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.
The American Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. The American Coal Company
$236,162 outstanding settlement balance ordered on remand
These consolidated Galatia Mine cases involved 743 citations, many based on notices to provide safeguards, that had been settled or adjudicated in earlier decisions while American Coal appealed the safeguard issues. The company later withdrew its Commission appeal with prejudice and agreed to pay…
Secretary of Labor v. Warrior Investment Company, Inc.
Belt-maintenance violation affirmed with $5,961 penalty
A section foreman tried to clean mud from a conveyor roller while the belt was stopped but not locked out or blocked against motion. Another miner started the belt, pulling the foreman's arm between the belt and roller and causing an injury that required hospital treatment and a month away from…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Thomas Harper v. Kingston Mining Inc.
Safety complainant temporarily reinstated
Thomas Harper repeatedly complained that another shift was not cleaning and rock-dusting the section properly and also supplied running-right cards for use in a Commission case. Kingston Mining later selected him for layoff through an employee-ranking process. Judge John Kent Lewis found a…
Secretary of Labor v. Lincoln Leasing Co., Inc.
Brake violation affirmed and alarm order reduced
A Lincoln Leasing coal truck had inadequate brakes for weeks, and its driver reported the condition before being told to drive it or go home. Judge L. Zane Gill drew an adverse inference from the company's failure to preserve the bound pre-operation records and found the brake violation S&S, highly…
Secretary of Labor v. Paramont Coal Company Virginia LLC and Paramont Coal Company Virginia LLC v. Secretary of Labor
Misaligned belt found S&S on remand
Paramont's misaligned conveyor belt rubbed against metal hangers near float coal dust and wooden baffles that had begun smoldering from contact with the belt. The Commission remanded so the Judge could consider those conditions together, along with the mine's methane liberation, under continued…
Secretary of Labor v. WM D. Scepaniak, Inc.
Unprotected dump edge violation affirmed at $2,500
Two newly trained dump-truck drivers repeatedly backed across loose overburden toward a 20-foot drop without berms, bumper blocks, or other devices to stop overtravel. Their supervisor watched and directed the work while the usual dozer was unavailable, relying on radio warnings and deep ruts…
Hampford Research, Inc.
In re Hampford Research, Inc. (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 15-03C): $57,474 penalty paid and matter resolved
Hampford Research, Inc. of Stratford, Connecticut faced an EPA Toxic Substances Control Act enforcement complaint. EPA alleged that the company failed on nearly two dozen occasions from 2011 to 2014 to comply with TSCA requirements and implementing regulations. The complaint sought a $57,474…
Matter of R. HUANG, Beneficiary of a visa petition filed by Mei Huang, Petitioner
Retroactive adoption may qualify when petition was filed before age 16
The Board reviewed a visa petition filed by Mei Huang on behalf of her adopted niece, R. Huang, who was born in China. The adoption petition in Hawaii was filed two months before R. Huang's sixteenth birthday, but the adoption decree was issued after that birthday and made retroactive to the filing…
Secretary of Labor v. Northern Illinois Service Co.
Seven citations affirmed and brake-light citation vacated
Northern Illinois Service Company contested eight citations issued after MSHA inspections at two portable mines. Judge L. Zane Gill found seven violations involving an opening at an elevated work platform, missing fuel-line shutoff valves on several pieces of equipment, an unset parking brake, and…
Secretary of Labor v. Alimak Hek Elevator Company
Divided Commission reopened $100 assessment
Alimak Hek Elevator failed to contest a $100 penalty assessment within 30 days and said it had moved offices and did not receive citation documents until months later. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but produced a certified-mail receipt showing that the assessment had been remailed to the…
David Stillwell d/b/a David Stillwell Roofing
Roofing citations affirmed after default
OSHA observed David Stillwell and three other individuals installing shingles on a commercial roof in Northport, Alabama without fall protection or eye protection while using pneumatic nail guns. Stillwell argued that he had no employees, but two workers told OSHA they worked for him and the…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Richard B. Harrison v. Consolidation Coal Co.
Safety-based bonus protest supported temporary reinstatement
Richard Harrison was a beltman at the Loveridge No. 22 Mine who had previously filed a discrimination complaint and participated in Mine Act proceedings. In 2015, he raised concerns that a production-based bonus plan would encourage miners to put production ahead of safety, then returned a voided…
Pocahontas Coal Company, LLC v. Secretary of Labor
Interlocutory review and stay denied
Pocahontas Coal challenged a pattern-of-violations notice involving 42 enforcement actions at its Affinity Mine. During discovery, the Judge permitted limited questions about the facts behind MSHA's selection and grouping of those actions while protecting privileged legal opinions, deliberations…
Secretary of Labor v. Mill Branch Coal Corporation
Four S&S violations affirmed and two unwarrantable findings removed
Mill Branch Coal contested four enforcement actions at its underground Osaka Mine involving damaged roof bolts, an inadequate preshift examination, a non-permissible electrical box in a return air course, and an inadequate electrical examination. Judge Alan G. Paez found all four violations S&S and…
Mark Gray v. North Fork Coal Corporation
Handwriting evidence did not change dismissal of discrimination claim
Coal miner Mark Gray alleged that North Fork Coal fired him for refusing to roof bolt an excessively deep cut and for insisting that ventilation curtains be hung while he worked. The Commission had vacated an earlier dismissal and remanded the case because the Judge improperly excluded expert…
Portable, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor
Unjustified inspection-delay case supported fee award
Portable prevailed in the underlying penalty case after Judge William B. Moran found that a roughly 30-minute wait for an escort did not unreasonably delay or indirectly deny an MSHA inspection. Portable then sought attorney fees and expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act. The Secretary…
Secretary of Labor v. Jeppesen Gravel
Sanctions denied but trial evidence limited
The Secretary sought sanctions after Jeppesen Gravel, a small pro se operator, allegedly failed to provide complete discovery responses in a case involving 18 citations. Judge Priscilla M. Rae found that Jeppesen had responded to the extent of his abilities and that the Secretary's multiple sets of…
Black Beauty Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor
Accident-site citation settled after remand
A roof bolter at Black Beauty Coal's Air Quality No. 1 Mine was struck by fallen roof material, remained able to walk, and was treated for contusions and abrasions. Black Beauty reported the event to MSHA but resumed mining at the roof-fall site before an inspector arrived, leading to a citation…
Matter of P. SINGH, Attorney
Impersonating legal assistant warrants suspension
The Board reviewed disciplinary action against P. Singh, a California attorney. The Executive Office for Immigration Review alleged that Singh enlisted a legal assistant to impersonate him during telephonic appearances in at least eight cases, and the adjudicating official sustained the charges…
Pullman Power, LLC
Controlling-employer claims reinstated and remanded
Pullman Power was a contractor at a West Virginia power-plant construction project where a specialty subcontractor fabricated fiberglass-reinforced plastic liners. OSHA alleged excessive styrene exposure and use of flammable liquid within 50 feet of an ignition source, asserting that Pullman was…
Star Mine Operations, LLC v. Secretary of Labor
Civil cases stayed during criminal investigation
MSHA issued 171 citations and orders to Star Mine Operations after two miners died from carbon-monoxide exposure in 2013, two miners were injured after a 2014 blast, and other inspections occurred at the Revenue Mine. The Secretary sought to stay the civil proceedings during a related federal…
Secretary of Labor v. The Doe Run Company
Nitrogen-dioxide monitoring citation vacated
MSHA cited Doe Run's underground lead and zinc mine for not continuously monitoring nitrogen dioxide while five miners loaded explosives from a single diesel-powered truck. The inspector's elevated gas reading was later invalidated because his detector was not properly calibrated, and the record…
Secretary of Labor v. Sierra Silica Resources
Missed penalty contest reopened for new operator
Sierra Silica received a proposed penalty assessment on March 20, 2014, but did not submit a contest within 30 days. The company said it was new to MSHA procedures and mistakenly failed to send the assessment to counsel for review. The Secretary emphasized that operators must understand procedural…
Secretary of Labor v. Traylor Mining, LLC
Special-assessment form not compelled before hearing
The Secretary proposed a specially assessed $52,500 penalty after an injury at Traylor Mining's Bulldog Mine. Traylor moved to compel production of MSHA's special-assessment review form, while the Secretary claimed deliberative-process privilege and said all factual information had already been…
Secretary of Labor v. Wake Stone Corporation
Misread stay order supported reopening
Wake Stone received a proposed penalty assessment on February 22, 2014, but did not contest it before it became a final order. The company had misread an earlier order staying the dockets pending assessment to mean that its obligation to contest the eventual assessment was also stayed. The…
Secretary of Labor v. Livingston Limestone Company, Inc.
Paid assessment not reopened for possible individual case
Livingston Limestone paid a proposed penalty assessment in full before it became a final Commission order. Months later, MSHA informed a company agent that it proposed to seek an individual civil penalty against him under section 110(c). Livingston asked to reopen the company assessment because it…
Secretary of Labor v. Solar Sources, Inc.
Mailed penalty contest reopened despite missing receipt
Solar Sources received a proposed penalty assessment on March 20, 2014, and said it mailed a contest within the required time. MSHA had no record of receiving that contest, so the assessment became a final Commission order on April 21. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but urged the operator…
Secretary of Labor v. Rex Coal Company, Inc.
Two-day-late penalty contest reopened
Rex Coal received a proposed penalty assessment on March 15, 2014, but did not contest it within the required 30 days. The assessment became a final Commission order on April 14, 2014. Rex said a clerical error caused its contest to be filed two days late, and the Secretary did not oppose reopening…
Cooper T. Smith, Inc.
Unsafe cargo-hold access violation affirmed
Cooper T. Smith loaded large sacks from a ship into a barge on the Mississippi River near Darrow, Louisiana. Employees entered the 12-to-14-foot-deep hold by climbing stacked sacks weighing one to two tons instead of using the available extension ladder. A sack shifted while an employee descended…
Mahle Engine Components USA, Inc.
Three lead-standard items vacated for insufficient proof
Mahle Engine Components produced lead-coated steel for automotive parts at its McConnelsville, Ohio facility. OSHA alleged deficient lead housekeeping in a break room, an unclean change room, and failures to provide six-month blood-lead monitoring to certain employees. The judge found the…
Pocahontas Coal Company, LLC v. Secretary of Labor
Reconsideration denied and factual POV discovery ordered
Pocahontas Coal sought facts showing how MSHA selected and grouped 42 enforcement actions in a pattern-of-violations notice. The Secretary asked the Judge to reconsider and stay an earlier discovery order, arguing that internal deliberations were privileged and that the pattern decision received…
Secretary of Labor v. Commonwealth Mining, LLC
Late reopening request denied after paid assessment
Commonwealth Mining paid a proposed penalty assessment in August 2012, and the assessment became a final Commission order later that month. The company said it had previously requested an MSHA conference and mistakenly assumed that denial of the conference ended its right to contest the violations…
Secretary of Labor v. Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
One-day-late penalty contests reopened
Jim Walter Resources received two proposed penalty assessments on July 11, 2014. A mail-processing error led the company to believe the contest deadline was two days later than the date recorded by MSHA, causing it to miss the actual deadline by one day. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but…
Secretary of Labor v. Four Corners Materials
Four-year-delayed reopening request denied
Four Corners Materials said it mailed a timely penalty contest in March 2009 but used the wrong case number. By August 2009, the company knew that the assessment had become final, and MSHA had also sent a delinquency notice in June. The debt was referred for Treasury collection and was paid through…
Matter of Alcibiades Antonio PENA, Respondent
Matter of Alcibiades Antonio PENA (BIA ID 3842): returning permanent residents must be charged under the proper provision
The Board reviewed the removal case of a Dominican citizen who had been granted lawful permanent resident status and later returned to the United States after travel abroad. The Immigration Judge treated him as an arriving alien and sustained inadmissibility charges based on alleged fraud and…
Mark L. Lujan v. Signal Peak Energy, LLC
Medical-condition work-refusal claim required a hearing
Mark Lujan alleged that Signal Peak suspended and later terminated him after gout flare-ups made him unable to walk and, in his view, unsafe to enter the mine. Signal Peak sought summary decision, arguing that a medical absence was not protected activity, that Lujan left after time-sheet…
Windfall Oil & Gas, Inc.
In re Windfall Oil & Gas, Inc. (EAB UIC Appeal Nos. 14-73 through 14-190): UIC permit review denied
EPA Region 3 issued Windfall Oil & Gas, Inc. a Class II Underground Injection Control permit for the Zelman #1 disposal well in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania. One hundred eighteen petitioners challenged the permit, raising concerns about the area of review, the geologic confining layer, natural…
Scott D. McGlothlin v. Dominion Coal Corporation
Part 90 pay cut held discriminatory before relief phase
Scott McGlothlin was a continuous-miner operator who began the medical evaluation process for Part 90 protection after being diagnosed with pneumoconiosis. While that evaluation was pending, Dominion permanently reassigned him to less-dusty scoop work and reduced his hourly pay from $35 to $25.67…
Secretary of Labor v. Mize Granite Quarries, Inc.
Fall-protection citation settled at $27,250
An MSHA inspector observed a miner drilling without fall protection on a sloping quarry ledge, within six feet of an edge more than 20 feet above the quarry floor. Mize Granite conceded the violation but argued that the proposed $45,000 penalty would threaten its ability to remain in business…
Matter of J-R-R-A-, Respondent
Matter of J-R-R-A- (BIA ID 3841): competency concerns require a careful asylum credibility assessment
The Board reviewed a Honduran respondent's asylum, withholding, and Convention Against Torture claims after the Immigration Judge found him removable and denied relief. The record showed that the respondent had difficulty answering basic questions, gave confusing and disjointed testimony, and might…
MDC Drywall, Inc.
Repeat aerial-lift violation affirmed with reduced penalty
OSHA observed two MDC Drywall employees in an aerial-lift basket about 24 feet above a mall parking lot in Oklahoma City. The foreman wore a harness and lanyard but had not attached it to the lift, while the other employee wore no harness or lanyard. The foreman's knowledge was imputed to the…
Secretary of Labor v. Austin Powder Company
Explosives storage area held within MSHA jurisdiction
Austin Powder provided blasting services at Parsons Quarry and leased an explosives storage area located within the quarry property. After MSHA cited conditions at that facility, the company argued that the storage site fell outside Mine Act jurisdiction and that inconsistent earlier enforcement…
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Midwest Mining LLC
$642,196 settlement approved
MSHA cited Peabody Midwest Mining for failing to provide requested Part 50 information and later proposed a $4,000 daily penalty until the company complied. The underlying citation was affirmed by the Seventh Circuit, and the daily penalty accrued to approximately $2.76 million before Peabody said…
Matter of Mario A. FAJARDO ESPINOZA, Respondent
Matter of Mario A. FAJARDO ESPINOZA (BIA ID 3840): Family Unity benefits do not count as an admission
The Board reviewed the removal case of a Mexican respondent who received Family Unity Program benefits in 2002 and became a lawful permanent resident in 2005. After a 2012 conviction for possessing methamphetamine, the Immigration Judge found him removable and denied cancellation of removal and…
UtahAmerican Energy, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor
Outburst reporting plan survives summary challenge
UtahAmerican Energy challenged additions to the Lila Canyon Mine's roof control plan for violent or unusually frequent coal and rock outbursts. The provisions required immediate notice to MSHA, a temporary production stop, restricted access while hazards were addressed, and a safety determination…
Eagle Mine LLC
In re Eagle Mine LLC (EAB UIC Appeal No. 15-01): petition dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
Save the Wild U.P. asked the Environmental Appeals Board to review a groundwater discharge permit that Michigan issued to Eagle Mine LLC. The petitioner argued that the discharge should instead be regulated under an NPDES permit and asked the Board to require Michigan or EPA to act. The Board…
GT Tile Loading
Notice of contest held timely and default set aside
An administrative law judge affirmed two serious items and $3,600 in penalties after concluding that GT Tile Loading filed its notice of contest one day late. The Commission recalculated the statutory fifteen-working-day period from the company's December 5, 2014 receipt of the citation. Saturdays…
Larry McMurran, d/b/a Lar's Plumbing, Inc.
Default set aside to examine settlement compliance
An administrative law judge entered default against Lar's Plumbing after the company did not respond to a show-cause order concerning an unfinished settlement agreement. The default affirmed nine serious items and restored the original $12,400 proposed penalty instead of the settlement amount of…
Globe Energy Services, LLC
Stair-rail item affirmed and exit-route item vacated
Globe Energy Services employees used a metal stairway to reach a platform about 20 feet above oil and saltwater tanks at a Henderson, Texas worksite. The stair rails were 40.5 inches high and lacked an intermediate rail, contrary to the general-industry stairway requirements. Globe's field…
Longhorn Service Company
Mixed ruling on well-rig fall and fire hazards
Longhorn Service Company operated a well-servicing rig near Alexander, North Dakota. The judge affirmed serious items involving an unguarded hole in the rig floor, an inadequately guarded open platform, and improperly maintained and inspected fire extinguishers. A repeat stair-railing item was also…
Secretary of Labor v. Drummond Company, Inc.
Refuge-component citation vacated, companion settled for $963
MSHA cited Drummond after an approved air-monitoring component was not installed in a refuge alternative by the December 31, 2013 deadline. Drummond had ordered the approved component with a confirmed pre-deadline delivery date, but the distributor delivered it one day after the citation. Judge…
Secretary of Labor v. Drummond Company, Inc.
Open mandoor violation affirmed at $2,678
Drummond propped open a ventilation mandoor for at least 90 minutes while a loader pushed a large drainage pipe through it at the gassy Shoal Creek Mine. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy found that this use defeated the door's purpose of separating intake and return air and disrupted the longwall…
Peacock Timber Company, Inc.
Lockout, respirator, and noise items affirmed
Peacock Timber operated a seven-employee sawmill in Troy, Alabama. The judge affirmed a serious lockout/tagout item because employees serviced multi-energy-source mill equipment without documented machine-specific procedures. An other-than-serious respirator item was affirmed because employees…
Secretary of Labor v. Vermont Quarries Corporation
Settlement motion denied for unexplained reductions
The Secretary asked to settle citations against Vermont Quarries involving unsecured marble slabs, hazardous overhead ice, unsafe access, inadequate ground examinations, and combustible material near an escapeway. Judge William B. Moran denied the motion because the proposed reductions were not…
Matter of Mario FRANCISCO-ALONZO, Respondent
Matter of Mario FRANCISCO-ALONZO (BIA ID 3839): felony battery is a crime of violence under the ordinary-case test
The Board reviewed the removal case of a Guatemalan lawful permanent resident convicted of felony battery in Florida. The Immigration Judge had terminated the proceedings after finding that the conviction was not categorically a crime of violence under 18 U.S.C. § 16(b). The Board held that the…
Secretary of Labor v. Oak Grove Resources, LLC
Flagrant designation deleted from coal-dust order
MSHA designated extensive combustible accumulations along Oak Grove Mine's Main North 3 belt as a repeated flagrant violation. Judge Jerold Feldman emphasized that the accumulations remained a serious alleged section 75.400 violation, but held that the flagrant statute requires a condition capable…
Secretary of Labor v. Oak Grove Resources, LLC
Flagrant-violation test certified for review
A contemporaneous ALJ order removed the flagrant designation from an alleged coal-dust accumulation violation at Oak Grove Mine. Judge Jerold Feldman concluded that a flagrant violation must be reasonably expected to proximately cause death or serious bodily injury based on the conditions…
Frank Rodriguez v. Lehigh Southwest Cement Company
Confidential discrimination settlement completed
Frank Rodriguez brought a Mine Act discrimination complaint against Lehigh Southwest Cement Company. After several continuances and two hearing sessions, the parties reached a confidential settlement and asked the Judge to review it without public disclosure. Judge Alan G. Paez placed the agreement…
Secretary of Labor v. Paramont Coal Company Virginia LLC
Belt-fire S&S ruling vacated for ignoring baffles
MSHA cited Paramont after a misaligned conveyor belt rubbed bottom roller hangers near coal-dust accumulations and wooden ventilation baffles. The ALJ found the alignment violation but ruled it was not significant and substantial, focusing on the hangers and excluding the baffles because they had…
Mountain States Contractors, LLC
Willful crane wire-rope violation affirmed
Mountain States Contractors used a crawler crane while building bridges over the Cumberland River in Gallatin, Tennessee. The crane's boom cable snapped on May 21, 2013, causing the boom to collapse onto a highway. Daily and annual inspection records had documented damaged cables, broken wires, and…
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.