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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Trivedi v. General Electric
Third reconsideration request denied as late
The Board had affirmed dismissal of Madhuri Trivedi's SOX and Consumer Financial Protection Act retaliation complaint as several years late, then denied two reconsideration requests. More than six months after the second denial, Trivedi filed a motion to amend even though no pleading or other…
D.T. and Department of the Interior, Fish & Wildlife Service, Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complex, Tulelake, CA
Board reverses termination of wildlife worker's injury benefits (ECAB 23-0538)
D.T., a Fish and Wildlife Service equipment operator, had accepted back and knee conditions tied to federal work. OWCP ended his wage-loss and medical benefits based on a second-opinion examination. The Board found that the doctor had not explained when each accepted condition stopped causing…
P.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Commerce Park Post Office, Baton Rouge, LA
Board affirms postal worker's $29,339 compensation overpayment (ECAB 23-0530)
P.G., a postal rural carrier, received FECA wage-loss payments while also receiving age-related Social Security benefits attributable in part to federal service. OWCP determined that the missing offset produced a $29,339.20 overpayment from February 2020 through July 2022, although P.G. was not at…
S.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Alexandria VA Medical Center, Pineville, LA
Board rejects expansion of VA worker's fall injury claim (ECAB 23-0391)
S.S., a VA information technology specialist, fell on a loading dock at work in 2016 and had several injuries accepted by OWCP. She asked OWCP to add hip bursitis and shoulder conditions to the accepted claim. Her doctor attributed the hip problems to an altered gait from the knee injuries and the…
Matter of Aldwin Junior BRATHWAITE
Pending direct criminal appeal prevented conviction finality for removability
The Board reconsidered a Trinidad and Tobago lawful permanent resident’s removability after the Second Circuit addressed the finality of his New York criminal convictions. The Board held that an appeal accepted under New York Criminal Procedure Law section 460.30 is a direct appeal, so the…
William L. Snyder v. The Marshall County Coal Company
Snyder v. The Marshall County Coal Company (BRB 22-0353 and 23-0001): Black lung benefits award affirmed
William L. Snyder sought black lung benefits after 23 years of underground coal mine employment. The administrative law judge found a totally disabling respiratory impairment, applied the presumption under 30 U.S.C. § 921(c)(4), and awarded benefits. The employer challenged the findings on total…
Nancy Blevins v. Island Creek Coal Company
Blevins v. Island Creek Coal (BRB 22-0522 BLA): survivor's award vacated for new modification review
Nancy Blevins sought survivor's black lung benefits after the death of her husband, a coal miner. On modification, the administrative law judge awarded benefits after finding complicated pneumoconiosis, but treated the survivor's claim as a subsequent claim and used the wrong legal test. The Board…
Albina Bajric v. Fluor Conops Limited
Bajric v. Fluor Conops (BRB 22-0364): attorney fee reply issue remanded
Albina Bajric settled a claim arising from psychological harm alleged during work for Fluor Conops in Afghanistan, leaving attorney fees disputed. Her lawyer sought more than $59,000, and the administrative law judge awarded $37,110 after reducing hourly rates and billed time. The Board upheld the…
William L. Snyder v. The Marshall County Coal Company
Snyder v. Marshall County Coal (BRB 22-0353 and 23-0001 BLA): benefits and fee awards affirmed
William Snyder sought black lung benefits after twenty-three years of underground coal mine work. The administrative law judge found a disabling respiratory impairment and applied the statutory presumption that pneumoconiosis caused it. The Marshall County Coal Company challenged the disability and…
Shane D. Sutton v. Middleton Mining, LLC
Sutton v. Middleton Mining (BRB 22-0304 BLA): complicated pneumoconiosis finding upheld
Shane Sutton sought black lung benefits after more than eighteen years of qualifying coal mine work. The administrative law judge found complicated pneumoconiosis based on CT scans and awarded benefits under the Act's irrebuttable presumption. Middleton Mining challenged the judge's weighing of…
Donald R. Nelson v. Vigor Shipyards, Incorporated
Nelson v. Vigor Shipyards (BRB 22-0281): modification denial affirmed, forfeiture issue remanded
Donald Nelson received longshore disability benefits after a back injury while working as a shipfitter. Vigor Shipyards sought to modify the award, arguing that his later trucking business and other available work showed a higher earning capacity. The Board upheld the judge's finding that Nelson's…
P.F. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, Nogales, AZ
Board affirms denial of Border Patrol officer's shoulder impairment award (ECAB 23-0831)
P.F., a Border Patrol officer, injured his right shoulder during a work training exercise and later sought an impairment award. Two doctors estimated six and seven percent permanent impairment. OWCP's medical adviser found zero percent because the records did not show objective instability or…
J.L. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center, North Chicago, IL
Board affirms denial of VA driver's COVID-19 continuation of pay (ECAB 23-0816)
J.L., a VA motor vehicle operator, reported contracting COVID-19 while working in August 2022 and stopped work for several days. He filed the required injury form in March 2023. Applying OWCP's COVID-19 guidance, the Board treated August 26, 2022 as the last exposure and injury date. Because the…
A.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs, West Los Angeles VA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
Board affirms denial of VA nurse's COVID-19 continuation of pay (ECAB 23-0623)
A.R., a VA nurse, said she contracted COVID-19 while caring for patients at work. Her last day of exposure was November 3, 2022, and she filed her injury form on December 12. The Board applied OWCP's COVID-19 guidance treating the last exposure as the injury date. Because the filing came more than…
I.C. and Department of Defense, Education Activity, Wiesbaden, Germany
Board remands school official's COVID-19 continuation-of-pay claim (ECAB 23-0572)
I.C., an assistant middle school principal, said she contracted COVID-19 at a work conference and sought continuation of pay for missed work. OWCP denied the benefit because it found that her injury form was filed more than 30 days after the stated August 2022 incident. The Board found that OWCP…
Romancing the Stone, Inc.
Contest dismissed after failure to answer
OSHA issued Romancing the Stone three failure-to-abate citations involving hearing conservation and crystalline-silica protections, with proposed penalties totaling $122,364. The company filed a notice of contest but did not answer the Secretary's complaint. It also did not respond to a show-cause…
T.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bedford Park, IL
Board finds postal worker's thumb incident occurred at work (ECAB 22-0968)
T.V., a postal rural carrier associate, said he hurt his left thumb when he tripped over a floor jack at work. OWCP rejected the claim after questioning whether the incident happened as described. The Board found his account substantially consistent with the employer's acknowledgment and the…
W.L. and Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, NC
Board affirms Marine air station worker's hearing loss award (ECAB 22-0967)
W.L. worked around tools and aircraft noise at a Marine Corps air station and developed hearing loss and tinnitus. OWCP awarded compensation for four percent binaural hearing impairment. The Board found that OWCP's medical adviser correctly calculated a 3.6 percent rating and rounded it to four…
F.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Dallas Network Distribution Center, Dallas, TX
Board affirms postal worker's schedule award overpayment (ECAB 22-0827)
F.R., a postal tractor driver, received an extra schedule award payment after his authorized award period ended. OWCP found an $1,825.50 overpayment, although he was not at fault. The Board upheld the calculation and denial of a waiver because F.R. did not provide requested information about his…
C.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Facility, Huntsville, AL
Board upholds denial of late reconsideration in postal hand injury claim (ECAB 22-0142)
C.S., a postal mail handler, claimed that decades of repetitive mail handling caused carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands. OWCP denied his claim in March 2019. He sought reconsideration in October 2020, after the one-year period had expired. The Board found that his added job description and…
L.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Madison, WI
Board upholds refusal to reopen TSA worker's schedule award claim (ECAB 23-0844)
A TSA transportation security officer sought a schedule award after OWCP accepted a temporary aggravation of facial cellulitis. OWCP denied the award because the medical evidence did not establish a permanent impairment. She requested reconsideration and disputed a second opinion physician's…
W.W. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Richmond, VA
Board dismisses IRS worker's appeal without a reviewable OWCP decision (ECAB 23-0819)
W.W. sought Board review of what he described as an April 2023 OWCP decision. The record sent to the Board contained no final adverse OWCP decision from the relevant 180-day period. Without a reviewable decision, the Board had no jurisdiction to hear the appeal. It dismissed the proceeding without…
C.T. and Department of the Air Force, Los Angeles Air Force Base, El Segundo, CA
Board affirms denial of Air Force police officer's disability pay claim (ECAB 22-0979)
C.T., an Air Force police officer, sustained an accepted right ankle injury while on patrol. He later sought wage-loss compensation for two weeks in 2021. A doctor set work restrictions but did not explain how the accepted injury caused disability during the claimed dates. Physical therapy reports…
L.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, LaSalle, IL
Board remands postal worker's disability pay claim for job availability evidence (ECAB 22-0873)
L.K., a postal rural carrier, had an accepted left leg injury after slipping on ice at work. She returned to modified work for three hours a day and later claimed disability pay for several months in 2020. OWCP denied the claim after her employer said she had stopped working because of an unrelated…
P.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Houma, LA
Board rejects expansion of postal worker's claim to right shoulder (ECAB 22-0794)
P.N., a postal clerk, sustained accepted leg injuries when a rolling cage pushed her against a container at work. She later asked OWCP to add a right shoulder condition to the claim. One doctor diagnosed a rotator cuff tear and said it came from the incident, but did not explain how. Other reports…
Social Security Administration and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3428
Social Security Administration and AFGE Local 3428 (FLRA 0-AR-5861): Authority vacates punitive damages but preserves compensation
An arbitrator found that the Social Security Administration discriminated and retaliated against an employee by timing her restroom use despite known medical issues and awarded $50,000 each in compensatory and punitive damages. The Authority held that the agency's exceptions were timely because the…
Secretary of Labor v. Arepet Industries, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Arepet Industries (FMSHRC CENT 2022-0221): MSHA jurisdiction over sand plant upheld
Arepet Industries argued that its Von Ormy sand plant belonged under OSHA because it bought commercially available wet sand and did not extract minerals. The plant stockpiled and dried the sand, used a separator to remove waste, and sold the processed material for use at oil and gas drilling sites…
Alison B. Nabaasa v. Reed International, Incorporated
Nabaasa v. Reed International (BRB 22-0288): Defense Base Act benefits denial affirmed
Alison Nabaasa worked as a security guard for Reed International at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan and claimed physical and psychological injuries from that work. The administrative law judge found that Reed had rebutted the statutory work causation presumption for the claimed back and…
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, New Hyde Park Carrier Annex Post Office, New Hyde Park, NY
Board upholds $37,676 compensation overpayment and denies waiver (ECAB 23-0796)
A postal letter carrier received FECA wage-loss compensation and Social Security age-related retirement benefits during the same period. The Board upheld OWCP's calculation of a $37,676.37 overpayment because the required offset had not been applied. Although he was without fault, his reported…
K.W. and U.S. Postal Service, West Avenue Carrier Annex, Stamford, CT
Board rejects postal worker's claim for 11 days of total disability (ECAB 23-0558)
A postal delivery clerk had an accepted cervical injury and later worked in a modified position. She claimed total disability for November 21 through December 1, 2022. The Board found that her medical reports did not adequately explain how the accepted conditions made her unable to work during…
O.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Ogden Park Post Office, Chicago, IL
Board orders new medical review of postal worker's knee claim (ECAB 23-0364)
A postal letter carrier was injured when another vehicle struck his parked postal vehicle. He asked OWCP to add further left knee conditions to the accepted claim and to recognize related disability. OWCP obtained an impartial medical examination to resolve conflicting medical opinions. The Board…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Clinton-Macomb Annex, Macomb, MI
Board upholds end of postal worker's injury benefits (ECAB 22-1198)
A rural letter carrier received benefits for neck and lower back soft tissue strains after a postal vehicle collision. She sought acceptance of additional conditions and continuation of benefits. The Board gave greater weight to OWCP's second opinion physician, who found the accepted strains had…
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Baltimore, MD
Board remands postal worker's increased leg impairment claim (ECAB 22-0727)
A postal letter carrier sought a larger schedule award for permanent impairment of both legs. OWCP treated a disagreement between its second opinion physician and its own medical adviser as a conflict requiring an impartial examiner. The Board held that those two opinions did not create a conflict…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1012 and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, New Jersey Health Care System, Lyons Campus, Lyons, New Jersey
AFGE Local 1012 and VA New Jersey Health Care System (FLRA 0-AR-5887): Authority upholds employee lounge changes
After limiting employee use of a patient cafeteria, the VA New Jersey Health Care System prepared two rooms and other spaces for employee breaks. An arbitrator found that the agreement required lounges or similar spaces but did not prescribe their contents, define reasonable accessibility, or…
Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health and Becker v. Smithstonian Materials, LLC
Assistant Secretary and Becker v. Smithstonian Materials, LLC (DOL ARB 2021-0048): back pay reduced and interest extended until payment
Michael Becker was constructively discharged after refusing to drive an unsafe, unregistered dump truck for Smithstonian Materials, and liability under the STAA was already established. In resolving damages, the Board explained that back pay equals lost wages minus allowed offsets and that an…
D.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Edison Post Office, Edison, NJ
Board upholds denial of increased leg impairment award (ECAB 23-0695)
A postal letter carrier sought a larger schedule award for impairment of both legs. A second opinion examination found no sensory or motor deficits attributable to lumbar radiculopathy. OWCP's medical adviser agreed that the current findings did not support a larger rating under the applicable…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Garside Post Office, Las Vegas, NV
Board upholds refusal to reopen carrier's calf injury claim (ECAB 23-0651)
A postal carrier technician requested reconsideration of an injury claim involving calf pain while walking at work. OWCP had accepted that the incident occurred, but the remaining question required medical evidence. His new statements, photographs, and route report did not address that medical…
T.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Brooklyn Processing & Distribution Center, Brooklyn, NY
Board rejects clerk's knee injury claim for lack of medical causation (ECAB 23-0649)
A postal clerk reported injuring her right leg and knee after tripping in a workplace cafeteria. OWCP accepted the January 15, 2023 incident. The medical report identified several conditions but did not explain whether the incident caused any of them. The Board held that the missing medical…
R.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Olin E. Teague Veterans’ Medical Center, Temple, TX
Board upholds denial of VA worker's late hearing request (ECAB 23-0598)
A VA vocational rehabilitation specialist received a preliminary overpayment determination dated August 4, 2022. OWCP told her she had 30 days to request a prerecoupment hearing. She initially asked for a decision based on the written record, then dated a hearing request September 29, after the…
R.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Martinsburg Post Office, Martinsburg, WV
Board rejects postmaster's claim after conflicting accounts of knee injury (ECAB 23-0365)
A postmaster reported that her knee gave out and she fell while walking to her car after work. Her later accounts also described a pop while sorting mail and strain from handling packages, while supervisors reported different explanations. The Board found that these accounts did not establish a…
K.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Bellmawr Post Office, Bellmawr, NJ
Board recognizes postal worker's disability recurrence but upholds overpayment (ECAB 22-1364)
A postal worker with accepted upper extremity injuries worked in a limited-duty assignment. Management withdrew that assignment even though the job remained available, and she claimed a recurrence of disability. The Board held that withdrawal of work tailored to her injury restrictions established…
L.G. and Department of the Interior, Indiana Dunes National Park, Porter, IN
Board upholds denial of park ranger's smoke exposure claim (ECAB 23-0847)
A park ranger reported smoke exposure while entering a burning home during a search warrant. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred, but he submitted no physician's report diagnosing a resulting condition. On reconsideration, he submitted a medical bill, which did not supply a diagnosis or…
A.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Philadelphia Processing & Distribution Center, Philadelphia, PA
Board rejects postal clerk's shoulder injury claim (ECAB 23-0512)
A postal distribution clerk reported a left shoulder injury from lifting mail trays at work. Her surgeon diagnosed and treated a rotator cuff tear and later linked the condition to her work. The Board found that his reports did not adequately explain how the incident or work activities caused or…
M.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center, Clarksburg, WV
Board rejects VA worker's knee injury claim (ECAB 23-0438)
A VA custodian reported a left knee injury after slipping on stairs at work. Physicians diagnosed a knee sprain and patellar conditions and described the workplace fall. The Board found that their reports did not adequately explain how the incident caused or aggravated those diagnoses. Imaging and…
M.L. and Department of Commerce, National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA
Board reverses benefits termination after OWCP overlooks evidence (ECAB 23-0383)
A Commerce Department employee had received benefits for an accepted lumbar strain. OWCP proposed to terminate those benefits, and she submitted a statement and medical records before the final decision. OWCP's decision incorrectly said it had received no response to the proposal. The Board held…
R.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration, Regional Office, Salt Lake City, UT
Board finds VA worker's occupational disease claim timely (ECAB 23-0380)
A VA legal administrative specialist filed an occupational disease claim alleging that workplace harassment, discrimination, and retaliation affected her mental health. OWCP treated the claim as filed too late. The Board found that her alleged exposure to the work factors continued through January…
M.S. and Department of the Air Force, Fort Sam Houston, TX
Board remands Air Force worker's retirement benefit overpayment (ECAB 22-0775)
OWCP found that an Air Force worker received a $19,057.53 overpayment when it did not offset Social Security retirement benefits against FECA wage-loss compensation. The Board found that OWCP had not established whether she was covered by FERS, which could require an offset, or another retirement…
J.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Southeastern, PA
Board reverses termination of postal worker's medical benefits (ECAB 22-0496)
A postal carrier had accepted neck, back, and head conditions after a work vehicle collision. OWCP ended his medical benefits based on an impartial examiner's report. The Board found that the examiner addressed musculoskeletal findings but did not adequately resolve whether all accepted conditions…
Anna J. Hoskins, on behalf of George Hoskins, v. Big Elk Creek Coal Company
Hoskins v. Big Elk Creek Coal (BRB 23-0056 BLA): black lung award affirmed
Anna Hoskins pursued her late husband's black lung claim after his death. The administrative law judge found more than eighteen years of qualifying coal mine work and total respiratory disability, then applied the statutory presumption that pneumoconiosis caused the disability. Big Elk Creek Coal…
Troy H. Herron v. Virginia Fuel Corporation
Herron v. Virginia Fuel (BRB 22-0434 BLA): disability finding vacated and remanded
Troy Herron appealed without a lawyer after an administrative law judge denied his black lung benefits claim. She credited more than nineteen years of qualifying coal mine work but found no totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board found that her review of pulmonary function studies…
Verna K. Combs (o/b/o and Widow of Joe Combs) v. Cumberland River Coal Company
Combs v. Cumberland River Coal Company (BRB 22-0378 and 22-0377): miner's and survivor's benefits affirmed
Verna K. Combs pursued black lung benefits on behalf of her late husband, Joe Combs, and sought survivor's benefits. The administrative law judge credited Joe with 38.38 years of coal mine employment, found complicated pneumoconiosis, and awarded benefits in the miner's claim. Because Joe was…
Verna K. Combs, on behalf of and widow of Joe Combs, v. Cumberland River Coal Company
Combs v. Cumberland River Coal (BRB 22-0377 and 22-0378 BLA): miner and survivor awards affirmed
Verna Combs pursued her late husband's miner claim and her own survivor claim after his death. The administrative law judge found complicated pneumoconiosis based on the x-ray record and awarded benefits on the miner claim under the irrebuttable statutory presumption. Cumberland River Coal…
M.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Oklahoma City, OK
Board upholds refusal to reopen postal clerk's back claim (ECAB 23-0779)
A postal window distribution clerk sought reconsideration of a back condition claim related to standing, lifting, pushing, and pulling at work. She submitted physician reports similar to one already in the record and an additional statement. The Board held that the reports were substantially…
M.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Shelby Township Post Office, Shelby Township, MI
Board remands postal worker's injury claim for review of inspection report (ECAB 23-0549)
A postal passport and visa examiner reported a shoulder injury during a workplace dispute over a space heater. OWCP denied the claim after finding that the reported incident was not established. The Board found that OWCP had received a Postal Inspection Service report about the incident before its…
M.R. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Raymond G. Murphy VA Medical Center, Albuquerque, NM
Board denies VA nurse's continuation of pay claim (ECAB 23-0443)
A VA nurse reported a positive COVID-19 test and alleged workplace exposure on December 7, 2022. He filed the required traumatic injury form on January 11, 2023. The Board applied the 30-day notice rule measured from the last exposure date and held that his filing came too late for continuation of…
S.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Georgetown Post Office, Georgetown, SC
Board splits fault finding on postal worker's $3,906 overpayment (ECAB 23-0150)
A postal worker received wage-loss compensation after returning to full-time modified duty. The Board upheld OWCP's calculation of a $3,906.29 overpayment. It found insufficient evidence that she knew the first two direct deposits were incorrect when received, but held that she should have…
A.M. and U.S. Postal Service, South Ozone Park Post Office, South Ozone Park, NY
Board orders impartial exam for postal worker's back claim (ECAB 22-0707)
A postal carrier sought to add lumbar conditions and claim disability after being knocked down by dogs while delivering mail. Her treating physicians linked later disc findings and symptoms to the incident, while OWCP's second opinion physician found the accepted back strain had resolved. The Board…
D.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
Board reverses two cuts to postal worker compensation (ECAB 22-0594)
A postal worker's benefits were reduced after OWCP found he failed to cooperate with vocational rehabilitation and refused suitable work. The medical report supporting both actions gave conflicting accounts of how his nonaccepted heart condition affected his work capacity. The Board held that OWCP…
R.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Air Marshal Service, Chantilly, VA
Board rejects air marshal's emotional condition claim (ECAB 22-0472)
A federal air marshal attributed an emotional condition to involuntary sick leave, workplace management actions, and alleged harassment and reprisals. The Board found that the record did not substantiate error or abuse in the personnel actions or establish the alleged harassment with reliable…
Jackie Vanover v. Black Jewell LLC
Vanover v. Black Jewell (BRB 22-0499 BLA): disability finding and benefits award affirmed
Jackie Vanover sought black lung benefits on a subsequent claim after more than forty-three years of underground coal mine work. The administrative law judge found total respiratory disability based on medical opinions, even though the objective tests alone did not establish it. That disability…
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.