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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American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1622, AFL-CIO (Union) and Department of the Army, Fort Meade, Maryland (Activity)
Fort Meade work-hours proposal found negotiable (FLRA 0-NG-128)
A union at Fort Meade proposed that bargaining unit employees’ hours of work not be reduced without just cause. The Army argued the proposal intruded on management’s discretion over staffing assignments. The Authority found that the proposal set a general standard for reviewing a later reduction in…
Secretary of Labor v. South Dakota Cement Plant
South Dakota Cement Plant (FMSHRC CENT 80-297-M): One citation withdrawn and one settled
MSHA sought penalties against South Dakota Cement Plant on two citations. The Secretary moved to withdraw Citation No. 329618 because its alleged violation had not occurred. The operator agreed to pay the proposed $78 penalty on Citation No. 330611 and withdrew its contest. Judge Joseph B. Kennedy…
Secretary of Labor v. Madison Granite Company
Madison Granite (FMSHRC WEST 79-323-M): Default penalty ordered after missed hearing
MSHA sought civil penalties against Madison Granite for its crushed granite operation. The company's counsel missed the scheduled hearing because it was absent from his calendar, despite receiving the hearing notice. After giving the company a chance to show cause, Assistant Chief Administrative…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of David Pasula v. Consolidation Coal Company
Pasula v. Consolidation Coal (FMSHRC PITT 78-458): Miner’s safety refusal protected
Consolidation Coal fired continuous mining machine operator David Pasula after he refused to keep using a noisy machine that caused him pain and asked for a noise reading. The Commission held that his good faith, reasonable refusal was protected under the Mine Act even though an arbitrator had…
Secretary of Labor v. John R. Sand and Gravel
John R. Sand and Gravel (FMSHRC LAKE 80-158-M): Unguarded machine part citation upheld
MSHA cited John R. Sand and Gravel for an unguarded moving machine part at its sand and gravel pit. Chief Administrative Law Judge James A. Broderick found a violation but considered the chance of injury remote and found no proof of operator negligence. The operator missed several abatement…
Secretary of Labor v. Shirley's Sand, Inc.
Shirley's Sand (FMSHRC CENT 80-85-M): Loader brake citation settled for $275
MSHA cited Shirley's Sand because an end loader at its sand pit had inadequate brakes. The operator stipulated that he knew the brakes were not working. The parties agreed to a $275 penalty, and the operator agreed not to use the loader while its brakes remained defective. Judge Forrest E. Stewart…
Secretary of Labor v. Atlantic Cement Company, Inc.
Atlantic Cement (FMSHRC YORK 79-10-M): Three citations vacated, other penalties assessed
MSHA brought two penalty cases against Atlantic Cement over conditions at its Ravena Quarry and Plant. Judge Gary Melick approved settlements on uncontested citations and assessed penalties on contested guarding, vehicle, electrical, and fire protection citations. He vacated one citation over…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Bobby D. Smith v. Mullin Creek Coal Co., Inc., and Kenneth Stanley
Bobby D. Smith v. Mullin Creek Coal (FMSHRC KENT 80-102-D): Reinstatement and backpay settlement approved
The Secretary alleged that Mullin Creek Coal and Kenneth Stanley discriminated against miner Bobby D. Smith after he exercised rights under the Mine Act. Smith had been temporarily reinstated while the complaint was pending. At the hearing, the Secretary conceded that the evidence did not support a…
Matter of Seda
Georgia first-offender statute prevented conviction for immigration purposes
The Board reviewed a Kenyan student's appeal after an immigration judge denied voluntary departure based on a guilty plea to first-degree forgery and the respondent's overstay. The Board held that Georgia's first-offender statute, which deferred adjudication and provided for discharge without a…
Secretary of Labor v. Derby Granite, Inc.
Derby Granite (FMSHRC WILK 79-24-PM): Four quarry safety citations upheld
MSHA cited Derby Granite for unguarded hoist gears, exposed electrical connections, an unsecured gas cylinder, and a mill foreman working without safety glasses. The company did not appear at the hearing, but Judge George A. Koutras considered the inspector's testimony and evidence on the merits…
Secretary of Labor v. Kanawha Coal Company
Kanawha Coal (FMSHRC WEVA 80-40): ALJ decision affirmed in three dockets
This Commission decision concerns three dockets involving Kanawha Coal Company. The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's decision for the reasons stated in its separate Alabama By-Products Corp. decision. This short release does not describe the underlying citations, the judge's…
Secretary of Labor v. Kanawha Coal Company and Beckley Coal Mining Company
Kanawha Coal and Beckley Coal Mining (FMSHRC WEVA 80-150): ALJ decision affirmed
This Commission decision concerns proceedings involving Kanawha Coal Company and Beckley Coal Mining Company. The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's decision for the reasons given in its separate Alabama By-Products Corp. decision. This short release does not describe the underlying…
Secretary of Labor v. Eastern Associated Coal Corporation
Eastern Associated Coal (FMSHRC WEVA 79-117-R): Withdrawal order contest restored for prompt hearing
Eastern Associated Coal contested an MSHA withdrawal order, but the judge dismissed its contest without prejudice pending a related penalty case that had not yet been filed. The Commission held that the judge had given notice of a possible stay, not a dismissal, and therefore had not given the…
Climax Molybdenum Company v. Secretary of Labor
Climax Molybdenum (FMSHRC WEST 79-24-M): Imminent danger order vacated, ground-control citation upheld
MSHA issued an imminent danger withdrawal order and a ground-control citation after inspectors saw loose material on a highwall above contractors working at Climax Molybdenum's mine. Judge George A. Koutras found that the inspectors' observations did not establish an impending accident likely to…
Secretary of Labor v. Republic Steel Corporation
Republic Steel (FMSHRC PENN 80-56-R): Withdrawal order contests returned to judge
Republic Steel contested two MSHA withdrawal orders. The judge dismissed the contests without prejudice after Republic agreed to wait for the related penalty petitions. The Commission held that a continuance, rather than dismissal, was the proper way to postpone these withdrawal order contests. It…
Secretary of Labor v. Old Ben Coal Company
Old Ben Coal (FMSHRC LAKE 79-238): ALJ decision affirmed across thirteen dockets
This Commission decision covers thirteen dockets involving Old Ben Coal Company. The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's decision for the reasons stated in its separate Alabama By-Products Corp. decision. This short release does not describe the underlying citations, the judge's…
Secretary of Labor v. Alabama By-Products Corporation
Alabama By-Products (FMSHRC SE 79-33): Respirable dust standard held enforceable
MSHA sought penalties against Alabama By-Products for thirteen alleged violations of the respirable coal dust limit. The judge vacated the citations after finding the standard unenforceable because the sampling devices had not been newly approved under the 1977 Mine Act. The Commission held that…
Matter of Levy
Haitian legitimation law required further review
The Board reviewed a visa petition for the petitioner's unmarried daughter, who was born out of wedlock in Haiti. The District Director denied the petition because the beneficiary had not been shown to be legitimated under Haitian or New York law. The Board found that a 1959 Haitian Presidential…
Secretary of Labor v. Olga Coal Company
Olga Coal (FMSHRC HOPE 79-113-P): Dust citation restored for settlement or merits review
MSHA alleged that Olga Coal violated the respirable dust limit and later proposed a settlement. Without asking the parties to address the issue, the judge rejected the settlement, declared the standard unenforceable, vacated the citation, and dismissed the case. The Commission held that the judge…
Consolidation Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor
Consolidation Coal (FMSHRC WEVA 80-116-R): One withdrawal order vacated, another upheld
Consolidation Coal contested two withdrawal orders and a citation over roof bolts spaced beyond its approved plan at the Shoemaker Mine. Judge James A. Laurenson upheld the first failure-to-abate withdrawal order because the company had installed only a small portion of the required bolts before…
Secretary of Labor v. Cambria Coal Company
Cambria Coal (FMSHRC PITT 76-108-P): Highwall citation and penalties affirmed
Cambria Coal appealed an ALJ decision assessing penalties for twelve violations found after a 1975 inspection. The case began under the 1969 Coal Act and was transferred to the Commission after the 1977 Mine Act took effect. Cambria challenged the judge's use of its parent company's size, the…
Secretary of Labor v. Brady's Bend Corporation
Brady's Bend (FMSHRC PENN 79-70-M): Judge's request to revise settlement ruling denied
An ALJ approved some proposed penalty settlements involving Brady's Bend but rejected others and assessed higher penalties. After the operator protested and supplied additional facts, the judge asked the Commission for leave to issue a new decision approving the original full settlement. The…
Climax Molybdenum Company v. Secretary of Labor
Climax Molybdenum (FMSHRC DENV 79-102-M): Dust citations vacated with prejudice
Climax Molybdenum contested four MSHA citations alleging inadequate controls for silica-bearing dust. After discovery, the Secretary found that he could not prove the alleged violations and vacated the citations. The Commission held that vacating a contested citation did not automatically remove…
Secretary of Labor v. J. Santoro, Inc.
J. Santoro (FMSHRC WILK 79-103-PM): $700 settlement approved for two citations
J. Santoro, Inc. operated a small sand and gravel pit and plant. MSHA sought penalties after an inspector found equipment still in use despite withdrawal orders arising from guarding and rollover protection citations. At a hearing, the parties proposed settling both citations for the full amount…
Tolbert Whitt et al. v. Itmann Coal Company
Whitt et al. v. Itmann Coal (FMSHRC WEVA 80-321-D): Settlement interpretation confirmed
Six complainants and Itmann Coal had settled a mine discrimination case. Three complainants then sought payments from Itmann equal to unemployment benefits that West Virginia had denied them. Judge Joseph B. Kennedy held that their settlement had not imposed that obligation on Itmann and that the…
Secretary of Labor v. Mulzer Crushed Stone Co.
Mulzer Crushed Stone (FMSHRC LAKE 80-201-M): Citation and $75 penalty reaffirmed on remand
Mulzer Crushed Stone contested a safety citation at its Derby underground quarry. The Commission returned the case to Judge George A. Koutras because he had issued his first decision before Mulzer filed its post-hearing brief. After reading the brief, the judge found that it repeated arguments he…
Secretary of Labor v. Aggregate Materials Corporation
Aggregate Materials (FMSHRC LAKE 80-152-M): Electrical citation upheld, machine citation vacated
Aggregate Materials operated a sand and gravel mine in Michigan. Chief Judge James A. Broderick found that an uncovered electrical box violated 30 C.F.R. § 56.12-32 and assessed a $50 penalty. He found that the machine in a second citation was not a stationary grinding machine, so its lack of a…
Martin County Coal Corporation
Training citation vacated, discrimination complaint granted
Martin County Coal barred a nonemployee miners' representative from observing training classes at its mine. Judge Richard C. Steffey vacated a training program citation and related withdrawal order because the Secretary had not proved a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 48.3. He nonetheless found that the…
Matter of McMullen
Irish persecution claims did not qualify for relief
The Board reviewed the Service's appeal from an immigration judge's grant of asylum and withholding of deportation to a British citizen born in Northern Ireland. The respondent feared harm from the Provisional Irish Republican Army and persecution by Irish authorities because of his former…
Itmann Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor
Itmann Coal (FMSHRC WEVA 80-132-R): Imminent danger withdrawal order upheld
An MSHA inspector found a miner cleaning between moving conveyor pulleys at Itmann Coal Company's No. 3 Mine with the guard removed. The miner stepped away when he saw the inspector, but admitted he had cleaned the area that way before. Itmann challenged the resulting imminent danger withdrawal…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 4, AFL-CIO (Union) and Office of Personnel Management, St. Louis Region, St. Louis, Missouri (Agency)
OPM performance-evaluation bargaining appeal dismissed (FLRA O-NG-97)
A union sought bargaining over performance-evaluation proposals at the Office of Personnel Management’s St. Louis region. The agency withdrew its statutory nonnegotiability allegation, leaving a dispute over what the parties’ agreement required. The Authority held that the contract dispute belonged…
American Federation of Government Employees, National Council of EEOC Locals, AFL-CIO (Union) and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (Agency)
EEOC performance-requirements appeal dismissed (FLRA O-NG-59)
A union challenged proposed EEOC performance requirements after asking to bargain over their impact. The Authority found no specific proposal on which to decide negotiability. The agency agreed that impact and implementation procedures were bargainable, while the parties disputed whether an agency…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R12-40 (Union) and Naval Ship Weapon Systems Engineering Station, Port Hueneme, California (Activity)
Navy safety-shoe bargaining appeal dismissed as moot (FLRA O-NG-334)
A Navy station in Port Hueneme asserted that a union proposal to subsidize approved safety shoes was outside its duty to bargain. After the union appealed, the agency withdrew that allegation. The Authority found there was no live negotiability dispute and dismissed the petition as moot without…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1858, AFL-CIO (Union) and Army Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama (Activity)
Redstone Arsenal negotiability appeal dismissed after late disapproval (FLRA O-NG-268)
A union and Redstone Arsenal executed an agreement and submitted it for agency head review. The agency served its disapproval on the thirty-first day, after the statutory review period. The Authority held the agreement had already taken effect, so the disapproval presented no negotiability dispute…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 547, AFL-CIO (Union) and Veterans Administration Medical Center, Tampa, Florida (Activity)
Tampa VA grievance procedures found negotiable (FLRA O-NG-145)
A union proposed grievance procedure terms at the Tampa VA medical center, including exclusions, consequences for missed agency deadlines, and stays of challenged personnel actions. The VA claimed the terms conflicted with management rights or governing regulations. The Authority found all three…
National Treasury Employees Union (Union) and Department of the Treasury, U.S. Customs Service, Washington, DC (Activity)
Customs uniform bargaining appeal dismissed without prejudice (FLRA O-NG-144)
The National Treasury Employees Union challenged a Customs Service uniform requirement for officers attending a training center. The parties disputed whether Customs had changed an existing policy and refused to bargain. The Authority held that this factual unfair labor practice dispute was…
American Federation of Government Employees Local 3669, AFL-CIO (Union) and Veterans Administration Medical Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota (Activity)
Minneapolis VA discipline proposals found negotiable (FLRA O-NG-142)
A union at the Minneapolis VA medical center proposed procedures for disciplinary and adverse actions, including notice, response, and access to documents. The VA asserted that its special statutory discipline process for certain medical staff foreclosed bargaining. The Authority found the…
American Federation of Government Employees, International Council of U.S. Marshals Service Locals (Union) and Department of Justice, U.S. Marshals Service (Agency)
Marshals Service proposals split on negotiability (FLRA O-NG-117)
A union proposed firearms practice terms, temporary promotions for higher grade details, and guidelines for lateral transfers at the U.S. Marshals Service. The Authority found the firearms practice requirement interfered with management’s right to assign work and that the separate personal firearm…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2, AFL-CIO (Union) and Department of the Army, Military District of Washington (Agency)
Army merit-promotion proposal partly negotiable (FLRA O-NG-107)
A union sought to apply merit-promotion procedures to positions for which its bargaining unit employees were eligible. The Army argued that positions outside the unit were beyond its duty to bargain. The Authority ordered bargaining to the extent the proposal covered positions within the bargaining…
National Council of Field Labor Locals of the American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO (Union) and United States Department of Labor (Activity)
Labor Department probationer arbitration bar set aside (FLRA O-AR-60)
A Department of Labor probationary employee grieved his separation. An arbitrator held the grievance nonarbitrable, reading the statutory exclusion for examination and appointment to cover probationary separation. The Authority held that the statute did not impose that exclusion and set aside the…
Veterans Administration Medical Center, Dayton, Ohio (Activity) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2209 (Union)
Dayton VA arbitration exceptions dismissed as late (FLRA O-AR-142)
A union filed exceptions to a Dayton VA medical center arbitration award dated August 19, 1980. The Authority’s filing rule set September 17 as the deadline, but the union filed on September 22. The Authority dismissed the exceptions without reaching the award’s merits because it could not extend…
Bureau of the Public Debt (Activity) and National Treasury Employees Union (Union)
Public Debt arbitration exceptions dismissed as late (FLRA O-AR-141)
The Bureau of the Public Debt filed exceptions to an arbitration award dated August 21, 1980. Under the Authority’s filing rule, the exceptions were due September 19 but arrived September 22. The Authority said it could not extend or waive the filing period and dismissed the appeal without…
U.S. Army Finance and Accounting Center, Ft. Benjamin Harrison, Indiana (Activity) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1411, AFL-CIO (Union)
Army grievant’s arbitration exceptions dismissed (FLRA O-AR-121)
A grievant personally filed exceptions to an arbitration award involving an Army finance center. The Authority found that the union and agency, rather than the grievant, were parties to the arbitration. Its rules therefore did not permit him to file exceptions. It dismissed the filing without…
Secretary of Labor v. H. S. Jackson Sand & Gravel, Inc.
H. S. Jackson Sand & Gravel (FMSHRC CENT 80-259-M): Fall protection and accident reporting citations upheld
H. S. Jackson Sand & Gravel operated a small mine with three employees. H. S. Jackson fell from a shaker screen while working without a safety belt, and the operator did not immediately report the accident to MSHA. The parties stipulated that both cited requirements were violated and that the…
Department of Housing and Urban Development, San Francisco Area Office, San Francisco, California (Respondent) and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1450 (Charging Party)
HUD reprimand of union representative found unlawful (FLRA 9-CA-172)
A HUD area office in San Francisco reprimanded a union representative for conduct while she performed representational work. The administrative law judge found that the reprimand interfered with protected employee rights. With no exceptions filed, the Authority adopted the judge’s findings and…
Asarco, Inc., El Paso Division, Hughes Tool Company
Complaints required in regular proceedings
The Secretary did not file timely complaints after ASARCO and Hughes Tool contested OSHA citations. The judge treated the citations as the complaints and ordered the employers to answer. The Commission held that a citation and complaint are separate documents and that a complaint is mandatory in…
Asarco, Inc. El Paso Division Hughes Tool Company
Complaints required in regular proceedings
The Secretary did not file timely complaints after ASARCO and Hughes Tool contested OSHA citations. The judge treated the citations as the complaints and ordered the employers to answer. The Commission held that a citation and complaint are separate documents and that a complaint is mandatory in…
Austin Building Company
Gas-cylinder item affirmed and fall-protection issue remanded
Austin employees welded near an unguarded edge on top of a precipitator where a fall could be nearly 80 feet. OSHA also found an acetylene cylinder ready for use and an oxygen cylinder lying unsecured on the floor. The Commission held that the compressed-gas rule requires cylinders to remain…
Metropak Containers Corp.
Protected noise-study evidence excluded after unauthorized disclosure
The Secretary used a private expert to study engineering controls for a noise citation at Metropak's facility under an order limiting the information to the case. An OSHA compliance officer showed one of the protected reports to an area director, who disclosed it to a Metropak competitor. The judge…
Navajo Forest Products Industries
Tribal enterprise not subject to the OSH Act under Navajo treaty rights
Navajo Forest Products Industries was created and operated by the Navajo tribe on the reservation to develop timber resources, provide employment, and support tribal services. OSHA cited the enterprise after workplace inspections, and the parties agreed that it fit the Act's literal definition of…
Donald Harris, Inc.
Unguarded scaffold violation properly classified as repeated
OSHA found the company's foreman working on a scaffold about 15 feet high without a standard guardrail. Donald Harris argued that the citation should be vacated because it was not invited to join the inspection, but the Commission found no prejudice to its defense. The company had two earlier final…
Fleetwood Homes of Texas, Inc.
Movable assembly spanners classified as scaffolds
Fleetwood employees used aluminum spanners between mobile-home assembly decks to work on the ends of homes. The unguarded spanners were about four feet two inches and seven feet above the floor and were removed and repositioned every two hours as homes advanced through production. The Commission…
Brown & Root, Inc.
Falling-object hazard required stronger controls than a general work rule
Brown & Root employees removed heavy steel whalers from concrete forms 30 to 40 feet above other employees working near a spillway wall. An unsecured whaler fell and fatally struck a worker below. The Commission found that falling objects were a recognized construction hazard and that tying off the…
Electrical Constructors of America, Inc.
The trench had to be sloped before anyone climbed in, and a low chance of collapse cuts the penalty rather than the serious characterization
Decided by the Commission, Chairman Cleary with Commissioners Barnako and Cottine. The lead opinion is issued BY THE COMMISSION. Chairman Cleary filed a short separate concurrence. The release also reproduces in full the underlying decision of Administrative Law Judge James D. Burroughs, dated…
A. Prokosch & Sons Sheet Metal, Inc.; Mid-Hudson Automatic Sprinkler Company, Inc.
An advisory ANSI provision cannot support a violation, yet it still displaces the general duty clause
Decided by the Commission, Chairman Cleary with Commissioners Barnako and Cottine. Commissioner Cottine dissented in part. Counsel were Baruch A. Fellner of the Office of the Solicitor and Francis V. LaRuffa, Regional Solicitor, for the Secretary, with Dennis Paese and Paul A. Moore for the…
Mid-Continent Mapping Center, National Mapping Division, U.S. Geological Survey, Rolla, Missouri (Activity) and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1960 (Labor Organization/Petitioner)
Geological Survey mapping-center unit petitions dismissed (FLRA 7-RO-31)
A union proposed several bargaining units for Geological Survey employees connected with a mapping center in Rolla, Missouri. The activity opposed the proposed units. The Authority directly decided the petitions without reviewing a Regional Director decision and found that none of the proposed…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, 47th Air Base Group (ATC), Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 1749 (Charging Party)
Laughlin Air Force Base snack-bar complaint dismissed (FLRA 6-CA-144)
The union alleged that Laughlin Air Force Base bypassed it when discussing a bowling alley snack-bar closure with employees and withdrew an agreement about the closure. The administrative law judge found no violation on the record and recommended dismissing the complaint. The Authority adopted…
Veterans Administration Hospital, Danville, Illinois (Respondent) and Local 1963, American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO (Charging Party)
Danville VA contract suspension partly found unlawful (FLRA 5-CA-58, 5-CA-201)
A VA hospital in Danville suspended parts of its collective bargaining agreement following a work-stoppage dispute. The administrative law judge found several unfair labor practices. The Authority agreed that the hospital unlawfully refused to process grievances and required sick-leave…
U.S. Department of Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, Marine Corps Logistics Base, Albany, Georgia (Respondent) and Barbara M. Drake, Employee (Charging Party)
Marine Corps union-representation violation upheld (FLRA 4-CA-235)
A Marine Corps logistics base in Albany, Georgia denied an employee’s request for union representation at an interview that could lead to discipline. The administrative law judge found an unfair labor practice. With no exceptions filed, the Authority adopted that finding and ordered the base to…
Dayton Tire & Rubber Company (Division of the Firestone Tire & Rubber Company)
A machine has a point of operation wherever it works on material, and a proven violation can still carry no penalty
Decided by the Commission, Chairman Cleary with Commissioners Barnako and Cottine. The case came up under section 12(j) from the decision of Administrative Law Judge Louis G. LaVecchia. The company petitioned for discretionary review and Chairman Cleary granted the petition. The judge's decision is…
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.