Federal agency decisions, searchable in plain English.
Workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) and mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), each with a plain-English summary, the standards it cites, and whether it counts as precedent. More agencies are coming.
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Custom Built Marine Construction, Inc.
Eye-protection citation affirmed for jackhammer work
Custom Built Marine was renovating a Florida boat ramp when OSHA saw an employee use a jackhammer without eye protection while a supervisor stood nearby, also without eye protection. Two pairs of protective eyewear were available at the site. The judge vacated the item after concluding that the…
Extra Energy, Inc.
Extra Energy, Inc. (FMSHRC WEVA 2009-674): Refuse-pile hazards upheld with $34,600 penalties
Extra Energy mined coal refuse from the middle of a steep pile instead of following its approved ground control plan from top to toe or in controlled lifts. Judge Jacqueline R. Bulluck found that the method destabilized the pile and exposed a foreman working below roughly 100 feet of unconsolidated…
Tri County Coal, LLC
Tri County Coal, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2011-308, et al.): Equipment and examination violations yield $39,472
Tri County Coal faced citations involving defective ram-car brakes, unsupported roof, damaged cable splices, an inadequate electrical examination, a roof-bolter dust collector, and inaccurate escapeway maps. Judge Michael E. Zielinski affirmed every litigated violation but modified negligence…
Stommes Construction, Inc.
Stommes Construction, Inc. (FMSHRC LAKE 2011-627-M, et al.): Five reopening motions denied with prejudice
Stommes Construction sought to reopen four final penalty assessments and one default order, asserting that it had not received the underlying documents. Three motions were filed more than one year after the assessments became final and were untimely. Delivery records contradicted the operator's…
Peter L. Dunne v. Vulcan Construction Materials, L.P.
Peter L. Dunne v. Vulcan Construction Materials, L.P. (FMSHRC LAKE 2011-457-DM): Discrimination complaint dismissed
Peter Dunne alleged that Vulcan fired him because he had earlier reported finding a blasting cap and booster on his roof bolter. Judge L. Zane Gill found that the earlier report was protected activity and that Dunne barely established an initial inference of discrimination. The evidence…
Fox Ridge Stone Co., LLC
Fox Ridge Stone Co., LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2010-285-M): Undocketed show-cause response supports reopening
Fox Ridge Stone asked the Commission to reopen a default order involving one specially assessed citation. The operator had timely contested all assessments from the inspection but later failed to answer penalty petitions in two related dockets. It sent a response to the show-cause orders without…
Cloverlick Coal Company, LLC
Cloverlick Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC KENT 2012-116): Reopening case dismissed after payment
Cloverlick Coal asked the Commission to reopen a final penalty assessment. The operator later paid the assessment in full. The Secretary told the Commission that the payment indicated Cloverlick no longer wished to pursue reopening, and the operator did not respond. The Commission treated the…
Ehle, Inc.
Citations vacated because OSHA did not prove employer status
Ehle owned rental properties and hired contractors to construct its apartment buildings. OSHA observed several people installing roof sheathing without fall protection and issued two serious citation items totaling $1,200. The judge found that OSHA did not prove carpenter Chuck Brandau was an…
Loren Cook Company
Machine-guarding items vacated over standard applicability
Loren Cook manufactured fans and blowers using small manual spinning lathes. A 12-pound metal workpiece was ejected from a lathe and fatally struck an employee in the head. OSHA withdrew three personal-protective-equipment items during the hearing and pursued seven willful machine-guarding items…
Pennsy Supply, Inc.
Pennsy Supply, Inc. (FMSHRC YORK 2011-61-M): Late accident report affirmed with reduced negligence
A customer truck driver was found unresponsive and not breathing at Pennsy Supply's scale, and CPR began immediately. Mine management called 911 promptly but did not notify MSHA until nearly two hours later, after learning that the driver had died. Judge George A. Koutras held that the driver had…
Bradley R. Ashby v. Ohio County Coal Company
Bradley R. Ashby v. Ohio County Coal Company (FMSHRC KENT 2011-1225-D): Discrimination complaint dismissed for lack of protected activity
Bradley Ashby alleged that Ohio County Coal ended his employment after he raised concerns about how ram cars were operated at the Freedom Mine. Judge Jeffrey Tureck found that Ashby told supervisors only that he knew a better or more productive method, not that the existing routes were unsafe…
Shelter Creek Capital, LLC
Shelter Creek Capital, LLC (FMSHRC SE 2012-100-M): Counsel's filing error did not justify reopening
Shelter Creek sent a proposed assessment to its lawyer, but office staff placed the contest form in the client file instead of mailing it to MSHA. The operator asked the Commission to reopen the final assessment and moved to strike the Secretary's late opposition. The Commission held that a client…
Cementation USA, Inc.
Cementation USA, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 2012-408-M): Management-change default reopened
Cementation USA initially asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment without explaining the missed deadline. After the Commission requested more information, the contractor attributed the default to management changes and a recent office move and described new procedures to prevent another…
Greg Perkins, employed by Black Fuel Energy, LLC
Greg Perkins, employed by Black Fuel Energy, LLC (FMSHRC KENT 2012-880): Misaddressed individual assessment reopened
Greg Perkins asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that he did not receive before it became delinquent. MSHA had mailed the assessment to an incorrect address, and the mailing was returned as undeliverable. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission reopened the assessment…
Sapphire Coal Company
Sapphire Coal Company (FMSHRC KENT 2012-702): One-day-late contest reopened
Sapphire Coal filed its penalty contest one day late because it mistakenly calculated January as having 30 days. The operator acted promptly after receiving MSHA's delinquency notice and had paid the uncontested penalties. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but urged Sapphire to ensure future…
E & G Masonry Stone #2
E & G Masonry Stone #2 (FMSHRC CENT 2012-469-M): Incomplete contest form reopened
E & G Masonry Stone asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment, stating that it mailed a timely contest and later resubmitted it. MSHA had received one sheet of the contest form before the deadline but did not process it because the submission was incomplete. The Secretary did not oppose…
Ratliff Ready Mix, L.P.
Ratliff Ready Mix, L.P. (FMSHRC CENT 2012-415-M): Unmarked contest form reopened
Ratliff Ready Mix timely submitted a penalty contest form but failed to mark which citations it intended to contest. The operator discovered the mistake after receiving an MSHA delinquency notice. MSHA confirmed that it had received one sheet of the form, and the Secretary did not oppose reopening…
International Masonry, Inc.
Scaffold citations produced a mixed result and $4,000 penalty
Three International Masonry employees fell about 37 feet when a scaffold platform supported by a modified corner bracket collapsed. One employee died and another was seriously injured. The Secretary withdrew four items, and the judge vacated allegations involving a damaged bracket, ladder…
Duke's Sand & Gravel
Duke's Sand & Gravel (FMSHRC YORK 2012-97-M): Misplaced delivered assessment reopened
A former Duke's Sand & Gravel employee who was not authorized to accept packages signed for a proposed assessment. The assessment was later found misplaced under a box on a workbench after the contest deadline had passed. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but urged the operator to improve its…
Northern Filter Media, Inc.
Northern Filter Media, Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2012-67-M): Reopening motion denied as untimely
Northern Filter Media sought to reopen a final penalty assessment after discovering that an employee with memory and confusion problems had treated an earlier letter as a sufficient contest. The Secretary opposed reopening because the company had not monitored the employee's compliance work and…
Noranda Alumina, LLC
Noranda Alumina, LLC (FMSHRC CENT 2012-414-M): One-day filing delay reopened after manager departure
Noranda Alumina filed its penalty contest one day late after its safety manager departed and failed to follow the company's standard procedure. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but urged the operator to ensure future contests are timely. In the interests of justice, the Commission reopened…
Northern Aggregates
Northern Aggregates (FMSHRC LAKE 2012-81-M): Training citation settled with a $100 penalty
MSHA cited Northern Aggregates for a training violation and specially assessed a $1,500 penalty. In settlement, the Secretary stated that the cited worker was a service worker employed by another company rather than a miner and that the citation and inspector's notes did not address that issue. The…
LHC, Inc.
Late contest denied after citation remained in company inbox
OSHA issued LHC four serious citation items carrying $10,780 in proposed penalties. The company's president received and signed for the citation, but it remained in his inbox while he tried to gather information from employees working elsewhere in Montana. LHC notified OSHA of its intent to contest…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Robert Jackson v. Lafarge North America, Inc.
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Robert Jackson v. Lafarge North America, Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2013-74-DM): Economic reinstatement settlement approved
The Secretary sought temporary reinstatement for Robert Jackson after Lafarge North America terminated his plant-operator employment. The parties agreed to economic reinstatement retroactive to November 9, 2012, with Jackson receiving his regular pay, increases, bonuses, and benefits. Judge Richard…
Bridger Coal Company
Bridger Coal Company (FMSHRC WEST 2013-81-R): Expedited hearing denied, prompt hearing directed
Bridger Coal contested a citation issued after MSHA demanded copies of miner statements taken during an accident investigation. Bridger claimed work-product protection and asked for expedited review, while the Secretary argued there was no continuing harm or hardship. Judge William B. Moran found…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Robert Mitchell v. Vulcan Construction Materials, LP
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Robert Mitchell v. Vulcan Construction Materials, LP (FMSHRC LAKE 2013-89-DM): Economic reinstatement settlement approved
The Secretary sought temporary reinstatement for Robert Mitchell after Vulcan Construction Materials terminated his front-end loader employment. The parties agreed that similarly situated miners were on seasonal layoff and that Mitchell would be economically reinstated when his seniority would…
C & E Concrete, Inc.
C & E Concrete, Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2011-138-M): Conveyor guarding citation vacated
MSHA cited C & E Concrete after an inspector saw two unguarded return rollers on an operating conveyor at its crushed-limestone mine. The company relied on the exception for moving parts at least seven feet away from walking or working surfaces. Judge Jeffrey Tureck treated that exception as an…
Wormley Brothers Enterprises, Inc.
Repeat ladder violation affirmed
Wormley Brothers was finishing a flat roof on a Georgia bank project when OSHA observed five employees, including the foreman, use a portable ladder to leave the roof. The roof was about 17 feet high, but the ladder rails extended only 18 inches above the landing instead of the required 3 feet. The…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Todd Fagg v. Baker Hughes, Inc.
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Todd Fagg v. Baker Hughes, Inc. (FMSHRC WE MD 12-25): Economic reinstatement agreement approved
The Secretary sought temporary reinstatement for Todd Fagg after Baker Hughes suspended and terminated his employment at the Argenta Mine and Mill. The parties agreed to economic reinstatement without Baker Hughes admitting that Fagg's discrimination complaint was not frivolously brought. The…
Twin Pines Construction, Inc./Teles Construction
Six items affirmed by default
OSHA issued Twin Pines Construction/Teles Construction two serious items and four other-than-serious items after a Massachusetts inspection. The allegations involved an obstructed or slippery emergency exit, forklift refresher training, injury and illness records, record production, and forklift…
Sunol Aggregates
Sunol Aggregates (FMSHRC WEST 2012-473-M): Settlement motion denied over requested operator change
The Secretary vacated two citations issued to Sunol Aggregates and asked to modify two others so they would instead be issued to Sunol's contractor, DeSilva Gates. Chief Judge Robert J. Lesnick explained that the Secretary has enforcement authority to issue citations, while Commission judges…
Leeco, Inc.
Leeco, Inc. (FMSHRC KENT 2008-773): Settlement restored significant and substantial designation
An administrative law judge had found that Leeco's violation of its approved ventilation plan was not significant and substantial, reduced negligence, and assessed a $10,000 penalty. The Commission directed review on the significant and substantial issue. The parties then agreed to modify the…
Riverton Investment Corporation
Riverton Investment Corporation (FMSHRC VA 2012-234-M): Reopening motions denied as more than one year late
Two proposed penalty assessments became final Commission orders in September and October 2010 after Riverton Investment Corporation did not timely contest them. Riverton did not file its motions to reopen until February 2012. The Commission applied the one-year limit for relief based on mistake…
Cam Mining, LLC
Cam Mining, LLC (FMSHRC KENT 2009-955): Coal-dust citation reduced and examination citation vacated
MSHA cited Cam Mining for float coal dust inside an energized transformer box and for an allegedly inadequate weekly electrical examination that did not identify the accumulations. Judge Jerold Feldman affirmed the accumulation violation but found the Secretary had not proved it was significant and…
Kuhlman Construction
Kuhlman Construction (FMSHRC CENT 2012-411-M): Reopening denied for unreliable assessment handling
Kuhlman Construction had contested underlying citations but later paid two proposed assessments instead of sending them to counsel for contest. Its corporate secretary could not recall receiving the assessments and acknowledged that the company lacked paperwork controls for identifying which…
Standard Gravel Company Inc.
Standard Gravel Company Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2010-1140-M): Off-site repair shop held subject to MSHA jurisdiction
Standard Gravel challenged MSHA jurisdiction over an off-site shop that repaired and fabricated mining equipment, with 98 percent of its work supporting the company's mines. Judge Priscilla M. Rae applied the Mine Act's broad definition of a mine and held that the shop's function made it an…
Left Fork Mining Company, Inc.
Left Fork Mining Company, Inc. (FMSHRC KENT 2011-858): Timely answers prevented default orders from becoming final
Two show-cause orders provided that Left Fork Mining would default if it did not answer the Secretary's penalty petitions. Left Fork produced Postal Service tracking records showing that it had timely answered both petitions, and the Secretary confirmed receiving those answers and did not oppose…
Active Minerals International, LLC
Active Minerals International, LLC (FMSHRC SE 2012-262-M): Paid assessments left closed despite later individual investigation
Active Minerals paid two proposed penalties believing that payment would end litigation over the violations. After MSHA began a possible individual-liability investigation under section 110(c), the operator sought reopening so its payments would not be treated as admissions against the company or…
David Stanley Consultants, LLC
David Stanley Consultants, LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2012-498-R): Four citations vacated and two training citations left for further proceedings
After the Upper Big Branch explosion, MSHA cited David Stanley Consultants, a staffing contractor whose employees worked underground at the mine, for training and examination violations. Judge Margaret A. Miller held that the company was an independent contractor subject to the Mine Act because it…
Big Ridge, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor
Big Ridge, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC LAKE 2012-453-R): Special-assessment review forms protected from discovery
Big Ridge sought MSHA's Special Assessment Review forms for the citations and orders in these cases, or alternatively asked the judge to strike the specially assessed penalties. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy held that the recommendation and review sections of the forms were part of MSHA's pre-decisional…
Pattison Sand Company, LLC
Pattison Sand Company, LLC (FMSHRC CENT 2012-137-RM): Roof-fall withdrawal order left unchanged on remand
After a roof fall, MSHA withdrew miners from unsupported areas south of a mine crosscut under a section 103(k) order. The Eighth Circuit held that the Commission had authority to modify such an order and remanded Pattison Sand's requests to narrow the affected area or allow its experts to enter for…
Byholt, Inc.
Byholt, Inc. (FMSHRC LAKE 2010-903-M): Late penalty contests remain closed after unexplained delays
Byholt asked the Commission to reopen two proposed penalty assessments that became final after it missed the 30-day contest deadlines. The company said it misunderstood when to contest section 104(d) orders and later delayed while searching for counsel. Even after the Commission allowed amended…
Q3 Contracting, Inc.
Traffic-control items withdrawn and judge's decision vacated
Q3 Contracting performed underground utility work on a Denver gas pipeline project. An administrative law judge affirmed two serious items involving missing traffic warning signs and noncompliant barricades, and assessed a $750 penalty. The case was directed for Commission review. The Secretary…
Foundation Coal West, Inc.
Foundation Coal West, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 2009-1153): Unbermed drill bench treated as an elevated roadway
Foundation Coal West contested a citation for failing to provide a berm along the elevated 21 Bench at its Eagle Butte surface coal mine. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy found that vehicles commonly traveled the bench during routine drilling and blasting, making it a roadway covered by 30 C.F.R. §…
Todd Descutner v. Newmont USA
Todd Descutner v. Newmont USA (FMSHRC WEST 2011-523-DM): Safety complaints found to have contributed to a miner's firing
Todd Descutner, a haul-truck driver at Newmont's Leeville underground gold mine, alleged that he was fired after reporting safety concerns, including open ground and incomplete pre-shift inspections. Judge David F. Barbour credited Descutner's account of the latest complaint and found that its…
Solar Sources, Inc.
Solar Sources, Inc. (FMSHRC LAKE 2009-373): Fire-extinguisher citations affirmed for a plant level and wheeled pumps
Solar Sources contested three fire-extinguisher citations issued at three Indiana bituminous surface coal mines. Judge Alan G. Paez held that the preparation plant needed an extinguisher on its third level under 30 C.F.R. § 77.1109(a), even though other firefighting equipment was present. He also…
Lakeside Construction, L.L.C.
Framing safety violations affirmed
Lakeside Construction had three employees framing an Idaho residence without a supervisor present. One employee worked below roof-framing activity without a protective helmet, while other employees worked about 9 feet above the ground without fall protection. The employees also lacked training to…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Nelson Gregory Bradley v. Climax Molybdenum Company
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Nelson Gregory Bradley v. Climax Molybdenum Company (FMSHRC WEST 2013-27-DM): Supervisor temporarily reinstated after safety-retaliation claim
Nelson Gregory Bradley alleged that Climax Molybdenum demoted him from a front-line supervisor job and later fired him after he reported safety concerns and challenged the demotion. He was terminated after refusing a direct-observation drug test ordered during the company's investigation of his…
TMD Contracting
Workload did not excuse late contest
OSHA issued TMD Contracting two serious items after inspecting a commercial construction project in Albion, New York, and proposed $2,850 in penalties. The company filed its first contest letter two weeks after the deadline. TMD said it was managing two large commercial projects, was unfamiliar…
J4 Welding, Inc.
Contest filed nearly a year late was dismissed
J4 Welding performed mobile welding work at a Florida strip-mall remodeling project where OSHA observed the owner cross from an aerial lift to a building without proper fall protection. OSHA issued three serious items and proposed $9,000 in penalties. The company filed its contest almost a year…
The Doe Run Company
The Doe Run Company (FMSHRC CENT 2012-247-M): Defaults reopened after settlement talks were mistaken for answers
Doe Run failed to answer two civil-penalty petitions, allowing show-cause orders to become default orders. Its safety director said she mistakenly believed informal settlement discussions with MSHA were a substitute for filing answers and did not understand the show-cause orders. The Secretary did…
Tricon Industries, Inc.
Steel-erection fall item vacated for lack of exposure
Tricon employees performed steel-deck layout and welding work on a 100-by-65-foot roof deck more than 15 feet above the ground. They were not tied off while working near the center, but the evidence showed that their assigned work kept them about 12 feet from an unguarded edge, with one employee…
Sandy Woodmansee d/b/a S.A.W.S.
Roofing eye and fall protection items affirmed
S.A.W.S. was repairing a Massachusetts residential roof when OSHA found its sole employee using a pneumatic nail gun without eye protection and working on the roof without fall protection. The roof ranged from 6 feet 10 inches to 13 feet above the ground. The nail-gun manual warned of severe eye…
Gabriel Lopez Alvarez, dba Three Amigos
Default vacated for reconsideration of returned mail
A chief administrative law judge dismissed Three Amigos' notice of contest after the employer did not answer the complaint or respond to a show-cause order. The default affirmed two citations carrying $21,120 in proposed penalties. The record showed that the show-cause order and an earlier order…
Eagle Wings Construction, LLC
Eagle Wings Construction, LLC (FMSHRC CENT 2010-1003-M): Unguarded tail pulleys upheld with $4,000 in statutory minimum penalties
MSHA cited two separate unguarded conveyor tail pulleys at Eagle Wings Construction's newly relocated sand and gravel plant. Judge Michael E. Zielinski found two distinct violations of 30 C.F.R. § 56.14107(a), not one duplicative violation, because the pulleys belonged to separate conveyors. He…
Dominion Coal Corporation
Dominion Coal Corporation (FMSHRC VA 2012-227): Unsupported settlement rejected and case set for hearing
The Secretary asked to modify a citation's expected-injury finding and reduce its penalty from $1,111 to $777.70. Judge Priscilla M. Rae found that the motion supplied no facts supporting either change, despite Commission Rule 31 and prior instructions requiring a factual basis for each settlement…
Dickenson-Russell Coal Company, LLC
Dickenson-Russell Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC VA 2012-397): Unsupported settlement rejected before later contest withdrawal
The Secretary proposed deleting the significant and substantial designation from a citation and reducing its penalty from $971 to $500. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy found that the settlement motion supplied no facts supporting either change, as required by Commission Rule 31. He rejected the motion and…
Rosebud Mining Company
Rosebud Mining Company (FMSHRC PENN 2011-283): Three violations upheld, welder order reduced, and refuse order vacated
Rosebud Mining contested five enforcement actions at its Dutch Run coal preparation plant with proposed penalties totaling $21,618. Judge Kenneth R. Andrews affirmed three significant and substantial, unwarrantable-failure violations involving inadequate examinations, combustible accumulations, and…
Bonham Concrete, Inc.
Bonham Concrete, Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2011-49-M): Accountant subpoena granted for ability-to-pay records
Bonham Concrete asserted that it could not pay a proposed $23,857 civil penalty. The Secretary asked to subpoena the company's accountant for tax returns, financial statements, asset and debt records, financing documents, corporate minutes, and sale records. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy held that…
Boart Longyear Company
Boart Longyear Company (FMSHRC WEST 2011-1252-M): Brake-light order reduced while drill-platform violations upheld
Boart Longyear faced three enforcement actions involving a contractor's drilling operation at a Nevada gold mine. Judge Margaret A. Miller upheld a brake-light violation on a flatbed truck but removed the unwarrantable-failure designation and changed it to a section 104(a) citation because repeated…
What these documents are
- Commission decisions: Rulings by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission itself, the highest level of agency review. These are citable as Commission precedent, though a decision may have been appealed to a U.S. Court of Appeals after issuance.
- ALJ decisions: Rulings by OSHRC Administrative Law Judges after a hearing. When no Commissioner directs review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j): it binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent in other cases.
- 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 OSHRC public release, and the full text on the page is that release. The plain-English summaries are written by Ezel.