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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McCain Foods, Inc.
Willful asbestos violations and $165,000 in penalties affirmed
McCain Foods operated a food-processing plant in Easton, Maine, while a major renovation project removed old piping and other material containing asbestos. The judge found that management knew asbestos was present, misled an OSHA inspector about the work, failed to train or protect employees, and…
Southwestern Bell Telephone Co.
Settlement approved over intervener's objections
Southwestern Bell and the Secretary submitted a settlement agreement, and the Communications Workers of America local serving as the authorized employee representative did not object. Robert Krueger, an intervener who apparently filed the complaint leading to the inspection, submitted several…
Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Gainesville, Florida and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2779
Gainesville VA Medical Center and AFGE Local 2779 (FLRA AT-CA-20137): Staff meeting complaint dismissed
AFGE Local 2779 alleged that the Gainesville VA Medical Center held a formal discussion with bargaining unit employees without giving the union notice or a chance to attend. An administrative law judge found that the staff meeting was informational, that employees could leave to fill food orders…
Cisneros Packing Co., Inc.
$2,550 assessed for stair, exit, lockout, and posting violations
Cisneros Packing processed pork skins at a Texas plant and contested only the proposed penalties, not the underlying violations. The remaining penalized conditions involved a nonconforming kettle stairway, a boarded and obstructed exit, cleaning an energized slicer without a lockout program, and…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3438 and United States Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Decatur, Alabama
SSA Decatur and AFGE Local 3438 (FLRA 0-AR-2588): Reconsideration of filing dismissal denied
The Authority dismissed AFGE Local 3438's exceptions to an arbitration award after the union failed to correct filing and service deficiencies. The union sought reconsideration, saying its representative had not received the deficiency order and asserting that the agency had received the…
National Treasury Employees Union and U.S. Department of the Treasury, U.S. Customs Service
Customs Service and NTEU (FLRA 0-AR-2566): Union's challenges to inspector staffing award denied
The National Treasury Employees Union challenged how the Customs Service appointed and scheduled intermittent and summer inspectors. An arbitrator awarded backpay with interest to full-time inspectors denied overtime and leave benefits to intermittent employees improperly scheduled before April…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1867 and United States Department of the Air Force, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Air Force Academy and AFGE Local 1867 (FLRA 0-AR-2563): Reduced suspension upheld
The Air Force Academy suspended a union steward for ten days after an argument with an EEO counselor and allegations that he had intimidated coworkers while investigating attendance complaints. An arbitrator found just cause for discipline but reduced the suspension to five days and rejected a…
United States Department of Health and Human Services, Appalachian Laboratory for Occupational Safety and Health, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3430
NIOSH Appalachian Laboratory and AFGE Local 3430 (FLRA 0-AR-2527): Retroactive pay increase removed
A NIOSH industrial hygienist challenged a marginal midyear review and the denial of a within-grade pay increase. An arbitrator found that the agency had failed to offer prompt help with performance problems and ordered a 90-day improvement plan. The arbitrator also directed a pay increase…
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Baltimore, Maryland and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1923
SSA Baltimore and AFGE Local 1923 (FLRA 0-AR-2614): Agency's arbitration exceptions dismissed as late
The Social Security Administration challenged an arbitrator's award in a dispute with AFGE Local 1923. The Authority calculated that the agency had to file its exceptions by May 3, 1994, after allowing for service of the award by mail. The agency's exceptions were postmarked May 4. It attributed…
Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp.
Repeated overhead-crane violations affirmed with $50,000 penalty
Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel operated overhead crane no. 26 at its Yorkville, Ohio facility. A switch box in the crane cab had lacked a cover for years, exposing energized electrical parts near the operator despite repeated complaints to supervisors. A securing pin was also missing from a heavy cable…
MATTER OF DRYSDALE
Aggravated-felony bond presumption applied
The respondent, a Jamaican lawful permanent resident, was convicted of distributing cocaine and placed in deportation proceedings. An Immigration Judge found that he was not a danger to the community or a flight risk but set a $20,000 bond to encourage his appearance at future hearings. The Board…
MATTER OF ALCANTAR
Involuntary manslaughter was a crime of violence
The respondent, an Illinois offender, was ordered deported to Mexico after a conviction for involuntary manslaughter and a 10-year prison sentence. The Immigration Judge found that the conviction was not an aggravated felony, but the Service appealed that determination. The Board held that the…
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Lancaster Branch Office, Lancaster, Ohio and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO
SSA Lancaster and AFGE (FLRA CH-CU-30046): Nonparties cannot seek review of unit decision
Five individuals asked the Authority to review a regional director's decision in a case involving the SSA Lancaster Branch Office and AFGE. The Authority asked them to show that they had participated as parties before the regional director. Their timely response did not provide that documentation…
National Engineering & Contracting Co.
Serious gasoline-labeling violation affirmed
A foreman placed an unlabeled gasoline container on the open back of a company pickup truck at a bridge construction site. Cold weather and gasoline overspray had prevented a label from sticking, and the foreman left the container while moving around the worksite. The Commission found employee…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 32 and U.S. Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Denver District, Denver, Colorado
IRS Denver and NTEU Chapter 32 (FLRA 0-AR-2546): Promotions for excluded seasonal employees upheld
The IRS Denver District filled nine permanent vacancies from a best-qualified list but selected only permanent employees because it believed a budget directive barred seasonal employees. An arbitrator found that excluding two highly ranked seasonal employees violated the parties' agreement and…
Federal Employees Metal Trades Council and U.S. Department of the Navy, Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California
Mare Island Naval Shipyard and Metal Trades Council (FLRA 0-AR-2542): No reinstatement after flawed reduction in force
The Mare Island Naval Shipyard separated a machinist during a 1990 reduction in force. An arbitrator found errors in the shipyard's competitive levels and another employee's classification, but concluded after a supplemental hearing that the machinist would have been separated even without those…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command and American Federation of Government Employees, Council 214
Air Force Materiel Command and AFGE Council 214 (FLRA 0-AR-2532): Union official-time award set aside
An Air Force union representative sought to keep using full-time official time while working from Kelly Air Force Base, although the parties' agreement placed the covered representative positions at headquarters in Ohio. An arbitrator held that the union could stop following that location clause…
Annie D. Hawthorne v. Ingalls Shipbuilding, Incorporated
Hawthorne v. Ingalls Shipbuilding (BRB 92-1077): disability and wage findings returned
Annie Hawthorne injured her knee and later her ankle while working as a welder for Ingalls Shipbuilding. An administrative law judge awarded temporary and permanent disability benefits and assessed late payment penalties. The Board upheld the finding that the knee injury kept her from her welding…
D & J Manufacturing Inc.
Four repeat hazard-communication violations affirmed
D & J Manufacturing makes custom printed advertising specialties and novelties in Toledo, Ohio, using inks, solvents, adhesives, and pigments. OSHA had cited the company in 1992 for hazard-communication failures, and those citations became final. A February 1993 follow-up inspection found the same…
P.J. Lodola & Sons, Inc.
Stairway violations affirmed serious, outlet downgraded, drill item vacated
P.J. Lodola & Sons was the electrical subcontractor on a warehouse project for Lego in Enfield, Connecticut. A 1992 OSHA inspection led to a serious citation for an uncovered electrical outlet and for trailer stairs with uneven risers and missing rails, plus a nonserious citation covering…
National Engineering and Contracting, Inc.
Bridge fall-protection violations affirmed
National was the general contractor and Tri-State its steel-erection subcontractor on rehabilitation of Cleveland's Main Avenue Bridge. A Tri-State foreman fell 80 feet and died when a deck pan dropped during a nonroutine operation; a second ironworker survived by grabbing a structural member. The…
Kohler Company
277 recordkeeping violations affirmed with $29,430 penalty
Kohler used a computerized injury log at its Wisconsin manufacturing plant but coded 277 recordable injuries as first-aid cases. Most errors resulted from failing to track later medical treatment, while others occurred because nurses or safety staff overlooked information already available. The…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 251, Forest Service Council and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Region 10
Forest Service Region 10 and NFFE Local 251 (FLRA 0-NG-2190): Paid fitness-time proposal rejected
The Forest Service stopped allowing employees in Region 10 up to 30 minutes of duty time each day for fitness activities. NFFE Local 251 proposed continuing that practice. The Authority held that even with the union's stated limit for work needs, the proposal would sometimes require the agency to…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2879, AFL-CIO and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Office of Hearings and Appeals, San Diego, California
SSA San Diego and AFGE Local 2879 (FLRA 0-NG-2121): Only administrative-leave clause survives review
SSA disapproved seven provisions negotiated for its San Diego hearings office relocation, and AFGE Local 2879 appealed. The Authority found negotiable a clause requiring reasonable administrative leave as necessary and ordered SSA to withdraw its disapproval of that clause. It dismissed the…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 916
Tinker Air Force Base and AFGE Local 916 (FLRA 0-AR-2582): Employee's reconsideration request dismissed
An employee at Tinker Air Force Base asked the Authority to reconsider its earlier dismissal of exceptions to an arbitration award. The Authority found that the employee was a grievant but had not participated as a party in the arbitration; the parties were the union and the agency. Under its…
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Region, Idaho Panhandle National Forests and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1818
Idaho Panhandle National Forests and NFFE Local 1818 (FLRA 0-AR-2576): Grievance dismissal upheld
NFFE Local 1818 grieved the Forest Service's alleged failure to give a surplus employee priority consideration. An arbitrator dismissed the grievance because the union had not submitted its Step 3 appeal to the Regional Forester as the contract required and had omitted underlying grievance…
United States Small Business Administration, District Office, Casper, Wyoming and Solidarity, U.S.A.
SBA Casper and Solidarity U.S.A. (FLRA DE-RO-20035): Team leader's ballot remains eligible
In a representation election at the SBA Casper District Office, one challenged ballot remained potentially decisive after the regional director ruled that a portfolio-management team leader was eligible to vote. Solidarity U.S.A. sought review, arguing that he was a supervisor and should be…
Craig Mechanical, Inc.
Late contest denied despite unanswered calls to OSHA
OSHA issued Craig Mechanical one serious and several other-than-serious citations with $825 in proposed penalties. The owner called OSHA twice within the 15-working-day contest period, said he wanted the charges dismissed, and was told to wait for the area director, who never returned the calls. He…
U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service, Frenchburg Job Corps, Mariba, Kentucky and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 466
Frenchburg Job Corps and NFFE Local 466 (FLRA 4-CA-10146): Lower rating for union activity unlawful
A Forest Service purchasing agent at the Frenchburg Job Corps used more official time for union representation during her 1989-90 appraisal period but performed about the same amount of work as before. Her supervisor connected that time to perceived delays, and the agency lowered her rating. After…
Navy Resale Activity, Naval Station, Charleston, South Carolina and Federal Employees Metal Trades Council of Charleston
Charleston Navy Resale Activity and Metal Trades Council (FLRA AT-CA-20721): Work-hour complaint dismissed
To meet a budget reduction, the Navy Resale Activity in Charleston cut warehouse employees' scheduled weekly hours. The union alleged that the agency failed to give notice and bargain over the impact and implementation of the cuts. An administrative law judge found that the parties' existing…
National Treasury Employees Union and U.S. Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Washington, D.C.
IRS and NTEU (FLRA 0-NG-2179): Reimbursement for computer-use glasses rejected
The IRS disapproved a negotiated clause that would reimburse employees for part of the cost of corrective lenses and eye examinations when a private physician attributed the need to video display terminal work. NTEU sought review. The Authority held that ordinary corrective lenses were personal…
U.S. Department of Defense, Army and Air Force Exchange Service, Dallas, Texas and American Federation of Government Employees
Army and Air Force Exchange Service and AFGE (FLRA 0-AR-2536): Promissory-note remedy stands
An Army and Air Force Exchange Service driver signed a promissory note to repay wages received for time he had not worked. An arbitrator found the agency had coerced him into signing and later violated a grievance settlement, and ordered a make-whole remedy. The Authority dismissed the agency's…
Allied-Signal Inc. (Elizabeth, NJ)
In re Allied-Signal Inc. (Elizabeth, NJ) (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 92-30): permit investigation requirements upheld
Allied-Signal operated a manufacturing facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey, under a hazardous-waste permit issued by EPA Region II. The permit required a RCRA Facility Investigation for two solid-waste management units and initial soil sampling at other units and areas of concern. Allied argued that…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Forest Service Council, Region 8 and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service
Forest Service Region 8 and NFFE (FLRA 0-NG-2189): Unclear fitness-time proposal dismissed
After the Forest Service decided to stop granting up to 30 minutes of administrative leave each day for fitness activities, NFFE proposed that employees match leave with an equal amount of personal time. The Authority found the term "time-sharing" too unclear to evaluate. It could mean a longer…
Environmental Waste Control, Inc.
In re Environmental Waste Control, Inc. (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 92-39): permit remanded in part
Environmental Waste Control, Inc. operated a hazardous-waste treatment facility in Inkster, Michigan, and challenged eighteen conditions in the federal portion of its EPA Region V permit. The Environmental Appeals Board denied review of most objections, including challenges to the permit…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 916
Tinker Air Force Base and AFGE Local 916 (FLRA 0-AR-2604): Employee's arbitration exceptions dismissed
An employee at Tinker Air Force Base filed her own exceptions to an arbitrator's award. The Authority asked her to show why the exceptions should not be dismissed for lack of standing. She responded that the union had refused to authorize the filing and that she had filed on her own behalf. The…
U.S. Department of the Army, U.S. Army Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local Lodge 2424
Aberdeen Proving Ground and IAM Local 2424 (FLRA 0-AR-2551): Unsatisfactory rating grievance stays denied
An Aberdeen Proving Ground equipment operator lost his driver's license after an off-duty driving conviction and could no longer perform several driving duties. The Army gave him an unsatisfactory performance rating, and his union grieved. An arbitrator found the grievance timely but rejected the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 31 and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Wade Park Unit, Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland VA Medical Center and AFGE Local 31 (FLRA 0-AR-2510): Directed promotion set aside
The Cleveland VA Medical Center selected a candidate for a supervisory corrective therapist position. AFGE Local 31 grieved on behalf of three other applicants, alleging discrimination, preselection, and a contract violation. An arbitrator rejected the discrimination and preselection claims but…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Council of VA Locals and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, D.C.
NFFE Council of VA Locals and Department of Veterans Affairs (FLRA 0-NG-2157): VA must bargain over two union proposals
The NFFE Council of VA Locals asked the Department of Veterans Affairs to bargain over four contract proposals. The Authority dismissed the union's appeal on two proposals because VA had not claimed they conflicted with law, rule, or regulation; the union could appeal them later if that issue…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2006 and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Philadelphia Regional Office
AFGE Local 2006 and SSA Philadelphia Regional Office (FLRA 0-AR-2539): Higher performance rating award stands
A Social Security Administration employee challenged a fully successful annual performance rating. The arbitrator found that the agency had applied its performance standards unfairly compared with another employee evaluated on the same tasks, and ordered an outstanding rating and the related…
Nelson Tree Services, Inc.
Tree-felling hazard violation affirmed after fatal incident
Nelson Tree Services cleared trees around utility lines at a worksite in Hanoverton, Ohio. A leaning tree fell prematurely while a Nelson employee passed through the work area, fatally injuring the employee. The judge found that the tree-care industry and Nelson's own safety manual recognized the…
T & S Utilities, Inc.
Training, ladder, hard-hat, and fatality-reporting violations affirmed
T & S Utilities installed sewage-pump-station lines in Fort Myers, Florida, and employees worked inside manholes at the site. The judge vacated a general duty clause allegation because a specific confined-space training standard covered the condition and the record did not show actual atmospheric…
American Federation of Government Employees, National Council of EEOC Locals No. 216 and U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
AFGE Council of EEOC Locals and EEOC (FLRA 0-AR-2528): Reduced suspension stands
The EEOC suspended an investigator for 14 days over her handling of cases and conduct it said damaged public confidence. An arbitrator found some misconduct but reduced the suspension to an oral reprimand, citing the lack of prior warnings or discipline and an insufficient basis for the harsher…
U.S. Department of the Army, U.S. Army Reserve Personnel Center, St. Louis, Missouri and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 900
Army Reserve Personnel Center and AFGE Local 900 (FLRA 0-AR-2455): Reconsideration of award ruling denied
In an earlier decision, the Authority rejected the Army Reserve Personnel Center's challenge to an arbitration award involving a cash award and step increases. The agency sought reconsideration, arguing that the Authority should have applied a Federal Personnel Manual provision in effect when the…
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Division of Depositor and Asset Services, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 256
FDIC Oklahoma City and NTEU Chapter 256 (FLRA 0-AR-2540): Temporary employee's union activity grievance proceeds
The FDIC did not renew an investigator's temporary appointment after renewing it for four prior years. His union grieved, alleging that the nonrenewal was retaliation for union activity. An arbitrator found the grievance covered by the parties' agreement, found union animus behind the decision, and…
Liquid Air Puerto Rico Corporation
In re Liquid Air Puerto Rico Corporation (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 92-1): permit condition remanded in part
Liquid Air Puerto Rico Corporation operated a small industrial gas manufacturing facility in Cataño, Puerto Rico, with a discharge described as stormwater and groundwater. Liquid Air argued that the Clean Water Act's stormwater permitting moratorium applied and sought review of EPA Region II's…
MATTER OF Y-G-
Fraud excludability required proof of intended document use
The applicant, a Haitian citizen, entered the United States using a photo-switched passport and temporary resident card issued in another person's name. The Board held that the record did not establish that the applicant presented or intended to present fraudulent documents to a United States…
G-UB-MK Constructors
Arsenic, asbestos, hazard-communication, and respirator items resolved
G-UB-MK repaired and modified boiler unit no. 5 at TVA's Colbert Fossil Plant in Alabama. Initial arsenic monitoring found ten of eleven sampled employees above the permissible exposure limit, but written notice was delayed and requested records were not promptly provided to OSHA or the site labor…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1655 and U.S. Department of Defense, National Guard Bureau, Alexandria, Virginia
NFFE Local 1655 and National Guard Bureau (FLRA 0-NG-2178): Disapproved contract provisions remain out
The National Guard Bureau disapproved 12 provisions of a negotiated agreement with NFFE Local 1655, and the union appealed. The provisions covered emergencies, work assignments, performance appraisal, leave, safety, access to buildings, rehabilitation, contracting out, and when agreements take…
Pan Building Corporation
Settlement affirms nine violations and reduces the penalty
OSHA cited Pan Building Corporation for six serious and three other-than-serious violations and proposed $8,700 in penalties. The Secretary moved to dismiss the company's notice of contest as late, while Pan argued that OSHA personnel had misled it or that procedural relief was warranted. When the…
United States Information Agency and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1812
United States Information Agency and AFGE Local 1812 (FLRA 0-AR-2557): Late exceptions stay dismissed
The Authority had dismissed AFGE Local 1812's exceptions to an arbitration award because they were filed one day late. The union sought reconsideration, citing its counsel's limited availability, a computer failure, lack of funds, and an allegedly incorrect filing date given by an Authority…
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Baltimore, Maryland and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1923
SSA Baltimore and AFGE Local 1923 (FLRA 0-AR-2535): Fee settlement bars additional request
An AFGE attorney had agreed to accept $25,000 in full settlement of attorney fees connected with an earlier Social Security Administration overtime case. He later sought more fees for work on the resulting backpay claims. An arbitrator denied the request, finding that the later work was covered by…
MATTER OF REYES
Aggravated felony barred good moral character
The respondent, a lawful permanent resident, was ordered deported to Mexico after convictions for second-degree murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. The Board held that an aggravated-felony conviction does not automatically prevent an alien from applying for suspension of…
MATTER OF M-P-
Motion-to-reopen denial required reasons
The respondent was ordered deported in absentia to Nicaragua and later moved to reopen proceedings to apply for asylum and withholding of deportation. The Immigration Judge denied the motion by stating only that no substantial grounds had been presented, without explaining which requirement the…
Sam E. Butler, Robert Hart, and Thomas L. Harris v. Ingalls Shipbuilding, Incorporated
Butler, Hart, and Harris (BRB 93-2048, 93-2049, 93-2050): discovery appeals dismissed
Three Ingalls Shipbuilding workers received compensation for hearing loss, after which their counsel sought attorney fees. Ingalls challenged hours billed on seven dates, and an administrative law judge ordered production of records underlying its challenge. The Board dismissed Ingalls's appeals…
Joseph Tedesco v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs
Tedesco v. Director, OWCP (BRB 93-0419): Denial upheld after disability evidence rejected
Joseph Tedesco sought black lung benefits after 26 years of coal mine work. A judge found that he had work-related pneumoconiosis but had not proved total disability. The Board upheld the judge's decision to discount his treating doctor's opinion because it relied on an unreliable breathing test…
American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 3172 (Union) and Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Sacramento, California (Activity)
AFGE Local 3172 and Social Security Administration (FLRA 0-NG-2171): One assignment provision negotiable, rotation provision rejected
The union and Social Security Administration disputed two provisions about assigning employees to the ALTA Unit. The first used seniority among qualified employees but left management able to set qualifications and account for staffing needs elsewhere. The Authority found that provision negotiable…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R1-109 (Union) and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Newington, Connecticut (Agency)
NAGE Local R1-109 and VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-NG-2168): Unemployment hearing proposal outside duty to bargain
The union proposed official time for a representative to attend an unemployment compensation hearing whenever the VA medical center sent its own representative. The Authority found that the union had not shown how those hearings related to labor-management relations, so the proposal did not qualify…
William F. Curry v. Beatrice Pocahontas Coal Company
Curry v. Beatrice Pocahontas Coal (BRB 92-0525): Black lung denial upheld on causation rebuttal
William Curry sought black lung benefits after decades of coal mine work. His employer had conceded that x-ray evidence invoked a presumption of entitlement, but the judge found the presumption rebutted and denied benefits. The Board unanimously upheld the judge's finding that medical evidence…
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Locals 2910 & 2477 (Union) and U.S. Library of Congress (Agency)
AFSCME Locals 2910 and 2477 and Library of Congress (FLRA 0-NG-2177): Visible identification rule within security authority
The Library of Congress required staff on duty to wear visible identification cards throughout its buildings. The union proposed limiting that requirement to nonpublic areas. The Authority found a reasonable link between visible identification in public areas and the Library's security goals…
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.