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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Defense Mapping Agency, Defense Mapping Agency Aerospace Center and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1827
Defense Mapping Agency and NFFE Local 1827 (FLRA 7-CA-50623): Inspection findings ordered disclosed
NFFE Local 1827 sought information from a Defense Mapping Agency Inspector General inspection of the Aerospace Center in St. Louis. The Authority agreed with the judge that factual findings about unit employees' working conditions, including health, safety, and security matters, were needed for the…
Arlington National Cemetery and National Association of Government Employees, Local R4-93
Arlington National Cemetery and NAGE Local R4-93 (FLRA 3-CU-60007): Unit review denied
Arlington National Cemetery asked the Authority to set aside a Regional Director's decision on a petition to clarify a bargaining unit. NAGE Local R4-93 opposed the request. The Authority found that the cemetery had shown disagreement with the regional findings but no compelling reason for review…
National Association of Agriculture Employees and Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Agriculture employees and APHIS (FLRA 0-NG-1280): Travel expense bargaining provision approved
The National Association of Agriculture Employees and an APHIS unit agreed to negotiate travel and per diem for negotiations and related activities, but the agency head disapproved that provision. APHIS argued that federal law left expense decisions solely to management and that union travel costs…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R14-8 and Veterans Administration Medical Center, Topeka
NAGE Local R14-8 and Topeka VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-NG-1218): Three of five workplace proposals negotiable
NAGE Local R14-8 proposed terms for shift adjustments, rest between shifts, days off, meal periods, and employee responsibility at the Topeka VA medical center. The Authority found negotiable a steward's request to adjust hours for grievance work, ordinarily consecutive days off subject to patient…
National Association of Government Employees and Veterans Administration Medical Center, Grand Junction
NAGE and Grand Junction VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-NG-1211): Three scheduling proposals negotiable
NAGE proposed midcontract bargaining procedures and several scheduling terms at the Grand Junction VA medical center. The Authority held that the parties could agree to a clause reopening bargaining for union proposals during a contract. It also found negotiable a limited shift adjustment for…
International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 12 and Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
IFPTE Local 12 and Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (FLRA 0-NG-1003): Travel advance proposal negotiable
IFPTE Local 12 proposed that Puget Sound Naval Shipyard keep its existing travel advance practices instead of adopting tighter limits and shorter repayment deadlines. The Navy argued that the proposal was unclear, that the union had waived bargaining, and that a shipyard regulation barred…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1749 and Laughlin Air Force Base
AFGE Local 1749 and Laughlin Air Force Base (FLRA 0-AR-1209): Attorney fee award set aside
An arbitrator found that Laughlin Air Force Base lacked just cause for a procurement agent's 14-day suspension and awarded lost pay and benefits plus appropriate attorney fees. The Air Force challenged only the fee award, arguing that the arbitrator had not explained the required legal findings…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 12 and U.S. Department of Labor
AFGE Local 12 and Department of Labor (FLRA 0-AR-1081): Position offer award replaced with priority consideration
A Department of Labor library technician alleged discrimination and denial of a career ladder promotion before voluntarily resigning. The arbitrator rejected the discrimination claim but found that the agency had failed to provide required grade building experience. The arbitrator ordered a GS-5…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 12 and U.S. Department of Labor
AFGE Local 12 and Department of Labor (FLRA 0-AR-1070): Job restructuring accommodation award upheld
A Department of Labor clerical employee was downgraded during a reduction in force and had medical and vision problems that limited her use of a video display terminal. An arbitrator found that the agency had failed to provide reasonable accommodation and ordered it to restructure a GS-4 position…
Pine Bluff Arsenal and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 953
Pine Bluff Arsenal and AFGE Local 953 (FLRA 0-AR-1231): Regional filing left exceptions late
AFGE Local 953 mailed exceptions to an arbitration award concerning Pine Bluff Arsenal to the Authority's Dallas regional office. The regional office received them on September 15, 1986, the last day for timely filing, and forwarded them promptly. The Authority's national office did not receive…
Veterans Administration and Veterans Administration Medical Center, Lyons, New Jersey and AFGE Local 1012
Veterans Administration Medical Center, Lyons, and AFGE Local 1012 (FLRA 2-CA-40271): Unfair labor practice complaint dismissed
The Lyons VA Medical Center changed how nursing instructors rotated into an acting supervisory role. A judge found that the center should have bargained with AFGE Local 1012 over the adverse effects of that change. The Authority reversed that finding because filling the supervisory role was not a…
Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, New York Region and American Federation of Government Employees
SSA New York Region and AFGE (FLRA 2-CA-40051, 2-CA-40102): Audit bargaining complaints dismissed
Social Security Administration offices in Mount Vernon and the South Bronx changed from periodic to continuous reviews of employees' case work. AFGE alleged that the agency had not bargained properly over the impact and implementation of the changes. The judge found that the agency had not violated…
Social Security Administration, Northeastern Program Service Center and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1760
SSA Northeastern Program Service Center and AFGE Local 1760 (FLRA 2-CA-30643): Employee addresses ordered disclosed on remand
AFGE Local 1760 requested home addresses of employees it represented at a Social Security Administration service center. The Authority initially rejected the request as barred by the Privacy Act, but the Second Circuit reversed and remanded the case. Applying the court's decision and a later…
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Local 2478 and U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
AFSCME Local 2478 and Civil Rights Commission (FLRA 0-NG-1068): Arbitration selection clause negotiable
AFSCME Local 2478 proposed two contract terms for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. The first would prohibit disciplinary action based on conduct alleged to have occurred more than one year earlier. The Authority rejected it because a contractual cutoff could entirely prevent the agency from…
Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration and American Federation of Government Employees
Social Security Administration and AFGE (FLRA 0-AR-1262): Bench ruling exceptions dismissed as late
A two phase arbitration addressed official time disputes between the Social Security Administration and AFGE. The arbitrator issued bench rulings at September hearings that the agency chose not to attend. The agency filed exceptions on October 30, arguing that the filing period should run from…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1374 and Pacific Missile Test Center
NFFE Local 1374 and Pacific Missile Test Center (FLRA 0-AR-1185): Contracting grievance may proceed
NFFE Local 1374 grieved the Pacific Missile Test Center's decision to contract out fuel service work, alleging violations of procurement rules including OMB Circular A-76. An arbitrator dismissed the grievance as outside arbitration because of management's contracting authority. The Authority held…
Mettiki Coal Corporation
Coal-dust citation modified and affirmed
MSHA cited Mettiki Coal Corporation after finding coal dust and other combustible material accumulated around longwall shields at the Mettiki A Mine. Judge Gary Melick found a violation of the cleanup standard, but concluded that the condition was not significant and substantial because the…
Mohave Concrete and Materials Incorporated
Default order vacated and case remanded
Mohave Concrete and Materials failed to respond to a judge's show-cause order, and the Chief Administrative Law Judge entered a default order assessing $1,231 in civil penalties. Mohave later asked the judge to vacate the default and reopen the case, attributing the missed response to a former…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R4-75 and National Park Service, Blue Ridge Parkway
NAGE Local R4-75 and Blue Ridge Parkway (FLRA 0-NG-1144): Five agreement provisions found negotiable
The National Park Service disapproved five terms negotiated with NAGE Local R4-75 for Blue Ridge Parkway employees. The terms concerned seniority in leave conflicts, emergency leave recalls, notice before short suspensions, assistance with physically demanding work, and rotation of mission…
Lexington-Blue Grass Army Depot and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 894
Lexington-Blue Grass Army Depot and AFGE Local 894 (FLRA 0-AR-1156): Leave restoration award upheld
The Army depot partly closed on July 5, 1985, to conserve energy and placed most employees on annual leave or leave without pay. An arbitrator ordered restoration of annual leave and pay for affected employees after finding that the depot had not considered other energy saving options required by…
U.S. Steel Mining Co., Inc.
Citation vacated and penalty case dismissed
After an evidentiary hearing, the Secretary moved to withdraw the civil penalty petition and vacate Citation 2678489 issued to U.S. Steel Mining Co., Inc. Judge William Fauver found good cause and dismissed the civil penalty proceeding in PENN 86-123. He also vacated the citation in PENN 86-178-R…
Columbia Portland Cement Company
Default order vacated and case remanded
The Chief Administrative Law Judge entered a default order against Columbia Portland Cement Company after it failed to respond to a show-cause order, affirmed a citation, and assessed a $2,000 civil penalty. Columbia later petitioned for discretionary review and attributed its failure to respond to…
Homestake Mining Company
Settlement approved with one citation vacated
Homestake Mining Company and the Secretary asked the ALJ to approve a settlement covering three civil penalty proceedings. The settlement kept a $3,000 assessment for Citation 2097485, reduced the assessment for Citation 2097236 from $4,000 to $2,000, and vacated Citation 2097499 as unsupportable…
Conoco, Inc.
Asbestos-removal items resolved by settlement
Conoco and the Secretary settled two contested items from citation 8 concerning asbestos-removal work at the company's Billings refinery. Conoco withdrew its contest, stated that both items had been abated, and agreed to follow valid asbestos-removal rules. The Secretary agreed not to use the…
Defense Mapping Agency Aerospace Center, St. Louis, Missouri and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1827
Defense Mapping Agency Aerospace Center and NFFE Local 1827 (FLRA 7-CA-20482): Employee contact information ordered released
NFFE Local 1827 asked the Defense Mapping Agency Aerospace Center for the names and home addresses of employees it represented. The agency refused, arguing that retrieval would be burdensome and disclosure would violate the Privacy Act. On remand from a court, the Authority reversed its earlier…
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and Philadelphia Metal Trades Council
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and Metal Trades Council (FLRA 2-CA-40243): Employee contact information ordered released
The Philadelphia Metal Trades Council asked the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for the names and home addresses of employees it represented. The shipyard refused, citing other ways for the union to communicate and employee privacy. On court remand, the Authority reversed its earlier decision and held…
Thompson Coal & Construction
Parking-brake citation affirmed as non-S&S and settlement approved
Thompson Coal & Construction operated the River Mine. Judge George A. Koutras found that an end loader had a defective parking brake in violation of 30 C.F.R. 77.1605(b), but concluded that the evidence did not show a serious hazard or a reasonable likelihood of injury under the mine's actual…
Consolidation Coal Company
Three orders affirmed and one vacated
Consolidation Coal Company operated the Blacksville No. 1 Mine. Judge Roy J. Maurer found that a slippery slurry and water mixture violated the travelway standard, that combustible hydraulic fluid had accumulated in a hoist-house drum pit, and that missing toeboards violated the preparation-plant…
Bandas Industries, Inc.
Five-violation settlement approved
MSHA and Bandas Industries asked the ALJ to approve a settlement covering five violations at the Nolanville Quarry and Plant. The settlement reduced the total penalties from $713 to $535 because of lower negligence or gravity, limited exposure, difficult testing conditions, and the operator's small…
Veterans Administration and Veterans Administration Medical and Regional Office Center, Fargo, North Dakota and AFGE
Fargo VA Medical Center and AFGE (FLRA 7-CA-40438): Bargaining ordered over chemotherapy handling policy
The Fargo VA Medical Center issued guidelines for employees handling chemotherapeutic agents after one short bargaining session with AFGE. The Authority found that the agency had not fully bargained over the change before implementing it, violating the federal labor statute. It rejected the…
Asarco, Incorporated
Operator held liable for miner's ground-control violation
Asarco operated the Leadville Unit underground metal mine in Colorado. A miner was injured when loose rock fell from a stope face after the miner began drilling, and MSHA cited Asarco under the ground-control standard requiring miners and supervisors to examine and secure loose ground. The…
Austin Power, Incorporated
Two fatal-accident citations affirmed and one walkway citation vacated
Austin Power, Incorporated was an independent contractor constructing a cross-pit spreader at the Big Brown Strip surface coal mine. A boom failure threw three employees from a walkway, killing Steven Smith, and the ALJ found that Austin Power violated the rules requiring workers to be clear of…
AFGE National Border Patrol Council and Immigration and Naturalization Service
Border Patrol Council and INS (FLRA 0-NG-664): Overtime proposal rulings left in place
The Immigration and Naturalization Service asked the Authority to reconsider two decisions allowing bargaining over how administratively uncontrollable overtime would be calculated for employees in negotiations or on details. The agency repeated procedural and substantive objections to those…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1655 and Adjutant General of Illinois
NFFE Local 1655 and Adjutant General of Illinois (FLRA 0-NG-1198): Bargaining ordered over member addresses
NFFE Local 1655 proposed receiving union members' home addresses twice a year from the Adjutant General of Illinois. The agency argued that the Privacy Act barred disclosure and that some union members might be retirees outside the bargaining unit. The Authority read the proposal as covering only…
Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration and American Federation of Government Employees
Social Security Administration and AFGE (FLRA 0-AR-1253): Exceptions to August bench rulings dismissed as late
An arbitrator issued bench rulings on official time grievances at August 6 and 7 hearings that the Social Security Administration chose not to attend. The agency filed exceptions on October 23, after receiving the hearing transcript. The Authority held that the rulings were final when announced and…
Hall v. Clinchfield Coal Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Kenneth W. Hall, a section foreman at Clinchfield Coal Company's McClure No. 1 underground mine, complained about roof-bolting and ventilation practices and later sought a transfer to surface work. The Commission agreed with the ALJ that Hall's safety complaints were protected activity, but found…
Emerald Mines Corporation
Remedies set after Commission remand
The Commission had previously found Emerald Mines liable for discriminating against Michael Hogan and Robert Ventura and remanded the case to Judge George A. Koutras to determine remedies. Based on the parties' stipulation, the judge ordered Emerald to pay back pay and interest to both miners…
B D & J Coal Company
Roof-control settlement approved
B D & J Coal Company faced five violations involving roof-control and pillar-recovery methods at its No. 1 Mine. The violations were originally assessed at $1,955, and the parties proposed a $1,755 settlement. The Secretary reported that the company's president discussed the methods with MSHA, the…
Quarto Mining Company
Respirable-dust settlement approved
Quarto Mining Company was cited for excessive respirable dust at the Powhatan No. 4 Mine. Judge James A. Broderick approved a settlement reducing the proposed penalty from $1,000 to $450. The decision states that the operator was revising its dust-control plan and that the revised plan had reduced…
Quarto Mining Company
Settlement approved for two mine-safety violations
Quarto Mining Company was cited for excessive respirable dust at a designated occupation and loose coal along a belt conveyor at the Powhatan No. 4 Mine. Judge James A. Broderick approved the parties' settlement, which reduced the proposed penalties from $2,850 to $1,324. The settlement amount…
Quarto Mining Company
Respirable-dust settlement approved
Quarto Mining Company was cited twice after respirable-dust samples exceeded the applicable limit for two designated occupations at the Powhatan No. 4 mine. The violations were originally assessed at $2,700. The parties proposed an $800 settlement because Quarto was revising its dust-control plan…
Alamo Cement Company
Temporary reinstatement ordered in discrimination case
Yale E. Hennessee alleged that Alamo Cement discharged him after he refused to remove a burned-out motor from a clinker dome because the access ramp was covered with clinker and unsafe to traverse. Judge George A. Koutras found that the evidence raised a viable question about whether Hennessee's…
Cathedral Bluffs Shale Oil
Independent-contractor liability remanded
This civil-penalty case returned to the Commission after the D.C. Circuit reversed an earlier Commission decision involving a mandatory safety violation committed by Cathedral Bluffs' independent contractor. The court held that the Commission had improperly treated the Secretary's enforcement…
Sanders Construction, Inc.
Four citations affirmed and one vacated
Sanders Construction, Inc. faced five citations at the Gilbert Mine #1 in connection with violations of mandatory mine-safety standards. After a hearing began, the parties reached a settlement. Judge John J. Morris approved the settlement, affirmed four citations under 30 C.F.R. §§ 56.6047 and…
Department of the Army, Fort Greely and 172d Infantry Brigade and AFGE Local 1949
Fort Greely and AFGE Local 1949 (FLRA 9-CA-1204): Commissary and exchange privileges restored
The Army withdrew commissary and post exchange privileges from civilian employees at Fort Greely who lived off the installation. The Authority found that the long standing privileges were connected to employment at the remote Alaska post and that the 172d Infantry Brigade had to bargain with AFGE…
832nd Combat Support Group, Luke Air Force Base and AFGE Local 1547
Luke Air Force Base and AFGE Local 1547 (FLRA 8-CU-50011): Part time EEO counselors included in bargaining unit
Luke Air Force Base sought to exclude four employees who performed EEO counseling alongside their regular jobs from AFGE Local 1547's bargaining unit. The Authority agreed with the regional director that the employees belonged in the unit, though it used different reasoning. Their voluntary…
Farmers Home Administration Finance Office, St. Louis, Missouri and AFGE Local 3354
Farmers Home Administration Finance Office and AFGE Local 3354 (FLRA 7-CA-30560): Employee addresses ordered released
AFGE Local 3354 requested the names and home addresses of employees it represented at the Farmers Home Administration Finance Office. On remand, the Authority reversed its earlier view that privacy law barred disclosure. It found that the information was normally maintained, reasonably available…
Social Security Administration, Dallas Region, McAllen District Office and El Paso District Office and AFGE
SSA Dallas Region and AFGE (FLRA 6-CA-785): Bargaining ordered over employee accountability plans
The SSA Dallas Region issued a guide for employee performance accountability plans and directed its McAllen and El Paso offices to implement it without bargaining with AFGE. The Authority found that Dallas violated its bargaining duty, and that the local offices unlawfully dealt directly with…
Internal Revenue Service, Austin and Houston Districts and National Treasury Employees Union
IRS Austin and Houston Districts and NTEU (FLRA 6-CA-20127): Negotiator travel time and expenses ordered
Two NTEU employee representatives traveled to bargaining sessions about an IRS reorganization, but the IRS denied official time for travel and refused travel and per diem expenses. The Authority held that necessary travel during regular work hours counted as official time and that the IRS violated…
Internal Revenue Service, Jacksonville District and Southeast Regional Office of Inspection and National Treasury Employees Union
IRS Jacksonville District and NTEU (FLRA 4-CA-40568): Monitored taxpayer calls were not an employee examination
The IRS arranged for a taxpayer to call a revenue officer while investigators secretly monitored and recorded the calls. A judge found that the agency had denied the officer a right to request union representation during an examination. The Authority held that representation rights can apply in…
Social Security Administration, Baltimore, Maryland and American Federation of Government Employees
SSA Baltimore and AFGE (FLRA 4-CA-40007): Complaint over negotiability declaration dismissed
SSA and AFGE agreed to negotiate over rotating Benefit Authorizer Technical Assistants and bargained for about a month. SSA then declared one union proposal about consistent error definitions nonnegotiable. A judge found that this repudiated their bargaining agreement, but the Authority reversed…
Office of Personnel Management and AFGE Local 32
Lunch schedule complaint dismissed
OPM replaced flexible lunch timing at its Job Information and Testing Center with assigned 11:30 a.m. or 12:30 p.m. breaks to ensure telephone coverage. The Authority's majority found that the change ended an established practice, but that AFGE Local 32 had waived advance bargaining through…
Social Security Administration Field Operations, New York Region and AFGE Council 220
SSA New York Field Operations and AFGE Council 220 (FLRA 2-CA-40444): Arbitration award compliance ordered
An arbitrator ordered the Social Security Administration to convert employees' absence without leave charges to leave without pay for union activity, subject to a stated exception. The agency did not fully carry out that award for four employees. A judge dismissed the resulting unfair labor…
National Association of Government Employees, Service Employees International Union and Missouri National Guard
NAGE and Missouri National Guard (FLRA 0-NG-1300): Civilian attire option rejected
The union proposed letting Missouri National Guard civilian technicians wear standardized civilian clothes instead of military uniforms, with some listed exceptions. The Authority found that the military uniform itself served the Guard's goals of discipline, uniformity, readiness, and…
Federal Union of Scientists and Engineers, NAGE Local R1-144 and Naval Underwater Systems Center
NAGE Local R1-144 and Naval Underwater Systems Center (FLRA 0-NG-1267): Union official seniority proposal rejected
The union proposed treating its officers and stewards as the most senior employees in their competitive level and tenure group during a reduction in force. The Authority held that the proposal would force the Navy to remove other employees first, interfering with its statutory removal right. It…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R7-23 and Department of the Air Force, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois
Scott Air Force Base (FLRA 0-NG-1252): Three bargaining proposals rejected
NAGE Local R7-23 proposed 14 days' notice of work schedule changes except in emergencies, a single reduction-in-force competitive area for employees served by a personnel office, and a cap and gross negligence requirement for employee liability for damaged property. The Authority held all three…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1934 and Department of the Air Force, Lowry Air Force Base
AFGE Local 1934 and Lowry Air Force Base (FLRA 0-NG-1239): Four day workweek proposal negotiable
AFGE Local 1934 proposed a schedule of four ten hour workdays at Lowry Air Force Base. The Air Force argued that its earlier termination of a similar schedule barred a new proposal. The Authority rejected that argument because the earlier termination rule applied to experimental schedules and did…
Tennessee Valley Authority, Watts Bar Nuclear Plant and United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry
Tennessee Valley Authority and Pipefitters Union (FLRA 0-AR-1240): Arbitration exceptions dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
The Pipefitters Union challenged an arbitration award involving the Tennessee Valley Authority's Watts Bar Nuclear Plant. The Federal Labor Relations Authority did not address the award's merits. It held that the Tennessee Valley Authority and its employees are outside the federal labor statute's…
Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1741
Bureau of Prisons and AFGE Local 1741 (FLRA 0-AR-1236): Removal grievance exceptions dismissed
An arbitrator dismissed a prison employee's removal grievance because the union had not followed its contract's procedure for invoking arbitration. The union filed exceptions with the Authority. The Authority held that a removal is an adverse action excluded from its arbitration exception…
General Services Administration, Region 10 and AFGE Council 236
GSA Region 10 and AFGE Council 236 (FLRA 0-AR-1051): Appraisal award amendment clarified
The Authority had previously replaced an arbitrator's order giving a GSA employee outstanding performance ratings with an order to reevaluate her performance. The parties then showed that the record before the Authority had omitted the final page of the arbitration award, which contained two…
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.