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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In re Neville George WEST, Respondent
Pre-transition release defeated mandatory detention
The Board reviewed the Immigration and Naturalization Service's appeal from a bond decision for a respondent charged with removability after drug and stolen-property convictions. The respondent had been released from New Jersey physical custody in December 1997, before the Transition Period Custody…
Chrisman Ready-Mix, Incorporated
Five citations split and four settled
Chrisman Ready-Mix operated a small Arkansas quarry that produced gravel for construction uses. The judge vacated three contested citations and affirmed two, then approved a settlement covering four additional citations. The affirmed citations resulted in $64 in penalties, the settlement added…
Envirosafe Services of Ohio, Inc.
In re Envirosafe Services of Ohio, Inc. (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 98-6): appeal dismissed after settlement
Envirosafe Services of Ohio sought review of an EPA Region 5 decision modifying the RCRA permit for its hazardous-waste treatment, storage, and disposal facility in Oregon, Ohio. The Board had previously partially dismissed the petition and stayed the remaining proceedings while the parties…
Lincoln Pulp & Paper Co.
In re Lincoln Pulp & Paper Co. (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 00-8): petition dismissed as moot
The Penobscot Indian Nation challenged Lincoln Pulp & Paper Company's NPDES permit, including its dioxin and furan limits and the Region's treatment of water-quality and sustenance-rights concerns. EPA Region I later withdrew the permit so it could address the Cluster Rule and determine appropriate…
Marcos Sanchez Second Unit School
In re Marcos Sanchez Second Unit School (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 00-22): premature petition dismissed
The Public Buildings Authority of Puerto Rico petitioned the Board over special conditions requiring toxicity tests and monthly monitoring for six parameters at the Marcos Sanchez Second Unit School. EPA Region II had issued only a draft permit, which was still in its public-comment period, when…
Hubb Corporation
Two violations affirmed and $8,000 penalty assessed on remand
Hubb Corporation had previously been found to have violated two mandatory mine-safety standards, with $4,000 penalties assessed for each violation. The Commission vacated those penalty assessments and remanded the case for findings under the Mine Act's penalty criteria. Judge Avram Weisberger found…
The Doe Run Company
Four escapeway citations vacated for lack of fair notice
The Doe Run Company operates underground lead, zinc, and copper mines that used single drifts to reach certain undercuts, overcuts, and side-cuts. MSHA cited four undercut areas under the requirement for two escapeways from the lowest levels of a metal and nonmetal mine. Judge Michael E. Zielinski…
Jacqueline L. Ruffin v. Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company
Ruffin v. Newport News Shipbuilding (BRB 00-0248): shipyard cleaner's coverage reconsidered
Jacqueline L. Ruffin injured her back while working as an industrial cleaner in a shipyard machine shop. After years of voluntary benefit payments, Newport News Shipbuilding argued that her work did not qualify as maritime employment, and the administrative law judge denied the claim. The Board…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, 315TH Airlift Wing, 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-90539): appraisal-retaliation complaint dismissed
A union officer and aircraft repair technician at Charleston Air Force Base received lower numerical appraisal scores on seven of nine factors, while her overall rating remained fully successful. The General Counsel alleged that the supervisor reduced the scores because of the employee’s protected…
Consolidation Coal Company
Paid walkaround settlement approved for mine re-entry monitoring
Consolidation Coal contested a citation issued after it refused to pay a miners' representative to accompany an MSHA supervisor monitoring recovery activities from a surface communications center at the sealed Loveridge No. 22 Mine. The parties proposed a settlement that reduced the negligence…
Russell Jensen v. Weeks Marine, Incorporated
Jensen v. Weeks Marine (BRB 00-0203 and 00-0203A): disability modification returned for findings
Russell Jensen received permanent total disability benefits after work related injuries. Weeks Marine sought to change the award, citing new medical and job market evidence, and the administrative law judge changed it to permanent partial disability. The Board clarified that the new evidence…
Caribe General Electric Products, Inc.
In re Caribe General Electric Products, Inc. (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 98-3): reconsideration partly granted and remanded
Caribe General Electric Products, Inc. asked the Board to reconsider an earlier RCRA permit decision involving corrective action at off-site Areas of Concern. The Board rejected most of the company's arguments, including challenges to EPA's omnibus authority, due process protections, and the use of…
Raytheon Constructors, Inc., and its successors
Medical, eye-protection, electrical, and fall items are vacated
Raytheon was building a chemical-weapons disposal incinerator at the Umatilla Army Chemical Depot in Oregon. After an unknown chemical exposure sickened workers, OSHA cited the company for inadequate access to medical advice, but the judge found that qualified emergency medical technicians were…
G. Porter and Company
Commission approves a settlement and sets aside the ALJ scaffold decision to the extent inconsistent
G. Porter and Company is a masonry subcontractor. OSHA inspected a Chicago-area construction site in February 1999 and cited Porter for a serious scaffolding violation: employees were working on a scaffold that lacked the required guardrails, exposing them to falls of roughly 18 to 20 feet. After…
Puerto Rico Public Buildings Authority, S.U. Mameyes Ward School
In re Puerto Rico Public Buildings Authority, S.U. Mameyes Ward School (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 00-20): petition denied for lack of standing
The Puerto Rico Public Buildings Authority sought review of three special conditions in an NPDES permit for the S.U. Mameyes Ward School. The conditions required monthly monitoring, testing for arsenic, and quarterly toxicity testing. The Board held that the petitioner lacked standing because it…
Loggins Oil Company, Inc.
In re Loggins Oil Company, Inc. (EAB CWA Appeal No. 00-6): penalty reduced to $50,000
Loggins Oil Company operated a commercial petroleum storage facility in Georgia with seven above-ground storage tanks near a tributary of Scott Mill Creek. EPA alleged that the company and its owners failed to prepare and implement a required Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures Plan. An…
D.T. Construction Company, Inc.
Three willful trench violations affirmed, most other items upheld, $119,750 penalty
D.T. Construction is a Pennsylvania contractor that installs underground water and sewer lines. After OSHA inspected several of its dig sites in 1998, the agency issued three citations covering willful, serious, and other-than-serious violations. The heart of the case was three willful cave-in…
Small Business Administration (Agency) and Jeffrey W. Eisinger (Petitioner/Individual) and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO (Exclusive Representative/Labor Organization)
Small Business Administration and Eisinger (FLRA SF-RP-80004): individual certification petition restored after court ruling
An individual employee sought to clarify or amend an existing Small Business Administration bargaining-unit certification. The Authority had dismissed his petition under a regulation limiting that kind of filing to agencies and labor organizations. The Ninth Circuit reversed, holding that the…
Morse Diesel International, Inc.
All citations vacated because the contractor lacked knowledge of the hazards
Morse Diesel International (MDI) was the general contractor on the "Wedge One" phase of the Pentagon Renovation Program in Arlington, Virginia. During a September 1999 inspection, OSHA cited MDI for two serious guardrail items (a wire-rope guardrail around a second-floor opening had sagged below…
A.E. Staley Manufacturing Co.
Asbestos, HazCom, and combustible-dust electrical violations largely affirmed, many as willful
A.E. Staley Manufacturing runs a large grain wet-milling plant in Decatur, Illinois. A lengthy OSHA inspection begun in July 1990 produced two sets of citations, consolidated here as Docket Nos. 91-0637 and 91-0638. In the first docket, the Commission affirmed as willful the asbestos items for…
Walker Crane & Rigging Corporation
Crane-near-power-line citation affirmed, $3,500 penalty
Walker Crane & Rigging is a small Connecticut crane company. In October 1999 its operator was using a crane to set the sections of a modular house in Higganum, Connecticut, working on a narrow street with overhead power lines along the far side. While moving the fourth house section, the crane's…
Ross Incineration Services, Inc.
In re Ross Incineration Services, Inc. (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 00-2): petition dismissed after settlement
Ross Incineration Services filed a notice withdrawing its petition for review of a permit matter. The company explained that the parties had settled the underlying action, and EPA Region V consented to the withdrawal. The Environmental Appeals Board dismissed the petition. The order does not…
New York State Electric & Gas Corp.
PPE citations vacated because employer knowledge was not proved
New York State Electric & Gas Corporation sent a two-person crew to install residential gas service in Binghamton, New York. An OSHA compliance officer saw one crew member operating a jackhammer without eye protection and later determined that he also lacked protective footwear, although both forms…
Hawaii Federal Employees Metal Trades Council (Union) and U.S. Department of the Navy, Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (Agency)
Hawaii Metal Trades Council and Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard (FLRA 0-AR-3320): factual-error exception denied
The Hawaii Federal Employees Metal Trades Council challenged an arbitration award involving the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard’s intermediate maintenance facility. The Authority rejected the union’s claim that the award rested on a factual error under its established review standard. That standard…
Massachusetts Correctional Institution - Bridgewater
In re Massachusetts Correctional Institution - Bridgewater (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 00-9): copper limits upheld
Massachusetts Correctional Institution - Bridgewater challenged copper effluent limits in its NPDES permit, arguing that the limits were unrealistic and should reflect the facility's influent and treatment capabilities. EPA Region I had determined that the discharge had a reasonable potential to…
Gulf Hauling & Construction, Inc.
PPE-training and eyewash items affirmed, most items vacated after a fatal chemical-burn accident
Gulf Hauling & Construction is a family-owned Mobile, Alabama company that hauls paper-processing waste for the International Paper plant. An employee was found on the concrete waste pad in black liquor solids, a caustic material, and died several weeks later from complications of chemical burns…
W. G. Fairfield Company
Highway contractor had to address safe roadway crossing in its program and training
W. G. Fairfield Company employees were digging a trench beside a six-lane interstate in Cincinnati to install fiber-optic cable. After the crew struck an abandoned cable, an employee crossed the three northbound lanes on foot to inspect a median junction box and was fatally struck while attempting…
Consolidation Coal Company
Dismissal vacated after inadvertent penalty payment
Consolidation Coal timely requested a hearing to contest a proposed penalty but later paid the assessment by mistake along with six other penalties. An administrative law judge dismissed the case after the payment, and the Secretary did not oppose Consolidation's request for relief. The Commission…
Big Apple Wrecking and Construction Corp.
Willful scaffold fall-protection citation affirmed at $56,000, most serious items upheld
Big Apple Wrecking & Construction is a New York City demolition contractor. In mid-1998 OSHA inspected its demolition of a six-story theater building, where crews worked on the top level of scaffolding surrounding the structure. OSHA issued a serious citation, a repeat citation, and a willful…
Valle Construction, LLC
Settlement approved with reduced penalty
Valle Construction faced a civil penalty proceeding under the Mine Act. Judge Avram Weisberger approved the parties' settlement after reviewing the submitted representations and documentation. The settlement reduced the proposed penalty from $1,533 to $1,217, payable within 30 days.
Martin Marietta Aggregates
Penalty assessment reopened after filing error
Martin Marietta intended to contest one proposed penalty but its accounts payable department sent the hearing request to the wrong MSHA office. The Commission found that the documented mailing error was inadvertence or excusable neglect under Rule 60(b)(1), and that default was a harsh remedy in…
Island Creek Coal Company
Compensation and interest awarded to 41 miners on remand
The United Mine Workers of America sought compensation for 41 miners who were idled for two and one-half hours by a section 107(a) withdrawal order. After a Commission remand, the parties stipulated to principal compensation totaling $1,539.61 and interest totaling $209.43. Judge Avram Weisberger…
Shelly Materials, Incorporated
Default order vacated and relief reconsidered
An administrative law judge entered a default order against Shelly Materials after it failed to answer the Secretary's penalty petition and show-cause order, assessing a $7,000 penalty. Shelly said its counsel did not receive the case file until after the default and asked to reopen the case, while…
T & M Development Co.
Discrimination complaint dismissed on remand
Donald L. Ribble alleged that T&M Development fired him after he was injured while checking a conveyor roller and sought medical treatment. Judge Gary Melick found that Ribble did not prove he requested an accident report or made safety complaints before his discharge, and that the protected…
Tondu Energy Company, T.E.S. Filer City Station
In re Tondu Energy Company, T.E.S. Filer City Station (EAB PSD Appeal Nos. 00-3 and 00-4): review denied for lack of standing
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality issued Tondu Energy Company a PSD permit allowing tire-derived fuel as an additional fuel source at the T.E.S. Filer City Station. Walter Froncek and Elissa Miller petitioned for review, but the Board found that neither had submitted comments on the…
Coastal Coal Company, LLC
Discrimination complaint allowed to proceed
William C. Green alleged that Coastal Coal Company discharged him because of activity protected by the Mine Act. Coastal argued that he had not alleged protected activity, had failed to file a prehearing report, and could not establish a prima facie discrimination case. Judge Jacqueline R. Bulluck…
Rohm and Haas Company
In re Rohm and Haas Company (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 98-2): corrective-action permit partly upheld and remanded
Rohm and Haas challenged a federal RCRA permit requiring corrective-action work at its Knoxville, Tennessee facility. The company argued that EPA could not require investigation of newly discovered solid-waste management units or releases without formally modifying the permit, and that interim…
Key Energy Services, Inc., and its successors
Vacuum-truck venting hazard affirmed, three other items vacated
Key Energy Services was servicing an oil well at the Garcia Lease when a vacuum-truck cargo tank exploded and a worker was fatally struck by flying parts. The judge found that Key should have recognized the fire and explosion hazard created by venting flammable crude-oil vapors beneath the truck…
A. J. McNulty & Company, Inc.
Mixed ruling on fall protection during precast concrete erection
A. J. McNulty & Company was erecting a precast concrete parking garage in White Plains, New York, when OSHA cited numerous fall-protection and other safety violations. The Commission rejected McNulty's request to exclude inspection evidence, finding that OSHA substantially honored the company's…
In re Awat Mengisteab BAHTA, Respondent
Attempted possession of stolen property qualified as an aggravated felony
The Board reviewed the Immigration and Naturalization Service's appeal from an Immigration Judge's decision that terminated removal proceedings for an Ethiopian-born respondent who was convicted in Nevada of attempted possession of stolen property. The Board held that section 101(a)(43)(G) of the…
Alan Lee Good, an individual doing business as Good Construction
Amended penalty order vacates two citations
MSHA pursued civil penalties against Alan Lee Good and Good Construction in two dockets involving the Good Portable Crusher. In this amended order, Judge Gary Melick corrected the prior order by vacating Citations 7974344 and 7974345. He affirmed the remaining citations and ordered Good…
C S R Southern Aggregates
Richard L. Wilson v. C S R Southern Aggregates (FMSHRC SE 99-292-DM): Discrimination complaint dismissed as untimely
Richard L. Wilson alleged that C S R Southern Aggregates discharged him after he reported safety violations. He first pursued a race-discrimination claim with the EEOC, then filed a Mine Act discrimination complaint with MSHA nearly two years after the 60-day deadline. Judge Jacqueline R. Bulluck…
CB&I Constructors, Inc.
Commission approves settlement of gas-cylinder and scaffold case
CB&I Constructors was performing construction work at a wastewater treatment facility in Bellaire, Ohio. OSHA cited the company for storing oxygen and acetylene cylinders without the required separation and for leaving a scaffold platform more than 14 inches from the work face without guardrails or…
Centralia Mining Company
Discrimination settlement approved with $1,500 penalty
The Secretary alleged that Centralia Mining Company discriminated against Levi Bussanich under section 105(c)(2) of the Mine Act. At the hearing, the parties settled the discrimination case and a related wrongful-termination case in Washington state court. Centralia agreed to pay a $1,500 civil…
Cincinnati Incorporated
Bypassed lathe interlock exposed operators to rotating parts and flying chips
Cincinnati Incorporated manufactures metal-forming equipment at its Harrison, Ohio, plant. The company bypassed the interlock on an automated lathe so operators could partially open its door and hold newly threaded bolts with a PVC pipe during the cutoff cycle. The judge found that the door was…
U.S. Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service (Respondent) and National Treasury Employees Union (Charging Party/Union)
IRS and NTEU (FLRA CH-CA-80709): office move required bargaining over its effects
The IRS moved nine employees from the ninth to the third floor of its Detroit Computing Center without bargaining over the effects and implementation of the move. It argued that the national agreement’s reassignment provision covered the matter. The Authority rejected that defense because the…
Kenton Caudill v. Arch of Kentucky, Incorporated
Caudill v. Arch of Kentucky (BRB 98-1502): Black lung denial affirmed on reconsideration
Kenton Caudill filed a later black lung claim after an earlier claim was denied for lack of proof of pneumoconiosis. The Board initially returned the case for review of whether new evidence proved total disability. On the employer's request for reconsideration, the Board held that total disability…
U.S. Customs Service, Customs Management Center, Miami, Florida (Respondent) and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 137 (Charging Party)
Customs Miami and NTEU Chapter 137 (FLRA AT-CA-80566): law-enforcement games leave practice restored
Customs ended a longstanding practice of granting administrative leave for employees participating in the Florida Law Enforcement Games. The Authority upheld the finding that this unilateral change violated the duty to bargain. The national agreement's fitness and administrative-leave provisions…
Association of Civilian Technicians, Mad City and Badger State Chapters (Union) and U.S. Department of Defense, National Guard Bureau, Wisconsin National Guard, Madison, Wisconsin (Agency)
ACT Wisconsin chapters and National Guard (FLRA 0-NG-2543): civilian attire allowed for specified labor proceedings
The Wisconsin National Guard disapproved agreement terms excusing civilian technicians from military uniforms during specified grievance and labor-relations activities. The disputed terms also allowed reasonable time to change clothes. The Authority held that participating in those activities did…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R5-168 (Union) and U.S. Department of the Army, Headquarters, Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk, Fort Polk, Louisiana (Agency)
NAGE Local R5-168 and Fort Polk (FLRA 0-NG-2526): medical-standards petition awaits related grievance
The union proposed retaining OPM medical qualification standards for Fort Polk air traffic controllers after the Army announced different standards. A related grievance challenged the Army's authority to establish those standards, including whether it employed the required share of controllers…
Association of Civilian Technicians, Puerto Rico Army Chapter (Union) and U.S. Department of Defense, National Guard Bureau, Puerto Rico National Guard, San Juan, Puerto Rico (Agency)
ACT Puerto Rico Army Chapter and National Guard (FLRA 0-NG-2519): canceled-leave reimbursement reconsideration denied
The union sought reconsideration of a ruling rejecting a provision reimbursing employees for unavoidable personal expenses when approved leave was canceled. The Authority found no extraordinary circumstances warranting reconsideration. It adhered to Comptroller General decisions finding no…
Professional Airways, Systems Specialists (Union) and U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration (Agency) and U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Agency)
PASS and Federal Aviation Administration (FLRA 0-NG-2493, 0-NG-2531, 0-NG-2524): seniority assignment proposals largely negotiable
The union proposed a seniority bidding process for aircraft-inspection assignments and safeguards for employees facing loss of grade or pay. The Authority found that seniority among employees management deemed equally qualified, and fair assignments based on lawful merit factors, preserved…
Association of Civilian Technicians, New York State Council and U.S. Department of Defense, National Guard Bureau, New York Division of Military and Naval Affairs, Latham, New York
ACT New York State Council and National Guard (FLRA 0-NG-2373): staffing-proposal reconsideration denied
The union sought reconsideration of a decision rejecting a proposed supplemental agreement for the Northeast Air Defense Sector after a reorganization to full-time military staffing. The Authority had treated the proposal as an integrated package affecting management’s right to determine its…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1978 (Union) and U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Lower Colorado Regional Office, Boulder City, Nevada (Agency)
AFGE Local 1978 and Bureau of Reclamation (FLRA 0-NG-1986 REC): pay-retention proposals rejected on reconsideration
On reconsideration, the Authority reviewed proposals to retain employees’ pay when they entered apprenticeship positions or were affected by a reduction in force. These Bureau of Reclamation employees bargained pay under special statutory provisions preserving certain historical bargaining…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 916 (Union) and U.S. Department of the Air Force, 72ND Support Group (AFMC), Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma (Agency)
AFGE Local 916 and Tinker Air Force Base (FLRA 0-AR-3330): arbitration withdrawal ruling upheld
An arbitrator interpreted Article 7 of the agreement to permit the Air Force to deem a grievance withdrawn from arbitration. The union challenged that result. The Authority held that a procedural-arbitrability ruling could be challenged only on grounds separate from the ruling itself. Because that…
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Coatesville, Pennsylvania (Agency) and National Association of Government Employees, Local R3-35 (Union)
VA Medical Center Coatesville and NAGE Local R3-35 (FLRA 0-AR-3315): canceled overtime compensation upheld
A nurse was sent home before completing an approved overtime shift while other nurses supplied the remaining coverage. An arbitrator found a contract violation and awarded 2.5 hours of overtime compensation with interest. The Authority upheld the remedy because the nurse would have worked those…
U.S. Department of Defense, Education Activity, Arlington, Virginia (Agency) and Federal Education Association (Union)
Defense Education Activity and Federal Education Association (FLRA 0-AR-3312): pay-lane and step corrections support interest
Two teachers in Germany were not paid at their correct education-based salary levels or service steps. An arbitrator found that incorrect paperwork and delayed adjustments violated the agreement and ordered backpay, interest, and payment audits. The Authority upheld the award because contract…
U.S. Department of Defense, Education Activity, Arlington, Virginia (Agency) and Federal Education Association (Union)
Defense Education Activity and Federal Education Association (FLRA 0-AR-3299): processed housing claim required timely payment
A kindergarten teacher in Germany submitted requests for increased housing allowances, but payment remained delayed after the claims had been processed. An arbitrator found an unjustified personnel action and ordered interest, initially accruing from March 4, 1998. The Authority upheld the award…
U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Commissary Agency, Fort Lee, Virginia (Agency) and National Association of Government Employees, Local R4-27 (Union)
Defense Commissary Agency and NAGE Local R4-27 (FLRA 0-AR-3290): temporary-promotion qualifications need findings
A meat cutter leader performed the duties of a higher-paid supervisory meat manager. The arbitrator ordered a temporary promotion with backpay and interest beginning on the thirty-first day of the assignment. The Authority rejected challenges to disputed factual findings and held that agreed…
U.S. Department of Defense, Education Activity, Arlington, Virginia (Agency) and Federal Education Association (Union)
Defense Education Activity and Federal Education Association (FLRA 0-AR-3281): thirty-three-month housing payment delay supported interest
An overseas teacher submitted her 1996 housing-allowance reconciliation in January 1997 but did not receive final payment until October 1999. An arbitrator found that this thirty-three-month delay breached the duty to pay timely and awarded interest under the Back Pay Act. The Authority upheld that…
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.