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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Roy Johnson v. Old Ben Coal Company
Johnson v. Old Ben Coal (BRB 94-0164): Benefit denial reversed, start date returned
Roy Johnson sought medical benefits for black lung disease. A judge had denied the claim after crediting two doctors who reviewed records but did not examine him and attributed his lung condition to smoking. The Board held that the reviewing doctors' opinions could not establish rebuttal because…
NFFE Local 11 and Fairchild Air Force Base
Arbitration fees split under agreement
An arbitrator sustained an employee's performance-appraisal grievance at Fairchild Air Force Base and ordered a reevaluation. He found no losing party and directed NFFE Local 11 and the base to share his fees and expenses equally. The union argued that the agency should pay all costs as the losing…
AFGE Local 400 and U.S. Army 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum
AFGE Local 400 and Fort Drum (FLRA 0-AR-2687): backpay calculation correction upheld
An arbitrator reduced a Fort Drum employee's suspension from 14 calendar days to five workdays but initially awarded nine days of backpay. After the Army pointed out that the original suspension covered only ten workdays, the arbitrator corrected the backpay to five workdays. AFGE Local 400 argued…
Tanglewood Energy, Inc.; Fern Cove, Inc.; Randy Burke, and Randall Key
Discriminatory discharge found, damages reserved
Samuel Knotts was discharged after speaking with a mine engineer about equipment conditions, management, and safety concerns at the Coalbank Fork No. 12 Mine. The judge found that Knotts had engaged in protected activity by testifying in an earlier discrimination case, assisting MSHA inspectors…
Wiser Construction, L.L.C.
Default order reopened and matter remanded
Wiser Construction failed to answer the Secretary of Labor's proposed civil penalties or an order to show cause, and the ALJ entered a default order assessing $4,300 in penalties. Wiser later said it had responded but had mistakenly mailed its response to a Department of Labor attorney. The…
T.E. Bertagnolli & Associates
Default order reopened and matter remanded
T.E. Bertagnolli & Associates failed to answer the Secretary of Labor's proposed civil penalties or an order to show cause, and the ALJ entered a default order assessing $9,800 in penalties. The company later said it had responded but had mistakenly mailed its response to a Department of Labor…
Valley Construction Company
$750 awarded for unjustified material-safety-data-sheet item
Valley Construction Company sought attorney, consultant, and other expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act after settling OSHA citations arising from an employee's fatal electrocution. The settlement withdrew three items, reclassified two, and reduced two penalties. The judge found Valley to…
American Stone, Inc.
Settlement approved and one citation vacated
American Stone contested 18 safety violations at its Aragonite Mine and crushing mill. The Secretary vacated the citation alleging that the mine had been closed without notice after records showed the mine was open, and the judge set aside its $50 penalty. The parties settled the remaining matters…
Brushy Creek Coal Co., Inc.
Ventilation citations partly modified and partly affirmed
Brushy Creek Coal Company contested seven ventilation-related citations issued during an inspection at its Brushy Creek Mine, and the Secretary also pursued civil penalties in three related dockets. The ALJ found violations involving ventilation of worked-out areas, nonpermissible equipment…
Davis Shoulders, employed by Pyro Mining Company
Proceeding dismissed
This civil penalty proceeding concerned whether section 110(c) of the Mine Act permits individual liability against an agent of an operator organized as a corporate partnership. The ALJ had concluded that section 110(c) provides individual liability only against agents of corporate operators. The…
Megawest Financial, Inc.
Apartment-office violence citation vacated for lack of recognized hazard proof
Megawest Financial, Inc. managed a large Florida apartment complex whose office staff experienced repeated tenant threats and several physical attacks. Employees requested daytime security, and another tenant attacked an assistant manager while an OSHA compliance officer was investigating the…
United States Air Force Academy and AFGE Local 1867
Air Force Academy and AFGE Local 1867 (FLRA DE-CA-20757): violations ordered remedied, discrimination claims remanded
The Air Force Academy changed rules on coveralls, telephone access, and a union steward's official time without bargaining with AFGE Local 1867. An administrative law judge also found that the Academy retaliated against the steward with counseling memoranda and made an antiunion statement to…
Consolidation Coal Company
Miners’ representative policy found discriminatory
Consolidation Coal transferred Richard Glover and Leon Kehrer from scooter-barn mechanic jobs because of their duties as miners’ representatives who accompanied inspectors. The judge found that the company’s policy effectively barred miners’ representatives from holding the scooter-barn mechanic…
Topper Coal Company, Inc.
Inspection-interference citation affirmed as modified
During a spot inspection for smoking articles, Topper Coal's owner called underground after inspectors told him not to alert the miners. The judge found that the call impeded the inspection and violated section 103(a) of the Mine Act. The citation's negligence level was reduced from reckless…
U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs and AFSCME Local 2830
Justice Programs and AFSCME Local 2830 (FLRA 3-CA-10207): appraisal names withheld under Privacy Act
AFSCME Local 2830 asked the Justice Department's Office of Justice Programs for the names of employees who received outstanding performance appraisals. An administrative law judge found that refusing the list violated the agency's information-sharing duty. The Authority reversed, finding that the…
C.W. Mining Company
Coal accumulation citation modified and penalty assessed
C.W. Mining operated the underground Bear Canyon #1 coal mine in Utah. MSHA cited the company after finding loose coal, coal fines, and float coal dust accumulated in a roadway and around a feeder, alleging a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.400. Judge Richard W. Manning vacated one citation by…
442nd Fighter Wing, Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base and AFGE Local 2127
442nd Fighter Wing and AFGE Local 2127 (FLRA DE-CA-20896): candidate names withheld from promotion roster
AFGE Local 2127 requested an unsanitized candidate referral roster to examine a promotion grievance at the 442nd Fighter Wing. The wing provided the roster with applicants' names and other identifiers removed. An administrative law judge found that withholding those identifiers violated the…
Madison Branch Management
Settlement orders vacated and remanded
Madison Branch Management and Protective Security Services faced enforcement proceedings after a security guard died from carbon monoxide exposure in a vehicle with a damaged exhaust system at Madison's Job No. 3 mine. The parties proposed settlements, but the administrative law judge denied…
Berwind Natural Resources, Corp., Kentucky Berwind Land Company, Kyber Coal Company, and Jesse Branch Coal Company
Berwind Natural Resources, Corp. (FMSHRC KENT 94-574-R): Motion in limine denied
Berwind Natural Resources, Kentucky Berwind Land Company, Kyber Coal Company, and Jesse Branch Coal Company contested Mine Act proceedings involving the Elmo No. 5 Mine. After an earlier summary-decision order narrowed the issues for hearing, the contestants asked the judge to exclude testimony and…
Lakeview Rock Products, Inc.
Extension request denied
Lakeview Rock Products asked for 30 more days to file a petition for discretionary review of an administrative law judge’s decision. The Commissioners agreed to deny the extension and rejected treating the request as a petition because it stated no grounds for appeal. Chairman Jordan and…
Michael Griffith, II, Employed by Teal Mining, Incorporated
Civil penalty charges vacated
The Secretary charged Michael Griffith and Michael Griffith II, acting as alleged agents of Teal Mining, with knowingly authorizing, ordering, or carrying out three admitted violations involving the mine ventilation plan and roof control plan. Judge Gary Melick found that the Secretary did not…
GEM Industrial, Inc.
Reviewed steel tag-line item withdrawn by settlement
GEM Industrial, Inc. was a structural-steel subcontractor on an Ohio building project. The administrative law judge had affirmed a serious tag-line violation for crane loads during steel shakeout and assessed $1,300, along with a separate $1,625 electrical violation. Review was directed on the…
Moberly Stone Company
Default judgment entered after failure to appear
Moberly Stone Company contested five alleged violations of mandatory safety standards at its operation in Missouri. The company did not appear at the scheduled hearing after receiving notice, so Judge Roy J. Maurer proceeded without it and found the company in default. The Secretary’s evidence…
Ozark Wood Gallery
Default remains on merits, but employee-status jurisdiction requires a hearing
The chief judge dismissed Ozark Wood Gallery's notice of contest because the business did not file an answer or respond to a show-cause order. On review, Ozark asserted that it had never had any employees, while the Secretary's complaint alleged approximately six employees at the time of…
Laramie County Road and Bridge
Crusher fall-protection citation affirmed
Laramie County Road and Bridge operated a portable crusher that supplied gravel for county roads. An employee stood and leaned over the crusher about eight to twelve feet above the ground while removing rocks without a safety belt or line. Judge Richard W. Manning found that a reasonably prudent…
Western Fuels-Utah, Inc.
Belt-fire citations mixed, $4,000 penalty assessed
Western Fuels-Utah operated the underground Deserado Mine in Colorado, where a conveyor-belt fire occurred in the East Mains No. 3 section. Judge August F. Cetti found that the Secretary did not prove violations involving the conveyor switches or the sensing devices, and he vacated those citations…
Dillingham Construction
$1,200 settlement approved
Dillingham Construction faced civil penalty proceedings involving the Lyman Quarry Mine. The parties reached a settlement at a scheduled hearing, reducing the proposed penalty from $4,800 to $1,200. Judge Avram Weisberger found the settlement appropriate under the Mine Act's penalty criteria and…
Kerr-McGee Coal Corporation
Discrimination proceeding dismissed
The Secretary of Labor brought a discrimination proceeding on behalf of Mark Beyer against Kerr-McGee Coal Corporation concerning the Jacobs Ranch Mine. The Secretary moved to dismiss the case. Judge Avram Weisberger granted the motion, cancelled the hearing scheduled for August 8, 1995, and…
Buck Creek Coal Co.
Stay denied and discovery objection partly granted
The Secretary of Labor sought a stay of civil proceedings involving Buck Creek Coal and objected to several proposed depositions and discovery requests because of a related criminal investigation. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon denied the stay because the Secretary did not establish a sufficient commonality…
Ibold Incorporated
Late filing accepted
The Secretary of Labor asked the Commission to accept a civil penalty petition filed 16 days late. Chief Administrative Law Judge Paul Merlin found adequate cause for the short delay and no showing of prejudice to Ibold Incorporated. He accepted the Conference and Litigation Representative's…
Lone Mountain Processing Incorporated
Late filing accepted
The Secretary of Labor asked the Commission to accept a civil penalty petition filed 16 days late. Chief Administrative Law Judge Paul Merlin found adequate cause for the short delay and no showing of prejudice to the operator. He accepted the Conference and Litigation Representative's appearance…
AFSCME Local 3870 and Farmers Home Administration
Defective petition service not excused
AFSCME Local 3870 sought review of a negotiability dispute with the Farmers Home Administration, but served its petition on someone other than the agency's principal bargaining representative. The Authority notified the union of the defect and gave it a deadline to correct service; the union did…
AFGE Local 3184 and Social Security Administration, Pasadena, Texas
AFGE Local 3184 and SSA Pasadena (FLRA 0-AR-2653): sick leave restrictions upheld
AFGE Local 3184 challenged how a Social Security Administration supervisor checked a medical certificate and imposed sick leave restrictions on an employee. An arbitrator denied three consolidated grievances, finding that the supervisor's actions were permitted under the parties' agreements and…
U.S. Department of Justice and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Local 3719
Justice Department and AFSCME Local 3719 (FLRA WA-CU-20211, WA-CU-20401): unit exclusions receive partial review
AFSCME Local 3719 sought review of a regional director's decision excluding Justice Department employees from its bargaining unit. The Authority declined to review the exclusion of two Civil Division employees as confidential and Susan Henry as a supervisor; it also rejected the union's request to…
Department of Defense Dependents Schools and Overseas Education Association
Defense Dependents Schools and Overseas Education Association (FLRA WA-CA-20413): settlement repudiation violated labor law
The Department of Defense Dependents Schools and the Overseas Education Association settled a grievance about teacher identification cards in the agency's Germany region. An agency headquarters official later told the union and regional management that the agreement could not be recognized. The…
Robert F. Irwin v. Navy Resale Exchange
Irwin v. Navy Resale Exchange (BRB 92-2321): late settlement payment triggers penalty
Robert Irwin received a Longshore settlement, but the employer's check reached him 12 days after the approval order was filed. A judge treated the ten day payment period as excluding intervening weekends and denied a late payment penalty. The Board held that the Act's ten days are calendar days…
Arcata Readimix
Six citations affirmed
Arcata Readimix operated a small sand and gravel pit in California. MSHA cited the plant for exposed electrical conductors, missing or loose guards, an overdue fire-extinguisher inspection, and missing grounding-system testing. Judge Richard W. Manning found six violations and affirmed the…
General Services Administration and Bobbie J. Brunning and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1800
GSA, Bobbie Brunning, and NFFE Local 1800 (FLRA WA-CA-30005, WA-CA-30153): union excluded from formal discussions
The General Services Administration interviewed bargaining unit employees while preparing for a former manager's personnel appeal. The interviews covered office conduct and morale, but the agency did not give NFFE Local 1800 notice or a chance to attend. The Authority held that these were formal…
BSC Construction, Inc.
Settlement approved and citation modified
BSC Construction faced a civil penalty proceeding involving two alleged violations of the Mine Act's training regulations. The Secretary modified the citation to vacate all references to 30 C.F.R. § 48.31(a), leaving the alleged violation under 30 C.F.R. § 48.28(a). Judge T. Todd Hodgdon approved…
Peabody Coal Company
Two citations affirmed as non-S&S
Peabody Coal operated the Martwick UG Mine. On remand from the Commission, Judge Arthur J. Amchan considered whether two citations were significant and substantial under the Commission's Mathies framework. He found that an unconnected external grounding device on a cathead violated 30 C.F.R. §…
All American Asphalt
Back-pay awards and penalty ordered
All American Asphalt faced consolidated discrimination proceedings brought on behalf of James Hyles, Douglas Mears, Derrick Soto, and Gregory Dennis. The parties resolved the amounts of back pay and benefits owed before the scheduled hearing, while the respondent reserved its position on liability…
Reading Anthracite Company
Discrimination found and reinstatement ordered
William Kaczmarczyk was returned from light duty to workers compensation status one day after serving as a walkaround representative during MSHA inspections. Judge Arthur J. Amchan found that Reading Anthracite Company's safety director had some animus toward Kaczmarczyk's protected activity and…
Richard Ahl v. Maxon Marine, Incorporated
Ahl v. Maxon Marine (BRB 94-2498): Director remains a party to the appeal
Maxon Marine and its carrier sought to remove the Director of the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs from Richard Ahl's Longshore appeal. They argued that a Supreme Court ruling barred the Director from participating. The Board explained that the ruling addressed the Director's ability to…
Alpha Mining Company
Smoking-material citations mixed
The Secretary charged Alpha Mining Company and two employees after inspectors found cigarettes, cigarette packs, cigarette butts, and a lighter during an underground inspection at the Alpha No. 1 Mine. Judge Gary Melick vacated the citation against Robert Hardin, finding that an empty cigarette…
Mineral Transport, Inc.
$400 settlement approved
Mineral Transport, Inc. faced a civil penalty proceeding involving the CSI #5 mine. The parties proposed reducing the penalty from $800 to $400. Judge Gary Melick approved the settlement under the Mine Act's penalty criteria, ordered payment of $400 within 30 days, and cancelled the hearing…
Matter of D-V-
Asylum granted after credibility finding reversed
The applicant was an Afghan man who testified that KHAD detained and abused him because of his support for the mujahidin, after which he was imprisoned and involuntarily sent to the army. The Board rejected the Immigration Judge's adverse credibility finding because the testimony was plausible…
Matter of Flavio Eduardo MANRIQUE
State drug disposition compared with federal first-offender treatment
The respondent, a lawful permanent resident from Venezuela, had a Louisiana cocaine-possession case resolved under a state rehabilitative statute and was ordered deported after the Immigration Judge treated the disposition as a conviction for immigration purposes. The Board held that an alien who…
VSH Restaurant Corporation, d/b/a Vestal Steakhouse & Seafood Grill
Citation vacated after inspection evidence suppressed
Local fire and building officials inspected Vestal Steakhouse & Seafood Grill and gave the restaurant ten days to correct numerous electrical and fire-code conditions. The restaurant began repairs and had completed most listed items when OSHA inspected five days before the local deadline, using the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1802 and Social Security Administration, Golden Teleservice Center
AFGE Local 1802 and SSA Golden Teleservice Center (FLRA 0-AR-2655): seven-day suspension upheld
The Social Security Administration suspended a telephone service representative for seven days after finding that he had been discourteous to callers. An arbitrator denied his grievance, finding just cause for the suspension. AFGE Local 1802 argued that the arbitrator wrongly treated the employee's…
Ideker, Inc.
$500 settlement approved
Ideker, Inc. faced a civil penalty proceeding concerning the Amazonia Quarry. After an evidentiary hearing, the parties moved to approve a settlement and dismiss the case. Judge Roy J. Maurer approved a reduction in the proposed penalty from $1,000 to $500 and ordered payment within 30 days. The…
Pierce Sand Company
$556 settlement approved
Pierce Sand Company faced a civil penalty proceeding involving eight citations. The parties proposed reducing the combined assessments from $862 to $556. Judge Roy J. Maurer approved the settlement after considering the parties' representations, documentation, and hearing testimony. The company was…
TVX Mineral Hill Mine
Temporary reinstatement proceeding dismissed
The Secretary sought temporary reinstatement for Cody Cherry in a discrimination proceeding against TVX Mineral Hill Mine. Cherry no longer wanted to return to his previous mine position because he had found other employment. The Secretary reserved the possibility of pursuing back pay and a civil…
Exxon Company, U.S.A.
In re Exxon Company, U.S.A. (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 94-8): permit review denied in part and remanded in part
Exxon challenged corrective-action conditions in its federal RCRA permit for a petroleum refinery in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. It argued that a railroad track divided the refinery into separate facilities, that certain oil-water separators and an aerobic digester were exempt from…
Florida Pulp and Paper Association and Buckeye Florida, L.P.
In re Florida Pulp and Paper Association and Buckeye Florida, L.P. (EAB NPDES Appeal Nos. 94-4 and 94-5): review denied in part and issue remanded
Buckeye Florida and the Florida Pulp and Paper Association challenged parts of an EPA renewal permit for a pulp mill in Perry, Florida. Buckeye argued that EPA could not require certain sludge sampling, lacked an accepted protocol for crab-tissue analysis, and used an improper compliance schedule…
R B Coal Company, Incorporated
Four citations settled for $1,250
R B Coal Company operated the RB #5 Mine and faced four alleged Part 75 violations initially assessed at a total of $17,000. After the Secretary presented evidence on the first citation, the parties reached a comprehensive settlement. Judge Jerold Feldman modified the four violations from…
Asarco, Inc.
Motion to compel mostly denied
Asarco sought documents from the Secretary in consolidated contest and discrimination proceedings. The judge held that most miner statements and agency memoranda were protected by the informant's privilege or the deliberative process privilege. The judge nevertheless required the Secretary to…
Alcorn Well Service, Inc., a Division of Dawson Well Service, Inc.
Wrench-hazard item vacated, hazard-communication items yield $1,050
An Alcorn Well Service, Inc. crew was fishing broken sucker rods from a Texas well when two workers used pipe wrenches to turn a rod and move an overshot through a tight spot. The rod unexpectedly torqued, one worker lost control of his wrench, and the wrench struck another employee in the head…
Western Fuels-Utah, Inc.
Communication-cable citation affirmed
Western Fuels operated the Deserado underground coal mine in Colorado. MSHA cited the mine after finding that a communication cable crossed a 995-volt power cable without additional insulation. Judge Richard W. Manning held that 30 C.F.R. § 75.516-2(c) requires additional insulation where…
CWM Chemical Services, Inc., Chemical Waste Management, Inc., and Waste Management, Inc.
In re CWM Chemical Services, Inc., Chemical Waste Management, Inc., and Waste Management, Inc. (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 93-1): dry-weight penalty case dismissed
EPA Region II alleged that CWM Chemical Services, Chemical Waste Management, and Waste Management accepted 260 shipments of PCB-contaminated sludge with concentrations above the 500 parts-per-million limit for their landfill approval. The Region sought $3,425,000 in penalties and argued that PCB…
Indianapolis Power & Light Company, Petersburg Plant
In re Indianapolis Power & Light Company, Petersburg Plant (EAB CAA Appeal No. 95-1): permit affirmed
Indianapolis Power & Light challenged the calculation of sulfur-dioxide extension allowances in its phase I acid-rain permit for the Petersburg plant. The company argued that EPA should adjust the 1988 and 1989 emissions data because an unusual six-month outage reduced emissions during that period…
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.