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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Internal Revenue Service and IRS Richmond District Office (Respondent) and National Treasury Employees Union and NTEU Chapter 48 (Complainant)
IRS intermittent staffing complaint dismissed (FLRA 22-09462(CA))
NTEU challenged the IRS Richmond District's use of intermittent taxpayer service employees and its furlough and recall practices. The judge found the challenge to the original hiring decision time barred and found that the union had known of the plan well before hiring but did not timely request…
Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, D.C. (Respondent) and Professional Airway System Specialists (Complainant)
FAA union mail complaint dismissed (FLRA 22-08590(CA))
Professional Airway System Specialists mailed organizing materials to FAA employees at scattered facilities, and the agency returned about 2,500 envelopes rather than distributing them through its internal mail system. The union alleged that this interfered with its organizing rights. The judge…
Asplundh Tree Expert Co.
A judge who stamps four witnesses "not credible" without saying why forfeits the deference credibility findings normally get
A compliance officer watched Asplundh crew foreman Anderson trim trees away from utility lines from an aerial lift bucket twenty-five feet up near the University of Missouri campus in Rolla. A body belt was in the bucket with him. He was not wearing it. Asplundh admitted the belt was off and…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1363 (Union) and Headquarters, U.S. Army Garrison, Yongsan, Korea (Activity)
Korea seat belt bargaining appeal denied without proposal (FLRA 0-NG-94)
NFFE Local 1363 sought bargaining after the Army garrison at Yongsan required employees to install safety belts in their private vehicles following a Korean traffic rule. The Army said the requirement was not negotiable. The Authority denied the union's negotiability appeal because the union had…
National Labor Relations Board, Region 5 (Activity) and National Labor Relations Board Union, Local 5 (Union)
NLRB brief tardiness grace period held negotiable (FLRA 0-NG-62)
The NLRB union proposed a thirty minute grace period per pay period for occasional and unavoidable late arrivals by professional employees. The agency said the proposal would improperly shorten the forty hour workweek. The Authority read the proposal as allowing excused brief absences, while the…
American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 2703 and Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NOAA negotiability appeal dismissed as late (FLRA 0-NG-58)
AFGE Local 2703 sought review of NOAA's allegation that a union proposal was nonnegotiable. The allegation was dated February 22, 1979, while the union's petition reached the Authority on May 3. With no evidence of a different service date, the Authority treated the allegation as served when dated…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1750 (Union) and Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service (Activity)
Fish hatchery standby pay appeal lacked a proposal (FLRA 0-NG-57)
The Fish and Wildlife Service planned to reduce or end premium pay for standby duty at Region 4 fish hatcheries. NFFE Local 1750 sought bargaining and appealed the agency's claim that the change was nonnegotiable. The Authority found that the union had not submitted a specific proposal for review…
National Treasury Employees Union and NTEU Chapters 153, 161 and 183 and U.S. Customs Service, Region II
Customs negotiability appeal dismissed as late (FLRA 0-NG-29)
NTEU and three chapters sought review of the Customs Service's claim that several bargaining proposals were nonnegotiable. The agency's allegation was dated February 28, 1979, while the union filed its petition on March 30. The Authority treated the allegation as served on its date because the…
Bremerton Metal Trades Council and Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
Shipyard arbitration exceptions dismissed as late (FLRA 0-AR-61)
The Bremerton Metal Trades Council challenged an arbitration award involving Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. The award was dated September 28, 1979, but the union filed its exceptions on December 12. The Authority said the thirty day filing deadline had expired on October 29 and could not be extended…
United States Department of Labor, Labor Management Services Administration and National Union of Compliance Officers
Labor agency arbitration exceptions dismissed as late (FLRA 0-AR-52)
The National Union of Compliance Officers filed exceptions to an arbitration award involving the Labor Management Services Administration. The award was dated September 26, 1979, making October 25 the deadline under the Authority's thirty day rule. The union filed on October 29. The Authority…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2955 and The Adjutant General of Iowa, The National Guard of Iowa
Iowa National Guard promotion arbitration award set aside (FLRA FLRC No. 78A-138)
An arbitrator ordered the Iowa National Guard to promote an employee retroactively with back pay after the agency failed to give him special consideration for promotion. The agency appealed. The Authority relied on an Office of Personnel Management interpretation that special consideration did not…
Association of Civilian Technicians, Alabama ACT and State of Alabama National Guard
Alabama National Guard bargaining appeal dismissed without a specific proposal (FLRA 0-NG-27)
The Alabama National Guard planned to fill some vacant technician positions with active duty military personnel. The union initially proposed keeping those jobs with civilian technicians, then asked the Authority to decide generally whether the program's implementation and impact were negotiable…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 66 and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Kansas City Service Center, Kansas City, Missouri
IRS promotion factor petition denied for lack of a specific proposal (FLRA 0-NG-100)
The union sought to bargain over weights assigned to promotion evaluation factors for an IRS tax examiner working leader position. The IRS said the matter was outside its duty to bargain. The union's petition did not identify the weights it proposed or give any other specific bargaining proposal…
Tampa Barge Service
The Secretary withdraws his own petition for review, and the judge's decision stands without Commission precedent
This is a one-paragraph order, not a merits decision. The Secretary of Labor had petitioned for discretionary review of the administrative law judge's decision, which is what brought the case before the Commission. He then moved to withdraw that petition. The Commission granted the motion. With no…
W. J. Lazynski, Inc.
A tunnel contractor who could not have predicted methane still had to test the air before sending anyone back down
Lazynski was building a sewer tunnel under the Fox River in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It sank a hundred-foot shaft and mined six hundred feet in ordinary air. When it hit a silt pocket in April 1975 and water started coming in, it sealed the tunnel with an air lock and worked under twelve pounds of…
Naval Plant Representative Office, Dallas, Texas and American Federation of Government Employees, Local Union 3548
Naval Plant personnel file remedy removed from arbitration award (FLRA FLRC No. 78A-157)
An employee challenged a promotion decision and was later removed after making accusations in his grievance. The arbitrator upheld the promotion selection but found that the removal violated the parties' agreement and ordered the agency to offer to erase the removal from his personnel file. The…
Department of the Air Force, Headquarters 443rd Air Base Group, Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2586
Altus Air Force Base promotion award set aside (FLRA FLRC No. 78A-155)
An arbitrator found that Altus Air Force Base had failed to give a repromotion eligible employee proper noncompetitive consideration for an automotive equipment repair inspector job. The arbitrator ordered a retroactive promotion with back pay. The Authority relied on an Office of Personnel…
The Federal Aviation Administration and Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization
FAA medical examination arbitration award sustained (FLRA FLRC No. 78A-154)
The FAA required an air traffic controller returning from medical treatment to be examined by FAA physicians before resuming control duties. An arbitrator found that the agency had denied protections required by the Federal Personnel Manual and ordered corrective steps. The Authority relied on an…
Defense Electronics Supply Center, Dayton, Ohio and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local Lodge 2284
Defense Electronics promotion arbitration award set aside (FLRA FLRC No. 78A-110)
An arbitrator ordered the Defense Electronics Supply Center to promote an employee to packer leader retroactively with back pay. The employee was entitled to priority consideration because he had held the job before a reduction in force. The Authority relied on an Office of Personnel Management…
Methods and Standards Association and Naval Air Rework Facility, Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola higher grade detail pay proposal held negotiable (FLRA 0-NG-41)
The union proposed higher grade pay for unit employees temporarily assigned higher grade duties for at least five days. The Navy said the proposal would regulate its procedures for filling supervisory positions outside the unit. The Authority read the proposal as addressing pay only after…
National Treasury Employees Union and Internal Revenue Service
IRS upward mobility proposal negotiable only as to vacancy announcements (FLRA 0-NG-109)
The union proposed increasing the share of IRS vacancies designated for upward mobility over several years. The Authority separated the proposal's two sentences. Requiring the IRS to announce a specified share of vacancies as upward mobility positions was a negotiable procedure because management…
Matter of Estrada
Reopening denied after deportation was lawful
The Board considered a motion to reopen filed by a Mexican respondent who had already been deported after being found deportable for knowingly and for gain helping another alien enter the United States unlawfully. The respondent argued that his deportation should be revisited because his criminal…
Matter of Cienfuegos
New Jersey civil-law adultery barred voluntary departure
The Board considered a Salvadoran respondent's motion to reopen deportation proceedings so he could seek voluntary departure after marrying a lawful permanent resident and legitimating his United States citizen child. The Board held that his cohabitation with another woman while he was still…
Gil Haugan d/b/a Haugan Construction Co.
Scaffold and improvised-lifting violations affirmed
At one construction site, subcontractor employees used a scaffold without guardrails or safe access and with planks extending too far or too little beyond their supports. The Commission held Haugan responsible as general contractor because the obvious violations were conditions it could reasonably…
Matter of Zapata
Appeal dismissed after reentry removed Silva protection
The Board considered a Mexican husband and wife who had been found deportable for entering the United States without inspection. The respondents argued that they qualified for suspension of deportation and that the Silva v. Bell injunction protected them while they waited for a visa, but they had…
Keco Industries, Inc.
Citations vacated after suppression ruling was left unreviewed
Judge Charles K. Chaplin suppressed the evidence from an OSHA inspection of Keco Industries, vacated the citations and dismissed the complaint. Neither side asked the Commission to review that ruling. Commissioner Cottine directed review on his own motion anyway. The Secretary then filed a position…
Interpretation and Guidance
Bargaining representatives entitled to official time and travel expenses (FLRA 0-PS-3 and 0-PS-6)
The Authority interpreted official time rules for employees representing unions in collective bargaining. It concluded that official time under section 7131(a) covered negotiations beyond a basic agreement, including later negotiations and renegotiation. It also concluded that covered employee…
Interpretation and Guidance
Existing grievance procedures may require renegotiation under the new statute (FLRA 0-PS-2)
The Authority addressed how the new federal labor statute affected grievance procedures in agreements made under the earlier executive order. Parties that both wanted to keep their existing procedures could continue them. If either party objected to continuing their scope, the parties had to…
Matter of Cantu
Attorney General affirmed termination after finding citizenship
The Board reviewed deportation proceedings against a Mexican national who was born in the Horcon Tract, an area that was United States territory when he was born but was later transferred to Mexico. The government argued that the United States had effectively given up jurisdiction over the tract…
Kehm Construction Co.
Scaffold violation upgraded to willful
Kehm employees worked more than 20 feet above the ground on a scaffold and connecting runway that lacked required guardrails, midrails, and toeboards. The general contractor and another subcontractor repeatedly warned Kehm's vice president and foreman about the scaffold deficiencies over several…
Bristol Steel & Iron Works, Inc.
The Fourth Circuit fixed the test for the personal protective equipment standard, so the case goes back to the judge to apply it
This is a two-paragraph remand order. The Fourth Circuit had reviewed the Commission's decision and sent the case back with a specific instruction on how to decide whether Bristol Steel violated the construction personal protective equipment standard: ask whether, under the circumstances, a…
Matter of Shaw
$5,000 immigration bond upheld despite flawed reasoning
The Board reviewed a Jamaican respondent's request to reduce a $5,000 immigration appearance bond after his arrest in New York on criminal firearms charges. It held that pending criminal charges, the seriousness of those charges, and the manner of entry into the United States may be considered when…
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and EEOC Council of Locals No. 216, American Federation of Government Employees
EEOC arbitration review petition denied for unsupported exceptions (FLRA FLRC No. 78A-174)
An arbitrator ordered the EEOC and its union to begin impact bargaining over a new performance system and directed the agency to stop using certain changed evaluation factors. The EEOC petitioned for review, claiming that the arbitrator exceeded his authority, departed from the agreement, and…
U.S. Army Communications Command Agency, St. Louis, Missouri and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 405
Army St. Louis bargaining unit clarified after reorganizations (FLRA 62-6101(RA))
Army reorganizations left a small St. Louis bargaining unit represented by NFFE Local 405 and raised the status of about sixteen employees at two other sites. The Authority treated the petition as also seeking unit clarification and an amendment to the recognition description. It found that the…
Social Security Administration, Bureau of Hearings and Appeals and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3615
Social Security flexitime sign sheet complaint dismissed (FLRA 22-08933(CA))
Social Security moved flexitime sign in and sign out sheets so supervisors could better verify employees' work times. The union alleged that moving the sheets without bargaining was an unfair labor practice. The administrative law judge found that the additional walking distance did not…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1141 and Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, Albany Metallurgy Research Center, Albany, Oregon
Bureau of Mines flexitime appeal dismissed as wrong procedure (FLRA 0-NG-80)
The union sought bargaining over a flexitime schedule at the Bureau of Mines' Albany center. The parties disagreed about whether management had bargained over the schedule itself or only its implementation. Neither identified a specific proposal whose consistency with law or regulation the…
National Treasury Employees Union and U.S. Customs Service, Region VIII, San Francisco, California
Customs nameplate proposal negotiable except for voluntary participation (FLRA 0-NG-3)
Customs planned a test requiring uniformed officers to wear nameplates, and the union proposed limits and safeguards. The Authority held that making participation voluntary was outside the duty to bargain because it could prevent Customs from running the test. It found the remaining disputed terms…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Freeman United Coal Mining Company
Freeman United Coal Mining Company (FMSHRC VINC 78-395-P): Penalty petition restored
A judge dismissed the Secretary of Labor's petition for a penalty against Freeman United Coal Mining Company over an alleged combustible material violation. The Commission reversed the dismissal and remanded the case. Its one-page order directs further proceedings consistent with its opinion in Old…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Peabody Coal Company
Peabody Coal Company (FMSHRC VINC 77-91): Judge's decision reversed and case remanded
The Commission reversed an administrative law judge's decision in a case involving Peabody Coal Company. Its one-page order remanded the case for further proceedings consistent with the Commission's opinion in Old Ben Coal Co., issued the same day. This release does not explain the earlier ruling…
Butler Lime and Cement Company
Crane power-line violation affirmed for inadequate training
A Butler delivery driver was electrocuted after the crane boom on his brick truck contacted or closely approached a 4,800-volt overhead power line. OSHA cited the requirement to keep cranes at least ten feet from lines rated 50 kilovolts or below. After the judge initially vacated the citation, a…
Magma Copper Company v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA) and United Steelworkers of America
Magma Copper Company (FMSHRC DENV 78-533-M): Walkaround-pay citation and order affirmed
MSHA sent two inspectors to different parts of Magma Copper Company's milling complex and asked for a miners' representative to accompany each. Magma agreed to assign two representatives but would pay only one, so only one accompanied an inspector. A judge vacated the resulting citation and…
Veterans Administration and National Association of Government Employees
Veterans Administration consolidated unit decision sustained (FLRA FLRC No. 78A-123)
The Veterans Administration challenged a decision allowing NAGE to consolidate nineteen represented units in the Department of Medicine and Surgery. The Assistant Secretary had found a shared mission, similar working conditions, and centrally directed personnel and labor policies. The Authority…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Arnold J. Sparks, Jr. v. Allied Chemical Corporation
Allied Chemical Corporation (FMSHRC WEVA 79-148-D): Sparks complaint dismissed
The Secretary of Labor brought a complaint against Allied Chemical Corporation on behalf of Arnold J. Sparks, Jr. The Commission reversed the judge's decision, vacated his order, and dismissed the complaint. Its brief majority decision cites Helen Mining Co. and Kentland-Elkhorn Coal Corp. without…
Matter of Calka
Refugee parole date controlled permanent-residence eligibility
The Regional Commissioner reviewed a Polish applicant's request for permanent resident status under a law for refugees paroled into the United States. The applicant had been present in the country before he was paroled as a refugee, but he had not spent two years in the United States after that…
Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Pacific/Asia Region and Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization, Pacific Region
FAA Honolulu parking settlement complaint dismissed (FLRA 73-1075(CA))
The union alleged that the FAA unlawfully withdrew a settlement concerning employee parking at Honolulu International Airport. The airport, which controlled the parking lots, had offered lower cost spaces but later withdrew that offer. The administrative law judge found that the FAA had never…
Department of the Air Force, 47th Flying Training Wing, Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1749
Laughlin Air Force Base telephone change violated notice duty (FLRA 63-8164(CA))
Laughlin Air Force Base replaced direct dial telephones in its civil engineering shops without advance notice to the union. After allowing the agency to reply to the union's exceptions, the Authority reached the same result as its earlier order. It agreed with the judge that the base did not have…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1931 and Department of the Navy, Naval Weapons Station, Concord, California
Navy union literature appeal dismissed as wrong procedure (FLRA 0-NG-55)
A Navy station told the union that employees could not distribute nonwork materials on station property during working hours. The union disputed whether this was a new policy and sought bargaining over distribution of union literature. The Authority found that the parties' dispute concerned…
California National Guard, Fresno Air National Guard Base, Fresno, California and Local R12-105, National Association of Government Employees
Fresno National Guard direct appeal of impasse order denied (FLRA 0-MC-4)
The Federal Service Impasses Panel ordered contract language giving Fresno Air National Guard technicians a choice of military uniform or agreed civilian attire, subject to exceptions. The Guard sought direct Authority review or a fact finding hearing. The Authority held that the proceeding had…
State of California National Guard, Sacramento, California and Locals R12-125, R12-132, R12-146 and R12-150, National Association of Government Employees
California National Guard direct impasse appeal denied (FLRA 0-MC-3)
The Federal Service Impasses Panel ordered language allowing technicians in four California National Guard units to wear agreed civilian attire instead of military uniforms, subject to exceptions. The Guard sought direct Authority review or a fact finding hearing. The Authority held that neither…
State of New York, Division of Military and Naval Affairs and New York Council, Association of Civilian Technicians, Inc.
New York National Guard direct impasse appeal denied (FLRA 0-MC-2)
The Federal Service Impasses Panel ordered language allowing New York National Guard technicians to choose agreed civilian attire in place of military uniforms, subject to exceptions. The Guard sought direct Authority review, arguing that the Panel relied on an erroneous negotiability ruling. The…
Kentland-Elkhorn Coal Corporation v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA) and United Mine Workers of America
Kentland-Elkhorn Coal Corporation (FMSHRC PIKE 78-399): Walkaround-pay citation vacated
A miner accompanied an MSHA inspector during a special electrical inspection of Kentland-Elkhorn Coal Corporation's mine, but the operator initially refused to pay him for that time. MSHA cited the operator under the Mine Act's walkaround-pay provision and issued a failure-to-abate withdrawal…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Coaltrain Corporation
Coaltrain Corporation (FMSHRC MORG 79-26-P): Default reversed and penalty case remanded
The Secretary sought $625 in penalties against Coaltrain Corporation for seven alleged violations. Coaltrain, a five-employee strip mine operator representing itself, denied the allegations and requested a hearing. It answered part of the judge's pretrial order but missed a second response, and the…
Automatic Sprinkler Corporation of America
Mobile-scaffold penalty reduced to $750
An Automatic Sprinkler employee worked on an unguarded mobile scaffold with a platform only 6.5 feet above its base. Because the scaffold was placed beside lower concrete walkways, an employee falling from two sides could drop 12.5 or 14.5 feet. The Commission held that the guardrail standard…
American Can Company
Noise citation reinstated for protected expert discovery
OSHA alleged that excessive noise at American Can's North Kansas City plant required feasible controls and an effective hearing-conservation program. To develop evidence about engineering feasibility, the Secretary sought a discovery inspection by an outside acoustical expert. The judge denied that…
Dick Corporation
Cross-bracing is not a guardrail, but a standard about attaching a tool to its hose says nothing about joining one hose to another
Dick Corporation was the general contractor on work at Langley High School in Pittsburgh. Two compliance officers found a tubular welded frame scaffold against the north wall with a single plank at the 23-foot level and no guardrails. Nobody was on it during the inspection, but employee Joseph…
Department of the Air Force, McGuire Air Force Base and American Federation of Government Employees, Local No. 1778
McGuire Air Force Base shift award review petition denied (FLRA FLRC No. 78A-173)
McGuire Air Force Base changed shifts and tours of duty during a temporary repair shop program. An arbitrator rejected the union's claim that the changes violated the parties' agreements or Executive Order 11491. The union petitioned for review, arguing that the agreements restricted management's…
Pass and Seymour, Inc.
Molding-machine guarding violation affirmed
Pass and Seymour operated 24 automatic molding machines whose heated dies closed under high pressure. Employees could reach between the dies while open or through side openings during the operating cycle, particularly while clearing a malfunction. The company relied on training, warning plates…
4392 Aerospace Support Group, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, Department of the Air Force and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1001
Vandenberg career system complaint dismissed despite working condition change (FLRA 72-7644(CA))
Vandenberg Air Force Base replaced one automated career system with another for filling certain vacancies. The judge found no significant change in working conditions and recommended dismissal of the union's bargaining complaint. The Authority disagreed about the effect of the replacement: the new…
Department of the Air Force, Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma and Local 916, American Federation of Government Employees
Tinker Air Force Base steward absence complaint dismissed (FLRA 63-8033(CA))
Tinker Air Force Base charged a union steward with fifteen minutes of unauthorized absence after he left his work station to obtain a document for union business. The union alleged retaliation and an unlawful change in release procedures. The administrative law judge found that the agreement…
Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Social Security Administration, Great Lakes Program Service Center, Chicago, Illinois and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1395
Social Security probationary employee's union retaliation complaint dismissed (FLRA 50-17077(CA))
The Social Security Administration terminated probationary clerk Sharon Tyler after supervisors documented concerns about her productivity, accuracy, and use of work time. The union alleged that the agency acted because Tyler sought union help and was friends with a union steward. The…
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.