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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Metro Power, d/b/a Gibson Electric
Floor-opening item affirmed, breaker-panel item vacated
Metro Power, doing business as Gibson Electric, was the electrical subcontractor on a youth facility construction project in Georgia. The judge affirmed a ground-fault circuit interrupter violation because the outlet serving drink and ice machines did not have functioning protection, but classified…
Stone Container Corp.
Boiler-area protective equipment citation vacated
Stone Container operated a paper and linerboard mill with a black liquor recovery boiler in Montana. A boiler explosion burned three employees, and one employee later died from the injuries. OSHA cited the company for not requiring protective clothing and self-contained respirators during boiler…
Pyramid Mining, Incorporated
Training violation modified to non-S&S with $20 penalty
Pyramid Mining assigned an employee to operate a modified bulldozer and conveyor, called a stacker, before his task training was complete. Judge Avram Weisberger found a violation of the training standard because the employee began operating the equipment before receiving all required instruction…
Odessa Union Warehouse Co-op, Inc.
In re Odessa Union Warehouse Co-op, Inc. (EAB FIFRA Appeal No. 93-1): commercial applicator classification affirmed
Odessa Union Warehouse Co-op, Inc. stores and markets grain for its farmer-members and applies pesticides to the grain when necessary. EPA Region X alleged that Odessa violated pesticide-label requirements while fumigating and shipping grain, and proposed a penalty based on treating Odessa as a…
AFGE Local 3006 and U.S. Department of Defense, National Guard Bureau, Idaho Adjutant General
Idaho National Guard (FLRA 0-NG-2081): relocation commute proposals rejected
The Idaho National Guard moved employees from Gowen Field to a maintenance and training site about 23 miles away. The union proposed a year of mileage payments or shuttle bus service between the two locations. The Authority found all three proposals nonnegotiable. The record did not establish that…
AFGE Local 916 and U.S. Department of the Air Force, Air Force Logistics Command, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma
Tinker Air Force Base (FLRA 0-AR-2357): late promotion grievance remains dismissed
A sheetmetal worker at Tinker Air Force Base claimed that she had performed WG-10 duties without promotion or corresponding pay. An arbitrator dismissed her grievance because she filed it about 14 months after she believed she was first entitled to promotion, beyond the agreement's 21-day limit…
AFGE Local 916 and U.S. Department of the Air Force, Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma
Tinker Air Force Base (FLRA 0-AR-2349): removal grievance award set aside
The Air Force removed an employee at Tinker Air Force Base for an inaccurate statement on a federal appointment form. An arbitrator found the removal excessive and ordered reinstatement on request, but denied backpay. The Authority set the award aside without resolving those merits. It found that…
Beazer East, Inc. and Koppers Industries, Inc.
In re Beazer East, Inc. and Koppers Industries, Inc. (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 91-25): permit partly remanded
Koppers Industries, the owner, and Beazer East, the operator, challenged the federal portion of a hazardous-waste permit for a wood-treatment facility in Guthrie, Kentucky. They raised issues about reporting terms, corrective-action workplans, deadlines, duplicative investigations, and several…
Gatliff Coal Company, Inc.
Settlement approved after penalty reassessment
The Commission remanded the captioned cases for reassessment of the civil penalty for Citation No. 3178705 after the original section 104(d) order was modified to a section 104(a) citation without unwarrantable-failure findings. Judge Gary Melick approved the parties' settlement, reducing the…
Consolidation Coal Company
Firehose and cable violations resolved with mixed findings
Consolidation Coal was cited at its Blacksville No. 2 Mine for inadequate firehose reach and exposed high-voltage cable, and it agreed to pay a $20 settlement for a damaged trailing-cable citation. Judge Jerold Feldman found the firehose violation significant and substantial but modified the order…
Cavalier Mining Corp
Discrimination complaint dismissed without prejudice during bankruptcy
Bobby Gene Strouth's discrimination complaint against Cavalier Mining came before the judge while the company was in bankruptcy. The bankruptcy stay prevented the discrimination case from proceeding to judgment. At the complainant's request, and without objection from the respondent, Judge Roy J…
Noland Incorporated
Ten orders affirmed and two vacated
Noland Incorporated operated a sand and gravel mine where MSHA issued ten citations and orders for electrical, conveyor, guarding, examination, handrail, and first-aid conditions. The parties agreed that the main issue was whether the plant was operating when inspectors visited, and Judge John J…
Mountain Cement Company, a Wyoming Partnership
$5,300 settlement approved for protective-clothing violations
The eight consolidated proceedings arose from a citation alleging that special protective clothing was not worn while an employee attempted to poke and unplug a preheat tower at Mountain Cement's operation. The Secretary alleged that the company and several agents knowingly authorized or carried…
Perry Sisk
Eight violations affirmed with $285 in penalties
Perry Sisk operated four coal trucks that regularly picked up coal from the Kanima Mine stockpile and delivered it to a power plant. MSHA alleged eight violations in two dockets, and Sisk conceded that the cited conditions occurred while challenging whether the Mine Act covered his…
Dempsey Darcy Oldsmobile
Penalties reduced for good faith and inspection history
Dempsey D'Arcy Oldsmobile purchased the assets of a dealership after OSHA had cited the prior owner. OSHA later cited the new company for conditions that had not been corrected, and the parties settled the violations but disputed the penalty amounts. The judge found that the company deserved…
Ventura Treto v. Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company
Treto v. Great Lakes Dredge and Dock (BRB 91-629): unapproved settlements barred benefits
Ventura Treto received total disability benefits for a work injury and pursued claims against several outside parties. Great Lakes Dredge and Dock approved two settlements and signed a waiver of its liens on past and future compensation payments. Treto then entered three more third-party…
Custom Services
Settlement approved with $975 in penalties
OSHA issued Custom Services a serious citation containing several construction safety items. At the hearing, the parties reached a settlement and placed its terms on the record. The judge adopted the agreement, which withdrew one scaffold item and affirmed the remaining listed violations. The order…
Vogel Brothers
Four serious construction violations affirmed, two vacated
Vogel Brothers Building Company was the general contractor on a wastewater administration building project in Tampa, Florida. The judge affirmed serious violations involving an unavailable fire extinguisher at a diesel fueling area, unguarded floor edges, an unbarricaded crane swing radius, and…
United States Steel Mining Company, Incorporated
Trolley-wire safeguard violation affirmed with $690 penalty
United States Steel Mining Company operated an underground coal mine where trolley poles repeatedly came off the trolley wire because of excessive distance from the track and kinks, bends, and twists in the wire. Judge William Fauver upheld the safeguard requiring the trolley wire to be installed…
Asarco Incorporated
Penalty case stayed pending contest appeal
Asarco answered the Secretary's civil-penalty petition and asked to consolidate it with a related notice of contest pending before the Commission in WEST 92-624-RM. Judge Paul Merlin denied consolidation because the penalty matter had not yet been heard or decided at the trial level. He stayed the…
Consolidation Coal Company
Damaged power cable violation affirmed with $250 penalty
Consolidation Coal was cited after an underground mine power cable was found on the ground with damaged outer and inner insulation. Judge Avram Weisberger found that the cable was not adequately insulated and fully protected as required by 30 C.F.R. § 75.517. He found the violation significant and…
Consolidation Coal Company
Trolley-wire citation amended and related matters resolved
Consolidation Coal challenged several enforcement actions involving trolley-wire guarding at its Humphrey No. 7 Mine. Judge Avram Weisberger found that personnel carriers transporting miners were man-trips and that the regular loading area was a man-trip station requiring guarded trolley wire under…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Roof citation affirmed after nine matters settled
Jim Walter Resources operated an underground coal mine where MSHA cited hazardous roof conditions in a longwall travelway. Nine of the ten citations were settled, and Judge William Fauver heard the remaining challenge to Citation No. 2804441 under the roof-support standard. He found that roof…
ThermalKEM, Inc., Rock Hill, South Carolina
In re ThermalKEM, Inc., Rock Hill, South Carolina (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 92-4): appeal dismissed
ThermalKEM operated a hazardous-waste treatment and storage facility in Rock Hill, South Carolina, under interim status. After EPA's toxicity-characteristic rule reclassified some wastes as hazardous, ThermalKEM sought to increase the incinerator's hazardous-waste mass feed rate in its Part A…
Earl A. Eichline Enterprises, Inc.
Trench cave-in protection violation affirmed, two other items vacated
Earl A. Eichline Enterprises was repairing a water line valve in an excavation in New Berlin, Wisconsin. OSHA cited the company for inadequate cave-in protection, no safe means of exit, and failure to provide high-visibility garments near traffic. The judge affirmed the repeated cave-in protection…
Harris Masonry, Inc.
Unguarded scaffold violation affirmed
Harris Masonry performed masonry work at a Pennsylvania middle school construction site. OSHA observed three employees on scaffolds about 15 feet high without guardrails. The company argued that the employees were erecting the scaffolds, but the judge credited evidence that the scaffold height did…
Fuellgraf Electric Co.
Platform-training item affirmed, debris item vacated
Fuellgraf Electric Company was an electrical contractor at an elementary school construction site in Pennsylvania. OSHA alleged that an employee operating a self-elevating platform lacked proper training and that debris in a cafeteria created a tripping hazard. The judge affirmed the platform item…
Consolidation Coal Company
Settlement approved and order modified
Consolidation Coal agreed to settle six alleged violations at its Osage No. 3 mine. Judge Paul Merlin approved the settlement, which reduced the total penalties from $1,725 to $1,052. The company agreed to pay the originally assessed penalties for five violations, while Order No. 3718027 was…
Consolidation Coal Company
Settlement approved and negligence reduced
Consolidation Coal agreed to settle two violations involving equipment at its Arkwright No. 1 Mine. Judge Paul Merlin approved the settlement, kept the originally assessed penalty for one citation, and modified the other citation by reducing negligence from moderate to low. The total proposed…
Consolidation Coal Company
Settlement approved and multiple citations modified
Consolidation Coal agreed to settle 18 alleged violations at its Arkwright No. 1 Mine, including three citations that were also being contested. Judge Paul Merlin approved a settlement reducing the total penalties from $4,380 to $2,677. Three citations were modified to reduce the likelihood of…
Consolidation Coal Company
Settlement approved for $684
Consolidation Coal agreed to settle two alleged violations at its Dilworth mine. Judge Paul Merlin reviewed the parties' representations and documentation and found the settlement appropriate under the Mine Act's section 110(i) criteria. The originally assessed penalties and the proposed settlement…
Black Mountain Coal Mining, Incorporated
Settlement amended to add $1,000 in attorney fees
Robert C. Teaney brought discrimination proceedings against Black Mountain Coal Mining, and the parties reached a settlement. Judge Gary Melick amended the settlement decision to add $1,000 in attorney fees for Teaney's counsel. The amended decision also noted payment of $3,600 in backpay and $400…
Peabody Coal Company
Coal-dust accumulation violation affirmed with $500 penalty
Peabody Coal admitted that coal dust and float coal dust had accumulated at multiple locations along a conveyor belt at its Martwick Underground Mine. The company conceded that the violation was significant and substantial but disputed whether it resulted from unwarrantable failure. Judge Gary…
MATTER OF GONZALEZ-LOPEZ
In absentia order required a motion to reopen before the Immigration Judge
The Board considered an appeal from an in absentia deportation order against an El Salvadoran respondent who had been charged with entering without inspection. The Board held that the newer in absentia procedures in section 242B of the Immigration and Nationality Act made a motion to reopen before…
U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration, New England Region, Bradley Air Traffic Control Tower
Transportation Department and Bradley Air Traffic Control Tower (FLRA 1-CA-10020): drug testing list ordered disclosed
The air traffic controllers' union requested the complete annotated list used to select employees for random drug testing at Bradley Air Traffic Control Tower. The Federal Aviation Administration removed names of employees outside the bargaining unit under a Department of Transportation directive…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Tinker Air Force Base and AFGE Local 916
Tinker Air Force Base (FLRA 0-AR-2360): late grievance award upheld
An Air Force employee challenged the effective date of her conversion to an on-call aircraft mechanic helper position after a later reduction in force ended her employment. The arbitrator denied her grievance because it was filed more than 20 months after the conversion, beyond the agreement's…
Fred Jones, Employed by Christian Energies, Incorporated
Settlement approved with $2,800 penalty
Fred Jones, employed by Christian Energies, faced a civil penalty proceeding involving Christian Energies No. 2 Mine. Judge Roy J. Maurer approved a settlement that reduced the proposed penalty from $11,400 to $2,800 because of Jones's limited financial resources. The penalty was payable in 14…
MATTER OF ELLIS
Aggravated-felony detainee bore the burden for bond release
The Board reviewed a Jamaican respondent's appeal from the denial of a custody redetermination after convictions for narcotics offenses and possessing a pistol without a permit. Because the respondent had been convicted of an aggravated felony, the Board applied the custody rule requiring a…
Abbott Contractors, Inc.
Two willful trench cave-in violations affirmed, penalty reduced to $40,000
Abbott Contractors, Inc. installs water mains and was working in Aurora, Illinois. In July and August 1991, OSHA inspected two of its trenching worksites. Before the hearing the parties settled all items except two willful excavation items, which alleged that employees worked in trenches about 9 to…
Waste Processing Equipment, Inc.
Eleven of twelve serious items affirmed, one vacated, penalty cut to $4,600
Waste Processing Equipment, Inc. runs a manufacturing plant in Rainsville, Alabama, with about 28 employees making paper balers and other waste-handling equipment. A September 1991 OSHA inspection led to a serious citation with 12 items and a proposed penalty of $12,500, plus an "other" citation…
Magor Plumbing & Heating Co.
Citations vacated because OSHA did not prove Magor employed the workers
Magor Plumbing & Heating was cited in August 1991 for alleged serious and nonserious violations found during an OSHA inspection of a church under construction in Bayside, New York, with $7,650 in proposed penalties on the serious citation. The only contested issue was whether Magor was the employer…
Mautz & Oren, Inc.
EAJA fee request denied after citation withdrawal
Mautz & Oren was cited for a repeat electrical violation after OSHA found that its construction site used neither ground-fault circuit interrupters nor an assured equipment grounding conductor program. The Secretary later withdrew the citation during Commission review, making Mautz the prevailing…
Consolidation Coal Company
Employee-hour reporting violations affirmed with $1,200 penalty
Consolidation Coal was cited for overreporting employee hours on its quarterly employment and coal production reports. Judge Paul Merlin treated the case as controlled by an earlier summary decision involving the same issue and found that summary decision was appropriate because no material fact…
NAGE Local R14-143 and U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Lower Colorado Regional Office, Yuma Projects Office
Yuma Projects Office (FLRA 0-NG-2086): dual classification pay proposal found nonnegotiable
The union proposed paying Yuma Projects Office employees at the higher rate whenever they worked at least one hour in another classification. The Authority treated the proposal as a pay practice under the special bargaining rules applicable to these employees. Those rules allowed bargaining over a…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Tinker Air Force Base and AFGE Local 916
Tinker Air Force Base (FLRA 0-AR-2348): overtime remedy upheld without backpay
The union challenged how Tinker Air Force Base tracked and distributed overtime across work crews. An arbitrator found that supervisors should record overtime worked for other crews and consider it in future assignments. He ordered instructions to supervisors but declined to reconstruct past…
Kerr-McGee Coal Corporation
Nonemployee miners' representatives permitted to accompany inspections
Kerr-McGee operated a nonunion surface coal mine where miners designated two United Mine Workers of America agents as their representatives for mine inspections. The Commission held that section 103(f) of the Mine Act and Part 40 allow miners to choose nonemployees, including union agents, as…
U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Prison Camp, Alderson and AFGE Local 1494
Alderson Federal Prison Camp (FLRA 0-AR-2350): one-day absence suspension upheld
A prison employee was suspended for one day after failing to report for work or give notice of her absence. An arbitrator found sufficient cause for the discipline and denied the grievance. The union argued that the arbitrator should also have addressed claims about a formal meeting and the…
Island Creek Coal Company
Imminent-danger orders and ventilation citation vacated
Island Creek operated the gassy VP-3 underground mine, where inspectors measured explosive methane concentrations behind stoppings in a gob area. They issued two imminent-danger withdrawal orders and a citation alleging that the mine's ventilation plan was not being followed. The Commission…
Williams Brothers Coal Company, Incorporated
Loader-light citation vacated
Williams Brothers operated the No. 3 Mine, where MSHA cited a Caterpillar front-end loader because one front headlight and two rear taillights were inoperable. Judge Jerold Feldman found that the loader still had at least two operational lights on both ends, which satisfied 30 C.F.R. § 77.1605(d)…
Berkman Brothers, Inc.
Settlement requires fall protection and a $280 penalty
Berkman Brothers operated an electroplating facility where employees worked on walkways beside tanks containing heated and corrosive chemicals. OSHA cited the company for failing to guard employees against falls into the tanks or contact with their contents. In a settlement during Commission…
Consolidated Construction, Inc.
Limited EAJA fee award ordered for excavation defense
OSHA cited Consolidated Construction over the slopes of a 35-foot-deep excavation used to repair an underground Air Force fuel tank, but an ALJ vacated both excavation items after crediting the company's expert evidence. Consolidated then sought more than $50,000 in fees and expenses under the…
Patent Office Professional Association and U.S. Department of Commerce, Patent and Trademark Office
Patent and Trademark Office (FLRA 0-NG-1911): most performance appraisal provisions negotiable
The Patent and Trademark Office disapproved 48 performance appraisal provisions added to its labor agreement by an interest arbitrator. The union appealed their negotiability. The Authority found many provisions negotiable, including procedures for documenting work, explaining standards, and…
U.S. Department of Defense, Dependents Schools, Mediterranean Region and Overseas Federation of Teachers
Dependents Schools Mediterranean Region (FLRA 0-AR-2306): teacher reduction in force award upheld
A Defense Department school in Italy eliminated a part time English teaching position through a reduction in force. An arbitrator denied the teacher's grievance, finding that the agency had considered reasonable alternatives and had not acted from improper motive. The union argued that the…
Consolidation Coal Company
One citation affirmed and other orders dismissed
Consolidation Coal's Dilworth Mine was cited after miners connected high-voltage cables without a qualified person and after inspectors addressed fires, hot roof conditions, trolley-wire insulation, and combustible materials. Judge Avram Weisberger vacated the citation for connecting the cable…
Conn Pest Control Incorporated
Refresher-training settlement approved at $150
Conn Pest Control was cited because a miner had not received the required annual refresher course. The Secretary explained that the operator's negligence was lower than initially believed because it was uncertain whether the operator knew the miner had not been trained. Judge Paul Merlin approved…
U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Office of Inspector General, and Office of Professional Responsibility
Justice Department and Border Patrol (FLRA 7-CA-00683): union representation and records violations found
The National Border Patrol Council challenged the handling of an employee investigation and the Immigration and Naturalization Service's response to records requests for a removal defense. The Authority adopted findings that two Justice Department investigative offices denied active union…
AFGE Local 3509 and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Greenwood District
Social Security Administration Greenwood District (FLRA 0-NG-2041): most reviewer proposals rejected
The Social Security Administration planned to rotate claims representatives through a reviewer position in its Greenwood District. The union proposed rules for who could serve, where the position would sit, what work the reviewer could do, and how interviews would be assigned. The Authority found…
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi and NFFE Local 589
Jackson VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-2337): pharmacy appraisal award partly set aside
Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians at the Jackson VA Medical Center grieved their performance appraisals. An arbitrator ordered reevaluations and required training for pharmacists who contributed to technician appraisals. The Authority set aside the order to reevaluate staff pharmacists because…
U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Western Division and NFFE Local 2096
Naval Facilities Engineering Command Western Division (FLRA 0-AR-2333): classification grievance dismissal upheld
Two Navy procurement clerks grieved the accuracy of their position descriptions. After a desk audit produced another description, an arbitrator found the grievance concerned classification and was outside his authority. The union argued that the employees had instead performed higher level duties…
NFFE Local 1442 and U.S. Department of the Army, Letterkenny Army Depot
Letterkenny Army Depot (FLRA 0-AR-2328): performance rating award returned for clarification
A computer systems analyst challenged her Fully Successful performance rating at Letterkenny Army Depot. The union also sought an automatic remedy after the agency answered a grievance appeal late. The arbitrator denied both grievances. The Authority found no basis to overturn the arbitrator's…
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.