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 v. Premier Elkhorn Coal Company
Settlement on remand cuts a fatal haul truck penalty from $70,000 to $7,500
A coal haulage truck driver was killed on December 12, 2009 when he lost control of a loaded truck descending the haul road at Premier Elkhorn's PE Southern Pike Co. mine. MSHA issued Premier Elkhorn two citations: one under 30 C.F.R. § 77.1607(b) for failure to keep full control of moving mobile…
Daniel B. Lowe v. Veris Gold USA, Inc. and Jerritt Canyon Gold, LLC
Sua sponte dismissal followed bankruptcy sanction threat
Daniel Lowe had established that Veris Gold discriminated against him under the Mine Act, but relief and potential successor liability against Jerritt Canyon Gold remained unresolved. A bankruptcy court enforced its free-and-clear sale order, enjoined Lowe and Matthew Varady from pursuing successor…
Secretary of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) v. Black Beauty Coal Company
Secretary of Labor v. Black Beauty Coal Company (FMSHRC LAKE 2009-412, et al.): Settlement resolves S&S and unwarrantable failure questions sent back by the Commission
This settlement closes out four violations at two Black Beauty coal operations, the Riola Mine Complex-Vermillion Grove and the Air Quality #1 Mine. After a 2014 hearing, Judge Manning had thrown out the inspectors' "significant and substantial" findings on all four and the unwarrantable failure…
Secretary of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), on behalf of Shayne Bungard v. GMS Mine Repair & Maintenance
Secretary of Labor obo Shayne Bungard v. GMS Mine Repair & Maintenance (FMSHRC WEVA 2015-793-D): Miner fired after asking for a dust mask wins discrimination case
Shayne Bungard was a new miner working for contractor GMS Mine Repair on a belt line crew at the McElroy Mine. On January 16, 2015, heavy dust drove his crew into a crosscut twice. When the foreman ordered them back to work, Bungard asked for a dust mask. The foreman became angry, walked him out of…
Secretary of Labor v. ICG Illinois, LLC
Refuge chamber 110 feet too far upheld as S&S
At ICG Illinois's Viper Mine, a refuge chamber was 1,110 to 1,125 feet from the nearest working face, exceeding the 1,000-foot limit in 30 C.F.R. § 75.1506(c)(1). The operator did not dispute the violation, and the only issue before the Commission was whether it was significant and substantial. The…
Secretary of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) v. P.A. Landers, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. P.A. Landers, Inc. (FMSHRC YORK 2015-123-M): Unopposed motion to reopen a final penalty granted
When MSHA proposes a penalty, the operator has 30 days under section 105(a) of the Mine Act to contest it. If that deadline passes, the assessment becomes a final order of the Commission on its own, and the operator has to ask the Commission to reopen the case before it can contest anything. P.A…
Secretary of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) v. Gateway Eagle Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Gateway Eagle Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2015-844): Operator withdraws its own motion to reopen, case dismissed
Gateway Eagle Coal Company asked the Commission in July 2015 to reopen a penalty assessment that had already become a final order. Before the Commission ruled, the company changed course and in April 2016 asked to withdraw that request. The Commission granted the withdrawal and dismissed the case…
Secretary of Labor v. Brody Mining, LLC
Operator withdraws reopening motion, case dismissed
Brody Mining asked the Commission in June 2015 to reopen this docket. Before the Commission ruled on that request, the company asked to withdraw it in January 2016. The Commission granted the withdrawal and dismissed the case. The order does not address why reopening was requested, whether…
Secretary of Labor v. C & H Gravel Company
Unopposed motion reopens final assessment
C & H Gravel Company asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had already become a final order. The Secretary did not oppose the request. The Commission granted the motion and remanded the case to the Chief Administrative Law Judge for further proceedings. It directed the Secretary…
Secretary of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) v. Cypress Pointe Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Cypress Pointe Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2015-480-M): Unopposed motion to reopen a final penalty granted
An operator that wants to contest an MSHA penalty has 30 days under section 105(a) of the Mine Act to say so. Miss that window and the proposed assessment becomes a final order of the Commission automatically, and the only way back in is to ask the Commission to reopen the case. Cypress Pointe…
Latshaw Drilling and Exploration, LLC
Extension-cord strain-relief citation vacated
OSHA found that the outer sheathing on an energized extension cord had pulled away from a floodlight connection on Latshaw Drilling's oil rig, exposing the insulated inner conductors. The judge found that the strain-relief device was not functioning as required and that employees had access to a…
Triumph Construction Corp.
Repeat cave-in violation affirmed and loose-soil item vacated
Triumph Construction replaced a water main in lower Manhattan using an excavation without a cave-in protective system. An employee was injured when part of the excavation collapsed. The judge found that the excavation was at least five feet deep where the employee worked, so the shallow-excavation…
Secretary of Labor v. Kingston Mining, LLC
Unopposed motion reopens final assessment
Kingston Mining asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had already become a final order. The Secretary did not oppose the request. The Commission granted the motion and remanded the case to the Chief Administrative Law Judge for further proceedings. It directed the Secretary to…
Secretary of Labor v. Solvay Chemicals, Inc.
Two final assessments reopened together
Solvay Chemicals filed two motions asking the Commission to reopen two penalty assessments that had become final orders. The Commission consolidated the dockets for the limited purpose of deciding the similar procedural requests. The Secretary did not oppose either motion. The Commission reopened…
Secretary of Labor v. Sprague Stone
Unopposed motion reopens final assessment
Sprague Stone asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had already become a final order. The Secretary did not oppose the request. The Commission granted the motion and remanded the case to the Chief Administrative Law Judge for further proceedings. It directed the Secretary to file…
Secretary of Labor v. Cumberland Coal Resources, LP
No delivery proof means assessment never became final
MSHA mailed Cumberland Coal a proposed assessment, but the Postal Service recorded no delivery date and MSHA had no confirmation that the operator received it. Cumberland said it never received the assessment and therefore had no opportunity to file a contest within 30 days. The Secretary did not…
Secretary of Labor v. Bayer Construction Co.
Unopposed motion reopens final assessment
Bayer Construction asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had already become a final order. The Secretary did not oppose the request. The Commission granted the motion and remanded the case to the Chief Administrative Law Judge for further proceedings. It directed the Secretary to…
Secretary of Labor v. Stream Construction
Unopposed motion reopens final assessment
Stream Construction asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had already become a final order. The Secretary did not oppose the request. The Commission granted the motion and remanded the case to the Chief Administrative Law Judge for further proceedings. It directed the Secretary…
Secretary of Labor v. Consolidation Coal Company
Three unwarrantable orders draw $43,865
MSHA issued Consolidation Coal three section 104(d)(2) orders at the Loveridge No. 22 Mine, two for combustible accumulations and one for an inadequate preshift examination. The first involved extensive dry coal in a scoop haulage entry and primary escapeway that took seven miners, four hours, and…
Secretary of Labor v. The American Coal Company
Remand leaves five penalties at $43,200
Judge John Kent Lewis had affirmed five significant-and-substantial violations at American Coal's New Era Mine, four involving unsupported roof or ribs and one involving a transportation safeguard, and assessed $43,200 against MSHA's higher special-assessment proposals. The Commission sent the…
Secretary of Labor v. Meyer Aggregate, LLC
One citation vacated and penalties reduced to $3,742
Meyer Aggregate operated a small portable sand-and-gravel mine with three regular employees, and the case covered eight citations across five dockets. Judge Margaret A. Miller affirmed an S&S, high-negligence, unwarrantable violation where an unstable 40-foot stockpile sloughed about 100 tons of…
Joshua A. Franks v. D&L Weld and Trillium Construction Services
Timely pro se appeal survives motion to dismiss
Joshua Franks filed a Mine Act discrimination complaint with MSHA, and the Secretary later notified him that MSHA would not pursue the case. Franks emailed the Commission less than 30 days after that notice to continue the claim on his own behalf. D&L Weld sought dismissal, arguing that the appeal…
Secretary of Labor obo Louis Silva, Jr. v. Aggregate Industries WRC, Inc.
Broadly distributed management email was not privileged
The Secretary brought a Mine Act discrimination case on behalf of Louis Silva Jr., a quality-control technician whom Aggregate Industries had terminated. During discovery, the company sought the return or destruction of an email that its safety manager sent to nine recipients after counsel…
Benton-Georgia, LLC
Attorney-fee application denied after citation withdrawal
OSHA cited Benton-Georgia after an employee was seriously injured by a vehicle while performing roadway work, but later withdrew the citation because the available evidence did not appear to sustain it. Benton-Georgia then sought $9,846.25 in attorney fees and expenses under the Equal Access to…
Secretary of Labor v. Nicholas Contura, LLC
Part 90 miner temporarily reinstated after mine sale
James Steven Spencer worked at the Jerry Fork Eagle Mine in West Virginia and had exercised his Part 90 option in May 2016, which lets a coal miner with evidence of pneumoconiosis transfer to a lower-dust job at the same pay. He was moved to a supply motor operator job, then took leave for hernia…
Sumitomo Chemical Company, Ltd.
In re Sumitomo Chemical Company, Ltd. (EAB FIFRA Appeal No. 16-04C): $7,150 civil penalty and Consent Agreement ratified
Sumitomo Chemical Company, Ltd. agreed to pay a $7,150 civil penalty to settle an EPA matter. The Environmental Appeals Board explained that a settlement under 40 C.F.R. § 22.18(b) resolves only federal civil penalties for the violations and facts addressed in the settlement. It does not prevent…
Nortek Powder Coating LLC
Repeat citations affirmed by default
OSHA issued Nortek Powder Coating repeat citations with proposed penalties totaling $3,400. Nortek filed a notice of contest but did not answer the Secretary's complaint. The judge sent an order to show cause by regular and certified mail, and Commission staff also called and emailed the company's…
Matter of Cristoval SILVA-TREVINO
Categorical approach governs moral-turpitude analysis
The Board reconsidered the case of a Mexican lawful permanent resident who had pleaded no contest to Texas indecency with a child and was charged as removable for an aggravated felony involving sexual abuse of a minor. The Board held that the categorical and modified categorical approaches govern…
Heat Transfer Products Group, LLC.
Faded aisle-marking citation affirmed with reduced penalty
Heat Transfer Products used permanent aisles shared by forklifts and pedestrians at its Alabama manufacturing plant. Painted orange lines separated pedestrian routes from forklift lanes, but the markings had become severely faded or disappeared in some areas. The judge found that the standard…
Secretary of Labor v. Consolidation Coal Company
Challenge to MSHA special assessment method left for after the hearing
MSHA proposed specially assessed penalties, meaning penalties calculated outside the usual points formula, against Consolidation Coal Company for violations at the Loveridge #22 mine. Before the hearing, the company moved to strike those proposed amounts, arguing that the "General Procedures" MSHA…
Secretary of Labor v. Kingwood Mining Company, LLC
Two final penalty assessments reopened to allow settlement
Kingwood Mining Company asked the Commission to reopen two penalty assessments that had already become final orders under section 105(a) of the Mine Act, which happens automatically when an operator does not contest an assessment in time. The Secretary of Labor did not oppose the request and in…
Secretary of Labor v. APAC-Kansas, Inc.
Highwall, guarding, training and workplace-exam citations all upheld
APAC-Kansas runs the Bonner Springs limestone quarry in Kansas, where MSHA opened a multi-week inspection in July 2014 and issued 32 citations and orders. The parties settled 27 of them, and Judge Jacqueline R. Bulluck tried the remaining four citations and one order. She upheld all five. Two…
Secretary of Labor v. Tilcon New York, Inc.
Six of seven contested citations upheld, total penalty raised to $4,458
Tilcon New York runs the Haverstraw Quarry and Mill, a surface granite mine in Rockland County, New York. An MSHA inspector wrote sixteen citations over a December 2015 and January 2016 inspection, and the parties settled nine of them before or during the hearing. Judge Margaret A. Miller decided…
American Covers, Inc., d/b/a Handstands
In re American Covers, Inc., d/b/a Handstands (EAB FIFRA Appeal No. 16-03C): settlement limited to federal civil penalties
American Covers, Inc., doing business as Handstands, agreed to pay a $5,720 civil penalty to settle an EPA matter. The Consent Agreement said compliance would fully settle civil claims or causes of action alleged in Section V, while also stating that it would not resolve criminal liability. The…
Atkinson Developers, LLC and Francis M. Atkinson, Jr.
In re Atkinson Developers, LLC and Francis M. Atkinson, Jr. (EAB CWA Appeal No. 16-03): sua sponte review order vacated
The Environmental Appeals Board had elected to review the matter on its own after finding a discrepancy in the Certificate of Service for an August 4, 2016 Default Initial Decision and Order. The Board directed the Regional Hearing Clerk to correct the certificate and received the amended…
Secretary of Labor v. Clayton's Calcium Inc.
Default order was a nullity because the operator did answer
Clayton's Calcium was held in default after the Chief Administrative Law Judge concluded it never answered MSHA's petition for civil penalties. The company had in fact filed a timely response to the show-cause order, but it wrote the docket number of a different case involving the same mine, WEST…
Secretary of Labor v. Knight Hawk Coal, LLC
High negligence and unwarrantable failure affirmed after red zone fatality
A continuous mining machine operator at Knight Hawk's Prairie Eagle South Mine in Illinois was fatally crushed in February 2013 after entering the machine's red zone, the pinch point area where the equipment can strike a miner. MSHA cited the company for violating its approved roof control plan…
Proctor & Gamble, Co.
In re Proctor & Gamble, Co. (EAB FIFRA Appeal No. 16-02C): settlement limited to federal civil penalties
Proctor & Gamble, Co. agreed to pay a $14,300 civil penalty to settle an EPA matter. The Consent Agreement said compliance would fully settle civil claims or causes of action alleged in Section V, while also stating that it would not resolve criminal liability. The Environmental Appeals Board found…
Jessica Hicks dba Logs to Lumber and Beyond
Default set aside and settlement approved
OSHA issued Logs to Lumber and Beyond serious and other-than-serious citations with proposed penalties totaling $1,360. The judge entered default after the employer did not respond to a show-cause order or timely file the parties' settlement agreement. The Commission found that a single missed…
Empire Roofing Company Southeast, LLC
Aerial-lift fall protection citation affirmed
An Empire Roofing foreman and two employees used an aerial lift without tying off to the boom or basket. The foreman admitted he skipped the harness because he was in a hurry, and he knew the two employees also rode in the lift without fall protection. The Commission held that the foreman's…
Matter of Martin CHAIREZ-Castrejon
Utah firearm statute was overbroad for aggravated-felony analysis
The Board reconsidered the case of a Mexican lawful permanent resident convicted under Utah's firearm-discharge statute and found removable for both a firearms offense and an aggravated felony crime of violence. Applying the Supreme Court's decisions in Mathis and Descamps, the Board held that the…
Employment 2000 Corp.
Late-contest dismissal set aside for address error
Employment 2000 filed a late notice of contest after OSHA mailed its citation to an address with an incorrect ZIP code. The same incorrect ZIP code appeared on the Secretary's dismissal motion, the judge's decision, and other case notices, leaving the record unclear whether the company received or…
Secretary of Labor obo Kelly Rawley v. J.L. Sherman Excavation Co.
Screening measures allowed discrimination case to proceed
The Secretary pursued a Mine Act discrimination complaint for Kelly Rawley while separately seeking an individual civil penalty against him for earlier alleged safety violations. Judge David F. Barbour asked whether the Solicitor's dual role created a conflict that could affect the discrimination…
Linwood Mining & Mineral Corporation
In re Linwood Mining & Mineral Corporation (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 16-04Q): $20,468 penalty paid and matter resolved
EPA alleged that Linwood Mining & Minerals Corporation violated chemical data reporting regulations under the Toxic Substances Control Act. EPA's complaint sought a $20,468 penalty. Linwood paid the full amount, which waived its rights to contest the allegations and appeal the Final Order. The…
BruggemannChemical, BruggemannChemical U.S., Inc.
In re BruggemannChemical, BruggemannChemical U.S., Inc. (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 16-03Q): penalty paid and matter resolved
EPA alleged that BruggemannChemical and BruggemannChemical U.S., Inc. failed to accurately report the weight of seven chemical substances they imported under the chemical data reporting regulations. The complaint sought a $109,599 penalty. EPA notified the Environmental Appeals Board that the…
Secretary of Labor v. Mach Mining, LLC
Belt accumulations and vague examination record upheld
MSHA found extensive coal accumulations along Mach Mining's 3,600-foot slope belt, including six locations where coal contacted rollers or the moving belt. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy affirmed the accumulation violation as significant and substantial and highly negligent because frictional heat could…
Matter of Raul ZARAGOZA-VAQUERO
Criminal copyright infringement is a crime involving moral turpitude
The Board reviewed a Mexican respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge found him removable and held that his felony criminal copyright infringement conviction barred cancellation of removal. The conviction involved reproducing and distributing infringing copies for commercial advantage or…
Secretary of Labor v. Coeur Alaska, Inc.
Nine ground support citations affirmed, penalty cut to $159,634
Coeur Alaska runs the Kensington Mine, an underground gold mine north of Juneau, Alaska. Three MSHA inspectors visited in July and December 2014 and wrote ten citations, most of them for torn or damaged wire mesh next to loose rock in travelways and intersections, which MSHA treated as a failure to…
Longhorn Service Company
Remand to vacate Item 2A and set Item 2B penalty
The Tenth Circuit directed the Commission to vacate Citation 1, Item 2A and enter a separate penalty for Citation 1, Item 2B. The Commission sent the case back to the administrative law judge for proceedings consistent with the court's opinion.
Secretary of Labor obo Ronald Bowersox v. The Marshall County Coal Co., et al.
Judge denies Murray Energy's motion for her recusal
These five consolidated cases are interference complaints under section 105(c) of the Mine Act against mines operated by Murray Energy. The complaints allege the companies interfered with miners' rights by filing a federal lawsuit in retaliation for miners taking safety complaints to MSHA rather…
Secretary of Labor v. Climax Molybdenum Company
Handrails and a lockout policy are not a substitute for machine guards
Climax Molybdenum's mill in Colorado uses two large grinding mills whose rotating cylinders are moving machine parts. Some sections had eight-foot metal guarding, but elsewhere the only barrier was a waist-high handrail with warning signs and locked gates, set at least seven feet back from the…
Secretary of Labor v. H. Bittle & Son, Inc.
Screening bought-in sand and gravel is mineral milling, so MSHA has jurisdiction
H. Bittle & Son runs a 26-acre materials yard in Suffolk County, New York. It does not dig anything out of the ground. It buys sand and gravel that construction companies excavate at job sites 3 to 60 miles away, trucks the material in, then stockpiles and screens it into sand and two gravel sizes…
Matter of Samuel Alberto IBARRA
Coerced extortion consent counts as a theft taking
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal after an Immigration Judge terminated removal proceedings against a Nicaraguan lawful permanent resident convicted of two California robberies committed by force or fear. The Immigration Judge treated robbery as outside the generic…
Secretary of Labor v. J.L. Sherman Excavation Co.
Judge sought briefing on Solicitor's dual role
The Secretary alleged that J.L. Sherman Excavation fired Kelly Rawley after he reported unsafe loader brakes to MSHA. At the same time, the Secretary was seeking individual civil penalties against Rawley for earlier alleged safety violations. Judge David F. Barbour identified a potential conflict…
Matter of Elvis GUZMAN-POLANCO
Circuit law controls indirect force in crime-of-violence analysis
The Board reconsidered its earlier decision concerning a respondent's Puerto Rico aggravated-battery conviction. It reaffirmed that the Puerto Rico simple-battery statute is too broad to categorically establish a crime of violence under 18 U.S.C. § 16(a), because it covers injury through any means…
Secretary of Labor v. Leeco Incorporated
Penalty cut to $4,500 on remand after Commission found no negligence
A continuous mining machine operator at Leeco's No. 68 Mine was fatally pinned against the rib in June 2010 after entering the machine's red zone, two months after the mine superintendent had counseled him about operating too close to that zone. Leeco stipulated to the violation of its roof control…
Matter of Safraz KHAN
Immigration Judges lack U visa waiver jurisdiction
The Board reviewed a Guyanese lawful permanent resident's appeal after an Immigration Judge denied his request for a waiver of inadmissibility connected to his petition for U nonimmigrant status. The Board held that Immigration Judges do not have authority to adjudicate a section 212(d)(3)(A)(ii)…
Grismer Tire Co.
Three serious items vacated after fatal backhoe accident
A tire technician died while changing rear tires on a backhoe, but no one witnessed the accident and emergency crews disturbed the scene before OSHA's investigation. The judge found that Grismer gave the technician adequate tire-service training. The Secretary also failed to prove that the ground…
Secretary of Labor v. Couch Aggregates, LLC
Disputed injury facts required a hearing
A Couch Aggregates miner was injured in an electrical control room, and MSHA cited the operator for not reporting within 15 minutes an accident that allegedly had a reasonable potential to cause death. Couch sought partial summary decision, arguing that the miner recovered quickly and that the…
Matter of Martin CHAIREZ-Castrejon, Respondent; Matter of Vera SAMA, Respondent
Matter of Martin CHAIREZ-Castrejon and Matter of Vera SAMA (BIA ID 3869): Attorney General lifted stay and remanded cases to the Board
The Attorney General had referred the cases of Martin Chairez-Castrejon and Vera Sama to himself for review of the Board’s decisions concerning the proper approach to determining whether a criminal statute is divisible under Descamps v. United States. The cases had been automatically stayed while…
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.