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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Paschen Contractors, Inc.
Skyway Bridge citations settled for $1,400
Paschen Contractors built bridge piers for the Sunshine Skyway Bridge using cofferdams and work barges. After an employee fell from an unguarded cofferdam rim and was seriously injured, OSHA cited missing cofferdam guardrails, an unsafe gangplank, and employees working on unguarded barge decks…
Serstel Corporation
Secretary withdraws two construction citations
An OSHRC judge affirmed citations against Serstel Corporation under a general personal-protective-equipment standard and a material-hoist standard. Serstel petitioned for Commission review, review was directed, and the Commission issued a briefing order. After further review, the Secretary decided…
Defense Property Disposal Region, Ogden and Defense Property Disposal Office, Camp Pendleton and Leighton Thomas Leavitt
Camp Pendleton disposal site photographs (FLRA 8-CA-50227): Surveillance complaint dismissed
Shop steward Leighton Thomas Leavitt photographed activity involving material he believed was hazardous at a Camp Pendleton disposal facility. Security guards questioned and watched him while checking whether the photographs breached installation security restrictions. The Authority agreed that…
Department of the Treasury, Office of Chief Counsel, National Office, Internal Revenue Service and National Treasury Employees Union
IRS Chief Counsel election direction (FLRA 3-RO-60003): Review and stay denied
The Treasury Department's Office of Chief Counsel sought Authority review of a regional director's decision directing an election involving NTEU. It also asked for a stay. The Authority found that the application disagreed with the regional director's findings but showed no compelling reason for…
Department of Health and Human Services, Health Care Financing Administration and American Federation of Government Employees and National Treasury Employees Union
HCFA headquarters union petition solicitation (FLRA 3-CA-20319): Complaint dismissed on remand
NTEU solicited signatures for a representation petition in public areas of a Baltimore building housing the Health Care Financing Administration, whose employees AFGE represented. AFGE argued that HCFA unlawfully assisted NTEU by allowing the solicitation or failing to stop it. A court returned the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2004 and New Cumberland Army Depot
New Cumberland Army Depot arbitration appeal (FLRA 0-AR-1270): Late exceptions dismissed
New Cumberland Army Depot filed exceptions to an arbitration award dated October 22, 1986. The Authority calculated that the exceptions had to reach its national office by November 25. They arrived November 26. The Authority dismissed the exceptions as untimely without addressing the arbitration…
Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Depot Memphis and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2501
Memphis defense depot arbitration appeal (FLRA 0-AR-1257): Grievant's exceptions denied
An individual employee of Defense Depot Memphis filed exceptions to an arbitration award in a case involving AFGE Local 2501. The Authority found that the union and agency had participated as the parties to the arbitration, while the employee had not. Under the Authority's rules, only a party to…
National Guard Bureau and Association of Civilian Technicians
Consultation required before staffing policy change
The National Guard Bureau expanded its Mix-of-the-Force policy so Active Guard/Reserve military personnel could fill twelve job classifications previously reserved for civilian technicians. The Association of Civilian Technicians had national consultation rights, but the Bureau issued the policy…
U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2782, AFL-CIO
Census Bureau and AFGE Local 2782 (FLRA 3-CA-40404): Sanitized promotion worksheets ordered disclosed
AFGE Local 2782 requested Census Bureau personnel records and qualification worksheets to investigate promotion grievances and prepare bargaining proposals. The Authority agreed that the union's request for seven personnel notebooks was too broad and that other requested preselection records did…
Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Field Operations, New York Region and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO
Social Security New York field offices and AFGE (FLRA 2-CA-50222): Home address withholding violated labor statute
AFGE Local 3369 asked the Social Security Administration for names and home addresses of bargaining unit employees in its New York region so it could hear their views and monitor the labor agreement. The agency withheld home addresses on privacy grounds and offered work addresses. An administrative…
Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO
Social Security Administration and AFGE (FLRA 2-CA-50188): Union entitled to employee contact information
AFGE requested names and home addresses of Social Security Administration Field Assessment Office employees while bargaining over a proposed office realignment. The agency declined, questioning the information's relevance and saying it could not provide it within the negotiation period. The…
Department of the Treasury, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Southeast Regional Office, Atlanta, Georgia and National Treasury Employees Union
ATF Southeast Region and NTEU (FLRA 4-CA-1138): Covert monitored call was not an employee examination
ATF internal affairs asked one employee to call a coworker while an agent secretly monitored and recorded the conversation for an investigation. An administrative law judge found that the call violated the coworker's right to request union representation at an investigative examination and…
Veterans Administration Medical Center, Lyons, New Jersey and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1012
Lyons VA Medical Center and AFGE Local 1012 (FLRA 2-CA-50029): Rotation into an acting supervisory role did not require bargaining
The Lyons VA Medical Center began rotating nursing instructors into the acting Associate Chief of Nursing Service for Education role when the chief was absent. AFGE Local 1012 alleged that the center should have bargained over the impact and implementation of that rotation. The judge found that the…
National Treasury Employees Union and Department of the Treasury
Treasury and NTEU (FLRA 0-NG-848): Union candidates may receive ten days of first consideration
NTEU and the Treasury Department negotiated a rule giving qualified bargaining unit candidates first consideration for promotion. If the agency did not select one, it would wait ten days after receiving their best-qualified list before considering candidates outside the unit. The agency head…
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local Lodge 2424 and Department of the Army, Aberdeen Proving Ground
Aberdeen Proving Ground and Machinists Local 2424 (FLRA 0-NG-1294): Two-week work schedule notice proposal rejected
Machinists Local Lodge 2424 proposed that Aberdeen Proving Ground generally establish and change employee tours of duty with two weeks' written notice. The Army argued that this rule conflicted with a government-wide scheduling regulation. The Authority found that the proposal would sometimes…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1931 and Department of the Navy, Naval Weapons Station, Concord, California
Concord Naval Weapons Station and AFGE Local 1931 (FLRA 0-NG-1246): Fifteen-day discipline limit rejected
AFGE Local 1931 proposed that supervisors at the Concord Naval Weapons Station initiate discipline within fifteen calendar days of an offense or learning of it, with exceptions for circumstances beyond the employer's control. The agency argued that the union appealed its nonnegotiability allegation…
Air Force Space Division, Los Angeles Air Force Station, California and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2429
Air Force Space Division and AFGE Local 2429 (FLRA 0-AR-1027): Broad promotion remedy upheld
An arbitrator found that the Air Force Space Division violated its labor agreement and local merit promotion plan when it filled a budget analyst position through a career program instead of local promotion procedures. The award directed the division to follow the negotiated agreement for future…
U.S. Army Medical Department Activity, Noble Army Hospital and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1941
Noble Army Hospital and AFGE Local 1941 (FLRA 4-CA-50151): Credentials hearing did not trigger union representation right
Noble Army Hospital held a credentials hearing after reviewing an ophthalmologist's medical work. The employee asked for a union representative, but the hospital refused. The Authority majority held that the hearing was not an examination of the employee under the federal labor statute because the…
National Treasury Employees Union and Department of Energy
Energy Department and NTEU (FLRA 0-NG-983): Bargaining required over vacancies during a reduction in force
NTEU proposed that the Energy Department hold open certain bargaining unit vacancies during a reduction in force so affected employees could seek those positions. The Authority majority found the proposal negotiable because the department could fill a covered vacancy with an eligible affected…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 997 and Department of the Air Force, Maxwell Air Force Base
Maxwell Air Force Base and AFGE Local 997 (FLRA 0-NG-777): Insurance contribution proposal is negotiable
AFGE Local 997 proposed that Maxwell Air Force Base pay 75 percent of the cost of health, life, and accidental death and dismemberment insurance for covered employees. The Air Force said the proposal affected its budget and employees outside the bargaining unit and conflicted with an agency…
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Local 3097 and Department of Justice
Justice Department and AFSCME Local 3097 (FLRA 0-NG-1100): Training protection negotiable, two other proposals rejected
AFSCME Local 3097 proposed protections for employees affected by a Justice Department reorganization. The Authority found negotiable the part requiring that training opportunities not diminish, treating it as an appropriate arrangement that left the department control over training content and…
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3412
HUD Jacksonville and AFGE Local 3412 (FLRA 0-AR-1124): Acoustic screen award narrowed to union employees
An arbitrator ordered HUD to provide acoustic screens after finding that changes to its Jacksonville office breached the labor agreement and the agency's space management handbook. HUD argued that partitions were outside the grievance and that the remedy improperly covered staff outside the…
U.S. Department of Labor and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 12
Labor Department and AFGE Local 12 (FLRA 0-AR-1119): Retroactive career ladder promotions upheld
Four Labor Department disclosure reports specialists challenged the delay of their career ladder promotions from GS-9 to GS-11. The arbitrator found that their supervisors had denied the promotions based on unsupported concerns about the climate for promotions, rather than a shortage of higher…
Veterans Administration and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2798
Veterans Administration and AFGE Local 2798 (FLRA 0-AR-1021): Job opening notice removed from arbitration award
A Veterans Administration employee challenged the agency's decision not to extend his temporary appointment. The arbitrator found the decision lawful under the labor agreement and applicable rules but also ordered the agency to tell him about openings for twelve months. On the agency's exception…
National Federation of Federal Employees and General Services Administration
GSA and National Federation of Federal Employees (FLRA 0-NG-1109): Union telephone proposals are negotiable
The National Federation of Federal Employees proposed telephones in its national council officers' offices and access to government telephone services for necessary labor-management communications. GSA argued that government phones could be used only for official business and that union activities…
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 476
HUD and AFGE Local 476 (FLRA 0-AR-1259): Arbitration exceptions dismissed as late
AFGE Local 476 challenged an arbitrator's award in a dispute with the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The award was dated September 24, 1986, and appeared to have been mailed to the parties that day. The union mailed its exceptions to an envelope addressed to the Authority but bearing…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 17 and Veterans Administration Central Office
AFGE Local 17 and VA Central Office (FLRA 0-AR-1154): Career ladder promotion award upheld
A Veterans Administration employee grieved the agency's failure to promote her to GS-11 when her supervisor said she could perform the higher grade's duties. The arbitrator found that the agency violated the parties' agreement and awarded a retroactive promotion and back pay for the period before…
Dow Chemical U.S.A.
Case remanded after Seventh Circuit decision
The Seventh Circuit returned Dow Chemical's case to the Commission. The Commission then remanded it to the Chief Administrative Law Judge for assignment to a new judge and further proceedings consistent with the court's decision. The original judge was no longer with the Commission. The official…
Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1760
Social Security Administration and AFGE Local 1760 (FLRA 2-CA-40211): Reassignment required no bargaining
A Social Security Administration service center reassigned one clerk from an Inquiry and Expediting unit to a file clerk position she had previously held. AFGE Local 1760 asked to bargain over the reassignment, and an administrative law judge found that the agency's refusal violated the federal…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1897 and Department of the Air Force, Eglin Air Force Base
AFGE Local 1897 and Eglin Air Force Base (FLRA 0-NG-757): Health insurance cost proposal is negotiable
AFGE Local 1897 proposed that the Air Force's nonappropriated fund operations at Eglin and Hurlbut absorb up to 75 percent of employee health insurance premiums before passing additional increases to covered workers. The Air Force argued that insurance costs were outside the bargaining duty…
Matter of Garcia-Garrocho
First-degree burglary barred withholding
A Cuban applicant in exclusion proceedings sought asylum and withholding of deportation after a New York conviction for first-degree residential burglary. The Board held that this offense is inherently a particularly serious crime because it requires aggravating circumstances involving physical…
Department of Defense, Department of the Air Force, Lackland Air Force Base and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1367
Lackland Air Force Base and AFGE Local 1367 (FLRA 6-CA-40408): Misleading briefing delayed bargaining request
Lackland Air Force Base gave AFGE Local 1367 a lengthy draft of a revised performance management regulation before its planned July 1 implementation. The base began a briefing but could not answer the union's detailed questions and said it would return with more information. It later declined…
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local 39 and Roy G. Evans
IAM Local 39 and Roy Evans (FLRA 4-CO-20034): Union must remedy missed grievance
Roy Evans asked IAM Local 39 to pursue a grievance over his five day suspension at a naval repair facility. The union led him to believe it would file, but it failed to do so, and Evans lost the chance to file on time himself. The Authority agreed with the judge that this conduct went beyond…
National Federation of Federal Employees and Henry M. Thompson
NFFE and Henry Thompson (FLRA 4-CO-20019): Missed appeal hearing did not prove unfair representation
After the Coast Guard removed Henry Thompson, NFFE's national organization agreed to help him at his Merit Systems Protection Board appeal hearing, but no union representative appeared. The Authority found that the national organization could be responsible for duties it assumed on behalf of…
Defense Logistics Agency Council of AFGE Locals and Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency
DLA Council of AFGE Locals and Defense Logistics Agency (FLRA 0-NG-838): One of four contract provisions negotiable
The Defense Logistics Agency disapproved four provisions negotiated with its AFGE council, and the union appealed. The Authority held that a rule limiting discipline for off duty conduct conflicted with government conduct regulations and management's discipline rights. It approved a provision…
The Towne Construction Company
Crane overload affirmed, posting item vacated
Towne Construction used a truck crane to raise a reinforcing-steel mat when the boom collapsed, causing the mat to strike and kill an employee. The Commission held that the crane was overloaded under the manufacturer's load chart and that requiring compliance with the chart was valid as applied…
Army and Air Force Exchange Service and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1345
Army and Air Force Exchange Service and AFGE Local 1345 (FLRA 7-CA-50646): Union entitled to a copy of grievance video
AFGE Local 1345 sought records used in a potential disciplinary case against a cashier at the Fort Carson exchange. The Army and Air Force Exchange Service let union representatives view a short part of a surveillance video but refused to give them a copy. The Authority adopted the judge's finding…
Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3148
New York prison reconsideration request (FLRA 2-CA-60082): Earlier adoption order rescinded
The Authority had adopted a judge's unfair labor practice decision after treating the union's exceptions as late. On reconsideration, it recalculated the filing deadline by accounting for weekends and five extra days for mail service. That made the union's June 23 filing timely. The Authority…
Internal Revenue Service, Cincinnati District Office and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 9
IRS Cincinnati and NTEU Chapter 9 (FLRA 0-AR-1146): Furlough notice back pay award upheld
The IRS Cincinnati District Office furloughed seasonal employees with no more than one day's notice after reducing hours in its Taxpayer Service Division. Their agreement called for five days' notice whenever possible. An arbitrator found that the office could have given that notice and awarded…
Davidson Mining, Inc.
Discrimination case dismissed
Johnny Wall’s discrimination case against Davidson Mining was scheduled for hearing after the parties reported that they had agreed to settle. The hearing was cancelled, but the parties did not file their promised joint settlement agreement or otherwise update the judge. After a show-cause order…
Anlo Energy, Inc.
Electrical violations affirmed
MSHA found that Anlo Energy’s Peacock Mine No. 1 had inadequate grounded-phase protection and inoperative ground-monitoring circuits on its main power center. Judge William Fauver found that both conditions violated the cited standards and presented serious electrical hazards, including a risk of…
Caterpillar Tractor Co.
Lead-standard case resolved by settlement
OSHA cited Caterpillar under several provisions of the occupational lead standard at a gray-iron foundry. Caterpillar challenged the standard's promulgation, while the Secretary argued that Caterpillar was bound by an earlier court decision involving a trade association of which it was a member…
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Local 2027 and ACTION
AFSCME Local 2027 and ACTION (FLRA 0-NG-1326): Negotiability appeal dismissed after agency withdrawal
AFSCME Local 2027 sought review after ACTION said its proposals on time and attendance reporting were outside the duty to bargain. ACTION later withdrew that allegation. The Authority found there was no longer a negotiability issue to decide and dismissed the union's petition. It did not decide…
Drilling and Blasting Systems, Inc.
Settlement approved
The Secretary proposed a $147 civil penalty against Drilling and Blasting Systems after an alleged violation connected with a death on mine property. The company disputed the penalty’s gravity and negligence assessments and raised a jurisdictional question because the incident occurred about 4,000…
Air Force Logistics Command, McClellan Air Force Base and Dora M. Solorio
McClellan Air Force Base and Dora Solorio (FLRA 9-CA-40168): Witness entitled to official time and expenses
McClellan Air Force Base denied employee Dora Solorio official time and travel expenses when she appeared under subpoena at an Authority unfair labor practice hearing in another case. The base argued that she was not acting for a union and that the base was not a party to that hearing. The…
Smith Steel Casting Company
Air-contaminant items remanded after appeal
The Fifth Circuit returned Smith Steel Casting Company's consolidated case to the Commission. Following the court's instructions, the Commission remanded two items from citation 1 and one item from citation 2 to the administrative law judge. The judge was directed to consider Smith Steel's argument…
Department of the Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and American Federation of Government Employees, Council 214
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and AFGE Council 214 (FLRA 5-CA-40259): Subpoenaed witness owed time and travel costs
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base denied employee Paul Palacio official time, transportation, and per diem expenses for subpoenaed testimony in a related unfair labor practice hearing. He paid his own travel costs and used annual leave while testifying. The Authority held that once its designated…
Department of the Air Force, Scott Air Force Base and National Association of Government Employees, Local R7-23
Scott Air Force Base and NAGE Local R7-23 (FLRA 5-CA-40232): New employees' addresses ordered disclosed
NAGE Local R7-23 asked Scott Air Force Base for new bargaining unit employees' home addresses so it could send them an orientation package. The base supplied work addresses but refused home addresses, citing the Privacy Act. The judge found work mail an adequate alternative and recommended…
Veterans Administration Medical Center, Lyons and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1012
Lyons VA Medical Center and AFGE Local 1012 (FLRA 2-CA-50428): Performance standards charge filed too late
AFGE Local 1012 alleged that the Lyons VA Medical Center changed a clerk typist's performance standards without giving the union a chance to bargain. The judge found that the employee, who was also a union shop steward, knew of the new standards in April 1984 and received them again at an October…
Department of the Navy, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and Federal Employees Metal Trades Council
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and Metal Trades Council (FLRA 1-CA-40290): Employee names and addresses ordered disclosed
The Federal Employees Metal Trades Council requested names and home addresses of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard employees it represented. The shipyard refused, arguing that the federal labor statute, the parties' agreement, and the Privacy Act did not require disclosure. The Authority agreed with…
National Treasury Employees Union and Internal Revenue Service, Denver District
NTEU and IRS Denver District (FLRA 0-NG-1192): Computer access and locker inspection proposals negotiable
NTEU proposed a computer password for official union business at an IRS Denver collection site and procedures for inspecting employee lockers. The IRS argued that computer access threatened taxpayer information and that both subjects fell outside local bargaining. The Authority found no added…
Internal Revenue Service, Louisville District and National Treasury Employees Union
IRS Louisville and NTEU (FLRA 0-AR-1232): Suspension award outside Authority jurisdiction
An IRS Louisville employee was suspended for 30 days for insubordination. An arbitrator upheld the discipline but reduced the penalty to 14 days, and NTEU filed exceptions with the Authority. The Authority held that the award still related to an adverse action covered by 5 U.S.C. § 7512 because the…
National Archives and Records Administration and American Federation of Government Employees, Council 236, Local 2928
National Archives and AFGE Local 2928 (FLRA 0-AR-1128): Police station visit outside official time
A union official at the National Archives had been released for official union duties when another employee was arrested on a domestic matter. She left work despite her supervisor's warning and went to the police station to assist the employee, then performed union work at another office. An…
N.L. Baroidadiv/N.L. Industries
Citation vacated and case dismissed
MSHA initiated a civil-penalty proceeding against N.L. Baroidadiv/N.L. Industries for an alleged violation of a mandatory safety standard. At the hearing, MSHA moved to vacate its citation and dismiss the petition. Judge John J. Morris granted the motion and dismissed the case.
Iron Mountain Ore Company
Nine citations affirmed
Iron Mountain Ore Company operated a surface iron-ore crushing and screening site in Utah. Judge John J. Morris found that the operation was subject to the Mine Act and that nine citations covered missing training plans, inadequate first aid training and materials, unguarded moving machine parts…
United States Steel Mining Company
Battery-lid citations vacated and case dismissed
MSHA alleged that United States Steel Mining Company failed to secure battery lids on batteries mounted on a scoop. The Secretary moved to withdraw the civil penalty because prior proceedings involving the same parties had already decided the issue against the Secretary. Judge Avram Weisberger…
E & R Erectors, Inc.
Dismissed contest reinstated for further proceedings
An OSHRC judge dismissed E & R Erectors' citation contest because the company had not shown that affected employees received the required notice. E & R later explained that it was a leasing company with one office employee, that its controller misunderstood the process, and that it believed another…
Mathies Coal Company
Walkaround representative discrimination found
Joseph G. Delisio, Jr., a mine examiner and union safety representative at Mathies Coal Company's mine, was warned that disciplinary action could follow if he traveled from his assigned portal to accompany an MSHA inspector. Judge George A. Koutras found that the company's inconsistent…
Harrison Furniture Manufacturing Co.
Warrant case remanded for good-faith evidence
OSHA inspected Harrison Furniture's Arkansas plant under a warrant based on a former employee's complaints about specific conditions. The judge found the warrant valid for those listed conditions but overly broad insofar as it authorized a plant-wide inspection, and he suppressed part of the…
Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Mint, U.S. Mint Denver and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 695
Denver Mint and AFGE Local 695 (FLRA 7-CU-60009): Unit clarification review denied
AFGE Local 695 asked the Authority to review a Regional Director's decision on its petition to clarify the bargaining unit at the Denver Mint. The Authority found no compelling reason to grant review. It said the union disagreed with findings based on precedent but had not shown clear error or…
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.