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.
No decisions match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
Matter of Alaras
Approved visa petition does not excuse an overstay
A husband and wife from the Philippines overstayed their visitor admissions and were found deportable. The wife had an approved third preference visa petition, which they argued should allow her to remain until a visa became available. The Board held that approval of the petition did not restore…
Silver Skillet Food Products Company
Four safety items affirmed and one vacated
Silver Skillet processed and canned food at an Illinois plant. OSHA cited a boiler-room fire door tied open, warped metal floor plates, two ladders without safety feet, a padlocked fire exit, and unsecured dock plates. The judge affirmed the fire-door, floor-plate, exit, and dock-plate items. He…
Matter of Molcello
Objection to substituted hearing officer came too late
A Japanese visitor who had overstayed her admission sought reconsideration after the Board upheld the denial of her application to adjust status. She objected for the first time to the replacement of the officer who heard her case. The Board held that she had to raise that objection at the hearing…
Stephen Adamowich d/b/a Terryville Sanitation Service
Procedural vacatur reversed
OSHA cited Terryville Sanitation for an unsupported nine-foot trench and failure to provide a ladder, with proposed penalties totaling $805. The first judge vacated the citations because the Commission received the employer's notice of contest after the seven-day transmission period. The Commission…
E.F. Houghton & Co.
Withdrawal order reversed for lack of abatement certification
E.F. Houghton moved to withdraw its notice of contest while stating that two contested citation items had not been abated pending a variance request. The company also said it understood that OSHA would not reinspect during that period, but the Secretary denied giving any such assurance. The judge…
Vy Lactos Laboratories, Inc.
Hydrogen-sulfide citation vacated for unproven recognition
Vy Lactos manufactured livestock and poultry feed concentrates using proteinaceous fish solubles. After fish slurry overflowed into a basement, employees entered without self-contained breathing equipment and encountered a lethal atmosphere attributed to hydrogen sulfide gas. Three employees died…
ADM Grain Co., Inc.
Commission returned notice-of-contest dispute for further findings
ADM Grain received 12 other-than-serious citations covering maritime and workplace conditions. The first judge vacated the case because the notice of contest reached the Commission after the forwarding deadline. The Commission set aside that order, finding that vacating the case was too severe…
J. Dale Wilson, Builder
Delayed contest-transmission case remanded for further proceedings
J. Dale Wilson sent OSHA a letter protesting a citation and proposed $35 penalty, and OSHA received it on October 11, 1972. OSHA did not transmit the notice of contest to the Commission until October 30, beyond the seven-day procedural deadline. The Commission set aside the judge's earlier vacatur…
Matter of Tsang
Crewman receives voluntary departure despite refusal to testify
A Chinese crewman deserted his ship and later refused to testify about deportability, invoking the Fifth Amendment. He also sought voluntary departure. The Board upheld the denial of his motion to suppress the ship and seaman records because he offered no evidence that his arrest or the collection…
Wright-Schuchart-Harbor Contractors
Pit and life-jacket items affirmed
Wright-Schuchart-Harbor was one of many contractors building the Trojan Nuclear Power Plant in Oregon. OSHA observed two of its employees working on a snow- and ice-covered float near river water without life jackets and an unguarded pit about 30 feet deep beside a traveled walkway. The judge…
Dundas Pallet Company, Division of Industrial Wood and Pallet Company
Eye-protection violation affirmed
Dundas Pallet cut lumber and manufactured pallets at an Ohio plant. Employees operating or working near power saws and automatic nailers were not provided with or required to wear protective eyewear. The company stipulated to the violation, and its vice president testified that management had known…
Dreher Pickle Company
Electrical and platform penalties increased to $1,500
Dreher Pickle Company operated wet processing areas with inadequately grounded electrical equipment. Employees had repeatedly received shocks from conveyor belts, management knew of those reports, and one employee died from probable electrical shock while standing in brine water and loading pickles…
Matter of Conceiro
Board could not grant parole in exclusion proceedings
A Cuban citizen arrived in New York without an immigrant visa and sought admission as a visitor while intending to remain indefinitely as a refugee. He conceded that he was inadmissible but asked the Board to release him on parole. The Board held that the Attorney General had delegated parole…
Engstrum and Nourse
Serious trench cave-in hazard affirmed
Engstrum and Nourse installed an underground storm drain in San Francisco using a trench ranging from 13 to 16 feet deep. An eight-foot section remained unshored when two employees entered to install protection from the bottom up. Soil and loose material collapsed into the trench, killing one…
Republic Creosoting Co., Division of Reilly Tar & Chemical Corp.
Crosstie unloading and stacking citations vacated
Republic Creosoting operated a railroad-tie marshalling yard in Indiana. A newly hired employee unexpectedly cut the steel band around a package of ties before the forklift was positioned to secure the load, and falling ties fatally injured him. The Commission found that the company's customary…
Baltz Brothers Packing Company
Four violations affirmed with $905 in penalties
Baltz Brothers processed livestock into packaged meat products at a Tennessee plant. The company admitted violations involving ungrounded electrical equipment, cluttered maintenance and storage areas, connected extension cords lying in water, and open electrical control boxes. The judge affirmed…
A. Stuart Bolling Company, Inc.
Late answer accepted and case remanded
The judge denied A. Stuart Bolling Company the right to participate and affirmed the citation and proposed penalty because the company had not filed an answer. The company sent a letter explaining that it had posted the pleadings and misunderstood the answer requirement, while briefly disputing the…
Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union, AFL-CIO
Employee contest scope limited
OSHA issued Mobil Oil three serious citations and one citation containing 90 other than serious items. The employer did not contest, but the employees' union challenged the length of the abatement period for one item and asserted that 69 other items described as abated had not actually been…
Gerosa, Inc.
Crane inspection citation vacated
Gerosa assigned a competent operator and oiler to run a rented crane while steel columns were placed at a power plant construction site. OSHA cited the company for allegedly failing to designate a competent person to inspect the crane before and during use. The crane passed customary operational…
Universal Maintenance & Repair Corporation
Mail-conveyor lockout violation affirmed
Universal maintained and repaired more than 200 conveyor belts at a mail-sorting facility. OSHA issued a serious general duty clause citation after an employee lost his right arm while attempting to clear a conveyor that had not been locked out. The judge found that the available locks and shared…
Matter of Abellana and Donovan
Reopening denial upheld after sham marriage findings
Two Philippine citizens who had overstayed their visitor admissions sought to reopen their deportation cases to apply for permanent residence through later marriages to U.S. citizens. After a district court ordered a finding on whether those marriages were genuine, the special inquiry officer found…
Matter of Reyes-Gomez
Nonlawyer Service officer could present deportation case
A Mexican citizen appealed a deportation order after an Immigration and Naturalization Service employee who was not a lawyer presented the government's case at his hearing. He argued that the assignment denied him due process. The Board held that the statute and regulations allowed an immigration…
Bill Echols Trucking Company
Citation vacated after delayed contest transmission
OSHA cited Bill Echols Trucking Company for a serious failure to provide reverse signal alarms on vehicles with obstructed views and proposed a $600 penalty. It also issued an other than serious citation with no proposed penalty. The company promptly wrote that it had installed the signaling device…
Matter of Ascher
Spouse's visa plans required further inquiry
A United States citizen petitioned for immigrant preference status for his Ecuador-born brother, whose wife was born in Great Britain. The Board initially dismissed the petitioner's appeal because the record did not show that the brother qualified to use his wife's foreign state for visa…
R. D. Blue Construction, Inc.
Trenching hazard citation affirmed
R. D. Blue Construction was excavating a trench for utility work near a hospital when two employees worked in a section at least eight feet deep. OSHA alleged that the trench had unstable sides, lacked adequate sloping, shoring, sheeting, or bracing, and had excavated material placed too close to…
Wetmore & Parman, Inc.
Open-floor citation affirmed and penalty raised
Wetmore & Parman was constructing a six-story college building when employees worked near an unguarded sixth-floor edge about 60 feet above the ground. OSHA had previously told the company's superintendent how to guard the open floor, but the company did not install adequate protection because it…
Texports Stevedore Company, Inc.
Falling-cargo penalty increased
Texports was unloading two-tier stacks of 4,200-pound pulpwood bales from a barge when one bale fell and disabled a forklift. The company sent a mechanic into the hold without securing the remaining cargo, and another bale fell and severely injured him. The judge found that the first falling bale…
Equity Supply Company
Liquid and extinguisher items vacated
Equity Supply stipulated to several housekeeping, guarding, protective-equipment, compressed-air, and electrical violations at its Montana facility. The remaining dispute concerned alleged storage of combustible liquid in open containers and inspection of fire extinguishers. The Commission vacated…
California Blowpipe and Steel Co., Inc.
Withdrawal approved without liability disclaimer
California Blowpipe sought to withdraw its notice of contest and tendered the full $500 penalty after immediately abating the alleged violation. Its first motion made payment conditional on ending the litigation and disclaimed any responsibility or liability. The Secretary objected to that…
Matter of Alvarez-Quintana
Citizenship claim rejected after marriage evidence fell short
A man born in Mexico to a United States citizen father and a Mexican citizen mother claimed United States citizenship through his father in deportation proceedings. The Board found that the parents' religious ceremony did not establish a legal marriage under Mexican law. It also found insufficient…
Matter of Katsanis
Petty offense ruling sends adjustment request back
A Greek citizen overstayed his visitor admission and later sought adjustment of status based on a visa petition filed by his U.S. citizen brother. A special inquiry officer denied adjustment because a Greek conviction for attempted fraud was treated as a bar to admission. The Board agreed that…
Broadview Construction Co.
Forklift worker-lifting penalty raised to maximum
Broadview used a forklift to lift six employees and 25 long sheets of roofing material to a roof about 24 feet above the ground. The employees had no secured personnel platform or way to shut off the lift, and all six were seriously injured when the forklift toppled at a height of about 26 feet…
Hess Oil Virgin Islands Corp.
Withdrawal order amended to affirm citation
Hess Oil sought to withdraw its contest of a serious citation after the cited storage-tank operations ended because the tanks had been destroyed. The company stated that it was in compliance and would remain so, paid the proposed $700 penalty, and posted the withdrawal papers without receiving…
Pleasant Valley Packing Co., Inc.
Citations vacated after contest letter was not forwarded
OSHA issued Pleasant Valley Packing a citation containing 21 nonserious items after inspecting its meat-processing and packaging plant. Two days after receiving the citation and penalty notice, the company wrote to the Area Director that the proposed penalties were unjustified and asked that they…
The Mountain States Telephone & Telegraph Company
Unsafe-tool citation vacated for lack of knowledge
A Mountain States employee collapsed and died while using an electric impact wrench that was later found to have unsafe internal wiring and a short circuit. OSHA initially issued a serious electrical-grounding citation with a proposed $600 penalty, then amended it to a nonserious unsafe-tool…
Matter of Gallares
Spouse's visa petition gave no right to remain
A Philippine citizen admitted as a nonimmigrant student was found deportable after he transferred schools without permission and remained beyond his authorized stay. He argued that his marriage to a woman with an approved third preference visa petition allowed him to remain while she waited for a…
Chicago Bridge & Iron Company
Citation and $800 penalty affirmed after withdrawal
OSHA issued Chicago Bridge & Iron one serious citation and proposed an $800 penalty. The company contested the case, then moved to withdraw its notice of contest after the storage-tank operations ended and the tanks were destroyed. It stated that it was in compliance, paid the $800 penalty, and…
G. & C. Foundry Co.
Default order reversed after employer tried to answer
The Secretary sought a default judgment because G. & C. Foundry had not filed a formal answer to the complaint. The employer responded with letters explaining its attempts to follow Commission procedure and stating its position on the contested items. It also complied with prehearing requirements…
Brent Towing Co., Inc.
Uncontested citation items restored
OSHA cited Brent Towing for 10 non-serious violations and proposed penalties totaling $310. The judge vacated the entire citation after finding that the Secretary had not promptly forwarded the employer's contest letter to the Commission. The Commission later found that items 5 through 9 had never…
Hanovia Lamp Division, Canrad Precision Industries, Inc.
Serious citation vacated for lack of employer knowledge
Hanovia manufactured lamps and employed an experienced laboratory technician who worked alone while testing high-voltage equipment. The technician created an unsafe arrangement involving exposed energized components and was electrocuted. OSHA cited the company under the general duty clause and…
Matter of Gamboa
District director could not reject notice of appeal
A husband and wife from Mexico conceded deportability after entering without inspection, and a special inquiry officer granted them voluntary departure. Their lawyer appealed because the officer had described the husband's earlier unlawful entries as adverse factors; the District Director refused…
Swift Trucking Company
Log-handling citation and $550 penalty affirmed
OSHA cited Swift Trucking under the general duty clause for removing binders from a load of logs before the loading machine was in place. The company contested the serious citation and proposed $550 penalty, then asked to withdraw its contest. Swift Trucking stated that it had abated the condition…
Matter of Chu
Permanent residency survived an invalid status change
A man born in Washington, D.C., while his father held diplomatic status applied to create a record of lawful permanent residence under former INA section 249. The Service had earlier changed his status to a United Nations household nonimmigrant without giving him or his guardian the notice and…
Matter of Bark
Marriage finding in deportation appeal later reversed
A Korean citizen appealed a deportation order and the denial of adjustment, a waiver, and voluntary departure. The Board held that the substitute hearing officer was available under the governing rule because the original officer was stationed elsewhere when the hearing reopened and no objection…
ESS-BEE Knitwear Company, Inc.
Failure-to-correct penalties affirmed after withdrawal
OSHA notified ESS-BEE Knitwear that it had failed to correct cited violations and proposed $630 in additional penalties. The company filed a timely contest, then asked to withdraw it. ESS-BEE represented that the violations had been abated, tendered the proposed penalty, promised continuing…
Ralph Morse Furniture Co.
Default set aside and withdrawal approved
The judge struck Ralph Morse Furniture's notice of contest because the company had not answered the Secretary's complaint. After that order, the parties jointly submitted a withdrawal motion and supporting stipulation that had not been before the judge. The Commission treated the new joint filing…
John Hicks Oldsmobile, Inc.
Seven citations affirmed with more abatement time
OSHA cited John Hicks Oldsmobile for seven non-serious violations and proposed penalties totaling $155. The company and the Secretary stipulated to withdrawal of the contest, payment of the penalties, and more time to correct item 4. The Secretary also agreed to provide an interpretation of the…
United Sheet Metal Co.
Withdrawal approved for all five citation items
OSHA cited United Sheet Metal for five non-serious violations. The employer first withdrew its penalty contests for items 2 through 5, then sought to withdraw its remaining contest to item 1. The judge found that the company had not yet documented abatement, payment, service, and posting for item…
Matter of Iqbal
Motion to reopen denied after nonimmigrant overstay
A Pakistani citizen had obtained permanent residence through his first marriage, but that adjustment was later rescinded and he was ordered deported for remaining beyond his authorized stay as a visitor. After he married another United States citizen and had a citizen child, he moved to reopen and…
Stylhomes, Inc.
Seven citations and $104 penalty affirmed
OSHA cited Stylhomes for seven other-than-serious violations and proposed penalties totaling $104. The company contested the case, then moved to withdraw its notice of contest. Stylhomes certified that it had corrected the cited conditions, would maintain abatement and continuing compliance, had…
Atlantic Concrete, Inc.
Mixed ruling on floor opening and crane citations
Atlantic Concrete was cited for an unguarded floor opening and several recordkeeping, posting, first-aid, and crane-related conditions. The parties stipulated that several non-serious items were unsupported, inapplicable, or abandoned. The judge vacated those items, affirmed two crane violations…
Becker Brothers Carbon Co.
Penalties reduced to $280 in withdrawal stipulation
OSHA cited Becker Brothers Carbon for 15 other-than-serious violations and proposed $330 in penalties. The parties stipulated that the company had corrected all cited conditions and would continue to comply. They also agreed to eliminate the $50 penalty for item 14 because the company president…
Matter of Sipus
Seven years of presence alone did not warrant reopening
A Philippine citizen sought to reopen a deportation case to apply for suspension of deportation after she had spent more than seven continuous years in the United States. The Board held that the passage of time made the earlier dispute about an absence moot, but her motion still lacked evidence…
Otis Elevator Company
Serious and non-serious citations affirmed
OSHA issued Otis Elevator one serious and one non-serious citation with proposed penalties of $500 and $150. The Secretary amended the description of the non-serious violation, then sought another amendment to return the citation to its original wording. Before the hearing, Otis moved to withdraw…
Detroit Printing Pressmen Local No. 13, International Printing Pressmen & Assistants Union of North America, AFL-CIO
Union's noise-abatement extension request dismissed
OSHA cited the Evening News Association for excessive workplace noise and set deadlines for temporary protection and longer-term controls. Neither the employer nor the union contested the citation, so it became final. The union later asked the Commission to extend the abatement period because the…
Chicago Lumber Co., Inc.
Serious citation and $550 penalty affirmed
OSHA issued Chicago Lumber serious and non-serious citations with proposed penalties of $550 and $400. The company contested only the serious citation, so the non-serious citation became final without review. Chicago Lumber later stipulated to withdrawal of its contest, paid the $550 proposed…
D. C. Taylor Roofing Co., Inc.
Serious citation and $500 penalty affirmed
OSHA issued D. C. Taylor Roofing a serious citation and proposed a $500 penalty. The Secretary's complaint listed the wrong worksite address, then the Secretary moved to amend it to restore the correct address from the citation. The company later stipulated to withdrawal of its contest, paid the…
Equipco Contractors, Inc.
Serious citation and $500 penalty affirmed
Equipco Contractors contested a serious citation and proposed $500 penalty, then asked to withdraw before the scheduled hearing. The company stated that it had completed abatement, tendered the penalty, and would continue to comply with the Act. It served the motion on the parties and employee…
Matter of Arteaga-Godoy
Petitioner had to see and answer adverse evidence
A U.S. citizen petitioned for immediate relative status for her husband. The District Director denied the petition after an investigation found records suggesting that the husband had an earlier marriage and children. The Board found no indication that the petitioner had seen this adverse evidence…
Colonial Craft Reproductions, Inc.
Seven items affirmed but all penalties vacated
Colonial Craft, a very small wooden-giftware manufacturer, was cited for nine non-serious violations, with $165 in penalties proposed for spray-area electrical wiring, exit signs, machine belts, and radial saws. The Commission agreed that the penalized conditions were not minor and ordinarily would…
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.