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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Drummond Company, Inc.
Roof and ventilation settlements approved at $1,950
Drummond Company faced two violations at the Mary Lee No. 1 Mine. A roof bolter began installing bolts before temporary roof supports were in place, and the mine's ventilation plan was not followed because the line brattice was too far from the face, air velocity was below the plan requirement, and…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Two orders reduced and $600 settlement approved
Jim Walter Resources faced two contest proceedings and a related civil penalty proceeding at No. 4 Mine. One order alleged that a scoop operator knocked down a ventilation curtain and did not repair it, while the other alleged cleanup under unsupported roof. After the operator was found to have…
Jay Tuft & Company, Inc.
Citation-posting violation affirmed with $50 penalty
Jay Tuft & Company was cited for failing to post a prior citation at the Lapoint Gravel Pit. The company posted the citation at its Midvale office, but the judge found that the Mine Act required posting at the mine site. Judge John J. Morris affirmed the citation, while giving some credit for the…
West Elk Coal Company, Inc.
Five low-water-shutdown citations vacated
West Elk Coal Company challenged five citations issued after MSHA tested low-water shutdown devices on diesel shuttle cars at the Mt. Gunnison No. 1 Mine. The citations alleged that the devices failed to shut down the engines when scrubber water was depleted, violating the mine's approved…
Westmoreland Coal Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed after settlement
The Secretary of Labor filed a discrimination complaint on behalf of Sam Ball, a miners' walkaround representative, against Westmoreland Coal Company. Under the settlement, Westmoreland agreed not to discriminate against miners or miners' representatives in job assignments because of that status…
Westmoreland Coal Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed after settlement
The Secretary of Labor filed a discrimination complaint on behalf of Sam Ball, a miners' walkaround representative, against Westmoreland Coal Company. Under the settlement, Westmoreland agreed not to discriminate against miners or miners' representatives in job assignments because of that status…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Ventilation-plan violations upheld and $1,750 assessed
Jim Walter Resources operated the No. 7 underground coal mine in Alabama. Judge James A. Broderick found that the operator violated its approved ventilation plan by allowing line brattice to remain more than 10 feet from the deepest point of a face and by allowing methane levels above the plan's…
A.H. Beck Foundation Company, Inc.
Drilling-rig crane citation vacated
A.H. Beck used a modified Northwest Model 41 machine to drill foundation piers and to lift reinforcing steel and casing into the holes. OSHA cited the company for failing to barricade the machine's rotating swing radius under the construction crane standard. The judge treated the machine as a crane…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Underground rail safeguard citation upheld
Jim Walter Resources contested a safeguard citation concerning underground rail traffic at its Bessie Mine. The Judge found that the mine's radio-only system did not adequately control collision risk because vehicles used a single track with steep grades, blind spots, and conditions that could…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Underground rail safeguard citation upheld
Jim Walter Resources contested a safeguard citation concerning underground rail traffic at its Bessie Mine. The Judge found that the mine's radio-only system did not adequately control collision risk because vehicles used a single track with steep grades, blind spots, and conditions that could…
Falcon Coal Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Dairl Eddington alleged that Falcon Coal Company discriminated against him when it disqualified him for a mine position that was later filled by a superintendent's relative. Judge Roy J. Maurer treated the company's response as a motion to dismiss and accepted the complaint's well-pleaded facts for…
Falcon Coal Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Dairl Eddington alleged that Falcon Coal Company discriminated against him when it disqualified him for a mine position that was later filled by a superintendent's relative. Judge Roy J. Maurer treated the company's response as a motion to dismiss and accepted the complaint's well-pleaded facts for…
Kitt Energy Corporation
Back pay and remedies ordered after discrimination finding
An earlier decision found that Kitt Energy Corporation discriminated against 26 complainants under section 105(c) of the Mine Act. In this supplemental decision, Judge Roy J. Maurer rejected the United Mine Workers of America's request for additional weekend overtime pay because the claim was…
Duval Corporation
Discrimination complaint dismissed as untimely
Leonardo R. Lamas brought a Mine Act discrimination complaint against Duval Corporation after his employment was terminated in 1983. He filed with MSHA more than two years later and then filed a second complaint with the Commission after MSHA found no violation. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. found…
Amarillo Road Company
Conveyor citation vacated
Amarillo Road Company operated a limestone mine and crushing operation with 16 to 18 miners. MSHA cited the company after an employee went under an unsecured conveyor section and suffered two broken legs and a broken back. Judge George A. Koutras found that the company was not negligent and that…
Eastern Associated Coal Corporation
Discrimination complaint withdrawn and dismissed
The Secretary, with the individual complainant's consent, asked to withdraw a Mine Act discrimination complaint against Eastern Associated Coal Corporation. Judge Gary Melick granted permission to withdraw the complaint under 29 C.F.R. § 2700.11. The case was dismissed.
Consolidation Coal Company
Walk-around lunch loss found discriminatory
Charles F. Rose, a miner representative, accompanied an MSHA inspector during a regular underground inspection at Consolidation Coal Company's Pursglove No. 15 Mine. The company required him to return to work after the inspection without a continuous half-hour lunch period. Judge Avram Weisberger…
Nelson Trucking
Noise citation affirmed with $20 penalty
Nelson Trucking operated a small sand and gravel business with four employees. MSHA found that a front-end-loader operator's eight-hour noise exposure was 2.68 times the permissible level, equivalent to 97 dBA, and cited the company for failing to use feasible engineering controls. Judge Michael A…
Nelson Trucking
Noise citation affirmed with $20 penalty
Nelson Trucking operated a small sand and gravel business with four employees. MSHA found that a front-end-loader operator's eight-hour noise exposure was 2.68 times the permissible level, equivalent to 97 dBA, and cited the company for failing to use feasible engineering controls. Judge Michael A…
A.C. Dellovade, Inc.
Willful fall-protection violations affirmed
A.C. Dellovade employees installed metal ceiling panels high inside a large A-frame building. One employee tied his lanyard to a movable wooden plank that served as his work platform, and he fell about 40 feet to his death when the plank became dislodged. The Commission found that the lifeline was…
Dee Gold Mining Company
Discrimination proceeding settled and dismissed
Joseph E. Timko brought a Mine Act discrimination proceeding against Dee Gold Mining Company. The parties reached a settlement on the first day of the hearing, under which the company agreed to pay $925, less customary withholding deductions, in full satisfaction of the claims and requested…
Jefferson County Road & Bridge Department
Mine Act jurisdiction upheld and citations affirmed
Jefferson County operated gravel pits whose material was used on county roads, and the operation used equipment manufactured outside Colorado. The judge held that the Mine Act applied to the county operation because the gravel pits were mines that affected interstate commerce. He also found that…
D.A. & S. Oil Well Servicing, Inc.
Respirator violation became final after review brief was missed
D.A. & S. serviced an oil and gas well in an area where highly toxic hydrogen sulfide could be encountered, but it had no emergency respirators at the site. The judge found that engineering controls could fail and affirmed a serious respiratory-protection violation with a $280 penalty. He vacated…
Benjamin Coal Company
Miners' representatives entitled to accompany MSHA inspector
Benjamin Coal Company barred two United Mine Workers of America health and safety representatives from accompanying an MSHA inspector during a spot inspection requested by four miners. Judge George A. Koutras held that the four miners had designated the UMWA, which in turn designated Barry Mylan…
Consolidation Coal Company
Civil penalty settlement approved
Consolidation Coal Company was involved in a Mine Act civil penalty proceeding concerning the Osage No. 3 operation. The Secretary asked the judge to approve a settlement that reduced the proposed penalty from $1,055 to $355. Judge Gary Melick found the settlement appropriate under the Act's…
Terco, Inc., Randal Lawson, Terry McCreary, and Matthew Logan
Terco, Inc. and others (FMSHRC KENT 86-131-D): Settlement-based dismissal approved
The Secretary of Labor brought discrimination proceedings involving Robert B. Corbin and James Corbin against Terco, Inc., Randal Lawson, Terry McCreary, and Matthew Logan. With the individual complainants' consent, the Secretary asked to withdraw both complaints because the parties had reached a…
Colorado Materials Co., Inc.
Crusher guarding citation affirmed after fatal accident
Colorado Materials operated a limestone crushing plant in Austin, Texas. The judge found that a crusher operator was fatally injured while attempting to remove a rock with the engine running and the machinery unblocked. The judge held that the cited blocking standard applied, that the company had…
Southern Ohio Coal Company
Mixed contest and penalty dispositions
Southern Ohio Coal Company challenged multiple MSHA citations and orders involving muddy haulage roads, unsupported roof, exposed electrical equipment, an unguarded fluid coupler, and an unsafe slope near a highwall. Judge William Fauver approved settlements in several matters, affirmed several…
Klimczak v. General Crushed Stone Co., Inc.
New-hearing motion denied
Leo Klimczak asked the Commission for a new hearing in his discrimination case based on alleged new evidence. The Commission explained that, after the matter had been reviewed by the Second Circuit, jurisdiction over a request to introduce additional evidence rested with that court while the…
Kelley Trucking Company
Default order vacated and remanded
Kelley Trucking failed to answer the Secretary’s complaint and a later show-cause order, leading an ALJ to enter a default order assessing a $400 civil penalty. The Commission treated the company president’s later handwritten letter as a late request for discretionary review and considered the…
Austin Bridge Company
Crane-boom citations vacated by settlement
An Austin Bridge employee died when a crane boom fell during disassembly after the pendant lines were not moved to the section being removed. OSHA alleged inadequate safety instruction and failure to follow the crane manufacturer's manual. The judge found that the experienced crew had been…
Paschen Contractors, Inc.
Skyway Bridge citations settled for $1,400
Paschen Contractors built bridge piers for the Sunshine Skyway Bridge using cofferdams and work barges. After an employee fell from an unguarded cofferdam rim and was seriously injured, OSHA cited missing cofferdam guardrails, an unsafe gangplank, and employees working on unguarded barge decks…
Serstel Corporation
Secretary withdraws two construction citations
An OSHRC judge affirmed citations against Serstel Corporation under a general personal-protective-equipment standard and a material-hoist standard. Serstel petitioned for Commission review, review was directed, and the Commission issued a briefing order. After further review, the Secretary decided…
Dow Chemical U.S.A.
Case remanded after Seventh Circuit decision
The Seventh Circuit returned Dow Chemical's case to the Commission. The Commission then remanded it to the Chief Administrative Law Judge for assignment to a new judge and further proceedings consistent with the court's decision. The original judge was no longer with the Commission. The official…
The Towne Construction Company
Crane overload affirmed, posting item vacated
Towne Construction used a truck crane to raise a reinforcing-steel mat when the boom collapsed, causing the mat to strike and kill an employee. The Commission held that the crane was overloaded under the manufacturer's load chart and that requiring compliance with the chart was valid as applied…
Davidson Mining, Inc.
Discrimination case dismissed
Johnny Wall’s discrimination case against Davidson Mining was scheduled for hearing after the parties reported that they had agreed to settle. The hearing was cancelled, but the parties did not file their promised joint settlement agreement or otherwise update the judge. After a show-cause order…
Anlo Energy, Inc.
Electrical violations affirmed
MSHA found that Anlo Energy’s Peacock Mine No. 1 had inadequate grounded-phase protection and inoperative ground-monitoring circuits on its main power center. Judge William Fauver found that both conditions violated the cited standards and presented serious electrical hazards, including a risk of…
Caterpillar Tractor Co.
Lead-standard case resolved by settlement
OSHA cited Caterpillar under several provisions of the occupational lead standard at a gray-iron foundry. Caterpillar challenged the standard's promulgation, while the Secretary argued that Caterpillar was bound by an earlier court decision involving a trade association of which it was a member…
Drilling and Blasting Systems, Inc.
Settlement approved
The Secretary proposed a $147 civil penalty against Drilling and Blasting Systems after an alleged violation connected with a death on mine property. The company disputed the penalty’s gravity and negligence assessments and raised a jurisdictional question because the incident occurred about 4,000…
Smith Steel Casting Company
Air-contaminant items remanded after appeal
The Fifth Circuit returned Smith Steel Casting Company's consolidated case to the Commission. Following the court's instructions, the Commission remanded two items from citation 1 and one item from citation 2 to the administrative law judge. The judge was directed to consider Smith Steel's argument…
N.L. Baroidadiv/N.L. Industries
Citation vacated and case dismissed
MSHA initiated a civil-penalty proceeding against N.L. Baroidadiv/N.L. Industries for an alleged violation of a mandatory safety standard. At the hearing, MSHA moved to vacate its citation and dismiss the petition. Judge John J. Morris granted the motion and dismissed the case.
Iron Mountain Ore Company
Nine citations affirmed
Iron Mountain Ore Company operated a surface iron-ore crushing and screening site in Utah. Judge John J. Morris found that the operation was subject to the Mine Act and that nine citations covered missing training plans, inadequate first aid training and materials, unguarded moving machine parts…
United States Steel Mining Company
Battery-lid citations vacated and case dismissed
MSHA alleged that United States Steel Mining Company failed to secure battery lids on batteries mounted on a scoop. The Secretary moved to withdraw the civil penalty because prior proceedings involving the same parties had already decided the issue against the Secretary. Judge Avram Weisberger…
E & R Erectors, Inc.
Dismissed contest reinstated for further proceedings
An OSHRC judge dismissed E & R Erectors' citation contest because the company had not shown that affected employees received the required notice. E & R later explained that it was a leasing company with one office employee, that its controller misunderstood the process, and that it believed another…
Mathies Coal Company
Walkaround representative discrimination found
Joseph G. Delisio, Jr., a mine examiner and union safety representative at Mathies Coal Company's mine, was warned that disciplinary action could follow if he traveled from his assigned portal to accompany an MSHA inspector. Judge George A. Koutras found that the company's inconsistent…
Harrison Furniture Manufacturing Co.
Warrant case remanded for good-faith evidence
OSHA inspected Harrison Furniture's Arkansas plant under a warrant based on a former employee's complaints about specific conditions. The judge found the warrant valid for those listed conditions but overly broad insofar as it authorized a plant-wide inspection, and he suppressed part of the…
Mettiki Coal Corporation
Coal-dust citation modified and affirmed
MSHA cited Mettiki Coal Corporation after finding coal dust and other combustible material accumulated around longwall shields at the Mettiki A Mine. Judge Gary Melick found a violation of the cleanup standard, but concluded that the condition was not significant and substantial because the…
Mohave Concrete and Materials Incorporated
Default order vacated and case remanded
Mohave Concrete and Materials failed to respond to a judge's show-cause order, and the Chief Administrative Law Judge entered a default order assessing $1,231 in civil penalties. Mohave later asked the judge to vacate the default and reopen the case, attributing the missed response to a former…
U.S. Steel Mining Co., Inc.
Citation vacated and penalty case dismissed
After an evidentiary hearing, the Secretary moved to withdraw the civil penalty petition and vacate Citation 2678489 issued to U.S. Steel Mining Co., Inc. Judge William Fauver found good cause and dismissed the civil penalty proceeding in PENN 86-123. He also vacated the citation in PENN 86-178-R…
Columbia Portland Cement Company
Default order vacated and case remanded
The Chief Administrative Law Judge entered a default order against Columbia Portland Cement Company after it failed to respond to a show-cause order, affirmed a citation, and assessed a $2,000 civil penalty. Columbia later petitioned for discretionary review and attributed its failure to respond to…
Homestake Mining Company
Settlement approved with one citation vacated
Homestake Mining Company and the Secretary asked the ALJ to approve a settlement covering three civil penalty proceedings. The settlement kept a $3,000 assessment for Citation 2097485, reduced the assessment for Citation 2097236 from $4,000 to $2,000, and vacated Citation 2097499 as unsupportable…
Conoco, Inc.
Asbestos-removal items resolved by settlement
Conoco and the Secretary settled two contested items from citation 8 concerning asbestos-removal work at the company's Billings refinery. Conoco withdrew its contest, stated that both items had been abated, and agreed to follow valid asbestos-removal rules. The Secretary agreed not to use the…
Thompson Coal & Construction
Parking-brake citation affirmed as non-S&S and settlement approved
Thompson Coal & Construction operated the River Mine. Judge George A. Koutras found that an end loader had a defective parking brake in violation of 30 C.F.R. 77.1605(b), but concluded that the evidence did not show a serious hazard or a reasonable likelihood of injury under the mine's actual…
Consolidation Coal Company
Three orders affirmed and one vacated
Consolidation Coal Company operated the Blacksville No. 1 Mine. Judge Roy J. Maurer found that a slippery slurry and water mixture violated the travelway standard, that combustible hydraulic fluid had accumulated in a hoist-house drum pit, and that missing toeboards violated the preparation-plant…
Bandas Industries, Inc.
Five-violation settlement approved
MSHA and Bandas Industries asked the ALJ to approve a settlement covering five violations at the Nolanville Quarry and Plant. The settlement reduced the total penalties from $713 to $535 because of lower negligence or gravity, limited exposure, difficult testing conditions, and the operator's small…
Asarco, Incorporated
Operator held liable for miner's ground-control violation
Asarco operated the Leadville Unit underground metal mine in Colorado. A miner was injured when loose rock fell from a stope face after the miner began drilling, and MSHA cited Asarco under the ground-control standard requiring miners and supervisors to examine and secure loose ground. The…
Austin Power, Incorporated
Two fatal-accident citations affirmed and one walkway citation vacated
Austin Power, Incorporated was an independent contractor constructing a cross-pit spreader at the Big Brown Strip surface coal mine. A boom failure threw three employees from a walkway, killing Steven Smith, and the ALJ found that Austin Power violated the rules requiring workers to be clear of…
Hall v. Clinchfield Coal Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Kenneth W. Hall, a section foreman at Clinchfield Coal Company's McClure No. 1 underground mine, complained about roof-bolting and ventilation practices and later sought a transfer to surface work. The Commission agreed with the ALJ that Hall's safety complaints were protected activity, but found…
Emerald Mines Corporation
Remedies set after Commission remand
The Commission had previously found Emerald Mines liable for discriminating against Michael Hogan and Robert Ventura and remanded the case to Judge George A. Koutras to determine remedies. Based on the parties' stipulation, the judge ordered Emerald to pay back pay and interest to both miners…
B D & J Coal Company
Roof-control settlement approved
B D & J Coal Company faced five violations involving roof-control and pillar-recovery methods at its No. 1 Mine. The violations were originally assessed at $1,955, and the parties proposed a $1,755 settlement. The Secretary reported that the company's president discussed the methods with MSHA, the…
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.