Ezel / Agency Decisions / PITT 78-458

Secretary of Labor on behalf of David Pasula v. Consolidation Coal Company (Commission decision, April 11, 1979)

Pasula v. Consolidation Coal (FMSHRC PITT 78-458): Judge's stay of decision vacated

Decision type
Commission decision
Docket
PITT 78-458
Decided
April 11, 1979
Outcome
Procedural
Precedential status
Citable Commission precedent
Checked against source
2026-10-23
Cited standards
30 U.S.C. § 823(d) 29 C.F.R. § 2700.54 29 C.F.R. § 2700.55
Official source
Read the official release (fmshrc.gov)
PDF
View Official PDF

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This is citable Commission precedent from 1979, and it may have been appealed since. Ezel checks how it stands today and answers your situation, with citations.

Currency note: this decision dates from 1979
The MSHA standards may have been amended, penalty amounts have been adjusted, and later Commission or court decisions may have changed the analysis since then. Treat this page as historical context, not current compliance advice. Verify the current standard before relying on any specific rule, threshold, or penalty mentioned here.
Decision of the Commission
This order vacated a judge's stay of his earlier decision while Commission review was underway. It did not resolve the underlying case, so it was interlocutory. The full text below is from the official FMSHRC release.
About this page: The plain-English summary and decision snapshot below were written by Ezel based on the official FMSHRC release. The full text is the agency's own release.
Read the official release (fmshrc.gov)

Plain-English summary

After a judge issued his decision in David Pasula's case, he entered an order staying its effective date while considering a motion for reconsideration. The Commission had granted discretionary review. It held that neither the Mine Act nor its interim procedural rules authorized a reconsideration motion or a stay of a judge's decision after issuance. The Commission therefore vacated the stay. This order did not decide the underlying discrimination dispute or assess a penalty.

Decision snapshot

  • Governing provisions: 30 U.S.C. § 823(d); 29 C.F.R. §§ 2700.54 and 2700.55.
  • Outcome: Judge's March 29, 1979 stay order vacated. No penalty assessed.
  • Key point: The cited Act and interim rules did not authorize a judge to stay an issued decision pending reconsideration.

Full text (FMSHRC public release)

CCASE:
MSHA V. CONSOLIDATION COAL
DDATE:
19790411
TTEXT:

FEDERAL MINE SAFETY & HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C.
April 11, 1979

SECRETARY OF LABOR,
MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH
ADMINISTRATION, Docket Nos. PITT 78-458

On behalf of

DAVID PASULA,
v.

CONSOLIDATION COAL COMPANY

ORDER

The administrative law judge's decision in this case was issued on March 5, 1979. On March 29, 1979, the judge issued an order purporting to stay the effective date of his decision pending his ruling on a motion for reconsideration. We granted a petition for discretionary review in this case on April 11, 1979.

Neither the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, 30 U.S.C. $801 et seq. (1978), 1/ nor the Commission's Interim Rules of Procedure, 29 CFR $2700.1 et seq.,2/ provide for a motion for reconsideration or a stay of the effective date of a judge's decision once the decision is issued. Cf. Penn Allegh Coal Co., Inc., Docket No. PITT 78-97-P (direction for review and order, January 3, 1979). Accordingly, the March 29, 1979, order of stay is vacated.
______
1/ See section 113(d) of the 1977 Act.
2/ See Interim Rules of Procedure 54 and 55, 29 CFR $$2700.54 and 55.

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