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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Grover L. Adkins v. Donaldson Mine Company
Adkins v. Donaldson Mine Company (BRB 89-2902): Timeliness dismissal returned for new findings
Grover Adkins filed a federal black lung claim in 1987. A judge dismissed it as untimely after finding that a 1981 medical opinion had told Adkins he was totally disabled by pneumoconiosis. The Board found that the report did not clearly attribute a total disability to pneumoconiosis and that…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R1-100 and Naval Submarine Base New London
NAGE Local R1-100 and Naval Submarine Base New London (FLRA 0-NG-2110): commercial driver license proposals dismissed
Crane and rigging operators at Naval Submarine Base New London needed Connecticut commercial driver licenses that met new federal standards. Their union proposed that the Navy pay initial testing and licensing fees, delay implementation while the dispute was reviewed, and treat silence on the…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 33 and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston
NFFE Local 33 and Galveston Corps of Engineers (FLRA 0-NG-2091): competitive posting proposal is negotiable
The Army Corps of Engineers in Galveston objected to a union proposal requiring competitive promotion procedures when filling bargaining unit jobs through transfers or reinstatements from outside the unit. The Authority read the proposal to require posting a vacancy and considering qualified…
Vaughan E. Tyndzik v. University of Guam
Tyndzik v. University of Guam (BRB 91-1470): Guam covered, university exempt
Vaughan Tyndzik worked as a marine technician and diver for the University of Guam and developed a diving-related bone condition. An administrative law judge denied Longshore Act benefits, finding both that Guam was outside the Act and that the university was an exempt government employer. The…
National Treasury Employees Union and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Office of Hearings and Appeals
SSA performance appraisals (FLRA 0-NG-2077): three provisions negotiable
The Social Security Administration disapproved four contract provisions negotiated with the National Treasury Employees Union about performance appraisals in its Office of Hearings and Appeals. The Authority found that a provision barring a lower rating based on isolated or occasional poor…
Association of Civilian Technicians and Rhode Island National Guard
Civilian Technicians and Rhode Island National Guard (FLRA 0-NG-1813): uniform supply terms negotiable on remand
After a court remand, the Authority reconsidered three parts of a union proposal about uniforms for Rhode Island National Guard civilian technicians. The parts called for seven sets of required uniforms, exchange of worn or soiled clothing, wearing issued uniforms, and separate uniforms for…
Defense Distribution Region Central, Memphis and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2501
Memphis Defense Logistics Agency and AFGE Local 2501 (FLRA 0-AR-2413): removal exceptions dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
An arbitrator denied a union grievance challenging an employee's discharge from the Defense Logistics Agency's Memphis distribution region. AFGE Local 2501 filed exceptions with the Authority. The union showed that its filing was timely, but the Authority could not review the award because it…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 916 and Oklahoma City Air Logistics Command, Tinker Air Force Base
AFGE Local 916 and Tinker Air Force Base (FLRA 0-AR-2402): sick leave suspension upheld
The Air Force suspended an industrial engineering technician at Tinker Air Force Base for 14 days after finding that he had not properly requested or documented sick leave and had worked a second job during sick leave without notifying his supervisor. An arbitrator upheld the suspension, although…
R.B.S., Incorporated
Discrimination case settled and dismissed
The Secretary of Labor brought a discrimination proceeding on behalf of Paul H. Brooks against R.B.S., Incorporated. The Secretary moved to approve a settlement and explained that the evidence might not establish that Brooks adequately communicated legitimate safety concerns, so that a section…
Tanglewood Energy, Inc.
Temporary reinstatement ordered
The Secretary sought temporary reinstatement for Perry Poddey, a miner who said Tanglewood Energy discharged him after he complained to MSHA and his foreman about a defective parking brake on the scoop he operated. MSHA issued citations concerning the parking brake, and Mr. Poddey was discharged…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Motion to reopen final penalty orders denied
Jim Walter Resources sought to reopen uncontested civil penalty assessments after paying them in full, arguing that the penalties had been improperly increased under the Secretary's interim excessive-history program. The Commission held that it has jurisdiction to reopen final orders in appropriate…
C&B Mining Company
Citation affirmed and penalty reduced to $500
MSHA inspector Dennis Myers was denied entry to C&B Mining Company's No. 2 Vein Slope Mine while attempting a spot inspection related to possible abandoned workings. Judge David F. Barbour found that C&B violated the Mine Act by refusing entry to an authorized MSHA inspector and found the violation…
Raleigh R. Hunt v. Canada Coal Company
Discrimination case dismissed after settlement
Raleigh R. Hunt brought a discrimination complaint against Canada Coal Company under section 105(c) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act. The parties moved to dismiss the case based on a settlement. Judge William Fauver granted the motion and dismissed the case. The order does not state a…
Matter of D-V-
Asylum granted after persecution in Haiti
The applicant was a Haitian woman who supported former President Jean Bertrand Aristide and belonged to a church group associated with him. Soldiers who knew of her political and religious activities attacked her at home, and she later went into hiding before leaving Haiti. The Board found that her…
Higman Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Default order vacated and case remanded
This civil penalty proceeding involved Higman Sand & Gravel's failure to answer a complaint proposing a $292 penalty for an alleged violation involving toilet facilities at a surface metal and nonmetal mine. An administrative law judge entered a default order after Higman did not answer the…
Higman Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Default order vacated and case remanded
This civil penalty proceeding involved Higman Sand & Gravel's failure to answer a complaint proposing a $362 penalty for an alleged violation involving an audible warning device at a surface metal and nonmetal mine. An administrative law judge entered a default order after Higman did not answer the…
North Bergen Animal Hospital
Withdrawal leaves late-contest dismissal final
OSHA issued North Bergen Animal Hospital two citations and proposed penalties, but the hospital filed its notice of contest after the 15-working-day deadline. The hospital explained that a receptionist had opened the citation mail and placed it with solicitation mail that remained unread for…
Arthur F. Dickinson v. Alabama Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Corporation
Dickinson v. Alabama Dry Dock (BRB 91-789): preapproved Fund share upheld
Arthur Dickinson and Alabama Dry Dock settled his occupational hearing-loss claim for $7,636.62 in compensation, with a portion assigned to the Special Fund. The Director objected because he had not signed the settlement and because its wording mentioned possible death benefits. The Board held that…
Charles Pryor v. James McHugh Construction Company and Lumbermen's Mutual Casualty Company
Pryor v. James McHugh Construction (BRB 86-2685, 86-2685A): medical claim coverage remanded
Charles Pryor developed silicosis after tunnel construction work that exposed him to rock dust, including work for James McHugh Construction on the Washington Metro. He filed for benefits under the Longshore Act as extended by the former District of Columbia compensation law. The Board upheld the…
United States Border Patrol, Tucson Sector and National Border Patrol Council, American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2544
Tucson Border Patrol records (FLRA SA-CA-20236): disclosure order later vacated
The union representing Tucson Border Patrol employees sought a proposal letter from another employee's discipline case while preparing to arbitrate a 30-day suspension. The agency had given the union the final discipline letter but refused the proposal letter, arguing that only the final decision…
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
In re Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 92-5): permit remanded
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company operated a Beaumont, Texas plant that manufactured solution crumb rubber, hydrocarbon resins, and isoprene monomers. EPA Region VI applied both the Solution Crumb Rubber and Organic Chemicals, Plastics and Synthetic Fibers effluent guidelines to the plant's combined…
Burwick, employed by Burwick Construction Co.
Default order vacated and case remanded
The ALJ entered a default order against Glen Burwick, an employee of Burwick Construction Company, after he failed to answer a proposed civil penalty or an order to show cause. The judge assessed the Secretary's proposed $400 penalty. The Commission treated a later letter as a timely petition for…
Edward F. Williams and Walter Jones v. Humphreys Enterprises, Incorporated
Williams and Jones v. Humphreys Enterprises (BRB 88-0111 and 88-1437): Trust Fund made liable for medical benefits
Edward Williams and Walter Jones received medical benefits for black lung claims. Humphreys Enterprises contested its designation as the successor operator liable for payment. The Board held that majority ownership of another company's stock and common officers did not establish that Humphreys…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 916 and U.S. Department of the Air Force, Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Tinker Air Force Base
Tinker Air Force Base official time (FLRA 0-AR-2353): arbitration award upheld
The Air Force suspended a Tinker Air Force Base employee for five days after he missed work when his car had problems and his supervisor denied annual leave. An arbitrator upheld the suspension but awarded the employee's union representative eight hours of official time to prepare for two…
U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Southern Region and National Air Traffic Controllers Association
FAA training reassignment (FLRA 0-AR-2374): moving expenses denied
An FAA employee failed a training program at a new facility and was reassigned to his former position without reimbursement for the return move. An arbitrator denied his grievance, finding that the labor agreement conditioned payment on the availability of relocation funds and that those funds were…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R1-134 and U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval Underwater Systems Center, New London
Navy welder sick leave (FLRA 0-AR-2373): request for medical documentation upheld
A welder at the Navy's Naval Underwater Systems Center sought sick leave after receiving a burn at work. His supervisor asked for more medical documentation to support his absence, and the agency marked one day as absence without leave. An arbitrator denied the employee's grievance, finding that…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, Air Force Logistics Center, Tinker Air Force Base and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 916
Tinker union officials (FLRA 0-AR-2372): promotion grievance denied
Four Tinker Air Force Base employees worked full time on union representation while retaining their bargaining unit positions. Their union sought higher pay and promotions to labor relations specialist positions, as well as appraisals based on their union work. An arbitrator denied the grievance…
Garden Creek Pocahontas Company
Settlement approved for conveyor citation
This civil penalty proceeding involved one alleged violation of a mandatory safety standard at Garden Creek Pocahontas Company's VP-6 Mine. The citation concerned a belt conveyor that periodically started unexpectedly while idled in sequence mode. The parties settled the proposed $189 penalty for…
Kem Coal Incorporated
Seven citations settled and S&S findings removed
This civil penalty proceeding involved seven alleged violations at Kem Coal's No. 1 Surface Mine under standards in Parts 71 and 77 of the mine safety regulations. The parties agreed to settle the proposed penalties, reducing the total from $2,222 to $500. They also agreed to remove the…
Kem Coal Incorporated
Settlement approved and one citation vacated
This civil penalty proceeding involved four alleged violations of mandatory safety standards at Kem Coal's No. 2 Surface Mine. The parties settled three citations for $655, $595, and $595, and agreed that a fourth citation involving an inaudible backup alarm should be vacated because the vehicle…
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Canteen Service, Newington, Connecticut and NAGE Local R1-109
Veterans Canteen Service, Newington (FLRA BN-CA-20451): unilateral food price increase violated bargaining duty
The Veterans Canteen Service at a VA medical center raised cafeteria food prices without notifying the union or giving it a chance to bargain. The agency argued that the prices were outside its bargaining duty because a statute directs the VA Secretary to set canteen prices. The Authority applied…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R1-109 and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Newington
Newington VA medical services (FLRA 0-NG-2106): employee care proposal negotiable
A union at the Newington VA Medical Center proposed that employees pay nothing and lose no pay or benefits for medical or dental services the center provides. The VA argued that the proposal required unauthorized care and conflicted with sick leave rules and management rights. The Authority read…
National Air Traffic Controllers Association and U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Billings, Montana
FAA controller transfer (FLRA 0-AR-2369): funding delay upheld
An FAA air traffic controller in Billings was selected for a higher grade position in Flint, but the agency delayed his transfer and promotion because relocation funds were unavailable. An arbitrator denied the union's grievance, finding that the selection had not yet become an effective transfer…
C.W. Mining Company
Citation vacated and appeal dismissed
An MSHA inspector cited C.W. Mining Company for allegedly lacking a fire sensor at the tailpiece of an underground belt conveyor. The ALJ affirmed the citation and assessed a $20 penalty, but the Commission granted review of how the standard's 24-hour installation grace period applied. The…
U.S. Department of the Army, Pine Bluff Arsenal, Arkansas and AFGE Local 953
Pine Bluff Arsenal (FLRA 0-AR-2384): back pay for reassigned security guards set aside
Pine Bluff Arsenal temporarily removed security guards from chemical duty while investigating possible drug involvement and assigned them to work without the premium pay they had received. An arbitrator found the temporary removal justified, but awarded back pay for mandatory overtime and other…
Wallace Enterprises, Inc.
Default judgment entered for $1,540
Wallace Enterprises did not appear at the hearing in three civil penalty proceedings involving its Middle Fork Mine. The company also did not respond to the judge's order to show cause why a default decision should not be entered. Judge Avram Weisberger granted the Secretary's motion for default…
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Atlanta, Georgia and NFFE Local 466
Forest Service Atlanta (FLRA 4-CA-20234): settlement to honor bargaining agreement approved
The Forest Service and NFFE Local 466 entered a formal settlement of a dispute over an earlier agreement. The Authority approved their stipulation and issued a consent order requiring the agency to honor that agreement, provide counterproposals, and bargain over subjects including leave, awards…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, Hill Air Force Base, Utah and AFGE Local 1592
Hill Air Force Base (FLRA 0-AR-2367): reprimand after overturned suspension stands
An Air Force employee was suspended for insubordination. An arbitrator overturned the suspension and ordered restoration of lost pay, but imposed a reprimand for discourtesy and delayed work. The union argued that the reprimand used charges different from those in the suspension notice and violated…
Harlan Cumberland Coal Co.
Elmer Darrell Burgan v. Harlan Cumberland Coal Co. and Dixie Fuel Company (FMSHRC KENT 92-915-D and KENT 93-101-D): Discrimination complaints dismissed
Elmer Darrell Burgan alleged that Harlan Cumberland Coal Company suspended and transferred him because he complained about blocked shuttle-car breakers, and that Dixie Fuel Company denied his request to transfer closer to home because of his safety complaints. Judge Jerold Feldman found that Burgan…
Trinity Industries, Inc.
Hose items withdrawn, confined-space welding violation remains
OSHA inspected Trinity Industries' railroad-car and tank plant after a welder was fatally injured in an explosion inside a liquid-petroleum-gas tank. The ALJ found that the employee's failure to follow established leak-testing and ventilation procedures was unpreventable misconduct, but he affirmed…
NFFE Local 858 and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, Kansas City, Missouri
Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FLRA 0-NG-2115): court reporter proposal negotiable
NFFE Local 858 proposed rules for choosing and paying court reporters at arbitration hearings and depositions. The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation treated the proposal as outside its duty to bargain but gave no written explanation to the union or the Authority. The Authority found no apparent…
Terry Norton v. National Steel and Shipbuilding Company
Norton v. National Steel and Shipbuilding (BRB 89-451): earlier settlement ruling retained
Terry Norton was injured in a shipyard fall and later signed a 1977 agreement for a lump-sum payment. When he pursued more benefits years later, National Steel and Shipbuilding argued that the agreement had ended the claim. The Board had previously reversed summary judgment for the employer and…
Douglas E. DeRossett v. Martin County Coal Corporation
Untimely discrimination complaint dismissed
Douglas E. DeRossett alleged that Martin County Coal Corporation discriminated against him because he complained about mine safety hazards. He claimed that the company moved him to a second shift, did not rehire him after a reduction in force, and discharged him because of those complaints. Judge…
Fluidics, Inc.
Mixed construction ruling assesses $13,600
Fluidics performed mechanical-system renovations at a Philadelphia public-housing project with unusually difficult site-security conditions. The judge affirmed serious violations involving unsecured and improperly separated compressed-gas cylinders, missing GFCI protection, exposed energized…
Amoco Oil Company
HF respiratory-protection violations affirmed for $7,000
Amoco operated an alkylation unit containing large quantities of hydrofluoric acid at its Texas City refinery. A maintenance employee experienced HF exposure while opening a line that had not been fully depressurized, and the employee was wearing an air-fed chemical hood that was not a respirator…
Redondo Construction Corporation
Ladder and repeat guardrail violations affirmed
Redondo Construction was the general contractor for a pier and passenger-terminal project in San Juan, Puerto Rico. OSHA found a portable ladder whose side rails did not extend three feet above the landing and that lacked a required grabrail, even though employees used it for access. OSHA also…
PDC, Inc.
Trench-exit item affirmed, cave-in item vacated
PDC employees installed a gas line in a trench beside a Georgia highway that ranged from four and a half to eight and a half feet deep. The trench had no ladder or other safe means of egress, and workers exited by placing their hands on the ground and jumping from the shallow end. The judge…
Parmer Building Corporation
Aerial-lift rail violations affirmed for $1,000
Parmer Building Corporation performed steel erection at a large Texas construction project. An OSHA compliance officer observed two employees standing on the top and middle rails of an aerial-lift basket while connecting a girder about 52 feet above ground. The employees were also tied off to the…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and AFGE Local 1138
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (FLRA CH-CU-20021): unit clarification upheld after command merger
After two Air Force commands merged, AFGE Local 1138 sought to clarify which Wright-Patterson employees belonged in an existing consolidated bargaining unit. The regional director included eligible employees from the reorganized contracting, communications, logistics, and other Aeronautical Systems…
Phelps Dodge Chino Inc.
Citation vacated with prejudice
MSHA moved to vacate a citation issued to Phelps Dodge Chino Inc. after prehearing preparation and discovery, citing insufficient evidence. Phelps Dodge asked for dismissal with prejudice or, alternatively, declaratory relief concerning future enforcement. Judge Michael A. Lasher vacated the…
Pittsburg and Midway Coal Mining Company-York CNYN Complex
Penalties assessed and citations modified or vacated
The Secretary of Labor pursued 12 alleged violations across four dockets involving Pittsburg and Midway Coal Mining Company's York Canyon and Cimarron mines. The parties settled most citations, including agreements to remove several significant-and-substantial designations and pay specified…
Ralph Taynton, d/b/a Service Specialty Company
Secretary withdraws all citations
OSHA cited Service Specialty Company, a marine-construction contractor, for eighteen alleged serious violations and one other-than-serious posting violation, with $32,700 in proposed penalties. The ALJ found that the company's business affected interstate commerce but that OSHA had not proved it…
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and National Treasury Employees Union
PBGC union president discharge (FLRA 3-CA-90456): discrimination complaint returned for more evidence
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation discharged an attorney who served as a union chapter president, and the union alleged that protected activity influenced the discharge. The Authority had previously found unlawful discrimination, but a federal appeals court returned the case because the…
General Services Administration, Region 10, Auburn, Washington and AFGE Council 236
GSA Auburn child care center (FLRA 0-AR-2345): contractual bargaining order upheld
GSA licensed a nonprofit provider to run a child care center in a government building and later revised the license. AFGE Council 236 asked to bargain over license conditions affecting matters such as enrollment priority, security checks, and employee discounts. An arbitrator found that GSA…
Donald R. Bowling v. Perry Transport, Inc., et al.
Discrimination settlement approved
The Secretary filed one Mine Act discrimination action seeking temporary reinstatement for Donald R. Bowling and a second action seeking permanent reinstatement. The cases named Perry Transport, Stevie Caldwell Trucking, Stevie Caldwell, and other respondents. The parties submitted a settlement…
Prabhu Deshetty, employed by Island Creek Coal Company
Knowing coal-dust violation and $1,500 penalty
Prabhu Deshetty, the mine manager for Island Creek Coal Company's Hamilton No. 2 Mine, was charged as an agent who knowingly authorized, ordered, or carried out a violation involving coal dust accumulations. Judge Gary Melick found large accumulations along the No. 1 beltline, including a 36-inch…
Concrete Materials
Settlement approved for substation fence citation
Concrete Materials was cited because the fence around an electrical substation was below the required six-foot height and had rips and tears. The Secretary proposed reducing the penalty from $690 to $50 and deleting the significant-and-substantial designation because the fence was only slightly…
LCP Chemicals-New York
In re LCP Chemicals-New York (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 92-25): permit review denied
LCP Chemicals-New York, a division of the Hanlin Group, challenged an EPA Region II hazardous-waste permit for its facility in Onondaga County, New York. LCP argued that the permit incorporated conditions from a state permit, failed to explain changes made after public comment, imposed unauthorized…
U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Prison Camp, Alderson, West Virginia and AFGE Local 1494
Alderson prison camp (FLRA 0-AR-2380): home duty exceptions dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
The Bureau of Prisons removed a corrections officer after an off-duty shoplifting conviction and placed her on home duty during its investigation. An arbitrator reduced the removal to a 60-day suspension and ordered the agency to stop using home duty status in those circumstances. The agency…
AFGE Council 236 and General Services Administration
GSA chemist appraisal (FLRA 0-AR-2356): unsatisfactory rating upheld
A GSA chemist challenged an annual unsatisfactory performance rating. An arbitrator found the rating supported by the employee's performance and rejected the union's argument that an earlier interim rating for a within-grade increase controlled the annual result. The union also argued that GSA had…
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.