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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In re B-A-S-, Respondent
In re B-A-S- (BIA ID 3350): foot injury did not excuse missed hearing
The Board reviewed an Indian respondent's motion to reopen an in absentia deportation proceeding after he missed his hearing because of a foot injury. It held that he had not shown exceptional circumstances because he provided no medical records or employer evidence, did not explain why he failed…
In re S-M-, Respondent
In re S-M- (BIA ID 3349): hearing-date confusion did not justify reopening
The Board reviewed a Gambian respondent's motion to reopen an in absentia deportation proceeding after he misread the handwritten hearing date on his notice. The majority held that he had not shown inadequate notice or exceptional circumstances because the date was legible, his explanations…
In re J-P-, Respondent
In re J-P- (BIA ID 3348): serious headache did not excuse missed hearing
The Board reviewed an unrepresented respondent's motion to reopen an in absentia deportation proceeding after he missed his hearing because of a serious headache. The majority held that he had not established exceptional circumstances because his statement lacked detail, he provided no medical or…
Suzin R. Bailey v. Pepperidge Farm, Incorporated
Bailey v. Pepperidge Farm (BRB 97-1156): additional payment assessment reversed
Suzin Bailey received permanent total disability benefits for an injury at a Godiva store operated by Pepperidge Farm under the District of Columbia extension of the Longshore Act. The district director calculated annual increases as though they had accrued during Bailey's earlier temporary…
Dumbarton Quarry Associates
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Anthony Saab alleged that Dumbarton Quarry Associates laid him off after he reported highwalls, road berms, and mobile-equipment concerns to MSHA. Judge Richard W. Manning found that Saab engaged in protected activity and presented enough evidence to require a response, but the operator showed that…
Engineered Construction Systems, Inc.
General contractor liable for subcontractor fall hazards
Engineered Construction Systems was the general contractor for a quick-lube building project in Colorado. OSHA observed masonry employees working on scaffolds more than 10 feet high without guardrails and workers near unguarded floor pits almost eight feet deep. The judge held the general…
Ketchikan Pulp Company
In re Ketchikan Pulp Company (EAB CWA Appeal No. 96-7): three discharge violations affirmed
Ketchikan Pulp Company operated a pulp mill in Alaska and discharged flocculent, sludge, and magnesium bisulfite, called cooking acid, into Ward Cove. The Board held that the company's NPDES permit did not shield it from liability for the flocculent and cooking-acid discharges because the company…
Columbia Power Trades Council and U.S. Department of Energy, Bonneville Power Administration, Portland, Oregon
Columbia Power Trades Council and Bonneville Power Administration (FLRA 0-NG-2261): Benefit offset wage proposal negotiable
The Columbia Power Trades Council proposed a wage increase tied to a survey comparing Bonneville Power Administration employees' fringe benefits with those at regional utilities. The Authority held that earlier bargaining over extra pay to offset lower benefits preserved the subject for bargaining…
U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Distribution Depot, Norfolk, Virginia and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local Lodge 97
Defense Distribution Depot Norfolk (FLRA 0-AR-2880): suspension award returned for clarification
A Defense Logistics Agency material handler challenged a 10-day suspension for statements made to his supervisor. The arbitrator ordered the agency to remove the disciplinary record and restore lost pay and benefits, but his award did not identify the law or contract provision that the agency…
Marvin E. Carmichael v. Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Discrimination claim remanded for proper analysis
Marvin E. Carmichael claimed that Jim Walter Resources suspended him after he refused to sign a task-training form stating that he had received training he had not completed. The Administrative Law Judge treated the case as a refusal to accept scoop training and dismissed the discrimination claim…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Donald E. Zecco v. Consolidation Coal Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Donald E. Zecco alleged that Consolidation Coal Company transferred him from a production section to a construction project in retaliation for safety complaints about methane, sulfur, and mine ventilation. Judge Gary Melick found that Zecco's complaints were protected activity, but he did not prove…
Processing Technologies, Inc.
Uncontested citations affirmed with penalties cut for good faith
Processing Technologies, Inc. was inspected by OSHA in August 1997 and issued a three-item serious citation plus one other-than-serious item. The company did not dispute that the violations happened; it only challenged the penalty amounts. The violations involved flammable materials stored within…
Walter Jensen, d/b/a S & W Construction
Willful steep-roof fall citations affirmed, one power-line item vacated
Walter Jensen, doing business as S & W Construction, ran residential roofing crews in New Hampshire. OSHA inspected two of his steep-roof jobsites about five weeks apart, both under the same foreman, and found roofers working high above the ground with no guardrails, nets, or personal fall arrest…
Jim Jackson v. Strachan Shipping Company
Jackson v. Strachan Shipping (BRB 97-1157): injury claim returned after intent ruling
Jim Jackson was injured when the work van he was driving hit a guard shack after he lost consciousness. He had a seizure disorder, and the judge denied benefits because Jackson drove despite medical restrictions. The Board held that the judge had misapplied rules for a later, intervening injury to…
Newmont Gold Company
Haul-truck and accident-report citations affirmed
A haul-truck driver at Newmont's Genesis Mine backed through a berm, the truck overturned, and the driver was hospitalized. Judge August F. Cetti found that the operator failed to maintain control of the mobile equipment and failed to submit the required accident report after the incident. The…
Secretary of Labor v. Blue Circle, Inc.
Settlement modification remanded
Blue Circle and the Secretary initially asked the judge to approve a $7,035 settlement and to sever a citation for consolidation with another case. Their later joint motion asserted that one docket had been omitted from the penalty calculation and asked to raise the amount to $8,806. The Commission…
American Federation of Government Employees, HUD Council of Locals 222, Local 2910 and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
HUD Council of Locals 222 (FLRA 0-NG-2350): field employees may compete for vacancies
HUD planned to reserve certain field office vacancies for employees moving out of its headquarters. The union proposed letting field office employees apply for those jobs through competitive procedures, with relocation benefits. The Authority held that expanding the applicant pool did not limit…
White Oak Mining and Construction, Inc.
Motion to dismiss denied
Randy Howell asked the judge to dismiss an individual civil-penalty proceeding based on delay between the underlying orders and notice of the proposed penalty. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found that MSHA adequately explained the investigation and review period. Howell did not show actual prejudice from…
White Oak Mining and Construction, Inc.
Motions to dismiss denied
White Oak and two individual respondents asked the judge to dismiss civil-penalty proceedings because of delay between the underlying orders and notice of proposed penalties. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found that MSHA adequately explained the investigation and review period. He also found that the…
Predex Corporation
In re Predex Corporation (EAB FIFRA Appeal No. 97-8): warning in lieu of penalty affirmed
Predex Corporation sold PRED-X ear tags for use in reducing losses of lambs and calves to predators. EPA treated the product as a pesticide based on its intended use and found that Predex sold an unregistered pesticide and produced it at an unregistered establishment. The presiding officer found…
Geo. Gradel Company
Training violation affirmed after a backhoe punctured a gas line
Geo. Gradel Company was an excavation contractor replacing a sewer line during a road-widening project in Ohio. A backhoe operator punctured an eight-inch high-pressure gas line where the sewer crossed it. The judge affirmed a serious training violation because Gradel had only told workers to be…
American Federation of Government Employees, Council 220 and Social Security Administration
AFGE Council 220 and Social Security Administration (FLRA 0-AR-2854): union officials’ sign-in rule upheld
The president of a Social Security Administration union local worked on full-time representational duty and had long used a union office without signing in and out. An arbitrator held that a later memorandum of understanding required daily sign-in and sign-out for union officials, and denied the…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Michael Brown v. Boogar Man Mining, Inc., Dema Coal Company, Inc., A & J Fuels, Inc., Barry Moore, and Freddie Hunter
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Michael Brown v. Boogar Man Mining, Inc. and others (FMSHRC KENT 97-317-D): discrimination finding enforced and settlement approved
Michael Brown alleged that Boogar Man Mining discharged him after he complained about unsupported roof and that company principals threatened and harassed him when he returned for his final paycheck. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon enforced a default decision finding discrimination, threats, intimidation…
Edward F. Green v. I.T.O. Corporation of Baltimore
Green v. I.T.O. Baltimore (BRB 97-1072): full shoulder wage loss restored
Edward Green injured his shoulder and ankle while working as a longshore climber for I.T.O. Baltimore. He received a scheduled award for the ankle injury, but the judge cut his separate shoulder wage-loss award in half to account for the ankle's effects. The Board held that the shoulder injury…
In re Susan Edith TORRES, Beneficiary of visa petition filed by Jose S. Torres, Petitioner
In re Susan Edith TORRES (BIA ID 3347): Peruvian legitimation supported visa petition
The Board reviewed a visa petition filed by a naturalized United States citizen for his daughter, who was born out of wedlock in Peru. It held that changes to Peruvian law placed children born out of wedlock in the same legal position as children born in wedlock when extramarital filiation was…
Anderson Columbia Co., Inc.
General contractor liable for subcontractor trench hazards
Anderson Columbia Co., Inc. was the general contractor on a Florida storm-drain project where a subcontractor performed the excavation work. OSHA found spoil and heavy equipment too close to the trench edge, no cave-in protection in an 18-foot-deep trench, inadequate access for workers to leave the…
R.W. Dunteman Co.
General contractor willfully ignored a subcontractor's trench hazard
R.W. Dunteman Co. was the general contractor on an Illinois road and underground construction project, while a subcontractor performed the below-grade work. Employees of the subcontractor worked in a trench more than six feet deep without adequate sloping, shoring, or a trench box. The judge found…
NE Hub Partners, L.P.
In re NE Hub Partners, L.P. (EAB UIC Appeal Nos. 97-3 and 97-4): permit review denied
NE Hub Partners, L.P. sought permits to construct and operate Class III solution-mining wells and Class I brine-disposal wells in Tioga County, Pennsylvania. Penn Fuel Gas, Inc. and CNG Transmission Corporation challenged the permits because the proposed wells would use the same geological…
American Federation of Government Employees, Council 220 and Social Security Administration, Baltimore, Maryland
AFGE Council 220 and Social Security Administration (FLRA 0-AR-2877): redeployment award returned to arbitrator
The Social Security Administration implemented a plan to move headquarters and regional employees into direct service jobs after bargaining with the union reached an impasse. An arbitrator rejected most of the union’s grievance, reasoning that the agency could change the existing agreement through…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Combustible accumulation citation affirmed
Jim Walter Resources was cited after coal and combustible material were placed in an active entry at its No. 7 Mine and then screened from view with a second ventilation curtain. The judge found that the accumulation had been in active workings for at least 24 hours before the curtain was…
Secretary of Labor v. Cyprus Emerald Resources Corporation
Motion to reopen denied as untimely
Cyprus Emerald Resources and the Secretary jointly asked the Commission to reopen a proceeding involving a citation that had been dismissed by an administrative law judge in 1994. The parties said the citation should have been severed and transferred to another docket, but they did not explain why…
Secretary of Labor v. Wayne R. Steen, employed by Ambrosia Coal & Construction Company
Secretary of Labor v. Wayne R. Steen (FMSHRC PENN 94-15): individual penalty reduced to $1,200
The Commission reviewed a civil penalty assessed against Wayne R. Steen for knowingly allowing a highlift with bad brakes to remain in service. It held that the judge improperly based the penalty on the combined finances of Steen and his wife when applying the individual penalty criteria. The…
Secretary of Labor v. Topper Coal Company, Inc.
Advance warning of inspection upheld
Topper Coal operated an underground Kentucky coal mine where its president warned miners that federal inspectors were on their way, despite being told not to give advance notice. The Commission affirmed that the warning violated section 103(a) of the Mine Act and upheld the $5,000 civil penalty…
Indian Health Service, Winslow Service Unit, Winslow, Arizona and Navajo Nation Health Care Employees, Local 1376, Laborers' International Union of North America
Indian Health Service Winslow Service Unit (FLRA DE-CA-60131): retaliation complaint dismissed
A public health nurse at the Indian Health Service's Winslow unit was detailed to another nursing department after taking part in union activity. An administrative law judge found that the activity influenced the detail, but also found that management would have made the same decision because of…
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Western New York Healthcare System, Buffalo, New York and Service Employees International Union, Local 200-C
VA Buffalo and SEIU Local 200-C (FLRA BN-CA-60305): switchboard contracting complaint dismissed
The VA's Buffalo medical center contracted out its telephone switchboard after an operator filed two grievances. The union alleged that the contracting decision retaliated against the employee for filing them. The administrative law judge found that VA management had begun exploring the change…
DDC Interiors, Inc.
Late contest denied after the citation was overlooked
DDC Interiors received an OSHA citation on November 5, 1997, but did not file its notice of contest until December 29, after the 15-working-day deadline. The company's vice-president explained that she and her assistant had been absent, the citation was overlooked on her desk, and a death in her…
Atlantic Casting & Engineering Corporation
Late notice of contest dismissed, citation becomes final
Atlantic Casting & Engineering Corporation received an OSHA citation by certified mail on July 30, 1997. Under the law, an employer has 15 working days to file a written notice of contest, or the citation and penalties become final automatically. Atlantic's deadline was August 20, 1997, but it did…
Windham Construction Corp.
Fall-protection and aerial-lift violations affirmed
Windham Construction Corporation was repairing structural steel beneath the Gowanus Expressway in New York. An OSHA officer saw an employee ride an aerial lift without tying off, climb onto the basket railing, and work between a shoring tower and a beam without fall protection. The judge credited…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1406 and U.S. Department of the Air Force, Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California
AFGE Local 1406 and Edwards Air Force Base (FLRA 0-AR-3012): reduced suspension upheld
The Air Force suspended a union representative for seven days after a confrontation with a supervisor. An arbitrator found misconduct but reduced the suspension to three days because the deciding official had relied in part on a separate confrontation omitted from the proposed suspension notice…
Social Security Administration, Branch Office, East Liverpool, Ohio and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3448
Social Security Administration East Liverpool (FLRA 0-AR-2954): future promotion upheld, advance pay set aside
An arbitrator found that the Social Security Administration failed to give an employee the priority consideration required by its agreement after earlier promotion errors. He ordered the agency to place her in the next available claims representative vacancy and pay her at the higher rate within 90…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2006 and Social Security Administration, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
AFGE Local 2006 and SSA Philadelphia (FLRA 0-AR-2887): suspension grievance award upheld
The Social Security Administration suspended an employee for one day after finding that she had missed work without following leave procedures or providing the required documentation. An arbitrator denied the union's grievance, and the union challenged the award. The Authority found that the family…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1557 and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Regional Office, Denver, Colorado
AFGE Local 1557 and VA Denver Regional Office (FLRA 0-AR-2879): compressed schedule grievance denied
The VA's Denver regional office and its local union proposed trying compressed work schedules under a local agreement. An arbitrator found that a national VA policy, negotiated with the union at the national level after an impasse, barred the local office from implementing the plan. The Authority…
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, New Orleans, Louisiana and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 210
FDA New Orleans and NTEU Chapter 210 (FLRA 0-AR-2861): office space remedy set aside
Four union stewards at the FDA's New Orleans office met off site during negotiated union time despite management's warning. Their absence charges were later withdrawn, but an arbitrator still had to decide whether the stewards could choose an off-site meeting without management's approval. He ruled…
Brian Forbes, Employed by Hamilton Rock Products
Motion to reopen denied
Brian Forbes asked the Commission to reopen an individual civil penalty assessment under section 110(c) of the Mine Act. He said he lacked actual notice because MSHA's certified mail was sent to addresses where he did not personally receive it. Judge Paul Merlin found that MSHA repeatedly sent…
Maurice E. Wilson v. Norfolk & Western Railway Company
Wilson v. Norfolk & Western Railway (BRB 97-1102): Longshore award survives earlier settlement
Maurice Wilson injured his back while moving coal railcars toward a ship-loading dock for Norfolk & Western Railway. He settled a separate Federal Employers' Liability Act lawsuit before seeking Longshore Act benefits. The Board held that the earlier settlement did not bar the Longshore claim or…
U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Commissary Agency, Fort Lee, Virginia and National Association of Government Employees, Local R4-45
Defense Commissary Agency and NAGE Local R4-45 (FLRA 0-AR-3019): overtime award set aside
Two Defense Commissary Agency employees worked more than six consecutive days when their scheduled workdays ran across two administrative workweeks. An arbitrator awarded overtime for the extra consecutive days. The Authority found that neither employee had worked more than 40 hours in an…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R12-44 and U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Long Beach, California
NAGE Local R12-44 and Defense Logistics Agency (FLRA 0-AR-2927): three-day suspension award upheld
The Defense Logistics Agency suspended a union president for three days over his attendance and time reporting around a training workshop. An arbitrator found that he lacked approval to attend a replacement session and denied the grievance. The union argued that the arbitrator considered the wrong…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R5-188 and U.S. Department of the Air Force, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, Goldsboro, North Carolina
NAGE Local R5-188 and Seymour Johnson Air Force Base (FLRA 0-AR-2921): reduced discipline award upheld
The Air Force suspended a nurse for three days over her response to a patient emergency and comments near patients. An arbitrator reduced the discipline to two reprimands, restored the nurse's lost pay and benefits, and split arbitration costs between the parties. The union challenged the remaining…
Clayton Chemical Acquisition, L.L.C. d/b/a Resource Recovery Group, L.L.C.
In re Clayton Chemical Acquisition, L.L.C. (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 98-1): appeal dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
Clayton Chemical Acquisition, L.L.C., doing business as Resource Recovery Group, L.L.C., and EPA Region 5 jointly asked the Environmental Appeals Board to dismiss the company's petition for review. They agreed that the appeal raised no federally appealable issues and therefore was outside the…
Michael P. Daul v. Petroleum Communications, Incorporated
Daul v. Petroleum Communications (BRB 97-1055): cellular vendor excluded from coverage
Michael Daul was injured on a barge while working as a cellular communications salesman for Petroleum Communications. He was receiving Louisiana workers' compensation benefits and sought benefits under the Longshore Act as well. The Board held that his employer sold cellular equipment and air time…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3615 and Social Security Administration, Office of Hearings and Appeals, Falls Church, Virginia
AFGE Local 3615 and SSA Office of Hearings and Appeals (FLRA 0-AR-3031): union exceptions denied
AFGE Local 3615 challenged an arbitration award involving the Social Security Administration's Office of Hearings and Appeals. The published decision does not describe the grievance, the award, or the union's specific objections. The Authority reviewed the record under 5 U.S.C. § 7122(a) and found…
U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Distribution Depot, San Diego, California and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1399
Defense Logistics Agency and AFGE Local 1399 (FLRA 0-AR-2898): agency exceptions denied
The Defense Logistics Agency challenged an arbitration award involving its San Diego depot and AFGE Local 1399. The official decision does not describe the grievance, the award, or the agency's specific objections. After reviewing the record under 5 U.S.C. § 7122(a), the Authority found no ground…
Universal Construction Company, Inc.
General contractor liable for aerial-lift hazards
Universal Construction Company, Inc. was the general contractor for a Missouri bank project. OSHA observed a subcontractor's employee working from an aerial lift without a body belt and attached lanyard, then climbing from the lift basket onto a nearby roof. Universal's own employees were not…
C & D European Stucco and Stone, Inc.
Scaffold and inspection items vacated
C & D European Stucco and Stone, Inc. installed insulation and stucco from scaffolding on a six-story motel project in Georgia. OSHA alleged that employees worked on unguarded scaffold areas and that a competent person had not made regular site inspections. The judge credited the employer's…
REB Enterprises, Inc.
Remand findings reduce unwarrantable-failure allegations
REB Enterprises and two employees were involved in six civil penalty matters remanded by the Commission for further analysis of alleged unwarrantable failure. Judge Avram Weisberger found the Secretary's hearsay evidence insufficient to establish aggravated conduct on the seat-belt and guarding…
S & F Concrete Contractors, Inc.
Fall citation affirmed with a reduced penalty
S & F Concrete Contractors, Inc. performed concrete formwork for a hotel parking garage in the Boston area. OSHA cited the company for failing to protect employees working on concrete beams near open sides and ends. The judge found that one open side lacked required midrail protection and that one…
Commercial Wall, Inc.
Willful fall violation affirmed at one motel site
Commercial Wall, Inc. supplied framing crews for motel projects in Galesburg and Knoxville, Illinois. At the Galesburg site, the judge found Commercial was the employer because it held the framing contract, paid the workers, covered workers' compensation, and retained the right to control the work…
National Labor Relations Board and National Labor Relations Board Union
NLRB and NLRB Union (FLRA 0-AR-2866): transfer award set aside
An NLRB employee sought a permanent transfer to Washington, D.C., but the agency hired a recent law graduate instead. An arbitrator found the choice violated the parties' transfer agreement and ordered the agency to offer the employee the next suitable Washington vacancy. The Authority rejected the…
Michigan Waste Systems, Inc.
In re Michigan Waste Systems, Inc. (EAB RCRA (3008) Appeal Nos. 97-1 and 97-2): appeals withdrawn after settlement
Michigan Waste Systems, Inc. and EPA Region V each asked the Environmental Appeals Board to withdraw a separate appeal because the matter had settled. The Board found good cause and granted both motions. It dismissed RCRA (3008) Appeal Nos. 97-1 and 97-2 with prejudice. The public release does not…
U.S. Penitentiary, Florence, Colorado and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1301
Florence Penitentiary and AFGE Local 1301 (FLRA DE-CA-60378): agreement distribution violation upheld
AFGE Local 1301 brought several complaints about how the Florence penitentiary handled its local labor agreement and union resources. The Authority adopted a judge's finding that the penitentiary violated the labor statute by refusing to implement the effective supplemental agreement and…
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.