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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K.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Huntington Station Post Office
Board accepts postal carrier's knee contusion and returns other injury and wage loss questions (ECAB 22-0788)
A postal carrier was injured when another vehicle struck her delivery truck in December 2019. OWCP had accepted whiplash but denied her request to add other conditions and her claim for intermittent disability beginning February 24, 2020. The Board found that an emergency physician's same-day…
Elmer W. Davis, Inc.
Roof structural-integrity citation affirmed
Elmer W. Davis was replacing a warehouse roof when its crew discovered an unsafe depression in the roof deck and covered it with an unsecured, unmarked sheet of plywood. After someone moved the plywood, an employee stepped on the exposed depression, fell 14 feet through the roof, and suffered…
IMI Aggregates, LLC v. Secretary of Labor
IMI Aggregates v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC LAKE 2023-0249): Expedited hearing request denied
MSHA cited IMI Aggregates for failing to provide nonconductive material at an emergency-stop switch for a conveyor. IMI sought an expedited hearing, arguing that similar citations at 21 other mines could require costly electrical work, shutdowns, and lost production. The judge found those concerns…
AMVAC Chemical Corporation
In re AMVAC Chemical Corporation (EAB FIFRA Appeal No. 23-(01)): review declined and suspension order becomes final
The case concerns a notice of intent to suspend the registration of Technical Chlorthal Dimethyl, a pesticide, under section 3(c)(2)(B)(iv) of FIFRA. After a prior remand for a hearing, the Administrative Law Judge dismissed the petitioners' objections, approved the notice, and ordered the…
Kossen v. Asia Pacific Airlines
Untimely recusal appeal not accepted
Darren Kossen filed an 839-page interlocutory appeal seeking recusal of the administrative judge and transfer of his AIR21 case. He filed 21 days after the judge denied reconsideration, outside the regulation's ten-business-day deadline, and had not obtained certification for interlocutory review…
R.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Virginia Beach
Board upholds refusal to reopen cervical surgery claim (ECAB 23-0624)
R.S., a postal letter carrier, sought authorization for cervical surgery after an accepted work injury, but OWCP denied the request. She later asked OWCP to reconsider and submitted a physician's report attributing the need for surgery to the injury. The Board found the report substantially similar…
S.M. and Department of Defense, Defense Health Agency, General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital
Board returns hospital worker's COVID continuation of pay claim for date review (ECAB 23-0382)
A referral management coordinator at an Army community hospital sought continuation of pay after reporting a work-related COVID-19 infection. OWCP denied the request because it concluded that she had not filed the required injury form within 30 days of the injury. The Board found that OWCP had not…
O.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Miami, FL
Board affirms denial of TSA officer's right knee injury claim (ECAB 23-0158)
A former transportation security officer reported right knee pain after performing lunges in physical therapy for an accepted back injury. OWCP accepted that the August 2014 exercise incident occurred but denied his right knee condition claim. The Board found that his physician attributed later…
O.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Miami, FL
Board affirms denial of TSA officer's recurrence of disability claim (ECAB 23-0156)
A transportation security officer had an accepted back injury from lifting bags in 2013 and later sought compensation for a recurrence of disability beginning in October 2015. OWCP denied the claim. The Board found that the medical reports described symptoms and work limits but did not adequately…
V.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Abilene Post Office
Board returns postal carrier's travel reimbursement claims for review of submitted evidence (ECAB 23-0061)
A rural postal carrier sought reimbursement for long trips to medical appointments related to an accepted injury claim. OWCP denied reimbursement for eight appointment dates, stating that it had received no supporting evidence. The Board found that OWCP had failed to address treatment notes…
Secretary of Labor v. Rockwell Mining, LLC
Unclear delivery supported reopening
Rockwell Mining asked to reopen two penalty assessments that became final after MSHA records showed delivery but the company did not file contests. The delivery confirmations were signed "C COVID," and Rockwell said no employee had received the assessments. After learning of the problem during a…
Secretary of Labor v. Kiewit Mining Group
Uncollected assessment mail was excusable
Kiewit Mining Group asked to reopen two penalty assessments that became final after packages sent to its designated post office were returned unclaimed. Kiewit could not identify why the packages were missed, but said an employee normally collected mail twice each week and that the company had no…
Secretary of Labor v. Vulcan Construction Materials, LLC
Unclear delivery and prompt action justified reopening
Vulcan Construction Materials asked to reopen a penalty assessment that became final when it did not file a contest within 30 days. The assessment went to the correct address, but Vulcan had no record of receiving it and the delivery confirmation identified only "V Construction." Vulcan filed its…
Michael Keith v. Bantam Mining Incorporated and West Virginia Coal Workers’ Pneumoconiosis Fund
Keith v. Bantam Mining (BRB 22-0257 BLA): benefits award affirmed
Michael Keith sought black lung benefits after coal mine work as a shuttle car and miner operator. The administrative law judge found that Keith had 9.63 years of coal mine employment, so he could not use the fifteen-year presumption, but found legal pneumoconiosis and total disability based on…
D.D. and Department of Veterans Affairs, West Los Angeles VA Medical Center
Board affirms denial of VA technician's carpal tunnel claim for lack of work details (ECAB 23-0520)
A medical supply technician at a VA medical center claimed carpal tunnel syndrome related to her work. OWCP requested details about the duties she believed caused the condition, but she did not answer its questionnaire or provide a detailed account of those duties. The Board found that her general…
D.W. and Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Houma, LA
Board orders impartial review of field worker's pain syndrome and shoulder claims (ECAB 23-0498)
An Agricultural Research Service biological science aide fractured her left ankle after tripping in a field at work. She sought to add complex regional pain syndrome and an aggravated left shoulder osteoarthritis condition to the accepted claim. Her treating physician attributed both conditions to…
V.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Lakeview Post Office, Chicago, IL
Board upholds refusal to reopen postal carrier's hip disability claim (ECAB 23-0336)
A postal carrier with an accepted work-related aggravation of left hip arthritis sought wage loss compensation for July 2016 through April 2017. OWCP had denied compensation for that period while paying a later period, and then refused to reopen the earlier claim. The Board reviewed only the…
J.A. and U.S. Postal Service, St. James Park Post Office, San Jose, CA
Board affirms denial of postal carrier's wage loss claim after scalp injury (ECAB 21-1200)
A postal letter carrier struck her head on a metal keypad box at work, and OWCP accepted a scalp contusion. She later claimed disability from work beginning August 22, 2018. Her physicians discussed other neck and spine conditions, but the Board found that their reports did not explain whether the…
J.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Patrol, Falfurrias, TX
Board returns border patrol agent's left arm impairment award for corrected calculation (ECAB 21-1030)
A supervisory border patrol agent sought a schedule award for accepted left arm conditions, including carpal tunnel syndrome and elbow epicondylitis. OWCP denied the claim, incorrectly stating that he had already received a left upper extremity award. The Board found that the prior awards involved…
S.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Pittsburgh, PA
Board sends postal worker's finger impairment rating to an impartial examiner (ECAB 21-0306)
A postal mail handler injured his right index finger when a shelf fell on it. OWCP granted a schedule award for one percent permanent impairment of his right upper extremity, while his treating physician rated the impairment at two percent. The Board found a medical conflict about which diagnosis…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, John J. Pershing VA Medical Center, Poplar Bluff, Missouri and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2338
Poplar Bluff VA Medical Center and AFGE Local 2338 (FLRA 0-AR-5762): Authority denies reconsideration of accommodation ruling
The Department of Veterans Affairs asked the Authority to reconsider a decision upholding a reasonable-accommodation award for an employee at the Poplar Bluff medical center. The agency offered later medical and accommodation requests as evidence that the employee could not perform his job with a…
Secretary of Labor v. Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions
Waiting for a missing citation was excusable
Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions asked to reopen a penalty assessment after filing its contest about three weeks late. The assessment package was missing one citation, and the company waited for the MSHA District Office to provide a copy before deciding to file without it. The company later…
Helen Boyd (Widow of and o/b/o Alsy Boyd) v. Jim Walter Resources, Incorporated
Boyd v. Jim Walter Resources (BRB 22-0283 and 22-0284 BLA): benefits denials affirmed
Helen Boyd pursued a miner’s subsequent black lung claim and a survivor’s claim after the earlier denials of benefits for Alsy Boyd. The administrative law judge credited Alsy with 35 years of qualifying underground coal mine employment and found total disability, but found that the employer…
Helen Boyd, widow of and on behalf of Alsy Boyd, v. Jim Walter Resources, Incorporated
Boyd v. Jim Walter Resources (BRB 22-0283 and 22-0284): benefits denials affirmed
Helen Boyd sought to reopen denied miner's and survivor's Black Lung claims; after her death, her son Kenneth continued both claims. The administrative law judge credited Alsy Boyd with 35 years of underground coal mine work and found total disability, which triggered a statutory presumption of…
G.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Carrier Annex Post Office, Hartford, CT
Board finds postal carrier's second fall occurred at work and returns injury claim (ECAB 23-0468)
A postal carrier claimed a right knee injury from a fall while delivering mail. Her claim form listed February 23, 2021, but she later explained that the second fall occurred on March 2, after a separate January knee incident. OWCP denied the claim because it found that the reported work incident…
T.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Mid-Island Processing and Distribution Center, Melville, NY
Board affirms denial of postal worker's COVID claim based on unverified home test (ECAB 23-0340)
A postal mail handler claimed that he contracted COVID-19 at work in December 2021. He submitted an undated photograph of an at-home test strip, but its result was illegible and no medical professional had monitored or verified the test. The Board applied OWCP's COVID claim guidance, which requires…
D.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, John H. Bradley Community Based Outpatient Clinic, Milwaukee, WI
Board affirms denial of VA nurse's continuation of pay after vaccine reaction (ECAB 22-0602)
A nurse at a VA outpatient clinic reported an adverse reaction after a COVID-19 vaccination, and OWCP accepted the injury claim. She sought continuation of pay but filed the injury form on March 31, 2021, more than 30 days after the January 15 injury. The Board found that prompt notice and time…
M.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Margate Post Office
Board affirms denial of postal carrier's knee impairment award for lack of medical rating (ECAB 22-0397)
A postal carrier injured his right knee in a 1997 fall from a delivery vehicle and later sought a schedule award for permanent impairment. OWCP asked for a physician's impairment evaluation under the applicable medical guides. He submitted an unsigned, largely illegible document, and the older…
N.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Plymouth Post Office
Board upholds postal carrier's COVID pay and hearing denials but orders merit review (ECAB 21-0949)
A rural postal carrier sought continuation of pay after contracting COVID-19 at work. The Board held that her May 27, 2020 injury form was filed more than 30 days after the accepted April 6 injury date, and that her request for an oral hearing was also late. It affirmed those two OWCP decisions. A…
L.I. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Miami VA Medical Center
Board affirms denial of VA nurse's COVID continuation of pay claim as late (ECAB 21-0890)
A nurse at the Miami VA Medical Center contracted COVID-19, and OWCP accepted her work injury claim. She sought continuation of pay for time away from work. The Board applied OWCP's COVID guidance and treated July 13, 2020, her last exposure before diagnosis, as the injury date. Because she filed…
David H. Smychynsky v. Tanoma Mining Company, Incorporated and American Mining Insurance Company, a/k/a Berkley Casualty Company
Smychynsky v. Tanoma Mining (BRB 22-0324 BLA): complicated pneumoconiosis finding remanded
David Smychynsky sought black lung benefits after coal mine work in Pennsylvania. The administrative law judge credited him with at least 15 years of underground coal mine employment but found that he had not shown a totally disabling respiratory impairment or complicated pneumoconiosis. The Board…
B.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Cornell Station, Bronx, NY
Board affirms late COVID continuation of pay denial for postal clerk (ECAB 23-0507)
A postal lead clerk sought continuation of pay after time away from work related to alleged COVID-19 exposure. The Board used December 28, 2022 as the injury date under OWCP's COVID guidance and found that her January 30, 2023 injury form was filed more than 30 days later. She argued on appeal that…
J.R. and Department of the Air Force, Wright Patterson Air Force Base Commissary
Board upholds $54,324.66 overpayment and recovery from Air Force worker's benefits (ECAB 23-0222)
An Air Force commissary worker received FECA wage loss benefits while also drawing Social Security retirement benefits attributable in part to federal service. OWCP calculated a $54,324.66 overpayment for August 2018 through March 2022 because it had not offset the overlapping benefits. The Board…
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Landsdowne Post Office, Lansdowne, PA
Board reverses postal carrier's benefit termination and returns ankle questions (ECAB 22-1180)
A postal carrier sprained her right ankle when a dog charged and she fell backward during delivery. She later claimed a recurrence of disability and additional ankle conditions. The Board found that OWCP had wrongly treated one examiner as an impartial referee on issues for which no medical…
K.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Mount Vernon Post Office
Board returns postal supervisor's stress claim for findings on alleged improper assignment (ECAB 22-1033)
A postal customer service supervisor claimed anxiety and panic attacks after an internal investigation, reassignment, and denial of leave. The Board found that those administrative actions occurred but that the record did not show error or abuse in the investigation, transfer, work setting, or…
M.P. and Social Security Administration, Baltimore, MD
Board affirms late filing denial of Social Security worker's COVID continuation of pay (ECAB 22-0597)
A Social Security Administration contact representative reported contracting COVID-19 at work on December 27, 2021. She filed the injury form on January 29, 2022. The Board applied OWCP's last-exposure rule for COVID claims and found that the form was filed more than 30 days after the injury date…
S.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Estill, SC
Board upholds postal clerk's overpayment but returns waiver question for first deposit (ECAB 20-1043)
A postal clerk received wage loss compensation at a higher rate after her son turned 23 and no longer qualified as a dependent. OWCP calculated a $15,881.13 overpayment, including a duplicate payment for one period, and found her at fault for all of it. The Board upheld the total overpayment but…
Joshua J. Albert v. Marinette Marine Corporation
Albert v. Marinette Marine (BRB 22-0291): claim dismissal vacated
Joshua Albert sought benefits for an alleged work-related knee injury at Marinette Marine. His hearing was delayed while the parties addressed scheduling and other issues, and the administrative law judge dismissed his claim after a deadline for a proposed scheduling order passed. A two-judge Board…
Robert G. Hitt v. Sewell Coal Company and Pittston Company
Hitt v. Sewell Coal (BRB 22-0150 BLA): benefits denial affirmed
Robert Hitt had 22.17 years of qualifying coal mine employment and sought black lung benefits. The administrative law judge found that Hitt had not established a totally disabling respiratory or pulmonary impairment, so he could not invoke the fifteen-year presumption and was not entitled to…
R.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center, Milwaukee, WI
Board affirms denial of VA worker's right elbow injury claim (ECAB 23-0541)
A VA motor vehicle operator reported right elbow symptoms after splitting wood and lifting rocks at work. OWCP accepted that the May 2021 work incident occurred but denied the elbow condition claim. His physician attributed a tendon injury to that incident and an earlier claimed injury, but did not…
S.K. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Oklahoma City VA Medical Center
Board returns VA nurse's weekend premium pay claims for explained decisions (ECAB 23-0516)
A nurse at a VA medical center claimed lost weekend premium pay after her schedule changed while she worked with restrictions from an accepted injury. OWCP denied three claims because it calculated that her current weekly earnings exceeded the current pay of her injury date job. The Board found…
N.F. and U.S. Postal Service, West Allis Post Office
Board affirms late continuation of pay denial after postal worker's ankle injury (ECAB 23-0460)
A postal mail handler technician reported fracturing her right ankle while walking a delivery route in October 2022. She sought continuation of pay but filed the required injury form on January 18, 2023. The Board found that this was more than 30 days after the alleged October 14 injury. It…
E.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Alvin C. York VA Medical Center, Murfreesboro, TN
Board returns VA nurse's COVID continuation of pay claim for last-exposure review (ECAB 23-0453)
A nurse at a VA medical center filed a COVID-19 injury claim after a positive antigen test. OWCP denied continuation of pay because the injury form was submitted more than 30 days after the date it used for the injury. The Board found that OWCP had not applied its COVID guidance, which uses the…
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Nancy B. Jefferson Post Office, Chicago, IL
Board affirms denial of postal clerk's intermittent disability claim (ECAB 23-0261)
A postal clerk had accepted hip and back conditions after a work-related motor vehicle accident. She sought intermittent disability compensation beginning August 28, 2021, while working a limited-duty assignment. Her physician limited her to four hours of sedentary work and excused some dates, but…
A.S. and Department of Health & Human Services, Indian Health Service, Phoenix, AZ
Board recognizes overwork and lack of training in dietician's stress claim (ECAB 23-0007)
An Indian Health Service dietician claimed that her work caused stress and other health problems. The Board found that coworker statements and a supervisor email supported her account of overwork during staffing shortages. It also found that witness statements supported her claim that she lacked…
E.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Jersey City, NJ
Board upholds denial of spinal cord stimulator for postal worker's accepted back conditions (ECAB 22-0511)
A postal mail handler with accepted spinal and sacroiliac conditions sought approval for a spinal cord stimulator. Her treating doctor supported stimulation, while an OWCP examiner disagreed. An impartial physician found no nerve root irritation and concluded that a spinal cord or bone stimulator…
Larry D. Hurley v. Paramont Coal Company Virginia, LLC
Hurley v. Paramont Coal (BRB 22-0405 BLA): benefits award affirmed
Larry Hurley worked for 30.9 years in qualifying coal mine employment and established a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The administrative law judge found that Hurley qualified for the fifteen-year presumption of disability due to pneumoconiosis and that Paramont Coal had not rebutted it…
Eric Dupree, former attorney for Charles Thompson v. Resource Consultants and SERCO Incorporated
Dupree v. Resource Consultants (BRB 22-0313): additional attorney fee denied
Charles Thompson settled several Defense Base Act claims, with the settlements providing a total of $25,000 for attorney fees. His former attorney Eric Dupree later requested an additional employer-paid fee for work before the district director. The district director declined to act on that…
Janet Pack (on behalf of the Estate of Fred Pack, Jr.) v. Consol of Kentucky, Incorporated
Pack v. Consol of Kentucky (BRB 22-0294 BLA): benefits award affirmed
Janet Pack pursued her late husband Fred Pack’s subsequent black lung benefits claim against Consol of Kentucky. The administrative law judge found that Fred had 20 years of coal mine employment and complicated pneumoconiosis, which invoked the irrebuttable presumption of total disability due to…
Wilma Horn (on behalf of Gallie Horn, Jr.) v. Jewell Ridge Coal Corporation and Pittston Company
Horn v. Jewell Ridge Coal (BRB 22-0287 BLA): legal pneumoconiosis finding remanded
Wilma Horn pursued a black lung benefits claim for her late husband, Gallie Horn, Jr., without an attorney on appeal. The administrative law judge found 13.24 years of coal mine employment and a totally disabling respiratory impairment but denied benefits because she found no pneumoconiosis. The…
John McClung v. Commander Navy Installation Command and Contract Claims Services, Incorporated
McClung v. Commander Navy Installation Command (BRB 22-0234): injury benefits affirmed
John McClung, a computer specialist for a Navy morale and recreation program, tripped in a parking lot while returning from a lunch break jog. The administrative law judge found that the lot and the jog fell within the course of his employment and awarded temporary disability and medical benefits…
G.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Martinez Main Post Office
Board remands disability compensation claim for review of omitted evidence (ECAB 23-0597)
G.F., a postal mail processing clerk, claimed disability from work after a September 21, 2022 fall that OWCP had accepted as causing right shoulder, wrist, and knee contusions. She sought compensation for November 6 through December 23, 2022, but OWCP denied the claim. The Board found that OWCP had…
R.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Ozone Park Carrier Annex, Brooklyn, NY
Board upholds reduction of postal worker's disability pay after missed vocational testing (ECAB 23-0540)
A postal motor vehicle operator received wage loss benefits for an accepted back contusion and shoulder strain. A medical examiner found that he could perform sedentary work, and OWCP referred him for vocational rehabilitation. The Board found that he did not complete requested vocational testing…
R.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Raleigh, NC
Board upholds 59 percent leg impairment rating for postal worker (ECAB 23-0388)
A postal mail processing clerk with an accepted right knee injury and a later knee replacement sought an increased schedule award. He had already received compensation for 59 percent permanent impairment of his right lower extremity. His examining physician and OWCP's medical adviser independently…
W.T. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, Honolulu, HI
Board affirms denial of customs officer's shoulder claim for lack of causal opinion (ECAB 23-0323)
A Customs and Border Protection administrative officer reported left arm pain after lifting monitors and a television at work. OWCP accepted that the May 2022 lifting incident occurred and that a left shoulder condition was diagnosed. Her physician described a strain and adhesive capsulitis but did…
P.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Churchill Post Office, Churchill, TN
Board recognizes chiropractor's x-ray diagnosis and returns postal carrier's injury claim (ECAB 23-0195)
A rural postal carrier reported neck and back symptoms after an August 2021 motor vehicle accident while working. OWCP accepted the accident but denied the injury claim because it found no diagnosis from a qualified physician. The Board held that a chiropractor's spinal subluxation diagnosis based…
T.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Albion Post Office, Albion, IN
Board upholds denial of letter carrier's hip and knee claim (ECAB 23-0499)
A letter carrier claimed that years of walking on his route caused right hip and knee pain. OWCP accepted the described work factors but found the medical evidence insufficient to establish a related condition. The only submitted clinical visit summary was unsigned. The Board found that its author…
R.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Buena Vista Post Office, Miami, FL
Board upholds denial of postal worker's leg impairment award (ECAB 23-0408)
A postal carrier with an accepted lumbar injury sought a schedule award for permanent impairment of both legs. The Board had previously found conflicting medical opinions about the impairment rating, and OWCP obtained an impartial examination. The impartial physician found no objective neurological…
S.A. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Palo Alto VA Medical Center, Palo Alto, CA
Board orders new review of VA nurse's COVID-19 continuation of pay claim (ECAB 23-0384)
A VA nurse sought continuation of pay after testing positive for COVID-19 and missing work in November 2022. OWCP denied the claim because she filed her injury form more than 30 days after the date she gave for the injury. The Board found that OWCP had not applied its COVID-19 guidance, which…
N.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Merrifield Post Office, Merrifield, VA
Board upholds denial of postal carrier's renewed disability claim (ECAB 23-0343)
A postal carrier injured her left ankle on a delivery route in 2019, and OWCP accepted an ankle sprain and tarsal tunnel syndrome. She later sought compensation for a recurrence of disability beginning in December 2020. The Board found that her treating podiatrist's reports did not show a worsening…
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.