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.
Broken Hill Mining Company, Inc.
Appeal dismissed for failure to file brief
Broken Hill Mining Company appealed a civil penalty proceeding, but it did not file the opening brief required after the Commission granted review. The Secretary of Labor moved to dismiss the appeal, and Broken Hill did not oppose the motion. The Commission also gave the company an opportunity to…
Cannelton Industries, Inc.
Coal accumulation violation and foremen liability affirmed
Cannelton Industries operated the Stockton Mine, where an inspector found a large accumulation of loose coal and coal dust beneath a belt scraper. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found that the accumulation developed over about two weeks and that the operator's foremen made little or no effort to remove it…
C.W. Mining Company
Respirable-dust citation vacated
C.W. Mining Company's Bear Canyon #1 Mine was cited after five operator dust samples averaged 1.9 milligrams of respirable dust per cubic meter. MSHA had assigned a 1.2-milligram limit to a replacement continuous miner, but that lower limit belonged to an older machine that had been scrapped. The…
FMC Wyoming Corporation
Two citations vacated
MSHA cited FMC Wyoming Corporation at the FMC Trona Mine for alleged violations involving guarding of moving machine parts and noise exposure. After reviewing photographs at the hearing, the Secretary agreed that the coupling and drive shaft between a motor and hoist were guarded, though the…
FMC Wyoming Corporation
Arc-welding citations settled
MSHA cited FMC Wyoming Corporation for two alleged violations of the arc-shield requirement at the FMC Trona Mine. The parties agreed to settle the case for $50 on each citation, while FMC did not admit a violation. Judge August F. Cetti found the settlement consistent with the Mine Act's penalty…
C.W. Mining Company
Four citations resolved by settlement
C.W. Mining Company operated the Bear Canyon No. 1 Mine. MSHA alleged four safety violations involving an inadequate preshift examination, coal and coal-dust accumulations, equipment, and electrical equipment. The parties agreed to modify the preshift citation by deleting its…
ICG Electric, Inc.
Trench inspection and cave-in protection violations affirmed, one serious and one repeat, $12,000
ICG Electric installs underground lines and was working two excavations at an intersection in Aurora, Colorado. Acting on a complaint from the Aurora Fire Department, an OSHA compliance officer inspected the site and found employees in unshored trenches roughly five and a half to six feet deep, in…
Phelps Dodge Morenci, Inc.
Discrimination complaint dismissed for failure to state a claim
Clyde Perry alleged that Phelps Dodge Morenci discharged him after he complained that his medical condition made truck-driving work unsafe and after a dispute about a drug test. Judge Arthur J. Amchan held that an injury, inability to perform assigned work, and refusal to take a drug test were not…
Wharf Resources (USA), Inc.
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Thomas L. Crowder alleged that Wharf Resources removed him from a supervisory position after an anhydrous-ammonia release while he was installing a test gauge on a pump. Judge August F. Cetti found that the complaint did not identify protected Mine Act activity and that disciplinary action over the…
Montana Sulphur and Chemical Co.
Commission vacates the two hydrogen-sulfide respirator items after the Secretary withdraws them
Montana Sulphur and Chemical Company makes chemicals, including liquefied hydrogen sulfide, at a plant in Billings, Montana. After a 1994 inspection, OSHA cited the company and the parties settled every item except two serious ones: that loading-crew employees did not wear supplied-air respirators…
Thunder Basin Coal Company
Citation vacated for failure to post temporary reinstatement order
Thunder Basin Coal Company was cited for not posting a temporary reinstatement order on the mine bulletin board. The ALJ granted summary decision for Thunder Basin and vacated the citation. The Commission majority affirmed in result, holding that section 109(a) did not require posting temporary…
Energy West Mining Company
Failure-to-abate order upheld, penalty remanded
Energy West Mining Company was cited after respirable-dust sampling at a mining unit showed concentrations above the applicable limit. The ALJ upheld a section 104(b) failure-to-abate order and assessed a $3,000 civil penalty. The Commission majority affirmed the order because substantial evidence…
Glenn's Trucking Company, Inc.
Default order vacated and remanded
Glenn's Trucking Company failed to answer the Secretary's civil-penalty petition and a judge's order to show cause. The ALJ entered a default order assessing the proposed $2,000 penalty. Glenn's Trucking later sent the Commission an answer and a letter of protest and asked that the default be set…
Morton International, Inc., Morton Salt
Citations for methane in an abandoned area vacated
Morton International operated a domal salt mine in Louisiana. MSHA cited the company after an inspection found methane in an abandoned, unsealed area, alleging violations of standards requiring action at specified methane levels. The Commission majority held that those standards did not apply to…
RNS Services, Inc.
Coal refuse pile subject to the Mine Act
RNS Services operated at a coal refuse pile and was cited for alleged violations involving workplace examinations and a mining plan. The ALJ vacated the citations after concluding that RNS was not engaged in the work of preparing coal and that the Mine Act did not apply at the site. The Commission…
L&J Energy Company, Inc.
Ability to continue in business remanded
L&J Energy Company petitioned for discretionary review. The Commission granted review on the issue of the operator's ability to continue in business and remanded that issue to the judge for appropriate proceedings. The Commission denied the petition in all other respects.
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Violation affirmed without S&S or unwarrantable-failure findings
Jim Walter Resources was cited for an accumulation of combustible material under 30 C.F.R. § 75.400, along with a withdrawal order. The ALJ affirmed the violation but found that it was not significant and substantial and was not caused by the operator's unwarrantable failure. The Commission…
Peabody Coal Company
Negligence findings reversed and penalties remanded
Peabody Coal Company was cited after respirable-dust sampling showed violations of the applicable limit at continuous-miner units. The ALJ found high negligence and unwarrantable failure and assessed $15,000 in civil penalties. The Commission reversed those findings, concluding that the ALJ applied…
Walker Stone Company, Inc.
Lockout citation affirmed as modified, individual penalty dismissed
Walker Stone operated a quarry and mill that processed construction aggregates and road-building materials. MSHA cited the company after employees worked on an electrically powered log washer without deenergizing and locking out the equipment. Judge Roy J. Maurer found a violation of the lockout…
De Atley Company, Inc.
Default judgment reopened and remanded
De Atley Company failed to answer the Secretary's civil-penalty petition and a show-cause order, so the chief judge entered a default order assessing a $1,019 penalty. The company later said it had reached a settlement, but its predecessor left before signing the agreement, and the signed agreement…
Mountain Top Trucking Company, Mayes Trucking Company, Inc., Elmo Mayes, William David Riley, and Anthony Curtis Mayes
Mountain Top Trucking Company and others (FMSHRC KENT 95-604-D and related dockets): Counsel appearance accepted in discrimination proceeding
The Secretary brought a discrimination proceeding on behalf of four miners. The presiding judge denied the appearance of private counsel for the individual miner complainants and certified that ruling for interlocutory review. The Commission accepted review, held that the miners had an unequivocal…
Asarco Incorporated and Federated Metals Corporation
In re Asarco Incorporated and Federated Metals Corporation (EAB CERCLA 106(b) Petition No. 94-22): reimbursement denied
Asarco Incorporated and Federated Metals Corporation sought reimbursement for response costs incurred while complying with an EPA Region V order during a water main renovation project in Beckemeyer, Illinois. The order required them to test soil for lead, remove soil with elevated lead levels, and…
New Jersey Monument Co.
Late notice of contest dismissed, citation affirmed by operation of law
New Jersey Monument Co. is a very small company with one shop employee. OSHA issued it a citation and proposed penalty by certified mail on June 16, 1995, received June 19, which set a July 11, 1995 deadline to file a written notice of contest. The company did not file on time. It later wrote to…
DCL Construction, Inc.
Settlement approved with penalty reduction
DCL Construction faced one section 104(d)(1) citation and seven section 104(d)(1) orders. The parties asked the judge to approve a settlement reducing the proposed penalty from $6,700 to $4,690. The motion stated that the original penalty had been specially assessed and that DCL had no violations…
Nelson Brothers Inc.
Tanker-truck fall protection citation and imminent-danger order affirmed
Nelson Brothers supplied blasting agents and technical assistance to mines and used tanker trucks to transport emulsion. A driver was working on top of a tanker about nine feet above the ground without guard rails or a safety belt and line while opening portholes and removing material. Judge…
Wallace Brothers, Inc.
Failure-to-abate penalties affirmed on remand
Wallace Brothers operated a portable crusher where inspectors found gaps and missing guarding around a tail pulley and a v-belt drive. The company did not correct the violations by the deadline, and the judge issued section 104(b) withdrawal orders. On remand, Judge Arthur J. Amchan found that the…
Leeco, Incorporated
Settlement confidentiality order
The Secretary brought a discrimination proceeding on behalf of Frank Scott against Leeco. After a hearing began, the parties reached a settlement and placed its terms on the record. The judge orally approved the settlement but stated that a written decision would follow. At the parties' request…
Newmont Gold Company
Discrimination settlement approved and proceeding dismissed
Lance A. Paul alleged that Newmont Gold Company discriminatorily discharged him from work at the Gold Quarry mine in violation of section 105(c) of the Mine Act. An earlier decision found that the November 10, 1994 discharge was discriminatorily motivated. The parties then agreed that Newmont would…
EL-O Electric, Inc.
Unguarded live breaker panel affirmed serious, $400
EL-O Electric was the electrical subcontractor on a school renovation and expansion in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. During a complaint inspection, an OSHA compliance officer found an open circuit-breaker panel energized at 208 volts on the boiler-room wall. EL-O's electricians had removed the screwed-on…
Alabama River Pulp Co., Inc.
Floor-opening, manlift, and lockout/tagout violations affirmed, penalties reduced to $1,000
Alabama River Pulp runs a large pulp mill in Perdue Hill, Alabama. During the plant's annual maintenance outage in April 1995, a subcontractor employee fell at a manlift in the digester building and died; the parties stipulated that the death was not caused by any of the violations later cited…
Doss Fork Coal Company, Inc.
Three orders affirmed after remand
Doss Fork Coal Company was ordered to pay civil penalties after MSHA found loose coal accumulations, inadequate roof support, and failures to record hazardous conditions at the Seminole Mine. On remand, Judge Gary Melick found that the first violation resulted from unwarrantable failure and high…
City of Fort Worth, Texas
In re City of Fort Worth, Texas (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 95-8): review denied
The City of Arlington, Texas challenged the renewal of an NPDES permit for the Village Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant, which is owned and operated by the City of Fort Worth. Arlington sought a permit condition requiring Fort Worth to continue serving western Arlington after the cities' contract…
Consolidation Coal Company
Miners held entitled to compensation after withdrawal order
About 35 day-shift miners at Consolidation Coal Company's Humphrey No. 7 Mine were waiting at a portal after an elevator malfunctioned. MSHA later issued an oral section 103(k) withdrawal order barring anyone from using the elevator, and the company sent the miners home. Judge William Fauver found…
Wallace Brothers, Inc.
Penalty assessments vacated and remanded for statutory findings
Wallace Brothers conceded two guarding violations involving a portable crusher, but challenged the $1,300 penalty assessed for each citation. The Commission held that the administrative law judge had not addressed all six statutory penalty criteria in section 110(i) of the Mine Act. It vacated both…
Power Operating Company, Inc.
Remand penalty set at $500 after S&S finding
The Commission had reversed the judge's original finding that Power Operating Company committed a non-significant-and-substantial violation of 30 C.F.R. § 1710(e) and sent the case back for a new penalty assessment. On remand, Judge Avram Weisberger continued to find that the operator's negligence…
Amax Coal Company
Failure-to-abate order vacated
MSHA cited Amax Coal Company for coal and coal-dust accumulations around a conveyor belt at the Wabash Mine and later issued a failure-to-abate order under section 104(b). Judge Gary Melick found that Amax had cleaned the original accumulation before the later order was issued. Because the…
Freeman United Coal Mining
Walkway citation affirmed after collapse injured four workers
Freeman United operated the Orient No. 6 coal mine, where an elevated walkway in an old preparation plant collapsed and four men fell about 17 feet onto a concrete floor and were severely injured. The judge found that the walkway was not maintained in good repair as required by 30 C.F.R. § 77.200…
LAC Bullfrog Incorporated
Blast-area citation affirmed and one personal case dismissed
A blast at LAC Bullfrog's underground gold mine was followed by a 40 to 50 ton ground fall in an adjacent drift where three supervisors were present. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found that the company failed to clear the drift before blasting, in violation of the warning and blast-area restriction…
Montana Sulphur and Chemical Co.
March 26 dismissal order with the full ALJ decision vacating both hydrogen-sulfide items
Montana Sulphur and Chemical Company makes chemicals, including liquefied hydrogen sulfide, at a plant in Billings, Montana. After a 1994 inspection, OSHA and the company settled every citation item except two serious ones: that loading-crew employees did not wear supplied-air respirators when…
Tide Creek Rock, Inc.
Mixed result on 33 mine-safety violations
Tide Creek Rock operated a very small crushed-stone mine in Oregon with a pit and crusher and usually three employees. MSHA alleged 33 violations involving electrical equipment, guarding, fire hazards, housekeeping, berms, quarry-wall conditions, reporting, and inspection requirements. Judge…
Contractors Sand & Gravel Supply, Incorporated
Frame grounding citation vacated
Contractors Sand & Gravel operated two small portable sand and gravel surface mines in California. MSHA cited the company and its manager after finding that motors were grounded through the crusher and stacker frames rather than through separate visible grounding conductors. Judge Cetti held that…
Micronutrients International, Inc.
In re Micronutrients International, Inc. (EAB CERCLA 106(b) Petition Nos. 94-1, 94-2, 94-3, and 94-4): reimbursement denied
Seven petitioners sought reimbursement for cleanup costs at the Micronutrients International Superfund Site in Tooele County, Utah. They had transferred electric arc furnace dust to the site operators, who allegedly intended to use it in a fertilizer additive, but large quantities were left in…
E & R Erectors, Inc.
Steel-erection fall-protection and crane items affirmed against E & R, related companies dismissed, $3,000
OSHA inspected the steel erection at the ASTM International Headquarters construction site in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, and cited E & R Erectors, Inc. E & R claimed it was not on the site that day, so the Secretary amended the complaint to add two related companies, Samuel Grossi and Sons…
Wiley Organics, Inc.
Commission affirms general-duty and emergency-response citations after a fatal chemical reactor explosion
Wiley Organics, doing business as Organic Technologies, ran a chemical manufacturing plant in Newark, Ohio, making a chemical called R-Glycidol under contract for ARCO Chemical. On April 24, 1991, a reactor vessel exploded during a distillation step and killed the reactor operator, Steven Wears…
Peck and Hiller Company
Loose concrete-form guardrail affirmed serious, penalty cut to $450
Peck and Hiller was the concrete form-shoring subcontractor on a Navy bachelor enlisted quarters project at the Everett Naval Station in Washington. Responding to an employee complaint, an OSHA compliance officer inspected the site and found that a wire-rope guardrail Peck had installed on the…
General Road Trucking Corporation
Default penalty ordered
General Road Trucking Corporation failed to respond to a September 14, 1995 order to show cause and later failed to respond to a January 25, 1996 order seeking information and another explanation. The judge found the operator in default after the file showed that it had received both orders. The…
Jim Walter Resources, Incorporated
Safeguard contests dismissed
Jim Walter Resources contested two safeguards issued at its No. 4 Mine. The Secretary moved to dismiss because the Commission has statutory authority to review citations, orders, and proposed penalty assessments, but not safeguard notices themselves. Judge Merlin held that safeguards have the…
REB Enterprises, Inc.
Default order vacated and remanded
The Commission reviewed a default order against REB Enterprises and two employees, Harold Miller and Richard E. Berry, that imposed civil penalties totaling $10,350. The respondents had proceeded without counsel and had not responded to a prehearing order or penalty petitions, but the judge had not…
Power Operating Company, Inc.
Eye-protection violation held S&S
During an inspection of Power Operating Company’s Pennsylvania mine, an MSHA inspector saw a miner steam-cleaning a rock truck with high-pressure steam and water without goggles or a face shield. The company conceded the violation but disputed whether it was significant and substantial. The…
Reading Anthracite Company
Damages award remanded for allocation clarification
The Commission had previously found that Reading Anthracite Company violated section 105(c) of the Mine Act when it transferred William Kaczmarczyk from light duty to workers’ compensation status. The parties agreed that Kaczmarczyk was owed $5,098.42 in economic loss and travel expenses, but…
W.A. Morris Sand and Gravel, Inc.
Jurisdiction issue accepted for review, stay denied
W.A. Morris Sand and Gravel petitioned for review of an ALJ’s orders granting temporary reinstatement and denying motions to dismiss in a discrimination case brought on behalf of Ramon S. Franco. Morris asked the Commission to stay the temporary reinstatement order. The Commission granted review on…
Samuel B. and Nancy Sanders, on behalf of Joseph Martin Sanders
Complaint dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
Samuel and Nancy Sanders asked the Commission to review MSHA’s decision to vacate citations after their deceased son suffered fatal injuries at the Smokey Valley Common Operation. They also asked the Commission to verify a citation and address an alleged unsafe water-truck transmission. Judge Paul…
Secretary of Labor v. Faith Coal Co.
Commission ordered Faith Coal to show cause
The Commission had granted Faith Coal's petition for discretionary review, but Faith did not file the required opening brief or designate its petition as its brief. The Secretary moved to dismiss the appeal for failure to prosecute. The Commission ordered Faith to show cause within 14 days why the…
Broken Hill Mining Company, Inc.
Show-cause order issued for failure to file brief
Broken Hill Mining Company filed a petition for discretionary review, but it did not file the required opening brief. The Secretary of Labor moved to dismiss the appeal, and Broken Hill did not oppose the motion. The Commission ordered Broken Hill to show cause within 14 days why the appeal should…
L & J Energy Company, Inc.
Remand decision explains credibility findings
Judge Avram Weisberger issued this decision after the Commission and the D.C. Circuit required a new determination based on the full record in L & J Energy’s civil penalty proceeding. The remand required an explanation for discounting eyewitness testimony and required the judge to address the…
Mclaughlin Gormley King Co.
In re Mclaughlin Gormley King Co. (EAB FIFRA Appeal Nos. 95-2 through 95-7): one violation per false compliance statement
Mclaughlin Gormley King Co. and other respondents in six consolidated pesticide enforcement actions submitted a study concerning Piperonyl Butoxide with a statement that the study followed EPA's Good Laboratory Practice standards. EPA alleged that the statement was false because the study deviated…
A&W Smelters and Refiners, Inc.
In re A&W Smelters and Refiners, Inc. (EAB CERCLA 106(b) Petition Nos. 94-14 and 94-15): reimbursement petitions denied
A&W Smelters and Refiners agreed to sell material from a California smelting operation to a Mexican company that planned to recover gold and silver. The material also contained lead, and shipments were detained, diverted, or placed on a residential lot in Nevada. After A&W completed cleanup work…
REB Enterprises, Incorporated
Default order affirmed and penalties ordered
Judge Avram Weisberger granted the Secretary’s motion for default after the respondents failed to respond to the prehearing order and, for two respondents, failed to answer the penalty petitions. The judge affirmed the citations and associated penalties. REB Enterprises was ordered to pay $7,550…
Industrial Steel Enterprises, Inc.
Commission sets aside default sanctions and remands so a pro se employer can be heard
Industrial Steel Enterprises contested OSHA citations carrying $23,000 in proposed penalties but, representing itself, did not file an answer or respond to the Chief Administrative Law Judge's order to show cause. As a sanction, the judge dismissed the notice of contest and affirmed the citations…
Conagra Poultry Company
Commission approves a revised ergonomics failure-to-abate settlement after the union drops its objection
ConAgra Poultry Company, also styled ConAgra Broiler Company, ran a poultry processing operation subject to a 1992 Corporate Settlement Agreement (an Ergonomic and Recordkeeping Agreement, or CSA) that set ergonomic-hazard abatement and documentation duties. In April 1994, OSHA issued a…
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.