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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Jet Concrete Incorporated
Four settlement proceedings resolved for $3,037
Jet Concrete and the Secretary reached a settlement covering four civil penalty proceedings and 38 citations. The parties agreed to reduce the assessments in three proceedings and settle the fourth for its stated total, resulting in payments of $802, $248, $1,740, and $247. Judge John J. Morris…
Aloe Coal Company
Five citations affirmed after inspection-authority challenge
Aloe Coal operated a bituminous coal strip mine in Pennsylvania. The company argued that five citations were invalid because the inspection followed a complaint from a person who was not entitled to request an immediate inspection under section 103(g) of the Mine Act. Judge Roy J. Maurer held that…
Old Ben Coal Company
Partial settlement reduces penalty to $180
Old Ben Coal was the respondent in a civil penalty proceeding involving Mine 26. The parties proposed a partial settlement that reduced a penalty from $440 to $180. Judge Avram Weisberger found the settlement appropriate under the Mine Act's penalty criteria. He approved the settlement and ordered…
Old Ben Coal Company
Twenty-eight proceedings settled for $6,079
Old Ben Coal was the respondent in 28 consolidated civil penalty proceedings involving Mines 24, 25, and 26. The Secretary initially sought penalties totaling $11,656, and the parties proposed settlements totaling $6,079. Judge Avram Weisberger found the settlements and proposed penalties…
Billy R. Sipple, Employed by Shillelagh Mining Company
Four violations settled for $2,000
Billy R. Sipple, employed by Shillelagh Mining Company, was charged under the Mine Act's individual-liability provision for eight alleged violations at the No. 5 Mine. The judge dismissed two allegations during the hearing, and the Secretary later withdrew two more for insufficient evidence. The…
Energy West Mining Company
Injury-reporting citation affirmed
Energy West Mining contested a citation alleging that it failed to report an injury at its Deer Creek Mine. An employee strained his neck when his personal car stalled and its brakes failed on mine property while he was driving to work, and he missed two workdays. The judge held that the injury was…
Kelly L. Diede v. Summit Incorporated
Safety-retaliation complaint dismissed
Kelly L. Diede alleged that Summit Incorporated discharged him in retaliation for reporting that the emergency brakes on a loader did not work. Diede had been hired as a temporary loader operator and was let go after eight days, while Summit said management believed he lacked the skills and…
National Metalwares, Inc.
Machine-guarding case settled for $12,000
National Metalwares faced a failure-to-abate allegation involving mechanical power press dies and a repeat machine-guarding item involving a tube bender. The settlement withdrew the failure-to-abate allegation for one die and reduced that penalty to $11,500. The parties approved die-specific…
Southern Ohio Coal Company
Escapeway violation modified to non-S&S
Southern Ohio Coal operated the Meigs No. 2 underground coal mine. MSHA cited the company because its designated escapeway from a longwall section took a longer, indirect route to an air shaft, and separately issued a withdrawal order alleging inadequate abatement. Judge Avram Weisberger found that…
Anthony Mining Company
Two brake citations affirmed, wiper citation vacated
Anthony Mining operated a strip mine where a Willys jeep carried a water pump. The judge found that the jeep's service brakes and parking brake were not maintained in good operating condition, but he found insufficient evidence that the jeep was driven with defective windshield wipers and motors…
Mustang Fuels Corporation
Default order vacated and remanded
Mustang Fuels was cited after MSHA alleged that a dozer operated too close to a high-voltage cable at a surface mine. The Commission vacated a default order that had assessed a $450 civil penalty because the company had not answered the penalty proposal or a show-cause order. Mustang, a small…
Consolidation Coal Company
Settlement approved with reduced penalty
Consolidation Coal asked the judge to approve a settlement in two civil penalty proceedings involving citations at the Loveridge No. 22 and Robinson Run No. 95 mines. The settlement removed the significant-and-substantial findings from two citations and reduced the proposed penalties from $1,722 to…
Consolidation Coal Company
Settlement approved with $783 penalty
Consolidation Coal and the Secretary jointly asked the judge to approve a settlement in a civil penalty proceeding involving the Arkwright No. 1 Mine. Judge Roy J. Maurer approved a reduction in the proposed penalty from $953 to $783 under the Mine Act settlement criteria. The case was to be…
Consolidation Coal Company
Ronnie E. Price v. Consolidation Coal Company (FMSHRC WEVA 90-308-D): Discrimination complaint dismissed
Ronnie E. Price, a roof bolter at Consolidation Coal's Blacksville No. 1 Mine, alleged that supervisors discriminated against him after he raised safety concerns about methane readings and ventilation. Judge Avram Weisberger found that Price engaged in protected activity, and that moving him to the…
Energy West Mining Company
Settlement approved and contest dismissed
Energy West Mining contested an enforcement document issued at the Deer Creek Mine and received an expedited hearing with the Secretary and the United Mine Workers of America participating. The settlement redesignated the section 104(d)(1) order as a section 104(a) citation, kept the…
Consolidation Coal Company
Discrimination proceeding dismissed on request
The complainants, represented by District No. 4 of the United Mine Workers of America, asked to withdraw their discrimination complaints on behalf of three miners. Judge Gary Melick approved the withdrawal request, lifted the previously issued stay, and dismissed the proceeding. The order cited 29…
Don Fraze, Employed by Liter's Quarry of Indiana, Incorporated
Individual penalties assessed for crusher access hazard
The case concerned two agents of Liter's Quarry who knowingly allowed miners to work near an unguarded opening at a jaw crusher. The missing floorboards and guardrails left a roughly 12-foot drop beside a narrow passageway, and miners had been observed passing close to the opening. Judge Gary…
E. K. Construction Company, Inc.
Employee illness did not excuse late contest
E. K. Construction did not submit a written notice of contest within the required 15-working-day period. It later requested an informal conference and explained that the employee assigned to handle the matter had been ill. The Commission held that this was simple negligence rather than excusable…
Asarco, Incorporated
Discrimination complaint dismissed without prejudice
Francis A. Marin filed a discrimination complaint against Asarco, alleging that her termination involved seniority, sex, national origin, and refusal to perform work she believed was unsafe. She moved to withdraw the complaint while pursuing remedies under state and federal anti-discrimination…
Beechgrove Processing Co.
Four coal preparation plant citations affirmed
Beechgrove Processing operated a coal preparation plant with about 17 employees. MSHA cited dangerous float coal dust, grease and hay accumulations, a discharged fire extinguisher, and an improperly guarded belt and pulley. Judge William Fauver found each condition violated its cited standard and…
United States Steel Mining Company, Incorporated
Citation affirmed as non-S&S with penalty reduced
United States Steel Mining operated the Cumberland Mine, where MSHA cited a personnel carrier that lacked the lifting bar required by a safeguard under 30 C.F.R. § 75.1403. The company admitted the violation but disputed the significant-and-substantial designation and the negligence finding. Judge…
Ideal Basic Industries, Inc.
Discrimination complaint dismissed with prejudice after settlement
Three employees filed a discrimination complaint against Ideal Basic Industries after the Secretary of Labor withdrew from prosecuting their claim of discriminatory discharge. The complainants and the company settled the matter, and Judge John J. Morris allowed the complainants to withdraw the…
Mettiki Coal Company
Settlement approved with $800 penalty
Mettiki Coal Company faced a civil penalty proceeding involving its Mettiki General Preparation Plant. The Secretary of Labor asked the judge to approve a settlement and dismiss the case. Judge William Fauver found the settlement consistent with the Mine Act's penalty criteria, approved it, and…
Red Arrow Gold Corporation
Settlement approved with $300 penalty
Red Arrow Gold Corporation faced a civil penalty proceeding involving the Red Arrow Mine. The Secretary of Labor reported that the operator's financial situation meant the originally assessed penalties could affect its ability to remain in business. Judge August F. Cetti found the proposed…
Consolidation Coal Company
Settlements approved and citations partly modified
Consolidation Coal's five related dockets involved settlements and a contested roof-support order at the Blacksville No. 1 and No. 2 Mines. Judge James A. Broderick approved the proposed settlements, vacated one overlapping citation, and affirmed the remaining settled citations. On the contested…
Custom Crushing Inc.
Electrical and eye-protection citations affirmed
Custom Crushing operated a small sand and gravel portable crusher. MSHA cited openings in an electrical control panel that could expose a worker to energized 480-volt equipment, and cited a crusher operator who worked without eye protection near flying rock hazards. Judge John J. Morris affirmed…
Consolidation Coal Company
Respirable-dust citation affirmed as S&S with $300 penalty
Consolidation Coal's Ireland Mine was cited after five respirable-dust samples averaged 2.1 milligrams per cubic meter, above the 2.0 mg/m³ limit in 30 C.F.R. § 70.100(a). The judge treated the admitted overexposure as significant and substantial under Commission precedent, and noted a prior…
Hickory Coal Company
Inspection-access citation and withdrawal order affirmed
Hickory Coal operated the Slope No. 1 underground mine in Pennsylvania. The owner denied federal mine inspectors access to the mine during an inspection and continued to deny entry when they returned, leading to a citation and a withdrawal order under the Mine Act. Judge William Fauver found the…
Ramblin Coal Company, Inc.
Settlements approved, citation vacated, proceedings stayed
These consolidated proceedings involved three Ramblin Coal dockets at the No. 5 and No. 8 Mines. Judge William Fauver approved a $105 settlement in KENT 90-428 and approved three settlements totaling $223 in KENT 90-429. He granted the Secretary's motion to vacate Citation No. 3367869 in KENT…
OK & WV Coal Company
Fatal electrical-accident violations affirmed with $2,600 penalties
OK & WV Coal operated an underground coal mine where an electrician worked on a continuous miner's energized electrical panel. The electrician received a 450-volt shock and was pronounced dead at the hospital. Judge James A. Broderick found that the equipment should have been deenergized and that…
Georgia-Pacific Corporation
Authorized union controlled employee participation in settlement
OSHA cited Georgia-Pacific over employee exposure to polychlorinated biphenyl hazards, and the company later settled with the Secretary. The authorized collective-bargaining representative elected party status, while several employees sought separate representation by another union and a former…
Acrom Construction Services, Inc.
Oral notice could not contest citations
Acrom Construction received hardhat and guardrail citations while working as a drywall subcontractor. Its project manager called OSHA during the contest period because he believed the general contractor, rather than Acrom, was responsible, but Acrom did not submit a written contest until about…
Woolston Construction Co. Inc.
Unprotected landfill trench violation was willful
Woolston Construction excavated a trench for a methane gas venting system at a New Jersey landfill. A cave-in killed a Woolston employee and an employee of another subcontractor after the nearly vertical trench walls collapsed. The trench had cracks, sloughing material, prior collapses, and a bowed…
Sealtite Corporation
Repeated noncompliance justified default dismissal
Sealtite contested willful, serious, and other-than-serious asbestos citations arising from removal work at a Veterans Administration facility. Although appearing without a lawyer, the company repeatedly failed to answer, produce requested documents, submit required prehearing information, or…
Cyprus Empire Corporation
Striking employees were not miners for walkaround rights
Cyprus Empire operated the Eagle No. 5 underground bituminous coal mine in Colorado. During a strike, the company continued limited mine work with salaried employees and refused to allow Dean Carey, a previously designated UMWA representative of the striking employees, to accompany an MSHA…
Western Fuels-Utah, Inc.
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Louis C. Vasquez alleged that Western Fuels-Utah transferred him to another crew and shift in retaliation for his safety complaints about methane gas. Judge August F. Cetti found that Vasquez did not establish that the transfer was motivated by protected activity. The judge credited evidence that…
Southern Ohio Coal Company
Broken dozer track pads upheld as unsafe
Southern Ohio Coal operated a D-7 Caterpillar bulldozer with two broken track pads at the refuse dump of its Martinka No. 1 Mine in West Virginia. The track pads formed a walkway used to mount and dismount the dozer and to service it, and one employee had previously strained his back after stepping…
Eastern Associated Coal Corporation
Companion withdrawal orders upheld
Eastern Associated Coal operated the Federal No. 2 surface coal mine in West Virginia. MSHA issued an imminent-danger withdrawal order under section 107(a) and a section 104(d)(2) withdrawal order for the same unguarded conveyor tail roller, where miners had cleaned spillage while the belt was…
Fossil Fuel, Inc.
Melvin Burkhart v. Fossil Fuel, Inc. (FMSHRC KENT 90-184-D): Discrimination complaint dismissed
Melvin Burkhart operated a continuous miner for Fossil Fuel and complained about roof bolts, ventilation curtains, methane monitoring, and other mine conditions. After management asked him to muck the mainline belt, Burkhart alleged that the assignment was retaliation for his safety complaints and…
Reynolds Metals Company
Michael P. Damron v. Reynolds Metals Company (FMSHRC CENT 89-131-DM): Discrimination complaint dismissed on remand
Michael P. Damron alleged that Reynolds Metals discharged him for refusing to operate a ball mill near hazards involving falling objects and a metal detector. On remand from an earlier Commission order, Judge James A. Broderick credited the general supervisor's testimony that Damron was authorized…
Consolidation Coal Company
Safeguard and citation vacated after settlement
MSHA alleged that Consolidation Coal violated a safeguard at the Shoemaker Mine and sought a civil penalty. After the hearing, the Secretary moved to approve a settlement, explaining that the safeguard language may not have given the operator sufficient notice of what was required under varying…
D.H. Blattner & Sons, Inc.
Larry E. Burns v. D.H. Blattner & Sons, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 90-166-DM): Discrimination complaint dismissed
Larry E. Burns was discharged from his haul-truck job at the Basin Creek open-pit gold mine after refusing to drive an older truck. His estate continued the case and alleged that he had been fired for raising concerns about the truck's canopy, transmission, and exhaust. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr…
Homestake Mining Company
Citation vacated and contest dismissed with prejudice
MSHA issued Homestake Mining a citation alleging that elevated walkways at its lead mine lacked required handrails and toeboards under 30 C.F.R. § 57.11002. MSHA later vacated the citation after recognizing conflicting agency views about how the standard applied and withdrew its answer. Judge…
Southern Ohio Coal Company
Safeguard and citations vacated
MSHA alleged that Southern Ohio Coal violated two electrical safety requirements at its Martinka No. 1 Mine and sought civil penalties. Judge George A. Koutras approved the parties' disposition of one citation and vacated it. He found that a mine-specific safeguard requiring short-circuit…
Morningside Development MSHA Corporation
Backpay and reinstatement ordered after default
Avis B. Perkins brought a Mine Act discrimination proceeding against Morningside Development Corporation concerning the Little Falls Mine. After the respondent defaulted by not filing an answer, the judge directed Perkins to identify the relief requested. Perkins sought $10,000 in punitive damages…
Garden Creek Pocahontas Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed with prejudice
Linda Lester filed a discrimination complaint against Garden Creek Pocahontas Company concerning the Virginia Pocahontas #6 Mine. At the hearing, Lester moved to withdraw the complaint with prejudice and dismiss the case. Garden Creek did not object. Judge Roy J. Maurer granted the motion and…
Agipcoal USA, Inc.
Coal dust citation affirmed as non-S&S and withdrawal order vacated
MSHA cited Agipcoal USA for loose coal and float coal dust at the No. 3 dump of its Pevler Preparation Plant, including around electrical equipment, and later issued a withdrawal order when some dust remained. Judge Roy J. Maurer found that the cited condition violated 30 C.F.R. § 77.202, but the…
Lancashire Coal Corp.
Mine Act jurisdiction over abandoned mine demolition upheld
MSHA inspected Lancashire Coal's abandoned Pennsylvania coal preparation site after a contractor's employee was killed during demolition of a silo. The Commission considered whether the site remained a mine under the Mine Act and whether MSHA had jurisdiction to issue citations and withdrawal…
Peabody Coal Company
Settlement approved and penalty reduced
MSHA brought two civil penalty proceedings against Peabody Coal Company involving the Martwick Underground and Camp No. 2 Mines. The parties proposed a settlement that removed the significant-and-substantial finding from Citation No. 3416556 and reduced the penalty from $545 to $378. Judge Gary…
Edwin E. Espey, Jr., Employed by Espey Silica Sand Company
Individual penalty imposed for knowingly permitting unsafe access
MSHA found unguarded floor openings and a broken support beam at the Espey Pit and Plant, an open pit silica sand operation in San Antonio, Texas. The conditions created a risk that a person or material could fall through the floor and cause permanently disabling or fatal injuries, violating the…
New Butte Mining Incorporated
Restricted-clearance citation and penalty affirmed
New Butte Mining operated the Lexington gold mine in Montana. A miner was injured when he backed into a rib and was pinched by an ore car in an unmarked area where the clearance narrowed to zero. Judge John J. Morris found that the area was a travelway and that the restricted clearance created a…
Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company
Escapeway citation vacated and three citations modified
MSHA cited Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal over escapeway clearance at the Greenwich Collieries No. 2 Mine and over electrical equipment near a coal rib. Judge James A. Broderick found that the evidence did not establish that the alternate escapeway failed to allow passage of a disabled person, so he…
J. F. Shea Company, Inc.
Internal mail delay did not excuse late contest
OSHA mailed two citations to J. F. Shea Company after inspecting a Colorado worksite. The company received them on January 25, 1989, but an office assistant did not receive and date-stamp them until February 3. Shea relied on the later date and filed its notice of contest eight days after the…
Capra Industries, Inc.
Settlement withdrew machine, electrical, and chemical citations
Capra Industries manufactured jewelry and music boxes and was cited after OSHA inspected its workplace. The citations addressed an unguarded pulley, an ungrounded receptacle, hazard communication deficiencies, and failure to post an OSHA notice. After review was directed, the parties reached a full…
Dover Elevator Company
Settlement retained one ladder violation and $720 penalty
Dover Elevator employees worked in an open elevator shaft during a building renovation. OSHA cited inadequate safety training, failure to use fall protection, an unsecured ladder, and unguarded floor openings. The judge vacated the training item and affirmed the other three items with penalties…
Gary Concrete Products, Inc.
Unstable concrete piling storage was a serious violation
Gary Concrete Products manufactured and stored large concrete pilings at a Georgia worksite. An improperly stacked group of pilings collapsed and killed a rigger while employees were moving pilings with a crane. The Commission found that the company could have discovered the unstable stack because…
Regina Construction Company
Foreman's assignment supported unprotected fall citation
Regina Construction was a concrete subcontractor on a hospital construction project in Washington, D.C. OSHA observed an employee performing concrete finishing beside an unguarded floor edge 24 feet above the ground without a safety belt. The Commission admitted and credited the employee's…
Bland Construction Company
Trenching violations affirmed, willful classifications reversed
Bland Construction Company was cited after OSHA inspected an Austin, Texas, worksite where a trench wall collapsed and killed an employee. The Commission affirmed violations involving an unstable bedrock trench and a separate soil trench under 29 C.F.R. § 1926.652(b). It found that Bland could have…
Archer-Western Contractors, LTD., and Gilbert Corp. Of Delaware, Inc., A Joint Venture
Crane-overload violation affirmed, training item vacated
Archer-Western Contractors and Gilbert Corporation of Delaware operated a joint venture constructing an airport terminal in West Palm Beach, Florida. A tower crane collapsed after supervisors pressed the crane operator to lift a concrete stairwell form despite repeated warnings that the load…
Spancrete Northeast, Inc.
Repeated guardrail violation affirmed after defenses fail
Spancrete Northeast employees grouted a mezzanine floor about 13 feet, 8 inches above the ground while working near hundreds of feet of unguarded perimeter. The Commission reversed the judge and found a violation of 29 C.F.R. § 1926.500(d)(1). Spancrete's greater-hazard defense failed because it…
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.