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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Edgewater Steel Corporation
Pre-1971 overhead-crane items vacated
OSHA cited Edgewater Steel under several overhead and gantry crane provisions. The company sought summary judgment because its cranes had been installed before August 31, 1971. The Commission held that the cited provisions derived from ANSI construction-and-installation requirements that were only…
General Dynamics Corporation, Electric Boat Division
Pre-1971 crane items vacated
OSHA issued General Dynamics numerous serious and nonserious items under the overhead-crane and mobile-crane standards. The company sought partial summary judgment because the equipment had been constructed and installed before August 31, 1971. The Commission held that the cited provisions…
General Motors Corporation, Central Foundry Division
Federal failure-to-correct authority upheld in Michigan
Federal OSHA cited General Motors for excessive respirable dust in 1974 and set a final abatement date in 1976. After Michigan's state plan became operational, federal OSHA reinspected the plant and issued a failure-to-correct notification. General Motors argued that the state plan agreement had…
Interlake, Inc.
Six pre-1971 overhead-crane items vacated
OSHA cited Interlake under six overhead and gantry crane provisions. The company showed through testimony and business records that the cited cranes had been constructed or installed before August 31, 1971, and the Secretary did not rebut that evidence. The Commission held that the cited provisions…
Sitkin Smelting & Refining, Inc.
Default judgment affirmed without review
The judge dismissed Sitkin Smelting's notice of contest after the company failed to answer the Secretary's complaint or comply with an order directing an answer. That ruling affirmed two citations and proposed penalties totaling $11,600. The Commission directed review of whether the notice of…
Wander Iron Works, Inc.
Scaffold, ladder, and housekeeping violations affirmed
A Wander Iron Works foreman worked 15 feet above ground on a bracket scaffold without required guardrails and with his safety belt untied. Another employee worked from a nearby ladder at the same height without a safety belt or other fall protection. The foreman's knowledge was imputed to the…
Kent Nowlin Construction Co., Inc.
Sand is presumed unstable, and scientific soil testing is evidence rather than a prerequisite
Two Albuquerque worksites were inspected on the same day in November 1975. Docket 76-191 covers the job at Bluewater and 61st Streets NW, and 76-192 covers the job at 200 Coors Road NW. The cases were consolidated for hearing and decision. Administrative Law Judge Dee C. Blythe found two serious…
United States Steel Corporation, Duquesne Plant
Crane provision advisory for equipment already in service in 1971
One citation item was left in this case. It alleged that U.S. Steel's Duquesne plant failed to comply with 29 C.F.R. § 1910.179(g)(2)(i), part of the overhead and gantry crane standard. The item never went to a hearing. In November 1975 the Secretary and U.S. Steel filed a joint stipulation and…
Bethlehem Steel Corporation
Five shipyard violations reclassified as repeated
Bethlehem Steel was cited at its Beaumont shipyard for an uninterrupted fixed ladder without required platforms, flexible electrical cords run through a wall opening, unguarded deck openings, poor housekeeping, and a suspended load passing over an employee. The judge affirmed the conditions but…
Matter of Cheung
Unsupported family certificate did not prove a parent-child relationship
The Board reviewed a United States citizen's visa petition for a beneficiary claimed to be her father. Earlier evidence supporting the relationship had been rejected, and the petitioner submitted a recent family-relationship certificate from a court in the People's Republic of China. The Board held…
J. L. Foti Construction Co., Inc.
Scaffold violation reclassified as repeated
J. L. Foti employees worked from a scaffold more than 14 feet above ground and from a connected runway without complete guardrails. An earlier uncontested citation under the same standard involved another unguarded scaffold and had become a final Commission order. The judge treated the new…
Norfolk Naval Shipyard (Respondent) and International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Local One (Complainant)
Norfolk shipyard file access bargaining order narrowed (FLRA 22-09154(CA))
A union challenged Norfolk Naval Shipyard’s unilateral change to employee access to work files. The judge found the change itself and the lack of bargaining unlawful. The Authority held that management could decide how files were accessed for work duties, but still had to bargain over…
Aircraft Fire and Rescue Division, Air Operations Department, Naval Air Station, Norfolk, Virginia (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2225, AFL-CIO (Complainant)
Norfolk naval air station worksite bargaining order adopted (FLRA 22-09088(CA))
A union complained that a naval air station moved aircraft fire and rescue crews to another worksite without advance notice and an opportunity to bargain over the impact. The administrative law judge found an unfair labor practice under Executive Order 11491. The Authority adopted the judge’s…
Department of the Air Force, 6th Missile Warning Squadron, Otis Air Force Base, Massachusetts (Activity) and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO (Petitioner) and National Association of Government Employees, Local R1-54 (Intervenor)
Otis Air Force Base mediator unit election directed (FLRA 1-RO-5)
AFGE sought to represent employees of the 6th Missile Warning Squadron at Otis Air Force Base, while NAGE intervened. The Authority found an appropriate bargaining unit and directed an election with AFGE, NAGE, and neither union on the ballot. The election would determine representation after this…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1451 (Labor Organization) and Naval Training Center, Orlando, Florida (Activity)
Naval Training Center negotiation team proposal outside duty to bargain (FLRA 0-NG-75)
A union proposed that each side designate at least three representatives for contract negotiations at the Naval Training Center in Orlando. The Authority found the proposal would control the number of management representatives, a matter outside conditions of employment of bargaining unit…
American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 2578 and General Services Administration, National Archives and Records Service
National Archives temperature proposal appeal dismissed as premature (FLRA 0-NG-163)
An AFGE local appealed a nonnegotiability allegation concerning proposed temperature and humidity limits at National Archives worksites. The union revised the proposal before asking the Authority to decide it. Because the agency had not alleged that the revised proposal was outside the duty to…
The National Council of CSA Locals, AFGE, AFL-CIO (Union) and The Community Services Administration (Activity)
Community Services Administration promotion proposal outside duty to bargain (FLRA 0-NG-127)
A union proposed limiting the area of consideration for vacancies when at least five qualified internal candidates were available. The Authority found the proposal would prevent management from considering other appropriate candidates. It sustained the agency’s nonnegotiability allegation under its…
Matter of Sedghi
Unpaid tuition did not end bona fide student status
The Board reviewed deportation proceedings against an Iranian student who had not paid tuition for two successive semesters but remained enrolled and was allowed by the university to register and attend classes. The Service argued that the student violated his status because the school had not…
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, Region 7, San Francisco, CA (Activity) and Council of Federal Mediators, Region 7 (Petitioner)
Federal mediator representation petition dismissed (FLRA 9-RO-14)
The Council of Federal Mediators sought an election among mediators in the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service’s Region 7. The Authority found the mediators administered parts of the federal labor relations statute through their mediation and technical assistance work. Section 7112(b)(4)…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Ace Drilling Coal Company, Inc.
Ace Drilling Coal Company (FMSHRC PITT 75-1-P): Loader alarm and horn penalties affirmed
A foreman at Ace Drilling Coal Company's strip mine was killed when a front end loader backed over him. An inspector found that the loader's backup alarm and horn did not work, and an ALJ assessed penalties of $7,500 and $2,500 for the two violations. Ace argued that the foreman had knowingly…
Wright and Lopez, Inc.
Repeated-serious trenching violation affirmed
Wright and Lopez was installing utility cable when a roughly 10-foot-deep trench in unstable soil collapsed and buried an employee to his shoulders without causing serious injury. The trench had vertical walls and incomplete shoring that did not extend to the bottom. The Commission held that the…
Delaware and Hudson Railway Co.
Electrical code sections written into subsection (a) apply whatever the installation date
United Transportation Union Local 256 complained to OSHA in January 1976 about conditions in the crew dispatcher's office at the railway's Colonie yard in Watervliet, New York. The inspection produced one citation with five nonserious items covering a drinking fountain, a toilet room, two…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Co-op Mining Company
Co-op Mining Company (FMSHRC DENV 75-207-P): Violations and $2,898 penalty affirmed
An ALJ found that Co-op Mining Company committed 14 of 15 alleged violations and assessed $2,898 in penalties. Co-op challenged one violation finding under 30 C.F.R. § 75.603 and seven penalty amounts. The Commission found evidence supporting the challenged violation. It also rejected Co-op's…
Pittsburg & Midway Coal Mining Company v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Pittsburg & Midway Coal Mining Company (FMSHRC BARB 74-666): Modified withdrawal order affirmed
A MESA inspector issued an imminent danger withdrawal order at a Pittsburg & Midway coal mine, citing damaged trailing cables, coal and dust accumulations, and loose overhanging ribs. The ALJ found imminent danger from the two cable conditions but removed the references to the general accumulations…
O.E.C. Corporation
Three violations affirmed without warrant review
An OSHA inspection conducted under a warrant produced two citations against O.E.C. Corporation: one alleged two serious violations with proposed $300 penalties for each item, and the other alleged one nonserious violation without a proposed penalty. The judge reclassified the serious items as…
Brown-McKee, Inc.
Ladder, roof-edge, and floor-opening violations affirmed
Brown-McKee left an unsecured ladder available between roof levels where employees were working. Employees also pulled materials onto a roof 54 feet above ground without safety belts, lifelines, or perimeter guardrails. Three separate floor, ladderway, and hatchway openings exposed employees to…
Duquesne Light Company; Vecellio & Grogan, Inc.
Late-report dismissals reversed
Three cases were consolidated for review after the judge dismissed citations because the Secretary did not timely file reports of prehearing conferences. The cases involved a vehicle reverse-alarm item, first-aid-kit items and a failure-to-abate notification, and a lockout-related general duty…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Duval Corporation
Duval Corporation (FMSHRC WEST 79-194-M): Late review petition dismissed
A petition sought Commission review of a judge's decision in a case involving Duval Corporation. The Mine Act required a petition for discretionary review to be filed and served within 30 days of the judge's decision, and Commission rules made filing effective upon receipt. The Commission received…
Association of Civilian Technicians, Delaware Chapter (Union) and National Guard Bureau, Delaware National Guard (Activity)
Delaware National Guard vacancy announcement proposal held negotiable (FLRA O-NG-104)
The Association of Civilian Technicians proposed three successive areas of consideration for vacancy announcements at the Delaware National Guard: civilian technicians, other Guard members, and everyone else. The Guard argued that this would impose a hiring preference and restrict its right to…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Union Rock and Materials Corporation
Union Rock and Materials (FMSHRC DENV 78-579-PM): Late review petition dismissed
A petition sought Commission review of an ALJ decision involving Union Rock and Materials Corporation. The Mine Act required the petition to be filed and served within 30 days of the judge's decision. Commission rules treated filing as effective when the petition was received. The Commission…
Social Security Administration, District Officers in Denver, Pueblo and Greeley, Colorado, Et. Al. (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 1802, Et. Al. (Complainant)
Social Security promotion dispute complaint dismissal adopted (FLRA 61-4237(CA))
AFGE locals challenged how Social Security Administration offices handled a vacancy under their negotiated merit promotion plans. The administrative law judge concluded the dispute turned on contract interpretation and should be resolved through the grievance and arbitration procedures, then…
Social Security Administration Headquarters, Baltimore, Maryland (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1923, AFL-CIO (Complainant)
Social Security complaint dismissal for failure to appear adopted (FLRA 22-09141(CA))
A union alleged that Social Security Administration officials assigned work discriminatorily because of union activity. The complainant failed to appear at the scheduled hearing, and the administrative law judge recommended dismissal for lack of prosecution. The Authority rejected the union’s late…
Rexco Industries, Inc.
A scaffold deck no one was assigned to work on is not a platform that needs guardrails
Rexco was the general contractor building a hospital in Yauco, Puerto Rico. It put up a scaffold system large enough that the Commission described it as an auxiliary structure attached to the building: three parallel rows of interlocking metal shoring running from the ground to the sixth floor, the…
Association of Civilian Technicians, Pennsylvania State Council (Union) and The Adjutant General, Department of Military Affairs, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Activity)
Pennsylvania National Guard technician appraisal proposal partly negotiable (FLRA 0-NG-50)
The Pennsylvania council of civilian technicians proposed changes to how the National Guard rated technicians during a reduction in force. One part set ranges of points for civilian performance ratings, and another created an appeal through military supervisors for a military appraisal. The…
American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 695 (Union) and Department of the Treasury, U.S. Mint, Denver, Colorado (Activity)
Denver Mint weekly rotation and seniority detail proposals rejected (FLRA 0-NG-114)
AFGE Local 695 proposed weekly rotation of work assignments in two Denver Mint operations and seniority based selection for recurring details. The Mint said both proposals limited its right to assign employees. The Authority held that mandatory weekly rotation would restrict management's ability to…
Federal Aviation Science and Technological Association (Union) and Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Transportation (Activity)
FAA holiday work arbitration award left in place (FLRA 0-AR-2)
An FAA electronics technician was given Washington's Birthday off while other crew members worked, and her union sought holiday work or lost premium pay. The arbitrator found no contract violation and denied the grievance. The union argued that the award rested on a mistaken reference to the FAA's…
Immigration and Naturalization Service, Department of Justice, U.S. Government and American Federation of Government Employees, Local No. 1656
INS arbitration exceptions dismissed as one day late (FLRA 0-AR-81)
AFGE Local 1656 filed exceptions to an arbitration award in a dispute with the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The award was dated February 11, 1980, making March 11 the filing deadline under the Authority's 30-day rule. The exceptions arrived on March 12. The Authority said it could not…
Matter of Areguillin
Inspection and admission required a factual hearing
The Board reviewed a Mexican respondent's appeal from the denial of adjustment of status after an immigration judge found that she had not been inspected and admitted when she entered the United States. The Board held that a person who presents herself for inspection and makes no knowing false…
Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service and IRS Richmond District Office (Respondents) and National Treasury Employees Union and NTEU Chapter 48 (Complainants)
Richmond IRS telephone monitoring complaint dismissed (FLRA 22-09522(CA))
NTEU alleged that Richmond IRS managers monitored an employee's telephone messages because of his union activity and an earlier successful grievance. The judge found that managers tracked the calls because of extensive personal use of office telephones, with no proven interference with union…
Pennsylvania Army and Air National Guard (Respondent) and Association of Civilian Technicians (Complainant)
Pennsylvania Guard insurance briefings complaint dismissed (FLRA 20-06580(CA))
The Association of Civilian Technicians complained that the Pennsylvania National Guard helped promote an insurance plan associated with an organization opposed to union representation of technicians. The judge found that the Guard sponsored briefings and encouraged employees to participate, but…
U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Boston District Office, Criminal Enforcement (Activity) and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO (Petitioner) and International Brotherhood of Police Officers (Intervenor)
Boston ATF criminal enforcement representation petition dismissed (FLRA 1-RO-13)
AFGE petitioned to represent professional and nonprofessional employees in the Boston criminal enforcement office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. The office argued it was outside the federal labor relations statute. The Authority found that Executive Order 12171 specifically…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Scotia Coal Mining Company
Scotia Coal Mining Company (FMSHRC BARB 78-306): Stay ruling upheld and cases returned to the judge
Scotia Coal Mining Company challenged twenty-eight withdrawal orders, and the Secretary sought related civil penalties after an investigation of two mine explosions. During a separate criminal case, both parties asked the judge to keep every administrative proceeding on hold. The judge continued…
I.B.E.W. Local 1031 (Stewart-Warner Corporation)
Prior final order vacated on court remand
The Seventh Circuit remanded the Stewart-Warner case to the Commission. Treating the appellate judgment as law of the case, the Commission vacated the administrative law judge's May 25, 1979 decision, which previously had become a final Commission order. The order does not identify or decide an…
Cargill, Inc.
Grain-hazard citation vacaturs affirmed without review
The judge vacated two general-duty citations involving static-collecting devices on grain conveyor belts and openings between grain bins. Review was directed on the merits and on whether fire-protection standards could show industry recognition of the alleged hazards. The Secretary stated that the…
Rebco Steel Corporation
Commission refuses to reopen two default judgments the company let become final
Rebco Steel Corporation was cited by OSHA twice in 1977. Its vice president filed notices of contest, but the company then never filed the required answers to the Secretary's complaints and never responded to the Commission's orders to show cause. As a result, an Administrative Law Judge dismissed…
Masonry Contractors, Inc.
Fall-protection items affirmed and saw-grounding item vacated
Masonry Contractors employees worked on the seventh floor near unguarded shafts, floor holes, open sides, and a material-hoist landing. The subcontractor did not inspect the floor, warn its employees, request correction by the general contractor, or use realistic alternative protection, and it…
Forest Park Roofing Company
Flat-roof PPE violation affirmed
Forest Park employees worked within one foot of the edge of a flat roof 27 feet above ground without guardrails, safety nets, or personal fall protection. The Commission held that the construction PPE standard applies to flat-roof work and that the Secretary identified a feasible belt-and-lifeline…
S & H Riggers & Erectors, Inc.
Panel-installation fall-protection violations affirmed
S & H Riggers employees guided precast concrete panels near unguarded building edges at two Atlanta construction sites, about 60 feet and 25 feet above the ground. The Commission rejected the employer's inspection-representation challenge because it did not show that the lack of a representative…
Ed Jackman Pontiac-Olds, Inc.
A car dealership's body shop is a spray room, and once a notice of contest is filed the area director cannot amend the citation
Ed Jackman Pontiac-Olds is an automobile dealership in Ashland, Ohio with a body shop where damaged cars are repaired and then spray painted. A November 1975 inspection produced twenty nonserious items. The dealership contested five of them, and the case reached the Commission on four spray…
Lloyd C. Lockrem, Inc.
Prior final order vacated under the court of appeals mandate
The Ninth Circuit entered an order on December 12, 1979, concerning the prior final order in this case. In response to that judicial mandate, the Commission vacated the administrative law judge's decision that had become final on May 12, 1978. The Commission did not address the underlying citation…
Cement Asbestos Products Co.
Asbestos citations reinstated after pleading dismissal
OSHA cited Cement Asbestos Products for a general duty clause violation and multiple asbestos-control, respirator, clothing, monitoring, and related violations. The company sought extensive details about sampling, exposures, asbestos type, engineering controls, and abatement through a motion for a…
Matter of Fwu
Unclear deportation destination prompted remand
The Board reviewed a deportation case involving a Chinese national born on Ta Chen Island who was evacuated to Taiwan and later overstayed a crewman admission. The Immigration Judge granted voluntary departure but denied withholding of deportation because the Service intended to designate Taiwan…
Daniel International Corp.
Pre-Barlow's inspection evidence remained admissible
OSHA inspected Daniel International's Missouri power-plant construction project in 1977 without a warrant, before the Supreme Court's 1978 decision in Marshall v. Barlow's, Inc. Daniel sought to suppress the inspection evidence, arguing that its project manager had not voluntarily consented and had…
Harshaw Chemical Company
Citation withdrawal remanded for union participation
OSHA cited Harshaw Chemical for serious respiratory-protection and contaminant-exposure violations, then moved to vacate the citation after concluding that testing samples had been improperly counted. The International Chemical Workers Union elected party status while that motion was pending. The…
The Helen Mining Company; Kentland-Elkhorn Coal Corporation; Allied Chemical Corporation
The Helen Mining Company and related cases (FMSHRC PITT 79-11-P): UMWA stay motion denied
The United Mine Workers of America asked the Commission to stay the effect of its decisions in three cases involving Helen Mining, Kentland-Elkhorn Coal, and Allied Chemical while courts reviewed those decisions. The Commission denied the motion without explaining its reasons in the order. In a…
Matter of Przygocki
Conditional section 212(c) waiver was not authorized
The Board reviewed an Immigration Judge's conditional grant of section 212(c) relief to a lawful permanent resident who had been convicted of selling marijuana. The Immigration Judge made the relief contingent on the respondent not violating criminal laws for five years, with automatic revocation…
Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Tinker Air Force Base (Activity) and AFGE Local 916 (Union)
Tinker Air Force Base hazard pay award returned for clarification (FLRA FLRC No. 78A-188)
An arbitrator awarded a four percent environmental pay differential to aircraft egress mechanics and inspectors at Tinker Air Force Base after the base stopped paying it. The agency challenged the award as inconsistent with federal personnel rules. After consulting the Office of Personnel…
Veterans Administration Center, Laboratory Service, Temple, Texas (Activity) and Valerie Graves, AFGE Local 2109 (Union)
Temple VA union negotiator access order upheld (FLRA 63-8479(CA))
The judge found that the Temple VA laboratory service committed some, but not all, of the unfair labor practices alleged by AFGE Local 2109 and Valerie Graves. The Authority adopted the judge's result after the VA excepted to the violations. Its order barred the VA from refusing to let Graves or…
Directorate of Supply Operations, Defense Logistics Agency (Respondent) and Louis J. Derdevanis (Complainant)
DLA union activity discrimination finding expanded (FLRA 22-08768(CA))
Louis Derdevanis complained that the Defense Logistics Agency considered his union work in performance ratings and promotion decisions. The judge found some violations but rejected the claim that union considerations caused his nonselection for Job Opportunity Announcement 161. The Authority…
American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 2118 (Union) and Department of Energy, Albuquerque Operations, Los Alamos Area Office (Activity)
Los Alamos security inspectors' negotiability appeal dismissed (FLRA 0-NG-153)
AFGE Local 2118 sought review of a negotiability issue involving the Department of Energy's Los Alamos Area Office. The Department argued that the office was excluded from the federal labor relations statute by Executive Order 12171. The Authority found that the office reported to the Assistant…
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.