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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National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and NFFE Local 1967
NIH professional-unit petition dismissed (FLRA 3-RO-85)
NFFE Local 1967 sought a separate unit for professional employees at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The Authority found that these employees shared work conditions, personnel policies, and research collaboration with professionals across NIH. It held the proposed unit…
Internal Revenue Service and National Treasury Employees Union
IRS negotiator travel order modified (FLRA 3-CA-331, 3-CA-1231)
An IRS judge found the agency violated the statute by denying official time for union negotiators’ travel and refusing travel and per diem expenses. The Authority adopted the violation finding but modified the recommended order. It directed payment of properly documented expenses and official time…
Bureau of the Public Debt and NTEU Chapters 190 and 199
Public Debt travel-expense violation found (FLRA 3-CA-1837)
The Bureau of the Public Debt refused to pay travel expenses for employees serving on an NTEU contract-negotiating team. The union changed its team to avoid expenses. On a stipulated record, the Authority found the refusal violated the statutory official-time entitlement and ordered the bureau to…
Army Harry Diamond Laboratories and AFGE Local 2
Army laboratory parking-fee notice violation upheld (FLRA 3-CA-1113)
Harry Diamond Laboratories used unit security guards to collect new daily parking fees without clear advance notice to AFGE Local 2. The judge found an unfair labor practice. The Authority agreed that passing references during a meeting about fee amounts did not adequately tell the union that…
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and NTEU Chapter 89
ATF ordered to provide official time and travel expenses (FLRA 2-CA-213, 2-CA-314, 2-CA-381, 2-CA-409, 2-CA-410, 2-CA-411)
ATF denied official time and travel reimbursement to union representatives negotiating midterm workplace changes. On a stipulated record, the Authority found the negotiators entitled to official time, including travel time, and appropriate travel and per diem expenses. It found an unfair labor…
United Mine Workers of America on behalf of Billy Dale Wise v. Consolidation Coal Company
Mine Act discrimination complaint dismissed
Union safety committeeman Billy Dale Wise alleged that Consolidation Coal suspended him for three days because of his mine safety activity. Wise had reported hazardous roof conditions and then entered a posted danger area to check repair work. Judge George A. Koutras found that mine management had…
Omar Mining Company v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Impoundment information citation vacated
MSHA cited Omar Mining Company for failing to respond to a district manager's letter about the emergency spillway at a mine impoundment. The letter said the spillway was too small and asked Omar to evaluate its design and submit a corrective plan. Judge George A. Koutras found that the letter did…
Frederick G. Bradley v. Belva Coal Company
Back pay and expenses set after remand
The Commission had affirmed an earlier finding that Belva Coal Company unlawfully discharged Frederick Bradley, then remanded for a new back pay calculation. Bradley and Belva stipulated to the amounts owed and waived appeal. Judge James A. Broderick approved their agreement and ordered Belva to…
Gerald D. Boone v. Rebel Coal Company
Late review petition permitted
An administrative law judge had found that Rebel Coal Company unlawfully discharged Gerald Boone and later awarded him damages and costs. Rebel Coal's first review petition had been dismissed as premature, and no petition followed the judge's final order within the statutory period. The Commission…
Island Creek Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Miner representative pay citation reinstated in settlement
Island Creek Coal Company did not pay a miners' representative who accompanied an inspector during a spot inspection. Judge Richard C. Steffey had previously vacated the citation under then controlling Commission rulings. After a federal appeals court held that compensation was required for spot…
09:0478(56)NG - NFFE Local 15 and HQ, Army Armament Materiel Readiness Command, Rock Island Arsenal, IL -- 1982 FLRAdec NG
Army grievance proposal held negotiable (FLRA O-NG-355)
The union proposed grievance coverage for ratings and referrals under the Army’s career management program. The Army argued that its regulation excluded those matters. The Authority held the proposal within the duty to bargain because the regulation could not narrow statutory grievance coverage on…
09:0433(53)AR - National Bureau of Standards, Boulder Laboratories and AFGE Local 2186 -- 1982 FLRAdec AR
Promotion award survives agency exceptions (FLRA O-AR-207)
An arbitrator found that the National Bureau of Standards Boulder Laboratories violated its merit promotion program in filling an electrician foreman position. The agency challenged a conditional remedy involving reassignment and a new selection. The Authority denied the exceptions because the…
United Mine Workers of America on behalf of Delmar Shepherd v. Peabody Coal Company
Recall discrimination complaint dismissed
Peabody Coal Company offered Delmar Shepherd a recall position at an underground mine, then withdrew it because he needed additional safety training. Shepherd alleged that this was discrimination under the Mine Act after employees with less service were recalled instead. Judge James A. Broderick…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Itmann Coal Company
Accident reporting and evidence preservation penalties upheld
An administrative law judge found that Itmann Coal Company failed to give prompt notice of a methane ignition and failed to preserve evidence for its investigation under the 1969 Coal Act. The Commission upheld both violations and the $7,500 penalty assessed for each. It rejected Itmann's argument…
09:0480(57)CA - IRS, Western Region, San Francisco, CA and NTEU -- 1982 FLRAdec CA
IRS information refusal found unlawful, hearing remedy removed (FLRA 9-CA-381)
The IRS Western Region refused to give the union information needed to represent an employee at a predecision oral hearing. The Authority adopted the judge’s finding that this violated the duty to provide necessary information. It removed the proposed second hearing because the Merit Systems…
SSA Great Lakes Program Service Center and AFGE Local 1395
SSA settlement-agreement repudiation upheld as violation (FLRA 5-CA-91)
The SSA Great Lakes center repudiated a memorandum negotiated to settle an earlier unfair labor practice charge about vacancies open to unit employees. A judge found that the agreement concerned negotiable procedures and arrangements and that its complete repudiation violated the statute. The…
09:0437(54)CA - Treasury, IRS, Detroit, MI and NTEU and NTEU Chapter 24 -- 1982 FLRAdec CA
IRS Detroit bargaining violation and dismissal upheld (FLRA 5-CA-164)
The IRS Detroit District changed how oral reply officers reported recommendations without bargaining over procedures and effects. The judge found a violation on that issue but rejected the separate allegations in case 5-CA-192. The Authority adopted both results, ordered bargaining on request and…
09:0458(55)CA - Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Tidewater Virginia Federal Employees MTC -- 1982 FLRAdec CA
Shipyard representation violation upheld (FLRA 3-CA-1613)
Norfolk Naval Shipyard limited union participation in employee examinations connected to an investigation. The Authority adopted the judge’s finding that the conduct unnecessarily intimidated employees and interfered with their representation rights. It ordered the shipyard to rescind an employee’s…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Inland Steel Coal Company
Bathing facilities required for surface construction miners
Inland Steel Coal Company was developing an underground coal mine, and a contractor's employees were building its surface preparation plant. Those workers had changing facilities but no bathhouse. An administrative law judge vacated a notice alleging that Inland had to provide bathing facilities…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Penn Allegh Coal Company, Inc.
Haulage clearance safeguard violation affirmed
An earlier safeguard notice required Penn Allegh Coal Company to eliminate abrupt changes in vertical clearance along a mine haulage route or post warnings. At one point in the route, a change in roof and floor levels reduced clearance from 48 to 40 inches. A miner operating a scoop was fatally…
National Mines Corporation v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Spot inspection pay order reinstated
National Mines Corporation contested an MSHA order issued after it failed to pay a miners' representative who accompanied an inspector during a spot inspection. Judge Richard C. Steffey had originally vacated the order under then controlling Commission rulings. A federal appeals court later held…
Matter of Dea
Formal asylum filing placed jurisdiction with the immigration judge
The Service appealed after an immigration judge terminated exclusion proceedings for lack of jurisdiction over a Haitian applicant's asylum claim. The Board held that an asylum request is formally made by filing Form I-589, and that an applicant who files the form after exclusion proceedings begin…
William A. Williamson v. Bishop Coal Company
Dust sampling discrimination complaint dismissed
William Williamson, a section foreman at Bishop Coal Company's Dry Fork mine, alleged that the company disciplined him because he participated in valid respirable dust sampling. The mine had repeatedly exceeded its dust limit, and management required Williamson and another foreman to work weekends…
09:0392(47)AR - Army Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, AL and AFGE Local 1858 -- 1982 FLRAdec AR
Army instructor staffing award upheld (FLRA O-AR-204)
An Army reorganization added military instructor positions and removed civilian instructor positions. An arbitrator rejected a union grievance that challenged the use of military personnel and temporary employees under agency and personnel rules. The Authority denied the union’s exception because…
09:0409(49)CA - Dugway Proving Grounds, Dugway, UT and NFFE Local 1239 -- 1982 FLRAdec CA
Dugway dues recoupment complaint dismissed (FLRA 7-CA-442)
Dugway Proving Grounds stopped withholding dues for employees who became supervisors and recouped dues it had already remitted to the union for them. On a transferred record, the Authority held that these actions did not establish an unfair labor practice. It dismissed the complaint.
09:0394(48)CA - Air Force, 3480th Air Base Group, Goodfellow AFB, TX and AFGE Local 1816 -- 1982 FLRAdec CA
Air Force dues adjustment complaint dismissed (FLRA 6-CA-139)
Goodfellow Air Force Base continued withholding union dues after an employee became a supervisor, then refunded her and offset the union’s allotment. The Authority agreed with the judge that the agency had no statutory duty to continue withholding dues after the promotion and could recoup the…
09:0427(52)CA - Library of Congress and Library of Congress Professional Guild, Local 2910, AFSCME -- 1982 FLRAdec CA
Library refusal to bargain over affirmative action plan found unlawful (FLRA 3-CA-624)
The Library of Congress declined to bargain with the Professional Guild over union proposals for its fiscal 1980 affirmative action plan. On a transferred record, the Authority rejected the Library’s waiver and contract defenses. It found an unfair labor practice and ordered bargaining on request…
09:0421(51)CA - Library of Congress and Congressional Research Employees Association (CREA), Independent -- 1982 FLRAdec CA
Library refusal to bargain with research employees found unlawful (FLRA 3-CA-582)
The Library of Congress declined to bargain with the Congressional Research Employees Association over proposed changes to its fiscal 1980 affirmative action plan. The Authority rejected the Library’s claim that the union had waived bargaining rights and found a statutory violation on the…
09:0413(50)NG AFGE, LOCAL 2578 VS GSA -- 1982 FLRAdec NG
Archives dues complaints split by employee status (FLRA 3-CA-1043)
The National Archives and Records Service adjusted union dues payments after employees left the bargaining unit or revoked authorization. The Authority dismissed that complaint, finding the adjustments did not violate the statute. It found a violation in a separate case because dues withholding…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Amherst Coal Company
Roof support violation and $1,000 penalty upheld
MSHA cited Amherst Coal Company after a temporary support canopy on a roof bolting machine dropped away from the roof while a worker was beyond permanent supports. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. found that the canopy had initially been set firmly against the roof but failed during drilling because of…
Roger A. Anderson v. Itmann Coal Company
Discrimination remedy settlement approved
Judge William Fauver had earlier found Itmann Coal Company liable for discrimination against Roger Anderson and asked the parties to agree on back pay, interest, fees, and costs. The parties submitted a written settlement, which the judge approved in this final order. He ordered Itmann to pay…
Eastern Associated Coal Corp. v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Contest dismissed after MSHA withdrew violation
The Commission had reversed an earlier ALJ ruling that vacated a 1976 notice against Eastern Associated Coal Corp. and returned the case for further proceedings. On remand, MSHA reported that it had itself vacated the violation, had never assessed a civil penalty, and would take no further…
Fred Ganchuk and Lesko Bugay v. Aloe Coal Company
Discrimination complaints over warning letters dismissed
Aloe Coal Company sent Fred Ganchuk and Lesko Bugay written warnings after a loading machine struck a company jeep at a coal preparation area. The two miners claimed the letters were discriminatory, arguing that prior equipment accidents had been handled differently and that Bugay had raised safety…
Matter of Phelisna
Illegal departure did not prove an entry or persecution claim
The Board reviewed an exclusion case involving a Haitian applicant who arrived by boat without immigration documents and sought asylum. The Board held that an applicant challenging exclusion must prove an entry into the United States, and that physical presence alone does not establish entry…
09:0385(46)CA - Interior, Water and Power Resources Service, Grand Coulee Project, Grand Coulee, WA and Office of the Secretary, Interior, Washington, DC and Columbia Basin Trades Council, Grand Coulee, WA and OPM -- 1982 FLRAdec CA
Interior wage bargaining violation found, project claim dismissed (FLRA 9-CA-16)
The Grand Coulee Project and its union had agreed to revisit wage increases if a federal pay cap did not apply to their prevailing rate employees. After the Comptroller General found the cap inapplicable, Interior directed the project not to bargain above 5.5 percent. The Authority found that…
Secretary of Labor v. Allied Products Company
Three penalties reset to $5,000 after court remand
A federal appeals court upheld findings that Allied Products Company violated three mine safety standards but ordered the penalties recalculated. The Commission sent the penalty question back to Judge William Fauver. The parties agreed to total penalties of $5,000, which the judge found consistent…
Walter A. Schulte v. Lizza Industries, Inc.
Discrimination complaint dismissed under independent attendance reason
Walter Schulte alleged that Lizza Industries fired him after he reported safety concerns at its quarry to MSHA. Judge Gary Melick found the report protected and acknowledged circumstantial evidence that it may have played some part in the discharge. He also found documented attendance problems…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Richard Klippstein and W. O. Pickett, Jr.
Default vacated for jurisdiction hearing
Richard Klippstein, representing himself, asked the Commission to review an administrative law judge's default judgment. The Commission found that the judge had a sound basis under its rules to enter default. It nevertheless granted review because Klippstein had raised a jurisdiction question the…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Amherst Coal Company
Nine dust sampling citations vacated
MSHA cited Amherst Coal Company nine times after its computer records showed missing respirable dust samples for designated work positions. Amherst's data cards showed it had taken and submitted all nine samples on time, but it had transposed digits in the section identifiers. The parties proposed…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Eastover Mining Company
Canopy requirement uses mined height; $75 settlement approved
MSHA cited Eastover Mining after an inspector saw a continuous mining machine operating without a protective canopy. The extracted height of the entry was 53 inches, although the coal seam itself was only 38 inches at its lowest point. An administrative law judge vacated the citation after treating…
Matter of Ketema
Waiver authority belonged to the District Director
The Board reviewed the exclusion of an Ethiopian applicant who entered on a visitor-for-pleasure visa but was attending college in the United States. The Board held that he was properly treated as an immigrant without the required entry documents because he had no student visa. It further held that…
09:0374(43)AR - HHS, SSA, Philadelphia (West) District, Upper Darby, PA and AFGE Local 2327 -- 1982 FLRAdec AR
SSA quality review award narrowed (FLRA 0-AR-299)
An arbitrator barred an SSA district office from assigning claims representatives to quality review work, using seniority for those assignments, and placing review results in employee files. The Authority held that the first two limits interfered with management’s statutory right to assign…
09:0378(44)AR - San Antonio Air Logistics Center, Kelly AFB, San Antonio, TX and AFGE Local 1617 -- 1982 FLRAdec AR
Air logistics promotion grievance denial upheld (FLRA 0-AR-172)
A union challenged a promotion evaluation pattern at Kelly Air Force Base. The arbitrator found the grievance outside the substantive scope of arbitration under the parties’ agreement. The Authority denied the union’s exceptions because disagreement with that interpretation and its other objections…
09:0381(45)AR - National Archives and Records Service, GSA and Local 2578, AFGE -- 1982 FLRAdec AR
Archives unit status arbitration award upheld (FLRA 0-AR-137)
An Archives employee challenged her performance evaluation, and the agency argued that her position fell outside the bargaining unit. An arbitrator held that a later grievance arbitrator could decide unit status as a collateral fact despite a pending unit clarification petition. The Authority…
Matter of Chew
No-work bond condition remained in effect
The Board reviewed a respondent's appeal from a bond condition barring unauthorized employment. It held that the District Director could consider a later request to modify custody conditions after the immigration judge lost jurisdiction, even when the immigration judge had already made a custody…
Matter of St. Pierre
Industrial hygiene training qualified for H-3 classification
The Regional Commissioner reviewed an environmental consulting firm's petition to classify a Canadian chemical engineering professor as a nonimmigrant H-3 trainee in industrial hygiene. The proposed program involved observing field tests and laboratory procedures, with no pay from the petitioner…
Matter of Victorino
Venue authority shifted after the Order to Show Cause
The respondent appealed after an immigration judge denied her motion to change venue in deportation proceedings. The District Director had denied an earlier venue request after issuing the Order to Show Cause, and the immigration judge concluded that venue authority had not yet shifted because the…
Matter of Roussis
Immigration judge could not remand adjustment application
The Board reviewed an immigration judge's decision that reopened deportation proceedings and remanded the respondent's adjustment-of-status application to the District Director. The Board held that the regulations place adjustment applications filed after an Order to Show Cause in the deportation…
Matter of Reyes
Motion to reopen denied on discretionary grounds
The Board reconsidered an appeal after the Ninth Circuit reversed and remanded the Board's earlier decision denying a motion to reopen deportation proceedings. The respondent, a Philippine visitor who overstayed and went into hiding after receiving voluntary departure, sought reopening to apply for…
Veterans Administration Central Office and Medical Centers and California Nurses Association and NFFE Local 541
VA parking program bargaining violation found (FLRA 8-CA-269)
VA facilities implemented paid parking rules without giving two unions a chance to bargain over matters left to agency discretion. The Authority found an unfair labor practice even though federal rules required the parking program. Because no fee collection rule remained in effect, it ordered a…
Cincinnati Gas and Electric Co.
Judge's decision affirmed by agreement
Cincinnati Gas and Electric Company and the Secretary jointly asked the Commission to decline review. The Commission granted the motion and affirmed the administrative law judge's decision. It gave that decision the precedential value of an unreviewed judge's decision. Because it declined review…
Chesapeake Operating Company
Deck-cargo item vacated and hardhat item affirmed
Chesapeake, a Baltimore stevedoring company, had employees clearing snow and ice from modular-home sections stowed on a ship's deck without fall protection. A majority agreed that the cited fall-protection standard applied to deck cargo, but the item was still vacated because one Commissioner found…
Little Beaver Creek Ranches, Inc.
General duty citation affirmed for power-line hazard
Little Beaver Creek Ranches used a crew of high-school-aged summer employees to move irrigation pipe near an energized 7,200-volt power line. One employee died and three were injured when workers raised a pipe to remove an animal and the pipe contacted the line. The Commission found that the ranch…
United States Steel Corporation
Molten-metal lance-change citation vacated
U.S. Steel required millwrights to replace failed oxygen lances above open-hearth furnaces containing molten metal. OSHA alleged that a lance change could trap water beneath molten metal and cause an explosion. The Commission held that the judge improperly decided the case on broader eruption…
09:0362(42)CA - Treasury, IRS and Cincinnati, Ohio District IRS and NTEU and NTEU Joint Council of Chapters 9, 27, and 75 -- 1982 FLRAdec CA
IRS official time and travel violation upheld (FLRA 5-CA-538)
An IRS Cincinnati District union representative used leave and sought travel expenses for representational duties. A judge found that the agency denied official time and expenses required by the statute. The Authority adopted the judge’s findings and ordered the IRS to make the representative…
Internal Revenue Service, Jacksonville and Atlanta Districts and National Treasury Employees Union
IRS bargaining representatives’ official time violation upheld (FLRA 4-CA-498)
IRS Jacksonville and Atlanta districts denied union representatives official time or travel expenses for collective bargaining sessions. The judge found violations of the statutory official time duty but rejected a separate refusal to bargain allegation. The Authority adopted both conclusions and…
09:0347(41)CA - Florida NG and NAGE Locals R5-91, R5-107, R5-120 -- 1982 FLRAdec CA
Florida National Guard impasse order violation upheld (FLRA 4-CA-407)
The Florida National Guard refused to follow a Federal Service Impasses Panel order on technicians’ choice of military uniform or agreed civilian attire. The Authority adopted the judge’s unfair labor practice finding. It ordered the Guard to adopt the specified contract language, negotiate when…
09:0323(38)AR - Office of Program Operations, Field Operations, SSA San Francisco Region and Council of District Office Locals, AFGE -- 1982 FLRAdec AR
SSA arbitration exceptions dismissed as late (FLRA 0-AR-400)
A union filed exceptions to an SSA arbitration award after the statutory filing period. The award was dated May 7, 1982, making the exceptions due June 7, but they arrived June 10. The Authority dismissed them because it could not waive or extend the filing deadline.
09:0321(37)CA - VA Medical Center, Marion, IN and AFGE Local 1020 -- 1982 FLRAdec CA
VA arbitration exceptions dismissed as late (FLRA 0-AR-394)
The union filed exceptions to an arbitration award concerning the VA medical center in Marion, Indiana. The Authority found that the exceptions arrived after the statutory deadline. It dismissed them without reviewing the award’s merits.
Metro Electric, Inc.
Serious guardrail violation affirmed
Metro Electric was cited for a serious violation of the guardrail standard at 29 C.F.R. § 1926.500(d)(2). The administrative law judge affirmed the citation and assessed a $50 penalty. After reviewing the record and the parties' arguments, the Commission agreed with the judge's reasoning and…
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.