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. Original Fuels, Inc.
Timely show-cause response nullifies default
Original Fuels timely contested a proposed penalty but did not answer the Secretary's later penalty petition. The Chief Administrative Law Judge issued an order requiring a response by August 10, 2015, and the operator filed a letter on August 4 explaining why it contested the penalties and stating…
Secretary of Labor v. Buzzi Unicem USA
Old MSHA address excuses penalty-contest default
Buzzi Unicem failed to contest a proposed penalty within 30 days, causing the assessment to become a final Commission order. Its safety manager first mailed the contest to an obsolete address printed on MSHA's assessment form and resent it after the envelope was returned. Although the Secretary…
Secretary of Labor v. Sims Crane, Inc.
Imminent-danger order reopened after agency reinforced mistake
Sims Crane missed the 30-day deadline to contest an imminent-danger order for a worker allegedly exposed to a fall hazard, believing that its later contest of the related citation and penalty also covered the order. The operator repeatedly included the order in its filings, and the Secretary's…
Secretary of Labor v. John Richards Construction
Default entered after operator ignored remand scheduling
The Commission had vacated an earlier summary ruling on one citation against John Richards Construction and remanded for discovery and a full hearing. Judge Jacqueline Bulluck's office then made five email attempts and nine telephone calls seeking the operator's availability for a prehearing…
Camarata Masonry Systems, LTD
Crate-handling training citation vacated
Camarata Masonry Systems installed stone at a Houston construction project where an experienced forklift operator unloaded a damaged crate containing nearly 3,000 pounds of marble slabs. The operator removed a stabilizing strap while the load remained unstable, and the crate fell and injured him…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Delayed fatal-potential injury report upheld
A contractor miner at Consol's Bailey Mine was crushed between a battery scoop and a rail car, could not move or feel one leg, and developed abdominal swelling that raised concern about internal bleeding. Consol called for emergency transportation but did not notify MSHA until about two hours after…
Archer Daniels Midland Company
In re Archer Daniels Midland Company (EAB UIC Appeal No. 17-05): Carbon-sequestration permit modification upheld
EPA Region 5 modified Archer Daniels Midland Company's Class VI Underground Injection Control permit for an injection well used to geologically sequester carbon dioxide. The modification incorporated project-specific information from well construction and pre-operational testing. Jeffrey Sprague…
Secretary of Labor v. Argus Energy WV, LLC
Fact-free settlement motion denied
MSHA cited Argus Energy after a haul truck was operated with a broken spot mirror and no completed pre-operational inspection record. The citation alleged a significant-and-substantial violation of 30 C.F.R. § 77.1606(a) and carried a proposed penalty of $666. The parties proposed removing the S&S…
SJ Pyo Corp
Nine-item citation affirmed by default
SJ Pyo Corp. stopped participating in its citation contest despite repeated court communications, conference calls, scheduling requirements, and two show-cause orders. Because the owner had limited English proficiency, the court provided Korean interpretation for calls and issued court documents in…
Secretary of Labor v. Consolidation Coal Co., now The Ohio County Coal Co.
Sparse rib-control settlement support rejected
The Secretary and Ohio County Coal proposed settling five citations at the Shoemaker Mine for $39,875 instead of $72,500. Four citations alleged inadequately controlled ribs, while a fifth alleged that the roof-control plan was no longer suitable for changing mine conditions. The agreement proposed…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Late penalty petition accepted after clerical error
MSHA issued Consol a section 104(d)(1) citation concerning a miner-tracking system at the Harvey Mine, and Consol timely contested it. The Secretary filed the penalty petition almost eight months after the procedural deadline because a short-term district employee apparently failed to enter the…
Empire Roofing Company of Georgia, Inc.
Roof and aerial-lift fall violations affirmed
An Empire Roofing crew repaired a hotel roof about 40 feet above the ground using an aerial lift for access. Near the end of the day, the four workers removed their harnesses and continued working on the sloped metal roof for about 10 to 15 minutes, then descended in the lift without being tied…
Delta Energy Center
In re Delta Energy Center (EAB PSD Appeal No. 17-01): Petition dismissed for lack of EAB jurisdiction
Delta Energy Center operates a combined-cycle gas-fired power plant with a prevention-of-significant-deterioration permit originally issued under EPA-delegated authority. Rob Simpson and Helping Hand Tools argued that a March 2017 state license amendment effectively modified Delta's PSD permit…
Secretary of Labor v. Larry Anderson, formerly employed by AK Coal Resources, Inc.
Privileged discovery narrowed to facts and timing
Larry Anderson faced individual civil penalties under Mine Act section 110(c) and sought depositions about MSHA's investigation and review timeline. The Secretary asked to prevent an unnamed MSHA official's deposition and to limit the deposition of supervising investigator Cajetan Stepanic. Judge…
Jason Farmer v. Spartan Mining Co., LLC and Alpha Natural Resources Holdings, Inc.
Late discrimination case survives MSHA notice error
Jason Farmer alleged that Spartan Mining reduced his hours and kept him in dusty work after he reported breathing problems, sought less-dusty work, and applied for Part 90 protection after developing black lung disease. MSHA declined to prosecute and mailed its determination to Farmer, but it did…
Matter of Bepean Joseph DEANG
“reason to believe” is insufficient for aggravated-felony receipt of stolen property
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal from an Immigration Judge's decision terminating removal proceedings. The respondent, a Sudanese lawful permanent resident, had been convicted in South Dakota of receiving a stolen motor vehicle under a statute that required either…
Wayne J. Griffin Electric, Inc.
Electrical contact violations affirmed
Wayne J. Griffin Electric installed replacement substations during a large electrical upgrade at a New Hampshire office complex. An electrician was seriously injured when his face contacted an energized bus bar while he worked inside a switchgear compartment believed to be de-energized. The judge…
Secretary of Labor v. Bundy Auger Mining, Inc.
Amended highwall settlement approved for $4,410
Bundy Auger Mining faced two section 104(d)(1) enforcement actions involving an unsafe highwall condition and inadequate working-area examinations. Judge William B. Moran had rejected an initial settlement that reduced both specially assessed penalties by 30 percent because its supporting…
Secretary of Labor v. Thompson Electric, Inc.
Onsite electrician covered, Part 46 citations vacated
Thompson Electric worked six days at a sand-and-gravel mine disconnecting and reconnecting power to a dredge, and one employee was observed about 13 feet above ground without fall protection. Judge Jerold Feldman held that the contractor was subject to Mine Act jurisdiction because it performed…
Solares Electrical Services, Inc.
Arc-flash PPE and insulated-tool citations vacated
Solares Electrical Services updated an energy-monitoring system at a Miami hospital where an electrician was burned by an arc flash after entering an energized transfer-switch cabinet. The employee first caused a spark and fire alarm, was told by his foreman to wait, but reentered the locked work…
Secretary of Labor v. Big Ridge, Inc.
Typo corrected in remand penalty footnote
Judge Jerold Feldman corrected one word in a footnote to the previous day's decision on remand. The correction replaced “not” with “now,” clarifying that the parties had agreed to a $1,795 penalty for Citation No. 6674618 in Docket No. LAKE 2009-57. The corrected footnote also stated that Big Ridge…
Secretary of Labor v. Big Ridge, Inc.
$1,795 safeguard penalty ordered on remand
An earlier ALJ had vacated Citation No. 6674618 after finding that its underlying safeguard did not give Big Ridge adequate notice. The Commission reinstated the safeguard and remanded the case for assessment of a penalty. On remand, Big Ridge withdrew its contest and agreed to pay the Secretary's…
Secretary of Labor v. Nally & Hamilton Enterprises, Inc.
Steep haul-road violation affirmed with lower negligence
MSHA cited Nally & Hamilton after an inspector measured a coal haul road at a 25 percent grade where the mine's ground-control plan allowed no more than 15 percent. Judge David P. Simonton held that section 77.1000 authorized MSHA to enforce the plan's haul-road provisions and credited evidence…
Secretary of Labor v. Seminole Coal Resources, LLC
Roof-control settlement approved at $3,737
MSHA cited Seminole Coal Resources for an alleged violation of its roof-control plan involving reflectors and possible travel inby unsupported roof. The operator contended that its foreman found no problem, that four reflectors had been installed as required, and that no one was reasonably likely…
Secretary of Labor v. Pinto Valley Mining Corp.
Unsupported berm and hose settlement denied
Pinto Valley and the Secretary proposed settling four citations, with two paid as assessed and two receiving reduced gravity findings and penalties. One disputed citation concerned a missing berm beside a road with a 40-to-50-foot rollover exposure, and the other concerned a water hose near a…
Matter of Bright Idada FALODUN
A fraudulent certificate of citizenship can be cancelled administratively
The Board reviewed a respondent's appeal from the denial of his motion to terminate removal proceedings and the order requiring his removal. The respondent, a native and citizen of Nigeria, claimed United States citizenship based on a Certificate of Citizenship issued through an alleged adoptive…
Matter of Enrique ALDAY-DOMINGUEZ
Receipt of stolen property need not involve common-law theft
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal from an Immigration Judge's termination of removal proceedings against a lawful permanent resident of Mexico. The respondent had a California conviction for receiving stolen property and a 16-month prison sentence. The Board held that…
Hensel Phelps Construction Co.
Original controlling-employer trench citation vacated
Hensel Phelps was the general contractor for an Austin library project where a subcontractor's employees worked beside an unprotected excavation wall more than 12 feet deep. The stipulated record established the trench violation, Hensel Phelps's control over site safety, its knowledge of the…
Secretary of Labor v. Bussen Quarries, Inc.
2-2 split leaves highwall fall citation standing
A lead blaster moved a pump cart near the unmarked edge of a 70-foot limestone highwall without using fall protection. The ALJ inferred from the cart's position and handle direction that he had worked within several feet of the edge, and she affirmed the citation as S&S and highly negligent…
Wal-Mart Stores East, LP, d/b/a Walmart Distribution Center #7035
Hepatitis B vaccination violations affirmed
Walmart operated a volunteer Serious Injury Response Team at a Florida distribution center to provide first aid until emergency medical personnel arrived. Because team members could contact blood while treating injured employees, the judge found that they had occupational exposure to bloodborne…
Jake's Fireworks, Inc.
Fireworks storage and hazard-control violations affirmed
Jake's Fireworks employees were clearing old and damaged consumer fireworks from storage containers at a former Kansas facility when a fire broke out. Both employees were badly burned, and one later died. The judge found that damaged fireworks, exposed pyrotechnic material, combustible debris, and…
Secretary of Labor v. Bundy Auger Mining, Inc.
Highwall settlement denied for missing factual support
Bundy Auger Mining faced two specially assessed section 104(d)(1) actions involving unsafe highwall ground and inadequate working-shift examinations. The parties proposed reducing each penalty by 30 percent, for a total settlement of $4,410 instead of $6,300. Their explanation said Bundy relied on…
Matter of L-E-A-
Family membership alone does not establish asylum nexus
The Board reviewed a Mexican respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge denied asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture. The Board held that an immediate family can be a particular social group, but family membership alone does not establish that the…
Atlantic Trading & Marketing, Inc.
In re Atlantic Trading & Marketing, Inc. (EAB CAA Appeal No. 17-02C): consent agreement ratified
Atlantic Trading & Marketing, Inc. 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 the respondent to comply with every…
Secretary of Labor v. Magorian Mine Services
Mixed ruling on ground support, fall protection, and safe access
Magorian Mine Services was an independent contractor performing development work at the Pinson underground gold mine in Nevada. Judge Richard W. Manning affirmed an S&S ground-support citation because the company used inadequate support in unstable ground and allowed miners to travel through the…
Secretary of Labor v. Webster County Coal, LLC
Delayed crush-injury report affirmed, penalty cut to $20,000
A large roof rock fell onto contract miner Aaron Rickard at Webster County Coal's Dotiki Mine, causing serious pelvic and internal injuries that required multiple surgeries. Mine personnel evacuated him by air but did not notify MSHA within 15 minutes, and management continued to withhold notice as…
Yantis Company
Repeat trench citation vacated for unforeseeable misconduct
A Yantis Company crew installed a sewer line in San Antonio using a trench about 9 to 10 feet deep with vertical, unprotected walls. OSHA observed an employee and later the crew foreman entering the trench without shoring, sloping, or another cave-in protection system. The judge found that OSHA…
Secretary of Labor v. The American Coal Company
Interlocutory-review request denied in settlement dispute
The Secretary sought interlocutory review after Judge William B. Moran rejected a proposed settlement covering 32 citations against The American Coal Company. The proposal preserved every citation but reduced every penalty by 30 percent, and the judge found that the Secretary still had not supplied…
Secretary of Labor v. Sunbelt Rentals, Inc.
Summary decision denied before workplace-examination hearing
A Sunbelt Rentals employee was struck and knocked unconscious by material falling inside Roanoke Cement's preheat tower while Sunbelt erected scaffolding. After an earlier Commission remand, Sunbelt sought summary decision on whether its workplace examination complied with 30 C.F.R. § 56.18002(a)…
Secretary of Labor v. Susquehanna Coal Company
Final penalty assessment reopened
Susquehanna Coal Company asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that became final after the company did not contest it within 30 days. The company said the assessment went to an office that was only occasionally occupied, it could not recall receiving the assessment, and it had…
Matter of M-B-C-
Evidence can shift the burden on mandatory relief bars
The Board reviewed a Bosnian respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge denied a waiver of deportability, asylum, and withholding of removal. The Immigration Judge found that the respondent's testimony about his military and police service during the Bosnian War was not credible, and that…
Secretary of Labor v. Ferraiolo Construction
Default vacated after filings went to wrong address
Ferraiolo Construction timely contested a penalty assessment, but the Secretary mailed the penalty petition to the company's former address. The show-cause order went to the same wrong address and was returned undelivered, so Ferraiolo never answered and a default became final. The Commission found…
The Reybold Group of Companies, Inc
Young worker fall violations affirmed and willful item reduced
Reybold employed a 17-year-old vocational-school student at a Delaware residential construction project where balconies remained open and unguarded. The student regularly accessed balconies for cleanup work and was hospitalized after falling 11 feet while receiving trim passed down from the floor…
Secretary of Labor v. M-Class Mining, LLC
Secretary's petition for review granted
The Secretary of Labor petitioned for discretionary review in the penalty case against M-Class Mining, LLC. The Commission granted the petition. This short direction for review did not state the issues accepted for review or decide the merits.
Secretary of Labor v. Pete Lien and Sons, Inc.
Misrouted penalty contest reopened
Pete Lien and Sons intended to contest two of eight citations and pay the remaining penalties. The company accidentally mailed the contest form with its payment to MSHA's St. Louis payment office instead of the Arlington contest office, and discovered the error after receiving a delinquency notice…
Secretary of Labor v. Freeport-McMoRan Sierrita, Inc.
Mixed rulings on equipment, housekeeping, and suspended loads
Freeport-McMoRan Sierrita contested nine citations involving haul-truck steering and brakes, a spill-containment area, and work around suspended loads at its surface copper mine. Judge Richard W. Manning vacated six citations because MSHA did not prove untimely correction of the steering defect…
Secretary of Labor v. John Richards Construction
Entry refusal affirmed, extinguisher ruling remanded
John Richards Construction refused to let an MSHA inspector enter its sand and gravel mine until the owner returned to accompany him. The Commission affirmed that this was an intentional denial of MSHA's statutory right of entry, upheld high negligence, and affirmed the $1,000 penalty. A second…
Secretary of Labor v. Nyrstar Gordonsville, LLC
Mistaken payment did not forfeit contest
Nyrstar Gordonsville intended to contest two citations related to a contractor injury but mistakenly paid the proposed penalties. The employees reviewing assessments overlooked the citations because the penalties were lower than expected, one employee was changing positions, and the other was…
Secretary of Labor v. Teichert Aggregates
Handrail did not adequately guard head pulley
Teichert Aggregates operated a surface sand and gravel mine where a conveyor head pulley could be reached from a work platform surrounded by handrails. Judge Margaret A. Miller held that the handrails did not adequately guard the moving parts because a miner could climb through or over them, and…
Michael Wilson, Justin Greenwell, and Brandon Shemwell v. Armstrong Coal Company, Inc.
Mine interfered with representatives' inspection rights
Three miners' representatives alleged that Armstrong Coal interfered with their rights during MSHA inspections at the Parkway Mine. Judge John Kent Lewis held that Armstrong unlawfully failed to notify Justin Greenwell of an inspection or arrange transportation, but rejected Brandon Shemwell's…
Secretary of Labor v. Prosperity Coal, LLC
Service defects split nineteen penalty cases
Prosperity Coal sought to reopen 19 proposed penalty assessments that it said it never received. MSHA mailed 13 assessments to Tennessee addresses that were not the operator's address of record, so the Commission held that valid service never occurred and the contest deadlines never began. Those 13…
Secretary of Labor obo Jerry Ramsey v. Vulcan Construction Materials
Retaliatory discharge found after protected safety activity
Jerry Ramsey worked as an equipment operator at Vulcan Construction Materials' Bristol Quarry. He reported several safety concerns, filed an earlier discrimination complaint, and sought information needed to apply to become a miners' representative. Vulcan fired him after accusing him of using a…
Secretary of Labor v. M-Class Mining, LLC and M-Class Mining, LLC v. Secretary of Labor
Secretary of Labor v. M-Class Mining, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2015-587, LAKE 2015-285 R, LAKE 2015-286 R): Serious hydraulic injury required immediate reporting
A high-pressure hydraulic hose ruptured at M-Class Mining's underground coal mine and injected fluid into a worker, causing serious internal injuries. Judge Priscilla M. Rae held that the visible bleeding, the worker's symptoms, and the 4,200-psi mechanism gave management ample reason to recognize…
Matter of J. M. ALVARADO
Personal motive does not defeat the persecutor bar
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal from a grant of special rule cancellation of removal to a Salvadoran respondent who served in the Salvadoran National Guard during the civil war. The respondent detained a person, stood guard while his superiors interrogated and…
Jesco, Inc.
Demolition power-line citation vacated
Jesco replaced an 80-to-85-foot bucket conveyor system at a Mississippi pet food plant while employees used the top of an electrically powered man lift as a work platform. During removal, a lifted conveyor casing struck electrical conduit serving the lift, causing the lift to rise and fatally crush…
Secretary of Labor v. The American Coal Company
Settlement denied for lack of citation-specific facts
The Secretary again asked Judge William B. Moran to approve a settlement covering 32 citations against The American Coal Company. The proposal kept every citation as written while reducing every penalty by 30 percent, but supplied no citation-specific facts tied to the penalty criteria. The judge…
Berardi's Fresh Roast
Coffee bagger guarding violation affirmed
Berardi's Fresh Roast used an automatic machine to fill, heat-seal, and cut foil coffee bags. Bags regularly stuck near the machine's heated jaws and knife, and operators often reached through a gap beneath the interlocked doors to remove them while the machine kept running. An operator's fingertip…
Barnard Construction Company, Incorporated
Grinder and floor-cover items partly affirmed
Barnard Construction faced safety and health citations arising from work at a federally owned Kentucky power project. The judge affirmed a serious bench-grinder item because its work rests exceeded the permitted gap and the accessible machine had not been effectively tagged or removed from employee…
Secretary of Labor v. United Rentals Northwest
Unrelated overpayment concealed final assessment
United Rentals intended to contest a penalty assessment but said neither of the two employees responsible for MSHA assessments received it. MSHA applied an unrelated overpayment to the penalty, so the operator received no delinquency notice and learned of the final assessment only through a…
Secretary of Labor v. HNS, Inc.
Officer's absence excused missed contest
HNS failed to contest a penalty assessment while its secretary and treasurer was away during the summer. Mine employees did not know they needed to follow up with MSHA, and the contest was filed after the officer returned. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission found an inadvertent…
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.