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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American Federation of Government Employees, Local 225 and U.S. Army Armament Research and Development Command, Dover, New Jersey
Army Armament Research and Development Command (FLRA 0-NG-617): Four contracting proposals rejected
AFGE Local 225 made four proposals about Army cost studies and decisions to contract out work. The Authority held that two proposals prescribing how to evaluate in-house work and wage costs interfered with management's contracting decisions. It found that a proposal requiring actual costs instead…
VenBlack, Inc.
Eight citations vacated for lack of Mine Act jurisdiction
VenBlack, Inc. contested MSHA's authority over its Austin Black plant, which bought prepared coal and converted it into a product sold to the rubber industry. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. found that VenBlack did not operate the former mine or coal preparation plant on the site and that its finished…
Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital, Columbia, Missouri
Truman Veterans Hospital (FLRA 7-CA-628): Official time bargaining required
Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital proposed local changes in working conditions, and AFGE Local 3399 asked to bargain over official time to prepare for the resulting negotiations. The hospital refused, arguing that the request was a separate union proposal and that an interim agreement…
Department of the Air Force, Ogden Air Logistics Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah
Ogden Air Logistics Center (FLRA 7-CA-535): Meal break change required impact bargaining
The Air Force ended a practice of paying employees on overtime graveyard shifts for duty-free meal breaks. The Authority held that 5 U.S.C. § 5544 barred overtime pay for meal time when employees were not working, so the agency did not have to bargain over the decision to stop that payment. It…
Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Field Operations, New York Region
SSA New York Region (FLRA 2-CA-30220): Formal meeting notice complaint dismissed
The Social Security Administration held a staff meeting with part-time employees at its Baychester branch to discuss a work-hours freeze. AFGE alleged that the office had not given the union notice and an opportunity to attend the formal discussion. The administrative law judge credited the…
National Treasury Employees Union and Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service (FLRA 0-NG-810): Office audit assignment proposals rejected
The IRS planned to have employee benefit plan staff conduct some audits from district offices rather than at taxpayers' premises. NTEU proposed selection rules drawn from redeployment guidelines and priority for union officials to receive office audit assignments. The Authority held that the first…
Social Security Administration and American Federation of Government Employees
Social Security Administration (FLRA 0-AR-932): Arbitration exceptions filed late
The Social Security Administration filed exceptions to an arbitrator's award one day after the applicable deadline. The agency relied on the date it received the mailed award. The Authority held that the filing period began when the award was placed in the mail, not when the agency received it. It…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2502 and U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Prison System, Federal Correctional Institution
Federal Prison System (FLRA 0-AR-296): Retroactive promotion award set aside
An arbitrator ordered a retroactive career-ladder promotion and backpay for a Federal Prison System employee after finding her supervisor's failure to recommend promotion arbitrary. The agency challenged the award. The Authority held that the Back Pay Act required a finding that, without the…
Secretary of Labor v. Pyro Mining Company
Two power connection citations upheld
MSHA cited Pyro Mining Company twice for allowing return air from its No. 9 Mine to mix with air near nonpermissible electrical equipment in the No. 11 Mine. Judge William Fauver found both violations of 30 C.F.R. § 75.507 proven from the inspector's site observations and the company's mine maps…
Secretary of Labor v. Sylva Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Two citations affirmed by default
MSHA sought penalties for three citations against Sylva Sand & Gravel. The Secretary withdrew one citation at the hearing, and an inspector testified about a failure to report an accident and a conveyor head pulley that lacked a guard. The operator did not appear; after a show cause order, Judge…
Vac-Air Alloys Corporation
Shear-guarding settlement cuts penalty to $150
Vac-Air processed and cut metal using six hydraulic shears that OSHA cited for unguarded points of operation. The judge affirmed the serious violation and proposed $360 penalty. In settlement, Vac-Air agreed to install an adjustable barrier guard on one shear and use that guarded machine for stock…
UMWA Local Unions 762, 6430, and 6159 v. LaBelle Processing Company, Vesta Mining Company, and A.T. Massey Coal Company, Inc.
UMWA Locals v. LaBelle Processing, Vesta Mining, and A.T. Massey Coal (FMSHRC PENN 84-92-C): Compensation complaint withdrawn
Three United Mine Workers of America local unions brought a compensation proceeding against LaBelle Processing Company, Vesta Mining Company, and A.T. Massey Coal Company. The unions then asked to withdraw their complaint and dismiss the case with prejudice. Judge Richard C. Steffey found good…
U.S. Army Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1858
Army Missile Command (FLRA O-AR-912): Removal award exceptions outside Authority jurisdiction
AFGE Local 1858 filed exceptions to an arbitration award involving the removal of an Army Missile Command employee. The Authority held that removal is an adverse action covered by 5 U.S.C. § 7512 and excluded from its arbitration exception jurisdiction by §§ 7121(f) and 7122(a). It dismissed the…
Marion L. Adams v. J.L. Owens III, Contracting, also known as Eastern Aggregates, Inc.
Marion L. Adams v. J.L. Owens III, Contracting (FMSHRC YORK 84-15-DM): Discrimination case settled
Marion L. Adams and J.L. Owens III, Contracting settled a discrimination proceeding involving the Eastern Aggregate Mine. The company agreed to provide Adams a five year annuity paying $500 monthly and a $10,000 payment from which Adams would pay costs and an agreed $7,500 attorney fee. Adams…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Phillip Cameron v. Consolidation Coal Company
Work refusal to protect another miner may be protected
Consolidation Coal suspended haulage motorman Phillip Cameron after he refused to use a 10-ton trailing locomotive that he believed could endanger a fellow miner if coal cars broke loose. An administrative law judge dismissed Cameron's discrimination complaint because Cameron feared for the other…
Secretary of Labor v. G M & W Coal Company, Inc.
Task training order settled for $2,000
MSHA issued a withdrawal order alleging inadequate task training at G M & W Coal Company after a shuttle car struck miner Louis Sinclair at the Grove No. 1 Mine; he died of his injuries. The car operator had recently switched to a model with the brake and tram pedals in opposite positions from the…
Secretary of Labor v. U.S. Steel Mining Co., Inc.
Electrical citation's serious-hazard finding affirmed
At U.S. Steel Mining's Maple Creek No. 2 mine, an MSHA inspector found that energized pump wires passed through a metal box without the required insulating bushing. U.S. Steel accepted the violation but disputed its significant-and-substantial classification because the wire insulation was intact…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3424 and Federal Home Loan Bank Board, Washington, D.C.
Federal Home Loan Bank Board (FLRA O-NG-769): Weekend return travel proposal rejected
AFGE Local 3424 proposed up to three hours of duty time for Federal Home Loan Bank Board examiners traveling home on weekends from distant assignments. The Authority found that the proposal would require workday travel and keep the agency from assigning work during that time. Although the statute…
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9 and Engineers and Scientists of California, MEBA, AFL-CIO
EPA Region 9 (FLRA O-AR-840): Team leader selection award narrowed
An arbitrator ordered EPA Region 9 to use negotiated procedures when filling professional positions at GS-12 and above after a grievance about a team leader position. EPA challenged the breadth of the order and its effect on management's selection rights. The Authority held that the remedy could…
Adjutant General, State of Ohio and American Federation of Government Employees, Ohio Council of Air National Guard Locals No. 127, Local 3041
Ohio Air National Guard (FLRA O-AR-645): Uniform grievance denial upheld
An Ohio Air National Guard technician grieved a requirement to wear a military uniform after a contract allowing an annual choice of civilian attire expired. The arbitrator denied the grievance, although he treated the uniform requirement as a mandatory bargaining subject. The Authority held that…
Secretary of Labor v. Little Sandy Coal Sales, Inc.
Coverage case remanded for cross-examination
MSHA cited Little Sandy Coal Sales, whose owner argued that its surface coal facility was a retail yard outside the Mine Act. After the owner reported illness and missed the hearing, the judge heard the Secretary's evidence but did not let him cross-examine the witness later. The judge then ruled…
Director of Administration, Headquarters, U.S. Air Force
Headquarters Air Force (FLRA 3-CA-1700, 3-CA-1791): Probationary removal grievance complaints dismissed
The Air Force declined to process a probationary employee's grievance over his termination or arbitrate it, and denied his union representative official time for the matter. The Authority held that, under the governing court and Authority rulings, termination of a probationary employee was outside…
Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Office of Hearings and Appeals, Region II
SSA Office of Hearings and Appeals, Region II (FLRA 2-CA-20324): Ground rule bargaining required
AFGE Local 1760 proposed ground rules for bargaining over the opening of a Bronx hearing office and the relocation of a Syracuse office. The Social Security Administration offered to meet but refused to negotiate the ground rules, asserting that formal ground rules were unnecessary for impact and…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 32 and Office of Personnel Management
Office of Personnel Management (FLRA O-NG-675): Review rotation proposal rejected
AFGE Local 32 proposed rotating claims review duties among Office of Personnel Management examiners every six months by alphabetical order, unless performance appraisals and standards accounted for the absence of rotation. The Authority found that mandatory rotation would prevent management from…
Air Force Logistics Command, Kelly Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas and American Federation of Government Employees, Council 214, Local 1617
Kelly Air Force Base (FLRA O-AR-925): Removal award exceptions outside FLRA jurisdiction
AFGE Council 214 and Local 1617 filed exceptions to an arbitration award involving removal of a Kelly Air Force Base employee. The Authority held that the removal fell within the adverse actions excluded from its arbitration exception jurisdiction. It dismissed the exceptions without deciding their…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1617 and San Antonio Air Logistics Center, Kelly Air Force Base, Texas
San Antonio Air Logistics Center (FLRA O-AR-910): Removal exceptions dismissed
AFGE Local 1617 challenged an arbitration award involving removal of a San Antonio Air Logistics Center employee. The Authority held that removal is a covered adverse action for which arbitration exceptions cannot be filed with it under 5 U.S.C. § 7122(a). It dismissed the exceptions for lack of…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 12 and Internal Revenue Service, Birmingham District
IRS Birmingham District (FLRA O-AR-909): Removal award exceptions dismissed
NTEU Chapter 12 challenged an arbitration award involving the removal of an IRS Birmingham District employee. The Authority held that removals are covered by 5 U.S.C. § 7512 and excluded from its jurisdiction over arbitration exceptions. It dismissed the union's exceptions without reaching their…
Secretary of Labor v. Zeigler Coal Company
Five citations resolved, one vacated
MSHA sought penalties for six citations at Zeigler Coal Company's No. 5 Mine. Four citations were contested at a hearing, and the parties settled the other two for $91 each. Judge Richard C. Steffey vacated one contested permissibility citation, upheld three other contested violations with $645 in…
General Services Administration, Central Office, Region IV, Interagency Motor Pool, Kennedy Space Center
GSA Kennedy Space Center Motor Pool (FLRA 4-CA-1058): Temporary driver complaint dismissed
AFGE alleged that GSA terminated temporary motor pool drivers at Kennedy Space Center because a union official intervened on their behalf. The administrative law judge found an unfair labor practice, but the Authority disagreed. It found no evidence that the temporary drivers, who were outside the…
Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Region II
FDA Region II (FLRA 2-CA-1162): Competitive area bargaining complaint dismissed
AFGE Council 242 alleged that FDA Region II unlawfully refused to bargain over a proposal defining competitive areas for a reduction in force. The Authority found that the proposal would also determine the competitive area for employees outside AFGE's bargaining unit, including employees of the San…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 615 and National Park Service, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (FLRA O-NG-761): One detail provision approved
NFFE Local 615 challenged the National Park Service's disapproval of agreement terms about employee details and disciplinary investigations. The Authority held that a clause limiting higher-skill details to listed situations interfered with management's assignment rights, and a 60-day investigation…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 15 and U.S. Department of the Army, Army Armament Munitions and Chemical Command
Army Armament Munitions and Chemical Command (FLRA O-NG-1107): Petition dismissed after withdrawal
NFFE Local 15 proposed time limits for grieving denials of within-grade increases. The Army command declared the proposals nonnegotiable, and the union filed a petition for Authority review. The agency then withdrew its allegation of nonnegotiability. With no remaining dispute about whether the…
Social Security Administration and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2006
Social Security Administration (FLRA O-AR-928): Removal exceptions dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
AFGE Local 2006 filed exceptions to an arbitration award concerning removal of a Social Security Administration employee. The Authority held that removal falls within the adverse actions excluded from its jurisdiction over arbitration exceptions. It dismissed the union's exceptions without reaching…
Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army Engineer District, New Orleans, Louisiana and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1124
New Orleans Army Engineer District (FLRA O-AR-673): Clarified reprimand award upheld
An arbitrator found that the Army Engineer District lacked just cause for a two-day suspension but could issue a lesser warning for the employee's disruptive conduct. After the agency pointed out that a warning could not be placed in the employee's personnel folder under the contract, the…
Secretary of Labor v. Amax Chemical Corporation
Five citations penalized, one vacated
MSHA sought penalties for six citations against Amax Chemical Corporation at its potash mine. Judge Gary Melick found three violations of 30 C.F.R. § 57.3-22 involving unsupported roof areas that sounded hollow when tested. He found two of those violations significant and substantial, while the…
Emerald Mines Corporation v. Secretary of Labor
Preshift examination citation affirmed
Emerald Mines contested a citation for failing to conduct a preshift examination before miners worked in an entry of its underground coal mine. The judge held that the area was subject to 30 C.F.R. § 75.303 because miners were assigned to work there, even though they did not work there regularly…
BCNR Mining Corporation v. Secretary of Labor
Marking citation reduced, imminent danger order affirmed
BCNR Mining contested two withdrawal orders at its Clyde Mine. The judge found that a preshift examiner violated 30 C.F.R. § 75.303 by failing to mark the time, date, and his initials at the places examined. The examiner had lost his chalk and could not write on the wet material with a pen, and the…
Secretary of Labor v. Paul Douglas Gregory and Frank Thomas Knight
Individual penalty settlements approved
The Secretary of Labor sought individual civil penalties against Paul Douglas Gregory and Frank Thomas Knight under section 110(c) of the Mine Act. Both respondents agreed to pay the proposed $500 penalty. Judge Gary Melick reviewed the settlement submissions and found the agreements appropriate…
Secretary of Labor v. Turner Brothers, Inc.
Equipment safety violations affirmed
MSHA cited Turner Brothers after an employee rode outside the cab of an operating front end loader and after a truck with severely defective steering was used on a mine haul road. Judge Gary Melick rejected the claim that the employee had to ride on the loader for instruction because he could have…
Secretary of Labor v. Arc Materials Corporation, WMK Transit Mix
Two truck brake citations affirmed
MSHA cited Arc Materials Corporation, WMK Transit Mix, after an inspector tested two haul trucks at its sand and gravel operation. The inspector testified that one truck barely slowed when its brakes were applied on a grade, and the same brake condition existed on the second truck. Judge John J…
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1245 and Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Mid-Pacific Regional Office
Bureau of Reclamation, Mid-Pacific Region (FLRA O-NG-941): Petition lacked specific proposal
IBEW Local 1245 sought bargaining over a Bureau of Reclamation instruction, and the agency said the instruction was not negotiable and the request was late. The union petitioned the Authority for a negotiability ruling. The Authority held that the union had submitted no specific proposed bargaining…
Schulte Corporation
Three electroplating-protection violations affirmed
Schulte manufactured bathroom fixtures and finished them in electroplating tanks containing corrosive chemical solutions. The Commission affirmed a nonserious violation because employees exposed to chromic acid received no periodic examinations after their pre-employment physicals. It also affirmed…
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Plant Protection and Quarantine, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
USDA Plant Protection and Quarantine (FLRA 6-CA-1195): Bargaining ordered on ship boarding policy
USDA's Plant Protection and Quarantine program adopted a national policy ending some ship boardings at sea, but did not give its employees' union notice of the final policy and a chance to bargain over the impact and implementation before it took effect. The Authority found a bargaining violation…
U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Marshals Service
U.S. Marshals Service (FLRA 2-CA-40016): Complaint over supervisor remarks dismissed
After an AFGE official filed a grievance, a supervisor at the U.S. Marshals Service's Camden office discussed telephone use and punctuality with deputies. The union alleged that his remarks threatened closer scrutiny because of the grievance. The administrative law judge found that employees could…
Office of Personnel Management, Washington, D.C.
Office of Personnel Management (FLRA 2-CA-20154): Employee silence clause disapproved lawfully
OPM's agency head disapproved a negotiated clause allowing employees to remain silent during management discussions they reasonably believed might lead to discipline, with a stated exception. AFGE Local 2849 alleged that the disapproval was an unlawful refusal to bargain. Applying intervening case…
Federal Correctional Facility Fort Worth and AFGE Local 1298
Fort Worth Federal Correctional Facility (FLRA O-AR-859): Harassment remedy narrowed to grievant
An arbitrator found that a Fort Worth federal prison had wrongly suspended a union official for three days. He ordered restitution, removal of the suspension record, and an end to harassment of union officials. The Authority found that the broader harassment order exceeded the issue submitted to…
Metal Bank of America, Inc.
Lead-standard case settled for $2,500
OSHA cited Metal Bank for serious violations of the lead standard and proposed a $4,280 penalty. An earlier stipulation withdrew parts of the citation and reduced the proposed penalty for the remaining items to $3,000. Under the final settlement, Metal Bank withdrew its contest and petition for…
North Carolina Air National Guard and AFGE Local 3001
North Carolina Air National Guard (FLRA 4-CA-20010): Impasse order complaint dismissed
The North Carolina Air National Guard declined to follow a Federal Service Impasses Panel order on grievance coverage and civilian attire for technicians. An administrative law judge found a violation concerning the grievance proposal. The Authority disagreed because the Guard could require the…
Social Security Administration and American Federation of Government Employees
Social Security Administration (FLRA 3-CU-30025): Program analysts excluded from bargaining unit
The Social Security Administration asked to exclude about 26 program analysts from a nationwide bargaining unit. Those analysts evaluated field offices and made recommendations about staffing, supervision, training, and other personnel matters that management routinely implemented. The Authority…
U.S. Government Printing Office and Columbia Typographical Union No. 101
Government Printing Office (FLRA 3-CA-20109, 3-CA-20386): Union notice and bargaining ordered for proofreader training
The Government Printing Office met with hearing impaired employees about proofreader training without giving their union notice and a chance to attend. It also changed parts of the existing training program for those employees without first offering to bargain over procedures and arrangements for…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Gregory Brown v. A & L Coal Company, Inc.
Back wage amount set
This order sets the amount A & L Coal Company must pay Gregory Brown under an earlier back wage ruling in a discrimination case. The parties stipulated to the amount due. Judge James A. Broderick ordered the company to pay $4,032.92 within 30 days, including compensation, interest, and expenses for…
Veterans Administration Medical Center Sepulveda and AFGE Local 1697
VA Medical Center Sepulveda (FLRA O-AR-834): Late arbitration exceptions dismissed
The Authority had dismissed exceptions to an arbitration award partly because it thought the grievant lacked authority to file them for the union. In this supplemental order, it accepted proof that he was authorized and reversed that part of its reasoning. The exceptions still failed because the…
Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service and AFGE Local 38
Immigration and Naturalization Service (FLRA 1-CA-20126): Vehicle authorization complaint dismissed
An INS supervisor required investigators to submit complete daily activity reports before he would authorize use of government vehicles outside normal duty hours. The union alleged that this changed working conditions without notice or bargaining. The Authority adopted the judge's finding that the…
Industrial Resources, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor
Late citation contest dismissed
Industrial Resources sought review of an MSHA citation issued at its Buchanan No. 1 Mine. Judge Richard C. Steffey found that the company served its notice of contest on the Secretary 56 days after receiving the citation, beyond the Mine Act's 30-day notice period. An informal conference did not…
U.S. Customs Service Region IX and National Treasury Employees Union
U.S. Customs Service Region IX (FLRA 5-CA-30046): Bargaining ordered over Detroit inspectors' shift times
Customs changed Detroit airport inspectors' starting and quitting times after bargaining with their union over a new unpaid meal period. It refused to bargain over the shift times themselves, relying on a waiver in an expired agreement. The Authority found that the union had ended that waiver and…
National Treasury Employees Union and Department of Health and Human Services Region VII
NTEU and HHS Region VII (FLRA O-NG-571): Negotiability petition dismissed after related ruling
NTEU sought review of whether HHS had to bargain over a proposal defining a competitive area. While that petition was pending, a related unfair labor practice decision found no compelling need for the agency regulation that HHS had invoked to block bargaining. The union told the Authority that the…
Secretary of Labor v. Lake Fork Gravel, Inc.
Six proposed penalties assessed after default
MSHA sought penalties for six alleged violations at Lake Fork Gravel's pit. Judge Michael A. Lasher Jr. found that the company had not answered a show cause order, met prehearing requirements, or shown good cause for those failures. He entered a default and found that the company had waived its…
Local Union 1609, District 2, United Mine Workers of America v. Greenwich Collieries
Local Union 1609 v. Greenwich Collieries (FMSHRC PENN 85-91-C): Short term idle time pay ordered
The union sought compensation for miners idled after an imminent danger order at Greenwich Collieries' mine. The company accepted that it owed the shorter period of compensation provided by section 111 of the Mine Act but disputed the longer period. Judge Charles C. Moore Jr. held that the order…
Francis M. Janoski v. R and F Coal Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Francis Janoski alleged that R and F Coal Company ended his seasonal truck driving work after a medical examination showed pneumoconiosis. He filed a discrimination complaint under section 105(c) of the Mine Act after MSHA found no violation. Judge George A. Koutras held that the medical evaluation…
Roy D. Lucas v. Eastern Associated Coal Corporation
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Roy Lucas challenged his discharge from a service foreman job at Eastern Associated Coal. After reconsidering a tentative decision, Judge Joseph B. Kennedy found that protected safety activity did not substantially motivate the discharge. He found that management acted because of Lucas's role in…
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.