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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AFGE Local 1738 and VA Medical Center Salisbury
AFGE Local 1738 (FLRA 4-CO-47): Steward reinstatement ordered
A VA employee serving as a union steward reported alleged patient abuse under agency policy, and the union removed him as steward. The Authority found that the report itself was not a protected labor relations right under section 7116(b)(1). It found that removal for making the required report…
General Services Administration and AFGE Council 236
GSA and AFGE (FLRA 3-CA-30491): Crediting plan complaint dismissed
AFGE requested model crediting plans so it could prepare bargaining proposals. The Authority found that GSA had no duty to bargain over those plans when the request was made. Because the requested data was sought only for that bargaining, it was not then necessary under the information disclosure…
Social Security Administration and AFGE
SSA and AFGE (FLRA 3-CA-30336): Employee survey complaint dismissed
SSA sought employees' views about hiring and using disabled employees in its disability operations office. It told AFGE of the meeting and invited an observer. The Authority found that SSA gathered operational information without trying to negotiate working conditions directly with employees. It…
Internal Revenue Service and NTEU
IRS and NTEU (FLRA 3-CA-20489): Midterm bargaining complaint dismissed
NTEU alleged that the IRS unlawfully refused union initiated midterm bargaining over proposals unrelated to management changes. The Authority found no statutory duty to bargain those proposals in the circumstances presented. A contract reopener applied only if the Authority found earlier proposals…
DOD Dependents Schools Mediterranean and Neil Anderson
DOD schools Zaragoza (FLRA 1-CA-40204): Travel order practice restored
A school principal had issued unfunded temporary duty travel orders for a union president to attend joint labor management meetings. The school system ended that established practice without bargaining. The Authority found a violation and ordered the school system to restore the practice, notify…
Benedict J. Straka v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company
Hiring complaint dismissed
Benedict Straka complained that Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company did not hire him at its Bailey Mine because he had belonged to a union while working at another mine. MSHA investigated and found no Mine Act discrimination, after which Straka filed with the Commission. Judge William Fauver granted…
Secretary of Labor v. Bradford Coal Company, Inc.
$16 penalty settlement approved
The Secretary and Bradford Coal Company submitted a settlement in a civil penalty case involving the Cooper No. 2 Preparation Plant. Judge William Fauver reviewed the supporting materials, hearing record, and Mine Act penalty criteria. He approved the agreement and ordered Bradford to pay a $16…
Matter of Viado
SSI receipt breached public charge bond
The obligor posted a $5,000 public-charge bond for Adela Viado. The record showed that she received Supplemental Security Income beginning in June 1981. The obligor argued that she had been incorrectly advised that receiving SSI would not breach the bond and noted that California had not demanded…
James O. Turner v. Chaney Creek Coal Company
Default entered; relief remains open
James O. Turner filed a Mine Act discrimination complaint against Chaney Creek Coal Company. The company did not answer after an August 7, 1984 order directed it to answer or show good cause. Chief Administrative Law Judge Paul Merlin entered default judgment for Turner. He then directed Turner to…
Secretary of Labor v. King James Coal Company, Inc.
Eight citations affirmed by default
MSHA sought $236 for eight alleged safety violations by King James Coal Company in two civil penalty cases. The company did not provide requested financial information or respond to an order asking why it should not be held in default. Judge George A. Koutras found it in default and used the…
Secretary of Labor v. Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Contractor footwear citation vacated
An MSHA inspector saw two employees of an independent drilling contractor working at Jim Walter Resources' No. 4 Mine without protective footwear. The inspector cited Jim Walter under the footwear standard, although the contractor controlled its workers and the work. Judge James A. Broderick found…
NAGE Local R14-87 and Kansas Army National Guard
NAGE and Kansas National Guard (FLRA O-NG-936): Safety chair proposal rejected
The union proposed a joint safety committee with the chairmanship alternating between union and management. The Authority found that requiring a union representative to chair alternate meetings assigned specific duties to particular people. That interfered with management's right to assign work, so…
VA Medical Center Nashville and AFGE Local 2400
VA Nashville and AFGE (FLRA O-AR-921): Detail backpay award set aside
An arbitrator awarded backpay for an extended detail to higher graded work. The Authority found that the award lacked the legal basis required for a retroactive promotion and backpay under the governing rules. It set aside the award.
Department of Labor and AFGE Field Labor Locals
DOL and AFGE (FLRA O-AR-846): Political mail order struck
An arbitrator ordered the Department of Labor to distribute material through its internal mail system. The Authority found that the material was associated with partisan political activity barred by the Hatch Act. It struck the sentence requiring agency distribution.
Immigration and Naturalization Service and AFGE Local 2580
INS and AFGE (FLRA O-AR-815): Travel overtime award set aside
An arbitrator awarded three and one quarter hours of overtime for employee travel. The Authority found that the travel did not meet the statutory conditions for counting travel as hours of work, including the requirement concerning events beyond administrative scheduling control. It set aside the…
Bureau of Engraving and Printing and Graphic Communications Local 4-B
Bureau of Engraving (FLRA 3-CA-40152): Coercive comment violation found
A supervisor told union official Burton George that his official union time meant he would suffer consequences. The Authority found that statement interfered with protected union activity and ordered a notice. It rejected a separate claim that George was denied a performance award because of union…
Internal Revenue Service and NTEU
IRS and NTEU (FLRA 3-CA-1889): Questionnaire complaint dismissed
The IRS sent questionnaires to employees as part of a review of its operations. A judge found that this bypassed NTEU. The Authority found that the questions gathered information and did not seek to negotiate directly with employees about their working conditions. It dismissed the complaint.
SSA Office of Hearings and Appeals and AFGE Local 1760
SSA Hearings office (FLRA 12-CA-20179): Move bargaining ordered
SSA moved a hearings office from Mineola to Hempstead, New York, without bargaining over certain negotiable union proposals for affected employees. The Authority found that the move had more than a minor impact and ordered bargaining on those proposals. It found no violation in moving while other…
AFGE Local 1786 and Marine Corps Development Command
Marine Corps Quantico (FLRA O-NG-1156): Late petition dismissed
AFGE sought negotiability review after the Marine Corps mailed its allegation on June 21, 1985. The Authority calculated a July 11 filing deadline. It received the petition on July 16 and dismissed it as untimely.
NAGE Local R14-32 and Fort Leonard Wood
Fort Leonard Wood (FLRA O-NG-1137): Late petition dismissed
NAGE sought review of an agency allegation that its proposal was outside the duty to bargain. The agency mailed the allegation on May 1, 1985, making May 21 the filing deadline. The Authority received the petition on May 29 and dismissed it as untimely.
Army Missile Command Redstone Arsenal and AFGE Local 1858
Redstone Arsenal (FLRA O-AR-936): Promotion backpay struck
An arbitrator ordered retroactive promotion and backpay for a secretary who had been reassigned. The Authority found no determination that she would have received the promotion but for the improper reassignment. It removed the promotion and backpay provisions from the award.
Department of Labor International Labor Affairs Bureau and AFGE Local 12
DOL and AFGE (FLRA O-AR-838): Three months pay award set aside
An arbitrator awarded a former employee three months of pay and employment credit after finding violations in a reduction in force. The Authority found no determination that those violations directly caused the loss of three months of employment. It set aside the supplemental pay award under the…
Kirtland Air Force Base and AFGE Local 2263
Kirtland Air Force Base (FLRA O-AR-831): Sick leave credit struck
An arbitrator ordered the Air Force to credit an employee with two days of sick leave after resolving her grievance. The Authority found that the award did not establish a direct loss of leave caused by an unwarranted action. It struck the sick leave credit paragraph and rejected another agency…
VA Medical Center Cleveland and AFGE Local 31
VA Cleveland and AFGE (FLRA O-AR-802): VRA separation award set aside
An arbitrator found a grievance over separation of an employee in the first year of a veterans readjustment appointment arbitrable and ordered reinstatement. The Authority found that the governing appointment scheme excluded that separation from the negotiated grievance procedure. It set aside the…
Army Aberdeen Proving Ground and IAM Local 2424
Aberdeen Proving Ground (FLRA O-AR-721): Overtime award set aside
An arbitrator found that an Army activity violated its overtime distribution agreement and awarded each grievant eight hours of overtime pay. He did not find that each would actually have worked that overtime absent the violation. The Authority set aside the pay award because the Back Pay Act…
Warner Robins Air Logistics Center and AFGE Local 987
Warner Robins (FLRA O-AR-1007): Late exceptions dismissed
AFGE mailed exceptions to an arbitration award in late June 1985. The Authority determined they had to be received by July 1, but they arrived at its national office on July 8. It dismissed the exceptions as untimely.
Army Reserve Components Center and AFGE Local 900
Army Reserve Center (FLRA 7-CA-20375): Break schedule bargaining ordered
An Army center narrowed the windows in which employees could take their paid morning and afternoon breaks. The Authority found the previous windows were an established practice and the union had not waived bargaining over a change. Because the break timing itself was negotiable, the agency had to…
Customs Service Region IV and NTEU
Customs Region IV (FLRA 4-CA-40108): Holiday schedule bargaining ordered
Customs changed holiday work schedules without giving NTEU notice and an opportunity to bargain over procedures and arrangements for affected employees. The Authority adopted the judge's violation findings and modified the proposed order to require notice, bargaining on request, and posting at…
Library of Congress and AFSCME Local 2910
Library of Congress (FLRA 3-CA-40116): Information complaint dismissed
A union steward requested information to help an employee challenge removal and consider a discrimination complaint. The employee later chose the Library of Congress regulatory EEO process. The Authority found that the first request had not been refused before that choice and that the later refusal…
Department of Labor and AFGE Field Labor Locals
DOL and AFGE (FLRA 0-AR-894): Hazard pay award upheld
Industrial hygienists sought hazardous duty pay after inspecting a plant that made a sensitive explosive. An arbitrator found the inspection was irregular and that its hazard had not been accounted for in the employees' grade classification. The Authority found that the arbitrator applied the…
NTEU and Department of Energy
DOE and NTEU (FLRA O-NG-983): One proposal ruling vacated
NTEU submitted three proposals covering union insurance brochures, hiring during a reduction in force, and reduction in force contract terms. The Authority initially held all three outside the duty to bargain. The official page also includes an August 6 supplemental order that vacated the ruling on…
NTEU Chapter 204 and Federal Election Commission
FEC and NTEU (FLRA O-NG-756): Assignment proposal rejected
NTEU proposed a list of positions with reasonable restrictions on staffing requirements. The Authority found that the proposal would let an arbitrator substitute a judgment about what assignments were reasonable for management's decision about assigning work. It held the proposal outside the duty…
AFGE Local 2225 and Naval Air Rework Facility Norfolk
Norfolk Naval Air Rework Facility (FLRA O-NG-1037): Official time proposal rejected
AFGE proposed paid time for its vice presidents and stewards to perform representational tasks during work hours. The proposal would cover employees outside the bargaining unit represented by the union. The Authority held that this exceeded the negotiable official time provision and dismissed the…
AFGE Council 214 and Air Force Logistics Command
Air Force Logistics Command (FLRA O-NG-1002): Union staffing proposal rejected
AFGE proposed twelve full time union representatives on official time at Air Force Logistics Command. The Authority found that the proposal would determine how many employees management could assign to agency work in the circumstances shown. It held that the proposal was negotiable only at the…
VA St. Louis and AFGE Local 2192
VA St. Louis (FLRA O-AR-956): Performance award set aside
A grievance challenged the content of performance standards at a VA facility. An arbitrator accepted the grievance and decided its merits. The Authority held that establishing those standards was reserved to management and set aside the entire award.
SSA Office of Assessment and AFGE Field Assessment Council
SSA Assessment office (FLRA O-AR-943): Standards award set aside
SSA revised performance standards for field assessment staff. Although the union characterized its grievance as a challenge to the adoption procedure, the Authority found it directly challenged the standards' content. It set aside the arbitrator's entire award because setting those standards was a…
Department of Labor and Field Labor Locals Local 648
DOL and Field Labor Locals (FLRA O-AR-923): Repromotion remedy revised
An arbitrator found that DOL failed to give a former GS-13 employee special consideration for repromotion. The arbitrator could not determine whether she would have been selected for a vacancy. The Authority replaced the retroactive promotion and backpay remedy with special consideration for an…
VA Medical Center Cleveland and AFGE Local 31
VA Cleveland (FLRA O-AR-900): Punitive damages struck
An arbitrator awarded $1,000 in damages in a VA employee grievance. The Authority found that the award was punitive rather than compensation for a loss. It struck that paragraph. The union's own exception was dismissed as untimely.
Federal Correctional Institution Texarkana and AFGE Local 2459
FCI Texarkana (FLRA O-AR-788): Statutory bargaining rulings struck
An arbitrator decided disputes over a supplemental agreement between a federal prison and AFGE. The Authority allowed his resolution of contract questions but found that he also decided whether several provisions were negotiable under the labor statute. It struck the part of the award resolving…
Farmers Home Administration Finance Office and AFGE Local 3354
Farmers Home Administration (FLRA 7-CA-30560): Address complaint dismissed
AFGE requested the names and home addresses of employees in its bargaining unit. The Farmers Home Administration refused. The Authority held that disclosure was prohibited by law under the Privacy Act and FOIA balancing test and dismissed the unfair labor practice complaint. It expressly did not…
Army Corps Kansas City District and NFFE Local 29
Army Corps Kansas City (FLRA 7-CA-30445): Appraisal complaint dismissed
The case concerned NFFE's request to bargain over a midterm review procedure after the agency declined to give the chief steward a new rating because too little work had been observed. The Authority found no management initiated change requiring bargaining and no applicable contract reopener. It…
Naval Submarine Base New London and NAGE Local R1-100
Naval Submarine Base (FLRA 1-CA-30308): Overtime award compliance ordered
A Navy base stopped paying the two hour minimum overtime required by an arbitration award that had become final. The Authority found that stopping compliance violated the federal labor statute, even though the base cited a Comptroller General decision. It ordered the base to resume compliance and…
Secretary of Labor v. U.S. Steel Mining Co., Inc.
Missing roof warning sign brings $1,000 penalty
U.S. Steel Mining left a newly cut area at its Maple Creek No. 2 Mine under unsupported roof for about 90 minutes without the reflectorized warning sign required by its approved roof control plan. The company did not dispute the violation but argued that workers knew the roof was unsupported and…
NFFE Local 7 and Army Corps Portland District
Army Corps Portland (FLRA O-NG-984): Schedule provisions rejected
An Army Corps local agreement required union consultation before schedule changes and two weeks notice for new tours of duty. The Authority found that both provisions could prevent the agency from revising workweeks as a government wide regulation required. It upheld the agency head's disapproval…
VA Cincinnati and AFGE Local 2031
VA Cincinnati (FLRA 5-CA-795): Local negotiator complaint dismissed
Three union representatives sought official time, travel, and per diem for local dues withholding negotiations. The Authority found no showing that the parties at the national recognition level had authorized those local negotiations. It therefore found no statutory entitlement to official time and…
Air Force Logistics Command and AFGE Council 214
Air Force Logistics Command (FLRA 5-CA-30027): Local bargaining time restored
The Air Force stopped granting official time to union representatives negotiating local supplements to a master agreement. The master agreement authorized those local negotiations. The Authority found that the representatives were entitled to official time, ordered the Air Force to restore it, and…
Secretary of Labor v. Consolidation Coal Company
Discrimination penalty settled at $400
The Secretary sought a $500 civil penalty against Consolidation Coal Company after the Commission affirmed a separate discrimination ruling involving Richard Bjes. The parties agreed to resolve the penalty proceeding for $400. Judge George A. Koutras reviewed their discussion of the violation and…
Secretary of Labor v. Magoffin-Johnson & Morgan Stone Company
$105 penalty upheld
Magoffin-Johnson & Morgan Stone Company admitted the charged violation but argued that it could not pay the proposed $105 penalty. Judge Joseph B. Kennedy held that a prior final decision had already resolved the company's ownership and ability-to-pay arguments after a full opportunity to litigate…
AFGE Local 12 and Department of Labor
DOL and AFGE (FLRA O-NG-1040): Office space proposal rejected
AFGE proposed to prevent changes to employees' average office space during a GSA driven reduction. The Authority found that the proposal would prevent DOL from meeting the space utilization targets in a government wide GSA regulation. It held the proposal outside the duty to bargain and dismissed…
Veterans Administration and AFGE Local 3692
VA and AFGE (FLRA O-AR-951): Suspension award returned for clarification
An arbitrator reviewed a two week suspension of a VA employee. The Authority found that the arbitrator misunderstood the full basis of one disciplinary charge and could not tell whether that error changed the result. It returned the award for the arbitrator to clarify whether the suspension was for…
VA Medical Center Lyons and AFGE Local 1012
VA Lyons (FLRA O-AR-832): Dental detail promotion set aside
A dental assistant was detailed to supervisory work, and an arbitrator awarded her a temporary promotion to the higher grade. The Authority found that she did not meet the position's minimum qualifications when the promotion would have occurred. It set aside the award as contrary to civil service…
Illinois Air National Guard and Civilian Technicians Chapter 34
Illinois Air National Guard (FLRA 5-CA-20217): Technician complaint dismissed
A judge found that the Guard retaliated against a civilian technician by refusing military reenlistment after he filed a labor charge. The Authority held that the National Guard Technicians Act supplied the exclusive route for an adverse personnel action against a technician. It found no…
Scott Air Force Base and NAGE Local R7-23
Scott Air Force Base (FLRA 5-CA-20083): Snack bar bargaining ordered
Scott Air Force Base closed a golf course snack bar and furloughed two employees. The Authority adopted findings that the base failed to offer bargaining over procedures and arrangements for affected employees. It ordered bargaining on request and a workplace notice. It dismissed the separate…
HHS Region II and AFGE Local 1760
HHS Region II (FLRA 2-CA-20364): Promotion records complaint dismissed
A union asked HHS for records related to a promotion grievance. HHS supplied the vacancy announcement and best qualified list, which showed the information needed for the grievance issue. The Authority found that the additional requested material had not been shown necessary for representation and…
Shannopin Mining Company
Bleeder inspection citation upheld
MSHA cited Shannopin Mining Company for failing to perform weekly examinations of bleeder entries at its coal mine as required by its ventilation and methane control plan. The judge credited the inspector's account that he found no recent dates or initials in the entries, and mine officials did not…
Cannelton Industries, Inc.
Fall protection citation upheld
MSHA cited Cannelton Industries after two employees repaired an overhead pipe at a coal preparation plant without safety belts or lifelines. Cannelton admitted the violation but disputed whether it was significant and substantial. The judge found that a fall onto the equipment below was reasonably…
FMC Corporation
Conveyor warning citation vacated
MSHA cited FMC Corporation over a conveyor startup warning system at its mine. The inspector said the flashing lights were too far apart to warn workers along the belt, and the middle light was not working when he inspected it. The judge found that the cited standard specified no spacing distance…
AFGE Local 85 and VA Medical Center
VA Medical Center (FLRA O-NG-1118): Late petition dismissed
AFGE sought review of a VA allegation that its proposal was nonnegotiable. The Authority calculated a March 1, 1984, deadline after the allegation was mailed. It received the petition at its national office on March 12 and dismissed it as untimely.
Sahara Coal Company, Inc.
Roof safety violations upheld
MSHA cited Sahara Coal Company after a roof fall at its coal mine killed continuous miner operator Larry Kane. One citation concerned operation of a remote controlled continuous miner outside its protective canopy near unstable roof; the other concerned mining before supplemental roof support…
AFGE Local 32 and Office of Personnel Management
OPM and AFGE (FLRA O-NG-962): Five proposals rejected
AFGE sought review of five proposals involving performance standards, bridge positions, and application of a training memo. The Authority found that the first three controlled the content of performance standards, the fourth constrained agency organization, and the fifth constrained directing…
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.