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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Lancaster Enterprises, Inc., d/b/a Orbit Roofing Co.
Safety-program item vacated, glass-skylight item affirmed
Lancaster Enterprises, doing business as Orbit Roofing, was installing a rubber roof on a three-story apartment building in Massachusetts when an employee slipped near the roof edge and fell 33 feet to his death. The Commission upheld vacatur of the general safety-program item because the Secretary…
Island Creek Coal Company
Denial of miner compensation reversed; amount remanded
Island Creek Coal Company operated the VP 8 underground coal mine in Virginia. After high methane readings led MSHA to issue a section 107(a) withdrawal order, the United Mine Workers of America sought compensation for 41 miners who lost the rest of their shift. The Commission held that the miners…
Island Creek Coal Company
No violation found, section 104(d)(1) order vacated
Island Creek Coal Company operated the VP 8 underground coal mine. A miner was injured while performing maintenance on one conveyor belt from another belt that had not been blocked against motion, and the judge found no violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.1725(c). The Commission issued a split decision…
Dudley Stewart v. Wampler Brothers Coal Company
Stewart v. Wampler Brothers Coal (BRB 99-0246): Black lung benefit award affirmed
Dudley Stewart sought black lung benefits through a later claim after an earlier claim was denied. The judge found that he had pneumoconiosis arising from coal mine work and was totally disabled because of it. Wampler Brothers challenged the finding that his condition had materially changed and the…
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): contract disapprovals partly rescinded
The agency head disapproved provisions concerning official time for congressional lobbying, civilian attire during grievance processing, and civilian forms of address in employment disputes. The Authority upheld the objection to official time for lobbying on pending legislation under the applicable…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1917, National Immigration and Naturalization Council (Union) and U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, New York, New York (Agency)
AFGE Local 1917 and INS New York (FLRA 0-AR-3248): reassignment award upheld
The agency reassigned a Special Agent to District Adjudications Officer after removing his law-enforcement availability pay certification. Arbitrator Charlotte Gold found no contract violation, and the Authority denied the union’s exceptions. The availability-pay policy required certification and…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, Warner Robins Air Force Base, Georgia (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 987 (Union)
Warner Robins Air Force Base and AFGE Local 987 (FLRA 0-AR-3232): potential-award damages set aside
An employee challenged her fully successful performance appraisal and the agency’s failure to provide required guidance about achieving higher ratings. Arbitrator Nancy Kauffman found the appraisal accurate but awarded damages equal to one percent of annual salary for the lost opportunity to earn a…
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Indian Health Service, Alaska Area Native Health Services, Anchorage, Alaska (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1668 (Union)
Indian Health Service Alaska and AFGE Local 1668 (FLRA 0-AR-3216): official-time reimbursement upheld
Arbitrator Eric B. Lindauer denied a medical-records grievance but awarded reimbursement for reasonable time union representatives spent processing it under the agreement in effect when it arose. The Authority denied the agency’s exceptions. A prior unfair-labor-practice charge did not bar the…
Lopke Quarries, Inc.
Multiple citations split, $22,500 penalty assessed
Lopke Quarries operated a portable rock-crushing plant at the Low Moor Mine in Virginia. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found violations involving electrical wiring, unsafe conveyor-belt access, and an uninspected loader, while vacating other alleged violations involving loader defects, parking brakes, and…
American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 3824 (Union) and U.S. Department of Energy, Western Area Power Administration, Golden, Colorado (Agency)
AFGE Local 3824 and Western Area Power Administration (FLRA 0-AR-3289): reassignment-purpose award upheld
The agency directed an electrical engineer to move from Colorado to Arizona to manage a maintenance information-system project. Arbitrator John Phillip Linn found legitimate managerial reasons for the reassignment and denied the grievance. The union argued that a related unfair-labor-practice…
Palmer Coking Coal Company
Seven citations affirmed and $450 penalty assessed
Palmer Coking Coal Company operated the Morgan Kame Terrace sand and gravel mine in Washington. Judge Richard W. Manning found seven violations involving roadway berms, loader defects, guarding, access, and a walkway over water. The judge found that none of the violations was S&S except the unsafe…
United States Air Force, Tinker Air Force Base
In re United States Air Force, Tinker Air Force Base (EAB RCRA (9006) Appeal No. 99-2): accelerated decision reversed and remanded
EPA Region VI appealed an Administrative Law Judge's accelerated decision in a case alleging that Tinker Air Force Base violated underground storage tank rules under RCRA Subtitle I. The ALJ had concluded that EPA lacked authority to assess administrative penalties against another federal agency…
Merchant's Masonry, Inc.
Remand granted for consolidation and settlement
Merchant's Masonry had defaulted after a temporary secretary placed the complaint and Commission orders in the company president's rarely used office. On an earlier remand, the chief judge found that the company failed to exercise reasonable diligence and left the repeated citation and $21,000…
Merchant's Masonry, Inc.
Case remanded for consolidation and settlement
OSHA cited Merchant's Masonry after inspecting a Louisiana construction site and proposed a $21,000 penalty for a repeated violation. The company timely contested but then failed to answer the complaint or respond to a show-cause order after a temporary secretary placed multiple case documents in…
Health Care Financing Administration (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1923, AFL-CIO (Charging Party/Union)
Health Care Financing Administration and AFGE Local 1923 (FLRA WA-CA-90046 and WA-CA-90378): selection records ordered disclosed
The agency failed to supply requested selection records for two vacancies after bargaining-unit applicants sought union help investigating possible irregularities. The Authority upheld the unfair-labor-practice findings and ordered disclosure with personal identifiers removed. The union identified…
Alden Leeds, Inc.
Commission affirms a $107,100 failure-to-abate penalty for unsafe pool-chemical storage
Alden Leeds runs a wholesale pool-chemical business in South Kearny, New Jersey, where it stores large, constantly changing quantities of oxidizing chemicals that can feed a fire. OSHA cited the company under the general duty clause in 1990 and again in 1993 (after a large warehouse fire) for the…
Chempace Corporation
In re Chempace Corporation (EAB FIFRA Appeal Nos. 99-2 and 99-3): reconsideration denied and $92,193 penalty due
Chempace Corporation asked the Environmental Appeals Board to reconsider its May 18, 2000 Final Decision and to keep that decision stayed. Chempace argued that the Board had unfairly placed an ability-to-pay burden on the company and that its evidence supported a lower penalty. The Board found that…
Anthony Towe v. Ingalls Shipbuilding, Incorporated
Towe v. Ingalls Shipbuilding (BRB 99-1112): settlement approval vacated
Anthony Towe and Ingalls Shipbuilding proposed a $10,000 disability settlement while the employer remained liable for medical benefits. One district director disapproved the application as inadequate. After the employer said it was withdrawing from the agreement, another district director approved…
Jim Walter Resources, Incorporated
Late penalty petition accepted
The Secretary filed penalty petitions six days after the deadline, explaining that a legal technician had inadvertently overlooked the cases while another legal assistant was away. Jim Walter Resources argued that the late filing lacked adequate cause and would prejudice the company. Judge David F…
Reinjtes of the South, Inc.
Settlement approval vacated and remanded
Reinjtes of the South signed an agreement to pay $55,131 to settle two citations, then sought a stay before the Secretary signed and filed it. The judge stayed the case pending a Fifth Circuit ruling about MSHA's authority over alumina plants. After the court ruled that MSHA had jurisdiction, the…
P.A. Landers, Inc.
Settlement reduces willful trench penalty to $40,000
P.A. Landers was installing sewer lines at a Massachusetts condominium development when an unprotected trench collapsed and buried an employee up to his neck, causing multiple serious injuries. The ALJ found a willful trench-protection violation because the site supervisor knew the trench exceeded…
U.S. Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of the Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue Service (Activities) and National Treasury Employees Union (Petitioner)
IRS, Office of Chief Counsel, and NTEU (FLRA WA-RP-90061): single-unit consolidation review denied
The union sought to combine five IRS bargaining units and two Office of Chief Counsel units into one unit. The regional director approved separate consolidations within each activity but rejected the single combined unit. The Authority denied review of that rejection. Separate personnel and…
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): attire provision upheld, leave-loss provision rejected
The agency head disapproved provisions allowing civilian attire during grievance and third-party proceedings, official time to change clothes, and reimbursement for personal expenses lost when approved leave was canceled. The Authority upheld the attire and official-time language and ordered…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 987 (Union)
Warner Robins Air Logistics Center and AFGE Local 987 (FLRA 0-AR-3256): training-program implementation upheld
The Federal Service Impasses Panel imposed the agency’s final offer for a multiskill training program, but the agency did not implement the resulting agreement. Arbitrator John J. Smith, Jr. ordered implementation. The Authority denied the agency’s exceptions, deferring to the arbitrator’s…
Cranberry Realty/Parsippany Office Plaza
Trench items affirmed with penalties reduced to $2,000
Cranberry Realty's owner acted as his own general contractor and hired workers to dig a sewer-connection trench on company property. OSHA found the trench was more than five feet deep in soil requiring cave-in protection, lacked that protection, and had not been inspected by a competent person. The…
Mid City Motors
Settlement affirms four serious items with a $750 total penalty
OSHA inspected Mid City Motors and issued a citation alleging three serious violations with proposed penalties totaling $2,850. When the hearing opened, the parties reached an agreement resolving every issue. Their stipulation, incorporated into the order by reference, treated the third item as two…
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency, Oklahoma State Office (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3354 (Union)
Farm Service Agency Oklahoma and AFGE Local 3354 (FLRA 0-AR-3317): agency exception denied
The agency challenged an award by Arbitrator A. Dale Allen, Jr., and the union opposed its exception. The Authority denied the exception under 5 U.S.C. § 7122(a). Its brief ruling cites the rule that an arbitrator’s procedural-arbitrability determination may be challenged only on grounds that do…
Robert Fields
First-aid violations affirmed without S&S findings
Robert Fields operated a seasonal flagstone quarry. Judge Avram Weisberger found that the quarry lacked adequate first-aid materials and did not have a currently trained first-aid provider available on site, violating 30 C.F.R. §§ 56.15001 and 56.18010. He found both violations were not significant…
Marilee Justice v. Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company
Justice v. Newport News Shipbuilding (BRB 99-1087): asbestos benefits affirmed
James E. Justice developed mesothelioma after asbestos exposure at Newport News Shipbuilding and later work at NASA. The judge awarded disability benefits for the period before his death and death benefits to his widow, Marilee Justice, against the shipyard. The Board held that the judge should…
Steel Dynamics, Inc.
In re Steel Dynamics, Inc. (EAB PSD Appeal Nos. 99-4 and 99-5): reconsideration denied
Steel Dynamics, Inc. and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management sought reconsideration or clarification of the Board's June 22, 2000 decision about emission limits for a steel mill's Prevention of Significant Deterioration permit. IDEM argued that the Board misunderstood comparison…
The Coteau Properties Co.
Partial motion to compel granted in discrimination proceeding
The Secretary of Labor, on behalf of Royal Sargent, alleged that The Coteau Properties Co. discriminated against him in violation of section 105(c)(1) of the Mine Act. The company sought witness statements, an investigative report, related documents, and answers to two interrogatories. Judge…
Eagle Energy, Incorporated
Roof-examination violations affirmed and $12,000 penalty assessed
Eagle Energy operated a large mine where an MSHA inspection found unsupported kettlebottoms in the roof and cited failures to record hazardous conditions during preshift and onshift examinations. The inspection followed a fatal rib-roll accident involving maintenance foreman James Kerns, although…
C S R Southern Aggregates
Clarification requested before ruling on summary judgment
Richard Wilson alleged that C S R Southern Aggregates terminated him after he reported safety violations. The company moved for summary judgment, arguing that Wilson had filed his Mine Act discrimination complaint too late. Judge Jacqueline R. Bulluck found that Wilson's response left important…
Farrell-Cooper Mining Company
EAJA fee application dismissed after settlement
Farrell-Cooper Mining Company applied for attorney fees and expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act after an underlying Mine Act matter. The parties agreed to dismiss the application after the Secretary accepted that ground control plans do not require MSHA approval to be deemed filed under…
Guilmette Brothers Corporation
Default orders vacated and proceedings reopened
Guilmette Brothers failed to answer the Secretary's civil-penalty petitions and failed to respond to orders to show cause, leading the ALJ to enter default orders assessing $3,629 in total penalties. George Guilmette later explained that he had forgotten about the hearing date while his wife was…
Blades Construction Products
Mixed citation results and individual-liability findings
Blades Construction Products faced consolidated proceedings involving dust control, fall protection, unstable highwalls, loose ground, and ground-condition examinations at its crushed-stone operation. The ALJ approved settlements for several citations, affirmed other citations and orders, and…
Pasha Maritime Services, and its successors
Pedestrian and vehicle ramp separation violation affirmed
Pasha Maritime Services was unloading vehicles from the roll-on/roll-off vessel Blue Hawk. OSHA observed employees walking on the midship vehicle ramp, including one longshoreman who was passed by a shuttle van while no signalman was directing traffic. The ramp had no physical barrier separating…
Rio Doce Pasha Terminal L.P., and its successors
Suspended-load violation affirmed
Rio Doce Pasha Terminal was unloading steel plate from the vessel Jupiter Light when OSHA observed a longshoreman remaining in the open hold as a load was hoisted overhead. The judge found the worker was in the load's danger zone even if he was not directly beneath it because a failed sling could…
Social Security Administration, Detroit Northwest Regional Office, Detroit, Michigan (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3239 (Union)
SSA Detroit Northwest and AFGE Local 3239 (FLRA 0-AR-3251): discourtesy suspension cancellation upheld
The agency imposed a two-day suspension based on two discourtesy charges arising from a public telephone complaint. Arbitrator Charles A. Morgan, Jr. set aside the suspension and ordered reimbursement of lost pay. The Authority denied the agency’s exception, interpreting 5 U.S.C. § 7503(a) to…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3911 (Union) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region II, New York, New York (Agency)
AFGE Local 3911 and EPA Region II (FLRA 0-AR-3247): nonunit-position grievance exclusion upheld
The union challenged candidate rankings for a grants-management position outside its bargaining unit. Arbitrator Daniel G. Collins found the grievance excluded by the negotiated agreement. The Authority denied the union’s exceptions, finding the contract interpretation permissible. The union’s…
Merck & Co., Inc.
In re Merck & Co., Inc. (EAB RCRA Permit Appeal No. 99-3): review denied
Merck & Co., Inc. held a hazardous and solid waste corrective-action permit for its facility in Rahway, New Jersey. Barbara Sashau petitioned for review and raised concerns about monitoring, cleanup research, pollution, and the use of cleaned water. The Environmental Appeals Board found that…
Casey Boe v. Department of the Navy/MWR and Contract Claims Services, Incorporated
Boe v. Department of the Navy/MWR (BRB 99-1134): employer fee liability reversed
Casey Boe injured a finger while working at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard. The employer voluntarily paid disability benefits and later paid permanent partial benefits to his estate after he died in an unrelated automobile accident. The district director assessed his lawyer's fee against the…
Offshore Shipbuilding, Inc.
Confined-space training and two failure-to-abate items affirmed
Offshore Shipbuilding was repairing a ferry at its Florida shipyard after agreeing in an earlier settlement to correct cited safety violations. The Commission affirmed a repeated training violation because a newly hired welder entered a ballast tank without confined or enclosed-space training; the…
Kaspar Wire Works, Inc.
Commission upholds most willful recordkeeping violations but vacates unsupported items
Kaspar Wire Works manufactured formed wire products at a Shiner, Texas facility with roughly 850 to 900 employees. After a 1990 inspection, OSHA cited more than 400 alleged violations and proposed $1,236,000 in penalties; the ALJ affirmed most items and assessed $257,700. The Commission found that…
Savenok Construction, Inc. (EZ)
Scaffold violation affirmed after the company skipped its hearing
Savenok Construction was a construction company working on a motel in Troy, Illinois. During a January 2000 inspection, OSHA found a roughly 60-foot tubular welded scaffold, over 30 feet tall, tied to the building by only a single thin metal strap nailed to the wall. OSHA issued one serious…
Titan Tire Corporation of Natchez (EZ)
Electrical-classification violation affirmed after a carbon black dust flash fire
Titan Tire Corporation of Natchez made tires in Natchez, Mississippi. On October 4, 1999, a large enclosed rubber mixer (a Banbury mixer) belched a cloud of carbon black dust into the work area. The dust ignited in a flash fire that seriously burned two employees. OSHA cited Titan under the…
Black Mesa Pipeline, Inc.
Electrical citations reversed
Black Mesa Pipeline operated a coal-slurry preparation plant with high-voltage electrical equipment. The Commission majority held that the Mine Safety and Health Administration's two-level testing policy for electrician qualification was not grounded in the plain language of 30 C.F.R. § 77.103. It…
American Soda, LLP
In re American Soda, LLP (EAB UIC Appeal Nos. 00-1 and 00-2): review denied
American Soda sought a Class III Underground Injection Control permit to construct and operate solution-mining wells for nahcolite on federal sodium leases in Colorado. The Sierra Club, IMC Chemicals, and Tom Dodson and Associates challenged the permit, raising issues about the Bureau of Land…
Spitzer Great Lakes Ltd.
In re Spitzer Great Lakes Ltd. (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 99-3): seven PCB violations affirmed and $165,000 penalty upheld
Spitzer Great Lakes owned property in Ohio containing transformers, capacitors, switching equipment, and drums of dielectric fluid that were subject to polychlorinated biphenyl requirements. Spitzer conceded the facts supporting seven TSCA violations, and the Presiding Officer assessed a $165,000…
Central Sand and Gravel Company
Powerline-clearance violation affirmed and penalty reduced
Central Sand and Gravel operated a sand and gravel facility in Nebraska. The ALJ found that a stockpile had been built too close to overhead high-voltage powerlines, violating the clearance requirements in 30 C.F.R. § 56.12045. An 11-year-old boy entered the property, climbed the stockpile…
Baker Support Services, Inc.
Untimely contest leaves lead citation final
Baker Support Services operated and maintained equipment at a Navy radio transmitter facility in Guam. OSHA issued a serious citation alleging that Baker had not made the initial determination required by the lead standard, with a proposed penalty of $2,000. Baker filed its notice of contest after…
Federal Education Association, Stateside Region (Union) and U.S. Department of Defense, Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools, Arlington, Virginia (Agency)
Federal Education Association and Defense Domestic Schools (FLRA 0-NG-2496): appraisal-freeze petition dismissed
The union appealed disapproval of two contract sentences concerning a school performance-appraisal system. The Authority declined to dismiss the case merely because the union missed a post-petition conference, although the union had waived objections to the agency’s explanation there. On the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1923 (Union) and Social Security Administration, Baltimore, Maryland (Agency)
AFGE Local 1923 and SSA Baltimore (FLRA 0-AR-3283): union exceptions denied
The union challenged an award by Arbitrator Jerome T. Barrett. The Authority denied the exceptions under the standards for excess of authority and conflict with law, rule, or regulation. It noted that the arbitrator had addressed the union’s due-process claim and that the employee had actual notice…
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, Local R1-144 (Union)
Naval Undersea Warfare Center and NAGE R1-144 (FLRA 0-AR-3253): attorney-fee award remanded
After an upheld overtime-travel award, Arbitrator Roberta Golick granted attorney fees without explaining the statutory grounds. The Authority rejected the agency’s claim that the underlying overtime denial was not an unjustified or unwarranted personnel action. The prior finding of a Federal…
Alumining Incorporated
ROPS violation modified and backup-alarm citation vacated
Au Mining operated a small underground gold mine using a load, haul, and dump loader that traveled briefly on the surface to unload material. Judge August F. Cetti held that the loader was surface equipment subject to the ROPS and seat-belt requirements in 30 C.F.R. § 57.14130(a). He deleted the…
Pepperell Associates
In re Pepperell Associates (EAB CWA Appeal Nos. 99-1 and 99-2): reconsideration denied
Pepperell Associates asked the Environmental Appeals Board to reconsider its May 10, 2000 decision concerning oil discharges from the company's oil-handling facility. The Board rejected the motion because most arguments repeated issues already decided and did not show a demonstrable error of law or…
James C. Mitchell v. Daniels Company
Mitchell v. Daniels Company (BRB 99-0982): Black lung award returned for medical evidence review
A judge awarded James Mitchell black lung benefits after finding complicated pneumoconiosis. Daniels Company challenged the award, its designation as the responsible operator, and the handling of its hearing without counsel. The Board held that the judge had no duty to advise an unrepresented…
U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Marianna, Florida (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 4036, Council of Prison Locals (Union)
FCI Marianna and AFGE Local 4036 (FLRA 0-AR-3240): correctional-post remedy upheld
Arbitrator Robert E. Stevens found that routinely leaving correctional-officer posts vacant without good cause violated the contract’s safety provision. He directed the agency to vacate posts only for good cause and allowed grievances over unreasonable assignment or shift changes that deprived…
Puna Geothermal Venture
In re Puna Geothermal Venture (EAB UIC Appeal Nos. 99-2, 99-2A, 99-2B, 99-3, 99-4 and 99-5): permit remanded in part
Puna Geothermal Venture operated a geothermal power plant in Pahoa, Hawaii, using injection wells to return condensed steam, brine, and other fluids to the subsurface formation from which they came. EPA Region IX required a federal UIC permit after previously allowing operation under a state…
J & C Mining, L.L.C., and Manalapan Mining Company, Inc.
Temporary reinstatement relief denied during expedited review
The operators sought expedited Commission review after an ALJ dismissed the Secretary's discrimination complaint on behalf of Grant Noe, Jr. They also asked to stop paying the temporary economic reinstatement required by an earlier settlement order and to shorten the Secretary's time to file a…
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.