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.
Thomas Industrial Coatings, Inc.
Settlement withdraws high-visibility clothing item
Thomas Industrial Coatings was painting an interstate overpass when OSHA cited alleged traffic-zone and aerial-lift hazards. The administrative law judge vacated the item alleging inadequate protection from traffic and the aerial-lift tie-off item. For the high-visibility clothing item, the judge…
In re Emeka Kenneth ABOSI
Returning permanent resident need not adjust status for waiver
The Board reviewed a Nigerian respondent's appeal from an Immigration Judge's finding that he was ineligible for a waiver of inadmissibility. The respondent was a returning lawful permanent resident who had been denied admission because of a small marijuana conviction and was charged with a…
Toray Marketing & Sales (America), Inc.
In re Toray Marketing & Sales (America), Inc. (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 07-02C): $61,504 penalty
Toray Marketing & Sales (America), Inc. and EPA consented to entry of a Final Order in a Toxic Substances Control Act penalty matter. The released Final Order incorporates the attached Consent Agreement by reference, orders Toray to comply with its terms, and assesses a civil penalty of $61,504…
Chemical Lime Company of Arizona, Inc.
Dismissal vacated after payment was misapplied
A chief administrative law judge approved a $625 penalty and dismissed Chemical Lime's case after being told that the penalty had been paid. Chemical Lime timely sought Commission review and explained that MSHA had mistakenly applied part of a payment for a different assessment to the disputed…
National Plastics Color, Inc.
In re National Plastics Color, Inc. (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 07-04C): $47,685 penalty
The EPA EAB listing identifies this as a Toxic Substances Control Act penalty matter involving National Plastics Color, Inc. The parties consented to entry of a Final Order incorporating the attached Consent Agreement by reference. The Board ordered National Plastics Color, Inc. to comply with that…
Mission Constructors, Inc.
Missed contest deadline left citation final
OSHA cited Mission Constructors after inspecting a Tampa construction site. The employer's representative had a notice of contest prepared but did not file it by the deadline because he was trying to arrange an informal conference with OSHA. He sent it seven days late, despite the citation's clear…
J. Clark Framing
Informal-conference delay did not excuse late contest
OSHA cited J. Clark Framing after inspecting a Tampa construction site. The employer's representative prepared a notice of contest but did not send it by the deadline because he was trying to arrange an informal conference with OSHA. The filing was eight days late, even though the citation clearly…
The News Press
Paper-roll loading hazard leads to $2,500 in penalties
The News Press used employees to push 2,000-pound newsprint rolls onto trolleys while one worker stood in front of each moving roll to catch and guide it. A roll had fallen from a trolley at least three times, and one employee missed 43 workdays after injuring her shoulder while trying to stop one…
In re J-H-S-
Two children alone do not establish family-planning persecution
The Board reviewed a Chinese respondent's appeal from the denial of asylum based on his claim that he would be persecuted for fathering two children. The Board held that a person who fathers or gives birth to two or more children in China may qualify as a refugee only after proving the local…
In re J-W-S-
Foreign-born children do not establish forced-sterilization fear
The Board reconsidered a Chinese applicant's asylum, withholding, and Convention Against Torture claims after the Second Circuit vacated an earlier Board decision. The applicant argued that returning to China with two United States citizen children would lead to forced sterilization, other…
Buzzi Unicem USA
Automatic conveyor warning citation vacated
Buzzi Unicem used an automated conveyor system to feed scrap tires into cement kilns, with individual belts repeatedly stopping and restarting under computer control. After a tire attendant suffered serious friction burns while trying to remove a reject without locking out the belt, MSHA cited the…
Elk Run Coal Company, Inc.
Electrical orders reduced from unwarrantable failure
Two Elk Run electricians worked inside a motor-control cabinet without opening, locking, and tagging the upstream pole disconnects and without wearing protective gloves. Their meter exploded during testing, knocking one electrician down and causing hearing loss. Judge Avram Weisberger affirmed…
Rockhouse Energy Mining Company
Missing assessment page sent for good-cause review
Rockhouse Energy marked 27 proposed penalties for contest, but the assessment copy faxed to its counsel omitted one page. Counsel therefore contested only 16 penalties, leaving 11 intended contests to become final Commission orders. Rockhouse asked to reopen those 11 penalties, and the Secretary…
In re Viviana GARCIA
Special-rule cancellation application continues through final decision
The Board reconsidered a Mexican respondent's application for special-rule cancellation of removal after the Fifth Circuit remanded the case. The Immigration Judge had found that she lacked seven years of continuous physical presence on the date she filed her application. The Board held that an…
Howmet Corporation
In re Howmet Corporation (EAB RCRA (3008) Appeal No. 05-04): spent-material liability affirmed
Howmet Corporation used potassium hydroxide to clean metal castings at facilities in Texas and New Jersey. When the used chemical became too contaminated for cleaning, Howmet sent some of it to a fertilizer manufacturer without handling it under the hazardous-waste rules. The Environmental Appeals…
Premier Elkhorn Coal Company
Misrouted penalty contest remanded for good-cause review
Premier Elkhorn intended to contest proposed penalties but mailed the contest and its payment for uncontested penalties to MSHA's Pittsburgh office instead of the Civil Penalty Compliance Office in Arlington. The company sought reopening based on mistake and inadvertence, and the Secretary did not…
Aker Kvaerner Industrial Constructors, Inc.
Assessments sent to old address remanded
Aker Kvaerner said MSHA mailed two proposed penalty assessments to a former, incorrect address. The company learned of one through a delinquency notice and the other during a later discussion with MSHA. It then returned a contest after MSHA remailed an assessment, but was told that the Commission…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Frederick Martin v. Dickenson-Russell Coal Company
Economic reinstatement agreement stayed the case
The Secretary sought temporary reinstatement for Frederick Martin while investigating his discrimination claim against Dickenson-Russell Coal Company. The parties agreed that, instead of returning Martin to work at the mine, the company would provide biweekly economic reinstatement equal to his…
Tri-State Stone & Building Supply, Inc.
Separate penalty contest remanded for good-cause review
Tri-State Stone timely contested an MSHA citation but did not separately contest the later proposed penalty assessment. The company said it believed the original citation contest was enough and realized the mistake only after receiving a delinquency notice. It asked to reopen the final assessment…
U.S. Silica Company
Written contests with unchecked boxes remanded
U.S. Silica wrote on an assessment form that it was contesting two proposed penalties but inadvertently left the corresponding contest boxes unchecked. The penalties were later paid by mistake, and the assessments became final Commission orders. U.S. Silica asked to reopen them, and the Secretary…
Rhee Bros., Inc.
In re Rhee Bros., Inc. (EAB FIFRA Appeal No. 06-02): penalty affirmed
Rhee Bros., Inc. distributed and sold an unregistered pesticide product called JOMYAK, a Korean word for mothballs, through its grocery wholesale and retail business. EPA alleged hundreds of distributions between 2000 and 2003 and proposed a $1,306,800 civil penalty. The ALJ found Rhee liable and…
George Reed, Inc.
Counsel-copy request sent for good-cause review
George Reed failed to timely contest an assessment mailed to its address of record. The company said it had previously asked MSHA to copy its counsel on all citation correspondence and had told MSHA that it intended to contest the citations and related penalties. The Secretary did not oppose…
Southern Masonry Construction, LLC
Unguarded second-floor access results in $1,200 penalty
Southern Masonry employees used a stairway that opened beside an unguarded edge on the second floor of a building under construction. Workers passed within roughly two to three feet of the edge and could have fallen 11 to 12 feet. Although the general contractor was responsible for installing…
In re T-Z-
Forced abortion requires threats of persecutory harm
The Board reviewed a Chinese respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge granted withholding of removal, denied asylum as a matter of discretion, and denied protection under the Convention Against Torture. The Board held that an abortion is forced when a reasonable person would view threats for…
Eastern Associated Coal Corp.
Second assessment contest remanded
Eastern Associated Coal timely contested a proposed penalty for an order, but MSHA then said the assessment had been issued in error and sent a replacement assessment. Eastern misplaced the second form and did not file another contest because of internal miscommunication. The replacement assessment…
Marco Crane & Rigging Company
Missing assessment notice remanded for review
Marco Crane & Rigging did not contest a proposed penalty assessment and first learned of it when MSHA sent a delinquency notice about three months later. The company asked the Commission to reopen the resulting final order on the ground that it never received the assessment. The Secretary did not…
Rex Coal Company
Disputed missing answer remanded after default
A chief administrative law judge defaulted Rex Coal after the Commission did not receive an answer to the Secretary's penalty petition or a response to a show-cause order. Rex timely sought review and supplied a copy of an answer it said it had filed months earlier. The record did not establish…
Kmart Holding Corporation doing business as Kmart Corporation
In re Kmart Holding Corporation doing business as Kmart Corporation (EAB EPCRA 07-01C, RCRA 07-02C, and CWA 07-01C): consent order approved
Kmart Holding Corporation, doing business as Kmart Corporation, consented to entry of a Final Order with EPA. EPA published a notice for public comment on the proposed order under the Clean Water Act, and the comment period closed without comments. The Board approved and incorporated the Consent…
Roy G. Peterson v. Alcoa World Alumina Atlantic
Miner ordered to identify protected activity
Roy G. Peterson alleged that Alcoa World Alumina Atlantic discriminated against him by refusing light-duty assignments, losing tools while he was on medical leave, and billing private insurance for treatment of an eye irritation. The judge explained that a Mine Act discrimination claim requires…
Summit Contractors Inc.
Controlling-employer scaffold citation vacated
Summit was the general contractor for a college dormitory project where a masonry subcontractor's employees worked on scaffolds without fall protection. OSHA cited Summit as a controlling employer even though Summit did not create the condition and none of its own employees were exposed. A…
In re Y-L-
Frivolous asylum findings require specific safeguards
The Board reviewed a Chinese respondent's case after an Immigration Judge denied asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture, and found his asylum application frivolous. The Board held that an Immigration Judge must separately address frivolousness and make…
Manganas Painting Co., Inc.
Lead and fall-protection items partly affirmed
Manganas removed lead-based paint from two bridges using abrasive blasting inside canvas containments. OSHA cited the company for lead monitoring, shower, and medical-surveillance violations, as well as numerous fall-protection hazards. The Commission upheld the inspection warrant and found that…
In re Hugo Yahir TOBAR-LOBO
Willful sex-offender registration failure is moral turpitude
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal after an Immigration Judge terminated removal proceedings against a Salvadoran lawful permanent resident. The respondent had convictions for failing to register as a sex offender and for grand theft, and the Board considered whether…
Kinder Morgan Transmix Co., LLC; Kinder Morgan Operating L.P. A; and Colton Processing Facility, Inc.
In re Kinder Morgan Transmix Co., LLC and related companies (EAB RCRA 07-01C and CAA 07-01C): $613,000 penalty
The Environmental Appeals Board considered a Consent Agreement resolving a consolidated Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and Clean Air Act matter involving Kinder Morgan Transmix Co., LLC, Kinder Morgan Operating L.P. A, and Colton Processing Facility, Inc. The Board approved and incorporated…
Secretary of Labor v. Clean Energy Mining Company
Late penalty petition allowed to proceed
Clean Energy Mining Company asked the judge to dismiss a civil penalty case because the Secretary filed the penalty petition after the 45-day deadline in Commission Rule 28(a). The petition was due December 15, 2006, but was filed January 12, 2007 after a processing error caused the Secretary to…
Michael Sonney v. Alamo Cement Co., Ltd.
Discrimination complaint dismissed after employer assurances
Michael Sonney filed a Mine Act discrimination complaint against Alamo Cement Company. An earlier order dismissed the complaint as moot, conditioned on Alamo providing written assurances that it would give neutral employment references and had removed disciplinary references from Sonney’s personnel…
Village of Pender Waste Water Treatment Facility
In re Village of Pender Waste Water Treatment Facility (EAB NPDES Appeal Nos. 07-05, 07-06, and 07-07): petitions dismissed with prejudice
EPA Region 7 asked the Environmental Appeals Board to dismiss three petitions seeking review of the Village of Pender Waste Water Treatment Facility's NPDES permit. The petitioners had not filed comments or participated in a public hearing, and the final permit was identical to the draft permit…
Rogers Group, Inc.
Default remanded after operator sought to continue contest
A chief administrative law judge entered default against Rogers Group after it did not answer the Secretary’s penalty petition or respond to a show-cause order. Rogers timely wrote to the Commission that it believed it had submitted the correct paperwork, had little experience with Commission…
Federal Express Corporation
Platform railing citation vacated for lack of exposure proof
FedEx used an elevating platform to move cargo containers between trucks at its Oklahoma City air cargo facility. The platform had open sides, and OSHA measured it at 51 inches above the concrete while one truck was being loaded. Although the judge found that the railing standard applied and that…
Trans Alta Centralia Mining, LLC
Compensation and enforcement cases consolidated
The International Union of Operating Engineers sought compensation for miners idled by enforcement actions at Trans Alta Centralia Mining’s coal processing plant. The company asked to stay the compensation case while its contests of an imminent-danger order and a related structural-maintenance…
Andron Construction Corporation
Falling concrete block results in $850 penalty
Andron managed a school construction project where concrete blocks were staged near the edge of a second-floor landing area. A pallet came apart, and a 35-pound block fell about 26 feet and struck an Andron employee on the head, knocking him unconscious and requiring hospitalization. The judge…
In re M-D-
Background-check remands restore Immigration Judge jurisdiction
The Board reviewed a Guinean respondent's interlocutory appeal after an Immigration Judge refused to consider her adjustment-of-status application during a remand for background checks. The Board held that an Immigration Judge must enter a final order granting or denying the relief after the checks…
Rockland Wastewater Treatment Plant
In re Rockland Wastewater Treatment Plant (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 06-06): petition dismissed after settlement
The North and South Rivers Watershed Association asked to withdraw its petition for review of NPDES Permit No. MA0101923. The parties had settled the issues raised in the petition, and EPA Region 1 issued a permit modification incorporating the settlement terms. The modification took effect on…
Consolidation Coal Company
Mistaken penalty payment remanded for good-cause review
Consolidation Coal Company asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that became final after the company paid it instead of filing a contest. Consolidation said it intended to contest one citation but mistakenly believed the penalty would not be proposed until after a scheduled…
Martin Construction, Inc.
Six trench items vacated for lack of knowledge or proof
Martin Construction was the general contractor on a sewer project where a subcontractor's owner was killed in a trench cave-in. OSHA cited Martin as the controlling employer for six alleged excavation violations, including unsafe access, an edge spoil pile, inadequate inspections, and deficient…
Mario Sinacola & Sons Excavating, Inc.
Excavator hazard citation vacated for lack of proven abatement
A Sinacola crew was installing a water line in a trench when an excavator bucket moved and pinned a pipe layer against the trench wall, fatally injuring him. The judge found that the construction industry and Sinacola recognized the danger of employees working within an excavator's operating area…
Fann Contracting, Inc.
Claimed timely penalty contest remanded for review
Fann Contracting asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final. The company said it received the assessment on June 26, 2006, mailed its contest on July 24, and MSHA received it on July 26, but no hearing followed. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission…
FKZ Coal Inc.
Inability to pay did not justify reopening assessment
FKZ Coal asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that became final when the company did not contest it within 30 days. The company said it could not pay the assessed penalties but did not explain why it missed the contest deadline. The Secretary opposed reopening because inability to…
Premier Elkhorn Coal Company
Misrouted contest remanded for good-cause review
Premier Elkhorn Coal Company asked the Commission to reopen another penalty assessment that became final when its contest was not timely received. This assessment included a citation related to a stayed civil penalty proceeding. Premier Elkhorn said it mistakenly sent the contest to MSHA’s…
Premier Elkhorn Coal Company
Misrouted penalty contest remanded for good-cause review
Premier Elkhorn Coal Company asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that became final when its contest was not timely received. Premier Elkhorn said it mistakenly sent the contest to MSHA’s Pittsburgh office instead of the Arlington office. Three underlying citations were already being…
Franciscus Roofing & Siding, Inc.
Roof and ladder violations result in $2,400 penalty
An OSHA inspector observed a Franciscus worker about 20 feet above the ground on a steep residential roof without conventional fall protection. The judge found that the worker was an employee under the OSH Act even though the company called him a subcontractor. Franciscus did not produce the safety…
In re K-R-Y- & K-C-S-
South Korean citizenship establishes firm resettlement
The Board reviewed two North Korean respondents' appeals after Immigration Judges denied asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture and ordered removal to South Korea. The respondents had fled North Korea, moved to South Korea, and acquired South Korean…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Lawrence L. Pendley v. Highland Mining Co., LLC
Settlement vacated because miner did not agree
The Secretary filed a Mine Act discrimination complaint for Lawrence L. Pendley against Highland Mining and later joined the company in seeking approval of a settlement. The motion disclosed that Pendley did not agree, but the judge approved the settlement and dismissed the case. Pendley asked the…
Horizon Homes, Inc.
Settlement mistake issue remanded
Horizon was the general contractor at a worksite where OSHA cited an alleged scaffold guardrail violation. The company signed a settlement that left the guardrail item in place, even though it said the same item against a subcontractor had been withdrawn because the scaffold height did not trigger…
In re Avihail KOCHLANI
Counterfeit-goods trafficking is moral turpitude
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal after an Immigration Judge terminated removal proceedings against an Israeli lawful permanent resident. The respondent had convictions for grand theft and trafficking in counterfeit goods, and the Board considered whether the federal…
Monterey Coal Company
Alternate escapeway citation vacated
MSHA cited Monterey Coal Company because its alternate escapeway passed nearby shafts and continued about two and one-half miles to the mine's main portal. The Secretary argued that the nearby shafts were suitable for evacuation and made the existing route less direct. Monterey showed that the…
Town of Marshfield Waste Water Treatment Facility
In re Town of Marshfield, Massachusetts (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 07-03): review denied as untimely
The Town of Marshfield, Massachusetts petitioned for review of an EPA Region 1 NPDES permit for treated wastewater discharged into Massachusetts Bay. The Town challenged the permit's fecal coliform limit and argued that the Board should review the permit despite the late filing. The Board…
Pike Electric, Inc.
Generator backfeed violations result in $12,000 penalty
A Pike Electric lineman was repairing hurricane-damaged residential power lines when electricity from a homeowner's portable generator backfed into a line and electrocuted him. Alabama Power had warned the crew about generators, but Pike did not organize a systematic search or isolate the…
Jerry Allen, Jr., employed by Martin Marietta Materials, Inc.
Assessment sent to wrong address was not final
MSHA proposed an individual civil penalty against Jerry Allen, Jr. under section 110(c) of the Mine Act. The agency mailed the assessment to an incorrect address, and it was returned without reaching Allen. Allen learned of it through a delinquency notice, obtained the assessment through counsel…
Holcim (US) Incorporated
Disputed receipt of assessment sent for good-cause review
Holcim timely contested an MSHA citation and order, but the related penalty assessment later became final without a contest. Holcim said it was never served with the assessment or had no record or awareness of receiving it, and learned of the penalty from a delinquency notice. The Secretary's…
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.