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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Matter of Muhammad Imran BUTT
When a labor certification qualifies for section 245(i) grandfathering
The Board reviewed a Pakistani respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge found that his 2001 labor certification was not approvable when filed and denied his adjustment application. The Board held that a labor certification qualifies for section 245(i) grandfathering when it was properly…
Monroe Drywall Construction, Inc.
Employer finding reversed and citations remanded
A drywall worker was electrocuted after contacting exposed wiring at a retail-store renovation. The judge vacated the citations because he found OSHA had not proved that Monroe Drywall employed the workers performing the drywall work. The Commission held that the judge improperly discounted worker…
Northshore Mining Co.
Two violations reduced and individual claim dismissed
MSHA cited Northshore Mining after miners used a narrow beam to reach an elevated cooler platform and after a large shovel operated for weeks without its left-side mirror. Judge Michael E. Zielinski found that both conditions violated the cited standards and that the operator was highly negligent…
Taft Production Company
Six shop and plant citations upheld with one reduced
MSHA issued six citations at Taft Production's clay mine for an obstructed eyewash station, improper bolts in feeder turnbuckles, damaged electrical conduit, unstable storage shelves, an open energized switchgear box, and an unsecured conveyor guard. Judge Jacqueline R. Bulluck affirmed every…
West Bay Exploration Co.
In re West Bay Exploration Co. (EAB UIC Appeal Nos. 13-01 and 13-02): petitions dismissed as moot
Peter Bormuth and Sandra K. Yerman challenged an Underground Injection Control permit granted to West Bay Exploration Company. EPA Region 5 withdrew the permit in its entirety and announced its intent to prepare a new draft permit. Because the permit withdrawal eliminated the subject of the…
The Lincoln Electric Company
In re The Lincoln Electric Company (EAB TSCA 13-01C): consent agreement ratified
The Lincoln Electric Company was the respondent in a Toxic Substances Control Act matter before the Environmental Appeals Board. The Board incorporated the attached Consent Agreement into its Final Order by reference and ratified it. The Board ordered Lincoln Electric to comply with all terms of…
AboveNet Communications, Inc.
In re AboveNet Communications, Inc. (EAB EPCRA 13-01C and CWA 13-01C): consent agreement ratified
AboveNet Communications, Inc. was the respondent in consolidated EPA proceedings under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act and the Clean Water Act. The Board incorporated the attached Consent Agreement into its Final Order by reference and ratified it. The Board ordered AboveNet…
Diamond Creek Mill, Inc.
Default reopened after show-cause order was misaddressed
Diamond Creek Mill defaulted after failing to answer a penalty petition and then failing to respond to a show-cause order. The operator said it never received the show-cause order because the envelope carried an incorrect ZIP code, and the Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission reopened…
Hanson Aggregates Southeast, LLC
Default vacated after quarry mail failure
Hanson Aggregates defaulted after a penalty petition sent to a small quarry was not forwarded to the regional office or counsel, and the later show-cause order was returned because the site had no mail receptacle. Counsel learned of the petition from MSHA and moved to reopen after being told that…
CVB Industrial Contracting, Inc.
Default vacated after response was sent to MSHA
CVB Industrial Contracting defaulted after the Commission did not receive its answer to a show-cause order. The operator had responded on time but mistakenly sent the response to MSHA instead of the Commission, and the Secretary did not oppose reopening. In the interest of justice, the Commission…
Otis Elevator Company
Lockout coordination item affirmed
An Otis mechanic injured his hand while unjamming a freight-elevator gate at a department store. The Commission held that the lockout/tagout standard applied because the jammed gate stored gravitational energy that could release unexpectedly during servicing, even though the mechanic expected the…
Oak Grove Resources, LLC
Runaway supply cars supported safeguard and individual liability
An Oak Grove supervisor used a scoop-mounted winch and cable to move three supply cars on underground track. A side-rail weld failed, and the cars ran uncontrolled for about 3,900 feet while a miner escaped into a spur track. Judge William B. Moran held that the mine's safeguard validly required…
Drum Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Four citations vacated and penalties sharply reduced
MSHA issued nine citations at Drum Sand & Gravel's small Arkansas mine and proposed $13,750 in penalties. Judge Jeffrey Tureck vacated the opaque-loader-window citation because the Secretary did not prove that the remaining opening impaired safe visibility, and he vacated the track-hoe alarm…
D.A.S. Sand & Gravel
Default reopened after timely answer and returned order
D.A.S. Sand & Gravel timely answered a penalty petition through MSHA but later did not receive the Commission's show-cause order because its owner was away and the post office returned the letter. The operator acted after receiving delinquency and Treasury notices, and the Secretary did not oppose…
Harry C. Crooker & Sons, Inc.
Default reopened after response went to wrong address
Harry C. Crooker & Sons defaulted after its response to a show-cause order was mailed to the wrong address. The safety director said he was the office's only worker and would identify future due dates clearly, and the Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Secretary warned that future use of…
Cumberland Quarry Corp.
Default reopened after timely answer and undelivered order
Cumberland Quarry timely answered a penalty petition but sent the answer only to MSHA, not the Commission. The operator did not receive the later show-cause order because it was returned for lack of a mail receptacle, and its consultant acted after discovering the delinquency in MSHA's online…
Apogee Coal Company, LLC
Default reopened after timely answer was confirmed
Apogee Coal defaulted after the Commission did not receive its answer to a penalty petition. The operator said it had answered on time and did not obtain the show-cause order until months after delivery, when it contacted MSHA about a delinquency notice. The Secretary did not oppose reopening and…
Eagle Creek Mining, LLC
Timely answer restored after docketing failure
Eagle Creek Mining was placed in default for an apparent failure to answer the Secretary's penalty petition. The operator produced an answer showing that the Commission had date-stamped it as received on time, although it was not docketed and the Secretary had not received a copy. The Commission…
Kvaerner Industrial
Construction, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 2012-347-M): Timely show-cause response restored
Kvaerner Industrial Construction faced default after failing to answer a penalty petition. The operator responded to two identical show-cause orders on time, and the Commission's record confirmed receipt four days later. The Secretary did not oppose reopening and confirmed that MSHA also received…
Harrison Construction Company, Division of APAC-Atlantic, Inc.
Default reopened after counsel missed mailed filings
Harrison Construction defaulted after its counsel did not receive the penalty petition or show-cause order, although both were mailed to the operator's address of record. Counsel contacted MSHA promptly after receiving a delinquency notice, and the Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Secretary…
Rare Red Rock
Default reopened after owner's death disrupted correspondence
Rare Red Rock defaulted after failing to answer a penalty petition and show-cause order. The company said its owner died shortly before the default became effective, after which its vice president took responsibility for MSHA correspondence and independent counsel was hired. The Secretary did not…
Howard Sheppard, Inc.
Default reopened to allow settled case to proceed
Howard Sheppard defaulted even though it said it had answered the penalty petition and later negotiated a settlement with MSHA. The Secretary did not oppose reopening for the limited purpose of allowing a previously filed settlement motion to be considered, and confirmed that the case had been…
Robinson Construction
Default reopened after claimed answer was not received
Robinson Construction defaulted after the Commission did not receive an answer to the Secretary's penalty petition. The operator said it had sent an answer without certified-mail tracking and that its safety director was unfamiliar with the contest process, while the Secretary confirmed that MSHA…
Woodway Stone Company
Default reopened for consideration of settlement
Woodway Stone defaulted after failing to answer a penalty petition and show-cause order. The operator said it had negotiated a settlement, and the Secretary did not oppose reopening for the limited purpose of allowing the settlement motion to be considered. The agency representative had filed that…
Powell Mountain Energy, LLC
Default reopened with deadline and address warning
Powell Mountain Energy timely contested an assessment but said it never received the later penalty petition at its new address. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but noted that the petition and show-cause order went to the address of record, were not returned, and that Powell had raised the…
Shenandoah Stone, LLC
Default reopened after timely fax and insufficient address
Shenandoah Stone timely answered a penalty petition and produced a certificate of service and fax confirmation. The later show-cause order was sent to the mine's physical address rather than its mailing address and was returned as insufficient, so the operator did not receive it. Shenandoah…
Maymead Materials, Inc.
Default reopened after MSHA received timely answers
Maymead Materials defaulted even though it had answered the penalty petition on time and later sent MSHA another answer in response to the show-cause order. MSHA's representative confirmed receipt and had also filed a motion to approve settlement. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. In the…
Fools Gold Energy Corporation
Default reopened with address warning
Fools Gold Energy defaulted after failing to answer a penalty petition and show-cause order. The company said it contacted MSHA's litigation representative, while the Secretary reported several unreturned calls and an undeliverable delinquency notice. The Commission noted that the petition, order…
Claude Layne v. Excel Mining, LLC
Discrimination claim survived motion to dismiss
Claude Layne alleged that he complained about an unsafe haul road, was injured in a truck accident, and later sued Excel Mining over the road conditions. He claimed that Excel barred him from the mine the day after learning of the lawsuit, which caused his trucking employer to discharge him. Excel…
Greenwood Industries, Inc.
Hoist-area fall citation vacated
Greenwood employees handed sheet metal from the ground to coworkers on an approximately 11-foot-high roof. One worker fell while walking back toward the roof edge. The judge found that the cited hoist-area standard did not apply because the crew used no crane, winch, or other mechanical lifting…
Mike Neri Sewer & Water Contractor
Trench violations affirmed with $5,000 penalty
Mike Neri Sewer & Water Contractor excavated a trench for water and sewer work. An employee entered the 5.6-foot-deep trench without a ladder, cave-in protection, or the required setback between the spoil pile and trench edge. The judge credited the compliance officer's testimony and photographs…
Dickenson-Russell Coal Company, LLC
Contest withdrawn and $971 citation affirmed
Dickenson-Russell Coal withdrew its contest after paying the penalty for a single citation. The Commission had previously accepted interlocutory review of a settlement question but vacated that review order and remanded after the withdrawal. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy found the proceeding moot and…
Stonehaven Energy Management, LLC
In re Stonehaven Energy Management, LLC (EAB UIC Appeal No. 12-02): Permit remanded for geological analysis, other issues denied
EPA Region 3 issued Stonehaven Energy Management, LLC a permit to convert an existing well in Pennsylvania into a Class II brine-disposal injection well. The petitioner challenged the Region's treatment of nearby wells, geological formations, earthquake risk, and financial responsibility. The Board…
Matter of Central California Legal Services, Inc.
Initial accreditation requires immigration fundamentals training
The Board reconsidered Central California Legal Services, Inc.'s application to accredit Janie Munoz-Tafoya as a representative before the Department of Homeland Security. It held that an application for initial accreditation must show that the proposed representative recently completed at least…
AR Medical LLC d/b/a San Pablo Medical Clinic
Late contest dismissed
OSHA cited San Pablo Medical Clinic for three serious violations and one other-than-serious violation after inspecting its Dalton, Georgia facility. The clinic received the citations on April 27, 2012, but did not file its notice of contest until September 6, 2012. In response to an order to show…
D & A Construction
Soap item vacated, paint safety-data item affirmed
D & A Construction employees performed touch-up painting during airport renovations in Saipan. OSHA cited the company because the nearest restroom's soap dispenser was empty and the worksite lacked the correct material safety data sheet for the industrial enamel paint in use. The judge vacated the…
Dickenson-Russell Coal Company, LLC
Interlocutory review vacated after contest withdrawal
The Commission had accepted interlocutory review of whether the Secretary could remove an S&S designation in settlement without Commission approval. Dickenson-Russell Coal then paid the penalty and withdrew its contest of the citation. The Commission held that immediate review would no longer…
Jesco, Inc.
Aerial-lift modification item narrowed to clamped beam
Jesco used an aerial lift to move 31-foot, 325-pound ceiling beams at an industrial facility. It secured the first beam to the basket's guardrails with vise clamps, then moved ten later beams by resting them on the guardrails without clamps. The Commission held that the field-modification standard…
Secretary of Labor v. Hunt Martin Materials, LLC
Highwall fall-protection citation affirmed
Two blasters loaded holes near the edge of a 26-to-28-foot highwall without using available fall-protection equipment. Judge David P. Simonton credited the inspectors' contemporaneous notes and testimony that some holes were only two to three feet from the edge, rejecting the operator's claim that…
Secretary of Labor v. Wolf Run Mining Co.
Secretary ordered to define flagrant-violation theory
The Commission reversed an earlier ALJ interpretation that barred consideration of an operator's past violations when deciding whether a violation was a repeated-failure flagrant violation. On remand, Judge David F. Barbour found that the Secretary's theory remained unclear because it had changed…
D.W. Caldwell, Inc.
Steep-roof fall violation affirmed as serious
D.W. Caldwell employees installed metal panels on a steep roof with an eave 32 feet above the ground. The crew wore harnesses but, with one temporary exception, did not connect them to anchor points, and the foreman knowingly allowed the practice after the general contractor warned him the previous…
Secretary of Labor v. Elk Run Coal Company
Continuance denied despite backlog-office closure
The Secretary asked to postpone the hearing in three of four consolidated penalty dockets because counsel expected office-closing work connected with the shutdown of MSHA's Arlington backlog project and anticipated difficulty completing post-hearing briefs. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy denied the…
Secretary of Labor v. Wolf Run Mining Company
Past violations may support a repeated-failure flagrant penalty
Wolf Run challenged a $142,900 flagrant penalty for combustible-material accumulations. The ALJ held that a repeated-failure flagrant violation could be based only on repeated failures to eliminate the particular cited condition, not on prior similar violations. The Commission reversed. It held…
Mesabi Nugget Delaware, LLC
In re Mesabi Nugget Delaware, LLC (EAB NPDES Appeal Nos. 13-01 through 13-03): Petitions dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
EPA Region 5 approved a water-quality-standards variance issued by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for Mesabi Nugget Delaware, LLC. WaterLegacy, the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, and two tribal nations asked the EAB to review that approval. The Board held that its regulations…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Reuben Shemwell v. Armstrong Coal Company, Inc. and Armstrong Fabricators, Inc.
Briefing ordered on preemption, retaliation, and SLAPP issues
Armstrong filed a Kentucky tort suit against welder Reuben Shemwell after he pursued Mine Act discrimination claims arising from his discharge. Following oral argument on the Secretary's allegation that the lawsuit itself unlawfully interfered with protected rights, Judge Jerold Feldman ordered…
Secretary of Labor v. Highland Mining Company, Mark A. Sheffield, and Steve Bockhorn
Roof-support summary motions denied
The cases concerned four cable bolts cut to permit passage of a conveyor train and related personal-liability allegations against mine foremen Steve Bockhorn and Mark Sheffield. Judge Jerold Feldman denied all three respondents' summary-decision motions. Commission precedent foreclosed Bockhorn's…
Secretary of Labor v. Cactus Canyon Quarries of Texas, Inc.
Simplified procedure ended but hearing tightly limited
Cactus Canyon contested two $100 machine-guarding penalties and sought broader discovery than the Commission's simplified-proceedings rules ordinarily allow. Judge David F. Barbour agreed to discontinue simplified proceedings because an unwilling party's insistence on additional discovery defeated…
Matter of Agustin ORTEGA-LOPEZ, Respondent
Animal fighting offense was a crime involving moral turpitude
The Board reviewed a Mexican respondent’s appeal from an order of removal and the denial of cancellation of removal. The respondent had been convicted under federal law of knowingly sponsoring or exhibiting an animal in an animal-fighting venture. The Board held that the offense is categorically a…
Eller-ITO Stevedoring Company, LLC
Ro-Ro struck-by item affirmed
Eller-ITO assigned a longshore gang to unload chassis-mounted cargo containers from a ship at the Port of Miami. A lasher and team leader was struck by a container after signaling the mule operator to move while a rear securing chain remained attached and he was positioned in a narrow walkway…
Mast Climber Manufacturing, Inc., d/b/a American Mast Climbers
Scaffold items split, design violation willful
Mast Climber Manufacturing erected and serviced a mast-climbing work platform on a 21-story construction project. Four contractor employees fell when one side of the platform collapsed, and three died. The judge held that the system was a scaffold, not an aerial lift, because it was not…
Secretary of Labor v. TRC Mining Corp.
Four coal-mine citations modified and penalties cut to $14,500
The case addressed combustible accumulations along a belt, an inadequate belt examination, inoperable mantrip sanders, and accumulations on a working section. Judge Michael E. Zielinski affirmed all four violations but modified several enforcement findings. The belt accumulations remained S&S and…
Chevron Michigan, LLC of Traverse City, Michigan
In re Chevron Michigan, LLC of Traverse City, Michigan (EAB UIC Appeal No. 12-01): Permit remanded for administrative-record defects
EPA Region 5 issued Chevron Michigan, LLC a permit for a Class II injection well used for noncommercial brine disposal in Antrim County, Michigan. A petitioner challenged the permit's timing, the Region's handling of public comments, and several substantive permit issues. The Board treated the…
Secretary of Labor v. Highland Mining Company, LLC
Missed penalty contest reopened after prompt discovery
Highland Mining's safety manager asked a new compliance specialist to deliver a penalty-contest form to counsel, but the specialist missed the deadline. The specialist discovered the error on June 6, 2012 and emailed the form to counsel that afternoon; Highland sought reopening the next day, and…
Boh Brothers Construction Company, LLC
Rescue-skiff and crane-operation items affirmed
Boh Brothers was constructing bridges over Lake Pontchartrain when a crane tipped on the sloped bridge deck. The operator fell into the lake and later died from his injuries. The Commission held that the company's rescue system could not be expected to reach a worker within the three-to-four-minute…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Douglas A. Pilon v. ISP Minerals, Inc.
Safety complainant's discharge found discriminatory
Douglas Pilon repeatedly reported safety and health concerns at ISP's Kremlin Plant, including an aluminum-chloride exposure shortly before his suspension and discharge. Judge Priscilla M. Rae found that management viewed Pilon as a complainer, treated him more harshly than coworkers, and used…
Cleveland Wrecking Company
Falling-debris case remanded
Cleveland Wrecking was demolishing high-rise buildings in Dallas when a bobcat struck a buried steel beam and dislodged part of an exterior wall. The debris fell into a pit and killed a truck driver and a flagger employed by other companies. The Commission set aside the judge's willful findings and…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Russell Ratliff v. Cobra Natural Resources, LLC
Layoff did not toll temporary reinstatement
Russell Ratliff was discharged days after raising ventilation-plan concerns at a safety meeting and submitting ten safety cards. Cobra argued that even if he qualified for temporary reinstatement, the obligation should end when a later reduction in force would supposedly have included him based on…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Douglas A. Pilon v. ISP Minerals, Inc.
Thin layoff evidence did not toll reinstatement
ISP asked to suspend Douglas Pilon's economic reinstatement for two weeks during an asserted reduction in force caused by low sales. Judge Priscilla M. Rae denied the request because ISP submitted only a vague letter and a list labeling employees as indefinitely laid off. The company supplied no…
Secretary of Labor v. The American Coal Company
A mine fire need not have visible flames
MSHA issued a section 103(k) control order after inspectors observed smoke, ash, heat waves, and the smell of burning coal at five locations on a large stockpile, although they saw no flames. The ALJ vacated the order because he read "mine fire" to require a flame. A Commission majority reversed…
Safe Environment Corporation of Indiana (Cleveland Trencher Site)
In re Safe Environment Corporation of Indiana (Cleveland Trencher Site) (EAB CERCLA 106(b) Petition No. 12-02): reimbursement petition dismissed after payment
Safe Environment Corporation of Indiana filed a petition for reimbursement of costs, fees, and other expenses concerning the Cleveland Trencher Site. With the concurrence of EPA Region 5 counsel, the company moved to dismiss the petition with prejudice and reported that EPA had paid it and that all…
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.