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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Service Specialty, Inc.
Nobody found out what happened to the certified mailing, so the Commission cannot tell whether it has a case
Review was directed on whether a failure-to-correct notification can be affirmed against Service Specialty when the original citation went to a differently named but related company, Southland Drapery and Interiors, both owned by the same person. The Commission never reaches that question, because…
Improved Construction Methods, Inc.
Nobody objected to the judge's decision, so the Commission leaves it alone
A member of the Commission directed this case for review on his own motion. Neither side then objected to the administrative law judge's decision, by petition or in response to the review order. With no appeal and no expression of dissatisfaction from anyone, the Commission declines to pass on…
Royal Logging Company
There is no greater hazards defense under the general duty clause, because a dangerous cure is simply an infeasible one
A Montana logging company cut and hauled timber with crawler tractors, called cats, plus cranes, hydraulic loaders and front-end loaders. All the cats had rollover protective structures and some had seat belts. An operator died on August 25, 1975 when his cat rolled on a 35 to 40 percent grade and…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 24 and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Detroit District
IRS Detroit union appeal dismissed for filing defects (FLRA 0-NG-130)
The National Treasury Employees Union's Detroit chapter petitioned for review in a dispute with the IRS Detroit District. The Authority told the union that its petition appeared to lack materials required by the procedural rules and gave it until August 31, 1979, to correct the filing and serve the…
American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 1858 and U.S. Army Missile and Munitions Center and School, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama
Redstone Arsenal union appeal dismissed for filing defects (FLRA 0-NG-122)
AFGE Local 1858 filed a negotiability appeal involving the Army's Missile and Munitions Center and School at Redstone Arsenal. The Authority notified the union that its petition appeared deficient under filing and service rules and gave it a chance to submit the required materials. The union made…
Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Yuma Projects Office, Yuma, Arizona
Yuma Bureau of Reclamation representation appeal denied (FLRA 0-AS-9)
At the Bureau of Reclamation's Yuma office, NFFE sought to represent nonsupervisory wage board workers who had been in a unit represented by IBEW alongside Foreman II supervisors. The Assistant Secretary allowed an election among the nonsupervisory workers while leaving the supervisors in IBEW's…
Matter of Kim
Robbery conviction barred waiver and voluntary departure
The Board reviewed a Korean respondent's appeal from a deportability finding based on a California robbery conviction. It held that robbery was a crime involving moral turpitude and that the respondent had not maintained the seven years of lawful unrelinquished domicile required for section 212(c)…
Matter of Magana
Annulment did not cure visa misrepresentation
The Board reviewed a Mexican respondent's appeal after finding that he had concealed a prior marriage when he obtained an immigrant visa through a later marriage to a United States citizen. It held that a Washington decree declaring the prior marriage invalid from its inception did not relate back…
Matter of Ruiz-Campuzano
Interlocutory venue appeal dismissed
The Board reviewed a Colombian respondent's appeal from an immigration judge's denial of her request to move a deportation hearing from New York to Miami. The Board held that venue questions belong to the immigration judge once a deportation hearing has begun, and that the Board generally does not…
Matter of Rodriguez-Vera
Motion to reopen denied without unusual equities
The Board considered a Mexican respondent's motion to reopen deportation proceedings so he could seek section 212(c) relief after a murder conviction and a 15-year-and-6-month prison sentence. It held that eligibility for discretionary relief alone does not require reopening, and that a motion must…
Ralston Purina Company
Time spent trying to settle is not undue delay, so shutting off the Secretary's expert inspection and then dismissing for failure to prosecute was an abuse of discretion
The Secretary cited the Sparks, Nevada plant in December 1977 under the noise standard at 29 C.F.R. § 1910.95(b)(1). Three compliance officers and a Solicitor's Office attorney made a discovery inspection in March 1978. The parties jointly sought a continuance so an engineering feasibility study…
Edison Lamp Works
A hazard has to be proved, not described, so an ungauged chuck key and an unlikely oxygen spill are not violations
Judge Richard De Benedetto affirmed two nonserious items and the Commission vacates both for failure of proof. A third item under 29 C.F.R. § 1910.213(h)(4), affirmed with a $100 penalty, drew no exception and is left alone, which means it is not Commission precedent. Item 6a charged unguarded…
Austin Bridge Company
Where a standard applies whenever a condition exists, the Secretary need not prove the condition was dangerous, because that judgment was made when the standard was written
Austin Bridge Company dug a large cavity and put four employees to work in it for twenty to thirty minutes. The sides were neither sloped above the five foot level nor shored or otherwise supported. Administrative Law Judge David G. Oringer found that this violated the trenching standard at 29…
H.S. Holtze Construction Co.
An employer must guard the floor edge while building the wall that will replace the guardrail, and belts bridge the gap where the standard itself cannot be met
Three employees built exterior wall sections on the unguarded third floor of an apartment building in North Platte, Nebraska, 19 and one-half feet above the ground. Judge John A. Carlson vacated the perimeter guarding item and affirmed a second item about stairwell railings. The Commission reverses…
Food Safety and Quality Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture and National Joint Council of Food Inspection Locals, AFGE #488
USDA food inspector overtime award left standing (FLRA FLRC No. 78A-162)
A USDA food inspection service assigned a veterinary supervisor to Saturday offal inspection work normally performed by a patrol inspector. An arbitrator found that the assignment violated the agreement and held that the inspector was entitled to back pay. The agency sought review, arguing that the…
Gardinier, Inc. & International Chemical Workers
Settlement approved after union participation
OSHA issued Gardinier two citations containing multiple serious and nonserious items and proposed $900 in total penalties. Gardinier contested most of the items, and the company and Secretary later reached a settlement. International Chemical Workers Union Local 439 had requested participation and…
National Science Foundation and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3403, AFL-CIO
NSF reduction in force notice violation upheld with changed remedy (FLRA 22-08764(CA))
The National Science Foundation reorganized and issued reduction in force notices without giving AFGE Local 3403 enough advance notice to bargain over procedures and effects on employees. The administrative law judge found an unfair labor practice and recommended rescinding the agency's reduction…
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
FMCS mediator unit question left to representation petition (FLRA 0-PS-7)
The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service asked the Authority to say whether its mediators were barred from forming a bargaining unit because they administered federal labor law. A petition to recognize a mediator unit had already been filed. The Authority declined to issue a general policy…
American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 1978 and Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Boulder City, Nevada
Boulder City union appeal dismissed after late filing (FLRA 0-NG-7)
AFGE Local 1978 sought review of bargaining proposals involving the Bureau of Reclamation in Boulder City, Nevada. The Authority identified deficiencies in the petition and gave the union until April 2, 1979, to correct them. The union's submission arrived on April 6, after the deadline. The…
Secretary of Labor and United Mine Workers of America v. Canterbury Coal Company
Canterbury Coal Company (FMSHRC PITT 78-127): New hearing ordered after judge dominated testimony
The Secretary and the miners' union challenged a judge's handling of a hearing about a roof-condition notice that supported later withdrawal orders. The Commission found that the judge repeatedly interrupted witnesses and took over their examination, preventing the parties from developing their own…
Climax Molybdenum Company v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Climax Molybdenum Company (FMSHRC DENV 79-3-M): Dismissals for delayed response reversed
Climax sought review of eleven citations alleging dust-exposure violations. A judge asked for information about the citations but set no deadline, then dismissed the applications when Climax had not responded after 62 days. Climax complied the next day, before learning of the dismissals. The…
Department of the Air Force, Sacramento Air Logistics Center, McClellan Air Force Base, California and International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 220 and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1857
McClellan quality specialists moved into AFGE bargaining unit (FLRA 70-6220(CU))
A reorganization at McClellan Air Force Base moved 17 quality assurance specialists formerly represented by IFPTE Local 220 into a new division with about 272 specialists represented by AFGE. The Air Force and AFGE argued that the 17 should join AFGE's unit; IFPTE objected. The Authority found the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2126, AFL-CIO, San Francisco, California and Julian J. Reimonenq
AFGE Local 2126 fair representation complaint dismissed (FLRA 70-6211(CO))
A GSA employee complained that AFGE Local 2126 and its president refused to assist with his equal employment opportunity complaint and called that complaint meritless. The administrative law judge found that the union had investigated his concerns and had no duty to represent him in the separate…
Veterans Administration Center, Leavenworth, Kansas and Priscilla M. Clouse
VA Leavenworth nurse's grievance activity protected (FLRA 60-5847(CA))
Priscilla Clouse, a nurse at the VA center in Leavenworth, helped present a group workplace grievance with AFGE. Management later issued written counseling and transferred her to another ward, citing an incident involving a nurse trainee. The administrative law judge recommended dismissing her…
Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Social Security Administration, Office of Hearings and Appeals, Region II, Puerto Rico and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3534, AFL-CIO
Puerto Rico Social Security judges excluded from union unit (FLRA 37-01986(CU))
AFGE Local 3534 sought a ruling on whether administrative law judges in Social Security hearing offices in Puerto Rico belonged in its bargaining unit. The union argued that the judges were team leaders, while the agency said they were supervisors or management officials. The Authority found that…
Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Naval Weapons Station, Yorktown, Virginia, consolidated unit petitions
St. Juliens Creek employees moved into Norfolk and Yorktown units (FLRA 22-08600(CU))
A Navy reorganization moved some St. Juliens Creek Annex workers into Norfolk Naval Shipyard's organization and physically moved others to the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station. The Laborers union sought to keep representing the annex employees, while the Navy and other unions sought to include them…
Pennsylvania Truck Lines
Conrail permitted to intervene
OSHA issued Pennsylvania Truck Lines twelve serious and two nonserious citations at its South Kearny, New Jersey yard. The employer argued that Federal Railroad Administration regulation preempted OSHA jurisdiction and that it did not create or control conditions located on Conrail property…
United States Steel Corporation v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
United States Steel Corporation (FMSHRC PITT 76-160-P): Self-rescue device violations affirmed
Inspectors found U.S. Steel miners at two mines who were neither wearing nor carrying self-rescue devices. The company argued that its safety program, training, and efforts to enforce the rule satisfied its duties. The Commission held that the standard required each miner to wear or carry a device…
Poughkeepsie Yacht Club, Inc.
Four safety items affirmed without penalties
Poughkeepsie Yacht Club was a nonprofit boating club with one paid employee, a fuel pump, boat storage, and docks on the Hudson River. An Administrative Law Judge affirmed four items involving fire-extinguisher tags, a no-smoking sign, gangway guarding, and ladder rungs, classifying the gangway…
U.S. Department of Labor and National Union of Compliance Officers, Independent
Labor Department travel allowance complaint dismissed (FLRA CSC Case No. 100)
The Labor Department temporarily assigned compliance officer Portia Igarashi from Portland to Seattle and discussed a daily subsistence allowance directly with her. Her union alleged that the department bypassed its exclusive representative and changed working conditions without notice or…
U.S. Customs Service, Region IV, Miami, Florida and National Treasury Employees Union
Customs union remarks and overtime retaliation found unlawful (FLRA 40-8733(CA))
The National Treasury Employees Union challenged antiunion remarks at Customs Service Region IV and the loss of special overtime assignments for union officer Clarence Dedecker. An administrative law judge found that the remarks and treatment of Dedecker violated the Executive Order. The Authority…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 66 and Internal Revenue Service, Kansas City Service Center
IRS Kansas City shift-time proposal held negotiable (FLRA 0-NG-19)
NTEU Chapter 66 proposed restoring a 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. shift in the IRS Kansas City Service Center's taxpayer assistance section. The IRS argued that the proposal concerned the number, types, or grades of employees assigned to a tour of duty, a subject it could choose whether to bargain over…
Voegele Company, Inc.
Roof fall-protection violation affirmed
Voegele employees installed a composition roof and worked near edges ranging from 14 to 35 feet above the ground without safety belts or perimeter guarding. The roof included steep side slopes, narrow gutters, and low parapets that increased the fall hazard. The Commission applied a…
Matter of Jean
Late asylum filing did not justify reopening
The Board reviewed a Haitian respondent's appeal from the denial of a motion to reopen deportation proceedings so he could pursue asylum and withholding of deportation. The immigration judge had given him more than five months to file the applications, but he did not do so before a final…
Meadows Industries, Inc.
Noise citation reinstated and remanded
OSHA cited Meadows Industries' yarn twisting plant for failing to use feasible controls against excessive noise in its primary and secondary twisting areas. An Administrative Law Judge dismissed the citation because it did not state the measured noise levels or more exact locations. The Commission…
J. W. Conway, Inc.
A compliance officer who has rigged the system he recommends can prove it is feasible, and impossibility of meeting the lifeline standard is no defense to the belt standard
Two roofers installed flashing on an 18-inch flat strip at the edge of a Washington, D.C. roof, 40 feet above the ground, behind an 8-inch parapet, moving up and down a steep slope to carry materials. They had no fall protection of any kind. Judge Henry K. Osterman found a serious violation of 29…
Local Union No. 5429, United Mine Workers of America v. Consolidation Coal Company
Consolidation Coal Company (FMSHRC MORG 79-13): Late miners' compensation claim allowed to proceed
Two shifts of miners sought compensation for time lost after a withdrawal order at Consolidation Coal's Arkwright Mine. The union filed its application after the 30-day deadline in the Commission's interim rule, and the judge dismissed it. The Commission held that the rule's filing period could be…
Local Union No. 3453, District 17, United Mine Workers of America v. Kanawha Coal Company
Kanawha Coal Company (FMSHRC HOPE 77-193): Miners' compensation and interest affirmed
A miners' union brought this compensation case against Kanawha Coal Company. The Commission affirmed Administrative Law Judge Stewart's award of compensation and interest under section 110(a) of the 1969 Coal Mine Act. Its short decision cited its Youngstown Mines ruling but did not repeat the…
Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Tidewater Virginia Federal Employees Metal Trades Council, AFL-CIO
Norfolk shipyard spray painters' differential claim rejected (FLRA FLRC No. 78A-166)
Painters at Norfolk Naval Shipyard sought an environmental pay differential for ordinary spray painting on ships in drydock. The arbitrator denied their grievance, finding that the dirt, spray, and fumes were normally expected in their jobs, while differential pay remained available for work in…
National Treasury Employees Union Chapters 202, 128, and 165 and Department of the Treasury components
NTEU chapters' unequal representation policies held unlawful (FLRA 22-09079(CO))
Three NTEU chapters told Treasury bargaining unit employees that nonmembers would receive less union representation than members, including no union attorney for certain matters. Treasury components filed unfair labor practice complaints, and the parties submitted stipulated facts. The Authority…
Pennstar Painting Corp.
Settlement penalty corrected to $180
Pennstar Painting Corp. and the Secretary entered into a settlement agreement. The Administrative Law Judge's order did not correctly state the agreed penalty for Citation 1, Item 1. The Commission modified the order to affirm a $180 penalty for that item, as provided in the settlement. It then…
Cutler Metal Product Co.
Settlement penalties corrected to $900
Cutler Metal Products Co. and the Secretary entered into a settlement agreement. The Administrative Law Judge's order did not correctly state the agreed penalties for two citation items. The Commission modified paragraph 2 to assess $450 for Citation 1, Item 2 and $450 for Citation 1, Item 3…
United Parcel Service of Ohio, Inc.
Foot-protection remedy remanded
UPS unloaders and sorters at a Missouri package-handling facility were exposed to foot injuries from falling packages. A court of appeals upheld the violation of 29 C.F.R. § 1910.132(a) but found it unreasonable to require every affected employee to wear steel-toed shoes. On remand, the Commission…
Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Tidewater Virginia Federal Employees Metal Trades Council, AFL-CIO
Norfolk shipyard dirty-work pay award left in place (FLRA FLRC No. 78A-165)
Boilermakers at Norfolk Naval Shipyard sought a four percent environmental pay differential for dirty work. The arbitrator ruled that the pay could be made only when the criteria in the negotiated agreement were met. The union sought review, arguing that the arbitrator disregarded past practice…
Harvey Workover, Inc.
Sealed-compartment oxygen-testing violation affirmed
Harvey Workover drilled and reworked oil wells from a barge in inland waters. OSHA cited the company after a sealed compartment was opened and entered without first testing its oxygen level. A welder drowned in the compartment, and three employees who attempted a rescue lost consciousness and were…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 6 and Internal Revenue Service, New Orleans District Office
IRS revenue officers' home-work request procedures negotiable (FLRA 0-NG-9)
NTEU Chapter 6 and the IRS New Orleans District negotiated procedures for revenue officers to request permission to perform duties from their homes. The agency disapproved portions requiring managers to consider general criteria and act fairly when granting, denying, continuing, or withdrawing…
Miller Ceramics, Inc.
Case severed from its companions and the ALJ decision affirmed as an unreviewed judge's decision
This is a short Commission order, not a full merits decision. The Commission severed Miller Ceramics from its companion cases, Hull Pottery (No. 78-555) and Baldwin Industries (No. 78-741). It then affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's decision but accorded it only the precedential value of an…
Veterans Administration and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO
VA ordered to bargain over probationary employee representation (FLRA 22-09495(CA))
The Veterans Administration refused to bargain with AFGE Local 1739 at its Salem hospital over representation for probationary employees before a professional standards board. The Federal Labor Relations Council had already set aside the agency's claim that the proposal was outside the duty to…
Matter of Sandoval
Exclusionary rule rejected for deportation evidence
The Board reviewed a Mexican respondent's appeal from a deportability finding based on entry without inspection and considered whether evidence obtained during an apartment search had to be excluded. The majority held that the Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule did not apply to these deportation…
D. Fortunato, Inc.
Mixed result on garage fall-protection, housekeeping, and fire-alarm citations
D. Fortunato, Inc. was the general contractor building a parking garage at New York City's La Guardia Airport, and OSHA cited it for fall-protection, housekeeping, and fire-alarm violations. An Administrative Law Judge affirmed most items, and the Commission reviewed and reached a mixed result. It…
Local Union 5869, District 17, United Mine Workers of America v. Youngstown Mines Corporation
Youngstown Mines Corporation (FMSHRC HOPE 76-231): Four hours of lost pay and interest supported
Miners worked four hours on abatement after a withdrawal order at Youngstown's mine, then were sent home without pay for the remaining four hours. The Commission held that the 1969 Coal Mine Act required compensation for the hours actually lost, even though the miners had been paid for work earlier…
Arkansas Army National Guard and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1671
Arkansas National Guard ordered to restore union mail access (FLRA 64-4120(CA))
NFFE Local 1671 had used the Arkansas Army National Guard's internal mail system without postage to distribute union material for about nine years. The Guard stopped that practice without notifying or bargaining with the union. An administrative law judge found that the longstanding, tolerated use…
Headquarters, 2750th Air Base Wing, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1138, AFL-CIO
Air base union typing complaint dismissed (FLRA 53-10533(CA))
An Air Force employee who was also an AFGE Local 1138 officer prepared comments for a senior official about personnel rules. The base stopped its word processing center from making a final typed copy after managers concluded the material was union business. The administrative law judge found that…
United States Army Aviation Center, Fort Rucker, Alabama and Wiregrass Metal Trades Council, AFL-CIO
Fort Rucker grievance withdrawal complaint dismissed (FLRA 40-8806(CA))
A Fort Rucker employee withdrew a grievance after the Wiregrass Metal Trades Council had invoked arbitration. The union alleged that a supervisor pressured him to withdraw it while he sought advance sick leave, and that the Army unlawfully refused to continue the arbitration. The administrative law…
78th Division (Training), Kilmer USAR Center, Edison, New Jersey and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2807, AFL-CIO
Army Reserve unit owed notice about recruiting work methods (FLRA 32-5175(CA))
AFGE Local 2807 challenged the 78th Division's new recruiting plan and instructions described as performance standards for recruiting specialists. The Authority agreed with the judge that the recruiting plan did not change employees' working conditions and dismissed that part of the complaint. It…
Matter of San Juan
Puerto Rican divorce decree recognized
The Board reviewed the revocation of a visa petition filed by a petitioner who had married a Colombian beneficiary after obtaining a divorce in Puerto Rico. Although the petitioner conceded that she had not met Puerto Rico's jurisdictional requirements for the divorce, the Board held that the…
Owens-Corning Fiberglas
The Commission grants the parties' settlement
The Commission grants the parties' July 27, 1979 stipulation and settlement agreement. The brief order does not describe the citations, settlement terms, or penalty. Commissioner Cottine dissents because he would send the case back to the judge for findings and conclusions on whether the settlement…
Western Waterproofing Co., Inc.
Scaffold citations affirmed after court remand
Western Waterproofing employees worked from a suspended scaffold between the tenth and eleventh floors of a building, with another employee stationed on a patio below. The scaffold lacked required protection on open sides and ends, and one worker fell five stories from its front. The Commission…
Division of Military and Naval Affairs, State of New York and Association of Civilian Technicians, New York Council
New York National Guard vacancy remedy set aside (FLRA FLRC No. 78A-54)
Three competitive-service clerks challenged a New York National Guard vacancy announcement limited to excepted-service technicians. An arbitrator found that the limit violated the parties' agreement and ordered the Guard to vacate a later appointment, reopen the vacancy, and fill it under merit…
Veterans Administration Hospital, Perry Point, Maryland and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 331
Perry Point nursing assistant suspension award left in place (FLRA FLRC No. 78A-176)
A Perry Point VA hospital nursing assistant received a five-day suspension after a supervisor reported finding him asleep on duty. An arbitrator found the charge supported and denied his grievance. AFGE Local 331 sought review, arguing that the arbitrator misread witness testimony and made factual…
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.