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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National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 2050 and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
EPA bargaining proposals (FLRA 0-NG-1693): Petition lacked a reviewable allegation
NFFE Local 2050 asked the Environmental Protection Agency for a written nonnegotiability allegation about four bargaining proposals. The agency replied that it would discuss or negotiate the proposals at the next labor management committee meeting. The union said one proposal had been called…
National Treasury Employees Union and U.S. Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Chicago, Illinois
Chicago IRS bargaining dispute (FLRA 0-NG-1709): Petition dismissed after deficiencies went uncorrected
The National Treasury Employees Union filed a negotiability petition involving the Internal Revenue Service in Chicago. The Authority identified deficiencies in the filing and gave the union until June 30, 1989, to correct them. It warned that failure to comply could lead to dismissal. The union…
Secretary of Labor and United Mine Workers of America v. Birchfield Mining Company
Settlement motion accepted after one-day filing delay
The Commission had given the Secretary of Labor and the United Mine Workers of America until July 14, 1989, to respond to Birchfield Mining Company's renewed motion to dismiss and offer of judgment or to file a joint settlement motion. The joint motion arrived on July 17, one day after the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2608 and Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Santurce Branch Office, Puerto Rico
SSA Santurce branch (FLRA 0-NG-1592): Work assignment petition filed late
AFGE Local 2608 proposed that the Social Security Administration's Santurce branch not harm employees by assigning work outside their job descriptions. After the union requested a written allegation, the agency replied on August 11, 1988, that work assignment was a management right. The Authority…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Donald J. Robinette and Joey F. Hale v. Bill Branch Coal Company, Inc.
Settlement of discrimination relief adopted
The Secretary brought these discrimination cases on behalf of Donald J. Robinette and Joey F. Hale against Bill Branch Coal Company. An earlier decision found that the company violated the Mine Act's protection against discrimination and directed the parties to identify the relief owed. After a…
Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor
Carbon-dioxide citation vacated at bleeder evaluation points
MSHA cited Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company after air samples at bleeder evaluation points and a nearby crosscut showed carbon dioxide above the 0.5 percent limit in 30 C.F.R. § 75.301. The operator argued that the cited locations were part of a bleeder system rather than active workings, so the…
Secretary of Labor v. Green River Coal Co., Inc.
Canopy and permissibility violations affirmed with $400 penalty
Green River operated the No. 9 underground coal mine in Kentucky, which employed about 200 workers and produced more than one million tons of coal each year. The case involved a scoop used at the coal face without its required canopy and a loading machine with a control-panel opening wider than the…
National Association of Government Employees and U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Contract Administration Services Region, Boston, Massachusetts
Defense Logistics Agency Boston region (FLRA 0-NG-1679): Negotiability petition filed late
The National Association of Government Employees sought review of a Defense Logistics Agency nonnegotiability allegation dated March 9, 1989. With the mailing allowance, the petition deadline was March 29. The union mailed its petition to the Authority's Boston regional office on March 30, and the…
Secretary of Labor v. Blue Circle Atlantic, Incorporated
Unguarded moving conveyor pulley violation affirmed with $400 penalty
Blue Circle Atlantic operated a rock and stone mine where an employee applied speedi-dry to a conveyor pulley while the guard was open and the conveyor was running. The company conceded that the condition violated the rule requiring guards to be in place while machinery operates, but argued that an…
Rushton Mining Company v. Secretary of Labor
Weekly return-air-course examination violation modified
Rushton Mining operated an underground coal mine with several deep water holes in its return air courses. The company contested a citation alleging that the weekly examination was not made through the entire course and that required examiner initials, dates, and times were missing. Judge James A…
Secretary of Labor v. Mountain Parkway Stone, Incorporated
Mixed ruling on mine safety citations with $820 penalty
Mountain Parkway Stone operated the Staton Mine in Kentucky, producing limestone with a small workforce. Judge Avram Weisberger dismissed most of the citations because the Secretary did not provide enough evidence to establish the alleged conditions or their legal elements. He found several…
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and Philadelphia Metal Trades Council
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard (FLRA 0-AR-1599): Overtime issue left open by arbitrator
An arbitrator found that the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard improperly changed the basic workweek for third shift production employees and ordered their former schedules restored. He left open whether employees were also owed overtime pay, asking the parties to review their schedules and retaining…
Secretary of Labor v. Davidson Mining, Inc.
Roof-support citation affirmed after partial settlement
Davidson Mining operated the No. 1 Mine, where a roof fall seriously injured a miner. Before the hearing, the parties settled three citations for violations involving 30 C.F.R. § 70.101 and agreed to penalties of $227 each. Judge Roy J. Maurer then found that the mine's roof support was inadequate…
Big Horn Calcium Company v. Secretary of Labor
Settlement approved with $2,776 in penalties
Big Horn Calcium Company resolved a group of contest and civil penalty proceedings involving its Warren Quarry and Mill. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. approved the settlement, which reduced the negligence designations for one citation and one order, vacated another citation for insufficient…
Matter of Soleimani
Firm resettlement did not bar asylum eligibility
The Board reviewed an Iranian Jewish respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge found her deportable for overstaying and denied asylum because of her time in Israel, while granting withholding of deportation to Iran. The Board held that being firmly resettled in another country does not make a…
Matter of Ruiz
Reasonable absence required reopening
The Board reviewed an applicant's request to reopen exclusion proceedings after an Immigration Judge denied asylum and withholding of exclusion and deportation following an in absentia hearing. The Immigration Judge found that the applicant had a valid excuse for missing the hearing but…
Matter of Rodriguez-Esteban
Rescission order review was outside jurisdiction
The Board reviewed the Service's appeal from an Immigration Judge's termination of deportation proceedings against a Colombian respondent whose lawful permanent resident status had been rescinded by a district director. The Board held that an Immigration Judge and the Board cannot reconsider a…
Secretary of Labor v. Smoot Coal Company
Multiple violations affirmed with S&S findings partly vacated
Smoot Coal operated the Smoot Mine and faced eleven alleged violations involving rock dusting, conveyor guarding, ventilation, electrical equipment, roof and rib conditions, escapeway drills, and coal accumulations. The company stipulated that the cited conditions existed, and Judge George A…
Asarco, Incorporated v. Secretary of Labor
Discovery motions granted in part
Asarco contested citations involving alleged violations at its Immel Mine after a fatality. The Secretary sought depositions and documents about the mine's compliance history, policies, management structure, and investigation; Asarco sought answers to interrogatories from the Secretary. Judge Avram…
Southern Ohio Coal Company
Roof-control order modified and other penalties affirmed
Southern Ohio Coal operated the Martinka No. 1 coal mine. Four citations or orders were resolved by an approved settlement and affirmed with penalties totaling $3,350. The remaining order alleged that the mine failed to timber or post unused intersections and complete two cribs under its…
Tony Chaney, Employed by Morton Salt Division/Morton Thiokol Inc.
Default penalty entered
Tony Chaney was a mine maintenance supervisor at Morton Salt's Weeks Island Mine. MSHA sought a $400 civil penalty for an alleged knowing violation of 30 C.F.R. § 57.9003. Chaney did not answer the penalty proposal, and he also did not respond to the judge's order to show cause. The judge entered…
James Hamilton Construction
Settlement approved and discrimination case dismissed
Michael Albert Swinney brought this Mine Act discrimination proceeding against James Hamilton Construction. The parties reached a settlement under which the respondent would pay Swinney $1,000 and Swinney would dismiss the matter and waive civil penalties. Judge Michael A. Lasher found the…
Local Union 1810, UMWA v. Nacco Mining Company
Compensation affirmed and interest calculation modified
The United Mine Workers sought compensation for 87 miners who were idled after MSHA modified a withdrawal order at Nacco Mining's Powhatan No. 6 underground coal mine. The Commission held that a withdrawal-order modification can support a compensation claim and that Nacco could not challenge the…
Matter of Fueyo
Nonimmigrant waiver could not be retroactive
The Board reviewed a Spanish respondent's appeal after she reentered the United States following deportation without permission to reapply and was found deportable. The Board held that evidence showing she had been taken into custody and deported established that she was arrested and deported for…
Clinchfield Coal Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed
James L. Woody, a long-serving miner at Clinchfield Coal's Moss No. 3 Preparation Plant, objected to being required to work four hours of overtime. He argued that the overtime requirement was connected to earlier complaints about excessive dust and that his age and health made the work unsafe. The…
Consolidation Coal Company
Lost-workday reporting citation reversed
Consolidation Coal reported that miner Timothy Smith's hand injury caused no lost workdays after Smith missed his next shift. MSHA cited the company under 30 C.F.R. § 50.20(a), and the judge found that the missed shift resulted from the injury and medical treatment. The Commission reversed, finding…
Moltan Company
Settlement approval denied pending information
This civil penalty proceeding involved two citations at Moltan Company's mine. Judge Paul Merlin approved a $20 settlement for Citation No. 3253027. He declined to approve the proposed reduction of Citation No. 03252473 from $98 to $20 because the record described exposure to bare 480-volt…
Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company
Sprinkler citation vacated
MSHA cited Consol Pennsylvania Coal because nine combination belt-starter-transformer units did not have overhead sprinklers. The issue was whether those units were electrical controls covered by 30 C.F.R. § 75.1101-8(a). Judge James A. Broderick found that the units were enclosed in fireproof…
U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Depot Memphis and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2501
Defense Depot Memphis (FLRA 0-AR-1736): Union sent arbitration exceptions to wrong office
AFGE Local 2501 challenged an arbitration award involving the Defense Logistics Agency's Memphis depot. The award was dated April 8, 1989, and the Authority calculated a May 15 deadline for exceptions. The union mailed its exceptions to the Authority's Atlanta regional office on May 12. That office…
Beaver Creek Coal Company
Settlement approved and penalties set at $250
Beaver Creek Coal timely contested three citations but failed to file the required blue cards for the proposed penalties, resulting in automatic final orders to pay. The judge found that the omission was excusable neglect because the operator intended to contest the citations and the procedural…
A. H. Smith Stone Company
Mixed citation results and $2,937 penalty
A. H. Smith Stone Company faced civil penalties in two dockets involving machinery guards, electrical equipment, protective equipment, and other mine conditions. Judge Paul Merlin affirmed a guard violation but vacated its significant-and-substantial finding and assessed a $175 penalty. He affirmed…
Bandas Industries Incorporated
Mixed citation results and $1,638 in penalties
Bandas Industries faced 24 alleged violations at its Nolanville Quarry Plant in two dockets. The judge approved a settlement for 18 citations, withdrew one citation for lack of expert testimony, and dismissed another because the inspector could not recall the relevant facts. Of the three remaining…
Consolidation Coal Company
Roof-control order modified and settlement approved
MSHA alleged that loose, unsupported roof material remained in a belt-conveyor entry at Consolidation Coal's Robinson Run No. 95 Mine. Judge Paul Merlin found a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.202(a) and found it significant and substantial, but vacated the unwarrantable-failure finding because the…
K T K Mining and Construction Company
Five settlements approved and penalties reduced
K T K Mining and Construction Company faced five civil penalty proceedings involving its K T K No. 2 Mine. The parties proposed settlements that reduced the penalties from $3,157 to $335 for KENT 88-113, from $16,331 to $2,826 for KENT 88-114, from $80 to $13.32 for KENT 88-125, from $1,294 to…
S H M Coal Company
Illegal mining findings and penalties affirmed in part
The Secretary alleged that three independent contractors were operating an unlicensed surface coal mine while claiming to prepare a house site. Judge George A. Koutras found that the activity was surface mining subject to the Mine Act and affected interstate commerce. He affirmed violations for…
Tanner Sand & Gravel
Settlement approved and $40 penalty assessed
Tanner Sand & Gravel was the respondent in a Mine Act civil penalty proceeding brought by the Secretary of Labor through MSHA. The parties asked the judge to approve a settlement and dismiss the case, and the company agreed to pay the proposed $40 penalty in full. Judge Gary Melick found the…
Don Griffith Construction
Discrimination settlement approved and case dismissed
Charles Herren brought a Mine Act discrimination proceeding against Don Griffith Construction. The parties amended their settlement so the respondent would pay Herren $2,000, representing three weeks of back wages and damages. Judge James A. Broderick approved the agreement under section 105(c) and…
Consolidation Coal Company
Settlements approved and $2,156 assessed
Consolidation Coal Company and McElroy Coal Company faced three related civil penalty dockets involving the Humphrey No. 7, Blacksville No. 2, and McElroy mines. The parties agreed to reduce the penalties, change one citation from significant and substantial to non-S&S, and modify two orders to…
Monterey Coal Company
Fees and expenses awarded after discrimination case
Paula L. Price had prevailed on one discrimination allegation against Monterey Coal Company, and the ALJ then considered her request for attorney's fees and other expenses. The judge found that $187.36 in grievance-related expenses was sufficiently connected to the discrimination proceeding, but…
Matter of Pineda
Parent-child relationship was not established
The Board reviewed a visa petition filed by an El Salvadoran lawful permanent resident for his unmarried daughter, who was born out of wedlock. The Board explained that a bona fide parent-child relationship can be shown through emotional or financial ties, shared residence, support, records, or…
Secretary of Labor o/b/o Aleshire v. Westmoreland Coal Company
Prehire training compensation denied
Seven Westmoreland Coal miners were laid off from surface jobs and completed underground new-miner training at their own expense while waiting for recall. After they were rehired, the Secretary sought compensation for their training time and reimbursement of their expenses under the Mine Act. The…
Utah Power and Light Company
Temporary relief denied for section 104 citation
MSHA issued Utah Power and Light Company a citation and withdrawal order involving alleged combustible accumulations at its Cottonwood underground coal mine. After the ALJ modified the predicate order to a section 104(a) citation and upheld the later withdrawal order, Utah Power asked the…
Urralburu Mining Company
Radon-exposure citation affirmed and $20 penalty assessed
Urralburu Mining Company's Breezy Mine exposed two miners to radon-daughter concentrations above the 1.0 working-level limit in an active working area. Judge Michael A. Lasher found that the inspector's samples established a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 57.5039 and that the operator's explanation about…
Beaver Creek Coal Company
Settlement approved and $120 penalty assessed
MSHA charged Beaver Creek Coal Company with three safety violations at the Trail Mountain No. 9 Mine. Beaver Creek agreed to withdraw its contest and pay $20 for one citation, and to accept a redesignated section 104(a) significant-and-substantial citation with a $100 penalty for a second matter…
Beaver Creek Coal Company
Settlement approved and $147 penalty assessed
MSHA charged Beaver Creek Coal Company with nine safety violations at the Trail Mountain No. 9 Mine. The Secretary agreed to vacate one combustible-accumulation citation for insufficient evidence, and Beaver Creek agreed to pay the proposed $147 penalty for a second combustible-accumulation…
Troy W. Conway, Jr. v. Peabody Coal Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed despite protected activity
Troy W. Conway, Jr., a lab technician at Peabody Coal Company's Camp No. 9 Preparation Plant, complained about missing hazard information and protective equipment for perchlorethylene used in coal testing. Judge Gary Melick found that Conway engaged in protected safety activity and that the…
Lakeview Rock Products, Inc.
Four-violation settlement approved for $110
Lakeview Rock Products, Inc. faced four civil penalty violations at its Lakeview Rock Products Pit. At the hearing, the operator and the Secretary agreed that three original $20 assessments would be paid in full and that the $68 assessment for a fourth citation would be reduced to $50. Judge…
Peabody Coal Company
Travel time for miners' representative ordered paid
Mike E. Ammerman was a member of the safety committee at Peabody Coal Company's Camp No. 2 Mine and served as the miners' representative during an MSHA inspection. Peabody did not pay him for travel between the mine's West and East Portals and docked one hour from his April 7 pay and 15 minutes…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Citation for intending to violate ventilation-plan rule vacated
MSHA cited Jim Walter Resources after the operator stated that it would no longer adopt its previously approved ventilation, methane, and dust control plan while seeking approval of a supplement. The citation described the violation as intending to adopt an unapproved plan, but the Secretary argued…
Virgnia Carbon, Inc.
Temporary reinstatement ordered after safety complaint
John L. Jones, Jr. worked as a scoop operator at Virginia Carbon's Mine No. 4 and was discharged after refusing to sign an examination book and leaving a note about miners working under unsupported roof. Judge William Fauver found that the evidence showed a substantial, nonfrivolous basis for the…
Florence Mining Company
Remand penalty reduced to $100
The Commission had affirmed Florence Mining Company's violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.1704, reversed the findings of unwarrantable failure and significant and substantial violation, and remanded the case for reconsideration of the civil penalty. On remand, Judge William Fauver considered the Mine Act…
Thomas H. Gille v. Yellow River Supply Corporation
Temporary-reinstatement application withdrawn and case dismissed
Thomas H. Gille sought temporary reinstatement in a discrimination proceeding against Yellow River Supply Corporation. The Secretary moved to withdraw the temporary-reinstatement application after reporting that Gille had obtained other employment and was no longer interested in temporary…
Edward Kraemer & Sons, Inc.
Warning-sign citation dismissed and inspection-denial violation penalized
Edward Kraemer & Sons operated the White Rock Quarry. Judge Avram Weisberger dismissed a citation alleging that the quarry failed to barricade or post warnings around loose highwall material because the evidence did not establish a qualifying hazard that was not immediately obvious to employees…
Green River Coal Company
Settlement approved and $6,800 assessed
Green River Coal Company faced consolidated civil penalty proceedings involving Mine No. 9 under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act. At the hearing, the parties first proposed reducing the penalties from $7,100 to $5,400 and changing two section 104(d)(1) orders to section 104(a) citations…
U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of Marine Operations and District No. 1-MEBA/NMU
NOAA Marine Operations (FLRA 3-CU-80027): Unit review application filed late
The Department of Commerce sought Authority review of a regional director's decision in four cases involving NOAA Marine Operations and District No. 1-MEBA/NMU. The review deadline was April 4, 1989. Commerce said it had mailed its application on March 29 and that the other parties received their…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2004 and U.S. Department of the Army, New Cumberland Army Depot
New Cumberland Army Depot (FLRA 0-NG-1681): Petition sent to regional office too late for correction
AFGE Local 2004 sought review of an Army depot nonnegotiability allegation served by mail on March 9, 1989. The petition deadline was March 29. The union sent its petition to the Authority's Philadelphia regional office on March 24, but that office told the union on March 30 that it was the wrong…
Decondor Coal Company
Discrimination proceeding dismissed after settlement
The Secretary of Labor brought a discrimination proceeding on behalf of David S. Haynes against Decondor Coal Company concerning Mine No. 6. The parties reached a settlement, and the Secretary moved to withdraw the discrimination complaint. Judge Avram Weisberger found that the settlement fairly…
Mid-Continent Resources, Inc.
Escapeway violation affirmed, S&S and unwarrantable designations stricken
Mid-Continent Resources operated the Dutch Creek No. 1 underground coal mine. MSHA issued an order alleging that an intake-air escapeway was not maintained in a safe, travelable condition because of floor heaving, water, debris, and other tripping hazards. Judge John J. Morris rejected the…
Cobblestone, Ltd.
Citations affirmed, modified, and vacated with $800 in penalties
Cobblestone, Ltd. operated a small pit and crusher business that MSHA inspected after the operator moved the crusher to a new location. The judge found that the plant had operated while electrical hazards were present, and affirmed most of the cited violations involving grounding, wiring, guarding…
Mikel Company, Inc.
Grounding item settled for $1 after mixed plant ruling
Mikel Company manufactured furniture at a Bronx plant where OSHA cited flammable-liquid storage, spray-finishing, hazard communication, posting, and injury-recordkeeping conditions. The ALJ affirmed several storage-room and spray-booth ventilation items with $375 in penalties, vacated several…
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.