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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International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 4 (Union) and Department of the Navy, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth shipyard appeal lacked a defined proposal (FLRA O-NG-483)
A Portsmouth Navy shipyard union challenged a planned shutdown and the use of annual leave during it. The union had not proposed specific bargaining language. The Authority said the matter was too undefined for a negotiability ruling and dismissed the appeal.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Quality Service (Activity) and National Joint Council of Food Inspection Locals, AFGE, AFL-CIO (Union)
Food inspection grievance timeliness award upheld (FLRA O-AR-171)
A Food Safety and Quality Service employee challenged a 1977 reassignment in a grievance filed in 1980. An arbitrator dismissed it under the agreement’s thirty day filing rule. The union disputed when the employee learned of the alleged problem, but the Authority held that procedural timeliness was…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1760, AFL-CIO (Union) and Department of Health and Welfare, Office of Program Centers of the Social Security Administration (Activity)
Social Security absence suspension award upheld (FLRA O-AR-140)
A Social Security employee received a ten day suspension for failing to call in when absent. An arbitrator upheld the discipline after finding she had been told of the rule and had not complied. The union challenged the award under personnel and agency rules. The Authority rejected the exceptions…
Naval Weapons Station, Yorktown, Virginia (Activity) and National Association of Government Employees, Local R4-1 (Union)
Navy missile hazard pay award upheld (FLRA O-AR-124)
A Navy employee assembling and disassembling missiles sought the higher environmental pay differential for explosives work. The arbitrator found that the work did not meet the high hazard criteria and denied the grievance. The Authority found no showing that the award conflicted with the cited…
Department of Agriculture, Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection Quarantine, Pink Bollworm Rearing Facility (Activity) and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 376, Independent (Labor Organization/Petitioner)
Pink bollworm facility temporary workers excluded from unit (FLRA 8-RO-26)
A union asked to add short term workers at an Agriculture pink bollworm rearing facility to its existing unit. The Authority directly decided the unit petition, with no regional decision under review. It found that these workers lacked the permanent employees’ benefits, schedules, and expectation…
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Science and Education Administration, Agricultural Research, North Central Region, Dakotas-Alaska Area (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3748, AFL-CIO (Charging Party)
Agriculture negotiators owed travel expenses (FLRA 7-CA-570)
An Agriculture agency refused travel authorizations, advances, and reimbursement for union negotiators traveling to bargaining sessions on official time. The case reached the Authority on a stipulated record. The Authority found that official time under the statute included travel and per diem…
National Ocean Survey, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (Activity) and Radio Officers Union, United Telegraph Workers, AFL-CIO (Labor Organization/Petitioner)
Navy vessel technician unit partly clarified (FLRA 3-CU-53)
A union sought a unit ruling for six chief electronic technicians on federal research vessels. The Authority directly decided the petition, with no regional decision under review. It included two technicians whose direction of other workers was routine and excluded one who used independent…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Charles Boothe v. Cedar Coal Company
Discrimination settlement approved
The Secretary brought a discrimination complaint against Cedar Coal Company on behalf of Charles Boothe. After Boothe received a job through a related grievance, the parties agreed to withdraw the complaint with prejudice. Cedar agreed to post a notice for three consecutive weeks after the…
Monterey Coal Company
Impoundment citation vacated by the judge
MSHA withdrew its approval of Monterey Coal Company's plan for a slurry impoundment and cited the company for operating without an approved plan. Judge Charles C. Moore, Jr. found that MSHA had misapplied its design manual when it counted settled material along with water in measuring the…
Lloyd Brazell v. Island Creek Coal Company
Discrimination complaint denied after hearing
Lloyd Brazell alleged that Island Creek Coal Company laid him off because he had raised mine safety concerns. After hearing witnesses, Judge Richard C. Steffey found that Brazell had not shown a prima facie case connecting protected safety activity to the layoff. The judge also found that Island…
South East Coal Company, Inc.
Borehole citation dismissed after mine-map review
MSHA cited South East Coal's No. 8 Mine for failing to drill test boreholes while advancing toward workings of the Smith-Elkhorn Mine. South East Coal had previously connected the two mines, ventilated and inspected the Smith-Elkhorn workings, and relied on certified maps to locate the abandoned…
S.J. Groves & Sons Company
On remand from the Second Circuit, the Commission vacates the citation
S.J. Groves & Sons Company had contested an OSHA citation that the Commission earlier decided against it. The company appealed, and in May 1981 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed the Commission and sent the case back with instructions to enter an order vacating the citation…
S. J. Groves & Sons Company
Citation vacated after court remand
The Second Circuit reversed the Commission's earlier decision and remanded with instructions to vacate the citation. Treating the appellate ruling as the law of the case, the Commission entered the required order. The brief order does not identify the underlying standard, penalty, or merits…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Cement Division, National Gypsum Company
Significant and substantial findings split after remand
The Commission sent National Gypsum's civil penalty case back to determine which violations were significant and substantial. Judge James A. Broderick found that hazards on two elevated walkways and open oxygen and acetylene tank valves met that test. He found that an uncovered electrical junction…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1642 (Union) and General Services Administration, Federal Supply Service (Activity)
Merit promotion appeal belonged in unfair labor practice process (FLRA O-NG-442)
A union and agency disputed whether the agency still had to bargain over exceptions to a merit promotion plan after signing a memorandum of understanding. The Authority found that the central question concerned the underlying duty to bargain and factual conduct, not the proposal’s negotiability. It…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Leslie Coal Mining Company
Five citations vacated, two penalties assessed
MSHA brought two civil penalty cases against Leslie Coal Mining Company over conditions at its mine. Judge Gary Melick vacated an icy travelway citation because MSHA had not established when the ice appeared, so it could not show that Leslie failed to clear it as soon as practicable. He also…
Matter of Anabo
Section 241(f) waiver terminated deportation proceedings
The Board reviewed a Philippine lawful permanent resident's case after he entered the United States with a first-preference immigrant visa as the unmarried son of a United States citizen even though he was married. The Board held that the concealment made him excludable for fraud and for possessing…
Federal Employees Metal Trades Council, AFL-CIO (Union) and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (Activity)
Navy detail grievance nonarbitrability award upheld (FLRA 0-AR-126)
A Navy union grieved alleged improper details and temporary promotions. The arbitrator found that the agreement provision the union invoked did not cover the disputed positions and held the grievances nonarbitrable. The Authority rejected the union’s legal exception as disagreement with contract…
Matter of Hill
Admission was denied without a Class A certification
The Board reviewed the Service's appeal from an Immigration Judge's order admitting a visitor from England. The applicant had made unsolicited, unambiguous statements that he was homosexual, and the Service charged him under the law then in effect with exclusion under section 212(a)(4). The Board…
RSR Corporation
Ambiguous citation disposition remanded
A judge's order had become final without Commission review but was ambiguous about the disposition of four citation items. The Commission found sufficient reason under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(6) to grant relief from the final order and remanded for any necessary proceedings and a…
Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Cleveland, Ohio (Respondent) and National Treasury Employees Union and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 37 (Charging Party)
IRS union equipment complaint dismissed (FLRA 5-CA-308)
An IRS union alleged that managers changed established conditions by restricting government equipment use and employee visits to the union president’s work area. The judge found that management had restated existing policy and that a contrary past practice was not proved. The Authority adopted…
Gerald D. Boone v. Rebel Coal Company
Unlawful discharge found, damages left open
Gerald Boone refused to drive a haulage truck after reporting that its defective seat made the truck hazardous to operate. Judge Gary Melick found that Boone reasonably believed the truck was unsafe and that Rebel Coal Company fired him solely for refusing to drive it. The judge relied on…
United Mine Workers of America, Local Union 6003 v. Royal Coal Company and Cowin and Company, Inc.; Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Royal Coal Company
Royal Coal Company and Cowin and Company, Inc. (FMSHRC WEVA 81-34 and WEVA 80-664-C): Slope plan citation partly vacated, miners awarded lost pay
Royal Coal Company and contractor Cowin and Company were involved in sinking a slope into abandoned mine workings at Royal's Claremont Cleaning Plant. Judge Gary Melick found that inadequate support for a broken roof and loose ribs violated Royal's approved slope plan and exposed miners to an…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Asarco, Incorporated
Penalty totals corrected after omitted citations
Judge John A. Carlson corrected penalty figures in his June 30, 1981 decision involving Asarco's Leadville Mine. He added two omitted citations with $122 penalties each to docket WEST 79-124-M, bringing that docket's total to $3,549. He added two omitted citations with $90 and $160 penalties to…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Waukesha Lime and Stone Co., Inc.
Penalty affirmed for refusing inspection
Waukesha Lime and Stone refused to let an MSHA inspector enter its limestone quarry without a search warrant. The Supreme Court had already held in the related case that the Mine Act permits warrantless inspections and that those inspections do not violate the Fourth Amendment. The Commission held…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Halquist Stone Company, Inc.
Inspection refusal and $700 penalty affirmed
Halquist Stone challenged a judge's finding that it prevented an MSHA inspector from continuing an inspection. The Commission said its decision in Waukesha Lime and Stone Company, issued the same day, resolved the legal question in the Secretary's favor. It also rejected Halquist's claim that it…
Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Preshift belt examination citations vacated
MSHA cited Jones & Laughlin Steel for failing to examine coal-carrying conveyor belts before miners began work at its Vesta No. 5 Mine. The operator argued that the governing standard required an examination of those belts after a coal-producing shift began, while belts carrying miners required a…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 896, AFL-CIO (Union) and Defense Printing Service, Annapolis, Maryland (Activity)
Local agreement negotiability appeal dismissed as late (FLRA O-NG-434)
An agency served disapproval of a local agreement provision in June 1980. The union requested a further explanation months later and filed its appeal in February 1981. The Authority measured the fifteen day deadline from the original disapproval, held the petition untimely, and dismissed it without…
U.S. Army Aviation Center, Fort Rucker, Alabama (Activity) and Wiregrass Metal Trades Council, AFL-CIO (Union)
Fort Rucker backpay award limited to classification dates (FLRA O-AR-68)
Two Fort Rucker printing employees performed higher grade work before their positions were reclassified. An arbitrator awarded backpay from the start of the verification audit. The Authority found that the Back Pay Act barred payment before each position was formally classified. It modified that…
National Labor Relations Board, Washington, DC (Respondent) and National Labor Relations Union (Charging Party)
NLRB impasse preparation official time complaint dismissed (FLRA 53-CA-396)
The National Labor Relations Board gave union representatives official time for an impasse panel conference and hearing but denied time for related preparation. On a stipulated record, the Authority held that attendance at panel proceedings qualified for official time, while preparation time was a…
National Treasury Employees Union and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 53 (Respondent) and Internal Revenue Service and Brooklyn District Office (Complainant)
Union steward reinstatement ordered after testimony (FLRA 2-CO-3)
A Treasury union removed a steward after he testified in an Authority proceeding against the union’s interest. The judge found that the removal interfered with protected employee rights. The Authority adopted that finding and ordered the union to reinstate him as steward and post a notice.
Food and Drug Administration, Region l (Activity) and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, District 1 (Labor Organization/Petitioner)
FDA Region 1 secretaries excluded from unit (FLRA 1-CU-23)
A union sought a unit ruling for eight secretarial positions in Food and Drug Administration Region 1. The Authority directly decided the petition, with no regional decision under review. It found that the incumbents worked confidentially for officials who formulated or carried out labor relations…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Asarco, Incorporated
Some citations withdrawn, remaining penalties assessed
MSHA brought seven civil penalty cases against Asarco's Leadville Mine. At the hearing, the Secretary withdrew several citations, citing insufficient evidence or other problems with proving them, and the judge vacated those citations and their proposed penalties. Asarco withdrew its contests of the…
Matter of Martinez-Romero
Asylum reopening motion was denied
The Board reviewed an appeal from the denial of a motion to reopen deportation proceedings so a Salvadoran respondent could apply for asylum and withholding of deportation. The respondent had entered as a nonimmigrant student, conceded deportability after remaining beyond her authorized stay, and…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Capitol Aggregates, Inc.
Mine Act jurisdiction upheld, $157 assessed
Capitol Aggregates challenged MSHA's jurisdiction over two Texas operations, arguing that their products were sold within the state. Judge Virgil E. Vail held that the mines affected interstate commerce because their materials were used in highway construction, among other stipulated facts. He…
Auto Sun Products Co.
Plating protections affirmed and press items vacated
Auto Sun employees handled parts over acid and cyanide tanks without chemical goggles or face shields, and the closely spaced tanks lacked dikes or another means to prevent dangerous intermixing after a rupture. The Commission affirmed both plating-operation violations without penalties. It vacated…
Avalotis Painting Company
Unguarded scaffold citation affirmed
Employees sandblasted from the unguarded top level of a scaffold inside a reheating duct. The Commission held that Avalotis affected interstate commerce because it used out-of-state products, and that employees had access to a 17-foot fall hazard at the scaffold's open end, especially while using…
O'Boyle Tank Lines, Inc.
Construction-site truck violations affirmed
O'Boyle delivered and unloaded cement at construction sites using tractor-trailers with an unguarded cycloblower pulley and, in one instance, backed a vehicle with an obstructed rear view without an alarm or signaler. The Commission held that delivery and unloading were integral to construction and…
Daniel International Corporation
The floor opening standard reaches an incomplete temporary floor, and a tie-off rule is no substitute for guarding or a cover
At a power plant under construction in Roopville, Georgia, ironworkers had been laying a temporary floor of steel grates at level 778, about 48 feet above the concrete, but rain stopped the work before the floor was finished. The grates were left unsecured and overlapping, the surface was…
Daniel Construction Company of Alabama
Seat belts required under § 1926.28(a), hard hat item vacated on overwhelming compliance, and the pit amendment denied as prejudicial
An inspection of Daniel's nuclear power plant construction site in Dothan, Alabama produced a fourteen-item nonserious citation and one serious citation. Administrative Law Judge John S. Patton affirmed items 1 through 8 and 13, vacated items 11 and 12, and affirmed the serious citation, assessing…
Ted Wilkerson, Inc.
Riding a crane boom is a general duty violation a tied-off belt cannot cure, and two prior final orders make the belt citation repeated
Ted Wilkerson was finishing the surface of a highway bridge in Kansas City, Missouri. A compliance officer driving on the street underneath saw a man being hoisted on the tip of a telescopic crane truck boom, turned around, photographed him from about 200 feet, and then watched a second hoist from…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. King Knob Coal Company, Inc.
Pickup needed backup alarm despite manual exception
A King Knob employee died after a pickup truck backing along a strip mine haulage road struck him. The truck had no backup alarm, and MSHA cited the company under 30 C.F.R. § 77.410. The Commission held that the standard's requirement for mobile equipment includes pickup trucks, despite an…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Sewell Coal Company
Canopy standard upheld and case remanded
MSHA cited Sewell Coal Company for operating a roof bolter and shuttle car without protective canopies. The judge rejected a proposed settlement and dismissed the penalty case, holding that the canopy standard was invalid and that compliance would diminish miner safety. The Commission held that it…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Penn Allegh Coal Company, Inc.
Canopy safety defense required modification petition
Penn Allegh operated an electric coal drill without the protective canopy required by 30 C.F.R. § 75.1710-1(a). It argued in the penalty case that a canopy would reduce safety in the mine's low working height, and the judge dismissed the penalty petition on that basis. The Commission held that an…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Aearth Development, Inc.
Protective footwear violations settled for $200
Two employees at Aearth Development's surface coal mine worked without suitable protective footwear. One was cleaning coal near a spoil bank, and the other was helping repair a front-end loader. Judge Forrest E. Stewart found that management knew about the missing footwear and let the employees…
Carnation Can Company - Can Division
Remand to take evidence on whether piecemeal noise controls differ economically from plant-wide controls
The document is captioned "Carnation Company," while the index row for this docket carries the name Carnation Can Company - Can Division. In its 1978 decision the Commission held Carnation in violation of 29 C.F.R. § 1910.95(b)(1) because feasible engineering controls were not used in three areas…
American Cyanamid Company
Settlement approval affirmed after court remand
A judge approved a settlement representing that the cited conditions had been abated. The Commission initially remanded so the judge could consider the union's objection that abatement had not occurred, but the Third Circuit reversed that remand as inconsistent with circuit precedent. Bound by the…
Leslie Coal Mining Company v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Roof support violations affirmed
MSHA cited Leslie Coal Mining Company for inadequate roof support in two areas of its underground coal mine and issued a withdrawal order after the company did not abate the first citation. Judge Charles C. Moore, Jr. found that the first area had weak, wet roof near a recent fall and that the…
Todd Shipyards Corporation
Incorrect respirator item reinstated
Employees performing carbon-arc gouging inside a ship were exposed to roughly twice the permissible concentration of iron oxide fumes. The ventilation arrangement was ineffective, and the dust-and-mist respirators they wore were not approved for fumes. The judge affirmed the overexposure and…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Westmoreland Coal Company
Roof control case settled for $4,000
The case arose from a roof fall at Westmoreland Coal Company's Hampton No. 3 Mine that killed a section foreman and an assistant mine foreman. MSHA charged the company over its pillaring practices and failure to set roof supports required by its approved plan. Judge Joseph B. Kennedy found the…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Elkins Energy Corporation
Roof control violation upheld with $225 penalty
MSHA cited Elkins Energy Corporation after an inspector found that a continuous-mining machine had advanced beyond the limit in its roof-control plan at the No. 2 Mine. Judge Richard C. Steffey found a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.200 because the machine's controls passed the last row of permanent…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1923 (Union) and Social Security Administration (Agency)
Social Security appraisal bargaining award narrowed (FLRA O-AR-65)
An arbitrator found that Social Security had to bargain over a performance appraisal system under its agreement. The Authority held that the award could not require bargaining over management’s identification of critical elements or establishment of performance standards, but could require…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. V and M Mining Company of Paintsville, Inc.
Roof control case settled for $1,000
A roof fall at V and M Mining's No. 3 Mine fatally injured miner Elijah Jude. MSHA cited the company under the roof support standard, 30 C.F.R. § 75.200, and initially proposed a $4,000 penalty. Three inspectors testified that they did not believe the company could have foreseen the fall and knew…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Pikeville Coal Company
Surface belt drive citation upheld with $1 penalty
MSHA cited Pikeville Coal Company because the belt drive for an underground conveyor lacked an automatic fire suppression system. The drive was on the surface near the mine portal, and the company argued that the underground standard did not apply and that the drive was beyond a distance described…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Big Three Coal Company
Penalties reduced after mine closure
Big Three Coal Company contested proposed penalties for 26 mine safety violations across five proceedings. Judge Richard C. Steffey found that all violations occurred, including inadequate ventilation, electrical and roof support problems, and missing guards and canopies. The company had closed its…
William R. Jewett v. Missouri Portland Cement Company
Discrimination complaints dismissed after settlement
William R. Jewett filed discharge, discrimination, or interference complaints against Missouri Portland Cement Company. The parties reached a settlement under which the company agreed to pay him $3,873 and to address procedural matters in a separate age discrimination complaint. Jewett signed a…
Naval Support Activity, Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California (Respondent) and International Association Of Fire Fighters, Local F-48, International Association of Firefighters, AFL-CIO-CLC (Charging Party)
Navy fire captain dues dispute returned for more facts (FLRA 9-CA-123)
A Navy shipyard stopped dues allotments for three fire captains after treating their positions as supervisory. The case reached the Authority on a stipulated record. The Authority found that deciding the complaint required facts about their supervisory status under both the former executive order…
Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center (AFLC) Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 916, AFL-CIO (Charging Party)
Tinker Air Force Base paid break solicitation violations upheld (FLRA 6-CA-175)
At Tinker Air Force Base, a judge found several unfair labor practices, including a rule against union membership solicitation during paid breaks when employees had no work duties. The Authority adopted the judge’s findings and order, while explaining why paid free time counted as nonduty status…
Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1346, AFL-CIO (Charging Party)
Social Security local bargaining complaint dismissed (FLRA 5-CA-330)
A Social Security local sought bargaining under a reopener in its existing agreement after a nationwide unit consolidation. Management refused to bargain at the local level. On a stipulated record, the Authority held that the bargaining obligation had moved to the new nationwide unit, while…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Ducharme Sand & Gravel
Thirteen citations settled for $415
MSHA cited Ducharme Sand & Gravel for 13 safety violations at its sand and gravel operation, involving mobile equipment, electrical boxes, machine guards, conveyor access, and a dumping ramp. After hearing testimony on the first citation, Judge George A. Koutras made tentative findings and allowed…
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.