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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Matter of Sano
Beneficiary cannot appeal visa petition denial
A United States citizen filed a visa petition for his spouse, but he died before the petition was approved. The district director denied the petition, and the beneficiary appealed, arguing that the agency had unreasonably delayed adjudication. The Board held that the regulations allow only the…
Federal Aviation Administration and Professional Airways Systems Specialists
FAA and Professional Airways Systems Specialists (FLRA 1-CA-30218): Reduction in force bargaining order issued
The FAA implemented a reduction in force at its Albany Airways Facilities Sector without giving the Professional Airways Systems Specialists the required notice and chance to bargain over procedures and arrangements for affected employees. An administrative judge found an unfair labor practice. The…
Military Traffic Management Command and AFGE Local 1157
Defective petition dismissed
AFGE Local 1157 filed a negotiability petition involving the Military Traffic Management Command. The Authority told the union about several procedural defects by telephone and then by letter. It gave the union 13 more days to complete the petition and warned that failure could cause dismissal. The…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Asarco Incorporated, Northwestern Mining Department
Secretary of Labor v. Asarco Incorporated (FMSHRC WEST 84-48-M): Ground control citation affirmed with $25 penalty
A miner drilling at Asarco's Leadville Unit mine suffered a broken foot when loose rock fell from an unstable face. Judge John A. Carlson found that the miner had not examined and secured the face as required by 30 C.F.R. § 57.3-22. He held Asarco liable for its employee's violation even though its…
Colonial National Historical Park and NAGE Local R4-68
Timely agreement disapproval upheld
The Department of the Interior disapproved a new agreement between Colonial National Historical Park and NAGE Local R4-68. The union argued that the notice was too late and lacked detail, so the agreement had taken effect automatically and should be implemented. The Authority found that the union…
NFFE Local 29 and Kansas City District Corps of Engineers
NFFE Local 29 and Kansas City Corps District (FLRA 0-NG-1059): Travel reimbursement proposal rejected
NFFE Local 29 proposed that the Kansas City District Corps of Engineers reimburse actual and necessary travel subsistence expenses up to the maximum Federal Travel Regulations rate, without another ceiling. The Authority found that the regulations also require individual expenses to be reasonable…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Emery Mining Corporation
Secretary of Labor v. Emery Mining Corporation (FMSHRC WEST 82-167): Roof fall notification citation vacated
A roof fall at Emery Mining's Wilberg Mine landed on a continuous miner during retreat mining, and MSHA cited Emery for failing to report an accident immediately. Judge John J. Morris applied the regulation's definition of a reportable roof fall. He found no roof bolts in use at the fall site, no…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Pyro Mining Company
Secretary of Labor v. Pyro Mining Company (FMSHRC KENT 84-236 and six other dockets): Multiple citations decided across three mines
Judge Gary Melick decided consolidated civil penalty cases involving Pyro Mining Company's William Station, Wheatcroft, and Palco mines. He sustained most of the cited violations, including unsafe explosives storage, inadequate ventilation, inoperable fire sensors, coal dust accumulations…
Southern Ohio Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Southern Ohio Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC WEVA 85-85): Settlement vacates challenged citation
Southern Ohio Coal Company contested a citation concerning its Martinka No. 1 Mine, and a related civil penalty proceeding was pending. At a hearing, the parties proposed a settlement that would vacate the citation. Judge Joseph B. Kennedy approved it, granted the contest, and dismissed the penalty…
Donald C. Beatty, Jr. v. Helvetia Coal Company
Unexcused absence found discriminatory
Donald C. Beatty, Jr., a miners' safety committee member, attended an MSHA district manager's conference about citations issued to Helvetia Coal Company's mine. Helvetia marked his missed work that day as an unexcused absence. Judge James A. Broderick found that Beatty's reasonable participation in…
Defense General Supply Center and AFGE Local 2047
Flexitime removal complaint dismissed
The Defense General Supply Center removed employees in two divisions from flexitime schedules without first bargaining with AFGE Local 2047. The Authority found that the applicable local agreement incorporated a flexitime policy allowing directors to decide which positions would participate. It…
Defense General Supply Center and AFGE Local 2047
Flexitime bargaining complaint dismissed
AFGE Local 2047 asked the Defense General Supply Center to extend flexitime coverage to employees who did not have it under an existing local agreement. The agency declined, and the union filed an unfair labor practice complaint. The Authority found that the existing flexitime policy gave…
NFFE Local 29 and Kansas City District Corps of Engineers
NFFE Local 29 and Kansas City Corps District (FLRA 0-NG-1085): Management reporting proposals rejected
NFFE Local 29 proposed requirements concerning management instruction on the agreement, identification of supervisors, and reports on management time spent on labor relations tasks. The Authority found the instruction proposal concerned managers outside the bargaining unit. It found that the…
Adams Steel Erection, Inc.
Two citation items reinstated after court review
The Commission had previously reversed the administrative law judge and vacated two citation items against Adams Steel Erection. The Third Circuit granted the Secretary’s petition for review and directed the Commission to reinstate the judge’s decision. The Commission therefore affirmed a serious…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) on behalf of Phillip Cameron v. Consolidation Coal Company
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Phillip Cameron v. Consolidation Coal Company (FMSHRC WEVA 82-190-D): Miner receives relief for protected work refusal
Phillip Cameron refused to operate a lead locomotive at Consolidation Coal Company's Ireland Mine because he believed the new procedure could endanger a coworker on a trailing locomotive. On remand from the Commission, Chief Judge Paul Merlin found Cameron's belief reasonable and held in good…
Agricultural Research Service Eastern Regional Research Center and AFGE Local 1331
Agricultural Research Service and AFGE Local 1331 (FLRA 0-AR-930): Classification promotion award set aside
An arbitrator ordered a support scientist at the Agricultural Research Service promoted to GS-11 with backpay after finding that he performed duties at that level. The agency argued that the dispute concerned position classification. The Authority agreed because the grievance and award turned on…
VA Medical Center Hines and Illinois Nurses Association
Fee award exceptions outside Authority jurisdiction
An arbitrator reduced a VA nurse's removal to a 90-day suspension and later awarded attorney fees. The VA challenged the supplemental fee award. The Authority had dismissed exceptions to the original removal award for lack of jurisdiction because the matter fell under a different review route for…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Consolidation Coal Company
Secretary of Labor v. Consolidation Coal Company (FMSHRC WEVA 85-95): $20 settlement approved
The Secretary of Labor asked Judge Gary Melick to approve a settlement in a civil penalty case involving Consolidation Coal Company's McElroy No. 10 Mine. Consolidation agreed to pay the proposed $20 penalty in full. The judge noted that the citation rested on essentially the same facts as a…
Donald C. Beatty, Jr. v. Helvetia Coal Company
Attendance penalty found discriminatory
Donald C. Beatty, Jr., a miners' safety committee member, attended an MSHA district manager's conference about citations issued to Helvetia Coal Company's mine. Helvetia recorded his missed work as an unexcused absence. Judge James A. Broderick found that Beatty's reasonable participation was…
The Nacco Mining Company v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA) and United Mine Workers of America
The Nacco Mining Company v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC LAKE 85-87-R): Further hearing vacated and merits proceedings resumed
After a witness contacted the presiding judge about a possible threat to his job, Nacco Mining raised concerns about an ex parte communication. The Commission found that the contact did not concern the merits and was therefore not a prohibited ex parte communication, although it should be placed in…
NFFE Local 1363 and Army Garrison Yongsan
Authority requests treaty jurisdiction positions
NFFE Local 1363 sought review of 46 proposals involving the Army Garrison at Yongsan, Korea. The agency raised concerns related to the Status of Forces Agreement between the United States and South Korea. After the petition was filed, an executive order suspended certain federal labor law…
Social Security Administration and AFGE Council 147
Unserved exception dismissed
AFGE Council 147 filed an exception to an arbitration award involving the Social Security Administration. The Authority found that the union had not served a copy of the exception on the other party as its rules required. It notified the union of the defect, gave it 21 days to correct the filing…
Keystone Coal Mining Corp. v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Keystone Coal Mining Corp. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC PENN 85-29): Tentative ruling made final with $1,100 penalty
After issuing a tentative decision and receiving both parties' briefs, Judge James A. Broderick made the tentative ruling his final decision in Keystone Coal Mining Corp.'s contest and penalty proceedings. He ordered Keystone to pay $1,100 for the violations charged in two citations within 30 days…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Latrobe Mining Company, Incorporated
Secretary of Labor v. Latrobe Mining Company (FMSHRC PENN 85-145): Refresher training citation affirmed with lower penalty
MSHA cited Latrobe Mining Company after its operator and one employee could not show that they had received the required annual refresher training at the Lytle Strip Mine. Latrobe did not appear at the hearing, and Judge George A. Koutras held it in default after considering the hearing notices and…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Pennsylvania Mines Corp., Greenwich Collieries Division
Secretary of Labor v. Pennsylvania Mines Corp. (FMSHRC PENN 84-216): $1,500 settlement approved after mine closure
After an explosion, Pennsylvania Mines Corp.'s Greenwich Collieries No. 1 Mine operated under a closure order that required MSHA approval of plans to correct hazards. In a later inspection, a mapping team found an explosive methane mixture; mine personnel corrected it with curtains but did not…
Matter of Linnas
Soviet Union designated as country of deportation
The respondent was a native of Estonia who had become a naturalized United States citizen before being denaturalized because he had not disclosed service at a Nazi concentration camp. The immigration judge ordered him deported to the Soviet Union, and the Board considered whether offices maintained…
Matter of Zaidan
Automatic visa-petition revocation is not appealable
A United States citizen petitioned for preference status for his sister, and the petition was approved before the petitioner died. The district director later revoked the petition after deciding that humanitarian reasons did not justify an exception to automatic revocation. The beneficiary appealed…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Roberts Electric, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Roberts Electric, Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 85-24-M): Temporary electrical connection citation affirmed
Roberts Electric, an electrical contractor at the Gramercy Alumina operation, ran a temporary power cord into an electrical box without a proper fitting, leaving its door partly open. The inspector had cited the wrong standard, so Judge George A. Koutras allowed the Secretary to amend the citation…
Matter of Kumah
Ghanaian customary divorce required court confirmation
A United States citizen petitioned for immediate relative status for his spouse, who had previously married in Ghana under customary law. The petitioner claimed that the earlier marriage had ended through a customary divorce, but the district director denied the petition because the record lacked…
Matter of Sanchez and Escobar
Country-wide violence alone did not establish asylum eligibility
Two Salvadoran respondents sought asylum and withholding of deportation after entering the United States without inspection. They argued that country-wide violence, their opposition to the Salvadoran government, their Catholic activities, and their membership in a proposed group of young urban…
Federal Aviation Administration and Professional Airways Systems Specialists
FAA and Professional Airways Systems Specialists (FLRA 4-CA-30359): Bargaining ordered for workplace changes
The FAA changed an emergency overtime vehicle practice at Chattanooga and reorganized air traffic control facilities at Memphis, Atlanta, and Jacksonville. It did not give the union's designated representative the required opportunity to bargain over procedures and arrangements for affected…
AFGE Local 1909 and Fort Jackson
Fixed schedule notice provisions rejected
AFGE Local 1909 challenged the Army's disapproval of two Fort Jackson agreement provisions requiring one or two weeks of advance written notice before establishing or changing work tours. The Authority found that fixed notice periods could prevent the agency from promptly aligning schedules with…
AFGE Locals 3748 and 3365 and Agriculture agencies
Performance standard provisions rejected
Two AFGE locals challenged disapproval of agreement provisions about employee performance standards at an Agricultural Research Service office and a Forest Service unit. The provisions would require standards to have specified qualities such as fairness and job relevance. The Authority found that…
NAGE Local R14-32 and Fort Leonard Wood
Expense proposal too vague for review
NAGE Local R14-32 proposed reimbursing employees for additional expenses caused by schedule changes at Fort Leonard Wood. The union described the proposal as addressing day care, but the text did not say that or identify the expenses to be reimbursed. The Authority found it could not determine…
Westmoreland Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Westmoreland Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC WEVA 82-152-R): $8,000 roof control penalty reassessed on remand
The Commission returned Westmoreland Coal Company's roof control case to the judge to reconsider the penalty after rejecting findings of unwarrantable failure and more serious negligence. The violation concerned work under a known overhanging rib at the Eccles No. 6 Mine; a miner died when the rib…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Kentucky-Tennessee Clay Co.
Secretary of Labor v. Kentucky-Tennessee Clay Co. (FMSHRC SE 84-8-M): Seven equipment citations affirmed
MSHA cited Kentucky-Tennessee Clay Co.'s Crenshaw Mine and Plant for cracked loader windshields and unguarded conveyor and grinder parts. The company did not appear at the hearing and was held in default. Judge William Fauver received the Secretary's evidence and found all seven charged violations…
Helvetia Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Helvetia Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC PENN 85-54): Two violations sustained and examination order vacated
MSHA issued three withdrawal orders at Helvetia Coal Company's Lucerne No. 9 Mine over a power cable, loose coal, and an allegedly inadequate preshift examination. Judge George A. Koutras found violations involving the cable and coal accumulations but rejected the inspector's unwarrantable failure…
Greenwich Collieries, a Division of Pennsylvania Mines Corporation v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Greenwich Collieries v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC PENN 84-151-R): Two contest proceedings dismissed under settlement
Greenwich Collieries contested a citation and an order involving its No. 1 Mine in two separate proceedings. The parties reached a settlement in a related civil penalty docket and agreed to withdraw both contests. Judge James A. Broderick dismissed the contest proceedings, referring to his separate…
Federal Aviation Administration and Professional Airways Systems Specialists
FAA and Professional Airways Systems Specialists (FLRA 5-CA-30447): Technician duty complaints dismissed
The FAA assigned electronics technicians at Detroit and Jackson, Michigan, facilities additional routine monthly maintenance checks while other positions were vacant. The union alleged that the agency had failed to give notice and a chance to bargain over the changes. The Authority found the duties…
Federal Aviation Administration and Professional Airways Systems Specialists
FAA and Professional Airways Systems Specialists (FLRA 4-CA-30540): Bargaining ordered over Norfolk moves
The FAA reassigned two employees to Norfolk and relocated its Norfolk sector office. It gave the union's local representative notice but did not give the designated national representative a chance to bargain over procedures and arrangements for affected employees. The Authority found that the…
U.S. Customs Service and National Treasury Employees Union
U.S. Customs Service and NTEU (FLRA 1-CA-50086): Customs ordered to comply with overtime award
An arbitrator ordered the U.S. Customs Service to make an inspector whole for missed overtime opportunities. Customs disputed whether the arbitrator's later award required payment for the period after the inspector returned to work. The Authority adopted the administrative law judge's finding that…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) on behalf of Phillip E. Anderson and other miners v. Consolidation Coal Company
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Phillip E. Anderson and other miners v. Consolidation Coal (FMSHRC WEVA 85-108-D): Discrimination complaints settled
Five miners alleged that Consolidation Coal Company required them to work in unsafe conditions and threatened discharge if they refused or complained. Two of them separately alleged retaliation through unsatisfactory work notices. The parties agreed that Consolidation would remove the notices from…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Kennecott Minerals Company, Utah Copper Division
Secretary of Labor v. Kennecott Minerals Company (FMSHRC WEST 82-155-M): $60 in penalties assessed after remand
After the Commission returned two Kennecott Minerals Company cases for penalty assessment, Judge John J. Morris applied the Mine Act's six penalty factors. He found the operator large, the violations serious, and the operator's negligence high because the conditions were open and had existed for…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. C.S.C. Mining Company
Secretary of Labor v. C.S.C. Mining Company (FMSHRC WEST 85-92-M): Radon monitoring and loose ground citations affirmed
MSHA cited C.S.C. Mining Company at its Star-Morning Unit for failing to make required follow-up radon daughter measurements and for leaving a loose rock slab above a miner's work area. Judge George A. Koutras found the inspector's sampling evidence credible and rejected the company's unsupported…
Matter of Garcia
Deferred adjudication was not an immigration conviction
The respondent, a lawful permanent resident from Mexico, had been convicted in Texas of possessing marijuana and placed on probation. The Texas court later granted a new trial, deferred adjudication of guilt, imposed probation again, and fined him. The immigration judge treated the state-court…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) on behalf of Jeff Slack v. Whole Nine Yards, Co., Inc.
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Jeff Slack v. Whole Nine Yards (FMSHRC LAKE 85-79-D): $320 discrimination settlement approved
The Secretary of Labor brought a discrimination proceeding on behalf of miner Jeff Slack against Whole Nine Yards, Co., Inc. The parties agreed that Slack would receive $320 and that the civil penalty petition would be withdrawn. Judge William Fauver found that all parties, including Slack, were…
Matter of Tuakoi
Exchange visitor's suspension appeal dismissed
The respondent, a citizen of Tonga, was found deportable after remaining in the United States beyond the period authorized for his exchange-visitor status. He moved to reopen the proceedings to seek suspension of deportation, arguing that he was not subject to the two-year foreign-residence…
American Federation of Government Employees, National GSA Council and General Services Administration
AFGE National GSA Council and GSA (FLRA 0-NG-1175): Negotiability petition dismissed as late
The union proposed that GSA tell employees about their right to union representation at the start of an investigation. GSA stated in a June 27, 1985 memorandum of understanding that the proposal was nonnegotiable insofar as it would bind the Office of Inspector General. The Authority treated that…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Decker Coal Company
Secretary of Labor v. Decker Coal Company (FMSHRC WEST 85-35): Settlement preserves citation and sets $1 penalty
MSHA issued a section 104(d)(1) citation to Decker Coal Company at its East Decker Mine. During the hearing, the parties reached a settlement after unforeseen testimony affected their trial objectives. The agreement kept the citation in force, including its unwarrantable failure and significant and…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Big River Industries, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Big River Industries (FMSHRC CENT 85-11-M): Silica dust and respirator citation sustained
MSHA cited Big River Industries after a kiln operator's measured respirable silica dust exposure exceeded the permissible level and the operator lacked an approved respirator. Big River did not contest either condition at the hearing. Chief Judge Paul Merlin sustained the citation under the…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Homestake Mining Company
Secretary of Labor v. Homestake Mining Company (FMSHRC CENT 84-14-M): Two citations affirmed and four vacated
MSHA issued six citations to Homestake Mining Company at its South Dakota gold mine. Judge John J. Morris upheld a citation because wire wrapped around a vehicle's fire suppression control prevented its pin from being readily pulled; he assessed a $206 penalty. Homestake withdrew its contest of…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Homestake Mining Company
Secretary of Labor v. Homestake Mining Company (FMSHRC CENT 83-30-M): Electrical clearance citation affirmed
MSHA cited Homestake Mining Company for two conditions at its South Dakota gold mine. Homestake withdrew its contest of a citation under section 57.11-2 and agreed to pay the proposed $20 penalty. The remaining citation concerned cramped working space around electrical equipment in an underground…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Homestake Mining Company
Secretary of Labor v. Homestake Mining Company (FMSHRC CENT 83-21-M): Ground control citation affirmed, two others vacated
MSHA cited Homestake Mining Company for three alleged safety violations at its South Dakota gold mine. One citation concerned work around loose, unsupported ground in a stope. No witness saw miners working under that ground, but Judge John J. Morris credited the inspector's account of hoses and…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Homestake Mining Company
Secretary of Labor v. Homestake Mining Company (FMSHRC CENT 83-15-M): Unshielded welding citation affirmed
MSHA cited Homestake Mining Company after an inspector saw a welder and helper working without a welding shield at its South Dakota gold mine. The welder wore a hood, and the helper wore safety glasses and was trained to turn away from the arc. Homestake argued that a shield between them was…
James O. Turner v. Chaney Creek Coal Company
Withdrawn discrimination complaint dismissed
James O. Turner brought a discrimination complaint against Chaney Creek Coal Company. He asked to withdraw it on September 26, 1985. Judge Gary Melick granted the request under Commission Rule 11 and dismissed the case. The order makes no finding on the discrimination complaint's merits.
Bechtel Power Corporation
Crane-barricade citation vacated
Bechtel used rope-and-flag barricades around cranes while building a power plant. A crane oiler was killed when he was caught between the tracks and rotating superstructure of a crawler crane, and OSHA cited the barricading standard. The Secretary conceded that the physical barricade was the type…
FMC Corporation v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
FMC Corporation v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC WEST 82-30-RM): New task training citation affirmed
FMC Corporation contested an MSHA citation at its Wyoming trona mine after a miner trained on a bulldozer was assigned to operate a front-end loader in another work area. The miner had not received loader training, and the assignment was for production rather than training. Judge Michael A. Lasher…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) on behalf of Donald R. Hale v. 4-A Coal Company, Inc.
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Donald R. Hale v. 4-A Coal Company (FMSHRC VA 85-29-D): Unopposed dismissal motion granted
The Secretary of Labor brought a discrimination case on behalf of Donald R. Hale against 4-A Coal Company. The company moved to dismiss the case as untimely. Judge Joseph B. Kennedy found that the Secretary had not opposed the motion or requested more time to respond under the Commission's rules…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. U.S. Steel Mining Company, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. U.S. Steel Mining Company (FMSHRC PENN 83-129): Roof control finding reaffirmed and ventilation penalty raised
The Commission sent two citations at U.S. Steel Mining Company's Maple Creek No. 2 Mine back to Judge George A. Koutras for further findings and a new penalty decision. On the roof control citation, the judge found that the approved plan required temporary support jacks to be installed row by row…
RSR Quemetco, a Division of RSR Corporation, A Corporation
Remanded proceedings authorized to resume
The Commission had previously severed these four consolidated RSR matters and remanded them to administrative law judges. The Fifth Circuit stayed those remand orders while it reviewed RSR’s petition. After the court affirmed the Commission’s orders, the Commission directed the assigned judges to…
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.