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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S & S Material, Inc.
Discrimination case dismissed
This discrimination proceeding concerned Jimmie L. Callan and S & S Material, Inc. The Secretary of Labor moved to withdraw the motion for temporary reinstatement, and Judge Avram Weisberger granted that motion based on the assertions presented. The judge then dismissed the case. The order does not…
Lanham Coal Company, Inc.
Tarping citation vacated on remand
Lanham Coal operated a surface coal mine where truck drivers covered loaded coal trucks with tarps. A driver fell about 10 feet while tarping a truck and later died for reasons unrelated to the fall. MSHA cited the company under 30 C.F.R. § 77.1710(g) for not requiring safety belts or lines. On…
Pigeon Branch Coal Company
Settlement approved at $2,200
Pigeon Branch Coal Company was the respondent in a civil penalty proceeding concerning its No. 8 Mine. The Secretary of Labor asked the judge to approve a settlement that reduced the proposed penalty from $4,400 to $2,200 and dismissed the case. Judge Avram Weisberger found the agreement…
F.K.C., Incorporated
Discrimination proceedings dismissed
These consolidated discrimination proceedings concerned Martin L. Richardson and F.K.C., Incorporated. The Secretary of Labor moved to dismiss after concluding that Richardson was not a miner under the Mine Act and that the respondent companies were not engaged in activity covered by the Act at the…
Ruby Helen Coal Company
Proceedings stayed pending criminal case
Ruby Helen Coal Company was involved in contest proceedings and a civil penalty proceeding concerning its Mine No. 1 dust-sampling program. The company stated that it had entered an agreement to plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the Mine Safety and Health Administration. The Secretary of Labor…
Sunrise Mining, Inc.
Proceedings stayed pending criminal case
Sunrise Mining asked to stay a group of contest proceedings and a civil penalty proceeding after entering an agreement to plead guilty to a conspiracy charge involving its dust sampling program. The Secretary of Labor agreed to seek dismissal of pending civil penalty proceedings tied to the dust…
Shady Lane Coal Company
Proceedings stayed pending criminal case
Shady Lane Coal Company asked to stay two contest proceedings and a civil penalty proceeding after entering an agreement to plead guilty to a conspiracy charge involving its dust sampling program. The Secretary of Labor agreed to seek dismissal of pending civil penalty proceedings tied to the dust…
Classic Coal Corporation
Proceedings stayed pending criminal case
Classic Coal Corporation was involved in contest proceedings and a civil penalty proceeding concerning its Mine No. 1 dust-sampling program. The company stated that it had entered an agreement to plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the Mine Safety and Health Administration. The Secretary of Labor…
American Carbon Corporation
Proceedings stayed pending criminal case
American Carbon Corporation asked to stay a civil penalty proceeding after entering an agreement to plead guilty to a conspiracy charge involving its dust sampling program. The Secretary of Labor agreed to seek dismissal of pending civil penalty proceedings tied to the dust sampling violations and…
Black Nugget Mining, Inc.
Proceedings stayed pending criminal case
Black Nugget Mining, Inc. was involved in a civil penalty proceeding concerning its Mine No. 1 dust-sampling program. The company stated that it had entered an agreement to plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the Mine Safety and Health Administration. The Secretary of Labor agreed to move to…
Good Times Mining, Inc.
Proceedings stayed pending criminal case
Good Times Mining asked the judge to stay a pending civil penalty proceeding after entering an agreement to plead guilty to a conspiracy charge involving its dust sampling program. The Secretary of Labor agreed to seek dismissal of pending civil penalty proceedings connected to the dust sampling…
L & L Energy OF Hurley, Inc.
Proceedings stayed pending criminal case
L & L Energy of Hurley, Inc. was involved in a civil penalty proceeding concerning its Mine No. 2 dust-sampling program. The company stated that it had entered an agreement to plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the Mine Safety and Health Administration. The Secretary of Labor agreed to move to…
Sunset Land & Coal Company
Proceedings stayed pending criminal case
Sunset Land & Coal Company asked to stay a group of contest proceedings and a civil penalty proceeding after entering an agreement to plead guilty to a conspiracy charge involving its dust sampling program. The Secretary of Labor agreed to seek dismissal of pending civil penalty proceedings tied to…
Red Dog Coal Corporation
Proceedings stayed pending criminal case
Red Dog Coal Corporation was involved in contest proceedings and a civil penalty proceeding concerning its Mine No. 3 dust-sampling program. The company stated that it had entered an agreement to plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the Mine Safety and Health Administration. The Secretary of Labor…
Delbarton Mining Corp.
Proceedings stayed pending criminal case
Delbarton Mining Corp. was involved in a civil penalty proceeding concerning its Mine No. 1 dust-sampling program. The company stated that it had entered an agreement to plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the Mine Safety and Health Administration. The Secretary of Labor agreed to move to dismiss…
Dotson & Rife Coal Co., Inc.,
Proceedings stayed pending criminal case
Dotson & Rife Coal Co. operated Mine No. 1 and asked to stay a group of contest proceedings and a civil penalty proceeding after entering an agreement to plead guilty to a conspiracy charge involving its dust sampling program. The Secretary of Labor agreed to seek dismissal of pending civil penalty…
Edd Potter Coal Company
Proceedings stayed pending criminal case
Edd Potter Coal Company was involved in contest proceedings and a civil penalty proceeding concerning its Mine No. 2 dust-sampling program. The company stated that it had entered an agreement to plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the Mine Safety and Health Administration. The Secretary of Labor…
Red Dog Coal Corporation
Proceedings stayed pending criminal case
Red Dog Coal Corporation was involved in a contest proceeding and a civil penalty proceeding concerning its Mine No. 3-A dust-sampling program. The company stated that it had entered an agreement to plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the Mine Safety and Health Administration. The Secretary of…
PPG Industries, Inc.
Omitted settlement item affirmed at $200
PPG Industries and the Secretary previously settled numerous serious, willful, and other-than-serious citation items. After the settlement became final, the parties discovered that serious citation item 13 had been omitted from the written agreement. They jointly stated that the item was supposed…
Super Excavators, Inc.
Offsite hazard documents led to a de minimis notice and a $60 violation
Super Excavators had an effective written hazard-communication program, but kept the written program and material safety data sheets at its main office rather than at a sewer-construction worksite 22 miles away. The Commission converted the written-program item to a de minimis notice because the…
Consolidated Freightways Corp.
Corrosive-dye PPE violation was serious
Consolidated Freightways employees handled and cleaned up a leaking drum of corrosive powdered dye without suitable personal protective equipment. Supervisors knew about the spill but left untrained workers to decide what protection to use, and the company's safety guides were not adequately…
Consolidation Coal Company
Discrimination complaint withdrawn and dismissed
J. Mike Plevich filed a Mine Act discrimination complaint against Consolidation Coal Company. He later withdrew the complaint after receiving favorable results through a grievance procedure. Judge Paul Merlin granted the withdrawal request and dismissed the case. No civil penalty was assessed.
San Juan Coal Company
Grounding citations vacated and highwall citation affirmed
San Juan Coal Company operated the San Juan Mine and Plant and the La Plata Mine. The parties settled 22 of 26 alleged violations, including a CENT 90-110 citation that was modified and resolved with a $147 penalty. The judge vacated three grounding citations involving two toaster ovens and a…
Gatliff Coal Company, Inc.
Emergency communication order modified and penalty assessed
Gatliff Coal operated a surface strip coal mine in Kentucky. After a fatal truck accident, workers had to travel to a public telephone because no company radio was available at the job site. The judge found a violation of the emergency-communication standard, but concluded that it was not…
Carroll Frank Bluemel, Employed by South Texas Aggregates, Incorporated
Individual penalty assessed for knowingly authorizing hazardous equipment use
Carroll Frank Bluemel was the mine superintendent at South Texas Aggregates' Helotes Mine. After a front-end loader fire injured an operator, Bluemel later authorized use of another loader even though he knew or had reason to know that its hydraulic system and emergency engine shutoff remained…
Allen's Casing Crews, Inc.
Lanyard item remanded for review of the correct evidence
OSHA inspected Allen's Casing Crews after an employee fell from an oil-drilling rig and died. One citation item concerned a lanyard used later by a replacement crew member whose snap-hook spring was missing, while a separate item concerned the longer lanyard used by the employee who fell. The judge…
Steven Brown for United Steelworkers of America, District 38, Subdistrict 7 v. Sunshine Mining Company
Compensation complaint dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
Contract miners at Sunshine Mining's Kellogg operation claimed they should receive incentive-rate pay while attending mandatory MSHA safety training. Sunshine maintained that miners were entitled only to the applicable wage-table rate. Judge John J. Morris concluded that the Commission had no…
Beco Construction Co., Inc.
Equal Access to Justice Act application dismissed after settlement
Beco Construction filed an Equal Access to Justice Act application related to two earlier contest proceedings. The parties reached an amicable settlement before a hearing. Judge John J. Morris dismissed the application based on that settlement. The order does not state that any fee or expense award…
Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Privilege rulings reconsidered and documents ordered produced
This master-docket discovery order concerned documents related to alleged alteration of respirable coal mine dust samples. Judge James A. Broderick granted the Secretary's motion to reconsider earlier privilege rulings after reviewing the documents in camera. He kept three documents protected as…
Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Master discovery plan adopted for respirable dust sample alteration cases
This master-docket order governed discovery in cases involving alleged alteration of coal dust filter media. Judge James A. Broderick adopted a discovery plan covering document repository access, filter examination and nondestructive testing, depositions, expert reports, and later case-specific…
All Phase Electric & Maintenance, Inc.
Informal-conference request did not contest citations
OSHA cited All Phase Electric for two serious electrical violations and one other-than-serious posting violation, with $240 in proposed penalties. The company received the citations on December 18, 1989, but did not submit a written notice of contest within the 15-working-day period ending January…
Consolidation Coal Company
Citation modified and penalty set at $50
Consolidation Coal Company operated the Arkwright No. 1 Mine. MSHA cited a split outer jacket on a cable powering a continuous mining machine under 30 C.F.R. § 75.517. The operator stipulated to the violation, but Judge Avram Weisberger found that the Secretary did not prove the violation was…
Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Discovery deadlines extended for mine operators
This master-docket order extended discovery deadlines for mine operators involved in cases alleging alteration of respirable dust samples. Judge James A. Broderick gave operators who joined the case between June 28 and September 17, 1991, 40 days from September 17 to respond to discovery, inspect…
Island Creek Coal Company
Late compensation complaint allowed to proceed
Roy Farmer and other miners sought compensation after an imminent-danger order at Island Creek Coal Company's VP-3 Mine. Their complaint was filed more than six months after the order, beyond the 90-day period in Commission Rule 35. On remand, Judge Gary Melick found good cause for the late…
Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Privilege rulings reconsidered and documents ordered produced
This master-docket discovery order addressed documents concerning alleged alteration of respirable dust samples, including materials related to 30 C.F.R. § 70.209(b). Judge James A. Broderick granted reconsideration of earlier privilege rulings, upheld protection for some investigative…
Arch of Kentucky, Inc.
Settlement approved for ventilation violation
Arch of Kentucky operated the No. 37 Mine, where MSHA found that airflow on a longwall section was below the amount required by the approved ventilation plan. The parties settled after the order was changed from an unwarrantable-failure action to a section 104(a) significant-and-substantial…
Coal Mac Incorporated
Settlement partly approved with S&S findings retained
Coal Mac operated the Coal Mac No. 17 and No. 7 Surface mines. The parties sought to reduce several significant-and-substantial designations and civil penalties across citations involving mobile equipment, storage, explosives, brakes, guards, and other safety conditions. Judge William Fauver…
Gatliff Coal Company, Inc.
Emergency communication violation found and remanded
Gatliff Coal operated a surface strip coal mine where an employee died after a truck accident and workers had to leave the mine property to find a telephone because no company two-way radio was present. The Commission held that employee-owned CB radios did not satisfy the requirement for an…
Phillips 66 Company
Union abatement objections required settlement remand
After an explosion and fire at a Phillips 66 petrochemical facility, OSHA alleged 566 willful general-duty-clause violations and proposed more than $5.6 million in penalties. A proposed settlement removed the willful classification, set a $4 million payment, and extended abatement schedules across…
Lang Brothers Inc.
Mine Act covers gas-well contractor operations serving a coal mine
Lang Brothers cleaned and plugged gas wells for Consolidation Coal's Blacksville No. 2 Mine. Lang argued that its work involved gas wells rather than coal mining, that it was not a mine operator, and that OSHA rather than MSHA had jurisdiction. The Commission held that the work was integral to coal…
Cyprus Tonopah Mining Corporation
Ground-control violations modified and penalties assessed
Cyprus operated an open-pit molybdenum mine in Tonopah, Nevada. Judge Michael A. Lasher found violations involving loose rock and inadequate catch benches in the Pushback 1 pit under 30 C.F.R. §§ 56.3200 and 56.3130, and found that Cyprus's failure to maintain the conditions was unwarrantable. He…
Hickory Coal Company
Final order sets $600 penalty in three installments
A prior decision found that Hickory Coal violated section 103(a) of the Mine Act, and the case remained open for civil-penalty assessment. Judge William Fauver noted that the Department of Justice had obtained a default judgment for unpaid penalties and that the company was discussing a payment…
Summit Incorporated
Backhoe walkway citation affirmed and settlement approved
Summit operated the Richmond Hill gold mine. MSHA cited a backhoe walkway that was about four and a half feet above the ground and lacked handrails and midrails. Judge John J. Morris held that the platform was an elevated walkway covered by 30 C.F.R. § 56.11002, affirmed the citation and a $20…
Drummond Company, Inc.
Unwarrantable-failure finding vacated and remanded
Drummond operated an underground coal mine where MSHA found deep accumulations of combustible material and float coal dust around several conveyor belts. The ALJ modified a section 104(d)(1) citation by vacating the unwarrantable-failure finding. The Commission held that Drummond had reason to know…
Bulk Transportation Services, Inc.
Commission affirms operator status and $25 penalty
Bulk Transportation Services arranged exclusive coal haulage from BethEnergy's Mine No. 33 to a generating station through subcontractors. A subcontractor raised a truck bed into an energized 46-kilovolt powerline, and MSHA cited Bulk for violating the high-voltage clearance standard. The…
Featherlite Building Products Corporation
Clerical correction approves $1,552 in paid penalties
This order amended a prior decision to correct a clerical error and approve penalties for three citations that Featherlite accepted and paid without formal litigation. The citations involved standards 30 C.F.R. § 56.12032 twice and 30 C.F.R. § 56.12016 once. Judge August F. Cetti approved the…
General Chemical Company
Training-schedule settlement dismisses discrimination complaints
Four miners alleged that General Chemical Company discriminated against them by scheduling annual refresher training outside their normal shifts. The settlement gave rotating-shift and surface-production employees options for receiving the required training during their normal work hours or on the…
Jamieson Company
Two citations affirmed with $220 in penalties and two vacated
Jamieson operated a sand and gravel facility where an inspector found a displaced conveyor guard and an unprotected 440-volt power cable across a driveway. Judge John J. Morris found that the skirting guard was not securely in place and affirmed that citation with a $20 penalty, while affirming the…
Toler Creek Energy, Inc.
Settlement partly approved and merger requests denied
Toler Creek Energy asked the judge to approve a settlement covering citations and orders at its No. 1 and No. 2 Mines. Judge William Fauver approved reduced penalties for six citations and orders, totaling $4,850, and required payment within 30 days. He denied requests to merge several other…
Ideal Cement Company
Side-screen equipment violation affirmed with $8,000 penalty
Ideal Cement operated a modified front-end loader without side screens while an employee used it inside a kiln. After a fatal accident, MSHA cited the company for operating equipment with a safety-affecting defect under 30 C.F.R. § 56.9002. On remand, the ALJ applied the reasonably prudent person…
LJ'S Coal Corporation
Mixed rulings impose $1,644 in penalties
An ALJ reviewed several safety citations and orders issued at LJ's Coal Corporation's No. 1 Mine. The judge dismissed one mine-rescue citation because the records did not prove that the apparatus itself had gone untested for 30 days. He affirmed violations involving high-voltage cables, an exposed…
Shamrock Coal Company, Inc.
Discriminatory discharges found
Shamrock Coal operated an underground coal mine where Lonnie Ross and Charles Gilbert worked on a maintenance crew. They complained about doing electrical work without certified mine electricians, the pressure created by a 10-hour work schedule, and the failure to replace a crew member on vacation…
United States Steel Mining Company, Incorporated
Dryer citation vacated
United States Steel Mining operated the Pinnacle Prep Plant. MSHA cited the plant under 30 C.F.R. § 77.200 after an inspector saw a deteriorated concrete floor and a damaged thermal dryer enclosure that allowed hot embers and coal dust to escape. The judge found that the enclosure was not…
U.S. Steel Mining Company, Inc.
Electrical-work citation vacated
U.S. Steel Mining was cited after a shuttle-car operator taped a nick in a deenergized and locked-out trailing cable without a qualified electrician present. Judge George A. Koutras found that the taping was mechanical work, not electrical work requiring a qualified person under the cited…
U.S. Steel Mining Company, Inc.
Battery-charging citation affirmed
U.S. Steel Mining operated the Gary No. 50 Mine. MSHA cited a battery-charging station because its corrugated-metal enclosure left portions of wooden support timbers exposed, contrary to the requirement that the station be housed in a fireproof structure or area. Judge George A. Koutras found that…
Duininck Brothers, Inc.
Noise citations affirmed
Duininck Brothers operated sand and gravel crushing units where a tractor operator and a bulldozer operator were exposed to noise above the regulatory limit. The judge found that personal hearing protection did not remove the need to use feasible engineering or administrative controls, and that…
Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Discovery motions partly granted
This order addressed several contestants' motions to compel discovery in a master docket involving alleged alteration of respirable dust samples. Judge James A. Broderick upheld the Secretary of Labor's privilege claims for specified documents, ordered other documents submitted for in camera…
Miami Industries, Inc.
OSHA approval estopped stricter machine-guarding enforcement
Miami Industries used hinged barrier guards around tube-mill rollers after an OSHA compliance officer approved the design following an earlier citation. OSHA also used Miami's blueprints as a model for other employers and conducted later inspections for almost ten years without citing the guards…
Yerington Construction Company
Dozer citations affirmed
Yerington Construction operated a portable crushing plant and used a Case 450 dozer on a stockpile. The foreman did not perform the required pre-shift inspection, and the dozer was kept in service even though its service brakes did not work on one side. The judge found that the company was…
Asbestos Abatement Consultation and Engineering
Timely EAJA application could be amended
Asbestos Abatement Consultation and Engineering prevailed after the Secretary withdrew the remaining asbestos citation items and then sought $4,207.34 in attorney fees and costs under the Equal Access to Justice Act. The Commission held that the 30-day application period began when its underlying…
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.