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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Bonded Roofing Services, Inc.
Roofing safety citations affirmed
OSHA observed three Bonded Roofing workers on a commercial roof without fall protection. One employee used a pneumatic nail gun without approved eye protection, and the access ladder did not extend at least three feet above the roof landing. The company owner was onsite and signed an inspection…
United States Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers District, St. Paul, Minnesota and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1441
St. Paul Army Corps District and AFGE Local 1441 (FLRA 0-AR-5700): Authority permits supervisor to cover shifts
A working supervisor at an Army Corps of Engineers locks-and-dams facility covered three vacant shifts instead of offering overtime to bargaining-unit employees. An arbitrator relied on notes from earlier bargaining to find that the agency had promised not to use supervisors to avoid overtime and…
United States Department of the Air Force, Air Force Materiel Command and American Federation of Government Employees, Council 214
Air Force Materiel Command and AFGE Council 214 (FLRA 0-AR-5694): Authority allows recent hazard-pay claims to proceed
AFGE Council 214 filed a grievance alleging unsafe in-person work and unpaid hazard pay during the COVID-19 pandemic. An arbitrator found claims arising more than thirty days before filing untimely but allowed newer claims to proceed as a possible continuing violation. Air Force Materiel Command…
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico and American Federation of Government Employees, Council of Prison Locals 33, Local 2585
FCI Guaynabo and AFGE Local 2585 (FLRA 0-AR-5548): Authority upholds continuing lunch-break damages
An arbitrator found in 2016 that FCI Guaynabo violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to pay employees for work during unpaid lunch breaks and retained jurisdiction over later disputes. After his death, the parties selected a replacement arbitrator. She found that the same institution…
Secretary of Labor v. Knight Hawk Coal, LLC
S&S settlement question certified for review
Knight Hawk Coal and the Secretary proposed settling three citations by removing the significant and substantial designation from two and reducing total penalties from $7,960 to $4,590. Judge Michael G. Young accepted the explanation for one S&S removal but found insufficient factual support for…
March v. Metro-North Commuter Railroad Co.
FRSA retaliation ruling affirmed
Metro-North machinist Vincent March inspected locomotive brake and pneumatic systems and filed an FRSA complaint after earlier discipline involving a safety concern. While that litigation remained active, the railroad later suspended him over an incomplete inspection and an eye-injury…
Matter of Emmanuel LAGUERRE
New Jersey drug statute was divisible
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal after an Immigration Judge terminated removal proceedings against a Haitian lawful permanent resident with a New Jersey drug conviction. It held that the identity of the controlled dangerous substance was an element of the New Jersey…
Matter of Sergio Rodolfo LAPARRA-DeLeon
Later hearing notice supported in absentia order
The Board reviewed a motion to reopen and rescind an in absentia removal order after the respondent received an initial notice to appear that did not state the hearing date and time. It held that a later statutorily compliant notice of hearing supplied sufficient written notice when it specified…
Cottier v. Bayou Concrete Pumping, LLC
Truck-refusal claim remanded
Concrete-pump operator Stephen Cottier repeatedly reported steering, driveline, bearing, and other mechanical problems in Bayou Concrete's trucks. After a 61-meter truck broke down and repairs failed to resolve recurring driveline and bearing problems, he refused another assignment in that truck…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3369 and Social Security Administration
Social Security Administration and AFGE Local 3369 (FLRA 0-AR-5710): Authority dismisses removal-pay exceptions
An arbitrator found that the Social Security Administration lacked just cause to remove an employee and ordered reinstatement without backpay or benefits for the removal period. After reinstatement, the parties returned for clarification about whether the employee should receive within-grade…
A.B.E.F. Development Corp. and Herminio Cotto Construction, Inc.
In re A.B.E.F. Development Corp. and Herminio Cotto Construction, Inc. (EAB CWA Appeal No. 21-(02)): Initial Decision became final
On November 30, 2021, the Presiding Officer issued an Initial Decision and Default Order in the proceeding involving A.B.E.F. Development Corp. and Herminio Cotto Construction, Inc. The order says the decision was served on the parties on December 1, 2021, and neither party appealed. The…
Holovatyuk v. EM Cargo, LLC
Vague rest-rule reference not protected
EM Cargo driver Mykhaylo Holovatyuk took a week off without telling the company and kept a rented truck in Florida while declining dispatch messages. In an email seeking tax information about whether he should be treated as an employee, he listed “34-h ‘restarts’” among several scheduling concerns…
Ajax Materials Corporation
In re Ajax Materials Corporation (EAB CAA Appeal No. 21-04): Petition dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
Melvin Jones challenged Michigan's approval of a Permit to Install for Ajax Materials Corporation's facility in Flint, Michigan. The permit authorized Ajax to install and operate emission units and was issued under Michigan law as a minor-source New Source Review permit. The Environmental Appeals…
Maria T. Walker v. Capurro Trucking
Discrimination complaint dismissed on summary decision
Maria Walker filed her own Mine Act discrimination case after MSHA declined to prosecute her complaint against former employer Capurro Trucking. She alleged disparate treatment and challenged the company's reasons for terminating her ore-haul truck driver employment. Judge John T. Sullivan reviewed…
Phox v. The Savoy at 21c
FSMA appeal dismissed as untimely
An ALJ denied LaRonda Phox's FSMA whistleblower complaint on May 25, 2021. Phox moved for reconsideration more than ten days later, and the ALJ denied that motion as late. She then petitioned the Board on July 28 and challenged only the May merits decision. The Board held that an untimely…
Rolly Marine Service Company
Hydraulic-press citations vacated
A Rolly Marine yard foreman died from blunt-force injuries after a metal bar was ejected from a modified hydraulic press and struck his abdomen. OSHA cited the shipyard under the general duty clause for operating a press altered from its original design and under the machine-guarding standard for…
Haiducek v. American Airlines, Inc.
Late AIR21 appeal dismissed
Mark Haiducek filed a late petition asking the Board to review his AIR21 claim against American Airlines. After the Board ordered him to show why the appeal should not be dismissed, he explained that he could not afford outside counsel and needed time to prepare the petition himself. The Board held…
Quick Roofing LLC
Late contest dismissed and citation affirmed
OSHA issued Quick Roofing one citation containing two serious items and proposed penalties totaling $4,681. The citation was delivered by certified mail to the business address provided during the inspection, but the company filed its notice of contest 83 days late. Quick Roofing argued that it had…
Knock Out Homes Incorporated
Default set aside for Rule 60 hearing
Knock Out Homes timely contested three citations but did not file an answer or respond to a show-cause order and default motion, so the judge entered default and dismissed the contest. Two weeks after that decision became final, the self-represented company submitted a letter describing…
Mehra v. West Virginia University
H-1B wage claim denial affirmed
West Virginia University employed Deepak Mehra under three H-1B labor condition applications at its Potomac State College campus. During the third period, the university discovered that Mehra's salary was below the required wage and voluntarily paid him $9,483 to correct the deficiency. The ALJ…
Thorstenson v. BNSF Railway Co.
Same-action dismissal affirmed on remand
BNSF gave conductor Stephen Thorstenson a serious discipline level after he reported a knee injury five days after it occurred, outside the company's 72-hour rule, and later discharged him after a second serious operating violation during the review period. The Board had affirmed dismissal, but the…
City of Marlborough, Massachusetts (Westerly Wastewater Treatment Facility)
In re City of Marlborough, Massachusetts (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 21-04): petition dismissed after permit withdrawal
OARS, Inc. petitioned for review of NPDES Permit No. MA0100480 issued to the City of Marlborough, Massachusetts, for the Westerly Wastewater Treatment Facility. OARS moved to withdraw its petition after EPA Region 1 withdrew the permit's summer, April 1 through October 31, mass-based Total…
Reed v. American Airlines, Inc.
Paid investigative suspension affirmed
American Airlines mechanic Roger Reed reported a loose aircraft pressure-relief door to the assigned mechanics and filed an aviation-safety report. The three mechanics later accused him of pulling on the door to cause a delay, and American placed Reed on paid leave, removed his facility access, and…
Avantor Performance Materials, LLC
In re Avantor Performance Materials, LLC (EAB TSCA 21-04C): $600,000 settlement ratified
EPA alleged that Avantor Performance Materials, LLC violated EPCRA reporting requirements at its Phillipsburg, New Jersey facility and violated TSCA chemical data reporting and mercury export requirements at its Phillipsburg and Paris, Kentucky facilities. The Consent Agreement also states that…
Judy v. Covenant Transport, Inc.
STAA reconsideration denied
The Board had dismissed Kevin Judy's STAA complaint against Covenant Transport on November 8, 2021. Judy then sought reconsideration and argued that the Board had missed information about his unemployment-benefit proceedings, advice from a whistleblower investigator, medical conditions, property…
Finley, LLC, and its successors
Two trench items affirmed and four items vacated
OSHA found five Finley workers leaving an excavation with water along most of its length. The judge found that Finley took no precautions in response to the accumulated water and did not perform an adequate competent-person inspection or reassess the soil after conditions changed. Those two serious…
RJCL Corp., d/b/a RNV Construction
Fall and footwear citations affirmed
An OSHA compliance officer observed an RNV Construction employee painting from a ladder placed on an elevated mall overhang without effective fall protection. The employee wore a harness, but the judge credited photographs and the officer's testimony showing that it was not connected to a lanyard…
RoadSafe Traffic Systems, Inc.
Moving-truck fall-hazard citation affirmed
A RoadSafe crew installed raised highway reflectors from a slow-moving three-truck convoy. One employee rode on the edge of the lead truck's bed with his feet on its lowered lift gate and was killed when the following company truck struck the lead vehicle. The Commission found a recognized fall…
Secretary of Labor v. Virginia Drilling Company, LLC
Default vacated for excusable neglect
Virginia Drilling timely contested a proposed penalty assessment but did not answer the later penalty petition or respond to an order to show cause, resulting in default. The company sought reopening shortly after receiving a delinquency notice and said it had not received an assignment and…
Matter of B-Z-R-
Mental-health question referred to the Attorney General
The Attorney General directed the Board of Immigration Appeals to refer the case for review and stayed the Board's decision while the review proceeds. The order invited briefing on whether mental health may be considered when deciding whether a person convicted of a particularly serious crime is a…
Secretary of Labor v. The Quikrete Companies
Misplaced assessment reopened after COVID-19 outbreak
A proposed penalty assessment became final after Quikrete did not file a contest within 30 days. Quikrete explained that a COVID-19 outbreak left its office and plant understaffed and the assessment was inadvertently misplaced. After realizing it lacked the document, the company contacted MSHA and…
Secretary of Labor v. Lo Down Energy, Inc.
Four misplaced assessments reopened
Four proposed penalty assessments became final after Lo Down Energy did not contest them within 30 days. The operator had rerouted MSHA assessments to its accounting office during the COVID-19 pandemic, but employees worked there only intermittently and the documents were misplaced. Lo Down learned…
Secretary of Labor v. Cooper Stone, LLC
Unreceived penalty assessment reopened
A proposed penalty assessment became final after Cooper Stone did not contest it within 30 days. The operator said it had ongoing mail-delivery problems, did not receive the assessment, and first learned about it from a later statement listing the uncontested violations. The Secretary did not…
Robert Thomas v. CalPortland Company and Secretary of Labor v. CalPortland Company
Robert Thomas v. CalPortland Company (FMSHRC WEST 2018-0402 DM): Discrimination found under but-for causation
Robert Thomas worked as a dredge operator for CalPortland and raised concerns about excessive hours, understaffing, training, and safe work on the Sanderling Dredge. On remand from the Ninth Circuit, Judge Margaret A. Miller applied but-for causation and again found that Thomas's protected safety…
Stokes v. Albertsons LLC
Duplicate appeal docket removed
Wayne Stokes already had an appeal pending as ARB 2022-0007 when he filed a petition challenging an amended ALJ decision. The filing was mistakenly opened as a second appeal, ARB 2022-0014. The Board removed the duplicate number and placed the November 30 petition and amended ALJ decision in the…
Generational Buildings, LLC
Electronic-filing default set aside
Generational Buildings timely contested a four-item serious citation and timely answered the Secretary's complaint. Eight days after the case was assigned, the judge issued a show-cause order because the small self-represented company had not registered for the Commission's electronic filing system…
Secretary of Labor v. Holcim (US) Inc.
Citation-vacatur question certified for review
Holcim and the Secretary proposed settling thirteen citations by vacating four, modifying or leaving nine unchanged, and reducing total penalties from $28,148 to $17,843. The Secretary did not provide information supporting the vacaturs or state that they were independent of the rest of the…
Secretary of Labor v. Greenbrier Minerals, LLC
Citation-vacatur question certified for review
Greenbrier Minerals and the Secretary proposed settling six citations by vacating two, leaving four unchanged, and reducing total penalties from $1,960 to $1,213. The Secretary relied only on asserted prosecutorial discretion as the explanation for the vacaturs. Judge Michael G. Young held that…
Secretary of Labor v. Crimson Oak Grove Resources LLC
Citation-vacatur question certified for review
Crimson Oak Grove Resources and the Secretary proposed settling five citations by vacating one, modifying or leaving four unchanged, and reducing total penalties from $29,497 to $11,672. The Secretary did not provide information supporting the vacatur or state that it was independent of the rest of…
Secretary of Labor v. Crimson Oak Grove Resources LLC
Citation-vacatur question certified for review
Crimson Oak Grove Resources and the Secretary proposed resolving three citations by vacating one, leaving two unchanged, and reducing total penalties from $1,154 to $1,029. Judge Michael G. Young treated the motion to dismiss as a settlement because the vacatur appeared tied to the operator's…
Secretary of Labor v. River City Stone-DIV/Mathy Construction Co.
Citation-vacatur question certified for review
River City Stone and the Secretary proposed resolving two citations by vacating one, leaving the other unchanged, and reducing total penalties from $250 to $125. Judge Michael G. Young treated the motion to dismiss as a settlement because the vacatur appeared tied to the operator's agreement to pay…
Matter of Omar A. VALENZUELA
California carjacking was a crime of violence
The Board reconsidered a Mexican respondent's removability after the Ninth Circuit remanded the case for further analysis of his California carjacking conviction. It held that California carjacking requires force sufficient to overcome a victim's resistance and therefore categorically qualifies as…
US Technology Media, Inc.
In re US Technology Media, Inc. (EAB RCRA 21-03C): hazardous-waste storage settlement ratified
EPA alleged that US Technology Media, Inc. stored spent blast media that had become characteristic hazardous waste at facilities in Georgia, Ohio, and Utah without a RCRA permit. The agreement states that the company had speculatively accumulated the material because it did not recycle at least 75…
Ford v. Plus Way Transportation, Inc.
Appeal dismissed for failure to prosecute
Michael Ford did not file the opening brief required by the Board's briefing schedule. The Board ordered him to explain by November 5, 2021 why his petition should not be dismissed. Ford responded on the deadline, but his filing discussed his discrimination allegations and did not explain the…
Innovair LLC v. Administrator, Wage and Hour Division
Innovair LLC v. Administrator (DOL ARB 2020-0070): later CBA rates not required for contract extension
Innovair provided aircraft-maintenance support under a federal contract that GSA extended from May 1 through September 30, 2019. A new collective bargaining agreement took effect May 15, and Innovair sought a contract-price adjustment after paying higher wages and benefits, claiming $624,556.44 in…
Secretary of Labor v. Solvay Chemicals, Inc.
Delayed injury report affirmed, negligence reduced
Solvay Chemicals operates an underground trona mine in Wyoming. A miner was struck by a roof fall while repairing a bore miner, suffered visible head injuries, and was later diagnosed with a shattered orbital socket. MSHA cited Solvay under 30 C.F.R. § 50.10(b) because management did not notify the…
Judy v. Covenant Transport, Inc.
Late STAA complaint dismissed
Kevin Judy alleged that Covenant Transport required him to drive while fatigued and terminated him after he reported the issue. He filed timely complaints with FMCSA and OSHA in 2017, but OSHA first found no jurisdiction and later closed a second complaint when he withdrew it. Judy refiled with…
Matter of M-F-O-
Voluntary departure rule changed after Niz-Chavez
The Board reviewed a Guatemalan respondent's applications for asylum, withholding of removal, Convention Against Torture protection, and voluntary departure. It upheld the denials of asylum, withholding, and Convention Against Torture protection, finding no required connection between the gang harm…
Land O'Lakes, Inc. (Hudson Oil Refinery Superfund Site)
In re Land O'Lakes, Inc. (Hudson Oil Refinery Superfund Site) (EAB CERCLA § 106(b) Petition No. 15-01): reimbursement petition dismissed after consent decree
Land O’Lakes, Inc. asked the Environmental Appeals Board to dismiss its CERCLA section 106(b)(2) petition for reimbursement concerning the Hudson Oil Refinery Superfund Site. The petition had been stayed while overlapping liability issues were litigated in federal court. The parties reported that…
Land O’Lakes, Inc. (Hudson Oil Refinery Superfund Site)
In re Land O’Lakes, Inc. (EAB CERCLA 106(b) Petition 15-01): petition dismissed with prejudice
Land O’Lakes sought reimbursement under CERCLA section 106(b)(2) for the Hudson Oil Refinery Superfund Site. The petition had been stayed while a related cost-recovery case proceeded in federal court. After the parties reported a settlement in that case and a federal court entered a consent decree…
Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs v. Enterprise RAC Company of Baltimore, LLC
OFCCP v. Enterprise RAC Company of Baltimore, LLC (DOL ARB 2019-0072): hiring-discrimination findings vacated and remanded
OFCCP alleged that Enterprise's management-trainee hiring process discriminated against African-American applicants under Executive Order 11246. The ALJ found liability under both intentional disparate-treatment and facially neutral disparate-impact theories, relying on statistically significant…
Rew v. CSX Transportation, Inc.
FRSA settlement approved
An ALJ found that CSX retaliated against Eric Rew for reporting a work injury and following his physician's treatment plan, awarded damages, and later awarded attorney fees. CSX appealed both rulings, and the parties then submitted a confidential settlement covering the FRSA dispute and other…
Petrongolo Contractors, Inc.
Repeat cave-in protection item affirmed
Petrongolo Contractors excavated a roughly 10-foot-deep street trench to replace a sewer manhole. OSHA cited the company for allegedly failing to classify the soil when designing timber shoring and for allowing employees to work in the trench before an adequate protective system was installed. The…
Kossen v. Asia Pacific Airlines
Reconsideration and record reopening denied
Darren Kossen alleged that Asia Pacific Airlines retaliated against him under AIR21, but an ALJ denied the complaint and the Board affirmed. Kossen later asked the Board to reopen the record for seven items he described as newly discovered evidence. The Board held that he did not show the evidence…
Ellis v. Goodheart Specialty Meats
Second reconsideration motion denied
The Board had dismissed Mary Ann Ellis's Food Safety Modernization Act case because she gave no basis to disturb the ALJ's summary decision for Goodheart Specialty Meats. It then denied her first reconsideration motion because her arguments did not fit the limited grounds for reconsideration. Ellis…
Govindarajan v. N2 Services, Inc.
Fourth reconsideration motion denied
The Board dismissed Vasanth Govindarajan's H-1B case in March 2021 and denied his first reconsideration motion because it did not satisfy the limited grounds for reconsideration. It later denied his second and third motions. Govindarajan filed a fourth motion raising arguments similar to those in…
Gloss v. Tata Chemicals North America
SOX and Clean Air Act claims remanded
Rodney Gloss alleged that Tata Chemicals North America terminated him after he disclosed environmental reporting issues to outside accountants and pursued related concerns. The ALJ granted summary decision because it found that Tata was not covered by SOX and that Gloss had not engaged in protected…
Carlisle v JB Hunt Transportation
Appeal dismissed after no show-cause response
The ALJ granted JB Hunt Transportation's motion to dismiss Barbbara Carlisle's case. The Board then ordered Carlisle to explain in writing by September 27, 2021, why she objected to that ruling. She filed no response to the show-cause order. The Board therefore dismissed the appeal without…
Matter of Jim Willis KAGUMBAS
Immigration Judge may examine marriage bona fides
The Board reviewed a Kenyan respondent's application for adjustment of status based on marriage to a United States citizen. It held that an Immigration Judge may examine whether the marriage underlying an approved I-130 petition is bona fide when deciding adjustment eligibility. Because the hearing…
Matter of NEGUSIE
Attorney General review referral issued
The Attorney General directed the Board of Immigration Appeals to refer the case for review. The referral order automatically stayed the Board's decision while the Attorney General considered the matter. This short order did not decide the underlying asylum, withholding of removal, Convention…
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.