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.
No decisions match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
Veolia ES Technical Solutions, L.L.C.
In re Veolia ES Technical Solutions, L.L.C. (EAB CAA Appeal No. 17-02): permit remanded and petition dismissed without prejudice
Veolia ES Technical Solutions, L.L.C. petitioned the Environmental Appeals Board for review of a Title V renewal permit issued by EPA Region 5. The parties reached a contingent settlement agreement, and EPA decided not to withdraw its consent after public notice and comment. The Board found good…
Ledcor CMI, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. Ledcor CMI, Inc.
Ledcor CMI, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC WEST 2017-231 RM, WEST 2017-270 M, WEST 2017-290 M): Highwall discovery motion granted in part
In litigation over highwall conditions at a quarry, the Secretary moved to compel additional discovery from contractor Ledcor CMI. Judge Richard W. Manning required Ledcor to identify the specific documents or pages supporting two interrogatory answers rather than point generally to a 1,250-page…
Matter of A-B-, Respondent
Attorney General set briefing deadlines for private-crime review
The Attorney General denied the Department of Homeland Security’s requests to suspend briefing and clarify the question presented in the private-criminal-activity review. He held that an Immigration Judge’s attempted certification of the case to the Board after remand was procedurally defective…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Rib citations vacated and equipment violations upheld
Consol Pennsylvania Coal operated the Harvey Mine, where MSHA issued eight citations and the parties settled four before the hearing. Judge Kenneth R. Andrews vacated two remaining rib-control citations because the evidence did not establish that the cited ribs were unsupported or uncontrolled. He…
Secretary of Labor v. Solar Sources, Inc.
Berm violation affirmed after haul-truck rollover
Solar Sources operated the Shamrock Mine, a surface bituminous mine in Indiana, where a dump haul truck passed through a berm and overturned roughly 47.75 feet below in a slurry pit. The driver escaped from the truck but suffered significant injuries. Judge William B. Moran dismissed the alleged…
Secretary of Labor v. The Kraemer Company, LLC
Hazardous highwall citation affirmed
The Kraemer Company operated a limestone quarry where miners used loaders and parked personal vehicles near a 40-foot highwall. MSHA cited the company under 30 C.F.R. § 56.3200 for allowing travel near cracked, loose, and unsupported ground without a barrier or warning. The Judge credited the…
Adrenaline Truck Performance, LLC
In re Adrenaline Truck Performance, LLC (EAB CAA Appeal No. 18-02C): consent agreement ratified
The Environmental Appeals Board issued a Final Order concerning Adrenaline Truck Performance, LLC. The Board incorporated and ratified the attached Consent Agreement under EPA's Consolidated Rules of Practice. Adrenaline Truck Performance was ordered to comply with all terms of the agreement…
Lang Masonry Contractors, Inc.
Limited-access-zone citation vacated
Lang Masonry performed masonry work around an elevator opening during a high-rise renovation. A six-pound piece of concrete block fell from the fourteenth floor down the elevator shaft and struck an elevator mechanic, causing fractured vertebrae and other serious injuries. The judge found that the…
3-D Builders, LLP
Ladder and willful fall violations affirmed
3-D Builders performed residential roofing work at heights of approximately 10 to 22 feet without guardrails, safety nets, personal fall arrest systems, or other fall protection. Workers also used an extension ladder whose side rails extended only about two feet, six inches above the roof landing…
Matter of L-A-B-R- et al., Respondents
Attorney General referred the continuance question
The Attorney General referred several Board decisions for review of when an Immigration Judge has good cause to grant a continuance for a collateral matter to be adjudicated. The referred cases involved continuances that gave respondents time to seek decisions from other authorities. The referral…
Secretary of Labor obo Daniel K. Mullins v. D&H Mining, Inc.
Roof bolter temporarily reinstated
Daniel Mullins worked as a roof-bolting machine operator at D&H Mining's No. 3 mine and alleged that he repeatedly complained about excessive dust and improperly hung ventilation curtains. He testified that a foreman became angry after a dust complaint on January 9, 2018, and that the mine fired…
Masis Multi Services, Inc.
Default entered after contest abandoned
Masis Multi Services timely contested a serious OSHA citation carrying a proposed $3,622 penalty. The company then failed to appear for two scheduled prehearing conferences and did not respond to repeated communications or two orders to show cause. The judge found that Masis displayed a pattern of…
Pro-Spec Corporation, dba Pro-Spec Painting
Contest dismissed for discovery violations
Pro-Spec Painting timely contested OSHA citations but did not provide required documents or written interrogatory answers during prehearing discovery. The company cited bankruptcy and lack of resources, yet it failed to comply after multiple extensions, an order compelling discovery, and explicit…
Secretary of Labor v. Fred Thompson formerly employed by Fortune Revenue Silver Mines, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Fred Thompson (FMSHRC WEST 2018-51 M): Delay-based dismissal denied pending discovery
MSHA proposed $6,400 in individual civil penalties against former Revenue Mine manager Fred Thompson for alleged ventilation violations under 30 C.F.R. §§ 57.8529 and 57.5002. Thompson asked to dismiss the case because the penalties were proposed more than two years after the citation and order…
Matter of Luis Manuel CERVANTES NUNEZ
Attempted voluntary manslaughter was a crime of violence
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 attempted voluntary manslaughter under California law. The Board held that the attempted offense requires a specific…
Secretary of Labor obo Thomas McGary and Ron Bowersox and United Mine Workers of America International Union v. The Marshall County Coal Co., McElroy Coal Co., Murray American Energy, Inc., and Murray Energy Corp.
Secretary of Labor obo Thomas McGary and Ron Bowersox, et al. v. The Marshall County Coal Co., et al. (FMSHRC WEVA 2015-583-D, et al.): CEO reading remedy affirmed on preservation grounds
MSHA brought interference claims against five Murray-affiliated underground coal mines after mandatory meetings told miners to inform management about safety complaints made to MSHA. The Commission had previously affirmed findings that the policy interfered with miners' rights to make anonymous…
Secretary of Labor v. SA Recycling
Corrected office failure supported reopening
SA Recycling failed to contest a proposed penalty after its facility manager did not notify the safety director of the MSHA inspection or forward the assessment. The company said the problem was an unusual one-time office failure, reprimanded the responsible manager, and changed its procedures to…
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Twentymile Mining, LLC
Promptly discovered contest error excused
Peabody Twentymile Mining asked the Commission to reopen penalties that became final after an employee failed to send the intended contests to the correct MSHA office. The employee had previously handled contests properly, and the company discovered the error through MSHA's data system only a few…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Three citations vacated and guarding penalty reduced
Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company settled 16 of 20 citations from its Bailey Mine and tried four involving rock dust, two conveyor-guarding conditions, and an allegedly obstructed escapeway. The Judge vacated the rock-dust citation because the Secretary did not prove that the noncompliant sample was…
Los Alamos National Security, LLC and the U.S. Department of Energy
In re Los Alamos National Security, LLC and the U.S. Department of Energy (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 17-05): Outfall 051 permit termination denied
EPA Region 6 issued an NPDES permit for Los Alamos National Laboratory that covered eleven sanitary and industrial outfalls, including Outfall 051 from the Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility. Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety asked EPA to terminate the permit for Outfall 051 because no…
Secretary of Labor v. Revelation Energy, LLC
Timely answer made default order a nullity
Revelation Energy asked the Commission to reopen a default order entered after the operator appeared not to answer the Secretary's civil-penalty petition. Revelation showed that it had mailed a timely answer and notice of contest but mistakenly wrote docket number KENT 2016-0331 instead of KENT…
Secretary of Labor v. Revelation Energy, LLC
Default reopening denied for repeated office failures
Revelation Energy asked the Commission to reopen a default order after failing to answer the Secretary's civil-penalty petition and later failing to respond on time to an order to show cause. The operator said the docket had been overlooked by its office but did not explain the underlying…
Matter of Willy de Jesus ROSA
School-zone cocaine offense was aggravated-felony trafficking
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal after an Immigration Judge found that a Dominican Republic lawful permanent resident's New Jersey conviction for possessing cocaine with intent to distribute near school property was not an aggravated felony. The Board held that…
Secretary of Labor v. Texas Architectural Aggregate, Inc.
Mistaken default reopened and remanded
Texas Architectural Aggregate asked the Commission to reopen a default after citations from one inspection were placed in two dockets and the operator mistakenly believed its filing in the other docket had also contested this case. The operator said it did not receive the order to show cause and…
Cranesville Aggregate Companies, Inc., d/b/a Scotia Bag
Case remanded after court reversal
An administrative law judge vacated six OSHA citations after concluding that Mine Safety and Health Administration standards applied to the cited conditions and preempted OSHA authority. That ruling became a final Commission order. The Second Circuit reversed, holding that the Commission had not…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Original mixed citation ruling
This is the original release of the Bailey Mine decision that vacated three citations and modified a fourth guarding citation to non-S&S with low negligence and a $150 penalty. The Judge found that MSHA had not reliably established the location of a rock-dust sample, that an unlatched area-guarding…
Secretary of Labor obo Holly A. Coffey v. Txoma Mining, LLC
Compliance clerk temporarily reinstated
Holly Coffey handled MSHA records and compliance work at Txoma Mining's P8 North Mine and threatened to contact MSHA after learning that requested replacement self-rescuers had not been ordered. Weeks later, Txoma radically changed her schedule and duties during a broader cost-cutting…
Secretary of Labor v. Armstrong Coal Company, Inc.
Fifth-hour dust examination order affirmed
Armstrong Coal's Parkway Mine was required by its ventilation plan to perform additional respirable-dust parameter checks during the fifth hour of each production shift. During an impact inspection, MSHA found that the checks had not been completed on either mechanized mining unit and issued a…
General Electric Company
In re General Electric Company (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 16-01): partial reconsideration denied
EPA Region 1 asked the Environmental Appeals Board to reconsider part of its January 26, 2018 decision concerning General Electric Company's RCRA corrective action permit for PCB contamination in the Housatonic River. The earlier decision had remanded permit provisions dealing with additional…
Secretary of Labor v. Milestone Materials DIV/Mathy Construction
Unopposed penalty reopening granted
Milestone Materials asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become a final Commission order after it was not timely contested. The official order does not state why the operator missed the contest deadline or provide further facts supporting the request. The Secretary did not…
Matter of A-B-, Respondent
Attorney General referred the private-crime social-group question
The Attorney General referred the Board’s decision in a removal case for review of whether being a victim of private criminal activity can constitute a cognizable particular social group. That question affects applications for asylum and withholding of removal. The referral stayed the Board’s…
Frame Q, LLC
Late contest dismissed after address change
Frame Q received serious, willful, and repeat citations with $20,680 in proposed penalties after an OSHA inspection of a New Jersey construction site. The company filed its notice of contest long after the deadline and claimed it had moved and did not receive the citation package. The judge found…
Secretary of Labor v. RMS Gravel, Inc.
Expected citation revision supported reopening
RMS Gravel did not contest a citation because it believed an MSHA inspector had said that a revised citation would be issued. No revision arrived, and the operator learned from counsel after a delinquency notice that the original citation and assessment had become final. The Secretary denied that…
Secretary of Labor v. Marfork Coal Company
Incomplete contest packet excused
Marfork Coal timely mailed a notice of contest but an employee inadvertently omitted the final two pages of the proposed assessment. Because of the missing pages, the Secretary did not learn that Marfork intended to contest eight citations, and the penalties became final. Marfork discovered the…
Secretary of Labor v. San Benito Supply
Deadline-day mailing made reopening moot
San Benito Supply received a proposed assessment and mailed its notice of contest by certified mail on the final day of the 30-day period. MSHA received the parcel six days later and initially treated the contest as untimely. In responding to the reopening motion, the Secretary changed position and…
Secretary of Labor v. Lisbon Valley Mining Co., LLC
Contest sent to district office excused
Lisbon Valley Mining tried to contest a proposed assessment by contacting MSHA's Rocky Mountain District instead of filing with the Office of Assessments in Arlington. The operator supported its account with a district-office letter and a series of emails but did not learn that the contest had gone…
Secretary of Labor v. Prairie State Generating Company, LLC
Timely mailed contest prevented finality
Prairie State Generating received a proposed penalty assessment and mailed its notice of contest within the 30-day period. Postal tracking showed that MSHA's Arlington office received the contest two days later, but MSHA later sent a delinquency notice and treated the assessment as final. Prairie…
Secretary of Labor v. The American Coal Company
Tie vote denied flagrant-violation settlement
American Coal and the Secretary proposed settling two section 75.400 accumulation orders from 2007 after years of litigation over S&S, unwarrantable-failure, flagrant-violation, negligence, gravity, and penalty findings. The agreement would leave the first order's $101,475 penalty and flagrant…
Secretary of Labor v. Huelsman-Sweeney Construction, Inc.
Reliable contest system supported reopening
Huelsman-Sweeney Construction decided to contest a proposed assessment on the day it arrived and immediately instructed counsel to prepare the filing. Counsel's affidavit and billing records showed that he discussed and drafted the contest that day under a normally reliable office procedure, but…
Matter of E-F-H-L-, Respondent
Attorney General vacated a moot Board decision
The respondent conceded removability and applied for asylum and withholding of removal. The Immigration Judge denied the application without an evidentiary hearing, finding that it did not make a prima facie case, and the Board remanded for a full hearing. The respondent later withdrew the…
Secretary of Labor v. Ricky J. Palasota, Jr. employed by BVS Construction, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Ricky J. Palasota, Jr. (FMSHRC CENT 2017-341 M): Nonparty could not reopen company assessment
MSHA assessed $65,418 against BVS Construction and mailed the assessment to the company's address with Ricky Palasota Jr.'s name because agency records listed him as an officer. Palasota and his attorney mistakenly believed the assessment imposed personal liability and moved to reopen before the…
Secretary of Labor v. SSS, Inc.
Misaddressed contest excused and assessment reopened
SSS intended to contest part of a proposed penalty assessment but mistakenly enclosed its notice with payment for another citation and mailed both to MSHA's payment center instead of the contest office. The operator learned of the error from a delinquency notice, contacted MSHA immediately, and…
Secretary of Labor v. Texrock Industries, LLC
Family medical emergency excused late contest
Texrock, a very small mine, filed its penalty contest after the deadline because the owner responsible for the assessment was dealing with a severe family medical condition. The record contained inconsistent dates for the contest letter and overnight mailing, but Texrock ultimately acknowledged the…
Secretary of Labor v. Midwest Mechanical Industrial Services
Two-case filing mix-up excused
Midwest Mechanical said it mailed a penalty contest before the deadline, but it had no certified-mail record and MSHA did not receive the filing. Documents attached to the reopening motion instead suggested that Midwest later combined the contest with paperwork for a different pending case. Even…
Wright Touch Landscaping & Heavy Equipment, Inc.
Fall-protection and reporting items affirmed
Wright Touch Landscaping performed tree-trimming work using an aerial lift and from the roof of a Miami residence. A worker was hospitalized after sustaining a head injury at the worksite and later died without leaving the hospital. The judge found that Wright Touch employed the worker because the…
Arctic Glacier U.S.A., Inc.
Partial settlement approved and penalties set
Arctic Glacier operated an ice-manufacturing facility that received seven serious citation items and one repeat item with $67,000 in proposed penalties. The parties reached a partial settlement that vacated five serious items, accepted the repeat item and two other items, and reclassified one…
Missouri Basin Well Service, Inc.
Well-site fire citation vacated
Missouri Basin Well Service was circulating an oil well when flammable vapors from a discharge tank ignited near a diesel mud pump, causing a fire that gave an employee second-degree facial burns. The Commission found that placing the ignition source less than 30 feet from the vapor discharge…
Central Site Development, LLC
EAJA fees awarded after citations vacated
Central Site Development sought attorney fees after it prevailed against two OSHA citation items arising from a fatal incident at a construction site. The underlying decision vacated a general duty clause item alleging a struck-by hazard and a recordkeeping item alleging failure to provide an OSHA…
North Eastern Precast LLC Masonry Services, Inc. dba MSI
Duplicative power-line item vacated
North Eastern Precast and Masonry Services worked near energized power lines carrying up to 13.2 kilovolts while erecting a multistory building. Despite utility cease-and-desist orders and an OSHA warning, work continued until employees built a masonry wall around part of the live line and a crane…
Seward Ship’s Drydock, Inc.
Respirator assessment item vacated
Seward Ship’s Drydock employees welded inside enclosed voids on a deck barge, using rods that could release carbon monoxide and iron oxide fumes. OSHA alleged that the company failed to identify and evaluate respiratory hazards under 29 C.F.R. § 1910.134(d)(1)(iii). The Commission held that this…
Meadows Construction Company, LLC
Citations upheld despite expired inspector credential
OSHA inspected Meadows Construction’s public-school roofing project after receiving a complaint that employees were working without fall protection. The administrative law judge affirmed machine-guarding, ground-fault protection, housekeeping, power-tap, and fall-protection items, assessing $24,400…
Matter of Tomas MENDEZ
Misprision of felony is a crime involving moral turpitude
The Board reviewed the appeal of a Dominican Republic national and conditional permanent resident who was convicted in federal court of misprision of felony under 18 U.S.C. § 4. The Immigration Judge found that conviction to be a crime involving moral turpitude, which made the respondent…
Secretary of Labor v. Original Sixteen to One Mine, Inc.
Simplified-proceeding discovery request limited
In three simplified civil-penalty cases, MSHA's conference and litigation representative asked the mine for policies, training records, inspection requests, weighing records, storage information, and purchasing records tied to five citations. Judge William B. Moran held that the requests went…
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Midwest Mining, LLC
Loose-rib and examination orders affirmed
MSHA found at least seven obvious loose ribs along two connected primary escapeways at Peabody Midwest Mining's Francisco Underground Pit. A mine examiner had traveled the areas about nine hours earlier without recording rib hazards, and the mine's recent examination records identified no similar…
Matter of J-C-H-F-
Border interview reliability assessed under totality of circumstances
The Board reviewed a Mexican applicant’s appeal after an Immigration Judge denied protection under the Convention Against Torture based on an adverse credibility finding. The Immigration Judge relied in part on a 2010 border interview in which the applicant had denied fear of return, while his…
Trinity Marine Products, Inc.
Welding-fume items vacated
Trinity Marine Products builds barges at a Tennessee facility where OSHA sampled welders for airborne contaminants. The samples showed exposures above limits for zinc oxide, total dust, and a zinc oxide and copper mixture. The judge found that the cited maritime standards did not specify a…
Secretary of Labor v. Willits Company, Inc.
Unopposed penalty reopening granted
Willits Company asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become a final Commission order after it was not timely contested. The official order does not explain why the contest deadline was missed or describe supporting facts. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The…
Secretary of Labor v. White County Coal, LLC
Settlement decision reopened for clerical correction
The ALJ asked for permission to amend an October 24, 2017 settlement-approval decision to correct a clerical error. That decision had already become a final Commission order after the 40-day review period. Commission procedural rules permit an ALJ to correct a clerical error in a final decision…
E&N Construction, Inc.
Four scaffold items affirmed and penalties reduced
E&N Construction employees installed brick veneer from a two-tier scaffold at an apartment project. OSHA cited inadequate platform planking, unsafe frame climbing, failure to inspect the scaffold before the shift, missing fall protection above 10 feet, and a missing cross-brace. The judge affirmed…
Secretary of Labor obo Kevin R. Shaffer v. The Marion County Coal Company
Temporary reinstatement affirmed
Kevin Shaffer complained that a haul truck's transmission twice jumped from neutral into reverse and was suspended the next day after a disputed confrontation with his supervisor. Marion County Coal maintained that it discharged him for threatening and abusive conduct, while Shaffer alleged…
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.