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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Govindarajan v. N2 Services, Inc.
Additional reconsideration motions denied
The Board dismissed Vasanth Govindarajan's case after he did not follow its briefing schedule or explain that failure in response to a show-cause order. It denied his first reconsideration request because none of his arguments met the Board's limited reconsideration standard. Govindarajan then…
Greenbrier Central LLC
Railcar fall citation vacated for lack of fair notice
Greenbrier Central LLC manufactured tank railcars at its Marmaduke, Arkansas facility. OSHA cited the company after employees performed touchup work on railcar tops near open entry hatches without the fall protection specified by 29 C.F.R. § 1910.28(b)(3)(i), and proposed a $10,603 penalty. The…
Premier Roofing LLC, d/b/a Premier Roofing Co.
Roofing violations affirmed on summary judgment
Premier Roofing served as the general contractor for residential roofing work at the Summerfield Villas in Colorado. An OSHA compliance officer observed about 20 subcontractor employees working on roofs more than six feet above the ground without fall protection, and Premier's own employees also…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL v. Frank's Nursery LLC
Administrator, Wage and Hour Division v. Frank's Nursery LLC (DOL ARB 2020-0015 and 2020-0016): H-2A reconsideration denied
The Board previously found that Frank's Nursery failed to disclose a drug-screen policy, omitted its federal employer identification number from pay statements, failed to meet worker-housing standards, and made impermissible Social Security and Medicare deductions. Frank's Nursery sought…
Bankruptcy Estate of Donald M. Graff v. BNSF Railway Co.
FRSA complaint denial affirmed
Donald Graff, a BNSF foreman, made workplace safety reports and was later suspended and terminated after an investigation into battery-plant tampering and insubordination. The ALJ found that Graff engaged in protected activity and suffered adverse actions but did not prove that the protected…
Childs v. DimensionalMechanics, Inc.
H-1B decision and damages affirmed
Russell Childs alleged multiple H-1B violations during and after his three months as a software development engineer for DimensionalMechanics. The ALJ found an unauthorized wage deduction and unequal 401(k) treatment, awarded $1,359.12, and rejected Childs's other claims. The Board affirmed the…
Wulf Cattle Depot
In re Wulf Cattle Depot (EAB NPDES Appeal 21-01): appeal dismissed as moot
Wulf Cattle Depot appealed an NPDES permit for its concentrated animal feeding operation in South Dakota. EPA Region 8 later withdrew the entire permit while the parties and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe pursued discussions and dispute resolution. The Region said it would use mediation results to…
Feldman v. Risk Placement Services, Inc.
SOX complaint dismissal affirmed
Michael Feldman owned an insurance brokerage that sold policies through Risk Placement Services. He alleged that RPS ended the brokerage's contract because he complained that RPS steered customers it perceived as members of ethnic groups toward more expensive insurance. The ALJ granted summary…
Secretary of Labor v. United Taconite, LLC
Four late-contested citations reopened
United Taconite's proposed assessment became final after an employee failed to deliver it to the safety director before the 30-day contest deadline. The company mailed a contest for four citations two days after the deadline, and the Secretary did not oppose reopening or allege bad faith. The…
American Refining Group, Inc.
In re American Refining Group, Inc. (EAB CAA Appeal 21-03C): gasoline benzene settlement approved
American Refining Group operated a petroleum refinery in Bradford, Pennsylvania. The Consent Agreement states that the refinery produced 43,236,309 gallons of gasoline blendstock with an average benzene concentration of 1.36 volume percent during the July 1, 2016 through December 31, 2017 averaging…
Kolehmainen v. CS Auto HND, LLC
SOX settlement approved
Daniel Kolehmainen appealed after an ALJ dismissed his Sarbanes-Oxley Act retaliation complaint against CS Auto HND. The parties then settled, and Kolehmainen asked to dismiss the appeal with prejudice. The Board found the settlement fair, adequate, reasonable, and consistent with the public…
District Council of Iron Workers of the State of California v. Wage and Hour Div., USDOL
District Council of Iron Workers v. Wage and Hour Division (DOL ARB 2020-0035): three ironworker classifications upheld
A California ironworkers council challenged a federal prevailing-wage survey that treated structural, reinforcing, and ornamental ironwork as three separate job classifications. The Wage and Hour Division found too little data to publish a residential prevailing wage for any of the three…
Secretary of Labor obo Barbara E. Cassidy v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor obo Barbara E. Cassidy v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company (FMSHRC PENN 2020-0101): Safety-report retaliation proven
Barbara Cassidy, a section supervisor at Consol's Enlow Fork Mine, raised concerns about shortages of personnel rides, emergency transportation, and roof-bolting practices. Management counseled her after two safety emails and later imposed an unpaid suspension following a loud disagreement with her…
Secretary of Labor obo Darcy White v. Prairie State Generating Co.
Economic reinstatement remains in effect
Darcy White and Prairie State Generating had agreed to temporary economic reinstatement while the Secretary investigated her discrimination complaint. After White amended the complaint to add a staffing agency, the Secretary requested more time to investigate, and Prairie State asked the judge to…
Armstrong Utilities, Inc. d/b/a Armstrong Cable Services
Electrical citation vacated for lack of employer knowledge
An Armstrong Utilities crew was installing fiber-optic cable below an energized electrical line in rural Ohio when an experienced lineman contacted the 7.8-kilovolt line and suffered electrical shocks and burns. OSHA originally cited the construction electrical standard and later alleged the…
Matter of Josefina ARAMBULA-BRAVO
Incomplete notice did not defeat removal jurisdiction
The Board reviewed a Mexican respondent's challenge after a notice to appear omitted the time and place of the initial removal hearing. It held that the omission did not deprive the Immigration Court of jurisdiction because the governing regulations treat the notice as a charging document and a…
Meek v. BNSF Railway Co.
Railroad withdrew its appeal
Stephen Meek's case against BNSF Railway arose under the Federal Railroad Safety Act's employee-protection provisions. After an ALJ issued a decision, BNSF petitioned the Board for review. BNSF later moved to withdraw its petition before the ALJ decision became final. The Board granted the request…
Campbell v. National Railroad Passenger Corp. (Amtrak)
Campbell v. Amtrak (DOL ARB 2020-0056): whistleblower complaint denial affirmed
Keichie Campbell reported improper storage of bedding, food, and beverages at Amtrak's Raleigh station base and was later furloughed. An ALJ found that her report was protected but did not contribute to Amtrak's action. The Board held that substantial evidence supported findings that Amtrak applied…
Chevron U.S.A. Inc.
In re Chevron U.S.A. Inc. (EAB CAA Appeal 21-02C): gasoline compliance settlement approved
Chevron U.S.A. Inc. operates facilities that produce and import petroleum products. The Consent Agreement states that Chevron introduced two gasoline batches with Reid Vapor Pressure above the 9.0 psi limit, imported a batch with sulfur content of 81 parts per million against an 80 ppm cap, and…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL v. G Farms, LLC
Administrator, Wage and Hour Div. v. G Farms, LLC (DOL ARB 2021-0040): respondents withdrew appeal
The Wage and Hour Division Administrator was the prosecuting party in a case against G Farms, LLC and Santiago Gonzalez. The respondents had an appeal pending before the Administrative Review Board. They submitted a notice withdrawing that appeal on September 10, 2021. The Board granted the…
Deepali Company, LLC
Discovery default affirmed
Deepali Company worked as a subcontractor on construction of a visitor center at the Detroit Wildlife Refuge. The Wage and Hour Division alleged Davis-Bacon Act and Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act violations involving wage rates, overtime, certified payrolls, and worker classification…
Matter of N-V-G-
Refugee entry did not trigger aggravated-felony waiver bar
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's challenge to a section 212(h) waiver granted to a respondent who entered the United States as a refugee and later adjusted to lawful permanent resident status. It held that the aggravated-felony bar applies when a person was previously…
Secretary of Labor obo Miguel Pugmire v. Nevada Gold Mines, LLC
Ventilation allegation added to complaint
Miguel Pugmire alleged that Nevada Gold Mines terminated him after he removed four headings from service because of low airflow readings. Discovery produced evidence that he had also raised ventilation concerns at an earlier meeting attended by the manager who later terminated him. The Secretary…
Secretary of Labor v. Cactus Canyon Quarries, Inc.
Interlocutory review denied
Cactus Canyon Quarries sought immediate Commission review after an administrative law judge refused to certify earlier discovery and summary-judgment rulings. The Commission found that those rulings did not present a controlling question of law. It also found that immediate review would not…
Kinnett v. Sotera Defense Solutions
Jurisdictional dismissal affirmed
Robert Kinnett filed an OFCCP charge alleging that federal contractor Sotera Defense Solutions discriminated against him based on sexual orientation and religion. OFCCP closed the matter for insufficient evidence, and Kinnett pursued a Title VII case that was dismissed by a federal district court…
Ellis v. Goodheart Specialty Meats
First reconsideration motion denied
Mary Ann Ellis alleged that Goodheart Specialty Meats terminated her because she complained about a chicken product. An ALJ granted summary decision to the company, and the Board affirmed because Ellis gave no basis to disturb that ruling. Ellis then sought reconsideration. The Board held that she…
Secretary of Labor v. Champlain Stone, Ltd.
Misaddressed contest excused
Champlain Stone timely prepared a contest of proposed penalties but mailed it to MSHA's St. Louis payment office with payment for uncontested violations. The company discovered the mistake after receiving a delinquency notice and then sought reopening. The Secretary did not oppose relief but urged…
Secretary of Labor v. Blue Mountain Minerals
Reopening motion dismissed as moot
Blue Mountain Minerals asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that appeared to have become final because no contest was recorded. The Secretary later confirmed that the operator had timely requested a hearing and that MSHA's mail processing had delayed discovery of the contest. MSHA…
North American Crane & Rigging LLC
Crane swing-radius citation vacated
North American Crane & Rigging used a lattice-boom crane and an assist crane while dismantling a crane at a Massachusetts construction site. OSHA alleged that the company failed to mark the boundaries of the cranes' swing-radius hazard areas. The judge found no swing-radius hazard at the…
Mazenko v. Pegasus Aircraft Management, LLC
Late appeal accepted
Stirling Mazenko filed an AIR21 retaliation appeal months after the ten-business-day deadline, explaining that his lawyer had not received the ALJ's decision. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the ALJ had changed from regular mail and a familiar email address to email-only service from a new automated…
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 113 v. Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL
IBEW Local 113 v. Wage and Hour Division (DOL ARB 2020-0039): seasonal-worker benefit ruling affirmed
IBEW Local 113 represented seasonal grounds workers employed by KIRA on an Army Corps of Engineers maintenance contract at Fort Carson. The union alleged that KIRA failed to pay fringe benefits required by the collective bargaining agreement and the Service Contract Act. The Board agreed with the…
Laidler v. Grand Trunk Western Railroad Co.
Hazardous-work refusal award affirmed
Train conductor Wayne Laidler declined to conduct an on-the-ground inspection when an unexpected train approached at track speed in dark, foggy conditions near dangerous bridge terrain. Grand Trunk Western Railroad disciplined only Laidler and terminated him. On remand, the ALJ found that it was…
Kossen v. Asia Pacific Airlines
AIR21 complaint denial affirmed
Darren Kossen alleged that Asia Pacific Airlines retaliated after he raised concerns about pilots' flight-time records and contacted the FAA. The ALJ found that Kossen engaged in protected activity and that the airline knew of it, but found no actionable termination, promotion denial, or…
Home Rubber Company, LP
Audiogram violations reduced to serious and shaft-coupling item vacated
Home Rubber manufactured specialty industrial rubber products at a New Jersey facility where an employee's hand was pulled into a mill, resulting in the surgical amputation of four fingers. OSHA's inspection produced citations covering numerous safety and health requirements. On review, the…
Jaludi v. Citigroup, Inc.
Untimely SOX appeal dismissed
Abdul Jaludi filed a Sarbanes-Oxley Act complaint alleging that Citigroup discharged him in 2013. After a federal district court dismissed a related case, OSHA dismissed his administrative complaint in deference to that ruling, and an ALJ also dismissed. Jaludi petitioned the Board more than…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL v. Frank's Nursery LLC
Wage and Hour Division v. Frank's Nursery LLC (DOL ARB 2020-0015): four H-2A violations upheld
Frank's Nursery employed temporary H-2A agricultural workers at its Texas nursery. The Board held that the company violated the program rules by failing to disclose its drug-screening policy, omitting its federal employer identification number from pay statements, failing to maintain sanitary…
TASR, Inc.
In re TASR, Inc. (EAB TSCA Appeal 21-03C): PFAS import settlement approved
TASR, Inc. imported ski-wax products containing four PFAS chemicals that the agreement identifies only as Chemical A through Chemical D because their identities were claimed as confidential business information. The agreement states that the chemicals were not on the TSCA Inventory, that TASR…
Lorenzetti v. Worldpay, Inc.
Late SOX objection dismissal affirmed
Louis Lorenzetti alleged that Worldpay terminated his information-technology employment in retaliation for protected activity under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. OSHA found no violation and notified him of the thirty-day deadline to object. He filed with the administrative judges two days after that…
Yelder v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co.
FRSA complaint denial affirmed
Jerome Yelder reported a hazardous condition after a transport driver did not respond to requests for information and to stop the vehicle. Norfolk Southern later terminated Yelder following a physical altercation with the driver and Yelder's attempt to take control of the steering wheel and brakes…
Nate Pulley, d/b/a Yellow Creek Stone
In re Nate Pulley, d/b/a Yellow Creek Stone (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 21-02): petition dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
The petition sought review of a Tennessee NPDES permit issued to Nate Pulley, doing business as Yellow Creek Stone, for a limestone mining and processing facility in Houston County, Tennessee. The permit authorized treated mine wastewater and stormwater discharges to an unnamed tributary of Yellow…
Secretary of Labor v. Marfork Coal Company, LLC
Caption correction authorized
An administrative law judge's settlement decision became final after 40 days but contained the wrong docket number in its caption. The judge asked the Commission for permission to correct the clerical error. Commission procedural rules allow correction of a clerical error in a final decision with…
Secretary of Labor v. Solar Sources Mining, LLC
Berm penalty reduced to $40,000
Solar Sources Mining violated the berm standard at a surface coal mine after a haul truck went over a dumpsite edge and the driver was injured while escaping. The citation's S&S, unwarrantable-failure, high-negligence, and serious-gravity findings were no longer disputed; the appeal concerned the…
Bucalo v. Teamsters Local 100
STAA blacklisting claim remanded
Sam Bucalo alleged that Teamsters Local 100 and its secretary-treasurer blacklisted him from film-production driving jobs after he called in sick. The ALJ dismissed because the union was not an employer or transportation business and Bucalo was not employed by a commercial motor carrier. The Board…
Matter of Rosa Haydee HERNANDEZ-ROMERO
Prior NACARA relief barred later cancellation
The Board reviewed a Salvadoran respondent's application for cancellation of removal after she had previously received special rule cancellation under the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act. It held that special rule cancellation is granted under section 240A of the Immigration…
Secretary of Labor v. DelHur Industries, Inc.
Unreceived assessment never became final
DelHur Industries did not receive a proposed penalty assessment that the Postal Service returned to the Secretary as unclaimed. The company learned of the penalties from a delinquency letter and filed a reopening motion within 30 days. The Commission held that the assessment never became final…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Three mailed contests reopened
Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company sought to reopen three penalty assessments after contests it said it mailed were not received. MSHA's collection office had received partial payments for the uncontested penalties, but the payments were applied to the wrong citations because the agency did not know…
GSP Merrimack L.L.C.
In re GSP Merrimack L.L.C. (EAB NPDES Appeal Nos. 20-05 and 20-06): permit remanded for further proceedings
GSP Merrimack L.L.C. operates Merrimack Station, a coal-fired power plant in Bow, New Hampshire, that withdraws cooling water from and discharges heated wastewater to the Merrimack River. Sierra Club and the Conservation Law Foundation challenged thermal-discharge and combustion-residual-leachate…
GSP Merrimack L.L.C.
In re GSP Merrimack L.L.C. (EAB NPDES Appeal Nos. 20-05 and 20-06): Permit remanded for notice and reconsideration
GSP Merrimack operates the coal-fired Merrimack Station in Bow, New Hampshire, under an NPDES permit covering cooling-water withdrawals and pollutant discharges to the Merrimack River. Environmental Petitioners challenged thermal discharges and combustion-residual-leachate provisions, while GSP…
Secretary of Labor v. Buzzi Unicem USA
Mailing error excused
Buzzi Unicem intended to contest part of a proposed penalty assessment but sent the contest to MSHA's St. Louis collections office instead of agency headquarters. It learned of the error from a delinquency notice and promptly moved to reopen. The Secretary did not oppose the motion and confirmed…
Wayne J. Sand and Gravel, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. Wayne J. Sand and Gravel, Inc.
Wayne J. Sand and Gravel, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC WEST 2019-0111): Sixteen-month delay bars reopening
A penalty case defaulted and the related contest was dismissed in 2019 after Wayne J. Sand and Gravel did not respond. The company waited until December 2020, more than 16 months after the orders became final, to seek reopening. It said it had not received the penalty petition or show-cause order…
Palm Beach Aggregates LLC v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. Palm Beach Aggregates LLC
Palm Beach Aggregates LLC v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC SE 2020-0067 RM): Pandemic mail delay excused
Palm Beach Aggregates began working remotely one day before a proposed assessment arrived in March 2020. The assessment did not reach the safety director until after the contest deadline, and the company filed a contest about two weeks later. The Commission found the moderate delay excusable under…
Matter of Jose AGUILAR-BARAJAS
Aggravated statutory rape was child abuse
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal after an Immigration Judge terminated removal proceedings against a Mexican lawful permanent resident convicted of aggravated statutory rape in Tennessee. It held that the offense categorically qualified as a crime of child abuse under…
Secretary of Labor obo Jason Hargis v. Vulcan Construction Materials, LLC
Economic reinstatement granted
The Secretary sought temporary reinstatement for Jason Hargis at Vulcan Construction Materials. Vulcan did not request a hearing, and the parties agreed to economic reinstatement terms. Judge Michael G. Young found that the discrimination complaint was not frivolously brought and ordered economic…
Secretary of Labor obo Darcy White v. Prairie State Generating Co.
Economic reinstatement approved
Darcy White and Prairie State Generating reached an agreement for temporary economic reinstatement while her discrimination complaint was investigated. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy found the agreement fair, reasonable, and consistent with the Mine Act's purpose. He ordered Prairie State to provide…
Heyward v. Benore Logistic System, Inc.
Drug-test refusal not protected by STAA
Truck driver Brian Heyward was selected for a random drug test and refused to provide a urine sample at his employer's testing area. He later offered to provide a sample at a medical facility, but Benore Logistic System terminated him for the refusal. Heyward argued that he declined because the…
Nevada Chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America, Inc.
Nevada Chapter of Associated General Contractors (DOL ARB 2020-0058): highway wage determinations upheld
Three Nevada contractor and trucking associations challenged Davis-Bacon Act wage determinations for highway work in several counties. They argued that the Wage and Hour Division should have used state wage information and should not have relied on data from distant Clark County when northern…
Matter of A-C-A-A-
Rigid asylum review rule vacated
The Attorney General reviewed a prior decision that required the Board to examine every element of an asylum claim even when the Department of Homeland Security did not challenge some elements on appeal. The Attorney General vacated that decision, instructed immigration judges and the Board not to…
Terrell v. J-Max Transportation Services, Inc.
Complainant withdrew appeal
An ALJ granted summary decision in Aundre Terrell's Surface Transportation Assistance Act case against J-Max Transportation Services. Terrell petitioned the Administrative Review Board to review that ruling. He then moved to withdraw his petition before the ALJ decision became final. The Board…
Roy Rock, LLC
Rebar-machine lockout citation vacated because maintenance standard did not apply
Roy Rock used a Rod Chomper machine to bend and cut reinforcing steel at a New Jersey construction site. An employee was removing a bending cylinder while the machine remained energized when it started operating, breaking one finger and cutting two others. OSHA cited the company under a…
Matter of O-R-E-
Genocide-bar and misrepresentation findings upheld
The Board reviewed a Rwandan refugee's challenge to removal proceedings based on alleged false statements in his refugee application and evidence of participation in the 1994 genocide. It held that Immigration Judges and the Board cannot recognize an equitable laches defense in removal proceedings…
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.