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.
No decisions match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
Hinkle Contracting Corp.
Conveyor and highwall violations affirmed
Hinkle Contracting operated the Strunk Crushed Stone site and was cited after inspectors found an inoperable emergency stop device on a 450-foot conveyor and loose, unstable material along a highwall beside a haul road. Judge Gary Melick rejected Hinkle's claimed 42-inch exception to the conveyor…
Ampak Mining, Inc.
Damages and attorney fees awarded
The judge had previously found that Ampak Mining discriminated against David Thomas and George Issacs in violation of section 105(c)(1) of the Mine Act. The parties stipulated that Thomas was owed $6,250 in backpay and Issacs was owed $6,080, plus interest calculated under the Commission's formula…
Department of Transportation, U.S. Coast Guard, 8th Coast Guard District and Service Employees International Union, Local 100
Coast Guard 8th District (FLRA 6-RO-90005): Social worker's unit status remanded
A Coast Guard social worker's ballot in a representation election was challenged on the ground that his duties made him a management official or a confidential employee. The Regional Director rejected both grounds and ordered the ballot counted. The Authority agreed that the Coast Guard had not…
Department of Defense, Warner Robins Air Force Logistics Center and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 987
Warner Robins Air Force Logistics Center (FLRA 4-CA-70463): Coverall change required bargaining
Warner Robins Air Force Logistics Center changed the color and style of protective coveralls used by employees in its waste treatment division without giving AFGE Local 987 notice or a chance to bargain. The Authority agreed with the judge that the new coveralls differed in ways affecting employee…
National Guard Bureau and Adjutant General, State of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania State Council, Association of Civilian Technicians
Pennsylvania National Guard (FLRA 2-CA-80297): Compressed work schedule complaint dismissed
A union charged that the Pennsylvania National Guard and National Guard Bureau unlawfully refused to bargain over compressed work schedules for technicians. During the case, a federal appeals court ruled that the National Guard Technician Act gives the Secretary of the Army discretion over…
American Federation of Government Employees, Department of Education Council of AFGE Locals and Department of Education
Education Department and AFGE Council (FLRA 0-NG-1594): Training and counseling proposals negotiable
An AFGE council proposed that the Education Department consider employee training requests, provide information about training, make training selections fairly, and protect the confidentiality of employee counseling requests. The department disputed whether three proposals were within its duty to…
Navy Public Works Center, Norfolk, Virginia and Tidewater Virginia Federal Employees Metal Trades Council
Navy Public Works Center (FLRA 0-AR-1722): Supplemental overtime award upheld
An arbitrator found that the Navy Public Works Center had failed to distribute overtime equitably and awarded backpay to an employee. The Authority set aside the first backpay award under the Back Pay Act. The arbitrator then sought the parties' views on a further remedy, and both parties agreed in…
Local Union 2333, District 29, United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) v. Ranger Fuel Corporation
Compensation award affirmed and interest modified
The United Mine Workers sought compensation for miners idled after MSHA issued an imminent-danger withdrawal order at Ranger Fuel's underground coal mine. The Commission held that Ranger could not challenge the validity of the uncontested withdrawal order in the later compensation case, and that…
Reynolds Metals Company
Work-refusal discrimination complaint dismissed
Michael P. Damron was discharged after refusing to operate a ball mill because he believed falling objects and spilled caustic liquid made the work unsafe. The judge found that falling objects had created an objectively real hazard and that Damron had reasonably raised his safety concerns. But…
National Treasury Employees Union and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service
NTEU and IRS (FLRA 0-NG-1638): Binding impasse process required Panel approval
NTEU and the IRS agreed on a revised ground rules clause for resolving bargaining impasses through mediation and arbitration. The Treasury Department disapproved it. The Authority found that the clause would bind the agency to an arbitrator's recommendations that complied with law, despite the…
National Treasury Employees Union and Department of the Treasury, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
NTEU and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (FLRA 0-NG-1637): Impasse clause rejected
NTEU and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agreed on a process for resolving bargaining impasses through a mediator and arbitrator. The Treasury Department disapproved the clause. The Authority found that the clause would bind the agency to an arbitrator's lawful recommendations, even…
International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 4 and Department of the Navy, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (FLRA 0-NG-1531): One contract provision negotiable
The Navy disapproved three provisions in its agreement with IFPTE Local 4 at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. The Authority found that a provision barring use of employee statements in disciplinary cases interfered with the Navy's right to discipline. A provision that could delay revocation of union dues…
Department of the Army, 6th Infantry Division (Light), Fort Richardson and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1834
Army 6th Infantry Division (FLRA 0-AR-1607): Asbestos pay award returned for clarification
An arbitrator ordered the Army to restore environmental differential pay for Fort Wainwright pipefitters doing asbestos removal work in underground tunnels. The Army excepted to the award, arguing that it relied on an incorrect OSHA asbestos action level. The Authority agreed that the arbitrator…
Veterans Administration Medical Center, Leavenworth, Kansas and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 85
Leavenworth VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-1621): Asbestos pay grievance denied
A General Schedule employee at the Leavenworth VA Medical Center sought special pay for asbestos exposure after wage grade employees received environmental differential pay for similar exposure. The arbitrator denied his grievance because the pay rules differed for the two groups. The Authority…
Western Division, Naval Facilities Engineering Command and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2168
Naval Facilities Engineering Command (FLRA 0-AR-1587): Attorney fee award set aside
An arbitrator found that the Naval Facilities Engineering Command improperly reassigned an employee from an editor job to a lower graded job. He ordered the employee returned to his prior status and awarded attorney fees. The Authority found that the employee had kept his prior pay rate throughout…
M. Jamieson Company
Late penalty filing accepted
The Secretary filed a civil penalty petition after the deadline because the case file had been placed with another pending matter. The Chief Administrative Law Judge found that the delay was relatively short, the response to the show-cause order was prompt, and the operator had not shown prejudice…
Beth Energy Mines, Inc.
Roof-control order modified and penalties assessed
Beth Energy and three of its agents were involved in a case about unsaddled roof beams in a haulage area at the Eighty Four Complex. The judge found that the beams violated the mine's roof control plan and that the area remained hazardous when a foreman authorized miners to enter and remove rail…
Matter of Barrett
State drug convictions can qualify as aggravated felonies
The Board reviewed the Service's appeal from a bond redetermination for a Jamaican lawful permanent resident with Maryland drug convictions. It held that the aggravated-felony definition can include a state conviction for a crime sufficiently analogous to an offense under the federal drug laws…
National Treasury Employees Union and U.S. Customs Service
NTEU and Customs Service (FLRA 0-NG-1626): Uniform patch costs negotiable
The Customs Service required uniformed employees to buy and attach bicentennial patches to their uniforms. NTEU proposed that the agency provide patches without charging employees and reimburse the cost of attaching them. The Authority found that the proposals concerned working conditions and did…
VP-5 Mining Company
Reporting violations resolved with $230 in penalties
MSHA alleged that VP-5 Mining failed to report ten occupational injuries and related violations. The Secretary moved to vacate five citations, and the judge granted those requests. Four other citations were resolved through a settlement requiring $80 in penalties. The judge found that VP-5 failed…
Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company
Stay lifted and $78 penalty due
The Secretary sought a civil penalty for a citation that was also being litigated in a related contest proceeding. The penalty case was stayed while the contest decision was reviewed by the Commission. After the Commission affirmed the citation and the $78 penalty in the contest case, Judge William…
Matter of Tawfik
Visa petition revocation required substantial and probative evidence
The Board reviewed the revocation of a visa petition filed by a United States citizen for her Egyptian spouse. The district director had relied on an earlier finding that the spouse's prior marriage was entered into primarily to obtain immigration benefits. The Board held that the district director…
Matter of Keyte
Departure did not withdraw an exclusion appeal
The Board reviewed an exclusion appeal by four New Zealand applicants who had left the United States after filing their appeal and later returned to New Zealand. The Board held that departure alone did not withdraw the appeal and that the case was not moot because an adverse decision could still…
Department of the Air Force, Scott Air Force Base and National Association of Government Employees, Local R7-23
Scott Air Force Base: Union newspaper advertisement complaint dismissed (FLRA 5-CA-70175): Complaint dismissed
The union at Scott Air Force Base sought to place a paid newspaper advertisement about an alleged performance rating quota. Base officials asked it to revise the advertisement and did not publish it as submitted. The Authority agreed with the judge that the newspaper screened advertisements from…
National Treasury Employees Union and Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Office of Hearings and Appeals
Social Security Office of Hearings and Appeals (FLRA 0-NG-1610): Performance standard exceptions rejected
NTEU challenged the disapproval of three contract provisions concerning assessment of decision-writing and case-analysis work. The provisions required the agency to account for specified duties, workload, and timing factors when rating employees. The Authority read the clauses as requiring…
National Treasury Employees Union and Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Hearings and Appeals
HHS Office of Hearings and Appeals (FLRA 0-NG-1597): Decision writer appraisal proposals rejected
NTEU proposed three clauses affecting performance assessments for employees who wrote Social Security disability decisions. The clauses would require the agency to adjust or assess performance using specified time and quality factors. The Authority found that the proposals would control the content…
American Federation of Government Employees, Department of Education Council of AFGE Locals and Department of Education
Education Department: Two appraisal proposals negotiable (FLRA 0-NG-1596): Proposal 1 nonnegotiable
The AFGE council proposed three contract clauses about performance appraisals. The Authority found that a requirement that the appraisal system be fair, equitable, and job-related directly interfered with management rights and was outside the duty to bargain. It held negotiable a clause identifying…
West Point Elementary School Teachers Association, NEA and United States Military Academy, West Point Elementary School
West Point Elementary School (FLRA 0-NG-1555): Evaluation frequency clause negotiable
The agency disapproved four provisions in a local agreement with the teachers association. The Authority upheld a clause setting the frequency of employee evaluations. It rejected limits on nonteaching assignments, other evaluation terms that interfered with management rights, a reduction-in-force…
Portsmouth Federal Employees Metal Trades Council and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (FLRA 0-NG-1554): Discipline evidence restriction nonnegotiable
A shipyard union proposed barring the Navy from using certain employee answers to support discipline when management had not offered union representation during questioning. The Authority found that the blanket restriction would apply even to inadvertent failures to offer representation, without…
U.S. Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Los Angeles District and National Treasury Employees Union, Los Angeles Joint Council
IRS Los Angeles District (FLRA 0-AR-1737): Unit-status arbitration ruling set aside
An IRS employee grieved the denial of a within-grade increase. The agency said she was a confidential employee outside the bargaining unit, and the arbitrator ruled that she was in the unit. The Authority accepted an immediate exception because the unit question controlled whether the grievance…
General Services Administration and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2600
GSA: Supplemental arbitrator fee award set aside (FLRA 0-AR-1634): Supplemental fee-allocation award set aside.
An arbitrator dismissed a classification grievance and divided his fees equally between the parties. He later issued a supplemental award reaffirming that allocation. The parties had stipulated that they intended another arbitrator to resolve the fee dispute. The Authority held that the first…
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Chicago and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1395
Social Security Administration: Parking award set aside (FLRA 0-AR-1600): Parking award set aside.
After a Chicago Social Security office moved, employees lost access to extensive free parking at the former site. An arbitrator ordered the agency to provide secure and adequate employee parking. The Authority found that GSA held exclusive authority to acquire leased parking and that the agency had…
Allen Park Veterans Administration Medical Center and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 933
Allen Park VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-1588): Asbestos pay award upheld, fee award set aside
An arbitrator awarded environmental differential pay to wage grade employees at the Allen Park VA Medical Center for asbestos exposure. After an earlier remand, the Authority found that the arbitrator had supplied the required evidence-based analysis of exposure and protective measures. It denied…
Hiope Mining Incorporated
Roof-control order modified and penalties assessed
MSHA alleged that Hiope Mining accumulated float coal dust and cut into a coal pillar before installing the required roof supports. The judge found that the dust violation was serious and resulted from unwarrantable failure, and assessed a $1,000 penalty. He found that the roof-control violation…
Lancashire Coal Company
Demolition-site citations resolved after fatal accident
A contractor employee died while dismantling a coal storage silo at Lancashire's preparation plant. The ALJ found that MSHA had jurisdiction over the site, affirmed orders and citations concerning site safety, structural maintenance, and required reporting, and rejected Lancashire's…
Matter of Lutheran Ministries of Florida
Nonprofit recognition application required more detail
The Board reviewed a nonprofit organization's application for recognition so it could provide immigration-related services and seek accreditation for a representative. The Board held that an application must explain in detail how the organization will operate and be staffed, and must provide…
Walker Stone Company, Inc.
Eleven safety citations affirmed with negligence findings modified
Walker Stone operated a surface limestone quarry and mill. MSHA alleged eleven violations involving guarding, electrical grounding, conveyor warnings, fuel-tank signage, power-switch labeling, cable fittings, and defects in a fuel-delivery truck. Judge William Fauver found every cited violation…
U.S. Department of the Army, Presidio of San Francisco and American Federation of Government Employees, Locals 1457, 1157 and 3593
Army Presidio of San Francisco (FLRA 9-CU-90012): Unserved review application dismissed
AFGE Local 1457 asked the Authority to review a Regional Director's decision in a unit case. Its filing lacked proof that the two intervening unions had received the application. The Authority ordered the local to cure the defect, but the local did not do so, and its response to a later show-cause…
U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, El Paso District Office and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1210
INS El Paso District (FLRA 6-CA-70213): Unilateral memoranda required bargaining
The INS El Paso District issued memoranda changing investigators' working conditions without giving AFGE Local 1210 adequate notice and a chance to bargain over impact and implementation. The Authority found violations involving thirteen memoranda and dismissed allegations concerning two others. It…
American Federation of Government Employees, Department of Education Council of AFGE Locals and Department of Education
Education Department (FLRA 0-NG-1591): Dues and promotion proposals split
The AFGE council appealed the Education Department's refusal to bargain over a dues revocation proposal and several career-ladder promotion provisions. The Authority held the dues proposal negotiable. It also approved one sentence of a promotion provision, while rejecting another sentence that…
Day Branch Coal Company Inc.
Roof and fire-suppression violations affirmed
Day Branch Coal Company operated an underground coal mine. MSHA alleged that miners traveled under unsupported roof, warning devices were missing, roof supports did not follow the mine plan, roof bolts were damaged, and a conveyor-belt fire-suppression system was inoperative. The judge found the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Council 214 and Department of the Air Force, Air Force Logistics Command
Air Force Logistics Command (FLRA 0-NG-1652): Base-entry proposals rejected
AFGE Council 214 proposed less restrictive entry procedures for union officials at Tinker and Robins Air Force Bases, including three-year entry credentials. The Air Force said its procedures protected sensitive equipment and facilities. The Authority found a reasonable link between the entry…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, Air Force Logistics Command, Hill Air Force Base and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1592
Hill Air Force Base (FLRA 0-AR-1721): Three-day suspension upheld
An arbitrator found just cause for a three-day suspension of a sandblaster at Hill Air Force Base after an episode involving work directives and a supervisor. The union alleged arbitrator bias, harmful procedural error, and misreading of the labor agreement. The Authority found the bias allegation…
U.S. Department of Commerce, Patent and Trademark Office and Patent Office Professional Association
Patent and Trademark Office (FLRA 0-AR-1643): Appraisal remedy returned for clarification
An arbitrator found that the Patent and Trademark Office had changed patent examiners' appraisal plan contrary to its agreement with the union. He ordered relief for employees who lost out because of the change, but the parties disagreed about which employees and what time period the remedy…
Eastern Associated Coal Corporation
Oil and grease violations modified
Eastern Associated Coal Corporation faced two Mine Act cases involving accumulations of hydraulic oil, grease, and oil around equipment at its underground coal mine. Judge Avram Weisberger found the violations established but concluded that the evidence did not show a reasonable likelihood of…
Matter of Marquez
Sham-adoption claims require evidence of a genuine parental relationship
The Board reviewed the revocation of a visa petition filed by a United States citizen for her adopted niece from the Philippines. The Board held that the statutory age, custody, and residence requirements for an adopted child do not prevent the agency from examining whether the adoption was genuine…
Department of the Air Force, Scott Air Force Base and National Association of Government Employees, Local R7-23
Scott Air Force Base (FLRA 5-CA-70308): Supervisor statements violated union rights
A Scott Air Force Base employee who served as a union officer received priority consideration for a higher graded job under a grievance settlement. A supervisor made statements suggesting that the employee's union role and grievance rights were obstacles to selection. The judge recommended…
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Jackson Area Office and National Council of EEOC Locals No. 216, AFGE Local 3599
EEOC Jackson Area Office (FLRA 4-CA-80134): Union-activity appraisal reference allowed
An EEOC employee's appraisal noted that she was union president and had spent less time on compliance work because of union activities. The union alleged that including this language interfered with protected rights. The Authority rejected a rule that every reference to union activity in an…
U.S. Department of Transportation, Coast Guard Finance Center and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 22
Coast Guard Finance Center (FLRA 3-RO-90010): Election direction affirmed
AFGE Local 22 sought an election for employees of a newly established Coast Guard Finance Center in Chesapeake, Virginia. The Coast Guard argued that the work force was too small and unrepresentative while the center was still growing. The Authority found that the current and expected staffing…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3354 and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Farmers Home Administration, Finance Office
Farmers Home Administration (FLRA 0-NG-1634): Representation at improvement meeting negotiable
AFGE Local 3354 negotiated a clause allowing an employee to request union representation when a supervisor discussed an opportunity-to-improve-performance letter. The Agriculture Department disapproved it. The Authority found that the clause addressed representation after management had determined…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1857 and Sacramento Air Logistics Center, McClellan Air Force Base
Sacramento Air Logistics Center (FLRA 0-NG-1560): Daylight-saving shift proposals rejected
AFGE Local 1857 proposed changes for overnight employees whose scheduled shift lost an hour during the spring switch to daylight saving time. The proposals would have provided work or alternate scheduling instead of charging leave for the lost hour. The Authority held that three proposals…
Department of the Army, 7th Infantry Division (Light), Fort Ord and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2082
Army 7th Infantry Division (FLRA 0-AR-1691): EEOC compliance grievance dismissal upheld
An Army employee grieved the agency's compliance with an earlier EEOC decision awarding reinstatement and other relief. The arbitrator dismissed the grievance because the employee identified no provision of the labor agreement that the Army had violated. The union challenged several factual…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1698 and Department of the Navy, Aviation Supply Office
Navy Aviation Supply Office (FLRA 0-AR-1625): Promotion backpay award upheld
A Navy employee grieved his nonselection for two promotions. An arbitrator found that a selection panel had improperly discounted his top ranking and concluded that he would have been promoted absent the panel's actions. The Authority held that these findings supported the required connection…
Rochester and Pittsburgh Coal Corporation
Part 90 miner pay protection affirmed
Rochester and Pittsburgh Coal reduced Leonard Edwards's pay after he exercised his Part 90 option to transfer to less dusty work. The Commission held that the protected regular rate is the rate the miner was actually and regularly receiving immediately before exercising the option, even if the…
Texas Industries Inc.
Defective scooter citations affirmed
Texas Industries operated a limestone mine and cement production facility. MSHA found that an electric scooter used around vehicle and pedestrian traffic had an inoperable service brake and a speed selector that would not return to neutral. Judge Gary Melick found both violations significant and…
Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company
Methane and dust orders partly affirmed
Rochester and Pittsburgh Coal contested an imminent-danger order, methane-ventilation citations, roof and coal-dust conditions, and a detonator-magazine condition at its mines and preparation plant. Judge Roy J. Maurer affirmed the imminent-danger order and related methane citations, modified two…
Gilbert v. Sandy Fork Mining Company, Inc.
Discrimination complaints reinstated and remanded
John A. Gilbert and the Secretary of Labor alleged that Sandy Fork Mining discharged Gilbert after he refused work he reasonably believed was hazardous. On remand from the D.C. Circuit, the Commission held that the record supported Gilbert's good-faith, reasonable safety concern and that the…
Walker Stone Company, Inc.
Default order vacated and remanded
Walker Stone failed to answer the Secretary's civil-penalty proposal and an administrative law judge's show-cause order, leading to a default order assessing $178. The Commission treated the president's letter, received within 30 days of the default order, as a timely petition for discretionary…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1770 and U.S. Department of the Army, XVII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg
Fort Bragg (FLRA 0-NG-1672): Discipline-history proposal rejected
AFGE Local 1770 proposed that the Army consider only prior offenses of the same kind when deciding discipline for later misconduct. The Authority found that the proposal would prevent management from considering an employee's full disciplinary history. That restriction directly interfered with the…
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Memphis and National Association of Government Employees, Local R5-66
Memphis VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-1810): Respiratory therapist suspension upheld
A Memphis VA medical center suspended a respiratory therapist for fourteen days after an investigation of a patient ventilator incident. The arbitrator found that the medical center had cause for the suspension and denied the grievance. The union argued that the penalty was excessive and 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.