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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Veterans Administration Medical Center, Birmingham, Alabama and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2207
Birmingham VA Medical Center and AFGE Local 2207 (FLRA O-AR-1547): Steward-list order upheld
The Birmingham VA Medical Center grieved that AFGE Local 2207's steward list did not identify the area each steward represented as required by their local agreement. An arbitrator found the ongoing omission made the grievance timely and ordered the union to supply a current list and update it when…
Department of the Air Force, Headquarters 832d Combat Support Group, Luke Air Force Base and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1547
Luke Air Force Base and AFGE Local 1547 (FLRA 8-CA-50167): Fee award narrowed and remanded
A prior arbitration award required Luke Air Force Base to undo a shift transfer, and a later unfair labor practice proceeding addressed compliance with that award. An administrative law judge granted a union attorney's fee and cost application for both proceedings. The Authority held that…
National Treasury Employees Union and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
FDIC and NTEU (FLRA 0-MC-13, 0-MC-14): Impasse arbitration stayed
The FDIC and NTEU disputed whether the agency had to bargain over wage and money-related fringe benefit proposals. The Federal Service Impasses Panel directed the parties to submit the disputes to binding interest arbitration while closely related negotiability rulings were under review in the D.C…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 202 and Department of the Treasury, Financial Management Service, Headquarters Office
Financial Management Service and NTEU Chapter 202 (FLRA 0-AR-1545): Removal award outside FLRA review
The Financial Management Service removed an employee for alleged drinking on duty and unauthorized use of a government vehicle that caused damage. An arbitrator rejected the drinking charge, sustained the vehicle charge, and reduced the removal to a 30-day suspension subject to conditions…
National Treasury Employees Union and U.S. Customs Service, Pacific Region
Customs Pacific Region and NTEU (FLRA 0-AR-1495): Inspector promotion and backpay upheld
An intermittent Customs inspector sought a career-ladder promotion from GS-7 to GS-9 after completing 2,080 hours of service. An arbitrator found that the inspector qualified under the agency's earlier representations and the negotiated agreement, and that a later directive limiting promotions to…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1931 and Department of the Navy, Naval Weapons Station, Concord, California
Concord Naval Weapons Station and AFGE Local 1931 (FLRA 0-NG-1414): Mixed bargaining ruling
The Navy disapproved a set of provisions negotiated by AFGE Local 1931 at the Concord Naval Weapons Station. The Authority found several provisions outside the duty to bargain, including limits on overtime and night drills and rules that conflicted with government regulations or management's…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2761 and Department of the Army, Army Publications Distribution Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Army Publications Center and AFGE Local 2761 (FLRA 0-NG-1514): Appraisal timing provision approved
The Army disapproved seven locally negotiated contract provisions with AFGE Local 2761. The Authority found that provisions limiting overtime assignment, restricting cancellation of annual leave, granting duty time to attend funerals, making awards ceremonies voluntary, and allowing competitive…
Veterans Administration Medical Center, Birmingham, Alabama and American Federation of Government Employees
Birmingham VA Medical Center and AFGE (FLRA 0-AR-1580): Removal exceptions outside FLRA review
A Birmingham VA Medical Center employee grieved a removal. An arbitrator found the grievance and invocation of arbitration timely but upheld the removal for just cause. The union's exceptions challenged only the arbitrator's procedural timeliness rulings. The Authority held that those rulings still…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1411 and Department of the Army, Fort Benjamin Harrison
Fort Benjamin Harrison and AFGE Local 1411 (FLRA O-NG-1518): Towing proposal rejected
Fort Benjamin Harrison adopted a policy of towing vehicles parked in prohibited areas. AFGE Local 1411 proposed that the Army first try to locate and contact a vehicle's driver before towing. The Authority found that the delay would interfere with the Army's internal security plan for safeguarding…
National Treasury Employees Union and Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Public Debt
Bureau of the Public Debt and NTEU (FLRA 0-NG-1516): Contracting-out clause approved
The Bureau of the Public Debt disapproved a negotiated provision promising compliance with OMB Circular A-76 and other applicable contracting-out rules. It argued that the clause interfered with its management right to contract out and would improperly permit grievances over those decisions. The…
American Federation of Government Employees, National Council of Field Assessment Locals and Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration
Social Security Administration and AFGE field assessment locals (FLRA 0-NG-1515): Performance data proposals approved
The Social Security Administration created a Disability Quality Branch Social Insurance Assistant position and developed its performance plan. AFGE proposed that the agency explain its choice of critical performance elements and supply statistical data used to develop standards. The agency argued…
Veterans Administration Medical Center, Houston, Texas and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1633
Houston VA Medical Center and AFGE Local 1633 (FLRA 0-AR-1506): Vacancy award set aside
During a reduction in force, employees at the Houston VA Medical Center applied for a higher grade air-conditioning equipment operator vacancy. The center selected an applicant from another VA facility. An arbitrator found that the local agreement required selection from qualified Houston…
Army and Air Force Exchange Service, Dallas, Texas and National Federation of Federal Employees
Army and Air Force Exchange Service and NFFE (FLRA 6-CA-70555): Addresses ordered disclosed
NFFE requested the names and home addresses of employees in its nationwide Army and Air Force Exchange Service bargaining unit. The service supplied names but withheld addresses, citing Privacy Act concerns. The Authority held that disclosure was required under its reading of the Freedom of…
Department of the Army, Headquarters, U.S. Army Materiel Command and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1332
Army Materiel Command and NFFE Local 1332 (FLRA 0-AR-1533): Three-day suspension upheld
An Army Materiel Command employee received a three-day suspension after a confrontation with his supervisor about tardiness. An arbitrator found that the employee's statement and gesture amounted to an improper threat and that the penalty fell within applicable Army disciplinary guidelines. NFFE…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 171 and Federal Correctional Institution
Federal Correctional Institution and AFGE Local 171 (FLRA 0-AR-1513): Short arbitration award upheld
A Federal Correctional Institution employee was disciplined for failing to follow a reporting policy. The arbitrator denied the grievance in a brief typed award, stating that the penalty was reasonable. AFGE Local 171 argued that the award lacked the arbitrator's signature, did not count as a…
Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 1F (R.I.) Federal and Veterans Administration Medical Center, Providence, Rhode Island
Providence VA Medical Center and police lodge (FLRA 0-NG-1510): Seven proposals dismissed
The Fraternal Order of Police proposed rules for overtime, court appearances, temporary assignments, equipment, and staffing for police officers at the Providence VA Medical Center. The Authority dismissed the seniority-based overtime proposal because the record did not permit a negotiability…
Bureau of Indian Affairs, Phoenix Area Office and National Federation of Federal Employees
BIA Phoenix Area Office and NFFE (FLRA 8-CA-60560): Address complaint dismissed
NFFE requested names and home addresses of employees at the BIA Phoenix Area Office. BIA refused, citing a prior settlement over a Navajo Area Office request. An administrative law judge found that the settlement waived the union's right to have BIA compile and provide lists it did not ordinarily…
Internal Revenue Service, Washington, D.C. and Wichita District, Kansas and National Treasury Employees Union
IRS Wichita District and NTEU (FLRA 7-CA-70608): Award records ordered disclosed
NTEU requested employee appraisal and award records while examining whether the IRS complied with an earlier order concerning a denied quality step increase. The IRS refused because the regional director had closed the compliance matter and questioned the records' need. The Authority held that…
Department of the Treasury, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and National Treasury Employees Union
ATF and NTEU (FLRA 0-AR-1512): Off-site training housing choice upheld
ATF trainees attending an interview-techniques course at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center sought the contractual option of living off-site at normal reimbursement rates. An arbitrator found that on-site residence was not necessary to the training and sustained the union's grievance. ATF…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3512 and Social Security Administration, Data Operations Center
SSA Data Operations Center and AFGE Local 3512 (FLRA 0-AR-1511): Pay increase upheld
The Social Security Administration denied an employee a within-grade increase after rating her performance below an acceptable level. An arbitrator found that the agency had not provided advance notice and a personal improvement plan required by the agreement. He also found that, without those…
U.S. Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration and American Federation of Government Employees, National Council of Field Labor Locals
MSHA and AFGE field labor locals (FLRA 0-AR-1502): Passenger travel overtime denied
An MSHA employee working on a respirable dust study was paid for work at the mine and for handling sampling equipment. He sought overtime for afternoon travel as a passenger from the mine to a motel. An arbitrator treated the motel as temporary lodging and denied the claim because the employee did…
Southern Ohio Coal Company
Safeguard notice upheld and case remanded
Southern Ohio Coal Company was cited after an inspector found only 12 inches of clearance beside a coal feeder where a safeguard required 24 inches on both sides. The ALJ vacated the withdrawal order, reasoning that the safeguard imposed a generally applicable requirement that should have been…
El Paso Sand Products, Inc.
Default order vacated and case remanded
This civil penalty proceeding arose under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act. An ALJ found El Paso Sand Products in default for failing to answer the Secretary's complaint and a later show-cause order, and assessed a $345 penalty. El Paso told the Commission that it had sent written responses…
Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Baltimore, Maryland and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2486
FDA Baltimore and AFGE Local 2486 (FLRA 3-CA-80058): Employee addresses ordered disclosed
AFGE Local 2486 requested the names and home addresses of employees it represented at the FDA's Baltimore office. The FDA refused. An administrative law judge found the refusal to be an unfair labor practice, and the FDA filed exceptions. The Authority adopted the judge's findings and order. The…
Veterans Administration and Veterans Administration Medical Center, Leavenworth, Kansas and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 85
Leavenworth VA Medical Center and AFGE Local 85 (FLRA 7-CA-60247): Asbestos pay bargaining ordered
The Leavenworth VA Medical Center revised a rule on environmental differential pay for employees exposed to asbestos at work while bargaining with AFGE Local 85 remained pending. An administrative law judge found that the VA misrepresented its position during negotiations, stopped bargaining, and…
National Treasury Employees Union and Internal Revenue Service, Atlanta District
IRS Atlanta District and NTEU (FLRA 0-NG-1519): Rotating-shift ban rejected
NTEU proposed that rotating shifts be prohibited as part of work-schedule talks with the IRS Atlanta District. Data Processing Staff employees already rotated among three shifts with different work and skill needs. The Authority held that the disputed sentence was not part of establishing an…
National Treasury Employees Union and Internal Revenue Service, Jacksonville District
IRS Jacksonville District and NTEU (FLRA 0-NG-1513): Office-location proposal rejected
The IRS planned to move two offer-in-compromise specialists from a Jacksonville office on Phillips Highway to its Federal Building as part of a reorganization. NTEU proposed keeping their duty stations at the Phillips Highway office. The Authority held that the proposal would prevent the IRS from…
Independent Letterman Hospital Workers’ Union and Letterman Army Medical Center, Nutrition Care Division
Letterman Army Medical Center and hospital workers union (FLRA O-NG-1508): Military-service leave proposal rejected
The Independent Letterman Hospital Workers' Union proposed that employees serving in the National Guard or Army Reserves could receive paid administrative leave without a leave charge under a rule for civil activities. The Authority held that the cited rule applies to civil activities and does not…
Social Security Administration and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO
Social Security Administration and AFGE (FLRA O-AR-1450): Reconsideration of appraisal award ruling denied
An arbitrator had ordered higher ratings on two elements of an SSA employee's performance appraisal. The Authority set that award aside because the arbitrator had not found that the existing standards were applied unlawfully or contrary to the labor agreement. AFGE sought reconsideration, arguing…
Ozarkamahoning Company
Noise and injury-reporting violations affirmed
Ozarkamahoning Company contested eight alleged violations involving excessive noise exposure and failure to report an injury at its Annabel Lee and Denton Mines. Judge George A. Koutras affirmed the noise citations, including an S&S citation for a jumbo drill operator exposed to noise levels far…
Veterans Administration Medical Center, Leavenworth, Kansas and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 85
Leavenworth VA Medical Center and AFGE Local 85 (FLRA 7-CA-70076): Schedule bargaining ordered
The Leavenworth VA Medical Center changed a housekeeping aide's starting and quitting times without bargaining with AFGE Local 85. An administrative law judge found that the refusal to bargain violated the federal labor statute. The Authority adopted the judge's findings and order. It directed the…
Area Maintenance Support Activities, 86th Army Reserve Command, Forest Park, Illinois and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 4033
86th Army Reserve Command and AFGE Local 4033 (FLRA 5-DA-80001): Dues allotment certification stands
AFGE Local 4033 did not win a representation election for employees of an Army Reserve activity in Illinois, but it had separately sought certification for dues allotment. The regional director granted the allotment petition after finding that more than 10 percent of the unit were union members…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3760 and Social Security Administration
SSA and AFGE Local 3760 (FLRA 0-NG-1484): Sample-case petition dismissed
AFGE Local 3760 proposed rules for distributing sample disability cases to Social Security Administration examiners and for limiting the effect of detail assignments during heavy case receipt. The agency did not file a statement of position after the Authority resumed the appeal. The Authority…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 229 and Department of Health and Human Services
HHS and NTEU Chapter 229 (FLRA 0-AR-1501): Secretary appraisal upheld
An HHS secretary challenged a lower rating on a typing-related critical element in her annual appraisal. An arbitrator found that the evidence of typing errors did not support the higher rating she sought and rejected a claim that the standard was unattainable. He also found no support for alleged…
U.S. Small Business Administration and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2532
Small Business Administration and AFGE Local 2532 (FLRA 0-AR-1489): Unit-status award set aside
A Small Business Administration employee grieved a reprimand, performance rating, counseling letter, dues withholding, and other treatment. An arbitrator first decided that the employee belonged to the bargaining unit and then granted several remedies, including removal of letters, a rating change…
Federal Aviation Administration, Atlantic City, New Jersey and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1340
FAA Atlantic City and NFFE Local 1340 (FLRA 0-AR-1472): Reconsideration denied
NFFE Local 1340 sought reconsideration of an Authority decision upholding an arbitrator's denial of accelerated promotions at the FAA's Atlantic City facility. The earlier decision found that the agency could not grant the promotions without a training agreement or Office of Personnel Management…
Joseph Stora v. Southern Ohio Coal Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Joseph Stora alleged that Southern Ohio Coal Company discharged him for working under unsupported roof while other employees were not discharged for similar conduct. He also acknowledged the roof violation and disputed the company's claim of a continuing pattern of unsatisfactory work. Judge Roy J…
Carswell Air Force Base and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1364
Carswell Air Force Base and AFGE Local 1364 (FLRA O-AR-1500): Performance-rating award upheld
The president of AFGE Local 1364 grieved his Fully Successful performance rating, alleging retaliation for union activity. The arbitrator found no anti-union bias and no credible evidence that the employee deserved a higher rating. The union argued that the arbitrator had mishandled its retaliation…
Lowry Air Force Base, Denver, Colorado and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1974
Lowry Air Force Base and AFGE Local 1974 (FLRA 7-CA-60431): Earlier grievance bars telephone-service complaint
Lowry Air Force Base changed the class of telephone service provided to AFGE Local 1974 without bargaining. The Authority had sent the case back to determine whether the union's earlier grievance barred its unfair labor practice complaint. On remand, the judge found that the grievance concerned the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3006 and Idaho Army and Air National Guard
Idaho National Guard and AFGE Local 3006 (FLRA 0-NG-1509): Employee-title proposal outside duty to bargain
AFGE Local 3006 proposed that the Idaho Army and Air National Guard use the terms employee and technician, rather than military technician, in documents sent to bargaining unit employees. The union said those terms properly described its civilian technician members. The Authority found that the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3954 and Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix federal prison and AFGE Local 3954 (FLRA 0-AR-1503): Suspension award upheld
A federal prison employee received a five-day suspension for failing to report physical abuse of an inmate. An arbitrator found that the employee's conduct warranted the discipline and declined to treat a withdrawn promotion offer as a separate issue. The union argued that the labor agreement…
Secretary of Labor o/b/o Gabossi v. Western Fuels-Utah Inc.
Safety complaints protected and case remanded
Joseph Gabossi complained that Western Fuels-Utah's underground reporting structure created unsafe conditions and violated state law, and the company later discharged him. The ALJ found that the discharge was lawful because Gabossi's complaints were not protected Mine Act activity. The Commission…
Johnson Coal Company, Incorporated
Discrimination proceedings dismissed after settlements
Five discrimination proceedings were brought on behalf of Elliott Rowe Jr., Agnel Amburgey, Everett Watkins, Edsel Baker, and Calvin Baker against Johnson Coal Company. The complainants requested permission to withdraw their complaints because the parties had reached agreed settlements. Judge Gary…
Lehigh Portland Cement, Co.
Summary decision denied in discrimination case
Gerard Sapunarich alleged that Lehigh Portland Cement suspended him without pay after he reported dust and other health and safety problems. Lehigh argued that the suspension was based on threats and abusive language, not protected activity. Judge Gary Melick found a genuine dispute over the…
Blue Circle Atlantic, Inc.
Three citations affirmed and two vacated
Blue Circle Atlantic contested five citations issued at its Tulsa Cement Plant after MSHA inspections. Judge George A. Koutras affirmed three citations and vacated two, finding that the record supported some housekeeping and safety violations but did not support the remaining alleged violations…
Social Security Administration and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1923
Social Security Administration and AFGE Local 1923 (FLRA O-AR-1487): Reduced suspension award upheld
SSA suspended an employee for 14 days after a fight with another employee, whose suspension was later reduced to seven days by agreement. An arbitrator found no basis for different penalties and reduced the grievant's suspension to seven days. The grievant and SSA both challenged the award. The…
Defense Logistics Agency Council of AFGE Locals and Defense Logistics Agency
Defense Logistics Agency and AFGE Council (FLRA 0-NG-1523): Union telephone-access proposals negotiable
The AFGE council proposed access to the Defense Logistics Agency's AUTOVON telephone network for labor relations business. The agency argued that bargaining over access would interfere with its choice of work technology and conflict with a Defense Department directive needed to preserve the network…
Veterans Administration Medical Center and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2207
VA medical center and AFGE Local 2207 (FLRA 0-AR-1544): Union steward reprimand upheld
A VA medical center reprimanded a union steward after a disputed visit to an employee in the personnel office. The arbitrator found that the steward had not followed the labor agreement's procedure for arranging the meeting and had behaved disruptively. The union argued that the arbitrator misread…
Department of Defense Dependents Schools, Pacific Region and Overseas Education Association, Pacific Region
Defense Dependents Schools and Overseas Education Association (FLRA 0-AR-1343, 0-AR-1445): Union attorney's fee award restored
An arbitrator awarded attorney fees to a union-employed lawyer and a private lawyer. The Authority had reduced the union lawyer's award to the union's costs rather than the prevailing market rate. On reconsideration, the union provided an affidavit showing that the lawyer was not required to turn…
Matter of Castro
Two-year sentence barred petty-offense relief
The Board dismissed the appeal of a Mexican citizen who conceded deportability after entering the United States without inspection. He sought suspension of deportation and voluntary departure, arguing that his conviction and sentence should qualify for the petty offense exception because execution…
Matter of Rivera
Venue change denial upheld
The Board dismissed an appeal from an in absentia deportation hearing held in Puerto Rico after the respondent requested that the hearing be moved to New York. The respondent argued that denying the venue change violated due process and that he lacked enough time to prepare. The Board held that an…
Western Fuels-Utah, Inc.
Withdrawal order and two citations affirmed, one citation vacated
Western Fuels-Utah contested a withdrawal order and three citations involving walkway conditions and other mine-safety requirements. Judge Michael Lasher, Jr. affirmed the withdrawal order and two citations, including the significant-and-substantial designation on one citation, and vacated Citation…
The Helen Mining Company
Consolidated citations resolved by settlement
The Helen Mining Company operated the Homer City Mine. During track repair work on October 25, 1987, a miner was fatally injured when runaway mining equipment struck a parked personnel carrier. Judge George A. Koutras approved settlements resolving the remaining contested matters, with civil…
Southern Ohio Coal Company
Respirable dust violation affirmed with $259 penalty
Southern Ohio Coal Company operated the Meigs No. 2 Mine. Judge Avram Weisberger found that respirable dust sampling in an active longwall panel produced a three-day cumulative average of 2.1 milligrams per cubic meter, exceeding the 2.0 limit in 30 C.F.R. § 70.100. He found that MSHA’s testing…
Southern Ohio Coal Company
Respirable dust violation affirmed with $259 penalty
Southern Ohio Coal Company operated the Meigs No. 2 Mine. Judge Avram Weisberger found that respirable dust sampling in an active longwall panel produced a three-day cumulative average of 2.1 milligrams per cubic meter, exceeding the 2.0 limit in 30 C.F.R. § 70.100. He found that MSHA’s testing…
Kentucky Stone Company
Discrimination found, relief reserved
Stanley Baker worked at Kentucky Stone Company's Pulaski Plant, where he operated a Caterpillar 988A loader. Judge Avram Weisberger found that Baker's repeated marking of the loader's brakes as inoperable on daily safety checklists was protected activity under section 105(c) of the Mine Act. He…
Matter of Gonzalez
Asylum claim required a full hearing
The Board reviewed an exclusion case involving a Cuban applicant who had been convicted in Illinois of possessing heroin with intent to deliver and sentenced to eight years in prison. The immigration judge found him ineligible for withholding of exclusion and deportation because the conviction was…
Cyprus-Plateau Mining Corporation
Discrimination proceeding dismissed after settlement
Irvin L. Gagon brought a discrimination proceeding against Cyprus-Plateau Mining Corporation involving the Starpoint No. 2 Mine. The parties submitted a settlement agreement dated July 18, 1988, which Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. approved. The proceeding was dismissed with prejudice, with each…
Consolidation Coal Company
Roof-control order affirmed with $1,000 penalty
Consolidation Coal Company operated the Shoemaker Mine in West Virginia. Judge James A. Broderick found 18 areas of unsupported or inadequately supported roof along the 5 North intake escapeway, including three areas where the roof was totally unsupported. He held that the condition violated 30…
Internal Revenue Service, Washington, D.C. and Chicago District and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 10
IRS Chicago District and NTEU Chapter 10 (FLRA 5-CA-60265): Information-disclosure remand broadened
NTEU sought IRS documents for bargaining, and the Authority had remanded the resulting disclosure complaint for findings on statutory information-request requirements. The IRS asked the Authority to reconsider or expand that remand so the judge could address its claim that the governmental…
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.