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.
No decisions match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
Patterson Drilling Co. Rig #4
Rig-floor guarding and emergency washing violations affirmed
OSHA cited Patterson Drilling for inadequate guarding at a rig-floor opening and inadequate emergency washing facilities where employees handled caustic soda. The opening was protected only by a sagging chain without a midrail, exposing employees to a 20-foot fall. Judge James H. Barkley found that…
Kenny Niles Construction Company
Trench citations reinstated after business closure
Kenny Niles Construction Company was investigated after a trench cave-in resulted in an employee's death. OSHA issued three willful citation items involving trenching hazards, but the sole proprietor had closed his businesses and no longer had employees before the citation was issued. An…
Joel Yandell, d/b/a Triple L Tower
Citations reinstated despite employer's cessation of business
Joel Yandell operated a tower-erection business whose three employees died in a fall while being lowered from a communications tower. He stopped operating the business after the incident, before OSHA issued willful and serious citations. An administrative law judge dismissed the case under prior…
In re Luis Felipe Cervantes-Gonzalez
Extreme hardship waiver denied
The Board reviewed a Mexican citizen’s appeal from the denial of a waiver of inadmissibility and adjustment of status. The respondent had used a fraudulent birth certificate and related documents, and he argued that deportation would cause extreme hardship to his United States citizen spouse. The…
Preston Trucking Company, Inc.
Late contest dismissed after citation was misplaced
Preston Trucking received an OSHA citation but filed its notice of contest well after the 15-working-day deadline. The terminal manager was on vacation when the citation arrived, and his secretary misplaced it. Preston argued that it took safety seriously, promptly abated the cited conditions, and…
West Suburban Recycling and Energy Center, L.P.
In re West Suburban Recycling and Energy Center, L.P. (EAB PSD Appeal No. 97-12): appeal dismissed as moot and permit denial remanded
West Suburban Recycling and Energy Center, L.P. sought review of an Illinois PSD permit for a proposed resource recovery facility in the Chicago-area villages of Summit and McCook. During the appeal, the company transferred the properties that made up the proposed project site and did not show that…
Cantera Green
Seventeen violations partly modified and affirmed
MSHA alleged 17 violations at Cantera Green, including unsafe access to crusher and conveyor equipment, guarding problems, electrical hazards, and a missing workplace examination record. The judge found the cited conditions were proven, but he rejected several unwarrantable-failure findings and…
Roosevelt Ezell v. Direct Labor, Incorporated and The Gray Insurance Company
Ezell v. Direct Labor (BRB 98-0826): boat travel and benefit issues returned for review
Roosevelt Ezell injured his back while riding a work boat from an inshore oil facility. The Board directed the administrative law judge to determine how regularly his job required boat travel or work on navigable water before deciding whether the Longshore Act covered him. It upheld the finding…
Carlos Bustillo v. Southwest Marine, Incorporated and Legion Insurance Company
Bustillo v. Southwest Marine (BRB 98-0824): unfiled injury report kept asthma claim timely
Shipyard worker Carlos Bustillo claimed that workplace exposure aggravated his asthma. His employer argued that he gave late notice and filed his claim beyond the occupational disease deadline. The Board upheld the administrative law judge’s finding that the employer had enough information about a…
In re Basil Uzoma Onyido
Attempted insurance fraud was an aggravated felony
The Board reviewed a Nigerian citizen’s appeal from an aggravated-felony deportability finding based on an Indiana insurance-fraud conviction. The respondent had submitted a false claim and attempted to obtain $15,000, but the insurance company did not pay the claim. The Board held that the…
Carson Energy Group, Inc.
In re Carson Energy Group, Inc. (EAB CAA Appeal No. 96-1): appeal withdrawn and dismissed with prejudice
Carson Energy Group, Inc. filed an administrative appeal with the Environmental Appeals Board under 40 C.F.R. Part 78. The company said it had reached a settlement with the Director of EPA's Acid Rain Division. The Board granted the motion to withdraw Appeal No. 96-1 and dismissed the appeal in its…
Hawaii Electric Light Company, Inc.
In re Hawaii Electric Light Company, Inc. (EAB PSD Appeal Nos. 97-15 through 97-23): motions for reconsideration denied
Hawaii Electric Light Company, Inc. sought review of conditions in a PSD permit for expanding its Keahole Generating Station in Hawaii. The Board's earlier order had denied review of some issues and remanded air-quality analysis issues to the Hawaii Department of Health. Hawaii Electric, Kawaihae…
In re Tanessia Amelia Pagan
Blood-test option required in paternity case
The Board reviewed a visa petition for Tanessia Amelia Pagan, whose claimed father sought preference status for her as a legitimated child. The Board held that proving paternity requires proof of a biological relationship, but does not require evidence of a separate personal relationship between…
In re Mauro Roldan-Santoyo
State rehabilitation did not erase conviction
The Board reviewed whether an Idaho court’s later vacatur of a guilty plea and dismissal of a drug case removed the conviction for immigration purposes. The respondent had pleaded guilty to possessing marijuana, received probation, and later obtained state rehabilitative relief. The Board held that…
U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Northwest Mountain Region, Renton, Washington and National Air Traffic Controllers Association
FAA Northwest Mountain Region (FLRA DE-CA-60714): comply with airport parking award
An arbitrator ordered the FAA to provide indoor parking for air traffic controllers at Denver International Airport, but the FAA did not obtain the spaces and filed no exceptions to the award. The Authority held that the award had become final and binding and that the FAA could not challenge its…
Midwest Minerals, Inc.
Mobile-equipment citation modified after fatal accident
MSHA cited Midwest Minerals after plant superintendent William Feathers was injured while starting a bulldozer and later died from those injuries. The citation was first issued under the machinery-maintenance standard and later modified to allege that the operator failed to maintain control of…
Newmont Gold Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Gregory R. Bennett alleged that Newmont Gold Company discharged him in retaliation for health and safety complaints at its Twin Creeks gold mine. Judge Jacqueline R. Bulluck found that Bennett did not prove he engaged in protected activity under the Mine Act. She also found that, even assuming a…
Social Security Administration Baltimore, Maryland and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO
Social Security Administration (FLRA WA-CA-50058): pay interest on delayed overtime award
The Social Security Administration delayed payments under two arbitration awards addressing employees wrongly classified as exempt from federal overtime law. For the Vaughn award, the Authority treated the agency’s settlement stipulation as an admission that it failed to comply on time. That unfair…
Clinchfield Coal Company
Coal-dust citation affirmed and penalties assessed
MSHA cited Clinchfield Coal Company after finding coal dust and loose coal accumulated around a conveyor belt at the McClure No. 2 underground coal mine. The Secretary also sought individual penalties against mine foreman Jack Whitten Ball and superintendent Roy Nelson Musick, alleging they…
Lodestar Energy, Inc.
Temporary reinstatement settlement approved
MSHA alleged that Lodestar Energy suspended and discharged Morris Thompson after he filed safety complaints. The parties settled the application for temporary reinstatement, with Lodestar agreeing to place Thompson in a bulldozer-operator position at the same pay while the underlying matter…
24th Combat Support Group, Howard Air Force Base, Republic of Panama and Unlicensed Division No.1, District No. 1 MEBA/NMU
Howard Air Force Base (FLRA DA-CA-20395): restore grievance rights for civilian employees
Howard Air Force Base in Panama stopped allowing nonpreference eligible excepted service employees to use the negotiated grievance and arbitration procedure for adverse actions. The Authority held that the base repudiated its collective bargaining agreement for both U.S. citizen and noncitizen…
U. S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, FCI Danbury, Danbury, Connecticut and American Federation of Government Employees, Council of Prison Locals, AFL-CIO, Local 1661
FCI Danbury (FLRA BN-CA-60527): restore negotiated shift times
FCI Danbury changed correctional officers’ shift starting and stopping times while a local labor agreement still set those hours. The Authority held that the prison repudiated the agreement and violated 5 U.S.C. § 7116(a)(1) and (5). It ordered the prison to restore the agreed hours for at least 75…
Internal Revenue Service, North Florida District, Tampa Field Branch, Tampa, Florida and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 87
IRS Tampa (FLRA AT-CA-70357): unsigned memorandum complaint dismissed
An IRS Tampa office and its union exchanged drafts of a memorandum of understanding, but they never resolved a signature and approval paragraph both sides considered material. The Authority agreed with the administrative law judge that the parties had not reached a full agreement. It therefore…
Federal Aviation Administration and National Air Traffic Controllers Association, MEBA/AFL-CIO and National Air Traffic Controllers Association, MEBA/AFL-CIO, Tampa Local and National Air Traffic Controllers Association, MEBA/AFL-CIO, ZJX Local and National Air Traffic Controllers Association, MEBA/AFL-CIO, Birmingham Local and National Air Traffic Controllers Association, MEBA/AFL-CIO, Mia Local and National Air Traffic Controllers Association, MEBA/AFL-CIO, Orf Local and National Air Traffic Controllers Association, MEBA/AFL-CIO, Roanoke Local and National Air Traffic Controllers Association, MEBA/ AFL-CIO, Zdc Local and National Air Traffic Controllers Association, MEBA/AFL-CIO, Salt Lake City TRACON Local and National Air Traffic Controllers Association, MEBA/AFL-CIO, Rdu Local
FAA (FLRA AT-CA-70058): provide union seniority records
FAA air traffic controller locals requested employee information to administer a seniority policy under their collective bargaining agreement. The FAA supplied none of the requested information, arguing in part that disclosure duties applied only during negotiations and that the policy itself was…
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 350 and U.S. Department of the Army, Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District, St. Louis, Missouri
Army Corps of Engineers (FLRA 0-NG-2400): accept emergency clause
A St. Louis Army Corps of Engineers labor agreement defined an emergency as a temporary threat to human life or property, including the Cannon Power Plant. The agency head disapproved the clause, arguing that any contractual definition of emergency restricted management’s right to act. The…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1917 and U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, New York, New York
INS New York (FLRA 0-NG-2319): inspector equipment proposal left to agency choice
The union proposed allowing immigration inspectors at JFK Airport to carry handcuffs and other approved protective equipment in more work areas, and firearms and radios during specified assignments. The Authority held that the blanket permission would excessively interfere with management’s…
U.S. Information Agency, Voice of America and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Local 1418
Voice of America (FLRA 0-AR-3075): uphold broadcast technician work award
Voice of America assigned analog radio broadcast work in Studio 47 and language production studios to employees outside the radio broadcast technicians’ unit. An arbitrator found that the work jurisdiction clause protected the technicians’ existing work even when VOA moved it to other rooms, and…
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Grand Rapids, Michigan and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 700
HUD Grand Rapids (FLRA 0-AR-3066): restore lost credit hours
A HUD employee was wrongly suspended from a flexible work schedule credit hours program after taking a break while earning credit hours. The arbitrator awarded the 239.96 hours she would have earned during the suspension, with no cash conversion and a limit of 24 awarded hours used per pay period…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 168 and U.S. Department of the Treasury, Customs Service, Port of Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Customs Service, Baton Rouge (FLRA 0-AR-3052): overtime grievance denied
Customs inspectors challenged the agency’s decision to stop midnight to 8 a.m. overtime vessel boarding without advance notice to the union. An arbitrator denied the grievance, and the Authority denied the union’s exceptions. The collective bargaining agreement gave the agency authority to…
Rawl Sales & Processing Co.
Beltline examination citation vacated
Rawl Sales operated an idle underground mine as a conduit for a conveyor belt carrying coal from another mine to a preparation plant. MSHA cited Rawl for not conducting an on-shift beltline examination during a period when no employees were working underground. Judge Jerold Feldman concluded that…
All Waste Environmental Services/North Atlantic
Hydroblasting lance-ejection hazard violated general duty clause
All Waste used high-pressure water to clear a blockage from a pipe at a paper mill. A pressurized cleaning lance unexpectedly exited the pipe, moved out of control, and seriously injured an employee. Judge Ann Z. Cook found that uncontrolled lance ejection was a recognized hydroblasting hazard…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R4-1 and U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval Weapons Station, Yorktown, Virginia
Naval Weapons Station Yorktown (FLRA 0-AR-3136): union exceptions denied
The union challenged an arbitration award involving Naval Weapons Station Yorktown. The Authority reviewed the record under 5 U.S.C. § 7122(a) and concluded that the union had not shown the award was contrary to law, rule, or regulation or otherwise deficient. It denied the union’s exceptions. This…
Louis Spitalieri v. Universal Maritime Services
Spitalieri v. Universal Maritime (BRB 98-743): hearing loss award survived benefit termination
Louis Spitalieri received temporary total disability benefits after workplace injuries, and his employer later sought modification when it contended he could return to work. The Board upheld the finding that his disability had ended. It rejected the judge’s retroactive termination date and credit…
Lee C. Gavranovic and Tommie L. Jones v. Mobil Mining and Minerals and Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania
Gavranovic and Jones v. Mobil Mining (BRB 98-741, 98-750): fertilizer plant workers covered
Lee Gavranovic and Tommie Jones worked at a fertilizer plant adjoining the Houston Ship Channel and each fractured a foot while working in a rail shipping building. Their employer argued that the building was outside Longshore Act coverage and that neither worker was performing maritime work when…
U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco, California and Laborers' International Union of North America, Local 1276
Golden Gate park ranger (FLRA 0-AR-3057): reassignment award upheld
The National Park Service disqualified a Golden Gate park ranger from law enforcement duties after she disclosed one earlier instance of marijuana use during a background interview, then reassigned her. An arbitrator found no just cause for the disqualification and ordered her restored to the law…
Central Washington Concrete, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Central Washington Concrete, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 99-102-M): Reopening request remanded
Central Washington Concrete asked to reopen a proposed penalty assessment after its management did not learn that the assessment had arrived before the 30-day contest deadline expired. The company said it intended to contest the penalty, and the Secretary did not oppose the request. The Commission…
J & C Mining, L.L.C.
Secretary of Labor v. J & C Mining, L.L.C. (FMSHRC KENT 99-61-D): Discrimination case settled for $1,000
The Secretary of Labor brought a discrimination case on behalf of Paul Middleton against J & C Mining under section 105(c) of the Mine Act. The parties reached a settlement after the hearing had begun and presented its terms on the record. Judge Avram Weisberger approved the settlement, ordered J &…
James Eddy, d/b/a Eddy Roofing, Inc.
Roofing safety violations affirmed and penalties reduced for size
OSHA inspected Eddy Roofing after a fatal fall from a roofing worksite about 40 feet above the ground. The company withdrew its contest to violations involving its safety program, fall-hazard training, roof edges, skylights, guardrails, warning lines, access, and hazard communication. Judge…
Consolidation Coal Company
Open personnel doors caused a significant and substantial methane hazard
MSHA found two personnel doors open at Consolidation Coal's Blacksville No. 2 underground coal mine while methane accumulated in the section, including a cavity with methane above the explosive range. Judge Avram Weisberger affirmed an imminent-danger withdrawal order and found that the open doors…
Stedco Mining, Incorporated
Individual penalties settled for $900
The Secretary sought individual civil penalties against foreman Paul R. Bryson and operator Steve Honaker for alleged knowing violations of mine safety standards. At the hearing, the Secretary withdrew some penalties and agreed to reduced penalties for the remaining orders. Judge Jacqueline R…
Denver Madden v. Gopher Mining Company
Madden v. Gopher Mining (BRB 98-0714): Black lung denial affirmed for lack of disability evidence
Denver Madden filed another black lung claim after a prior denial for lack of proof of total disability. A judge found that new medical evidence did not show a totally disabling respiratory condition and denied the later claim. Madden argued that the judge had overlooked his testimony about…
L. R. Willson & Sons, Inc.
Steel erector's tie-off program did not replace temporary-floor requirement
L. R. Willson erected structural steel for an Army medical center and used a strict 100 percent tie-off policy. An employee disregarded that policy and a direct instruction, climbed a column without being tied off, and died after falling about 80 feet. OSHA cited the company for failing to maintain…
Good Construction
Mixed result on four crusher safety violations
MSHA cited Good Construction's portable crusher for missing berms on an elevated access road and a feed-hopper ramp, and for missing reverse alarms on a fuel truck and a utility truck. Judge Richard W. Manning found violations for all but the fuel-truck citation, which he vacated because the…
Jericol Mining Incorporated
Settlement disapproved pending penalty support
Jericol Mining and the Secretary proposed reducing penalties for two alleged violations at the Darby Mine from $5,700 to $2,298. One matter concerned a disconnected methane-monitor module on a continuous mining machine, and the other concerned loose ribs along a haulage roadway. Judge Paul Merlin…
Joshua Coal Company
Two citations vacated and two affirmed
MSHA cited Joshua Coal Company's small surface coal operation for guarding, vehicle alarms, miner training records, and access to a fuel tank. Judge Jerold Feldman vacated the pump-guarding citation because the evidence did not show a reasonable possibility of inadvertent contact, and vacated the…
Armstrong Steel Erectors, Inc.
Incomplete bridge fall protection supported repeated violation
Armstrong Steel Erectors was constructing a bridge when an ironworker died after falling about 90 feet. The company required 100 percent tie-off but provided only one lanyard per worker and left gaps in its lifeline system, so workers could not remain tied off while moving through several areas…
Bollman Hat Company
In re Bollman Hat Company (EAB EPCRA Appeal No. 98-4): $8,166 penalty sustained
Bollman Hat Company admitted seven violations of EPCRA section 313 reporting requirements for toxic chemicals. The presiding officer assessed an aggregate $8,166 penalty, substantially below the $39,716 penalty proposed by EPA Region III. The Region appealed, arguing that the presiding officer…
Anderson Sand & Gravel
Five citations affirmed after loader accident
MSHA cited Anderson Sand & Gravel after a front-end loader accident in which the operator suffered broken ribs, a punctured lung, and head wounds. The citations concerned seat-belt use, preservation and reporting of the accident, the loader's pre-operational inspection, and an inoperable parking…
Jesse E. Murphy v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs
Murphy v. Director, OWCP (BRB 98-0675): Former counsel's black lung fee request reconsidered
Jesse Murphy eventually won black lung benefits through modification after earlier denials. His former lawyer sought $4,387.50 for work performed before the final benefit award, but a judge denied the fee because a later lawyer obtained the award. The Board held that a lawyer's earlier work may…
American Federation of Government Employees, Council of Prison Locals and U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Texarkana, Texas
FCI Texarkana (FLRA 0-AR-3099-001): reconsider attorney fees
An arbitrator found that FCI Texarkana had improperly given employees compensatory time instead of overtime pay and awarded backpay. He denied the union’s attorney fee request because it first appeared in a posthearing brief. The Authority held that the Back Pay Act allowed the arbitrator to…
Consolidation Coal Company
Withdrawal order affirmed with $6,000 penalty
MSHA found two personnel doors open at Consolidation Coal's Blacksville No. 2 underground coal mine while methane accumulated in the section, including a cavity with methane above the explosive range. Judge Avram Weisberger found a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.333(c)(3), affirmed the imminent-danger…
Ronnie Long Trucking
Safety complaint discharge found discriminatory
Robert D. Adkins worked as a coal truck driver for Ronnie Long Trucking. He reported that the front-end loader used to load his truck had brake and transmission problems, refused to operate it until it was repaired, and contacted an MSHA inspector. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found that Adkins was…
Rayburn Stacy v. Cheyenne Coal Company
Stacy v. Cheyenne Coal (BRB 98-0670): Untimely modification request was no new claim
Rayburn Stacy tried to modify a denied black lung claim and later sent new evidence. The judge found that the modification request arrived after the one-year deadline but treated the later submission as a new claim and denied it on the merits. The Board agreed that the modification request was…
Diversified Contractors, Inc.
In re Diversified Contractors, Inc. (EAB PSD Appeal No. 97-8): petition dismissed effective April 1, 1999
EPA Region IX moved to dismiss Diversified Contractors, Inc.'s petition for review as moot. The Region said the company's lease would expire, its operations had ceased, the Ak-Chin Indian Tribe was considering an ordinance affecting contaminated-soil treatment, the company appeared to have stopped…
Pacific Hide & Fur Depot, Inc. and Union Pacific Railroad Co.
In re Pacific Hide & Fur Depot, Inc. and Union Pacific Railroad Co. (EAB CERCLA 106(b) Petition Nos. 97-1 and 97-2): petitions dismissed with prejudice
Pacific Hide & Fur Depot, Inc. and Union Pacific Railroad Co. filed CERCLA section 106(b) petitions seeking reimbursement. The petitioners and the United States reached a settlement in a related matter involving response-cost claims, and a federal court in Idaho entered a consent decree…
F & E Erection Company
Two citations vacated, one $500 penalty assessed
F & E Erection Company, a division of CCC Group, faced three alleged safety violations at its alumina-processing work sites, with proposed penalties totaling $825 and an imminent-danger order involving an employee working on elevated steel beams. Judge Jerold Feldman vacated the citation for…
Donald Waugh v. Matt's Enterprises, Incorporated
Waugh v. Matt's Enterprises (BRB 98-0735): scrap hauler covered by the Longshore Act
Donald Waugh drove scrap metal from barges to a nearby storage field for Matt's Enterprises and regularly helped unload the barges. He was injured while a truck was being loaded at the field. The employer argued that he did not perform maritime work and that the field was outside the area covered…
Dillard Texas Operating Limited Partnership, and its successors
Floor and emergency-preparedness items affirmed
OSHA cited a Dillard's store for damaged floors and walls, locked or poorly fitting exits, emergency-planning deficiencies, inadequate fire-extinguisher training, machine guarding, and electrical conditions. Judge James H. Barkley affirmed an other-than-serious passageway violation because…
Dillard Department Store, Inc. d/b/a Dillard's, and its successors
Emergency-plan and delayed-exit sign items affirmed
Dillard's locked several customary store exits outside business hours, leaving two available exits more than 450 feet from some work areas. OSHA issued overlapping items requiring unlocked egress and procedures for opening the doors during an emergency. Judge James H. Barkley vacated the…
TraCorp Construction and its successors
Crane-rope and suspended-load violations affirmed
TraCorp's crew was erecting a building when a hoist cable broke and a falling steel truss killed an employee working beneath it. Judge Stanley M. Schwartz found that TraCorp was the employer because it assigned and paid the crew, supplied most tools, and controlled the work. The wire rope showed…
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.