Federal agency decisions, searchable in plain English.
Workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) and mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), 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. CSI Sands NE, Ltd.
Secretary of Labor v. CSI Sands NE, Ltd. (FMSHRC YORK 2023-0003): Unusual disruptions supported reopening
CSI Sands filed its penalty contest 12 days late while rebuilding its facility and dealing with an employee injury, a natural gas supply failure, and a management change. The proposed assessment had been delivered to the mine supervisor, who then accepted another job. CSI said the reconstruction…
Secretary of Labor v. Justice Energy Company, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Justice Energy Company (FMSHRC WEVA 2023-0148): Truck-safety settlement approved
The settlement covered five citations, including unsafe-condition and inadequate pre-operational-inspection violations involving two mine trucks. One truck had seven listed defects, and another had nineteen, while the related inspection records omitted most or all of those conditions. The parties…
Secretary of Labor v. Eagle Rock, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Eagle Rock, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 2023-0012): Deadline mistake supported partial reopening
Eagle Rock received a proposed assessment covering 14 citations but mistakenly believed its contest deadline was two days later than the actual deadline. After MSHA told the operator the contest was late, Eagle followed up when promised correspondence did not arrive. It paid the penalties for ten…
Secretary of Labor v. Vulcan Electrical Services
Secretary of Labor v. Vulcan Electrical Services (FMSHRC SE 2023-0014): New assistant's error supported reopening
Vulcan Electrical Services missed the deadline to contest a proposed penalty assessment after a new administrative assistant received it but did not understand the 30-day deadline. The assistant did not forward the assessment to the safety director until after it had become a final order. Vulcan…
Secretary of Labor v. Highway Materials, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Highway Materials, Inc. (FMSHRC PENN 2023-0003): Conference timing mistake supported reopening
Highway Materials requested an MSHA conference on three citations and later received a proposed penalty assessment while waiting for the conference results. The operator mistakenly believed it had 30 days after the results letter to contest the penalties, rather than 30 days after receiving the…
Secretary of Labor v. Nufac Mining Company, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Nufac Mining Company (FMSHRC WEVA 2023-0149): Five-citation settlement approved with installment plan
The parties settled five citations issued to Nufac Mining's No. 57 Mine. Three penalties were reduced by roughly half, while two remained unchanged, lowering the table total from $19,574 to $11,684. The judge noted substantial older unpaid penalties and prior noncompliance with an installment plan…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Mining Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Mining Company (FMSHRC WEVA 2023-0141): Continuance granted and settlement question certified
Consol Mining asked to continue a scheduled hearing because of witness and discovery issues and pending disputes over a proposed partial settlement. The judge granted the continuance and deferred the Secretary's request to separate the unsettled citations from those proposed for settlement. He…
Secretary of Labor obo Victor Torres v. W. G. Yates & Sons Construction Company
Secretary of Labor obo Victor Torres v. W. G. Yates & Sons Construction (FMSHRC WEST 2023-0256): Reinstatement granted but tolled
Victor Torres exercised stop-work authority because he believed using a manlift to lower pipe was unsafe, documented the work with photographs, and was laid off three days later. The judge found a nonfrivolous issue as to whether the safety activity played a role in the layoff, so he granted the…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Jason Hargis v. Vulcan Construction Materials, LLC; Jason Hargis v. Vulcan Construction Materials, LLC
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Jason Hargis v. Vulcan Construction Materials, LLC (FMSHRC SE 2021-0163): Commission requested briefing on reinstatement finality
The Commission had granted cross-petitions for review in three consolidated proceedings involving Vulcan Construction Materials and miner Jason Hargis. After the parties filed their briefs, the Commission identified an issue they had not addressed. Mine Act section 105(c)(2) refers to a 30-day…
Secretary of Labor v. Marshall County Coal Resources, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Marshall County Coal Resources (FMSHRC WEVA 2023-0214): Three-citation settlement approved
The settlement resolved three citations involving a coal feeder whose emergency-stop cable did not work, debris obstructing track clearance in violation of a safeguard, and a missing preshift examination for the same area. The first two penalties were reduced by 43 percent without changing the…
UHS of Denver, Inc., d/b/a Highlands Behavioral Health System
Workplace-violence citation affirmed after economic-feasibility review
This remand decision addressed whether OSHA's proposed measures for reducing workplace violence at a behavioral health facility were economically feasible. The original judge had affirmed the general duty clause citation through a discovery sanction, but the Commission set that sanction aside and…
Secretary of Labor v. Rockwell Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Rockwell Mining, LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2022-0467): Reopening granted with processing-system warning
Rockwell Mining missed contest deadlines for three assessments after the corporate safety director who normally filed contests left the company without filing them or alerting another employee. A paralegal discovered the oversight, and Rockwell promptly retained counsel and sought reopening after…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company (FMSHRC PENN 2022-0011): Escapeway obstruction citation affirmed
Six pressurized hoses from a pump car protruded into the secondary escapeway at Consol's Enlow Fork Mine. The judge found that the hoses narrowed and obstructed the path used with the escapeway lifeline and could impede miners, including a disabled miner on a stretcher, during an emergency…
Secretary of Labor v. River View Coal, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. River View Coal, LLC (FMSHRC KENT 2022-0102): Personnel transition excused one-day delay
River View Coal missed a proposed-assessment contest deadline during a transition in safety personnel following a retirement. An assistant safety director temporarily handled contests and miscalculated the filing date. The operator mailed the contest one day after the assessment became a final…
Secretary of Labor v. Benton County Stone Co. Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Benton County Stone Co. Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2022-0104): Hospitalization excused default
Benton County Stone failed to answer the Secretary's penalty petition, and an order to show cause became a default order. The operator's safety director and MSHA consultant had been hospitalized for surgery and was on medical leave when MSHA emailed him about the case. Benton moved to reopen on the…
Secretary of Labor v. Clay Trucking, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Clay Trucking (FMSHRC WEVA 2023-0123): Coal-truck settlement approved with installment payments
The settlement resolved four citations involving two coal trucks with leaking brake components and defective lights, along with a broken fifth-wheel component on one truck. Three citations were affirmed at their original assessments. For one leaking-brake citation, the expected likelihood was…
Secretary of Labor v. Morton Salt, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Morton Salt (FMSHRC CENT 2022-0176): Mixed ruling on training, ground, escape, and storage citations
The judge resolved seven contested citations and orders from an inspection of Morton Salt's Weeks Island Mine and approved settlement of seven others. He vacated three training orders because the documented instruction on the Femco warning system was adequate, and he vacated a ventilation-door…
Good Food Concepts, LLC d/b/a Ranch Foods Direct
Meat-grinder guarding and reporting citations affirmed
Good Food Concepts operated a retail meat business where an employee's hand was caught in a meat grinder, resulting in the amputation of four fingers and inpatient hospitalization. OSHA cited the company for failing to guard the grinder and for failing to report the hospitalization within 24 hours…
Secretary of Labor v. John S. Lane & Son, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. John S. Lane & Son (FMSHRC YORK 2023-0051): Four-citation settlement approved
The settlement covered four citations at John S. Lane & Son's Westfield Quarry. A safe-access citation involving a miner climbing through and above a conveyor chute was reduced to low negligence and a $143 penalty. An unlocked-transformer citation was vacated, while a citation for mounting a…
Secretary of Labor v. Cemex Construction Materials South, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Cemex Construction Materials South, LLC (FMSHRC CENT 2022-0007): Unclear delivery supported reopening
MSHA mailed Cemex a proposed assessment at the correct address, and postal records showed delivery, but the safety manager said he did not personally receive it until after the contest deadline. Cemex filed its reopening motion within 30 days after the assessment became a final Commission order…
Secretary of Labor v. Cemex Construction Materials South, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Cemex Construction Materials South, LLC (FMSHRC CENT 2021-0207): Unclear COVID-era delivery supported reopening
Postal records showed that a proposed assessment was delivered to Cemex at the correct address, but Cemex had no record of receiving it. The delivery confirmation contained “COVID” in the signature block, and the exact confirmation method was unclear. Cemex moved to reopen within 30 days after MSHA…
Denaka Partners, LP, dba Home Rubber Company
Machine-guarding and bloodborne-pathogen violations affirmed
Denaka manufactured rubber products at a New Jersey facility where an employee's sleeve became caught in an operating slitter mill, pulling his arm into the machine and resulting in an amputation. OSHA cited the company for inadequate machine guarding and for failures involving hepatitis B…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Juan Smitherman v. Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Juan Smitherman v. Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC (FMSHRC SE 2021-0153): Discrimination finding affirmed
Roof bolter Juan Smitherman raised a ventilation concern about missing fly pads and was discharged shortly afterward. Warrior Met said it fired him for sleeping and taking an unauthorized break under a last-chance agreement. The administrative law judge found discrimination, imposed a $20,000 civil…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Mining Company LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Mining Company LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2023-0141): Interlocutory petition denied for missing certification step
MSHA sought Commission review after an administrative law judge denied a proposed settlement and said the issues would be resolved at hearing. The Commission treated the filing as a petition for interlocutory review because the judge's order was not final. Commission rules required the judge either…
Secretary of Labor v. Pocahontas Coal Company LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Pocahontas Coal Company LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2023-0092): Commission granted review and paused briefing
The Secretary filed a petition asking the Commission to review an administrative law judge's ruling in the Pocahontas Coal proceeding. The Commission granted the petition for discretionary review. It did not decide the underlying dispute in this order. Instead, it held briefing in abeyance until…
Secretary of Labor v. Carmeuse Lime
Secretary of Labor v. Carmeuse Lime (FMSHRC SE 2022-0196): Person-in-charge citation affirmed; escapeway citation vacated
Three miners were working underground at Carmeuse Lime's Talona Mountain Mine while the designated person in charge was at a separately identified mine a few miles away and could not be reached by underground radio. The Judge affirmed the resulting citation under 30 C.F.R. § 57.18009 as significant…
Secretary of Labor v. Vulcan Construction Materials, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Vulcan Construction Materials, LLC (FMSHRC SE 2022-0200): Eyewash and backup-alarm settlement approved
The settlement resolved two citations at Vulcan's 115 Quarry. For an expired four-ounce bottle of eyewash in a first-aid kit, negligence was reduced from moderate to low and the penalty from $133 to $50. For a nonfunctioning truck backup alarm, the expected injury was changed from reasonably likely…
Fama Construction, LLC
Roofing violations affirmed against controlling employer
Fama held the roofing contract for a residential townhome project and used subcontractors with a history of fall-protection violations. On remand, the judge found Fama liable as a controlling employer because it had stopped worksite safety inspections and did not take reasonable measures to prevent…
Secretary of Labor v. Sterling Materials
Secretary of Labor v. Sterling Materials (FMSHRC KENT 2022-0127): Similar citation numbers caused clerical error
Sterling Materials intended to contest the penalty for Citation No. 9870856 but confused it with the similarly numbered Citation No. 9870855, which it had timely contested in another docket. The operator paid all six penalties in the assessment after receiving a delinquency notice. The Secretary…
Secretary of Labor v. Marfork Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Marfork Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2023-0043): Repeated processing defect barred reopening
Marfork Coal missed the deadline to contest seven citations because an executive assistant did not change the assessment's status from “New” to “Ready for Review” in the parent company's internal system. The same assistant and same error had caused another Alpha Metallurgical subsidiary to miss a…
Secretary of Labor v. Miller Contracting Services, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Miller Contracting Services, LLC (FMSHRC CENT 2022-0253): Lost mail supported reopening
Miller Contracting said it timely mailed a contest for Citation No. 9488618, but MSHA never received the form. The operator's short filing did not provide supporting details or documentation. Even so, Miller sought reopening promptly, filing 32 days after the assessment became a final Commission…
Secretary of Labor obo Larry Anderson v. Kalamazoo Materials, Inc., et al
Secretary of Labor obo Larry Anderson v. Kalamazoo Materials, Inc., et al. (FMSHRC WEST 2023-0238): Economic temporary reinstatement approved
Larry Anderson alleged that Kalamazoo Materials terminated him shortly after he sent management safety complaints and announced his selection as a miners' representative. The parties agreed to economic reinstatement, allowing Anderson to receive the financial benefits of reinstatement without…
UHS of Centennial Peaks dba Centennial Peaks Hospital
Settlement accepted and case dismissed
The Tenth Circuit remanded this case to the Commission for the limited purpose of considering the parties' settlement agreement. The Secretary and UHS of Centennial Peaks notified the Commission that they had resolved all contested citation items. Because the parties agreed to terminate the…
Todd Descutner v. Nevada Gold Mines LLC
Todd Descutner v. Nevada Gold Mines LLC (FMSHRC WEST 2022-0201): Discrimination complaint dismissed
Todd Descutner complained to Nevada Gold Mines about mask use and social distancing on buses carrying miners to the Leeville Mine, then received progressive discipline and was ultimately discharged after damaging property while moving a loader. Applying the Ninth Circuit's but-for causation…
Secretary of Labor v. Cactus Canyon Quarries, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Cactus Canyon Quarries, Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2022-0010): Mine Act jurisdiction and electrical citations sustained
Cactus Canyon argued that its Fairland Plant was a manufacturing facility outside MSHA jurisdiction because it no longer extracted rock onsite. The Judge found that repeatedly crushing and sizing dimension stone into terrazzo material constituted mineral milling, independently bringing the…
Secretary of Labor v. Greenbrier Minerals, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Greenbrier Minerals, LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2023-0166): Amended parking-brake settlement approved
A personnel carrier used to transport miners had a nonfunctioning parking brake, and MSHA cited the condition as reasonably likely, significant and substantial, and moderately negligent. The settlement changed the likelihood to unlikely, removed the S&S designation, and cut the proposed penalty…
Secretary of Labor v. Canyon Fuel Company, LLC, et al.
Secretary of Labor v. Canyon Fuel Company, LLC, et al. (FMSHRC WEST 2021-0188): Rib and accident-reporting orders affirmed
A rib burst at Canyon Fuel's Skyline Mine #3 knocked a miner into equipment, buried him in coal, fractured his skull, and caused other serious injuries. The Judge affirmed an S&S rib-control violation but reduced negligence to moderate, removed the unwarrantable-failure designation, and assessed…
Secretary of Labor v. Greenbrier Minerals, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Greenbrier Minerals, LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2023-0166): Original parking-brake settlement decision superseded
This original decision approved a settlement concerning a personnel carrier with a nonfunctioning parking brake. The agreement changed the citation from reasonably likely and S&S to unlikely and non-S&S and reduced the proposed penalty from $1,069 to $535 based on the fact that the carrier's…
Secretary of Labor v. Maryland Energy Resources, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Maryland Energy Resources, LLC (FMSHRC YORK 2023-0024): Battery-charger settlement approved
MSHA found undersized electrical conductors serving battery chargers at Maryland Energy Resources' Casselman Mine, including melted receptacles and repeated replacements, and also found that required examination records for 14 chargers had not been kept for at least eight months. The two actions…
Secretary of Labor v. Duininck, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Duininck, Inc. (FMSHRC LAKE 2022-0058): Deliberate payment barred reopening
Duininck paid $1,359 for all three citations and sent a letter expressly stating that it did not intend to contest them. The operator later asked the Commission to reopen the case, but still did not seek to contest the citations and instead wanted to discuss its safety practices with MSHA. The…
Secretary of Labor obo Paul Kirk v. Cemex Construction Materials Florida, LLC
Secretary of Labor obo Paul Kirk v. CEMEX Construction Materials Florida, LLC (FMSHRC SE 2023-0007): Summary decision denied
CEMEX sought summary decision against claims that it disciplined Paul Kirk after he raised concerns about hot dust escaping from a kiln and after MSHA received related complaints. The Judge found genuine disputes over the kiln's condition, what management did and communicated about shutting it…
Secretary of Labor v. Wayne J. Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Wayne J. Sand & Gravel, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 2022-0295): Mail-processing uncertainty supported reopening
Wayne J. Sand & Gravel said it never received a proposed assessment at its remote operation. Postal tracking showed that the package was held for pickup, returned to its origin, and later recorded as delivered without a signature, leaving the cause of nonreceipt unclear. After receiving a…
Secretary of Labor v. Hanson Aggregates Pennsylvania, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Hanson Aggregates Pennsylvania, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2022-0124): Staff disruptions excused one-day delay
Hanson Aggregates filed its proposed-assessment contest one day late while several senior roles were changing or temporarily uncovered. The operations manager had transferred, a new safety manager was being hired, and the plant manager was temporarily absent. The assessment was briefly overlooked…
Secretary of Labor v. Morton Salt, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Morton Salt, Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2022-0237): P.O. Box receipt-date mistake excused one-day delay
Morton Salt calculated its contest deadline from the date an assessment reached the mine site instead of the earlier date it reached the company's P.O. Box. It mailed the contest one day after the assessment became a final Commission order. The operator moved promptly to reopen and said it would…
Secretary of Labor v. GCC Permian
Secretary of Labor v. GCC Permian (FMSHRC CENT 2022-0218): Contest sent to wrong MSHA office was reopened
GCC Permian timely mailed a notice of contest, but its safety manager did not verify the address. The contest was accidentally sent to MSHA's penalty collections office in St. Louis together with payment for the uncontested citations. The assessment therefore became a final Commission order even…
David A. Rose Farm & Ag Services et al v. Secretary of Labor
David A. Rose Farm & Ag Services et al. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC SE 2023-0159): Expedition denied and contests consolidated
David A. Rose Farm & Ag Services and Garcia Mining contested one miner-training order and six citations issued during work they described as river widening and dredging outside MSHA jurisdiction. They requested an expedited hearing based on financial costs, disruption, continuing inspections, and…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Mining Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Mining Company, LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2023-0141): Partial settlement denied and authorities stricken
The Secretary sought approval of a partial settlement that removed S&S designations and cited Mechanicsville Concrete and American Aggregates of Michigan as supporting authority. Judge Young concluded that those decisions did not support the proposition for which they were repeatedly cited and that…
Secretary of Labor v. Twin State Mining, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Twin State Mining, Inc. (FMSHRC WEVA 2023-0051): Roof-bolter cable settlement approved
MSHA found two damaged places in a roof bolter's power cable, including one where bare inner wires were exposed, and noted that the mine had been cited under the same standard 26 times in two years. Twin State admitted the violation but asserted that the cable had been adequately taped until the…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Mining Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Mining Company, LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2023-0035): High-negligence amendment allowed
After the parties settled all but one citation, the Secretary sought to amend the remaining rib-control citation from moderate to high negligence. The citation described four large broken or loose ribs in areas where miners regularly worked and traveled, and the Secretary relied on seven recent…
Secretary of Labor v. Lehigh Cement Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Lehigh Cement Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2022-0133): Twelve-citation settlement approved
The settlement resolved 12 citations at Lehigh Cement's Nazareth Plant I, including missing or damaged conveyor guards, extensive housekeeping hazards, and unsafe access beside a pond with a nine-foot drop. The agreement reduced several negligence and gravity findings, removed S&S from three…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Tara Otten v. Continental Cement Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Tara Otten v. Continental Cement Company, LLC (FMSHRC CENT 2021-0013): Original release of walkaround pay decision
This is the original release of the Commission's decision affirming Tara Otten's walkaround-pay claim against Continental Cement. Otten received her regular laborer rate instead of the higher mobile-equipment rate she would otherwise have earned while accompanying MSHA inspectors. The Commission…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Tara Otten v. Continental Cement Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Tara Otten v. Continental Cement Company, LLC (FMSHRC CENT 2021-0013): Walkaround representative was entitled to lost upgrade pay
Tara Otten served as a miners' representative during MSHA inspections and was paid her regular laborer rate instead of the higher mobile-equipment rate she would otherwise have earned. Continental Cement relied on its collective bargaining agreement, which tied upgrade pay to actually performing…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2023-0011): Three untracked contest packets were reopened
Consol Pennsylvania said it mailed three contest packets after paying the citations it did not intend to challenge. MSHA received the partial payments but did not receive the contest packets, which had not been sent by certified or otherwise trackable mail. Consol moved to reopen promptly after…
Secretary of Labor v. Iron Cumberland, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Iron Cumberland, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2023-0007): Twenty-citation settlement approved
The settlement resolved 20 citations at Iron Cumberland's Cumberland Mine, reducing proposed penalties from $19,503 to $13,773. Several negligence findings were lowered, two citations were changed to unlikely and non-S&S, and other findings were modified or left unchanged. Judge Moran questioned…
Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC
Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC SE 2023-0028): Eighteen dockets dismissed
The Acting Secretary vacated five contest citations and thirteen related penalty proceedings alleging that Warrior Met denied miners' representatives access to its No. 4 and No. 7 mines during a strike. Warrior Met did not oppose dismissal but asked the Judge first to consolidate those eighteen…
Secretary of Labor v. Greenbrier Minerals, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Greenbrier Minerals, LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2023-0036): Dozer-window settlement approved
MSHA issued two same-day citations after finding scratched and internally dirty windows on two Caterpillar D10R dozers working in the same coal-stockpile area. One citation, covering four deficient windows, remained at its $626 assessment; the other, covering five deficient windows, was reduced…
Joshua Herion dba ECS Roofing Professionals, Inc.
Citations affirmed by default
OSHA issued ECS Roofing Professionals 14 construction citations after inspecting worksites in Illinois and Wisconsin, including one willful violation, four repeat violations, and nine serious violations. After its attorney withdrew, ECS repeatedly failed to provide contact information, respond to…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2022-0129): Communications and track settlement approved
The settlement covered an emergency-communications citation and two track or travelway safeguard citations at Consol Pennsylvania Coal's Bailey Mine. The communications system lacked redundant tracking and communication along a 2,420-foot alternate escapeway and at a refuge location; its…
Secretary of Labor v. Dragon Products Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Dragon Products Company, LLC (FMSHRC YORK 2022-0016): Tracked contest mailing supported reopening
Dragon Products said it timely mailed its penalty contest by certified mail with return receipt requested, but MSHA had no record of receiving it and the Postal Service tracking had expired. MSHA received partial payment of the assessment and later mailed a delinquency notice. Dragon moved to…
Secretary of Labor v. Dragon Products Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Dragon Products Company, LLC (FMSHRC YORK 2021-0060): Nonreceipt prevented assessment finality
Dragon Products said it never received MSHA's proposed penalty assessment. The Secretary agreed that the assessment had been returned to MSHA rather than delivered to the operator. The Commission held that Dragon never had an opportunity to contest, so the assessment did not become a final order…
What these documents are
- Commission decisions: Rulings by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission itself, the highest level of agency review. These are citable as Commission precedent, though a decision may have been appealed to a U.S. Court of Appeals after issuance.
- ALJ decisions: Rulings by OSHRC Administrative Law Judges after a hearing. When no Commissioner directs review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j): it binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent in other cases.
- 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 OSHRC public release, and the full text on the page is that release. The plain-English summaries are written by Ezel.