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 and Jonathan Holskey v. Pennyrile Energy, LLC
Miner temporarily reinstated after safety complaints
Jonathan Holskey complained about dust-control measurements, belt examinations, faulty ram-car brakes, accident reporting, and being assigned air readings without training. He reported that a ram car rolled and injured his foot, ankle, back, and neck, and Pennyrile Energy terminated him 17 to 32…
Wymac Ent., Inc., dba Work Shop Denver
Secretary’s withdrawal closes case
OSHA cited Wymac Enterprises for an alleged construction-safety violation and proposed a $1,630 penalty. The Secretary withdrew the citation one day before the initial pretrial conference. Wymac then filed motions seeking sanctions, compliance with prior orders, and a stay of the withdrawal. The…
Richard Carrier Trucking, Inc.
Pressurized diesel citation vacated
Richard Carrier Trucking drivers used pressurized canisters to spray diesel fuel inside timber trailers so wood chips would not freeze to the surfaces. OSHA alleged that the canisters were repurposed fire extinguishers and that the practice exposed employees to fire and burn hazards. The compliance…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company LLC
Related Harvey Mine cases consolidated
PENN 2017-222 contained an inadequate-preshift-examination citation and a coal-accumulation order issued at Consol Pennsylvania Coal's Harvey Mine. The Secretary asked to consolidate it with PENN 2017-223 because several citations in that docket were referenced in or directly related to the May 15…
Town of Marion, Wastewater Treatment Plant
In re Town of Marion, Wastewater Treatment Plant (EAB NPDES Appeal Nos. 17-01 and 17-02): petitions dismissed after agreement
The Town of Marion and Buzzards Bay Coalition filed petitions for review concerning the Town of Marion wastewater treatment plant and Permit No. MA0100030. Both petitioners moved to dismiss their appeals after the parties reached an agreement to resolve the dispute. The Town of Marion and EPA…
Town of Marion Wastewater Treatment Plant
In re Town of Marion Wastewater Treatment Plant (EAB NPDES Appeal Nos. 17-01 and 17-02): petitions dismissed after agreement
The Buzzards Bay Coalition and the Town of Marion each filed a petition for review concerning the NPDES permit for the Town of Marion Wastewater Treatment Plant. Both petitioners moved to dismiss their petitions after the parties reached an agreement to resolve the dispute. The Town of Marion and…
Francis J. Palo, Inc.
Bridge load-bearing item affirmed
Francis J. Palo served as general contractor for the phased demolition and reconstruction of a concrete arch bridge. The company placed a tracked excavator weighing more than 90,000 pounds on the section being demolished while cuts through the supporting abutments were underway. That side of the…
Truston Technologies, Inc.
Access item affirmed and sling item vacated
Truston Technologies supervised Navy mooring-maintenance work in Pearl Harbor where an 11,500-pound buoy detached during a crane lift, killing two subcontractor employees and seriously injuring two others. The judge vacated a sling shock-loading item because the backup sling did not establish the…
Secretary of Labor obo Stacey Wayne Puckett v. Panther Creek Mining, LLC
Temporary reinstatement dissolved after MSHA declined the claim
Panther Creek Mining had been providing Stacey Wayne Puckett temporary economic reinstatement while MSHA investigated his discrimination complaint. MSHA later told Puckett that its investigation had not found sufficient evidence of a Mine Act violation and that the Secretary would not bring a…
Matter of David Paul KEELEY
Generic rape includes specified forms of penetration
The Board reviewed a United Kingdom national’s appeal from a removal order based on an Ohio rape conviction. The Board held that the aggravated-felony term “rape” in the immigration statute includes vaginal, anal, or oral intercourse and digital or mechanical penetration, no matter how slight, and…
Heather Mulford v. Robinson Nevada Mining Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed for lack of causation
Heather Mulford alleged that Robinson Nevada Mining discharged her after she reported possible on-duty alcohol use by the mine's safety manager and a possible effort to conceal an employee's positive drug test. Judge William B. Moran treated those reports as protected safety activity but found that…
Secretary of Labor v. Nally & Hamilton Enterprises, Inc.
Split Commission leaves non-S&S findings in place
MSHA challenged an administrative law judge's decision to remove significant-and-substantial designations from a citation under 30 C.F.R. § 77.1001 and an order under 30 C.F.R. § 77.1713(a). The Commission divided evenly on whether substantial evidence supported the judge. Acting Chairman William…
Urban Erectors, LLC
Late notice of contest dismissed
OSHA mailed Urban Erectors a two-item serious citation with $9,240 in proposed penalties. The company’s secretary signed for the citation, but the company said she did not open the envelope and misplaced or discarded it. Urban Erectors filed its notice of contest about four months after the…
The Chemical Company
In re The Chemical Company (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 17-02C): consent agreement ratified
The Chemical Company entered into a Consent Agreement with EPA to resolve a TSCA enforcement matter. The Environmental Appeals Board incorporated the agreement into its Final Order and ratified it under 40 C.F.R. § 22.18(b)-(c). The Board ordered the company to comply with every term of the…
Matter of David TAVDIDISHVILI
Criminal negligence does not make homicide a crime involving moral turpitude
The Board reviewed an Israeli lawful permanent resident's appeal from a removal order based on convictions for criminally negligent homicide and promoting prostitution under New York law. It held that criminally negligent homicide is not categorically a crime involving moral turpitude because the…
Midwest Steel, Inc.
Scaffold items affirmed after fatal fall
A Midwest Steel ironworker fell 33 feet from a temporary platform while welding steel columns at a hospital construction project and died. The judge vacated allegations concerning the worker’s synthetic lanyard because OSHA did not prove the cited heat-related hazard under the general duty clause…
Matter of Giovanni Rosalia VELLA
Prior lawful permanent residence bars a section 212(h) waiver
The Board reviewed an Italian lawful permanent resident's appeal from a removal order based on convictions for conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business and conspiracy to commit extortion. It held that the phrase "previously been admitted" in the section 212(h) waiver bar includes any…
LM Sanderson Construction, Inc.
Three residential fall violations affirmed
LM Sanderson Construction employees framed townhomes while working about 20 feet above lower levels. Employees stood on stacked roof sheathing supported by an elevated telehandler fork, a foreman worked from the top plate of an exterior wall, and other employees installed sheathing on a steep roof…
Evergreen Environmental Services
Late contest reinstated after office damage
Evergreen Environmental Services received a two-item citation shortly before water damage disrupted its headquarters and forced its safety analyst out of her office. The citation was moved with wet paperwork and found after repairs, leading Evergreen to file its notice of contest six working days…
Action Electric Company
Lockout citation reinstated and remanded
An administrative law judge vacated a lockout/tagout citation item against Action Electric Company. That ruling became the Commission’s final order after review was discontinued. The Eleventh Circuit later vacated the final order and directed that the citation item be reinstated. After receiving…
Secretary of Labor v. A & G Coal Corporation
Default dispute remanded for further findings
An administrative law judge entered default after A & G Coal missed a scheduling call and did not answer a show-cause order, affecting five civil-penalty dockets and approximately $321,000 in proposed penalties. A & G timely sought review and submitted an affidavit saying its representative never…
Matter of Blanca Eloisa PANGAN-SIS
VAWA self-petitioner status required for inadmissibility exception
The Board reviewed DHS's appeal from an Immigration Judge's termination of removal proceedings against a Guatemalan respondent who said she had suffered domestic abuse from her Guatemalan spouse. The Board held that an alien seeking the exception to inadmissibility in section 212(a)(6)(A)(ii) must…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company
Bleeder-water findings partly affirmed and partly remanded
MSHA cited Consol Pennsylvania Coal after deep, debris-filled water made portions of the Enlow Fork Mine's bleeder system unsafe to travel and the hazardous accumulation was not entered in the weekly examination record. The Commission unanimously affirmed that the ventilation-plan violation under…
Secretary of Labor v. Argus Energy WV, LLC
Full penalty imposed after contest withdrawn
MSHA cited Argus Energy after a haul truck was operated with a broken spot mirror and no completed pre-operational inspection record, alleging a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 77.1606(a). The parties first proposed reducing the $666 penalty to $532 and modifying the S&S and gravity findings, but Judge…
Secretary of Labor v. Consolidation Coal Company now The Ohio County Coal Co.
Revised $39,875 settlement approved
The Secretary and Ohio County Coal sought approval of a settlement covering five citations at the Shoemaker Mine, principally involving deteriorated ribs under 30 C.F.R. § 75.202(a). Judge William B. Moran had denied the first motion because it did not provide enough facts to justify the proposed…
Secretary of Labor v. Upland Rock
Misaddressed contest documents reopened
Upland Rock attempted to contest a penalty shortly after receiving the assessment, but postal records showed that its first certified mailing never left a California processing facility. The operator later sent a letter showing its intent to contest to a local MSHA office in Vacaville rather than…
Secretary of Labor v. Croell Redi-Mix, Inc.
Nine-day-late contest reopened
Croell Redi-Mix received two proposed penalty assessments on different dates after one mine inspection. It mistakenly believed both assessments shared the later deadline and waited to return the first contest until after receiving the second assessment. MSHA received the first contest nine days…
Secretary of Labor v. Jose Rodriguez
Language-barrier default reopened
Jose Rodriguez did not timely contest a proposed penalty because he could not read the English-language assessment and was unable to reach MSHA for assistance despite repeated calls. He submitted a translated affidavit, moved to reopen only 17 days after the assessment became final, and stated that…
Secretary of Labor v. Kenamerican Resources, Inc.
Lifeline and conveyor-guard violations affirmed
MSHA cited KenAmerican Resources for two escapeway lifelines hung alongside similarly sized communications and tracking cables and for hog-wire guarding above a moving conveyor tail roller. Judge Alan G. Paez found that the lifeline arrangements could confuse miners and delay escape during an…
Secretary of Labor v. Horizon AG Products
Timely contest sent to wrong office reopened
Horizon AG Products mailed a penalty contest within the 30-day period, but sent it to MSHA's Dallas field office instead of the Arlington office listed for penalty contests. Tracking records and an MSHA email confirmed that the Dallas office received the package. Horizon's safety director said he…
Secretary of Labor v. CSA Materials, Inc.
Misrouted penalty contest reopened
CSA Materials intended to contest a proposed penalty but mailed the contest form to MSHA's St. Louis payment office with payment for a different citation instead of sending it to the Arlington contest office. After receiving a delinquency notice, the operator moved to reopen within 30 days and…
Secretary of Labor v. Coal Field Construction Company, LLC
Fall-protection settlement approved at $5,009
MSHA cited Coal Field Construction after a miner lost his balance on a six-inch pipe about eight feet above a preparation-plant floor and fell while not wearing fall protection. The citation alleged a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 77.1710(g) and carried a specially assessed $15,700 penalty. The operator…
Koch Supply & Trading, LP
In re Koch Supply & Trading, LP (EAB CAA Appeal No. 17-04C): consent agreement ratified
Koch Supply & Trading, LP entered into a Consent Agreement with EPA to resolve a Clean Air Act enforcement matter. The Environmental Appeals Board incorporated the agreement into its Final Order and ratified it under 40 C.F.R. § 22.18(b)-(c). The Board ordered Koch Supply & Trading to comply with…
Secretary of Labor v. ICG Beckley, LLC
Full brake citation penalty imposed after withdrawal
MSHA cited ICG Beckley after a roof bolter's parking brake failed to hold the machine on a grade and allowed it to creep downhill, alleging a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.1725(a). The parties proposed reducing the $1,607 penalty to $1,292 without modifying the citation, based on arguments that the…
Coastal Energy Corporation
In re Coastal Energy Corporation (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 17-04): petition dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
Jill Bailey sought review of Missouri Permit No. MO-G491369, a state general operating permit issued by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to Coastal Energy Corporation. The Board explained that its permit-review authority covers EPA-issued permits, not state-issued permits. It also noted…
The Lane Construction Corporation
Work-zone traffic citation vacated
A dump truck backing through a nighttime highway milling operation struck and killed a Lane Construction superintendent. OSHA alleged that Lane failed to implement an effective internal traffic control plan separating pedestrians from moving vehicles. The judge found that OSHA did not prove its…
Florence Copper, Inc.
In re Florence Copper, Inc. (EAB UIC Appeal Nos. 17-01 and 17-03): UIC permit challenges denied
EPA Region 9 issued Florence Copper, Inc. a Class III Underground Injection Control permit for a copper production test facility in Pinal County, Arizona. The facility would drill wells and inject acid into copper ore to recover copper, with conditions covering construction, operation, monitoring…
Florence Copper, Inc.
In re Florence Copper, Inc. (EAB UIC Appeal Nos. 17-01 and 17-03): Permit review denied
EPA Region 9 issued Florence Copper, Inc. a Class III Underground Injection Control permit for an in-situ copper recovery facility in Pinal County, Arizona. John L. Anderson and the Town of Florence, together with SWVP-GTIS MR, LLC, challenged the permit and raised concerns about drinking-water…
Secretary of Labor v. Spartan Mining Company, LLC
Settlement rejected because proposed penalty fell below statutory minimum
MSHA and Spartan Mining proposed settling two enforcement actions for $10,663, including the full $7,663 penalty for one order and a reduced $3,000 penalty for an accident-reporting citation. The citation alleged that Spartan waited at least 23 minutes after a 911 call to notify MSHA of an…
HBD / Thermoid, Inc.
Repeat catapuller guarding violation affirmed
HBD / Thermoid manufactured hose using catapuller machines with moving belts that created ingoing nip points. An employee’s arm was caught and crushed in one machine after employees had regularly lifted its small hinged Plexiglas side guard during operation to see and adjust the hose. The judge…
Matter of Saif Ur REHMAN, Beneficiary of a visa petition filed by Younas Mohammad Chaudry
Matter of Saif Ur REHMAN (BIA ID 3903): delayed birth certificates require a whole-record reliability assessment
The Board reviewed a petitioner's appeal from the denial of a visa petition seeking to classify a Pakistani beneficiary as the petitioner's brother. The Board held that a birth certificate registered after the birth is not automatically invalid or subject to a bright-line exclusion. Instead, the…
Van Hool NV
In re Van Hool NV (EAB CAA Appeal No. 17-03C): consent agreement ratified
Van Hool NV resolved a Clean Air Act enforcement matter through a Consent Agreement with EPA. The Environmental Appeals Board incorporated the agreement into its Final Order and ratified it under 40 C.F.R. § 22.18(b)-(c). The Board ordered Van Hool NV to comply with every term of the Consent…
JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A.
In re JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. (EAB MM Appeal No. 17-01C): consent agreement ratified
JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. resolved related Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, EPCRA, and RCRA enforcement matters through a Consent Agreement with EPA. The Environmental Appeals Board incorporated the agreement into its Final Order and ratified it under 40 C.F.R. § 22.18(b)-(c). The Board ordered the…
Dentsply US Prosthetics, LLC
Automatic press guarding violation affirmed
Dentsply US Prosthetics manufactured dental products using an automatic press with a Lexan shield that left an opening near the machine's moving parts. A trainee who had worked at Dentsply for about two weeks was operating the press without direct supervision when the machine crushed his hand…
Secretary of Labor v. U.S. Silica Company, LLC - Berkeley Plant
Unreceived assessment reopened
U.S. Silica did not timely contest a proposed penalty assessment because its Berkeley Plant said it never received the assessment, and the company's accounting department inadvertently paid the penalty. The operator had separately contested the citation, communicated with MSHA about settlement, and…
Secretary of Labor v. Chase Crushing, LLC
Mistakenly omitted contest reopened
Chase Crushing timely contested two penalty assessments arising from the same inspection but mistakenly omitted a third assessment issued on the same day. Its general manager believed that the third assessment had also been contested, and the company requested reopening immediately after receiving…
Secretary of Labor v. Pete Lien & Sons, Inc.
Misaddressed contest reopened
Pete Lien intended to contest two citations but mailed its contest notice, together with payment for six other citations, to MSHA's payment-processing office in St. Louis. The company discovered the mistake after receiving a delinquency notice and revised its contest procedures so future notices…
Secretary of Labor v. Revelation Energy, LLC
Reopening denied for repeated neglect
Revelation Energy did not answer the Secretary's penalty petition, respond to an order to show cause, or promptly act on a delinquency notice, allowing a default order to become final. The company attributed the missed filings to personnel changes, a large volume of dockets, and a misplaced file…
Secretary of Labor v. Consolidation Coal Company
Tie leaves non-S&S finding in place
Consolidation Coal took a 22-to-23.5-foot coal cut where its roof control plan limited cuts to 20 feet because adverse roof conditions were present, resulting in a citation under 30 C.F.R. § 75.220(a)(1) and a proposed $3,405 penalty. The judge found a violation but vacated its…
Secretary of Labor v. Hanson Aggregates BMC, Inc.
Shutdown-related default reopened
Hanson Aggregates did not timely contest a proposed penalty assessment while the cited mine was shut down for business reasons and its workers were laid off. The company said the shutdown prevented management from investigating the citations, interviewing the workforce, and deciding which citations…
Secretary of Labor v. The American Coal Company
$80,000 assessed after Commission remand
On remand, Judge Richard W. Manning set penalties for an accumulation order under 30 C.F.R. § 75.400 and an on-shift examination order under 30 C.F.R. § 75.363(b). The Commission had reversed an earlier judge and found that both violations involved unwarrantable failure, high negligence, and a…
Matter of D-R-
Material omission and assistance in extrajudicial killing standards clarified
The Board reconsidered a Bosnian-Herzegovinian respondent's removal case after a remand from the Ninth Circuit. It held that a misrepresentation is material when it tends to shut off a line of inquiry relevant to admissibility and that inquiry would predictably have disclosed other disqualifying…
Wilhelmsen Ships Services
In re Wilhelmsen Ships Services (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 17-01C): consent agreement ratified
Wilhelmsen Ships Services resolved a Toxic Substances Control Act enforcement matter through a Consent Agreement with EPA. The Environmental Appeals Board incorporated the agreement into its Final Order and ratified it under 40 C.F.R. § 22.18(b)-(c). The Board ordered the respondent to comply with…
Secretary of Labor v. Keith Miller employed by Oak Grove Resources and Chase Guin, formerly employed by Oak Grove Resources and William Edwards, employed by Oak Grove Resources
Secretary of Labor v. Keith Miller, Chase Guin, and William Edwards (FMSHRC SE 2017-92): Discovery allowed into four-year penalty delay
MSHA sought personal civil penalties against three Oak Grove Resources shift foremen almost four years after issuing accumulation and preshift-examination enforcement actions under 30 C.F.R. §§ 75.400 and 75.360(a)(1). The respondents sought testimony and tracking records from MSHA's investigation…
Secretary of Labor v. Rex Coal Company, Inc.
$228 rib-control settlement approved
MSHA cited Rex Coal for loose ribs under 30 C.F.R. § 75.202(a) and originally proposed a $285 penalty. The parties explained that the foreman had completed the required preshift examination without observing warning signs, the inspector could not determine how long the isolated condition existed…
Secretary of Labor v. Newtown Energy, Inc.
$7,578 electrical lockout citation affirmed on remand
A Newtown Energy mine superintendent repaired a shuttle-car power cable with an exposed conductor while the cable connector's lock still held its key, violating the lockout and tagout requirement in 30 C.F.R. § 75.511. The Commission had already held that the violation was S&S, involved high…
Coastal Energy Corporation
In re Coastal Energy Corporation (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 17-04): petition dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
Jill Bailey sought review of Missouri Permit No. MO-G491369, a state general operating permit issued by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to Coastal Energy Corporation. The Board explained that its permit-review authority covers EPA-issued permits, not state-issued permits. It also noted…
Secretary of Labor v. Arnold Stone, Inc.
Unwarrantable failure restored; $10,000 penalty stands
Arnold Stone used a skid loader for about 18 months with a known malfunction in its seatbelt lockout system, allowing the machine to move while the belt was unbuckled and creating a risk that the operator or a nearby miner could be seriously injured. The judge affirmed an S&S violation of 30 C.F.R…
Secretary of Labor obo Rickey Simmons v. B & N Coal, Inc.
Truck-safety complainant temporarily reinstated
Rickey Simmons alleged that B & N Coal discharged him after he refused to operate a rock truck whose CB radio and rearview camera were not working and which he believed was unsafe. The company asserted that the truck was safe and that Simmons was fired for threatening his foreman, but it waived a…
Matter of Juan DELGADO
California robbery is categorically aggravated-felony theft
The Board reviewed a Mexican lawful permanent resident's appeal from a removal order based on five California robbery convictions. It held that California robbery under Penal Code section 211 is categorically an aggravated-felony theft offense because its asportation element narrows the offense to…
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.