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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B.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Orlando
Board upholds refusal to reopen postal worker's emotional condition claim (ECAB 24-0006)
A postal rural carrier asked OWCP to reconsider an emotional condition claim. She submitted a Social Security disability determination, but the Board found it did not address whether medical evidence connected the condition to the accepted work incident. She presented no new relevant legal argument…
D.G. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Board denies added arm and wrist conditions in ICE worker's claim (ECAB 23-1192)
An ICE employee sought to add wrist tendinitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, cubital tunnel syndrome, and medial epicondylitis to an accepted 2013 injury claim. Her physician related those diagnoses to general job duties but did not explain how the specific accepted injury caused them. OWCP's medical…
C.M. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution Williamsburg
Board upholds reduced wage loss benefits based on cashier work (ECAB 23-1169)
A federal prison worker's wage loss benefits were reduced after OWCP found she could work as a cashier. The Board found that the job fit her permanent medical restrictions and that a vocational counselor had shown it was reasonably available in her area. It also found that OWCP used the required…
SPORT Air Traffic Controllers Organization and United States Department of the Air Force, 412 Test Wing, Edwards Air Force Base, California
SPORT Air Traffic Controllers Organization and Edwards Air Force Base (FLRA 0-AR-5929): Authority upholds nonarbitrability ruling
The SPORT Air Traffic Controllers Organization repeatedly challenged whether a 1994 agreement remained in effect after the Air Force imposed later terms and an FLRA regional settlement restored the 2017 conditions. An arbitrator found the issue had been resolved through earlier charges, appeals…
Secretary of Labor v. Heidelberg Materials Southwest Aggregates, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Heidelberg Materials Southwest Aggregates (FMSHRC CENT 2023-0165): Cross-motions denied over disputed slurry-line facts
MSHA cited Heidelberg Materials after hot water and steam escaped from a clogged slurry line while four miners were working to clear it, injuring them. The citation alleged that the company violated 30 C.F.R. § 56.14105 by failing to block the hot water or steam against hazardous motion. Heidelberg…
Hanna v. Global Nuclear Fuel-Americas, LLC
Untimely ERA complaint dismissed
Gregory Hanna alleged that Global Nuclear Fuel-Americas retaliated against him for raising workplace safety concerns. The Energy Reorganization Act gave him 180 days after the alleged violation to file his complaint, and the filing period began when he received final and unequivocal notice of his…
F.P. and Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service
Board upholds denial of late reconsideration request (ECAB 24-0038)
A Fish and Wildlife Service officer asked OWCP in April 2023 to reconsider a December 2021 decision about an injury during training. The Board found the request was filed after the one-year period. A repeated statement and an additional physician report did not show clear error in the prior…
B.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center
Board denies adding VA worker's right shoulder condition (ECAB 24-0036)
A VA medical center worker sought to add a right shoulder condition to a claim for a left shoulder injury. Her physician said the new condition might have resulted from favoring the right arm during recovery, but the Board found that opinion speculative and based on an inaccurate symptom history. A…
R.S. and Department of Justice, U.S. Marshals Service
Board denies schedule award for U.S. Marshals worker (ECAB 24-0030)
A U.S. Marshals Service worker sought a schedule award after an accepted cervical spine injury. His physician assigned a spine impairment percentage without using the method required to rate impairment of a scheduled arm or leg. OWCP's medical adviser applied that method and found no permanent arm…
J.B. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Board upholds late reconsideration denial in FBI worker's claim (ECAB 24-0011)
An FBI employee asked OWCP in July 2023 to reconsider a July 2022 schedule award decision. The Board found the request arrived more than one year after the decision. The employee submitted no new medical evidence showing clear error in the earlier denial. The Board affirmed OWCP's refusal to reopen…
J.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Madison Square Station Post Office
Board denies added neuropathic pain condition in postal claim (ECAB 23-1176)
A postal worker sought to add neuropathic pain syndrome to her accepted injury claim. An OWCP examiner found no clinical evidence of that syndrome, while her treating physician did not adequately explain how the accepted injury caused it. The Board gave weight to the second opinion and affirmed the…
G.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Tyler Post Office
Board upholds denial of postal worker's knee disability period (ECAB 23-1133)
A postal worker sought wage loss compensation for several weeks away from work after accepted left knee conditions. His physician marked forms saying he was disabled but did not explain how the accepted conditions prevented work on the dates claimed. Other reports addressed diagnoses or a separate…
J.P. and U.S. Postal Service, North Houston Post Office
Board upholds denial of late written record review (ECAB 23-0525)
A postal worker asked for written record review in January 2023 of OWCP decisions issued in April and May 2022. The Board found the request came after the 30-day deadline. It also found that OWCP did not abuse its discretion by declining to grant the late request. The Board affirmed the denial…
E.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Eden Prairie Post Office
Board upholds denial of postal worker's shoulder claim (ECAB 24-0093)
A postal carrier attributed a right rotator cuff condition to repetitive work. Her physician linked it to postal duties and earlier shoulder treatment, but the Board found his opinions did not explain how the specific duties caused or worsened the condition. The record also did not support an…
C.M. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Board upholds late reconsideration denial in border officer's claim (ECAB 24-0040)
A customs and border protection officer asked OWCP in September 2023 to reconsider a July 2022 injury claim decision. The request arrived after the one-year period. The Board found that an additional physician report did not show clear error in OWCP's earlier decision. It affirmed the refusal to…
L.F. and Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration
Board upholds denial of DEA worker's knee claim (ECAB 23-1161)
A Drug Enforcement Administration worker sought compensation for a right knee condition after an accepted 2016 work incident. The Board found that several medical reports did not address the condition's cause. Another physician said a meniscus tear could result from the described movement but did…
J.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cincinnati
Board denies adding ankle fracture to postal worker's claim (ECAB 23-1119)
A postal worker asked OWCP to add a left ankle fracture to a claim from a 1995 work injury. The Board found that the submitted reports did not establish a diagnosed ankle fracture linked to that injury. One report mentioned a possible old foot finding, and another repeated a fracture history…
F.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing and Distribution Center, Carol Stream
Board keeps postal worker's leg awards at one percent each (ECAB 23-1114)
A postal mail handler sought larger schedule awards after accepted bilateral ankle conditions. His examining physician and OWCP's medical adviser each applied the impairment guide and rated one percent permanent impairment of each leg. The Board found their calculations supported the awards and…
Mineral Manufacturing Corp. v. Secretary of Labor & Secretary of Labor v. Mineral Manufacturing Corp.
Mineral Manufacturing Corp. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC SE 2023-0191): MSHA has jurisdiction over the Eufaula Plant
Mineral Manufacturing argued that its Eufaula Plant made ceramics and belonged under OSHA jurisdiction rather than MSHA jurisdiction. The judge found that the plant milled kaolin clay by crushing, reducing particle size, kiln treating, and sizing the material before selling the resulting mullite…
Gary L. Lanham v. Donaldson Mining Company
Lanham v. Donaldson Mining (BRB 23-0218 BLA): disability denial affirmed
Gary Lanham had more than fifteen qualifying years of coal mine work but challenged the judge's finding that his later dispatcher job counted as coal mine employment. The Board upheld that finding, making the sedentary dispatcher job his usual coal mine work for the disability analysis. It also…
L.M. and Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Jicarilla Agency
Board finds former firefighter's illness claim filed too late (ECAB 24-0120)
A former wildland firefighter filed an illness claim in October 2022 based on exposure during a 2000 fire. The Board found that medical reports from March 2019 showed he was aware, or should have been aware, of a possible work connection by then. He filed more than three years later, and the record…
R.P. and Department of the Army, McAlester Army Ammunition Plant
Board denies Army worker's arm impairment award (ECAB 24-0119)
An Army ammunition plant worker sought a schedule award for permanent impairment related to a cervical condition. A second opinion examination found no sensory or motor deficit in either arm. OWCP's medical adviser applied the relevant impairment guide and rated both arms at zero percent. The Board…
D.R. and Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service
Board orders review of USDA worker's ankle disability dates (ECAB 24-0047)
A USDA consumer safety inspector sought compensation for intermittent time off work in August 2022 after an accepted right ankle injury. Her employer said it could not accommodate her treating physician's light duty restrictions. OWCP obtained a second opinion but did not ask whether she was…
Y.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Sacramento Processing and Distribution Center
Board upholds denial of late postal written record review (ECAB 24-0024)
A postal mail processing clerk asked for written record review in September 2023 of a March 2023 OWCP decision. The Board found that the request was made after the 30-day period. It also found OWCP reasonably exercised its discretion by directing the worker to seek reconsideration with new…
L.B. and Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Atlanta Regional Office
Board orders further medical review of Census worker's emotional claim (ECAB 23-1078)
A Census Bureau clerk sought compensation for depression and anxiety that she said worsened after a coworker yelled at her and she had to document the incident. OWCP accepted those events as work factors. Her physician linked them to worsening symptoms, but the Board found the opinion needed more…
D.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Gulf Coast Veterans Healthcare System, Biloxi VA Medical Center
Board upholds denial of VA nurse's emotional condition claim (ECAB 23-1068)
A VA licensed practical nurse attributed an emotional condition to supervisory actions and alleged verbal mistreatment. The Board found that the record did not establish employer error or abuse in the administrative actions. It also found insufficient corroboration for the alleged harassment…
J.S. and Department of the Army, Red River Army Depot
Board denies renewed shoulder treatment claim at Army depot (ECAB 23-0957)
An Army depot mechanic sought renewed medical treatment for his right shoulder after an accepted 2019 injury. The Board found that treatment notes, work restriction forms, and scans did not explain why the current need for treatment was caused by the accepted injury. It affirmed OWCP's denial of…
Secretary of Labor v. Morton Salt, Inc. & Quinn Norwood
Secretary of Labor v. Morton Salt and Quinn Norwood (FMSHRC CENT 2022-0135): Blasting violation and individual liability affirmed
Morton Salt initiated three explosive rounds at its underground Weeks Island salt mine while four contractors remained underground and their tags still showed them in the mine. The judge affirmed a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 57.22601(a), finding that the incident was significant and substantial…
Russell Higgins, Jr. v. The Harrison County Coal Company
Higgins v. Harrison County Coal (BRB 23-0256 BLA): complicated pneumoconiosis award affirmed
Russell Higgins sought black lung benefits after thirty-one years of underground coal mine work. The judge found that CT scan readings and medical opinions established complicated pneumoconiosis, invoking an irrebuttable presumption of disability due to the disease. The employer argued that…
Randal Morgan on behalf of the estate of Cleatis E. Morgan v. U.S. Steel Mining Company, LLC
Morgan v. U.S. Steel Mining (BRB 22-0473 BLA): rebuttal finding and denial remanded
Randal Morgan pursued his late father's black lung claim against U.S. Steel Mining. The judge found twenty-five years of qualifying coal mine work and total respiratory disability, invoking the fifteen-year presumption, but denied benefits after finding the employer had rebutted it. The Board…
Michael Combs v. Carbon River Coal Corporation
Combs v. Carbon River Coal (BRB 22-0450 BLA): disability finding and award affirmed
Michael Combs sought black lung benefits after more than fifteen years of qualifying coal mine work, including heavy work at a preparation plant. The judge found total respiratory disability from blood gas studies and doctors' opinions. The employer argued that a nonqualifying exercise study should…
Scott v. E.O. Habhegger Company
STAA retaliation finding affirmed
Angelo Scott worked as a warehouse assistant for a company that supplied and serviced gas-pump equipment. He refused to ship fire extinguishers after another employee said covering their hazardous-material labels was illegal, and he raised that concern with management shortly before his employment…
M.W. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Board upholds denial of FBI employee’s reconsideration request (ECAB 24-0001)
OWCP denied an FBI employee’s request to reopen her claim for injuries attributed to physical training at work. The Board found that her request identified no legal error or new legal argument. The activity restriction forms she submitted were signed by a nurse practitioner and did not supply…
J.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Springfield Post Office
Board upholds late reconsideration denial in postal pay-rate dispute (ECAB 23-1110)
A postal employee challenged the pay rate used for her lower extremity schedule award. Her reconsideration request arrived more than one year after the last merit decision. The Board found that wage records and arguments about her part-time flexible status did not show clear evidence of an error in…
B.J. and Department of Veterans Affairs, East Orange VA Medical Center
Board remands VA worker’s emotional condition claim for medical review (ECAB 23-1079)
A VA nursing assistant claimed an emotional condition related to work with veterans and alleged workplace harassment. The Board found that assisting veterans with psychological and social difficulties was a compensable part of her assigned duties. It also found reliable evidence that someone…
R.S. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Isle Royale National Park
Board orders new impairment evaluation for National Park Service worker (ECAB 23-1047)
A National Park Service employee sought a schedule award exceeding nine percent permanent impairment of his right leg. His examining physician rated the impairment at 13 percent, while an OWCP medical adviser calculated nine percent. The Board found the examining physician’s findings about motion…
J.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Fort Worth
Board upholds postal worker’s $60,819.68 overpayment recovery (ECAB 22-1343)
A former postal employee received FECA wage-loss payments while also receiving Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service. The Board upheld OWCP’s finding of a $60,819.68 overpayment, although she was without fault. It affirmed denial of waiver because she did not provide…
G.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Riverside Post Office
Board upholds postal worker’s occupational disease and record-review denials (ECAB 22-1257)
A postal worker claimed several medical conditions from her assigned work. The Board found that a second opinion physician gave a reasoned explanation against a causal link and that the other reports did not establish one. It affirmed OWCP’s denial of the occupational disease claim. The Board also…
S.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Ozone Park Carrier Annex
Board accepts postal worker’s knee contusion and remands other conditions (ECAB 22-0221)
A mailbox fell on a postal employee’s right knee and ankle during work. The Board found that the evidence established a right knee contusion from the incident and ordered payment of related medical expenses and any resulting disability. Reports also identified other hip, knee, and ankle conditions…
Carl E. Lilly v. Greenbrier Minerals LLC
Lilly v. Greenbrier Minerals (BRB 23-0306 BLA): complicated pneumoconiosis award affirmed
Carl Lilly sought black lung benefits after thirty-five years of underground coal mine work. The judge found that x-ray evidence established complicated pneumoconiosis, invoking an irrebuttable presumption of disability due to the disease. The employer challenged the weighing of x-rays, a CT scan…
Robert Kayinja v. Delta 9 International
Kayinja v. Delta 9 International (BRB 22-0540): Defense Base Act denial affirmed
Robert Kayinja sought benefits for reported physical and psychological conditions he attributed to work operating heavy equipment in Afghanistan. The judge found that the employer had rebutted the presumption linking the alleged conditions to work and that Kayinja had not proved compensable…
T.M. and Tennessee Valley Authority
Board upholds denial of reconsideration in Tennessee Valley Authority injury claim (ECAB 24-0084)
A Tennessee Valley Authority employee asked OWCP to reopen his claim concerning an alleged neck injury after a fall associated with an accepted knee injury. The Board found that his arguments identified no new legal issue or error. He resubmitted medical reports already considered by OWCP. It…
M.K. and General Services Administration, Federal Supply Service Field Office
Board denies disability payments for GSA worker’s 1992 absence (ECAB 24-0081)
A General Services Administration employee sought wage-loss compensation for an absence from May 31 through August 30, 1992. The Board found that the medical reports did not address whether his accepted employment condition caused disability during that period. His own account could not establish…
R.W. and Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey
Board accepts USGS worker’s account of a thumb injury incident (ECAB 24-0013)
A U.S. Geological Survey worker said he struck his thumb while installing a battery in a work vehicle. His records gave differing incident dates, but GPS information and other evidence supported that it occurred during work on September 14, 2022. The Board reversed OWCP’s finding that the incident…
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Grand Rapids
Board seeks work-availability records for postal worker’s disability claim (ECAB 23-1191)
A postal employee claimed wage-loss compensation for October 8 through 21, 2022 while under medical work restrictions. Her employer later said it could not accommodate those restrictions, but did not say whether suitable work was available during the exact claimed dates. The Board set aside OWCP’s…
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Graceland Station
Board declines to expand postal worker’s accepted injury claim (ECAB 23-1096)
A postal employee sought to add peripheral neuropathy and other conditions to an accepted 1992 injury claim. Medical reports attributed neuropathy to chemotherapy for breast cancer but did not explain how the additional conditions arose from the accepted work injury. The Board affirmed OWCP’s…
K.L. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Harry Reid International Airport
Board upholds denial of TSA officer’s knee injections and late hearing request (ECAB 23-0978)
A transportation security officer sought authorization for right knee platelet-rich plasma injections. The Board found that his physician did not explain whether the treatment was medically necessary for the accepted work injury. It also found that his oral hearing request was filed after the…
P.B. and Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services
Board confirms overpayment but orders new calculation for USDA worker (ECAB 23-0955)
A USDA employee received FECA wage-loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service for the same period. The Board agreed that an overpayment occurred. It found conflicting evidence about when the retirement benefits began and could not verify OWCP’s…
American Civil Constructors LLC, dba American Civil Constructors Mountain West
Excavator-bucket hazard citation affirmed
American Civil Constructors installed water pipe at a construction project in Aurora, Colorado. An excavator operator used a bucket to deliver a pipe plug to an employee in a trench, and the approximately 2,500-pound bucket detached and struck the employee, who died from his injuries. OSHA cited…
United States Department of the Army, U.S. Army Garrison, Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey and International Association of Firefighters, Local F-169
Picatinny Arsenal and IAFF Local F-169 (FLRA 0-AR-5864): Authority denies reconsideration of staffing-remedy remand
Picatinny Arsenal closed one of two fire stations and reduced per-shift staffing, and an arbitrator found a union grievance timely under a continuing-violation theory. The Authority previously dismissed some agency challenges that had not been presented to the arbitrator, rejected the remaining…
Lillie A. Tiller, on behalf of and widow of Harold M. Tiller v. Left Fork Coal Company, Incorporated
Tiller v. Left Fork Coal Company (BRB 23-0143 and 23-0144 BLA): benefits denials affirmed
Lillie Tiller appealed the denial of her late husband's subsequent black lung claim and her survivor's claim. On remand, the judge credited the miner with 11.6 years of coal mine employment, short of the fifteen years needed for the statutory presumption. The Board upheld that finding and agreed…
Lillie A. Tiller, on behalf of and widow of Harold M. Tiller v. Left Fork Coal Company, Incorporated
Tiller v. Left Fork Coal Company (BRB 23-0143 and 23-0144 BLA): benefits denials affirmed
Lillie Tiller appealed the denial of her late husband's subsequent black lung claim and her survivor's claim. On remand, the judge credited the miner with 11.6 years of coal mine employment, short of the fifteen years needed for the statutory presumption. The Board upheld that finding and agreed…
Paul Dorsey on behalf of William M. Dorsey v. Hawks Nest Mining Company
Dorsey v. Hawks Nest Mining (BRB 23-0101 BLA): disability finding and denial remanded
Paul Dorsey pursued his late father's black lung claim after the judge denied benefits for lack of total respiratory disability. The miner had 23.24 years of qualifying coal mine work. The Board found that the judge had misread a doctor's separate testing method as a defect in a qualifying…
Yetta S. Scott, widow of Donald L. Scott v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs
Scott v. Director, OWCP (BRB 23-0003 BLA): survivor benefits denial affirmed
Yetta Scott sought survivor benefits after the death of her husband, a coal miner. On an earlier appeal, the Board ruled that she could not invoke the complicated pneumoconiosis or fifteen-year presumptions and remanded for a closer look at one pathologist's autopsy slide analysis. On remand, the…
Charles W. Perdue, Jr. v. Selah Corporation
Perdue v. Selah Corporation (BRB 22-0532 BLA): late attorney fee petition denied
Counsel for Charles Perdue sought fees for work on his successful black lung claim against Selah Corporation. The judge set a sixty-day deadline after the June 2020 benefits award, but counsel filed the fee petition in August 2021, nearly a year late. Counsel cited disruptions from the COVID-19…
J.K. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol
Board upholds $8,025.06 overpayment to Border Patrol employee (ECAB 24-0097)
A Border Patrol employee received an extra schedule award payment after his award had been fully paid. The Board upheld OWCP’s $8,025.06 overpayment finding, although he was without fault. It also affirmed denial of waiver because his reported income exceeded expenses and he did not provide…
N.B. and Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of African American History and Culture
Board reverses Smithsonian worker’s wage-capacity reduction (ECAB 23-1157)
A Smithsonian employee did not return a requested earnings disclosure form, so the Board upheld suspension of his wage-loss compensation. OWCP later reduced his benefits based on a maintenance service dispatcher position. The Board found that the medical opinions did not clearly show he could…
K.O. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Dallas VA Medical Center
Board reverses VA worker’s medical-benefit termination but upholds suspension (ECAB 23-1150)
OWCP terminated a VA employee’s medical benefits after a second opinion examination. The Board found that the physician had omitted accepted conditions and could not support termination, so it reversed that decision. It upheld a later suspension of wage-loss compensation because the employee did…
R.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Minneapolis Post Office
Board remands postal worker’s claim expansion and treatment request (ECAB 23-1093)
A postal employee asked OWCP to accept additional back conditions and authorize a spinal cord stimulator implant. The second opinion physician did not address one of the employee’s accepted conditions when evaluating the expansion request. The Board set aside the denials and ordered a supplemental…
M.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Massapequa Post Office
Board upholds denial of postal worker’s foot impairment award (ECAB 23-1076)
A postal employee sought a schedule award for permanent impairment of his right foot. His physician discussed symptoms and motion limits but provided no impairment rating using the required medical guides. The Board found that the evidence did not establish a compensable impairment. It also upheld…
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.