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.
Desert Rock Energy Company, LLC
In re Desert Rock Energy Company, LLC (EAB PSD Appeal Nos. 08-03, 08-04, 08-05, and 08-06): permit remanded
EPA Region 9 issued a PSD permit for Desert Rock Energy Company's proposed 1,500-megawatt coal-fired electric generating facility near Farmington, New Mexico. The Board granted Region 9's request for voluntary remand and independently found that the Region had not adequately explained why…
Secretary of Labor v. August Winter & Sons, Inc.
Vague clerical-error claim did not justify reopening
August Winter & Sons said its safety director learned of a citation months late because of unspecified clerical issues, causing the company to miss both the citation and penalty contest deadlines. The Secretary opposed reopening because the explanation lacked detail. The Commission agreed that the…
Flintstone Millworks & Hardwood Co., Inc.
Repeat training violations affirmed
OSHA cited Flintstone Millworks after inspecting its Georgia millwork facility. At a simplified-proceedings hearing, the parties agreed to amend two alleged failure-to-abate violations to repeat violations. The first involved the company's lockout/tagout program, and the second involved forklift…
Secretary of Labor v. Bucyrus Field Services, Inc.
Two-day-late penalty contest reopened
Bucyrus filed its penalty contest for one citation two days late because of confusion about the due date. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission granted relief in the interests of justice and remanded the case for further proceedings. It directed the Secretary to file a penalty…
Secretary of Labor v. Luminant Mining Company, LLC
Internal handoff failure sent for good-cause review
Luminant's safety coordinator discussed a proposed assessment with the safety director and believed it would be sent to counsel for a contest. The assessment was apparently never forwarded, and the company missed the deadline because of what it called an internal miscommunication. The Secretary…
Secretary of Labor v. Darby Sanders, formerly employed by Natural Materials, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Darby Sanders (FMSHRC CENT 2008-420-M): Default vacated over possible notice failure
Darby Sanders defaulted in an individual penalty case after relying on his bankrupt former employer's assurance that it would handle the hearing. He later moved away for work, lost contact with the company, and learned that it had not acted for him. The Commission found that Sanders may not have…
Secretary of Labor v. Wayne Ray, employed by Oak Grove Resources
Secretary of Labor v. Wayne Ray (FMSHRC SE 2009-171): Individual penalty reopening request moot after failed delivery
MSHA assessed an individual penalty against Wayne Ray, but the delivery was refused because the package listed Ray at his law firm's street address without identifying the firm or his attorney. Ray learned of the assessment only when counsel received a delinquency notice. Because he never properly…
Seminole Electric Cooperative, Inc.
In re Seminole Electric Cooperative, Inc. (EAB PSD Appeal No. 08-09): review denied for lack of federal jurisdiction
Seminole Electric Cooperative, Inc. received a PSD permit from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for a 750-megawatt coal-fired generating unit at its existing station near Palatka, Florida. The Sierra Club asked the EAB to review the permit and argued that federal review should…
Matter of Jean Robert EVRA
Custody is not fault in an in absentia case
The Board reviewed an in absentia removal order entered while the respondent was in state custody. It held that the conduct underlying an arrest and incarceration does not constitute fault under the statute governing rescission of an in absentia order when the person was in custody at the scheduled…
Matter of A-M-
Battered-spouse cancellation requires discretionary review
The Board reviewed DHS's appeal from an Immigration Judge's grant of special-rule cancellation of removal to a battered spouse. It held that a lawful permanent resident who qualifies as a battered spouse may apply for cancellation under section 240A(b)(2), but the relevant history of the abusive…
International Diving Services
Five diving safety citations affirmed by default
OSHA cited International Diving Services after a commercial diving inspection inside a 500,000-gallon water tank. The citations alleged failures involving confined-space entry certification, permit verification, hazardous-energy controls, assessment of underwater hazards, and briefing the dive team…
A.H. Beck Foundation Company, Inc.
Drill-rig swing and pier-hole citations vacated
A.H. Beck used a track-mounted drilling rig to excavate a 55-foot foundation pier hole. OSHA alleged that employees were exposed to the rig's rotating swing radius and to a fall at the edge of the hole. The judge found that the company used all of OSHA's listed alternative precautions for mobile…
Secretary of Labor v. Pitlick & Wick, Inc.
Four renewed reopening requests granted
The Commission initially denied Pitlick & Wick's request to reopen four assessments because the company had not explained its late filings in enough detail. Pitlick promptly filed a second motion supported by an affidavit that more fully described the delay. The Secretary did not oppose reopening…
Secretary of Labor v. Barrick Goldstrike Mines, Inc.
Missing faxed contest reopened
Barrick attempted to send counsel contest forms for nine cases by fax, but one assessment covering nine citations was not transmitted even though the company received successful transmission notices. Barrick did not discover the missing contest until the Treasury Department began collection action…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Mark Gray v. North Fork Coal Corporation
Economic reinstatement terms approved
After temporary reinstatement was granted, Mark Gray, North Fork Coal, and the Secretary agreed that Gray would receive economic reinstatement instead of returning to work. The agreement required weekly pay of $1,179.70 based on his prior regular and overtime hours, with normal deductions. North…
Prime Roofing Corporation
Late notice-of-contest issue remanded for an evidentiary hearing
OSHA issued Prime Roofing a serious fall-protection citation, but Prime did not submit a document identified as a notice of contest during the 15-working-day period. The Commission held that Prime's April 21 letter merely supplied requested subcontractor information and did not clearly dispute the…
Home Depot #6512
Fatality-reporting citation vacated for lack of proof that the death was work-related
A Home Depot parking lot associate was found incoherent under a truck at work and died two days later from blunt head trauma, with other medical conditions contributing. OSHA cited Home Depot for not reporting the death within eight hours as required for a death from a work-related incident. The…
City of Attleboro, Massachusetts Wastewater Treatment Plant
In re City of Attleboro, Massachusetts Wastewater Treatment Plant (EAB NPDES Appeal Nos. 08-08 and 08-09): review denied
The City of Attleboro operated a wastewater treatment facility discharging to the Ten Mile River near the Massachusetts and Rhode Island border. The City challenged nitrogen and phosphorus limits, limits for aluminum and other metals, and the Region's public-comment and hearing procedures. The…
MDLG, Inc. dba Phenix Lumber Co.
Dismissal vacated after the parties reported settlement
OSHA issued MDLG, doing business as Phenix Lumber, several citations in March 2009. The administrative law judge denied the Secretary permission to file a complaint 83 days late in two consolidated dockets and vacated the affected citations. While the Secretary's petition for review was pending…
MDLG, Inc. dba Phenix Lumber Co.
Dismissal vacated after the parties reported settlement
OSHA issued MDLG, doing business as Phenix Lumber, several citations in March 2009. The administrative law judge denied the Secretary permission to file a complaint 83 days late in two consolidated dockets and vacated the affected citations. While the Secretary's petition for review was pending…
Secretary of Labor v. Heritage Coal & Natural Resources, LLC
Conference request did not excuse penalty default
Heritage neither paid nor contested penalties for two citations and two orders. It sought reopening because it said it had requested, but never received, an MSHA conference about the violations and negligence findings. MSHA had no record of the request and explained that a conference request does…
Secretary of Labor v. Hanson Aggregates Midwest, Incorporated
Misplaced assessment reopened
Hanson Aggregates misplaced a proposed penalty assessment and missed the contest deadline. The company sought reopening promptly after discovering the assessment. The Secretary did not oppose relief. The Commission reopened the final assessment, remanded the case, and directed the Secretary to file…
Billy Brannon v. Panther Mining, LLC and Mark D. Shelton
Complaint amendment allowed
Billy Brannon sought to add two alleged protected activities arising from an assault by a coworker: refusing to travel underground without a cap light and completing an incident report. Panther Mining argued that the allegations were late, had not been identified in discovery, and had not been…
Peter J. Phillips v. A&S Construction Company
Split Commission leaves reinstatement dissolution standing
Peter Phillips received temporary economic reinstatement after alleging that A&S Construction discharged him for safety complaints. When the Secretary later found no Mine Act discrimination, the judge dissolved reinstatement even though Phillips filed his own discrimination action. Commissioners…
Cumberland Coal Resources, LP
Four lifeline violations affirmed but found non-S&S
MSHA cited four escapeway lifelines at Cumberland Mine that were hung too high, above equipment, cables, or waterlines, or from J-hooks that made them difficult to pull down. Judge Avram Weisberger found that the installations violated the requirement that lifelines be located for effective escape…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Mark Gray v. North Fork Coal Corporation
Roof bolter temporarily reinstated
Roof bolter Mark Gray alleged that North Fork discharged him after he stopped to hang ventilation curtains and refused to bolt a deep cut that he believed violated the roof-control plan and had unsafe roof. Judge Gary Melick found that those allegations described protected safety complaints and a…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Charles Scott Howard v. Cumberland River Coal Company, Inc.
Miner temporarily reinstated after layoff
Charles Scott Howard alleged that Cumberland River Coal selected him for layoff because of his long history of safety complaints, discrimination cases, and testimony before Congress and MSHA. The company presented an economic restructuring plan and seniority process, but management had discretion…
Secretary of Labor v. SCP Investments, LLC
Secretary ordered to justify citations after walkaround denial
An inspector denied SCP Investments the opportunity to accompany a December 2005 inspection, and the Commission later held that the refusal impermissibly violated the operator's statutory walkaround right. On remand, Judge Jerold Feldman noted that the Commission had not reached a majority view on…
Billy Brannon v. Panther Mining, LLC and Mark D. Shelton
Discovery reconsideration denied
Billy Brannon asked Panther Mining to obtain and produce unredacted copies of employee statements given to MSHA during its discrimination investigation. The company said it did not possess the statements, while Brannon argued that it could direct its employees to obtain them. Judge David F. Barbour…
Sisfontes v. International Business Software Solutions, Inc.
H-1B back-pay default award affirmed
International Business Software Solutions sponsored Marco Sisfontes for H-1B employment but did not pay the wage stated in its labor condition application. An ALJ entered default after the company ignored an order to file a pre-hearing report and filed its show-cause response late. The Board found…
Neuer v. Bessellieu
SOX retaliation complaint dismissed for no protected activity
Mannes Neuer worked for Sapiens Americas, the privately held subsidiary of publicly traded Sapiens International. He alleged that company executives fired him after he told a consultant that one manager was overworked and another was incompetent. The Board held that those personnel and management…
Secretary of Labor v. Oil-Dri Production Company
Renewed penalty reopening request granted
Oil-Dri said it never received an assessment covering 12 citations even though an employee had signed for the package. After an initial denial without prejudice, the company identified the nine penalties it wished to contest, paid the other three, and submitted the requested employee affidavit…
Secretary of Labor v. Mach Mining, LLC
Interlocutory review denied by split vote
Mach Mining contested an MSHA withdrawal order and later sought a hearing on whether a modified ventilation plan had abated the violation. The Secretary argued that the Commission lacked jurisdiction to determine abatement and terminate the order, and the judge certified that controlling legal…
Degen Excavating, Inc.
Trenching violations affirmed with reduced penalties
An OSHA compliance officer saw a Degen Excavating employee working in an 8.6-foot-deep trench without a ladder, daily competent-person inspection, or cave-in protection. Two supervisors knew and agreed that the employee would enter the trench without the available trench box because they expected…
Secretary of Labor v. Mettiki Coal WV, LLC
Five omitted penalty contests reopened
Mettiki intended to contest five penalties across two assessments and timely paid the remaining penalties. Its safety director, who had not handled contests before, mistakenly believed the main mine office would send the contest forms along with the payments. The forms were not sent, and the…
Secretary of Labor v. Oglebay Norton Industrial Sands, Inc.
Omitted penalty contest reopened before delinquency
Oglebay intended to contest two penalties and pay a third, and it had already contested the two underlying orders. The company timely made the payment, but an employee failed to send the separate contest form for the other two penalties. Oglebay discovered the mistake and sought relief before MSHA…
Bedwell v. Spirit Miller NE, LLC
STAA complaint dismissed as untimely
Carl Bedwell alleged that Spirit Miller NE terminated him after he reported insurance fraud. He filed his Surface Transportation Assistance Act complaint in September 2008, almost three years after his last day of employment in December 2005. Bedwell relied on a later Internal Revenue Service…
Secretary of Labor v. Pine Ridge Coal Company, LLC
Vague clerical-error request denied before renewal
Pine Ridge intended to contest 12 penalties from an assessment covering 22 citations and paid the other ten. It attributed the missed contest deadline only to a clerical error, without explaining what happened. The Secretary opposed reopening, and the Commission found the bare statement too vague…
Secretary of Labor v. Double Bonus Coal Company, et al.
Reopening results split across 13 assessments
The Commission consolidated 13 late penalty-contest requests involving related coal companies after the Secretary alleged a pattern of careless assessment handling. The operators placed $649,740.14, representing the penalties plus interest, fees, and costs, into escrow. Commissioners Duffy and…
Billy Brannon v. Panther Mining, LLC and Mark D. Shelton
Discovery partly compelled and cases consolidated
Billy Brannon moved to compel additional employee identities, personnel records, investigation materials, and other discovery from Panther Mining. Judge David F. Barbour ordered disclosure of relevant employee and policy information and nonprivileged investigative material, but denied requests for…
International Transportation Service, Inc.
Marine-terminal fall citation affirmed with a reduced penalty
International Transportation Service operated a marine terminal where containers were being unloaded from a vessel. During an OSHA inspection, a hatch boss came to the unguarded edge of a hatch cover to speak with a senior manager and stood within three feet of a drop exceeding nine feet without…
Secretary of Labor v. East Tennessee Zinc Company, LLC
Drug and training-plan citations vacated
MSHA cited East Tennessee Zinc after marijuana was found hidden in a contractor work area and after an inspector said the approved training plan was not available at the mine site. Judge Gary Melick vacated the drug citation because the Secretary did not show that the operator knowingly consented…
Secretary of Labor v. Penny Creek Quarry, LLC
Assessment hidden by departing bookkeeper reopened
Penny Creek's bookkeeper filed away a proposed assessment and then stopped working at the mine without notice. No one else knew about the assessment until MSHA sent a delinquency notice. The operator immediately sought to contest all three penalties, and the Secretary did not oppose reopening. The…
Secretary of Labor v. Pacific Rock Products, LLC
Management-change explanation was too vague
Pacific Rock intended to contest penalties for seven citations but missed the deadline. It attributed the failure to management changes in its regional health and safety department caused by economic conditions. Although the Secretary did not oppose reopening, the Commission found that the company…
Secretary of Labor v. South Ridge Granite Quarry
First-time conference misunderstanding excused
South Ridge held an informal MSHA conference about a citation on the same day the proposed penalty assessment was issued. Because it had never contested an assessment before, the operator mistakenly believed the conference would lead automatically to a formal hearing and ignored both the assessment…
Secretary of Labor v. Michael Diamond
One-day-late individual penalty contest reopened
Michael Diamond had asked MSHA to send his individual penalty assessment to counsel, but MSHA did not do so. Diamond did not realize counsel lacked the assessment until the response deadline had nearly passed, and counsel returned the form one day late. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The…
Las Delicias Community
In re Las Delicias Community (EAB SDWA Appeal No. 08-07): default liability and $500 penalty affirmed
Las Delicias Community consisted of about 48 people in 12 households in Ciales, Puerto Rico, and owned or operated a public water system that drew water from a creek. EPA Region II brought an enforcement action alleging violations of section 1414(g) of the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Surface…
JPC Group, Inc.
Excavation violations affirmed after an adjoining building collapsed
JPC Group was hired to perform foundation underpinning beside two buildings at a Philadelphia construction site. Test digs revealed a deteriorated foundation wall, but JPC later excavated along it without shoring or another support system, and the rear of the building collapsed. Workers had…
Milestone Materials, Division of Mathy Construction
Training citation vacated and contest dismissed
Milestone contested a citation alleging that an experienced newly employed miner lacked required training. The company argued that the person named in the citation was not a miner under Part 46, while the Secretary initially defended the citation. After trial, the parties resolved the dispute and…
Texas Erectors, Inc.
Steel-erection fall citation affirmed after connector exception rejected
OSHA observed two Texas Erectors employees working more than 16 feet above the ground with harnesses that were not tied off. The company argued that the employees were connectors who did not need fall protection until 30 feet, but the judge found they were not placing or connecting structural…
Secretary of Labor v. SCP Investments, LLC
Walkaround violation did not justify wholesale vacature
An MSHA inspector excluded SCP's owner from the first inspection of its small quarry because the owner lacked new-miner training, then issued a withdrawal order and 11 citations. The judge found that the exclusion violated the operator's statutory walkaround right and vacated every enforcement…
ExxonMobil Oil Corporation
In re ExxonMobil Oil Corporation (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 08-23): petition dismissed with prejudice
ExxonMobil Oil Corporation petitioned the Environmental Appeals Board to review NPDES Permit No. MA0000833. On August 7, 2009, ExxonMobil notified the Board that it was withdrawing its petition. The Board dismissed the petition for review with prejudice.
Secretary of Labor v. Newmont USA Limited
Reopening denied after one-year limit expired
Newmont mistakenly mailed a penalty contest with payment for a different citation instead of sending it to the proper MSHA address. After Treasury began collection, Newmont and collection counsel suspended the collection dispute but did not recognize that only the Commission could reopen the final…
Michael Will, employed by Chemical Lime Co. of Alabama
Undelivered individual assessment made reopening moot
Michael Will asked the Commission to reopen an individual penalty assessment under section 110(c) of the Mine Act. He stated that he never received the assessment, and the Secretary confirmed that it had been returned to MSHA as undelivered. The Secretary said she would mail the assessment to the…
Secretary of Labor v. McCoy Elkhorn Coal Corporation
Four reopening requests moot after failed delivery
McCoy Elkhorn said it never received four proposed penalty assessments. Federal Express records showed unsuccessful delivery attempts on December 26, 2008, when the mine offices may have been closed for the holidays. The Secretary agreed to serve the assessments again and give the operator 30 days…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Inaccessible seal plan was unsuitable
Jim Walter Resources challenged a citation alleging that it operated the No. 7 Mine under an unapproved ventilation plan. Its proposed plan supplement would place seals where they became inaccessible as the active longwall advanced, preventing required weekly hazard examinations, methane testing…
Extendicare Health Care Services, Inc., d/b/a Arbors at Delaware
General-duty ladder item vacated for lack of employer knowledge
Arbors at Delaware was a skilled nursing facility where its maintenance director fell about nine feet while descending from an attic using a six-foot stepladder. He broke his wrist, suffered a head injury, and remained in a coma at the time of the hearing. The judge found that standing on the…
GEM, Inc.
Electrical PPE and insulated-equipment items affirmed after an arc blast
GEM repaired an electrical power system at a county courthouse after lightning damage, and an arc blast occurred while its crew performed a polarity test on energized equipment. The judge found that replacing the damaged bus section was maintenance rather than construction, so the general industry…
Black Hills Bentonite, LLC
Lockout penalty reduced to $900
Black Hills Bentonite admitted an S&S violation after an employee injured his hand while clearing mud from a moving briquette screw conveyor without locking and tagging it out. Judge Richard W. Manning found the violation's gravity high because the employee suffered a severe hand injury and the…
Presidium Energy, LC (Lautner #B3-31 SWD)
In re Presidium Energy, LC (EAB UIC Appeal No. 09-01): review denied for failure to meet permit-review requirements
Terry Novak asked the Environmental Appeals Board to review EPA Region 5's decision to issue Presidium Energy, LC a UIC permit for the Lautner #B3-31 SWD well in Michigan. The Board explained that a permit petition must identify the conditions challenged, show that the issues were raised during…
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.