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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Consolidation Coal Company
Corrected settlement approved for $1,075
Consolidation Coal Company faced three contest proceedings and two related civil penalty proceedings concerning conditions at the Humphrey No. 7 Mine. The corrected decision states that three violations were originally assessed at $2,000 total and that the parties agreed to a $1,075 settlement. One…
Department of the Navy, Naval Undersea Warfare Engineering Station, Keyport and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local Lodge 282
Keyport Navy employee addresses (FLRA 9-CA-60261): Disclosure ordered
The union for employees at the Navy’s Keyport, Bangor, and Indian Island facilities asked for bargaining unit employees’ names and home addresses. The Naval Undersea Warfare Engineering Station refused, arguing that disclosure was unlawful and that the union had not shown a specific need. The…
U.S. Department of Energy and National Treasury Employees Union
Energy alternative schedule ground rules (FLRA 0-AR-1189): Award upheld
DOE and the National Treasury Employees Union disputed ground rules for negotiating a new agreement. An interest arbitrator allowed the union to replace an alternative work schedule proposal if DOE found it would adversely affect the agency, and set a date for DOE to respond to a pending proposal…
Emery Mining Corporation
Roof-control penalties assessed at $2,000
Emery Mining Corporation faced two roof-control citations at the Deer Creek Mine. The parties stipulated that the underlying violations had already been decided in related contest proceedings, so Judge John J. Morris addressed the civil penalties and applied the statutory penalty factors. The…
United Minerals, Inc.
Eight-citation settlement approved for $405
United Minerals, Inc. faced eight violations at the Black Mountain Pit Mine. The original penalties totaled $469, but the Secretary proposed settlements totaling $405 after discovering that the Office of Assessments had calculated the penalties using an estimated 200,000 tons of coal production…
Air Force District of Washington and AFGE-GAIU Council of Headquarters Air Force Locals
Washington Air Force employee addresses (FLRA 3-CA-60304): Disclosure ordered
The AFGE-GAIU council requested the names and home addresses of Air Force District of Washington employees after its bargaining unit expanded. The Air Force refused, citing employee privacy, existing ways for the union to communicate, and the effort required to compile addresses from its records…
Rushton Mining Company
One order vacated and $100 settlement approved
Rushton Mining Company faced a civil penalty proceeding and two related contest proceedings concerning the Rushton Mine. The parties submitted a settlement for approval under the Mine Act's penalty criteria. Judge William Fauver vacated Order No. 2690105, approved a $100 penalty for Order No…
Reading Anthracite Company
$3,600 settlement approved
Reading Anthracite Company faced a civil penalty proceeding concerning the New St. Nicholas Breaker. The Secretary filed a motion to approve a settlement, and the company agreed to pay the proposed penalty of $3,600 in full. Judge Avram Weisberger reviewed the parties' representations and…
Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company
Discrimination decision reaffirmed and attorney fees ordered
Larry Brian Anderson brought a discrimination proceeding against Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company concerning the removal of his employment application from consideration. In an earlier decision, Judge James A. Broderick found that the company violated section 105(c) of the Mine Act and ordered it…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R1-109 and Veterans Administration Medical Center, Newington
Newington VA weekend shifts (FLRA 0-NG-1254): Some bargaining ordered
The Newington VA Medical Center began rotating three work leaders onto Sunday shifts, changing a practice that had kept one employee off Sundays. NAGE Local R1-109 proposed several alternatives intended to preserve that employee’s ability to serve as a church pianist. The Authority dismissed…
Department of the Navy, Mare Island Naval Shipyard and Federal Employees Metal Trades Council
Mare Island wage grade addresses (FLRA 9-CA-60313): Disclosure ordered
The Federal Employees Metal Trades Council sought names and home addresses for its Mare Island Naval Shipyard wage grade bargaining unit. The Navy refused, citing privacy law and Authority precedent in effect when it denied the requests. The Authority held that it decides unfair labor practice…
Department of Health and Human Services, Region V, Chicago, Illinois and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 230
HHS Region V employee addresses (FLRA 5-CA-60271): Disclosure ordered
The National Treasury Employees Union requested the names and home addresses of employees it represented at HHS Region V to communicate about bargaining. HHS refused, arguing that the information was unavailable or burdensome to collect, privacy law barred disclosure, and other ways to reach…
Department of the Army, Headquarters XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1770
Fort Bragg promotion records (FLRA 4-CA-50565): Disclosure ordered
AFGE Local 1770 requested promotion records from Fort Bragg to pursue one employee's grievance and decide whether to file another. The Army refused to provide crediting plans, candidate qualifications, panel instructions, and related records, arguing in part that disclosure was barred by law or…
Department of the Treasury, Bureau of Engraving and Printing and National Treasury Employees Union
Engraving Bureau employee addresses (FLRA 3-CA-60332): Disclosure ordered
The National Treasury Employees Union requested names and home addresses for its Bureau of Engraving and Printing bargaining unit. It cited strict security at bureau worksites as a barrier to contacting employees there. The bureau refused, citing conflicting court rulings, privacy concerns, and…
National Park Service, National Capital Region, United States Park Police and Police Association of the District of Columbia
Park Police internal recommendations (FLRA 3-CA-60168): Information complaints dismissed
The Police Association of the District of Columbia requested records for four grievances involving Park Police employees. The National Park Service provided most of the requested information but withheld supervisors' recommendations, concurrences, and opinions about discipline and denied leave. The…
Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Office of Hearings and Appeals, Region II and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1760
SSA Region II employee addresses (FLRA 2-CA-60465): Disclosure ordered
AFGE Local 1760 sought home addresses for SSA Region II bargaining unit employees to ask about changes to disability review and agency resources. SSA supplied names and office locations but refused home addresses, citing privacy and other ways for the union to contact employees. The Authority held…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 32 and Office of Personnel Management
OPM employee development and promotions (FLRA 0-NG-963): Four proposals rejected
AFGE Local 32 sought to bargain with the Office of Personnel Management over employee development plans, performance ratings when work materials were destroyed, career ladder grades, and promotion procedures. The Authority found that requiring promised training interfered with management's right to…
Federal Union of Scientists and Engineers, National Association of Government Employees and Department of the Navy, Naval Underwater Systems Center
Naval Underwater Systems Center access cards (FLRA 0-NG-1349): Security proposal rejected
A union proposed barring electronic devices that recorded entry times in a secured office area at the Naval Underwater Systems Center. The Navy used coded key cards to control access to an area handling classified information; the cards also recorded when someone entered. The Authority found that…
National Association of Government Employees and National Guard Bureau, Adjutant General
National Guard technician proposals (FLRA 0-NG-1226): Union time terms negotiable
NAGE challenged the National Guard Bureau’s refusal to bargain over ten proposals concerning technicians. The Authority ordered bargaining on a day shift for the union president, adjusted hours for other union representatives, and changing time or attire for union duties. It rejected terms setting…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1786 and U.S. Marine Corps, Marine Corps Exchange, Henderson Hall
Marine Corps Exchange leave benefits (FLRA 0-NG-1197): Contract provisions negotiable
AFGE Local 1786 challenged the Marine Corps Exchange's disapproval of three negotiated leave provisions for employees of its nonappropriated fund operation. The provisions addressed court leave for jury service and witness duty, and time off for activities including funeral leave. The Authority…
National Treasury Employees Union and Department of the Treasury, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
ATF telephone and promotion proposals (FLRA 0-NG-1158): Bargaining ordered
The National Treasury Employees Union proposed access to government telephones for specified labor relations matters and first consideration for ATF employees seeking vacant positions. The Authority held that federal telephone rules did not bar the agency from negotiating use for activities it…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1153 and U.S. Army, Seventh Signal Command and Fort Ritchie
Fort Ritchie meal surcharge (FLRA 0-NG-1055): Bargaining ordered
NFFE Local 1153 proposed that civilian employees working at a remote, secure Fort Ritchie site be exempt from an operating expense surcharge at its dining facility. The Authority found that the meal price affected those employees’ working conditions because other food options were limited by…
U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons and American Federation of Government Employees, Council of Prison Locals
Bureau of Prisons unit clarification (FLRA 3-CU-60012): Review denied
The Bureau of Prisons asked the Authority to review a regional director's ruling on the Council of Prison Locals' petition to clarify a bargaining unit. The Bureau argued that compelling reasons warranted review. The Authority found only disagreement with factual findings supported by the record…
Keco Industries, Inc.
Record-access and blasting-respirator violations affirmed
Keco Industries manufactured military and aerospace equipment and performed abrasive blasting in an enclosed facility at its Ohio plant. The Commission affirmed a willful record-access violation because Keco refused repeated requests for prior injury and illness logs even after OSHA presented an…
District No. 1, Pacific Coast District, Marine Engineers Beneficial Association and Panama Canal Commission
Panama Canal marine engineer pay and staffing (FLRA 0-NG-716): Split negotiability ruling
A marine engineers' union sought to negotiate pay practices and staffing positions for Panama Canal Commission vessel employees. The Authority found that a provision calling for licensed engineers to be paid according to maritime industry wage practices was negotiable because federal law left the…
U.S. Army Engineer District, St. Louis and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3838
St. Louis Army sewage plant contracting (FLRA 0-AR-1247): Remedy modified
The Army Engineer District in St. Louis contracted out operation and maintenance at four sewage treatment plants. An arbitrator found that the Army had done so solely to avoid personnel ceilings, contrary to OMB Circular A-76, and ordered the procurement canceled and six affected employees restored…
Equitable Shipyards, Inc.
Welding-fume items vacated for unreliable sampling
Equitable Shipyards built ships and barges at a Louisiana facility where OSHA sampled welders' exposure to welding fumes. OSHA attached sampling cassettes to the workers' shirt collars, but its own industrial-hygiene guidance and other technical authorities called for placing welding-fume cassettes…
Service Employees International Union, Local 556 and Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Exchange 0911 and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Support Command, Hawaii
Hawaii military exchange leave benefits (FLRA 0-NG-737): Six proposals negotiable
SEIU Local 556 proposed sick, annual, family related, and administrative leave benefits for regularly scheduled intermittent employees at two military nonappropriated fund operations in Hawaii. The Navy and Army argued that their regulations excluded these employees from the benefits and were…
Veterans Administration Medical Center, Leavenworth, Kansas and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 85
Leavenworth VA performance rating (FLRA 0-AR-1283): Reevaluation ordered
A food service worker at the Leavenworth VA Medical Center challenged a satisfactory performance rating after working under several supervisors and plans. An arbitrator found that the VA had violated its own appraisal policy and the parties' agreement, but ordered broad changes to appraisal…
Veterans Administration Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2270
Omaha VA respiratory therapist promotions (FLRA 0-AR-1222): Grievance remanded
Four respiratory therapists at the Omaha VA Medical Center challenged the grades assigned when their appointments moved from the Title 5 to the Title 38 personnel system. The arbitrator held that Title 38 procedures exclusively governed their promotion claims and refused to hear the grievance. The…
U.S. Department of Labor, OIPA and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 12
Labor Department audiovisual specialist RIF (FLRA 0-AR-1225): Backpay removed
A Labor Department audiovisual specialist was downgraded during a reduction in force. An arbitrator found that the Department had improperly failed to form a placement committee required by its labor agreement and ordered one month of compensation based on the pay difference between the worker's…
United States Steel Mining Company, Incorporated
Welding safety order modified and penalty assessed
At United States Steel Mining's Morton Mine, a miner welded on a continuous mining machine without continuously testing for methane, making a diligent fire search, or having rock dust or a fire extinguisher immediately available. Judge Avram Weisberger found violations of 30 C.F.R. § 75.1106 and…
Doug Connelly Sand & Gravel
Default order vacated and case remanded
Doug Connelly Sand & Gravel was found in default after it did not respond to a Commission show cause order, and the ALJ assessed $2,179 in civil penalties. The operator's attorney had prepared an answer and mailed it to the Secretary's counsel instead of filing it with the Commission. The…
Crockett Coal Company, Inc.
Default liability confirmed and damages ordered
Crockett Coal was held in default on liability in Gary K. Ratcliff's discrimination proceeding. Ratcliff submitted a statement of costs and damages, and Crockett did not contest it. Judge Gary Melick ordered Crockett to pay $10,043 plus interest within 30 days, subject to the amounts authorized…
J.W. Bill Christie, Inc.
Confined-space citations settled for $240
J.W. Bill Christie repaired natural-gas pipelines and was cited after a gas release in a below-ground manhole overcame two employees, who died. OSHA alleged that employees lacked adequate confined-space hazard instruction, training, and respiratory protection. The judge affirmed two serious…
Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp.
Carbon-monoxide case resolved by settlement
A failed water seal released a large amount of carbon monoxide in and around Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel's boiler house, injuring ten company employees and five subcontractor employees. The judge found serious and willful violations involving inspection and alarm precautions, emergency planning…
Harrison Furniture Manufacturing Company
Commission approves withdrawal of all citations
OSHA cited Harrison Furniture Manufacturing Company for numerous conditions at its Arkansas furniture plant after an inspection conducted under a warrant. The earlier litigation addressed whether evidence from a plant-wide inspection should be suppressed when the warrant application was based on…
U.S. Naval Supply Center, San Diego, California and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1399
San Diego Naval Supply Center smoking policy request (FLRA 8-CA-60071): Reply required
AFGE Local 1399 repeatedly asked the Naval Supply Center in San Diego for information about an alleged change to its smoking policy after an employee was suspended. The Authority agreed with the administrative judge that the policy had not changed, so the requested new instructions did not exist…
ACTION and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Local 2027
ACTION travel expense bargaining (FLRA 3-CA-60177): Complaint remanded
AFSCME Local 2027 asked ACTION to bargain over travel and per diem payments for union representatives on official time. ACTION refused, and the administrative law judge dismissed the unfair labor practice complaint after the parties signed a later collective bargaining agreement. The Authority…
Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census and Edward Hanlon
Census Bureau union solicitation rule (FLRA 3-CA-60048): Restriction struck down
A Census Bureau employee sought to solicit support for a union in work areas during breaks. The Bureau allowed solicitation only when everyone in a work area was off duty at the same time, citing possible disruption where other employees were working. The Authority adopted the administrative…
Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration and American Federation of Government Employees
Social Security payment review study (FLRA 2-CA-60059): Bargaining ordered
The Social Security Administration began a yearlong study that required quality review analysts to collect extra information and complete a new form in some cases. AFGE asked to bargain over the study's effect on employees, but the agency rejected its proposals and implemented the study. The…
Patent and Trademark Office and Patent Office Professional Association
Patent examiner signatory authority (FLRA 0-AR-1204): Award enforced
The Patent and Trademark Office raised the performance level patent examiners needed to obtain signatory authority while bargaining with their union over a new agreement. An arbitrator found that an earlier binding ground rules award required the agency to defer the change until negotiations…
Overseas Federation of Teachers and Department of Defense Dependents Schools, Mediterranean Region
Naples school lunchroom duty (FLRA 0-AR-1152): Teacher compensation upheld
Teachers at a Defense Department school in Naples were assigned to monitor students during their lunch periods. An arbitrator found that the labor agreement entitled teachers to a duty free lunch within available resources and awarded extra compensation to those assigned monitoring during that…
Rushton Minning Company
Wire-rope order partly affirmed and penalties assessed
At Rushton Mine, an inspector found that a mantrip hoist rope had more than 15 percent broken wires in one strand. Judge James A. Broderick found a violation and unwarrantable failure because Rushton's inspection procedure assigned one person too many tasks and failed to detect clearly visible…
Puskarich Limestone Company
Discrimination proceeding dismissed after settlement
Ricky Vernon Hein and Puskarich Limestone Company asked the judge to approve a settlement and dismiss the discrimination proceeding. Judge William Fauver granted the motion for good cause shown. The parties were ordered to comply with the settlement agreement filed on March 9, 1987, and confirmed…
Emerson Electric Company, Electronics & Space Division
Injury-record citation vacated
During an employee-complaint inspection, Emerson Electric allowed OSHA to inspect the stated complaint items but refused access to its injury and illness forms without a warrant or administrative subpoena. OSHA used neither form of legal process and issued a no-penalty citation for refusing the…
A.B. Chance Company
Record-access citation vacated for lack of legal process
A.B. Chance consented to an OSHA inspection limited to employee-complaint items but refused to provide its OSHA injury and illness forms without a warrant. OSHA did not obtain a warrant or issue an administrative subpoena and instead cited the company for denying access to the records. The judge…
Kings Island, Division of Taft Broadcasting Company
Warrantless injury-record citation vacated
OSHA sought three years of Kings Island's injury and illness logs during an inspection prompted by a complaint about theatrical fog. Kings Island offered access limited to the complaint but refused the broader records request unless OSHA obtained a warrant or used other legal process. OSHA instead…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 12 and Department of Labor
Labor Department medical information proposals (FLRA 0-NG-1045): Limited bargaining ordered
AFGE Local 12 proposed eight sets of rules for how the Department of Labor would request, use, and share employees' medical information under revised personnel regulations. The Authority found that the agency must bargain over three parts of Proposal 7 requiring written reasons for a medical…
Federal Union of Scientists and Engineers, NAGE and Department of the Navy, Naval Underwater Systems Center
Navy travel meal costs (FLRA 0-NG-1036): Union proposal nonnegotiable
A union representing employees at the Navy's Naval Underwater Systems Center proposed using a private meal cost index to assess travel meal claims. While the appeal was pending, federal travel rules changed. The Navy said the index would allow meal costs above the new federal limits in some cities…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1513 and Naval Air Station, Whidbey Island
Whidbey Island contracting grievance (FLRA 0-AR-1277): Grievance may proceed
AFGE Local 1513 challenged the Naval Air Station's decision to contract out base support services, claiming it violated procurement rules. An arbitrator refused to hear the grievance, citing management's contracting rights, OMB Circular A-76, and the absence of a specific contract promise to follow…
Social Security Administration, Mid-America Program Service Center and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1336
Former SSA employees' reinstatement requests (FLRA 0-AR-1218): Award upheld
AFGE Local 1336 filed a grievance for former Social Security Administration employees who said their reinstatement applications were not considered as their labor agreement required. The arbitrator found the grievance could be heard, but concluded that the agency had properly considered the…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Settlements approved and contest proceedings dismissed
Jim Walter Resources, Inc. and the Secretary of Labor resolved several civil penalty and contest proceedings involving the No. 4 and No. 7 Mines. Judge Paul Merlin approved settlements for the penalty cases, accepted withdrawals of related notices of contest, and dismissed those contest…
DeKalb Forge Company
Hearing-conservation and record-access citations affirmed
DeKalb Forge stipulated that it had not complied with seven hearing-conservation provisions and two employee-record-access provisions at its Illinois forging shop. The judge vacated the citations after relying on a court panel decision that invalidated the hearing-conservation amendment, but the…
Department of the Army, Fort Riley, Kansas and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2324
Fort Riley EEO representation time (FLRA 7-CA-60202): Denial unlawful
A Fort Riley union steward personally represented a former employee in an EEO complaint and sought official time under EEO rules. The Army denied it because the steward's labor agreement barred union representatives from using official time to represent people outside the bargaining unit. The…
Veterans Administration, Washington, D.C. and American Federation of Government Employees
VA grievance procedure impasse order (FLRA 3-CA-50461): Compliance ordered
The Veterans Administration refused to adopt grievance procedure language ordered by the Federal Service Impasses Panel for certain medical employees. The agency argued that the Panel lacked authority and that the employees' separate personnel system made the order unlawful. The Authority held that…
Department of Transportation and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2747
Coast Guard paycheck delivery change (FLRA 2-CA-20217): Bargaining required
The Department of Transportation directed the Third Coast Guard District to stop handing out employee paychecks and savings bonds at work and to use direct mail instead. AFGE Local 2747 requested bargaining over the change, but the district refused. Following a court remand, the Authority reversed…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 476 and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Electronics Research and Development Command
Army performance action notice period (FLRA 0-NG-799): Disapproval rescinded
An Army command disapproved a labor agreement provision giving employees 60 days' advance written notice of proposed actions for unacceptable performance. The agency argued that federal law allowed the extra 30 days only if the agency head first issued a regulation authorizing it. The Authority…
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and Western Area Power Administration, Department of Energy
Western Area Power wage proposal (FLRA 0-NG-1345): Four percent increase barred
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers proposed a four percent general wage increase for Western Area Power Administration employees for fiscal year 1987. A federal appropriations law limited these employees' increases to three percent unless an earlier contract required a higher rate…
Defense Logistics Council of American Federation of Government Employees Locals and Defense Logistics Agency
Defense Logistics driving privileges proposal (FLRA 0-NG-1063): Two parts negotiable
A union proposed procedures for employees whose driving privileges at Defense Logistics Agency installations could be suspended after an intoxicated driving arrest or apprehension. The Authority had previously found the entire proposal outside the duty to bargain on internal security grounds. 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.