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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Pyramid Masonry Contractors, Inc.
Outrigger scaffold midrail violation affirmed
Pyramid Masonry Contractors was performing masonry construction in Orlando, Florida. OSHA cited the company after an employee worked on a 20-inch-wide outrigger platform 18 feet above the ground beside a 29-inch opening that lacked a midrail. The Commission held that the tubular welded frame…
MATTER OF GABRYELSKY
Adjustment and section 212(c) relief could be filed together
The Board reviewed a Polish respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge denied adjustment of status and section 212(c) relief and ordered deportation. The respondent had convictions for weapons offenses and manufacturing methamphetamine, but the Board held that the weapons convictions did not…
MATTER OF JIMENEZ-LOPEZ
Adjustment did not end exclusion proceedings
The Board reviewed an exclusion case involving a Mexican applicant who held lawful temporary resident status, was paroled into the United States for criminal prosecution, and was later adjusted to lawful permanent resident status. The applicant had been charged as a suspected drug trafficker after…
Kenneth J. Herman, Inc.
Construction safety violations affirmed
Kenneth J. Herman, Inc. was constructing fire escapes at a New York worksite. OSHA cited employees working without required head protection, using a scaffold frame instead of safe access, and working on scaffolds without required guardrails or effective tie-off protection. OSHA also cited the…
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Office of Hearings and Appeals and AFGE Council 215
SSA Office of Hearings and Appeals and AFGE Council 215 (FLRA 0-AR-2453): agency must reimburse union for hearing costs caused by its contract breach
An SSA employee grieved the agency's failure to give her priority consideration for a position. The arbitrator found a contract breach and ordered a promotion when an appropriate position became available, with lost pay and benefits. The agency challenged only an additional $300 award to the union…
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Asheville and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 446
Asheville VA Medical Center and AFGE Local 446 (FLRA 0-AR-2451): counseling grievance denial stands
A VA radiology technologist requested a union representative during a supervisor's counseling session about his performance. The supervisor refused, and the union grieved the denial. An arbitrator found that the meeting was counseling under the parties' agreement, rather than an investigative or…
National Gallery of Art and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1831
National Gallery of Art and AFGE Local 1831 (FLRA 0-AR-2436): leave restored in place of holiday premium pay
Gallery employees sought premium pay for scheduled Sunday, holiday, and overtime shifts they missed while on leave, and raised claims about jury duty and military leave. An arbitrator dismissed some claims as late and limited any remedy to the 30 days before the grievance. The Authority rejected…
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and American Federation of Government Employees, National Council of EEOC Locals No. 216
EEOC and AFGE Council 216 (FLRA 0-AR-2433): earlier labor charges do not bar grievances over implementation of appraisal system
The union grieved EEOC's implementation of a new performance appraisal system. An arbitrator found that the agency breached the collective bargaining agreement and ordered relief, including a return to the prior system absent agreement on changes. EEOC argued that earlier unfair labor practice…
General Electric Company
In re General Electric Company (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 92-2a): disposal violation upheld, use violation dismissed
General Electric operated an industrial service center in Chamblee, Georgia, where it prepared PCB transformers for disposal. It used a freon distillation process to separate PCBs from contaminated solvent, reused the freon, and sent the separated PCBs for incineration without the required…
Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 589
VA Medical Center Jackson and NFFE Local 589 (FLRA 4-CA-10814, 4-CA-10816): union representative may participate in probationary nurse reviews; later vacated
Two probationary VA nurses asked for union representation at professional standards board reviews that could affect whether they kept their jobs. The medical center let a union steward attend and speak off the record but barred participation in the recorded proceedings. The Authority held that the…
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Hot Springs, South Dakota and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1539
VA Medical Center, Hot Springs and AFGE Local 1539 (FLRA 0-AR-2422): nurse vacancy grievance and priority remedy upheld
A VA medical center selected an outside applicant for a licensed practical nurse opening, although three employees had applied and were qualified. An arbitrator found that the medical center violated negotiated vacancy procedures and ordered it to offer a qualified employee the next opening in the…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, Headquarters 92nd Bomb Wing, Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 11
Fairchild Air Force Base and NFFE Local 11 (FLRA 0-AR-2418): reconsideration and late filing relief denied
The Authority had dismissed the union's exceptions to an arbitrator's interim award because the arbitrator retained jurisdiction over another issue. After the arbitrator issued a final award, the union did not file exceptions by the deadline. It sought reconsideration of the earlier dismissal or…
Maskell-Robbins, Inc.
Pipe-loading hazard violation affirmed
Maskell-Robbins distributed polyethylene pipe and reloaded truckloads of large pipe at its Houston yard. During the work, an employee climbed onto loaded pipe, and shifting pipe fell from the truck, struck him, and caused his death. The Commission affirmed a serious general duty clause violation…
Professional Airways Systems Specialists, District No. 1 and U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Battle Creek Flight Inspection Field Office
FAA Battle Creek and PASS District 1 (FLRA 0-AR-2461): shared training rental car upheld
Four FAA employees and a supervisor attended training at the same site while staying at the same hotel. The agency approved one rental car on the supervisor's travel orders and directed the employees to ride with the supervisor. The union argued that each employee should have received a rental car…
U.S. Department of the Army, U.S. Army Support Command, Fort Shafter, Hawaii and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Hawaii Federal Lodge 1998
Army Support Command Fort Shafter and IAM Lodge 1998 (FLRA 0-AR-2456): electrician's one-day suspension upheld
An Army electrician received a one-day suspension after refusing requests to operate a switchboard and speaking disrespectfully to contractor and military personnel. An arbitrator found just cause for the suspension and rejected the union's claim of anti-union motive. The union challenged the…
U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA, National Weather Service, Brownsville, Texas and National Weather Service Employees Organization, Branch 2-03
Brownsville Weather Service and NWSEO Branch 2-03 (FLRA 0-AR-2443): short-notice shift change returned for clarification
A Brownsville Weather Service employee's shift was moved from daytime to midnight with less than a week's notice. The employee sought five hours of overtime pay, arguing that the change violated scheduling law and the union agreement. The arbitrator denied the grievance, but his explanation did not…
U.S. Department of Defense, National Guard Bureau, Michigan Air National Guard and Association of Civilian Technicians, Michigan State Council
Michigan Air National Guard and ACT State Council (FLRA 0-AR-2441): military reassignments upheld
The Michigan Air National Guard reassigned seven military personnel from a closing detachment to vacant positions at Selfridge Air National Guard Base. The union said bargaining unit employees should have had a chance to compete for the openings under the parties' agreement. An arbitrator denied…
Laidlaw Environmental Services, Thermal Oxidation Corporation, Inc.
In re Laidlaw Environmental Services, Thermal Oxidation Corporation, Inc. (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 92-20): permit remanded in part and review denied in part
Laidlaw Environmental Services operated a hazardous-waste incinerator in Roebuck, South Carolina, through its Thermal Oxidation Corporation facility. EPA Region IV modified the facility's permit to increase allowable metals feed rates after a trial burn showed that its air pollution controls could…
Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Distribution Region West, Tracy, California and Laborers' International Union, Local 1276, AFL-CIO
DLA Tracy and Laborers Local 1276 (FLRA SF-CA-20219): survey and brief meeting did not violate labor law
The Defense Logistics Agency surveyed employees while studying a reorganized distribution operation in Tracy, California. A union complaint alleged that the survey bypassed the union and that a meeting about it was a formal discussion held without a union representative. An administrative law judge…
Leon Henson v. Arcwel Corporation, Pacific Ship Repair and Fabrication, Incorporated, and United Marine Mutual Insurance Company
Henson v. Arcwel Corporation (BRB 89-435): Longshore claim returned for decision
Leon Henson alleged a back and leg injury while working as a truck driver and filed both California and Longshore Act claims. He signed a $45,000 California settlement and a letter requesting withdrawal of the federal claim, but his new lawyer asked the district director to disregard the withdrawal…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1778
McGuire Air Force Base and AFGE Local 1778 (FLRA 0-AR-2473): shared arbitration fees upheld
A McGuire Air Force Base employee grieved a ban on playing dominoes during lunch. The arbitrator ordered the agency to stop enforcing the ban until it was adopted in the proper form and manner, but found a procedural defect in the grievance and split her fees equally between the parties. The union…
Department of the Navy, Naval Aviation Depot, Pensacola, Florida and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1960
Pensacola Naval Aviation Depot and AFGE Local 1960 (FLRA 0-AR-2426): career-ladder promotion denial upheld
Three Naval Aviation Depot employees finished career-ladder training but were not promoted to GS-9 after a reorganization eliminated the target positions. Their union argued that earlier promises, past practice, and the labor agreement required promotion and bargaining over the change. An…
Genesee Power Station Limited Partnership
In re Genesee Power Station Limited Partnership (EAB PSD Appeals Nos. 93-1 through 93-7): lead BACT issue remanded and review otherwise denied
Genesee Power Station sought a PSD permit for a 35-megawatt power plant in Michigan that would burn several types of wood waste. Petitioners challenged public participation, alleged environmental racism, and disputed the permit's best available control technology determinations for lead…
U.S. Department of the Army, Headquarters III Corps and Fort Hood, Texas and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1920
Fort Hood and AFGE Local 1920 (FLRA 0-AR-2442): target worker details left in place
Fort Hood reassigned two target device workers after changing operations on its live fire ranges and later detailed them to target device servicer positions. Their union challenged the details under the labor agreement and personnel rules, and an arbitrator denied the grievance after the Office of…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 22 and U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval Base, Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk Naval Base and AFGE Local 22 (FLRA 0-AR-2440): six years of meal-period backpay upheld
Police officers at Norfolk Naval Base grieved unpaid work before shifts and during meal periods. An arbitrator awarded backpay, including compensation for meal periods going back six years before the grievance. The Navy challenged only that six-year meal-period remedy, arguing that the Fair Labor…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3887, National Council of Department of Education Locals, Council 252 and U.S. Department of Education, Institutional Review Branch, Office of Student Financial Assistance, Region IV
Education Department and AFGE Local 3887 (FLRA 0-AR-2437): 14-day suspension upheld
The Education Department suspended an institutional review specialist for 14 days after finding that he disclosed confidential information about an unannounced review of a school. An arbitrator upheld the discipline under the labor agreement's just-cause provision. The union argued that the…
E. Smalis Painting Co., Inc.
Bridge-painting citations settled for $50,000
E. Smalis Painting was repainting the Tarentum Bridge in Pennsylvania when OSHA inspected the worksite. OSHA issued three citations alleging one willful, nine serious, and two other-than-serious violations, with proposed penalties totaling $75,000. The parties agreed that the company would withdraw…
RCS Rizzoli Corp. of N.Y.
Late notice of contest dismissed
OSHA personally served a serious citation and penalty notice on the manager of an RCS Rizzoli bookstore. The company did not file its notice of contest within the required 15 working days because its operations manager failed to forward the citation to counsel before leaving on a business trip. The…
Bancker Construction Corp.
Trench support violation affirmed with reduced penalty
Bancker Construction was installing a protective system in an excavation for a telephone equipment vault in Bethpage, New York. Employees entered the excavation while the support system was only partly installed, and the trench was more than five feet deep with vertical walls in unstable Type C…
Morale, Welfare and Recreation Directorate, Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, North Carolina and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2065
Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point and AFGE Local 2065 (FLRA AT-CA-20639 and AT-CA-20765): union duties continued during unit review
After a reorganization at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, a regional director found that AFGE Local 2065's bargaining unit was no longer appropriate. While review of the representation issue remained pending before the Authority, the activity stopped withholding union dues, withdrew…
U.S. Department of the Navy, Navy Public Works Center, San Diego, California and National Association of Government Employees, Local R12-35
San Diego Navy Public Works Center and NAGE Local R12-35 (FLRA 0-AR-2431): union president's overtime award upheld
The Navy Public Works Center in San Diego did not offer overtime to a union president who had 100 percent official time for union duties. An arbitrator found that the labor agreement's overtime provision covered all employees, including the union president, and awarded limited backpay. The Navy…
U.S. Department of the Army, Camp Stanley Storage Activity, San Antonio, Texas and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3961
Camp Stanley and AFGE Local 3961 (FLRA 0-AR-2425): exceptional performance rating restored
Camp Stanley replaced a warehouse worker's initial exceptional performance appraisal with two shorter appraisals. One of the replacements rated him fully successful for an earlier period. An arbitrator found that the agency had not supported the lower rating and ordered it raised to exceptional…
U.S. Department of the Interior, Redwood National Park, Crescent City, California; Thomas R. Dore; and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 2091
Redwood National Park and NFFE Local 2091 (FLRA SF-DR-30039): election petition allowed to proceed
An employee at Redwood National Park petitioned for an election on whether NFFE Local 2091 should continue as the bargaining unit's representative. The union argued that its collective bargaining agreement barred the petition as untimely. The reproduced agreement's approval date was smudged and…
Air Plastics, Inc.
Mixed ruling on pit hazards and chemical training
Air Plastics manufactured fiberglass tanks using molds mounted over production pits that employees entered during setup. The judge vacated a failure-to-abate general duty clause citation alleging hazardous confined-space atmospheres because OSHA did not prove that employees faced a significant risk…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, 90th Missile Wing, F. E. Warren Air Force Base and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2354
F. E. Warren Air Force Base and AFGE Local 2354 (FLRA DE-CU-20016): flexible employees included in bargaining unit
The 90th Missile Wing asked to exclude its flexible nonappropriated fund employees from a bargaining unit represented by AFGE Local 2354. A regional director found that the flexible category combined employee groups that had been included in the certified unit with one group that had been excluded…
Beta Construction Company
Roof-monitor violation affirmed as serious
A Beta Construction employee fell from a 73-foot-high roof while applying roofing membrane and was fatally injured. The Commission found that a coworker, not the foreman, was serving as the safety monitor, but that the monitoring procedure still failed to comply with the fall-protection standard. A…
National Border Patrol Council, Local 2913 and U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service Border Patrol
Border Patrol and National Border Patrol Council Local 2913 (FLRA 0-AR-2493): interest added to backpay award
Border Patrol suspended an employee for five days after alleging careless testimony in federal court. An arbitrator found that the agency had failed to give timely notice of the discipline and ordered the suspension rescinded, with backpay and restored benefits, but denied interest. The union…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 4042 and U.S. Department of Defense, Army and Air Force Exchange Service, Waco Distribution Center
Waco Exchange Service and AFGE Local 4042 (FLRA 0-AR-2448): late grievance ruling upheld
AFGE Local 4042 sought to negotiate a local agreement on official time at the Army and Air Force Exchange Service's Waco Distribution Center. Management refused, and the union filed a grievance roughly 20 months after the last correspondence about the demand. An arbitrator ruled the grievance…
U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3652
Federal Bureau of Prisons and AFGE Local 3652 (FLRA 0-AR-2444): sick leave arbitration award upheld
A recreation specialist at a federal correctional center received a five-day suspension over how he reported sick leave. An arbitrator found that his supervisor had approved leave for the first day and that his call on the second day was an adequate attempt to reach her under the circumstances. The…
National Association of Agriculture Employees and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine
Agriculture inspection officers (FLRA 0-NG-2134): Sunday overtime pay proposal held nonnegotiable
The union for Plant Protection and Quarantine officers proposed paying eight hours of Sunday overtime when an eight-hour shift ended early and the officers worked fewer hours. The Agriculture Department argued that employees could be paid only for overtime actually worked. The Authority held that 7…
Asbestos Specialists, Inc.
In re Asbestos Specialists, Inc. (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 92-3): complaint dismissed without prejudice and remanded
Asbestos Specialists, Inc., an asbestos inspection and removal company in Utah, faced a proposed $13,000 civil penalty under the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act. EPA Region VIII's complaint cited provisions that did not match the alleged sampling duties, misstated statutory requirements, and…
MATTER OF K-S-
District court decision not binding in persecution appeal
The Board reviewed an Indian applicant's appeal from the denial of asylum and withholding of exclusion and deportation. The applicant, a Sikh farmer and automotive electrician from Punjab, reported abuse by police and demands for food from Sikh militants, but the Board found that he had not shown…
MATTER OF Z-
Cargo-ship landing established entry despite federal park setting
The Board reviewed the Service's appeal from an Immigration Judge's termination of exclusion proceedings involving a Chinese applicant who came ashore from a cargo ship near San Francisco. The applicant had no entry documents, and the record showed that he and other passengers left the vessel at an…
U.S. Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review, Office of the Chief Immigration Judge, Chicago, Illinois and American Federation of Government Employees
Chicago immigration review office and AFGE (FLRA CH-RO-20043): local representation election may proceed
AFGE petitioned for a representation election among nonprofessional employees in the Chicago field office of the Executive Office for Immigration Review. A regional director found that the employees shared a local community of interest and directed an election. The agency argued that its nationwide…
Gilbane Building Company
Mixed ruling on construction-site fall hazards
Gilbane Building Company was the construction manager responsible for overall safety at a large Pennsylvania project. The judge held Gilbane liable under the multi-employer worksite doctrine for hazards affecting subcontractor employees. He affirmed serious violations for a scaffold without…
S.K. Construction Company
Trench citation vacated for employee misconduct
S.K. Construction was repairing a sanitary sewer in Middletown, Ohio. A newly promoted foreman briefly entered a 13-foot-deep excavation without the required protective system while a worker was retrieving equipment to widen a trench box. OSHA alleged a willful trench-protection violation and…
Ardyce Carlson, M.D.
Dismissal vacated for factual inquiry
The chief administrative law judge dismissed Dr. Ardyce Carlson's notice of contest after no answer to the Secretary's complaint or response to an order to show cause appeared in the Commission's file. Dr. Carlson told the Commission that he had mailed an answer by certified mail, had not received…
Pitt-Des Moines, Inc.
Derrick safety-device violation affirmed
Pitt-Des Moines used a derrick to carry employees in a man-basket more than 90 feet up a water tower without an anti-two-blocking device. The device prevents the overhaul ball from contacting the boom tip and severing the line supporting the basket. The Commission rejected the company's…
El Paso Crane and Rigging Co., Inc.
Mixed ruling on steel-erection fall protection
An El Paso Crane and Rigging employee fell 27 feet from a roof-level steel beam while trying to remove a kink from metal banding and was fatally injured. The Commission agreed that safety nets were infeasible for the tilt-wall building, but the company did not prove that a scissor lift was…
National Association of Agriculture Employees and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Hyattsville, Maryland
Agriculture employees and APHIS (FLRA 0-NG-2138): Union cannot choose agency child care panel members
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service planned panels to consider child care centers at its worksites. The union proposed choosing the bargaining unit employees who would serve as panel members. The Authority held that this would prevent management from assigning panel work to employees of…
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Office of Hearings and Appeals, Jackson, Mississippi and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3627
Social Security hearings office and AFGE Local 3627 (FLRA 0-AR-2438): performance rating grievance denied
An employee in the Social Security Administration's Jackson hearings office challenged a job-task rating that made her overall appraisal marginally successful. An arbitrator found that management had clarified the task's timeliness standard without changing it and denied the grievance. The union…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, Lowry Air Force Base, Denver, Colorado and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1497
Lowry Air Force Base and NFFE Local 1497 (FLRA 0-AR-2435): one-day suspension award upheld
A Lowry Air Force Base employee received a five-day suspension after fighting with another employee at work. The arbitrator found the other employee primarily responsible but held that the grievant also bore responsibility, reducing the suspension to one day. The union challenged the arbitrator's…
U.S. Department of the Navy, Long Beach Naval Shipyard and Federal Employees Metal Trades Council
Long Beach Naval Shipyard and Metal Trades Council (FLRA 0-AR-2428): promotion grievance excluded from arbitration
A Long Beach Naval Shipyard employee challenged how his application for a supervisory promotion was scored. An arbitrator found that the parties' agreement excluded disputes over promotion ratings from their negotiated grievance procedure, so he denied the grievance without reaching the promotion…
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1245 and U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Mid-Pacific Region
Reclamation employees and IBEW Local 1245 (FLRA 0-AR-2406): double-time overtime award upheld
The Bureau of Reclamation reduced its employees' overtime rate from double time to time and a half despite a contract provision requiring double time. An arbitrator found that the agency had improperly ended the established pay practice, ordered it restored, and returned the case to the parties to…
MATTER OF LI
Qualifying adoption ended natural sibling immigration benefits
The Board reviewed a visa petition filed by a naturalized United States citizen seeking preference classification for a natural sibling after the petitioner had been adopted as a child. The Board held that an adoption meeting the immigration-law requirements ends the natural parent's status as a…
Johnnie L. Pullin v. Ingalls Shipbuilding, Incorporated
Pullin v. Ingalls Shipbuilding (BRB 91-131): fee award corrected on reconsideration
Johnnie Pullin's counsel sought reconsideration of a fee order arising from his Longshore Act appeal against Ingalls Shipbuilding. The Board had rejected one hour billed for reviewing an employer appeal that had not been filed. Counsel explained that the entry actually concerned the Board's…
Holly Springs Brick and Tile Co. & Bickerstaff Clay Products Co., Inc.
Bickerstaff case severed after withdrawal
The Commission had consolidated the Holly Springs Brick and Tile and Bickerstaff Clay Products cases for review. The Secretary then withdrew the only citation item at issue in the Bickerstaff docket. With no issue remaining in that case, the Commission severed docket 91-0229 and deemed the judge's…
Worcester Steel Erectors, Inc.
Formwork violations reversed
A metal deck collapsed during construction at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and several employees fell 42 feet. OSHA cited Worcester Steel for four alleged deviations from the deck manufacturer's specifications under a formwork performance standard. The Commission found that Worcester Steel…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 858 and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Federal Crop Insurance Corporation
Crop Insurance Corporation and NFFE Local 858 (FLRA 0-NG-2135): appraisal and award proposals rejected
The union proposed that employees lacking sufficient training or experience in a job element not be rated on that element during an appraisal cycle. The Authority found that this would bar management from evaluating the element for the entire cycle, even if the employee gained the needed training…
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Office of Hearings and Appeals, Falls Church, Virginia and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3615
Social Security hearings office and AFGE Local 3615 (FLRA 0-AR-2466): performance appraisal award upheld
An employee in the Social Security Administration's Office of Hearings and Appeals challenged an annual rating of Excellent, seeking an Outstanding rating. The arbitrator found some evidence supporting a higher rating but concluded that the union had not shown the supervisor's appraisal was wrong…
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.