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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Law Brothers Contracting Corp.
Renovation contractor loses on all four contested saw, stairway, and grounding citations, $3,095 penalty upheld
Law Brothers Contracting Corporation was a general contractor performing renovation work on buildings in Syracuse, New York. After an April 1991 OSHA inspection, it received one serious citation and one repeat citation covering five alleged violations, with $3,095 in total proposed penalties…
Overseas Education Association and U.S. Department of Defense, Dependents Schools
Defense Dependents Schools and Overseas Education Association (FLRA 0-AR-2388): Attorney fee exception dismissed
An arbitrator denied attorney fees in a case arising from an employee's removal at Defense Dependents Schools. The Overseas Education Association filed an exception to the fee award with the Authority. The Authority held that the fee ruling was part of the earlier removal case, a type of adverse…
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Boston Region, Office of Program Integrity and Reviews and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3760
SSA Boston Region and AFGE Local 3760 (FLRA 0-AR-2330): Employee's higher performance rating upheld
A Social Security Administration employee challenged a performance appraisal rating five job tasks as fully satisfactory. An arbitrator found that her supervisor had not told her about the deficiencies later used to justify that rating, contrary to the parties' agreement. He changed the five task…
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1923
SSA and AFGE Local 1923 (FLRA 0-AR-2311): Union officer's performance award upheld
An SSA claims examiner who served as a union vice president received $500 for an outstanding performance rating, while the agency's award scale called for $1,010 for a full time employee at her grade. SSA reduced the amount because she had spent time on union representation and a temporary detail…
Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration and American Federation of Government Employees, SSA General Committee
SSA and AFGE General Committee (FLRA 0-AR-2305): Official time for convention activities upheld
SSA denied official time to union delegates attending an AFGE national convention, treating the whole event as internal union business. An arbitrator found that two of the five days involved representational work and ordered SSA to adjust leave records and reimburse any affected employees for leave…
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, San Juan, Puerto Rico and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2608
SSA San Juan and AFGE Local 2608 (FLRA 0-AR-2269): Directed promotion award set aside
An arbitrator found that SSA had failed to give a San Juan employee genuine priority consideration for a claims representative position. He ordered the agency to promote the employee and provide retroactive compensation. The Authority held that the arbitrator had not found that the employee would…
Consolidation Coal Company
Settlement approved with $3,500 penalty
Consolidation Coal and the Secretary reached a settlement in a civil penalty proceeding involving the Arkwright No. 1 Mine. The Secretary vacated one order and proposed reducing the penalty on the remaining two orders from $6,000 to $3,500. Judge Gary Melick found the settlement appropriate under…
Pontiki Coal Corporation
Citation and withdrawal order dismissed after fatal-accident review
A Pontiki electrician was fatally injured while troubleshooting an energized continuous miner and inadvertently activating its conveyor chain. MSHA later issued a section 107(a) withdrawal order and a citation alleging that the electrician had worked in the conveyor boom of energized machinery in…
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Washington, D.C. and National Treasury Employees Union
Administration for Children and Families and NTEU (FLRA 3-AC-10008): Review granted on union certification question
A Health and Human Services reorganization combined employees from several previously represented units into the Administration for Children and Families. NTEU sought to amend its certification so it could represent the new agency's employees without an election. A regional director dismissed the…
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 250
Administration for Children and Families and NTEU Chapter 250 (FLRA 0-AR-2310): Performance rating award returned for clarification
An arbitrator found that an agency supervisor had improperly lowered a program analyst's performance rating and that the agency had failed to give her a timely progress review. He ordered the agency to restore an excellent rating. The Authority upheld cancellation of the lower rating, but found…
Dotson & Rife Coal Co., Inc.
Dust-sampling proceedings dismissed
The Secretary moved to dismiss civil penalty and contest proceedings after Dotson & Rife Coal Company and its principal entered plea agreements related to falsified dust samples. The company had contracted with Triangle Research, whose principal and agent admitted manipulating dust samples…
Consolidation Coal Company
S&S findings vacated, orders affirmed, and $2,700 assessed
MSHA issued three withdrawal orders at Consolidation Coal Company's Osage No. 3 Mine after ventilation tubing for underground electrical installations had fallen and was not coursing air directly to the return. The parties stipulated to the violations and related case facts. Judge Paul Merlin found…
General Electric Company, Hooksett, New Hampshire
In re General Electric Company, Hooksett, New Hampshire (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 91-13): review denied
General Electric Company challenged pH limits and whole-effluent toxicity testing requirements in the NPDES permit for its aircraft-engine hardware facility in Hooksett, New Hampshire. GE argued that the permit should allow mixing zones or dilution when determining pH limits and that the toxicity…
Homestake Mining Company of California
Settlement approved and $31,000 in penalties affirmed
Homestake Mining Company of California operated the Homestake Mine and was involved in two contest proceedings and a civil penalty proceeding. The Secretary alleged violations of 30 C.F.R. § 48.7(c) and 30 C.F.R. § 57.14205, and the parties later agreed to reduce three proposed penalties. Judge…
Homestake Mining Company of California
Settlement approved and $31,000 in penalties affirmed
Homestake Mining Company of California operated the Homestake Mine and was involved in two contest proceedings and a civil penalty proceeding. The Secretary alleged violations of 30 C.F.R. § 48.7(c) and 30 C.F.R. § 57.14205, and the parties later agreed to reduce three proposed penalties. Judge…
McElroy Coal Company
Rock-dusting violation and S&S finding in an incomplete release
MSHA issued a section 104(d)(2) order after finding that rock dust in three entries and a connecting crosscut at McElroy Mine did not meet the required incombustible-content percentages. Judge Roy J. Maurer credited the inspector's samples and found a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.403. He found the…
U.S. Customs Service and National Treasury Employees Union
Customs Service and NTEU (FLRA 9-CA-90211-002): Attorney fee amount returned for market rate calculation
The Customs Service had failed to comply with an arbitration award requiring restoration of an employee's grade and backpay. After finding an unfair labor practice, the Authority considered the union's request for attorney fees. It upheld findings that fees were warranted and that the union…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 987, Warner Robins, Georgia and Nedra T. Bradley
AFGE Local 987 and Nedra T. Bradley (FLRA 4-CO-10021): Union membership denial found unlawful
AFGE Local 987 denied membership to Nedra T. Bradley, an employee in the bargaining unit it represented at Warner Robins Air Logistics Center. The Authority adopted a judge's finding that the union's reason was outside the two grounds the law permits: uniformly applied occupational standards or…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 916
Tinker Air Force Base and AFGE Local 916 (FLRA 0-AR-2340): Arbitration exceptions dismissed for incomplete filing
AFGE Local 916 filed exceptions to an arbitration award involving Tinker Air Force Base. The Authority gave the union a deadline to provide legible copies of the award and the attachments cited in its exceptions. The union's response lacked the attachments, supplied copies that remained partly…
General Services Administration, Region 2 and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2431
GSA Region 2 and AFGE Local 2431 (FLRA 0-AR-2309): Planner's reprimand upheld
GSA reprimanded a planner and estimator for neglect of duty in planning landscaping purchases. An arbitrator found the reprimand justified and declined to consider the employee's earlier transfer because it had not been grieved on time. AFGE Local 2431 challenged the award, citing alleged contract…
U.S. Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Washington, D.C. and National Treasury Employees Union
IRS and NTEU (FLRA 0-AR-2287, 0-AR-2294): Revenue officer overtime awards upheld
The IRS treated certain revenue officers as administrative employees exempt from federal overtime pay. An arbitrator found that their primary duties were the agency's collection and tax compliance work, so the administrative exemption did not apply. He awarded unpaid overtime plus an equal amount…
American Mine Services, Incorporated
Welding and hoisting violations affirmed or modified, $1,600 assessed
American Mine Services, a coal-mining contractor at West Elk Mine, faced two civil penalty proceedings involving welding and hoisting practices. In WEST 91-563, Judge John J. Morris affirmed an imminent-danger order and a welding citation after an employee used a cutting torch without a face shield…
Pittsburg & Midway Coal Mining Company
Expedited hearing denied in Sebree No. 1 contest
Pittsburg & Midway Coal Mining Company asked for an expedited hearing after contesting an MSHA order at the Sebree No. 1 Mine. Judge William Fauver denied the request because the company did not show the extraordinary conditions required for expedited treatment, and because granting it could be…
Homestake Mining Company
Settlement approved and $36,000 assessed
Homestake Mining Company was involved in two contest proceedings and a civil penalty proceeding concerning the Homestake Mine and Lead Mine. The parties agreed to a settlement involving an order and two citations issued under 30 C.F.R. § 48.7(c) and 30 C.F.R. § 57.14205. Judge John J. Morris…
Esther Krause (Widow of Herbert Krause) v. Bethlehem Steel Corporation
Krause v. Bethlehem Steel (BRB 90-2004, 89-3165): death benefits and fees remanded
Herbert Krause developed mesothelioma after asbestos exposure while working as a sheet metal worker for Bethlehem Steel, and his widow Esther sought death benefits. The dispute concerned settlements with other companies, the employer's offsets, and attorney fees. The Board held that the judge had…
Shady Lane Coal Company
Consolidated proceedings dismissed after plea agreement
The Secretary moved to dismiss consolidated contest and civil penalty proceedings against Shady Lane Coal Company after the company and its principal entered plea agreements concerning dust-sample falsification. The release states that Triangle Research admitted falsifying dust samples and that two…
Sunset Land & Coal Company
Consolidated proceedings dismissed after plea agreement
The Secretary moved to dismiss consolidated contest and civil penalty proceedings against Sunset Land & Coal Company after the company and its principal entered plea agreements concerning dust-sample falsification. The release states that Triangle Research admitted falsifying dust samples and that…
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Office of Hearings and Appeals and American Federation of Government Employees, Council 215
SSA Office of Hearings and Appeals and AFGE Council 215 (FLRA 0-AR-2308): Priority consideration remedy upheld
An SSA paralegal specialist was initially left off a best qualified list for three promotions, then added after a separate appraisal settlement raised her score. An arbitrator found that the agency had improperly interfered with her promotion opportunities because of union activity and sex, but…
Allan Goode, Employed by Consolidation Coal Company
Foreman assessed $1,000 for knowingly authorizing roof-control violation
Allan Goode, a section foreman at Consolidation Coal Company's Ireland Mine, faced an individual penalty under section 110(c) of the Mine Act. During roof-support work, Goode helped advance a continuous miner and steady materials while the temporary roof support system was not firmly against the…
GSX Services of South Carolina, Inc.
In re GSX Services of South Carolina, Inc. (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 89-22): permit remanded in part and review denied in part
GSX Services of South Carolina, Inc. operates a hazardous-waste treatment, storage, and disposal facility in Pinewood, South Carolina. GSX challenged the permit's term, definitions and designations of solid-waste management units, waste-analysis requirements, testing requirements…
Lucky Branch Coal Co., Inc.
Settlement approved and $850 assessed
Lucky Branch Coal Co. faced two civil penalty proceedings involving Mine No. 4. The parties proposed reducing the penalty from $1,145 to $850 and dismissing the cases after payment. Judge Gary Melick found the settlement appropriate under the Mine Act's penalty criteria, approved it, and ordered…
Davis A. Shoulders employed by Pyro Mining Co.
Individual penalty proceeding dismissed under section 110(c)
Davis A. Shoulders, the chief electrician at Pyro No. 9 Wheatcroft Mine, faced a proposed $1,000 individual penalty under section 110(c) of the Mine Act for allegedly authorizing or carrying out an electrical violation. The record established that Pyro Mining Company was a general partnership…
Edd Potter Coal Company
Dust-sampling proceedings dismissed after criminal plea agreements
The Secretary moved to dismiss dust-sampling contest and civil penalty proceedings against Edd Potter Coal Company after the company and its principal entered plea agreements related to falsified dust samples submitted to MSHA. The record states that two people associated with Triangle Research…
Red Dog Coal Corporation
Proceedings dismissed after plea agreement
The Secretary moved to dismiss Red Dog Coal Corporation's contest and civil penalty proceedings after the company and its principal entered plea agreements concerning falsified dust samples. The release states that Triangle Research admitted falsifying samples submitted to MSHA and that two people…
Tidewater Virginia Federal Employees Metal Trades Council and U.S. Department of the Navy, Navy Public Works Center, Norfolk, Virginia
Navy Public Works Center Norfolk and Tidewater Metal Trades Council (FLRA 0-NG-2074): Negotiability petition dismissed without prejudice
A union petitioned the Authority about a proposed safe harbor provision in the Navy Public Works Center's drug free workplace program. The proposal attached to the petition differed from the one the Navy had declared nonnegotiable. The union also had not served the Navy with the petition's…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2317 and U.S. Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Logistics Base, Albany, Georgia
Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany and AFGE Local 2317 (FLRA 0-AR-2319): Overtime assignment award upheld
A supervisor offered one hour of overtime to a WG-12 electronics inspector for work at that grade. A WG-13 inspector volunteered but was not selected, and AFGE Local 2317 argued that both grades belonged on the same overtime roster. An arbitrator read the labor agreement's job category as covering…
Rhone-Poulenc of Wyoming Co.
Late penalty filing denied and case dismissed
MSHA issued a citation to Rhone-Poulenc of Wyoming Co. and notified the operator of a proposed $1,000 penalty 237 days later. The Secretary filed the penalty proposal two weeks after the Commission deadline and attributed the delay to changes in the assessment process, a prior enforcement program…
Donald Bowling
Temporary reinstatement ordered pending discrimination merits
Donald Bowling sought temporary reinstatement after losing his coal-truck driving job and alleging that he was discharged because of safety complaints to MSHA. Judge William Fauver found that Perry Transport, Stevie Caldwell Trucking, and Stevie Caldwell could be treated as co-employers for the…
Ten-A Coal Company
Settlement approved and citations affirmed
Ten-A Coal Company had previously been ordered to pay $400 for a section 104(d)(1) citation, while a separate section 104(d)(1) order had been changed to a section 104(a) citation. The Commission reversed that modification and sent the matter back to the Judge. On remand, the parties agreed to…
Dixie Mining Company, Inc.
Settlement approved and $150 assessed
Dixie Mining Company faced a civil penalty proceeding concerning Mine No. 1. After testimony at a hearing, the parties moved to approve a settlement that reduced the proposed penalty from $500 to $150. Judge Roy J. Maurer found the settlement appropriate under the Mine Act's penalty criteria and…
U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval Station, Ingleside, Texas and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 797 and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 4057
Naval Station Ingleside and NFFE Local 797 (FLRA 6-RO-10014): Election objections rejected before runoff
No choice won a majority in a representation election at Naval Station Ingleside, so a runoff between AFGE Local 4057 and no union was planned. NFFE Local 797 objected to campaign access, voting procedures, and other conduct, but a regional director dismissed its objections. The Authority found…
Lucky L & L Coal Co., Inc.
Civil penalty proceeding dismissed
Lucky L & L Coal Co. and its principal entered a criminal plea agreement concerning falsified dust samples submitted to MSHA. The Secretary agreed to seek dismissal of the related civil penalty proceeding. Judge James A. Broderick found that dismissal served the purposes of the Mine Act and…
Good Times Mining, Inc.
Civil penalty proceedings dismissed
Good Times Mining and its principal entered criminal plea agreements concerning falsified dust samples submitted to MSHA. The Secretary agreed to seek dismissal of the related civil penalty proceedings. Judge James A. Broderick found that dismissal under these circumstances served the purposes of…
Flint Engineering & Construction Co.
Controlling contractor liable for trench hazards
Flint Engineering opened an approximately 11-foot-deep pipeline trench with vertical, unprotected walls and a large spoil bank at its edge. The administrative law judge found that the workers seen in the trench were not Flint employees, but that Flint created and controlled the hazardous…
CBI Services, Inc.
Confined-space welding attendant required
CBI Services manufactured steel-plated submarine hull sections at its Alabama facility. OSHA observed a welder enter a hull section through restricted openings and work about nine feet below the entry point without an attendant stationed outside. The Commission held that the welding standard's…
Ambrose Branch Coal Company
Settlement approved and penalty reduced to $750
Ambrose Branch Coal Company faced a penalty proceeding involving an alleged violation of the respirable-dust sampling regulation at its preparation plant. The Secretary maintained that the violation resulted from a deliberate act, while the operator denied that allegation and disputed the degree of…
Briarfield Coal Corporation
Civil penalty proceeding dismissed
Briarfield Coal Corporation and its president entered criminal plea agreements concerning falsified dust samples submitted to MSHA. The Secretary agreed to seek dismissal of the related civil penalty proceeding. Judge James A. Broderick found that dismissal served the purposes of the Mine Act and…
L & L Energy of Hurley, Inc.
Civil penalty proceeding dismissed
L & L Energy of Hurley and its principal entered criminal plea agreements concerning falsified dust samples submitted to MSHA. The Secretary agreed to seek dismissal of the related civil penalty proceeding. Judge James A. Broderick found that dismissal served the purposes of the Mine Act and…
Carol Coal Corporation
Civil penalty proceeding dismissed
Carol Coal Corporation and its president entered criminal plea agreements concerning falsified dust samples submitted to MSHA. The Secretary agreed to seek dismissal of the related civil penalty proceeding. Judge James A. Broderick found that dismissal served the purposes of the Mine Act and…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, Randolph Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1840
Randolph Air Force Base and AFGE Local 1840 (FLRA 6-CA-10306): Threat to union official found unlawful
Randolph Air Force Base threatened to discipline an AFGE Local 1840 official over statements in a letter expressing union concerns to the commanding officer. The Authority found that the letter was protected activity and that its statements were not flagrant misconduct. It upheld the judge's unfair…
U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Washington, D.C. and Federal Correctional Institution, Ray Brook, New York and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3882
Bureau of Prisons Ray Brook and AFGE Local 3882 (FLRA 1-CA-40368): Market rate fees awarded in part
The Bureau of Prisons had failed to comply with an arbitration award reinstating a Ray Brook employee. After a court directed the Authority to use market rates for union attorneys' fees, the Authority revisited the fee award in the resulting unfair labor practice case. It ordered payment of…
U.S. Department of the Army, Anniston Army Depot, Anniston, Alabama and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1945
Anniston Army Depot and AFGE Local 1945 (FLRA 0-AR-2312): Overtime pay award upheld
Anniston Army Depot failed to offer an employee a 16 hour overtime assignment required by its labor agreement. An arbitrator awarded the employee 16 hours of overtime pay. The depot argued that the Back Pay Act did not allow the award because the arbitrator had not expressly found the employee…
Secretary of Labor o/b/o Smith v. The Helen Mining Company
Escrow ordered pending appeal
Helen Mining Company asked the Commission to stay an Administrative Law Judge's assessment of a $10,000 civil penalty and a $45,450.37 back-pay award while the company appealed. The Secretary did not oppose relief if Helen deposited the awards, plus any required interest, into bona fide…
Alma Plantation, Ltd.
In re Alma Plantation, Ltd. (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 92-27): permit issues remanded in part and review denied in part
Alma Plantation, Ltd. operates a sugar refinery near Lakeland, Louisiana. It challenged the denial of an evidentiary hearing request concerning its NPDES permit, including outfall references, biochemical oxygen demand limits, discharge-limit phases, and a requested variance. The Environmental…
Consolidation Coal Company
Imminent-danger order partially affirmed and contest dismissed
Consolidation Coal challenged an imminent-danger withdrawal order issued after an inspector found hot and arcing trolley-wire hangers at the Dilworth Mine. The Judge found that the first condition, which involved an active fire near coal and wooden supports, was an imminent danger and affirmed that…
Waste Coal Management, Inc.
Settlement approved and $70 assessed
Waste Coal Management, Inc. faced a civil penalty proceeding involving the Black Mountain Mine. The parties jointly asked Judge Roy J. Maurer to approve a settlement that reduced the proposed penalty from $273 to $70 and dismissed the case. The judge found the settlement appropriate under the Mine…
MATTER OF R-
Sikh asylum appeal dismissed for lack of protected-ground and country-wide evidence
The Board reviewed an Indian Sikh applicant's appeal from the denial of asylum and withholding of exclusion and deportation. The applicant reported that Sikh militants beat and threatened him when he resisted recruitment and that police detained and abused him while investigating suspected links to…
Genicom Corporation
In re Genicom Corporation (EAB EPCRA Appeal No. 92-2): penalty affirmed
Genicom Corporation manufactured computer printers and precision electronic relays at a facility in Waynesboro, Virginia, where it generated waste cyanide solutions. A pipe failure led to two off-site releases, one of 136 pounds of cyanide and another of 27.5 pounds. The Board held that Genicom had…
Black Widow Collieries Ltd.
Proceeding dismissed after plea agreement
The Secretary moved to dismiss Black Widow Collieries Ltd.'s civil penalty proceeding after the company and its president entered plea agreements concerning falsified dust samples. The release states that Triangle Research admitted falsifying samples submitted to MSHA and that two people associated…
Leadville Mining & Milling Corporation
Citation modified and $100 penalty assessed
Leadville Mining & Milling Corporation operated the Hopemore Shaft, a small underground gold and base metals mine. MSHA cited the mine for failing to maintain a second escapeway while miners extracted ore during development work. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. held that the regulation required two…
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.