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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American Federation of Government Employees, National Border Patrol Council, Local 2544, and U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Border Patrol, Tucson, Arizona
Tucson Border Patrol (FLRA 0-NG-2023): negotiability decision retained after project canceled
The Authority had found union proposals for a break room and union office negotiable during planned Border Patrol facility restructuring in Tucson. The agency then canceled the restructuring, and a court vacated the bargaining order as moot while allowing the agency to ask the Authority to vacate…
Panama Canal Commission and Maritime/Metal Trades Council, Panama Area Trades Council
Panama Canal Commission (FLRA 0-AR-2585): arbitration exceptions dismissed as late
The Maritime/Metal Trades Council challenged an arbitration award involving the Panama Canal Commission. The union sent its exceptions to the Authority's Office of the General Counsel, which forwarded them to the Docket Room after the filing deadline. The Authority found the exceptions late whether…
U.S. Department of the Army, Army Armament Research Development and Engineering Center, and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 225
Army Armament Research Center (FLRA 0-AR-2534): temporary promotion award upheld
An Army financial program assistant claimed that she regularly performed higher graded budget work and should receive a temporary promotion with backpay. An arbitrator denied the grievance, finding little work outside her position and no regulation or agreement provision requiring the promotion…
U.S. Department of the Navy, Navy Public Works Center, San Diego, California, and National Association of Government Employees, Local R12-35
Navy Public Works Center San Diego (FLRA 0-AR-2522): hazardous waste pay award upheld
Hazardous waste handlers at the Navy Public Works Center sought environmental differential pay for work around toxic chemicals. An arbitrator denied the grievance after finding that protective equipment and safety measures had practically eliminated the potential for personal injury under the…
Broken Hill Mining Company, Inc.
Default decision entered with $1,829 penalty
Broken Hill Mining Company faced four consolidated civil penalty proceedings involving Mine Nos. 3 and 1. After the judge ordered the company to contact the Secretary about settlement, comply with the prehearing order, or show cause for its failure, the company did not comply. Judge Avram…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1786, and U.S. Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Combat Development Command, Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia
Quantico Marine Corps Base (FLRA 0-NG-2158): exchange shopping proposal negotiable
After six years of exchange shopping privileges for employees in a consolidated morale and recreation organization, the Marine Corps moved to limit access under a Defense Department directive. AFGE proposed keeping existing employees' privileges. The Authority found a direct connection between the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1336, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Mid-America Program Service Center, Kansas City, Missouri
SSA Mid-America Program Service Center (FLRA 0-AR-2524): suspension award upheld
SSA suspended a file clerk for three days after repeated absence without leave charges and earlier corrective steps. An arbitrator found just cause for the suspension and denied her grievance. The union argued that the award improperly relied on an old reprimand that should no longer have been in…
American Federation of Government Employees, Council of Prison Locals, Local 171, and U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution El Reno, Oklahoma
El Reno Federal Correctional Institution (FLRA 0-AR-2521): employee credit inquiry award upheld
The Bureau of Prisons reviewed employee credit records during periodic background investigations at its El Reno institution. AFGE alleged that the agency pressured employees to pay disputed debts and acted as a collection agency. An arbitrator found no evidence that the agency collected debts or…
Southmountain Coal, Inc.
Interlocutory review petition denied
Southmountain Coal petitioned the Commission for interlocutory review of an administrative law judge's order that continued a limited stay while related criminal proceedings were pending. The Commission concluded that Southmountain had not established a basis for interlocutory review and denied the…
Inter-Power of New York, Inc.
In re Inter-Power of New York, Inc. (EAB PSD Appeal Nos. 92-8 and 92-9): BACT determination affirmed
EPA Region II issued Inter-Power of New York, Inc. a Prevention of Significant Deterioration permit for three coal-fired fluidized-bed boilers in Halfmoon, New York. Massachusetts and Concerned Citizens for the Environment challenged the permit, primarily arguing that the sulfur-dioxide limit…
Madison Branch Management
Jurisdictional motions denied in fatality-related proceedings
These consolidated proceedings concerned alleged Mine Act violations involving Madison Branch Management and Protective Security Services at a surface mine. The respondents argued that the contractor was not an operator and that the security guard was not a miner under the Mine Act. Judge Jerold…
Remp Sand & Gravel
Default order vacated and remanded
Remp Sand & Gravel failed to answer the Secretary's proposed civil penalty assessment and a judge's order to show cause, so the judge entered a default order requiring payment of $390. The company's owner later wrote to the Commission saying he did not understand that the citations were assigned to…
Union Drilling
Citations dismissed because CNG controlled the work
Union Drilling supplied workers to CNG Transmission for a natural-gas well flow-back operation. Two night-shift workers were later found inside a frac tank and were determined to have died from asphyxiation, after which OSHA cited Union and CNG separately. The judge focused on which company…
CNG Transmission Corporation
Mixed ruling on frac-tank hazards
CNG Transmission was preparing a natural-gas field for underground storage and used workers supplied by Union Drilling to monitor a frac-fluid flow-back operation. After the piping was changed so that fluid and gas flowed directly into a frac tank, two night-shift workers were found inside the tank…
U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Chemawa Indian Boarding School and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 241
Chemawa Indian Boarding School (FLRA 0-AR-2587): Union's late exceptions dismissed
The National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 241, challenged an arbitration award involving the Chemawa Indian Boarding School. The arbitrator served the award on the union on December 15, 1993. The Authority calculated that the union had until January 18, 1994, to file exceptions, but its…
U.S. Department of the Navy, Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California and International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 11
Mare Island Naval Shipyard (FLRA 0-AR-2517): Forced annual leave award upheld
Mare Island Naval Shipyard required employees to use annual leave during a temporary shutdown and denied union representatives official time. An arbitrator found that the forced leave violated the collective bargaining agreement and ordered restoration of affected employees' leave. The shipyard…
National Air Traffic Controllers Association, Local NKT and U.S. Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina
Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point (FLRA 0-AR-2497): Performance award grievance denial upheld
Three Cherry Point employees with outstanding ratings each received a $225 performance award. The union argued that agency rules required awards of at least 2 percent of base pay. An arbitrator found that a later Marine Corps message had changed the minimum to zero and denied the grievance. The…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2782 and U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Washington, D.C.
Census Bureau card key system (FLRA 0-NG-2151): Information proposals negotiable, shared access card rejected
The Census Bureau installed card key access controls at two offices, and AFGE Local 2782 proposed rules for union access and information from the system. The Authority found that giving the union a shared card for each office would prevent the agency from controlling which representative entered…
District No. 1, Marine Engineers Beneficial Association, Panama Canal Area and Panama Canal Commission
Panama Canal tugboat engineers (FLRA 0-NG-2150): Three staffing and duty proposals held nonnegotiable
The Panama Canal Commission stopped requiring an oiler to work with an engineer in some tugboat engine rooms. The engineers' union proposed that, except in emergencies, engineers never work alone in an engine room while a vessel was underway. It also proposed that engineers neither perform nor be…
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Baltimore, Maryland and American Federation of Government Employees
Social Security Administration (FLRA 0-AR-2507): Overtime award for improperly exempt employees upheld
Social Security Administration employees challenged their classification as exempt from overtime coverage under the Fair Labor Standards Act. An arbitrator found seven groups of positions improperly exempt and three properly exempt. For the affected employees, he ordered overtime backpay reaching…
Consolidation Coal Company
Two violations affirmed, two settlements approved
Consolidation Coal operated the Humphrey No. 7 underground coal mine, where MSHA cited four conditions involving a danger sign near a roof fall, a non-fireproof oil and grease storage area, compressed gas cylinders near power lines, and a belt-conveyor guard. Judge David F. Barbour affirmed the…
U.S. Department of the Army, U.S. Army Aviation Center, Fort Rucker, Alabama and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1815
Fort Rucker firefighters (FLRA 0-AR-2504): Separate reduction in force groups upheld
The Army Aviation Center at Fort Rucker placed firefighters into four separate competitive levels for use if it reduced its workforce. The union argued that all firefighters should be in one group because they shared a job description and could move between assignments. An arbitrator found that the…
D. M. Connor Sand Company
Settlement approved with $500 penalty
D. M. Connor Sand Company faced a proposed $539 civil penalty for several alleged violations. The parties reached a settlement before the hearing, reducing Citation No. 4084309 from $189 to $50 and changing it to non-significant and substantial, while agreeing to pay the full penalties for the…
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Washington, D.C. and American Federation of Government Employees, National Joint Council of Food Inspection Locals, AFL-CIO
Food Safety and Inspection Service (FLRA 3-CA-10721): Labor relations complaint dismissed after settlement
The Food Safety and Inspection Service faced a union charge that it had refused to implement a labor relations action plan. An Authority judge found an unfair labor practice, and the agency filed exceptions. While those exceptions were pending, the agency and AFGE agreed to a new action plan and…
U.S. Department of Defense, Stateside Dependents Schools and Overseas Education Association and Antilles Consolidated Education Association
Stateside Dependents Schools (FLRA WA-UC-20875): Reconsideration denied after late unit appeal
The Overseas Education Association sought to consolidate ten bargaining units at Department of Defense schools. A regional director dismissed its petition, and the Authority later dismissed the union's application for review as untimely. The application arrived without a postmark on December 13…
Ray Birnbaum Scrap Yard
In re Ray Birnbaum Scrap Yard (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 92-5): $1,700 penalty affirmed
EPA Region VIII appealed a $1,700 penalty assessed against Ray Birnbaum Scrap Yard for admitted violations involving polychlorinated biphenyls. The region argued for a larger penalty based on the TSCA Civil Penalty Guidelines, while Birnbaum submitted financial information showing that the proposed…
Buck Creek Coal, Inc.
Combustible-accumulation citation affirmed with $2,000 penalty
MSHA cited Buck Creek Coal for allowing loose coal and float coal dust to accumulate beneath a belt conveyor, tail roller, and feeder at the Buck Creek Mine. The accumulations reached up to 3.5 feet in depth and 18 feet in width, and the tail roller was turning in coal fines. Judge Roy J. Maurer…
Sovereign Mining Company
Settlement approved and temporary reinstatement proceeding dismissed
The Secretary of Labor sought temporary reinstatement for Danny Shepherd after he filed discrimination complaints against Sovereign Mining Company. Judge Jerold Feldman had ordered reinstatement, and the Secretary later alleged that the company circumvented that order by reinstating and then laying…
Pontiki Coal Corporation
Contest proceedings dismissed
Pontiki Coal Corporation challenged an enforcement order, two citations, and two orders issued at the Pontiki No. 2 Mine. The contest proceedings concerned an order issued under Mine Act section 103(k), two citations issued under section 104(a), and two orders issued under section 104(b). At an…
Irishman Elkhorn Coal
Temporary reinstatement ordered
Danny Shepherd was discharged by Irishman Elkhorn Coal after he allegedly refused to operate a continuous mining machine in an unsafe condition and engaged in other protected safety activity. The Secretary sought temporary reinstatement under the Mine Act, and the company did not request a hearing…
Green Coal Company, Inc.
Settlement approved and discrimination proceeding dismissed
Bryan Wimsatt and Green Coal Company reached an amicable settlement in a Mine Act discrimination proceeding. The parties jointly asked the ALJ to dismiss the case with prejudice based on their settlement agreement. Judge Roy J. Maurer approved the settlement, canceled the hearing scheduled in…
Peabody Coal Company
Multiple citations affirmed or modified, $3,081 assessed
Peabody Coal operated the Camp No. 11 underground mine in Kentucky and faced citations involving rock dust, ventilation, roof dust, a trailing cable, and respirable dust. The judge found that the rock dust violation was significant and substantial because methane and other conditions made an…
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Allen Park, Michigan and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 933
VA Medical Center, Allen Park (FLRA CH-CA-20021, CH-CA-20164, CH-CA-20821): Asbestos pay remedy extended across disputed period
The VA Medical Center in Allen Park, Michigan, failed to comply fully with two arbitration awards requiring environmental differential pay for employees exposed to potential illness from asbestos. An Authority judge found that failure violated federal labor law, and no party challenged that…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 2079 and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Umpqua National Forest, Roseburg, Oregon
Umpqua National Forest (FLRA 0-NG-2170): Teacher assignment proposals held nonnegotiable
The Forest Service reassigned an instructor at Umpqua National Forest, and the teachers' union proposed limits on class size, course assignments, and other education duties. The union said the changes increased teachers' workload and classroom problems. The Authority found seven proposals…
Trojan Mining Company
Compensation proceeding dismissed
James Boyd, on behalf of Local Union 1468 of the United Mine Workers of America, was ordered to show cause why the compensation proceeding should not be dismissed. No response was received by the deadline. Judge Gary Melick dismissed the case.
U.S. Army Aeromedical Center, Fort Rucker, Alabama and Headquarters, U.S. Army Health Services Command, Fort Sam Houston, Texas and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1815
Army Aeromedical Center (FLRA 4-CA-10778): Bargaining violation upheld, on-call provision rejected
The Army Aeromedical Center at Fort Rucker bargained with AFGE Local 1815 over on-call procedures for operating room nurses. The Authority upheld a finding that Fort Rucker bargained in bad faith and ordered it to bargain with the union on request. A separate allegation concerned the Army Health…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3434 and National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Marshall Space Flight Center, Alabama
Marshall Space Flight Center (FLRA 0-NG-2174): Union seat on hiring panels held nonnegotiable
AFGE Local 3434 proposed placing a union representative on three-person panels that evaluate candidates for competitively filled positions at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. The union said its representative would help ensure fair use of the agency's evaluation criteria. The Authority found…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1214 and U.S. Department of the Army, Headquarters, U.S. Army Training Center and Fort Jackson, Fort Jackson, South Carolina
Fort Jackson (FLRA 0-NG-2154): Ban on ethics comments in appraisals held nonnegotiable
Fort Jackson's performance evaluation system allowed supervisors to discuss how employees demonstrated Army values and ethics. NFFE Local 1214 proposed barring any discussion or reference to those topics when evaluating bargaining unit employees. The Authority held that this absolute ban would…
National Association of Agriculture Employees, Local 39 and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine, Elizabeth, New Jersey
Plant Protection and Quarantine (FLRA 0-NG-2153): Overtime procedures negotiable, appraisal freeze rejected
Local 39 proposed work rules after the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service planned changes to reduce its budget deficit. The Authority held that two proposals setting the order for assigning overtime were negotiable procedures and ordered bargaining on request. It held nonnegotiable a…
U.S. Department of Defense, Fort Bragg Dependents Schools, Fort Bragg, North Carolina and Fort Bragg Association of Educators, OEA/NEA
Fort Bragg Dependents Schools (FLRA 0-NG-2148): Most teachers' proposals held negotiable
The Fort Bragg Association of Educators sought bargaining over working conditions at the military dependents schools. The Authority held proposals on reporting to work, duty-free lunch, union meetings, official time, workday length, rehiring after a reduction in force, and compensation negotiable…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 243 and U.S. Department of Commerce, Patent and Trademark Office
Patent and Trademark Office (FLRA 0-NG-2137): Seven contract provisions cleared after agency disapproval
The Patent and Trademark Office head disapproved nine provisions in a collective bargaining agreement with National Treasury Employees Union Chapter 243. The Authority directed the agency to rescind its disapproval of seven provisions. Those covered employee attire disputes, a joint plan addressing…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3172 and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Modesto, California
Social Security Administration, Modesto (FLRA 0-NG-2131): Reconsideration permits bargaining over selection procedure
AFGE Local 3172 challenged an earlier Authority ruling on proposals for rotating staff into the Social Security Administration's Disability Unit in Modesto. The Authority granted reconsideration because the union had not received the agency's statement of position before that ruling and therefore…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2879 and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, District Office, Oceanside, California
Social Security Administration, Oceanside (FLRA 0-NG-2113): Adjudication-time restrictions held nonnegotiable
The Oceanside Social Security office changed how employees in its Supplemental Security Income unit split time between public contact and claims work. AFGE Local 2879 and the office signed an agreement that would keep the work plan in place for at least 90 days and protect time for adjudicating…
International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 1 and U.S. Department of the Navy, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Virginia
Norfolk Naval Shipyard (FLRA 0-NG-2107): Drug testing proposals receive mixed ruling
The engineers' union challenged parts of Norfolk Naval Shipyard's workplace drug testing program. The Authority rejected proposals that would restrict use of test results for discipline, alter security reporting and random-test notice, or limit work assignments for staff handling specimens. It also…
Mullins and Sons Coal Company, Incorporated
Remand decision reinstated unwarrantable-failure findings
MSHA cited Mullins and Sons Coal Company for combustible coal-dust accumulations and inadequate rock dusting at its No. 6 Mine. The operator stipulated that the violations occurred and were significant and substantial, leaving unwarrantable failure as the issue on remand. Judge Jerold Feldman…
Charles Bennett v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs
Bennett v. Director, OWCP (BRB 92-0705): Overpayment amount returned for proof
Charles Bennett received federal black lung benefits and a West Virginia workers' compensation award partly attributable to pneumoconiosis. A judge ordered him to repay $19,600.20 in federal overpayments. The Board held that the concurrent state payments could offset federal benefits and upheld the…
Barbara J. Bundens v. J.E. Brenneman Company
Bundens v. J.E. Brenneman (BRB 91-1242): death benefits affirmed with settlement credit
Howard Bundens, a diver and dock builder, was killed while securing a barge. His widow sought Longshore Act death benefits after settling related legal claims. The Board upheld the finding that Bundens was a covered harbor worker whose main duties involved dock construction and repair, rather than…
Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 589
Jackson VA Medical Center (FLRA 4-CA-10814, 4-CA-10816): Peer review complaint dismissed on reconsideration
The Jackson VA Medical Center let union representatives attend but not participate in peer reviews of two probationary nurses. The Authority had previously found that this violated the nurses' statutory representation rights. After an intervening federal appeals court decision, the Authority…
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Newington, Connecticut and National Association of Government Employees, Local R1-109
Newington VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-2500): Maintenance helper assignment upheld
An earlier settlement award required the Newington VA Medical Center to restore an employee to a WG-4 shop helper position. Because no position with that exact title existed, the center placed the employee in a WG-4 maintenance helper job involving mostly heavy physical work. The union said the…
Brown Brothers Sand Company
Conveyor guard citation affirmed with $50 penalty
MSHA cited Brown Brothers Sand Company after an inspector found that the guard on the tail pulley of a railroad-car conveyor belt was lying on the ground while the belt was operating. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found that the guard was not securely in place and that no testing or adjustment justified…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.,
Jim Walter Resources, Inc. (FMSHRC SE 92-408): Roof-support citation affirmed, unwarrantable-failure finding vacated
MSHA cited Jim Walter Resources after miners and managers traveled through a longwall crosscut near the shield break line without additional roof support. The judge affirmed the violation and its significant-and-substantial designation because continued mining could expose travelers to roof or rib…
David Bass v. Broadway Maintenance
Bass v. Broadway Maintenance (BRB 89-1360A): separate knee and back benefits reconsidered
Electrician David Bass injured both knees in a fall while working for Broadway Maintenance. He later developed back symptoms that the administrative law judge linked to the knee injury, but the judge denied further benefits because Bass had already received a scheduled knee award. The Board upheld…
Dunlop Tire Corporation
Settlement reclassifies citation and sets $7,000 penalty
OSHA issued Dunlop Tire Corporation one citation in October 1992, and Dunlop filed a timely contest. The United Rubber Workers, Local No. 915, was granted party status. When the case came to hearing, the parties announced that they had resolved every issue and stated their agreement on the record…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 2119 and U.S. Department of the Army, Rock Island Arsenal, Rock Island, Illinois
Rock Island Arsenal (FLRA 0-NG-2156): Holiday leave proposal negotiable for some employees
Two Army activities at Rock Island released nonessential employees early on December 24 and 31, 1991, while essential staff and employees in two other activities remained at work. NFFE Local 2119 proposed administrative leave for employees who had worked those days and for employees who were…
Luke Air Force Base, Arizona and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1547, AFL-CIO
Luke Air Force Base (FLRA SA-CA-20784): Unilateral smoking policy change reversed
Luke Air Force Base imposed a no-smoking policy for employees in Building 610 in May 1992 without giving AFGE Local 1547 notice or a chance to bargain. An Authority judge found that the change violated the base's bargaining duty. The Authority adopted the judge's findings and order. It required the…
Hickory Coal Company
Settlement approval vacated and remanded
Hickory Coal Company and the Secretary agreed to settle two civil penalties totaling $40, while one citation would be vacated. The ALJ approved the settlement, but Hickory later objected to statements in the Secretary's motion about its negligence and said it had not agreed to those terms. The…
L & J Energy Company, Inc.
Highwall violations sustained after fatal rock fall
L & J Energy operated a surface coal mine where a rock fall killed one miner and seriously injured another. Judge Avram Weisberger found that the operator failed to maintain and inspect the highwall and failed to follow its ground control plan. He dismissed the hazard-training order because the…
KYN Coal Company Incorporated
Stay proposed in respirable-dust proceeding
KYN Coal Company faced civil penalties based on allegations that respirable-dust samples had been invalidated by removing dust from the samples before submission. Because a related master docket involved alleged tampering of respirable-dust cassettes and could provide guidance, the ALJ proposed…
Morton International, Inc., Morton Salt
Methane citations vacated in abandoned area
Morton International, Inc., Morton Salt challenged methane citations issued at its Weeks Island domal salt mine. MSHA recorded methane readings of 1 percent and 3.25 percent in an abandoned area. The ALJ held that the cited standards addressed mine atmosphere in active workings and did not apply to…
Charles Lucas v. Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association
Lucas v. Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association (BRB 93-0985): modification hearing required
Charles Lucas received permanent total disability benefits after a back injury while working as a freight handler. When his employer's insurer was liquidated, the Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association continued payments and sought to change the award. An administrative law judge summarily…
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.