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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Consolidation Coal Company, Robert G. Wyatt, and Danny E. Crutchfield
Bleeder-system findings affirmed
Consolidation Coal Company was cited over its bleeder system and its evaluation of that system at an underground mine. The Commission denied the Secretary of Labor's request to remand the judge's decision concerning the evaluation requirement in 30 C.F.R. § 75.364(a)(2). The judge's conclusion that…
Department of the Air Force, Eglin Air Force Base and Hurlburt Field
In re Department of the Air Force, Eglin Air Force Base and Hurlburt Field (EAB RCRA Appeal Nos. 97-1 and 97-2): petition dismissed after settlement
The Department of the Air Force, Eglin Air Force Base and Hurlburt Field, and EPA Region 4 jointly moved to withdraw a petition for review after settling the issues raised by the petition. The Environmental Appeals Board granted the motion and dismissed the petition. The short public release does…
REB Enterprises, Inc. and Harold Miller and Richard Berry
Seat-belt and guarding rulings split on review
The Commission reviewed civil penalty proceedings involving REB Enterprises, a limestone quarry, and alleged seat-belt, equipment, and guarding violations. It affirmed the judge’s conclusion that the Secretary had not proved unwarrantable failure for one haul-truck seat-belt violation, reversed…
Central Wayne Energy Recovery Limited Partnership
In re Central Wayne Energy Recovery Limited Partnership (EAB PSD Appeal No. 98-1): reconsideration denied as untimely
Sandra Yerman sought reconsideration of the EAB's earlier dismissal of her challenge to a PSD permit for Central Wayne Energy Recovery Limited Partnership in Dearborn Heights, Michigan. The earlier dismissal treated the petition as late because the Board used a December 29, 1997 filing deadline…
Kenamerican Resources, Inc.
Penalty assessment reopened
Kenamerican Resources asked the Commission to reopen a proposed civil penalty assessment that had become final after the company missed the 30-day deadline to contest it. The company attributed the missed filing to its safety director's illness and an internal processing error. The Commission found…
Medical Construction Group
General contractor held responsible for subcontractor's fall hazard
Medical Construction Group (MCG) was the general contractor building an addition at a medical center in Twin Falls, Idaho. During an April 1997 inspection, an OSHA compliance officer saw ironworkers from a subcontractor, R&L Construction, connecting steel about 29 to 30 feet up without any fall…
Milo Construction Corporation
Twelve violations affirmed with reduced classifications
Milo Construction Corporation was the prime contractor on a residential construction project in Guam. After Milo failed to comply with discovery orders, the judge deemed admitted the cited conditions, employee exposure, and Milo's ability to control or correct the hazards. The violations covered…
Clark Elkhorn Coal Company
Mine-opening citations dismissed
Clark Elkhorn Coal Company contested citations concerning the sealing of mine openings at the Sunset Mine No. 1 and Ratliff Mine No. 110. The Secretary had already vacated the citation in Docket No. KENT 97-77-R, and the company withdrew that contest. Judge David Barbour concluded that the…
Daanen & Janssen, Inc.
Braking and control violations affirmed
Daanen & Janssen operated a limestone quarry where a front-end loader ran through a berm and fell to the quarry floor, fatally injuring its operator. The Commission affirmed the judge's findings that the company violated requirements to maintain a loader's braking system and keep control of mobile…
Ocean State Asbestos Removal, Inc.
In re Ocean State Asbestos Removal, Inc. (EAB CAA Appeal Nos. 97-2 and 97-5): liability affirmed and penalty increased
Ocean State Building Wrecking and Asbestos Removal, Inc. performed an asbestos renovation project in Rhode Island. EPA found that the company failed to keep regulated asbestos-containing material adequately wet during the work and until disposal. The presiding officer found liability, a high degree…
Durango Gravel
Discrimination finding entered pending remedy
Durango Gravel operated a small sand and gravel pit in Colorado. Judge Richard W. Manning found that the Secretary established that Durango terminated Clay Baier at least in part because Baier engaged in protected safety activity involving a highwall. The judge rejected Durango's defense that Baier…
Glenn Sadler
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Glenn Sadler filed a Mine Act discrimination complaint about eight years after Jim Walter Resources terminated him for unexcused absences. Judge Jerold Feldman dismissed the complaint as untimely after Sadler failed to explain the delay or respond to an order to show cause. The judge also found…
Louis A. Dierzen d/b/a Dierzen Welding & Machine Company, Dierzen Machine Company, and Dierzen Trailer Corporation
Failure-to-abate and repeat spray-area violations affirmed by default
Dierzen ran a welding and machine shop in Newark, Illinois with about 12 employees. In March 1997, OSHA conducted a follow-up inspection to check whether earlier, uncontested violations had been fixed. The inspector found that explosion-proof electrical equipment for the paint spray area had been…
Ketchikan Pulp Company
In re Ketchikan Pulp Company (EAB CWA Appeal No. 96-6): appeal withdrawn and dismissed
EPA withdrew its appeal concerning Ketchikan Pulp Company after additional research into the matters that formed the basis of the appeal. EPA's counsel represented that continued pursuit was not a good use of the Board's or the respondent's time, and Ketchikan Pulp stipulated to the withdrawal. The…
Rock of Ages Corporation
$180,000 penalty reinstated after fatality remand
Rock of Ages Corporation was cited after a fatality at its Lite Side Quarry involving explosives and misfires. On remand from the Commission, Judge Jerold Feldman reconsidered the statutory penalty factors and reinstated a total civil penalty of $180,000 for four violations. The penalties were…
Global Stone Penroc, Inc.
Summary decision denied
Global Stone Penroc sought summary decision on six citations and orders involving electrical grounding, equipment access, and damaged steps. Judge Gary Melick found genuine disputes about whether pumps were grounded, whether equivalent protection existed, whether safe access was provided, and…
Umpqua Research Company
In re Umpqua Research Company (EAB FIFRA Appeal No. 97-7): $13,000 penalty affirmed
Umpqua Research Company sold MCV Iodinated Resin to Boeing and Hamilton Standard without a pesticide registration number and exported it to two Thai companies with English-only labels. Umpqua stipulated to the violations, so the hearing addressed only the penalty. The Presiding Officer assessed…
Medusa Cement Company
Recusal denial affirmed
Medusa Cement Company sought interlocutory review after Judge Jerold Feldman denied its motion asking him to recuse himself from consolidated contest proceedings. The Commission affirmed the judge's order, concluding that the record did not establish the personal bias or other disqualification…
W. G. Kees Properties, Inc.
Eight construction safety items affirmed
W. G. Kees Properties, Inc. was cited for safety conditions at a construction site. The remaining allegations involved employees working without fall protection on a steep roof and second level, unsecured and insufficiently extended access ladders, and a stairway without required rail protection…
L & B Products, Corp.
Fifty manufacturing safety items affirmed
L & B Products, Corp. manufactured furniture at a facility in Hudson, New York. OSHA issued 51 serious and other-than-serious items after inspecting eight departments. The allegations covered elevated work areas, exit signs, flammable liquids, fire and lockout training, machine and power-press…
Macedos Construction Company, Inc.
Serious construction citation resolved by approved settlement
Macedos Construction was inspected at a construction site in Dover, New Jersey in October 1996. OSHA issued a serious citation alleging violations of five construction standards covering fall protection, concrete and masonry work, stairways, and ladders. Macedos contested the citation, and the case…
Sentrale Contracting Corp.
Repeat trench cave-in and spoil-pile violations affirmed
Sentrale Contracting was doing utility excavation at a conference center site in Armonk, New York. During a September 1996 inspection, an OSHA compliance officer found an employee working in a trench area that measured about 6.5 feet deep, with walls sloped far steeper than the 45 degrees allowed…
Gouverneur Talc Company
No violation found under the mine rescue apparatus rule
Gouverneur Talc Company operated an underground talc mine in New York. After a welder began sparking and producing smoke, four miners left the area and Fuller and Smith later went underground without self-contained breathing apparatus to shut off power. The Secretary alleged that this violated 30…
Milo Construction Corporation
Nine construction violations affirmed
Milo Construction Corporation was the prime contractor for construction at Sirena Plaza in Agana, Guam. After Milo failed to comply with discovery orders, the cited violations, their classifications, and Milo's knowledge were deemed admitted. The judge held Milo responsible for hazards involving…
Rock of Ages Corporation
Violations affirmed and penalties remanded
Rock of Ages Corporation operated granite quarries, including the Smith Quarry. A channel-burning torch ignited unexploded pyrodex left in a blast hole, killing an employee. The Commission affirmed findings that the company violated four explosives-safety standards involving misfire removal…
Tanoma Mining Company
Methane order affirmed and penalties modified
Tanoma Mining Company operated an underground coal mine in Pennsylvania. After methane levels above 4 percent were detected, the company evacuated the mine, shut off power except for fans, and notified MSHA. An inspector later measured methane concentrations from 2.4 percent to more than 5 percent…
Leeco, Incorporated
Discrimination penalty and reinstatement ordered
Leeco, Incorporated discharged Ronald Maxey after he made safety complaints to MSHA and caused inspections at the company’s No. 68 mine. Judge Gary Melick found that the discharge was intentional, violated the Mine Act’s discrimination protection, and was followed by an effort to create a false…
Webster Dudley Sand and Gravel, Inc.
Settlement motion denied
Webster Dudley Sand and Gravel faced a civil penalty proceeding at its Webster Plant. The Secretary asked the judge to approve a settlement under which the company would pay half the originally proposed penalty. Judge David Barbour denied the motion because it did not explain the facts supporting…
Island Creek Coal Company
Reporting violation penalty set on remand
Island Creek Coal Company failed to immediately report a methane escape from a core drill hole under 30 C.F.R. § 50.10. The Commission had already found that the failure to report violated the standard and remanded the case for a penalty assessment. On remand, Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found the…
Scandia Packaging Machinery Company
Late notice of contest dismissed, citation stands
Scandia Packaging Machinery Company received an OSHA citation on December 20, 1996, giving it until January 14, 1997 to file a notice of contest. The company did not object until April 3, 1997, when it wrote asking for an informal conference, so its contest was months late and the citation had…
Carmen Paliotta Contracting Co.
Settlement approved after hearing
Carmen Paliotta Contracting Co. performed construction and demolition work. OSHA issued one citation alleging three serious violations and another alleging three willful violations, with $158,900 in proposed penalties. After a three-day hearing, the parties reported that they had reached a written…
Homer City Coal Processing Corp.
Conveyor-belt violation affirmed, S&S finding rejected
Homer City Coal Processing Corp. operated a coal-processing plant in Pennsylvania. An MSHA inspector found frozen conveyor-belt rollers, coal material, flat spots, and two warm rollers, and cited the company under 30 C.F.R. § 77.404(a), which requires machinery and equipment to be maintained in…
Lewis Mechanical & Iron Works, Inc.
Willful fall violation affirmed with reduced penalty
Lewis Mechanical & Iron Works, Inc. installed crane rails while employees walked steel beams more than 30 feet above the ground without tying off. The judge held that installing the crane rails was not steel erection because the structural beams were already in place, so the cited general…
Schoolcraft Construction, Inc.
In re Schoolcraft Construction, Inc. (EAB CAA Appeal No. 97-1): liability determination reversed and remanded
Schoolcraft provided consulting and coordination services for asbestos abatement and broader renovation work at an Ohio elementary school. EPA Region 5 alleged five Clean Air Act asbestos NESHAP violations and sought a $20,000 penalty. The Presiding Officer dismissed the complaint with prejudice…
Olympia Drywall Company
Stairway and landing guardrail violations affirmed, $400 penalty
Olympia Drywall was a sheetrock subcontractor at a construction site in Austin, Texas. During an October 1996 inspection, OSHA found that the stairways its workers used to reach the second and third floors of a building lacked stairrails on one or both sides and had completely unguarded landings…
Weight Watchers Gourmet Food Co., Inc.
Amended order approves settlement
Weight Watchers Gourmet Food Co., Inc. operated a food preparation, packaging, and sales business. OSHA issued one citation alleging four serious violations with $5,625 in proposed penalties. The parties reached a written settlement at the hearing, and the judge approved it under the Commission's…
Consolidation Coal Company
Motion to dismiss compensation complaint denied
Local 1702, District 31, UMWA filed a compensation complaint on behalf of miners against Consolidation Coal Company. The company argued that the complaint had been served 153 days after it was filed and moved to dismiss. Judge Gary Melick applied Commission rules and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure…
Pontiki Coal Corporation
Discrimination settlement approved
The Secretary of Labor brought a discrimination complaint on behalf of Charles H. Dixon, Bernard Evans, Richard Glover, Edgar Oldham, Mark March, Don Riley, Charles Johnson, and eleven unnamed employees of Pontiki Coal Corporation. The Secretary also sought a $1,500 civil penalty. Judge Gary Melick…
C.W. Sprenger
Tag-line violation affirmed after one item settled
C.W. Sprenger erected a multi-story building in Maplewood, New Jersey. The parties settled item 1, and the judge approved that agreement without reproducing its terms. The remaining item alleged that a steel beam was hoisted near two connectors working about 30 feet high without a tag line to…
L.M.A. Construction Corp.
Fire-protection violations affirmed after fatal store fire
L.M.A. Construction Corp. was the general contractor renovating a church building that also contained retail space in Manhattan. OSHA inspected after an arsonist set fire to a clothing store in the building and blocked its exit; seven store employees died from smoke inhalation. The building's…
Rail Link Incorporated
Protective-order motion denied
The Secretary of Labor asked to prevent Rail Link Incorporated from deposing two MSHA district officials in a civil penalty case involving the agency's jurisdiction over Rail Link's operations. Judge Richard W. Manning held that questions about the facts supporting MSHA's jurisdiction could lead to…
Zaclon, Inc.
In re Zaclon, Inc. (EAB RCRA (3008) Appeal No. 96-1): dismissal reversed and case remanded for penalty
EPA Region V appealed an Initial Decision that dismissed its complaint against Zaclon, Inc. under the Paperwork Reduction Act. The complaint alleged that Zaclon failed to submit a RCRA part B post-closure permit application or equivalency demonstration for a closed waste pile at its Cleveland, Ohio…
Island Creek Coal Company
Methane reporting violation reversed and remanded
Island Creek Coal Company operated the Ohio No. 11 underground coal mine. A continuous miner cut through a core drill hole and released pressurized methane into a working section. Island Creek did not immediately report the incident to MSHA, although inspectors later measured methane at explosive…
Tom Sperry
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Tom Sperry alleged that Granite Construction terminated him in retaliation for complaining about the lack of drinking water at the Whitehill Sand and Gravel Pit. Judge Richard W. Manning held that the complaint about potable water was protected activity under section 105(c) of the Mine Act. He…
Tilden Mining Company, L.C.
Crusher citations split and $559 penalty assessed
Tilden Mining Company operated an iron mine where employees worked around a clogged primary crusher. The judge approved a settlement modifying one citation and vacating another, vacated an imminent-danger order that was not promptly reduced to writing, and affirmed one fall-protection citation…
Durango Gravel
Discrimination finding entered pending remedy
Durango Gravel operated a small sand and gravel pit in Colorado. Judge Richard W. Manning found that the Secretary established that Durango terminated Clay Baier at least in part because Baier engaged in protected safety activity involving a highwall. The judge rejected Durango's defense that Baier…
Malouf Construction Corporation
Excavation inspection citation vacated
Malouf Construction Corporation was the general contractor for a large office complex in Clinton, Mississippi. A plumbing subcontractor dug a six-foot excavation and allowed employees to enter without an inspection by a competent person. The judge found that the inspection requirement was violated…
Seabed Harvesting, Inc.
Diving violations affirmed with reduced penalties
Seabed Harvesting, Inc. conducted commercial geoduck diving from the vessel Lauri Ann near Bainbridge Island, Washington. The tender recorded bottom time but did not maintain a written depth-time profile, although the divers used computers that stored depth and decompression information. The judge…
Virginia International Terminals, Inc.
Forklift seat-belt citation dismissed
Virginia International Terminals, Inc. did not require operators to use seat belts on forklifts equipped with them. OSHA cited the company under the general duty clause after an operator drove a forklift off a loading ramp, was ejected or jumped, and later died from her injuries. The judge found…
Johnson Masonry, Inc.
Fees allowed after cited regulation was deleted
Johnson Masonry, Inc. sought fees and expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act after OSHA withdrew a citation. An earlier order denied the application, and the company asked the judge to reopen the record or award costs incurred after the cited regulation was deleted on August 12, 1996. The…
Extra Energy, Inc.
Contractor equipment and reporting violations affirmed
Extra Energy operated a surface coal mine and hired a security contractor whose guard, Melvin Brian Day Jr., died from carbon monoxide poisoning in a car at the mine. The Commission held that Extra Energy could be cited for its contractor's unsafe vehicle condition because it had substantial…
Leeco, Incorporated
Discrimination complaint granted
Leeco, Incorporated discharged Ronald Maxey after he reported mine safety problems to MSHA. Judge Gary Melick found that the discharge was motivated by Maxey’s protected safety complaints and violated the Mine Act’s discrimination protection. The judge rejected Leeco’s account that the discharge…
Concrete Metal Forms, Inc.
Formwork violations affirmed after deck collapse
Concrete Metal Forms, Inc. designed and erected formwork for a new county jail in Alabama. During the third-level concrete pour, the deck collapsed and 22 employees were injured. CMF argued that the general contractor caused the collapse by directing an uneven pour despite CMF's warning. The judge…
Port Townsend Paper Corp.
In re Port Townsend Paper Corp. (EAB PSD Appeal Nos. 97-13, 97-14): appeals dismissed
Port Townsend Paper Company and Rebound each petitioned the EAB to review a PSD permit approved by Washington's Department of Ecology and EPA Region X. Port Townsend withdrew its petition as untimely, while Rebound's petition did not show that it had commented on the draft permit or participated in…
Georges Colliers Incorporated
Order to show cause for incomplete penalty petition
The Secretary of Labor filed a civil penalty petition against Georges Colliers Incorporated for the Pollyanna No. 8 Mine. Chief Administrative Law Judge Paul Merlin found that the petition was incomplete because its exhibit did not include MSHA's assessment sheet identifying the contested…
Dietrich Industries, Inc.
Machine-guarding citation dismissed
A Dietrich Industries employee injured his finger while adjusting a stacker table as the steel-processing machine continued to run. Company procedure required shutting the machine off or placing it in a noncycling mode before making the adjustment. The employee said production needs sometimes…
Lukens Steel Company
Commission vacates PPE citation after withdrawal
The Secretary notified the Commission that he was withdrawing the only remaining item, a serious citation alleging a personal-protective-equipment violation. The notice stated that no other issues remained in the case. The Commission treated the notice as a motion and vacated the citation item and…
Doyal Morgan, Wayne Larkins, and Steven Ramsey, employed by Asarco Incorporated
Doyal Morgan, Wayne Larkins, and Steven Ramsey (FMSHRC SE 98-1-M, SE 97-251-M, SE 97-252-M): Individual penalty cases dismissed
The Secretary of Labor proposed individual civil penalties against Doyal Morgan, Wayne Larkins, and Steven Ramsey, employees of Asarco Incorporated, after an accident at the Young Mine and a citation issued to the operator. Chief Administrative Law Judge Paul Merlin found that MSHA took 22 months…
Ormet Primary Aluminum Corporation
Commission vacates withdrawn PPE item
The Secretary notified the Commission that he was withdrawing the only remaining item, an other-than-serious citation alleging a personal-protective-equipment violation. The notice stated that no other issues remained. The Commission treated the notice as a motion and vacated the citation item and…
Sunny Ridge Mining Company, Inc.
Remand penalties and liability resolved
These consolidated cases returned to the judge after a Commission remand. The parties agreed to modify the violation involving 30 C.F.R. § 77.405(b) from a section 104(d) citation with a $3,000 penalty to a section 104(a) significant-and-substantial citation with moderate negligence and a $431…
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.