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.
No decisions match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
Air Force, Randolph Air Force Base and AFGE Local 1840
Randolph Air Force Base and AFGE Local 1840 (FLRA DA-CA-00630): Newsletter-distribution restriction violated employee rights
Randolph Air Force Base disapproved distribution of a union newsletter to nonappropriated-fund employees during non-work time in non-work areas. The Authority adopted the judge's finding that the restriction violated employees' statutory rights to distribute union literature. The agency did not…
Donald Clevenger v. Mary Helen Coal Company and American Business and Mercantile Insurance Mutual, Incorporated
Clevenger v. Mary Helen Coal (BRB 01-0884): Withdrawal reversed after benefits denial
Donald Clevenger's black lung claim was denied, and later requests to change that result had also failed. During another modification proceeding, he asked to withdraw the original claim so he could pursue a new claim under amended regulations. The judge allowed withdrawal, but the Board held that…
Hensel Phelps Construction Co., and its successors
Roof-edge citation vacated for lack of employee exposure
An OSHA compliance officer photographed workers on the second floor of a hotel structure where only one top rail protected an edge nearly 10 feet above the ground. OSHA attributed one photographed worker to Hensel Phelps because the worker appeared to be a woman and Hensel Phelps had one female…
C. E. Wylie Construction Co., and its successors
Roof-edge violation reduced to de minimis
A Wylie Construction employee installed a safety cable on a hangar roof without conventional fall protection. He briefly approached and leaned over a two-foot parapet above a 15-foot drop to answer a question. The judge found technical noncompliance because the employee was exposed without a…
Air Force Seymour Johnson AFB and NAGE Local R5-188
Seymour Johnson AFB and NAGE Local R5-188 (FLRA 0-AR-3425): Reconsideration denied
The union sought reconsideration of the Authority's earlier arbitration decision. It argued that the Authority had erred in describing the union as advancing a claim by the first arbitrator. The Authority found that the assertion merely disagreed with its conclusions and did not establish…
Avon Custom Mixing Services, Inc.
In re Avon Custom Mixing Services, Inc. (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 02-03): monitoring requirements upheld
Avon Custom Mixing Services operated a rubber-products manufacturing facility in Massachusetts with wastewater and stormwater discharges to Trout Brook. Avon challenged new testing and monitoring requirements in its renewed NPDES permit, arguing that they were excessive and burdensome. The…
Immigration and Naturalization Service and AFGE Local 511
INS and AFGE Local 511 (FLRA WA-RP-00085): Review granted on personnel-work exclusions
The union challenged the exclusion of 21 attorney positions from its INS bargaining unit. The Authority denied review of the exclusion of four employees whose security work included regular use of or access to classified information. It granted review of the exclusion of 17 employees who provided…
Thompson Electric, Inc.
Eye-protection and recordkeeping items affirmed
A Thompson Electric crew worked inside a vault near energized 4,160-volt cable terminations, and no crew member wore eye protection. The crew supervisor received a fatal electric shock when his elbow contacted a tiny exposed spot in insulating tape on an adjacent energized lug. The judge affirmed a…
Cannelton Industries, Incorporated
Contractor training and truck-condition citations affirmed
Cannelton Industries operated the Lady Dunn Preparation Plant and used a contractor to haul coal when a haulage accident resulted in a miner's death. Judge David F. Barbour found that the contractor's employees had not received required experienced-miner and task training, and that a haul truck had…
Kennecott Utah Copper Corp.
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Richard M. Bundy, a repair gang machinist at Kennecott's Bingham Canyon open-pit copper mine, alleged that the company terminated him because he raised a safety concern about working overtime while fatigued. Judge Richard W. Manning found that Bundy's initial concern about fatigue was reasonable…
Black Beauty Coal Company
Motion to lift stay denied during criminal investigation
Black Beauty Coal asked Judge T. Todd Hodgdon to end a stay in its civil penalty proceeding after more than 120 days had passed. The Secretary opposed the request because the matter had been referred to the U.S. Attorney for a criminal investigation involving overlapping evidence. The judge applied…
Evelyn D. Komes d/b/a Economy Roofing and Sheet Metal, and its successors
Roof fall violation affirmed with $5,000 penalty
Economy Roofing employees worked on a 30-foot-high flat roof without guardrails, warning lines, a safety monitor, or personal fall arrest equipment. OSHA observed one employee kneeling within three feet of the edge. Economy did not appear at the hearing, and the Secretary established a prima facie…
BHP Copper, Inc., Pinto Valley Operations
In re BHP Copper, Inc., Pinto Valley Operations (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 02-05): voluntary dismissal granted
BHP Copper, Inc., Pinto Valley Operations challenged two conditions in an EPA Region IX NPDES permit for its Pinto Valley operation. The conditions concerned a new outfall at a natural seep and the designation of other seeps and springs as process-related. During the appeal, Region IX withdrew both…
Darwin Stratton & Son, Inc.
Mine-inspection refusal affirmed with $1,000 penalty
Darwin Stratton & Son operated the Rattlesnake Pit and refused to allow an MSHA inspector onto the property, arguing that the pit was closed and outside MSHA jurisdiction. Judge Richard W. Manning found that the site was a coal or other mine subject to the Mine Act, and that an operator cannot…
Ray and Jeanette Veldhuis
In re Ray and Jeanette Veldhuis (EAB CWA Appeal No. 02-05): premature appeal dismissed without prejudice
Ray and Jeanette Veldhuis appealed an initial decision assessing an $87,930 civil penalty for Clean Water Act violations. They had already filed a motion to reopen the hearing with the ALJ, and that motion automatically stayed the time for the initial decision to become final and for an appeal to…
Powell Mountain Coal Company, Inc.
Motion to dismiss discrimination complaint denied
Powell Mountain Coal moved to dismiss Jerry Polly's discrimination complaint, arguing that he filed it after the 30-day deadline following MSHA's determination. Judge David F. Barbour found that the Commission received Polly's complaint on May 13, 2002, before the deadline, even though service on…
AFGE National VA Council 53 and VA Vista Clinic
VA Vista Clinic and AFGE Council 53 (FLRA 0-NG-2624): Mandatory interview observers outside duty to bargain
The union proposed having an observer at performance-based interviews for bargaining-unit positions, even over a candidate's objection. The Authority held that the proposal affected management's right to select because interviews gather information and evaluate candidates as part of the selection…
Sunshine Precious Metals, Incorporated
Discrimination complaint dismissed
John R. Peterson alleged that Sunshine Precious Metals discharged him after a dispute about correcting a ventilation problem at the Sunshine Mine. He had already been reinstated through arbitration and received back wages after the discharge. Judge August F. Cetti found no persuasive evidence that…
Army North Central Civilian Personnel Operation Center and AFGE Local 15
Army Rock Island and AFGE Local 15 (FLRA CH-RP-01-0033): Review granted on cross-unit personnel work
The Army challenged a regional director's inclusion of staffing and classification employees in a proposed bargaining unit. Those employees performed personnel work for Army employees outside the proposed unit. The Authority found that existing precedent did not adequately explain whether the…
Sun Pipe Line Company
In re Sun Pipe Line Company (EAB UIC Appeal Nos. 02-01 and 02-02): reconsideration motion denied as untimely
Sun Pipe Line Company was involved in UIC Appeals 02-01 and 02-02, and Sandra K. Yerman asked the Environmental Appeals Board to reconsider its July 11, 2002 final decision. The Board explained that a reconsideration motion had to be filed within 10 days after service, with three additional days…
Reilly Industries, Inc.
In re Reilly Industries, Inc. (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 02-01): petition withdrawn after permit modification
Reilly Industries, Inc. petitioned for review of Region V's denial of its request for a Class II modification to its Boilers and Industrial Furnaces permit. The parties agreed that the Region would submit a revised modification for public comment, and Reilly later reported that the Region had…
Rowland, Inc.
Settlement approved with $1,600 penalty
After the Secretary presented her case at the hearing, Rowland and the Secretary resolved all pending issues. Rowland withdrew its notice of contest and represented that it had complied with posting and service requirements. The judge approved and incorporated the settlement, disposed of the…
Lodestar Energy Incorporated
Five citations affirmed and one vacated
Lodestar Energy Incorporated faced consolidated civil penalty proceedings involving its coal mines. Five citations alleged that air near mine seals contained less than the required 19.5% oxygen, and one citation alleged that a tail roller guard was not secured. Judge Gary Melick affirmed the five…
Bureau of Engraving and Printing and NTEU
Procurement employees remain in bargaining unit
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing challenged a unit clarification including 18 employees in four procurement-related positions. The regional director found that they were not professional employees under the labor-relations statute, despite revised OPM educational requirements for their…
AFGE Local 2401 and VA Northern Arizona Health Care System
Northern Arizona VA and AFGE Local 2401 (FLRA 0-AR-3523): One challenge late, other award upheld
The union challenged two arbitration awards involving the Northern Arizona VA health care system. Its exceptions to the February 1 award were late because timeliness ran from service rather than receipt. The March 18 postmark made the same filing timely for the February 8 award. On that award, the…
Carroll Oil Company
In re Carroll Oil Company (EAB RCRA (9006) Appeal No. 01-02): penalty increased and compliance order reinstated
Carroll Oil Company operated an inactive gas station in Wyoming whose underground storage tanks had not been permanently closed as required. EPA proposed a $19,500 penalty, and the Administrative Law Judge assessed $3,500 while declining to order compliance because the company was defunct and…
Hillman Power Company, L.L.C.
In re Hillman Power Company, L.L.C. (EAB PSD Appeal Nos. 02-04, 02-05, and 02-06): permit review denied
Hillman Power Company operated a wood-waste and tire-derived-fuel electric generating facility in Michigan. A modified PSD permit allowed Hillman Power to increase tire-derived fuel from about six percent to about nine percent of the fuel burned. Petitioners challenged the dioxin analysis, the BACT…
Dacotah Cement
Task-training petition dismissed
Dacotah Cement operated a portland cement plant where two maintenance employees were injured while replacing a high-pressure hydraulic hose on a mill. The Secretary alleged that the employees had not received the task training required by 30 C.F.R. § 46.7. Judge Irwin Schroeder found that the…
AFGE Local 4056 and Social Security Administration, Brunswick
SSA Brunswick and AFGE Local 4056 (FLRA 0-AR-3533): Nonfact challenge denied
The union challenged an arbitration award involving SSA's Brunswick office on the ground that it relied on a nonfact. The Authority found no defect under the governing standard for a clearly erroneous central fact that would have changed the result. It denied the union's exception. The Authority…
Robert W. Dodd v. Crown Central Petroleum Corporation
Dodd v. Crown Central Petroleum (BRB 01-840 and 00-578): partial benefits and suspension dates returned
Robert Dodd injured his knee while working as a pumper and dock standby at Crown Central Petroleum. The Board affirmed his total disability award beginning January 17, 1996, and upheld the finding that his refusal to attend a psychiatric examination justified suspending compensation. It held…
Duro-Last, Inc.
First-aid-room eating violation affirmed
OSHA cited three conditions at Duro-Last's roofing-material plant. The judge vacated the eyewash item because employees merely connected forklift batteries for charging and the Secretary did not prove exposure to corrosive electrolyte. He also vacated the machine-shaft guarding item because…
D.R.B. Boring and Drilling Construction Co., Inc.
Four excavation violations affirmed
D.R.B. Boring and Drilling used an excavation approximately 10 feet wide, 32 feet long, and nearly 10 feet deep. The judge found that the ladder and loose-earth ramp did not provide safe access, water had accumulated without adequate precautions, employees lacked protection from falling or rolling…
Marianas Garment Manufacturing, and its successors
Late contest dismissed with no penalty
Marianas Garment Manufacturing admitted that its notice of contest was late but sought relief under Rule 60(b). It argued that the citation was void because OSHA lacked jurisdiction over conditions in residential dormitories. The judge held that the argument concerned statutory coverage, not the…
Keystone Structural Concrete Ltd., and its successors
Settlement withdrew both electrical items
The judge had vacated Keystone Structural Concrete's notice of contest after its attorney failed to timely execute a settlement and respond to an order to show cause. On reconsideration, the judge restored the contest because settlement is encouraged and the client should not bear the attorney's…
FPM Group, Ltd.
EAJA fee application denied after citation withdrawal
OSHA withdrew a serious compressed-gas citation against FPM Group before the case was set for hearing. FPM then sought fees and expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act for work performed by its president and an administrative assistant. The judge held that a self-represented party is not…
C. I. Thornburg Co., Inc.
Settlement approved with $25,250 penalty
OSHA cited C. I. Thornburg after inspecting pipe work at a West Virginia water-treatment plant. The parties settled before litigating the citation merits. Three citation groupings remained serious with penalties of $1,750 each, while the alleged willful item was amended to unclassified with a…
Parisi Construction, Inc.
Safety penalties reduced to $3,000
Parisi Construction did not dispute five citation items involving high-visibility clothing and several silica and respiratory-protection requirements. The only issue was the amount of the proposed penalties, which totaled $9,000. The judge considered that the road workers had partial protection…
IRS New Carrollton and NTEU Chapter 65
Accommodation claim and remedies remanded
An arbitrator found that the IRS improperly denied an employee work at home and awarded leave restoration, backpay, medical costs, and other damages. In this 2002 decision, the Authority held that an employee merely regarded as disabled was not entitled to reasonable accommodation on that basis…
Nathan B. Harvey v. Mingo Logan Coal Company
Request to reopen discrimination case denied
Nathan B. Harvey asked the Commission to reopen his discrimination case against Mingo Logan Coal Company based on statements from eight coworkers that he said conflicted with hearing testimony. The majority denied the request because the statements concerned his work attitude and did not undermine…
Morrill Asphalt Paving
Telephone testimony motion denied
Morrill Asphalt Paving asked to present Roger Harting's testimony by telephone because he no longer worked for the company, lived in another state, and was unavailable on the scheduled hearing date. The complainant objected. Judge Richard W. Manning denied the motion because Harting was a critical…
Summit Anthracite, Inc.
Multiple citations affirmed, vacated, and modified
Summit Anthracite operated an underground anthracite coal mine where a July 1998 explosion or similar event killed one miner and severely injured another. After a 22-violation case, Judge Michael E. Zielinski found twelve violations and imposed $16,330 in civil penalties, while other citations were…
Lodestar Energy, Inc.
Weekly air-course inspection ruling remanded for notice findings
Lodestar operated an underground coal mine where two longwall entries were separated by stoppings and coal pillars for about 6,615 feet. MSHA cited the company for failing to inspect the No. 1 intake entry weekly for hazardous conditions, as required by 30 C.F.R. § 75.364(b)(1). The Commission…
C&C Erecting, Inc.
Settlement resolved steel-erection citations with no penalty
The case involved fall-protection training, aerial-lift, roof-opening, and steel-erection allegations at a Wisconsin construction site. While the matter was under Commission review, the parties settled all outstanding issues. One training instance, two aerial-lift items, and the alleged willful…
Gray Quarries Incorporated
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Gray Quarries Incorporated discharged quarry worker Willie Ray Shaffer after a dispute about assignments that included cleaning a catwalk beneath operating scalper screens where falling rocks could pose a hazard. Shaffer claimed he told management that he would contact the right people about the…
Highlands Mining & Processing Company, Inc.
Default judgment relief request remanded
Highlands Mining & Processing failed to answer a civil penalty petition and a later show-cause order, so the Chief Administrative Law Judge entered a default judgment for $1,871. Highlands later asked to reopen the penalty assessment, citing only its inability to pay. The Commission remanded for…
ACT Wichita Air Capitol Chapter and Kansas National Guard
Kansas National Guard and ACT Wichita (FLRA 0-NG-2618): Civilian-address proposal outside duty to bargain
The technicians' union proposed requiring management to use civilian titles rather than military rank in specified labor-relations communications. The Authority held that the wording directly imposed a job requirement on management officials and therefore determined their conditions of employment…
Watkins Engineers & Constructors
Cement plant jurisdiction and three safety violations affirmed
A Watkins employee fell about 70 feet while moving from a man-lift into a breezeway at a cement plant and suffered serious injuries, including the amputation of one leg. The Commission held that the cement plant was within MSHA's jurisdiction because its crushing, grinding, sizing, calcining, and…
Secretary of Labor v. Phelps Dodge Sierrita, Inc.
Penalty assessment reopened after mistaken payment
Phelps Dodge Sierrita intended to contest a $55 penalty for a citation but mistakenly paid it with fourteen other assessments. The company had separately filed a notice of contest for the citation and supported its explanation with an affidavit from its safety and health manager. The Commission…
Secretary of Labor v. John Richards Construction
Late review request allowed limited opportunity to provide evidence
John Richards Construction asked for relief after missing the 30-day deadline to seek Commission review of an administrative law judge's decision. The mine owner said he received the decision late because it was sent to an Arizona apartment complex where someone else signed for it, but the record…
Secretary of Labor v. J.P. Donmoyer, Inc.
Two penalty assessments reopened after processing mistake
J.P. Donmoyer received several proposed penalties, but its safety director returned the green card for only one assessment because he mistakenly believed that action contested all pending citations. The company supported its explanation with an affidavit from its controller. The Commission…
Douglas R. Rushford Trucking
Fatality penalty increased to $15,000
A Rushford employee was fatally injured while inflating a truck tire without a stand-off device. The Commission had sent the penalty back twice because the administrative law judge did not follow instructions about the statutory penalty factors and improperly treated the operator's ignorance of the…
Secretary of Labor v. Cranesville Aggregates Company, Inc.
Reopening request sent to a judge for fact finding
Cranesville Aggregates did not file a timely request to contest a proposed penalty assessment because its safety director believed conversations with MSHA officials had extended the deadline while an investigation was pending. The company said it wanted to contest two issues but did not identify…
Larry Richner, Nancy Sheepbouwer & Richway Farms
In re Larry Richner, Nancy Sheepbouwer & Richway Farms (EAB CWA Appeal No. 01-01): liability reversed and penalty remanded
Larry Richner operated a dairy farm in Washington with creeks that flowed through or near manure areas and connected through a railroad culvert to waters leading to the Nooksack River. EPA alleged that the farm discharged dairy waste without a Clean Water Act permit and sought an $11,000 civil…
Kansas National Guard and ACT Wichita Air Capitol Chapter, Local 74
Kansas National Guard and ACT Local 74 (FLRA 0-AR-3443): Contractual bargaining over holiday changes upheld
An arbitrator found that the Kansas National Guard violated its agreement by refusing to bargain over the impact and implementation of holiday schedule changes. The Authority upheld the award requiring bargaining on request over future changes. It found that the case concerned a contractual…
Felix Maurice Sykes v. Har-Lee Coal Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed after complainant missed hearing
Felix Maurice Sykes, a miner and roof bolter operator, alleged that Har-Lee Coal Company discriminated against him for raising safety concerns. Sykes did not appear at the scheduled hearing, did not request a continuance, and did not explain his absence. Based on the respondent's uncontested offer…
AFGE Local 4046 and Minot Air Force Base
Minot Air Force Base and AFGE Local 4046 (FLRA 0-AR-3538): Arbitration challenges denied
The union challenged an arbitration award involving Minot Air Force Base. The Authority found that the union had raised recognized grounds for challenging an award, despite the agency's argument for dismissal. It nevertheless rejected the claims of arbitrator bias, excess of authority, an unfair…
Sun Pipe Line Company
In re Sun Pipe Line Company (EAB UIC Appeal Nos. 02-01 and 02-02): permit petitions denied
Sun Pipe Line Company sought a permit for a Class I non-hazardous liquid waste injection well beneath its Michigan pipeline terminal. Sandra K. Yerman and Jim Rarey challenged different aspects of the permit, including the location and effects of nearby injection wells, project segmentation…
Hecla Mining Company, Grouse Creek Unit
In re Hecla Mining Company, Grouse Creek Unit (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 02-02): dilution-ratio permit challenge denied
Hecla Mining Company operates the Grouse Creek gold mine and mill in Idaho, which was undergoing closure when it challenged a renewed NPDES permit. The permit used an 8:1 dilution ratio to set concentration-based effluent limits for discharges to Jordan Creek. Hecla argued that drought and low…
Cannelton Industries, Inc.
Preshift exception applied, weekly examination violation affirmed
Cannelton Industries operated the Shadrick underground coal mine in West Virginia while the mine was idle and certified personnel entered to keep its pumps running. The judge held that the regulation's pumpers' exception allowed a certified pumper to examine the areas where the pumper worked or…
Secretary of Labor v. CDG Materials, Inc.
Reopening request remanded to resolve mailing dispute
CDG Materials said it timely mailed a hearing request but that postal delays caused by current events may have delayed delivery. The Secretary responded that CDG received the proposed assessment on November 29, 2001, but did not mail its request until January 4, 2002, after the 30-day deadline…
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.