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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V.D. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases
Board upholds nine percent right-arm impairment award for Army worker (ECAB 23-0989)
An Army employee sought a schedule award greater than nine percent permanent impairment of her right arm. The Board found that the medical adviser correctly applied the required guides to shoulder range-of-motion measurements. No other medical opinion established a higher rating. It affirmed OWCP’s…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Grand Rapids
Board denies postal worker’s disability claims for 2022 absences (ECAB 23-0960)
A postal worker sought wage-loss compensation for two periods in July through September 2022. Her physician recorded increased migraines and vision problems but did not give a reasoned explanation connecting the claimed work absence to her accepted injury. The Board affirmed OWCP’s denial of…
Vonda K. Silk, widow of Stanley D. Silk v. Consol Mining Company, LLC
Silk v. Consol Mining (BRB 23-0380 BLA): survivor benefits award affirmed
Vonda Silk sought survivor benefits after the death of her husband, who had worked underground for thirty-nine years. The judge found he had been totally disabled by a respiratory impairment, triggering the presumption that his death was due to pneumoconiosis. The Board upheld that finding based on…
Ermine H. Hayes v. Cowin & Company, Incorporated
Hayes v. Cowin & Company (BRB 23-0287 BLA): benefits denial affirmed
Ermine Hayes's son continued his late father's black lung claim after earlier appeals and remands over the length of his coal mine employment. The judge credited 13.76 years, short of the fifteen years required for the statutory presumption. The Board declined to apply a Sixth Circuit rule treating…
Ebb Hurley v. Highlander Coal Corporation
Hurley v. Highlander Coal (BRB 23-0178 BLA): benefits denial affirmed
Ebb Hurley appealed without representation after a judge denied his subsequent black lung claim. He had 16.16 years of qualifying coal mine employment, but the judge found he had not established complicated pneumoconiosis or total respiratory disability. The Board upheld the judge's weighing of…
Stanley W. Short v. Coalburg Enterprises Incorporated
Short v. Coalburg Enterprises (BRB 23-0170 BLA): benefits award affirmed
Coalburg Enterprises challenged a black lung benefits award to Stanley Short on his subsequent claim. The judge credited twenty-one years of underground coal mine employment and found that a pulmonary function study and medical opinions established total respiratory disability. The Board upheld the…
Dennis L. McCracken v. River Hill Coal Company, Incorporated
McCracken v. River Hill Coal (BRB 23-0147 BLA): benefits award affirmed
River Hill Coal challenged a black lung benefits award to Dennis McCracken. The judge credited at least twenty-five years of qualifying aboveground work at an underground coal mine and found a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board upheld the finding that McCracken could invoke the…
Donald R. Baker v. Virginia Crews Coal Company
Baker v. Virginia Crews Coal (BRB 23-0111 BLA): benefits award affirmed after remand
Virginia Crews Coal challenged a black lung benefits award to Donald Baker after an earlier Board remand. Baker's qualifying coal mine employment and total respiratory disability had already established the fifteen-year presumption. On remand, the judge found that the employer had not disproved…
Chris Mezo, on behalf of Robbie J. Mezo v. Kerr McGee Coal Corporation/American Coal Company
Mezo v. Kerr McGee Coal (BRB 23-0100 BLA): attorney fee award remanded
Counsel for Chris Mezo appealed a $9,607.50 attorney fee award arising from a successful black lung claim. The judge had cut the requested time for a closing brief in half, describing the brief as nine pages with no new evidence. The Board found that the brief was twenty pages and included…
Ralph Maples v. Clinchfield Coal Company
Maples v. Clinchfield Coal (BRB 23-0088 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Clinchfield Coal challenged an award of black lung benefits to former miner Ralph Maples. The judge credited him with 11.88 years of coal mine employment, so he could not use the fifteen-year presumption. She found that his lung impairment was caused in part by coal dust exposure and was totally…
Clara Dawson, on behalf of Karl R. Dawson v. Consolidation Coal Company
Dawson v. Consolidation Coal (BRB 22-0475 BLA): benefits award remanded for medical review
Clara Dawson pursued her late husband's black lung claim after a judge awarded benefits on modification. The Board upheld the admission of new evidence about his dusty warehouse work and the finding that he had more than fifteen years of qualifying coal mine employment. It also upheld the finding…
Yoweri Byamukama v. SOC, LLC
Byamukama v. SOC (BRB 22-0472): Defense Base Act benefits denial affirmed
Yoweri Byamukama sought Defense Base Act benefits for a claimed psychological injury after working as a security guard in Iraq. The judge found that he invoked the statutory work-related injury presumption, but the employer rebutted it with a psychologist's opinion. Weighing all the evidence, she…
I.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Stow Post Office
Board denies renewed treatment claim for postal worker’s back and neck (ECAB 24-0121)
A postal employee sought renewed treatment for back and neck symptoms following an accepted 2019 injury. The Board found that the physician’s reports did not explain why her renewed need for treatment was caused by that injury. Imaging reports and notes from other providers did not establish the…
Y.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Puget Sound Healthcare System, Seattle VA Medical Center
Board upholds denial of VA employee’s reconsideration request (ECAB 24-0072)
A VA employee asked OWCP to reopen an earlier compensation decision. The Board found that the request raised no new legal argument, identified no error in applying law, and included no new evidence. It affirmed OWCP’s denial of merit reconsideration without deciding the underlying claim.
C.M. and Department of the Navy, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Board denies shipyard worker’s heart-injury claim (ECAB 24-0059)
A Navy shipyard mechanic experienced chest pain after climbing stairs at work and was diagnosed with a myocardial infarction. The Board found that his physician checked a causation box but did not explain how the work activity caused or aggravated the heart condition. Other reports described…
D.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tulsa
Board upholds postal worker’s $2,026.67 overpayment recovery (ECAB 23-1137)
A postal employee received FECA wage-loss compensation while also receiving Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service. The Board upheld an overpayment of $2,026.67, although she was without fault. It affirmed denial of waiver because she did not provide requested financial…
A.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Hammond Post Office
Board denies postal worker’s disability and reconsideration requests (ECAB 23-1124)
A postal employee sought disability compensation beginning May 20, 2023 for an accepted shoulder injury. The Board found that her physician described restrictions and possible modified work but did not establish total disability for the claimed period. It also found that her later reconsideration…
J.I. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Orleans
Board orders medical review of postal worker’s knee claim (ECAB 23-1122)
A postal carrier twisted his left knee when stepping from a vehicle at work. His physician described injuries and explained why the incident may have worsened a knee with prior surgeries. The Board found that the report warranted further medical development, although it did not finally establish…
C.G. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Systems Command, Fleet Readiness Center Southeast
Board upholds Navy worker’s hearing-loss award (ECAB 23-0916)
A Navy employee sought a schedule award greater than the 28 percent binaural hearing loss already awarded. The Board reviewed the audiogram and the medical adviser’s rating under the required guides. It found no medical evidence establishing a greater impairment and affirmed OWCP’s decision.
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Austin
Board upholds postal overpayment but remands pay-rate question (ECAB 23-0775)
A postal employee received FECA wage-loss payments and Social Security retirement benefits attributable to federal service for the same period. The Board affirmed a $31,420.42 overpayment, denial of waiver, and recovery through $92.31 deductions every 28 days. It found that OWCP had not resolved a…
Secretary of Labor v. Prairie State Generating Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Prairie State Generating Company (FMSHRC LAKE 2022-0017): Damaged continuous-miner cable violation affirmed
An MSHA inspector found a hole through the outer jacket of a 995-volt cable on a continuous mining machine at Prairie State's Lively Grove Mine. The judge found that the damaged jacket exposed the cable's interior and violated the requirement to insulate and protect power wires and cables. He also…
V.F. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Doris Miller VA Medical Center
Board upholds VA worker’s finger impairment award (ECAB 24-0091)
A VA employee sought a schedule award greater than six percent permanent impairment of her right middle finger. The Board found that the medical adviser’s rating under the required guides supported six percent and that the accepted elbow condition produced no additional ratable impairment. It…
W.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Vehicle Maintenance Facility, Anchorage
Board denies postal worker’s claim without a diagnosed condition (ECAB 24-0062)
A postal vehicle maintenance employee reported back and leg symptoms after an accepted work incident. His physician documented pain and muscle tension but did not identify a compensable medical diagnosis. The Board affirmed OWCP’s denial because symptoms alone did not establish a diagnosed injury.
R.P. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Air and Marine Operations El Paso Air Branch
Board upholds finding that employee abandoned an oral hearing (ECAB 23-1109)
A Customs and Border Protection employee requested an oral hearing after denial of a schedule award. OWCP mailed notice of the hearing to his address of record. He did not call in and did not request postponement or explain his absence within ten days. The Board affirmed OWCP’s finding that he…
M.G. and Department of the Navy, Naval Facilities Engineering Command
Board denies Navy worker’s recurrence-of-disability claim (ECAB 23-1051)
A Navy employee sought disability compensation for April 2019 through March 2021 following an accepted 2017 injury. Medical reports described cervical conditions and inability to work but did not sufficiently explain how the accepted injury caused disability during the claimed period. The Board…
C.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Mackenzie Pointe Post Office
Board denies postal carrier’s disability claim after ankle injury (ECAB 23-0998)
A postal carrier sought wage-loss compensation starting with an accepted 2019 left ankle injury. The Board found that several physicians reported symptoms or work status without explaining how the accepted sprain caused disability for the claimed period. One physician had returned him to limited…
T.B. and Department of Defense, Defense Commissary Agency, Fort Hood Commissary
Board orders further review of commissary worker’s disability claim (ECAB 23-0988)
A commissary employee sought disability compensation beginning May 7, 2023 after an accepted injury. Her physician described functional limits and a period of incapacity after she returned to limited work. The Board found that the opinion did not by itself prove disability but warranted further…
M.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bronx
Board denies postal worker’s left-hand condition claim (ECAB 23-0866)
A postal employee claimed a left-hand condition from her work duties. The Board found that one physician considered a work link unlikely and another offered no clear diagnosis or medical reasoning for causation. Her own statements could not replace medical evidence. It affirmed OWCP’s denial.
D.L. and Department of Veterans Affairs, San Francisco VA Medical Center
Board denies VA gardener’s injury claim after cart incident (ECAB 23-0850)
A VA gardener said a work cart struck a curb and caused injuries to several parts of his body. The Board found that his physician did not explain how the incident caused or aggravated the diagnosed conditions, particularly in light of preexisting back problems. It affirmed OWCP’s denial of the…
O.A. and Department of the Air Force, Directorate of Personnel Support, Joint Base Lewis-McChord
Board denies Air Force employee’s injury claim for lack of causation evidence (ECAB 24-0105)
An Air Force employee claimed foot and knee injury after an accepted work incident. The Board found that a physician diagnosed a left knee sprain but did not state whether the work incident caused it. The remaining evidence also did not establish medical causation. It affirmed OWCP’s denial.
B.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Gretna Post Office
Board upholds denial of postal worker’s claim-expansion reconsideration (ECAB 24-0042)
A postal employee sought to reopen a decision refusing to add several spine and shoulder conditions to an accepted injury claim. The Board found that she repeated prior arguments, resubmitted records already considered, and provided new reports that did not address the requested claim expansion. It…
S.M. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol
Board orders further hearing-loss evaluation for Border Patrol worker (ECAB 23-1098)
A Border Patrol employee sought compensation for occupational hearing loss. A second opinion physician found ratable binaural impairment, but OWCP’s medical adviser rejected it based on an unsupported statement that work-related hearing loss cannot progress after noise exposure stops. The Board set…
United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service and National Treasury Employees Union
USDA Food and Nutrition Service and NTEU (FLRA 0-AR-5787): Authority upholds detail-extension violations
The USDA Food and Nutrition Service extended several employee details from 120 to 240 days without reposting them, seeking volunteers, considering applicants, addressing an employee's hardship request, or notifying the union. An arbitrator found that the agreement's detailed procedures applied…
Secretary of Labor v. Vulcan Construction Materials, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Vulcan Construction Materials (FMSHRC SE 2023-0117): Unguarded ladderway citation affirmed
MSHA cited Vulcan Construction Materials because the opening at the top of a fixed ladder to an elevated conveyor walkway lacked a chain, gate, railing, or warning signal. Vulcan argued that the opening was not near a travelway and that miners did not work near it. The judge found that miners used…
C.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Little Rock Processing and Distribution Center
Board dismisses appeal from proposed benefit termination (ECAB 24-0177)
A postal employee appealed OWCP’s notice proposing to terminate wage-loss and medical benefits. The Board held that the notice was a proposal, not a final adverse decision. It dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction without deciding whether benefits should end.
J.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Browerville Post Office
Board accepts postal carrier’s bee-sting injury (ECAB 24-0088)
A postal carrier reported three bee stings while delivering mail. The Board found that a timely nurse practitioner note and visible skin findings established the minor work injury. It reversed OWCP’s denial and remanded for payment of related medical expenses and a new decision on any resulting…
M.I. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Roswell
Board reverses postal worker’s retirement-benefit overpayment (ECAB 24-0070)
OWCP assessed a $5,969.03 overpayment against a postal employee for concurrent FECA and Social Security benefits. The Board found no evidence that he participated in the retirement system needed to support OWCP’s offset calculation. It reversed the overpayment decision, so the proposed waiver and…
L.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Robert E. Price Post Office
Board denies postal worker’s recurrence and reconsideration claims (ECAB 23-1108)
A postal employee sought disability compensation beginning in September 2009 from an accepted 2004 emotional condition injury. The Board found that his physician did not explain how the accepted conditions worsened enough to prevent work on the claimed dates. It also found no new legal argument or…
M.R. and Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau
Board upholds Census worker’s benefit termination but remands impairment claim (ECAB 23-1052)
The Board upheld termination of a Census Bureau employee’s medical benefits after finding that accepted injury residuals had ended. It also found that she had not proved continuing residuals after termination. A separate schedule award claim required more review because an impartial examiner…
R.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Orlando VA Medical Center
Board orders medical review of VA worker’s shoulder and nerve claim (ECAB 23-0952)
A VA employee injured her shoulder and neck while lifting a container of clothing at work. Her physician described a supraspinatus tear and ulnar nerve entrapment and explained a possible mechanism. The Board found the report did not finally prove causation but warranted further medical…
D.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Pecos Post Office
Board reverses zeroing of postal worker’s wage-loss benefits (ECAB 23-0912)
OWCP reduced a postal employee’s wage-loss compensation to zero for failing to cooperate with early vocational rehabilitation. The Board found conflicting medical opinions about whether he could work at all. OWCP needed to resolve that conflict before referring him to rehabilitation. The Board…
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Bowie Main Post Office
Board upholds termination of postal worker’s back-injury benefits (ECAB 23-0319)
OWCP ended a postal employee’s wage-loss and medical benefits after an accepted lower-back strain. The Board found that a reasoned second opinion examination supported the conclusion that the strain had resolved and that she could resume her date-of-injury job without restrictions. It affirmed the…
F.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chicago
Board denies adding postal worker’s right-knee conditions to claim (ECAB 24-0075)
A postal employee sought to add a right-knee meniscal tear and osteoarthritis to a claim for an accepted left-knee injury. An impartial medical examiner explained why the right-knee conditions were degenerative and unrelated to the accepted injury. The Board gave that opinion controlling weight and…
L.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Container Repair Center
Board upholds suspension of postal worker’s wage-loss benefits (ECAB 24-0060)
OWCP mailed a postal employee a required earnings disclosure form and warned that benefits would be suspended if he did not return it within 30 days. The record showed no timely return of the form. The Board affirmed suspension of wage-loss compensation effective October 10, 2023.
B.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hinsdale
Board again remands postal worker’s leg impairment claim (ECAB 24-0056)
A postal employee sought a schedule award for impairment of both legs. On an earlier remand, OWCP was directed to review newer evidence of sensory or motor loss in both legs. Its medical adviser considered only the left leg and older reports. The Board set aside the award decision and ordered…
N.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Missouri City Post Office
Board denies postal carrier’s knee and shoulder injury claim (ECAB 23-1129)
A postal carrier said he fell after stepping on a bottle while leaving his delivery truck. The Board found that his medical records did not explain how the accepted incident caused the claimed knee, shoulder, or back conditions. An unsigned work slip could not supply a medical opinion. It affirmed…
Z.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Tibor Rubin VA Medical Center
Board denies VA employee’s shoulder and neck claim (ECAB 23-1123)
A VA medical support assistant attributed left shoulder and cervical conditions to work duties. The Board found that her physician asserted a work link without explaining the medical reasoning. It also found that her reconsideration request repeated a report already considered. It affirmed the…
C.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Faribault Post Office
Board denies postal carrier’s reconsideration request (ECAB 23-1112)
A postal carrier asked OWCP to reopen a denied right-shoulder occupational disease claim. The Board found that new medical records did not address the unresolved factual question of which work factors occurred. Her request also identified no new legal argument or error. It affirmed the denial of…
Robert Thomas v. CalPortland Company
Commission applied but-for causation and dismissed complaint
The Ninth Circuit directed the Commission to apply but-for causation to Robert Thomas's claim that CalPortland retaliated for safety complaints and protected activity. The ALJ again found discrimination, but the Commission concluded that substantial evidence did not connect Thomas's protected…
J.S. and Department of the Navy, Naval District of Washington Operations Department
Board dismisses late appeal and reconsideration petition (ECAB 24-0354)
A Navy employee appealed a prior Board decision rather than a recent final OWCP decision. The Board dismissed the new appeal for lack of jurisdiction. It also treated the filing as a possible petition to reconsider its earlier ruling and dismissed that petition because it arrived after the Board’s…
S.C. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution Fairton
Board orders review of prison employee’s impairment evidence (ECAB 24-0261)
A federal prison employee sought a larger left-leg schedule award after an accepted ankle fracture. He submitted a physician’s addendum discussing sensory impairment and arguing that the ratings conflicted. OWCP’s decision did not address that report or the conflict argument. The Board set aside…
J.M. and Department of the Air Force, 567th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Tinker Air Force Base
Board upholds three percent left-leg impairment award (ECAB 24-0033)
An Air Force employee sought a schedule award greater than three percent impairment of his left leg after a navicular fracture. His physician rated six percent based on a displaced fracture, but the medical adviser found that imaging showed no displacement and normal foot motion. The Board accepted…
J.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Bay Shore Post Office
Board denies postal worker’s carpal tunnel claim (ECAB 23-1187)
A postal employee sought compensation for bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome attributed to repetitive work. Physicians diagnosed the condition, but neither gave an opinion linking it to his duties. Diagnostic tests alone also did not establish causation. The Board affirmed OWCP’s denial.
L.L. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Board upholds denial of Border Protection employee’s hearing request (ECAB 23-1179)
A Customs and Border Protection employee requested an OWCP hearing after previously seeking reconsideration of the same decision. The Board held that this sequence removed the right to a hearing. It found that OWCP reasonably declined to grant one as a discretionary matter because the issue could…
K.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Saint Simons Island Post Office
Board denies postal carrier’s wage-loss claim after knee injury (ECAB 23-0893)
A postal carrier sought disability compensation beginning September 10, 2022 after an accepted left-knee injury. Her physician restricted her to sedentary work but did not explain whether the accepted conditions caused disability during the claimed period. The Board affirmed OWCP’s denial of…
N.H. and Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Robins Air Force Base
Board reverses wage-capacity reduction for Defense Logistics employee (ECAB 23-0153)
OWCP reduced a Defense Logistics Agency employee’s wage-loss benefits based on earnings as an office clerk. The Board found that the medical opinion used to assess her work capacity did not account for all accepted injury conditions. It held that OWCP had not shown the clerk earnings fairly…
Clyde Abner v. Fox Knob Coal Company, Incorporated
Abner v. Fox Knob Coal (BRB 23-0005 BLA): benefits award affirmed
Fox Knob Coal challenged a black lung benefits award to Clyde Abner, who had at least thirty years of surface coal mine employment and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board upheld the judge's finding that Abner was regularly exposed to coal mine dust in substantially similar…
Gulden v. Exxon Mobil Corporation
SOX interlocutory appeal denied
Two former Exxon Mobil scientists alleged that the company violated the Sarbanes-Oxley Act by firing them. OSHA ordered their preliminary reinstatement, but the company did not reinstate them, and an administrative judge later ruled that the Office of Administrative Law Judges lacked independent…
B.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Hospital
Board requests missing video in VA nursing assistant’s injury claim (ECAB 24-0163)
A VA nursing assistant said a patient grabbed and pulled him at work. OWCP denied his injury claim after relying on video footage to dispute his account. The footage was missing from the record sent to the Board. The Board set aside the denial and ordered OWCP to supply the video and decide the…
T.E. and U.S. Postal Service, James A. Farley Building
Board orders review of omitted medical certificate in postal injury claim (ECAB 24-0085)
A postal clerk reported a back injury after lifting a mail tray. OWCP denied the claim, finding no sufficient medical diagnosis. The Board found that OWCP had received a physician’s disability certificate listing spinal diagnoses before its decision but did not discuss it. It set aside the denial…
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.