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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Secretary of Labor obo Delbert Leimbach v. Huber Carbonates, LLC
Temporary reinstatement granted
Delbert Leimbach testified that he assisted MSHA in another miner's discrimination investigation, reported concerns about dust-sampling practices, and was later excluded from safety matters before Huber Carbonates suspended and terminated him. Huber disputed the reasons for the termination and…
Matter of A.J. VALDEZ and Matter of Z. VALDEZ
Signed applications presume knowledge of their contents
The Board reviewed the removal case of a Venezuelan husband and wife whose applications for permanent resident status falsely said that the husband worked as a minister at a Catholic church. The respondents argued that they did not know what they signed because the applications were in English and…
Ovation Plumbing, Inc.
Case remanded for settlement review
An administrative law judge had affirmed a fall-protection violation and assessed a $1,000 penalty, and that decision became a final Commission order. Ovation Plumbing petitioned the Tenth Circuit for review. The court granted the parties’ joint request for a limited remand so their settlement…
Marshall Justice v. Rockwell Mining, LLC
Interference claims allowed to proceed
Marshall Justice, a non-employee miners' representative, alleged that Rockwell Mining interfered with his rights to inspect the mine map and accompany MSHA inspectors at the Gateway Eagle Mine. Rockwell asked to dismiss the pro se complaint, arguing that Justice had no right to a copy of the map…
Secretary of Labor v. KenAmerican Resources, Inc.
Advance-notice citation vacated
KenAmerican Resources operated the Paradise #9 underground mine, where MSHA inspectors arrived to investigate a hazard complaint. The Secretary alleged that a dispatcher gave prohibited advance notice when an underground miner asked whether "company" was outside and the dispatcher answered that he…
Industrial Process Equipment Constructors v. Secretary of Labor
Late imminent-danger contest dismissed
MSHA issued Industrial Process Equipment Constructors an imminent-danger withdrawal order at the Portland Plant and Quarry. The company filed its notice of contest more than 30 days later, arguing that the contest procedure was confusing and that it lacked counsel during the filing period. Judge…
Secretary of Labor v. Cactus Canyon Quarries, Inc.
Vehicle-light citations affirmed with lower penalties
MSHA found a service truck with inoperable brake lights and four haul trucks with broken or missing headlights and brake lights at Cactus Canyon's Fairland quarry. Judge David P. Simonton held that the defective lights affected safety because other drivers might not see a vehicle slowing, stopping…
Secretary of Labor v. Martin Marietta Materials Southwest, Inc.
Loose highwall citation affirmed
Martin Marietta operated the Beckmann Quarry, where an MSHA inspector found loose boulders and back breakage above an area used by a loader. Judge David P. Simonton found that the highwall had not been adequately scaled and that the falling-material hazard existed where a miner worked. He credited…
Robert Thomas v. CalPortland Company
Retaliatory discharge found
Robert Thomas worked on CalPortland's Sanderling dredge and raised concerns about long hours, fatigue, and inadequate task training. After he spoke with an MSHA inspector about working without a flotation device, the company suspended him, circulated a draft termination recommendation, and later…
Sims Crane v. Secretary of Labor
Imminent-danger order vacated
An MSHA inspector issued an imminent-danger order after seeing a Sims Crane driver walk across a crane fender about seven feet above the ground without fall protection. The Commission had reopened the late contest and remanded it for a decision on the merits. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy found that the…
Spartan Diesel Technologies, LLC
In re Spartan Diesel Technologies, LLC (EAB CAA Appeal No. 18-(03)): Board declines sua sponte review
A Presiding Officer issued an Initial Decision and Order on Default against Spartan Diesel Technologies, LLC on October 30, 2018. Neither party appealed. The Environmental Appeals Board declined to review the case on its own initiative and stated that the Initial Decision and Order on Default would…
Tucson Electric Power
In re Tucson Electric Power (EAB PSD Appeal No. 18-02): NOx emissions cap found practically enforceable
The Department of Environmental Quality for Pima County, Arizona, issued a Prevention of Significant Deterioration permit allowing Tucson Electric Power to construct and operate up to ten additional generating units at its Irvington Generating Station. The Sierra Club argued that the permit's…
Matter of Castillo-Perez
Attorney General review and briefing ordered
The Acting Attorney General directed the Board of Immigration Appeals to refer a respondent's case for review. The order requested briefing on the standard for determining good moral character in a cancellation-of-removal application and on the effect of multiple driving-under-the-influence…
Matter of L-E-A-
Family-based persecution issue referred for review
The Acting Attorney General directed the Board of Immigration Appeals to refer a respondent's case for review. The order asked the parties and interested amici to brief whether an alien may establish persecution based on membership in a particular social group defined by a family unit. It also set…
Secretary of Labor obo Justin Hickman v. Huber Carbonates, LLC
Privileged email ordered returned
During Justin Hickman's pending discrimination case, Huber Carbonates asked the Judge to protect an email containing legal advice that an employee had forwarded to an MSHA inspector. An in camera review had already found the email covered by attorney-client privilege. Judge Priscilla M. Rae held…
Secretary of Labor v. Martin Marietta Materials Southwest, Inc.
Four quarry citations resolved with mixed changes
MSHA cited Martin Marietta's Beckmann Quarry for muddy and obstructed work areas, delayed correction of conveyor spillage, and a damaged elevated catwalk. Judge David P. Simonton affirmed an S&S housekeeping citation for slippery mud at the primary crusher and assessed $2,919. He affirmed a…
North Dakota Innovations, Inc.
Grain-elevator penalties reduced
North Dakota Innovations operated a five-employee flax grain elevator where OSHA found fall, machine-guarding, combustible-dust, electrical, confined-space, training, and maintenance-record violations. The company withdrew its contest to all seven serious and three other-than-serious violations…
K&E Builders, LLC
Contest dismissed by default
OSHA issued K&E Builders one serious citation with a proposed $3,880 penalty after inspecting a Texas construction worksite. The company filed a notice of contest but then failed to attend a pretrial conference, answer interrogatories, comply with a discovery order, respond to the Secretary’s…
J.D. Eckman, Inc
Highway traffic-control citations vacated
A motorist entered J.D. Eckman’s highway construction work zone and struck the company’s superintendent. OSHA cited the company for allegedly excessive spacing between traffic cones, failure to position a truck-mounted attenuator to protect workers, and an allegedly short transition taper. The…
Excel Modular Scaffold & Leasing Company dba Excel Scaffold & Leasing
Skiff violation affirmed, anchorage item vacated
Excel employees erected hanging scaffolds a few inches above Galveston Bay, and one employee drowned after a scaffold component collapsed and pulled him underwater. The company stipulated that it lacked an immediately available lifesaving skiff, and the judge held that the violation was serious…
Matter of Sothon SONG
K-1 visa holder needed petitioner's support affidavit after divorce
The Board reviewed a Cambodian citizen's application for adjustment of status after she entered the United States on a K-1 fiancée visa, married the petitioner, and later divorced. The petitioner withdrew his affidavit of support before the application was adjudicated, and the Immigration Judge…
Secretary of Labor v. Performance Contracting, Inc.
Housekeeping citation vacated and backup alarm affirmed
Performance Contracting supplied scaffolding services at the Permanente Cement Plant Quarry. Judge David P. Simonton vacated a housekeeping citation because the Secretary did not prove that the contractor created or used a refractory-material pile that another contractor had generated and taped…
Anadarko Uintah Midstream, LLC
In re Anadarko Uintah Midstream, LLC (EAB NSR Appeal No. 18-01): Air-quality-impact analysis not required
EPA Region 8 issued six synthetic minor New Source Review permits for natural-gas compression facilities operated by Anadarko Uintah Midstream, LLC, within the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation in Utah. The permits incorporated emissions controls and operational requirements from a 2008 federal…
Black Tie Moving Services, LLC
Incomplete settlement remanded
An administrative law judge approved the parties’ settlement, but they later discovered that the agreement inadvertently omitted one of the two citations identified in the complaint. The Secretary filed an unopposed motion to submit an amended settlement covering the missing citation. The…
Mulch ‘n More, Inc.
Willful injury-recording violation affirmed
A Mulch ‘n More employee suffered a chainsaw laceration at a jobsite, received stitches and an immobilizing wrap, and was sent home the next day because of the injury. The company’s owner knew the injury occurred at work, arranged transportation to the hospital, and had prior experience with OSHA…
Secretary of Labor obo Jason Wylie v Allegheny Mineral Corporation and Secretary of Labor v. Allegheny Mineral Corporation
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Jason Wylie v. Allegheny Mineral Corporation (FMSHRC PENN 2018-158 DM): Reconsideration of severance denied
Jason Wylie and Allegheny Mineral had agreed on settlement terms for Wylie's discrimination relief, but the Secretary opposed keeping the monetary amount confidential. Judge Jerold Feldman had separated Wylie's relief claim from the related civil penalty case, and he denied the Secretary's request…
Matter of J-R-G-P-
Poor detention conditions alone did not establish torture
The Board reviewed a Mexican citizen's application for deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture. The Immigration Judge found that the respondent was likely to be arrested, imprisoned, or involuntarily committed to a mental health facility, but that the record did not show Mexican…
Mansfield Industrial, Inc.
Chemical training and respirator items vacated
Six Mansfield Industrial employees were hospitalized after a chlorine release at a plastics facility. OSHA cited the company for allegedly inadequate hazardous-chemical training and for failing to provide one employee an annual respirator fit test. The judge found that OSHA did not identify how…
Keolis Commuter Services, LLC
In re Keolis Commuter Services, LLC (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 18-03): contested permit condition withdrawn and appeal dismissed
Keolis Commuter Services, LLC, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, and the Delaware North Corporation were co-permittees on an NPDES permit authorizing discharge from the North Station Railroad Terminal to the Charles River. Keolis petitioned the EAB to review the permit. EPA Region 1…
Secretary of Labor obo Justin Hickman v. Huber Carbonates, LLC
Response extension partly granted
Huber Carbonates asked the Judge to require the Secretary to return an email that Huber claimed was protected by attorney-client privilege and to bar its use in future Mine Act proceedings. The Secretary requested until November 16 to respond, arguing that Huber sought unprecedented relief and…
Palmdale Energy, LLC
In re Palmdale Energy, LLC (EAB PSD Appeal No. 18-01): BACT and air-quality analyses upheld
EPA Region 9 issued a Prevention of Significant Deterioration permit for Palmdale Energy, LLC to construct and operate a 645-megawatt combined-cycle natural-gas power plant in Palmdale, California. Four conservation groups challenged the Region's Best Available Control Technology analysis and its…
Terrance McKitrrick d/b/a Great White Construction
Repeat roof fall violation affirmed
Four Great White Construction employees installed shingles on a residential roof about 11 feet above the ground without using available fall protection. The judge found actual and constructive knowledge based on the owner’s repeated prior fall citations, inadequate follow-up, and the foreman’s…
Secretary of Labor v. Lehigh Anthracite Coal, LLC and Secretary of Labor v. Shane T. Wetzel, employed by Lehigh Anthracite Coal, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Lehigh Anthracite Coal, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2014-108): Reckless-disregard penalties set on remand
The Commission had ruled that Lehigh Anthracite and foreman Shane Wetzel acted with reckless disregard when a miner was exposed to hazards while recovering a buried dragline bucket, and it sent the case back solely for new penalties. Judge L. Zane Gill credited Lehigh's immediate investigation…
Matter of Daniel Girmai Negusie
Matter of Negusie (BIA ID 3943): persecutor-bar issue referred for Attorney General review
The Attorney General directed the Board of Immigration Appeals to refer the respondent's case for review of whether coercion and duress matter when applying the Immigration and Nationality Act's persecutor bar. The order invited briefing from the parties and interested amici and set word limits…
Secretary of Labor v. Northshore Mining Company
$3,706 settlement approved
Northshore Mining and the Secretary proposed resolving ten citations by reducing total penalties from $17,856 to $3,706. Two citations were vacated, several negligence or injury findings were lowered, and two significant-and-substantial designations were removed. Judge Margaret A. Miller repeatedly…
Matter of M-A-C-O-
Immigration Judge had jurisdiction after respondent turned 18
The Board reviewed a Salvadoran respondent's challenge to an Immigration Judge's jurisdiction over his asylum application. He had entered the United States at age 17 and had been determined to be an unaccompanied alien child, but he turned 18 before filing the asylum applications. The Board held…
Adam Ham Construction, LLC
Roof fall citation affirmed after default
An Adam Ham Construction supervisor worked for three to four hours on a snow- and ice-covered residential roof about 33 to 35 feet above the ground without fall protection. The judge found the company could have discovered the condition through reasonable diligence, and the supervisor’s own…
Matter of M-S-
Bond-hearing issue referred for review
The Attorney General directed the Board of Immigration Appeals to refer a case for review of whether immigration judges may hold bond hearings for certain people placed in removal proceedings after expedited removal screening. The order asked whether the Board's earlier precedent on that question…
Matter of M-G-G-
Bond determination remanded after respondent's removal
The Attorney General had directed the Board of Immigration Appeals to refer its bond decision for review. The respondent had since been removed to Guatemala under a final removal order and was no longer in the United States. Because the respondent was no longer present, the Attorney General…
City of Harrison, Wastewater Treatment Plant
In re City of Harrison, Wastewater Treatment Plant (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 18-04): petition dismissed after permit provisions withdrawn
The Idaho Conservation League petitioned the Environmental Appeals Board to review an NPDES permit that EPA Region 10 issued to the City of Harrison for a wastewater treatment plant. The Region withdrew the permit provisions challenged in the petition and planned to issue a new draft permit subject…
Excelsior Mining Arizona, Inc.
In re Excelsior Mining Arizona, Inc. (EAB UIC Appeal No. 18-04): petition dismissed with prejudice after settlement
EPA Region 9 issued Excelsior Mining Arizona, Inc. a Class III Underground Injection Control area permit for an in-situ copper mining operation in Cochise County, Arizona. Five conservation organizations petitioned the Environmental Appeals Board, arguing that the Region's permitting analysis…
Matter of Eduardo VELASQUEZ-RIOS
Retroactive sentence reduction did not change immigration consequence
The Board reconsidered a Mexican citizen's eligibility for cancellation of removal after California retroactively reduced the maximum sentence for certain offenses from 365 days to 364 days. His 2003 forgery conviction had carried a possible sentence of one year when he was convicted, even though…
Pharmasol Corporation
Warehouse storage violations affirmed, forklift items split
Pharmasol manufactured pharmaceutical and personal-care products and used powered industrial trucks in its warehouse. The judge vacated a general duty clause item because OSHA did not prove that the trucks could pass beneath rack beams and expose operators to the alleged crushing hazard. He…
River Hill Coal Company, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. River Hill Coal Company, Inc.
River Hill Coal Company, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC PENN 2014-956 R): Deteriorated-plant violations affirmed
River Hill idled two coal-processing buildings but kept them powered and allowed an electrician to enter monthly despite severely corroded beams, floors, stairs, columns, and walkways. Judge L. Zane Gill rejected the operator's fair-notice defense because the structural-maintenance standard clearly…
Manua’s, Inc., dba Manua’s Discount Store
Crane power-line violations affirmed
Manua’s hired a crane contractor to unload structural steel near an energized power line, and three Manua’s employees were fatally electrocuted when the crane contacted the line. The Commission affirmed summary judgment on four serious violations involving the crane work zone, the 20-foot…
Kiewit Power Constructors Co.
Construction quick-drenching citation vacated
OSHA cited Kiewit under the construction quick-drenching rule, which requires immediate eye or body flushing facilities where employees may encounter corrosive materials. The rule originated under the Walsh-Healey Act and applied to federal supply contractors, not construction employers. In a…
BP Products North America, Inc., and BP-Husky Refining, LLC
Most refinery PSM items vacated
OSHA alleged 65 willful process safety management violations at BP’s Ohio refinery and proposed $2.87 million in penalties. Fifty-six items concerning pressure-relief equipment, cross-connections, and facility siting reached the Commission. The Commission vacated the pressure-relief items because…
Norman W. Fries, Inc. d/b/a Claxton Poultry Farms
Conveyor guarding citation vacated
A poultry-processing employee suffered a compound forearm fracture when his glove and arm were pulled into the underside of a seasoning-line conveyor. OSHA cited Claxton Poultry for failing to guard the conveyor’s ingoing nip-point. The judge found that the accident alone did not establish that…
Pro-Spec Corporation dba Pro-Spec Painting
Two worksite citation sets affirmed
Pro-Spec performed abrasive blasting and painting at water-tank projects in Easton and Quakertown, Pennsylvania. OSHA cited respiratory-protection, scaffold, fall-protection, ladder, electrical-wiring, confined-space, and recordkeeping violations after a suspended scaffold collapsed at the Easton…
Secretary of Labor v. Rockwell Mining, LLC
$5,232 settlement approved on remand
The Commission vacated an earlier order denying Rockwell Mining's settlement and directed the Judge to reconsider it under the Commission's settlement-review standard. The agreement resolved seven citations, left three penalties unchanged, reduced three penalties, and vacated a cleanup-program…
Secretary of Labor obo George M. Scoles v. Harrison County Coal Co.
Secretary of Labor on behalf of George M. Scoles v. Harrison County Coal Co. (FMSHRC WEVA 2016-274 D): Retaliatory suspension found
George Scoles was a miners' representative and frequent safety advocate whose supervisor, George McCauley, responded aggressively to his complaints and head-butted him during a workplace dispute. Days after Scoles reported the incident, McCauley singled him out to throw a d-rail, removed him from a…
Secretary of Labor v. The American Coal Company
$31,063 settlement approved on remand
The Commission vacated an earlier denial of American Coal's settlement and directed reconsideration under its AmCoal and Rockwell decisions. The agreement kept all 32 citations as written while reducing every proposed penalty by 30 percent. American Coal supplied citation-specific assertions, and…
Matter of M-G-G-
Bond-hearing issue referred for Attorney General review
The Attorney General referred a Board of Immigration Appeals decision for review of whether immigration judges may hold bond hearings for certain people who entered removal proceedings after expedited removal screening. The order asked whether earlier BIA precedent should be overruled in light of a…
Matter of S-O-G- & F-D-B-
Removal proceedings cannot end on an Immigration Judge's inherent discretion
The Attorney General reviewed two removal matters involving motions to dismiss or terminate proceedings. In the first, the Board had affirmed dismissal after the Department of Homeland Security discovered that the respondent was already subject to a final removal order, and the Attorney General…
Secretary of Labor obo Justin Hickman v. Huber Carbonates, LLC
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Justin Hickman v. Huber Carbonates, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2018-343 DM): Temporary reinstatement granted
Justin Hickman supervised the Ball Mill Complex at Huber's calcium carbonate plant and raised concerns about untrained equipment operation, dust overexposure, respirator fit testing, and alleged manipulation of MSHA dust sampling. Huber placed him on a performance improvement plan and terminated…
Harold Notah v. GCC Rio Grande, Inc.
Retaliatory discharge found and relief deferred
Electrician Harold Notah reported a hazardous cable splice to MSHA after GCC management failed to correct it, and inspectors issued citations the same day. GCC had disciplined Notah only twice in nearly two years, but issued eight disciplinary actions in the ten months before his termination…
Secretary of Labor v. Original Sixteen to One Mine, Inc.
Eight violations affirmed and penalties cut to $1,062
MSHA issued eight citations at the underground gold mine involving self-rescuers, an overdue compressor inspection, damp and expired detonators, ladder handholds, an uncovered manway, and fire-retardant treatment of portal timber. Judge William B. Moran affirmed every violation and upheld the S&S…
Penneco Environmental Solutions, LLC
In re Penneco Environmental Solutions, LLC (EAB UIC Appeal No. 18-02): Seismicity challenge to brine well permit denied
EPA Region 3 issued a Class II Underground Injection Control permit authorizing Penneco Environmental Solutions, LLC to use the Sedat #3A well in Pennsylvania to dispose of brine from oil and natural-gas production. The Borough of Plum argued that injection could increase seismic activity, threaten…
Matter of Agustin VALENZUELA GALLARDO
Accessory to a felony qualified as obstruction of justice
The Board reconsidered the removability of a Mexican lawful permanent resident who had been convicted in California of being an accessory to a felony and sentenced to 16 months in prison. The Board clarified that an aggravated-felony offense relating to obstruction of justice includes a crime…
O’Harra’s Complete Plumbing Service, LLC
Settlement approval set aside for late-contest review
A judge approved an informal settlement between OSHA and O’Harra’s Complete Plumbing Service. O’Harra’s later sent a letter claiming that it had no employees and had felt pressured to sign the agreement. The Commission treated the letter as both a late notice of contest and a request for relief…
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.