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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Davis Shoulders, employed by Pyro Mining Company
Proceeding dismissed
This civil penalty proceeding concerned whether section 110(c) of the Mine Act permits individual liability against an agent of an operator organized as a corporate partnership. The ALJ had concluded that section 110(c) provides individual liability only against agents of corporate operators. The…
Megawest Financial, Inc.
Apartment-office violence citation vacated for lack of recognized hazard proof
Megawest Financial, Inc. managed a large Florida apartment complex whose office staff experienced repeated tenant threats and several physical attacks. Employees requested daytime security, and another tenant attacked an assistant manager while an OSHA compliance officer was investigating the…
Consolidation Coal Company
Miners’ representative policy found discriminatory
Consolidation Coal transferred Richard Glover and Leon Kehrer from scooter-barn mechanic jobs because of their duties as miners’ representatives who accompanied inspectors. The judge found that the company’s policy effectively barred miners’ representatives from holding the scooter-barn mechanic…
Topper Coal Company, Inc.
Inspection-interference citation affirmed as modified
During a spot inspection for smoking articles, Topper Coal's owner called underground after inspectors told him not to alert the miners. The judge found that the call impeded the inspection and violated section 103(a) of the Mine Act. The citation's negligence level was reduced from reckless…
C.W. Mining Company
Coal accumulation citation modified and penalty assessed
C.W. Mining operated the underground Bear Canyon #1 coal mine in Utah. MSHA cited the company after finding loose coal, coal fines, and float coal dust accumulated in a roadway and around a feeder, alleging a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.400. Judge Richard W. Manning vacated one citation by…
Madison Branch Management
Settlement orders vacated and remanded
Madison Branch Management and Protective Security Services faced enforcement proceedings after a security guard died from carbon monoxide exposure in a vehicle with a damaged exhaust system at Madison's Job No. 3 mine. The parties proposed settlements, but the administrative law judge denied…
Berwind Natural Resources, Corp., Kentucky Berwind Land Company, Kyber Coal Company, and Jesse Branch Coal Company
Berwind Natural Resources, Corp. (FMSHRC KENT 94-574-R): Motion in limine denied
Berwind Natural Resources, Kentucky Berwind Land Company, Kyber Coal Company, and Jesse Branch Coal Company contested Mine Act proceedings involving the Elmo No. 5 Mine. After an earlier summary-decision order narrowed the issues for hearing, the contestants asked the judge to exclude testimony and…
Lakeview Rock Products, Inc.
Extension request denied
Lakeview Rock Products asked for 30 more days to file a petition for discretionary review of an administrative law judge’s decision. The Commission held that the request was received after the 30-day filing period and did not state grounds for appeal, so it denied the extension and rejected…
Michael Griffith, II, Employed by Teal Mining, Incorporated
Civil penalty charges vacated
The Secretary charged Michael Griffith and Michael Griffith II, acting as alleged agents of Teal Mining, with knowingly authorizing, ordering, or carrying out three admitted violations involving the mine ventilation plan and roof control plan. Judge Gary Melick found that the Secretary did not…
GEM Industrial, Inc.
Reviewed steel tag-line item withdrawn by settlement
GEM Industrial, Inc. was a structural-steel subcontractor on an Ohio building project. The administrative law judge had affirmed a serious tag-line violation for crane loads during steel shakeout and assessed $1,300, along with a separate $1,625 electrical violation. Review was directed on the…
Moberly Stone Company
Default judgment entered after failure to appear
Moberly Stone Company contested five alleged violations of mandatory safety standards at its operation in Missouri. The company did not appear at the scheduled hearing after receiving notice, so Judge Roy J. Maurer proceeded without it and found the company in default. The Secretary’s evidence…
Moberly Stone Company
Default judgment entered after failure to appear
Moberly Stone Company contested five alleged violations of mandatory safety standards at its operation in Missouri. The company did not appear at the scheduled hearing after receiving notice, so Judge Roy J. Maurer proceeded without it and found the company in default. The Secretary’s evidence…
Ozark Wood Gallery
Default remains on merits, but employee-status jurisdiction requires a hearing
The chief judge dismissed Ozark Wood Gallery's notice of contest because the business did not file an answer or respond to a show-cause order. On review, Ozark asserted that it had never had any employees, while the Secretary's complaint alleged approximately six employees at the time of…
Laramie County Road and Bridge
Crusher fall-protection citation affirmed
Laramie County Road and Bridge operated a portable crusher that supplied gravel for county roads. An employee stood and leaned over the crusher about eight to twelve feet above the ground while removing rocks without a safety belt or line. Judge Richard W. Manning found that a reasonably prudent…
Western Fuels-Utah, Inc.
Belt-fire citations mixed, $4,000 penalty assessed
Western Fuels-Utah operated the underground Deserado Mine in Colorado, where a conveyor-belt fire occurred in the East Mains No. 3 section. Judge August F. Cetti found that the Secretary did not prove violations involving the conveyor switches or the sensing devices, and he vacated those citations…
Dillingham Construction
$1,200 settlement approved
Dillingham Construction faced civil penalty proceedings involving the Lyman Quarry Mine. The parties reached a settlement at a scheduled hearing, reducing the proposed penalty from $4,800 to $1,200. Judge Avram Weisberger found the settlement appropriate under the Mine Act's penalty criteria and…
Kerr-McGee Coal Corporation
Discrimination proceeding dismissed
The Secretary of Labor brought a discrimination proceeding on behalf of Mark Beyer against Kerr-McGee Coal Corporation concerning the Jacobs Ranch Mine. The Secretary moved to dismiss the case. Judge Avram Weisberger granted the motion, cancelled the hearing scheduled for August 8, 1995, and…
Buck Creek Coal Co.
Stay denied and discovery objection partly granted
The Secretary of Labor sought a stay of civil proceedings involving Buck Creek Coal and objected to several proposed depositions and discovery requests because of a related criminal investigation. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon denied the stay because the Secretary did not establish a sufficient commonality…
Ibold Incorporated
Late filing accepted
The Secretary of Labor asked the Commission to accept a civil penalty petition filed 16 days late. Chief Administrative Law Judge Paul Merlin found adequate cause for the short delay and no showing of prejudice to Ibold Incorporated. He accepted the Conference and Litigation Representative's…
Lone Mountain Processing Incorporated
Late filing accepted
The Secretary of Labor asked the Commission to accept a civil penalty petition filed 16 days late. Chief Administrative Law Judge Paul Merlin found adequate cause for the short delay and no showing of prejudice to the operator. He accepted the Conference and Litigation Representative's appearance…
Arcata Readimix
Six citations affirmed
Arcata Readimix operated a small sand and gravel pit in California. MSHA cited the plant for exposed electrical conductors, missing or loose guards, an overdue fire-extinguisher inspection, and missing grounding-system testing. Judge Richard W. Manning found six violations and affirmed the…
BSC Construction, Inc.
Settlement approved and citation modified
BSC Construction faced a civil penalty proceeding involving two alleged violations of the Mine Act's training regulations. The Secretary modified the citation to vacate all references to 30 C.F.R. § 48.31(a), leaving the alleged violation under 30 C.F.R. § 48.28(a). Judge T. Todd Hodgdon approved…
Peabody Coal Company
Two citations affirmed as non-S&S after remand
Peabody Coal operated the Martwick UG Mine. After the Commission vacated an earlier decision and remanded the case, Judge Arthur J. Amchan applied the Mathies framework to two citations involving an external grounding device and an unmarked cathead. He affirmed both citations as…
Peabody Coal Company
Two citations affirmed as non-S&S
Peabody Coal operated the Martwick UG Mine. On remand from the Commission, Judge Arthur J. Amchan considered whether two citations were significant and substantial under the Commission's Mathies framework. He found that an unconnected external grounding device on a cathead violated 30 C.F.R. §…
All American Asphalt
Back-pay awards and penalty ordered
All American Asphalt faced consolidated discrimination proceedings brought on behalf of James Hyles, Douglas Mears, Derrick Soto, and Gregory Dennis. The parties resolved the amounts of back pay and benefits owed before the scheduled hearing, while the respondent reserved its position on liability…
Reading Anthracite Company
Discrimination found and reinstatement ordered
William Kaczmarczyk was returned from light duty to workers compensation status one day after serving as a walkaround representative during MSHA inspections. Judge Arthur J. Amchan found that Reading Anthracite Company's safety director had some animus toward Kaczmarczyk's protected activity and…
Alpha Mining Company
Smoking-material citations mixed
The Secretary charged Alpha Mining Company and two employees after inspectors found cigarettes, cigarette packs, cigarette butts, and a lighter during an underground inspection at the Alpha No. 1 Mine. Judge Gary Melick vacated the citation against Robert Hardin, finding that an empty cigarette…
Mineral Transport, Inc.
$400 settlement approved
Mineral Transport, Inc. faced a civil penalty proceeding involving the CSI #5 mine. The parties proposed reducing the penalty from $800 to $400. Judge Gary Melick approved the settlement under the Mine Act's penalty criteria, ordered payment of $400 within 30 days, and cancelled the hearing…
VSH Restaurant Corporation, d/b/a Vestal Steakhouse & Seafood Grill
Citation vacated after inspection evidence suppressed
Local fire and building officials inspected Vestal Steakhouse & Seafood Grill and gave the restaurant ten days to correct numerous electrical and fire-code conditions. The restaurant began repairs and had completed most listed items when OSHA inspected five days before the local deadline, using the…
Ideker, Inc.
$500 settlement approved
Ideker, Inc. faced a civil penalty proceeding concerning the Amazonia Quarry. After an evidentiary hearing, the parties moved to approve a settlement and dismiss the case. Judge Roy J. Maurer approved a reduction in the proposed penalty from $1,000 to $500 and ordered payment within 30 days. The…
Pierce Sand Company
$556 settlement approved
Pierce Sand Company faced a civil penalty proceeding involving eight citations. The parties proposed reducing the combined assessments from $862 to $556. Judge Roy J. Maurer approved the settlement after considering the parties' representations, documentation, and hearing testimony. The company was…
TVX Mineral Hill Mine
Temporary reinstatement proceeding dismissed
The Secretary sought temporary reinstatement for Cody Cherry in a discrimination proceeding against TVX Mineral Hill Mine. Cherry no longer wanted to return to his previous mine position because he had found other employment. The Secretary reserved the possibility of pursuing back pay and a civil…
Exxon Company, U.S.A.
In re Exxon Company, U.S.A. (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 94-8): permit review denied in part and remanded in part
Exxon challenged corrective-action conditions in its federal RCRA permit for a petroleum refinery in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. It argued that a railroad track divided the refinery into separate facilities, that certain oil-water separators and an aerobic digester were exempt from…
Florida Pulp and Paper Association and Buckeye Florida, L.P.
In re Florida Pulp and Paper Association and Buckeye Florida, L.P. (EAB NPDES Appeal Nos. 94-4 and 94-5): review denied in part and issue remanded
Buckeye Florida and the Florida Pulp and Paper Association challenged parts of an EPA renewal permit for a pulp mill in Perry, Florida. Buckeye argued that EPA could not require certain sludge sampling, lacked an accepted protocol for crab-tissue analysis, and used an improper compliance schedule…
R B Coal Company, Incorporated
Four citations settled for $1,250
R B Coal Company operated the RB #5 Mine and faced four alleged Part 75 violations initially assessed at a total of $17,000. After the Secretary presented evidence on the first citation, the parties reached a comprehensive settlement. Judge Jerold Feldman modified the four violations from…
Asarco, Inc.
Miner statement mostly protected from discovery
Asarco sought statements from miners, an MSHA investigation report, and a case analysis in proceedings involving two contests and David Hopkins's discrimination case at the Sweetwater Mine. Judge Richard W. Manning held that the miners' statements and the investigation materials were protected by…
Asarco, Inc.
Motion to compel mostly denied
Asarco sought documents from the Secretary in consolidated contest and discrimination proceedings. The judge held that most miner statements and agency memoranda were protected by the informant's privilege or the deliberative process privilege. The judge nevertheless required the Secretary to…
Alcorn Well Service, Inc., a Division of Dawson Well Service, Inc.
Wrench-hazard item vacated, hazard-communication items yield $1,050
An Alcorn Well Service, Inc. crew was fishing broken sucker rods from a Texas well when two workers used pipe wrenches to turn a rod and move an overshot through a tight spot. The rod unexpectedly torqued, one worker lost control of his wrench, and the wrench struck another employee in the head…
Western Fuels-Utah, Inc.
Communication-cable citation affirmed
Western Fuels operated the Deserado underground coal mine in Colorado. MSHA cited the mine after finding that a communication cable crossed a 995-volt power cable without additional insulation. Judge Richard W. Manning held that 30 C.F.R. § 75.516-2(c) requires additional insulation where…
CWM Chemical Services, Inc., Chemical Waste Management, Inc., and Waste Management, Inc.
In re CWM Chemical Services, Inc., Chemical Waste Management, Inc., and Waste Management, Inc. (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 93-1): dry-weight penalty case dismissed
EPA Region II alleged that CWM Chemical Services, Chemical Waste Management, and Waste Management accepted 260 shipments of PCB-contaminated sludge with concentrations above the 500 parts-per-million limit for their landfill approval. The Region sought $3,425,000 in penalties and argued that PCB…
Indianapolis Power & Light Company, Petersburg Plant
In re Indianapolis Power & Light Company, Petersburg Plant (EAB CAA Appeal No. 95-1): permit affirmed
Indianapolis Power & Light challenged the calculation of sulfur-dioxide extension allowances in its phase I acid-rain permit for the Petersburg plant. The company argued that EPA should adjust the 1988 and 1989 emissions data because an unusual six-month outage reduced emissions during that period…
Amalgamated Sugar Company
Beet receiving station held subject to general-industry standards
Amalgamated Sugar Company operated an Idaho station that received sugar beets from private growers after harvest, then cleaned, conveyed, and stored them for sugar production. The company argued that its station was an agricultural operation exempt from the cited general-industry rules…
DCS Sanitation Management, Inc.
Willful lockout violations affirmed after fatal cleaning incident
DCS Sanitation Management cleaned operating meat-processing equipment at an IBP plant in Nebraska. OSHA cited five willful lockout/tagout violations after an employee was killed while cleaning a running loin saddle table. Administrative Law Judge James H. Barkley found that supervisors knew…
Boston Towing and Transportation Co.
Marine-access citations vacated for lack of fair notice
Boston Towing operated a marine terminal in Quincy, Massachusetts, where employees sometimes used a ladder between a pier and a barge at extreme low tide. OSHA investigated after a weekend watchman was found in the water near a ladder, although no one witnessed how he fell. The Secretary withdrew…
Pro-Drive, Inc.
Four commercial-diving safety items affirmed
Pro-Drive, Inc. performed a commercial dive to seal an underwater valve at a power plant in Illinois. The diver died after completing the repair, and the pathology and coroner report attributed the death to asphyxia caused by malfunctioning diving equipment. Administrative Law Judge Sidney J…
Centralia Mining Co., Inc.
Discrimination settlement approved
Robbie A. Smith brought a discrimination proceeding against Centralia Mining under section 105(c)(2) of the Mine Act. After the Secretary stopped representing Smith, he represented himself and jointly settled with Centralia Mining. Judge Richard W. Manning found the Settlement Agreement and General…
Eugene Russell, Ervin E. Nichols, James M. Dodd, Reynold E. Channer, and Scott Furman, employed by Echo Bay Minerals Company
Eugene Russell and others (FMSHRC WEST 94-623-M through WEST 94-627-M): Discovery and interlocutory review denied
Five Echo Bay Minerals employees faced individual civil penalty proceedings under section 110(c) of the Mine Act. They sought discovery about why MSHA took 24 to 27 months to notify them of the proposed penalties, or alternatively sought interlocutory review of an earlier order denying dismissal…
Doverspike Brothers Coal Co.
Discrimination settlement approved
Doverspike Brothers Coal Co. operated the Clutch Run Mine and employed Larry P. Smith. The Secretary alleged that the company laid off and effectively discharged Smith because he alerted state and federal mine-safety authorities about a mine-fan stoppage and miners remaining underground. The…
F W Contractors Incorporated
Civil-penalty settlement approved
F W Contractors Incorporated faced a civil-penalty proceeding concerning its Tarrant Aggregate #2 operation. The parties proposed reducing the penalty from $2,700 to $2,025. Judge Avram Weisberger found the settlement appropriate under the Mine Act's penalty criteria, approved it, and ordered the…
Old Hickory Coal Company
Settlement rejected for insufficient support
Old Hickory Coal Company proposed reducing a $10,000 penalty to $5,500 and changing two section 104(d)(2) orders to section 104(a) citations. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found that the facts submitted did not adequately support the proposed changes, including the removal of unwarrantable-failure…
Cedar Creek Quarries, Inc.
Settlement rejected for lack of penalty support
Cedar Creek Quarries was charged with refusing to cooperate with an MSHA investigation and proposed a $2,000 penalty. The parties submitted a settlement that would withdraw the penalty. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon rejected the agreement because the motion did not provide enough facts to support…
U.S. Steel Mining Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed after resolution
Terry McGill filed a Mine Act discrimination complaint against U.S. Steel Mining Company concerning the Oak Grove Mine. The parties resolved their differences, and McGill requested permission to withdraw the complaint. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon granted the request under Commission Rule 11 and dismissed…
CEI West Roofing Co., Inc.
Hard-hat and traffic-sign items affirmed
CEI West Roofing Co., Inc. was cited at a Colorado roofing project where employees unloaded materials near traffic and worked on an unguarded roof. Administrative Law Judge James H. Barkley affirmed the hard-hat item because employee statements and the crew's conduct showed a practice that CEI's…
Stein, Inc.
Crane inspection and power-line clearance items affirmed
Stein provided a crane and crane operator for installation of a truck scale at an Ohio steel-mill site. A ground worker employed by the scale contractor was electrocuted when the crane boom contacted a 13,000-volt power line. The judge found that Stein remained an employer responsible for its…
LaForge & Budd Construction Co., Inc.
Two items affirmed by stipulation after remand
OSHA cited LaForge & Budd Construction Co., Inc. after inspecting an Oklahoma construction project. The Commission reversed an earlier ruling that had suppressed the inspection evidence and remanded the case for a hearing on the merits. The parties then stipulated that a nylon-sling item would be…
AT&E Enterprises, Inc.
One citation vacated and one modified
AT&E Enterprises operated a small underground gold mine in California while rehabilitating old timber-supported workings. Judge Richard W. Manning vacated one citation concerning fire protection for portal timber because the standard did not clearly require protection at the time each timber set…
Gemini Mining Company
Settlement approved with one citation vacated
Gemini Mining Company faced nine alleged violations at its Wilkem No. 1 Mine across three consolidated proceedings. The company did not appear at the hearing, but the Judge accepted its explanation and considered the parties' settlement. The settlement required $6,000 in total payments, vacated one…
Dixie Fuel Company
Unstable roof citation affirmed with $3,689 penalty
Dixie Fuel Company was cited after an MSHA inspector found loose and broken roof in an approximately 300-foot area of an underground coal mine. Judge Avram Weisberger found that the roof was not adequately controlled to protect miners working in the area. He determined that the violation was…
Pyramid Mining Incorporated
Auger-hole citation affirmed without S&S finding
Pyramid Mining was remanded to address whether it failed to block auger holes at the earliest reasonable time. Judge Avram Weisberger found that the company had not resumed drilling, had not blocked the holes, and had left hazards including methane, unsupported roof, and water exposure. He…
B & A Coal Company
Three brake violations affirmed, $150 penalty assessed
B & A Coal Company operated an underground drift opening mine with three rubber-tired, self-propelled battery-operated tractors used to transport coal. During an inspection, MSHA found that the tractors' parking brakes did not engage automatically when the equipment was deenergized, as required by…
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.