Federal Agency Decisions
Workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), and environmental appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board, each with a plain-English summary, the standards it cites, and whether it counts as precedent. More agencies are coming.
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Lakeview Rock Products, Inc.
Penalties assessed across 27 violations
Lakeview Rock Products operated a sand and gravel pit in Salt Lake City, Utah. Judge Arthur J. Amchan addressed three MSHA inspections and 27 contested or withdrawn violations involving electrical protection, guarding, workplace examinations, footwear, berms, access, and related safety…
Mutual Mining, Inc.
Full back pay ordered after remand
Judge Arthur J. Amchan had previously found that Mutual Mining violated section 105(c) by discharging five complainants. He had ordered back-pay amounts for Cletis Wamsley, Clark D. Williamson, Samuel Coyle, John B. Taylor, and Robert A. Lewis, subject to subtracting unemployment compensation under…
Stillwater Mining Company
One chute citation affirmed and one vacated
Stillwater Mining operated an underground platinum mine where a chute gate assembly failed and a miner was buried under falling ore. Judge Arthur J. Amchan affirmed a violation alleging that the chute-gate bolts were used beyond their design capacity, but assessed a $1,500 penalty instead of the…
Minnesota Ore Operations, USX Corporation
Temporary reinstatement denied
Ronald A. Markovich, a miners' representative at Minnesota Ore Operations, was discharged after the company determined that he had repeatedly removed or tampered with No Smoking stickers in an elevator. The Secretary of Labor sought his temporary reinstatement, alleging that the discharge was…
Barrick Goldstrike Mines, Inc.
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Donald S. Wallace alleged that Barrick Goldstrike Mines fired him in retaliation for safety-related communications and efforts to establish a miners' representative. Judge Arthur J. Amchan found that Wallace's radio instruction to skip a scheduled lunch break was not protected activity and that the…
Bruce Young and Yogo, Inc.
Discrimination settlement approved
Bruce Young and Yogo, Inc. resolved a discrimination proceeding involving Andy Howard, Jr.’s alleged discharge. The settlement required compensation of $4,350 for alleged mental and emotional distress, expungement of references to the separation and complaint, limits on information provided to…
Higman Sand and Gravel, Inc.
Mixed citation results with $1,245 penalty
Higman Sand and Gravel operated a sand and gravel mine and Screener Plant #1 in South Dakota. After a July 1995 inspection, Judge Arthur J. Amchan affirmed some guarding, handrail, records, seat-belt, horn, and service-brake violations, while vacating other citations and a section 104(b) order. He…
Leo Journagan Construction Company, Inc. and James M. Ray
Lockout violation affirmed, hopper citation vacated
MSHA inspected Leo Journagan Construction’s portable crusher in Missouri after employees entered the crusher to clear jammed rocks while power remained available. Judge Arthur J. Amchan found that the operator violated the lockout standard, but the violation was not significant and substantial…
Reading Anthracite Company
Discrimination case settlement approved
This remand order addressed damages for William Kaczmarczyk's discrimination case against Reading Anthracite Company. The parties stipulated that $4,225.92 represented lost overtime and additional workers' compensation payments, with $1,630 attributed to lost overtime and $2,595.92 to workers'…
Peabody Coal Company
Respiratory-dust penalties reduced on remand
The Commission remanded three respirable-dust violations for penalty reassessment after rejecting unwarrantable-failure and high-negligence findings. On remand, the judge found ordinary negligence, affirmed the violations as section 104(a) violations, and reduced the penalty to $1,500 for each…
Phelps Dodge Morenci, Inc.
Discrimination complaint dismissed for failure to state a claim
Clyde Perry alleged that Phelps Dodge Morenci discharged him after he complained that his medical condition made truck-driving work unsafe and after a dispute about a drug test. Judge Arthur J. Amchan held that an injury, inability to perform assigned work, and refusal to take a drug test were not…
Wallace Brothers, Inc.
Failure-to-abate penalties affirmed on remand
Wallace Brothers operated a portable crusher where inspectors found gaps and missing guarding around a tail pulley and a v-belt drive. The company did not correct the violations by the deadline, and the judge issued section 104(b) withdrawal orders. On remand, Judge Arthur J. Amchan found that the…
J B D Mining Company, Inc.
Three citations affirmed
J B D Mining Company received three citations at its Harlan No. 1 Mine. The first involved travel under unsupported roof, the second involved smoking materials found underground, and the third involved missing site-specific training for a contractor employee. Judge Arthur J. Amchan found all three…
Bruce Young and Yogo, Inc.
Temporary reinstatement ordered
Andy Howard, Jr., a haul truck driver for Yogo, Inc., reported defective brakes on a truck and later alleged retaliation after cooperating with an MSHA investigation. Judge Arthur J. Amchan found that the Secretary’s temporary-reinstatement case was not frivolous and ordered Yogo to reinstate…
Harold G. Moody, Employed by Grand River Quarry, Inc.
One individual case dismissed and one penalty assessed
The Secretary alleged that Harold G. Moody and Robert G. Flint, supervisors at Grand River Quarry, knowingly violated the Mine Act by allowing a haul-road berm to remain below the required height. Judge Arthur J. Amchan found that the Secretary did not prove Moody knew or had reason to know of the…
Stillwater Mining Company
Chute-hangup citation partly affirmed
Stillwater Mining operated an underground platinum mine in Montana where a miner was injured when a chute gate closed while he was near the chute mouth. Judge Arthur J. Amchan found that the Secretary proved a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 57.9310(b) because the miner used an improper method to place…
Bruce Young, d/b/a BNA Trucking and Yogo, Inc.
Discrimination case settled with reinstatement
William DeLong brought a Mine Act discrimination case arising from his alleged February 23, 1995 discharge by BNA Trucking and Yogo, Inc. The parties agreed to reinstate him as a truck driver as of October 10, 1995, recognize his seniority from his first employment in August 1994, and pay him…
Thunder Basin Coal Company
$1,300 penalty assessed
Thunder Basin Coal Company refused to post a form designating Dallas Wolf and Robert Butero as miners' representatives at its Black Thunder Mine. After the company did not abate the citation within the required time, MSHA issued a failure-to-abate order and proposed a total penalty of $26,360…
William Kaczmarczyk v. Reading Anthracite Company
Damages and civil penalty assessed
William Kaczmarczyk was transferred from light duty to workers' compensation status after serving as a walkaround representative during an MSHA inspection. An earlier ruling found that the transfer violated Mine Act section 105(c), and this decision determined the resulting damages and civil…
Amax Coal Company
Line curtain violation reduced and roof-plan citation partly vacated
Amax Coal's Wabash Mine was cited after a line curtain was left 55 to 60 feet from a working face even though the ventilation plan required it to be within 40 feet. The judge affirmed the underlying violation but found it non-significant and substantial, assessed a $1,500 penalty, and found the…
Rocky's Trucking
Citations affirmed and $720 penalty assessed
Rocky's Trucking operated a coal truck at a mine. A driver continued operating after the truck's reverse signal alarm was cited and after orders required the violations to be abated and the truck withdrawn. The judge held that the driver's conduct could establish the company's liability and treated…
Whayne Supply Company
Raised-equipment citation affirmed and inspection citation vacated
Whayne Supply Company employee James Paul Blanton was killed while working beneath the belly pan of a bulldozer at a surface coal mine. The Judge found that Whayne violated the requirement to securely block raised machinery before work was performed underneath it, but concluded that the violation…
Rawl Sales and Processing Co.
Discrimination settlements approved after reinstatement
Robert Robinette and Dana Hager were reinstated with full backpay and benefits in discrimination proceedings involving Rawl Sales and Processing Co. The parties asked the Judge to approve a settlement that reduced the total proposed civil penalties from $18,000 to $10,000. Judge Arthur J. Amchan…
Shine Quarry Inc.
Ground-control citation vacated
Shine Quarry operated a basalt quarry where MSHA alleged that unstable boulders on a recently blasted wall created a hazard to a loader operator. Judge Arthur J. Amchan concluded that the Secretary had not shown that the quarry's muck piles were insufficient to protect miners from falling material…
Associated Sand & Gravel Company, Inc.
Mixed result on mine jurisdiction and penalties
Associated Sand & Gravel operated a sand and gravel pit, a wash plant, and related concrete and asphalt facilities at the Butler Pit Wash Plant. The judge considered whether a maintenance shop used to repair mining equipment was within the Mine Act's jurisdiction, after citations were issued for an…
Wallace Brothers, Inc.
Failure-to-abate penalties affirmed
Wallace Brothers was cited for two unguarded moving-machine-part violations at a portable crusher and was given two days to correct them. When the inspector returned 26 days later, the violations had not been abated and the company had no sufficient explanation. Judge Arthur J. Amchan affirmed the…
Williams Brothers Coal Co., Inc.
Six citations affirmed and two vacated
Williams Brothers Coal Company operated the No. 3 Mine in eastern Kentucky. MSHA issued eight citations involving boreholes, examination records, lighting, insulation mats, coal dust and oil, a ladder, roof-bolt torque testing, and ventilation. Judge Arthur J. Amchan affirmed six citations as…
Florida Rock Industries, Inc.
Discrimination case dismissed after joint withdrawal
Irvin Rodgers, II, brought a discrimination proceeding against Florida Rock Industries concerning his November 22, 1994 termination. The parties jointly moved to withdraw their pleadings, and Florida Rock agreed not to seek attorney's fees from Rodgers. The judge granted the motion and dismissed…
Cyprus Emerald Resources Corp.
Settlement reduces and modifies penalties
Cyprus Emerald Resources Corp. and the Secretary settled a civil penalty case involving five orders at the Emerald No. 1 Mine. The settlement reduced the penalties on two orders and reduced and reclassified three others as section 104(a) citations, deleting the unwarrantable-failure allegations…
Consolidation Coal Company
Discrimination settlement approved
Randy Cunningham alleged that Consolidation Coal Company failed to pay him for one hour spent serving as a walkaround representative during an MSHA inspection. The company agreed to pay him for that hour, and the Secretary agreed to withdraw the proposed civil penalty. The judge approved the…
Reading Anthracite Company
Temporary-reinstatement enforcement motion resolved
William Kaczmarczyk had been temporarily reinstated after alleging retaliation connected to his work as a walkaround representative during an MSHA inspection. The judge found that Reading Anthracite assigned him mud-removal work beyond his physical capabilities on April 17 and April 19, 1995…
Peabody Coal Company
Two citations affirmed as non-S&S after remand
Peabody Coal operated the Martwick UG Mine. After the Commission vacated an earlier decision and remanded the case, Judge Arthur J. Amchan applied the Mathies framework to two citations involving an external grounding device and an unmarked cathead. He affirmed both citations as…
Peabody Coal Company
Two citations affirmed as non-S&S
Peabody Coal operated the Martwick UG Mine. On remand from the Commission, Judge Arthur J. Amchan considered whether two citations were significant and substantial under the Commission's Mathies framework. He found that an unconnected external grounding device on a cathead violated 30 C.F.R. §…
Reading Anthracite Company
Discrimination found and reinstatement ordered
William Kaczmarczyk was returned from light duty to workers compensation status one day after serving as a walkaround representative during MSHA inspections. Judge Arthur J. Amchan found that Reading Anthracite Company's safety director had some animus toward Kaczmarczyk's protected activity and…
Eugene Russell, Ervin E. Nichols, James M. Dodd, Reynold E. Channer, and Scott Furman, employed by Echo Bay Minerals Company
Eugene Russell and others (FMSHRC WEST 94-623-M through WEST 94-627-M): Discovery and interlocutory review denied
Five Echo Bay Minerals employees faced individual civil penalty proceedings under section 110(c) of the Mine Act. They sought discovery about why MSHA took 24 to 27 months to notify them of the proposed penalties, or alternatively sought interlocutory review of an earlier order denying dismissal…
Midwest Material Corporation
Crane-boom citation affirmed with $1,500 penalty
Midwest Material Corporation operated a sand and gravel processing facility in Illinois. A miner died after a section of a crane boom dropped while he was helping extend the boom without first lowering it to the ground or mechanically securing it. Judge Arthur J. Amchan found a significant and…
Cougar Coal Company
Smoking-sweep interference citation affirmed
Cougar Coal Company told an underground foreman that MSHA inspectors were at the mine during a surprise inspection intended to find smoking materials. Judge Arthur J. Amchan held that the warning interfered with MSHA's reasonable inspection technique and violated the Mine Act's right-of-entry…
Jeddo-Highland Coal Company
Compensation settlement approved
The United Mine Workers of America filed a compensation complaint concerning miners at Jeddo-Highland Coal Company's No. 7 Breaker. The company moved to approve a settlement agreeing to pay each named miner for the listed hours at the miner's regular rate of pay. The judge found the settlement…
Power Operating Company
Mine safety violations split, penalties partly affirmed
Power Operating Company faced seven citations or orders arising from MSHA inspections at its Frenchtown surface coal mine and Leslie Tipple preparation plant in Pennsylvania. The judge affirmed violations involving an unsafe dump-truck tire, muddy haulage roads and impounded water, and combustible…
Ebenezer Coal Company, Inc.
Smoking-material citation modified and $250 penalty assessed
During an MSHA smoking sweep, an inspector found an unopened pack of cigarettes in a miner's lunch bag underground at Ebenezer Coal's No. 1 Mine. The company conceded a significant and substantial violation, but disputed the findings of high negligence, highly likely injury, and the proposed $2,500…
Costain Coal, Inc.
Settlements approved and coal-spillage citation vacated
Costain Coal operated the Wheatcroft Mine in western Kentucky. The parties settled the outstanding penalties in KENT 94-1001 and KENT 94-1056, including a modification that reduced one proposed penalty from $235 to $50. In KENT 94-1002, Judge Arthur J. Amchan found that the Secretary did not prove…
Fielding Hydroseeding
Settlement reduced penalties to $5,000
Fielding Hydroseeding faced a civil penalty proceeding involving the Murphy No. 1 Prep Plant. The Secretary of Labor and the company proposed a settlement that reduced the total penalties from $6,000 to $5,000, payable under an installment plan. Judge Arthur J. Amchan found the settlement…
Midwest Materials Corporation
$1,500 settlement approved
Midwest Materials Corporation was the respondent in a civil penalty proceeding involving its employee Edward Schumacher at the Lacon Plant. The parties asked the Judge to approve a settlement that reduced the penalty from $9,500 to $1,500. Judge Arthur J. Amchan found the settlement consistent with…
Hico Transport, Inc. and Jay Crase
Default judgment entered
Jerry Slone alleged that Hico Transport, Inc. and Jay Crase discharged him in retaliation for activity protected by the Mine Act. After MSHA declined to find a violation, Slone filed his own Commission action under section 105(c)(3). The respondents did not answer the complaint or comply with…
Lakeview Rock Products, Inc.
Mixed citation results with $1,750 in penalties
Lakeview Rock Products operated a sand and gravel pit in Salt Lake City, Utah. The case involved a highwall condition, vehicle seat-belt use, berms and bumper blocks, access to electrical and examination records, and a defective back-up alarm. Judge Arthur J. Amchan vacated the proposed penalty for…
Amax Coal Company
Citations vacated and settlement approved
Amax Coal operates the Wabash Mine in southeastern Illinois. The judge considered a methane citation at a silo head house, a citation concerning ambient carbon monoxide levels in the mine ventilation plan, and three settled citations. The judge vacated the methane citation because the record did…
Kennie-Wayne, Inc.
$5,601 penalty assessed after ability-to-continue review
Kennie-Wayne, Inc. disputed whether paying proposed penalties would affect its ability to continue operating its coal mine. The judge found that the company had not shown the $5,601 penalty would determine whether it could remain in business. The judge concluded that the company's future depended…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Conveyor and coal-dust violations modified
Jim Walter Resources operated the No. 7 Mine, where MSHA issued orders and citations involving conveyor alignment, damaged rollers, coal-dust accumulations, and a loose conveyor guard. Judge Arthur J. Amchan found the violations significant and substantial, but he rejected several…
New Point Stone Company, Inc.
Brake citation modified and $500 penalty assessed
MSHA cited New Point Stone after finding that a Mack haul truck had been operated for about a month with one of its six brake chambers removed. Judge Arthur J. Amchan found that the braking system was not maintained in functional condition under 30 C.F.R. § 56.14101, but he found insufficient…
New Warwick Mining Company
Coal-dust orders mixed, $5,975 total penalty assessed
New Warwick Mining Company's consolidated cases concerned coal and coal-dust accumulations, preshift examinations, a defective ladder, and battery-charger ventilation at its Warwick Mine. Judge Arthur J. Amchan affirmed several violations and orders, vacated others, and found the affirmed…
Mutual Mining, Inc.
Back pay and civil penalty ordered
Mutual Mining had previously been found to have violated section 105(c) of the Mine Act by discharging five complainants. Judge Arthur J. Amchan granted the Secretary's motion for summary judgment on damages and ordered back-pay awards ranging from $5,203.31 to $46,825.73. He also assessed a $5,000…
Konitz Contracting, Inc.
Citations affirmed with $510 penalty
Konitz Contracting operated a portable crusher, a rip-rap operation, and other mining worksites in Montana. The ALJ found that the rip-rap operation was a mine under the Mine Act because it extracted and sized rock, and that MSHA therefore had jurisdiction. The judge affirmed citations involving…
The Pit
Ten citations vacated, four affirmed, and $210 assessed
The Pit operated a sand and gravel site on a ranch near Eureka, Montana, while setting up and adjusting equipment. The ALJ held that the Mine Act applied to the pre-production activities and that the citations were properly issued to The Pit. The judge vacated ten machine-guarding citations because…
Thunder Basin Coal Company
Discrimination settlement approved with $7,500 civil penalty
The parties settled four discrimination complaints filed under Section 105(c) of the Mine Act. Thunder Basin Coal Company was ordered to pay the complainants the sums required by the settlement, expunge adverse employment references, and pay a $7,500 civil penalty to MSHA. The complainants waived…
Reading Anthracite Company
Temporary reinstatement ordered
William Kaczmarczyk, an electrician and mine safety representative, was returned to workers' compensation status shortly after serving as an employee walkaround representative during an MSHA inspection. The Secretary alleged that this action was retaliatory. The ALJ found that the…
Peabody Coal Company
Multiple citations affirmed or modified, $3,081 assessed
Peabody Coal operated the Camp No. 11 underground mine in Kentucky and faced citations involving rock dust, ventilation, roof dust, a trailing cable, and respirable dust. The judge found that the rock dust violation was significant and substantial because methane and other conditions made an…
Larry D. Irvin, Employed by New Horizons Coal, Inc.
Underground-smoking citation affirmed and $250 assessed
Larry D. Irvin was working underground at the Dulcimer No. 7 Mine when an inspector observed what he believed was a lighted cigarette and smelled cigarette smoke. A search found no cigarette or other smoking materials, and Irvin denied smoking, but the ALJ credited the inspector's testimony and…
Cobra Mining Incorporated
Settlement approved at $240
Cobra Mining Incorporated faced a civil penalty for an alleged violation of 30 C.F.R. § 71.803 at its surface mine. The parties agreed to reduce the proposed $382 penalty to $240. Judge Arthur J. Amchan approved the settlement and ordered payment in 12 monthly installments of $20, after which the…
Tanglewood Energy, Inc.
Damages awarded after discrimination finding
An earlier decision found Tanglewood Energy, Inc. in violation of section 105(c) of the Mine Act in a case brought on behalf of Perry Poddey. Judge Arthur J. Amchan then adopted the parties’ stipulation on the amount due and ordered the company to pay $9,094.38. The amount represented back wages…
Peabody Coal Company
Refuse-pile water citation vacated
MSHA cited Peabody Coal after finding two pools of water on a refuse pile at the Camp 9 Preparation Plant. The Secretary argued that the pools violated 30 C.F.R. § 77.215(e), which prohibits constructing refuse piles so as to impede drainage or impound water. Judge Arthur J. Amchan found that the…
What these documents are
- The agencies: Workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), and environmental permit and penalty appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB). Each decision page names its agency.
- Commission and Board decisions: Rulings by the agency's highest review level (the Commission at OSHRC and FMSHRC, 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.