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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NTEU Chapter 68 and Internal Revenue Service, Andover Service Center
Furlough proposal appeal dismissed over bargaining obligation
NTEU Chapter 68 proposed local bargaining over furlough and recall procedures for intermittent employees during a reorganization. The IRS said those procedures were already in the national agreement. The Authority found that the dispute concerned whether the agency had a local duty to bargain, a…
AFGE Council 236 and General Services Administration, National Archives and Records Service
Local proposal appeal dismissed over national agreement
AFGE Council 236 proposed a term during negotiations over implementation of an arbitration award. National level representatives later determined that the subject was already covered by their agreement and recommended ending local negotiations. The Authority found that the remaining question…
AFGE Local 2578 and GSA National Archives and Records Service
Trust Fund employee bumping proposal negotiable
AFGE Local 2578 proposed giving Trust Fund employees the same reduction in force bumping and retreat rights as competitive service employees. GSA argued that an agency regulation barred bargaining. The Authority found that GSA had not demonstrated a compelling need for that regulation and had…
AFGE Local 1603 and Marine Corps Exchange, Henderson Hall
Reduction in force reversion proposal nonnegotiable
AFGE Local 1603 proposed that employees affected by a reduction in force could revert to positions they had held previously and certain intervening positions. The Authority found the proposal materially identical to one it had already held outside the duty to bargain. It held that mandatory…
New York State Nurses Association and Veterans Administration Medical Center, Manhattan
Nurse work schedule proposal nonnegotiable
The New York State Nurses Association proposed limits on weekend and shift rotation for nurses at a VA medical center. The Authority found that the disputed terms would create absolute periods when certain employees could not be assigned, regardless of patient care staffing needs. It held that the…
AFGE Local 3488 and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Four FDIC proposals negotiable, four rejected
AFGE Local 3488 appealed FDIC objections to eight proposals on financial disclosure, compensatory time, compressed schedules, travel expenses, sick leave, and travel hours. The Authority ordered bargaining on the two compensatory time proposals, a travel expense proposal, and a sick leave proposal…
Matter of Oduro
Acknowledgment alone did not establish legitimation
A lawful permanent resident from Ghana petitioned for immigration preference classification for three children born in Ghana. He acknowledged paternity and argued that customary marriages to the children's mothers made the children legitimate, but he did not provide the evidence required to…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Emery Mining Corporation
Annual refresher training required within twelve months
Five Emery Mining employees at an underground mine last received refresher training in June 1980, fifteen months before MSHA issued a withdrawal order. An administrative law judge held that 30 C.F.R. § 48.8(a) required training once each calendar year and dismissed the training case. The Commission…
Fort Bragg Unit of North Carolina Association of Educators, National Education Association and Fort Bragg Dependents Schools
Fort Bragg Dependents Schools (FLRA O-NG-457): Bargaining ordered on most compensation proposals
A teachers' union at Fort Bragg Dependents Schools sought to bargain over 21 proposals on pay and benefits. The schools argued that federal education funding law and management's budget right barred bargaining. The Authority rejected those broad objections and ordered bargaining on 17 proposals. It…
Veterans Administration Medical Center, Bronx, New York and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1168
Bronx VA arbitration exceptions dismissed as late
The Bronx Veterans Administration Medical Center filed exceptions to an arbitration award dated June 28, 1983. The Authority found the 30-day deadline expired July 27, but the medical center filed on July 28. It dismissed the exceptions as untimely under the statutory and regulatory filing rules…
Department of the Army, Fort Drum, New York and National Association of Government Employees, Local R2-61
Fort Drum arbitration exceptions dismissed as late
The Army at Fort Drum filed exceptions to an arbitration award dated June 8, 1983. The Authority calculated that the 30-day filing period ended July 7, but the Army filed on July 11. It dismissed the exceptions because the filing deadline could not be extended or waived. The order did not decide…
Federal Election Commission and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 204
Promotion grievance award upheld
An arbitrator denied a grievance alleging that the Federal Election Commission should have promoted an employee on her career ladder anniversary. The union argued that the arbitrator changed the agreed question and misread the collective bargaining agreement. The Authority found that the arbitrator…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1923 and Social Security Administration, Headquarters, Bureaus and Offices
Temporary promotion backpay award upheld
A Social Security Administration secretary performed higher graded duties in rotating details totaling more than 80 days, but none lasted more than 30 consecutive days. An arbitrator read the agreement to require higher pay after 30 cumulative calendar days and awarded a temporary promotion and…
Department of the Air Force, Williams Air Force Base, Arizona and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1776
Position description arbitration award upheld
A union challenged the official position description for engineering planning technicians at Williams Air Force Base and proposed a replacement. The arbitrator found the official description adequate under governing law and regulation. The union argued the award conflicted with law, regulation, and…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Monterey Coal Company
Reconsideration petition denied
A party sought reconsideration of the Commission's June 13, 1983 decision in the Monterey Coal matter. The Commission considered the petition and the opposition. It denied reconsideration because the request identified no material factual or legal issue that the Commission had not already…
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Headquarters, Washington, D.C. and Local 9, American Federation of Technical Engineers
NASA Headquarters (FLRA 3-CA-2624): Impasse Panel order enforced
A union representing NASA Headquarters employees charged that NASA refused to follow a Federal Service Impasses Panel order concerning a grievance procedure for its labor agreement. The administrative law judge found that NASA's refusal violated its duty to cooperate with impasse decisions and…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Richard Klippstein and W. O. Pickett, Jr.
Mine violations upheld, one respondent dismissed
Richard Klippstein reopened the Big 3 coal mine in Colorado to pursue a water right and evaluate its coal deposits. An MSHA inspector cited five violations, including inadequate ventilation, an electrical hazard, and missing notices and examination records. Judge John A. Carlson found that…
Matter of Mundell
Brief foreign stop counted as an entry
Two Canadian respondents had been admitted to the United States as nonimmigrants, but neither had been admitted as a lawful permanent resident. They traveled by boat from California, briefly stopped in Mexico, and were inspected in Hawaii before continuing to the mainland. The Board held that their…
Secretary of Labor ex rel. Bennett, Cox et al. v. Emery Mining Corporation
Secretary of Labor ex rel. Bennett v. Emery Mining Corporation (FMSHRC WEST 80-489-D(A)): New miners owed pay for required training
Emery Mining required applicants for underground jobs to complete 32 hours of approved safety training before applying. After hiring twelve of them, Emery used that training to satisfy most of its new miner training obligation but did not pay their training costs or wages for the training time. The…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Nugent Sand Company, Inc.
Settlement motion denied pending penalty support
The Secretary sought approval of a $413 settlement covering six alleged violations at Nugent Sand's mine. Chief Judge Paul Merlin found the proposed amounts appropriate for three citations carrying penalties of $91, $126, and $136. He lacked enough information to assess the three remaining $20…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Inverness Mining Company
Settlement penalty upheld, unsupported criticism struck
MSHA cited Inverness Mining after a miner was injured by falling shale in its underground fluorspar mine. The parties settled the ground control citation for $1,500, and an administrative law judge approved the agreement. Inverness sought review of the judge's statements criticizing its safety…
American Federation of Government Employees, National Council of Grain Inspection Locals and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Federal Grain Inspection Service
Performance appraisal appeal dismissed after agency withdrawal
The grain inspection union sought a negotiability ruling on a proposal about using performance appraisals in reduction in force service credit. The agency initially said the proposal was nonnegotiable, then withdrew that allegation. With no remaining negotiability dispute, the Authority dismissed…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R1-274 and Veterans Administration Medical Center, Northampton, Massachusetts
Northampton negotiability appeal dismissed for incomplete filing
The union filed a negotiability appeal involving the Northampton Veterans Administration Medical Center. The Authority told the union that its petition lacked information required by several filing rules and gave it time to correct the deficiencies. The union made no submission within that period…
Veterans Administration and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2978
Probationary employee grievance award upheld
An arbitrator dismissed a grievance over the discharge of a probationary Veterans Administration employee because he found the labor agreement did not cover it. The union argued that the discharge should have been treated as a disciplinary action under the agreement. The Authority held that the…
Veterans Administration Hospital, Muskogee, Oklahoma and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2250
Muskogee VA grievance award upheld
A union challenged an arbitrator’s decision that a grievance involving the hospital’s merit promotion plan was outside the labor agreement’s arbitration procedure. The union argued that the federal labor statute required arbitration and that the arbitrator chose the wrong agreement clause. The…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Earth Coal Company, Inc.
Default order remanded for further review
Earth Coal Company petitioned the Commission to review a default order entered by the chief administrative law judge. The Commission found the default appropriate on the facts available to the judge at the time. Because Earth Coal's later petition offered statements the judge had not evaluated, the…
Department of the Navy, Aviation Supply Office and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1698
Four Navy bargaining units could not be consolidated
A union asked the Authority to combine four Navy bargaining units located at the same Philadelphia compound. The Authority found that shared location and personnel services did not overcome the units’ different missions, chains of command, work, and employee skills. It held that the proposed unit…
Department of Health and Human Services, Boston Regional Office, National Treasury Employees Union, and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2909
Boston representation election directed
The National Treasury Employees Union sought an election among employees represented by AFGE at the Boston regional office. AFGE argued that a newly signed labor agreement barred the petition. The Authority held that the agreement was a premature extension of the earlier contract and did not block…
Emery Mining Corporation v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
$75 penalty for mine breakthrough violation
A crew at Emery Mining's Little Dove Mine came close to abandoned workings, and a later breakthrough released carbon dioxide into the working section. Judge James A. Broderick had already found a violation in a prior order and retained the penalty and significant and substantial questions. In this…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Consolidation Coal Company
Missed smoking material searches found serious
Consolidation Coal did not search several work crews for smoking materials during two weeks at its Renton Mine, contrary to its approved program. The company admitted the missed searches but argued that the violation was not significant and substantial because the mine worked partial weeks and some…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. C F & I Steel Corporation
Pending modification petition did not excuse hoist rope inspection
C F & I Steel did not cut and examine a section of its Sunrise Mine hoist rope within the period required by 30 C.F.R. § 57.19-124. It had asked MSHA to modify that requirement because the hoist was used less often after the mine shut down. Judge John A. Carlson held that a pending modification…
Ray Ward v. Volunteer Mining Corporation
Retaliatory reassignment and refusal to rehire found
Ray Ward complained about being assigned to roof bolting without training and later filed a Mine Act discrimination complaint. Volunteer Mining reinstated him after a first settlement but kept him in a roof bolter role instead of his former continuous miner position. Judge William Fauver found that…
National Treasury Employees Union and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, National Office
IRS message board appeal dismissed after withdrawal
The union proposed message display boards in IRS National Office buildings with at least 25 employees during negotiations over a message system. The IRS first alleged the proposal was nonnegotiable, then withdrew that allegation. The Authority found no remaining negotiability issue and dismissed…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 11 and Department of the Air Force, Fairchild Air Force Base
Asbestos pay appeal dismissed after withdrawal
The union proposed delaying the end of environmental differential pay for employees exposed to asbestos at Fairchild Air Force Base. The Air Force alleged the proposal was nonnegotiable, then withdrew the allegation. The Authority dismissed the petition because no negotiability dispute remained. It…
Federal Employees Metal Trades Council and Department of the Navy, Mare Island Naval Shipyard
Mare Island search location proposal rejected
The union proposed that searches of handheld items occur at perimeter entrances to Mare Island Naval Shipyard. The Navy argued it needed discretion to choose search locations as an internal security practice. The Authority agreed that the proposal would prevent searches in other areas of the…
National Association of Government Employees and Veterans Administration Medical Center, Butler, Pennsylvania
Butler VA standby proposal rejected
The union proposed allowing technicians on standby duty to leave home if they left a phone number and could return within 30 minutes. The Authority held that this conflicted with the statutory standby pay framework and was outside the duty to bargain. It did not decide the second proposal about…
Internal Revenue Service, Detroit District and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 24
Detroit IRS ranking award upheld
An IRS employee challenged a ranking process that kept him off a best qualified list for a revenue officer vacancy. An arbitrator found the process defective under the labor agreement and ordered contract based corrective relief. The IRS argued the arbitrator exceeded his authority and used a…
Mission Viking, Inc.
Citations vacated as moot after withdrawal
While Mission Viking's case was under judicial review, the Secretary withdrew every citation issued to the company, making the controversy moot. The Fifth Circuit directed the Commission to vacate its prior order. On remand, the Commission set aside its April 30, 1981 order that had affirmed the…
Internal Revenue Service, Detroit District and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 24
Detroit IRS complaint dismissed in full
The administrative law judge found one unfair labor practice after the IRS failed to give a worker the contract’s required advance notice before withholding a within grade pay increase. The Authority held that one failure to comply with that contract clause did not amount to repudiation of the…
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina and American Federation of Government Employees
EPA bargaining unit clarified for five positions
EPA sought to exclude five employees at Research Triangle Park from an existing bargaining unit as management officials. The Authority found two employees who set computer facility and security policy were management officials and excluded them. It retained three specialists who served as technical…
Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Field Assessment Office and American Federation of Government Employees
SSA travel report remedy expanded
The union requested factual parts of travel practice reports covering five Social Security Administration satellite offices. The administrative law judge found that the agency unlawfully withheld the available factual material, while rejecting other allegations. The union objected that the…
Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Atlanta District Office and National Treasury Employees Union
IRS Atlanta meeting notice violations affirmed
IRS managers held two formal meetings with bargaining unit employees in Birmingham concerning personnel policies and working conditions. The union alleged it lacked the required advance notice and chance to attend. The administrative law judge found both meetings violated the union’s representation…
Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Tidewater Virginia Federal Employees Metal Trades Council
Norfolk tool inspection complaint dismissed
A union alleged that Norfolk Naval Shipyard changed its tool box inspection practice without notice and refused to bargain over the change. The administrative law judge found that the broad inspection followed an existing instruction and that management had discussed the union’s concerns. He found…
U.S. Army District Recruiting Command, Philadelphia and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2375
Army civilian recruiter election directed
AFGE sought an election among civilian Army Reserve recruiters in the Philadelphia recruiting command. The Army argued that the recruiters performed personnel work and could not form a bargaining unit. The Authority held that recruiting military enlistees did not create the statutory conflict of…
Defense Logistics Agency and Defense Contract Administration Service Region, Boston, et al.
Boston standards of conduct remedy expanded
The Defense Logistics Agency revised employee conduct rules, and its Boston contract administration region implemented them without advance notice to the local union. The administrative law judge found an unfair labor practice by the Boston region but dismissed claims against the other named…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Servtex Materials Company
Three guarding and fence citations upheld
MSHA cited Servtex Materials at its limestone crushing plant for machine guarding and transformer fence conditions. Judge John J. Morris rejected the company's argument that many earlier inspections without citations barred enforcement. He vacated a drill coupling citation because the coupling was…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. U.S. Steel Mining Company, Inc.
Three violations upheld, two citations vacated
MSHA brought five citations against U.S. Steel Mining at its Maple Creek No. 1 Mine for respirable dust, roof control, and electrical equipment conditions. Judge James A. Broderick vacated one citation at the Secretary's request and another because the evidence did not show a roof control plan…
U.S. Department of Labor request for general statement of policy or guidance
Department of Labor policy request (FLRA O-PS-24): General guidance denied
The Department of Labor asked the Authority for general guidance on whether the Federal Service Impasses Panel could act when one party claimed there was no duty to bargain. The Authority concluded that the particular dispute did not meet its criteria for a general policy statement. It said…
Russell Collins and Virgil Kelley v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
$15,600 attorney fee award granted
Russell Collins and Virgil Kelley sought attorney fees after the Secretary's individual penalty case against them was dismissed. Judge Joseph B. Kennedy found that the government's position was not substantially justified because the record did not support a safety defect in the haulage truck's…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Maiden Mining Company
Settlement motion denied pending penalty evidence
The Secretary asked Chief Judge Paul Merlin to approve a $186 settlement for four alleged violations at Maiden Mining's No. 3 Mine. He accepted the explanation for a $126 penalty for an unmarked disconnect plug, but found too little information about three other proposed $20 penalties. Those…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Thurber Coal Company
Settlement denied for lack of penalty support
The parties sought approval of a settlement for seven alleged violations at Thurber Coal Mine, with six proposed penalties of $68 and one of $20. Chief Judge Paul Merlin found that the motion gave too little information about the alleged conditions, gravity, negligence, company size, and good faith…
Matter of Aldecoaotalora
Sham divorce did not establish unmarried status
A lawful permanent resident sought visa preference status for her daughter as an unmarried daughter. The daughter had obtained a divorce after stating that she needed immigration benefits so her children could remain in the United States, but she continued living with her former husband, filing…
Georgia Pacific Corporation
Secretary's dismissal approved
The Commission approved the Secretary's notice dismissing the Georgia Pacific proceeding. The brief public order does not identify the OSHA standard, cited workplace condition, procedural reason for dismissal, proposed penalty, or any terms associated with ending the case. It supplies no…
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Locals 2477 and 2910 and Library of Congress
Library detail quota proposal rejected
Library of Congress unions proposed at least two series of management development details with a minimum of eight participants each. The Authority found the requirement would force temporary assignments even when suitable managerial work or positions were unavailable. That conflicted with…
Naval Air Rework Facility, Cherry Point, North Carolina and Local Lodge 2297, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
Cherry Point arbitration exceptions dismissed as late
The union challenged an arbitration award dated May 19, 1983. The Authority calculated that exceptions were due June 17 but did not receive them until June 20. Because it could not extend or waive the 30-day filing limit, it dismissed the exceptions. The order did not consider the award’s merits.
Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Ashland, Kentucky and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1286
Ashland prison arbitration exceptions dismissed as late
The union filed exceptions to an arbitration award dated May 18, 1983. The Authority found the 30-day period ended June 16, but the exceptions arrived June 20. It dismissed them because the filing deadline could not be extended or waived. The order did not reach the merits of the award.
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1882 and Veterans Administration Medical Center
VA arbitration exceptions dismissed as late
The union challenged an arbitration award dated May 12, 1983. The Authority calculated a June 10 deadline for exceptions, but the union filed on June 15. It dismissed the exceptions because it could not extend or waive the statutory filing period. The order did not review the underlying award.
Internal Revenue Service, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Washington offices and National Treasury Employees Union
IRS union dues withholding violations affirmed
The IRS stopped withholding union dues for two represented employees after treating their positions as excluded from the unit. An administrative law judge found that the employees remained in the unit and that the agency violated the statutory dues assignment rule. The Authority adopted the Judge’s…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Casper Concrete Company
Settlement denied for lack of facts on seven citations
The parties proposed settling seven alleged violations at Casper Concrete's gravel pit for six $20 penalties and one $98 penalty. Their motion gave no factual account of the alleged violations and relied on MSHA's penalty evaluation. Chief Judge Paul Merlin found that insufficient for the…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Magma Copper Company
Withdrawal denied pending penalty support
The Secretary sought to withdraw a penalty case against Magma Copper after the company paid the original $20 assessment. The citation concerned insulated wires extending from three junction boxes without proper bushings. Chief Judge Paul Merlin found no explanation showing why $20 was appropriate…
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.