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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Buck Creek Coal, Inc.
Default judgment affirmed with $9,407 penalty
Buck Creek Coal, Inc. failed to respond to discovery requests, an order compelling a response, and a later motion for default. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found the company in default and affirmed the listed citations. The decision states that the proceedings had previously been stayed while criminal…
Buck Creek Coal, Inc.
Default judgment affirmed with $4,628 penalty
Buck Creek Coal, Inc. failed to respond to discovery requests, an order compelling a response, and a later motion for default. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found the company in default and affirmed the listed citations. The decision states that the proceedings had previously been stayed while criminal…
Buck Creek Coal, Inc.
Default judgment affirmed with $7,344 penalty
Buck Creek Coal, Inc. failed to respond to discovery requests, an order compelling a response, and a later motion for default. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found the company in default and affirmed the listed citations and orders. The decision states that the proceedings had previously been stayed while…
Federal Aviation Administration, SeaTac Airport, Seattle, Washington and National Air Traffic Controllers Association
FAA SeaTac Airport and NATCA (FLRA 0-AR-2824): asbestos medical-surveillance grievance denied
During airport remodeling, a contractor removed a wall and cut a doorway in areas where asbestos-containing material was found. The air traffic controllers' union sought employer-paid medical surveillance for employees, but an arbitrator denied the grievance. The Authority agreed that EPA guidance…
Austin Powder Company
ALJ decision vacated and remanded
Austin Powder Company and Bruce Eaton sought review of an ALJ decision that affirmed a citation as issued under section 104(d)(1) of the Mine Act. The record attached to the Secretary's penalty assessment showed that the citation had later been modified to charge a section 104(a) violation and that…
Consolidation Coal Company
Emergency-brake order affirmed with $4,000 penalty
Consolidation Coal Company contested two withdrawal orders at the Loveridge No. 22 Mine. One order involved a settlement for a $1,800 penalty, and the judge accepted that settlement. The other concerned an underground scoop whose emergency parking brakes had substantial gaps and could not function…
New Warwick Mining Company
Coal-dust citations affirmed as significant and substantial
New Warwick Mining Company was cited after an inspection found coal-dust accumulations at five belt transfer stations along an overland conveyor at Warwick Mine. On remand from the Commission, Judge George A. Koutras considered whether the accumulations were reasonably likely to contribute to an…
Christman Quarry
Citation affirmed, penalty reduced to $1
Christman Quarry was cited after a bulldozer operator was fatally injured when the bulldozer moved while unattended. The judge found that the machine had not been left with its controls in park and its parking brake set, violating 30 C.F.R. § 56.14207. Because the precise cause and circumstances…
Cedar Coal Company Inc.
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Steve Baker claimed Cedar Coal Company fired him after he stopped operating a loader because its heater and defroster did not work. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found that Baker stopped work because he was cold, not because he communicated a safety concern, and that his account was not supported by the…
Manalapan Mining Co.
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Prabhu Deshetty alleged that Manalapan Mining Company discharged him because he raised safety concerns about mine ventilation fan stoppages, permissible pumps, and a county-owned bridge used to access the mine. Judge Gary Melick found that the complaints were protected activity and that the bridge…
West Suburban Recycling and Energy Center, L.P.
In re West Suburban Recycling and Energy Center, L.P. (EAB PSD Appeal Nos. 95-1 and 96-1): federal permit decision remanded
West Suburban Recycling and Energy Center, L.P. sought federal Prevention of Significant Deterioration permits for a proposed municipal solid waste facility in Illinois. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency had denied permit applications on state-law grounds, while the Environmental Appeals…
All American Asphalt
ALJ decision vacated and remanded
All American Asphalt operated an asphalt plant, a quarry, and a plant producing rock-based aggregates in California. Employees reported missing guards, ladders, catwalks, decks, handrails, and trip cords, and gave MSHA a videotape of the plant. The Commission vacated the ALJ's decision because it…
U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Medical Facility for Federal Prisons and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1612
Bureau of Prisons medical facility and AFGE Local 1612 (FLRA O-AR-2709): reconsideration denied
The Bureau of Prisons sought reconsideration after the Authority upheld an arbitrator's order replacing two negative entries in a corrections officer's performance log. The agency again disputed the arbitrator's authority to consider its inmate-discipline regulation and argued that the Authority…
Ketchikan Pulp Company
In re Ketchikan Pulp Company (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 95-6): review denied for permit challenges
Ketchikan Pulp Company sought review of the partial denial of an evidentiary hearing request concerning its renewed NPDES permit for a pulp mill in Ketchikan, Alaska. The company challenged the absence of a mixing zone, seasonal biochemical oxygen demand and dissolved oxygen limits based on a…
Consolidation Coal Company
Work-refusal discrimination ruling remanded
Consolidation Coal Company disciplined three miners after they refused to restore power following a fan stoppage because they were concerned that methane could have accumulated in unexamined escapeways. The Commission held that their safety concerns were initially in good faith and reasonable, and…
U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Chicago District Office and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2718
INS Chicago District and AFGE Local 2718 (FLRA CH-CA-40189): smoking-policy bargaining case remanded
The INS Chicago District stopped employees from smoking in front of its building, and the union sought negotiations about the policy. The parties resolved a related issue about gathering at the entrance but did not agree on indoor smoking. After the Federal Service Impasses Panel declined the…
Gem Industrial, Inc.
Fall item affirmed as serious, not repeated
Three GEM ironworkers performed detailing work on beams about 31 feet above the ground without fall protection. The Commission found that GEM had a communicated tie-off rule, but its repeated oral warnings were ineffective, its progressive discipline was not followed, and its monitoring was…
Southern Minerals, Inc., True Energy Coal Sales, Inc., and Fire Creek, Inc.
Settlement approved and proceedings dismissed
Southern Minerals, True Energy Coal Sales, and Fire Creek were involved in proceedings arising from a fatal explosion at Fire Creek No. 1 Mine in West Virginia. The consolidated cases involved 102 contests of citations and orders and 101 alleged violations, with proposed penalties totaling…
In re Stanislaw PILCH, Respondent; In re Sofia PILCH, Respondent
In re Stanislaw and Sofia PILCH (BIA ID 3298): extreme hardship not shown for Polish couple and children
The Board reviewed a Polish couple's appeal from the denial of suspension of deportation. They had three United States citizen children, a home, and a construction business, and argued that deportation to Poland would cause financial, family, and cultural hardship. The Board held that the evidence…
U.S. Steel Mining Co., Inc.
Citation for partially removed emergency stop control vacated
U.S. Steel Mining operated the Gary No. 50 Mine in West Virginia. MSHA cited the company after an inspector found that an emergency stop cord on a Long-Airdox feeder had been wrapped around the switch box and disconnected. Judge Jerold Feldman found that the Secretary had not shown the feeder was…
Dos Republicas Resources Co., Inc.
In re Dos Republicas Resources Co., Inc. (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 96-1): evidentiary hearing review denied
Dos Republicas Resources Co., Inc. sought an NPDES permit for the Eagle Pass Mine, a proposed surface coal mine in Maverick County, Texas. Environmental groups requested an evidentiary hearing about the Region's analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act…
Asarco, Inc.
Settlement motion denied without prejudice
The parties asked the Commission to approve a settlement resolving Asarco's contest and discrimination proceedings, including a discrimination claim by David Hopkins. The proposed settlement would have paid Hopkins $15,000 and reduced an $800 civil penalty to $500. The Commission denied the motion…
International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 49 and U.S. Department of the Army, Army Corps of Engineers, South Pacific Division
IFPTE Local 49 and Army Corps South Pacific Division (FLRA 0-NG-2233): project-manager job series outside bargaining duty
During a reorganization, the union proposed that all 12 non-supervisory project manager positions be designated as interdisciplinary positions. The Army Corps planned to classify most of them in specific engineering job series. The Authority found that the proposal would require the agency to…
U.S. Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, North Pacific Division and United Power Trades Organization
Army Corps North Pacific Division and UPTO (FLRA 0-AR-2727): Sunday premium-pay award set aside
The Army Corps stopped paying Sunday premium pay to certain prevailing-rate employees after the Department of Defense Wage Fixing Authority changed their wage schedule. An arbitrator held that the labor agreement preserved the premium and ordered reinstatement and backpay. The Authority concluded…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1917 and U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service
AFGE Local 1917 and INS (FLRA 0-AR-2724): dress-code grievance barred by earlier charge
AFGE Local 1917 grieved changes to dress-code practices at an INS office. An arbitrator dismissed the grievance because the union had already filed an unfair labor practice charge over the same changes. The Authority found that both filings arose from the same facts and advanced substantially…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3302 and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration
AFGE Local 3302 and Social Security Administration (FLRA 0-AR-2723): manager's garage-space use upheld
After an office move, a district manager used a garage space addressed in a union-management parking agreement. The union argued that the space was reserved for bargaining-unit employees, but an arbitrator found that the agreement did not exclude management use. The Authority upheld that reading…
Phelps Dodge Morenci, Inc.
Dismissal order vacated and discrimination case remanded
Clyde Perry alleged that Phelps Dodge Morenci retaliated against him after he complained that his medical condition made operating heavy equipment unsafe. An ALJ dismissed his discrimination complaint for failure to state a claim. The Commission vacated that dismissal because Perry had alleged…
U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration and National Air Traffic Controllers Association
FAA and NATCA (FLRA 0-AR-2739): night-pay award for unworked flexitime hours set aside
An arbitrator ordered the FAA to pay air traffic controllers a night differential for scheduled evening hours they did not work after choosing earlier start times under a flexitime system. The Authority held that federal pay law and the flexible-schedule regulation authorized the differential only…
Bureau of Indian Affairs, Uintah and Ouray Area Office, Fort Duchesne, Utah and National Federation of Federal Employees, Council of Consolidated Bureau of Indian Affairs Locals
BIA Uintah and Ouray Area Office and NFFE (FLRA DE-CA-40757): refusal to provide birth dates violated information duty
A union requested the dates of birth of seven employees to obtain state driving records while preparing a grievance over another employee's removal after a government-vehicle accident. The Authority held that the request was sufficiently tied to comparing discipline and that the information was…
MBH Builders, Inc.
Review petition dismissed after no brief was filed
The judge entered a default judgment against MBH Builders and affirmed the citations and proposed penalties. MBH petitioned the Commission for discretionary review but did not respond to the briefing notice. A later certified-mail order requiring the company to file its brief was returned…
Buck Creek Coal, Inc.
Default entered and citations affirmed
Buck Creek Coal operated the Buck Creek Mine and faced 188 alleged violations with proposed penalties totaling $44,367. After the company failed to answer discovery requests, an order compelling responses, and the Secretary's motion for default, Judge Roy J. Maurer entered default. He affirmed the…
Day Branch Coal Company
Contest proceedings dismissed as moot
Day Branch Coal Company and Bobby Joe Hensley contested a group of citations and orders from Mine No. 9. They did not file contests to the Secretary's proposed penalty assessments, which were sent in two groups in January and September 1995. Judge Roy J. Maurer ruled that the proposed assessments…
Hollow Contracting, Inc.
30 citations affirmed, 3 vacated
Hollow Contracting operated a small portable rock-crushing facility in Montana. The ALJ considered 33 alleged violations involving reporting, machinery, electrical equipment, emergency procedures, and other mine conditions. The decision affirmed 30 citations, vacated 3 citations, and assessed total…
Western Fuels-Utah, Inc.
Citation affirmed for missing insulation over power cables
Western Fuels operated the Deserado underground coal mine in Colorado. During an inspection, MSHA found that a communication cable crossed over medium-voltage power cables without additional insulation at the crossing. The Commission held that 30 C.F.R. § 75.516-2(c) clearly requires additional…
Josh Nelson v. American Dredging Company and Signal Mutual Insurance Company
Nelson v. American Dredging (BRB 96-0360): beach work fell outside Longshore Act coverage
Josh Nelson injured his back while operating a bulldozer for a beach restoration project. He sought Longshore Act benefits after the employer had voluntarily paid some temporary disability benefits. The Board upheld the administrative law judge's finding that the unimproved beach was not an area…
Linda D. Stone v. Ingalls Shipbuilding, Incorporated
Stone v. Ingalls Shipbuilding (BRB 96-358): office clerical exclusion upheld
Linda Stone worked at Ingalls Shipbuilding, mostly in an office trailer ordering and tracking shipbuilding materials and preparing paperwork. She sought Longshore Act benefits after two injuries at or near the shipyard. The administrative law judge denied her claims under the Act's exclusion for…
James M. Ray, employed by Leo Journagan Construction
EAJA fee application denied
James M. Ray sought attorney fees and litigation expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act after the Secretary brought Mine Act charges against him individually. The underlying case involved employees working around a crusher and removing rocks from a hopper, including alleged failures to…
Frances Shaffer v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs
Shaffer v. Director, OWCP (BRB 95-2083): Trust Fund attorney fee reduced
Frances Shaffer's lawyer was awarded a fee for work on a black lung claim, with the Trust Fund responsible for payment. In an earlier Board decision, the hourly rate had been increased to account for delay in payment. On reconsideration, the Board held that this increase functioned as interest…
Bobby Joe Hensley and Day Branch Coal Company
Contest proceedings dismissed
Bobby Joe Hensley and Day Branch Coal Company contested numerous proposed civil penalties involving Kentucky mines. The Secretary moved to dismiss because the contestants did not request hearings after receiving the penalty proposals. Judge Fauver found that the proposals became final Commission…
Gary L. Wilson v. Crowley Maritime and Signal Mutual Insurance Company
Wilson v. Crowley Maritime (BRB 96-0607): disability award and worker coverage affirmed
Gary Wilson injured his back while working as an operations manager for Crowley's barge and terminal operations. The employer argued that his time aboard barges made him a crew member excluded from Longshore Act coverage. The Board upheld the judge's finding that Wilson was a land-based worker who…
U.S. Department of the Treasury, U.S. Customs Service, El Paso, Texas and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 143
Customs Service El Paso and NTEU Chapter 143 (FLRA 0-AR-2804): overtime backpay for delayed return upheld
A Customs inspector remained on paid administrative leave while the agency arranged medical examinations to assess his fitness for duty. An arbitrator found that an unjustified delay in obtaining a neurological examination reflected disability discrimination and delayed his return to work. She…
Akzo Nobel Salt, Inc.
Hoist and escapeway citations vacated
Akzo Nobel operated the Cleveland underground salt mine in Ohio. MSHA cited the mine after planned hoist maintenance was not immediately reported and miners continued working while one hoist was unavailable. Judge Koutras found that the cited reporting and escapeway standards did not support MSHA's…
U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, New York, New York and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 1917
INS New York and AFGE Local 1917 (FLRA BY-CA-30100): inactive-duty complaint dismissed
The Immigration and Naturalization Service placed some of its intermittent inspectors at JFK Airport in inactive duty status during a slower travel season. An administrative law judge found that the agency had changed their working conditions without first notifying and bargaining with their union…
Department of the Air Force, Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Warner Robins Air Force Base, Georgia and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 987
Warner Robins Air Logistics Center and AFGE Local 987 (FLRA AT-CA-40633): complaint over temporary promotion dismissed
Warner Robins Air Logistics Center did not select a union president for a one-year temporary promotion while he was serving on full-time official time for union work. An administrative law judge found that the agency's decision violated federal labor law and ordered a retroactive promotion with…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 940 and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Regional Office and Insurance Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
AFGE Local 940 and VA Philadelphia (FLRA 0-AR-2846): suspension award upheld
A Veterans Affairs regional office suspended a union shop steward for five days after he left his assigned work area to conduct union business without authorization. The arbitrator found that one cited absence should not have counted, but that two others supported the suspension. The union argued…
Consolidation Coal Company
Further submissions required in EAJA fee proceeding
Samuel J. McLaughlin, an individual employed by Consolidation Coal Company, sought attorney fees and expenses after the Secretary dismissed a section 110(c) allegation against him in an underlying mine-safety case. Judge David Barbour found that McLaughlin was a prevailing party and that the record…
Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Contract Management District South, Dallas and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2128
DLA Dallas and AFGE Local 2128 (FLRA DA-CA-40355): performance standards complaint dismissed
A Defense Logistics Agency office in Dallas introduced new employee performance elements and standards without first notifying the union or offering to bargain. The parties agreed that the subject was covered by their labor agreement, so the Authority found no additional duty to bargain over the…
Internal Revenue Service, Philadelphia Service Center and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 71
IRS Philadelphia Service Center and NTEU Chapter 71 (FLRA 0-AR-2752): agency exceptions denied
The Internal Revenue Service's Philadelphia Service Center challenged an arbitration award by M. David Vaughn. The union opposed the agency's exceptions. After reviewing the record, the Authority found that the award was not deficient under the statutory grounds for setting aside arbitration awards…
Mae Barnes v. General Ship Service and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company
Barnes v. General Ship Service (BRB 95-2177): later death benefits barred by unapproved settlements
Mae Barnes received death benefits after her husband died of lung cancer associated with asbestos exposure at General Ship Service. She also pursued claims against asbestos product companies. The Board held that three later settlements were completed without the employer's prior written approval…
Rybond, Inc.
In re Rybond, Inc. (EAB RCRA (3008) Appeal No. 95-3): liability affirmed and penalty reduced to $25,000
Rybond, Inc. appealed a default order arising from hazardous waste stored by a tenant at a building Rybond owned. The Board upheld the default order and Rybond's liability for the violations, including the federal land-disposal restriction violation and the Pennsylvania hazardous-waste…
Jerry M. Pool v. General American Oil Company and Travelers Insurance Company
Pool v. General American Oil (BRB 96-314): settlement amount must be compared with benefits
Jerry Pool sought further Longshore Act compensation after a crane injury and a later third-party settlement. The judge held that the settlement barred further compensation without calculating how it compared with Pool's benefits under the Act. The Board upheld the findings that the third-party…
Buck Creek Coal, Inc.
Default judgment and $20,588 penalty
Buck Creek Coal, Inc. faced 33 alleged violations at the Buck Creek Mine in six consolidated civil penalty proceedings. The company did not answer the Secretary’s discovery requests, the order compelling responses, or the motion for default. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found the company in default…
General Services Administration, National Capital Region, Federal Protective Service Division and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1733
GSA Federal Protective Service and AFGE Local 1733 (FLRA 3-CA-30469): bargaining ordered over policy's effects
The Federal Protective Service ended a practice that let its officers carry work firearms between home and their duty stations. A federal appeals court held that the practice was illegal and that the agency could end it, then returned the case for a decision on bargaining over the change's effects…
Consolidation Coal Company
Methane warning-device violation remanded for penalty proceedings
Consolidation Coal operated the Robinson Run No. 95 underground coal mine, where an MSHA inspector found that the methane monitor’s warning light was not visible to the person who could deenergize the longwall. The ALJ concluded that the mine’s automatic shutdown and control-box displays provided…
Sport Air Traffic Controllers Organization and Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California
SATCO and Air Force Flight Test Center (FLRA SF-CO-50828): reconsideration denied
The Authority had found that the Sport Air Traffic Controllers Organization committed an unfair labor practice by insisting to impasse on recording collective bargaining sessions. The organization sought reconsideration, arguing that the Authority had failed to answer whether a party could…
Buck Creek Coal, Inc.
Default judgment and $25,014 penalty
Buck Creek Coal, Inc. faced 37 alleged violations in consolidated contest and civil penalty proceedings involving the Buck Creek Mine. The company did not answer discovery requests, an order compelling responses, or the Secretary’s motion for default. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found the company in…
Buck Creek Coal, Inc.
Default judgment and $32,750 penalty
Buck Creek Coal, Inc. faced 50 alleged violations in nine consolidated civil penalty proceedings involving the Buck Creek Mine. The company did not answer discovery requests, an order compelling responses, or the Secretary’s motion for default. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found the company in default…
Knife River Coal Mining Co.
Supplemental discrimination relief and final order
Knife River Coal Mining Co. was previously found to have discriminated against Arthur R. Olmstead by discharging him in violation of section 105(c) of the Mine Act. The parties agreed that Olmstead had been reinstated and agreed on much of the back-pay calculation, but they did not resolve every…
Buck Creek Coal, Inc.
Default judgment and $50,364 penalty
Buck Creek Coal, Inc. faced 28 alleged violations in consolidated contest and civil penalty proceedings involving the Buck Creek Mine. The company did not answer discovery requests, an order compelling responses, or the Secretary’s motion for default. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found the company in…
Austin Powder Company
Highwall safety-belt violations affirmed
Austin Powder Company performed drilling and blasting work at the Lynn Sand and Stone Quarry, where employees worked within a few feet of a 55-foot highwall without safety belts or lines. Judge Paul Merlin credited the inspectors’ testimony over conflicting operator testimony and found a violation…
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.