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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American Federation of Government Employees, National Council of Field Labor Locals, Local 644 and U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Assistant Secretary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
AFGE Local 644 and Labor Department (FLRA 0-NG-1716): Telephone duty rotation rejected
The union proposed assigning duty officers to telephone duty for no more than one day at a time and cycling through the whole pool before reassigning anyone. The Labor Department preferred weeklong assignments, and argued that the proposal would disrupt other work. The Authority found that the…
U.S. Department of Defense, Marine Corps Logistics Base, Barstow, California and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1492
Barstow Marine Corps Logistics Base and AFGE Local 1492 (FLRA 0-AR-1902): Interest added to back pay
The Marine Corps Logistics Base failed to provide an employee eight hours of work during reduced holiday operations and charged him leave without pay. An arbitrator ordered eight hours of back pay but denied interest. The union challenged only the denial of interest. The Authority held that the…
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Baltimore, Maryland and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1336
Social Security Administration and AFGE Local 1336 (FLRA 0-AR-1885): Union harassment award upheld
A Social Security union claimed that management harassed a local union president through a reprimand and related actions. An arbitrator denied the grievance and the union's request for official time and expenses. The union argued that the arbitrator mishandled evidence and failed to decide its…
U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Public Debt, Washington, D.C. and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 199
Bureau of the Public Debt and NTEU Chapter 199 (FLRA 0-AR-1862): Medical diagnosis requirement rejected
The Bureau of the Public Debt required employees under sick leave restrictions to include a diagnosis with a medical certificate. The union grieved the new requirement, and an arbitrator found that it violated the parties' labor agreement. The agency argued that the award interfered with management…
U.S. Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Oklahoma City District, Lawton, Oklahoma and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 45
Lawton IRS office and NTEU Chapter 45 (FLRA 0-AR-1850): Suspension and fee remedies remanded
An IRS employee challenged two separate 14 day suspensions and a proposed reassignment. The arbitrator rescinded the first suspension and found the second unjustified, but denied a remedy for the second after treating it as outside the grievance. The Authority held that the parties had stipulated…
Randy Coal Company
Default order vacated and case remanded
Randy Coal failed to answer a civil penalty proposal and did not respond to a judge's show-cause order, so the judge entered a default order assessing a $98 penalty. The company later sent a letter saying it believed it had been released from the violation. The Commission treated the letter as a…
U.S. Department of the Navy, Navy Resale and Services Support Office, Field Support Office, Auburn, Washington and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2600
Auburn Navy Resale Office and AFGE Local 2600 (FLRA 9-CA-80408): Employee addresses ordered disclosed
AFGE Local 2600 requested home mailing addresses of bargaining unit employees at the Navy's Auburn field support office so it could send them union material. The office refused. The parties agreed that the names and addresses were normally maintained and reasonably available. The Authority found…
U.S. Department of Defense, Army and Air Force Exchange Service, Dallas, Texas and Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 738
Fort Leavenworth Exchange Service and AFGE Local 738 (FLRA 7-CA-90064): Employee addresses ordered disclosed
AFGE Local 738 requested names and home addresses of bargaining unit employees at the Fort Leavenworth Army and Air Force Exchange Service. The Dallas and Fort Leavenworth offices refused. An administrative law judge found an unfair labor practice. The Authority adopted that finding and ordered…
U.S. Department of the Treasury, Customs Service, Washington, D.C. and Customs Service, Region IV, Miami, Florida and National Treasury Employees Union
Customs Service Region IV and NTEU (FLRA 4-CA-90748): Award compliance notice expanded
Customs Service Region IV failed to comply promptly with a final arbitration award requiring payment of attorney fees to the union. An administrative law judge found an unfair labor practice and ordered a notice at Miami facilities. The union sought a notice throughout Region IV because the…
U.S. Department of the Navy and Navy CBC Exchange, Construction Battalion Center, Gulfport, Mississippi and United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local 1657
Gulfport Navy Exchange and UFCW Local 1657 (FLRA 4-CA-90054): Local address refusal unlawful
UFCW Local 1657 requested the names and home addresses of employees at the Gulfport Navy exchange. The local exchange refused. An administrative law judge found the exchange liable but dismissed the complaint against the Navy headquarters because it had not directed the refusal. The Authority…
U.S. Department of the Navy and Pensacola Navy Exchange, Pensacola, Florida and United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local 1657
Pensacola Navy Exchange and UFCW Local 1657 (FLRA 4-CA-80807): Local address refusal unlawful
UFCW Local 1657 requested the names and home addresses of unit employees at the Pensacola Navy Exchange. The local exchange refused. An administrative law judge found the exchange responsible, while rejecting the claim that Navy headquarters directed the refusal or otherwise interfered with the…
U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Ocean Service and Marine Engineers Beneficial Association, District No. 1, Pacific Coast District
National Ocean Service and Marine Engineers union (FLRA 3-CA-80344): Shipboard employee addresses ordered disclosed
The marine engineers' union requested names and home addresses of employees aboard National Ocean Service ships. It needed to contact them about a possible union merger and related representational matters, while the ships spent much of their time away from port. The agency refused. The Authority…
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 611 and U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Rio Grande Project
IBEW Local 611 and Rio Grande Project (FLRA 0-NG-1161): Sunday premium pay proposal rejected
IBEW Local 611 sought to preserve Sunday premium pay for prevailing rate employees at the Rio Grande Project. After a court reversed an earlier bargaining order, the Authority had to decide whether the employees had a statutory entitlement to that pay. It concluded that employees whose wages were…
U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service and American Federation of Government Employees, National Immigration and Naturalization Service Council, Local 1917
INS and AFGE Local 1917 (FLRA 0-AR-1767): Biweekly training for detailed officers upheld
The Immigration and Naturalization Service detailed deportation officers to guard duties at a detention center. An arbitrator found that the labor agreement required training and that the training provided was deficient. He ordered biweekly training for officers on the detail. The agency challenged…
U.S. Department of the Navy, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, New Hampshire and International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 4
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and IFPTE Local 4 (FLRA 1-CA-90287): Employee address disclosure affirmed
IFPTE Local 4 requested the names and home addresses of employees it represented at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. The shipyard refused, arguing that disclosure conflicted with privacy law. The Authority held that home mailing served the public interest in effective federal collective bargaining and…
U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval Communications Unit Cutler, East Machias, Maine and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2635
Naval Communications Unit Cutler and AFGE Local 2635 (FLRA 1-CA-90178): Employee addresses ordered disclosed
AFGE Local 2635 requested the names and home addresses of bargaining unit employees at Naval Communications Unit Cutler. The unit refused, and an administrative law judge found an unfair labor practice. The Authority adopted that finding and rejected an advance confidentiality choice as a condition…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, Griffiss Air Force Base, Rome, New York and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2612
Griffiss Air Force Base and AFGE Local 2612 (FLRA 1-CA-70219): Traffic referral policy bargaining ordered
Griffiss Air Force Base began referring certain traffic offenses by off duty employees to federal magistrate court without giving the union notice and a chance to bargain over the effects. The Authority agreed that this changed a condition of employment and violated the bargaining duty. It left…
U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, El Reno, Oklahoma and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 171
FCI El Reno and AFGE Local 171 (FLRA 0-AR-1826): Asbestos differential pay remanded
Employees at FCI El Reno sought environmental differential pay for asbestos abatement work. An arbitrator awarded the differential and ordered compliance with asbestos handling rules, but did not make the findings needed to show that airborne fibers created a potential for illness or injury that…
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Providence, Rhode Island and Laborers International Union of North America, Local 1056
Providence VA Medical Center and Laborers Local 1056 (FLRA 0-AR-1792): Carpenter bargaining remedy narrowed
The Providence VA Medical Center added masonry removal and related duties to a carpenter's position description. An arbitrator ordered the change held while the parties negotiated a resolution. The Authority found that the award improperly required bargaining over management's decision to change…
American Asbestos Control Co.
Asbestos-removal citations withdrawn
American Asbestos Control removed insulation from an aluminizing pot without a negative-pressure enclosure or a connected decontamination area. A nearby bulk sample contained 70 percent asbestos, although the contractor's air samples were well below the permissible exposure limit. The ALJ held that…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R14-73 and U.S. Department of Defense, National Guard Bureau, Missouri Army National Guard
Missouri National Guard and NAGE Local R14-73 (FLRA 0-NG-1798): Work schedule bargaining proposal rejected
The union proposed that it could raise flexible or alternative work schedules for Missouri National Guard technicians during the agreement's term. The agency argued that the proposal conflicted with the National Guard Technician Act, which reserves the setting of technician work hours. The…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R1-109 and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Newington, Connecticut
NAGE Local R1-109 and Newington VA (FLRA 0-NG-1696): Debt collection proposals divided
The union proposed procedures for collecting federal debts from VA employees' pay and asked to pause deductions while bargaining continued. The Authority found negotiable procedures for employment related debts owed to the VA and some protections concerning veterans' benefit debts. It rejected…
Union of Public Works Center San Francisco Bay Employees and U.S. Department of the Navy, Navy Public Works Center, San Francisco, California
San Francisco Navy Public Works Center (FLRA 0-AR-1859): Travel reimbursement denial upheld
Three Navy Public Works Center employees sought reimbursement for travel from their homes to a facility in Novato after being reassigned there from Alameda. An arbitrator denied the grievance, finding that the reassignment was permanent rather than temporary and that the claims also were late. The…
Armour Food Company
Two guarding items affirmed and six items vacated
OSHA cited multiple conditions at Armour's meat-processing plant, and the Commission reviewed selected personal-protective-equipment, machine-guarding, power-transmission, centrifuge, and compressed-gas items. It vacated the mesh-glove item because OSHA did not prove that sharpening slicer blades…
U.S. Department of the Army, Army Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1858
Redstone Arsenal and AFGE Local 1858 (FLRA 0-AR-1793): Higher travel per diem award set aside
An Army Missile Command employee on temporary duty in Saudi Arabia sought a higher meal per diem after a management official had promised he could eat outside government facilities. An arbitrator ordered the higher reimbursement on an equitable estoppel theory. The Authority found no statutory or…
General Services Administration and American Federation of Government Employees, Council 236
GSA and AFGE Council 236 (FLRA 0-AR-1601): Pan Am Games overtime denial vacated
Federal Protection Officers guarded sites for the 1987 Pan Am Games and used an equipment room at their motel to collect and return weapons before and after their shifts. An arbitrator denied overtime to most officers for that preparatory and concluding activity. The Authority found the denial…
Old Energy Incorporated
$2,600 civil penalty imposed after default
MSHA sought civil penalties against Old Energy Incorporated in a proceeding involving the Old Energy No. 1 mine. No authorized company representative appeared for the scheduled hearing, and the judge found the operator in default. A company custodian produced financial records but said she was not…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R12-105 and U.S. Department of Defense, National Guard Bureau, California National Guard
California National Guard and NAGE Local R12-105 (FLRA O-NG-1794): Fitness time proposal rejected
The union proposed three hours each week of extended lunch or break time for California National Guard technicians to exercise. It argued that the arrangement would help employees meet physical fitness requirements tied to their Guard membership and civilian jobs. The Authority found that the…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 243 and U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Arlington, Virginia
Patent and Trademark Office and NTEU Chapter 243 (FLRA O-AR-1877): Second performance opportunity upheld
The Patent and Trademark Office downgraded an application clerk after performance problems, then settled a grievance by promising a refresher and a 90 day chance to demonstrate acceptable work in the former position. An arbitrator found that the office had not provided a genuine opportunity under…
Zeigler Coal Company
Abandoned-panel citation vacated
MSHA cited Zeigler Coal Company for allegedly failing to ventilate an abandoned panel at the Murdock Mine under 30 C.F.R. § 75.329-1(a). Judge George A. Koutras found that the standard applied only to abandoned areas already in existence by December 30, 1970, while this panel was developed in 1987…
Matter of Sanchez
An immigration detainer did not create Service custody
The Board reviewed a bond dispute involving a 25-year-old lawful permanent resident of Argentina who was incarcerated in a Maryland state prison after a cocaine conviction. The Immigration and Naturalization Service had placed an immigration detainer on him and an Immigration Judge concluded that…
U.S. Department of the Army, Fort Stewart Schools, Fort Stewart, Georgia and Fort Stewart Association of Educators, National Education Association
Fort Stewart Schools and educators union (FLRA 4-CA-50417): Compensation proposal bargaining ordered
Fort Stewart Schools refused to bargain over teachers' proposals for cost of living adjustments and lump sum payments for unused sick leave. The school system had declared the proposals nonnegotiable in October 1984, despite an earlier Authority decision on substantially similar proposals. The…
International Association of Fire Fighters, Local F-33 and U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval Air Station San Diego, California
San Diego naval firefighters and Navy (FLRA 0-NG-1867): Late negotiability petition dismissed
The firefighters' union challenged a Navy allegation that its proposal was nonnegotiable. The allegation was dated July 30, 1990, and the union's petition was postmarked August 24, after the August 20 deadline. The union acknowledged the late filing and said it had received improper information…
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 2159 and U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Salt Lake City, Utah
IBEW Local 2159 and Bureau of Reclamation (FLRA 0-NG-1855): Late petition correction rejected
The union filed a negotiability petition that had not been served on the required agency representatives. The Authority gave it until September 4 to correct the defects. The union submitted its response on September 6 and requested a two day extension, citing a holiday and computer changes. The…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R1-109 and Veterans Administration Medical Center, Newington, Connecticut
Newington VA and NAGE Local R1-109 (FLRA 0-NG-1628): Rest break proposals divided
The Newington VA Medical Center ended a practice of giving Dietetic Service employees 30 minute paid rest breaks. The union proposed alternative break rules. The Authority found Proposal 2 negotiable because it allowed a 30 minute period that could combine paid and unpaid time and did not require…
U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval Avionics Center, Indianapolis, Indiana and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1744
Naval Avionics Center and AFGE Local 1744 (FLRA 0-AR-1882): Earlier differential pay denied
The Naval Avionics Center began paying employees in two departments a 4 percent environmental differential and made it retroactive for a limited period. The union sought six years of retroactive pay. An arbitrator rejected that claim, and the union argued that the claims statute and Back Pay Act…
Golden Oak Mining Company, L.P.
Review dismissed after waiver granted
Golden Oak Mining sought review of an ALJ decision concerning a surface bathing facility at its underground coal mine. The ALJ had found a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.1712-1 and concluded that MSHA did not abuse its discretion in denying a waiver. Golden Oak reported that MSHA later granted the…
National Weather Service Employees Organization and U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service
Honolulu Weather Service and employees union (FLRA 0-NG-1619): Shift schedule trial negotiable
The Honolulu Weather Service Forecast Office planned to change shift start and end times. The union proposed a trial of the new schedule, a comparison of commuting times, and a return to the old schedule while bargaining occurred. The agency argued that the proposal interfered with its scheduling…
U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service and American Federation of Government Employees, National Border Patrol Council
INS and Border Patrol Council (FLRA 0-AR-1874): Official time award upheld
The Border Patrol union president asked for official time to investigate and file unfair labor practice charges. INS denied the request. An arbitrator found that the labor agreement allowed this work on official time and ordered restoration of 24 hours of annual leave plus straight time…
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Buffalo, New York and Service Employees International Union, Local 200-C
Buffalo VA and SEIU Local 200-C (FLRA 0-AR-1809): Promotion qualification question remanded
A Buffalo VA pharmacy clerk performed duties of a higher graded secretary position. An arbitrator awarded a temporary promotion and back pay, but the agency challenged the award. The Authority found that an employee must meet the minimum qualifications for the higher graded job before receiving a…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 987 and U.S. Department of the Air Force, Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia
Robins Air Force Base and AFGE Local 987 (FLRA 0-AR-1801): Promotion grievance sent back for merits
An employee at Robins Air Force Base sought back pay and experience credit for higher graded duties. The arbitrator ruled that the grievance was an excluded classification dispute and did not reach the merits. The Authority held that the employee was seeking a temporary promotion under the labor…
Sanger Rock and Sand
Citation case remanded
MSHA cited Sanger Rock and Sand for alleged violations involving 30 C.F.R. §§ 56.12028 and 56.14007. The ALJ vacated the citations after finding that MSHA had not shown compliance with the Administrative Procedure Act's publication requirements for the agency's organization and delegated authority…
Roger Deel, employed by Blackfoot Coal Company, Inc.
Roof-control penalty reduced to $50
MSHA charged Roger Deel, a section foreman at Blackfoot Coal Company's No. 1 Mine, with knowingly violating the mine's roof-control requirements. The judge found that Deel followed a management practice of mining from left to right even though the roof-control plan required mining from right to…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3302 and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Dunbar Branch Office, Baltimore, Maryland
Dunbar Social Security office and AFGE Local 3302 (FLRA 0-NG-1704): Safer claimant interviews negotiable
AFGE Local 3302 proposed that employees interviewing irate or potentially dangerous claimants use a private or more controllable area and not be left alone. The Social Security Administration said the proposal restricted its internal security and staffing choices. The Authority agreed that it…
Windsor Coal Company
One order affirmed and one modified
MSHA cited Windsor Coal for unsafe roof conditions in a primary escapeway and for inadequate ventilation at a battery-charging station. Judge Gary Melick found the escapeway violation under 30 C.F.R. § 75.1704 significant and substantial and caused by unwarrantable failure, because warning tags and…
Westmoreland Coal Company
Unguarded trolley wire violation upheld
MSHA cited Westmoreland Coal after finding an unguarded 300-volt trolley wire at the Bullitt Mine where miners regularly traveled by mantrip. Judge Avram Weisberger held that miners passing within about one inch of the energized wire established a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.1003(a). He found the…
Energy Mining Corporation and/or Utah Power & Light Company
Wilberg Mine settlement approved
These consolidated contest and civil penalty proceedings arose from the Wilberg Mine fire disaster in Utah. The ALJ approved a settlement resolving 24 alleged violations in three civil penalty dockets, reducing the outstanding total from $106,749 to a voluntary payment of $95,000. The order…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2024 and U.S. Department of the Navy, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and AFGE Local 2024 (FLRA 0-NG-1570): Leave and placement proposals divided
The union proposed rules for annual leave, limiting displacement during a reduction in force, and placing employees with medical restrictions. The Authority found the leave proposal nonnegotiable because it would require approval unless a critical job could not be done, excessively limiting work…
U.S. Department of Defense, Dependent Schools and Overseas Education Association
DoD Dependent Schools and Overseas Education Association (FLRA O-AR-1796): Quarters allowance denial upheld
A teacher hired locally by DoD schools in Germany sought a living quarters allowance after her Air Force spouse retired and later took a civilian job in Belgium. An arbitrator denied her grievance under the applicable allowance rules. The union argued that mandatory waiver provisions applied after…
Overseas Education Association and U.S. Department of Defense, Dependent Schools
Overseas Education Association and DoD schools (FLRA O-AR-1733): Quarters allowance waiver remanded
A DoD schools teacher in Germany sought a living quarters allowance after her divorce. An arbitrator denied the grievance after considering whether unusual circumstances warranted a discretionary waiver. The Authority found that the agency rule also provided a separate mandatory waiver for…
U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Yuma Projects Office, Yuma, Arizona and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1487
Yuma Bureau of Reclamation and NFFE Local 1487 (FLRA 8-CU-00002): Two secretaries excluded from unit
The union sought to clarify which Yuma Projects Office secretarial positions belonged in its bargaining unit. A regional director included two secretaries who worked for managers involved in labor relations. The Authority found that Barbara Newhard and Pamela Drapala had confidential relationships…
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Baltimore, Maryland and Hartford District Office, Hartford, Connecticut and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1164
Hartford Social Security office and AFGE Local 1164 (FLRA 1-CA-70346): Reassignment bargaining and back pay ordered
The Hartford Social Security office reassigned a field representative to a claims representative job without completing bargaining about the change's impact and implementation. The Authority found an unfair labor practice because the reassignment had more than a minor effect on employees. It…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 987 and U.S. Department of the Air Force, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia
Robins Air Force Base and AFGE Local 987 (FLRA 0-NG-1635): Gate delay proposals divided
Robins Air Force Base planned to move security fencing and change access to its flightline. The union proposed security measures at the new gates, protection against discipline for lateness caused by gate malfunctions, and overtime for delays leaving after a shift. The Authority found the security…
National Association of Government Employees and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Brockton and West Roxbury, Massachusetts
Brockton and West Roxbury VA and NAGE (FLRA 0-NG-1559): Detail travel proposals rejected
The union proposed rules for employees detailed between the Brockton and West Roxbury divisions of one VA medical center. One rule required shuttle users to return during duty hours and receive overtime if travel ran late. Another would let employees who drove their own cars remain at the detail…
U.S. Department of the Treasury, U.S. Customs Service and National Treasury Employees Union
Customs Service and NTEU (FLRA 0-AR-1781): Canine officer suspension rescission upheld
A Customs canine enforcement officer declined an overtime assignment after working 26 of the prior 33 hours. Customs suspended him for five days for refusing the assignment and for rudeness. An arbitrator rescinded the suspension, finding that management had not weighed the officer's exhaustion…
U.S. Department of the Army, Fort Campbell District, Third Region, Fort Campbell, Kentucky and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2022
Fort Campbell and AFGE Local 2022 (FLRA 0-AR-1640): Travel claim recoupment remanded
The Army recouped $418.80 from an employee's travel payment after questioning laundry and tip expenses. An arbitrator ordered repayment without resolving whether the employee had filed a false claim. The Authority held that the applicable travel rule required disallowing a day's per diem if a…
Gateway Coal Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Joseph S. Colamartino alleged that a Gateway Coal foreman assaulted him because he wanted to rib-pin an area he believed needed support. Judge Roy J. Maurer found that Colamartino had not engaged in protected safety activity because he did not show a good-faith, reasonable safety concern or…
San Juan Cement Company, Inc.
Three violations affirmed
San Juan Cement operated an open-pit limestone quarry and cement plant at the Cantera Espinosa Mine in Puerto Rico. The case involved three citations issued after a truck driver died in an incident involving a high-voltage powerline, along with other electrical and equipment conditions. Judge John…
Trumid Construction Co., Inc.
Serious trench-support and hard-hat violations affirmed
A Trumid employee was fatally injured when a trench wall collapsed during pipe-laying work, and the company did not report the accident to OSHA. The ALJ vacated the trench-support item after measuring depth from a bench below the original ground level, but affirmed a hard-hat violation. The…
Calang Corporation
Willful trench violations affirmed with $8,000 penalty
Calang employees and the company president worked in a roughly nine-foot-deep sewer trench with sandy soil, inadequate sloping, no shoring, and a spoil pile at the trench edge. Before excavation began, the OSHA inspector told the president that the trench needed approximately one-to-one sloping or…
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.