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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L.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Ava Post Office, Ava, MO
Board upholds shoulder claim denial and continuation-of-pay ruling (ECAB 23-0708)
L.B., a rural postal carrier, reported shoulder pain after lifting a parcel into his vehicle. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the injury claim. A physician described tendinitis as something that could have been caused by reaching and lifting, but the Board found that opinion too…
E.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Durham VA Medical Center, Durham, NC
Board upholds refusal to reopen VA worker's back injury claim (ECAB 23-0698)
E.S., a VA nursing assistant, reported back pain after helping reposition a patient. OWCP denied the injury claim because the medical evidence did not establish a causal link to the accepted incident. In seeking reconsideration, E.S. repeated earlier arguments and reports and submitted new…
D.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Ankeny Post Office, Sioux Falls, SD
Board upholds denial of postal carrier's knee and shoulder claim (ECAB 23-0588)
D.M., a rural postal carrier, reported twisting her left knee and injuring her left shoulder while moving packages. OWCP accepted the July 2022 incident and the medical diagnoses but denied the claim for lack of a supported causal link. An orthopedic physician attributed a rotator cuff tear and an…
Dennis L. Stiles v. Helvetia Coal Company, LLC
Stiles v. Helvetia Coal (BRB 22-0496 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Dennis L. Stiles sought black lung benefits after 23 years of underground coal mine work. The judge found that a doctor's assessment of Stiles's breathing impairment and the demands of his roof bolter job established total respiratory disability. This triggered a presumption that pneumoconiosis…
Doris M. Williams v. Golden Oak Mining Company, LP
Williams v. Golden Oak Mining (BRB 22-0390 BLA and 22-0391 BLA): Miner and survivor benefits affirmed
Doris Williams pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor's claim after his coal mine employment. Golden Oak Mining challenged the administrative law judge's renewed finding that the miner was totally disabled by a respiratory impairment, focusing on the validity of a March…
Doris M. Williams, on behalf of and widow of Willie Williams, v. Golden Oak Mining Company, LP
Williams v. Golden Oak Mining (BRB 22-0390 and 22-0391 BLA): miner and widow benefits affirmed
Doris M. Williams pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor claim. Willie Williams had worked at least 21 years in coal mining, almost all underground. After an earlier remand, the judge found that lung function tests and a medical opinion established total respiratory…
L.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Wayne Post Office, Newark, NJ
Board upholds late reconsideration denial over modified-duty refusal (ECAB 23-0941)
L.W., a postal city carrier with an accepted back injury, declined a temporary modified-duty assignment, and OWCP reduced her wage-loss compensation to zero. More than a year after that merits decision, she sought reconsideration and argued that OWCP should have given her 15 additional days to…
M.S. and Department of Homeland Security, Citizenship & Immigration Services, Laguna Niguel, CA
Board orders combined review of related injury files (ECAB 23-0802)
M.S., a federal budget analyst, had an accepted right pectoralis strain after pushing a wheelchair-bound employee during orientation. She sought acceptance of other shoulder, back, and knee conditions and authorization for acupuncture. OWCP denied both requests, but the Board found that an earlier…
D.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Marysville Post Office, San Francisco, CA
Board reverses denial of postal carrier's dog bite claim (ECAB 23-0740)
D.D., a postal carrier technician, reported that a dog bit the back of his left thigh while he delivered mail. OWCP accepted that the incident happened but denied his injury claim for lack of medical proof. The Board found that the next day's emergency records diagnosed a dog bite and that a…
M.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Mililani Post Office, Mililani, HI
Board orders merits review of postal carrier's reported fall (ECAB 22-1294)
M.W., a postal letter carrier, reported tripping over a raised step while delivering a parcel and injuring several body parts. OWCP had denied her claim because it found that the workplace incident was not established, then refused to reopen the case. In a later statement, she added details about…
T.B. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, GA
Board orders timely reconsideration review of TSA wage decision (ECAB 23-0784)
T.B., a transportation security officer with an accepted knee injury, challenged a reduction of wage-loss compensation based on a proposed office clerk position. OWCP received her reconsideration request on August 25, 2022, one year after its wage-loss decision, but treated the request as late and…
T.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Parsippany, NJ
Board upholds denial of postal worker's 2019 intermittent wage loss (ECAB 23-0523)
T.A., a postal carrier assistant, had accepted right leg and knee contusions after a cart struck her at work. She sought pay for intermittent time away from work in 2019. The Board found that none of the physician reports addressed the specific claimed dates or explained how the accepted injury…
L.P. and Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Medical Center, Battle Creek, MI
Board upholds denial of VA worker's holiday-day fall claim (ECAB 23-0510)
L.P., a VA medical center librarian, slipped on ice while leaving the workplace and sustained a diagnosed kneecap fracture. She had mistakenly come to work on an in-lieu holiday created by her compressed schedule. Although a leave calendar was inaccurate, the Board found that agency policy and…
B.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Charleston, WV
Board finds postal carrier's door incident occurred and orders medical review (ECAB 22-0972)
B.W., a rural postal carrier, reported sudden lower back and left leg pain while opening and walking through double doors at work. OWCP denied the injury claim, citing differences in how she described opening the doors. The Board found that her account was consistent enough, her supervisor…
T.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Oklahoma City, OK
Board upholds denial of TSA worker's wage-loss claim (ECAB 21-1429)
T.H., a former transportation security officer, had accepted hand, wrist, foot, and ankle conditions from a workplace fall. She sought wage-loss compensation for disability starting in February 2020. Her physician described ongoing pain and said she could not perform work duties, but the Board…
T.C. and Department of the Navy, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Newport News, VA
Board finds shipyard worker's hearing loss claim timely (ECAB 23-0705)
T.C., a retired Navy shipyard industrial specialist, filed a hearing loss claim in 2023 after workplace noise exposure ended in 2011. OWCP denied it because he had missed the ordinary three-year filing period. The Board found that the employer's own hearing conservation audiograms showed worsening…
United States Postal Service, Lehigh Valley PDCF
Obstruction citations affirmed, willful classification reduced
During the 2020 pandemic and holiday mail surge, staffing shortages and increased volume caused mail containers and equipment to accumulate at the Postal Service's Lehigh Valley processing plant. OSHA found blocked traffic aisles, emergency exit routes, a fire-alarm pull station, and insufficient…
Asplundh Tree Expert, LLC
Dead-tree trimming citation vacated
Asplundh trimmed dead cottonwood trees near power lines in New Castle, Colorado. A climber fell about 35 feet after a cut tree section struck the branch supporting him, causing a broken leg and permanently disabling spinal injuries. The judge found that Asplundh and its industry recognized fall and…
V.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Church Street Post Office, New York, NY
Board grants withdrawal of postal worker's appeal (ECAB 23-1167)
V.M. appealed an August 2023 OWCP merits decision to the Board. She then sent a letter asking to withdraw that appeal. The Board granted her request and dismissed the proceeding. The order does not explain or decide the merits of the underlying compensation claim.
T.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Baltimore Main Post Office, Baltimore, MD
Board reverses termination of postal worker's respiratory injury benefits (ECAB 23-0862)
T.J., a postal worker, had an accepted occupational claim for allergic bronchitis dating to 1989. OWCP ended her wage-loss and medical benefits based on a second-opinion examination. The doctor thought the accepted condition had resolved but said her ability to work depended on tolerating the…
T.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Madison Post Office, Madison, GA
Board affirms denial of postal worker's disability pay claim (ECAB 23-0851)
T.G., a rural postal carrier associate, sustained an accepted left calf muscle tear at work in July 2022. She sought wage-loss compensation for several weeks from late September through October. A doctor limited her to sedentary work and no climbing, but the Board found that he did not adequately…
C.G. and U.S. Postal Service, New Jersey Network Distribution Center, Jersey City, NJ
Board reverses termination of postal worker's injury benefits (ECAB 23-0842)
C.G., a postal dock clerk, sustained accepted left foot fractures and complex regional pain syndrome after a pallet jack struck her at work. OWCP ended her wage-loss compensation and schedule award entitlement after finding that she refused a suitable job offer. The Board found that the medical…
V.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Los Banos Post Office, Los Banos, CA
Board affirms denial of postal carrier's carpal tunnel claim (ECAB 23-0817)
V.R., a rural postal carrier, said repetitive reaching, twisting, pushing, pulling, and steering caused carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands. A doctor diagnosed the condition and called it work-related, but did not explain how her specific duties caused or aggravated it. Other doctors recorded the…
S.G. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Mather, CA
Board affirms denial of FAA worker's vehicle injury claim (ECAB 23-0793)
S.G., an FAA air traffic controller, was a passenger in a vehicle rear-ended while he was working. He reported a neck injury and sought FECA benefits. His doctor's form described musculoskeletal pain, which the Board found was a symptom rather than a clear medical diagnosis. A physician assistant's…
J.M. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mississippi River Project Office, Pleasant Valley, IA
Board remands Corps welder's increased impairment award claim (ECAB 23-0751)
J.M., an Army Corps welder, sustained a crushing injury to his left hand in 2016 and received a schedule award for 32 percent permanent impairment. After a later left index finger amputation, he sought an increased award. OWCP's second-opinion doctor rated his impairment using a diagnosis-based…
L.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Logistics & Distribution Center, Tampa, FL
Board upholds denial of postal worker's late reconsideration request (ECAB 23-0744)
L.J., a postal building equipment mechanic, had an accepted right shoulder injury from 2011. OWCP later denied his recurrence claim, and he requested reconsideration more than a year after its March 2021 merits decision. The Board found that the request missed the one-year deadline. A later summary…
J.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Dalton Post Office, Dalton, GA
Board affirms denial of postal worker's left thumb claim (ECAB 23-0702)
J.L., a postal carrier technician, attributed left thumb pain to casing mail and gripping a vehicle steering wheel at work. His doctor diagnosed thumb arthritis and linked his pain to a steering wheel incident and repetitive duties. The Board found that her explanation did not identify how the…
K.R. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Los Angeles Asylum Office, Tustin, CA
Board affirms denial of asylum officer's repetitive typing injury claim (ECAB 23-0696)
K.R., an asylum officer, reported left arm conditions that she attributed to typing for eight to ten hours a day. OWCP denied her occupational disease claim. The Board found that two treating doctors diagnosed conditions but did not explain their cause. Another doctor mentioned her repetitive…
Q.N. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, Yuma, AZ
Board remands Border Patrol investigator's schedule award claim (ECAB 23-0636)
Q.N., a Border Patrol criminal investigator, injured his right elbow and left thumb during a 2020 investigation. OWCP denied his request for a schedule award for permanent impairment. After that denial, Q.N. submitted a new doctor's report rating his left upper extremity impairment at four percent…
S.P. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Jamaica, NY
Board affirms termination of former FAA employee's injury benefits (ECAB 23-0537)
S.P., a former FAA secretary, received compensation for cervical and lumbar sprains from a 1993 workplace incident. OWCP ended her wage-loss and medical benefits in February 2022, relying on a second-opinion examination that found the accepted sprains had resolved. The Board found that opinion…
Rodney Riddick v. CP & O, LLC
Riddick v. CP & O (BRB 22-0392): denial of longshore benefits affirmed
Rodney Riddick, a lasher for CP & O, claimed that a falling lashing rod or heavy lifting at work caused a compression fracture in his lower back. The administrative law judge applied the statutory presumption that an injury arose from employment, then found that the employer's medical opinions…
T.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, State College, PA
Board dismisses postal worker's appeal filed after deadline (ECAB 24-0017)
T.W. appealed a March 2023 OWCP decision involving his postal employment. He filed with the Board on October 9, after the 180-day appeal period ended on September 16. The Board found no supported explanation establishing compelling circumstances for the late filing. It dismissed the appeal without…
W.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Texarkana VA Outpatient Clinic, Texarkana, TX
Board dismisses VA clinic worker's appeal filed ten years late (ECAB 24-0010)
W.R. appealed a 2013 OWCP nonmerits decision related to his VA clinic employment. He filed the Board appeal in October 2023, about ten years after OWCP's decision. The Board found that the filing was far beyond the 180-day deadline and that he had not provided a supported explanation establishing…
B.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Jackson LeFleur Post Office, Jackson, MS
Board dismisses postal worker's appeal after 180-day deadline (ECAB 24-0008)
B.J. appealed an OWCP merits decision concerning her postal employment. The decision was issued in December 2022, but she filed her Board appeal in October 2023. That was beyond the 180-day deadline, and the Board found no supported explanation establishing compelling circumstances for the delay…
C.P. and Department of the Army, North Dakota National Guard, Bismark, ND
Board dismisses National Guard worker's late appeal (ECAB 24-0003)
C.P., a North Dakota National Guard worker, appealed an OWCP decision issued in August 2022. His representative filed the Board appeal in October 2023, well after the 180-day deadline. The Board found no supported explanation establishing compelling circumstances for the delay. It dismissed the…
J.P. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, Ferndale, WA
Board grants Border Patrol worker's appeal withdrawal (ECAB 23-1004)
J.P. appealed a June 2023 OWCP merits decision to the Board. He later sent a letter asking to withdraw the appeal. The Board granted his request and dismissed the proceeding. The order does not decide the merits of his compensation claim.
A.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bolivar, MO
Board dismisses postal worker's appeal at counsel's request (ECAB 23-0953)
A.H. appealed a June 2023 OWCP merits decision to the Board. His lawyer later asked the Board to dismiss the appeal. The Board granted the request and dismissed the proceeding. The order does not decide the underlying compensation question.
C.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Pensacola Processing & Distribution Center, Pensacola, FL
Board upholds denial of postal worker's late written-record review request (ECAB 23-0807)
C.O., a postal mail processing clerk, had an accepted thoracic spine injury. She sought review of an OWCP decision by a hearing representative through the written-record process. Her request came more than 30 days after that decision, so she had no right to that review. OWCP also considered a…
R.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Vehicle Maintenance Facility, St. Petersburg, FL
Board upholds denial of merits reconsideration in postal impairment claim (ECAB 23-0748)
R.M., a former postal mechanic with an accepted back injury, sought an increased schedule award for impairment of both legs. OWCP declined to reopen the claim after he requested reconsideration. The Board found that his request did not identify a legal error or present a new legal argument. The…
T.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Las Vegas, NV
Board dismisses unsigned postal worker appeal (ECAB 23-0722)
A representative filed an appeal for postal worker T.W. from an OWCP decision, but T.W. had not signed the appeal form. The Clerk twice requested a signed form and gave time to provide it. Neither T.W. nor her representative submitted one. The Board held that there was no valid appeal and dismissed…
J.H. and Department of the Air Force, Nellis Air Force Base, NV
Board remands Air Force worker's recurrence claim for impartial examination (ECAB 22-0981)
J.H., an Air Force carpenter and woodcrafter, had an accepted occupational disease claim involving both wrists. He claimed that his condition left him totally unable to work during a period from 2009 through 2012. His treating physician said his condition worsened and made work unreasonable; OWCP's…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 14 and United States Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service
NTEU Chapter 14 and IRS (FLRA 0-AR-5855): Authority denies reconsideration of attorney-fee ruling
An arbitrator sustained a grievance over an IRS employee's performance evaluation, raised the scores, and directed a related monetary award. He later denied the union's attorney-fee request because the agreement did not require performance awards, so the payment did not constitute pay under the…
D.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Massena Post Office, Massena, NY
Board remands postal worker's shoulder claim for review of submitted medical reports (ECAB 23-0543)
D.B., a postal letter carrier, sought compensation for a left shoulder occupational condition. After OWCP denied the claim, he requested reconsideration and OWCP received two March 2022 reports from his doctor. OWCP later refused to reopen the claim while saying no new medical evidence had been…
W.K. and Department of the Interior, Fish & Wildlife Service, Shirley, NY
Board affirms denial of wildlife worker's recurrence claim (ECAB 23-0379)
W.K., a Fish and Wildlife Service maintenance mechanic, injured his left hand when a loader door struck it in 2017. He later claimed intermittent periods when the accepted injury left him unable to work. The Board found that his doctors discussed wrist conditions but did not give a reasoned opinion…
K.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Hartford Processing & Distribution Center, Hartford, CT
Board remands postal worker's shoulder impairment award (ECAB 23-0272)
K.B., a postal electronic technician, injured his left shoulder while lifting a machine part at work. His doctor rated his permanent left arm impairment at 11 percent; OWCP's medical adviser rated it at seven percent using a different method. The adviser said the record lacked complete…
A.H. and U.S. Postal Service, East Mont Station Post Office, Oakland, CA
Board finds postal carrier's knee incident occurred at work (ECAB 22-0912)
A.H., a postal carrier, reported hearing a pop in her right knee while getting out of her truck at work in May 2014. OWCP denied her traumatic injury claim. The Board found that her employer's account and the incident report supported her description of what happened at work. It set aside the…
C.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Sunrise Post Office, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Board remands postal carrier's left knee arthritis claim (ECAB 22-0067)
C.A., a former letter carrier, said years of walking, deliveries, and other physical duties contributed to his left knee osteoarthritis. His doctor explained a mechanism by which repeated loading could accelerate cartilage loss and acknowledged other possible contributors. The Board found that the…
S.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Bradley Carrier Annex Post Office, Milwaukee, WI
Board affirms denial of postal carrier's continuation of pay (ECAB 23-0815)
S.S., a postal city carrier, reported hurting his knee and back when he slipped on a ramp at work in September 2020. He filed written notice of the injury in January 2021. The Board found that this was more than 30 days after the incident, beyond the statutory deadline for continuation of pay. It…
G.G. and U.S. Postal Service, North Adams Post Office, North Adams, MA
Board remands postal carrier's left thumb arthritis claim (ECAB 23-0774)
G.G., a retired postal carrier, attributed left thumb arthritis to 41 years of repeatedly gripping and handling mail. His doctor explained how those actions could wear down cartilage and said the severe condition exceeded what he would expect from ordinary daily activity. The Board found the…
C.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Duluth Post Office, Duluth, GA
Board affirms denial of postal worker's fall injury claim (ECAB 23-0645)
C.D., a rural postal carrier associate, fell after tripping over a raised rock on her route. Doctors diagnosed shoulder and wrist conditions and set work restrictions, but the Board found that they did not explain whether the April 2022 fall caused those conditions. Imaging reports documented…
M.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Woodstock Post Office, Woodstock, IL
Board remands postal worker's ankle impairment claim over incomplete medical history (ECAB 23-0608)
M.O., a rural letter carrier, had accepted left foot and ankle injuries from separate workplace incidents. She sought a schedule award for permanent impairment, but the second-opinion physician and OWCP's medical adviser rated her using a case summary that left out an earlier left foot surgery. The…
I.W. and Department of Defense, Defense Commissary Agency, Cherry Point Commissary, Cherry Point, NC
Board affirms denial of commissary worker's back injury claim (ECAB 23-0567)
I.W., a Defense Commissary Agency store worker, reported a back injury after encountering a pallet jack while moving a cart at work. Her doctor linked sacroiliac inflammation and muscle spasm to the incident and later said workplace events aggravated a degenerative back condition. The Board found…
E.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, William Jennings Bryan Dorn VA Medical Center, Columbia, SC
Board affirms VA nurse's 11 percent shoulder impairment award (ECAB 23-0531)
E.M., a VA nurse, injured her neck and shoulder in a fall at work and later had left shoulder surgery. OWCP granted a schedule award based on 11 percent permanent impairment of her left arm. Her doctor's range-of-motion method produced a six percent rating, while OWCP's medical adviser calculated…
J.P. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, Port of Calexico, Calexico, CA
Board remands border inspector's upper extremity impairment award (ECAB 23-0434)
J.P., a customs agriculture specialist, had accepted conditions including carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists and several trigger fingers. OWCP granted schedule awards based on a second-opinion physician's finding of seven percent permanent impairment of each arm. Its medical adviser identified…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3184 and Social Security Administration
AFGE Local 3184 and Social Security Administration (FLRA 0-AR-5814): Authority remands attorney-fee calculation
An arbitrator sustained a grievance challenging an employee's suspension and, after an earlier Authority remand, awarded $5,925 in attorney fees. The union had also requested $5,400 for work litigating the fee dispute, but the two-paragraph remand award did not address those hours. The Authority…
Brenda Coleman and Debra Bolling, on behalf of Kermit Greene, v. Clinchfield Coal Company
Coleman and Bolling v. Clinchfield Coal (BRB 22-0509 BLA): miner's benefits award affirmed
Brenda Coleman and Debra Bolling continued their father Kermit Greene's black lung benefits claim after his death. The administrative law judge found more than twenty-seven years of qualifying coal mine work and total respiratory disability, which triggered the statutory presumption that…
Raymond Daniel v. Branham & Baker
Daniel v. Branham & Baker (BRB 22-0500 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
Raymond Daniel sought black lung benefits on a subsequent claim after working more than thirty years in qualifying coal mine employment. The administrative law judge found a totally disabling respiratory impairment, so Daniel met the changed condition requirement for a subsequent claim and invoked…
Richard J. Buehl v. Gilberton Coal Company
Buehl v. Gilberton Coal (BRB 22-0325 BLA): disability finding vacated and claim remanded
Richard Buehl sought black lung benefits after forty years of qualifying coal mine work. The administrative law judge denied his claim because he found no totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board rejected Buehl's due process objection to the time allowed to respond to an employer medical…
Judy A. Kirkwood v. Island Creek Coal Company
Kirkwood v. Island Creek Coal (BRB 22-0246 BLA): survivor's black lung award affirmed
Judy Kirkwood sought survivor's benefits after the death of her husband, a coal miner. The administrative law judge found that he had at least sixteen years of underground coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment, triggering the statutory presumption that pneumoconiosis caused…
Collins v. Next Marketing, Inc.
STAA matter dismissed after no review petition
Danny Collins withdrew his STAA complaint before an administrative judge and said he intended to pursue his rights in federal district court. The judge dismissed the complaint with prejudice. Forty-eight days later, Collins sent the Board what appeared to be a copy of the dismissal order, not a…
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.