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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Eyelematic Manufacturing Company, Inc.
Power-press, chain, cylinder, and electrical items produce $5,300
Eyelematic Manufacturing Company, Inc. made small metal parts at its Connecticut facility. Administrative Law Judge Richard DeBenedetto vacated a flammable-container item because the Secretary's amendment shifted the theory from approved container design to liquid transfer without evidence fitting…
Internal Revenue Service, Kansas City Service Center and NTEU Chapter 66
IRS Kansas City Service Center and NTEU Chapter 66 (FLRA 7-CA-00658): appraisal had to be supplied for grievance review
NTEU Chapter 66 requested an IRS employee's performance appraisal to evaluate another employee's grievance alleging retaliation for union activity. The two employees did the same work under the same performance standards, but the IRS refused to provide the appraisal. The Authority held that a union…
AFGE Council of Marine Corps Locals, Council 240 and U.S. Marine Corps
AFGE Council 240 and Marine Corps (FLRA 0-NG-2207): expanded family leave provision nonnegotiable
AFGE Council 240 proposed extending the leave protections of the Family and Medical Leave Act, as then written, to employees caring for grandparents, in-laws, or dependent adult children during medical emergencies. The Marine Corps disapproved the negotiated provision. The Authority found that its…
AFGE Local 3673 and U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval Air Warfare Center, Trenton
AFGE Local 3673 and Naval Air Warfare Center Trenton (FLRA 0-NG-2193): transfer proposals found nonnegotiable on reconsideration
AFGE Local 3673 proposed changes to how the Navy would identify employees for positions remaining at its Trenton facility during a transfer of functions. The Authority had previously found the proposals negotiable, but the Navy sought reconsideration and clarified that some employees in the…
U.S. Customs Service, Pacific Region and National Treasury Employees Union
Customs Service Pacific Region and NTEU (FLRA 0-AR-2572): vessel boarding award set aside
Customs inspectors in the Pacific Region challenged a procedure that let vessels obtain preliminary entry without inspectors boarding them to review cargo documents. An arbitrator found that the procedure violated the then-applicable customs statute and awarded lost overtime. The Authority followed…
RNS Services, Inc.
Coal refuse pile held outside Mine Act jurisdiction
RNS Services operated a coal refuse pile and was cited for alleged violations involving daily workplace examinations and a ground control plan. RNS accepted that the cited standards were violated but argued that the site was not subject to the Mine Act. Judge Avram Weisberger held that the…
NASA Headquarters and NASA Office of Inspector General and AFGE Local 3434
NASA OIG and AFGE Local 3434 (FLRA AT-CA-30481): union representative had to participate in investigative interview
A NASA inspector general investigator interviewed a Marshall Space Flight Center employee who had requested union representation. The investigator's ground rules treated the union representative as a witness who should not interrupt the questioning. The Authority held that an employee's requested…
Williams Brothers Coal Co., Inc.
Six citations affirmed and two vacated
Williams Brothers Coal Company operated the No. 3 Mine in eastern Kentucky. MSHA issued eight citations involving boreholes, examination records, lighting, insulation mats, coal dust and oil, a ladder, roof-bolt torque testing, and ventilation. Judge Arthur J. Amchan affirmed six citations as…
Douglas W. Flynn v. Grundy Mining Company
Flynn v. Grundy Mining (BRB 95-1111): Later claim returned for material-change finding
Douglas Flynn was awarded benefits on a later black lung claim, and Grundy Mining sought reconsideration of the Board's affirmance. The employer argued that the judge had not explained how a 1984 medical opinion differed from the doctor's 1980 opinion before the first denial. The Board held that it…
Madison Branch Management
Fatal carbon-monoxide case decided on remand with higher penalties
Madison Branch Management operated a surface mine where its contractor, Protective Security Services, assigned a night watchman to remain for long periods in a parked vehicle. The watchman died from carbon monoxide intoxication after his vehicle's damaged exhaust system released fumes into the…
Consolidation Coal Company
Civil penalty cases dismissed after respondents' absence from mine shifts
The Secretary alleged that four individuals knowingly authorized, ordered, or carried out a violation involving a pre-shift examination at Consolidation Coal's mine. The respondents submitted sworn statements that they were not on duty during the shifts immediately before or during the incident…
Kiewit Mining Group Incorporated
Settlement approved after fatal electrical incident
Kiewit Mining Group was cited after electrical work was performed near energized equipment on a dragline. The citations concerned failure to deenergize electrical power and failure to lock out and tag the circuit. The conditions were associated with a fatality, and both violations were classified…
Deby Coal Company, Inc.
Settlement approved and cases dismissed
Deby Coal Company faced two civil penalty proceedings involving section 104(b) orders and section 104(a) citations at its preparation plant. Judge Avram Weisberger reviewed the parties' settlement motion and found it appropriate under the Mine Act's penalty criteria. He approved the settlement…
Umetco Minerals Corporation
In re Umetco Minerals Corporation (EAB CAA Appeal No. 94-6): radon-reporting violation found and case remanded
EPA Region VIII alleged that Umetco Minerals Corporation failed to report 1990 radon emissions testing for the A-9 uranium mill tailings impoundment at its East Gas Hills facility in Wyoming. The presiding officer dismissed the complaint after concluding that the impoundment was not operational…
Mid-Continent Resources, Inc.
Coal accumulation violation found S&S on remand
Mid-Continent Resources was cited after loose coal accumulated along a 3,000-foot belt at its Dutch Creek Mine. The earlier ALJ decision found the violation and unwarrantable failure but not S&S. After Commission remand, Judge Richard W. Manning found that the gassy mine, ignition sources, the…
VA Medical Center, Jamaica Plain and Fraternal Order of Police
VA Medical Center Jamaica Plain and Fraternal Order of Police (FLRA BN-CA-30274): labor organization status sent back for findings
A VA medical center suspended a police officer after he sent a letter on behalf of a Fraternal Order of Police lodge that criticized management and threatened to publicize the dispute. An administrative law judge recommended dismissing the complaint, finding the letter unprotected. The Authority…
Moishe's Moving Systems, Inc.
Manager's vacation did not excuse late notice of contest
Moishe's Moving Systems, Inc. received a serious OSHA citation on December 8, 1992, making its notice of contest due December 30. The company filed its contest in January after the building manager returned from vacation and found the citation in his mail. Chief Judge Irving Sommer noted that 30 to…
Fort Scott Fertilizer-Cullor, Inc.
Employee misconduct did not defeat brake citations
Fort Scott Fertilizer-Cullor operated a limestone quarry where MSHA found defective brakes on two haulage trucks. The ALJ vacated the citation and withdrawal order after finding that employees had tampered with the brakes, and dismissed the penalty proceedings against Fort Scott and supervisor…
Social Security Administration, Mid-Atlantic Program Service Center and AFGE Local 2006
SSA Mid-Atlantic Service Center and AFGE Local 2006 (FLRA 0-AR-2646): promotion award upheld
A Social Security Administration employee was the only applicant exercising priority consideration for a vacant position, but the agency rejected her without an explanation. An arbitrator found that the agency had failed to give the genuine consideration required by its agreement with AFGE Local…
Florida Rock Industries, Inc.
Discrimination case dismissed after joint withdrawal
Irvin Rodgers, II, brought a discrimination proceeding against Florida Rock Industries concerning his November 22, 1994 termination. The parties jointly moved to withdraw their pleadings, and Florida Rock agreed not to seek attorney's fees from Rodgers. The judge granted the motion and dismissed…
Appalachian Collieries
Borehole violations affirmed, S&S findings rejected
Appalachian Collieries operated the No. 2 Mine, where an MSHA inspector found boreholes that were shorter than required in two entries. The judge found violations of 30 C.F.R. § 75.388(b)(3) and (c)(2), which address boreholes maintained ahead of working faces and boreholes drilled at a 45-degree…
Faith Coal Company
Mixed findings across consolidated civil penalty proceedings
Faith Coal Company operated the No. 15 Mine as a contract operator for Tennessee Consolidated Coal Company. The consolidated proceedings involved numerous alleged violations of mine safety and health standards, with many matters resolved through settlements. Judge David F. Barbour approved the…
RB Coal Company, Inc.
Late reopening request remanded for Rule 60(b) review
RB Coal Company asked the Commission to reopen penalty assessments that had become final after it missed the 30-day period to contest them. RB said it mailed a hearing request on day 45 because the request card had been misplaced. The Commission remanded the matter to an ALJ to decide whether RB…
Cowlitz Valley Sand & Gravel
Jurisdiction found and settlement approved
Cowlitz Valley Sand & Gravel was preparing a sand-and-gravel operation but had not yet begun production when MSHA inspected it. The judge found that the operation was subject to the Mine Act because its preparation and equipment were connected to activities that would affect interstate commerce…
Cyprus Emerald Resources Corp.
Settlement reduces and modifies penalties
Cyprus Emerald Resources Corp. and the Secretary settled a civil penalty case involving five orders at the Emerald No. 1 Mine. The settlement reduced the penalties on two orders and reduced and reclassified three others as section 104(a) citations, deleting the unwarrantable-failure allegations…
Consolidation Coal Company
Discrimination settlement approved
Randy Cunningham alleged that Consolidation Coal Company failed to pay him for one hour spent serving as a walkaround representative during an MSHA inspection. The company agreed to pay him for that hour, and the Secretary agreed to withdraw the proposed civil penalty. The judge approved the…
NI Industries, Riverbank Army Ammunitions Plant
Inadequate sump ventilation produces one serious $3,500 violation
NI Industries employees cleaned sludge from a permit-required sump about 25 feet deep at an ammunition plant. The sump had limited natural ventilation, and employees used a gasoline chain saw that repeatedly caused the atmospheric monitor's alarm to sound. NI initially provided no forced…
Tanglewood Energy, Inc. and Fern Cove, Inc.
Relief from final orders denied
Tanglewood Energy and Fern Cove asked the Commission to reopen 119 matters that had become final, citing excusable neglect under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(1). The Commission explained that 94 matters became final when the operators did not timely contest proposed penalty assessments…
Amax Coal Company
Coal accumulation orders partly resolved
Amax Coal Company operated the Wabash Mine, a large underground coal mine. The case involved three orders alleging violations of the Mine Act and 30 C.F.R. § 75.400, which requires combustible materials to be cleaned up and not allowed to accumulate in active workings. The judge approved an $8,000…
Louisiana-Pacific Company
Sander kickback and repeat lockout failures produce $158,500
Louisiana-Pacific Company operated a particle-board plant where a jammed wide-belt sander ejected a board that struck an employee and caused severe internal injuries. The judge found that kickback was a recognized woodworking hazard and that manufacturer-recommended anti-kickback fingers would…
Tamposi Family Investments
In re Tamposi Family Investments (EAB CERCLA § 106(b) Petition No. 94-6): reimbursement petition denied
Tamposi Family Investments sought reimbursement for costs it incurred under an EPA order to clean asbestos contamination on its property in Nashua, New Hampshire. TFI argued that Johns-Manville Corporation was solely responsible for the release and that TFI was an innocent landowner because it had…
Boart Longyear Company
Discrimination proceeding dismissed
Sam Collette alleged that Boart Longyear Company discriminated against him after a back injury and his complaints about the safety and health effects of driving a water truck. The judge found that the company had no other qualified light-duty position available and that Collette's termination was…
William H. Oliver
In re William H. Oliver (EAB CERCLA 106(b) Petition No. 94-8): reimbursement petition denied
William H. Oliver sought reimbursement for response costs he incurred while complying with an EPA order to clean up hazardous substances at a former furniture manufacturing site in Cadillac, Michigan. He argued that he did not own the cans and drums at the site, that any liability should not be…
HUD Region IX and NFFE Local 1450 and AFGE Local 2403
HUD Region IX and AFGE Local 2403 (FLRA SF-RO-40054): election objection reconsideration denied
AFGE Local 2403 sought reconsideration after the Authority declined to review a regional director's dismissal of its objection to a representation election at HUD Region IX. The local argued that the Authority had wrongly rejected its claim to have acted as AFGE National's agent when filing the…
Newmont Gold Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed without prejudice
Lance A. Paul filed a discrimination complaint against Newmont Gold Company under section 105(c)(3) of the Mine Act. A hearing notice was returned as unclaimed, and the company reported that Paul's address was unknown. The judge granted the company's motion to dismiss, canceled the scheduled…
Kellys Creek Resources, Inc.
Consolidated penalties assessed after fatal roof fall
Kellys Creek Resources operated Mine No. 78 and faced contests and civil penalty proceedings involving numerous citations and orders. The proceedings included violations related to a January 1, 1992 roof fall that fatally injured two miners and seriously injured a third. The judge rejected Kellys…
Chemical Waste Management of Indiana, Inc.
In re Chemical Waste Management of Indiana, Inc. (EAB RCRA Appeal Nos. 95-2 and 95-3): permit review denied
Chemical Waste Management of Indiana operated the Adams Center Landfill Facility in Fort Wayne, Indiana, under a federal RCRA permit and sought a Class 3 permit modification and renewal of the federal portion of the permit. The City of New Haven and two individual petitioners challenged the permit…
VA Medical Center, Newington and NAGE Local R1-109
VA Medical Center Newington and NAGE Local R1-109 (FLRA 0-AR-2654): sick leave restoration award upheld
A Newington VA Medical Center employee needed temporary light duty after an off-duty injury. The center offered a later shift because it said light duty was unavailable during the first hour of her regular shift, so she used one hour of sick leave on each of 11 workdays. An arbitrator found that…
AFGE Local 1482 and Marine Corps Logistics Base, Barstow
AFGE Local 1482 and Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow (FLRA 0-AR-2628): asbestos pay grievance denial upheld
AFGE Local 1482 sought environmental differential pay for wage-grade employees exposed to airborne asbestos at the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Barstow. An arbitrator denied the grievance after applying an exposure threshold and reviewing air samples. The union argued that any asbestos exposure…
Kenneth D. Nelson v. Stevedoring Services of America
Nelson v. Stevedoring Services (BRB 88-3695 and related appeals): fee rates adjusted for payment delay
Kenneth Nelson received Longshore benefits for injuries at Stevedoring Services of America. The Board upheld the judge's use of Nelson's actual earnings before his later injury to calculate his weekly wage, rejecting an older wage capacity figure. Several related appeals challenged attorney fee…
Richard A. Pulaski Construction Company, Inc.
Default set aside because employer lacked a chance to show cause
The administrative law judge dismissed Richard A. Pulaski Construction Company, Inc.'s notice of contest after the company missed an agreed telephone prehearing conference. The record showed that Pulaski had previously filed a prehearing statement listing a proposed witness, promptly contacted the…
Southmountain Coal, Inc.
Settlement approved and contests dismissed
Southmountain Coal and William Ridley Elkins were parties to contest and civil penalty proceedings involving numerous citations, orders, and proposed penalties. The Secretary reported related criminal proceedings and stated that the respondents' monetary liability had been satisfied. The judge…
Fred H. Green, Jr., et al. v. Ingalls Shipbuilding, Incorporated
Green and other claimants v. Ingalls Shipbuilding (BRB 94-0906 to 94-0928): premature appeals dismissed
Ingalls Shipbuilding sought summary judgment against 23 former workers with asbestos related Longshore claims. The workers had settled their disability compensation claims but had left possible future medical benefits open. Ingalls argued that later settlements with third parties, made without its…
Hollis W. Bridier v. Alabama Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Corporation
Bridier v. Alabama Dry Dock (BRB 92-2358): hearing loss claim found timely and work related
Hollis Bridier, a shipyard welder, sought Longshore benefits for hearing loss. A judge denied the claim as late and found that Bridier had not shown a work connection. The Board held that an earlier audiogram and employer letter did not start the claim deadline because the letter did not explain…
Estate of J. T. Goodloe v. Peabody Coal Company
Goodloe v. Peabody Coal (BRB 92-1738): Benefit award upheld, attorney fee returned
J. T. Goodloe's estate pursued his black lung benefit claim after his death. Peabody Coal argued that medical opinions rebutted the presumption supporting the award, but the Board held that the opinions did not rule out a link between his respiratory impairment and coal mine employment or establish…
Ingalls Shipbuilding, Inc.
Consolidated citations settle for $8,850
The Commission approved a complete settlement of three consolidated Ingalls Shipbuilding, Inc. dockets. Seven electrical-panel cabinet items were reclassified as other-than-serious with $600 total penalties, and Ingalls agreed to keep panel doors closed and replace missing blanks. A…
Cedar Lake Sand & Gravel
Two safety violations affirmed
Cedar Lake Sand & Gravel operated a sand and gravel pit in Wisconsin. The judge found that the company stored an uncovered compressed-gas cylinder and allowed rocks to accumulate on a walkway leading to a sizing screen. The judge found both violations, reduced the negligence assessment for…
Annie D. Hawthorne v. Ingalls Shipbuilding, Incorporated
Hawthorne v. Ingalls Shipbuilding (BRB 92-1077): Director may raise Special Fund defense on remand
Annie Hawthorne, an Ingalls Shipbuilding welder, had knee and ankle injury claims before the Board. Its earlier decision sent the employer's request for Special Fund relief on the knee claim back for review. The Director sought reconsideration because the request had been made before the judge…
U.S. Geological Survey, Caribbean District Office and AFGE 15th District
Geological Survey Caribbean District and AFGE (FLRA BN-CA-31069): reinstatement ordered for temporary employees
The U.S. Geological Survey's Caribbean District Office terminated ten temporary employees because their union threatened to file an unfair labor practice charge. An administrative law judge found a violation but limited backpay to the end of the fiscal year and did not order reinstatement. The…
D. H. Blattner & Sons, Incorporated
Verbal-order contest dismissed
D. H. Blattner & Sons challenged an alleged verbal MSHA order requiring it to file a legal-identity notification or face shutdown. The judge explained that the Commission can review written citations and orders, but not an alleged verbal order. The judge dismissed the case and noted that the…
NFFE Local 422 and Bureau of Indian Affairs, Colorado River Agency
NFFE Local 422 and BIA Colorado River Agency (FLRA 0-NG-2228): repeat negotiability petition dismissed as late
NFFE Local 422 filed a second negotiability petition over proposals that the Bureau of Indian Affairs had declared nonnegotiable the year before. The union had missed the deadline for review of that allegation and then resubmitted the same proposals, requesting a new written allegation. The…
AFGE Local 2065 and U.S. Marine Corps
AFGE Local 2065 and Marine Corps (FLRA 0-AR-2732): arbitration exceptions filed too late
An individual filed exceptions to an arbitration award involving AFGE Local 2065 and the Marine Corps. He mailed the exceptions to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, which forwarded them to the Authority. The Authority accepted that he had standing to file, but found the exceptions…
Social Security Administration, Baltimore and AFGE Council 220
SSA Baltimore and AFGE Council 220 (FLRA 0-AR-2664): ergonomic furniture site visits allowed
The Social Security Administration and AFGE Council 220 had agreed through arbitration to joint oversight of ergonomic furniture installation in field offices. A later award allowed their joint committee, including union representatives and ergonomists, to visit vendors and review furniture…
Consolidation Coal Company
Settlement approved with modified charges
Consolidation Coal Company faced proposed penalties totaling $24,096 for citations and orders at the Humphrey No. 7 Mine. The settlement reduced the penalty for two citations, removed the significant-and-substantial designation from one citation, and changed two withdrawal orders to section 104(a)…
Dunkard Mining Company
Settlement approved
Dunkard Mining Company faced a proposed civil penalty of $1,949. The judge approved the parties' settlement after considering the submitted representations and documentation and finding the settlement appropriate under the Mine Act's penalty criteria. The company was ordered to pay $780 within 30…
Gold Coin Ironworks
Late contest dismissed after employer also missed the hearing
Gold Coin Ironworks received a serious citation and proposed penalty on October 7, 1994, making its notice of contest due October 31. It requested an informal conference but did not file a contest until November 23. The employer also failed to appear at the scheduled hearing, arriving after the…
Cherry Hill Stairs, Inc., t/a Harmonson Stairs
Repeated refusal to guard table saw results in $12,000 willful penalty
Cherry Hill Stairs, trading as Harmonson Stairs, operated a custom stair-building shop in New Jersey. Employees used a hand-fed circular ripsaw without the required hood, spreader, and anti-kickback fingers, even though the guarding unit was nearby. The company argued that guards were infeasible…
IFPTE Local 28, Lewis Engineers and Scientists Association and NASA Lewis Research Center
IFPTE Local 28 and NASA Lewis Research Center (FLRA 0-AR-2665): supervisory promotion grievance remained outside arbitration
An employee at NASA's Lewis Research Center challenged her nonselection for a supervisory position. An arbitrator found the grievance outside the parties' arbitration agreement because the merit-promotion article covered only nonsupervisory bargaining-unit jobs. IFPTE Local 28 argued that other…
AFGE Local 2199 and VA Medical Center, Salt Lake City
AFGE Local 2199 and Salt Lake City VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-2640): appraisal ruling reconsideration denied
AFGE Local 2199 sought reconsideration after the Authority upheld an arbitration award denying a VA Medical Center employee's performance-appraisal grievance. The union argued that the Authority had misread a regulation governing progress reviews and that its interpretation would produce…
Reading Anthracite Company
Temporary-reinstatement enforcement motion resolved
William Kaczmarczyk had been temporarily reinstated after alleging retaliation connected to his work as a walkaround representative during an MSHA inspection. The judge found that Reading Anthracite assigned him mud-removal work beyond his physical capabilities on April 17 and April 19, 1995…
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.