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.
No decisions match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
United States Department of State, Passport Services and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1998
Passport Services and NFFE Local 1998 (FLRA 0-AR-5862): Authority removes cash remedy and narrows monitoring
Passport Services conceded that it violated a settlement and the parties' agreement by failing to remove an employee's reprimand from his electronic personnel file on time. An arbitrator awarded the employee $2,000 and ordered a system for monitoring timely reprimand removals from employees' files…
Secretary of Labor v. CONSOL Mining Company, LLC
Judge could not strike settlement arguments
A Judge denied a settlement motion without reviewing the agreement and struck the Secretary's argument and supporting Commission cases. The Commission held that presenting those authorities did not violate its procedural rules and that striking them could prevent the Secretary from preserving…
Secretary of Labor v. R.E. Pierson Materials Corp.
Conflicting explanations prompted show-cause order
R.E. Pierson's counsel said the operator failed to forward the assessment to counsel, while the mine's operations manager said the clerical mistake occurred in counsel's office. The Commission found those accounts inconsistent. It ordered the operator and counsel to provide a uniform, detailed…
Teddy E. Varney v. Rockhouse Creek Development Corporation and Brickstreet Mutual Insurance Company
Varney v. Rockhouse Creek (BRB 22-0156): mine work years recalculation ordered
Teddy Varney received Black Lung benefits after the judge credited him with 15.5 years of underground coal mine work and applied the 15-year presumption. The employer challenged the work history calculation. The Board held that the judge had treated proof of 125 working days in a year as enough for…
Secretary of Labor v. Cascade Concrete Products Company, Inc.
Final assessment reopened after filing error
Cascade Concrete Products asked the Commission to reopen an assessment for three citations that became final when its contest was not filed with the proper MSHA office. Cascade said it mailed the contest to MSHA's St. Louis payment office with payment for the uncontested citations instead of…
Secretary of Labor v. Northside Rock Products, LLC
Misfiled paperwork did not establish good cause
Northside Rock Products asked the Commission to reopen a penalty case that defaulted after it did not answer the Secretary's petition or a show-cause order. The company said paperwork was placed in the wrong file and that it mistakenly believed an answer had been filed. The Secretary opposed…
Secretary of Labor v. Southwest Rock Products, Inc.
Unexplained delay barred reopening
Southwest Rock Products asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that became final after the company did not answer the Secretary's petition or a show-cause order. The company said it was unsure why the case defaulted and had received no documentation. The Secretary did not oppose…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company (FMSHRC PENN 2022-0070): Damaged cutting-bit citation affirmed
A face ignition occurred while a continuous miner operated at Consol's Enlow Fork Mine, which was liberating more than 11 million cubic feet of methane per day. Investigators found two damaged cutting bits about two feet apart on the side of the cutting head where witnesses saw the ignition. The…
Annis Dye (on behalf of Perry D. Dye) v. Clinchfield Coal Company
Dye v. Clinchfield Coal (BRB 22-0453): Black Lung award affirmed
Annis Dye pursued her late husband's Black Lung claim after a judge found that his 21 years of qualifying mine work and total respiratory disability triggered the 15-year presumption. The employer contested the judge's finding that it had failed to rebut the presumption. The Board held that the…
Billy R. Midkiff v. Southern Ohio Coal Company and Consol Energy, Incorporated
Midkiff v. Southern Ohio Coal (BRB 22-0137): disability finding remanded
Billy Midkiff sought Black Lung benefits after 17.375 years of underground coal mine work. The judge denied benefits after finding that Midkiff was not totally disabled because his objective tests did not meet the regulatory thresholds. The Board majority held that the judge had not adequately…
Louisiana-Pacific Corporation and Tyler Wallace
Conveyor machine-guarding citation vacated
Louisiana-Pacific manufactured oriented strand board at a mill where an employee's hand and arm were caught in the ingoing nip point of a trim-waste conveyor while he was cleaning nearby. OSHA alleged that the unguarded nip point violated the machine-guarding standard and proposed a $13,653…
M.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Washington Main Post Office
Board affirms denial of left lower extremity injury claim (ECAB 23-0687)
M.W., a 51-year-old city carrier for the U.S. Postal Service, said he injured his left ankle when he misjudged a curb and his foot slipped and twisted on May 24, 2022. OWCP accepted that the work incident occurred but denied the claim because the medical evidence did not establish that the…
M.A. and Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Siskiyou National Forest
Board reverses $13,597.06 retirement offset overpayment (ECAB 23-0606)
M.A., a former Forest Service smoke jumper receiving FECA wage loss compensation, also received Social Security age-related retirement benefits. OWCP assessed a $13,597.06 overpayment based on a federal retirement offset and ordered deductions from his continuing compensation. The Board found that…
J.B. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, East Potomac Park
Board affirms abandoned oral hearing request (ECAB 23-0591)
J.B., a maintenance engineering specialist at the National Park Service, had an accepted right knee injury and requested an oral hearing about OWCP's denial of wage-loss compensation. OWCP mailed notice of a February 17, 2023 telephonic hearing to her last known address, but she did not appear. The…
B.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jacksonville
Board affirms denial of left foot and ankle injury claim (ECAB 23-0546)
B.R., a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service, said her left foot and ankle went sideways when she stepped off a bottom step on August 16, 2022. OWCP accepted that the work incident occurred but denied the claim because the record did not establish a diagnosed medical condition connected to…
W.B. and Department of Justice, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Field Operations-Central
Board upholds denial of late carpal tunnel reconsideration request (ECAB 23-0473)
W.B., an ATF criminal investigator, claimed bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome after firearms training. OWCP denied the occupational disease claim in November 2020 because the record did not establish the employment factors involved. W.B. requested reconsideration more than one year later and…
N.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, West Roxbury VA Medical Center, West Roxbury, MA
Board returns VA nurse's continuation of pay claim for COVID date review (ECAB 23-0459)
A nurse at a VA medical center reported contracting COVID-19 at work and sought continuation of pay for her absence. OWCP denied the request because she filed the injury form more than 30 days after the date it used for the injury. The Board found that OWCP had not applied its COVID guidance, which…
J.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Deltona Pines Post Office, Deltona, FL
Board orders impartial examination for postal worker's leg impairment claim (ECAB 23-0442)
A Florida postal clerk sought a larger schedule award for right leg impairment related to an accepted back condition. Her treating physician assessed 14 percent right leg impairment and 9 percent left leg impairment, while OWCP's second opinion physician assessed 2 percent on the right and none on…
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Greece Post Office, Rochester, NY
Board returns postal worker's wage capacity claim for a reasoned decision (ECAB 23-0182)
A Rochester postal letter carrier challenged OWCP's 2004 finding that his light-duty earnings represented his wage-earning capacity. He argued that he worked only 21 days in the assignment, below the 60 days OWCP's procedures generally require before using actual earnings. The Board found that OWCP…
D.H. and Department of the Army, Military Surface Deployment & Distribution Command, Tooele Army Depot
Board remands claim to combine related injury files (ECAB 23-0601)
D.H., a surveillance inspector at Tooele Army Depot, said he injured his back and wrist when he fell while inspecting rail cars. He attributed the fall to balance and grip problems from an earlier accepted vaccine injury claim. OWCP denied the new claim without combining the related claim files…
G.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Boggs Road Post Office
Board affirms denial of postal worker's nerve condition claim (ECAB 23-0577)
G.J., a mail handler, claimed bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and left cubital tunnel syndrome from repetitive heavy lifting. A nerve study and her physician's report identified the conditions, but the Board found that the physician checked a causation box without explaining how her work duties…
S.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Iola Post Office
Board affirms denial of injury claim after postal vehicle collision (ECAB 23-0552)
S.G., a postal employee, reported lower back pain after a motor vehicle collision while working on December 15, 2022. OWCP accepted that the collision occurred but denied the claim for lack of a diagnosed medical condition linked to the incident. The Board held that a physician's notation of acute…
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Chestnut Hill Post Office
Board remands hip and knee claim for a fuller impartial medical report (ECAB 23-0455)
D.C., a former postal letter carrier, sought to expand his accepted temporary right hip and knee osteoarthritis aggravations to permanent aggravations. OWCP relied on an impartial specialist who concluded that the work effects were temporary. The Board found that the specialist said he examined…
W.P. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant
Board upholds suspension of wage loss benefits for missing disclosure form (ECAB 23-0306)
W.P., a former Tennessee Valley Authority machinist welder, had been receiving wage loss compensation for a back injury. OWCP mailed him a Form CA-1032 requesting disclosure of employment and earnings information for the prior 15 months and warned that benefits would be suspended if he did not…
A.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Martinez VA Medical Center
Board remands VA employee's emotional condition claim for workplace evidence (ECAB 21-1170)
A.B., an accountant at the Martinez VA Medical Center, claimed an emotional condition after an unannounced workplace audit and alleged bullying and discrimination during it. OWCP denied the claim, but had not asked the employing establishment for a detailed response to her allegations. The Board…
Richard L. Hoover, Sr. v. Keystone Coal Mining Corporation and Consol Energy Incorporated
Hoover v. Keystone Coal Mining (BRB 22-0134): presumption rebuttal remanded
Richard Hoover sought Black Lung benefits after 21.52 years of qualifying coal mine work. The judge found total respiratory disability and applied the 15-year presumption, but denied benefits after finding that the employer had rebutted it. The Board held that the judge had not assessed whether one…
William J. Seckman v. Consol of PA Coal Company and Consol Energy, Incorporated
Seckman v. Consol of PA Coal (BRB 22-0132): Black Lung award affirmed
William Seckman received Black Lung benefits after at least 16 years of underground coal mine work and a finding of total respiratory disability. The employer appealed, arguing that its doctors had ruled out legal pneumoconiosis and disability causation. The Board held that the judge could discount…
Farrar v. Straitline Well Services, LLC
Late Clean Air Act hearing request dismissed
Jason Farrar alleged that Straitline Well Services fired him after he raised concerns about burning tires, used motor oil, railroad ties, and other materials. He filed his OSHA complaint on time but waited several months after OSHA's dismissal to request a hearing, despite a 30-day deadline. Farrar…
N.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, West Haven VA Medical Center
Board affirms denial of lower back injury claim (ECAB 23-0602)
N.H., a nursing assistant at the West Haven VA Medical Center, said she injured her lower back while trying to catch a patient who stood up and fell backward from a wheelchair. OWCP accepted that the March 29, 2022 incident occurred but denied the claim because the medical evidence did not…
M.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Charlotte Processing & Distribution Center
Board upholds refusal to reconsider postal worker's nerve condition claim (ECAB 23-0409)
M.A., a mail handler at the Charlotte processing center, claimed bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome from repetitive mail handling. OWCP accepted his work duties and diagnoses but denied the claim for lack of medical evidence linking the conditions to those duties. He later requested reconsideration…
S.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Pleasant Ridge Annex
Board affirms injury denial and refusal to reconsider (ECAB 23-0307)
S.B., a postal clerk, claimed shoulder, knee, elbow, and neck symptoms after a workplace fall on January 25, 2022. OWCP accepted that the fall occurred but denied the claim because the medical reports did not establish a diagnosed condition linked to it. The Board agreed that pain and radicular…
D.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Lowndesboro Post Office
Board accepts postal vehicle incident and remands injury claim (ECAB 23-0180)
D.M., a rural postal carrier, said the steering wheel of his delivery vehicle suddenly pulled to the right and twisted his arm while he was working. OWCP denied his claim because it found the July 5, 2022 incident unproven. The Board found his account consistent with the surrounding circumstances…
L.M. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service
Board reverses termination of IRS employee's wage loss and medical benefits (ECAB 22-0342)
L.M., a former IRS tax examiner, had received compensation since a 1995 fall caused accepted back and neck conditions. OWCP terminated her wage loss and medical benefits based on a second opinion that the accepted conditions had resolved. The Board found that the physician did not explain that…
R.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Baton Rouge
Board upholds refusal to reopen long-running postal injury claim (ECAB 21-0617)
R.C., a former postal carrier, sought to reopen a longstanding dispute about disability after a 1988 work-related vehicle accident. His latest request relied largely on physician reports and arguments that OWCP and the Board had considered in earlier proceedings. The Board found the 2021 request…
Suncor Energy (U.S.A.) Inc.
In re Suncor Energy (U.S.A.) Inc. (EAB CAA 23-07C): gasoline compliance settlement approved
Suncor Energy (U.S.A.) Inc. operated two gasoline-producing fuel manufacturing facilities in Commerce City, Colorado. Suncor reported that its East Refinery produced 32,101,398 gallons of gasoline during 2021 with an average benzene concentration of 1.77 volume percent, above the 1.30 volume…
Patsy L. Ryan (Widow of Joe C. Ryan) v. Rebel Coal Company, Incorporated
Ryan v. Rebel Coal (BRB 23-0094): survivor's benefit award affirmed
Patsy Ryan sought Black Lung survivor's benefits after her husband, Joe Ryan, died while his own benefit claim was pending. An administrative law judge awarded her benefits under the provision for eligible survivors of miners determined to qualify for benefits. The employer argued that the miner's…
Robert W. Pettypiece v. Enterprise Mining Company, LLC and Summitpoint Insurance Company
Pettypiece v. Enterprise Mining (BRB 22-0480): insurer designation affirmed
Robert Pettypiece received Black Lung benefits after the parties stipulated that he had complicated pneumoconiosis from coal mine work. The employer and carrier contested which insurer had to pay, seeking to submit an earlier x-ray and policy evidence after the deadline for liability evidence. The…
John A. Goble v. Pontiki Coal Corporation
Goble v. Pontiki Coal (BRB 22-0375): Black Lung award affirmed
John Goble was awarded Black Lung benefits after a judge found 15.02 years of underground coal mine work and total respiratory disability. The employer challenged the work history calculation, especially three months of 1978 employment not reflected in Social Security earnings records. The Board…
Jerry D. Williams v. ICG Hazard, LLC
Williams v. ICG Hazard (BRB 22-0352): Black lung benefits award affirmed
Jerry D. Williams sought black lung benefits after working in surface coal mines under conditions the administrative law judge found substantially similar to underground mining. The judge found at least 15 years of qualifying work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment, then applied the…
Bonnie Owens (o/b/o and Widow of John A. Owens) v. Lodestar Energy, Incorporated
Owens v. Lodestar Energy (BRB 22-0330 and 22-0329): miner and survivor denials remanded
Bonnie Owens appealed the denial of a black lung claim for her late husband, John A. Owens, and the denial of her survivor's claim. The administrative law judge found that John was not totally disabled by a respiratory impairment and denied the miner's claim; he also denied survivor's benefits. The…
Bonnie Owens, on behalf of and widow of John A. Owens, v. Lodestar Energy, Incorporated and Kentucky Employers’ Mutual Insurance
Owens v. Lodestar Energy (BRB 22-0329 and 22-0330): benefits denials sent back for review
Bonnie Owens pursued a miner's claim on behalf of her late husband, John A. Owens, and a survivor's claim. The judge found that John had 26 years of surface coal mine employment but denied benefits after finding that the evidence did not establish total disability or death causation. The Board…
Lewis E. Dunbar, Sr. v. Pinnacle Mining Company, LLC
Dunbar v. Pinnacle Mining Company (BRB 22-0289): benefit award remanded for CT evidence review
Lewis E. Dunbar, Sr. sought black lung benefits after coal mine employment. The administrative law judge found complicated pneumoconiosis, applied its irrebuttable disability presumption, and awarded benefits. The employer challenged how the judge handled competing x-ray and CT scan evidence…
Jerome H. DeMoss v. Island Creek Coal Company
DeMoss v. Island Creek Coal Company (BRB 22-0268): fee award increased and returned for entry
Jerome H. DeMoss had already won his black lung benefits claim. His attorney appealed the district director's reduction of a paralegal's requested hourly rate from $150 to $100 and denial of a $250 expense for a supplemental medical report. The Board held that the rate reduction lacked an adequate…
Ruth Donofrio (o/b/o and Widow of Tony Donofrio, Jr.) v. Blackwood Anthracite, Incorporated
Donofrio v. Blackwood Anthracite (BRB 22-0130 and 22-0129): miner and survivor denials affirmed
Ruth Donofrio pursued modification of the denial of a black lung claim for her late husband, Tony Donofrio, Jr., and sought survivor's benefits. The administrative law judge found 9.57 years of coal mine employment and no proven total respiratory disability, so he denied modification and the…
Ruth Donofrio, on behalf of and widow of Tony Donofrio, Jr., v. Blackwood Anthracite, Incorporated and Rockwood Insurance Company
Donofrio v. Blackwood Anthracite (BRB 22-0129 and 22-0130): benefits denials affirmed
Ruth Donofrio pursued a miner's claim on behalf of her late husband, Tony Donofrio, Jr., and a survivor's claim after his death. The administrative law judge found that Tony had 9.57 years of qualifying coal mine employment, did not establish total disability, and did not show that pneumoconiosis…
C.S. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Medical Command, McDonald Army Health Center
Board remands wage loss claim for second opinion review (ECAB 23-0732)
C.S., a medical records technician at an Army health center, claimed wage loss from October 10, 2021 through January 15, 2022 after an accepted left foot strain. OWCP denied the claim and later arranged a second opinion examination to address her conditions and disability. It issued another denial…
P.W. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Fresno VA Medical Center
Board denies continuation of pay after late COVID-19 injury report (ECAB 23-0714)
P.W., a general engineer at the Fresno VA Medical Center, claimed he contracted COVID-19 while working on November 14, 2022. He stopped work that day but filed his traumatic injury claim on December 23, 2022. The Board held that he filed the required Form CA-1 more than 30 days after the alleged…
S.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Merrifield Post Office
Board upholds denial of late reconsideration request after vehicle crash (ECAB 23-0626)
S.D., a postal rural carrier associate, was involved in a vehicle collision while working in December 2019. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the injury claim for lack of a medical diagnosis. He sought reconsideration in December 2022, stating that one hospital bill remained…
A.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency
Board affirms denial of prescription authorization (ECAB 23-0593)
A.M., a FEMA human services specialist with accepted respiratory conditions, sought continued authorization for promethazine with codeine. OWCP had notified her and her physician that the medication was outside the FECA drug formulary and that the physician could request an exception through a…
E.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Newport Post Office
Board remands postal carrier's claim for additional hip and back conditions (ECAB 23-0169)
E.B., a postal letter carrier, had an accepted back injury after a dog attacked him on his delivery route. He sought to add left hip and lumbar conditions to the claim. His treating physician attributed a hip labral tear and bursitis to the incident, while OWCP's second opinion physician attributed…
T.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Elizabeth Post Office
Board remands recurrence claim after unrelated patient records entered file (ECAB 21-0969)
T.H., a postal carrier with accepted knee, leg, and lower back injuries from a December 2019 fall, claimed a recurrence of disability beginning June 9, 2020. OWCP denied the claim after its hearing representative relied in part on medical reports that concerned a different patient and had been…
Frank Alo
In re Frank Alo (EAB CWA Appeal No. 23-(02)): EAB declines sua sponte review
On July 19, 2023, the Presiding Officer issued an Initial Decision and Order on Default Judgment in the matter involving Frank Alo. Neither party appealed. The Environmental Appeals Board declined to review the case on its own initiative under 40 C.F.R. §§ 22.27(c)(4) and 22.30(b). The Board stated…
Janice H. Griffith (Widow of Thomas H. Griffith) v. Virginia Pocahontas Company
Griffith v. Virginia Pocahontas Company (BRB 23-0085): survivor benefits affirmed
Janice H. Griffith sought survivor benefits after her husband, Thomas H. Griffith, died. An administrative law judge had awarded Thomas black lung benefits, and a second judge awarded Janice automatic survivor benefits under 30 U.S.C. § 932(l). Virginia Pocahontas Company argued that the survivor…
Beverly A. Morrow (o/b/o and Widow of John Morrow) v. Oak Grove Resources, LLC
Morrow v. Oak Grove Resources (BRB 22-0528 and 22-0527): benefit denials remanded for rebuttal review
Beverly A. Morrow pursued a black lung claim for her late husband, John Morrow, and sought survivor's benefits. The administrative law judge found 37 years of qualifying coal mine work and total respiratory disability, but denied both claims after finding that the employer had rebutted the…
Beverly A. Morrow, on behalf of and widow of John Morrow, v. Oak Grove Resources, LLC
Morrow v. Oak Grove Resources (BRB 22-0527 and 22-0528): benefits denials sent back for review
Beverly Morrow pursued a subsequent miner's claim on behalf of her late husband, John Morrow, and a survivor's claim. The judge credited John with 37 years of qualifying coal mine employment and found total disability, but concluded that the employer had rebutted the presumption of pneumoconiosis…
Y.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Dallas Network Distribution Center
Board affirms retirement offset overpayment and denies waiver (ECAB 23-0444)
Y.H., a postal mail handler, received FECA wage loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits without the required offset for federal service. OWCP calculated a $16,847.92 overpayment for October 2021 through July 16, 2022 and found she was not at fault. The Board upheld the overpayment…
K.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Ozone Park Carrier Annex
Board upholds retirement offset overpayment and recovery rate (ECAB 23-0358)
K.K., a postal employee receiving FECA compensation, also received Social Security retirement benefits based partly on federal service without the required offset. The Board upheld OWCP's $50,681.72 overpayment calculation and refusal to waive recovery because she provided income and expense…
L.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Pascagoula Post Office
Board affirms denial of postal carrier's ankle injury claim (ECAB 23-0317)
L.D., a postal letter carrier, said she rolled her right ankle while stepping onto a grate mat at work on October 27, 2021. OWCP accepted that the incident happened but denied the claim for insufficient medical evidence of causation. An emergency physician diagnosed an ankle sprain but did not…
M.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Georgetown
Board upholds finding that postal worker abandoned hearing request (ECAB 23-0226)
M.G., a rural postal carrier, requested an oral hearing after OWCP denied her injury claim arising from a vehicle collision. OWCP mailed notice of a September 8, 2022 telephonic hearing to her last known address. She did not call in, request postponement, or explain her absence within 10 days. The…
T.D. and Department of the Air Force, 482nd Civil Engineering Squadron, Homestead Air Force Base
Board affirms denial of Air Force worker's bilateral hand claim (ECAB 23-0037)
T.D., an environmental protection specialist at Homestead Air Force Base, claimed bilateral hand and wrist conditions from years of lifting and processing recyclable materials. OWCP accepted the work duties but denied the claim for lack of a reasoned medical link. The Board found that one…
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.