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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Secretary of Labor v. Helvetia Coal Company
Helvetia Coal Company (FMSHRC PENN 86-43): $600 settlement for misplaced self-rescuers
MSHA cited Helvetia Coal Company because miners' self-rescue devices were kept in a break area instead of the designated intake escapeway. The original proposed penalty was $900. Chief Judge Paul Merlin found the violation serious because misplaced devices could be harder to find in an emergency…
Immigration and Naturalization Service, San Diego and AFGE Local 2544
INS San Diego and AFGE Local 2544 (FLRA 8-CA-1195): Representation violation found on court remand
An Immigration and Naturalization Service employee in San Diego requested union representation at an investigatory interview, but the agency denied the request and proceeded. The Authority initially dismissed the unfair labor practice case after finding that a grant of immunity removed any…
Secretary of Labor v. Anderson Milling Company
Anderson Milling Company (FMSHRC WEST 85-45-M): Unguarded conveyor pulley citation affirmed
MSHA cited Anderson Milling Company for an unguarded head pulley on a conveyor at its lime processing plant. The company argued that earlier inspectors had not objected to the condition and that it had no accidents. Judge John J. Morris found exposed pinch points within reach of a maintenance…
Secretary of Labor v. Pyro Mining Company
Pyro Mining Company (FMSHRC KENT 83-212): Transformer penalty reduced on court remand
The Sixth Circuit remanded Pyro Mining Company's penalty case for findings on prompt correction and the effect of penalties on the company's business. Judge William Fauver found that Pyro promptly corrected each violation and that the penalties would not impair its ability to continue operating…
Secretary of Labor v. Wilmot Mining Company
Wilmot Mining Company (FMSHRC LAKE 85-47): Three citations affirmed after loader rollover
A front-end loader without a rollover protective structure overturned at Wilmot Mining Company's surface coal mine, killing pit foreman John D. Schrock. Judge William Fauver found that the loader also lacked adequate brakes. He affirmed citations for the missing rollover protection and faulty…
Secretary of Labor v. Big Horn Construction Co., Bernard Banks, Bruce Parker, and James Wagaman
Big Horn Construction and three agents (FMSHRC WEST 84-134-M): Safety violation settlement approved
MSHA brought consolidated penalty cases against Big Horn Construction Company and three of its agents over two alleged violations of a mine safety standard at the Alchem trona mine. The parties settled before a hearing. Judge John J. Morris approved the agreement and affirmed the citation and order…
Minerals Exploration Company v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Highwall ruling affirmed, sanctions denied
MSHA cited Minerals Exploration Company and ordered withdrawal from beneath loose, overhanging rock at its Sweetwater uranium mine. The company challenged the citation and imminent danger order and sought sanctions over conduct by MSHA officials and the Secretary's lawyers during the litigation…
Matter of Amornvootiskul
Investor adjustment approved under priority-date rule
A married couple from Thailand sought adjustment of status based on an investment in a United States enterprise. The Immigration Judge granted adjustment after finding that their investment qualified for the investor exemption and that they had visa availability under section 19 of the 1981…
Matter of Siemens Medical Systems, Inc.
50 percent joint venture ownership established affiliation
Siemens Medical Systems sought to classify a beneficiary as an intracompany transferee. The beneficiary had worked for Hospitalia International, a 50-50 joint venture between Siemens AG and Phillips International, and Siemens Medical Systems argued that the joint venture was affiliated through…
Department of the Navy, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and Portsmouth Federal Employees Metal Trades Council
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and Metal Trades Council (FLRA 1-CA-30303): Shipyard ordered to comply with asbestos award; later vacated
An arbitrator ordered Portsmouth Naval Shipyard to take steps to reduce asbestos exposure during submarine work and to pay affected employees environmental differential pay when unnecessary exposure was not practically eliminated. The Navy's exceptions to that award were filed too late, making it…
NFFE Local 29 and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District
NFFE Local 29 and Kansas City Army Corps of Engineers (FLRA 0-NG-731): Property loss proposals outside bargaining duty
NFFE Local 29 proposed three rules for handling employees accused of losing or damaging Army Corps of Engineers property. The Authority found that a $150 cap on employee liability conflicted with management's internal security practices, although it did not conflict with the Federal Claims…
NFFE Local 29 and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District
NFFE Local 29 and Kansas City Army Corps of Engineers (FLRA 0-NG-501): Transfer-related reduction in force proposal rejected
The Kansas City Army Corps of Engineers planned to move an accounting function to its Omaha District. NFFE Local 29 proposed using reduction in force procedures in Kansas City for employees who chose not to move. The Authority found that government-wide personnel rules permit that approach only if…
Secretary of Labor v. Co-op Mining Company
Co-op Mining Company (FMSHRC WEST 85-165): Four citations vacated in settlement
The Secretary and Co-op Mining Company settled six citations after a hearing began. Judge John J. Morris approved the agreement, vacating three training citations because the miner had received the training but its record was wrong. He also vacated one citation as redundant with another. The…
Secretary of Labor v. General Rock & Sand
General Rock & Sand (FMSHRC WEST 84-70-M): Conveyor and electrical citations affirmed
MSHA cited General Rock & Sand for a conveyor without an emergency stop device, an inadequately protected cable entering a junction box, and an unguarded tail pulley. The operator did not appear at the hearing or respond to a later show-cause order. Judge John J. Morris heard the inspector's…
Secretary of Labor v. United States Steel Mining Company, Inc.
U.S. Steel Mining (FMSHRC PENN 84-49): Roof plan violation affirmed, negligence finding reversed
Two mine plan coordinators died in a roof fall after entering an unsupported area at U.S. Steel Mining's Maple Creek mine. The company conceded a roof control violation but challenged the judge's finding that it was negligent; it also disputed a separate finding that its roof control plan required…
AFGE Local 1923 and HHS Office of General Counsel, Social Security Division
AFGE Local 1923 and HHS Social Security Division (FLRA 0-NG-557): Five appraisal proposals bargainable
AFGE Local 1923 proposed six provisions concerning performance appraisals in an HHS legal office. The Authority found the first five within the duty to bargain: they addressed compliance with current requirements, use of a negotiated appraisal form, and annual appraisal timing. HHS had not shown a…
National Park Service, National Capital Region and Police Association of the District of Columbia
National Park Service and D.C. Police Association (FLRA 0-AR-755): Hotel room award upheld, overtime pay removed
Two Park Police officers on temporary detail chose separate hotel rooms after finding no rooms reserved for them, and the agency ended their details when they refused to share a room. An arbitrator found that the agency could not require them to share under the circumstances and awarded one officer…
General Services Administration and AFGE Council 236
GSA and AFGE Council 236 (FLRA 0-AR-583): Union travel payments subject to travel rules
An arbitrator found that GSA's agreement with AFGE Council 236 required payment of travel and per diem expenses for union representatives performing covered duties on official time. GSA argued that federal labor and travel laws did not require those payments. The Authority agreed that the labor…
Secretary of Labor v. Walsenburg Sand & Gravel Company, Inc.
Walsenburg Sand & Gravel (FMSHRC WEST 85-79-M): Loader brake citation vacated
MSHA cited Walsenburg Sand & Gravel after inspectors saw differential fluid leaking onto the outside of a loader wheel and feared it impaired the brakes. An inspector said the loader operator reported a brake problem. Company owner Louis Vezzani testified that he inspected the brakes after the…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Paul Sedgmer Jr., Edward Biega, and Dennis Gorlock v. Consolidation Coal Company
Sedgmer, Biega, and Gorlock v. Consolidation Coal (FMSHRC LAKE 82-105-D): Dismissal of speed dispute affirmed
Three equipment operators challenged 30-day suspensions imposed after Consolidation Coal found they had driven earthmoving machines unusually slowly. They said dust and traffic made faster travel unsafe. The Commission held that doing work more slowly for safety reasons can be protected under the…
Robert Simpson v. Kenta Energy, Inc. and Roy Dan Jackson
Simpson v. Kenta Energy (FMSHRC KENT 83-155-D): Reconsideration of procedural deferral denied
Robert Simpson asked the Commission to reopen his case to pursue questions about whether another entity had succeeded Kenta Energy. The Commission had deferred that request until it decided liability in the underlying Mine Act case. Simpson sought reconsideration of the deferral. The Commission…
Secretary of Labor v. Walsenburg Sand and Gravel Company, Inc.
Walsenburg Sand and Gravel (FMSHRC WEST 84-19-M): Ten citations upheld at $200 total
MSHA issued 13 citations after inspecting Walsenburg Sand and Gravel's seasonal sand pit, including electrical and machine-guarding conditions. Judge John A. Carlson upheld ten citations and vacated three for which he found the standards had not been violated. He upheld a citation for an energized…
Secretary of Labor v. Capitol Aggregates, Inc.
Capitol Aggregates (FMSHRC CENT 85-138-M): Alcohol citation vacated; inspection and warning citations settled
MSHA issued three citations after a laboratory employee at Capitol Aggregates' cement plant died after intentionally inhaling nitrous oxide while intoxicated. The Secretary withdrew the alcohol-related citation because the evidence did not show that the company permitted intoxicants at work, and…
Secretary of Labor v. Whitney Sand & Gravel Incorporated
Whitney Sand & Gravel (FMSHRC CENT 85-129-M): Electrical, brake, and reporting citations affirmed
MSHA cited Whitney Sand & Gravel for an ungrounded wet screening plant, failure to test the grounding system, an operating loader with inadequate foot brakes, and missing quarterly employment and production reports. Judge George A. Koutras found all four violations proved. He affirmed the…
AFGE Local 2677 and HHS Office of Community Services
AFGE Local 2677 and HHS Community Services (FLRA 0-NG-920): Retained-grade selection proposal rejected
AFGE Local 2677 proposed requiring HHS to select qualified employees with retained-grade rights for vacancies at or below their retained grade. The Authority found that the proposal would otherwise qualify as an arrangement for employees affected by a reduction in force. It nevertheless conflicted…
AFGE National Council of Federal Grain Inspection Locals and USDA Federal Grain Inspection Service
AFGE Grain Inspection Council and USDA (FLRA 0-NG-1034): Union travel provisions approved
The USDA Federal Grain Inspection Service disapproved three negotiated provisions on official time and travel costs for union representatives and witnesses. The agency argued that travel reimbursement had to be decided solely by management for each trip and that its own regulation required that…
Naval Air Development Center and AFGE Local 1928
Attorney fees upheld without copying costs
A grievance over asbestos exposure at the Naval Air Development Center led to backpay and an attorney fee award for the union. The Navy challenged the fee award after the arbitrator clarified it. In separate concurring opinions, the Authority's two members agreed that the fee award could stand…
General Services Administration and AFGE Council 236
GSA and AFGE Council 236 (FLRA 0-AR-727): Negotiated union travel reimbursement upheld
An arbitrator found that GSA's agreement with AFGE Council 236 required reimbursement of a regional union representative's travel and per diem costs for covered work on official time. GSA argued that the labor statute did not require those payments and that the award misread the agreement. The…
Social Security Administration and AFGE Local 3369
Union travel award limited by travel rules
An arbitrator found that the Social Security Administration's agreement with AFGE Local 3369 required payment for the local union president's trip to Washington to visit union and congressional officials. The agency argued that the arbitrator misread the agreement and that federal labor law barred…
National Association of Air Traffic Specialists and FAA Washington Flight Service Station
Air Traffic Specialists and FAA Washington Flight Service Station (FLRA 0-AR-1029): Attorney fee award returned for explanation
An arbitrator awarded attorney fees after finding that the FAA improperly suspended an employee, but gave little explanation for the fee award. The Authority initially set aside the fees because the required statutory findings were missing. On the union's request for reconsideration, the Authority…
Secretary of Labor v. Reidhead Sand & Rock, Inc.
Reidhead Sand & Rock (FMSHRC WEST 85-156-M): Ramp and conveyor citations affirmed
MSHA cited Reidhead Sand & Rock for an elevated loader ramp without berms or guards and a partly unguarded conveyor walkway without an emergency stop cord. The company did not appear at the hearing or answer a later show-cause order. Judge John J. Morris heard the inspector's evidence and affirmed…
Daniel Construction Company
General duty citation vacated because MSHA authority preempted OSHA
Daniel Construction was building a secondary crusher structure on the surface of a mine when OSHA cited it under the general duty clause. The Commission adopted the judge's conclusion that section 4(b)(1) precluded OSHA jurisdiction because MSHA had statutory authority and had promulgated standards…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Barry L. Weaver v. Alpine Construction Company
Weaver v. Alpine Construction Company (FMSHRC CENT 85-99-D): Discrimination claim settled for back pay
The Secretary brought a mine discrimination proceeding on behalf of Barry L. Weaver against Alpine Construction Company. The parties agreed to settle all of Weaver's claims without the company admitting a violation. Alpine agreed to pay him $3,746.68 in back wages and interest; Weaver waived…
Chicago Zoological Society
Citations vacated because zoo operator was a political subdivision
The Chicago Zoological Society operated Brookfield Zoo under an agreement with the Forest Preserve District of Cook County and contested whether it was an employer covered by the OSH Act. The Commission majority held that the Society was a political subdivision excluded from the Act's definition of…
Cuyahoga Valley Railway Company
Secretary allowed to withdraw citation
The Secretary of Labor asked to withdraw the citation against Cuyahoga Valley Railway Company. The Commission granted the motion and cited a Sixth Circuit decision involving the United Transportation Union. The short release does not identify the cited conditions, standards, or proposed penalty.
AFGE Local 3477 and Commodity Futures Trading Commission
AFGE Local 3477 and CFTC (FLRA 0-NG-681): Suggestion award formulas bargainable
AFGE Local 3477 proposed formulas for performance awards and for employee suggestion awards at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The Authority found that the proposed range for performance award amounts interfered with management's rights to direct employees and assign work. It…
NFFE Locals 29 and 1363 and U.S. Army Engineer District and Garrison
NFFE Army District and Garrison locals (FLRA 0-NG-467): Blanket waiver of late debt charges rejected
Two NFFE locals proposed that Army employees repaying unused travel advances owe no interest or late payment charges. The Authority had previously found the proposals negotiable, then reconsidered them in light of the Debt Collection Act of 1982. It found that the Act applied to travel advances and…
National Treasury Employees Union and Internal Revenue Service
NTEU and IRS (FLRA 0-NG-1021): Negotiators' travel reimbursement bargainable
NTEU proposed that the IRS pay employee negotiators' travel and per diem unless the agency could show just cause to refuse. The IRS said federal travel law barred bargaining over the subject and questioned whether the proposal covered employees on official time. The Authority found that agencies…
NAGE Local R1-25 and Brockton/West Roxbury VA Medical Center
NAGE Local R1-25 and Brockton/West Roxbury VA (FLRA 0-AR-975, 21 FLRA 83): Holiday work restriction set aside
An arbitrator found that the Brockton/West Roxbury VA Medical Center had a practice of not assigning employees to work midweek holidays and ordered it to stop those assignments. The VA argued that the award interfered with its statutory right to assign work. The Authority agreed: management's right…
Colorado River Storage Project, Bureau of Reclamation and IBEW Local 2159
Colorado River Storage Project and IBEW Local 2159 (FLRA 0-AR-495): Interest arbitration award upheld
An interest arbitrator declined IBEW Local 2159's proposal to make the Bureau of Reclamation pay travel and per diem costs for grievance participants. The arbitrator also kept the existing procedure for approving local agreements while suggesting optional clarifying language. The union challenged…
Secretary of Labor v. Michigan Silica Company, formerly Ottawa Silica Company
Michigan Silica Company (FMSHRC LAKE 85-67-M): Discrimination penalty settled at $250
An earlier decision found that Michigan Silica Company, formerly Ottawa Silica Company, violated the Mine Act's discrimination provision, and that ruling was affirmed by the Commission and the Sixth Circuit. This separate proceeding concerned the civil penalty for that violation. The Secretary…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Johnnie Lee Jackson v. Turner Brothers, Inc.
Jackson v. Turner Brothers (FMSHRC CENT 86-36-D): Temporary reinstatement denied pending discrimination hearing
MSHA sought temporary reinstatement for bulldozer operator Johnnie Lee Jackson, who alleged that Turner Brothers fired him after safety complaints about his machine. Judge George A. Koutras did not find the discrimination claim frivolous, but he denied immediate reinstatement. He gave greater…
Veterans Administration Medical Center, Sepulveda and AFGE Local 3943
Sepulveda VA Medical Center and AFGE Local 3943 (FLRA 8-CA-70410): Employee addresses ordered disclosed
AFGE Local 3943 asked the Sepulveda VA Medical Center for the names and home addresses of employees it represented. The center refused, citing privacy law, and offered to let employees provide their addresses voluntarily instead. Applying its earlier ruling on union access to employee information…
AFGE Local 217 and Veterans Administration Medical Center, Augusta
AFGE Local 217 and Augusta VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-NG-635): Uniform choice rejected, suitable clothing bargainable
The Augusta VA Medical Center decided to require warehouse employees to wear uniforms so it could identify them and protect property. AFGE Local 217 proposed making uniforms optional and proposed clothing suitable for the season and conditions, including rain gear and safety shoes. The Authority…
AFGE and Social Security Administration
Official time remedy changed to straight-time pay
An arbitrator found that the Social Security Administration had wrongly denied official time to union representatives who then performed covered duties outside work hours. The arbitrator awarded compensatory time off or overtime pay in several grievances. The Authority upheld the findings that…
Bureau of Prisons and AFGE Local 148
Higher performance ratings upheld
A Bureau of Prisons employee challenged an appraisal that rated four job elements as "exceeds" rather than "outstanding." The arbitrator applied the agency's existing quantitative standards to the performance described in the formal appraisal and ordered outstanding ratings on three elements. The…
Martha Perando v. Mettiki Coal Corporation
Perando v. Mettiki Coal (FMSHRC YORK 85-12-D): Discrimination complaint allowed to proceed
Martha Perando alleged that Mettiki Coal Corporation cut her pay after moving her from underground work because of a health condition, then harassed and discharged her. Mettiki asked the judge to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a Mine Act discrimination claim. Judge Gary Melick held that…
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and Dennis R. Lacroix
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and Dennis Lacroix (FLRA 1-CA-40151): Appraisal retaliation complaint dismissed
A Portsmouth Naval Shipyard employee alleged that his 1983 performance rating was lowered because he filed grievances and raised workplace concerns. The administrative law judge recommended dismissal, and the Authority agreed that the record did not show retaliation. It found no evidence of union…
AFGE Local 547 and James A. Haley VA Medical Center
AFGE Local 547 and Haley VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-NG-1233): Negotiability appeal filed late
AFGE Local 547 appealed a negotiability allegation from the James A. Haley VA Medical Center. The Authority found that the center had served its allegation by certified mail and that the union's petition arrived after the January 13 filing deadline. The appeal was late whether the deadline was…
Secretary of Labor v. Western Rock Products Corporation
Western Rock Products (FMSHRC WEST 85-23-M): Full proposed penalties accepted in settlement
Western Rock Products Corporation agreed to pay all proposed penalties in two consolidated civil penalty cases after the hearing began. The order lists seven citations for its Cedar City Mine and seven for its Sorenson Pit Mine but does not describe the underlying conditions or cite the safety…
Secretary of Labor v. Hydrocarbon Resources, Inc.
Hydrocarbon Resources (FMSHRC WEST 84-100-M): Shaft safety citations partly affirmed
MSHA cited Hydrocarbon Resources after a falling rock struck and killed employee Bruce Green during shaft development at its Cottonwood Mine. Judge John J. Morris affirmed citations for loose ground, lack of a protective bulkhead above workers, and a deficient wire rope attachment. He vacated a…
Brian T. Veal v. Kerr-McGee Coal Corp.
Veal v. Kerr-McGee Coal (FMSHRC LAKE 86-29-D): Discrimination complaint survives dismissal motion
Brian T. Veal alleged that Kerr-McGee Coal discharged him after safety-related complaints and an accident involving a mine vehicle. Kerr-McGee asked the judge to dismiss his complaint as legally insufficient and frivolous. Judge James A. Broderick found that some allegations did not state a Mine…
Bryan P. Everson v. Oneida Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Everson v. Oneida Sand & Gravel (FMSHRC LAKE 85-13-DM): Weather-based work refusal claim dismissed
Bryan P. Everson alleged that Oneida Sand & Gravel discriminated against him after he refused to report to work during freezing rain. He said conditions would make the work unsafe, while the company said it needed him to load trucks and offered work inside a garage. Judge Gary Melick found that…
Boyd Asher v. Fairdale Mining, Inc.
Asher v. Fairdale Mining (FMSHRC KENT 85-28-D): Complaint dismissed for failure to prove service
Boyd Asher brought a discrimination complaint against Fairdale Mining. The Commission and the judge could not deliver orders to the company at the addresses supplied by Asher. Judge Gary Melick gave him a further chance to identify an authorized corporate agent and prove that the complaint had been…
Secretary of Labor v. E.C. Coal Sales Company, Inc.
E.C. Coal Sales Company (FMSHRC WEVA 85-170): $186 penalty entered by default
E.C. Coal Sales Company did not answer official correspondence or otherwise defend a civil penalty case concerning its No. 3 Mine. Judge Roy J. Maurer gave the company ten days to explain why he should not strike its answer and enter a default decision. The company again did not respond. The judge…
Southern Ohio Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor
Southern Ohio Coal Company (FMSHRC WEVA 86-29-R): Guardrail contest dismissed after agreement
Southern Ohio Coal Company contested a citation requiring guardrails at its Martinka No. 1 Mine. At a hearing, the parties agreed that MSHA would remove certain areas from the citation and Southern Ohio would install berms and guardrails in the remaining areas. After they carried out the agreement…
Youghiogheny and Ohio Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor
Youghiogheny and Ohio Coal (FMSHRC LAKE 85-76-R): Rock dust and respirable dust violations upheld
MSHA cited Youghiogheny and Ohio Coal for inadequate rock dusting in an active section of its Nelms No. 2 Mine and excessive respirable dust in a sampling plant. Judge Roy J. Maurer affirmed both citations and a withdrawal order issued after the company did not abate the respirable dust violation…
Emerald Mines Corporation v. Secretary of Labor
Emerald Mines (FMSHRC PENN 85-298-R): Unwarrantable-failure designation removed by judge
Emerald Mines paid a penalty for a methane-related citation originally issued under section 104(a), but MSHA later changed the citation to include an unwarrantable-failure designation under section 104(d)(1). Judge Gary Melick held that payment settled the underlying violation and penalty but did…
Homestake Mining Company v. Secretary of Labor
Homestake Mining Company (FMSHRC CENT 85-93-M): Three citations vacated for lack of proof
Three Homestake Mining proceedings were consolidated for hearing. At the start of the hearing, the Secretary moved to withdraw the penalty proposal in CENT 85-118-M for lack of proof. After further investigation, the Secretary moved to dismiss or vacate the citations in the other two dockets for…
Southern Ohio Coal Company
Miner representatives owed pay for post-inspection conferences
Southern Ohio Coal refused to pay miner representatives for time spent in conferences at two mines where MSHA inspectors reviewed citations from earlier inspections. An administrative law judge had vacated three citations alleging that this refusal violated section 103(f) of the Mine Act because…
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.