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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Johnson & Johnson Products, Inc., & Ethicon, Inc.
Exposure-record access items vacated
Five employees authorized a law firm to obtain their medical records for workers' compensation or occupational disease claims. The firm also requested employee exposure records, but the written authorizations referred only to medical information. The Commission held that, outside the…
McWilliams Forge Company, Inc.
Confined-space citation vacated after amendment denied
Two McWilliams Forge employees lost consciousness while cleaning a pump with solvent in a pit and remained there for about four hours. OSHA cited the company under the general duty clause for failing to test the atmosphere, provide standby rescue assistance, and use respiratory protection. On…
L.R. Willson & Sons, Inc.
Perimeter safety-net citation vacated
L.R. Willson employees erected structural steel on upper floors of a Washington, D.C. building. OSHA cited the company for failing to install perimeter safety nets even though temporary floors were present below the work. The Commission held that the steel-erection fall-protection rules displaced…
D.A. & L. Caruso, Inc.
Willful trench-support violation affirmed
D.A. & L. Caruso employees worked in a 12-to-15-foot-deep trench without shoring, a trench box, or adequate sloping. Portions of the wall had collapsed the previous day while employees were inside, and water was entering near an existing sewer line. The judge vacated the citation after crediting…
Hamilton Die Cast, Inc.
Machine-guarding citation vacated for inadequate notice
Hamilton Die Cast used shields to protect employees from hot aluminum expelled by die-casting machines. During core-pull operations, the shield on one machine was open because the mechanism extended beyond the shield's normal travel area. Hamilton's president testified that OSHA officials had…
Vak-Pak, Inc.
Citations vacated for failure to prove commerce coverage
Vak-Pak manufactured swimming-pool filtration equipment with eleven employees in Florida. The company denied that its business affected interstate commerce, a prerequisite for coverage under the OSH Act. The Secretary relied on uncertain testimony about possible California chemical suppliers…
ASAMERA Oil (U.S.), Inc.
Hazardous-location electrical citation vacated
OSHA cited Asamera Oil for placing unapproved electrical equipment near potential hydrocarbon sources at its Colorado refinery. The judge vacated the citation after finding the definition of a Class I, Division 2 location unconstitutionally vague as applied. The Commission rejected the vagueness…
N.L. Industries, Inc.
Discovery sanctions and $536,000 decision set aside
OSHA alleged that N.L. Industries failed to abate excessive lead exposure and committed additional respiratory, sanitation, chelation, and lead-exposure violations at a secondary lead smelter. After N.L. Industries resisted broad discovery requests, the judge struck its defenses, entered default on…
Adams Steel Erection, Inc.
Fall-net and hard-hat items vacated
Adams Steel was the steel-erection subcontractor on a four-story construction project. The judge affirmed a safety-net item for ironworkers on perimeter beams and a head-protection item for five workers without hard hats. A Commission majority held that the steel-erection fall-protection standards…
The Sherwin-Williams Company
Noise controls are not feasible when their cost is not justified by the benefit
OSHA cited Sherwin-Williams for failing to use engineering or administrative controls to bring noise down at its can manufacturing plant, as required by 29 C.F.R. § 1910.95(b)(1). The question on review was whether the controls the Secretary proposed were "feasible" under that standard. The judge…
Emiliano Rosa Cruz v. Puerto Rican Cement Company, Inc.
Discriminatory discharge found; relief later remanded
Emiliano Rosa Cruz said Puerto Rican Cement fired him because he reported workplace hazards to an MSHA inspector; the company said it fired him for repeated absences. After reviewing the testimony and attendance history, the judge found that Cruz's safety complaints caused the discharge and that…
Marmon Group, d/b/a Darling Store Fixtures, Inc.
Serious press-guarding violation affirmed as not willful
Marmon Group used pull-out devices to keep power-press operators' hands away from points of operation. After an operator's fingers were injured, testimony showed that an assistant foreman had not consistently checked whether the device was properly adjusted for each operator, despite records…
Secretary of Labor v. Kitt Energy Corporation
Withdrawal order reclassified after clean inspection
MSHA cited Kitt Energy for inadequate guarding of moving parts at its underground coal mine and later converted the citation to a withdrawal order based on an earlier sequence of unwarrantable violations. The judge upheld the guarding violation and the withdrawal order. The Commission held that a…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3787 and Social Security Administration, Harlington, Texas
AFGE Local 3787 and Social Security Administration (FLRA O-AR-773): Exceptions dismissed as late
AFGE Local 3787 filed exceptions to an arbitrator's award involving a Social Security Administration office in Texas. The Authority found that the award had been served by mail in March 1984 and received on April 2. Under the applicable deadline, exceptions were due by May 1, but the union filed…
Buckeye Coal Mining Company
Fire extinguisher settlements rejected
MSHA cited Buckeye Coal Mining Company for lacking fire extinguishers on a bulldozer and a dragline at its West Point Strip Mine. The Secretary proposed settling each citation for $15, down from an initial assessment of $20. Judge Paul Merlin found the Secretary had not explained why the missing…
Navy Public Works Center, Norfolk, Virginia and Tidewater Virginia Federal Employees Metal Trades Council
Norfolk Navy Public Works Center (FLRA 3-CA-2071): Back pay award enforcement ordered
The Norfolk Navy Public Works Center did not implement an arbitrator's final award for Power House employees' environmental pay differential. A Judge found an unfair labor practice and recommended payment plus compensation for other losses. The Authority adopted the finding that the center…
U.S. Customs Service, Region I, Boston, Massachusetts and National Treasury Employees Union
Customs Service Region I (FLRA 1-CA-20325): Coercive statements found, stool removal claims dismissed
The Customs Service removed stools used by inspectors at a Montreal station after a grievance about stool use elsewhere. A branch chief told employees the grievance caused the removal, which the Authority found could coerce employees in exercising their labor rights. The Authority rejected the…
Secretary of Labor v. Roy Glenn, Agent of Climax Molybdenum Company
Secretary of Labor v. Roy Glenn (FMSHRC WEST 80-158-M): Supervisor's personal penalty vacated
Two Climax Molybdenum workers crossed an elevated girder without securing their safety lines before beginning a welding job. Their shift boss, Roy Glenn, had told them to take safety equipment but had not specified how to reach the work area. A judge found Glenn personally liable for knowingly…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1858 and Army Missile and Munitions Center and School, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama
Redstone Arsenal (FLRA O-NG-744): Bargaining ordered over compliance with Army manpower rule
AFGE Local 1858 proposed that the Army Missile and Munitions Center and School follow the Army regulation governing military and civilian positions. The Army argued that the proposal restricted management's rights to organize its workforce and assign personnel. The Authority found that the proposal…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3004 and Department of the Army and Air Force, National Guard Bureau
National Guard Bureau (FLRA O-NG-712): Technician travel quarters proposal rejected
AFGE Local 3004 proposed assigning traveling National Guard technicians government quarters based on their civilian grades. The National Guard Bureau maintained that its travel regulation instead used military grade. The Authority found the proposal inconsistent with an agency regulation for which…
U.S. Army Missile Readiness Command and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1858
Army Missile Readiness Command (FLRA O-AR-415): Attorney fee award returned for findings
An arbitrator found that an Army employee should have received a noncompetitive promotion and ordered back pay and attorney fees. The Army argued that the grievance concerned position classification and that the fee award lacked the findings required by the Back Pay Act. The Authority rejected the…
American Federation of Government Employees and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
EEOC supervisory vacancy (FLRA O-AR-403): Reposting award upheld
The EEOC posted a supervisory vacancy for 22 days although its negotiated promotion plan set a 20-day maximum. An arbitrator found a contract violation and ordered the agency to repost the position and run the selection process again. The EEOC argued that it had no duty to bargain over supervisory…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2667 and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
EEOC and AFGE Local 2667 (FLRA O-AR-292): Attorney fee denial returned for explanation
An arbitrator set aside an EEOC employee's 14-day suspension and awarded back pay, but denied the union's request for attorney fees. AFGE Local 2667 argued that the fee denial did not apply the standards of the Back Pay Act. The Authority found that the arbitrator's explanation lacked the specific…
Audie L. Murphy Veterans Administration Hospital and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3511
Audie L. Murphy VA Hospital (FLRA O-AR-242): Attorney fee denial returned for explanation
An arbitrator found that the hospital had wrongly failed to consider an employee's completed zoology course for an upward mobility nursing position. The arbitrator ordered reimbursement of training expenses and possible lost earnings, later clarifying that the selection should be rerun and denying…
Cobra Resources, Inc.
$20 loader brake settlement rejected
MSHA cited Cobra Resources because the service brakes on a front end loader used to move railroad cars were inadequate. The Secretary proposed settling for the original $20 assessment, pointing to an operative emergency brake, the loader's blade, and its use on level ground. Judge Paul Merlin…
Louisiana Industries, Inc.
Three $20 settlements lack supporting facts
The Secretary proposed settling three citations against Louisiana Industries for $20 each. Two citations concerned unsecured oxygen and acetylene cylinders and a catloader without a fire extinguisher. Judge Paul Merlin found that the motion did not describe the circumstances of any violation or…
Consolidated Rail Corporation
Hazardous-material emergency settlement approved
OSHA cited Consolidated Rail Corporation over protective clothing and respirators for hazardous-material emergencies at its Edgemoor railyard. Under the settlement, the Secretary withdrew the protective-clothing citation. The respirator item was amended to a serious violation with a $500 penalty…
Clement Food Company
Stacking, pulley, and platform items affirmed; forklift and fan items vacated
Clement Food bottled food products at an Oklahoma City plant and contested several storage, forklift, machine, electrical, and fall-protection items. The Commission affirmed a citation for a leaning 15-foot stack of boxes and a serious pulley-guarding violation, reducing the pulley penalty to $70…
Air Force Accounting and Finance Center, Lowry Air Force Base, Colorado and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2040
Lowry Air Force Base (FLRA 7-CU-40001): Review of unit clarification denied
The Air Force Accounting and Finance Center asked the Authority to review a Regional Director's decision on a bargaining unit clarification petition involving AFGE Local 2040. The agency argued that compelling reasons justified review. The Authority found that the application largely disagreed with…
Division of Military and Naval Affairs, State of New York and New York Council, Association of Civilian Technicians
New York National Guard (FLRA 1-CA-19): Uniform bargaining complaint dismissed on remand
A federal labor panel had required the New York National Guard to accept contract language allowing civilian technicians to choose civilian attire for some duties. The Authority initially found an unfair labor practice when the Guard refused to comply. A federal appeals court remanded the case for…
National Treasury Employees Union and Internal Revenue Service, Kansas City Service Center
IRS Kansas City Service Center (FLRA O-NG-884): Negotiability appeal dismissed as moot
NTEU sought bargaining over changes to incentive award criteria at the IRS Kansas City Service Center. It filed both a negotiability appeal and an unfair labor practice charge, then elected to proceed with the charge. A Regional Director found no duty to bargain because the union had submitted the…
National Treasury Employees Union and Internal Revenue Service, Kansas City Service Center
IRS Kansas City Service Center (FLRA O-NG-861): Second incentive award appeal dismissed as moot
NTEU proposed terms about an incentive award program at the IRS Kansas City Service Center. The union filed a negotiability appeal and an unfair labor practice charge after the agency declined to bargain, then elected to proceed with the charge. A Regional Director found that this proposal…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 32 and Office of Personnel Management
OPM reassignment training (FLRA O-NG-709): Proposal outside bargaining duty
AFGE Local 32 proposed that OPM first give reassigned employees training before holding them responsible for work they could not perform. The proposal also called for reference materials and future training before assigning the work again. The Authority found that the proposal would condition…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Paul Sedgmer Jr., Edward Biega, and Dennis Gorlock v. Consolidation Coal Company
Sedgmer, Biega, and Gorlock v. Consolidation Coal (FMSHRC LAKE 82-105-D): Discrimination complaint dismissed
Three Consolidation Coal scraper operators challenged suspensions imposed after a company timing study found that they had driven slowly during a move to another pit. They said dusty conditions and truck traffic justified their speeds and that their safety concerns were connected to the discipline…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2024 and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (FLRA O-NG-997): Leave proposal appeal dismissed after Navy withdrew objection
AFGE Local 2024 proposed annual leave arrangements for shipyard employees not needed during a holiday curtailment period. The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard declared the proposal nonnegotiable, and the union petitioned the Authority for review. The Department of the Navy later withdrew that allegation…
International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 4 and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (FLRA O-NG-996): Leave proposal appeal dismissed after Navy withdrew objection
IFPTE Local 4 proposed annual leave arrangements for shipyard employees not needed during a holiday curtailment period. The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard declared the proposal nonnegotiable, and the union petitioned the Authority for review. The Department of the Navy later withdrew that allegation…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1384 and Department of the Air Force, Hanscom Air Force Base
Hanscom Air Force Base (FLRA O-NG-701): Appraisal proposal appeal dismissed after withdrawal
NFFE Local 1384 submitted two proposals about Air Force civilian appraisal systems at Hanscom Air Force Base. One would stop implementation of a proposed appraisal system, and the other would add an element to a job performance appraisal system. The Air Force initially alleged that both were…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 153 and U.S. Air Force, MacDill Air Force Base
MacDill Air Force Base (FLRA O-NG-669): Appraisal proposal appeal dismissed after withdrawal
NFFE Local 153 proposed terms concerning a new civilian appraisal system and a joint committee to review its implementation at MacDill Air Force Base. The Air Force initially alleged that the proposals were nonnegotiable, and the union sought Authority review. The Air Force later withdrew its…
New York State Nurses Association and Veterans Administration, Bronx Medical Center
Bronx VA Medical Center (FLRA O-NG-1008): Nurses' negotiability petition filed late
The Veterans Administration disapproved parts of a locally negotiated agreement with the New York State Nurses Association at the Bronx Medical Center. The union sought Authority review of those disapprovals. The Authority calculated a May 29, 1984 filing deadline based on when the agency served…
Secretary of Labor v. Freeman United Coal Mining Company
Mine injury reporting violation affirmed
A Freeman United miner experienced back pain while putting on work boots in the mine wash house before his shift, received hospital treatment, and missed 13 work days. Freeman did not report the injury to MSHA because it viewed the injury as unrelated to the miner's work. The Commission held that…
Westmoreland Coal Company
Shuttle car violation affirmed, unwarrantable failure vacated
An MSHA inspector found that the panic bar on a shuttle car at Westmoreland Coal's Hampton No. 3 Mine would not promptly stop the machine when pressed with the operator's body. Judge George A. Koutras found the testimony supporting the equipment violation credible and upheld the significant and…
Secretary of Labor v. U.S. Steel Mining Co., Inc.
Mixed citation rulings and civil penalties
MSHA sought penalties for safety citations at U.S. Steel Mining's Maple Creek No. 1 and No. 2 mines. Judge George A. Koutras vacated a roof-bolt washer citation and a trailing-cable citation, affirmed a shelter-hole obstruction citation while removing its significant and substantial designation…
Secretary of Labor v. U.S. Steel Mining Co., Inc.
Damaged cable violation held significant and substantial
An inspector found a six-inch gash in the outer insulation of a trailing cable used with a continuous mining machine at U.S. Steel Mining's Maple Creek No. 1 mine. The operator accepted the underlying violation but disputed its significant and substantial designation because the live wires inside…
James L. Dowdell v. Consolidation Coal Company
Discharge complaint dismissed after hearing
Former shuttle car operator James Dowdell claimed Consolidation Coal discharged him for safety complaints rather than for a fight with another miner. Judge George A. Koutras found no credible connection between Dowdell's discharge and activity protected by the Mine Act. He found that Dowdell struck…
United Mine Workers of America and Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Coal Company
Class complaint dismissed, named miners granted relief
Laid-off Peabody miners challenged a recall policy that bypassed workers who lacked current mine safety training. Chief Judge Paul Merlin held that laid-off miners reached on the contractual recall panels had a right to the training needed for the jobs they would otherwise have received. He found…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 29 and Department of the Army, Kansas City District, Corps of Engineers
Corps of Engineers Kansas City District (FLRA O-NG-672): Reassignment proposal rejected
NFFE Local 29 proposed using reduction in force procedures for certain management directed reassignments at the Army Corps of Engineers' Kansas City District. The Authority read the disputed terms as applying those procedures even when no reduction in force occurred. It found that the rules could…
Matter of Repuyan
Adoption visits did not satisfy residence requirement
A United States citizen sought immediate-relative visa classification for two Filipino children she had adopted in the Philippines. The adoption records described several visits, but the Board found that the evidence did not establish the required two years of residence with the adopting parent or…
Tick Eradication Program, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3106
USDA Tick Eradication Program (FLRA 6-CU-30005): Safety and training officer included in unit
The USDA Tick Eradication Program petitioned to exclude its safety and training officer from an AFGE Local 3106 bargaining unit. It argued that his duties made him a management official, confidential employee, or employee performing nonclerical personnel work. The Authority found that he…
Federal Trade Commission and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2211
Federal Trade Commission (FLRA 3-CU-99): Unit clarification petition dismissed
After AFGE Local 2211 won certification at the FTC, it petitioned to add employees in about 123 positions to the bargaining unit. Before the election, the union and agency had agreed with the Regional Director's approval to exclude those positions. The Authority found no showing that the positions'…
Secretary of Labor v. H J and H Coal Company, Inc.
$2,940 in mine safety penalties
MSHA sought penalties for nine safety violations at H J and H Coal Company's No. 3 Mine. The company admitted all nine violations, and Judge James A. Broderick approved settlements for six citations. He set penalties for the other three after a hearing. The largest penalty, $2,500, concerned a…
Secretary of Labor v. Badger Coal Company
Review petition dismissed
Badger Coal Company obtained Commission review of an ALJ decision concerning four consolidated dockets. It later asked the Commission to dismiss its own review petition, and the Secretary of Labor did not object. The Commission vacated its earlier order granting review and dismissed the petition…
Internal Revenue Service, Newark District Office and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 60
IRS Newark District Office (FLRA O-AR-766): Authority lacked jurisdiction over fee exceptions
An arbitrator changed an IRS employee's removal to a 30-day suspension and later awarded the union attorney fees. The IRS challenged the fee award at the Authority. The Authority found that the underlying arbitration involved a removal, one of the adverse actions excluded from its arbitration…
Secretary of Labor v. Earth Coal Company, Inc.
One citation vacated and $250 settlement approved
MSHA sought civil penalties from Earth Coal Company for citations at its Lengacher Mine No. 1. At the hearing, the Secretary withdrew a citation under 30 C.F.R. § 77.1605(b) because the cited scraper was outside the regulation's equipment coverage. Judge Gary Melick granted that motion and vacated…
Secretary of Labor v. U.S. Steel Mining Company, Inc.
Battery-cover citation vacated; $725 assessed
MSHA cited U.S. Steel Mining for eight conditions at its Maple Creek No. 2 Mine, and the parties proposed settlements for three citations. Judge James A. Broderick vacated a citation alleging unsecured battery covers on a scoop tractor, relying on earlier decisions involving the same parties and…
Secretary of Labor v. Grandview Dock Corporation
Five safety violations draw $1,024 in penalties
Grandview Dock Corporation challenged the proposed penalties for five citations at its coal handling site, while admitting the violations and their significant and substantial designations. Two miners lacked hard hats near a conveyor that was dropping coal, a front-end loader lacked a working…
Secretary of Labor v. Carbon County Coal Company
Summary decision denied after remand
MSHA cited Carbon County Coal for operating its mine without an approved ventilation plan after a dispute over an auxiliary fan airflow requirement. The Commission sent the case back to the ALJ to reconsider the company's motion for summary decision. Judge Charles C. Moore, Jr. found unresolved…
Secretary of Labor v. FMC Corporation
Open supply yard counted as blasting-agent storage
At FMC Corporation's Wyoming trona mine, an inspector found about ten tons of ammonium nitrate fuel oil blasting agent in a supply yard eight feet from a tank holding combustible hydraulic oil. A judge found that this violated the standard requiring separation of blasting agents from unnecessary…
Department of the Air Force, Griffiss Air Force Base and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2612
Griffiss Air Force Base (FLRA O-AR-246): Pest controller back pay remedy removed
Griffiss Air Force Base stopped paying pest controllers a four percent environmental differential. An arbitrator found that the employees were not exposed to a qualifying unusually severe hazard, but that the base had failed to consult the union before ending the payments. He awarded a sum equal to…
Philadelphia Regional Office, Social Security Administration and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3186
Philadelphia Social Security office (FLRA O-AR-240): Employee transfer grievance denial upheld
A Social Security office transferred two employees to another local office. AFGE Local 3186 grieved, but an arbitrator found no violation of the labor agreement and denied the grievance. The union then argued that the transfer conduct violated statutory representation and unfair labor practice…
Letterman Army Medical Center, Willie D. Harris, and National Maritime Union of America
Letterman Army Medical Center (FLRA 9-DR-40001): Union's request to review regional decision denied
The National Maritime Union asked the Authority to set aside a Regional Director's decision in a representation case involving Letterman Army Medical Center and petitioner Willie D. Harris. The union argued that compelling reasons supported review. The Authority found that the application merely…
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.