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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KWV Operations, LLC
Reopening explanation lacked detail
KWV Operations' vice president marked the penalties he intended to contest and forwarded the assessments to the corporate office. The company said only that mistake or inadvertence caused the office not to return the contests to MSHA on time. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission…
Youngman Rock, Inc.
Attempts to contact MSHA supported reopening
Youngman Rock missed the 30-day deadline to contest a proposed penalty assessment, causing it to become a final Commission order. The company said it had never previously received MSHA citations and had tried several times by telephone or fax to tell an MSHA official that it wanted to contest the…
Nally & Hamilton Enterprises, Inc.
Three citations vacated, one later reinstated on review
The Secretary proposed $3,095 for three alleged S&S violations involving a lube truck and dusty haul roads at Nally & Hamilton's Chestnut Flats surface mine. Judge Jerold Feldman vacated the backup-alarm citation because the alarm had worked during the preshift examination and the Secretary did not…
Choice Fabricators, Inc.
Lockout and power-press violations produced $14,000 in penalties
Choice Fabricators manufactured metal parts with mechanical power presses at its Alabama plant. OSHA cited the company for excluding die changes from its lockout/tagout program, improperly using safety blocks, failing to inspect its energy-control procedures, failing to train die-setters, and…
Matter of Olga BARCENAS-BARRERA
False passport birthplace claim establishes removability
The Board reviewed DHS's appeal from an Immigration Judge's finding that the respondent was not removable based on a false-citizenship representation. The respondent had knowingly stated on a passport application that she was born in Texas, although she was a citizen of Mexico, and she was…
Gale Insulation
Residential fall-protection citation vacated for lack of employer knowledge
A Gale Insulation employee installed chimney flashing on a residential roof about 25 feet above the ground without fall protection. A harness and lanyards were in the crew's truck, and the employee had been trained in Spanish and English, had demonstrated how to use the equipment, and had…
Dynamic Energy, Incorporated
Grader assist violated the full-control rule
Dynamic Energy used a grader to push loaded coal trucks up a steep haul road when they lost traction at its Coal Mountain No. 1 Surface Mine. Judge Jacqueline R. Bulluck found that the practice violated 30 C.F.R. § 77.1607(b) because the truck driver shared control over acceleration and…
Moraine Materials Company
Duplicate-assessment mistake supported reopening
Moraine Materials timely contested a citation but later missed the deadline to contest the related proposed penalty assessment. Its counsel mistook that assessment for a duplicate of another assessment in a related case that counsel had contested. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The…
Dennis Demers Trucking
Failed delivery meant the assessment was not final
Federal Express could not deliver a proposed penalty assessment to Dennis Demers Trucking because the office was unattended after the owner's daughter died unexpectedly the previous day. The Commission held that the operator never received the notice required by its procedural rules, so the…
Matter of Xiuyi WANG
CSPA priority-date retention does not cover a fourth-preference derivative
The Board reviewed a certified decision about a lawful permanent resident's petition for his adult unmarried daughter. She had aged out as a derivative beneficiary of a fourth-preference petition filed by her aunt, and her father later filed a second-preference petition seeking to retain the…
West Virginia Mine Power, Inc.
One-day-late contest was reopened
West Virginia Mine Power filed its penalty contest one day after the 30-day deadline. Its safety consultant had been away from the mine, and the assessment form had not been date-stamped, leaving the consultant uncertain when it arrived. The consultant forwarded the form to counsel on February 12…
Lehigh Southwest Cement Company
Reopening request lacked an explanation
Lehigh Southwest sought to reopen an assessment containing 22 proposed penalties and indicated that it wanted to contest eight of them. It submitted an earlier citation-contest letter but did not explain why it had failed to file the penalty-contest form on time or whether it had tried to pay the…
Freedom Energy Mining Company
One-year limit barred reopening
Freedom Energy intended to contest a proposed penalty assessment, and its counsel drafted a cover letter, but counsel inadvertently did not file the contest with MSHA. The assessment became a final Commission order on November 14, 2007. Freedom Energy did not request reopening until more than one…
Matter of Juan M. CARDIEL-Guerrero
Receipt of stolen property is an aggravated felony
The Board reviewed a lawful permanent resident's appeal from an order of removal based on a California conviction for receiving stolen property. The conviction was under California Penal Code § 496(a), and the respondent received a sentence of one year and four months. The Board held that the…
Long Branch Energy
Related order contests supported reopening
Long Branch inadvertently paid the penalties for two citations instead of sending MSHA the assessment contest form. The same citations later produced failure-to-abate orders that Long Branch timely contested, and those proceedings remained pending. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. Given the…
Wolf Run Mining Company
Three lightning-arrester citations upheld and two vacated
Wolf Run settled 31 of 36 citations at its Sago Mine for $25,257, leaving five alleged violations of the lightning-arrester rule for decision. The five citations were issued during MSHA's investigation of the January 2006 explosion, although the Secretary did not claim that the cited conditions…
Dickenson-Russell Coal Company, LLC
One-day-late contest and payment were reopened
Dickenson-Russell intended to contest five proposed penalties and pay six others. It inadvertently mailed both the contest form and the check one day after the 30-day deadline. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission reopened the final assessment in the interest of justice, remanded…
Unimin Corporation
ALJ to decide whether missed conference response showed good cause
Unimin asked MSHA for a conference on one citation underlying a proposed assessment. The company said MSHA did not respond, causing it to miss the next step for contesting the citation and allowing the assessment to become final. The Secretary did not oppose the request for relief. The Commission…
Oxford Mining Co., LLC
Timely contest sent to the wrong MSHA office was reopened
Oxford Mining timely mailed its penalty contest together with payment for the penalties it did not dispute. It sent the materials to MSHA's office in St. Louis instead of the Civil Penalty Compliance Office in Arlington. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission reopened the final…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Operator could be liable for contractor's fall-protection violation
A contract roofing employee fell about 28 feet and died while dismantling roof panels at Jim Walter Resources' No. 3 Mine without attaching his safety line. MSHA proposed a $60,000 penalty against Jim Walter under 30 C.F.R. § 77.1710(g), even though the company had provided required hazard training…
Matter of A-T-
FGM withholding claim remanded under Attorney General framework
The Board reconsidered a Malian respondent's claim for withholding of removal after the Attorney General vacated an earlier Board decision. The respondent had undergone female genital mutilation as a child and feared future harm connected to an arranged marriage and her membership in a particular…
Higman Barge Lines, Inc.
In re Higman Barge Lines, Inc. (EAB CERCLA 106(b) Appeal No. 08-02): reimbursement petition dismissed with prejudice
Higman Barge Lines, Inc. and EPA Region 6 resolved their obligations under a consent agreement. Higman filed an unopposed motion asking the EAB to dismiss its petition for reimbursement with prejudice. The Board found that the matter had been resolved to Higman's and the Region's satisfaction. It…
Matter of Enrique Salas COMPEAN, Matter of Sylla BANGALY, and Matter of J-E-C-
Matter of COMPEAN, BANGALY, and J-E-C- (BIA ID 3643): Attorney General restores Lozada standards pending rulemaking
The Attorney General reconsidered the January 2009 decision in Matter of Compean, Bangaly & J-E-C-, which had replaced the Board's longstanding Lozada framework for motions to reopen based on ineffective assistance of counsel. The Attorney General vacated that decision in its entirety and directed…
Lehigh Southwest Cement Company
Contest sent to payment address was reopened
Lehigh Southwest sent its penalty contest form to MSHA's St. Louis payment address instead of the Arlington address specified for contests. MSHA forwarded the form to the proper office, which received it four days after the 30-day deadline. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission…
Mingo Logan Coal Company
Documented mailed contest was reopened
Mingo Logan said it mailed a form contesting 16 of 60 proposed penalties and sent payment for the uncontested penalties the next day. The company supported its request with the safety manager's affidavit and a copy of the marked contest form showing when it was allegedly mailed. MSHA had no record…
Lapp & Sons
Stale MSHA address meant no final assessment existed
Lapp & Sons said it faxed a citation contest to an MSHA inspector as instructed but did not receive the proposed assessment before a delinquency notice arrived. Its June 2008 legal identity report showed a different address from the one MSHA used for the August assessment. The Commission concluded…
ABC Gravel, Inc.
Undelivered assessment left nothing to reopen
Federal Express could not deliver ABC Gravel's proposed penalty assessment because no one was available at the address, and the package was returned. The Secretary said she would resend the assessment by certified U.S. mail. ABC would then have 30 days after receipt to pay or contest the proposed…
Hopkins County Coal, LLC
Receipt-date dispute required a good-cause hearing
Hopkins County Coal intended to contest 38 of 80 proposed penalties but attributed its late filing to an ice storm and week-long power outage. The Secretary showed that the assessment may have arrived on December 22, 2008, making the contest late before the January 27 storm, while the company said…
Vurnun Edwurd Jaxun v. Asarco, LLC
Safety complaints did not motivate the discharge
Vurnun Edwurd Jaxun was a probationary haul-truck trainee at Asarco's Mission Complex when he was reassigned to help clean a slurry spill at the mill. He raised concerns about working in his orthopedic boots and about supervision, then was discharged after objecting to the assignment in a meeting…
Lake County Sewer Company
Excavation workers found to be Lake County Sewer employees
An excavation collapsed during sewer work in Willowick, Ohio, injuring one worker. On remand from the Commission, the judge reconsidered whether Lake County Sewer or Brennan Excavating employed the three excavation workers at the site. The judge credited the workers' testimony and payroll records…
Six Flags Theme Parks, Inc. dba Six Flags Great America
Health violations affirmed with $50,000 in penalties
OSHA inspected maintenance, painting, sign, welding, first aid, and park-service operations at Six Flags Great America and issued a 29-item serious citation. The allegations involved peroxide storage, chemical-resistant gloves, respirators, lead, hexavalent chromium, bloodborne pathogens…
Sidney Coal Company
Fax failure and backup procedures required fact-finding
Sidney Coal previously contested several orders and said its safety director later faxed the proposed penalty assessment to counsel. Counsel had no record of receiving it, and the company blamed an undetected mechanical failure for the missed penalty contest. The Secretary did not oppose relief…
Lafarge Aggregates Southeast, Inc.
Detailed second request supported reopening
The Commission had denied Lafarge's first reopening request because its reference to administrative error did not explain the missed contest. In a second motion, Lafarge said its safety manager did not receive this assessment even though he received and contested two others from the same…
Randy Pack
Personal penalty contest was timely after actual notice
MSHA assessed Randy Pack personally under section 110(c), but neither Pack nor his counsel received the proposed assessment after an earlier citation conference. They first learned of the penalty from a delinquency notice, and counsel later received the assessment attached to the Secretary's…
Menominee Tribal Enterprises
Thirteen stipulated citation items affirmed after coverage ruling
Menominee Tribal Enterprises and the Secretary stipulated to the violations, their classifications, and the proposed penalties, leaving only whether the Occupational Safety and Health Act applied to the cited activities. The judge had previously ruled that the Act applied. The Menominee Indian…
WKJ Contractor's Inc.
Citation appeal did not explain missed penalty contest
WKJ Contractor's said it mailed a notice appealing a citation to MSHA's Barbourville office. That document may have contested the citation, but WKJ did not explain why it failed to return the later penalty assessment form to MSHA's Civil Penalty Compliance Office as instructed. The Secretary did…
Brooks Run Mining Company, LLC
Receptionist's routing error supported reopening
Brooks Run's receptionist failed to forward a proposed penalty assessment to the safety manager. The manager did not learn of the assessment until a delinquency notice arrived, and the company promptly moved to reopen. The Secretary did not oppose relief. The Commission reopened and remanded the…
Spartan Mining Company, Inc.
Unmarked assessment made reopening request deficient
MSHA assessed Spartan Mining $208,985 for 163 citations and orders at the Ruby Energy Mine. Spartan said it never received the Federal Express package and asked to reopen only the penalties marked on an attached assessment form, but no penalties were marked. Even after the Secretary identified that…
Alex Energy, Inc.
Staff absence disrupted penalty procedure and supported reopening
Alex Energy's standard process for handling proposed penalty assessments was not followed while a key employee was absent. As a result, the contest form was sent late. The company moved promptly after learning of the delinquency, and the Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission reopened…
Custom Copper & Slate, Ltd.
Lead-citation settlement remained binding despite late contest
OSHA issued Custom Copper & Slate a fourteen-item serious citation under the lead-in-construction standard with proposed penalties totaling $4,500. On the final day of the contest period, the company signed an informal settlement affirming every item and reducing the total penalty to $750. More…
Rockhouse Energy Mining Company
Three violations affirmed and $4,406 assessed
MSHA alleged three S&S violations at Rockhouse Energy's Mine No. 1 and proposed $5,160 in penalties. Judge David F. Barbour affirmed an S&S roof-control violation because deteriorating roof and hanging draw rock endangered the examiner who traveled the return entry weekly. He affirmed a loose-coal…
Walton CWCA Golden West 70, LLC (U.S. Colloidal Site)
In re Walton CWCA Golden West 70, LLC (EAB CERCLA 106(b) Petition No. 08-03): reimbursement petition dismissed
Walton CWCA Golden West 70, LLC petitioned for reimbursement of costs it said it incurred while conducting CERCLA removal activities at the U.S. Colloidal Site in Rancho Cucamonga, California. The parties reached a settlement that became effective on May 1, 2009. The Environmental Appeals Board…
Mach Mining, LLC
Unapproved bleeder-design change violated the ventilation-plan rule
Mach Mining developed Headgate No. 3 about 1,000 feet beyond the panel length shown on its approved ventilation maps before MSHA approved a proposed amendment. Mach argued that the maps merely projected future mining and that it was following the approved ventilation methods for headgate…
Hancock Materials, Inc.
Undelivered assessment left no final order
MSHA mailed Hancock Materials a proposed assessment after the operator had gone out of business. The assessment was returned undelivered, and Hancock did not learn of it within the 30-day contest period. The Secretary agreed that service had not occurred and said she would mail the assessment to…
Black Mountain Industrial Minerals, LLC
Management transition supported reopening
MSHA sent Black Mountain's proposed assessment to the prior operations and safety director, who had left the company that month. A newly appointed director and a facility layoff contributed to the assessment not being forwarded on time. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission…
Ron Powell, employed by Oakridge Sand & Gravel
Settlement confusion supported reopening
MSHA assessed Ron Powell personally under section 110(c). While the parties negotiated a settlement, confusion arose over which penalties the agreement covered, and Powell's penalties were not contested on time. The Secretary supported reopening so the settlement could be approved. The Commission…
Dominion Energy Brayton Point, LLC
In re Dominion Energy Brayton Point, LLC (EAB PSD Appeal No. 09-01): petition denied for lack of PSD jurisdiction and standing
EPA Region 1 issued Dominion Energy Brayton Point, LLC a PSD permit for two natural-draft cooling towers in Somerset, Massachusetts. Bristol County Broadcasting, Inc. asked the EAB to review the permit because it believed the towers could interfere with AM radio transmissions. The Board explained…
Tri-Star Mining, Inc.
Six highwall violations settled for $105,324
MSHA issued six citations and orders after a highwall collapse fatally injured equipment operators Dale Jones and Michael Wilt at Tri-Star Mining's surface facility. The alleged violations involved highwall stability planning, work near dangerous highwalls, inspections and records, bench…
XMV, Inc.
Responsibility mix-up explanation lacked detail
XMV said it missed the penalty-contest deadline because the company believed its law firm would file the contest while counsel believed the company would file it. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission held that this brief assertion lacked the specific facts needed to establish good…
Brahma Group, Inc.
Address dispute required fact-finding on finality
Brahma Group timely contested two citations but said it never received the later penalty assessment or delinquency notices because MSHA repeatedly used the wrong address. The Secretary said the documents went to Brahma's address of record and noted that operators must keep their official address…
Matter of Andres GUZMAN-GOMEZ
Stepchildren cannot derive citizenship through nonadoptive stepparents
The Board reviewed a removal appeal by a lawful permanent resident born in Mexico who claimed United States citizenship through his United States citizen stepfather. The Immigration Judge had ordered him removed based on robbery and other criminal-removability charges. The Board held that the…
Thomas J. Smith, Inc.
Default review denied for lack of an explanation
Thomas J. Smith failed to answer a penalty petition and did not respond to the Chief ALJ's show-cause order, resulting in a default judgment. The company's timely letter seeking Commission review said only that the show-cause order had not been forwarded to the safety director. The Commission…
Premier Chemical, LLC
General confusion did not justify reopening
Premier Chemical paid two assessments covering 59 citations but later asked to reopen them. It cited confusion surrounding the assessment process and factual disagreements with the citations without giving specific facts about why it missed the contest deadlines. The Secretary opposed reopening…
Fisher Sand & Gravel Company
Reopening request gave no reason for the delay
Fisher Sand & Gravel asked to contest penalties from a July 2008 assessment after the assessment had become final. Its request gave no explanation for missing the 30-day contest deadline. The Secretary opposed reopening on that basis. The Commission denied the request without prejudice because…
Castle Wood Products
Apparently mailed contest supported reopening
The record indicated that a Castle Wood official may have sent the penalty contest form on time, but MSHA had no record of receiving it. The company promptly sought relief after learning that the assessment was delinquent. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission reopened and remanded…
Dickenson-Russell Coal Company, LLC
New employee omitted two intended contests
A recently hired Dickenson-Russell employee sent payment for all penalties except two that the company intended to contest. The employee inadvertently failed to file the two contest forms and submitted them after discovering the mistake. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission…
Mosaic Phosphates Company
Employee's family illness supported reopening
Mosaic Phosphates sent its penalty contest form after the deadline. The record indicated that an illness in an employee's family contributed to the delay. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission reopened and remanded the final assessment, directing the Secretary to file a penalty…
Precision Drilling, Inc.
Claimed contest required a good-cause determination
Precision Drilling said that after receiving an assessment containing two penalties, it filed a contest of one of them. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but did not address the company's claim that a contest had been filed. The Commission did not decide whether the assessment was final or…
Morris, Inc.
Unexplained eight-day delay defeated reopening
Morris filed a contest of one $100 penalty eight days after the deadline but gave no reason for the delay. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. A three-Commissioner majority denied relief without prejudice because Rule 60(b) requires an explanation before a final order can be reopened. Chairman…
Matter of Roberto CARDENAS ABREU
Late-reinstated appeal does not undo conviction finality
The Board reviewed a lawful permanent resident's appeal after an Immigration Judge denied his motion to reopen removal proceedings. The respondent argued that a New York court's permission to file a late criminal appeal meant his burglary conviction was not final for immigration purposes. The Board…
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.