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. West Alabama Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Briefing stay lifted after discretionary review
The Commission had granted the Secretary of Labor's petition for discretionary review in August 2012 and stayed briefing in the case. After reconsideration, it concluded that briefing would help resolve the issues and lifted the stay. The Secretary was directed to file an opening brief within 30…
West Bay Exploration Co.
In re West Bay Exploration Co. (EAB UIC Appeal No. 14-67): permit review denied
Sandra K. Yerman challenged EPA Region 5’s UIC permit for West Bay Exploration Company’s Haystead #9 SWD injection well in Jackson County, Michigan. The Board accepted her petition even though it arrived two days late because she had timely mailed it and the Postal Service caused the delay. The…
Secretary of Labor v. The American Coal Company
Settlement-review question certified for interlocutory appeal
The Secretary sought interlocutory review after Judge William B. Moran denied approval of a proposed settlement and rejected reconsideration. The Judge declined to certify the Secretary's three framed questions because he found that they misstated and improperly narrowed the dispute over the…
Matter of P-S-H-, Respondent
Matter of P-S-H- (BIA ID 3805): asylum termination for fraud requires two showings
The Board reviewed an Indian respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge terminated his asylum grant based on fraud in the original application. The Board held that the Department of Homeland Security must prove by a preponderance of the evidence both that fraud existed in the application and…
Secretary of Labor v. M-Class Mining, LLC
Discovery from open agent investigation denied
M-Class Mining sought MSHA's open section 110(c) special-investigation file and a deposition of the special investigator while defending four operator citations, three of which remained disputed. Judge Margaret A. Miller denied the motion because possible individual-agent liability was not yet part…
Professional Grade Construction Group, Inc.
Citations affirmed by default
OSHA issued Professional Grade Construction Group thirteen serious items and two repeat items under the construction standards, with $43,560 in proposed penalties. The company filed a notice of contest but did not answer the Secretary's complaint. A show-cause order sent to the company's record…
Schmitt Tree Experts
Crane-inspection recordkeeping failure affirmed
Schmitt Tree Experts did not contest an earlier citation alleging that required monthly crane-inspection certification records were unavailable. OSHA later issued a failure-to-abate notification after the company still could not produce records of subsequent inspections. The judge found that the…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Roberto Vega v. Cantera El Tuque, Inc.
Miner temporarily reinstated after safety complaints
Roberto Vega supervised work at Cantera El Tuque and testified that he reported unsafe dust and defective mobile equipment to an MSHA inspector and the mine owner before he was terminated. Judge William B. Moran found credible substantial evidence of protected safety complaints, management…
Energy Answers, LLC
In re Energy Answers, LLC (EAB PSD Appeal No. 14-04): motion to reconsider denied for lack of jurisdiction
Leonardo Ramos-Hernandez petitioned for review of a Clean Air Act Prevention of Significant Deterioration permit issued by EPA Region 2 to Energy Answers Arecibo Puerto Rico Renewable Energy Project. The Board had remanded the matter, and Region 2 later issued a final permit decision on April 10…
Austin Powder Company v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. Austin Powder Company
Austin Powder Company v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC PENN 2012-116-R, PENN 2012-172): oversized summary motions ordered resubmitted
Austin Powder Company and the Secretary submitted more than 1,180 pages, seven DVDs, and competing factual accounts in cross-motions concerning whether Austin Powder and its subsidiary should be treated as a unitary operator for penalty purposes. Judge Priscilla M. Rae found that the record was…
Secretary of Labor v. Saiia Construction, LLC and Frederick Looney
Loader citation and supervisor liability affirmed
Saiia Construction continued using a front-end loader at a limestone quarry after preshift reports repeatedly described several inches of movement in its steering column. Judge Alan G. Paez held that the defect affected safety because uneven stockpile terrain could jostle the controls during an…
Leslie A. Pride v. Highland Mining Company, LLC
Injury-report discrimination claim allowed to proceed
Leslie Pride alleged that Highland Mining repeatedly refused to issue reports for back injuries he said occurred at work, preventing him from obtaining workers' compensation and other benefits. Highland sought summary decision based on the late filing, lack of protected activity, lack of adverse…
Secretary of Labor v. Gordon Sand Company
Four citations affirmed after default
Gordon Sand Company faced four citations issued under section 104(a) of the Mine Act and a proposed penalty of $400. The company did not participate in a scheduled conference call, file an answer, or enter an appearance. Judge Richard W. Manning issued an order to show cause and warned that an…
Secretary of Labor v. Alabama Marble Company, Inc.
Four penalty matters reopened, settlement left intact
Alabama Marble asked the Commission to reopen five matters after a paid representative allegedly failed to contest or defend MSHA penalties totaling nearly $80,000. The Commission refused to vacate one approved settlement because the company had an opportunity to be heard and had agreed to its…
Secretary of Labor v. Clintwood Elkhorn Mining Company, Inc.
Late review petition denied
Clintwood Elkhorn filed a petition for discretionary review on June 16, 2014, three days after the deadline measured from the Judge's May 14 decision. The Commission held that a May 15 amended decision correcting a clerical error did not restart the 30-day filing period under its procedural rule…
Matter of Ingrid Carolina DUARTE-LUNA, Respondent; Matter of Bessy Beatriz LUNA, Respondent
Matter of DUARTE-LUNA and LUNA (BIA ID 3804): parent history cannot establish a child's TPS eligibility
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal from an Immigration Judge's grant of Temporary Protected Status to two sisters from El Salvador. The sisters entered the United States as minors after the dates required for El Salvador's TPS designation, and the Immigration Judge had…
Secretary of Labor v. Cold Spring Granite Company
Seven shop penalties reopened after filing mistake
Cold Spring Granite timely contested four penalties but paid 13 others, then asked to reopen seven paid penalties arising from its shot saw shop. The company explained that it intended to challenge all shop citations on MSHA-jurisdiction grounds but initially failed to recognize that the additional…
Alcides Avelar
Late contest dismissed for lack of excusable neglect
OSHA issued Alcides Avelar two serious scaffold-related items with $5,900 in proposed penalties. The citation was received at the company's record address, but the owner was out of town and did not submit a written notice of contest until several weeks after the 15-working-day deadline. The judge…
Big Ridge, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor
Mixed rulings and $309,376 total penalty
Big Ridge operated the Willow Lake Portal underground bituminous coal mine in Illinois. The consolidated cases involved roof control, combustible accumulations, ventilation controls, belt alignment, and pre-shift examinations, along with the operator's right to accompany MSHA inspectors. Judge…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Keith Overfield v. Highland Mining Company, LLC
Temporary reinstatement ordered without tolling
Keith Overfield worked as a mine examiner at Highland Mining's Highland No. 9 coal mine. He alleged that the company terminated him because of safety complaints and examination practices protected by the Mine Act. Highland conceded at the hearing that the complaint was not frivolously brought, but…
Secretary of Labor v. Twentymile Coal Company
One S&S finding affirmed and two remanded
MSHA cited Twentymile Coal Company for two extensive coal-dust accumulations and an inadequate pre-shift examination at its Foidel Creek Mine in Colorado. The Commission upheld the judge's significant-and-substantial finding for heavy float coal dust in the longwall tailgate because the gassy mine…
Peck Brothers, LLC
Roof fall-protection citation vacated
Peck Brothers was replacing a deteriorated gutter and reflashing a low-slope roof at a Home Depot store. OSHA alleged that employees near the roof edge lacked fall protection and cited the general rule for unprotected sides and edges, with the low-slope roofing rule pleaded in the alternative. The…
Secretary of Labor v. Oak Grove Resources, LLC
Secretary ordered to detail proof for repeated flagrant charge
Oak Grove faced a repeated flagrant designation for extensive combustible accumulations under 30 C.F.R. § 75.400. Judge Jerold Feldman concluded that the Secretary's proposed test did not adequately distinguish a flagrant violation from an ordinary significant-and-substantial violation. He ruled…
Matter of E-F-H-L-, Respondent
Matter of E-F-H-L- (BIA ID 3803): asylum applicants are entitled to a merits hearing
The Board reviewed a Honduran respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge denied asylum and withholding of removal without holding a merits hearing. The Immigration Judge had concluded that the written application did not establish prima facie eligibility based on the proposed family-based…
Secretary of Labor v. The Doe Run Company
Untied electrician brings $2,106 penalty
The Doe Run Company operated the Buick Mine/Mill, which mined lead, copper, and zinc in Missouri. An electrician climbed onto a cabinet more than seven feet above a concrete floor in a darkened electrical room without fall protection while preparing to pull cable. Judge Margaret A. Miller rejected…
Pocahontas Coal Company, LLC v. Secretary of Labor
Direct safeguard contests dismissed
MSHA issued five mine-specific safeguard notices governing transportation at Pocahontas Coal's Affinity Mine. Pocahontas contested the notices before MSHA issued any citation or order alleging that the company had violated them. Judge Margaret A. Miller held that section 105(d) authorizes contests…
Windfall Oil & Gas, Inc.
In re Windfall Oil & Gas, Inc. (EAB UIC Appeal Nos. 14-04 through 14-62): permit decision remanded
EPA Region 3 issued Windfall Oil & Gas, Inc. a permit to construct a Class II-D injection well and inject fluids associated with oil and gas production into the Huntersville Chert/Oriskany formation. Fifty-seven petitions sought review of the permit, and the Board consolidated the related appeals…
Secretary of Labor v. Tuscaloosa Resources
Highwall violations affirmed with $100,000 penalty
Tuscaloosa Resources operated the Highway 59 No. 1 surface coal mine in Alabama. A 230-foot section of highwall failed, overtopped a berm, and swept a haul truck and its driver over an adjacent bench lip, causing a broken sternum, internal bleeding, a concussion, and a bruised heart. Judge David P…
Secretary of Labor v. Marco Crane
Stored damaged slings did not violate cited hoisting standard
Marco Crane provided hooking and hoisting services at the Freeport McMoRan Miami mine. An MSHA inspector found two frayed slings stored with other slings in a flatbed trailer compartment, but did not see the damaged slings being used and destroyed them after issuing the citation. Judge L. Zane Gill…
Sierra Pacific Industries
In re Sierra Pacific Industries (EAB PSD Appeal Nos. 14-03, 14-05, and 14-06): appeals dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
Region 9 issued Sierra Pacific Industries a Clean Air Act Prevention of Significant Deterioration permit after the Board had remanded an earlier version for a public hearing. Marily Woodhouse, Russ Wade, and the Center for Biological Diversity petitioned for review of the reissued permit. The Board…
Revelation Energy, LLC v. Secretary of Labor
Flyrock violations affirmed with $76,300 penalty
Revelation Energy operated two surface coal mines in Kentucky where blasting sent large rocks beyond mine boundaries toward homes and a public road. At the S-4 Netley Branch Mine, four rocks landed in residential yards and one struck the window of an occupied home after the mine failed to follow…
Levvintre Construction, LLC
Residential fall and ladder violations affirmed
Five Levvintre Construction employees performed residential roofing work on an approximately 11-foot-high roof without fall protection. The company had harnesses available but left it to each employee to decide whether to use one and had no alternative fall-protection plan. Employees also used a…
Secretary of Labor v. Taft Production Company
Housekeeping and guarding violations upheld, seatbelt citation vacated
Taft Production mined and processed clay for products including cat litter. Judge Richard W. Manning upheld two housekeeping violations involving material in conveyor access areas, but reduced one negligence finding and removed the significant-and-substantial designation from the other. He affirmed…
Secretary of Labor v. Mach Mining, LLC
Non-S&S and high-negligence findings affirmed
MSHA cited Mach Mining after a primary escapeway at its Mach #1 Mine was narrowed from the required four feet to 26 inches at a ventilation regulator. The judge found a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.380(d)(4)(ii), but determined that it was not significant and substantial and resulted from relatively…
Energy Answers, LLC
In re Energy Answers, LLC (EAB PSD Appeal No. 14-04): appeal dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
Leonardo Ramos-Hernandez appealed a Clean Air Act Prevention of Significant Deterioration permit issued by EPA Region 2 to Energy Answers Arecibo Puerto Rico Renewable Energy Project. The Environmental Appeals Board had previously upheld an earlier version of the permit and remanded it for limited…
Seneca Resources Corp.
In re Seneca Resources Corp. (EAB UIC Appeal Nos. 14-01, 14-02, and 14-03): Review denied on threshold grounds
EPA Region 3 issued Seneca Resources Corporation a permit for a Class II underground injection well. The Board considered three consolidated petitions that raised concerns about drinking water, abandoned wells, seismic activity, and the permit process. It denied Susan Swanson's petition because it…
Kip Allen Keim v. Cordero Mining, LLC
Retaliation complaint dismissed for lack of protected activity
Kip Allen Keim alleged that Cordero Mining fired him from its Wyoming surface coal mine because he used an internal hotline to complain about a coworker's conduct. Cordero said the hotline complaint was routed to its former owner's contractor by mistake and that it terminated Keim for…
Secretary of Labor v. Knox Creek Coal Corporation
Four violations held S&S and penalties remanded
MSHA cited Knox Creek Coal Corporation at its methane-prone Tiller No. 1 underground coal mine for three impermissible electrical enclosures, a damaged trailing cable, and extensive combustible accumulations on a conveyor belt. The judge found all five violations were not significant and…
Secretary of Labor v. Winn Materials, LLC
Seven guarding violations modified and penalties reduced
An anonymous complaint led MSHA to cite seven missing or inadequate tail-pulley guards at Winn Materials' surface limestone mine in Tennessee. Winn Materials accepted the underlying guarding violations but disputed the S&S, unwarrantable-failure, reckless-disregard, flagrant, and penalty findings…
Secretary of Labor v. Cemex de Puerto Rico
Four safety actions and $29,711 in penalties affirmed
MSHA issued four enforcement actions involving Cemex's Ponce Cement Plant and Cantera Canas Mine in Puerto Rico. Two citations concerned a welder working untied on top of a mill and reaching it by climbing handrails and mill structure instead of using safe access. A third citation covered multiple…
Secretary of Labor v. Black Beauty Coal Company
S&S finding affirmed for inaccessible lifeline
MSHA found that a directional lifeline at Black Beauty Coal Company's Francisco Mine hung seven to twelve feet above the floor for 100 to 110 feet and could not be pulled within reach. The Commission affirmed the judge's significant-and-substantial finding because emergency lifeline rules are…
Secretary of Labor v. Big Ridge, Inc.
S&S lifeline finding affirmed
MSHA found a 20-foot gap in the directional lifeline for a secondary escapeway at Big Ridge's Willow Lake Mine. The missing section was at a heavily traveled crosscut intersection near a conveyor belt, and at least 40 miners could have needed that route during an emergency. The Commission affirmed…
Secretary of Labor v. Oak Grove Resources, LLC
Directional-control citation vacated
MSHA cited Oak Grove Resources for allegedly failing to use sightlines or another directional control while cutting slanted storage areas in an underground coal mine. Judge Alan G. Paez held that 30 C.F.R. § 75.203(b) requires use of a directional control, but does not create a separate duty to…
Pocahontas Coal Company, LLC v. Secretary of Labor
Standalone pattern-notice contest dismissed
MSHA issued Pocahontas Coal Company a written notice alleging a pattern of significant-and-substantial violations at its Affinity Mine. Pocahontas tried to contest the written notice by itself under section 105(d) of the Mine Act. Judge Margaret A. Miller dismissed the proceeding because section…
Matter of Eunice Villaluna JACKSON, Respondent; Matter of Geruen Hewlett Andreu Villaluna ERANDIO, Respondent
Matter of JACKSON and ERANDIO (BIA ID 3802): Adam Walsh Act applies to earlier convictions
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal after an Immigration Judge terminated removal proceedings against a mother and child. The respondents' family-based immigration petition was affected by the United States citizen petitioner's 1979 conviction for sexual abuse of a…
Matter of Iris INTROCASO, Beneficiary of a visa petition filed by Russell Leopold Introcaso, Petitioner
Matter of INTROCASO (BIA ID 3801): circumstance-specific review applies to Adam Walsh Act offenses
The Board reviewed a petitioner's appeal from the denial of a family-based visa petition for his wife. The denial followed the petitioner's convictions for endangering the welfare of children and criminal sexual contact, and the Board considered whether the convictions were specified offenses…
Matter of Tatiana ACEIJAS-QUIROZ, Beneficiary of a visa petition filed by Aubrey Edward Haverly, Petitioner
Matter of ACEIJAS-QUIROZ (BIA ID 3800): no-risk determinations are not reviewable
The Board reviewed a United States citizen petitioner's appeal from the denial of a visa petition for his wife. The petitioner had convictions for sexual abuse and contributing to the sexual delinquency of a minor, and the Department of Homeland Security determined that the Adam Walsh Act barred…
Secretary of Labor v. The American Coal Company
Five orders modified and flagrant findings removed
MSHA alleged five serious violations at American Coal's large, methane-liberating Galatia Mine involving energized electrical work, unsupported roof and ribs, inadequate preshift and on-shift examinations, and extensive belt-line combustible accumulations. Senior Judge Michael E. Zielinski upheld…
Secretary of Labor v. Crater Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Default and final assessment reopened
Crater Sand & Gravel asked the Commission to reopen a defaulted penalty case and a separate proposed assessment that had become final without a timely recorded contest. Crater showed that it mailed an answer, was actively responding to discovery, and believed it had contested the underlying…
Secretary of Labor v. L & W Quarries, Inc.
One assessment reopened and two remained final
L & W Quarries asked the Commission to reopen penalties for one order and two citations after the proposed assessment became final without a timely contest. The operator said it mistakenly believed that earlier citation contests meant it did not need to forward the later assessment form to counsel…
GP Roofing & Construction, LLC
Willful residential fall violation affirmed
Four GP Roofing employees installed shingles on townhomes while wearing harnesses but remaining untied on roof sections as high as 19.5 feet. The judge rejected claims that fall protection created a greater hazard or was infeasible because the company did not seek a variance, prove the claimed…
Secretary of Labor v. Elk Run Coal Company, Inc.
Escapeway-map citation modified in $7,205 settlement
Elk Run Coal Company and the Secretary proposed settling three citations by reducing total penalties from $11,807 to $7,205. The agreement changed an escapeway-map citation from reasonably likely and S&S to unlikely and non-S&S because the miners worked on the active section, knew the current…
Secretary of Labor v. Clintwood Elkhorn Mining Company, Inc.
Reporting and scene-alteration citations upheld
A miner fell nearly 22 feet from an elevated platform at Clintwood Elkhorn's preparation plant and sustained head, wrist, and other injuries. Judge Priscilla M. Rae vacated a citation alleging an unprotected opening because the space between the platform edge and nearby wall was not an opening…
Secretary of Labor v. Rock N Road Quarry
Safe-access citation reduced to non-S&S and $80
Rock N Road Quarry used a ladder, harness, retractable lanyard, and static tie-off point to reach and maintain an elevated crusher screen. Judge Richard W. Manning found a safe-access violation because the company had not trained miners to move across the I-beam without creating a swing hazard away…
E.I. DuPont De Nemours and Company
In re E.I. DuPont De Nemours and Company (EAB RCRA Appeal Nos. 13-01 and 13-02): appeals dismissed as moot
EPA Region 2 issued a final RCRA corrective action permit modification for the DuPont Pompton Lakes Works facility. DuPont and the Passaic River Coalition separately petitioned the EAB to review that permit, and the Board stayed the appeals while the parties pursued settlement discussions. The…
ExxonMobil Chemical Company (Baytown Olefins Plant)
In re ExxonMobil Chemical Company (Baytown Olefins Plant) (EAB PSD Appeal No. 13-11): Greenhouse-gas permit review denied
EPA Region 6 issued ExxonMobil Chemical Company a greenhouse-gas prevention of significant deterioration permit for a new natural gas-fired ethylene production unit at the company's Baytown, Texas, facility. Sierra Club challenged the Region's best available control technology analysis, especially…
Secretary of Labor v. Conmat, Inc.
Improper task-training certification upheld
A competent trainer at Conmat task-trained a miner and signed the form's certification line, but he was not one of the people designated in the mine's approved Part 46 plan as responsible for health and safety training. Conmat argued that it had up to 12 months to obtain a proper certification and…
Secretary of Labor v. The American Coal Company
Unsupported blanket penalty reduction denied on reconsideration
The Secretary asked Judge William B. Moran to reconsider an earlier denial of a settlement that cut every penalty for 32 citations by 30 percent without changing any citation, gravity finding, or negligence finding. The renewed motion supplied no additional citation-specific facts and argued that…
Secretary of Labor v. Alden Resources, LLC
Lifeline examination dispute required a hearing
Alden Resources asked for summary decision on a citation alleging an inadequate preshift examination after a mine lifeline remained defective and incomplete for nine days. The operator argued that the examination rule covered methane, oxygen, airflow, and specified mandatory standards, but not the…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Reuben Shemwell v. Armstrong Coal Company, Inc. and Armstrong Fabricators, Inc.
Retaliation settlement approved over dissent
Armstrong filed a Kentucky civil lawsuit against miner Reuben Shemwell after he exercised Mine Act discrimination rights. An ALJ found that the lawsuit unlawfully interfered with those rights but later rejected a proposed settlement. The Commission majority vacated that denial and approved an…
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.