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.
Southern Industrial Constructors
Final assessment reopened and remanded
Southern Industrial Constructors asked the Commission to reopen a proposed penalty assessment that had become a final order after no timely contest was filed. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission explained that it may grant relief from a final assessment for reasons such as…
Holcim (US) Incorporated
Paid penalty case dismissed with prejudice
Holcim contested a citation and order, but did not timely contest the related $6,700 proposed penalty because it reported that the assessment was never received. After the Commission remanded the reopening request, the Chief Administrative Law Judge found excusable neglect and reopened the penalty…
Wolf Run Mining Company
Late-contest issue remanded for good-cause finding
Wolf Run Mining asked the Commission to reopen a proposed penalty assessment that had become final after no timely contest was filed. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission explained that relief may be available for mistake, inadvertence, or neglect when the operator shows good…
Bill Baltrusch Construction, Inc.
Late-contest issue remanded for good-cause finding
Bill Baltrusch Construction asked the Commission to reopen a proposed penalty assessment that had become final after no timely contest was filed. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission explained that relief may be available for mistake, inadvertence, or excusable neglect when the…
CCC Group, Inc.
Citations upheld and penalties reduced to $13,425
CCC Group was an independent contractor building a coal loadout facility at the North Antelope Rochelle Mine. MSHA cited unshielded welding near other workers and overhead work performed without adequate protection for workers below. Judge Richard W. Manning affirmed the first welding citation as…
J & T Services
Final assessment reopened and remanded
J & T Services asked the Commission to reopen a proposed penalty assessment that had become final after no timely contest was filed. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission explained that it may grant relief from a final assessment for reasons such as mistake, inadvertence, or…
Oak Grove Resources, LLC
Two final assessments reopened and remanded
Oak Grove Resources asked the Commission to reopen two proposed penalty assessments that had become final after no timely contests were filed. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission explained that it may grant relief from final assessments for reasons such as mistake, inadvertence…
Ruscat Enterprises, Inc.
Final assessment reopened without opposition
Ruscat asked the Commission to reopen a proposed penalty assessment that had become a final order after the contest deadline passed. The Secretary did not oppose the request. Applying the Rule 60(b) framework and its preference for deciding cases on their merits when good cause exists, the…
Standard Sand & Silica Company
Timeliness and good cause sent for fact-finding
Standard Sand asked to reopen a penalty assessment that had become a final Commission order. Its safety manager said he checked the contest box and forwarded the assessment to the company's accounts payable department for mailing, but MSHA had no record of receiving it. Standard Sand said it did…
Endurance Mining
Good cause for late contest sent to the Chief ALJ
Endurance Mining asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become a final order after the contest deadline passed. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission applied its Rule 60(b) framework but did not grant relief outright. It remanded for the Chief ALJ to decide…
Powder River Coal, LLC
Mixed ruling set a $2,603 total penalty
Powder River operated the North Antelope Rochelle Mine, a large open-pit coal mine in Wyoming, and contested eight citations. Four citations were resolved by partial settlement before the hearing. Of the four litigated citations, the Judge vacated a monthly pull-cord testing citation because MSHA…
Lafarge Building Materials, Inc.
Unopposed final assessment reopened
Lafarge, through counsel, asked the Commission to reopen a proposed penalty assessment that had become a final order after the contest deadline passed. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. Using the Rule 60(b) framework for relief from final orders and its policy favoring merits proceedings when…
Estacada Rock Products
Good cause for late contest required findings
Estacada Rock Products asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become a final order after the company missed the contest deadline. The Secretary did not oppose the request. The Commission applied its Rule 60(b) framework but did not decide that good cause had already been…
Brody Mining, LLC
Contest mix-up and delay required fact-finding
Brody Mining intended to pay 11 penalties and contest four others from a 15-citation assessment. Its safety director and counsel each believed the other would complete the contest, leaving the four penalties to become final. The Secretary opposed reopening and questioned why Brody waited more than…
Freeman Rock, Inc.
Vague reopening request denied without prejudice
Freeman Rock asked to reopen a final assessment covering seven citations. It said MSHA's Albany Field Office had changed unspecified procedures and that the company lost track of the contest deadline while building its defense during a busy season. The Secretary opposed reopening because those…
Richard Jaimes v. Stansley Mineral Resources, Inc.
Late discrimination complaint dismissed
Richard Jaimes alleged that Stansley Mineral Resources fired him after he raised safety concerns about haul-truck tires, a leaking wheel cylinder, and coworker conduct. He filed his MSHA discrimination complaint almost five months after the Mine Act's 60-day deadline because he chose to await the…
Webster County Coal
Damaged trailing-cable splices upheld as S&S
Webster County Coal faced multiple citations at the Dotiki Mine and settled all but two before the hearing. The remaining citations involved damaged permanent splices on energized trailing cables carrying 300 volts direct current and 995 volts alternating current. Webster admitted both violations…
United Parcel Service, Inc.
Affected-employee objections sent settlement issues back to the judge
UPS sought Commission review after an administrative law judge affirmed a serious citation with eight instances and assessed a $4,400 penalty. While review was pending, UPS and the Secretary negotiated a corporate-wide settlement, and affected employee Samuel Bucalo filed objections and several…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Lawrence L. Pendley v. Highland Mining Company, LLC
Discharge and post-reinstatement rulings affirmed
Lawrence Pendley engaged in protected safety activity and previously prevailed on a claim that Highland Mining discriminatorily suspended him for three days in December 2005. This appeal concerned his later suspension and discharge after confrontations with office employees and another miner, plus…
Coal River Mining, LLC
Four battery-station violations upheld with reduced penalties
Coal River Mining contested four enforcement actions issued after scoop batteries overheated at an underground charging station, triggered carbon monoxide alarms, and caused an evacuation without injuries. Judge David F. Barbour found S&S violations involving missing fire suppression, an inadequate…
Eastern Associated Coal Corp.
Roof citation upheld, preshift order dismissed
MSHA cited Eastern Associated Coal for inadequate roof support in seven locations along a 7,000-foot mine entry and for a preshift examination that did not report coal and float-coal-dust accumulations. Judge Avram Weisberger affirmed the roof-control violation as S&S because deteriorated and…
Luminant Mining Company, LLC
Conclusory reopening request denied
Luminant Mining failed to contest a proposed civil penalty within the Mine Act's 30-day deadline and asked the Commission to reopen the resulting final order. The company said only that its late filing resulted from inadvertence and mistake by company personnel. The Secretary opposed reopening…
R S & W Coal Company, Inc.; B & B Coal Company; and Bear Gap Coal Company
One-hour ventilation-plan settlement approved
MSHA revoked the approved ventilation plans at three underground coal mines after the operators declined to add a requirement that main fans run for 1.5 hours before miners entered or underground power was energized. The operators contested the resulting citations and closure orders, and MSHA…
A. L. Grading Contractors, Inc.
Unsafe excavation and untrained flagger drew $25,500 in penalties
OSHA found an untrained employee directing traffic and two workers in a 9.2-foot excavation without cave-in protection or a safe means of egress at an Atlanta-area shopping-center project. The judge rejected the employee-misconduct defense to the training item because the company did not establish…
Alaska Mechanical, Inc.
Disputed contest deadline remanded for fact-finding
Alaska Mechanical asked to reopen a proposed penalty assessment covering two citations. The company said it received the assessment on August 11 and that Federal Express delivered its contest on the September 10 deadline. MSHA's records instead showed receipt on August 8, which would make the…
Highland Mining Company, LLC
Reopening request remanded for good-cause findings
Highland Mining failed to contest a proposed penalty assessment before it became a final Commission order. The company asked the Commission to reopen the assessment, and the Secretary did not oppose the request. The Commission applied the principles of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b), which…
Davis H. Elliot Construction Company, Inc.
Reenergization failures led to $11,300 in penalties
Davis H. Elliot rebuilt an Ohio electric distribution system while existing lines remained in service. After three workers failed to report a changed assignment, the foreman relied on an incomplete all-clear and ordered a line energized while one worker was still on a pole, causing his…
Champlain Stone, Ltd.
Reopening request remanded for good-cause findings
Champlain Stone missed the deadline to contest a proposed penalty assessment, which then became a final Commission order. The company asked to reopen the assessment, and the Secretary did not oppose the request. The Commission applied the principles of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)…
West Coast Aggregates, Inc.
Reopening request remanded for good-cause findings
West Coast Aggregates did not timely contest a proposed penalty assessment, which became a final Commission order. The operator requested reopening, and the Secretary did not oppose relief. The Commission applied Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) principles, including possible relief for…
Ancient Sun, Inc.
Reopening request remanded for good-cause findings
Ancient Sun did not contest a proposed penalty assessment before it became a final Commission order. The company asked to reopen the assessment, and the Secretary did not oppose its request. The Commission looked to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b), which permits relief in circumstances…
Dyno Nobel, Inc.
Reopening request remanded for good-cause findings
Dyno Nobel missed the deadline to contest a proposed penalty assessment, causing it to become a final Commission order. Dyno requested reopening, and the Secretary did not oppose relief. The Commission relied on Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) principles that permit relief for circumstances…
Dusek Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Default reopened for settlement review
An ALJ entered default against Dusek Sand & Gravel because the company did not answer the Secretary's civil-penalty petition. The Secretary timely asked the Commission to treat Dusek's response to a summary-judgment motion as its answer and to reopen the case so the parties' settlement could be…
Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino Waste Water Treatment Plant
In re Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino Waste Water Treatment Plant (EAB NPDES Appeal Nos. 08-02, 08-03, 08-04, and 08-05): monitoring requirements remanded in part
The Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino Waste Water Treatment Plant sought an NPDES permit for treated wastewater discharges from a tribally owned facility in California. Four petitioners challenged the permit, raising issues about discharge into a dry creek bed, wildlife, permit changes, phosphorus…
Twentymile Coal Company
Mailed penalty contest found timely
Twentymile Coal received a proposed penalty assessment on March 3, 2008, and its safety assistant mistakenly believed the contest deadline was April 3 rather than April 2. The company nevertheless sent its contest by overnight mail on April 2. Commission Rule 5 makes a mailed filing effective on…
Craig & Company, LLC
Reopening request remanded for good-cause findings
Craig & Company failed to contest a proposed penalty assessment within 30 days, so the assessment became a final Commission order. Craig asked the Commission to reopen the matter, and the Secretary did not oppose the request. The Commission used Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) principles…
18 Karat, Inc.
Reopening request remanded for good-cause findings
18 Karat did not contest a proposed penalty assessment within the Mine Act's 30-day period, and the assessment became a final Commission order. The company requested reopening, which the Secretary did not oppose. The Commission applied Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) principles that allow…
Lopke Quarries, Inc.
Reopening request remanded for good-cause findings
Lopke Quarries failed to contest a proposed penalty assessment before the Mine Act deadline, and the assessment became a final Commission order. Lopke asked for reopening, which the Secretary did not oppose. The Commission considered Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) principles allowing relief…
Matter of James L. ROSENBERG, Attorney
Immediate suspension remains in effect
The Board considered an attorney's request to set aside his immediate suspension from practice before the Board, the Immigration Courts, and the Department of Homeland Security. The attorney had been suspended from practice before the Ninth Circuit for conduct involving dismissed immigration…
Southwest Rock Products, LLC
Final assessments reopened for settlement review
Two proposed penalty assessments against Southwest Rock Products became final Commission orders after they were not timely contested. Southwest requested reopening, and the Secretary supported relief so the parties' settlement could be considered. The Commission looked to Federal Rule of Civil…
Left Fork Mining Company, Inc.
Three reopening requests denied
Left Fork Mining sought to reopen three final penalty assessments covering 33 contested citations after unpaid penalties, interest, and fees reached $76,897.79. The company said personnel at its Brookside office mistakenly failed to return assessment forms marked for contest. The Commission…
Delta Sand & Gravel Co.
Incomplete reopening request denied without prejudice
Delta Sand & Gravel missed the contest deadline for two citations related to a fatal accident because office personnel did not recognize their connection to the accident and did not send the assessment to the risk manager. Delta said the assessment entered its payment process but was never paid…
Martin Marietta Materials, Inc.
Reopening docket dismissed after timely contest confirmed
Martin Marietta asked to reopen a proposed penalty assessment after MSHA sent a letter saying the company's contest was late. The operator maintained that it had filed on time. MSHA later informed the Commission that it was treating the assessment as validly contested. Because no final Commission…
Kandey Company, Inc.
Cave-in violation reduced from willful to serious
Kandey employees worked in an excavation to connect a new building to a water main in Clarence, New York. The judge found that a portable ladder used for access did not extend three feet above the landing and that the excavation exceeded five feet, was not entirely stable rock, and lacked cave-in…
Kone, Inc.
Fall protection was required on stationary elevator car tops
A Kone apprentice technician was found dead at the bottom of an elevator shaft after being assigned to clean and paint the tops of two elevator cars. The judge found that working on a stationary car top exposed the technician to a 30-foot fall through openings at the back and side, and that a…
Matter of Enrique Salas COMPEAN; Matter of Sylla BANGALY; Matter of J-E-C-, et al.
Matter of Compean, Bangaly, and J-E-C- (BIA ID 3632): deficient counsel claims are administrative, not constitutional
The Attorney General reviewed Board orders denying reopening in three removal proceedings involving claims that former lawyers performed deficiently. The decision held that people in removal proceedings have a privilege to retain private counsel at no expense to the Government, but they do not have…
Consent Agreements and Proposed Final Orders for Animal Feeding Operations
In re Consent Agreements and Proposed Final Orders for Animal Feeding Operations (EAB CAA, CERCLA, and EPCRA appeals): seven agreements vacated
EPA offered animal feeding operations an opportunity to resolve potential liabilities under the Clean Air Act, CERCLA, and EPCRA through consent agreements and Final Orders. The Board had already vacated seventeen agreements in an October 24, 2008 order. EPA later identified seven additional…
Cumberland Coal Resources, LP
Four belt-entry enforcement actions upheld with modifications
MSHA issued four enforcement actions involving coal and float-coal-dust accumulations, preshift reporting, delayed abatement, and combustible trash at Cumberland's underground mine. Judge Michael E. Zielinski upheld the coal-accumulation violation but rejected its S&S and unwarrantable-failure…
Standard Concrete Products, Inc.
Rotten dunnage was not reasonably discoverable before girder failure
Standard Concrete loaded an 86-ton precast bridge girder onto a barge when a timber supporting its pedestal failed, causing the girder to crack and strike an employee who died from his injuries. The judge held that the longshoring standard applied because the girder had already been landed on the…
Guamcell Communications
Supervisor's parapet shortcut was unpreventable misconduct
An acting Guamcell supervisor stood without fall protection on the parapet of a ten-story building while adjusting a cellular antenna. Guamcell admitted the standard applied, the supervisor violated it, and a fall could cause death or serious injury. The judge found that the company nevertheless…
Aracoma Coal Company, Inc.
Global settlement approved for 102 penalty dockets
The parties proposed a global settlement of 102 penalty dockets covering 1,302 citations and orders at Aracoma's Alma Mine No. 1 and Hernshaw Mine. Twenty-five alleged violations were identified as contributing to the January 19, 2006 Alma mine fire in which two miners died. The settlement reduced…
Ruscat Enterprises, Inc.
Delivery-address dispute remanded
Ruscat Enterprises sought to reopen two proposed penalty assessments, saying it never received the originals and learned of them only through delinquency notices. MSHA did not oppose reopening but reported that Federal Express returned the assessment packages because of an incorrect address. Mine…
Stowers Trucking, LLC
Counsel filing mistake remanded for good-cause findings
Stowers Trucking intended to contest penalties for one citation and four orders. Its office manager faxed the assessment to counsel with contest instructions, but counsel inadvertently filed the form without submitting the contest. The error was discovered at a March 2008 meeting after the…
Palmer Coking Coal Company
Timeliness and one-year limit remanded for fact-finding
Palmer Coking Coal said it mailed a contest of two proposed penalties on March 26, 2007, but MSHA had no record of receiving it. The existing record did not establish when Palmer received the assessment or when it mailed the contest. Those dates also mattered because Palmer's April 25, 2008…
Stark Excavation, Inc.
Documented safety program proved supervisory misconduct defense
A Stark Excavation superintendent and two laborers stripped bridge forms without fall protection while exposed to a 14-foot, 10-inch drop to rocks below. The company did not dispute the unsafe condition but argued that the supervisor's lapse during a 10-to-15-minute task was unforeseeable…
Rockhouse Energy Mining Co.
Pattern-screening citation contests produced mixed rulings
Rockhouse contested 23 citations because their S&S designations affected whether its underground mine might receive a pattern-of-violations notice. Judge David F. Barbour accelerated the hearing and issued bench rulings so MSHA could use the results in its pending pattern review. He upheld S&S…
Wolf Run Mining Company
Safeguards held eligible for S&S designation
Wolf Run argued that a mine-specific safeguard requiring a suitable conveyor-belt crossing could not receive an S&S designation because safeguard criteria are not mandatory safety standards. The Secretary moved to amend the citation from the specific crossing criterion to the general safeguard…
Pinnacle Mining Company, LLC
Ten reopening requests denied without prejudice
Pinnacle Mining asked to reopen ten final penalty assessments covering, by its count, 278 citations and orders and more than $264,000 in penalties. Its safety director said he believed the assessments had already been contested and cited a management and ownership transfer for some cases. MSHA had…
Pinnacle Mining Company, LLC
Unreliable mail system did not justify reopening
Pinnacle Mining missed a penalty-contest deadline because mail was collected infrequently from a post office box 12 to 16 miles from the mine and was not reliably delivered to the right employee. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission majority held that Pinnacle had tolerated a…
The Dow Chemical Company, Hanging Rock Plant
In re The Dow Chemical Company, Hanging Rock Plant (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 06-01): appeal withdrawn and dismissed with prejudice
The Dow Chemical Company sought review of a RCRA permit for its Hanging Rock Plant. Dow notified the Environmental Appeals Board that it was withdrawing the appeal. The Board granted the request and dismissed RCRA Appeal No. 06-01 in its entirety with prejudice. The order does not impose a penalty…
Lang Exploratory Drilling
Employee receipt mistake remanded for good-cause findings
Lang Exploratory Drilling initially said the director responsible for penalties never received a proposed assessment that the company intended to contest. MSHA opposed reopening because delivery records showed that the assessment was sent to Lang's address of record and signed for. Lang then…
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.