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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National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1655 and Department of Military Affairs, Illinois Air National Guard
NFFE Local 1655 and Illinois Air National Guard (FLRA 0-NG-1656): Shop cleaning proposals rejected
NFFE Local 1655 proposed limits on cleaning assignments at an Illinois Air National Guard maintenance shop. The terms addressed when technicians would sweep or mop, barred some dusting and trash collection, limited responsibility for areas employees had not dirtied, and assigned each technician a…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1655 and U.S. Department of Defense, National Guard Bureau, Department of Military Affairs, Illinois Air National Guard
Illinois Air National Guard and NFFE Local 1655 (FLRA 0-NG-1648): Uniform, cleanup, and search proposals rejected
The union proposed rules for Illinois Air National Guard civilian technicians' uniforms, paid cleanup time, and searches of personal property. The Authority found that the uniform proposals restricted management's control over the classes of military uniform worn and when it prescribed the work…
U.S. Department of the Army, Headquarters XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, Fort Bragg, North Carolina and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1770
Fort Bragg and AFGE Local 1770 (FLRA 0-AR-1820): Ten-day suspension upheld
Fort Bragg suspended a warehouse worker for ten days after he operated a stock picker while under the influence of alcohol. An arbitrator found the penalty reasonable under the Army's table of penalties, considering the safety risk and the employee's record. The union argued that the arbitrator had…
U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Prison Camp, Allenwood, Pennsylvania and American Federation of Government Employees, Council of Prison Locals, Local 148
Allenwood Prison Camp and AFGE Local 148 (FLRA 0-AR-1802): Four-day suspension stands
The Allenwood prison camp suspended the union's chief steward for four days for being inattentive to duty. The union accepted that the conduct occurred but argued that the penalty was too harsh, inconsistent with progressive discipline, and tied to the steward's union work. An arbitrator rejected…
Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Birmingham, Alabama and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2206
SSA Birmingham and AFGE Local 2206 (FLRA 0-AR-1800): Performance rating grievance denial stands
An SSA employee challenged a level-two rating for a mail and correspondence job task after receiving a level-three interim rating. An arbitrator found that the agency had followed the agreement and appraisal guidelines and that the union had not shown the final rating was unfair. The union argued…
U.S. Department of the Army, Army Reserve Personnel Center, St. Louis, Missouri and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 900
Army Reserve Personnel Center and AFGE Local 900 (FLRA 0-AR-1797): Removal exceptions dismissed
The Army Reserve Personnel Center removed an employee on several misconduct charges, and an arbitrator denied the resulting grievance. The union challenged the award before the Authority, disputing the proof and the arbitrator's impartiality. The Authority held that removal is a serious adverse…
Department of the Navy, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren, Virginia and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2096
Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren and AFGE Local 2096 (FLRA 0-AR-1584): Contracting award left intact
The Dahlgren naval facility contracted out supply functions after comparing a contractor's bid with government performance costs. An arbitrator found that the facility violated a procurement regulation but that the error did not materially affect the lower contractor bid, so she ordered no…
Beaver Creek Coal Company
Three citations vacated, one penalty assessed
Beaver Creek faced consolidated contest and civil penalty proceedings involving roof-bolter controls, continuous-miner permissibility, a mine plan examination, and a citation the company agreed to pay. Judge August F. Cetti vacated the citations for the actuating bar, continuous miner, and seal…
C.W. Mining Company
Three orders vacated, eight affirmed
C.W. Mining faced 11 orders and citations involving escapeways, coal and combustible accumulations, electrical equipment, short-circuit protection, maps, and pre-shift examinations at Bear Canyon No. 1 Mine. Judge John J. Morris vacated three orders and affirmed eight others, while striking or…
Denu v. Amax Coal Company
Discrimination ruling reversed
Donald Denu, an electrician and union president, refused to unplug a 6,900-volt cable at a mine switch box because he believed the procedure was unsafe. An ALJ found that Amax violated the Mine Act by threatening discipline, but the Commission reversed that decision. The Commission found that Denu…
U.S. Department of the Army, Headquarters XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, Fort Bragg, North Carolina and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1770
Fort Bragg and AFGE Local 1770 (FLRA 4-CA-70910): Denied union representation requires new interview
Fort Bragg continued an investigatory interview after an employee requested union representation, then issued a reprimand over the incident discussed in the interview. The Authority adopted the finding that denying representation violated the labor statute. It rejected the union's request to erase…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 2050 and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
NFFE Local 2050 and EPA (FLRA 0-NG-1655): Employee security proposals negotiable
The union proposed that EPA hold courier deliveries at the front desk, provide secure storage for employees' personal property, and let union representatives check security bulletins for accuracy before distribution. EPA argued that the proposals interfered with management rights. The Authority…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Tinker Air Force Base and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 916
Tinker Air Force Base and AFGE Local 916 (FLRA 0-AR-1764): Arbitration cancellation fee award upheld
AFGE Local 916 did not appear for a scheduled expedited arbitration hearing. In a later grievance, an arbitrator held the union responsible for the first arbitrator's cancellation fee, interest, and collection expenses under the parties' agreement. The union challenged that award on procedural…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 199 and U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Public Debt
NTEU Chapter 199 and Bureau of the Public Debt (FLRA O-AR-1756): Pay restoration award stands
The Bureau of the Public Debt imposed a 14-day suspension after an employee declined to sign a proposed last chance agreement. An arbitrator found that the agency should have held the suspension in abeyance while the employee complied with the proposed agreement, and ordered payment for the time…
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 2050
EPA and NFFE Local 2050 (FLRA 3-CA-90253): Sunday hours complaint dismissed
A complaint alleged that EPA began regularly scheduled Sunday operations at its Fairchild Building without giving NFFE Local 2050 notice and a chance to negotiate over the change's impact and implementation. An administrative law judge found that EPA had not committed the alleged unfair labor…
Federal Aviation Administration, New England Region, Burlington, Massachusetts and National Association of Air Traffic Specialists
FAA New England Region and air traffic specialists (FLRA 1-CA-70037): Investigatory records need not be disclosed yet
The FAA investigated possible false travel vouchers and planned follow-up interviews with employees represented by the air traffic specialists' union. The union asked for investigative records before the interviews, and the FAA refused until it proposed discipline. The Authority held that unions…
United Mine Workers of America on behalf of Steven R. Maple, Thomas D. Hewlett, and Dale King v. Peabody Coal Company
United Mine Workers on behalf of Maple, Hewlett, and King v. Peabody Coal Company (FMSHRC LAKE 86-15-D and related dockets): Complaints dismissed after withdrawal
The United Mine Workers of America asked to withdraw its discrimination complaints filed on behalf of Steven R. Maple, Thomas D. Hewlett, and Dale King against Peabody Coal Company. Judge Gary Melick granted the request and dismissed all three proceedings.
Department of the Air Force, Sacramento Air Logistics Center and AFGE Local 1857
Sacramento Air Logistics Center and AFGE Local 1857 (FLRA 9-CA-70343, 9-CA-70376): Union excluded from witness interviews
Air Force attorneys interviewed two bargaining unit employees whom AFGE Local 1857 planned to call as witnesses in separate grievance arbitrations. The Air Force gave the union no chance to attend either interview. An administrative law judge found that the office interview was a formal discussion…
United States Army Adjutant General Publication Center, St. Louis, Missouri and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2761
Army Publication Center and AFGE Local 2761 (FLRA 7-CA-40547): Bargaining required before annual picnic cancellation
The Army Publication Center had held an annual employee picnic for years, including three consecutive picnics during work hours, then cancelled it without giving the union a chance to bargain. A court of appeals reversed the Authority's earlier conclusion that the picnic was outside conditions of…
Defense Mapping Agency Louisville Office and NFFE Local 1482
Defense Mapping Agency Louisville and NFFE Local 1482 (FLRA 4-CU-80021): Unit clarification case remanded
The National Federation of Federal Employees sought to add cartographer project leaders at a Defense Mapping Agency office in Louisville to its existing bargaining unit. The acting regional director included them, finding that they were neither supervisors nor management officials and shared a…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R1-144 and U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval Underwater Systems Center, Newport, Rhode Island
NAGE Local R1-144 and Naval Underwater Systems Center (FLRA 0-NG-1755): Supervisor decision proposal rejected
The union proposed that an employee's supervisor make the final decision on that employee's performance elements and standards. The Navy argued that this would prevent management from assigning that decision to someone else. The Authority agreed that requiring a particular official to make the…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R7-23 and U.S. Department of the Air Force, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois
NAGE Local R7-23 and Scott Air Force Base (FLRA 0-NG-1745): Litigation expense proposal rejected
The union proposed that Scott Air Force Base reimburse employees for legal fees, court costs, leave, and other expenses from employment-related civil or criminal cases if they were cleared of major charges. It also sought retroactive reimbursement in a named federal court case. The Authority held…
AFGE Local 2298 and U.S. Department of the Navy, Polaris Missile Facility Atlantic
AFGE Local 2298 and Navy Polaris Missile Facility (FLRA 0-NG-1725): Motorcycle training excusal is negotiable
AFGE Local 2298 proposed administrative excusal during work hours for employees attending Navy motorcycle safety training. The Navy argued that the proposal interfered with its right to assign work. The union explained that the proposal would apply only when the Navy approved an employee's absence…
Bulk Transportation Services, Inc.
High-voltage citation affirmed, penalty reduced
A truck operated for Bulk Transportation Services contacted an energized 46,000-volt line after the driver raised the truck bed while parked beneath it at a coal preparation plant. Judge George A. Koutras found that Bulk was an independent contractor subject to the Mine Act and that the incident…
Beth Energy Mines, Inc.
Belt travelway safeguards affirmed
MSHA cited Beth Energy after finding obstructions that narrowed the tight-side travelways alongside two belt conveyors below the 24-inch width required by a safeguard notice. Judge William Fauver held that the notice was valid because it tracked a published safeguard criterion and that the…
Mettiki Coal Corporation
Rib orders vacated or modified
Mettiki faced consolidated proceedings after a fatal rib-roll accident and related alleged violations at its underground mine. Judge Roy J. Maurer vacated two section 104(d)(2) orders and rejected the related penalty proposals, while modifying two other orders to S&S section 104(a) citations and…
France Stone Company
Settlement approved after fatal accident
France Stone Company faced two citations arising from a fatal accident at a stone quarry stockpile. One citation alleged that the dumping area lacked an adequate berm after a truck traveled about 40 feet down to the quarry floor, and the other alleged that the truck driver was not wearing a seat…
Matter of Dobere
Immigration judges could change venue in detained exclusion cases
The Board reviewed an interlocutory appeal involving an applicant who was being held in custody during exclusion proceedings. The Immigration Judge had granted the applicant's motion to change venue from Oakdale, Louisiana, to New York City, and the Service argued that detention deprived the judge…
Consolidation Coal Company
Injury-reporting citations partly affirmed
MSHA cited Consolidation Coal after two miners received medical treatment for injuries that the operator did not report on Form 7000-1, and after a third citation was issued. Judge Avram Weisberger held that an injury occurring at a mine is reportable under 30 C.F.R. § 50.20(a) when the…
Shamrock Coal Company
Roof citation vacated, settlement approved
Shamrock faced six citations, including one involving a fatal roof-fall accident and five citations resolved through a settlement. Judge Gary Melick approved the settlement for the five citations and found that the remaining Citation No. 3030499 was facially deficient because it did not allege that…
Federal Trade Commission and AFGE Local 2211
Election direction set aside and case remanded
AFGE Local 2211 sought an election so previously unrepresented Federal Trade Commission employees could join its existing bargaining unit. The regional director approved an election for a separate residual unit that included lead and temporary employees. The Authority rejected that basis because…
Philadelphia Metal Trades Council and Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
Philadelphia Metal Trades Council and Naval Shipyard (FLRA 0-NG-1647): Reconsideration request filed one day late
The Philadelphia Metal Trades Council asked the Authority to reconsider its earlier dismissal of a negotiability appeal as late. The union said it received the Navy's disapproval of contract provisions after a holiday closure and wanted the Authority to reach the merits. The Authority found that…
Leeco, Inc.
Mine inspection access order affirmed
Ricky Hays alleged that Leeco discharged him after he refused to service a continuous haulage system while it was operating because he believed the work was unsafe. Judge George A. Koutras affirmed an earlier order allowing Hays, his attorneys, and an expert to enter the underground mine to…
AFGE Local 987 and U.S. Department of the Air Force, Warner Robins Air Logistics Center
AFGE Local 987 and Warner Robins Air Logistics Center (FLRA 4-CO-80001): Union must represent nonmembers fairly
An AFGE Local 987 representative told a bargaining unit employee at the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center that she would not receive full help with her grievance unless she joined the union. An administrative law judge found that this threatened the employee's right to remain a nonmember and…
Veterans Administration Medical Center Birmingham and AFGE Local 2207
Birmingham VA Medical Center and AFGE Local 2207 (FLRA 0-AR-1703): Employee suspension upheld
A Birmingham VA medical center suspended a blood bank technologist and local union vice president for 14 days. The charges concerned a brief absence without leave and his delay in responding to a supervisor's instruction during an urgent request for blood. An arbitrator denied the grievance…
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service and NFFE Local 450
Forest Service and NFFE Local 450 (FLRA 0-AR-1670): Temporary promotion and backpay upheld
A Forest Service technician at the Wallowa Valley Ranger District performed higher graded timber sale duties for more than 60 days without a temporary promotion. An arbitrator found that this violated the labor agreement and awarded a retroactive GS-11 temporary promotion and the difference in pay…
NAGE Local R1-109 and Veterans Affairs Medical Center Newington
Newington VA Medical Center and NAGE Local R1-109 (FLRA 0-NG-1678): Flag duty bargaining allowed, pay question dismissed
The Newington VA medical center assigned its Engineering Service sole responsibility for putting up and taking down flags on holidays. NAGE Local R1-109 proposed paying employees for the entire period between putting flags up and taking them down, and negotiating a voluntary system for assigning…
Service and Hospital Employees International Union Local 150 and Veterans Administration Medical Center Milwaukee
Milwaukee VA Medical Center and SEIU Local 150 (FLRA 0-NG-1654): Two contract provisions negotiable, six rejected
SEIU Local 150 challenged the Milwaukee VA medical center's disapproval of eight provisions in a negotiated agreement. The Authority found two provisions negotiable: advance posting of expected holiday workers and a definition of adverse action read consistently with federal law. It rejected six…
HHS Health Care Financing Administration and AFGE Local 1923
Refusal to honor promotion award was unlawful
An arbitrator ordered the HHS Health Care Financing Administration to promote an employee to the next available GS-13 position after finding that the agency had denied her required priority consideration. The Authority denied the agency's exceptions, but the agency did not promote her when a…
National Treasury Employees Union and HHS Family Support Administration
NTEU and HHS Family Support Administration (FLRA 0-AR-1627): Promotion remedy for union discrimination upheld
The HHS Family Support Administration passed over a grants management specialist for a GS-13 job while he served as a union chapter president. An arbitrator found that his union activity motivated the nonselection and that the agency had not shown it would have made the same decision without that…
Mettiki Coal Company
Lockout violations affirmed and imminent-danger order modified
Mettiki Coal operated the Mettiki General Preparation Plant. An MSHA inspection found that a padlocked disconnect breaker for a conveyor could still be turned on because its lockout device was defective. Judge William Fauver found violations of 30 C.F.R. §§ 77.502 and 77.507, but concluded that the…
Kenta Energy, Inc. and Roy Dan Jackson
Back pay and interest awarded on remand
The Commission remanded Robert Simpson's discrimination case for a decision on appeal-related attorney fees and the amount of back pay and interest due. Judge James A. Broderick accepted Simpson's uncontested calculations and found that he had not been reinstated or offered reinstatement. He…
Energy Fuels Coal, Inc.
Mine ventilation citations affirmed with $194 penalty
Energy Fuels Coal was cited for shutting down its main fan when the mine was idle, using a PVC pipe in a ventilation control, and a related condition involving the approved ventilation plan. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. approved a settlement modifying one citation's affected-person count from seven…
Energy Fuels Coal, Inc.
Coal-dust citation vacated and settlement citations modified
Energy Fuels Coal was assessed penalties for three citations at the Raton Creek Mine No. 1. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. approved the parties' settlement of two citations, deleting their significant-and-substantial designations and assessing penalties of $68 and $42. He vacated the remaining…
Energy Fuels Coal, Inc.,
Energy Fuels Coal, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 89-148): Settlement approved with $227 penalty
Energy Fuels Coal resolved three citations at the Southfield Mine through a settlement approved by Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. Two citations were modified to delete their significant-and-substantial designations, and the third was affirmed. The operator was ordered to pay $227 in total penalties…
Conesville Coal Preparation Company
Imminent-danger order affirmed and training findings vacated
Conesville Coal Preparation operated a coal preparation plant where a truck trailer overturned during coal dumping and fatally crushed another truck driver. Judge George A. Koutras affirmed the imminent-danger order based on inadequate side clearance at the raw coal dumping area. He vacated the…
U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons Safford and AFGE Local 2313
Bureau of Prisons Safford and AFGE Local 2313 (FLRA 8-CA-70470): Union representative silenced during investigation
A Safford prison officer attended an investigatory interview with a union representative after questions arose about her medical work restrictions. The interviewing supervisor allowed the representative to be present but told her she could not ask questions. The Authority held that the employee's…
Pennsylvania National Guard and Association of Civilian Technicians
Pennsylvania National Guard and ACT (FLRA 0-AR-1576, 0-AR-1651): Mechanic selection awards set aside
The Pennsylvania National Guard filled an aircraft mechanic position with an active guard reservist rather than one of four civilian technician applicants. An earlier arbitration award required the Guard to post the vacancy under the labor agreement. Two later awards went further, requiring the…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, Hill Air Force Base and AFGE Local 1592
Hill Air Force Base and AFGE Local 1592 (FLRA 0-AR-1774): Performance appraisal grievance returned to arbitrator
An Air Force employee at Hill Air Force Base challenged a fully successful performance rating. The arbitrator first issued a tentative decision in the employee's favor and gave both parties until July 10 to submit information on a rating issue they had not addressed. Before that deadline, he used…
National Labor Relations Board and National Labor Relations Board Union
NLRB and NLRB Union (FLRA 0-AR-1631): Reappraisal ordered for 1985 only
An NLRB field attorney grieved her 1985 and 1986 performance appraisals, saying they were lowered in reprisal for union work. An arbitrator ordered the agency to reappraise her, relying in part on a supervisor's mistaken use of a revised rating system in 1985. The Authority upheld reappraisal for…
Hinkle Contracting Corporation
ALJ decision vacated and remanded for briefing
Hinkle Contracting petitioned for review after the ALJ issued a decision before receiving Hinkle's response brief. The ALJ acknowledged the inadvertent timing, and the Secretary agreed that the decision should be vacated and the case remanded. The Commission granted discretionary review, vacated…
NTEU Chapter 83 and U.S. Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service
NTEU Chapter 83 and IRS (FLRA 0-NG-1599): Minimum workspace proposal is negotiable
NTEU Chapter 83 proposed at least 64 square feet of contiguous workspace for each affected IRS employee during an office move at L'Enfant Plaza. The IRS argued that this would interfere with its automated examination workstations, its plan to group examination staff together, and its control over…
U.S. Army XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg and AFGE Local 1770
Fort Bragg and AFGE Local 1770 (FLRA 0-AR-1698): Attorney fee request returned for explanation
An arbitrator awarded retroactive environmental differential pay to Fort Bragg employees who operated heavy equipment near explosives, then denied the union's request for attorney fees. The union challenged the fee ruling. The Authority agreed that the arbitrator could find the Army had reasonably…
C. W. Mining Company
Five unwarrantable-failure violations affirmed
C. W. Mining Company was cited for failures involving weekly electrical examinations, permissibility of electrical equipment, coal accumulations, preshift examinations, and coal dust on equipment at the Bear Canyon No. 1 Mine. Judge Gary Melick found all five violations proven and concluded that…
Social Security Administration and AFGE Local 1923
Rating increase award returned for clarification
A Social Security Administration employee challenged a level 3 rating for interviewing the public after receiving higher ratings for that task in earlier years. An arbitrator ordered the rating raised to level 4, citing missing progress reviews, reliance on the employee's absences, and an appraisal…
Department of the Air Force, Sacramento Air Logistics Center, McClellan Air Force Base, California and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1857, AFL-CIO
McClellan Air Force Base and AFGE Local 1857 (FLRA 9-CA-80327, 9-CA-80487): Union access to discipline meetings ordered
McClellan Air Force Base met with employees to deliver final disciplinary decisions while refusing to let their designated union representative attend. An administrative law judge found that this bypassed AFGE Local 1857 and interfered with employees' representation rights. The Authority upheld…
NFFE Local 2099 and U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval Plant Representative Office St. Louis
NFFE Local 2099 and Navy St. Louis office (FLRA 0-NG-1630): Promotion ranking panel provision takes effect
NFFE Local 2099 and the Navy agreed that a panel would rank promotion candidates when at least three qualified applicants were identified. The Navy's agency head disapproved the provision, arguing that it restricted management's selection, work assignment, and organizational rights. The Authority…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, Griffiss Air Force Base, New York and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2612
Griffiss Air Force Base and AFGE Local 2612 (FLRA 0-AR-1879): Early exceptions dismissed
AFGE Local 2612 challenged an arbitrator's decision to schedule a hearing for April 4, 1990. The union said the scheduling ruling violated its collective bargaining agreement. The Authority held that a hearing date is a preliminary ruling, and the arbitrator had not yet made a final award. It found…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, Griffiss Air Force Base and AFGE Local 2612
Griffiss Air Force Base and AFGE Local 2612 (FLRA 0-AR-1875): Hearing schedule challenge dismissed as premature
An arbitrator scheduled an April 3 hearing in a dispute between Griffiss Air Force Base and AFGE Local 2612. The union appealed the scheduling decision to the Authority, arguing that it violated the labor agreement. The Authority held that a hearing schedule is a preliminary ruling and that the…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, Kelly Air Force Base and AFGE Local 1617
Kelly Air Force Base and AFGE Local 1617 (FLRA 0-AR-1779): Late grievance appeal remains dismissed
AFGE Local 1617 grieved a one-day suspension of a Kelly Air Force Base employee. An arbitrator found that the union filed the grievance at step 3 after the extended deadline and dismissed it without reaching the suspension. The union appealed, saying another approved extension made its filing…
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.