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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Westmoreland Coal Company
Roof-control order affirmed with an $8,000 penalty
Westmoreland Coal Company contested an MSHA withdrawal order for an unsupported overhanging rib at its Eccles No. 6 coal mine. The rib and part of the roof fell while miners prepared to build a ventilation stopping, killing miner John H. Clay. Judge Gary Melick held that the condition violated 30…
Island Creek Coal Company
Six discrimination complaints dismissed after withdrawal
The Secretary of Labor brought six discharge, discrimination, or interference complaints against Island Creek Coal Company on behalf of four miners. The Secretary moved to withdraw each complaint. Judge William Fauver granted the motion for good cause and dismissed all six proceedings. The brief…
Roger L. Hall v. B & B Mining, Inc.
Two discrimination complaints settled for $2,000
Miner Roger L. Hall filed two discharge complaints against B & B Mining. The first followed his request for an MSHA inspection; in the second, he had asked management to inspect the mine before miners returned to work. The company gave different reasons for the two discharges, and the judge did not…
Austin Powder Company and Doan Coal Company
Blasting citations vacated
MSHA cited Austin Powder Company and Doan Coal Company under the blasting warning and clearance rule after flyrock from a blast at Doan's strip mine killed miner Dennis Alvatroha. Judge George A. Koutras held that Austin Powder, whose crew performed the blasting, was an independent contractor…
U.S. Army Engineers, Nashville District and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 2080
Nashville Army Engineers exceptions dismissed as late (FLRA O-AR-476)
IBEW Local 2080 challenged an arbitration award involving the Army Engineers Nashville District. The award was dated November 2, 1982, making December 1 the last day for the exceptions to reach the Authority. The exceptions were postmarked December 2 and arrived December 6. The Authority said it…
U.S. Army Aviation Center and Fort Rucker and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1815
Fort Rucker arbitration exceptions dismissed as late (FLRA O-AR-444)
AFGE Local 1815 challenged an arbitration award involving the Army Aviation Center at Fort Rucker. The award was dated September 1, 1982, and exceptions had to reach the Authority by September 30. The union mailed them on September 29, but they did not arrive until October 18, possibly because they…
U.S. Department of Justice, Medical Center for Federal Prisoners and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1612
Prison medical center overtime award modified (FLRA O-AR-183)
Employees at a federal prison medical center checked out keys and pouches before their shifts, traveled to duty stations, and returned the items afterward. An arbitrator awarded overtime for the key and pouch handling but denied compensation for travel between the control center and duty stations…
Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization, Local 710 and Richard Morris
PATCO Local 710 complaint dismissed as moot (FLRA 8-CO-30)
A complaint involving PATCO Local 710 and Richard Morris reached the Authority after a regional director transferred the case. The General Counsel moved to dismiss it following the Authority’s separate revocation of PATCO’s recognition for prohibited strike activity. Because PATCO was no longer a…
Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization, Local 435 and Federal Aviation Administration, San Antonio International Air Traffic Control Tower
PATCO San Antonio complaint dismissed as moot (FLRA 6-CO-18)
A complaint against PATCO Local 435 at the San Antonio air traffic control tower came to the Authority on transfer from a regional director. The General Counsel sought dismissal after the Authority separately revoked PATCO’s recognition for prohibited strike activity. The Authority concluded that…
Federal Aviation Administration, Southwest Region and Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization
FAA and PATCO complaint dismissed as moot (FLRA 6-CA-568)
An Administrative Law Judge decided a complaint involving the FAA Southwest Region and PATCO, and the FAA filed exceptions. While review was pending, the General Counsel moved to dismiss after the Authority separately revoked PATCO’s recognition for prohibited strike activity. The Authority found…
Scott Air Force Base and National Association of Government Employees, Local R7-23
Scott Air Force Base professionals retained in unit (FLRA 5-CU-32)
Scott Air Force Base sought to remove a safety specialist and two aeronautical information specialists from NAGE Local R7-23’s bargaining unit as management officials. The Authority found their work implemented rather than shaped Air Force policy, so all three remained in the unit. The parties also…
Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization, Local 216 and Federal Aviation Administration, Greater Buffalo International Airport Traffic Control Tower
PATCO Buffalo complaint dismissed as moot (FLRA 1-CO-23)
A complaint against PATCO Local 216 at the Buffalo airport traffic control tower came to the Authority on transfer from a regional director. The General Counsel requested dismissal after the Authority separately revoked PATCO’s recognition for prohibited strike activity. The Authority found that…
U.S. Steel Mining Co., Inc.
Quartz dust citations upheld
U.S. Steel Mining contested citations for exceeding a reduced respirable dust limit at two coal mines. The limit had been lowered because inspector samples showed that quartz made up 11 percent of the respirable dust. Judge Joseph B. Kennedy held that MSHA could use an inspector's single shift…
Phelps Dodge Corporation
Haul truck suspension citation vacated
MSHA cited Phelps Dodge Corporation for allegedly using a haul truck with a defective front suspension at its Tyrone Mine and Mill. The inspector issued the citation after hearing complaints from drivers but did not inspect the removed suspension himself. Judge Paul Merlin found the company's…
Rex Allen v. UNC Mining and Milling
Discrimination complaint dismissed after voluntary resignation finding
Rex Allen claimed that UNC Mining and Milling discharged him because he had complained about unsafe conditions at its Churchrock operation. Judge James A. Broderick found that Allen's earlier safety complaints were protected activity and that his filing delay did not bar the case. He credited the…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 29 and Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District
Army assistance-program proposal petition dismissed (FLRA O-NG-774)
NFFE Local 29 appealed the Army Corps of Engineers’ allegation that a proposal on mentioning its employee assistance program in proposed discipline letters was nonnegotiable. The agency later withdrew that allegation. With no live negotiability dispute left, the Authority dismissed the petition…
American Federation of Government Employees, Council of Social Security District Office Locals and Social Security Administration
SSA flexible schedule petition dismissed after new law (FLRA O-NG-516)
AFGE appealed a dispute over a proposal requiring bargaining about flexible and compressed work schedules at the Social Security Administration. While the appeal was pending, Congress enacted a new law governing those schedules. The Authority found that neither party had addressed how the new law…
National Treasury Employees Union and U.S. Customs Service, Honolulu
Customs shift-time petition dismissed as moot (FLRA O-NG-204)
NTEU appealed Customs Service objections to proposed starting times, quitting times, and lunch periods for new shifts. The Authority stayed the negotiability appeal while it resolved a related unfair labor practice case. In that case it held substantially identical proposals within the duty to…
Pennsylvania State Council, Association of Civilian Technicians and Pennsylvania Army National Guard
Pennsylvania Guard exceptions dismissed as late (FLRA O-AR-464)
The Pennsylvania State Council of Civilian Technicians challenged an arbitration award involving the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. The award was dated October 12, 1982, and the Authority calculated a November 10 filing deadline. The union’s exceptions arrived on November 12. The Authority…
Naval Ordnance Station, Louisville and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Lodge No. 830
Louisville Navy removal grievance held nonarbitrable (FLRA O-AR-315)
An arbitrator ruled that a Navy employee’s removal grievance was outside the parties’ negotiated grievance procedure because their agreement excluded matters with a statutory appeal route. The union argued that enactment of the federal labor statute had broadened the agreement to cover the removal…
Veterans Administration Hospital, Fort Howard and Maryland Nurses Association, Fort Howard Chapter
VA emergency leave and supervisor admonishment upheld (FLRA O-AR-197)
A VA hospital charged a nurse with absence without leave after denying her emergency annual leave request. An arbitrator found the denial improper under the contract and ordered her record corrected and made whole. He also ordered an oral admonishment of the supervisor for handling the request…
Adjutant General of Michigan, Department of Military Affairs and National Association of Government Employees
Michigan Guard temporary-promotion award set aside (FLRA O-AR-195)
A Michigan National Guard technician performed painter duties while holding a lower-grade clerk position. The agency paid a temporary promotion from July 1, 1979, after he met a required military occupational specialty, but an arbitrator awarded earlier promotion pay beginning April 20. The…
Social Security Administration and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3231
Union legislative chair official-time award upheld (FLRA O-AR-184)
A Social Security union legislative chair used official time to contact members of Congress and their staffs about agency matters. After management barred further calls, an arbitrator ordered reasonable official time for activities legitimately related to agency employment and within Congress’s…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Shannopin Mining Company
Relief ordered for unlawful suspension
An earlier decision found that Shannopin Mining Company unlawfully suspended miner George Mateleska in violation of the Mine Act's discrimination provision. This final order sets the remedy after the parties submitted proposals. Judge William Fauver assessed an $800 civil penalty and ordered…
Veterans Administration Hospital, Perry Point and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 331
Perry Point arbitration exceptions dismissed as late (FLRA O-AR-480)
AFGE Local 331 challenged an arbitration award dated October 15, 1982. Its exceptions were due at the Authority’s national office by November 15 but were first sent to a regional office on December 6 and reached the national office December 9. The Authority found the exceptions late regardless of…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2142 and Corpus Christi Army Depot
Corpus Christi Army Depot exceptions dismissed as late (FLRA O-AR-475)
AFGE Local 2142 challenged an arbitration award involving Corpus Christi Army Depot. The award was dated November 3, 1982, making December 2 the deadline for filing exceptions. Although the exceptions were postmarked on December 2, the Authority did not receive them until December 6. It dismissed…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Withdrawal order upheld but roof-plan violation vacated
MSHA issued an imminent danger withdrawal order after a fatal roof fall at Jim Walter Resources' No. 7 Mine and alleged that the work also violated the approved roof control plan. Judge James A. Broderick found that the practice created an imminent danger, even though MSHA issued the order after a…
Norfolk Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company
Settlement approved
Norfolk Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company and the Secretary entered into a stipulation and settlement agreement. The short Commission order does not identify the underlying citations, standards, penalty terms, or specific concessions. The Commission approved the parties' agreement, ending the…
Princess Susan Coal Company
Citation contest dismissed after withdrawal
Princess Susan Coal Company asked to withdraw its contest of an MSHA citation involving its Campbells Creek Surface Mine. Judge Gary Melick granted permission under the Commission's procedural rule and dismissed the contest. The short order does not identify the cited safety standard, explain the…
Farthing & Weidman, Inc.
Two crane violations affirmed and two advisory-rule items vacated
Farthing & Weidman used a truck crane to raise one end of a large aluminum tank, but the sling hooks tore through weak metal and the tank fell on an employee, killing him. The Commission affirmed violations for failing to secure and balance the load and for allowing the operator to leave the…
Carpenter Rigging Incorporated
Floor-opening citation vacated under the specific-standard rule
Carpenter Rigging was cited after an employee used a stairwell near an inadequately guarded opening with a possible 25-foot fall. The citation alleged a violation of the general construction rule for guarding open-sided floors. The Commission majority affirmed the judge's decision to vacate because…
Cox Enterprises, Inc. d/b/a Atlanta Newspaper, Inc.
Press room noise case reopened to weigh the cost of enclosures
OSHA issued Cox a notification that it had failed to abate a violation of the noise standard at 29 C.F.R. § 1910.95(b)(1) in its newspaper press room. Everything turned on whether engineering controls beyond the ones Cox had already installed were feasible. Administrative Law Judge John S. Patton…
Matter of Hernandez
Colombian law came too late for legitimation
A United States citizen sought immediate-relative status for his daughter, a Colombian citizen born out of wedlock. The Board accepted that Colombian Law No. 29 of 1982 eliminated legal distinctions between legitimate and illegitimate children, but held that the change occurred after the…
Forest Service, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest and NFFE Local 34
Forest Service unit clarified for two employees (FLRA 9-CU-48, 9-CU-51)
NFFE Local 34 and the Forest Service asked the Authority to decide whether two employees belonged in a nationwide bargaining unit. The Authority found that civil engineering technician Lionel Compton did not exercise independent supervisory judgment, so he remained in the unit. It found that civil…
J. T. C. Construction Company
Settlement agreement approved
J. T. C. Construction Company and the Secretary entered into a stipulation and settlement agreement. The short Commission order does not identify the underlying citations, standards, penalties, or settlement terms. The Commission approved the agreement and resolved the proceeding on the parties'…
Olin Corporation
Noise-control feasibility remanded for new evidence
Olin Corporation faced an alleged violation of the occupational noise standard's feasible-control requirement. After an intervening Supreme Court decision, the Commission abandoned its prior cost-benefit test and treated feasibility as technological and economic achievability. It vacated the…
Southwest Forest Industries
Noise-control allegation remanded under achievability test
Southwest Forest Industries faced an alleged violation of the occupational noise rule requiring feasible administrative or engineering controls. An intervening Supreme Court decision caused the Commission to replace its former cost-benefit analysis with an achievability test. The Commission vacated…
Carpenter Technology Corp.
Secretary allowed to withdraw review petition and citation
The Secretary asked to withdraw both the petition for discretionary review and the citation against Carpenter Technology Corp. The Commission granted the motion. The short order does not identify the cited standard, alleged hazard, or proposed penalty.
The Dolese Company
Noise-control violations remanded under new feasibility test
The Dolese Company faced alleged violations of the occupational noise standard's requirement for feasible administrative or engineering controls. An intervening Supreme Court decision led the Commission to replace its former cost-benefit approach with a test asking whether controls were…
Russell, Burdsall & Ward, Inc.
Noise-control feasibility issue remanded
The case concerned whether engineering controls required by the occupational noise standard were feasible. After an intervening Supreme Court decision, the Commission replaced its former cost-benefit test with a test asking whether controls were technologically and economically achievable. It…
Homestead Air Force Base and NFFE Local 1167
Homestead shop chiefs excluded from bargaining unit (FLRA 4-CU-25)
NFFE Local 1167 sought to include several small shop chiefs in the civilian employee bargaining unit at Homestead Air Force Base. The Authority found that the disputed employees assigned and directed subordinates, and some effectively recommended hiring, promotions, or awards. Those duties required…
Veterans Administration Medical Center, Northport and NFFE Local 387
Northport VA ordered to bargain over grievance scope (FLRA 2-CA-729)
The Northport VA Medical Center refused to bargain with NFFE Local 387 over the scope of its negotiated grievance procedure. It argued that an appeal and a reconsideration request excused compliance with an earlier Authority negotiability ruling. The Authority found no stay had been ordered and…
Stone Container Corporation
Noise findings for the single-facer and double-backer operators vacated after the feasibility test changed
This is a short order of remand issued after the law on noise abatement shifted under the parties' feet. Following the Supreme Court's decision in American Textile Manufacturers Institute, Inc. v. Donovan, the Commission held that "feasible" in the occupational noise standard means achievable. That…
Pabst Brewing Company
Brewery noise case reopened a second time under the achievable feasibility test
This order sends a long-running noise case back to an administrative law judge for a second time. OSHA issued the citation on April 7, 1975 for failing to conform with the occupational noise standard at 29 C.F.R. § 1910.95(b)(1). The Commission decided the case in January 1977 and remanded it. On…
Deering-Milliken, Inc.
Noise violations sent back for reconsideration under the achievable test
This short order of remand covers two consolidated dockets involving alleged violations of the occupational noise standard at 29 C.F.R. § 1910.95(b)(1). While the case was pending, the Commission followed the Supreme Court's decision in American Textile Manufacturers Institute, Inc. v. Donovan and…
John Petersen, d/b/a Tide Creek Rock Products
Three safety citations upheld and three vacated
MSHA issued six citations at John Petersen's small rock crushing operation, Tide Creek Pit. Judge George A. Koutras upheld citations for not wearing hard hats, leaving oxygen cylinders unsecured, and breaking rock without eye protection. He vacated three machine guarding citations because MSHA had…
Mathies Coal Company
Two citations upheld with one hazard finding removed
MSHA cited Mathies Coal Company for a battery charger whose ventilating air did not flow directly into the return and for incomplete guarding at a conveyor belt drive. Judge George A. Koutras upheld both violations. He removed the significant and substantial designation from the battery charger…
Vanco Construction Company
Eye-protection violation affirmed for concrete chipping
Two Vanco employees chipped hardened concrete with a sledgehammer and an electric hammer without eye or face protection. Concrete chips and dust traveled as far as four feet, struck the employees' faces, and caused them to squint, flinch, and brush away debris. The Commission held that OSHA did not…
BCNR Mining Corporation
Roof-control settlement approved for $2,000
MSHA proposed a $10,000 penalty against BCNR Mining Corporation for loose, unsupported ribs at its Clyde Mine under the approved roof control plan. A rib fall killed the continuous mining machine operator, but the settlement motion stated that interviews did not show the ribs were visibly loose…
Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company
Violation affirmed for relocating energized lights
An electrical apprentice died from an electric shock while workers relocated high voltage light fixtures at Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company's Empire Mill. The Commission reviewed an ALJ ruling that the company violated the rule requiring electrically powered equipment to be deenergized before…
KIN-BUC, Inc.
Noise citation item remanded for feasibility evidence
Item 3 of citation 1 concerned the occupational noise standard's requirement for feasible administrative or engineering controls. An intervening Supreme Court decision led the Commission to replace its prior cost-benefit test with an achievability test. The Commission vacated the judge's ruling on…
Cyprus Mines Corporation d/b/a Cyprus Wire & Cable Co.
Repairs after the inspection do not erase the violation, and the fine wire area goes back for cost evidence
A compliance officer inspected Cyprus Wire and Cable's plant in Rome, New York in late 1975. The Secretary cited two areas under the occupational noise standard at 29 C.F.R. § 1910.95(b)(1), alleging employees were exposed to sound levels above those the standard permits without feasible…
Sun Ship, Inc.
"Feasible" in the noise standard means achievable, and Continental Can's cost-benefit test is overruled
This is the decision that changed what the occupational noise standard requires. The standard at 29 C.F.R. § 1910.95(b)(1) says that when employees are subjected to sound above the levels in Table G-16, "feasible" administrative or engineering controls shall be used. In Continental Can Co. (1976) a…
Immigration and Naturalization Service and AFGE National INS Council
INS temporary assignment award upheld (FLRA O-AR-196)
AFGE challenged an arbitration award finding that the Immigration and Naturalization Service had not breached its labor agreement by temporarily assigning investigators to an alien processing group. The union argued that the arbitrator misunderstood an agency manual and misread the agreement. The…
Watervliet Arsenal and NAGE Local R2-98
Watervliet wage survey award set aside (FLRA O-AR-191)
A union grievance challenged a 1979 full-scale wage survey affecting prevailing-rate employees at Watervliet Arsenal. The arbitrator found a contract violation and ordered the Arsenal to redo the survey, set rates, and compensate employees. The Authority held that the Defense Department was the…
Army Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal and AFGE Local 1858
Redstone Arsenal officers excluded from bargaining unit (FLRA 4-CU-31)
The Army Missile Command asked whether its procurement and production officer and program analyst belonged in an AFGE bargaining unit. The Authority found that both assigned and directed work and effectively recommended personnel actions using independent judgment. It excluded the incumbents as…
Justice Department Federal Prison System and AFGE Council of Prison Locals
Prison system ordered to provide official time for case preparation (FLRA 3-CA-2687)
An Authority field attorney directed prison employee Michael Musky to attend a meeting to prepare for an unfair labor practice hearing. The Federal Prison System denied his request for official time, travel, and per diem. The Authority held that its designated agent could determine when an…
VA Medical Center, Newington and NAGE Local R1-109
Three Newington VA employees excluded from bargaining unit (FLRA 1-CU-20005)
NAGE Local R1-109 sought a ruling on three employees at the Newington VA Medical Center whom the agency said were supervisors. The Authority found that two food service foremen and a medical clerk trainee assigned and directed work and exercised other supervisory powers with independent judgment…
Joseph W. Herman v. Imco Services
Late discrimination complaint dismissal affirmed
Joseph Herman alleged that Imco Services terminated him after he raised a safety concern about a barite storage bin and asked MSHA to examine it. The ALJ dismissed his discrimination complaint because he waited about 11 months after the events to begin filing it, beyond the Mine Act's 60-day…
Matter of Daryoush
Bond decision remanded for reasons
The Board reviewed an Iranian respondent's request to reduce a bond that had been set during deportation proceedings. The District Director denied the request but gave only a conclusory statement that it did not merit favorable discretion. The Board held that a District Director deciding an…
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.