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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American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2754 of Council 236 and General Services Administration, Region 6, Kansas City, Missouri
AFGE Local 2754 and GSA Region 6 (FLRA 0-AR-2273): Asbestos pay arbitration award stands
AFGE Local 2754 sought environmental differential pay for GSA employees who worked around asbestos in the Kansas City area. An arbitrator found that service contract work inspectors had not been shown to face the airborne asbestos conditions required for the pay, and limited back pay for other…
LJ's Corporation
Citation reinstated and $20 penalty assessed
LJ's Corporation was cited after records at its contracted mine rescue station showed that mine rescue apparatus had not been inspected and tested within the required 30-day interval. The ALJ dismissed the citation because the records did not by themselves prove that the testing had not occurred…
Energy Fuels Coal, Inc.
Discovery stayed
Energy Fuels Coal asked the ALJ to require the Secretary to answer case-specific discovery requests served during proceedings under Master Docket 91-1. Judge James A. Broderick denied the Secretary’s protective-order motion because the requests were case-specific and were not untimely under the…
Asarco Mining Company
Ground-support citation upheld
Asarco Mining Company contested a citation alleging that ground support was not installed along the ribs of a haulage drift at its Troy Unit. The citation followed an MSHA investigation of unstable ground near an area where a miner had been fatally struck by falling material, although the ALJ found…
Marin v. Asarco, Inc.
Sanctions denied
Francis Marin, a haulage truck driver, filed a Mine Act discrimination complaint against Asarco after her employment ended and later withdrew the Commission proceeding to pursue related claims in state court. Asarco sought sanctions, alleging that Marin had filed a frivolous case and abused…
Brush Wellman, Inc. Elmore, Ohio Facility
In re Brush Wellman, Inc., Elmore, Ohio Facility (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 92-17): permit review denied
Brush Wellman operated a hazardous-waste facility in Elmore, Ohio. It challenged the RCRA permit’s treatment of solid waste management units and argued that the permit gave too little time for investigation, corrective-measures, and implementation work. The Environmental Appeals Board held that the…
In re: Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Motion to compel partly granted
Contestants in the respirable dust sample alteration master docket sought documents from the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General concerning an investigation into alleged tampering with coal-dust sample cassettes. Judge James A. Broderick denied most requests to compel production…
Vincent Braithwaite v. Tri-Star Mining, Inc.
Discriminatory discharge found
Vincent Braithwaite worked at Tri-Star Mining’s strip mine and refused to operate a large rock truck because he believed he was not properly trained to do so safely. Judge William Fauver found that Braithwaite communicated a good-faith safety concern and that the company discharged him instead of…
U.S. Department of Defense, Military Entrance Processing Station, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1627
Pittsburgh Military Entrance Processing Station and AFGE (FLRA 0-AR-2327): Employee's exceptions dismissed for lack of standing
Theresa Gasior, an employee at the Pittsburgh Military Entrance Processing Station, filed exceptions to an arbitration award on her own behalf. Authority rules permit a party to the arbitration to file exceptions. The award identified the agency and AFGE Local 1627 as the parties, and the union…
Consolidation Coal Company
Mixed settlements and findings resolve coal mine violations
Consolidation Coal agreed to settlements in several penalty proceedings, and Judge Avram Weisberger approved them after considering the Mine Act penalty criteria. In a separate group of cases, the judge found that damaged or inoperative coal-car uncoupling devices created a significant and…
LJ'S Coal Corporation
Unreported roof fall violation found significant and substantial on remand
LJ'S Coal Corporation failed to report a roof fall as required by 30 C.F.R. § 50.10, and a roof-bolting machine became trapped in the fallen area. On remand from the Commission, Judge Avram Weisberger examined each part of the Mathies test for a significant and substantial violation. He found that…
U.S. Department of the Army, Fort Polk, Louisiana and National Association of Government Employees, Local R5-168
Fort Polk and NAGE Local R5-168 (FLRA 0-AR-2145): Attorney fee reconsideration denied
NAGE Local R5-168 asked the Authority to reconsider an earlier Fort Polk decision that struck an arbitrator's unsupported denial of attorney fees. The union wanted the fee question sent back to the arbitrator for a new decision. The Authority held that the earlier decision was clear and that the…
Bethenergy Mines, Incorporated
Discovery motion denied as untimely
Contestants in the respirable-dust sample alteration citation proceedings asked Judge James A. Broderick to compel the Secretary of Labor to answer discovery requests. The judge found that the motion was filed after the deadlines in the Commission-approved discovery plan and its later amendments…
National Association of Government Employees, Locals R14-22 and R14-89 and U.S. Department of the Army, Headquarters, U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery Center and Fort Bliss, Texas
Fort Bliss gate inspections (FLRA 0-NG-2013): Union may bargain over inspection-caused tardiness
Fort Bliss planned random, unannounced inspections of people and vehicles at its gates, and NAGE Locals R14-22 and R14-89 proposed rules for employees affected by them. The Authority found that requiring particular supervisors for inspections interfered excessively with management's right to assign…
American Federation of Government Employees, Council 236 and General Services Administration, Region 9, San Francisco, California
AFGE Council 236 and GSA Region 9 (FLRA 0-AR-2250): Engineering technician's rating stands
A GSA engineering technician grieved his fully successful performance rating, arguing that he deserved a higher rating. An arbitrator denied the grievance despite the supervisor's failure to tell the employee the percentage thresholds for the ratings. The arbitrator found that the employee knew the…
Santa Fe Pacific Gold Corporation
Temporary reinstatement ordered after second discharge
Robert W. Buelke, an electrician at Santa Fe Pacific Gold’s Rabbit Creek Mine, was discharged for a second time after making safety complaints and being involved in disputes about electrical work and attendance. Judge August F. Cetti found that the Secretary had made the required minimal showing…
Jewell Smokeless Coal Corporation
Late black-lung report affirmed with $20 penalty
Jewell Smokeless Coal Corporation reported an employee’s alleged black-lung illness to MSHA about two years after the company received medical reports diagnosing pneumoconiosis. Judge George A. Koutras found that the company violated 30 C.F.R. § 50.20(a), which required the occupational illness to…
Southern Ohio Coal Company
Safeguard notice vacated for failing to identify the hazard
MSHA issued Southern Ohio Coal a safeguard notice requiring at least 36 inches of combined side clearance for rubber-tired haulage equipment operating beside supply cars. On remand, Judge James A. Broderick found that the notice was based on the inspector’s observations and addressed real hazards…
In re: Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Privilege rulings order limited document disclosure
Judge James A. Broderick addressed discovery and privilege issues in the consolidated respirable-dust sample alteration citation proceedings after a Commission remand. He ordered the Secretary to disclose several draft technical reports and related materials because the contestants needed them to…
Magma Copper Company, Pinto Valley Division
Default order vacated and remanded
Magma Copper failed to file its answer with the Commission in a civil penalty case, and the Chief Administrative Law Judge entered a default order assessing the Secretary’s proposed $20 penalty. Magma said it was representing itself and had sent its answer and response to the Department of Labor’s…
Trinity Industries, Inc.
Full-scope inspection warrant upheld
Trinity manufactured tanks and pressure vessels at a Sharonville, Ohio, facility. After an employee complaint, OSHA obtained a warrant authorizing a limited complaint inspection, a records review, and a full-scope inspection if neutral administrative-plan criteria were met. The facility's…
Conagra Flour Milling Co. & Its Successors
Flour-mill electrical and blowdown violations affirmed
Conagra operated a seven-story flour mill in Sherman, Texas, where combustible grain dust made the milling floors Class II, Division 2 hazardous locations. The Commission affirmed serious violations for using a grain tester and pedestal fan with exposed motor components that did not meet the…
International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 89 and U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Pacific Northwest Region, Grand Coulee Project Office, Washington
IFPTE Local 89 and Grand Coulee Project Office (FLRA 0-NG-2028): Relatives proposal appeal dismissed
IFPTE Local 89 proposed rules for relatives who report to the same supervisor at the Grand Coulee Project Office. The Bureau of Reclamation objected that the proposal conflicted with the parties' collective bargaining agreement and that it had no duty to bargain over the union's proposed change…
Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company
Ventilation citations affirmed without S&S findings
Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal challenged three citations alleging that preshift examinations did not check air passing by openings to abandoned mine areas before that air mixed with other intake air. Judge Roy J. Maurer held that 30 C.F.R. § 75.311 required the examinations at or immediately inby the…
Pride Oil Well Service
Respirator and tank-warning violations affirmed
Pride Oil Well Service employees monitored fluids entering a mobile storage tank while nitrogen used in the well displaced oxygen in the tank. One employee lost consciousness and fell into the tank, and another entered in an attempted rescue; both died from asphyxia due to drowning in the tank…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1812 and United States Information Agency, Washington, D.C.
AFGE Local 1812 and USIA (FLRA 0-NG-2025): Employee lounge proposal is negotiable
AFGE Local 1812 proposed that the United States Information Agency preserve an existing employee lounge until the parties completed bargaining over comparable space. The agency argued that keeping the lounge in place would delay construction of new office space. The Authority read the proposal as a…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R14-52 and U.S. Department of the Army, Red River Army Depot, Texarkana, Texas
NAGE Local R14-52 and Red River Army Depot (FLRA 0-AR-2260): Materials expediter's rating stands
A materials expediter at Red River Army Depot grieved a rating of “met” rather than “exceeded” for a critical job element. An arbitrator found insufficient evidence that her work exceeded the applicable standard or that her supervisor's rating was influenced by her complaints about him. NAGE Local…
U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Del Rio Border Patrol Sector, Texas and American Federation of Government Employees, National Border Patrol Council, Local 2366
Del Rio Border Patrol Sector and AFGE Local 2366 (FLRA 0-AR-2217): Suspension award set aside
The Border Patrol suspended a helicopter pilot for five days after a crash near the Rio Grande River. An arbitrator found enough evidence to support the agency's conclusion that pilot error caused the crash, but set aside the suspension because he read the agency's “inattention to duty” charge as…
Thunder Basin Coal Company
Discrimination proceedings dismissed for failure to comply with discovery
Thunder Basin Coal Company faced two Mine Act discrimination proceedings involving Donald L. Gregory and Loy D. Peters at the Black Thunder Mine. The judge had ordered the Secretary of Labor to respond to discovery requests for statements and other documents concerning the complainants'…
Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Distribution Region East and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2004 and Letterkenny Army Depot
Defense Distribution Region East and AFGE Local 2004 (FLRA BP-CU-20001): Unit review application filed late
AFGE Local 2004 sought review of a regional director's decision in a unit clarification case involving the Defense Distribution Region East and Letterkenny Army Depot. The Authority had first dismissed the application after receiving no response to a show-cause order, then rescinded that dismissal…
Space Systems Division, Los Angeles Air Force Base and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2429
Los Angeles Air Force Base and AFGE Local 2429 (FLRA 98-CA-10421): complaint over work schedule test dismissed
The Space Systems Division at Los Angeles Air Force Base and AFGE Local 2429 could not agree on how long to extend a compressed work schedule test for bargaining unit employees. After the agency began a new test without those employees, the union asked for a federal mediator. The Authority found…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 466 and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Daniel Boone National Forest, Winchester, Kentucky
NFFE Local 466 and Daniel Boone National Forest (FLRA 0-NG-2061): Contract dispute does not support negotiability appeal
NFFE Local 466 petitioned for a negotiability ruling on proposals to the Daniel Boone National Forest. The Forest Service did not claim the proposals conflicted with law or regulation; it said the subjects were already covered by the parties' master agreement and limited to specified local…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R14-52 and U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Washington, D.C.
NAGE Local R14-52 and Defense Finance and Accounting Service (FLRA 0-NG-2017): Performance targets rejected, retroactive term approved
NAGE Local R14-52 challenged the agency head's disapproval of two provisions in a pay banding agreement for Defense Finance and Accounting Service employees. One provision fixed the productivity levels for satisfactory, excellent, and outstanding ratings. The Authority found that it would bind…
U.S. Department of the Army, Headquarters, U.S. Army Garrison, Fort A.P. Hill, Bowling Green, Virginia and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2902
Fort A.P. Hill and AFGE Local 2902 (FLRA 0-AR-2239): Firefighter service-call option removed
AFGE Local 2902 grieved Fort A.P. Hill's assignment of ambulance and other emergency service duties to firefighters. The local parties reached a settlement that became a stipulated arbitration award. One paragraph let firefighters decide whether to respond to service calls during the ambulance duty…
In re: Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Common citation issues consolidated for trial
This master docket covered approximately 4,000 citations alleging that respirable dust filter cassettes had been altered at underground coal mines, surface facilities, and mines with special protections for miners who had evidence of pneumoconiosis. Judge James A. Broderick consolidated the cases…
Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the General Counsel, Baltimore and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1923
HHS Baltimore and AFGE Local 1923 (FLRA 3-CU-10026): unit placement of five support employees upheld
AFGE Local 1923 sought to include five support employees in its HHS Office of the General Counsel bargaining unit in Baltimore. The regional director included an administrative support technician and an office support assistant because their personnel duties were clerical, but excluded three…
Bottom Coal Co., Inc.
Dust-sample cases settled for $39,185
The order covered multiple consolidated contest and civil-penalty proceedings involving 35 citations alleging violations of the respirable dust sample rule at several coal mines. The Secretary alleged deliberate alteration of dust filter media, while the operators maintained that dust could have…
Walker Stone Company, Inc.
Four citations affirmed and $224 penalty assessed
Walker Stone Company operated a small stone mine and portable plant. The judge affirmed one citation for dry vegetation within 25 feet of explosive-material magazines and three significant and substantial citations for conveyor tail-pulley guards that could not withstand normal operating…
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 243
Patent and Trademark Office and NTEU Chapter 243 (FLRA 3-CA-10521): Complaint dismissed
NTEU Chapter 243 brought a complaint against the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office concerning an Inspector General representative's conduct during an interview with a bargaining unit employee. An administrative law judge found that the agency was not responsible for the representative's actions and…
The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Treasurers and Ticket Sellers Union, Local No. 868, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Moving Picture Machine Operators of the United States and Canada, AFL-CIO
Kennedy Center and Ticket Sellers Union (FLRA 3-CA-10050, 3-CO-10004): Jurisdiction found, complaint remanded
An individual alleged that the Kennedy Center and a ticket sellers union used a hiring hall arrangement to deny her work and union membership. An administrative law judge dismissed the complaint without a hearing after finding that the Kennedy Center was outside the federal labor statute. The…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1426 and U.S. Department of the Army, Fort Sheridan, Illinois
AFGE Local 1426 and Fort Sheridan (FLRA 0-NG-2003): Discipline proposals dismissed
AFGE Local 1426 appealed Fort Sheridan's refusal to bargain over two proposed discipline provisions. The first would have used a negotiated table of penalties, but the union had not included the table in its appeal and said the parties had not yet settled which table would apply. The Authority…
U.S. Department of the Army, Headquarters, U.S. Army Garrison, Fort Sam Houston, Texas and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 28
Fort Sam Houston and NFFE Local 28 (FLRA 0-AR-2261): Selection revocation removed from award
NFFE Local 28 challenged how the Army Garrison at Fort Sam Houston announced and filled a maintenance mechanic vacancy. The arbitrator found that the Army had failed to post the announcement as the labor agreement required and ordered it to revoke the promotion, repost the opening, and notify…
U.S. Department of the Army, Transportation Center, Fort Eustis, Virginia and National Association of Government Employees, Local R4-6
Fort Eustis Transportation Center and NAGE Local R4-6 (FLRA 0-AR-2235): Reconsideration denied
NAGE Local R4-6 asked the Authority to reconsider an earlier decision about an arbitration award covering overtime assignments at the Army Transportation Center in Fort Eustis. The union argued that the arbitrator had not addressed the contract's preference for employees already assigned to the…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R14-151 and U.S. Department of the Army, Lone Star Army Ammunition Plant, Texarkana, Texas
Lone Star Army Ammunition Plant and NAGE Local R14-151 (FLRA 0-AR-2163): Reconsideration denied
NAGE Local R14-151 sought reconsideration of an earlier Authority decision concerning reemployment rights after a reduction in force at the Lone Star Army Ammunition Plant. The union said the arbitrator had confused its contract grievance with a separate Merit Systems Protection Board case about…
New Hope Company of Kentucky, Inc., L & R Contractors, Inc. and Reece Lemar
Discrimination case settled and dismissed
The Secretary of Labor and miner Earl Shackleford asked the judge to approve a settlement of a discrimination complaint and related civil-penalty petition. New Hope Company of Kentucky, L & R Contractors, and Reece Lemar agreed to pay Shackleford $20,000 in 40 weekly installments of $500, while…
Matter of Ramirez-Somera
Section 212(c) bar required five years served
The Board reviewed a Mexican lawful permanent resident's appeal after an Immigration Judge found him deportable for aggravated-felony and controlled-substance convictions and denied him access to a section 212(c) waiver. The respondent had received a 15-year sentence for cocaine trafficking, but…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R14-52 and U.S. Department of the Army, Red River Army Depot, Texarkana, Texas
Red River Army Depot and NAGE Local R14-52 (FLRA 0-AR-2254): Attorney fees returned for consideration
Eight machinists at Red River Army Depot grieved their performance ratings, and an arbitrator awarded higher ratings and related cash awards but denied the union's request for attorney fees. In a separate decision, the Authority required the Army to reevaluate the employees rather than simply raise…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 916 and U.S. Department of the Air Force, Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma
Tinker Air Force Base and AFGE Local 916 (FLRA 0-AR-2241): Employee reprimand upheld
An employee at Tinker Air Force Base grieved a reprimand issued after four shotgun shells were found in his work locker. An arbitrator found just cause for the reprimand and denied the grievance. AFGE Local 916 argued that the reprimand was late under the labor agreement and challenged the…
C & H Mining Company, Inc.
Temporary reinstatement ordered for two miners
C & H Mining Company employed Wayne Kizziah and Roger Kizziah as truck drivers at its Alabama mine. After MSHA investigated a discrimination complaint, the company ended Sunday loading for truck drivers and reduced the brothers’ pay, while other drivers kept the prior compensation plan. The…
Texas Industries, Incorporated
Amended order corrected civil penalty deadline
This amended order replaced an earlier order in a civil-penalty proceeding involving Texas Industries’ Tin Top Sand and Gravel Plant. Judge Gary Melick stated that the amendment corrected a clerical error and ordered Texas Industries to pay a $556 civil penalty within 30 days of the amended order…
Mesquite Construction, Inc.
Settlement severed from active case
Mesquite Construction's two cases had been consolidated, but the parties' settlement agreement covered only docket 92-0203. A clerical error caused the judge's final order and the Commission's docketing notice to include docket 92-0317 as well. The Commission severed docket 92-0317, struck it from…
In re: Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Motion to compel production granted in part
This supplemental order addressed contestants’ request for excised portions of documents concerning MSHA’s respirable dust sample alteration investigation. Judge James A. Broderick held that some notes and calendar entries were protected by deliberative-process, work-product, investigative, or…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2017 and U.S. Department of the Army, Army Signal Center and Fort Gordon, Fort Gordon, Georgia
Fort Gordon and AFGE Local 2017 (FLRA 0-AR-2232): Veterans preference grievance denied
A civilian employee at Fort Gordon lost his position during a reduction in force after the Army withdrew veterans preference status it had previously assigned him. An arbitrator found that the employee had more than 20 years of active military service and that his disability did not meet the…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R12-33 and U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, Point Mugu, California
NAGE Local R12-33 and Navy Point Mugu (FLRA 0-NG-2036): Firefighter reclassification proposal rejected
NAGE Local R12-33 proposed that the Navy reclassify at least 30 firefighter positions from GS-5 to GS-6 and reclassify other GS-5 positions if their employees performed GS-6 duties. The union said the Navy had agreed to discuss the number of GS-6 positions. The Authority focused on the proposal's…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 3 and U.S. Department of Transportation, United States Coast Guard, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
NFFE Local 3 and Coast Guard Milwaukee (FLRA 0-NG-2026): Required civilian leave proposals rejected
NFFE Local 3 proposed administrative leave for civilian employees at the Coast Guard's Milwaukee facility when nonessential military personnel received leave. The union said the proposal would address employee security concerns and uneven treatment of civilian staff. The Authority found that both…
American Federation of Government Employees, Council 236 and General Services Administration
GSA and AFGE Council 236 (FLRA 0-AR-2247): Late contracting grievance stays dismissed
AFGE Council 236 grieved GSA's alleged failure to give notice of a policy affecting temporary custodial employees when their work was contracted out. An arbitrator dismissed the grievance because the union filed it more than 30 days after it knew or should have known of the policy, as the labor…
Peabody Coal Company
Unwarrantable coal-dust violation affirmed
Peabody Coal operated an underground coal mine where an MSHA inspector found extensive accumulations of loose coal and coal dust around a conveyor transfer point. Similar accumulation problems had been recorded in seven of the eight prior preshift examinations, but the condition was not adequately…
Wyman-Gordon Company
Record-access items become final under appellate settlement
The Secretary appealed part of the Commission's December 1991 Wyman-Gordon decision to the First Circuit. During the appeal, Wyman-Gordon agreed to withdraw its contest to three instances alleging violations of the employee-record-access standard. Those citation portions became final orders by…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, San Antonio Air Logistics Center, Kelly Air Force Base, Texas and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1617
Kelly Air Force Base and AFGE Local 1617 (FLRA 0-AR-2245): Performance appraisal grievance stays dismissed
An arbitrator dismissed a Kelly Air Force Base machinist's grievance over a lower performance appraisal after finding no demonstrated financial loss. AFGE Local 1617 argued that the award conflicted with an agency regulation and the labor agreement, misstated facts, and followed an unfair hearing…
Terra Energy Ltd
In re Terra Energy Ltd (EAB UIC Appeal No. 92-3): permit review denied
Terra Energy sought a Class II underground injection control permit for a well in Oscoda County, Michigan, to dispose of salt water from oil production wells. Joan C. Wummel, who owned nearby property, objected based on possible effects on property values, lakes, wetlands, and contamination risks…
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.