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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Secretary of Labor v. Pocahontas Fuel Co. and Patsy Trucking Co.
Pocahontas Fuel and Patsy Trucking (FMSHRC VA 80-55): $300 contractor settlement approved
Patsy Trucking operated three coal trucks at Pocahontas Fuel's preparation plant without fire extinguishers, and one truck also lacked a working backup alarm. MSHA initially proposed $200 in total penalties. After the contractor was joined in the case, Judge Joseph B. Kennedy approved a $300…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 491, AFL-CIO (Union) and Veterans Administration Medical Center, Bath, New York (Agency)
Bath VA meal-policy bargaining appeal dismissed (FLRA O-NG-264)
A union disputed a Bath VA medical center policy ending free noontime meals for certain medical officers. The agency agreed to bargain over impact and implementation, but the union submitted no specific proposal for a negotiability ruling. The Authority found that the alleged unilateral change and…
Veterans Administration, Buffalo Regional Office (Activity) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3314, AFL-CIO (Union)
Buffalo VA arbitration exceptions and stay dismissed as late (FLRA O-AR-139)
The Buffalo VA regional office filed exceptions to an arbitration award dated August 13, 1980 and requested a stay. Its September 15 filing came after the September 11 deadline under the Authority’s thirty-day rule. The Authority dismissed both the exceptions and the stay request without reviewing…
Navy Exchange, Naval Amphibious Base (Activity) and AFGE Local 1625 (AFL-CIO) (Union)
Navy Exchange arbitration exception dismissed for lack of jurisdiction (FLRA O-AR-111)
A union filed an exception to an arbitration award involving a Navy Exchange. The Authority found the award concerned an adverse action covered by the statute’s separate review route. It dismissed the exception because it lacked authority to review that category of award, leaving the award’s merits…
Secretary of Labor v. Mulzer Crushed Stone Company
Mulzer Crushed Stone (FMSHRC LAKE 80-201-M): Judge's early decision vacated for brief review
Mulzer Crushed Stone Company sought Commission review after a judge issued a decision in its penalty case before the deadline he had set for post-hearing briefs. The judge's order set September 15, 1980 as the deadline, but he decided the case on September 3. Mulzer submitted a brief on September…
Matter of Desai
Technical writing qualified as a profession
The Regional Commissioner reviewed a petition to employ an Indian technical publications writer under the third-preference immigrant classification. The beneficiary held degrees in mechanical engineering, journalism, and political science, and the approved labor certification required a…
Erie Mining Company v. Secretary of Labor
Erie Mining (FMSHRC DENV 79-23-M): Cable handling citation vacated for inadequate description
Erie Mining contested a citation alleging that workers moved high-voltage power cables without insulated hooks, tongs, ropes, or slings. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. first held that Erie filed its contest on time by delivering notice to the MSHA district director on the 30th day, although the…
Secretary of Labor v. Arkansas Lime Company
Arkansas Lime (FMSHRC CENT 79-213-M): Revised $1,102 settlement approved
MSHA proposed $2,350 in penalties for eight citations at Arkansas Lime Company's Limedale plant, mostly involving electrical equipment. The parties first proposed a $686 settlement, but Judge John F. Cook denied approval because the record did not sufficiently explain the reductions. At a later…
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Western Region, Department of the Treasury, San Francisco, California (Respondent) and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 81 (Charging Party)
ATF union negotiator official-time remedy modified (FLRA 9-CA-93)
A Treasury bureau’s Western Region denied official time and travel reimbursement to a union negotiator. The administrative law judge found an unfair labor practice and recommended relief. The Authority adopted the violation finding while clarifying the order’s terms for official time during regular…
Babcock & Wilcox Co.
Silica settlement approved subject to service on the union
OSHA cited excess respirable silica exposure for two foundry shakeout employees. The settlement reclassified the violations as other than serious, eliminated the $480 penalty, extended abatement to July 1, 1979, and required engineering controls, monitoring, reports, and respiratory protection. A…
United States Customs Service, Region V, New Orleans, Louisiana (Respondent) and National Treasury Employees Union and NTEU Chapter 168 (Complainant)
Customs aircraft-discrepancy bargaining order partly upheld (FLRA 64-4248(CA), 64-4250(CA), 64-4251(CA), 64-4252(CA))
Four complaints concerned Customs Service practices at an air support branch in New Orleans. The administrative law judge found some unfair labor practices and rejected other allegations. The Authority upheld a violation for changing aircraft-discrepancy reporting practices without bargaining, but…
North Carolina Air National Guard, Charlotte, North Carolina (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3001, AFL-CIO (Charging Party)
North Carolina Guard dues complaint dismissed (FLRA 4-CA-37)
A union challenged the North Carolina Air National Guard’s termination of dues allotments for two shop chiefs. The administrative law judge found that the chiefs were supervisors under the executive order governing this older case and recommended dismissal. The Authority adopted that finding and…
Secretary of Labor v. Hudson River Aggregates, Inc.
Hudson River Aggregates (FMSHRC YORK 80-13-M): Deteriorated conveyor citation upheld
Hudson River Aggregates contested a citation for using a sand conveyor with rusted and deteriorated supports at its quarry. Assistant Chief Judge Paul Merlin found that the defects affected safety under 30 C.F.R. § 56.9-2 even though the conveyor had other supports and had not reached the point of…
Richard J. Mullins v. Eastover Mining Company
Discharge complaint dismissed
Richard Mullins claimed Eastover Mining Company discharged him in violation of the Mine Act while he was working as a fire boss. The judge found that a foreman threatened to fire Mullins during an argument, but the mine superintendent said he would hear both sides before deciding what to do…
Secretary of Labor v. Paramount Mining Corporation
Paramount Mining Corporation (FMSHRC NORT 79-81-P): Roof citation upheld and methane monitor ruling reviewed
The judge resolved consolidated mine safety penalty cases against Paramount Mining Corporation. He upheld a contested roof control violation with a $750 penalty, approved settlements of other roof, ventilation, electrical equipment, and protective equipment citations, and assessed $3,775 in total…
Secretary of Labor v. Patco, Incorporated
Patco, Incorporated (FMSHRC KENT 80-34): Inspector access citation vacated
MSHA sought a $1,500 penalty after a former Patco employee swung at an inspector who came to the company's preparation plant. The inspector left and cited Patco for denying entry under the Mine Act. The judge found that the former employee was at the plant for personal reasons and had no authority…
Secretary of Labor v. Garrco Coal Company, Inc.
Garrco Coal Company, Inc. (FMSHRC KENT 79-37): Eight violations assessed at $1 each
Garrco Coal Company admitted eight mine safety violations across four penalty cases. The judge found that the small company had stopped mining after sustained losses and could not pay substantial penalties. The parties agreed that most violations were not serious; one roof support violation was…
Secretary of Labor v. Sewell Coal Company
Sewell Coal Company (FMSHRC HOPE 79-6-P): Default penalty order vacated after hearing conflict
Sewell Coal Company challenged a judge's refusal to postpone a hearing in two mine safety penalty cases. After asking the parties to propose hearing dates, the judge set a date that conflicted with another hearing already scheduled for Sewell's lawyer. Sewell's lawyer did not attend, and the judge…
Eastern Associated Coal Corp. v. Secretary of Labor
Eastern Associated Coal Corp. (FMSHRC HOPE 76-289): Accident withdrawal order shortened after remand
An inspector issued a withdrawal order after a suspected methane ignition at Eastern Associated Coal's Keystone No. 1 Mine. On remand from the Commission, the judge again found the order justified when issued but held it should have ended at 1 p.m., after the inspector's first safety investigation…
Secretary of Labor v. Paramont Mining Company
Paramont Mining Company (FMSHRC VA 79-51): Methane monitor violation sent back to judge
Paramont Mining Company was cited after an inspector found a continuous mining machine moving near the working face with its methane monitor bypassed. The judge held that the Secretary also had to prove coal was being mined, cut, or loaded at the time. The Commission rejected that requirement: an…
Secretary of Labor v. General Portland, Inc.
General Portland, Inc. (FMSHRC DENV 79-277-PM): Contractor safety violations upheld, windshield citation vacated
General Portland contested mine safety citations at its cement quarry and mill, including several involving independent contractors' employees. The judge held General Portland liable for the contractor violations issued before MSHA's July 1980 contractor citation policy took effect. He upheld…
American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO (Respondent) and U.S. Air Force, Air Force Logistics Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio (Charging Party)
Air Force charge against union dismissed (FLRA 5-CO-4)
An Air Force activity charged a union with unlawfully refusing to bargain over agency proposals that prescribed which union officials would handle bargaining and grievances. The Authority decided the case on a stipulated record, without a judge’s decision. It held the proposals intruded on the…
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard (Respondent) and Philadelphia Metal Trades Council (Complainant)
Philadelphia shipyard union access order expanded (FLRA 3-CA-29, 3-CA-57, 3-CA-300)
A Philadelphia naval shipyard barred a union negotiator from the base and refused to meet with the union elsewhere. The administrative law judge found unfair labor practices. The Authority adopted those findings but added a specific remedy for the refusal to meet off base. It ordered access…
Internal Revenue Service, Washington, DC and Internal Revenue Service, Hartford District Office (Respondents) and National Treasury Employees Union (Labor Organization)
IRS investigative-interview representation order upheld (FLRA 1-CA-77)
An IRS Hartford district office required a bargaining unit employee to attend an investigative interview without requested union representation. The administrative law judge found an unfair labor practice. The Authority adopted the judge’s findings despite IRS exceptions and ordered the agency to…
UMWA Local 9800 v. Secretary of Labor and Thomas Dupree
Motions to dismiss union complaint denied
UMWA Local 9800 alleged that an MSHA employee's discussion of a possible lawsuit interfered with its right to report concerns about mine inspections. MSHA sought dismissal and summary decision. Chief Judge James A. Broderick held that MSHA could be a “person” subject to the Mine Act's…
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Coal Company
Peabody Coal Company (FMSHRC KENT 80-103): $6,250 blasting warning settlement approved
Peabody Coal and MSHA agreed to settle a citation for failing to give adequate warning before a shot was fired at an underground mine. The decision says warning flares were not posted and a scoop operator was seriously injured. MSHA had proposed a $7,000 penalty; the parties agreed to $6,250. Judge…
Lutz, Daily & Brain-Consulting Engineers
Nearman asbestos case severed from Kaw Valley review
OSHA cited the engineering firm for not monitoring asbestos concentrations or posting warning signs at the Kaw Valley and Nearman Creek power-station projects. The judge consolidated the cases for hearing and vacated both citations. The Secretary sought Commission review of findings concerning Kaw…
Otis Elevator Company
Settled dockets severed from noise review
OSHA issued seven citations after inspecting Otis Elevator's Ohio iron foundry, and the resulting contests were consolidated. The parties settled most citations, the Secretary withdrew one remaining crane item, and the judge vacated a repeated noise citation after a hearing. The Secretary sought…
Darragh Company
Feed deliveries treated as exempt agricultural operations
Darragh contracted with farmers to raise its chickens and sent employees to deliver feed into bins on the farms. The drivers had to climb sixteen-to-eighteen-foot fixed ladders that did not meet several general industry ladder requirements. The Commission focused on the specific task that exposed…
R. Zoppo Co. Inc.
Excavation citation remains vacated without merits review
The judge vacated a citation alleging that R. Zoppo failed to protect excavation sides, slopes, and faces by accepted engineering methods. Neither party petitioned for review. Although review was directed on the excavation issue, the Secretary stated that the record was not an appropriate vehicle…
Secretary of Labor v. Central Pre-Mix Concrete Co.
Central Pre-Mix Concrete Co. (FMSHRC WEST 80-325-M): $254 silica dust and posting settlement approved
Central Pre-Mix Concrete and MSHA proposed a $254 settlement for four silica dust exposure violations and one failure to post violation at the Pasco Pit. The judge noted that the measured dust levels exceeded threshold limit values but that MSHA had not supplied a meaningful evaluation of the…
Matter of Bader
Canadian fraud conviction supported deportability
The Board reviewed a deportability finding based on a Canadian conviction for conspiracy to defraud the public. It held that the offense involved moral turpitude because intent to defraud was a required element and that a conspiracy to commit a morally turpitudinous offense also involved moral…
Ranger Fuel Corporation v. Secretary of Labor
Ranger Fuel Corporation (FMSHRC WEVA 79-217-R): Withdrawal order vacated over spot inspection pay
MSHA cited Ranger Fuel after it did not pay a miner for accompanying an inspector on a spot inspection, then issued a withdrawal order when the citation was not abated. The judge applied Commission rulings that walkaround pay was required for regular inspections, not spot inspections. Because the…
Consolidation Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor
Consolidation Coal Company (FMSHRC PENN 80-254-R): Coal accumulation citation stands, withdrawal order vacated
Consolidation Coal contested an accumulation citation and a related withdrawal order at its Renton Mine. After MSHA removed the unwarrantable failure designation, the company withdrew its citation contest, leaving the underlying 30 C.F.R. § 75.400 violation in place. The judge separately found that…
Secretary of Labor v. Quarto Mining Company, Nacco Mining Company, and The North American Coal Corporation
Quarto Mining, Nacco Mining, and North American Coal (FMSHRC LAKE 79-119): Dust plan citations vacated
The judge consolidated eight penalty cases involving a dust control plan provision used by Quarto Mining, Nacco Mining, and The North American Coal Corporation. He found the requirement to control “excessive” roadway dust too vague to enforce because the term had no clear meaning in the plan. He…
Secretary of Labor v. United States Steel Corporation
United States Steel Corporation (FMSHRC WEVA 80-466): $75 penalty for loose rib violation
This decision set the civil penalty for a loose rib violation at United States Steel's Gary District No. 2 Mine. In an earlier related decision, the judge vacated the withdrawal order itself as improperly issued under section 104(d)(1), while finding a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.202. He found the…
Consolidation Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor
Consolidation Coal Company (FMSHRC WEVA 80-224-R): Coal dust accumulation citation affirmed
Consolidation Coal contested a citation for coal and coal dust accumulations along operating conveyor belts at its McElroy Mine. The judge credited the inspector's measurements and a miner representative's observations over the company's account. He found that the accumulations violated 30 C.F.R. §…
Secretary of Labor v. Federal American Partners
Federal American Partners (FMSHRC WEST 80-197-M): $536 settlement for nineteen violations approved
Federal American Partners faced proposed penalties of $1,046 for nineteen mine safety violations at its mill. An assessment conference reduced the proposed total to $536, and the parties submitted that amount for approval. Judge Joseph B. Kennedy found that the earlier reduction had accounted for…
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1186, AFL-CIO (Union) and Navy Public Works Center, Pearl Harbor, Honolulu, Hawaii (Activity)
Navy disciplinary-interview proposal found negotiable (FLRA O-NG-31)
A Pearl Harbor Navy public works union proposed procedures for discussions that might lead to employee discipline, including a requested union steward and notice that the employee could speak or remain silent. The Navy asserted that the terms infringed management rights. The Authority held the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1884, AFL-CIO (Union) and Defense Mapping Agency, Hydrographic Topographic Center, Providence, Rhode Island (Agency)
Defense Mapping Agency promotion proposal found negotiable (FLRA O-NG-25)
A union proposed that a Defense Mapping Agency center in Providence first consider local employees and voluntary applicants within the agency for vacant positions. The agency said the proposal interfered with its right to select candidates. The Authority found that the proposal governed…
Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (Union) and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration (Agency)
FAA promotion proposals split on negotiability (FLRA O-NG-112)
An air traffic controllers union proposed changes to promotion eligibility, promotion timing, and facility reclassification at the FAA. The Authority rejected the first proposal because it conflicted with governmentwide time-in-grade regulations. It found the other two proposals negotiable and…
Secretary of Labor v. Leslie Coal Mining Company
Leslie Coal Mining Company (FMSHRC KENT 79-51): Mixed ventilation and dust rulings with $415 penalties
The judge resolved four consolidated penalty cases against Leslie Coal Mining Company. He found a rock dusting violation and a ventilation separation violation, assessing $20 and $45 respectively. He dismissed a power connection citation because the company had followed its approved ventilation…
Veterans Administration Medical Center, Tucson, Arizona (Activity) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 495, AFL-CIO (Petitioner) and Nurses' Commission on Collective Bargaining, Arizona Nurses Association (Intervenor)
Tucson VA nurses representation election directed (FLRA 72-7853(RO))
Two unions sought to represent registered nurses at a Tucson VA medical center. A related case had clarified which nurse positions belonged in the unit. The Authority found the clarified unit appropriate and directed a secret-ballot election among eligible employees. This was an original election…
Services Employees' International Union, Local 556, AFL-CIO (Union) and Headquarters, 15th Air Base Wing (PACAF), Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii (Activity)
Hickam Air Force Base reduction-in-force appeal dismissed as moot (FLRA 0-NG-359)
A union challenged Hickam Air Force Base’s claim that a reduction-in-force proposal conflicted with an Air Force regulation. After the appeal, the agency withdrew the nonnegotiability allegation. The Authority found no live dispute over the proposal and dismissed the petition as moot without…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Larry D. Long v. Island Creek Coal Company and Langley & Morgan Corporation
Larry D. Long v. Island Creek Coal and Langley & Morgan (FMSHRC VA 79-81-D): Discrimination remedies ordered
The judge had found that Island Creek Coal Company and Langley & Morgan Corporation violated the Mine Act by reassigning miner Larry Long after protected activity. This later order set the remedies: $7,000 in penalties against Island Creek, $4,000 against Langley & Morgan, a cease and desist…
Secretary of Labor v. Baker Coal Company
Baker Coal Company (FMSHRC WEVA 80-284): $8,000 penalty for denying inspectors entry
Two MSHA inspectors went to Baker Coal Company's strip mine for a spot inspection. The judge found that owner Wayne Baker struck one inspector, who sustained a shoulder injury and missed six weeks of work, then ordered both inspectors off the property. Baker admitted denying them entry. The judge…
Matter of Hedrick
Overseas employment required for Schedule A certification
The Regional Commissioner reviewed a petition seeking sixth-preference immigrant classification for a Canadian financial executive employed by an international metal-cutting-equipment company. The company sought blanket labor certification under Schedule A, Group IV, based on the beneficiary's…
Secretary of Labor v. United Nuclear-Homestake Partners
United Nuclear-Homestake Partners (FMSHRC CENT 80-45-M): Radon exposure settlement approved
United Nuclear-Homestake Partners and MSHA proposed a settlement involving radon daughter exposure citations at the Section 25 Mine. The judge reviewed the statutory penalty factors and two letters from the operator about its ventilation and exposure monitoring practices. He approved the settlement…
John Wilson and Ronald Rummel v. Laurel Shaft Construction Company, Inc.
Wilson and Rummel v. Laurel Shaft Construction (FMSHRC PITT 72-23): Back pay without unemployment offset
A 1972 ruling had found that Laurel Shaft Construction unlawfully discharged John Wilson and Ronald Rummel under the 1969 Coal Mine Act. This later decision set the amounts owed after the parties stipulated to damages. The judge held that state unemployment benefits were not wages from other…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 208 (Union) and Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC (Agency)
NRC life-insurance grievance petition dismissed (FLRA O-MC-5)
A union sought Authority review after the Nuclear Regulatory Commission rejected a life-insurance grievance as nongrievable. The Authority found that the dispute arose during grievance processing, with no bargaining proposal or agency nonnegotiability allegation. It held that the parties’ contract…
Secretary of Labor v. Karber Gravel Company, Inc.
Karber Gravel Company, Inc. (FMSHRC LAKE 80-110-M): Electrical junction box citations vacated
MSHA cited Karber Gravel Company for two electrical junction boxes whose wire openings lacked bushings. The plant was shut down and the lines were not energized when the inspector saw them. The judge credited the company's explanation that it had removed the bushings while trying to locate…
Secretary of Labor v. Middle Kentucky Construction, Inc.
Middle Kentucky Construction (FMSHRC KENT 80-92): Vehicle safety violations upheld with $423 penalties
MSHA cited Middle Kentucky Construction at its strip mine for an explosives truck without a working horn or adequate brakes and a front-end loader without an adequate parking brake. The judge rejected the company's claim that the truck had been removed from service because it remained operable at…
Michael Jiles and Rickey C. Bennett
Penalties for two supervisors
Michael Jiles and Rickey Bennett supervised shifts at Kerstan Corporation's No. 1 coal mine in West Virginia. Both admitted knowingly allowing violations of the mine's roof control and ventilation plans. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr., found the roof control violations extremely serious and the…
Jewell Ridge Coal Corporation
Inspection pay violation and fan guard settlement
Jewell Ridge Coal Corporation paid a miners' representative who accompanied a spot inspector but declined to pay another who accompanied a regular inspector at the same mine that day. Judge Richard C. Steffey found that the company still owed pay for the regular inspection and assessed $25 for…
Island Creek Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Spot inspection pay citation vacated
Island Creek Coal Company contested a citation for refusing to pay a miners' representative who accompanied an inspector on a spot inspection. Judge Richard C. Steffey applied two then controlling Commission decisions and found no duty to pay for that inspection. He granted the contest, vacated…
Virginia Pocahontas Company
Inspection pay citations vacated
Virginia Pocahontas Company contested two citations for refusing to pay miners' representatives who accompanied inspectors during a ventilation technical inspection and a ventilation survey. The Secretary stipulated that neither was a regular inspection. Applying then controlling Commission…
National Mines Corporation
Spot inspection pay order vacated
National Mines Corporation contested an order issued after it refused to pay a miners' representative who accompanied an inspector during a spot inspection. The company paid the representative under protest so the order would be terminated. Judge Richard C. Steffey applied then controlling…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1917, AFL-CIO (Union) and United States Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service (Agency)
INS safety proposals appeal deferred to contract process (FLRA O-NG-227)
A union sought local bargaining over safety proposals for Immigration and Naturalization Service employees. The agency asserted that the proposals conflicted with the national master agreement. The Authority held that the parties first had to resolve what that agreement permitted through their…
Internal Revenue Service and Brookhaven Service Center, IRS (Respondents) and National Treasury Employees Union and NTEU Chapter 99 (Complainants)
Brookhaven IRS bargaining violations partly upheld (FLRA 30-08777(CA))
The IRS Brookhaven Service Center changed leave procedures and developed performance measures without meeting and conferring with the union. The administrative law judge found some unfair labor practices and rejected other allegations. The Authority adopted the judge’s result, clarified the scope…
Bethlehem Mines Corporation
Roof bolter citation affirmed, penalty reduced
A miner at Bethlehem Mines Corporation's No. 33 Mine worked on the raised boom of a roof bolter that had not been blocked securely. The section foreman was nearby and helped the miner, but took no action until an inspector pointed out the rule. Bethlehem admitted violating 30 C.F.R. § 75.1726(a)…
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.