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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Secretary of Labor v. Consolidation Coal Company
Walkaround citation and $1,000 penalty affirmed
Consolidation Coal prevented miners' representatives from accompanying an MSHA inspector into an underground bleeder system because company supervisors believed the area was too dangerous. Judge Roy J. Maurer held that the Mine Act's walkaround right could not be restricted on that basis by the…
U.S. Department of Justice, Board of Immigration Appeals and AFGE Local 3525
Board of Immigration Appeals (FLRA WA-CU-20787): board member excluded from bargaining unit
AFGE Local 3525 sought to include a Board of Immigration Appeals attorney examiner and board member in its bargaining unit. The regional director found the position was a management official and excluded it. The Authority granted review of the new legal question whether agency policy can be…
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Coal Company
Reconsideration denied after remand
The Commission had previously affirmed part of an administrative law judge's decision, reversed another part, and remanded the question of whether a disputed ventilation-plan provision was suitable for the mines' conditions. Peabody Coal asked the Commission to reconsider and to stay the earlier…
Food and Drug Administration, Newark District Office, West Orange, New Jersey and AFGE Council 242
FDA Newark district office (FLRA 2-CA-10068): union information and representation violations upheld
Four complaints concerned the FDA Newark district office's dealings with AFGE Council 242. The Authority adopted the judge's findings that the office failed to respond to a union information request, excluded a bargaining unit employee, denied requested union representation during an investigative…
U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Contract Audit Agency, Central Region and AFGE Local 3529
Defense Contract Audit Agency (FLRA 0-NG-2083): quality team provisions outside bargaining duty
The Defense Contract Audit Agency disapproved four parts of an agreement about its Total Quality Management program. Three provisions would have limited bargaining unit participation on process teams to volunteers. The Authority found them nonnegotiable because they would prevent the agency from…
AFGE National Council of EEOC Locals No. 216 and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
EEOC national arbitrator (FLRA 0-AR-2341): early exceptions dismissed
The EEOC and the union disagreed over the selection of national arbitrators under their agreement. An arbitrator ruled that he had been properly selected after the agency declined to participate in striking names from a candidate list. The EEOC challenged that ruling before the grievance pending in…
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi and NFFE Local 589
VA Medical Center Jackson (FLRA 0-AR-2337): late reconsideration request dismissed
The VA Medical Center in Jackson asked the Authority to reconsider an earlier arbitration decision served by mail on February 26, 1993. The applicable filing rules made March 15 the last day for a timely request. The agency's request was dated April 12 and reached the Authority on April 19. Because…
Lehigh Portland Cement Company
Discrimination case settled for $1,500
Gerald Sapunarich brought a Mine Act discrimination case against Lehigh Portland Cement Company. The parties proposed a settlement requiring the company to pay a $1,500 civil penalty and post the settlement agreement on the mine bulletin board for at least 30 days. Judge William Fauver found the…
Varra Companies, Inc.
Seat-belt orders affirmed with $2,100 in penalties
Varra Companies operated a sand and gravel mine where MSHA cited several seat-belt violations involving a loader and two dozers. The company withdrew contests to three enforcement documents, and Judge John J. Morris affirmed those orders and the proposed $400 penalties. He also affirmed three…
Alfred Skelton v. Bath Iron Works Corporation and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company
Skelton v. Bath Iron Works (BRB 90-0868): hearing-loss fund share reduced
Alfred Skelton developed hearing loss while working around shipyard noise for Bath Iron Works. The administrative law judge awarded benefits for 28.1 percent binaural impairment and assigned 7.8 percent of that loss to the Longshore Act Special Fund as a pre-existing disability. The Board found…
Dawn R. Ferguson and Children v. Southern States Cooperative and Southern States Insurance Exchange
Ferguson v. Southern States Cooperative (BRB 89-3111, 90-2264): death benefits upheld
Roy Ferguson died after falling through a waterfront warehouse roof while preparing it for a ship's unloading boom. His widow and children sought Longshore Act death benefits from Southern States Cooperative. The Board found that Ferguson's regular duties assisting ships and maintaining unloading…
D.H. Shelton Associates, Inc.
Scaffold guardrail violation affirmed with reduced penalty
D.H. Shelton Associates was a subcontractor on an automobile dealership construction project in El Paso, Texas. The judge rejected the company's challenge to the OSHA inspection because the general contractor consented and a worker who identified himself as Shelton's foreman did not object. OSHA…
Mastaque Ahmed v. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Ahmed v. WMATA (BRB 91-1322): attorney fee returned for limited-success review
Mastaque Ahmed won payment of $611.50 in medical expenses on a work injury claim, but lost his request for additional temporary total disability benefits. His administrative law judge awarded $2,670 in attorney fees against the transit authority. The employer argued that its settlement letters…
Antonio Duran v. Interport Maintenance Corporation and Employer's Insurance of Wausau
Duran v. Interport Maintenance (BRB 89-1832, 90-926): disability modification hearing ordered
Antonio Duran injured his back while working as a container repair mechanic for Interport Maintenance. After the employer and carrier missed his hearing, an administrative law judge awarded permanent total disability benefits and denied their requests to reopen the initial proceeding. The Board…
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Lexington, Kentucky and NAGE Local R5-184
VA Medical Center Lexington (FLRA 0-AR-2364): reprimand over short-notice Sunday shift rescinded
A VA medical center gave an electrician less than three days' notice that he had to work a Sunday when he had a prior commitment as a minister. He missed the shift, and the agency marked him absent without leave and reprimanded him for insubordination. An arbitrator found the notice deficient under…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, Air Force Logistics Command, Tinker Air Force Base and AFGE Local 916
Tinker Air Force Base reduction in force (FLRA 0-AR-2359): rerun remedy set aside
An Air Force employee lost his position in a reduction in force after being placed in a lower retention tenure group. An arbitrator ordered the agency to put him in the higher group and rerun the process, and also found that it failed to notify and bargain with the union over a supplemental…
Clifford Meek v. Essroc Corporation
Discrimination finding affirmed, backpay remanded
Clifford Meek alleged that Essroc Corporation refused to hire him after it acquired the plant where he had worked because he had raised a safety concern to an MSHA inspector. The Commission affirmed the judge's findings that Essroc was a successor to Meek's former employer and that the non-hiring…
Peterson Brothers Steel Erection Company
Connector fall violation affirmed, penalty reduced
A connector erecting structural steel for an Austin office building was fatally injured after a suspended beam knocked him from a perimeter beam about 70 feet above ground. Peterson Brothers used temporary floors for interior fall protection and safety belts for bolters, but its connectors had no…
State Sheet Metal Company, Inc.
Roof-decking fall violations affirmed
State Sheet Metal employees installed metal roof decking on two one-story New Jersey warehouses at heights of approximately 27 and 32 feet without fall protection. The Commission held that the decking being installed did not itself satisfy the temporary-floor option because it did not protect…
Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corporation
Willful locomotive-brake citation vacated
A Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel locomotive collided with a disabled train while pulling loaded hopper cars, fatally injuring the conductor and injuring the trainee engineer. OSHA alleged a willful general-duty violation because the company continued operating the locomotive after reports of…
Falcon Steel Company, Inc.
High-rise fall violations affirmed for $16,000
Falcon Steel erected structural steel for a 60-story Philadelphia high-rise and was cited for several fall hazards. The Commission affirmed a willful violation for using a crane-suspended man basket to carry employees to upper floors when elevators and ladders provided a conventional alternative…
Georgia-Pacific Corporation
Forward-loaded forklift violation affirmed
A Georgia-Pacific forklift carrying a 54-inch-high plywood load forward struck and fatally injured an employee who was crouched near a column in a heavily traveled plant aisle. The ALJ vacated the citation after interpreting the powered-industrial-truck standard to require a totally obstructed view…
Hern Iron Works, Inc.
Separate willful recordkeeping penalties upheld and reduced
OSHA cited Hern Iron Works, a small Idaho foundry, for failing to record multiple employee injuries on its OSHA 200 log and supplementary injury records. The Commission held that each separate failure to record an injury can constitute its own violation and support a separate penalty. It affirmed…
M.A.G., Inc.
Default orders vacated and remanded
M.A.G., Inc. failed to answer the Secretary's civil penalty proposal and an order to show cause, so the Chief Administrative Law Judge entered six default orders assessing $14,370 in proposed penalties. M.A.G.'s president later sent the Commission a letter asking to withdraw the defaults and…
Peabody Coal Company
Methane order and citation vacated
Peabody Coal contested an imminent-danger order and a significant-and-substantial citation issued after an MSHA inspector measured methane near a covered beltline at the Camp No. 9 Preparation Plant. Judge Roy J. Maurer found that the readings were taken too close to the coal to represent the…
Oklahoma Natural Gas
Excavation items reduced to nonserious violations
Oklahoma Natural Gas employees worked in a trench while installing a gas line in Oklahoma City. The judge found that one wall did not meet the protective-system requirements for the Type C soil and that the foreman was not a competent person under the revised excavation rules because he had not yet…
Jersey Steel Erectors
Repeat hard-hat violation affirmed for $4,800
An OSHA compliance officer observed two Jersey Steel Erectors employees connecting steel at a New Jersey strip-mall project without hard hats. Jersey had a written rule, distributed safety information, and discussed head protection at toolbox meetings, but steel connectors frequently resisted…
Pullini Water Main & Sewer Contract
Late notice of contest dismissed
OSHA sent Pullini Water Main & Sewer Contractors serious and repeated citations by certified mail. The company received them on March 23, 1992, making April 13 the deadline to contest. Its attorney did not send a notice of contest until May 12. The judge found that the delay resulted from the…
Southeastern Paper Products Export
Machine-guarding items vacated, exit-sign items affirmed
Southeastern Paper Products operated a paper-converting facility in Miami, Florida. OSHA cited unguarded slitter blades and drill-press belts and pulleys, but the judge vacated those items because the Secretary relied on assumptions and did not prove that employees entered the danger zones during…
LT Precision Heat Treating d/b/a Precision
Bench-grinder violations affirmed with reduced penalties
LT Precision Heat Treating used a bench grinder for spark testing metal at its Brooklyn facility. The grinder's tongue guard was too far from the wheel, and the work rest had been pivoted away so that it provided no support. The company argued that spark testing was not grinding, but the judge…
Martin Sales & Processing
Default decision vacated and remanded
Martin Sales & Processing failed to respond to discovery requests and an order to show cause, so the ALJ entered a default decision assessing $32,166 in proposed penalties. Martin's attorney later filed a motion stating that a response had been timely filed, although the Commission could not…
Secretary of Labor v. Steele Branch Mining
Grader citation affirmed, report citation reversed
Steele Branch Mining was cited after a fatal accident at its surface coal mine for excessive steering-wheel slack on a road grader and for not promptly submitting an accident investigation report. The Commission affirmed the violation of the machinery safety standard because substantial evidence…
Fred Knobel, employed by FKC Incorporated
Mine jurisdiction upheld
The Secretary alleged that Fred Knobel, an officer of FKC Incorporated, was individually liable for an unguarded tail pulley on a portable rock crusher. The parties asked the judge to decide whether MSHA had jurisdiction over the portable crusher before the merits were resolved. Judge August F…
B & F Mechanical Contractors, Inc.
Settlement replaces default and reduces penalties to $900
An ALJ dismissed B & F Mechanical's notice of contest and affirmed a citation with $6,300 in proposed penalties after the company failed to respond to orders and did not return a promised settlement agreement. The company's president later explained that an automobile accident, hospitalization…
Philadelphia Construction Equipment, Inc.
Default affirms excavation citations for $16,650
Philadelphia Construction Equipment failed to appear for its scheduled hearing on serious and willful construction citations. After an initial remand gave the company another opportunity, the ALJ rejected its explanation for arriving late and found no good cause to reinstate the case. The record…
Conagra Flour Milling Company
Commission splits flour-mill safety citations and assesses $500
Conagra operated a flour-milling facility in Martins Creek, Pennsylvania, where OSHA cited battery servicing, powered industrial trucks, machine guarding, compressed-air cleaning, and grain-handling practices. The Commission vacated the personal-protective-equipment and eyewash items because OSHA's…
NFFE Local 858 and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, Kansas City, Missouri
Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FLRA 0-AR-2351): performance element grievance returned
NFFE Local 858 challenged a new Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights critical element in employees' performance plans. An arbitrator denied the grievance because no employee had yet been rated under the element. The Authority held that an arbitrator may decide whether a critical element complies with…
United States Customs Service, Pacific Region and National Treasury Employees Union
Customs Service Pacific Region (FLRA SA-CA-20052): threat over employee statement violated labor law
A Customs Service supervisor told an employee that her career could be ruined if she gave a written statement for a coworker facing proposed termination. An administrative law judge found that the statement unlawfully interfered with employee rights under the federal labor statute. The Authority…
Star Enterprise, Delaware City Refinery
In re Star Enterprise, Delaware City Refinery (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 92-9): permit modification denied
Star Enterprise operated a land treatment unit at its Delaware City, Delaware petroleum refinery under a temporary state-issued RCRA permit. After EPA newly regulated certain petroleum-refinery sludges and toxicity-characteristic wastes, Star asked EPA to modify the permit so it could continue…
Secretary of Labor v. Curtis Crick, James Bo Jones, and Charley Wright
Individual penalty cases dismissed as untimely
The Secretary sought individual civil penalties against three Island Creek Coal Company agents for an alleged violation involving coal accumulations under 30 C.F.R. § 75.400. The penalty petitions were filed 70 days after the respondents' notices of contest, beyond the 45-day period in Commission…
Marine Corps Logistics Base, Barstow, California and AFGE Local 1482
Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow (FLRA 98-CA-10236): vending price remedy remains
An earlier Authority decision found that the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Barstow unlawfully raised canned drink prices from 50 to 55 cents without giving the union notice and a chance to bargain. The base sought reconsideration of the resulting price reversal and temporary decrease to 45 cents…
Hamilton Fixture
Commission upholds expanded inspection and assesses $2,450
Hamilton Fixture manufactured wooden store-display fixtures at a plant in Hamilton, Ohio, with about 350 employees. OSHA began with a union complaint about safety practices and expanded the inspection plant-wide after the compliance officer calculated a lost-workday injury rate about three times…
Morrison-Knudsen Co., Inc./Yonkers Contracting Co., Inc., A Joint Venture
Willful lead-protection violations draw $40,000
A Morrison-Knudsen and Yonkers Contracting joint venture used cutting torches to demolish a lead-painted bridge in New York City, exposing employees to hazardous airborne lead. The Commission held that the construction air-contaminant standards applied alongside the more specific welding and…
AFGE Local 1995 and U.S. Department of Energy, Morgantown Energy Technology Center
Morgantown Energy Technology Center (FLRA 0-NG-2095): limited contract reopener negotiable
AFGE Local 1995 proposed a clause allowing either party to request midterm negotiations over at most two articles of its agreement with the Energy Department's Morgantown center. The agency argued that reopening the contract would destabilize labor relations and raise bargaining costs. The…
U.S. Department of the Treasury, United States Customs Service and National Treasury Employees Union
Customs Service vessel entry program (FLRA 0-AR-2322): reconsideration denied
The Customs Service asked the Authority to reconsider an earlier decision upholding an arbitration award concerning its Coastwise Advanced Preliminary Entry program. That award found the program inconsistent with a vessel entry statute and directed the agency to make affected employees whole for…
Fred L. Peters v. Twentymile Coal Company, Daryl Firestone, and Cyprus Minerals Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Fred Peters alleged that Twentymile Coal Company and its supervisors discriminated against him after he reported shuttle-car brake, ventilation, and electrical problems and later complained to MSHA. Judge John J. Morris found that Peters engaged in protected activity but that the disciplinary…
Social Security Administration and AFGE Local 1923
Social Security Administration (FLRA WA-CA-20438): building access complaint dismissed
The Social Security Administration changed how a union benefits coordinator entered a building without giving the union notice and a chance to bargain. An administrative law judge found no unfair labor practice. The Authority adopted the judge's findings and dismissed the complaint. It also…
Veterans Administration Medical Center, Phoenix, Arizona and AFGE Local 2382
Phoenix VA Medical Center (FLRA SA-CA-20413): one-hour shift change required bargaining
The Phoenix VA Medical Center moved a nurse's daily shift one hour later without notifying his union or bargaining over the change. The new end time conflicted with the start of his second job. The center argued that the change affected only one employee, did not change his VA pay or duties, and…
Little Rock Quarry Company, Incorporated
Dismissal affirmed after remand
The Commission had vacated an earlier dismissal and remanded the case so the Secretary could explain why the prosecution had not complied with prehearing orders. The Secretary argued that the parties had informally settled the matter and that the case should proceed on that basis. Judge Michael A…
AFGE National Council of Social Security Payment Center Locals and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration
Social Security Administration (FLRA 0-NG-2093): retirement eligibility proposal negotiable
The Social Security Administration reassigned employees as part of a debt management reorganization. Their union proposed that the agency ask the Office of Personnel Management whether former Recovery Reviewers qualified for discontinued service retirement and assist employees found eligible. The…
AFGE Local 2921 and U.S. Department of Defense, Army and Air Force Exchange Service, Dallas, Texas
Army and Air Force Exchange Service (FLRA 0-AR-2371): performance grievance award upheld
An employee of the Army and Air Force Exchange Service received a lower performance rating, and her union claimed that management had not properly counseled her or kept written records of the counseling. An arbitrator denied the grievance, finding that oral discussions were permitted under the…
IAM Lodge 2261 and AFGE Local 2185 and U.S. Department of the Army, Tooele Army Depot, Utah
Tooele Army Depot (FLRA 0-AR-2329): overtime remedy upheld, Sunday premium removed
Tooele Army Depot changed employees' workweeks to accommodate an employee event and a visit by the Secretary of the Army. An arbitrator found that the depot had failed to give the unions the advance notice required by their agreement and awarded overtime and Sunday premium pay. The Authority upheld…
International Brotherhood of Police Officers and General Services Administration, Region 2, New York, New York
GSA Region 2 (FLRA 0-NG-2085): one police officer proposal negotiable
A police officers' union sought to bargain with GSA Region 2 over cruiser equipment, detail pay, overtime calculations, step increases, and assignments. The Authority found the proposal preserving overtime eligibility during paid absences negotiable and ordered bargaining on request. It rejected…
Bremerton Metal Trades Council and U.S. Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (FLRA 0-AR-2363): backpay group restored to parties' agreement
Guards and police officers at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard performed unpaid work before their shifts. The parties agreed which current shipyard employees could receive backpay and asked an arbitrator to decide only the backpay period. The arbitrator awarded backpay for September 24, 1988, through…
Michael Worhach v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs
Worhach v. Director, OWCP (BRB 91-2075): Pneumoconiosis denial upheld
Michael Worhach sought black lung benefits after coal mine work. On remand, a judge again found that the x-rays and medical opinions did not establish pneumoconiosis. The Board upheld the judge's weighing of the negative x-ray readings and the decision to discount two doctors' opinions as…
Oneida Coal Company, Inc.
Settlement approved for $10,020
Oneida Coal Company faced a civil-penalty proceeding under the Mine Act. At the hearing, the Secretary moved to approve a settlement and dismiss the case, and Oneida agreed to pay the proposed $10,020 penalty in full. Judge Gary Melick found the settlement appropriate under the statutory penalty…
General Electric Company
In re General Electric Company (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 91-7): dispute procedure remanded
General Electric challenged EPA Region I's authority to revise reports and proposals that defined corrective-action work at its Pittsfield, Massachusetts facility. The company argued that revisions to these interim submissions were formal permit modifications and that it was entitled to notice and…
Consolidation Coal Company
Sanitation citation modified in settlement
Consolidation Coal agreed to settle one citation alleging that a bathroom at its preparation plant was not maintained in sanitary condition. The proposed settlement reduced the original $227 penalty to $175 and modified the citation to make the likelihood of injury unlikely and remove the…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Samuel Coble v. Christian Coal Corporation
Settlement hearing continued
The parties told Judge Jerold Feldman that they had reached an agreement in a Mine Act discrimination case involving Samuel Coble, but the judge had not received a signed settlement motion. He continued the matter while awaiting that filing and warned that, if the motion was not filed by April 9…
MATTER OF CHOW
Firearm deportability statute applied to an earlier conviction
The Board reviewed a Hong Kong native's appeal from an order finding him deportable based on convictions for possessing an automatic pistol and using a telephone to facilitate heroin distribution. The Board held that the 1990 firearms deportability provision completely superseded its former…
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.