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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United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System, Biloxi, Mississippi (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1045 (Union)
Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System (FLRA 0-AR-3340): pay remedy requires clarification
A VA employee challenged his nonselection for a higher-grade position after moving from New York to Mississippi. The arbitrator awarded priority consideration and the pay difference because the agency answered the grievance two days late. The Authority rejected objections that had not been raised…
Walter F. Broderick v. Electric Boat Corporation
Broderick v. Electric Boat (BRB 00-0704): employer van pool commute covered
Walter Broderick was injured in a road accident while riding home from Electric Boat's shipyard in a company van pool. The employer argued that the ordinary rule excluding commutes from work injury coverage should apply. The Board upheld the finding that Electric Boat controlled the van pool: it…
United States Department of,Veterans Affairs, Ralph H. Johnson Medical Center, Charleston, South Carolina (Agency) and National Association of Government Employees, Local R5-136 (Union)
Ralph H. Johnson Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-3204): temporary promotion award upheld after remand
A VA computer mechanic received an arbitration award temporarily promoting him from WG-8 to GS-12 for higher-level computer work. An earlier Authority decision had sent the award back to determine when he met the required specialized experience. On remand, the arbitrator found that his military…
Association of Civilian Technicians, Alabama Air Chapter (Union) and United States Department of Defense, National Guard Bureau, Alabama National Guard, Montgomery, Alabama (Agency)
Alabama National Guard (FLRA 0-NG-2567): civilian attire and retention provisions survive review
The Alabama National Guard disapproved contract provisions on civilian attire in third-party proceedings and reduction-in-force retention rankings. The Authority ordered it to rescind both disapprovals. The majority found that participation as a grievant or witness, including an agency-called…
Georgia Association of Civilian Technicians (Union) and United States Department of Defense, National Guard Bureau, Georgia Army and Air National Guard, Atlanta, Georgia (Agency)
Georgia National Guard (FLRA 0-NG-2566): civilian attire allowed in third-party proceedings
The Georgia Army and Air National Guard disapproved a contract provision allowing civilian technicians to appear as grievants or witnesses in third-party proceedings without military uniforms. The Authority ordered rescission of that disapproval. It held that this participation, including testimony…
Association of Civilian Technicians, Montana Air Chapter 29 (Union) and U.S. Department of Defense, National Guard Bureau, Montana National Guard, Helena, Montana (Agency)
Montana National Guard (FLRA 0-NG-2553): uniform exception upheld for third-party proceedings
The Montana National Guard disapproved a provision permitting civilian technicians to wear civilian attire when appearing as grievants or witnesses in third-party administrative proceedings. The Authority ordered rescission of the disapproval. It found that the uniform statute applied while…
Association of Civilian Technicians, Wisconsin Chapter 26 (Union) and U.S. Department of Defense, National Guard Bureau, Wisconsin National Guard, Madison, Wisconsin (Agency)
Wisconsin National Guard (FLRA 0-NG-2510): civilian attire and clothing-change time survive review
The Wisconsin National Guard disapproved contract language allowing civilian attire for specified grievance and third-party activities and reasonable time to change clothing. The Authority ordered rescission of the disapproval. It found that the disputed grievance, testimony, and related…
Association of Civilian Technicians, Treasure State Chapter #57 (Union) and United States Department of Defense, National Guard Bureau, Montana National Guard, Helena, Montana (Agency)
Montana National Guard (FLRA 0-NG-2552): competitive-selection restriction remains invalid
The union asked the Authority to reconsider a decision rejecting a contract provision requiring competitive procedures for certain vacancies. It argued that noncompetitive reassignment was a process rather than a source of candidates. The Authority explained that the provision still excluded people…
Central Sand and Gravel Company
High-voltage clearance citation affirmed
Central Sand and Gravel operated a sand and gravel facility where a stockpile was built near high-voltage powerlines. After an 11-year-old trespasser contacted a line and died, MSHA cited the company for inadequate clearance under 30 C.F.R. § 56.12045. The Commission affirmed the Judge's finding…
Association of Civilian Technicians, Wichita Air Capitol Chapter (Union) and U.S. Department of Defense Civilian Personnel Management Service (Agency)
Civilian Personnel Management Service (FLRA 0-NG-2525): crediting-plan ruling survives reconsideration
The Defense Department asked the Authority to reconsider its ruling on a negotiated plan for rating promotion candidates. The earlier decision found the provision lawful because it permitted the agency to use an additional crediting plan with different weights. The agency argued that its position…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1923 (Union) and United States Department of Health, and Human Services, Health Care Financing Administration, Baltimore, Maryland (Agency)
Health Care Financing Administration (FLRA 0-AR-3392): union’s nonfact exceptions denied
AFGE Local 1923 challenged an arbitration award involving the Health Care Financing Administration in Baltimore. In a short order, the Authority denied the union’s exceptions and left the award in place. It applied precedent rejecting factual challenges where the matter was disputed at arbitration…
American Federation of Government Employees, Council 236 (Union) and General Services Administration, Region 10, Auburn, Washington (Agency)
GSA Region 10 (FLRA 0-AR-3391): union’s arbitration exceptions denied
AFGE Council 236 challenged an arbitration award involving GSA Region 10 in Auburn, Washington. The Authority denied the union’s exceptions in a short order. It applied standards for legal error, a clearly erroneous central fact, arbitrator bias, and whether the award reasonably followed the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3631 (Union) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III (Agency)
EPA Region III (FLRA 0-AR-3357): leave-bank procedures upheld
An EPA employee sought advanced sick leave and donated leave for an extended absence supported by a doctor’s note. Her supervisor denied the leave request and forwarded the leave-bank application without signing it, so the board treated it as incomplete. An arbitrator denied the union’s grievance…
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Connecticut Healthcare System, Newington, Connecticut (Agency) and National Association of Government Employees, Local R1-109 (Union)
VA Connecticut Healthcare System (FLRA 0-AR-3339): Newington committees must be restored
After consolidating two medical centers, the VA combined their safety and equal employment opportunity committees despite the Newington union’s objection. An arbitrator found that the contract required committees at each facility and ordered restoration of the Newington committees with their former…
DPL Energy, Montpelier Electric Generating Station
In re DPL Energy, Montpelier Electric Generating Station (EAB PSD Appeal No. 01-02): reconsideration denied as untimely
Stephen A. Loeschner asked the Environmental Appeals Board to reconsider its order granting summary disposition and denying review of a PSD permit for DPL Energy's Montpelier Electric Generating Station. He raised concerns about service, a typographical error, the denial of an opportunity to rebut…
New England Plating Co.
In re New England Plating Co. (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 00-7): WET compliance schedule review denied
New England Plating operated a metal-finishing facility in Massachusetts that discharged treated wastewater to a storm drain leading to the Blackstone River. The company asked for more time to meet a whole effluent toxicity limit in its renewed National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System…
90th Regional Support Command, Little Rock, Arkansas (Activity) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1017 (Exclusive Representative / Labor Organization) and Raul Marin (Petitioner / Individual)
90th Regional Support Command (FLRA DA-RP-00033): second petition makes review unnecessary
An individual sought to decertify the union at the 90th Regional Support Command, but the Regional Director dismissed his first petition as untimely. The Authority initially granted review to consider whether the agreement-bar restrictions applied to an individual petition. A second, timely…
U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Newport, Rhode Island (Agency) and National Association of Government Employees, Federal Union of Scientists and Engineers (Union)
Naval Undersea Warfare Center (FLRA 0-AR-3253): $3,225 attorney-fee award upheld
After an overtime grievance, an arbitrator awarded the union $3,225 in attorney fees for defending the merits award against agency exceptions. An earlier remand required findings on the interest of justice and the amount awarded. The clarified award found the agency’s exceptions wholly unfounded…
U.S. Department of the Navy, Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair, Newport News, Virginia (Agency) and National Association of Government Employees, Local R4-7 (Union)
Navy Shipbuilding Supervisor, Newport News (FLRA 0-AR-3236): new selection process upheld
A union challenged an unfair selection process for a GS-12 production-controller vacancy. After an earlier remand, the arbitrator clarified that the contract’s ban on tailoring rating criteria supported a new selection process, replacement of the original panel, and removal of the selectee from the…
Tondu Energy Company
In re Tondu Energy Company (EAB PSD Appeal Nos. 00-5 and 00-7): permit review denied
Tondu Energy sought permission to burn tire-derived fuel at an electric cogeneration facility in Michigan. Two residents challenged the permit, raising concerns about fine particulate matter, local health effects, state-law and nuisance issues, solid-waste handling, and the selection of a dry…
The Ohio Valley Coal Co.
Settlement approval put to show cause
The Secretary proposed a $1,270 civil penalty for an alleged violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.220(a)(1), and the parties jointly asked the Judge to approve a $765 settlement. The Judge questioned whether the settlement improperly counted the operator's prompt abatement twice when calculating the…
In re NORTHWEST AIRLINES FLIGHT NW1821
$300 fine upheld for missing transit departure record
The Board reviewed an airline's appeal from a $300 administrative fine for failing to file a properly completed Form I-94T for a transit-without-visa passenger. The passenger left the United States on Northwest Airlines Flight NW1821, but the required departure manifest was not received. The Board…
Alcoa Alumina & Chemical, L.L.C.
Discrimination complaint dismissed
The Secretary alleged that Alcoa suspended employee Dillard Pettus for three days because he engaged in activity protected by the Mine Act. The Judge assumed for argument's sake that Pettus's safety complaints were protected, but found that the suspension was based on his insubordinate conduct…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1904 (Union) and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, New Orleans, Louisiana (Agency)
VA Medical Center, New Orleans (FLRA 0-NG-2544): patient-monitoring proposal is negotiable
The union proposed electronic wander-guard bracelets for high-risk patients assigned to acute-care wards after the VA increased nurses’ patient-accountability responsibilities. The agency argued that the proposal affected its internal-security rights. The Authority agreed that the right was…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3615 (Union) and Social Security Administration, Office of Hearings and Appeals, Falls Church, Virginia (Agency)
Social Security Administration (FLRA 0-AR-3360): overtime overpayment waiver rejected
SSA mistakenly paid an employee overtime already covered by an earlier payment. He returned the net backpay but sought waiver of the remaining indebtedness and disputed the effect of taxes. The arbitrator found an overpayment and recommended denying waiver of the debt while waiving a late-payment…
U.S. Department of Defense, Education Activity, Arlington, Virginia (Agency) and Federal Education Association (Union)
Defense Education Activity (FLRA 0-AR-3146): fee entitlement depends on actual lost pay
An arbitrator awarded attorney fees after finding that the Defense Education Activity improperly revised living-quarters-allowance regulations without the notice required by an agreement. The Authority found that the contract violation qualified as an unjustified or unwarranted personnel action…
Zion Energy, L.L.C.
In re Zion Energy, L.L.C. (EAB PSD Appeal No. 01-01): petition for review denied
Zion Energy sought to construct an 800-megawatt electrical generating facility in Lake County, Illinois, using natural gas as its primary fuel and distillate oil as a backup fuel. Susan Zingle and the Lake County Conservation Alliance challenged the prevention of significant deterioration permit on…
Town of Belchertown, Massachusetts Department of Public Works
In re Town of Belchertown, Massachusetts Department of Public Works (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 01-11): petition dismissed as moot
The Town of Belchertown's Department of Public Works challenged EPA's decision to issue an NPDES permit for the Town's wastewater treatment facility. EPA later withdrew the entire challenged permit. EPA told the Board that the Town's earlier permit would remain in effect until final agency action…
Melvin C. Moore v. Virginia International Terminals, Incorporated
Moore v. Virginia International Terminals (BRB 00-650): timely modification request cannot raise only a new legal theory
Melvin Moore sought additional benefits for wrist injuries after a court ruled that an earlier request to modify his compensation order was untimely. He filed another modification request less than a month after the court's ruling, arguing that state workers' compensation payments had preserved his…
Capform, Inc.
Commission affirms a training violation after a fatal form-stripping accident
Capform is a concrete-form contractor that was building a research facility at a Dallas medical center. Its crews strip out the wood-and-jack shoring that supports each poured concrete floor, an operation the company itself treats as hazardous. On the day of the accident, a foreman borrowed three…
Construction Materials Corp.
Quarry citations partly affirmed
Construction Materials operated a small Rhode Island quarry where MSHA issued three citations during a regular inspection. The Judge affirmed two non-S&S citations involving fire-extinguisher inspection records and a haul truck left without wheel chocks, vacated the S&S citation concerning work…
Consolidation Coal Company
Summary-decision motion denied
Glenn Mayhugh complained about dusty conditions while rock dusting was taking place at Consolidation Coal's Robinson Run No. 95 Mine. He alleged that a foreman's insulting remarks and related conduct were discriminatory because they followed his safety complaint. Consolidation Coal argued that the…
In re Robin Juraine CRAMMOND, Respondent
Misdemeanor reduction prompted reopening, later vacated
The Board considered a Belizean respondent's motion to reopen after a California unlawful-sexual-intercourse conviction was reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor. The Board held that an aggravated felony under the cited immigration provision must be a felony, applying the federal definition that…
Saugus Construction Corporation
Fall-protection citation vacated because OSHA never proved the beam was too low to guard the edge
Saugus Construction Corp. is a steel erection contractor that was working on the Central Artery Tunnel Project in Boston. During a February 2000 inspection, an OSHA compliance officer saw a Saugus welder leaning across a horizontal steel beam with his head over an excavation roughly 18 to 20 feet…
VT Unfading Green Slate Company, Incorporated
Citations split and $470 penalty assessed
VT Unfading Green Slate Company operated the Blissville Quarry and Mill in Vermont. After an MSHA inspection, the judge considered 11 alleged violations involving fire-extinguisher maintenance, lighting, electrical equipment, machine guarding, access, eye protection, housekeeping, air hoses…
J. Davidson & Sons Construction Company, Inc.
Show cause motion denied
J. Davidson & Sons Construction Company asked the judge to compel the Secretary to show good cause for not answering its notice of contest within the time the company claimed was required. The judge held that the rules Davidson relied on applied to pre-penalty contests, not to this civil penalty…
U.S. Department of Defense, Camp Lejeune Dependents Schools (Agency) and Lejeune Education Association (Union)
Camp Lejeune Dependents Schools (FLRA 0-AR-3343): discrimination damages upheld
An arbitrator found that a schoolteacher experienced a racially discriminatory hostile work environment and awarded $77,920 in compensatory damages, plus restoration of eighty hours of sick leave. The Defense Department challenged the award’s procedural basis and argued that it compensated stress…
Stevens Construction Corp.
Roofing citation vacated, fall-protection plan supervision violation affirmed
Stevens Construction was installing roof trusses and sheathing on a wood-frame apartment project in Racine, Wisconsin. OSHA cited the company for unprotected residential roofing work and for failing to place its alternative fall-protection plan under a competent person's supervision. The judge…
George J. Igel & Co., Inc.
Eye-protection item vacated, compressed-air and dump-body support violations affirmed
George J. Igel & Co. was performing construction site development work in Columbus, Ohio. OSHA cited the company after a mechanic used 160 psi compressed air to clean a truck's backup alarm without approved safety glasses while the dump body was raised without its locking support. The judge vacated…
Emerson Electric Company, Motor Division
Recordkeeping citations affirmed for not logging two work-related illnesses
Emerson Electric's Motor Division makes household-appliance motors at a plant in Oxford, Mississippi. After a complaint, OSHA inspected the facility and issued an "other than serious" recordkeeping citation, alleging Emerson failed to enter certain work-related illnesses on its OSHA 200…
Selkirk, Inc., a Division of U.S. Industries, Inc. and Sheet Metal Workers' International Association, Local Union # 456, Authorized Employee Representative
Willful machine-guarding violation affirmed after repeated notice of roller hazard
Selkirk fabricated metal pipe at its Logan, Ohio, plant using a Lown roller that created exposed in-running rolls when operated in reverse. An employee's glove was caught in the unguarded rollers in July 1999, crushing his hand, causing the partial amputation of a finger, and damaging two other…
Premier Elkhorn Coal Co.
Icy travelway violation affirmed
Premier Elkhorn Coal was cited after an MSHA inspector found a regularly used access road covered with snow and ice. The judge held that the road was appurtenant to Premier's mine areas and that the Secretary could cite Premier even though contractors were also expected to maintain the road. The…
Mariposa Aggregates
Jurisdiction upheld
The Secretary sought civil penalties for 107 alleged violations at Mariposa Aggregates' California quarry. Mariposa disputed the Commission's jurisdiction and raised arguments based on private property, the Uniform Commercial Code, and other theories, without denying the individual citations and…
General Electric Company
In re General Electric Company (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 98-4): appeal dismissed after consent decree
General Electric Company appealed an EPA matter involving its RCRA permit. The parties later entered into a consent decree. General Electric told the Board that the consent decree made the appeal moot, and EPA's New England Region did not oppose dismissal. The Board granted General Electric's…
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Government Coordinating Council No. 1 (Union) and U.S. Department of Energy, Western Area Power Administration, Folsom, California (Agency)
Western Area Power Administration (FLRA 0-AR-3331): regional wage award needs legal clarification
An interest arbitrator resolved a wage impasse by setting separate rates for the power administration’s four regions rather than a single system-wide rate. He cited the ordinary federal wage-survey statute, although these employees negotiated pay under special statutory savings provisions. The…
Bryce Dolan v. F & E Erection Company
Discrimination finding vacated and remanded
Bryce Dolan alleged that F&E Erection Company constructively discharged him after he refused to continue lead abatement work because he believed the protective equipment was inadequate. The Commission held that the ALJ again failed to follow its remand instructions and did not decide objectively…
United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine (Agency) and National Association of Agriculture Employees (Union)
APHIS Plant Protection and Quarantine (FLRA 0-AR-3307): temporary promotions and backpay upheld
Four Agriculture Department employees claimed temporary promotions from GS-9 to GS-11 for performing higher-grade work at least 25 percent of the relevant time. The arbitrator sustained the grievances and awarded backpay. The Authority denied the agency’s exceptions, refusing to consider several…
Melvin Barlow, d/b/a Barlow Rock
Citations split and penalties assessed
Barlow Rock contested nine citations issued after an MSHA inspection at its Oregon rock pit. The judge vacated the citation for missing handrails on boards that were not shown to be an elevated walkway, affirmed several guarding, alarm, extinguisher, seat-belt, and electrical citations, and vacated…
DPL Energy Montpelier Electric Generating Station
In re DPL Energy Montpelier Electric Generating Station (EAB PSD Appeal No. 01-02): review denied for lack of jurisdiction
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management issued DPL Energy a minor-source permit for a proposed electric generating station in Wells County, Indiana. The permit authorized eight Twin Pac units, consisting of 16 simple-cycle combustion turbines and eight electric generators, while limiting…
James Michael Holder v. Texas Eastern Products Pipeline, Incorporated
Holder v. Texas Eastern Products Pipeline (BRB 00-0602): relocated worker's labor market governs job availability
James Holder injured his right ankle while working as a dockman for Texas Eastern Products Pipeline. After treatment and surgery, he moved from Beaumont to Hemphill, Texas, citing lower living costs and a better place to raise his children. The employer challenged his total disability award because…
U.S. Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Atlanta Customer Service Center, Atlanta, Georgia (Agency) and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 284 (Union)
IRS Atlanta Customer Service Center (FLRA 0-AR-3387): agency’s arbitration exceptions denied
The IRS Atlanta Customer Service Center challenged an arbitration award in a dispute with NTEU Chapter 284. The Authority denied the agency’s exceptions in a short order. It applied the standards for whether an award reasonably follows the parties’ contract and whether it rests on a clearly…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1698 (Union) and United States Department of the Navy, Naval Inventory Control, Point, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Agency)
Naval Inventory Control Point (FLRA 0-AR-3325): backpay exception barred by unraised legal arguments
A Navy employee sought backpay for a period in which she said she performed GS-7 work while paid at GS-6. The arbitrator found the grievance nonarbitrable under the contract’s exclusion for classification matters that do not reduce grade or pay. The union’s exception met the filing-content…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 65 and U.S. Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service (Agency)
NTEU Chapter 65 and IRS (FLRA 0-AR-3255 Rec): reconsideration denied
NTEU Chapter 65 sought reconsideration of an unpublished order dismissing its arbitration exceptions. It raised arguments about ongoing unfair-labor-practice cases, a Labor Department appeal, alleged violations of the union constitution, and the grievance’s merits. The Authority found that these…
Cactus Canyon Quarries of Texas, Inc.
Five citations affirmed and one dismissed
Cactus Canyon Quarries operated a small marble, granite, and quartz facility in Texas. The judge considered six citations involving housekeeping, protective footwear, electrical wiring, handrails, shared drinking cups, and annual grounding tests. One electrical citation was dismissed because a…
Cannelton Industries, Inc.
Settlement approved
The Secretary brought civil penalty cases against Cannelton Industries and two company agents over seven alleged violations at the Stockton Mine. The parties settled, with the Secretary agreeing to vacate the charges against Frank Matras and Robert Hill and Cannelton agreeing to pay $8,600.00. The…
Kellogg, Brown & Root
Electrical citation vacated because host company controlled the maintenance crew and equipment
Kellogg, Brown & Root supplied maintenance employees to an Occidental Chemical plant in Ingleside, Texas. During a turnaround, a temporary electrical helper opened an unlocked energized switchgear cabinet and was shocked and severely injured. OSHA cited KBR for failing to keep an enclosure…
Town of Exeter Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant
In re Town of Exeter Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 00-21): permit review denied as untimely
The Town of Exeter challenged conditions in an NPDES permit for its wastewater treatment facility and sewer system. The Board found that the petition arrived one day after the applicable deadline. The Board also explained that several objections were not raised during the public comment period…
Consolidation Coal Company
Ventilation order modified and penalty assessed
Consolidation Coal admitted that it failed to maintain the approved ventilation-plan air velocity at the Robinson Run No. 95 Mine. The judge found the violation significant and substantial because inadequate ventilation could contribute to respirable-dust exposure and a methane or dust ignition…
Southeastern Chemical and Solvent Co., Inc.
In re Southeastern Chemical and Solvent Co., Inc. (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 00-5): petition dismissed with prejudice
Southeastern Chemical and Solvent Co., Inc. filed a petition for review in a RCRA permit appeal. The parties filed a joint stipulation and request for dismissal stating that they had reached a settlement. The Environmental Appeals Board granted the request and dismissed the appeal with prejudice…
Matbon Incorporated
Settlement penalty set after corporate-history and mine-size rulings
Matbon Incorporated acknowledged 18 mandatory-standard violations at its mine and agreed to resolve the case through a settlement. The judge ruled that the company remained responsible for its violation history even after a change in controlling stock ownership. He also held that all 15 people…
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.