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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Rocco Curcio v. Keystone Coal Mining Corporation
Safety-committee absence protected
Rocco Curcio worked as a miner and elected safety-committee member at Keystone Coal Mining Corporation’s underground Emilie No. 1 Mine. After management did not correct dusty conditions on a haulage road, Curcio and another committee member went to union headquarters to discuss the problem, which…
Black Dragon Mining Company
Temporary reinstatement ordered after hearing request withdrawn
Black Dragon Mining Company operated the No. 1 Mine. The company withdrew its request for a hearing on the Secretary's application for temporary reinstatement of miner Kirby Senter after the Secretary represented that a permanent-reinstatement complaint would be filed by September 10, 1993. Judge…
Dotson & Rife Coal Co., Inc.
Dust-sampling proceedings dismissed
The Secretary moved to dismiss civil penalty and contest proceedings after Dotson & Rife Coal Company and its principal entered plea agreements related to falsified dust samples. The company had contracted with Triangle Research, whose principal and agent admitted manipulating dust samples…
Shady Lane Coal Company
Consolidated proceedings dismissed after plea agreement
The Secretary moved to dismiss consolidated contest and civil penalty proceedings against Shady Lane Coal Company after the company and its principal entered plea agreements concerning dust-sample falsification. The release states that Triangle Research admitted falsifying dust samples and that two…
Sunset Land & Coal Company
Consolidated proceedings dismissed after plea agreement
The Secretary moved to dismiss consolidated contest and civil penalty proceedings against Sunset Land & Coal Company after the company and its principal entered plea agreements concerning dust-sample falsification. The release states that Triangle Research admitted falsifying dust samples and that…
Edd Potter Coal Company
Dust-sampling proceedings dismissed after criminal plea agreements
The Secretary moved to dismiss dust-sampling contest and civil penalty proceedings against Edd Potter Coal Company after the company and its principal entered plea agreements related to falsified dust samples submitted to MSHA. The record states that two people associated with Triangle Research…
Red Dog Coal Corporation
Proceedings dismissed after plea agreement
The Secretary moved to dismiss Red Dog Coal Corporation's contest and civil penalty proceedings after the company and its principal entered plea agreements concerning falsified dust samples. The release states that Triangle Research admitted falsifying samples submitted to MSHA and that two people…
Lucky L & L Coal Co., Inc.
Civil penalty proceeding dismissed
Lucky L & L Coal Co. and its principal entered a criminal plea agreement concerning falsified dust samples submitted to MSHA. The Secretary agreed to seek dismissal of the related civil penalty proceeding. Judge James A. Broderick found that dismissal served the purposes of the Mine Act and…
Good Times Mining, Inc.
Civil penalty proceedings dismissed
Good Times Mining and its principal entered criminal plea agreements concerning falsified dust samples submitted to MSHA. The Secretary agreed to seek dismissal of the related civil penalty proceedings. Judge James A. Broderick found that dismissal under these circumstances served the purposes of…
Ambrose Branch Coal Company
Settlement approved and penalty reduced to $750
Ambrose Branch Coal Company faced a penalty proceeding involving an alleged violation of the respirable-dust sampling regulation at its preparation plant. The Secretary maintained that the violation resulted from a deliberate act, while the operator denied that allegation and disputed the degree of…
Briarfield Coal Corporation
Civil penalty proceeding dismissed
Briarfield Coal Corporation and its president entered criminal plea agreements concerning falsified dust samples submitted to MSHA. The Secretary agreed to seek dismissal of the related civil penalty proceeding. Judge James A. Broderick found that dismissal served the purposes of the Mine Act and…
L & L Energy of Hurley, Inc.
Civil penalty proceeding dismissed
L & L Energy of Hurley and its principal entered criminal plea agreements concerning falsified dust samples submitted to MSHA. The Secretary agreed to seek dismissal of the related civil penalty proceeding. Judge James A. Broderick found that dismissal served the purposes of the Mine Act and…
Carol Coal Corporation
Civil penalty proceeding dismissed
Carol Coal Corporation and its president entered criminal plea agreements concerning falsified dust samples submitted to MSHA. The Secretary agreed to seek dismissal of the related civil penalty proceeding. Judge James A. Broderick found that dismissal served the purposes of the Mine Act and…
Black Widow Collieries Ltd.
Proceeding dismissed after plea agreement
The Secretary moved to dismiss Black Widow Collieries Ltd.'s civil penalty proceeding after the company and its president entered plea agreements concerning falsified dust samples. The release states that Triangle Research admitted falsifying samples submitted to MSHA and that two people associated…
Solid Mining Company, Inc.
Dust-sampling proceedings dismissed
The Secretary moved to dismiss Solid Mining's civil-penalty and contest proceedings after the company and its president entered plea agreements involving a conspiracy to defraud the United States through falsified respirable-dust samples. Solid Mining had contracted with Triangle Research, whose…
M P & M Coal Company, Inc.
Dust-sampling proceeding dismissed
The Secretary moved to dismiss the civil-penalty proceeding against M P & M Coal Company after the company and its president entered a plea agreement concerning a conspiracy to defraud the United States through falsified respirable-dust samples. The company had contracted with Triangle Research…
Jamboree Coals, Incorporated
Civil-penalty proceedings dismissed after dust-sampling fraud plea
The Secretary moved to dismiss civil-penalty proceedings against Jamboree Coals after the company and its president entered plea agreements concerning a conspiracy to defraud the United States involving falsified respirable-dust samples. The company had provided signed blank dust data cards to…
Faith Coal Company
Common-issues respirable-dust decision ordered mine-specific proceedings
This release addresses common issues from a large group of MSHA citations alleging that mine operators altered respirable-dust sample filters. The ALJ found that the evidence did not prove by a preponderance that abnormal white-center patterns established intentional alteration or that deliberate…
In re: Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Witness motions resolved before common-issues trial
Before the common-issues trial on respirable-dust sample alteration citations, the ALJ ruled on two witness motions. The judge denied the motion to exclude expert John J. Miller because his identification and opinions were relevant to the common issues. The judge granted the motion to exclude 28…
In re: Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Thaxton testimony allowed with additional study period
In the respirable-dust sample alteration master docket, contestants asked Judge James A. Broderick to exclude Robert Thaxton's testimony about his reclassification of cited dust filters. The judge found that the Secretary had violated the discovery requirements by delaying disclosure of the March…
Oneida Coal Company, Inc.
Motion to dismiss denied in respirable-dust citation contests
Oneida Coal Company contested 34 citations concerning alleged alteration of respirable dust samples at five mines. Oneida separately failed to return the forms contesting the proposed civil penalties, and the Secretary moved to dismiss the citation contests. Judge James A. Broderick found that…
In re: Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Discovery motion granted in part and denied in part
In a master docket involving contests of respirable dust sample alteration citations, the contestants asked for documents that the Secretary had withheld under work product, attorney-client, deliberative-process, and investigative privileges. Judge James A. Broderick reviewed the documents in…
In re: Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Reconsideration denied and discovery deadline extended
This master docket concerns citations alleging that mine operators altered the weights of respirable dust filter cassettes. The Secretary asked Judge James A. Broderick to reconsider his holding that an accidental, unintentional change in a cassette’s weight is not a violation of 30 C.F.R. §§…
Energy Fuels Coal, Inc.
Discovery stayed
Energy Fuels Coal asked the ALJ to require the Secretary to answer case-specific discovery requests served during proceedings under Master Docket 91-1. Judge James A. Broderick denied the Secretary’s protective-order motion because the requests were case-specific and were not untimely under the…
In re: Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Motion to compel partly granted
Contestants in the respirable dust sample alteration master docket sought documents from the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General concerning an investigation into alleged tampering with coal-dust sample cassettes. Judge James A. Broderick denied most requests to compel production…
Bethenergy Mines, Incorporated
Discovery motion denied as untimely
Contestants in the respirable-dust sample alteration citation proceedings asked Judge James A. Broderick to compel the Secretary of Labor to answer discovery requests. The judge found that the motion was filed after the deadlines in the Commission-approved discovery plan and its later amendments…
Southern Ohio Coal Company
Safeguard notice vacated for failing to identify the hazard
MSHA issued Southern Ohio Coal a safeguard notice requiring at least 36 inches of combined side clearance for rubber-tired haulage equipment operating beside supply cars. On remand, Judge James A. Broderick found that the notice was based on the inspector’s observations and addressed real hazards…
In re: Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Privilege rulings order limited document disclosure
Judge James A. Broderick addressed discovery and privilege issues in the consolidated respirable-dust sample alteration citation proceedings after a Commission remand. He ordered the Secretary to disclose several draft technical reports and related materials because the contestants needed them to…
In re: Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Common citation issues consolidated for trial
This master docket covered approximately 4,000 citations alleging that respirable dust filter cassettes had been altered at underground coal mines, surface facilities, and mines with special protections for miners who had evidence of pneumoconiosis. Judge James A. Broderick consolidated the cases…
Bottom Coal Co., Inc.
Dust-sample cases settled for $39,185
The order covered multiple consolidated contest and civil-penalty proceedings involving 35 citations alleging violations of the respirable dust sample rule at several coal mines. The Secretary alleged deliberate alteration of dust filter media, while the operators maintained that dust could have…
In re: Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Motion to compel production granted in part
This supplemental order addressed contestants’ request for excised portions of documents concerning MSHA’s respirable dust sample alteration investigation. Judge James A. Broderick held that some notes and calendar entries were protected by deliberative-process, work-product, investigative, or…
In re: Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Motion to compel discovery granted in part
This order concerns a consolidated set of contests involving altered respirable dust sample citations. Contestants sought excised portions of documents from six MSHA officials and employees. Judge James A. Broderick upheld some privilege claims, ordered in camera inspection of other documents, and…
In re: Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Motion to compel testimony granted in part
Contestants sought testimony from Robert Thaxton about respirable dust sample alteration investigations and related criminal investigations. Judge James A. Broderick sustained objections to most questions based on grand-jury secrecy, investigative privilege, deliberative-process privilege, or work…
In re: Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Remand discovery directions issued
This order addressed a Commission remand in the consolidated respirable dust sample alteration proceedings. Judge James A. Broderick was directed to rule on the Secretary's work-product privilege claim for six documents and on whether Criminal Rule 6(e) barred disclosure of two folders. He ordered…
In re: Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Depositions allowed out of time
Contestants in the respirable-dust sample alteration proceedings asked to take joint depositions of three Inspector General witnesses after the discovery deadline. The motion also sought a subpoena for investigative documents concerning alleged tampering with coal dust samples. Judge James A…
Secretary of Labor v. Darbet, Incorporated
Settlement approved with $2,400 penalty
The Secretary alleged three violations of 30 C.F.R. § 70.209(b) by Darbet, Incorporated and sought total penalties of $3,000. The operator disputed the allegation that the violations resulted from a deliberate act and disputed the degree of negligence. Judge James A. Broderick approved the parties'…
Doris Coal Company, Inc.
Settlement approved and penalties reduced to $12,155
Doris Coal Company faced thirteen alleged violations of 30 C.F.R. § 70.209(b), originally assessed at $1,100 each. The Secretary and the operator disputed whether the violations resulted from a deliberate act and disputed the degree of negligence. Judge James A. Broderick approved the settlement…
Donald L. Giacomo, employed by Wyoming Fuel Company
Motions to vacate dust citations denied
This consolidated order addressed motions by Utah Power and Light, now Energy West Mining Company, Bentley Coal Company, and Kentucky Prince Coal Company to vacate citations alleging that respirable-dust samples had been altered. The operators argued that the Secretary issued the citations too…
Capricorn Coal Company, Inc.
Settlement approved for dust-standard violation
Capricorn Coal agreed to settle one alleged violation of the respirable-dust standard at its Mine No. 3. The violation under 30 C.F.R. § 70.209(b) had originally carried a proposed penalty of $1,200. The Secretary and the operator disputed whether the violation was deliberate and disagreed about…
In re: Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Discovery motion partly granted
Contestants in the respirable-dust sample alteration proceedings asked the judge to compel further discovery responses from the Secretary. After the Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General withdrew its investigative-privilege claim, the Secretary disclosed inspector identities and other…
In re: Contents of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Motions to vacate citations denied
Several coal operators asked the judge to vacate citations alleging that respirable dust samples had been altered by removing part of the dust from the samples. They argued that the Secretary issued the citations too long after the samples were collected and after officials concluded that…
In re: Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Dust filters ordered produced for deposition
In the master docket concerning alleged respirable-dust sample alteration, mine operators asked the Secretary to produce cited and comparison filters for use during the deposition of the Secretary's expert, Dr. Marple. Judge James A. Broderick found that comparing representative cited filters with…
Peabody Coal Company
Discrimination proceeding dismissed
The Secretary brought a discrimination case on behalf of miners who refused to work after water entered electrical light fixtures in a mine shower room. Judge James A. Broderick found that the miners initially had a reasonable, good-faith safety concern, but that the concern was no longer…
Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Motion to vacate allowed to proceed
The consolidated proceedings involved 36 citations alleging that respirable-dust samples had been altered by removing part of the dust from the sample. The mine operators moved to vacate the citations, arguing that MSHA delayed issuing them and that the delay caused prejudice through lost evidence…
Harman Mining Company
Settlement approved and penalties reduced to $9,360
Harman Mining faced nine alleged respirable-dust violations at the Greenbrier No. 1 Mine. The parties disputed whether the violations resulted from deliberate conduct and agreed to reduce the total proposed penalties from $11,700 to $9,360. Judge James A. Broderick approved the settlement under the…
In re: Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Expert discovery partly compelled
The Secretary of Labor sought documents, test results, and access to experimental dust filters used by expert witnesses in respirable-dust citation contests. Judge James A. Broderick found that the expert reports and underlying tests were important to meaningful depositions. He ordered the…
In re: Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Expert report ordered, sanctions denied
In a master docket concerning contests of respirable-dust sample alteration citations, the Secretary of Labor asked to exclude U.S. Steel Mining Co.'s expert witness and impose discovery sanctions. The Secretary argued that the expert report did not describe the tests, results, or conclusions…
In re: Contests of Respirable Sample Alteration Citations
Protective-order motion denied on reconsideration
In the master docket, the Secretary of Labor asked the judge to reconsider an earlier order concerning depositions of senior government officials. The Secretary sought to bar the deposition of retired Coal Mine Administrator Jerry L. Spicer, arguing that another witness could provide the same…
CNB Coal Company, Inc.
Motion to dismiss late penalty petition denied
CNB Coal Company asked the judge to dismiss a civil penalty proceeding because the Secretary filed the penalty petition after the deadline in Commission Rule 27. The Secretary explained that an extraordinary volume of citations and contest notices had caused the delay. Judge James A. Broderick…
CNB Coal Company, Inc.
Motion to dismiss denied because late filing did not prejudice the operator
CNB Coal Company asked the judge to dismiss a civil penalty proceeding because the Secretary filed the penalty petition after the 45-day deadline. The judge found that the unusually large number of citations and contests processed during the period provided adequate cause for the delay. CNB did not…
S & L Coal Company
Motion to dismiss late penalty petition denied
S & L Coal Company asked the judge to dismiss a civil penalty proceeding because the Secretary filed the penalty petition after the deadline in Commission Rule 27. The Secretary explained that an extraordinary volume of citations and contest notices had caused the delay. Judge James A. Broderick…
Mountaineer Coal Company, Inc.
Common-issues findings lead to a mine-specific trial
This consolidated proceeding concerned roughly 5,000 citations issued to more than 800 mines for alleged intentional alteration of respirable-dust filter weights. After a common-issues trial, Judge James A. Broderick found that the Secretary's circumstantial evidence did not establish that the…
Betty B Coal Company, Inc.
Dust citation settlement approved for $2,880
Betty B Coal Company and the Secretary settled three alleged respirable-dust violations under 30 C.F.R. § 70.209(b). The violations had originally carried total proposed penalties of $3,600, and the parties disputed whether the conduct was deliberate and the degree of negligence. Judge James A…
Mettiki Coal Corporation
Motion to vacate respirable-dust citations denied
Mettiki Coal Corporation and several other operators asked the judge to vacate 87 respirable-dust citations issued after MSHA found abnormal white centers on submitted samples. They argued that the Secretary had not issued the citations with reasonable promptness and that the delay prejudiced their…
Jeddo-Highland Coal Company
Proceeding dismissed after penalty paid
Jeddo-Highland Coal Company paid the proposed $1,100 penalty in full on January 20, 1992. The Secretary of Labor moved to dismiss the civil penalty proceeding after payment. Judge James A. Broderick granted the motion and dismissed the proceeding.
Walker Coal Company
Settlement approved at $4,000
Walker Coal Company faced five alleged violations of 30 C.F.R. § 70.209(b) in two civil penalty proceedings. The parties disputed whether the violations resulted from a deliberate act and disagreed about the degree of negligence. Judge James A. Broderick approved their settlement, reducing the…
Gray Stone Mining, Inc.
Contest dismissed after penalty payment
Gray Stone Mining contested a citation issued at the Pokey No. 1 Mine. The Secretary moved to dismiss after the company voluntarily paid the proposed penalty instead of contesting it. Judge James A. Broderick granted the motion and dismissed the contest. The citation and penalty became a final…
Blue Diamond Coal Company
Settlement approved and contests dismissed
Blue Diamond Coal Company contested eight citations at the Middle Taggart and Scotia Mines. The Secretary and the operator agreed to reduce the total proposed penalties from $10,800 to $8,740, and the operator agreed to withdraw its contests. The operator was in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, so the…
In re: Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Motion to compel denied as untimely
Contestants in a consolidated respirable-dust citation proceeding asked Judge James A. Broderick to compel the Secretary of Labor to answer interrogatories and produce documents. The parties had agreed to a discovery schedule, and later Commission orders extended the deadlines. The motion to compel…
In re: Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Protective-order motion partly granted and partly denied
This master docket involved contests by coal mine operators of thousands of respirable-dust citations issued by the Secretary of Labor. The contestants sought to depose Assistant Secretary William J. Tattersall and former Coal Mine Safety and Health Administrator Jerry L. Spicer, and requested…
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.