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 on behalf of Regald Robbins v. Alden Resources, LLC
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Regald Robbins v. Alden Resources, LLC (FMSHRC KENT 2014-594-D): Reinstatement tolled during mine shutdown
Regald Robbins had been temporarily reinstated at Alden Resources' Mine #3. The company later shut the mine down while it investigated whether enough low-ash coal remained to support further production, laying off Robbins and 43 other miners. Robbins did not oppose tolling the reinstatement order…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Regald Robbins v. Alden Resources, LLC
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Regald Robbins v. Alden Resources, LLC (FMSHRC KENT 2014-594-D): miner temporarily reinstated as section foreman
Regald Robbins alleged that Alden Resources suspended him, moved him to a less favorable shift, and fired him after he raised concerns about a faulty scrubber and unsafe roof conditions. The company said he was discharged for unexcused absences and disputed his account of the scheduling changes…
Manuel A. Garza v. Hanson Aggregates, LLC
Manuel A. Garza v. Hanson Aggregates, LLC (FMSHRC CENT 2013-307-DM): Retaliatory discharge found after safety complaints
Manuel Garza worked at Hanson Aggregates' Servtex Plant for 21 years and repeatedly raised concerns about wall scaling, fall protection, and other safety practices. The plant manager had criticized Garza for safety work that slowed production, demoted him, treated him harshly, and disciplined him…
Secretary of Labor, MSHA v. Taft Production Company
Secretary of Labor v. Taft Production Company (FMSHRC WEST 2012-1484-M): Four housekeeping citations affirmed
MSHA cited four powder and material accumulations at Taft Production Company's California cat-litter mine under the housekeeping standard for workplaces and passageways. Judge James G. Gilbert rejected Taft's arguments that the milling areas fell outside Mine Act jurisdiction, that the areas were…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor, MSHA
Jim Walter Resources, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC SE 2012-681-R): Methane imminent-danger order affirmed
Jim Walter Resources contested an imminent-danger withdrawal order issued at its underground No. 7 coal mine after an MSHA inspector measured methane above the explosive threshold in a roof cavity. Judge James G. Gilbert found that several fixed electrical sources were too far downwind to pose a…
Secretary of Labor v. Tripple H Coal, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Tripple H Coal, LLC (FMSHRC SE 2010-78): Auger-helper noise citation affirmed
An MSHA full-shift sample found that a coal-auger helper at Tripple H Coal's Auger #1 mine received a noise dose of 150 percent, above the 132 percent permissible level including the error factor. The miner wore hearing protection, so the inspector treated hearing loss as unlikely and the violation…
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.