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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Secretary of Labor v. Geneva Rock Products, Inc.
Review granted on indefinite criminal-investigation stay
Potential individual and criminal Mine Act violations in the Geneva Rock case had been referred to the Department of Justice. The ALJ stayed the civil proceeding indefinitely while the criminal investigation and any later proceedings remained pending. The Commission granted the Secretary's request…
Randall Harper v. TEMCO, LLC
Harper v. TEMCO (BRB 22-0180): attorney fee calculation remanded
Randall Harper settled his Longshore Act claims against TEMCO after reporting injuries from his work, but the parties disputed his attorney's fee. A judge awarded less than counsel requested and denied payment for local travel time and interest on delayed reimbursement of costs. The Board found…
Moreb v. Kerry Inc.
Late FSMA appeal reinstated and remanded
Nora Moreb requested a hearing three days after the regulatory deadline for objecting to OSHA's dismissal of her food-safety retaliation complaint. The administrative judge raised timeliness on her own and dismissed the case after considering Moreb's explanation that the decision letter had gone to…
K.T. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Appleton International Airport
Board affirms TSA worker's COVID-19 claim denial for missing diagnosis (ECAB 23-0762)
A TSA airport worker claimed that she contracted COVID-19 after contact with passengers and coworkers at security checkpoints. She submitted a photograph of a home test and medical notes describing symptoms. The Board found that the self-test was not shown to have been monitored and verified by a…
A.E. and U.S. Postal Service, La Puente Post Office
Board reverses benefit termination and returns disputed diagnoses (ECAB 23-0756)
A postal mail carrier was struck by a vehicle at work, and OWCP accepted several contusions and sprains before terminating her benefits in 2019. Her treating physician and OWCP's examiner disagreed about continuing residuals and whether the claim should include shoulder and lumbar conditions. The…
T.S. and U.S. Postal Service, West Side Annex Post Office, Dubuque
Board affirms denial of postal carrier's workplace stress claim (ECAB 23-0213)
A postal carrier claimed that a supervisor's conduct during her route and after she clocked out aggravated her psychiatric conditions. OWCP denied the claim after finding no compensable work factor. The Board found no corroboration for allegations about comments to a coworker or repeated scanner…
E.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Baltimore
Board upholds postal worker's $2,525.94 benefit overpayment (ECAB 23-0138)
A former postal carrier received FECA wage loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits attributable in part to federal service without the required offset. The Board upheld OWCP's calculation of a $2,525.94 overpayment from July 2011 through May 2021. Although OWCP found him without…
A.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Birmingham
Board affirms denial of postal carrier's knee disease claim (ECAB 23-0111)
A rural postal carrier attributed deterioration of both knees to years of moving loaded mail containers on a ramp. OWCP requested a detailed account of the work factors, but she did not respond to its questionnaire. The Board found that the record did not sufficiently establish that the alleged…
P.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Bellevue Post Office
Board upholds 10 percent award for postal carrier's knee impairment (ECAB 23-0004)
A postal letter carrier sought a larger schedule award after an accepted right knee sprain and meniscus tear. OWCP awarded 10 percent permanent impairment of the right lower extremity, equal to 28.8 weeks of compensation. One examiner rated the impairment at 30 percent, but OWCP's medical adviser…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2344 and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Hershel "Woody" Williams VA Medical Center
AFGE Local 2344 and Hershel "Woody" Williams VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-5900): Authority upholds supervisor overtime assignment
A VA medical center allowed a maintenance supervisor to work overtime while two of four supervisory positions were vacant. AFGE Local 2344 argued that the collective-bargaining agreement required the agency to offer those hours to bargaining-unit employees. The arbitrator found that the supervisor…
Secretary of Labor obo Jimmy Lee Hoover v. Mosenecamanufacturer, LLC dba American Tripoli
Secretary of Labor obo Jimmy Lee Hoover v. American Tripoli (FMSHRC CENT 2024-0024): Temporary reinstatement ordered
Jimmy Lee Hoover testified that he declined to open an electrical breaker box and reach inside after the external reset failed because he believed the task was unsafe. American Tripoli terminated him the following day and argued that the discharge resulted from prior performance, attendance…
Secretary of Labor v. Buzzi Unicem USA
No explanation and four-month delay barred reopening
Buzzi Unicem asked to reopen a defaulted penalty case so it could explain why it disagreed with the alleged violations. It gave no reason for failing to answer the Secretary's petition, the show-cause order, or the default order. Buzzi also waited about four months after MSHA sent a delinquency…
E.S. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Pacific, Fort Shafter
Board upholds suspension of Army worker's medical benefits (ECAB 23-0801)
A former Army tools and parts attendant sought an increased schedule award for accepted foot conditions. OWCP scheduled an orthopedic examination in August 2022, which he missed while out of town, then scheduled another in November after his return. He missed that appointment as well. The Board…
S.O. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center
Board upholds VA mechanic's $8,614.61 benefit overpayment (ECAB 23-0718)
A VA electronics mechanic received FECA wage loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits attributable in part to federal service without the required offset. The Board upheld OWCP's calculation of an $8,614.61 overpayment from July 2020 through July 2022. Although OWCP found him…
B.D. and Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Minneapolis
Board requires merit review of veterinarian's fall injury claim (ECAB 23-0240)
A federal public health veterinarian sought reconsideration of a claim arising from a fall on a waxed floor at work. OWCP had accepted the incident and recognized diagnosed spinal subluxations, but found the medical evidence insufficient to establish causation. A chiropractor's later report…
C.L. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, El Paso
Board denies schedule award for border agent's unratable hearing loss (ECAB 23-0235)
A Border Patrol agent developed accepted hearing loss and tinnitus after repeated noise exposure during weapons and tactical training. He sought a schedule award, but a second opinion physician and OWCP's medical adviser calculated zero percent ratable hearing impairment under the AMA Guides. The…
D.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Cortese Station, San Jose
Board affirms denial of postal carrier's partial wage loss claim (ECAB 23-0173)
A postal carrier with an accepted right knee condition sought compensation for four hours of lost pay per day in September 2017. The employer had offered a temporary modified carrier position with duties that a contemporaneous medical examination found within his restrictions, but he declined it…
Barry Billcliff, dba Barry James, et al.
Roofing violations and personal liability affirmed
OSHA inspected roofing work at a hotel and conference center in Devens, Massachusetts, where workers lacked required inspections, head protection, fall protection, training, and compliant ladder access. Barry Billcliff denied controlling the project or employing anyone there, but the judge found…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution Englewood, Colorado and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 709, Council of Prison Locals #33
FCI Englewood and AFGE Local 709 (FLRA 0-AR-5889): Authority sets aside COVID hazard pay and remands remedy
AFGE Local 709 alleged that FCI Englewood failed to protect correctional employees from COVID-19 and owed them a 25 percent hazard-pay differential. An arbitrator found both a regulatory hazard-pay entitlement and a violation of the agreement's requirement to reduce correctional hazards, then…
Secretary of Labor obo Samuel Coleman v. Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor obo Samuel Coleman v. Warrior Met Coal Mining (FMSHRC SE 2024-0060): Temporary reinstatement granted
Samuel Coleman served as a designated miners' representative at Warrior Met Coal's No. 7 Mine. The Secretary alleged that Coleman questioned a supervisor about another miner's reported safety concerns and termination, said he would inspect the area, and raised a reflective-clothing issue before…
Sigma Air LLC
In re Sigma Air LLC (EAB CAA 23-08C): expedited settlement ratified
The Environmental Appeals Board issued a Final Order for Sigma Air LLC on December 12, 2023. The order says that the Board ratified an Expedited Settlement Agreement and Consent Agreement under 40 C.F.R. § 22.18(b)-(c), and ordered the company to comply with that agreement immediately. The public…
A.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Louis
Board affirms denial of postal worker's hand injury claim (ECAB 23-0076)
A postal general expeditor reported hand and forearm pain while assembling boxes at work. OWCP accepted the August 2020 incident and later recognized diagnoses of bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and right trigger thumb, but denied the injury claim. The Board found that her orthopedic surgeon…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Kansas City
Board returns postal carrier's unexplained fall claim for medical review (ECAB 22-0623)
A postal carrier fell while delivering mail and sustained a cervical fracture and other reported injuries. OWCP denied the claim because it treated the fall as caused by a personal medical condition. The Board found that no physician had identified a preexisting condition as the cause of the fall…
Steven E. Harper v. Heritage Coal Company, LLC
Board sends black lung attorney fee award back for explanation (BRB 23-0105)
After an administrative law judge awarded Steven Harper black lung benefits, his lawyer challenged the hourly rates used to calculate the attorney fee award. The Board found that the judge had not adequately explained reduced rates for two attorneys, a paralegal, and a legal assistant, and had…
Juanita Cavendish on behalf of Jamie K. Cavendish v. Landmark Corporation
Board upholds denial of coal miner’s benefits claim (BRB 22-0407)
Juanita Cavendish continued her late husband Jamie Cavendish’s black lung benefits claim and appealed its denial. The Board upheld the judge’s finding that his work as a dozer operator required light exertion as he actually performed it. It also upheld the judge’s decision to give less weight to…
Estate of Limuel J. Dye v. Sea “B” Mining Company, Incorporated
Board upholds denial of coal miner’s later benefits claim (BRB 22-0402)
The estate of coal miner Limuel Dye appealed the denial of his later black lung benefits claim. Although the parties agreed that Dye had more than 26 years of underground coal mine employment, the judge found that the evidence did not establish a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board…
F.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Brookhollow Station Post Office
F.L. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 23-1030): retirement benefit overpayment affirmed
A retired Postal Service letter carrier received FECA wage loss benefits and Social Security retirement benefits partly attributable to federal service. OWCP had not applied the required offset and found a $17,648.43 overpayment for June 2020 through September 2022. The Board upheld the…
P.J. and Department of Commerce, U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Publications Office
P.J. and Department of Commerce (ECAB 23-1025): appeal of informational letter dismissed
A Patent and Trademark Office employee tried to appeal a July 13, 2023 OWCP letter about why she received a schedule award instead of wage loss compensation for a period. The Board found that letter informational, not a final decision. A separate letter updating codes for accepted conditions was…
J.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Redmond Post Office
J.W. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 23-1007): related claims and worker statement require review
A Postal Service letter carrier claimed upper extremity conditions from handling packages. OWCP denied the claim, saying she had not responded to its request for details and it was unclear whether she had filed a duplicate claim. The Board found that OWCP had received her detailed account before…
J.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Columbus Processing and Distribution Center
Board upholds two percent award for postal worker's hip impairment (ECAB 23-0905)
A postal mail handler sought a larger schedule award for an accepted left hip and groin strain after slipping on a floor mat at work. His physician rated left leg impairment at five percent, while OWCP's medical adviser rated it at two percent under the sixth edition of the AMA Guides. The Board…
M.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Detroit Processing and Distribution Center
Board returns postal worker's schedule award claim for evidence review (ECAB 23-0813)
A postal clerk sought a schedule award for a 2013 injury involving an accepted right rotator cuff tear. OWCP denied the award, stating that she had not supplied evidence requested in its development letter. The Board found that OWCP had received a physician's note and other records before deciding…
C.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Santa Ana Window Services Post Office
Board orders new medical review of postal worker's elbow and neck claim (ECAB 23-0746)
A postal mail processing worker had an accepted claim for bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and wrist tenosynovitis. She sought to add elbow and cervical conditions. OWCP relied on a second opinion examiner who attributed cervical changes to age and discounted the elbow findings. The Board found…
K.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Greentree Post Office, Pittsburgh
Board affirms denial of postal worker's back injury claim (ECAB 23-0711)
A postal sales and distribution worker reported back pain after a bulk mail container struck him at work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the injury claim for lack of a medical diagnosis. His physician described low back pain with sciatica, which the Board treated as symptoms…
E.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Clover Post Office, Clovis
Board returns postal worker's stress claim for combined review (ECAB 23-0639)
A former postal carrier attributed migraines and psychiatric symptoms to her work environment. OWCP denied her latest claim after finding no compensable work factor. The Board found that three earlier claims involved similar migraine and emotional conditions and should be reviewed with the new…
D.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Fairfield VA Clinic C, Travis Air Force Base
Board orders further medical review of VA worker's fall injury claim (ECAB 23-0533)
A VA program support assistant fell when her chair rolled backward as she moved supplies. OWCP accepted the workplace incident but denied her injury claim, finding insufficient evidence that it caused her diagnosed conditions. Her physician explained how the fall could have aggravated a shoulder…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2338 and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, John J. Pershing VA Medical Center, Poplar Bluff, Missouri
AFGE Local 2338 and John J. Pershing VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-5906): Authority denies additional-compensation exceptions
A VA employee challenged the denial of telework and official time following surgery, alleging disability discrimination and retaliation for union activity. During informal resolution, the agency approved temporary telework, removed the employee's absence-without-leave entries, and reimbursed…
Cecil Matney, Jr. v. Rockwell Mining, LLC
Cecil Matney, Jr. v. Rockwell Mining (FMSHRC WEVA 2023-0126): Part 90 complaint sustained
Cecil Matney developed black lung disease and exercised his Part 90 right to work in a lower-dust environment. The judge found that Rockwell Mining kept him as a move crew foreman whose required duties exposed him to excessive dust and changed his work conditions while dust sampling occurred…
Johnny Charles v. Aracoma Coal Company, LLC
Board upholds coal miner’s benefits award based on disabling lung tests (BRB 23-0044)
Aracoma Coal Company appealed a black lung benefits award to former coal miner Johnny Charles. The Board upheld the judge’s finding of total respiratory disability based on qualifying pulmonary function studies. It also upheld the finding that the company had not rebutted the statutory presumption…
Phillip J. Martin v. Dakota, LLC
Board sends coal miner’s benefits award back for another review of x-rays (BRB 22-0403)
Dakota, LLC appealed a black lung benefits award to former coal miner Phillip Martin. The judge had found complicated pneumoconiosis from conflicting x-ray readings and awarded benefits. The Board held that she relied on the number of positive readings without adequately addressing the readers’…
L.C., claiming as widow of T.C., and Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation
L.C. and Department of the Interior (ECAB 23-0986): survivor claim reopened for merits review
A powerplant dispatcher died after a hemorrhagic stroke, and his widow sought survivor’s benefits, alleging that rotating shifts aggravated his hypertension. OWCP had denied benefits and later refused to reconsider the claim. The widow argued that the impartial physician had applied an incorrect…
J.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Fond du Lac Post Office
J.F. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 23-0963): spine claim returned for reasoned medical opinion
A Postal Service letter carrier attributed cervical and lumbar conditions to repeated physical demands of her work. OWCP denied the claim after a second opinion physician said the work did not cause those conditions. The Board found that he relied on general medical literature without explaining…
C.H. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution Herlong
Board orders medical review of prison officer's back injury claim (ECAB 23-0767)
A federal correctional officer reported lower back pain after rising from a crouch while inspecting a vehicle for contraband. OWCP accepted the work incident but denied his injury claim for lack of sufficient medical evidence linking it to his back condition. His orthopedic surgeon described how…
J.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Lawrence Post Office
Board reverses treatment of postal worker's wage-capacity request as late reconsideration (ECAB 23-0662)
A postal carrier sought restoration of wage-loss compensation after OWCP reduced it based on a part-time job offer. She later submitted medical evidence and said she could not perform that job. OWCP treated her request as an untimely reconsideration petition and denied review. The Board held that…
K.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Rock Island
Board upholds denial of late written-record review request (ECAB 23-0519)
A postal carrier reported twisting his ankle and falling while at work. OWCP denied the injury claim because the medical evidence did not sufficiently link a condition to the incident. He asked for a review of the written record more than 30 days after that decision. The Board held that the request…
S.P. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Margaret Cochran Corbin Veterans Affairs Campus
Board orders merits review of VA clerk's COVID-19 pay claim (ECAB 23-0314)
A VA medical clerk claimed she contracted COVID-19 at work and sought continuation of pay. OWCP denied that pay because she filed the required claim form more than 30 days after the alleged injury. She asked OWCP to reconsider, explaining that she had told supervisors about her illness and had been…
R.S. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service
Board orders a new filing-date review of IRS worker's COVID-19 pay claim (ECAB 23-0283)
An IRS tax examiner reported COVID-19 after working near infected people and sought continuation of pay. OWCP denied it because he submitted the claim form more than 30 days after the injury date it used. The Board found that OWCP had not applied its COVID-19 guidance, which uses the last exposure…
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Boston, MA
Board upholds forfeiture and overpayment after unreported rescue work (ECAB 21-0913)
A postal employee received wage-loss compensation after a workplace fall. OWCP found that she had not reported her activities running a dog rescue and volunteering with rescue groups on forms asking about employment and business activity. The Board agreed that those activities had to be reported…
Y.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Cornell Post Office
Y.D. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 23-0971): COVID claim and late written review denial affirmed
A Postal Service carrier reported COVID-19 symptoms and sought compensation for an alleged work infection. The Board found that the submitted laboratory test was negative and a medical visit summary did not explain how its COVID-19 diagnosis was reached or link it to work. It affirmed OWCP’s…
P.W. and Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics
Board upholds refusal to reopen BLS worker's disability claim (ECAB 23-0643)
A Bureau of Labor Statistics economist sought wage-loss compensation after an earlier work-related vehicle crash. OWCP had accepted several injuries but denied her later claim that the conditions caused a new period of disability. She requested reconsideration and submitted additional medical…
S.H. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration
Board orders impartial examination of FAA worker's impairment claim (ECAB 23-0216)
An FAA inspector sought a schedule award after a work-related fall caused several accepted spine and ankle conditions. Her physician rated permanent impairment in her extremities, while an OWCP second-opinion physician found no ratable impairment. The Board found a material conflict between their…
L.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Lancaster Post Office
Board affirms denial of postal worker's renewed disability claim (ECAB 23-0122)
A postal worker had accepted back and neck injuries from a 2002 vehicle collision and later worked in modified jobs. She stopped work in December 2021 and sought compensation for a recurrence of total disability. Her physician linked her condition to the old injury but also described a separate…
D.A. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Alexandria Medical Center
Board affirms denial of VA nurse's disability pay for 2018 period (ECAB 22-1174)
A VA nurse suffered an accepted upper-arm contusion after a coworker pushed her at work. OWCP later also accepted her myasthenia gravis condition, but denied wage-loss compensation for a two-week period in 2018. Her physicians described symptoms and time away from work, but the Board found they did…
S.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Office Little Rock Post Office
Board upholds denial of late request to revisit postal carrier's benefits termination (ECAB 22-1070)
A postal carrier lost wage-loss and schedule-award benefits after OWCP found he refused a suitable modified job. More than a year after OWCP's last merits ruling, he asked for reconsideration and said he had accepted modified work by telephone. The Board held the request was late. It also found…
J.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Charlotte Processing and Distribution Center
Board affirms denial of postal truck driver's nasal exposure claim (ECAB 22-0883)
A postal tractor-trailer driver said years of vehicle fumes and secondhand smoke caused chronic nasal problems. OWCP accepted that the exposures occurred but denied the occupational disease claim for lack of a sufficient medical link. His physician diagnosed nasal conditions and cited medical…
J.L. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Conroe VA Clinic
Board affirms VA technician's thumb claim denial and hearing abandonment (ECAB 22-0454)
A VA radiology technician developed left thumb pain while operating x-ray equipment. OWCP denied her traumatic injury claim, and she missed a scheduled telephone hearing. The Board found that her physician's overuse explanation relied on a full day's average workload, although she worked only part…
Secretary of Labor obo Jordan Kelser v. Peabody Southeast Mining, LLC, et al
Secretary of Labor obo Jordan Kelser v. Peabody Southeast Mining and Jennmar Services (FMSHRC SE 2024-0025): Temporary reinstatement granted
Jordan Kelser worked at Peabody's Shoal Creek Mine through staffing company Jennmar Services. He testified that a conveyor started while he was working on it without lockout protection, causing ankle and lower-back injuries as he pulled himself off, and that a foreman then urged him not to report…
Secretary of Labor v. Select Materials
Uncollected certified mail barred reopening
Select Materials said it never received a proposed assessment and first learned of the penalties when MSHA hand-delivered a collection letter. Postal records showed that certified delivery had been attempted at the operator's correct Ohio address and that multiple notices went uncollected before…
Secretary of Labor v. St. Marys Cement
Proactive data review supported reopening
St. Marys Cement received a proposed assessment shortly before Christmas while personnel were absent and safety leadership was changing. The company also mistakenly believed the citation had been contested through a different assessment. It discovered the error while proactively reviewing MSHA's…
Secretary of Labor v. Heidelberg Materials US Cement, LLC
Omitted scan page supported reopening
Heidelberg Materials timely contested five penalties but unintentionally omitted the assessment's fourth page when scanning the contest form. Three citations on that page were therefore not included. After the Secretary filed a petition on the timely contests, Heidelberg reviewed the filing…
C.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Palmer Post Office
C.M. and U.S. Postal Service (ECAB 23-1037): shoulder diagnosis established, causation sent back
A Postal Service clerk reported a left shoulder injury after lifting boxes at work. OWCP accepted that the January 26, 2023 incident occurred but denied her claim for lack of a diagnosed condition. The Board found that a physician’s report diagnosed a left shoulder muscle strain. It reversed OWCP’s…
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.