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.
No decisions match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
Eddie J. Lawson v. Mingo Logan Coal Company
Lawson v. Mingo Logan Coal (BRB 21-0514 and 22-0139 BLA): benefits and attorney fee awards affirmed
Eddie Lawson had 39 years of qualifying coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment. An administrative law judge found that he qualified for the fifteen-year presumption of disability due to pneumoconiosis and awarded benefits. Mingo Logan Coal challenged the judge's authority and…
D.S. and Department of the Navy, Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam, Honolulu, HI
Board upholds denial of Navy guard's back injury claim (ECAB 23-0375)
A Navy security guard reported back pain during a shift while wearing duty equipment. OWCP accepted that the work incident occurred but found insufficient medical evidence linking a diagnosed back condition to it. The Board agreed because the physicians who called a thoracic disc herniation work…
T.J. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, Douglas, AZ
Board orders review of omitted medical records in border agent's injury claim (ECAB 23-0295)
A Border Patrol agent reported a head injury while on duty and submitted hospital records and a neurologist's report describing his symptoms. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the injury claim for lack of a medical causal link. The Board found that OWCP had not discussed the…
A.F. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, St. Louis, MO
Board orders more fact gathering on park worker's stress claim (ECAB 23-0277)
A National Park Service maintenance mechanic attributed a medical condition to alleged workplace harassment, discrimination, and stress. OWCP denied his emotional condition claim after asking the agency for information about the incidents. The agency submitted a motion from a separate…
A.H. and Department of the Navy, Naval Facilities, Pearl City, HI
Board upholds denial of Navy worker's expanded back injury claim (ECAB 23-0143)
A Navy waste-water treatment plant operator injured his back while moving a locker at work. OWCP accepted a lumbar sprain, but he sought to add a T12-L1 herniated disc to the claim. The Board gave weight to a second-opinion physician who found the disc condition unrelated to the accepted injury. It…
Y.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Jenkintown Post Office, Jenkintown, PA
Board reverses postal carrier's benefit termination and orders further review (ECAB 23-0091)
A postal carrier sought to add a cervical disc herniation to her accepted injury claim after a work-related vehicle collision. OWCP also ended her wage-loss and medical benefits, relying on a physician who found no remaining injury. Her treating physician disagreed and reported continuing symptoms…
M.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Clayton Branch Post Office, Clayton, MO
Board orders new medical opinion on postal carrier's shoulder claim (ECAB 23-0087)
A postal letter carrier sought to add a rotator cuff tear and related shoulder condition to a claim accepted after a vehicle collision. She also requested a reverse shoulder replacement. OWCP denied both requests after obtaining a supplemental medical opinion. The Board found that the physician did…
M.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Dominick V. Daniels Processing & Distribution Center, Kearny, NJ
Board upholds denial of late overpayment hearing request (ECAB 23-0063)
A postal motor vehicle operator requested a prerecoupment hearing after OWCP notified him of a preliminary $502.25 overpayment from a duplicate compensation payment. His hearing request was postmarked in July 2022, more than 30 days after OWCP's January 2022 notice. The Board held that the request…
S.F. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Installation Management Command, Yakima Training Center, Yakima, WA
Board orders review of omitted ankle injury evidence for Army worker (ECAB 23-0047)
An Army electrical equipment repairer claimed an ankle injury after slipping while working. OWCP accepted the incident and a diagnosed condition but denied a causal relationship. The Board found that OWCP had not addressed emergency physician reports and other hospital records received before its…
O.R. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, San Diego, CA
Board orders further fact gathering in border agency worker's stress claim (ECAB 22-1247)
A Customs and Border Protection specialist claimed a stress related condition after an alleged confrontation with a coworker and later workplace decisions. OWCP denied the claim without establishing a compensable work factor. The Board found gaps in the factual investigation, including the absence…
A.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Santa Monica Post Office, Santa Monica, CA
Board upholds knee impairment rating but orders overpayment recalculation (ECAB 22-0999)
A postal carrier sought a right leg schedule award above the two percent already granted and disputed an overpayment from concurrent FECA and Social Security retirement benefits. The Board upheld the two percent impairment rating because the higher proposed rating used an arthritis diagnosis that…
B.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Martech Carrier Annex, Atlanta, GA
Board upholds refusal to reopen postal carrier's impairment claim (ECAB 22-0838)
A postal carrier sought reconsideration of a schedule award claim after an accepted back injury. The Board found that her questions about other payments did not address the relevant issue of permanent impairment from the accepted injury. A newly submitted physician note repeated earlier diagnoses…
L.P., widow of K.P., and Department of the Navy, Naval Aviation Depot, Jacksonville, MD
Board orders estate debt procedures for Navy worker's insurance overpayments (ECAB 22-0752)
A Navy worker's widow appealed overpayment decisions involving underwithheld basic and optional life insurance premiums. The Board found that the record did not show OWCP had followed its procedures for recovering debt from a deceased beneficiary's estate, including referral for an offset of the…
D.D. and Defense Logistics Agencies, Richmond, VA
Board upholds refusal to add shoulder conditions to crash injury claim (ECAB 22-0402)
A Defense Logistics Agency analyst sought to add shoulder and other conditions to a claim accepted after a work related vehicle crash. Her treating physician and OWCP's second opinion physician disagreed, so OWCP obtained an impartial orthopedic examination. The Board gave special weight to the…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Complex, Victorville, California and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3969, Council of Prison Locals 33
FCC Victorville and AFGE Local 3969 (FLRA 0-AR-5854): Authority preserves overtime backpay for delayed investigations
Federal Correctional Complex Victorville reassigned two employees during misconduct investigations, making them ineligible for overtime while the investigations remained open for extended periods. An arbitrator found that the agency violated the agreement's promise of timely investigation…
K.U. and U.S. Postal Service, Michigan Metroplex Processing & Distribution Center, Pontiac, MI
Board upholds denial of postal clerk's 2018 wage-loss claim (ECAB 23-0469)
A postal markup clerk injured her left thigh and hip when a chair rolled backward as she sat down at work. OWCP accepted the sprain, but she later claimed wage-loss compensation for dates in September and October 2018. The Board found no medical evidence in the record addressing disability during…
L.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Philadelphia, PA
Board orders merit review of postal carrier's foot claim (ECAB 23-0445)
A postal rural carrier sought compensation for a left foot condition that he attributed to driving duties. OWCP denied the claim and then refused to reopen it on reconsideration. The Board found that a newly submitted podiatrist's report addressed how workload and driving position could strain the…
T.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, West Allis, WI
Board upholds recovery of postal worker's $3,142.47 overpayment (ECAB 23-0332)
A postal carrier continued receiving an augmented compensation rate after his wife died, although he promptly told OWCP and was not at fault for the error. The Board upheld OWCP's finding that the resulting overpayment was $3,142.47. It also upheld denial of a waiver because he had not supplied the…
T.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Alexandria Veterans Administration Health Care System, Alexandria, LA
Board upholds refusal to reopen VA nurse's stress claim (ECAB 23-0331)
A VA nurse sought workers' compensation for conditions she attributed to alleged workplace harassment. After OWCP denied the claim, she requested reconsideration and submitted a grievance and a general notice about an EEOC finding at the facility. The Board found that the grievance had already been…
J.E. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution Butner, Butner, NC
Board upholds denial of continuation of pay after late COVID-19 claim (ECAB 23-0273)
A federal correctional officer reported contracting COVID-19 while supervising inmates and missed work. OWCP later accepted his injury claim, but denied continuation of pay because he filed the required injury form more than 30 days after the injury date. The Board treated the reported last…
D.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, St. Cloud VA Medical Center, St. Cloud, MN
Board upholds finding that VA worker abandoned hearing request (ECAB 23-0228)
A VA boiler plant operator requested a hearing after OWCP denied his back and shoulder injury claim. OWCP mailed him notice of a telephone hearing, but he did not attend or ask to reschedule within 10 days. The Board found the notice properly addressed and mailed, and upheld OWCP's determination…
T.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Rockville Post Office, Rockville, MD
Board upholds denial of postal worker's wage-loss claim (ECAB 23-0201)
A postal sales and distribution associate injured her back when a container fell on her at work. OWCP accepted a lower back strain, but she sought wage-loss compensation for periods beginning April 14, 2021. The Board found her doctor's disability reports lacked objective findings and a reasoned…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Complex, Yazoo City, Mississippi and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1013, Council of Prison Locals 33
FCC Yazoo City and AFGE Local 1013 (FLRA 0-AR-5858): Authority upholds retaliation finding over cease-and-desist notice
A federal prison employee reported that a supervisor had berated and physically confronted him in front of inmates. The agency then directed the employee to avoid contact with the supervisor and stop communicating about the alleged misconduct. An arbitrator found that the notice retaliated against…
L.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Madera, CA
Board upholds denial of postal carrier's left knee claim (ECAB 23-0480)
A postal carrier reported sharp knee pain after stepping out of his truck while delivering mail. OWCP accepted that the incident happened on July 2, 2021 but denied the claim for lack of sufficient medical proof that it caused his meniscal condition. The Board found one surgeon's causation opinion…
S.V. and Department of the Army, Research Development & Engineering Command, Fort Mammoth, NJ
Board upholds termination of Army worker's long-running back benefits (ECAB 23-0474)
An Army mason helper had received compensation for a back injury from 1975. OWCP later sought to end wage-loss and medical benefits after its physician and the worker's physician disagreed about whether accepted conditions remained active. An impartial orthopedic examiner concluded that the…
A.F., Executrix of the Estate of J.M., and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, Pittsburgh, PA
Board orders proper debt procedure for deceased postal worker's estate (ECAB 23-0401)
OWCP said it had failed to withhold life insurance premiums from a postal worker's compensation for many years and assessed an $11,048.21 overpayment against his estate. His daughter, acting as executrix, appealed the decision. The Board found no record that OWCP had followed its required referral…
I.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Kingsbridge Station, Bronx, NY
Board orders explanation of late reconsideration denial (ECAB 23-0329)
A postal carrier sought reconsideration of a denied knee injury claim more than a year after OWCP's last merit decision. She argued that her physician had sent a timely request, but the Board found the physician was not authorized to request reconsideration for her. The Board agreed her own request…
F.P. and Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration, Farmingdale, NY
Board upholds denial of cemetery caretaker's back injury claim (ECAB 23-0274)
A VA cemetery caretaker reported leg and back pain after losing his footing while reaching for tools at work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the injury claim for lack of medical evidence connecting the diagnosed back condition to it. The Board found that his physician's reports…
A.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Decatur Main Post Office, Decatur, GA
Board upholds recovery of postal carrier's extra schedule award payment (ECAB 23-0197)
A postal carrier received an extra schedule award payment of $3,766.15 after OWCP had already paid his right-arm impairment award. The Board agreed that the payment was an overpayment for which he was not at fault. He requested a waiver and reported monthly income exceeding his ordinary expenses by…
J.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Boyceville Post Office, Boyceville, WI
Board upholds denial of postal carrier's forearm tendinitis claim (ECAB 23-0159)
A rural postal carrier associate developed pain and swelling in both forearms after returning to repetitive mail handling duties. OWCP accepted the work duties she described but denied the occupational disease claim. The Board found that her physicians attributed tendinitis to those duties without…
In the Matter of A.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Columbus, OH
Board approves $2,250 attorney fee for two postal worker appeals (ECAB 17-0035)
An attorney sought approval of fees for representing a postal worker in two earlier Board appeals. The Board had denied a $10,050 petition because it could not separate work before OWCP from work before the Board. Counsel submitted a revised petition for nine hours of Board work at $250 per hour…
In the Matter of A.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Columbus, OH
Board approves $2,250 attorney fee for two postal worker appeals (ECAB 13-0266)
An attorney sought approval of fees for representing a postal worker in two earlier Board appeals. The Board had denied a $10,050 petition because it could not separate work before OWCP from work before the Board. Counsel submitted a revised petition for nine hours of Board work at $250 per hour…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL v. A&M Labor Management, Inc.
Uninsured-worker penalties increased to $20,040
A&M Labor Management transported 18 agricultural workers in a company bus, but eight lacked workers' compensation coverage because A&M had not submitted their hiring documents to its payroll and insurance provider. A&M had also declined passenger liability coverage, so those eight workers were…
Secretary of Labor obo Victor Torres v. W. G. Yates & Sons Construction Company
Tolling issue required meaningful notice
Victor Torres alleged that W.G. Yates & Sons laid him off after he raised a safety concern, refused work he believed was unsafe, and photographed the incident for a report. A Judge found the discrimination complaint non-frivolous but tolled temporary reinstatement because layoffs had left no…
Aggrey Taremwa v. Reed International, Incorporated and Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania
Taremwa v. Reed International (BRB 22-0200): employer-paid attorney fee denial affirmed
Aggrey Taremwa sustained left arm and elbow injuries while working for Reed International at Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan. After a judge awarded permanent partial disability benefits, his attorney requested $154,964.49 in fees and costs from the employer. The judge denied that request, and…
Dickerson v. Iteris, Inc.
Late FedEx petition accepted through equitable tolling
Michael Dickerson gave Federal Express his SOX petition on the filing deadline, but the Board received it two days later. The governing rule treats private-carrier delivery as filed upon receipt, unlike a mailed petition, which is filed on its postmark date. During the earlier hearing, however, the…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL v. Butler Amusements, Inc.
H-2B job-classification violations affirmed
Butler Amusements obtained certification for seasonal H-2B amusement attendants at its traveling carnival. The Wage and Hour Division found that nine workers instead served as supervisors, maintenance-shop workers, or commercial drivers and were paid less than the prevailing wages for those jobs…
P.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Perry Point VA Medical Center, Perry Point, MD
Board upholds denial of nurse's left ankle injury claim (ECAB 23-0449)
A nurse at a VA medical center reported injuring her left ankle while reaching to untangle oxygen tubing at work. OWCP accepted that the December 26, 2019 incident occurred but denied the claim because the medical evidence did not establish that it caused a diagnosed left ankle condition. The Board…
D.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Milwaukee, WI
Board upholds denial of late overpayment hearing request (ECAB 23-0349)
A postal mechanic asked for a hearing after OWCP issued a preliminary determination of an overpayment tied to overlapping FECA and retirement benefits. The hearing request was dated September 22, 2022, more than 30 days after OWCP's August 22 notice. No postmarked envelope or other carrier marking…
A.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Coppell, TX
Board upholds six percent shoulder impairment award for postal worker (ECAB 23-0335)
A postal city carrier assistant sought a larger schedule award after an accepted shoulder injury and surgery. Her physician calculated five percent left arm impairment using a diagnosis-based method and six percent using range of motion. OWCP's medical adviser agreed that the six percent rating was…
C.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Belleville Annex, Belleville, NJ
Board upholds denial of postal carrier's hip and back claim (ECAB 23-0330)
A postal city carrier attributed right hip and lower back conditions to pushing mail hampers, loading a truck, and other repetitive work. OWCP accepted the duties she described but denied the occupational disease claim. Her surgeon said those duties stressed her hip and back, yet the Board found he…
A.F. and U.S. Postal Service, North Metro Georgia Processing & Distribution Center, Duluth, GA
Board upholds 21 percent leg impairment award for postal worker (ECAB 23-0325)
A postal mail handler sought a larger schedule award after an accepted left knee injury and later knee replacement. Her physician rated the left leg at 21 percent permanent impairment, and OWCP's medical adviser agreed after applying the sixth edition of the AMA impairment guide. The Board found…
A.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Palatine Processing and Distribution Center, Palatine, IL
Board upholds termination of postal processor's back benefits (ECAB 23-0230)
A postal mail processor received benefits for conditions accepted after a 2007 lifting injury. OWCP ended wage-loss and medical benefits after a second-opinion physician found no objective signs of the accepted conditions and said she could return to her original job. The Board found that opinion…
J.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Los Angeles International Service Center, Los Angeles, CA
Board upholds denial of mail handler's wage-loss claims (ECAB 23-0215)
A postal mail handler assistant was struck from behind by a carrier and OWCP accepted bilateral Achilles tendinitis. He sought wage-loss compensation for periods beginning the day of the incident. His physician said he could not work but did not sufficiently explain how the accepted condition…
R.L. and Department of the Air Force, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma City, OK
Board upholds recovery schedule for Air Force worker's overpayment (ECAB 23-0110)
An Air Force information receptionist had received an overpayment when OWCP did not offset Social Security retirement benefits against her FECA wage-loss compensation. An earlier Board decision upheld the $20,808.44 debt but sent the waiver question back because OWCP had overlooked her response. On…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Mining Company LLC
Interlocutory review was granted
The Administrative Law Judge certified questions for interlocutory review before issuing a final decision in the case. Commission Rule 76 permits this early review when a ruling presents a controlling legal question and immediate review would materially advance the proceeding. The Commission found…
David M. Phillips v. Island Creek Coal Company
Phillips v. Island Creek Coal (BRB 23-0034): Black Lung award affirmed
David Phillips was awarded Black Lung benefits after a judge credited 22.9 years of underground coal mine work and found a totally disabling respiratory impairment. Those findings triggered the statutory presumption that his disability was due to pneumoconiosis. Island Creek argued that its…
Genevieve Osborne v. Elkay Mining Company
Osborne v. Elkay Mining (BRB 22-0518): miner and survivor benefits affirmed
Genevieve Osborne pursued her late husband's miner claim and her own survivor claim. His qualifying coal mine work and total respiratory disability triggered a presumption that his disability was caused by pneumoconiosis. The Board upheld the judge's decision to discount doctors who attributed his…
Genevieve Osborne (on behalf of and widow of Roy E. Osborne) v. Elkay Mining Company
Osborne v. Elkay Mining (BRB 22-0487 and 22-0518): miner and survivor awards affirmed
Genevieve Osborne pursued her late husband's Black Lung claim and her own survivor's claim. A judge found that Roy Osborne's qualifying coal mine work and disabling lung condition triggered the statutory presumption of disability due to pneumoconiosis. The Board upheld the judge's rejection of the…
Rhonda Morgan v. Sea B Mining Company
Morgan v. Sea B Mining (BRB 22-0455): miner and survivor awards affirmed
Rhonda Morgan pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor claim. The Board agreed that the judge should have considered Dr. Vey's report in the miner claim, but found the mistake harmless because the judge had weighed and rejected the same report in the survivor claim. The…
Rhonda Morgan (widow of Steve Morgan) v. Sea “B” Mining Company
Morgan v. Sea “B” Mining (BRB 22-0454 and 22-0455 BLA): miner and survivor awards affirmed
Rhonda Morgan pursued her late husband Steve's black lung claim and her own survivor claim. The administrative law judge found that Steve had complicated pneumoconiosis from coal mine work and awarded miner benefits under the irrebuttable presumption of total disability due to the disease. Sea “B”…
Charles F. Swan v. Heritage Coal Company, LLC and Peabody Energy Corporation
Swan v. Heritage Coal (BRB 22-0203 BLA): benefits and Peabody carrier liability affirmed
Charles Swan filed a subsequent black lung claim after at least 18 years of surface coal mine work with regular dust exposure. The administrative law judge found a totally disabling respiratory impairment, applied the fifteen-year presumption, and awarded benefits against Heritage Coal and its…
Freda Combs v. Lance Coal Corporation
Combs v. Lance Coal (BRB 22-0108): modified miner award and survivor benefits affirmed
Freda Combs pursued her late husband's black lung claim and her own survivor claim. The Board upheld a judge's reconsideration of the evidence on modification and his finding that an earlier denial rested on a mistake of fact. It affirmed the judge's decision to credit a doctor who found that coal…
Freda Combs (widow of Virgil Combs) v. Lance Coal Corporation and R&B Falcon Corporation
Combs v. Lance Coal (BRB 22-0107 and 22-0108 BLA): miner and survivor awards affirmed
Freda Combs pursued her late husband Virgil's black lung claim and her own survivor claim. Virgil had about six years of coal mine work, so the fifteen-year presumption did not apply. On modification, the administrative law judge found a mistake in the earlier denial, credited a doctor's opinion…
Tommy Shupe (on behalf of Helen L. Shupe, deceased widow of George G. Shupe) v. Consolidation Coal Company
Shupe v. Consolidation Coal (BRB 22-0037 BLA): survivor benefits award affirmed
Helen Shupe sought survivor benefits after the death of her husband George, who had at least 17 years of underground coal mine employment. Their son Tommy continued the claim as executor of Helen's estate after she died. An administrative law judge found George had a totally disabling respiratory…
M.M. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Colmery-O'Neil VA Medical Center, Topeka, KS
Board upholds denial of VA custodial worker's injury claim (ECAB 23-0475)
A VA custodial worker reported bruising her ribs after a fall at work on February 8, 2021. OWCP accepted that the fall occurred but denied the claim because the evidence did not establish a diagnosed condition caused by it. The Board found that the submitted progress note came from a nurse and…
D.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tampa, FL
Board upholds denial of rural carrier's right foot injury claim (ECAB 23-0356)
A rural carrier reported right foot pain after stepping out of her postal vehicle at work. OWCP accepted that the September 27, 2022 incident occurred, but the medical reports diagnosing a foot sprain came from nurse practitioners. The Board held that nurse practitioners are not physicians under…
S.C. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Jamaica, NY
Board upholds denial of right hand condition claim (ECAB 23-0234)
A Customs and Border Protection information technology specialist reported right hand symptoms after keyboarding and using computer repair tools at work. Doctors diagnosed trigger fingers, but two reports did not address whether work caused the condition. A third doctor said the condition appeared…
J.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Marinette Post Office, Marinette, WI
Board remands timely request to reconsider ankle claim expansion (ECAB 23-0231)
A former postal carrier sought to add cervical spine and right upper extremity conditions to her accepted ankle injury claim. OWCP denied reconsideration because it treated a later status inquiry as the filing date and called the request late. The Board found that her March 18, 2022 reconsideration…
E.A. and U.S. Postal Service, San Francisco Network Distribution Center, Richmond, CA
Board remands calculation of FECA and Social Security overpayment (ECAB 23-0183)
A postal custodian received FECA wage loss compensation while also receiving Social Security age related retirement benefits attributable to federal service. The Board found that concurrent payments without the appropriate offset created an overpayment covering November 1, 2011 through April 24…
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.