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 Commerce, Patent and Trademark Office and Patent Office Professional Association
Patent and Trademark Office (FLRA O-AR-2068): Limited appraisal remedy upheld
The Patent and Trademark Office changed its patent examiners' appraisal plan before the Authority decided whether related union proposals were negotiable. An arbitrator found that the change violated the parties' agreement and ordered compensation for employees who lost money during that interval…
Department of the Air Force, Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1199
Nellis Air Force Base (FLRA 9-CA-90054): Night shift changes violated bargaining duty
Nellis Air Force Base moved Equipment Maintenance Squadron employees from night to day shifts over several months. The changes cost them a night shift differential and affected some childcare and transportation arrangements. The base argued that past practice and its union agreement allowed the…
Warm Springs Forest Products Industries, and the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation
Tribal sawmill case remanded under Ninth Circuit mandate
Warm Springs Forest Products Industries was a sawmill owned and operated by the Confederated Tribes on reservation land. The judge dismissed OSHA's complaint because he concluded that enforcement would interfere with the treaty right to exclude non-Native Americans. The Ninth Circuit reversed…
Voice of America and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1418
Voice of America studios (FLRA 3-CA-90614): Food and drink bargaining complaint dismissed
Voice of America banned food and drink in refurbished radio control rooms to protect sensitive broadcast equipment. A technicians' union proposed agency supplied spill resistant mugs and permission to eat vending machine snacks in those rooms. The Authority found that allowing drinks in mugs would…
American Federation of Government Employees, National Mint Council and U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Mint, San Francisco, California
Bureau of the Mint (FLRA 0-NG-1826): Reconsideration of agreement approval denied
The Bureau of the Mint sent the union a fax disapproving a negotiated agreement, but the Authority found no proof that the disapproval was served by certified mail or in person within the required period. It therefore dismissed the union's petition to review the disapproval and held that the…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R14-52 and U.S. Department of the Army, Red River Army Depot
Red River Army Depot (FLRA 0-NG-1807): Productivity gainsharing proposal is negotiable
After a six-month test, Red River Army Depot ended a program that shared savings from productivity gains with civilian employees. The union proposed continuing it, with half the savings going to employees. The Army argued that federal award law, management's work methods, and its budget authority…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, 509th Bombardment Wing, Pease Air Force Base and National Association of Government Employees, Local R1-111
Pease Air Force Base (FLRA 0-AR-1956): Performance rating award returned for clarification
Pease Air Force Base rated a contract specialist unacceptable on three critical elements and gave him an unacceptable overall rating. An arbitrator found inadequate evidence for two elements but found one documented failure under the third, then ordered the overall rating removed. The Authority…
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Baltimore, Maryland and American Federation of Government Employees, Council 220
Social Security Administration (FLRA 0-AR-1881): Reconsideration of bargaining ruling denied
The Social Security Administration had started an incentive program for local managers without bargaining with the union. An arbitrator denied the union's grievance by following a Fourth Circuit budget decision, but the Authority set that award aside and sent the grievance back for further…
U.S. Department of Defense, Dependents Schools, Alexandria, Virginia and Overseas Education Association
Defense Dependents Schools (FLRA 0-AR-1798): Teachers' grievance and travel terms upheld
Defense Dependents Schools and the overseas teachers' union used voluntary interest arbitration to settle terms of a worldwide agreement. The agency challenged provisions on debt collection, the grievance procedure, and priority for space available travel. The Authority held that timely exceptions…
R B Coal Company, Inc.
Water-pressure order affirmed, $1,000 penalty assessed
R B Coal operated an underground coal mine in Kentucky. The judge found that the mine violated its approved ventilation, methane, and dust control plan because a continuous miner could not maintain the required 75 psi water pressure. The judge also found that the violation was highly negligent…
Matter of Sanchez-Linn
Registry denied after serious criminal convictions
The Board reviewed a Mexican respondent’s application for registry as a lawful permanent resident after an immigration judge found him deportable for overstaying and denied registry. The respondent had convictions for voluntary manslaughter and attempted second-degree murder, had served nearly six…
Lucille Deloe v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs
Deloe v. Director, OWCP (BRB 88-3142): Survivor denial reversed and benefits ordered
Lucille Deloe sought survivor benefits after the death of miner Paul Androsko. A judge denied her claim because he found no proof that pneumoconiosis caused the death. The Board found that the record contained a Social Security Administration determination that Androsko had been totally disabled by…
Department of the Army, Fort Benjamin Harrison finance and support activities and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1411
Fort Benjamin Harrison (FLRA 5-CA-80084): Army pay lag changes required bargaining
The Army extended the time between the end of a pay period and payday for civilian employees at several Fort Benjamin Harrison activities. The Commissary did not give its union adequate advance notice, and other activities refused to bargain over a proposal about how employees would receive…
Department of the Army, U.S. Army Enlisted Records and Evaluation Center and Finance and Accounting Office for the Secretary of the Army
Army Enlisted Records Center (FLRA 5-CA-70420): Pay procedure changes required bargaining
The Army extended the delay between a pay period and payday and moved employees to a standard pay schedule. The Enlisted Records and Evaluation Center refused to bargain over a union proposal giving employees choices for receiving paychecks, citing a prior agreement. The Authority found that the…
Pyro Mining Company
Settlement raises one penalty and vacates two enforcement actions
Pyro Mining contested two orders and one citation arising at its Pyro No. 9 Slope, Wheatcroft Mine. The parties agreed to leave Order No. 3421655 in place while increasing its assessed penalty from $2,000 to $2,500. The Secretary also moved to vacate Order No. 3421656 and Citation No. 3419883, and…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, 56th Combat Support Group, MacDill Air Force Base and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 153
MacDill Air Force Base (FLRA 4-CA-10291): Monthly new hire address lists ordered restored
MacDill Air Force Base had supplied its union with monthly names and home addresses of new bargaining unit employees, then stopped without notice because of Privacy Act concerns. Applying its then governing precedent, the Authority held that the requested information had to be furnished under the…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, Military Training Center, Lackland Air Force Base and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1367
Lackland Air Force Base (FLRA 0-AR-2075): On-call instructor's grievance denial upheld
An English instructor at Lackland Air Force Base remained in on-call status after several years and grieved the Air Force's failure to convert him to year-round employment. An arbitrator found that the Federal Personnel Manual allowed the agency to use performance appraisals to select employees for…
U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of Engraving and Printing and Washington Plate Printers Union, Local No. 2
Bureau of Engraving and Printing (FLRA 0-AR-1962): Two printer press staffing award upheld
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing kept currency presses running through plate printers' breaks by putting a supervisory foreman alongside one printer. An arbitrator found that the foremen often performed supervisory duties rather than working as a second printer, contrary to the parties' agreed…
Jet Concrete Incorporated
Four settlement proceedings resolved for $3,037
Jet Concrete and the Secretary reached a settlement covering four civil penalty proceedings and 38 citations. The parties agreed to reduce the assessments in three proceedings and settle the fourth for its stated total, resulting in payments of $802, $248, $1,740, and $247. Judge John J. Morris…
Aloe Coal Company
Five citations affirmed after inspection-authority challenge
Aloe Coal operated a bituminous coal strip mine in Pennsylvania. The company argued that five citations were invalid because the inspection followed a complaint from a person who was not entitled to request an immediate inspection under section 103(g) of the Mine Act. Judge Roy J. Maurer held that…
Old Ben Coal Company
Partial settlement reduces penalty to $180
Old Ben Coal was the respondent in a civil penalty proceeding involving Mine 26. The parties proposed a partial settlement that reduced a penalty from $440 to $180. Judge Avram Weisberger found the settlement appropriate under the Mine Act's penalty criteria. He approved the settlement and ordered…
Old Ben Coal Company
Twenty-eight proceedings settled for $6,079
Old Ben Coal was the respondent in 28 consolidated civil penalty proceedings involving Mines 24, 25, and 26. The Secretary initially sought penalties totaling $11,656, and the parties proposed settlements totaling $6,079. Judge Avram Weisberger found the settlements and proposed penalties…
National Park Service, Golden Gate National Recreation Area and Laborers' International Union, Local 1276 and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1457
Golden Gate National Recreation Area (FLRA 9-RO-10008): Union intervention denied
A laborers' union petitioned for an election among nonprofessional employees at Golden Gate National Recreation Area. AFGE Local 1457 sought to intervene, claiming those National Park Service employees had joined one of its existing Army employee units at the Presidio of San Francisco. The regional…
Patent Office Professional Association and U.S. Department of Commerce, Patent and Trademark Office
Patent and Trademark Office (FLRA 0-NG-1287): Mixed ruling on 18 contract provisions
A court returned two union petitions concerning 18 provisions awarded during interest arbitration and disapproved by the Patent and Trademark Office. The Authority held that the award was subject to agency head review because the parties used the impasse process without a joint voluntary binding…
Billy R. Sipple, Employed by Shillelagh Mining Company
Four violations settled for $2,000
Billy R. Sipple, employed by Shillelagh Mining Company, was charged under the Mine Act's individual-liability provision for eight alleged violations at the No. 5 Mine. The judge dismissed two allegations during the hearing, and the Secretary later withdrew two more for insufficient evidence. The…
Energy West Mining Company
Injury-reporting citation affirmed
Energy West Mining contested a citation alleging that it failed to report an injury at its Deer Creek Mine. An employee strained his neck when his personal car stalled and its brakes failed on mine property while he was driving to work, and he missed two workdays. The judge held that the injury was…
Kelly L. Diede v. Summit Incorporated
Safety-retaliation complaint dismissed
Kelly L. Diede alleged that Summit Incorporated discharged him in retaliation for reporting that the emergency brakes on a loader did not work. Diede had been hired as a temporary loader operator and was let go after eight days, while Summit said management believed he lacked the skills and…
National Metalwares, Inc.
Machine-guarding case settled for $12,000
National Metalwares faced a failure-to-abate allegation involving mechanical power press dies and a repeat machine-guarding item involving a tube bender. The settlement withdrew the failure-to-abate allegation for one die and reduced that penalty to $11,500. The parties approved die-specific…
Southern Ohio Coal Company
Escapeway violation modified to non-S&S
Southern Ohio Coal operated the Meigs No. 2 underground coal mine. MSHA cited the company because its designated escapeway from a longwall section took a longer, indirect route to an air shaft, and separately issued a withdrawal order alleging inadequate abatement. Judge Avram Weisberger found that…
Anthony Mining Company
Two brake citations affirmed, wiper citation vacated
Anthony Mining operated a strip mine where a Willys jeep carried a water pump. The judge found that the jeep's service brakes and parking brake were not maintained in good operating condition, but he found insufficient evidence that the jeep was driven with defective windshield wipers and motors…
Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration and American Federation of Government Employees
Social Security Administration (FLRA 3-CA-80274): Refusal to obey reinstatement award unlawful
An arbitrator found that the Social Security Administration had improperly denied a claims representative's leave request, causing an involuntary resignation, and ordered reinstatement with backpay. The Federal Circuit denied a petition to review the award, but the agency refused to comply. An…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R1-100 and U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval Branch Commissary Store, Naval Submarine Base New London
New London Naval Commissary (FLRA 0-NG-1938): Commissary privileges appeal filed too late
The union proposed extending commissary shopping privileges to Defense Department civilian employees. The Navy responded in writing on January 31 that the proposal was beyond its discretion to bargain. The union submitted the same proposal again in May and petitioned the Authority after the Navy…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Council of GSA Locals and General Services Administration
General Services Administration (FLRA 0-NG-1567): Drug testing privacy proposals negotiable
A union proposed limiting direct observation when employees provide urine specimens and allowing grievances if a position was wrongly designated for random drug testing. The General Services Administration argued that both proposals conflicted with drug testing rules or management security rights…
U.S. Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Philadelphia Service Center and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 71
IRS Philadelphia Service Center (FLRA 0-AR-2010): Leave remedy upheld after workplace fume exposure
Employees at the IRS Philadelphia Service Center reported fumes from a sealant applied to concrete above their work area. Some employees left work after experiencing symptoms and were charged sick, annual, or unpaid leave. An arbitrator found that the agency had violated the collective bargaining…
Mustang Fuels Corporation
Default order vacated and remanded
Mustang Fuels was cited after MSHA alleged that a dozer operated too close to a high-voltage cable at a surface mine. The Commission vacated a default order that had assessed a $450 civil penalty because the company had not answered the penalty proposal or a show-cause order. Mustang, a small…
Ogden Air Logistics Center, Hill Air Force Base and Air Force Logistics Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1592
Ogden Air Logistics Center (FLRA 7-CA-80212): Bargaining required before on-call workers lost pay status
Ogden Air Logistics Center at Hill Air Force Base placed 131 on-call employees in nonpay status for about six months. The employees' contracts allowed periodic release from work, but the Authority found that actually removing them from the payroll changed their working conditions. The loss of pay…
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Regional Office, Waco, Texas and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2571
VA Waco Regional Office (FLRA 0-AR-2053): Retroactive promotion award set aside
A Vietnam-era veteran at the VA's Waco Regional Office was not selected for a veterans' claims examiner job. An arbitrator ordered her retroactive promotion and backpay, finding that the agency should have considered her military experience when choosing among candidates. The Authority found that…
Consolidation Coal Company
Settlement approved with reduced penalty
Consolidation Coal asked the judge to approve a settlement in two civil penalty proceedings involving citations at the Loveridge No. 22 and Robinson Run No. 95 mines. The settlement removed the significant-and-substantial findings from two citations and reduced the proposed penalties from $1,722 to…
Consolidation Coal Company
Settlement approved with $783 penalty
Consolidation Coal and the Secretary jointly asked the judge to approve a settlement in a civil penalty proceeding involving the Arkwright No. 1 Mine. Judge Roy J. Maurer approved a reduction in the proposed penalty from $953 to $783 under the Mine Act settlement criteria. The case was to be…
Consolidation Coal Company
Ronnie E. Price v. Consolidation Coal Company (FMSHRC WEVA 90-308-D): Discrimination complaint dismissed
Ronnie E. Price, a roof bolter at Consolidation Coal's Blacksville No. 1 Mine, alleged that supervisors discriminated against him after he raised safety concerns about methane readings and ventilation. Judge Avram Weisberger found that Price engaged in protected activity, and that moving him to the…
Energy West Mining Company
Settlement approved and contest dismissed
Energy West Mining contested an enforcement document issued at the Deer Creek Mine and received an expedited hearing with the Secretary and the United Mine Workers of America participating. The settlement redesignated the section 104(d)(1) order as a section 104(a) citation, kept the…
Consolidation Coal Company
Discrimination proceeding dismissed on request
The complainants, represented by District No. 4 of the United Mine Workers of America, asked to withdraw their discrimination complaints on behalf of three miners. Judge Gary Melick approved the withdrawal request, lifted the previously issued stay, and dismissed the proceeding. The order cited 29…
Don Fraze, Employed by Liter's Quarry of Indiana, Incorporated
Individual penalties assessed for crusher access hazard
The case concerned two agents of Liter's Quarry who knowingly allowed miners to work near an unguarded opening at a jaw crusher. The missing floorboards and guardrails left a roughly 12-foot drop beside a narrow passageway, and miners had been observed passing close to the opening. Judge Gary…
E. K. Construction Company, Inc.
Employee illness did not excuse late contest
E. K. Construction did not submit a written notice of contest within the required 15-working-day period. It later requested an informal conference and explained that the employee assigned to handle the matter had been ill. The Commission held that this was simple negligence rather than excusable…
Commander Naval Air Pacific and Naval Air Station Whidbey Island and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1513
Naval Air Station Whidbey Island (FLRA 9-CA-00064, 9-CA-00298): Audit report required for bargaining request
The union at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island asked for an audit report about the cost of contracted work. The Authority rejected the first request because the stated purpose, congressional lobbying, had no established connection in the record to bargaining or another representational activity…
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Olin E. Teague Medical Center and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2109
Olin E. Teague Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-2036): Performance rating increases set aside
Two purchasing agents at the Olin E. Teague Medical Center challenged their Fully Successful performance ratings. An arbitrator raised both ratings to Highly Successful and ordered the VA to determine whether they qualified for monetary awards. He relied on facility-wide statistics to interpret…
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service and American Federation of Government Employees, National Joint Council of Food Inspection Locals
Food Safety and Inspection Service (FLRA 0-AR-1871): Pilot inspection bargaining dispute returned to arbitration
The Food Safety and Inspection Service tested a new inspection program at several locations, and the union requested bargaining over its impact on employees. An arbitrator denied the grievance, reasoning that a long practice of consultation without bargaining over earlier pilots bound the union…
Matter of De La Cruz
Aggravated-felony bond decision remanded
The Board reviewed bond proceedings for a Dominican respondent who was detained after a federal conviction for distributing cocaine and was charged with deportability for an aggravated felony. The Board held that the aggravated-felony custody provision creates a presumption against release unless a…
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Hampton, Virginia and National Association of Government Employees, Local R4-17
Hampton VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-1958): Signed leave request supported sick leave for full absence
A part-time employee at the Hampton VA Medical Center was sick for five workdays and submitted a signed leave application plus a doctor's certificate covering the final two days. The agency changed the whole absence to absence without leave and reprimanded him. An arbitrator found that he was ill…
Asarco, Incorporated
Discrimination complaint dismissed without prejudice
Francis A. Marin filed a discrimination complaint against Asarco, alleging that her termination involved seniority, sex, national origin, and refusal to perform work she believed was unsafe. She moved to withdraw the complaint while pursuing remedies under state and federal anti-discrimination…
Beechgrove Processing Co.
Four coal preparation plant citations affirmed
Beechgrove Processing operated a coal preparation plant with about 17 employees. MSHA cited dangerous float coal dust, grease and hay accumulations, a discharged fire extinguisher, and an improperly guarded belt and pulley. Judge William Fauver found each condition violated its cited standard and…
United States Steel Mining Company, Incorporated
Citation affirmed as non-S&S with penalty reduced
United States Steel Mining operated the Cumberland Mine, where MSHA cited a personnel carrier that lacked the lifting bar required by a safeguard under 30 C.F.R. § 75.1403. The company admitted the violation but disputed the significant-and-substantial designation and the negligence finding. Judge…
Ideal Basic Industries, Inc.
Discrimination complaint dismissed with prejudice after settlement
Three employees filed a discrimination complaint against Ideal Basic Industries after the Secretary of Labor withdrew from prosecuting their claim of discriminatory discharge. The complainants and the company settled the matter, and Judge John J. Morris allowed the complainants to withdraw the…
Mettiki Coal Company
Settlement approved with $800 penalty
Mettiki Coal Company faced a civil penalty proceeding involving its Mettiki General Preparation Plant. The Secretary of Labor asked the judge to approve a settlement and dismiss the case. Judge William Fauver found the settlement consistent with the Mine Act's penalty criteria, approved it, and…
Red Arrow Gold Corporation
Settlement approved with $300 penalty
Red Arrow Gold Corporation faced a civil penalty proceeding involving the Red Arrow Mine. The Secretary of Labor reported that the operator's financial situation meant the originally assessed penalties could affect its ability to remain in business. Judge August F. Cetti found the proposed…
Union of Federal Employees and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 405 and U.S. Department of the Army, St. Louis activities
St. Louis Army bargaining units (FLRA 7-AC-00002, 7-AC-00003, 7-AC-00004): Union certification changes denied
The Union of Federal Employees sought to amend the certifications for three St. Louis Army employee units after Local 405 voted to leave its national federation. The regional director dismissed the petitions, finding problems with the election notice, ballot, and voting arrangements. The Authority…
Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Lexington, Kentucky and National Association of Government Employees, Local R5-184
Lexington VA Medical Center (FLRA 4-CA-10308): Employee addresses must be supplied to union
The union representing employees at the Lexington VA Medical Center requested the names and home addresses of employees in its bargaining unit. The medical center refused, and an administrative law judge found that refusal to be an unfair labor practice. The Authority rejected the center's…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1923 and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Care Financing Administration
Health Care Financing Administration (FLRA 0-NG-1922): Detail selection rules found negotiable
The Health Care Financing Administration disapproved parts of a provision for selecting employees for noncompetitive details. The provision required objective, job-related qualifications and used volunteers and seniority after the agency identified qualified employees. The Authority found that the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1513 and U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval Air Station Whidbey Island
Naval Air Station Whidbey Island (FLRA 0-NG-1744): Overtime meals and cleanup provisions negotiable
A union at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island challenged the Navy's disapproval of five contract provisions. The Authority found negotiable a measure to help employees obtain food during unexpectedly long overtime and a measure allowing changing and cleanup time around meals and the end of the…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, Robins Air Force Base and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 987
Robins Air Force Base (FLRA 0-AR-1955): Suspension dispute returned for sick leave evidence review
A machinist at Robins Air Force Base missed three shifts after a back injury without promptly calling his workplace. The agency denied sick leave and suspended him for ten days for absence without leave, and an arbitrator upheld the suspension because he had not followed the call-in rule. The…
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.