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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Secretary of Labor v. Chemical Lime Co. of Arizona
Conference-related late contest remanded over dissent
Chemical Lime timely contested penalties for seven citations but mistakenly omitted seven others that were still in MSHA's conference process, believing any remaining disputes could be contested after the conference results. The Commission majority remanded the reopening request to the Chief…
Secretary of Labor v. Five Star Mining, Inc.
Misdirected penalty contest remanded for good cause
Five Star Mining said its counsel timely completed a penalty-contest form for an order the company had already contested, but mistakenly sent it to the Commission's Docket Office instead of MSHA's Civil Penalty Compliance Office. After following instructions to redirect the filing and later…
Mustang Engineering Holdings, Inc.
Missing trench exit affirmed while cave-in item was vacated
Mustang Engineering employees entered a trench to survey a newly installed pipe. OSHA cited the company because the trench lacked a safe means of egress and was not sloped enough for its Class B soil. The judge found that the missing ladder or other exit was obvious to Mustang's foreman, so the…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol of Kentucky, Inc.
Consol of Kentucky, Inc. (FMSHRC KENT 2007-63): High-voltage lockout violations affirmed with $51,000 in penalties
An electrician at Consol's Beaver Gap E-3 Mine suffered severe electrical shock while working in a high-voltage power center. Judge Gary Melick held that Consol's two-person procedure violated the requirement that each person performing electrical work personally lock and tag the disconnecting…
Matter of EAC, INC., Applicant
Proposed representative received partial accreditation
The Board reviewed EAC, Inc.’s request to accredit Yvonne Buffa as a representative for practice before the Department of Homeland Security. It explained that every accredited representative must have broad knowledge of immigration law and procedure, even when the organization offers only limited…
Matter of EAC, INC., Applicant
Nonprofit organization met the requirements for recognition
The Board reviewed EAC, Inc.’s request to be recognized as a nonprofit organization that provides immigration assistance to low-income people. It held that recognition requires adequate knowledge, information, and experience in immigration law and procedure, including access to legal resources and…
Secretary of Labor v. T.J.S. Mining, Inc.
Disputed contest filing remanded for factfinding
T.J.S. Mining said it paid four penalties from an assessment and contested the fifth, but MSHA had no record that its Civil Penalty Compliance Office received the contest and recorded a much later faxed hearing request. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission remanded for findings on…
Anibal Torres Sepulveda
In re Anibal Torres Sepulveda (EAB FIFRA Appeal No. 08-02C): Worker Protection Standard settlement approved
Anibal Torres Sepulveda operated a coffee, citrus-fruit, and ornamental-flower facility in Puerto Rico. EPA alleged that he violated the Worker Protection Standard under FIFRA and proposed an $11,500 civil penalty. The parties settled without a hearing, with conditions requiring compliance reports…
Gilberto Roman Gonzalez
In re Gilberto Roman Gonzalez (EAB FIFRA Appeal No. 08-01C): Worker Protection Standard settlement approved
Gilberto Roman Gonzalez operated the Finca Roman commercial coffee facility in Adjuntas, Puerto Rico. EPA alleged that he violated the Worker Protection Standard under FIFRA and proposed a $7,500 civil penalty. The parties settled without a hearing, with conditions requiring compliance reports…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Daniel R. Brusca v. Twentymile Coal Company
Temporary reinstatement denied
Daniel Brusca alleged that Twentymile Coal discharged him after safety meetings and other safety-related activity. Judge Richard W. Manning accepted that some conduct was arguably protected and that two supervisors showed hostility, but found no reasonable connection to the termination decision…
Matter of Oscar GONZALEZ-ZOQUIAPAN
Soliciting prostitution was not procurement for inadmissibility
The Board reviewed a Mexican respondent’s appeal from the denial of cancellation of removal and voluntary departure. The Immigration Judge treated the respondent’s California disorderly-conduct conviction for soliciting prostitution as procurement of prostitution under the immigration…
Secretary of Labor v. SCP Investments, LLC
Citations vacated for denial of walkaround rights
An MSHA inspector ordered SCP Investments' managing partner off the quarry property during an inspection because he lacked new-miner and site-specific hazard training. Judge Jerold Feldman held that neither the operator's filing status nor those training rules justified denying its statutory right…
Secretary of Labor v. White Buck Coal Company
White Buck Coal Company (FMSHRC WEVA 2007-327): Cable and dust violations produced $4,848 penalty
MSHA cited damaged and improperly clamped trailing cables, a malfunctioning roof-bolter dust collector, and excessive respirable dust at White Buck's Grassy Creek No. 1 Mine. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon affirmed all five violations and found four significant and substantial, including the dust-collector…
General Motors Automotive - North America
In re General Motors Automotive, North America (EAB RCRA (3008) Appeal No. 06-02): liability reversed and case remanded
General Motors Automotive, North America used purge solvents to clean paint equipment at automobile assembly plants in Michigan and Ohio. An Administrative Law Judge found violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and assessed a $568,116 penalty for inspection, recordkeeping…
Emerald Coal Resources, LP and Cumberland Coal Resources, LP
Emergency-response citations settled for $500
The Commission had already affirmed citations issued to Emerald Coal Resources and Cumberland Coal Resources under the MINER Act's emergency-response-plan provision. The parties settled the later penalty cases by modifying both citations to non-S&S, no likelihood of injury, no lost workdays, no…
Secretary of Labor v. U.S. Silica Company
Misdirected contest remanded for good cause
U.S. Silica said it timely marked two citations for contest and returned the assessment by certified mail, but postal tracking showed that it sent the form to MSHA's Pittsburgh payment-processing office rather than the Civil Penalty Compliance Office in Arlington. The Secretary did not oppose…
Secretary of Labor v. Mass Transport Inc.
Confused reopening motion denied
Counsel sought to reopen Mass Transport's penalty assessment on the theory that MSHA mailed it to the wrong address, but the motion repeatedly confused Mass Transport, the Delbarton Preparation Plant, and Logan County Mine Services and even reversed the operator and mine in the caption. The…
Secretary of Labor v. U.S. Borax, Inc.
Misaddressed contest remanded for good cause
U.S. Borax said its safety manager timely mailed a penalty contest but addressed it to 100 Wilson Boulevard instead of MSHA's office at 1100 Wilson Boulevard. The company discovered the error while checking on the expected penalty petition, and the Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission…
Secretary of Labor v. Red River Coal Company
Disputed mailed contest remanded for factfinding
Red River Coal said it mailed its penalty contest within 30 days, but MSHA had no record of receiving it and later notified the company that the assessment had not been timely contested. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission remanded for findings on whether Red River timely…
Michael A. Fulmer v. Mettiki Coal Corporation
Late Part 90 discrimination complaint dismissed
Michael Fulmer alleged that Mettiki Coal repeatedly assigned him to dusty work after he invoked Part 90 protection. Judge Michael E. Zielinski did not reach whether those assignments were discriminatory because Fulmer waited far beyond the Mine Act's 60-day complaint period. Fulmer knew the…
Secretary of Labor v. Elk Run Coal Company, Inc.
Omitted citations remanded for good cause
Elk Run's attorney timely contested other penalties but inadvertently omitted three citations that the mine foreman had instructed counsel to contest. Counsel discovered and reported the clerical mistake four days later; the Secretary did not oppose relief. The Commission remanded for a good-cause…
Secretary of Labor v. Simmons Fork Mining, Inc.
Unforwarded assessment remanded for good cause
Simmons Fork had already contested three citations and expected its counsel to receive notice when MSHA assessed the penalties, but MSHA mailed the assessment directly to the operator as usual. Delivery records showed receipt in the city listed on the assessment, and the company did not explain why…
Secretary of Labor v. Lyons Salt Company
Contest sent with payment remanded for good cause
Lyons Salt intended to contest three of eight penalties, but mistakenly enclosed the contest form with its payment for the other five and sent the package to MSHA's Pittsburgh payment office. The Secretary did not oppose reopening, while noting that Lyons Salt waited four months after receiving a…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Lawrence L. Pendley v. Highland Mining Company, LLC
Suspension damages set and discharge claim dismissed
Judge David F. Barbour incorporated an earlier liability ruling that Highland Mining and agent David Webb discriminatorily suspended Lawrence Pendley in December 2005. Based on the parties' damages agreement, he awarded $1,406.48 in back pay and interest, imposed a $5,000 civil penalty, and…
Matter of Shawn Theodore HINES
Jamaican legitimation requires parental marriage
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal from an Immigration Judge's decision terminating removal proceedings. The respondent was born in Jamaica out of wedlock, his parents never married, and his mother became a United States citizen while he was a lawful permanent resident…
Conocophillips Company
In re ConocoPhillips Company (EAB PSD Appeal No. 07-02): permit remanded on flare controls, greenhouse-gas review denied
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency issued ConocoPhillips Company a Clean Air Act Prevention of Significant Deterioration permit for a refinery expansion project in Roxana, Illinois. American Bottom Conservancy and Sierra Club challenged the permit, including the public availability and…
Secretary of Labor v. Southern Nevada Paving
Aggregate crushing held within Mine Act jurisdiction
Southern Nevada Paving screened and crushed spoil excavated during construction of the Summerlin development into Type II aggregate base used and sold on the project. Judge Richard W. Manning held that crushing rock into a commercially useful aggregate is mineral milling under the Mine Act even…
Secretary of Labor v. Dana Mining Company, Inc.
Claimed contest remanded for proof of filing
Dana Mining said its safety director timely returned a form contesting twelve penalties, but it supplied no proof of that filing. Counsel separately contested one of the twelve, while delinquency notices later listed the remaining eleven; the Secretary did not oppose reopening those eleven. The…
AAA Ready-Mix Inc. II
Late penalty contest remanded for a good-cause determination
MSHA proposed penalties for four citations issued to AAA Ready-Mix after its first inspection, but the company did not contest the assessment within 30 days. AAA said it never received the assessment and learned about it only from a delinquency notice, while the Secretary produced delivery records…
Beeland Group, LLC
In re Beeland Group, LLC (EAB UIC Appeal Nos. 08-01, 08-02, and 08-03): review denied for two permit petitions
EPA Region 5 issued Beeland Group, LLC a permit to construct and operate a Class I non-hazardous underground injection well in Antrim County, Michigan. The EAB denied Allen and Trisha Freize's petition because they did not show participation in the public review process or identify a specific…
McElroy Coal Company
Claimed penalty contest remanded for filing evidence
MSHA proposed penalties for six orders issued to McElroy Coal Company. McElroy said it contested all six penalties by letter eleven days after the assessment, but the Secretary had no record of receiving that letter and later treated an August fax as untimely. The Secretary did not oppose…
Elk Run Coal Company, Inc.
Penalty contest remanded for a timeliness determination
MSHA proposed penalties for three citations issued to Elk Run Coal Company. Elk Run said it mailed a contest for all three citations by certified mail, but it did not state when it received the assessment, and MSHA had no record of the contest. The company also said it intended to pay one penalty…
Matter of Victor Ramon VELAZQUEZ-HERRERA
Child-abuse removability requires the offense elements
The Board reconsidered a Mexican lawful permanent resident's removal order after the Ninth Circuit remanded for a precedential ruling on the meaning of “crime of child abuse.” The Board held that the term includes offenses involving intentional, knowing, reckless, or criminally negligent conduct…
Kaw Valley Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Timely penalty contests returned for further proceedings
Kaw Valley sought to reopen two proposed penalty assessments after receiving collection calls. Its Federal Express receipt showed that the contests were delivered to MSHA, and the Secretary conceded that an MSHA employee signed for them even though the Civil Penalty Compliance Office had no record…
H.B. Mellott Estate, Inc.
Uncertain penalty contest routing sent for review
MSHA proposed penalties for seven citations issued to H.B. Mellott Estate. The company paid three penalties and said it marked the other four for contest, but it did not know why the hearing request was not received. The Secretary did not oppose reopening those four penalties but noted that the…
Dry Creek Rancheria
In re Dry Creek Rancheria (EAB NPDES Appeal Nos. 07-14 and 07-15): petitions dismissed with prejudice
The County of Sonoma and Sonoma County Water Agency petitioned over the Dry Creek Rancheria NPDES permit in appeal 07-14, while the Alexander Valley Association petitioned in appeal 07-15. Each petitioner filed a submission withdrawing its petition for review. The Environmental Appeals Board…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Lawrence L. Pendley v. Highland Mining Company, LLC
One suspension found retaliatory, later discharge upheld
Lawrence Pendley alleged that Highland Mining disciplined and later discharged him because of safety complaints to mine management and MSHA. Judge David F. Barbour found that Highland and operations manager David Webb unlawfully suspended Pendley for three days in December 2005 after his protected…
Burch Construction, Inc.
Climbing a scaffold guardrail led to a serious access citation
Burch Construction employees worked from a scaffold at a military facility in San Diego. An employee climbed between the scaffold and roof by stepping on a scaffold guardrail instead of using compliant access, exposing him to a potential 25-foot fall. The judge found the conduct foreseeable and…
Eastern Associated Coal, LLC
Reopening denied for an unexplained clerical error
Eastern Associated Coal intended to contest proposed penalties for five citations but missed the 30-day deadline. Its reopening motion attributed the failure only to a clerical error. The Secretary argued that this explanation was inadequate and requested more detail. The Commission agreed that the…
James Hamilton Construction
Reopening denied for lack of an assessment explanation
James Hamilton Construction sought to reopen a final penalty assessment after a citation and later delinquency notice were misplaced among other case files. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but noted another request involving similar document handling and urged the company to improve its…
Twentymile Coal Company
Payment error did not explain missed contest
MSHA assessed penalties for 18 citations, and Twentymile Coal Company later sought to contest the one unpaid penalty. The company explained that a processing error delayed payment of the penalties it did not contest. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but emphasized that paying penalties and…
James Hamilton Construction
Reopening denied after misplaced citation and delayed motion
James Hamilton Construction said it failed to contest a proposed penalty because the underlying citation was misplaced in another docket's file. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but noted a second Hamilton request involving misplaced documents and urged better procedures. The Commission found…
Matter of J-S-
Spousal refugee eligibility requires an individual claim
The Attorney General reviewed an Immigration Judge's decision in a Chinese respondent's asylum case after the Board had held that spouses of people subjected to forced abortion or sterilization were automatically entitled to refugee status. The Attorney General overruled that per se spousal rule…
Webster County Coal, LLC
Roof-fall reporting citation vacated on summary decision
MSHA cited Webster County Coal for not filing an accident report after a roof fall. The mine had already dangered off the affected area because of bad roof, and miners were not permitted to work or travel there before the fall occurred. Judge Gary Melick held that the location was therefore not…
Spartan Mining Company, Inc.
Law-firm filing error and delay sent for review
MSHA assessed penalties for 70 violations at Spartan Mining's Diamond Energy Mine. Spartan said it faxed the assessment to counsel, but a law-firm employee failed to route it to the attorney responsible for filing the contest. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but noted that Spartan waited…
Teck-Pogo, Inc.
Timely penalty contest returned for further proceedings
MSHA initially treated Teck-Pogo's contest of penalties for 56 violations as late. In response to the company's reopening motion, the Secretary determined that the contest had been timely and agreed to process it on that basis. The Commission held that the proposed assessment never became a final…
Polycor Colorado Stone Quarries
Counsel misunderstanding sent for a good-cause decision
MSHA proposed penalties for 12 citations issued to Polycor Colorado Stone Quarries. Polycor said it intended to contest them, but a misunderstanding with counsel about the scope of the representation caused the contest to be filed after the 30-day deadline. The Secretary did not oppose reopening…
Barrick Goldstrike Mines, Inc.
Reassessed penalty receipt dispute sent for review
Barrick timely contested a citation and its original $60 proposed penalty. MSHA later removed the citation from that assessment, reassessed it at $5,000 under a new case number, and eventually issued a delinquency notice. Barrick said it never received the new assessment, while MSHA referred to…
SCP Investments, LLC
MSHA ordered to justify excluding operator from inspection
MSHA issued 12 citations after inspecting SCP Investments' new rock-crushing operation. The inspector excluded managing partner Pat Stone from the property and inspection because Stone lacked Part 46 miner training. Judge Jerold Feldman found that MSHA's first show-cause response did not identify a…
Tilden Mining Company, LLC
Workload explanation sent for a good-cause decision
Tilden Mining had contested an underlying order and said it also intended to contest the related proposed penalty. The company attributed the missed 30-day penalty deadline to overwhelming business matters handled by its safety manager. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission…
Empire Iron Mining Partnership
Missed contest sent for a good-cause decision
MSHA proposed penalties for a citation and an order issued to Empire Iron Mining Partnership. Empire said it intended to contest both the enforcement actions and their penalties, but a miscommunication between counsel and the company's safety manager resulted in no assessment contest being sent…
Matter of V-K-
Torture-likelihood findings receive de novo review
The Board reconsidered its decision in a Ukrainian Convention Against Torture case after the Third Circuit asked whether the Board could review an Immigration Judge's prediction about the likelihood of future torture. The Board held that this prediction is a mixed question of fact and law, or a…
Matter of A-S-B-
The Board may weigh evidence de novo
The Board reconsidered a Guatemalan respondent's asylum case after the Ninth Circuit remanded it for clarification of the Board's review authority. The Board held that it must defer to an Immigration Judge's factual findings unless they are clearly erroneous, but it may independently weigh the…
Cargill Deicing Technology
Missing conference request sent for a good-cause decision
Cargill paid penalties for nine citations but sought a hearing on the remaining citation. It said it had requested a conference with MSHA, learned that MSHA had no record of the request, and was told to refax a hearing request to the Commission because of a clerical error. The Secretary did not…
Nelson Quarries, Inc.
Mixed equipment rulings and settlements produce $2,060 penalty
These three cases covered 50 citations at two Nelson Quarries plants, including machine guarding, electrical, access, berm, fuel, labeling, and inspection requirements. Judge Richard W. Manning affirmed or modified 22 litigated citations, often reducing gravity or negligence where access to a…
J.C. Watson Company
Onion packing operations were subject to general-industry standards
J.C. Watson Company grew onions and operated an Idaho facility that cleaned, sorted, graded, packaged, and prepared them for shipment. After an employee's arm was caught under a moving conveyor, OSHA cited the company under numerous general-industry standards. Watson argued that its packing work…
SSA Cooper, LLC
Lashing rods across a vessel catwalk created a serious trip hazard
SSA Cooper performed stevedoring operations aboard a cargo container vessel near Savannah, Georgia. Longshoremen left heavy lashing rods across a 22-inch-wide catwalk while an SSA Cooper foreman repeatedly walked the area to check container placements. The judge found the catwalk was an active work…
B&N&K Restoration Co., Inc.
Unsecured and unmarked skylight cover led to $3,000 in penalties
B&N&K Restoration served as a prime contractor on a school addition and placed two overlapping steel sheets over a skylight opening. The sheets were not adequately secured or marked, and a welder for another contractor mistook them for material intended to cover a nearby elevator shaft. When he…
Washington Rock Quarries, Inc.
Special-assessment misunderstanding sent for review
Washington Rock was already contesting many citations and had related cases stayed while it awaited special assessments for two citations. When those assessments arrived, an employee understood the company president to mean that the contests had already been filed and placed the papers with other…
Banner Blue Coal Company
Reopening case dismissed after withdrawal
Banner Blue Coal Company asked the Commission to reopen a final penalty assessment. Two months later, the company withdrew its motion and requested dismissal. The Commission granted the withdrawal and dismissed the proceeding without addressing whether the assessment should be reopened.
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.