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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George A. Simpson v. Unicorn Mining, Incorporated
Simpson v. Unicorn Mining (BRB 22-0002): Benefits affirmed with later start date
George Simpson filed a subsequent Black Lung claim after an earlier claim was denied. The judge found complicated pneumoconiosis, which established a changed condition and invoked the statutory presumption of total disability due to the disease. Unicorn Mining challenged the judge's authority…
T.R. and Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs
Board upholds refusal to reopen passport specialist's disability claim (ECAB 23-0287)
A State Department passport specialist had an accepted concussion condition and sought benefits for a later period away from work. After OWCP denied her recurrence claim, she requested reconsideration and submitted additional medical reports. The Board found that her arguments repeated points…
C.L. and Department of Agriculture, Food Safety & Inspection Service
Board upholds suspension of food inspector's wage loss benefits (ECAB 23-0177)
A federal food inspector had been receiving wage loss compensation for accepted injuries. OWCP asked her to return an EN-1032 form reporting work and other information and warned that her benefits would be suspended if she did not respond within 30 days. The Board found that OWCP mailed the request…
T.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Muskegon, MI
Board upholds denial of postal retiree's consequential hand injury claim (ECAB 23-0175)
A retired postal letter carrier said an accepted knee injury caused his knee to buckle while he used a table saw, leading to a left hand injury. He asked OWCP to add the hand injury as a consequence of the earlier work injury. The Board found that the later medical reports diagnosed knee arthritis…
A.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Hasbrouck Heights Post Office
Board upholds denial of postal carrier's earlier wage loss claim (ECAB 23-0146)
A postal letter carrier sought wage loss compensation for a period years after an accepted back injury and authorized surgery. The Board found that the newly submitted medical reports did not state that the accepted injury prevented him from working during the specific period from February 2014…
D.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Coppell, TX
Board upholds postal worker's $33,186.95 overpayment recovery (ECAB 23-0137)
A postal worker received FECA wage loss compensation and Social Security retirement benefits without the required offset for federal service. The Board upheld OWCP's $33,186.95 overpayment finding and agreed that she was without fault. OWCP had asked her for income, expense, and asset information…
T.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Franford, DE
Board upholds denial of postal carrier's disability recurrence claim (ECAB 22-1335)
A postal rural carrier had an accepted temporary aggravation of depression and anxiety attributed to heavy workload and other work conditions. She later sought benefits for another period away from work. The Board found that her psychiatrist linked the later worsening to new workplace demands…
S.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Martech Station, Atlanta, GA
Board upholds denial of expanded neck injury claim and cervical surgery (ECAB 22-0950)
A postal letter carrier sought to add later cervical spine conditions to an accepted injury from a 2002 work-related vehicle accident. She also requested authorization for C5-7 cervical surgery. The Board found that her treating surgeon did not adequately explain how the newly diagnosed conditions…
Laborers International Union of North America, Local 1776 and United States Department of the Army, South Dakota Army National Guard
LIUNA Local 1776 and South Dakota Army National Guard (FLRA 0-AR-5846): Authority upholds workplace dress ruling and cost allocation
The South Dakota Army National Guard prohibited employees from wearing jeans and athletic shoes after a new collective-bargaining agreement took effect. An arbitrator found that the agreement's business-casual requirement was ambiguous, and bargaining history showed that the union knew the agency…
Barrett v. Empire Airlines
AIR21 appeal dismissed after settlement defects went unanswered
William Barrett petitioned for Board review of an AIR21 dismissal and attached what appeared to be a settlement with Empire Airlines. The agreement was not fully executed and contained other irregularities, so the Board denied approval without prejudice. It gave the parties 14 days either to submit…
Schaefer v. New York Community Bancorp, Inc.
Copper-theft reports were not SOX bank-fraud activity
Two longtime bank managers reported damage, copper salvage, and cash envelopes associated with a building renovation and later alleged that they had exposed bid rigging and kickbacks. The Board upheld findings that their actual reports described questionable conduct and possible theft or…
C.M. and Independent Agencies, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Washington, DC
Board upholds refusal to reopen EEOC attorney's compensation claim (ECAB 23-0289)
An EEOC attorney sought reconsideration of a denied emotional condition claim. The Board reviewed only OWCP's refusal to reopen the case because the appeal was too late for review of the last merits decision. It found that her request repeated arguments OWCP had already considered and supplied no…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Antonio, TX
Board orders OWCP to combine postal carrier's related back injury files (ECAB 23-0162)
A postal carrier claimed an injury after falling at the start of a delivery route. OWCP denied the claim and later denied his request for reconsideration. The Board found that his current claim and an earlier occupational disease claim both concerned his lower back. It directed OWCP to combine the…
E.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Far Rockaway Post Office, Far Rockaway, NY
Board sends postal carrier's wage-loss claim back for a medical opinion (ECAB 23-0034)
A postal carrier sought wage-loss benefits for a period after his accepted left hip injury and later accepted osteoarthritis. OWCP's second-opinion physician said he could not return to his regular carrier duties but could perform sedentary work. The Board found that this opinion did not address…
C.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Detroit, MI
Board upholds denial of postal carrier's intermittent disability claim (ECAB 22-1278)
A postal carrier claimed intermittent wage loss after an accepted fall at work. Her doctors described symptoms and some time off, but did not explain how the accepted injury caused disability during the specific dates claimed. The Board found that other records from physician assistants or an…
K.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Baltimore Post Office, Baltimore, MD
Board reverses wage-loss termination and related overpayment (ECAB 22-1038)
A postal mail handler received wage-loss benefits after an accepted abdominal crush injury. OWCP ended those benefits based on its second-opinion physician's assessment that she could work, then treated later payments as an overpayment. The Board found that her treating physician and OWCP's…
A.D. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Topock, AZ
Board upholds denial of postal clerk's emotional condition claim (ECAB 21-1076)
A postal clerk reported chest symptoms and anxiety after a visiting postmaster disagreed with him about collecting postage due. OWCP accepted that the workplace exchange occurred but denied his injury claim for lack of medical evidence linking a diagnosed condition to it. The Board found his…
Good Food Concepts, LLC d/b/a Ranch Foods Direct
Meat-grinder guarding and reporting citations affirmed
Good Food Concepts operated a retail meat business where an employee's hand was caught in a meat grinder, resulting in the amputation of four fingers and inpatient hospitalization. OSHA cited the company for failing to guard the grinder and for failing to report the hospitalization within 24 hours…
Secretary of Labor v. John S. Lane & Son, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. John S. Lane & Son (FMSHRC YORK 2023-0051): Four-citation settlement approved
The settlement covered four citations at John S. Lane & Son's Westfield Quarry. A safe-access citation involving a miner climbing through and above a conveyor chute was reduced to low negligence and a $143 penalty. An unlocked-transformer citation was vacated, while a citation for mounting a…
Secretary of Labor v. Cemex Construction Materials South, LLC
Unclear delivery supported reopening
MSHA mailed Cemex a proposed assessment at the correct address, and postal records showed delivery, but the safety manager said he did not personally receive it until after the contest deadline. Cemex filed its reopening motion within 30 days after the assessment became a final Commission order…
Secretary of Labor v. Cemex Construction Materials South, LLC
Unclear COVID-era delivery supported reopening
Postal records showed that a proposed assessment was delivered to Cemex at the correct address, but Cemex had no record of receiving it. The delivery confirmation contained “COVID” in the signature block, and the exact confirmation method was unclear. Cemex moved to reopen within 30 days after MSHA…
J.Y. and U.S. Postal Service, Rockport Post Office, Rockport, TX
Board upholds denial of postal carrier's lifting injury claim (ECAB 23-0268)
A postal carrier reported back pain after lifting a heavy box into his truck at work. OWCP accepted that the lifting incident happened but denied the injury claim for lack of medical proof connecting a diagnosed condition to it. The Board found that the submitted notes came from nurse practitioners…
D.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Denver Post Office, Denver, CO
Board orders further review of postal worker's knee condition claim (ECAB 23-0219)
A retired postal carrier claimed that years of walking, stairs, and other delivery duties accelerated osteoarthritis in both knees. OWCP accepted the described work factors but denied a causal link to her condition. The Board found that her orthopedic surgeon's explanation of repetitive knee strain…
C.S. and Peace Corps Volunteer Services, Washington, DC
Board orders review under Peace Corps injury presumption (ECAB 23-0191)
A former Peace Corps volunteer developed a brain tumor and alleged that radiation exposure during service in Ukraine caused it. OWCP denied his claim because it found no established causal connection. The Board held that the special FECA presumption applied to his diagnosed illness and that OWCP…
R.B. and Department of Agriculture, Food Safety & Inspection Service, West Caldwell, NJ
Board orders further medical review of inspector's back injury claim (ECAB 23-0144)
A federal food safety inspector claimed a back injury after a work-related vehicle collision. OWCP denied the claim for insufficient evidence connecting his conditions to that incident. The Board found that an orthopedic surgeon's later report explained a possible injury mechanism and provided…
J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Metuchen Post Office, Metuchen, NJ
Board reverses benefit termination over refusal of postal job offer (ECAB 23-0097)
A former postal carrier refused a modified carrier position after decades away from work following an accepted back injury. OWCP ended his benefits for refusing what it found to be suitable work. The Board found that OWCP's second-opinion physician did not assess whether a later, nonwork-related…
T.L. and Social Security Administration, Glendale, AZ
Board sends eye impairment award claim back for review of medical evidence (ECAB 22-0708)
A Social Security Administration claims representative sought reconsideration of a schedule award for impairment of her right eye. OWCP denied modification, but its decision did not show that it considered a submitted optometrist report documenting visual acuity after cataract surgery. The Board…
L.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Marion VA Medical Center, Marion, IL
Board upholds denial of VA nurse's carpal tunnel claim (ECAB 22-0339)
A VA licensed practical nurse claimed that years of repetitive patient care and computer work caused carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists. Her employer confirmed that repetitive hand motions were part of her duties, and diagnostic testing showed median nerve problems. The Board found that her…
Denaka Partners, LP, dba Home Rubber Company
Machine-guarding and bloodborne-pathogen violations affirmed
Denaka manufactured rubber products at a New Jersey facility where an employee's sleeve became caught in an operating slitter mill, pulling his arm into the machine and resulting in an amputation. OSHA cited the company for inadequate machine guarding and for failures involving hepatitis B…
W.W. and Department of the Air Force, Randolph Air Force Base, Randolph, TX
Board upholds denial of hearing-loss award and late hearing request (ECAB 21-0545)
An Air Force painter supervisor had accepted work-related hearing loss and tinnitus and sought a permanent impairment award. The Board found that audiometric results yielded zero percent ratable hearing impairment under the applicable schedule, so tinnitus could not be added to a measurable hearing…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Juan Smitherman v. Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC
Discrimination finding affirmed
Roof bolter Juan Smitherman raised a ventilation concern about missing fly pads and was discharged shortly afterward. Warrior Met said it fired him for sleeping and taking an unauthorized break under a last-chance agreement. The administrative law judge found discrimination, imposed a $20,000 civil…
Y.A. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, TX
Board upholds denial of late hearing request in VA nurse's injury case (ECAB 23-0160)
A VA nurse requested an oral hearing years after OWCP denied her injury claim. She reported receiving the denial late or not receiving it, but the Board found that OWCP had properly mailed the decision to her address of record. Her hearing request was postmarked well beyond the 30-day deadline. The…
R.L. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Oklahoma City, OK
Board upholds denial of knee injury claim after desk movement (ECAB 23-0098)
An immigration agency employee reported a knee injury after twisting while repositioning himself at his desk during a work videoconference. OWCP accepted the incident and a diagnosed knee condition, but denied a causal link. The Board found that his surgeon's statement that twisting could account…
Y.S. and U.S. Postal Service, International Exchange Office, Jersey City, NJ
Board upholds termination of postal worker's back injury benefits (ECAB 23-0030)
A postal mail handler received benefits for an accepted right-sided lumbar disc injury. OWCP ended benefits after its second-opinion physician found that her current symptoms stemmed from a newer left-sided degenerative disc condition rather than the accepted injury. The Board found that opinion…
M.D. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Los Fresnos, TX
Board upholds retirement benefit offset debt and denies waiver (ECAB 22-1391)
A former immigration enforcement agent received FECA wage-loss benefits and Social Security retirement benefits attributable in part to federal service. OWCP had not applied the required offset and calculated a $42,756.82 overpayment. The Board reviewed the calculation and upheld it, although the…
E.G. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, El Paso, TX
Board upholds eye injury denial and finding that hearing request was abandoned (ECAB 22-0238)
A Customs and Border Protection agent reported left eye irritation while inspecting a vehicle. OWCP accepted the incident but denied the injury claim because the medical notes before its decision gave no diagnosis. The Board could not consider later reports first received after that decision. It…
E.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Savannah, GA
Board upholds denial of late reconsideration request (ECAB 21-0423)
A former postal clerk sought reconsideration of longstanding denials of disability and recurrence claims. OWCP received his request more than a year after the last merits decision. The Board found the request untimely and held that his arguments and medical evidence about upper extremity conditions…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 4156 and Social Security Administration, Atlanta Regional Office
AFGE Local 4156 and SSA Atlanta Regional Office (FLRA 0-AR-5870): Authority upholds five-day suspension
The Social Security Administration suspended a claims specialist for five days after she missed work-assignment deadlines. An arbitrator found that the agency proved both misconduct specifications and had just cause for the suspension, while rejecting the union's claim that the discipline resulted…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Mining Company LLC
Interlocutory petition denied for missing certification step
MSHA sought Commission review after an administrative law judge denied a proposed settlement and said the issues would be resolved at hearing. The Commission treated the filing as a petition for interlocutory review because the judge's order was not final. Commission rules required the judge either…
Secretary of Labor v. Pocahontas Coal Company LLC
Commission granted review and paused briefing
The Secretary filed a petition asking the Commission to review an administrative law judge's ruling in the Pocahontas Coal proceeding. The Commission granted the petition for discretionary review. It did not decide the underlying dispute in this order. Instead, it held briefing in abeyance until…
Mary S. Ison, survivor of Roger D. Ison v. Arch of Kentucky/Apogee Coal Company
Ison v. Arch of Kentucky/Apogee Coal (BRB 22-0526): Survivor benefits affirmed
Mary Ison sought survivor benefits after the death of her husband, coal miner Roger Ison. The judge found that she was an eligible survivor and that Roger had been awarded benefits on his lifetime claim. The employer asked the Board to delay her appeal while it contested the miner's award. The…
Dianell Pack on behalf of Ronald E. Pack v. Sterling Smokeless Coal Company, LLC
Pack v. Sterling Smokeless Coal Company (BRB 22-0278): Miner benefits award affirmed
Dianell Pack pursued her late husband Ronald Pack's Black Lung claim after his death. The judge found complicated pneumoconiosis based primarily on x-ray evidence, establishing a changed condition since the earlier denial and invoking the irrebuttable disability presumption. Sterling Smokeless Coal…
Danny Vanhoose v. Rhino Services, LLC
Vanhoose v. Rhino Services (BRB 22-0122): Benefits on modification affirmed
Danny Vanhoose sought modification after his Black Lung claim was denied for lack of proof of total respiratory disability. A later blood gas study led the judge to find a disabling impairment, and Vanhoose's 37 years of qualifying coal mine employment triggered the statutory presumption of…
Bernard D. Cantrell v. A & G Coal Corporation
Cantrell v. A & G Coal Corporation (BRB 21-0609): Complicated pneumoconiosis finding returned
Bernard Cantrell sought Black Lung benefits after years of surface coal mine work. The judge denied the claim, finding neither complicated pneumoconiosis nor a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The Board upheld the disability finding based on lung tests and medical opinions. It found…
McMillan v. American Federation of Government Employees, Local Union 2145
Dues violation established but remedy remanded
Cassandra McMillan alleged that AFGE Local 2145 raised federal-union member dues without the notice and member vote required by the Standards of Conduct regulations. The union did not answer, respond to discovery, attend a prehearing conference, or answer a show-cause order despite receiving…
A.E. and U.S. Postal Service, Boggs Road Post Office, Duluth, GA
Board upholds refusal to reopen postal carrier's fall injury claim (ECAB 23-0245)
A postal carrier sought reconsideration after OWCP denied her claim for conditions attributed to a fall while delivering mail. OWCP had accepted the fall but found no adequate medical link to her diagnoses. The Board found that the new notes supplied diagnoses, treatment, and work restrictions…
A.H. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, Dulles International Airport, Dulles, VA
Board upholds denial of continuation of pay for late COVID-19 filing (ECAB 23-0171)
A Customs and Border Protection agent stopped work after testing positive for COVID-19. He filed his traumatic injury form nearly three months after the date identified as his last workplace exposure. The Board held that the filing missed the 30-day deadline for continuation of pay and affirmed…
C.H. and Department of the Treasury, U.S. Mint, Philadelphia, PA
Board upholds denial of Mint worker's back injury claim (ECAB 23-0168)
A U.S. Mint coin press operator reported back pain after carrying boxes at work. OWCP accepted the workplace incident but denied the injury claim for lack of medical evidence establishing causation. The Board found that his physicians described a lumbar compression fracture and other back findings…
C.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Denver Harbor Post Office, Houston, TX
Board upholds denial of expanded physical and emotional injury claim (ECAB 23-0057)
A postal carrier sought to add further spine, shoulder, and emotional conditions to a claim already accepted for strains after a work-related vehicle accident. Earlier Board decisions had rejected expansion based on the prior evidence. In the new reports, his physician described diagnoses and…
S.A. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Durham VA Medical Center, Durham, NC
Board upholds denial of continuation of pay after late COVID-19 claim (ECAB 23-0050)
A VA housekeeping assistant stopped work after testing positive for COVID-19. She filed her traumatic injury form more than two months later. The Board held that the date of last workplace exposure was the injury date for this type of COVID-19 claim, and the form was filed beyond the 30-day…
L.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
Board upholds refusal to reopen postal carrier's back injury claim (ECAB 22-1275)
A postal carrier sought reconsideration after OWCP denied a back injury claim because it found she had not established the reported lifting incident. She submitted additional medical records. The Board held that those records did not address the factual reason for the denial and thus did not meet…
R.D. and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Jamaica, NY
Board upholds denial of disability claim after airport work injury (ECAB 22-0457)
A customs officer sought wage-loss benefits after an accepted fall at work that injured his back and left leg. OWCP accepted several strains and sprains, but denied disability beginning July 8, 2019. The Board found that a doctor's work excuse did not explain why the accepted injury prevented the…
A.N. and Department of State, Bureau of Consular Services, Minneapolis, MN
Board denies continuation of pay for late COVID-19 injury notice (ECAB 23-0291)
A State Department passport and visa clerk reported contracting COVID-19 while working with the public. She identified July 3, 2022 as the injury date but filed her injury form on November 10, 2022. The Board held that the filing came after the 30-day notice period for continuation of pay. It…
C.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Lincoln Park Postal Store, Chicago, IL
Board orders OWCP to explain reconsideration denial (ECAB 23-0142)
A postal employee claimed that work duties aggravated his right knee osteoarthritis. OWCP denied the claim and later rejected his reconsideration request as untimely and lacking clear evidence of error. The Board found that OWCP had not analyzed the evidence submitted with the request or explained…
R.S. and Department of the Army, William Beaumont Army Medical Center, El Paso, TX
Board orders OWCP to explain denial of schedule award reconsideration (ECAB 23-0038)
An Army medical center employee sought another impairment award for an accepted shoulder and cervical injury. OWCP rejected her reconsideration request as late and lacking clear evidence of error. The Board found that OWCP had not discussed new imaging or impairment reports submitted with the…
R.R. and U.S. Postal Service, West Milwaukee Post Office, Milwaukee, WI
Board upholds denial of postal carrier's carpal tunnel claim (ECAB 22-1368)
A postal carrier claimed that years of repetitive delivery work caused carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists. OWCP accepted his described duties and diagnosis, but denied a causal connection. The Board found that his orthopedist stated the work contributed to the condition without explaining the…
J.M. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Patrol, Douglas, AZ
Board confirms ATV incident and sends knee injury claim back for review (ECAB 22-0293)
A border patrol agent reported knee pain after dismounting an all-terrain vehicle at work. OWCP ultimately denied his claim because it found that he had not proved the incident happened. The Board found his account consistent with his supervisor's acknowledgment and the histories given to medical…
L.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Lyme Post Office, Lyme, NH
Board finds unwanted supervisor contact compensable and remands claim (ECAB 22-0126)
A rural postal carrier claimed anxiety and panic attacks connected to workplace disputes and unwanted physical contact by her postmaster. The Board found no proof of error or abuse in the supervisor's scheduling and other management decisions. But the supervisor acknowledged occasional hugs or…
L.Y. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Salem VA Medical Center, Salem, VA
Board finds supported workplace harassment factor and remands PTSD claim (ECAB 21-0344)
A VA medical support assistant claimed that confrontations with a coworker worsened her previously accepted PTSD. OWCP denied this new claim on the ground that no compensable workplace factor was established. The Board found that witness accounts and the employer's statement supported the reported…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2382 and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration, Phoenix Regional Office, Phoenix, Arizona
AFGE Local 2382 and VA Phoenix Regional Office (FLRA 0-AR-5869): Authority upholds denial of full-time official time
The Veterans Benefits Administration denied a union officer's request to spend all duty time on official-time work, citing staffing and workload while offering to review individual requests. An arbitrator found that neither the agreement nor a binding past practice entitled the officer to 100%…
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.