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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Cleveland Steel Container Corp.
Challenge to settlement withdrawn
OSHA inspected Cleveland Steel Container's Illinois facility and issued a citation and proposed penalty. The company and OSHA then signed an informal settlement agreement resolving the citation. Cleveland Steel Container soon sought to rescind the agreement and filed a notice of contest, leading to…
Knauf Fiber Glass, GmbH
In re Knauf Fiber Glass, GmbH (EAB PSD Appeal Nos. 99-8 through 99-72): reconsideration motions denied
The EAB had denied review of the reissued PSD permit for Knauf Fiber Glass's proposed fiberglass facility in California. Eight petitioners sought reconsideration, raising concerns about pollution limits, environmental justice, permit technology, and the scope of the earlier decision. The Board held…
Tito Coal
Settlement approved and penalty reduced to $250
Tito Coal resolved this civil penalty proceeding through a settlement after the hearing. The settlement reduced the proposed penalty from $1,000 to $250. Judge Avram Weisberger found the settlement appropriate under the Mine Act's penalty criteria. Tito Coal was ordered to pay the $250 penalty in…
Northern Kansas Rock, Inc.
Reopening granted after illness caused a late contest
Northern Kansas Rock, a small family-owned company, missed the 30-day deadline to contest proposed civil penalties after the owners were away and dealing with serious health problems. The Commission majority found that the company intended to contest the penalties and that the circumstances…
Plateau Mining Corporation
Hazardous ignition had to be recorded after being reported
Plateau Mining operated the Willow Creek underground coal mine. A methane, coal-dust, or hydrocarbon ignition lasted about 45 to 60 seconds, was extinguished, and was not recorded in the mine's on-shift book. Judge Richard W. Manning held that a certified mine official can have "found" a hazardous…
Cox Transportation Corp./Cox Rock Products, Inc.
Jurisdiction motion denied after fatal truck accident
Cox Transport's driver was fatally injured when his clothing became entangled in a bottom-dumping truck outside an aggregate mine's gateposts. The accident occurred on an unpaved road about 300 feet from the mine's scale house while the driver was on his first trip to collect material. Judge…
BWX Technologies, Inc.
In re BWX Technologies, Inc. (EAB RCRA (3008) Appeal No. 97-5): accelerated decision reversed and case remanded
BWX Technologies was accused of storing hazardous waste in an unpermitted surface impoundment called the Cold Pond at its nuclear-fuel-component facility in Virginia. BWX argued that enriched uranium continuously contaminated the pond, making the waste mixed radioactive waste outside RCRA…
Dorelda Gilliland, widow of Darol Gilliland, v. E. J. Bartells Company, Incorporated and Wausau Insurance Company
Gilliland v. E. J. Bartells Company (BRB 99-698 and 99-698A): survivor benefit offset upheld
Darol Gilliland died from work-related asbestosis and cancer, and his widow Dorelda received Longshore Act death benefits. The family also settled claims against asbestos product companies; part of Dorelda's recovery came through an annuity. The judge allowed the employer to offset her benefits…
Superior Rigging & Erecting Co.
Commission affirms lifeline item and remands competing fall-protection charges
Superior Rigging was installing elevator sill angles in a 24-story office building in Montgomery, Alabama when a foreman fell down an elevator shaft. The Commission held that installing the nonstructural sill angles was not steel erection work covered by OSHA's temporary stay of the Subpart M…
RAG Emerald Resources Corp.
Pre-shift examination violation affirmed, $55 penalty assessed
The case concerned work at RAG Emerald Resources Corp.'s Emerald No. 1 Mine. MSHA alleged that the company assigned certified persons to work in return air courses, escapeways, and bleeder entries before those areas received the required pre-shift examination. The issue was whether supplemental…
Collier Stone Company
Reopening request remanded for Rule 60(b) review
Collier Stone asked to reopen penalty assessments that had become final after it failed to contest them within the Mine Act's 30-day period. The company said the penalties were excessive for its operations and that it was facing financial, operational, and emotional difficulties after the death of…
BR&D Enterprises, Inc.
Reopening request remanded for evidence review
BR&D Enterprises asked to reopen a penalty assessment after it said it mailed a hearing request by certified mail on December 27, 1999, but the request was not delivered to MSHA. The company supplied a postal receipt and related correspondence, but the receipt did not show what it had sent. The…
The Coteau Properties Co.
Discrimination dismissal denied over late filing evidence
Royal Sargent alleged that The Coteau Properties Co. suspended him, transferred him, restricted his job availability, and placed him on probation after he raised safety issues. His initial discrimination complaint to MSHA was filed 49 days beyond the stated 60-day period. Judge Michael E. Zielinski…
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company
In re E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (EAB FIFRA Appeal No. 98-2): appeal partly reversed and remanded
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company appealed an Initial Decision finding that it made 379 shipments of misbranded pesticides in April 1994 and assessing a total civil penalty of $1,895,000. The Board held that EPA's Worker Protection Standard labeling rules establish a misbranding standard under…
Ben Shepherd dba Happy Candy Co.
Housekeeping and electrical violations affirmed against an absent cotton candy maker
Ben Shepherd ran Happy Candy Co., a small cotton candy production business in Secor, Illinois. After an OSHA complaint inspection, OSHA issued two citations covering a dirty production area and a series of electrical hazards, plus a lack of protective clothing. Shepherd contested the citations but…
Summit Habitats, Inc.
Floor-cover violations affirmed, training item vacated after a fatal fall
Summit Habitats was a Colorado home builder. During construction of a custom home in December 1998, a two foot by three foot opening in the main floor was covered with a stapled plastic sheet to hold heat in the basement. The next day a subcontractor's employee walked between the wall studs…
Consolidation Coal Company
Mixed disposition, three orders modified or vacated, $9,500 assessed
Consolidation Coal Company operated the Loveridge No. 22 underground coal mine. MSHA issued three 104(d)(2) orders for coal accumulations under 30 C.F.R. § 75.400, inadequate rock dust under 30 C.F.R. § 75.403, and an inadequate preshift examination under 30 C.F.R. § 75.360(a)(1). The parties also…
Department of the Navy, Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area, Master Station-Atlantic, Base Level Communications Department, Regional Operations Division, Norfolk, Virginia, Base Communications Office-Mechanicsburg (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1156, AFL-CIO (Union/Petitioner)
Navy Mechanicsburg and AFGE Local 1156 (FLRA BN-RP-80041): successor-unit determination requires all three statutory criteria
Four Navy telecommunications employees were transferred to a new organization without changing their Mechanicsburg work location. A regional director found a separate bargaining unit appropriate and the new organization a successor employer. The Authority granted review because the director had not…
Association of Civilian Technicians, Inc., Heartland Chapter (Union) and U.S. Department of Defense, National Guard Bureau, Iowa National Guard (Agency)
ACT Heartland Chapter and Iowa National Guard (FLRA 0-NG-2491): advisory candidate rankings are negotiable
The union proposed a points-based method for evaluating and ranking candidates for technician positions. The Authority held the appeal timely because a new paragraph materially clarified that the rankings were advisory and did not prevent alternative agency assessments or selection of previously…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3615 (Union) and Social Security Administration, Office of Hearings and Appeals, Falls Church, Virginia (Agency)
AFGE Local 3615 and SSA Hearings and Appeals (FLRA 0-AR-3250): union arbitration challenges denied
AFGE Local 3615 challenged an arbitration award involving the Social Security Administration’s Office of Hearings and Appeals. The Authority denied the exceptions after finding no defect on the grounds raised. It cited the principle that arbitration awards are not precedential, along with the…
Alabama Association of Civilian Technicians (Union) and U.S. Department of Defense, Alabama State Military Department, Alabama National Guard (Agency)
Alabama ACT and Alabama National Guard (FLRA 0-AR-3145): attorney-fee entitlement established, amount remanded
A National Guard employee won backpay for a temporary promotion but repeatedly failed to obtain an adequately explained attorney-fee ruling from the arbitrator. The Authority held that the fees were related to the personnel action, that an attorney-client relationship existed, and that fees were…
Tow Brothers Construction, Incorporated
Settlement approved, $22,500 penalty assessed
The case arose after foreman Wayne Walter's right hand and forearm were caught in an unguarded trap feed conveyor head pulley while he performed maintenance at the Cedar Rapids Crusher. The Secretary proposed $52,500 in penalties for six citations involving conveyor guarding, machinery safety, and…
Dotson Trucking Company, Incorporated
Haul-road and brake citations affirmed after fatal accident
A truck driver died after losing control of a refuse truck on a steep, slick haul road at the Long Fork Preparation Plant. The Secretary alleged that the truck lacked adequate brakes and was operated at an imprudent speed for the road conditions. Judge Gary Melick found that Dotson Trucking…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R4-1 (Union) and U.S. Department of Defense, Naval Weapons Station, Yorktown, Virginia (Agency)
NAGE Local R4-1 and Naval Weapons Station Yorktown (FLRA 0-NG-2471): outplacement-assistance proposal negotiable
The union proposed outplacement assistance for employees affected by a reduction in force at the Naval Weapons Station in Yorktown. The Navy objected to including the Defense Department’s Priority Placement Program, arguing that one affected employee was ineligible because he had declined a…
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2092 (Union)
VA Ann Arbor Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-3139): asbestos differential upheld, estimated payout and extra fee removed
An arbitrator found that Wage Grade employees at the VA medical center in Ann Arbor worked around airborne asbestos without protective measures that practically eliminated the potential for illness or injury. He awarded environmental differential pay, estimated back pay of $5,739,728, hourly…
U.S. Department of Defense, Dependents Schools, Bulzbach Elementary School, Bulzbach, Germany (Agency) and Federal Education Association (Union)
DoD Dependents Schools, Bulzbach (FLRA 0-AR-3165): unpaid workshop compensation and interest upheld
A teacher at a Defense Department school in Germany attended a five-day summer training workshop but received payment for only one day after about sixteen months. An arbitrator found that the prolonged nonpayment violated the collective bargaining agreement’s requirement for timely payment. He…
Contractors Sand and Gravel, Inc.
EAJA fee award reinstated and remanded
Contractors Sand and Gravel had prevailed in an earlier Mine Act case, and an Administrative Law Judge awarded attorney's fees and expenses after finding that the Secretary's position was not substantially justified. The Commission later reversed that award, but the D.C. Circuit held that the…
Consolidation Coal Company
Commission found unwarrantable failure and remanded the penalty
Consolidation Coal Company was cited after an inspector found that Robinson Run No. 95 lacked the required supply of supplementary roof supports within four crosscuts of a working section. The Administrative Law Judge found a violation but concluded that the operator's conduct was not an…
Consolidation Coal Company
Methane explosion case partially remanded
Consolidation Coal Company's Blacksville No. 1 Mine experienced a methane explosion during installation of a dewatering pipe, killing four contractor employees and injuring two others. The Commission reviewed one citation and three orders involving ventilation, methane examinations, and…
Kennecott Barney's Canyon Mining Company
Mixed discrimination findings, $11,500 assessed
Kennecott Barney's Canyon Mining Company operated the Barney's Canyon surface gold mine, where Mark Pollock and Tony Lopez served as miners' representatives. The Secretary alleged that Kennecott discriminated against them after they raised safety concerns and assisted with MSHA complaints. Judge…
Homes by Bill Simms, Inc.
All seven items vacated because the builder did not control its subcontractors
Homes by Bill Simms was a residential general contractor in Springboro, Ohio, that built custom homes using subcontractors. During an August 1999 inspection of three of its home sites, OSHA saw subcontractor employees committing scaffold and fall protection violations and issued Simms a seven-item…
Windsor Coal Company
Unwarrantable-failure finding and $2,500 penalty on remand
Windsor Coal Company operated the Windsor Mine, where MSHA found extensive combustible coal dust and coal spillage along a belt entry. On remand from the Commission, Judge Avram Weisberger found that the accumulations had existed for at least one shift, that Windsor had notice its compliance…
In re Francisco OCAMPO-Ugalde, Respondent
Express appeal waiver required for early voluntary departure
The Board reviewed Francisco Ocampo-Ugalde's appeal from an Immigration Judge's grant of 120 days of voluntary departure before removal proceedings were complete. The respondent had conceded removability, withdrawn another pending application, and met the other stated eligibility conditions, but…
LeTourneau, Inc., and its successors
Deck-opening violations vacated for lack of employer knowledge after a fatal fall
LeTourneau built ships at Sabine Pass, Texas, including a Gorilla V jack-up offshore oil rig. In September 1998, a LeTourneau engineer, Paul Dew, fell about 90 feet to his death from an unguarded derrick platform while inspecting the area for upcoming piping work. OSHA cited LeTourneau for two…
In re Ignacio CAMPOS-TORRES, Respondent
Firearms offense did not stop continuous-residence time
The Board reviewed Ignacio Campos-Torres's appeal from an Immigration Judge's ruling that a firearms offense ended his continuous residence before he had completed the seven years required to seek cancellation of removal. He had been admitted as a temporary resident in 1988, became a lawful…
U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Phoenix, Arizona (Activity) and National Federation of Federal, Employees, Local 376 (Labor Organization/Petitioner)
BLM Phoenix and NFFE Local 376 (FLRA DE-RP-90037): professional-unit representation question requires investigation
NFFE Local 376 sought to change its affiliation to AFGE for the professional and nonprofessional employees it represented at the Bureau of Land Management in Phoenix. The regional director approved the change for the nonprofessional unit but not the professional unit, which had no union members…
Puerto Rico Air National Guard, 156th Airlift Wing (AMC), Carolina, Puerto Rico (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3936, AFL-CIO (Charging Party/Union)
Puerto Rico Air National Guard (FLRA BN-CA-90241): picketing retaliation unlawful, termination review barred
Civilian technicians at the Puerto Rico Air National Guard held orderly, off-duty informational picketing about working conditions with permission to use a parking area. The Guard threatened surveillance, placed participating employees on paid non-duty status, suspended their security clearances…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1904 (Union) and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, New Orleans, Louisiana (Agency)
VA New Orleans and NFFE Local 1904 (FLRA 0-AR-3210): challenge to nurse selection rejected
The union challenged the selection of a performance-improvement coordinator at the VA medical center in New Orleans, alleging preselection and an unfair competition. An arbitrator found that the chosen applicant was the most qualified, that a potential conflict of interest did not produce improper…
Molalla Redi-Mix and Rock Products, Inc.
Settlement approved at $17,000
Molalla Redi-Mix and Rock Products, Inc. faced four civil penalty proceedings involving citations at its operations. The parties settled all issues at the hearing. Judge Richard W. Manning approved the settlement, vacated Citation No. 4375520, and ordered the company to pay $17,000 in eight…
Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs (Agency) and National Federation of Federal Employees, Council of Consolidated Locals, Bureau of Indian Affairs (Incumbent Labor Organization/Intervenor) and Indian Educators Federation, AFT, AFL-CIO (Labor Organization/Petitioner)
Bureau of Indian Affairs (FLRA WA-RP-80095): objections to nationwide union election rejected
NFFE challenged a nationwide mail-ballot election in which the Indian Educators Federation won 1,008 votes to NFFE’s 629 in a unit of about 7,000 Bureau of Indian Affairs employees. The incumbent union alleged agency favoritism, problems with campaign access, and defects in the investigation and…
A&K Earth Movers, Inc.
Temporary reinstatement affirmed
Curtis Stahl alleged that A&K Earth Movers fired him after he complained about worn brakes on a fuel truck. An Administrative Law Judge ordered temporary reinstatement after finding that the discrimination complaint was not frivolous. The Commission affirmed that order, explaining that evidence of…
Health Care Financing Administration (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1923, AFL-CIO (Charging Party/Union)
Health Care Financing Administration (FLRA WA-CA-80383): union entitled to sanitized selection records
Two bargaining-unit employees asked AFGE for help after an outside recruitment process failed to select them for agency positions, and one raised a discrimination concern. The union requested selection criteria, ratings, and applications to evaluate a potential grievance and advise the employee…
U.S. Department of the Navy, Kingsville Naval Air Station, Kingsville, Texas
In re U.S. Department of the Navy, Kingsville Naval Air Station (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 99-2): complaint dismissed
EPA alleged that the Navy violated the lead-based paint Disclosure Rule by entering into eleven Residency Occupancy Agreements for housing at Kingsville Naval Air Station without the required disclosures. The Presiding Officer treated the agreements as contracts to lease and granted accelerated…
J & C Mining, L.L.C. and Manalapan Mining Co., Inc.
Discrimination proceeding dismissed
Grant Noe alleged that J & C Mining constructively discharged him after he refused a transfer to the third shift. He said he was concerned about the shift foreman, prior injuries, and the effect on his family. Judge Gary Melick found that Noe did not have a good-faith, reasonable belief that the…
Reading Anthracite Company
Discrimination decision remanded
Leonard Bernardyn, a haulage truck driver at Reading Anthracite Company's Pit 33, was discharged after he complained that slippery road conditions made it unsafe to drive faster. The Administrative Law Judge found that Reading had proven it would have fired Bernardyn for profanity and threatening…
Excel Mining LLC
Amicus participation granted
The International Chemical Workers Union Council asked to intervene in Excel Mining's Commission review of a silica-sampling dispute, or alternatively to participate as an amicus curiae. The Commission denied intervention because the union had not shown a direct enough interest or why amicus…
New Mexico Army and, Air National Guard (Activity) and National Federation of Federal Employees, Independent, Local 1636 (Labor Organization/Petitioner/Local 1636) and Laborers' International Union of North America, AFL-CIO (Labor Organization) and National Federation of Federal Employees, Independent, National Office (Labor Organization)
New Mexico National Guard (FLRA DA-RP-70031): local union affiliation change upheld
Members of a New Mexico National Guard local voted 40 to 4 to change affiliation from NFFE to LIUNA, then petitioned to amend the local’s certification. NFFE challenged the change because the local had not given the national union advance notice and NFFE later imposed a trusteeship. The Authority…
Kerns Brothers Tree Service
Hard-hat citation vacated because employer knowledge was not proven
Kerns Brothers Tree Service was cited after a three-person tree-trimming crew leader was fatally struck by a falling section of tree while none of the crew members wore hard hats. The hard-hat rule applied, and the crew leader counted as a supervisor because he directed the work and could order…
Jim Walter Resources, Incorporated
Settlement approved on remand for $165
The Commission had determined that Jim Walter Resources' Central Supply Shop was subject to the Mine Act and remanded the matters for penalty assessment. On remand, the parties agreed that the company would pay $55 for each of three non-S&S citations. Judge Jerold Feldman approved the settlement…
Knauf Fiber Glass, GmbH
In re Knauf Fiber Glass, GmbH (EAB PSD Appeal Nos. 99-8 through 99-72): permit review denied
Knauf Fiber Glass, GmbH planned to construct a fiberglass manufacturing facility in Shasta Lake, California, under a PSD permit issued by the Shasta County Air Quality Management District. Petitioners challenged the revised permit's best available control technology determination for PM10, its…
Division of Military and Naval Affairs, New York National Guard, Latham, New York (Petitioner) and Association of Civilian Technicians (Labor Organization/Respondent) and Air National Guard, Selfridge ANG, Michigan (Intervenor/Petitioner) and Alaska National Guard, Anchorage, Alaska (Petitioner) and Association of Civilian Technicians, Alaska Chapter (Labor Organization/Respondent)
New York and Alaska National Guards (FLRA BN-RP-70024, SF-RP-70060): former technicians remain in bargaining units
Three former National Guard technicians received temporary competitive-service positions after losing the military status required for their technician jobs. The New York and Alaska Guards challenged their inclusion in existing union bargaining units because the employees’ personnel rules, appeal…
American Federation of Government Employees, Council 236 (Union) and General Services Administration, Region 9, Auburn, Washington (Agency)
AFGE Council 236 and GSA Region 9 (FLRA 0-AR-3209): weekend training travel overtime denied
GSA employees sought overtime pay for weekend travel to training conferences held during their normal workweek. The arbitrator denied the grievance because GSA participated in managing the training program and controlled the weekday scheduling decision. The Authority upheld that result under the…
Eastern Associated Coal Corp.
Temporary reinstatement ordered
Gary Dean Munson alleged that Eastern Associated Coal discharged him because he had made safety complaints and contacted MSHA. Judge Michael E. Zielinski found that the complaint was not frivolous, citing evidence of protected activity, management knowledge, possible hostility, and different…
Eagle Coal Company, Inc.
Temporary reinstatement ordered
Raymond Roman alleged that Eagle Coal Company constructively discharged him after he complained about excessive dust, met with an MSHA investigator, and observed an unsafe electrical condition. Judge Gary Melick found that the temporary-reinstatement application was not frivolous because the…
Molloy Mining, Inc.
Clerical errors corrected in a $1,066 settlement
Molloy Mining contested six citations issued by the Secretary of Labor and later agreed to settle them. The judge’s settlement decision mistakenly listed three penalties as $295 each and set the total at $1,174, instead of $259 each and $1,066 total. The Commission reopened the final order under…
Bauman Landscape, Inc.
Reopening request remanded for a merits determination
Bauman Landscape asked to reopen a penalty assessment that had become a final Commission order after the company did not timely contest it. The owner said he never received the proposed assessment, did not know about the penalties, and had already paid penalties for the same violations. The…
James N. Sullenberger v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs
Sullenberger v. Director, OWCP (BRB 99-0449): Denial of survivor benefit reinstatement affirmed
James Sullenberger received black lung survivor benefits as the disabled adult child of a deceased miner. The Department of Labor suspended those payments after he married. A judge found that the suspension procedures were flawed but gave Sullenberger a full hearing and denied reinstatement. The…
Kyber Coal Company
Penalty-proposal method corrected before trial
Kyber Coal Company faced proposed penalties for approximately 219 alleged violations at the underground Elmo No. 5 Mine after a 1993 explosion that killed one miner. The judge held that MSHA had improperly used penalty criteria based on another operator’s mine operation and should apply the…
Mullet Repair Shop
In re Mullet Repair Shop (EAB CAA Appeal No. 00-(1)): complaint dismissed without prejudice
EPA charged Mullet Repair Shop with Clean Air Act violations involving wood heaters, combination wood and coal heaters, and coal-only heaters. EPA alleged that the business manufactured or offered the heaters for sale without the required labels or testing and sought a total civil penalty of…
Champion Environmental Services, Inc.
Settlement approved, ending a contested construction citation
Champion Environmental Services was cited after OSHA inspected one of its construction work sites. The serious citation alleged two violations of the construction standard at 29 C.F.R. § 1926.1101. Champion contested, and the case was set for an E-Z Trial in Chicago. At the December 1999 hearing…
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.