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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NFFE Local 1363 and Army Garrison Yongsan
Yongsan patrol-procedure appeal dismissed for wrong forum (FLRA O-NG-400)
NFFE Local 1363 proposed changes to military police highway-patrol procedures in Korea. The Army withdrew a draft regulation, and the parties disputed whether actual working conditions had changed and whether bargaining was required. The Authority said those factual bargaining-duty questions…
NAGE Local R14-89 and Fort Bliss Army Air Defense Center
Fort Bliss reassignment and work-assignment proposals rejected (FLRA O-NG-266)
NAGE Local R14-89 submitted two proposals concerning reassignment and work assignment at Fort Bliss. The Authority found both inconsistent with management rights, including the rights to assign employees and assign work. It dismissed the petition as to both proposals.
NTEU Chapter 165 and Customs Service San Francisco Region
Customs attorney-fee arbitration appeal dismissed as premature (FLRA O-AR-413)
An arbitrator resolved two disciplinary grievances but left attorney fees open for further proceedings. Customs filed exceptions while seeking an additional hearing on fees. The Authority held that the arbitration was not complete and dismissed the exceptions as interlocutory.
IRS Fresno Regional Center and NTEU Chapter 97
Fresno IRS two-week backpay award upheld (FLRA O-AR-248)
The Fresno IRS center recalled an employee two weeks late from furlough and conceded that it breached the labor agreement. An arbitrator awarded backpay because later make-up work was not a workable remedy for the employee’s changed circumstances. The Authority held that the pay loss occurred when…
Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow and AFGE Local 1482
Barstow antiunion retaliation ruling leads to second election (FLRA 8-CA-891, 8-CA-1048, 8-RO-35)
A judge found that the Marine Corps Logistics Base at Barstow had retaliated against active AFGE supporter Susan McGinnis and committed unfair labor practices before a representation election. With no timely exceptions, those complaint findings became the Authority’s order without precedential…
HHS Region IV Atlanta and National Treasury Employees Union
HHS Atlanta ordered to reimburse union negotiator travel (FLRA 4-CA-871)
HHS Region IV refused to reimburse NTEU representative Ira Colton for travel and per diem during contract negotiations. On a stipulated record, the Authority found that denial violated the statutory official-time entitlement. It rejected the agency’s argument that the union’s choice of…
Island Creek Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor
Citation contests dismissed as moot after settlement
Island Creek Coal Company had contested two citations at its Birch 2A Mine in dockets WEVA 79-183-R and WEVA 79-184-R. Judge Gary Melick stated that he had recently approved a settlement of those same citations in a separate civil penalty docket, WEVA 80-72. Because that settlement resolved…
Secretary of Labor v. Doan Coal Company
$40 settlement for inoperable backup alarms approved
Doan Coal Company and the Secretary of Labor proposed a settlement of two citations concerning inoperable reverse warning alarms on an endloader and a bulldozer at a strip mine. Each citation alleged a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 77.410 and carried a proposed $26 penalty. Doan admitted the violations…
Secretary of Labor v. Mitch Coal Company, Inc.
$476 assessed after default in three penalty cases
The Secretary of Labor sought civil penalties against Mitch Coal Company in three cases involving its No. 4E Mine. Mitch Coal did not answer the penalty proposals or the judge's repeated show-cause orders, despite receiving warnings that a failure to respond could result in default. Judge Richard…
Consolidation Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor
Dust citations affirmed, serious findings removed
Consolidation Coal contested two respirable dust citations from its Four States No. 20 and Humphrey No. 7 mines. The company admitted that dust concentrations exceeded the limit in 30 C.F.R. § 70.100(a), but disputed the citations' significant and substantial findings. Judge Gary Melick found that…
Secretary of Labor v. Island Creek Coal Company
$200 penalty settlement approved
The Secretary of Labor and Island Creek Coal Company proposed a settlement in a civil penalty case concerning the Birch No. 2-A Mine. The proposed penalty was $610, and the parties sought to reduce it to $200. Judge Gary Melick considered the submitted representations and documents under the Mine…
Republic Steel Corporation v. Secretary of Labor
Canopy citation rejected after fatal shuttle car accident
A shuttle car operator at Republic Steel's Banning Mine was killed after leaning around his protective canopy to see the mine cars he was loading; a car spotter failed and the shuttle car moved against a post. The parties proposed reducing the penalty for a canopy citation from $6,000 to $500…
AFGE Local 2272 and U.S. Marshals Service, District of Columbia
Marshals Service local proposals receive split negotiability ruling (FLRA O-NG-63)
AFGE Local 2272 appealed 26 proposals for a local supplement to a national agreement. The Authority dismissed 15 proposals without prejudice because the threshold dispute was whether the master agreement already covered them. Of the 11 remaining proposals, it held six within the duty to bargain and…
AFGE Local 1760 and SSA Northeast Program Service Center
SSA training and performance proposals held nonnegotiable (FLRA O-NG-443)
AFGE Local 1760 proposed limits on demotions and removals, training schedules preserving flextime, and a required written response by a specified employee to performance-error challenges. The Authority held that these proposals interfered with management’s rights to assign employees and work and to…
AFGE Local 3399 and Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital
VA parking-lot proposal rejected; gate proposal moot (FLRA O-NG-380)
AFGE Local 3399 proposed reserving two hospital parking lots for employees and adding gates to improve traffic flow. The Authority held that reserving the lots would interfere with management’s choice of parking facilities for hospital clientele and was outside the duty to bargain. It dismissed the…
National Treasury Employees Union and U.S. Customs Service
Customs agreement provisions receive split negotiability ruling (FLRA O-NG-323)
NTEU appealed Customs’ disapproval of provisions in a local agreement. The Authority held several provisions negotiable, including terms protecting existing agreements against later regulations, employee-interview procedures, and travel reimbursement during official-time bargaining. It held…
NFFE Local 1431 and VA Medical Center East Orange
East Orange VA union-board-seat proposal rejected (FLRA O-NG-245)
NFFE Local 1431 proposed a union representative on the VA medical center’s professional standards boards and position management committee. The Authority held that required union participation in those management deliberations conflicted with management rights. It dismissed the negotiability…
Defense Mapping Agency and AFGE Local 3407
Defense Mapping vacancy award upheld (FLRA O-AR-387)
An arbitrator rejected grievances over two Defense Mapping Agency vacancy announcements, finding one grievance late and no improper consideration in the other. The union asserted that the arbitrator exceeded his authority, ignored facts, and was biased, but filed no promised supporting brief. The…
Bureau of Prisons Ray Brook and AFGE Council of Prison Locals
Ray Brook probationer grievance dismissal upheld (FLRA O-AR-287)
An arbitrator found that the parties’ agreement excluded grievances over the separation of probationary employees and dismissed a union grievance. The union argued that the award rested on a nonfact involving the agreement and an executive order. The Authority found the challenge was disagreement…
Social Security Administration Great Lakes and AFGE Local 1395
SSA probationer grievance dismissal upheld (FLRA O-AR-286)
An arbitrator dismissed a grievance over a probationary employee’s separation because the parties’ agreement did not cover it. The union argued that no express exclusion appeared in the agreement. The Authority held that this disagreement with the arbitrator’s reading of the agreement did not…
NFFE Local 1418 and Voice of America
Voice of America technician pay award upheld (FLRA O-AR-263)
Voice of America challenged an arbitration award about setting pay for its radio broadcast technicians. The arbitrator ordered the agency to use the parties’ agreed wage-survey method, which applied a private-sector hourly rate to the technicians’ longer workweek. The Authority found that the…
AFGE Local 1857 and Sacramento Air Logistics Center
Aircraft fuel-tank differential denial upheld (FLRA O-AR-220)
An arbitrator denied environmental differential pay for work involving aircraft fuel tanks and chemicals, finding that the cited categories did not apply or that protective measures had practically eliminated the hazard. The union challenged the denial for chemical exposure as contrary to personnel…
Customs Service Region V and NTEU Chapter 168
Customs employee-interview complaint dismissed (FLRA 6-CA-237)
NTEU challenged interviews that Customs conducted with bargaining-unit employees while preparing an unfair labor practice case. The judge found the interviews noncoercive and recommended dismissing the complaint. The Authority adopted that result, explaining that the voluntary fact-gathering…
EEOC and National Council of EEOC Locals 216
EEOC bargaining unit clarified by job duties (FLRA 3-CU-52)
The EEOC and its union disputed whether several positions belonged in the bargaining unit. The Authority excluded five classifications whose incumbents exercised supervisory authority, while keeping the other disputed positions in the unit because their work did not make them management officials…
Army Health Clinic Fort Ritchie and NFFE Local 1153
Army clinic ordered to honor arbitration award (FLRA 3-CA-803)
An arbitrator had ordered the Army clinic to remove a written reprimand from an employee’s record. The clinic later relied on the same incident in further disciplinary actions. The Authority adopted the judge’s finding that this failure to comply with the final award was an unfair labor practice…
Army communications activities and NFFE Local 476
Army engineer excluded; other unit petitions dismissed (FLRA 2-CU-25, 2-CU-26, 2-CU-27, 2-CU-28, 2-CU-30, 2-CU-31)
Several Army communications activities sought to exclude professional positions from a bargaining unit represented by NFFE Local 476. The Authority found one electronics engineer classification supervisory and excluded it. For Case 2-CU-25, it found the disputed incumbents were not supervisors or…
IRS Brookhaven Service Center and NTEU Chapter 99
IRS witness-interview complaints dismissed (FLRA 2-CA-114, 2-CA-120)
IRS representatives interviewed employees while preparing for an unfair labor practice hearing and an arbitration. NTEU argued that the interviews were formal discussions at which it was entitled to be represented. On a stipulated record, the Authority found the voluntary fact-gathering sessions…
Production, Maintenance and Public Employees Union Local 1276 and Defense Depot Tracy
Tracy depot negotiability appeal dismissed as late (FLRA O-NG-625)
The union appealed a Defense Depot Tracy allegation that its proposal was nonnegotiable. Because the allegation was made in response to a Federal Service Impasses Panel request and the union appealed it after the filing deadline, the Authority dismissed the petition as untimely. The dismissal was…
SSA Region IV Atlanta and AFGE Local 2268
SSA Atlanta arbitration exceptions dismissed as late (FLRA O-AR-409)
SSA Region IV filed exceptions to an arbitration award two days after the statutory deadline. The Authority held that it could not waive or extend the deadline and dismissed the exceptions without reaching the award. The official order calls them the union’s exceptions in later sentences, although…
Immigration and Naturalization Service and AFGE Local 2805
INS arbitration exceptions dismissed after misfiling (FLRA O-AR-404)
AFGE Local 2805 filed exceptions to an arbitration award with the Department of Labor before filing them with the Authority. The proper filing reached the Authority after the statutory deadline. The Authority held that it could not waive or extend the time limit and dismissed the exceptions without…
Lloyd Brazell v. Island Creek Coal Company
Dismissal of miner discrimination complaint affirmed
Lloyd Brazell challenged his layoff from Island Creek Coal Company, alleging discrimination under the Mine Act. An administrative law judge found no prima facie case, and the Commission affirmed. The Commission found that some of Brazell's cited incidents were not protected safety activity or had…
Matter of Mangaser
J-1 medical status barred suspension eligibility
The respondent, a Filipino physician who came to the United States for postgraduate medical training as a J-1 exchange visitor, was found deportable after remaining beyond his authorized stay. He moved to reopen his deportation proceedings so he could seek suspension of deportation or renewed…
Secretary of Labor v. Billy Ray Masters
Solo coal operator's $147 settlement approved
Billy Ray Masters, who worked alone removing coal from construction sites, disputed whether his operation was covered by the Mine Act. Judge Richard C. Steffey held that it was covered even though Masters had no employees and produced about 12,500 tons of coal a year. Five citations concerned…
Secretary of Labor v. United States Steel Corporation
Missing jack citation upheld, withdrawal order vacated
An MSHA inspector found a personnel jeep without the lifting jack required by a safeguard at United States Steel's Maple Creek No. 1 Mine. The mine supplied jacks for three other jeeps but left this jeep operable without one, and the inspector later issued a withdrawal order. Judge William Fauver…
Joseph W. Herman v. Imco Services
Discrimination complaint dismissed as late
Joseph Herman alleged that Imco Services fired him after he raised concerns about a storage bin and met with MSHA about its safety. Judge John J. Morris dismissed the complaint because Herman waited about 11 months after the firing before first seeking to file it, far beyond the Mine Act's 60-day…
FMC Corporation v. Secretary of Labor
Surface crane citations and danger order vacated
FMC Corporation used mobile cranes to lift workers to elevated repair sites at its Wyoming mine. MSHA cited that practice under the man-hoisting rules in 30 C.F.R. § 57.19 and issued an imminent-danger order. Judge Charles C. Moore, Jr. held that those rules applied to hoists raising or lowering…
AFGE Local 1923 and Social Security Administration
SSA performance-standard proposal rejected (FLRA O-NG-465)
AFGE Local 1923 proposed replacing a workload process and negotiating the basic requirement figures for the affected jobs. The Authority read those figures as performance standards. It held that requiring negotiation over their content would interfere with management’s rights to direct employees…
Air Force Flight Test Center and Firefighters Local F-53
Edwards firefighter unit clarified (FLRA 8-CU-29)
At Edwards Air Force Base, the firefighters’ union sought a ruling on whether several positions belonged in its unit. The Authority excluded assistant fire chiefs and station chiefs because they spent most of their work time exercising independent supervisory authority. It kept a fire protection…
Vandenberg Air Force Base Fire Department and Firefighters Local F-116
Vandenberg firefighter unit petition dismissed (FLRA 8-CU-27)
Firefighters Local F-116 sought to include assistant fire chiefs and station chiefs in its unit at Vandenberg Air Force Base. The Authority found that both groups spent most of their work time exercising independent supervisory authority and dismissed the petition. This was an original…
Air Force Space Division and AFGE Local 2429
Space Division bargaining unit clarified (FLRA 8-CU-18)
The Air Force sought to remove disputed Space Division positions from a unit represented by AFGE Local 2429. The Authority excluded employees it found to be supervisors or management officials and kept the other disputed positions in the unit. It also dismissed the petition as to positions whose…
Social Security Administration Baltimore and AFGE
SSA ordered to bargain over employee feedback process (FLRA 8-CA-786)
SSA supervisors held meetings with Los Angeles district employees to gather views on performance goals despite the union’s objection. On a stipulated record, the Authority found that SSA had unilaterally chosen how employees would participate in establishing standards without giving the union a…
Mobil Oil Corporation
Employee settlement objections must be considered
Mobil and the Secretary settled a general duty citation concerning employees who manually gauged petroleum from floating-roof tanks. The employees' union objected that ten-minute radio checks during a less critical period were inadequate and sought continuous visual contact with a second worker…
VA Medical Center Fayetteville and AFGE Local 2201
Fayetteville VA union-activity complaint dismissed (FLRA 6-CA-615)
A complaint alleged that the Fayetteville VA medical center passed over three food-service employees for promotion because of union activity. The judge found that the allegations had not been proved and recommended dismissal. The Authority adopted the judge’s findings and dismissed the complaint.
2750th Air Base Wing and Firefighters Local F-88
Wright-Patterson station-chief petition dismissed (FLRA 5-CU-34)
Firefighters Local F-88 sought a ruling on station chiefs at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The Authority found that they spent most of their work time independently assigning, disciplining, and rewarding subordinates, making them supervisors under the firefighter rule. It dismissed the petition…
Consolidation Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor
Hoist citation upheld without serious finding
Consolidation Coal operated a man-hoist at its Renton Mine after repairing a loose retaining nut in its overspeed governor but before discovering and tightening the nut's locking setscrew. MSHA cited the company for operating equipment in an unsafe condition under 30 C.F.R. § 75.1725(a). Judge Gary…
AFGE Council 236 and General Services Administration
GSA employee-transfer proposals rejected (FLRA O-NG-496)
AFGE Council 236 proposed terms for employees affected by a transfer of functions within the General Services Administration. The Authority held that required bargaining over position numbers and grades was at the agency’s election, a five-year employment guarantee interfered with the right to lay…
Mare Island Shipyard and Federal Employees Metal Trades Council
Mare Island grievance-scope complaint dismissed (FLRA 9-CA-655)
Mare Island Shipyard and the union reached an impasse over which matters their negotiated grievance procedure would cover. The union alleged that the shipyard’s refusal to accept a full-scope procedure was an unfair labor practice. On a transferred record, the Authority held that the scope was a…
Fort Lewis and AFGE Local 1504
Fort Lewis grievance-scope complaint dismissed (FLRA 9-CA-46)
Fort Lewis proposed limiting the scope of a negotiated grievance procedure, while AFGE Local 1504 wanted broader coverage. The parties reached impasse, and Fort Lewis suggested referral to the Federal Service Impasses Panel. On a transferred record, the Authority held that this bargaining position…
McChord Air Force Base and AFGE Local 1501
McChord grievance-scope complaint dismissed (FLRA 9-CA-445)
McChord Air Force Base and AFGE Local 1501 disagreed over exclusions from a negotiated grievance procedure. A judge dismissed the unfair labor practice complaint arising from that dispute. The Authority adopted the judge’s result because the procedure’s scope was a mandatory bargaining subject and…
Hawaii Air National Guard and AFGE Local 882
Hawaii Guard grievance-scope complaint dismissed (FLRA 8-CA-836)
AFGE Local 882 and the Hawaii Air National Guard disputed whether performance-related matters would be covered by their grievance procedure. They bargained without reaching agreement. The Authority held that a party could bargain to impasse over grievance scope and dismissed the unfair labor…
2750th Air Base Wing and AFGE Local 1138
Wright-Patterson interview complaints dismissed (FLRA 5-CA-736, 5-CA-737, 5-CA-738, 5-CA-805)
AFGE Local 1138 alleged that an Air Force unit denied representation during meetings with an employee. The judge recommended dismissing four complaints. The Authority adopted that result: the September meetings were not investigative examinations. At the August 18 meeting, the examination ended…
Minnesota Army National Guard and Association of Civilian Technicians
Minnesota Guard grievance-scope complaint dismissed (FLRA 5-CA-718)
The Minnesota Army National Guard and the technicians’ union reached impasse over whether certain National Guard technician matters would be covered by a negotiated grievance procedure. The Authority held that the parties could bargain over scope and seek impasse resolution. It dismissed the unfair…
Defense Communications Agency, Headquarters, Arlington, Virginia and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2, AFL-CIO
Defense Communications Agency unit clarification expanded (FLRA 3-CU-50)
The Defense Communications Agency sought reconsideration of an earlier unit clarification that had confused two groups of employees at its operations center. The Authority granted reconsideration and reviewed the roles of 15 computer specialists and four computer systems analysts. It found that the…
Maine National Guard and AFGE Local 3013
Maine Guard grievance-scope complaint dismissed (FLRA 1-CA-639)
The Maine National Guard and AFGE Local 3013 reached impasse over limits on a negotiated grievance procedure for technicians. The Authority held that scope was a mandatory subject for bargaining and impasse procedures. It dismissed the complaint alleging that the Guard’s position was an unfair…
New York National Guard and Civilian Technicians Association
New York Guard grievance-scope complaint dismissed (FLRA 1-CA-554)
The New York National Guard and the civilian technicians’ union disagreed over the scope of their negotiated grievance procedure. The Authority held that grievance scope was a mandatory bargaining subject and that an impasse could be addressed through impasse procedures. It dismissed the unfair…
Rhode Island National Guard and Association of Civilian Technicians
Rhode Island Guard grievance-scope violation reversed (FLRA 1-CA-422)
A judge found that the Rhode Island National Guard committed an unfair labor practice by insisting on limits to a negotiated grievance procedure. The Authority rejected that conclusion. It held that scope was a mandatory bargaining subject and could go through impasse procedures, then dismissed the…
Secretary of Labor v. Miller Mining Co., Inc.
$250 penalty for unauthorized mine entry
A fire at Miller Mining's underground gold mine led MSHA to issue a withdrawal order that required approval before anyone entered. Someone later entered without approval and cut a hole in a ventilation line, but the record did not establish who entered. Judge George A. Koutras held that the…
AFGE Local 2270 and VA Medical Center Omaha
Omaha VA negotiability petition dismissed for filing defects (FLRA O-NG-658)
AFGE Local 2270 filed a negotiability petition concerning the Omaha VA medical center. The Authority identified deficiencies and gave the union time to correct them. The union made no submission by the deadline, so the Authority dismissed the petition without deciding the proposal’s negotiability.
NFFE Local 78 and VA Regional Office Indianapolis
Indianapolis VA selection-panel proposal rejected (FLRA O-NG-487)
NFFE Local 78 proposed duties and deadlines for a VA selection panel handling vacancies. The Authority held that the proposal assigned specific work to non-unit personnel and removed management’s discretion to assign that work. It dismissed the negotiability petition on the merits.
AFSCME Local 2910 and Library of Congress
Library placement-source proposal rejected (FLRA O-NG-470)
AFSCME Local 2910 proposed limiting who could be placed in Library of Congress bargaining-unit positions during reductions in force or priority placement. The Authority held that the proposal barred selection from other appropriate sources and interfered with management’s statutory selection right…
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.