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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Robert Thomas v. CalPortland Company and Secretary of Labor v. CalPortland Company
Robert Thomas v. CalPortland Company (FMSHRC WEST 2018-0402-DM): Discrimination relief reinstated and damages ordered
Robert Thomas brought a Mine Act discrimination case against CalPortland arising from his suspension and termination. After the Ninth Circuit vacated the Commission's contrary decision and the Commission remanded for damages, Judge Alan G. Paez reinstated the earlier back-pay and attorney-fee…
James Reese v. Consolidation Coal Company
Reese v. Consolidation Coal (BRB 25-0168): Black lung benefits award affirmed
James Reese sought black lung benefits after 18 years of qualifying coal mine work. The judge found a totally disabling respiratory impairment and applied a statutory presumption that pneumoconiosis caused the disability. A Board majority affirmed the judge's finding that Consolidation Coal had not…
Duggan v. FreedomRoads LLC
Case remanded for reconsideration
Daniel Duggan petitioned the Administrative Review Board after an ALJ dismissed his Consumer Financial Protection Act case. He also asked the Board to hold his petition while the ALJ considered his timely motion for reconsideration. The ARB explained that the motion extended the review period but…
In re Hacker
Case dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
Rachel Hacker asked the Administrative Review Board to review a Wage and Hour Division letter declining to accept information about alleged H-2B violations by Whitepine Forestry. The ARB ordered her to explain why the matter was within its jurisdiction and ripe for review, but she did not file the…
Oyola v. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Dismissal vacated and case remanded
Kendrick Oyola brought whistleblower claims under the National Transit Systems Security Act and the Affordable Care Act against the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. The ALJ dismissed the complaint with prejudice after addressing a venue issue, but Oyola had not filed a federal court…
S.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Harrisburg Post Office
Postal worker's injury claim lacks medical causation evidence (ECAB 26-0330)
A postal worker sought FECA benefits for a condition she attributed to an accepted October 8, 2025 work incident. The Board found that her physician diagnosed left arm conditions but did not explain how the accepted incident caused them. It affirmed OWCP's denial because the medical record did not…
E.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Morgan Processing and Distribution Center
Postal worker must repay overlapping retirement and injury benefits (ECAB 26-0308)
A postal worker received FECA wage-loss payments while also receiving federal retirement benefits from June 1 through July 13, 2024. OWCP found a $5,923.99 overpayment without fault. The Board upheld that amount and the denial of waiver because she did not provide the requested financial…
L.P. and Department of Defense, Defense Contract Audit Agency
Board upholds recovery of retirement benefit overpayment (ECAB 26-0301)
A Defense Contract Audit Agency auditor received FECA wage-loss benefits and Social Security age-related retirement benefits without the required offset. The Board upheld OWCP's $22,468.73 overpayment finding for November 2022 through November 2024, although the worker was without fault. It also…
B.E. and Department of the Air Force, Edwards Air Force Base
Conflicting accounts leave workplace wrist incident unproved (ECAB 26-0221)
An Air Force child development program technician reported a left wrist injury involving a child at work. Her claim form described a child bumping her wrist, while medical evidence described a child falling on it. She did not clarify the discrepancy after OWCP requested more information. The Board…
Larry A. Sarvey v. Doverspike Brothers Coal Company
Sarvey v. Doverspike Brothers Coal (BRB 25-0210): Black lung benefits award affirmed
Larry Sarvey sought black lung benefits after 11 years of coal mine work, too few to invoke the statutory fifteen-year presumption. The judge instead found that the evidence directly established clinical and legal pneumoconiosis and a totally disabling impairment caused by legal pneumoconiosis…
Walter Griffin v. Consol Mining Company, LLC
Griffin v. Consol Mining (BRB 25-0184): Black lung benefits award affirmed
Walter Griffin sought black lung benefits after a prior claim had been denied. The judge credited him with 15.12 years of underground coal mine work and found a totally disabling respiratory impairment, allowing him to invoke the statutory presumption of disability due to pneumoconiosis. Consol…
Robert Kalyowa v. SOC, LLC
Kalyowa v. SOC (BRB 24-0388): Benefits denial returned for a written decision
Robert Kalyowa worked for SOC in Iraq and sought benefits for an alleged work-related psychological injury. The judge denied the claim after announcing findings during a hearing and then issuing a written order that adopted the hearing transcript. Kalyowa appealed without a lawyer. The Board held…
In re Jefferson
Appeal dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
Patricia Jefferson asked the Administrative Review Board to review a Wage and Hour Division decision declining to investigate her overtime complaint. She also raised claims involving an on-the-job injury, disability accommodations, and federal employee compensation. The ARB explained that its…
Artis v. Atlanta Cheesecake Co.
TFA retaliation complaint dismissed
Dorothy Artis alleged that Atlanta Cheesecake Co. retaliated against her under the Taxpayer First Act after she filed an EEOC charge. The charge primarily described sexual harassment and race discrimination and briefly mentioned an employee working illegally under a false name. The ARB held that…
A.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, South Texas Veterans' Health Care System
Board dismisses appeal filed after 180-day deadline (ECAB 26-0522)
A Veterans Affairs employee appealed an OWCP decision issued November 3, 2025. The Board found that the May 15, 2026 appeal came after the applicable 180-day filing period, which ended on May 4, 2026 after the weekend extension. It found no documented compelling circumstances sufficient to excuse…
M.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Queens Village Post Office
Board dismisses late appeal of postal worker's claim (ECAB 26-0500)
A postal worker appealed an OWCP decision issued October 17, 2025. The Board calculated the 180-day appeal deadline as April 15, 2026, but the appeal was filed May 5. With no documented compelling circumstances explaining the delay, it dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Fort Point
Worker did not establish federal employee status on injury date (ECAB 26-0244)
A worker sought FECA coverage for leg and knee injuries attributed to a January 8, 2022 fall. The employing establishment stated that he was not working for it at that time, and the record did not establish that he was a federal employee on the claimed injury date. The Board affirmed OWCP's denial…
C.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Oklahoma City Post Office
Board affirms postal worker’s health premium overpayment and repayment terms (ECAB 24-0393)
A postal employee’s health insurance premiums were not deducted from FECA wage loss payments between June 2022 and October 2023. OWCP found a $3,494.73 overpayment and found the employee without fault. The Board held that her prerecoupment hearing request came after the 30-day deadline. It also…
C.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Oklahoma City Post Office
Board upholds health premium overpayment recovery (ECAB 24-0371)
A postal worker's FECA compensation had not been reduced for health insurance premiums from June 2022 through October 2023, creating a $3,494.73 overpayment without fault. In this consolidated appeal, the Board upheld denial of her late prerecoupment hearing request. It also upheld the overpayment…
J.R. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Fitness injury claim returned for employer policy evidence (ECAB 24-0161)
A Customs and Border Protection officer reported an injury during at-home physical fitness activity while on weather and safety leave. The record did not clarify whether the agency's fitness approval procedures applied during that leave in the COVID-19 period or whether employees had blanket…
J.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Grand Crossing Carrier Annex
Board upholds overpayment and $95 benefit deductions (ECAB 24-0054)
A postal worker received FECA wage-loss compensation and Social Security age-related retirement benefits without the required offset. The Board upheld OWCP's $8,676.40 overpayment for December 2021 through September 2022, while finding her without fault. It also upheld denial of waiver and recovery…
Judy Campbell (on behalf of Johnny W. Campbell) v. Smith Brothers Excavating
Campbell v. Smith Brothers Excavating (BRB 25-0178): Miner disability issue returned for review
Judy Campbell pursued her late husband Johnny Campbell's black lung claim on behalf of his estate. The judge denied benefits after finding that the miner was not totally disabled by a respiratory condition when he died. Campbell appealed without a lawyer. The Board returned the disability issue…
Roger L. McCoy v. Osaka Mining Corporation
McCoy v. Osaka Mining (BRB 25-0170): Benefits denial returned for new medical findings
Roger McCoy sought black lung benefits after 21.53 years of underground coal mine work. The judge found a totally disabling respiratory impairment and applied the fifteen-year presumption, but denied benefits after finding the employer had rebutted it. McCoy appealed that rebuttal ruling, and Osaka…
Edgar Escobar Gilvonio v. Constellis Group/Triple Canopy, Incorporated
Escobar Gilvonio v. Constellis Group/Triple Canopy (BRB 24-0346): Psychological injury denial affirmed
Edgar Escobar Gilvonio worked as an armed security guard for Constellis Group/Triple Canopy in Iraq. He sought benefits for a psychological condition that he attributed to dangerous events during that work. The judge denied the claim after weighing his testimony and competing medical opinions. On…
Balasubramanian v. New Town Public Schools
Settlement dismissal affirmed
Sivasubramanian Balasubramanian alleged that New Town Public Schools violated an H-1B labor condition application by failing to pay the required wage. The parties later entered a settlement that the ALJ found fair, reasonable, and fully completed, then dismissed the case with prejudice. On appeal…
M.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Sumter Post Office
Existing seven percent arm impairment award upheld (ECAB 26-0328)
A postal worker sought a schedule award for more than the seven percent permanent impairment already recognized in her right arm. The Board credited OWCP's medical adviser, who applied the impairment guides to the right shoulder findings and found seven percent. It found no qualifying medical…
S.A. and Department of the Air Force, Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Agency
Board upholds $30,828 retirement benefit overpayment (ECAB 26-0327)
An Air Force employee received FECA wage-loss compensation and Social Security age-related retirement benefits without the required offset. The Board upheld OWCP's $30,828.84 overpayment finding for January 2024 through September 2025, though she was without fault. It affirmed denial of waiver…
J.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Jacksonville Post Office
Board upholds refusal to reopen emotional condition claim (ECAB 26-0311)
A postal worker requested reconsideration of OWCP's denial of an emotional condition claim. The Board found that the request did not show a legal error, advance a new relevant legal argument, or supply relevant new evidence sufficient to require reopening. It affirmed OWCP's nonmerit decision…
L.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Jackson Processing and Distribution Center
Board rejects disability recurrence and reopening request (ECAB 25-0721)
A postal worker sought compensation for a recurrence of disability in March and April 2022 after an accepted injury. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish that the later disability was causally related to that injury. It also upheld OWCP's refusal to reopen the claim on a…
H.G. Arias & Associates, LLC
Hazard-communication training citation vacated
H.G. Arias & Associates was an El Paso staffing agency that supplied temporary employees to Stampcoat, a metal-products manufacturer. OSHA originally issued three serious citation items, withdrew two before trial, and pursued a $9,680 hazard-communication training item concerning four Arias…
Matter of A-H-D-
Withholding grant remanded for further findings
The Board reviewed DHS's appeal from an Immigration Judge's grant of withholding of removal to a Mauritanian respondent. The Board held that a three-day detention with one beating and no significant injury did not establish persecution, and that the record did not show the Mauritanian Government…
Hermis Johnson, Jr. v. Consol of Kentucky, Incorporated
Johnson v. Consol of Kentucky (BRB 25-0174): Black lung benefits award affirmed
Hermis Johnson had at least 27 years of underground coal mine work and sought black lung benefits. The judge found a totally disabling respiratory impairment and applied the statutory presumption that pneumoconiosis caused his disability. Consol of Kentucky challenged the disability and rebuttal…
B.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Newark Regional Office
Medical evidence does not establish injury from accepted work incident (ECAB 26-0249)
A Veterans Affairs employee sought FECA coverage for a medical condition attributed to an accepted August 28, 2023 work incident. The Board reviewed medical evidence discussing preexisting spine conditions and subsequent symptoms, but found it did not adequately explain a causal connection to the…
C.W. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Bastrop Federal Correctional Facility
Late reconsideration request fails clear-error test (ECAB 25-0584)
A correctional officer sought reconsideration of an emotional condition claim long after OWCP's last merit decision in November 2004. The Board found her November 2024 request outside the one-year period for ordinary reconsideration. It also found that the submission did not demonstrate clear…
Matter of L-A-D-
Asylum and withholding denied, CAT claim remanded
The Board reviewed DHS's appeal from an Immigration Judge's grant of asylum to a Mexican respondent who proposed a particular social group based only on a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder. The Board held that the proposed group was not sufficiently particular or socially distinct and that the…
C.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Milwaukee Post Office
Board returns reconsideration request for timely-review standard (ECAB 26-0335)
A postal worker sought reconsideration of a denied back injury claim. OWCP treated the request as late and applied the stricter clear-evidence-of-error test. The Board found that the request was timely under the applicable one-year period, reversed the nonmerit decision, and directed OWCP to review…
H.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Miami General Mail Facility
Board reverses unsupported retirement benefit overpayment (ECAB 26-0334)
A postal worker elected federal retirement benefits after receiving FECA compensation. OWCP declared a $6,027.56 overpayment for May 1 through June 14, 2025, alleging concurrent retirement and FECA payments. The Board found that the record did not establish that the worker actually received…
C.F. and Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service
Board orders related right arm claims combined (ECAB 26-0295)
A food inspector sought expansion of an accepted right elbow injury claim. The Board found that OWCP had not administratively combined this claim with an earlier claim involving the same arm, as its procedures required for a full review. It set aside OWCP's denial and directed OWCP to combine the…
United States Department of Health and Human Services, Indian Health Service and Laborers' International Union of North America, Local 5251
Indian Health Service and LIUNA Local 5251 (FLRA 0-AR-6095): Authority sets aside classification award
An Indian Health Service pharmacy technician claimed that she regularly performed GS-7 duties while holding a GS-6 position and sought a promotion, backpay, and an updated position description. An arbitrator treated the dispute as a temporary-promotion claim and ordered an immediate temporary…
Secretary of Labor v. Quikrete Construction Materials, LLC
Staffing-gap default reopened
Quikrete failed to contest a proposed penalty assessment while responsibility for penalty filings was changing between plant managers. The former manager had resigned, and the assessment arrived six days before the new manager began. Quikrete discovered the default after outside counsel found the…
Secretary of Labor v. Mountain Stone Aggregates
Misaddressed assessment never became final
Mountain Stone asked to reopen a proposed penalty assessment that appeared to have become final. Postal tracking showed that MSHA's mailing was not delivered because the address was insufficient, and the operator reported repeated mailings to the wrong address. The Secretary did not oppose relief…
Secretary of Labor v. Stillwater Mining Company
Docketing-error default reopened
Stillwater was defaulted after the Commission had no record of an answer to an order to show cause. The company produced postal tracking records showing that it timely mailed an answer but had omitted the docket number, which may have prevented proper docketing. It moved to reopen within two weeks…
Secretary of Labor v. Hoopers Creek Stone, LLC
Unexplained default request denied
Hoopers Creek failed to answer the Secretary's penalty petition and then did not respond to an order to show cause, causing the Judge's default order to become final. The company later submitted a late answer that the Commission treated as a possible request to reopen. The filing did not explain…
Matter of G-L-C-
Asylum grant vacated after particularly serious crime finding
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal from an Immigration Judge's decision granting asylum to a transgender woman from Jamaica. The Board held that her conviction for possessing a controlled substance with intent to deliver was a particularly serious crime that barred…
Secretary of Labor v. Paulsen Inc.
Vague reopening request denied
Paulsen asked the Commission to reopen a proposed penalty assessment that had become final after no timely contest was filed. Its aggregate division manager said the penalties were paid by mistake because she believed the citations involved another Paulsen location. The Commission found that…
Glenn Riggs v. Jacobs Ranch Coal LLC
Riggs v. Jacobs Ranch Coal (BRB 25-0466): Employer appeal withdrawn
Jacobs Ranch Coal appealed in a black lung benefits case involving Glenn Riggs. The company then asked to withdraw its appeal. The Board granted that request and dismissed the appeal. This order does not explain the underlying benefits dispute or make a new merits ruling.
David E. Newcomb v. Redhawk Mining, LLC
Newcomb v. Redhawk Mining (BRB 25-0147): Benefits denial returned for work demands finding
David Newcomb sought black lung benefits after 35 years of coal mine employment. The judge denied his claim, and an earlier Board appeal required a new look at the medical opinions on total disability. On remand, the judge again denied benefits. The Board held that he still needed to establish the…
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Boston Post Office
Board upholds denial of injury claim filed too late (ECAB 26-0458)
A postal worker filed an occupational injury claim in January 2026 after stating that he knew of the condition and its work relationship in May 2016. The Board found that the claim was outside FECA's three-year filing period and that the record did not establish an applicable exception. It affirmed…
J.B. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration
Board upholds denial of late injury claim (ECAB 26-0314)
A Federal Aviation Administration worker reported back and rib injuries from moving a cargo pallet on April 29, 2022. He filed the claim in November 2025, more than three years later. The Board found that he had not established timely filing under FECA and affirmed OWCP's denial.
J.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Fort Point Post Office
Worker did not establish federal status on claimed injury date (ECAB 26-0243)
A worker sought FECA coverage for an injury claimed on December 11, 2022. The employing establishment stated that he was not its employee at that time, and the record did not establish federal employee status on that date. The Board affirmed OWCP's denial because that status is required for FECA…
N.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Trafford Post Office
Board reverses termination of wage-loss compensation (ECAB 26-0217)
A postal carrier with an accepted back condition was offered temporary limited-duty work. OWCP ended wage-loss compensation effective February 12, 2025 after treating his response as a refusal of suitable work. The Board found that OWCP had not met its burden to justify termination under the…
Secretary of Labor v. GMS Mine Repair & Maintenance, Inc.
Mine safeguard enforced against contractor
GMS, an independent contractor at Buchanan Mine No. 1, admitted that one of its miners drove past a red block light and caused a head-on rail collision that seriously injured multiple miners. It argued that the mine-specific safeguard could not be enforced against it because MSHA had issued the…
Dolly G. Elswick (on behalf of Harold R. Elswick) v. C C & P Coal Company
Elswick v. C C & P Coal (BRB 25-0177): Benefits upheld, payment responsibility returned
Dolly Elswick pursued her late husband Harold's black lung claim on behalf of his estate. The judge awarded benefits and designated C C & P Coal as the responsible operator. The Board affirmed the benefits award but changed its start date from January 2019 to February 2021, when the claim was…
Lonnie Dean Helton v. Enterprise Mining Company, LLC
Helton v. Enterprise Mining (BRB 25-0175): Black lung benefits award affirmed
Lonnie Helton sought black lung benefits after more than fifteen years of underground coal mine work. The judge found a totally disabling respiratory impairment and applied the statutory presumption of disability due to pneumoconiosis. Enterprise Mining challenged the work history, disability, and…
Dorris Cunningham v. Island Creek Coal Company
Cunningham v. Island Creek Coal (BRB 25-0165): Modified black lung award affirmed
Dorris Cunningham sought black lung benefits after a prior denial and requested modification of the claim. The judge credited 39 years of coal mine work, found a totally disabling respiratory impairment, and awarded benefits. Island Creek Coal challenged the disability finding, arguing that the…
Michael E. Lesh v. Advantage Federal Resourcing
Lesh v. Advantage Federal Resourcing (BRB 24-0298): Attorney fee rate raised
Michael Lesh's attorney challenged an hourly rate set in a Defense Base Act fee order after several earlier appeals. The judge had averaged market survey rates, including one category that did not account for the attorney's more than 30 years of experience. The Board held that category was not…
Jerry Deskins v. Hobet Mining & Construction Company
Deskins v. Hobet Mining & Construction (BRB 24-0037): Trust Fund directed to pay benefits
Jerry Deskins sought black lung benefits in a claim involving Hobet Mining & Construction and its former parent company, Arch Resources. After a federal appeals court ruling on insurer liability, the Board dismissed both from payment responsibility. The Director of the Office of Workers'…
Wang v. Capgemini America Inc.
Section 11(c) appeal dismissed
John Xiaozhong Wang asked the Administrative Review Board to review OSHA's dismissal of his complaint against Capgemini America Inc. He alleged that the company violated Section 11(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act in connection with his termination. The ARB explained that the Secretary…
E.C. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation
Board recognizes duty incident but denies continuation of pay (ECAB 26-0326)
An IRS criminal investigator reported feeling faint and experiencing a racing heartbeat during a law enforcement encounter on October 31, 2025. The Board found that the incident occurred in the performance of duty, reversing OWCP on that factual point and returning the claim for further review. It…
M.D. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service
Board grants voluntary withdrawal of appeal (ECAB 26-0323)
A National Park Service employee appealed an OWCP decision issued December 5, 2025. Before Board review, the employee asked to withdraw the appeal. The Board granted the request and dismissed the appeal without deciding the underlying claim.
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.