Secretary of Labor v. Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC

Plain-English summary

Warrior Met said it did not receive the proposed assessment before the contest deadline. Postal tracking showed that the assessment went out for delivery but was marked for return to sender the same day and later returned to the post office. The Secretary could not confirm delivery and did not oppose the motion. The Commission held that the assessment was never properly served and therefore never became a final order. It treated reopening as moot and remanded the case for further proceedings.

Decision snapshot

• Cited authority: 30 U.S.C. § 815(a)
• Outcome: The reopening motion was moot, and the case was remanded because no final assessment existed.
• Key point: A proposed assessment returned to sender without proven delivery cannot become a final Commission order.

Full text (FMSHRC public release)

FEDERAL
MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION

1331
PENNSYLVANIA AVE., N.W., SUITE 520N

WASHINGTON,
DC 20004-1710

|
SECRETARY OF LABOR MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (MSHA)
v.
WARRIOR MET COAL MINING, LLC |
|
|
Docket No. SE 2025-0082 A.C. No. 01-01247-000612036 |

BEFORE: Rajkovich, Chair; Jordan, Baker, and Marvit, Commissioners

ORDER

BY THE COMMISSION:

This matter arises under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, 30 U.S.C. § 801 et seq. (2018) (“Mine Act”). On March 31, 2025, the Commission received from Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC (“Warrior Met”) a motion seeking to reopen a penalty assessment that had appeared to become a final order of the Commission pursuant to section 105(a) of the Mine Act, 30 U.S.C. § 815(a).

Warrior Met asserts that it never received the proposed assessment until after the deadline for contesting it had passed. The Secretary notes that records cannot confirm whether the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s (“MSHA”) mailed proposed assessment was delivered to and received by Warrior Met. As such, she does not oppose Warrior Met’s motion to reopen.

We note that U.S. Postal Service tracking indicates that the proposed assessment was out for delivery on December 23, 2024, but that USPS initiated return-to-sender efforts later the same day. The proposed assessment was eventually returned to the Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania post office on December 26, 2024.

Having reviewed Warrior Met’s request and the Secretary’s response, we conclude that
the proposed penalty assessment did not become a final order of the
Commission because it was never properly served on the operator. The Commission
has held that when an assessment is sent to the wrong address, it does not
become a final order, so a request to reopen it is moot. See Petra Materials,
32 FMSHRC 1113, 1116 (Sept. 2010); see also, e.g., American Sand Co. LLC,
42 FMSHRC 767 (Oct. 2020) (applying this principle to an order of default when
the Chief Judge’s order to show cause was sent to the wrong address). This
obviates any need to invoke Rule 60(b). Accordingly, the operator’s motion to
reopen is moot, and this case is remanded to the Chief Administrative Law Judge
for further proceedings pursuant to the Mine Act and the Commission’s
Procedural Rules, 29 C.F.R. Part 2700. .

/s/
Marco M. Rajkovich, Jr.

Marco M. Rajkovich, Jr., Chair

/s/ Mary Lu Jordan

Mary Lu Jordan, Commissioner

/s/ Timothy J.
Baker

Timothy J. Baker, Commissioner

/s/ Moshe Z.
Marvit

Moshe Z. Marvit, Commissioner

Distribution:

Guy Hensley, Counsel

Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC

16243 Highway 216

Brookwood, AL 35444

[email protected]

Thomas A. Paige, Esq.

Office of the Solicitor

U.S. Department of Labor

Division of Mine Safety and Health

200 Constitution Avenue NW, Suite N4428

Washington, DC 20210

[email protected]

Melanie
Garris

US
Department of Labor/MSHA

Office of Assessments, Room N3454

200 Constitution Ave NW

Washington, DC 20210

[email protected]

Chief Administrative Law Judge Glynn F. Voisin

Office
of the Chief Administrative Law Judge

Federal Mine
Safety Health Review Commission

1331
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Suite 520N

Washington,
DC 20004-1710

[email protected]