Comments/Notes on Adjudication Structure:
Appellate proceedings before the Board (49 CFR Part 1115) on matters for which the initial decision was not issued by the full Board -- that is, by an administrative law judge, employee board, individual Board member, employee board, or arbitration decision (all of which are rare) or, most likely, by the Director of the Office of Proceedings (49 CFR 1011.7(a)). At least with respect to appeals from employee boards and petitions to review arbitration decisions, appeals are disfavored and the standard of review narrow. (See 49 CFR 1108.11(b), 1115.1, 1115.8.)
Under 49 CFR Part 1115, the Board's rules provide for petitions to reopen, petitions for reconsideration, and other appeals of Board decisions, which, under certain circumstances, allow parties to appeal decisions of the Board. For example, a petition for reopening of administratively final actions must demonstrate material error, new evidence, or substantially changed circumstances. (See 49 CFR 1115.4 -- petitions to reopen administratively final actions.)
