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 Air Force, Aerospace Guidance and Metrology Center, Newark Air Force Base and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2221
Newark Air Force Base (FLRA 0-AR-1933): Leave restored, attorney fees removed
Two Newark Air Force Base employees were indicted in Ohio after an Air Force investigator sought charges related to disposal of government parts. The charges were later dismissed. An arbitrator found that the investigator had exceeded his authority under Air Force rules and ordered leave used for…
National Association of Government Employees and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Brockton and West Roxbury, Massachusetts
Brockton and West Roxbury VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-NG-1909): Limit on supervisory notes rejected
The union proposed that employees be told when supervisors kept notes and that notes related to performance evaluations be kept no longer than one year or the rating period, whichever was longer. The Authority dismissed the first sentence without deciding negotiability because the agency made no…
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Chicago Region and National Treasury Employees Union
FDIC Chicago Region (FLRA 0-AR-2067): Union entitled to employee address list
The FDIC's Chicago Region stopped providing the union with employee names and home addresses despite a labor agreement requiring lists twice a year. An arbitrator found that the refusal breached the agreement and was an unfair labor practice. The Authority rejected the FDIC's argument that the…
U.S. Department of the Navy, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and Philadelphia Metal Trades Council
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard (FLRA 0-AR-2058): Safety glasses suspension upheld
A high-voltage technician at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard refused two orders to put on safety glasses while working in a powerhouse control room. An arbitrator found the orders valid, upheld a five-day suspension, and denied the grievance. The union challenged the award on grounds that the…
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Regional Office, Atlanta, Georgia and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1568
HUD Atlanta Regional Office (FLRA 0-AR-1948): Three career-ladder promotions upheld
A union grievance claimed that HUD had failed to grant career-ladder promotions required by its labor agreement. An arbitrator rejected most employees' claims but found that three had met every contractual requirement for promotion to GS-12 by February 1988. He ordered their promotions effective…
Consolidation Coal Company
Settlements approved and citations partly modified
Consolidation Coal's five related dockets involved settlements and a contested roof-support order at the Blacksville No. 1 and No. 2 Mines. Judge James A. Broderick approved the proposed settlements, vacated one overlapping citation, and affirmed the remaining settled citations. On the contested…
Custom Crushing Inc.
Electrical and eye-protection citations affirmed
Custom Crushing operated a small sand and gravel portable crusher. MSHA cited openings in an electrical control panel that could expose a worker to energized 480-volt equipment, and cited a crusher operator who worked without eye protection near flying rock hazards. Judge John J. Morris affirmed…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 31 and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-1945): Retroactive promotion and backpay upheld
A medical supply technician candidate at the Cleveland VA Medical Center ranked seventh for six openings after the agency used employees' leave usage as an evaluation factor. She was promoted later that year, but an arbitrator found the earlier ranking unfair and ordered promotion and backpay for…
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Region VI, Dallas, Texas and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1336
Social Security Administration Dallas Region (FLRA 0-AR-2066): Performance appraisal reconsideration denied
The Authority had previously denied the union's exceptions to an arbitration award finding an employee's performance appraisals proper. The union requested reconsideration, arguing that the award denied employees the right to know how they would be rated and conflicted with law, regulations, and…
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Office of Hearings and Appeals and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3610
Social Security Administration Norfolk Office (FLRA 0-AR-1923): Written reprimands upheld after workplace fight
Two employees in the Social Security Administration's Norfolk Office of Hearings and Appeals received five-day suspensions after a workplace altercation. An arbitrator found discipline warranted but reduced the suspensions to written reprimands because management had not adequately considered…
Consolidation Coal Company
Respirable-dust citation affirmed as S&S with $300 penalty
Consolidation Coal's Ireland Mine was cited after five respirable-dust samples averaged 2.1 milligrams per cubic meter, above the 2.0 mg/m³ limit in 30 C.F.R. § 70.100(a). The judge treated the admitted overexposure as significant and substantial under Commission precedent, and noted a prior…
Hickory Coal Company
Inspection-access citation and withdrawal order affirmed
Hickory Coal operated the Slope No. 1 underground mine in Pennsylvania. The owner denied federal mine inspectors access to the mine during an inspection and continued to deny entry when they returned, leading to a citation and a withdrawal order under the Mine Act. Judge William Fauver found the…
Ramblin Coal Company, Inc.
Settlements approved, citation vacated, proceedings stayed
These consolidated proceedings involved three Ramblin Coal dockets at the No. 5 and No. 8 Mines. Judge William Fauver approved a $105 settlement in KENT 90-428 and approved three settlements totaling $223 in KENT 90-429. He granted the Secretary's motion to vacate Citation No. 3367869 in KENT…
OK & WV Coal Company
Fatal electrical-accident violations affirmed with $2,600 penalties
OK & WV Coal operated an underground coal mine where an electrician worked on a continuous miner's energized electrical panel. The electrician received a 450-volt shock and was pronounced dead at the hospital. Judge James A. Broderick found that the equipment should have been deenergized and that…
U.S. Department of Labor, Washington, D.C. and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 12
Department of Labor (FLRA O-AR-2035): Parking permit suspensions upheld
Two Department of Labor employees were suspended for violating agency parking rules. An arbitrator reduced one employee's ten-day suspension to five days and upheld the second employee's five-day suspension. The Authority rejected the union's argument that the statutory burden for suspensions over…
Georgia-Pacific Corporation
Authorized union controlled employee participation in settlement
OSHA cited Georgia-Pacific over employee exposure to polychlorinated biphenyl hazards, and the company later settled with the Secretary. The authorized collective-bargaining representative elected party status, while several employees sought separate representation by another union and a former…
Acrom Construction Services, Inc.
Oral notice could not contest citations
Acrom Construction received hardhat and guardrail citations while working as a drywall subcontractor. Its project manager called OSHA during the contest period because he believed the general contractor, rather than Acrom, was responsible, but Acrom did not submit a written contest until about…
Woolston Construction Co. Inc.
Unprotected landfill trench violation was willful
Woolston Construction excavated a trench for a methane gas venting system at a New Jersey landfill. A cave-in killed a Woolston employee and an employee of another subcontractor after the nearly vertical trench walls collapsed. The trench had cracks, sloughing material, prior collapses, and a bowed…
Sealtite Corporation
Repeated noncompliance justified default dismissal
Sealtite contested willful, serious, and other-than-serious asbestos citations arising from removal work at a Veterans Administration facility. Although appearing without a lawyer, the company repeatedly failed to answer, produce requested documents, submit required prehearing information, or…
Department of Housing and Urban Development, San Francisco, California and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2403
HUD San Francisco Region (FLRA 8-CA-90223): Notice posting locations changed on reconsideration
The Authority had found that HUD unlawfully withheld from the union a proposed removal notice for an employee in San Diego. Its original remedy required a notice signed by the San Francisco Regional Director and posted in San Francisco. HUD sought reconsideration because the union did not represent…
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Care Financing Administration and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1923
Health Care Financing Administration (FLRA 3-CA-10176): Employee address list ordered disclosed
The union representing Health Care Financing Administration employees requested the names and home addresses of employees in its bargaining unit. The agency refused. An administrative law judge granted summary judgment for the General Counsel and found the refusal violated the federal labor…
U.S. Department of the Treasury, Customs Service, Houston, Texas and National Treasury Employees Union
Houston Customs Service (FLRA 0-AR-2018): Leave and reprimand remedy upheld
A Houston Customs Service employee was charged five hours of absence without leave and reprimanded after his wife reported that he would arrive late and use annual leave. Management relied on a leave restriction notice that an earlier supervisor had rescinded. An arbitrator found that the labor…
Cyprus Empire Corporation
Striking employees were not miners for walkaround rights
Cyprus Empire operated the Eagle No. 5 underground bituminous coal mine in Colorado. During a strike, the company continued limited mine work with salaried employees and refused to allow Dean Carey, a previously designated UMWA representative of the striking employees, to accompany an MSHA…
Western Fuels-Utah, Inc.
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Louis C. Vasquez alleged that Western Fuels-Utah transferred him to another crew and shift in retaliation for his safety complaints about methane gas. Judge August F. Cetti found that Vasquez did not establish that the transfer was motivated by protected activity. The judge credited evidence that…
U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of the Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue Service National Office and National Treasury Employees Union
IRS Chief Counsel Office (FLRA 3-CA-80281): Union representative allowed in EEO proceeding
An IRS Chief Counsel attorney serving as a union steward was chosen to represent a colleague in an equal employment opportunity complaint. The office ordered him to stop, citing a directive restricting its attorneys from representing employees in administrative proceedings. The Authority held that…
Bureau of the Census and Edward Hanlon
Bureau of the Census (FLRA 3-CA-80102): Grievance filings could not support discipline documents
The Census Bureau listed Edward Hanlon's grievances and unfair labor practice charges among the reasons in a record of infraction and a proposed removal letter. He challenged those references as interference with his statutory rights. The Authority held that the complaint could proceed because…
International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots and Panama Canal Commission
Panama Canal Commission (FLRA 0-AR-1934): Locally hired pilots denied tropical differential
Five U.S. citizen pilots employed by the Panama Canal Commission sought an overseas tropical pay differential. An arbitrator found that they did not meet the regulatory eligibility rules because they had been hired locally and had not been offered the differential to retain them. The union argued…
U.S. Department of the Treasury, U.S. Customs Service, Region IV, Miami District and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 137
Customs Service Miami District (FLRA 0-AR-1998): Daily reporting requirement for union official rejected
A Customs Service senior inspector who served as a union official had long arranged his official time through a weekly schedule. After a reassignment, his new supervisor required him to report in person at 8 a.m. each day before considering official time. An arbitrator found that the requirement…
Southern Ohio Coal Company
Broken dozer track pads upheld as unsafe
Southern Ohio Coal operated a D-7 Caterpillar bulldozer with two broken track pads at the refuse dump of its Martinka No. 1 Mine in West Virginia. The track pads formed a walkway used to mount and dismount the dozer and to service it, and one employee had previously strained his back after stepping…
Eastern Associated Coal Corporation
Companion withdrawal orders upheld
Eastern Associated Coal operated the Federal No. 2 surface coal mine in West Virginia. MSHA issued an imminent-danger withdrawal order under section 107(a) and a section 104(d)(2) withdrawal order for the same unguarded conveyor tail roller, where miners had cleaned spillage while the belt was…
Fossil Fuel, Inc.
Melvin Burkhart v. Fossil Fuel, Inc. (FMSHRC KENT 90-184-D): Discrimination complaint dismissed
Melvin Burkhart operated a continuous miner for Fossil Fuel and complained about roof bolts, ventilation curtains, methane monitoring, and other mine conditions. After management asked him to muck the mainline belt, Burkhart alleged that the assignment was retaliation for his safety complaints and…
Department of Housing and Urban Development, Region X, Seattle, Washington and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3294
HUD Region X (FLRA 9-CA-90655): Retaliation threat finding upheld
An employee at HUD Region X filed a grievance, and a manager told him the agency would retaliate. An administrative law judge found that the threat interfered with the employee's statutory rights. HUD challenged the finding, arguing that the complaint was barred and that the judge should have…
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Baltimore, Maryland and American Federation of Government Employees
Social Security Administration (FLRA 8-CA-00048, 8-CA-00077): Relocation bargaining order upheld
The Social Security Administration planned to move its San Diego Teleservice Center. The union asked for information about the move and for bargaining over its impact on employees. An administrative law judge found that the agency unlawfully withheld the information and refused to bargain. The…
Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Plant Representative Office-Thiokol, Brigham City, Utah and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 2118
DLA Thiokol office (FLRA 7-RO-00005): Election direction stands
NFFE Local 2118 sought an election among employees of the Defense Logistics Agency's plant representative office at Thiokol in Utah. A regional director found that the local group was an appropriate bargaining unit and directed an election. The agency sought Authority review, arguing that its…
Internal Revenue Service, Springfield District, Springfield, Illinois and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 43
IRS Springfield District (FLRA 5-CA-00362): Dues deduction complaint dismissed
The IRS stopped deducting union dues from a secretary's paycheck after reassigning her to a position outside the bargaining unit. The General Counsel argued that she was still entitled to dues withholding and challenged an administrative law judge's dismissal of the unfair labor practice complaint…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1953 and U.S. Department of the Air Force, Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana
Barksdale Air Force Base (FLRA 0-NG-1831): Split sample proposal found outside bargaining duty
The union at Barksdale Air Force Base proposed collecting a reserve urine sample during employee drug testing and testing it after a positive result from the original sample. The Air Force argued that the proposal conflicted with federal workplace drug testing guidelines and management rights. The…
Reynolds Metals Company
Michael P. Damron v. Reynolds Metals Company (FMSHRC CENT 89-131-DM): Discrimination complaint dismissed on remand
Michael P. Damron alleged that Reynolds Metals discharged him for refusing to operate a ball mill near hazards involving falling objects and a metal detector. On remand from an earlier Commission order, Judge James A. Broderick credited the general supervisor's testimony that Damron was authorized…
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Hampton, Virginia and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2328
Hampton VA Medical Center (FLRA 3-CA-10204): Employee contact information ordered released to union
AFGE Local 2328 asked the Hampton VA Medical Center for the names and home addresses of employees it represented. The center refused, arguing that privacy law barred disclosure and that the union could contact employees in other ways. The parties agreed that the center routinely kept the…
Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution for Women, Alderson, West Virginia and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1494
Alderson federal prison (FLRA 0-AR-2060): Three day suspension award upheld
Two employees at the Alderson federal prison fought after one cursed the other, and both were injured. The prison suspended one employee for three days; an arbitrator found just cause for the suspension and denied his grievance. The union argued that the prison relied on accusations missing from…
Consolidation Coal Company
Safeguard and citation vacated after settlement
MSHA alleged that Consolidation Coal violated a safeguard at the Shoemaker Mine and sought a civil penalty. After the hearing, the Secretary moved to approve a settlement, explaining that the safeguard language may not have given the operator sufficient notice of what was required under varying…
D.H. Blattner & Sons, Inc.
Larry E. Burns v. D.H. Blattner & Sons, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 90-166-DM): Discrimination complaint dismissed
Larry E. Burns was discharged from his haul-truck job at the Basin Creek open-pit gold mine after refusing to drive an older truck. His estate continued the case and alleged that he had been fired for raising concerns about the truck's canopy, transmission, and exhaust. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, Air Logistics Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 916
Tinker Air Force Base (FLRA O-AR-2065): Second promotion grievance barred
An employee at Tinker Air Force Base sought a promotion after completing a training program, but an arbitrator denied his first grievance. After he was later promoted, he filed another grievance seeking retroactive promotion and backpay. A second arbitrator found that the earlier award had already…
Homestake Mining Company
Citation vacated and contest dismissed with prejudice
MSHA issued Homestake Mining a citation alleging that elevated walkways at its lead mine lacked required handrails and toeboards under 30 C.F.R. § 57.11002. MSHA later vacated the citation after recognizing conflicting agency views about how the standard applied and withdrew its answer. Judge…
Matter of Juarez
SAW status does not prevent deportation proceedings
The Board reviewed a Mexican respondent’s deportation appeal after an immigration judge found him deportable for entering the United States without inspection. The respondent argued that his lawful temporary resident status under the special agricultural worker program had not been terminated and…
Matter of Hernandez-Puente
Nunc pro tunc adjustment rescinded
The Board reviewed rescission of a Mexican respondent’s prior adjustment of status to lawful permanent residence. The Service had granted the adjustment nunc pro tunc even though the respondent was no longer eligible for the derivative preference category because he was over 21 and married. The…
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapters 242 and 244
FDIC health plan (FLRA 3-CA-80010 and related cases): Premium changes reversed
The FDIC raised what employees paid for the family option of its own health plan and changed the plan's enrollment period without bargaining with the union. It also told regional offices not to bargain over the changes. The Authority found that both changes affected employment conditions and that…
Planners-Estimators, Progressmen and Schedulers Association, Local 5 and U.S. Department of the Navy, Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California
Mare Island Naval Shipyard (FLRA 0-NG-1899): Bargaining ordered on motorcycle equipment storage
The Mare Island Naval Shipyard required people riding motorcycles on the installation to use additional safety clothing and equipment. The union proposed that the shipyard pay for some equipment, provide storage and changing facilities, maintain the gear, and pay employees for time spent changing…
Panama Canal Commission and International Association of Firefighters, Local 13
Panama Canal Commission (FLRA 0-AR-1787): Fire officer detail pay award upheld
The Panama Canal Commission used short details to fill vacant fire officer positions while it developed a new training program. An arbitrator found that this practice violated the labor agreement by denying employees the higher pay they would otherwise have received, and he awarded backpay. He also…
U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Border Patrol, El Paso, Texas and American Federation of Government Employees, National Border Patrol Council
El Paso Border Patrol (FLRA 6-CA-80173): Information order reconsideration denied
The Authority had ordered the El Paso Border Patrol to provide the union with information it requested while considering a grievance, after removing protected personal details. The agency asked for reconsideration, arguing that the employee's discrimination complaint and later removal made the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3407 and U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Mapping Agency, Hydrographic-Topographic Center, Washington, D.C.
Defense Mapping Agency (FLRA 0-NG-1707): Drug testing proposal appeal dismissed as late
AFGE Local 3407 sought review of three proposals concerning the Defense Mapping Agency's drug testing program. The agency sent a written declaration that two proposals were nonnegotiable on April 27, 1989, and the union filed its petition on May 25. The Authority found that the petition came after…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2586
Altus Air Force Base (FLRA 0-AR-2064): One day suspension award upheld
Altus Air Force Base suspended an employee for one day after he used a racial slur about another employee. An arbitrator found that the agency had followed its inquiry procedure and that the suspension fell within its disciplinary rules. The union argued that the arbitrator had not answered the…
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1168
VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-2054): Boiler room ratings raised
Three VA boiler room employees challenged performance ratings that fell below their earlier ratings. The medical center had not given them copies of their performance standards or conducted the progress reviews required by its labor agreement. An arbitrator found that the agency had no adequate…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, Langley Air Force Base, Hampton, Virginia and National Association of Government Employees, Local R4-106
Langley Air Force Base (FLRA 0-AR-2039): Boiler operators' hazard pay claim denied
Boiler plant operators at Langley Air Force Base sought extra pay for work with chemicals used to test boiler water. An arbitrator found that the chemicals were used in small, diluted amounts and that the issued protective equipment adequately addressed the potential hazard. The union argued that…
U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Terre Haute, Indiana and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 720
Terre Haute federal prison (FLRA 0-AR-1986): Three day suspension award upheld
A Terre Haute correctional officer entered a disruptive inmate's cell with two other officers before notifying the detention lieutenant, contrary to prison policy. The prison suspended him for three days, and an arbitrator upheld the discipline. The union argued that another officer had received a…
Southern Ohio Coal Company
Safeguard and citations vacated
MSHA alleged that Southern Ohio Coal violated two electrical safety requirements at its Martinka No. 1 Mine and sought civil penalties. Judge George A. Koutras approved the parties' disposition of one citation and vacated it. He found that a mine-specific safeguard requiring short-circuit…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1617 and U.S. Department of the Air Force, Air Force Logistics Command, Kelly Air Force Base, Texas
Kelly Air Force Base (FLRA 0-AR-2107): Arbitration exceptions dismissed as late
AFGE Local 1617 challenged an arbitrator's amended award in a dispute with Kelly Air Force Base. The union mailed its exceptions to an Authority regional office, which received them after the filing deadline and then forwarded them to the Docket Room. The union pointed to the date it received the…
Morningside Development MSHA Corporation
Backpay and reinstatement ordered after default
Avis B. Perkins brought a Mine Act discrimination proceeding against Morningside Development Corporation concerning the Little Falls Mine. After the respondent defaulted by not filing an answer, the judge directed Perkins to identify the relief requested. Perkins sought $10,000 in punitive damages…
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): Gainsharing grievance returned to arbitration
The Social Security Administration started a pilot program that gave local managers budget flexibility and returned part of savings as awards to managers and employees. AFGE Council 220 argued that the agency should have bargained over the program at the council level. An arbitrator denied the…
Garden Creek Pocahontas Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed with prejudice
Linda Lester filed a discrimination complaint against Garden Creek Pocahontas Company concerning the Virginia Pocahontas #6 Mine. At the hearing, Lester moved to withdraw the complaint with prejudice and dismiss the case. Garden Creek did not object. Judge Roy J. Maurer granted the motion and…
Agipcoal USA, Inc.
Coal dust citation affirmed as non-S&S and withdrawal order vacated
MSHA cited Agipcoal USA for loose coal and float coal dust at the No. 3 dump of its Pevler Preparation Plant, including around electrical equipment, and later issued a withdrawal order when some dust remained. Judge Roy J. Maurer found that the cited condition violated 30 C.F.R. § 77.202, but 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.