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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T.B. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Office of Field Operations, El Paso, TX
Board upholds denial of border officer's left knee claim (ECAB 23-0279)
A customs and border protection officer claimed that carrying heavy law enforcement gear and performing his duties over many years caused a left knee condition. His employer did not dispute the described work activities. The Board found that a physician attributed a meniscus tear to those duties…
T.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Santa Ana Processing & Distribution Center, Santa Ana, CA
Board orders further medical review of postal worker's neck and back claim (ECAB 23-0248)
A postal custodial worker claimed that years of lifting, pushing, pulling, and twisting at work caused neck and lower back conditions. OWCP denied the claim. The Board found that his treating physician's reports offered a medical explanation linking the diagnosed conditions to his work, although…
A.T. and Department of Veterans Affairs, John L. McClellan Memorial Veterans’ Hospital, Little Rock, AR
Board upholds denial of foot injury claim for VA food service worker (ECAB 23-0227)
A VA food service worker reported that a food cart rolled over her left foot at work in November 2018. OWCP accepted the incident but denied the claim because the medical evidence did not establish a condition caused by it. The Board found that the physicians who diagnosed foot and ankle conditions…
Matter of J-G-R-
Official-capacity analysis required for alleged government torture
The Board reviewed a motion to remand by a respondent seeking protection under the Convention Against Torture. The respondent alleged that men who claimed to be police officers tortured him, and the record required clarification about whether they were actual officials and acted under color of law…
Claudine M. Hargis (on behalf of and widow of Carl R. Hargis) v. Weebro, Incorporated and Old Republic Insurance Company
Hargis v. Weebro (BRB 22-0031 and 23-0075 BLA): miner and survivor awards affirmed
Claudine Hargis pursued her late husband Carl’s subsequent black lung benefits claim and her own survivor’s claim. The administrative law judges awarded miner’s benefits after finding that coal mine dust contributed to Carl’s disabling lung disease, then awarded Claudine continuing survivor…
Ricky D. McQueen v. North Fork Coal Corporation and Brickstreet Mutual Insurance Group, Incorporated
McQueen v. North Fork Coal (BRB 22-0285 BLA): benefits award affirmed
Ricky McQueen had 14.09 years of underground coal mine employment, short of the fifteen-year presumption, but an administrative law judge awarded him black lung benefits based on direct proof of legal pneumoconiosis and total disability. North Fork Coal and its carrier challenged the judge’s…
James Meade v. Clinchfield Coal Company
Meade v. Clinchfield Coal (BRB 22-0135 BLA): benefits award affirmed
James Meade had 12 years of underground coal mine work, short of the fifteen-year presumption, but an administrative law judge awarded him black lung benefits based on direct proof of pneumoconiosis and disability causation. Clinchfield Coal challenged the judge’s choice to credit a doctor who…
Claudine M. Hargis v. Weebro, Incorporated
Hargis v. Weebro (BRB 22-0031): miner and survivor black lung awards affirmed
Claudine Hargis pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor claim. The Board upheld the finding that coal dust substantially worsened his chronic obstructive lung disease and contributed to his total respiratory disability. It found sufficient support in the credited medical…
U.M. and U.S. Postal Service, North Texas Processing & Distribution Center
Board remands postal worker's occupational disease claim for impartial examination (ECAB 23-0625)
U.M., a postal mail handler, claimed back, knee, shoulder, and foot conditions from repetitive and heavy work. Her treating physicians attributed the conditions to her duties, while OWCP's second-opinion physician found only temporary aggravation of preexisting conditions that had resolved. The…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bakersfield, CA
Board accepts postal carrier's reported work incident and orders medical review (ECAB 23-0433)
A postal carrier reported that an armed person entered his delivery vehicle and threatened him during work in January 2021. OWCP denied his claim because it found the incident unproven. The Board found his same day account consistent with the record and found no persuasive evidence refuting it; his…
L.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Seattle Network Distribution Center, Federal Way, WA
Board upholds denial of postal worker's crash injury claim (ECAB 23-0405)
A rural postal carrier reported neck and hip symptoms after a vehicle crash while working. OWCP accepted the incident but denied the claim for related medical conditions. The Board found that a physician's report addressed work capacity but did not provide a firm diagnosis or explain how the crash…
T.B. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Gallatin Fossil Plant, Gallatin, TN
Board upholds denial of hearing loss schedule award for plant operator (ECAB 23-0303)
A Tennessee Valley Authority boiler plant operator had accepted work related hearing loss and tinnitus. OWCP denied a schedule award after a medical adviser calculated zero percent ratable hearing loss under the applicable impairment guide. The Board agreed that the audiometric results did not meet…
N.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Oxnard Post Office, Oxnard, CA
Board finds postal worker's cumulative injury claim timely and orders merits review (ECAB 23-0299)
A retired postal worker claimed that her return to work in 2017 aggravated a cervical condition. OWCP rejected the 2021 claim as untimely based on her earlier 2011 injury. The Board found that a physician first identified the additional cumulative work injury in February 2021, and she filed within…
N.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Southport Post Office, Southport, NC
Board orders recalculation of postal carrier's schedule award pay rate (ECAB 23-0258)
A postal carrier sought a higher pay rate for calculating her schedule award after a knee injury. OWCP used an annual salary of $39,999 at the start of her wage loss disability in May 2020. The Board agreed that the disability date was the proper rate date, but another personnel form showed an…
P.M. and Department of Agriculture, Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection Quarantine, Davie, FL
Board upholds recovery of federal worker's compensation overpayment (ECAB 23-0154)
A Department of Agriculture worker received FECA wage loss benefits and Social Security retirement benefits that were partly based on his federal service. The Board upheld OWCP's calculation of a $33,473.08 overpayment caused by the missing offset. It found him without fault, but his reported…
J. Larry Willis v. Virginia International Terminals LLC and Signal Mutual Indemnity Association Limited
Willis v. Virginia International Terminals (BRB 22-0295): later disability benefits denied
Longshoreman J. Larry Willis reported a back injury after driving a translifter over a pothole at work in May 2018. Virginia International Terminals paid temporary benefits for earlier periods, but Willis sought more disability and medical benefits for later back problems. The administrative law…
Barbara Bentley (on behalf of and widow of Paul Bentley) v. Ring Enterprises, Incorporated
Bentley v. Ring Enterprises (BRB 22-0224 and 22-0227 BLA): miner and survivor awards affirmed
Barbara Bentley pursued her late husband Paul’s black lung benefits claim and her own survivor’s claim. The administrative law judge found legal pneumoconiosis and disability causation, awarded miner’s benefits, and then awarded derivative survivor benefits. Ring Enterprises challenged the judge’s…
Barbara Bentley v. Ring Enterprises, Incorporated
Bentley v. Ring Enterprises (BRB 22-0224): miner and widow retain black lung benefits
Barbara Bentley continued her late husband's black lung claim and filed a survivor claim. The Board upheld Ring Enterprises as the responsible operator because the employer did not establish that a later, financially capable operator had employed the miner for a full year. It also affirmed the…
Lowell E. Stallard v. Motivation Coal Company
Stallard v. Motivation Coal (BRB 22-0217 BLA): disability finding remanded
Lowell Stallard, who appealed without an attorney, had 18 years of qualifying coal mine employment but was denied black lung benefits after the judge found no totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board upheld the judge’s finding that pulmonary function studies did not establish disability…
William J. Hensley v. Bob & Tom Coal Company and Old Republic Insurance Company Incorporated
Hensley v. Bob & Tom Coal (BRB 22-0193 BLA): black lung benefits award affirmed
William Hensley sought black lung benefits after working at underground coal mines. The administrative law judge found 17.01 years of qualifying work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment, which triggered the fifteen-year presumption that his disability was due to pneumoconiosis. Bob & Tom…
Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health and Becker v. Smithstonian Materials, LLC
Assistant Secretary and Becker v. Smithstonian Materials, LLC (DOL ARB 2021-0048): back pay reduced to $64,795.22 with fixed interest
Michael Becker was constructively discharged after refusing to drive an unsafe, unregistered dump truck for Smithstonian Materials, and liability under the STAA was already established. The Board explained that back pay equals lost wages minus allowed offsets and that an employee must reasonably…
B.H. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Wilmington International Airport, Wilmington, NC
Board orders new review of air traffic controller's COVID-19 pay claim (ECAB 23-0355)
An FAA air traffic controller sought continuation of pay after testing positive for COVID-19 in October 2022. OWCP denied it because his injury form was filed more than 30 days after the reported injury date. The Board found that OWCP had not applied its COVID-19 guidance, which treats the last…
L.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Seattle Processing & Distribution Center, Seattle, WA
Board orders merits review of postal technician's compensation request (ECAB 23-0337)
A postal maintenance technician sought wage loss benefits after declining a temporary light duty assignment. The Board had earlier upheld OWCP's denial of those benefits. In a new reconsideration request, the worker argued that OWCP failed to consider his preexisting conditions in other…
C.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Krakow Post Office, Krakow, WI
Board accepts postal worker's reported fall and orders medical review (ECAB 23-0328)
A postal sales associate said she tripped on a platform while retrieving a garbage can and fell against a carrier case. OWCP denied her injury claim without evaluating the medical evidence. The Board found that the employer initially acknowledged the work incident and offered no persuasive evidence…
A.J. and Department of the Air Force, Tinker Air Force Base, OK
Board upholds suspension of Air Force worker's wage loss benefits (ECAB 23-0304)
An Air Force sheet metal mechanic received wage loss compensation after an accepted leg injury. OWCP mailed him a Form EN-1032 to report employment and earnings during the prior 15 months, warning that benefits would be suspended if he did not respond within 30 days. The Board found that OWCP sent…
L.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Central Western Massachusetts Health Care, Police Services, Leeds, MA
Board finds VA officer's reported work incident established and orders medical review (ECAB 23-0275)
A VA police officer reported injuries while restraining a patient who tried to enter his cruiser at work. OWCP denied the claim without evaluating the medical evidence, finding that he had not established an injury. The Board found that his detailed incident report, notice to his supervisor, and…
T.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tulsa, OK
Board upholds 31 percent leg impairment rating for postal worker (ECAB 23-0211)
A postal carrier with accepted right knee conditions had received a schedule award for 31 percent permanent impairment of his right leg. He sought a greater rating after knee replacement surgery. The Board found that OWCP's medical examiners applied the applicable impairment guides and supported…
Waysmos USA, Inc.
In re Waysmos USA, Inc. (EAB CAA Appeal No. 23-05C): greenhouse-gas reporting settlement approved
Waysmos USA, Inc., a Texas corporation headquartered in Austin, imported industrial greenhouse gases subject to EPA's mandatory reporting requirements. EPA alleged that Waysmos failed to timely report its import quantities for calendar years 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020, after the company submitted…
Gary W. Brock v. ITK Mining & Construction and Kentucky Employers’ Mutual Insurance
Brock v. ITK Mining (BRB 23-0065 BLA): appeal dismissed for modification review
Gary Brock appealed an administrative law judge's denial of black lung benefits. His lay representative later wrote that the COVID-19 outbreak had prevented him from gathering medical and other evidence and asked for more time to pursue the claim. The Board treated that request as one for…
Josie L. Wright (widow of Teddy B. Wright) v. CAM Mining, LLC and Rockwood Casualty Insurance Company
Wright v. CAM Mining (BRB 22-0142 BLA): survivor benefits award affirmed
Josie Wright sought survivor benefits after the death of her husband, Teddy, who had 28 years of underground coal mine employment. An administrative law judge modified an earlier denial after finding a mistake of fact and awarded benefits under the fifteen-year presumption of death due to…
Carlos Garcia v. National Steel and Shipbuilding Company
Garcia v. National Steel (BRB 22-0084): employer payment credit remanded
Carlos Garcia, a shipyard painter, sought compensation for injuries to his hand, shoulder, knee, and spine. A judge awarded benefits, including permanent total disability for the combined effects of cumulative shoulder and knee injuries, but denied the employer credit for earlier partial disability…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL v. Graham and Rollins, Inc.
H-2B enforcement proceedings excluded from EAJA
The Wage and Hour Division had found that Graham and Rollins, a crab processor employing H-2B workers, committed program violations and owed $16,560, but the enforcement action was dismissed under a five-year limitations period. The employer then sought attorney fees under the Equal Access to…
V.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Kansas City, KS
Board upholds finding that postal worker abandoned requested hearing (ECAB 23-0487)
A postal machine distributor requested an oral hearing after OWCP denied his injury claim. OWCP mailed notice of the hearing more than 30 days in advance, but he did not call in at the scheduled time. He also did not request another hearing or explain the absence within 10 days. The Board upheld…
L.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Parkdale Station, Dallas, TX
Board upholds suspension of postal carrier's wage loss benefits (ECAB 23-0369)
A postal carrier received wage loss compensation for an accepted ankle injury. OWCP mailed her a Form EN-1032 asking for earnings and employment information from the prior 15 months and warned that benefits would be suspended without a response. The Board found that OWCP sent the request to her…
A.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Orleans, LA
Board upholds denial of postal carrier's left foot claim (ECAB 23-0322)
A postal carrier reported twisting her foot while delivering a package. OWCP accepted the incident but denied a related foot condition. The Board found that a physician documented fractures but did not explain how the specific work incident caused them. Several records were unsigned, nurse…
G.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Detroit, MI
Board upholds suspension of postal worker's benefits after missed examination (ECAB 23-0302)
A postal electrician received benefits for an accepted back injury. OWCP scheduled an impartial medical examination to address a conflict about his work capacity, but he did not attend. After OWCP gave him 14 days to explain, he submitted a note saying he could not work because of neck pain. The…
H.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Donelson Post Office, Nashville, TN
Board accepts postal carrier's reported lifting incident and orders medical review (ECAB 23-0269)
A postal carrier reported sudden back pain while lifting a bucket at work. His supervisor acknowledged the incident, and he sought treatment that day and continued follow up care. OWCP denied the claim on the ground that the incident had not been established. The Board found that the accounts and…
M.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans’ Hospital, Bedford, MA
Board orders further review of VA worker's shoulder and neck injury claim (ECAB 23-0229)
A VA social worker sought to add shoulder and cervical conditions to a claim already accepted for concussion after a work related vehicle crash. OWCP denied expansion of the claim. The Board found that a physician's report explained how the crash could have caused shoulder and neck conditions…
C.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chicago, IL
Board orders medical review of postal clerk's stress claim after customer confrontation (ECAB 20-1070)
A postal retail associate claimed a stress related condition after a confrontation with angry customers while performing her clerk duties. A coworker's account supported the customer interaction, and the employer did not dispute it. The Board found that this was a compensable work factor requiring…
Combs Investment Property, LP
In re Combs Investment Property, LP (EAB CAA Appeal No. 23-06C): greenhouse-gas reporting settlement approved
Combs Investment Property, LP, a Texas limited partnership headquartered in Houston, was an industrial greenhouse-gas supplier subject to EPA's mandatory reporting requirements. EPA alleged that the partnership exceeded the 25,000 metric ton carbon-dioxide-equivalent reporting threshold in 2016…
V.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Houston
Board dismisses appeal from preliminary overpayment finding (ECAB 23-0664)
V.A. appealed OWCP's February 6, 2023 preliminary finding that she had received a $4,082.08 overpayment of postal compensation benefits. The Board found that OWCP had not issued a final overpayment decision and that it could review only final adverse decisions. It dismissed the appeal for lack of…
R.L. and Department of Justice, U.S. Marshals Service, District of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV
Board orders further review of former marshal's hearing loss award (ECAB 23-0479)
A retired deputy U.S. marshal with accepted work related hearing loss sought a schedule award above the 45 percent binaural rating already compensated. An examining physician calculated substantially greater impairment using a later audiogram, but OWCP's medical adviser rejected it on the ground…
S.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Federal Way, WA
Board upholds denial of postal worker's bilateral hand claim (ECAB 23-0327)
A postal delivery specialist claimed that repetitive mail handling caused tendinitis and a trigger finger in both hands. The Board found that her physician's statement that grasping most likely caused the conditions was speculative and lacked an explanation of how the specific work duties caused…
L.L. and Environmental Protection Agency, Region II, Edison, NJ
Board orders recalculation of EPA worker's life insurance premium overpayment (ECAB 20-1674)
An EPA worker received FECA benefits from which OWCP had stopped deducting optional life insurance premiums. The Board agreed that the missing deductions created an overpayment. It found that OWCP's worksheets did not clearly identify which insurance premiums were deducted or explain the period and…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, Peoria, IL
Board upholds denial of additional wage loss for postal worker (ECAB 20-1507)
A postal employee with accepted right carpal tunnel syndrome and a left ulnar nerve lesion sought compensation for additional periods away from work in 2018 and 2019. The Board found that a physician's reports did not connect the remaining claimed disability dates to the accepted injury. Physician…
C.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Newmanstown, PA
Board reverses termination of postal worker's knee benefits and orders impartial exam (ECAB 20-1497)
A postal carrier had an accepted left knee sprain after a fall at work. She sought to add a meniscus tear and aggravated arthritis to her claim. The Board found a current conflict between her treating physician and an OWCP physician on whether those conditions were work related, requiring a true…
L.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Elephant Butte Post Office, Elephant Butte, NM
Board upholds termination of postal worker's benefits and travel denials (ECAB 20-0443)
A postal employee received benefits after a falling gate injured her at work. The Board upheld OWCP's refusal to reimburse travel on three treatment dates because the record did not show treatment for the accepted injury on those dates. It also upheld denial of reconsideration of that travel issue…
Joel Coleman (on behalf of Paul R. Coleman) v. Central Appalachian Coal Company and American Electric Power Corporation
Coleman v. Central Appalachian Coal (BRB 22-0215 BLA): black lung award affirmed
Paul Coleman filed a black lung claim after 11.5 years of coal mine work. He died while the claim was pending, and his son Joel pursued it for his estate. Because Paul had fewer than 15 years of qualifying work, the administrative law judge assessed the evidence without the fifteen-year presumption…
V.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Postal Service Headquarters, Washington, DC
Board accepts postal worker's foot contusion but rejects additional conditions (ECAB 23-0478)
A postal custodial worker reported that a vacuum cleaner fell on her right foot at work. The Board found the visible toe contusion consistent with the incident and directed OWCP to pay related medical expenses and decide any disability claim. It found insufficient medical rationale connecting a…
M.D. and Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, Centennial, CO
Board orders reasoned reconsideration decision on DEA agent's hearing claim (ECAB 23-0312)
A DEA investigator sought reconsideration of a denied occupational hearing loss claim after obtaining old medical records and audiograms. OWCP called the request untimely and denied it without addressing the submitted evidence. The Board found that even an untimely request requires a limited review…
K.F. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center, Augusta, GA
Board orders employer response to VA worker's stress claim (ECAB 23-0278)
A VA secretary claimed work related stress and anxiety from alleged mistreatment by a supervisor. OWCP denied the claim after asking the employee for evidence, but it did not request a response from the employer. The Board found that an employer statement was needed to develop the disputed facts of…
T.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pittsburgh, PA
Board orders OWCP to review omitted medical evidence in postal worker's claim (ECAB 23-0265)
A postal rural carrier with accepted lumbar spondylosis sought compensation for disability beginning in July 2022. OWCP denied the wage loss claims. The Board found that OWCP had not considered and addressed all relevant medical evidence received before its decision. It set aside the denial and…
J.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tallassee, AL
Board upholds denial of postal carrier's renewed wage loss claim (ECAB 22-1182)
A postal carrier with accepted lumbar conditions sought wage loss compensation for a new period away from work in 2022. His doctors recorded back pain, other diagnoses, and work restrictions. The Board found that the reports did not explain why the accepted 2016 injury caused disability during the…
J.T. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Richmond, VA
Board upholds VA physician's dual benefits overpayment and recovery (ECAB 21-0696)
A VA physician received FECA wage loss benefits and Social Security retirement benefits partly attributable to federal service during overlapping years. The Board upheld OWCP's $226,682.32 overpayment calculation and found her without fault. It nevertheless upheld denial of waiver because her…
T.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Chicago, IL
Board orders recalculation of postal worker's duplicate compensation overpayment (ECAB 20-0873)
A postal worker received wage loss compensation and a schedule award for the same right arm during overlapping dates. The Board agreed that this created an overpayment because the two kinds of compensation could not be paid concurrently for the same extremity. OWCP had calculated a $11,553.36 debt…
Secretary of Labor v. Appalachian Resource West Virginia, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Appalachian Resource West Virginia (FMSHRC WEVA 2022-0555): Eleven-citation settlement approved
The judge had previously denied a proposed settlement because the Secretary did not provide two section 104(b) withdrawal orders associated with citations in the docket. After the Commission's Perry County Resources decision held that a judge did not need the related withdrawal order when the…
Gary L. Dorsey v. Brooks Run Mining Company, LLC and ANR, Incorporated
Dorsey v. Brooks Run Mining (BRB 22-0290 BLA): CT scan rebuttal required before benefits ruling
Gary Dorsey sought black lung benefits after 34 years of underground coal mine employment. The administrative law judge found complicated pneumoconiosis, which triggered an irrebuttable presumption of total disability due to the disease, and awarded benefits. Brooks Run Mining argued that the judge…
Jack W. Meade v. Mack Coal Company, Incorporated/Mackwood Coal Company, Incorporated
Meade v. Mack Coal (BRB 22-0271 BLA): benefits denial remanded for medical opinion review
Jack Meade appealed a denial of black lung benefits without an attorney. The administrative law judge found 13.48 years of coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment, but concluded that he had not proved pneumoconiosis. The Board upheld the finding that Meade had fewer than the…
Jerry Hall v. Arch of Kentucky/Apogee Coal Company and Arch Resources
Hall v. Arch of Kentucky/Apogee Coal (BRB 22-0228 BLA): benefits and carrier liability affirmed
Jerry Hall sought black lung benefits after at least 17.5 years of underground coal mine work. An administrative law judge found him totally disabled, applied the fifteen-year presumption, and awarded benefits against Apogee Coal and its self-insurer, Arch. Arch disputed its liability after…
Eddie J. Lawson v. Mingo Logan Coal Company
Lawson v. Mingo Logan Coal Company (BRB 21-0514 and 22-0139): Benefits and attorney fee awards affirmed
Eddie Lawson sought Black Lung benefits after 39 years of qualifying coal mine employment. The administrative law judge found a totally disabling respiratory impairment and applied the statutory presumption that Lawson's disability was due to pneumoconiosis. Mingo Logan Coal Company challenged 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.