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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Environmental Protection Agency and Environmental Protection Agency, Region III and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3631
EPA Region III work assignment complaint dismissed (FLRA 20-06234(CA))
The union alleged that EPA Region III improperly limited work assignments for its president, an environmental engineer. After settlement removed other allegations, the remaining issue concerned whether he was denied duties in his position description because of union activity. The administrative…
American Airlines, Inc.
Before ordering steel-toed shoes for everyone, the judge has to weigh what the airline was already doing
Cargo handlers at American's Kennedy Airport terminal risked foot injuries from dropped freight containers and container doors. Judge Abraham Gold affirmed a citation under the general personal protective equipment standard, and in 1977 the Commission affirmed and ordered that all such employees…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1999 and Army-Air Force Exchange Service, Dix-McGuire Exchange, Fort Dix, New Jersey
Exchange Service discipline delay and position description proposals negotiable (FLRA 0-NG-20)
The union proposed delaying a disciplinary suspension or removal until grievance and arbitration review ended, while keeping the employee in pay status. The Authority held that this was a negotiable procedure because it delayed action without preventing the agency from acting ultimately. A second…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapters 103 and 111 and U.S. Customs Service, Region VII
Customs suspension stay proposal held negotiable (FLRA 0-NG-16)
The union proposed staying an employee suspension while a grievance proceeded to arbitration, subject to deadlines and a fifty day limit. Customs claimed the proposal interfered with its right to suspend employees. The Authority held that the stay was a negotiable procedure because Customs could…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. The Helen Mining Company
Helen Mining Company (FMSHRC PITT 79-11-P): Spot-inspection walkaround-pay citation vacated
During an MSHA methane spot inspection, a miners' representative accompanied an inspector for three hours without pay from Helen Mining Company. MSHA cited the company under the Mine Act's walkaround-pay provision and later issued a failure-to-abate withdrawal order. A judge held that pay was not…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Jim Walter Resources, Inc. and Cowin and Company
Jim Walter Resources and Cowin (FMSHRC BARB 77-266-P): Penalty dismissals reversed
A wire rope broke in a shaft under construction at Jim Walter Resources' mine, and a Cowin employee was fatally struck by the falling rope. MESA alleged that the operators had failed to use an ANSI wire-rope specification as a guide under 30 C.F.R. § 77.1903(b). A judge dismissed the penalty…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1857 and Sacramento Air Logistics Center, McClellan Air Force Base
McClellan Air Force Base temporary promotion award stands (FLRA 0-AR-4)
An arbitrator found that McClellan Air Force Base did not promptly end an employee's assignment to duties above her grade, as a joint grievance committee had directed. He awarded her a temporary retroactive promotion for the period from June 8, 1977, through January 15, 1978. The agency argued that…
Witco Chemical Corporation
TDI violations reclassified and penalty reduced
Witco Chemical Corporation manufactured components for foam systems at its New Castle, Delaware plant. OSHA cited the company after monitoring showed two employees were exposed to toluene diisocyanate above the permissible ceiling while filling drums, without respirators and with potentially…
Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corporation
Docket number corrected
The Commission reviewed an Administrative Law Judge's October 17, 1979 order involving Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corporation. The judge's order incorrectly listed the docket as 79-1468. The Commission corrected the docket number to 76-1468 and affirmed the order as modified. This procedural…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Stash Brothers, Inc.
Stash Brothers, Inc. (FMSHRC PITT 79-44-P): Commission review withdrawn
The Commission had directed review of this case and a case involving Cut Slate, Inc. to consider its policy on hearing locations. It then decided that policy question in Cut Slate. Because the issue no longer required consideration here, the Commission vacated its direction for review of Stash…
Beckley Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Beckley Coal Company (FMSHRC HOPE 77-92): Methane-test violation and $300 penalty affirmed
A roof bolting machine entered a working place at Beckley Coal Company's mine after a foreman had tested for methane, but the Commission agreed with the judge that the test was not made immediately before the machine's entry as required. Beckley argued that an inspector's own test satisfied the…
National Treasury Employees Union and U.S. Customs Service, Region IX
Customs bargaining provisions receive split negotiability ruling (FLRA FLRC No. 78A-29)
Customs disapproved four provisions in an agreement with the National Treasury Employees Union. The Authority held that provisions on consideration for reestablished positions, temporary promotions after lengthy higher grade details, and career ladder promotions were negotiable under the…
Internal Revenue Service, Buffalo District and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 58
IRS Buffalo employee's special achievement award upheld (FLRA FLRC No. 78A-172)
An IRS Buffalo District revenue officer sought a special achievement award under the parties' agreement for performing higher grade compliance work. The arbitrator found him entitled to the award. The agency argued that the arbitrator had improperly made a classification decision, but the Office of…
Veterans Administration Hospital, Dallas, Texas and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2437
Dallas VA painter vacancy award modified (FLRA FLRC No. 78A-120)
An arbitrator found that a Dallas Veterans Administration hospital violated its agreement by filling a painter vacancy without posting it for current employees. He ordered the hospital to vacate the position, post it, and limit use of an outside civil service candidate list. The Authority accepted…
Chobee Steel Erectors, Inc.
The Secretary withdraws the petition that brought the case up, and the judge's decision stands without becoming precedent
A one-paragraph order. The Secretary of Labor had petitioned for discretionary review of the administrative law judge's decision, then moved on March 27, 1978 to withdraw that petition. The Commission grants the motion. With the petition gone, there is nothing left for the Commission to review. The…
Chrysler Casting Corp. - Fostoria Foundry
Nonserious violation and $75 penalty affirmed
An Administrative Law Judge affirmed a citation against Chrysler's Fostoria Foundry under 29 C.F.R. § 1910.178(p)(1). The judge reduced the violation from willful to nonserious and assessed $75 instead of the proposed $4,500 penalty. Neither the Secretary nor Chrysler sought review, and both…
Kerr-McGee Nuclear Corporation
Judge's decision vacated for lack of written findings
The Secretary sought a civil penalty against Kerr-McGee for an alleged mine safety violation. After a hearing, the judge announced a decision from the bench and later issued a short written decision dismissing the petition. The Commission held that the written decision omitted the findings of fact…
Secretary of Labor and United Mine Workers of America v. Monterey Coal Company
Monterey Coal Company (FMSHRC HOPE 78-469): Judge's decision reversed and case remanded
The Secretary and the United Mine Workers of America brought consolidated cases against Monterey Coal Company. The Commission reversed the judge's decision and sent the cases back, adopting the reasons in its October 29, 1979, Old Ben Coal Company decision without repeating them here. A dissenting…
Matter of Elly Velez Pamatong
Permission to represent persons denied
The Board considered a Philippine national and refugee's application for permission to represent people before the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Board. The applicant was a graduate of the University of the Philippines Law Program and wanted to practice for compensation. The Board…
Matter of Giannoutsos
Motion to reopen rescission proceeding denied
The Board reviewed a former permanent resident's motion to reopen proceedings that had rescinded his permanent resident status because the immigrant visa classification used to admit him was not available to him. The Board held that when a respondent claims another numerical visa classification was…
Matter of Salazar
Exclusion order terminated for lack of revocation notice
The Board reviewed the exclusion of a Peruvian applicant who had been admitted as a lawful permanent resident after receiving a visa based on a visa petition that his wife later withdrew. The Board held that his five-month trip through several countries meaningfully interrupted his residence and…
Federal Aviation Administration, Oakland ARTCC and Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization
Oakland air traffic controller reassignment award upheld (FLRA FLRC No. 78A-50)
After the Oakland air traffic control center realigned radar sectors, it considered controllers' prior sector assignments as well as seniority when placing them in the new areas. An arbitrator found that the parties' agreement required assignments based on seniority among all qualified controllers…
American Cyanamid Company
Settlement order corrected and affirmed
American Cyanamid Company and the Secretary reached a settlement agreement covering multiple citation items. The Commission found that the Administrative Law Judge's order did not accurately reflect that agreement. It modified the order to affirm specified serious, nonserious, and de minimis items…
Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington and Bremerton Metal Trades Council
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard steward suspension found unlawful (FLRA 71-4280(CA), 71-4333(CA))
The Bremerton Metal Trades Council challenged conduct at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard that interfered with employees' use of the grievance process and led to a two day suspension of steward John Cleary. The administrative law judge found several unfair labor practices and dismissed other allegations…
Bureau of Government Financial Operations and National Treasury Employees Union
Treasury bureau's refusal to release identified survey results upheld (FLRA 22-09144(CA))
The National Treasury Employees Union requested results from a bureau employee attitude survey that would identify lower level work units and their supervisors. The bureau supplied the survey scores in a form that concealed those identities, and the union alleged an unlawful refusal to provide…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Anadarko and Muskogee Area Council and Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Muskogee Area Office, Oklahoma
Bureau of Indian Affairs negotiability appeal dismissed for filing defects (FLRA 0-NG-152)
The National Federation of Federal Employees petitioned for review in a dispute with the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Muskogee Area Office. The Authority told the union that its petition lacked required copies and proof of service, and gave it a deadline to correct those defects. The union submitted…
Social Security Administration, Headquarters Bureaus and Offices in Baltimore and SSA Local 1923, American Federation of Government Employees
Social Security employee's arbitration exceptions dismissed (FLRA 0-AR-48)
A grievant in a Social Security Administration arbitration filed exceptions to the arbitrator's award. The Authority dismissed them because its rules allowed only a party to the arbitration to file exceptions, and the grievant had not participated as a party. The Authority also observed that her…
Peabody Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Peabody Coal Company (FMSHRC VINC 77-12-P): Forklift violations and $12,000 penalty affirmed
Two notices followed a fatal accident during a tire change at Peabody's Lynneville Mine. A forklift holding a heavy tire had an internal hydraulic leak, and the tire fell and fatally injured a worker. The Commission held that Peabody violated the rule requiring equipment to be maintained in safe…
Matter of Guiragossian
Refugee adjustment reopening denied
The Board reviewed a Bulgarian respondent's motion to reopen deportation proceedings so he could seek adjustment of status as a refugee. It held that the District Director had exclusive authority to decide the refugee-classification application, while an immigration judge or the Board could decide…
Climax Molybdenum Company, a division of AMAX Inc.
Climax Molybdenum Company (FMSHRC DENV 79-102-M): New evidence excluded from review
Climax sought review of a judge's decision in four consolidated cases concerning a silica dust standard. It attached an inspector's deposition and an MSHA document to its review brief and asked the Commission to treat them as part of the record. The Commission held that the Mine Act limited review…
Laclede Gas Company
Lifeline violation and $100 penalty affirmed
Laclede Gas Company employees painted a gas holding tank about 100 feet above the ground, and at least two employees working from boatswain's chairs were not tied to the available lifelines. The Commission affirmed a serious violation of 29 C.F.R. § 1910.28(j)(4) and a $100 penalty. It held that…
Stearns-Roger, Incorporated
Four violations upheld and cylinder item vacated
Stearns-Roger was the general contractor building an addition to a New Mexico power plant. On review, the Commission upheld violations involving inadequate eye protection, unguarded floor holes, construction housekeeping, and welding hoses and cables in passageways. It affirmed the housekeeping and…
Gold Kist, Inc.
Exit citation reinstated and remanded
OSHA cited Gold Kist's animal-feed facility for allegedly failing to provide adequate exits from its Main Mill Building under 29 C.F.R. § 1910.36(b)(3). An Administrative Law Judge dismissed the case before a hearing, finding that the citation lacked particularity and that the standard was vague on…
Hurlock Roofing Company
An engineer's own testimony showed a workable lifeline mast, which sank both the impossibility and the greater-hazard defense
Five roofers spent seven days putting a built-up roof on a one-story masonry building in Wilmington, Delaware, 16 to 20 feet above the ground. For 15 to 20 percent of that time they worked within one foot of the edge, laying roofing and flashing. Nobody wore a safety belt, and there was no lifeline…
Matter of Yodying
Adjustment application treated as timely filed
The Board reviewed a Thai respondent's application for adjustment of status after she filed it at the same time as a visa petition based on an approved labor certification. The immigration judge treated the adjustment application as ineffective because the visa petition had not yet been approved…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Old Ben Coal Company
Old Ben Coal Company (FMSHRC VINC 79-119): Mine owner liable for contractor's fall-protection violation
An employee of construction contractor ANSCO worked on an elevated beam at Old Ben's mine without a safety belt, and MSHA cited Old Ben. Old Ben did not dispute that the safety standard was violated, but argued that only the contractor should be responsible. The Commission held that the Mine Act…
Rodney E. Fossett d/b/a Southern Lightweight Concrete
Scaffold ruling modified
Fossett's employees applied stucco from a tubular scaffold about twelve feet above the ground. The citation used the wrong scaffold-plank provision, but the hearing evidence addressed the correct requirement that planks extend at least six inches over their end supports. The Commission held that…
Pontiki Coal Corporation v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Pontiki Coal Corporation (FMSHRC PIKE 78-420-P): Withdrawal orders reinstated, penalties remanded
MSHA sought penalties for violations in three withdrawal orders issued to Pontiki Coal. The judge found the violations but vacated the orders because the Secretary had not proved an earlier notice and order, then reduced the penalties. The Commission affirmed the roof control violation because some…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. B.B. & W. Coal Co., Inc.
B.B. & W. Coal Co., Inc. (FMSHRC PIKE 77-48-P): Judge's decision affirmed
The Secretary brought proceedings against B.B. & W. Coal Co. under two docket numbers. The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's decision in a one-sentence ruling. This release does not identify the standards at issue, explain the judge's findings, or state a penalty.
Williams Enterprises of Georgia, Inc.
Setting concrete modules on a steel frame is not steel erection, and empty gas cylinders are presumed to hold enough residual gas to matter
Williams was a subcontractor building the control tower at Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport. Judge John S. Patton affirmed three citations, and the Commission affirms all three. The stairwell wall openings. At five stairwell landings between 30 and 135 feet up, the wall openings had top…
Matter of Kong
Terminated adoption ended sibling visa relationship
The Board reviewed a United States citizen's visa petition seeking preference status for her former adoptive brother. The petitioner had been adopted by the beneficiary's parents, but that adoption was formally terminated so her natural mother could petition for her to enter the United States. The…
PPG Industries
The interlocutory appeal is dismissed and the case goes back to the judge
A single-sentence order. PPG had taken an interlocutory appeal, meaning it asked the Commission to review a ruling before the administrative law judge finished the case. The Commission dismisses the appeal and sends the case back to the judge to continue. The order gives no reasons, does not…
Seattle Crescent Container Service
Years of not enforcing a standard is not an interpretation of it, and a cargo container is an extension of the cargo inside
Two longshoremen were standing on top of a stack of three 8-foot cargo containers, securing them to the deck of the S/S Hawaiian at Pier 18 in Seattle. The containers sat on a three-foot coaming, so the men were 27 feet above the deck. There was no net. Safety belts and lanyards were provided and…
Cargill, Inc.
General duty citations remain vacated
An Administrative Law Judge vacated general duty clause citations against Cargill after finding that the Secretary failed to prove the alleged violations. Review was directed on the proper use of the general duty clause and on alleged grain-elevator hazards involving bearings, stairways, dust…
Southern Ohio Coal Co. v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Southern Ohio Coal Co. (FMSHRC VINC 79-98): Indefinite continuance reversed in withdrawal-order contest
MSHA cited Southern Ohio for allegedly failing to drill advance boreholes near an abandoned mine and issued a withdrawal order when it alleged the violation was not abated. During the contest, the parties discussed testing for water saturation, but Southern Ohio declined to carry out the proposed…
Department of the Air Force, Malmstrom Air Force Base, Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2609, AFL-CIO
Malmstrom Air Force Base traffic system: bargaining required over effects (FLRA 61-4022(CA))
Malmstrom Air Force Base replaced its system for handling traffic and parking violations with referrals to a federal magistrate, exposing civilian employees to monetary penalties. The union argued that the base had made the change without bargaining. The administrative law judge found violations…
Matter of "Beechcraft B-95, #N21JC"
Fine canceled after interview request was denied
The Board reviewed a $500 administrative fine imposed on a pilot whose aircraft arrived at San Diego's Lindbergh Field from Mexico without completing the required immigration inspection. It found that official records showed no clearance, the telephone number the pilot called belonged to a port of…
Secretary of Labor v. Co-op Mining Company
Co-op Mining Company (FMSHRC DENV 79-1-P): Judge approves dust sampling settlement later reversed
MSHA alleged that Co-op Mining failed to submit a respirable dust sample for a miner identified by a particular Social Security number. The parties stipulated that Co-op had never employed anyone with that number, but had sampled a miner whose number differed by one digit. Judge George A. Koutras…
Harry Pepper & Associates, Inc.
Power utility allowed to intervene
Following a fatal electrical accident, OSHA cited Harry Pepper & Associates under the general duty clause for operating a backhoe within ten feet of energized power lines without adequate protection. Florida Power & Light owned the lines and sought to intervene, but the Administrative Law Judge…
Matter of Saekow
Unauthorized employment barred adjustment of status
The Board reviewed a Thai respondent's appeal after an immigration judge found him deportable for overstaying and denied his applications for suspension of deportation and adjustment of status. The respondent had received a labor certification in 1976 but continued working without authorization…
Pittsburgh Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Pittsburgh Coal Company (FMSHRC PITT 76-123-P): Haulage-car uncoupler violation affirmed
An employee was fatally injured while trying to uncouple haulage cars at Pittsburgh Coal's Monitor No. 4 Mine. Some uncoupling levers on one side of the cars did not work, although the devices on the other side did. The company argued that the working devices satisfied the rule. The Commission…
American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 2823 and Veterans Administration, Regional Office, Cleveland, Ohio
VA Cleveland union reporting proposal held negotiable (FLRA 0-NG-8)
A union at the Veterans Administration's Cleveland regional office proposed two hours of daily duty time for its president or designee to prepare statutory financial and other reports and carry out the agreement. The agency argued that preparing the reports was internal union business that had to…
Matter of Newton
Seven-year domicile rule reaffirmed for section 212(c) relief
The Board reviewed a St. Kitts respondent's appeal from a deportability finding based on a grand-larceny conviction. He sought a waiver under section 212(c), arguing that his earlier period of lawful domicile as an H-2 nonimmigrant should count toward the seven-year requirement. The Board…
Matter of Bautista
Paternity acknowledgment supported children's visa petitions
The Board reviewed a father's appeals from denials of visa petitions filed for his two children born out of wedlock. He had acknowledged both children shortly after their births and had legal custody of them. Applying Puerto Rico law, the Board held that a child born out of wedlock becomes…
Matter of Chambers
Maryland acknowledgment legitimated child for visa petition
The Board reviewed a father's appeal from the denial of a visa petition for his daughter, who was born out of wedlock in Jamaica. The father had acknowledged her in writing, openly recognized her, and provided her home and support, while her mother later relinquished custody so she could live with…
Local Union No. 3453, District 17, United Mine Workers of America v. Kanawha Coal Company
Kanawha Coal Company (FMSHRC HOPE 77-193): Reconsideration of miners' compensation denied
Kanawha sought reconsideration of a ruling awarding miners four hours of compensation after a withdrawal order idled them. It argued that the miners had declined an offer of alternative work for the first four hours of their shift. The Commission denied reconsideration because no alternative work…
U.S. Department of Labor and Hazel M. Lyons, Earl S. Simpson, Charles F. Wood, James W. Taylor, Calvin L. Copeland
Labor Department employees' protest discipline complaint dismissed (FLRA CSC Case Nos. 88, 91-94)
Five Labor Department employees left their worksites and gathered in the Secretary of Labor's office during a workplace protest. The department reprimanded them and recorded their absence without leave. The employees alleged that those actions interfered with protected union activity and…
The Evening & Sunday Bulletin
A one-sentence order approving a stipulated settlement, with Cottine explaining what makes one approvable
This is a settlement approval, and the operative order is a single sentence: the parties' Stipulation and Settlement Agreement dated August 1, 1979 is approved. The Commission decided no contested question, interpreted no standard, and assessed no penalty of its own. The citation and penalty in the…
Horn & Gladden Lint Cleaner Co., Inc.
Machine-guarding citations remain vacated
OSHA cited Horn & Gladden Lint Cleaners for repeated and nonserious machine-guarding violations involving belts, shafts, and a fan. The Administrative Law Judge vacated all three citations because the Secretary did not prove that employees were exposed to the alleged hazards. Neither party sought…
Federal Aviation Administration, Airway Facilities Sector, Tulsa, Oklahoma and International Association of Machinist and Aerospace Workers, AFL-CIO, Local 2266
FAA Tulsa bargaining unit ended after reorganization (FLRA 63-8801(RA))
After the FAA abolished its Tulsa Airway Facilities Sector, its employees were assigned to the Oklahoma City and Little Rock sectors. The agency petitioned over the status of the existing Tulsa unit represented by IAM Local 2266, while the union argued that a smaller Tulsa-area unit should…
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.