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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Broken Hill Mining Company
One citation modified and one vacated
Broken Hill Mining Company and employee Donald Kidd faced separate citations after a lighter was found in Kidd's lunch bucket at the No. 1 Mine. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found that the evidence did not prove Kidd willfully carried the lighter underground, so he vacated Kidd's citation and dismissed…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R1-109 and Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Newington
NAGE Local R1-109 and VA Newington Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-2663): five-day suspension upheld
A VA Medical Center suspended an employee for five days after an incident involving beer during his shift and abusive language toward a supervisor. An arbitrator found just cause for the suspension and denied the grievance. NAGE Local R1-109 challenged the arbitrator's interpretation of agency…
Energy West Mining Company
$50 citation affirmed
Energy West Mining Company was cited at its Cottonwood Mine after three nonpermissible diesel trucks were found in a two-entry longwall panel during equipment installation. The judge held that the belt-haulage entry remained a belt-haulage entry while the conveyor was being modified, and that the…
Swing-A-Way Manufacturing Co.
In re Swing-A-Way Manufacturing Co. (EAB EPCRA Appeal No. 94-1): nickel reporting violation and $48,000 penalty affirmed
Swing-A-Way Manufacturing made manual can openers and ice crushers in St. Louis, Missouri. EPA alleged that it failed to file required EPCRA Form R reports for nickel and sulfuric acid. The Environmental Appeals Board held that EPA proved Swing-A-Way processed more than the 25,000-pound nickel…
North Western Resources Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Carl Stoecker alleged that North Western Resources Company discharged him because of safety-related complaints at its Jewett Mine. Judge Jerold Feldman found that Stoecker’s concerns about a substitute crusher operator and a coworker’s ability to perform heavy lifting were protected activity. The…
Edward Schumacher
$1,500 settlement approved
Edward Schumacher, an employee of Midwest Material Corporation, was the respondent in a civil penalty proceeding at the Lacon Plant. The parties asked the Judge to approve a settlement that reduced the penalty from $9,500 to $1,500. Judge Arthur J. Amchan found the settlement consistent with the…
Hico Transport, Inc. and Jay Crase
Default judgment entered
Jerry Slone alleged that Hico Transport, Inc. and Jay Crase discharged him in retaliation for activity protected by the Mine Act. After MSHA declined to find a violation, Slone filed his own Commission action under section 105(c)(3). The respondents did not answer the complaint or comply with…
Sav-Mart, Inc.
In re Sav-Mart, Inc. (EAB FIFRA Appeal No. 94-3): $5,000 penalty assessment upheld
Sav-Mart operated supermarkets in Arizona. Its owner diluted registered Diazinon Spray, put the mixture into used detergent bottles, and offered the bottles for sale with copied and handwritten labels. Sav-Mart admitted four FIFRA violations, and the Presiding Officer assessed a combined $5,000…
Cavenham Forest Industries Inc.
In re Cavenham Forest Industries Inc. (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 93-2): appeal dismissed as moot
Cavenham Forest Industries challenged conditions in an EPA Region VI corrective-action permit for property near Urania, Louisiana. The company asked EPA to remove five oil pits and two drainage ditches from the permit table listing solid waste management units requiring an immediate RCRA Facility…
Winn Construction Company, Inc.
Three-mine settlement approved for $9,700
Winn Construction Company, Inc. faced civil penalty proceedings involving the Browns Valley, Maxwell, and Free Silver Mines. The parties proposed reducing the combined penalty from $27,500 to $9,700. Judge Gary Melick found the settlement acceptable under the Mine Act's statutory criteria. He…
Ky Harlan Coal Co., Inc.
$4,000 settlement approved
Ky Harlan Coal Co., Inc. was the respondent in a civil penalty proceeding involving its Prep Plant and Loading operation. After a hearing, the parties jointly moved to approve a settlement. Judge William Fauver found the settlement consistent with the purposes of section 110(i) of the Mine Act and…
Winn Transportation Corp.
$800 settlement approved
Winn Transportation Corp. was the respondent in a civil penalty proceeding involving the Browns Valley Mine. At the hearing, the Secretary moved to approve a settlement and dismiss the case, and the respondent agreed to pay the proposed $800 penalty. Judge Gary Melick found the settlement…
Peabody Coal Company
$302 settlement approved
Peabody Coal Company was the respondent in a civil penalty proceeding involving the Martwick Underground Mine. The Secretary proposed a settlement reducing the penalty from $378 to $302. Judge Gary Melick found the settlement acceptable under the Mine Act criteria and approved it. The $302 penalty…
Peabody Coal Company
Contest dismissed as moot after settlement
Peabody Coal Company contested a citation involving its Martwick Underground Mine. At a January 31, 1995 hearing, the Judge found that the contest had become moot because the parties settled the associated penalty for the underlying citation in KENT 94-1321. Judge Gary Melick dismissed the contest.
Peabody Coal Company
Partial settlement approved and remaining citation stayed
Peabody Coal Company faced a civil penalty proceeding involving the Martwick U.G. Mine. The parties proposed reducing the penalties for two citations from $2,067 to $1,867, and Judge Gary Melick found that partial settlement acceptable under the Mine Act criteria. He approved the $1,867 penalty…
Peabody Coal Company
$1,300 settlement approved
Peabody Coal Company was the respondent in a civil penalty proceeding involving the Martwick Underground Mine. The Secretary proposed a settlement reducing the penalty from $2,000 to $1,300. Judge Gary Melick found the settlement acceptable under the Mine Act criteria and approved it. The $1,300…
Thor Construction
Fall-protection and tagline violations affirmed
Thor Construction was cited for nine serious violations during a structural-steel construction project. Before the hearing, the parties settled seven items by vacating three, reclassifying four as other than serious, and agreeing to $3,000 in penalties. The judge found that several employees worked…
Consolidation Coal Company
Dust-abatement violation affirmed as non-S&S
Consolidation Coal Company was cited after it did not timely reduce respirable dust at its Blacksville No. 2 underground coal mine during the abatement period for an earlier dust citation. The Commission affirmed in result the judge's determination that the conceded dust-abatement violation was not…
F.W. Contractors, Inc.
Default relief sent back to the judge
F.W. Contractors received a $2,700 civil penalty after it failed to answer the Secretary's penalty proposal and a judge's show-cause order. The company's safety director wrote to the Commission seeking relief and said that F.W. had answered the penalty petition in an October 20, 1994 letter to the…
Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Nashville and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2400
VA Nashville Medical Center and AFGE Local 2400 (FLRA AT-CA-30628): surveillance change required bargaining
The VA Medical Center in Nashville installed the capability to use covert electronic surveillance for security purposes without first notifying AFGE Local 2400. An administrative law judge found that this changed employees' working conditions and required bargaining over its impact and…
Department of Defense Dependents Schools and Overseas Education Association
Defense Dependents Schools and Overseas Education Association (FLRA WA-CA-20892): travel policy change required bargaining
The Department of Defense Dependents Schools changed reimbursement for Germany Region employees who used their own vehicles to reach alternate duty sites. It did so without bargaining with the Overseas Education Association over the change's impact and implementation. An administrative law judge…
Harlan Cumberland Coal Company
Settlement approved at $426
Harlan Cumberland Coal Company and the Secretary jointly asked the judge to approve a settlement for two citations at the C-2 Mine. The proposed settlement reduced the total penalty from $534 to $426, with each citation reduced from $267 to $213. Judge Roy J. Maurer found the settlement appropriate…
Earl Caudill
Settlement approved for $1,250 penalty
Earl Caudill agreed to pay a proposed civil penalty of $1,250 in a case involving the Polly #3 mine in Perry County, Kentucky. The Secretary asked the judge to approve the settlement and dismiss the case. Judge Gary Melick found the settlement acceptable under the Mine Act's penalty criteria. The…
Aubrey-National, Inc.
Case dismissed after Secretary withdrew citation
Aubrey-National, Inc. operated a plastic manufacturing facility where an employee was electrocuted after falling into exposed conductors in a regrinding machine's electrical control box. OSHA cited the company for failing to guard live electrical parts with an approved enclosure. The administrative…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Locals 2096 and 2096SW and Navy Public Works Center, San Diego
NFFE Locals 2096 and 2096SW and Navy Public Works Center (FLRA 0-AR-2685): career-ladder promotions denied
Two Navy Public Works Center employees sought career-ladder promotions after one year at their existing grades. An arbitrator denied their grievance, finding legitimate supervisory concerns about their qualifications for the next grades and no proven practice of automatic anniversary promotions…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1760 and Social Security Administration, Northeastern Processing Center
AFGE Local 1760 and SSA Northeastern Processing Center (FLRA 0-AR-2662): three-day suspension upheld
The Social Security Administration suspended an employee for three days after an altercation with his supervisor. An arbitrator found just cause for the suspension based on her assessment of the evidence. AFGE Local 1760 argued that the award did not properly apply the parties' progressive…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1668 and Alaska Native Medical Center
AFGE Local 1668 and Alaska Native Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-2660): classification backpay grievances denied
Two Alaska Native Medical Center employees sought revised job descriptions and backpay for duties they said belonged to higher grades. Their positions and descriptions were revised while the grievances were pending. An arbitrator found that the classification claims were outside the negotiated…
Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2693
Defense Logistics Agency and AFGE Local 2693 (FLRA 0-AR-2615): union president's suspension overturned
The Defense Logistics Agency suspended a union president for seven days after he distributed a letter accusing supervisors of dishonesty. An arbitrator found the letter's language excessive but concluded it was protected union activity rather than flagrant misconduct. He ordered backpay, restored…
Consolidation Coal Company
Three safety orders affirmed with $9,600 penalty
Consolidation Coal was cited at its Arkwright No. 1 underground coal mine for three alleged safety violations. The ALJ found that a water pump lacked required fire protection, combustible material had accumulated around a belt-line pony drive, and a stopping created about 600 feet of dead air where…
Oleta W. Stone (Widow of Coy Stone) v. Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company
Stone v. Newport News Shipbuilding (BRB 88-3467): Special Fund relief reconsidered
Coy Stone worked as a shipyard pipefitter and was exposed to asbestos. After his death, a judge awarded disability compensation for asbestos related respiratory impairment and death benefits to his widow, with later payments assigned to the Special Fund. The Board held that Stone's kidney condition…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2921 and Army and Air Force Exchange Service
AFGE Local 2921 and Army and Air Force Exchange Service (FLRA 0-AR-2698): detail grievance ruled untimely
AFGE Local 2921 grieved two employees' details to higher-grade positions at the Army and Air Force Exchange Service. An arbitrator found the grievance late and improperly filed as a union grievance under the parties' agreement, so he did not reach the detail claims. The union argued that the award…
U.S. National Park Service, Santa Monica Mountains Recreation Area and Laborers' International Union of North America
National Park Service, Santa Monica Mountains (FLRA SF-RO-30074): election questions returned for further findings
Two National Park Service employees missed a union election while away for training, and the ballot of park ranger Charles Whitman was challenged on supervisory grounds. The Authority adopted a standard for setting aside an election when a party caused eligible voters to miss a potentially decisive…
Big "B" Mining Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Randall Patsy alleged that Big "B" Mining Company discriminated against him when it discharged him. The judge found that Patsy was working at a mobile home campground when he was discharged, not at a mine, and therefore was not a miner covered by the Mine Act at that time. Patsy also failed to…
Seymour Johnson Air Force Base and National Association of Government Employees, Local R5-188
Seymour Johnson Air Force Base and NAGE Local R5-188 (FLRA AT-CA-30524): discriminatory discharge claim dismissed
A cook at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base helped organize employees for NAGE Local R5-188, then lost his job when the base eliminated a restaurant position. The union alleged that the discharge was retaliation for his organizing activity. An administrative law judge found that the record did not…
Brickfield Builders, Inc.
Scaffold-foundation citation vacated
Brickfield Builders, Inc. was the masonry contractor for a school addition in Galena Park, Texas. OSHA alleged that the foundation of the south-side scaffold was unstable because it shared part of a haphazard anchorage supporting a west-side scaffold. The administrative law judge credited the…
Phoenix Roofing Inc.
Unguarded translucent skylight violation affirmed
Phoenix Roofing Inc. was reroofing a Texas warehouse when an employee fell through an unguarded skylight made of translucent material and died. The Commission held that the term “skylight opening” in the cited standard includes an intact skylight when its material cannot protect a worker from…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 987 and Robins Air Force Base
AFGE Local 987 and Robins Air Force Base (FLRA 0-AR-2690): environmental pay claim denied
Employees at Robins Air Force Base sought environmental differential pay for work in a particular building. The arbitrator denied their grievance after finding that air tests showed no hazard or employee exposure, and that the Air Force had taken protective measures. AFGE Local 987 argued that the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1869 and Charleston Air Force Base
AFGE Local 1869 and Charleston Air Force Base (FLRA 0-AR-2681): reprimand upheld after altercation
Charleston Air Force Base reprimanded an employee after an altercation with a supervisor. An arbitrator found the employee's use of physical means to resolve the dispute disruptive and denied the grievance. AFGE Local 1869 argued that the arbitrator unfairly excluded evidence about the supervisor…
General Services Administration and National Federation of Federal Employees
GSA and NFFE (FLRA WA-CA-30544): hybrid work schedule clause unenforceable
The General Services Administration told the National Federation of Federal Employees that it would no longer follow a contract clause allowing workers to combine flexible and compressed schedules. The union's unfair labor practice complaint alleged that this repudiated their agreement. The…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Contest resolved and settlements approved
Judge David F. Barbour resolved a consolidated group of contest and civil-penalty proceedings involving Jim Walter Resources and several individuals at the No. 4, No. 5, and No. 7 Mines. He affirmed an order issued after a hoisting-equipment accident and affirmed the related reporting citation…
Brushy Creek Coal Co., Inc.
Settlements approved at $4,286
Brushy Creek Coal faced two proposed penalties involving respirable dust and an underground fire-suppression system. The respirable-dust matter involved samples averaging 2.3 mg/m3 against a 2.0 mg/m3 limit, and the fire-suppression matter involved nozzles that were not directed at the top belt…
Immigration and Naturalization Service, Houston District and AFGE Local 3332
INS Houston District and AFGE Local 3332 (FLRA DA-CA-30056): existing shift did not require new bargaining notice
The Immigration and Naturalization Service assigned Houston airport inspectors to a 4 p.m. to midnight shift that had been established years earlier. AFGE Local 3332 alleged that the agency had changed working conditions without giving notice or a chance to bargain. An administrative law judge…
Mary L. Moody v. Ingalls Shipbuilding, Incorporated
Moody v. Ingalls Shipbuilding (BRB 90-1032): reconsideration denied and Board counsel fee awarded
Ingalls Shipbuilding asked the Board to reconsider an earlier attorney fee decision in Mary Moody's Longshore case. The Board denied the request because Ingalls raised no new arguments. It clarified that one fee objection should not have been reached earlier because Ingalls had not raised it before…
C.W. Mining Company
Citations split between vacated and affirmed
C.W. Mining Company was cited at the Bear Canyon No. 1 Mine for ventilation, fire-protection, smoking-control, and self-contained self-rescue requirements. The judge approved a partial settlement for several citations, vacated six citations for insufficient evidence or inoperability, and affirmed…
Henry A. Ross v. Ingalls Shipbuilding, Incorporated
Ross v. Ingalls Shipbuilding (BRB 92-2247): attorney fee award affirmed
Henry Ross received Longshore compensation for work related hearing loss after Ingalls Shipbuilding had voluntarily paid a smaller amount. The judge awarded his lawyer a fee of $2,255 plus expenses. Ingalls argued that the fee should be limited by the extra benefits obtained and further reduced for…
Residential Contracting, Inc.
Late notice of contest dismissed
OSHA issued Residential Contracting, Inc. a serious citation and proposed penalty. After certified mail sent to the company president's residence was returned unclaimed, a compliance officer delivered the documents to the company's designated mail-receiving location with the president's approval…
Voodoo Constr. Corp.
Broken-fax excuse did not save late contest
OSHA issued Voodoo Construction Corporation serious and repeat citations that the company received on November 29, 1993. The company said it faxed the documents to its attorney, but his fax machine malfunctioned and neither the company nor counsel followed up in time to file a contest. The judge…
Antilles Consolidated Education Association and Antilles Consolidated School System
Antilles school system and education association (FLRA 0-AR-2610): reassignment award stands
The Antilles Consolidated School System reassigned employees to other schools in the same commuting area without giving them extra time to move. Their association grieved the reassignments, but the arbitrator found that the contract gave the school system discretion over transition time and denied…
ASARCO, Inc.
Dismissal vacated and matter remanded
The Commission reviewed an administrative law judge's dismissal of civil penalty proceedings against ASARCO, Inc. The judge had dismissed the cases based on an earlier Commission decision concerning single-shift samples used to determine violations of the respirable dust standard for underground…
Consol Pennsylvania Coal Co.
Coal-dust and preshift citations affirmed
Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company was cited for coal and float-coal-dust accumulations along a longwall belt entry and for preshift examiners' failure to report hazardous conditions. The judge found the coal-dust conditions and the preshift-examination violation proven, significant and substantial…
R.G. Friday Masonry, Inc.
Repeated guardrail violations affirmed, penalties reduced
R.G. Friday Masonry was the masonry subcontractor at two Pittsburgh construction sites where employees worked on tubular welded-frame scaffolds with missing or inadequate guardrails. The company argued that guardrail installation had to be delayed for orderly work flow and material handling, but…
Mingo Logan Coal Company
Contractor training violation affirmed
Mingo Logan Coal Company operated the Mountaineer Mine and was cited after an independent contractor employee received experienced-miner training instead of new-miner training. The judge held that Mingo Logan could be cited because the contractor's employee worked near Mingo Logan miners and could…
Buck Creek Coal, Inc.
Stay continued pending status conference
Buck Creek Coal, Inc. faced a large group of civil penalty and contest proceedings involving its Buck Creek Mine. The ALJ had stayed the cases while the United States Attorney considered related criminal prosecutions. After the criminal cases were completed, the Secretary requested another 90-day…
Edward C. Barnes v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs
Barnes v. Director, OWCP (BRB 93-0584): Benefit denial reopened on reconsideration
Edward Barnes's black lung claim had been denied, and the Board had initially affirmed the denial without addressing arguments in the Labor Department's response brief. On reconsideration, the Board held that it could address those arguments. It found that the judge had used the invalid true-doubt…
Ruhlin Co.
EAJA expense award reduced to $120.08
Ruhlin Company sought fees and expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act after prevailing on two construction citation items. The Commission held that reasonable and necessary attorney travel expenses customarily charged to a client are recoverable, so it allowed $57.04 for mileage and…
Wallace K. Nelson v. Guy F. Atkinson Construction Company
Nelson v. Guy F. Atkinson Construction (BRB 91-1850): dry land lock site outside coverage
Wallace Nelson was injured while preparing explosives for excavation of a new lock near the Columbia River. The site was dry land that had never been part of the river, though the planned lock would later be used for navigation. The Board held that the site's future use did not make it navigable…
L & M Lignos Enterprises
Safety-training violation affirmed, penalty reduced to $750
L & M Lignos Enterprises was a bridge painting and sandblasting firm working beneath a bridge in Cleveland, Ohio. Employee Emmanuel Kleoudis fell from a suspended scaffold onto a barge and later died from his injuries. Although the company told employees to use safety belts and lifelines above 10…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2419 and National Institutes of Health
AFGE Local 2419 and NIH (FLRA 0-AR-2626): attorney fees denied without backpay
AFGE Local 2419 partly won a grievance that led an arbitrator to order the National Institutes of Health to monitor compliance with occupational safety and health requirements. The union then sought attorney fees, but the arbitrator denied them because the award included no backpay. The union…
Woronoffs Furniture
Untimely contest dismissed, citations affirmed
Woronoffs Furniture received two OSHA citations and proposed penalties on April 4, 1994, making its notice of contest due by April 25. The company claimed it had mailed an April 11 letter requesting both an informal conference and a contest of the penalties, but OSHA had no record of receiving it…
Donald W. Thompson, Inc.
Three serious items affirmed, $275 assessed
Donald W. Thompson, Inc. contested two OSHA citations and went to a hearing. Before evidence was taken, the Secretary withdrew Item 1 of the serious citation. The judge affirmed the three remaining serious items, finding that unguarded rebar and contact with a radial-saw blade could cause serious…
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.