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.
No decisions match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
Martha Perando v. Mettiki Coal Corporation
Back pay and costs ordered
After an earlier decision in Martha Perando's discrimination case, the parties submitted agreed amounts for damages, costs, and interest. Judge Gary Melick ordered Mettiki Coal Corporation to pay Perando $2,351.30 in back pay within 30 days. He also ordered interest through the payment date under…
Emery Mining Corporation
Consolidated cases settled for $2,070
Six civil penalty cases and three citation contests involving Emery Mining Corporation were stayed while the Commission decided a related issue. The parties then submitted a joint settlement motion. Emery agreed to pay the full proposed penalties in the six penalty cases and withdraw its three…
Ted V. Dalton et al. v. Peabody Coal Company
Compensation complaint dismissed after payment
Miners represented by the UMWA had sought compensation from Peabody Coal Company for lost pay. The union moved to withdraw their complaint after each complainant received $21.69 for the claimed loss on August 9, 1984. Judge James Broderick granted the withdrawal motion and dismissed the proceeding…
Matter of Garcia
New Jersey residence proof required for visa preference
A lawful permanent resident petitioned for preference status for his unmarried son, who was born out of wedlock in El Salvador. The Board held that changes to New Jersey's parentage law could allow the beneficiary to qualify as the petitioner's child, even though the parents were not married. The…
Secretary of Labor v. R & S Coal Company
Six mine startup violations upheld
MSHA cited R & S Coal for six conditions at its new No. 1 Mine, including missing first aid supplies, emergency medical and transport arrangements, and a filed ground control plan. The company argued that the Mine Act did not cover the site because coal had not yet been removed and its sales were…
Spartan Rigging Corporation & Atlantic Rigging Corporation
Safety-belt citations withdrawn
OSHA cited Spartan Rigging and Atlantic Rigging for allegedly failing to require employees dismantling scaffolds to wear tied-off safety belts. An administrative law judge affirmed the serious citations under 29 C.F.R. § 1926.28(a), and the employers obtained Commission review. After further…
Salem-Gravure Division of World Color Press, Inc.
Trade-secret inspection order vacated
OSHA cited Salem-Gravure under the general duty clause for alleged repetitive-motion hazards in its bindery department. During discovery, the Secretary sought to have a private consultant inspect areas containing trade secrets. The Commission held that its own protective order did not provide…
Veterans Administration Medical Center, Kansas City, Missouri and AFGE
VA Medical Center Kansas City and AFGE (FLRA 0-AR-1180): Removal award exceptions dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
An arbitrator found that the Kansas City VA Medical Center had unjustifiably removed an employee and ordered reinstatement without back pay. AFGE filed exceptions to the award with the Authority. The Authority held that it could not review the exceptions because a removal is an adverse action…
Social Security Administration, Albuquerque Data Operations Center and AFGE Local 3512
SSA Albuquerque Data Operations Center and AFGE (FLRA 0-AR-1103): Overtime grievance denial upheld
An SSA employee claimed overtime pay for 15 minutes spent finishing work before the night shift. The arbitrator denied the grievance because the supervisor did not know the employee had worked past her scheduled time and had not asked her to work overtime. AFGE challenged that ruling under the Fair…
Secretary of Labor v. Martin Marietta Aggregates
Settlement substitutes a citation and sets a $2,000 penalty
Martin Marietta Aggregates faced two citations arising from work at Pomona Quarry, with proposed penalties totaling $4,157. The parties agreed to withdraw those citations and substitute one citation under 30 C.F.R. § 56.3012 for an employee of another company working between equipment and the pit…
Secretary of Labor v. Yates Construction Co., Inc.
Settlement amends a citation and sets a $1,196 penalty
Yates Construction faced three alleged violations at Pomona Mine & Mill, including a citation originally charged under 30 C.F.R. § 56.3005. The parties agreed to amend that citation to allege a violation of § 56.3012 after an employee worked between equipment and the pit wall. The judge described…
Pav-Saver Manufacturing Company
Oral contest accepted and case remanded
OSHA issued Pav-Saver serious and nonserious citations with $3,820 in proposed penalties. During the contest period, company representatives attended an informal conference, explained their abatement measures, and believed OSHA's approval meant the citations would be dismissed. Pav-Saver did not…
Barretto Granite Corporation
Citations vacated after oral contest accepted
Barretto Granite orally disputed OSHA's citation and $240 proposed penalty at an informal conference held within the 15-working-day contest period, then sent written confirmation after the deadline. The Commission held that the company reasonably believed the conference and follow-up letter…
FMC Corporation
Nitrogen-trichloride hazard items vacated
FMC produced chlorine at a West Virginia plant where nitrogen trichloride was present in a waste stream handled through heated tanks and transfer piping. An employee died when an explosion occurred in a transfer line and tank during the neutralization process. OSHA issued two general-duty citations…
Matter of Harry Bailen Builders, Inc.
Used labor certification could not support a new petition
A construction company sought preference immigrant status for a roofer who had previously immigrated using the company's labor certification and later abandoned his permanent residence. The company wanted to use the same certification and restore the original priority date for a new petition. The…
Secretary of Labor v. Amax Chemical Company
Loose-roof citation affirmed after review of the surrounding evidence
Amax Chemical Company operated an underground potash mine in New Mexico. An MSHA inspector found a visible crack in the roof near a shuttle car unloading area, heard a dull sound when he tapped it, and cited Amax for failing to support loose ground under 30 C.F.R. § 57.3-22. The judge upheld the…
Synkote Paint Company, KDK Upset Forging Company
Citations affirmed despite warrant challenges
Synkote Paint and KDK Upset Forging challenged programmed-inspection warrants as broader than the administrative plans used to establish probable cause. Each company stipulated that it had committed the cited violations while preserving its warrant and suppression arguments. The Commission read…
Pennsylvania Steel Foundry & Machine Company
Foundry settlement enforced and machine items split
OSHA's inspection of Pennsylvania Steel Foundry produced citations alleging 298 violations. The Commission declined to suppress the inspection evidence, holding that the later rule against ex parte warrants did not apply retroactively and that suppression would provide little deterrent value under…
IAM Lodge 2424 and Department of the Army, Aberdeen Proving Ground
IAM Lodge 2424 and Aberdeen Proving Ground (FLRA 0-NG-1295): Negotiability petition dismissed after agency withdrawal
IAM Lodge 2424 appealed Aberdeen Proving Ground's claim that a proposal about mutual rights and obligations was outside the duty to bargain. After the union filed its petition, the agency withdrew the nonnegotiability allegation. The Authority found that no negotiability issue remained for it to…
Frank McCoart v. Elm Coal Company
Discrimination complaint settled for $3,000 and a clean personnel file
Frank McCoart alleged that Elm Coal Company discriminated against him for exercising rights under the Mine Act. After a hearing began, he obtained a continuance to seek counsel, and the parties proposed a settlement. Elm Coal agreed to remove reprimands, warnings, and disciplinary actions from his…
Secretary of Labor v. M. A. Walker Company, Inc.
Three mine-safety violations upheld with a $600 penalty
M. A. Walker Company operated the Clover Bottom limestone mine in Kentucky. MSHA cited loose rock near mine entrances, a haul truck with ineffective brakes, and water near the loading area that could disable another truck's brakes. Judge Roy J. Maurer upheld all three citations and found each…
Secretary of Labor v. Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Two mine-safety citations settled for $600
Jim Walter Resources operated the No. 4 Mine. MSHA cited an intake escapeway that was not separated from a belt haulage entry after a stopping block fell out, and cited coal and float dust allowed to accumulate in a crosscut. An inspector later issued an order because the dust had not been cleaned…
Matter of Garcia-Alzugaray
Refugee status had not been properly terminated
A Cuban national was admitted to the United States as a refugee and later convicted of burglary in Texas. The Service treated him as a parolee, terminated his parole based on the conviction, and placed him in exclusion proceedings. The Board held that he had been admitted as a refugee, not paroled…
Engle, Inc.
Scaffold citation settled without penalty
OSHA cited Engle, a construction company, for one serious violation of 29 C.F.R. § 1926.451(e)(8) and proposed a $240 penalty. An administrative law judge affirmed the citation and assessed $150, after which the Commission granted review. In the settlement, the Secretary reclassified the citation…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Brown Brothers Sand Company
Secretary of Labor v. Brown Brothers Sand Company (FMSHRC SE 86-12-M): Two electrical citations sustained, five dismissed
MSHA issued seven citations to Brown Brothers Sand Company at its Junction City Mine in Georgia. Judge Joseph B. Kennedy dismissed five, including two cracked windshield citations, two citations about pump electrical connections and one about a motor shaft keyway. He upheld a citation for a…
Social Security Administration, Northeastern Program Service Center and AFGE Local 1760
SSA Northeastern Program Service Center and AFGE (FLRA 0-AR-1194): Late exceptions dismissed
AFGE Local 1760 filed exceptions to an arbitration award involving the SSA Northeastern Program Service Center. The award appears to have been mailed to the parties on June 26, 1986. The filing deadline was July 30, but the Authority received the union's exceptions on July 31. It dismissed the…
Fred O. W. Arntz v. Metric Constructors, Inc.
Discrimination case dismissed after a $3,500 settlement
Fred O. W. Arntz filed a discrimination complaint against Metric Constructors. He later asked to dismiss the proceeding because the parties had settled the complaint for a $3,500 payment to him. Judge James A. Broderick granted the motion, dismissed the proceeding, and canceled the scheduled…
Aerlex Corporation
Settlement approval set aside for withdrawal hearing
Aerlex agreed to withdraw its contest to citations and $58,000 in proposed penalties after an explosion reportedly destroyed its business. The company stated that it had a defense but lacked the income and resources to continue litigating. After counsel reappeared, Aerlex moved to withdraw from the…
Veterans Administration, West Los Angeles Medical Center and AFGE Local 1061
VA West Los Angeles Medical Center and AFGE (FLRA 8-CA-40223, 8-CA-40224): Shift and dress code remedies modified
The VA West Los Angeles Medical Center changed housekeeping aides' work hours and dress code without giving AFGE Local 1061 a chance to bargain. The Authority adopted the judge's finding that both changes violated the federal labor relations statute. It ordered restoration of the prior 6:00 a.m. to…
HHS, Social Security Administration, Field Operations, New York Region and AFGE Local 2369
SSA New York Region and AFGE (FLRA 2-CA-40376): Discipline based on removed reprimand violated award
An arbitrator ordered the SSA New York Region to remove an employee's reprimand and never use it against him. The agency had already relied on that reprimand when suspending him for later events. The Authority found that continued reliance on the reprimand violated the final arbitration award and…
NTEU and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service
NTEU and IRS (FLRA 0-NG-1228): Refresher time provision held negotiable
The IRS disapproved a contract provision giving employees returning from a rotation reasonable administrative time to review job instructions issued while they were away. The Authority agreed that prioritizing this review time affected management's right to assign work. It nevertheless found the…
NAGE Local R1-25 and Veterans Administration Medical Center, Brockton, Massachusetts
NAGE and VA Medical Center Brockton (FLRA 0-NG-1120): Leftover coffee proposal outside bargaining duty
The VA Medical Center in Brockton planned to stop allowing employees to drink coffee left over from patient meals. NAGE Local R1-25 proposed keeping the practice. The Authority found the record did not show how use of the surplus coffee related to employees' working conditions, so the agency had no…
Warner Robins Air Logistics Center and AFGE Local 987
Warner Robins Air Logistics Center and AFGE (FLRA 0-AR-1068): Overtime exception denied
A union representative attended a grievance meeting after his scheduled shift ended and sought overtime pay. The arbitrator found that the activity did not have to reschedule the meeting and denied the overtime claim. The Authority upheld the award. It found that the representative attended to help…
Wyoming Air National Guard and NAGE Local 14-76
Wyoming Air National Guard and NAGE (FLRA 0-AR-1117): Civilian clothing option upheld until contract expires
The Wyoming Air National Guard sought to require civilian technicians to wear military uniforms, ending a contract option to wear approved civilian clothing. An arbitrator found that the contract had not yet expired when the Guard imposed the requirement and ordered compliance with the clothing…
AFGE Local 1760 and HHS Social Security Administration
AFGE and Social Security Administration (FLRA O-NG-412): Case-counting proposal negotiable, audit limits rejected
AFGE Local 1760 challenged the SSA's refusal to bargain over eight proposals about employee performance audits. The Authority found negotiable a rule crediting employees who process a dual-entitlement case as having handled two cases, because it concerned how completed work was counted. It rejected…
AFGE Local 3748 and USDA Agricultural Research Service, Northern States Area
AFGE and USDA Agricultural Research Service (FLRA O-NG-1101): Cooperative agreement and travel proposals split
AFGE Local 3748 proposed receiving lists of employees working under USDA cooperative agreements and travel expenses for union representatives serving employees away from their usual location. The Authority found those two proposals negotiable. It said cooperative agreement workers could affect unit…
Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Border Patrol and AFGE National Border Patrol Council
Border Patrol and AFGE (FLRA 6-CA-50383): Information order limited to available records
The National Border Patrol Council requested assignment and equipment records to evaluate possible grievances about overtime at the Lordsburg station. The Border Patrol did not furnish the requested data. The Authority adopted the judge's finding that this refusal violated the statute. The agency…
Federal Aviation Administration and Professional Airways Systems Specialists
FAA and PASS (FLRA 3-CA-30319): Bargaining violations found at six facilities
The FAA changed schedules, duties, and other working conditions at facilities in several cities without giving PASS's designated national representative notice and an opportunity to bargain over the effects. The FAA argued that a waiver in an earlier union agreement allowed local consultation…
AFGE Local 3186 and HHS Office of Social Security Field Operations, Philadelphia Region
AFGE and SSA Philadelphia Region (FLRA 0-NG-969): Staffing proposals found nonnegotiable
AFGE Local 3186 proposed reduced workloads for part-time employees, recall of separated temporary employees by seniority, and conversion of part-time employees to full-time jobs when opportunities arose. The Authority found the workload proposal improperly limited management's right to assign work…
AFGE Local 2185 and Tooele Army Depot
AFGE and Tooele Army Depot (FLRA 0-NG-1215): Holiday closure leave proposals split
Tooele Army Depot planned partial closures around Thanksgiving and Christmas, and AFGE Local 2185 proposed rules on work assignments and leave. The Authority rejected a proposal requiring every conceivable attempt to avoid forced leave because it could prevent management from closing operations. It…
AFSCME Local 2477 and Library of Congress
AFSCME and Library of Congress (FLRA 0-NG-1195): Two uniform proposals negotiable, paid changing time rejected
The Library of Congress required warehouse employees to wear uniforms, and AFSCME Local 2477 proposed clothing, jackets, and time to change at work. The Authority found proposals for five clothing sets and a jacket negotiable as arrangements for employees affected by the new requirement. It…
Hawaii Federal Employees Metal Trades Council and Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard
Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Metal Trades Council (FLRA 0-NG-1186): Safety committee proposal rejected
Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard decided to disestablish a committee that reviewed safety deficiency projects and resolved funding and priority issues. The union proposed keeping it and adding an equal number of labor representatives. The Authority held that the proposal was outside the duty to bargain…
AFGE Council of Prisons Locals, Local 171 and Federal Prison System, Federal Correctional Institution, El Reno
AFGE and FCI El Reno (FLRA 0-NG-1172): Three local agreement provisions negotiable
The Federal Prison System disapproved three provisions of a local agreement at FCI El Reno. They addressed first consideration for overtime within a department, the existing principal day shift, and an opportunity to obtain a meal after three extra work hours. The Authority found all three within…
Department of the Army, Oakland Army Base and AFGE Local 1157
Oakland Army Base and AFGE (FLRA 0-AR-896): Contracting remedy narrowed to agreement violation
AFGE challenged Oakland Army Base's decision to contract out work, alleging the base failed to share procurement documents and notify the union of meetings required by their agreement. An arbitrator found contract violations and ordered the procurement canceled, affected employees reinstated with…
U.S. Army Communications Command, Fort McClellan and AFGE Local 1941
Army Communications Command Fort McClellan and AFGE (FLRA 0-AR-633): Telephone contracting remedy narrowed
Fort McClellan contracted out telephone operator work without giving AFGE timely access to a statement of work required by their agreement. An arbitrator found a contract violation and ordered the Army to stop the contracting action and related reduction in force, and to restore affected employees…
U.S. Army Communications Command Agency, Redstone Arsenal and AFGE Local 1858
Army Communications Command Redstone and AFGE (FLRA 0-AR-573): Solicitation remedy narrowed
At Redstone Arsenal, the Army did not give AFGE a bid solicitation package for telephone operator work when it sent the package to contractors. An arbitrator found that omission violated their agreement and ordered the procurement canceled until the Army complied. The Authority kept the contract…
HHS Social Security Administration and AFGE
SSA and AFGE (FLRA 0-AR-1113): Late exceptions to official time awards dismissed
An arbitrator issued bench awards on May 16, 1985, granting travel and preparation time for union representatives at an SSA field office. The agency asked months later whether those awards were final, then filed exceptions on March 4, 1986. The Authority held that the awards were final when issued…
Mare Island Naval Shipyard and IFPTE Local 11
Mare Island Naval Shipyard and IFPTE (FLRA 0-AR-1105): Refined performance rating award set aside
An arbitrator found that a shipyard employee's performance appraisal had been improperly based on only part of the review period and ordered a reevaluation. After management again rated two elements “marginal,” the arbitrator issued a refined award directing “satisfactory” ratings for those…
Southern Ohio Coal Company
Six pump fire protection citations affirmed
Southern Ohio Coal Company contested six citations concerning water pumps at its Martinka No. 1 Mine. The pumps were expected to remain in place for at least a year, but were not housed in fireproof structures or vented directly into a return air entry as required by 30 C.F.R. § 75.1105. Judge…
Dan L. Thompson v. Gilbert Industrial
Motion to join the Secretary denied
Dan L. Thompson brought a mine safety discrimination case against Gilbert Industrial. He asked to add the Secretary of Labor as a respondent because he questioned how MSHA had investigated his complaint. Judge Gary Melick held that the Commission could not review the Secretary's discretionary…
Veterans Administration, Washington, D.C. and VA Medical Center and Regional Office, Sioux Falls, and AFGE Local 1509
VA Sioux Falls and AFGE (FLRA 57-CA-50257, 57-CA-50265): Union activity questions found unlawful
The VA changed a Sioux Falls employee's starting and quitting times without bargaining with AFGE Local 1509. The Authority adopted the judge's finding that this violated the statute and ordered the prior hours restored. In a separate case, a VA interviewer asked a union representative seeking…
AFGE National Border Patrol Council and Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service
Border Patrol Council and INS (FLRA 0-NG-682): Overtime calculation negotiable, detail limits rejected
Border Patrol employees detailed to detention sites lost eligibility for administratively uncontrollable overtime during those assignments. The union proposed excluding the first ten detail days from later overtime calculations and restoring employees' prior overtime percentage when they returned…
Federal Employees Metal Trades Council and Department of the Navy, Mare Island Naval Shipyard
Mare Island Naval Shipyard and Metal Trades Council (FLRA 0-NG-1184): Motorcycle training ban rejected
Mare Island Naval Shipyard required motorcycle safety training before issuing a decal allowing employees to drive motorcycles on the installation. The union proposed opposing any rider training requirement. The Authority held that the decal rule affected working conditions because employees without…
NFFE Local 1429 and U.S. Army Letterkenny Army Depot
NFFE and Letterkenny Army Depot (FLRA 0-NG-1154): Blood donation leave provision negotiable
Letterkenny Army Depot disapproved an agreement provision about excused time for employees donating blood. The disputed wording allowed donation and travel time in addition to four hours for recovery. The Authority found the provision negotiable because the union accepted that management could deny…
Congressional Research Employees Association and Library of Congress
Contracting grievance ruling set aside
A union grievance challenged the Library of Congress's decision to contract out work under a contract clause restricting outside experts and consultants. An arbitrator found the grievance arbitrable but denied it on the merits. The Authority set aside both rulings. It held that the contract clause…
Military Department of Arkansas, Arkansas National Guard and NFFE Local 1671
Arkansas National Guard and NFFE (FLRA 0-AR-1102): Leave award limited for union training
Three Arkansas National Guard employees requested 40 hours of administrative leave to attend a union officer training seminar but received 24 hours. An arbitrator ruled that the full requests should have been granted. The Authority modified that ruling because training about a union's internal…
USDA Federal Grain Inspection Service and AFGE Local 3157
Federal Grain Inspection Service and AFGE (FLRA 0-AR-1084): Reduction in force retreat award set aside
A Federal Grain Inspection Service employee was furloughed during a reduction in force and sought to move into a lower-grade technician position. An arbitrator awarded retreat rights and back pay, reasoning that the employee's earlier appointment at a higher grade effectively passed through the…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Three electrical and fire hazard citations settled for $2,400
The Secretary proposed three penalties against Jim Walter Resources for conditions at its No. 4 Mine. The citations concerned an inadequately insulated scoop charger cable, combustible material accumulated near a charging station, and a damaged scoop charger with exposed electrical parts. The…
Matter of Silver Dragon Chinese Restaurant
Concealed ownership invalidated labor certification
A Chinese restaurant sought permanent employment classification for a cook using a labor certification. The beneficiary was also a principal shareholder and the corporation's president, but the certification described him as an employee supervised by someone else and stated that the job was open to…
National Border Patrol Council, AFGE and Immigration and Naturalization Service
Border Patrol Council and INS (FLRA 0-NG-664): Negotiation time exclusion from overtime calculations negotiable
The Border Patrol Council proposed excluding time spent in contract negotiations, including travel, from later calculations of administratively uncontrollable overtime pay. The proposal addressed future eligibility and rates, not payment for negotiation time itself. The Authority found that INS had…
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.