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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J.A. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Orlando VA Medical Center, Orlando, FL
Board upholds denial of VA worker's back and neck injury claim (ECAB 22-0869)
A VA medical supply worker said his chair jolted and spun when a coworker struck it with a moving cart. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied his injury claim. The Board found that a physician's report linked spine and hip conditions to the incident without explaining how the motion…
Y.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, City of Industry, CA
Board orders further review of postal worker's unexplained workplace fall (ECAB 22-0659)
A postal mail handler collapsed at work and was hospitalized with a skull fracture and brain bleed. OWCP denied his injury claim, treating the cause of the fall as unproven. The Board found no medical evidence that a personal medical condition caused the fall, so it treated the event as an…
UHS of Denver, Inc., d/b/a Highlands Behavioral Health System
Workplace-violence citation affirmed after economic-feasibility review
This remand decision addressed whether OSHA's proposed measures for reducing workplace violence at a behavioral health facility were economically feasible. The original judge had affirmed the general duty clause citation through a discovery sanction, but the Commission set that sanction aside and…
Secretary of Labor v. Rockwell Mining, LLC
Reopening granted with processing-system warning
Rockwell Mining missed contest deadlines for three assessments after the corporate safety director who normally filed contests left the company without filing them or alerting another employee. A paralegal discovered the oversight, and Rockwell promptly retained counsel and sought reopening after…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company (FMSHRC PENN 2022-0011): Escapeway obstruction citation affirmed
Six pressurized hoses from a pump car protruded into the secondary escapeway at Consol's Enlow Fork Mine. The judge found that the hoses narrowed and obstructed the path used with the escapeway lifeline and could impede miners, including a disabled miner on a stretcher, during an emergency…
Steve Brown v. Jones Stevedoring Company, Incorporated and Ports America
Brown v. Jones Stevedoring and Ports America (BRB 22-0201): Injury award returned for causation review
Steve Brown developed carpal tunnel syndrome while working in longshore jobs and reported worse symptoms after shifts with Jones Stevedoring and Ports America. A judge awarded benefits and held Ports America responsible. The Board majority found that a doctor's written report was enough to rebut…
Roby Lowe, Jr. v. Clinchfield Coal Company
Lowe v. Clinchfield Coal Company (BRB 22-0188): Black Lung benefits award affirmed
Roby Lowe sought Black Lung benefits after 29.71 years of coal mine work. The parties agreed that he had simple clinical pneumoconiosis, and the judge found that x-rays also established complicated pneumoconiosis. That finding invoked the statutory presumption that Lowe was totally disabled due to…
Ruth Holland v. Shamrock Coal Company, Incorporated
Holland v. Shamrock Coal (BRB 22-0145): benefit denials sent back for review
Ruth Holland appealed the denial of her late husband's miner claim and her survivor claim without a lawyer. The Board found that the judge had not adequately assessed the competing evidence on whether a 2015 lung function test was valid. The judge also had evaluated some medical opinions by their…
Ruth Holland, widow of Isaac Holland v. Shamrock Coal Company, Incorporated
Holland v. Shamrock Coal Company (BRB 22-0144 and 22-0145): Miner and survivor claims returned for disability review
Ruth Holland pursued her late husband Isaac Holland's Black Lung claim and her own survivor claim. On remand from an earlier appeal, the judge denied the miner claim after finding that Isaac did not have a totally disabling respiratory impairment, then denied derivative survivor benefits. The Board…
Ola Mae Hampton v. ANR Coal Company, LLC
Hampton v. ANR Coal (BRB 22-0112): miner and survivor awards affirmed
Ola Mae Hampton pursued her late husband's miner claim and her own survivor claim. The Board upheld the findings that Edgar had at least fifteen years of qualifying coal mine work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment, triggering the statutory presumption of disability due to…
Ola Mae Hampton, widow of Edgar A. Hampton v. ANR Coal Company, LLC
Hampton v. ANR Coal Company (BRB 22-0111 and 22-0112): Miner and survivor benefits affirmed
Ola Mae Hampton pursued her late husband Edgar Hampton's Black Lung claim and her own survivor claim. The judge credited Edgar with at least 30 years of coal mine work and found a totally disabling respiratory impairment, triggering the statutory presumption of disability due to pneumoconiosis. ANR…
Randell Shepherd v. Incoal, Incorporated
Shepherd v. Incoal (BRB 22-0109): Black Lung benefits award affirmed
Randell Shepherd filed a subsequent Black Lung claim after earlier benefits proceedings. The judge credited him with 21.34 years of qualifying coal mine employment and found a totally disabling respiratory impairment, invoking the statutory presumption of disability due to pneumoconiosis. Incoal…
Bryan C. Snyder v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Snyder v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company (BRB 22-0083): Black Lung benefits award affirmed
Bryan Snyder sought Black Lung benefits after working at surface and underground coal mine sites. The judge credited him with 16.21 years of qualifying mine employment and found a totally disabling respiratory impairment, which triggered the statutory presumption of disability due to…
Smith v. Franciscan Physician Network
HIPAA reports not protected under ACA Title I
Dr. Annette Smith alleged that Franciscan Physician Network fired her after she reported employees' unauthorized access to patient records as HIPAA violations. The Board held that her reports concerned patient privacy and medical-record safeguards, while the whistleblower provision at issue…
Turin v. Maiden Holdings, LTD
SOX complaint denied for lack of protected activity
Bentzion Turin, Maiden Holdings' former general counsel, alleged that the company discharged him for concerns he raised about financing an acquisition. The administrative judge found that he did not honestly believe the reported conduct violated SOX and that a reasonable corporate lawyer with…
Emma Jean Stiltner v. Superior Mining & Minerals
Stiltner v. Superior Mining (BRB 22-0515): miner and survivor awards affirmed
Emma Jean Stiltner pursued her late husband's miner claim and her own survivor claim. His qualifying coal mine work and disabling respiratory impairment triggered a presumption that his disability was due to pneumoconiosis. The Board rejected the employer's procedural and appointment challenges. It…
Emma Jean Stiltner, widow of Danny A. Stiltner v. Superior Mining & Minerals
Stiltner v. Superior Mining & Minerals (BRB 22-0514 and 22-0515): Miner and survivor benefits affirmed
Emma Jean Stiltner pursued her late husband Danny Stiltner's Black Lung claim and her own survivor claim. The judge credited Danny with 16 years and nine months of qualifying coal mine work and found a totally disabling respiratory impairment, invoking the statutory presumption of disability due to…
S.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Francisco, CA
Board upholds denial of postal worker's COVID-19 claim (ECAB 23-0421)
A postal customer service clerk said she developed COVID-19 after a work exposure. OWCP accepted the reported exposure but denied the claim for lack of adequate proof of a COVID-19 diagnosis. The Board found that the photograph of a home test was illegible and the test was not monitored by a…
K.T. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Los Angeles International Airport
Board reverses $13,196.53 life insurance premium overpayment finding (ECAB 23-0205)
A Transportation Security Administration screening officer received compensation for an accepted work injury. OWCP later said it had failed to deduct post-retirement basic life insurance premiums and found a $13,196.53 overpayment. The Board found no signed election form or other adequate proof…
T.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Indianapolis Processing & Distribution Center
Board orders further review of postal clerk's schedule award claim (ECAB 23-0116)
A postal clerk sought a schedule award for permanent impairment after an accepted back injury. OWCP denied the claim after its medical adviser assigned zero percent impairment to her lower extremities. The Board found that the adviser had not explained that rating in light of a nerve study showing…
D.I. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Edward P. Boland VA Medical Center
Board upholds denial of VA nursing assistant's COVID-19 claim (ECAB 22-1366)
A VA nursing assistant said he developed COVID-19 after caring for infected patients at work. OWCP denied his injury claim because the record did not establish a diagnosis under its COVID-19 evidence rules. The Board found that he had not submitted a positive laboratory result. The physician…
P.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Union Post Office
Board reverses termination of postal carrier's injury benefits (ECAB 22-1345)
A postal letter carrier received benefits for accepted carpal tunnel syndrome and brachial neuritis or radiculitis. OWCP terminated her wage loss compensation and medical benefits after an impartial examiner concluded that the work conditions had resolved. The Board found that the examiner did not…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Northwest Processing & Distribution Center
Board upholds denial of late reconsideration request (ECAB 22-1254)
A postal mail processing clerk sought compensation for a back injury she attributed to handling a parcel. OWCP denied the injury claim in June 2021 and later rejected her request to reconsider it. The Board found that OWCP received the request more than one year after the merits decision. The new…
L.L. and Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Northern California Health Care System
Board orders new pay decision but upholds COVID-19 injury denial (ECAB 22-1020)
A VA nurse sought continuation of pay and injury benefits after reporting COVID-19. OWCP denied continuation of pay because it believed he had reported the injury too late. The Board found that OWCP had not applied its guidance using the last work exposure before diagnosis as the injury date, so it…
K.Y. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Togus VA Medical Center
Board orders new pay decision but upholds VA worker's COVID-19 claim denial (ECAB 22-0975)
A VA medical instrument technician reported COVID-19 after exposure to patients or coworkers. OWCP denied continuation of pay because it considered her injury report late. The Board directed OWCP to reconsider that pay issue under its guidance using the last work exposure before diagnosis as the…
Secretary of Labor v. River View Coal, LLC
Personnel transition excused one-day delay
River View Coal missed a proposed-assessment contest deadline during a transition in safety personnel following a retirement. An assistant safety director temporarily handled contests and miscalculated the filing date. The operator mailed the contest one day after the assessment became a final…
Secretary of Labor v. Benton County Stone Co. Inc.
Hospitalization excused default
Benton County Stone failed to answer the Secretary's penalty petition, and an order to show cause became a default order. The operator's safety director and MSHA consultant had been hospitalized for surgery and was on medical leave when MSHA emailed him about the case. Benton moved to reopen on the…
William D. Kutsey, Jr. v. Ronald Bush Coal Company
Kutsey v. Ronald Bush Coal Company (BRB 22-0508): Disability finding returned for fuller medical review
William Kutsey sought Black Lung benefits, but the judge found that he had not established a totally disabling respiratory impairment. His usual coal mine work involved heavy labor, and one doctor concluded that breathing limitations would keep him from that work despite test values that did not…
Martha A. Johnson v. Consolidation Coal Company
Johnson v. Consolidation Coal (BRB 22-0449): attorney fee issue remanded
Claimant's counsel appealed reductions to his fee for work on successful miner and survivor claims. The Board upheld the judge's exclusion of clearly clerical work and vague entries. It also upheld a reduction for a remand brief that repeated extensive portions of earlier briefs. The judge…
Martha A. Johnson on behalf of Raymond L. Johnson v. Consolidation Coal Company
Johnson v. Consolidation Coal Company (BRB 22-0448 and 22-0449): Attorney fee order partly returned
Counsel obtained Black Lung benefits in Raymond Johnson's miner claim and a related survivor claim, then sought fees for that work. The judge allowed some time and costs but disallowed entries he called clerical, vague, or excessive. The Board upheld the denial of time spent scheduling…
Roger Dale Back v. Sapphire Coal Company
Back v. Sapphire Coal Company (BRB 22-0092): Complicated pneumoconiosis benefits affirmed
Roger Back filed a later Black Lung claim after an earlier claim was denied. The judge credited him with 20.90 years of coal mine employment and found complicated pneumoconiosis based on x-rays and a medical opinion. That finding established a changed condition and invoked the statutory presumption…
Alberta Holiday on behalf of Albert Holiday v. Peabody Coal Company
Holiday v. Peabody Coal Company (BRB 22-0057): Employer's modification request returned for hearing
Albert Holiday had received a Black Lung benefits award, and his daughter Alberta pursued his claim after his death. Peabody Coal petitioned to modify the award while the start date for benefits was still being decided. The judge denied the petition before the scheduled hearing and before the…
Linda F. Smith, widow of Reaford Smith v. Eastern Coal Corporation
Smith v. Eastern Coal Corporation (BRB 21-0388): Survivor benefits on modification affirmed
Linda Smith sought survivor benefits after her husband Reaford Smith, a coal miner, died. Her claim had been denied, but on a second timely request for modification a judge reweighed the existing evidence and found that Reaford had a totally disabling respiratory impairment. With more than 15 years…
William E. Smith v. Kelly's Creek Resources
Smith v. Kelly's Creek (BRB 21-0329 BLA): black lung award affirmed
William Smith sought black lung benefits after 18.66 years of underground coal mine work. A judge found that a disabling respiratory impairment entitled him to the fifteen-year presumption and that Kelly's Creek Resources had not rebutted it. The Board rejected the employer's challenges to the…
Baltimore Waterproofing, Inc. v. Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL
$41.46 waterproofer rate affirmed
Baltimore Waterproofing was a subcontractor on improvements to a wastewater treatment plant and asked to add a waterproofer classification at $24.00 per hour plus $6.52 in fringe benefits. The Wage and Hour Division instead approved $28.03 plus $13.43, a $41.46 total tied to the skilled…
S.S. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration
Board dismisses TSA worker's appeal without an adverse OWCP decision (ECAB 23-0305)
A Transportation Security Administration worker appealed what she described as an OWCP decision. The Board found no final adverse OWCP decision in the record from the 180 days before her appeal. It noted that the most recent identified OWCP decision had accepted conditions in her claim, so that…
R.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Hartford Post Office
Board upholds denial of postal worker's COVID-19 claim (ECAB 23-0192)
A Hartford postal office clerk reported COVID-19 that he believed he contracted at work. He submitted a photograph of a home test and a physician's telehealth report. The Board found no evidence that a medical professional monitored and verified the home test. The physician did not give a reasoned…
J.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center
Board upholds finding that VA nurse abandoned hearing request (ECAB 23-0090)
A VA nurse requested a hearing after OWCP denied continuation of pay for a reported COVID-19 injury. OWCP mailed notice of a telephone hearing, but he did not join or request another hearing within ten days. He told the Board he had not received the notice in time. The Board found no evidence of…
K.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Seneca Post Office
Board upholds denial of postal carrier's wage loss claim (ECAB 22-1358)
A postal rural carrier sought wage loss compensation after OWCP had accepted a right shoulder injury. The Board found that the medical reports did not adequately explain how that accepted injury prevented her from working beginning April 9, 2022. It also upheld OWCP's refusal to reopen the claim…
A.B. and Department of the Air Force, Illinois Air National Guard, Scott Air Force Base
Board upholds denial of increased arm impairment award (ECAB 22-1332)
An Illinois Air National Guard aircraft mechanic previously received schedule awards for 16 percent left arm impairment and 23 percent right arm impairment. He sought a larger award for accepted nerve and arm conditions. The Board reviewed the physicians' impairment evaluations and found no medical…
C.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Grand Rapids, MI
Board upholds refusal to reopen postal custodian's knee claim (ECAB 22-1240)
A postal custodian sought compensation for a right knee injury she said occurred while moving a cleaning cart at work. OWCP had denied the claim because the factual record did not adequately establish the reported incident. On reconsideration, she submitted a physician's report diagnosing knee…
S.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Millington, MD
Board upholds denial of postal clerk's COVID-19 claim (ECAB 22-0925)
A postal office clerk said she contracted COVID-19 after exposure to coworkers or the public. She submitted a state health department form letter directing isolation because of a positive test or reported symptoms. The Board found that the letter did not establish which applied to her and was not a…
C.S. and Federal Judiciary, Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
Board upholds denial of federal judiciary worker's injury claim (ECAB 21-0354)
A federal judiciary technology specialist reported injuries after catching a person who fainted at work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the claimed medical conditions. The Board found that the main causation opinion did not explain how the specific movements in the incident…
Janice Griffith on behalf of Thomas Griffith v. Virginia Pocahontas Company
Griffith v. Virginia Pocahontas Company (BRB 21-0648): Black Lung benefits award affirmed
Janice Griffith pursued her late husband Thomas Griffith's Black Lung claim. With seven and one-half years of mine work, he did not qualify for the 15-year statutory presumption, so the claim required proof of legal pneumoconiosis and its contribution to disability. The judge credited medical…
Douglas Dan Stinnette v. Peabody Powder River Mining, LLC
Stinnette v. Peabody Powder River Mining (BRB 21-0642): Rebuttal finding returned for review
Douglas Stinnette worked at a surface coal mine and sought Black Lung benefits. The judge found at least 15 years of qualifying dust-exposed work and a totally disabling respiratory impairment, but denied the claim after finding that Peabody Powder River Mining had disproved pneumoconiosis. The…
C.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration
Board reverses zeroing of TSA worker's wage loss benefits (ECAB 23-0565)
A TSA airport security officer received wage loss benefits for an accepted injury and was referred to vocational rehabilitation. OWCP reduced her compensation to zero after finding that she had not cooperated. The Board found that the rehabilitation counselor had already identified suitable…
G.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Hamilton Park Station
Board orders review of forms in postal carrier's suspended benefits case (ECAB 23-0347)
A postal carrier's wage loss benefits were suspended after OWCP said she had not returned a completed earnings and employment report. OWCP later received two EN-1032 forms but denied her reconsideration request as late without addressing them. The Board held that OWCP had to consider the forms and…
T.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chester, NY
Board upholds denial of postal clerk's shoulder injury claim (ECAB 23-0237)
A postal window clerk reported left shoulder pain after pushing a heavy mail container at work. OWCP accepted that the event occurred but denied the claimed shoulder condition. The Board found that her physician did not explain how this event caused or aggravated the condition in light of earlier…
D.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Coppell, TX
Board upholds denial of postal carrier's knee and wage loss claims (ECAB 23-0218)
A postal city carrier reported twisting his left knee after stepping in a leaf-covered hole while delivering a package. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the knee condition and related wage loss claims. The Board found that the physician's reports did not explain how the incident…
S.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Cincinnati Post Office
Board finds postal worker's cart incident occurred and orders injury review (ECAB 23-0208)
A Cincinnati postal mail handler said her right knee popped while she pushed a full mail container. OWCP denied the claim after finding that she had not established the work incident. The Board found her account consistent with prompt medical treatment, later reports, and her supervisor's…
M.L. and Department of the Air Force, 87th Force Support Squadron, McGuire Air Force Base
Board upholds Air Force mechanic's wage earning capacity determination (ECAB 23-0060)
An Air Force aircraft mechanic received wage loss benefits after an accepted leg injury. OWCP reduced those benefits based on its finding that he could earn wages as a receptionist. The Board found that the selected position was reasonably available, fit the work restrictions in the medical record…
D.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Medical Center, Waco, TX
Board upholds VA worker's overpayment recovery and rehabilitation reduction (ECAB 22-0894)
A VA housekeeping aide received FECA wage loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits without the required federal service offset. The Board upheld OWCP's $15,366.62 overpayment finding, denial of waiver, and recovery rate of $262.44 every 28 days from continuing benefits. It also…
Secretary of Labor v. Clay Trucking, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Clay Trucking (FMSHRC WEVA 2023-0123): Coal-truck settlement approved with installment payments
The settlement resolved four citations involving two coal trucks with leaking brake components and defective lights, along with a broken fifth-wheel component on one truck. Three citations were affirmed at their original assessments. For one leaking-brake citation, the expected likelihood was…
Secretary of Labor v. Morton Salt, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Morton Salt (FMSHRC CENT 2022-0176): Mixed ruling on training, ground, escape, and storage citations
The judge resolved seven contested citations and orders from an inspection of Morton Salt's Weeks Island Mine and approved settlement of seven others. He vacated three training orders because the documented instruction on the Femco warning system was adequate, and he vacated a ventilation-door…
Nature Gas Import and Export Inc.
In re Nature Gas Import and Export Inc. (EAB CAA Appeal No. 23-04C): greenhouse-gas reporting settlement approved
Nature Gas Import and Export Inc., a Wyoming corporation with a registered office in Casper, was an industrial greenhouse-gas supplier subject to EPA's mandatory reporting requirements. EPA alleged that Nature Gas exceeded the 25,000 metric ton carbon-dioxide-equivalent reporting threshold and did…
Tommy Shuffler v. Adena Fuels Incorporated
Shuffler v. Adena Fuels (BRB 22-0314): Black Lung benefits award affirmed
Tommy Shuffler sought Black Lung benefits after 22 years of underground coal mine work. The judge found a totally disabling respiratory impairment and applied the statutory presumption that his disability was due to pneumoconiosis. Adena Fuels challenged the disability finding, arguing that the…
Ethel Hamlin v. Old Ben Coal Company
Hamlin v. Old Ben Coal Company (BRB 22-0306): Employer appeal dismissed
Old Ben Coal Company asked the Benefits Review Board to dismiss its appeal in Ethel Hamlin's case. The Board granted the request under 20 C.F.R. § 802.401(a). The order contains no discussion of the underlying benefits claim or its merits.
Walter Stewart v. Island Creek Kentucky Mining
Stewart v. Island Creek Kentucky Mining (BRB 22-0016): Black Lung benefits award affirmed
Walter Stewart sought Black Lung benefits after 32.98 years of underground coal mine work. The judge found a totally disabling respiratory impairment based on medical opinions and applied the statutory presumption that his disability was due to pneumoconiosis. Island Creek Kentucky Mining…
Dewey Osborn v. Beech Fork Processing Plant
Osborn v. Beech Fork Processing Plant (BRB 22-0014): Black Lung benefits award affirmed
Dewey Osborn sought Black Lung benefits after 35 years of qualifying coal mine work. The judge found a totally disabling respiratory impairment and applied the statutory presumption of disability due to pneumoconiosis. Beech Fork Processing Plant challenged the disability finding, pointing to…
Gary A. Smith v. Eastern Associated Coal Company
Smith v. Eastern Associated Coal (BRB 22-0004): Benefits award returned for rebuttal review
Gary Smith sought Black Lung benefits after 35 years of coal mine work. The judge found a totally disabling respiratory impairment and applied the statutory presumption that his disability was due to pneumoconiosis. The Board upheld the finding that Eastern Associated Coal and Peabody Energy were…
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.