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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Jamieson Company
Guarding citations mixed, total penalty $510
Jamieson Company operated a medium-sized, one-plant sand and gravel operation with 50 employees. Judge Michael A. Lasher addressed seven MSHA citations under two machine-guarding standards, vacating one citation and litigating the six remaining citations. He affirmed violations involving unguarded…
Bonanza Materials Inc.
MSHA jurisdiction and penalties affirmed
Bonanza Materials operated a sand and gravel mine in Henderson, Nevada, with a mechanic's shop on mine property that serviced about 295 units, including loaders and water trucks used in mining. Bonanza did not dispute the underlying violations, but argued that MSHA lacked jurisdiction because most…
Phelps Dodge Chino Inc.
Citation vacated with prejudice
MSHA moved to vacate a citation issued to Phelps Dodge Chino Inc. after prehearing preparation and discovery, citing insufficient evidence. Phelps Dodge asked for dismissal with prejudice or, alternatively, declaratory relief concerning future enforcement. Judge Michael A. Lasher vacated the…
Pittsburg and Midway Coal Mining Company-York CNYN Complex
Penalties assessed and citations modified or vacated
The Secretary of Labor pursued 12 alleged violations across four dockets involving Pittsburg and Midway Coal Mining Company's York Canyon and Cimarron mines. The parties settled most citations, including agreements to remove several significant-and-substantial designations and pay specified…
San Juan Coal Company
Grounding citations vacated and highwall citation affirmed
San Juan Coal Company operated the San Juan Mine and Plant and the La Plata Mine. The parties settled 22 of 26 alleged violations, including a CENT 90-110 citation that was modified and resolved with a $147 penalty. The judge vacated three grounding citations involving two toaster ovens and a…
Cyprus Tonopah Mining Corporation
Ground-control violations modified and penalties assessed
Cyprus operated an open-pit molybdenum mine in Tonopah, Nevada. Judge Michael A. Lasher found violations involving loose rock and inadequate catch benches in the Pushback 1 pit under 30 C.F.R. §§ 56.3200 and 56.3130, and found that Cyprus's failure to maintain the conditions was unwarrantable. He…
James Hamilton Construction
Settlement approved and discrimination case dismissed
Michael Albert Swinney brought this Mine Act discrimination proceeding against James Hamilton Construction. The parties reached a settlement under which the respondent would pay Swinney $1,000 and Swinney would dismiss the matter and waive civil penalties. Judge Michael A. Lasher found the…
Urralburu Mining Company
Radon-exposure citation affirmed and $20 penalty assessed
Urralburu Mining Company's Breezy Mine exposed two miners to radon-daughter concentrations above the 1.0 working-level limit in an active working area. Judge Michael A. Lasher found that the inspector's samples established a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 57.5039 and that the operator's explanation about…
Lakeview Rock Products, Inc.
Four-violation settlement approved for $110
Lakeview Rock Products, Inc. faced four civil penalty violations at its Lakeview Rock Products Pit. At the hearing, the operator and the Secretary agreed that three original $20 assessments would be paid in full and that the $68 assessment for a fourth citation would be reduced to $50. Judge…
Urralburu Mining Company
Two reporting citations affirmed with $40 penalty
Urralburu Mining Company began operating the Breezy Mine without first notifying MSHA of the planned start of operations and had not filed a legal identity report. Judge Michael A. Lasher found violations of 30 C.F.R. §§ 57.1000 and 41.20. Both violations were found non-serious, and the operator…
Freeport Gold Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Daniel S. Alexander alleged that Freeport Gold discharged him because he engaged in safety-related activity protected by the Mine Act. Judge Michael A. Lasher found that Alexander had at most marginally engaged in protected activity, but found no connection between that activity and the discharge…
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.