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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Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company
Penalty for energized light fixture work
MSHA cited Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company after electrical apprentices relocated energized light fixtures at its Empire Mine or Mill and one apprentice died from an electric shock. Judge John F. Cook found that the fixtures were electrically powered equipment and that relocating them was mechanical…
National Union of Compliance Officers (Union) and United States Department of Labor, Labor-Management Services Administration (Activity)
Labor Department negotiability appeal dismissed for deficient filing (FLRA 0-NG-392)
A union sought review of a negotiability dispute with a Labor Department office. The Authority told the union its appeal lacked information required by the filing rules and gave it time to correct the deficiency. The union submitted nothing by the deadline. The Authority dismissed the appeal…
Colorado Air National Guard, Buckley ANG Base (Activity) and Association of Civilian Technicians, The Columbine Council (Union)
Colorado Air Guard work assignment award upheld (FLRA 0-AR-75)
Aircraft mechanics at Buckley Air National Guard Base were assigned to move partitions. An arbitrator found the task unrelated to their mechanic positions and sustained the grievance, without ordering a specific remedy. The agency argued that the award exceeded the arbitrator’s authority and…
San Antonio Air Logistics Center, Kelly Air Force Base, Texas (Activity) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local Union 1617 (Union)
Kelly Air Force Base arbitration exceptions dismissed as deficient (FLRA 0-AR-234)
A union filed exceptions to an arbitration award at Kelly Air Force Base, saying only that the award was contrary to law, rule, and regulation. It supplied no supporting argument or evidence and did not provide the promised supplement. The Authority dismissed the exceptions for failing to meet its…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) on behalf of Milton Bailey v. Arkansas-Carbona Company and Michael W. Walker
Bailey v. Arkansas-Carbona Company (FMSHRC CENT 81-13-D): Discharge complaint sustained
Milton Bailey complained to Arkansas-Carbona Company about removing a first aid kit from its mine office and was discharged that day. Judge James A. Laurenson found that Bailey's complaint was protected under the Mine Act and motivated the discharge. The judge sustained his discrimination complaint…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) on behalf of James F. Miller v. Mine Shaft & Tunnell Corporation
Miller v. Mine Shaft & Tunnell Corporation (FMSHRC WEST 81-226-DM): Discharge complaint settled
James F. Miller brought a mine safety discharge complaint against Mine Shaft & Tunnell Corporation, a subsidiary of Centennial Mining Co. The parties agreed that the company would pay him $5,000 for lost back wages and other expenses and remove adverse references to the discharge from his…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) on behalf of Roger T. Mahoney v. Gilbert Corporation of Delaware, Inc.
Mahoney v. Gilbert Corporation of Delaware (FMSHRC WEST 81-170-DM): Discharge complaint settled
Roger T. Mahoney brought a mine safety discharge and discrimination complaint against Gilbert Corporation of Delaware, Inc. The parties agreed to settle without a hearing. Judge Jon D. Boltz approved their agreement after finding it consistent with the Mine Act. He ordered the company to pay…
Matter of Ho
Adoption evidence was insufficient for a sibling petition
The Board reviewed a United States citizen's visa petition seeking preference status for her brother, who she said had been adopted by their mother in China in 1958. The Board noted that the available report identified no known requirement for a government agency to examine or approve an adoption…
Matter of De La Nues
Juvenile-offender exception did not prevent exclusion
The Board reviewed a Cuban applicant's appeal from an Immigration Judge's decision finding him excludable, denying asylum, and ordering him excluded and deported. The applicant had received Cuban convictions for receiving stolen property and breaking into a government-owned store when he was 16 and…
Matter of Ramírez-Rivero
Juvenile offense could not support one exclusion ground
The Board reviewed a Cuban applicant's appeal from an Immigration Judge's decision finding him excludable, denying asylum, and ordering him excluded and deported. The applicant had been convicted in Cuba for entering a home and stealing property when he was 13 years old. The Board held that the…
Pocahontas Fuel Company
Miner pay notice affirmed after court remand
Pocahontas Fuel Company paid Mr. Mullins at a laborer's rate after transferring him from work in a dusty area, although he had often worked and been paid as a roof bolter before the transfer. A federal appeals court rejected the laborer's rate and returned the case for further proceedings. Judge…
Matter of M/V "Runaway"
Carrier fine upheld for undocumented passengers
The Board reviewed a $5,000 administrative fine assessed against the captain and owner of the M/V Runaway for bringing five Cuban passengers to Key West without required visas or entry documents. The carrier argued that the passengers were refugees, that Cuban authorities forced him to take some of…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. T & W Sand and Gravel Company
T & W Sand and Gravel Company (FMSHRC WEST 80-398-M): Conveyor and training penalties settled
MSHA cited T & W Sand and Gravel Company after an employee suffered a severe arm injury while cleaning a moving conveyor at its gravel pit. The citations alleged improper manual cleaning of a moving conveyor pulley and inadequate safety instruction for new employees. During the hearing, the parties…
Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation (FMSHRC CENT 81-95-RM): Three safety citations affirmed
Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation contested three MSHA citations at its Gramercy Alumina Plant. Two concerned muddy, poorly drained bauxite conveyor tunnels, and the third concerned roadways along tailings pond impoundments without berms or guards. Judge Gary Melick held that the…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Beckley Coal Mining Company
Beckley Coal Mining Company (FMSHRC WEVA 80-415-P): Unsafe escapeway citation affirmed
MSHA cited Beckley Coal Mining Company for failing to maintain a safe return escapeway at its Beckley Mine. The original route had deep water across the passage, and the alternative route used a narrow belt entry and a 30-inch door. Judge William Fauver held that the water made the approved route…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Sewell Coal Company
Sewell Coal Company (FMSHRC WEVA 79-31): Parties asked to address canopy settlement
Sewell Coal Company and MSHA again proposed a $50 settlement for two canopy citations after the Commission returned the case to Judge Joseph B. Kennedy. The judge examined whether requiring canopies on a roof bolter and shuttle car in low coal could reduce miner safety, and he tentatively concluded…
Pittsburgh Forging Company
Dockets severed and one judge decision affirmed
The Commission severed dockets 78-1361 and 78-2041. It affirmed the administrative law judge's decision in docket 78-2041 and gave that ruling the precedential value of an unreviewed judge's decision. Docket 78-1361 remained under Commission review. The short order does not identify the underlying…
Mel Jarvis Construction Co.
Scaffold lifeline violation held non-willful
Two employees died when their suspended scaffold and its rooftop supports fell 105 feet. Their safety belts were tied to the scaffold's hoisting mechanism, so they fell with the entire system. The Commission held that lifelines had to be independent of every part of the scaffold and supporting…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 505, AFL-CIO (Union) and Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Los Angeles, California (Activity)
Immigration negotiability appeal dismissed for filing defects (FLRA O-NG-349)
A union sought negotiability review of a dispute at the Los Angeles immigration office. After a related unfair labor practice case concluded, the Authority identified deficiencies in the union’s petition and gave it time to correct them. The union made no submission by the deadline. The Authority…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 951 (Union) and Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Mid-Pacific Region, Sacramento, California (Agency)
Reclamation negotiability petition dismissed as late (FLRA O-NG-269)
A Reclamation union sought review of an agency head’s disapproval of a contract provision. The union received notice on February 14, 1980, but did not petition until March 6, after the fifteen day filing period. The Authority dismissed the petition without deciding the provision’s negotiability.
Pacific Missile Test Center, Point Mugu, California (Activity) and Point Mugu Council of NAGE-NFFE (Union)
Point Mugu arbitration exceptions dismissed as late (FLRA O-AR-278)
A Point Mugu union filed exceptions to an arbitration award dated July 30, 1981. The exceptions were due August 28 but reached the Authority on August 31. The Authority said it could not extend or waive the filing period and dismissed the exceptions without reaching the award’s merits.
Marine Corps Logistics Base, Barstow, California (Activity) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1482, AFL-CIO (Union)
Barstow arbitration exceptions dismissed as late (FLRA O-AR-274)
A Marine Corps Logistics Base union challenged an arbitration award dated July 15, 1981. Its exceptions were due at the Authority’s national office by August 13. The union first sent them to a regional office on August 18, and the national office received them on August 24. The Authority dismissed…
Internal Revenue Service and Brookhaven Service Center (Respondent) and National Treasury Employees Union and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 99 (Charging Party)
IRS Brookhaven meeting practice violations narrowed (FLRA 2-CA-36)
At the IRS Brookhaven Service Center, management restricted how many union representatives could attend certain meetings. A judge found violations of Executive Order 11491 on three dates. The Authority adopted the findings for the October 18 and November 17 meetings but found the record…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) on behalf of Richard A. Fleming v. D & J Coal Company, Inc.
Fleming v. D & J Coal Company (FMSHRC VA 81-16-D): Discharge complaint denied
Richard A. Fleming alleged that D & J Coal Company discharged him because he reported roof support concerns to MSHA and used temporary supports while working as a roof bolter. Judge Richard C. Steffey found that Fleming had made a protected call to MSHA but had not shown that protected activity…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Brown Brothers Sand Company
Brown Brothers Sand Company (FMSHRC SE 81-24-M): Unguarded motor citation affirmed
MSHA cited Brown Brothers Sand Company because the energized slip ring connections on a dredge pump motor at its Junction City Mine lacked a guard. Judge George A. Koutras found that the exposed motor parts were close to work areas and walkways and were not protected by their location. He affirmed…
Victor McCoy v. Crescent Coal Company
McCoy v. Crescent Coal Company (FMSHRC PIKE 77-71): Discharge violation found, remedy left open
Victor McCoy refused to ride a moving belt into Crescent Coal Company's mine because he considered it unsafe. Chief Judge James A. Broderick found that riding the belt posed a real danger and that walking through the low seam was an unreasonable alternative in the circumstances. He held that…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company
Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company (FMSHRC LAKE 81-27-M): Inadequate dump berm penalty assessed
MSHA cited Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company after a haulage truck went over an inadequate berm at the Empire Mine's waste-rock dump and driver Michael Bianchi died. Judge Gary Melick found that the berm could not prevent a truck from overtraveling and overturning as required by 30 C.F.R. § 55.9-54. He…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Cargill, Incorporated
Cargill, Incorporated (FMSHRC CENT 81-111-M): Belle Isle citations settled for $50,800
MSHA issued 14 contested safety citations after investigating an explosion at Cargill's Belle Isle Mine in which five miners died and 17 were rescued. The citations concerned an underground warning system, blasting practices, flammable gas, and electrical equipment. The parties proposed $50,800 in…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1935 (Union) and Department of the Army, Headquarters, Army Military District of Washington, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, DC (Activity)
Army parking fee appeal dismissed as moot (FLRA O-NG-348)
A union proposed exempting lower grade employees from parking fees at Fort McNair. While the negotiability appeal was pending, a federal court invalidated the government parking fee program and enjoined its enforcement. The Authority held that the dispute was moot and dismissed the appeal without…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1118, AFL-CIO (Union) and Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, DC (Activity)
FAA parking fee appeal dismissed as moot (FLRA O-NG-300)
A union proposed using actual operating costs to set employee parking fees at Washington National Airport. While the negotiability appeal was pending, a federal court invalidated the government parking fee program and enjoined its enforcement. The Authority dismissed the appeal as moot, without…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1461 (Union) and U.S. Naval Observatory, Washington, DC (Activity)
Naval Observatory parking appeal dismissed as moot (FLRA O-NG-280)
A Naval Observatory union sought to exempt employees with unusual schedules from parking fees as shift workers. While its negotiability appeal was pending, a federal court invalidated the government parking fee program. The Authority held the proposal no longer presented a live dispute and…
National Treasury Employees Union (Union) and Department of the Treasury, U.S. Customs Service, Washington, DC (Agency)
Customs parking exemptions appeal dismissed as moot (FLRA O-NG-248)
The Treasury employees union proposed four exemptions from parking fees for Customs employees, including shift, weekend, and government business parking. While the negotiability appeal was pending, a federal court invalidated the government parking fee program and enjoined enforcement. The…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2782, AFL-CIO (Union) and Department of the Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Washington, DC (Agency)
Census parking bargaining appeal dismissed as moot (FLRA O-NG-235)
A Census union challenged the agency’s refusal to bargain over a proposed parking fee arrangement. While the appeal was pending, a federal court invalidated the government parking fee program and enjoined enforcement. The Authority held that the negotiability dispute was moot and dismissed the…
Department of the Air Force, Air Force Logistics Command, Ogden Air Force Base, Utah (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1592 (Charging Party) and Office of Personnel Management (Intervenor)
Ogden Air Force unfair labor practice case returned to judge (FLRA 7-CA-426)
The parties in an Ogden Air Force Base unfair labor practice case stipulated facts at the hearing and asked to send the case directly to the Authority. The judge did so without issuing a merits decision. The Authority held that its rules required a judge decision even on a stipulated hearing…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) on behalf of Stephen Smith, Donald Hansen, Thomas Smith, and Patricia Anderson v. Stafford Construction Company
Stafford Construction Company (FMSHRC WEST 80-71-DM): Two discharge claims sustained, two dismissed
MSHA brought four discrimination complaints against Stafford Construction Company on behalf of workers at its Cotter Mill project. Judge John J. Morris found that Stafford unlawfully discharged Stephen Smith and Thomas Smith for protected mine safety activity, but dismissed the complaints of Donald…
Consolidation Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Consolidation Coal Company (FMSHRC PENN 81-92-R): Ventilation citation reclassified
Consolidation Coal Company contested an MSHA citation for leaving a temporarily abandoned entry at its Renton Mine without the line brattice required by its ventilation plan. Judge Gary Melick found a violation and upheld the finding that the condition was significant and substantial because…
Consolidation Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Consolidation Coal Company (FMSHRC PENN 81-132-R): Rock dust citation and withdrawal order affirmed
MSHA cited Consolidation Coal Company after four rock dust samples from its Laurel Mine contained far less incombustible material than the required 65 percent. The company did not correct the condition within the citation's abatement period, and MSHA issued a withdrawal order. Judge Gary Melick…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3403, AFL-CIO (Union) and National Science Foundation, Washington, DC (Agency)
NSF contracting out proposals rejected (FLRA O-NG-231)
A union proposed changes to a National Science Foundation contracting out circular, including coverage, inventories, reviews, and an appeals process. The Authority found the first two disputed proposals did not concern bargaining unit employees’ conditions of employment. It found the third…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2723, AFL-CIO (Union) and Department of Defense, DCASMA, San Francisco, California (Activity)
Defense contract agency promotion grievance denial upheld (FLRA O-AR-145)
A Defense Contract Administration Services employee claimed that position changes had denied her promotion opportunities. The arbitrator found the agency had not created or eliminated positions to disadvantage her and denied the grievance. The union challenged that finding and cited a different…
Federal Aviation Administration, St. Louis Tower, Bridgeton, Missouri (Respondent) and Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization, MEBA, Local 352 (Charging Party)
FAA St. Louis tower union representation violations upheld (FLRA 7-CA-436)
An FAA St. Louis tower employee requested union representation for an investigatory interview, and the agency reprimanded the union representative. The Authority adopted the judge’s findings that the agency denied effective representation and unlawfully disciplined the representative. It ordered…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Quarto Mining Company, Nacco Mining Company, and The North American Coal Corporation
Quarto Mining, Nacco Mining, and North American Coal (FMSHRC LAKE 80-290 and related dockets): Review directions vacated
Several mine operators and MSHA were before the Commission over whether an ALJ correctly found a common dust control plan provision too vague to enforce. After the Commission directed review, the operators adopted replacement dust control provisions with the Secretary's approval. The Commission…
Chester M. Jenkins v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Jenkins v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC WEST 81-348-RM): Miner's citation contest dismissed
Miner Chester M. Jenkins tried to contest an MSHA citation issued to his employer, Day Mines, Inc., at the Republic Unit Mine. Judge Gary Melick held that section 105(d) of the Mine Act lets an operator contest the issuance of a citation but does not give a miner that same right. He granted the…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. C F & I Steel Corporation
C F & I Steel Corporation (FMSHRC WEST 81-134): Trailing cable citation vacated
MSHA alleged that a battery utility trailer ran over an electrical cable supplying a continuous miner at C F & I Steel Corporation's Allen Mine. Judge John A. Carlson found the dust marks on the cable too uncertain to prove that the heavy vehicle crossed it, especially because the cable was…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Solar Fuel Company
Solar Fuel Company (FMSHRC PENN 79-142): Electrical equipment citations upheld on remand
MSHA cited Solar Fuel Company for two electrical machines at its Solar No. 9 Mine that were not maintained in permissible condition. The machines were found outby the last open crosscut, but Solar intended to use them inby it. After the Commission reversed an earlier ALJ ruling, Judge James A…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. The Hanna Mining Company
The Hanna Mining Company (FMSHRC LAKE 79-103-M): Five safety citations affirmed
The Hanna Mining Company challenged five MSHA citations upheld by an administrative law judge. The Commission affirmed a citation for an inadequate dump berm and two citations for unsafe access routes, including a route beneath a belt and an aisle made hazardous by spilled taconite pellets. The…
Matter of Mourillon
Step-sibling relationship supported family visa petition
The Board reviewed a United States citizen's petition to classify a beneficiary as his sister for an immigrant visa. The Board held that the petitioner's acknowledgment by his father did not make him a legitimated child under Curacao law because his natural parents never married. It nevertheless…
Matter of Bardouille
Later legitimation could not cure visa petitions
The Board reviewed petitions seeking to classify two children as the unmarried sons of a lawful permanent resident. The children were born out of wedlock, and their father completed a formal acknowledgment only after the petitions had been filed. The Board held that a beneficiary must be fully…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) and United Mine Workers of America v. Pocahontas Fuel Company
Pocahontas Fuel Company (FMSHRC HOPE 75-680): Case returned to ALJ after court reversal
A federal appeals court reversed an Interior Department Board decision involving Pocahontas Fuel Company. The court acknowledged that further proceedings would take place before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission under the 1977 Mine Act amendments. After the court issued its…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Manuel Palacios
Secretary of Labor v. Manuel Palacios (FMSHRC DENV 76-29-P): Case and cross-appeal dismissed
The Secretary of Labor asked to dismiss the case against Manuel Palacios voluntarily. Palacios also asked to dismiss his cross-appeal. The Commission granted both requests. The short order gives no reasons for either request and assesses no penalty.
Hawaii Federal Employees Metal Trades Council (Union) and Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard (Activity)
Shift grievance attorney fee exceptions dismissed as premature (FLRA O-AR-244)
An arbitrator issued an amended award granting attorney fees in a shift reassignment grievance but retained jurisdiction because other issues remained unresolved. The agency filed exceptions to the fee award. The Authority held that the award was not yet final for the entire arbitration and…
Department of the Air Force, Los Angeles Air Force Station, California (Activity) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2429 (Union)
Union training leave grievance denial upheld (FLRA O-AR-144)
Two union officials sought administrative leave for labor relations training. An arbitrator found neither the agreement nor a past practice entitled them to the leave and denied the grievance. The union objected to a late agency brief and raised other challenges. The Authority found no unfair…
Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Region VIII, Denver, Colorado, Social Security Administration, Region VIII, Denver, Colorado, and Social Security Administration, Denver District, Denver, Colorado (Respondents) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1802, AFL-CIO (Charging Party)
Denver Social Security EEO counselor complaint dismissal upheld (FLRA 7-CA-244)
A Denver Social Security employee claimed that ending his Equal Employment Opportunity counselor assignment was motivated by union activity. The judge found no antiunion motivation and recommended dismissal. The Authority adopted that finding, noting that the stated reasons for the termination were…
Community Services Administration (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 324, AFL-CIO (Charging Party)
Community Services promotion retaliation complaint dismissed (FLRA 23-CA-512)
A Community Services Administration employee alleged that she was denied a field representative promotion because she had filed grievances. The judge found that management assessed her interview and qualifications and selected another candidate for reasons unrelated to protected activity. No party…
Internal Revenue Service and Brooklyn District Office (Respondent) and National Treasury Employees Union (Charging Party)
IRS Brooklyn grievance retaliation findings upheld (FLRA 2-CA-72)
An IRS Brooklyn District employee filed a grievance and then received adverse performance reviews. The judge found that management discouraged grievance use and criticized the employee because of it. With no exceptions filed, the Authority adopted the judge’s findings and ordered the IRS to remove…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Black River Quarry, Inc.
Black River Quarry, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 81-78-M): Raised truck bed violation upheld
MSHA cited Black River Quarry, Inc. after foreman Clyde Knerson worked beneath a raised dump truck bed without securing the blocking pin and died when the bed fell. Judge Virgil E. Vail found a violation of the rule requiring raised mobile equipment to be securely blocked before work. He found that…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1454 (Union) and U.S. Veterans Administration, Regional Office, Houston, Texas (Activity)
Veterans office negotiability appeal dismissed for wrong forum (FLRA O-NG-379)
A Veterans Administration union asked to bargain over the impact of selecting employees for a Mexico assignment. The agency refused, and the union filed a negotiability appeal. The Authority held that the dispute concerned whether the agency owed a duty to bargain, not whether a specific proposal…
National Association of Air Traffic Specialists (Union) and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration (Agency)
FAA training and work assignment proposals split (FLRA O-NG-244)
An air traffic specialists union proposed training requirements and other workplace rules. The Authority rejected proposals I through VI, or portions of them, because they conflicted with management rights or did not concern unit employees’ conditions of employment. It held proposal VII, a…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1167 (Union) and Department of the Air Force, Headquarters, 31st Combat Support Group (TAC), Homestead Air Force Base, Florida (Agency)
Homestead contracting out proposals partly negotiable (FLRA O-NG-156)
A Homestead Air Force Base union challenged the agency’s refusal to bargain over six proposals on contracting out and related employment matters. The Authority rejected several provisions that limited management’s contracting and work assignment rights, and dismissed an unspecified promotion…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2206 (Union) and Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Southeastern Program Service Center (Activity)
Social Security absence without leave award upheld (FLRA O-AR-180)
A Social Security employee was charged forty five minutes of absence without leave. An arbitrator resolved the grievance against her after considering leave authority and the governing agreement. The union filed exceptions to the award. The Authority found no basis to set it aside and denied the…
Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital, Columbia, Missouri (Activity) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3399, Columbia, Missouri (Union)
Veterans hospital pager award upheld after union withdrawal (FLRA O-AR-113)
A Veterans hospital employee grieved an admonishment for not responding to a pager while on standby. The union tried to withdraw the grievance after the parties had jointly selected an arbitrator, but the hospital wanted the hearing to proceed. The arbitrator ruled that one party could not stop the…
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.