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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Roger Thompson, Union Pres., on Behalf of Paul Luce v. Unimin Corporation
Discrimination complaint withdrawn
Paul Luce decided not to pursue his discrimination complaint against Unimin Corporation. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. treated the signed discontinuance as a voluntary withdrawal under Commission Rule 11. He approved the withdrawal and dismissed the proceeding with prejudice.
Cyprus-Plateau Mining Corporation
Discrimination proceeding dismissed after settlement
Irvin L. Gagon brought a discrimination proceeding against Cyprus-Plateau Mining Corporation involving the Starpoint No. 2 Mine. The parties submitted a settlement agreement dated July 18, 1988, which Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. approved. The proceeding was dismissed with prejudice, with each…
Western Fuels-Utah, Inc.
Withdrawal order and two citations affirmed, one citation vacated
Western Fuels-Utah contested a withdrawal order and three citations arising from a nonfatal powered-haulage accident at the Deserado Mine. Two workers were seriously injured when a raised dump-truck bed struck an overpass, and one worker's lower left leg had to be amputated at the scene. Judge…
Western Fuels-Utah, Inc.
Withdrawal order and two citations affirmed, one citation vacated
Western Fuels-Utah contested a withdrawal order and three citations arising from a nonfatal powered-haulage accident at the Deserado Mine. Two workers were seriously injured when a raised dump-truck bed struck an overpass, and one worker's lower left leg had to be amputated at the scene. Judge…
Midacontinent Resources, Inc.
Escapeway orders modified and penalties assessed
Midacontinent Resources was cited after an obstructed return escapeway at its Dutch Creek No. 1 Mine was not maintained for safe passage. The judge found that a failure-to-abate withdrawal order was improperly issued because the evidence did not show that the original obstruction remained…
Utah Power and Light Company
Four citations vacated and proceedings dismissed
Utah Power and Light Company and the Secretary of Labor asked the judge to resolve consolidated civil-penalty and contest proceedings involving four citations at the Deer Creek Mine. The company agreed to the Secretary's motion to vacate the citations. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. granted the…
Neil Sprague
Settlement approved, citation affirmed, and withdrawal order vacated
MSHA cited Neil Sprague for failing to provide an elevated haulage road at the Trupp Quarry and later issued a withdrawal order because the berm was not built within the allowed time. The parties settled after preparation for hearing showed that adverse weather had caused the delay. Judge Michael…
Dee Gold Mining Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed
George A. Jones alleged that Dee Gold Mining Company laid him off because he engaged in protected safety activities, including complaints about grinding shields, respirators, chemical hazards, and the mine's ball-mill lockout procedure. Judge Michael A. Lasher found that Jones engaged in protected…
Utah Power and Light Company
Settlement approved and citation vacated
Utah Power and Light Company reached a settlement with the Secretary covering two contested citations and a related civil penalty proceeding at the Little Dove Mine. The Secretary agreed to vacate Citation No. 2928409, and the operator agreed to withdraw its contest of Citation No. 2928408 and pay…
Peabody Coal Company
Citation modified through settlement and contest dismissed
Peabody Coal Company contested the significant and substantial and unwarrantable-failure allegations in Citation No. 2830921 at the Black Mesa Mine. The parties agreed to remove the unwarrantable-failure designation, remove the significant-and-substantial designation, reduce the charged negligence…
Robert H. Cheyney
Discrimination settlement approved
Robert H. Cheyney and Hecla Mining Company reached a settlement of a discrimination proceeding under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act. The company agreed to pay Cheyney $300, without admitting a violation, and Cheyney agreed to accept the payment in full satisfaction of his rights and…
Vinnell Mining & Minerals
Thirteen citations resolved for $619
Vinnell Mining and Minerals faced 13 alleged violations at its silica mine across two dockets. The parties settled nine citations at the originally proposed penalties, and Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. resolved the remaining four by deleting their significant-and-substantial designations and setting…
Brian Lackey Concrete
17 citations affirmed with $85 total penalty
Brian Lackey Concrete conceded that 17 violations occurred at its small placer sand and gravel mine, leaving the amount of the penalties as the only issue. The parties stipulated that three violations were non-serious, 14 were serious, negligence was moderate, and the operator promptly abated the…
Utah Power & Light Company (Emery Mining)
Partial settlement vacates two orders and resolves a third
Utah Power & Light Company's Emery Mining division reached a partial settlement covering four enforcement papers in Docket WEST 86-240 as part of a broader 16-docket resolution. The Secretary vacated two withdrawal orders, and the company agreed to pay the original $400 assessment for a third…
Emery Mining Company
And Utah Power & Light Company (FMSHRC WEST 86-217 and related dockets): Settlement vacates, modifies, and dismisses enforcement matters
Emery Mining Company and Utah Power & Light Company's mining division resolved 16 dockets involving 14 citations and orders. The settlement reduced the total penalties from $4,221 to $3,024, vacated two withdrawal orders, modified five withdrawal orders from section 104(d)(1) to section 104(a)…
Texasgulf, Inc.
Errata corrected terminology in prior decision
The judge issued this errata order to correct wording in an earlier decision involving Texasgulf, Inc. The order changed the phrase “serious and substantial” to “significant and substantial.” It identifies the correction as the author’s error and does not otherwise state a change to the earlier…
Sierra Aggregate Company
One citation vacated and six affirmed with $620 in penalties
Sierra Aggregate operated the Red Top Mine, a small surface mine that excavated and processed volcanic cinders. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. considered seven alleged violations involving grounding records, diesel-fuel spillage, quarterly reporting, machine guarding, and access to elevated conveyor…
Valdez Creek Mining Company
One citation vacated and 16 affirmed with a $990 penalty
Valdez Creek Mining Company operated a placer gold mine in Alaska with about 100 employees when MSHA issued 17 citations during July and August 1985. The company admitted that the violations occurred but disputed the penalty amounts. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. found that the operator's negligence…
Duval Corporation
Discrimination complaint dismissed as untimely
Leonardo R. Lamas brought a Mine Act discrimination complaint against Duval Corporation after his employment was terminated in 1983. He filed with MSHA more than two years later and then filed a second complaint with the Commission after MSHA found no violation. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. found…
Duval Corporation
Discrimination complaint dismissed as untimely
Leonardo R. Lamas brought a Mine Act discrimination complaint against Duval Corporation after his employment was terminated in 1983. He filed with MSHA more than two years later and then filed a second complaint with the Commission after MSHA found no violation. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. found…
Nelson Trucking
Noise citation affirmed with $20 penalty
Nelson Trucking operated a small sand and gravel business with four employees. MSHA found that a front-end-loader operator's eight-hour noise exposure was 2.68 times the permissible level, equivalent to 97 dBA, and cited the company for failing to use feasible engineering controls. Judge Michael A…
Nelson Trucking
Noise citation affirmed with $20 penalty
Nelson Trucking operated a small sand and gravel business with four employees. MSHA found that a front-end-loader operator's eight-hour noise exposure was 2.68 times the permissible level, equivalent to 97 dBA, and cited the company for failing to use feasible engineering controls. Judge Michael A…
Dee Gold Mining Company
Discrimination proceeding settled and dismissed
Joseph E. Timko brought a Mine Act discrimination proceeding against Dee Gold Mining Company. The parties reached a settlement on the first day of the hearing, under which the company agreed to pay $925, less customary withholding deductions, in full satisfaction of the claims and requested…
Homestake Mining Company
Settlement approved with one citation vacated
Homestake Mining Company and the Secretary asked the ALJ to approve a settlement covering three civil penalty proceedings. The settlement kept a $3,000 assessment for Citation 2097485, reduced the assessment for Citation 2097236 from $4,000 to $2,000, and vacated Citation 2097499 as unsupportable…
Consolidation Coal Company
Retaliatory reprimand for equipment tag-out found
DuWayne Schafer, a heavy-equipment operator at the Glenharold Mine, tagged out a motor grader twice because its brakes were slow to engage and the machine was being used on an inclined roadway near a drop-off. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. found that Schafer acted reasonably and in good faith in…
Helca Day Mines, Inc.
Settlement approved with $225 penalty
Helca Day Mines, Inc. reached a settlement concerning a violation arising from the Secretary's partially successful prosecution of a discrimination matter. The settlement reduced MSHA's initial $300 assessment to $225. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. noted the operator's medium size, commendable…
Venblack, Inc.
EAJA fee application denied
Venblack, Inc. applied for attorney fees and costs under the Equal Access to Justice Act after prevailing in an underlying contest and related penalty proceeding. The company argued that the Secretary's position was not substantially justified. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. found that the Secretary…
Crescent Hills Coal Co., Inc.
Late discrimination complaint dismissed
Paul Krevokuch filed a discrimination complaint against Crescent Hills Coal Co., Inc. more than a year after his discharge as a mine foreman. He said at different times that he was discharged because of his age, high wages, or safety-related conduct. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. found that the…
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.