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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Energy Fuels Coal, Inc.
Penalty reduced in partial settlement
Energy Fuels Coal and the Secretary reached a partial settlement over Citation No. 2875334 at the Southfield Mine. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. approved a $100 penalty instead of the original $168 assessment and modified the citation to show one person affected. He dismissed the WEST 89-255-R…
Smooth Sailing Coal Company, Inc., and James W. Runyon
Discrimination complaint sustained
Six Smooth Sailing coal miners complained about unsafe roof and ventilation conditions before they were laid off together. Judge Roy J. Maurer found that the miners engaged in protected safety activity and that the layoff was motivated exclusively by those complaints, not by the employer's claimed…
Hinkle Contracting Corp.
Conveyor and highwall violations affirmed
Hinkle Contracting operated the Strunk Crushed Stone site and was cited after inspectors found an inoperable emergency stop device on a 450-foot conveyor and loose, unstable material along a highwall beside a haul road. Judge Gary Melick rejected Hinkle's claimed 42-inch exception to the conveyor…
Ampak Mining, Inc.
Damages and attorney fees awarded
The judge had previously found that Ampak Mining discriminated against David Thomas and George Issacs in violation of section 105(c)(1) of the Mine Act. The parties stipulated that Thomas was owed $6,250 in backpay and Issacs was owed $6,080, plus interest calculated under the Commission's formula…
Local Union 2333, District 29, United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) v. Ranger Fuel Corporation
Compensation award affirmed and interest modified
The United Mine Workers sought compensation for miners idled after MSHA issued an imminent-danger withdrawal order at Ranger Fuel's underground coal mine. The Commission held that Ranger could not challenge the validity of the uncontested withdrawal order in the later compensation case, and that…
Reynolds Metals Company
Work-refusal discrimination complaint dismissed
Michael P. Damron was discharged after refusing to operate a ball mill because he believed falling objects and spilled caustic liquid made the work unsafe. The judge found that falling objects had created an objectively real hazard and that Damron had reasonably raised his safety concerns. But…
M. Jamieson Company
Late penalty filing accepted
The Secretary filed a civil penalty petition after the deadline because the case file had been placed with another pending matter. The Chief Administrative Law Judge found that the delay was relatively short, the response to the show-cause order was prompt, and the operator had not shown prejudice…
Beth Energy Mines, Inc.
Roof-control order modified and penalties assessed
Beth Energy and three of its agents were involved in a case about unsaddled roof beams in a haulage area at the Eighty Four Complex. The judge found that the beams violated the mine's roof control plan and that the area remained hazardous when a foreman authorized miners to enter and remove rail…
VP-5 Mining Company
Reporting violations resolved with $230 in penalties
MSHA alleged that VP-5 Mining failed to report ten occupational injuries and related violations. The Secretary moved to vacate five citations, and the judge granted those requests. Four other citations were resolved through a settlement requiring $80 in penalties. The judge found that VP-5 failed…
Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company
Stay lifted and $78 penalty due
The Secretary sought a civil penalty for a citation that was also being litigated in a related contest proceeding. The penalty case was stayed while the contest decision was reviewed by the Commission. After the Commission affirmed the citation and the $78 penalty in the contest case, Judge William…
Hiope Mining Incorporated
Roof-control order modified and penalties assessed
MSHA alleged that Hiope Mining accumulated float coal dust and cut into a coal pillar before installing the required roof supports. The judge found that the dust violation was serious and resulted from unwarrantable failure, and assessed a $1,000 penalty. He found that the roof-control violation…
Lancashire Coal Company
Demolition-site citations resolved after fatal accident
A contractor employee died while dismantling a coal storage silo at Lancashire's preparation plant. The ALJ found that MSHA had jurisdiction over the site, affirmed orders and citations concerning site safety, structural maintenance, and required reporting, and rejected Lancashire's…
Walker Stone Company, Inc.
Eleven safety citations affirmed with negligence findings modified
Walker Stone operated a surface limestone quarry and mill. MSHA alleged eleven violations involving guarding, electrical grounding, conveyor warnings, fuel-tank signage, power-switch labeling, cable fittings, and defects in a fuel-delivery truck. Judge William Fauver found every cited violation…
Day Branch Coal Company Inc.
Roof and fire-suppression violations affirmed
Day Branch Coal Company operated an underground coal mine. MSHA alleged that miners traveled under unsupported roof, warning devices were missing, roof supports did not follow the mine plan, roof bolts were damaged, and a conveyor-belt fire-suppression system was inoperative. The judge found the…
Eastern Associated Coal Corporation
Oil and grease violations modified
Eastern Associated Coal Corporation faced two Mine Act cases involving accumulations of hydraulic oil, grease, and oil around equipment at its underground coal mine. Judge Avram Weisberger found the violations established but concluded that the evidence did not show a reasonable likelihood of…
Rochester and Pittsburgh Coal Corporation
Part 90 miner pay protection affirmed
Rochester and Pittsburgh Coal reduced Leonard Edwards's pay after he exercised his Part 90 option to transfer to less dusty work. The Commission held that the protected regular rate is the rate the miner was actually and regularly receiving immediately before exercising the option, even if the…
Texas Industries Inc.
Defective scooter citations affirmed
Texas Industries operated a limestone mine and cement production facility. MSHA found that an electric scooter used around vehicle and pedestrian traffic had an inoperable service brake and a speed selector that would not return to neutral. Judge Gary Melick found both violations significant and…
Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company
Methane and dust orders partly affirmed
Rochester and Pittsburgh Coal contested an imminent-danger order, methane-ventilation citations, roof and coal-dust conditions, and a detonator-magazine condition at its mines and preparation plant. Judge Roy J. Maurer affirmed the imminent-danger order and related methane citations, modified two…
Gilbert v. Sandy Fork Mining Company, Inc.
Discrimination complaints reinstated and remanded
John A. Gilbert and the Secretary of Labor alleged that Sandy Fork Mining discharged Gilbert after he refused work he reasonably believed was hazardous. On remand from the D.C. Circuit, the Commission held that the record supported Gilbert's good-faith, reasonable safety concern and that the…
Walker Stone Company, Inc.
Default order vacated and remanded
Walker Stone failed to answer the Secretary's civil-penalty proposal and an administrative law judge's show-cause order, leading to a default order assessing $178. The Commission treated the president's timely letter as a petition for discretionary review because it described an earlier request for…
Sun Glow Coal Company, Inc.
Discrimination complaint withdrawn and dismissed
Goebel Swiney asked to withdraw his discrimination complaint against Sun Glow Coal Company. Judge Roy J. Maurer approved the withdrawal, cancelled the scheduled hearing, and dismissed the case. The order resolved the proceeding without deciding the underlying discrimination allegations.
Consolidation Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor
Interlocutory appeal certification denied
Consolidation Coal asked Judge Paul Merlin to certify his earlier order denying the operator’s motion to dismiss for interlocutory appeal. The judge explained that certification under 29 C.F.R. § 2700.74 is discretionary and reserved for exceptional cases. He found that the factual issues appeared…
Secretary of Labor o/b/o Keene v. S & M Coal Company, Inc.
Individual discrimination liability reinstated
This discrimination case returned to the Commission after the D.C. Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part an earlier Commission decision. The court upheld the conclusion that Prestige Coal was not a successor in interest to S&M Coal, but held that Tolbert P. Mullins could be personally…
Mayland Stone Company, Inc.
$600 settlement approved
Mayland Stone operated a crushed stone facility with 10 employees on one shift. The case involved a berm-standard violation under 30 C.F.R. § 56.9300, and the Secretary and Mayland agreed that the company would pay the originally assessed $600 penalty. Judge James A. Broderick noted that the…
William G. Hagy
Contest dismissed for lack of right to challenge company citation
William G. Hagy, identified as a section foreman, tried to contest a citation and withdrawal order issued to Consolidation Coal Company. The citation alleged a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.202(a), and the Secretary separately notified Hagy that a civil penalty might be proposed for knowingly…
Harlan Cumberland Coal Company
Penalty corrected from $525 to $475
The judge amended his January 30, 1990 decision to correct a clerical error in the penalty amounts stated in the order. The corrected order changes the penalties from $525 to $475. The amendment covers the KENT 88-191 and KENT 88-192 civil penalty proceedings involving H-2 Mine and C-2 Mine. The…
Tanks Unlimited, Incorporated
$1,000 settlement approved after admissions
Tanks Unlimited admitted the allegations and special findings associated with Citation Nos. 3038257 and 3038259. At the penalty hearing, the company presented evidence that it was out of business and had about $500 remaining after criminal fines and legal expenses arising from earlier accidents…
Brush Creek Coal Inc.
Default entered and $90 penalty ordered
Brush Creek Coal did not appear through a representative at a scheduled January 17, 1990 hearing in Johnson City, Tennessee. Judge Gary Melick issued an order to show cause giving the company until February 1 to explain its absence, but the company filed no response. The judge therefore found Brush…
Shannopin Mining Company
Discrimination case dismissed after settlement
Bernard J. Garnek asked to withdraw his discrimination complaint against Shannopin Mining Company after the parties reached a mutually agreeable settlement. Judge Gary Melick granted permission to withdraw the complaint under 29 C.F.R. § 2700.11. The case was dismissed, and the hearings scheduled…
Freeman Coal Mining Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Allen Ellsworth, a miner and rock duster, alleged that Freeman Coal discharged him after he refused to shovel coal alone on one side of a belt because he believed the work was unsafe. The judge found that Ellsworth’s refusal was neither made in good faith nor reasonable. The judge relied on his…
Pyramid Mining, Inc.
Gerald Smith v. Pyramid Mining, Inc. (FMSHRC KENT 89-218-D): Discrimination complaint dismissed
Gerald Smith alleged that Pyramid Mining discharged him because he reported safety problems involving his loader and working conditions. Pyramid maintained that it discharged Smith for threatening management and coworkers. Judge Gary Melick found that Smith had engaged in protected activity but had…
Lone Star Industries, Inc.
Two safety citations vacated
Lone Star Industries operated a cement-producing quarry and mill where an engineer entered a clinker cooler dust chamber through an inspection door during maintenance work. His right leg became entangled in an operating screw conveyor and was severed about mid-thigh. The judge found that the…
Emery Mining Corporation and/or Utah Power & Light Company
Hearing continued after Wilberg Mine fire litigation concerns
Emery Mining sought to postpone a group of Mine Act contest and civil penalty hearings connected to the Wilberg Mine fire. Emery said that a related Utah products-liability trial could create prejudicial publicity and complicate the pending cases. The Secretary opposed further delay, citing the…
Target Construction, Inc.
Dump-site citations affirmed after serious injury
Target Construction operated an open-pit gold and silver mine where a haul truck went over a dump bank and the driver suffered crushing injuries that resulted in the amputation of both legs. The judge found that the dump berm was too low to prevent overtravel and that cracks showed the ground might…
Beaver Creek Coal Company
Stoppings citation reclassified and two citations affirmed
Beaver Creek Coal was cited after inspectors found damaged stoppings in a South mains belt entry used to separate an intake escapeway. The judge found that the condition violated the ventilation standard but that the evidence did not establish a reasonable likelihood of a major fire or explosion…
Moltan Company
Electrical-cabinet citation affirmed
Moltan Company's kiln operator had to reach into an electrical cabinet to reset motor starter controls while exposed 480-volt conductors and terminals remained energized. The judge found that the reset controls were operating controls covered by 30 C.F.R. § 56.12040. He also found that the…
Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company
104(b) withdrawal order vacated
Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company contested an MSHA withdrawal order involving inadequate illumination on a scoop at its Greenwich Collieries No. 2 underground coal mine. The inspector treated the incomplete illumination installation as a failure to abate the cited condition under section 104(b)…
Harlan Cumberland Coal Company
Methane-related citations affirmed
Harlan Cumberland Coal Company operated two underground coal mines where inspectors found an impermissible opening in a continuous miner's breaker box and methane moving from an abandoned area into an active working section. The judge found that the first condition could contribute to a serious…
Kent Coal Mining Company
Training citations and orders vacated
Kent Coal Mining Company operated the Kent No. 55 surface coal mine, where four contract drillers were working without site-specific hazard training before starting work. MSHA issued four hazard orders and four related citations under its training regulations. Judge Roy J. Maurer found that the two…
Adams Stone Corporation
Corrected supplemental decision adds interest and penalty
Adams Stone Corporation had previously been ordered to pay back wages and other benefits to Fred Bartley in a Mine Act discrimination case. In this corrected supplemental decision, Judge James A. Broderick credited the company for a $9,438 payment already made and calculated $316.75 in interest…
Peabody Coal Company
Berm citation modified and penalty reduced
Peabody Coal Company operated the Big Sky Mine, where coal trucks and other vehicles used an elevated bench near a 15 to 20 foot drop. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. found that the bench was an elevated roadway and that the inadequate berm violated the Mine Act's safety standard. He removed the…
Central Concrete Products
Two safety citations affirmed
Central Concrete Products operated a sand and gravel site with a front-end loader and a primary screen work area. Judge John J. Morris found that the loader's inoperative back-up alarm violated the audible-warning requirement, and that broken boards and ladder rails did not provide safe access to…
Mettiki Coal Company
Citation vacated and case dismissed
The Secretary moved to vacate Citation No. 3110387 in a civil penalty proceeding against Mettiki Coal Company. Judge William Fauver granted the motion for good cause. The case was dismissed, and the decision does not state the underlying safety standard or provide further facts about the citation.
Mettiki Coal Company
Ventilation order vacated and other violations affirmed
Mettiki Coal Company faced consolidated proceedings involving ventilation, hoist-cable, and roof-control issues at the Mettiki Mine. Judge William Fauver vacated the order alleging that the mine's ventilation plan was violated because the cited areas carried intake air and complied with the plan…
Mettiki Coal Company
Safeguard, citation, and order vacated
Mettiki Coal Company was cited after an inspector found water and mud in approaches to mine seals and issued a safeguard requiring clear, safe travelways. The ALJ found that the safeguard addressed a hazard common to underground mines and had bypassed the formal rulemaking process used for…
Cargill, Inc.
Wilbur Hartley v. Cargill, Inc. (FMSHRC YORK 89-41-DM): Complaint dismissed by default
Wilbur Hartley's discrimination proceeding against Cargill, Inc. concerned the Cargill Salt Mine. The Judge had ordered Hartley to file a prehearing statement after continuing the proceeding and later issued a show-cause order when the statement was not filed. Hartley did not respond to the…
Mettiki Coal Corporation
Both citations vacated
Mettiki Coal Corporation operated the Mettiki Mine, where miners used track-mounted personnel carriers and belt conveyors. The ALJ vacated a citation concerning a parked personnel carrier because the underlying safeguard was invalid and the Secretary was collaterally estopped from relitigating that…
Mettiki Coal Corporation
Settlement approved and contest dismissed
Mettiki Coal Corporation and the Secretary proposed a settlement covering a civil penalty proceeding and a related citation contest. Judge William Fauver approved the settlement, modified Citation No. 3110113 to remove its significant and substantial designation, and assessed $100 for that…
Amherst Coal Company
Denny Roger Thompson v. Amherst Coal Company (FMSHRC WEVA 86-196-D): Discrimination proceeding dismissed
Denny Roger Thompson's discrimination proceeding against Amherst Coal Company had been stayed while related West Virginia court proceedings continued. After Thompson failed to file the quarterly status reports required by the stay orders, the Judge issued orders to show cause and sent the later…
National Gypsum
Michael J. Grafton v. National Gypsum (FMSHRC LAKE 89-72-DM): Discrimination complaint dismissed
Michael J. Grafton alleged that National Gypsum discriminated against him after he raised concerns about mine fire evacuation procedures and received discipline related to equipment incidents. The Judge found that Grafton engaged in protected activity when he questioned the evacuation training, but…
Texas Utilities Mining, Co.
Citation modified and penalty reduced
Texas Utilities Mining, Co. was cited after an inspector found clutter, hoses, metal, rope, and a container on a dragline walkway, along with a rope across an access ladder. The operator admitted the violation and its significant and substantial designation but disputed the finding of unwarrantable…
Morgan Corporation
Fatal equipment accident, citation affirmed, $1,000 penalty assessed
Morgan Corporation was an independent contractor performing construction work at a surface gold mine. A pan scraper operator backed over a spotter who was working near the machine, and the spotter died at the scene. Judge George A. Koutras found that the operator did not make certain by signal or…
Great Western Coal, Inc.
Randy J. Collier v. Great Western Coal, Inc. (FMSHRC KENT 89-198-D): Discrimination proceeding dismissed
Randy J. Collier alleged that Great Western Coal discharged him because he had complained about unsafe equipment and working conditions. Judge James A. Broderick found that Collier's complaints about broken steps, heat, dust, steering, windshield wipers, and truck doors were protected activity. The…
A. H. Smith Stone Company
Default entered and case dismissed
A. H. Smith Stone Company failed to timely answer a show cause order in a civil penalty proceeding involving its Branchville Mine. Judge Paul Merlin considered the operator's explanations that research would be difficult because former employees were unavailable and that the order had been…
Beaver Creek Coal Company
One citation affirmed and one vacated
Beaver Creek Coal Company was cited after an inspector found a narrow man door and steps in an alternate escapeway and also found that two crosscuts had not been rock dusted. Judge John J. Morris affirmed the escapeway citation, finding that the passage did not ensure safe travel for miners…
Tarmann v. International Salt Company
Kathleen I. Tarmann v. International Salt Company (FMSHRC LAKE 89-56-DM): Dismissal vacated and case remanded
An ALJ dismissed Kathleen I. Tarmann's discrimination proceeding after being told that the parties had settled and after Tarmann did not respond to an order to show cause. Tarmann's counsel later said that no settlement had been reached and asked that the case be reinstated, while International…
Evansville Materials, Inc.
Safe access violation affirmed and $58 penalty assessed
Evansville Materials operated a sand and gravel dredging business at the Rockport Plant. MSHA cited the company after an inspector found no safe means of access between a work boat and a dredge, where workers had to climb about three feet without a handhold. Judge George A. Koutras found that the…
B & M Sand & Gravel Company
Settlement approved and penalty reduced
B & M Sand & Gravel Company was involved in a civil penalty proceeding concerning its Ennis Plant. The Secretary moved to approve a settlement, vacate Citation No. 3281506, and reduce the penalty for the remaining citations from $1,075 to $806.25. Judge Gary Melick found the settlement appropriate…
Occidental Chemical Company
Settlement accepted and discrimination case dismissed
Richard W. Haviland brought a discrimination proceeding against Occidental Chemical Company concerning his discharge from employment at the Swift Creek Mine. The Secretary moved to withdraw the complaint after the parties reached a settlement that provided for compensation, restored fringe…
California Portland Cement Company
Railcar citation affirmed and $600 penalty assessed
California Portland Cement Company operated the Mojave Cement Plant, where seven parked railcars rolled down a track and seriously injured a welder. Judge John J. Morris found that the railcars were not securely blocked even though the brakes held them for several hours, because air leakage and a…
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.