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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In re Moises NAVAS-ACOSTA, Respondent
Naturalization oath did not create nationality
The Board reviewed whether a person born in El Salvador became a United States national by applying for naturalization and signing an oath of allegiance. The naturalization application was denied, and the Immigration Judge had terminated removal proceedings after finding that the government had not…
Richard Dickerson v. Mississippi Phosphates Corporation and U.S. Fidelity & Guaranty Company
Dickerson v. Mississippi Phosphates (BRB 02-0547): fertilizer plant mechanic outside Longshore Act coverage
Richard Dickerson was injured while working as a mechanic at Mississippi Phosphates' fertilizer plant near a navigable waterway. He welded and fabricated equipment in the manufacturing area and had also removed old wood pilings near the water. The Board held that the piling work was not shown to…
Trinity Industries, Inc.
Four shipyard violations affirmed after fatal barge fire
Two Trinity welders died in a fire while welding inside a newly built barge whose enclosed spaces had recently been sprayed with Tectyl, a rust inhibitor that released combustible and toxic Stoddard solvent vapors while curing. The Commission held that the shipyard enclosed-space standards applied…
C.T. Taylor Company Inc., & Esprit Constructors, Inc.
Related companies treated as a single employer
Two ironworkers fell 39 feet to their deaths after a foreman placed a 5,000-pound bundle of decking on unsecured and unbridged bar joists without providing fall protection. The Commission treated C.T. Taylor and Esprit as a single employer for this project because they shared ownership, management…
United States Department of Commerce, National Weather Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Weather Service Employees Organization
Birmingham forecaster promotions (FLRA 0-AR-3613): Back pay award upheld
After a senior forecaster retired from the National Weather Service's Birmingham office, general forecasters covered shifts assigned to the vacant higher-grade position. An arbitrator found that none qualified under the contract's rule requiring 20 consecutive days of higher-grade work, but that a…
United States Environmental Protection Agency, Chicago, Illinois and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 704
EPA Chicago selection grievance (FLRA 0-AR-3522): Monetary award set aside
EPA filled a Chicago supervisory vacancy without interviewing the nine applicants. An arbitrator found no preferential treatment in the selection but found that the agency violated its diversity plan by skipping interviews, and awarded the union $10,000 while leaving the selection in place. The…
Charles Buck and James Rondeau v. General Dynamics Corporation/Electric Boat Corporation
Buck and Rondeau v. Electric Boat (BRB 02-0534, 02-0535): claims adjusters outside maritime employment
Charles Buck and James Rondeau handled workers' compensation claims for Electric Boat and each alleged a work injury. Administrative law judges dismissed their Longshore Act claims on summary decision because their jobs did not meet the maritime employment requirement. The Board held that the…
Grey Wolf Drilling Company L.P. Rig 865
Backing-truck hazard violation affirmed
A Grey Wolf toolpusher was killed by a winch truck backing across a drilling site while the driver's view was obstructed and the assigned swamper rested in the cab. The judge found that both Grey Wolf's safety manual and drilling-industry guidance recognized using a flagman when a driver lacked a…
Red-Hawk Construction, Inc.
Revised settlement returned to the chief judge
The chief judge had approved a settlement requiring Red-Hawk Construction to pay $18,900. The Secretary then submitted a revised stipulation specifying that the amount would be paid in eighteen monthly installments of $1,050 and asked that it replace the original stipulation. The Commission…
Interstate Brands Corp.
Lockout citations vacated after unforeseeable supervisor error
An Interstate Brands chief engineer lost three fingers after pulling the wrong disconnect levers, failing to apply locks or tags, and reaching into an energized sugar-system rotary valve. Applying Third Circuit precedent, the Commission found that the supervisor's departure from a well-communicated…
Library of Congress and Fraternal Order of Police, Library of Congress Labor Committee
Library of Congress official time grievance (FLRA 0-AR-3626): Merits hearing may proceed
The Library of Congress argued that an earlier unfair labor practice charge barred a union grievance about official time for an offsite meeting. The earlier charge concerned a different union chair's request to meet with a labor consultant, while the grievance concerned a later request to meet with…
Thomas P. Dye II v. Mineral Recovery Specialists, Inc.
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Thomas P. Dye II worked for Mineral Recovery Specialists at a zirconium recovery project at a uranium mill. He alleged that the company fired him after he refused to bring a large pressurized vessel into operation without completing the required assembly, testing, and certification steps. Judge…
F & G Sons Contractors, Inc.
Late contest dismissed after signed receipt
OSHA's certified-mail return receipt showed that the citation was accepted at F & G Sons Contractors' home-based office by the company president's wife. The president claimed that she had signed only a request for later delivery and that the citation never arrived, but she did not testify and the…
Marie Uzdavines, widow of Frank Uzdavines v. Weeks Marine, Incorporated
Uzdavines v. Weeks Marine (BRB 02-0512): dredge crew member excluded from Longshore Act
Marie Uzdavines sought death benefits after her husband Frank died in part from asbestos exposure. She alleged that his last occupational exposure occurred while he worked for Weeks Marine as an oiler on a dredge. The Board held that the dredge was a vessel in navigation and that his exclusive work…
84 Components Company
Settlement set aside for lack of agreement on abatement
After a settlement was approved, 84 Components and the Secretary discovered that they did not agree on the acceptable method for abating a machine-guarding citation. The judge initially left the settlement in place and suggested that the parties use a failure-to-abate proceeding or a petition to…
Association of Civilian Technicians, Wichita Air Capitol Chapter and United States Department of Defense, National Guard Bureau, Kansas National Guard, Topeka, Kansas
Kansas National Guard training proposal (FLRA 0-NG-2581): Reconsideration denied
The union asked the Kansas National Guard to bargain over a proposal governing military training duties assigned to civilian technicians. The Authority had dismissed the union's negotiability petition because part of the proposal would require bargaining over terms of military service, which 10…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 933 and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Detroit, Michigan
Detroit VA hazardous duty pay grievance (FLRA 0-AR-3585): Untimeliness ruling upheld
A union at the Detroit VA medical center filed a 1999 grievance seeking hazardous duty pay for asbestos exposure dating back to 1993. An arbitrator dismissed it under the agreement's 30-day grievance filing rule, rejecting the union's argument that the alleged exposure was a continuing event. The…
In re D-J-, Respondent
Bond denied based on immigration policy and national security
The Attorney General reviewed a bond decision involving an undocumented respondent from Haiti who had arrived in Florida by sea with a larger group of undocumented migrants and was charged as inadmissible. The Immigration Judge granted bond, and the Board of Immigration Appeals dismissed the…
Michael Hansen v. Matson Terminals, Incorporated, et al.
Hansen v. Matson Terminals (BRB 02-0606): executed injury settlement upheld
Matson Terminals and its carriers agreed to a $162,500 settlement of Michael Hansen's injury claims and signed the agreement after learning that he might return to longshore work. The employer later sought to undo the settlement after learning that Hansen had started work as a wharf gang member…
Leon Charles v. Universal Ogden Services and Alaska National Insurance Company
Charles v. Universal Ogden Services (BRB 02-0511): grocery warehouse outside maritime site coverage
Leon Charles drove groceries from Universal Ogden Services' warehouse to Gulf Coast docks for shipment to offshore oil rigs. He was injured while unloading returned goods at the warehouse. Although the warehouse was near the Mississippi River, it had no functional connection to maritime activity on…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3584 and United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Dublin, California
Dublin prison officer assignment (FLRA 0-AR-3540): Grievance denial upheld
A male correctional officer at the Dublin federal prison sought an assignment supervising an offsite work detail of female inmates. The prison assigned a less senior female officer, and an arbitrator denied the grievance after finding that the contract allowed management to consider factors beyond…
United States Department of the Air Force, Hill Air Force Base, Utah and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1592
Hill Air Force Base fitness for duty dispute (FLRA 0-AR-3477): Exceptions dismissed
Hill Air Force Base barred an employee from returning to work after finding him unfit for duty and later suspended him indefinitely. An arbitrator sustained a grievance about the fitness decision and ordered reinstatement with back pay. The agency asked the Authority to overturn the award. The…
Baylor Mining, Inc.
Settlement approved
The Secretary of Labor sought $1,800 in penalties for three alleged mine-safety violations at Baylor Mining, Inc.'s Jim's Branch No. 3A mine. At the hearing, the parties agreed to modify the allegations and keep the proposed penalties at $400, $500, and $900. Judge Irwin Schroeder found the…
Higman Sand & Gravel, Inc.
One citation affirmed, two citations vacated
Higman Sand & Gravel operated a surface sand and gravel mine in Iowa with a crusher, sand plant, shop, and truck scales. MSHA cited the company after finding that a Euclid haul truck had nonfunctional service brakes, an allegedly defective parking brake, and an allegedly inadequate preshift…
The Timken Company
Review vacated after split over traverser hazard
A Timken mechanic lost both feet when a moving traverser's rails meshed with rails beside the teeming car she was repairing. The two participating Commission members agreed that the lockout/tagout standard did not apply because the traverser operated independently of the teeming car. They split on…
United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Farm Services Branch, St. Louis, Missouri and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3354
USDA Rural Development arbitration (FLRA 0-AR-3664): Agency exceptions denied
USDA Rural Development's St. Louis Farm Services Branch challenged an award by Arbitrator Robert H. Kubie. The Authority reviewed the agency's exceptions under the statute governing arbitration awards and denied them. Its brief decision cites rules about challenges to procedural arbitrability and…
Marcus Cable Associates, L.L.C.
Bucket-truck fall protection violations affirmed
A cable technician fell to his death from an elevated bucket while his issued harness remained in the truck. The judge found that Marcus Cable had communicated a rule requiring fall protection but failed to certify employee training, an other-than-serious violation with a $500 penalty. The company…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local Union No. 171 and United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, El Reno, Oklahoma
El Reno correctional officer posts (FLRA 0-AR-3549): Grievance denial upheld
The union at the El Reno federal prison grieved the failure to fill vacant correctional officer posts, arguing that leaving posts empty increased workplace hazards. An arbitrator denied the grievance after reading the safety provision of the agreement as preserving management's statutory rights to…
Federal Education Association, Stateside Region and United States Department of Defense, Education Activity, Pensacola, Florida
Defense school committee proposal (FLRA 0-NG-2603): Bargaining petition dismissed
The teachers' union proposed choosing half the bargaining unit employees assigned to Defense Department school committees and training sessions. The Authority agreed that union selection for curriculum committees concerned a means of performing work that can be bargained over at the agency's…
United States Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2282, AFL-CIO
FAA computer specialist special pay (FLRA 0-AR-3572): Back pay award upheld
Two groups of FAA computer specialists sought governmentwide special salary rates that the agency had not paid. An arbitrator found that their governing pay arrangements kept the existing General Schedule system, including its special rates, in effect during the period at issue and ordered…
Thomas Rogers v. Hawaii Stevedores, Incorporated and Signal Mutual Indemnity Association
Rogers v. Hawaii Stevedores (BRB 02-0816): claimant withdrew settlement before approval
Thomas Rogers agreed to settle his injury claim for $3,000 while he was without counsel. After obtaining counsel, he objected to the settlement before an administrative law judge approved it. The judge approved the agreement after examining its adequacy and whether Rogers had been pressured into…
United States, Department of Veterans Affairs, Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center, Phoenix, Arizona and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2382
VA medical center arbitration award (FLRA 0-AR-3661): Agency exception denied
The Department of Veterans Affairs' Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center challenged an arbitrator's award in a dispute with AFGE Local 2382. The Authority explained that an award can be set aside under 5 U.S.C. § 7122(a) if it conflicts with law, rule, or regulation, or is deficient on grounds used by…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1749 and United States Department of the Air Force, 47th Flying Training Wing, Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas
Laughlin Air Force Base settlement grievance (FLRA 0-AR-3591): Arbitration dismissal upheld
An employee at Laughlin Air Force Base was not selected for a position after an earlier equal employment opportunity settlement had promised him priority consideration. He filed an EEO complaint alleging breach of the settlement, then filed a grievance alleging discrimination and reprisal over the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 987 and United States Department of the Air Force, Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia
Robins Air Force Base painter's promotion grievance (FLRA 0-AR-3584): Arbitration dismissal upheld
A painter at the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center sought higher grade pay and a promotion through a union grievance. The arbitrator dismissed it because the original grievance challenged the classification of the employee's position, a matter excluded from the negotiated grievance process by 5…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 801, Council of Prison Locals 33 and United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Waseca, Minnesota
Waseca correctional officers' overtime (FLRA 0-AR-3562): Union exceptions denied
Correctional officers at the Federal Correctional Institution in Waseca said they stayed past their shift for the inmate count without overtime pay. Their arbitrator denied the grievance because the union had not shown that they actually worked after the shift ended. The union argued that the award…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1006 and United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Medical Center Carswell, Fort Worth, Texas
Carswell medical center suspension (FLRA 0-AR-3605): Union exceptions denied
A psychiatrist at the Bureau of Prisons' Federal Medical Center Carswell received a one-day suspension over altered prescriptions and cooperation with an investigation. An arbitrator found just cause for the suspension and denied the union's grievance. The union challenged the fairness of the…
Rawson Contractors, Inc.
Willful trench violation affirmed and penalty reduced
Rawson's foreman removed trench boxes and knowingly sent two employees into an approximately 20-foot-deep trench with nearly vertical walls. The Commission held that the foreman's knowledge was imputable to Rawson because he supervised the crew and, critically, served as the designated competent…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3342 and Social Security Administration, Buffalo, New York
SSA employee's unauthorized account access (FLRA 0-AR-3534): Two-day suspension award upheld
The Social Security Administration suspended a Buffalo employee for two days after she used its computer system to access her own Social Security account. An arbitrator found just cause because she had received notice of the agency's unauthorized access policy, although she testified that she did…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 72 and United States Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Austin Service Center, Austin, Texas
IRS Austin back pay interest (FLRA 0-AR-3528): Interest period corrected
An arbitrator awarded an IRS Austin Service Center employee back pay for performing higher grade duties but limited interest to the period between filing the grievance and the start of the arbitration hearing. The union challenged that limit under the Back Pay Act. The Authority held that interest…
Cactus Canyon Quarries of Texas, Incorporated
Interlocutory appeal certification denied
Cactus Canyon Quarries asked the ALJ to certify procedural and discovery issues for immediate Commission review before a hearing on the alleged safety violations. Judge Irwin Schroeder declined because the requested appeal would not materially advance final disposition and the issues included…
Department of Veterans Affairs, Ralph H. Johnson Medical Center, Charleston, South Carolina and National Association of Government Employees, Local R5-136, SEIU, AFL-CIO
Charleston VA parking changes (FLRA AT-CA-00101): Bargaining complaints dismissed
The union at the Charleston VA medical center alleged that the facility changed employee parking and allowed patients into an employee lot without required bargaining. An administrative law judge found two unfair labor practices, but the Authority reversed and dismissed both complaints. The…
Office of the Adjutant General, Missouri National Guard, Jefferson City, Missouri and Association of Civilian Technicians, Show-Me Air #93 and Army #94 Chapters
Missouri National Guard technician uniforms (FLRA DE-CA-01-0445): Agreement enforcement ordered
The Missouri National Guard did not provide dual status technicians three additional sets of duty uniforms required by its agreement with the Association of Civilian Technicians. An administrative law judge found that this repudiated the agreement and violated the federal labor relations statute…
Tanya Holmes, minor child of Ronald Holmes v. Shell Offshore, Incorporated
Holmes v. Shell Offshore (BRB 02-0499): daughter's death benefits claim receives its own hearing
Tanya Holmes filed a Longshore Act death benefits claim after an administrative law judge had dismissed her stepmother's claim arising from the same death. The judge dismissed Tanya's claim on the ground that she was bound by the earlier ruling. The Board held that the family relationship, shared…
Theodore Bateman v. Eastern Associated Coal Corporation and Old Republic Insurance Company
Bateman v. Eastern Associated Coal (BRB 02-0443): Black lung award returned for medical evidence review
Theodore Bateman sought black lung benefits after many years in coal mine work. The judge awarded benefits after finding pneumoconiosis and a disabling respiratory condition caused in part by coal dust. The Board upheld the judge's assessment of the x-rays but found that a physician's ultimate…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 207 and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Washington, D.C.
FDIC reduction in force proposals (FLRA 0-NG-2668): Negotiability petition dismissed as moot
The FDIC carried out a reduction in force while a union petition challenging its refusal to bargain over two proposals was pending. One proposal would have spread employee releases across dates in 2002, 2003, and 2004; the other defined which employees would be displaced or surplus under that…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Ralph H. Johnson Medical Center, Charleston, South Carolina and National Association of Government Employees, Local R5-136
Charleston VA employees' delayed promotions (FLRA 0-AR-3611): Back pay award upheld
The Charleston VA medical center agreed in a grievance settlement to reclassify employees' positions to GS-7. An arbitrator found that the parties also intended promotion to GS-8 once the employees had one year in grade and satisfactory performance, but the center delayed those promotions from…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2142 and United States Department of the Army, Corpus Christi Army Depot, Corpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi Army Depot promotion grievance (FLRA 0-AR-3598): Classification dismissal upheld
A union grievance at the Corpus Christi Army Depot sought a permanent promotion and back pay for an employee who said he had performed higher grade duties for years. The arbitrator dismissed the grievance because it challenged the classification of the employee's permanent position. The union…
United States, Department of Defense, Alabama Air National Guard, Montgomery, Alabama and Association of Civilian Technicians, Alabama Air Chapter
Alabama Air National Guard reassignment grievance (FLRA 0-AR-3594): Arbitration award set aside
The Alabama Air National Guard reassigned a supervisor to a bargaining unit vacancy without posting a vacancy announcement. An arbitrator found that the reassignment violated the agreement with the civilian technicians' union and ordered the Guard to undo it. The Authority set aside the award. It…
Social Security Administration, Office of Hearings and Appeals and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3627
Social Security Administration selection grievance (FLRA 0-AR-3547): Remedies upheld
A Social Security Administration employee was passed over for paralegal and lead case assistant positions. An arbitrator found flaws in both selection processes and ordered the agency to remove two selectees and rerun the selections, with priority consideration for the employee in one position. The…
United States Department of the Army, Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1858
Army performance appraisal grievance (FLRA 0-AR-3492): Remedies narrowed and reevaluation ordered
An employee at the Army's Aviation and Missile Command challenged a performance appraisal under a new rating system. An arbitrator found problems with feedback and the senior rater's role, canceled the appraisal, extended an earlier rating, and ordered back pay and training. The Authority kept the…
Baylor Mining, Inc.
Settlement approved on remand
Baylor Mining contested a citation and a related civil-penalty proceeding involving its Jim's Branch No. 3A mine. After the Commission remanded the consolidated cases, the parties agreed to reduce the negligence level from moderate to low, modify the citation narrative, and keep the proposed…
John Hardgrove v. Coast Guard Exchange System and Gates McDonald & Company
Hardgrove v. Coast Guard Exchange System (BRB 02-0757): active duty service bars exchange job coverage
John Hardgrove was serving on active duty in the Coast Guard when he injured his back at an off-duty job in a Coast Guard Exchange store. An administrative law judge denied the employer's motion to dismiss his claim for lack of coverage. The Board accepted review of that order and held that the…
Fields Excavating, Inc.
Two willful trenching violations affirmed
Fields Excavating employees entered inadequately protected pipeline excavations at two Ohio worksites. At Havener Road, a superintendent continued despite saturated, sloughing soil and explicit safety concerns from a gas repairman. At Xenia, a superintendent knowingly sent an employee into a…
Arnold J. Jistel v. Trinity Materials, Inc.
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Arnold J. Jistel worked at Trinity Materials' Texas sand and gravel plant and reported safety conditions in workplace inspection records and to MSHA. He alleged that Trinity retaliated against him by changing his shift, assigning unwanted tasks, monitoring him, and laying him off. Judge Michael E…
Erickson Hall Construction Company
Late contest dismissed after citation was lost internally
Erickson Hall's receptionist signed for OSHA's citations but could not remember what she did with them and acknowledged that she might have discarded or misrouted them. The company argued that the compliance officer's statements and body language had suggested no citations would issue, but the…
Fraternal Order of Police, New Jersey Lodge 173 and United States Department of the Army, Army Garrison, Fort Monmouth, New Jersey
Fort Monmouth property damage grievance (FLRA 0-AR-3578): Financial assessment returned to arbitrator
The Army suspended a Fort Monmouth employee and assessed financial liability for alleged damage to government property. An arbitrator found no just cause for the suspension and awarded back pay, but declined to hear the financial assessment and denied attorney fees. The Authority held that the…
United States Department of the Treasury, Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Fort Worth, Texas and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local 2135
Bureau of Engraving and Printing acting pay grievance (FLRA 0-AR-3550): Training pay award upheld
A bargaining unit employee at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing attended training for an acting supervisor role and sought supervisory rate pay under the agency's acting pay policy. An arbitrator found the employee's grievance could proceed under the negotiated grievance procedure and ordered…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 90 and United States Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Pennsylvania Appeals Office
IRS Appeals Officer selections (FLRA 0-AR-3532): Union exceptions denied
Six IRS employees challenged the ranking and selection process for four GS-14 Appeals Officer positions. An arbitrator denied their grievances, finding that recent experience with complex income tax cases was a legitimate selection factor and that the record did not show discrimination or…
United States Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration and National Air Traffic Controllers Association
FAA midnight shift supervision dispute (FLRA 0-AR-3432): Reconsideration denied
The Authority had set aside an arbitration award that required the FAA to use a controller in charge in each operational area on midnight shifts when a supervisor was unavailable. The air traffic controllers' union sought reconsideration, arguing that the Authority should not have considered the…
John A. Capozzi d/b/a Capozzi Custom Cabinets
In re John A. Capozzi d/b/a Capozzi Custom Cabinets (EAB RCRA (3008) Appeal No. 02-01): Initial Decision affirmed
John A. Capozzi operated a small custom-cabinet manufacturing facility in Ohio that used solvents, paints, and related finishing materials. EPA alleged six hazardous-waste violations, including operating without a permit, improper land disposal of toluene, and failures involving waste analysis…
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.