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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Stevers Roof Side Remodel, LTD
Repeat fall-protection citation affirmed
Stevers Roof Side Remodel used temporary workers to reroof a two-story Ohio home with a steep roof and an 11-foot eave height. OSHA observed three workers on the roof without attaching the available personal fall arrest systems. The company argued that the workers were on break, but the judge held…
Cargill, Inc.
Grain-bin and rescue-service citations vacated
Cargill operated a large grain elevator complex in Topeka, Kansas, where trained crews manually removed stable residual grain left in flat-bottom bins after gravity unloading ended. The judge found that employees were not “on moving grain” because the residual pile had no draw-off point beneath it…
Matter of Rocco OPPEDISANO, Respondent
Matter of Rocco OPPEDISANO (BIA ID 3793): ammunition possession by a convicted felon is an aggravated felony
The Board reviewed an Italian lawful permanent resident's appeal from an order of removal based on a conviction for unlawful possession of ammunition by a convicted felon. The respondent argued that the aggravated-felony provision for offenses relating to firearms did not cover ammunition and that…
Henry Stevenson and Parkwood Land Co.
In re Henry Stevenson and Parkwood Land Co. (EAB CWA Appeal No. 13-01): Liability affirmed and penalty remanded
Henry Stevenson and Parkwood Land Co. were found liable for discharging fill material into wetlands near the Neches River in Texas without an authorizing permit. Parkwood argued that the wetlands were outside federal Clean Water Act jurisdiction and that Nationwide Permit 3 covered the truck ramp…
Matter of Konan Waldo DOUGLAS, Respondent
Matter of Konan Waldo DOUGLAS (BIA ID 3792): derivative citizenship under former section 321(a)
The Board reviewed a Jamaican respondent's appeal from the denial of his claim to derivative United States citizenship and an order of removal. His mother became a naturalized citizen while he was under 18, after he entered the United States as a lawful permanent resident, and his parents later…
Arc Erecting, Inc.
Access, crane, and welding citations affirmed
Arc Erecting was the structural steel subcontractor on a Maine arena project. Employees climbed to the top of steel joists about 10 feet above the ground without a ladder, and a crane operated near a power line without the required marked work-zone boundary and elevated warning line. A welder also…
Toby Bell d/b/a South Texas Pigeon Removal
Late contest dismissed despite employer-status defense
OSHA issued Toby Bell d/b/a South Texas Pigeon Removal a serious citation with a proposed $2,800 penalty. Bell personally received the citation, which clearly stated the 15-working-day contest deadline, but did not submit a contest until after the deadline. Bell later asserted that the exposed…
Roofing Concepts Unlimited/Florida, Inc.
Late contest dismissed after citation was misplaced
OSHA mailed Roofing Concepts Unlimited/Florida a citation proposing $24,640 in penalties after inspecting a condominium roofing project. The company's receptionist signed for the certified mailing, but the citation was misplaced and management did not learn of it until after the 15-working-day…
Manhattan Construction "Florida", Inc
Falling-object citation vacated after shoring accident
Manhattan Construction managed a Florida resort project where crane chains unexpectedly caught a concrete subcontractor's shoring scaffold, tipped it, and sent aluminum beams from the seventh floor to the entrance below, injuring two subcontractor employees. Manhattan controlled the multi-employer…
E.C. Concrete, Inc.
Four construction-safety items vacated after shoring accident
E.C. Concrete was erecting shoring on the seventh floor of a Florida resort project when crane chains unexpectedly caught a scaffold brace, tipped the scaffold, and sent aluminum beams to the ground, injuring two employees. OSHA withdrew one fall-protection item and pursued allegations involving an…
Monroe Drywall Construction, Inc.
Serious-item penalties increased to $6,300
Monroe Drywall employees worked near exposed energized wires at a Florida construction site where a worker died after contacting the electrical hazard. The affirmed violations involved failure to train employees to recognize and avoid unsafe conditions and failure to determine the status of exposed…
Quinlan Enterprises
Fall and ladder items remanded for employment and knowledge findings
Two workers associated with Quinlan Enterprises installed embedded angles at a Georgia school project without tying off and used a closed, unsecured stepladder for access. The judge affirmed serious fall-protection and ladder items but addressed only in a footnote Quinlan's claim that the workers…
CentiMark Corporation
Roof structural-integrity citation affirmed after fatal fall
CentiMark employees replaced a damaged concrete roof panel at a steel facility with a roof more than 60 feet above the factory floor. After the panel was removed, adjacent panels showed missing and crumbling concrete and exposed reinforcing steel, but CentiMark did not conduct a closer inspection…
Piedmont Mechanical, Inc.
Trenching and crane case remanded to reconsider employer knowledge
Piedmont Mechanical is a mechanical contractor with about 75 employees that was installing pipe in a trench using a crane. OSHA issued a serious citation and a willful citation covering trench protection, crane setup and inspection, and crane clearance from an overhead power line, with a total…
Jim Boyd Construction, Inc.
Excavation case remanded under ComTran knowledge rule
Jim Boyd Construction installed trench shields for a Georgia natural-gas project where another contractor's employees worked in the excavation. An administrative law judge vacated two shield items, affirmed a lateral-movement item as serious, and reduced a cave-in protection item from willful to…
ComTran Group, Inc.
Trench case remanded after supervisor-knowledge ruling
ComTran's project manager entered a 6-foot-deep excavation without cave-in protection after placing a 5-foot spoil pile at its edge. An administrative law judge affirmed serious excavation and spoil-pile violations by imputing the project manager's knowledge of his own conduct to the company. The…
The Dodge Company, Inc.
In re The Dodge Company, Inc. (EAB MM Appeal No. 13-01C): Consent Agreement ratified
The Dodge Company, Inc. was the respondent in a Clean Air Act and EPCRA enforcement proceeding. EPA brought the matter under the Clean Air Act section 113(d) and EPCRA section 325(c). The Environmental Appeals Board ratified the attached Consent Agreement under 40 C.F.R. § 22.18(b)-(c) and ordered…
Absolute Roofing & Construction, Inc.
Four scaffold and fall-protection items affirmed
Absolute Roofing's worker repaired a steep church roof without fall protection above a scaffold that lacked base plates and guardrails. The judge treated Absolute Roofing and Absolute Exteriors as a single employer because they shared ownership, management, an office, employees, work, and their…
Doyle K. Beckham d/b/a DKB Construction
PPE payment item reduced and forklift tire item vacated
DKB Construction performed framing, roofing, and carpentry work at an assisted-living project on the Hopi Indian Reservation. Its written policy required employees to supply and maintain basic personal protective equipment, and the evidence showed that workers paid for items such as hard hats and…
Valcourt Building Services of Georgia, LLC
Window-cleaning citations vacated because franchisee was the employer
A Valcourt franchisee used rope-descent equipment to clean exterior windows on a high-rise building. OSHA cited Valcourt after observing that each worker's safety line and working line shared an anchorage point and that the safety line allegedly could not safely suspend a worker after a fall. The…
Performance Contracting, Inc., dba PCI
Three scaffold items affirmed as other-than-serious
Performance Contracting installed exterior insulation from a multilevel scaffold at a casino construction project. An opening below the scaffold was not barricaded, and the scaffold lacked interior toe boards in an area where smaller tools and materials could fall. The judge found employee exposure…
Safway Scaffolding d/b/a Safway Services, LP
Untrained scaffold dismantler item affirmed after fall
Safway erected and dismantled extensive scaffolding inside an aircraft hangar. A ground-crew laborer without scaffold-dismantling training was allowed by his crew leader to join the dismantling work, then fell about 21 feet after tying off to a horizontal bar that dislodged. The judge found the…
Maralex Disposal, LLC
In re Maralex Disposal, LLC (EAB SDWA Appeal No. 13-01): Appeal dismissed as untimely
Maralex Disposal, LLC, a Colorado oil and gas produced-water disposal company, received a Region 8 Initial Decision assessing an $88,900 penalty for violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Underground Injection Control regulations. Maralex tried to file its appeal on August 15, 2013, but…
C & C Roofing
Late contest dismissed and $2,000 citation affirmed
OSHA issued C & C Roofing one serious citation with a proposed $2,000 penalty after inspecting a Colorado Springs worksite. The company filed its notice of contest 48 days late. It did not respond to the Secretary's dismissal motion or the judge's order to show cause, and it offered no basis for…
Stoltzfus Welding & Rentals, LLC
Late contest relief denied
OSHA issued Stoltzfus Welding & Rentals two serious citations and one repeat citation with proposed penalties totaling $8,360. The employer argued that it missed the contest deadline because an OSHA letter said no citation would be issued for one item. The judge found that the actual citations…
Professional Directional, Ltd.
Settlement order set aside for correction
Professional Directional agreed to withdraw its contest of five citation items and pay a reduced penalty of $13,600. After the judge approved the settlement, the Secretary reported that one sentence mistakenly said the employer "did ensure" safety data sheets were available when the agreement…
Matter of Patricia PINZON, Respondent
Matter of Patricia PINZON (BIA ID 3791): a false citizenship claim is not an admission
The Board reviewed a Venezuelan respondent's appeal and the Department of Homeland Security's cross-appeal from an order of removal. The respondent had entered the United States using a passport obtained with a false birth certificate, later was convicted of making fraudulent statements to obtain a…
Penney's Construction Company, LLC
Willful trench violations affirmed after work continued
Penney's Construction replaced a sewer line in a 10-foot-deep trench with vertical, fissured walls and no cave-in protection. Employees also encountered flowing sewage, possible atmospheric hazards, an edge-side spoil pile, unprotected use of a cut saw, and public traffic without high-visibility…
Sunland Construction, Inc.
Trench egress item affirmed and cave-in item vacated
Sunland Construction employees installed sandbag trench breaks around a high-pressure gas pipeline. They worked in a trench more than five feet deep without a ladder, stairway, or ramp, and Sunland did not show that climbing over the pipe and sandbags provided safe egress. The judge affirmed the…
Secretary of Labor v. Consolidation Coal Company
Five mine safety violations were affirmed
Consolidation Coal operated Robinson Run No. 95, a gassy underground coal mine subject to frequent methane inspections. An administrative law judge affirmed five citations and orders involving combustible coal accumulations, a nonworking scoop panic bar, an impermissible roof bolter light, and two…
Miller Construction Co.
Four-month-late contest dismissed
OSHA issued Miller Construction two serious citations with a combined proposed penalty of $4,000. Delivery records showed that the company received the citations, which clearly stated the 15-working-day contest deadline. The company waited after receiving both the citations and a later collection…
Basic Marine, Inc.
Most shipyard citations affirmed
Basic Marine performed shipbuilding and repair work involving confined spaces, hazardous coatings, forklifts, cranes, lifting equipment, and work on barges and a pier. The judge affirmed nearly all contested items, including violations involving confined-space testing and rescue, respiratory…
Bellco Glass, Inc.
Late contests dismissed in consolidated cases
OSHA issued separate health and safety citations to Bellco Glass after inspecting its New Jersey facility. The company did not submit a written notice of contest within 15 working days and filed its request for a hearing eleven weeks after the deadline. Despite several extensions and opportunities…
Matter of Charlemagne Micabalo ESTRADA and Matter of Vanessa Joan ESTRADA, Respondents
Matter of ESTRADA (BIA ID 3790): after-acquired spouses cannot be derivative grandfathered aliens
The Board reviewed a married Filipino couple's appeal from the denial of adjustment of status under section 245(i) and the grant of voluntary departure. The couple argued that earlier family and employment visa petitions made them eligible for section 245(i) as grandfathered aliens. The Board held…
United Mine Workers of America on behalf of Mark A. Franks and Ronald M. Hoy v. Emerald Coal Resources, LP
Discrimination remedies remained in effect during review
An administrative law judge found that Emerald Coal Resources discriminated against miners Mark Franks and Ronald Hoy by suspending each for seven days. The judge ordered back pay with interest, notice posting, and removal of the related reprimands from the miners' personnel files. After the…
Secretary of Labor v. Performance Coal Company
The judge had to address the increased penalty request
MSHA cited Performance Coal for a significant-and-substantial accumulation of float coal dust and initially proposed a $4,329 penalty. After the hearing, the Secretary asked for $34,653 based on asserted evidence of high negligence and seven miners potentially affected. The judge discussed the…
Pio Pico Energy Center, LLC
In re Pio Pico Energy Center, LLC (EAB PSD Appeal Nos. 12-04 through 12-06): PM BACT analysis remanded, other issues denied
EPA Region 9 issued Pio Pico Energy Center, LLC a PSD permit for a 300-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant in Otay Mesa, California. Three petitions challenged the permit and several conditions, including the greenhouse-gas and particulate-matter BACT analyses, public comments, air-quality…
Matter of Lennyn Dejesus TAVAREZ PERALTA, Respondent
Matter of Lennyn Dejesus TAVAREZ PERALTA (BIA ID 3789): laser interference endangers public safety but is not a crime of violence
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal after an Immigration Judge terminated removal proceedings against a Dominican respondent. The respondent had been convicted under 18 U.S.C. § 32(a)(5) after shining a laser into the eyes of a police-helicopter pilot, causing a…
Secretary of Labor v. Stollings Trucking Company, Inc.
Final penalty assessment reopened without opposition
Stollings Trucking missed the 30-day deadline to contest a proposed MSHA penalty, causing the assessment to become a final Commission order. The company asked the Commission to reopen the assessment, and the Secretary did not oppose the request. Applying its authority to grant relief for mistake…
Secretary of Labor v. Signature Mining Services, LLC
Owner's extended travel supported reopening
Signature Mining missed the 30-day penalty-contest deadline while its owner was outside the country for extended periods. A later MSHA delinquency notice was returned undelivered, and the owner learned of the debt through a collection call. Signature said it adopted new procedures to ensure timely…
Secretary of Labor v. Tidewater Contractors, Inc.
Misdirected penalty contest was excused
Tidewater Contractors missed the formal penalty-contest deadline after mailing its notice to MSHA in St. Louis instead of the Civil Penalty Compliance Office in Arlington. After receiving a delinquency notice, it mistakenly sent its response to St. Louis again. The Secretary did not oppose…
Secretary of Labor v. Hubble Mining Company, LLC
Canopy at the portal site satisfied the roof control plan
Hubble Mining used a remote-controlled continuous miner to make initial portal cuts while keeping the operator well away from a 40-foot highwall. A massive highwall collapse covered much of the machine, but no one was injured, and MSHA cited Hubble for not installing a canopy before the first cut…
Secretary of Labor v. Linwood Mining and Minerals Corporation
One-day-late penalty contest was reopened
Linwood Mining missed the 30-day deadline to contest a proposed MSHA penalty. It said it mailed a contest notice with payment for uncontested citations one day after the deadline, and MSHA's St. Louis payment office received the check. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but noted that the…
Secretary of Labor v. Brody Mining, LLC
Four-day clerical delay was excused
Brody Mining missed the 30-day penalty-contest deadline because of a clerical error. The company filed its contest four days after the assessment became a final Commission order. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but urged Brody to improve its filing procedures. The Commission reopened the…
Secretary of Labor v. Bodell Construction Company
Counsel's deadline error was excused
Bodell Construction missed the 30-day penalty-contest deadline because its counsel treated the proposed assessment as a mailed pleading and incorrectly added five calendar days to the response period. The company filed its contest five days late and discovered the mistake after receiving a…
North County Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Penalty amendment granted
North County Sand & Gravel faced one citation at its Roadrunner 32 Mine for an alleged violation of 30 C.F.R. § 56.15005. The Secretary had proposed a $35,500 special-assessment penalty, then moved to replace it with a $6,624 regular-assessment proposal. Judge Richard W. Manning granted the…
Secretary of Labor v. The American Coal Company
Flagrant-violation findings affirmed with $179,212 penalty
The American Coal Company operated the Galatia underground coal mine. MSHA alleged that two section 104(d)(2) orders violated the float-coal-dust and loose-coal-accumulation standard at 30 C.F.R. § 75.400 and warranted repeated-failure flagrant penalties. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy affirmed both…
Secretary of Labor v. Dodge Hill Mining Company, LLC
Internal forwarding delay was excused
Dodge Hill Mining's safety manager sent a completed penalty-contest form to Patriot Coal's corporate office within the 30-day period. An administrative assistant delayed filing it until four days after the assessment became a final Commission order. The Secretary did not oppose reopening, but urged…
Secretary of Labor v. Affinity Coal Company, LLC
Accident-related delay supported reopening
Affinity Coal missed the penalty-contest deadline after a mining accident delayed its safety director's forwarding of the notice to counsel. The notice reached counsel one week after the assessment became a final Commission order. The Secretary did not oppose reopening and noted that MSHA received…
Secretary of Labor v. Roberson Lime & Rock, Inc.
Returned timely contest supported reopening
Roberson Lime & Rock said it mailed a timely penalty-contest notice to MSHA's Arlington office, but the package was returned undelivered. The company supplied Postal Service tracking proof, and MSHA's St. Louis payment office received its check for the uncontested penalties. The Secretary did not…
Fred Estrada v. Freeport McMoran Tyrone, Inc. and/or Runyan Construction
Hearing set and early dismissal denied
Judge William B. Moran scheduled Fred Estrada's discrimination hearing for October 2013 and ordered the parties to exchange exhibits and witness information. Runyan Construction had not responded to an earlier order, so the judge directed it to identify its representation, supply contact…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Reuben Shemwell v. Armstrong Coal Company, Inc. and Armstrong Fabricators, Inc.
Temporary stay granted during settlement effort
An administrative law judge had issued a cease-and-desist order and later denied Armstrong's request to stay it and certify an interlocutory appeal. Armstrong told the Commission that the parties had verbally agreed on settlement terms and needed time to finalize a written motion. The Secretary did…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Reuben Shemwell v. Armstrong Coal Company, Inc. and Armstrong Fabricators, Inc.
Review denied because the ALJ ruling was not final
Judge Jerold Feldman found that Armstrong's Kentucky civil lawsuit against miner Reuben Shemwell interfered with his Mine Act discrimination rights and ordered Armstrong to stop prosecuting it. The judge expressly labeled that ruling interim because civil penalties and additional relief remained…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Reuben Shemwell v. Armstrong Coal Company, Inc. and Armstrong Fabricators, Inc.
Stay denied to prevent continued chilling effect
Armstrong sought a short stay of an order requiring it to dismiss a Kentucky tort suit against miner Reuben Shemwell. The company said the parties had verbally agreed to settlement terms that included voluntary dismissal of the suit. Judge Jerold Feldman found that Armstrong was unlikely to…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Reuben Shemwell v. Armstrong Coal Company, Inc. and Armstrong Fabricators, Inc.
Interlocutory certification denied
Armstrong asked Judge Jerold Feldman to certify immediate Commission review of his same-day refusal to stay a cease-and-desist order. Certification required a novel legal question and a showing that immediate review would materially advance the case. The judge found the stay standards were settled…
Secretary of Labor v. Oak Grove Resources, LLC
Safeguard against pushing cars was valid
A miner was fatally pinned while a 24-ton shearer body was being moved along Oak Grove's main haulage road. MSHA cited the mine under a safeguard that prohibited pushing cars on main haulage roads except in a limited situation. The judge vacated the citation after finding that the safeguard did not…
University of Massachusetts Boston
In re University of Massachusetts Boston (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 13-04): Petition dismissed after settlement
The University of Massachusetts Boston asked the Environmental Appeals Board to let it withdraw its petition challenging an NPDES permit. The university and EPA Region 1 agreed to settlement terms resolving the issues raised in the petition, and the Region assented to the withdrawal and dismissal…
Secretary of Labor v. Spartan Mining Company, Inc.
Mistaken payment did not erase earlier citation contests
Spartan Mining had timely contested three citations but later mistakenly paid the related proposed penalties. The Secretary opposed reopening because this was Spartan's second similar request, its internal system appeared unreliable, and it waited months after related settlement activity to seek…
Lewis-Goetz and Company, Inc.
Fall protection citation vacated by ALJ
Lewis-Goetz performed conveyor-belt fabrication and repair work at the Dobbin Ridge Prep Plant. An employee worked 10 to 12 feet above the ground on a wet coal belt without a safety harness or tag line, although fall-protection equipment was available and the employee had recently been trained…
Secretary of Labor v. Drilling & Blasting Systems, Inc.
Overlooked assessment was reopened despite opposition
Drilling & Blasting Systems missed a penalty-contest deadline after downsizing, heavy travel, and an overloaded safety manager caused the assessment mail to sit unnoticed. The company then waited about five months after a delinquency notice to request reopening. The Secretary opposed relief, noting…
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.