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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Ford Motor Company – Buffalo Stamping Plant
Crane-inspection dispute remanded for factfinding
OSHA issued Ford's Buffalo Stamping Plant a willful citation alleging that unsafe crane conditions were not corrected before operation resumed. The administrative law judge granted summary judgment to Ford and vacated the citation. The Commission found genuine factual disputes over what Ford's…
Excel Mining, LLC
Motion to limit discovery denied for rule and factual errors
The Secretary sought to limit Excel Mining's discovery in a case involving five citations and $11,158 in proposed penalties. Judge Alan G. Paez denied the motion because the Secretary had not conferred with Excel or stated its opposition as Commission Rule 10(c) required. He also identified factual…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Lige Williamson v. CAM Mining, LLC
Discrimination claim dismissed
Lige Williamson alleged that CAM Mining harassed and fired him after he raised a ventilation concern and said he wanted to speak with MSHA. Judge Alan G. Paez found that Williamson's statement about contacting MSHA was protected activity, but the discipline had escalated before that statement and…
WA Mining, Inc.
Reopening denied for inadequate assessment controls
WA Mining said its bookkeeper faxed a proposed assessment to the company's representative during severe weather and power outages, but the fax was never received. Neither fax machine kept a transmission log, and no one confirmed that the representative received or handled the assessment. The…
DMC Mining Services
Final assessment reopened
DMC Mining Services asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final after no timely contest. The Secretary did not oppose the request. After reviewing the request and the circumstances, the Commission reopened the assessment and remanded the matter to the Chief…
Michael R. Taylor
Individual assessment not final after failed delivery
MSHA assessed an individual penalty against Michael Taylor under section 110(c) but mailed it to an address different from the work and home addresses he had provided. The certified mailing was returned undelivered, and Taylor learned of the assessment only when MSHA contacted his lawyer. He filed…
Nally & Hamilton Enterprises, Inc.
Reconsideration and stay denied
The Commission had reversed an ALJ decision that vacated a citation issued to Nally & Hamilton Enterprises. The company petitioned for reconsideration and asked the Commission to stay the effect of that decision. After considering the petition, the Commission denied both reconsideration and a stay.
Tecta America New England, LLC
Unprotected roof-edge work results in serious citation
Two Tecta roofing employees worked near the edge of a commercial roof about 20 feet above the ground without tying off their available fall-protection equipment. The working foreman's knowledge of the condition was imputed to the company. Tecta argued that the conduct was unpreventable because it…
Kingwood Mining Company, LLC
Reopening motions withdrawn without prejudice
Kingwood Mining had asked the Commission to reopen two final penalty assessments, and the Secretary opposed both requests. After ceasing operations at the mine, Kingwood sought to withdraw the reopening motions so it could pursue a global settlement of outstanding MSHA penalties. The Commission…
Carmeuse Lime and Stone
Reopening denied as more than one year late
Carmeuse Lime and Stone said it timely mailed a contest form, but MSHA had no record or independent evidence that the form was sent. The $8,000 balance appeared on later monthly assessments, and Carmeuse received collection notices in March and December 2010. Even after the first collection notice…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Kenneth R. Wilder v. Private Investigation and Counter Intelligence Services, Inc. and Bledsoe Coal Corporation
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Kenneth R. Wilder v. PICI and Bledsoe Coal (FMSHRC KENT 2011-1224-D): Temporary reinstatement compliance compelled
PICI and Bledsoe Coal responded to Kenneth Wilder's temporary reinstatement order by proposing economic reinstatement terms that Wilder and the Secretary had not accepted. Judge L. Zane Gill held that an ALJ may approve an agreed economic-reinstatement arrangement but cannot impose one without the…
Long Branch Energy
Late penalty petitions dismissed
The Secretary filed seven Long Branch Energy penalty petitions between about seven and eleven months after the Commission's 45-day deadline. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy found that District 4's generic claims of increased contests, a backlog, and limited clerical staffing did not establish adequate…
B & B Underground Contractors
Excavation and gas-cylinder violations yield $8,000 penalty
B & B Underground Contractors operated a deep boring pit for a wastewater pipeline project in Alabama. The judge affirmed a serious violation for unsecured gas cylinders and found that the pit's only ramp was unsafe and more than 25 feet from employees' work area. Water was accumulating in the pit…
Stellar Management Group d/b/a QSI
Eye protection required during poultry-equipment rinsing
Stellar Management employees used high-pressure, heated water to clean poultry-processing equipment without eye protection. The spray blasted and splashed bone, blood, and chicken particles from equipment while employees worked within three or four feet. The judge found a serious eye hazard and…
Heritage Coal & Natural Resources, LLC
Reopening denied without prejudice for lack of proof
Heritage Coal said it timely contested a proposed penalty, but it supplied no documentation or explanation showing that either the citation or assessment was contested on time. MSHA had no record of a contest, and Heritage did not explain why it waited about four months after the delinquency notice…
City of Fitchburg Wastewater Treatment Facilities Commission
In re City of Fitchburg Wastewater Treatment Facilities Commission (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 10-14): petition dismissed with prejudice
The City of Fitchburg Wastewater Treatment Facilities Commission filed a petition for review involving NPDES Permit No. MA0100986. The City later filed a notice withdrawing its petition. The parties agreed to an Administrative Order for Compliance that they said would resolve the appeal without…
Archon Construction
Unprotected trench violation affirmed as repeat
Two Archon employees entered a six-foot-deep trench with steep walls and no cave-in protection to cut an existing sewer pipe. The judge found that the foreman knew the trench's physical condition, even though he mistakenly believed it was less than five feet deep. That mistaken belief prevented a…
Harris Trucking, LLC
Final assessment reopened
Harris Trucking asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final after no timely contest. The Secretary did not oppose the request. After reviewing the request and the circumstances, the Commission reopened the assessment and remanded the matter to the Chief Administrative…
Pacific Rock, Inc.
Final assessment reopened
Pacific Rock asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final after no timely contest. The Secretary did not oppose the request. After reviewing the request and the circumstances, the Commission reopened the assessment and remanded the matter to the Chief Administrative Law…
United States Department of the Interior
In re United States Department of the Interior (EAB RCRA 11-02(C), CAA 11-02(C), TSCA 11-04(C), and SDWA 11-01(C)): $234,844 compliance settlement approved
The Environmental Appeals Board ratified a Consent Agreement between EPA and the United States Department of the Interior covering requirements under RCRA, the Clean Air Act, TSCA, and the Safe Drinking Water Act. The agreement requires compliance audits, an environmental management system, and a…
Avenal Power Center, LLC
In re Avenal Power Center, LLC (EAB PSD Appeal Nos. 11-02, 11-03, 11-04, and 11-05): review denied
Avenal Power Center, LLC received a permit to build and operate a 600-megawatt natural-gas-fired combined-cycle power plant in California. Four petitioner groups challenged the PSD permit, including the authority of the issuing official, the decision to grandfather the permit from certain newer air…
Lincoln Contracting & Equipment Company, Inc.
Final assessment reopened
Lincoln Contracting & Equipment asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final after no timely contest. The Secretary did not oppose the request. After reviewing the request and the circumstances, the Commission reopened the assessment and remanded the matter to the Chief…
Homer City Coal Processing Corporation
Guardrail violations reduced and $450 assessed
MSHA cited Homer City after finding eight unsecured railings around feeder boxes and alleging an inadequate daily examination at its coal cleaning plant. Judge John Kent Lewis found that the openings beside and into the boxes were covered by the guarding standard, but the Secretary barely proved…
Olivue Sand & Gravel
Final assessment reopened
Olivue Sand & Gravel asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final after no timely contest. The Secretary did not oppose the request. After reviewing the request and the circumstances, the Commission reopened the assessment and remanded the matter to the Chief…
Remington, LLC
Discovery motion granted in part
The Secretary moved to compel Remington to answer interrogatories and produce examination reports, employee statements, and training records in three penalty dockets. Judge David F. Barbour declined to compel records or information the company said it no longer possessed and refused an adverse…
Twentymile Coal Company
Mixed safety rulings and $83,662 ordered
MSHA brought citations and orders against Twentymile Coal involving ventilation stoppings, roof support, mine examinations, ventilation-plan requirements, escapeway reflectors, fire-suppression equipment, and communication-cable insulation at the Foidel Creek Mine. Judge Richard W. Manning affirmed…
The Plaza Group
In re The Plaza Group (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 11-03C): $37,267 penalty settlement approved
The United States Environmental Protection Agency and The Plaza Group signed and consented to entry of an attached Consent Agreement. The Environmental Appeals Board incorporated that agreement into its Final Order. The Board ordered The Plaza Group to comply with the agreement and pay a $37,267…
Nally & Hamilton Enterprises, Inc.
Inoperative backup alarm violated maintenance rule
An MSHA inspector found that a lube truck's reverse warning alarm did not work in a noisy production pit where pedestrians stood near mobile equipment. The ALJ vacated the citation because the alarm had worked at the preshift examination and the operator had no opportunity to repair a defect it did…
Matter of E-R-M-F- & A-S-M-
Advisals begin when formal proceedings start
The Board reviewed DHS's appeal from termination of removal proceedings against a married couple from Guatemala. It held that the advisal requirement in 8 C.F.R. § 287.3(c) applies after an alien arrested without a warrant is placed in formal proceedings by the filing of a Notice to Appear, so…
Southern Solar
Ladder-use and training items vacated for insufficient proof
A Southern Solar employee used a stepladder that did not extend three feet above the parapet used as the upper landing surface. The judge found that OSHA did not prove the company's lead worker knew or reasonably should have known how that ladder was being used. OSHA also cited Southern Solar for…
Shamokin Filler Company, Inc.
Jurisdiction and testimony issues accepted for review
Shamokin sought reconsideration after the Commission initially refused interlocutory review of an ALJ ruling that its carbon plant was subject to MSHA jurisdiction. The company then disclosed that the issue affected many pending dockets and blocked meaningful settlement talks, and the Secretary…
Mississippi Lime Company
In re Mississippi Lime Company (EAB PSD Appeal No. 11-01): permit remanded for revised BACT and air-quality analyses
Sierra Club challenged Clean Air Act prevention of significant deterioration permit conditions for Mississippi Lime Company’s proposed lime manufacturing plant in Illinois. The EAB found that the Illinois EPA had not adequately supported its BACT analyses for startup and shutdown emissions, sulfur…
Coal Country Mining
Default denied after delayed prehearing exchange
The Secretary sought default and $3,971 in penalties because Coal Country Mining had not completed its prehearing exchange or meaningfully discussed settlement. The company's representative explained that the business had closed and the owner was difficult to contact, but that witness information…
Coal Country Mining
Labor-broker liability defense struck with penalty caveat
MSHA treated Coal Country Mining as jointly liable for six citations issued at Pay Car Mining's No. 58 Mine. Coal Country argued that it merely processed payroll, had no control over the workers or equipment, and therefore could not comply with the cited rules. Judge William B. Moran held that an…
Alsea Quarries
Quarry violations modified and $1,965 assessed
MSHA cited Alsea Quarries for an unguarded elevated opening and a group of equipment and work-practice conditions involving horns, windows, defect records, brakes, berms, fall protection, suspended loads, electrical boxes, machine guards, and seat-belt use. Judge David F. Barbour found the cited…
Matter of Pablo De Jesus HENRIQUEZ RIVERA
DHS may need to provide a prior TPS application
The Board reviewed DHS's appeal after an Immigration Judge terminated removal proceedings against a Salvadoran respondent who renewed a denied Temporary Protected Status application. It held that an Immigration Judge may, when appropriate, require DHS to provide the TPS application previously filed…
Calhoun Quarry, Inc.
Final assessment reopened
Calhoun Quarry asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final after no timely contest. The Secretary did not oppose the request. After reviewing the request and the circumstances, the Commission reopened the assessment and remanded the matter to the Chief Administrative…
M3 Energy Mining Company and Clean Energy Mining Company
Reopening denied after repeated fax failures
The sister companies said their safety director faxed two proposed assessments to outside counsel, but the faxes apparently were not received while counsel used a temporary receptionist. The Commission found the supporting fax log unreliable and noted a long pattern of similar missed faxes and…
Bowie Resources LLC
Methane fan citations vacated and settlement approved
MSHA issued two citations after inspectors measured more than 1 percent methane passing through energized auxiliary face fans at Bowie's underground coal mine. Judge Richard W. Manning held that section 75.331(c) requires an operator to shut down a fan when it knows or should know the threshold has…
The Okonite Company, Inc.
In re The Okonite Company, Inc. (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 11-02): appeal dismissed after EPA withdrawal
EPA Region 2 appealed an initial decision involving The Okonite Company, Inc. The initial decision found no liability and assessed no penalty. Region 2 later withdrew its notice of appeal. The Environmental Appeals Board granted the withdrawal and dismissed the matter.
Road Fork Development Company, Inc.
Roof-support and examination orders affirmed
MSHA found multiple hill seams across a working section without the timbers and cross collars required by Road Fork's roof-control plan, and the hazards were not recorded in the preshift examination book. Judge William B. Moran credited the inspector's account that the deficiencies were extensive…
American Coal Company
Settlement approved for $163,516
American Coal and the Secretary settled all pending enforcement actions in six consolidated Galatia Mine dockets. The Secretary stated that further evaluation showed insufficient evidence to sustain the original charges and separately vacated Citation No. 6617943. Judge Gary Melick approved the…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Thurman Wayne Pruitt v. Grand Eagle Mining, Inc.
Physical reinstatement changed to economic reinstatement
An earlier order required Grand Eagle Mining to return Thurman Wayne Pruitt to his former or an equivalent job while his discrimination claim was pending. Grand Eagle asked instead to pay his full wages and benefits without returning him to the site, citing admitted safety incidents and concern…
Liggett Mining, LLC
Dust-control citations affirmed and welder citation reduced
MSHA cited Liggett Mining for two roof-bolter dust collection systems that were not maintained in operating condition and for a welder without the required disconnecting device. Judge Alan G. Paez found both dust-control violations significant and substantial because faulty filtration and…
Bowie Resources LLC
Flagrant accumulation order reduced to a $10,000 citation
MSHA alleged that Bowie Resources allowed extensive loose coal, coal dust, and other combustible material to accumulate in an active underground coal section. Judge Richard W. Manning found a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.400 because the dry accumulations covered an area about 66 feet long and 18 to…
Mach Mining, LLC.
Ventilation-plan order affirmed with a $5,000 penalty
Mach Mining resumed production in an underground coal mine's Headgate No. 3 after MSHA terminated an earlier withdrawal order, but before the district manager gave written approval to the proposed ventilation plan. Judge Margaret A. Miller found that terminating the earlier order did not approve a…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Kenneth R. Wilder v. Private Investigation and Counter Intelligence Services, Inc. and Bledsoe Coal Corporation
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Kenneth R. Wilder v. PICI and Bledsoe Coal (FMSHRC KENT 2011-1224-D): Temporary reinstatement ordered after electrical work refusal
Kenneth Wilder stopped trying to remove vines from an energized 480-volt power line during heavy rain because he feared electrocution, then told his supervisor why he could not safely complete the task. The next day, Bledsoe Coal told his staffing employer, PICI, that Wilder could no longer work at…
Spring Creek Materials, Inc.
Interlocutory review denied
An ALJ accepted penalty petitions filed months after the 45-day deadline and denied Spring Creek Materials' motions to dismiss. Spring Creek sought discretionary review, but the Commission held that the ALJ's ruling was interlocutory because the penalty cases remained pending. The request therefore…
O'Connell Electric Company, Inc.
PPE selection and hazard-certification items affirmed
O'Connell Electric crews performed electrical replacement and maintenance work at a university building where some 34,500-volt switches remained energized. An electrician entered an energized switch cabinet outside the crew's assigned work and suffered severe burns in an arc flash. The judge found…
Ames Construction, Inc.
Contractor liability affirmed for unsafe pipe unloading
Ames Construction supervised deliveries of large pipes at a mine construction project, where a truck driver removed the load restraints before Ames employees returned with a forklift and was fatally injured when a pipe rolled from the trailer. The Commission held that Ames was a Mine Act operator…
M3 Energy Mining Company
Reopening denied as moot because assessment was not received
M3 Energy Mining asked the Commission to reopen a proposed penalty assessment that it believed might have become a final order. The company stated that it never received the assessment, and the Secretary did not oppose its request. The Commission held that an unreceived assessment had not become a…
Grand Eagle Mining, Inc.
Mistaken penalty contest reopened and remanded
Grand Eagle Mining timely returned a contest form but mistakenly checked Citation No. 6695856 instead of Citation No. 6695859, allowing the penalty it intended to challenge to become a final Commission order. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. A Commission majority reopened the assessment in…
DeWitt Excavating, Inc.
Willful unprotected-trench violation affirmed
Three DeWitt Excavating employees worked in an eight-foot-deep Type C soil excavation with nearly vertical walls and no cave-in protection. The foreman knew protection was required but proceeded without using one of the company's available trench boxes. The judge rejected DeWitt's…
Schaer Development of Central Florida
Improper excavation slope affirmed
Schaer Development installed a manhole in a Florida excavation that reached about 14 feet deep near a highway. OSHA cited spoil piles and a track hoe located within two feet of the edge, but the judge vacated that item because the Secretary did not prove the material or equipment could fall or roll…
Excalibar Minerals, LLC
Final penalty assessment reopened and remanded
Excalibar Minerals asked the Commission to reopen a proposed penalty assessment that had become a final order after the company missed the 30-day contest deadline. The Secretary did not oppose the request. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission reopened the assessment and remanded it for…
Barrett Paving Materials, Inc.
Final penalty assessment reopened and remanded
Barrett Paving Materials asked the Commission to reopen a proposed penalty assessment that had become a final order after the company missed the 30-day contest deadline. The Secretary did not oppose the request. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission reopened the assessment and remanded…
Road Fork Development Company, Inc.
Late section 110(c) petition rejected and hearing continuance denied
MSHA repeatedly changed course on whether to pursue a section 110(c) case related to Road Fork Development's pending penalty dockets and filed its petition nearly two years after the underlying events. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy found that the Secretary did not adequately explain the service delay…
Matter of Juan RAMON MARTINEZ
California assault offense is a crime of violence
The Board reviewed the appeal of a Honduran lawful permanent resident convicted in California of assault with intent to commit a felony. It held that a conviction under California Penal Code section 220 is categorically a crime of violence under both parts of 18 U.S.C. § 16 because the offense…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Peter L. Dunne v. Vulcan Construction Materials, LP
Temporary economic reinstatement continued
Peter L. Dunne received temporary economic reinstatement after Vulcan Construction Materials discharged him and MSHA investigated his discrimination complaint. MSHA later concluded that no discrimination occurred, but Dunne filed his own section 105(c)(3) complaint. The Commission affirmed the…
INR-WV Operating, LLC
Accounting errors excused and assessments reopened
INR-WV Operating's safety director identified which penalties to contest and sent the assessment forms through the company's normal payment process. The accounting department prepared checks for the uncontested penalties but failed to submit the contest forms to MSHA or return them to the safety…
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.