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. David Duquette Excavating and Jessica Russell
Borrow-pit case dismissed for lack of Mine Act jurisdiction
David Duquette Excavating intermittently removed bank-run earthen material, used a scalping screen to remove debris, and transported the material for fill at its excavation projects. MSHA treated the site as a mine and issued nine equipment, berm, and notification citations with $908 in proposed…
Secretary of Labor v. Jacobs Field Services
Secretary ordered to support protruding-nail settlement reduction
Jacobs Field Services proposed settling 19 citations for $20,022 instead of $28,543. One disputed citation involved boards with nails protruding two to three inches at a laydown yard, and the parties sought to remove its S&S designation and reduce its penalty from $1,795 to $800. Judge William B…
Secretary of Labor v. Black Beauty Coal Company
Accident-site citation remanded, examination-order vacatur affirmed
Black Beauty resumed mining and altered a roof-fall scene after reporting the incident to MSHA, and an ALJ affirmed an accident-site preservation citation after cutting short the hearing. The Commission held that an actual accident, meaning an injury with a reasonable potential to cause death…
Risa Management Corp.
Default entered after repeated failures to participate
Risa Management contested ten serious and one other-than-serious citation carrying $34,300 in proposed penalties, then entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The judge ruled that the safety-enforcement proceeding was not automatically stayed, although payment of any penalty would remain under the…
Secretary of Labor v. Pocahontas Coal Company, Inc.
Economic-harm testimony excluded from pattern case
MSHA placed Pocahontas Coal Company's Affinity Mine on a pattern of violations and later issued withdrawal orders, six of which were included in this docket. Pocahontas sought testimony from Gary Chilcot about economic harm caused by stopping production under the pattern notice. Judge Margaret A…
Secretary of Labor v. Kerneos, Inc.
MSHA jurisdiction upheld at specialty cement plant
MSHA issued citations at Kerneos' Chesapeake Plant, which makes specialty calcium aluminate cement from alumina and quicklime. Kerneos argued that OSHA, not MSHA, had jurisdiction because the plant did not extract minerals and used materials already processed elsewhere. Judge L. Zane Gill held that…
Secretary of Labor v. Newmont USA Limited
Barricade violation affirmed, S&S finding vacated
Newmont shut off an auxiliary fan and tied off ventilation bags in two headings at its Midas gold mine, leaving ropes and signs stating that a heading inspection was required. The Commission affirmed that the headings were unventilated and that ropes and signs that did not prohibit entry failed to…
Secretary of Labor v. Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Roof-control violation reinstated after fatal fall
A miner performing ventilation work at Jim Walter Resources' No. 7 underground coal mine was fatally injured when roof rock fell in a supported area near an earlier roof fall. An ALJ vacated MSHA's citation after finding no objective warning that additional support was needed. The Commission…
Geason Enterprises, L.L.C., GE Ventures, L.P., Hammerhead Off-Road, Inc., TJ Power Sports L.L.C., Shanghai Howhit Machinery Manufacture Co., Ltd., and Shanghai Tong Jian Sports Equipment Co., Ltd.
In re Geason Enterprises, L.L.C., et al. (EAB CAA Appeal No. 15-01C): Consent Agreement ratified
Geason Enterprises, L.L.C., GE Ventures, L.P., Hammerhead Off-Road, Inc., TJ Power Sports L.L.C., Shanghai Howhit Machinery Manufacture Co., Ltd., and Shanghai Tong Jian Sports Equipment Co., Ltd. resolved an EPA Clean Air Act matter through a Consent Agreement. The Environmental Appeals Board…
Secretary of Labor v. Rhino Eastern, LLC
Final penalty assessment reopened
Rhino Eastern said it timely mailed a contest of a proposed penalty assessment, but MSHA had no record of receiving it and the assessment became final. Rhino also added a second level of oversight to its contest process to prevent future filing failures, and the Secretary did not oppose reopening…
Secretary of Labor v. Petro Chemical Insulation, Inc.
Timely penalty contest sent back for proceedings
MSHA marked Petro Chemical Insulation's penalty assessment delinquent after an agency error made it appear that Petro had missed the 30-day contest deadline. The record showed that Petro mailed its contest on May 30, 2014, and MSHA received it on June 2, the date the assessment otherwise would have…
Quandel Construction Group, Inc.
Attorney-fee application denied despite citation victory
Quandel prevailed in the underlying case when the judge vacated an aerial-lift fall-protection citation based on unpreventable employee misconduct. It then sought $8,929 in attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act. The judge denied the application because OSHA had photographic evidence…
Secretary of Labor v. Tata Chemicals (Soda Ash) Partners
Staffing error excused and assessment reopened
Tata Chemicals missed a penalty-contest deadline while its usual contest manager was on medical leave, the manager's assistant had been reassigned, and an inexperienced replacement misunderstood two assessment packages from the same inspection. Tata discovered the error, moved to reopen less than a…
Secretary of Labor v. Brand Energy & Infrastructure Services
Misrouted assessment reopened
Brand Energy's counsel contested the underlying citation but did not receive the later penalty assessment because MSHA sent it to the company's Georgia address rather than its California regional office. The assessment became final even though delivery was acknowledged at the address of record…
Secretary of Labor v. N.A. Degerstrom, Inc.
Claimed timely contest supports reopening
N.A. Degerstrom said it timely contested a proposed penalty assessment, although MSHA had no record of receiving the contest and the assessment became final. The company moved to reopen immediately after receiving a delinquency notice, and the Secretary did not oppose relief. In the interest of…
Secretary of Labor v. LCT Energy, LP
Clerical error corrected through reopening
LCT Energy missed the deadline to contest part of a proposed penalty assessment because of a clerical error, while timely paying the citations it did not dispute. The company changed its procedures and moved to reopen shortly after receiving a delinquency notice, and the Secretary did not oppose…
Secretary of Labor v. Freeport-McMoran Chino Mines Company
Two-day-late contest reopened
Freeport-McMoran Chino Mines missed a penalty-contest deadline while its health and safety manager was outside the country on company business. The company attempted to file the contest two days late, and the Secretary did not oppose reopening. In the interest of justice, the Commission reopened…
Secretary of Labor v. Remington, LLC
Truck-safety settlement reduction denied
The Secretary proposed reducing $8,325 in penalties to $4,163 for two citations involving a loaded coal truck that rolled backward and overturned, causing a lost-time injury to its driver. The post-accident investigation found six of ten brakes inoperable and a disconnected seat-belt tether…
Secretary of Labor v. A Mining Group, LLC
Overdue extinguisher inspection brings $100 penalty
An MSHA inspector found one fire extinguisher at A Mining Group's limestone quarry was two months overdue for its annual inspection. Judge Priscilla M. Rae held that every extinguisher kept in service must be inspected annually, even if no regulation required the operator to place that extinguisher…
Matter of Armando CERDA REYES, Respondent
Matter of Armando CERDA REYES (BIA ID 3829): bond-redetermination filing rules concern venue, not jurisdiction
The Board reviewed a bond-redetermination dispute after an Immigration Judge declined to hear the request because the respondent had been transferred to a detention facility in another state. The Board held that the filing rules in 8 C.F.R. § 1003.19(c) are mandatory but concern venue, not the…
Jacobs Field Services of North America, Inc.
Two process-equipment integrity items affirmed after chemical release
A Jacobs maintenance technician was burned when removing bolts from an actuator assembly released a hazardous chemical from a settling tank at an AkzoNobel plant. The judge held that Jacobs could be responsible as the exposing contractor even though AkzoNobel owned and operated the process. Jacobs…
Secretary of Labor v. Hanson Aggregates Midwest, LLC
Loose highwall boulder violation brings $100
An MSHA inspector found a large loose boulder about 40 feet above a travel route at Hanson Aggregates' limestone quarry. Judge Kenneth R. Andrews held that the operator violated 30 C.F.R. § 56.3200 because the boulder created a crushing hazard, work-related travel occurred below it, and the area…
American Made Tires, Inc.
Default affirms repeat, serious, and failure-to-abate penalties
American Made Tires contested repeat and serious citations from a follow-up OSHA inspection, along with a notification that earlier violations remained unabated. The company then missed settlement and prehearing conferences, refused discovery, failed to answer the complaints or show-cause order…
Matter of L-A-C-, Applicant
Matter of L-A-C- (BIA ID 3828): corroboration rules do not require advance notice or an automatic continuance
The Board reviewed a Guatemalan applicant's appeal from the denial of withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture. The Immigration Judge found the applicant not credible and also found that he had not provided enough corroborating evidence. The Board held that an…
Knight Hawk Coal, LLC v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. Knight Hawk Coal, LLC
Knight Hawk Coal, LLC v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC LAKE 2014-575, et al.): Red zone violation and $70,000 penalty affirmed
A continuous mining machine operator at Knight Hawk's Prairie Eagle South Mine was fatally injured after entering the machine's red zone while it was being repositioned. Knight Hawk stipulated that this violated its approved roof control plan and was significant and substantial, but contested high…
Secretary of Labor v. Mach Mining, LLC
Ventilation citation affirmed, three bolter citations vacated
MSHA cited Mach Mining for failing to keep a ventilation curtain within 40 feet of the face during a crosscut and for three alleged defects in roof-bolter dust collection systems. Judge Alan G. Paez affirmed the ventilation-plan violation as S&S with moderate negligence because the missing curtain…
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Crowd-control judge decision vacated after contest withdrawal
OSHA issued a general-duty-clause citation after a Wal-Mart employee was killed in a crowd surge during a 2008 holiday sales event. The chief judge affirmed the serious item and a $7,000 penalty, and the case was directed for Commission review. Wal-Mart then withdrew both its notice of contest and…
Secretary of Labor v. Big Laurel Mining Corporation
Float coal dust order reduced to $3,000 citation
MSHA found an accumulation of float coal dust along a conveyor belt at Big Laurel's underground coal mine and issued an unwarrantable-failure withdrawal order. Judge Alan G. Paez affirmed the violation and high negligence because the accumulation was obvious, the mine had received repeated…
Elementis Chromium, Inc.
In re Elementis Chromium, Inc. (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 13-03): Reporting penalty vacated
EPA alleged that Elementis Chromium, Inc., a chromium-chemical manufacturer, violated TSCA section 8(e) by failing to report an occupational epidemiology study concerning hexavalent chromium and lung-cancer risk. An administrative law judge found liability and assessed a $2,571,800 penalty. The…
Secretary of Labor v. Northern Aggregate, Inc.
Thirteen citations resolved for $19,070
MSHA litigated 13 citations and orders from Northern Aggregate's portable crusher and two processing plants, involving flying rock, compressed-gas storage, platforms, guards, electrical cables and grounding, equipment defects, brakes, and warning horns. Judge Priscilla M. Rae upheld seven…
Sandra G. McDonald v. TMK Enterprise Security
Amendment denied and complaint dismissed
Sandra McDonald filed a discrimination complaint against TMK Enterprise Security based on her work as a mine-site security guard. Judge Jerold Feldman found that the incorporated entity had been terminated before McDonald's employment and that she had instead worked for individuals who continued…
Secretary of Labor v. Humphreys Enterprises, Inc.
Steep spoil banks and missed examinations bring $4,000
Humphreys Enterprises mined between two spoil banks whose slopes exceeded the 45-degree maximum in its approved ground control plan. Judge Alan G. Paez found that removing material at the toe, water seepage, and freeze-thaw conditions made slope failure reasonably likely while equipment operators…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Carlton Johnson v. BASF Corporation
Economic temporary reinstatement approved
Carlton Johnson alleged that BASF discharged him after he raised concerns about unsafe electrical work and filed a safety complaint with MSHA. Judge Janet G. Harner found the complaint was not frivolously brought based on the special investigator's declaration. She ordered temporary reinstatement…
Matter of Carlos Eugenio VIDES CASANOVA, Respondent
Matter of Carlos Eugenio VIDES CASANOVA (BIA ID 3827): command responsibility supported removability
The Board reviewed an appeal by a former Director of the Salvadoran National Guard and Minister of Defense who was ordered removed for participating in acts of torture and extrajudicial killings in El Salvador. The Board held that the totality of the record supported the conclusion that his command…
AMVAC Chemical Corporation
In re AMVAC Chemical Corporation (EAB FIFRA Appeal No. 15-01C): $34,320 recordkeeping settlement
AMVAC Chemical Corporation, a pesticide company based in Newport Beach, California, agreed to resolve an EPA enforcement action under FIFRA. EPA alleged that AMVAC failed to retain required raw data for pesticide studies, submitted false compliance statements about laboratory practices, and failed…
Secretary of Labor v. Excel Mining, LLC
Pump permissibility findings and $49,000 affirmed
Two de-watering pump starter boxes in Excel Mining's underground coal mine lacked packing that would contain an internal ignition, and one cable had been cut down to fit the box. The Commission affirmed that the violations were S&S because the pumps were near methane-releasing seals, five returns…
All Florida Tree & Landscape, Inc.
Willful power-line violations affirmed after fatal electrocution
Two All Florida employees were cutting branches high in a tree with crane rigging near energized overhead lines when one employee was electrocuted. The judge held that the tree removal was maintenance work governed by general-industry standards, not construction work. A serious crane item was…
Secretary of Labor v. Ames Construction, Inc.
Tool-trailer housekeeping citation vacated
MSHA issued an S&S, high-negligence housekeeping citation after an inspector found tools and construction materials in a mobile storage trailer and measured one isolated walkway point at 13 inches wide. Judge David P. Simonton found the trailer relatively clean and orderly, with a generally clear…
Secretary of Labor v. Signal Peak Energy, LLC
Five-day reporting delay brings $60,000 penalty
A longwall roof cave produced an air blast that damaged 78 stoppings and propelled a miner 50 to 80 feet, causing serious and visible injuries. Signal Peak did not notify MSHA, resumed mining through the accident site, and MSHA learned of the incident from a reporter five days later. The Commission…
Jacobs Field Services North America
Four lockout items vacated for lack of knowledge and applicability proof
A Jacobs employee volunteered to help a chemical-plant operator replace a leaking valve, and a flange failure released about 750 pounds of butylene oxide. The Commission agreed that lockout requirements applied to that valve-replacement work because the release caused burns, chemical pneumonia, and…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Dallas Brooks v. Kingston Mining, Inc.
Roof bolter temporarily reinstated
Dallas Brooks alleged that Kingston Mining discharged him after he complained about roof bolters working downwind more than once per shift in violation of the ventilation plan. Judge Priscilla M. Rae found the complaint was not frivolously brought because Brooks described repeated safety…
Secretary of Labor v. Justice Energy Company, Inc.
Haul-road and equipment violations bring $223,781
MSHA issued nine citations at Justice Energy's Red Fox surface mine for a muddy haul road, an inadequate berm, unsafe conditions on a bus used as a mantrip, and defects and oil accumulations on two highwall drills. Judge Jacqueline R. Bulluck affirmed seven litigated S&S citations, including…
Secretary of Labor v. Remington, LLC
Settlement denied for inadequate factual support
The Secretary sought approval to reduce penalties for three alleged violations at Remington's Winchester Mine from $15,794 to $9,500. The proposed settlement would also reduce negligence from high to moderate and change three unwarrantable-failure orders into section 104(a) citations. Judge William…
Secretary of Labor v. Resolution Copper Mining, LLC
Commission orders supplemental briefing on petition for modification
MSHA cited Resolution Copper Mining for allegedly violating the hoisting-speed standard in 30 C.F.R. § 57.19076. After the Commission granted review of an ALJ decision favoring Resolution, a Department of Labor ALJ granted the operator a petition to modify the application of that same standard. The…
Secretary of Labor v. Northshore Mining Company
Mixed ruling and settlements produce $47,135 penalty
Northshore Mining processed taconite ore at a surface facility in Minnesota, where MSHA cited housekeeping, access, electrical, and guarding conditions. Judge David F. Barbour affirmed eight of the nine contested violations, including three S&S housekeeping violations involving slippery floors…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Ralph Keele v. Energy West Mining Company
Retaliatory firing brings reinstatement and $20,000 penalty
Ralph Keele, a diesel mechanic and union safety committee chairman at Energy West's Deer Creek Mine, repeatedly tagged out unsafe equipment and reported safety concerns to management and MSHA. After those reports, management sharply curtailed his inspection and underground duties and later fired…
Scott McGlothlin v. Dominion Coal Corporation
Hearing continued for Part 90 summary-decision briefing
Scott McGlothlin claimed that Dominion Coal reduced his hourly pay after he exercised Part 90 protections based on pneumoconiosis. Part 90 allows an eligible miner to transfer to a lower-dust job without losing the regular rate of pay received immediately before exercising that option. Judge Jerold…
Secretary of Labor v. Manalapan Mining Co., Inc.
Wet belt accumulation modified to moderate-negligence citation
MSHA cited Manalapan Mining for combustible-material accumulations along an underground conveyor belt. The Commission had reinstated the Belt No. 2 violation under the law-of-the-case doctrine and remanded for a decision on unwarrantable failure. Judge Jerold Feldman found that the extensive and…
Clarkson Construction Company, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor
Four enforcement actions vacated for lack of MSHA jurisdiction
Clarkson Construction operated an OSHA-regulated concrete batch plant on property owned by a quarry operator and bought material from the quarry. MSHA cited Clarkson after two of its truck drivers used a tarping area on mine property without fall protection and with a truck running and unchocked…
Secretary of Labor v. Solar Sources, Inc.
Towable water pumps require fire extinguishers
MSHA cited Solar Sources after inspectors found towable wheeled water pumps at two surface coal mines without portable fire extinguishers. The Commission disagreed with the ALJ's conclusion that “mobile equipment” had a clear meaning under 30 C.F.R. § 77.1109(c)(1). It found the term ambiguous…
Lawrence Pendley v. Highland Mining Co. and James Creighton
Interference with miners' representative rights established
Lawrence Pendley alleged that Highland Mining and employee James Creighton interfered with his duties as a miners' representative. Judge Kenneth R. Andrews found that Creighton's repeated confrontational conduct near Pendley and MSHA inspectors reasonably tended to interfere with Pendley's…
Matter of Oshane Shaneil CROSS, Respondent
Matter of Oshane Shaneil CROSS (BIA ID 3826): Jamaican birth law supported derivative citizenship
The Board reviewed the removal order of a Jamaican-born respondent whose father became a United States citizen while the respondent was a lawful permanent resident in his father's custody. The Board held that a person born out of wedlock can qualify as a legitimated child for derivative citizenship…
Matter of Martin CHAIREZ-Castrejon, Respondent
Matter of Martin CHAIREZ-Castrejon (BIA ID 3825): circuit law controls divisibility of a firearm offense
The Board reconsidered the removability of a Mexican lawful permanent resident convicted in Utah of discharging a firearm toward a person. The Board held that Immigration Judges must follow the controlling law of the relevant federal circuit when deciding whether an aggravated felony statute is…
Secretary of Labor v. Bob Bak Construction
Default reopening request remanded for fact finding
Bob Bak Construction asked the Commission to reopen an $86,400 default penalty proceeding, explaining that its owner misunderstood the process after timely contesting the proposed assessment. The Secretary opposed reopening because the request came two years after the show-cause order. Commission…
Secretary of Labor v. Kingstown Corporation
Default reopened for settlement review
The Secretary asked the Commission to reopen Kingstown Corporation's defaulted penalty case. Kingstown had been negotiating a global settlement covering several consolidated cases, and the presiding judge knew of those negotiations. The operator apparently believed that it did not need to answer a…
Secretary of Labor v. Pete Lien & Sons, Inc.
Default vacated after answer was misidentified
Pete Lien & Sons asked the Commission to reopen a penalty case that had defaulted after the company did not appear to answer the Secretary's penalty petition. The operator showed that it had submitted an answer before the deadline, but a typographical error gave the wrong docket and case numbers…
Secretary of Labor v. Medina Crushed Stone, Inc.
Defaults set aside because show-cause orders were not received
Medina Crushed Stone asked the Commission to reopen two defaulted penalty cases after documents were sent to a former employee and the company that had bought its portable crushing plant. Medina had also paid $3,300 after receiving a correctly addressed delinquency notice, believing that payment…
Frank Sica v. Jacobs Field Services
Discrimination complaint dismissed for no protected activity
Frank Sica worked for Jacobs Field Services at the Morenci Mine for about two weeks before being removed from the site and terminated after a dispute over tying off on a scaffold. He alleged that new miners were entitled to leniency and challenged the treatment he received during the safety…
Secretary of Labor v. Janney Painting
Settlement denied for unexplained negligence reduction
The parties proposed resolving four remaining citations for $100 each, with three citations unchanged and one citation's negligence reduced from moderate to low. Judge William B. Moran rejected the settlement because the motion did not explain the considerable mitigating circumstances needed to…
Secretary of Labor v. Tri County Coal, LLC
Seven violations bring $8,853 penalty
MSHA cited Tri County Coal for roof-bolter dust-collection defects, inaccurate escapeway maps, failure to follow the roof-control plan, inadequate rock dust, and defective trailing-cable splices. Judge L. Zane Gill affirmed all seven litigated violations. He removed the S&S designations from two…
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.