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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Phelps Dodge Corporation
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Randy G. Davis filed a discrimination complaint against Phelps Dodge Corporation in October 1988. He later told the judge by telephone that he wanted to drop the case but did not provide the written confirmation the judge requested. After a February 1989 order to show cause, served by certified…
Skelton Incorporated
Late production report citation affirmed
MSHA cited Skelton Incorporated after the operator filed a required quarterly production report late for its El Jay Mine in Colorado. The operator did not appear at the hearing. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. found that 30 C.F.R. § 50.30 required the report within 15 days after the end of the…
Cyprus Empire Corporation
Roof-condition contests dismissed and penalty assessed
MSHA found loose and broken roof in the tailgate entry of Cyprus Empire Corporation's Eagle No. 5 underground coal mine and issued an imminent-danger order and a citation. Judge John J. Morris found that the roof condition could cause serious injury or death, but the area had been dangered off and…
Big Elk Creek Coal Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Arnold Sharp claimed that Big Elk Creek Coal Company harassed or retaliated against him after mine inspectors cited the operation and after he missed work for a consumer complaint hearing. Judge George A. Koutras found that the foreman's request for proof of Sharp's absence was legitimate and that…
Reynolds Metal Company Incorporated
Temporary reinstatement ordered
The Secretary of Labor applied for temporary reinstatement of Willie C. Jones on his discrimination complaint against Reynolds Metal Company Incorporated. Under Commission Rule 44, Judge Gary Melick reviewed the application after the request for hearing was withdrawn. He found that the miner's…
Sterling Energy Inc.
Discrimination case dismissed after settlement
The Secretary of Labor, on behalf of miner Ronald D. Elliott, brought this discrimination proceeding against Sterling Energy Inc. The case concerned the No. 5 Mine and docket KENT 88-194-D. At a March 15, 1989 hearing, the parties agreed to a settlement, and Elliott approved its complete terms…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 422 and U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Colorado River Agency
Colorado River Agency (FLRA 0-NG-1641): Negotiability petition missed service deadline
The Bureau of Indian Affairs told the Federal Service Impasses Panel that proposals involving its Colorado River Agency were nonnegotiable and mailed a copy to NFFE Local 422. The union had not requested the allegation but could still seek Authority review within 15 days of service, plus the…
New World Mining Company
Discrimination case dismissed with prejudice
Tommy Meade brought a discrimination proceeding against New World Mining Company concerning the No. 1 Strip Mine. The judge ordered Meade to show cause why the case should not be dismissed for failure to comply with the prehearing order. Meade did not respond, and his attorney's office advised that…
O C & W Coal Company
Compensation case dismissed after missed hearings
Kenneth A. McCool brought a compensation case for himself and others against O C & W Coal Company concerning the No. 6 Mine. The first hearing was continued after McCool said he was working in Texas, and the case was later reset in Tulsa, Oklahoma. McCool failed to appear at the second hearing and…
Peabody Coal Company
Discrimination complaint withdrawn
Mike E. Ammerman filed a discrimination complaint against Peabody Coal Company concerning Camp No. 2 Mine. He later sent a statement asking to withdraw the complaint so the matter could be settled. Judge Avram Weisberger dismissed the complaint based on that request.
Moltan Company
Mixed ruling on plant-safety citations
MSHA cited Moltan Company for several conditions at its clay processing plant, including unguarded machinery, a cluttered walkway, an electrical cabinet latch, unattended gas cylinders, missing handrails, and unguarded pump couplings. Judge Roy J. Maurer vacated the citation for the unguarded…
Super Block Coal Corporation
Operator ordered to explain missed hearing
Super Block Coal Corporation was scheduled for a civil-penalty hearing in Evansville, Indiana, concerning the Hunley Creek mine. The company's representative, Larry Wallace, did not appear, and the mine superintendent later said he could not attend because no one was available to supervise the…
Brand Scaffold Services, Inc.
Late notice of contest dismissed
OSHA's citation was received by Brand Scaffold Services on June 6, 1988, but the company did not submit its notice of contest until late September. The judge dismissed the contest because it was not filed within the statutory 15-working-day period and affirmed the serious citation. Brand later…
Gateway Coal Company
Roof-control order affirmed with $1,000 penalty
MSHA issued Gateway Coal Company a withdrawal order after finding that the operator had not installed supplemental roof supports required by its approved roof control plan. The intersection exceeded the plan's 60-foot diagonal limit, a clay seam was present, the roof was drummy, and the mine had…
Southern Hills Mining
Discrimination case dismissed after no response
Gary Smith filed a discrimination complaint against Southern Hills Mining concerning Mine No. 2. The judge later ordered Smith to provide information about the complaint or explain why he had not done so. The order was delivered by certified mail, but Smith did not respond. Chief Administrative Law…
Matter of Tiwari
Alien-smuggling conviction did not prove smuggling for gain
The Board reviewed the Service's appeal after an Immigration Judge terminated deportation proceedings against a Guyanese lawful permanent resident convicted of bringing and transporting aliens. The Board held that a conviction under the alien-smuggling statute did not by itself establish the…
Burlington Northern Railroad Company
Fatal trench case remanded for the railroad agency's views
A trench beside Burlington Northern's tracks collapsed while employees installed a sewer line, killing one employee. The judge affirmed several serious trenching items, but Burlington Northern argued that Federal Railroad Administration regulation displaced OSHA's authority. The Commission found…
Salem-Gravure, Division of World Color Press, Inc.
Trade-secret discovery dispute remanded
The Secretary sought to have a private expert inspect Salem-Gravure's plant during discovery. The Commission initially refused because of trade-secret concerns, and the citation was later dismissed when the Secretary declined to seek a federal court order. The D.C. Circuit set aside the dismissal…
Mettiki Coal Corporation
Coal-accumulation violations partly sustained
MSHA alleged that Mettiki Coal allowed coal and coal dust to accumulate around conveyor equipment, on a long catwalk, and along another conveyor. Judge Avram Weisberger found that dry coal dust around the equipment violated 30 C.F.R. § 75.400 and resulted from unwarrantable failure, with a $1,000…
Western Key Enterprises
Three ground-control violations affirmed
MSHA cited Western Key Enterprises after a fatal ground-fall accident at the Small Fry uranium mine. The remaining violations involved failures to examine or support loose ground under the mine's ground-control requirements. Western Key admitted those violations and their…
Consolidation Coal Company
Water-spray order partly sustained
MSHA alleged that Consolidation Coal's Osage No. 3 Mine lacked an operable water spray at a belt-to-belt transfer point and had a damaged high-voltage cable. Judge Gary Melick found that the water-spray requirement was violated and resulted from unwarrantable failure because a similar condition had…
Mid-Continent Resources, Inc.
Portions of transcript sealed
The cases involved civil-penalty proceedings against Mid-Continent Resources at the Dutch Creek No. 1 Mine. Some evidence had been heard in camera because it concerned sensitive, proprietary, and confidential business information. Judge John J. Morris dissolved the broader restriction on the…
Amax Coal Company
Discrimination complaint granted
Donald F. Denu refused to disconnect a high-voltage cable at a switch box because he believed the cable might still be energized and the procedure lacked a reliable lockout. Supervisors told him he could be disciplined for insubordination and that his actions could lead to discharge, although no…
Black Streak Mining
Respondent ordered to answer discrimination complaint
John Dixon Hacker filed a discrimination complaint against Black Streak Mining after an injury and the end of his employment. He alleged that he had reported mine conditions to an MSHA inspector and was later told that he no longer had a job. MSHA declined to bring a discrimination case, so Hacker…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1164 and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Boston Region
SSA Boston region (FLRA 0-NG-1651): Petition dismissed after defects went uncorrected
AFGE Local 1164 filed a negotiability petition involving the Social Security Administration's Boston region. The Authority identified defects in the filing and ordered the union to correct them by February 8, 1989. It warned that failure to comply could lead to dismissal. The union did not respond…
Philadelphia Metal Trades Council and Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard (FLRA 0-NG-1647): Agreement disapproval appeal filed late
The Navy disapproved some provisions of a negotiated agreement with the Philadelphia Metal Trades Council. It sent the disapproval by certified mail on December 21, 1988. The Authority treated that disapproval as a nonnegotiability allegation, giving the union through January 10, 1989, to petition…
U.S. Department of the Navy, Navy Aviation Depot, Norfolk, Virginia and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local Lodge 39
Norfolk Navy Aviation Depot (FLRA 0-AR-1665): Union exceptions late under either service date
Machinists Local Lodge 39 filed exceptions to an arbitration award involving the Navy Aviation Depot in Norfolk. The award was dated November 7, 1988, yielding a December 12 deadline under the Authority's service and mail rules. The union said it received the award on November 20, which, even if…
Cleveland Marble Mosaic Company
Default penalty corrected to $1,260
OSHA issued three serious items and one nonserious item, initially proposing $1,800 in penalties. The Secretary later withdrew one serious item and its $540 penalty. Cleveland Marble did not answer the complaint or oppose the Secretary's default motion, and the judge mistakenly affirmed all items…
Westmoreland Coal Company
Penalty-payment dispute remanded
Westmoreland Coal paid an $85 civil penalty. An ALJ then approved a settlement and dismissed the case based on that payment. The company later said the payment was a mistake and asked that the dismissal be reopened so it could contest the violation. The Commission treated the company's letters as a…
Paula Price v. Monterey Coal Company
Discrimination complaint remanded after jurisdiction ruling changed
Paula Price filed a private Mine Act discrimination complaint against Monterey Coal Company before the Secretary had determined whether a violation occurred. The ALJ dismissed the complaint for lack of jurisdiction, relying on a Commission decision that required a prior Secretarial determination…
B & M Trucking
Discrimination complaint dismissed after show-cause failure
Judge Gary Melick had ordered Kenneth Howard to provide proof that he served his discrimination complaint on B & M Trucking within 30 days. The order warned that failure to respond could lead to dismissal. Howard did not respond to the show-cause order. The judge therefore dismissed the complaint…
Stroudsburg Dyeing & Finishing Company
Late failure-to-abate contest dismissed
Stroudsburg received a failure-to-abate notice on May 31, 1988, but did not mail its contest until July 28, after the 15-working-day deadline. The company said an employee who was not authorized to handle OSHA matters received the notice and delayed forwarding it. The Commission found that OSHA…
North Berry Concrete Corporation
Rebar impalement citation reinstated
North Berry employees passed within one or two feet of a floor opening while traveling to work areas in a 68-story building. Unprotected reinforcing bars rose from the floor below, creating an impalement hazard if an employee fell through the opening. The judge vacated the item because the…
McFarland & Hullinger
Settlement approved after fatal dump-truck accident
McFarland & Hullinger faced three violations at the Kennecott Carr Fork operation. One remaining citation involved a dump truck left on a grade without its wheels blocked or turned into a bank or rib. The truck rolled, and driver Melvin Steward was fatally injured while trying to climb aboard…
Bill Branch Coal Company, Inc.
Discrimination proceedings stayed during bankruptcy
The ALJ had already found that Bill Branch Coal Company violated section 105(c) of the Mine Act in cases brought for Donald J. Robinette and Joey F. Hale. The complainants were then directed to identify the relief they sought. Bill Branch filed for bankruptcy reorganization, triggering an asserted…
FMC Wyoming Corporation
Penalty-payment dismissal denied after mistake shown
FMC Wyoming contested a citation at the FMC Trona Mine and later paid a combined assessment covering that citation and three others. The Secretary moved to dismiss the contest based on the payment. FMC responded that the payment for the disputed citation was made by mistake and supported that…
Dingess Mine Service, Winchester Coals, Inc., Mullins Coal Company, Joe Dingess and Johnny Dingess
Attorney fees awarded on remand
The Commission had reversed part of an earlier ruling involving Wilfred Bryant's discrimination case and remanded the matter for a new attorney-fee calculation. Judge James A. Broderick approved hourly rates and reduced the requested fees by 15 percent to reflect limited success, including the…
Thunder Basin Coal Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed after layoff review
Thunder Basin Coal Company laid off about 140 employees during a reduction in force, including electrician Robert Buelke. Buelke argued that the company selected him because he had raised safety concerns about an underground high-voltage feeder cable and had complained to MSHA. Judge August F…
Rivco Dredging Corporation
Abatement orders affirmed
Rivco Dredging contested two section 104(b) orders issued after it failed to abate conditions involving access to shaker-screen equipment and wiring for a fresh-water pump. The ALJ found that both conditions were eventually corrected, but not within the six-day abatement periods set by the…
U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Metropolitan Correctional Center of Chicago and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3652
Chicago Metropolitan Correctional Center (FLRA 0-AR-1663): Union exceptions dismissed after no response
AFGE Local 3652 filed exceptions to an arbitration award involving the Bureau of Prisons' Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago. The Authority identified deficiencies in the filing and gave the union until February 2, 1989, to correct them. It warned that a failure to comply could lead to…
Matter of O-
Exchange-visitor status required a supported two-year-residence finding
The Legalization Appeals Unit denied a Philippine exchange visitor's application for temporary resident status after finding that she was subject to the two-year foreign-residence requirement and had neither fulfilled it nor obtained a waiver. The Unit held that not every exchange visitor is…
El Paso Sand Products, Inc.
Civil penalty settlement approved
El Paso Sand Products and the Secretary jointly asked the ALJ to approve a settlement of a civil penalty. The originally assessed penalty was $345, and the parties proposed a payment of $258.75. Judge George A. Koutras found the settlement reasonable and in the public interest. He approved it and…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Bryan Pack v. Maynard Branch Dredging Company and Roger Kirk
Discrimination dismissal affirmed
Bryan Pack reported improperly stored dynamite and detonators at a coal dredging and preparation facility to MSHA inspectors. The operator then discharged him. The ALJ found that Pack engaged in protected activity and that the discharge was partly motivated by that activity, but also found that the…
Peabody Coal Company
$50 penalty imposed for training outside normal working hours
Peabody Coal required two second-shift miners at the Camp No. 2 Mine to attend annual refresher training during first-shift hours. The operator argued that frequent voluntary shift changes made cross-shifting a common practice. Judge Gary Melick found that the evidence showed only two involuntary…
Twin Oak Construction Company
Default decision with $1,600 in penalties
Twin Oak Construction did not attend the hearing on six civil penalty citations. Judge William Fauver treated the Secretary's allegations as true by default and considered the company's persistent failure to pay earlier penalties as part of its compliance history. He assessed $250 each for four…
El Paso Sand Products, Inc.
Settlement proposals rejected or deferred
El Paso Sand Products proposed to settle six civil penalty proceedings involving 23 alleged violations for $6,626.25, compared with initial assessments totaling $8,835. The ALJ found that the parties' boilerplate descriptions of low negligence and low exposure conflicted with the inspection…
Lincoln Sand and Gravel Company
Citations and $168 penalty affirmed after hearing absence
Lincoln Sand and Gravel did not appear at a scheduled hearing after the ALJ granted its request for a hearing and moved the start time later on the same day. The Secretary presented evidence on three citations, and the ALJ affirmed each citation and assessed a total of $168. The Commission rejected…
Freeman United Coal Mining Company
Ventilation violation vacated after inspector interference
Freeman United was cited after an inspector measured only 1,662 cubic feet per minute of air at the end of a line curtain, below the 5,000 cfm level in the mine's approved ventilation plan. The low reading followed a tear in the curtain, and a miner had immediately begun rehanging it. The inspector…
KTK Mining and Construction
Late-receipt dismissal denied
The Secretary moved to dismiss KTK Mining and Construction's contest as untimely because the Secretary's office received the notice after the 30-day period. KTK had mailed the notice by certified mail within that period. Judge Gary Melick applied Commission precedent holding that mailing the notice…
Developers International Service Corporation
Proposed settlement denied and hearing ordered
MSHA proposed a $4,000 penalty for a significant and substantial regulatory violation allegedly causing a miner's electrocution. The Secretary and Developers International sought approval of a settlement reducing the penalty to $3,000, but the motion supplied no factual basis for evaluating the…
Stoney Coal Company
Ventilation order modified and $1,150 assessed
MSHA alleged that Stoney Coal used return air instead of a separate intake-air split while developing a mine entry and also cited a separate preshift-examination violation that the operator did not contest. Judge George A. Koutras vacated the unwarrantable-failure finding, modified the contested…
Emery Mining Corporation
Interlocutory proceeding dismissed
The Commission had granted the Secretary's petition for interlocutory review in a consolidated civil penalty and review proceeding. It had sent the matter back to the administrative law judge to determine whether an earlier order could be certified as final under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Self-rescuer training citation vacated
MSHA cited Jim Walter Resources after interviews suggested that five miners did not know how to put on self-contained self-rescuers. The judge found that 30 C.F.R. § 75.1714(c)(2) required hands-on training, not the inspector's extra requirement that every interviewed miner demonstrate perfect…
Bruno v. Cyprus Plateau Mining Corporation
Reconsideration denied
Ernie L. Bruno asked the Commission to reopen a final discrimination case after the ALJ dismissed his complaint as untimely and found that Cyprus Plateau would have fired him for fighting even apart from any protected activity. The Commission treated his submission as a motion for relief from a…
Missouri Rock, Inc.
Scraper brake citations affirmed
MSHA cited Missouri Rock after inspectors found that the wheel brakes on three tractor-scrapers could not stop the equipment, even though the scraper bowls could be dropped to the ground. The Commission held that the cited standard required adequate wheel or service brakes and that the alternative…
Consolidation Coal Company
Discrimination proceeding dismissed after withdrawal
Charles F. Rose withdrew his discrimination complaint against Consolidation Coal Company concerning activities at the Pursglove No. 15 Mine. His counsel filed notice of the withdrawal, followed by a signed statement from Rose confirming that he wished to terminate the proceeding. Judge Avram…
Birchfield Mining Incorporated
Pre-shift examination penalty reduced to $300
Birchfield Mining Incorporated was cited for failing to complete and record a required pre-shift examination at No. 1 Mine. Judge Gary Melick had previously assessed a $400 civil penalty for the serious violation. On remand, the Commission's finding that the violation was not significant and…
W. K. Enterprise
Citation affirmed after penalty settlement
MSHA alleged that unsupported, loose, and unconsolidated material was present beside the Rattlesnake Mine portal, violating 30 C.F.R. § 57.3200. At hearing, the Secretary reduced the proposed penalty from $800 to $400, and W. K. Enterprise withdrew its contest to the citation and amended penalty…
Secretary of Labor o/b/o Gabossi v. Western Fuels-Utah, Inc.
Settlement approved and case dismissed
After the Commission reversed an earlier ruling and remanded the case, Judge John J. Morris found that Western Fuels-Utah had discriminatorily discharged Joseph Gabossi and ordered $39,560.06 in back pay and other expenses with interest. After further review proceedings, the parties submitted a…
Asbestos Abatement Consultation & Engineering
Remaining asbestos-monitoring items withdrawn
An asbestos-monitoring consultant was cited for three alleged failures to follow mandatory sampling and analysis procedures, with $8,000 initially proposed. The judge vacated the pump-calibration sub-item because the appendix did not give fair notice that a primary calibration device was required…
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.