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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Davis Brothers Construction Co.
Fall citation vacated for lack of exposure proof
OSHA compliance officers photographed an unidentified worker from about 300 feet away on the seventh-floor roof deck of an apartment project. Davis Brothers was the shell contractor, and the judge found that its contract gave it sufficient safety control over the decking subcontractor to make it a…
United States, Department of the Army, Corpus Christi Army Depot, Corpus Christi, Texas (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2142, National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 797, and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Lodge 2049 (Unions)
Corpus Christi depot arbitration fees (FLRA O-AR-3309): Clarification motion denied
Unions representing Corpus Christi Army Depot employees sought a new arbitrator to address what they described as unresolved issues from an asbestos exposure pay award and related attorney fees. The Authority found that the only issue it had remanded, fees for non-attorney staff, had been settled…
Mildred Gollie (widow of Joe Gollie) v. Elkay Mining Company
Gollie v. Elkay Mining (BRB 02-0741): Survivor's benefits denial upheld
Mildred Gollie sought survivor's black lung benefits after the death of her husband, Joe, a former coal miner. The judge denied benefits after finding that the pathology evidence did not establish complicated pneumoconiosis and its irrebuttable presumption of death due to the disease. The Board…
Weirton Steel Corporation
Willful carbon-monoxide item affirmed and clothing item vacated
Weirton Steel employees climbed to a blast furnace's bleeder deck without respirators while carbon-monoxide monitors alarmed at 150 parts per million or more and, on one trip, exceeded the monitor's 1,999-parts-per-million capacity. The Commission held that the respiratory-protection standard was…
United States, Department of the Air Force, Oklahoma Air Logistics Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 916 (Union)
Tinker Air Force Base performance review (FLRA 0-AR-3666): Cash remedy set aside
A Tinker Air Force Base employee challenged his performance appraisal after his supervisor held only one performance discussion during the rating period. An arbitrator found that the agency had violated its agreement and a regulation, raised the employee's rating, and offered him a cash award or…
United States, Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Distribution Depot, New Cumberland, Pennsylvania (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2004 (Union)
New Cumberland depot bargaining (FLRA 0-AR-3627): One staffing issue remanded
AFGE Local 2004 challenged the New Cumberland depot's refusal to bargain over temporary hiring, a new work area, and employee details. An arbitrator found contractual and statutory bargaining obligations and ordered relief. The Authority upheld the contractual bargaining findings and rejected the…
United States, Department of the Treasury, Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Western Currency Facility, Fort Worth, Texas (Agency) and Graphic Communications International Union, Local 4B (Union)
Fort Worth currency production plan (FLRA 0-AR-3623): Agency exceptions premature
Bookbinders at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing's Fort Worth facility challenged a production plan that raised effective output requirements and changed how work by relief operators was credited. An arbitrator found violations of the parties' agreements and ordered corrections, but left claims…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Cross-motions denied and discovery resumed after mine-control order
The Secretary alleged that Jim Walter Resources violated numerous mine-safety standards in 17 consolidated penalty proceedings, many arising from two explosions at the No. 5 Mine that killed 13 miners and seriously injured three others. Jim Walter argued that an MSHA section 103(k) control order…
Social Security Administration (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3627 (Union)
SSA senior attorney selections (FLRA 0-AR-3590): Priority consideration upheld
An SSA attorney challenged the agency's rerun of a selection process for permanent senior attorney positions. An arbitrator found that the agency had failed to give her the priority consideration required by the parties' agreement and ordered the selections vacated and rerun with a different…
CB&I Constructors, Inc.
GFCI citation against general contractor vacated
CB&I was the general contractor for an elevated water tower where an electrical subcontractor had an extension cord without visible ground-fault circuit-interrupter protection connected to a conduit threader. The judge found that the Secretary did not prove the outlet was single-phase and rated at…
Southern Equipment Co., Inc.
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Bennie Pittman alleged that Southern Equipment discharged him because of seven safety-related complaints and workplace conflicts with a coworker at the White Pit II Mine. Judge Gary Melick found that the alleged incidents either were not protected activity or were not shown to have motivated the…
Social Security Administration, Office of Hearings and Appeals, Region II, Buffalo Office of Hearings and Appeals, Buffalo, New York (Respondent) and Association of Administrative Law Judges, International Federation of Professional and Technical Employees, AFL-CIO (Charging Party)
Buffalo SSA parking (FLRA BN-CA-01-0377): Bargaining violation upheld
The Social Security Administration stopped providing free parking passes to administrative law judges at its Buffalo hearings office without giving their union a chance to bargain. The Authority upheld the finding that this unilateral change violated federal labor law. It rejected the agency's…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2516 (Union) and United States, Department of the Army, William Beaumont, Army Medical Center, Fort Bliss, Texas (Agency)
Army medical center arbitration (FLRA 0-AR-3684): Union exceptions denied
A union challenged an arbitration award involving the Army's William Beaumont Medical Center. The Authority reviewed the union's exceptions under the statutory standard for setting aside an arbitration award. It found no basis to overturn the arbitrator's treatment of the evidence or interpretation…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1897 (Union) and United States, Department of the Air Force, Hurlburt Field, Florida (Agency)
Air Force arbitration (FLRA 0-AR-3678): Union exception denied
A union at Hurlburt Field challenged an arbitration award, arguing that the arbitrator had exceeded his authority by failing to address all its allegations. The Authority found that this did not establish a deficient award and denied the union's exception. It considered an omitted document that the…
Oxbow Mining, LLC
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Ronald Geisler alleged that Oxbow Mining terminated him for raising safety concerns and reporting drug abuse at the Sanborn Creek Mine. Judge Richard W. Manning found that Geisler had raised some safety issues, but that Oxbow management did not know about the protected activity alleged to have…
United States, Department of the Treasury, United States Customs Service, Miami, Florida (Respondent) and National Treasury Employees Union (Charging Party/Union)
Customs overtime questions (FLRA AT-CA-01-0123): Union consultation protected
A Customs inspector at the Port of West Palm Beach asked a union steward about overtime assignments. His supervisor reacted angrily and later counseled him against seeking others' advice after receiving instructions. The Authority adopted the ALJ's finding that this interfered with the inspector's…
Designs Unlimited Contractors
Residential roofing violations affirmed
Designs Unlimited Contractors was finishing a residential reroofing job when OSHA observed three workers more than 25 feet above the ground without fall protection. The judge found that the company had not provided competent-person inspections, had removed its fall-protection system before…
United States, Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Charleston, South Carolina (Agency) and National Association of Government Employees, Local R5-136 (Union)
VA medical records arbitration (FLRA 0-AR-3628 and 0-AR-3639): Awards set aside
Two employees at a VA medical center challenged the agency's direct requests to their medical providers for information related to workplace injuries and compensation. Separate arbitrators found Privacy Act violations and awarded relief. The Authority held that arbitrators could hear these Privacy…
Colorado Lava, Inc.
MSHA jurisdiction established and legal-identity citation sustained
Colorado Lava challenged MSHA's jurisdiction over its Antonito Plant and contested a citation for failing to file a legal-identity report after acquiring the facility. Judge Avram Weisberger found that the plant was engaged in “sizing” mineral products through screening, which placed the operation…
Worley Blue Quarry, Inc.
Fall-protection violation affirmed and $10,000 penalty assessed
MSHA cited Worley Blue Quarry after ledge foreman James Thornton fell 28 feet from a quarry ledge and later died from his injuries. The judge found that Thornton and four other workers were operating without safety belts, lines, lanyards, or handrails, violating the requirement to use fall…
United States, Department of the Air Force, Randolph Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1840, AFL-CIO (Charging Party/Union)
Randolph Air Force Base time off (FLRA DA-CA-01-0438): Complaint dismissed
Randolph Air Force Base supervisors gave lodging employees tentative dates for eight-hour time-off awards, then allowed them to request different dates. The union said the base had changed how the awards were scheduled without bargaining, and an ALJ agreed. The Authority reversed that finding and…
Vandalia Resources, Incorporated
Three roadway citations affirmed and $1,948 penalties assessed
MSHA cited Vandalia Resources after two trucks slid out of control on a snow-covered and icy haul road at the Alloy / 4 Mile Mine. Judge Gary Melick found that the certified foreman had identified the hazardous road condition but failed to correct it after the first accident, and that the two…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3240 (Union) and United States, Department of the Air Force, 325th Support Group, Air Education and Training Command, Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida (Agency)
Tyndall Air Force Base health plans (FLRA 0-NG-2665): Proposals outside bargaining duty
A union at Tyndall Air Force Base proposed that the agency pay all health insurance premiums for its nonappropriated fund employees and offer an additional Blue Choice plan. The Authority found both proposals outside the duty to bargain. It read a 1995 defense authorization law as requiring one…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2142 (Union) and United States, Department of the Army, Corpus Christi Army Depot (Agency)
Corpus Christi promotion grievance (FLRA 0-AR-3650): Arbitration dismissal upheld
A union sought a noncompetitive promotion to GS-12 for an engineering technician at the Corpus Christi Army Depot. The arbitrator dismissed the grievance because its substance concerned the classification of the employee's position without a reduction in grade or pay. The Authority upheld that…
Twentymile Coal Company
Training violation affirmed and penalty reduced
Twentymile Coal Company operated a large underground bituminous coal mine in Colorado. After a rock chute jammed, miners were assigned to unplug it without the task training required by 30 C.F.R. § 48.7(c), and one miner was seriously injured when he fell and rocks spilled from the chute. Judge…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2382 and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center
Phoenix VA Medical Center arbitration (FLRA 0-AR-3690): Union exceptions denied
The union at the Phoenix VA Medical Center challenged an arbitrator's award. The Authority considered the union's exceptions under the statutory standard for setting aside an arbitration award. It found that the union had not shown the award was deficient on the ground it raised. The Authority…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 101 and United States Department of the Treasury, Customs Service
Customs Service workstation assignments (FLRA 0-NG-2664): Union proposal falls outside bargaining duty
The union proposed letting Customs Service employees choose workstations anywhere on the floor assigned to their division and branch, in seniority order. The agency wanted employees grouped by branch so supervisors could locate them during an evacuation. The Authority found a reasonable connection…
United States, Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Western Regional Office, Laguna Niguel, California and United States, Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, U.S. Border Patrol, Tucson Sector, Tucson, Arizona (Respondents) and American Federation of Government Employees, National Border Patrol Council, Local 2544, AFL-CIO (Charging Party)
Border Patrol information requests (FLRA DE-CA-01-0497 and DE-CA-01-0498): Disclosure order modified
A Border Patrol union sought records to represent an employee facing removal. The Authority upheld findings that the Tucson Sector had to provide the requested legal basis for revised discipline and policies about leaving a work area, while the Western Regional Office had to provide comparable…
United States, Department of the Army, Letterkenny Army Depot, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania (Respondent) and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1442 (Charging Party)
Letterkenny child care closure (FLRA BN-CA-01-0670): Bargaining complaint dismissed
Letterkenny Army Depot told the union in 1997 that its school-age child care program would close as part of a facility transfer, but the closure was delayed until 2001. The union discussed alternatives through a labor-management committee and later sought formal bargaining. The Authority upheld the…
United States Department of the Air Force, Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center, Davis Monthan Air Force Base and John Pennington
Davis Monthan Air Force Base reprimand (FLRA DE-CA-01-0276): Protected grievance activity upheld
An aircraft mechanic at Davis Monthan Air Force Base received a reprimand after leaving a meeting with his supervisor and a union steward about an earlier counseling letter and other work concerns. The Authority agreed with the administrative law judge that the meeting concerned a grievance and was…
Lawrence Lee Vinson v. Resolve Marine Services and Frenkel & Company, Incorporated
Vinson v. Resolve Marine Services (BRB 02-0784): benefit award survived hearing notice challenge
Lawrence Vinson sought Longshore Act benefits for injuries sustained while repairing a tugboat. Resolve Marine Services argued that an expedited hearing left too little time to prepare, especially after its carrier's records were destroyed in the September 11, 2001, attack. The Board found that the…
United States Department of the Air Force, Headquarters, 96th Air Base Wing, Eglin Air Force Base and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1897
Eglin Air Force Base flight-line assignments (FLRA AT-CA-00659): Bargaining complaint dismissed
The Air Force added a flight-line expediter who assigned work to civilian aircraft crew chiefs at Eglin Air Force Base. The union alleged that the agency had to bargain over the change. The administrative law judge found that crew chiefs already received different assignments as mission needs…
United States Department of Defense, Alabama Air National Guard and Association of Civilian Technicians, Alabama Air Chapter
Alabama Air National Guard arbitration (FLRA 0-AR-3594): Reconsideration denied
The union asked the Authority to reconsider its earlier ruling that an arbitration award conflicted with the Alabama Air National Guard's right to fill positions from any appropriate source. The Authority said reconsideration requires extraordinary circumstances, such as an error in its process…
Social Security Administration and American Federation of Government Employees, Council 220
Social Security holiday leave (FLRA 0-AR-3531): Award for absent employees upheld
The Social Security Administration gave four hours of administrative leave to field office and teleservice employees who worked on December 23, 1999, but generally withheld it from employees on approved leave or not scheduled to work. An arbitrator found that the agency's holiday benefit should…
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Atlanta, Georgia and National Treasury Employees Union
FDIC overtime for EEO mediation (FLRA 0-AR-3633): Inducement question remanded
An FDIC bank examiner represented a coworker at an EEO mediation that ran three hours beyond her normal workday. An arbitrator awarded overtime, relying on an EEOC rule that grants official time to employee representatives. The Authority held that the rule alone did not order or approve overtime…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 987 and United States Department of the Air Force, Warner Robins Air Logistics Center
Robins Air Force Base promotion grievance (FLRA 0-AR-3583): Classification bar upheld
A materials expediter at Robins Air Force Base sought higher-grade pay and a promotion based on the duties he performed. An arbitrator dismissed the grievance as a position classification matter excluded from the negotiated grievance process. The Authority agreed, finding no evidence that the…
American Federation of Government Employees, National Council of Field Labor Locals and United States Department of Labor
Labor Department Denver vehicles (FLRA 0-NG-2687): Temporary retention proposal negotiable
The Labor Department planned to return one of two government vehicles used by Denver field employees. The union proposed keeping both through the end of fiscal year 2003, then reconsidering the second vehicle under the agreement's mileage standards. The Authority found the proposal protected…
D.A.S. Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Mine safety violations affirmed and penalties reduced
D.A.S. Sand & Gravel operated a small New York sand and gravel business with front-end loaders, conveyors, and a material sorter. Judge Irwin Schroeder found that the Mine Safety and Health Administration had jurisdiction even though the company sold its products within New York, because Congress…
Twentymile Coal Company
Contractor citations affirmed
Twentymile Coal Company operated the Foidel Creek underground coal mine and hired Precision Excavating as an independent contractor. MSHA issued Twentymile six citations for conditions on the contractor's service truck and scraper, including equipment defects, guarding, fire protection, and…
Garney Construction, Inc.
Two trench items affirmed and two vacated
Garney Construction was installing large sewer pipe in an excavation nearly eight feet deep in Type B soil. The judge vacated the egress item because a gravel ramp and ladder provided a safe route out of the trench. He affirmed the item involving a 100,000-pound excavator and excavated soil at the…
Chestnut Coal Company
Settlement approved with reduced penalty
Chestnut Coal operated a very small underground coal mine in Pennsylvania. The Secretary alleged violations involving an inoperable main mine fan, preshift examinations by people who were not yet state-certified, and resuming operations before a withdrawal order was terminated. The judge approved a…
Lodestar Energy, Inc.
Withdrawal order modified to a citation
Lodestar Energy petitioned for review of an Administrative Law Judge decision involving a section 104(d)(1) citation and a withdrawal order. The judge had removed the significant-and-substantial finding from the citation but left the withdrawal order in place for a methane-monitor violation. The…
Superior Masonry Builders, Inc.
Training and competent-person items affirmed
A tower scaffold fitted with a winter enclosure collapsed during high winds while seven Superior Masonry employees were installing brick veneer, injuring all seven. The Commission vacated the item alleging that the scaffold was not adequately braced to the building because the version of the…
Cargill, Inc.
Lockout violation affirmed after palletizer fatality
A Cargill employee was killed after entering a palletizer's pusher area without de-energizing and locking out the machine. Cargill argued that the event was unpreventable employee misconduct because it had written policies, recurring training, peer observations, and discipline. The judge found that…
National Treasury Employees Union and United States Department of the Treasury, United States Customs Service
Customs Service personal firearms (FLRA 0-NG-2652): Reimbursement proposal outside bargaining duty
Customs Service employees could previously use approved personal firearms on duty, but a new policy required agency-issued firearms. The union proposed reimbursing employees for the cost of personal firearms and related items while letting them keep the property. The Authority held that…
In re Jung Tae SUH, Respondent
Pardon did not waive domestic-violence removability
The Board reconsidered an earlier decision after the Eleventh Circuit remanded the case for analysis of whether a full pardon could remove the immigration consequences of a crime. A Georgia pardon eliminated the respondent's aggravated-felony removability ground, but the Board considered whether it…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2408 and United States Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan VA chaplains (FLRA 0-AR-3643): Unpaid on-call award upheld
Chaplains at the San Juan VA Medical Center had taken turns being on call outside regular hours without pay. An arbitrator found they had volunteered for a nonpaid status under the labor agreement and denied back pay for the period before the grievance. The Authority rejected the union's challenge…
Laborers' International Union of North America, Local 28 and United States Department of the Army, Army Recruiting Battalion, Fort Sam Houston
Army recruiting battalion rehabilitation clause (FLRA 0-NG-2679): Discipline restriction rejected
A union contract provision would ordinarily postpone discipline or removal for employees who voluntarily entered an alcohol or drug rehabilitation program and made satisfactory progress. The Army disapproved the provision. The Authority found that the word “normally” still imposed a substantive…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1214 and United States Department of the Army, Army Training Center and Fort Jackson
Fort Jackson personal firearms (FLRA 0-NG-2700): Off-duty carrying proposal dismissed
The union proposed allowing Fort Jackson civilian police officers to bring personal firearms onto the installation and store them there while working, without carrying them on duty. The Authority found that officers performed law enforcement duties only while on duty with agency-issued weapons. The…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 400 and United States Department of the Army, Army Medical Department Activity, Fort Drum
Fort Drum medical facility access (FLRA 0-AR-3616): Union exception denied
During talks over removing a partition at Fort Drum's medical facility, the union brought a consultant into the facility after the Army denied permission. An arbitrator found that this violated a labor agreement provision giving the agency control over facility access for internal security. The…
Vandalia Resources, Inc.
Imminent-danger order vacated
Vandalia Resources operated a surface coal mine in West Virginia where two bulldozers were reclaiming a slope. MSHA inspectors saw the first bulldozer appear to slide downhill and the second move sideways briefly. They issued an imminent-danger order under section 107(a), concluding that both…
Cynthia Kenner (on behalf of Clarence Ed Davis, Sr.) v. Tennessee Consolidated Coal Company
Kenner v. Tennessee Consolidated Coal (BRB 02-0594): Lung transplant expense needs a hearing
Clarence Davis had an accepted black lung benefits claim and later underwent a lung transplant. Tennessee Consolidated Coal disputed responsibility for the transplant expenses, pointing to a provider manual that listed organ transplants as nonreimbursable. The Board held that the manual was…
Austin Bridge & Road, Inc.
Crane-overloading violation affirmed
An Austin Bridge & Road crane overturned while lifting a concrete bridge beam. Austin's lift plan used an engineered beam weight, but the plan left little margin for error, a bill of lading with the actual weight was available, and the crane operator had expressed concern that the lift could not be…
Hazel Olson v. Arch Mineral Company, Thunder Basin Coal Co., LLC
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Hazel Olson worked as a temporary haul-truck driver at Thunder Basin's Black Thunder Mine in Wyoming. She alleged that the operator ended her assignment after she raised safety concerns during a mine tour and after learning about safety complaints she had made at a prior employer. Judge Richard W…
James R. Maraney v. Consolidation Coal Company
Maraney v. Consolidation Coal (BRB 02-0661): coal slurry pond outside covered site
James Maraney injured his shoulder while operating equipment at a coal slurry disposal pond for Consolidation Coal. The company's plant received and shipped coal by barge, but the pond held waste from the coal cleaning process and was about eight-tenths of a mile from the loading area. The Board…
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 421
FERC career-ladder promotion (FLRA 0-AR-3634): Retroactive promotion upheld
An arbitrator found that a FERC employee had performed GS-13 work within an established career ladder and had earned a successful appraisal, yet was denied promotion. He ordered a retroactive promotion and back pay. The Authority rejected FERC's objections to his factual findings and contract…
Washington County Aggregates
Mixed results on equipment and noise violations
Washington County Aggregates operated a small limestone mine in Missouri with about five employees. Judge Michael E. Zielinski affirmed the defective-loader-brake violation as significant and substantial but reduced its penalty from $2,200 to $750. He affirmed one guarding and three noise citations…
Jessie Chaffin v. Peter Cave Coal Company
Chaffin v. Peter Cave Coal (BRB 02-0643): Black lung award returned for new evidence findings
Jessie Chaffin sought black lung benefits after several earlier claims had been denied. The judge awarded benefits, finding new x-rays showed pneumoconiosis and medical opinions showed total disability caused by it. The Board held that the judge had not adequately compared the new evidence with the…
Recchi America, Inc.- GLF Construction Corp., A Joint Venture
Rebar and crane swing-radius violations affirmed
OSHA cited the joint venture building Georgia's Sidney Lanier Bridge for uncapped reinforcing steel, open access holes, an inadequate crane swing-radius barricade, and failure to secure a crane to a barge. The judge affirmed the serious rebar violation and the repeat swing-radius violation. The…
Peabody Western Coal Company
High-voltage violations affirmed with one order vacated
Peabody Western Coal operated the Kayenta open-pit coal mine in Arizona. During work on a 23-kilovolt substation, mine management failed to de-energize and lock out the incoming 69-kilovolt circuit before electrical work, creating a risk of electrocution. Judge Richard W. Manning found violations…
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.