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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Savoy Energy, L.P.
In re Savoy Energy, L.P. (EAB UIC Appeal No. 16-02): 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…
Savoy Energy, L.P.
In re Savoy Energy, L.P. (EAB UIC Appeal Nos. 16-01 to 16-03): Petitions dismissed after voluntary remand
EPA Region 5 issued Savoy Energy, L.P. a Class II Underground Injection Control permit for fluids produced with oil and gas production. Raisin Charter Township, the River Raisin Watershed Council, and Summerville Township filed three petitions for review. Region 5 acknowledged that it had not fully…
Secretary of Labor v. Oak Grove Resources, LLC and Donny Bienia
Runaway supply cars supported safeguard and personal liability
Foreman Donny Bienia used a scoop-mounted winch and cable to move supply cars on sloped track despite a mine-specific safeguard requiring approved equipment such as track motors. A side rail weld failed, three cars ran uncontrolled for about 3,900 feet, and a miner had to take refuge on a spur…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Jacob Hamilton v. American Mining and Tunneling, LLC
Secretary of Labor obo Jacob Hamilton v. American Mining and Tunneling, LLC (FMSHRC WEST 2016-326 DM): Late rebuttal safety expert allowed before hearing
The Secretary disclosed MSHA safety specialist Steven Rogers as a rebuttal expert about the safety of Jacob Hamilton's actions roughly three weeks before the discrimination hearing. American Mining and Tunneling objected that the late notice left too little time for deposition and preparation…
Daniel B. Lowe v. Veris Gold USA, Inc. and Jerritt Canyon Gold, LLC
Bankruptcy issue denied interlocutory certification
Jerritt Canyon Gold sought immediate Commission review of the ruling adding it as a respondent to Daniel Lowe's discrimination case, arguing that Canadian and U.S. bankruptcy orders barred the proceeding and successor liability. Judge William B. Moran denied certification because he did not find…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Jennifer Morreale v. Veris Gold USA, Inc., Jerritt Canyon Gold, LLC, Whitebox Management, and Eric Sprott
Secretary of Labor obo Jennifer Morreale v. Veris Gold USA, Inc., et al. (FMSHRC WEST 2014-793 DM): Satisfied private settlement ended discrimination case
The Secretary brought a Mine Act discrimination complaint on behalf of Jennifer Morreale against Veris Gold and related respondents. The parties reached a private settlement, and the Judge conditionally approved withdrawal pending confirmation that its terms had been completed. After both the…
Secretary of Labor v. Kentucky Fuel Corporation
Four excavator defects upheld but unwarrantable failure rejected
MSHA cited a Cat 329 excavator for nine alleged unsafe conditions and for an inadequate pre-operational examination, designating both orders unwarrantable failures and specially assessing substantial penalties. Judge William B. Moran found only four unsafe conditions supported: an insecure deck…
Matter of H. ESTRADA
Domestic-violence removability upheld, aggravated-felony ground rejected
The Board reviewed a Guatemalan lawful permanent resident's appeal from an Immigration Judge's findings that he was removable for an aggravated felony and a crime of domestic violence. The Board held that the domestic nature of an offense is assessed using a circumstance-specific inquiry and that…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Kelly Rawley v. J.L. Sherman Excavation
Secretary of Labor obo Kelly Rawley v. J.L. Sherman Excavation (FMSHRC WEST 2016-467 DM): Economic temporary reinstatement settlement approved
Kelly Rawley alleged that J.L. Sherman Excavation fired or laid him off after he complained about loader brakes and was told not to speak with an MSHA inspector, then failed to recall him when seasonal work resumed. The parties settled the temporary-reinstatement application by economically…
Paul Simkus; United Airlines, Inc.
Employee asbestos claims dismissed after settlement
OSHA cited United Airlines over asbestos records, cleanup, and training at a company training center. An employee challenged OSHA's findings and abatement plan, while United separately contested the citations. The Secretary and United later settled for $12,000, represented that the cited conditions…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Jennifer Morreale v. Veris Gold USA, Inc., Jerritt Canyon Gold, LLC, Whitebox Management, and Eric Sprott
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Jennifer Morreale v. Veris Gold USA, Inc., et al. (FMSHRC WEST 2014-793-DM): Satisfied settlement ended discrimination case
The Secretary brought a Mine Act discrimination complaint on behalf of Jennifer Morreale against Veris Gold and related respondents. Judge David P. Simonton had conditionally approved the parties' joint withdrawal request, with dismissal to follow after the private settlement was fully performed…
Secretary of Labor v. Mach Mining, Inc.
Original ruling superseded after omitting settled-citation totals
This original decision addressed Mach Mining citations involving nonpermissible diesel equipment, methane monitors, mobile-equipment maintenance, an escapeway lifeline, and defective longwall chirp alerts. It affirmed or modified five litigated citations, granted directed verdicts vacating two…
United States Postal Service
Asbestos item vacated and repeat spider violation affirmed
OSHA cited a Nevada post office over asbestos hazard communication and vermin control, along with several items the Postal Service later stopped contesting. The judge vacated the asbestos item because the Secretary did not prove the cited floor material contained regulated asbestos. The…
Sandra G. McDonald v. George King, Mark Toler, Guardco Security, LLC, and New Trinity Coal, Inc., as successor-in-interest to Frasure Creek Mining, LLC
Sandra G. McDonald v. George King, et al. (FMSHRC WEVA 2014-387 D): Potential successors added before discrimination hearing
Sandra McDonald alleged that security contractors fired her after hardhat and training complaints. She sought to add Guardco Security, which later provided essentially the same mine-security services with the same site supervisor, and New Trinity Coal, which identified itself as Frasure Creek…
Secretary of Labor v. ACI Tygart Valley
Imminent-danger order reopened after delayed sample results
ACI Tygart Valley did not contest an imminent-danger order within 30 days because it waited for MSHA's bottle-sample results, which arrived after the order had become final and led ACI to believe no imminent danger existed. The Secretary opposed reopening, arguing that the order's reasonableness…
Matter of Eva Isabel GONZALEZ ROMO
Marijuana solicitation is a crime involving moral turpitude
The Board reviewed a Mexican lawful permanent resident's appeal after an Immigration Judge found her inadmissible and ordered her removed when she tried to return to the United States. She had a felony conviction in Arizona for solicitation to possess marijuana for sale. The Board held that, within…
Hamburg Cruise, S.A., International Maritime Organization (IMO) Number: 9138329
In re Hamburg Cruise, S.A., International Maritime Organization (IMO) Number: 9138329 (EAB APPS Appeal No. 16-04C): consent agreement ratified
EPA and Hamburg Cruise, S.A. entered a Consent Agreement concerning the vessel identified by International Maritime Organization number 9138329. The Environmental Appeals Board incorporated the agreement into its Final Order and ratified it under the Consolidated Rules of Practice. The respondent…
Kirtley Roofing and Sheet Metal, LLC
Repeat roof fall violation draws $24,500 penalty
Four Kirtley Roofing employees worked on a low-slope canopy roof with unprotected edges and without an effective fall-protection system. The designated safety monitor performed other tasks, and workers began moving roofing materials before anyone was tied off. The judge also found substantial…
Southern Pan Services Company
Two willful formwork violations affirmed for $125,000
Southern Pan Services Company was the concrete formwork contractor on a six-story parking structure that partially collapsed during a concrete pour. One Southern Pan employee died, another was seriously injured, and more than twenty other workers were injured. After the Commission remanded the…
Michael Wilson v. Jim Browning
Isolated peer confrontation was not Mine Act interference
Retired miner and miners' representative Michael Wilson alleged that fellow miner Jim Browning interfered with his protected review of mine examination books by angrily accusing him of seeking citations, costing miners money, and ordering him to leave. Judge Margaret A. Miller held that the…
United Mine Workers of America on behalf of Mark A. Franks and Ronald M. Hoy v. Emerald Coal Resources, LP
UMWA obo Mark Franks and Ronald Hoy v. Emerald Coal Resources, LP (FMSHRC PENN 2013-305, et al.): Closed-mine discrimination cases settled for $20,000
After a divided Commission ruling and a Third Circuit remand, an ALJ found that Emerald Coal unlawfully interfered with miners Mark Franks and Ronald Hoy and assessed $40,000. By the time the parties settled, Emerald's mine had closed, Emerald and its parent were in bankruptcy, and all other…
Secretary of Labor v. Warrior Coal, LLC
MSHA may require employee contact information during safety investigations
After an inspector found hazardous roof and rib conditions at Warrior Coal's Cardinal Mine, MSHA opened a special investigation and requested the names, shifts, and contact information of all mine employees. Warrior refused to provide contact information without each employee's permission, leading…
Secretary of Labor v. Eagle Creek Mining, LLC
Five equipment citations reduced to $13,160
Eagle Creek Mining contested five citations involving four haul trucks and a water truck at its West Virginia surface coal mine after settling eight other citations. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy found that the MSHA inspector had shown bias against a mine foreman, gave unreliable testimony, and recorded…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Michael Murray v. Mach Mining, LLC
Missed agency deadline did not end temporary reinstatement
Mach Mining agreed to economically reinstate Michael Murray while MSHA investigated his discrimination complaint, and the judge approved that settlement. Mach later asked to dissolve the reinstatement order because the Secretary had not decided within 90 days whether to bring a merits case. Judge…
Secretary of Labor v. Triad Underground Mining, LLC
$52,500 settlement approved despite bankruptcy
Triad Underground Mining withdrew its contest and agreed to pay the full $52,500 proposed penalty for one citation at the Freelandville West mine. Its parent, James River Coal Company, was in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but Judge Thomas P. McCarthy held that the bankruptcy stay did not prevent MSHA from…
Secretary of Labor v. Blue Diamond Coal Company
$139,100 settlement approved despite bankruptcy
Blue Diamond Coal withdrew its contest and agreed to pay the full $139,100 proposed penalty for four citations at Mine No. 68. Its parent, James River Coal Company, was in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but Judge Thomas P. McCarthy held that the bankruptcy stay did not prevent MSHA from pursuing its…
Richard Snader Installation Partners
Roofing violations affirmed for $33,600
Richard Snader Installation Partners performed roofing work at an apartment building with three workers on the roof. The judge found that the workers were employees under the OSH Act because Richard Snader controlled their work and pay, despite his claim that they were partners. The inspection did…
Secretary of Labor v. Dominion Coal Corporation
$12,500 discrimination penalty approved
Dominion Coal reduced Scott G. McGlothlin's pay after he began seeking Part 90 protection as a miner with pneumoconiosis. An earlier ALJ decision found that the pay reduction violated the Mine Act's anti-discrimination provision, and the Commission essentially affirmed that liability finding…
Secretary of Labor v. The Ohio Valley Coal Company
Coal-dust and examination orders affirmed for $14,536
An MSHA inspector found extensive black coal dust and fines along the South Mains belt at Ohio Valley Coal's Powhatan No. 6 Mine, including compacted material around the turning tail roller. MSHA issued one order for prohibited accumulations and another because the on-shift examiner had not…
Productos de Agregados de Gurabo v. Secretary of Labor
Late attorney-fee application denied
Productos de Agregados de Gurabo prevailed when Judge John Kent Lewis vacated an MSHA safe-access citation for lack of sufficiently reliable evidence. The operator later sought attorney fees and expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act. Its February 22, 2016 application came almost two months…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of George M. Scoles v. Harrison County Coal Co.
Twenty-day-late discrimination complaint allowed
George Scoles filed a Mine Act discrimination complaint 80 days after Harrison County Coal suspended him with intent to discharge, which was 20 days beyond the statutory filing period. He had first pursued a grievance and arbitration, and filed with MSHA 26 days after the arbitrator reduced the…
Secretary of Labor v. West Alabama Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Operator ordered to address six-year penalty delinquency
West Alabama Sand & Gravel had stipulated that a truck driver's failure to wear fall protection was a high-negligence and unwarrantable-failure violation, leaving only the penalty amount unresolved after a Commission remand. MSHA's records showed that the operator had paid only $200 of $27,890 in…
Matter of Arinda GARZA-OLIVARES
Failure-to-appear aggravated felony analysis
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 been convicted under 18 U.S.C. § 3146 for failing to appear before a court. The Board held that the…
Makhteshim Agan of North America, Inc., d/b/a ADAMA
In re Makhteshim Agan of North America, Inc., d/b/a ADAMA (EAB FIFRA Appeal No. 16-01C): consent agreement ratified
Makhteshim Agan of North America, Inc., doing business as ADAMA, entered a Consent Agreement with EPA. The Environmental Appeals Board incorporated the agreement into its Final Order and ratified it under the Consolidated Rules of Practice. The respondent was ordered to comply with every term of…
Jack Durham d/b/a Jack Durham and Company
Awning safety citation vacated because workers were independent contractors
Jack Durham and Company hired a handyman to repair a leaking metal awning at a strip mall. OSHA cited alleged roof fall, training, and ladder violations after inspectors saw two people working on the awning. The judge found that the handyman controlled how to perform the repair, worked for multiple…
Administrator, Wage and Hour Div., USDOL v. Puget Sound Environmental Corp.
Back-pay liability and federal-contract ineligibility affirmed
Puget Sound Environmental performed two multimillion-dollar service contracts at the Navy's Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. The Wage and Hour Division found that the company underpaid 215 employees by misclassifying workers and failing to provide required holiday, vacation, and health and welfare…
Secretary of Labor v. D. Holcomb & Company, LLC
Carbon-monoxide citation settled for $30,000
An MSHA inspector found a gasoline generator running inside D. Holcomb & Company's scale-house trailer at Black Diamond Quarry, with carbon monoxide above 180 parts per million near the only functioning door. MSHA alleged that the company failed to conduct gas surveys often enough to evaluate its…
Secretary of Labor v. Original Sixteen to One Mine, Inc.
Thirty-six gold-mine matters resolved for $7,350
Seven consolidated dockets covered 36 citations and orders at the underground Original Sixteen to One and Plumbago gold mines in California. The matters addressed emergency communications, electrical protection, training, mine records, equipment defects, escape planning, explosives storage…
Secretary of Labor v. Sims Crane
Suspended spreader-bar citation increased to high negligence
Sims Crane employees twice walked beneath a 625-pound steel spreader bar suspended more than 25 feet above the ground at S.D.I. Quarry. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy held that the spreader bar was a suspended load under the cited standard and that workers had to stay clear of its fall zone. The judge…
Secretary of Labor v. Oil Dri Production Company
Four plant-safety citations upheld for $15,200
Oil Dri Production Company litigated five citations from its Ripley Mine and Mill after settling seven others. Judge L. Zane Gill vacated a fire-hazard citation because MSHA did not prove that accumulated waste had an ignition source. He affirmed a $100 housekeeping violation and three…
Secretary of Labor v. Oak Grove Resources, LLC
Twenty-four citations resolved for $104,436
Four consolidated Oak Grove Resources dockets involved 24 citations and orders, including coal-dust accumulations, pre-shift examinations, and conveyor-belt maintenance. Judge Jerold Feldman approved settlement of 19 matters for $54,188. Of the five litigated matters, he affirmed a belt-maintenance…
City of Taunton Department of Public Works
In re City of Taunton Department of Public Works (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 15-08): Nitrogen and copper limits upheld
EPA Region 1 issued the City of Taunton, Massachusetts, an NPDES permit for wastewater discharges from its advanced secondary treatment facility to the Taunton River and Mount Hope Bay. The permit added nitrogen limits that were not in the City's 2001 permit and also set copper, flow, wet-weather…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Eric Greathouse, Ricky Baker, Levi Allen, Michael Payton, Ann Martin, and Mark Richey v. Murray Energy respondents
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Eric Greathouse, et al. v. Murray Energy respondents (FMSHRC WEVA 2015-906 D, et al.): Production bonus plans unlawfully interfered with miners' rights
Six Murray Energy underground coal mines offered shift bonuses based on production but disqualified crews after certain S&S citations, withdrawal orders, lost-time accidents, or absences during the shift. Judge Margaret A. Miller found that the plans created personal financial pressure and peer…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Jeremy Coots v. Yellow Rose Coal Co., LLC
Roof bolter temporarily reinstated after one-day discharge
Yellow Rose Coal hired Jeremy Coots as a roof-bolter operator after its owner praised his work during an observed shift. The next day, the owner learned that Coots had filed a discrimination case against a previous employer and discharged him because he feared Coots would file a complaint against…
Matter of Bandele Adekunle ADENIYE
Statutory maximum controls failure-to-appear aggravated felony
The Board reviewed a removal order based on a conviction for failing to appear to serve a sentence. The underlying offense, possession of stolen mailbox keys, carried a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years, although the respondent had actually been sentenced to 24 months. The Board held that an…
Secretary of Labor v. Cemex Construction Materials, Atlantic, LLC
Elevator-examination citation vacated for lack of fair notice
After a fatal elevator accident at another Cemex plant, MSHA cited the Knoxville Cement Plant for not assigning a competent person to examine each elevator every shift. Judge David F. Barbour found that an elevator can be a working place when employees use it to transport work equipment, but held…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Adam Whiton v. Wharf Resources (USA), Inc.
Five management interview memoranda ordered disclosed
Wharf Resources moved to compel 18 documents from MSHA's investigation of Adam Whiton's discrimination complaint. After reviewing the documents privately, Judge Thomas P. McCarthy held that the agency's case analysis, investigative report, internal memoranda, handwritten notes, and…
Secretary of Labor v. Allstate Materials, LLC, et al.
Eight late contests reopened after MSHA office move
Eight operators asked the Commission to reopen penalty assessments that had become final after MSHA did not receive their contest notices. Each operator said it mailed a timely contest to the Arlington address printed on the assessment, but the mail was lost or returned as undeliverable. The…
Secretary of Labor v. Blue Diamond Coal Company, et al.
Twelve reopening motions dismissed after timely contests found
Twelve operators moved to reopen penalty assessments after MSHA appeared not to have received their contest notices following its headquarters move. MSHA later received a large batch of mail that had not been forwarded to its new address, including all twelve timely notices. The agency processed…
Secretary of Labor v. Maxxim Rebuild Company, LLC
MSHA jurisdiction extends to off-site mining-equipment shop
Maxxim Rebuild operated the Sidney Shop in Kentucky, where employees repaired, rebuilt, fabricated, and stored equipment and parts used mainly at coal mines and preparation plants. At least 75 percent of the shop's work involved equipment for Alpha Natural Resources mines, although the shop also…
JMD Roofing & Siding, LLC
Late contest dismissed after employer stopped participating
OSHA issued JMD Roofing & Siding several serious and other-than-serious construction citations with proposed penalties totaling $8,400. The company received the citation and was told in Spanish how and when to contest it, but filed its notice about six weeks after the deadline. It later stopped…
Matthew A. Varady v. Veris Gold USA, Inc. and Jerritt Canyon Gold, LLC
Immediate review of successor-liability ruling denied
After Jerritt Canyon Gold bought Veris Gold's mine assets through bankruptcy, Judge William B. Moran allowed Matthew Varady to add Jerritt Canyon as a possible successor in his discrimination case. Jerritt Canyon argued that the bankruptcy sale, automatic stay, res judicata, and federal bankruptcy…
BHP Copper, Inc. and Tetra Tech Construction Services v. Secretary of Labor
Accident-investigation facts ordered produced
A Tetra Tech contractor died after falling through a floor opening during rehabilitation work at BHP Copper's Pinto Valley mine. BHP and Tetra Tech conducted an internal ICAM accident investigation and withheld the report, emails, photographs, video, and witness statements from MSHA as attorney…
Cranesville Aggregate Companies, Inc., d/b/a Scotia Bag Plant
Divided Commission leaves six OSHA citations vacated
OSHA issued Cranesville Aggregate three safety citations and three health citations for its bag plant, with proposed penalties totaling $508,500. The judge vacated all six after finding that Mine Safety and Health Administration authority over the facility preempted OSHA jurisdiction. The two…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Jennifer Morreale v. Veris Gold U.S.A., Inc. and its successors
Successor facts ordered developed before bankruptcy ruling
Jennifer Morreale had a Commission-approved discrimination settlement with Veris Gold that remained unpaid after Jerritt Canyon Gold bought the mine assets through bankruptcy. She sought to add Jerritt Canyon Gold, Eric Sprott, and Whitebox Asset Management as successors, while Jerritt Canyon and…
Invensys Systems, Inc.
In re Invensys Systems, Inc. (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 15-10): petition dismissed after settlement
Invensys Systems, Inc. petitioned for review of NPDES Permit No. MA0004120, issued by EPA Region 1. The parties later settled their differences by agreeing to an administrative order requiring compliance with the permit. The Board granted their joint request and dismissed the appeal in its entirety…
Secretary of Labor v. ACI Tygart Valley
Mailed penalty contest reopened
ACI Tygart Valley said it mailed a timely contest of a proposed penalty assessment, but MSHA had no record of receiving it. The assessment therefore became a final Commission order. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but urged ACI to improve its procedures for future contests. The Commission…
Secretary of Labor v. C.R. Meyer & Sons Company, Inc.
Mistaken penalty payment reopened for contest
C.R. Meyer had already contested the underlying citation, but its accounting department inadvertently paid the later proposed assessment instead of sending it to counsel for contest. Counsel had been tracking the case, believed he would receive the assessment, and promptly moved to reopen after…
Secretary of Labor v. Kentucky Fuel Corporation
$39,256 default left final after bad-faith record
Kentucky Fuel missed the deadline to contest a $39,256 proposed assessment and blamed a new safety director who was unfamiliar with MSHA's contest process. The Secretary opposed reopening because the company had extensive unpaid penalties, including $351,696 across 140 cases at its mines. Kentucky…
RG Design Express Inc.
Saw-guard violations affirmed and fall item vacated
RG Design Express was building a home where workers used two table saws without adjustable hood guards or anti-kickback fingers. The judge found that the workers were employees, not independent contractors, and that the foreman's cooperation gave OSHA consent to inspect. Both saw-guard instances…
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.