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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Grundy Mining Company, Inc.
$1,500 settlement approved after remand
A foreman at Grundy Mining Company's No. 21 Mine was fatally injured when he was pinned between an overhanging coal rib and the tractor he was operating. The parties agreed that the rib condition violated 30 C.F.R. § 75.202 but said its connection to the accident was uncertain. Chief Judge James A…
Internal Revenue Service, Detroit, Michigan (Respondent) and National Treasury Employees Union and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 24 (Charging Party)
IRS performance review complaint dismissed (FLRA 5-CA-332)
An IRS revenue officer asked for union representation at a routine annual performance evaluation after his manager had criticized his work. The manager refused, and the union alleged an unfair labor practice. The administrative law judge found the scheduled review was not an examination connected…
Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Southeastern Program Service Center, Birmingham, Alabama (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2206, AFL-CIO (Charging Party)
Social Security trainee guideline violation upheld with narrower remedy (FLRA 4-CA-15)
A Social Security Administration service center imposed new evaluation guidelines for benefit and claims authorizer trainees without giving the union an opportunity to bargain. The judge found violations of Executive Order 11491 and proposed restoring earlier guidelines, bargaining, and giving a…
Navy Public Works Center, Norfolk Naval Base (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 53, AFL-CIO (Labor Organization)
Navy personnel clerk discrimination complaint dismissed (FLRA 3-CA-458)
A Navy public works center removed a union steward’s backup personnel clerk duties and offered her a full personnel position. The union alleged that these actions discriminated against her because of union activity. The judge found that the personnel clerk position involved confidential labor…
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Lodge 2424 (Union) and Department of the Army, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland (Agency)
Aberdeen union preparation time held bargainable (FLRA 0-NG-310)
A union at Aberdeen Proving Ground proposed official time for its negotiators to prepare for contract bargaining. The Army argued that preparation was internal union business outside the duty to bargain. The Authority held that time for preparing to negotiate with management could be bargained…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2875, AFL-CIO (Union) and Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Center, Miami Laboratory, Florida (Agency)
NOAA flexible schedule and quarter-hour leave proposals held negotiable (FLRA 0-NG-196)
A union proposed flexible work hours, core time, daily hour limits, and quarter-hour leave charges for employees at a NOAA fisheries laboratory. NOAA argued that the schedule proposals conflicted with the experimental work schedules law and management rights. The Authority held that the law allowed…
Department of the Air Force, Keesler Technical Training Center (ATC), Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi (Activity) and National Federation of Federal Employees (Union)
Keesler arbitration exceptions dismissed as late (FLRA 0-AR-199)
A union filed exceptions to an arbitration award concerning Keesler Air Force Base. The award was dated February 2, 1981, making the exceptions due March 3 under the Authority’s 30-day filing rule. The union filed on March 5. The Authority dismissed the exceptions as untimely without reviewing the…
Madison Granite Company
Mine safety violations upheld, $1,565 assessed
MSHA cited Madison Granite Company for multiple conditions at its crushed granite operation, including excessive equipment noise, unguarded conveyors, missing roadway berms, unsecured oxygen cylinders, electrical defects, and missing safety records. Judge Paul Merlin held that the Arizona operation…
North American Sand & Gravel Company, a Corporation
North American Sand & Gravel Company (FMSHRC LAKE 80-349-M): Loader noise citation upheld with $5 penalty
MSHA cited North American Sand & Gravel Company after a loader operator's measured noise exposure reached 177 percent of the permitted level at its pit. Judge Gary Melick found that sound suppressing rubber matting had been left off the loader after maintenance, causing the excessive exposure. The…
Consolidation Coal Company
Miners' representatives retained inspection rights
Consolidation Coal refused to let UMWA International safety representatives accompany MSHA inspectors at its mine because they had not been identified in a filing under Part 40. MSHA cited the company and issued a failure-to-abate withdrawal order. The Commission held that a missing Part 40 filing…
T & W Sand and Gravel Company
Loader defect and alarm citations upheld, two others vacated
MSHA cited T & W Sand and Gravel Company over conditions involving a loader at its Colorado pit. Judge John A. Carlson held that the operation fell within the Mine Act even though it sold its products within Colorado. He upheld a citation for using the loader while fuel and exhaust fumes leaked…
Matter of Zangwill
Worthless-check conviction barred voluntary departure but not adjustment
The Board reviewed a Canadian respondent's deportation case after he overstayed and was convicted of issuing worthless checks in Florida. Although the Florida court withheld adjudication and placed him on probation, he was confined for eight months, so the Board held that he had been convicted for…
Evansville Materials, Inc.
Eye protection citation dismissed, loader brake citation upheld
MSHA cited Evansville Materials over eye protection for a worker near sand and gravel conveyors and an air leak in a loader's brake system at its Rockport Plant. Judge William Fauver found that the Secretary had not proved the eye protection citation under the cited standard. He found that the…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Old Ben Coal Company
Secretary of Labor v. Old Ben Coal Company (FMSHRC VINC 75-83-P and VINC 75-230-P): Two notices reinstated and two vacaturs affirmed
This case involved four withdrawal order penalty matters and four violation notices issued to Old Ben Coal Company under the 1969 Coal Act. The Commission held that the judge should have stayed, rather than dismissed, the penalty matters while related order contests proceeded. It reinstated a coal…
Joseph Maynard v. Standard Sign & Signal Company
Dismissal affirmed with leave to amend
Assistant mine foreman Joseph Maynard alleged that Standard Sign & Signal fired him after he followed instructions to continue coal production while some cited violations remained uncorrected. A judge dismissed his discrimination complaint for failure to state a claim under the 1969 Coal Act. The…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Gene F. Hand v. Zeigler Coal Company
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Gene Hand v. Zeigler Coal Company (FMSHRC LAKE 80-292-D and VINC CD-80-10): Discharge complaint denied
The Secretary alleged that Zeigler Coal Company discharged section foreman Gene Hand because he complained about roof bolt safety at its No. 11 Mine. Judge James A. Laurenson found that Hand's complaints were protected under the Mine Act but did not motivate the discharge. He found that Zeigler…
Matter of Lam
Asylum and firm-resettlement questions required remand
The Board reviewed a Chinese respondent's deportation case after an Immigration Judge granted withholding of deportation to the People's Republic of China but denied withholding to Hong Kong and denied asylum. The Board held that a grant of withholding based on a threat to life or freedom…
Matter of Clahar
Jamaican status law did not establish sibling visa eligibility
The Board reconsidered its earlier denial of a United States citizen's sibling visa petition for his Jamaican-born sister. It modified its earlier view and held that a child covered by Jamaica's Status of Children Act of 1976 may qualify as a legitimate or legitimated child under the Immigration…
St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Co.
Locomotive-pit guardrail violation affirmed
St. Louis-San Francisco Railway was cited for open-sided platforms beside locomotive inspection pits that lacked required railings. The company argued that a Federal Railroad Administration policy displaced OSHA authority and that guardrails would create greater hazards during locomotive…
B.F. Goodrich Company
A noise record made before Continental Can cannot support its cost-benefit feasibility test, so the record is reopened
This is a noise case that outlived the rule it was tried under. The Sixth Circuit sent the case back to the Commission in 1975 for a more definite statement: would the engineering controls ordered actually bring noise to or below 90 decibels over an eight-hour day, so that earplugs and muffs would…
Consolidation Coal Company
Ventilation citation upheld with $600 penalty
MSHA cited Consolidation Coal Company after measuring about 4,600 cubic feet of air per minute in a last open crosscut at its Shoemaker Mine, below the 9,000 cubic foot minimum. Judge John F. Cook credited the inspector's measurement and rejected the company's argument that air should have been…
Cyprus Industrial Minerals Corp.
$500 settlement approved for withdrawal order
MSHA proposed a $1,000 penalty against Cyprus Industrial Minerals Corp. for an alleged violation tied to an imminent danger withdrawal order at its Bosal No. 1 Claim. The parties proposed a $500 settlement after the Commission upheld the order, while court review remained pending. Judge George A…
Matter of Contreras
Brief departure to smuggle an alien was an entry for gain
The Board reviewed a lawful permanent resident's appeal from an exclusion order after he drove to Mexico, returned with an undocumented man concealed in his vehicle, and was to receive $100 for bringing the man into the United States. It held that the three-hour departure was meaningfully…
Office of Program Operations, Field Operations, Social Security Administration, San Francisco Region (Respondent) and Council of District Office Locals, American Federation of Government Employees, San Francisco Region (Charging Party)
Social Security temporary supervisor complaint dismissed (FLRA 9-CA-57)
A Social Security office temporarily assigned a field representative to an acting supervisory position without notifying the union. The union said it should have bargained over the choice and its effect on unit employees. The judge found that selecting someone for a nonunit supervisory position was…
Headquarters, Fort Sam Houston, Fort Sam Houston, Texas (Activity/Petitioner) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2154, AFL-CIO (Labor Organization)
Six Fort Sam Houston clerical posts kept in union unit (FLRA 6-CU-13)
Fort Sam Houston asked the Authority to exclude seven civilian personnel office positions from a union unit as confidential or nonclerical personnel work. The Authority directly decided the petition, with no Regional Director decision under review. It found six incumbents performed routine clerical…
Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Office of Civil Rights, Region VI, Dallas Texas (Respondent) and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 266 (Charging Party)
Dallas civil rights office promotion complaints dismissed (FLRA 6-CA-9)
Three union activists at a federal civil rights office were passed over for supervisory promotions. The judge found that union activity had not caused the nonselections but treated interview panel remarks about the applicants’ union activity as a separate violation. The Authority agreed there was…
Department of the Army, Headquarters, Army Armament Materiel Readiness Command, Rock Island, Illinois (Activity) and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 15 (Labor Organization/Petitioner)
Third-year Army interns added to bargaining unit (FLRA 5-CU-12)
A union asked the Authority to add Army career interns at Rock Island to its bargaining unit. The Authority directly decided the petition, with no Regional Director decision under review. It found first- and second-year interns remained in a centrally controlled, mobile training program, while…
Florida National Guard (Respondent) and National Association of Government Employees, Local R5-91 (Charging Party)
Florida Guard ordered to restore union representative’s official time (FLRA 4-CA-300); later vacated in part
A Florida National Guard union representative attended an impasse hearing during contract negotiations. The Guard charged him annual leave for part of the two days and refused travel and per diem expenses. Deciding the case on stipulated facts, the Authority found that representational work at an…
Department of the Navy, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, New Hampshire (Respondent) and International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 4, AFL-CIO (Charging Party)
Portsmouth shipyard leave practice restored (FLRA 1-CA-58)
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard issued an instruction barring leave without pay for employees who had reached the pay cap during a pay period. The judge dismissed the union’s complaint, finding no established practice remained when the instruction issued. The Authority found that supervisors had…
Matter of Herrera
Sham-marriage trip interrupted continuous presence
The Board reviewed a Mexican respondent's appeal from the denial of suspension of deportation after he overstayed as a nonimmigrant visitor. He had left the United States to obtain an immigrant visa based on a marriage that he admitted was arranged solely for immigration purposes, and he paid the…
El Paso Rock Quarries, Inc.
$415 assessed on six reinstated citations
The Commission reinstated six citations that an ALJ had vacated against El Paso Rock Quarries and returned them for penalty findings. Judge Charles C. Moore, Jr. assessed $100 for an unbermed elevated roadway, $10 for an inoperative reverse alarm, $100 each for three elevated platforms without…
Jenn-Air Corporation
Abatement-modification order set aside and remanded
Jenn-Air filed an amended petition seeking modification of an abatement requirement, and the judge approved it. Before the parties received that order, Jenn-Air asked the judge to delay action so the parties could meet. The Secretary agreed, the union did not object, and all parties later supported…
U.S. Customs Service, Region VII, Los Angeles, California (Respondent) and National Treasury Employees Union (Charging Party)
Customs investigatory interview remedy modified (FLRA 8-CA-193)
A Customs employee requested union representation during an interview concerning conduct that could lead to discipline. The judge found that the agency denied effective representation and recommended relief. The Authority adopted the violation finding and modified the order by adding a requirement…
Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Detroit, Michigan (Respondent) and National Treasury Employees Union and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 24 (Charging Party)
IRS grievance retaliation complaint dismissed (FLRA 5-CA-81)
An IRS employee alleged that her manager lowered a promotion appraisal and changed two hours of approved annual leave to absence without leave because she intended to file a grievance. The judge found the manager revised the appraisal after reviewing work records and had work-related reasons for…
Naval Resale System Field Support Office Commissary Store Group (Respondent) and National Association of Government Employees, Local R4-45 (Charging Party)
Navy resale office ordered to stop threats over union help (FLRA 3-CA-493)
A Navy commissary employee sought help from a union representative over a personnel matter. A supervisor threatened consequences for taking the issue to the union. The judge found the threat interfered with the employee’s statutory rights, and no party filed exceptions. The Authority adopted the…
U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service, Eastern Region (Activity/Petitioner) and National Weather Service Employees Organization, MEBA, AFL-CIO (Labor Organization)
Weather Service forecasters retained and secretaries excluded (FLRA 2-CU-7)
The Weather Service sought to remove lead forecasters and secretary stenographers from an eastern region bargaining unit. The Authority directly decided the petition, with no Regional Director decision under review. It found the lead forecasters did not exercise supervisory authority requiring…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1733, AFL-CIO (Union) and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, National Capital Region, Washington, DC (Activity)
Park Service union training time held negotiable (FLRA 0-NG-335)
A National Park Service union proposed a yearly block of 80 hours of official time for representatives to attend union sponsored training of mutual benefit. The agency argued that Comptroller General standards barred the proposal. Following two prior rulings, the Authority found no government wide…
Sweet City Quarries
Hoist rope citation vacated
MSHA cited Sweet City Quarries over alleged broken wires in a hoist rope at its Sweet City Quarry and Mill and proposed a $40 penalty. Judge George A. Koutras found that the Secretary had not proved the required number of broken wires in any one lay of the rope. He had given the parties an…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Bobby Gooslin v. Kentucky Carbon Corporation
Bobby Gooslin v. Kentucky Carbon Corporation (FMSHRC KENT 80-145-D): Discrimination complaint sustained
Kentucky Carbon discharged miner and union safety committeeman Bobby Gooslin after he sought to inspect conditions at its Calloway No. 1 Mine. Judge James A. Laurenson found that Gooslin's call to the superintendent and presence at the mine for the inspection were protected safety activities…
Eastover Mining Co.
Show cause order on canopy citation
MSHA sought a penalty against Eastover Mining for using a continuous mining machine without a protective canopy at its No. 1 Mine. The parties agreed that the coal seam was 38 inches thick and the mined opening was 53 inches high. Judge Joseph B. Kennedy questioned whether the canopy rule could…
Matter of Thornhill
Temporary worker could not offer permanent employment for an immigrant visa petition
The Commissioner reviewed a petition seeking sixth-preference immigrant status for a Guyanese domestic worker whom a Guyanese temporary worker wanted to employ in his household. The petitioner had a labor certification and proposed to pay the beneficiary $6,240 per year plus room and board, but the…
Waukesha Lime and Stone Company, Inc. and Halquist Stone Company, Inc.
Waukesha Lime and Stone and Halquist Stone (FMSHRC VINC 79-66-PM and VINC 79-118-PM): Proceedings stayed
Waukesha Lime and Stone Company and Halquist Stone Company had separate proceedings before the Commission. The Commission paused further administrative proceedings in both while the Supreme Court considered Marshall v. Dewey. The stay also allowed proceedings to resume if the Commission issued…
Asarco Incorporated, Northwestern Mining Department
Asarco Incorporated (FMSHRC WEST 80-303-M): Snow and ice case settled for $1
MSHA alleged that snow and ice on a stairway at Asarco's Leadville Unit violated both an access standard and a snow removal standard. The assessment office treated one condition as two alleged violations and proposed $930 in penalties. The Secretary agreed to vacate one of the listed charges, and…
White Pine Copper Division, Copper Range Company
White Pine Copper Division (FMSHRC LAKE 80-139-M): Loose rock violation upheld
MSHA cited White Pine Copper after a scooptram operator worked beneath loose overhead rock at the underground White Pine Mine. Judge James A. Broderick credited the inspector and miners who saw the tram leave the heading and found loose rock above its work area. The inspector wrote the wrong…
Kaiser Cement and Gypsum Corporation
Five citations upheld, seven vacated
MSHA issued twelve citations after inspecting Kaiser Cement's Permanente Cement Plant. At the hearing, the Secretary withdrew four citations for lack of proof, and Kaiser withdrew its contest of three proposed penalties. Judge John A. Carlson upheld two disputed citations, one for an unguarded wall…
Defense Contract Administration, Services Region, St. Louis, Missouri (Activity/Petitioner) and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO (Labor Organization) and National Association of Government Employees, Local R14-56, Neosho, Missouri (Labor Organization/Intervenor)
Neosho and Joplin contract staff moved to AFGE unit (FLRA 7-CU-19)
A Defense Contract Administration reorganization placed employees at Neosho and Joplin under the Wichita management area. The Authority directly decided a unit petition, with no Regional Director decision under review. It found the employees now shared supervision, work conditions, and personnel…
U.S. Air Force, Air Force Logistics Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO (Charging Party)
Air Force intern program complaint dismissed (FLRA 5-CA-331)
An Air Force command revised a management intern program after bargaining with the union reached impasse on three proposals. The union claimed the command implemented the revision while the impasse was before the Federal Service Impasses Panel. The judge found the command had given notice and made…
General Services Administration, National Capital Region (Activity/Petitioner) and Steamfitters Local Union 602 of the United Association of Journeymen And Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada, AFL-CIO (Labor Organization) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2151, AFL-CIO (Labor Organization)
GSA meter shop stayed in existing union unit (FLRA 3-CU-48)
A GSA reorganization placed nine meter shop employees in the same division as workers represented by a different union. The Authority directly decided whether the meter shop had moved into the steamfitters’ unit, with no Regional Director decision under review. It found the employees’ duties…
Mid-America Program Service Center, Social Security Administration, Department of Health, Education and Welfare (Activity) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1336, AFL-CIO (Union)
Social Security trainee promotion award upheld (FLRA 0-AR-91)
A Social Security union grieved denied career ladder promotions for three trainees, arguing that management used prohibited numeric production standards. The arbitrator found the agency used performance ranges as training goals, not absolute quotas, and that the employees’ work fell below those…
United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region IV, Atlanta, Georgia (Activity) and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1907 (Union)
EPA suspension grievance dismissal upheld (FLRA 0-AR-88)
An EPA employee challenged a 14-day suspension but sent his grievance directly to a regional administrator instead of using the negotiated sequence of supervisors. The arbitrator dismissed the grievance as procedurally improper and did not reach the suspension merits. The union argued the…
Social Security Administration (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local No. 1923, AFL-CIO (Union)
Social Security smoking restriction award upheld (FLRA 0-AR-76)
A Social Security employee objected to tobacco smoke in an open work area. An arbitrator found the agency’s desk partitions did not separate the shared air and ordered smoking prohibited in the employee’s common work area under the governing agency regulation. The agency challenged the award as an…
Veterans Administration Medical Center, Fort Howard (Activity) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2146, AFL-CIO (Union)
VA pest controller differential denial upheld (FLRA 0-AR-43)
A VA medical center pest controller sought a four percent environmental differential for working with pesticides and rodenticides. The arbitrator found the record did not establish the qualifying low degree hazard under the applicable personnel manual category and denied the grievance. The union…
Community Services Administration (Agency) and National Council of CSA Locals, American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO (Union)
Community Services temporary hiring award upheld (FLRA 0-AR-158)
A federal community services agency filled temporary excepted service positions mostly with outside applicants. A union grieved on behalf of employees not selected, asserting that contract promotion rules and conditions on excepted appointments had been violated. The arbitrator denied the…
Letterkenny Army Depot (Activity) and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1429 (Union)
Letterkenny overtime grievance denials upheld (FLRA 0-AR-138)
Six Letterkenny Army Depot employees claimed they were denied overtime because they had taken leave during the workweek. The arbitrator found that the available work had gone to employees with comparable skills and overtime hours, making the choice among them reasonable under the contract. The…
Monterey Coal Company
Citation contests dismissed
Monterey Coal's eight citation contests returned to an administrative law judge after the Commission reversed an earlier ruling and remanded them. Monterey asked to withdraw the contests because new rules on independent contractor liability had addressed the principal issue it raised. MSHA did not…
Mettiki Coal Corporation
Roof control penalty petition dismissed
MSHA sought a civil penalty against Mettiki Coal for an alleged violation of the roof control standard at its Gobblers Knob Mine. After the inspector testified, the Secretary asked to withdraw the penalty petition. Judge Paul Merlin found that the testimony did not establish even an initial showing…
Office of Personnel Management (Agency/Petitioner) and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO (Labor Organization)
OPM unit exclusions denied and agency name updated (FLRA 1-CU-9)
OPM sought to remove roughly 1,600 employees from existing AFGE bargaining units after taking over Civil Service Commission functions. The Authority directly decided ten consolidated petitions, with no Regional Director decision under review. It found the personnel advisers served other agencies…
Matter of Barsai
Foreign-government branch qualified as an L-1 affiliate
The Regional Commissioner reviewed a petition by a Delaware corporation seeking to transfer a Hungarian employee to the United States as its corporate president. The petitioner was a wholly owned subsidiary of a Hungarian firm, and the beneficiary had worked for that parent for 30 years, including…
Cross & Brown Company
Elevator failure-to-abate penalty reduced to $1,000
Cross & Brown managed an industrial building whose elevators lacked gates and interlocks, and an elevator accident fatally injured an employee. The company did not complete permanent correction by the citation's abatement date, but it immediately shut down the involved elevator, installed temporary…
American Airlines, Inc.
FAA regulation of the same working condition ousts OSHA jurisdiction under section 4(b)(1), even where the agency's exercise is less stringent
Judge James A. Cronin, Jr. vacated the citations against American Airlines because the working conditions involved are regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration. Section 4(b)(1) of the Act says the Act does not apply to working conditions covered by another federal agency exercising…
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.