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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Henin v. Soo Line Railroad Company d/b/a Canadian Pacific
Henin v. Soo Line Railroad Company (DOL ARB 2019-0028): timely appeal reinstated, then dismissed for court review
The Board initially dismissed Kenneth Henin's Federal Rail Safety Act appeal because his petition appeared to arrive three days after the 14-day deadline. Certified-mail records later showed that he did not receive the ALJ decision until January 22, 2019. Applying the three added days allowed when…
Criscione v. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Administrative complaint dismissed for district-court review
Lawrence Criscione alleged that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission violated the Energy Reorganization Act's employee protections. OSHA found the NRC was not a covered employer, and an ALJ dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. Criscione petitioned the Board, then invoked the ERA's…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Division v. ME Global, Inc.
Administrator v. ME Global, Inc. (DOL ARB 2016-0087): H-1B wage obligation continued until worker departed
The Wage and Hour Administrator brought an H-1B wage case against ME Global involving employee Petar Peric. The ALJ granted summary decision to the Administrator and denied the company's competing motion. The Board held that the complaint was timely and the Administrator was not barred from acting…
Boucher v. BNSF Railway Company
State-law settlement elected over FRSA claim
Gregg Boucher pursued both a Federal Rail Safety Act complaint and a Montana court claim alleging that BNSF unlawfully fired him after he reported an injury. He later settled the state case and released all outstanding claims, then asked to withdraw his Board appeal. The Board refused to approve a…
George Scoles v. Harrison County Coal Co.
Corrected ruling upheld scanner-policy discharge
George Scoles, a miners' representative and frequent safety advocate, alleged that Harrison County Coal fired him for protected activity after he missed required hand-scanner entries. Judge David P. Simonton excused any minor delay in Scoles' filing and found that Scoles had engaged in extensive…
CSA Equipment Company, LLC
Forklift struck-by citation affirmed
CSA Equipment handled steel coils at the Port of Mobile, where a forklift struck and killed a clerk checking a coil. The Commission found that separating clerks from forklifts until coil checks were complete was a feasible way to materially reduce the struck-by hazard. CSA had successfully used…
George Scoles v. Harrison County Coal Co.
Original scanner-policy discrimination ruling
This is the original release of the decision denying George Scoles' discrimination and interference claims against Harrison County Coal. The Judge found that Scoles was a prominent safety advocate but that credible company records showed he was discharged after five missed hand-scanner entries…
HCI Industrial & Marine Coatings, Inc.
Barge fall-protection items partly affirmed
HCI employees were sandblasting and painting inside a barge storage tank when an employee fell from staging and was hospitalized. The judge vacated the general fall-protection item because the Secretary did not prove that HCI knew or should have known the employee was working without fall…
Packers Sanitation Services, Inc.
Drain, machine-guarding, and recordkeeping items partly affirmed
Packers Sanitation cleaned equipment at a poultry processing plant where an employee's hand was caught in an operating quill puller, causing a fingertip amputation. The judge affirmed one walking-surface instance because managers stepped over inadequately covered drains in the normal route to the…
City of Ruidoso Downs and Village of Ruidoso Wastewater Treatment Plant
In re City of Ruidoso Downs and Village of Ruidoso Wastewater Treatment Plant (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 17-03): Nutrient limits upheld under antibacksliding exception
EPA Region 6 issued an NPDES permit for the City of Ruidoso Downs and Village of Ruidoso wastewater treatment plant in New Mexico. Rio Hondo Land and Cattle Company challenged the permit's nitrogen and phosphorus limits, arguing that EPA could not use the Clean Water Act's antibacksliding exception…
Austin v. BNSF Railway Company
Injury reports did not contribute to dispatcher discharge
BNSF dispatcher Tracie Austin reported a restroom puddle, her resulting fall and injury, and her medical treatment. Days later, surveillance video showed her entering a coworker's workspace and taking a pill bottle from the coworker's purse without contemporaneous notice. The ALJ credited the…
Watts v. Perdue Farms, Inc.
Poultry grower outside FSMA whistleblower coverage
Craig Watts contracted with Perdue Farms to raise chickens and alleged retaliation after reporting that Perdue misled consumers about its farming practices and chicken health. The Board held that the Poultry Products Inspection Act exempts poultry and poultry products from the Federal Food, Drug…
Integra Health Management, Inc.
Workplace violence citation affirmed
Integra sent service coordinators to meet clients in homes, vehicles, shelters, and other community settings, including clients with mental illness and histories of violence. A service coordinator was killed during a meeting with a client who had a violent history. The Commission held that…
Wright v. American Federation of Government Employees Local 2544
Wright v. AFGE Local 2544 (DOL ARB 2019-0034): unopposed recommended decision adopted
An ALJ issued a recommended decision in Robert Wright's standards-of-conduct case against American Federation of Government Employees Local 2544. The matter arose under the Civil Service Reform Act and Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act. Parties had 15 days after service to file…
Hernandez v. Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company, Inc.
Hernandez v. Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company (DOL ARB 2017-0016): training reentry denial followed five-year policy
Joseph Hernandez left Metro-North's engineer training program after failing the physical-characteristics test twice, then was denied reentry several months later. He alleged that the denial retaliated for his earlier mention of a coworker's arrest for driving under the influence. Metro-North…
A.H. Sturgill Roofing, Inc.
Roofing heat citations vacated
A temporary employee collapsed while working on a commercial roof and later died from complications of heat stroke. The Commission found that the Secretary did not prove the worksite conditions presented a significant excessive-heat hazard, noting that the heat index reached only the lowest warning…
Henin v. Soo Line Railroad Company d/b/a Canadian Pacific
Henin v. Soo Line Railroad Company (DOL ARB 2019-0028): appeal dismissed as late, later reinstated
Kenneth Henin petitioned for review of a January 11, 2019, ALJ decision in his Federal Rail Safety Act case. The Board initially calculated the 14-day deadline by excluding the decision date, counting weekends and holidays, and making January 25 the due date. Henin filed on January 28 and did not…
Burns v. The Upstate National Bank
Bank not shown to be covered by SOX
Rene Burns alleged that Upstate National Bank fired her for protected activity under Sarbanes-Oxley. Section 806 covers companies with securities registered under Securities Exchange Act Section 12 or companies required to file periodic reports under Section 15(d), along with specified subsidiaries…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of James Dee Terry v. Prospect Mining & Development Co., LLC
Physical reinstatement ordered absent agreement
James Dee Terry alleged that Prospect Mining reassigned him, removed a company benefit, and fired him shortly after he reported safety concerns to MSHA and company management. Prospect withdrew its request for a temporary-reinstatement hearing but asked the Judge to order economic rather than…
HRI Hospital, Inc., d/b/a Arbour-HRI Hospital
Patient-violence citation vacated
Arbour-HRI operated an inpatient behavioral health hospital where employees experienced assaults and other aggressive acts by patients. The judge found that patient-on-staff violence was a recognized hazard at the facility and could cause serious injury. HRI already used violence-prevention…
Rantz v. The Blake School
STAA settlement approved after reinstatement award
An ALJ found that The Blake School violated the Surface Transportation Assistance Act by terminating Ronald Rantz, ordered reinstatement, and awarded damages, attorney fees, and costs. The school sought Board review, then the parties submitted a confidential settlement. The Board found the…
BHC Northwest Psychiatric Hospital LLC d/b/a Brooke Glen Behavioral Hospital
Patient-violence citation affirmed
Brooke Glen operated an inpatient psychiatric hospital where OSHA identified numerous incidents of patients assaulting staff. The judge found that patient-on-staff violence was a recognized hazard capable of causing serious injury or death. Existing controls were inadequate because communication…
Florida Gas Contractors, Inc.
Three excavation violations affirmed
Florida Gas employees dug a trench beneath an adjacent concrete structure while installing a gas line. The Commission held that the structure was appurtenant to the sidewalk and that undermining it without support violated the standard without separate proof that collapse was likely. The Commission…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Jason Wylie v. Allegheny Mineral Corporation
Confidential relief settlement approved
Jason Wylie and Allegheny Mineral agreed to settle Wylie's compensatory-relief claim, including keeping the settlement amount confidential. The Secretary objected to confidentiality and had withdrawn support for an earlier agreement, but Wylie repeatedly told the Commission that he wanted to accept…
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Midwest Mining, LLC
Five unwarrantable-failure orders upheld
MSHA issued Peabody Midwest Mining five section 104(d)(2) orders involving loose ribs, an inadequate weekly examination, extensive combustible accumulations along a belt line, an inadequate belt examination, and inaccurate preshift records. Judge Priscilla M. Rae found 35 loose ribs across about…
Mid South Waffles, Inc., d/b/a Waffle House #1283
Grease-fire item vacated and cleaner PPE items affirmed
A fire occurred beneath a restaurant griddle after grease and waste accumulated in its removable drawer. The Commission vacated the general duty clause item because the Secretary did not identify the specific inspection or cleaning steps Waffle House needed beyond its existing once-per-shift rule…
Houston Aquarium, Inc.
Commercial-diving violations affirmed
Houston Aquarium divers regularly entered exhibit tanks to feed animals, clean surfaces, and perform public event dives. The company conceded that event dives were commercial, but argued that feeding and cleaning qualified for the scientific-diving exception. The Commission held that these routine…
Office of Labor-Management Standards, U.S. Department of Labor v. American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3147
OLMS v. AFGE Local 3147 (DOL ARB 2019-0030): unopposed default judgment adopted
The Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards brought a standards-of-conduct case against American Federation of Government Employees Local 3147. An ALJ recommended entering default judgment against the union. The applicable regulations gave parties 15 days after service to file…
Brofford v. PNC Investments LLC
CFPA complaint filed nearly four years late
PNC Investments terminated Jonathan Brofford in November 2012, but he did not file his Consumer Financial Protection Act retaliation complaint until October 2016. That was more than three years and ten months after discharge, far beyond the 180-day deadline. Brofford argued that PNC gave a false…
Shaikh v. National Bank of Pakistan
Foreign bank not covered by SOX
Zubair Shaikh alleged that National Bank of Pakistan discharged him for protected activity under Sarbanes-Oxley. The bank supplied an affidavit stating that it was not publicly traded and was not an officer, employee, contractor, subcontractor, or agent of a publicly traded company. Shaikh did not…
Gabriel Silva v. Rockwell Mining, LLC, Blackhawk Mining, LLC, Black Oak Mining, LLC
Gabriel Silva v. Rockwell Mining, LLC et al. (FMSHRC WEVA 2018-565-D): Summary decision denied over disputed respirator facts
Gabriel Silva alleged that Black Oak Mine suspended him for three days after he refused to mix powdered Quikrete sealant using the paper respirator the mine provided. He believed the respirator did not adequately protect him from an inhalation hazard and asked for a filtered respirator with a…
Secretary of Labor v. Northshore Mining Company and Secretary of Labor v. Matthew Zimmer employed by Northshore Mining Company and Secretary of Labor v. Roger Peterson employed by Northshore Mining Company
Secretary of Labor v. Northshore Mining Company et al. (FMSHRC LAKE 2018-141): Walkway violations upheld and managers held personally liable
Northshore Mining Company operates an iron ore mine and pellet-processing facility in Minnesota. MSHA cited the company after an elevated conveyor walkway failed while a contractor was cleaning it, leaving a hole about 45 to 50 feet above the ground and causing the contractor a spinal cord…
Arizona Public Service Co.
In re Arizona Public Service Co. (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 18-02): permit appeal dismissed as moot
The Dine’ Citizens Against Ruining the Environment, San Juan Citizens Alliance, Amigos Bravos, Center for Biological Diversity, and Sierra Club petitioned for review of an NPDES permit issued to Arizona Public Service Co. EPA Region 9 later withdrew the entire permit and notified the Board that it…
Bailey v. Metropolitan Transit Authority
Appeal dismissed after opening brief omitted
Guy Bailey sought Board review in a case involving the Metropolitan Transit Authority. He did not file the required opening brief. On January 8, 2019, the Board gave him 14 days to explain why the case should not be dismissed because of that omission. Bailey did not respond to the show-cause order…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Division v. Three D Farms, LLC
Administrator v. Three D Farms, LLC (DOL ARB 2016-0092 and 2016-0093): H-2A preference violation adds $9,930.38 back pay
Three D Farms sought returning H-2A agricultural equipment operators while using more demanding application requirements for referred U.S. workers, including a 100-pound lifting question and a North Carolina license preference not imposed on the foreign workers. The Board held that changing…
Pete Tartaglia, Jr. v. Freeport-McMoRan Bagdad, Inc.
Hearing-record settlement enforced
Pete Tartaglia alleged that Freeport-McMoRan Bagdad unlawfully terminated him, and the parties reached a confidential settlement during the hearing. Tartaglia later signed a written version but said he would no longer comply after other conflicts arose at the mine. Judge David P. Simonton found…
Secretary of Labor v. Cormier Construction
Quarry access citations upheld with reduced penalties
Cormier Construction operated a small granite quarry in Maine where miners used damaged ladders and worked on elevated benches without required railings or safe access. Judge L. Zane Gill affirmed three violations involving a bent ladder, an unguarded bench edge, and unsafe access to two upper…
Chemical Solvents, Inc.
In re Chemical Solvents, Inc. (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 19-01Q): $30,000 penalty paid and matter resolved
EPA alleged that Chemical Solvents, Inc. violated the Toxic Substances Control Act's chemical data reporting requirements under section 8(a). EPA's complaint sought a $30,000 penalty. The company paid the full amount, waiving its rights to contest the allegations and appeal the Final Order. After…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Jason Wylie v. Allegheny Mineral Corporation
Original confidential-settlement decision
This is the original release approving Jason Wylie's confidential compensatory-relief settlement with Allegheny Mineral. Judge Jerold Feldman held that Wylie was a party entitled to settle his own discrimination claim even though the Secretary objected to keeping the settlement amount confidential…
Michael Deuso v. Shelburne Limestone Corp.
Miner ordered to address late discrimination filing
Michael Deuso alleged that Shelburne Limestone fired him after he adjusted a stone-feeder control and requested a conveyor-belt speed sensor. He filed his Commission discrimination case almost 19 months after an MSHA supervisor had told him that MSHA could not help with his original report, which…
SJ Louis Construction of Texas LTD
Trench egress and cave-in violations affirmed
SJ Louis employees worked in a deep utility trench without a ladder, stairway, ramp, or other safe means of exit. The judge found that the improvised path required employees to climb multiple surfaces near an excavator parked at the trench edge and did not qualify as safe egress. The trench also…
Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, United States Department of Labor v. Google, Inc.
OFCCP v. Google, Inc. (DOL ARB 2017-0059): agency's appeal voluntarily dismissed
The Labor Department's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs appealed an ALJ ruling in its case against Google. On January 30, 2019, OFCCP moved to dismiss its own appeal voluntarily. The Board considered that request. It granted the motion and dismissed the appeal. This one-page order…
Suncor Energy (U.S.A.) Inc.
Controlling-employer scaffold citation vacated
A contractor employee fell about 25 feet from an unguarded scaffold platform inside a refinery heater while not using personal fall protection. Suncor was the controlling employer but had no employees performing the work inside the confined space. The Commission found that the violative condition…
Johnson v. Grand Trunk Western Railroad Co.
Complaint dismissed after federal-court filing
Justin Johnson alleged that Grand Trunk Western Railroad retaliated against him in violation of the Federal Railroad Safety Act's whistleblower provisions. OSHA found no reasonable cause, and an ALJ later granted the railroad summary decision and dismissed the complaint. Johnson petitioned the…
OFCCP v. Convergys Customer Management Group, Inc.
Reassigned for reconsideration after Lucia
The Labor Department's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs brought consolidated cases against Convergys under three federal contractor laws. The Board had stayed briefing while the Supreme Court considered whether agency administrative law judges must be appointed under the…
Hensel Phelps Construction Co.
Case remanded after Fifth Circuit reversal
An administrative law judge had vacated a willful citation against Hensel Phelps Construction Co. The Fifth Circuit reversed that decision and returned the case to the Commission. The Commission remanded the case to the judge for further proceedings consistent with the court's opinion.
In re Woods
Case dismissed after no show-cause response
The Board issued Woodson Woods, Jr. an order to show cause on December 18, 2018. The order gave him 20 days to explain why the case should not be dismissed. The Board received no response. It therefore dismissed the case. The one-page order does not describe the underlying claim or give any other…
Hawkins-El v. New York Transit Authority
Case dismissed after no show-cause response
The Board issued James S. Hawkins-El, III an order to show cause on December 18, 2018. The order gave him 20 days to explain why the case should not be dismissed. The Board received no response. It therefore dismissed the case. The one-page order does not describe the underlying claim or give any…
Secretary of Labor obo Delbert Leimbach v. Huber Carbonates, LLC
Challenge to temporary reinstatement denied
MSHA sought temporary reinstatement for Delbert Leimbach after Huber Carbonates fired him following his transmission of a company email to an MSHA investigator. Huber argued that the email was privileged and asked the Judge to dismiss the application or require MSHA to recuse investigators and…
Secretary of Labor v. Richmond Sand & Stone, LLC
Natural-cause mine death required immediate reporting
An excavator operator at Richmond Sand & Stone's Rhode Island quarry suffered a fatal heart attack from natural causes while at the mine. The company learned of his condition that afternoon but did not notify MSHA until the following morning. Judge Jacqueline R. Bulluck held that every death at a…
Swisslog Logistics, Inc., and Wal-Mart Stores East, L.P. d/b/a Distribution Center 7019
Lockout citations vacated
A Swisslog employee sustained a serious leg injury when an automated trolley moved while he was working inside Wal-Mart's monorail system. OSHA cited both companies for willfully failing to use documented lockout procedures. The judge found that the lockout standard did not apply because the…
M-Class Mining, LLC v. Secretary of Labor
Accident-control order upheld after suspected carbon monoxide exposure
A miner at M-Class Mining's Illinois underground coal mine became ill near a diesel air compressor and was hospitalized after an emergency-room doctor diagnosed carbon monoxide poisoning. MSHA issued a section 103(k) accident-control order, initially restricted the affected section, and later kept…
Coastal Drilling East, LLC
Unsecured rig-brake citation affirmed
A drilling employee's finger was amputated when suspended pipe drifted downward after a supervisor left the rig controls without securing the drawworks brake. Coastal and the industry recognized the crushing hazard and the practice of tying down or locking the brake before leaving the controls. The…
Lake Building Products, Inc.
Repeat steel-erection fall violation affirmed
Two employees landed decking bundles about 28 feet above the ground without using fall protection. The judge held that landing and unhooking decking did not make them “connectors,” because connectors must be placing and connecting structural members or components. The connector exception and…
Jacobs Field Services, North America
Electrical PPE violation affirmed
An apprentice electrician suffered an arc flash while terminating wiring in a 480-volt disconnect after removing protective gloves, a face shield, and a hood under the employer’s work practice. The load side was de-energized, but energized line-side components remained inches away and the arc…
Secretary of Labor obo Jason Wylie v Allegheny Mineral Corporation and Secretary of Labor v. Allegheny Mineral Corporation
Secretary of Labor obo Jason Wylie v. Allegheny Mineral Corporation (FMSHRC PENN 2018-275): Confidential settlement conference scheduled
The Judge had separated Jason Wylie's discrimination-relief claim from the related civil-penalty proceeding after the Secretary withdrew from a proposed combined settlement. Allegheny Mineral then asked to approve the same compensatory-relief terms with Wylie, but the record conflicted on whether…
Ontario Exteriors, Inc.
Roof fall citation affirmed with lower penalty
Ontario Exteriors directed employees to cross a steep second-story roof without fall protection when moving between the eave and peak at the start and end of each workday. The judge held that the residential construction fall-protection rule applied during those brief movements and that the company…
Secretary of Labor v. Poland Sand & Gravel, LLC
Temporary equipment route required a protective berm
Poland Sand & Gravel used excavators, a wheeled tow dolly, and a backhoe on an elevated bench to install a water clarifier at its New York mine. The bench had a 6- to 8-foot drop-off and no berm along about 42 feet of its edge. Judge Jacqueline R. Bulluck held that the bench functioned as a roadway…
Wrangler Pumping, Inc. dba Garbage Gators
Settlement reopening request dismissed
OSHA cited Wrangler Pumping for twenty alleged violations and proposed penalties totaling $64,868. After initially contesting the citations, the company negotiated and signed an informal settlement agreement with the assistance of an attorney and a safety consultant. The agreement became a final…
Magnum Contracting, Inc.
Unsecured forklift platform violation affirmed
Two Magnum Contracting foremen used a rough-terrain forklift to raise an employee on a work platform for welding. They did not secure the platform with the provided chain and moved the occupied forklift horizontally, causing the platform to slide off the forks and fall about 12 feet. The judge held…
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.