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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G.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Huntington Post Office, Huntington, WV
Board upholds refusal to reopen carrier's disability claim (ECAB 23-0806)
A postal delivery worker sought reconsideration of a disability claim following an accepted back and neck injury. His new medical materials did not address whether a material worsening of the accepted conditions, without an intervening cause, disabled him. Other information repeated what was…
D.B. and U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, Chicago, IL
Board upholds refusal to reopen impairment award claim (ECAB 23-0789)
A Railroad Retirement Board employee asked OWCP to reconsider an increased impairment claim. Her new physician report contained no impairment findings or rating. The Board held that it did not address the question of increased impairment and found no new relevant legal argument or identified legal…
D.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, West Palm Beach VA Medical Center, West Palm Beach, FL
Board upholds $3,145 overpayment but remands waiver request (ECAB 23-0780)
A VA nursing assistant continued receiving wage-loss compensation after returning to full-time work. The Board upheld the $3,145.78 overpayment calculation. OWCP had found her without fault but denied waiver while saying she had not responded to its request for financial evidence. The record…
P.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Safety Administration, Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, St. Louis, MO
Board reverses TSA worker's benefits termination (ECAB 23-0665)
A TSA worker had benefits for several accepted conditions following a work injury. OWCP relied on a second opinion physician to conclude that those conditions had resolved. The Board found that the physician disputed or disregarded accepted conditions rather than using the official statement of…
C.N. and Commission of Fine Arts, National Building Museum, Washington, DC
Board reverses termination of museum worker's wage-loss benefits (ECAB 23-0463)
A National Building Museum administrative officer received compensation for an accepted lumbar injury. OWCP relied on an impartial examiner to end wage-loss benefits. The examiner said she still had work restrictions related to an accepted condition and could perform modified work. The Board held…
P.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Northport VA Medical Center, Northport, NY
Board upholds denial of VA worker's wrist injury claim (ECAB 22-0263)
A VA housekeeping aide reported a right wrist and hand injury while handling garbage and linen. Her claim listed October 29, 2020, but medical records gave a different injury date, and she did not answer OWCP's request for details. The Board found the incident unproven as alleged. Duplicate medical…
C.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Lodi Post Office, Lodi, CA
Board remands postal worker's reconsideration request as timely (ECAB 23-0861)
A postal letter carrier sought reconsideration of a denied claim involving workplace stress. OWCP received the request on September 16, 2022, exactly one year after its September 16, 2021 merit decision. The Board held that the request was timely and that OWCP should not have applied the…
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Old National Post Office, Atlanta, GA
Board rejects postal carrier's elbow injury claim (ECAB 23-0758)
A postal carrier sought benefits for right elbow conditions after a reported work incident. Physicians diagnosed neuropathy, bursitis, and epicondylitis, but most reports did not address causation. A physician who linked the condition to work did not adequately explain how the incident or duties…
J.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Toledo Post Office, Toledo, OH
Board orders further review of postal worker's knee claim (ECAB 23-0733)
A postal mail handler reported that his right knee popped while walking at work. A physician later provided an explanation linking the knee findings to the incident and his work activity. The Board found the report sufficient to require more medical development, while stopping short of establishing…
J.B. and Department of the Army, Transportation Department, Fort Sheridan, IL
Board denies Army worker's request for renewed medical treatment (ECAB 23-0660)
An Army shipment clerk sought renewed medical treatment decades after an accepted fall at work. Her later records diagnosed spinal stenosis and degenerative disc disease. The Board found that the reports did not explain whether the need for treatment beginning August 20, 2022 was caused by the…
D.G. and Department of the Navy, Fleet Cyber Command, Fort Meade, MD
Board remands Navy worker's disability recurrence claim (ECAB 23-0448)
A Navy information technology manager had an accepted injury and a preexisting telework accommodation. He alleged that his supervisor removed his responsibilities and that the employer could no longer accommodate his restrictions. The Board found the record insufficient to tell whether his claimed…
D.A. and U.S. Postal Service, James E. Worsham Post Office, Chicago, IL
Board upholds refusal to reopen postal worker's emotional condition claim (ECAB 23-0441)
A postal letter carrier sought reconsideration of an emotional condition claim. The unresolved issue was factual: whether she had established a compensable work factor. Her new medical submissions did not address that issue, and other materials duplicated records already considered. The Board…
C.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, New Jersey VA Health Care System, Lyons, NJ
Board accepts VA worker's COVID-19 diagnosis (ECAB 22-0833)
A VA advanced nurse practitioner submitted a positive PCR test from January 10, 2022 with her COVID-19 claim. OWCP had found the diagnosis unproven. The Board held that the positive PCR result met the applicable diagnostic requirement. It reversed the denial and returned the case for benefits…
Ireland Contracting, LLC
Roofing citations vacated because subcontractors controlled the work
Ireland Contracting sold and scheduled two residential roof replacements in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, then hired separate subcontractors to supply and supervise the roofing crews. OSHA cited Ireland Contracting for fall protection, eye protection, powered-industrial-truck, and scaffold violations…
Secretary of Labor obo John Collins v. Crimson Oak Grove Resources, LLC
Loader safety concern supported temporary reinstatement
John Collins repeatedly told his supervisor that he was uncomfortable using a smaller front-end loader to lift heavy pan line. During the second lift, the loader's rear rose more than five feet, the load slid off, the machine crashed back down, and Collins injured his back. Crimson later discharged…
M.A. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, Detroit, MI
Board rejects border officer's occupational disease claim (ECAB 23-0694)
A customs and border protection officer attributed bilateral leg pain and exertional compartment syndrome to training duties. OWCP requested a detailed account of the work factors, but he did not answer or provide another sufficient description. The Board held that the factual basis of the claimed…
S.G. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol Academy, Calexico, CA
Board upholds initial termination but remands later disability claim (ECAB 23-0652)
A Border Patrol Academy worker contested the end of benefits for an accepted injury and claimed disability afterward. The Board found OWCP's medical evidence sufficient to end benefits as of September 3, 2019. Later, her treating physician provided a reasoned opinion supporting continued disability…
P.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, Napa, CA
Board upholds suspension for missing earnings disclosure form (ECAB 23-0563)
OWCP mailed a postal worker the required earnings disclosure form and warned that benefits would be suspended if she did not return it within 30 days. The form was mailed to her address of record, and she did not provide it on time. The Board held that OWCP properly suspended her wage-loss benefits…
L.H. and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Arlington, VA
Board upholds denial of FDIC worker's foot injury claim (ECAB 23-0481)
An FDIC worker claimed a foot injury after falling at work. A prior Board decision had attributed the fall to a personal medical condition without a workplace contribution. Her later physician said longstanding medicines would not have made her dizzy or caused her to pass out, but did not establish…
T.M. and Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Logistics Base, Albany, GA
Board upholds 34 percent hearing award and refuses reopening (ECAB 23-0462)
A Navy mechanic sought a larger schedule award for work-related hearing loss. OWCP's medical adviser calculated 29 percent binaural loss plus five percent for tinnitus, matching the prior 34 percent award. The Board found no evidence supporting a higher rating. Later testing and other submissions…
B.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Palm Bay West Post Office, Palm Bay, FL
Board rejects postal carrier's low back injury claim (ECAB 23-0386)
A rural postal carrier reported low back pain after lifting a heavy parcel at work. Medical reports listed back conditions, but several gave no causation opinion and one physician described a different injury date. Other reports called the work relationship unclear or unknown. The Board found the…
L.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Northpointe Post Office, Spokane, WA
Board orders further review of postal worker's ankle claim (ECAB 22-0995)
A postal associate attributed a left ankle tendon injury to repeated twisting, moving, pushing, and pulling at work. His physician explained how those duties could strain the tendon in light of an underlying foot alignment condition. The Board found the opinion sufficient to require further medical…
D.M. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution Jesup, Jesup, GA
Board remands prison worker's COVID continuation of pay claim (ECAB 23-0609)
A federal prison medical officer reported COVID-19 and described problems filing his injury form through the electronic portal after a transfer between institutions. OWCP denied continuation of pay as untimely. The Board found OWCP had not applied the COVID-19 rule measuring the injury date from…
X.B. and U.S. Postal Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Washington, DC
Board rejects postal inspector's shoulder injury claim (ECAB 23-0452)
A postal inspector reported shoulder pain while performing a shoulder press at work. The submitted treatment reports came from a chiropractor addressing the shoulder. Under FECA, those reports did not qualify as physician evidence because they did not concern an x-ray-confirmed spinal subluxation…
T.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, City of Industry, CA
Board remands mail handler's claim after OWCP overlooks medical report (ECAB 22-0816)
A mail handler reported neck, back, and shoulder symptoms after unloading trucks. Before issuing a denial, OWCP received a physician's report diagnosing shoulder and back conditions and linking them to the reported incident. Its decision did not consider that report. The Board remanded so OWCP…
J.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Phoenix, AZ
Board upholds suspension after missed medical examination (ECAB 22-0403)
A postal worker with accepted latex-related conditions did not attend a rescheduled OWCP examination. Her physician questioned whether the office and building were safe for someone with a severe latex allergy. The Board found OWCP's examination referral reasonable and held that she had not…
D.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Louis, MO
Board rejects added ACL tear but remands disability claim (ECAB 22-0136)
A postal worker sought to add an ACL graft rupture to his accepted knee injury claim and claimed later work disability. The Board found the medical evidence insufficient to connect the graft rupture to the accepted incident. OWCP had ordered a second opinion on disability but denied that claim…
Gates v. UPS Freight
STAA appeal dismissed after opening brief was not filed
An administrative judge dismissed Horando Gates's STAA retaliation complaint on causation and same-action grounds. Gates initially sent the Board only a copy of the judge's decision, but he responded to a first show-cause order and later filed a petition that the Board accepted. He did not then…
J.L. and Department of Health & Human Services, National Disaster Medical System, Seattle, WA
Board rejects disaster medical worker's arm condition claim (ECAB 23-0830)
A National Disaster Medical System worker reported arm and wrist symptoms from autopsy duties. Her physician said carpal tunnel syndrome was likely and recommended further testing, but did not explain whether work caused the condition. Her own account could not replace a medical causation opinion…
K.F. and Department of the Army, Red River Army Depot, Texarkana, TX
Board denies renewed treatment for Army worker's hearing loss (ECAB 23-0749)
An Army depot worker with accepted noise-related hearing loss sought renewed treatment. A physician described severe loss but did not address its current connection to work. An audiologist recommended hearing devices, but the Board held that the audiologist's report could not establish medical…
S.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jonesboro, GA
Board confirms postal worker's reported vehicle accident (ECAB 23-0586)
A postal worker reported a left shoulder injury from a motor vehicle accident on duty. Her employer acknowledged the incident, and medical records soon afterward were consistent with her account. The Board held that a delay in reporting injury did not refute the occurrence of the accident. Because…
S.G. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District, Buffalo, NY
Board remands sidewalk fall claim for path investigation (ECAB 22-1172)
An Army Corps employee fell on an icy sidewalk while walking from a leased parking lot before work. OWCP had denied the injury as outside the performance of duty. It later acknowledged that the employer leased the lot for exclusive use and asked for another look at the route. The Board granted…
J.Q. and Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, Office of Secure Transportation, Oak Ridge, TN
Board denies schedule award for accepted alpha-gal syndrome (ECAB 22-0843)
A federal agent had an accepted alpha-gal syndrome claim after tick bites during training and sought a schedule award. His reports documented the diagnosis but did not identify a maximum medical improvement date or calculate permanent impairment under the required guide. The Board held that the…
J.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Gracie Station, New York, NY
Board affirms overpayment and denial of waiver (ECAB 21-0358)
A postal mail handler received wage loss compensation using an incorrect pay rate for 2009 through 2019. OWCP calculated a $14,454.02 overpayment and found him without fault. The Board agreed with the corrected pay calculation. It also upheld the denial of waiver because he had not supplied the…
Omer M. Jackson v. A&G Coal Corporation
Jackson v. A&G Coal (BRB 23-0112 BLA): benefits denial affirmed
Omer Jackson appealed without a lawyer after an administrative law judge denied his black lung benefits claim. She found thirty-three years of qualifying surface coal mine work and simple pneumoconiosis but found no complicated pneumoconiosis or totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board…
Bobby G. Grim v. Abraxas, Incorporated
Grim v. Abraxas (BRB 22-0354 BLA): black lung award after remand affirmed
Bobby Grim sought black lung benefits on a subsequent claim after a prior denial. He had fewer than fifteen years of coal mine work, so he could not rely on the statutory fifteen-year presumption and had to establish pneumoconiosis and disability causation directly. After the Board sent the claim…
C.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, Madison, WI
Board orders related right hip claims combined (ECAB 23-0777)
A VA medical supply technician sought benefits after a workplace fall and right hip pain. OWCP denied the claim and declined to reopen it, relying partly on records from an earlier right hip claim. The Board held that OWCP needed to combine the related claim files before deciding the current injury…
F.H. and Social Security Administration, Toledo, OH
Board denies right arm schedule award (ECAB 23-0765)
A Social Security claims representative sought a schedule award for lasting right arm impairment after an accepted fall at work. Doctors disagreed about the impairment rating, so OWCP obtained an impartial medical examination. The Board gave that examiner’s reasoned zero percent rating special…
W.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Pittsburgh Processing & Distribution Center, Pittsburgh, PA
Board orders further medical review of postal worker’s foot injury (ECAB 23-0727)
A postal supervisor reported left foot pain after climbing stairs at work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the injury claim for lack of a proven causal connection. The Board found that a treating physician’s opinion supported the claim enough to require further medical…
H.S. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, Laguna Niguel, CA
Board affirms denial of home health aide (ECAB 23-0557)
A federal employee with accepted work related hand and thumb arthritis requested a home health aide for hygiene tasks. Her physician described difficulty with daily activities but also said she could bathe and dress without assistance. The Board found no reasoned medical opinion showing that an…
M.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Romeoville Post Office, Romeoville, IL
Board upholds refusal to reopen schedule award claim (ECAB 23-0517)
A postal rural carrier sought reconsideration of an earlier schedule award ruling for her left hand. The Board could review only OWCP’s later refusal to reopen the claim. It found that her request offered no new legal argument and that the medical report largely repeated evidence already…
J.J. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Data Management, Austin Automation Center, Austin, TX
Board upholds denial of late reconsideration request (ECAB 23-0155)
A VA employee sought to reopen the denial of his claim for several conditions attributed to work. His reconsideration request came after the ordinary filing period. The Board found that his evidence did not show clear error on the face of OWCP’s earlier denial. It therefore affirmed the refusal to…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Boston, MA
Board orders impartial examination for bilateral hand impairment (ECAB 23-0043)
A retired postal carrier sought a larger schedule award for permanent impairment of both hands. His treating physician and OWCP’s medical adviser gave conflicting impairment ratings for the thumbs and hands. The Board found an unresolved medical conflict over the extent of permanent impairment. It…
Secretary of Labor obo Phillip Bowman v. Lexington Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor obo Phillip Bowman v. Lexington Coal Company (FMSHRC WEVA 2023-0363): Economic reinstatement tolled after mine shutdown
Lexington Coal sought to toll Phillip Bowman's temporary economic reinstatement after the Twilight Surface Mine was idled and employees with Bowman's skill set were laid off. The judge accepted evidence that the shutdown resulted from losing a high-price coal sales contract and that no comparable…
Carolyn M. Marlow (o/b/o and Widow of Larry D. Marlow) v. Royal Gem Coal Company
Marlow v. Royal Gem Coal Company (BRB 23-0092 and 23-0035): responsible operator finding remanded
Carolyn M. Marlow pursued black lung benefits on behalf of her late husband, Larry D. Marlow, and sought survivor's benefits. The administrative law judge found complicated pneumoconiosis, awarded benefits in the miner's claim, and awarded survivor's benefits because Larry was entitled to benefits…
Carolyn M. Marlow, on behalf of and widow of Larry D. Marlow, v. Royal Gem Coal Company
Marlow v. Royal Gem Coal (BRB 23-0035 and 23-0092 BLA): payment responsibility remanded
Carolyn Marlow pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor claim. An administrative law judge awarded benefits and found Royal Gem Coal responsible for payment. Royal Gem did not contest entitlement on appeal; it challenged the responsible operator finding and argued that…
V.G. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Northport VA Medical Center, Northport, NY
Board orders OWCP to address omitted medical report (ECAB 23-0786)
A VA pipefitter claimed that work had worsened his accepted lumbar condition. OWCP denied the occupational disease claim after combining related files, but its decision did not address a physician’s May 2021 report linking the condition to work. The Board held that OWCP must consider all timely…
L.R. and U.S. Post Office, Palatine Processing and Distribution Center, Palatine, IL
Board upholds denial of late hearing request (ECAB 23-0753)
A postal mail processing clerk requested an oral hearing after OWCP denied her right shoulder occupational disease claim. She made the request more than 30 days after the denial. The Board held that she no longer had a hearing as of right and that OWCP reasonably exercised its discretion to deny a…
L.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Newark, NJ
Board denies continuing disability claim after benefits termination (ECAB 23-0730)
A postal mail handler had accepted arm tendinitis and carpal tunnel syndrome claims. After her wage loss and medical benefits were terminated, she sought to establish continuing disability or residuals from the accepted injury. The Board found that the later medical evidence did not provide a…
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cincinnati, OH
Board upholds refusal to reopen foot condition claim (ECAB 23-0728)
A postal window clerk sought reconsideration of a claim involving foot conditions attributed to standing at work. Her new legal argument relied on an agency policy that took effect after the OWCP decision she challenged. The Board found the argument irrelevant to that earlier decision and the…
H.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Harrisburg Post Office, Harrisburg, PA
Board upholds benefits termination but remands later disability issue (ECAB 23-0207)
A postal worker sought to add depressive disorder to an accepted injury claim and challenged termination of benefits. The Board found inadequate proof to add the disorder and upheld the termination effective April 18, 2022. It found that the later question of continuing disability or residuals…
R.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Brockton VA Medical Center, Brockton, MA
Board declines to expand knee claim to back and Bell’s palsy (ECAB 22-0888)
A VA environmental care specialist had an accepted left knee injury after moving boxes at work. He asked OWCP to add Bell’s palsy and a low back condition as consequences of the injury. The Board found that the medical evidence did not adequately explain a causal link between the accepted injury…
M.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Steve Schiff Station, Albuquerque, NM
Board reverses alleged dual benefit overpayment (ECAB 22-0874)
A postal worker elected retirement benefits, and OWCP treated her FECA payments for January 2022 as a prohibited dual benefit. The record showed the FECA payments but did not establish that she actually received retirement benefits for the same period. The Board held that an election effective date…
Charles Bridge, LLC
In re Charles Bridge, LLC (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 23-03): Default order remanded for service review
EPA Region 1 charged Charles Bridge, LLC with violations of section 409 of the Toxic Substances Control Act involving a civil penalty proceeding. After Charles Bridge failed to answer, the Regional Judicial Officer found it liable by default and assessed a $56,109 penalty. The Environmental Appeals…
Secretary of Labor v. GCC Dacotah, Inc.
Email-address typo treated as a unique mistake
GCC Dacotah attempted to email its contest on time, but a typo in MSHA's address prevented delivery and the company's system produced no error notice. After learning of the problem, it moved to reopen within 30 days and circulated a memorandum to safety personnel. The Commission majority…
F.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Oklahoma City Post Office, Oklahoma City, OK
Board orders hearing on alleged overpayment (ECAB 23-0771)
A postal mail handler disputed a proposed $78,541.14 overpayment tied to VA benefits. OWCP denied his request for a prerecoupment hearing as late, relying on a second request sent in March. The Board found that his first hearing request, dated February 14, was within 30 days of the preliminary…
M.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Fresno Processing & Distribution Center, Fresno, CA
Board affirms denial of knee claim expansion and surgery (ECAB 23-0674)
A postal employee with an accepted work injury sought to add a left knee lateral meniscal tear and obtain authorization for surgery. The Board found that the medical evidence did not adequately establish that the tear was caused by the accepted injury. Without that link, the requested surgery was…
R.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Honea Path Post Office, Honea Path, SC
Board orders review of same day urgent care note (ECAB 23-0536)
A postal rural carrier reported injuries after a fall at work. OWCP denied her claim, saying the record lacked a diagnosis linked to the accepted incident. The Board found that an urgent care note containing diagnoses had reached OWCP on the same day as its decision but was not addressed. It…
G.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Chicago Processing & Distribution Center, Chicago, IL
Board confirms dual benefits but orders overpayment recalculation (ECAB 23-0522)
A postal worker received FECA wage loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits attributable partly to federal service. The Board agreed that the unoffset overlap produced an overpayment. OWCP’s two worksheets gave different totals because one omitted a year of benefits, so the Board…
M.V., widow of J.V., and Department of Energy, Southeastern Courier Section, Oak Ridge, TN
Board remands estate overpayment recovery case (ECAB 23-0430)
The widow of a Department of Energy worker challenged OWCP’s recovery of an alleged FECA and Social Security overpayment after her husband died. OWCP had pursued a debt against the estate. The Board found the record did not show that OWCP first used its required referral process for deceased…
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.