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. Tennco Energy, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Tennco Energy, Inc. (FMSHRC KENT 2010-1511 and KENT 2011-499): Three rib-hazard enforcement actions vacated
Tennco Energy operated the Hance Mine No. 1, an underground coal mine in Kentucky. After a miner was injured by falling coal, MSHA alleged that Tennco failed to record hazardous rib conditions during weekly and preshift examinations and failed to support or control the ribs. Judge Jeffrey Tureck…
Secretary of Labor v. Trivette Trucking
Secretary of Labor v. Trivette Trucking (FMSHRC KENT 2011-1223): Loss-of-control citation reduced and brake order vacated
A Trivette Trucking driver was fatally injured after his loaded coal truck left a steep mine haul road and overturned. MSHA alleged that the truck was overloaded, that the driver failed to maintain control, and that defective brakes were inadequate, seeking $140,000 for two violations. Judge…
Secretary of Labor v. Justice Energy Company, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Justice Energy Company, Inc. (FMSHRC WEVA 2011-220 and WEVA 2011-629): Truck and haul-road citations cut to $3,802
Justice Energy contested six citations involving contractor and company trucks, dusty haul roads, a dump-site berm, and a rock in the roadway at its surface coal mine. Judge Jeffrey Tureck upheld a contractor-truck maintenance citation but reduced the mine operator's negligence and penalty because…
Secretary of Labor v. Clintwood Elkhorn Mining Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Clintwood Elkhorn Mining Company, LLC (FMSHRC KENT 2011-546 and KENT 2011-547): Adjacent-mine mapping charges vacated
MSHA alleged that Clintwood Elkhorn's maps did not show the full extent of an abandoned adjacent mine after a horizontal borehole intercepted an unexpected void. The engineer who certified the adjacent mine's final 1996 map testified that it showed the complete workings and that open and closed…
Drummond Co., Inc.
Drummond Co., Inc. (FMSHRC SE 2012-630): Settlement filing rejected for inadequate explanations
Drummond and the Secretary submitted a proposed settlement covering 18 citations and $31,488 in originally assessed penalties. Judge Jeffrey Tureck rejected the filing because it did not provide the concrete explanations required for substantial reductions in gravity, negligence, and penalties. He…
Christopher Brinson, Gerald Hastings, and Ronald Colson employed by Kentucky-Tennessee Clay Co.
Christopher Brinson, Gerald Hastings, and Ronald Colson employed by Kentucky-Tennessee Clay Co. (FMSHRC SE 2012-370-M, SE 2012-378-M, and SE 2012-340-M): Delayed individual penalty cases allowed to proceed
MSHA sought individual penalties against three Kentucky-Tennessee Clay managers after a rail-car accident, but it did not issue the assessments until almost two and a half years after citing the company. Judge Jeffrey Tureck held that the Mine Act's reasonable-time period began when MSHA completed…
Drum Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Drum Sand & Gravel, Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2010-931-M and CENT 2011-93-M): Four citations vacated and penalties sharply reduced
MSHA issued nine citations at Drum Sand & Gravel's small Arkansas mine and proposed $13,750 in penalties. Judge Jeffrey Tureck vacated the opaque-loader-window citation because the Secretary did not prove that the remaining opening impaired safe visibility, and he vacated the track-hoe alarm…
Secretary of Labor v. Eastern Associated Coal LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Eastern Associated Coal LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2011-932): MSHA interview notes ordered disclosed
MSHA cited Eastern Associated Coal after two apprentice miners allegedly worked near an unguarded moving belt tail pulley, and a related section 110(c) investigation followed. Eastern sought inspector and special-investigator interview notes that the Secretary withheld as attorney work product…
Bradley R. Ashby v. Ohio County Coal Company
Bradley R. Ashby v. Ohio County Coal Company (FMSHRC KENT 2011-1225-D): Discrimination complaint dismissed for lack of protected activity
Bradley Ashby alleged that Ohio County Coal ended his employment after he raised concerns about how ram cars were operated at the Freedom Mine. Judge Jeffrey Tureck found that Ashby told supervisors only that he knew a better or more productive method, not that the existing routes were unsafe…
C & E Concrete, Inc.
C & E Concrete, Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2011-138-M): Conveyor guarding citation vacated
MSHA cited C & E Concrete after an inspector saw two unguarded return rollers on an operating conveyor at its crushed-limestone mine. The company relied on the exception for moving parts at least seven feet away from walking or working surfaces. Judge Jeffrey Tureck treated that exception as an…
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.