit Post Office
Board orders employer evidence in carrier’s knee injury claim (ECAB 23-0715)
A Detroit postal carrier attributed a knee condition to a slip on ice and repeated delivery duties, including stairs, walking, lifting, and entering her vehicle. OWCP asked the Postal Service to clarify the duties and incidents, but received no response before denying the claim. The Board found the…
Richard R. Estudillo v. Central Appalachian Coal Company and American Electric Power Corporation
Estudillo v. Central Appalachian Coal (BRB 23-0148 BLA): benefits award affirmed for disabling lung disease
Richard Estudillo sought black lung benefits after at least 11.9 years of coal mine employment. Because he had less than fifteen years of qualifying work, he had to prove that his disabling respiratory disease was related to coal dust without using the fifteen-year presumption. Two doctors…
Arnie R. Johnson v. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Incorporated
Johnson v. Huntington Ingalls (BRB 23-0102): denial of employer relief affirmed
Arnie Johnson received permanent total disability benefits after a neck injury while working for Huntington Ingalls. The employer sought Section 8(f) relief, arguing that earlier injuries had combined with the later neck injury to cause her total disability. The judge accepted that she had a…
Andra Smith v. Virginia International Terminals, LLC and Signal Mutual Indemnity Association, Ltd.
Smith v. Virginia International Terminals (BRB 22-0544): medical benefits added for work-related sprains
Andra Smith injured his left knee and lower back during a work incident at Virginia International Terminals. The judge found that a knee sprain and back aggravation were work-related, but that the evidence did not link a torn meniscus to the incident. The Board upheld the judge's decision to credit…
E.L. and Department of Agriculture, Forest Service
Board denies forest worker’s kidney stone and dehydration claim (ECAB 24-0232)
A Forest Service technician attributed renal stones, a urinary tract infection, and dehydration to hot, physically demanding fire line work. The Board found the medical evidence did not adequately explain how the accepted work factors caused the diagnosed conditions. It also found that the…
T.M. and U.S. Postal Service, North Atlanta-Brookhaven Post Office
Board denies carrier’s later ankle disability recurrence (ECAB 24-0150)
A postal city carrier assistant had an accepted right ankle injury and later foot fracture, and had returned to modified duty. She sought compensation for a recurrence of total disability beginning February 2023. The Board found the physician evidence did not adequately explain why the accepted…
D.T. and Social Security Administration
Board upholds refusal to reopen wage-loss claim (ECAB 24-0125)
A Social Security Administration specialist had an accepted lumbar injury claim. OWCP later denied wage-loss compensation for intermittent disability from November 3, 2014 through August 7, 2017. He asked OWCP to reconsider that denial, but the Board found his submission did not satisfy the…
C.M. and Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Board upholds refusal to reopen wildlife inspector’s back claim (ECAB 24-0061)
A Fish and Wildlife Service inspector sought reconsideration of a claim involving a back injury while opening a container. She also had an earlier accepted back injury claim. The Board found that her reconsideration submission did not satisfy the rules for reopening the merits. It upheld OWCP’s…
R.V. and Department of Veterans Affairs, East Orange VA Medical Center
Board reverses VA worker’s wage loss termination based on incomplete case facts (ECAB 23-1151)
A VA employee received wage loss benefits for accepted upper extremity conditions. OWCP ended those benefits based on a second opinion examiner’s assessment. The Board found that OWCP had supplied the examiner an incomplete statement of accepted facts that omitted authorized surgeries. The opinion…
J.S. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Orlando International Airport
Board upholds TSA worker’s constructed job wage capacity reduction (ECAB 23-0518)
A TSA employee’s wage loss compensation was reduced based on the wages he could earn in a selected order clerk position. The Board found OWCP had properly established the position’s suitability and used it to measure loss of wage earning capacity effective August 14, 2022. It upheld the reduction…
A.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Dayton VA Medical Center
Board finds early arrival fall at VA hospital occurred on duty (ECAB 22-1255)
A VA nurse slipped on water near a drinking fountain while walking to her office about an hour before her scheduled shift. OWCP denied the claim because her supervisor had not approved her early arrival. The Board found the premises incident nevertheless occurred in the performance of duty. It sent…
Secretary of Labor v. Nally & Hamilton Enterprises, Inc.
Ground-control citation upheld after falling-tree accident
A large tree fell from above a surface-mine highwall onto a pickup truck traveling below, killing one miner and seriously injuring another. The judge held that Nally & Hamilton violated its approved ground-control plan by leaving trees too close to the highwall edge without an adequate drop bench…
S.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, John J. Pershing VA Medical Center
Board denies VA assistant’s occupational back claim (ECAB 24-0159)
A VA nursing assistant attributed back pain to patient lifting and other physical care duties. The Board found the medical evidence did not adequately explain how the accepted work factors caused or aggravated a diagnosed back condition. It upheld OWCP’s October 2023 denial.
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.