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.
G.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Royal Oaks Post Office, Sacramento, CA
Board upholds denial of COVID-19 claim and finding of hearing abandonment (ECAB 23-0135)
A postal clerk claimed that she contracted COVID-19 while working in January 2022. The Board held that her physician's note saying she tested positive did not identify the test or explain the diagnosis, so the record did not establish a COVID-19 diagnosis under OWCP's guidance. It also upheld the…
M.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Blue Valley Branch, Shawnee Mission, KS
Board dismisses duplicate appeal docket (ECAB 22-0063)
A postal worker filed two appeals from the same June 22, 2021 OWCP decision. The Board's clerk assigned the first appeal docket 21-1386 and inadvertently assigned the second docket 22-0063. The Board dismissed the duplicate docket and said the earlier appeal would go forward. It did not decide the…
D.L. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Federal Transfer Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Board upholds overpayment recovery and wage loss reduction (ECAB 20-1522)
A Bureau of Prisons psychology secretary received total disability compensation after she returned to full-time, limited-duty work. The Board found that this created a $1,157.48 overpayment for March 18 through 30, 2019, although she was without fault. It upheld denial of a waiver because her…
Willard R. Thorne v. Arch Coal Incorporated and Arch Resources Incorporated
Thorne v. Arch Coal (BRB 22-0345): Black Lung award affirmed
Willard Thorne was awarded Black Lung benefits after a judge found that he had complicated pneumoconiosis arising from 35 years of underground coal mine work. Arch Coal disputed how the judge weighed conflicting chest x-ray readings. The Board found that the judge reasonably gave greater weight to…
Susan Grimes (on behalf of Harold D. Grimes) v. Apogee Coal Company
Grimes v. Apogee Coal (BRB 22-0262): Black Lung award affirmed
Susan Grimes pursued her late husband's Black Lung claim against Apogee Coal and its self-insurer, Arch Coal. The judge credited 34 years of qualifying coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment, triggering the statutory presumption that pneumoconiosis caused the disability. The…
Joseph Murphy, Jr. v. Consolidation Coal Company
Murphy v. Consolidation Coal (BRB 22-0196): Black Lung award affirmed
Joseph Murphy Jr. sought Black Lung benefits from his former coal mine employer, Consolidation Coal Company. The judge credited at least 27 years of qualifying mine work and found a totally disabling respiratory impairment, triggering the 15-year presumption. The Board upheld her weighing of blood…
Michael B. Ireland, Sr. v. Manor Mining & Contracting, Incorporated and Rockwood Casualty Insurance Company
Ireland v. Manor Mining (BRB 22-0155): Benefit start date remanded
Michael Ireland was awarded Black Lung benefits after his employer conceded that he had complicated pneumoconiosis. He appealed the judge's decision to begin payments in August 2018, arguing that an August 2008 lung biopsy supported an earlier start. The Board's majority held that the judge should…
Nick Engels v. Ports America and Ports Insurance Company, Incorporated
Engels v. Ports America (BRB 22-0147): Disability rate sent back for recalculation
Nick Engels worked as a longshore foreman at the Port of Tacoma. After a workplace incident in 2015, he suffered a vertebral artery injury and strokes, returned to work with restrictions, and received a partial disability award. The Board upheld the findings that the incident caused his injury and…
Sherry Williamson v. Black Rock Trucking
Williamson v. Black Rock Trucking (BRB 22-0099): miner and survivor awards affirmed
Sherry Williamson pursued her late husband's miner claim and her own survivor claim. The Board rejected the employer's challenges to the judge's appointment and upheld the finding that Black Rock Trucking was responsible for paying benefits. It affirmed the finding that coal dust caused the miner's…
Sherry Williamson (widow of and on behalf of Dennis Dale Williamson) v. Black Rock Trucking and Old Republic Insurance Company
Williamson v. Black Rock Trucking (BRB 22-0098 and 22-0099): Miner and survivor awards affirmed
Sherry Williamson pursued her late husband's Black Lung claim and her own survivor claim against Black Rock Trucking and its insurer. The judge found Dennis Williamson had disabling legal pneumoconiosis despite having fewer than 15 years of coal mine work, and awarded both benefits. The Board…
Kathryn Knight (widow of Herman D. Knight) v. Peabody Coal Company, LLC and Peabody Energy Corporation
Knight v. Peabody Coal (BRB 22-0053): Survivor benefit award affirmed
Kathryn Knight sought survivor benefits after her husband Herman Knight died. Because he had not received a Black Lung award during his lifetime, she had to prove that pneumoconiosis contributed to his death. The Board upheld the judge's finding that coal dust contributed to his severe lung disease…
M.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Coppell, TX
Board dismisses late appeal of postal employee's OWCP decision (ECAB 23-0948)
A postal employee appealed an OWCP decision issued on May 24, 2022. The appeal was filed on June 29, 2023, after the 180-day filing period had expired. The Board found no supporting documentation showing compelling circumstances for the late filing. It dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction…
M.B. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Authority, Bridgeport, WV
Board dismisses late appeal of Federal Aviation Authority injury decision (ECAB 23-0940)
A Federal Aviation Authority employee appealed an OWCP decision issued on September 30, 2022. The appeal was filed on June 29, 2023, after the 180-day filing period had expired. The Board found no supporting documentation showing compelling circumstances for the late filing. It dismissed the appeal…
B.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, Chicago, IL
Board dismisses late appeal of postal employee's OWCP decision (ECAB 23-0897)
A postal employee appealed an OWCP decision issued on April 18, 2022. The appeal was filed on June 18, 2023, after the 180-day filing period had expired. The Board found no supporting documentation showing compelling circumstances for the late filing. It dismissed the appeal for lack of…
S.W. and Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Anadarko Agency, Anadarko, OK
Board dismisses late appeal of Bureau of Indian Affairs injury decision (ECAB 23-0892)
A Bureau of Indian Affairs employee appealed an OWCP decision issued on May 24, 2019. The appeal was filed on June 15, 2023, more than 180 days after the decision. The Board found the appeal untimely, found no supporting documentation showing compelling circumstances, and dismissed it for lack of…
K.Y. and U.S. Postal Service, Bettendorf Post Office, Bettendorf, IA
Board orders combined review of postal carrier's right knee claims (ECAB 23-0403)
A letter carrier filed an occupational disease claim for right knee conditions related to years of postal work. She also had a separate claim for a fall affecting the same knee. OWCP denied the occupational disease claim while referring to the earlier fall claim, but the files had not been…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Riverdale Post Office, Bronx, NY
Board reverses termination of postal supervisor's compensation (ECAB 23-0342)
A postal customer service supervisor with accepted back and leg conditions declined a modified full-time job offer. OWCP terminated her wage loss compensation and entitlement to schedule award benefits, finding the offer suitable. The Board found the physician's work capacity opinion lacked an…
J.D. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Samuel S. Stratton Department of VA Medical Center, Albany, NY
Board upholds denial of late reconsideration request (ECAB 23-0210)
A former VA nurse sought reconsideration of a denial of compensation for a claimed recurrence of disability related to her accepted back injury. The most recent merits decision was issued by the Board in January 2019, but OWCP received her request in February 2022, beyond the one-year filing…
L.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Columbia, SC
Board upholds denial of postal carrier's lumbar injury claim (ECAB 23-0099)
A postal rural carrier reported sharp back pain while lifting packages at work on November 20, 2020. OWCP accepted the incident but denied her lumbar injury claim for insufficient medical evidence of causation. The Board found that several physician reports gave no causal opinion, one opinion was…
Johnny K. Neace v. Consol of Kentucky, Incorporated and Consol Energy, Incorporated
Neace v. Consol of Kentucky (BRB 22-0266): Black Lung award affirmed
Johnny Neace sought Black Lung benefits from Consol after a judge found he had complicated pneumoconiosis arising from coal mine work. Consol challenged the award only as untimely, arguing that Neace had been told years earlier he was totally disabled by Black Lung disease. The Board upheld the…
Weldon Bland v. Clinchfield Coal Company and Pittston Company
Bland v. Clinchfield Coal Company (BRB 22-0104): Denial of Black Lung benefits affirmed
Weldon Bland sought Black Lung benefits after more than 25 years of coal mine employment. A judge originally awarded benefits, but the Board sent the case back for a closer review of the medical opinions on total disability. On remand, the judge denied benefits, finding that Bland had not…
Ronald Eckhoff v. Huntington Ingalls Incorporated, Avondale Operations
Eckhoff v. Huntington Ingalls (BRB 21-0158): Hearing loss claim denial affirmed
Ronald Eckhoff sought Longshore benefits for hearing loss after working briefly as a gouger for Ingalls Shipbuilding in 1981. A 2015 hearing test showed bilateral hearing loss, but the judge denied benefits after finding that Ingalls had rebutted the presumption that the condition was work related…
E.E. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, San Antonio, TX
Board dismisses late appeal of VA medical center injury decisions (ECAB 23-0945)
A VA medical center employee appealed OWCP decisions dated July 27 and December 27, 2022. The appeal was filed on June 30, 2023, five days after the 180-day period measured from the later decision. The Board found no supporting documentation showing compelling circumstances for the late filing. It…
The Estate of M.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Great Bend, KS
Board dismisses estate's appeal at counsel's request (ECAB 23-0792)
The estate of a former postal employee appealed an OWCP decision issued on March 6, 2023. Counsel later asked the Board to dismiss the appeal. The Board granted that request and dismissed the appeal without addressing the underlying compensation decision.
S.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chicago, IL
Board dismisses withdrawn postal employee appeal (ECAB 23-0704)
A postal employee appealed an OWCP decision issued on March 15, 2023. The employee later asked to withdraw the appeal. The Board granted the request and dismissed the appeal without addressing the underlying compensation decision.
E.H. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, TX
Board dismisses withdrawn VA employee appeal (ECAB 23-0486)
A Department of Veterans Affairs employee appealed an OWCP decision issued on January 25, 2023. The employee later asked to withdraw the appeal. The Board granted the request and dismissed the appeal without addressing the underlying compensation decision.
O.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Miami, FL
Board remands TSA employee's right knee claim for impartial medical review (ECAB 23-0157)
A former Transportation Security Administration officer sought to expand an accepted lumbar disc claim to include a right quadriceps or right knee condition. Treating physicians attributed the leg and knee problems to the accepted back injuries, while an OWCP second opinion physician found no…
D.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Milton Freewater Post Office, Milton Freewater, OR
Board dismisses withdrawn postal employee appeal (ECAB 22-1074)
A postal employee appealed an OWCP decision issued on June 6, 2022. The employee later asked to withdraw the appeal. The Board granted the request and dismissed the appeal without addressing the underlying compensation decision.
S.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Jackson Processing & Distribution Center, Jackson, MS
Board finds contract mail driver ineligible for federal employee coverage (ECAB 20-0532)
A mail transport driver suffered a serious arm injury when her truck overturned on a contracted postal route. She sought federal workers' compensation, arguing that she worked for the Postal Service. The Board found that a private company hired and paid her, supplied the truck, and controlled how…
Walter Bruce v. Keokee Mining, LLC and American International South Insurance Company
Bruce v. Keokee Mining (BRB 22-0222): Disability evidence sent back for review
Walter Bruce sought Black Lung benefits after 23 years of underground coal mine work. The judge denied the claim because Bruce had not established a totally disabling respiratory or pulmonary impairment. The Board found that the judge had not adequately explained why one lung function study…
Jonathan K. Ellis v. Hampden Coal LLC and Rockwood Casualty Insurance Company
Ellis v. Hampden Coal (BRB 22-0197): Black Lung claim sent back for medical evidence review
Jonathan Ellis sought Black Lung benefits after working in coal mining. The judge denied his claim, finding that he had not established complicated pneumoconiosis or total disability. The Board left the unchallenged total disability finding in place but found errors in how the judge weighed chest…
J.F. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Federal Air Marshal Service, Egg Harbor Township, NJ
Board upholds finding that air marshal abandoned hearing request (ECAB 23-0348)
A federal air marshal with accepted work related tinnitus sought a hearing after OWCP denied a schedule award. OWCP mailed notice of a telephonic hearing, but he did not call in or ask to postpone it. He also did not explain his absence in writing within ten days. The Board held that he had…
T.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Clarksville, TN
Board upholds denial of postal carrier's ankle injury claim (ECAB 23-0345)
A postal carrier said she twisted her left ankle while delivering mail. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred, but denied the injury claim because the medical evidence did not establish a qualifying diagnosis. The Board held that reports by a physician assistant could not establish entitlement…
L.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Grafton Post Office, Yorktown, VA
Board upholds denial of postal carrier's right wrist claim (ECAB 23-0176)
A postal carrier attributed a right wrist condition to repeated lifting, gripping, and mail truck duties. His doctor said the work more likely than not worsened symptoms from an earlier injury, but the Board found that opinion too uncertain to establish causation. Another physician described…
C.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hartford, CT
Board returns postal carrier's leg impairment award for further medical review (ECAB 21-1389)
A former letter carrier sought a schedule award greater than 12 percent for permanent right leg impairment after an accepted ankle fracture. The Board found that the ankle motion measurements did not meet the impairment guide's requirements. It also found that OWCP's medical adviser had not…
A.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bedford Park, IL
Board upholds denial of postal worker's foot disability and claim expansion (ECAB 21-1263)
A postal employee had an accepted right foot and ankle strain after slipping on ice. He sought wage loss beginning April 6, 2021 and asked OWCP to add a plantar fibroma or other foot condition to the claim. His doctors did not explain how the accepted injury caused disability during the specific…
T.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chicago, IL
Board returns postal custodian's COVID-19 claim for review under updated guidance (ECAB 21-1186)
A postal custodial group leader claimed she contracted COVID-19 through workplace contact. OWCP denied the claim, saying the record did not establish a COVID-19 diagnosis. The Board found that OWCP had not applied all criteria in the updated FECA bulletins, including the guidance for positive…
M.N. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Brooklyn VA Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY
Board reverses termination of VA nurse's wage loss and medical benefits (ECAB 21-0980)
A VA licensed practical nurse received benefits after an accepted workplace fall affecting her back and other areas. OWCP ended wage loss and medical benefits after an impartial examiner reported that the work injury had resolved. The Board found that the examiner had given conflicting opinions…
David C. Leary v. The Harrison County Coal Company and Murray Energy Corporation Trust
Leary v. Harrison County Coal (BRB 22-0357): Black Lung benefits award affirmed
David Leary sought Black Lung benefits after 27 years of underground coal mine work. The judge found a totally disabling respiratory impairment and awarded benefits under the presumption that his disability was due to pneumoconiosis. Harrison County Coal and its carrier challenged the disability…
Goebel R. Burke v. Kiah Creek Mining Company
Burke v. Kiah Creek Mining (BRB 22-0171): Black Lung benefits award affirmed
Goebel Burke sought Black Lung benefits after 18 years of underground coal mine work. A judge awarded benefits, and the Board sent the case back for another review of disability and complicated pneumoconiosis. On remand, the judge again found Burke disabled and awarded benefits. Kiah Creek Mining…
David E. Keefer v. Shield Mining, Incorporated and Old Republic Insurance Company, Incorporated
Keefer v. Shield Mining (BRB 22-0168): Black Lung benefits award affirmed
David Keefer sought Black Lung benefits after coal mine work. The judge credited him with 15.67 years of underground mining, found a totally disabling respiratory impairment, and awarded benefits under the presumption that the disability was due to pneumoconiosis. Shield Mining and its insurer…
Eddie E. Holbrook v. Sun Glo Coal Company, Incorporated and Old Republic Insurance Company
Holbrook v. Sun Glo Coal (BRB 22-0044): Black Lung benefits award affirmed
Eddie Holbrook sought Black Lung benefits after nearly 25 years of underground coal mine work. The judge found that he had a totally disabling respiratory impairment and invoked the presumption that his disability was due to pneumoconiosis. Sun Glo Coal and its insurer challenged the judge's…
J.C. and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, San Diego, CA
Board upholds denial of air traffic controller's eye exposure claim (ECAB 23-0398)
An air traffic controller reported left eye irritation after exposure to cleaning chemicals at work. OWCP accepted the exposure but denied the injury claim. A doctor diagnosed conjunctivitis without giving an opinion about its cause, and the remaining reports were from a physician assistant whose…
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Merchandise Mart Post Office, Chicago, IL
Board remands postal carrier's leg impairment award for a full record review (ECAB 23-0346)
A postal carrier sought increased schedule awards for permanent impairment of both legs. OWCP's medical adviser found no increase, but did not review a physician's later ratings of 34 percent and 45 percent impairment for each leg. The Board held that OWCP had to obtain an opinion based on all…
F.C. and Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Marietta, GA
Board upholds denial of Census worker's left foot claim (ECAB 21-1361)
A Census Bureau worker reported a left foot injury while getting into his car on August 10, 2020. Payroll records showed that he did not work that day. He did not provide the detailed account of the alleged work incident that OWCP requested. The Board held that the record did not establish a…
J.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Carl Vinson VA Medical Center, Dublin, GA
Board returns VA worker's overpayment case for proper notice (ECAB 21-1235)
OWCP found that a VA medical center employee had received a $1,953.04 overpayment and denied waiver of recovery. On appeal, OWCP's Director acknowledged that the preliminary overpayment notice had not been sent to her authorized representative. The Board granted the Director's remand request, set…
C.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Dallas, TX
Board returns postal worker's hearing loss award for a new medical opinion (ECAB 21-0882)
A long serving postal mail handler sought a schedule award for hearing loss after years of workplace noise. OWCP had accepted bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, but a referral physician later treated the condition as unrelated to work. The Board found that the physician's opinion did not use…
S.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Independence Annex, Charlotte, NC
Board orders OWCP to explain postal worker's emotional condition denial (ECAB 21-0834)
A postal city carrier assistant filed several related emotional condition claims. After an earlier Board remand, OWCP combined the claim files but again denied this claim without analyzing the evidence or making new findings. The Board held that OWCP had to review all consolidated records and…
S.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Independence Annex, Charlotte, NC
Board declines to add emotional conditions to postal worker's injury claim (ECAB 20-1220)
A postal carrier had an accepted right ankle sprain after a fall from her delivery vehicle. She sought to add PTSD, anxiety, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, and adjustment disorder as consequences of that injury. The Board found no detailed account or medical evidence explaining how…
Secretary of Labor v. Perry County Resources, LLC
Unrelated abatement order was not required for settlement
Perry County Resources and the Secretary proposed settling four citations involving roof support, escapeways, a lifeline, and equipment guarding. A Judge denied approval because the Secretary would not provide a separate failure-to-abate order associated with a citation Perry accepted as written…
Lawrence D. Stewart v. Pine Ridge Coal Company, c/o Peabody Energy Corporation
Stewart v. Pine Ridge Coal (BRB 23-0012): Peabody remains liable for Black Lung award
Lawrence Stewart received a Black Lung benefits award after the judge found that he had complicated pneumoconiosis arising from coal mine work. Pine Ridge Coal Company did not challenge the benefit finding on appeal. Its dispute concerned who must pay: Peabody Energy had self-insured Pine Ridge…
Denny R. Maggard v. Lone Mountain Processing, Incorporated
Maggard v. Lone Mountain Processing (BRB 22-0172): Disease finding sent back for review
Denny Maggard sought Black Lung benefits after underground coal mine work. The judge awarded benefits after finding that he had complicated pneumoconiosis arising from that work, which carries an irrebuttable disability presumption. Lone Mountain Processing challenged how the judge weighed…
T.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Greensboro, NC
Board dismisses late postal employee appeal despite filing explanation (ECAB 23-0846)
A postal employee appealed an OWCP decision issued on August 11, 2022. Her representative said the decision had been sent to a wrong address and that problems with OWCP's electronic filing system delayed the appeal. The appeal was filed on June 5, 2023, after the 180-day deadline. The Board found…
M.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Graceland Station, Chicago, IL
Board dismisses parallel leg impairment appeal after OWCP acted during review (ECAB 23-0750)
A postal employee sought larger right and left leg schedule awards. While her appeal of OWCP's December 2022 decision was pending before the Board in Docket No. 23-0346, OWCP issued another decision on the same impairment issue in March 2023. The Board held that OWCP could not decide the issue…
E.H. and Department of the Army, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC
Board upholds Army cook's benefit termination and late hearing denial (ECAB 23-0503)
A former Army medical center cook received benefits for accepted knee and ankle injuries after a workplace fall. OWCP ended wage loss and medical benefits based on a second opinion that found no remaining disability or treatment need from the accepted conditions. The Board found that opinion…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Kenosha Carrier Annex, Pleasant Prairie, WI
Board upholds denial of postal carrier's COVID-19 claim (ECAB 23-0225)
A postal carrier reported COVID-19 exposure at work and submitted a photograph of a positive home rapid antigen test. The record did not show that a medical professional monitored the test or verified its result. Under the applicable FECA bulletins, the Board found the home test alone insufficient…
G.K. and Department of the Navy, Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, VA
Board dismisses Navy employee's appeal at his request (ECAB 23-0054)
A Military Sealift Command employee appealed an OWCP decision issued on October 14, 2022. He later asked the Board to dismiss the appeal. The Board granted that request and dismissed the appeal without deciding the underlying compensation issue.
J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Wilmington Box Post Office, New Castle, DE
Board reverses rescission of postal worker's hip claim and benefit termination (ECAB 21-1401)
A postal mail handler had an accepted left femur fracture and left hip sprain after a work incident. OWCP later withdrew its acceptance of the fracture and ended wage loss and medical benefits, relying on an impartial examiner's opinion that the symptoms came from preexisting arthritis. The Board…
M.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Davenport-Northwest Post Office, Davenport, IA
Board returns postal worker's stress related claim for a medical opinion (ECAB 21-0661)
A postal employee claimed that duties at a busy customer service window, without adequate training, triggered panic symptoms and aggravated preexisting anxiety and irritable bowel syndrome. Two physicians linked his conditions to the accepted work factors, but their reports lacked enough reasoning…
Kossen v. Empire Airlines
AIR21 reconsideration denied
Darren Kossen asked the Board to reconsider its affirmance of an administrative judge's denial of his AIR21 retaliation complaint. The Board explained that reconsideration requires previously unavailable material law or facts, later material developments, a change in law, or failure to consider…
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.