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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U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Missouri Basin Region and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1759
Bureau of Reclamation Sunday pay (FLRA 0-AR-1889): Premium pay restoration upheld
The Bureau of Reclamation ended a negotiated 25 percent Sunday premium pay practice without completing bargaining with the union. An arbitrator ordered the agency to restore the pay practice under the existing agreement. The agency argued that the practice was unlawful because it was no longer…
U.S. Department of the Navy, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Virginia and Tidewater Virginia Federal Employees Metal Trades Council
Norfolk Shipyard asbestos project (FLRA 0-AR-2091): Staggered shift ruling upheld
Norfolk Naval Shipyard assigned employees to staggered weekend shifts for an asbestos removal project. The union claimed the schedule violated its agreement and sought additional overtime pay and administrative leave. An arbitrator found the schedule permissible under the agreement and denied the…
Allen's Casing Crews, Inc.
Lanyard item remanded for review of the correct evidence
OSHA inspected Allen's Casing Crews after an employee fell from an oil-drilling rig and died. One citation item concerned a lanyard used later by a replacement crew member whose snap-hook spring was missing, while a separate item concerned the longer lanyard used by the employee who fell. The judge…
U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval Aviation Depot, Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, North Carolina and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local 2297
Cherry Point aviation depot duties (FLRA 0-AR-2043): Higher grade pay award upheld
A worker at the Cherry Point Naval Aviation Depot claimed that he regularly performed higher graded mechanic duties without the corresponding pay. An arbitrator found that the agency had assigned those duties and that the collective bargaining agreement required compensation at the higher level…
Steven Brown for United Steelworkers of America, District 38, Subdistrict 7 v. Sunshine Mining Company
Compensation complaint dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
Contract miners at Sunshine Mining's Kellogg operation claimed they should receive incentive-rate pay while attending mandatory MSHA safety training. Sunshine maintained that miners were entitled only to the applicable wage-table rate. Judge John J. Morris concluded that the Commission had no…
Matter of Cerna
A final deportation order ended section 212(c) eligibility
The Board denied a motion by a respondent who sought to reopen deportation proceedings and apply again for section 212(c) relief. The Board held that section 212(c) relief required lawful permanent resident status and seven years of lawful unrelinquished domicile, and that an administratively final…
Beco Construction Co., Inc.
Equal Access to Justice Act application dismissed after settlement
Beco Construction filed an Equal Access to Justice Act application related to two earlier contest proceedings. The parties reached an amicable settlement before a hearing. Judge John J. Morris dismissed the application based on that settlement. The order does not state that any fee or expense award…
Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Privilege rulings reconsidered and documents ordered produced
This master-docket discovery order concerned documents related to alleged alteration of respirable coal mine dust samples. Judge James A. Broderick granted the Secretary's motion to reconsider earlier privilege rulings after reviewing the documents in camera. He kept three documents protected as…
Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Master discovery plan adopted for respirable dust sample alteration cases
This master-docket order governed discovery in cases involving alleged alteration of coal dust filter media. Judge James A. Broderick adopted a discovery plan covering document repository access, filter examination and nondestructive testing, depositions, expert reports, and later case-specific…
All Phase Electric & Maintenance, Inc.
Informal-conference request did not contest citations
OSHA cited All Phase Electric for two serious electrical violations and one other-than-serious posting violation, with $240 in proposed penalties. The company received the citations on December 18, 1989, but did not submit a written notice of contest within the 15-working-day period ending January…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1867 and Department of the Air Force, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Air Force Academy on call pay (FLRA 0-NG-1915): Negotiability petition dismissed
A union sought pay for Air Force Academy employees who had been on call outside working hours since November 1989. The proposal sought up to 25 percent of annual salary, including back pay. The Authority found that the proposal addressed only past assignments, so it was a claim for compensation…
U.S. Department of Defense, Headquarters, XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, North Carolina and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1770
Fort Bragg safety inspection (FLRA 0-AR-1916): Official time denial upheld
A union steward at Fort Bragg requested official time to accompany safety inspectors during a workplace inspection. The agency denied 32 hours of the requested time but offered the union the option of choosing another representative. An arbitrator found the denial consistent with the agreement and…
Consolidation Coal Company
Citation modified and penalty set at $50
Consolidation Coal Company operated the Arkwright No. 1 Mine. MSHA cited a split outer jacket on a cable powering a continuous mining machine under 30 C.F.R. § 75.517. The operator stipulated to the violation, but Judge Avram Weisberger found that the Secretary did not prove the violation was…
U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval Weapons Center, China Lake, California and International Brotherhood of Police Officers, Local 337, SEIU, AFL-CIO
China Lake Naval Weapons Center (FLRA 98-CA-10168): Union address disclosure ordered
The police officers' union requested names and home addresses of employees it represented at the Naval Weapons Center. The center refused, citing privacy concerns. Applying its earlier disclosure decisions, the Authority found that the refusal was an unfair labor practice and ordered the center to…
Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Discovery deadlines extended for mine operators
This master-docket order extended discovery deadlines for mine operators involved in cases alleging alteration of respirable dust samples. Judge James A. Broderick gave operators who joined the case between June 28 and September 17, 1991, 40 days from September 17 to respond to discovery, inspect…
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Memphis, Tennessee and National Association of Government Employees, Local R5-66
Memphis VA sick leave records (FLRA 4-CA-00371): Complaint dismissal upheld
A union alleged that a Memphis VA medical center had changed its sick leave approval procedure by requiring additional medical evidence from employees previously cited for leave abuse without bargaining first. An administrative law judge recommended dismissing the complaint. The Authority agreed…
Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Martinsburg, West Virginia and National Association of Government Employees, Local R4-78
Martinsburg VA medical center (FLRA 3-CA-10514): Employee address disclosure ordered
A union requested the names and home addresses of employees in its bargaining unit at the Martinsburg VA medical center. The center refused to provide the information. Applying its earlier disclosure precedent, the Authority found an unfair labor practice and ordered the center to furnish the…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R4-6 and Department of the Army, Fort Eustis, Virginia
Fort Eustis child care pay (FLRA 0-NG-1842): Performance raise proposal negotiable
A union proposed rules for converting Fort Eustis child care workers to a new pay grade system, reducing their child care fees, and granting performance based step increases. The Authority found the pay increase proposal negotiable because the governing child care law allowed it and the Army had…
National Association of Government Employees, Federal Union of Scientists and Engineers, Local R1-144 and U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval Underwater Systems Center, Newport, Rhode Island
Newport Navy drug testing proposals (FLRA 0-NG-1796): Bargaining ordered on selected safeguards
A union proposed eleven rules for the Navy's drug testing program at its Newport underwater systems center. The Authority found negotiable selected safeguards, including normal lunch routines, a choice of overtime or compensatory time when testing ran late, limits on employee searches, official…
National Association of Government Employees, Locals R14-68 and R14-73 and U.S. Department of Defense, Missouri National Guard
Missouri National Guard vehicle assignments (FLRA 0-NG-1735): Safety and travel provisions negotiable
The Missouri National Guard disapproved two negotiated provisions covering vehicle operation and temporary duty travel for its technicians. One called for relief after ten consecutive hours of driving and addressed certification and escorts for oversized vehicles. The other required appropriate…
American Federation of Government Employees, National Border Patrol Council and National Immigration and Naturalization Service Council and U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service
INS drug testing procedures (FLRA 0-NG-1726): Most union proposals negotiable
Two unions proposed procedures for the INS drug testing program. The Authority held that employees tested on reasonable suspicion could receive written reasons after testing, and that union representatives could receive official time for related representation within the limits of pay law. It also…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1781 and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service
Forest Service training absence (FLRA 0-AR-2158): Seven-day suspension upheld
The Forest Service suspended a law enforcement officer for seven calendar days after he missed required refresher training. An arbitrator found that he had been instructed to attend and that the suspension complied with the parties' agreement, despite a delay of more than three months before…
U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Mapping Agency, Hydrographic/Topographic Center, Washington, D.C. and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3407
Defense Mapping Agency cash award (FLRA 0-AR-2097): Grievance exclusion upheld
A Defense Mapping Agency employee grieved the denial of a cash performance award. An arbitrator denied the grievance under an agency policy that excluded disputes over nonpayment of performance awards. After an Authority remand, the arbitrator found that the parties had negotiated and agreed to…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 916
Tinker testing equipment operator (FLRA 0-AR-2077): Promotion award narrowed
A Tinker Air Force Base testing equipment operator won an arbitration award for higher grade work that he had performed without a temporary promotion. The arbitrator also ordered classification audits for other employees' positions. The Authority upheld the worker's entitlement to a retroactive…
National Archives and Records Administration and American Federation of Government Employees, Council 260, Local 2578
National Archives career ladder (FLRA 0-AR-1990): Back pay through departure upheld
A National Archives employee was denied a career ladder promotion to GS-11, then her position was audited and reclassified. An arbitrator found that she should have received the promotion before the audit and later clarified that back pay ran until she left the agency. The Authority dismissed as…
U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, New York District Office and American Federation of Government Employees, INS Council, Local 1917
INS New York district suspension (FLRA 0-AR-1912): Arbitrator's back pay award upheld
The INS suspended a deportation officer for ten days after a dispute involving a bond worksheet and his supervisor. An arbitrator found that the agency had not proved just and sufficient cause, set aside the suspension, and ordered back pay. The agency argued that the arbitrator had used an…
Island Creek Coal Company
Late compensation complaint allowed to proceed
Roy Farmer and other miners sought compensation after an imminent-danger order at Island Creek Coal Company's VP-3 Mine. Their complaint was filed more than six months after the order, beyond the 90-day period in Commission Rule 35. On remand, Judge Gary Melick found good cause for the late…
Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Privilege rulings reconsidered and documents ordered produced
This master-docket discovery order addressed documents concerning alleged alteration of respirable dust samples, including materials related to 30 C.F.R. § 70.209(b). Judge James A. Broderick granted reconsideration of earlier privilege rulings, upheld protection for some investigative…
11th Air Force (PACAF), Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1668
Elmendorf Air Force Base employee addresses (FLRA 9-CA-10295): Information refusal violated labor law
The union asked Elmendorf Air Force Base for the home addresses of employees in the bargaining unit it represented. The base refused, arguing that the Privacy Act barred disclosure and that the union had other ways to contact employees. The Authority held that the addresses had to be furnished…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3457 and U.S. Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service, Southern Administrative Service Center, New Orleans, Louisiana
Minerals Management Service drug testing (FLRA 0-NG-1694): Four proposals negotiable
A union proposed seven terms for the Minerals Management Service drug testing program. The Authority found four negotiable: use of federal testing guidelines, reasonable privacy during specimen collection, confirmation of initial positive results by a specified method, and collection by an…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1808 and U.S. Department of the Army, Sierra Army Depot, Herlong, California
Sierra Army Depot drug testing (FLRA 0-NG-1631): Authorized collectors and voluntary testing terms negotiable
A union challenged the Army depot's refusal to bargain over terms for its drug testing program. The Authority found negotiable a requirement that authorized agents collect specimens and a bar on coercing employees to join voluntary testing. It rejected a privacy proposal because the union's…
American Federation of Government Employees, Department of Education Council of AFGE Locals and U.S. Department of Education
Education Department personnel regulations (FLRA 0-NG-1593): Compliance proposal negotiable
The union proposed that the Education Department follow its existing personnel regulations when applying them to employees. The department argued that the proposal would interfere with management rights and open decisions such as security clearances to arbitration. The Authority found the proposal…
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Local 3097 and U.S. Department of Justice, Justice Management Division
Justice Department drug testing proposals (FLRA 0-NG-1566): Authority splits negotiability rulings
The union challenged the Justice Department's refusal to bargain over proposals concerning its employee drug testing program. The Authority reviewed 33 proposals and reached different results. It found limits on random testing and several rehabilitation and discipline proposals outside the duty to…
AFSCME Local 3097 and U.S. Department of Justice, Justice Management Division
Justice Management Division contracting study (FLRA 0-NG-1372): Circular A-76 proposal negotiable on remand
A union proposed that the Justice Management Division comply with OMB Circular A-76 and applicable law when studying whether to contract out library work. The Authority had found the proposal negotiable, but the case returned after a Supreme Court decision about management's contracting rights. On…
National Treasury Employees Union and U.S. Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service
IRS contracting appeals (FLRA 0-NG-1350): Grievance proposal held negotiable on remand
The union proposed using its negotiated grievance and arbitration process as the internal appeal route for employees challenging IRS contracting decisions under OMB Circular A-76. After the Supreme Court and an appeals court remanded the case, the Authority examined whether the circular counted as…
Naval Ship Weapon Systems Engineering Station, Port Hueneme, California and National Association of Government Employees, Local R12-40
Port Hueneme employee addresses (FLRA 98-CA-10297): Navy station ordered to disclose
The union requested the names and home addresses of bargaining unit employees at the Naval Ship Weapon Systems Engineering Station. The station refused, citing privacy law and questioning the union's need for the records. The Authority held that the requested information met the statutory…
U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Local 2830
Justice Programs employee rating records (FLRA 3-CA-10207): Information dispute remanded
The union asked the Justice Department's Office of Justice Programs for information about employees who received high performance ratings, awards, or promotions. The agency supplied some records but withheld rating information, citing employee privacy. The Authority found that the stipulated record…
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Family Support Administration and National Treasury Employees Union, Local 250
Family Support Administration promotion award (FLRA 0-AR-2033): Backpay replaced with priority consideration
An arbitrator found that the Family Support Administration had improperly evaluated an employee for a GS-9 position and preselected another applicant. He ordered a retroactive promotion and backpay. The Authority left the arbitrator's findings about the flawed selection process in place but set…
Arch of Kentucky, Inc.
Settlement approved for ventilation violation
Arch of Kentucky operated the No. 37 Mine, where MSHA found that airflow on a longwall section was below the amount required by the approved ventilation plan. The parties settled after the order was changed from an unwarrantable-failure action to a section 104(a) significant-and-substantial…
Coal Mac Incorporated
Settlement partly approved with S&S findings retained
Coal Mac operated the Coal Mac No. 17 and No. 7 Surface mines. The parties sought to reduce several significant-and-substantial designations and civil penalties across citations involving mobile equipment, storage, explosives, brakes, guards, and other safety conditions. Judge William Fauver…
Gatliff Coal Company, Inc.
Emergency communication violation found and remanded
Gatliff Coal operated a surface strip coal mine where an employee died after a truck accident and workers had to leave the mine property to find a telephone because no company two-way radio was present. The Commission held that employee-owned CB radios did not satisfy the requirement for an…
Phillips 66 Company
Union abatement objections required settlement remand
After an explosion and fire at a Phillips 66 petrochemical facility, OSHA alleged 566 willful general-duty-clause violations and proposed more than $5.6 million in penalties. A proposed settlement removed the willful classification, set a $4 million payment, and extended abatement schedules across…
Lang Brothers Inc.
Mine Act covers gas-well contractor operations serving a coal mine
Lang Brothers cleaned and plugged gas wells for Consolidation Coal's Blacksville No. 2 Mine. Lang argued that its work involved gas wells rather than coal mining, that it was not a mine operator, and that OSHA rather than MSHA had jurisdiction. The Commission held that the work was integral to coal…
U.S. Department of the Navy, Miramar Naval Air Station and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3723
Miramar supply clerk work assignment (FLRA 0-AR-2125): Arbitration exceptions denied
A union grievance challenged changes to a Miramar Naval Air Station supply clerk's work station and duties. The arbitrator found that the work station had changed but that the employee's working conditions and duties remained within the collective bargaining agreement, and denied the grievance. The…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 216, National Council of EEOC Locals and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
EEOC performance rating fee request (FLRA 0-AR-2112): Attorney fees denied
An arbitrator found that the EEOC partly based an employee's marginal performance rating on retaliation for union activity and ordered a fully successful rating. The arbitrator did not award backpay and later denied the union's request for attorney fees. The union challenged the fee denial under…
U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval Aviation Depot, Norfolk, Virginia and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local 39
Norfolk depot tardiness suspension (FLRA 0-AR-2103): One-day penalty sustained
The Norfolk Naval Aviation Depot suspended an aircraft mechanic for four days after he arrived late and used a time clock other than the one his supervisor had directed. An arbitrator found the conduct warranted discipline but reduced the suspension to one day under the agreement's minimum penalty…
Cyprus Tonopah Mining Corporation
Ground-control violations modified and penalties assessed
Cyprus operated an open-pit molybdenum mine in Tonopah, Nevada. Judge Michael A. Lasher found violations involving loose rock and inadequate catch benches in the Pushback 1 pit under 30 C.F.R. §§ 56.3200 and 56.3130, and found that Cyprus's failure to maintain the conditions was unwarrantable. He…
Hickory Coal Company
Final order sets $600 penalty in three installments
A prior decision found that Hickory Coal violated section 103(a) of the Mine Act, and the case remained open for civil-penalty assessment. Judge William Fauver noted that the Department of Justice had obtained a default judgment for unpaid penalties and that the company was discussing a payment…
Matter of Ma
Delayed evidence did not establish a claimed parent-child relationship
The Board reviewed a United States citizen's visa petition seeking preference status for a claimed married son from China. The petitioner had not identified the beneficiary as her son in earlier immigration and naturalization records, and she submitted a Chinese notarial certificate about 40 years…
Summit Incorporated
Backhoe walkway citation affirmed and settlement approved
Summit operated the Richmond Hill gold mine. MSHA cited a backhoe walkway that was about four and a half feet above the ground and lacked handrails and midrails. Judge John J. Morris held that the platform was an elevated walkway covered by 30 C.F.R. § 56.11002, affirmed the citation and a $20…
U.S. Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Logistics Base, Barstow, California and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1482
Barstow work transfers (FLRA 8-CA-90328): Notice and bargaining violations found
The Marine Corps Logistics Base detailed four employees to a different work center and moved work to another center without advance notice to the union. The union requested bargaining over how the changes would be carried out and how employees would be affected, but the base refused. An…
Department of the Air Force, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois and National Association of Government Employees, Local R7-23
Scott Air Force Base hazard pay (FLRA 5-CA-00080): Unilateral cut reversed
Scott Air Force Base stopped paying a four percent environmental differential to corrosion shop employees who had received it for work involving paint and dust exposure. The union requested bargaining and sought help from the Federal Service Impasses Panel, but the base implemented the cut without…
Drummond Company, Inc.
Judge's no-unwarrantable-failure finding vacated and remanded
Drummond operated an underground coal mine where MSHA found deep accumulations of combustible material and float coal dust around several conveyor belts. The ALJ modified a section 104(d)(1) citation by vacating the unwarrantable-failure finding. The Commission held that Drummond had reason to know…
Bulk Transportation Services, Inc.
Commission affirms operator status and $25 penalty
Bulk Transportation Services arranged exclusive coal haulage from BethEnergy's Mine No. 33 to a generating station through subcontractors. A subcontractor raised a truck bed into an energized 46-kilovolt powerline, and MSHA cited Bulk for violating the high-voltage clearance standard. The…
Featherlite Building Products Corporation
Clerical correction approves $1,552 in paid penalties
This order amended a prior decision to correct a clerical error and approve penalties for three citations that Featherlite accepted and paid without formal litigation. The citations involved standards 30 C.F.R. § 56.12032 twice and 30 C.F.R. § 56.12016 once. Judge August F. Cetti approved the…
Department of Defense, Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1041
Minot inspection report request (FLRA 7-CA-00456): Full report ordered disclosed
The union requested an August 1989 Inspector General inspection report about an administrative section at Minot Air Force Base. The base refused to furnish the complete report, and an administrative law judge found an unfair labor practice. The Authority upheld that result while correcting the…
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Headquarters and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 476
HUD special assistants' unit status (FLRA 3-CU-00028): Reconsideration denied
The Authority had excluded three Schedule C special assistants from an existing HUD bargaining unit because they did not share a clear community of interest with unit employees. The union asked the Authority to reconsider, arguing that the regional director's findings about the assistants'…
U.S. Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Support Activity, Kansas City, Missouri and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2904
Kansas City arbitration filing (FLRA 0-AR-2132): Union exceptions dismissed
The union filed exceptions to an arbitration award involving the Marine Corps Support Activity in Kansas City. The Authority ordered the union to correct deficiencies in its filing by July 24, 1991. The union said it mailed one response on the deadline, but the package was postmarked July 25 and it…
U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service and American Federation of Government Employees, National Immigration and Naturalization Service Council
Lynden Sunday overtime (FLRA 0-AR-2051): Inspectors' backpay upheld
The Immigration and Naturalization Service changed Sunday staffing at its Lynden port of entry and gave part of the overtime to a part-time inspector. Two full-time inspectors lost paid overtime, and an arbitrator found the change violated an agency manual provision incorporated into the union…
U.S. Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Los Angeles District and National Treasury Employees Union
IRS awards coordinator promotion (FLRA 0-AR-2041): Settlement award upheld
An IRS clerk in Los Angeles performed awards coordinator duties at the GS-3 grade. A settlement called for a desk audit and an upgrade if her duties warranted one; the audit rated the work at GS-4, but the IRS did not promote her. An arbitrator found that the IRS breached the settlement and ordered…
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.