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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Homestake Mining Company v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Nine citations vacated
Homestake Mining contested a citation alleging inadequate safety gates at a shaft landing in its gold mine, alongside penalty proceedings for eight other citations. The Secretary withdrew the unwarrantable failure designation on the shaft citation, after which Homestake withdrew its separate…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. John H. Middleton
Mine company president liable for inadequate loader brakes
MSHA sought a personal penalty against John H. Middleton, president of a sand and gravel operator, after a front end loader continued working with inadequate brakes. Judge John J. Morris found that employees had reported the brake problem and a repair service had said all four brakes were worn out…
Commander, Dobbins Air Force Base, Air Force Plant 06 and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2609
Dobbins Air Force arbitration exceptions dismissed as late
The union submitted exceptions concerning a Dobbins Air Force Base arbitration award dated May 14, 1982. The Authority calculated June 14 as the filing deadline, but the submission arrived November 22. It refused to waive the filing limit and dismissed the exceptions without a merits ruling. The…
Pennsylvania Power & Light Co.
Grounding or barricading violation affirmed
A Pennsylvania Power & Light crew was installing a utility pole near a 7.2-kilovolt line. The crew leader moved a digger truck's boom into the energized line while the truck was neither grounded nor barricaded, and he died in the resulting electrical incident. PP&L argued that its two-foot…
United States Army Infantry Center and Federal Employees Metal Trades Council
Army Infantry Center arbitration exceptions dismissed as late
The union sought review of an Army Infantry Center arbitration award dated December 29, 1982. The Authority calculated that exceptions had to reach its national office by January 27, 1983. They arrived February 28. The Authority dismissed them as untimely without deciding the award's merits.
Navy Resale System Field Support Office, Commissary Store Division, Little Creek and National Association of Government Employees, Local R4-45
Little Creek commissary arbitration exceptions dismissed as late
The union sought review of a Navy commissary arbitration award dated January 31, 1983. The Authority calculated that exceptions were due March 1. The union filed March 3. The Authority dismissed the exceptions as untimely without reviewing the award's merits.
Leo Klimczak v. General Crushed Stone Company, Inc.
Discharge discrimination complaint dismissed
Leo Klimczak alleged that General Crushed Stone fired him for making safety complaints and refusing unsafe work. Judge Gary Melick found that Klimczak had engaged in protected safety activity and that management knew of it. He nevertheless found insufficient evidence that the protected activity…
Minerals Exploration Company v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Highwall withdrawal order and citation affirmed
An MSHA inspector ordered miners withdrawn from beneath loose and overhanging rock on a highwall at Minerals Exploration Company's Sweetwater uranium mine. Judge John A. Carlson found that the rock could fall without warning onto miners working near the wall, violating the dangerous banks standard…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Amax Chemical Corporation
Six citations vacated, three sustained
MSHA brought nine citations against Amax Chemical Corporation's potash mine and mill. Judge Charles C. Moore, Jr. vacated six after finding that the evidence did not prove the alleged manhoist, roof support, fall protection, or access violations. Two other citations were uncontested, and he…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. N. A. Degerstrom, Incorporated
Noise and fire extinguisher citations split
MSHA cited N. A. Degerstrom for excessive worker noise exposure at several crushing and equipment operations and for two fire extinguishers that had not been inspected at the recommended intervals. Judge John J. Morris affirmed three noise citations after evaluating the evidence of feasible…
Jay Montoya v. Valley Camp of Utah, Inc.
Reprimand discrimination complaint dismissed
Jay Montoya said Valley Camp reprimanded him for refusing to work under roof he reasonably believed was unsafe and that the reprimand led him to resign. Judge Gary Melick treated Montoya's late complaint as timely because he had promptly raised it with the employer and Valley Camp showed no…
Matter of Ognibene
Canadian admission controlled treaty-investor claim
The applicant was a native of Italy who claimed dual Canadian and Italian nationality and sought treaty-investor status based on real estate ventures in Florida. He had entered the United States as a Canadian citizen, and Canadian nationals were not eligible for the treaty-investor classification…
FMC Corporation v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Blasting agent storage citation affirmed
An MSHA inspector found pallets of blasting agent in FMC Corporation's shaft yard about eight feet from a tank of combustible hydraulic fluid. FMC argued that the material was merely awaiting transport underground and was not in storage under the cited rule. Judge Joseph B. Kennedy found that even…
Plains Cooperative Oil Mill, Inc.
Screw-conveyor guarding violation affirmed
Plains Cooperative Oil Mill failed to adequately guard a screw conveyor in its cottonseed mill. The Commission adopted the judge's conclusion that the conveyor was a machine covered by the general machine-guarding rule and that Plains failed to comply. It emphasized that an employer violates the…
Farmers Export Company
Grain-elevator settlement conditionally approved
The Secretary and Farmers Export Company settled citations issued after a 1977 grain-elevator explosion, reducing proposed penalties from $126,000 to $8,000. Farmers Export had sold the reconstructed facility and said it could neither abate the cited conditions nor serve current affected employees…
Union Electric Company, Geraldine District
Energized-line clearance violation affirmed
An unprotected Union Electric employee came closer to an energized line than the minimum distance allowed by the construction electrical-clearance standard. The company's rule required rubber gloves when employees came within reach of energized conductors, but it did not state the specific minimum…
Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp.
115 dBA is a ceiling no matter how short the exposure
The Secretary alleged that Wheeling-Pittsburgh violated the noise standard at 29 C.F.R. § 1910.95(b)(1) by not using feasible engineering controls. Administrative Law Judge Benjamin G. Usher held that the proposed control failed the cost-benefit test of feasibility from Continental Can Co. and…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Ford Coal Company
Truck brake citation vacated and one order settled
MSHA alleged three violations of the mobile equipment brake rule at Ford Coal Company's surface mine. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. vacated the citation concerning a haul truck with a ruptured front brake chamber, finding that its rear braking system still provided adequate brakes under the cited…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Plateau Resources Limited
Explosives cargo citation affirmed while second citation remained open
MSHA cited Plateau Resources after finding explosives and detonators in a drill buggy's rear compartment alongside metal tools and other materials. Judge Joseph B. Kennedy held that the entire rear compartment counted as cargo space under 30 C.F.R. § 57.6-50, affirmed that citation, and assessed a…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Western Steel Corporation
Citation vacated for a temporary break in welding
MSHA cited Western Steel Corporation after a worker left oxygen and acetylene tank valves open while obtaining more angle iron for welding work at an underground mine. The worker shut off the burner and was away from the torch for approximately 20 minutes. The Commission affirmed the judge's…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Bill Garris
Individual brake charge dismissed
A supply truck operator died after being crushed between the truck bed and a loading dock. MSHA alleged that Bill Garris knowingly failed to address defective parking brakes. Judge Charles C. Moore, Jr. found that the evidence did not establish how the accident happened or connect the parking brake…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Freeman United Coal Mining Company
Two ventilation citations upheld by the judge
MSHA cited Freeman United Coal Mining Company for inadequate ventilation at its Crown No. 2 Mine. Judge James A. Broderick upheld a citation under 30 C.F.R. § 75.316 because coal cutting continued after the exhaust fan and tubing had been moved away from the working face, leaving little or no…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Belcher Mine, Inc.
Five citations upheld and three vacated
MSHA cited Belcher Mine after an inspection of its small mine and portable crusher. Judge Gary Melick vacated three citations: one was withdrawn, the first aid rule did not require the particular second shift supervisor to be trained, and the electrical cover plate rule did not require a junction…
Amoco Texas Refining Company
Crane-operator training citation vacated
Amoco used a rented long-boom crane to lift maintenance employees after an explosion damaged normal access routes. An operator experienced on a smaller crane reviewed the larger crane, practiced under observation, and completed a successful test lift before a later crew's basket was jostled while…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Mathies Coal Company
Elevator guarding citation vacated
MSHA cited Mathies Coal Company after a miner died in an elevator shaft beside a mine stairway. The Secretary alleged that the elevator cage and its protruding cam were exposed moving machine parts that needed guarding under 30 C.F.R. § 75.1722(a). The Commission reversed the judge's violation…
Ulysses Irrigation Pipe Company
Unlighted tractor hazard citation affirmed
A supervisor was killed while using a tractor without lights or overhead protection at night in a storage yard containing parked trailers and other obstacles. Ulysses normally used a lighted, protected forklift, but employees used the tractor when work was behind and the company's instructions…
Harmony Blue Granite Co, Inc.
Noise and silica dust findings set aside after the feasibility test changed
A follow-up inspection of Harmony's tombstone and monument plant produced two charges. The first was a notification of failure to correct a violation of the noise standard at 29 C.F.R. § 1910.95 in the hand blasting area. The second was a citation under 29 C.F.R. § 1910.1000 for not putting in…
James W. Dickey v. United States Steel Mining Co., Inc.
Discrimination complaint dismissed
James Dickey alleged that United States Steel Mining discharged him in retaliation for his mine safety complaints and grievances. The company said it discharged him because of his threatening and abusive conduct toward another employee during an altercation at the mine. Judge George A. Koutras…
Office of the General Counsel and Elias Moses v. Whitley Development Corporation
Judge disqualification request returned for initial ruling
In a pending case involving Elias Moses and Whitley Development Corporation, the operator asked the Commission to remove the assigned judge and vacate his earlier orders. The Commission declined to act on that request because its procedural rule first required the judge to decide whether to…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Freeman United Coal Mining Company
Negligence finding corrected
Judge James A. Broderick corrected the negligence finding in his March 16 decision concerning Freeman United Coal Mining Company. The corrected conclusion states that the operator should have known of the reporting violation because it knew of the miner's injury, making the violation negligent…
Internal Revenue Service, Western Region, San Francisco and National Treasury Employees Union
IRS grievance meeting practice restored
The IRS had held all Step 4 grievance meetings in San Francisco, then moved one to Seattle without bargaining with NTEU. The Authority agreed with the administrative law judge that the established location practice affected employees' working conditions and that the unilateral change violated the…
Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Bureau of Drugs and Medical-Dental Officers Society of FDA
FDA medical officer unit petition dismissed
A society of FDA medical and dental officers sought an election in a Bureau of Drugs unit or one of two wider FDA units. The Authority found that these officers worked with other professionals under largely shared conditions and did not have the distinct community of interest needed for a separate…
Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Secretary; National Treasury Employees Union; and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 41
HHS headquarters representation election directed
NTEU petitioned for an election among HHS headquarters employees represented by AFGE. AFGE argued that its agreement barred the petition and that it retained a right to participate despite refusing to sign an election agreement. The Authority allowed AFGE to participate but found that both sides'…
Bureau of Prisons, Lewisburg Penitentiary and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 148
Lewisburg prison labor violations reversed
Three consolidated complaints challenged Lewisburg prison changes involving mailroom assignments, reorganization bargaining, and the timing of information supplied to the union. The administrative law judge found violations. The Authority found that the union had enough advance notice of the…
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Local 2910 and Library of Congress
Library assistance program proposals partly negotiable
The Library of Congress union proposed five changes to an employee assistance program. The Authority rejected proposals assigning tasks to specific offices or supervisors and one limiting access to agency files. It ordered bargaining on a fifth proposal giving employees who accepted help a…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3631 and Environmental Protection Agency
EPA computer operator rotation proposal nonnegotiable
The union proposed rotating EPA WANG computer operators after three months if a health and safety committee found that longer full time work posed stress. The Authority read the proposal as an absolute bar on assigning the work to some employees once that condition was met. That conflicted with…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 225 and U.S. Army Armament Research and Development Command, Dover, New Jersey
Army facility privileges proposal nonnegotiable
The union proposed that nonappropriated fund employees receive the same facility privileges as other Army command employees, including recreation areas, credit union access, and payroll deductions. The Authority held that the picnic and recreation provisions did not concern conditions of…
American Federation of Government Employees, International Council of U.S. Marshals Service Locals and U.S. Marshals Service
Marshals bargaining proposals split; reconsideration denied
The marshals' union proposed limits on assigning tasks and overtime, protections for involuntary reassignment, and local supplemental agreements. The Authority rejected proposals 1 through 3 because they constrained management's work assignment choices. It ordered bargaining on proposals 4 and 5…
U.S. Soldiers' and Airmen's Home and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3090
Soldiers' Home reinstatement award upheld
An arbitrator found that a Soldiers' and Airmen's Home employee's suspension and removal lacked just cause and ordered reinstatement. The agency argued that the award rested on incorrect facts. The Authority found that the agency was disputing the arbitrator's view of the evidence rather than…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R4-96 and Naval Weapons Station, Yorktown, Virginia
Yorktown higher grade pay grievance denial upheld
A Yorktown Navy employee sought higher grade pay for duties she said she performed over about three years. The arbitrator denied the grievance because she had not performed all significant duties of the higher grade job and had waited too long to file. The union challenged the arbitrator's…
National Park Service, Mid-Atlantic Regional Office and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2058
Transferred heritage staff added to Park Service unit
After a reorganization, employees of the former Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service moved into the National Park Service's Mid-Atlantic office. The Park Service argued that the change had created a new unit and employees should vote again on representation. The Authority found that the…
Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Office of Program Service Centers and Northeastern Program Service Center; American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1760
Early SSA dues revocations held unlawful
SSA honored employees' requests to end union dues withholding at six month intervals under an older local agreement. The union had objected to continuing that schedule after the labor statute took effect. The Authority held that the statute's one year revocation interval then governed, so the early…
Interpretation and Guidance on Federal Service Impasses Panel bargaining jurisdiction
FLRA reserves duty to bargain rulings to Authority
NTEU asked whether the Federal Service Impasses Panel could decide a dispute over the duty to bargain after taking jurisdiction over a negotiation impasse. The Authority held that the Panel could not decide that legal question. Negotiability appeals and unfair labor practice procedures assigned…
American Federation of Government Employees, Council of Social Security District Office Locals and Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration
SSA cross specialty interview proposals negotiable
SSA planned to have Title II claims representatives perform some Title XVI interviewing. The union proposed asking for volunteers first and aligning appraisals and position descriptions with the added work. The Authority held that neither proposal forced management to choose a volunteer or limited…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3038 and Veterans Administration
VA flexible schedule petition dismissed as moot
A VA union appealed an agency claim that a flexible work schedule proposal conflicted with an agencywide policy. While the appeal was pending, Congress enacted a new law governing flexible and compressed schedules. The parties had not addressed how that law affected their dispute. The Authority…
Kanawha Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Roof control citation vacated
MSHA alleged that Kanawha Coal Company had failed to install posts required by its approved roof control plan during retreat mining at the Madison No. 1-A Mine. Judge James A. Broderick credited the operator's witnesses over the inspector on the mining sequence and location of the posts. He found…
Lansalot A. Olguin v. Cities Service Company and Inspiration Consolidated Copper Company
Discrimination case settled
Lansalot Olguin alleged that Cities Service Company and Inspiration Consolidated Copper Company retaliated against him by ending his employment or refusing to hire him after he made safety complaints to MSHA. Before a merits hearing, the parties submitted separate settlement agreements with each…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Freeman United Coal Mining Company
Mine injury reporting citation upheld by the judge
Freeman United Coal Mining Company did not report a miner's back injury after he developed pain while putting on work boots in the mine wash house, received hospital treatment, and missed work. The company argued that the injury was not work caused. Judge James A. Broderick held that the reporting…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) on behalf of Chester Jenkins v. Hecla-Day Mines Corporation
Discrimination complaint dismissed before partial reversal
MSHA alleged that Hecla-Day Mines retaliated against Chester Jenkins after he raised mine safety concerns by posting his letter, changing his work assignment, and suspending him for two days without pay. Judge Virgil E. Vail found that Jenkins's protected activity partly motivated the suspension…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Southern Ohio Coal Company
Walkaround pay citation affirmed after remand
A court ruling required Southern Ohio Coal Company to provide compensation for a miners' representative's participation in an MSHA inspection under the Mine Act's walkaround provision. After remand, the company asked the ALJ to reconsider the court's interpretation and challenged the citation's…
Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Contract Administration Services Region, Cleveland and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2795
Two contract administration offices retained in unit
The Defense Logistics Agency reorganized its offices serving contractors in Michigan and Ohio, changing their reporting relationship. The agency and AFGE agreed that the employees should remain in the existing bargaining unit. The Authority found that their duties, personnel rules, promotion and…
Department of the Navy, Naval Avionics Center, Indianapolis and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1744
Navy printing staff removed from avionics unit
The Navy moved an Indianapolis duplicating branch from the Naval Avionics Center to the Publications and Printing Service. The employees stayed at the same site but came under a new command that controlled their work and personnel policies. The Authority found they no longer shared a community of…
Defense Communications Agency Headquarters and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2
Communications agency unit tied to personnel service
A Defense Communications Agency unit had been defined by a single Arlington work location even after some employees moved elsewhere. The agency and AFGE jointly asked to define it by service from the headquarters civilian personnel division instead. The Authority found that description consistent…
Defense Mapping Agency, Hydrographic/Topographic Center and Graphic Arts International Union, Local 98-L
Photography staff not added to graphic arts unit
The graphic arts union sought to add about 60 Defense Mapping Agency photography employees to its existing unit. The Authority found that their primary work was not lithographic and they were outside the branches listed in the certified unit. It dismissed the clarification petition without deciding…
Department of Defense Dependents Schools and Overseas Federation of Teachers
Teachers' grievance repayment complaint dismissed
A Defense Department schools grievance resolution awarded back pay to a teacher. Higher management later directed recoupment, and the union alleged interference with the local bargaining relationship. The Authority found that no money had been recovered and a waiver request remained undecided…
Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Bureau of Field Operations, New York and American Federation of Government Employees
SSA dues revocation case partly sustained
SSA continued allowing employees to revoke union dues allotments twice a year after the union objected to that older practice. The Authority held that the statute then required one year intervals and found that the March 1980 revocations violated it in one timely complaint. It ordered restoration…
Police Association of the District of Columbia and National Park Service, National Capital Region
Park Police special position proposal nonnegotiable
The Park Police union proposed listing certain jobs as special assignment positions with added compensation. The Authority found that the proposal would classify positions as technician jobs for pay purposes, a matter excluded from conditions of employment under the labor statute. It dismissed that…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Arch Mineral Corporation
First aid supplies citation vacated
MSHA cited Arch Mineral Corporation because a first aid box near an open pit lacked adhesive bandages and a rubber blanket. Judge John J. Morris credited the company's evidence that complete first aid stations were maintained on its dragline and another machine at the working place. The inspector…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Arch Mineral Corporation
Seat belt citation vacated under then controlling rule
MSHA cited Arch Mineral Corporation after a bulldozer operator said he had not worn a seat belt while operating near a coal bench that collapsed. Judge John J. Morris held that the inspector had enough circumstantial evidence to issue the citation despite not seeing the operator drive. Applying…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Sellersburg Stone Company
Blasting and accident reporting penalties affirmed
At Sellersburg Stone Company's limestone quarry, a worker was seriously injured when a boulder containing undetonated dynamite exploded as he drilled it. The Commission upheld the judge's finding that the company violated the rule requiring examination of blasted material for unexploded charges…
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.