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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J.D. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service
Board upholds refusal to reopen park worker's neck injury claim (ECAB 23-0489)
A National Park Service exhibits specialist sought reconsideration of a denied neck and shoulder injury claim. He submitted a newer neurosurgeon's report, nerve test results, and physical therapy records. The Board found that the physician's new report did not address whether the work incident…
N.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Othello Post Office
Board reverses termination of postal carrier's injury benefits (ECAB 23-0019)
A postal city carrier received benefits for an accepted back injury and later underwent authorized spine surgery. OWCP ended her wage loss and medical benefits based on a second opinion that said the work conditions had resolved. The Board found that the physician recorded objective abnormalities…
John Beishline v. Jeddo-Highland Coal Company and Lackawanna Casualty Company
Board sends miner’s benefits claim back for another disability assessment (BRB 22-0436)
John Beishline challenged the denial of his black lung benefits claim. The Board upheld the judge’s calculation of less than 15 years of coal mine employment, which left Beishline unable to use the statutory presumption. But it found the judge had improperly favored a nonqualifying breathing test…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Rocky Point Post Office
Board reverses termination of rural carrier's wage loss compensation (ECAB 23-0667)
A rural postal carrier received wage loss compensation after a work related ankle injury. Her employer offered a modified rural carrier position, which she declined. OWCP ended her wage loss benefits under a rule that applies when an employee refuses suitable temporary light duty. The Board found…
M.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Gibbstown Post Office
Board upholds denial of postal carrier's disability claim (ECAB 23-0232)
A postal city carrier assistant sought compensation for disability from January 27 through April 17, 2015 after an accepted ankle sprain. Her treating physician attributed her condition and surgeries to the work injury, while an OWCP physician disagreed. OWCP obtained an impartial medical opinion…
J.B. and Department of the Army, Combat Developments Experimentation Center
Board splits overpayment fault finding and orders further review (ECAB 22-1027)
An Army employee received compensation at a higher rate reserved for claimants with a dependent after his divorce. The Board upheld OWCP's finding that this caused a $169,429.15 overpayment. It found no evidence that he knew the first two direct deposits after the divorce were incorrect, so it set…
Defense Health Agency; American Federation of Government Employees; American Nurses Association Illinois; Association of Civilian Technicians; International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers; International Brotherhood of Painters and Allied Trades; Metal Trades Council; National Association of Government Employees; National Association of Independent Labor; and National Federation of Federal Employees
Defense Health Agency successorship proceeding (FLRA WA-RP-22-0056): Authority upholds three-unit configuration
The Defense Health Agency reorganized 7,409 civilian medical employees from 82 bargaining units into its Small Market and Stand-Alone Military Treatment Facility Organization. A regional director found the agency was the successor employer and approved three larger bargaining units proposed by AFGE…
Gladys Howell v. CBL Mining, LLC
Howell v. CBL Mining (BRB 23-0229 BLA and 23-0228 BLA): Miner and survivor benefits affirmed
Gladys Howell pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor's claim after his coal mine employment. The administrative law judge found that the miner had complicated pneumoconiosis arising from that work, which invoked an irrebuttable presumption of total disability due to the…
Gladys Howell, on behalf of and widow of Corbett Howell v. CBL Mining, LLC and Kentucky Employers’ Mutual Insurance
Board upholds miner’s and widow’s benefits based on complicated pneumoconiosis (BRB 23-0228 and 23-0229)
Gladys Howell pursued her late husband’s black lung benefits claim and her own survivor claim against CBL Mining and its carrier. The judge found that autopsy evidence, CT scans, and a medical opinion established complicated pneumoconiosis arising from Corbett Howell’s mine work. The Board upheld…
Glenis C. Rose v. Clinchfield Coal Company
Board sends miner’s benefits claim back to resolve work years and disability (BRB 22-0543)
Glenis C. Rose appealed the denial of his black lung benefits claim without a lawyer. The judge treated the parties as having agreed to no more than 10.6 years of coal mine work, but the Board found that Rose had agreed to at least 10.6 years and still claimed more. The Board also found that the…
R.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center
Board sends emotional condition claim back for combined review (ECAB 23-0904)
A VA health aid and technician filed an emotional condition claim after an encounter involving her manager and a police officer. OWCP denied the claim because it found that she had not established the alleged event. The Board found that she had an earlier emotional condition claim involving the…
D.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Warren Post Office, Warren, MI
Board returns postal worker's reconsideration request for explained decision (ECAB 23-0867)
D.P., a city carrier assistant, claimed a right ankle injury after his foot caught on an unpaved or cracked sidewalk. OWCP terminated his wage loss and medical benefits after an impartial medical examiner found no continuing work-related impairment, and later denied his request to reconsider that…
D.L. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Tomah VA Medical Center, Tomah, WI
Board upholds denial of repetitive use claim and reconsideration request (ECAB 23-0853)
D.L., a VA pharmacist and clinical specialist, claimed that repetitive computer work caused conditions including right wrist arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome. The Board found that the medical opinions connecting the conditions to his work were speculative or lacked medical reasoning, and that…
P.C. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations, New York, NY
Board orders medical review of former deportation officer's disability recurrence (ECAB 23-0845)
P.C., a former deportation officer, claimed that work stress and a heavy caseload caused recurrences of disability related to an accepted aggravation of bipolar disorder. OWCP denied the recurrence claim, and the Board found that its second opinion physician had not addressed the specific dates of…
C.E. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Dallas VA Medical Center, Dallas, TX
Board upholds denial of COVID-19 continuation of pay (ECAB 23-0493)
C.E., a VA nurse, reported testing positive for COVID-19 after admitting a patient on December 12, 2022. She stopped work that day and filed Form CA-1 on January 20, 2023. The Board treated December 12 as the date of injury and held that the notice was filed more than 30 days later. It affirmed the…
N.D. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, San Ysidro, CA
Board remands schedule award claim to combine related files (ECAB 23-0491)
N.D., a border patrol agent, injured his left ankle after losing his balance and falling from a boulder at work. OWCP accepted the injury and later awarded an additional five percent permanent impairment of the left lower extremity. The Board found that an earlier ankle claim and its ten percent…
L.T. and Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Girard, OH
Board upholds denial of conditions claimed after workplace fall (ECAB 22-1208)
L.T., a temporary Census Bureau clerk, claimed shoulder, neck, and tailbone injuries after falling down uneven steps at work. Her doctors diagnosed shoulder and cervical conditions, but the Board found that their opinions did not explain how the fall caused those conditions, especially in light of…
Ward Vessel & Exchanger Corporation
Lockout and injury-reporting citations vacated
Ward Vessel used a cord-and-plug plate roller to form metal cylinders at its Texas workshop. A supervisor troubleshooting an energized power problem activated the rollers without clearing the area, pinching an employee's fingertips and causing injuries later classified as amputations. The judge…
A.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Robertsville Post Office, San Jose, CA
Board finds postal worker's fall occurred at work and orders medical review (ECAB 23-0716)
A.G., a city carrier, reported falling over a step while carrying mail and developing head and back pain. He continued working for several days before stopping, and OWCP denied the claim because it found that the incident had not occurred as described. The Board found that A.G.'s account was…
D.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical Center, Jackson, MS
Board reverses benefit termination after OWCP mailed decision to old address (ECAB 23-0877)
D.W., a VA medical clerk, received compensation after a work-related fall that injured her left knee. OWCP terminated her benefits for refusing suitable work, but mailed the termination decision to an address she no longer used even after receiving her new address. The Postal Service returned the…
D.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Cleveland, OH
Board upholds denial of postal worker's carpal tunnel claim (ECAB 23-0872)
D.L., a rural carrier, claimed that repetitive mail handling, lifting, sorting, and related duties caused bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and arthritis. A physician opined that the work contributed to the carpal tunnel syndrome, but did not explain how the duties caused or aggravated it. Other…
M.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center, Phoenix, AZ
Board upholds denial of carpal tunnel claim after workplace fall (ECAB 23-0855)
M.M., a VA recreation specialist, reported injuring her right hand, left wrist, and left knee when she fell on uneven pavement. The medical evidence included diagnoses of carpal tunnel syndrome, but the supporting opinions did not explain how the fall caused the condition. Other reports did not…
J.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Omaha, NE
Board upholds refusal to reopen retired carrier's carpal tunnel claim (ECAB 23-0485)
J.H., a retired letter carrier, claimed that years of gripping and sorting mail caused bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. The Board had previously affirmed OWCP's denial after finding that the work factors were not established. J.H. later submitted a work-duty statement and medical reports, but the…
J.G. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, Euless, TX
Board affirms denial of schedule award for accepted hearing loss (ECAB 23-0119)
J.G., a customs and border protection agent, claimed bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus from about 25 years of workplace noise, including vehicle crossings and firearms qualification. OWCP accepted both conditions but denied a schedule award after its medical adviser calculated zero percent…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Complex Victorville, California and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3969, Council of Prison Locals #33
FCC Victorville and AFGE Local 3969 (FLRA 0-AR-5880): Authority upholds missed-overtime remedy
FCC Victorville used a negotiated list to select employees for overtime but began marking some assignments list-exempt. An arbitrator credited testimony that the union learned of the practice on April 29, making its June 2 grievance timely under the agreement's forty-day deadline. She found that…
Chester Jones v. ICG Hazard, LLC and Arch Coal Incorporated
Board upholds miner’s benefits award and April 2017 start date (BRB 23-0189)
ICG Hazard and its carrier appealed an award of black lung benefits to Chester Jones. The judge found complicated pneumoconiosis based on X-rays and a CT scan, which gave Jones an irrebuttable presumption of total disability due to the disease. The Board rejected the employer’s objection to the…
Sandra Morgan v. Shamrock Coal Company, Incorporated
Morgan v. Shamrock Coal (BRB 23-0064 BLA and 23-0063 BLA): Shamrock remains liable for black lung benefits
Sandra Morgan pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor's claim. Shamrock Coal accepted that both claims qualified for benefits but argued that a later coal mine company or the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund should pay. The Board upheld the judge's finding that the miner…
Sandra Morgan, on behalf of and widow of Leonard Morgan v. Shamrock Coal Company, Incorporated
Board keeps coal company liable for miner’s and widow’s benefits (BRB 23-0063 and 23-0064)
Shamrock Coal Company accepted that Leonard Morgan and his widow were entitled to black lung benefits but disputed which operator had to pay. Shamrock argued that later work at the Blue Diamond mine site made Blue Diamond or its contractors responsible. The Board upheld the judge’s finding that the…
Debra Wireman v. Crest Coal Company, Incorporated
Wireman v. Crest Coal (BRB 22-0445 BLA and 22-0444 BLA): Miner and survivor benefits affirmed
Debra Wireman pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor's claim after his coal mine work. The judge credited 13.52 years of mine employment, so the claim was decided without the 15-year statutory presumption. The Board upheld that employment calculation and the judge's…
Debra Wireman, widow of and on behalf of the estate of Ollie James Wireman, Jr. v. Crest Coal Company, Incorporated
Board upholds miner’s and widow’s benefits based on dust-related lung disease (BRB 22-0444 and 22-0445)
Debra Wireman pursued her late husband’s black lung benefits claim and her own survivor claim against Crest Coal and its carrier. The Board upheld the judge’s calculation of 13.52 years of coal mine work, which meant the claims could not use the 15-year presumption. It also upheld the judge’s…
Michael D. Pennington v. B R & D Enterprises, Incorporated and Kentucky Employers’ Mutual Insurance
Board upholds miner’s benefits award and employer liability (BRB 22-0351)
B R & D Enterprises and its carrier challenged a black lung benefits award to Michael D. Pennington. The Board upheld the judge’s finding that B R & D was the responsible operator because the record did not show that another qualifying operator employed Pennington more recently. It also upheld the…
Jimmie Warren v. Constellis Holdings, LLC and Starr Indemnity & Liability Company
Board sends attorney fee rates back for another explanation (BRB 22-0297)
Jimmie Warren received Defense Base Act disability benefits after a neck injury while working for Constellis Holdings in Afghanistan. His counsel appealed a later attorney fee order, challenging the hourly rates assigned to two lawyers and a paralegal. The Board held that the judge had not…
T.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Network Distribution Center, Warrendale, PA
Board upholds denial of mail handler's calf injury claim (ECAB 23-0962)
T.L., a postal mail handler, reported left calf pain after leaning over to lift a package from a belt. OWCP accepted that the December 2022 incident occurred but denied the injury claim. The emergency physician described a suspected calf strain rather than a firm diagnosis, while later strain…
M.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Decatur, IL
Board upholds $9,502.13 benefit overpayment recovery (ECAB 23-0876)
M.F., a postal letter carrier receiving compensation for accepted injuries, also received Social Security retirement benefits partly attributable to federal service. OWCP calculated a $9,502.13 overpayment because it had not offset the overlapping benefits from December 2021 through September 2022…
J.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Chicago, IL
Board upholds $28,220.59 benefit overpayment recovery (ECAB 23-0868)
J.A., a postal tractor trailer operator, received FECA wage-loss compensation for an accepted shoulder injury while also receiving Social Security retirement benefits partly attributable to federal service. OWCP failed to apply the required offset from February 2020 through September 2022 and…
A.V. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Washington, DC
Board dismisses appeal and late reconsideration petition (ECAB 23-0170)
A.V. sought to appeal correspondence from OWCP about an unpaid overpayment and also challenged an earlier Board decision. The Board held that OWCP's November 2022 debt notice was informational, not a final adverse decision that could be appealed. Its last final OWCP decision was more than 180 days…
E.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Coppell, TX
Board orders new calculation of postal worker's benefit overpayment (ECAB 22-1344)
E.A., a postal mail distribution clerk, received Social Security retirement benefits based in part on federal service while also receiving FECA wage-loss benefits. OWCP said the missing offset created an $8,461.97 overpayment, denied waiver, and ordered deductions from ongoing benefits. The Board…
S.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Eighth Avenue Post Office, Fort Worth, TX
Board affirms postal carrier's lower extremity schedule award (ECAB 22-1342)
S.T., a postal letter carrier, had accepted foot conditions and prior schedule awards for impairment of both lower extremities. She sought more compensation after a physician rated plantar fasciitis at two percent impairment in each leg. OWCP awarded an additional one percent for the left leg…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 987 and United States Department of the Air Force, Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, 78 ABW/Civilian Personnel Office, Warner Robins Air Force Base, Georgia
AFGE Local 987 and Warner Robins Air Logistics Center (FLRA 0-AR-5867): Authority orders new arbitrator for overtime merits
AFGE Local 987 alleged that Warner Robins Air Logistics Center failed to schedule an employee for overtime. The agreement required one arbitrator to decide a threshold arbitrability question and, if the grievance was arbitrable, a different arbitrator to hear the merits. The first arbitrator found…
Kathy M. Blackwell v. S & D Coal Company
Blackwell v. S & D Coal (BRB 22-0479 BLA and 22-0478 BLA): Benefits affirmed with later start date
Kathy Blackwell pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor's claim after his coal mine employment. The judge found complicated pneumoconiosis, which triggered an irrebuttable presumption of total disability due to the disease, and awarded benefits in both claims. The employer…
Kathy M. Blackwell, on behalf of and widow of Lonnie R. Blackwell v. S & D Coal Company
Board upholds miner’s and widow’s benefits but moves miner’s start date (BRB 22-0478 and 22-0479)
Kathy Blackwell pursued her late husband’s black lung benefits claim and her own survivor claim against S & D Coal Company and its carrier. The Board rejected the employer’s claim that a delay in receiving a government medical evaluation denied it a fair defense, and upheld the judge’s finding that…
Y.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Morgan Processing & Distribution Center, New York, NY
Board reverses postal worker's retirement overpayment decision (ECAB 23-0854)
Y.M., a postal mail carrier receiving FECA wage-loss compensation, elected OPM retirement benefits effective July 1, 2022. OWCP later asserted that FECA payments through December 3, 2022 created a $10,808.57 overpayment and ordered repayment. The Board found that the record showed an election but…
E.L. and Department of the Air Force, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph Air Force Base, TX
Board finds lung diagnosis established and orders causation review (ECAB 23-0617)
E.L., an Air Force police officer, reported inhaling coolant fumes when he opened the hood of an overheated vehicle at work. OWCP accepted that the January 2023 incident occurred but denied his claim for lack of a medical diagnosis. The Board found that the emergency physician's clinical impression…
C.A. and Department of the Air Force, Joint Base San Antonio, Tinker Air Force Base, OK
Board upholds denial of firefighter's knee injury claim (ECAB 23-0511)
C.A., an Air Force firefighter, reported twisting his right knee while entering and reaching inside an aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicle. OWCP accepted that the August 2020 incident occurred but denied the injury claim. His orthopedic surgeon diagnosed a meniscal tear and linked it to work…
J.F. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Coast Guard Yard, Baltimore, MD
Board finds Coast Guard worker's fall occurred at work and orders medical review (ECAB 23-0492)
J.F., a Coast Guard Yard pipefitter, reported slipping on wet gangway steps and landing on his lower back and tailbone. OWCP denied the claim because it found the incident had not been established. The Board found that his report, his supervisor's acknowledgment, and the emergency treatment records…
Henry F. Combs v. Clinchfield Coal Company
Board upholds miner’s benefits after employer fails to rebut presumption (BRB 23-0032)
Clinchfield Coal Company appealed a benefits award to Henry F. Combs, who had more than 20 years of underground coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. Those findings invoked a presumption that his disability was due to pneumoconiosis. The Board held that the judge could…
Darrell G. Meade v. Dominion Coal Corporation and SunCoke Energy, Incorporated
Meade v. Dominion Coal (BRB 22-0524 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed after remand
Darrell G. Meade sought black lung benefits after 37.39 years of qualifying coal mine work. An administrative law judge initially denied his claim, but the Board sent it back for a closer review of conflicting lung scan evidence. On remand, the judge found complicated pneumoconiosis, which…
Robert P. Ball v. Dickenson-Russell Coal Company, LLC and Brickstreet Mutual Insurance Company
Board sends miner’s benefits claim back to reassess breathing tests (BRB 22-0336)
Robert P. Ball appealed the denial of his black lung benefits claim without a lawyer. The judge found that Ball had more than 15 years of qualifying mine work but had not proved a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board found that the judge used an incorrect value for one pulmonary…
Larry A. Lester v. Dominion Coal Corporation and SunCoke Energy Incorporated
Lester v. Dominion Coal (BRB 22-0322 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Larry A. Lester sought black lung benefits after working for Dominion Coal and later servicing fuel equipment at coal mine sites for Miners Oil. The judge found that his work for Miners Oil qualified as coal mine employment, giving him more than 15 years of qualifying work, and found that he was…
Roy Johnson, Jr. v. Big Elk Creek Coal Company, Incorporated and Old Republic Insurance Company
Johnson v. Big Elk Creek Coal (BRB 22-0320 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Roy Johnson, Jr. sought black lung benefits after 12 to 13 years of underground coal mine work. Because he had less than 15 years, the judge considered the medical evidence without the statutory presumption and found that coal dust contributed to Johnson's disabling lung disease. The Board upheld…
T.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Morgan Processing & Distribution Center, New York, NY
Board orders explanation of postal worker's reconsideration denial (ECAB 23-0964)
T.G., a postal mail handler, sought to reopen a denied claim for injuries reported after a fall at work. OWCP rejected his later reconsideration request as untimely and said it did not show clear evidence of error, but its decision left the explanation for that finding blank. The Board held that…
T.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Cathedral Station, New York, NY
Board orders full review of postal carrier's schedule award evidence (ECAB 23-0938)
T.P., a postal city carrier, sought a schedule award for a left foot and ankle injury sustained while avoiding a dog. Medical reports offered different impairment ratings and methods of calculation. OWCP granted a four percent left lower extremity award but did not discuss a podiatrist's report or…
C.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Las Vegas, NV
Board upholds zero wage-loss benefits after missed rehabilitation contacts (ECAB 23-0879)
C.H., a transportation security officer with an accepted back condition, was referred for vocational rehabilitation after a second opinion physician found she could perform sedentary work. The rehabilitation counselor tried repeatedly to reach her by phone and letter, but she did not contact the…
R.J. and Department of the Army, Red River Army Depot, Texarkana, TX
Board orders merits review of Army mechanic's hearing loss claim (ECAB 23-0014)
R.J., an Army depot mechanic, claimed hearing loss from years of shop and tool noise. OWCP denied the claim after finding the evidence did not establish the alleged exposure, then refused to reopen it for merits review. On reconsideration, the employer supplied a new letter detailing his work…
B.N. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Seattle VA Medical Center, Seattle, WA
Board splits fault finding on VA worker's $8,720.71 overpayment (ECAB 22-1337)
B.N., a VA dental assistant, resumed part-time work but continued receiving compensation at the total disability rate. The Board agreed that the overlapping payments created an $8,720.71 overpayment. It found no proof that she knew the first direct deposit after returning to work was too high, so…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2408 and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Caribbean Health Care System, San Juan, Puerto Rico
AFGE Local 2408 and VA Caribbean Health Care System (FLRA 0-AR-5885): Authority denies unsupported exceptions
AFGE Local 2408 asked the Authority to issue an expedited, abbreviated decision on its exceptions to an arbitration award, and the VA did not oppose that request. The Authority granted the request after considering the case's complexity, possible precedential value, similarity to other decisions…
Billy H. Mays v. Elkay Mining Company and Pittson Company
Mays v. Elkay Mining (BRB 22-0485 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Billy H. Mays sought black lung benefits after at least 15 years of underground coal mine work. The judge found that Mays had a totally disabling breathing impairment, which triggered a presumption that pneumoconiosis caused the disability. Elkay Mining and its carrier challenged the judge's…
James D. Cox v. Ranger Fuel Corporation
Cox v. Ranger Fuel (BRB 22-0469 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
James D. Cox sought black lung benefits after 35 years of underground coal mine work. The judge found that he had a totally disabling respiratory impairment, triggering the statutory presumption that his disability was due to pneumoconiosis. Ranger Fuel argued that asthma and heart disease, rather…
Jason Birchfield v. Fools Gold Energy Company and Kentucky Employers’ Mutual Insurance
Birchfield v. Fools Gold Energy (BRB 22-0468 BLA): benefits award directed
Jason Birchfield sought black lung benefits after 21 years of underground coal mine work. The judge found that his x-rays established complicated pneumoconiosis but denied benefits after finding the medical opinions weighed against it. The Board upheld the x-ray finding and held that the opposing…
Donald W. Helmick v. Marion County Coal Company and Murray Energy Corporation Trust
Helmick v. Marion County Coal (BRB 22-0367 BLA): disability finding sent back
Donald W. Helmick sought black lung benefits after 19 years of underground coal mine work. The judge denied his subsequent claim because she found no total respiratory disability. The Board held that the judge had not adequately explained why she discounted Dr. Jin's opinion, relying on words such…
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.