Secretary of Labor v. Pocahontas Coal Company LLC (Commission decision, June 16, 2023)

Secretary of Labor v. Pocahontas Coal Company LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2023-0092): Commission granted review and paused briefing

Decision type

Commission decision

Docket

WEVA 2023-0092

Decided

June 16, 2023

Outcome

Procedural

Precedential status

Citable Commission precedent

Checked against source

2026-07-31

Official source

Read the official release (fmshrc.gov)

PDF

View Official PDF

Apply this precedent to your situation

This is citable Commission precedent from 2023, and it may have been appealed since. Ezel checks how it stands today and answers your situation, with citations.

Decision of the Commission

This is a decision of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, the highest level of agency review, citable as Commission precedent. It may have been appealed to a U.S. Court of Appeals after issuance under 30 U.S.C. § 816; check subsequent history before relying on it. 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

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 the Commission issued a later order. The case therefore remained pending before the Commission.

Decision snapshot

Cited authority: None stated in the order.
Outcome: Discretionary review was granted, and briefing was held in abeyance.
Key point: Granting review placed the case before the Commission but did not resolve the merits.

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)

POCAHONTAS
COAL COMPANY LLC,

Docket
No. WEVA 2023-0092

A.C.
No. 46-08878-565698

DIRECTION FOR
REVIEW AND ORDER

The
Petition for Discretionary Review filed by the Secretary of Labor on June 9,
2023 is GRANTED.

Briefing
on this matter is held in abeyance pending further order by the Commission.

/s/ Mary Lu Jordan

Mary
Lu Jordan, Chair

/s/
William I. Althen

William
I. Althen, Commissioner

/s/
Timothy J. Baker

Timothy
J. Baker, Commissioner

Distribution:

Emily Toler Scott,
Esq.

Counsel for
Appellate Litigation

U.S. Department of
Labor

Office of the
Solicitor

Division of Mine
Safety & Health

201 12th Street
South, Suite 401

Arlington,
VA 22202

[email protected]

Douglas W.
Johnson, CLR

U.S. Department of
Labor, MSHA

1293 Airport Road

Beaver, WV 25813

[email protected]

Jonathan R. Ellis,
Esq.

STEPTOE &
JOHNSON, PLLC

Chase Tower,
Seventeenth Floor

P.O. Box 1588

Charleston, WV
25326

[email protected]

Chief
Administrative Law Judge Glynn F. Voisin

Federal Mine
Safety Health Review Commission

Office of the
Chief Administrative Law Judge

1331 Pennsylvania
Avenue, NW Suite 520N

Washington, DC
20004-1710

[email protected]

Administrative Law
Judge Michael G. Young

Federal Mine
Safety and Health Review Commission

Office of the
Chief Administrative Law Judge

1331 Pennsylvania
Ave, NW, Suite 520N

Washington, DC 20004

[email protected]

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