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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Zeigler Coal Company
Roof-support order modified and $400 penalty assessed
Zeigler Coal operated the Zeigler No. 5 underground coal mine. The judge found that a continuous-miner operator had traveled 3.5 feet beyond permanent roof support in violation of the mine's roof-control requirements, and that the violation was significant and substantial. The judge found moderate…
Secretary of Labor v. Hobet Mining, Inc.
Bulldozer citation vacated
Hobet Mining operated a surface coal mine. MSHA cited the company after finding that a Caterpillar D-10 bulldozer was missing a platform and handrail used for radiator maintenance. The judge found that operators could safely mount and dismount the bulldozer from the other side during normal dozing…
Auxvasse Stone & Gravel Co.
Defective haul-truck steering citation affirmed
Auxvasse Stone & Gravel operated an open-pit limestone mine near Auxvasse, Missouri. The judge found that a Caterpillar 769B haul truck had two defective steering components, including a missing bearing on the left steering cylinder and a damaged bearing on the right tie rod. Because the defects…
Broken Hill Mining Company
Eight violations affirmed after default
MSHA sought $26,300 in civil penalties against Broken Hill Mining Company for eight alleged violations of mandatory mine-safety standards in 30 C.F.R. Part 75. The company did not appear at the scheduled hearing, so the judge proceeded without it and found the company in default. Based on the…
Cobre Mining Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Patricia Ann Villines, a Cobre Mining safety office clerk, claimed that the company terminated her because she cooperated with an MSHA investigation. The judge found that her cooperation was not shown to have motivated the termination and that the evidence instead supported the company’s stated…
Empire Energy Inc.
Default judgment affirmed with $135,000 penalties per respondent
Empire Energy Inc., War Eagle Construction, and Kennie Compton failed to respond to discovery requests, an order compelling responses, and a later motion for default. Judge Roy J. Maurer found the respondents in default and affirmed all citations and orders in the captioned dockets. Each respondent…
Buck Creek Coal, Inc.
Default entered and citations affirmed
Buck Creek Coal operated the Buck Creek Mine and faced 188 alleged violations with proposed penalties totaling $44,367. After the company failed to answer discovery requests, an order compelling responses, and the Secretary's motion for default, Judge Roy J. Maurer entered default. He affirmed the…
Day Branch Coal Company
Contest proceedings dismissed as moot
Day Branch Coal Company and Bobby Joe Hensley contested a group of citations and orders from Mine No. 9. They did not file contests to the Secretary's proposed penalty assessments, which were sent in two groups in January and September 1995. Judge Roy J. Maurer ruled that the proposed assessments…
Beck Materials Company
Conveyor violations affirmed, guarding negligence modified
MSHA cited Beck Materials Company after plant foreman Doug Laird was seriously injured while adjusting a moving conveyor belt. The judge found violations for failing to deenergize and lock out the conveyor and for failing to provide a safe means of access, and found both violations significant and…
Walker Stone Company, Inc.
Lockout citation affirmed as modified, individual penalty dismissed
Walker Stone operated a quarry and mill that processed construction aggregates and road-building materials. MSHA cited the company after employees worked on an electrically powered log washer without deenergizing and locking out the equipment. Judge Roy J. Maurer found a violation of the lockout…
Maple Meadow Mining Company
Settlement reduces two penalties to $1,100
Maple Meadow Mining Company agreed to settle a civil penalty case involving one section 104(d)(1) citation and one section 104(d)(1) order. The settlement changed Citation No. 3964584 to a section 104(a) citation, reduced its penalty from $600 to $200, and changed the negligence finding from high…
Amax Coal West, Inc.
Discrimination complaint withdrawn and dismissed
Orville E. Moore asked to withdraw his Mine Act discrimination complaint against Amax Coal West because he had a parallel case pending with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and intended to pursue his remedies there. Judge Roy J. Maurer granted permission to withdraw the complaint at the…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Samuel Knotts v. Tanglewood Energy, Inc., Fern Cove, Inc., Randy Burke, and Randall Key
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Samuel Knotts v. Tanglewood Energy, Inc., et al. (FMSHRC WEVA 94-357-D): Discrimination damages awarded
Samuel Knotts had previously been found to have been discharged in violation of section 105(c) of the Mine Act. In this final damages decision, Judge Roy J. Maurer held the respondents jointly and severally liable for $17,120 in net back pay, $508 in costs, and $1,762.80 in interest, and assessed a…
Kenneth F. Cole v. U. S. Steel Mining Company
Refiled discrimination complaint dismissed as untimely
Kenneth F. Cole filed a discrimination complaint against U. S. Steel Mining Company concerning an alleged 1992 workplace incident at the Cumberland Mine. MSHA had rejected his original complaint in March 1992 and notified him that he could file his own Commission complaint within 30 days, but he…
Harlan Cumberland Coal Company
Dust citations affirmed and other matters resolved
Harlan Cumberland Coal Company faced five consolidated civil penalty proceedings involving mandatory Mine Act standards at its C-2 and D-1 mines. The Judge affirmed two citations for failing to provide valid respirable dust samples after finding that samples had to be received by the MSHA…
Acme Brick Company
Brake violations modified and affirmed
Acme Brick Company operated a clay pit and transported clay to a brick plant. MSHA found that the front service brakes on two trucks were disconnected and not functional. Judge Roy J. Maurer found two violations of the braking-system standard, but concluded that the Secretary had not shown a…
Frick Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Two citations affirmed and penalty reduced
Frick Sand & Gravel admitted that a loader's brake lights were inoperative and that its pit foreman lacked required first-aid training. Judge Roy J. Maurer affirmed both citations. He reduced the proposed penalty for the training violation from $195 to $50 because the operator credibly tried to…
Frick Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Two citations affirmed and penalty reduced
Frick Sand & Gravel admitted that a loader's brake lights were inoperative and that its pit foreman lacked required first-aid training. Judge Roy J. Maurer affirmed both citations. He reduced the proposed penalty for the training violation from $195 to $50 because the operator credibly tried to…
Walker Stone Company, Inc.
One citation affirmed and one vacated
Walker Stone Company was cited for an unguarded conveyor tail pulley and a severely cracked windshield on a pickup used for mine business. Judge Roy J. Maurer affirmed the tail-pulley citation and assessed a $50 penalty. He vacated the windshield citation because the evidence did not establish that…
Walker Stone Company, Inc.
One citation affirmed and one vacated
Walker Stone Company was cited for an unguarded conveyor tail pulley and a severely cracked windshield on a pickup used for mine business. Judge Roy J. Maurer affirmed the tail-pulley citation and assessed a $50 penalty. He vacated the windshield citation because the evidence did not establish that…
Harlan Cumberland Coal Company
Consolidated penalties partly affirmed, vacated, and settled
Harlan Cumberland Coal Company faced civil-penalty proceedings involving five dockets and multiple alleged safety violations. The parties settled some citations, while Judge Roy J. Maurer decided the remaining disputes. The judge affirmed many citations, vacated some citations for insufficient…
Dunkard Mining Company
Settlement approved
Dunkard Mining Company faced a proposed civil penalty of $1,949. The judge approved the parties' settlement after considering the submitted representations and documentation and finding the settlement appropriate under the Mine Act's penalty criteria. The company was ordered to pay $780 within 30…
Tanglewood Energy, Inc.; Fern Cove, Inc.; Randy Burke, and Randall Key
Discriminatory discharge found, damages reserved
Samuel Knotts was discharged after speaking with a mine engineer about equipment conditions, management, and safety concerns at the Coalbank Fork No. 12 Mine. The judge found that Knotts had engaged in protected activity by testifying in an earlier discrimination case, assisting MSHA inspectors…
Moberly Stone Company
Default judgment entered after failure to appear
Moberly Stone Company contested five alleged violations of mandatory safety standards at its operation in Missouri. The company did not appear at the scheduled hearing after receiving notice, so Judge Roy J. Maurer proceeded without it and found the company in default. The Secretary’s evidence…
Moberly Stone Company
Default judgment entered after failure to appear
Moberly Stone Company contested five alleged violations of mandatory safety standards at its operation in Missouri. The company did not appear at the scheduled hearing after receiving notice, so Judge Roy J. Maurer proceeded without it and found the company in default. The Secretary’s evidence…
Ideker, Inc.
$500 settlement approved
Ideker, Inc. faced a civil penalty proceeding concerning the Amazonia Quarry. After an evidentiary hearing, the parties moved to approve a settlement and dismiss the case. Judge Roy J. Maurer approved a reduction in the proposed penalty from $1,000 to $500 and ordered payment within 30 days. The…
Pierce Sand Company
$556 settlement approved
Pierce Sand Company faced a civil penalty proceeding involving eight citations. The parties proposed reducing the combined assessments from $862 to $556. Judge Roy J. Maurer approved the settlement after considering the parties' representations, documentation, and hearing testimony. The company was…
Griesmer Stone Company
Loose-ground violations split
Springfield Underground and Griesmer Stone operated a limestone mine where MSHA alleged hazardous loose-ground conditions in several areas. Judge Roy J. Maurer found that some rock had to be excavated with powerful mechanical equipment and was not loose ground under the cited standard, so three…
Walker Stone Company, Inc.
Crusher citations split
Walker Stone Company operated a quarry and mill where an employee was fatally crushed while workers were clearing a plugged impact crusher. Judge Roy J. Maurer vacated one citation because the cited repair and maintenance standard did not apply to the work being performed. He affirmed a second…
Copper Range Company
Shift-compensation complaint dismissed
United Steelworkers Local 5024 sought shift compensation for miners at Copper Range Company's White Pine Mine after a mine fire and an MSHA section 103(k) control order. The miners had already been evacuated and sent home before the order was issued. Judge Roy J. Maurer held that the miners were…
JEN, Inc.
Default order requiring payment of civil penalties
JEN, Inc. failed to answer the Secretary of Labor's civil penalty petitions in nine consolidated proceedings. The judge and the Commission gave the operator repeated opportunities to respond to orders to show cause, including after the Commission reopened and remanded the proceedings in the…
Harlan Cumberland Coal Company
Settlement approved at $426
Harlan Cumberland Coal Company and the Secretary jointly asked the judge to approve a settlement for two citations at the C-2 Mine. The proposed settlement reduced the total penalty from $534 to $426, with each citation reduced from $267 to $213. Judge Roy J. Maurer found the settlement appropriate…
Mingo Logan Coal Company
Contractor training violation affirmed
Mingo Logan Coal Company operated the Mountaineer Mine and was cited after an independent contractor employee received experienced-miner training instead of new-miner training. The judge held that Mingo Logan could be cited because the contractor's employee worked near Mingo Logan miners and could…
T. J. McKnight, Inc.
Settlement approved for $500
T. J. McKnight contested two significant-and-substantial citations at the Clarks Mine and faced a proposed $7,000 penalty. The parties jointly moved to approve a settlement after the hearing. Judge Roy J. Maurer vacated one citation because the evidence no longer supported the violation, reduced…
William T. Sinnott, II v. Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Discrimination complaint dismissed as untimely
William T. Sinnott, II alleged that Jim Walter Resources terminated him in retaliation for refusing an assignment he believed was unsafe. He filed his complaint with MSHA more than three years after his August 1990 termination, after pursuing a separate Rehabilitation Act matter. Judge Roy J…
Manalapan Mining Company
Settlement approved with $15,945 assessed
Manalapan Mining Company and the Secretary proposed a settlement covering six dockets and multiple citations. The settlement reduced the total proposed assessments from $29,585 to $15,945, with some citations modified to delete S&S findings and some penalties already paid. The ALJ approved the…
Walker Stone Company, Inc.
Two citations vacated, two affirmed, and $100 assessed
Walker Stone Company received four citations involving alarms, a manually operated warning device, and an elevated truck scale without a berm or guardrail. The ALJ vacated two citations because the evidence did not establish violations of the cited alarm standard. Two other citations were affirmed…
Buck Creek Coal, Inc.
Combustible-accumulation citation affirmed with $2,000 penalty
MSHA cited Buck Creek Coal for allowing loose coal and float coal dust to accumulate beneath a belt conveyor, tail roller, and feeder at the Buck Creek Mine. The accumulations reached up to 3.5 feet in depth and 18 feet in width, and the tail roller was turning in coal fines. Judge Roy J. Maurer…
Green Coal Company, Inc.
Settlement approved and discrimination proceeding dismissed
Bryan Wimsatt and Green Coal Company reached an amicable settlement in a Mine Act discrimination proceeding. The parties jointly asked the ALJ to dismiss the case with prejudice based on their settlement agreement. Judge Roy J. Maurer approved the settlement, canceled the hearing scheduled in…
U. S. Steel Mining Company
Settlement approved with $236 penalty
U. S. Steel Mining Company and the Secretary resolved three civil penalty proceedings involving the Shawnee Mine. The judge approved a settlement that reduced the proposed total from $475 to $236, vacated two citations, and modified another citation to remove its significant-and-substantial…
Manalapan Mining Company, Inc.
Settlement approved for $12,100
Manalapan Mining Company faced civil penalty proceedings across four dockets involving Mine Nos. 1, 6, and 7. Judge Roy J. Maurer approved a settlement that reduced the proposed penalties from $14,612 to $12,100. The company was ordered to pay the settlement amount within 30 days, and the cases…
New Hope of Kentucky, Inc.
Settlement approved with reduced penalties
New Hope of Kentucky faced civil-penalty proceedings involving three dockets and proposed assessments totaling $5,952. The parties reached a settlement that reduced the total penalty to $3,692, including a reduction from $500 to $100 in KENT 93-487 and reductions on several citations in KENT…
Toler Creek Energy, Inc.
Settlement approved and proceeding dismissed with prejudice
The Secretary of Labor, on behalf of Brian K. Moore, brought a temporary reinstatement proceeding against Toler Creek Energy, Inc. The parties reached an amicable settlement and jointly moved to dismiss the proceeding with prejudice. Judge Roy J. Maurer approved the settlement, granted the motion…
Peabody Coal Company
Two citations affirmed and one vacated
Peabody Coal Company faced three alleged violations involving its mines, including an allegation that the methane and dust control plan was not followed because air behind a curtain was below the plan's required level while a wet bed scrubber was off. The parties settled two dockets, reducing the…
The Harriman Coal Corp.
Equipment-safety citations affirmed
The Harriman Coal Corporation used a Caterpillar excavator without handrails along the outer edges of its walkways and a Ford truck without an audible backup alarm. Judge Roy J. Maurer held that the excavator lacked the handrails required by 30 C.F.R. § 77.409(b), and that the truck's missing alarm…
Secretary of Labor v. Consolidation Coal Company
Walkaround citation and $1,000 penalty affirmed
Consolidation Coal prevented miners' representatives from accompanying an MSHA inspector into an underground bleeder system because company supervisors believed the area was too dangerous. Judge Roy J. Maurer held that the Mine Act's walkaround right could not be restricted on that basis by the…
Peabody Coal Company
Methane order and citation vacated
Peabody Coal contested an imminent-danger order and a significant-and-substantial citation issued after an MSHA inspector measured methane near a covered beltline at the Camp No. 9 Preparation Plant. Judge Roy J. Maurer found that the readings were taken too close to the coal to represent the…
Double "B" Mining, Inc.
Settlement approved with $3,382 penalty
Double "B" Mining, Inc. operated Mine No. 32 and faced civil penalty proceedings in two Southeast dockets. The parties jointly requested a settlement, citing the operator's financial difficulty. Judge Roy J. Maurer found the settlement appropriate under the Mine Act's penalty criteria and reduced…
Madison Branch Management, Inc.
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Ernie L. Spaulding alleged that Madison Branch Management did not hire him as a bulldozer operator because of his past work record and prior union activity. Judge Roy J. Maurer found that Spaulding did not prove he engaged in activity protected by the Mine Act. Because protected activity is a…
Nolichuckey Sand Company, Inc.
Imminent-danger finding vacated and citation affirmed
An MSHA inspector observed an employee crossing from a sand dredge to shore in a jon boat without a life jacket or belt. Judge Roy J. Maurer found that this violated the life-jacket standard, but held that the danger was no longer imminent when the employee stood on dry land and that the Secretary…
Mountaintop Restoration, Inc.
$7,732 settlement approved
Mountaintop Restoration and the Secretary jointly moved to settle two civil-penalty proceedings, citing the company's financial condition. The proposed assessments totaled $10,954, and Judge Roy J. Maurer approved a settlement requiring $7,732 in 18 equal monthly installments. One citation was…
Cavalier Mining Corp
Discrimination complaint dismissed without prejudice during bankruptcy
Bobby Gene Strouth's discrimination complaint against Cavalier Mining came before the judge while the company was in bankruptcy. The bankruptcy stay prevented the discrimination case from proceeding to judgment. At the complainant's request, and without objection from the respondent, Judge Roy J…
Fred Jones, Employed by Christian Energies, Incorporated
Settlement approved with $2,800 penalty
Fred Jones, employed by Christian Energies, faced a civil penalty proceeding involving Christian Energies No. 2 Mine. Judge Roy J. Maurer approved a settlement that reduced the proposed penalty from $11,400 to $2,800 because of Jones's limited financial resources. The penalty was payable in 14…
Costain Coal, Inc.
Citations affirmed, S&S finding vacated in part
Costain Coal contested a citation for operating the Baker Mine without an approved methane and dust control plan and faced related civil penalty proceedings. The Judge approved settlements covering most of the other citations, affirmed the plan citation with a $50 penalty, and affirmed a separate…
McElroy Coal Company
Rock-dusting violation affirmed as S&S and unwarrantable failure
MSHA issued a section 104(d)(2) order after finding that rock dust in three entries and a connecting crosscut at McElroy Mine did not meet the required incombustible-content percentages. Judge Roy J. Maurer credited the inspector's samples and found a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.403. He found the…
Ten-A Coal Company
Settlement approved and citations affirmed
Ten-A Coal Company had previously been ordered to pay $400 for a section 104(d)(1) citation, while a separate section 104(d)(1) order had been changed to a section 104(a) citation. The Commission reversed that modification and sent the matter back to the Judge. On remand, the parties agreed to…
Dixie Mining Company, Inc.
Settlement approved and $150 assessed
Dixie Mining Company faced a civil penalty proceeding concerning Mine No. 1. After testimony at a hearing, the parties moved to approve a settlement that reduced the proposed penalty from $500 to $150. Judge Roy J. Maurer found the settlement appropriate under the Mine Act's penalty criteria and…
Waste Coal Management, Inc.
Settlement approved and $70 assessed
Waste Coal Management, Inc. faced a civil penalty proceeding involving the Black Mountain Mine. The parties jointly asked Judge Roy J. Maurer to approve a settlement that reduced the proposed penalty from $273 to $70 and dismissed the case. The judge found the settlement appropriate under the Mine…
CBM Mining, Inc., Roy F. Collier and James H. Booth
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Roy Lee Stroud brought a discrimination complaint under Section 105(c) of the Mine Act against CBM Mining, Inc., Roy F. Collier, and James H. Booth. The complaint concerned an alleged adverse action after Stroud filed a discrimination complaint with MSHA. Judge Roy J. Maurer found that Collier's…
Aluminum Company of America
Section 103(k) order vacated
Aluminum Company of America contested a section 103(k) order issued after mercury contamination was found at its Point Comfort Operations facility. The ALJ found that the Mine Act requires an accident before a section 103(k) order may issue, and that the Secretary had not proven a qualifying…
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.