Federal agency decisions, searchable in plain English.
Workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) and mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), each with a plain-English summary, the standards it cites, and whether it counts as precedent. More agencies are coming.
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Secretary of Labor v. Newmont Slate Company, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Newmont Slate Company, Inc. (FMSHRC YORK 2016-20 M): Fifteen citations upheld and one vacated
MSHA issued Newmont Slate 16 citations covering fire and explosion warnings, compressed-air tanks, electrical circuits, machine guards and windows, explosives, training, noise records, and other quarry conditions. After a hearing, Judge David F. Barbour found 15 violations and vacated the citation…
Secretary of Labor v. Newmont Slate Company, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Newmont Slate Company, Inc. (FMSHRC YORK 2016-20 M): Original multi-citation decision superseded
MSHA issued Newmont Slate 16 citations covering fire and explosion warnings, compressed-air tanks, electrical circuits, machine guards and windows, explosives, training, noise records, and other quarry conditions. Judge David F. Barbour found 15 violations and vacated the citation alleging…
Hunter Sand & Gravel, LLC v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. Hunter Sand & Gravel, LLC
Hunter Sand & Gravel, LLC v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC KENT 2014-391 RM, et al.): Dredge safety violations yielded $50,530 penalty
A Hunter Sand & Gravel dredge hand disappeared while taking a draft reading from a snow-covered barge on the Ohio River and was presumed to have fallen into the water and drowned. Judge David F. Barbour vacated the snow-removal citation because the Secretary did not prove that sanding, salting, or…
Secretary of Labor obo Kelly Rawley v. J.L. Sherman Excavation Co.
Secretary of Labor obo Kelly Rawley v. J.L. Sherman Excavation Co. (FMSHRC WEST 2016-545 DM): Screening measures allowed discrimination case to proceed
The Secretary pursued a Mine Act discrimination complaint for Kelly Rawley while separately seeking an individual civil penalty against him for earlier alleged safety violations. Judge David F. Barbour asked whether the Solicitor's dual role created a conflict that could affect the discrimination…
Secretary of Labor v. J.L. Sherman Excavation Co.
Secretary of Labor v. J.L. Sherman Excavation Co. (FMSHRC WEST 2016-545 DM): Judge sought briefing on Solicitor's dual role
The Secretary alleged that J.L. Sherman Excavation fired Kelly Rawley after he reported unsafe loader brakes to MSHA. At the same time, the Secretary was seeking individual civil penalties against Rawley for earlier alleged safety violations. Judge David F. Barbour identified a potential conflict…
Secretary of Labor v. Ash Grove Cement Company
Secretary of Labor v. Ash Grove Cement Company (FMSHRC WEST 2014-963): Elevator exam citation vacated on fair notice, $7,500 total
Ash Grove Cement runs the Seattle Plant, a cement operation in King County, Washington. MSHA issued four citations in 2014, two from a regular inspection and two after a customer's truck driver was seriously hurt falling from a trailer ladder. The judge vacated the workplace examination citation…
Secretary of Labor v. Locust Grove, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Locust Grove, Inc. (FMSHRC KENT 2015-296): Highwall case settles mid-hearing after the inspector's own testimony wavers
Locust Grove runs Ben's Branch Mine, a surface coal mine in Perry County, Kentucky. In June 2014 an MSHA inspector reported loose rocks lying or hanging near the crest of an active highwall with three miners working about 10 feet from its base, and found that the shift examination records for the…
United States Steel Corporation - Minnesota Ore Operations v. Secretary of Labor
United States Steel Corporation - Minnesota Ore Operations v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC LAKE 2016-193 RM): Tilden precedent controlled welder-cable testing dispute
U.S. Steel argued that a 1999 final ALJ decision involving the same Minntac Mine barred MSHA from applying the annual grounding-test standard to cables supplying portable welders. Judge David F. Barbour held that the Commission's later precedential decision in Tilden Mining controlled unless…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Mindy S. Pepin v. Empire Iron Mining Partnership
Secretary of Labor obo Mindy S. Pepin v. Empire Iron Mining Partnership (FMSHRC LAKE 2015-386 DM): Supervisor's response to anonymous safety complaint was unlawful interference
Mindy Pepin made an anonymous MSHA safety complaint after questioning whether her mine improperly cleared a lightning alert. Her supervisor later accused her of using safety complaints to bottleneck production, identified her as a ringleader, and said management was watching her. Judge David F…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Kelly Rawley v. J.L. Sherman Excavation
Secretary of Labor obo Kelly Rawley v. J.L. Sherman Excavation (FMSHRC WEST 2016-467 DM): Economic temporary reinstatement settlement approved
Kelly Rawley alleged that J.L. Sherman Excavation fired or laid him off after he complained about loader brakes and was told not to speak with an MSHA inspector, then failed to recall him when seasonal work resumed. The parties settled the temporary-reinstatement application by economically…
Secretary of Labor v. D. Holcomb & Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. D. Holcomb & Company, LLC (FMSHRC WEST 2015-382 M): Carbon-monoxide citation settled for $30,000
An MSHA inspector found a gasoline generator running inside D. Holcomb & Company's scale-house trailer at Black Diamond Quarry, with carbon monoxide above 180 parts per million near the only functioning door. MSHA alleged that the company failed to conduct gas surveys often enough to evaluate its…
Secretary of Labor v. Cemex Construction Materials, Atlantic, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Cemex Construction Materials, Atlantic, LLC (FMSHRC SE 2014-328 M): Elevator-examination citation vacated for lack of fair notice
After a fatal elevator accident at another Cemex plant, MSHA cited the Knoxville Cement Plant for not assigning a competent person to examine each elevator every shift. Judge David F. Barbour found that an elevator can be a working place when employees use it to transport work equipment, but held…
Hunter Sand & Gravel, LLC v. Secretary of Labor
Hunter Sand & Gravel, LLC v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC KENT 2014-391 RM, et al.): Late Coast Guard accident report excluded
A Hunter Sand & Gravel employee disappeared while transferring from a dredge to an adjacent barge on the Ohio River and was later declared dead. MSHA issued citations and orders concerning snow and ice, task training, flotation equipment, fall protection, and workplace examinations. After the…
Secretary of Labor v. Warrior Investments Co., Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Warrior Investments Co., Inc. (FMSHRC SE 2015-174): Missing refuge-chamber beacon readers were S&S
Warrior Investments failed on two occasions to install an inline beacon reader where a refuge-chamber lifeline met the primary escapeway lifeline, as its approved emergency response plan required. Judge David F. Barbour evaluated the violations by assuming the mine emergency the tracking system was…
Secretary of Labor v. Buzzi Unicem USA
Secretary of Labor v. Buzzi Unicem USA (FMSHRC LAKE 2015-329-M): Defective skid-steer citation reduced to $634
A Buzzi Unicem employee tagged out a skid steer because it continued creeping when the operator released the controls, but management returned it to service while awaiting repairs. The machine was used around foot traffic and cleanup workers, and most operators were not warned that they needed the…
Mark L. Lujan v. Signal Peak Energy, LLC
Mark L. Lujan v. Signal Peak Energy, LLC (FMSHRC WEST 2015-252-D): Medical absence did not prove Mine Act discrimination
Mark Lujan alleged that Signal Peak suspended and discharged him after he stayed home during a gout flare-up because he believed working would endanger himself and others. Judge David F. Barbour excused Lujan's late complaint because the operator did not show material prejudice, but held that…
Hunter Sand & Gravel, LLC v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. Hunter Sand & Gravel, LLC
Hunter Sand & Gravel, LLC v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC KENT 2014-391-RM, et al.): Jurisdiction resolved but snow-clearing claim required hearing
Five citations and orders followed a fatal accident in which a dredge hand slipped from a snow- and ice-covered barge walkway into the water. Hunter Sand & Gravel initially disputed MSHA jurisdiction but withdrew that challenge before the summary-decision ruling. Judge David F. Barbour therefore…
Spartan Mining Company v. Secretary of Labor
Spartan Mining Company v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC WEVA 2015-407-R): Imminent-danger order upheld for miner in red zone
An MSHA inspector saw a continuous-miner operator standing beside an energized machine while it trammed forward and backward in the prohibited red zone. The inspector immediately flashed his cap lamp to remove the miner, then notified nearby foremen within a minute that he had issued an…
Spartan Mining Company v. Secretary of Labor
Spartan Mining Company v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC WEVA 2015-407-R): More facts required for imminent-danger ruling
Spartan Mining and the Secretary asked the Judge to resolve an imminent-danger order through cross-motions for summary decision after settling a related citation. Their stipulations did not establish the size of the danger area, how many people were withdrawn, the timing between the inspector's…
Mark L. Lujan v. Signal Peak Energy, LLC
Mark L. Lujan v. Signal Peak Energy, LLC (FMSHRC WEST 2015-765-D): Miner could not file his own reinstatement application
Mark Lujan filed an individual Mine Act discrimination case after MSHA found insufficient evidence to pursue his discharge complaint. While that case awaited decision after a hearing, he separately asked the Commission for temporary reinstatement. Judge David F. Barbour held that section 105(c)(2)…
Secretary of Labor v. Warrior Investment Company, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Warrior Investment Company, Inc. (FMSHRC SE 2014-388): Belt-maintenance violation affirmed with $5,961 penalty
A section foreman tried to clean mud from a conveyor roller while the belt was stopped but not locked out or blocked against motion. Another miner started the belt, pulling the foreman's arm between the belt and roller and causing an injury that required hospital treatment and a month away from…
Mark L. Lujan v. Signal Peak Energy, LLC
Mark L. Lujan v. Signal Peak Energy, LLC (FMSHRC WEST 2015-252-D): Medical-condition work-refusal claim required a hearing
Mark Lujan alleged that Signal Peak suspended and later terminated him after gout flare-ups made him unable to walk and, in his view, unsafe to enter the mine. Signal Peak sought summary decision, arguing that a medical absence was not protected activity, that Lujan left after time-sheet…
Secretary of Labor v. Mize Granite Quarries, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Mize Granite Quarries, Inc. (FMSHRC SE 2014-407-M, et al.): Fall-protection citation settled at $27,250
An MSHA inspector observed a miner drilling without fall protection on a sloping quarry ledge, within six feet of an edge more than 20 feet above the quarry floor. Mize Granite conceded the violation but argued that the proposed $45,000 penalty would threaten its ability to remain in business…
Secretary of Labor v. Dulin Construction, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Dulin Construction, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 2014-655-M): Gravel-blocked ladder citation affirmed at $100
A three-foot-deep pile of crushed gravel blocked the base of the only ladder to a conveyor head pulley and work platform at Dulin Construction's small gravel pit. The company said the pile also served as a berm protecting the ladder and conveyor from a wheel loader. Judge David F. Barbour held that…
Secretary of Labor v. Northshore Mining Company
Secretary of Labor v. Northshore Mining Company (FMSHRC LAKE 2013-458-M): Mixed ruling and settlements produce $47,135 penalty
Northshore Mining processed taconite ore at a surface facility in Minnesota, where MSHA cited housekeeping, access, electrical, and guarding conditions. Judge David F. Barbour affirmed eight of the nine contested violations, including three S&S housekeeping violations involving slippery floors…
Secretary of Labor v. Ronald Sand & Gravel
Secretary of Labor v. Ronald Sand & Gravel (FMSHRC WEST 2012-1042): Ten violations upheld and penalties set at $1,366
MSHA cited Ronald Sand & Gravel for 11 safety, training, and reporting violations at its small basalt crushing operation. The allegations included failures to lock out equipment, provide required training, use hard hats and eye protection, guard moving parts, provide sanitary facilities, and file a…
Secretary of Labor v. Twentymile Coal Company
Secretary of Labor v. Twentymile Coal Company (FMSHRC WEST 2009-1323, et al.): Inadequate belt examination affirmed on remand
The Commission reinstated an order involving an on-shift examination and sent the case back to determine whether Twentymile's examination was inadequate. Judge David F. Barbour found that extensive coal and dry coal-fines accumulations were present along the operating belt when the examination…
Marshall J. Justice v. Gateway Eagle Coal Co.
Marshall J. Justice v. Gateway Eagle Coal Co. (FMSHRC WEVA 2014-559-D): Subpoena enforcement requested and continuance denied
Marshall Justice sought MSHA interview memoranda and related documents for his miner-filed discrimination case after the Secretary declined to produce them for the judge's private review. Judge David F. Barbour found the narrowed materials relevant and discoverable and concluded that resolving the…
Marshall J. Justice v. Gateway Eagle Coal Co.
Marshall J. Justice v. Gateway Eagle Coal Co. (FMSHRC WEVA 2014-559): MSHA interview memoranda ordered for private review
Marshall Justice pursued his own Mine Act discrimination case after MSHA declined to file for him and subpoenaed the agency's investigative file. The Secretary refused to produce the file or an MSHA official, citing Department of Labor approval rules and several privileges, although Justice…
Secretary of Labor v. R7 Enterprises, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. R7 Enterprises, LLC (FMSHRC KENT 2013-357): defective hydroseeding truck citation settled for $18,000
MSHA cited R7 Enterprises after finding excessive slack in a hydroseeding truck's steering components and an inoperative rear brake while the truck was in use at a surface coal mine. The inspector characterized the equipment violation as S&S, reasonably likely to cause a fatality, and attributable…
Secretary of Labor v. Wolf Run Mining Company
Secretary of Labor v. Wolf Run Mining Company (FMSHRC WEVA 2008-1265): Flagrant designation removed in $70,000 settlement
The Secretary and Wolf Run Mining proposed settling a civil penalty proceeding involving Order No. 6605922. Judge David F. Barbour approved the agreement, removed the order's flagrant designation, and reduced the penalty from $142,900 to $70,000. Wolf Run was ordered to pay within 30 days.
Boart Longyear Company v. Secretary of Labor, MSHA
Boart Longyear Company v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC WEST 2012-422-M, et al.): Imminent-danger order vacated and four violations modified
MSHA cited Boart Longyear after a driller worked on a five-foot-high flatbed without fall protection, used a toolbox door for access, operated a truck with a defective backup alarm, and worked without required Part 46 training. Judge David F. Barbour vacated the imminent-danger withdrawal order…
Secretary of Labor, MSHA v. National Cement Company of Alabama, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. National Cement Company of Alabama, Inc. (FMSHRC SE 2013-91-M): Unsafe board access held non-S&S
Miners periodically crossed a wet, unsecured one-foot-wide board over a shallow pit to clean a cement chute. Judge David F. Barbour held that National Cement failed to provide safe access because the board was slippery, lacked rails, required climbing over a handrail, and was used with fall…
Boart Longyear Company v. Secretary of Labor, MSHA
Boart Longyear Company v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC WEST 2012-422-M, et al.): Original fall-protection and training decision
MSHA cited Boart Longyear after a driller worked on a five-foot-high flatbed without fall protection, used a toolbox door for access, operated a truck with a defective backup alarm, and worked without required Part 46 training. Judge David F. Barbour vacated the imminent-danger order but upheld and…
Secretary of Labor, MSHA v. Austin Powder Company
Secretary of Labor v. Austin Powder Company (FMSHRC SE 2011-583-M): Blast-area citation affirmed after flyrock reached home
Flyrock from an Austin Powder stripping blast left the quarry, penetrated the roof of a nearby occupied home, and landed in a bedroom shortly after a resident left the room. Judge David F. Barbour held that the home was within the blast area and that Austin Powder failed to clear the resident to a…
David A. Stache v. Alvin J. Coleman & Son, Inc.
David A. Stache v. Alvin J. Coleman & Son, Inc. (FMSHRC YORK 2013-41-DM): Discrimination complaint dismissed over intimidating misconduct
Haul-truck driver David Stache raised safety concerns and invoked section 105(c) minutes before his supervisor fired him. Judge David F. Barbour found that Stache established a prima facie discrimination case because management knew of his protected complaints, some were close in time to the…
Secretary of Labor v. Leeco, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Leeco, Inc. (FMSHRC KENT 2011-1093): Ventilation order reduced and two penalties set at $70,000
MSHA found a continuous miner operating with most of its ventilation curtain on the floor, no measurable airflow at the face, and thick suspended dust. Leeco admitted violating its approved ventilation plan, and Judge David F. Barbour found the condition significant and substantial because…
Secretary of Labor v. Wolf Run Mining Co.
Secretary of Labor v. Wolf Run Mining Co. (FMSHRC WEVA 2008-1265): Secretary ordered to define flagrant-violation theory
The Commission reversed an earlier ALJ interpretation that barred consideration of an operator's past violations when deciding whether a violation was a repeated-failure flagrant violation. On remand, Judge David F. Barbour found that the Secretary's theory remained unclear because it had changed…
Secretary of Labor v. Cactus Canyon Quarries of Texas, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Cactus Canyon Quarries of Texas, Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2013-32-M): Simplified procedure ended but hearing tightly limited
Cactus Canyon contested two $100 machine-guarding penalties and sought broader discovery than the Commission's simplified-proceedings rules ordinarily allow. Judge David F. Barbour agreed to discontinue simplified proceedings because an unwilling party's insistence on additional discovery defeated…
Secretary of Labor v. Carmeuse Lime & Stone, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Carmeuse Lime & Stone, Inc. (FMSHRC KENT 2010-228): Crane-capacity citation vacated for lack of quantitative proof
Carmeuse used an underground crane to lift a 10,000-pound conveyor-belt counterweight at its Maysville limestone mine. MSHA alleged that an outrigger rested on unstable ground, the outriggers were extended unequal distances, and the crane was therefore used beyond the manufacturer's design…
Todd Descutner v. Newmont USA
Todd Descutner v. Newmont USA (FMSHRC WEST 2011-523-DM): Partial remedies awarded after discrimination ruling
After an earlier ruling that Newmont illegally terminated haul-truck driver Todd Descutner, the parties agreed on some remedies but remained divided over overtime and attorney fees. Judge David F. Barbour noted that Descutner had been reinstated and his personnel file had been cleared of references…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Lawrence L. Pendley v. Highland Mining Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Lawrence L. Pendley v. Highland Mining Company, LLC (FMSHRC KENT 2007-383-DX): Discrimination complaint dismissed on remand
On remand from the Commission after appellate review, Judge David F. Barbour reconsidered whether Highland Mining discriminated against Lawrence Pendley by firing him and by changing his work after temporary reinstatement. The judge found that mine management honestly and reasonably believed…
Todd Descutner v. Newmont USA
Todd Descutner v. Newmont USA (FMSHRC WEST 2011-523-DM): Safety complaints found to have contributed to a miner's firing
Todd Descutner, a haul-truck driver at Newmont's Leeville underground gold mine, alleged that he was fired after reporting safety concerns, including open ground and incomplete pre-shift inspections. Judge David F. Barbour credited Descutner's account of the latest complaint and found that its…
Dawes Rigging & Crane Rental
Dawes Rigging & Crane Rental (FMSHRC LAKE 2011-206-M): Suspended crane boom violation upheld with $2,500 penalty
Dawes Rigging & Crane Rental was assembling a large crane at the Tilden Mine when a gust of wind pushed a suspended 93,000-pound boom toward an occupied crane cab. The crew foreman directed a worker to cross under the boom with a tag line to prevent the collision. Judge David F. Barbour held that…
Consolidation Coal Co.
Consolidation Coal Co. (FMSHRC WEVA 2011-940): Special-assessment review forms ordered disclosed
Consolidation Coal sought the forms MSHA used to recommend special assessments for alleged violations, including a proposed $50,700 penalty for a roof-control order. After reviewing the forms privately, Judge David F. Barbour found that the Secretary had adequately explained how the proposed…
Stansley Mineral Resources, Incorporated
Stansley Mineral Resources, Incorporated (FMSHRC LAKE 2011-693-M): Unguarded tail pulley upheld with penalty reduced to $1,000
A Stansley employee repeatedly shoveled spillage within a few feet of an unguarded, fluted conveyor tail pulley at a sand-and-gravel plant. The operator admitted the guarding violation but disputed the S&S and unwarrantable-failure designations. Judge David F. Barbour found a serious entanglement…
What these documents are
- Commission decisions: Rulings by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission itself, the highest level of agency review. These are citable as Commission precedent, though a decision may have been appealed to a U.S. Court of Appeals after issuance.
- ALJ decisions: Rulings by OSHRC Administrative Law Judges after a hearing. When no Commissioner directs review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j): it binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent in other cases.
- 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 OSHRC public release, and the full text on the page is that release. The plain-English summaries are written by Ezel.