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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L.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Shippensburg Post Office
Board orders specialist review of carrier’s back injury (ECAB 24-0143)
A postal rural carrier said she hurt her back while lifting a heavy package from a hamper. OWCP accepted that incident but denied the injury claim for insufficient proof of medical causation. The Board found that her physician’s report did not itself establish the claim, but was enough to require…
W.S. and Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration
Board orders employer records for mine inspector’s later hearing loss claim (ECAB 24-0082)
A mine safety inspector with an earlier accepted hearing loss claim sought compensation for an asserted increase during later noise exposure from June 2015 through January 2016. The Board found the record lacked necessary employer information about that later exposure. It directed OWCP to obtain…
A.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, New Orleans
Board overturns old wage capacity decision based on postal job status (ECAB 23-1042)
A postal worker challenged a long standing wage earning capacity decision based on a modified distribution clerk position. The Board found the record did not establish that the position was formally classified as permanent. Because a temporary or uncertain placement could not fairly establish…
S.T. and U.S. Postal Service, North Texas Processing & Distribution Center
Board upholds end of postal worker’s injury benefits (ECAB 23-0610)
A postal worker received FECA benefits for an accepted June 2020 injury. OWCP ended wage loss and medical benefits after medical review found no remaining work related disability or residuals. The Board found OWCP had met its burden to support the termination and upheld the October 2022 and March…
A.N. and Department of the Navy, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Board upholds shipyard worker’s two return to work overpayments (ECAB 23-0350)
A Navy shipyard employee continued receiving total disability compensation after returning to work. OWCP found a $2,151.63 overpayment for November 16 through December 4, 2021, when he was without fault, and a $3,170.82 overpayment for December 5 through January 1, 2022, when it found him at fault…
D.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Santa Clarita
Board denies carrier’s remaining intermittent disability period (ECAB 21-1393)
A postal carrier assistant had an accepted lower back and right hip injury after slipping on ice during delivery work. He sought compensation for additional intermittent time off beginning in February 2016. The Board found the medical evidence did not adequately connect the remaining claimed dates…
Billy Mullins v. Greater Wise, Incorporated and Rockwood Casualty Insurance
Mullins v. Greater Wise (BRB 23-0285 BLA): benefits award affirmed after smoking history review
Billy Mullins received a black lung benefits award after the judge reconsidered evidence about his smoking history on remand. The judge found a 30 pack-year smoking history and credited a doctor who attributed Mullins's chronic bronchitis to both smoking and coal mine dust. Greater Wise argued that…
Carlos Sturgill v. Cumberland River Coal Company and Arch Coal, Incorporated
Sturgill v. Cumberland River Coal (BRB 23-0230 BLA): benefits award and June 2018 start affirmed
Carlos Sturgill sought black lung benefits after at least fifteen years of underground coal mine work. The judge found a totally disabling respiratory impairment, which invoked the fifteen-year presumption that his disability was due to pneumoconiosis. Cumberland River Coal challenged the…
Barbara Younce (widow of and on behalf of Ralph Younce) v. Clinchfield Coal Company
Younce v. Clinchfield Coal (BRB 23-0159 and 23-0222): disability evidence requires a new review
Barbara Younce appealed, without a lawyer, denials of her late husband Ralph Younce's black lung claim and her own survivor's claim. The administrative law judge credited him with 14.27 years of coal mine work but found that the evidence did not show a totally disabling respiratory or pulmonary…
James McGlothlin v. Island Creek Coal Company
McGlothlin v. Island Creek Coal (BRB 23-0168 BLA): disability finding remanded for blood gas review
James McGlothlin appealed without a lawyer after a judge denied his black lung claim for lack of total respiratory disability. He had 21.5 years of underground coal mine work, but that alone did not invoke the fifteen-year presumption without proof of disability. The Board found that the judge had…
Barbara Younce, widow of and on behalf of Ralph Younce, v. Clinchfield Coal Company
Younce v. Clinchfield Coal (BRB 23-0159 and 23-0222 BLA): miner and survivor denials remanded
Barbara Younce appealed without a lawyer after an administrative law judge denied her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor claim. The judge found 14.27 years of mine work and ruled that the medical evidence did not establish total respiratory disability. The Board held that the…
Catherine L. Baker, widow of Leo H. Baker v. Barnes & Tucker Company
Baker v. Barnes & Tucker Company (BRB 23-0151 BLA): survivor benefits award remanded
Catherine Baker sought survivor benefits after her husband, a coal miner, died. The judge found that he had nineteen years of qualifying coal mine work and was totally disabled, invoking the presumption that his death was due to pneumoconiosis. The Board held that the judge had not adequately…
Gracie Ritchie on behalf of and widow of Bryan Ritchie v. Faith Coal Sales, Incorporated
Ritchie v. Faith Coal Sales (BRB 23-0014 and 23-0286 BLA): miner and survivor awards affirmed
Gracie Ritchie pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor claim against Faith Coal Sales. The judge found that a CT scan showed complicated pneumoconiosis, which invoked an irrebuttable presumption of disability due to the disease and supported modification of an earlier…
Raphael M. Stevens v. Marine Repair Services, Incorporated
Stevens v. Marine Repair Services (BRB 22-0470): benefits termination remanded after car accident
Raphael Stevens injured his head, arm, back, and leg while working as a container repair mechanic for Marine Repair Services. The judge awarded permanent partial disability benefits for July 2018 through early January 2019, then ended the employer's liability after Stevens was hurt in a car…
David Fowler v. M.T.C. East d/b/a Ports America, Incorporated
Fowler v. M.T.C. East (BRB 22-0199): controversion notice ruling remanded
David Fowler sought additional compensation for a work-related hearing loss claim after his longshore employer filed a notice contesting parts of the claim with the workers' compensation office but did not give him a copy. A judge denied the request, treating filing with the office and service on…
Schooler v. Ford Motor Co.
Board schedules dismissal of SOX appeal
Charles Schooler asked to dismiss his Sarbanes-Oxley Act appeal because he intended to seek de novo review in federal district court. The Board explained that dismissal before a federal complaint was filed could make the administrative judge's decision final and possibly prevent de novo…
H.S. and Department of the Navy, Long Beach Naval Shipyard
Board reverses termination of shipyard worker’s wage loss benefits (ECAB 24-0211)
A former Navy shipwright helper received compensation for an accepted 1992 injury. OWCP ended wage loss benefits based on a second opinion. The Board found that the examiner had not specifically addressed all accepted conditions when concluding that no work related disability remained. The opinion…
D.F. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Board upholds denial of ICE employee’s emotional condition claim (ECAB 24-0178)
An ICE information technology specialist claimed that workplace treatment, including delay in providing a sit-to-stand desk and his probationary termination, caused an emotional condition. The Board found no corroborated employer error or abuse in these administrative matters and no substantiated…
H.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Rome Post Office
Board upholds denial of postal carrier’s shoulder replacement surgery (ECAB 23-0629)
A postal carrier sought authorization for total left shoulder replacement surgery after an accepted shoulder injury. OWCP obtained a second opinion that found no current clinical signs or objective test results supporting the surgery for the accepted conditions. The Board found that opinion well…
J.D. and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
Board returns late reconsideration request for a reasoned OWCP decision (ECAB 22-0783)
A Navy shipyard worker requested reconsideration more than one year after OWCP’s last merit decision. The Board upheld OWCP’s finding that the request was untimely, requiring the worker to show clear evidence of error. OWCP’s denial did not explain why the submission failed that standard. The Board…
G.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs
Board dismisses duplicate appeal docket (ECAB 22-0726)
A Department of Veterans Affairs employee filed two Board appeals concerning the same issues in the same OWCP file. The Clerk assigned docket 22-0726 to the earlier filing and docket 22-0890 to the later one. Because docket 22-0890 had gone forward, the Board dismissed the duplicate docket 22-0726…
C.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Southfield Post Office
Board remands postal worker’s reconsideration request for timely review (ECAB 22-0494)
A postal carrier’s attorney requested reconsideration within one year of the prior Board decision. OWCP treated the request as late because it received the claimant’s authorization for counsel after the request. The Board found that later acknowledgement of counsel’s representation showed the…
K.P. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration
Board reverses termination of TSA worker’s compensation and medical benefits (ECAB 22-0207)
A TSA employee received benefits for an accepted 2004 injury. OWCP terminated wage loss compensation and medical benefits based on a second opinion, but another injury file involving the same body parts remained separate. The Board found that correct adjudication required OWCP to combine the files…
O.H. and Department of Housing and Urban Development
Board remands federal benefits overpayment for a verified calculation (ECAB 24-0227)
A Housing and Urban Development worker received FECA wage loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service during the same period. The Board found that this created an overpayment and that she was without fault. Two Social Security benefit forms gave…
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Birmingham Post Office
Board orders further medical review of postal worker’s neck injury claim (ECAB 24-0089)
A postal worker claimed that lifting at work in April 2022 caused a neck condition and arm symptoms. Her surgeon connected a C3-4 disc herniation and radiculopathy to the incident, with an explanation of the lifting mechanism and imaging. The Board found the opinion insufficient to establish the…
G.J. and Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service, Mastead Annex
Board remands Forest Service knee claim to combine related injury files (ECAB 23-1184)
A Forest Service wildlife biologist claimed injuries to both knees after a work fall. OWCP accepted that the fall occurred but denied the claim for lack of medical proof tying diagnosed conditions to it. The worker had several earlier claim files involving both knees, including an accepted right…
J.P., claiming as widower of T.P., and Department of Veterans Affairs, Dwight D. Eisenhower VA Medical Center
Board orders fuller review of survivor’s claim tied to accepted asthma injury (ECAB 23-0725)
A widower sought benefits based on his late wife’s accepted work related aggravation of asthma. OWCP denied a link between that condition and her death based on a physician’s opinion. The factual statement given to the physician omitted an earlier award for 50 percent permanent impairment of her…
G.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Los Angeles Post Office
Board upholds rejection of mail handler’s late injury claim (ECAB 22-0778)
A mail handler filed a claim in 2022 for a lifting injury he said occurred in 1999. The filing was outside FECA’s three year period. He said he had reported the injury at the time, but the record contained no evidence corroborating supervisor knowledge or written notice within 30 days. The Board…
L.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Lexington Post Office
Board recognizes documented workplace harassment and remands emotional condition claim (ECAB 21-0522)
A postal worker claimed an emotional condition caused by managers’ treatment at work. Witness statements confirmed a manager’s profane outburst and disparaging comments about her restrictions and earlier injury. The Board found these incidents established harassment as a compensable work factor…
Canyon Fuel Company, LLC v. Secretary of Labor
Expedited review of ventilation order denied
Canyon Fuel contested a section 104(d)(2) withdrawal order alleging that two converted mine seals lacked discharge pipes required by the approved ventilation plan. The company sought an expedited hearing, arguing that the plan language resulted from a mutual mistake and that prompt review would…
Donnie E. Holcomb, widow of James E. Holcomb v. Carter Roag Coal Company
Holcomb v. Carter Roag Coal (BRB 23-0025 BLA): late attorney fee petition denied
Counsel for Donnie Holcomb sought fees for work on her successful black lung claim against Carter Roag Coal Company. The judge gave counsel sixty days after the June 2020 benefits award to file a fee petition, but counsel filed it in March 2022. Counsel cited disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic…
D.T. and Department of the Army, Corpus Christi Army Depot
Board upholds three percent knee impairment award for Army mechanic (ECAB 24-0126)
An Army depot mechanic sought a higher schedule award after an accepted left knee injury. His treating physician rated impairment at 10 percent, while OWCP’s medical adviser rated it at three percent. The Board found the treating physician had used the wrong default value for the cartilage finding…
C.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Bellmawr Post Office
Board upholds end of postal worker’s carpal tunnel benefits (ECAB 24-0096)
A postal worker received benefits for accepted right carpal tunnel syndrome. An impartial medical examiner found no active carpal tunnel symptoms or continuing work related disability and did not support additional conditions. The Board found his detailed opinion resolved the medical conflict and…
H.C., claiming as widow of P.C., and U.S. Postal Service, Reading Post Office
Board upholds denial of survivor claim lacking medical link to accepted injury (ECAB 24-0077)
A postal worker’s widow sought survivor benefits based on his accepted 1977 neck and back injuries. The physician who discussed his death described respiratory failure and cardiac arrest but did not explain a link to those accepted injuries. The Board found the medical evidence insufficient to…
R.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Washington GMF Post Office
Board grants one treatment day of lost wages and rejects unsupported dates (ECAB 23-1081)
A postal carrier sought intermittent wage loss for medical appointments related to an accepted right knee injury. A physical therapy note verified treatment on December 14, 2022, entitling her to up to four hours of compensation for that date. Appointment listings did not verify treatment for the…
R.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Park Place Post Office
Board upholds denial of postal worker’s hernia claim (ECAB 23-1027)
A postal worker claimed a left inguinal hernia after pushing a postal vehicle with its brakes engaged. His physician described the incident and diagnosed a hernia, but did not explain the physiological process connecting the work event to the condition. Other reports addressed work restrictions…
D.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Edison Bulk Mail Center
Board upholds loss of benefits after postal worker left suitable work (ECAB 20-0341)
A postal mail handler with an accepted ankle injury worked in a customer care position that OWCP found suitable. A referral physician’s restrictions allowed that position, and the Board found his opinion persuasive. She stopped working in the position when she took early retirement, which the Board…
R.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Powder Springs Post Office
Board upholds denial of postal carrier’s renewed disability claim (ECAB 24-0234)
A postal delivery specialist returned to regular work after an accepted right shoulder injury, then claimed renewed disability several months later. His physicians gave work restrictions but did not explain why the accepted injury caused the later inability to work. Therapy notes and imaging did…
W.V. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Board upholds refusal to reopen employee’s impairment claim (ECAB 24-0179)
A Customs and Border Protection employee sought reconsideration of an earlier impairment decision. His physician repeated a prior 10 percent knee rating without providing the diagnostic basis for it. The worker’s own disagreement with the rating did not provide new medical evidence of greater…
F.H. and Social Security Administration, Toledo Office
Board upholds denial of arm impairment schedule award (ECAB 24-0090)
A Social Security Administration employee sought a schedule award for her right arm following an accepted fall injury. Earlier Board findings on the medical record remained binding, and she submitted no new medical evidence of permanent right arm impairment. Her counsel’s constitutional due process…
D.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Anson Jones Post Office
Board recognizes carrier’s repetitive hand duties and orders injury review (ECAB 24-0073)
A postal carrier assistant claimed bilateral hand problems from repeated gripping, lifting, and handling mail. Her account and medical reports described those duties consistently. The Board found the work activities established, contrary to OWCP’s finding. It returned the case for OWCP to decide…
S.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Grand Rapids Processing and Distribution Center
Board denies two hours of daily wage loss without reasoned medical support (ECAB 24-0032)
A postal processing clerk sought compensation for reducing his modified schedule from eight to six hours daily after an accepted right hand injury. His surgeon reported forearm pain and a need for revision surgery, but did not explain why the accepted conditions prevented eight hours of modified…
J.L. and U.S. Postal Service, North Garland Post Office
Board upholds reduced benefits based on available unit clerk work (ECAB 23-1024)
A postal carrier with an accepted neck and arm condition could no longer perform carrier duties. A referral physician found she could do full time modified work within specified limits. OWCP’s vocational counselor identified a unit clerk position that met those limits and was reasonably available…
B.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Roy Royall Post Office
Board dismisses postal worker’s appeal filed after 180 day deadline (ECAB 24-0431)
A postal worker appealed an August 16, 2023 OWCP nonmerit decision on March 14, 2024. The Board’s 180 day deadline expired on February 12, 2024. The worker provided no supported explanation establishing compelling circumstances for the late filing. The Board dismissed the appeal for lack of…
A.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Southern Maryland Processing and Distribution Center
Board recognizes diagnosed eye condition and remands dust exposure claim (ECAB 24-0224)
A postal mail handler reported dust entering both eyes while stacking pallets. OWCP denied the claim on the ground that no diagnosed condition was established. A physician’s report diagnosed chronic eyelid disease with styes after describing the workplace dust exposure. The Board found the…
T.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Indianapolis Processing and Distribution Center
Board upholds denial of schedule award for lumbar injury (ECAB 24-0079)
A postal clerk sought a schedule award after accepted lumbar conditions. OWCP’s medical adviser found no lower limb sensory or motor deficit consistent with lumbar radiculopathy, despite positive electrodiagnostic studies. The Board found his use of the impairment guide correct and accepted a zero…
E.S. and U.S. Postal Service, South Suburban Processing and Distribution Center
Board upholds knee award rating and denies lump sum payment (ECAB 24-0050)
A postal processing clerk sought a rating above 50 percent for his accepted right knee injury and asked to receive his schedule award in one payment. The Board found the medical adviser correctly applied the impairment guide to reach 50 percent and saw no medical support for a higher rating. It…
S.Z. and U.S. Postal Service, San Leandro Post Office
Board upholds denial of emotional condition claim without corroborated work incident (ECAB 23-1086)
A postal worker said a coworker yelled and used profanity toward her during a workplace encounter. She did not provide witness statements or documents corroborating her account, and the coworker disputed it. The Board found no established harassment or other compensable work factor. It therefore…
G.L. and U.S. Postal Service, West Sacramento Processing and Distribution Center
Board remands arm impairment rating for complete diagnostic record (ECAB 23-0584)
A postal worker sought a higher schedule award for both arms after accepted conditions. OWCP’s second opinion physician rated several impairments but said he lacked diagnostic studies needed to assess the ulnar nerves. The Board found OWCP had not supplied the full medical record before relying on…
U.S. Postal Service, dba Portland Processing and Distribution Center
Lockout and machine-guarding citations vacated
OSHA inspected the U.S. Postal Service's Portland processing and distribution center after a complaint and cited lockout, lockout-training, and machine-guarding conditions. The three contested items carried proposed penalties totaling $148,137. The judge found the lock-removal standard did not…
City of Rochester, New Hampshire
In re City of Rochester, New Hampshire (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 23-01): petition dismissed after withdrawal
The City of Rochester, New Hampshire, petitioned the Environmental Appeals Board to review its NPDES permit, which was identified as Permit No. NH0100668. On March 28, 2024, the City filed a notice withdrawing its petition. The City stated that the parties had executed an agreement for an…
James David Hill, Jr. (on behalf of James David Hill, Sr. and Bettie J. Hill) v. Island Creek Coal Company and CONSOL Energy, Incorporated
Hill v. Island Creek Coal (BRB 23-0058 and 23-0059): disability evidence returned for review
James David Hill, Jr. pursued black lung benefit claims for his late father and mother. An administrative law judge had denied both claims after finding that the miner was not totally disabled by a respiratory or pulmonary impairment. The Board held that the judge had not adequately assessed…
James David Hill, Jr., on behalf of James David Hill, Sr. and Bettie J. Hill v. Island Creek Coal Company
Hill v. Island Creek Coal (BRB 23-0058 and 23-0059 BLA): miner and survivor denials remanded
James David Hill, Jr. pursued his deceased parents' black lung claims against Island Creek Coal Company. The judge denied both claims after finding that the miner was not totally disabled by a respiratory or pulmonary impairment. On a second appeal, the Board found that the judge had not adequately…
Don C. Gehrig v. Quarto Mining Company
Gehrig v. Quarto Mining (BRB 23-0057 BLA): black lung award affirmed over testing challenge
Don Gehrig sought black lung benefits after twenty-five years of underground coal mine work. The judge found him totally disabled based on pulmonary function testing and a doctor's opinion, invoking the fifteen-year presumption of disability due to pneumoconiosis. The Board majority upheld her…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 480, Council of Prison Locals #33 (Union) and United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution McDowell, Welch, West Virginia (Agency)
FCI McDowell and AFGE Local 480 (FLRA 0-AR-5942): Temporary secretary assignments left in place
After a prison unit secretary was promoted, FCI McDowell assigned four secretaries to cover some of the vacant position's duties for eight weeks. An arbitrator found that their normal work had temporarily increased but their duties and supervisors had not changed, so the agency did not have to…
D.B. and Department of Housing and Urban Development
Board dismisses appeal filed years after OWCP decision (ECAB 24-0407)
A Housing and Urban Development employee appealed a 2019 OWCP decision in March 2024. The Board’s 180 day filing deadline had expired in October 2019, and the employee did not document compelling circumstances for the delay. The Board lacked jurisdiction to review the appeal and dismissed it. The…
M.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Baltimore Processing and Distribution Center
Board splits fault finding for postal worker’s compensation overpayment (ECAB 24-0200)
A postal mail handler continued to receive total disability payments after returning to full time work, creating an $8,604.19 overpayment. The Board found she was without fault for the first two direct deposits after her return because the record did not show she knew they were wrong when received…
S.J. and Department of the Army, Anniston Army Depot
Board upholds denial of emotional condition claim lacking incident details (ECAB 24-0156)
An Army depot mechanic alleged that a hostile work environment caused an emotional condition. She did not describe the people, actions, statements, or circumstances behind that allegation and did not answer OWCP’s factual questionnaire. The Board found no sufficiently identified compensable work…
S.B. and U.S. Postal Service, West Knoxville Post Office
Board upholds seven percent shoulder impairment award (ECAB 24-0153)
A postal carrier sought a higher schedule award after an accepted shoulder injury and surgery. His treating surgeon rated impairment at seven percent. OWCP’s medical adviser reviewed the examination, applied the impairment guide, and also reached seven percent, a higher result than the range of…
M.T. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration
Board orders further review of FAA employee’s spine condition claim (ECAB 24-0103)
An FAA employee claimed that extensive work travel and laptop use aggravated neck and back conditions. His physician described the duties and a possible physiological path from awkward computer posture to spinal symptoms. The Board found the opinion insufficient to establish the claim outright but…
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.