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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Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service and National Treasury Employees Union
Food and Nutrition Service and NTEU (FLRA 0-AR-1716): Mandatory seniority tie breaker struck
During contract negotiations, an interest arbitrator imposed a merit promotion clause requiring the Food and Nutrition Service to choose the applicant with the most agency service whenever two or more candidates were equally qualified. The Agriculture Department challenged that sentence. The…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 916
Tinker Air Force Base and AFGE Local 916 (FLRA 0-AR-1605): Suspension relief set aside
Tinker Air Force Base suspended a union representative for 14 days after she disrupted work and refused a security officer's order while on full-time official time. An arbitrator found a work stoppage and deemed the penalty appropriate, but set it aside because he believed an employee on full-time…
Howard Sand Company
Guard violation affirmed, penalty reduced
Howard Sand Company operated a sand and gravel mine using a dredge, diesel engine, and pump. MSHA cited the company because the drive shaft coupling on the dredge engine was not guarded. Judge George A. Koutras affirmed the violation and found it significant and substantial because workers could…
Panama Canal Commission and International Association of Firefighters, Local 13, Balboa, Republic of Panama
Panama Canal Commission and IAFF Local 13 (FLRA O-AR-1673): Suspension arbitration award set aside
The Panama Canal Commission suspended a firefighter for 30 days, and an arbitrator upheld the discipline after hearing the union's grievance. The Authority found that the firefighter was a nonpreference-eligible excepted-service employee. His suspension was outside the adverse-action review path in…
Walker Stone Company
Settlement approved and three citations vacated for lack of jurisdiction
Walker Stone Company faced six alleged safety violations at two Kansas locations. In CENT 89-103-M, the company conceded three violations involving an air-receiver pressure gauge and grounding equipment, and agreed to pay $156 in penalties. Judge George A. Koutras approved the settlement and…
Department of Defense, Department of the Army, Fort Buchanan, San Juan, Puerto Rico and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2614
Fort Buchanan and AFGE Local 2614 (FLRA 42-CA-40232): Remanded complaint held pending negotiability appeal
Fort Buchanan ended post exchange privileges for civilian employees without bargaining, and the union filed an unfair labor practice charge. A federal appeals court held that those privileges were a condition of employment and returned the case to the Authority. A later Supreme Court ruling meant…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2298 and U.S. Department of the Navy, Navy Resale Activity/Navy Exchange, Naval Weapons Station, Charleston, South Carolina
AFGE Local 2298 and Charleston Navy Exchange (FLRA 0-NG-1649): Split ruling on four proposals
AFGE Local 2298 proposed terms for holiday assignments, internal promotions, candidate ranking panels, and personal service contracts at a Navy Exchange. The Authority found that the holiday work limits in Proposal 1 intruded too far on management's right to assign work. It found Proposal 2…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3529 and U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Contract Audit Agency
AFGE Local 3529 and Defense Contract Audit Agency (FLRA 0-AR-1747): Career promotion grievance denial upheld
A Defense Contract Audit Agency auditor grieved the denial of a career-ladder promotion from GS-9 to GS-11. The arbitrator found that several supervisors independently judged his work below the GS-11 level. She noted some supervision and process shortcomings but concluded that he still would not…
National Labor Relations Board and National Labor Relations Board Professional Association
NLRB and NLRB Professional Association (FLRA 0-AR-1555): Removal award set aside, reprimand upheld
The NLRB reprimanded an attorney for remarks to its EEO Director and later removed her after finding that she took and destroyed documents from her personnel file. An arbitrator upheld both actions. The Authority found that the attorney was a nonpreference-eligible excepted-service employee whose…
Federal Employees Metal Trades Council of Charleston and U.S. Department of the Navy, Charleston Naval Shipyard, Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston Metal Trades Council and Navy Shipyard (FLRA O-NG-1668): Postapproval ratification proposal rejected
The Federal Employees Metal Trades Council proposed that members ratify a labor agreement after Navy agency-head review and approval. The Navy objected to the timing, though it did not oppose ratification itself. The Authority explained that an agreement becomes binding when the agency head…
U.S. Department of the Treasury, U.S. Mint and American Federation of Government Employees, Mint Council, C-157
U.S. Mint and AFGE Mint Council C-157 (FLRA 3-CA-80531): Refusal to process dues assignments unlawful
After certain temporary Mint employees were included in a bargaining unit, 39 signed union dues withholding forms. The Mint refused to process the forms, arguing that the labor agreement excluded temporary employees and that new dues procedures had to be negotiated first. The Authority held that 5…
Otis Elevator Company
Discovery motion granted
The Secretary sought discovery from Otis Elevator Company in a case involving whether an employee working on a mine elevator system was a qualified person. Judge John J. Morris found Otis's responses to two requests for admission inadequate and found the requested maintenance records relevant and…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2047 and U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Defense General Supply Center, Richmond, Virginia
AFGE Local 2047 and Defense General Supply Center (FLRA 0-NG-1749): Late negotiability petition dismissed
AFGE Local 2047 received the agency's allegation that its proposed contract language was nonnegotiable on August 16, 1989. The petition for Authority review was due August 31. The union sent it by Federal Express on that date, but the Authority received it on September 1. Under the filing rules…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 987
Warner Robins Air Logistics Center and AFGE Local 987 (FLRA 0-AR-1786): Early exceptions dismissed
An Air Force employee grieved a 10-day suspension. Before the merits hearing, an arbitrator ruled that a 45-day discipline notice limit in the labor agreement was unenforceable and directed the parties to schedule a hearing. AFGE Local 987 challenged that threshold ruling immediately. The Authority…
Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Virginia and Tidewater Virginia Federal Employees Metal Trades Council, AFL-CIO
Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Tidewater Metal Trades Council (FLRA 34-CA-80213): Representation complaint dismissed
Norfolk Naval Shipyard supervisors brought a union steward to a meeting about an employee found asleep at work. The general foreman then sent the steward away and questioned the employee, who had not asked for representation or objected to the departure. The General Counsel alleged that the…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1437 and United States Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center, Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey
NFFE Local 1437 and Picatinny Arsenal (FLRA 0-NG-1682): Training and committee proposals rejected
NFFE Local 1437 proposed annual safety training on paid duty time for five union designees, specified membership and observers for a promotion ranking panel, and a permanent union vote on an invention evaluation committee. The Authority held that the training requirement would dictate work…
S.L. Peters Construction, Co.
Proposed settlement denied
S.L. Peters Construction faced a proposed settlement concerning an alleged violation involving welding on an inflated tire and rim assembly. Judge Gary Melick found that the settlement motion and supporting documents did not establish that a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 56.14104 occurred. The…
U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, United States Border Patrol, San Diego Sector, San Diego, California and National Border Patrol Council, American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1613
San Diego Border Patrol and AFGE Local 1613 (FLRA 8-CA-80157): Bargaining order expanded
The Border Patrol assigned collateral intelligence duties to agents in its San Diego Sector without notifying AFGE Local 1613 or offering to bargain about the change's effects and implementation. An administrative law judge found an unfair labor practice. The Authority adopted that finding even…
Hinkle Contracting Corp.
Findings upheld on remand
Hinkle Contracting challenged findings involving an unguarded conveyor belt, an inoperable kill switch, and an incompletely corrected highwall condition. Judge Gary Melick rejected the company's arguments that the belt's height, its injury history, worker awareness, or work practices made the…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Locals 642, 1911, 1966, and 2024 and U.S. Department of the Interior, Oregon State Office, Bureau of Land Management
NFFE Locals and Oregon Bureau of Land Management (FLRA 0-NG-1675): Union indemnity proposal rejected
NFFE locals proposed that the Bureau of Land Management cover the union's defense costs and any judgment if employees sued over the agency's drug testing program and joined the union as a defendant. The Authority found that the proposal would make the agency liable for potentially unlimited…
American Federation of Government Employees, Council of Marine Corps Locals (C-240) and Department of the Navy, U.S. Marine Corps
AFGE Council of Marine Corps Locals and Marine Corps (FLRA 0-NG-1580): Termination notice proposal split
The union proposed five workdays of advance notice before certain probationary and temporary employees were terminated, plus an activity-wide competitive area for each local activity during a reduction in force. The Authority held that mandatory advance notice for probationary employees would add a…
Patent Office Professional Association and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Patent Office Professional Association and Patent and Trademark Office (FLRA 0-AR-1556): Reconsideration denied
An arbitrator dismissed a grievance over a denied within-grade increase because the employee had not first requested agency reconsideration of the negative performance determination. The Authority had denied the union's exceptions to that award, and the union sought reconsideration. The union…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R1-100 and U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval Submarine Base New London, Groton, Connecticut
NAGE Local R1-100 and Naval Submarine Base New London (FLRA 0-NG-1771): Premature petition dismissed
NAGE Local R1-100 sought to negotiate about guards saluting at the naval base. It filed a negotiability petition before giving the agency the text of a specific bargaining proposal. The union later supplied a proposal, but the agency did not claim that it was nonnegotiable. The Authority found that…
National Federation of Federal Employees and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service
NFFE and Forest Service (FLRA 0-NG-1733): Union penalty mail provision upheld
The Forest Service and NFFE agreed to let the union use several mail services for representation, but the Department of Agriculture disapproved the provision. The dispute before the Authority concerned penalty mail, which permits official mail to be sent without prepaying postage. The Authority…
U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Mapping Agency, Hydrographic/Topographic Center, Washington, D.C. and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3407
Defense Mapping Agency and AFGE Local 3407 (FLRA 0-AR-1845): Reassignment grievance denial stands
An employee sought reassignment to one of four advertised positions and was initially listed among seven selectees. The Defense Mapping Agency later filled only two positions because it expected staffing losses to hurt work in two departments. An arbitrator denied the employee's grievance, finding…
California Lightweight Pumice, Inc.
Settlement approved
California Lightweight Pumice reached a settlement with the Secretary in four civil penalty proceedings. The company agreed to pay the penalties originally assessed for the listed citations, totaling $5,368. Judge John J. Morris found the settlement reasonable and in the public interest, approved…
Flaget Fuels, Inc.
Request to dismiss discrimination complaint denied
Thomas J. McIntosh alleged that Flaget Fuels discharged him after he refused to operate a bulldozer he reasonably and in good faith believed was unsafe and after he raised safety complaints. Flaget asked the judge to dismiss the complaint as untimely. Judge George A. Koutras found that the…
Ten-A-Coal Company
Highwall citations affirmed
Ten-A-Coal was cited after an unsafe highwall and an undersized bench were left in place while coal was being loaded at the Ward Mine. Judge Roy J. Maurer found that the operator violated the ground-control-plan and prompt-correction requirements, and that the highwall violation was significant and…
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and National Association of Agriculture Employees
APHIS and National Association of Agriculture Employees (FLRA 0-AR-1769, 0-AR-1828): Removal award exceptions dismissed
An arbitrator found a plant protection officer's removal grievable and reduced the penalty for unauthorized computer access and disclosure to a three-day suspension. The agency challenged both the threshold ruling and the merits award before the Authority. The Authority held that both awards…
Cyprus Empire Corporation
Citation vacated, imminent-danger order affirmed
MSHA cited Cyprus Empire after an inspector found loose, broken roof near a longwall shield at the Eagle No. 5 Mine and issued an imminent-danger withdrawal order. The Commission upheld the Secretary's ability to modify the citation and order and affirmed the withdrawal order because the roof…
Beth Energy Mines Incorporated
Methane citation amended, plan citation dismissed
Beth Energy's Cambria Slope Mine No. 33 experienced elevated methane readings, and MSHA issued two citations and an imminent-danger withdrawal order. Judge Avram Weisberger found that the mine violated 30 C.F.R. § 75.301, but the evidence did not establish that the violation was significant and…
Sharp v. Big Elk Coal Company
Stay vacated and case remanded
Arnold Sharp brought a Mine Act discrimination complaint after his discharge from Big Elk Coal Company. The ALJ had stayed the case while criminal perjury proceedings involving a key company witness were pending. The Commission found the record too vague to support the stay and emphasized Sharp's…
Matter of Edwards
Rehabilitation was important but not an absolute prerequisite to section 212(c) relief
The Board reviewed a section 212(c) waiver application from a Barbados-born lawful permanent resident with a long record of criminal convictions, including controlled substance offenses. The Board clarified that a clear showing of rehabilitation is not an absolute prerequisite in every case and…
U.S. Department of the Army, Army Ordnance Missile and Munitions Center and School, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1858
Redstone Arsenal School and AFGE Local 1858 (FLRA 4-CU-90016): Security staff unit exclusions stand
The Army school at Redstone Arsenal sought to exclude eight Security Division employees from an AFGE bargaining unit. A regional director excluded five whose duties involved security clearance recommendations or control over classified information and kept three security clerks in the unit. The…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois and National Association of Government Employees, Local R7-23
Scott Air Force Base and NAGE Local R7-23 (FLRA 0-AR-1712): Promotion grievance returned to arbitrator
A Scott Air Force Base employee received priority consideration for future boiler operator vacancies after an earlier referral mistake, but was not chosen for either of two vacancies. An arbitrator found the consideration genuine and denied the grievance. In a related unfair labor practice case…
U.S. Department of the Navy, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and Philadelphia Metal Trades Council
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and Metal Trades Council (FLRA 0-AR-1612): Riggers' overtime award set aside
During aircraft carrier overhaul work, the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard had shipfitters move heavy metal plates on an overtime shift. An arbitrator held that the shipyard should have assigned riggers to that work and awarded 16 hours of overtime pay. The Authority found that the award restricted…
U.S. Defense Mapping Agency Aerospace Center, St. Louis, Missouri and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1827
Defense Mapping Agency Aerospace Center and NFFE Local 1827 (FLRA 0-AR-1851): Late grievance dismissal stands
An employee grieved a poor performance rating and a transfer from the evening shift to the day shift. The arbitrator initially let the hearing proceed but later concluded that the grievance missed the agreement's 21-day filing deadline and dismissed it. The union argued that the arbitrator's…
Black Pine Mining Company
Discrimination proceeding dismissed after settlement
Jack Winninghoff brought a Mine Act discrimination proceeding against Black Pine Mining Company. After the parties' settlement terms were fully completed, Judge August F. Cetti dismissed the case with prejudice. The order ended the proceeding and did not address the merits of the discrimination…
Sierra Aggregate, Inc.
Settlement approved
Sierra Aggregate reached a settlement with the Secretary in two civil penalty proceedings. The stipulation amended several citations to non-S&S violations and reduced several proposed penalties. Judge John J. Morris found the settlement reasonable and in the public interest, approved it, affirmed…
F & W Mines, Inc.
Gilbert Wisdom v. F & W Mines, Inc. (FMSHRC SE 89-102-DM): Discharge violated Mine Act discrimination provision
Gilbert Wisdom operated a large backhoe for F & W Mines, an open-pit shell mining operation. After the machine's braking or tracking system and swing-arm control developed problems, Wisdom refused to operate it because he believed it could pull him into the pit and endanger others. Judge Roy J…
Lanham Coal Co., Inc.
Safety-belt citation affirmed
Lanham Coal hired an independent trucking company to haul coal from its surface mine. A truck driver fell about 10 feet while covering a load and was not wearing a safety belt or line. Judge James A. Broderick found that the Mine Act allowed MSHA to cite the production operator for an independent…
Department of the Air Force, Ogden Air Logistics Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1592, AFL-CIO
Hill Air Force Base and AFGE Local 1592 (FLRA 7-CA-70456): Union official's rating must be redone
An electroplater at Hill Air Force Base spent more work time on union representation during his later appraisal period and received a lower rating than the year before. His supervisor told him that union absences made him unreliable for critical plating work. Contrary to the administrative law…
Department of the Air Force, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois and National Association of Government Employees, Local R7-23, SEIU, AFL-CIO
Scott Air Force Base and NAGE Local R7-23 (FLRA 5-CA-60307): Bargaining required before layoff notices
Scott Air Force Base planned to contract out commissary work and reduce its civilian workforce. The union asked to bargain over procedures and arrangements for affected employees before specific reduction-in-force notices were issued. The base issued notices identifying employees for separation…
Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration and Social Security Administration, Field Operations, Region II and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO
Social Security Administration Region II and AFGE (FLRA 2-CA-80121, 2-CA-80159): Puerto Rico pilot rollout reversed
The Social Security Administration launched a pilot program in Puerto Rico that shifted requests for medical evidence in disability claims to field office staff. AFGE sought bargaining over the program's effects and implementation and requested Federal Service Impasses Panel help three days after…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1857 and U.S. Department of the Air Force, 2852D Air Base Group, McClellan Air Force Base, California
AFGE Local 1857 and McClellan Air Force Base (FLRA 0-NG-1792): Traffic signal petition dismissed
McClellan Air Force Base planned to operate certain traffic signals around the clock. AFGE Local 1857 asked for a briefing as the first step in bargaining and said it might submit proposals afterward. The agency disputed any duty to bargain over its traffic signal decision, but did not claim the…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R5-165 and Tennessee Air National Guard
NAGE Local R5-165 and Tennessee Air National Guard (FLRA 0-NG-1670): Sequential hiring proposal rejected
The union proposed applying a merit placement plan to all vacant bargaining unit jobs at the Tennessee Air National Guard. As interpreted in the decision, the proposal would require the Guard to finish considering civilian technicians before soliciting or considering military personnel for a…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 2058 and U.S. Army Aberdeen Proving Ground, Installation Support Activity
NFFE Local 2058 and Aberdeen Proving Ground (FLRA 0-NG-1342): Split-sample proposal rejected on remand
NFFE Local 2058 proposed that an employee keep part of a urine sample for confirmatory testing after a positive drug test. The Authority had initially found the disputed terms negotiable. A federal appeals court held them inconsistent with the final federal drug testing guidelines because the union…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 15 and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Armament, Munitions and Chemical Command, Rock Island, Illinois
NFFE Local 15 and Rock Island Army Command (FLRA 0-NG-1269): Drug testing proposals rejected on remand
NFFE Local 15 proposed additional safeguards for the qualifications of drug test personnel and an option for employees to use independent urine testing to challenge a positive result. The Authority had previously found both proposals negotiable. A federal appeals court held that the first…
U.S. Department of Labor, Washington, D.C. and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 12
Department of Labor and AFGE Local 12 (FLRA 0-AR-1893): Late arbitration exceptions dismissed
AFGE Local 12 filed exceptions to an arbitration award dated February 14, 1990. Under the Authority's service date presumption and mail extension, the filing deadline was March 20, but the union's exceptions were postmarked March 22. The union showed that its office received the award on February…
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2006
Social Security Administration and AFGE Local 2006 (FLRA 0-AR-1812): Performance rating award set aside
An SSA employee grieved level-two ratings on three job tasks, and an arbitrator sustained the grievance, directing level-three ratings. The arbitrator cited uncertainty about who had evaluated the employee but acknowledged that the agency's ratings might have been correct. The Authority held that…
U.S. Department of the Army, Army Air Defense Center, Fort Bliss, Texas and National Association of Government Employees, Local R14-89
Fort Bliss Army Air Defense Center and NAGE Local R14-89 (FLRA 0-AR-1807): Attorney fee exception dismissed
An arbitrator reduced an Army employee's removal to a 30-day suspension and ordered reinstatement with backpay. He later denied the union's request for attorney fees. The union challenged that supplemental award before the Authority. The Authority held that the fee decision was part of the removal…
U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Mapping Agency, Hydrographic/Topographic Center, Washington, D.C. and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3407
Defense Mapping Agency and AFGE Local 3407 (FLRA 0-AR-1806): Five-day suspension upheld
The Defense Mapping Agency suspended an employee for five days for disrespectful conduct and insulting language. An arbitrator found the suspension supported by the evidence and denied the grievance. The union argued that the arbitrator had overlooked testimony and flaws in the agency's…
U.S. Naval Air Station, Kingsville, Texas and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1735
Naval Air Station Kingsville and AFGE Local 1735 (FLRA 0-AR-1629): Contracting out grievance excluded
AFGE Local 1735 grieved the naval air station's cost comparison for a supply services procurement under OMB Circular A-76. An arbitrator found that the parties' agreement excluded contracting out disputes from the grievance procedure and directed the union to procurement appeal procedures. The…
Brown Brothers Sand Company
Seat-belt citation affirmed
MSHA cited Brown Brothers after an employee operated a front-end loader without wearing a seat belt at the Junction City Mine. Judge Gary Melick found that the operator continued the conduct after the company president was notified, which established negligence. He affirmed the citation and ordered…
Department of the Air Force, Carswell Air Force Base, Texas and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1364
Carswell Air Force Base and AFGE Local 1364 (FLRA O-AR-1682): Retroactive promotion removed
An arbitrator found that Carswell Air Force Base used an unfair ranking system when considering the local union president for a foreman promotion. After several awards and reevaluations, the arbitrator ordered his retroactive promotion with backpay. The Authority held that a flawed ranking system…
Army and Air Force Exchange Service, McClellan Base Exchange, McClellan Air Force Base, California and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1857
McClellan Base Exchange and AFGE Local 1857 (FLRA 9-CA-80257): Ground rules bargaining ordered
AFGE Local 1857 sought ground rules for bargaining a local supplement to its master agreement with the McClellan Base Exchange. After earlier attempts to negotiate, the union again demanded bargaining, and the exchange did not respond for more than four months. The Authority held that failing to…
John Morrell & Co., Sioux Falls Plant, and its successors
Ergonomics settlement approved for $990,000
John Morrell, OSHA, and the workers' union settled two cases involving the company's Sioux Falls meatpacking plant. The settlement set a $990,000 penalty for the ergonomics citation and required a separate $260,000 grant to NIOSH for continued study of musculoskeletal injuries. Morrell agreed to…
Army and Air Force Exchange Service, Dallas, Texas and Army and Air Force Exchange Service, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1345
Army and Air Force Exchange Service and AFGE Local 1345 (FLRA 7-CA-90280): Dues deduction violations found
The Army and Air Force Exchange Service failed to deduct $7 in union dues from some Peterson Air Force Base employees for one pay period. In the next period, it deducted $21 from each affected employee, covering the missed dues and current dues plus an extra $7 taken by mistake. It refunded the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 987, Warner Robins, Georgia and Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia
AFGE Local 987 and Warner Robins Air Logistics Center (FLRA 4-CO-80003): Grievance representation notice ordered
AFGE Local 987 published an article telling nonmembers to join the union to assure prompt representation on overtime pay grievances. The Authority held that employees could reasonably read the statement to mean union members would receive faster grievance representation. That impression interfered…
U.S. Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration and American Federation of Government Employees, National Council of Field Office Locals, Local 3316
Mine Safety and Health Administration and AFGE Local 3316 (FLRA 3-CA-80179): Interview representation right upheld
An MSHA employee requested union representation during an examination connected to an investigation that the employee reasonably believed could lead to discipline. The agency denied the request. An administrative law judge found that this violated the employee's statutory representation right. 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.