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. White County Coal, LLC
Four citations yield a $439 total penalty
White County Coal contested four citations from inspections of its Pattiki underground coal mine after resolving several other citations by partial settlement. The Judge affirmed a coal-accumulation violation and a related inadequate preshift-examination violation, but found the wet mixed material…
Secretary of Labor v. Mountain Road Farm Sand & Gravel
Two unopposed penalty cases reopened
Two penalty assessments against Mountain Road Farm Sand & Gravel had become final Commission orders after they were not timely contested. The operator filed motions to reopen both assessments, and the Secretary did not oppose them. The Commission consolidated the two dockets because they involved…
Secretary of Labor v. Whibco of New Jersey, Inc.
Unopposed penalty reopening granted
A penalty assessment against Whibco of New Jersey had become a final Commission order after it was not timely contested. Whibco moved to reopen the assessment, and the Secretary did not oppose the request. The Commission granted reopening and remanded the case to the Chief Administrative Law Judge…
Mark Bailey v. Rex Osborne, Colin Milam, Rockwell Mining, LLC and Gateway Eagle Coal Co., LLC
Bankruptcy sale did not end discrimination claim at motion stage
Mark Bailey alleged that Gateway Eagle Coal fired him after he refused to operate a roof bolter in return air because of coal and silica dust concerns. He named Rockwell Mining as a successor after Rockwell's parent acquired the mine through Patriot Coal's bankruptcy, while Rockwell argued that the…
Secretary of Labor v. Park County Road & Bridge
Cleanup-day training dispute requires more facts
Park County held a community cleanup event on county property near its temporarily idle Nine Pit, using a waste contractor, dumpsters, and a front-end loader. MSHA cited the county for failing to provide hazard training to five contractor employees and failing to provide the contractor with…
Secretary of Labor v. Klondex Midas Operation, Inc.
Unopposed penalty reopening granted
A penalty assessment against Klondex Midas Operation had become a final Commission order after it was not timely contested. Klondex moved to reopen the assessment, and the Secretary did not oppose the request. The Commission granted reopening and remanded the matter to the Chief Administrative Law…
Secretary of Labor obo Cheryl Garcia v. Veris Gold, Inc., and its successors
Secretary of Labor obo Cheryl Garcia v. Veris Gold, Inc., et al. (FMSHRC WEST 2014-905 DM): Settlement satisfaction ends discrimination case
The Secretary brought a Mine Act discrimination complaint on behalf of Cheryl Garcia against Veris Gold USA and its successors. An earlier conditional order provided that the case would be dismissed with prejudice and a September 2015 default order would be vacated once the parties confirmed full…
Secretary of Labor v. White Oak Resources, LLC
Timely contest made reopening unnecessary
White Oak Resources received a proposed penalty assessment on March 6, 2015, and agency records initially made it appear that the assessment became final when no contest was filed within 30 days. White Oak moved to reopen and asserted that it had timely contested the assessment. The Secretary…
Horst Construction dba Horst Group, Inc.
EAJA fee request denied after citation withdrawal
The Secretary withdrew a serious fall-protection citation against Horst Construction, making the company the prevailing party for Equal Access to Justice Act purposes. Horst then sought $484.10 in fees. The judge found OSHA was substantially justified because the superintendent was near…
Secretary of Labor v. New NGC, Inc. and New NGC v. Secretary of Labor
Secretary of Labor v. New NGC, Inc., et al. (FMSHRC CENT 2015-37 RM, et al.): Cracked gypsum highwall violation affirmed
New NGC operated the Harper Quarry, a small Texas surface gypsum mine where trucks made 30 to 60 daily trips along a narrow road beside a roughly 20-foot highwall. An MSHA inspector cited fractured rock on the wall as hazardous ground that could fall into the road or strike a vehicle, while the…
Secretary of Labor v. Gateway Eagle Coal Company, LLC
Unsupported 50 percent settlement cuts denied
Gateway Eagle and the Secretary proposed cutting by half the penalties for two S&S citations that alleged fatal hazards. One citation concerned a damaged 480-volt roof-bolter cable splice with exposed conductors, and the other concerned dry coal fines compressed against a moving belt. The Judge…
Secretary of Labor v. Sunbelt Rentals, Inc.; LVR, Inc.; and Roanoke Cement Co., LLC
Workplace examinations must meaningfully identify hazards
Sunbelt Rentals erected scaffolding inside Roanoke Cement's preheat tower for maintenance contractor LVR. A Sunbelt supervisor examined the sixth level and visually inspected the seventh level without using an exterior doorway that revealed accumulated material above the work area; later that…
Secretary of Labor obo Cheryl Garcia v. Veris Gold, Inc., and its successors
Secretary of Labor obo Cheryl Garcia v. Veris Gold, Inc., et al. (FMSHRC WEST 2014-905 DM): Dismissal and default vacatur made conditional on settlement completion
The Secretary, acting for Cheryl Garcia, withdrew her Mine Act discrimination complaint against Veris Gold USA and its claimed or potential successors after the parties resolved their dispute. Garcia and the Secretary also asked the Judge to vacate a September 2015 default order. The Judge…
Secretary of Labor v. Premier Elkhorn Coal Company
Loss-of-control citation restored, brake citation remains vacated
A contract truck driver was fatally injured after his loaded coal truck lost steering control on a steep road at Premier Elkhorn's surface mine, struck a berm, and overturned. The Judge had vacated citations alleging failure to maintain full control and inadequate brakes because MSHA did not…
Secretary of Labor v. Kentucky Fuel Corporation
Second defective-dozer citation was duplicative
MSHA cited Kentucky Fuel after an inspector found numerous defects on a bulldozer that had been used at the Beech Creek Surface Mine, including a nonworking horn and backup alarm, a missing engine cover, and an oil leak. The Judge affirmed a general unsafe-equipment citation under section…
Secretary of Labor v. Trivette Trucking
Loss-of-control violation stands, brake order remains vacated
A Trivette Trucking driver was fatally injured after his loaded coal truck lost steering control on a steep mine haul road, struck a berm, and overturned. MSHA issued orders alleging failure to maintain full control of moving equipment and failure to maintain adequate brakes. The Judge affirmed the…
All Erection and Crane Rental Corp.
Crane wire-rope citations and $21,000 vacated
A crawler crane's boom-hoist wire rope broke, causing the boom to collapse and killing two workers. All Erection owned the crane but had leased it without an operating crew to Beaver Excavating, which employed the operators and controlled routine inspection, maintenance, and lubrication. The judge…
Secretary of Labor v. Ralph W. Dushane employed by Cemex Construction Materials of Florida, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Ralph W. Dushane (FMSHRC SE 2016-132 M): Three-year assessment delay did not yet show actual prejudice
MSHA sought individual penalties from Cemex employee Ralph Dushane under section 110(c) for two violations issued in November 2012. Although MSHA notified him of its intent to assess penalties in March 2013, it did not issue the proposed assessment until February 2016, about 38 months after the…
Flintlock Construction Services LLC
Willful scaffold violations and $249,920 affirmed
OSHA found workers using inadequately planked, braced, accessed, and guarded scaffolds at a hotel construction project. Flintlock controlled the worksite and had authority to stop work, but its managers repeatedly ignored documented scaffold warnings from the onsite safety manager. The judge found…
Tower Maintenance Corp.
Alternative training violations remanded for clarification
OSHA cited Tower Maintenance after a fatal accident during painting work on an electrical transmission tower. For one training item, the Secretary pleaded power-transmission standards and general PPE and electrical standards in the alternative, but the pleadings and later briefs reversed which set…
Action Electric Company
Divided Commission leaves lockout citation vacated
An Action Electric apprentice was fatally struck by a steel mill cooling-bed counterweight before the facility's lockout process was complete. The judge vacated the group lockout citation after finding the cited rule did not apply to the fan-replacement work. The two Commission members disagreed on…
Stockton Oil Company
In re Stockton Oil Company (EAB RCRA (9006) Appeal No. 16-01): ALJ decision set aside after settlement
The EAB had begun its own review of a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act enforcement decision against Stockton Oil Company because the record showed conflicting underground storage tank penalty guidance and formulas for calculating avoided costs. The parties later settled, and EPA Region 8's…
Secretary of Labor obo Cheryl Garcia v. Veris Gold, Inc., and its successors
Secretary of Labor obo Cheryl Garcia v. Veris Gold, Inc., et al. (FMSHRC WEST 2014-905 DM): Withdrawal conditioned on settlement completion
The Secretary, acting for Cheryl Garcia, withdrew her Mine Act discrimination complaint against Veris Gold USA and its claimed or potential successors. Garcia sought dismissal with prejudice after the parties reached an agreed resolution. The Judge conditionally approved the joint motion but stated…
Brian Jackson v. Alan Ritchey Materials Co., LC
Amended claims struck, safety-refusal case continues
Brian Jackson alleged that Alan Ritchey Materials fired him after he refused nighttime work from a small boat on a river because he had recently been aboard a boat that sank and required rescue. After MSHA found insufficient evidence of Mine Act discrimination, Jackson appealed and later filed an…
James Rutledge d/b/a Rutledge Roofing
Inadequate roof safety monitor draws $2,000 penalty
Rutledge Roofing used no guardrails, nets, or personal fall-arrest systems while two people installed metal roofing more than eight feet above hard surfaces. The owner claimed he served as a safety monitor, but he performed roofing work, moved between roof levels, and sometimes worked from the…
The Davey Tree Surgery Company
Logging items vacated and $300 reporting penalty affirmed
A Davey Tree employee was fatally struck during tree removal in a utility right-of-way. Following Commission precedent in companion Davey Tree cases, the judge found the work was line clearance rather than logging, so the logging standard did not apply. The evidence also showed training on tree…
Secretary of Labor v. Apogee Coal Company, LLC, et al
Penalty assessments reopened and remanded
The Commission considered a joint motion to reopen 56 penalty assessments issued to subsidiaries of Patriot Coal Corporation after its Chapter 11 bankruptcy and asset sales. The parties said bankruptcy-related ownership changes and settlement discussions caused missed contests, and the Secretary…
Secretary of Labor v. Conveyor Belt Services, Inc.
Conveyor belt used for splicing was a working platform
Conveyor Belt Services employees spliced a belt at U.S. Steel's Minntac Mine while standing or kneeling on the belt and a temporary ladder, toolbox, and plywood structure about 51 to 55 inches above the floor. Neither surface had handrails, and the employees used no fall protection during work…
Secretary of Labor v. Big Ridge, Inc.
Settlement restores unwarrantable failure but keeps $15,000 penalty
MSHA cited Big Ridge for violating electrical-equipment examination requirements at the Willow Lake Portal Mine and proposed $25,810 based on high negligence and unwarrantable failure. The Judge removed those enhanced findings, found moderate negligence, and assessed $15,000. While the Secretary's…
Matter of M-J-K-
Competency safeguards require remand for further proceedings
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal from an Immigration Judge's decision terminating removal proceedings without prejudice after finding that the respondent was not competent and that adequate procedural safeguards were unavailable. The respondent was a Jordanian citizen…
Shane Horton v. Coal River Mining, LLC
Wrong mailing address justified reopening default dismissal
An ALJ dismissed Shane Horton's discrimination case after he did not respond to a show-cause order concerning communication with the court and settlement participation. Horton moved to reopen, explaining that the Judge sent correspondence to P.O. Box 803 even though Horton's complaints to MSHA and…
Secretary of Labor v. West Alabama Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Six-year penalty delinquency supports $22,450 assessment
A customer truck driver climbed onto a loaded trailer without fall protection and worked near its edge about ten feet above the ground at West Alabama Sand & Gravel's mine. An earlier decision affirmed the S&S violation but removed unwarrantable failure, reduced negligence to moderate, and cut the…
Secretary of Labor v. Gateway Eagle Coal Company, LLC
Reopening motion withdrawn and case dismissed
Gateway Eagle Coal filed a motion asking the Commission to reopen Docket No. WEVA 2016-1. The company later asked to withdraw that motion. The Commission granted withdrawal and dismissed the case without addressing the basis for reopening.
Secretary of Labor v. Essroc San Juan
Unopposed penalty reopening granted
A penalty assessment against Essroc San Juan had become a final Commission order after it was not timely contested. Essroc moved to reopen the assessment, and the Secretary did not oppose the request. The Commission granted reopening and remanded the case to the Chief Administrative Law Judge for…
Secretary of Labor v. River View Coal, LLC
Unopposed penalty reopening granted
A penalty assessment against River View Coal had become a final Commission order after it was not timely contested. River View moved to reopen the assessment, and the Secretary did not oppose the request. The Commission granted reopening and remanded the case to the Chief Administrative Law Judge…
Matter of Antonio GOMEZ-BELTRAN
False testimony bars good moral character
The Board reviewed a Mexican citizen's appeal after an Immigration Judge found him removable and denied cancellation of removal and voluntary departure. The respondent had disclosed only one conviction in his application and initially denied other arrests and convictions under oath, then admitted…
Secretary of Labor v. Newmont USA Limited
Unsupported 50 percent ground-control settlement cut denied
Newmont and the Secretary proposed a 50 percent penalty reduction for a ground-support citation at the Leeville Mine. The inspector had described a 12-foot-long, 18-foot-high area with missing wire and shotcrete, damaged bolts, and loose material that could cause a permanently disabling injury. The…
Secretary of Labor v. BHP Copper, Inc. and Secretary of Labor v. Tetra Tech Construction Services
Secretary of Labor v. BHP Copper, Inc., et al. (FMSHRC WEST 2013-636 M, et al.): Accident-investigation facts ordered produced
After a fatal accident at BHP Copper's Pinto Valley Mine, BHP conducted an internal investigation in which Tetra Tech participated, and the Secretary sought the report and related materials in discovery. The Judge had ordered production of factual materials while allowing legal strategy, attorney…
Secretary of Labor v. Hopkins County Coal, LLC
MSHA may demand personnel files during discrimination investigations
A fired Hopkins County Coal belt examiner filed an MSHA discrimination complaint that expressed a belief of unfair treatment but did not identify a specific protected activity. During its investigation, MSHA requested his personnel file and five years of files for similarly situated employees, but…
Durco Contractors, Inc., formally J.R. Durham d/b/a Durco Contractors, Inc.
Five renovation hazards affirmed for $10,600
During a hotel renovation, employees used nearly dark stairs, worked near exposed energized wires, used an extension cord as fixed wiring, rode on a forklift pallet, and operated forklifts without verified training. Durco stopped participating in the case and did not appear at the hearing, leaving…
TKO, Inc. dba TKO Custom Homes
Willful stairway violations affirmed after worker fall
A plumbing subcontractor employee fell from an unguarded apartment stairway and suffered serious injuries. TKO stipulated that its worksite had debris, missing bottom treads, and stairways and landings without required rails. The judge found the railing violations willful because the foreman knew…
City of Taunton Department of Public Works
In re City of Taunton Department of Public Works (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 15-08): reconsideration denied
The Environmental Appeals Board had denied review of a Clean Water Act NPDES permit issued by EPA Region 1 to the City of Taunton Department of Public Works. The City timely moved for reconsideration and argued that the Board had overlooked or mishandled regulatory issues. The Board explained that…
Secretary of Labor v. Black Beauty Coal Company
Redundant safety measures cannot defeat S&S
The Commission affirmed a modified safeguard requiring a clear 24-inch travelway free of mud and water along conveyor belts. It vacated the Judge's findings that one ventilation violation and three combustible-material accumulation violations were not significant and substantial because the Judge…
Secretary of Labor v. Kentucky Fuel Corporation
Known excavator defects supported S&S and unwarrantable failure
Kentucky Fuel continued using a John Deere excavator after pre-operational records identified a nonfunctioning automatic backup alarm and excessive oil or hydraulic leaks. The Judge rejected the operator's explanations as not credible and held that using the equipment without correcting recorded…
Richard Kaposy d/b/a Treeman Landscaping
Rule 60(b)(6) relief denied and penalties left final
OSHA issued two willful and five serious items after an employee was electrocuted when a tree branch contacted a power line. Kaposy withdrew his contest, making the citations and $119,700 in penalties final, but later claimed the settlement judge had promised the penalties would disappear. After…
Secretary of Labor v. The American Coal Company
Pony-belt accumulations again found flagrant on remand
On remand from the Commission, Judge Thomas P. McCarthy reconsidered whether extensive combustible accumulations around a pony belt were a repeated flagrant violation, the operator's negligence, and the penalty. He found that the smoke hazard could reasonably have caused death or serious bodily…
AAA Roofing
Unprotected awning work draws $1,600 penalty
An AAA Roofing worker installed flashing while sitting on an incomplete steel awning without guardrails, a safety net, or a personal fall-arrest system. He was about seven feet above a scaffold and thirteen feet above the ground. The judge credited the workers' and supervisor's contemporaneous…
Secretary of Labor v. Consolidation Coal Company
Predicate cases severed from flagrant litigation
The Secretary relied on three earlier section 104(d) accumulation orders as predicates for designating a later, extensive belt-accumulation order a repeated flagrant violation carrying a proposed $121,300 penalty. Judge Jerold Feldman severed the three predicate dockets from the two dockets…
Eloy Del Toro
Late contest barred by signed settlement waiver
Eloy Del Toro signed an informal settlement resolving three serious citation items and expressly waived the right to contest the modified citations and penalties. More than a year later, Del Toro filed a notice of contest after financial difficulties interrupted settlement payments. The judge found…
Secretary of Labor v. Original Sixteen to One Mine, Incorporated
Mixed ruling on 29 gold-mine enforcement actions
Six consolidated dockets involved 29 enforcement actions at Original Sixteen's underground gold mine, including loose ground, unsafe or obstructed escapeways, lone work in hazardous ground, inadequate ground support, missing barricades, fire and electrical protection, equipment defects, vegetation…
Secretary of Labor v. Sutter Gold Mining Company
Two citations vacated and two S&S violations affirmed
An MSHA inspector cited four conditions at Sutter Gold's nonproducing underground mine. Judge Margaret A. Miller rejected the operator's walkaround-rights argument because the inspector reasonably believed the consultant who accompanied her was in charge and no management representative was present…
United States Steel Corporation - Minnesota Ore Operations v. Secretary of Labor
Tilden precedent controlled welder-cable testing dispute
U.S. Steel argued that a 1999 final ALJ decision involving the same Minntac Mine barred MSHA from applying the annual grounding-test standard to cables supplying portable welders. Judge David F. Barbour held that the Commission's later precedential decision in Tilden Mining controlled unless…
Matter of M-H-Z-
Material support bar has no duress exception
The Board reviewed a Colombian citizen's appeal from the denial of asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture. She had provided food and other merchandise to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia after threats, and the Immigration Judge found that this…
Secretary of Labor v. Knife River Construction
Loaded scraper's brake failure supported imminent-danger order
An MSHA inspector watched a fully loaded scraper fail to stop on a steep grade and continue toward a waste-dump embankment, then ordered it removed from service as an imminent danger. A Commission majority held that substantial evidence supported the Judge's finding that the inspector reasonably…
Secretary of Labor v. Tunnel Ridge, LLC
Part-time safety-director default reopened over dissent
Tunnel Ridge missed the 30-day deadline to contest a proposed assessment while it had only a part-time safety director and was searching for a replacement. The Commission majority reopened the final assessment in the interest of justice and remanded for ordinary penalty proceedings, while warning…
Oak Grove Resources, LLC v. Secretary of Labor
Fatal-accident safeguard case settled for $35,000
After a fatal accident, MSHA cited Oak Grove for violating a transportation safeguard. Earlier Commission proceedings established that the safeguard was valid and violated but rejected the S&S designation, leaving the penalty for remand. The Judge assessed $50,000 after changing his earlier…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Mindy S. Pepin v. Empire Iron Mining Partnership
Secretary of Labor obo Mindy S. Pepin v. Empire Iron Mining Partnership (FMSHRC LAKE 2015-386 DM): Supervisor's response to anonymous safety complaint was unlawful interference
Mindy Pepin made an anonymous MSHA safety complaint after questioning whether her mine improperly cleared a lightning alert. Her supervisor later accused her of using safety complaints to bottleneck production, identified her as a ringleader, and said management was watching her. Judge David F…
Secretary of Labor v. Mach Mining, Inc.
Mixed 20-citation ruling with $43,280 total penalty
Two dockets contained 20 citations at Mach Mining's underground coal mine. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy approved partial settlements, recognized one citation vacated by the Secretary, granted a directed verdict vacating two chirp-alert citations because section 75.821(a) required periodic testing and…
Consolidated Barricades, Inc.
Three-year-late contest dismissed with prejudice
Consolidated Barricades received two serious citation items in December 2012 but did not contest them until November 2015. The company disputed the underlying PPE and forklift allegations but gave no explanation for missing the 15-working-day deadline. The judge found no excusable neglect or other…
Savoy Energy, L.P.
In re Savoy Energy, L.P. (EAB UIC Appeal No. 16-03): petitions dismissed for voluntary permit remand
EPA Region 5 issued Savoy Energy, L.P. a Class II Underground Injection Control permit for fluids produced with oil and gas production. Three parties petitioned the Environmental Appeals Board to review the permit. Region 5 asked to withdraw and re-notice the permit after acknowledging that it had…
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.