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.
No decisions match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
Walker Stone Company
Settlement approved and three citations vacated for lack of jurisdiction
Walker Stone Company faced six alleged safety violations at two Kansas locations. In CENT 89-103-M, the company conceded three violations involving an air-receiver pressure gauge and grounding equipment, and agreed to pay $156 in penalties. Judge George A. Koutras approved the settlement and…
Otis Elevator Company
Discovery motion granted
The Secretary sought discovery from Otis Elevator Company in a case involving whether an employee working on a mine elevator system was a qualified person. Judge John J. Morris found Otis's responses to two requests for admission inadequate and found the requested maintenance records relevant and…
S.L. Peters Construction, Co.
Proposed settlement denied
S.L. Peters Construction faced a proposed settlement concerning an alleged violation involving welding on an inflated tire and rim assembly. Judge Gary Melick found that the settlement motion and supporting documents did not establish that a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 56.14104 occurred. The…
Hinkle Contracting Corp.
Findings upheld on remand
Hinkle Contracting challenged findings involving an unguarded conveyor belt, an inoperable kill switch, and an incompletely corrected highwall condition. Judge Gary Melick rejected the company's arguments that the belt's height, its injury history, worker awareness, or work practices made the…
California Lightweight Pumice, Inc.
Settlement approved
California Lightweight Pumice reached a settlement with the Secretary in four civil penalty proceedings. The company agreed to pay the penalties originally assessed for the listed citations, totaling $5,368. Judge John J. Morris found the settlement reasonable and in the public interest, approved…
Flaget Fuels, Inc.
Request to dismiss discrimination complaint denied
Thomas J. McIntosh alleged that Flaget Fuels discharged him after he refused to operate a bulldozer he reasonably and in good faith believed was unsafe and after he raised safety complaints. Flaget asked the judge to dismiss the complaint as untimely. Judge George A. Koutras found that the…
Ten-A-Coal Company
Highwall citations affirmed
Ten-A-Coal was cited after an unsafe highwall and an undersized bench were left in place while coal was being loaded at the Ward Mine. Judge Roy J. Maurer found that the operator violated the ground-control-plan and prompt-correction requirements, and that the highwall violation was significant and…
Cyprus Empire Corporation
Citation vacated, imminent-danger order affirmed
MSHA cited Cyprus Empire after an inspector found loose, broken roof near a longwall shield at the Eagle No. 5 Mine and issued an imminent-danger withdrawal order. The Commission upheld the Secretary's ability to modify the citation and order and affirmed the withdrawal order because the roof…
Beth Energy Mines Incorporated
Methane citation amended, plan citation dismissed
Beth Energy's Cambria Slope Mine No. 33 experienced elevated methane readings, and MSHA issued two citations and an imminent-danger withdrawal order. Judge Avram Weisberger found that the mine violated 30 C.F.R. § 75.301, but the evidence did not establish that the violation was significant and…
Sharp v. Big Elk Coal Company
Stay vacated and case remanded
Arnold Sharp brought a Mine Act discrimination complaint after his discharge from Big Elk Coal Company. The ALJ had stayed the case while criminal perjury proceedings involving a key company witness were pending. The Commission found the record too vague to support the stay and emphasized Sharp's…
Black Pine Mining Company
Discrimination proceeding dismissed after settlement
Jack Winninghoff brought a Mine Act discrimination proceeding against Black Pine Mining Company. After the parties' settlement terms were fully completed, Judge August F. Cetti dismissed the case with prejudice. The order ended the proceeding and did not address the merits of the discrimination…
Sierra Aggregate, Inc.
Settlement approved
Sierra Aggregate reached a settlement with the Secretary in two civil penalty proceedings. The stipulation amended several citations to non-S&S violations and reduced several proposed penalties. Judge John J. Morris found the settlement reasonable and in the public interest, approved it, affirmed…
F & W Mines, Inc.
Gilbert Wisdom v. F & W Mines, Inc. (FMSHRC SE 89-102-DM): Discharge violated Mine Act discrimination provision
Gilbert Wisdom operated a large backhoe for F & W Mines, an open-pit shell mining operation. After the machine's braking or tracking system and swing-arm control developed problems, Wisdom refused to operate it because he believed it could pull him into the pit and endanger others. Judge Roy J…
Lanham Coal Co., Inc.
Safety-belt citation affirmed
Lanham Coal hired an independent trucking company to haul coal from its surface mine. A truck driver fell about 10 feet while covering a load and was not wearing a safety belt or line. Judge James A. Broderick found that the Mine Act allowed MSHA to cite the production operator for an independent…
Brown Brothers Sand Company
Seat-belt citation affirmed
MSHA cited Brown Brothers after an employee operated a front-end loader without wearing a seat belt at the Junction City Mine. Judge Gary Melick found that the operator continued the conduct after the company president was notified, which established negligence. He affirmed the citation and ordered…
John Morrell & Co., Sioux Falls Plant, and its successors
Ergonomics settlement approved for $990,000
John Morrell, OSHA, and the workers' union settled two cases involving the company's Sioux Falls meatpacking plant. The settlement set a $990,000 penalty for the ergonomics citation and required a separate $260,000 grant to NIOSH for continued study of musculoskeletal injuries. Morrell agreed to…
Beaver Creek Coal Company
Three citations vacated, one penalty assessed
Beaver Creek faced consolidated contest and civil penalty proceedings involving roof-bolter controls, continuous-miner permissibility, a mine plan examination, and a citation the company agreed to pay. Judge August F. Cetti vacated the citations for the actuating bar, continuous miner, and seal…
C.W. Mining Company
Three orders vacated, eight affirmed
C.W. Mining faced 11 orders and citations involving escapeways, coal and combustible accumulations, electrical equipment, short-circuit protection, maps, and pre-shift examinations at Bear Canyon No. 1 Mine. Judge John J. Morris vacated three orders and affirmed eight others, while striking or…
Denu v. Amax Coal Company
Discrimination ruling reversed
Donald Denu, an electrician and union president, refused to unplug a 6,900-volt cable at a mine switch box because he believed the procedure was unsafe. An ALJ found that Amax violated the Mine Act by threatening discipline, but the Commission reversed that decision. The Commission found that Denu…
United Mine Workers of America on behalf of Steven R. Maple, Thomas D. Hewlett, and Dale King v. Peabody Coal Company
United Mine Workers on behalf of Maple, Hewlett, and King v. Peabody Coal Company (FMSHRC LAKE 86-15-D and related dockets): Complaints dismissed after withdrawal
The United Mine Workers of America asked to withdraw its discrimination complaints filed on behalf of Steven R. Maple, Thomas D. Hewlett, and Dale King against Peabody Coal Company. Judge Gary Melick granted the request and dismissed all three proceedings.
Bulk Transportation Services, Inc.
High-voltage citation affirmed, penalty reduced
A truck operated for Bulk Transportation Services contacted an energized 46,000-volt line after the driver raised the truck bed while parked beneath it at a coal preparation plant. Judge George A. Koutras found that Bulk was an independent contractor subject to the Mine Act and that the incident…
Beth Energy Mines, Inc.
Belt travelway safeguards affirmed
MSHA cited Beth Energy after finding obstructions that narrowed the tight-side travelways alongside two belt conveyors below the 24-inch width required by a safeguard notice. Judge William Fauver held that the notice was valid because it tracked a published safeguard criterion and that the…
Mettiki Coal Corporation
Rib orders vacated or modified
Mettiki faced consolidated proceedings after a fatal rib-roll accident and related alleged violations at its underground mine. Judge Roy J. Maurer vacated two section 104(d)(2) orders and rejected the related penalty proposals, while modifying two other orders to S&S section 104(a) citations and…
France Stone Company
Settlement approved after fatal accident
France Stone Company faced two citations arising from a fatal accident at a stone quarry stockpile. One citation alleged that the dumping area lacked an adequate berm after a truck traveled about 40 feet down to the quarry floor, and the other alleged that the truck driver was not wearing a seat…
Consolidation Coal Company
Injury-reporting citations partly affirmed
MSHA cited Consolidation Coal after two miners received medical treatment for injuries that the operator did not report on Form 7000-1, and after a third citation was issued. Judge Avram Weisberger held that an injury occurring at a mine is reportable under 30 C.F.R. § 50.20(a) when the…
Shamrock Coal Company
Roof citation vacated, settlement approved
Shamrock faced six citations, including one involving a fatal roof-fall accident and five citations resolved through a settlement. Judge Gary Melick approved the settlement for the five citations and found that the remaining Citation No. 3030499 was facially deficient because it did not allege that…
Leeco, Inc.
Mine inspection access order affirmed
Ricky Hays alleged that Leeco discharged him after he refused to service a continuous haulage system while it was operating because he believed the work was unsafe. Judge George A. Koutras affirmed an earlier order allowing Hays, his attorneys, and an expert to enter the underground mine to…
Mettiki Coal Company
Lockout violations affirmed and imminent-danger order modified
Mettiki Coal operated the Mettiki General Preparation Plant. An MSHA inspection found that a padlocked disconnect breaker for a conveyor could still be turned on because its lockout device was defective. Judge William Fauver found violations of 30 C.F.R. §§ 77.502 and 77.507, but concluded that the…
Kenta Energy, Inc. and Roy Dan Jackson
Back pay and interest awarded on remand
The Commission remanded Robert Simpson's discrimination case for a decision on appeal-related attorney fees and the amount of back pay and interest due. Judge James A. Broderick accepted Simpson's uncontested calculations and found that he had not been reinstated or offered reinstatement. He…
Energy Fuels Coal, Inc.
Mine ventilation citations affirmed with $194 penalty
Energy Fuels Coal was cited for shutting down its main fan when the mine was idle, using a PVC pipe in a ventilation control, and a related condition involving the approved ventilation plan. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. approved a settlement modifying one citation's affected-person count from seven…
Energy Fuels Coal, Inc.
Coal-dust citation vacated and settlement citations modified
Energy Fuels Coal was assessed penalties for three citations at the Raton Creek Mine No. 1. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. approved the parties' settlement of two citations, deleting their significant-and-substantial designations and assessing penalties of $68 and $42. He vacated the remaining…
Energy Fuels Coal, Inc.,
Energy Fuels Coal, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 89-148): Settlement approved with $227 penalty
Energy Fuels Coal resolved three citations at the Southfield Mine through a settlement approved by Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. Two citations were modified to delete their significant-and-substantial designations, and the third was affirmed. The operator was ordered to pay $227 in total penalties…
Conesville Coal Preparation Company
Imminent-danger order affirmed and training findings vacated
Conesville Coal Preparation operated a coal preparation plant where a truck trailer overturned during coal dumping and fatally crushed another truck driver. Judge George A. Koutras affirmed the imminent-danger order based on inadequate side clearance at the raw coal dumping area. He vacated the…
Hinkle Contracting Corporation
ALJ decision vacated and remanded for briefing
Hinkle Contracting petitioned for review after the ALJ issued a decision before receiving Hinkle's response brief. The ALJ acknowledged the inadvertent timing, and the Secretary agreed that the decision should be vacated and the case remanded. The Commission granted discretionary review, vacated…
C. W. Mining Company
Five unwarrantable-failure violations affirmed
C. W. Mining Company was cited for failures involving weekly electrical examinations, permissibility of electrical equipment, coal accumulations, preshift examinations, and coal dust on equipment at the Bear Canyon No. 1 Mine. Judge Gary Melick found all five violations proven and concluded that…
Morgan Corporation
Settlement approved and citation vacated
The Commission approved a joint settlement between Morgan Corporation and the Secretary in a civil-penalty proceeding. The ALJ had found a violation of former 30 C.F.R. § 56.9005 and assessed a $1,000 penalty, but that standard had been superseded by 30 C.F.R. § 56.14200. The Commission found…
Flippy Coal Company, Inc.
Default order vacated and remanded
Flippy Coal failed to answer a civil-penalty petition and a show-cause order, so the ALJ entered a default order assessing $1,486 in proposed penalties. The company later sent an explanation to the Commission, apparently believing it should respond to the Department of Labor rather than the…
Westinghouse Haztec, Inc.
Spill-response site-control citation settled for no penalty
Westinghouse Haztec provided environmental cleanup services after a train derailment released more than 50,000 gallons of xylene. OSHA cited the company because its site-control program lacked a site map and clearly marked work zones once the operation had moved into post-emergency cleanup. The ALJ…
Black Pine Mining Company
Settlement approved and discrimination proceeding dismissed
The Secretary of Labor brought a discrimination proceeding on behalf of Jack Winninghoff under section 105(c) of the Mine Act. Judge August F. Cetti approved the parties' settlement, which required Black Pine Mining Company to pay Winninghoff $14,000 for all claims, including lost wages. The…
Emery Mining Corporation; Utah Power & Light Company
Civil penalty proceedings dismissed
The Secretary of Labor asked to withdraw the civil penalty requests against Emery Mining Corporation and Utah Power & Light Company after the Tenth Circuit vacated the underlying citations. Judge John J. Morris granted the motions and dismissed the three proceedings. The order also directed that a…
Maggard v. Chaney Creek Coal Company
Attorney fees reinstated and interest remanded
Odell Maggard brought discrimination complaints after Chaney Creek Coal discharged him for refusing work he believed was hazardous. An administrative law judge found illegal discrimination and awarded reinstatement, back pay, interest, and attorney fees. On remand from the D.C. Circuit, the…
Cobra Mining, Inc., Jerry K. Lester, and Carter Messer
Discrimination complaint dismissed
The Secretary of Labor alleged that Cobra Mining and two individuals discriminated against Amos Hicks in violation of section 105(c) of the Mine Act. Judge Avram Weisberger found that Hicks engaged in protected safety activity and suffered adverse action, but concluded that the respondents proved…
Phelps Dodge Morenci, Inc.
Late discrimination complaint allowed to proceed
Phelps Dodge Morenci moved to dismiss Armando Rivas's discrimination complaint because he filed it about 174 days after his discharge, beyond the 60-day period in section 105(c) of the Mine Act. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. found that Rivas had shown a significant mental impairment affecting his…
Ozark-Mahoning Company
Lockout violation affirmed
MSHA cited Ozark-Mahoning after work was performed on an electrically powered hoist at the Annabel Lee underground fluorspar mine. The Commission held that 30 C.F.R. § 57.12016 required the hoist to be deenergized before mechanical work and required measures to prevent reenergization without the…
Green River Coal Co., Inc.
Trailing-cable lockout violation affirmed
At Green River's No. 9 underground coal mine, a mechanic and a roof bolter worked on a trailing cable while the disconnecting device was not locked out or tagged. Judge James A. Broderick found a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.511 and considered the mine's violation history and other penalty factors…
Channel & Basin Reclamation
Settlement approved for 22 violations
The Secretary and Channel & Basin Reclamation moved for approval of a settlement covering 22 violations in two civil penalty dockets. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. approved the settlement and assessed the agreed amounts listed in the order. The proposed penalties totaled $5,342, while the settlement…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Leonard E. Edwards v. Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Leonard E. Edwards filed a discrimination complaint against Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company, with the Secretary of Labor appearing on his behalf. Edwards consented to withdrawal of the complaint, and the Secretary requested permission to withdraw it. Judge Gary Melick approved the withdrawal…
Arch of Kentucky, Inc.
Two citations vacated
Arch of Kentucky operated Mine No. 37, a longwall coal mine. After an April coal outburst, MSHA approved a supplemental roof control plan requiring remote operation from shields 85 to 104. Following a May outburst that injured a shearer operator, MSHA cited the company for allegedly violating the…
Arch of Kentucky, Inc.
Fatality-related machinery citations affirmed
Arch of Kentucky operated the High Splint No. 2 Mine. During a repair of a continuous mining machine, a maintenance foreman used the machine's tram motor and chain to remove a shaft, even though that method was not a recommended maintenance procedure. The chain broke and the foreman died. Judge…
Energy Fuels Coal, Inc.
Settlement approved and penalty reduced
Energy Fuels Coal and the Secretary settled related contest and civil penalty proceedings involving the Southfield Mine. The settlement removed the significant-and-substantial designation from Citation No. 2875336 and reduced its proposed penalty from $225 to $125. Withdrawal Order No. 3077162 was…
Big Horn Calcium Company
Contest dismissed as untimely
MSHA issued Big Horn Calcium a citation for an alleged violation of 30 C.F.R. § 56.11001 at the Granite Canyon Quarry. The citation was served on the company's supervisor at the mine, but Big Horn did not file its contest within 30 days. Judge August F. Cetti rejected the argument that service on…
Medicine Bow Coal Company
Expedited hearing denied
Medicine Bow Coal sought an expedited hearing in two contest proceedings involving a citation under 30 C.F.R. § 75.807 and an order or citation under 30 C.F.R. § 75.517. Judge John J. Morris found that the operator had not shown the criteria required for expedited relief. He denied the motion to…
Wyoming Fuel Company
Certification request denied
The Secretary asked Judge John J. Morris to certify an earlier ruling about whether an expedited hearing was required for enforcement orders. The judge denied certification and maintained his view that an expedited hearing is required when an order is issued under section 107 of the Mine Act. The…
Energy Fuels Coal, Inc.
Partial settlement approved for $79
Energy Fuels Coal and the Secretary reached a partial settlement concerning Citation No. 3077180 at the Southfield Mine. Energy Fuels agreed to pay the proposed penalty of $79 in full and withdrew its contest. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. approved the settlement and dismissed Contest Docket No…
Energy Fuels Coal, Inc.
Partial settlement approved for $481
Energy Fuels Coal operated the Southfield Mine. The parties reached a partial settlement resolving 10 contest proceedings related to the civil penalty case. Energy Fuels agreed to pay $481, including five penalties paid in full and five reduced penalties. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. also removed…
Energy Fuels Coal, Inc.
$112 penalty settlement approved
Energy Fuels Coal and the Secretary settled the company's contest of Citation No. 3077177 at the Southfield Mine. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. approved the settlement and ordered the company to pay a $112 penalty within 30 days. He dismissed the contest, and the release states that no related…
Energy Fuels Coal, Inc.
Citation modified in settlement
Energy Fuels Coal agreed to settle its contest of Citation No. 3077178 at the Southfield Mine. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. approved the settlement, dismissed the contest, and modified the citation to delete the significant-and-substantial designation. The company was ordered to pay a $50 penalty…
Energy Fuels Coal, Inc.
Citation vacated
Energy Fuels Coal was involved in contest and civil penalty proceedings concerning enforcement documents at the Southfield Mine. For Citation No. 3077181, the Secretary determined that no violation had occurred and moved to vacate the citation. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. approved that motion and…
Energy Fuels Coal, Inc.
$50 penalty settlement approved
Energy Fuels Coal and the Secretary reached a partial settlement over Citation No. 2875321 at the Southfield Mine. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. approved a $50 penalty instead of the original $98 assessment and approved the company's withdrawal of its contest. The WEST 89-274-R contest was…
Energy Fuels Coal, Inc.
Citation vacated in partial settlement
Energy Fuels Coal and the Secretary reached partial settlement agreements covering enforcement documents in a contest proceeding and a related civil penalty proceeding. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. approved the agreement for Citation No. 2875322, vacated that citation, and dismissed the contest…
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.