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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Veterans Administration Hospital, Lexington, Kentucky, and Veterans Administration Central Office, Washington, DC (Respondent) and National Association of Government Employees, Local R5-185 (Complainant)
VA had no duty to create union legal opinion (FLRA 41-6071(CA))
A Veterans Administration union asked for a legal opinion about the liability of security guards assigned to escort funds to local banks. The Authority decided the complaint on a stipulated record. It found that the requested opinion did not exist and that the VA legal office had no duty to create…
United States Customs Service, Region IV, Miami, FL (Respondent) and National Treasury Employees Union (Charging Party)
Customs overtime study need not be disclosed (FLRA 4-CA-1)
The National Treasury Employees Union requested an internal Customs Service study while bargaining over overtime assignments in Region IV. The administrative law judge found that the study audited recordkeeping and was not shown to be necessary or relevant to the union’s representation duties. The…
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (Respondent)and Patent Office Professional Association (Complainant)
Patent Office ordered to bargain over workplace changes (FLRA 22-09584(CA))
The Patent Office reduced the time allowed for amended patent cases and changed how examiners reported absences from their work area. The administrative law judge found those unilateral changes violated Executive Order 11491, but rejected a separate allegation about production goal statements. The…
Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Office of the Secretary (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO (Petitioner)
HEW unit consolidation petition dismissed after reorganization (FLRA 22-09477(UC)); later vacated
AFGE asked to consolidate eight bargaining units across the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Some units included employees affected by the creation of the Department of Education. The Authority concluded that the intervening reorganization made it inappropriate to decide the petition…
National Guard Bureau, Massachusetts Air National Guard (Activity/Petitioner) and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 3004 (Labor Organization/Petitioner)
Massachusetts Guard shop chiefs retained in unit (FLRA 1-CU-1, 1-CU-2, 1-CU-3, 1-CU-4)
The Massachusetts Air National Guard sought to remove small shop chiefs from an AFGE bargaining unit, asserting they were supervisors. The Authority directly decided four consolidated clarification petitions. It found the occupied positions did not meet the statutory supervisor test and ordered…
National Treasury Employees Union (Labor Organization) and Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Public Debt (Activity)
Public Debt production quota proposal rejected (FLRA 0-NG-56)
The National Treasury Employees Union proposed a fixed hourly batch processing rate for Public Debt clerks to keep their jobs and receive within grade increases. The Authority held the job retention threshold intruded on management’s rights to direct employees and assign work. It also found the pay…
American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 32 (Labor Organization) and Office of Personnel Management, Washington D.C. (Activity)
OPM performance appraisal proposals split (FLRA 0-NG-177-2)
A federal employees union challenged OPM’s refusal to bargain over provisions concerning performance standards and appraisals. The Authority found some proposed definitions and evaluation provisions negotiable because they did not conflict with governmentwide rules or management rights. It rejected…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 951 (Union) and Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Mid-Pacific Regional Office, Sacramento, CA (Agency)
Reclamation union-training proposal partly negotiable (FLRA 0-NG-146)
A Reclamation Bureau union proposed duty time for several kinds of union-sponsored training. The Authority found sections for general employee education, union officers, and recognized stewards negotiable. It rejected a separate provision granting extra time only to union members because an…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R14-87 (Union) and State of Kansas Army National Guard (Activity); National Association of Government Employees, Locals R12-130 and R12-145 (Union) and State of Nevada National Guard (Activity) ; Association of Civilian Technicians, North and South Alabama Chapters (Union) and State of Alabama National Guard (Activity)
Guard grievance proposals found negotiable (FLRA 0-NG-12)
Unions in Kansas, Nevada, and Alabama sought grievance procedures that did not expressly exclude adverse action appeals by National Guard technicians. The agencies said the National Guard Technicians Act required an express exclusion. The Authority held that the omission did not put the proposals…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3004, AFL-CIO (Union) and Massachusetts National Guard, Office of the Adjutant General (Activity); American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2986, AFL-CIO (Union) and Office of the Adjutant General, Oregon Military Department, Salem, Oregon (Activity); National Association of Government Employees (Union) and Office of the Adjutant General, State of New Jersey (Activity)
Guard technician grievance procedures found negotiable (FLRA 0-NG-111)
Three National Guard unions proposed grievance procedures that did not expressly exclude adverse-action appeals by technicians. The agencies asserted that federal law required such an exclusion. The Authority rejected that reading and set aside the nonnegotiability allegations in the consolidated…
Department of Defense Dependents Schools (Activity) and Overseas Education Association, Inc. (Union)
Overseas schools teaching-assignment award upheld (FLRA 0-AR-73)
A teacher and union grieved a change in teaching assignment at a Defense Department school in Germany. The arbitrator interpreted the parties’ agreement and issued an award. The union challenged part of the award and sought a stay, but the Authority found no legal or other recognized defect. It…
Island Creek Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Island Creek Coal Company (FMSHRC WEVA 79-183-R): Three walkaround pay citations vacated
Island Creek Coal Company contested three citations over pay for miners who accompanied federal inspectors during spot inspections. Judge Gary Melick applied then existing Commission rulings that limited walkaround pay under Mine Act section 103(f) to regular inspections. Because the parties agreed…
Matter of Lasike
Minister status and preconceived intent defeated adjustment
The Board reviewed a Tongan respondent's renewed application for adjustment of status as a special immigrant minister, along with applications based on his status for two children. The Board held that he had not shown the required two years of ministerial experience when he first applied, and that…
Matter of Camilleri
Cross-border truck driver qualified as a business visitor
The Board reviewed the exclusion of a Canadian citizen who drove trucks for a United States carrier between Canada and the United States. He lived in Canada, began each trip from his Canadian home, delivered Canadian goods to the carrier's Detroit terminal, and returned with goods bound for Canada…
Car and Truck Doctor, Inc.
Contest dismissal set aside; posting and proof required before withdrawal
This case is about a procedural trap, not about a safety standard. OSHA issued two citations to Car and Truck Doctor, Inc., which contested them. Before the Secretary of Labor filed a complaint, he moved to withdraw the citations outright. Chief Administrative Law Judge Paul A. Tenney did not rule…
S. J. Groves & Sons Company
Citation vacated under appellate mandate
The Second Circuit reversed an earlier Commission decision and ordered the citation vacated. The Commission held that the appellate ruling was the law of the case and entered the required vacatur. This short order does not identify the underlying OSHA standard, penalty, or merits analysis.
Highway Motor Company, d/b/a Park Price Motor Company
The spray booth standard assumes the hazard, so thirty years without a fire proves nothing
Highway Motor Company runs an automobile dealership in Pocatello, Idaho with a service area containing a spray booth for painting cars. Two exhaust fans sat in the booth's exterior wall, each driven by an explosion proof electric motor mounted in front of the fan and inside the booth. The fans…
OSCO Industries, Inc.
Protective-clothing citation vacated for lack of a recognized hazard
OSCO's foundry employees poured molten iron while wearing gloves, eye protection, and leather leggings. OSHA argued that flame-resistant jackets and trousers were also required. The Commission found that the ladles could not tip toward employees and that barriers, grills, sand, and dry floors…
Prestressed Systems, Inc.
The contest was dropped at the hearing, so the Commission severed this docket and let the judge's affirmance stand
Prestressed Systems, Inc. was a Miami forming and prestressed joist contractor working the Omni construction project at 350 Northeast 15th Street. Docket 76-662 charged it with a violation of section 5(a)(2) of the Act, 29 U.S.C. § 654(a)(2), for failing to comply with the employee training…
Congressional Research Employees Association (Union) and The Library of Congress (Agency)
Library reorganization proposals rejected or deferred (FLRA 0-NG-66)
A Library of Congress union challenged objections to proposals for reorganizing its American Law Division and assigning work. The Authority held that provisions setting the division’s structure and allowing researchers to choose work outside their sections conflicted with management rights. It…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 6 (Labor Organization) and Internal Revenue Service, New Orleans District (Activity)
IRS employee parking proposal partly negotiable (FLRA 0-NG-11)
A New Orleans IRS union proposed retaining prepaid parking spaces used by bargaining unit employees. The Authority held that retaining the spaces was within the duty to bargain. It also held that requiring those spaces to be provided free to employees would conflict with a governmentwide…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Duval Corporation
Duval Corporation (FMSHRC WEST 79-196-M): Three citations affirmed and two vacated
The Secretary sought penalties for five citations issued after inspections at Duval Corporation's Sierrita Mine in Arizona. Duval admitted two violations and contested three citations concerning a spliced power cable, an unguarded water pump, and welding without a curtain. Judge Jon D. Boltz upheld…
Johnny Howard v. Martin Marietta Corporation
Default order returned for service finding
Martin Marietta Corporation petitioned for review of a default order in Johnny Howard's discrimination case. The Commission granted review and sent the case back to the judge to determine whether the company had been properly served with the complaint before the default order issued. If service was…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Coal Resources, Inc.
Coal Resources, Inc. (FMSHRC WEVA 80-323): $6,000 settlement approved after inspector assault
The Secretary sought a civil penalty after a Coal Resources official denied an MSHA inspector entry to the Juanita No. 1 Mine and assaulted him. The parties proposed a $6,000 settlement at a hearing. Judge Gary Melick accepted the inspector's undisputed statement and found the conduct intentional…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Climax Molybdenum Company
Climax Molybdenum Company (FMSHRC WEST 79-303-M): Five electrical citations vacated
The Secretary sought penalties for electrical citations at Climax Molybdenum Company's mill. Judge John J. Morris vacated a citation concerning a motor without a junction box because the insulated, grounded motor was not shown to be dangerous. He vacated two citations concerning uninsulated bus…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Climax Molybdenum Company
Climax Molybdenum Company (FMSHRC WEST 79-301-M): Accident notification citations vacated
A truck tire injured a worker at Climax Molybdenum Company's open pit mine. MSHA cited Climax for failing to notify the agency immediately and preserve the accident scene. Judge John J. Morris found that the worker's injuries were serious, but MSHA had not proved they had a reasonable potential to…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Climax Molybdenum Company
Climax Molybdenum Company (FMSHRC WEST 79-192-M): Handrail citations vacated, other citations affirmed
MSHA cited Climax Molybdenum Company over missing handrails at its mill and crushers. Judge John J. Morris found that workers had to remove handrails to move a pipe and used safety lines when working on the elevated walkway, establishing an impossibility of compliance defense. He also found that…
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): Early review petitions dismissed
The Secretary brought a discrimination case for miner Larry D. Long against Island Creek Coal Company and Langley & Morgan Corporation. The ALJ found violations in a June 1980 ruling but directed the parties to address relief before a final order. Both companies petitioned the Commission for…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Ozark-Mahoning Company
Ozark-Mahoning Company (FMSHRC LAKE 79-280-M): Four citation settlements approved for $444
The Secretary sought penalties for four citations at Ozark-Mahoning Company's Denton Shaft Mine. The cited conditions involved hoist limit switches, access to the head frame, a shaft opening barrier, and workers riding a hoist bucket. Judge Edwin S. Bernstein approved reduced penalties after…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Peabody Coal Company
Peabody Coal Company (FMSHRC KENT 80-157): $4,180 settlement approved for five citations
Peabody Coal Company contested five citations at three Kentucky mines, then proposed settlements with the Secretary. The citations concerned a roof control plan, coal and dust accumulations, belt drive fire protection, and a trailing cable exposed to mobile equipment. For the cable citation…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Rock Valley Cement Block and Tile
Rock Valley Cement Block and Tile (FMSHRC DENV 79-587-PM): Berm citation upheld
Rock Valley Cement Block and Tile used trucks and a loader to build a flood-control dike at its sand and gravel mine. After a loader operator died when the machine went over an embankment, MSHA cited the company for failing to provide a berm along an elevated roadway. Judge George A. Koutras found…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Jim Walter Resources, Inc. and Cowin and Company, Inc.
Jim Walter Resources and Cowin (FMSHRC BARB 77-266-P): Wire rope notice vacated
Cowin and Company was building a shaft at Jim Walter Resources' No. 4 Mine when a wire rope broke and a worker was killed. MSHA sought penalties from both companies under 30 C.F.R. § 77.1903(b), which directed operators to use ANSI wire rope specifications as a guide. On remand, Judge George A…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Amherst Coal Company
Amherst Coal Company (FMSHRC WEVA 79-223): Explosives settlement approved and roof-control violation upheld
MSHA issued two withdrawal orders to Amherst Coal Company at separate mines. One concerned explosives left near an energized battery charger; the other concerned unsupported roof near a crosscut. Judge Forrest E. Stewart approved the parties' $200 settlement for the explosives violation after…
Matter of Tien
Abandoned certified employment triggered the adjustment bar
The Board reviewed a respondent's denied adjustment application, which had been based on labor certification for work as a specialty cook. After he left the certified employer, he worked without authorization as a house painter. The Board held that leaving the certified employment abandoned the…
United States Department of Treasury, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Chicago, Illinois (Respondent) and National Treasury Employees Union and National Treasury Employees Union Chapter 94 (Labor Organization)
ATF employee grievance rights protected (FLRA 5-CA-152)
A supervisor at the Chicago Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms implied that an employee could face consequences for pursuing a grievance. The administrative law judge found unlawful interference with the employee’s grievance rights. With no exceptions filed, the Authority adopted that finding…
Secretary of Labor v. Olga Coal Company
Olga Coal Company (FMSHRC WEVA 80-128 and four others): Roof control violation upheld and settlements approved
Olga Coal contested a roof control order at its Olga Mine and submitted settlements for four other penalty dockets. Judge Richard C. Steffey credited inspectors' measurements and testimony that the controls of a continuous mining machine advanced beyond roof supports, violating 30 C.F.R. § 75.200…
Peggy-O Coal Company, Inc.
Roof support citation upheld and other penalties settled
Peggy-O Coal Company's No. 4 Mine faced thirteen alleged safety violations across four dockets. Judge Richard C. Steffey heard the contested roof support citation and found that the company had used 18-inch bolts where its roof control plan required 30-inch bolts in the battery charging station. He…
Pennsylvania Glass Sand Corporation
$60 pit-truck brake settlement approved
MSHA sought a $275 civil penalty over allegedly inadequate foot brakes on a pit truck at Pennsylvania Glass Sand's Pacific Pit & Plant. After reviewing the parties' prehearing submissions, Judge Joseph B. Kennedy proposed a $60 settlement and the operator moved to recuse him for prejudging the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 987, AFL-CIO (Respondent) and Nedra T. Bradley (Complainant)
Union complaint dismissed after judge review (FLRA 40-9386(CO))
An employee filed an unfair labor practice complaint against AFGE Local 987 under Executive Order 11491. The administrative law judge found that the union had not committed the alleged violations and recommended dismissal. No exceptions were filed. The Authority adopted the judge’s findings and…
Federal Aviation Administration, Southern Region, Balboa, Canal Zone, Airway Facilities Branch (Activity) and Professional Airways Systems Specialists National (Petitioner) and Federal Aviation Science and Technological Association (Intervenor); Federal Aviation Administration (Activity) and Federal Aviation Science and Technological Association (Petitioner)
FAA Balboa employees added to nationwide unit (FLRA 2-RO-1)
Two unions disputed representation of FAA airway facilities employees in Balboa, Canal Zone. The Authority found that those employees shared a community of interest with a nationwide unit represented by FASTA. It added them to that unit and dismissed PASS’s competing representation petition as…
National Treasury Employees Union (Union) and Internal Revenue Service (Agency)
IRS outside employment and grievance proposals negotiable (FLRA 0-NG-82)
The National Treasury Employees Union challenged IRS objections to several contract proposals on outside employment and grievance procedures. The Authority concluded that the provisions at issue were within the duty to bargain. It set aside the IRS nonnegotiability allegations. The decision…
Headquarters, U.S. Army Communications Command, Et Al., Fort Huachuca, Arizona (Activity) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1662 (Union)
Army differential pay arbitration award stands (FLRA 0-AR-27)
A union challenged an arbitration award concerning environmental differential pay for water and sewage plant work at Fort Huachuca. It disputed the arbitrator’s hazard findings and interpretation of the parties’ agreement. The Authority held that disagreement with those findings and contract…
Texaco, Inc.
Even split leaves benzene ruling in place
The judge affirmed three nonserious citations involving excessive benzene vapor exposure at Texaco's Port Arthur marine terminal. He declined to require the Secretary's proposed engineering controls because their economic feasibility was not established. The employee union sought review of…
Secretary of Labor v. The North American Coal Corporation, Quarto Mining Company, and The NACCO Mining Company
North American Coal, Quarto Mining, and NACCO (FMSHRC LAKE 79-118): Late review petition dismissed
An ALJ dismissed 17 civil penalty cases against North American Coal, Quarto Mining, and NACCO after finding the respirable dust standard unenforceable. The Secretary asked the judge to correct the dismissal of nine other citations, and the judge withdrew those citations for placement in new cases…
Martin Marietta Aggregates
Contractor citations affirmed
MSHA cited Martin Marietta Aggregates for missing no-smoking and open-flame warning signs at a diesel fuel tank at Gooden Quarry and Mill and for a cracked loader windshield at Klein Quarry. Martin Marietta argued that independent contractors had caused the conditions and that inspectors had not…
Sunrise Plastering Corp.
Floor-opening citation affirmed against controlling subcontractor
Floor openings for elevators, stairs, and air ducts were left without covers or standard guardrails in a twelve-story construction project. Sunrise had performed the site's carpentry and OSHA compliance work, knew that other subcontractors had removed covers, and undertook to restore the…
Red Lobster Inns of America, Inc.
Site control creates liability for an ungrounded generator
Red Lobster coordinated subcontractors constructing a new restaurant through its on-site superintendent. A rented generator was used without grounding, exposing two subcontractor employees to possible death or serious injury. Although Red Lobster's own employee was not exposed, the Commission held…
Georgia Highway Express, Inc.
Freight-handling hazards require safety-toed shoes
Employees moved freight with hand trucks carrying up to 700 pounds and a forklift carrying palletized loads up to 2,000 pounds. They did not wear safety-toed shoes, and the terminal had recorded two foot or toe injuries over several years. The Commission agreed that falling freight and moving…
Stone & Webster Engineering Corporation
Taking down a guardrail you once put up is not by itself willful, so the violation stays serious at $500
Stone & Webster Engineering Corporation was building four nuclear reactors at the North Anna power station near Mineral, Virginia, with about 3,000 workers on site. OSHA inspected in the summer of 1975 and issued citations alleging one willful, four serious and 54 nonserious violations. Most items…
Association of Civilian Technicians (Union) and State of Georgia, Department of Defense, Military Division, Atlanta, Georgia (Activity)
Guard uniform negotiability petition dismissed as moot (FLRA 0-NG-251)
A National Guard technicians union sought a negotiability ruling on civilian work attire as an alternative to military uniforms. The agency stated that it had not declared the proposal nonnegotiable. With no negotiability dispute left to decide, the Authority dismissed the petition without…
Federal Correctional Institution (Activity) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1286, AFL-CIO (Union)
Prison employee discipline award sustained (FLRA 0-AR-71)
An arbitrator reduced a federal prison employee’s 21 day suspension after finding some misconduct charges supported and others unsupported. The union argued that the arbitrator exceeded his authority and misread the agreement. The Authority found no defect under the statutory grounds for setting…
Northern Division, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Activity) and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1430 (Union)
Navy engineer selection arbitration award sustained (FLRA 0-AR-69)
A Navy facilities union grieved the selection of another candidate for a general engineer position. The arbitrator denied the grievance. The union challenged the award based on its view of the selection evidence, but the Authority found the exception was disagreement with the arbitrator’s factual…
Overseas Education Association (Union) and Department of Defense Dependents Schools (Activity)
Overseas school committee pay award upheld (FLRA 0-AR-19)
An arbitrator ordered a Defense Department school to compensate teachers for after hours curriculum committee meetings under the parties’ agreement. The agency sought review, disputing the arbitrator’s contract interpretation and remedy. The Authority found no recognized basis to set the award…
The Alaska Railroad, Federal Railroad Administration, Department of Transportation (Activity) and American Train Dispatchers Association, AFL-CIO (Petitioner)
Alaska Railroad dispatchers election directed (FLRA 9-RO-19)
A union petitioned to represent Alaska Railroad agents and related employees. The Authority defined an appropriate unit and excluded two positions it found supervisory because they involved independent judgment in directing workers. It directed a secret ballot election for eligible employees to…
Department of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Cleveland, Ohio (Respondent) and National Treasury Employees Union and National Treasury Employees Union Chapter 44 (Labor Organization)
IRS equipment access complaint dismissed (FLRA 5-CA-165)
The National Treasury Employees Union alleged that the IRS unlawfully ended a practice allowing union officials to use typewriters and copying equipment at its Toledo post of duty. The administrative law judge found no unfair labor practice and recommended dismissal. The Authority adopted the…
Department of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Jacksonville District (Respondent) and National Treasury Employees Union (Charging Party)
IRS case processing schedule change violated bargaining duty (FLRA 4-CA-50(1))
The Jacksonville IRS district changed deadlines for processing cases at its Miami facility without notifying the union or offering to bargain over implementation and effects. The administrative law judge found an unfair labor practice. The Authority adopted that finding and ordered the IRS to give…
U.S. Department of Labor, Washington, DC (Activity) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 12 , AFL-CIO (Labor Organization) and National Council of Field Labor Locals, American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO (Labor Organization)
Labor Department field staff remain in Local 12 unit (FLRA 3-CU-26)
AFGE Local 12 sought clarification of its Washington, D.C., Labor Department bargaining unit. The Authority found that eligible field office employees in the metropolitan area remained part of the Local 12 unit. It ordered the unit clarified to continue including those employees. It decided the…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R14-62 (Union) and United States Army, Dugway Proving Ground, Dugway, Utah (Activity)
Dugway bargaining appeal denied without prejudice (FLRA 0-NG-151)
A union at Dugway Proving Ground sought a negotiability ruling amid a dispute over bargaining conduct. The Authority found no issue it could resolve in a negotiability appeal at that stage. It denied the appeal without prejudice to the pending unfair labor practice charge, where the bargaining…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. U. S. Steel Corporation
U. S. Steel Corporation (FMSHRC PITT 79-186-P): Two settlements approved
The Secretary sought penalties for seven alleged safety violations at U. S. Steel's Cumberland Mine. The judge approved settlements covering five citations in PITT 79-186-P and one citation in PITT 79-185-P. The order printed $688 for the first settlement, but the judge later corrected that amount…
Bishop Coal Company
Berm violations upheld with reduced penalty
An independent contractor's truck missed a dumping ramp at Bishop Coal's preparation plant and went down an embankment. The driver escaped the truck but lost one work day because of an injury. MSHA cited Bishop for inadequate protection at the dumping area and along the elevated access road, and…
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.