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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Lander Street Wastewater Treatment Facility
In re Lander Street Wastewater Treatment Facility (EAB NPDES 12-01): petition withdrawn and dismissed with prejudice
EPA Region 10 issued an NPDES permit to the City of Boise for the Lander Street Wastewater Treatment Facility. Idaho Rivers United petitioned the Environmental Appeals Board for review and later asked to withdraw its petition after the Region, the City of Boise, and the Idaho Department of…
Matter of O. VAZQUEZ
Timely action under the Child Status Protection Act
The Board reviewed a Mexican respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge denied adjustment of status under the Child Status Protection Act and ordered him removed. The Board held that an alien may satisfy the Act's one-year "sought to acquire" requirement by properly filing an adjustment…
Buddy Rooks v. Lafarge Building Materials, Inc.
Untimeliness dismissal denied pending receipt-date evidence
Buddy Rooks filed a Mine Act discrimination complaint with the Commission after MSHA concluded that no discrimination had occurred. Lafarge sought dismissal, arguing that the complaint arrived after the 30-day filing period and failed to state a claim. Rooks asserted that he filed within 30 days…
Matter of Cezareo SANCHEZ SOSA, et al.
Continuances for pending U visa petitions
The Board reconsidered whether removal proceedings should be continued while a U nonimmigrant visa petition is pending. It held that an Immigration Judge should consider the Department of Homeland Security's response, whether the petition is prima facie approvable, and the reason for the…
Chenal Valley Construction, Inc.
All citation items withdrawn and judge’s decision vacated
The judge had affirmed residential fall-protection and ladder citations against Chenal Valley Construction as the controlling employer at an Arkansas homebuilding site. The case was directed for Commission review. Before the Commission decided the merits, the Secretary withdrew every remaining…
Stillhouse Mining, LLC
Review vacated after operator withdrew appeal
Stillhouse Mining had obtained Commission review of an administrative law judge matter. The company later moved to withdraw its contest and appeal, and the Secretary did not oppose the request. The Commission granted withdrawal and vacated its earlier order granting review.
Banner Blue Coal Company
Dust violations upheld but significant and substantial findings removed
MSHA cited dust-collection systems on two roof bolters after finding dust behind their filters. Judge George A. Koutras held that dust behind a filter showed the systems were not maintained in operating condition, and he rejected the company's claim that the inspector's method of checking behind…
Corrpro Companies, Inc.
Hole fall-protection item affirmed and inspection item vacated
Corrpro employees installed a corrosion-protection system inside a water-treatment structure in Ohio. A first-time field worker stepped into an uncovered two-foot-square hole and fell about 12 feet, sustaining a spinal fracture that required surgery. The judge vacated the competent-person…
Oak Grove Resources, LLC
Two serious roof-safety orders upheld and one examination order reduced
Oak Grove operated an underground bituminous coal mine where deteriorating roof and rib conditions affected an intake entry used to reach a ventilation pump. MSHA issued three section 104(d)(2) orders for inadequate roof support, failure to examine the entire intake weekly, and failure to post a…
Rhino Eastern, LLC
Final penalty assessment reopened for proceedings on the merits
Rhino Eastern asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that became final when MSHA had no record of receiving a contest within 30 days. Rhino said its safety director timely contested the assessment and pointed to a timely payment for the uncontested penalties. The Secretary did not…
Rogers Group, Inc.
Missed penalty contest reopened after new manager's mistake
Rogers Group failed to contest a proposed penalty assessment within 30 days, causing the assessment to become a final Commission order. The company said its new safety manager was still learning his responsibilities and mistakenly failed to file the contest. The Secretary did not oppose reopening…
Overton Sand & Gravel Company
Reopening denied after repeated internal communication failures
Overton Sand & Gravel sought reconsideration after the Commission had denied its first request to reopen a final penalty assessment without prejudice. The Commission had required a detailed renewed request within 30 days, but Overton's counsel said she did not receive that order and then waited…
Big Ridge, Inc., Peabody Midwest Mining, LLC, Independence Coal Company, Inc., Inman Energy Corporation, Process Energy, Spartan Mining Company, Road Fork Development Company, Knox Creek Coal Corporation
Big Ridge, Inc., et al. (FMSHRC WEVA 2011-398-R, et al.): MSHA may obtain payroll and medical records for Part 50 audits
Eight mine operators refused to produce payroll, time-sheet, and accident-related medical records requested during MSHA audits of Part 50 reporting, leading to section 50.41 citations and failure-to-abate orders. The Commission held that sections 103(a) and 103(h) of the Mine Act and 30 C.F.R. §…
Bacardi Corporation
In re Bacardi Corporation (EAB NPDES 11-07): petition dismissed after permit modification
Bacardi Corporation asked the Environmental Appeals Board to dismiss its petition for review of an NPDES permit. Bacardi stated that EPA Region 2 had issued a permit modification that resolved the matter. The Board dismissed the petition with prejudice. The released order does not describe the…
Dayton Tire, Bridgestone/Firestone
Ninety-nine lockout violations reclassified as serious
The Commission had previously affirmed ninety-nine lockout/tagout violations as willful and assessed $1,975,000 in penalties against Dayton Tire. The D.C. Circuit vacated the willful classifications for insufficient evidence and remanded for the Commission to reassess the violations and penalties…
Stone & Webster Construction, Inc., Bartlett Nuclear, Inc.
Privilege-related discovery orders vacated
Stone & Webster Construction and Bartlett Nuclear sought draft OSHA citation worksheets for use in a jurisdictional defense involving the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The judge rejected the Secretary's deliberative-process privilege claim, ordered disclosure, and issued a show-cause order that…
Empire Iron Mining Partnership
Part 48 training violations may carry S&S designations
MSHA cited Empire Iron Mining Partnership for alleged violations of new-miner and new-task training requirements and designated both violations significant and substantial. Empire sought partial summary decision, arguing that Part 48 training regulations are not mandatory health or safety standards…
Target Corporation
In re Target Corporation (EAB CAA 12-01C): Consent Agreement approved
The United States Environmental Protection Agency and Target Corporation consented to entry of a Final Order. The parties agreed to comply with a Consent Agreement signed by the parties and incorporated into the order. The Environmental Appeals Board approved the Consent Agreement and ordered…
David R. Arnold, employed by Big Laurel Mining Corporation
Delay did not require dismissal of individual penalty case
MSHA pursued an individual penalty against David R. Arnold after a fatal accident at Big Laurel Mining Corporation's mine. Arnold argued that the agency waited too long, but Judge William B. Moran found that the relevant period for a section 110(c) case begins with the conclusion of MSHA's…
CCC Group, Inc.
Suspended-beam violations bring $183,618 total penalty
CCC Group was a construction contractor erecting steel beams at a limestone quarry when miners repeatedly worked beneath or within the swing area of suspended 600-pound beams. Judge Margaret A. Miller held that staying clear under 30 C.F.R. § 56.16009 requires miners to remain outside the load's…
Secretary of Labor, on behalf of Sean Tadlock v. Big Ridge, Inc.
Miner temporarily reinstated while discrimination claim proceeds
Sean Tadlock alleged that Big Ridge reassigned and discharged him after he complained about unsafe practices and refused to work for a foreman he considered unsafe. Big Ridge presented evidence that he was fired under its attendance policy and challenged his account of making safety complaints…
Matter of SKIRBALL CULTURAL CENTER
Hybrid music can be culturally unique
The Administrative Appeals Office reviewed a petition for P-3 classification for Argentine musicians whose performances blended klezmer with Latin American influences. It held that the regulatory term "culturally unique" is not limited to traditional art forms and may include a hybrid or fusion…
Consolidation Coal Company
Missing roof bolt remains S&S but penalty falls to $18,000
Consolidation Coal conceded that a missing roof bolt left spacing beyond the maximum allowed by the Emery Mine's approved roof-control plan. Judge Richard W. Manning found the violation S&S because two nearby roof cutters, a recent roof fall, the mine's roof-fall history, and continued traffic made…
Matter of Alfredo DIAZ-GARCIA
Unlawful removal does not end Board jurisdiction
The Board considered an appeal after the Department of Homeland Security unlawfully removed the respondent from the United States while his direct appeal was pending. It held that an unlawful removal in violation of the applicable regulation does not deprive the Board of jurisdiction, because an…
Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation
Work-boot payment citation vacated
Cargill required meat-processing employees exposed to wet, slippery floors to wear ankle-covering work boots with water-resistant uppers and slip-resistant soles. OSHA cited Cargill for requiring employees to pay for those boots. The judge found that the boots were exempt “normal work boots”…
Kilby & Gannon Construction Services, LLC
Willful trenching violations affirmed
Kilby & Gannon employees installed drainage pipe in a type-C-soil trench at a parking-garage project. Two workers entered the trench even though it was more than five feet deep, lacked a trench box or adequate sloping, and had no safe egress point within 25 feet. The foreman knew the excavation…
Nova Group/Tutor-Saliba, A Joint Venture
Concrete-piling stacking violation affirmed
Nova stacked 55,000-pound concrete pilings in a temporary storage area on uneven pavement using inadequate and inconsistent dunnage. Two pilings rolled and pinned an employee, causing serious injuries that included a partial leg amputation. The Commission rejected Nova's claims that the judge's…
Caterpillar Logistics Services, Inc.
Recordkeeping case remanded after appellate vacatur
An administrative law judge had affirmed a recordkeeping violation against Caterpillar Logistics Services. The Seventh Circuit reviewed the case and vacated the judge's decision. After receiving the court's mandate, the Commission remanded the case to the judge for further proceedings consistent…
Bledsoe Coal Corporation
Pattern notice upheld while disputed S&S cases move to hearing
Bledsoe Coal challenged MSHA's pattern-of-violations notice for the Abner Branch Rider Mine. Judge William B. Moran found that MSHA followed the screening and notice procedures in 30 C.F.R. Part 104 and relied on nine final S&S violations of the same accumulations standard during the review period…
Bledsoe Coal Corporation
Pattern notice upheld subject to hearings on disputed citations
Bledsoe Coal challenged MSHA's pattern-of-violations notice for the Abner Branch Rider Mine. Judge William B. Moran found that MSHA followed the procedures in 30 C.F.R. Part 104 and relied on nine final S&S violations of the section 75.400 accumulations standard during the review period. He granted…
Knife River Corporation, Northwest
Truck-scale guardrail citation and failure-to-abate order vacated
MSHA cited Knife River because the rub rails on an elevated truck scale were below the mid-axle guardrail height required for mine roadways, then issued a failure-to-abate order. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy held that the portable weighing scale was equipment, not a roadway or part of the mine's…
Secretary of Labor, on behalf of Robert A. Albrecht v. Conmat, Inc.
Global settlement ends temporary-reinstatement case
Robert A. Albrecht sought temporary reinstatement after alleging that Conmat laid him off or discharged him for discriminatory reasons. Conmat later recalled him at lower pay and benefits while the parties prepared for a temporary-reinstatement hearing. Before the hearing began, the Secretary…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Reuben Shemwell v. Armstrong Coal Company, Inc. and Armstrong Fabricators, Inc.
Temporary reinstatement remanded for required hearing
An administrative law judge ordered Reuben Shemwell temporarily reinstated on summary decision after the operators had timely requested a hearing. The Commission held that Procedural Rule 45 required the requested hearing and that cross-examination and other hearing protections were part of the…
Coal River Mining, LLC
Incomplete weekly examination brings $34,652 penalty
Coal River Mining could not reach an evaluation point because oxygen was low, yet it allowed miners to enter the Fork Creek No. 1 Mine without completing the required weekly examination. Judge Kenneth Andrews found that none of the attempted checks included all required methane, oxygen…
Matter of A-Y-M-
CSPA protects derivative asylum eligibility
The Board reviewed an El Salvadoran respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge denied her asylum application and ordered her removed. Her mother had been granted asylum and had included her as a derivative beneficiary when she was under 21. The Board held that the Child Status Protection Act…
Maine Drilling & Blasting, Inc.
Reassessed citation reopened after earlier timely contest
Maine Drilling & Blasting timely contested a citation under its original assessment case number. MSHA later reassessed the same citation under a new case number, and no separate contest was received for the reassessment. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. In the interests of justice, the…
Kingston Mining, Inc.
One-day-late penalty contest reopened
Kingston Mining's contest of a proposed penalty assessment was postmarked one day after the assessment became a final Commission order. Kingston attributed the problem to a processing backlog during the National Mine Rescue Competition and said it discovered the late filing during a routine case…
Foothills Contracting, LLC
New operator's final assessment reopened
Foothills Contracting failed to contest a proposed penalty assessment within 30 days, causing it to become a final Commission order. The company said it was new, was working diligently to comply with regulatory requirements, and had corrected the cited oversights. The Secretary did not oppose…
River City Stone, Division of Mathy Construction Company
Missing fax attachment excused and assessment reopened
River City Stone's counsel intended to contest two penalty assessments in one fax, but sent two copies of the other assessment's contest form and omitted the form for this case. After receiving a delinquency notice, River City moved to reopen in less than 30 days. The Secretary did not oppose the…
Nyffeler Construction, Inc.
Roof fall-protection and training violations affirmed
Two Nyffeler Construction employees installed roof sheathing more than ten feet above the ground without compliant fall protection. The company owner could see the work and admitted that no guardrail, safety net, or personal fall-arrest system was in use. The company also had not trained the…
Trinity Yachts, LLC
Argon hazard-training item affirmed on second remand
A Trinity Yachts employee died after inhaling argon gas in an enclosed shipyard vent trunk. On second Commission remand, the judge reopened the record to hear from the human-resources administrator who had oriented the employee, who had difficulty reading and writing English. The judge found that…
Ohio County Coal Company
Pry-bar citation dismissed and remaining penalties cut to $493
After settling 17 citations, Ohio County Coal contested the classifications and penalties for a loose roof bolt, a missing pry bar, and an improper cable splice. Chief Judge Susan L. Biro upheld the roof-control violation but made it non-S&S with low negligence because the loose bolt was near the…
U.S. Silica Company
Receipt-date mistake excused and assessment reopened
U.S. Silica filed a penalty contest four days after the assessment had become a final Commission order. Its environmental, health, and safety coordinator had been told the assessment arrived a week later than it actually did and calculated the deadline from that incorrect date. The company changed…
Mike Dover Corporation
Two final assessments reopened
Mike Dover Corporation asked the Commission to reopen two penalty assessments that had become final orders after no timely contests were received. The Secretary did not oppose either request. After reviewing the submissions, the Commission reopened both matters in the interests of justice. It…
West Virginia Mine Power, Inc.
Reopening denied for unreliable mail processing
West Virginia Mine Power failed to contest a proposed assessment after an employee forwarded it to the safety director of a different mine and the document's later path could not be established. The company did not identify new procedures for monitoring received mail, despite an earlier warning…
West Virginia Mine Power, Inc.
Late contest reopened over two-member dissent
West Virginia Mine Power filed a penalty contest four or five days late after its safety director lost the form while catching up on holiday paperwork and handling other mine projects. The company promptly sought reopening, paid the uncontested penalties, and described new deadline-tracking…
Limestone Dust Corporation
Conference-related filing mistake excused over dissent
Limestone Dust said it mistakenly believed a pre-citation conference under an MSHA pilot program served as its penalty contest. A three-member Commission majority reopened the final assessment in the interests of justice and remanded it for penalty proceedings. Chairman Mary Lu Jordan and…
Matter of E. W. RODRIGUEZ
The section 212(h) bar depends on the circuit
The Board reconsidered the section 212(h) aggravated-felony bar in the case of a Salvadoran respondent who had obtained lawful permanent resident status through legalization and was later convicted of bank fraud. Applying controlling Fifth Circuit precedent, the Board held that the bar applies only…
Leclaire Investments, Inc.
Missing contest reopened after timely partial payment
Leclaire Investments said it timely contested a penalty assessment and paid the uncontested penalties, but MSHA had no record of receiving the contest. The record did confirm timely payment for the uncontested items. Leclaire moved to reopen less than 30 days after learning of the problem from a…
Robert J. Silcox, employed by Big Laurel Mining Corporation
Section 110(c) timing starts when the individual investigation ends
MSHA sought an individual penalty against Robert J. Silcox under section 110(c) of the Mine Act. After denying Silcox's motion to dismiss, Judge William B. Moran clarified when the agency's reasonable-time period begins. He held that the clock starts when MSHA finishes its separate section 110(c)…
Stephen M. Reasor, employed by Big Laurel Mining Corporation
Section 110(c) timing starts when the individual investigation ends
MSHA sought an individual penalty against Stephen M. Reasor under section 110(c) of the Mine Act. After denying Reasor's motion to dismiss, Judge William B. Moran clarified when the agency's reasonable-time period begins. He held that the clock starts when MSHA finishes its separate section 110(c)…
Ernest Matney, employed by Knox Creek Coal Corporation
Foreman held personally liable for missed roof hazards
Knox Creek foreman Ernest Matney conducted preshift examinations in an underground coal mine but failed to identify longstanding roof and rib hazards, including sheared roof bolts and sloughage. An ALJ found the violations were caused by the operator's unwarrantable failure but ruled that Matney…
Cam Mining, LLC
Hearing moved and continued after partial settlement
Cam Mining and the Secretary settled 44 of 46 citations carrying proposed penalties of $44,996. Two citations remained, one alleging float-coal-dust accumulations inside an electrical box and the other alleging an inadequate weekly electrical examination. Judge Jerold Feldman granted the…
Post Buckley Schuh & Jernigan, Inc.
Fatal heat-stress violation affirmed
An archaeological field technician became disoriented while digging test holes during his first day on a Texas pipeline survey project. Temperatures approached 99 degrees, he was sent alone toward an air-conditioned vehicle, and coworkers later found him unconscious with a core temperature of 107.8…
C.P. Buckner Steel Erection, Inc.
Annual-summary certification items vacated
Buckner's safety and risk manager certified the company's OSHA annual injury and illness summaries for three years. The judge found he was not a qualifying company executive and affirmed three other-than-serious items without penalties. The Commission agreed that he was not the highest-ranking…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Citation amended and imminent-danger summary ruling denied
MSHA cited Jim Walter Resources after an inspector saw a miner enter a longwall conveyor pan and cable trough while the shearer advanced and the conveyor moved material. Judge Alan G. Paez allowed the Secretary to amend a separate roof citation from a specific support standard to the general…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Reuben Shemwell v. Armstrong Coal Company, Inc. and Armstrong Fabricators, Inc.
Temporary reinstatement ordered by summary decision
Welder Reuben Shemwell alleged that affiliated Armstrong companies fired him after he repeatedly complained about respirator protection from welding fumes. Judge Jerold Feldman found the discrimination complaint was not frivolously brought because protected activity was sufficiently alleged…
Newtown Energy, Inc.
Running-belt guard repair draws $17,301 penalty
At Newtown Energy's underground coal mine, an experienced foreman and a trainee replaced a large guard panel beside a conveyor tail pulley while the belt continued running. An MSHA inspector stopped the work as an imminent danger, and the repair was completed safely after the belt was shut down…
Robert J. Silcox, employed by Big Laurel Mining Corporation
Delay did not require dismissal of individual penalty case
MSHA pursued an individual penalty against Robert J. Silcox after a fatal mine accident. Silcox sought dismissal because the proposed penalty came about 19 months after the accident investigation ended, arguing that prejudice from faded memories and unavailable witnesses should be presumed. Judge…
Stephen M. Reasor, employed by Big Laurel Mining Corporation
Delay did not require dismissal of individual penalty case
MSHA pursued an individual penalty against Stephen M. Reasor after a fatal mine accident. Reasor sought dismissal because the proposed penalty came about 19 months after the accident investigation ended, arguing that prejudice from faded memories, unavailable witnesses, and lost evidence should be…
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.