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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Matter of Nigoghossian
Spouse petition fails without proof that prior marriage ended
A lawful permanent resident petitioned for a visa classification for her spouse after a California marriage. The district director denied the petition because she had not shown that her earlier marriage in Iraq had legally ended. She argued that California law recognized the new marriage after more…
Matter of Akinsete
Unsupported customary divorce claim did not establish valid marriage
A U.S. citizen sought an immediate relative visa petition for her Nigerian spouse. The district director denied it because the beneficiary's earlier customary marriage in Nigeria had not been shown to have ended legally. The petitioner offered a statement from the beneficiary's father and an…
Atlantic & Gulf Stevedores, Inc.; Nacirema Operating Company, Inc.;Holt Marine Terminal, Inc.; and International Terminal Operating Corporation of Ameriport
Mixed hard-hat ruling for port employers
Four Port of Philadelphia employers were cited because longshore employees did not wear required protective hats. The Commission held that the longshoring rule imposed a duty on employers and that incorporation of the referenced private consensus specifications was legally permissible. It also…
Kingery Construction Company
Forklift-platform hazard charge vacated, other items affirmed
Kingery used a platform attached to forklift forks to place an employee about eighteen feet above the ground for concrete-chipping work. OSHA alleged a serious general-duty violation because the forklift was unattended and the employee had no platform controls. The Commission affirmed vacation of…
Les Mares Enterprises, Inc.
Log-splitter citation vacated for lack of commerce coverage
Les Mares employed workers to clear land in Napa County and split removed trees into firewood. The company had considered using the land for grape production, but no vines had been planted and the intended use was never carried out. The only shown sales were local firewood sales within nearby…
California Stevedore & Ballast Co.
Serious overloading hazard affirmed, container item vacated
California Stevedore discharged cargo from the S.S. Samoa Bear in San Francisco. It attempted to lift a five-ton pontoon with two booms rigged in a configuration understood in the industry to have about a two-and-a-half-ton capacity, and the gear failed, dropping the pontoon near several employees…
Hoffman Construction Co.
Radial-saw guard citation affirmed with reduced penalty
Hoffman Construction used a radial arm saw at the Trojan Nuclear Power construction project without a guard covering the full lower portion of the blade. The company argued that the installed replacement guard created binding, kickback, visibility, and flying-fragment hazards. The judge found that…
Everhart Steel Construction Company, Inc.
Roof-edge and grounding citations affirmed
An Everhart Steel employee worked at the edge of a flat roof thirty-two feet above the ground, leaning over the side to pass siding and other material to workers on a scaffold. The roof had no perimeter guard or other protective device. The Commission held that the open-sided-floor standard applied…
Matter of Leon-Perez
Employment restriction on immigration bond requires a better record
The respondent challenged a condition of his immigration bond that barred unauthorized employment. The Board held that the governing regulation permitted such a condition, but the record did not adequately support its use in this case. It lacked a copy of the condition and documentary proof of…
L. E. Myers Co.
Live-line tool citation vacated for inadequate notice and proof
An L. E. Myers lineman was fatally electrocuted while working on an energized distribution line with a hot stick whose hook spring was broken. The citation alleged that the defective tool was used within the required clearance, while the Secretary later introduced evidence about failures to inspect…
Matter of Kai Hing Hui
Adjustment grant withdrawn after false border card application
The Service appealed an immigration judge's grant of permanent resident status to Kai Hing Hui. Hui had entered the United States using a Mexican border crossing card obtained under a false name, birthplace, birth date, and nationality. The Board held that those misrepresentations were material…
Midwest Steel Fabricators, Inc.
Temporary abatement extension affirmed after its expiration
Midwest Steel Fabricators sought more time to correct two violations in an uncontested citation. The Secretary withdrew his objection to an extension through January 2, 1975, and the judge granted the request. The Commission affirmed the judge's decision without finding prejudicial error…
Irvington Moore, Division of U.S. Natural Resources, Inc.
Press-brake guarding violation reinstated
Irvington Moore manufactured sawmill machinery and used a press brake, an ironworker, and two saws at its Oregon plant. The Commission held that the general point-of-operation guarding standard applied to the press brake even though the specific mechanical power-press standard excluded press brakes…
Gem-Top MFG., Inc.
Press-brake and saw-guarding citations affirmed with reduced penalties
Gem-Top manufactured metal canopy tops for pickup trucks at its Clackamas, Oregon, plant. OSHA cited the company for operating a radial saw and swing cutoff saw without required guards and for operating two press brakes without point-of-operation guards. The Commission adopted the judge's ruling…
Matter of Cruz
Naturalization claim did not justify ending deportation proceedings
A citizen of the Philippines asked to terminate deportation proceedings so he could pursue a naturalization claim. The immigration judge denied his motion, and the Board dismissed his appeal. Under 8 C.F.R. § 242.7, the Board held that a person seeking termination must first show prima facie…
Bethlehem Steel Corporation
Repeated scaffold citation vacated
A Bethlehem Steel electrical rigger fell to his death while performing maintenance work high above the floor on an overhead crane. OSHA alleged a repeated violation of the general scaffold rule and sought to add the general personal-protective-equipment rule because the employee was not wearing a…
Charles Cohen, Inc.
Trenching cases remanded for merits findings
OSHA cited Charles Cohen, Inc. for allegedly failing to shore, slope, or otherwise support trenches in unstable or soft soil at two Dallas worksites. The judge dismissed both serious citations because they were issued more than three working days after the inspections. The Commission reversed the…
Mid-Plains Construction Company
Roof-fall case reinstated after pleading amendment
OSHA alleged that Mid-Plains Construction employees worked on a roof more than 25 feet above the ground without adequate fall protection. The citation initially relied on the general duty clause, but the Secretary's complaint amended the legal theory to the construction safety-net standard while…
Betten Processing Corp.
General-duty crane citation vacated
Betten Processing used a crane to move scrap iron and steel at its Wisconsin facility. After the operator left the crane unattended with its engine running and its magnet resting on a scrap pile, the boom and magnet rotated into a truck cab and killed the driver. OSHA cited the company under the…
Matter of Kane
Annual visits did not preserve residence status
A Jamaican woman had been admitted for permanent residence in 1964 but later lived and operated a lodging house in Jamaica. For several years she spent about eleven months annually there and made brief trips to the United States to maintain her resident status. The Board held that these visits did…
Norfolk & Portsmouth Belt Line Railroad Co.
Five nonserious items affirmed and three vacated
Norfolk & Portsmouth Belt Line Railroad argued that it was exempt from the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The judge rejected that position except as to recordkeeping charges, following Commission precedent involving another railroad. The judge affirmed nonserious citation items 1 through 5…
Matter of Guerra and Sanchez
Lay representation denials did not violate due process
Two people found deportable challenged immigration judges' refusals to let chosen lay representatives appear for them. The Board held that the regulation allowed a reputable individual to represent someone on a case by case basis with the presiding officer's permission, rather than permitting…
Matter of Leon
Civil marriage came too late to establish father child status
A U.S. citizen petitioned for immediate relative status for his father. His parents had a religious marriage in Michoacán, Mexico, before his birth, but did not have a civil marriage until he was nearly 24. The Board found that Michoacán law required a civil marriage and that the petitioner had not…
North American Rockwell Corporation
Asbestos citation vacated by split reasoning
North American Rockwell manufactured asbestos-containing brake linings at its Ohio plant. OSHA sampling found that a grinder operator was exposed above the asbestos limits, but the company had previously commissioned three tests near the same machine that found no contamination problem. OSHA…
Matter of Rungrerng
Adoption registered after age 14 did not qualify for visa preference
A lawful permanent resident sought visa preference classification for a man she said she and her husband had adopted at birth in Thailand. The beneficiary was born in 1950, but the adoption was registered in 1966, after he turned 14. The Board found that Thai law had required registration since…
Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, A Div. of United Aircraft Corp.
Locked-exit violation affirmed with reduced penalty
Pratt & Whitney assembled and tested rocket and jet engines in a large room that held as many as 150 employees and contained flammable liquids and several possible ignition sources. Six of the room's seven exits were locked for security, and employees were sometimes locked inside for ten to thirty…
Star Textile & Research, Inc.
Variances moot two contested citation items
Star Textile contested citation items requiring foreign-metal removal equipment on textile opener lines and overhead guards on powered industrial trucks. While the case was pending, the Secretary granted variances after determining that the company's alternative conditions were as safe as…
Matter of Loo Bing Sun
Fraud inadmissibility prevents adjustment after admission
A man obtained permanent resident status as an unmarried son, but he was married at the time, and the adjustment was rescinded. He later received an approved visa petition as the married son of a United States citizen and sought to reopen his deportation proceedings to apply for adjustment again…
Matter of Rodriguez
Absent parties' Dominican divorce was not recognized in New York
A permanent resident petitioned for visa preference classification for a person she described as her spouse. She said her earlier marriage, performed in New York, had ended through a Dominican Republic divorce. Neither party lived in the Dominican Republic at the time of that divorce or appeared…
Matter of Kong
Board denied reconsideration of Burmese adoption ruling
A petitioner sought reconsideration of the Board's earlier denial of visa preference classification for her claimed adopted son. The Board held that an informal Burmese Appatittha adoption was insufficient for immigration purposes and that proof of a Kittima adoption required a registered deed. The…
Matter of Lee
Alleged customary adoption did not establish a sibling visa petition
A U.S. citizen petitioned for visa preference status for a person she believed to be her brother. Blood tests excluded the claimed biological relationship, and her mother then asserted that she had adopted him at birth in Hong Kong. The Board found that the mother's husband had not known of or…
Matter of Assan
Ecuadorian divorce requires a fuller record
A petitioner sought immediate relative classification for her husband, whose earlier marriage had apparently ended in Ecuador. The district director found that the divorce was not based on domicile and, relying on a case about judgments between U.S. states, concluded that New York would not…
Matter of Garner
Half sister's late legitimation defeats visa petition
A U.S. citizen sought a preference visa for her paternal half sister. Their father married the beneficiary's mother when the beneficiary was 23. The district director denied the petition because the beneficiary had not been legitimated before age 18. The Board held that a claimed sibling…
Matter of Patel
Felony conviction barred voluntary departure
The Board reviewed an immigration judge's finding that an Indian student was deportable for remaining in the United States after his authorized stay. The respondent sought voluntary departure, but he had been convicted of receiving stolen property and sentenced to imprisonment in the state prison…
Sechrist-Hall Company
Three roof-safety cases remanded for merits decisions
OSHA issued serious fall-protection citations after Sechrist-Hall employees worked on three unguarded roof areas 16 or 22 feet above the ground. One site also produced a nonserious citation because a ladder did not extend 36 inches above the landing and had no grab rails. The judge vacated all…
Pacific Gas & Electric Co.
Serious utility-pole citation reinstated
Pacific Gas & Electric sent a crew to transfer electrical conductors and transformers from a known rotted pole to a new pole. The subforeman repeatedly instructed two linemen to secure the old pole, but did not verify that they had done so and allowed them to work on it for about an hour. When the…
Yellow Freight System, Inc.
Toe-protection citation affirmed at freight dock
Yellow Freight operated a Tulsa terminal where employees loaded and unloaded freight weighing up to 6,000 pounds. Freight frequently fell from stacks, and forklifts had run over employees' toes on numerous occasions, but most employees did not wear toe protection. The judge vacated the citation…
Clasten Vaughn, dba Vaughn Roofing Co.
Roof-edge protection citation reinstated
Vaughn Roofing employees worked as close as 18 inches from the edge of an approximately 80-foot-high roof without safety belts, lanyards, or other fall protection. The Commission reinstated the serious personal-protective-equipment citation because the employer accepted that fall protection was…
Illinois Central Gulf Railroad Co.
Forty-six citation items vacated as untimely
OSHA cited 46 alleged safety, health, recordkeeping, and posting violations at Illinois Central Gulf Railroad's locomotive repair facility in Paducah, Kentucky. The inspection was coordinated with the Federal Railroad Administration, and the proposed citation moved through regional and national…
Hydrate Battery Corp.
Lead overexposure affirmed as nonserious
Hydrate Battery manufactured lead-acid batteries at a small Virginia plant. OSHA sampled five employees for one eight-hour shift and found that each was exposed above the airborne-lead limit, with one result more than five times the limit. The Commission agreed that the standard was violated but…
Matter of Martinez
Years living in Mexico ended claim to returning resident admission
A woman admitted as a permanent resident in 1968 moved back to Mexico in 1970 after losing her job in Chicago. She took her belongings, lived with her mother, and worked in Mexico before seeking admission to the United States in 1974 as a returning resident. The immigration judge found that she had…
Matter of Wong
Hong Kong marriage reform validated a 1956 marriage
A lawful permanent resident sought second preference classification for his spouse. They had married in a Hong Kong church in 1956 without obtaining a marriage license or registering the marriage with civil authorities. After the Board approved the petition, the immigration service asked it to…
Matter of Lui
Conditional plans to invest do not meet the investor rule
A citizen of Tonga who had overstayed his visitor admission sought adjustment of status through an exemption from the labor certification requirement for investors. He operated a landscape service in Hawaii, but the record showed less than $10,000 committed to it. He had additional funds and…
Standard Transformer Co.
Paint-area abatement extension affirmed after deadline
Standard Transformer requested six additional months to correct citation items concerning paint spray areas after completing three of five areas and spending substantial sums on corrective systems. The Secretary did not oppose the request, and the judge extended the abatement date to January 1…
Getty Oil Co.
Untested pressure-vessel citation affirmed
Getty Oil had a fluid-booster pressure vessel fabricated for installation at a Texas oil and gas facility. The experienced field mechanic responsible for the work learned that the vessel had not been pressure-tested but installed it without telling the company. The vessel ruptured immediately after…
Champion International Corp.
Machine-guarding item vacated after employee notice
Champion International contested only item 8 of a 13-item nonserious citation. The Secretary moved to dismiss that item because the facts did not establish a violation of the point-of-operation guarding standard, and the judge vacated it. The Commission reviewed whether affected employees had…
Kit Manufacturing Co.
Eye-protection failure-to-abate penalty vacated
Kit Manufacturing's uncontested original citation required eye protection for employees working around saws and routers that emitted wood chips and sawdust. OSHA later alleged that the company had not corrected the violation and proposed an additional $2,900 penalty. At the reinspection, the…
Matter of McDonald and Brewster
Six marijuana cigarettes did not establish the exclusion charges
Two Canadian citizens attempting to enter the United States for an evening were found with six marijuana cigarettes for personal use. An immigration judge rejected an illicit trafficking charge but found both applicants excludable under a provision addressing activities prejudicial to the United…
Matter of Marques
Claimed financial hardship did not establish eligibility for relief
A Spanish citizen who had entered as a nonimmigrant sheepherder sought suspension of deportation and voluntary departure. At a reopened hearing he disclosed that he had possessed about $54,000 during a traffic stop, but invoked the Fifth Amendment when asked about its ownership or source. The Board…
M-CO Equipment Co., Inc.
Crane fire-extinguisher item reinstated
M-CO Equipment was installing a sewer line at an Arizona construction site. A required fire extinguisher for a crane was kept in a pickup truck normally about 150 feet away, and the truck moved around the worksite. The Commission held that this did not make the extinguisher accessible and available…
Oestreichers Prints, Inc.
Citation affirmed after withdrawal of contest
Oestreichers Prints decided to withdraw its notice of contest after correcting the violations and paying the penalty in full. Neither party appeared at the scheduled hearing because the company failed to submit the expected withdrawal motion and the Secretary relied on its assurance that it would…
Matter of Robinson
Guilty plea supported deportability despite civil commitment
A woman pleaded guilty in California to offenses involving heroin sales and possession for sale. Her criminal case was then suspended while she entered proceedings under a state narcotic commitment law, before final sentencing. She argued that the suspended criminal case did not amount to a…
Matter of Hosseinpour
Adjustment application did not end student status, but the stay expired
An Iranian nonimmigrant student applied to adjust his status to permanent residence before his authorized stay expired. An immigration judge found him deportable both for failing to maintain student status and for remaining beyond his permitted stay. The Board held that filing the adjustment…
Jersey Steel Drum MFG. Corp.
Drum-expander guarding citation vacated
Jersey Steel Drum used an automatic drum-hoop expander whose hydraulic rams formed ribs in steel drums. During weekly maintenance, a foreman entered between the rams without locking out the power, accidentally triggered the machine, and was killed. The Commission majority held that the cited…
Matter of Garcia-Quintero
Years living in Mexico broke the required U.S. domicile
A Mexican citizen admitted as a permanent resident was convicted after trying to bring marijuana into the United States. The immigration judge found him excludable and denied a waiver under INA § 212(c). Although he worked in the United States while living in Mexico from 1967 to 1970, the Board…
J. R. Simplot Co.
Swing-saw guarding violation affirmed
J. R. Simplot used a 20-inch metal-cutting swing saw equipped with an adjustable blade guard. The guard could comply when allowed to float on the material, but the judge found that employees normally secured it in a raised position that left the point of operation exposed. The raised guard left…
Matter of Lee
Speculative investment did not establish treaty investor eligibility
A Korean citizen sought E-2 treaty investor status after depositing money toward an interest in a San Francisco restaurant. The Regional Commissioner held that the applicant's Korean nationality, rather than the nationality of the people who owned the enterprise, was the relevant nationality for…
Matter of Arenas
Marriage validity depends on proof of prior divorce and continued cohabitation
A U.S. citizen petitioned for his wife to receive an immigrant visa as an immediate relative. The district director denied the petition because she was still married to someone else when the couple married in Texas. The Board held that Texas law could recognize the later marriage once the first…
Matter of Caralekas
Idle restaurant business did not qualify for investor exemption
A Greek native and Canadian citizen sought adjustment of status based on an $80,000 investment in a restaurant business. The immigration judge granted the application, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service appealed. The Board held that the investor exemption did not apply because the…
Arkansas-Best Freight System, Inc.
Toe-protection citation reinstated
Arkansas-Best operated a busy North Carolina freight terminal where dock workers handled freight ranging from light goods to castings, pipes, and 55-gallon drums while forklifts moved throughout the area. Repair-shop employees also handled heavy tools, parts, and large truck tires. The company did…
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.