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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Matter of M/V "Coral Springs"
Owner was not liable for captain's alien-transport fines
The Board reviewed a $250,000 fine imposed on the owner and captain of a commercial fishing vessel that brought 250 Cuban nationals to Florida. It held that strict liability applies only after a carrier has been shown to have brought undocumented aliens to the United States, and that ownership…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Amax Lead Company of Missouri
Secretary of Labor v. Amax Lead Company of Missouri (FMSHRC CENT 81-63-M): Settlement rejection upheld
MSHA and Amax Lead proposed settling two airborne contaminant citations with language limiting use of the alleged violations in future proceedings. The Commission agreed with the judge that the language could undermine the Mine Act's enforcement scheme and upheld rejection of the joint settlement…
Naval Air Station, Meridian, Mississippi and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2244
Meridian naval station unit excludes tenant activity employees (FLRA 4-CU-24)
Naval Air Station Meridian asked whether civilian employees of separate tenant activities on the base belonged in a unit represented by AFGE Local 2244. The union favored a unit that included them. The Authority found that the tenant activities had separate commanders with personnel and labor…
The Adjutant General, Delaware National Guard and Association of Civilian Technicians, Inc., Delaware Chapter
Delaware National Guard unit clarified by job duties (FLRA 2-CU-4)
The Delaware National Guard asked the Authority to decide whether civilian technician positions should remain in a bargaining unit. The Authority excluded positions whose holders exercised independent supervisory judgment over civilian employees. It kept flight instructors in the unit because their…
U.S. Army Natick Research and Development Laboratories and National Association of Government Employees, Local R1-34
Natick Army unit excludes eight disputed positions (FLRA 1-CU-29)
The Army sought to remove employees in several professional jobs from a Natick bargaining unit, claiming they were supervisors or management officials. The Authority found that six positions exercised independent supervisory judgment in hiring, assigning work, promotions, awards, or grievances. It…
National Guard Bureau, State of New York, Division of Military and Naval Affairs and Association of Civilian Technicians, Inc.
New York National Guard unit excludes most shop chiefs (FLRA 1-CU-22)
The New York National Guard sought to remove several civilian technician positions from an existing bargaining unit as supervisors or management officials. The Authority found that the program and mobility technician and 12 examiners offered technical advice but did not shape agency policy, so they…
Department of the Navy, Naval Underwater Systems Center, Newport, Rhode Island and Federal Union of Scientists and Engineers, National Association of Government Employees, Local R1-144
Newport Navy unit excludes three supervisors (FLRA 1-CU-19)
The Navy and the union jointly sought clarification of the bargaining unit for professional employees at the Naval Underwater Systems Center in Newport. The Navy argued that numerous employees should be excluded as supervisors or management officials. The Authority found that three engineers…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) on behalf of Joseph Pastine v. Fairfax Trucking Company
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Joseph Pastine v. Fairfax Trucking (FMSHRC WEVA 81-393-D): Discrimination complaint withdrawn
MSHA moved, with Joseph Pastine's consent, to withdraw the discrimination complaint it had filed against Fairfax Trucking on his behalf. It said a later investigation indicated no violation. Judge Charles C. Moore, Jr. granted the withdrawal and dismissed the case. He declined to decide whether…
Roger A. Anderson v. Itmann Coal Company
Discrimination liability found before remedy order
Roger Anderson, a section foreman at Itmann Coal's No. 3A Mine, told a federal inspector that the mine had not received a required preshift examination. Itmann fired him after a withdrawal order followed. Judge William Fauver found that Anderson had acted in good faith under his supervisor's…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. U.S. Steel Mining Company, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. U.S. Steel Mining Company (FMSHRC PENN 82-29): Citation vacated for lack of proof
MSHA sought a penalty for a safety citation against U.S. Steel Mining Company at Maple Creek No. 1 Mine. At the hearing, the inspector testified about a different citation and could not recall the facts of the one being tried. After a recess to locate his notes, the Secretary conceded that he could…
General Electric Company
Press-guarding violation affirmed as serious
General Electric used a powder compacting press whose point-of-operation guard had to be removed for inspection and maintenance. With a selector key broken in the run position, an operator used the guard microswitch to jog the press, accidentally activated the rams, and suffered crushed fingers…
Bethlehem Steel Corporation
Welding-ventilation violation reduced to nonserious
Bethlehem Steel welders at its Sparrows Point shipyard worked in a small ship bulkhead where ventilation did not prevent a visible welding haze. OSHA sampling showed one welder was exposed to fluorides at more than twice the referenced safe level, and the negative-pressure respirator provided did…
American Luggage Works, Inc.
Rivet machine point-of-operation citation reinstated, impossibility defense rejected, $60
American Luggage Works makes soft vinyl suitcases under the American Tourister name in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. Twenty-five Thomson rivet machines, a specialized form of power press, fasten the pieces together in four operations: frames to floors and then to cases, handles to cases, bumpers to the…
Dravo Corporation
Shipyard housekeeping item stays vacated because pipe shop work was not shipbuilding, though the navigable-waters rationale is rejected
The Secretary cited Dravo's pipe shop at Neville Island, Pennsylvania for an other than serious housekeeping violation under the shipyard standards, 29 C.F.R. § 1916.51(a), which the Secretary consolidated into Part 1915 in April 1982. Judge David H. Harris vacated the item, holding that Part 1916…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. United States Steel Corporation
Secretary of Labor v. United States Steel Corporation (FMSHRC LAKE 81-77-R): Cable handling citation upheld
MSHA cited U.S. Steel after workers at its Minntac mine manually moved energized trailing cables without insulated hooks, tongs, ropes, or slings. The company argued that its shielded cables, ground fault protection, and testing provided equivalent protection. Judge Virgil E. Vail found that…
Consolidated Rail Corporation
Repair-pit and recordkeeping items vacated
OSHA cited Conrail after inspecting a diesel shop in Buffalo, New York, alleging unguarded locomotive repair pits and failure to maintain an occupational injury and illness log. The Commission vacated the pit-guarding item because its then-current precedent treated a Federal Railroad Administration…
Marson Corporation
Mixer-guarding violation affirmed
Marson manufactured autobody filler in a mixer whose rotating blades were covered by a removable steel grate. Workers sometimes removed the grate while adding fiberglass, and a new employee suffered an arm amputation while feeding material into the running mixer. The Commission found that the…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Clay Kittanning Coal Co., Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Clay Kittanning Coal Co., Inc. (FMSHRC WEVA 81-11): Mine owner liable for electrical violations
MSHA cited four electrical hazards at Clay Kittanning's Gail Mine, including missing equipment grounding and unprotected trailing cables. The company did not dispute the violations but argued that an independent contractor operated the mine and bore sole responsibility. Judge Gary Melick held that…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Medicine Bow Coal Company
Secretary of Labor v. Medicine Bow Coal Company (FMSHRC WEST 81-163): Late penalty proposals accepted
MSHA sought penalties for six citations issued to Medicine Bow Coal Company at a surface coal operation. The company asked the judge to dismiss both cases because the Secretary filed the penalty proposals up to 15 days after the Commission's 45-day deadline. The Commission held that the Secretary's…
Quarto Mining Company v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Quarto Mining Company v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC LAKE 81-118-R): Six trolley wire violations remain
MSHA issued eight withdrawal orders after Quarto moved a belt tailpiece under an energized trolley wire at its Powhatan No. 4 Mine. The Secretary withdrew two orders at the hearing. Judge Paul Merlin held that the tailpiece was off-track mining equipment covered by the cited standard and that six…
Special Coating Systems of New Mexico, Inc.
Late contest remanded for possible relief
An administrative law judge found that Special Coating Systems received the citation properly and mailed its notice of contest after the statutory deadline. The employer challenged service and also asked the Commission to excuse the late filing under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b). Because…
Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 916
Tinker Air Force Base ordered to bargain over respirator facial hair policy (FLRA 6-CA-725)
Tinker Air Force Base had allowed employees using respirators to wear trimmed facial hair if a fit test showed a proper seal. It changed to a clean-shaven rule and stopped fit testing employees with facial hair without notifying or bargaining with the union. The Authority agreed with the judge that…
Headquarters, U.S. Army Armament, Materiel Readiness Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 15
Rock Island Arsenal unit excludes four job classifications (FLRA 5-CU-27)
The Army asked to remove several Rock Island Arsenal jobs from a bargaining unit as supervisors or management officials. The Authority found that an intelligence operations specialist, a logistics management specialist, and a safety specialist exercised independent judgment in directing employees…
Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service and Central Region, Internal Revenue Service and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 80
IRS must restore negotiators' leave and pay travel costs (FLRA 5-CA-560)
Two union representatives traveled to collective bargaining negotiations for the Internal Revenue Service's Central Region. The IRS denied them official time and travel and per diem expenses for the trip. The Authority adopted the judge's finding that the denials violated the statutory…
Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Tidewater Virginia Federal Employees Metal Trades Council
Norfolk Naval Shipyard arbitration procedure complaint dismissed (FLRA 3-CA-1860)
A union alleged that Norfolk Naval Shipyard failed to process a grievance for arbitration and improperly changed the procedure for resolving arbitrability. The Authority adopted the judge's finding that the challenge to the shipyard's 1979 inaction was filed beyond the six-month unfair labor…
Ackermann Enterprises, Inc.
Plain-view evidence admitted and case remanded
An OSHA compliance officer waiting with permission in Ackermann's construction-site parking lot saw three employees riding in a tractor's front bucket and photographed them from about 300 to 350 feet away. A judge excluded that evidence and vacated the general duty clause citation because the…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Oak Mining Company
Secretary of Labor v. Oak Mining Company (FMSHRC WEVA 82-5): $1,000 settlement approved
MSHA cited Oak Mining's Marilyn No. 1 Mine for a missing preshift examination, coal accumulations, and missing permanent ventilation stoppings. Oak did not dispute the violations, but its pending bankruptcy affected its ability to pay the initially proposed penalties. Judge George A. Koutras held…
Jack Parks v. L & M Coal Corporation
Back pay and expenses set
An earlier decision found that L & M Coal Corporation had unlawfully discharged miner Jack Parks, and that liability ruling was affirmed on review. This later proceeding set the amount due to Parks under the existing remedy. Judge James A. Broderick found that the company had notice of the hearing…
United Mine Workers of America v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
United Mine Workers of America v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC LAKE 82-70-R): Union contest dismissed
An MSHA inspector issued a withdrawal order concerning the Saginaw Mine, then the agency vacated it as an error. The United Mine Workers of America challenged the vacation on behalf of miners. Chief Judge Paul Merlin held that the Mine Act allows miner representatives to contest the issuance…
Princess Susan Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Princess Susan case returned to judge
A federal appeals court returned Princess Susan Coal Company’s case to the Commission for proceedings consistent with another court decision. The Commission sent the case to an administrative law judge for those proceedings. This order does not identify the underlying mine standard, decide the…
Island Creek Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Island Creek case returned to chief judge
A federal appeals court returned Island Creek Coal Company’s case to the Commission for proceedings consistent with another court decision. The Commission sent the case to the chief administrative law judge for those proceedings. This order does not identify the underlying mine standard, decide the…
Ranger Fuel Corporation v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Ranger Fuel case returned to judge
A federal appeals court returned Ranger Fuel Corporation’s case to the Commission for further proceedings consistent with another court decision. The Commission sent it to the administrative law judge for proceedings under the court’s order. This order does not identify the underlying mine…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) on behalf of Arnold J. Sparks, Jr. v. Allied Chemical Corporation
Sparks case remanded after court reversal
A federal appeals court reversed an earlier Commission decision in a case brought by the Secretary on behalf of Arnold J. Sparks, Jr. against Allied Chemical Corporation. The Commission sent the case to an administrative law judge for further proceedings consistent with the court’s decision. This…
Island Creek Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Two Island Creek cases returned to judge
A federal appeals court returned two related Island Creek Coal Company cases to the Commission for further proceedings. The Commission sent both cases to an administrative law judge for proceedings consistent with the court’s order and another court decision. This order does not decide the…
Island Creek Coal Company and Virginia Pocahontas Company v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Three cases returned to judge
A federal appeals court returned three cases involving Island Creek Coal Company and Virginia Pocahontas Company to the Commission. The court directed further proceedings consistent with another appeals court decision. The Commission sent all three cases to an administrative law judge without…
Virginia Pocahontas Company v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Two Virginia Pocahontas cases returned to judge
A federal appeals court returned two Virginia Pocahontas Company cases to the Commission for further proceedings consistent with another court decision. The Commission sent both cases to an administrative law judge for those proceedings. This order does not identify the underlying mine standard…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. The Helen Mining Company
Helen Mining case remanded after court reversal
A federal appeals court reversed an earlier Commission decision in the Secretary’s case against The Helen Mining Company. The Commission sent the case to an administrative law judge for further proceedings consistent with the court’s decision. This order does not identify the underlying mine…
Kentland-Elkhorn Coal Corporation v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Case remanded after court reversal
A federal appeals court reversed an earlier Commission decision in Kentland-Elkhorn Coal Corporation’s case and ordered further proceedings. The Commission sent the case to an administrative law judge to proceed consistently with the court’s decision. This brief order does not identify the…
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local 2424 and Department of the Army, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland
Aberdeen bargaining proposals split over work assignment and contracting (FLRA O-NG-383)
The machinists' union proposed limits on assigning bargaining unit work to military personnel or supervisors and several rules about contracting work out. The Authority held that Proposals 1 through 4 interfered with management's statutory rights to assign work and decide on contracting out, so it…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Southern Ohio Coal Company
Southern Ohio case returned to judge
A federal appeals court returned Southern Ohio Coal Company’s case to the Commission for proceedings consistent with another court decision. The Commission then sent the case to an administrative law judge for those proceedings. This order does not identify the underlying mine standard, resolve the…
National Mines Corporation v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
National Mines Corporation v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC KENT 80-130-R): Case returned to judge
A federal appeals court returned National Mines Corporation's case to the Commission for further proceedings consistent with another court decision. The Commission then sent the case to an administrative law judge for proceedings consistent with the court's order. This brief order does not describe…
Island Creek Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Four Island Creek cases returned to judge
A federal appeals court returned four related Island Creek Coal Company cases to the Commission for further proceedings. The Commission sent all four cases to an administrative law judge to proceed consistently with the court’s order and another court decision. This order does not resolve the…
Department of the Navy, Civil Engineering Laboratory, Port Hueneme, California and Federal Union of Scientists and Engineers, Local R12-196
Navy research professionals remain in bargaining unit (FLRA 8-CU-17)
The Navy sought to remove 54 engineers and scientists at its Port Hueneme Civil Engineering Laboratory from a bargaining unit as management officials. They led research projects and advised sponsors, but funding and major project decisions were made or reviewed by sponsors and higher Navy…
U.S. Army, Dugway Proving Ground, Utah and National Association of Government Employees, Local R14-62
Dugway scientists remain in bargaining unit (FLRA 7-CU-29)
Dugway Proving Ground sought to remove 26 scientific and technical positions from a bargaining unit as supervisors or management officials. The Authority found that project leaders gave technical direction but lacked personnel authority and did not exercise independent supervisory judgment. It also…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2000 and Wilder M. Mixon
AFGE internal discipline complaint dismissed (FLRA 6-CO-17)
Wilder Mixon challenged AFGE Local 2000's union discipline, alleging that it denied her membership rights. The Authority agreed with the judge that the complaint concerned whether the union followed its constitution and bylaws. It held that those internal-union questions fell within the Assistant…
Lexington-Blue Grass Depot Activity, Kentucky and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 894
Lexington depot unit excludes transferred center employees (FLRA 4-CU-41)
An Army reorganization placed two centers located at Lexington-Blue Grass Depot under a different command. About 65 employees still worked at the depot, but their pay, supervision, and employment policies now came from the Missile Command at Redstone Arsenal. The Authority found they no longer…
Defense Communications Engineering Center, Reston, Virginia and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2
Defense communications technical staff stay in two units (FLRA 3-CU-56)
The Defense Communications Engineering Center sought to exclude 99 technical positions from two bargaining units, arguing that their work made them management officials. The employees developed engineering standards, plans, and recommendations for communications systems. The Authority found that…
Pennsylvania Army and Air National Guards and Pennsylvania State Council, Association of Civilian Technicians, Inc.
Pennsylvania National Guard units clarified across two petitions (FLRA 3-CU-16, 3-CU-17)
The Pennsylvania Army and Air National Guards disputed whether various clerks, technicians, flight instructors, and mechanics belonged in two bargaining units. The Authority included positions whose personnel work was purely clerical and instructors whose duties did not require independent…
Nuclear Regulatory Commission and National Treasury Employees Union
NRC travel expense complaint dismissed after union waiver (FLRA 3-CA-1076)
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission refused to reimburse union negotiators for travel and per diem expenses during contract talks. The union filed an unfair labor practice charge, relying on an Authority interpretation that ordinarily required such payment. The parties had earlier signed ground rules…
Massachusetts Army National Guard and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1029
Massachusetts National Guard unit includes instructors and recruiter (FLRA 1-CU-18)
NFFE Local 1029 asked to add several Massachusetts Army National Guard jobs to its bargaining unit. The Authority included a recruiting and retention specialist because that employee supervised only full-time military members, not statutory employees. It also included aircraft and flight…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R12-35 and Department of the Navy, Naval Ocean Systems Center, San Diego, California
Navy wage grade employees denied a separate bargaining unit (FLRA 8-RO-40)
A union petitioned to represent about 47 wage grade employees at the Naval Ocean Systems Center in a separate unit. The Authority found that they worked alongside and were integrated with about 2,000 General Schedule employees, shared skills and personnel practices, and lacked a separate community…
Department of the Navy, Naval Civilian Personnel Command, Pacific Field Division and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 882 and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Support Command, Hawaii and Hawaii Federal Lodge 1998, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
Oahu firefighters remain in Navy bargaining unit after consolidation (FLRA 8-RA-6)
The Defense Department consolidated firefighting functions on Oahu under the Navy, transferring Army and Air Force firefighters into a Navy fire department. The regional director found the transferred employees had joined the unit represented by AFGE, and the Authority reached the same result after…
Anheuser-Busch, Inc.
Platform citation remanded for de minimis findings
An administrative law judge had vacated a citation alleging that Anheuser-Busch violated the platform-guarding standard at 29 C.F.R. § 1910.23(c)(1). The Eighth Circuit reversed, holding that the cited surfaces were platforms under the regulatory definition and ordering that the citation be…
Veterans Administration Medical Center, Fayetteville, North Carolina and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO and North Carolina Nurses Association
Fayetteville hospital head nurses' ballots remain unopened (FLRA 4-RO-69)
An election at the Fayetteville Veterans Administration Medical Center raised challenges to ballots cast by head nurses. The Authority agreed that eight head nurses spent a preponderance of their working time exercising supervisory authority and sustained challenges to their ballots. It changed the…
American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 987 and Headquarters, Warner Robins Air Force Logistics Command, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia
Robins Air Force Base bargaining proposals receive a split ruling (FLRA 0-NG-223)
The union proposed rules on part-time staffing, the offset against tipped employees' wages, and reduction-in-force placements at Robins Air Force Base. The Authority ordered bargaining over the staffing proposal because it provided a general arrangement for affected employees without dictating…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. United States Steel Corporation
Secretary of Labor v. United States Steel Corporation (FMSHRC LAKE 82-36-M): Truck belt guarding citation upheld
MSHA cited U.S. Steel's Minntac Mine after a truck driver checked engine oil while the engine was running near an unguarded alternator belt. Judge James A. Broderick found that the moving belt created a pinch point that a person could contact. He rejected the company's argument that the risk was…
Weisblatt Electric Company, Inc.
Multi-employer fall-hazard citations vacated
Weisblatt, an elevator subcontractor, sent two employees to a renovation site to determine whether conditions had improved enough for work to resume. They encountered unguarded openings, floors, ramps, stairs, and unfilled pan-type stair treads that Weisblatt neither created nor controlled. The…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Clay Kittanning Coal Co.
Contractor violations settled for $3,570
MSHA brought two penalty cases against Clay Kittanning Coal Co. over violations committed at the Gail Mine by a contract miner. The lessee-operator argued that the contractor alone was responsible and raised financial hardship. Judge Joseph B. Kennedy concluded that a lessee-operator could be…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Carolina Stalite Company
Five penalty cases dismissed on jurisdiction ruling
Carolina Stalite sought summary decision in five MSHA penalty cases after the Commission had found that its facility was outside the Mine Act. Judge Michael A. Lasher Jr. applied that jurisdiction ruling and dismissed all five proceedings. The order did not assess any penalty or decide the alleged…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. United States Steel Corporation
Cleanup under moving belt was not machine maintenance
MSHA cited U.S. Steel after workers shoveled spilled material from under a moving conveyor belt at the Minntac Plant. The cited standard forbids repairs or maintenance on machinery while it moves. Judge James A. Broderick held that removing spilled material from beneath the belt was neither repair…
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.