Federal Agency Decisions
Federal workers' compensation appeals from the Department of Labor's Employees' Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB), federal-sector labor-relations cases from the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), Longshore Act and Black Lung Benefits Act appeals from the Department of Labor's Benefits Review Board (BRB), precedent decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), environmental permit and penalty appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB), and whistleblower and other labor appeals from the Department of Labor's Administrative Review Board (ARB), each with a plain-English summary, the law it cites, and whether it counts as precedent. More agencies are coming.
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Roy Farmer and others v. Island Creek Coal Company
Compensation claims dismissed
Miners sought compensation for time they were idled by two imminent-danger orders at Island Creek's VP-3 Mine. The Commission later affirmed the underlying decision vacating those orders and a related citation. Judge George A. Koutras lifted the stay on the compensation claims after that Commission…
Top Kat Mining, Inc., W-P Coal Company, and Bear Run Coal, Inc.
Citation and order vacated
The Secretary pursued penalties against Top Kat Mining, W-P Coal Company, and Bear Run Coal after a bathhouse-floor citation at the No. 21 Mine. Top Kat and Bear Run were dismissed because service was not completed. Judge Gary Melick found that W-P was an operator as an owner and lessee, but that…
Cyprus Tonopah Mining Corporation
Remand penalty reduced to $500
The Commission remanded a ground-condition violation for penalty reassessment after finding that Cyprus Tonopah Mining's conduct was not an unwarrantable failure. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. found that the operator was still negligent because it allowed work and travel in an area with hazardous…
Arrow Crushed Stone, Inc.
Brake citation affirmed and other citations settled
Arrow Crushed Stone faced 15 alleged violations at its quarry. The judge approved a settlement for all but one citation, reducing the related penalties and removing significant-and-substantial designations from several citations. For the remaining citation, involving a front-end loader whose brakes…
Ludvik Electric
Unguarded platform citation dismissed under multi-employer defense
A Ludvik Electric employee fell to his death from an unguarded equipment-support deck at a Colorado construction site. The judge found that the deck was a covered work platform and that Ludvik could have anticipated employee use of it. Ludvik did not create or control the missing guardrails because…
National Treasury Employees Union and U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (FLRA 0-NG-2051): interview and reassignment proposals mostly negotiable
The National Treasury Employees Union proposed rules for employee interviews during investigations and for reassigning resident inspectors at nuclear plants. The Authority found four interview proposals negotiable, rejecting the agency's claim that inspector general investigations were…
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Regional Office, Cleveland, Ohio and AFGE Local 2823
Cleveland VA Regional Office (FLRA 0-AR-2354): local bargaining award upheld
The Cleveland VA regional office and AFGE Local 2823 disputed whether they had to bargain locally over a proposal for flexible work schedules. Their arbitrator found that the office raised its objection after the deadline in their local bargaining ground rules and required bargaining on the…
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Region 6 and NFFE Forest Service Council
Forest Service Region 6 (FLRA 0-AR-2344): surplus placement grievance award upheld
Forest Service Region 6 identified surplus positions and bargained with the union over how affected employees would be placed. After the parties signed an agreement covering most issues, the agency began implementing its placement plan. An arbitrator rejected the union's grievance, finding that the…
Double "B" Mining, Inc.
Settlement approved with $3,382 penalty
Double "B" Mining, Inc. operated Mine No. 32 and faced civil penalty proceedings in two Southeast dockets. The parties jointly requested a settlement, citing the operator's financial difficulty. Judge Roy J. Maurer found the settlement appropriate under the Mine Act's penalty criteria and reduced…
Delaware Valley Landscape Incorporated
Seat-belt violations affirmed after settlement
Delaware Valley Landscape Incorporated operated the Delaware Valley Landscape Stone mine and faced two seat-belt violations involving haulage trucks. The judge approved a settlement that changed both section 104(d)(1) actions to section 104(a) S&S citations, while affirming the underlying…
Madison Branch Management, Inc.
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Ernie L. Spaulding alleged that Madison Branch Management did not hire him as a bulldozer operator because of his past work record and prior union activity. Judge Roy J. Maurer found that Spaulding did not prove he engaged in activity protected by the Mine Act. Because protected activity is a…
Energy West Mining Company
Mine-site injury had to be reported
Energy West Mining Company contested a citation for failing to report a miner's injury under 30 C.F.R. § 50.20. The miner was injured while driving his personal car on mine property before his shift, and the injury kept him from working the next day. The Commission held that the injury was…
Oneida Coal Co., Inc.
Settlement addendum modifies negligence findings
Oneida Coal Company, Inc. and the Secretary of Labor submitted an addendum describing their settlement of a civil penalty proceeding involving Oneida Mine No. 1. Under the agreement, the Secretary would change the negligence finding from moderate to none on Citation No. 3309235. The Secretary would…
S & H Mining, Incorporated
Violations split, S&S findings reduced, and settlements approved
S & H Mining faced three consolidated dockets involving coal dust accumulations, directional control, escapeway water, and related conditions at its mine. Judge Gary Melick approved settlements in two dockets, vacated two citations, affirmed two violations without S&S findings, and assessed the…
Joseph B. Fay Co.
Bridge-edge fall citation vacated
Joseph P. Fay Company was removing a bridge deck in Columbia, New Jersey. OSHA alleged that two employees walked within a few feet of an unguarded bridge edge more than 25 feet above the ground. The judge found that the compliance officer could not reliably identify the workers as Fay employees and…
Potomac Iron Works, Inc.
Roof-edge fall protection violation affirmed
Potomac Iron Works performed steel erection work on a building in Washington, D.C. OSHA observed an employee signaling a crane at the roof edge about 68 feet above the ground without effective fall protection. The employee wore a safety belt and lanyard but was not tied off, and his superintendent…
Lancaster Colony Corp., Candle Lite
Fatality-reporting violation affirmed with reduced penalty
A Candle-Lite employee was injured while operating a forklift and died twelve days later from a condition the death certificate attributed to the workplace accident. The company did not report the death to OSHA until an outside recordkeeping review identified the omission several months later. The…
Piping of Ohio, Inc.
Trenching violations affirmed, willful item reclassified as repeated
Piping of Ohio was replacing a water line in two excavations at an Ohio steel plant. The judge found that employees lacked adequate trench-safety instruction, did not have a safe means of exit, and were not protected by inspections from a qualified competent person. The judge also found that the…
LAD Mining Incorporated, Larry Flynn and Ronald Calhuon
LAD Mining Incorporated, Larry Flynn and Ronald Calhoun (FMSHRC SE 92-181-D): Discrimination liability found, remedies reserved
The Secretary alleged that LAD Mining, Larry Flynn, and Ronald Calhoun refused to hire Jerry Lee Dotson because of his safety complaints and earlier Mine Act discrimination complaint. Judge David F. Barbour found that Dotson engaged in protected activity, that Calhoun knew about it and sought to…
Spurlock Mining Company, Inc. and Sarah Ashley Mining Co., Inc.
Penalties upheld for out-of-business operators
Spurlock Mining Company and Sarah Ashley Mining Company were assessed penalties for 13 and 76 violations, respectively. Both operators were small companies that had stopped doing business, and the judge rejected their claim that the penalties would affect their ability to continue operating. Judge…
Waldon Health Care Center & ARA Woodlake Nursing Home
Hepatitis B citations vacated
ARA Living Centers operated the Waldon Health Care Center in Louisiana and the Woodlake Nursing Home in Texas. OSHA alleged that nurses and nursing assistants faced hepatitis B transmission through contact with blood or other bodily fluids and proposed offering the vaccine to exposed employees…
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Region I, Boston, Massachusetts and AFGE Local 1164
Social Security Administration Region I (FLRA 1-CA-10407): relocation complaint dismissed
The union for a Social Security Administration office in Hyannis, Massachusetts asked to bargain about a possible move. The agency said it had not decided to relocate and would notify the union when it did. An administrative law judge dismissed the resulting unfair labor practice complaint, and the…
Association of Civilian Technicians, Pennsylvania State Council and U.S. Department of Defense, National Guard Bureau, Adjutant General of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania National Guard (FLRA 0-NG-2087): military rank proposals rejected
The Pennsylvania National Guard's policy barred civilian technicians from holding a higher military rank than their supervisors. The technicians' union proposed more time to resolve such rank conflicts, protection for existing situations, and records explaining rank reductions. The Authority found…
AFGE Local 1920 and U.S. Department of Defense, Army and Air Force Exchange Service, Fort Hood Exchange, Texas
Fort Hood Exchange (FLRA 0-NG-2053): store layout proposals rejected
The Fort Hood Exchange planned to move administrative functions and employees into its main store. The union proposed five changes to office sizes and locations to accommodate the move. The Authority found all five proposals nonnegotiable. Four would interfere with management's choices about the…
Naval Aviation Depot, Naval Air Station Alameda, California and IAM Lodge 1584
Alameda Naval Aviation Depot (FLRA SF-AC-20030): union certification change denied
Two IAM local lodges merged, and the union sought to change the name of the certified representative at the Alameda Naval Aviation Depot from Lodge 739 to Lodge 1584. The acting regional director allowed a separate update to the depot's name but denied the union name change. The Authority denied…
Peabody Coal Company
Citations affirmed and $28,500 settlement approved
Peabody Coal's Camp 11 Mine was cited after Raymond Brown suffered fatal chest injuries when a remotely operated scoop's service brake failed and pinned him against a roof bolter. The case involved a brake-system citation and imminent-danger order, two additional brake citations, and…
Reid v. Kiah Creek Mining Company
Settlement approved and proceeding dismissed
Reid brought a Mine Act discrimination proceeding against Kiah Creek Mining Company. Administrative Law Judge Avram Weisburger had found that Reid had not established a violation under section 105(c), but the parties entered a settlement two days after the decision was issued. The Commission…
Consolidated Rail Corporation
Railroad preemption issue remanded for evidence
Consolidated Rail Corporation moved to dismiss OSHA citations arising from railroad-bridge repair and maintenance work, arguing that Federal Railroad Administration regulation preempted OSHA under section 4(b)(1) of the OSH Act. The Commission held that the FRA's policy statement did not displace…
L.E. Myers Company
Four willful power-line violations affirmed for $30,000
L.E. Myers Company was replacing utility poles and lines near Napoleon, Ohio, while 12,470-volt lines remained energized. An apprentice was fatally electrocuted when a boom or its conductive steel cable contacted or approached an energized line while he handled the cable from the ground. The…
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families and National Treasury Employees Union
Administration for Children and Families (FLRA 3-AC-10008): certification amendment denied
The Department of Health and Human Services combined employees and functions from two divisions to create the Administration for Children and Families. The National Treasury Employees Union had represented the employees in three separate units and sought to amend its certification to cover the new…
National Treasury Employees Union and U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of Public Debt, Parkersburg, West Virginia
Bureau of Public Debt (FLRA 0-NG-2094): contracting out provision negotiable
The Bureau of Public Debt disapproved a contract term requiring compliance with OMB Circular A-76 and other applicable rules when contracting out work. The Authority found the provision negotiable. In this decision it treated the circular as an applicable law and found that requiring compliance did…
AFGE Local 1020 and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Marion, Indiana
Marion VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-NG-2080): formaldehyde monitoring proposals split
AFGE Local 1020 proposed rules for formaldehyde monitoring at the Marion VA Medical Center. The Authority found negotiable the union's proposals to share exposure results and monitoring records, allow employees and union representatives to observe testing with protective clothing, and use OSHA…
AFGE Local 1603 and U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval Air Warfare Center, Patuxent River, Maryland
Naval Air Warfare Center (FLRA 0-NG-2076): supervisory-note ban rejected, address provision approved
The Navy disapproved two terms in its agreement with AFGE Local 1603. The Authority found nonnegotiable a term barring use of supervisors' notes more than three years old to support discipline. Although the limit would help employees respond to older evidence, the Authority found a complete ban…
AFGE Local 1122 and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Western Program Service Center, Richmond, California
Social Security Western Program Service Center (FLRA 0-NG-2075): telephone proposals negotiable
The Social Security Administration installed partitioned workstations that made shared telephones harder for some employees to reach and use privately. The union proposed two centrally located phones for one group and individual phones for another group that handled rollover calls. The Authority…
AFGE Local 1815 and U.S. Department of the Army, Army Aviation Center, Fort Rucker, Alabama
Fort Rucker Army Aviation Center (FLRA 0-AR-2361): temporary job grievance award upheld
An employee selected for a temporary supply clerk position at Fort Rucker sought conversion to a permanent position. The agency declined while employees eligible for placement were on its Stopper List, and a displaced employee later filled the job. An arbitrator denied the grievance, finding that…
NFFE Local 273 and U.S. Department of the Army, Army Field Artillery Center, Fort Sill, Oklahoma
Fort Sill Field Artillery Center (FLRA 0-AR-2323): reduction in force award returned
During a reduction in force at Fort Sill, the Army moved a management analyst from a GS-9 job to a GS-7 accounting technician job. An arbitrator ordered the agency to place her in a GS-9 management analyst position, but the Authority found that he had not applied the required test for deciding…
Nolichuckey Sand Company, Inc.
Imminent-danger finding vacated and citation affirmed
An MSHA inspector observed an employee crossing from a sand dredge to shore in a jon boat without a life jacket or belt. Judge Roy J. Maurer found that this violated the life-jacket standard, but held that the danger was no longer imminent when the employee stood on dry land and that the Secretary…
Gertrude French (Widow of Tyrus French) v. California Stevedore & Ballast and Marine Terminals Corporation
French v. California Stevedore & Ballast (BRB 90-1547): medical reimbursement claim reinstated
Gertrude French sought Longshore Act benefits after her husband Tyrus, who had worked for two waterfront employers, died of a heart attack. Kaiser intervened to seek reimbursement of medical expenses, but the administrative law judge dismissed its claim after the other parties settled and Kaiser's…
Consolidation Coal Company
Fuse-holder citation modified and settlements approved
Consolidation Coal settled citations in four dockets and 12 of the 13 citations in a fifth docket. The only fully litigated issue involved a damaged fuse holder on a mine jeep, which the Secretary said could expose riders to burns or create a collision hazard if power failed. Judge Jerold Feldman…
Maple Meadow Mining Company
Settlement reduced penalty and gravity finding
Maple Meadow Mining Company was cited for accumulations of loose coal and coal dust in several mine locations. The Secretary initially proposed a $4,200 penalty and alleged that a fatality was highly likely, while the company disputed the gravity assessment. Judge George A. Koutras approved a…
Martin Sales & Processing
Summary default decision later vacated
Martin Sales & Processing failed to answer the Secretary's discovery requests and did not comply with orders directing it to respond. Judge George A. Koutras found the operator in default and entered summary default judgment for the Secretary on four consolidated dockets. The order directed…
Mountaintop Restoration, Inc.
$7,732 settlement approved
Mountaintop Restoration and the Secretary jointly moved to settle two civil-penalty proceedings, citing the company's financial condition. The proposed assessments totaled $10,954, and Judge Roy J. Maurer approved a settlement requiring $7,732 in 18 equal monthly installments. One citation was…
R.E. Reynolds, Inc.
Masonry-site violations affirmed with reduced cord penalty
R.E. Reynolds was the masonry subcontractor on a hotel and pool-building project at Disney World in Florida. The judge affirmed four serious items involving an extension cord exposed to vehicle damage, an unguarded pit, uncapped reinforcing steel, and the absence of a limited access zone around a…
Consolidation Coal Company
Partial settlements approved at $599 and duplicate citations dismissed
Consolidation Coal Company resolved part of an eleven-violation docket involving its Dilworth Mine. Judge Paul Merlin approved settlements for five violations totaling $599. Four other citations were dismissed because they duplicated citations already included in docket PENN 91-1462. A prior…
Consolidation Coal Company
Four violations settled for $937 with two citation modifications
Consolidation Coal Company agreed to settle four violations at its Dilworth Mine. The original penalties totaled $1,086, and the approved settlement required payment of $937. Judge Paul Merlin reduced the injury classification for the untagged power-circuit plug citation from fatal to permanently…
Adena Fuels, Incorporated
Gary L. Day v. Adena Fuels, Incorporated (FMSHRC KENT 92-547-D): Discrimination complaint dismissed under settlement
Gary L. Day brought a discrimination complaint against Adena Fuels, Incorporated involving the Diamond No. 1 Mine. The parties reached a settlement and jointly moved to dismiss the complaint. Judge David Barbour found no reason to deny the motion and dismissed the matter. The settlement agreement…
U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, Border Patrol, Del Rio, Texas and AFGE National Border Patrol Council, Local 2366
Del Rio Border Patrol (FLRA 6-CA-10619): unit closure required bargaining
The Del Rio Border Patrol abolished a specialized unit without bargaining with the union over the effects on agents. An administrative law judge had found the effect too small to require bargaining, but the Authority disagreed. It found foreseeable changes in shifts, weekend work, uniforms, and…
International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots and U.S. Department of the Navy, Chief of Naval Operations
Navy civilian pilots (FLRA 0-NG-2063): overtime leave conversion rejected
A union representing civilian pilots who move Navy vessels proposed letting pilots convert overtime pay into paid leave days. The union described the leave as administrative leave and said the practice matched maritime industry compensation. The Authority found the proposal nonnegotiable because…
NAGE Local R14-52 and U.S. Department of the Army, Red River Army Depot, Texarkana, Texas
Red River Army Depot (FLRA 0-AR-2347): overtime selection award upheld
A Red River Army Depot employee grieved that he had not been offered two overtime assignments. An arbitrator found that a supervisor properly offered the work to a qualified WG-10 electrician after employees in his own unit were unavailable. The Authority denied the union's exceptions. The facts…
U.S. Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Cincinnati District and National Treasury Employees Union, Cincinnati Joint Council
IRS Cincinnati District (FLRA 0-AR-2315): higher grade pay award upheld
IRS revenue officers grieved that they had performed higher grade work without temporary promotions and corresponding pay. An arbitrator sustained part of the grievance and directed the parties to calculate backpay for eligible officers. The IRS argued that the award conflicted with federal…
Nello Santacroce & Dominic Fanelli d/b/a Gilroy Associates
In re Nello Santacroce & Dominic Fanelli d/b/a Gilroy Associates (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 92-6): complaint dismissed
EPA Region IX alleged that Nello Santacroce and Dominic Fanelli, doing business as Gilroy Associates, violated Toxic Substances Control Act requirements for a PCB transformer at their storage facility and recreational vehicle park in Gilroy, California. The Environmental Appeals Board held that the…
Peabody Coal Company
Deep-cut ventilation dispute remanded for suitability determination
Peabody Coal operated two underground Kentucky coal mines that used deep-cut continuous mining. MSHA cited the company for operating without approved ventilation plans after requiring provisions for ventilating deep cuts during roof bolting. The Commission held that the provision was mine specific…
U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, Border Patrol, El Paso, Texas and AFGE National Border Patrol Council
El Paso Border Patrol (FLRA 6-CA-00799): deposition representation complaint dismissed
Border Patrol lawyers took two depositions of an employee in preparation for Merit Systems Protection Board appeals. The union received notice and had a representative at the depositions, but that representative was not allowed to participate. An administrative law judge found an unfair labor…
Buck Mountain Coal Company
Post-accident withdrawal order affirmed
Buck Mountain Coal Company's anthracite mine experienced a methane explosion that burned three miners and led MSHA to issue a section 103(k) withdrawal order covering the underground workings. The company challenged the order and objected to MSHA's conditions requiring continuous fan operation…
City and County of San Francisco (Oceanside Wastewater Treatment Facility and Southwest Ocean Outfall)
In re City and County of San Francisco (Oceanside Wastewater Treatment Facility and Southwest Ocean Outfall) (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 91-18): mass limits remanded
Coastal Advocates and the Sierra Club challenged EPA Region IX's NPDES permit for San Francisco's Oceanside wastewater treatment facility and Southwest Ocean Outfall. They argued that the Westside Transport was a publicly owned treatment works, that the permit lacked adequate technology-based…
Monterey Coal Company
Cable citation modified to non-S&S with $125 penalty
Monterey Coal Company contested a citation alleging that a trailing cable at its No. 1 Mine was not protected from mobile equipment. Judge Avram Weisberger found that the cable's placement exposed it to possible repeated vehicle contact and therefore violated 30 C.F.R. § 75.606. He concluded that…
Western Plains Construction
Unprotected trench violation affirmed
Western Plains Construction was installing storm sewer pipe in a trench in Tulsa, Oklahoma. OSHA found the south end of the trench about 9 feet 6 inches deep with vertical, unprotected walls. The company argued that the condition resulted from unpreventable misconduct by its superintendent, but the…
Cyprus Tonopah Mining Corp.
Ground-control violations affirmed with one unwarrantable-failure finding reversed
Cyprus Tonopah Mining operated an open-pit molybdenum mine where MSHA cited loose ground, unstable walls, and inadequate benches in the Pushback One pit. The Commission affirmed both underlying violations, including the finding that the mine's bench-maintenance violation was caused by unwarrantable…
UMWA o/b/o Nelson v. Secretary of Labor
UMWA on behalf of Dan Nelson and others (FMSHRC SE 88-92-D and SE 88-93-D): Discrimination complaints dismissed after settlement
The United Mine Workers of America filed two discrimination complaints alleging that MSHA officials failed to protect the confidentiality of miners who reported safety violations. The union sought an order stopping disclosure of miners' names to mine operators and requested civil penalties under…
Chico Crushed Stone Partnership
Highwall scaling citation and withdrawal order vacated
Chico Crushed Stone was cited after an inspector observed loose material on an 80-to-100-foot highwall at the company's limestone plant. The Secretary alleged that the highwall had not been scaled and issued a related withdrawal order for failure to abate. Judge Gary Melick found that muck at the…
What these documents are
- The agencies: Federal workers' compensation appeals from the Department of Labor's Employees' Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB), federal-sector labor-relations cases from the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), Longshore Act and Black Lung Benefits Act appeals from the Department of Labor's Benefits Review Board (BRB), precedent decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), environmental permit and penalty appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB), and whistleblower and other labor appeals from the Department of Labor's Administrative Review Board (ARB). Each decision page names its agency.
- Commission, Board and Authority decisions: Rulings by the agency's highest review level (the Commission at OSHRC and FMSHRC, the Authority at FLRA, the Board of Immigration Appeals, the Administrative Review Board at Labor, and 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.