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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Patent Office Professional Association and U.S. Department of Commerce, Patent and Trademark Office
Patent Office ethics proposals (FLRA 0-NG-2220): bargaining ordered on selected financial-disclosure rules
The Patent Office Professional Association proposed rules on patent examiners' financial disclosures and conflicts of interest. The Authority found several proposals within the duty to bargain, including methods for identifying conflicting holdings, time limits for divestiture, a timekeeping code…
National Treasury Employees Union and U.S. Department of Commerce, Patent and Trademark Office
Patent and Trademark Office contract terms (FLRA 0-NG-2159-001): bargaining and rescission ordered in part
NTEU challenged Patent and Trademark Office positions on four proposals and fourteen contract provisions. The Authority found all four proposals within the duty to bargain, including rules on removing certain reprimands, reopening contract provisions, and progressive discipline. It found nine…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 916 and Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Distribution Region West, Defense Distribution Depot Oklahoma
DLA Depot Oklahoma official time grievance (FLRA 0-AR-2868): arbitration exception dismissed as moot
AFGE Local 916 challenged an arbitrator's dismissal of a grievance over official time under a supplemental labor agreement. The agency argued that an earlier memorandum of agreement had resolved that grievance. The union relied on a different arbitration award to dispute the memorandum's validity…
U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Distribution Region West and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 916
DLA Tinker arbitration agreements (FLRA 0-AR-2859): arbitrability award set aside
An arbitrator found four grievances arbitrable after ruling that memoranda changing the grievance procedure were invalid. He believed a union signatory was only president of a local regional council and lacked authority to bind the nationwide union council. The Authority found that the signatory…
National Air Traffic Controllers Association and U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration
NATCA and FAA (FLRA 0-AR-2806): union arbitration exceptions denied
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association challenged an arbitration award involving the FAA. The Authority reviewed the record under the statutory grounds for setting aside an award and found none established. It specifically rejected the union's claim that the arbitrator failed to address…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R4-45 and U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Commissary Agency, Langley Air Force Base
Langley commissary part-time employees (FLRA 0-AR-2800): leave issue remanded
A union challenged an arbitration award denying full-time classification and additional benefits to part-time commissary employees who worked more than 32 hours a week. The Authority upheld the award's rejection of automatic reclassification and additional agency health-insurance contributions. It…
Indian Educators Federation, New Mexico Federation of Teachers and U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Albuquerque and Navajo Areas
BIA teachers' pay and leave (FLRA 0-AR-2746): arbitration award modified on leave and interest
The Indian Educators Federation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs challenged portions of an arbitration award over teachers' pay and leave practices. The Authority held that the agency could require converted teachers to use annual leave during school vacations, so it removed the arbitrator's…
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and American Federation of Government Employees, National Council of EEOC Locals No. 216
EEOC arbitrator selection (FLRA 0-AR-2433): award set aside after court remand
An arbitrator found that the EEOC violated its agreement with AFGE's Council of EEOC Locals by implementing a new performance appraisal system. The Authority had previously denied the EEOC's exceptions, but the case returned from a federal appeals court. On remand, the Authority held that the…
Thunder Basin Coal Company
Remand assessment sets $13,350 in penalties
Thunder Basin Coal Company was cited for refusing to post two United Mine Workers officials as miners' representatives and for failing to abate the resulting citation. The ALJ found the underlying violation non-serious and assessed a $350 penalty, while finding high negligence and no good-faith…
Teddy Bear, Inc.
Discrimination case settled with back pay and $3,000 penalty
Teddy Bear, Inc. terminated coal miner Billy D. Branham. The Secretary alleged that Teddy Bear fired him because he had made a safety complaint and refused in good faith to work in conditions he reasonably considered unsafe. The parties settled the discrimination proceeding, with Teddy Bear…
Consolidation Coal Company
Discrimination finding affirmed, penalty remanded
Consolidation Coal transferred two long-serving scooter barn mechanics, Richard Glover and Leon Kehrer, to underground mechanic positions after they exercised their rights as miners' representatives to accompany inspectors. The Commission affirmed the finding that the transfers violated the Mine…
AMAX Coal Company
Split Commission leaves unwarrantable-failure finding standing
AMAX Coal Company was cited after a line curtain at its Wabash Mine was left 55 to 60 feet from a working face, although the mine's ventilation plan required it to be within 40 feet. AMAX conceded the violation but contested whether it was significant and substantial and the result of unwarrantable…
Jesse J. Fox v. West State Incorporated and Eagle Pacific Insurance Company
Fox v. West State (BRB 96-1781/96-1781A): total disability award changed to partial benefits
Jesse Fox aggravated an earlier back injury while working as a machinist for West State. The judge awarded total disability benefits after finding that the employer had not shown suitable alternative work. The Board held that the employer's vocational evidence identified available jobs suited to…
Shoney's, Inc., d/b/a Captain D's
Kitchen receptacle citation vacated
Shoney's operated a Captain D's restaurant where employees cleaned the tiled kitchen floor daily with soapy and clean water. OSHA cited an electrical receptacle behind two fish fryers as unsuitable for a damp location under 29 C.F.R. § 1910.305(j)(2)(ii). The judge held that the standard was not…
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson, Arizona and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2924
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base (FLRA DE-CA-50248): refusal to resume contract talks unlawful
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base refused AFGE Local 2924's request to resume negotiations for a new agreement, saying an earlier agreement had renewed automatically. An administrative law judge found that the base had given notice in 1991 that prevented renewal and that the parties' conduct showed they…
Jose Perez v. International Terminal Operating Company
Perez v. International Terminal Operating (BRB 97-0261): unapproved settlement bars further benefits
Jose Perez received Longshore Act benefits after a back injury at International Terminal Operating Company. He later settled a lawsuit against a trucking company and obtained a partial waiver of the employer's compensation lien. The employer expressly declined to approve the settlement in writing…
Superior Custom Cabinet Company, Inc.
Cabinet-delivery fall citations affirmed
Superior Custom Cabinet Company delivered cabinets to houses under construction. A delivery worker carrying a cabinet upstairs stepped backward from an unguarded second-floor landing and died after the fall. The Commission found Superior's general instruction to avoid unsafe conditions too vague…
Harlan Cumberland Coal Company
Dust-sampling violations affirmed, penalties remanded
Harlan Cumberland Coal Company was cited after MSHA did not receive respirable coal dust samples that the operator was required to submit during bimonthly sampling periods. The Commission affirmed the violations under 30 C.F.R. §§ 70.207(a) and 70.208(a), holding that a sample must be received and…
John E. Porter v. Kwajalein Services, Incorporated and AIU North American, Incorporated
Porter v. Kwajalein Services (BRB 97-0212): approved settlement remains binding
John Porter, a pilot covered by the Defense Base Act, settled several work injury claims with Kwajalein Services for $100,000. After the judge approved the settlement, Porter sought to withdraw from it and reopen the hearing. The Board held that an approved settlement could not be rescinded…
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Newington, Connecticut and National Association of Government Employees, Local R1-109
VA Newington AWOL grievance (FLRA 0-AR-2769): agency exception dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
The VA charged an employee with absence without leave and later removed him. After the employee appealed the removal to the Merit Systems Protection Board and settled it, an arbitrator found his separate grievance over the absence charge arbitrable. The VA challenged that ruling, arguing that the…
In re Margarita Martinez-Gonzalez, Beneficiary of visa petition filed by Julian Martinez Minier, Petitioner
In re Margarita Martinez-Gonzalez (BIA ID 3329): visa petition relationship requirements
The Board reviewed a petitioner’s appeal from denial of a visa petition filed for his daughter, a citizen of the Dominican Republic. The Board accepted the evidence that he was her biological father, but held that she could not qualify as a legitimated child because she had turned 18 before the…
In re Waldy Miguel Bueno-Almonte, Beneficiary of Visa Petition filed by Miguel Angel Bueno, Petitioner
In re Waldy Miguel Bueno-Almonte (BIA ID 3328): delayed birth certificate did not prove paternity
The Board reviewed a lawful permanent resident's appeal after a visa petition for his son was denied. The Board held that a beneficiary seeking classification as a legitimated child must be the petitioner's biological child, and that a birth certificate registered seven years after birth did not…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 2148 and U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque surface mining office (FLRA 0-NG-2293): staffing petition dismissed
NFFE Local 2148 proposed adding or filling positions at the Office of Surface Mining's Albuquerque field office during a reduction in force. The Authority found that three proposals concerned the number of employees or positions assigned to an organizational subdivision, so bargaining over them was…
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Kansas City District and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 254
FDA Kansas City District (FLRA 0-AR-2782): agency must review performance awards
At the FDA's Kansas City District, a director considered only employees rated outstanding for performance awards and excluded all employees rated excellent. An arbitrator found that blanket exclusion violated the collective bargaining agreement and ordered awards for employees who otherwise would…
Fort Scott Fertilizer-Cullor, Inc.
Two $10 penalties reinstated after remand
Fort Scott Fertilizer-Cullor and employee James Cullor were involved in proceedings concerning defective brakes on two haulage trucks. The Commission had reinstated the citations and remanded for analysis of the six penalty criteria after the ALJ initially vacated the citations based on alleged…
Halmar Corp. and DeFoe Corp., a Joint Venture
Power-line crane penalties assessed separately
Halmar Corp. and DeFoe Corp. used a crane to place concrete catch basins along the New York Thruway. While the crane backed about 400 feet with its boom fully extended, the boom contacted an overhead electrical line and an employee was electrocuted. The Commission found that the foreman knew or…
Akzo Salt Company, Inc.
Damages and penalty ordered after discrimination finding
Akzo Salt Company, Inc. was ordered to pay damages after the parties stipulated to the amount owed to complainant James Rieke in a Mine Act discrimination proceeding. Judge Gary Melick ordered Akzo to pay Rieke $2,542.04 in damages and to pay MSHA a $2,000 civil penalty within 30 days. The order…
Johnson Building Corporation
General contractor inspection and training violations affirmed
Johnson Building Corporation was the general contractor for a retail construction project in Canton, Ohio. OSHA observed subcontractor employees working on trusses, scaffolds, and a platform without fall protection, as well as incomplete scaffolding, unsecured ladders, and work without head…
Mobile Premix Concrete, Inc.
Sand hoppers held to be permit-required confined spaces
Mobile Premix Concrete operated below-ground sand and gravel hoppers that fed material onto a conveyor. An employee was buried in a sand hopper and died, and OSHA cited the company for failing to treat the hoppers as permit-required confined spaces. The Commission found that a live hopper limited…
Daniel A. Mickelsen, an Individual, d/b/a M-L Masonry
Unguarded scaffold item affirmed
M-L Masonry removed scaffold guardrails while lowering a work platform about 16 feet above the ground. The judge found that employees on the platform were exposed to a fall hazard and that the guardrail requirement continued to apply during lowering and dismantling unless compliance became…
G-MAC Construction Company, Inc.
Willful scaffold citations reduced to serious, penalties cut sharply
G-MAC Construction Company, Inc. was the stucco subcontractor on a Comfort Inn project in Omaha, Nebraska, and in turn subcontracted the work to Eucardo Molina, whose crew worked from a 40-foot scaffold with no guardrails and climbed the frame to get on it. G-MAC argued Molina was an independent…
McNeilly Logging
Danger-tree and backcut citations affirmed against Montana logger
McNeilly Logging was cutting timber at the Dirty Ike Timber Sale in Montana when OSHA inspected following an accident. A sawyer, Michael Boehm, was seriously injured when a dead standing "snag" toppled and struck him while he was cutting a felled larch; he and a coworker had tested the snag…
Bruschi Brothers, Inc.
Most trenching citations affirmed, one vacated in sewer-line excavation case
Bruschi Brothers, Inc., a general contractor, was installing a sewer line in a roughly 13-to-15-foot-deep trench in Chicopee, Massachusetts, when OSHA inspected and found four employees working in it. OSHA issued several serious citations for failing to train workers on trenching and confined-space…
Norton Crushed Stone
Settlement approved with $22,153 penalty
Norton Crushed Stone and Marvin D. Carlisle faced four Mine Act civil penalty proceedings involving the Norton Development and Tull Pit operations. The parties asked the judge to approve a settlement reducing the total penalties from $48,306 to $22,153. Judge Avram Weisberger found the settlement…
Consolidation Coal Company
Failure-to-abate order vacated after invalid dust sample
Consolidation Coal challenged a withdrawal order issued after MSHA alleged that the operator had not abated a respirable-dust citation at the Robinson Run No. 95 Mine. The underlying citation was based on samples averaging more than the applicable dust limit, and later samples were used to…
Fort Scott Fertilizer - Cullor, Incorporated
Brake findings affirmed and penalties remanded
Fort Scott Fertilizer - Cullor was cited after two haulage trucks were found with defective brakes at its limestone quarry. The Commission affirmed the findings that the violations were not caused by Fort Scott's unwarrantable failure and that James Cullor was not personally liable under the Mine…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R1-109 and Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Newington, Connecticut
VA Newington medical center (FLRA 0-NG-2241): one detail proposal requires bargaining
The VA planned to detail a nuclear medicine technician from Newington to West Haven for six weeks to reduce a scan backlog. The union submitted eleven proposals about selecting the employee, travel, pay, and timing. The Authority ordered bargaining on Proposal 5, which offered a choice of vehicle…
Basin Resources, Inc.
Mixed citation results with $25,601 penalty
Basin Resources contested penalties for safety violations at the Golden Eagle Mine, including ventilation, guarding, escapeway, roof-control, and coal-dust conditions. Judge Richard W. Manning vacated one citation, affirmed most of the remaining findings, modified one unwarrantable-failure order to…
U.S. Department of the Navy, Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California and Federal Employees Metal Trades Council, Local 127
Mare Island Naval Shipyard (FLRA 0-AR-2817): backpay award returned for clarification
A pipefitter challenged his separation during a reduction in force at Mare Island Naval Shipyard. An arbitrator sustained the grievance and awarded backpay and other relief, but did not say whether the backpay rested on improper reduction-in-force procedures or disability discrimination. The…
Boogar Man Mining, Inc., Dema Coal Company, Inc., A & J Fuels, Inc., Barry Moore, and Freddie Hunter
Temporary reinstatement ordered
Michael D. Brown alleged that he was discharged from work at the No. 1 mine after raising safety concerns about working under unsupported roof. The Secretary of Labor applied for his temporary reinstatement under the Mine Act's discrimination provision. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found that the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 987 and Nedra T. Bradley
AFGE Local 987 (FLRA AT-CO-31253): union discipline complaint dismissed
An earlier Authority order required AFGE Local 987 to offer former member Nedra Bradley readmission after the union improperly rejected her application. The union later disciplined her over conduct alleged to have occurred while she was a member, and a new complaint challenged that discipline. The…
Midwest Masonry, Inc.
Repeat scaffold access and guardrail citations affirmed, penalties reduced
Midwest Masonry, Inc. was building a masonry wall in Kearney, Nebraska, when an OSHA compliance officer driving past videotaped workers climbing down a scaffold frame and working on an unguarded platform. OSHA issued two repeat citations, one for failing to provide a ladder or equivalent safe…
In re Hiwote Yewondwosen, Respondent
In re Hiwote Yewondwosen (BIA ID 3327): Service joinder allowed remand despite missing application
The Board reviewed a respondent's timely appeal from a decision denying relief from deportation. During the appeal, she moved to remand so she could apply for adjustment of status, but she did not submit the required application with the motion. The Board held that when the Immigration and…
C & S Erectors, Inc.
Civil case stayed during criminal investigation
OSHA cited C & S Erectors after an employee died in a fall, proposing penalties totaling $396,200. The Department of Justice then opened a criminal investigation of alleged willful violations that caused the death and asked the Secretary to seek a stay of the civil case. The administrative law…
Monadnock Erectors, Inc.
Steel-erection safety-net citation affirmed from the bench
Monadnock Erectors, Inc., a New Hampshire steel erector, was cited for a single serious violation after employees erected steel more than 30 feet above the ground without safety nets. The cited standard requires safety nets when work is more than 25 feet up and ladders, scaffolds, catch platforms…
Indian Educators Federation, New Mexico Federation of Teachers and U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Albuquerque and Navajo Areas, Albuquerque, New Mexico
BIA Zia Day School (FLRA 0-AR-2729): contract nonrenewal grievance remains outside arbitration
A Zia Day School teacher challenged the nonrenewal of his fixed-term contract through the union's grievance procedure. An arbitrator ruled that the grievance was outside that procedure. After a Federal Circuit decision established that the dispute concerned contract nonrenewal rather than a covered…
Tresca Brothers Sand and Gravel, Inc.
Settlement approved after default order vacated
Tresca Brothers Sand and Gravel failed to respond to an earlier show-cause order, and the judge issued a default order directing payment of the proposed penalties. The judge later found that the operator had timely communicated that the matter had settled, so he vacated the default and reopened the…
Tresca Brothers Sand and Gravel, Inc.
Settlement approved after default vacated
Tresca Brothers Sand and Gravel failed to respond to an earlier show-cause order, and the judge issued a default order directing payment of the proposed penalties. The judge later found that the operator had timely communicated that the matter had settled, so he vacated the default and reopened the…
Thunder Basin Coal Company
Penalty assessment vacated and remanded
Thunder Basin Coal Company disputed penalties arising from its refusal to post a notice designating miners' representatives at the Black Thunder Mine. After the ALJ assessed a total penalty of $1,300, the Commission held that the judge had not adequately applied the Mine Act's penalty criteria…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1997 and U.S. Department of the Air Force, 934th Air Reserve Base, Minneapolis, Minnesota
934th Air Reserve Base (FLRA 0-AR-2801): technician pay claim returned for findings
An Air Force Reserve technician accepted a lower-grade civilian job when mandatory separation from the Reserve ended his eligibility for his former position. An arbitrator denied his request to retain the old pay rate. The Authority agreed that the statutory reduction-in-force pay provisions did…
U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Standiford Air Traffic Control Tower, Louisville, Kentucky and National Air Traffic Controllers Association, Local SDF
Standiford air traffic tower (FLRA CH-CA-50496, CH-CA-50497): facility agreement must be implemented
FAA management and the air traffic controllers' union met over the design and layout of a planned facility at Louisville's Standiford tower. They agreed on a plan that included a multipurpose room, but the tower manager later refused to sign the memorandum and the FAA planned to remove the room. An…
Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Sacramento and Ukiah District Office, and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 951
BLM Sacramento and Ukiah (FLRA SF-RP-60044): review granted on successorship election
A regional director amended a bargaining-unit certification and directed an election in a case involving Bureau of Land Management offices in Sacramento and Ukiah. The agency sought review, arguing that established law or policy warranted reconsideration. The Authority granted review on whether an…
Triple J Construction
Repeat residential fall-protection violations affirmed
Triple J Construction had three workers removing shingles and tar paper from a steep residential roof about 12 feet above the ground without required fall protection. The company also lacked a training program for workers exposed to fall hazards and had previously received final citations for the…
Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Hampton, Virginia and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2328
Hampton VA medical center (FLRA WA-CA-30881): subpoenaed union representative receives leave restoration
A union representative at the Hampton VA medical center was subpoenaed to testify at an FLRA unfair labor practice hearing. The medical center denied her official time, so she used annual leave to attend. The Authority upheld the judge's finding that this refusal violated the federal labor statute…
In re Sergio Manolo Pineda-Castellanos, Respondent
In re Sergio Manolo Pineda-Castellanos (BIA ID 3326): IIRIRA restrictions applied after reopening
The Board reviewed a respondent's appeal from denial of a motion to reopen deportation proceedings. The respondent, a lawful permanent resident with aggravated felony convictions, sought reopening to apply for adjustment of status together with a waiver under section 212(h) of the Immigration and…
Franklin E. Skepton Contractor, amended to Skepton Contracting Inc.
Hard-hat and LP-gas items affirmed
Skepton was a prime contractor on a middle-school construction project. The judge affirmed a repeat hard-hat violation after the superintendent walked near a moving backhoe without head protection, finding he had access to a possible impact hazard. She vacated an eye-protection item because Skepton…
Department of the Army, Headquarters, Fort Dix; International Brotherhood of Police Officers; and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1999
Fort Dix civilian police (FLRA BN-RO-60016): election vacated for union representation review
A regional director ordered an election for civilian police officers at Fort Dix between a new union and no representation, excluding AFGE Local 1999. The Authority held that the officers already fell within AFGE's certified bargaining unit because their positions met its written description and…
U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Cumberland, Maryland and American Federation of Government Employees, Council of Prisons Local 4010
Cumberland federal prison (FLRA 0-AR-2881): officer's suspension rescission upheld
During a prison lockdown, a correctional officer focused on processing arriving inmates while multiple cell distress alarms sounded. After an inmate needed medical attention, the prison suspended the officer for three days for failing to check the alarms regularly. An arbitrator found that the…
Guardian Industries Corp.
In re Guardian Industries Corp. (EAB PSD Appeal Nos. 97-9 and 97-10): petitions dismissed with prejudice
Citizens' Environmental Coalition and Peter Goodman petitioned for review of a PSD permit issued to Guardian Industries for construction of a flat glass plant in Geneva, New York. The parties engaged in settlement negotiations and reported that all issues had been resolved. The petitioners then…
In re Christopher John Dillingham, Respondent
In re Christopher John Dillingham (BIA ID 3325): foreign expungement did not erase drug inadmissibility
The Board reviewed a British respondent's appeal from denial of adjustment of status and voluntary departure. It held that expungement of a foreign drug conviction under a foreign rehabilitation law did not prevent a finding of inadmissibility, even though the respondent might have qualified for…
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.