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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Domino Window Cleaning, Inc.
Fourth-floor fall hazard citation affirmed
A Domino employee cleaning a fourth-floor New York window without fall protection fell 40 feet to the sidewalk and died from his injuries. The evidence showed that he had been working from the exterior ledge and that Domino also instructed employees to clean from an interior sill beside a large…
Cumberland Sand and Gravel, LLC
Default reopened after docket-number typo
Cumberland Sand and Gravel defaulted after failing to answer the Secretary's penalty petition. The company said it had timely responded to the later show-cause order, but its response contained a typographical error in the docket number. Cumberland supplied its communications and certified-mail…
Mountain Edge Mining, Inc.
Settlement motion remanded to the judge
Mountain Edge Mining obtained Commission review of Judge William Moran's civil-penalty decision. After review was granted, the operator and the Secretary jointly asked the Commission to approve a settlement and direct payment under their agreement. The Commission did not decide the settlement…
Barrick Turquoise Ridge, Inc.
Default reopened despite repeated filing failures
Barrick failed to answer a civil-penalty petition, and an order to show cause became a final default order. Its counsel said the petition was not received, the show-cause order went to a former office address, and a prepared answer was mistakenly placed in a file instead of mailed. The Secretary…
Conaway Mining Company, LLC
Default reopened after timely answer and settlement
Conaway Mining defaulted after the Commission did not receive an answer to the Secretary's penalty petition. Conaway said it had timely answered and learned of the default only after agreeing to settle the case. The Secretary did not oppose reopening, and her representative confirmed receiving…
Dominion Coal Corporation
Ten defaults reopened for settlement proceedings
Dominion Coal defaulted in ten penalty cases after personnel changes and staffing shortages caused it to miss answer deadlines. The company also said the resulting default orders did not reach the correct employee. Its compliance coordinator took responsibility for the process, trained staff on…
Brookside Materials, LLC
Default reopened after answer reached MSHA
Brookside Materials timely contested a proposed penalty but later defaulted after failing to answer the Secretary's penalty petition at the Commission. Brookside said it received nothing after its original contest until MSHA sent a delinquency notice. The Secretary did not oppose reopening and…
Powell Mountain Energy, LLC
Default reopened after address change
Powell Mountain Energy timely contested a proposed penalty but later defaulted after it did not answer the Secretary's penalty petition. The company said it never received the petition, and counsel discovered the problem by checking MSHA's online mine data. The Secretary did not oppose reopening…
MMR Constructors, Inc.
Late contest reopened after safety director's absence
MMR Constructors missed the deadline to contest a proposed penalty while its safety director was away from the office for an unusually long period. The safety director forwarded the assessment to the legal department after returning, by which time it had become a final Commission order. MMR said…
G.A. Denison & Sons, Inc.
Default set aside because show-cause order arrived late
OSHA issued G.A. Denison & Sons seven serious and five willful citation items with $110,000 in proposed penalties. During mandatory settlement proceedings, the company failed to submit several required filings and financial documents. The judge ordered Denison to show cause by July 23 why it should…
H.I. Stone and Son, Inc.
Default reopened to consider settlement
H.I. Stone and Son defaulted after it did not answer the Secretary's penalty petition. The company acknowledged receiving the show-cause order but said it later settled with MSHA and paid the agreed amount. The Secretary did not oppose reopening for the limited purpose of allowing the judge to…
Austin Powder Company
Two late contests reopened after internal miscommunication
Austin Powder missed the contest deadlines for two proposed penalty assessments. In one case, its safety specialist misunderstood the safety director's instructions while management was deciding whether to contest. In the other, the specialist mistakenly believed the safety director had already…
Beaver Excavating Company
Settlement decision reopened over disputed terms
Beaver Excavating asked to reopen an approved settlement because it believed the written decision did not match the parties' agreement. Beaver said the Secretary had agreed to reduce the special-assessment classification based on unwarrantable failure, but the settlement order did not reflect that…
Matter of E-A-
Political motive does not outweigh serious destructive crimes
The Board reviewed a Cote d'Ivoire applicant's appeal after an Immigration Judge denied asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture. The applicant had participated in a political group that burned passenger buses and cars, threw stones, and disrupted…
John R. Jurgensen Company
Night paving safety citations vacated
Jurgensen performed nighttime highway paving in Ohio while subcontractor dump trucks backed through a designated work route. A dump truck struck and killed a Jurgensen laborer who had left the crew's immediate work area. OSHA alleged that the contractor lacked an adequate safety program and had not…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Combustible accumulations affirmed after scoop fire
MSHA cited Jim Walter Resources after a scoop-battery fire and after an inspector found float coal dust on energized components inside a transformer. The operator argued that laboratory samples showed the accumulated material contained enough rock dust to be noncombustible. Judge Jacqueline R…
Marshall Mining, Inc.
Borehole-plan violation affirmed near flooded workings
Marshall Mining advanced an underground coal entry within 200 feet of an abandoned, water-filled mine. Its approved plan required 30-foot boreholes and limited mining cuts to 20 feet so at least a 10-foot drilled buffer remained ahead of the face. MSHA found only two boreholes about three feet…
Long Branch Energy
Late penalty petitions reinstated after District 4 backlog
The Secretary filed seven penalty petitions between about seven and eleven months after the Commission's 45-day deadline, and the judge dismissed the cases. The Commission clarified that adequate cause exists when the Secretary gives a plausible, supported explanation showing the delay did not…
The American Coal Company
Twelve safeguards upheld and one invalidated
American Coal challenged the facial validity of thirteen mine-specific safeguards governing underground transportation conditions at its Galatia mine. The Commission held that a safeguard identifies the nature of a hazard when it describes a hazardous condition, and it need not list every possible…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Lawrence L. Pendley v. Highland Mining Company
Termination and reinstatement-work claims remanded for fuller analysis
After the Sixth Circuit reversed part of an earlier Commission ruling, the Commission reconsidered Lawrence Pendley's claims that Highland Mining discriminatorily fired him and later changed his work after temporary reinstatement. The majority remanded the termination claim so the judge could…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Justin Slaton v. Star Mine Services, Inc.
Temporary reinstatement affirmed
Justin Slaton alleged that Star Mine Services fired him for activity protected by the Mine Act. A judge found the temporary-reinstatement application was not frivolously brought and ordered Star to return Slaton to his former outby support position at Warrior Coal's Cardinal Mine. Star argued on…
Shamokin Filler Company, Inc.
Carbon plant held subject to Mine Act
Shamokin operated a plant that dried, screened, stored, bagged, and sold anthracite coal to customer specifications. The Commission affirmed that these activities made the plant a custom coal-preparation facility and therefore a mine under the Mine Act, even though the plant also handled non-coal…
Elliot Construction Corp.
Carbon monoxide violations affirmed as willful
Elliot Construction used gas-powered equipment for an indoor concrete pour, and four employees reported feeling ill from carbon monoxide exposure. Two employees were diagnosed with carbon monoxide poisoning. The foreman knew the equipment produced carbon monoxide and recognized the employees'…
Twentymile Coal Company
Escapeway violations split with $27,605 total penalties
MSHA cited Twentymile Coal for escapeway marking and lifeline-access conditions at its underground Foidel Creek Mine. Judge Richard W. Manning upheld an order involving inadequate primary-escapeway route markers and assessed $18,000. He also upheld a citation for a water hose that impeded access to…
Know Thyself Contracting
Residential fall protection and training violations affirmed
Know Thyself Contracting performed residential and commercial construction work in Mobile, Alabama. OSHA observed a five-person crew installing decking near an unprotected edge 24 feet above the ground without fall protection. The company did not dispute the hazardous conditions or lack of…
American Engineering & Development Corp.
Trench citation vacated for employee misconduct
American Engineering & Development was replacing underground utilities in Miami when OSHA found two employees in an excavation more than 5 feet deep without cave-in protection. A backhoe operator temporarily directing the workers had sent them into the trench after the superintendent expressly…
Shaw Global Energy Services, Inc.
Change-house item vacated and mercury recordkeeping violation affirmed
Shaw Global was decommissioning and demolishing a mercury-contaminated cell room at an Alabama chemical plant. OSHA issued eleven serious citation items concerning mercury exposure and one other-than-serious recordkeeping item. The judge affirmed three serious items and the recordkeeping item, but…
Deep South Crane & Rigging Co.
Operator-qualification violations affirmed
Four Deep South employees were fatally injured when a large crane fell backward during assembly at a Texas refinery. The operator had placed the crane in an unstable backwards-overhaul position and left it there for about three hours. The Commission found that Deep South did not give the site…
Matter of A-S-J-
Immigration Judge cannot review DHS asylum termination
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal after an Immigration Judge restored an Albanian respondent's asylum status and terminated removal proceedings. DHS had terminated the asylum status after alleging fraud in the original asylum application, and the Immigration Judge held…
Deatley Crushing Company
Final assessment reopened for further proceedings
Deatley Crushing Company asked the Commission to reopen a proposed penalty assessment that had become a final order after the contest deadline passed. The decision does not state why Deatley missed the deadline. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission granted relief in the interests…
Scabtron
Unreceived assessment never became final
Scabtron asked the Commission to reopen a proposed penalty assessment it said it never received. After receiving a delinquency letter from the Department of Treasury, the company paid the penalties in full. The Secretary confirmed that the assessment had been returned undelivered and did not oppose…
H & K Materials, Inc.
Late contest reopened after paralegal's personal emergency
H & K Materials promptly sent a proposed penalty assessment to counsel for contest. Counsel missed the deadline because the paralegal responsible for filing was experiencing a serious personal problem, despite the firm's otherwise adequate docketing system. After discovering the error, counsel…
Frasure Creek Mining, LLC
Late contest reopened after security routing failure
Frasure Creek's security guard received a proposed penalty assessment but failed to forward it to management as instructed. The company learned of the final assessment only after receiving a delinquency notice and then promptly sought reopening. Frasure said it had contested the underlying citation…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Clinton Ray Ward v. Argus Energy WV, LLC
Temporary reinstatement affirmed over disputed evidence
Clinton Ray Ward, a chief electrician at Argus Energy's Deep Mine No. 8, alleged that he was demoted and then fired after complaining about water accumulations near mine seals. An MSHA inspection produced a citation for water that prevented travel of a return entry during a weekly examination, and…
Willie P. Burrell and the Willie P. Burrell Trust
In re Willie P. Burrell and the Willie P. Burrell Trust (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 11-05): Default finding and penalty affirmed
Willie P. Burrell and the Willie P. Burrell Trust leased apartment units covered by EPA's Lead Paint Disclosure Rule. EPA alleged that they failed to provide required lead-paint disclosures and related information for six rental properties. They did not file a timely answer to the administrative…
Thueson Construction Co., and/or Thueson Construction, Inc.
Nineteen violations affirmed with penalties reduced to $25,028
Thueson Construction operated a portable sand and gravel crusher and stipulated to nineteen safety violations, including eleven guarding violations. Eight violations were designated significant and substantial, twelve involved high negligence, and the company accepted the stated gravity…
Matter of Manohar Rao ARRABALLY; Matter of Sarala YERRABELLY
Matter of Manohar Rao ARRABALLY and Sarala YERRABELLY (BIA ID 3748): advance parole is not a departure
The Board reconsidered the case of an Indian husband and wife who left the United States under grants of advance parole while their adjustment applications were pending. It held that a temporary trip abroad under advance parole is not a "departure" that triggers inadmissibility under section…
New England Sand and Gravel, Inc.
Late contest reopened after forms failed to reach counsel
New England Sand and Gravel asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that became final after the contest deadline passed. The company said it tried to send all proposed assessment forms to counsel. Counsel received and timely contested the section 110(c) penalties but did not receive the…
Western Technologies, Inc.
Final assessment reopened to address operator responsibility
Western Technologies asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment after a delinquency notice prompted an internal investigation. The company said the assessment had fallen through the cracks but also asserted that it was not responsible for the cited operator or equipment. The Secretary did…
National Lime and Stone Company
Late contest reopened after possible addressing error
National Lime and Stone Company asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment after receiving a delinquency notice. The company said it may have sent its October 4, 2011 contest to the wrong address. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but reported that MSHA had no record of receiving the…
M-Class Mining, LLC
Late contest reopened after assessment went to warehouse
M-Class Mining asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that became final after the contest deadline passed. The company said it had changed its mailing address from a post office box to the mine, but the assessment was delivered to its warehouse. The Secretary did not oppose reopening…
Rex Coal Company, Inc.
One-day-late contest reopened after holiday clerical error
Rex Coal Company asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment after filing its contest form one day late. Rex attributed the delay to a clerical error during a holiday break and submitted the delinquency notice it later received. The Secretary did not oppose reopening, noted that MSHA had…
Matter of C-B-
Counsel and relief advisals required in removal hearings
The Board reviewed a detained Guatemalan respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge found him removable and ineligible for relief during his only hearing. The respondent had first said he wanted to be removed that day, but later asked for more time to obtain a lawyer, and he also expressed fear…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Jeffrey Fletcher v. Frontier-Kemper Constructors, Inc.
Temporary reinstatement denied after unsupported-roof violation
Jeffrey Fletcher worked for Frontier-Kemper on construction of the slope for the Gibson South Mine. Fletcher and his supervisor painted the working face while positioned at least 7.5 feet beyond the last row of roof support, contrary to the approved roof support plan, and Fletcher spoke with an…
William Metz v. Carmeuse Lime, Inc.
Discrimination dismissal affirmed over pretext dissent
William Metz, a longtime millwright and miners' representative, complained about possible asbestos dust and falling material while contractors dismantled kilns at Carmeuse Lime's Annville plant. He was suspended and then fired after a separate meeting about disputed on-call compensation in which…
Mach Mining, LLC
Ventilation plan rulings mostly affirmed with limited remand
Mach Mining contested two citations issued after it and MSHA reached an impasse over general and site-specific ventilation plans for the mine's unusual longwall system. The Commission majority held that termination of an earlier withdrawal order did not constitute the district manager's required…
Secretary of Labor v. Mize Granite Quarries, Inc., Robert W. Mize III, and Clayborn Lewis
Company penalties affirmed and individual penalties remanded
MSHA proposed eleven penalties against Mize Granite Quarries and four individual penalties against owner Robert Mize III and foreman Clayborn Lewis. The administrative law judge vacated two company citations, affirmed four proposed company penalties, reduced five company penalties, dismissed one…
Matter of Antonio CALDERON-HERNANDEZ
Hardship evidence not required when children remain with the other parent
The Board reviewed a Mexican respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge denied his application for cancellation of removal based on the claimed hardship to his three United States citizen children. The respondent testified that the children would remain in the United States with their mother…
Dickenson-Russell Coal Co., LLC
Mantrip sander violations affirmed with penalty reduced to $750
MSHA cited three nine-passenger diesel mantrips at Dickenson-Russell Coal's Cherokee Mine because their sanding devices contained wet sand and did not work. The mine had recently been inundated, but the mantrips were parked on track in ready-for-use positions and had not been tagged out of service…
Black Beauty Coal Company
Berm violations partly affirmed and remanded
MSHA cited Black Beauty Coal for inadequate overtravel protection at a dragline bench, a steep temporary drill road, and an elevated dumpsite at its surface mine. For the dragline-bench citation, a Commission majority held that the bench remained a roadway during the dragline move but remanded for…
Dawes Rigging & Crane Rental
Suspended crane boom violation upheld with $2,500 penalty
Dawes Rigging & Crane Rental was assembling a large crane at the Tilden Mine when a gust of wind pushed a suspended 93,000-pound boom toward an occupied crane cab. The crew foreman directed a worker to cross under the boom with a tag line to prevent the collision. Judge David F. Barbour held that…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Reuben Shemwell v. Armstrong Coal Company, Inc. and Armstrong Fabricators, Inc.
Economic temporary reinstatement agreement approved
Reuben Shemwell sought temporary reinstatement to the welder position he held before Armstrong Coal Company and Armstrong Fabricators terminated him while his discrimination complaint was being investigated. After a remand and hearing, Judge Jerold Feldman ordered the companies to reinstate…
Matter of Mahvash AKRAM
K-4 status requires immigrant visa eligibility through an I-130
The Board reviewed a Pakistani respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge denied her application to adjust status and granted voluntary departure. She had entered the United States as a K-4 derivative of her mother's K-3 visa, but her mother's marriage to the United States citizen petitioner…
Roy’s Construction, Inc.
Roofing, respirator, and ladder violations affirmed
Roy’s Construction was repairing the roof of the Legislature Building in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. OSHA saw employees working without fall protection on a steep roof that the site supervisor said was 36 feet high. Employees also wore company-supplied respirators near asbestos-removal work without…
Petro Hunt, LLC
Flame-resistant-clothing citation vacated at oil production site
Petro Hunt operated an oil production facility in North Dakota where a treater shed caught fire shortly after two employees left the site. OSHA cited the company because it did not require employees who gauged tanks and worked around hydrocarbon pressure vessels to wear flame-resistant clothing…
Bear Lake Properties, LLC
In re Bear Lake Properties, LLC (EAB UIC Appeal No. 11-03): partial reconsideration denied
EPA Region 3 issued two permits authorizing Bear Lake Properties, LLC to construct and operate Class II underground injection wells. In its June 28, 2012 decision, the Environmental Appeals Board remanded part of the permit matter and denied review of other issues, including the petitioners'…
Rock Utility, Inc.
Trench and ladder items affirmed, vest item vacated
Rock Utility was installing a water line in Quincy, Massachusetts, when OSHA inspected a trench that reached 6.3 feet deep. An employee worked in the deeper end of the Type C soil trench without sloping, benching, or a trench box. The judge also found that the company's informal safety discussions…
Haldor Topsoe, Inc.
In re Haldor Topsoe, Inc. (EAB TSCA 12-04C): $202,779 penalty paid and matter resolved
Haldor Topsoe, Inc. was accused of failing to comply with TSCA reporting requirements and the Inventory Update Reporting Rule. EPA's complaint proposed a $202,779 civil penalty. Haldor Topsoe paid the full amount, which waived its right to contest the allegations and appeal the final order under…
Matter of Jean Ro Saclolo VALENZUELA
K-4 status limited to the original K visa petition
The Board reviewed a Filipino respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge denied her application to adjust status and granted voluntary departure. She had entered the United States as a K-4 derivative of her mother's K-3 visa, later married a United States citizen, and sought adjustment through…
Matter of Roberto CUELLAR-Gomez
Municipal marijuana convictions and aggravated felony treatment
The Board reviewed a Salvadoran lawful permanent resident's appeal from an order of removal based on a Wichita municipal marijuana-possession judgment and a later Kansas conviction for marijuana possession after a prior conviction. The Board held that the municipal judgment was a conviction because…
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.