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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Delta Field Erection, Inc.
Temporary-lighting citation vacated for lack of knowledge
Delta Field employees repaired trays inside a Tenneco ethyl-benzene storage tower using portable lights installed and controlled by Tenneco. A Tenneco employee mistakenly opened a natural gas line, an explosion followed, and 13 workers died, although the record did not establish that the lighting…
John T. Brady & Co., Inc.
Entrance-canopy general duty citation vacated
OSHA alleged that John T. Brady should have installed canopies over entrances to protect workers from objects falling from crane loads and upper building levels. The Commission held that the general duty clause was unavailable because specific construction provisions addressed crane loads…
George C. Christopher & Son, Inc.
ANSI awareness barriers rejected and Rockwell's reading of "appropriate standards therefor" overruled
Christopher fabricates structural steel in Wichita, Kansas. OSHA cited it for unguarded nip points and rotating parts on shears and plate rolls, and for unguarded points of operation on shears, combination punches and shears, and ironworkers. The case was tried on a stipulated record. The parties…
P & Z Company, Inc.
A direction for review may be vacated as improvident years after briefing where the remaining issues are factual, over a dissent that the Commission had never done so without first letting the parties object
This is a two-page order that decides nothing about the case and a good deal about how the Commission uses its own review power. The Secretary alleged that P & Z violated a standard requiring covers on garbage containers, and willfully violated standards requiring scrap lumber to be cleared from…
P & Z Company, Inc.
Commission withdraws review of fact-bound citation dispute
OSHA alleged that P & Z Company violated requirements for covered garbage containers, clearing scrap lumber, and lighting work areas, with two allegations classified as willful. The case returned to the Commission after an earlier remand required the judge to make specific factual findings and…
Consolidation Coal Company
Secretary's voluntary dismissal granted
The Secretary of Labor moved to dismiss this case voluntarily. The Commission gave the participants ten days to respond and received no responses. It granted the Secretary's motion and ended the proceeding without reaching the underlying issues. The order does not identify a citation, assess a…
U.S. Steel Corporation
Imminent-danger order for contractor's drill upheld
An inspector issued an imminent-danger withdrawal order at U.S. Steel's Lynch No. 37 Mine because an independent contractor's core drill had a broken clutch and could not be stopped in an emergency. Applying the 1969 Coal Act, the Commission affirmed that U.S. Steel could be cited for a condition…
United States Steel Corp.
Initial berm citation vacatur later reversed
MSHA cited United States Steel for missing or low barriers at three points on an elevated mine road. Judge George A. Koutras held on summary decision that the berm standard was too vague to enforce and that MSHA could not turn its internal mid-axle-height guideline into a mandatory rule. He vacated…
Franklin D. Johnson v. Eastern Associated Coal Corp.
Discrimination complaint dismissed for lack of causal link
Former mine foreman Franklin Johnson alleged that Eastern Associated Coal discharged him after he raised safety concerns. Judge Gary Melick assumed for purposes of decision that Johnson had made protected complaints, but found no evidence that the superintendent who decided to discharge him knew of…
Sherman Lime and Rock Company
Refusal to admit mine inspectors upheld; $200 assessed
MSHA cited Sherman Lime and Rock after its owners refused inspectors entry to their Wisconsin limestone quarry. Judge John F. Cook held that the refusal violated the Mine Act's inspection-entry provision. He found that an earlier federal consent judgment barred the company's renewed objections to…
Kentucky Carbon Corporation
Discrimination penalty settled for $1,000
The Secretary and Kentucky Carbon agreed to settle a civil penalty proceeding arising from a Mine Act discrimination violation involving miner Bobby Gooslin. MSHA had initially assessed $5,000. The parties proposed $1,000 after addressing negligence, gravity, the operator's history, size, and…
United Cotton Goods, Inc.
Fabric-knife guarding amendment allowed
United Cotton Goods employees used electric knives to cut stacks of fabric. OSHA originally alleged that employees should wear metal-mesh gloves under the personal protective equipment standard, then moved 13 days before the hearing to add an alternative point-of-operation guarding charge. The…
FMC Corporation
Drilling into charged hole citation affirmed; $500 assessed
At FMC's underground trona mine, a drill entered a charged hole in an adjacent room, causing an explosion that fatally injured a blaster. Judge Jon D. Boltz found that the drill operator and blaster had worked on opposite sides of the same wall without following FMC's coordination rules. He held…
The Pittsburgh & Midway Coal Company
Fire-extinguisher citation affirmed; $114 assessed
At the Edna Strip Mine, an inspector found an inoperative fire extinguisher on an explosives truck. Pittsburgh & Midway argued that two other working extinguishers met the minimum equipment requirement. Judge John J. Morris held that every extinguisher provided as firefighting equipment had to…
Bethlehem Steel Corporation
Straddle carrier visibility case ends in a stipulated dismissal after review was directed
In January 1979 the Secretary issued Bethlehem Steel a serious general duty clause citation. The allegation was that operators of Hyster straddle carrier number 260, used in the structural steel yard, could not see adequately from the cab to the front and the right side. Judge Alfieri vacated the…
Division of Military and Naval Affairs, State of New York, Albany, New York (Respondent) and New York Council, Association of Civilian Technicians (Charging Party)
New York Guard ordered to honor uniform impasse ruling (FLRA 1-CA-19)
A union charged the New York National Guard with refusing to implement a Federal Service Impasses Panel decision on civilian technicians’ uniform choices. The Judge found an unfair labor practice. The Authority adopted that finding and modified the recommended order, requiring the Guard to honor…
Division of Military and Naval Affairs, State of New York and New York Council, Association of Civilian Technicians
New York National Guard and civilian technicians (FLRA 1-CA-19): refusal to follow uniform order was unlawful
The New York Division of Military and Naval Affairs refused to follow a Federal Service Impasses Panel order about whether civilian technicians could wear civilian clothes while working. The Administrative Law Judge found unfair labor practices, and the Authority agreed that the refusal violated 5…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1753 (Union) and Department of the Air Force, Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, South Carolina (Agency)
Myrtle Beach appeal dismissed after late disapproval (FLRA 0-NG-448)
An AFGE local appealed an Air Force command’s disapproval of provisions in a Myrtle Beach agreement. The union did not receive written notice of disapproval within 30 days after the agreement was executed. The Authority held that the agreement became effective on the 31st day, subject to applicable…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2094 (Union) and Veterans Administration Medical Center (Activity)
VA removal award outside FLRA jurisdiction (FLRA 0-AR-254)
A union filed exceptions to a VA medical center arbitration award involving an employee’s removal. The Authority held that removal actions are excluded from its arbitration-exception jurisdiction. It dismissed the exceptions and pointed to the separate review route in 5 U.S.C. § 7703. The removal’s…
The Bronx Veterans Administration Medical Center (Activity) and Local 1168, American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO (Union)
Bronx VA removal award outside FLRA jurisdiction (FLRA 0-AR-247)
A union challenged a Bronx VA medical center arbitration award relating to an employee’s removal. The Authority held that a removal award falls within the statutory class excluded from its review of arbitration exceptions. It dismissed the exception for lack of jurisdiction and identified the…
Union Carbide Corporation
Discrimination complaint dismissed after hearing
The Secretary alleged that Union Carbide discharged mechanic Kenneth E. Bush for raising safety concerns about unloading sulfuric acid at its Rifle Plant. Judge Jon D. Boltz held that the plant came within the Mine Act and that Bush's safety complaints were protected activity. He also found that…
Keystone Coal Mining Corporation
One fire-warning citation affirmed, four vacated
Inspectors tested the fire-warning system at Keystone's Emilie No. 4 Mine and issued five citations. Judge Charles C. Moore, Jr. found the first test, on the No. 1 Main belt, established a violation. He found that a technician's recalibration of that locator made the later readings unreliable…
White Pine Copper Division, Copper Range Company
Cable-insulation penalties vacated
An inspector cited White Pine Copper Division after finding power cables touching metal air lines and an air-line support chain. The cables had insulated conductors and a neoprene jacket, and MSHA had approved them for use as trailing cables. The Commission rejected a rule that would require extra…
Climax Molybdenum Company
Power-cable penalties vacated
An inspector cited Climax Molybdenum after finding power cables touching air or water lines in underground haulage drifts. The judge held that the standard required insulation beyond the cables' original coverings where they crossed those lines. The Commission found that the cables were in…
Homestake Mining Company
Cable citations vacated; three other violations upheld
The Secretary challenged the judge's decision to vacate citations for power cables touching air, water, or telephone lines at Homestake's mine. The Commission held that the cables fell under the powerline standard, but that the standard did not automatically require added insulation wherever a…
Valley Limestone Company
Unattended-truck citation affirmed; $700 assessed
At Valley Limestone's Hader Quarry, an inspector saw a truck left idling and unattended without its brakes set; the truck rolled while another vehicle was being used. Judge Charles C. Moore, Jr. held that the quarry was covered by the Mine Act even though its sales were within Minnesota. He found…
Texas Industries, Incorporated
Equipment-startup citation affirmed; $3,000 assessed
At Texas Industries' Beckett Road sand and gravel plant, a worker was cleaning a screen near a log washer when its operator restarted the machinery. The worker died in the equipment; the decision says no eyewitness saw exactly how he entered it. Judge John J. Morris held that the operator neither…
Atlantic Cement Company, Inc.
Multiple safety citations resolved; $985 assessed
Atlantic Cement contested a citation for an unguarded storage platform at its Ravena quarry and plant, while the parties proposed a settlement of other citations. Judge Gary Melick found that workers sometimes stepped onto the platform to retrieve filters, making it a travelway that needed…
American Federation of Government Employees, Meat Graders Council and Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Quality Service
Meat Graders Council and USDA (FLRA 0-NG-51): mixed ruling on six proposals
AFGE's Meat Graders Council proposed changes to grading work, protective clothing, pay for cold conditions, notice of workforce reductions, and mileage reimbursement. The Authority held that a limit on the number of beef carcasses each grader must inspect interfered with management's rights to…
International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 9 and National Aeronautics and Space Administration
IFPTE Local 9 and NASA (FLRA 0-NG-502): appraisal bargaining appeal dismissed
NASA and IFPTE Local 9 disagreed about bargaining over the impact and implementation of a new performance appraisal system for nonsupervisory employees. NASA said the union had not identified negotiable procedures or effects and ended discussions. The union filed a negotiability appeal. The…
National Treasury Employees Union and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service
NTEU and IRS (FLRA 0-NG-332): interview notice proposals negotiable
NTEU proposed twelve rules for what IRS inspectors would tell employees before and during investigatory interviews that could lead to discipline. The IRS argued that the proposals did not concern working conditions and interfered with its internal security authority. The Authority found that the…
National Association of Government Inspectors and Quality Assurance Personnel, Unit #2 (Union) and Naval Air Engineering Center, Lakehurst, New Jersey (Agency)
Naval quality-assurance proposals outside duty to bargain (FLRA 0-NG-242)
A union at the Naval Air Engineering Center sought bargaining on five proposals about promotion structure, job assignments, travel safety staffing, and supervisors. The Authority found that the proposals would control the agency’s organization, assignments of work, or staffing levels. It dismissed…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1363 and U.S. Army Garrison, Yongsan, Korea
NFFE Local 1363 and Army Garrison Yongsan (FLRA 0-NG-173): housing appeal dismissed as moot
NFFE Local 1363 challenged the Army Garrison's refusal to bargain over allocation of government-controlled family housing for civilian employees. The union also filed an unfair labor practice charge, and it chose to pursue that charge first. A Regional Director found no change in the Garrison's…
Department of the Navy, Naval Air Station, Patuxent River, Maryland (Activity) and Local 1603, American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO (Union)
Navy Panel-order enforcement request denied (FLRA 0-MC-8)
AFGE asked the Authority to enforce a Federal Service Impasses Panel order requiring the Navy to adopt an environmental differential proposal at Patuxent River. The Authority held that alleged noncompliance with a Panel order must first be pursued through unfair-labor-practice procedures. It denied…
United States Army, Fort Huachuca, Arizona and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1662
Fort Huachuca and AFGE Local 1662 (FLRA 0-AR-324): arbitration exceptions dismissed as late
AFGE Local 1662 filed exceptions to an arbitration award involving the Army at Fort Huachuca. The award was dated November 30, 1980, making the exceptions due at the Authority's national office by December 29 under its filing rules. The union filed them at the Los Angeles regional office around…
Department of Defense, Office of Dependents Schools and Overseas Education Association
Defense Dependents Schools and OEA (FLRA 0-AR-153): late promotion grievance award upheld
An employee of the Defense Department's Office of Dependents Schools grieved the denial of a promotion. The arbitrator held that the grievance missed the collective bargaining agreement's ten-day filing deadline and that the delay did not qualify for an exception. The Overseas Education Association…
Adjutant General, State of Oklahoma, Air National Guard and AFGE Local 3953
Oklahoma Air National Guard and AFGE Local 3953 (FLRA 0-AR-146): placement remedy modified
An arbitrator found that the Oklahoma Air National Guard selected an employee who lacked a required qualification for a metallizing equipment operator position. The arbitrator ordered the position vacated and gave management a choice between reopening recruitment for the full performance job and…
C F & I Steel Corporation
Electrical-contact citation vacated
At C F & I Steel's Allen Coal Mine, an inspector cited the company while a locomotive carried a heavy belt drive and motor on a steel flatcar. The standard required electrical contact between the mine track and equipment being moved on it. Judge Jon D. Boltz found that the inspector had not tested…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1454 and Veterans Administration Regional Office, Houston, Texas
NFFE Local 1454 and VA Houston (FLRA 0-NG-449): telephone monitoring appeal dismissed
The Veterans Administration planned to monitor telephone calls to evaluate service at its Houston regional office. NFFE Local 1454 proposed changes to staffing and the workspace, including employee-to-line ratios and noise reduction. The agency said the proposal fell outside bargaining over the…
Federal Prison System and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2459
Federal Prison System and AFGE Local 2459 (FLRA 0-AR-87): overtime denial set aside
Federal Prison System employees had to collect keys and pouches from a control room before reaching their duty stations and return them after their shifts. Their union sought overtime pay for this time, but an arbitrator held that travel between the control room and posts was not legally work time…
Internal Revenue Service, National Computer Center and National Treasury Employees Union
IRS Computer Center and NTEU (FLRA 0-AR-156): removal of employee reprimand upheld
An IRS supervisor directed an employee to meet without a union representative. The employee declined unless a representative could attend, and the IRS issued a reprimand for insubordination. An arbitrator found that the employee reasonably expected possible discipline and was entitled to…
Social Security Administration, Denver, Colorado and AFGE Local 1802
SSA Denver and AFGE Local 1802 (FLRA 0-AR-151): snow-day compensatory time award set aside
A heavy snowstorm disrupted work at Social Security Administration offices in Denver. Employees who reported were released after four hours, while employees who stayed home were later excused for the whole day without a leave charge. An arbitrator awarded the workers who reported four hours of…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 41 and Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Secretary
AFGE Local 41 and HHS (FLRA 0-AR-150): position description remedy updated
An HHS employee grieved the agency's failure to process a revised position description prepared after a desk audit. The arbitrator found that HHS violated the collective bargaining agreement and ordered it to forward the September 1979 description to the personnel office. HHS argued that the…
Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 29
Kansas City Corps of Engineers and NFFE Local 29 (FLRA 0-AR-118): probationary grievance dismissal set aside
The Army Corps of Engineers removed a probationary clerk typist for unacceptable performance. The employee grieved the removal, but an arbitrator held that federal law barred a negotiated grievance over whether a probationary employee would be retained. The union challenged that ruling. The…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1210 and Immigration and Naturalization Service
AFGE Local 1210 and INS (FLRA 0-AR-114): arbitration remedy for assignment changes upheld
The Immigration and Naturalization Service changed employee supervision and assignments at certain duty stations. AFGE Local 1210 grieved the change, arguing that the agency had failed to negotiate its impact. An arbitrator found a contract violation and ordered negotiations on request, but…
Consolidation Coal Company
Ventilation citation upheld in settlement; danger order vacated
Consolidation Coal contested a ventilation citation and an imminent-danger withdrawal order issued after an inspector measured methane in an entry of its Blacksville No. 2 Mine. During the hearing, the parties agreed that the company would withdraw its challenge to the citation and MSHA would…
Matter of Hughes
50 percent ownership and control established an affiliate relationship
The Commissioner reviewed a visa petition for an intracompany transferee who had worked as a manager for a South African company connected to the United States petitioner. The petitioner owned 50 percent of the South African company, exercised de facto control, and used that company solely to sell…
Matter of Richard
Haitian acknowledgment treated as legitimation
The Board reviewed a lawful permanent resident's visa petition for his son, who was born out of wedlock in Haiti and acknowledged by his natural father before age 18. The Board concluded that Haiti's 1959 Presidential Decree gave acknowledged children born after January 27, 1959, the same rights…
Consolidation Coal Company
Dust-sampling violation upheld; $150 assessed
Consolidation Coal contested a citation for failing to take a respirable-dust sample during a production shift at its Blacksville No. 2 Mine. The company argued that sampling need not begin on every production shift during the period allowed to correct an earlier dust violation. Judge Joseph B…
U.S. Department of the Army, 94th U.S. Army Reserve Command and AFGE Local 1900
Army Reserve Command and AFGE Local 1900 (FLRA 1-CA-274): official-time complaint dismissed
AFGE Local 1900's president worked for the Army's 94th Reserve Command but sought official time to negotiate for employees of a separate Army recruiting command. His employer denied the request, and the General Counsel alleged an unfair labor practice. The Authority found that the two commands had…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Dunmire and Estle v. Northern Coal Company
Dunmire and Estle v. Northern Coal Company (FMSHRC WEST 80-313-D): Discrimination finding upheld, relief adjusted
Northern Coal discharged miners Michael Dunmire and James Estle after they refused work amid concerns about unstable roof and rib conditions. The Commission held that both miners had a good-faith, reasonable belief in a hazard and that the discharges violated the Mine Act's discrimination…
Mullin Creek Coal Company, Inc.
Nine miners awarded back pay for unlawful discharge
Nine miners at Mullin Creek's No. 1 Mine refused to continue work because of unsafe roof and ventilation conditions and were discharged. Judge Richard C. Steffey confirmed his earlier ruling that the discharges violated the Mine Act's discrimination provision. Four miners who wanted reinstatement…
Donald L. Lund v. Anamax Mining Company
Retaliation complaint dismissed
Miner Donald Lund alleged that Anamax Mining retaliated against him after he reported an unsafe condition involving a power shovel and raised other safety concerns. His amended complaint described 36 incidents, including disciplinary letters, alleged threats, and disputed attendance records. Judge…
C F & I Steel Corporation
Ventilation violation upheld, unwarrantable failure vacated
C F & I Steel contested a withdrawal order issued after an inspector measured insufficient airflow in the last open crosscut at its Allen Mine. The company argued that the 9,000 cubic feet per minute requirement did not apply during an idle shift when coal was not being produced. Judge Jon D. Boltz…
Eastover Mining Company
Pump-control withdrawal order upheld under narrower reasoning
An inspector found a nonpermissible pump control box in a return airway at Eastover's mine, and a judge upheld the resulting violation. The Commission agreed that the standard was violated but rejected the judge's view that any such equipment in return air violates the rule even if it cannot be…
United States Steel Corporation
Five sanding citations upheld, S&S findings removed
United States Steel operated the Maple Creek No. 1 Mine, where an inspector issued five citations involving sanding devices on three personnel carriers across two inspection dates. The company argued that its operators could refill the devices before moving the carriers. Judge Forrest E. Stewart…
Matter of Hall
Missionary fund-raising barred adjustment
The Board considered a Guyanese respondent's motion to reopen deportation proceedings so he could pursue adjustment of status. He worked as a Unification Church missionary, spending one-third to one-half of his time selling goods to raise funds and receiving housing, food, medical care…
Matter of Sauceda
Adoption did not meet Mexican law
The Board considered a United States citizen's motion to reopen a visa-petition case involving a child allegedly adopted in Tamaulipas, Mexico. At the time of the adoption, Tamaulipas law allowed adoption only by people who had no natural descendants, but the petitioner and his spouse had a living…
Metro Asphalt Company
Four citations upheld, one vacated
MSHA sought penalties against Metro Asphalt Company for equipment conditions at the Leyendecker Paving Pit and Plant. Judge Forrest E. Stewart found that a loader's parking brakes did not work and that a head pulley, V-belt drive, and tail pulley were inadequately guarded. He vacated a fifth…
State of California National Guard and National Association of Government Employees Locals R12-125, R12-132, R12-146, R12-150, and R12-105
California National Guard and NAGE locals (FLRA 9-CA-44, 9-CA-95): impasse order violations upheld
Several NAGE locals charged that the California National Guard failed to follow Federal Service Impasses Panel orders from October 1978 and April 1979. An Administrative Law Judge found unfair labor practices. The Authority agreed that the Guard's refusal to comply violated 5 U.S.C. § 7116(a)(1)…
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.