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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Robert Terrell v. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Terrell v. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (BRB 99-0509): claimant liable for full counsel fee
Robert Terrell ultimately obtained permanent total disability benefits, but his lawyer lost a procedural argument during an earlier Board appeal. The Board had allowed only $410 of the lawyer's requested fee for work at that level. On reconsideration, it held that the work was necessary to protect…
In re Rosa MEJIA-ANDINO, Respondent
Minor required notice through parents when possible
The Board reviewed removal proceedings involving a seven-year-old respondent from Honduras whose Notice to Appear was served on an adult identified as her uncle. The record indicated that the respondent was traveling to live with family in the United States, and her parents' names and address were…
In re Glendi GOMEZ-GOMEZ, Respondent
Form I-213 supported removability and notice
The Board reconsidered proceedings involving an eight-year-old respondent from Guatemala whose removability information came from an adult who identified himself as her father. The respondent did not appear at the removal hearing, and the Service relied on a Form I-213 and notice mailed to the last…
Original Sixteen to One Mine, Inc.
Settlement approved with reduced penalty
The Secretary of Labor brought civil penalty proceedings against Original Sixteen to One Mine, Inc. under the Mine Act. Three citations were vacated, two citations were severed and consolidated into another docket, and the Secretary proposed settlement of the remaining citations with modifications…
Internal Revenue Service and NTEU Chapter 284
IRS and NTEU Chapter 284 (FLRA 0-AR-3565): Agency's arbitration exceptions denied
The IRS challenged an arbitration award in a dispute with NTEU Chapter 284. The Authority found no defect under the statutory standards for reviewing arbitration awards and denied the agency's exceptions. Its short decision cites standards governing procedural arbitrability, factual errors, and an…
AFGE Local 1897 and Eglin Air Force Base
Union's arbitration exceptions denied
AFGE Local 1897 challenged an arbitration award involving the Air Force's 96th Air Base Wing at Eglin Air Force Base. The Authority concluded that the union had not established a defect under the standards for reviewing arbitration awards and denied its exceptions. The decision cites standards for…
AFGE National Council of HUD Locals 222 and Department of Housing and Urban Development
AFGE HUD Locals 222 and HUD (FLRA 0-AR-3573): Union's arbitration exceptions denied
AFGE's National Council of HUD Locals 222 challenged an arbitration award involving the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Authority accepted the union's supplemental submission because both the award and exceptions discussed the settlement addendum it supplied, and the agency did not…
Lakehead Constructors, Inc.
Discrimination found for unpaid training and retaliation
Lakehead Constructors, an industrial contractor that worked at mine sites, did not pay Daniel McClernan for required MSHA refresher training and later threatened his employment after he filed a discrimination complaint. Judge Michael E. Zielinski found that McClernan was a miner with a right to…
Holland Roofing of Columbus, Inc.
Safety-monitor violations resulted in $2,500 in penalties
Holland Roofing used a safety-monitoring system for employees working on a flat roof more than 20 feet above the ground. The designated monitor left the workers' level and later turned away from them while helping place materials. The judge found that both actions violated the safety-monitor…
Lexicon, Inc., d/b/a Schueck Steel Company
Citations modified and affirmed after fatal fall
A Schueck Steel employee died after falling through unsecured floor grating during construction at the Midlothian Quarry and Plant. The ALJ found violations involving failure to use a safety belt and line, failure to barricade or post the unsecured grating, and entry into an area controlled by an…
3M Company, Inc., and its Successors
Temporary reinstatement ordered
Thomas Sullivan was discharged by 3M after management found him resting in a haul truck during an overtime shift. The Secretary alleged that the discharge was related to Sullivan's safety committee work, union safety activity, and requests for silica dust monitoring information. Judge Michael E…
Jordan Construction
Two auger-mining violations affirmed
Jordan Construction operated a small auger-mining business with two employees. The ALJ found an overhang above the work area and found that the operator failed to follow its approved ground control plan by leaving inadequate web material between auger holes. The Secretary did not prove a violation…
NTEU Chapter 12 and Internal Revenue Service, Birmingham
NTEU Chapter 12 and IRS Birmingham (FLRA 0-AR-3580): Factual-error exception denied
NTEU Chapter 12 challenged an arbitration award involving the IRS in Birmingham, Alabama. The Authority rejected the union's exception and left the award in place. It cited the rule that a factual-error challenge cannot rest on a fact disputed at arbitration and must identify a clearly erroneous…
Graymont Western US
Additional information ordered in discrimination case
James Womack alleged that Graymont Western US discriminated against him under section 105(c) of the Mine Act after it terminated his employment following a period of medical leave and work restrictions. Graymont stated after the hearing that it could not determine whether Womack could perform the…
George B. Hardee Construction Company, Inc.
Trenching violations resulted in $36,800 in penalties
George B. Hardee Construction installed a storm sewer pipeline in an excavation in Mobile, Alabama. OSHA found two employees in Type C soil at depths exceeding five feet without cave-in protection, an adequate competent-person inspection, excavation-hazard training, or a safe means of exit. The…
Marchman Construction Corp.
Dismissal remanded because orders used an incorrect address
The chief administrative law judge dismissed Marchman Construction's notice of contest after the company did not answer the Secretary's complaint or respond to an order to show cause. The company petitioned for review and said it had not received the show-cause order. The Commission file showed…
Nelson Brothers Quarries
Withdrawal orders partly vacated and penalty assessed
Nelson Brothers Quarries faced nine alleged violations of Mine Act safety standards and eight related 104(b) withdrawal orders at its Jasper Quarry. The ALJ allowed the operator to challenge the orders in the civil-penalty proceedings, then affirmed some citations and orders and vacated others…
Calvin V. Lenig Coal Preparation and Sales, Inc.
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Guy Adams alleged that his December 2000 work refusal and voluntary departure from Calvin V. Lenig Coal Preparation and Sales were protected activity because he had not received formal miner training and feared unsafe conditions. The ALJ found that Adams did not establish a good-faith, reasonable…
AFGE Local 3354 and Opal Lang
Union must compensate eight employees for discriminatory claim processing
AFGE Local 3354 administered employee claims under a $75,000 overtime settlement with the Agriculture Department's Rural Development office in St. Louis. All 38 union members who submitted claims were paid, while all 30 unpaid claimants were nonmembers. The Authority reversed the ALJ's dismissal…
Van Tassel Construction Corporation
Roof fall-protection violation affirmed
Van Tassel Construction employees installed decorative wood trusses on a shopping-center roof in Ohio. The judge vacated the allegation that the company's competent person failed to make frequent and regular inspections because the standard did not require an inspection immediately upon arriving at…
AFGE Local 171, Council of Prison Locals 33 and Federal Transfer Center, Oklahoma City
AFGE Local 171 and Federal Transfer Center (FLRA 0-AR-3597): Bias and hearing exceptions denied
AFGE Local 171 challenged an arbitration award involving the Bureau of Prisons' Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City. The Authority rejected the union's exceptions and left the award in place. It cited the requirements for proving arbitrator bias, improper means, prejudicial misconduct, or an…
AFGE Local 1757 and Brooks Air Force Base
Union's arbitration exceptions denied
AFGE Local 1757 challenged an arbitration award involving the Air Force Materiel Command at Brooks Air Force Base. The Authority concluded that the union had not established a defect in the award and denied its exceptions. Its brief decision cites limits on challenges to procedural arbitrability…
AFGE Local 1617 and Kelly Air Force Base
Reconsideration denied
AFGE Local 1617 asked the Authority to reconsider its earlier arbitration decision involving Kelly Air Force Base. The union argued that the Authority's reasoning and conclusions conflicted with prior holdings. The Authority found only disagreement with its conclusions, rather than extraordinary…
Social Security Administration, Lansing and AFGE
SSA Lansing and AFGE (FLRA 0-AR-3455): Reconsideration denied
AFGE asked the Authority to reconsider its earlier arbitration decision involving the Social Security Administration in Lansing, Michigan. The union argued that the Authority had misinterpreted the award and wrongly concluded that it did not comport with the collective bargaining agreement. The…
Knaak Sand
Three citations affirmed, two vacated, $135 penalty
Knaak Sand was a small, one-person surface sand and gravel operation in Iowa. Judge Jerold Feldman considered five non-significant-and-substantial citations involving first-aid readiness, quarterly reporting, electrical testing records, first-aid materials, and a missing berm along a riverbank…
Federal Aviation Administration and National Air Traffic Controllers Association
FAA and NATCA (FLRA 0-AR-3432): Midnight-shift controller award set aside
An arbitrator found that the FAA violated its agreements and an agency order by failing to assign controllers-in-charge on midnight shifts at air traffic control centers. The award required coverage within operational areas and 10 percent premium pay for employees improperly denied those…
Hollinger Construction, Inc.
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Rodney Woodruff, a pipefitter working on a surface coal mine construction project, claimed that Hollinger Construction discriminated against him after he asked for a respirator while using a torch to cut metal. Judge Richard W. Manning found that Woodruff quit rather than being terminated or…
Municipal Services
Late contest dismissed and $3,750 penalty affirmed
OSHA issued Municipal Services seven serious citation items and one other-than-serious item with proposed penalties totaling $3,750. The company received the citation on May 9, 2001, but did not contest it by the May 31 deadline. Its president later said he had not read the OSHA letter carefully…
Social Security Administration, Baltimore and AFGE
SSA Baltimore and AFGE (FLRA WA-RP-90035): Security-position review granted, supervisor challenge denied
SSA challenged a regional decision including eight employees in its nationwide bargaining unit. The Authority denied review for the employee services specialist position because the agency had not shown consistent independent judgment in assigning work, as required for supervisory status. It…
Hanson Permanente Cement
Contest proceedings dismissed after settlement
Hanson Permanente Cement contested three MSHA orders concerning its Permanente Plant in California. During the hearing, the parties reached a settlement resolving the contest issues. The judge granted the withdrawal of the contest in one docket and dismissed the other contest dockets based on the…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Individual penalty for knowingly allowing float coal dust
William Eugene Averette was a longwall foreman and agent of Jim Walter Resources at the No. 7 Mine in Alabama. Judge Gary Melick found that Averette knew, or had reason to know, that substantial float coal dust remained in a longwall tailgate entry and failed to take adequate corrective action. The…
In re Nabil Ahmed ELGENDI, Respondent
Misdemeanor marijuana possession was not an aggravated felony
The Board reviewed an Egyptian lawful permanent resident's appeal after an Immigration Judge treated two New York misdemeanor marijuana-possession convictions as aggravated felonies and denied cancellation of removal. The Board held that, under the Second Circuit's interpretation of the federal…
Chem Lab Products, Inc.
In re Chem Lab Products, Inc. (EAB FIFRA Appeal No. 02-01): penalty increased to $132,000
Chem Lab Products, Inc. sold an unregistered swimming-pool sanitizer and clarifier called Shock Quick in California. EPA alleged 24 unlawful sales under FIFRA and proposed a $132,000 penalty, but the Administrative Law Judge reduced the penalty to $50,000 after comparing the case with a…
Michael Timothy Sullivan v. St. Johns Shipping Company, Incorporated, et al.
Sullivan v. St. Johns Shipping (BRB 02-0159): hearing notice requires certified mail finding
Michael Sullivan obtained disability and medical benefits after a hearing at which neither potential employer appeared. St. Johns Shipping argued on appeal that it had not received the certified or registered mail notice required for the hearing. The Board held that the record did not show how…
JFK Builders
Floor-opening fall violation affirmed
JFK Builders assigned two employees to clear snow and ice around a large floor opening so guardrails could be installed. Neither employee used fall protection, and one fell at least 10 feet to the basement floor and sustained serious injuries. JFK argued that protection was infeasible during the…
Seymour Johnson Air Force Base and NAGE Local R5-188
Reconsideration of interlocutory order denied
Seymour Johnson Air Force Base asked the Authority to reconsider an unpublished order denying an interlocutory motion. The agency repeated arguments that the Authority had already considered and rejected. The Authority found that the request sought to relitigate its conclusions without establishing…
AFGE Local 2513, National Council of Field Labor Locals and OSHA Tarrytown Office
AFGE Local 2513 and OSHA Tarrytown (FLRA 0-AR-3586): Union's arbitration exceptions denied
AFGE Local 2513 challenged an arbitration award involving OSHA's Tarrytown office. The agency did not file an opposition. The Authority found no defect under the statutory review standards and denied the union's exceptions. The short decision cites standards for showing legal error or an…
NAGE Local R12-135 and Environmental Protection Agency, Las Vegas
NAGE Local R12-135 and EPA Las Vegas (FLRA 0-AR-3566): Procedural-arbitrability exception denied
NAGE Local R12-135 challenged an arbitration award involving the EPA in Las Vegas. The Authority denied the union's exception after finding that it had not established a defect in the award. It cited the rule limiting direct challenges to an arbitrator's determination of a grievance's procedural…
Alabama Army National Guard and Association of Civilian Technicians, North Alabama Chapter
Alabama Army National Guard and ACT North Alabama (FLRA AT-CA-01-0743): Guard must comply with uniform arbitration award
The Alabama Army National Guard did not comply with an arbitration award concerning additional battle dress uniforms for bargaining unit employees. It had not filed exceptions with the Authority, so the award was final and binding. The Authority adopted the ALJ's finding that the refusal to comply…
AFGE Local 217 and Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Augusta
AFGE Local 217 and VA Augusta (FLRA 0-AR-3575): Contract-interpretation exception denied
AFGE Local 217 challenged an arbitration award involving the VA Medical Center in Augusta, Georgia. The Authority found that the union had not established a defect in the arbitrator's interpretation of the agreement and denied its exception. The decision also explains through cited precedent that…
Internal Revenue Service and NTEU Chapter 52
IRS and NTEU Chapter 52 (FLRA 0-AR-3558): Agency's factual-error exception denied
The IRS challenged an arbitration award involving NTEU Chapter 52. The Authority found no defect on the ground raised and denied the agency's exception. It cited the requirements for a factual-error challenge, including proof of a clearly erroneous central fact that would have changed the result…
AFGE Local 2054 and Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System
AFGE Local 2054 and VA North Little Rock (FLRA 0-AR-3504): Attorney-fee issue returned to arbitrator
An arbitrator found a VA employee's ten-day suspension improper and ordered the employee made whole, but did not address the union's attorney-fee requests. AFGE Local 2054 challenged that omission. The Authority explained that the arbitrator had not been required to decide fees before the backpay…
AFGE Local 987 and Warner Robins Air Logistics Center
AFGE Local 987 and Robins Air Force Base (FLRA 0-AR-3569): Prior-award exception denied
AFGE Local 987 challenged an arbitration award involving Warner Robins Air Logistics Center. The agency did not file an opposition. The Authority denied the union's exception and cited the rule that arbitrators are not bound by awards resolving other disputes. The brief decision does not describe…
AFGE Local 1770 and XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg
AFGE Local 1770 and Fort Bragg (FLRA 0-AR-3543): Union's arbitration exceptions denied
AFGE Local 1770 challenged an arbitration award involving the Army's XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg. The Authority found that the union had not established a defect under the statutory review standards and denied its exceptions. It cited standards for an arbitrator exceeding authority, legal…
Coastal Coal Co., LLC.
Motion to compel denied and documents sealed
Coastal Coal sought additional portions of an MSHA investigative report, witness interview notes, and related memoranda in a discrimination proceeding involving Billy R. Begley. The Secretary claimed work-product, investigative-file, deliberative-process, and informant privileges for some material…
Paiute Aggregates Inc.
Motion to dismiss denied after penalty-assessment delay
Paiute Aggregates asked the judge to dismiss a civil penalty proceeding because MSHA took more than 13 months after its investigation to issue proposed assessments for three alleged violations. The delay followed a fatal accident at the Nevada mine and involved special-assessment staffing and…
Mary Kylee Pullin, child of William R. Duck v. Fluid Crane & Construction Company
Pullin v. Fluid Crane & Construction (BRB 02-0335): death benefits dependency requirement upheld
Mary Kylee Pullin's mother sought Longshore Act death benefits on her behalf after her father, William Duck, died from a work injury. Because Kylee was born outside marriage, the Act required proof that she depended on him for support. The Board rejected the argument that this requirement violated…
Leeco, Inc., et al.
Motion to open sealed document denied
The Secretary brought a discrimination complaint on behalf of Jimmy Caudill and Jerry Michael Caudill against Leeco and Blue Diamond Coal Company. The Secretary asked to open part of a settlement agreement that an ALJ had sealed in an earlier discrimination case. Judge Michael E. Zielinski denied…
Patterson Drilling Company, L.P.
Rotary-table breakout hazard resulted in a $4,000 penalty
Patterson Drilling employees used one tong and rotary-table power to break a drill-pipe connection. A retaining bolt sheared, the tong swung around, and an employee was struck and later died from his injuries. The judge found that the oil-drilling industry recognized the danger of using rotary…
D’Allessandro Corporation
Excavation violations affirmed with $5,000 in penalties
D’Allessandro Corporation installed drain piping in a Type C soil excavation in Boston. OSHA found an employee working in a trench more than six feet deep without cave-in protection outside the trench box. The judge also found that no qualified competent person was present to inspect the changed…
Association of Civilian Technicians, Show-Me Army Chapter and Missouri National Guard
ACT Show-Me Army Chapter and Missouri National Guard (FLRA 0-AR-3524): Earlier grievance must receive a merits decision
The union challenged an employee's reassignment through a grievance, then filed an unfair labor practice charge that was dismissed. An arbitrator later dismissed the grievance because he believed the two filings concerned the same issue and the unfair labor practice had already been decided. The…
Paiute Aggregates Inc.
Motion to dismiss denied after nine-month assessment period
Paiute Aggregates asked the judge to dismiss a civil penalty proceeding because MSHA took more than nine months after its investigation to issue proposed assessments for two alleged violations. The delay followed a fatal accident at the Nevada mine and involved special-assessment review and…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Miners' compensation application denied after mine closure
The United Mine Workers sought four hours of compensation for miners scheduled to work an overnight shift after two explosions at Jim Walter Resources' No. 5 Mine in Alabama. Thirteen miners died and others were injured in the explosions, after which the mine operator withdrew miners and canceled…
Amy Porter v. Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company
Porter v. Newport News Shipbuilding (BRB 02-0287): protective nominal benefits request did not preserve claim
Amy Porter received scheduled benefits for an arm injury from carpal tunnel syndrome while working at Newport News Shipbuilding. Soon after the last payment, she requested nominal benefits, but when the claims examiner offered to schedule a conference, she declined. The Board found no evidence that…
Quentin L. Jones v. Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company
Jones v. Newport News Shipbuilding (BRB 02-0227): pending modification request kept disability claim timely
Quentin Jones injured his knee and elbow while working at Newport News Shipbuilding and later developed a related hip condition. After the employer's last compensation payment, he requested nominal benefits within the one-year period for modification. The Board held that the request sought present…
American Wrecking Corporation and IDM Environmental Corporation
Willful demolition violations affirmed on remand
The Commission remanded this consolidated demolition case for credibility findings and a decision on whether each employer's Item 2 violation was willful. Unsupported bricks remained above employees cutting structural columns at a power-plant demolition site where a fatal accident occurred. The…
Hamilton Pipeline, Inc.
Mixed result on crusher safety citations and penalties
Hamilton Pipeline operated a portable crusher and related equipment that produced crushed stone for highway and paving projects. During an August 2000 inspection, MSHA issued citations involving machine guarding, access steps, workplace-examination records, and grounding-test records. The ALJ found…
U.S. Steel Mining Company, LLC.
Settlement approved after Commission remand
U.S. Steel Mining Company, LLC agreed to resolve a discrimination proceeding brought on behalf of Terry McGill after the Commission remanded the case for further proceedings. The ALJ approved the settlement and ordered the company to pay McGill $200 in expenses plus $42 in interest, and to pay…
Branham Sign Company, Inc.
Default judgment affirmed the citation
Branham Sign Company did not comply with two pretrial conference and scheduling orders. After the judge issued a corrected order to show cause, the company's response did not explain those failures. The judge found that the company had refused to participate in pretrial conferences and had…
Super Chem Corporation
In re Super Chem Corporation (EAB FIFRA Appeal No. 02-05): reconsideration denied as untimely
Super Chem Corporation asked the Environmental Appeals Board to reconsider its September 9, 2002 Order Dismissing Appeal. The Board applied the 10-day reconsideration period and the additional five days for service by mail. Because Super Chem filed its motion 17 days after service, the Board denied…
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.