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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Mehrotra v. General Electric Co.
SOX termination and blacklisting claims dismissed as late
Shashi Mehrotra alleged that General Electric selected him for a reduction in force and then blacklisted him from later GE jobs because he reported a compliance violation. The Board held that his termination claim accrued when GE gave final notice of the reduction in force, not when his employment…
Booker v. Exelon Generation Co., LLC
Nuclear access and hostile-environment claims remanded
Patricia Booker, an administrative coordinator at a nuclear plant, alleged retaliation after she reported backdating of safety documents and later lost job duties, unescorted-access authorization, and ultimately her employment. The Board held that the national-security rule insulating government…
Secretary of Labor v. Greenbrier Minerals, LLC
One-day deadline mistake excused
Greenbrier Minerals' safety specialist miscalculated the assessment deadline and filed the contest one day late. The company sought to contest five citations and moved to reopen within ten days after the assessment became final. It made payments to avoid delinquency while expressly maintaining its…
Secretary of Labor v. Westmoreland Absaloka Mining, LLC
Contest mailed with payment was reopened
Westmoreland timely mailed its payment for uncontested citations to MSHA's St. Louis lockbox, but mistakenly included its contest rather than sending the contest to MSHA's Arlington address. Two days after the assessment became final, MSHA told Westmoreland about the error. The company immediately…
Secretary of Labor v. Mulberry Limestone Quarry Co., Inc.
Contest mailed with payment was reopened
Mulberry Limestone correctly mailed payment for uncontested citations to MSHA's St. Louis lockbox. It mistakenly placed its contest in the same envelope instead of sending it to the Arlington office. MSHA later located the contest, but Mulberry did not learn of the mistake until a delinquency…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs and American Federation of Government Employees, National Veterans Affairs Council #53
Department of Veterans Affairs and AFGE National VA Council 53 (FLRA 0-AR-5883): Authority upholds dues-processing remedies
A 2017 settlement required the Department of Veterans Affairs to send transferred employees' union dues to the correct local and reimburse double deductions. AFGE later grieved continued processing errors, including double deductions and withholding from employees no longer in the bargaining unit…
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 335
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and NTEU Chapter 335 (FLRA 0-AR-5873): Authority upholds reduced discipline for exam order
A Consumer Financial Protection Bureau bank examiner was exempt under a memorandum from a commissioning-program requirement but initially volunteered to take its exam. After conflicting travel instructions, the examiner did not travel or sit for the test, and the agency included failure to obey…
Brochu v. Dominion Energy Nuclear Connecticut, Inc.
ERA settlement approved and case dismissed
Daniel Brochu appealed dismissal of his nuclear-industry retaliation complaint, then moved to withdraw after reaching a settlement with Dominion Energy Nuclear Connecticut. The Board required the agreement because an ERA settlement pending on review must receive Board approval. It explained that…
National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 46 and United States Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Dallas, Texas
NTEU Chapter 46 and IRS Dallas (FLRA 0-AR-5863): Authority upholds denial of advanced annual leave
An IRS employee requested 63.5 hours of advanced annual leave after exhausting her approved Family and Medical Leave Act leave. The agency denied the request and granted leave without pay instead. An arbitrator found that the employee's medical materials did not support the specific two-week…
Secretary of Labor obo John Collins v. Crimson Oak Grove Resources, LLC
Secretary of Labor obo John Collins v. Crimson Oak Grove Resources (FMSHRC SE 2023-0235): Temporary reinstatement ordered
John Collins repeatedly told his supervisor that he was uncomfortable using a Komatsu 250 loader to lift a heavy pan line onto a truck. He followed the instruction, and the loader tipped forward while lifting the second piece, causing the rear to rise and then slam down and resulting in back pain…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R1-134 and United States Department of the Navy, Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Newport, Rhode Island
NAGE Local R1-134 and Naval Undersea Warfare Center (FLRA 0-NG-3571, 0-NG-3580, 0-NG-3602): Authority splits incentive-pay proposals
NAGE Local R1-134 submitted seven proposals governing incentive-pay pools and employee awards in the Naval Undersea Warfare Center's demonstration personnel system. The Authority found that proposals setting minimum or maximum funding levels affected management's right to determine its budget, and…
Northeast Nebraska Economic Development District v. Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL
Premature wage appeal dismissed
The Northeast Nebraska Economic Development District sought a $25.00 hourly wage and $6.30 in fringe benefits for a glazier classification on a Davis-Bacon project. A Wage and Hour Division section chief instead approved $37.26 per hour and $17.76 in fringe benefits. The district petitioned the…
Secretary of Labor v. Cranesville Aggregates
Personnel transition excused late contest
Cranesville received a proposed assessment while its safety department was in transition. Its safety director had semi-retired and was working from home, no replacement had been hired, and its safety manager was on leave. The company contested the assessment promptly after the department learned…
Secretary of Labor v. Two Rivers Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Combined assessment paperwork caused late contest
Two Rivers combined the pages of one proposed assessment with paperwork for another assessment that had a later due date. It processed both together and filed the contest for the earlier assessment too late. The company moved to reopen about two weeks after the assessment became final. The…
Trivedi v. General Electric
SOX appeal dismissed after petition deadline missed
An administrative judge dismissed Madhuri Trivedi's SOX complaint after finding that she had not suffered an adverse action. Trivedi asked the Board for more than four months to prepare a petition for review. The Board instead granted ten additional days, warned that no further extensions would be…
May v. AGL Services Co.
Pipeline safety retaliation dismissal affirmed
Thomas May, a natural-gas distributor's fire investigator, raised concerns that new battery-powered gas meters might pose a fire risk. The administrative judge found that his concerns were protected and that his suspension and termination were adverse actions, but that the protected activity did…
Secretary of Labor v. Terra Excavating, LLC
Prompt filing after duplicate assessment supported reopening
Terra said it never received the proposed assessment. Its counsel contacted MSHA to ask about the assessment's status and obtained a duplicate copy. Terra promptly attempted to contest it, then moved to reopen after MSHA said the contest was late. The Commission found good cause based on Terra's…
Secretary of Labor v. Lehigh Cement Company, LLC
Counsel promptly corrected assessment mistake
Lehigh's counsel mistakenly believed that an earlier assessment contest covered all citations from the same inspection. When counsel recognized that 13 citations had not been contested, she moved to reopen them the next day. The Commission found that the missed deadline resulted from a mistake and…
Secretary of Labor v. Prairie State Generating Company, LLC
Misaddressed contest was reopened
Prairie paid 19 of 23 penalties and intended to contest the other four. It said that it mailed the contest on the payment date but used the wrong address or otherwise made a mailing mistake. After MSHA sent a delinquency notice, Prairie moved to reopen the four citations. The Secretary did not…
Secretary of Labor v. Cooper Stone
Pandemic staff illnesses supported reopening
Cooper Stone said its normal practice was to contest proposed penalties immediately after receiving them. Staff illnesses during the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted that process and caused it to miss the deadline. The Commission found good cause, reopened the assessment, and remanded the case. It also…
Matter of Olty CABRERA-FERNANDEZ, et al.
Conditional parole did not make entrants eligible for Cuban adjustment
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security’s appeal from an Immigration Judge’s grant of adjustment of status to Cuban nationals who entered the United States without inspection or admission. The Board distinguished conditional parole under the immigration detention statute from…
Matter of C-G-T-
Protection claims require a fact-specific government-protection analysis
The Board reviewed a Dominican respondent’s applications for asylum and withholding of removal based on his sexual orientation and HIV-positive status. It affirmed the denial of asylum under the one-year filing bar, but held that the analysis of government protection and future harm required…
Secretary of Labor v. Pocahontas Coal Company, LLC
Direction for review was vacated
The Commission had directed review and stayed briefing in this case. After deciding Consol Mining Co. and concluding there that a Judge erred in denying a settlement motion based on Mechanicsville Concrete and American Aggregates of Michigan, the Commission reconsidered the Secretary's petition in…
International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 4 and United States Department of the Navy, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, New Hampshire
IFPTE Local 4 and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (FLRA 0-NG-3653): Authority requires bargaining over union-office photographs
IFPTE Local 4 proposed allowing union officers to take and distribute photographs from union-controlled office and meeting spaces at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard without prior agency approval. The Authority assumed without deciding that the proposal affected management's right to determine…
Suncor Energy (U.S.A.) Inc.
In re Suncor Energy (U.S.A.) Inc. (EAB CAA Appeal No. 23-07C): gasoline violations settled with emissions-reduction project
Suncor Energy (U.S.A.) Inc. operated two fuel manufacturing facilities in Commerce City, Colorado. EPA alleged that Suncor produced 32,101,398 gallons of gasoline with an average benzene concentration above 1.30 volume percent at its East Refinery. EPA also alleged that Suncor produced 1,162,762…
Texas Underground Utilities, Inc.
Repeat cave-in violation affirmed, two items vacated
OSHA found two Texas Underground Utilities employees working in a trench at a construction site in Houston. The judge affirmed a repeat-serious cave-in-protection violation because the trench reached seven feet in Type B soil and was not properly sloped, benched, or protected by a trench box. A…
Kyocera International, Inc.
In re Kyocera International, Inc. (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 23-02C): Consent Agreement ratified
The Environmental Appeals Board ratified a Consent Agreement resolving the proceeding involving Kyocera International, Inc. The Board incorporated the agreement into its Final Order and ordered the respondent to comply with all of its terms, effective immediately. The available official release…
United States Department of State, Passport Services and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1998
Passport Services and NFFE Local 1998 (FLRA 0-AR-5862): Authority removes cash remedy and narrows monitoring
Passport Services conceded that it violated a settlement and the parties' agreement by failing to remove an employee's reprimand from his electronic personnel file on time. An arbitrator awarded the employee $2,000 and ordered a system for monitoring timely reprimand removals from employees' files…
Secretary of Labor v. CONSOL Mining Company, LLC
Judge could not strike settlement arguments
A Judge denied a settlement motion without reviewing the agreement and struck the Secretary's argument and supporting Commission cases. The Commission held that presenting those authorities did not violate its procedural rules and that striking them could prevent the Secretary from preserving…
Secretary of Labor v. R.E. Pierson Materials Corp.
Conflicting explanations prompted show-cause order
R.E. Pierson's counsel said the operator failed to forward the assessment to counsel, while the mine's operations manager said the clerical mistake occurred in counsel's office. The Commission found those accounts inconsistent. It ordered the operator and counsel to provide a uniform, detailed…
Secretary of Labor v. Cascade Concrete Products Company, Inc.
Misrouted contest was reopened
Cascade Concrete Products asked the Commission to reopen three proposed penalties that became final when its contest was not filed with the proper MSHA office. Cascade said it mailed the contest to MSHA's St. Louis payment office with payment for the uncontested citations instead of sending it to…
Secretary of Labor v. Northside Rock Products, LLC
Misfiled paperwork did not establish good cause
Northside Rock Products asked the Commission to reopen a penalty case that defaulted after it did not answer the Secretary's petition or a show-cause order. The company said paperwork was placed in the wrong file and that it mistakenly believed an answer had been filed. The Secretary opposed…
Secretary of Labor v. Southwest Rock Products, Inc.
Unexplained delay barred reopening
Southwest Rock Products asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that became final after the company did not answer the Secretary's petition or a show-cause order. The company said it was unsure why the case defaulted and had received no documentation. The Secretary did not oppose…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company (FMSHRC PENN 2022-0070): Damaged cutting-bit citation affirmed
A face ignition occurred while a continuous miner operated at Consol's Enlow Fork Mine, which was liberating more than 11 million cubic feet of methane per day. Investigators found two damaged cutting bits about two feet apart on the side of the cutting head where witnesses saw the ignition. The…
Louisiana-Pacific Corporation and Tyler Wallace
Conveyor machine-guarding citation vacated
Louisiana-Pacific manufactured oriented strand board at a mill where an employee's hand and arm were caught in the ingoing nip point of a trim-waste conveyor while he was cleaning nearby. OSHA alleged that the unguarded nip point violated the machine-guarding standard and proposed a $13,653…
Farrar v. Straitline Well Services, LLC
Late Clean Air Act hearing request dismissed
Jason Farrar alleged that Straitline Well Services fired him after he raised concerns about burning tires, used motor oil, railroad ties, and other materials. He filed his OSHA complaint on time but waited several months after OSHA's dismissal to request a hearing, despite a 30-day deadline. Farrar…
Suncor Energy (U.S.A.) Inc.
In re Suncor Energy (U.S.A.) Inc. (EAB CAA 23-07C): gasoline compliance settlement approved
Suncor Energy (U.S.A.) Inc. operated two gasoline-producing fuel manufacturing facilities in Commerce City, Colorado. Suncor reported that its East Refinery produced 32,101,398 gallons of gasoline during 2021 with an average benzene concentration of 1.77 volume percent, above the 1.30 volume…
Frank Alo
In re Frank Alo (EAB CWA Appeal No. 23-(02)): EAB declines sua sponte review
On July 19, 2023, the Presiding Officer issued an Initial Decision and Order on Default Judgment in the matter involving Frank Alo. Neither party appealed. The Environmental Appeals Board declined to review the case on its own initiative under 40 C.F.R. §§ 22.27(c)(4) and 22.30(b). The Board stated…
Elmer W. Davis, Inc.
Roof structural-integrity citation affirmed
Elmer W. Davis was replacing a warehouse roof when its crew discovered an unsafe depression in the roof deck and covered it with an unsecured, unmarked sheet of plywood. After someone moved the plywood, an employee stepped on the exposed depression, fell 14 feet through the roof, and suffered…
IMI Aggregates, LLC v. Secretary of Labor
IMI Aggregates v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC LAKE 2023-0249): Expedited hearing request denied
MSHA cited IMI Aggregates for failing to provide nonconductive material at an emergency-stop switch for a conveyor. IMI sought an expedited hearing, arguing that similar citations at 21 other mines could require costly electrical work, shutdowns, and lost production. The judge found those concerns…
AMVAC Chemical Corporation
In re AMVAC Chemical Corporation (EAB FIFRA Appeal No. 23-(01)): review declined and suspension order becomes final
The case concerns a notice of intent to suspend the registration of Technical Chlorthal Dimethyl, a pesticide, under section 3(c)(2)(B)(iv) of FIFRA. After a prior remand for a hearing, the Administrative Law Judge dismissed the petitioners' objections, approved the notice, and ordered the…
Kossen v. Asia Pacific Airlines
Untimely recusal appeal not accepted
Darren Kossen filed an 839-page interlocutory appeal seeking recusal of the administrative judge and transfer of his AIR21 case. He filed 21 days after the judge denied reconsideration, outside the regulation's ten-business-day deadline, and had not obtained certification for interlocutory review…
Secretary of Labor v. Rockwell Mining, LLC
Unclear delivery supported reopening
Rockwell Mining asked to reopen two penalty assessments that became final after MSHA records showed delivery but the company did not file contests. The delivery confirmations were signed "C COVID," and Rockwell said no employee had received the assessments. After learning of the problem during a…
Secretary of Labor v. Kiewit Mining Group
Uncollected assessment mail was excusable
Kiewit Mining Group asked to reopen two penalty assessments that became final after packages sent to its designated post office were returned unclaimed. Kiewit could not identify why the packages were missed, but said an employee normally collected mail twice each week and that the company had no…
Secretary of Labor v. Vulcan Construction Materials, LLC
Unclear delivery and prompt action justified reopening
Vulcan Construction Materials asked to reopen a penalty assessment that became final when it did not file a contest within 30 days. The assessment went to the correct address, but Vulcan had no record of receiving it and the delivery confirmation identified only "V Construction." Vulcan filed its…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, John J. Pershing VA Medical Center, Poplar Bluff, Missouri and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2338
Poplar Bluff VA Medical Center and AFGE Local 2338 (FLRA 0-AR-5762): Authority denies reconsideration of accommodation ruling
The Department of Veterans Affairs asked the Authority to reconsider a decision upholding a reasonable-accommodation award for an employee at the Poplar Bluff medical center. The agency offered later medical and accommodation requests as evidence that the employee could not perform his job with a…
Secretary of Labor v. Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions
Waiting for a missing citation was excusable
Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions asked to reopen a penalty assessment after filing its contest about three weeks late. The assessment package was missing one citation, and the company waited for the MSHA District Office to provide a copy before deciding to file without it. The company later…
Matter of J-G-R-
Official-capacity analysis required for alleged government torture
The Board reviewed a motion to remand by a respondent seeking protection under the Convention Against Torture. The respondent alleged that men who claimed to be police officers tortured him, and the record required clarification about whether they were actual officials and acted under color of law…
Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health and Becker v. Smithstonian Materials, LLC
Assistant Secretary and Becker v. Smithstonian Materials, LLC (DOL ARB 2021-0048): back pay reduced to $64,795.22 with fixed interest
Michael Becker was constructively discharged after refusing to drive an unsafe, unregistered dump truck for Smithstonian Materials, and liability under the STAA was already established. The Board explained that back pay equals lost wages minus allowed offsets and that an employee must reasonably…
Waysmos USA, Inc.
In re Waysmos USA, Inc. (EAB CAA Appeal No. 23-05C): greenhouse-gas reporting settlement approved
Waysmos USA, Inc., a Texas corporation headquartered in Austin, imported industrial greenhouse gases subject to EPA's mandatory reporting requirements. EPA alleged that Waysmos failed to timely report its import quantities for calendar years 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020, after the company submitted…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL v. Graham and Rollins, Inc.
H-2B enforcement proceedings excluded from EAJA
The Wage and Hour Division had found that Graham and Rollins, a crab processor employing H-2B workers, committed program violations and owed $16,560, but the enforcement action was dismissed under a five-year limitations period. The employer then sought attorney fees under the Equal Access to…
Combs Investment Property, LP
In re Combs Investment Property, LP (EAB CAA Appeal No. 23-06C): greenhouse-gas reporting settlement approved
Combs Investment Property, LP, a Texas limited partnership headquartered in Houston, was an industrial greenhouse-gas supplier subject to EPA's mandatory reporting requirements. EPA alleged that the partnership exceeded the 25,000 metric ton carbon-dioxide-equivalent reporting threshold in 2016…
Secretary of Labor v. Appalachian Resource West Virginia, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Appalachian Resource West Virginia (FMSHRC WEVA 2022-0555): Eleven-citation settlement approved
The judge had previously denied a proposed settlement because the Secretary did not provide two section 104(b) withdrawal orders associated with citations in the docket. After the Commission's Perry County Resources decision held that a judge did not need the related withdrawal order when the…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Complex, Victorville, California and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3969, Council of Prison Locals 33
FCC Victorville and AFGE Local 3969 (FLRA 0-AR-5854): Authority preserves overtime backpay for delayed investigations
Federal Correctional Complex Victorville reassigned two employees during misconduct investigations, making them ineligible for overtime while the investigations remained open for extended periods. An arbitrator found that the agency violated the agreement's promise of timely investigation…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Complex, Yazoo City, Mississippi and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1013, Council of Prison Locals 33
FCC Yazoo City and AFGE Local 1013 (FLRA 0-AR-5858): Authority upholds retaliation finding over cease-and-desist notice
A federal prison employee reported that a supervisor had berated and physically confronted him in front of inmates. The agency then directed the employee to avoid contact with the supervisor and stop communicating about the alleged misconduct. An arbitrator found that the notice retaliated against…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL v. A&M Labor Management, Inc.
Uninsured-worker penalties increased to $20,040
A&M Labor Management transported 18 agricultural workers in a company bus, but eight lacked workers' compensation coverage because A&M had not submitted their hiring documents to its payroll and insurance provider. A&M had also declined passenger liability coverage, so those eight workers were…
Secretary of Labor obo Victor Torres v. W. G. Yates & Sons Construction Company
Tolling issue required meaningful notice
Victor Torres alleged that W.G. Yates & Sons laid him off after he raised a safety concern, refused work he believed was unsafe, and photographed the incident for a report. A Judge found the discrimination complaint non-frivolous but tolled temporary reinstatement because layoffs had left no…
Dickerson v. Iteris, Inc.
Late FedEx petition accepted through equitable tolling
Michael Dickerson gave Federal Express his SOX petition on the filing deadline, but the Board received it two days later. The governing rule treats private-carrier delivery as filed upon receipt, unlike a mailed petition, which is filed on its postmark date. During the earlier hearing, however, the…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL v. Butler Amusements, Inc.
H-2B job-classification violations affirmed
Butler Amusements obtained certification for seasonal H-2B amusement attendants at its traveling carnival. The Wage and Hour Division found that nine workers instead served as supervisors, maintenance-shop workers, or commercial drivers and were paid less than the prevailing wages for those jobs…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Mining Company LLC
Interlocutory review was granted
The Administrative Law Judge certified questions for interlocutory review before issuing a final decision in the case. Commission Rule 76 permits this early review when a ruling presents a controlling legal question and immediate review would materially advance the proceeding. The Commission found…
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.