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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American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2052 and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Petersburg
Petersburg federal prison (FLRA 0-NG-1401): Two union proposals require bargaining
AFGE Local 2052 appealed the Bureau of Prisons' objections to seven proposals for a local agreement at its Petersburg facility. The Authority found the appeal timely despite earlier agency objections. It held negotiable a provision giving agreements priority over conflicting agency regulations and…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1759 and Department of the Army, Headquarters Fort McPherson
Fort McPherson civilians (FLRA 0-NG-1307): One drug testing proposal negotiable
AFGE Local 1759 submitted three proposals concerning drug testing of civilian employees in critical jobs at Fort McPherson. The Authority rejected a proposal that would allow tests only when there was probable cause, finding that it unduly restricted the Army's internal security practices. It also…
Internal Revenue Service, Indianapolis District and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 49
IRS Indianapolis District (FLRA 0-AR-1246): Second reconsideration request denied
The Authority had previously reconsidered an arbitration case involving the IRS Indianapolis District and NTEU Chapter 49. It reversed its first decision and denied the district's exceptions to the arbitrator's award. The district then argued that the Authority had failed to consider all of its…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3369 and Social Security Administration, Cypress Hills District Office
Cypress Hills Social Security office (FLRA 0-NG-1489): Smoking area appeal dismissed
AFGE Local 3369 sought a ruling on whether its proposal about the location of a designated smoking area at the Cypress Hills Social Security office was negotiable. The local office had declared the proposal nonnegotiable. The parent agency then withdrew that allegation. With no negotiability…
American Federation of Government Employees, Council of Prison Locals, Local 148 and Bureau of Prisons, Allenwood Federal Prison Camp
Allenwood prison camp (FLRA 0-NG-1446): Shift assignment appeal filed late
AFGE Local 148 asked the Bureau of Prisons for a written allegation that several shift assignment proposals were nonnegotiable. The agency gave its response to the union's chief steward on August 3, 1987, while the local vice president was on leave. The vice president received it two days later…
Office of Professional Employees, International Union, Local 268 and Department of Energy
Energy Department Oak Ridge office (FLRA O-NG-1314): Detection dog ban nonnegotiable
The Energy Department's Oak Ridge Office planned to use drug-detection dogs to examine work spaces during nonworking hours. The union proposed banning the dogs from agency buildings and parking lots. The Authority found a sufficient connection between that search practice and the office's goal of…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Bureau of Indian Affairs Council and Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs
Bureau of Indian Affairs power unit (FLRA O-NG-1444): Mechanic reassignment proposal rejected
The NFFE council wanted a heavy mobile equipment mechanic at the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Colorado River Agency included in negotiated wages for its Power Unit and retitled as a power equipment mechanic. The Authority found that official organization and position records placed the job in a…
American Federation of Government Employees, Council 257, Local 4004 and Department of the Navy, Naval Aviation Depot Pensacola
Pensacola Naval Aviation Depot (FLRA O-NG-1427): Light duty and vacancy provisions negotiable
The Navy disapproved two negotiated provisions at its Pensacola aviation depot. One directed management to provide available light duty work consistent with restrictions set by the Navy's own medical authorities. The Authority found it a negotiable procedure for assigning work. The other called for…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 245 and Department of Commerce, Patent and Trademark Office
Patent and Trademark Office (FLRA O-NG-1374): Cash award proposal negotiable
NTEU Chapter 245 submitted three proposals after the Patent and Trademark Office announced a performance awards rule. The Authority found that a proposal setting cash award amounts by performance rating could be negotiated; the agency had not shown a conflict with current regulations or its budget…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1808 and Department of the Army, Sierra Army Depot
Sierra Army Depot local agreement (FLRA O-NG-1356): Six provisions restored after agency review
The Army disapproved parts of AFGE Local 1808's agreement at Sierra Army Depot. The Authority reviewed provisions covering polygraph tests, contracting out, performance appraisals, dues withholding, safety, smoking, and union participation on committees. It found six provisions negotiable…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2354 and Department of the Air Force, F.E. Warren Air Force Base
F.E. Warren Air Force Base (FLRA O-NG-1347): Three local agreement provisions negotiable
AFGE Local 2354 appealed the Air Force's disapproval of seven provisions in a local agreement at F.E. Warren Air Force Base. The Authority approved two provisions governing release of employees and union representatives for representational work, finding them negotiable procedures for scheduling…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1625 and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Station Oceana
Naval Air Station Oceana (FLRA O-NG-1323): Training and vacancy provisions restored
AFGE Local 1625 appealed the Navy's disapproval of seven provisions at Naval Air Station Oceana. The Authority approved training opportunities for employees displaced by new technology and use of vacancies, where possible, to place qualified employees facing separation in a reduction in force. It…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 916 and Tinker Air Force Base
Tinker Air Force Base (FLRA O-AR-1438): Oral admonishment upheld
Tinker Air Force Base reprimanded an employee for loafing on duty. An arbitrator found that some discipline was justified but reduced the reprimand to an oral admonishment. AFGE Local 916 challenged the award, alleging unfair hearing procedures, legal and contract errors, and incorrect factual…
Department of Defense Dependents Schools, Pacific Region and Overseas Education Association, Pacific Region
DOD Pacific schools (FLRA O-AR-1343): Teacher allowances upheld, union lawyer fee calculation changed
Two teachers hired locally in Germany transferred to Defense Department schools in Okinawa and Korea. The agency denied them living quarters allowances and foreign post differentials. An arbitrator found the transfers qualified under the agency's rules and ordered the allowances paid retroactively…
Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local Lodge 1859, District 110
Cherry Point Marine air station (FLRA 4-CA-70649): Employee address refusal unlawful
IAM Local Lodge 1859 asked the Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station for the names and home addresses of employees in its bargaining unit. The station refused, arguing that the Privacy Act barred disclosure and that the union had not shown a need for the information. An administrative law judge…
Department of Labor, Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration and National Union of Compliance Officers
Labor Department pension employees (FLRA 3-RO-70003): Union representation petition dismissed
After a Labor Department reorganization, the National Union of Compliance Officers continued to represent employees who administered federal union conduct rules, while pension employees moved to a separate administration. The union sought to represent the pension employees in a new unit, and a…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 51 and U.S. Mint, U.S. Assay Office San Francisco
San Francisco Assay Office (FLRA 0-AR-1390): Arbitrator's MSPB appeal remedy struck
AFGE Local 51 challenged a reduction in force at the U.S. Mint's San Francisco Assay Office. The arbitrator found that the parties' agreement excluded the reduction in force from arbitration and rejected a claim that it was a pretext for racial discrimination. He nevertheless ordered the agency not…
Health Care Financing Administration and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1923
Medicare reimbursement office (FLRA 0-AR-1346): Contracting out arbitration award set aside
The Health Care Financing Administration contracted out work performed by about 230 employees in its Medicare Office of Direct Reimbursement without a comparative cost study. An arbitrator found that OMB Circular A-76 required the study and ordered the agency to reconstruct it and give the union…
International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 25 and Department of the Navy, Mare Island Naval Shipyard
Mare Island Naval Shipyard (FLRA O-NG-1494): Negotiability petition dismissed after agency withdrawal
IFPTE Local 25 sought review after Mare Island Naval Shipyard said a proposal for additional special pay for certain professionals was outside the duty to bargain. The shipyard cited management's right to assign work. After the union petitioned the Authority, the Navy and Defense Department asked…
National Treasury Employees Union and Internal Revenue Service, Indianapolis District
IRS Indianapolis District (FLRA O-NG-1412): Appreciation award criteria negotiable
The IRS Indianapolis District created a $100 Supervisor's Appreciation Award for special work. NTEU proposed automatic eligibility for employees with a specified performance rating or at least 30 days of satisfactory special assignments. The district argued that this intruded on its rights to…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2610 and Veterans Administration Medical and Regional Office Center, Togus
Togus Veterans Administration center (FLRA O-AR-1458): Seven-day suspension upheld
A Veterans Administration employee at the Togus center was suspended for seven days after alleged threats against his supervisor and the supervisor's family. The arbitrator found that the employee made the threats and that the suspension was justified. AFGE Local 2610 challenged the factual…
Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Tinker Air Force Base and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 916
Tinker Air Force Base (FLRA O-AR-1454): Late appraisal grievance remains dismissed
AFGE Local 916 challenged an employee's performance appraisal at Tinker Air Force Base. An arbitrator found that the union had missed filing deadlines at two steps of the negotiated grievance process and had not properly requested an extension. He therefore dismissed the grievance without deciding…
Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Tinker Air Force Base and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 916
Tinker Air Force Base (FLRA O-AR-1446): Overtime exception denied
AFGE Local 916 challenged the denial of an overtime assignment to a warehouse worker at Tinker Air Force Base. When his supervisor prepared the overtime roster, the worker was restricted to sedentary duty because of a back condition. The restriction ended the next day, but the supervisor did not…
Department of Defense Dependents Schools and Overseas Education Association
Defense Dependents Schools (FLRA O-AR-1349): National review of bargaining disputes upheld
The Overseas Education Association grieved how Defense Dependents Schools handled proposed changes to working conditions. An arbitrator read their agreement to require formal declarations that a proposal is nonnegotiable at the national level, while local and regional disputes could be referred…
National Treasury Employees Union and Internal Revenue Service
IRS reassignments (FLRA O-AR-1341): Interest arbitration award upheld
The National Treasury Employees Union and IRS reached an impasse during negotiations over parts of their national agreements. A binding arbitrator imposed procedures requiring the agency to identify employees for reassignment, provide five workdays' notice, and allow local bargaining over the…
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 29
Kansas City Army Corps district (FLRA 7-CA-30395): Midterm debt collection bargaining ordered
NFFE Local 29 asked the Kansas City Army Corps district to bargain during an existing contract over procedures for collecting employee debts under the Debt Collection Act. The district refused, saying working conditions had not changed. The Authority originally dismissed the unfair labor practice…
Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local Lodge 2296, District 110
Cherry Point Marine air station (FLRA 4-CA-70659): Local 2296 address refusal unlawful
IAM Local Lodge 2296 requested names and home addresses for bargaining unit employees at Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station. The station refused to provide them. An administrative law judge granted summary judgment for the labor relations general counsel and found an unfair labor practice. The…
Department of the Navy, Naval Aviation Depot Cherry Point and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local Lodge 2297, District 110
Cherry Point naval aviation depot (FLRA 4-CA-70658): Union address request granted
IAM Local Lodge 2297 asked the Navy's Cherry Point aviation depot for the names and home addresses of employees in its bargaining unit. The depot refused. An administrative law judge found that refusal an unfair labor practice and granted summary judgment under Authority precedent addressing the…
Department of the Navy, Norfolk medical clinics and Norfolk Naval Shipyard Co-Operative Association and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 22
Norfolk Navy facilities (FLRA 34-CA-70683): Employee address refusals unlawful
AFGE Local 22 requested bargaining unit employee names and home addresses from two Navy medical clinic entities in Norfolk and a Norfolk Naval Shipyard association in Portsmouth. All three refused, arguing that the Privacy Act barred release and that the information was unnecessary for…
Social Security Administration and American Federation of Government Employees
Social Security Administration (FLRA 0-AR-1395): Employee appraisal must be reevaluated
An SSA employee grieved a performance appraisal, and an arbitrator raised one job element and her overall rating after excluding work control listings that management had discarded. The Authority held that excluding those listings improperly changed the content of management's established…
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Lodge 282 and Department of the Army, Headquarters I Corps, Fort Lewis
Fort Lewis drug testing (FLRA O-NG-1277): Probable cause limit outside bargaining duty
Machinists Lodge 282 proposed that the Army test civilian employees for drug use only when it had probable cause. That limit would have prevented random testing in the Army's program for employees in critical jobs. The Authority found that random testing was part of the Army's internal security…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R14-9 and U.S. Army, Dugway Proving Ground
Dugway Proving Ground drug testing (FLRA O-NG-1268): Random testing proposal nonnegotiable
NAGE Local R14-9 proposed deleting random sampling of civilian employees from the Army's drug testing program at Dugway Proving Ground. The program covered employees in critical jobs. The Authority found that the proposal would prevent random testing, an element of the Army's internal security…
Matter of Obaigbena
Petitioners must receive a fair chance to rebut adverse evidence
The Board remanded a visa petition case involving a United States citizen petitioner seeking immediate-relative status for her Nigerian spouse. The Board held that a petitioner must have a reasonable opportunity to rebut the derogatory evidence identified in a notice of intention to deny and to…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 15 and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Armament, Munitions and Chemical Command
Army civilian drug testing (FLRA 0-NG-1269): Three proposals negotiable, nine dismissed
NFFE Local 15 challenged the Army's refusal to bargain over twelve proposals concerning drug testing of civilian employees in selected jobs. The Authority found three proposals negotiable: requiring qualified testing personnel, allowing an employee to retain part of a sample, and allowing an…
Veterans Administration Regional Office and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1765
VA Regional Office (FLRA O-AR-1272): Reconsideration of scheduling ruling denied
AFGE Local 1765 asked the Authority to reconsider a ruling that set aside an arbitrator's scheduling award at a Veterans Administration regional office. The earlier ruling found that requiring the agency to assign employees 24 hours of work each week, instead of the 20 hours management chose…
Matter of Nolan
An automatic state pardon did not erase deportability
The Board denied an Irish respondent's motion to reopen deportation proceedings based on an automatic Louisiana pardon issued after his conviction for attempted simple burglary. The Board held that the pardon did not satisfy the immigration statute because it was neither full nor unconditional and…
Small Business Administration and American Federation of Government Employees, Council 228 and Local 2532
Small Business Administration (FLRA 3-CA-70468): Employee address disclosure ordered
AFGE Council 228 and Local 2532 requested the names and home addresses of employees in their nationwide bargaining unit. The Small Business Administration refused, arguing that the Privacy Act barred disclosure and that the union had other ways to reach employees. The parties stipulated that the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Council 214 and Department of the Air Force, Air Force Logistics Command
Air Force Logistics Command uniforms (FLRA O-NG-1423): Two uniform proposals negotiable
AFGE Council 214 challenged the Air Force Logistics Command's refusal to bargain over proposals for uniforms required of civilian air traffic control specialists. The Authority found two parts of the union's alternative proposal negotiable: annual replacement of specified uniform items, to the…
Internal Revenue Service, New Orleans District and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 6
IRS New Orleans District (FLRA 6-CA-60466): Union retaliation complaint dismissed
NTEU and its Chapter 6 alleged that managers at the IRS New Orleans District gave a union steward an adverse performance report and then denied him an acceptable appraisal for a promotion because of his union activity. The administrative law judge found evidence that the steward's union work played…
Bureau of the Census and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2782
Bureau of the Census (FLRA 3-CA-70555): Bargaining unit addresses ordered disclosed
AFGE Local 2782 requested names and home addresses for everyone in its Census Bureau bargaining unit. The bureau refused, arguing that the union could communicate with employees at work and that disclosing home addresses would conflict with privacy protections. The Authority applied its earlier…
Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration and American Federation of Government Employees
Social Security Administration (FLRA 3-CA-70443): Employee home addresses ordered disclosed
AFGE requested the home addresses of bargaining unit employees whose complaints had been processed under a Social Security Administration EEO settlement project. The agency refused, arguing that disclosure would violate the Privacy Act and that the union did not need the addresses. Applying its…
Social Security Administration and American Federation of Government Employees
Social Security official time disputes (FLRA 0-AR-1415): Four cases remanded
Four arbitrators had declined jurisdiction over Social Security Administration grievances about official time, believing an earlier arbitrator had already decided the issues. The agency excepted to those rulings and disputed the earlier arbitrator's authority. In a related case, the Authority had…
Matter of Maldonado-Cruz
Guerrilla-discipline threats did not establish persecution
The Board dismissed a Salvadoran respondent's appeal after the immigration judge found him deportable for entering the United States without inspection and denied his applications for asylum and withholding of deportation. The respondent said guerrillas forced him to participate in an operation…
Veterans Administration, Washington, D.C. and Veterans Administration Medical Center, Leavenworth, Kansas and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 85
Leavenworth VA Medical Center (FLRA 7-CA-60500): Firefighter schedule complaint dismissed
The Leavenworth VA Medical Center changed firefighters from a 60-hour to a 56-hour workweek. AFGE Local 85 alleged that the VA had to bargain over the decision and over its impact before making the change. An administrative law judge found a violation at the medical center, but the Authority…
Veterans Administration and Veterans Administration Medical Center, Battle Creek and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1629
Battle Creek VA Medical Center (FLRA 5-CA-70091): Employee addresses ordered disclosed
AFGE Local 1629 asked the Battle Creek VA Medical Center for the names and home addresses of the employees it represented. The VA refused, and the union filed an unfair labor practice charge. An administrative law judge found that the refusal violated the agency's duty to furnish information. The…
Department of the Navy, Naval Aviation Depot, Cherry Point and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local Lodge 2316, District 110
Cherry Point Naval Aviation Depot (FLRA 4-CA-70660): Employee addresses ordered disclosed
Machinists Local Lodge 2316 requested names and home addresses of employees in its Cherry Point Naval Aviation Depot bargaining unit. The depot refused, although it admitted that it regularly maintained the information and could reasonably provide it. An administrative law judge granted summary…
United States Marine Corps and Marine Corps Logistics Base, Barstow and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1482
Barstow Marine Corps Logistics Base (FLRA 8-CA-70211): Employee addresses ordered disclosed
AFGE Local 1482 requested names and home addresses of employees in its bargaining unit at the Barstow Marine Corps Logistics Base. The Marine Corps refused, arguing that privacy law barred release and that other ways to contact employees made the information unnecessary. The parties stipulated that…
U.S. Navy, Naval Air Station Jacksonville and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Naval Air Lodge 1630
Naval Air Station Jacksonville (FLRA 4-CA-70613): Employee addresses ordered disclosed
The Machinists union requested names and home addresses of employees in its bargaining unit at Naval Air Station Jacksonville. The Navy refused. An administrative law judge granted summary judgment for the General Counsel and found that the refusal was an unfair labor practice. The Authority…
Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration and Office of General Counsel, Social Security Division and American Federation of Government Employees
HHS W-2 delivery (FLRA 3-CA-70402): Department ordered to bargain over mailing change
HHS directed several activities to stop handing W-2 statements to employees at work and mail them to home addresses instead. AFGE and a local union requested bargaining over the change, but the activities were told to implement it without bargaining. The Authority held that the method of delivering…
American Federation of Government Employees and Army and Air Force Exchange Service
Exchange Service imminent danger provisions (FLRA 0-NG-1397): Agency disapproval rescinded
The Army and Air Force Exchange Service disapproved two locally agreed contract provisions that let employees decline tasks they reasonably believed posed imminent danger of death or serious harm. One provision covered assigned work generally, and the other addressed drivers continuing a run. The…
Matter of Enriquez
Marriage during pending proceedings barred adjustment of status
The Board dismissed a respondent's appeal from denial of his motion to reopen deportation proceedings so he could seek adjustment of status based on a marriage to a United States citizen. The Board held that administrative proceedings remained pending until the respondent departed the United…
Department of the Navy, United States Naval Supply Center, San Diego and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1399
San Diego Naval Supply Center (FLRA 8-CA-70491): Employee addresses ordered disclosed
AFGE Local 1399 requested names and home addresses of the employees it represented at the San Diego Naval Supply Center. The center refused, arguing that privacy law barred release and that other communication methods made the addresses unnecessary. The parties stipulated that the center normally…
Department of the Navy, Naval Aviation Depot, Cherry Point and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local Lodge 1859, District 110
Cherry Point Naval Aviation Depot (FLRA 4-CA-70647): Lodge 1859 ordered given employee addresses
Machinists Local Lodge 1859 requested names and home addresses of employees in its Cherry Point Naval Aviation Depot bargaining unit. The depot refused. An administrative law judge granted the General Counsel's motion for summary judgment and found an unfair labor practice. The Authority rejected…
Department of the Air Force, Headquarters Armament Division, Eglin Air Force Base and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1897
Eglin Air Force Base (FLRA 4-CA-70220): Addresses for two bargaining units ordered disclosed
AFGE Local 1897 requested names and home addresses for both its appropriated fund and nonappropriated fund units at Eglin Air Force Base. The Air Force refused, arguing that privacy rules barred disclosure and that assembling the information from different records would be burdensome. An…
Beckley Lick Run Company
Compensation complaint dismissed after payment
Local Union 2387, District 29, United Mine Workers of America filed a compensation proceeding against Beckley Lick Run Company concerning the Bonny Mine. The complainant asked to withdraw the complaint because the individual complainants had been paid the requested compensation. Judge Gary Melick…
Merit Systems Protection Board Professional Association and Merit Systems Protection Board
MSPB bargaining proposals (FLRA 0-NG-1333): Three negotiable, two petitions dismissed
The Merit Systems Protection Board Professional Association appealed the board's refusal to bargain over five contract proposals. The Authority found three negotiable: notice of formal studies related to working conditions, copies of grievances and decisions involving employees who represented…
National Steel & Shipbuilding Company
Fatal electrical-contact citation withdrawn
National Steel used a temporary electrical load tank, called a salt box, while testing a ship's generators. An electrician entered the unlocked box and was killed by contact with an energized 440-volt circuit. The judge found that supervisors failed to communicate that the box remained energized or…
National Treasury Employees Union and Family Support Administration, Department of Health and Human Services
Family Support Administration and NTEU (FLRA O-NG-1409): Bargaining required for day care proposal
The National Treasury Employees Union proposed benefits for Family Support Administration employees affected by an office move from Rockville to Washington, D.C. The Authority found that reimbursing increased parking costs would improperly pay employees' personal commuting expenses. It also found…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 738 and Department of the Army, Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth management study (FLRA O-NG-1395): Unclear proposal dismissed
After an Army study at Fort Leavenworth led to a new staffing structure and one reassignment, AFGE Local 738 proposed another management study and a review of the structure. The Authority could not determine whether the union wanted a new study that might restrict a management decision or only a…
National Treasury Employees Union and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service
IRS union travel and credit hours (FLRA O-NG-1371): Credit hours negotiable, travel proposal rejected
NTEU proposed that union representatives on official time could use discounted federal city-pair travel fares for labor relations trips and could earn credit hours for representational work. The Authority found the travel proposal outside the duty to bargain because official time did not…
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.