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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NAGE Local R14-77 and Veterans Administration Medical Center, Grand Junction
NAGE Local R14-77 and Grand Junction VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-NG-1204): Union office time negotiable
NAGE Local R14-77 proposed two scheduled hours a week in the union office for its president and three for its chief steward, solely for representational duties. The Grand Junction VA Medical Center argued that the proposal would interfere with work assignments and could permit internal union…
NAGE and Veterans Administration Medical Center, Brockton/West Roxbury
NAGE and Brockton/West Roxbury VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-NG-1142): Grievance time negotiable
NAGE proposed workweek time for its elected secretary to handle grievances at a VA medical center. The center argued that the secretary might use the time for internal union business and that the proposal restricted its right to assign work. The Authority held that participating in and preparing…
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Department of the Navy and IFPTE Local 4
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and IFPTE Local 4 (FLRA 1-CA-30290): Agency grievance access restored
A Portsmouth Naval Shipyard employee challenged an ineligible rating for a job outside his bargaining unit. The negotiated grievance procedure did not cover that rating, but the Navy also denied him its administrative grievance procedure because he was in a represented unit. Reversing the judge's…
Overseas Federation of Teachers and Department of Defense Dependents Schools, Mediterranean Region
Overseas Federation of Teachers and DOD Dependents Schools (FLRA 0-NG-999): Refiled appeal dismissed
The Overseas Federation of Teachers sought review of four proposals that the Department of Defense Dependents Schools had declared nonnegotiable. The Authority had already dismissed an earlier appeal because it missed the filing deadline. The union requested another written allegation about the…
AFGE Local 1631 and Veterans Administration Medical Center, Chillicothe
AFGE Local 1631 and Chillicothe VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-1172): Temporary promotion denial upheld
A GS-3 clerk-stenographer at the Chillicothe VA Medical Center performed some GS-5 duties for about ten months. An arbitrator found the assignment inequitable but denied her grievance because she did not meet the qualification standards for promotion to the GS-5 position. AFGE Local 1631 sought a…
Victor L. Taylor v. Phoenix Resources, Inc.
Discrimination complaint dismissed after missed hearing
Victor L. Taylor brought a discrimination complaint against Phoenix Resources, Inc. He did not appear for the scheduled September 4, 1986 hearing. Judge James A. Broderick ordered him to explain his absence by September 19, but he did not respond. The judge dismissed the complaint and the…
Local Union 1889, UMWA v. Westmoreland Coal Company
Miners' compensation claim remanded for causal findings
The United Mine Workers sought one week of pay for miners idled after an explosion at Westmoreland Coal's mine. An administrative law judge dismissed the claim under section 111 of the Mine Act because an accident control order preceded the imminent danger order and the latter did not itself allege…
Local Union 2274, UMWA v. Clinchfield Coal Company
Miners' compensation claim remanded
After an explosion at Clinchfield Coal Company's McClure mine, withdrawal orders idled miners and their union sought one week of compensation under section 111 of the Mine Act. An administrative law judge denied the claim because the imminent danger order did not itself allege a violation of a…
Local Union 1609, UMWA v. Greenwich Collieries
Miners' compensation claim remanded
After an explosion at Greenwich Collieries' No. 1 mine, withdrawal orders idled miners and their union sought one week of compensation under section 111 of the Mine Act. An administrative law judge dismissed the claim because an accident control order preceded the imminent danger order and the…
Department of Labor, National Council of Field Labor Locals, NUCO and AFGE Local 12
Department of Labor unit clarification cases (FLRA 3-CU-40017, 3-CU-40018, 3-CU-40019): Pension staff removed from NUCO unit
The Labor Department split its former Labor Management Services Administration into separate pension and labor management standards operations. The Authority found that pension and welfare program employees no longer shared a community of interest with NUCO's remaining unit, so it removed them from…
AFGE Council 157 and Department of the Treasury, U.S. Mint
AFGE Council 157 and U.S. Mint (FLRA 0-NG-1319): Petition filed one day late
AFGE Council 157 appealed the U.S. Mint's allegation that some union proposals were nonnegotiable. The agency mailed the allegation on August 14, 1986, and the union received it on August 20. The Authority held that the filing period ran from mailing, with the applicable added time for mail…
Department of the Army, Fort Carson and AFGE Local 1345
Fort Carson and AFGE Local 1345 (FLRA 0-AR-1220): Grievant's exceptions dismissed
A Fort Carson employee filed exceptions to an arbitration award in a case involving the Army and AFGE Local 1345. The Authority found that the Army and the union were the parties before the arbitrator, while the employee participated only as the grievant. Under the Authority's rules, only a party…
Defense Mapping Agency Hydrographic/Topographic Center and AFGE Local 3407
Defense Mapping Agency and AFGE Local 3407 (FLRA 0-AR-1196): Late exceptions dismissed
AFGE Local 3407 filed exceptions to an arbitration award involving the Defense Mapping Agency's Hydrographic/Topographic Center. The award was served by mail on July 3, 1986. The Authority calculated that the exceptions had to be filed by August 6, but they were filed on August 7. It dismissed them…
Atlantic Cement Co., Inc.
Penalty settlement approved for $3,311
Atlantic Cement Co. faced a civil penalty proceeding under the Mine Act. The parties proposed reducing the penalty from $5,311 to $3,311 and dismissing the case. Judge Gary Melick considered the hearing testimony and documents under the Act's penalty criteria, approved the settlement, and ordered…
Consolidation Coal Company
Coal accumulation settlement approved for $300
MSHA issued Consolidation Coal a withdrawal order over loose coal and coal dust at its Loveridge No. 22 Mine. The company contested the order, and MSHA separately proposed a $600 penalty. After a hearing, the parties proposed settling by changing the order to a citation, lowering the negligence…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Richard Truex v. Consolidation Coal Company
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Truex v. Consolidation Coal Company (FMSHRC WEVA 85-151-D): Miner representative's discrimination award affirmed
Richard Truex was designated to represent miners at an MSHA conference, but Consolidation Coal assigned him underground work that would likely prevent him from attending and refused an alternate assignment. He took unpaid union time to attend the meeting and was denied pay for the rest of his…
Donald E. Runyon v. Big Hill Coal Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed after safety refusal hearing
Donald Runyon said Big Hill Coal Company ended his employment after he refused an underground work assignment because he feared unsafe conditions. After a hearing, Judge Roy J. Maurer found that the fan concern rested on speculation, the earlier methane incidents were not connected to the assigned…
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Kansas City Region and AFGE HUD Council 222
HUD reorganization and AFGE Council 222 (FLRA 3-CA-30726-1, 37-CA-30523, 37-CA-30537(1)): Notices during impasse violated statute
HUD planned a field reorganization that would transfer functions and reduce staff. AFGE Council 222 sought to bargain over its impact, and a dispute over bargaining ground rules went to the Federal Service Impasses Panel. HUD issued transfer and reduction in force notices while the Panel was…
Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, New York Region and AFGE
SSA New York Region and AFGE (FLRA 2-CA-50221): Ground rules complaint dismissed
The Social Security Administration moved its Babylon, Long Island branch office to Lindenhurst. AFGE asked to bargain over the move's effects and proposed ground rules for those talks. SSA said it would bargain, but insisted that the union submit substantive proposals before bargaining over ground…
U.S. Department of Justice, United States Marshals Service and International Council of U.S. Marshals Service Locals, AFGE
U.S. Marshals Service and AFGE Marshals Service Locals (FLRA 0-AR-953): EEO counseling did not bar grievance
A Marshals Service employee consulted an EEO counselor about a proposed suspension, then filed a grievance after receiving a seven-day suspension. An arbitrator set the suspension aside, and the Justice Department argued that the earlier EEO contact barred the grievance. The Authority held that…
National Treasury Employees Union Chapter 49 and Internal Revenue Service, Indianapolis District
NTEU Chapter 49 and IRS Indianapolis District (FLRA 0-AR-1199): Disclosure exceptions outside FLRA jurisdiction
An IRS Indianapolis District employee grieved a reduction in grade for unacceptable performance. Before hearing the merits, an arbitrator ordered the IRS to disclose much of the information the union requested. The IRS filed exceptions to that disclosure ruling with the Authority. The Authority…
FAA Aviation Standards National Field Office, NAGE Local R8-14, and AFGE Local 2282
FAA Aviation Standards union election (FLRA 6-RO-40009): Review of election objections denied
NAGE Local R8-14 sought review of a Regional Director's decision on objections in a representation case involving the FAA Aviation Standards National Field Office. AFGE Local 2282 was an intervenor. The Authority found no compelling reason to grant review. It said NAGE disagreed with findings…
Panama Canal Commission and International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots
Panama Canal Commission and Masters, Mates and Pilots (FLRA 0-AR-948): Reconsideration denied
The Authority had dismissed union exceptions to a mediation arbitration award as untimely. The Panama Canal Commission requested reconsideration, arguing that the Authority should instead have dismissed for lack of jurisdiction because of the award's connection to the impasses panel. The Authority…
Internal Revenue Service, Baltimore District Office and NTEU Chapter 62
IRS Baltimore District and NTEU Chapter 62 (FLRA 0-AR-822): Fee reconsideration denied
An arbitrator awarded attorney fees after sustaining a grievance at the IRS Baltimore District Office. The Authority had modified the fee award to calculate compensation for union staff attorneys on a cost-plus basis rather than at private market rates. NTEU argued that its separate litigation fund…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Dennis C. Jones v. Southern Ohio Coal Co.
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Jones v. Southern Ohio Coal Co. (FMSHRC WEVA 85-299-D): Transfer discrimination complaint dismissed
The Secretary alleged that Southern Ohio Coal transferred roof bolter Dennis Jones from a section with optional overtime because he reported roof control concerns. Judge Joseph B. Kennedy found that Jones honestly believed the practice was hazardous, but that his belief was unreasonable, so the…
Mitch Coal Company, Inc.
Reduced penalty settlement approved for $500
The parties in Mitch Coal Company's civil penalty case asked to cut proposed penalties by half because a depressed coal market affected the company's ability to continue operating. Judge Joseph B. Kennedy independently evaluated the request and approved the settlement. He ordered the company to pay…
Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Dallas Region and AFGE National Council of SSA-Field Office Locals
SSA Dallas Region and AFGE (FLRA 6-CA-40044): Bargaining complaint dismissed over downgrade proposal
The Social Security Administration downgraded mail and supply clerk positions in its Dallas Region while providing affected employees temporary grade and pay retention. Its union proposed circumstances in which declining another position would not end that protection. The agency refused to bargain…
Department of the Air Force, Headquarters, Air Force Logistics Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and AFGE Council 214
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and AFGE (FLRA 5-CA-50046): Union dues offset complaint dismissed
The Air Force mistakenly withheld and sent union dues for employees who had become supervisors. It reimbursed those employees and recovered $220.50 by reducing later dues payments to the union. The General Counsel alleged that this offset violated the statutory duty to honor dues assignments from…
AFSCME Local 2910 and Library of Congress
Rating panel complaint dismissed
The Library of Congress alleged that AFSCME Local 2910 unlawfully limited its nominees for employee qualification rating panels to union members. An administrative law judge found that the agreement gave the union a seat on those panels as its representative, rather than a panel opportunity for…
Federal Union of Scientists and Engineers, NAGE and Naval Underwater Systems Center, Newport, Rhode Island
Naval Underwater Systems Center and FUSE (FLRA 0-NG-1164): Reorganization bargaining petition dismissed
The union proposed two rules in response to a reorganization at the Naval Underwater Systems Center. Its first proposal would have barred substantive position description changes for at least 90 days. The Authority found that delay could leave position descriptions inaccurate, contrary to a…
Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration and AFGE
HHS Social Security Administration and AFGE (FLRA 0-MC-11): Emergency stay of arbitration denied
HHS asked the Authority to stop hearings ordered by an arbitrator until the Authority ruled on exceptions to two earlier awards. The Authority found no basis in the federal labor relations statute for the requested stay. It denied the emergency motion. The order addressed only whether the hearings…
Petition for Amendment of Rules
Petition to amend FLRA rules (FLRA 0-MC-10): Proposed deadlines and case procedures rejected
A petitioner asked the Authority to change three procedural rules. One change would have required most negotiability appeals to be decided within 60 days after the union's response. The Authority rejected a fixed deadline because cases differ in complexity and workload. The petitioner also proposed…
United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps Logistics Base, Albany, Georgia and AFGE Local 2317
Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany and AFGE (FLRA 0-AR-1122): Overtime assignment award set aside
A heavy equipment inspector at the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany sought overtime assignments in another shop. Management said he lacked the familiarity and special skills needed for that work. An arbitrator found he could perform it and ordered the base to assign enough overtime to make up…
Federal Prison System, U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners and AFGE Local 1612
Federal Prison System and AFGE Local 1612 (FLRA 0-AR-1106): Performance review remedy narrowed
An employee at the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners challenged a performance rating of “fully successful” rather than “exceeds.” The arbitrator found that the employee had been evaluated under different standards from other employees and ordered a reevaluation using a specified comparison…
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, 2750th Air Base Wing and AFGE Local 1138
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and AFGE (FLRA 0-AR-1104): Witness pay award reduced to straight time
Eight Wright-Patterson employees sought pay for time spent as union witnesses at an arbitration hearing. An arbitrator awarded overtime pay or compensatory time when their schedules had not covered the hearing. The Authority ruled that attending as union witnesses outside regular work hours was not…
U.S. Customs Service, Chicago-O'Hare and NTEU Chapter 172
Customs Service Chicago-O'Hare and NTEU (FLRA 0-AR-1076): Commuting expense award removed
Two Customs Service employees sought to exchange work locations. An arbitrator found that the agency violated their agreement by refusing and ordered reimbursement for the employees' extra commuting costs. The Authority left the contract violation finding in place but removed the reimbursement…
Secretary of Labor v. U.S. Steel Mining Co., Inc.
Silica dust violation findings affirmed
Two U.S. Steel Mining units exceeded the respirable dust limits set for mines where the dust contained more than 5 percent quartz. An administrative law judge found both violations of 30 C.F.R. § 70.101 significant and substantial and assessed $125 for each. The Commission affirmed, reasoning that…
Secretary of Labor v. Blue Circle Incorporated
Work platform citation settlement approved for $1,600
MSHA cited Blue Circle Incorporated after a fatal accident in which a liner plate fell from a work platform. The citations concerned missing toe boards and a failure to keep the platform clean and orderly. The settlement motion said the Secretary could not establish that toe boards would have…
Secretary of Labor v. G & G Coal Company, Inc.
Explosives citation settlement approved for $5,780
An MSHA investigation followed a fatal explosives accident at G & G Coal Company's No. 1 Mine. The resulting citations concerned use of a blasting cap as a leg wire and storage of explosives and detonators outside the required separate containers. The Secretary proposed settling the penalties for…
Secretary of Labor v. Greenwich Collieries
Methane ventilation citation vacated
MSHA cited Greenwich Collieries under the mine ventilation standard after an inspector measured more than 3 percent methane at a bleeder evaluation point. Greenwich contested the citation, pointing to a 1.3 percent reading farther along the airflow before it joined the return split. After a…
Secretary of Labor v. Yeaney, Shields, Brick, Partners
$82 penalty entered on default
Yeaney, Shields, Brick, Partners did not comply with a prehearing order in an MSHA civil penalty case. Judge James A. Broderick gave the company extra time to respond to a show-cause order, but it did not respond. He found the company in default, imposed the proposed $82 in penalties, and ordered…
John Hatter, Jr. v. Franklin Coal Company
Black lung claim discrimination complaint dismissed
John Hatter, Jr. alleged that Franklin Coal laid him off because he filed a claim for black lung benefits. The company said declining coal sales and its need to retain workers with welding skills drove the decision. After a hearing, Judge George A. Koutras found that Hatter had not shown that the…
USDA Forest Service, Intermountain Region, Challis National Forest and Forest Service Council, NFFE
Challis National Forest and NFFE (FLRA 9-CU-60002, 9-CU-60003): Unit review denied
The Forest Service sought review of a Regional Director's treatment of three seasonal supervisors at Challis National Forest. The Regional Director excluded them from the bargaining unit while they supervised seasonal employees but included them during the part of the year when they had no…
Secretary of Labor v. Brenda Faye Coal Sales Co., Inc.
Defective loader brakes citation affirmed
A front-end loader with defective brakes struck coal hauler Joseph Shuler at Brenda Faye Coal Sales Company's tipple, causing a serious leg injury and amputation. After a hearing, Judge William Fauver found that the brakes had been defective for a detectable period and that the company was grossly…
Secretary of Labor v. Thunder Basin Coal Company
Two-citation settlement approved for $139
Thunder Basin Coal Company and the Secretary settled two citations at the Black Thunder Mine during a hearing. The agreement reduced the penalty for Citation 2222714 from $85 to $20 and removed its significant-and-substantial designation. It also changed Citation 2222718 to allege a violation of 30…
Secretary of Labor v. Thunder Basin Coal Company
Two-citation settlement approved for $277
Thunder Basin Coal Company and the Secretary reached a settlement during a hearing on two citations at the Black Thunder Mine. The agreement reduced the penalty for Citation 2222770 from $119 to $109 and removed its significant-and-substantial designation. It kept the $168 penalty for Citation…
Emery Mining Corporation v. Secretary of Labor
Contest dismissed after order vacated
Emery Mining contested an MSHA order alleging failure to abate an earlier citation. At a hearing, the parties told Judge John J. Morris that the Secretary intended to vacate the order. After the Secretary did so, Emery moved to withdraw its contest. The judge granted that request and dismissed the…
Secretary of Labor v. Fife Rock Products Company, Inc.
$600 penalty entered after missed hearing
Fife Rock Products did not appear for a hearing on an MSHA citation. Judge John J. Morris found the company in default and affirmed Citation 2360673 with the proposed $600 penalty. The Commission later reviewed the default, and the judge issued a separate decision after remand. This document…
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Coal Company
Settlement approval vacated and remanded
The Secretary and Peabody Coal proposed settling two alleged roof control violations, and an administrative law judge approved the motion the next day. Peabody then objected to parts of the motion's description of the violations and its assessment of gravity and negligence, while still supporting a…
Secretary of Labor v. M. M. Sundt Construction Company
Default vacated and penalty case remanded
M. M. Sundt Construction contested citations about airborne contaminants and noise at its Arizona crusher operation but did not answer the judge's prehearing and show-cause orders. The judge entered a default order affirming the citations and assessing $40. Sundt later said it had not received the…
Martin Wright Electric Company
Serious citation withdrawn in approved settlement
OSHA cited Martin Wright Electric for a serious guardrail violation with a proposed $250 penalty and a nonserious electrical violation with no proposed penalty. The judge affirmed the guardrail item but reduced its penalty to $75, and vacated the electrical item. During Commission review, the…
CF&I Steel Corporation
Most coke-oven items vacated
OSHA cited CF&I Steel over regulated areas, respirator practices, smoking, and training at its Pueblo coke-oven facility. The Commission held that the undefined term "battery ends" meant the outer pinion walls as understood in the coke-oven industry, so facilities and machinery beyond those walls…
Williams Enterprises of Georgia, Inc.
Safety-net and floor-opening items vacated
Williams Enterprises was the steel-erection subcontractor on a high-rise construction project in Atlanta. In this 1986 decision, the Commission held that the steel-erection rules displaced the general safety-net standard and vacated the exterior-fall allegations under 29 C.F.R. §§ 1926.105(a) and…
Thomas P. Martinez v. Tower Resources, Inc.
Discrimination complaint dismissed as abandoned
Thomas P. Martinez brought a discrimination complaint against Tower Resources, Inc. He did not respond to the judge's prehearing order or the later show-cause order. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. found that Martinez had abandoned the case and dismissed it. The order did not decide the merits of the…
Secretary of Labor v. Nelson Trucking
Loader reverse alarm citation vacated
MSHA cited Nelson Trucking for an allegedly inaudible reverse alarm on a front-end loader at its Pit No. 6 mine. The inspector said the alarm could not be heard over surrounding noise, while a crusher operator testified that he heard it clearly even with ear plugs. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr…
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and AFGE
HUD and AFGE (FLRA 0-AR-1201): Late arbitration exceptions dismissed
AFGE filed exceptions to an arbitration award involving the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The award was mailed to the parties on July 7, 1986. Under the statute and the Authority's filing rules, the exceptions had to reach the Authority by August 11. The union's exceptions arrived on…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Ronnie D. Beavers and others v. Kitt Energy Corporation
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Beavers and others v. Kitt Energy Corporation (FMSHRC WEVA 85-73-D): Discrimination found, remedies left open
Kitt Energy laid off 26 surface miners rather than train them for remaining underground work despite their seniority and ability to do the jobs after training. Judge Roy J. Maurer held that the operator interfered with the miners' statutory training rights and discriminated against them under…
Jerry L. Pettis Memorial Veterans Hospital, Suzanne C. Lareau, and Pettis Memorial Registered Nurses Association
Pettis Memorial Veterans Hospital representation case (FLRA 8-DR-50002): Review of election objections denied
A petitioner in a representation case at Jerry L. Pettis Memorial Veterans Hospital sought review of the Regional Director's decision on objections. The Authority reviewed the application and found no compelling reason to grant it. It said the petitioner disagreed with findings supported by…
Department of Justice Request for General Statement of Policy or Guidance
Justice Department policy request (FLRA 0-PS-29): General guidance on strike charge settlements declined
The Department of Justice asked the Authority for general guidance on the General Counsel's power to settle unfair labor practice allegations involving a union's call for or support of a strike, work stoppage, or slowdown. Justice also asked about notice-only settlements and the effect of a call…
AFGE General Committee for SSA Locals and Social Security Administration
AFGE and Social Security Administration (FLRA 0-NG-860): Seven monitoring proposals negotiable
AFGE appealed the Social Security Administration's refusal to bargain over eight proposals concerning performance evaluation and telephone monitoring. The Authority found seven proposals negotiable, including normal monitoring frequency, notice of job errors, and safeguards for employees whose…
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.