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.
No decisions match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
National Federation of Federal Employees, Council of Consolidated Veterans Administration Locals and Veterans Administration
NFFE VA Council and Veterans Administration (FLRA O-NG-773): Title 38 discipline outside grievance proposal
The NFFE council proposed a negotiated grievance procedure that it intended to cover professional VA medical employees appointed under title 38. The Authority held that discipline for inaptitude, inefficiency, or misconduct involving those employees was governed exclusively by 38 U.S.C. § 4110…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1979 and U.S. Forest Service, San Dimas Equipment Development Center
NFFE Local 1979 and Forest Service San Dimas (FLRA O-NG-533): Local supplement provisions rejected
NFFE Local 1979 appealed disapproval of four provisions in a Forest Service local supplement. The Authority held that an information distribution provision reached material exempt from disclosure, while technical dissent and report authorship provisions concerned management's methods of work and…
Grievance of Jay Edelson, AFGE Local 12 and U.S. Department of Labor
Grievance of Jay Edelson (FLRA O-AR-757): Union's arbitration exceptions filed one day late
AFGE Local 12 filed exceptions to an arbitrator's award in a grievance involving Jay Edelson and the Department of Labor. The union's representative received the award on March 26, 1984, making April 24 the deadline. The representative filed on April 25. The Authority held that service on the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1904 and U.S. Army Communications and Electronics Materiel Readiness Command
AFGE Local 1904 and Army communications command (FLRA O-AR-644): Contracting grievance may proceed
AFGE Local 1904 grieved an Army command's decision to contract out support work, alleging violations of laws and rules governing contracting decisions. The arbitrator decided only that the grievance could be heard under the parties' agreement. The Authority rejected the agency's exceptions, holding…
Fitzsimons Army Medical Center and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2214
Fitzsimons Army Medical Center and AFGE Local 2214 (FLRA O-AR-353): Laundry contracting grievance arbitrable
AFGE Local 2214 grieved Fitzsimons Army Medical Center's decision to contract out laundry and linen work, alleging a violation of a law governing defense contracting. An arbitrator decided that the grievance was arbitrable under the parties' agreement. The Authority rejected the agency's exception…
Secretary of Labor v. Incoal, Incorporated
Nine violations settled for $57,000
Nine cited violations arose from an investigation of a coal dust explosion at Incoal's No. 11 Mine that killed eight miners. Judge James A. Broderick described the blasting and dust-control violations connected to the explosion as extremely serious. He approved the parties' $57,000 settlement, with…
Beauty Craft Tile of the Southwest, Inc.
Suppression reversed and citations remanded
OSHA obtained a warrant to inspect Beauty Craft's Oklahoma plant after complaints about removed machine safeguards and inadequate paint-shop ventilation. The judge suppressed the inspection evidence as the product of an overbroad warrant and then vacated the resulting serious and nonserious…
Asbestos Textile Company, Inc.
Asbestos violations affirmed but willful claims rejected or deadlocked
Asbestos Textile processed raw asbestos in a rubber-products plant. OSHA cited exposure-limit, dust-control, monitoring, respirator, protective-clothing, housekeeping, locker, and medical-examination issues under the asbestos standard. The Commissioners agreed that the respirator, clothing…
National Weather Service Training Center, Kansas City and National Weather Service Employees Organization
Weather Service Training Center and NWSEO (FLRA 7-CA-30183): Steward's lower appraisal was unlawful
A supervisor at the National Weather Service Training Center told union steward Michael Silvestri that he would receive better evaluations if he stopped questioning management and pursuing union matters. The supervisor also gave him a lower appraisal for a promotion opportunity because of his…
National Guard Bureau and American Federation of Government Employees
National Guard Bureau and AFGE (FLRA 7-CA-20229): Guard may require grievance exclusion for technician matters
The National Guard Bureau disapproved an arbitration provision agreed to by the South Dakota Air National Guard and AFGE Local 3035 because it did not expressly exclude certain National Guard technician matters. The General Counsel alleged that the disapproval was an unfair labor practice. The case…
United States Air Force, 2750th Air Base Wing Headquarters and AFGE Local 1138
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and AFGE Local 1138 (FLRA 5-CA-20017): Health club use outside bargaining duty
AFGE Local 1138 alleged that the Air Force's 2750th Air Base Wing at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base refused to bargain over procedures for employee use of a new health club. An administrative law judge found no unfair labor practice and recommended dismissing the complaint. The Authority adopted…
AFGE Local 3732 and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy
AFGE Local 3732 and Merchant Marine Academy (FLRA 2-CO-20013): Union ordered to sign bargaining ground rules
AFGE Local 3732 represented faculty members and librarians at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. After the parties reached a bargaining impasse over negotiation hours, the Federal Service Impasses Panel directed bargaining from 12:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. during academic quarters. The union refused to sign…
National Treasury Employees Union and U.S. Customs Service
NTEU and Customs Service (FLRA 0-AR-521): Conflict of interest directive rescission upheld
The Customs Service directed an inspector to end an alleged conflict of interest arising from his wife's clerical job at a customs brokerage firm or face discipline. An arbitrator found no direct or apparent conflict and ordered the directive rescinded. The Authority rejected the agency's…
Secretary of Labor v. Silver Ventures Corporation
Five mine-safety citations upheld
MSHA cited Silver Ventures during the opening of its underground gold and silver mine. The five citations concerned energized wiring, other electrical conditions, an air hose, and a hoist used to carry miners without an overspeed device. Judge John A. Carlson found the violations proved, including…
NFFE Local 943 and Department of the Air Force, Keesler Air Force Base
NFFE Local 943 and Keesler Air Force Base (FLRA O-NG-581): Performance appraisal panel outside bargaining duty
NFFE Local 943 proposed terms for the performance appraisal program at Keesler Air Force Base. The disputed portions would give a joint union and management panel a role in setting performance standards, resolving disagreements over standards, and reviewing appraisals. Another disputed sentence…
Veterans Administration Medical Center, Hines and Illinois Nurses Association
Hines VA Medical Center and Illinois Nurses Association (FLRA O-AR-473): Authority lacks jurisdiction over removal award
An arbitrator changed a Veterans Administration nurse's removal for misconduct to a 90 day suspension. The Hines VA Medical Center filed exceptions with the Authority. The Authority held that the award concerned an adverse action of a kind covered by 5 U.S.C. § 7121(f), even though the nurse served…
Matter of Waldei
Stowaway status barred exclusion hearing
The applicant, a citizen of Ethiopia, arrived in the United States as a stowaway and was later paroled into the country while his asylum request was considered. The Board held that parole did not change his stowaway status and that the exclusion procedures for ordinary arriving aliens did not apply…
Naval Medical Command, National Capital Region and Local 14, Federal Firefighters Association
Naval Medical Command and Federal Firefighters Association (FLRA 3-RO-30017): Separate firefighter unit denied
Local 14 of the Federal Firefighters Association sought to represent fire prevention and protection employees at the Naval Medical Command in Bethesda. They had long belonged to a broader unit represented by AFGE Local 361. The Authority found that the existing activity wide unit shared a community…
Department of Justice Antitrust and Civil Rights Divisions and National Treasury Employees Union
DOJ Antitrust and Civil Rights Divisions (FLRA 3-RO-20013): Separate professional units denied
The National Treasury Employees Union petitioned for separate professional employee units in the Department of Justice's Antitrust and Civil Rights Divisions. The Authority found that their attorneys shared work, training, personnel policy, and regular contact with attorneys in other Justice…
National Treasury Employees Union and HHS Social Security Administration, Office of Hearings and Appeals
NTEU and SSA Office of Hearings and Appeals (FLRA O-NG-832): Appraisal rating levels outside bargaining duty
NTEU challenged the agency head's disapproval of a contract provision that set five overall performance appraisal levels and the quality of work required for each. The Authority held that deciding rating levels and their requirements is part of management's rights to direct employees and assign…
Department of Health and Human Services, Washington and Region 7, and National Treasury Employees Union
HHS and NTEU (FLRA 7-CA-20075): Headquarters violated bargaining duty over reductions in force
HHS planned reductions in force in two Kansas City components, and NTEU proposed a broader competitive area for affected employees. Headquarters directed Region 7 to reject the proposal and proceed under a department regulation. On a stipulated record, the Authority found that HHS had not shown a…
Secretary of Labor v. Powderhorn Coal Company
Citation settled for $600
At the hearing in Powderhorn Coal Company's civil penalty case, the parties announced a settlement. The Secretary agreed to reduce the proposed penalty from $750 to $600, and Powderhorn withdrew its notice of contest. Judge John A. Carlson approved the agreement, affirmed the citation, and ordered…
Overseas Education Association and Department of Defense Dependents Schools, Mediterranean Region
Overseas Education Association and DOD schools (FLRA O-AR-399): Teacher's step 15 award upheld
A teacher returned from an administrative position to a teaching job in the Defense Dependents Schools' Mediterranean Region. The school system credited only ten years of service and placed him at salary step 11, although it had previously placed him at step 15. An arbitrator ordered step 15…
United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX and NFFE Local 1
EPA Region IX bargaining unit (FLRA 9-CU-30012): Three staff excluded as confidential employees
NFFE Local 1 sought clarification of whether five EPA Region IX employees belonged in its nonprofessional bargaining unit. The Authority found three employees worked confidentially for managers who formulated or carried out labor relations policy, so it excluded them. It kept two other employees in…
Corpus Christi Army Depot and William Charles Chism
Corpus Christi Army Depot decertification petition (FLRA 6-DR-30004): Election directed
An employee at Corpus Christi Army Depot petitioned to decertify an International Association of Machinists lodge as the representative of a shop unit. The union argued that an existing agreement barred the petition and that ten covered units had merged into one. The Authority found the petition…
Department of the Army, Headquarters Fort Monroe and Local 11, Federal Firefighters Association
Fort Monroe firefighter representation petition (FLRA 4-RO-30026): Separate unit denied
Local 11 of the Federal Firefighters Association sought to represent firefighters at Army Headquarters, Fort Monroe, separately from a broader unit represented by NAGE Local R4-11. The Authority found that the existing activity wide unit shared a community of interest and promoted effective…
U.S. Army Engineer Center and Fort Belvoir and Local 16, Federal Firefighters Association
Fort Belvoir firefighter representation petition (FLRA 3-RO-30021): Separate unit denied
Local 16 of the Federal Firefighters Association sought a separate unit for fire prevention and protection employees at Fort Belvoir. Those employees had belonged to a broader unit represented by AFGE Local 1052 since 1968. The Authority found that the existing activity wide unit shared a community…
Secretary of Labor v. Pyro Mining Company
Four electrical citations upheld
MSHA issued four electrical citations following the electrocution of Pyro Mining employee Dean Lundy while he disconnected a conveyor control line. Judge William Fauver found that working on energized pilot lines and allowing unqualified employees to do that work were common practices at the mine…
Con-Agra, Inc.
Direction for review vacated at employee representative's request
The authorized employee representative sent a letter indicating that there might be no party interest in further adjudication of Con-Agra's case. The Commission treated the letter as a motion to vacate its direction for review and granted that motion. The order would become final after ten days…
AFSCME Local 2478 and United States Commission on Civil Rights
AFSCME Local 2478 and Commission on Civil Rights (FLRA O-NG-1005): Performance rating proposal rejected
AFSCME Local 2478 proposed that annual evaluations rate each element of an employee's position at one of four specified levels. The Authority found that the provision would set the number of rating levels for individual job elements. Applying its earlier ruling on the same issue, it held that the…
Department of the Navy, Navy Resale System and William J. Tatem
Navy Resale System and William J. Tatem (FLRA 43-CA-1116): Retaliatory suspension remedy upheld
The Navy Resale System suspended employee William J. Tatem without pay after unfair labor practice charges were filed on his behalf and he provided information about them. An administrative law judge found that the protected activity influenced the discipline and that the Navy had not shown it…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of David J. McConnell v. Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Inadvertently filed complaint withdrawn
The Secretary asked to withdraw a discrimination complaint filed on behalf of David J. McConnell against Jim Walter Resources. The submitted documentation showed that McConnell had never filed a discrimination complaint with the Secretary and that the Commission complaint was filed inadvertently…
Carpenter Technology Corp.
Review vacated after forklift-standard deadlock
Carpenter Technology used a large forklift to carry slag pots through parts of its steel plant where employees sometimes walked. OSHA cited the company under the powered-industrial-truck rule requiring a driver to keep a clear view of the path of travel. The judge vacated the citation after…
AFGE National Border Patrol Council and Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service
AFGE National Border Patrol Council and INS (FLRA O-NG-673): Detail limit and personal calls outside bargaining duty
The union proposed limiting employee details to a Cuban and Haitian refugee program to 70 days a year unless employees volunteered for longer assignments. It also proposed one weekly long distance call at government expense for employees on detail. The Authority held that the detail limit would…
Secretary of Labor v. Lone Star Industries, Inc.
Three citations vacated and $409 assessed
Lone Star Industries and the Secretary submitted a cement-plant penalty case for decision on the written record. Judge Joseph B. Kennedy accepted their agreement to vacate three citations and assessed penalties for guarding and handrail violations. He modified one citation to describe an unguarded…
Collins Well Service Company
General duty citation affirmed after Commission deadlock
OSHA investigated Collins Well Service after an employee suffered a fatal fall while riding an oil-derrick elevator without a tied-off safety belt. The judge found that this was a recognized hazard likely to cause death or serious harm, affirmed a general duty clause violation, and assessed a $480…
United States Army Materiel Development and Readiness Command, Automated Logistics Management Systems Activity and NFFE Local 1763
Army logistics bargaining unit (FLRA 7-CU-30014): Sixteen job classifications excluded as supervisors
NFFE Local 1763 sought clarification of the bargaining unit at an Army logistics systems activity in St. Louis. The activity argued that employees in 16 job classifications were supervisors and should be excluded. The Authority found that the incumbents assigned and directed work using independent…
Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration and AFGE Local 1395
Social Security Administration and AFGE Local 1395 (FLRA 5-CA-20141): Union entitled to attend formal orientation
Social Security Administration managers held an orientation session for new employees at a Chicago district office without giving AFGE Local 1395 a chance to attend. The Administrative Law Judge found that the planned session covered personnel policies and general working conditions, making it a…
Secretary of Labor v. Faust and Miller Coal Company
Penalty case dismissed after withdrawal
MSHA brought a civil penalty case against Faust and Miller Coal Company concerning its breaker. At the hearing, the Secretary of Labor asked to withdraw the penalty petition because the evidence was insufficient to support the citation and order. Judge Gary Melick allowed the withdrawal under the…
Local Union 1609, District 2, UMWA v. Greenwich Collieries
Local Union 1609 v. Greenwich Collieries (FMSHRC PENN 84-158-C and 84-159-C): Compensation claims dismissed, one later remanded
After an explosion closed Greenwich Collieries' No. 1 mine, the miners' union sought one week's pay for miners who remained idle. It relied on an imminent danger order issued the day of the explosion and 59 withdrawal orders issued during a later inspection. Judge George A. Koutras ruled that…
Lonnie Jones v. D & R Contractors
): Back pay and fees awarded, later reversed
After finding that D & R Contractors unlawfully discharged Lonnie Jones, Judge Gary Melick decided the amount of relief. He held successor partnerships liable for wages Jones would have earned and ordered D & R and Ron Perkins jointly to pay $5,032.55 in back earnings and interest plus $178.15 in…
Terry D. Davis v. Canyon Valley Electric Co.
Discrimination case settled
Terry Davis brought a discrimination proceeding against Canyon Valley Electric concerning his employment and discharge. The parties agreed that the company would pay him an amount in return for a full release of claims arising from that employment and discharge. Judge John A. Carlson approved the…
Secretary of Labor v. U.S. Steel Mining Co., Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. U.S. Steel Mining Co. (FMSHRC PENN 84-20): Roof control ruling modified by agreement
MSHA cited U.S. Steel Mining over roof support at its Maple Creek No. 2 Mine. In a tentative bench decision, Judge Joseph B. Kennedy removed the significant and substantial finding but found a technical roof control plan violation and assessed $150. U.S. Steel challenged the plan finding, and the…
Secretary of Labor v. Bigelow Liptak Corporation
Secretary of Labor v. Bigelow Liptak (FMSHRC CENT 84-24-M W 24): $600 penalty for unsafe scaffolding
Bigelow Liptak was working inside a vessel at a cement plant when an inspector found loose scaffold boards with gaps near the vessel wall. Judge Charles C. Moore, Jr. found that a worker could fall 16 feet to a lower level, creating a hazard for workers there as well. He held the company…
Homer W. Davis v. Armco Steel Corporation
Discrimination complaint dismissed as untimely
Homer Davis alleged that Armco Steel refused to rehire him because he had pneumoconiosis. He filed a discrimination complaint with MSHA in December 1983 after the alleged refusal in 1980. Judge Michael Lasher dismissed the case because Davis had missed the Mine Act's 60-day filing deadline and had…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of I. B. Acton and others v. Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Secretary on behalf of I. B. Acton and others v. Jim Walter Resources (FMSHRC SE 84-31-D and related dockets): Training costs and wages awarded
Seventeen miners challenged Jim Walter Resources' handling of recalls after a layoff, when some lacked underground safety training. Judge Gary Melick held that the Mine Act allowed the company to consider completed training when choosing miners for underground jobs. He also held that the company…
Pittsburgh and Midway Mining Corporation v. Secretary of Labor
): Spoil bank citation vacated
An inspector cited Pittsburgh and Midway Mining Corporation after a spoil bank slump overflowed a catch pit at its Edna Mine and was missing from the examination book. The foreman testified that the slump occurred between shifts, when no miners were in the pit, and was cleaned up before work…
Secretary of Labor v. Zeigler Coal Company
Ventilation violation upheld with reduced finding
An inspector found a continuous miner cutting at Zeigler Coal Company's No. 5 Mine without the line curtain required by its ventilation plan. The company did not dispute the violation but challenged the inspector's significant and substantial and unwarrantable failure findings. Judge Charles Moore…
Palmer Steel Supplies, Inc.
Direction for review vacated after Secretary withdrew petition
The Secretary filed a notice concerning the petition for discretionary review in Palmer Steel Supplies' case. The Commission treated the notice as a motion to withdraw that petition. It granted the motion and vacated the direction for review. The order does not identify a cited OSHA standard…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of James McNeil Taylor v. Buck Garden Coal Company
Default entered on settlement agreement
The Secretary of Labor brought a discrimination proceeding on behalf of James McNeil Taylor against Buck Garden Coal Company. The judge stated that the company failed to show cause why it should not be declared in default of its settlement agreement. Judge Joseph B. Kennedy entered a final default…
Secretary of Labor v. Southway Construction Company, Inc.
Six mine safety citations affirmed with reduced penalties
Southway Construction operated sand and gravel sites in New Mexico and Colorado. MSHA cited an unguarded tail pulley, three workers' excess exposure to silica dust, missing eye protection, and another worker's excess silica exposure. Judge John J. Morris upheld all six citations. An earlier…
Secretary of Labor v. South Hopkins Coal Company
Two citations affirmed after missed hearing
South Hopkins Coal Company did not appear at a scheduled hearing on two mine safety citations, although the judge had proof that it received the hearing notice. Judge Charles C. Moore declared the company in default and received no later response from it. He affirmed both citations and assessed a…
Matter of Cantec Representatives, Inc.
Professional classification denied
The petitioner, a firm representing and selling products for electronics manufacturers, sought professional immigrant classification for a beneficiary who would manage its Arizona operations. The firm argued that the beneficiary qualified under a Schedule A, Group IV blanket labor certification…
Matter of Golden Dragon Chinese Restaurant
Temporary chef petition denied
The petitioner was a Chinese restaurant seeking to employ a specialty chef as a temporary worker. The Department of Labor declined to certify the position as temporary, and the district director denied the petition. The Commissioner held that the Department of Labor's determination was advisory…
General American Transportation Corporation
Five citation items left affirmed after deadlock
The judge affirmed citation items involving combustible material near oxygen storage, paint-spill cleanup, paint-residue accumulations, damaged crane slings, and machine guarding at General American Transportation's plant. Commissioner Cleary would have affirmed each item based on the cited…
Secretary of Labor v. Jumacris Mining, Inc.
Three violations upheld and fourth settled
Jumacris Mining contested four enforcement actions at its No. 10 Mine. After an evidentiary hearing, Judge Joseph B. Kennedy made tentative bench decisions finding three charged violations and assessing penalties of $300, $1,000, and $250. He approved a $300 settlement for the fourth order. When no…
Kitt Energy Corporation v. Secretary of Labor
Withdrawal order converted to ordinary citation
MSHA issued a withdrawal order after finding unapproved changes and unsafe cable connections in electrical equipment at Kitt Energy's No. 1 Mine. Judge William Fauver found that the violations of the equipment maintenance rule had occurred and resulted from unwarrantable failure. But he held that…
Matter of Wadud
Section 212(c) waiver unavailable for charged deportation ground
The respondent, a lawful permanent resident from Bangladesh, was found deportable after a conviction involving fraudulent immigration documents and sought a section 212(c) waiver, asylum, and withholding of deportation. The Board held that section 212(c) relief was unavailable because the charged…
Matter of Benitez
Section 291 entry presumption applied to stowaway charge
The respondent, a Colombian national, was charged with deportability for being excludable at entry as a stowaway. He admitted that he was born in Colombia but declined to provide the time, place, or manner of his entry, and he challenged the evidence and the procedure used against him. The Board…
Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Baltimore and AFGE
Social Security Administration and AFGE (FLRA 9-CA-966): Office move complaint dismissed after bargaining
At a Social Security office in Fremont, California, management moved claims representatives and clerical employees after a staffing shortage disrupted the existing work arrangement. The union alleged that the agency implemented the move before completing required bargaining. The Administrative Law…
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.