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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United States Customs Service and National Treasury Employees Union
Customs Service and NTEU (FLRA 3-CA-439): Overtime procedure change upheld after bargaining impasse
Customs Service and NTEU reached an impasse while bargaining over the impact and implementation of new overtime assignment procedures for inspectors. Customs told the union it would issue the procedures promptly, and it did so six days later. The union planned to seek help from the Federal Service…
AFGE Local 1533 and Navy Resale and Services Office, Department of the Navy, Oakland
AFGE Local 1533 and Navy Resale Office (FLRA O-AR-841): Removal award outside Authority jurisdiction
Exceptions were filed on behalf of a grievant challenging an arbitrator's award about the grievant's removal from employment. The Authority held that the labor statute bars it from reviewing arbitration awards involving removal actions covered by 5 U.S.C. § 7512. It dismissed the exceptions without…
Lewis & Lambert Metal Contractors, Inc.
Electrical item affirmed and guardrail items vacated
Lewis & Lambert was a sheet-metal subcontractor at a building project in Fort Worth, Texas. The Commission affirmed a ground-fault-protection violation because the company could have installed a portable ground-fault circuit interrupter for its employees' electric tools. It vacated three guardrail…
United States Small Business Administration, Lower Rio Grande Valley District Office and AFGE Local 3904
SBA Lower Rio Grande Valley and AFGE Local 3904 (FLRA 6-RO-90): Temporary workers' ballots to be counted
The Small Business Administration challenged nine ballots cast by temporary disaster employees in a representation election. An Administrative Law Judge recommended counting them because the employees had a reasonable expectation of continued work and shared working conditions with other employees…
Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 49
IRS and NTEU Chapter 49 (FLRA 5-CA-593): Travel reimbursement removed from official time order
The Authority had ordered the IRS to provide official time and travel reimbursement to two employees representing NTEU in Federal Service Impasses Panel proceedings. After a Supreme Court ruling and a court remand, all parties agreed that the IRS did not owe travel and per diem expenses under the…
Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Midwest Regional Office and NTEU Chapter 95
IRS St. Louis Appeals Office and NTEU Chapter 95 (FLRA 5-CA-1052): Bargaining required over office move
The IRS moved its St. Louis Appeals Office without bargaining over several union proposals about how the move would affect employees. The Administrative Law Judge found unlawful refusals to bargain, and the Authority kept a violation finding for the union's revised December proposals. It held that…
United States Department of the Treasury, Customs Service, Region IX and National Treasury Employees Union
Customs Service Region IX and NTEU (FLRA 5-CA-1033): Travel expense violation vacated on remand
The Authority had found that Customs Service violated the labor statute by refusing to reimburse employees' travel and per diem expenses incurred during impact bargaining. After the Supreme Court held that statutory official time does not require those payments, a federal appeals court vacated the…
Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, New York Regional Laboratory and AFGE Local 2637
FDA New York laboratory and AFGE Local 2637 (FLRA 12-CA-20209): Union chooses its training panel observer
The FDA's New York Regional Laboratory rejected an AFGE Local 2637 representative chosen to observe a panel that rated applicants for training. Management objected because the union president had not personally named the observer, although the president had authorized the vice president to make the…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. U. S. Steel Mining Co., Inc.
U. S. Steel Mining Co. (FMSHRC WEVA 82-387): Mantrip and trolley wire penalties affirmed
MSHA cited U. S. Steel Mining for transporting unsecured compressed gas cylinders on a mantrip and for leaving a trolley wire inadequately guarded at a mantrip station in its Gary No. 50 Mine. The company conceded both violations but challenged the judge's findings that they were significant and…
Secretary of Labor v. Montana Contract Mining Co.
Four mine safety citations affirmed
MSHA cited Montana Contract Mining after inspecting its underground Elk Creek barite mine and a waste dumping area. Judge John J. Morris found that the mine lacked a second escapeway, had unsupported ground and old misfires, and lacked a berm at a dumping edge. He rejected the company's defenses…
Secretary of Labor v. Montana Contract Mining Co.
Explosives storage and fire extinguisher citations affirmed
MSHA cited Montana Contract Mining after finding explosives near a generator, fuel, and oil in its underground Elk Creek barite mine, with no fire extinguisher in the mine. The company kept the explosives inside because it feared they would freeze outdoors, though an approved magazine stood near…
Secretary of Labor v. U. S. Steel Mining Co., Inc.
Mine representative's inspection pay citation affirmed
MSHA cited U. S. Steel Mining after it withheld a miner representative's pay for time spent with an inspector investigating a methane ignition at the Oak Grove Mine. The company argued that the Mine Act required walkaround pay for inspections, but not for accident investigations. Judge George A…
Secretary of Labor v. BCNR Mining Corporation
Unsecured roof beams violated the roof control plan
MSHA cited BCNR Mining Corporation after inspectors found unsecured steel roof beams along the Clyde Mine's haulageway. The beams could fall if a derailed trolley struck their supporting posts. The parties disputed whether the mine's approved roof control plan applied to beams installed before its…
Secretary of Labor v. N.L. Baroid-Div/NL Industries, Inc.
Two mill citations affirmed, two vacated
MSHA cited N.L. Baroid's Corpus Christi barite mill for four alleged safety violations during preparations for Hurricane Alicia. Judge George A. Koutras affirmed the citation for an inoperative forklift backup alarm and the citation for improperly housed overhead hoist wires. He vacated the…
Layne Hamilton v. Stone Mountain Trucking Company, Inc.
Discrimination complaint dismissed after unanswered show cause order
Layne Hamilton filed a mine safety discrimination complaint against Stone Mountain Trucking after MSHA told him its investigation found no violation. Judge Richard C. Steffey set deadlines for Hamilton to address representation and answer the company's questions. Hamilton did not respond to those…
AFGE Local 1603 and Department of the Navy, Navy Commissary Store, Patuxent River
AFGE Local 1603 and Navy Commissary Store (FLRA O-NG-885): Employee time reporting proposal negotiable
The Navy proposed using an electric time clock at a commissary store, while AFGE Local 1603 proposed that employees report to the supervisor or shift lead instead. The Navy argued that time recording was outside negotiable working conditions and that the union's proposal interfered with…
NFFE Local 1363 and United States Army, United States Forces Korea, Eighth Army Garrison
NFFE Local 1363 and Eighth Army Garrison (FLRA O-NG-1018): Petition over expired firearms rule dismissed
During a presidential visit to Korea, the Army temporarily barred removal of personal firearms from specified clubs and arms rooms. NFFE Local 1363 proposed narrowing the restriction to places the President would visit and compensating affected employees, then asked the Authority to review…
Secretary of Labor v. Sterling Energy, Inc.
$4,685 in mine safety penalties after default hearing
MSHA sought civil penalties against Sterling Energy in three cases involving its Ely Hollow Deep Mine. Judge William Fauver had approved part of a proposed settlement and asked for more information about the rest. He then set a hearing; Sterling Energy did not appear, so he heard the Secretary's…
Internal Revenue Service, Fresno Service Center and National Treasury Employees Union
IRS Fresno Service Center and NTEU (FLRA 9-CA-861): Union representation and detail notice violations upheld
Four complaints concerned labor practices at the IRS Fresno Service Center. The Administrative Law Judge dismissed two complaints, but found that the IRS unlawfully refused to recognize a union chosen representative at a formal grievance meeting and failed to give adequate notice before changing…
Immigration and Naturalization Service and AFGE National Immigration and Naturalization Service Council
INS and AFGE National INS Council (FLRA 3-CA-20590): Separate merit plan bargaining complaint dismissed
The INS Council asked the Immigration and Naturalization Service to negotiate a separate merit promotion and reassignment plan for its bargaining unit. The existing plan had been negotiated jointly with the Border Patrol Council and applied to employees in both units. A question about which union…
Immigration and Naturalization Service and AFGE National Immigration and Naturalization Service Council
INS and AFGE National INS Council (FLRA 3-CA-1648): Shared merit plan bargaining could remain paused
The INS Council accused the Immigration and Naturalization Service of unlawfully refusing separate negotiations on a merit promotion and reassignment plan. The existing plan covered both the INS Council and Border Patrol Council units, which had begun joint negotiations before pausing them. The…
Department of the Navy, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and Portsmouth Federal Employees Metal Trades Council
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and Metal Trades Council (FLRA 1-CA-427): Supervisor discipline complaint dismissed
A Portsmouth Naval Shipyard supervisor signed a union prepared statement disagreeing with a proposed employee suspension. The shipyard then suspended the supervisor, and a complaint alleged that the discipline discouraged employees from exercising grievance rights. On a stipulated record…
Jeffrey L. Fankhauser v. Gex Hardy, Inc.
Judge refers questions about unrepresented miners to the Commission
Jeffrey L. Fankhauser brought a discrimination case against Gex Hardy without a lawyer. Judge Joseph B. Kennedy referred the case to the Commission for guidance on a trial judge's role when a miner represents himself. He asked whether a judge should require discovery, question witnesses, or seek…
Matter of Portugues do Atlantico Information Bureau, Inc.
Remittance supervisor position was not professional
The petitioner, a firm engaged in international currency transfers, sought to employ a beneficiary as a supervisor of immigrant remittances under a professional nonimmigrant classification. The beneficiary had a two-year commerce degree and eight years of specialized bank experience, but the…
Herman Whaling v. Eastern Associated Coal Corp.
Pneumoconiosis discrimination complaint dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
Herman Whaling alleged that Eastern Associated Coal discriminated against him because he had been diagnosed with coal workers' pneumoconiosis. Judge William Fauver held that a complaint based on that diagnosis belonged under section 428 of the Black Lung Benefits Act in the Department of Labor…
NFFE Local 29 and Department of the Army, United States Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District
NFFE Local 29 and Army Corps Kansas City District (FLRA O-NG-689): Reassignment and competitive area proposals rejected
NFFE Local 29 proposed using retention standing to select employees for management directed reassignments in the Army Corps of Engineers' Kansas City District. It also proposed defining a competitive area around a local commuting area. The Authority held that mandatory selection by retention…
AFGE Social Security Local 3231 and Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration
AFGE Social Security Local 3231 and SSA (FLRA O-NG-619): Lunchroom space and equipment proposals negotiable
AFGE Local 3231 proposed adequate lunchroom space and equipment, including a refrigerator, cooking appliances, utensils, a telephone, and cleaning facilities, for Social Security offices in one area. The agency argued that its space allocation rules and federal funding law barred bargaining. The…
Veterans Administration, Winston-Salem Regional Office and AFGE Local 2880
VA Winston-Salem and AFGE Local 2880 (FLRA O-AR-355): Position description grievance may be heard
Employees at the Veterans Administration's Winston-Salem Regional Office grieved that their official position descriptions did not accurately reflect the duties they performed. The arbitrator denied the grievance as barred by the statute's exclusion for position classification disputes. The…
United States Environmental Protection Agency, Health Effects Research Laboratory and NFFE Local 801
EPA Health Effects Research Laboratory and NFFE Local 801 (FLRA 5-CA-1164): Nonunit appraisal records not required
NFFE Local 801 asked an EPA research laboratory for sanitized appraisal worksheets to decide whether to grieve the denial of outstanding ratings to bargaining unit employees. The laboratory provided records for the unit employees but withheld worksheets for three employees outside the unit. On a…
Social Security Administration and AFGE
Notice required for study work changes
The Social Security Administration changed how employees handled a disability insurance pilot study and resumed retirement survivor insurance sample work without giving AFGE advance notice. The Administrative Law Judge found that the added tasks affected employees' workloads and required bargaining…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) on behalf of Robert Ribel, John Kanosky Jr., and Danny Wells v. Eastern Associated Coal Corporation
Eastern Associated Coal Corporation (FMSHRC WEVA 84-4-D, WEVA 84-33-D, and WEVA 84-66-D): Two complaints dismissed, retaliatory discharge found
Three miners at Eastern Associated Coal's Federal No. 2 Mine filed discrimination complaints after objecting to double cutting on a longwall section. Judge George A. Koutras dismissed their complaint about lost work benefits, finding they had not proved that the cutting practice was unsafe or that…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. W-P Coal Company
W-P Coal Company (FMSHRC WEVA 84-245): $7,000 settlement approved
MSHA and W-P Coal Company proposed to settle a civil penalty case involving the No. 21 Mine for $7,000, down from an original $8,000 assessment. The motion described the alleged violation as the cause of an accident in which one miner died and four others were seriously injured. Further…
Local Union 1889, UMWA v. Westmoreland Coal Company
One week compensation claim denied on remand
The United Mine Workers sought up to one week of pay for miners affected by orders issued after an explosion at Westmoreland Coal's Ferrell No. 17 Mine. On remand from an earlier Commission decision, Judge Richard C. Steffey denied that claim because a section 103(j) accident order had already…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Industrial Constructors Corporation
Industrial Constructors Corporation (FMSHRC WEST 84-15-M): Citation affirmed, penalty reduced to $150
An MSHA inspector saw a worker riding outside the cab of a dump truck at the Mercur Mine, where Industrial Constructors Corporation was working on a tailings pond. Industrial Constructors disputed responsibility for the worker, but Judge John J. Morris found evidence that the company employed him…
Secretary of Labor v. Industrial Constructors Corp.
$68 citation affirmed despite delay in penalty notice
MSHA cited Industrial Constructors for transporting people outside the cab or bed of mobile equipment at the Grey Eagle Mine. The company did not contest the violation, but argued that MSHA lost its right to collect a penalty by waiting 132 days after inspection to send the proposed assessment…
Donald F. Wiggins v. Colowyo Coal Company
Discrimination cases settled and dismissed
Donald F. Wiggins and Colowyo Coal settled two consolidated discrimination cases. The company agreed to pay Wiggins $15,000 toward moving costs and his wages and accrued unused vacation pay through September 17, 1984. Wiggins agreed to resign effective that date and release claims arising from his…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Crockett Coal Company, Inc.
Crockett Coal Company (FMSHRC VA 84-23): $846 in proposed mine safety penalties assessed by default
MSHA sought penalties against Crockett Coal Company for five alleged violations at its No. 5A Mine, including citations under mine safety and dust standards. Crockett requested a hearing but did not explain why it contested the citations or provide the information requested in a prehearing order…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Thompson Brothers Coal Company, Inc.
Thompson Brothers Coal Company (FMSHRC PENN 81-171): Dump truck fan and pulley guarding required
MSHA cited Thompson Brothers Coal Company for leaving cooling fan blades and air compressor belts and pulleys unguarded inside the engine compartments of two dump trucks at a surface coal mine. The company argued that a worker was too unlikely to touch the moving parts for the machine guarding…
NFFE Local 1363 and Department of the Army
NFFE Local 1363 and Army (FLRA O-NG-972): Negotiability petition filed late
NFFE Local 1363 petitioned the Authority to review an Army assertion that a proposal was outside the duty to bargain. Because the agency served that assertion by mail, the filing period included the ordinary 15 days plus five additional mailing days. The Authority calculated a March 19, 1984…
Veterans Administration Medical Center, Sepulveda and AFGE Local 1697
VA Sepulveda and AFGE Local 1697 (FLRA O-AR-834): Grievant could not file arbitration exceptions
An employee at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Sepulveda filed exceptions to an arbitrator's award. The Authority found that the union and the medical center, rather than the employee personally, had participated as parties in the arbitration. Its rules allowed only a party to file…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Pyro Mining Company
Pyro Mining Company (FMSHRC KENT 84-151): Roof control penalty increased to $1,500
MSHA cited Pyro Mining for an unsupported section of roof in its No. 9 Slope underground coal mine that had not been marked to keep miners away. A judge sustained the roof control violation and assessed a $1,000 penalty for that order. The Commission found that the judge had improperly reduced the…
ACTION Employees Union, AFSCME Local 2017 and ACTION
AFSCME Local 2017 and ACTION (FLRA 0-NG-1011): Negotiability appeal filed after deadline
ACTION told AFSCME Local 2017 in a February 7, 1984 letter that several proposals were outside the duty to bargain. The union requested another statement in April, and the agency referred it back to the February allegation. The Authority calculated that the 15 day period for a negotiability…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. United States Steel Corporation
United States Steel Corporation (FMSHRC LAKE 83-95-M and related dockets): Five citations vacated, six upheld
MSHA cited United States Steel in four consolidated cases involving electrical equipment at its Minntac operations. At the Secretary's request, Judge Gary Melick vacated five citations after the equipment was found to have Underwriters Laboratory approval. He upheld six other citations under the…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Monolith Portland Cement Company
Monolith Portland Cement Company (FMSHRC WEST 84-31-M and related dockets): Two housekeeping citations upheld, one vacated
MSHA brought three penalty cases against Monolith Portland Cement Company at its cement plant. Judge Paul Merlin upheld a housekeeping citation for a cluttered lunch area that posed a fire hazard and assessed $150. He upheld another for tools and materials left in a kiln passageway that posed a…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Reading Anthracite Company
Reading Anthracite Company (FMSHRC PENN 84-142): Electrical citation settled for $5,000
MSHA cited Reading Anthracite under an electrical safety rule after a miner died while working at a power substation at the Buck Run strip mine. The agency initially proposed a $10,000 penalty. The parties agreed to settle for $5,000 after reviewing the accident evidence and reassessing the…
AFGE Local 32 and Office of Personnel Management
AFGE Local 32 and OPM (FLRA O-NG-903): Polygraph ban and training commitment proposals rejected
AFGE Local 32 proposed that OPM use no lie detectors and treat entries in employee development plans as commitments to provide training or promotion. The Authority held that an absolute polygraph ban would interfere with management's right to choose internal security practices. It also held that…
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Boston Regional Office and AFGE Local 3258
HUD Boston and AFGE Local 3258 (FLRA 1-CU-30006): Three attorneys included in bargaining unit
HUD argued that three attorney advisers in its Boston regional office were management officials who should be excluded from the professional employee bargaining unit. The Authority found that they handled litigation and advised agency counsel on existing policies, but did not formulate, determine…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Ferndale Ready Mix & Gravel, Inc.
Ferndale Ready Mix & Gravel (FMSHRC WEST 82-58-M): Nine sand and gravel safety citations upheld
MSHA cited Ferndale Ready Mix & Gravel for nine conditions at its Pole Road sand and gravel pit, including unguarded conveyor parts, unsafe elevated walkways, a missing emergency communication system, and a defective backup alarm. The company did not contest the factual allegations but argued that…
Elmer Construction Corporation
Late contest accepted and case remanded for a merits hearing
OSHA cited Elmer Construction Corporation for two serious violations and proposed a $320 penalty. Elmer paid the penalty, but its newly retained attorney called OSHA and said the company wanted to contest the violations. The Commission found that the conversation was confusing and may have led the…
Elmer Construction Corporation
Late contest accepted after filing confusion
OSHA issued Elmer Construction a citation alleging two serious violations and proposing a $320 penalty. Elmer paid the penalty, but its newly hired attorney called OSHA seeking to contest the citation while the 15-working-day filing period was still open. Because neither the attorney nor the OSHA…
Bridgeport Brass Company
Indoor emergency eyewash and shower were sufficiently accessible
Bridgeport Brass Company occasionally transferred sulfuric acid from a truck to an outdoor storage tank. An eyewash fountain and safety shower were inside an adjacent building, a short distance from the door. The Secretary argued that the door, tank, truck, and delivery lines could obstruct an…
Social Security Administration and AFGE
Arbitration exceptions one day late
AFGE filed exceptions to an arbitration award involving the Social Security Administration. The Authority calculated that the filing deadline was August 1, 1984, based on the award's June 28 mailing and the applicable statutory and regulatory time rules. The exceptions were filed on August 2. The…
Department of Defense Dependents Schools, Pacific Region and Overseas Education Association
Defense Dependents Schools and Overseas Education Association (FLRA O-AR-814): Performance removal award beyond Authority review
A Defense Dependents Schools employee was removed for unacceptable performance. An arbitrator found procedural defects and reduced the removal to a suspension, but declined to reinstate the employee at another school. The union filed exceptions to that award with the Authority. The Authority held…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Carolina Stalite Company
Carolina Stalite Company (FMSHRC SE 80-21-M and related dockets): Penalty cases returned after court reversal
A federal appeals court reversed a Commission decision and an ALJ decision in these dockets, holding that Carolina Stalite's facility was a mine covered by the Mine Act. In response, the Commission reinstated an administrative law judge's $14,542 total penalty assessment as its final order in the…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Pyro Mining Company
Pyro Mining Company (FMSHRC KENT 84-151): Roof support penalty settled for $450
MSHA proposed an $800 penalty against Pyro Mining Company for allegedly failing to install roof support timbers at several crosscuts in a supply entry at its No. 9 Slope mine. The parties agreed to settle the citation for $450. Judge Richard C. Steffey found the reduced amount reasonable because a…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Pittsburg & Midway Coal Mining Company
Pittsburg & Midway Coal Mining Company (FMSHRC CENT 82-1 and CENT 82-2): Five citations upheld, two vacated
MSHA cited Pittsburg & Midway Coal Mining Company for seven conditions at its McKinley Strip Mine. Judge John J. Morris upheld citations involving an unblocked truck carrying explosives, a forklift without a fire extinguisher, unprotected high voltage cables, and an unguarded loading dock. He…
AFGE Local 2192 and Veterans Administration, St. Louis
AFGE Local 2192 and VA St. Louis (FLRA O-NG-987): Incomplete negotiability appeal dismissed
AFGE Local 2192 filed a negotiability appeal concerning the Veterans Administration in St. Louis. The Authority notified the union that the petition lacked several items required by its filing rules, identified the steps needed to complete it, and gave the union time to respond. The union made no…
AFGE Council 147 and Social Security Administration
AFGE Council 147 and SSA (FLRA O-NG-976): Incomplete negotiability appeal dismissed
AFGE Council 147 filed a negotiability appeal involving the Social Security Administration. The Authority told the union its petition did not comply with a filing requirement, described the steps needed to complete it, and allowed time to respond. The union filed nothing within that period. The…
Philadelphia Metal Trades Council and Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
Philadelphia Metal Trades Council and Naval Shipyard (FLRA O-NG-970): Parking proposal appeal dismissed after withdrawal
The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard announced a directive eliminating employee parking inside a controlled industrial area. After discussions about alternatives, it asserted that a union proposal was outside the duty to bargain, prompting the Philadelphia Metal Trades Council to seek Authority review…
AFGE Local 2302 and Department of the Army, Army Armor Center, Fort Knox
AFGE Local 2302 and Army Armor Center (FLRA O-NG-624): Probationary separation proposals rejected
AFGE Local 2302 proposed limits and procedures for separating probationary employees at the Army Armor Center. The Authority found that several provisions would restrict separation to reasons tied to actual work performance, contrary to governmentwide probation rules that also address…
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.