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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Wyoming Fuel Company
Imminent-danger withdrawal order vacated
Wyoming Fuel Company operated the Golden Eagle Mine, an underground coal mine in Colorado. During an inspection, MSHA measured methane above 1.5 percent in a return entry and issued an imminent-danger withdrawal order under section 107(a) of the Mine Act. The Commission agreed with the ALJ that the…
Texas Utilities Mining Company
Settlement approved and penalties resolved
Texas Utilities Mining Company faced civil penalty proceedings concerning the Martin Lake Strip. The Secretary moved to approve a settlement and dismiss the cases, explaining that MSHA could not locate the inspector's notes for six citations and that the inspector lacked sufficient independent…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2369 and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, New York Region
Social Security appraisal dispute (FLRA 0-AR-2115): Excellent rating upheld
A Social Security Administration employee challenged an Excellent rating on a claims adjudication job element and sought an Outstanding rating. An arbitrator found some weakness in the supervisor's documentation but insufficient grounds to set the appraisal aside. The union argued that the absence…
U.S. Department of the Treasury, Customs Service, Pembina District and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 157
Pembina Customs promotion (FLRA 0-AR-2044): Backpay award upheld
A Customs Service inspector and union president sought a GS-11 position at the Pembina district headquarters. The agency offered him a promotion at Portal, about 400 miles away, conditioned on relocation. An arbitrator found that the agency imposed that condition because of the employee's union…
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Allen Park and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 933
Allen Park medical center temporary promotion (FLRA 0-AR-1848): Reconsideration denied
A Veterans Affairs medical center employee temporarily performed higher graded supervisory duties. An arbitrator awarded pay at the higher grade with interest and attorney fees, and the Authority's earlier decision left the pay award in place but removed the attorney fee award for lack of required…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 987 and U.S. Department of the Air Force, Warner Robins Air Logistics Center
Warner Robins suspension (FLRA 0-AR-2073): Fourteen day penalty upheld
The Warner Robins Air Logistics Center suspended an employee for 14 days over unauthorized absences and failure to request leave properly. An arbitrator found the proposed discipline timely under the labor agreement and concluded that the suspension had just cause. The union disputed the handling…
U.S. Department of the Navy, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and Philadelphia Metal Trades Council
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard suspension (FLRA 0-AR-2058): Reconsideration denied
The Philadelphia Metal Trades Council asked the Authority to reconsider its earlier rejection of challenges to an arbitrator's award over a five day suspension. The union repeated claims that the arbitrator mishandled evidence and misunderstood the dispute. The Authority found that these arguments…
U.S. Department of Defense, Army and Air Force Exchange Service, George Air Force Base and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 977
Exchange Service mechanics' commission rates (FLRA 0-AR-2007): Remedy narrowed
The Army and Air Force Exchange Service reduced commission rates for automotive mechanics without the union's participation in the wage adjustment process. An arbitrator found a violation and later directed the parties to negotiate replacement rates. The Authority held that prevailing rate wages…
Consolidation Coal Company
Settlement approved and penalty reduced
Consolidation Coal Company faced a civil penalty proceeding concerning the Humphrey No. 7 Mine. The Secretary vacated one citation for insufficient evidence and proposed reducing the remaining penalty from $212 to $135. Judge Gary Melick approved the settlement and ordered payment of the $135…
Consolidation Coal Company
Michael E. Holland v. Consolidation Coal Company (FMSHRC WEVA 90-315-D): Discrimination complaint dismissed with prejudice
Michael E. Holland asked to withdraw his discrimination complaint against Consolidation Coal Company. Judge Avram Weisberger granted the motion and dismissed the case and related claims with prejudice. The order specifically included claims concerning Part 90 status, required metatarsal boots, and…
Jewell Smokeless Coal Corp.
Equipment shop held within MSHA jurisdiction
Jewell Smokeless Coal Corporation operated an equipment shop in Virginia that maintained and repaired bulldozers, trucks, loaders, and other equipment used at coal mines, a coal tipple, and a coke facility. The operator argued that the shop was outside MSHA jurisdiction because it had no mine…
R B Coal Company, Incorporated
Settlement approved and penalty reduced
R B Coal Company faced a civil penalty proceeding concerning Mine No. 3. The Secretary proposed reducing the penalty from $300 to $100 as part of a settlement, and the company agreed to send future dust samples by certified mail. Judge Gary Melick approved the settlement and ordered payment of the…
Veterans Administration Medical Center, Long Beach and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1061
Long Beach medical center witness interviews (FLRA 8-CA-80226): Union notice and voluntary participation required
A Veterans Administration medical center attorney interviewed bargaining unit employees by telephone while preparing for a Merit Systems Protection Board hearing. The medical center did not give their union advance notice or an opportunity to attend, and a supervisor told one employee she had to…
National Treasury Employees Union and U.S. Department of Commerce, Patent and Trademark Office
Patent and Trademark Office contract provisions (FLRA 0-NG-1802): One of three provisions approved
The Patent and Trademark Office disapproved three provisions negotiated with the National Treasury Employees Union. The Authority rejected a provision that would bar use of outside communications against employees until specified disclosure steps occurred, because that limit could prevent use of…
U.S. Department of Defense Dependents Schools and Overseas Federation of Teachers
Defense Dependents Schools housing allowance (FLRA 0-AR-2087): Teacher's award upheld
A Defense Dependents Schools teacher transferred from Okinawa to Zaragoza through the agency's interregional transfer program. After paying her a living quarters allowance for more than seven months, the agency said the payments were erroneous and sought repayment. An arbitrator found that the…
Matter of Goldeshtein
Financial transaction structuring was a crime involving moral turpitude
The Board reviewed an Israeli respondent's appeal after an immigration judge found him deportable for a crime involving moral turpitude, denied his request for a section 212(h) waiver, and ordered him deported. The conviction involved structuring financial transactions below the reporting threshold…
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Hartford District Office and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1164
Hartford Social Security claims reorganization (FLRA 1-CA-80376): Bargaining and information violations upheld
The Hartford Social Security office eliminated a separate telephone claims unit and assigned all claims representatives to a combined floor unit. Its union proposed ways to distribute work among the qualified representatives, but the office implemented the change without bargaining over those…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, Air Logistics Center, Warner Robins Air Force Base, Georgia and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 987
Warner Robins Air Logistics Center (FLRA 0-AR-2090): Discipline deadline returned for review
The Air Logistics Center suspended a household goods inspector for 10 days after an investigation into false and inconsistent statements. An arbitrator reduced the suspension to three days but refused to enforce the union agreement's 45-day deadline for proposing discipline because an earlier…
Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Baltimore, Maryland and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO
Chula Vista Social Security office (FLRA 8-CA-80454): Relocation bargaining violation upheld
The Social Security Administration moved its Chula Vista district office without completing bargaining with the employees' union about the move's effects. In particular, it refused to negotiate over space and facilities for union activities at the new location. The Authority adopted an…
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Headquarters and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 476
HUD headquarters bargaining unit (FLRA 3-CU-00028): Special assistant issue returned
A HUD union sought to add public affairs specialists and Schedule C special assistants to its bargaining unit. The Authority upheld inclusion of three public affairs specialists because HUD had not shown that they were management officials or confidential labor relations employees. It excluded…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2776 and U.S. Department of Defense, Armed Forces Radio and Television Service Broadcast Center, Sun Valley, California
Armed Forces Broadcast Center (FLRA 0-NG-1952): Agreement disapproval served too late
The Armed Forces Broadcast Center and its union signed a labor agreement on May 6, 1991. The agency called and faxed a disapproval on June 5, but the record did not show service by certified mail or in person within the 30-day statutory period. The Authority held that the full agreement became…
National Treasury Employees Union and U.S. Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
IRS West Palm Beach seating (FLRA 0-NG-1868): Seniority proposal is negotiable
After IRS revenue officers moved to a new West Palm Beach office, their union proposed letting them choose desks within the area designated for field collection employees, with seniority deciding competing choices. Management wanted seating by supervisory group and argued that the proposal would…
National Treasury Employees Union and U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, D.C.
Energy Department drug testing agreement (FLRA 0-NG-1751): Some provisions must be approved
The Energy Department disapproved parts of a union agreement governing employee drug testing. The Authority found provisions for union representation, notice to the union that employees were to be tested, and an extra specimen container negotiable. It also allowed disclosure of a reasonable…
U.S. Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Brooklyn District and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 53
IRS Brooklyn District (FLRA 0-AR-1988): Mineola travel overtime denial upheld
IRS employees from Mineola and Smithtown traveled to training in Manhattan outside normal work hours. An arbitrator awarded overtime for Smithtown employees, whose trip was outside their commuting area, but denied it for Mineola employees, whose trip fell within the agency's 40-mile rule. The union…
Sprinkle Masonry, Inc.
Scaffold case settled for $7,000
Sprinkle Masonry contested scaffold items alleged as willful, two repeat ladder-related instances, and an other-than-serious item. Under the settlement, the Secretary removed the willful characterization from the scaffold violations and Sprinkle Masonry withdrew its contest to those items. The…
Consolidation Coal Company
Automatic-coupler citation affirmed with $300 penalty
Consolidation Coal Company was cited at the Loveridge No. 22 Mine after damaged and inoperative cutoff levers on two supply cars created a risk that miners would go between cars to uncouple them. The company did not dispute the violation but argued that it was not significant and substantial and…
Peabody Coal Company
Withdrawal order modified and citation affirmed
Peabody Coal Company was cited after miners performed electrical work on an energized continuous miner at its Mine No. 10. The operator disputed whether the violation was significant and substantial and whether it involved high negligence, pointing to evidence that the machine had earlier been…
Peabody Coal Company
Three walkaround-pay citations affirmed
Peabody Coal Company challenged three citations issued after it paid only one miners' representative for each of two separate MSHA inspection dates at its Martwick Underground Mine. The inspection teams had separate assignments, and the unpaid representatives accompanied individual inspectors…
Pan American Tanning Corporation
Secretary ordered to file a Rule 35 complaint
The judge allowed the Secretary to use a complaint prepared under Commission procedures that had been superseded in 1986. Pan American Tanning sought interlocutory review of that ruling. The Commission granted review, struck the complaint, and required the Secretary to file a new complaint…
Matter of Balderas
Section 212(c) relief did not erase prior convictions
The Board reviewed the Service's appeal from an immigration judge's termination of a second deportation proceeding against a respondent with prior convictions for crimes involving moral turpitude. The respondent had received section 212(c) relief in an earlier proceeding, and the immigration judge…
Andalex Resources, Inc.
Fire and escapeway citations split
Andalex Resources contested citations involving an inoperative fire suppression system and leaking drive-through doors that compromised separate underground escapeways. Judge John J. Morris found the fire suppression violation significant and substantial, and he affirmed the two escapeway…
Arch of Kentucky, Inc.
Roof-condition settlement approved
Arch of Kentucky contested a roof-support citation and an imminent-danger order issued after an unintentional roof fall at Mine No. 37. The parties agreed that the roof conditions resulted without fault by the operator, which had barricaded the area and withdrawn mine personnel. Judge George A…
H. Schickel General Contracting, Inc.
Penalties reduced to $600 in settlement
H. Schickel General Contracting contested only the $1,200 in penalties proposed for two serious citation items. A judge dismissed the contest after the company failed to file an answer despite a show-cause order. During Commission review, the parties settled the penalty dispute by reducing item 1…
U.S. Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Washington, D.C. and Internal Revenue Service Service Center, Ogden, Utah and National Treasury Employees Union
IRS Ogden Service Center (FLRA 7-CA-90703): Retaliation complaint dismissed
An IRS employee received a reprimand after failing to follow a work requirement letter while using official time for union activity. The General Counsel and union argued that the reprimand was retaliation and that a supervisor had approved the employee's time sheets. The Authority credited the…
National Treasury Employees Union and U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Region V, Walnut Creek, California
NRC Region V offices (FLRA 0-NG-1907): Floor based office selection is negotiable
After renovating its Walnut Creek offices, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission wanted employees to choose offices only within their own branch's space. The union proposed seniority based selection across each division's floor, except where a choice clearly conflicted with work assignments; it…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 2015 and U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
National Park Service drug testing plan (FLRA 0-NG-1606): Bargaining required on some safeguards
The National Park Service and its union disputed safeguards for a workplace drug testing program. The Authority required bargaining over employee briefings, transportation to an off-site test, union observers at specimen collection and laboratory inspections, disposable temperature measuring…
U.S. Department of the Army, Blue Grass Army Depot, Lexington, Kentucky and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local Lodge 859
Blue Grass Army Depot (FLRA 0-AR-1939): Employee not liable for van damage
A Blue Grass Army Depot employee damaged a government van while performing assigned work, and the Army charged him $1,385.84. An arbitrator found that the employee was not negligent under the union agreement and therefore owed nothing. After an earlier Authority remand to clarify the relationship…
Consolidation Coal Company
Settlement approved with $200 penalty
Consolidation Coal Company reached a settlement with the Secretary after an MSHA inspector testified at the scheduled hearing. Judge Avram Weisberger approved a reduction of the proposed penalty from $1,600 to $200 after considering the parties' submissions and testimony. He ordered payment within…
Consolidation Coal Company
Section 104(b) order upheld
Consolidation Coal Company contested a section 104(b) withdrawal order issued after mud, water, debris, loose track joints, and a shifted trolley wire remained on a haulage track at the Robinson Run No. 95 Mine. The operator argued that it had abated the original conditions and that a later…
Sherman, employed by Blackhawk
Default order vacated and case remanded
Bob Sherman, employed by Blackhawk, was found in default after failing to answer the Secretary's civil penalty proposal and an order to show cause. The Commission received a letter explaining that Sherman had been hospitalized until July 19, 1990, the day after the default order was issued, and he…
LJ'S Coal Corporation
Multiple mine-safety violations adjudicated
LJ'S Coal Corporation faced consolidated proceedings involving roof control, accident reporting, fire suppression, dust-control planning, roadway berms, and underground electrical safety at its No. 3 and No. 4 Mines. Judge Avram Weisberger found several serious and significant-and-substantial…
Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest Division, San Diego, California and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 2096
Navy Southwest Division (FLRA 98-CA-10270): Union address request granted
A Navy facilities command refused a union's 1990 request for bargaining unit employees' names and home addresses, citing privacy concerns. The parties agreed that the command kept the information, could reasonably retrieve it, and had not classified it as management bargaining advice. Applying its…
U.S. Department of the Army, Headquarters XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, North Carolina and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1770
Fort Bragg carpenter (FLRA 0-AR-2089): Unauthorized absence suspension upheld
A Fort Bragg carpenter left work after seeking four hours of annual leave but without getting a supervisor's approval. An arbitrator upheld a two-day suspension for unauthorized absence, including the time spent at a job interview the employee rescheduled for that day. The union argued that a…
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Kerrville, Texas and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2281
Kerrville VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-2080): Reprimand removal upheld
A nursing assistant at a VA unit for patients with Alzheimer's disease was reprimanded after coworkers alleged verbal and physical patient abuse. An arbitrator found that the agency had not proved the allegations and ordered the reprimand removed from her record. The VA argued that the award…
Manalapan Mining Company, Inc.
Ventilation citation vacated after airflow testing
Manalapan Mining Company operated an underground coal mine. MSHA alleged that ventilation air for a working section was passing through a gob area and cited 30 C.F.R. § 75.312. The judge found that the air movement observed in front of nine curtains was caused by a swirling effect from a…
Matter of Patel
Entry requires freedom from official restraint
The Board reviewed an applicant’s claim that he had entered the United States after an immigration inspector stamped his passport “Admitted” at Houston Intercontinental Airport. The Board held that entry requires physical presence, inspection and admission or intentional evasion of inspection, and…
Delford Industries, Inc.
Grounding item withdrawn after cited standard proved unsupported
The remaining item against Delford Industries concerned an ungrounded plug on a chemical tank. The judge had modified and affirmed the item under the electrical grounding provision and assessed $300. During Commission review, the Secretary concluded that the record did not establish which…
Seibel Modern Manufacturing & Welding Corporation
Welding-eye-protection item remanded on infeasibility
Seibel used pairs of employees to fit and tack-weld large metal battery cases, with welders wearing shaded helmets while helpers wore only clear prescription glasses. The Commission held that clear lenses were not "proper eye protection" because the welding standard and its related specifications…
Atlas Industrial Painters
Safety-belt item remained willful, ladder item reduced
Atlas employees painted a bridge from small scaffolds about 30 feet above the ground without tied-off safety belts, lifelines, nets, or ladder extensions. The Commission affirmed the safety-belt item as willful because Atlas knew the requirement, had a prior fall-protection citation, and declined…
Mettiki Coal Company
Proceedings concluded after penalty settlement
Mettiki Coal Company contested two citations issued at the Mettiki General Prep Plant. The order states that a penalty settlement for both citations was approved on July 12, 1991, in Docket No. YORK 89-42. Because the settlement resolved the two proceedings, the judge ordered that all proceedings…
Consolidation Coal Company
Three citations resolved with settlements and an affirmed violation
Consolidation Coal operated the Blacksville No. 1 underground coal mine. The judge approved settlements for two citations, including a reduced $350 penalty for an accumulation of loose coal and float coal dust and a $276 penalty for failing to report a hazardous roof condition during a weekly…
Andersen Sand & Gravel Company
Berm violation affirmed with $500 penalty
Andersen Sand & Gravel operated a seasonal sand-and-gravel pit and dredging plant in Michigan. A berm was missing along 10 to 50 feet of a roadway bank beside a lake, where the drop-off was about 12 feet. The judge found that the condition violated 30 C.F.R. § 56.9300(a), which requires berms or…
Cobra Mining, Inc., Jerry K. Lester and Carter Messer
Back wages and other relief ordered after discriminatory discharge
This discrimination proceeding arose from the discharge of Amos Hicks by Cobra Mining, Jerry K. Lester, and Carter Messer. After an earlier remand decision, the judge reviewed Hicks's requested relief and ordered payment of $5,111.59 in back wages, $1,024.85 in interest, and specified telephone…
National Treasury Employees Union and Department of the Treasury, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
ATF drug testing agreements (FLRA 0-NG-1803 and 0-NG-1809): Approval split across safeguards
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms disapproved parts of two union agreements implementing its drug testing plan. The Authority allowed provisions for union attendance and notice, administrative leave for counseling subject to severe workload disruption, and protection from discipline for…
Lancashire Coal Company
Petition for reconsideration denied
Lancashire Coal Company asked the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission to reconsider its June 11, 1991 decision in six related dockets. The Secretary of Labor filed a response opposing the petition. After considering the petition and response, the Commission denied the petition. This…
Pyro Mining Company
Ventilation-plan citation vacated
Pyro Mining Company contested a citation alleging that it failed to follow its approved ventilation plan at the No. 9 Wheatcroft Mine. The plan said crosscuts should be positioned near the face of abandoned rooms “when practical,” with line curtains used as needed. The judge found that the…
Green River Coal Company, Inc.
Methane and coal-dust findings mixed
Green River Coal operated an underground coal mine with three consolidated dockets. The judge found that methane in a return-air split violated the requirement to reduce methane below one percent and that the operator’s failure to act on a recorded methane reading was unwarrantable. The judge also…
American Federation of Government Employees, National Veterans Administration Council and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, D.C.
VA furlough proposals (FLRA 0-NG-1888): Reconsideration denied
The Authority had found four union proposals responding to a planned VA furlough negotiable even though that particular furlough never occurred. The VA sought reconsideration, arguing that the proposals arose only from the fiscal year 1991 situation and should be treated as moot. The Authority held…
Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Fort Lyon, Colorado and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2430
Fort Lyon VA Medical Center (FLRA 7-CA-00158): Transcript refusal violated information duty
A union representing an employee in a removal arbitration asked the Fort Lyon VA Medical Center for a copy of the hearing transcript that the center had obtained. The center directed the union to buy its own copy, pointing to a contract clause about who pays when a party requests a transcript. The…
James D. McMillen, Employed by Shillelagh Mining Company
$3,000 settlement approved
James D. McMillen, employed by Shillelagh Mining Company, was the respondent in a civil penalty proceeding involving the No. 5 Mine. The parties agreed to settle the matter for $3,000. Judge Paul Merlin approved the settlement under the provisions of the Mine Act. The operator was ordered to pay…
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.