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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Secretary of Labor (MSHA) on behalf of Phillip Cameron v. Consolidation Coal Company
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Phillip Cameron v. Consolidation Coal Company (FMSHRC WEVA 82-190-D): Work refusal complaint initially dismissed
Consolidation Coal Company suspended haulage motorman Phillip Cameron after he refused to use a 10-ton trailing locomotive that he believed could endanger a coworker if coal cars uncoupled. Judge Paul Merlin concluded that Cameron was concerned about the coworker's safety rather than his own and…
Garrett Construction Company
Two citations upheld after vehicle collision
Two scraper vehicles collided at a Garrett Construction Company site, killing one driver and seriously injuring the other. MSHA issued citations for lack of vehicle control, failure to post traffic rules, and delayed accident reporting. Judge Charles C. Moore, Jr. vacated the vehicle control…
Navy Publications and Printing Service, Vallejo and IFPTE Local 11
Navy printing office election petition dismissed (FLRA 9-RO-65)
IFPTE Local 11 sought an election among Navy printing employees in Vallejo and Concord, or in a larger alternate California unit. The Authority found that neither proposed group had a distinct community of interest apart from employees at the wider Oakland office. They shared employment conditions…
Internal Revenue Service, Los Angeles District and National Treasury Employees Union
IRS ordered to restore four field agents’ work hours (FLRA 8-CA-864)
Four IRS field agents had long used earlier starting and quitting times with supervisory approval. The Los Angeles District changed their headquarters office hours to 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. without meeting with NTEU about the decision. The Authority found that the change concerned a negotiable…
General Services Administration, Region 7 and AFGE Local 2488
GSA Region 7 ordered to bargain before paid parking (FLRA 6-CA-322)
GSA Region 7 implemented a paid parking program affecting employees represented by AFGE Local 2488. On the parties’ stipulated record, the Authority found that GSA put internal parking rules into effect without first giving the union an opportunity to bargain. It found an unfair labor practice and…
Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Tidewater Virginia Federal Employees Metal Trades Council
Norfolk Naval Shipyard complaint dismissed after fulfilled settlement (FLRA 3-CA-850)
A regional director approved a settlement of an unfair labor practice charge against Norfolk Naval Shipyard, and the shipyard fulfilled its terms. The regional office later issued a complaint over the same allegation without showing a reason to set the settlement aside. The Authority agreed with…
Medicine Bow Coal Company
Penalty case dismissed for lack of a citation
MSHA sought a civil penalty against Medicine Bow Coal Company after issuing an imminent danger withdrawal order at its mine. The inspector had not issued a citation with the order, although MSHA later amended the terminated order to mention two safety standards. Judge Charles C. Moore, Jr. held…
Army Corps of Engineers, Little Rock District and AFGE Local 3266
Millwood employees placed in districtwide unit (FLRA 6-RO-85)
AFGE Local 3266 sought a separate unit for employees of the Millwood Resident Office after it moved into the Army Corps’ Little Rock District. The Authority found that these workers shared conditions, classifications, and personnel policies with employees across the district, so a separate unit…
Internal Revenue Service, Richmond District and National Treasury Employees Union
Richmond IRS ordered to arbitrate employee grievance (FLRA 3-CA-1793)
NTEU invoked arbitration over a grievance filed while an IRS employee was in the bargaining unit. The Richmond District later refused to participate because the employee had become a supervisor. The Authority held that refusing to use the negotiated grievance procedure violated the statute despite…
Alabama By-Products Corporation
Unsafe conveyor violation affirmed on combined conditions
An inspector cited Alabama By-Products Corporation under the 1969 Coal Act after finding 13 frozen rollers and a misaligned conveyor belt cutting into its supports. The Commission held that the equipment safety rule gave fair notice when measured by what a reasonably prudent person familiar with…
Ranger Fuel Corporation
Two contests dismissed after withdrawal
Ranger Fuel Corporation asked to withdraw its contest of an MSHA order and its separate contest of a citation at the Beckley No. 2 Mine. Judge Gary Melick granted permission under the Commission's procedural rule and dismissed both cases. The order does not identify the cited safety standards, give…
Cambria Coal Company
Truck blocking violation upheld, imminent danger finding vacated
MSHA cited Cambria Coal Company after a mechanic worked beneath an elevated drill truck supported only by its hydraulic jacks. Judge George A. Koutras found that the truck needed independent blocking before anyone worked beneath it, so he upheld the 30 C.F.R. § 77.405(b) violation and its…
Kocher Coal Company
): Borehole order vacated
After a fatal inundation at Kocher Coal Company's Porter Tunnel Mine, MSHA issued several citations and orders, including one alleging failure to drill required boreholes. The Secretary later said the borehole violation could not be established and asked that the order be vacated, but the ALJ…
M & H Rock, Inc., d/b/a Applegate Aggregates, Inc.
M & H Rock, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 81-272-M): Walkway handrail citation upheld, crusher guard citation vacated
MSHA cited M & H Rock, doing business as Applegate Aggregates, for an exposed crusher pulley and a damaged handrail at its sand and gravel plant. Judge George A. Koutras found that workers had no normal reason to approach the pulley closely enough for accidental contact, so he vacated the guarding…
BASF Wyandotte Corporation
A settlement cannot be rejected on principle, the judge must find whether the union's objection has merit
At BASF's chemical plant, chlorine gas is produced in rows of chlorine cells that contain exposed, energized electrical parts. Employees reach the cells from catwalks, wearing rubber gloves and boots; the rooms carry warning signs and are restricted to authorized personnel. On September 18, 1978 an…
Allied Chemical Corporation
Conveyor stop cord required on both walkways
Allied Chemical Corporation contested whether the emergency stop cord rule required a cord along the east side of a 2,000-foot conveyor at its Alchem Trona Mine. The company had already paid a $300 penalty for an inoperative cord on the west side. Judge Joseph B. Kennedy found that miners regularly…
Consolidation Coal Company
Two mine safety violations upheld with $1,500 penalty
MSHA issued two withdrawal orders at Consolidation Coal Company's Renton Mine, one for coal and coal dust accumulations and one for nonpermissible electrical breaker boxes near pillar workings. Judge James A. Broderick found both violations significant and substantial and caused by unwarrantable…
NFFE Local 29 and U.S. Army Engineer District, Kansas City
Kansas City travel-advance interest proposal held negotiable (FLRA O-NG-467)
NFFE Local 29 proposed that the Army Engineer District charge no interest on delinquent repayment of unused travel advances. The district argued that government debt-collection rules required interest. The Authority found that the cited rules allowed different payment terms by contract or waiver…
NFFE Local 1363 and U.S. Army Garrison, Yongsan
Yongsan late-payment-charge proposal held negotiable (FLRA O-NG-450)
NFFE Local 1363 proposed that unit employees not face late charges on repayment of excess work-expense advances. The Authority found the proposal materially the same as one it had just held within the duty to bargain. It ordered the Army garrison to bargain on request, without judging the…
NTEU Chapter 66 and IRS Kansas City
Kansas City IRS negotiability appeal dismissed as late (FLRA O-NG-439)
NTEU Chapter 66 appealed an IRS claim that its staff-sharing proposals were outside the duty to bargain. The agency served its written allegation in person on February 3, 1981, but the union filed its appeal on February 23, five days after the deadline. The Authority dismissed the petition as…
AFGE Local 1923 and Social Security Administration
SSA arbitration exceptions dismissed as late (FLRA O-AR-446)
The Social Security Administration challenged an arbitration award dated September 10, 1982. Its exceptions were due by October 12 but reached an Authority regional office October 19 and the national office October 20. The Authority held that the filing was late regardless of whether the regional…
Defense Contract Administration Services, Cedar Rapids and AFGE Local 2752
Cedar Rapids promotion remedy narrowed (FLRA O-AR-335)
An arbitrator found that a Cedar Rapids defense contract office had improperly amended experience criteria when filling a contract administrator position. He ordered the selected employee removed and a grievant chosen from the original best-qualified group. The Authority held that those remedies…
National Guard Bureau, Montana Air National Guard and Association of Civilian Technicians Chapter 29
Guard Bureau ordered to rescind grievance-clause disapproval (FLRA 7-CA-1398)
The National Guard Bureau rejected a grievance-procedure clause negotiated by the Montana Air National Guard and the Association of Civilian Technicians. The Bureau said the agreement needed to exclude certain technician adverse actions, though earlier Authority rulings had found equivalent…
Maine Air National Guard and AFGE Local 3013
Maine Air National Guard ordered to follow impasse ruling (FLRA 1-CA-838)
The Maine Air National Guard refused to follow a Federal Service Impasses Panel order allowing technicians a day-to-day choice between military uniforms and specified civilian attire, subject to exceptions. An administrative law judge found that this refusal violated the federal labor statute, and…
U.S. Customs Service, St. Albans District Office and NTEU Chapter 142
St. Albans Customs shift-change complaint dismissed (FLRA 1-CA-547)
Customs moved an inspector’s regular shift from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. to 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. after an Amtrak schedule change. NTEU alleged that Customs failed to bargain over the shift and its effects. The Authority adopted the judge’s finding that the decision itself was negotiable, but that the union…
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and Federal Employees Metal Trades Council
Portsmouth Shipyard weekly meetings restored (FLRA 1-CA-142, 1-CA-192, 1-CA-199, 1-CA-202)
Four unfair labor practice complaints challenged conduct at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, including ending regular meetings between management and union stewards. The Authority agreed with the judge that ending those meetings without bargaining violated the statute, and it ordered the meetings…
Consolidation Coal Company
Escape hoist citation upheld with hazard finding removed
MSHA cited Consolidation Coal Company because an emergency escape capsule at its Renton Mine contacted the shaft collar while being raised. Judge Gary Melick held that the integrated hoist system was not maintained in safe operating condition, even if the capsule itself had no isolated mechanical…
William A. Haro v. Magma Copper Company
Warning ruling affirmed, transfer claim remanded
William Haro alleged that Magma Copper Company retaliated against him after several work refusals and safety incidents at its San Manuel copper mine. The Commission affirmed an ALJ finding that Haro reasonably refused to change a grease line near a shaft and that Magma's written warning for that…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) on behalf of George Mateleska v. Shannopin Mining Company
Secretary of Labor on behalf of George Mateleska v. Shannopin Mining Company (FMSHRC PENN 81-209-D): Unlawful suspension found, remedy reserved
The Secretary alleged that Shannopin Mining Company suspended miner and safety committee member George Mateleska without pay after he raised concerns about mine conditions. Judge William Fauver found that Mateleska acted within his Mine Act rights when he reported safety concerns and, with…
U.S. Steel Corporation
Coal accumulation citation upheld
MSHA cited U.S. Steel Corporation for loose coal and float coal dust accumulations in active roadways at its Cumberland Mine. Judge William Fauver credited the inspector's observations over later dust samples and the company's narrower account of the accumulations. He found the conditions serious…
Commonwealth Mining Co., Inc.
Roadway berm and mine map citations affirmed
Commonwealth Mining contested citations for inadequate berms along an elevated access and haulage road and for an inaccurate mine map at its Kentucky surface coal mine. Judge William Fauver found that the operator built the road for mining and that the county's treatment of it as a public road did…
Republic Steel Corp.
A union may object when OSHA moves to withdraw a citation, but the judge must hold a hearing before ruling
The Secretary of Labor asked to withdraw a citation he had issued to Republic Steel, saying there was not enough evidence to prove the violation at the time and place alleged. United Steelworkers Local 1200, which had entered the case as the authorized employee representative, objected: withdrawing…
State Moving-Trucking, Inc.
General duty violation affirmed after fatal derrick collapse
An ironworker died when a 62-foot stiffleg derrick collapsed during dismantling, exposing State Moving-Trucking's four officer-employees to the falling structure as well. State had taken the dismantling contract despite lacking relevant expertise and allowed the work to proceed without confirming a…
John T. Brady & Co., Inc.
General duty citation reinstated after court remand
The Second Circuit remanded the case with instructions for the Commission to reinstate the citation against John T. Brady & Co. The Commission followed that mandate and affirmed the citation alleging a violation of the general duty clause. It also affirmed the administrative law judge's $200…
Consolidation Coal Company
Inoperable fire extinguisher citations affirmed
MSHA cited Consolidation Coal Company because two fire extinguishers at its Renton Mine needed recharging, one in a car shop and one on a track maintenance motor. The operator stipulated that both conditions violated the firefighting equipment rule but disputed whether the violations were…
Mathies Coal Company
Roof support citation vacated
MSHA cited Mathies Coal Company for allegedly inadequate roof support in an underground haulageway where an inspector saw a crack, deteriorated roof, and loose coal. Chief Judge Paul Merlin found that the operator had installed additional roof bolts after discovering those conditions. He credited…
Matter of Artee Corporation
Ongoing machinist need was not temporary
A temporary-help service sought to classify machinists as H-2 temporary workers. The Commissioner held that the relevant question was the temporary nature of the petitioner's need for the workers, rather than the nature of the duties or the needs of the petitioner's customers. A widespread shortage…
Corpus Christi Army Depot and Machinists Local Lodge 2049
Corpus Christi supervisory assignment petition dismissed (FLRA 6-CU-25)
Corpus Christi Army Depot asked whether union officers and representatives could receive acting supervisory assignments without creating conflicts of interest. The Authority held that a unit clarification petition addresses whether employees belong in an existing bargaining unit, not their…
09:0105(13)CU - Air Force, Charleston AFB, Military Airlift Command, Charleston, SC and AFGE Local 1869 -- 1982 FLRAdec RP
Air Force unit reconsideration request dismissed (FLRA 4-CU-33)
Charleston Air Force Base asked the Authority to reconsider its earlier order including five flight instructors in a union unit. The Authority found that the motion raised disagreement with the merits but no ground for reconsideration. It dismissed the motion and left the unit ruling in place.
Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod and NAGE
Cape Cod firefighter severance petition dismissed (FLRA 1-RO-34)
NAGE sought a separate bargaining unit for firefighters and fire inspectors at Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod. Those employees already belonged to a longstanding AFGE unit. The Authority found that the existing activity-wide unit shared a community of interest and promoted effective dealings and…
New River Fuel, Inc.
Four mine safety citations settled
MSHA sought penalties against New River Fuel for cable splices, bypassed fuses, an ungrounded grinder, and a defective loader brake at two West Virginia mines. The parties proposed reduced penalties after discussing disputed facts, the operator's response, and the possible hazards. Judge George A…
Richard E. Bjes v. Consolidation Coal Company
Suspension for safety refusal found unlawful
Richard Bjes refused to operate a low profile shuttle car at Consolidation Coal's Laurel Mine because he said he could not safely reach and use its controls. The company suspended him with intent to discharge; an arbitrator later reduced the discipline to a 30-working-day suspension. Judge George…
West Freedom Mining Corporation
Two backup alarm citations affirmed
MSHA cited West Freedom Mining Corporation after finding inoperative reverse alarms on a high lift and a bulldozer at its strip mine. The company conceded that coal was being mined and that both cited conditions violated the alarm standard. Judge George A. Koutras affirmed the citations, found…
McGuire Air Force Base and AFGE Local 1778
McGuire arbitration exceptions dismissed one day late (FLRA O-AR-453)
AFGE Local 1778 challenged an arbitration award dated September 29, 1982. The Authority calculated that its exceptions had to arrive by October 28, but they arrived October 29. It dismissed the exceptions without reaching the award because the filing deadline could not be waived or extended.
Army Reserve Components Personnel and Administration Center and AFGE Local 900
Army Reserve overtime award upheld (FLRA O-AR-384)
An Army Reserve employee declined overtime in her own data management section and then sought the same hours in the coding section. An arbitrator found that denying the second assignment complied with the parties’ overtime article and that no contrary past practice had been shown. The Authority…
Shamrock Coal Company
Roof test hole citation vacated
MSHA cited Shamrock Coal Company for allegedly failing to drill a roof test hole required by its approved roof control plan. The inspector and a second shift foreman could not find the hole during an inspection. Judge George A. Koutras credited testimony that the first shift had drilled it in a…
SSA Great Lakes Program Service Center and AFGE Local 1395
Great Lakes SSA official-time complaint dismissed (FLRA 5-CA-707)
An Authority agent asked the SSA Great Lakes center to release a union officer on official time for an investigative interview at the Authority’s regional office. SSA refused, but the employee attended and lost no pay or leave for that interview. The Authority adopted the judge’s dismissal of this…
National Treasury Employees Union, U.S. Customs Service and Nuclear Regulatory Commission
NTEU member-only attorney policy prohibited (FLRA 3-CO-26, 3-CO-37)
NTEU provided attorneys to union members facing removal while withholding that service from nonmembers in bargaining units it represented. The Authority adopted the judge’s finding that this discriminatory policy violated the union’s duty of fair representation and employees’ right to refrain from…
Gearhart-Owen Industries, Inc.
Shields citation stays vacated for want of feasibility proof, trailer spacing citation affirmed as serious at $700
Gearhart-Owen produced the M-213 hand grenade fuze at Cleburne, Texas under a U.S. Army Munitions Command contract. Each fuze body was crimped to a C-70 detonator in a steel crimping head mounted on a cast-iron shoe, at four crimping stations per side of a conveyor belt, 32 to 36 inches apart…
Billy Moon Tipple
Withdrawal order penalties assessed by default
MSHA sought penalties against Billy Moon Tipple for alleged operation after four withdrawal orders. The operator did not appear at the scheduled hearing and did not answer a later order to show cause, despite receiving it. Judge Richard C. Steffey entered a default decision and assessed the…
AFGE Local 1858 and Army Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal
Redstone performance appraisal appeal dismissed as late (FLRA O-NG-583)
AFGE Local 1858 appealed the Army Missile Command’s statement that three performance-appraisal proposals conflicted with Army-wide rules. The Authority held that even an unrequested written allegation of nonnegotiability could be appealed, but the union still had to meet the 15-day deadline. The…
Eastover Mining Company
Electrical equipment citations settled
MSHA alleged that Eastover Mining Company used a track vehicle with a defective trolley pole attachment and failed to make a required weekly electrical examination. A foreman died after trying to reattach the pole to the energized wire. The parties proposed $1,250 in penalties, reduced from $2,250…
National Park Service, Western Regional Office and NFFE Local 1
National Park Service representation petitions remanded (FLRA 9-RA-8, 9-RA-9)
The National Park Service questioned whether NFFE Local 1 still represented a majority in two San Francisco units and whether reorganizations left those units appropriate. An acting regional director dismissed its petitions for lack of objective evidence. The Authority found that the agency’s…
Maine Air National Guard and AFGE Local 3013
One Maine Air Guard shop chief included, one excluded (FLRA 1-CU-51)
AFGE Local 3013 sought to include two small shop chiefs in its bargaining unit. The Authority found that Leonard Lawson assigned and directed work and effectively recommended a hire using independent judgment, making him a supervisor who must be excluded. Edward St. Heart exercised none of the…
AFGE Local 1760 and Social Security Administration
SSA union facilities petition dismissed for lack of negotiability issue (FLRA O-NG-530)
AFGE Local 1760 proposed a bulletin board, office, and furnishings for a union vice president. SSA responded that the subjects were under negotiation at the national level and were not presently appropriate for regional bargaining. The Authority found that the dispute concerned when and where…
VA Medical Center and AFGE Local 2094
VA grievance timeliness award upheld (FLRA O-AR-408)
An arbitrator found that a grievance at a VA Medical Center missed the time limits in the parties’ agreement and that the parties had not habitually ignored those limits. AFGE Local 2094 disputed her procedural findings. The Authority held that disagreement with those contract-based conclusions did…
SSA New York Region and AFGE Local 3369
SSA probationer grievance award set aside (FLRA O-AR-302)
An arbitrator ruled that an SSA probationary employee could not use the negotiated grievance procedure to challenge her separation because federal personnel guidance barred such grievances. The Authority held that the guidance governed the agency’s separation process and did not itself bar a later…
Department of Labor and AFGE National Council of Field Labor Locals
Labor Department travel-overtime award set aside (FLRA O-AR-187)
A Labor Department employee sought 4.75 hours of overtime for travel to and from a two-day Philadelphia conference. An arbitrator awarded it because another party also influenced the conference schedule. The Authority found that the agency had helped schedule the event, so the travel was not caused…
Mountain Drive Coal Company
Strip mine lighting citation vacated
MSHA cited Mountain Drive Coal Company for allegedly inadequate illumination at a night shift dumping area and pit highwall. Judge Richard C. Steffey credited the operator's witnesses and photographs showing that supplemental vehicle lights let drivers and loader operators see their work areas. He…
Veterans Administration, Iron Mountain and AFGE Local 2280
Iron Mountain VA ordered to refund grievance-record fee (FLRA 5-CA-371)
The Iron Mountain VA charged AFGE Local 2280 $12.15 for records the union needed to handle an employee grievance. An administrative law judge found an unfair labor practice, relying partly on the facility’s prior free-copy practice. The Authority agreed with the violation and refund, while…
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.