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.
No decisions match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
Selvarangan v. Tata Consultancy Services
CFPA review petition declined after withdrawal
Anandaraj Selvarangan alleged that Tata Consultancy Services violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act's employee protections. He asked the administrative judge to withdraw his objections and dismiss the case without prejudice, and the judge approved that request. Selvarangan then submitted a…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Michael Cook v. Panther Creek Mining, LLC
Part 90 miner awarded lost pay
Michael Cook exercised his Part 90 right to transfer away from excessive coal-dust exposure, moving from a ten-hour continuous-miner-operator schedule to an eight-hour mine-examiner schedule. Panther Creek kept his hourly wage unchanged, but Cook worked 13 fewer hours and lost $761.67 before a…
Johnson Brass & Machine Foundry, Inc.
Fall and lockout violations affirmed
Johnson Brass operated pit-mounted centrifugal casting machines at its Wisconsin foundry. An employee was seriously injured when his clothing caught on a rotating die while he cleaned it from inside a spinner pit. OSHA cited fall protection, lockout-tagout, training, and machine-guarding violations…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Complex, Yazoo City, Mississippi and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 4036, Council of Prison Locals 33
Federal Correctional Complex Yazoo City and AFGE Local 4036 (FLRA 0-AR-5743): Authority dismisses premature overtime exceptions
Federal Correctional Complex Yazoo City temporarily assigned employees to another institution, and the union alleged that those employees lost overtime opportunities. An arbitrator found the grievance timely as to continuing violations occurring within 40 days before filing and directed a hearing…
Mitchell v. Manning Trucking, Inc.
STAA recusal interlocutory appeal denied
Rico Mitchell alleged that Manning Trucking retaliated against him under the Surface Transportation Assistance Act. While the complaint remained pending, he asked the administrative judge to recuse, and the judge denied that motion after allowing supporting submissions and holding a hearing…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 0906 and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Eastern Kansas Health Care System, Topeka VA Medical Center
AFGE Local 0906 and Topeka VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-NG-3645): Authority orders bargaining over break-room ice
AFGE Local 0906 proposed that a locked VA mental-health clinic provide a break-room water system with hands-free ice dispensing or add a suitable refrigerator-freezer to its existing filtration system. The union explained that staffing and patient-monitoring needs sometimes kept employees in the…
Secretary of Labor v. JDI Industrial
Refused assessment and legal mistake defeated reopening
JDI Industrial sought to reopen five recordkeeping penalties after delivery of the proposed assessment was refused and the contest deadline passed. Its safety director had worked with MSHA to correct the violations and mistakenly believed that abatement meant no penalties would be issued. The…
Matter of Cleto Marte DOMINGUEZ REYES
Money-laundering threshold
The Board reviewed a lawful permanent resident’s challenge to his aggravated-felony classification after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. The Board held that the $10,000 amount requirement is based on the particular circumstances of the offense, rather than a categorical…
Bauche v. Masimo Corp.
SOX appeal dismissed after opening brief omitted
John Bauche sought Board review in a Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower case against Masimo Corporation. The Board issued a notice that it intended to dismiss the petition for review. Bauche responded, but his filing did not include the required opening brief or otherwise comply with the notice. For the…
Quick Roofing, LLC
Repeat ladder-access violation affirmed
Quick Roofing employees used an extension ladder to reach the roof of a three-story apartment building under construction in Winter Garden, Florida. OSHA photographs showed that the ladder extended only about 24 inches above the roof rather than the required three feet. Even if a rope visible in…
United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Seattle, Washington and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 139
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Seattle and NTEU Chapter 139 (FLRA 0-AR-5742): Authority remands attorney-fee amount
Customs and Border Protection conceded that it violated the agreement by delaying written notice explaining a temporary firearm-authorization revocation. The union sought more than $4,800 in overtime relief, but an arbitrator awarded only $93.48 plus interest and later granted the full requested…
Secretary of Labor v. Road & Rail Services
Prompt action supported reopening
Road & Rail missed a penalty contest deadline after several problems converged, including a missing copy of the citation, illness of its safety director, difficulty interviewing involved people, and the Thanksgiving holiday. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but urged the operator to prevent…
Secretary of Labor v. Georgetown Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Unreliable processing defeated reopening
Georgetown Sand filed its penalty contest after the 30-day deadline and blamed an oversight and a communication breakdown between its president and office manager. The Secretary opposed reopening because the explanation lacked details and the operator had recently filed another reopening motion…
Secretary of Labor v. St. Mary's Cement
Secretary of Labor v. St. Marys Cement (FMSHRC LAKE 2024-0086): Repeated processing failures defeated reopening
St. Marys missed a penalty contest deadline because its plant manager emailed the assessment to general counsel but omitted outside counsel. The operator attributed the mistake to safety-department turnover and explained that its general counsel, who was distracted by a family death, did not notice…
Secretary of Labor v. AA Quarry, LLC
Misdirected contest form supported reopening
AA Quarry intended to contest one of ten citations and pay the other nine, but it mailed the contest form with its payment to the wrong MSHA location. The Secretary confirmed the timely payment and did not oppose reopening the contested citation. The Commission found that the misdirected form was…
Secretary of Labor v. The National Lime and Stone Company
One portable-crusher citation affirmed and two vacated
National Lime operates a portable crusher that moves among several of its Ohio mines and carries its own MSHA Mine ID. MSHA cited the company for lacking a crusher-specific hazard-communication program, training plan, and workplace-examination record. The Judge held that National's existing company…
Lewis v. American Express
SOX appeal dismissed after federal-court filing
Sophia Lewis appealed an administrative judge's Sarbanes-Oxley decision involving American Express. After missing an extended opening-brief deadline, she notified the Board that she intended to file a de novo federal action. The Board explained that an expression of intent did not end the…
DeBuse v. Corr Flight S.
Pilot's AIR21 suspension award affirmed
Colin DeBuse, a commercial pilot employed by Corr Flight Services, refused to train with a captain after observing conduct he believed was unsafe and contrary to federal aviation rules. Corr Flight placed him on unpaid leave because of that refusal, and an administrative judge found the refusal…
Secretary of Labor v. Belt Tech., Inc.
Nonreceipt prevented the assessment from becoming final
MSHA mailed a proposed assessment to Belt Tech's correct address, but the Postal Service returned it to MSHA 13 minutes after receiving it. Belt Tech never received the assessment and later contacted MSHA about the penalties. The Commission held that the 30-day contest period never began, so the…
Secretary of Labor v. Nelson Quarries, Inc.
Wrong email address prevented a final default
Nelson Quarries sought relief from a default entered after it appeared not to answer the Secretary's penalty petition. The operator said it never received the petition, and the Secretary confirmed that both the petition and the Commission's show-cause order were sent to an incorrect email address…
Secretary of Labor v. Geneva Rock Products, Inc.
Indefinite criminal-investigation stay was vacated
This penalty case followed a fatal ground-collapse accident involving a haul truck at Geneva Rock's Hansen Pit, with MSHA proposing $381,500 for one citation and three orders. The ALJ stayed the civil case indefinitely while the Department of Justice considered a parallel criminal investigation…
Superstratum Co.
In re Superstratum Co. (EAB FIFRA Appeal No. 24-02C): unregistered pesticide settlement approved
Superstratum Co. sold products marketed with claims about preventing or removing mold, mildew, bacteria, viruses, and other microbes, as well as devices marketed to destroy or reduce those organisms. EPA alleged that the company distributed unregistered pesticide products and misbranded devices…
Secretary of Labor v. Explosive Contractors, Inc.
Persistent conference efforts supported reopening
Explosive Contractors missed its penalty contest deadline while waiting for MSHA to act on a conference request it had pursued by phone and email for months. The operator promptly sought a formal hearing and reopening after learning that the conference request had been denied, and the Secretary did…
United States Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 68
Internal Revenue Service and NTEU Chapter 68 (FLRA 0-AR-5702): Authority denies reconsideration after missed briefing order
The Authority previously set aside an award that raised an IRS employee's performance rating because the union did not show that the enforced contract provision fit an exception to management rights. The union sought reconsideration, saying it never received the Authority's order inviting…
Avadek, Inc.
Competent-person inspection citation vacated
Avadek installed an entrance canopy at a sports and event center in Bryan, Texas. During later quality-control work, a foreman died after falling from the canopy, and OSHA cited Avadek for allegedly failing to maintain frequent and regular competent-person inspections. The judge found that Avadek's…
Sofidel America Corp.
Rewinder lockout and training violations affirmed
Sofidel operated a paper-products rewinder at its Circleville, Ohio, facility, where operators routinely entered the machine and used its jogging controls to clear jams. An employee's hand was caught between a moving roller and a guide plate while two employees cleared a jam, causing a degloving…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL v. Covanex, Inc.
H-1B back-pay appeal dismissed
This H-1B case concerned an administrative judge's decision reducing a back-wage assessment against Covanex from $816,830.50 for eighteen workers to $7,719.37 for one worker. The Wage and Hour Division Administrator obtained additional time to decide whether to seek Board review. Before the…
Penneco Environmental Solutions, LLC
In re Penneco Environmental Solutions, LLC (EAB UIC Appeal Nos. 23-01 and 24-02): permit review denied
Penneco Environmental Solutions, LLC, sought to convert the Sedat #4A gas-production well in Plum Borough, Pennsylvania, into a Class II-D commercial disposal injection well for fluids from oil and gas production. Protect PT, Three Rivers Waterkeeper, Patricia B. Carr, and Matthew Kelso challenged…
Penneco Environmental Solutions, LLC
In re Penneco Environmental Solutions, LLC (EAB UIC Appeal Nos. 23-01 and 24-02): Review denied
Penneco Environmental Solutions, LLC sought to convert an existing gas-production well in Pennsylvania into a Class II-D commercial injection well for oil and gas production fluids. Two groups of petitioners challenged the permit under the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Clean Water Act, Pennsylvania…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, West Palm Beach VA Medical Center and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 507
West Palm Beach VA Medical Center and AFGE Local 507 (FLRA 0-AR-5913): Authority sets aside medical-technologist promotion award
GS-9 medical technologists at the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center claimed that they performed GS-11 grade-controlling duties more than 25% of the time and sought immediate permanent promotions. An arbitrator agreed that the agency should review them for promotion, directed higher compensation if…
American Federation of Government Employees, Council 220 and Social Security Administration
AFGE Council 220 and Social Security Administration (FLRA 0-NG-3679): Authority rejects guaranteed adjudication time
AFGE Council 220 proposed guaranteed blocks of adjudication time for Social Security field-office employees to work on pending cases and backlogs while offices were open to the public. The proposal required four hours on one day and 30 to 60 minutes on every other workday, with suspended time…
Andrew McFarland, United States Department of the Army, U.S. Army Garrison, Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO
Andrew McFarland, Fort McCoy, and AFGE (FLRA CH-RP-24-0004): Authority denies firefighter severance
A Fort McCoy firefighter sought to sever fire-department employees from an existing AFGE bargaining unit and hold an election on continued representation. The regional director found that the union had not abandoned or unfairly treated the firefighters and that the existing unit remained…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Alvaro Saldivar v. Grimes Rock, Inc.
Temporary-reinstatement payments calculated on remand
The Commission remanded this long-running temporary-reinstatement matter to calculate what Grimes Rock still owed Alvaro Saldivar after an earlier enforcement order and to determine interest on late payments. The Judge treated the Commission's prior rulings as settled and rejected Grimes Rock's…
Matter of Elvira LARIOS-GUTIERREZ DE PABLO and Juan PABLO-LARIOS
Retroactive notice-to-appear rule
The Board reviewed the termination of removal proceedings based on notices to appear that omitted the initial hearing date and time. It held that its earlier rule in Matter of Fernandes, which generally requires an objection before the close of pleadings, clarified existing law rather than changing…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2338 and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, John J. Pershing VA Medical Center, Poplar Bluff, Missouri
AFGE Local 2338 and John J. Pershing VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-5977): Authority upholds grievance dismissal
AFGE Local 2338 filed a grievance alleging that a VA medical center failed to process employee dues deductions. The agency proposed dates for the required Step 3 grievance meeting, but the union did not respond because its president did not check the government email address to which the messages…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, John J. Pershing VA Medical Center, Poplar Bluff, Missouri and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2338
John J. Pershing VA Medical Center and AFGE Local 2338 (FLRA 0-AR-5934): Authority dismisses noncompliant exceptions
The Department of Veterans Affairs filed exceptions to an arbitration award but did not properly serve the union with the complete filing. The Authority directed the agency to cure service and file proof, then issued two show-cause orders after the agency sent a response to the wrong Authority…
Secretary of Labor v. Cactus Canyon Quarries, Inc.
Premature interlocutory petition denied
Cactus Canyon asked the Commission to review an ALJ order that denied its motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and failure to state a claim. No merits hearing had occurred, and the Commission had not issued a final decision. The Commission therefore treated the filing as a…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth, Kansas and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 919, Council of Prison Locals 33
U.S. Penitentiary Leavenworth and AFGE Local 919 (FLRA 0-AR-5813): Authority remands augmentation dispute
During the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Penitentiary Leavenworth temporarily reassigned noncustodial staff to custodial posts in circumstances unrelated to mandatory training. An arbitrator found that the reassignments violated the agreement and a memorandum addressing augmentation during mandatory…
Tulalip Tribes of Washington Wastewater Treatment Plant and Lummi Tribal Sewer and Water District
In re Tulalip Tribes of Washington and Lummi Tribal Sewer and Water District (EAB NPDES Appeal Nos. 24-02 and 24-03): petitions dismissed after permit withdrawal
The Northwest Environmental Advocates petitioned for review of three NPDES permit decisions issued by EPA Region 10 for wastewater treatment facilities in Washington. The Board consolidated the two petitions. Before EPA filed its response, Region 10 withdrew the three permits under 40 C.F.R. §…
Management & Training Corp. v. Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL
Premature SCA appeal dismissed
Management & Training Corporation sought Board review of a Service Contract Act wage-determination decision issued by a Wage and Hour Division branch chief. The company and the Administrator jointly asked for dismissal because the branch chief's decision was not the Administrator's final decision…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL v. America's Staffing Partner Inc.
Three-year SCA debarment affirmed
America's Staffing Partner and two company officials did not dispute that they underpaid required wages or fringe benefits on federal service contracts at three military facilities. They sought relief from the Service Contract Act's automatic three-year debarment by arguing that unusual…
Deseret Generation and Transmission Co-operative Bonanza Power Plant
In re Deseret Generation and Transmission Co-operative Bonanza Power Plant (EAB CAA Appeal No. 24-01): motion for reconsideration denied
The EAB previously denied review of EPA Region 8's renewal of a Clean Air Act Title V permit for the Deseret Generation and Transmission Co-operative Bonanza Power Plant. The Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation moved for reconsideration and argued, among other things, that the…
Ultramar Inc.
In re Ultramar Inc. (EAB CAA Appeal No. 24-11): permit appeal dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
Genghmun Eng asked the Environmental Appeals Board to reverse the Administrator's order denying a petition to object to a Title V operating permit issued by the South Coast Air Quality Management District for the Ultramar refinery in Los Angeles County, California. The Board explained that the…
United States Department of the Army, National Guard Bureau, Kentucky Army National Guard and Association of Civilian Technicians, Kentucky Long Rifle Chapter
Kentucky Army National Guard and Association of Civilian Technicians (FLRA 0-AR-5832): Authority remands military-leave dispute
A dual-status Kentucky National Guard technician sought accrued military leave after serving about nine months on active-duty operational-support orders as a transportation trainer. An arbitrator held that the leave exclusion applied only to a different category called AGR duty, rejected the…
Secretary of Labor v. Greenbrier Minerals, LLC
Unsupported S&S removal rejected
Greenbrier and the Secretary proposed settling six citations, including removal of the significant-and-substantial designation from a citation alleging an inoperable emergency stop switch on a feeder breaker. That change would also have reduced the proposed penalty from $1,593 to $302. The…
Van v. JP Morgan Chase & Co.
SOX and CFPA claims reinstated
Amy Van alleged that JP Morgan Chase retaliated against her after she reported customer-identification, anti-money-laundering, and internal-control concerns. An administrative judge dismissed her Sarbanes-Oxley Act and Consumer Financial Protection Act claims for failing to allege protected…
Bluewater Yachting Solutions, Inc.
Commission dismisses settled case
Bluewater Yachting Solutions and the Secretary of Labor notified the Commission that they had settled all contested citation items. The Commission dismissed the case under Commission Rule 100. The order does not identify the cited standards, settlement terms, or penalty amount.
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 172 and United States Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, Chicago, Illinois
NTEU Chapter 172 and Customs and Border Protection Chicago (FLRA 0-AR-5965): Authority upholds compressed-schedule reduction
Customs and Border Protection reduced the number of four-day, ten-hour schedules available in an annual employee bid and assigned most affected employees to another compressed schedule. An arbitrator found that the parties' national agreement and local memorandum had already given the port director…
Secretary of Labor v. County Line Stone Co., Inc., Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC, and Ramaco Resources, LLC
Settlement vacaturs remained reviewable
These three consolidated cases involved settlements that proposed vacating contested citations while resolving other citations in the same agreements. The Secretary claimed unreviewable discretion to vacate the citations and declined to assure the ALJ that the proposed vacaturs were independent of…
Matter of Nasir Ali KHAN
Enhanced vehicular manslaughter conviction treated as a crime involving moral turpitude
The Board reviewed a respondent's challenge to removal proceedings based on a California conviction for vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, enhanced for fleeing the scene of an accident, and a separate conviction for leaving the scene of an injury accident. The Board held that when a…
Commercial Metals Company, d/b/a CMC Steel New Jersey
Mill lockout violations affirmed but willful classification rejected
Commercial Metals Company manufactured steel rebar at its Sayreville, New Jersey, facility. An assistant roller was adjusting a jack behind Mill Stand 7 when the machine unexpectedly energized, pulled him into its spindles, and killed him. The judge found that CMC's established lockout procedure…
Elmer W. Davis, Inc.
Hoist-area and ladder violations affirmed
An Elmer W. Davis crew was replacing roofs on a four-story municipal building in Newark, New York. One employee stepped through modular guardrails and stood near the roof edge without personal fall protection while signaling a crane operator, and three employees used a ladder that extended less…
National Guard Bureau, Pease Air National Guard Base, International Association of Fire Fighters, Local F-317, and Association of Civilian Technicians, Granite State Chapter 19
Pease Air National Guard Base, IAFF Local F-317, and ACT Granite State Chapter 19 (FLRA WA-RP-22-0055): Authority denies firefighter severance
Firefighters at Pease Air National Guard Base moved from state to federal employment and automatically entered an existing unit represented by the Association of Civilian Technicians. IAFF Local F-317 sought to sever them into a separate unit, arguing that the incumbent had not adequately…
Secretary of Labor v. Heidelberg Materials Northeast, LLC
Missing mine-map airflows violated ventilation rule
Heidelberg's annual ventilation map showed airflow for two mine openings but omitted the direction and quantity for two other openings carrying large ambient airflows. The judge rejected Heidelberg's argument that only mechanically generated flows in primary or secondary entries were principal air…
Secretary of Labor v. Tintic Consolidated Metals, LLC
Misdirected timely contest excused
MSHA proposed $67,007 in penalties against Tintic, and the assessment became final after MSHA did not receive a timely contest. Tintic had filed a contest within 30 days, but mistakenly sent it to the Commission instead of MSHA's Civil Penalty Compliance Office. The Commission majority treated that…
International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 4 and United States Department of the Navy, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
IFPTE Local 4 and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (FLRA 0-NG-3677): Authority rejects New Hampshire duty-station proposal
IFPTE Local 4 proposed that a new architect position at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard list Portsmouth, New Hampshire, rather than Kittery, Maine, as its official duty station. The union said the proposal would change only personnel forms, not the employee's physical work location, and would avoid Maine…
Schweyer v. Bank of America Corp.
Matter closed without a review petition
An administrative judge dismissed Kristina Schweyer's complaint against Bank of America, Aflac, and Meta Platforms under several federal whistleblower laws. Schweyer sent the Board the dismissal order and other materials, but none constituted a petition for review. The Board gave her until October…
Secretary of Labor v. Lo Down Energy, Inc.
Repeated mail failures did not justify reopening
Lo Down Energy sought to reopen a final penalty assessment after a mailed copy intended for its representative was not received before the contest deadline. The operator did not confirm delivery and then failed to respond to its representative for a week after the problem was discovered. The…
Secretary of Labor v. Coyote Gravel Products, Inc.
Conclusory internal-error claim rejected
Coyote Gravel sought to reopen a final penalty assessment, saying its general manager neglected to submit completed contest paperwork because of an internal error. The Commission held that a reopening request must give a detailed explanation of the failure, including relevant dates, people, causes…
Secretary of Labor v. Western Refractory Construction, Inc.
First spam-filter failure excused
Western Refractory defaulted after its safety manager did not see the Secretary's penalty petition or the ALJ's show-cause order because the emails went to a spam folder. The Commission found no prior similar failure, no history of reopening motions, and no allegation of bad faith. It also noted…
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.