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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AFGE Council 215, National Council of SSA OHA Locals and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Office of Hearings and Appeals
Social Security Administration Office of Hearings and Appeals (FLRA 0-AR-2295): promotion remedy upheld
The Social Security Administration changed factors used to rank applicants for two policy analyst positions without notifying the union or bargaining over the effects. An arbitrator found a contract violation and ordered notice and bargaining over future changes, but declined to cancel the…
Brown Brothers Sand Company
Late review petition denied
Brown Brothers Sand Company challenged an ALJ decision finding two Mine Act violations, but filed its petition for discretionary review after the 30-day deadline. The company acknowledged that it deliberately waited past the deadline. The Commission held that the late filing did not satisfy the…
AFGE Local 3172 and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, San Jose District Office
Social Security Administration San Jose District Office (FLRA 0-NG-2118): late agreement disapproval ends appeal
A union and the Social Security Administration's San Jose office signed a memorandum of understanding. The agency head later disapproved it, and the union filed a negotiability petition. The Authority found that the agency had not shown it served the disapproval within the required 30 days. The…
Consolidation Coal Company
Trolley-switch citation vacated
Consolidation Coal used a trolley switch as a dead block at its Osage No. 3 Mine after removing the switch handle and blade but leaving the fingers attached. MSHA cited the practice under 30 C.F.R. § 75.520, and the Secretary sought a $50 civil penalty. Judge David F. Barbour found that the switch…
Western Sand & Gravel
Settlement approved at $192
Western Sand & Gravel operated the Tenino Pit and faced a proposed civil penalty of $431. The parties jointly asked the judge to approve a settlement reducing the penalty to $192. Judge Paul Merlin found the reduction appropriate in light of the operator's small size and negligible history. He…
U.S. Borax
Retaliatory suspension found
U.S. Borax suspended chief production operator Stephen D. Jungers after he raised concerns about how sodium dithionite fires were handled at the Boron Mill. Judge August F. Cetti found that Jungers made good-faith safety complaints, that the suspension followed those complaints closely, and that…
Wego Chemical & Mineral Corporation
In re Wego Chemical & Mineral Corporation (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 92-4): $42,000 penalty affirmed
Wego Chemical & Mineral Corporation, a New York chemical importer, failed to file a Preliminary Assessment Information Report for imported urea-formaldehyde polymer and Inventory Update Reports for imported oxalic and citric acids. The EAB rejected Wego's arguments that an earlier settlement barred…
U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration and National Air Traffic Controllers Association, Stockton Tower and Oakland Center Locals
FAA Stockton Tower and Oakland Center (FLRA 9-CA-10403): drug testing lists ordered disclosed
The air traffic controllers' locals at Stockton Tower and Oakland Center requested the lists used to select employees for random drug testing. The FAA provided copies with the names of employees outside the bargaining unit removed. The Authority found that the full lists were necessary for the…
AFGE Local 900 and U.S. Department of the Army, U.S. Army Reserve Personnel Center
Army Reserve Personnel Center (FLRA 0-NG-2069): disputed overtime and record provisions rejected
The Army disapproved several locally negotiated agreement provisions at the Army Reserve Personnel Center. The Authority found that a rule defining which employees qualified for overtime work restricted management's right to assign work. It found two provisions offering overtime compensation for…
Western Sand & Gravel
Ten-violation settlement approved at $642
Western Sand & Gravel faced ten civil penalty violations at its Tenino Pit. The parties proposed reducing the total penalties from $738 to $642, with nine citations settled at their original $50 amounts and the remaining penalty reduced from $288 to $192. Judge Paul Merlin approved the settlement…
Baxter R. Neece, formerly employed by H B & B Equipment Co. Inc.
Settlement approved
The Secretary sought civil penalties against Baxter R. Neece, a former maintenance foreman, and proposed reducing the assessed penalties from $2,950 to $500. The Solicitor stated that Neece was unemployed and likely lacked authority to prevent or correct the violations found during preshift…
IMC Fertilizer, Inc.
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Irene Toney alleged that IMC Fertilizer discharged her after she complained to management and MSHA about missing or unsanitary toilet facilities at the Kingsford Mine. Judge Gary Melick found that Toney engaged in protected activity, but concluded that IMC proved the discharge was not motivated by…
Jefferson Materials Company
Settlement approved
MSHA assessed $1,200 in civil penalties against Jefferson Materials Company for violations at its Howitt Plant. The proposed settlement reduced the total to $960, an across-the-board 20 percent reduction, even though the violations were characterized as highly likely to result in a fatality. Judge…
James Kosiba, Employed by Rensselaer Stone Co. Inc.
Settlement approved
MSHA alleged that an electrical circuit supplying the crushing plant's main power control center lacked overload protection. Judge Paul Merlin approved the settlement of the one violation for the originally assessed penalty of $500. The respondent paid the penalty, and the matter was dismissed.
Black Mountain Coal Mining, Incorporated
Discrimination settlement approved
Robert C. Teaney alleged that Black Mountain Coal Mining transferred him after he reported an electrical hazard, causing lost compensation. Judge Gary Melick approved a settlement covering two discrimination proceedings. The company agreed to pay Teaney $3,600 in back pay and $400 in interest…
New York National Guard, National Federation of Civilian Technicians, and Association of Civilian Technicians
New York National Guard (FLRA BN-AC-20030): union certification amendment denied
A New York council of civilian technicians voted to leave the Association of Civilian Technicians and affiliate with the newly formed National Federation of Civilian Technicians. The new federation sought to amend the existing union certification. A regional director dismissed the petition because…
Costain Coal Incorporated
Four civil penalty citations settled for $688
MSHA sought civil penalties for four alleged violations of mandatory safety standards in 30 C.F.R. Part 75 at Costain Coal's Pyro No. 9 Wheatcroft operation. The parties agreed to settle without reducing any of the proposed penalties. Judge Jerold Feldman found the settlement reasonable and in the…
MATTER OF FLORIDA RURAL LEGAL SERVICES, INC.
Accreditation disapproved without recognized branch offices
The Board reviewed Florida Rural Legal Services, Inc.'s application to renew or expand accreditation for several representatives. The organization was recognized at its Lakeland office but had six physically separate branch offices that were not individually recognized, and the application did not…
Little Rock Quarry Company, Incorporated
Dismissal order vacated and matter remanded
An ALJ dismissed three civil penalty proceedings after the Secretary failed to show good cause for not complying with a prehearing order. The Secretary then filed a motion for reconsideration, stating that the parties had informally settled the cases before the dismissal order. The Commission…
K Y V Coal Company, Inc.
Settlement approved for ventilation and dust-control violation
MSHA alleged that K Y V Coal was not complying with its ventilation and dust-control plan because water-spray pressure was below the required level. Judge Paul Merlin approved the settlement for the originally assessed penalty of $903. He found the penalty appropriate for the serious violation…
Kern Rock Company
Settlement approved for $1,449
Kern Rock faced civil penalties arising from conditions at the Wheeler Ridge Pit & Mill. The Solicitor proposed reducing the penalties from $1,610 to $1,449 because the original assessments did not adequately account for good-faith abatement. Judge Paul Merlin found the settlement appropriate under…
Montana Resources
Late filing accepted and settlement approved
The judge accepted the Solicitor's unopposed late filing of the penalty petition. The underlying matter involved a broken electrical conduit on the side of a conveyor belt that exposed employees to possible electrical shock. Judge Paul Merlin approved the settlement for the originally assessed…
Basin Asphalt Company
Citation modified and penalty reduced in settlement
Basin Asphalt and the Secretary proposed settling a civil penalty proceeding for a citation issued at the Moses Lake Pit & Plant. The settlement reduced the penalty from $362 to $181 and removed the significant-and-substantial designation from Citation No. 3644310. Judge Paul Merlin approved the…
Basin Asphalt Company
Citation modified and penalty reduced in settlement
Basin Asphalt and the Secretary proposed settling a civil penalty proceeding for a citation issued at the Moses Lake Pit & Plant. The settlement reduced the penalty from $362 to $181 and removed the significant-and-substantial designation from Citation No. 3644317. The parties also advised that…
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, Washington Regional Office and NFFE Local 858
Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FLRA WA-CU-20449): seven positions stay in bargaining unit
The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation sought to exclude employees in seven kinds of positions from an existing bargaining unit as management officials. A regional director found that their work involved applying agency policy and making recommendations, with final decisions resting with higher…
Harlan-KYVA Coal Inc.
Five penalty cases settled for $5,682
Harlan-KYVA Coal faced five civil penalty proceedings with proposed penalties totaling $9,370. The parties proposed reducing the penalties to $5,682 based on the operator's financial condition. Judge Paul Merlin relied on accounting reports showing a deficit in stockholder equity and a net…
Consolidation Coal Company
Coal-dust order affirmed and $1,200 penalty assessed
MSHA alleged that dangerous coal-dust accumulations at Consolidation Coal's Robena Preparation Plant violated 30 C.F.R. § 77.202. Judge Jerold Feldman found extensive accumulations on conveyor-belt motors, electrical panels, beams, and around rollers, and rejected the operator's claim that a recent…
Concrete Materials
Settlement rejected and additional information ordered
The Solicitor asked to reduce a proposed civil penalty from $690 to $50 for a citation involving a fence around an electrical substation. The citation stated that the substation had exposed energized high-voltage components and that contact might result in a fatality. Judge Paul Merlin denied the…
Wiregrass Metal Trades Council and U.S. Department of the Army, U.S. Army Aviation Center and Fort Rucker
Fort Rucker (FLRA 0-AR-2346): outside applicant selection award upheld
Fort Rucker selected an outside applicant for a mechanic position after changing the position's grade and while a hiring freeze was in effect. The union grieved the selection on behalf of two internal applicants. An arbitrator denied the grievance, finding no proven violation of the agreement or…
AFGE Local 1988 and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Brooklyn Medical Center
Brooklyn VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-2325): employee reprimand award upheld
A VA sewing machine operator received a reprimand after a dispute with a canteen supervisor at the St. Albans facility. An arbitrator found just cause, relying on the employee's acknowledgment that she refused the supervisor's request to identify her own supervisor. The union challenged the…
U.S. Department of the Treasury, United States Customs Service and National Treasury Employees Union
Customs Service (FLRA 0-AR-2322): lost inspection overtime award upheld
The Customs Service changed how officers boarded vessels carrying cargo to multiple United States ports under its CAPE program. An arbitrator found that the change violated a law requiring Customs officer involvement in vessel entry and reduced inspectors' overtime. He awarded backpay for the…
Maple Meadow Mining Company
Continuance denied
Maple Meadow asked to continue a March 17, 1993, hearing because its counsel had another hearing scheduled and the firm's trial calendar was full. Judge George A. Koutras found that the case had already been delayed, that the requested further delay was not cost effective, and that other attorneys…
North Star Contractors, Inc.
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Donald Porter alleged that North Star Contractors discriminated against him after he left an underground mine when he saw a hole in a break near his headings. Judge Avram Weisberger found no evidence that the foreman fired Porter or took any adverse action against him, and no evidence that Porter…
Andalex Resources, Inc.
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Denver Collins alleged that Andalex Resources discharged him for keeping notes about unsafe acts and making safety complaints. Judge Gary Melick found that Collins engaged in protected activity by reporting safety and health problems and maintaining a personal log, but found that the officials who…
W. Kramer Associates
OSHA-poster citation vacated, other items settled
W. Kramer Associates is a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning contractor. OSHA inspected its worksite at the Northeastern Pennsylvania Veterans Home construction project in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and issued a serious citation and a second citation with two other-than-serious items, with…
Baker Masonry, Inc.
Stairway and balcony guardrail citations vacated for unproven employee exposure
Baker Masonry, Inc. was a masonry subcontractor at the construction of the Radisson Hotel in Savannah, Georgia. A fatal fall in the hotel's atrium triggered an OSHA investigation, and the compliance officer expanded the inspection to the subcontractors. OSHA cited Baker for a serious violation, for…
National Cleaning Contractors, Inc.
Window-washing scaffold fall-protection citation affirmed, $1,875 penalty
National Cleaning Contractors, Inc. is a window cleaning company. During an August 1991 inspection at the BP Building in Cleveland, Ohio, prompted by an imminent-danger complaint, OSHA compliance officers watched a three-person crew washing windows from a two-point suspension scaffold at heights up…
Gallup Indian Medical Center, Laborers' International Union of North America Local 1376, and NFFE Local 1749
Gallup Indian Medical Center (FLRA 76-RO-00011): election petition dismissed over tainted signatures
A rival union sought an election to represent employees at Gallup Indian Medical Center. An earlier unfair labor practice decision found that medical center management improperly helped the rival union organize on site. The Authority found that all signature cards supporting the election petition…
Social Security Administration and AFGE Council 220
Social Security Administration (FLRA 3-CA-00816): bargaining ordered after union rejects agreement
Social Security Administration negotiators reached a memorandum of understanding with AFGE Council 220, but the union's members voted against ratifying it. The agency refused to reopen negotiations and implemented the memorandum anyway. The Authority found that the agency knew union approval was…
Virginia Crews Coal Company
Continuance denied
Virginia Crews Coal asked to continue a March 16, 1993, hearing because its counsel was also scheduled to appear in another hearing that day. Judge George A. Koutras found that the case had already been delayed, further delay was not cost effective, and other attorneys in the firm's West Virginia…
Nally & Hamilton Enterprises, Incorporated
Backpay and reinstatement ordered
This remedial order followed an earlier finding that Nally & Hamilton discriminated against Clayton Nantz. Judge George A. Koutras calculated backpay through December 31, 1992, deducted interim earnings, two weeks for delayed job searching, and unemployment compensation, and awarded $17,385.36 in…
U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service, Frenchburg Job Corps and NFFE Local 466
Frenchburg Job Corps (FLRA 4-CA-10146): union activity rating complaint returned for findings
A Forest Service purchasing agent at Frenchburg Job Corps received a lower performance rating after taking extensive official time for union duties. The complaint alleged that her supervisor connected her use of official time to her work performance and that the agency discriminated against her for…
National Air Traffic Controllers Association and U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration
Federal Aviation Administration (FLRA 0-AR-2313): requested move costs remain employee's responsibility
An FAA employee asked to move from Florence, South Carolina, to a Jacksonville air traffic facility after graduating from the agency's training academy. He signed a request saying he would pay the moving costs, then grieved the agency's refusal to reimburse them. An arbitrator found the move…
Naval Submarine Base New London and tenant activities, and NAGE Local R1-100
Naval Submarine Base New London (FLRA 1-UC-10002): five bargaining units may consolidate
NAGE sought to combine five bargaining units covering civilian employees at Naval Submarine Base New London and four tenant activities. The Navy argued that their missions, command structures, and jobs were too different for one unit. A regional director found that the employees shared support…
Island Creek Coal Company
Contest dismissed after penalty paid
Island Creek told the Commission that it had decided to pay the $50 proposed penalty under an earlier default order and drop its contest of the citation. The Secretary agreed that dismissal was appropriate. Judge Avram Weisberger dismissed the case based on the parties' statements.
AFGE Local 3407 and U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Mapping Agency
Defense Mapping Agency (FLRA 0-AR-2339): cartographer promotion grievance award upheld
A cartographer at the Defense Mapping Agency grieved her exclusion from a list of highly qualified applicants for promotion. The agency gave limited credit to two outstanding performance appraisals because they covered work outside production positions. An arbitrator found that the agency's reading…
John Nataloni v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs
Nataloni v. Director, OWCP (BRB 90-0595): Denial of claim modification upheld
John Nataloni sought to reopen a denied black lung claim under the modification rule. He argued that the judge had failed to discuss older medical evidence favoring him. The Board held that newly submitted evidence did not establish the missing elements of pneumoconiosis and total disability, so it…
Consolidation Coal Company
Roof order affirmed and related settlement resolved
MSHA pursued three civil penalty proceedings involving hearing-conservation citations and a hazardous roof condition at Consolidation Coal's Blacksville No. 2 and Osage No. 3 Mines. Judge Jerold Feldman affirmed the citation and imminent-danger withdrawal order for a deteriorated tailgate roof…
GFD Construction Company, Incorporated
Seven citations affirmed and $220 in penalties assessed
MSHA cited GFD Construction at its Green's Pit for seven violations involving a rented front-end loader and dredge equipment. Judge David F. Barbour found that the loader lacked a seat belt, its backup alarm and horn were not functional, its parking brakes did not hold, and three dredge drives…
Pardy Construction Corporation
Late notice of contest dismissed, citations affirmed as final
Pardy Construction Corporation is a construction company based in Corona, New York. OSHA issued it a serious citation and an other-than-serious citation on March 11, 1992. The company filed its notice of contest by a letter dated May 13, 1992, long after the deadline. The Secretary moved to dismiss…
Marble Works, Inc.
Consolidated penalty contest resolved by settlement, $5,780 total
Marble Works, Inc. operates a manufacturing facility in Mobile, Alabama. OSHA conducted two separate safety and health inspections and issued citations on February 21, 1992 and March 24, 1992, each alleging serious and other-than-serious violations. Marble Works contested only the proposed…
Mustang Plus
Post-hearing settlement approved, combined $2,000 penalty
Mustang Plus is a Dallas, Texas employer. After an OSHA inspection of its workplace, the Secretary issued a serious citation with eight items and a non-serious citation with three items. At the close of a hearing held on November 6, 1992, the parties reached a settlement resolving all issues. Under…
Accu-Rite Machine Co.
All four hot-work, fall-protection, and hazard-communication citations affirmed, $6,000 penalty
Accu-Rite Machine Co. operates an industrial machine shop in Blythe, Georgia. On May 26, 1991, over the Memorial Day weekend, its employees were at the Ringier America printing plant in Evans, Georgia, removing and replacing an aftercooler unit. To free bolts, they used an oxygen-acetylene cutting…
Consolidation Coal Company
Partial compensation complaint dismissed
The United Mine Workers sought compensation for miners idled by withdrawal orders issued after an explosion at Consolidation Coal's Blacksville No. 1 Mine. The union moved to dismiss its claims under the first two sentences of Mine Act section 111 after the parties settled and paid the claimants…
CF & T Available Concrete Pumping, Inc.
Thin evidence still showed the company could have known its safety program was inadequate
CF & T supplied concrete to a residential job on Portofino Drive in San Carlos, California. On December 1, 1989, OSHA area director Marsha Gruber went to the site and watched pump truck operator Gerald Glennon set up the truck's boom. He put it up about seven feet from overhead power lines…
Caterpillar, Inc. et al.
Separate recordkeeping violations affirmed, but willful classification vacated
OSHA cited Caterpillar for 170 failures to record occupational injuries and illnesses on its 1986 OSHA 200 log at an Illinois facility. The Commission held that 167 injuries and illnesses were recordable under 29 C.F.R. § 1904.2(a), rejecting Caterpillar's vagueness and compliance defenses. It also…
Federal Service Impasses Panel
Request for a general ruling denied
The Federal Service Impasses Panel asked the Authority to clarify an agency's bargaining duties when a question about union representation arises after the Panel begins handling an impasse. A decertification petition had been filed in a case before the Panel, which then put that case on hold. The…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 48, Bremerton Metal Trades Council and U.S. Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (FLRA 0-AR-2370): grievances over supervisory detail pay may proceed
An employee at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard filed two grievances seeking additional pay for temporary supervisory assignments. The Navy argued that both grievances missed the agreement's deadline of 15 working days. An arbitrator found them timely because the alleged failure to pay recurred with each…
AFGE Local 916 and U.S. Department of the Air Force, Oklahoma City Air Force Logistics Command, Tinker Air Force Base
Tinker Air Force Base (FLRA 0-AR-2321): reduction in force reassignment upheld
During a reduction in force, Tinker Air Force Base reassigned an employee to a supply technician job without promotion potential. An arbitrator found the reassignment consistent with the governing regulations and labor agreement. The union argued that the employee should have had a chance to…
Costain Coal, Inc.
Citations affirmed, S&S finding vacated in part
Costain Coal contested a citation for operating the Baker Mine without an approved methane and dust control plan and faced related civil penalty proceedings. The Judge approved settlements covering most of the other citations, affirmed the plan citation with a $50 penalty, and affirmed a separate…
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.