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.
No decisions match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
Elk Run Coal Company
Amended $52,500 assessment allowed and dismissal denied
The Secretary sought to amend a proposed assessment to $52,500 after an order had been modified to significant and substantial before the initial assessment issued. Elk Run objected and sought dismissal, arguing that the assessment was not proposed within a reasonable time. Judge William B. Moran…
Moltan Company, LP
Two communication errors excused and assessments reopened
Moltan missed one contest after a new employee omitted a word from counsel's email address and failed to send the planned fax. It missed a second after counsel tried to forward the assessment by cell phone from North Dakota, where a sporadic signal prevented delivery to another attorney. The…
Oxbow Mining, LLC
Post-hearing interrogatory answer excluded
After the hearing on a loose-rock citation, the Secretary sought to add Oxbow's interrogatory answer to challenge testimony about where rock fell when it was barred down. Judge Richard W. Manning denied the request because Oxbow had denied the related request for admission, so the fact was not…
The American Coal Company
Nine violations and safeguards resolved for $99,440
MSHA litigated nine accumulation, methane-testing, electrical, roof-control, and diesel-equipment violations at American Coal's large Galatia Mine, while four safeguard citations were settled for $9,640. Judge Richard W. Manning affirmed an S&S feeder-accumulation violation but removed…
Austin Powder Company
Flyrock summary-decision motion denied
Austin Powder sought summary decision on ground-control citations and orders arising from blasting events in which flyrock allegedly struck nearby homes. It argued that flyrock alone did not violate the revised ground-control plan, that the plan no longer required presplitting, and that…
Austin Powder Company
Flyrock summary-decision motion denied
Austin Powder sought summary decision on ground-control citations and orders arising from blasting events in which flyrock allegedly struck nearby homes. It argued that flyrock alone did not violate the revised ground-control plan, that the plan no longer required presplitting, and that…
Bledsoe Coal Corporation
Lifeline order affirmed and accumulation citation vacated
MSHA charged Bledsoe Coal with six violations at Mine No. 4, and the parties settled four of them. Judge Gary Melick affirmed an order for failing to maintain a continuous directional lifeline in the secondary escapeway for at least five crosscuts. He found that violation significant and…
Eutaw Construction Company, Inc.
Controlling-employer trench citation affirmed
Eutaw Construction was the general contractor for a sewer-line project where a subcontractor worked in a 14-foot-deep bore pit. The excavation was dug in unstable Type C soil, and its protective system had trench boxes several feet above the bottom, gaps, a damaged support, water seepage, erosion…
Oak Grove Resources, LLC
Flooded bleeder order and unwarrantable failure affirmed
Water and a roof fall made portions of Oak Grove's bleeder system impassable, preventing certified officials from examining 11 measuring points for about three weeks. The mine liberated more than one million cubic feet of methane daily, yet Oak Grove resumed longwall production while the bleeder's…
Emerald Coal Resources, LP
Coal-dust order upheld and $127,531 assessed
MSHA brought 28 alleged violations against Emerald Coal Resources at its Emerald Mine No. 1, and the parties resolved all but one through settlements or vacatur. Judge David F. Barbour upheld the remaining order under 30 C.F.R. § 75.400 after finding extensive dry coal dust along a shuttle-car…
Northern Filter Media, Inc.
Settlement denied for inadequate support
MSHA cited Northern Filter Media for three alleged violations after a miner was seriously injured when he became entangled in conveyor components. The Secretary proposed reducing a $52,500 guarding penalty to $10,000 and cutting two other penalties by about half, relying on the operator's account…
Sand Cut Properties, LLC.
Willful excavation violations affirmed
Sand Cut Properties sent an employee into an excavation that was 6 to 9 feet deep, accumulating water, and repeatedly collapsing in unstable soil. A roughly 15-foot-high spoil pile overhung the edge, and the owner directed the employee to attach a sling to a concrete structure before the collapsing…
Matter of Luis Manuel GUERRERO
Solicitation of violent assault is an aggravated felony
The Board reviewed the appeal of a Dominican lawful permanent resident convicted of soliciting another person to commit assault with a dangerous weapon under Rhode Island law. It held that solicitation of a violent felony is itself a crime of violence under 18 U.S.C. § 16(b) when the intended…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Thurman Wayne Pruitt v. Grand Eagle Mining, Inc.
Reinstatement and discrimination cases dismissed
The Secretary asked to withdraw temporary-reinstatement and discrimination complaints involving miner Thurman Wayne Pruitt and Grand Eagle Mining. Pruitt agreed to the withdrawal based on a mutually agreeable settlement. Judge Gary Melick permitted the withdrawal under 29 C.F.R. § 2700.11 and…
River Sand & Gravel, LLC
Fall-protection violation upheld and penalty reduced to $3,500
An MSHA inspector saw a miner inspecting an elevated inclined shaker without fall protection at River Sand & Gravel's small Kentucky operation. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy found that the unguarded work exposed miners to falls of five to eleven feet onto catwalks and potentially more than thirty feet…
Ember Contracting Corporation
Full $226,508 penalty assessed
Ember Contracting accepted one order and 247 citations across 29 consolidated dockets but argued that the proposed penalties would prevent it from continuing in business. Judge Alan G. Paez found that Ember remained capable of resuming mining and had not proved that the assessment itself caused its…
Omya Arizona
Unlabeled power-switch citation upheld and $300 assessed
MSHA cited three violations at Omya Arizona's quarry and crusher operation, with proposed penalties totaling $300. Judge Margaret A. Miller upheld the contested citation because an unlabeled disconnect switch could not be readily identified by its location, even though maintenance personnel knew…
Barnhardt Manufacturing Company
In re Barnhardt Manufacturing Company (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 10-17): appeal withdrawn and dismissed
Barnhardt Manufacturing Company sought review of several conditions in an NPDES permit issued by EPA Region 1. Barnhardt later filed a motion to withdraw its appeal. The Environmental Appeals Board granted the request and dismissed NPDES Appeal No. 10-17 with prejudice. The order does not state a…
Mining & Property Specialists
Record-book violation upheld with one-dollar penalty
Mining & Property Specialists kept a personnel carrier's electrical examination book at its office 9.1 miles from the mine rather than at the mine site. Judge William B. Moran held that 30 C.F.R. § 75.512 requires the record to be available at the mine, where MSHA and miners can access it when…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Summary decision vacated for possible premature rulings
The Secretary and Jim Walter Resources both sought review of an ALJ summary decision addressing a violation, S&S, unwarrantable failure, and the civil penalty. The Secretary said the parties and judge had agreed that their cross-motions would address only whether a violation occurred, leaving the…
CAM Mining, LLC
Petition dismissals vacated for failure to address prior ruling
An ALJ dismissed the Secretary's penalty petitions after finding no factually supported reason for their late filing. The Commission noted that a chief judge had already granted leave to file the petitions out of time, but the later dismissal did not acknowledge that ruling or explain why it should…
White Buck Coal Company
Two final assessments reopened
White Buck Coal asked the Commission to reopen two penalty assessments that had become final when the company did not timely contest them. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission reopened both assessments and remanded the matters for proceedings on…
Martin County Coal Corporation
Final penalty assessment reopened
Martin County Coal asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final when the company did not timely contest it. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission granted relief from the final order and remanded the case for…
Allen Barry and Tim Barry d/b/a Allen Barry Livestock
In re Allen Barry and Tim Barry d/b/a Allen Barry Livestock (EAB CWA Appeal No. 11-07): sua sponte review and $75,000 penalty order
An EPA administrative law judge found Allen Barry and Tim Barry d/b/a Allen Barry Livestock in default for failing to submit required prehearing materials or a signed consent agreement. The ALJ assessed a $75,000 penalty for multiple violations of the company's NPDES permit. The Environmental…
Consolidation Coal Company
Ventilation-plan order reduced to non-S&S citation
MSHA cited Consolidation Coal after an indicator ribbon used to show ventilation-fan operation was not moving in an idle area of Buchanan Mine No. 1. Judge George A. Koutras found a violation of the approved ventilation plan but concluded that the evidence did not establish a reasonably likely…
Consolidated Grain & Barge Co.
Two grain-bin items vacated
Consolidated Grain & Barge employees entered a grain bin while a partially guarded sweep auger was operating. The judge found that CGB's instructions to remain a safe distance behind the auger and its use of an outside attendant were not equally effective alternatives to deenergizing or positively…
Cumberland Coal Resources, LP
Four lifeline penalties increased to $4,000 each on remand
An earlier ALJ decision found four lifeline violations but classified them as non-S&S and assessed $3,000 for each. The Commission reversed the non-S&S determination and remanded for penalty reassessment. Judge Avram Weisberger treated the Commission's S&S holding as requiring a high-gravity…
Amreco, LLC
In re Amreco, LLC (EAB CWA Appeal Nos. 11-04 and 11-06): petitions withdrawn and dismissed with prejudice
Amreco, LLC and EPA Region 6 entered into a Consent Agreement and Final Order for each of the two matters before the Environmental Appeals Board. The parties jointly asked to withdraw Amreco's petitions for review. The Board granted the request for good cause and dismissed both petitions with…
Conoco Phillips Bayway Refinery
Asbestos items reclassified as serious
The Commission had previously affirmed nine asbestos-in-construction items as other-than-serious and assessed $350 per item. The Third Circuit vacated that order and directed the Commission to classify the violations as serious and reconsider the penalties. On remand, the Commission considered that…
The American Coal Company
Safeguard cases resolved for $123,800
MSHA litigated three safeguard citations and settled numerous other violations involving American Coal's Galatia Mine. Judge Richard W. Manning affirmed a longwall-walkway citation with a $1,000 penalty because accumulated coal and rock created a serious travel hazard, while finding low negligence…
Florida Power and Light Company
Arc-flash citations affirmed
An electrical contractor at Miami International Airport needed Florida Power and Light to open a meter can and remove a protective plate so it could replace wiring and a breaker. The FPL employee raised an energized bypass handle without first asking what work had been done or inspecting the…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Burdette Billings v. Proppant Specialists, LLC
Temporary reinstatement affirmed
Burdette Billings worked as a front-end loader operator at Proppant Specialists' Oakdale Wet Plant. The Secretary alleged that Billings raised concerns about miners walking through extremely hot sand, complained to MSHA, and was discharged one day after MSHA issued four citations. An administrative…
Prairie State Generating Co.
Original flooding-report decision later amended
Heavy rain caused unplanned flooding in the slope of Prairie State's underground Lively Grove Mine while it was under construction. Management decided the event was not an inundation and did not notify MSHA within 15 minutes. Judge L. Zane Gill held that the flooding was reportable under 30 C.F.R…
American Coal Company
Seven violations upheld and $37,300 assessed
MSHA litigated eight violations involving American Coal's large underground Galatia Mine after the parties resolved 32 other violations. Judge Michael E. Zielinski upheld the validity of a mine-specific safeguard requiring loose or dislodged bridge boards to be secured or removed from travelways…
Mark Gray v. North Fork Coal Corporation
Discrimination complaint dismissed, later vacated
Roof bolter Mark Gray alleged that North Fork Coal fired him after he refused to bolt an illegally deep cut and raised concerns about ventilation curtains. Judge Priscilla M. Rae found that Gray did not prove the claimed protected activities occurred, crediting testimony that the mine's poor roof…
Eastman Kodak Co.
In re Eastman Kodak Co. (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 11-05(C)): $41,748 penalty settlement approved
The United States Environmental Protection Agency and Eastman Kodak Company signed and consented to entry of an attached Consent Agreement under Section 16 of the Toxic Substances Control Act. The Environmental Appeals Board incorporated that agreement into its Final Order. The Board ordered…
Nally & Hamilton Enterprises, Inc.
Inoperative backup alarm yields $469 penalty
MSHA cited Nally & Hamilton after an inspector found that a lube truck's reverse warning alarm did not work. The Commission had reversed an earlier ALJ decision vacating the citation and remanded only the S&S and penalty issues. Judge Jerold Feldman found the violation S&S because mine personnel…
Matter of Benno RIVENS
DHS burden for returning lawful permanent residents
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal from an Immigration Judge's decision terminating removal proceedings against a returning lawful permanent resident. The respondent had convictions for offering a false instrument for filing in New York and for being an accessory after…
Secretary of Labor, MSHA on behalf of Jerome D. George v. Freeport-McMoRan, Bagdad, Inc.
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Jerome D. George v. Freeport-McMoRan, Bagdad, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 2011-1423-DM): Economic reinstatement settlement approved
The Secretary sought temporary reinstatement for Jerome D. George after Freeport-McMoRan terminated him. Shortly before the scheduled hearing, the parties agreed that Freeport would economically reinstate George effective September 21, 2011. Judge Jerold Feldman approved the settlement and ordered…
Consolidation Coal Co.
Late amendment to fire-protection order denied
MSHA sought $199,300 for five alleged violations at Consolidation Coal's Buchanan Mine No. 1. After the hearing, the Secretary moved to change the standard listed in an order involving an inoperable firefighting waterline and defective belt rollers. Judge Jeffrey Tureck denied the motion because…
John Gary Jarvis v. Highland Mining Company, LLC
Union-membership claim falls outside Mine Act protection
John Gary Jarvis alleged that Highland Mining subjected him to a tougher roof-bolter proficiency test because he was a United Mine Workers of America member. For summary-decision purposes, Judge William B. Moran assumed Jarvis had been tested differently from other applicants. The Judge…
Albert F. Garofalo v. Penn Big Bed Slate Co., Inc.
Discrimination complaint dismissed after workplace fight
Slate worker Albert Garofalo alleged that Penn Big Bed Slate fired him after he complained about smoke, dust, equipment conditions, and threatened to report hazards to MSHA or OSHA. Judge Kenneth Andrews found that Garofalo did not credibly establish that he made a safety-report threat before his…
Freeport-McMoRan Morenci, Inc. and Ronald Y. Jurado
Open floor hole leads to $77,000 in penalties
Contract worker Raymond Saldana died after falling about 28 feet through a 4-by-5-foot opening created by removing walkway grating during a belt-replacement project at Freeport-McMoRan's Morenci Mine. Judge William B. Moran held that a strand of yellow caution tape did not provide the railing…
Jungbunzlauer Inc.
In re Jungbunzlauer Inc. (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 11-06(C)): $74,535 penalty settlement approved
The United States Environmental Protection Agency and Jungbunzlauer Inc. signed and consented to entry of an attached Consent Agreement. The Environmental Appeals Board incorporated that agreement into its Final Order. The Board ordered Jungbunzlauer Inc. to comply with the agreement and pay a…
Matter of Robert BAUTISTA
Attempted arson is an aggravated felony
The Board reviewed the appeal of a Dominican lawful permanent resident who had been convicted in New York of attempted arson in the third degree. It held that the New York offense is an aggravated felony under the immigration statute because it is described by the federal arson offense in 18 U.S.C…
Southern Pacific Transportation Company and The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway
In re Southern Pacific Transportation Company and The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway (EAB CERCLA § 106(b) Petition No. 94-12): reimbursement petition dismissed with prejudice
Southern Pacific Transportation Company and The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway sought reimbursement for costs incurred while complying with an EPA Region 9 administrative order issued under CERCLA section 106(a). The companies told the Environmental Appeals Board that they were withdrawing…
NRG Sound & Communications, LLC.
Worker found to be an employee
NRG Sound & Communications installed speakers on a school football stadium roof using an aerial lift. NRG claimed that the second worker was a silent partner or independent contractor rather than an employee, but both men initially identified him as an employee and described NRG's owner as the…
Oak Grove Resources, LLC
Reopening denied after repeated assessment-processing failures
Oak Grove Resources asked the Commission to reopen a $47,152 penalty assessment that became final when its contest was not mailed to MSHA. The company said its safety director left the reviewed assessment for a clerk, but the clerk never received it. The Commission held that this unexplained…
Mach Mining, LLC
Fan citation vacated and escapeway penalties assessed
MSHA litigated several violations at Mach Mining's underground Mach No. 1 Mine. Judge Avram Weisberger vacated a surface-fan guarding citation because the Secretary did not prove a reasonable possibility that a person would contact the exposed fan blades. He affirmed a separate violation for…
Haberle Steel, Inc.
Unsecured steel plate citation affirmed
Haberle Steel stored large steel plates on edge in an outdoor rack at its Pennsylvania fabrication shop. An employee died after a nearly vertical plate tipped and pinned him against another plate. OSHA cited the company under the material-storage standard because nothing prevented that plate from…
McCoy Elkhorn Coal Corp.
Accumulation and preshift violations affirmed, individual cases split
MSHA cited McCoy Elkhorn's underground No. 15 Mine for extensive combustible coal accumulations and an inadequate preshift examination, and it sought personal penalties against three section foremen. Judge Jerold Feldman affirmed the accumulation violation as S&S and an unwarrantable failure…
Matter of Daniel Edgar ZAMORA-MOLINA
Naturalization changes preference classification
The Board reviewed the appeal of a Mexican national whose mother filed a visa petition for him as the child of a lawful permanent resident and later naturalized. It held that his biological age on the date of his mother's naturalization controlled whether he qualified as an immediate relative, so…
Cumberland Coal Resources, LP
Defectively placed lifelines held S&S
Four escapeway lifelines at Cumberland's underground coal mine were hung too high, above equipment or cables, or from J-hooks facing different directions. An ALJ found the violations but ruled that they were not S&S because MSHA had not shown that a fire or explosion was reasonably likely. The…
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company
In re E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 11-04(C)): $52,500 penalty settlement approved
The United States Environmental Protection Agency and E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company signed and consented to entry of an attached Consent Agreement under Section 16 of the Toxic Substance Control Act. The Environmental Appeals Board incorporated that agreement into its Final Order. The Board…
Jet Materials
Default vacated for lack of a show-cause order
An ALJ entered default against Jet Materials and assessed penalties totaling $18,123 after the company failed to comply with a prehearing order and did not join a conference call. The Commission held that Rule 66 required the judge to issue an order to show cause before entering default. Missing a…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Burdette Billings v. Proppant Specialists, LLC
Temporary economic reinstatement ordered
The Secretary alleged that Proppant Specialists discharged front-end loader operator Burdette Billings after he complained to MSHA about workers walking through hot sand. Proppant waived a hearing and argued that it fired Billings for four unrelated instances of misconduct. Judge Jacqueline Bulluck…
Daniel Crowe Roof Repair and its Successors
Fall protection and training citations affirmed
Daniel Crowe Roof Repair hired two roofers to replace a residential roof in Pennsylvania, and one inexperienced worker fell about 17 feet and suffered multiple fractures. The judge found that the roofers were employees, not independent contractors, because Crowe controlled the work, supplied the…
INR-WV Operating, LLC
Reopening denied without prejudice after unexplained delay
INR-WV asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that became final when its human resources department failed to forward the contest form to the safety director. The Secretary opposed reopening and noted that the company waited about three and a half months after receiving a delinquency…
J & A Trucking
Reopening denied without prejudice for insufficient detail
J & A Trucking asked to reopen two final penalty assessments, saying a part-time office worker mistakenly failed to contest one and the company never received the other. The Commission found the explanations too general because the company did not describe the mistake, explain why it failed to…
Dana Mining Company of Pennsylvania, LLC
Accumulation and preshift orders vacated
MSHA alleged that Dana Mining allowed combustible accumulations at its underground 4 West Mine and failed to identify them during preshift examinations. The inspector viewed the material as fine coal, but company witnesses gave detailed testimony that the mine floor was largely black shale and…
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.