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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Anheuser-Busch, LLC
In re Anheuser-Busch, LLC (EAB MM Appeal No. 23-01C): ammonia risk-management settlement approved
Anheuser-Busch, LLC operated facilities in Merrimack, New Hampshire, Fort Collins, Colorado, and Fairfield, California that stored more than the threshold quantity of anhydrous ammonia in covered processes. EPA alleged violations of Clean Air Act risk-management requirements involving equipment…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1858 and United States Department of the Army, U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama
AFGE Local 1858 and Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (FLRA 0-AR-5859): Authority upholds nonselection ruling
An employee applied for two lead-computer-engineer vacancies but was not selected. The union alleged under the collective-bargaining agreement that the agency's selection process was affected by race, color, and age. An arbitrator found no circumstantial evidence that any protected characteristic…
Secretary of Labor obo Larry Anderson v. Kalamazoo Materials, Inc., et al
. (FMSHRC WEST 2023-0238): Economic temporary reinstatement approved
Larry Anderson alleged that Kalamazoo Materials terminated him shortly after he sent management safety complaints and announced his selection as a miners' representative. The parties agreed to economic reinstatement, allowing Anderson to receive the financial benefits of reinstatement without…
UHS of Centennial Peaks dba Centennial Peaks Hospital
Settlement accepted and case dismissed
The Tenth Circuit remanded this case to the Commission for the limited purpose of considering the parties' settlement agreement. The Secretary and UHS of Centennial Peaks notified the Commission that they had resolved all contested citation items. Because the parties agreed to terminate the…
Panoche Energy Center, LLC
In re Panoche Energy Center, LLC (EAB UIC Appeal No. 22-01): Ambient-monitoring condition upheld
Panoche Energy Center, LLC operates a natural-gas-fired power plant in California with Class I underground injection wells for non-hazardous waste. EPA Region 9 renewed the permit and required ambient monitoring near an abandoned well in the permit's area of review, including chemical analysis and…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 4012 and Social Security Administration, Denver, Colorado
AFGE Local 4012 and SSA Denver (FLRA 0-AR-5848): Authority upholds attorney-fee denial after reduced suspension
The Social Security Administration suspended an employee for fourteen days for displaying profane material and lacking candor during an investigation. An arbitrator upheld the charges but reduced the suspension to seven days based on information the agency did not have when imposing discipline. She…
Todd Descutner v. Nevada Gold Mines LLC
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Todd Descutner complained to Nevada Gold Mines about mask use and social distancing on buses carrying miners to the Leeville Mine, then received progressive discipline and was ultimately discharged after damaging property while moving a loader. Applying the Ninth Circuit's but-for causation…
Secretary of Labor v. Cactus Canyon Quarries, Inc.
Mine Act jurisdiction and electrical citations sustained
Cactus Canyon argued that its Fairland Plant was a manufacturing facility outside MSHA jurisdiction because it no longer extracted rock onsite. The Judge found that repeatedly crushing and sizing dimension stone into terrazzo material constituted mineral milling, independently bringing the…
Secretary of Labor v. Greenbrier Minerals, LLC
Amended parking-brake settlement approved
A personnel carrier used to transport miners had a nonfunctioning parking brake, and MSHA cited the condition as reasonably likely, significant and substantial, and moderately negligent. The settlement changed the likelihood to unlikely, removed the S&S designation, and cut the proposed penalty…
Secretary of Labor v. Canyon Fuel Company, LLC, et al.
Rib and accident-reporting orders affirmed
A rib burst at Canyon Fuel's Skyline Mine #3 knocked a miner into equipment, buried him in coal, fractured his skull, and caused other serious injuries. The Judge affirmed an S&S rib-control violation but reduced negligence to moderate, removed the unwarrantable-failure designation, and assessed…
Secretary of Labor v. Greenbrier Minerals, LLC
Original parking-brake settlement decision superseded
This original decision approved a settlement concerning a personnel carrier with a nonfunctioning parking brake. The agreement changed the citation from reasonably likely and S&S to unlikely and non-S&S and reduced the proposed penalty from $1,069 to $535 based on the fact that the carrier's…
Department of the Navy, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility; Department of the Navy, Trident Refit Facility; Bremerton Metal Trades Council; and International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 12
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Trident Refit Facility unit consolidations (FLRA SF-RP-22-0032, SF-RP-23-0004): Authority approves consolidated units
Two unions sought to consolidate their professional, technical, and nonprofessional bargaining units across Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Trident Refit Facility. A regional director found the larger units appropriate because employees shared related naval-maintenance missions, similar work, a…
Matter of POUGATCHEV
New York burglary was an aggravated felony crime of violence
The Board reviewed a respondent’s challenge to removability based on a New York burglary conviction. It held that the burglary statute was overbroad and indivisible as to the definition of a building, so the conviction was not categorically an aggravated-felony burglary offense. The Board…
United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina; American Federation of Government Employees; and Erin Lamm
Blue Ridge Parkway decertification petition (FLRA AT-RP-22-0007): Authority applies certification bar after unit consolidation
An employee petitioned to decertify AFGE about three months after two National Park Service bargaining units were consolidated and the union was certified for the combined unit. The Authority held that the statute's twelve-month election bar did not apply because consolidation occurs under 5 U.S.C…
Secretary of Labor v. Maryland Energy Resources, LLC
Battery-charger settlement approved
MSHA found undersized electrical conductors serving battery chargers at Maryland Energy Resources' Casselman Mine, including melted receptacles and repeated replacements, and also found that required examination records for 14 chargers had not been kept for at least eight months. The two actions…
Secretary of Labor v. Duininck, Inc.
Deliberate payment barred reopening
Duininck paid $1,359 for all three citations and sent a letter expressly stating that it did not intend to contest them. The operator later asked the Commission to reopen the case, but still did not seek to contest the citations and instead wanted to discuss its safety practices with MSHA. The…
Secretary of Labor obo Paul Kirk v. Cemex Construction Materials Florida, LLC
Summary decision denied
CEMEX sought summary decision against claims that it disciplined Paul Kirk after he raised concerns about hot dust escaping from a kiln and after MSHA received related complaints. The Judge found genuine disputes over the kiln's condition, what management did and communicated about shutting it…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2338 and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, John J. Pershing VA Medical Center, Poplar Bluff, Missouri
AFGE Local 2338 and Poplar Bluff VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-5843): Authority upholds denial of accommodation-request names
AFGE Local 2338 asked the medical center for a list of employees who had requested reasonable accommodations so it could assess processing delays. The agency denied the request because revealing the names without employee consent would violate the Privacy Act, the agreement, and a VA…
Secretary of Labor v. Wayne J. Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Mail-processing uncertainty supported reopening
Wayne J. Sand & Gravel said it never received a proposed assessment at its remote operation. Postal tracking showed that the package was held for pickup, returned to its origin, and later recorded as delivered without a signature, leaving the cause of nonreceipt unclear. After receiving a…
Secretary of Labor v. Hanson Aggregates Pennsylvania, LLC
Staff disruptions excused one-day delay
Hanson Aggregates filed its proposed-assessment contest one day late while several senior roles were changing or temporarily uncovered. The operations manager had transferred, a new safety manager was being hired, and the plant manager was temporarily absent. The assessment was briefly overlooked…
Secretary of Labor v. Morton Salt, Inc.
P.O. Box receipt-date mistake excused one-day delay
Morton Salt calculated its contest deadline from the date an assessment reached the mine site instead of the earlier date it reached the company's P.O. Box. It mailed the contest one day after the assessment became a final Commission order. The operator moved promptly to reopen and said it would…
Secretary of Labor v. GCC Permian
Contest sent to wrong MSHA office was reopened
GCC Permian timely mailed a notice of contest, but its safety manager did not verify the address. The contest was accidentally sent to MSHA's penalty collections office in St. Louis together with payment for the uncontested citations. The assessment therefore became a final Commission order even…
David A. Rose Farm & Ag Services et al v. Secretary of Labor
David A. Rose Farm & Ag Services et al. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC SE 2023-0159): Expedition denied and contests consolidated
David A. Rose Farm & Ag Services and Garcia Mining contested one miner-training order and six citations issued during work they described as river widening and dredging outside MSHA jurisdiction. They requested an expedited hearing based on financial costs, disruption, continuing inspections, and…
Thorstenson v. BNSF Railway Co.
FRSA case remanded for damages
Stephen Thorstenson alleged that BNSF disciplined him for reporting a workplace injury. After two rounds of Board and Ninth Circuit review, the court held that substantial evidence did not support BNSF's same-action defense and that the company's reporting rule made compliance virtually impossible…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Mining Company, LLC
Partial settlement denied and authorities stricken
The Secretary sought approval of a partial settlement that removed S&S designations and cited Mechanicsville Concrete and American Aggregates of Michigan as supporting authority. Judge Young concluded that those decisions did not support the proposition for which they were repeatedly cited and that…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3601 and United States Department of Health and Human Services, Indian Health Service, Claremore Indian Hospital
AFGE Local 3601 and Claremore Indian Hospital (FLRA 0-AR-5838): Authority upholds end of COVID-19 pay differentials
Claremore Indian Hospital initially paid hazard and environmental differentials to on-site employees working around COVID-19 patients. It later ended the differentials after implementing precautions and finding that workplace risks had fallen below a significant level. An arbitrator upheld that…
Secretary of Labor v. Twin State Mining, Inc.
Roof-bolter cable settlement approved
MSHA found two damaged places in a roof bolter's power cable, including one where bare inner wires were exposed, and noted that the mine had been cited under the same standard 26 times in two years. Twin State admitted the violation but asserted that the cable had been adequately taped until the…
City of Portsmouth, New Hampshire
In re City of Portsmouth, New Hampshire (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 22-02): petition withdrawn and appeal dismissed
The City of Portsmouth withdrew its petition for review of an NPDES permit on May 5, 2023. The City stated that the parties had reached an agreement to resolve their dispute, and EPA Region 1 had withdrawn certain permit provisions and published a proposal for public comment regarding their…
Gladden v. The Proctor and Gamble Co.
Parallel SOX claim barred by Title VII judgment
Shannon Gladden pursued a Title VII lawsuit and a separate SOX administrative complaint arising from the same termination by Procter and Gamble. The federal court entered judgment in the Title VII case after Gladden had received the SOX 180-day kick-out notice but chose not to add the SOX claim to…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Mining Company, LLC
High-negligence amendment allowed
After the parties settled all but one citation, the Secretary sought to amend the remaining rib-control citation from moderate to high negligence. The citation described four large broken or loose ribs in areas where miners regularly worked and traveled, and the Secretary relied on seven recent…
Secretary of Labor v. Lehigh Cement Company, LLC
Twelve-citation settlement approved
The settlement resolved 12 citations at Lehigh Cement's Nazareth Plant I, including missing or damaged conveyor guards, extensive housekeeping hazards, and unsafe access beside a pond with a nine-foot drop. The agreement reduced several negligence and gravity findings, removed S&S from three…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Tara Otten v. Continental Cement Company, LLC
Original release of walkaround pay decision
This is the original release of the Commission's decision affirming Tara Otten's walkaround-pay claim against Continental Cement. Otten received her regular laborer rate instead of the higher mobile-equipment rate she would otherwise have earned while accompanying MSHA inspectors. The Commission…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Tara Otten v. Continental Cement Company, LLC
Walkaround representative was entitled to lost upgrade pay
Tara Otten served as a miners' representative during MSHA inspections and was paid her regular laborer rate instead of the higher mobile-equipment rate she would otherwise have earned. Continental Cement relied on its collective bargaining agreement, which tied upgrade pay to actually performing…
United States Department of Energy, Office of River Protection and Richland Operations Office, Hanford, Washington and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 788
DOE Hanford and AFGE Local 788 (FLRA 0-AR-5850): Authority upholds reduction of suspension to reprimand
The Department of Energy suspended a nuclear engineer for seven days after an email exchange in which he questioned an expedited safety-review meeting and made one inappropriate remark. An arbitrator dismissed most of the charged conduct, found substantial mitigating circumstances, and reduced the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2338 and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, John J. Pershing VA Medical Center, Poplar Bluff, Missouri
AFGE Local 2338 and Poplar Bluff VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-5839): Authority upholds untimely nonselection grievance
The Department of Veterans Affairs did not select an internal candidate for an air-conditioning-mechanic position after finding that he lacked the necessary experience. An arbitrator dismissed the union's grievance as untimely and alternatively found no contract violation or anti-veteran…
Matter of Wilson Ulices MORALES-MORALES, et al.
Equitable tolling can permit a late appeal only with diligence and extraordinary circumstances
The Board reviewed a motion to reconsider its dismissal of the respondents’ appeal as untimely. It held that the appeal deadline in 8 C.F.R. § 1003.38(b) is a claim-processing rule rather than a jurisdictional bar, so the Board may accept a late appeal in appropriate circumstances. Equitable…
Braun v. United Airlines, Inc.
AIR21 case remanded for sealing findings
Michael Braun appealed summary dismissal of an AIR21 retaliation complaint, and the parties submitted heavily redacted appellate materials while jointly seeking to file unredacted versions under seal. The Board found that the administrative judge had allowed sealed filings based only on a…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Three untracked contest packets were reopened
Consol Pennsylvania said it mailed three contest packets after paying the citations it did not intend to challenge. MSHA received the partial payments but did not receive the contest packets, which had not been sent by certified or otherwise trackable mail. Consol moved to reopen promptly after…
Secretary of Labor v. Iron Cumberland, LLC
Twenty-citation settlement approved
The settlement resolved 20 citations at Iron Cumberland's Cumberland Mine, reducing proposed penalties from $19,503 to $13,773. Several negligence findings were lowered, two citations were changed to unlikely and non-S&S, and other findings were modified or left unchanged. Judge Moran questioned…
RSCC Wire & Cable LLC
In re RSCC Wire & Cable LLC (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 23-01C): decaBDE import settlement approved
RSCC Wire & Cable LLC, formerly known as Rockbestos-Surprenant Cable Corporation, manufactured Class 1E safety power cables for nuclear facilities using the flame retardant decabromodiphenyl ether, or decaBDE. EPA alleged that RSCC imported decaBDE-containing articles at least nine times between…
Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC
Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC SE 2023-0028): Eighteen dockets dismissed
The Acting Secretary vacated five contest citations and thirteen related penalty proceedings alleging that Warrior Met denied miners' representatives access to its No. 4 and No. 7 mines during a strike. Warrior Met did not oppose dismissal but asked the Judge first to consolidate those eighteen…
Matter of CANCINOS-MANCIO
Plea-colloquy transcript may establish the factual basis of a conviction
The Board reviewed an Arizona respondent’s challenge to removability based on an aggravated assault conviction. It held that an Immigration Judge may consider a plea-colloquy transcript under the modified categorical approach when determining the factual basis of a plea. Applying controlling…
Secretary of Labor v. Greenbrier Minerals, LLC
Dozer-window settlement approved
MSHA issued two same-day citations after finding scratched and internally dirty windows on two Caterpillar D10R dozers working in the same coal-stockpile area. One citation, covering four deficient windows, remained at its $626 assessment; the other, covering five deficient windows, was reduced…
Joshua Herion dba ECS Roofing Professionals, Inc.
Citations affirmed by default
OSHA issued ECS Roofing Professionals 14 construction citations after inspecting worksites in Illinois and Wisconsin, including one willful violation, four repeat violations, and nine serious violations. After its attorney withdrew, ECS repeatedly failed to provide contact information, respond to…
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 upholds mold-accommodation award
An arbitrator found that the Poplar Bluff medical center failed to address workplace mold, provide a reasonable accommodation, and assist an employee seeking workers' compensation. She ordered a portable air filter as the principal accommodation, with placement in a licensed-practical-nurse…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Communications and track settlement approved
The settlement covered an emergency-communications citation and two track or travelway safeguard citations at Consol Pennsylvania Coal's Bailey Mine. The communications system lacked redundant tracking and communication along a 2,420-foot alternate escapeway and at a refuge location; its…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Metropolitan Correctional Center, San Diego, California and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3619, Council of Prison Locals 33
MCC San Diego and AFGE Local 3619 (FLRA 0-AR-5856): Authority remands clothing-allowance award for findings
The federal prison regularly assigned clerical employees to help correctional officers guard inmates, although the clerical employees did not receive uniform allowances or steel-toe footwear. An arbitrator awarded affected employees a $350 annual clothing allowance and recurring steel-toe shoes or…
Smith v. Akal Express, Inc.
Default affirmed and punitive damages remanded
Shervis Smith alleged that Akal Express and its manager constructively discharged him in violation of the STAA. The respondents received the case orders but did not participate in discovery, prepare the joint prehearing filing, or answer a show-cause order, so the Board upheld default as an…
Secretary of Labor v. Dragon Products Company, LLC
Tracked contest mailing supported reopening
Dragon Products said it timely mailed its penalty contest by certified mail with return receipt requested, but MSHA had no record of receiving it and the Postal Service tracking had expired. MSHA received partial payment of the assessment and later mailed a delinquency notice. Dragon moved to…
Secretary of Labor v. Dragon Products Company, LLC
Nonreceipt prevented assessment finality
Dragon Products said it never received MSHA's proposed penalty assessment. The Secretary agreed that the assessment had been returned to MSHA rather than delivered to the operator. The Commission held that Dragon never had an opportunity to contest, so the assessment did not become a final order…
Secretary of Labor v. Blue Mountain Energy, Inc.
Misdirected contest was reopened
Blue Mountain Energy intended to contest one citation after MSHA upheld it at a safety and health conference. The company mistakenly mailed its contest to the Commission and an MSHA conference litigation representative instead of the correct MSHA address. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but…
Tyler v. USA Debusk, LLC
Solid-waste retaliation denial affirmed
Michael Tyler, a maintenance manager for an industrial-services company, raised protected concerns about catalyst waste, a tank-wash system, and waste profiles for landfill disposal. The company later fired him after months of performance coaching and nine coworker complaints, including reports…
Wildcat Renovation, LLC
Demolition survey and inspection citation vacated
Wildcat Renovation was demolishing concrete bridge-support walls at a Florida waterpark when a wall fell on an employee, causing fatal injuries. OSHA alleged that Wildcat failed to conduct an adequate pre-demolition engineering survey and failed to make continuing inspections as work progressed…
Secretary of Labor v. Hanson Aggregates Pennsylvania, LLC
Unexplained late contest denied without prejudice
Hanson Aggregates sent the Commission a notice contesting six citations after the assessment had become final and MSHA had issued a delinquency notice. The Commission treated the filing as a motion to reopen. Hanson did not explain why it missed the statutory contest deadline or identify a Rule…
Secretary of Labor v. Carmeuse Lime and Stone, Inc.
Vacation coverage lapse was excused
Carmeuse had already filed Commission contests for three of the thirteen penalties in an assessment. Its senior safety manager was on vacation when MSHA issued the assessment, received only an electronic copy, and mistakenly failed to submit the penalty contest after returning. Carmeuse monitored…
Gander & White Shipping, Inc.
Powered-industrial-truck training citation affirmed
OSHA inspected Gander & White Shipping after an employee was injured in a fall from a scissor lift at its Miami warehouse. The inspection found that employees operated powered industrial trucks without completing the required training and evaluation. The operations manager admitted the employees…
Secretary of Labor obo Ronald D. Collins v. Next Endeavor Ventures, LLC
Temporary reinstatement granted
Ronald Collins, a foreman at Next Endeavor Ventures' surface mine, raised concerns about accident reporting, preshift records, employee drug testing and credentials, miner training, and other safety requirements. He testified that supervisor Wilk Renfroe became angry when Collins insisted on…
Fagan v. Department of the Navy
Environmental subpoena issue accepted for interlocutory review
Shannon Fagan sought subpoenas for former Navy coworkers in an environmental whistleblower case, but the administrative judge ruled that neither CERCLA nor the Safe Drinking Water Act authorized them. The judge certified the legal question for interlocutory review under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b). The…
Raymond – San Diego, Inc.
Gate-inspection and hazard-training citations vacated
Raymond employees were preparing to paint a large sliding gate at a California casino when one 3,000-pound panel moved beyond the roller guide holding it upright and fell, causing fatal injuries to an employee. Another subcontractor had installed the gate, its motor was not yet installed, and…
First Marine, LLC
Shipyard training violation reduced to serious
First Marine operated a Kentucky shipyard where employees and subcontractors were repairing a towboat. Workers smelled gas but continued work without atmospheric testing, and an explosion later killed three workers and injured several others. The only item on Commission review alleged that First…
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.