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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Samuel Griffin v. Energy Producers Associates Inc.
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Samuel Griffin filed a Mine Act discrimination complaint against Energy Producers Associates Inc. on February 16, 1988. Judge Paul Merlin later issued a show-cause order directing Griffin to provide information about the complaint or explain why he had not done so. The order was received, but…
Meramec Aggregates, Inc.
Civil penalty case dismissed
Meramec Aggregates requested a hearing on a proposed civil penalty, but the Solicitor did not file the required penalty petition within the applicable deadline. After a show-cause order and a further promise to file the petition or respond, the Solicitor still did not act. Chief Administrative Law…
Consolidation Coal Company
Citation-vacation dismissal affirmed
The Secretary's civil penalty petition and Consolidation Coal Company's related contest concerned an enforcement document that MSHA had vacated. At the hearing, the Solicitor moved to withdraw the penalty petition and dismiss the contest. Judge Paul Merlin granted the motion, affirmed the dismissal…
Nacco Mining Company
Citation affirmed after remand
Nacco Mining Company's contest involved a citation that was modified from section 104(a) to section 104(d)(1) after a continuous miner operator worked beyond supported roof. Following a Commission remand, the parties stipulated that Nacco would no longer challenge the unwarrantable-failure finding…
U.S. Steel Mining Company, Inc.
Trailing-cable citations affirmed
U.S. Steel Mining Company was cited because trailing-cable receptacles at its Cumberland Mine were not labeled to identify the equipment connected to them. Judge Paul Merlin held that the plug and receptacle together formed the disconnecting device covered by 30 C.F.R. § 75.601. He found that…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Respirable-dust settlement approved and penalties reduced to $40
Jim Walter Resources, Inc. faced two respirable-dust violations at the Bessie Mine. The original penalties totaled $272, and the parties proposed settlements totaling $40. Judge Paul Merlin approved the settlement after considering the parties' representation that miners in the designated…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Settlement approved and contest dismissed for $1,900
Jim Walter Resources, Inc. faced three violations at the No. 4 Mine involving material transport, roof control, and inspection requirements. The original penalties totaled $2,600, and the parties proposed settlements totaling $1,900. Judge Paul Merlin approved the reductions for the…
Smith Brothers Construction, Inc.
Discrimination settlement approved with $200 penalty
Smith Brothers Construction, Inc. admitted that it discriminated against Bryant M. Hatfield, Jr. after a foreman threatened him with physical harm because of complaints about preshift belt examinations at the No. 1 Mine. The company agreed to remove adverse remarks about Hatfield's safety…
The Florence Mining Company
Settlement approved for four violations
The Florence Mining Company faced four civil penalty orders with original assessments totaling $3,500. After the judge rejected the parties' first proposed settlement, they submitted an amended agreement requiring payment of $2,500. The violations involved accumulations of loose coal and coal dust…
Phelps Dodge Corporation, Tyrone Branch
Pipe-stacking settlement approved at $5,000
Phelps Dodge Corporation faced a citation after stacked pipeline bundles shifted at the Tyrone Mine, seriously injuring one contractor employee and later causing that employee's death, while another employee suffered a broken leg. Judge Paul Merlin found that the way the pipes were stacked was one…
Helvetia Coal Company
Task-training settlement approved at $605
Helvetia Coal Company faced ten citations after assigning miners to move equipment under energized trolley wire without specific task training or instruction. Judge Paul Merlin approved a settlement reducing the total penalties from $1,000 to $605, based in part on a genuine disagreement about when…
Nacco Mining Company
Road-grader settlement approved at $7,500
Nacco Mining Company faced four citations after a road grader overturned at the Powhatan No. 6 Mine and injured its operator. Judge Paul Merlin approved settlements totaling $7,500, down from the original $9,000, for violations involving rollover protection, roadway berms or guards, seat belts, and…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Contest dismissed after order vacated
Jim Walter Resources, Inc. contested Order No. 2605648 concerning its No. 3 Mine. After a Commission decision in a related case, MSHA vacated the order. The operator withdrew its request for a hearing, and Judge Paul Merlin dismissed the contest.
Perry Drilling Company
Penalty proceeding dismissed after payment
Perry Drilling Company was the respondent in a civil penalty proceeding involving the Smith Mine. The operator informed the Commission that the assessed penalty had been paid, and the Secretary confirmed the payment. Judge Paul Merlin dismissed the case.
U.S. Steel Mining Company, Inc.
Headlight settlement reduced to $30
U.S. Steel Mining operated the Cumberland Mine, where MSHA cited a continuous-miner headlight under 30 C.F.R. § 75.503. The Secretary later learned that a third wire grounded the headlight, so the hazard described in the original assessment did not exist. Judge Paul Merlin approved the settlement…
Helen Mining Company
Roof-bolt settlement reduced to $500
Helen Mining operated the Homer City Mine, where an order cited six missing roof bolts and one loose roof bolt under 30 C.F.R. § 75.200. The Secretary sought to reduce the original $800 assessment because the special-assessment narrative incorrectly said that a foreman had been observed in an…
Emko Corporation
Settlement approved at $750 after additional support
Emko Corporation sought approval of a settlement covering four violations at its Kennecott Mine. After an earlier settlement proposal was denied for lack of support, the operator provided information about its safety manual, policy, and affidavits concerning the conduct at issue. Judge Paul Merlin…
Helen Mining Company
Coal-dust settlement approved at $500
Helen Mining was cited after combustible material, loose coal, and float coal dust accumulated along a belt conveyor at the Homer City Mine. The Secretary explained that later investigation showed much of the material was damp and that no hot rollers or electrical violations were found, reducing…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Respiratory-dust citations affirmed with $1,750 in penalties
Jim Walter Resources faced 11 citations across several mines for excessive respirable-dust concentrations. The parties stipulated that the cited conditions violated 30 C.F.R. §§ 70.100(a) or 70.101, and that respirators were made available to employees. Judge Paul Merlin held that providing…
Consolidation Coal Company
Five injury-reporting settlements approved at $2,500
Consolidation Coal faced five alleged violations of 30 C.F.R. § 50.20(a) for failing to report occupational injuries as required. The original assessment was $150 for each violation, but the parties proposed settlements of $500 each. Judge Paul Merlin approved the settlements after considering the…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Settlement approved with $723 penalty
Jim Walter Resources, Inc. submitted a joint motion with the Secretary of Labor to approve settlements for three violations at the No. 4 Mine. The originally assessed penalties totaled $815, and the proposed settlements totaled $723. The operator agreed to pay the original assessments of $294 and…
Emko Corporation
Settlement information required before approval
Emko Corporation and the Secretary submitted a joint motion to withdraw pleadings involving four violations. The judge found that vacating one citation and requiring the operator to pay the original $300 assessments for two others appeared proper, but the parties gave no factual support for…
Phelps Dodge Corporation, Tyrone Branch
Proposed settlement rejected and hearing ordered
Phelps Dodge faced a citation after a pipe-stacking accident at the Tyrone Mine and Mill in which one worker died from injuries and another suffered a broken leg. The parties proposed resolving the citation for the original assessed penalty of $192, but Judge Paul Merlin found that the record…
Ohio River Collieries
Amended settlement approved at $690
Ohio River Collieries had proposed settlements totaling $690 for violations originally assessed at $1,000. Judge Paul Merlin reopened the earlier settlement decision under 29 C.F.R. § 2700.65(c) because of a clerical error, found that the motion addressed the statutory penalty criteria, and…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Ram car permissibility citation affirmed
Jim Walter Resources challenged a citation involving a ram car used at its No. 7 Mine. One battery cell had been bypassed, reducing the battery from 120 cells and 240 volts to 119 cells and 238 volts. Judge Paul Merlin found that the change departed from the equipment's approved permissible…
Consolidation Coal Company
Part 50 settlements approved for $2,000
Consolidation Coal Company faced four alleged violations of the Mine Act's accident and injury reporting requirements at the Blacksville No. 1 and No. 2 Mines. The citations concerned reports for injuries involving restricted duty, lost workdays, and a worker's return after an eye injury. The…
United Minerals, Inc.
Eight-citation settlement approved for $405
United Minerals, Inc. faced eight violations at the Black Mountain Pit Mine. The original penalties totaled $469, but the Secretary proposed settlements totaling $405 after discovering that the Office of Assessments had calculated the penalties using an estimated 200,000 tons of coal production…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Settlements approved and contest proceedings dismissed
Jim Walter Resources, Inc. and the Secretary of Labor resolved several civil penalty and contest proceedings involving the No. 4 and No. 7 Mines. Judge Paul Merlin approved settlements for the penalty cases, accepted withdrawals of related notices of contest, and dismissed those contest…
Lamar Mining Company and Larry Williams, Graham Martin and Williams & Martin Coal Co.
Danny Johnson v. Lamar Mining Company et al. (FMSHRC KENT 87-68-D): Discrimination settlement approved and case dismissed
Danny Johnson filed a Mine Act discrimination proceeding against Lamar Mining Company, Larry Williams, Graham Martin, and Williams & Martin Coal Company. The parties reached a settlement requiring the operator to pay Johnson $5,000 in four equal installments, with the final payment due May 18…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Respiratory dust settlement approved for $60
Jim Walter Resources and the Secretary jointly asked to settle three violations involving respirable dust samples. The operator had submitted the required five samples from each designated occupation, but one sample in each occupation contained oversized particles that could not be analyzed. The…
Drummond Company, Inc.
Roof and ventilation settlements approved at $1,950
Drummond Company faced two violations at the Mary Lee No. 1 Mine. A roof bolter began installing bolts before temporary roof supports were in place, and the mine's ventilation plan was not followed because the line brattice was too far from the face, air velocity was below the plan requirement, and…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Two orders reduced and $600 settlement approved
Jim Walter Resources faced two contest proceedings and a related civil penalty proceeding at No. 4 Mine. One order alleged that a scoop operator knocked down a ventilation curtain and did not repair it, while the other alleged cleanup under unsupported roof. After the operator was found to have…
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.