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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Department of the Air Force, 452nd Air Mobility Wing, March Air Reserve Base, California (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3854, AFL-CIO (Charging Party/Union)
March Air Reserve Base and AFGE Local 3854 (FLRA SF-CA-00070): dress-code settlement approved
The Air Force and the union settled a dispute over a tenant organization's formal dress code for bargaining-unit employees. Their earlier agreement barred dress and grooming requirements unless related to the job or safety, except for military uniforms. The Authority approved the settlement and…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1501 (Union) and U.S. Department of the Air Force, Mcchord Air Force Base, Washington (Agency)
AFGE Local 1501 and McChord Air Force Base (FLRA 0-AR-3249): oral admonishment and grievance timeliness upheld
An employee disputed the recycling of colored plastic and sent an email to higher command despite a supervisory instruction requiring prior review. Arbitrator Ronald L. Miller upheld an oral admonishment for insubordination and dismissed a separate grievance as untimely. The Authority denied the…
John Richards Construction
Penalty reopening request remanded for factfinding
John Richards Construction asked to reopen a penalty assessment that had become a final Commission order after the operator allegedly did not receive the proposed assessment. The Secretary did not oppose the request, but the Commission found that the record did not explain the circumstances of the…
U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration (Agency) and Professional Airways, Systems Specialists (Union)
FAA and Professional Airways Systems Specialists (FLRA 0-AR-3235): January 1999 pay-adjustment entitlement upheld
The FAA claimed discretion to withhold the January 1999 government-wide pay increase, although it ultimately granted the increase. Arbitrator Robert O. Harris found that the agency's existing personnel directives retained the prior pay system until superseded by a new implementation bulletin. The…
Tilton Capaldi, Inc.
Late penalty petition dismissal denied
Tilcon Capaldi asked the judge to dismiss a civil-penalty petition because the Secretary filed it after the deadline. The Secretary had combined penalty proceedings for nine citations after assessment and filing complications involving August and October 1999 inspections. Judge Michael E. Zielinski…
U.S. Department of Energy, Southwestern Power Administration, Tulsa, Oklahoma (Agency) and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1002 (Union)
Southwestern Power Administration and IBEW Local 1002 (FLRA 0-AR-3269): suspension reduction upheld
The agency imposed a two-day suspension for offensive language, misrepresentation, and insolence. Arbitrator Thomas A. Cipolla rejected the first two charges and reduced the suspension to one day for insolence. The Authority denied the agency's exceptions. The contract's efficiency-of-the-service…
Secretary of Labor v. Akzo Nobel Salt, Inc.
Case dismissed after citation was vacated
The case concerned an MSHA citation alleging that Akzo Nobel Salt failed to maintain two escapeways while miners were underground. The Commission had previously held that the operator violated 30 C.F.R. § 57.11050(a), but the D.C. Circuit overturned that decision and remanded for an authoritative…
Durbin Coal, Inc.
Discovery privilege ruling deferred for in-camera review
The Secretary, acting for two miners who alleged discriminatory discharges, opposed Durbin Coal's request for investigative documents and witness statements. The judge found that the materials were prepared in anticipation of litigation and generally protected by the work product privilege, but…
Trinity Industries, Inc. -- Plant 22, and its successors
Steel-tank storage citations vacated
Trinity Industries manufactured large steel tanks at its Fort Worth, Texas, plant and stored partly finished tanks close together on wooden supports and chocks between production steps. During lifting, one tank caught and raised the tank in front of it, dislodging a chock and causing that tank to…
U.S. Department of Justice, Executive Office of Immigration Review, Office of the Chief Immigration Judge (Petitioner/Agency) and National Association of Immigration Judges (Labor Organization/Union)
EOIR and National Association of Immigration Judges (FLRA WA-RP-90056): unit status upheld on this record
The agency sought to exclude immigration judges from their bargaining unit as management officials after adding advisory committees, court evaluations, local rules, and other advisory duties. The regional director found that their principal adjudicatory role remained unchanged and dismissed the…
Eastern Associated Coal Corp.
Imminent-danger withdrawal order dismissed
MSHA issued an imminent-danger withdrawal order after a bulldozer fell into a cavity in a coal stockpile at Eastern Associated Coal's Rock Lick Preparation Plant. The judge considered the risk from cavities, including the plant's feeder, communication, and monitoring practices, but found that the…
Weathers Crushing, Inc.
Fatality case produced mixed results
A new crusher operator died after a sledgehammer head was ejected from a running jaw crusher while he was clearing a blockage. The judge found that Weathers Crushing violated standards requiring machinery to be shut off and blocked and employees to be indoctrinated, but dismissed the guard-chain…
U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Workers' Compensation, Programs, Boston, Massachusetts (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 948, NCFLL, AFL-CIO (Charging Party)
Labor Department OWCP Boston and AFGE Local 948 (FLRA BN-CA-90142): workstation complaint dismissed
The union challenged the assignment of a vacant windowed cubicle without notice or bargaining, alleging a change from a past practice favoring seniority or a lottery. The Authority adopted Administrative Law Judge Jesse Etelson’s findings and dismissed the complaint. Two lotteries during office…
Agra Erectors, Inc.
Serious citation affirmed, willful citation remanded after tower collapse
Agra Erectors is an Ohio company that erects grain elevators. In October 1997, while its crew was building an 85-foot grain elevator tower in Mill Hall, Pennsylvania, an employee working atop the fully erected tower died when the tower collapsed after the crane supporting it was disconnected and a…
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 121 (Union) and U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. (Agency)
IBEW Local 121 and Government Printing Office (FLRA 0-NG-2541): work-preservation petition dismissed
The union proposed requiring negotiations before the agency assigned work historically performed by bargaining-unit electricians to employees outside the unit. The proposal affected management’s right to assign work. The union argued that section 704 of the Civil Service Reform Act preserved…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2052 (Union) and U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Petersburg, Virginia (Agency)
AFGE Local 2052 and FCI Petersburg (FLRA 0-AR-3257): reprimand award upheld
An employee received a reprimand for repeatedly failing to deliver mail after a confrontation with a supervisor and a workplace-violence complaint. Arbitrator George R. Gray denied a grievance alleging retaliation and a hostile work environment, finding the discipline warranted and the allegations…
David Morales v. Asarco, Inc.
Discrimination dismissal vacated and remanded
Asarco discharged David Morales after he complained to MSHA about fumes in a truck cab. An ALJ dismissed his discrimination complaint after finding that Morales engaged in protected activity but did not prove discriminatory motive. On review, Morales presented notarized statements alleging that an…
BR&D Enterprises, Inc.
Temporary reinstatement ordered
Dewayne York alleged that BR&D Enterprises discharged him after he raised safety concerns about unsupported mine intersections, dust, and cutting practices. At the temporary-reinstatement stage, the judge found that his complaint was not frivolous, even though the company disputed both the safety…
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 911 (Charging Party)
HUD and AFGE Local 911 (FLRA CH-CA-90466): unilateral performance standards unlawful
HUD replaced a performance plan with one critical element and three possible ratings with a plan containing five critical elements and five ratings at its Chicago Income Verification Center. It implemented the change without giving the union notice and an opportunity to bargain over procedures and…
Werner Berg v. Matson Terminals, Incorporated and Metro Risk Management
Berg v. Matson Terminals (BRB 99-1221A): separate liability periods for each knee injury
Werner Berg suffered work-related injuries to both knees and received separate permanent partial disability awards for each leg. The judge granted Matson Terminals relief from continuing liability through the Special Fund, but required it to pay 104 weeks for each award. The employer argued that…
A & K Earth Movers, Inc.
Settlement approved and discrimination case dismissed
The Secretary brought a discrimination case on behalf of Curtis Stahl after his employment ended. The parties agreed that A & K would pay Stahl $15,000, amend his employment records to remove any reference to termination, and provide only his dates of employment to third parties. Stahl waived…
William Rhodes Construction Co. and its successors
Late contest dismissed after partial payment and abatement certification
OSHA issued William Rhodes Construction two citations that explained the 15-working-day deadline for filing a notice of contest. The company did not contest within that period; its president later arranged installment payments, delivered a $1,000 check, and certified corrective action involving…
Future Home Technology, Inc.
Modular-home platform fall-protection violations affirmed
Future Home Technology manufactures modular housing in Port Jervis, New York. After inspections in early 1999, OSHA issued the company a nine-item serious citation and a one-item "other" citation. The company settled all but one item through a partial settlement. The remaining contested item…
Donrey Outdoor Advertising Co.
Billboard fall-protection violation affirmed
Donrey Outdoor Advertising sent a four-person crew to replace the vinyl face on a billboard beside an interstate in Little Rock, Arkansas. Two employees worked on an unguarded platform 70 feet above the ground without attaching their harness lanyards to the installed safety line, and they tied off…
U.S. Department of Defense, the Adjutant General, National Guard Bureau, Tennessee Air National Guard (Agency) and Association of Civilian Technicians, Music City Chapter (Union)
Tennessee Air National Guard and ACT Music City Chapter (FLRA 0-AR-3254): selection rerun upheld
The agency selected a Safety and Occupational Health Manager without timely notifying unqualified applicants or the union and without an application establishing the required specialized experience. Arbitrator Thomas K. Goldie ordered the position vacated and the selection rerun if the agency chose…
Alta Gold Company
Three citations affirmed with penalty factors modified
Alta Gold Company operated the Griffon Project surface mine, where MSHA cited unsafe dumping at an undercut stockpile and inadequate restraints at a crusher feed hopper. Judge August F. Cetti found violations of the stockpile dumping and dump-site restraint standards, affirmed the…
Lafarge Corporation
In re Lafarge Corporation (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 00-3): petition withdrawal granted
Lafarge Corporation asked to withdraw its petition for review of its RCRA permit. The company said that it no longer considered it necessary to pursue the appeal, and EPA Region V did not object. The Environmental Appeals Board granted the unopposed motion. The order does not decide the permit…
Puerto Rico Power Authority, San Juan Generating Station Repowering Project
In re Puerto Rico Power Authority, San Juan Generating Station Repowering Project (EAB PSD Appeal No. 00-1): withdrawal granted
Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority asked to withdraw its petition for review of the PSD permit for the San Juan Generating Station Repowering Project. The Board granted the request subject to the terms and conditions of its August 3 and August 15, 2000 orders. The Environmental Appeals Board…
Rag Cumberland Resources LP
Imminent danger order vacated and citation affirmed with reduced penalty
RAG Cumberland Resources LP operated the Cumberland Mine, where two coupled mantrips struck a parked cricket at the No. 6 portal. Judge Jerold Feldman vacated the imminent danger order because the mantrip operator had left the mine and the completed act did not create a continuing threat. He found…
Earl Begley, employed by Manalapan Mining Company, Incorporated
Secretary of Labor v. Earl Begley (FMSHRC KENT 99-233): Reconsideration petition denied as untimely
An ALJ found that Earl Begley, employed by Manalapan Mining Company, violated the Mine Act by carrying smoking materials underground and assessed a $250 penalty. Begley filed his petition for discretionary review six days after the 30-day deadline, and the Commission denied it as untimely. He later…
William E. Hawker v. Zeigler Coal Company
Hawker v. Zeigler Coal (BRB 99-0434): Black lung benefits and attorney fees affirmed
William Hawker sought black lung benefits after working in coal mines for 38 years. The judge found complicated pneumoconiosis and awarded benefits, then approved $26,850.70 in attorney fees and expenses. Zeigler Coal challenged the medical evidence and the fee award. The Board held that the judge…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 422 (Union) and U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Colorado River Agency, Parker, Arizona (Agency)
NFFE Local 422 and BIA Colorado River Agency (FLRA 0-AR-3270): grievance timing rulings upheld
The union filed a group grievance and individual grievances concerning a reduction in force. Arbitrator Guy M. Parent found the group grievance premature under the contract and the individual grievances late, rejecting a claimed filing extension. The Authority denied the union’s exceptions. The…
Richard Feld v. General Dynamics Corporation
Feld v. General Dynamics (BRB 00-0498): permanent total disability award reinstated
Richard Feld received permanent total disability benefits after a back injury kept him from his usual work. Years later, General Dynamics used a new labor market survey to seek a change to permanent partial benefits. The Board held that the survey did not show a change in Feld's economic condition…
Association of Civilian Technicians (Union) and U.S. Department of Defense, National Guard Bureau, Alabama National Guard, Montgomery, Alabama (Agency)
ACT and Alabama National Guard (FLRA 0-NG-2530): civilian-attire provision upheld
The agency head disapproved provisions allowing technicians to wear civilian attire for specified grievance and third-party proceedings and providing reasonable official time to change clothes. The Authority found the disputed language lawful and ordered the agency to rescind its disapproval…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3134 (Union) and U.S. Small Business Administration, Region 2, New York, New York
AFGE Local 3134 and SBA Region 2 (FLRA 0-AR-3328): union exceptions denied
The union challenged an award by Arbitrator Daniel G. Collins. The Authority denied its exceptions after reviewing the record under 5 U.S.C. § 7122(a). The brief decision cites the standards for claims that an arbitrator exceeded his authority and that an award fails to draw its essence from the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 446 (Union) and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Asheville, North Carolina (Agency)
AFGE Local 446 and VA Asheville Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-3326): union exceptions denied
The union filed exceptions to an award by Arbitrator Helen G. Hoffman. The Authority denied the exceptions after reviewing the entire record. Its brief ruling cites the standards for exceeding arbitral authority, denial of a fair hearing, nonfact, and failure to draw an award’s essence from the…
Enrique Uresti v. Port Container Industries, Incorporated and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company
Uresti v. Port Container Industries (BRB 99-0432): Board keeps port coverage ruling on reconsideration
Truck driver Enrique Uresti was injured while helping unload steel inside the Port of Houston. In an earlier decision, the Board held that his work moving cargo within the port and the port warehouse both met Longshore Act coverage requirements, then returned the benefits claim for further…
Phyllis Kehl v. Martin Paving Company and Florida Employers Insurance Service Corporation
Kehl v. Martin Paving Company (BRB 99-1154): Longshore Act death benefits reversed
Eugene Kehl died after falling while constructing a bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway, and his widow sought Longshore Act death benefits. After a court remand, the administrative law judge awarded them because the unfinished portion of the bridge was above navigable water. The Board held that…
Portable Rock Production Co., Inc.
Fatal-accident citations affirmed and order vacated
Portable Rock Production Co., Inc. operated the Sears Road Pit, where a bulldozer overturned after an undercut bench failed and the operator, Vernon Smith, later died from his injuries. Judge Gary Melick affirmed the significant-and-substantial citation for failing to maintain slope stability and…
McConnell Smith Guam, Inc., and its successors
Fall-protection and stair violations affirmed
McConnell Smith Guam erected precast concrete panels on a multistory building in Guam. OSHA observed the lead worker and another employee near the sixth-floor edge, about 62 feet above the ground, wearing harnesses but not tied to the available static line. The judge rejected the…
U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. and U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, Washington, D.C. (Respondents) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 709 (Charging Party/Union) and U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. and U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, Washington, D.C. (Respondents) and American Federation of Government, Employees, AFL-CIO (Charging Party/Union)
Justice Department and OIG (FLRA DE-CA-80076 and WA-CA-80156): investigatory representation rights upheld
DOJ inspector-general agents denied requested union representation to employees questioned in separate prison and immigration-service investigations. The Authority upheld both unfair-labor-practice findings under the Supreme Court’s NASA decision. The criminal character of one investigation did not…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1709 (Union) and U.S. Department of the Air Force, Dover Air Force Base, Dover, Delaware (Agency)
AFGE Local 1709 and Dover Air Force Base (FLRA 0-NG-2523): quality-assessment proposals dismissed
The union proposed barring use of aircraft-maintenance quality assessments for disciplinary or performance-based action and requiring negotiations over changes in acceptable quality levels. The Authority found the ban affected management’s right to discipline and the bargaining requirement affected…
A & K Earth Movers, Inc.
Motion to compel granted in part
A & K Earth Movers faced a discrimination proceeding brought on behalf of Curtis Stahl involving the Belle Vista Pit. The Secretary of Labor withheld portions of two miner interview statements under the informant's privilege. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon held that most redactions protected the informant's…
Georges Colliers, Incorporated
Reopening request remanded for Rule 60(b) review
Georges Colliers asked the Commission to reopen two penalty assessments that had become final because it did not timely contest them. The operator said financial-hardship communications, misplaced or misfiled assessments, changes in clerical staff, or a lost hearing request caused the missed…
Tri-County Mining, Inc.
Temporary reinstatement agreement approved
The Secretary sought temporary reinstatement of Roger Dale Damron, II, at Tri-County Mining's Mine No. 1 while his discrimination complaint was pending. The parties agreed to a recall sequence because most Tri-County employees were laid off. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found that the complaint was not…
U.S. Department of the Army, Headquarters, III Corps and Fort Hood, Fort Hood, Texas (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1920
Army Fort Hood and AFGE Local 1920 (FLRA 0-AR-3252): compensation award remanded for clarification
A GS-12 analyst sought compensation for performing higher-graded supervisory duties. Arbitrator Raymond L. Britton sustained the grievance but did not specify a remedy. The Authority rejected the agency’s claim that the grievance was barred as a classification dispute because it sought pay for…
Spitzer Great Lakes Ltd., Co.
In re Spitzer Great Lakes Ltd., Co. (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 99-3): reconsideration denied
The Environmental Appeals Board had earlier affirmed an initial decision requiring Spitzer Great Lakes Ltd. to pay a $165,000 civil penalty. Spitzer asked the Board to reconsider, allow oral argument, and vacate or suspend the final order. The Board held that oral argument is discretionary and that…
Hibbing Taconite Company
Discrimination settlement approved
The Secretary alleged that Hibbing Taconite disciplined Dwayne H. Hemenway, Allen P. Bluemke, and Robert R. Williams for allegedly misusing rights under Article XIV of their basic labor agreement. The parties reached a settlement during the merits hearing. Hibbing Taconite agreed to expunge the…
Franklin Industrial Minerals
Uncontrolled loader movement violation affirmed and penalty reduced
Franklin Industrial Minerals operated the Anderson Mine, an underground crushed-stone mine with a surface mill. Judge David F. Barbour found that the company violated 30 C.F.R. § 57.9101 by using a front-end loader and tow cable in a way that caused the loader to move without operator control…
Puerto Rico Power Authority, San Juan Generating Station Repowering Project
In re Puerto Rico Power Authority, San Juan Generating Station Repowering Project (EAB PSD Appeal No. 00-1): withdrawal of petition granted, but Board reserves review of any amended permit
The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority appealed a final Prevention of Significant Deterioration permit that EPA Region II issued in March 2000 for its San Juan repowering project. While the Board kept extending the Region's response deadline, the two sides settled. The utility then asked to…
Sterling Sand & Gravel Company
Reopening request denied
Sterling Sand & Gravel asked the Commission to set aside a judge's decision approving $726 in penalties because a check written before a change in ownership cleared after the purchase. The Commission held that Sterling did not allege that it intended to contest the penalties and did not explain how…
Ernie Miller Coal Stoves
In re Ernie Miller Coal Stoves (EAB CAA Appeal No. 00-(2)): complaint dismissed without prejudice
EPA charged Ernie Miller Coal Stoves of Breman, Indiana, with offering about 79 improperly labeled wood heaters and coal-only heaters for sale. EPA sought a $1,351 civil penalty, and the company did not answer the complaint. The Board denied default because the complaint did not specify whether the…
Darwin Stratton & Son Inc.
Response ordered in jurisdiction dispute
Darwin Stratton & Son Inc. contested multiple orders and citations issued at the Rattlesnake Pit Mine. The Secretary of Labor moved for summary decision on whether MSHA had jurisdiction over the mine, and Judge Richard W. Manning ordered Darwin Stratton to respond with specific facts if it…
Steel Dynamics, Inc.
In re Steel Dynamics, Inc. (EAB PSD Appeal Nos. 99-4 and 99-5): Union's reconsideration motion denied
Steel Dynamics, Inc. was developing a steel mill under a PSD permit. The United Association of Plumbers and Steamfitters, Local 166, and its members asked the Environmental Appeals Board to reconsider three issues involving nine natural gas-fired preheaters and dryers, continuous emissions…
Trinity Marine Nashville, Inc.
Commission affirms electrical citations at a barge yard after a fatal electrocution
Trinity Marine Nashville builds river barges in Ashland City, Tennessee. OSHA inspected the yard after an employee was electrocuted when a drop light he was holding became energized through a miswired receptacle in a job-made portable electrical box. OSHA issued several electrical citations. The…
Worldwide Manufacturing, Inc.
Commission affirms willful and repeat machine-guarding violations and raises the penalties
Worldwide Manufacturing runs a small factory in Berkeley, Missouri that makes collapsible sawhorses, folding tables, and metal legs. OSHA inspected in 1995, cited machine-guarding and lockout/tagout problems, and Worldwide settled by agreeing to fix them. A 1997 follow-up inspection found many of…
Reading Anthracite Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed on remand
Reading Anthracite Company discharged Leonard M. Bernardyn after he used profanity and made a threatening statement over a C.B. radio following a dispute about driving conditions. On remand from the Commission, Judge Avram Weisberger found that the statement was a threat, that the stricter 1998…
In re V-Z-S-, Respondent
Temporary vehicle deprivation could still be a theft offense
The Board reviewed a lawful permanent resident's appeal from an order of removal based on several vehicle and property convictions. It held that a theft offense under the immigration statute does not require an intent to permanently deprive an owner of property, but does require criminal intent to…
Victor Marinelli v. American Stevedoring, Limited
Marinelli v. American Stevedoring (BRB 99-1135): shop steward's disability award affirmed
Victor Marinelli worked as a shop steward for a stevedoring company, resolving labor and safety disputes during waterfront operations. He sought benefits after a workplace cardiac episode and subsequent psychological symptoms. The company disputed that it was his employer, that his duties qualified…
Pool Company Texas, Ltd.
Commission approves a settlement withdrawing the fixed-stairs railing citation and sets aside the ALJ decision
Pool Company Texas runs oil-and-gas well-servicing (workover) rigs. During a January 1999 inspection at a lease near Peyote, Texas, OSHA cited the company because two sets of stairs leading up to the rig's operating platforms lacked a standard railing on one open side. The administrative law judge…
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.