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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Mutual Mining, Inc.
Two miners temporarily reinstated after safety complaints
Mutual Mining discharged Cletis R. Wamsley and Robert A. Lewis shortly after they participated in a union safety inspection and requested an MSHA inspection. Judge Arthur J. Amchan found that the timing of the discharges and the company's knowledge of the safety activity established a prima facie…
Peabody Coal Company
Ventilation plan modification affirmed
Peabody Coal operated the Martwick Underground Mine, a methane-liberating mine subject to frequent spot inspections. On remand from the Commission, Judge Gary Melick considered whether the existing ventilation plan remained suitable and whether the Secretary's proposed changes were suitable…
C.D. Smith Construction Co., Inc.
Repeat unguarded-rebar violation affirmed
C.D. Smith Construction was performing general building work in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where vertical reinforcing bars projected above a mezzanine deck without caps or guardrails. Employees came within three or four feet of the rebar while nailing plywood and returned within one or two feet while…
Fluidics/Poole & Kent Joint Venture
Grinder guard and fire-extinguisher items affirmed
Fluidics/Poole & Kent Joint Venture performed mechanical work at a site in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. An employee removed the guard from a hand grinder to work in a confined area, and the ALJ credited the compliance officer's testimony that the employee used it without reinstalling the guard…
Consolidation Coal Company
Decoupler citation modified and settlement approved
Consolidation Coal operated the Dilworth Mine and Blacksville No. 2 Mine. At Blacksville No. 2, ten mine cars had inoperable uncoupling devices, which could force miners to go between cars and expose them to crushing injuries. Judge Jerold Feldman found the violation significant and substantial…
Peabody Coal Company
Dust-control-plan citation affirmed with $100 penalty
Peabody Coal's Marissa Mine used a dust pump to collect a respirable-dust sample at the wrong side of a conveyor-belt transfer point. Judge Gary Melick found that the pump was upwind and in a less dusty location than the approved dust-control plan required, and that Peabody intended to submit the…
Buffalo Crushed Stone, Inc.
Quarry citations modified with $820 total penalty
Buffalo Crushed Stone operated the Wehrle Quarry. The judge found that a haul-road berm was below the mid-axle height of the largest loader using the road and that berms around stone stockpiles were inadequate. The judge also found several exposed pulley and shaft hazards, but concluded that most…
Hensel Phelps Construction Co.
Flammable-liquid storage item affirmed
Hensel Phelps was the general contractor for construction of a federal prison facility in Florence, Colorado. A painting subcontractor stored far more than 25 gallons of flammable and combustible liquids in a warehouse without an approved cabinet, near electrical equipment, smoking, and employee…
Dover Elevator Company
Unsecured-ladder item reduced to de minimis by settlement
Dover Elevator was an elevator subcontractor on a renovation project in New York City where OSHA issued serious, repeat, and other-than-serious citations. The Commission directed review only of an unsecured portable ladder item that the ALJ had affirmed as repeated with a $1,000 penalty. In a…
Energy West Mining Company
Unapproved diesel trucks barred during longwall setup
Energy West Mining Company used three unapproved diesel-powered Isuzu trucks in a two-entry longwall panel at its Cottonwood Mine while preparing to install longwall equipment. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. held that the mine’s modification order required approved diesel equipment during the setup…
Asamera Mineral (US), Inc.
Settlement approved and $50 penalty ordered
Asamera Mineral (US), Inc. faced one civil penalty proceeding involving the alteration of an accident scene at the Cannon Mine. After the judge initially disapproved the parties’ settlement and requested more information, the operator explained that MSHA had approved moving the equipment and that…
Navajo Concrete Inc.
Default order vacated and remanded
Navajo Concrete failed to answer the Secretary's proposed civil-penalty assessment and a judge's order to show cause, leading the judge to enter a default order assessing $1,371. Navajo's president later sent a letter saying the company had replied to a Department of Labor attorney. The Commission…
Carl Schlegel, Inc.
Mixed findings and $1,297 in penalties
Carl Schlegel operated a portable crushing plant and a dredging worksite in Michigan. Judge Arthur J. Amchan affirmed violations involving unguarded moving machine parts, a front-end loader bucket, a defective parking brake, an unguarded walkway, and a bridge without berms or guardrails, while…
Diablo Coal Company
Late contests dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
Diablo Coal Company filed contests of five citations and orders 33 days after receiving them, three days beyond the Commission’s 30-day deadline. Judge David F. Barbour held that the late filing deprived the Commission of jurisdiction and dismissed the proceedings. The judge noted that Diablo could…
Lloyd A. Partin v. Amax Coal Company
Discrimination proceeding dismissed with prejudice after withdrawal
Lloyd A. Partin’s counsel reported that the parties had reached a settlement and requested withdrawal of Partin’s claims. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. approved the voluntary withdrawal under Commission Procedural Rule 11. The discrimination proceeding was dismissed with prejudice.
Consolidation Coal Company
Failed trolley-wire insulators affirmed as significant and substantial
At Consolidation Coal Company’s Dilworth Mine, three trolley-wire hangers had failed as insulators, allowing heat, smoke, flame, or arcing near the mine roof and combustible material. Judge Gary Melick rejected the Secretary’s theory that electrical contact alone violated the standard, but found…
Dolese Brothers Company, aka Dolese Bros., A Corporation
Manbasket safety citation affirmed after 19-foot fall
At Dolese Brothers’ Hartshorne Rock Quarry, employee Terry Allen was working from a manbasket suspended by the load line of a crane when the line two-blocked and broke, causing a fall of about 19 feet and serious injuries. Judge William Fauver found that the manbasket was a raised component of…
B & M Construction
Three scaffold access and fall-protection items affirmed
B & M Construction performed asbestos removal around a boiler at a City of Lubbock power plant. OSHA found no access ladder, two unguarded openings in a walkway about 12 feet above the ground, and an unguarded I-beam used as a walkway. B & M argued that employees had not worked on the boiler…
Simpson Paper Company et al.
In re Simpson Paper Company et al. (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 92-26): appeal dismissed in part
Recreational users of Pacific Ocean waters near California's Samoa Peninsula challenged provisions in federal Clean Water Act permits for pulp mills operated by Simpson Paper Company and Louisiana-Pacific Corporation. The Environmental Appeals Board addressed the portion concerning…
M A G Incorporated
Settlements totaling $21,000 approved across 14 dockets
M A G Incorporated contested 54 alleged safety and health violations across 14 dockets at Alloy Deep Mine No. 2. The parties reported that the operator was a small mine with poor financial condition, that no accidents or injuries resulted from the cited conditions, and that all conditions were…
Consolidation Coal Company
Settlement approved and S&S designation deleted
Consolidation Coal Company settled a citation alleging that trolley wire at a mantrip station was not adequately guarded. The Secretary stated that available evidence could not establish that the condition was significant and substantial, and the parties proposed reducing the penalty from $206 to…
Montana Resources, Inc.
Settlement vacated and remanded for genuine agreement
Montana Resources asked the Commission to approve a settlement, but the Secretary objected to one paragraph of the proposed agreement. The judge approved the settlement without addressing that dispute. The Commission held that the motion was premature because the parties had not reached a genuine…
Helen Mining Company
Discrimination settlements approved for $1,000
Helen Mining Company agreed to settle discrimination proceedings involving five miners and allegations under section 105(c) of the Mine Act. The company admitted violations solely for settlement purposes, agreed to pay $500 in each case for a total of $1,000, and agreed that its superintendent…
Toler Creek Energy, Inc.
Settlement approved and proceeding dismissed with prejudice
The Secretary of Labor, on behalf of Brian K. Moore, brought a temporary reinstatement proceeding against Toler Creek Energy, Inc. The parties reached an amicable settlement and jointly moved to dismiss the proceeding with prejudice. Judge Roy J. Maurer approved the settlement, granted the motion…
Secretary of Labor v. Husky Coal Company, Inc.
Solicitor ordered to explain paid assessment
The Solicitor moved to dismiss the civil penalty proceeding because Husky Coal had paid a revised penalty assessment. The motion did not identify the revised amount or explain why the payment satisfied the Mine Act. Chief Administrative Law Judge Paul Merlin reminded the Solicitor that the…
Ocean Concrete Contractors, Inc.
Floor-opening and rebar hazards affirmed
Ocean Concrete was a subcontractor constructing a building at the Naval Submarine Base at Kings Bay, Georgia. Employees worked at the edges of an unguarded five-by-eight-foot stairwell opening and an unguarded open-sided platform about eight feet above the ground. They also worked near uncapped…
Cornell and Company, Inc.
Withdrawal leaves serious fall-protection violation final
Cornell and Company performed structural steel work while dismantling part of a coker unit at Mobil's Paulsboro Refinery in New Jersey. OSHA observed two employees walking beams about 80 to 90 feet above lower surfaces without safety nets, lifelines, or other fall protection. The ALJ accepted that…
Secretary of Labor v. Consolidation Coal Company
Coal-dust order modified and penalty set at $1,300
The case concerned a section 104(d)(2) order alleging an impermissible accumulation of combustible coal dust at Consolidation Coal's Osage No. 3 Mine. The operator stipulated that the violation occurred, and the remaining issues were whether it was significant and substantial and resulted from…
Secretary of Labor v. Level Land Mining Corporation
Settlement approved and penalty reduced to $250
The Secretary sought approval of settlement agreements in three civil penalty proceedings against Level Land Mining Corporation. The proposed settlement reduced the penalty from $317 to $250. Judge Avram Weisberger found the settlement appropriate under the Mine Act's penalty criteria. He approved…
Allied-Signal, Inc. (Frankford Plant)
In re Allied-Signal, Inc. (Frankford Plant) (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 90-27): review denied in part and permit remanded in part
Allied-Signal operated a phenol and acetone production facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, under a RCRA permit issued by EPA Region III. The company challenged the permit's dispute-resolution process, a requirement to notify owners and residents of overlying property about groundwater…
United Mine Workers of America on Behalf of Charles Mark Rosen, et al. v. Saginaw Mining Company
Discrimination settlement approved for $200
The United Mine Workers of America brought a discrimination complaint under section 105(c)(3) on behalf of Charles Mark Rosen and other complainants. Saginaw Mining Company agreed, without admitting discrimination, to pay $200 to District 6 and Local Union 9695 for distribution to the complainants…
Secretary of Labor on Behalf of Danny Shepherd v. Adena Fuels, Incorporated
Discrimination settlement approved and sealed
The Secretary of Labor filed a discrimination complaint on behalf of Danny Shepherd against Adena Fuels under section 105(c)(2) of the Mine Act. After discovery and before the scheduled hearing, the parties reached a full and final settlement. The settlement included a $100 civil penalty to MSHA…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Richard E. Glover v. U.S. Steel Mining Company, Inc.
Training compensation claims dismissed
Richard E. Glover, a United Mine Workers representative, attended newly employed experienced miner training at U.S. Steel's Shawnee Mine but was not paid for the training. The Secretary claimed that the failure to pay supported a discrimination complaint and violated the training-compensation rule…
Asarco Mining Company v. Secretary of Labor
Ground-support citation affirmed
The Commission reviewed a citation issued to Asarco for failing to provide ground support in the ribs of the UQ 1 haulage drift at its underground Troy, Montana mine. The Commission held that the citation adequately described the hazardous condition, that the Secretary retained the burden of…
Mountain Cement Company, a Wyoming Partnership
Electrical-safety citation affirmed, $30,000 penalty assessed
Mountain Cement Company operated a limestone and cement mill where a working electrical foreman entered a compartment containing both deenergized and energized high-voltage circuits while troubleshooting equipment. The foreman contacted an energized component and died from electrocution. Judge John…
Consolidation Coal Company
Water-accumulation order affirmed
Consolidation Coal Company challenged an order issued at its Dilworth Mine for a hazardous accumulation of muddy water in a mine entry. Judge Avram Weisberger found that the water was a hazardous condition under 30 C.F.R. § 75.364 because it extended across the entry, obscured the floor, and could…
Costain Coal Incorporated
Settlements approved with listed settlement amounts
Costain Coal Incorporated contested civil penalty proposals covering seven related dockets and 22 alleged violations at its mines. The parties agreed to pay the original assessments for 16 citations and negotiated reduced amounts for six others. Judge George A. Koutras approved the settlements…
Action Craft, Inc.
Penalties reduced for eight manufacturing violations
Action Craft manufactured small fishing boats with about 18 employees at a facility in Cape Coral, Florida. OSHA cited eight serious conditions involving storage-area load limits and railings, dispensing flammable liquids, a modified forklift, and guarding on a cylinder machine, bandsaw, and bench…
Catalina Freight Lines
Barge vehicle-guarding and recordkeeping items affirmed
Catalina Freight Lines loaded and unloaded cargo vehicles on a barge at its Wilmington, California terminal. Five days after a front loader backed over the bow, OSHA observed forklifts and trailers operating with only an eight-inch angle iron around the deck edge. The ALJ held that Coast Guard…
New England Industries, Inc.
Repeat and failure-to-abate items affirmed
New England Industries manufactured jewelry parts in Providence, Rhode Island, and was reinspected after failing to document correction of earlier safety and health violations. The ALJ affirmed a repeated exit-route item because broken concrete and an uneven walkway created trip hazards similar to…
Madison Underground, Inc.
Commission declines declaratory review of trench item
Madison Underground performed sewer and water-main work in two unprotected excavations in New Berlin, Wisconsin. The ALJ affirmed one willful trench-protection item because an employee entered the north excavation, the company had no communicated rule against entry into unprotected trenches, and it…
Consolidation Coal Company
Accident-reporting citations settled for $60
Consolidation Coal Company contested three citations for accident reports that omitted descriptions of steps taken to prevent similar occurrences, as required by 30 C.F.R. § 50.11(b)(8). Judge George A. Koutras found that the omissions were technical violations and that the operator's mitigating…
Brine Disposal Well, Montmorency County, Michigan
In re Brine Disposal Well, Montmorency County, Michigan (EAB UIC Appeals Nos. 92-4, 92-5, 92-6, and 92-6A): review denied
EPA Region V issued a federal Underground Injection Control permit to PetroStar Energy for a Class II well on state-owned land in Montmorency County, Michigan. Four petitioners challenged the permit based on subsurface property rights, possible migration beneath neighboring properties, financial…
Zeigler Coal Company
Remand settlement approved, $275 penalty assessed
Zeigler Coal Company had previously been found to have violated 30 C.F.R. § 75.507 at its Murdock Mine. The Commission later affirmed the violation, vacated the significant-and-substantial finding, and remanded for further analysis. On remand, Judge George A. Koutras approved the parties'…
Lyman-Richey Sand & Gravel Company
Power-line citation affirmed, $3,000 penalty assessed
Lyman-Richey Sand & Gravel Company operated a sand mine where a crane boom contacted energized high-voltage power lines while employees were trying to repair the crane. One employee died and another suffered serious burns. Judge David F. Barbour found that the operator violated 30 C.F.R. § 56.12071…
Danny Owens, employed by J & T Coal Incorporated
Six-violation settlement approved for $1,200
Danny Owens, an agent of J & T Coal Incorporated, was charged under section 110(c) of the Mine Act with knowingly authorizing, ordering, or carrying out actions resulting in six alleged mandatory-standard violations. Owens stipulated to the violations and agreed to a settlement after presenting…
Farco Mining of Texas Inc.
Settlement approval denied pending information
Farco Mining of Texas and the Secretary jointly sought approval of settlements covering seven alleged violations in two dockets. The proposed settlements would have reduced the penalties from $8,630 to $3,335 in CENT 93-24 and from $7,000 to $3,400 in CENT 93-48, while also removing…
Donald L. Giacomo, employed by Wyoming Fuel Company
Unsafe machinery order affirmed, $700 penalty assessed
Donald L. Giacomo, an employee of Wyoming Fuel Company, was charged after a continuous miner was operated with a nonfunctioning remote-control feature and a person was placed in the cab to operate the cutter-head function. Judge John J. Morris found that the unsafe equipment violated 30 C.F.R. §…
Renewal Arts Contracting Corp.
Electrical grounding violations affirmed
Renewal Arts Contracting was performing construction work in the Bronx, New York. An employee used a drill and extension cord with missing grounding pins, and the company's project manager knew about the defective equipment. The ALJ affirmed a serious violation because the missing continuous ground…
Dover Elevator Company, Inc.
GFCI citation vacated based on adequate safety program
Dover Elevator employees were installing an elevator in Ridgeland, Mississippi, when a ground-fault circuit interrupter tripped because of a defective receptacle and extension cord. The supervising mechanic temporarily left an extension cord connected to an operable but unprotected receptacle while…
A. R. Butler Construction Co.
Commission approves trench-case settlement
A. R. Butler Construction was installing a sewer line in an eight-and-a-half to nine-foot trench in Flint City, Alabama. The underlying ALJ decision found that the steep earthen route was not a safe means of exit and that employees worked without adequate cave-in protection. The judge classified…
Bonanza Materials Inc.
MSHA jurisdiction and penalties affirmed
Bonanza Materials operated a sand and gravel mine in Henderson, Nevada, with a mechanic's shop on mine property that serviced about 295 units, including loaders and water trucks used in mining. Bonanza did not dispute the underlying violations, but argued that MSHA lacked jurisdiction because most…
Broken Hill Mining Co., Inc.
Four citations affirmed and two S&S findings modified
Broken Hill Mining Company contested six citations involving respirable-dust sampling, noise-survey reporting, respirable-dust exposure, and float-coal-dust accumulations. Judge George A. Koutras affirmed all six violations, including the two respirable-dust citations as significant and…
Supermason Enterprises
Willful unprotected-trench violation affirmed
Supermason Enterprises installed a sanitary sewer in Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania, with two workers in an excavation eight to ten feet deep. The ALJ rejected the company's claim that the workers belonged to a subcontractor because the supposed agreement was unsigned, the alleged subcontractor had never…
Modern Sales and Construction Company, Inc., d/b/a MOSACO
Three damaged-cord items affirmed
MOSACO was the general contractor for expansion of an industrial facility in Wilmington, Ohio. OSHA found energized extension cords with insulation cut deeply enough to expose copper conductors, a plug connection without proper strain relief, and a worn section of cord with secondary insulation…
Crescent Street Construction Corp.
Fourteen serious items settled for $3,200
Crescent Street Construction received a serious citation containing 15 items with $15,300 in proposed penalties and a separate three-item other-than-serious citation with no penalty. The Secretary withdrew the first serious item. Immediately before the hearing, the parties settled the remaining 14…
Cherry Hill Tune & Lube, Inc.
Citations affirmed after employer failed to appear
OSHA issued Cherry Hill Tune & Lube two citations involving machinery and hazardous chemicals. The company filed a notice of contest, but mail sent to its address was returned after it moved without leaving a forwarding address. A later hearing was postponed at the request of the person who signed…
W. J. Bokus Industries, Inc.
Mixed results on mine jurisdiction and citations
W. J. Bokus Industries operated a sand and gravel mine and related asphalt and materials operations in New York. Judge Avram Weisberger held that MSHA jurisdiction depended on whether the cited equipment and areas were used in extraction, milling, or preparation of minerals. He vacated and…
C G & G Trucking Company
Settlement approved
C G & G Trucking Company was cited for a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 77.1607(a) at the No. 2 Tipple. The parties proposed reducing the penalty from $400 to $100 and recharacterizing the citation as non-significant and substantial. Judge Arthur J. Amchan found the settlement consistent with section…
Valley Camp Coal Company, and Shrewbury Coal Company
Valley Camp Coal Company and Shrewbury Coal Company (FMSHRC WEVA 91-1949-C): Settlement dismissal approved
The United Mine Workers brought a compensation proceeding on behalf of Gary Price, Billy L. Wilkinson Jr., and similarly situated miners against Valley Camp Coal Company and Shrewbury Coal Company. Judge Avram Weisberger lifted a prior stay after finding that the parties' settlement was a fair…
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.