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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United Steel Workers of America, Local 4880
Discrimination case dismissed after settlement
The Secretary brought a discrimination complaint on behalf of Lee Garrett against Alcoa World Alumina, LLC, with United Steel Workers of America, Local 4880, participating as an intervenor. The parties reported an amicable settlement, Garrett sought to withdraw his complaint, and the Secretary…
Hard Rock Mining Company of Olympia, Inc.
Default decision lifts stay and assesses $35,314 in penalties
Hard Rock Mining Company of Olympia, Inc. operated the Hard Rock Pit and was involved in six civil penalty proceedings covering 42 alleged violations of the Secretary's health and safety standards. The proceedings had been stayed, and the Secretary sought to lift the stays after the company stopped…
Kinder Morgan Operating LTD
Untimely contest cases dismissed
Kinder Morgan filed notices contesting seven citations more than 30 days after the citations were issued. The company said an on-site manager had failed to forward the citations to management or counsel and had mistakenly believed they were covered by a stay involving other citations. Judge T. Todd…
Hard Rock Mining Company, of Olympia, Inc.
Order to show cause issued
Hard Rock Mining Company was involved in six stayed civil penalty proceedings. The Secretary reported that attempts to contact the company had failed, mail was returned unclaimed, and the company's former counsel had said that the company and its president had filed for bankruptcy. Judge T. Todd…
Excel Mining LLC
Partial summary decision denied
Excel Mining LLC operated a preparation plant where an employee suffered fatal injuries after falling approximately 55 feet while guiding a suspended chemical barrel. MSHA alleged that the company violated requirements for taglines on suspended loads and daily examinations of active working areas…
United Steel Workers of America, Local 4880
Deposition of MSHA penalty assessor quashed
The Secretary of Labor moved to quash Alcoa World Alumina's notice seeking to depose the MSHA personnel who decided the proposed penalty in a discrimination case involving Lee Garrett. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon rejected the claim that the unidentified officials automatically had immunity from…
South West Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Three citations vacated, six affirmed, and $425 penalty assessed
South West Sand & Gravel, a four-employee sand and gravel operation in Arizona, was cited after an inspection of its mine. The judge found that the company failed to record defects affecting the safety of a water truck that had been taken out of service, and that severely cracked and damaged…
VT Unfading Green Slate Company, Incorporated
Citations split and $470 penalty assessed
VT Unfading Green Slate Company operated the Blissville Quarry and Mill in Vermont. After an MSHA inspection, the judge considered 11 alleged violations involving fire-extinguisher maintenance, lighting, electrical equipment, machine guarding, access, eye protection, housekeeping, air hoses…
Lodestar Energy, Inc.
One citation vacated and two resolved with a $100 penalty
Lodestar Energy operated the Baker Mine, an underground bituminous coal mine in Kentucky. The judge vacated one citation by settlement, affirmed a second citation by settlement, and found that the company had failed to examine a separate intake entry as required by the ventilation rules. He held…
Gable Stone Company, Inc.
Back pay awarded after discrimination finding
Judge T. Todd Hodgdon had previously found that Gable Stone discriminated against John Noakes by discharging him after he engaged in protected safety activity. In this supplemental decision, the judge denied the company’s motion to reconsider liability and rejected its objections to Noakes’s…
Kinder Morgan Operating L.P. “C”
Coal terminal held subject to Mine Act jurisdiction
Kinder Morgan operated a Kentucky terminal that received processed coal by rail and barge, stored it, and used layered loading to prepare shipments for the Tennessee Valley Authority. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon held that the terminal performed the work of preparing coal usually done by a mine operator…
Metro Recycling and Crushing, Inc.
Citation amendment allowed before trial
Metro Recycling and Crushing faced a citation and two orders arising from a fatal accident at its portable screening plant. The Secretary sought to amend one citation involving manual cleaning of a moving conveyor to allege either of two related safety standards. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found no bad…
Cedar Lake Sand & Gravel Co.
Two contested orders modified with added disclosure
Cedar Lake Sand & Gravel Co. contested seven orders involving citations at its mine. The Secretary asked to remove or revise parts of two orders, including language about a front-end loader's hydraulic system and the location and height of roadway berms. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon granted the motion…
Gabel Stone Company, Inc.
Quarry operator found to have discharged miner for safety complaint
Gabel Stone operated a small Missouri quarry that mined, crushed, sized, and stockpiled stone. John Noakes filed a confidential MSHA hazard complaint describing eight safety concerns, after which the operator restricted his work, encouraged him to leave, and ended his employment. Judge T. Todd…
A & K Earth Movers, Inc.
Settlement approved and discrimination case dismissed
The Secretary brought a discrimination case on behalf of Curtis Stahl after his employment ended. The parties agreed that A & K would pay Stahl $15,000, amend his employment records to remove any reference to termination, and provide only his dates of employment to third parties. Stahl waived…
A & K Earth Movers, Inc.
Motion to compel granted in part
A & K Earth Movers faced a discrimination proceeding brought on behalf of Curtis Stahl involving the Belle Vista Pit. The Secretary of Labor withheld portions of two miner interview statements under the informant's privilege. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon held that most redactions protected the informant's…
Tri-County Mining, Inc.
Temporary reinstatement agreement approved
The Secretary sought temporary reinstatement of Roger Dale Damron, II, at Tri-County Mining's Mine No. 1 while his discrimination complaint was pending. The parties agreed to a recall sequence because most Tri-County employees were laid off. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found that the complaint was not…
Lopke Quarries, Inc.
Multiple citations split, $22,500 penalty assessed
Lopke Quarries operated a portable rock-crushing plant at the Low Moor Mine in Virginia. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found violations involving electrical wiring, unsafe conveyor-belt access, and an uninspected loader, while vacating other alleged violations involving loader defects, parking brakes, and…
Farrell-Cooper Mining Company
EAJA fee application dismissed after settlement
Farrell-Cooper Mining Company applied for attorney fees and expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act after an underlying Mine Act matter. The parties agreed to dismiss the application after the Secretary accepted that ground control plans do not require MSHA approval to be deemed filed under…
In the matter of: Connie Prater
Disbarment ordered after disciplinary default
The Commission referred a disciplinary matter involving Connie Prater to an ALJ after allegations concerning fraudulent respirable-dust samples submitted to MSHA. After her counsel withdrew and she asked to withdraw from the case, the judge found that she had not complied with an order to show…
Cyprus Emerald Resources
Settlement approved on remand
Cyprus Emerald Resources was ordered to resolve the remaining civil penalty issue after the Commission remanded the case for assessment of a penalty on one citation. The Secretary proposed reducing the penalty from $3,000 to $1,000. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon approved the settlement under the Mine Act…
Allied Custom Gypsum, Inc.
Three citations vacated at a small gypsum mine
Allied Custom Gypsum operated a small gypsum mine and crusher plant near Fairview, Oklahoma. MSHA cited the company over a diesel-fuel warning sign, access to the top of a fuel-tank hatch, and guarding around a conveyor head pulley, and sought a $165 penalty. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found that the…
In the matter of: Connie Prater
Counsel withdrawal granted and show-cause order issued
This disciplinary proceeding concerned Connie Prater’s participation in a matter before the Commission. Her counsel asked to withdraw after reporting that Prater was seriously ill and would not make further appearances. The judge granted the withdrawal, directed that future documents be served…
Lodestar Energy, Inc.
Two weekly-examination orders modified, $205 penalty assessed
Lodestar Energy operated the Wheatcroft underground coal mine, where inspectors found an uncorrected sagging-roof condition and missing weekly-examination records for mine airways. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found both conditions violated the cited Mine Act standards, but ruled that the Secretary had…
A & K Earth Movers, Inc.
Temporary reinstatement ordered
Curtis Stahl alleged that A & K Earth Movers fired him after he complained about seriously defective brakes on a fuel truck and removed the truck from service. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found that Stahl’s testimony was not inherently incredible and that the complaint was not frivolous, even though the…
Lone Mountain Processing, Inc.
Pillar-recovery citation modified and penalty increased
Lone Mountain Processing operated a large underground coal mine where MSHA cited the company after finding that roadway posts required during pillar recovery were missing or improperly placed. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found no violation in the No. 2 heading, but found that the No. 3 heading condition…
Northwestern Resources Co.
Interlocutory review certification denied
Northwestern Resources asked the judge to certify for interlocutory review a prior ruling that allowed the Secretary to file a civil-penalty petition late. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon applied Commission Rule 76 and found that the ruling did not involve a controlling question of law. The judge explained…
Williams Brothers Coal Co., Inc.
Four citations modified and $561 penalty assessed
Williams Brothers Coal Company operated the small No. 3 underground coal mine in Pike County, Kentucky. MSHA cited the mine after an inspection found electrical grounding and de-energization problems, conveyor and belt-line maintenance issues, a missing mine map, and a non-functioning fire sensor…
Allied Custom Gypsum, Inc.
Settlement approved with reduced civil penalty
Allied Custom Gypsum, Inc. faced a civil penalty petition alleging eight violations at its Bessie Plant. The parties reached a settlement that removed the significant-and-substantial designations from three citations and reduced their penalties to $55 each, while Allied agreed to pay the proposed…
Applegate Aggregates, Inc.
Five crushing-plant citations affirmed
Applegate operated a small shale crushing plant with a crusher, conveyor belts, screens, and stockpiles. After an inspection, MSHA alleged five violations involving electrical grounding records, a cracked loader windshield, a nonfunctional backup alarm, an uncovered junction box, and the lack of a…
Dags Branch Coal Co., Inc.
Bleeder-system orders affirmed
Dags Branch operated an underground coal mine where MSHA found that water blocked the bleeder system while miners were retreating pillars, allowing air from the gob area to pass toward active workings. The inspector also found that the operator’s ventilation plan was not being followed and that the…
Oasis Contracting, Inc.
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Oasis Contracting provided temporary labor to coal companies, and Anthony Williams worked at Performance Coal Company’s Upper Big Branch mine. Williams claimed that Performance laid him off and Oasis later terminated him because he might testify about a fatal mine accident and because he had…
Jobe Concrete Products, Inc.
Truck citations modified with $6,000 penalty
Jobe Concrete Products operated a small open-pit limestone mine in Texas. A truck driven by employee Valentine Moreno overturned, and Moreno died at the scene. The judge found that the operator violated standards concerning control of mobile equipment and seat belts, but concluded that Jobe was not…
Odell Geer Construction Company, Incorporated
Odell Geer Construction Company (FMSHRC CENT 98-131-M): Conveyor access violations affirmed and penalties reduced
Odell Geer Construction operated the Gibbs Pit wash plant in Texas, where employees climbed inclined conveyor belts to maintain head pulleys that were 12 to 20 feet above ground. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found that the lack of catwalks, handrails, or another safe means of access created a significant…
Midwest Minerals, Inc.
Citations affirmed with $20,750 in penalties
Midwest Minerals operated Portable Plant No. 2 and was cited after superintendent William F. Feathers suffered fatal injuries while starting a bulldozer. The judge considered two citations, one involving the failure to immediately report the accident and one involving the bulldozer violation. The…
Disciplinary Proceeding
Prosecutor appointment requested
The Secretary of Labor referred Connie Prater for possible disciplinary proceedings, then withdrew from participating in the matter. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found that the withdrawal left no one to represent the Commission's interests in enforcing ethical standards for practitioners. He therefore…
Energy West Mining Company
Discrimination settlement approved
Energy West Mining Company faced discrimination complaints from miners who said the company restricted their ability to leave welding or cutting fumes and later transferred Michael Podolak from a longwall setup crew to a rotating shift labor pool. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon approved a settlement…
Eastern Associated Coal Corp.
Safety-refusal discrimination found
Eastern Associated Coal operated the underground Federal No. 2 Mine in West Virginia, where a mine elevator began making a loud, unexplained noise while miners were preparing to travel underground. John E. Palmer and James W. Taylor refused to allow miners to use the elevator until its condition…
L & T Fabrication & Construction, Incorporated
EAJA fee application denied
L & T Fabrication sought attorney fees and expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act after an ALJ assessed a $20,000 penalty for a serious safety violation, compared with MSHA's proposed $40,000 penalty. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found that the company qualified as a party eligible to seek fees…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Rodney E. Stephens v. Cyprus Plateau Mining Corp.
Temporary reinstatement ordered
The Secretary sought temporary reinstatement for Rodney E. Stephens after Cyprus Plateau Mining reassigned him from mine examiner to crib crew and later discharged him. Stephens said the company acted because he reported concerns about mine ventilation, rock dusting, and standing water, while the…
K.R. Wilson Contracting, Inc.
Four citations affirmed, one vacated, and penalties assessed at $40,688
K.R. Wilson Contracting operated a limestone quarry where a worker died after a raised loader fender fell during repairs. The judge affirmed two accident-related citations, finding that the fender was not mechanically secured and that the worker was not wearing a hard hat, while vacating a citation…
Collie Coal Company
Coal-recovery operation held subject to MSHA jurisdiction
Collie Coal Company recovered coal fines from an abandoned mine site in Indiana, screened them to remove dirt and other material, dried and stored them, and sold them to power and mining customers. The company argued that it was not a coal mine because it did not prepare coal within the meaning of…
Hibbing Taconite Company
Sixty-seven citations vacated and one affirmed
MSHA cited Hibbing Taconite Company and USX Corporation for failing to perform or document annual grounding tests on power cables, extension cords, and cords supplying tools and mobile equipment. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon held that MSHA had substantively expanded 30 C.F.R. § 56.12028 through a program…
Midwest Minerals, Inc.
Mobile-equipment citation modified after fatal accident
MSHA cited Midwest Minerals after plant superintendent William Feathers was injured while starting a bulldozer and later died from those injuries. The citation was first issued under the machinery-maintenance standard and later modified to allege that the operator failed to maintain control of…
Ronnie Long Trucking
Safety complaint discharge found discriminatory
Robert D. Adkins worked as a coal truck driver for Ronnie Long Trucking. He reported that the front-end loader used to load his truck had brake and transmission problems, refused to operate it until it was repaired, and contacted an MSHA inspector. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found that Adkins was…
Material Service Corp.
Two citations vacated, one $30,000 penalty affirmed
Material Service operated the Algonquin Sand and Gravel mine, where a haul truck struck two customer truck drivers, killing one and seriously injuring the other. MSHA cited the company for moving the accident vehicle before the investigation was complete, failing to post warnings about hazardous…
L & T Fabrication & Construction, Inc.
Overhead-work citation affirmed and penalty reduced
L & T Fabrication & Construction was a contractor performing structural work at the Cordero Mine in Wyoming. During overhead work in a silo, a handrail section fell from an elevated deck and struck an employee below, breaking his neck and permanently paralyzing him from the neck down. The parties…
White Oak Mining and Construction Co., Inc.
Task-training order vacated on remand
White Oak Mining operated the White Oak No. 2 Mine. After a fatal accident involving a continuous-miner operator and a miner helper, the Commission remanded whether Keith Smith had received adequate task training. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found that Smith's prior mining experience, supervised…
Secretary of Labor v. Cannelton Industries, Inc., et al.
Penalties set after remand
The Judge had previously found that Cannelton Industries unwarrantably failed to comply with 30 C.F.R. § 75.400 and that foremen Charles Patterson and George Richardson knowingly authorized the violation. After receiving financial information, the Judge denied motions to reconsider, reopen the…
Cyprus Emerald Resources, Inc.
Settlement approved and penalty reduced
Cyprus Emerald Resources contested an order issued at the Emerald No. 1 mine. After the Commission remanded the case for further analysis, the Secretary and Cyprus Emerald proposed a settlement. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon approved changing the order from a section 104(d)(1) order to a section 104(a)…
Cannelton Industries, Inc.
Unwarrantable-failure findings affirmed on remand
The Commission had vacated an earlier decision and remanded these consolidated cases for further consideration of a coal and coal-dust accumulation under 30 C.F.R. § 75.400. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found that Cannelton’s violation resulted from unwarrantable failure and that foremen Charles Patterson…
Inland Steel Mining Company
One citation vacated and one modified
Inland Steel operated the Minorca open-pit taconite mine. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon vacated a citation for an allegedly unbarricaded trailer because the hazard was immediately obvious, and he dismissed that contest. He modified a second citation involving an unbarricaded overhead-crane work area by…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Discrimination complaint dismissed on remand
Marvin E. Carmichael claimed that Jim Walter Resources suspended him after he refused to falsify a task-training form. On remand from the Commission, Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found that Carmichael did not establish that he engaged in protected activity or that the company acted because of it. The…
Knock's Building Supplies
Multiple citations mixed, $3,139 penalty assessed
Knock's Building Supplies operated a small limestone, sand, and gravel mine in Iowa. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon vacated three citations, affirmed twelve others, and assessed a total civil penalty of $3,139. The affirmed citations covered mine access, haul-road berms, inspection access, guarding, backup…
White Oak Mining and Construction, Inc.
Motion to dismiss denied
Randy Howell asked the judge to dismiss an individual civil-penalty proceeding based on delay between the underlying orders and notice of the proposed penalty. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found that MSHA adequately explained the investigation and review period. Howell did not show actual prejudice from…
White Oak Mining and Construction, Inc.
Motions to dismiss denied
White Oak and two individual respondents asked the judge to dismiss civil-penalty proceedings because of delay between the underlying orders and notice of proposed penalties. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found that MSHA adequately explained the investigation and review period. He also found that the…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Michael Brown v. Boogar Man Mining, Inc., Dema Coal Company, Inc., A & J Fuels, Inc., Barry Moore, and Freddie Hunter
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Michael Brown v. Boogar Man Mining, Inc. and others (FMSHRC KENT 97-317-D): discrimination finding enforced and settlement approved
Michael Brown alleged that Boogar Man Mining discharged him after he complained about unsupported roof and that company principals threatened and harassed him when he returned for his final paycheck. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon enforced a default decision finding discrimination, threats, intimidation…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Combustible accumulation citation affirmed
Jim Walter Resources was cited after coal and combustible material were placed in an active entry at its No. 7 Mine and then screened from view with a second ventilation curtain. The judge found that the accumulation had been in active workings for at least 24 hours before the curtain was…
Inland Steel Mining Company
Copper-fume citation vacated
Inland Steel was cited after a welder's measured copper-fume exposure exceeded a short-term limit identified in MSHA materials. The judge held that the Pennsylvania short-term limits were not adopted by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists in the 1973 publication…
Georges Colliers Inc.
Flooding orders affirmed, one citation modified, settlements approved
Georges Colliers operated underground coal mines in Oklahoma. After heavy rain left water near mine portals and a pump failed, an MSHA inspector issued an imminent-danger order, citations, and withdrawal orders based on the risk of flooding and blocked emergency protections. The Judge affirmed 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.