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.
Secretary of Labor v. Coeur Rochester, Inc.
Misplaced assessment page excused
Coeur Rochester intended to contest two citations but missed the deadline after its safety coordinator resigned and the safety manager who assumed the coordinator's duties misplaced one page of the proposed assessment. The company paid the citation shown on the remaining page, discovered the…
Secretary of Labor v. Oak Grove Resources, LLC
Unforwarded contest forms excused
Oak Grove's safety manager reviewed a proposed assessment but forgot to send his contest recommendations and notice-of-contest forms to company counsel before the deadline. The company timely paid the citations it did not intend to contest, discovered the filing error quickly, and promptly moved to…
Secretary of Labor obo Larry Groves v. Con-Ag, Inc.
Safety-complaint discharge found discriminatory
Larry Groves reported several mine-safety concerns to MSHA, including highwall material, work inside an energized crusher, and a mixer truck with faulty brakes, and he met with an MSHA investigator five days before Con-Ag discharged him. Con-Ag said it fired Groves because of threatening remarks…
Secretary of Labor v. Bam Heavy Equipment & Repair
Misissued contractor citation reopened
BAM Heavy Equipment & Repair said it did not receive notice of a citation until months after the proposed assessment became final. The citation concerned a BAM employee's new-miner training, but it was initially served only on the mine owner and later corrected because it had been issued to the…
Secretary of Labor v. Holliston Sand Company, Inc.
Task-training citation vacated after settlement dispute
MSHA cited Holliston Sand for failing to provide task-specific training before an apprentice mechanic used flammable aerosol cleaner on a torch striker, causing a spark and a flash fire that burned the miner's face, lips, and nose. The Secretary proposed keeping the penalty unchanged while…
Matter of Ali Mohamed MOHAMED
Texas pretrial intervention agreement qualifies as a conviction
The Board reviewed DHS's appeal from an Immigration Judge's termination of removal proceedings against a Somali lawful permanent resident who entered a Texas pretrial intervention agreement after being indicted for possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. It held that the…
Elite Builders, Inc.
Fall and forklift violations partly affirmed
Elite Builders was a residential roofing contractor inspected at two Nebraska worksites where employees worked on elevated roofs without conventional fall protection. At the second site, employees were lifted on an oversized, unguarded personnel platform attached to a rough-terrain forklift…
Secretary of Labor v. Raw Coal Mining Company, Inc.
Three ventilation orders affirmed; $12,000 assessed
MSHA issued three section 104(d)(2) orders at Raw Coal's Sewell Mine B for failing to complete a weekly return-aircourse examination, leaving required stoppings missing or incomplete between intake and return entries, and making unapproved changes to the mine's ventilation system. Judge Alan G…
Secretary of Labor v. A & G Coal Corporation
Five-docket default imposed for $321,753
A & G Coal failed to join a scheduled conference call concerning five stayed penalty dockets and did not respond to an order to show cause by the stated deadline, although the court received confirmation that the order had been signed for. Judge David P. Simonton lifted the stay, entered default…
Secretary of Labor obo Pedro Iglesias v. Titan Florida, LLC
Discrimination settlement cuts penalty to $3,000
The Secretary alleged that Titan Florida discharged Pedro Iglesias after he made safety complaints about energized cables and lockout procedures and participated in an MSHA hazard investigation that led to five citations. A temporary economic reinstatement order was already in effect when Titan and…
TRInternational, Inc.
In re TRInternational, Inc. (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 17-03Q): $10,000 penalty paid and matter resolved
EPA's Office of Civil Enforcement filed a complaint alleging that TRInternational, Inc. violated the chemical data reporting regulations of TSCA section 8(a). The complaint sought a $10,000 penalty. TRInternational paid the full penalty by wire transfer on August 17, 2017. The payment waived the…
Secretary of Labor v. Kenamerican Resources, Inc.
Challenge to special-assessment procedures denied
MSHA proposed $4,623 for an accumulation citation and special assessments of $12,300 and $55,200 for alleged on-shift and preshift examination violations at Kenamerican's Paradise No. 9 Mine. Kenamerican asked the judge to remand the two special assessments, arguing that MSHA's unpublished General…
Harvey-Cleary Builders
Late notice of contest dismissed
Harvey-Cleary Builders was the general contractor at a Georgia construction site where OSHA issued an other-than-serious hazard communication citation. OSHA sent the citation by certified mail to the Maryland main-office address that the site superintendent had provided, and a company…
Sean Benschop d/b/a S&R Contracting
Willful unsupported-wall violation affirmed
S&R Contracting was demolishing a multi-story Philadelphia building with an excavator while a three-to-four-story masonry wall remained standing without lateral bracing. The wall collapsed onto an adjacent Salvation Army store, causing six deaths and injuring twelve people. The judge found that an…
Matter of J-G-D-F-
Occupied-dwelling burglary is a crime involving moral turpitude
The Board reviewed a Mexican respondent's appeal from a removal order based on two Oregon first-degree burglary convictions. It held that burglary of a regularly or intermittently occupied dwelling is categorically a crime involving moral turpitude, even when no person was present during the…
Bergelectric Corp.
Roof fall-protection violation partly affirmed
Bergelectric employees installed photovoltaic panels on a hangar roof using warning lines and a safety monitor instead of guardrails, safety nets, or personal fall arrest systems. The judge found that installing solar panels was not roofing work under the standard, so Bergelectric could not use the…
Secretary of Labor v. Croell Redi-Mix, Inc.
Unopposed reopening granted without stated grounds
Croell Redi-Mix asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become a final Commission order after the contest deadline passed. The Secretary did not oppose the motion. The Commission's short order does not identify the operator's grounds or make factual findings about the missed…
Secretary of Labor v. Lhoist North America of Virginia, Inc.
Unopposed reopening granted without stated grounds
Lhoist North America of Virginia asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become a final Commission order after the contest deadline passed. The Secretary did not oppose the motion. The Commission's short order does not identify the operator's grounds or make factual findings…
Secretary of Labor v. Ember Energy, LLC
Unopposed reopening granted without stated grounds
Ember Energy asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become a final Commission order after the contest deadline passed. The Secretary did not oppose the motion. The Commission's short order does not identify the operator's grounds or make factual findings about the missed…
Secretary of Labor v. Sherwin Alumina Company, LLC
Unopposed reopening granted without stated grounds
Sherwin Alumina asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become a final Commission order after the contest deadline passed. The Secretary did not oppose the motion. The Commission's short order does not identify the operator's grounds or make factual findings about the missed…
Secretary of Labor v. Canyon Fuel Company, LLC
Ambulance citation affirmed; escapeway ruling stands on tie
Canyon Fuel's alternate escapeway ended at a mountain portal without road access, where miners would need to hike for hours or rely on helicopter rescue that was unavailable at night, in poor weather, or in winds above 10 mph. The Commission unanimously affirmed a violation of 30 C.F.R. §…
Secretary of Labor obo Benjamin Leadmon and Franklin Jeremiah Gibson v. Blue Creek Mining, LLC
Two safety complainants temporarily reinstated
Franklin Jeremiah Gibson objected to continuous-miner work involving airflow and unsupported roof, and Benjamin Leadmon delivered Gibson's written safety concerns and joined meetings with management about those conditions and personal-dust-monitoring instructions. Blue Creek suspended both miners…
Central Site Development, LLC
Struck-by and recordkeeping citations vacated
Central Site Development performed site-development work at a Florida apartment project where its supervisor, while operating a bulldozer in reverse, struck and killed an employee of a subcontractor. OSHA cited Central Site under the general duty clause for a struck-by hazard and separately for not…
Secretary of Labor v. Greenbrier Minerals, LLC
Two contests timely; third reopened after address move
Greenbrier mailed three penalty contests to MSHA's former headquarters shortly after the agency moved, when mail to the old address was often forwarded late or not at all. MSHA eventually received two contests and treated them as timely, making reopening motions for WEVA 2016-103 and WEVA 2016-104…
Secretary of Labor v. Fairfax Materials
Wrongly checked penalty contest reopened
Fairfax Materials received an assessment containing two penalties and intended to contest one while paying the other. It accidentally selected the wrong citation for contest, paid the $100 penalty it meant to challenge, and proceeded with the other citation instead. Fairfax acted promptly after…
Secretary of Labor v. Luck Stone Corporation
Possible lost contest reopened during MSHA move
Luck Stone's employees believed they had mailed a timely contest of a proposed assessment, but the company did not use certified mail and had no proof of the mailing date. The Secretary did not oppose reopening and acknowledged that the contest would have been mailed while MSHA was moving its…
Secretary of Labor v. Brookfield Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Contest timely; reopening motion moot
Brookfield received a proposed penalty assessment on November 16, 2015, and mailed its contest on December 16, 2015. MSHA treated the assessment as final, leading Brookfield to ask the Commission to reopen it. The Commission held that the contest was timely because the 30-day computation excludes…
Secretary of Labor v. Little Buck Coal Company #2
Five mine-safety violations upheld with $8,308 penalty
Little Buck Coal Company #2 operated a small underground anthracite mine where it developed entries beyond and in directions not authorized by its approved roof-control and ventilation plans. MSHA cited the company for the plan departures, failure to examine and ventilate a barricaded dead-air…
Secretary of Labor v. Dynamic Energy, Inc.
Missing records and delinquency history defeat reopening
Dynamic Energy sought to reopen a default after asserting that it had mailed a timely answer to a show-cause order, but neither the Commission nor the Secretary had received it. The company supplied no copy of the claimed answer or certified-mail receipt and attributed its missing records to…
Secretary of Labor v. Black River Coal, LLC
Missing suite number excused in mailed contest
Black River Coal mailed its penalty contest within the 30-day period and used the Secretary's correct street address, but omitted the suite number. Certified-mail and postal-tracking records showed that the contest reached the local post office but was never delivered. The company moved promptly…
Secretary of Labor v. Rogers Group, Inc.
Five-year delay defeats renewed reopening request
Rogers Group's 2009 penalty assessment became final after it failed to contest within 30 days, and the Commission denied its first reopening request without prejudice in January 2010 because the explanation was insufficient. The operator did not renew the request until 2015, attributing the delay…
Secretary of Labor v. Kentucky Fuel Corporation
Timely response defeated default
Kentucky Fuel did not answer the Secretary's penalty petition, and a show-cause order was later deemed a default order when no response appeared under the correct docket number. The operator showed that it had responded before the deadline but mistakenly labeled its letter “WEVA 2013-1050” instead…
Matter of N-A-I-
Adjustment to permanent resident status ends asylee status
The Board reviewed a respondent's appeal after the Fifth Circuit remanded the case for further consideration. The respondent, a native and citizen of Pakistan, had been granted asylum, later adjusted status under section 209(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to that of a lawful permanent…
Secretary of Labor obo Stacey Wayne Puckett v. Panther Creek Mining, LLC
Economic reinstatement replaces temporary reemployment
A July 12, 2017 order had temporarily reinstated fireboss Stacey Wayne Puckett while the Secretary investigated his discrimination complaint against Panther Creek Mining. The parties later agreed to economic reinstatement instead of immediate reemployment, with full pay and benefits effective from…
Secretary of Labor v. Morris Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Unbermed lake roadways draw $2,000 penalty
Morris Sand & Gravel operated dredging lakes at a small sand-and-gravel mine and used mobile equipment on roadways around its south lake. MSHA found no berms or guardrails on three sides of the lake, with equipment tracks as close as two feet from a three-to-four-foot drop into the water. Judge…
Secretary of Labor v. Larry Anderson, formerly employed by AK Coal Resources, Inc.
Discovery appeal and requested stay denied
In a Mine Act section 110(c) individual-liability case, Larry Anderson noticed depositions of a Labor Department attorney and an unnamed MSHA official. After the judge partly denied the Secretary's requests for protective orders, the Secretary sought interlocutory Commission review and a suspension…
Daniel B. Lowe and Matthew A. Varady v. Jerritt Canyon Gold, LLC, et al.
Interference complaint dismissed after bankruptcy asset sale
Daniel Lowe and Matthew Varady alleged that Jerritt Canyon Gold, related entities, and several attorneys interfered with their Mine Act rights by seeking to enforce a bankruptcy court order and warning them to dismiss related Commission cases. Judge Richard W. Manning dismissed the complaint…
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Twentymile Mining, LLC
Split Commission leaves ventilation-stopping citation in place
Peabody Twentymile Mining used non-strength-enhancing polyurethane foam to seal the perimeter of a dry-stacked concrete block ventilation stopping at its Foidel Creek Mine. MSHA cited the company under 30 C.F.R. § 75.333(e)(1)(i), and the judge affirmed the violation and assessed the proposed $162…
Secretary of Labor v. Jermyn Supply Co., LLC
Quarry screening operation falls under MSHA jurisdiction
Jermyn Supply used two portable screening plants at its Mayfield Quarry to separate excavated material into differently sized stockpiles. The company argued that the site was only a borrow pit, that its work was intermittent and minimal, and that OSHA rather than MSHA had jurisdiction. Judge John…
Dollar Tree Stores, Inc., #2828
Late contest dismissed and $152,100 penalty affirmed
OSHA inspected Dollar Tree store #2828 in Billings, Montana, and sent the resulting citation to the company's corporate office by certified mail. The corporate mailroom received it on March 3, 2017, making March 24 the deadline to contest, but the citation was not routed to the correct person…
Secretary of Labor v. Alex Energy, Inc., et al.
$803,156 global settlement approved
The Secretary and multiple Alpha Natural Resources subsidiaries presented a global settlement covering 97 civil penalty proceedings, six related contest proceedings, and 523 citations and orders. The proposed penalties totaled $1,606,312. The parties agreed to reduce that amount to $803,156 while…
Daniel B. Lowe and Matthew A. Varady v. Jerritt Canyon Gold, LLC, et al.
Original interference dismissal later corrected
Daniel Lowe and Matthew Varady alleged that Jerritt Canyon Gold, related entities, and several attorneys interfered with their Mine Act rights by seeking to enforce a bankruptcy court order and warning them to dismiss related Commission cases. Judge Richard W. Manning dismissed the complaint…
William Trahant, Jr. Construction, Inc.
Roofing violations affirmed, including willful fall protection
William Trahant, Jr. Construction performed residential roofing work where employees lacked hard hats, used inadequate fall-arrest anchorages, and had access to a defective ladder. Employees also worked at least 20 feet above the ground without being tied off, and one worker had no harness or…
Secretary of Labor v. Rain-For-Rent
Air-tank and gasoline-can citations affirmed with lower negligence
Rain-For-Rent used a mine-service truck carrying a compressed-air receiver tank and two fuel cans at a sand and gravel operation. Judge Richard W. Manning held that the tank violated 30 C.F.R. § 56.13015 because the company could not show an inspection by a National Board-commissioned inspector…
Florence Copper, Inc.
In re Florence Copper, Inc. (EAB UIC Appeal No. 17-02): petition dismissed with prejudice
The Gila River Indian Community asked the Environmental Appeals Board to dismiss its appeal concerning Florence Copper's UIC permit. The Community reported that it had reached a settlement with Florence Copper and no longer sought relief from the Board. EPA Region 9 did not oppose the motion. The…
Secretary of Labor v. The American Coal Company
Review granted on five of six questions
The American Coal Company asked the Commission to review an administrative law judge's ruling. The Commission granted review on the first five questions presented in the company's petition. It denied review of the sixth question, which challenged the legal standard used to assess the penalty for…
Secretary of Labor v. LRock Industries
One citation vacated and total penalties reduced to $20,585
LRock Industries operated a surface sand and gravel pit where MSHA issued 19 citations involving berms, equipment defects, guarding, electrical safety, labeling, workplace examinations, and fall protection. Judge Margaret A. Miller affirmed most of the violations, including significant and…
Secretary of Labor and Phillip Lovell v. Pennyrile Energy, LLC and GMS Mine Repair
Roof bolter temporarily reinstated after safety complaints
Phillip Lovell worked for contractor GMS Mine Repair as a roof bolter at Pennyrile Energy's Riveredge Mine. He reported an energized cable defect, a broken automated temporary roof support weld, and missing welding precautions, then called MSHA and reported that another miner had threatened him and…
Matter of Perla IZAGUIRRE, Beneficiary of a visa petition filed by Aurelio Izaguirre-Aguilera
Matter of Perla IZAGUIRRE (BIA ID 3897): undercover officer counts as a minor for the Adam Walsh Act
The Board reviewed a United States citizen's appeal from the denial of a family-based visa petition for his spouse. The petitioner had been convicted under Louisiana law of computer-aided solicitation of a minor, based on Internet communications with a person he believed was a 14-year-old girl who…
Lloyd Industries, Inc.
Machine guarding and health violations largely affirmed
Lloyd Industries manufactured fire dampers and HVAC products at a Pennsylvania plant where a former employee's fingers were amputated by a press brake. OSHA's safety and health inspections identified unguarded machine points of operation and power-transmission parts, improperly closed electrical…
Crown Resources Corporation v. Secretary of Labor and ACI Northwest, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor
Haul-road jurisdiction requires a hearing
MSHA issued four citations after a miner died in an accident on a haul road serving Crown Resources' Buckhorn Mine. Crown Resources and contractor ACI Northwest argued that the road was public and not appurtenant to the mine, while the Secretary argued that it was a private mine-access road within…
Davis H. Elliot Company, Inc.
Power-line safety violations affirmed after electric shock
Davis H. Elliot Company employees were installing neutral conductor wire on a West Virginia power distribution line when the wire contacted an energized 7,200-volt primary line. Two employees received an electric shock, resulting in one death and one serious injury. The judge found that Elliot…
Secretary of Labor v. Emerald Coal Resources, LP
Late penalty petition dismissed after bankruptcy prejudice
MSHA issued two flagrant orders at Emerald Mine No. 1 for alleged violations of the hazardous-condition posting and combustible-material accumulation standards, with proposed penalties totaling $234,200. The Secretary filed the penalty petition five months after the Commission's deadline and…
Secretary of Labor v. Original Sixteen to One Mine, Inc.
MSHA management subpoenas denied before citation hearing
Original Sixteen to One Mine asked to subpoena two MSHA Western District managers and an inspector, or alternatively the Metal and Nonmetal Administrator, for a hearing involving eleven citations and two orders. The operator wanted to question them about the training and qualifications of the two…
Chris Welch
Residential roofing fall and ladder violations affirmed
Chris Welch employed a worker who performed residential roofing more than 10 feet above the ground without fall protection. The worker accessed the roof using an extension ladder whose side rails did not extend three feet above the landing and that lacked an alternative secure handhold arrangement…
Secretary of Labor obo Stacey Wayne Puckett v. Panther Creek Mining, LLC
Fireboss temporarily reinstated after MSHA interviews
Panther Creek Mining discharged fireboss Stacey Wayne Puckett about two weeks after he participated in two MSHA interviews concerning possible individual liability at the American Eagle Mine. Panther Creek said it did not know about the interviews and fired Puckett because he repeatedly failed to…
Secretary of Labor v. Southern Aggregates, LLC
Fire extinguisher modified and guard citation vacated
Southern Aggregates operates a surface sand and gravel mine where MSHA cited a fire extinguisher showing a recharge reading and a detached guard at a pea-gravel belt head pulley. Judge Jacqueline Bulluck found that the Secretary did not prove the extinguisher had actually been discharged, but did…
Stephen M. Rhim
Employee abatement-date contest dismissed as moot
OSHA cited the U.S. Postal Service for allowing untrained employees to operate powered hand jacks at an Indianapolis facility and set an abatement date less than a month after citation issuance. Affected employee Stephen M. Rhim contested only the abatement date, arguing that corrective action…
JH Traffic Control Co., LLC
Traffic-control citation vacated and reporting violation affirmed
JH Traffic Control employees were placing traffic barrels on a busy Boise road when one employee crossed an active lane to retrieve barrels and was struck by a car, causing serious injuries. OSHA alleged a general duty clause violation based on crossing live traffic lanes and setting barrels…
Secretary of Labor v. Steve Ingram, employed by Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Individual penalty reopened after predicate order downgraded
Steve Ingram did not timely contest an individual civil penalty assessment under section 110(c), so the assessment became a final Commission order. The assessment was based on a section 104(d)(1) order issued to his employer, but that order was later modified through settlement to a section 104(a)…
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.