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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National Association of Government Employees, Local R1-109 and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Newington, Connecticut
Newington VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-NG-2188): Reconsideration denied after missing service statement
NAGE Local R1-109 asked the Authority to review a negotiability dispute with the Newington VA Medical Center. The Authority directed the union to file a statement showing that it had served its petition on the agency's principal bargaining representative. The union filed nothing in response by the…
U.S. Department of Defense, Dependents Schools and Overseas Education Association
Defense Dependents Schools (FLRA 0-AR-2482): Transportation expense award restored and grievance remanded
An arbitrator first ruled that some overseas Defense Dependents Schools employees were entitled to full transportation expenses after transfers between geographic areas. He kept the grievance open to address implementation and other unresolved questions. After the agency failed to provide…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1637 and U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Seagoville, Texas
Seagoville prison (FLRA 0-AR-2469): Three-day sick leave suspension upheld
A control officer at the Seagoville federal prison received a three-day suspension for sick leave abuse. An arbitrator found just cause for the suspension and denied the grievance. AFGE Local 1637 argued that the award rested on wrong facts about the employee's leave and conduct and conflicted with…
G & C Mining Company, Inc.
Five citations affirmed and one vacated
G & C Mining Company faced six citations at its limestone quarry for traffic rules, electrical labels, vehicle brakes, and backup alarms. The ALJ found that five violations were proven and assessed a total of $185 in penalties, including one significant-and-substantial brake violation. The ALJ…
Wagner Sand & Stone, Inc.
Default order vacated and remanded
Wagner Sand & Stone failed to answer a civil-penalty proposal and a judge's order to show cause, so the judge entered a default order requiring payment of $294. The company later said that the parties had agreed to settle and that the Secretary's counsel had acknowledged a mistake, but the attached…
Mountaintop Restoration, Inc.
$3,150 in penalties affirmed
Mountaintop Restoration was assessed penalties for 24 violations at its underground coal mines. The violations included an inaccurate check-in and check-out record that failed to show who was underground. The ALJ found all violations proven, rejected the company's claim that the penalties would…
T & F Sand and Gravel, Inc., et al.
Proceedings reopened and remanded
The ALJs in 17 consolidated civil penalty proceedings had remanded proposed penalties to the Secretary for recalculation under the Commission's Drummond decision. The Secretary later said the cases had been remanded by mistake because they did not involve excessive violation history and asked to…
Tug Valley Coal Processing
Penalty dismissal vacated and remanded
Tug Valley Coal Processing paid a proposed civil penalty, and the ALJ reviewed the penalty and dismissed the proceeding. Tug Valley later said it paid through genuine mistake and should still be allowed to contest the violation. The Commission found that the record did not show whether the payment…
Huntington Piping Incorporated
Two fall-protection violations affirmed and $600 assessed
Huntington Piping Incorporated was an independent contractor working on a bathhouse at a West Virginia coal mine. Three employees worked about 20 feet above the ground without properly using safety belts and lines, and they left the roof by climbing on steel beams instead of using a safe means of…
W. A. Schemmer Limestone Quarry Incorporated
Three settlements approved, two brake violations affirmed, and $2,100 assessed
W. A. Schemmer Limestone Quarry operated a limestone quarry in Iowa. The ALJ approved settlements reducing three penalties to $50 each, for violations involving an unsecured compressed-gas cylinder, a missing safety cap, and an unclean shop floor. The ALJ also affirmed two brake violations…
Commercial Cartage Company, Inc.
In re Commercial Cartage Company, Inc. (EAB CAA Appeal No. 93-2): dismissal with prejudice reversed and case remanded
EPA's Office of Air and Radiation challenged dismissal of its complaint against Commercial Cartage Company, Inc. The complaint alleged that the carrier transported gasoline with a Reid Vapor Pressure above the 7.8 psi limit applicable in the St. Louis non-attainment area. The Board held that the…
Edward C. Barnes v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs
Barnes v. Director, OWCP (BRB 93-0584): Denial upheld because appeal identified no error
Edward Barnes appealed the denial of black lung benefits. The judge had found pneumoconiosis but had not found it to arise from Barnes's coal mine work. The Board held that Barnes's appeal brief did not identify a specific error in the judge's findings or legal analysis, leaving no basis for merits…
Santa Fe Pacific Gold Corp.
Discrimination cases dismissed after settlement
The Secretary brought two discrimination complaints on behalf of Robert W. Buelke, alleging that Santa Fe Pacific Gold discharged him twice in retaliation for protected safety activity. Before the ALJ issued a liability decision, the parties reached a comprehensive settlement covering the…
Hern Iron Works, Inc.
Commission raises record-access penalty to $5,000
Hern Iron Works refused to provide its OSHA injury and illness records during an inspection conducted under an administrative search warrant. After earlier litigation over the warrant, an ALJ affirmed a willful record-access violation but reduced the Secretary's proposed $10,000 penalty to $200…
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Providence, Rhode Island and Laborers' International Union of North America, Rhode Island Laborers' District Council, Local Union 1056
Providence VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-2508): Psychology technician grievance ruled nonarbitrable
A GS-9 psychology technician at the Providence VA Medical Center said assigned duties exceeded the technician position description. An arbitrator read the employee's written request for relief as seeking a higher classification and found that the grievance concerned position classification, which…
Texas Gravel Incorporated
Settlement approved at $1,100
Texas Gravel Incorporated faced a civil penalty proceeding under the Mine Act. The parties proposed reducing the penalty from $2,372 to $1,100. Judge Avram Weisberger found the settlement appropriate under the statutory penalty criteria, approved it, and ordered payment within 30 days.
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 (FLRA 0-AR-2455): Employee's cash award survives agency challenge
An Army Reserve Personnel Center employee grieved delays in processing two quality step increases and a cash performance award. The arbitrator ordered the agency to pay a $642 cash award and leave the approved step and within-grade increases in place. The agency argued that federal personnel…
Roxcoal Incorporated
Settlement approved, one citation modified, and $239 assessed
Roxcoal Incorporated faced a civil penalty proceeding involving two citations. The approved settlement removed the significant-and-substantial designation from Citation No. 3706730 and reduced its penalty from $169 to $50. Roxcoal also agreed to pay the proposed $189 penalty for Citation No…
Larry D. Irvin, Employed by New Horizons Coal, Inc.
Underground-smoking citation affirmed and $250 assessed
Larry D. Irvin was working underground at the Dulcimer No. 7 Mine when an inspector observed what he believed was a lighted cigarette and smelled cigarette smoke. A search found no cigarette or other smoking materials, and Irvin denied smoking, but the ALJ credited the inspector's testimony and…
Island Creek Coal Company
Coal-accumulation order modified and $1,897 assessed
Island Creek Coal Company was cited after inspectors found loose coal and coal dust accumulated along the ribs of an underground mine supply road. The ALJ adopted the parties' settlements on several citations and considered one remaining order alleging a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.400. He found…
Walker Stone Company, Inc.
Unguarded V-belt violations affirmed and $700 assessed
Walker Stone operated a limestone quarry and mill in Kansas. The ALJ found that V-belt drive units on two screens were not individually guarded, and that locked gates restricting access did not satisfy the guarding standard. The violations were found non-significant and substantial, with moderate…
Spancrete Northeast, Inc.
Commission rejects greater-hazard defense for safety nets
Spancrete Northeast installed precast concrete planks for a 10-story hotel addition in Uniondale, New York. OSHA cited the company because three employees worked near the seventh-floor perimeter without safety nets or other fall protection while directing a crane and positioning 5,400-pound planks…
Burlington Northern Railroad Company
In re Burlington Northern Railroad Company (EAB CAA Appeal No. 93-3): penalty decision modified
Burlington Northern Railroad Company was assessed a $25,000 civil penalty for a violation involving the open burning of creosote-treated railroad ties under the Montana State Implementation Plan. EPA's Office of Enforcement appealed the calculation of economic benefit because the Initial Decision…
Darrell D. Bullock v. Ingalls Shipbuilding, Incorporated
Bullock v. Ingalls Shipbuilding (BRB 90-194): one ear hearing loss award recalculated
Darrell Bullock had a work-related 5.6 percent hearing impairment in his left ear. The Board's earlier decision had upheld an award calculated under the provision for both ears. After a federal appeals court ruled that a one ear impairment must be compensated under the separate one ear provision…
Consolidation Coal Company
Expedited-hearing and continuance motions denied
Consolidation Coal contested two citations and one order alleging unwarrantable-failure violations at its West Virginia mines. The company sought an expedited hearing, while the Secretary sought a continuance until related civil-penalty proceedings could be consolidated. Judge Jerold Feldman denied…
Swift v. Consolidation Coal Company
Injury reporting protected, facial-discrimination finding reversed, and case remanded
Larry E. Swift, Mark Snyder, and Randy Cunningham, miners at Consolidation Coal's Dilworth Mine, challenged a high-risk injury program that could lead to suspension or discharge after repeated injuries. The Commission held that reporting mine injuries is protected activity under the Mine Act. It…
Cobra Mining Incorporated
Settlement approved at $240
Cobra Mining Incorporated faced a civil penalty for an alleged violation of 30 C.F.R. § 71.803 at its surface mine. The parties agreed to reduce the proposed $382 penalty to $240. Judge Arthur J. Amchan approved the settlement and ordered payment in 12 monthly installments of $20, after which the…
Homestead Gourmet Food Co., Inc.
Settlement approved after hearing
OSHA inspected Homestead Gourmet Food Company's facility in Linden, New Jersey, and issued two citations. The citations alleged six serious violations and five other-than-serious violations under standards addressing exits, personal protective equipment, emergency washing, electrical training…
Caribco International Corporation
Scaffold and safety-program violations affirmed
Caribco International was working at a fitness-facility construction site at Fort Buchanan in San Juan, Puerto Rico. OSHA cited missing scaffold guardrails, an unguarded open-sided floor, inadequate scaffold bracing, and failures to maintain an accident-prevention program and train employees to…
U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center, Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey; U.S. Department of the Army Civilian Personnel and Evaluation Agency, Arlington, Virginia; and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1437
Army classification audits (FLRA BY-CA-20875, BN-CA-21079): Information dispute remanded
An Army union requested a classification audit report and the local research center's response after hearing that audits could lead to downgrades. An administrative law judge found that the Army personnel agency unlawfully withheld the information. The Authority held that the union's possible…
Magma Copper Company
Escapeway citations dismissed
Magma Copper Company operated the Superior underground copper mine, where MSHA cited two elevations for allegedly lacking two escapeways under 30 C.F.R. § 57.11050(a). The dispute was whether the 3200 and 4100 elevations were regulatory “levels” requiring two escapeways. Judge Avram Weisberger…
Production Plated Plastics, Inc.
In re Production Plated Plastics, Inc. (EAB RCRA (3008) Appeal No. 92-3): untimely appeal dismissed
Production Plated Plastics, Inc. failed to submit a required report about hazardous-waste exports for calendar year 1989. EPA Region V issued an Initial Decision and Default Order assessing a $9,500 penalty and requiring compliance with the reporting requirements. The company appealed, but the…
Mullins and Sons Coal Company, Inc.
Unwarrantable-failure findings vacated and remanded
Mullins and Sons Coal Company operated the No. 6 underground coal mine in Pike County, Kentucky. An MSHA inspection found three to six inches of coal and coal dust accumulations in six entries, along with areas that had not been rock dusted. The company conceded the violations and their significant…
MATTER OF GOORAHOO
Guyanese child qualified for visa preference status
The petitioner, a Guyanese lawful permanent resident, filed a visa petition seeking preference status for his son, who was also born in Guyana. The child was born outside marriage, and the record showed that Guyana's 1983 Children Born Out of Wedlock (Removal of Discrimination) Act removed the…
Nitro Electric Company
Commission denies EAJA fees based on parent-company resources
Nitro Electric sought attorneys' fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act after prevailing in an OSHA matter. Nitro itself met the Act's financial eligibility limit, but its parent company, Concorp, exceeded the $7 million net-worth ceiling for a qualifying corporation. The record showed shared…
Overseas Federation of Teachers and U.S. Department of Defense Dependents Schools, Mediterranean Region
Lajes Air Base Schools (FLRA 0-NG-2166): Return priority provision is negotiable
The Defense Department limited tours at its Lajes Air Base Schools to three years, and the teachers' union secured a contract provision giving certain involuntarily reassigned employees priority to return. The agency head disapproved the provision as an interference with management's rights to…
Martin Marietta Aggregates
Settlement amount corrected to $400
The Secretary proposed penalties for eight citations issued to Martin Marietta Aggregates. The parties' settlement motion stated that Martin Marietta would pay $50 for each violation, but due to a calculation error listed the total as $350 instead of $400. The ALJ approved the settlement before the…
John J. Stack v. Echo Bay Minerals
Discrimination complaint dismissed
John J. Stack alleged that Echo Bay Minerals retaliated against him after he complained that crews were drilling and loading at the same time. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found that Stack engaged in protected activity, but the evidence did not show that Echo Bay transferred, reassigned, or treated him…
Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. and National Treasury Employees Union
HHS Region IX (FLRA SF-CA-20241): Full management report need not be disclosed
The National Treasury Employees Union grieved a reorganization of HHS's Region IX civil rights office and requested the full management review report that had recommended it. HHS provided the pages addressing reorganization but withheld the rest. The Authority found that the report was not exempt…
Webster County Coal Corp.
Concrete-block stopping citation vacated
MSHA cited Webster County Coal Corp. after finding that concrete-block ventilation stoppings plastered on one side might not meet the structural-strength requirements of 30 C.F.R. § 75.333. Judge Jerold Feldman found that the Secretary had not shown a violation based on the inspector's observations…
Pecks Branch Mining Company, Incorporated, Jerry Smith, and Troy Hunt
Settlement motion denied
These consolidated civil penalty cases arose from MSHA's investigation of a fatal roof fall at Pecks Branch Mining Company's No. 1 Mine. The Secretary sought $123,800 in penalties against the company and two agents for alleged violations of mandatory underground coal mine standards. The parties…
Monitor Construction Company
Commission upholds formwork fall citations at $1,260
Monitor Construction erected concrete formwork for a parking garage at a Cincinnati shopping mall. OSHA cited 16-inch-wide, 30-inch-deep beam troughs that were not covered or guarded and an open deck edge nearly 10 feet above the ground. The Commission held that the troughs qualified as floor…
City of Fitchburg, Massachusetts (East and West Plants)
In re City of Fitchburg, Massachusetts (East and West Plants) (EAB NPDES Appeal Nos. 93-13, 93-14, 93-15, and 93-16): review of state-certified limits denied
The City of Fitchburg, the Upper Blackstone Water Pollution Abatement District, and the Charles River Pollution Control District challenged toxic-metals limits in four Massachusetts wastewater permits. The limits were based on Massachusetts water-quality standards that incorporated EPA's Gold Book…
Armco Steel Co., L.P.
Crane-runway and cylinder citations vacated
Armco Steel operated a steel-manufacturing facility in Middletown, Ohio. OSHA cited an unguarded crane runway 34 feet above the floor under the open-sided-platform standard, alternatively alleged that employees needed safety belts and lanyards, and cited an unsecured acetylene cylinder under the…
Southern Forming, Inc.
Broad safety violations affirmed at $69,150
Southern Forming, also known as Suncrete Construction, performed concrete formwork at construction sites in Sunny Isles and Delray Beach, Florida. At the Sunny Isles site, an employee fell to his death from a stairway, and OSHA's investigation identified numerous fall-protection, stairway…
Western Fuels-Utah, Inc.
One communication-cable contest dismissed and one sustained
MSHA cited Western Fuels-Utah at the Deserado underground coal mine for communication cables installed near 480-volt power conductors without additional insulation. Judge John J. Morris found that one citation involved a communication cable passing beneath a power cable with a three-inch gap, while…
Rhone-Poulenc of Wyoming Co.
Electrical shock citation affirmed after remand
Rhone-Poulenc of Wyoming operated the Big Island Mine and Refinery, where an electrical foreman received an electrical shock-type injury while working inside an electrical control compartment. The foreman had not locked out the equipment or taken another effective measure to prevent the shock…
Veterans Administration, Long Beach, California and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3943, AFL-CIO
VA Long Beach (FLRA SA-CA-20739): Reconsideration denied over misfiled brief
The Authority had dismissed an unfair labor practice complaint against VA Long Beach and noted that the agency had filed no brief with the Authority. The agency sought reconsideration, saying it had sent a brief to an old address during an office move and asking the Authority to correct the record…
Adcom Wire, d/b/a Adcom Wire
In re Adcom Wire, d/b/a Adcom Wire (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 92-2): HSWA permit remanded for jurisdictional determination
Adcom Wire operated a wire-manufacturing facility in Jacksonville, Florida, under a split state and federal RCRA permit. Adcom disputed whether it had treated, stored, or disposed of hazardous waste after November 19, 1980, the date relevant to federal corrective-action jurisdiction. The…
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Research Laboratory, Narragansett, Rhode Island and National Association of Government Employees, Local R1-240
EPA Narragansett laboratory (FLRA BN-CA-21045, BN-CA-21415): Unanswered complaint results in remedial order
A consolidated complaint alleged that EPA's Narragansett laboratory disciplined employees for lawful union activity and encouraged employees to decertify their union. EPA did not answer the complaint, and an administrative law judge granted summary judgment on the unchallenged allegations. EPA…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Correctional Institution, McKean, Pennsylvania and American Federation of Government Employees, Council of Prison Locals, Local 3974
McKean federal prison (FLRA 0-AR-2509): Three-day suspension upheld
The McKean federal prison suspended an employee for three days after the employee failed to send an inmate crew for snow removal and ended a call with a supervisor. An arbitrator found the suspension supported by just and sufficient cause, and the union challenged the award. The Authority rejected…
U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Ashland, Kentucky and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1286
Ashland federal prison (FLRA 0-AR-2505): One-day suspension upheld
A cook foreman at the Ashland federal prison received a one-day suspension after inmates handled a yeast mixture without required supervision. The union challenged the suspension and the timing and use of an incident report. An arbitrator found that the foreman had violated the prison's security…
U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, Crane, Indiana and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1415
Navy Crane Division (FLRA 0-AR-2495): Overtime classification award stands
The union challenged the Navy Crane Division's decision to classify several technical and specialist employees as exempt from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act. An arbitrator found that seven employees had been improperly exempted and awarded them backpay beginning 20 days before the…
U.S. Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Indianapolis District and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 49
IRS Indianapolis District (FLRA 0-AR-2494): Commuting reimbursement struck from reassignment award
The IRS reassigned two revenue officer examiners to a duty station about 12 miles away without giving their union notice and a chance to bargain over the change's impact. An arbitrator let the employees choose whether to return to their former station and ordered reimbursement for added travel…
U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Division, Indianapolis, Indiana and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1744
Navy aircraft division (FLRA 0-AR-2491): Award overturning suspension stands
The Navy suspended an employee for three days after charging him with 61 hours of absence without leave during a period of incarceration. His acting supervisor had approved requests for leave without pay covering those hours. An arbitrator found that the Navy lacked just cause for the suspension…
American Federation of Government Employees, Council 236 and General Services Administration, Region 9
GSA Region 9 (FLRA 0-AR-2479): Unacceptable performance finding stands
A GSA employee challenged a six-month performance rating on two critical job elements. The arbitrator found significant deficiencies in both elements, rated the performance unacceptable, and ordered GSA to provide a performance improvement plan within 90 days. The union argued that the arbitrator…
Bethenergy Mines, Incorporated
Ventilation citations and penalty proceedings dismissed
Bethenergy Mines faced consolidated contest and civil penalty proceedings involving methane levels and the operation of bleeder entries at its Cambria Slope No. 33 Mine. The judge found that the Secretary did not establish that the mine's approved ventilation plan imposed the specific methane…
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and American Federation of Government Employees, National Council of EEOC Locals No. 216
EEOC performance system (FLRA 0-AR-2433): Reconsideration and stay denied
The EEOC sought reconsideration of an Authority decision that had rejected its objections to an arbitration award involving a new performance appraisal system. It again challenged the arbitrator's selection and argued that earlier unfair labor practice charges barred the grievances. The Authority…
Consolidation Coal Company
Four orders resolved, two modified
Consolidation Coal Company operated the Osage No. 3 Mine, where MSHA brought a civil penalty case involving four section 104(d)(2) S&S orders. One order alleging coal and float-coal-dust accumulations under 30 C.F.R. § 75.316 was settled for $3,000 before the decision. Judge George A. Koutras…
Tanoma Mining Company, aka Tanoma Mining Company, Inc.
Tanoma Mining Company (FMSHRC PENN 93-111, PENN 93-112): Belt guarding orders resolved
Tanoma Mining Company operated an underground coal mine where MSHA cited inadequate guarding around a belt drive and a tail pulley. Judge William Fauver found that both conditions violated 30 C.F.R. § 75.1722(b) and were significant and substantial because a miner could contact a roller pinchpoint…
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.