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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International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots, Marine Division, Panama Canal Pilots Branch and Panama Canal Commission
Panama Canal Pilots Branch and Panama Canal Commission (FLRA 0-NG-2172-001): pilot pay appeal dismissed as moot
The Panama Canal Pilots Branch sought review of a proposal to set a basic pay rate for Canal pilots. While the appeal was pending, the union and the Panama Canal Commission reached a new agreement that included an appendix setting pilot pay rates. The union argued that the proposal still required a…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 987 and U.S. Department of the Air Force, Air Force Logistics Command
AFGE Local 987 and Air Force Logistics Command (FLRA 0-AR-2819): classification grievance stays outside arbitration
A materials handler at Robins Air Force Base sought higher pay after performing duties he said belonged to a higher graded position. The arbitrator found that the grievance concerned the classification of his position and could not be arbitrated under 5 U.S.C. § 7121(c)(5). The union argued that…
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati Operations and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3840
NIOSH Cincinnati and AFGE Local 3840 (FLRA 0-AR-2799): delayed promotion and backpay upheld
A NIOSH employee was selected for a staff specialist position advertised with promotion potential from GS-6 to GS-7. After she completed a year in the lower grade, her supervisors requested a promotion, but the personnel office did not approve it before the agency began reevaluating job…
Marty P. Boden v. Lion Coal Company
Retaliatory discharge found
Marty P. Boden, a belt foreman at the Swanson Mine, reported unsafe conditions to MSHA. The mine's management learned that his complaints led to an MSHA inspection and directed that he be fired later the same day. Judge August F. Cetti found that the stated reason for the discharge was pretextual…
Lyon Sand & Gravel Co.
Late penalty petitions dismissed
The Secretary sought individual civil penalties against Raymond P. Ernst and Scott Bandkau for alleged Mine Act violations by their employer, Lyon Sand & Gravel. The Secretary filed the penalty petitions after the 45-day deadline and offered only general explanations about internal review and…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 561 and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile, Alabama
NFFE Local 561 and Army Corps of Engineers (FLRA 0-AR-2838): performance rating grievance denied
Two surveying technicians at the Army Corps of Engineers sought higher annual performance ratings. They argued that the ratings were retaliation for exercising an appeal right and that management intentionally lost their midyear review records. The arbitrator found that the evaluations complied…
Kinross DeLamar Mining Company
Penalty assessment reopened
Kinross DeLamar asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final after the company missed the 30-day deadline to request a hearing. The company said it mailed its hearing request on time, but a one-day delay in receiving mail at its remote mine and a postmarking issue…
Green Coal Company, Inc.
Reopening request denied
Green Coal asked the Commission to reopen two penalty assessments that had become final orders because the company did not timely file notices of contest. The company cited bankruptcy proceedings and cost-cutting efforts, but did not explain how those circumstances caused the late filings. The…
In re Clint Saint John
Firearms conviction supported deportability
The Board reviewed a lawful permanent resident's appeal after an Immigration Judge ordered him deported for a firearms conviction and denied his request for a section 212(c) waiver. The Board held that the 1994 amendment covering attempted firearms offenses applied retroactively because Congress…
Estate of George Trice v. Virginia International Terminals, Incorporated
Estate of George Trice v. Virginia International Terminals (BRB 93-1154): benefit rate increased
George Trice received disability benefits after a back injury at Virginia International Terminals. His estate challenged the calculation of his average weekly wage and the employer's credit for payments made through union benefit funds. The Board held that contract-based container royalty payments…
D.H. Blattner & Sons, Inc.
Legal identity report required
D.H. Blattner & Sons was an independent contractor performing mining work at three open-pit operations. MSHA cited the company for failing to file an operator legal identity report for the pits, even though it had filed an independent-contractor report. The Commission held that Blattner exercised…
Ambrosia Coal & Construction Company
Penalty reassessment schedule set on remand
The Commission remanded two Ambrosia Coal cases to Judge William Fauver for reassessment of civil penalties. The judge ordered the Secretary to propose revised penalties and explain them consistently with the Commission's decision and the Commission's penalty precedent. Ambrosia and the other…
Falkirk Mining Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Harold Holtz, a coal hauler operator at Falkirk Mining Company, claimed that the company put him on six months of probation in retaliation for his safety complaints and other protected activity under section 105(c) of the Mine Act. The judge found that Holtz had engaged in protected activity, but…
Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Phoenix, Arizona and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2382
Phoenix VA Medical Center and AFGE Local 2382 (FLRA SF-CA-30315): union notice required for formal discussions
The Phoenix VA Medical Center held formal discussions with bargaining unit employees while preparing for Merit Systems Protection Board hearings without notifying their union or giving it a chance to attend. An administrative law judge found an unfair labor practice and ordered the medical center…
F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Cheyenne, Wyoming and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2354
F.E. Warren Air Force Base and AFGE Local 2354 (FLRA DE-CA-30519, DE-CA-30791): union excluded from formal meetings
Managers at F.E. Warren Air Force Base met with employees about a possible reduction in force and, at a separate boiler plant meeting, about buyout options. The union received no advance notice or opportunity to attend either meeting. The Federal Labor Relations Authority upheld the judge's finding…
James Construction
Controlling employer liable for subcontractor hazards
James Construction supervised a siding subcontractor and controlled its work approval and payment. The judge held that James could not ignore repeated safety violations merely because stronger enforcement might delay the job or reduce profits. Serious items involving eye protection, unguarded…
Aero Tec Laboratories, Inc.
Plant safety items largely affirmed with reduced penalties
Aero Tec manufactured fuel tanks and containment vessels at its New Jersey plant. The judge rejected its claim that OSHA had promised no penalties or exceeded the scope of consent because management accompanied the open inspection without objecting. The decision affirmed items involving an…
National Quarries
Settlement disapproved pending support
National Quarries faced four civil penalty violations arising from a fatal accident in which a miner was fatally injured after inadvertently drilling into a charged hole. The Secretary proposed reducing the combined penalties from $28,500 to $19,950, but Judge Paul Merlin found that the settlement…
New Warwick Mining Company
Coal-dust rulings partly affirmed and remanded
New Warwick Mining Company was cited for coal dust accumulations at its Warwick underground coal mine. In docket PENN 94-54, the Commission affirmed that the §75.400 accumulation violation resulted from unwarrantable failure and affirmed that the operator did not violate the preshift examination…
Superior Tank and Trailer Co.
Press-brake item affirmed, three other items vacated
Superior repaired commercial tanks and trailers that had carried products ranging from food to gasoline and acids. The judge found that its contractor washouts, supervisor checks, atmospheric testing, periodic retesting, and forced-air ventilation adequately evaluated the units and prevented them…
In re Junior Jose Cabrera
Dominican acknowledgment established legitimation
The Board reviewed a visa petition for a child born out of wedlock in the Dominican Republic. It held that the child was placed in the same legal position as a child born in wedlock when the father acknowledged paternity under Dominican law, making the child a legitimated child under the…
Nevada Cement Company
Citations affirmed, one settlement approved
Nevada Cement’s mechanic Preston Niemeyer was fatally injured when a service truck rolled over him while he worked beneath it. The judge found that the truck’s parking brake should have been set and its wheels blocked, because the mechanic was not in a position to prevent the truck from moving. The…
Ambrosia Coal & Construction Company
Highlift violation affirmed, penalties remanded
Ambrosia Coal operated a surface coal mine where a highlift was used with ineffective brakes. The Commission affirmed that operating the highlift violated the requirement to keep equipment in safe operating condition, that the violation was significant and substantial and resulted from…
L & J Energy Company, Inc.
Civil penalty payment ordered after remand
L & J Energy’s civil penalty proceeding returned to the administrative law judge after the Commission directed further proceedings on whether the penalty would affect the company’s ability to continue in business. Judge Avram Weisberger found that the company had not provided competent evidence…
Millard Meardry v. International Paper Company
Meardry v. International Paper (BRB 93-1693): hearing loss award affirmed, interest reconsidered
Millard Meardry developed hearing loss after working for International Paper, including unloading barges at its paper mill. The Board upheld his coverage under the Longshore Act because he regularly performed some barge unloading work and was exposed to noise at the barge facility. It also upheld…
Gertrude Ehrentraut v. Sun Ship, Incorporated
Ehrentraut v. Sun Ship (BRB 93-1600): Special Fund relief returned for fact finding
Gertrude Ehrentraut received death benefits after her husband, a former shipfitter at Sun Ship, died with asbestosis and a pulmonary malignancy. The employer sought to shift part of its payment responsibility to the Longshore Act's Special Fund. The administrative law judge granted relief without…
Kathleen Henderson v. Ingalls Shipbuilding, Incorporated and Mississippi Insurance Guaranty Association
Henderson v. Ingalls Shipbuilding (BRB 93-1334): death benefit offset limited to widow's recovery
Kathleen Henderson received Longshore Act death benefits after her husband died from mesothelioma following asbestos exposure at Ingalls Shipbuilding. She and her adult children later settled claims against asbestos product companies. The Board held that the employer could credit only Henderson's…
Huey C. Lewis v. Todd Pacific Shipyards Corporation and Duwamish Shipyards
Lewis v. Todd Pacific Shipyards (BRB 93-0661): occupational disease award affirmed
Huey Lewis sought Longshore Act benefits for an asbestos-related lung condition after working at Seattle shipyards. The Board upheld the judge's findings that his notice and claim were timely because the record did not establish earlier awareness of a work-related condition and permanent…
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntington District and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3729
Army Corps Huntington District and AFGE Local 3729 (FLRA 0-AR-2790): selection award set aside
The Army Corps of Engineers failed to consider an employee's application for a Lock and Dam Operator job, then answered his grievance one day after a contractual deadline. An arbitrator ordered the agency to select the employee because the agreement treated a late response as resolving the…
Manalapan Mining Company
Penalty reassessed after Commission remand
The Commission remanded Manalapan Mining’s penalty proceeding after reversing an earlier finding about whether a preshift-examination violation was significant and substantial. On remand, Judge Avram Weisberger found the violation relatively serious and reassessed the penalty for Order No. 4238749…
Matter of Salvador MORALES
ABC settlement class member entitled to administrative closure
Mr. Morales, an El Salvador national and member of the class covered by the American Baptist Churches settlement agreement, was placed in exclusion proceedings after seeking to reenter the United States. He requested administrative closure so he could pursue the asylum-related rights provided by…
Ante Ljubic v. United Food Processors and American International Adjusting Company
Ljubic v. United Food Processors (BRB 93-1949): cannery maintenance worker covered
Ante Ljubic was a maintenance supervisor at a fish cannery who repaired both plant machinery and equipment used to unload fish from docked vessels. After he fell from a ladder while repairing a building roof, the employer argued that the Longshore Act's aquaculture worker exclusion barred his…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3392 and U.S. Government Printing Office, Public Documents Distribution Center
AFGE Local 3392 and Government Printing Office (FLRA 0-NG-2259): report duty proposal outside bargaining
AFGE Local 3392 proposed that supervisors at the Government Printing Office's Pueblo distribution center resume preparing postage and reimbursable reports. The union said those reports placed an unfair burden on bargaining unit employees, who might be blamed for errors. The Federal Labor Relations…
Kim B. Abbey v. Navy Exchange and Gates, McDonald & Company
Abbey v. Navy Exchange (BRB 93-0819): Special Fund claim returned for merits review
Kim Abbey received disability and medical benefits after a back injury while working as a salesclerk for the Navy Exchange. The judge had rejected the employer's request to shift part of its long-term liability to the Special Fund as untimely. The Board held that the Director of the Office of…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Council of Consolidated Locals and U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Albuquerque Area Office
NFFE Council and Bureau of Indian Affairs (FLRA 0-AR-2722): moot promotion grievance remains dismissed
The union challenged the Bureau of Indian Affairs' failure to give an employee a career ladder promotion before she moved to another position. The arbitrator dismissed the grievance as moot because he found that reinstatement to the former job was the only available relief and that the employee…
Consolidation Coal Company
Water-pump fire-protection violation affirmed
Consolidation Coal was cited after an underground water pump lacked the required fireproof enclosure or fire-suppression system and was ventilated with air used for the working section. The Commission held that the pump did not qualify for the regulatory exemptions for pumps near a working section…
Arel S. Price v. Brady-Hamilton Stevedore Company and SAIF Corporation
Price v. Brady-Hamilton Stevedore (BRB 92-2219): disability award upheld with cost and fee changes
Arel Price received Longshore Act compensation after an injury while working as a stevedore. The employer sought to modify the award based on claimed changes in his ability to earn, but the judge denied modification and recalculated permanent partial benefits after an earlier court remand. The…
Wiser Construction
Highwall citations affirmed, penalty reduced
Wiser Construction operated at the Monroc Pit, where loose material and large rocks remained on a highwall above front-end-loader work areas. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found two violations of the requirement to slope loose material to the angle of repose or otherwise protect the pit perimeter. He found…
REB Enterprises Incorporated
Mixed rulings and $2,400 penalty
REB Enterprises operated a limestone quarry in Arkansas. Judge Avram Weisberger considered citations and orders involving electrical testing, seat belts, equipment windows, machine guarding, and individual liability under the Mine Act. He found some violations, dismissed or withdrew other matters…
Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Distribution Depot Red River and National Association of Government Employees, Local R14-52
Defense Distribution Depot Red River and NAGE Local R14-52 (FLRA 0-AR-2691): equal performance awards upheld
The Defense Distribution Depot Red River gave performance awards to some employees rated 4.8 but denied them to other employees with the same rating. An arbitrator found that the unequal treatment violated the parties' performance awards agreement and agency regulations. He ordered 3 percent salary…
Energy West Mining Company
Coal outburst citation vacated
Energy West Mining Company operated the Cottonwood underground coal mine in Utah. MSHA cited the mine under 30 C.F.R. § 75.202(a) after a coal outburst, also called a bounce, disrupted ventilation and stopped production for more than an hour. Judge August F. Cetti found that the Secretary did not…
T H Agriculture & Nutrition Company, Inc.
In re T H Agriculture & Nutrition Company, Inc. (EAB CERCLA 106(b) Petition No. 94-20): reimbursement petition denied
T H Agriculture & Nutrition Company asked EPA to reimburse $1,752,673 in costs it incurred while complying with a unilateral administrative order to clean up a former pesticide formulation site in Albany, Georgia. The company argued that EPA required removal of more subsurface soil than its own…
Caterpillar, Inc.
Willful general duty violation affirmed and the penalty restored to $49,000
Maintenance workers at Caterpillar's East Peoria, Illinois plant were repairing the Erie 6000, a 6,000 ton forging press. The hub pulling procedure used a gear pulling device built from four steel studs, each 42 inches long and weighing 35 to 40 pounds. A stud fragment was propelled 121 feet and…
Niemand Industries, Inc.
Talc items vacated after court rejected sampling method
OSHA cited Niemand for excessive talc exposure, unapproved dust masks, and failure to use feasible engineering or administrative controls. The Commission initially affirmed those items based on gravimetric sampling. The Eleventh Circuit held that OSHA could not prove a Table Z-3 violation with a…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R4-6 and U.S. Army Applied Aviation Technology Directorate
NAGE Local R4-6 and Army Aviation Directorate (FLRA 0-NG-2299): reduction in force proposal dismissed
The Army planned to combine three facilities into one competitive area for a reduction in force. NAGE Local R4-6 proposed that employees at the Applied Aviation Technology Directorate could not be displaced by people from the other facilities. The Federal Labor Relations Authority found the…
Lakeview Rock Products, Inc.
Violations partly affirmed, modified, and vacated
Lakeview Rock Products operated a sand and gravel pit in Salt Lake City, Utah. Judge Arthur J. Amchan addressed three MSHA inspections and 27 contested or withdrawn violations involving electrical protection, guarding, workplace examinations, footwear, berms, access, and related safety…
Immigration and Naturalization Service, Los Angeles District and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 505
INS Los Angeles and AFGE Local 505 (FLRA SA-CA-20810): parking policy restored without expense reimbursement
The INS Los Angeles District stopped allowing employees to park in reserved spaces without first notifying or bargaining with AFGE Local 505. An administrative law judge found an unfair labor practice and ordered restoration of the former parking policy, bargaining over future changes, and a posted…
Manalapan Mining Company, Incorporated
Preshift violation reversed and remanded
Manalapan Mining operated underground coal mines in Kentucky. The Commission reviewed whether violations involving fire suppression, fire extinguishers, and a preshift examination were significant and substantial. It left standing the ALJ's findings for the fire suppression and fire-extinguisher…
New Warwick Mining Co.
Dust sampling violation affirmed
New Warwick Mining operated the Warwick Mine in Pennsylvania. The Commission reviewed whether the company violated the respirable-dust sampling rule by collecting designated-occupation samples inside a miner’s airstream helmet. It affirmed the ALJ’s findings that the sampling method violated 30…
Dannie Croucher v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs
Croucher v. Director, OWCP (BRB 94-2238): Coal employment finding and benefit denial upheld
Dannie Croucher challenged a judge's finding that he had about six and one-half years of coal mine employment, too little for the interim presumption he sought. He argued that working 125 days in a calendar year should automatically count as a full year. The Board majority held that, outside the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1546 and U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Distribution Region West
AFGE Local 1546 and Defense Distribution Region West (FLRA 0-AR-2731): temporary transfer award upheld
A Defense Logistics Agency material handler returned from surgery with temporary physical restrictions. The agency moved him from Sharpe Depot to a light duty center and changed his shift without the two weeks of written notice generally required by its agreement with AFGE Local 1546. An arbitrator…
Amax Coal Company
Coal-dust violations affirmed, S&S issue remanded
Amax Coal Company was cited for accumulations of combustible material in a coal mine. The Commission affirmed the ALJ’s conclusion that Amax violated 30 C.F.R. § 75.400, including by allowing accumulations on diesel-powered equipment in active workings. It vacated the significant-and-substantial…
Island Creek Coal Company
Mixed reporting and safety rulings
Island Creek Coal Company and two employees were involved in consolidated proceedings at the Ohio 11 Mine. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon dismissed the individual matters in KENT 95-502 and KENT 95-519, vacated and dismissed two company actions in KENT 95-214, modified one order by reducing negligence and…
Broward County, Florida
In re Broward County, Florida (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 95-7): review denied for permit conditions
Broward County's wastewater treatment plant sought review of the denial of an evidentiary hearing on several NPDES permit conditions. The county challenged the total residual chlorine limit, the absence of a positive reopener clause, and the species and duration required for toxicity testing. The…
Elzie Allen v. Island Creek Coal Company and Old Republic Insurance Company
Allen v. Island Creek Coal Company (BRB 89-1856): Medical bill ruling sustained on reconsideration
Island Creek Coal Company sought an employer-sponsored examination to challenge bills for treatment of Elzie Allen's chronic bronchitis and obstructive pulmonary disease. The Board had previously upheld a judge's refusal to compel the examination because the employer had not shown its request was…
Powder Rock, Inc.
Hard-hat and signal items affirmed, blast-area item vacated
Powder Rock performed secondary blasting for a sewer trench project. One blast unexpectedly sent rock and debris high across the worksite, seriously injuring a general-contractor employee. The judge affirmed the hard-hat item because Powder Rock's two employees worked around recurring blasting…
U.S. Department of the Army, Headquarters, U.S. Army Aviation Center, Fort Rucker, Alabama and Wiregrass Metal Trades Council
Army Aviation Center and Wiregrass Metal Trades Council (FLRA 0-AR-2624): cash award order set aside
The Army Aviation Center declined to give an employee a performance cash award after ending its award program for lack of funds. An arbitrator found a past practice of paying employees with exceptional ratings and ordered payment from the current or next fiscal year's funds. The Federal Labor…
Extra Energy, Inc.
Two violations affirmed
Extra Energy operated a small surface mine in West Virginia. Judge Gary Melick found that the company violated standards concerning a contractor vehicle and the reporting of a fatal carbon-monoxide poisoning at the mine. He affirmed both citations and assessed penalties of $50 and $500, for a total…
R. J. Taggart Construction Company, Incorporated
Settlement disapproval order
R. J. Taggart Construction Company faced a citation after a miner being trained on a front-end loader rode unsecured outside the operator’s cab, fell when the loader backed over a rock, and was killed. Judge Paul Merlin denied the parties’ motion to approve a settlement reducing the proposed…
Utah Fuel Company
Roof-fall citations vacated
Utah Fuel Company operated the Skyline No. 1 underground coal mine in Utah. The case followed a fatal rib and roof fall accident during rehabilitation work in a previously caved area. Judge August F. Cetti found that the Secretary did not prove violations involving roof and rib control, roof…
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.