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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Star Mine Operations, LLC v. Secretary of Labor
Pattern notice contest dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
MSHA issued Star Mine Operations a written pattern-of-violations notice after Star Mine had sold the Revenue Mine to another company. Star Mine asked the Commission to review the notice, arguing that MSHA continued to identify it publicly as the operator and that dismissal would deny it due…
Secretary of Labor v. Dawes Rigging & Crane Rental
Suspended-load violation affirmed but unwarrantable failure vacated
Dawes Rigging & Crane Rental was assembling a large mobile crane at the Tilden Mine when wind caused a suspended 93,000-pound boom to swing toward the crane cab. At a supervisor's direction, a worker crossed under the boom to pull a tag line and prevent a collision. The Commission held that the…
Matter of Rosa Isela VELASQUEZ-CRUZ, Respondent
Matter of Rosa Isela VELASQUEZ-CRUZ (BIA ID 3822): a criminal-entry conviction interrupts continuous presence
The Board reviewed a Mexican respondent's application for cancellation of removal after she had twice been convicted of illegal entry and then departed and reentered the United States. The Board held that a departure following an illegal-entry conviction interrupts the 10-year period of continuous…
Polylite Roof Decks, Inc.
Late-contest case remanded for settlement review
An administrative law judge had dismissed Polylite Roof Decks' notice of contest as more than nine months late, leaving a three-item serious citation and $8,400 proposed penalty final. While the matter was before the Commission, the parties filed a stipulated settlement. The Commission treated that…
Signature Mining Services, LLC v. Secretary of Labor
Reimbursed legal costs did not support EAJA award
Signature Mining Services prevailed against an overbroad MSHA imminent-danger order and sought $80,004.37 in fees and expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act. Its mine-owner contracting partner had promised to reimburse defense costs and had paid all costs from the underlying contest plus…
Pocahontas Coal Company, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. Pocahontas Coal Company, Inc.
Pocahontas Coal Company, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC WEVA 2014-395-R, et al.): Recusal denied after prehearing plan request
Five withdrawal orders against Pocahontas Coal involved alleged violations of roof-control or ventilation plans at the Affinity Mine. Before hearing, Judge Margaret A. Miller asked the Secretary to provide the relevant plan provisions and invited Pocahontas to identify any disagreement, while…
Secretary of Labor v. Portable, Inc.
Escort wait did not impede inspection
An MSHA inspector waited about 30 minutes at Portable's six-employee sand and gravel operation while mine personnel tried to arrange a safety escort. MSHA cited Portable for impeding the inspection and alternatively argued that calls seeking an escort gave advance notice, proposing a $1,000…
Florida LeMark Corporation
General-duty citation affirmed for ungrouted garage columns
Four people died and others were injured when part of a precast concrete parking garage under construction collapsed. OSHA cited Florida LeMark, the subcontractor responsible for grouting column bases, for leaving two load-bearing columns ungrouted while construction continued. The judge found that…
Secretary of Labor v. Excel Mining, LLC
Ventilation violations affirmed with reduced negligence and penalties
Excel Mining admitted two ventilation-plan violations during retreat mining at its gassy Van Lear Mine. One working face received 3,456 cubic feet of air per minute instead of the required 4,800 while visible dust surrounded the continuous-miner operator, and another area received 10,703 instead of…
Secretary of Labor v. Hecla Limited
Injured miners allowed to intervene
Four miners were injured in a rock burst at Hecla Limited's Lucky Friday Mine, and the related penalty cases involved withdrawal orders issued after MSHA's investigation. The miners asked to intervene, in part because information from the Commission cases could matter to their separate state…
Brody Mining, LLC v. Secretary of Labor; Secretary of Labor v. Brody Mining, LLC
Brody Mining, LLC v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC WEVA 2014-82-R, et al.): Stay of pattern-notice dismissal denied
Judge William B. Moran had dismissed MSHA's pattern-of-violations action against Brody Mining, which prevented new section 104(e) withdrawal orders based on that notice. The Secretary sought an emergency stay while preparing an interlocutory appeal. The Judge found the Secretary had not shown…
Archer Daniels Midland Co.
In re Archer Daniels Midland Co. (EAB UIC Appeal No. 14-72): petition dismissed
Jeffrey Sprague filed a petition seeking review of an Underground Injection Control permit issued to Archer Daniels Midland Company for its Decatur, Illinois, Facility CCS#2. He later filed a Notice of Voluntary Dismissal. The Environmental Appeals Board dismissed the petition.
Matter of UNITED FARM WORKERS FOUNDATION, Applicant
Matter of UNITED FARM WORKERS FOUNDATION (BIA ID 3821): one accreditation application can cover recognized branches
The Board considered five applications by the United Farm Workers Foundation to accredit Luis Guerra at separate recognized branch offices. The Board approved the applications and changed its prior practice of requiring a separate accreditation application for each branch. It held that a recognized…
Matter of AYUDA, Applicant
Matter of AYUDA (BIA ID 3820): recognition approved under individualized fee review
The Board reviewed Ayuda's application for recognition of its Falls Church office as a nonprofit organization providing low-cost immigration legal services. The Board clarified that whether fees are nominal must be decided case by case, considering the organization's location, services, costs, fee…
Matter of ST. FRANCIS CABRINI IMMIGRATION LAW CENTER, Applicant
Matter of ST. FRANCIS CABRINI IMMIGRATION LAW CENTER (BIA ID 3819): recognition denied over nonprofit and independence concerns
The Board reviewed the Saint Francis Cabrini Immigration Law Center's application for recognition as a nonprofit organization providing low-cost immigration legal services. The Department of Homeland Security recommended denial because the organization had not established nonprofit status and…
DeMouy General Contracting, Inc.
Scaffold fall-protection item affirmed against owner and employee
The owner of DeMouy General Contracting and an employee worked about 20 feet above ground on a pump-jack scaffold without effective fall protection. The judge held that the owner was an employee under the OSH Act while performing construction work for the corporation, despite his belief that owners…
Secretary of Labor v. Delta Concrete Products, Inc.
Eight violations upheld and scale-road citation vacated
MSHA contested nine conditions at Delta Concrete Products' small Alaska gravel operation, including electrical wiring and grounding, a damaged handrail, an unstable ramp wall, and missed workplace examinations. Judge David P. Simonton upheld eight violations, including all five electrical citations…
Secretary of Labor v. Northern Illinois Service Company
Ten violations upheld and seat-belt citation vacated
MSHA cited Northern Illinois Service Company's two portable limestone-crushing plants near Rockford, Illinois, for electrical, guarding, equipment, berm, training-record, fire-extinguisher, and examination-record conditions. Judge L. Zane Gill upheld ten violations and vacated one citation…
Secretary of Labor v. SCH Terminal Company, Inc.
Barge lighting violation upheld and three citations vacated
MSHA issued four citations after a deckhand drowned while measuring a coal barge at SCH Terminal Company's riverside loading facility. Judge David P. Simonton vacated the fall-protection citation because the movable-barge setting made tie-off infeasible, the company required approved life vests…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Thomas A. Simpkins, Bucky Thompson, Matthew G. Totten, and Joseph A. Whipkey v. TK Mining Services, LLC and The Marshall County Coal Company
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Thomas A. Simpkins, et al. v. TK Mining Services, LLC and The Marshall County Coal Company (FMSHRC WEVA 2015-99-D, et al.): Two rock-dust work-refusal claims support reinstatement
Four TK Mining Services laborers stopped shoveling beside a moving belt when airborne rock dust impaired visibility and irritated their eyes, noses, and throats at the Marshall County Mine. The mine owner told TK Mining that their services were no longer needed, and TK Mining terminated them five…
Secretary of Labor v. The American Coal Company
Safeguard challenge barred and settlement affirmed
The American Coal Company settled four citations based on three mine-specific safeguards for a total penalty of $9,640 while preserving a challenge to the safeguards' facial validity. After the settlement, the Commission decided in a separate American Coal case that the same three safeguards were…
Scott McGlothlin v. Dominion Coal Corporation
Reconsideration of subpoena ruling denied
Scott McGlothlin alleged that Dominion Coal discriminated against him because he sought protections for miners with pneumoconiosis under 30 C.F.R. Part 90. Dominion asked Judge Jerold Feldman to reconsider an order quashing a subpoena for deleted emails that McGlothlin's wife may have sent from her…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Fred McKinsey v. Pretty Good Sand Company, Inc.
Discrimination found but after-acquired evidence limited relief
Fred McKinsey made internal safety complaints and filed an MSHA hazard complaint while working at Pretty Good Sand Company's Great Pit Mine. Soon afterward, the company reduced his hours, demoted him, increased written criticism, and terminated him. Judge John Kent Lewis found that the protected…
Secretary of Labor v. Mize Granite Quarries, Inc.; Robert W. Mize III; and Clayborn Lewis
Reduced individual penalty affirmed
A Judge found Mize Granite Quarries foreman Clayborn Lewis individually liable for three Mine Act violations but reduced his total proposed penalty from $13,600 to $900 based on inability to pay. Lewis had not submitted his own financial records, and the Secretary argued that he therefore failed to…
Jonway Motorcycle (USA) Co., Ltd., and related respondents
In re Jonway Motorcycle (USA) Co., Ltd., and related respondents (EAB CAA Appeal No. 14-03): default order and final decision
EPA alleged that six companies imported and introduced into U.S. commerce approximately 10,607 highway motorcycles and 388 recreational vehicles, and violated Clean Air Act certification, labeling, warranty, and recordkeeping requirements. The companies did not answer the complaint, so the Board…
Scott McGlothlin v. Dominion Coal Corporation
Subpoena for deleted emails quashed
Scott McGlothlin alleged that Dominion Coal discriminated against him because he sought protections for miners with pneumoconiosis under 30 C.F.R. Part 90. Dominion subpoenaed the Russell County Treasurer's Office for deleted emails that McGlothlin's wife may have sent from her office computer…
Infineum USA L.P.
In re Infineum USA L.P. (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 14-03C): consent agreement ratified
EPA and Infineum USA L.P. signed a Consent Agreement resolving the Toxic Substances Control Act matter. The Environmental Appeals Board incorporated the agreement into its Final Order and ratified it. Infineum was ordered to comply with all of the agreement’s terms and assessed a civil penalty of…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Gary Kittelson v. Northern Aggregate Inc.
Economic reinstatement ordered after termination
Judge John Kent Lewis had ordered Northern Aggregate to temporarily reinstate Gary Kittelson while MSHA's discrimination proceeding remained pending. Northern Aggregate terminated Kittelson on October 13, 2014, in violation of that order. The Secretary moved to enforce temporary reinstatement and…
Big Cat, Inc. d/b/a The Rex
Restaurant chemical-safety items affirmed and power-strip item vacated
OSHA cited The Rex restaurant for inadequate eye and hand protection when employees handled corrosive cleaning chemicals, improper use of a power strip for a refrigerator, and the absence of a written hazard communication program. The judge affirmed the PPE items because safety data sheets required…
Secretary of Labor v. Hecla Limited
Injured former employee denied intervention
Michael Marek was injured in a fall of ground at Hecla's Lucky Friday Mine that killed his brother, and he later brought a civil action against Hecla. He asked to intervene in MSHA's related civil penalty cases as an affected miner, although he no longer worked for Hecla or at the Lucky Friday…
Brody Mining, LLC v. Secretary of Labor; Secretary of Labor v. Brody Mining, LLC
Pattern charge dismissed and underlying citations decided
MSHA placed Brody Mine No. 1 on a pattern of violations based on 54 citations and orders involving escapeway, roof and rib, ventilation, and methane hazards. Judge William B. Moran dismissed the pattern charge because the Secretary would not identify before the hearing what connected the alleged…
Stark Excavating, Inc.
One cave-in item held willful, another serious, and eyewear item vacated
OSHA cited Stark Excavating after finding unprotected excavations at two Illinois worksites, improper eyewear at one site, and spoil piles too close to an excavation. The Commission affirmed the Champaign cave-in item as serious because the competent person made an incorrect but not consciously…
Secretary of Labor v. Ronald Sand & Gravel
Ten violations upheld and penalties set at $1,366
MSHA cited Ronald Sand & Gravel for 11 safety, training, and reporting violations at its small basalt crushing operation. The allegations included failures to lock out equipment, provide required training, use hard hats and eye protection, guard moving parts, provide sanitary facilities, and file a…
Matter of Ezra Kibichii BETT, Respondent
Matter of Ezra Kibichii BETT (BIA ID 3818): Form I-9 evidence supported removal charge
The Board reviewed a Kenyan respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge found him removable and denied his application for adjustment of status. The Board held that Form I-9 employment eligibility forms are admissible in immigration proceedings and may support a removability charge or a decision…
Vitakraft Sunseed, Inc.
Housekeeping and warning-sign violations affirmed, general duty item vacated
Vitakraft Sunseed manufactured small-animal products at a facility where its dust collection system deposited agricultural dust into a wagon inside a dust room. OSHA cited accumulated combustible dust, the absence of warning signs, and an alleged general duty clause violation based on fire and…
MB Consultants, Ltd. d/b/a Murray's Chicken
Lockout, guarding, and chemical-training items largely affirmed
Separate safety and health inspections at Murray's Chicken produced lockout, machine-guarding, hazard-communication, and injury-recording citations. The judge affirmed serious lockout items for inadequate machine-specific procedures, deficient periodic inspections, and insufficient…
Hecla Limited v. Secretary of Labor
Overlapping post-accident withdrawal orders affirmed
MSHA issued a section 103(k) withdrawal order after a November 2011 fall of ground at Hecla's Lucky Friday Mine. A December rockburst then injured seven miners, and MSHA issued a second order covering the entire underground mine. Hecla argued that the mine-wide order made the first order moot and…
Metrex Research, LLC
In re Metrex Research, LLC (EAB FIFRA Appeal No. 14-01C): consent agreement ratified
EPA and Metrex Research, LLC signed a Consent Agreement resolving the matter. The Environmental Appeals Board incorporated the agreement into its Final Order and ratified it. Metrex was ordered to comply with every term of the agreement immediately.
Secretary of Labor v. Kanaval's Excavating & Gravel
Late quarterly report draws $50 penalty
Kanaval's Excavating & Gravel filed its fourth-quarter employment report 14 days after the regulatory deadline. The one-person sand and gravel mine was seasonally closed when the report was due, and the operator corrected the oversight before MSHA identified it. Judge Alan G. Paez granted summary…
Matter of Keisha MUNROE, Respondent
Matter of Keisha MUNROE (BIA ID 3817): extreme-hardship period limited to conditional admission
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal from an Immigration Judge's grant of an extreme-hardship waiver to a conditional permanent resident from Guyana. The Board held that the relevant period for evaluating extreme hardship under section 216(c)(4)(A) of the Immigration and…
Nabors Drilling USA, LP
Electrical violations affirmed after fatal electrocution
Nabors Drilling operated an oil and gas drilling rig where a 480-volt cord ran beneath a sharp-edged metal grate outside a change house. The grate pierced the cord, became energized, and an employee was fatally electrocuted. The judge found that reasonable inspections would have revealed damaged…
Secretary of Labor v. Brooks Run Mining Company, LLC
Mistakenly paid contested citation reopened
Brooks Run filed a pre-penalty contest of Citation No. 6617100 but later mistakenly paid the proposed assessment instead of contesting it again at the penalty stage. Counsel discovered the error after the assessment had become a final Commission order. The Secretary did not oppose reopening and…
Secretary of Labor v. CCZ, Inc.
Contest sent with payment receives merits review
CCZ's penalty assessment became final after MSHA recorded no timely contest. CCZ said it mailed the contest to MSHA's payment center together with a check for the penalties it did not dispute. The payment center received a check dated within the contest period, and the Secretary did not oppose…
Secretary of Labor v. Dominion Coal Corporation
Misplaced assessment reopened
Dominion Coal's penalty assessment became final after its safety department misplaced the document instead of forwarding it to counsel. The company discovered the error when MSHA sent a delinquency notice. The Secretary did not oppose reopening and noted that Dominion had timely paid the penalties…
West Bay Exploration Co.
In re West Bay Exploration Co. (EAB UIC Appeal No. 14-66): reconsideration denied
Peter Bormuth asked the Environmental Appeals Board to reconsider its order denying his challenge to a West Bay Exploration Company underground injection control permit. He argued that the Board used the wrong review standard, should have considered broader aquifer concerns, acted with bias, and…
Secretary of Labor v. Charles Reckner, Jr., employed by Buck Run Aggregates
Individual penalty contest reopened
Charles Reckner did not separately contest a proposed individual penalty under section 110(c) because he believed the mine operator's contest covered his assessment. His individual assessment therefore became a final Commission order, while the operator timely contested its own assessment. The…
Secretary of Labor v. Cheyenne Mining Company, Inc.
Allegedly mailed penalty contest allowed to proceed
Cheyenne Mining's penalty assessment became a final Commission order after MSHA recorded no timely contest. The company said its counsel had mailed the contest on time and learned of the problem only after receiving a collection notice. The Secretary did not oppose reopening, although MSHA's Civil…
Secretary of Labor v. Cheyenne Elkhorn Coal Company, Inc.
Omitted citations restored to timely contest
Cheyenne Elkhorn timely contested four citations on its proposed assessment contest form. MSHA mistakenly processed only two of them, leaving Citation Nos. 8279020 and 8278023 appearing to have become final. The Commission concluded that the two omitted citations had been properly contested and…
Secretary of Labor v. Benton County Stone Company, Inc.
Two citation contests reopened
Benton County Stone said it mailed a timely contest for two citations to MSHA's payment center and produced a fax copy dated within the filing period. MSHA received payment of the undisputed penalties, but later sent a delinquency notice and received payment for the disputed citations as well. The…
Secretary of Labor v. Professional Contracting, LLC
Assessment missed after relocation reopened
Professional Contracting's proposed assessment was delivered to its address of record and became final without a contest. Eddie Joe Estep said he had relocated and never received the assessment, then discovered the delinquency while checking MSHA's data system. The Secretary did not oppose…
Secretary of Labor v. The Quartz Corporation USA
Unanswered assessment inquiry supports reopening
The Quartz Corporation believed its proposed assessment might contain an error and said it tried repeatedly to contact MSHA. The assessment became a final Commission order before MSHA responded, and the eventual response said the agency no longer had jurisdiction. The Secretary did not oppose…
Secretary of Labor v. Tackett Creek Mining
Clerical-error default reopened
Tackett Creek Mining failed to contest a proposed penalty assessment before it became a final Commission order. The company attributed the missed deadline to a clerical error and said it hired a consultant to prevent future mistakes. The Secretary did not oppose reopening and urged the operator to…
Austin Powder Company v. Secretary of Labor; Secretary of Labor v. Austin Powder Company
Eight unitary-operator cases consolidated
The Secretary asked to consolidate all pending Austin Powder matters to determine whether the company and its subsidiaries were unitary operators. Austin Powder objected that the issue should be decided case by case, but it had previously sought stays because the same issue was being litigated in…
Secretary of Labor v. Extra Energy, Inc.
Unsafe haul-truck steering violation affirmed
An MSHA inspector found one inch of vertical play in a steering ball joint on Extra Energy's Caterpillar 777B haul truck, along with a loose nut and a sheared cotter-pin keeper. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy found that the defects compromised wheel alignment and steering and required the truck to be…
Secretary of Labor v. State of Alaska, Department of Transportation
Highway gravel operation falls under Mine Act
Alaska's transportation department excavated sand and gravel from pits along the Dalton Highway and used a portable screener to separate material into different sizes for road maintenance. An ALJ dismissed two equipment citations after treating the sites as borrow pits outside Mine Act…
Secretary of Labor v. Warrior Investments Company, Inc.
Emergency-training citation affirmed and settlements approved
Warrior Investments operated the Maxine-Pratt Mine without anyone trained at that mine as the responsible person for directing miners during a fire, explosion, or other emergency. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy affirmed the responsible-person training citation as S&S, high negligence, and an…
Secretary of Labor v. The American Coal Company
Two unions allowed into settlement-review case
The UMWA and USW sought to intervene in a case concerning how section 110(k) governs Commission review of Mine Act settlements. The Secretary opposed intervention because neither union represented miners at the mine involved. The Commission found that both unions had a sufficient legally…
Academy Roofing Corp.
Fire-extinguisher citation vacated for lack of quantity proof
Academy Roofing employees used flammable cleaner and adhesive while working on a construction-site roof. After a small fire exhausted the available extinguishers, OSHA cited the company under a rule requiring an extinguisher within 50 feet when more than five gallons of flammable or combustible…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Jeffery Harris v. Hanson Aggregates Mid-Pacific, Inc.
Temporary reinstatement dissolved after MSHA declines case
Jeffery Harris had been temporarily economically reinstated under a settlement while MSHA investigated his discrimination complaint against Hanson Aggregates. MSHA later found insufficient evidence and told the parties that the Secretary would not file a merits discrimination case. Judge Alan G…
Secretary of Labor v. Black Beauty Coal Company
Oral argument scheduled on cross-petitions
Black Beauty Coal and the Secretary filed cross-petitions for discretionary review on two separate issues, and the Commission granted both petitions. Black Beauty then requested oral argument. The Commission granted that request and scheduled argument for October 29, 2014. Each party received 15…
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.