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.
Consolidation Coal Company
Methane-explosion violations affirmed on remand
Consolidation Coal was closing the Blacksville No. 1 underground coal mine when a methane explosion occurred during welding on a dewatering pipe above a production shaft. The explosion killed Consol engineer Rodney Baird and three Heston contractor employees, injured two other Heston employees, and…
David Morales v. Asarco Incorporated
Discrimination complaint dismissed after remand
David Morales brought a discrimination complaint against Asarco under section 105(c)(3) after his termination. The Commission remanded the case for the judge to determine whether a company representative tried to influence witness Tony Rivera’s testimony and whether any such conduct materially…
Pete Miller, Inc.
Safety monitor had to be on the same roof as the monitored worker
Pete Miller was a roofing subcontractor on a hospital addition in Marysville, Ohio. An employee on a small lower roof handled metal curbs weighing about 150 pounds and pushed them over an unguarded edge to the ground 15 feet below. The company used a foreman on an upper roof as the employee's…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3509 (Union) and Social Security Administration, Franklin, North Carolina (Agency)
AFGE Local 3509 and Social Security Administration (FLRA 0-AR-3350): reduced suspension award upheld
An arbitrator upheld the Social Security Administration’s decision to suspend an employee but reduced the suspension’s duration. The union challenged the award under the federal grievance statute and the collective bargaining agreement. The Authority held that the union had not shown a conflict…
General Services Administration, Region 9, Los Angeles, California (Agency) and American Federation of Government, Employees, Council 236 (Union)
GSA Region 9 and AFGE Council 236 (FLRA 0-AR-3298): official-time award returned for a fair hearing
An arbitrator reduced a General Services Administration employee’s suspension from ten days to five and also awarded official time for the day of the hearing. The union first requested official time in its post-hearing brief, and the agency had no opportunity to respond before the award issued. The…
Knox Creek Coal Corporation
Roof-control citations affirmed with one modification
Knox Creek operated the underground Kennedy No. 2 coal mine in Virginia. MSHA issued four citations involving roof control conditions, extended cuts, miner positioning, and a missing cleanup plan after a roof fall. Judge David F. Barbour found the contested violations established, including…
Larry M. Schmelzer, employed by National Steel Pellet Company
Consolidated misfire cases settled
National Steel Pellet Company operated an open pit taconite mine in Minnesota. After a blasting accident involving undetonated ANFO, MSHA cited the company for misfire-handling violations and charged four supervisory employees under section 110(c) of the Mine Act. The parties settled before the…
James R. Howell & Co., d/b/a Howell Construction
Commission holds contractor to the asbestos presumption despite an owner's verbal assurance
Howell Construction was the general contractor for a remodeling project in a pre-1980 pipe-fitters hall in Denver. The building owner verbally told Howell that pipe insulation had been tested and contained no asbestos, but no supporting report was produced before a subcontractor removed presumed…
Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District, Los Angeles, California (Activity) and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 777 (Petitioner/Exclusive Representative) and International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, AFL-CIO (Labor Organization)
Army Corps of Engineers and NFFE Local 777 (FLRA SF-RP-90103): unclear affiliation ballot defeats certification change
NFFE Local 777 sought to change its affiliation to IFPTE for professional and nonprofessional employees of the Army Corps of Engineers’ Los Angeles district. A regional director dismissed the petition after finding that the election procedures did not give members the information needed for an…
NPDES Permit for Wastewater Treatment NPDES Permits
In re NPDES Permit for Wastewater Treatment NPDES Permits (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 00-27): petition for review denied
EPA Region V issued Union Township, Michigan, an NPDES permit for a new wastewater treatment facility discharging to the Chippewa River. Frederick L. Brown challenged several permit conditions, including notification requirements, references to the Michigan Critical Materials Register, discharge…
Carlota Copper Company
In re Carlota Copper Company (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 00-24): Hopi Tribe petition denied
EPA Region IX issued Carlota Copper Company an NPDES permit authorizing stormwater and groundwater discharges into Pinto Creek, Powers Gulch, and Haunted Canyon, Arizona. The Hopi Tribe sought review and argued that EPA had failed to consult with the Tribe, but the Board found that the Tribe had…
Mountain Top Trucking Co., Inc., Elmo Mayes, Anthony Curtis Mayes, and Mayes Trucking Company, Inc.
Back-pay award recalculated after remand
Mountain Top Trucking and the other respondents were found responsible for unlawfully discharging Walter Jackson in violation of the Mine Act's discrimination provision. On remand, Judge Jerold Feldman considered whether Jackson was available for work and made reasonable efforts to reduce his…
G.S. Garcia Construction, Inc.
Late contest is dismissed after proof of Federal Express delivery
G.S. Garcia Construction was a subcontractor at a Houston construction project when OSHA inspected and later issued a repeat citation. Federal Express records showed that the citation was delivered to the company's office on March 16, 2000, making April 6 the final day to contest it. The company…
In re Carlos VASQUEZ-MUNIZ, Respondent
State firearm offense was not an aggravated felony
The Board reviewed the Immigration and Naturalization Service's appeal from an Immigration Judge's decision involving a lawful permanent resident convicted in California of possessing a firearm after a felony conviction. The Service argued that the state offense was an aggravated felony because it…
United States, Department of the Air Force, HQ, Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 987 (Union)
Robins Air Force Base and AFGE Local 987 (FLRA 0-AR-3354): agency arbitration exceptions denied
The Air Force challenged an arbitration award involving AFGE Local 987 at Robins Air Force Base. The Authority reviewed the record and rejected claims that the arbitrator exceeded her authority or failed to draw the award from the collective bargaining agreement. The agency did not establish a…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, 437TH Airlift Wing, Air Mobility Command, Charleston Air Force Base, Charleston, South Carolina (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1869 (Charging Party)
Charleston Air Force Base and AFGE Local 1869 (FLRA AT-CA-90669): safety-report retaliation orders retained
The union’s safety representative at Charleston Air Force Base filed formal hazard reports and later made a threatening statement about a supervisor. The Authority upheld dismissal of the claim that his temporary reassignment, drug testing and psychiatric evaluation were unlawful discrimination…
Beaver Plant Operations, Inc.
Citation vacated on remand for lack of fair notice
The First Circuit reversed the Commission's earlier decision affirming a citation against Beaver Plant Operations because the company lacked adequate notice of the Commission's interpretation of the cited standard. Although proof that Beaver actually knew of a hazardous condition could have…
Association of Civilian Technicians, Tony Kempenich Memorial, Chapter 21 (Union) and U.S. Department of Defense, National Guard Bureau, Minnesota National Guard (Agency)
ACT Chapter 21 and Minnesota National Guard (FLRA 0-NG-2490-Rec): lobbying-time reconsideration denied
The union sought reconsideration of a decision rejecting official time for lobbying Congress about pending legislation. The Authority held that the union had not shown the extraordinary circumstances required for reconsideration. It relied on the express restriction in the Defense appropriations…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Management and Specialty Training Center, Aurora, Colorado (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Council of Prison Locals C-33 (Union)
Bureau of Prisons training center and AFGE (FLRA 0-AR-3288): lunch-break pay remedy set aside
The Bureau of Prisons’ Aurora training center required instructors to take a one-hour unpaid lunch break although the agreement specified a half-hour break. An arbitrator found a contract violation and awarded retroactive overtime or compensatory time. The Authority upheld the contract finding…
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Coatesville, Pennsylvania (Agency) and National Association of Government Employees, Local R3-35 (Union)
VA Coatesville and NAGE Local R3-35 (FLRA 0-AR-3258): retaliatory computer-work restriction removed
A computer specialist at the Coatesville veterans medical center was barred from servicing computers in human resources and senior managers’ offices after asking about the union president’s employment dispute. An arbitrator found the restriction retaliatory and ordered it removed under the…
Freeman United Coal Company
Four diesel-equipment citations vacated
Freeman United contested four citations involving approval markings on diesel engines used in nonpermissible mine equipment. The Secretary argued that the markings had to be supplied by the engine manufacturer, while Freeman United had supplied the markings itself. Judge Gary Melick held that the…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R7-51 (Union) and United States Department of the Navy, Naval Public Works Center, Great Lakes, Illinois (Agency)
NAGE Local R7-51 and Navy Great Lakes (FLRA 0-NG-2550): automatic nonmember payroll contribution rejected
The union proposed deducting $2 from each biweekly paycheck of bargaining-unit employees who did not already pay union dues, with the money used for issues affecting the whole unit. Employees could opt out by submitting a written request. The Authority held that this arrangement conflicted with the…
United States Department of the Navy, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Newport, Rhode Island (Agency) and National Association of Government Employees, Federal Union of Scientists and Engineers, Local R1-144 (Union)
Navy Undersea Warfare Center and NAGE Local R1-144 (FLRA 0-AR-3094): clarified performance award upheld
After an earlier remand, an arbitrator explained why a Navy employee was entitled to a two-percent performance award. The agency’s appraisal regulation made awards optional but required comparable employees’ awards to be considered together. The arbitrator found that every other eligible employee…
Rogers Corporation
In re Rogers Corporation (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 98-1): PCB disposal liability affirmed, $281,400 penalty upheld
Rogers Corporation manufactured polyurethane elastomers and foams and was found to have failed to dispose of polychlorinated biphenyls lawfully over 268 days in 1993 and 1994. The Environmental Appeals Board rejected Rogers's arguments that the releases were historic spills from before 1978, that…
City of Boise NPDES Permits: West Boise Permit and Lander Street Permit
In re City of Boise NPDES Permits (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 00-13): appeal remanded for settlement
The City of Boise appealed NPDES permits for its West Boise and Lander Street wastewater treatment plants. EPA Region 10 issued proposed modified permits that would replace the contested permits and make many of the appeal issues moot. The City, Region 10, and Micron Technologies agreed to a…
Allen C. Walker v. PCL Hardaway/Interbeton and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company
Walker v. PCL Hardaway/Interbeton (BRB 00-0289): bridge worker's benefits award affirmed
Allen C. Walker injured his knee while working on a platform used to build the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. His employer argued that bridge construction was outside the Longshore Act because it did not involve loading cargo or building ships. The administrative law judge found that the platform…
Northern Stone Supply, Inc.
Silica-dust citations split and modified
Northern Stone operated a small seasonal dimension-stone quarry in Idaho. MSHA cited the company after a six-hour sample showed one miner's respirable silica exposure above the applicable limit, and also cited the quarry for dust-survey and respiratory-protection issues. Judge Richard W. Manning…
U.S. Steel Mining Company, LLC.
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Terry McGill, a roofbolter at U.S. Steel's Oak Grove Mine, raised concerns about cutting into an area that was not fully bolted and spoke with an MSHA inspector. His foreman fired him later that day after a dispute over work instructions and a possible union grievance. Judge Avram Weisberger found…
Jerry Milam v. Mason Technologies and CIGNA
Milam v. Mason Technologies (BRB 00-0270): benefits termination reversed and remanded
Jerry Milam received Defense Base Act disability benefits after a workplace fall, then settled a related lawsuit against the United States without his employer's prior written approval. The administrative law judge terminated his benefits under the Longshore Act rule for certain settlements with…
Odyssey Capital Group III, L.P., d/b/a Cascades Apartments
Commission rejects reliance on limited asbestos studies
Odyssey owned and operated a nine-building apartment complex in Pittsburgh where maintenance employees scraped and repainted pre-1981 ceiling material. The company took none of the asbestos precautions required by OSHA because two earlier environmental studies had reported less than one percent…
Idaho Minerals
Uncontested penalty assessment remanded for reopening review
Idaho Minerals asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final after the company said it never received the proposed assessment. The Commission found that the record did not show why delivery failed and remanded the case to an administrative law judge to decide whether…
Mountain Spring Coal Company
Brian T. Christie v. Mountain Spring Coal Company (FMSHRC PENN 2000-23-D): Discrimination complaint dismissed
Brian T. Christie alleged that Mountain Spring Coal Company discharged him after he refused to perform fireboss duties because of a pre-existing neck condition and concerns about how the mine was being run. Judge Gary Melick found that Christie did not communicate a safety basis for refusing the…
Complete General Construction Co.
Spoil-pile citation stands, but cave-in item fails under the Secretary's admission
Complete General Construction was relocating water lines while widening a state highway in Waverly, Ohio. OSHA cited the company because a two-foot-high spoil pile sat directly at the edge of an excavation where two employees were working nearby. The judge held that § 1926.651(j)(2) requires spoil…
Sun Roofing, and its successors
Six-month delay after a penalty demand defeats request to excuse late contest
Sun Roofing operated a roofing business in Appleton, Wisconsin, and OSHA cited it for a serious residential fall-protection violation. The company received the citation on August 31, 1999, which made September 22 the deadline to contest it. Sun Roofing did not submit a notice of contest until May…
Coastal Horizontal, Inc., d/b/a Coastal Power, Inc.
Late notice of contest dismissed, $8,900 citation stands as a final order
Coastal Horizontal, a Florida excavation contractor doing business as Coastal Power, was inspected by OSHA after a March 2000 dig in Navarre, Florida. OSHA issued a five-item serious citation with an $8,900 penalty and mailed it certified on April 28, 2000. Coastal received it on May 1, which gave…
U.S. Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Washington, D.C. (Agency) and National Treasury Employees Union (Union)
IRS and NTEU (FLRA 0-AR-3172): bargaining-impasse reconsideration denied
The IRS sought reconsideration of a decision upholding an arbitrator’s enforcement of an agreement to bargain over permissive subjects and use impasse procedures when necessary. The agency repeated objections to arbitrability and to referral to the Federal Service Impasses Panel. The Authority held…
Copperhead Chemical Company
Commission remands process-safety case for settlement review
Copperhead Chemical Company faced process-safety-management citation items involving safety information for an explosive chemical product and changes to its mixing process. An earlier ALJ order had vacated three items concerning the initial compilation of process safety information because the work…
Metro Recycling and Crushing, Inc.
Citation amendment allowed before trial
Metro Recycling and Crushing faced a citation and two orders arising from a fatal accident at its portable screening plant. The Secretary sought to amend one citation involving manual cleaning of a moving conveyor to allege either of two related safety standards. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found no bad…
Aleksey Berezin v. Cascade General, Incorporated and Eagle Pacific Insurance Company
Berezin v. Cascade General (BRB 00-0250 and 00-0257): partial disability and fee awards affirmed
Marine machinist Aleksey Berezin injured his knee at work and could not return to his usual job. The administrative law judge awarded periods of temporary total and temporary partial disability, followed by permanent partial disability, after finding that the employer showed suitable alternate work…
Piggly Wiggly Alabama Distribution Co., Inc.
Wheel-chock violation stands, but training and recordkeeping items fail
Piggly Wiggly operated a large grocery distribution warehouse where a forklift operator was killed when a hostler moved a trailer away from the dock while the employee was still inside. OSHA's inspection produced serious, willful, and recordkeeping citation items. The judge affirmed the serious…
Performance Coal Company
Discovery motion partly granted
Performance Coal and Mark Allaman sought documents from MSHA in consolidated contest and civil penalty proceedings. Judge Jerold Feldman ordered MSHA to provide a witness statement and a base penalty calculation, but protected an investigator's memorandum, a safety and health conference report, a…
H. Carr & Sons Inc.
Contractor is liable for repeated fall hazard under economic-realities test
H. Carr & Sons worked on a shopping mall and movie theater project in Providence, Rhode Island. OSHA observed a worker on a mezzanine about 14 feet above a concrete floor where a sagging wire rope did not provide adequate fall protection. Although another company issued the worker's paycheck…
Interstate Brands, Inc.
Commission remands motion challenging an order that vacated the contest
The Chief Administrative Law Judge granted the Secretary's motion to vacate Interstate Brands' notice of contest. Interstate Brands then moved under Commission Rule 90(b)(3) to vacate that decision, arguing in part that the order may have resulted from oversight or inadvertence. The Commission…
In re Miguel Ignacio RODRIGUEZ-RUIZ, Respondent
A merits-based vacated conviction could not support removal
The Board reviewed a lawful permanent resident's appeal after an Immigration Judge found him removable as an aggravated felon and denied his applications for relief. A New York court had vacated his sexual-abuse conviction and one-year probation sentence under Article 440 of the New York Criminal…
Joseph Lombardo v. American Stevedoring, Limited and Signal Mutual Indemnity Association
Lombardo v. American Stevedoring (BRB 00-0247): attorney's fee award returned for review
Joseph Lombardo's lawyer sought a fee after the parties resolved his Longshore Act injury claim. The administrative law judge awarded $1,880 and, after an earlier Board remand, again reduced time spent preparing for a hearing that never occurred. The Board held that necessary work must be judged…
Sally Angelle v. Steen Production Service, Incorporated and Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Corporation
Angelle v. Steen Production Service (BRB 00-0235): dependency claim returned for review
Sally Angelle sought Longshore Act death benefits after Sterling J. Richard died in a helicopter crash during his employment. The administrative law judge ruled that Angelle was neither his widow under Louisiana law nor a qualifying dependent. The Board affirmed that she did not qualify as a widow…
Shelly Materials Inc. -- Ostrander Plant
Settlement approved
Shelly Materials Inc.'s Ostrander Plant faced a proposed civil penalty of $7,000. Judge David Barbour approved a settlement reducing the penalty to $4,300. The judge found the proposed settlement appropriate after considering the submitted representations and documentation under the Mine Act’s…
White Construction Co. Inc.
Notices of contest dismissed as untimely
White Construction filed notices of contest with the Commission instead of notifying the Secretary within the required 30-day period. Judge David F. Barbour found that the notices were untimely and that the operator had not shown misconduct by the Commission or another basis to excuse the filing…
Tondu Energy Company, T.E.S. Filer City Station
In re Tondu Energy Company, T.E.S. Filer City Station (EAB PSD Appeal Nos. 00-6 and 00-8): review denied
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality issued Tondu Energy Company a Prevention of Significant Deterioration permit allowing its Filer City utility plant to burn tire-derived fuel as an additional fuel source. Ronald C. Bauman and James Espvik separately petitioned the Board against the…
Justis Supply & Machine Shop
Dragline assembly site treated as a mine
Justis Supply & Machine Shop performed welding and cutting work on a dragline being assembled for BHP Minerals' Navajo Mine. The Commission held that the assembly site was part of a mine under the Mine Act and that Justis was an independent contractor subject to the Act. It upheld three citations…
Tri Port Costa Plant
Safety orders split and penalties assessed
TXI Port Costa Plant processed shale into aggregate at a California quarry and silo facility. Judge Avram Weisberger affirmed a stumbling-hazard citation involving aggregate on top of a silo, vacated an order alleging inadequate workplace examinations, and affirmed two electrical-control orders…
In re Mario Leroy DAVIS, Respondent
Prior five-year bar controlled the waiver
The Board reviewed a Jamaican respondent's appeal from a deportation order and denial of a waiver under section 212(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The respondent's proceedings were pending in the Second Circuit on April 24, 1996, so the Board applied that circuit's rule against…
Disciplinary Proceeding
Referral inquiry terminated
The Commission reviewed a disciplinary referral sent by Chief Administrative Law Judge David Barbour after allegations raised by Lue A. Wilson. It concluded that, even if the facts Wilson alleged were true, they would not warrant disciplinary proceedings under Commission Procedural Rule 80. The…
City of Phoenix, Arizona, Squaw Peak and Deer Valley Water Treatment Plants
In re City of Phoenix, Arizona, Squaw Peak and Deer Valley Water Treatment Plants (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 99-2): evidentiary hearing request denied
The City of Phoenix operates the Squaw Peak and Deer Valley water treatment plants, which discharge treated process water into the Arizona Canal. The City sought evidentiary hearings on permit provisions based on comments made before the public comment period and on preliminary permit versions. The…
U.S. Borax, Incorporated
Louis W. Dykhoff, Jr. v. U.S. Borax, Incorporated (FMSHRC WEST 99-26-DM): Discrimination complaint dismissal affirmed
Louis W. Dykhoff, Jr. worked at U.S. Borax's mine and processing facility and received a corrective notice for excessive absences, including absences connected to the unavailability of prescribed knee braces. He argued that the discipline interfered with protected safety activity and work refusals…
Darwin Stratton & Son Inc.
Citations and orders affirmed after nonappearance
Darwin Stratton operated a small sand and gravel pit that MSHA discovered while investigating a fatal accident. The operator contested numerous citations and orders but did not appear at the hearing. Judge Richard W. Manning found the alleged violations established, including guarding, workplace…
Lehigh Portland Cement Company
Late penalty contest reopened and remanded
Lehigh Portland Cement asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final after an internal mail-distribution error delayed its contest request. The Commission found that Lehigh intended to contest the assessment and that the documented delay qualified as inadvertence or…
Leo Journagan Construction Company, Inc.
Penalty assessment reopened and remanded
Leo Journagan Construction Company asked to reopen a penalty assessment after it mistakenly believed that it had filed the paperwork to contest it. The Commission found that the company intended to contest the assessment and supported its explanation with a reliable affidavit. It granted relief…
Eastern Associated Coal Corp.
Deposition resumed, protective order denied
Eastern Associated Coal sought to resume the deposition of union official Richard L. Eddy after he stopped answering questions about an unsworn statement he had given to MSHA. Eddy sought a protective order, asserting harassment and an unexplained privilege. Judge Michael E. Zielinski found the…
Cedar Lake Sand & Gravel Co.
Two contested orders modified with added disclosure
Cedar Lake Sand & Gravel Co. contested seven orders involving citations at its mine. The Secretary asked to remove or revise parts of two orders, including language about a front-end loader's hydraulic system and the location and height of roadway berms. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon granted the motion…
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.