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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Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and Mary A. Egan
FMCS retaliation complaint dismissed (FLRA 20-6723(CA))
Mary Egan alleged that the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service admonished her, kept supervisory notes, and left parts of job-application appraisals blank because she had filed an earlier unfair labor practice complaint. The judge found no evidence that those actions were motivated by her…
Pennsylvania Army and Air National Guard and Association of Civilian Technicians
Pennsylvania Guard recreation-fund change held unlawful (FLRA 20-06613(CA))
For many years, employee committees at Pennsylvania National Guard facilities controlled recreation funds supported by vending-machine receipts. The Guard issued a regulation changing control of those funds without notifying or bargaining with the Association of Civilian Technicians. The judge…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Clinchfield Coal Company
Clinchfield Coal Company (FMSHRC NORT 78-417-P): Late reconsideration petition dismissed
The Commission denied Clinchfield's petition for discretionary review of a judge's decision. Clinchfield then asked the Commission to reconsider, but filed that request after the judge's decision had become final under the Mine Act's 40-day rule. The Commission dismissed the late request without…
Local Union No. 1110 and Robert L. Carney v. Consolidation Coal Company
Consolidation Coal Company (FMSHRC MORG 77-20): Discipline for miner's safety complaint rejected
Miner and safety committee member Robert Carney objected to resuming production after a methane monitor repair before it was tested with a known gas mixture. He left the mine to seek a federal inspector through the committee chair, and Consolidation Coal later issued three reprimand letters and…
Noranda Aluminum Inc.
Abatement process ordered after stacking violation affirmed
OSHA cited Noranda Aluminum after an investigation found that heavy aluminum billets were not stored securely against rolling or collapse. The judge affirmed a serious violation and a $400 penalty, and the Eighth Circuit upheld both after Noranda sought review. The court vacated the original…
Secretary of Labor and United Mine Workers of America v. Canterbury Coal Company
Canterbury Coal Company (FMSHRC PITT 78-127): Judge barred from intervening in review of his decision
The Secretary and the miners' union had obtained Commission review of a judge's decision in four Canterbury cases. The judge then asked to intervene and submit a brief defending his decision. The Commission denied that request, holding that a judge's decision is his final participation in a case…
Matter of Da Silva
Family reunification supported waiver approval
The Commissioner reviewed a waiver application from a Portuguese citizen who had entered a fraudulent marriage after arriving in the United States as a fiancé and was found excludable for fraud. The Commissioner found that the applicant's current marriage to a United States citizen appeared viable…
Globe Industries, Inc.
Settlement remanded to specify abatement
OSHA issued Globe Industries two citations alleging two serious and one nonserious violation. Before the hearing, the parties agreed to reduce penalties, amend one serious item, and withdraw Globe's contest. Their agreement did not say whether abatement had already occurred or when remaining…
Peabody Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Peabody Coal Company (FMSHRC VINC 78-386): Abated citation contest sent back for review
Peabody Coal sought immediate review of a mine safety citation after the alleged violation had been abated. The judge dismissed the contest because the Secretary had not yet proposed a penalty. Relying on its decisions in Energy Fuels and Helvetia Coal, the Commission held that an operator may…
United States Steel Corporation v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
United States Steel Corporation (FMSHRC PITT 78-335): Judge's decision reversed and remanded
United States Steel appealed a judge's decision. The Commission reversed it and sent the case back for proceedings consistent with its May 1, 1979, Energy Fuels decision. One commissioner dissented for the reasons he had given in Energy Fuels. This short release does not identify the standard…
Peter White Coal Mining Corporation v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Peter White Coal Mining Corporation (FMSHRC HOPE 78-444 and 78-451): Abated citation contests remanded
Peter White Coal sought review of two mine safety citations after the alleged violations had been abated. The citations did not contain special findings under Mine Act section 104(d) or (e). The judge dismissed the contests because the Secretary had not yet proposed penalties. Applying its Energy…
Peter White Coal Mining Corporation v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Peter White Coal Mining Corporation (FMSHRC HOPE 78-374 and related dockets): Abated citation contests reinstated
Peter White Coal sought immediate review of several abated mine safety citations that carried special findings under Mine Act section 104(e). A judge had dismissed the contests because the Secretary had not yet proposed penalties. Applying its Energy Fuels ruling, the Commission held that an…
Monterey Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Monterey Coal Company (FMSHRC VINC 78-416): Abated conveyor citation contest remanded
Monterey Coal contested a citation under the mine transportation safeguard standard, 30 C.F.R. § 75.1403. It argued that the standard did not apply to a conveyor belt carrying only coal, but the judge dismissed its contest because the Secretary had not yet proposed a penalty. The Commission held…
Helvetia Coal Company and Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Helvetia Coal and Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal (FMSHRC PITT 78-322 and 78-323): Abated citation contests remanded
Helvetia Coal contested a citation about an accident report form, while Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal contested a citation about recording a preshift examination. Both alleged violations had been abated, and the judge dismissed the contests because the Secretary had not yet proposed penalties. The…
Energy Fuels Corporation v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Energy Fuels Corporation (FMSHRC DENV 78-410): Operator may contest an abated citation before a penalty proposal
MSHA cited Energy Fuels for alleged unsafe work on high-voltage lines and found that the alleged violation was significant and substantial and resulted from an unwarrantable failure. Energy Fuels abated the condition but contested the citation, and a judge dismissed the contest because the…
Department of State, Passport Office, Chicago Passport Agency and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3671
Chicago Passport Agency union certification revoked (FLRA 50-13100(RO))
The Assistant Secretary had found a bargaining unit of about 45 Chicago Passport Agency employees appropriate and certified AFGE Local 3671 to represent it. On appeal, the Federal Labor Relations Council found that the unit would add to fragmentation of bargaining units and that the Assistant…
Department of Defense, U.S. Navy, Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Tidewater Virginia Federal Employees Metal Trades Council
Norfolk shipyard representation complaint dismissed (FLRA 22-5283(CA))
Norfolk Naval Shipyard met separately with four probationary employees to tell them their employment was ending. The employees asked for union representation, but management allowed a union steward to attend only as an observer. The Assistant Secretary found an unfair labor practice, contrary to…
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and IBEW Local 2080
Army Corps arbitration appeal denied as late (FLRA 0-AR-17)
IBEW Local 2080 petitioned the Authority to review an arbitration award involving the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The award was dated February 19, 1979, and the statutory 30-day period ended March 20. The petition arrived at the Authority's Atlanta regional office on March 26 and was later…
Owens Corning Fiberglass Corporation
Gloves required for fiberglass handling hazards
Owens Corning manufactured fiberglass insulation and provided gloves to some employees handling material in its bagging and rollup areas, but it did not require glove use and had limited replacements. The record showed risks from concealed hot glass, skin irritation, fiberglass penetration, and…
National Labor Relations Board, General Counsel and Region 29 and National Labor Relations Board Union, Local 29
NLRB supervisor's questioning of union officer held unlawful (FLRA FLRC No. 78A-161)
After a union committee wrote that a proposed NLRB supervisor was unqualified, the newly appointed supervisor asked one committee member why he had signed the letter. The judge and Assistant Secretary found that the question could discourage protected union activity and violated Executive Order…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2004 and New Cumberland Army Depot
New Cumberland traffic provision held nonnegotiable (FLRA FLRC No. 78A-141)
AFGE Local 2004 negotiated a provision that would send only depot traffic violations causing property damage, injury, or death to a magistrate; other violations would receive administrative treatment. The Army disapproved it as inconsistent with agency traffic regulations. The union argued that…
Sun Petroleum Products Company
Refinery gas-monitoring settlement approved
OSHA cited Sun Petroleum under the general duty clause for inadequate combustible-gas monitoring at its refinery, and the parties settled before a hearing. Sun agreed to withdraw its contest and immediately conduct gas testing through people knowledgeable about the equipment and locations where…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, Air Force Logistics Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and American Federation of Government Employees
Air Force unit consolidation petition stays dismissed (FLRA 53-10572(UC))
The Air Force Logistics Command and AFGE jointly sought to combine a nonprofessional bargaining unit with a unit of professional nurses. The Regional Administrator said the professionals needed a separate vote on inclusion in the proposed mixed unit. The parties declined to hold that election, so…
Veterans Administration Regional Office, Buffalo, New York and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3314
Buffalo VA promotion procedure complaint dismissed (FLRA 35-4567(CA))
AFGE Local 3314 alleged that the Buffalo Veterans Administration office changed its promotion practice without bargaining by having one official interview candidates and another select them. The judge found a change from past practice, but credited testimony that management had explained the…
U.S. Department of the Air Force, Electronic Systems Division, Hanscom Air Force Base and Harriet L. Guerin, National Association of Government Employees
Hanscom Air Force Base complaint dismissed (FLRA 31-10773(CA))
A Hanscom Air Force Base telephone operator and her union alleged that management denied representation at a performance counseling meeting, made an antiunion statement, and discharged her because of union activity. The judge found the meeting concerned individual performance rather than matters…
Matter of Granados
Reopening denied because waiver cannot cover shotgun conviction
The respondent moved to reopen his deportation case to request relief under section 212(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. His deportation charge rested on a conviction for possessing an unregistered sawed-off shotgun. The Board held that section 212(c) waives only specified inadmissibility…
General Electric Company
Settlement affirmed after union consent
OSHA issued General Electric a three-item serious citation, and the local electrical workers union asked to participate in the case. The Secretary and General Electric later settled by withdrawing two items for lack of proof and ending the company's contest of the remaining item. The judge approved…
Matter of Martinez
Deportation case remanded for a new hearing
An immigration judge found the respondent deportable for entry without inspection and marijuana trafficking. The judge relied on testimony from the separate hearing of the respondent's brother to establish what the respondent had done and to link him to an arrest record. The Board found that the…
International Federation of Federal Police, Local 41 and Wayne D. Thurber
Federal police union complaint dismissed for failure to prosecute (FLRA 70-6382(CO))
Wayne Thurber complained that a federal police union local violated Executive Order 11491 through remarks allegedly made by one of its agents. Neither side appeared at the scheduled hearing, and the judge could not reach them to explain their absence. He dismissed the complaint for failure to…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Helvetia Coal Company and Keystone Coal Mining Corporation
Helvetia Coal and Keystone Coal Mining (FMSHRC PITT 79-12-P and 79-5-P): Extra-record exhibits struck from review petition
Helvetia Coal and Keystone Coal Mining asked the Commission to remove an MSHA official's affidavit and a letter from the Secretary's petition for discretionary review. The materials had not been part of the record before the administrative law judge. The Commission held that Mine Act section…
Matter of De Anda
Six-month practice suspension approved
The Board recommended suspending attorney Daniel De Anda from practice before the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Board for six months. It found that he repeatedly failed to file a client's suspension-of-deportation application and failed to appear at two scheduled hearings despite…
Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Phoenix Area Office and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 520
BIA vehicle transportation complaint remains dismissed (FLRA FLRC No. 78A-150)
NFFE Local 520 alleged that the Bureau of Indian Affairs stopped transporting Phoenix employees between home and work without bargaining. The judge and Assistant Secretary dismissed the unfair labor practice complaint because the same issues had already been raised under the parties' negotiated…
Williams Enterprises, Inc.
An unsecured crane counterweight was a recognized serious hazard
Williams Enterprises was assembling a crane at a Library of Congress construction project when it left a 43,000-pound counterweight standing upright on cribbing on a sloped street without fastening it. The counterweight toppled and killed two employees. The Commission held that the cited hazard was…
Fred's Frozen Foods, Inc.
Noise-expert inspection allowed with safeguards
OSHA cited Fred's Frozen Foods under the occupational noise standard and sought a plant inspection by an outside noise expert to evaluate possible engineering controls. The company argued that a nonfederal expert could reveal trade secrets and asked either to bar entry or require a nondisclosure…
Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Office of the Secretary and American Federation of Government Employees
HEW review petition denied as late (FLRA 0-AS-10)
AFGE sought review of an Assistant Secretary decision involving the Department of Health, Education and Welfare's Office of the Secretary. The decision was mailed to the union on December 28, 1978, making its appeal due by February 1, 1979, under the applicable procedural rules. The union filed on…
Ralston Purina Company
Unguarded auger-pit violation affirmed
Ralston Purina operated a feed mill where an employee was fatally injured after entering a pit containing an operating screw conveyor. The pit's steel grille had been removed to improve material flow, and its remaining metal lid was bent, warped, and easily dislodged. The Commission found employee…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of David Pasula v. Consolidation Coal Company
Pasula v. Consolidation Coal (FMSHRC PITT 78-458): Judge's stay of decision vacated
After a judge issued his decision in David Pasula's case, he entered an order staying its effective date while considering a motion for reconsideration. The Commission had granted discretionary review. It held that neither the Mine Act nor its interim procedural rules authorized a reconsideration…
Matter of Opferkuch
Business visitor admitted for limited liaison work
The Board reviewed a West German citizen and landed Canadian immigrant who sought to enter the United States for short business visits as a salaried project specialist. He would act as a liaison between his Canadian employer and a Texas corporation, inspect facilities, and report information to his…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Republic Steel Corporation
Republic Steel Corporation (FMSHRC IBMA 76-28 and related dockets): Mine owner responsible for contractor violations
Independent contractors committed mine safety violations while working at Republic Steel's mine, including a respirable dust sampling violation. Republic argued that it could not be responsible because its own employees were not endangered and it could not have prevented the contractors' conduct…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Cowin and Company, Inc.
Cowin and Company, Inc. (FMSHRC BARB 74-259): Contractor's withdrawal order upheld
Cowin was constructing a shaft at a coal mine when an inspector issued an imminent-danger withdrawal order over conditions involving the hoist and its operation. A judge upheld the order, but the Interior Department's Board vacated it on the view that only the mine owner could be responsible for…
Matter of DaBaase
Visa beneficiary cannot move to reopen petition
A U.S. citizen's petition to classify her husband as an immediate relative had been denied because the record did not establish the end of his earlier marriage. The husband, as the visa beneficiary, then filed a motion to reopen the petition proceeding. The Board held that the petitioner is the…
Matter of Palelei
Tongan customary adoption did not support visa petition
A lawful permanent resident petitioned for a family preference visa for a woman she had raised in Tonga as her adopted daughter. The district director revoked the petition's approval because the claimed adoption had not been established under Tongan law. The Board held that an adoption must create…
Department of the Navy, Office of Civilian Personnel and National Federation of Federal Employees
Navy consultation order narrowed to policy impact (FLRA 22-07332(CA))
The Navy consolidated support services without consulting the National Federation of Federal Employees, which held national consultation rights. The Assistant Secretary had found violations both for failing to consult about the proposed policy change and for failing to consult about its impact and…
Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Social Security Administration, Northeastern Program Service Center and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1760
Social Security case transfer bargaining finding stands (FLRA FLRC No. 78A-181)
A Social Security program service center moved cases from one office component to another and refused AFGE Local 1760's request to bargain over the transfer's procedures and effects. The judge and Assistant Secretary found that the transfer changed employees' working conditions and that the refusal…
Veterans Administration, Amarillo Hospital and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1631
Amarillo VA statements violated union rights (FLRA FLRC No. 78A-153)
Nurses at a Veterans Administration hospital in Amarillo raised concerns about patient care. After their union president sent patient names and diagnoses to the union's national office, hospital officials told her that patient care was not a union concern and questioned why the nurses had contacted…
Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Social Security Administration, Disability Insurance Program Staff and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3400
Chicago Social Security grievance delay complaint dismissed (FLRA FLRC No. 78A-152)
AFGE Local 3400 alleged that a Chicago Social Security office unlawfully delayed a grievance while a related equal employment opportunity matter was pending. The judge and Assistant Secretary found no violation because the office was willing to resume the grievance after that matter ended and to…
Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Chicago District and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 10
Chicago IRS meeting complaint remains dismissed (FLRA FLRC No. 78A-145)
A Chicago IRS office held a mandatory meeting about fraud enforcement and promotion evaluations without formally notifying NTEU Chapter 10. The Assistant Secretary found it was a formal discussion, but a union steward who customarily represented the union at such meetings attended and could…
Department of the Navy, Naval Weapons Station, Concord and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1931
Concord Navy official time dispute sent to contract process (FLRA FLRC No. 78A-137)
AFGE Local 1931 complained that a Navy weapons station capped its president's official time for union work at about 25 percent of the workweek and charged annual leave for time above that limit. The judge and Assistant Secretary treated the dispute as one about the meaning of the parties'…
Social Security Administration, Cincinnati Downtown District Office and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 75
Cincinnati Social Security bargaining complaint dismissed (FLRA FLRC No. 78A-128)
NFFE Local 75 alleged that a Cincinnati Social Security office changed its food and drink rules and rotated work assignments without required bargaining. The judge found that management gave the union notice and an opportunity to negotiate on both matters, and the Assistant Secretary adopted his…
Social Security Administration, Bureau of Hearings and Appeals and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3615
Social Security union officer complaint remains dismissed (FLRA 22-08859(CA))
AFGE Local 3615 said a Social Security office breached an earlier settlement when it refused to promise that a union officer would never be assigned as an acting supervisor during his term. The Regional Administrator found no reasonable basis for a complaint: the settlement did not promise a…
Department of Defense Dependents Schools, London Central High School and Overseas Federation of Teachers
London school complaint barred by earlier grievance (FLRA 22-08769(CA))
The president of an Overseas Federation of Teachers local challenged questioning and a suspension at a Department of Defense school in England through the school's negotiated grievance procedure. The union later filed an unfair labor practice complaint about the same events. The Regional…
Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Social Security Administration, Northeastern Program Service Center and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1760
Social Security task force bargaining finding stands (FLRA 0-AS-2)
A Social Security program service center assigned employees to a task force working in another office component. AFGE Local 1760 complained that the agency had not bargained over the procedures and effects of that assignment. The judge and Assistant Secretary found that the assignment changed past…
John Matala v. Consolidation Coal Company
Matala v. Consolidation Coal (FMSHRC MORG 76-53): Black lung transfer pay claim directed to Labor Department remedy
John Matala transferred to a lower-dust job after showing signs of pneumoconiosis and claimed that Consolidation Coal failed to give him a later wage increase tied to his former job. A judge dismissed his discrimination application under the 1969 Mine Act because the Black Lung Benefits Act…
Matter of Wang
Small retail business did not qualify for investor exemption
The respondent, a former student who had overstayed, sought to adjust his immigration status based on his investment in a trading company and grocery store. The immigration judge denied adjustment, finding both that no visa was available and that the business did not qualify for the investor…
Matter of M/T Rajendra Prasad
Carrier fine upheld for passengers without visas
The vessel brought five spouses of ship officers and the captain's son to the United States without the visas required of passengers. The district director assessed a $6,000 carrier fine. The shipping company argued that the six people should count as crew because their presence improved shipboard…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1671 and Adjutant General, Arkansas National Guard
Arkansas Guard disapproval of two provisions set aside (FLRA FLRC No. 78A-151)
NFFE Local 1671 negotiated two provisions with the Arkansas National Guard. One would give the union, on an employee's written request, the selecting official's reasons for passing over that employee. The other would give an employee detailed to a higher grade for more than 60 days a temporary…
Matter of Dawson
Marriage alone did not grant permanent residence
The applicant entered as the fiancée of a U.S. citizen and married him within 90 days. She filed for permanent residence but missed two required interviews, and the immigration service denied her application. After a brief trip to Mexico, she tried to reenter without a valid entry document and…
Matter of Cheung
Deportation-country choice reconsidered after U.S. recognition of China
The respondent, born in mainland China, remained in the United States after his crewman admission expired. An immigration judge designated the People's Republic of China as the country of deportation, and the immigration service appealed, citing an older Board decision that treated Taiwan as the…
Federal Aviation Administration, National Aviation Facilities Experimental Center and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1340
FAA management committee complaint remains dismissed (FLRA 32-5255(CA))
NFFE Local 1340 complained that an FAA research center created a position management committee without consulting the union and denied it a place on the committee. The Regional Administrator found no reasonable basis for the complaint, and the Assistant Secretary agreed. The committee was an arm of…
Secretary of Labor ex rel. Roy A. Jones v. James Oliver and Wayne Seal d/b/a Oliver Mine Maintenance Company
Oliver Mine Maintenance (FMSHRC NORT 78-415): Judge's attorney censure vacated
A judge censured two attorneys in a case involving Oliver Mine Maintenance without a prior Commission decision to begin disciplinary proceedings. The Commission granted the Secretary's petition for review and held that the judge lacked authority to issue the censure under Interim Rule 5(b). It also…
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.