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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U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Washington, D.C. and American Federation of Government Employees, National Border Patrol Council, AFL-CIO
Border Patrol and AFGE (FLRA WA-CA-30789): holiday staffing complaint dismissed
The Border Patrol instructed supervisors to keep Sunday and holiday staffing to the minimum needed during a budget shortfall. It did not notify the National Border Patrol Council before sending the instruction, and the union alleged that the agency had to bargain over its impact. An administrative…
Aero Energy, Incorporated
Discrimination proceeding dismissed
Major Tony Thompson alleged that Aero Energy dismissed or sidelined him after he reported methane concerns and spoke with MSHA inspectors. The judge credited Fought's account of dissatisfaction with Thompson's work and conduct, and found that Fought sent him home and wrote a disciplinary letter…
F.A. Bartlett Tree Expert Co., Inc.
Commission declines interlocutory review and reassigns a rejected-settlement case
F.A. Bartlett Tree Expert Co. does line-clearance tree trimming. After a June 1995 job in Old Lyme, Connecticut, OSHA issued a serious citation for failing to keep employees the minimum distance from energized parts and an other-than-serious citation for a missing face shield at a wood chipper…
Weldon M. Green v. C.J. Langenfelder & Son, Incorporated
Green v. C.J. Langenfelder & Son (BRB 93-1033): dredge crew status requires further findings
Weldon Green injured his shoulder while repairing a conveyor belt aboard an oyster shell dredge in Chesapeake Bay. The judge denied his Longshore Act claim because he found Green to be a crew member of a vessel in navigation. The Board held that calling the craft a dredge did not, by itself…
Twentymile Coal Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Ross S. Stewart alleged that Twentymile Coal Company terminated him in retaliation for reporting alcohol concerns, questioning the safety of shuttle-car wheel rims, and testifying in another Mine Act case. The judge found those activities were protected, but concluded that the discharge was…
Cyprus Cumberland Resources Corp.
Haulage safeguard order modified
MSHA alleged that Cyprus Cumberland Resources violated a haulage safeguard at the Cumberland Mine when a vehicle entered a signal block without confirming that the block was clear. The judge found that a communication failure violated the safeguard, but the evidence did not establish that the…
Sloan Steel Erectors and Equipment Rental, Inc.
Late notice of contest dismissed, citation affirmed by operation of law
Sloan Steel Erectors and Equipment Rental received an OSHA citation and proposed penalty by certified mail on September 26, 1995. Under the OSH Act an employer has 15 working days to file a written notice of contest, which set Sloan's deadline at October 18, 1995. The parties held an informal…
National Engineering & Contracting Company
Willful crane-overturn items vacated, seat-belt and ladder items affirmed serious, $2,500
National Engineering & Contracting was the general contractor on an Ohio Department of Transportation soil-erosion project along a ravine in Lakewood, Ohio. A 28-ton Grove crane overturned into the ravine on August 19, 1994, injuring the operator, which prompted an OSHA inspection and two…
Harbert-Yeargin, Inc.
Seven electrical and scaffold items affirmed serious, four vacated, $4,500
Harbert-Yeargin was the general contractor building a cogeneration power plant in Fort Myers, Florida, that would turn municipal solid waste into steam and electricity for Lee County. While inspecting the site over another contractor in June 1994, an OSHA compliance officer also cited…
Faith Coal Co.
Late brief accepted and dismissal denied
Faith Coal failed to file its opening brief after the Commission granted discretionary review. After receiving a show-cause order, the company explained that it was a pro se operator and did not know that a written designation was required. The Commission excused the late response, accepted Faith's…
District of Columbia, Department of Public Works
In re District of Columbia, Department of Public Works (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 95-5): permit conditions remanded
EPA amended the District of Columbia Department of Public Works' NPDES permit for the Blue Plains Waste Water Treatment System to add Combined Sewer Overflow control conditions. The Department sought an evidentiary hearing on several conditions, and the Regional Administrator denied the hearing…
District of Columbia, Department of Public Works
In re District of Columbia, Department of Public Works (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 95-5): CSO permit conditions remanded
EPA Region III issued a permit amendment for the District of Columbia's Blue Plains wastewater treatment system that added Combined Sewer Overflow conditions. The District requested an evidentiary hearing, but the Regional Administrator denied the request after treating the conditions as…
Broken Hill Mining Company, Inc.
Appeal dismissed for failure to file brief
Broken Hill Mining Company appealed a civil penalty proceeding, but it did not file the opening brief required after the Commission granted review. The Secretary of Labor moved to dismiss the appeal, and Broken Hill did not oppose the motion. The Commission also gave the company an opportunity to…
Alabama Association of Civilian Technicians and U.S. Department of Defense, Alabama State Military Department, Alabama National Guard
Alabama civilian technicians and National Guard (FLRA 0-AR-2792): fee request may follow award
An arbitrator ordered backpay for an Alabama National Guard employee who was paid too little during a temporary promotion. The arbitrator declined the union's request to keep the case open for an attorney-fee application. The union claimed that refusal was unlawful and asked the Authority to return…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R3-10 and U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration
NAGE Local R3-10 and FAA (FLRA 0-AR-2763): reduction-in-force grievance denied
NAGE Local R3-10 and the FAA negotiated a reduction-in-force agreement for air traffic assistants based on one competitive level. The FAA later used three levels after a Merit Systems Protection Board ruling; it had not told the union about that pending case during negotiations. An arbitrator…
Cannelton Industries, Inc.
Coal accumulation violation and foremen liability affirmed
Cannelton Industries operated the Stockton Mine, where an inspector found a large accumulation of loose coal and coal dust beneath a belt scraper. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found that the accumulation developed over about two weeks and that the operator's foremen made little or no effort to remove it…
C.W. Mining Company
Respirable-dust citation vacated
C.W. Mining Company's Bear Canyon #1 Mine was cited after five operator dust samples averaged 1.9 milligrams of respirable dust per cubic meter. MSHA had assigned a 1.2-milligram limit to a replacement continuous miner, but that lower limit belonged to an older machine that had been scrapped. The…
FMC Wyoming Corporation
Two citations vacated
MSHA cited FMC Wyoming Corporation at the FMC Trona Mine for alleged violations involving guarding of moving machine parts and noise exposure. After reviewing photographs at the hearing, the Secretary agreed that the coupling and drive shaft between a motor and hoist were guarded, though the…
FMC Wyoming Corporation
Arc-welding citations settled
MSHA cited FMC Wyoming Corporation for two alleged violations of the arc-shield requirement at the FMC Trona Mine. The parties agreed to settle the case for $50 on each citation, while FMC did not admit a violation. Judge August F. Cetti found the settlement consistent with the Mine Act's penalty…
C.W. Mining Company
Four citations resolved by settlement
C.W. Mining Company operated the Bear Canyon No. 1 Mine. MSHA alleged four safety violations involving an inadequate preshift examination, coal and coal-dust accumulations, equipment, and electrical equipment. The parties agreed to modify the preshift citation by deleting its…
Naval Air Station Fallon, Fallon, Nevada and James Hall and International Association of Fire Fighters, Local F-268
Naval Air Station Fallon and Fire Fighters Local F-268 (FLRA SF-DR-40060): petition withdrawal stands
An employee petitioned for an election to decertify the firefighters' union at Naval Air Station Fallon, then withdrew the petition while challenged ballots remained unresolved. The regional director approved the withdrawal. A person claiming to represent a union officer challenged that action, and…
Social Security Administration, Dallas Region, Dallas, Texas and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1336
SSA Dallas Region and AFGE Local 1336 (FLRA 6-CA-10825): notice violation upheld, disclosure claim dismissed
AFGE Local 1336 requested supervisors' notes about an SSA employee it represented in a performance appraisal grievance. The Authority held that SSA did not have to provide the notes because the union had not explained its particular need when it requested them, and the reason was not clear from the…
Federal Employees Metal Trades Council, Local 127 and U.S. Department of the Navy, Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Mare Island, California
Metal Trades Council and Mare Island Shipyard (FLRA 0-AR-2783): grievance dismissal upheld
The Metal Trades Council sought arbitration over a reduction in force at Mare Island Naval Shipyard. After a hearing was postponed, the arbitrator found that the union had been notified of a new hearing date but had not diligently prepared to proceed, and dismissed its grievance. The union argued…
Overseas Education Association and U.S. Department of Defense Dependents Schools, Arlington, Virginia
Overseas Education Association and DoD schools (FLRA 0-AR-2635): recess pay rate upheld
The Overseas Education Association grieved the pay rate used for educators who worked after August 1 but before the new school year began. DoD Dependents Schools paid that work under its recess-period schedule, which used the prior school year's daily rate. The union argued that a DoD directive…
Chem-Nuclear Systems, Inc., and Chemical Waste Management, Inc.
In re Chem-Nuclear Systems, Inc., and Chemical Waste Management, Inc. (EAB CERCLA 106(b) Petition No. 94-11): reimbursement denied
Chem-Nuclear Systems, Inc., and its parent corporation Chemical Waste Management, Inc., sought reimbursement for response costs incurred while complying with an EPA Region IV order concerning hazardous substances at the Basket Creek Drum Disposal Site in Douglasville, Georgia. The Environmental…
Florence Flynn v. John T. Clark & Sons
Flynn v. John T. Clark & Sons (BRB 93-1011): carrier may credit mistaken benefit overpayments
Florence Flynn received Longshore Act death benefits after her husband's death at work. The carrier mistakenly increased those payments using a Massachusetts cost-of-living rule that did not apply to the federal award, then sought to recover the excess from future benefits. The judge denied a…
ICG Electric, Inc.
Trench inspection and cave-in protection violations affirmed, one serious and one repeat, $12,000
ICG Electric installs underground lines and was working two excavations at an intersection in Aurora, Colorado. Acting on a complaint from the Aurora Fire Department, an OSHA compliance officer inspected the site and found employees in unshored trenches roughly five and a half to six feet deep, in…
Phelps Dodge Morenci, Inc.
Discrimination complaint dismissed for failure to state a claim
Clyde Perry alleged that Phelps Dodge Morenci discharged him after he complained that his medical condition made truck-driving work unsafe and after a dispute about a drug test. Judge Arthur J. Amchan held that an injury, inability to perform assigned work, and refusal to take a drug test were not…
Wharf Resources (USA), Inc.
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Thomas L. Crowder alleged that Wharf Resources removed him from a supervisory position after an anhydrous-ammonia release while he was installing a test gauge on a pump. Judge August F. Cetti found that the complaint did not identify protected Mine Act activity and that disciplinary action over the…
Willie L. Bolden v. G.A.T.X. Terminals Corporation
Bolden v. G.A.T.X. Terminals (BRB 93-0204): denial of back-injury claim affirmed
Willie Bolden, a maintenance mechanic, claimed that he hurt his back when his wrenches slipped while tightening a boom's base bolts. The employer had paid temporary disability benefits, but the judge denied his later Longshore Act claim after finding that Bolden had not proved the specific work…
Montana Sulphur and Chemical Co.
Commission vacates the two hydrogen-sulfide respirator items after the Secretary withdraws them
Montana Sulphur and Chemical Company makes chemicals, including liquefied hydrogen sulfide, at a plant in Billings, Montana. After a 1994 inspection, OSHA cited the company and the parties settled every item except two serious ones: that loading-crew employees did not wear supplied-air respirators…
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine and National Association of Agriculture Employees
USDA plant protection officers (FLRA 0-AR-2708): temporary promotion award upheld
Plant protection and quarantine officers grieved that USDA assigned them higher-grade duties for years before permanently promoting them from GS-9 to GS-11. An arbitrator awarded retroactive temporary promotions and backpay for two years before the permanent promotions. USDA argued that the award…
Thunder Basin Coal Company
Citation vacated for failure to post temporary reinstatement order
Thunder Basin Coal Company was cited for not posting a temporary reinstatement order on the mine bulletin board. The ALJ granted summary decision for Thunder Basin and vacated the citation. The Commission majority affirmed in result, holding that section 109(a) did not require posting temporary…
Energy West Mining Company
Failure-to-abate order upheld, penalty remanded
Energy West Mining Company was cited after respirable-dust sampling at a mining unit showed concentrations above the applicable limit. The ALJ upheld a section 104(b) failure-to-abate order and assessed a $3,000 civil penalty. The Commission majority affirmed the order because substantial evidence…
Glenn's Trucking Company, Inc.
Default order vacated and remanded
Glenn's Trucking Company failed to answer the Secretary's civil-penalty petition and a judge's order to show cause. The ALJ entered a default order assessing the proposed $2,000 penalty. Glenn's Trucking later sent the Commission an answer and a letter of protest and asked that the default be set…
Morton International, Inc., Morton Salt
Citations for methane in an abandoned area vacated
Morton International operated a domal salt mine in Louisiana. MSHA cited the company after an inspection found methane in an abandoned, unsealed area, alleging violations of standards requiring action at specified methane levels. The Commission majority held that those standards did not apply to…
Matter of Pedro Aricio PICHARDO-Sufren
Firearm deportability charge not proven
The Board reviewed a lawful permanent resident’s appeal from a finding that he was deportable for a firearms offense and ineligible for section 212(c) relief. The only conviction document in the record did not identify the statutory subdivision or the weapon involved, and the respondent’s testimony…
Matter of Max Alejandro MADRIGAL-Calvo
Firearms deportability finding affirmed
The Board dismissed a respondent’s appeal from a finding of deportability based on a conviction for criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree. The Board held that the transcript of the respondent’s plea and sentencing hearing was part of the record of conviction and established that the…
Matter of Victor Manuel de Fraga TEIXEIRA
Police report could not prove firearms deportability
The Board reviewed a Portuguese respondent’s appeal from a finding of deportability based on an alleged firearms conviction. The Board held that a police report, standing alone, is not part of the record of conviction and cannot establish that a conviction under a divisible weapons statute involved…
Dallas D. Wooten v. Eastern Associated Coal Corporation
Wooten v. Eastern Associated Coal (BRB 95-0966): Modification request was timely
Dallas Wooten sought to reopen a denied black lung claim. The judge had issued the denial on June 23, 1992, and it was filed with the district director on July 1, 1992. Wooten requested modification on June 23, 1993, but another judge dismissed the request as one day late. The Board held that the…
RNS Services, Inc.
Coal refuse pile subject to the Mine Act
RNS Services operated at a coal refuse pile and was cited for alleged violations involving workplace examinations and a mining plan. The ALJ vacated the citations after concluding that RNS was not engaged in the work of preparing coal and that the Mine Act did not apply at the site. The Commission…
L&J Energy Company, Inc.
Ability to continue in business remanded
L&J Energy Company petitioned for discretionary review. The Commission granted review on the operator's ability to continue in business and remanded that issue to the judge for appropriate proceedings. It denied the petition in all other respects.
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Violation affirmed without S&S or unwarrantable-failure findings
Jim Walter Resources was cited for an accumulation of combustible material under 30 C.F.R. § 75.400, along with a withdrawal order. The ALJ affirmed the violation but found that it was not significant and substantial and was not caused by the operator's unwarrantable failure. The Commission…
Peabody Coal Company
Negligence findings reversed and penalties remanded
Peabody Coal Company was cited after respirable-dust sampling showed violations of the applicable limit at continuous-miner units. The ALJ found high negligence and unwarrantable failure and assessed $15,000 in civil penalties. The Commission reversed those findings, concluding that the ALJ applied…
Internal Revenue Service, Austin District Office, Austin, Texas and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 52, Austin, Texas
IRS Austin District and NTEU Chapter 52 (FLRA DA-CA-30106): disclosure ruling split by case
NTEU Chapter 52 sought sanitized IRS disciplinary records to compare proposed penalties in two employee cases. The Authority split the result. For a case involving late tax returns, it treated the requested records as protected return information under 26 U.S.C. § 6103 and held that removing names…
U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Contract Audit Agency, Central Region and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3529
Defense Contract Audit Agency and AFGE Local 3529 (FLRA 0-AR-2789): Five-day suspension vacated
The Defense Contract Audit Agency suspended a contract auditor for five days after a coworker said she overheard remarks she believed were directed at supervisors. An arbitrator found that the suspension lacked the just cause required by the collective bargaining agreement and ordered the agency to…
Walker Stone Company, Inc.
Lockout citation affirmed as modified, individual penalty dismissed
Walker Stone operated a quarry and mill that processed construction aggregates and road-building materials. MSHA cited the company after employees worked on an electrically powered log washer without deenergizing and locking out the equipment. Judge Roy J. Maurer found a violation of the lockout…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, 56th Support Group, MacDill Air Force Base and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 153
MacDill Air Force Base and NFFE Local 153 (FLRA AT-CA-31308, AT-CA-40041): Performance plans ordered disclosed
NFFE Local 153 requested employees' performance plans, appraisals and a supervisor's work folder while investigating possible grievances over treatment of union officials. The Air Force's 56th Support Group refused to provide them. The Authority ordered disclosure of the performance plans because…
De Atley Company, Inc.
Default judgment reopened and remanded
De Atley Company failed to answer the Secretary's civil-penalty petition and a show-cause order, so the chief judge entered a default order assessing a $1,019 penalty. The company later said it had reached a settlement, but the predecessor of office engineer Max Jensen resigned before signing the…
Mountain Top Trucking Company, Mayes Trucking Company, Inc., Elmo Mayes, William David Riley, and Anthony Curtis Mayes
Mountain Top Trucking Company and others (FMSHRC KENT 95-604-D and related dockets): Counsel appearance accepted in discrimination proceeding
The Secretary brought a discrimination proceeding on behalf of four miners. The presiding judge denied the appearance of private counsel for the individual miner complainants and certified that ruling for interlocutory review. The Commission accepted review, held that the miners had an unequivocal…
Asarco Incorporated and Federated Metals Corporation
In re Asarco Incorporated and Federated Metals Corporation (EAB CERCLA 106(b) Petition No. 94-22): reimbursement denied
Asarco Incorporated and Federated Metals Corporation sought reimbursement for response costs incurred while complying with an EPA Region V order during a water main renovation project in Beckemeyer, Illinois. The order required them to test soil for lead, remove soil with elevated lead levels, and…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2142 and U.S. Department of the Army, Corpus Christi Army Depot
AFGE Local 2142 and Corpus Christi Army Depot (FLRA 0-AR-2787): Higher-grade duty grievances remain dismissed
Aircraft parts repairers at Corpus Christi Army Depot said they performed higher-graded work without additional pay. An arbitrator dismissed their grievances because they asked him to decide the grade level of duties in their permanent positions, a classification question excluded from the…
New Jersey Monument Co.
Late notice of contest dismissed, citation affirmed by operation of law
New Jersey Monument Co. is a very small company with one shop employee. OSHA issued it a citation and proposed penalty by certified mail on June 16, 1995, received June 19, which set a July 11, 1995 deadline to file a written notice of contest. The company did not file on time. It later wrote to…
DCL Construction, Inc.
Settlement approved with penalty reduction
DCL Construction faced one section 104(d)(1) citation and seven section 104(d)(1) orders. The parties asked the judge to approve a settlement reducing the proposed penalty from $6,700 to $4,690. The motion stated that the original penalty had been specially assessed and that DCL had no violations…
Nelson Brothers Inc.
Tanker-truck fall protection citation and imminent-danger order affirmed
Nelson Brothers supplied blasting agents and technical assistance to mines and used tanker trucks to transport emulsion. A driver was working on top of a tanker about nine feet above the ground without guard rails or a safety belt and line while opening portholes and removing material. Judge…
Wallace Brothers, Inc.
Failure-to-abate penalties affirmed on remand
Wallace Brothers operated a portable crusher where inspectors found gaps and missing guarding around a tail pulley and a v-belt drive. The company did not correct the violations by the deadline, and the judge issued section 104(b) withdrawal orders. On remand, Judge Arthur J. Amchan found that the…
Leeco, Incorporated
Settlement confidentiality order
The Secretary brought a discrimination proceeding on behalf of Frank Scott against Leeco. After a hearing began, the parties reached a settlement and placed its terms on the record. The judge orally approved the settlement but stated that a written decision would follow. At the parties' request…
Matter of Jose MENDEZ-Moralez
Section 212(h) waiver denied
The Board dismissed a respondent’s appeal from a decision finding him deportable, denying adjustment of status, and denying a section 212(h) waiver of inadmissibility. The Board held that extreme hardship and statutory eligibility do not automatically entitle an applicant to a waiver, which remains…
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 0-AR-2709): officer's performance-log remedy upheld
A corrections officer reported an inmate's behavior to supervisors in a memorandum raising a staff safety concern. Her supervisor then entered two minimally satisfactory ratings in her performance log because she had not filed an incident report sooner. An arbitrator found the entries unjustified…
Newmont Gold Company
Discrimination settlement approved and proceeding dismissed
Lance A. Paul alleged that Newmont Gold Company discriminatorily discharged him from work at the Gold Quarry mine in violation of section 105(c) of the Mine Act. An earlier decision found that the November 10, 1994 discharge was discriminatorily motivated. The parties then agreed that Newmont would…
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.