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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Steeltech, Limited
In re Steeltech, Limited (EAB EPCRA Appeal No. 98-6): nine reporting violations and $61,736 penalty affirmed
Steeltech operated a Michigan manufacturing facility that used reportable amounts of nickel, chromium, and cobalt but failed to file required Toxic Chemical Release Inventory Form Rs for nine violations. Steeltech admitted liability and challenged only the amount of the penalty. The Environmental…
Ron Coleman Mining, Inc.
One equipment citation dismissed and one modified
Ron Coleman Mining, Inc. operated a surface quartz mine in Arkansas. The ALJ considered a citation alleging that a dozer seatbelt was not maintained and an order alleging that the operator failed to wear a seatbelt. Judge Avram Weisberger dismissed the first citation because the Secretary did not…
Lyon County Landfill
In re Lyon County Landfill (EAB CAA Appeal No. 98-6): waiver interpretation reversed and complaint remanded
EPA Region V charged Lyon County Landfill with Clean Air Act violations involving asbestos-containing waste and related records and maps. The Presiding Officer dismissed the complaint after finding that EPA and the Department of Justice had issued an invalid waiver for violations occurring more…
BHP Copper, Inc.
Citation affirmed with a $60 penalty on remand
BHP Copper, Inc. contested Citation No. 7922328 at the San Manuel Mine for a violation of the Mine Act's inspection-access provision. The Commission had already found a violation and remanded the case for assessment of a penalty. Judge Richard W. Manning considered the penalty criteria, including…
RockGen Energy Center
In re RockGen Energy Center (EAB PSD Appeal No. 99-1): permit review partly denied and partly remanded
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources issued a PSD permit for RockGen Energy Center, a proposed 525-megawatt natural-gas and fuel-oil power facility. A petitioner challenged the permit's nitrogen oxide controls, demand-side alternatives, acid rain provisions, startup and shutdown limits…
Thomas Mlodzinski, d/b/a TNT Roofing
Unprotected hotel roof work affirmed
OSHA observed three TNT Roofing workers, including the owner, installing shingles on low- and steep-slope portions of a hotel roof 40 to 50 feet above the ground without fall protection. The crew had fall-arrest equipment and had used it earlier, but stopped because they felt secure without it…
White Electrical Construction Company
Active-train training and barricade violations affirmed
White electricians worked on an elevated Jacksonville transit line beside an active track carrying quiet, remotely operated trains. The foreman knew the unusual site and train-control procedures but gave only general warnings, provided no communication device to the remote crew, and used no…
Bardon Trimount, Inc.
Berm citation sustained after fatal haul-road accident
Bardon Trimount operated the Swampscott Quarry in Massachusetts. A haul truck left the road and fell over a concrete berm, and the driver was killed. MSHA cited the company for an allegedly unworn seatbelt and for a berm below the required height. Judge Avram Weisberger found the seatbelt violation…
In re N-J-B-, Respondent
Attorney General remanded adjustment question
The Attorney General remanded the case to the Board to determine whether the respondent was clearly ineligible for adjustment of status under the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act. The earlier Board decision had dismissed her appeal, holding that service of the Order to Show…
Reintjes of the South, Inc.
Appeal dismissed after petition withdrawal
Reintjes of the South, Inc. challenged an ALJ's dismissal of its contest of Citation No. 7867335. After a $100 civil penalty was proposed, Reintjes agreed to pay it in full without changing the citation and moved to withdraw its petition for discretionary review. The Commission granted the motion…
Yenter Companies
Excavation spoil violation affirmed with penalty cut to $100
Yenter Companies relocated historic buildings and had employees constructing a wall near the bottom of an excavation about 15 feet high. OSHA observed rocks and excavated material within two feet of the edge, creating a falling-material hazard, and the company foreman was present. Judge Robert A…
Capitol Cement Corporation
Unwarrantable-failure findings affirmed
Capitol Cement Corporation operated a limestone quarry, crushing facility, and cement plant in West Virginia. The case involved violations arising from two workplace accidents, including a supervisor's contact with an energized crane rail and another supervisor's entanglement in a conveyor belt…
Roger Richardson
Individual penalty case dismissed
Roger Richardson was the superintendent of Solid Energy Mining Company's underground coal mine when MSHA alleged that the mine had second-mined coal pillars required by its approved ventilation plan. The Secretary sought an individual penalty under section 110(c) of the Mine Act, which requires…
Mountain Top Trucking Co., Inc., Elmo Mayes; William David Riley; Anthony Curtis Mayes; and Mayes Trucking Company, Inc.
Mountain Top Trucking Co., Inc., Elmo Mayes, William David Riley, Anthony Curtis Mayes, and Mayes Trucking Company, Inc. (FMSHRC KENT 95-604-D, KENT 95-605-D, KENT 95-613-D): Back-pay awards set on remand
The Commission had determined that Lonnie Bowling and Everett Darrell Ball were constructively discharged and had remanded their cases for relief. It also remanded Walter Jackson's case for recalculation of back pay. Judge Jerold Feldman awarded Bowling $26,557, Ball $17,237, and Jackson $32,642…
Tri-State Steel Construction Company, Inc.
EAJA fee case referred after court remand
Tri-State Steel Construction sought fees and expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act. The Commission had aggregated Tri-State's net worth with that of its parent and found the company above the $7 million eligibility limit. The Sixth Circuit reversed that ruling and remanded the matter. The…
Tri-State Steel Construction Co., Inc.
EAJA cases remanded after circuit reversal
Tri-State sought attorney fees and expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act. The Commission had previously combined Tri-State's net worth with that of its parent, National Engineering and Contracting Company, and found the resulting assets exceeded the $7 million eligibility ceiling. The…
Timothy W. Clark v. Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company
Clark v. Newport News Shipbuilding (BRB 98-1508): settlement did not cover an unlisted right knee claim
Pipe fitter Timothy Clark sought medical benefits for a right knee condition after settling claims involving his back, left knee, and left groin. The administrative law judge held that the settlement’s broad language also released the right knee claim. The Board vacated that denial because Clark…
Eighty Four Mining Company
Penalty assessments reopened after filing mistake
Eighty Four Mining Company asked to contest three proposed penalties after the 30-day deadline had passed. The company said it had marked the penalties for contest on the green card but that MSHA did not receive the card, while it paid the other proposed penalties. The Commission found that the…
Texas A.C.A., Inc., and its successors
Scaffold citations vacated for foreman misconduct
Texas A.C.A. employees performed stucco work from an incomplete scaffold with missing bracing, incomplete planking, unstable supports, unsafe access, and inadequate fall protection. The foreman knew the crew was assigned to roof work and that the scaffold was unfinished, but moved them onto it…
Drum Construction Co., Inc.
Employees outside trench box exposed to cave-in hazard
OSHA observed two Drum Construction employees working outside a trench box near a manhole in Type B soil. One area was about ten feet deep, another had been about eight feet deep during backfilling, and the trench walls were essentially vertical; the access ladder was also outside the protected…
Orion Construction, Inc.
$100 penalties upheld for low-gravity fall violations
Orion employees installed metal studs at an 11-foot edge where the guardrail midrail had been lowered, and other employees passed within a few feet of a partially covered stairwell opening protected only by caution tape. The Commission agreed that both conditions were serious violations but found…
In re L-V-K-, Respondent
Motion to remand denied as time-barred
The Board reconsidered its earlier refusal to remand the case so L-V-K- could seek adjustment of status while an appeal from the denial of a motion to reopen was pending. The respondent, a citizen of Bulgaria, had waived appeal from an Immigration Judge's deportation order, later moved to reopen…
U.S. Penitentiary, Leavenworth, Kansas and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 919
United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth (FLRA): union threats and bargaining violations warrant stronger remedies
The United States Penitentiary at Leavenworth faced twelve complaints involving threats against union officials, committee assignments, formal discussions, and relocation of the union office. The Authority upheld numerous violations, including threats tied to protected union activity…
United Mine Workers of America on behalf of William Keith Burgess, Glenn Loggins, David McAteer, B. Ray Pate and others
Complaints against MSHA employees dismissed
The United Mine Workers brought Mine Act discrimination complaints on behalf of miners against MSHA and four MSHA employees. After the D.C. Circuit held that MSHA officials acting under color of their authority could not be sued under section 105(c), it vacated the Commission's earlier decision and…
Akzo Nobel Salt, Inc.
Escapeway violation affirmed with $50 penalty
Akzo Nobel Salt operated an underground salt mine where one of two escapeway hoists was out of service for about three and a half hours while miners remained underground. The Commission held that 30 C.F.R. § 57.11050(a) requires two operational escapeways for miners who are underground and rejected…
In re Julio Antonio CORDOVA, Respondent
Voluntary departure opportunity required
The Board reviewed Julio Antonio Cordova's appeal from an order of removal that denied his request for voluntary departure. The Board held that an Immigration Judge must tell a respondent who appears eligible for voluntary departure about that relief and give a timely opportunity to apply. Cordova…
Freda Story v. Navy Exchange Service Center and Gates McDonald & Company
Story v. Navy Exchange Service Center (BRB 98-1458): barber tips counted as wages
Freda Story was injured while working as a barber at a Navy Exchange location. The employer challenged the inclusion of customer tips in her average weekly wage after the administrative law judge found that the employer knew and tolerated tipping. The Board held that tips could count as wages when…
RBV, Inc., d/b/a R.B. Ventures
Late contest dismissed despite officer's hospitalization
R.B. Ventures received an OSHA citation on November 18, 1998, making December 10 the contest deadline, but filed on December 14. The secretary-treasurer who normally handled all paperwork was hospitalized for cancer-related treatment from late November until December 13. Chief Judge Irving Sommer…
George A. Gladney v. Ingalls Shipbuilding, Incorporated and Director, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs
Gladney v. Ingalls Shipbuilding (BRB 98-1481): third-party settlements did not bar withdrawn claim
Shipyard painter George Gladney was diagnosed with an asbestos-related lung disorder and settled claims against third parties without his employer’s written approval. The employer argued that those settlements barred his Longshore Act claim. The Board affirmed the administrative law judge’s finding…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1547 and U.S. Department of the Air Force, 56th Fighter Wing, Luke Air Force Base, Arizona
Luke Air Force Base (FLRA): commuting motorcycle-equipment reimbursement proposal rejected
The union proposed that Luke Air Force Base supply or reimburse motorcycle safety equipment required by the Air Force beyond Arizona’s requirements. The Authority found the proposal outside the duty to bargain under the statutes governing government purchases of protective equipment. Employees were…
National Association of Government Employees, Locals R5-136 and R5-150 and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Ralph H. Johnson Medical Center, Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston VA Medical Center (FLRA): bargaining delay negotiable, attrition-only reorganization rejected
The Charleston VA medical center planned to move ward and lead medical clerks from medical administration into nursing service. The Authority held that the union’s proposal to preserve the status quo until bargaining was completed was a negotiable procedure. The agency had not shown that immediate…
Professional Airways Systems Specialists, District No. 1, MEBA/NMU (AFL-CIO) and U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Southern Region
FAA Southern Region (FLRA): union award challenges and fee request rejected
The union representing FAA Southern Region employees challenged an arbitration award as incomplete or ambiguous, contrary to law, and inconsistent with the agreement. The Authority rejected those exceptions. It also found no basis to address the union’s attorney-fee request because the arbitrator…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3615 and Social Security Administration, Office of Hearings and Appeals, Falls Church, Virginia
SSA Office of Hearings and Appeals (FLRA): union challenges to arbitration award denied
The union at the Social Security Administration Office of Hearings and Appeals in Falls Church challenged an arbitration award. The Authority rejected claims that the arbitrator exceeded his authority, relied on a nonfact, or issued an award that failed to draw its essence from the agreement. An…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1923 and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Care Financing Administration, Region IV, Atlanta, Georgia
Health Care Financing Administration, Atlanta (FLRA): union arbitration exceptions denied
The union at the Health Care Financing Administration’s Atlanta regional office challenged an arbitration award. The Authority rejected the union’s nonfact claim and its claim that the award failed to draw its essence from the collective bargaining agreement. The brief decision does not identify…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R4-106 and U.S. Department of the Air Force, Langley Air Force Base, Hampton, Virginia
Langley Air Force Base (FLRA): laptop-loss reimbursement does not establish attorney-fee entitlement
Two Langley employees obtained reimbursement after an arbitrator found they had not negligently lost four laptop computers. The union later requested attorney fees under the Back Pay Act. The Authority upheld denial of fees because the arbitrator had not found a violation of law, regulation, or the…
U.S. Department of the Navy, Indian Head Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1923
Navy Indian Head Division (FLRA): agency challenges to arbitration award denied
The Navy’s Indian Head Division challenged an arbitration award. The Authority rejected claims that the arbitrator exceeded his authority, that the award conflicted with law or regulation, and that it failed to draw its essence from the agreement. The decision does not describe the underlying…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R4-45 and U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Commissary Agency, Fort Lee, Virginia
Fort Lee commissary (FLRA): remedy for denied temporary assignments remanded
The Fort Lee commissary violated its agreement by failing to document temporary assignments and fairly consider employees for higher-graded work. The arbitrator found that some grievants lost higher pay but believed he could not compensate employees for work they had not performed. The Authority…
U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Newport, Rhode Island and National Association of Government Employees, Federal Union of Scientists and Engineers
Naval Undersea Warfare Center (FLRA): corrected appraisal upheld, performance bonus remanded
A Newport Navy employee challenged his performance appraisal, and the arbitrator raised his overall rating to Outstanding and ordered a bonus of at least 2 percent of base pay. The Authority upheld the corrected rating because the agency’s binding appraisal regulation had the force and effect of…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1658 and U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Bureau of Indian Affairs (FLRA): challenge to superintendent selection denied
The Southern Ute Tribe preferred a candidate for a superintendent vacancy, but the Bureau of Indian Affairs selected another candidate who declined the offer. The agency then canceled and reissued the announcement, and the grievant did not apply again. The Authority upheld the arbitrator’s denial…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 208 and U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (FLRA): classification ruling reconsideration denied
The union sought reconsideration of a decision upholding an arbitrator’s dismissal of a promotion grievance as a classification matter. The Authority had relied on the finding that the grievant’s motor-operated-valve inspection duties did not predate his assignment and were not already classified…
BHP Copper, Inc.
Witness-information citation remanded for penalty
After a fatal ground fall at BHP's San Manuel Mine, MSHA sought an injured miner's contact information so it could interview him during its investigation. BHP declined to provide the information without the miner's consent, and the ALJ dismissed the citation. The Commission held that Mine Act…
U.S. Department of Defense, National Guard Bureau and Association of Civilian Technicians and Washington National Guard, et. al.
National Guard Bureau (FLRA): multistate technician unit consolidation rejected
The Association of Civilian Technicians sought to consolidate bargaining units across 39 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The Authority upheld dismissal because the proposed unit did not meet the statutory requirements for a community of interest, effective…
Schipper Construction, Inc.
Default set aside after pro se response was misdirected
Schipper Construction timely contested a willful excavation citation carrying a proposed $14,000 penalty but did not file a formal answer to the Secretary's complaint. When the Secretary sought default, the company's pro se president promptly wrote a response raising defenses but mistakenly mailed…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 987 and U.S. Department of the Air Force, Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Robins Air Force Base, Warner Robins, Georgia
Warner Robins Air Logistics Center (FLRA): arbitration award survives union exceptions
The union at Warner Robins Air Logistics Center challenged an arbitration award. The Authority rejected claims concerning the arbitrator’s authority, procedural arbitrability, legal compliance, and the award’s interpretation of the agreement. The short ruling does not state the underlying grievance…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 987 and U. S. Department of the Air Force, Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Robins Air Force Base, Warner Robins, Georgia
Warner Robins Air Logistics Center (FLRA): union arbitration challenge denied
The union at Warner Robins Air Logistics Center challenged an arbitration award. The Authority found no basis to conclude that the arbitrator exceeded his authority. It also rejected the challenge to procedural arbitrability under the rule limiting direct attacks on an arbitrator’s procedural…
U.S. Department of Defense, Hale Koa Hotel and Service Employees International Union, Local 556
Hale Koa Hotel (FLRA): reduced insubordination suspension upheld
An arbitrator found a Hale Koa Hotel employee insubordinate but reduced his suspension from five days to one. She distinguished the incident from earlier misconduct and found inadequate notice regarding the penalty. The Authority treated the agency’s penalty guidelines as part of the agreement…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R5-168 and U.S. Department of the Army, Fort Polk, Louisiana
Fort Polk (FLRA): hiring-favoritism challenge denied
A Fort Polk employee challenged the hiring process for a GS-7 contact representative position after an incorrect experience requirement was removed and the vacancy was reannounced. The arbitrator found that external recruitment had been authorized in writing and that the union had not proved…
Chicopee Coal Company, Inc.
Temporary reinstatement affirmed
Chicopee Coal Company discharged miner Earl Charles Albu one day after he raised safety concerns about berms, miner certification, and truck brakes during a safety meeting. The Secretary found his Mine Act discrimination complaint nonfrivolous and sought temporary reinstatement. The Commission held…
Cannelton Industries, Inc.
Penalty assessment reopened and remanded
Cannelton Industries intended to contest a proposed penalty for a citation but accidentally filed the penalty notice instead of paying or contesting it while the company was undergoing a sale and staff duties were shifting. The Commission said the misfiling reasonably might qualify as inadvertence…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Trash-accumulation case remanded for unwarrantable-failure analysis
Jim Walter Resources operated the No. 7 Mine near Birmingham, Alabama. MSHA cited the company after an inspector found combustible trash around a ventilation curtain, including a large accumulation in an inactive area and a smaller accumulation in an active area. The Commission held that the ALJ…
Cyprus Cumberland Resources Corporation
Clean-inspection issue remanded
Cyprus Cumberland operated the Cumberland Mine, an underground bituminous coal mine near Waynesburg, Pennsylvania. MSHA issued a section 104(d)(1) order in June 1997 for a preshift examination violation. In September, it issued a section 104(d)(2) withdrawal order after an inspector found that a…
In re Suseenthera KANAGASUNDRAM, Respondent
Asylum referral required under visa waiver rules
The Board reviewed the certified decision in Suseenthera Kanagasundram's case after the Immigration Judge terminated removal proceedings. Kanagasundram, a Sri Lankan national who presented a Dutch passport and applied for admission under the Visa Waiver Pilot Program, also applied for asylum. The…
Crowley American Transport, Inc.
Seat-belt general-duty citation vacated for no proven hazard
Crowley used heavy Capacity tractors to move trailers short distances on and off cargo barges, generally at speeds no greater than 25 miles per hour. OSHA cited the company under the general duty clause for not requiring seat belts after a tractor went through a guardrail and fell 20 feet, killing…
Root Neal & Company
Discovery motion partly granted
This civil penalty case arose from a loader-bucket accident in which an Elam Sand & Gravel employee sustained serious injuries to his arms and back while working with Root Neal employees. Root Neal sought documents related to MSHA’s investigation and the Secretary asserted informant, work-product…
Consolidation Coal Company
Preshift-examination citation vacated
Consolidation Coal operated the Robinson Run No. 95 Mine. The Secretary alleged that the mine’s preshift examiner failed to report loose coal and float coal dust conditions on belt conveyors and sought $4,350 in penalties. The parties settled two underlying citation penalties for a combined $1,588…
Limerock Industries, Inc.
Penalty assessment reopened after consolidation misunderstanding
Limerock Industries failed to timely contest a $340 proposed penalty associated with a citation from an MSHA inspection. The company said it believed the citation would automatically be consolidated with other citations that it had already contested, and MSHA did not oppose reopening the…
Sofco Erectors, Inc.
Crane-load citation vacated because operator was not hoisting
A steel connector stood on a beam while trying to align its free end with a column. One end was already bolted, the other was wedged low, and the crane line remained under tension; when the worker pried the beam loose, it sprang upward and bruised his leg. Judge Ken S. Welsch found that the crane…
S.K. Wellman Friction Company
Press guarding, training, inspection, and lockout items affirmed
An employee lost a fingertip while clearing a frequently jammed turntable on a Toledo 250-ton press. Judge Ann Z. Cook found an obvious unguarded nip point, inadequate operator training before first use, and no documented program of periodic press inspections, although setup personnel performed…
Safe & Sure Products, Inc. and Lester J. Workman
In re Safe & Sure Products, Inc. and Lester J. Workman (EAB FIFRA Appeal No. 98-4): 85 violations and $30,000 penalty affirmed
Safe & Sure Products and Lester J. Workman failed to comply with pesticide registration, labeling, inspection, recordkeeping, and establishment-reporting requirements. The violations included selling or distributing unregistered or misbranded pesticides and refusing inspections and required…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R14-52 and U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Distribution Depot Red River, Texarkana, Texas
Defense Distribution Depot Red River (FLRA): filing-dismissal reconsideration denied
The union sought reconsideration after its arbitration exceptions were dismissed as untimely. A new copy of the award showed a handwritten receipt date that apparently had been lost in photocopying the earlier submission. Even accepting that date, the exceptions could be timely only if service had…
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.