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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SPORT Air Traffic Controllers Organization and United States Department of the Air Force, 412 Test Wing, Edwards Air Force Base, California
SPORT Air Traffic Controllers Organization and Edwards Air Force Base (FLRA 0-AR-5929): Authority denies reconsideration and clarification
The SPORT Air Traffic Controllers Organization asked the Authority to reconsider an earlier decision upholding an arbitrator's finding that a union grievance about which collective-bargaining terms were in effect was not arbitrable. The union argued that a continuance clause kept a 1994 agreement…
Secretary of Labor v. Roger J. Rohloff, employed by Daanen & Janssen, Inc.
Unserved individual assessment held nonfinal
MSHA assessed an individual penalty against Roger Rohloff under section 110(c) after a rock-fall investigation. The certified mailing was returned unclaimed, even though an MSHA representative had agreed to send all correspondence for Rohloff to his counsel. Rohloff and his counsel learned of the…
Secretary of Labor v. Mike Morgan Industrial, LLC
Unmonitored spam and unexplained delay barred reopening
Mike Morgan Industrial did not answer the Secretary's penalty petition because it contacted MSHA and waited for a response, even though the petition directed it to answer the Commission within 30 days. The company then missed the ALJ's show-cause order because the email went to a spam folder. It…
Secretary of Labor v Kevin Coleman, formerly employed by Carmeuse Lime
Assessment sent to abandoned mine held nonfinal
MSHA proposed an individual penalty against former mine supervisor Kevin Coleman under section 110(c). MSHA had been told to send case materials to Coleman's counsel, but it mailed the assessment to a mine that was closed and listed as abandoned. The Postal Service returned the assessment, and MSHA…
American Federation of Government Employees, National Veterans Affairs Council 53 and United States Department of Veterans Affairs
AFGE National Veterans Affairs Council 53 and VA (FLRA 0-AR-5956): Authority upholds prospective awards bargaining remedy
A VA reorganization placed employees from three clinical contact centers under one performance-award budget, causing some employees to receive smaller percentage-based awards than under their former facilities' flat-sum systems. An arbitrator found that the agency committed an unfair labor practice…
Secretary of Labor v. Patton Mining, LLC
Isolated failure to return contest form excused
Patton decided to contest four of nineteen violations and promptly paid the penalties for the other fifteen. Its service provider's safety director mistakenly failed to return the contest form to MSHA. Patton discovered the omission after receiving a delinquency notice, investigated immediately…
United States Department of Defense, U.S. Marine Corps, MAGTFTC, MCAGCC, MCCS, Twentynine Palms, California and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2018
Marine Corps Twentynine Palms and AFGE Local 2018 (FLRA 0-AR-5922): Authority narrows overtime award
Nonappropriated-fund Marine Corps employees in California sought overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act and California law. An arbitrator awarded federal overtime for work beyond 40 hours per week and additional California daily and double-time overtime, using a three-year recovery period and…
Secretary of Labor v. Morton Salt Inc.
Fire, ventilation, monitoring, cable, and ground-control citations split
The case addressed citations arising from a loader fire, smoke crossing an evacuation route, an atmospheric monitoring outage, a failed high-voltage cable splice, and loose ground above a traveled area at Morton Salt's underground mine. The judge affirmed S&S citations for allowing the known…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Seagoville, Texas and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1637, Council of Prison Locals 33
Federal Correctional Institution Seagoville and AFGE Local 1637 (FLRA 0-AR-5791): Authority sets aside overtime remedy
Federal Correctional Institution Seagoville temporarily reassigned an officer and barred overtime while investigating alleged misconduct, then found no misconduct and restored the officer's prior duties. An arbitrator found the union's grievance timely for later reassignments that had not been…
Secretary of Labor v. Muhlenberg County Coal Resources, Inc.
Ignored certified-mail notices barred reopening
Muhlenberg claimed that a proposed assessment was misdelivered because no authorized recipient was available when certified mail arrived. Postal records showed that notices were left at the company's address twice. The Commission held that this was not a postal mistake because the assessment was…
Xia v. Lina T. Ramey & Associates, Inc.
H-1B back-wage period extended and claims remanded
Lina T. Ramey & Associates terminated H-1B design engineer Ellen Xia but did not promptly notify immigration authorities or pay her return transportation costs. The administrative judge awarded back wages and transportation costs but barred Xia from testifying remotely based on a perceived conflict…
Halliday v. Transport Express, Inc.
Truck-safety complaint dismissal partly vacated
Truck driver William Halliday reported numerous equipment problems, including defective tires, an illuminated ABS warning light, an unsecured bumper, and unsecured hazardous material, before Transport Express ended his employment. The Board affirmed that Halliday did not actually refuse to operate…
Secretary of Labor v. Active Resources, Inc.
Intentional payment based on legal misunderstanding barred reopening
Active Resources intentionally paid a citation while rehabilitating a nonproducing mine because it believed payment meant the citation had been abated. MSHA later issued a section 104(b) order for failure to abate, prompting Active to argue that it would have contested the assessment if it had…
Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Complex Petersburg, Virginia and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2052, AFL-CIO
Federal Correctional Complex Petersburg and AFGE Local 2052 (FLRA WA-CA-21-0339): Authority upholds default on late answer
The Authority's General Counsel alleged that Federal Correctional Complex Petersburg unreasonably delayed responding to a union information request. The agency filed its answer two days after the 20-day deadline and offered no good cause for the delay. An administrative law judge treated the…
Secretary of Labor v. Northshore Mining Company and Matthew Zimmer, Roger Peterson employed by Northshore Mining Company
Secretary of Labor v. Northshore Mining Company, et al. (FMSHRC LAKE 2017-0224): Flagrant walkway penalty increased on remand
An earlier judge found that Northshore failed to maintain elevated walkways, acted with reckless disregard and unwarrantable failure, and assessed a $60,000 penalty after rejecting MSHA's flagrant designation. The Commission affirmed, but the Eighth Circuit held that the violation was flagrant and…
Shepherd Chemical Company
In re Shepherd Chemical Company (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 24-03C): new-chemical settlement approved
Shepherd Chemical Company voluntarily disclosed that it had manufactured a chemical substance identified in the order as Chemical A before submitting a required pre-manufacture notice. EPA alleged that Chemical A was not on the TSCA Inventory when it was manufactured, and the company agreed to…
William T Burnett & Co.
In re William T Burnett & Co. (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 24-02Q): penalty paid and matter resolved
EPA alleged that William T Burnett & Co. violated TSCA section 8(a) and the Chemical Data Reporting Rule by failing to meet reporting requirements. EPA's complaint sought a $28,039 penalty. The company paid the full proposed penalty, which waived its right to contest the allegations and appeal the…
The Shyft Group, Inc.
In re The Shyft Group, Inc. (EAB CAA Appeal No. 24-10C): uncertified vocational-vehicle settlement approved
The Shyft Group, Inc. manufactured and sold vocational vehicles. EPA alleged that between May 1, 2017, and July 20, 2020, Shyft sold and introduced into commerce 65 Class 7 and 4,250 Class 8 diesel vocational vehicles without an applicable certificate of conformity or exemption. The alleged…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL v. L'uomo Creatives, LLC
SCA matter closed without review petition
An administrative judge entered a default judgment against L'uomo Creatives and Vince Akins in a Service Contract Act case. Nearly three years later, the respondents uploaded a copy of that public decision to the Board's filing system, but the document did not identify challenged findings, legal…
Johnson v. Shamrock Trucking
STAA appeal dismissed for missed filings
Eric Johnson sought Board review after an administrative judge dismissed his Surface Transportation Assistance Act complaint. The Board ordered him to file an opening brief by September 2, 2024, but he did not do so. It then gave him another opportunity to submit the brief and explain the missed…
J&G Manufacturing, LLC
In re J&G Manufacturing, LLC (EAB FIFRA Appeal No. 24-01C): pesticide settlement approved
J&G Manufacturing, LLC sold and distributed Woodlock Bioshield products marketed for preventing mold and mildew on wood pallets. EPA alleged that the products were unregistered pesticides, were misbranded, and were supported by five knowingly falsified production reports. The company agreed to pay…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Elkton, Ohio and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 607
Federal Correctional Institution Elkton and AFGE Local 607 (FLRA 0-AR-5957): Authority upholds teacher overtime award
Federal Correctional Institution Elkton teachers alleged that the Bureau of Prisons had failed to pay the Fair Labor Standards Act overtime rate during the three years before their grievance. An arbitrator found willful violations and held that a national resolution changing teachers from exempt to…
Secretary of Labor v. Garcia Mining Company, LLC
Timely emailed contest made assessment nonfinal
Garcia emailed its penalty contest to MSHA's Civil Penalty Office two days after receiving the proposed assessment. MSHA did not docket the contest, and Garcia later received a delinquency notice. The company supplied email evidence of its timely filing and sought reopening after MSHA directed it…
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson Hazardous Waste Management Facility
In re Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson Hazardous Waste Management Facility (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 23-01): petition dismissed after settlement
The United States Air Force petitioned the Environmental Appeals Board to review provisions of the hazardous waste permit for Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. The parties later reached an agreement through the Board's Alternative Dispute Resolution program. After the Air Force completed the agreed…
U.S. Department of Energy and Triad National Security, L.L.C.
In re U.S. Department of Energy and Triad National Security, L.L.C. (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 23-04): Outfall 051 permit review denied
Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety, Honor Our Pueblo Existence, and Veterans for Peace challenged an NPDES permit for Los Alamos National Laboratory. Their challenge focused on Outfall 051, which authorizes treated wastewater discharges from the Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility into…
Double R Diesel, LLC
In re Double R Diesel, LLC (EAB CAA Appeal No. 24-08C): defeat-device settlement approved
Double R Diesel, LLC manufactures and sells automotive parts for light and medium heavy-duty diesel trucks. EPA alleged that the company manufactured, sold, or offered for sale at least 4,897 defeat devices, including 4,154 tuning products and 743 exhaust aftertreatment delete pipes, for use with…
Morrell v. DLH Holdings Corp.
SOX retaliation dismissal affirmed
Eileen Morrell, an experienced financial-planning and government-contract accounting employee, alleged that DLH Holdings eliminated her position in retaliation for internal accounting complaints. The Board agreed that she genuinely believed some of the challenged accounting practices violated…
Matter of Bharatkumar Girishkumar THAKKER
Retail theft convictions not categorically crimes involving moral turpitude
The Board reviewed an Indian lawful permanent resident’s removal case after the Third Circuit directed it to reconsider the treatment of his Pennsylvania retail theft convictions. The Board held that its earlier decision in Matter of Jurado was inconsistent with the categorical approach because the…
Secretary of Labor obo Alvaro Saldivar v. Grimes Rock, Inc.
Paid penalties mooted stay request
An ALJ granted summary decision in a discrimination case and assessed civil penalties against Grimes Rock. The company asked the Commission to stay payment while the case was on appeal or allow it to place the money in an interest-bearing escrow account. After filing that request, Grimes paid the…
Dickerson v. Iteris, Inc.
SOX complaint denial affirmed
Michael Dickerson, an experienced accounting professional, alleged that Iteris fired him for reporting financial irregularities. The Board found his appellate brief inadequate because it did not identify supported errors in the judge's decision, but it nevertheless reviewed the ruling because he…
National Association of Independent Labor, Local 19 and United States Department of the Air Force, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois
NAIL Local 19 and Scott Air Force Base (FLRA 0-AR-5962): Authority upholds 14-day suspension
The Air Force suspended an employee for 14 days after a workplace dispute escalated to physical contact, considering both the incident and a prior counseling letter about aggressive conduct. An arbitrator found that the agency conducted a full and fair investigation, proved the charged misconduct…
Preferred Roofing, LLC
Subcontractor fall citations vacated
Preferred Roofing hired Valor Roofing to reroof a home in Jacksonville, Florida. OSHA observed Valor employees working without fall protection and using a ladder whose rails did not extend three feet above the roof, then cited Preferred as the controlling employer under the multi-employer worksite…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 310 and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Coatesville, Pennsylvania
AFGE Local 310 and Coatesville VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-5960): Authority upholds untimely-overtime ruling
An AFGE local president kept daily records of meetings outside his scheduled work hours for more than three years before asking a VA medical center for almost $18,000 in overtime. An arbitrator found that the employee knew of the potential claim when he began keeping the records and that the union…
Secretary of Labor v. GMS Mine Repair & Maintenance, Inc.
Contractor held to mine block-light safeguard
A GMS miner drove a manbus past a red block light and caused a head-on underground rail collision that seriously injured miners. GMS argued that the mine-specific safeguard could not be enforced against it because MSHA had issued written notice to the production operator, not separately to GMS, and…
United States Department of the Army, Fort Huachuca, Arizona and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1662
Fort Huachuca and AFGE Local 1662 (FLRA 0-AR-5916): Authority upholds make-up time for firefighter training
Fort Huachuca firefighters attended mandatory weekend training that exceeded eight hours on two days, displaced an in-lieu-of holiday, and prevented their contractually scheduled lunch periods. An arbitrator found three contract violations and directed make-up compensation during later scheduled…
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): Title V permit review denied
The Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation challenged EPA Region 8's renewal of the Clean Air Act Title V operating permit for the Bonanza Power Plant, a coal-fired plant on the reservation. The Tribe raised concerns about environmental and health impacts, environmental justice…
Secretary of Labor v. Georgetown Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Reopening explanation deemed incomplete
A proposed assessment reached Georgetown's post office box on a Saturday, and the company retrieved it the following Monday. Georgetown filed its contest 30 days after retrieval, but MSHA treated the assessment as final based on the Saturday delivery date. The Commission majority held that the…
Secretary of Labor v. Cooper Stone, LLC
Uncorrected mail system barred reopening
Cooper Stone said it did not receive a proposed assessment because its mine office was in a high-crime area with mail problems. The company had identified those problems and proposed changing its address in 2021, but had not corrected the address when the assessment was delivered in 2023. Postal…
Secretary of Labor obo Alvaro Saldivar v. Grimes Rock, Inc.
Consequential damages denied on remand
On remand, the judge considered whether miner Alvaro Saldivar could recover consequential damages tied to delayed temporary-reinstatement payments. He held that such damages are available only after a proven section 105(c) discrimination violation, while the unappealed merits decision had found no…
Secretary of Labor v. ASGCO Manufacturing, Inc.
Paid penalty triggered show-cause order
ASGCO asked the Commission to reopen a final assessment involving one citation. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but reported that MSHA had received full payment of the penalty after the motion was filed. Because payment appeared to eliminate the dispute, the Commission did not decide the…
Matter of R-T-P-
Written notice-to-appear amendment accepted as a possible remedy
The Board reviewed the case of a Cuban respondent whose notice to appear did not include the date and time of the initial hearing. After the Immigration Judge terminated the proceedings, the Department of Homeland Security proposed several ways to cure the defect, including a written amendment that…
Secretary of Labor v. FCI Sand Operations, LLC
Wrong-operator citations reassigned
FCI Sand moved to reopen after citations were issued to it for a time when another operator controlled the mine. It later asked to withdraw the motion because the citations had been transferred to the other operator. The Secretary confirmed that the citations were removed from FCI Sand's records…
Secretary of Labor v. Cooper Stone, LLC
Ongoing negotiations did not excuse missed answer
Cooper Stone defaulted after failing to answer the Secretary's penalty petition and the ALJ's show-cause order. The company said it believed no answer was required while settlement negotiations with MSHA were continuing. The Commission noted that both filings explained the required procedure and…
Secretary of Labor v. Ram Enterprises, Inc.
Timely contest made assessment nonfinal
Ram Enterprise sought to reopen three citations after receiving a delinquency notice for an assessment it believed was already in contest. The company contacted MSHA about the pending hearing and later moved to reopen. The Secretary confirmed that Ram Enterprise had timely contested the proposed…
Elite Builders, Inc.
Willful residential fall violation affirmed
Elite Builders' owner and four workers were framing the owner's two-story house in Gretna, Nebraska. OSHA found workers without eye protection, on an unsecured forklift-supported platform without fall protection, using an unguarded stairway, and framing on a roof without fall protection. The judge…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL v. Davis-Paige Management Systems, LLC
Late-extension matter closed
An administrative judge found that Davis-Paige Management Systems and Michael Davis failed to pay Service Contract Act wage rates and fringe benefits. Under 29 C.F.R. § 6.20, they had forty days to seek Board review or request more time, making March 9, 2024 the deadline. They did not request an…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Ashland, Kentucky and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1286, Council of Prison Locals 33
Federal Correctional Institution Ashland and AFGE Local 1286 (FLRA 0-AR-5943): Authority removes asbestos medical-payment remedy
A Federal Correctional Institution Ashland employee and supervised inmates encountered asbestos-containing material while repairing an on-site residence. After the employee reported the exposure, the agency reassigned him and restricted overtime during an investigation that ended without charges…
Powertech (USA) Inc.
In re Powertech (USA) Inc. (EAB UIC Appeal No. 20-01): Permit remanded for administrative-record review
The Oglala Sioux Tribe challenged two Underground Injection Control area permits for Powertech's uranium-recovery project in South Dakota. The Environmental Appeals Board denied review of the National Historic Preservation Act section 110 claims and the National Environmental Policy Act claims. The…
United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and National Treasury Employees Union
U.S. Customs and Border Protection and NTEU (FLRA 0-AR-5908): Authority upholds hardship-reassignment remedies
NTEU alleged that Customs and Border Protection field offices handled hardship-reassignment requests inconsistently when the requested destination lacked a vacancy. An arbitrator found that the national agreement required consistent treatment and ordered affected employees to receive another…
Secretary of Labor v. TIC - The Industrial Company
Assessment sent to old address held nonfinal
TIC updated its address of record with MSHA before the proposed assessment was issued. The change was not properly entered in MSHA's system, so the assessment was sent to the old address and returned as undeliverable. TIC discovered the delinquent penalty through MSHA's data system and requested a…
Secretary of Labor v. Robinson Nevada Mining Company
Unknown recipient signature justified reopening
Robinson Nevada said it never received a proposed assessment that postal records showed was signed for by “C SMITH” in Ely, Nevada. The company had no employee by that name and learned of the assessment only after receiving a delinquency notice. It contacted MSHA the next day and promptly sought…
Secretary of Labor v. Specialty Vermiculite, LLC
Corrected delivery date confirmed timely contest
Specialty Vermiculite contested four citations on August 4, 2023. MSHA initially treated the filing as late because postal information listed the assessment as delivered on July 1. After reviewing the delivery record, MSHA corrected the receipt date to July 5, making the contest timely. The…
Secretary of Labor v. Knight Hawk Coal, LLC
Unsupported S&S removal rejected
Knight Hawk and the Secretary proposed settling three citations by removing the significant-and-substantial designation from two and reducing total penalties from $7,960 to $4,590. The ALJ accepted the explanation for one removal but found inadequate support for removing S&S from a roof-control…
Secretary of Labor v. Crimson Oak Grove Resources, LLC and Secretary of Labor v. River City Stone-DIV/Mathy Construction Co. and Secretary of Labor v. Holcim (US) Inc. and Secretary of Labor v. Greenbrier Minerals, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Crimson Oak Grove Resources, LLC and consolidated cases (FMSHRC LAKE 2021-0145): Settlement citation vacaturs required Commission review
These five cases involved proposed settlements or dismissals in which the Secretary would vacate citations while operators accepted or withdrew contests to other citations and waived potential attorney-fee claims. The ALJ required either assurance that the vacaturs were independent of the other…
Cactus Canyon Quarries, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. Cactus Canyon Quarries, Inc.
Cactus Canyon Quarries, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC CENT 2023-0045): Mine jurisdiction upheld and citations split
Cactus Canyon challenged MSHA's authority over its Fairland stone-processing plant and the related Clendennen Ranch quarry. The judge held that the plant performed milling and that both facilities were mines covered by the Mine Act. Of ten citations, he vacated four, affirmed three as issued, and…
Secretary of Labor obo Jason Hargis v. Vulcan Construction Materials, LLC and Jason Hargis v. Vulcan Construction Materials, LLC
Secretary of Labor obo Jason Hargis v. Vulcan Construction Materials, LLC (FMSHRC SE 2021-0163): Injury reporting affirmed and discrimination dismissal sustained
Jason Hargis reported a back injury after handling crusher liner plates, was placed on light duty, and was terminated about a month later. The Commission affirmed that Vulcan violated the injury-reporting rule because Hargis could not perform all his duties and management knew his work had been…
Secretary of Labor v. Morton Salt, Inc.
Pattern notice itself held unreviewable
MSHA issued Morton Salt a pattern-of-violations notice after identifying 82 S&S citations in a 12-month period, including 45 involving loose-ground hazards. Morton Salt asked the Commission to review MSHA's decision-making process and mitigating-circumstances analysis behind the notice. The…
Secretary of Labor v. Tintic Consolidated Metals, LLC
Personnel-change explanation deemed too cursory
Tintic missed the contest deadline for an $83,040 assessment while its chief operating officer was retiring, its safety superintendent changed positions, and a new general manager was appointed. The company discovered the delinquency when the new manager received a later assessment and promptly…
Matter of D. RODRIGUEZ
Attempted injury to a child qualifies as child abuse for removability
The Board reviewed a Texas respondent’s challenge to removability based on a conviction for attempted injury to a child. It held that the child-abuse removability provision does not exclude attempt offenses and that the conviction qualifies as a crime of child abuse under the categorical approach…
City of Holyoke Department of Public Works
In re City of Holyoke Department of Public Works (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 24-01): petition dismissed after agreement
The City of Holyoke Department of Public Works petitioned for review of provisions in its NPDES permit. The City notified the Board that the parties had executed an Agreement in Principle concerning metals effluent limits, PFAS monitoring requirements, and the expected effective date of contested…
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.