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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Matter of Michael Alexander NELSON
Departure does not restart the cancellation clock
The Board reviewed a Jamaican lawful permanent resident's appeal from the denial of his application for cancellation of removal. The Board held that an offense that stops the accrual of the required period of continuous residence cannot be followed by a departure and return that restarts the…
Dickenson-Russell Coal Co., LLC
Imminent-danger roof order affirmed, penalty reduced
Dickenson-Russell operated the underground Cherokee Mine, where an MSHA inspector saw the roof cracking and a large slab of rock easing down above a track used by miners. The judge affirmed the imminent-danger withdrawal order because the deteriorating roof could have caused serious injury before…
Left Fork Mining Company, Inc.
Assessment reopened to submit settlement
Left Fork Mining asked the Commission to reopen a final penalty assessment. The Secretary initially opposed the request but withdrew that opposition after Left Fork and MSHA agreed on settlement terms. The Secretary asked for reopening solely so the parties could submit their settlement for…
Kevin Baird v. PCS Phosphate Company, Inc.
Stay of temporary reinstatement denied
PCS Phosphate asked the Commission to stay its decision restoring miner Kevin Baird's economic reinstatement while the company appealed to the Fourth Circuit. The Commission majority found that PCS had not shown a substantial likelihood of success or irreparable harm because temporary reinstatement…
Essroc Cement Corporation
Three citations upheld, four vacated
MSHA issued seven citations at Essroc's Indiana cement plant and proposed $16,021 in penalties for conditions involving explosives storage, openings, hydraulic fluid, electrical equipment, housekeeping, handrails, and machine guarding. The judge upheld the combustible-material citation at low…
Pike Electric, Inc.
Settlement approved as final order
After the Secretary petitioned for review of the administrative law judge's disposition and the Commission directed the case for review, the parties signed a settlement agreement. The Commission reviewed and approved the agreement under Commission Rule 100. The short final order does not describe…
Shell Gulf of Mexico, Inc. and Shell Offshore, Inc.
In re Shell Gulf of Mexico, Inc. and Shell Offshore, Inc. (EAB OCS Appeal Nos. 10-01 through 10-04): remand reconsideration denied and clarified
Shell Gulf of Mexico, Inc. and Shell Offshore, Inc. sought reconsideration or clarification of an earlier order remanding their OCS PSD permits for the Frontier Discoverer drillship and associated vessels. The Environmental Appeals Board denied Shell's request to reconsider the definition of when…
Signal Peak Energy LLC
Final assessment reopened and remanded
Signal Peak Energy asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final after the company did not contest it within 30 days. The Secretary did not oppose reopening, and Signal Peak later requested expedited consideration. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission…
Powertech (USA) Inc.
In re Powertech (USA) Inc. (EAB UIC Appeal Nos. 11-01 and 11-02): petitions dismissed as moot
EPA Region 8 issued an Underground Injection Control permit to Powertech (USA) Inc. Coloradoans Against Resource Destruction and James B. Woodward petitioned the Environmental Appeals Board to review the permit. Before the Board ruled on the petitions, Region 8 withdrew the permit and said it…
Centre Crown Mining, LLC
Sixty citations resolved for $37,069
The case resolved 60 citations issued at Centre Crown's underground Crown III Mine, including hazards involving conveyor belts, ventilation controls, parking brakes, roof support, and the mine's approved plans. The judge approved a settlement of 44 citations for $14,641 and decided 16 more after a…
ICG Knott County, LLC
Water-inundation violations affirmed and modified
ICG cut from an active section into a bleeder area without drilling boreholes or conducting a preshift examination, allowing pooled water to enter the Calvary Mine's working section. The judge affirmed that violation as S&S and an unwarrantable failure, assessed ICG $35,000, and held superintendent…
US Pagoda, Inc.
Post-retirement decision remanded for further action
OSHA inspected US Pagoda, Inc.'s construction work site and issued a citation and proposed penalty. The employer filed its notice of contest more than ten weeks after the statutory deadline, and former Chief Administrative Law Judge Irving Sommer denied relief and affirmed the citation. The…
North American Dismantling Corp.
The deciding judge had already retired when his decision issued, so the Commission remands
The company and the work. North American Dismantling Corp. is a demolition contractor with its main office in Lapeer, Michigan. In September 2007 it owned and was demolishing a pulp mill in Berlin, New Hampshire. Part of the job was bringing down three large smokestacks, and the company hired Dykon…
Coalfield Services, Inc.
Reopening denied without prejudice
Coalfield Services asked the Commission to reopen a final penalty assessment, stating only that a clerical error caused it to miss the contest deadline. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but urged the company to improve its procedures. The Commission found the explanation too conclusory and…
Nevada Ready-Mix Corporation
Final assessment reopened and remanded
Nevada Ready-Mix asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final after the company did not contest it within 30 days. The Secretary did not oppose the request. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission reopened the assessment and remanded the matter to the Chief…
Harvey W. Buche Road Building, Inc.
Miscommunication supported reopening
Harvey W. Buche Road Building missed a penalty-contest deadline after its president and consultant each believed the other would submit the contest form. The Secretary opposed reopening, arguing that an unreliable internal process and an inadequately detailed explanation did not justify relief…
Fairbanks Gold Mining, Inc.
Final assessment reopened and remanded
Fairbanks Gold Mining asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final after the company did not contest it within 30 days. The Secretary did not oppose the request. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission reopened the assessment and remanded the matter to the…
Oak Grove Resources LLC
Reopening denied pending fuller explanation
Oak Grove sought to reopen an assessment of nearly $125,000 covering 80 citations and orders, intending to contest 27 penalties totaling nearly $111,000. It blamed a miscommunication between counsel and its safety director and said a contest form went to MSHA's payment address, while the Secretary…
Oak Grove Resources LLC
Late renewed reopening motion denied
Oak Grove sought permission to file a renewed motion to reopen a final penalty assessment after the deadline set by the Commission. The Commission had denied its first request without prejudice and expressly required any renewed motion within 30 days. Oak Grove waited nearly 90 days. The Commission…
Detroit Salt Company, LLC
Second reopening request denied
Detroit Salt asked the Commission to reopen a final penalty assessment, saying it intended to contest one citation but may have omitted the contest form from documents sent with its payment. The company did not explain why the contest was late. The Secretary opposed reopening because an earlier…
Nally & Hamilton Enterprises, Inc.
Reopening denied without prejudice
Nally & Hamilton asked the Commission to reopen an assessment covering eight citations, saying clerical staff failed to route it and the employee who normally handled assessments was ill. The Secretary opposed reopening because the assessment was signed for, no backup employee had been assigned…
Iron Eagle Enterprises LLC
Final assessment reopened and remanded
Iron Eagle Enterprises asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final after the company did not contest it within 30 days. The Secretary did not oppose the request. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission reopened the assessment and remanded the matter to the…
Beckley Crane & Construction, Inc.
Tagline violation affirmed
A Beckley Crane crew moved and positioned a 13,000-to-14,000-pound powder-storage bin by crane without attaching a tagline, while a ground worker pushed and held a bin leg to align it over anchor bolts. The judge found that the suspended bin required guidance and steadying, so the tagline standard…
Consolidation Coal Company
Accumulation and preshift citations vacated
MSHA cited Consol after an inspection of the Buchanan No. 1 Mine for combustible accumulations and an inadequate preshift examination, proposing $1,934 in penalties. The judge credited evidence that the section and equipment had been cleaned before coal production began and that the observed coal…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Contractor fall citation affirmed with no operator negligence
An employee of contractor O & O Services fell 25 feet onto a concrete platform while working over an opening without fall protection at Jim Walter Resources' No. 4 Mine. The judge held that O & O violated the fall-protection standard and that JWR was strictly liable as the mine operator, even…
Matter of Alla Adel ALYAZJI
The five-year removal period follows the admission supporting current presence
The Board reconsidered when the five-year period for a crime involving moral turpitude is measured for removability. It overruled part of Matter of Shanu and held that the relevant admission is the one by virtue of which the person was present in the United States when the crime was committed, not…
City & County of Honolulu
In re City & County of Honolulu (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 09-01): petition dismissed with prejudice
The City and County of Honolulu sought review of NPDES permits for the Honouliuli and Sand Island wastewater treatment plants. Honolulu filed a notice withdrawing its petition for review while proceedings before the Environmental Appeals Board were temporarily stayed by the Ninth Circuit. After the…
United States General Services Administration, et al.
In re United States General Services Administration, et al. (EAB CAA Docket No. CAA-HQ-2011-0001): consent agreement approved
The United States General Services Administration, Goody Clancy and Associates, Inc., ATC Associates Inc., Suffolk Construction Company, Inc., and Fleet Industrial Services, LLC were respondents in a Clean Air Act penalty proceeding. The parties entered into a Consent Agreement. The Environmental…
Lee Builders, Inc.
The judge decided the case under a standard the Secretary never cited, so the Commission remands
The inspection. OSHA inspected a Lee Builders jobsite at 600 McDonald Avenue in Albertville, Alabama, beginning April 22, 2010. An employee was working on a scaffold platform 13 feet 2 inches above the ground, drilling plywood onto the platform. He had no personal fall arrest system and there were…
Lehigh Southwest Cement Co.
Six violations upheld, six vacated
MSHA issued ten citations and two orders at Lehigh's Tehachapi limestone quarry and cement plant and proposed $43,356 in penalties. The judge vacated six matters involving break-room lighting, a parking-lot drop-off, machine guarding, hydraulic-fluid cleanup, and an uncovered opening because the…
Sikes Pipe Company
Unclaimed assessment reopened
Sikes Pipe asked the Commission to reopen a final assessment that it said it never received. Its records keeper discovered the penalties in MSHA's data system and learned that FedEx had returned the assessment as unclaimed, possibly after attempting delivery while she was traveling. The Secretary…
City of Caldwell
In re City of Caldwell (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 09-11): permit review denied
The City of Caldwell operated a small municipal separate storm sewer system in Idaho under an NPDES permit. Pioneer Irrigation District asked the EAB to review the permit, arguing that it should include a condition barring discharges into irrigation waterways owned or maintained by irrigation…
Allgeier Martin & Associates
Surveyors needed comprehensive underground-miner training
Allgeier Martin & Associates provided underground surveying services at the Carthage Crushed Limestone mine. MSHA cited the contractor because three surveyors had received hazard training but not the comprehensive new-miner training required by 30 C.F.R. § 48.5(a). The judge found that the workers…
Pattison Sand Company, LLC
Three reopening requests denied without prejudice
Pattison Sand asked to reopen three final assessments, saying two had slipped through the cracks and a third was delayed after an assessment was misplaced and counsel missed an email while on vacation. The Secretary opposed reopening two assessments and did not oppose the third. The Commission…
Frasure Creek Mining, LLC
Final penalty assessment reopened over dissent
Frasure Creek Mining asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final when the company did not contest it within 30 days. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission majority granted the request and remanded the matter to the Chief Administrative Law Judge…
National Cement Company of Alabama, Inc.
Final penalty assessment reopened
National Cement Company of Alabama asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final when it was not contested within 30 days. The Secretary did not oppose the request. After reviewing the request and response, the Commission reopened the matter and remanded it to the Chief…
Cemex Construction Materials, Florida, LLC
One-day-late contest reopened
Cemex asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment after its contest form was filed one day late. The form showed that the company intended to contest 27 penalties, and the Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission granted the request and remanded the matter to the Chief…
Mainline Rock & Ballast, Inc.
Unguarded roller and late MSHA notice bring $66,000 penalty
A miner at Mainline's Torrance Quarry was pulled into an unguarded conveyor return roller and sustained serious injuries that required helicopter evacuation. The judge rejected MSHA's account of exactly how the accident occurred but found that the roller was readily accessible, required a guard…
Mirant Kendall, LLC, Kendall Cogeneration Station
In re Mirant Kendall, LLC, Kendall Cogeneration Station (EAB NPDES Appeal Nos. 06-12, 06-13, and 09-04): petitions dismissed with prejudice
EPA Region 1 issued a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit regulating discharges from the Kendall Cogeneration Station in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The permit included thermal discharge limits under Clean Water Act section 316(a) and cooling water intake structure requirements…
FedEx Express, Inc.
Late recordkeeping violation reduced to de minimis
A FedEx employee cut his forehead while exiting a vehicle and received sutures and prescription medication. A supervisor entered the injury into FedEx's electronic system but did not mark that medical treatment was received, so the case did not appear on the 2007 OSHA 300 Log within seven days…
Consolidation Coal Company
Seven unwarrantable-failure orders affirmed
MSHA issued seven section 104(d)(2) orders at Consolidation Coal's Loveridge No. 22 underground mine. The orders involved extensive combustible coal and coal-dust accumulations, inadequate preshift examinations that failed to report those hazards, a continuous miner returned to service with major…
North County Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Reopening denied over unexplained delay
North County said it timely mailed a penalty contest form in a self-addressed envelope but had no proof of mailing, while MSHA said it does not provide such envelopes and had no record of receiving the form. The Secretary opposed reopening and noted that the operator waited more than six months…
Secretary of Labor, MSHA on behalf of Harry Lee Beckman v. Mettiki Coal (WV), LLC
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Harry Lee Beckman v. Mettiki Coal (WV), LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2009-1526-D): Discrimination complaint denied
Harry Lee Beckman was a 28-year Mettiki employee, a longtime miners' representative, and the source of safety complaints about wet track and inadequate ballast. Mettiki discharged him six days after a diesel-locomotive collision injured two miners, one of whom required hospital treatment. The…
Secretary of Labor, MSHA on behalf of Chad Alex Green and William Donnie Smith v. D & C Mining Corporation
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Chad Alex Green and William Donnie Smith v. D & C Mining Corporation (FMSHRC KENT 2010-535-D): Two miners win retaliation case and back pay
D & C Mining laid off Chad Alex Green and William Donnie Smith after water leaked from behind a mine seal and inspectors arrived at the mine. The judge found that the company believed the two miners had caused the inspection and then singled them out by refusing to recall them while other employees…
Northeast Solite Corporation
Final penalty assessment reopened
Northeast Solite asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final when it was not contested within 30 days. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission granted the request and remanded the matter to the Chief Administrative Law…
White Flame Energy, Inc.
Final penalty assessment reopened
White Flame Energy asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final when it was not contested within 30 days. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission granted the request and remanded the matter to the Chief Administrative…
Triad Underground Mining, LLC
Lifeline and flood-protection violations yield $55,013 penalty
MSHA cited Triad's Freelandville underground coal mine for missing directional cones along primary-escapeway lifelines and for allowing flood water to make both mine portals impassable. The judge affirmed the two lifeline violations as S&S because missing cones over distances up to 300 feet could…
E.S. Stone & Structure, Inc.
Late fatality report affirmed, penalty cut to $2,000
An employee at E.S. Stone's surface dimension-stone mine became unresponsive at work, received CPR and emergency treatment, and was pronounced dead at the mine. The operator first tried to contact MSHA about 40 minutes after the pronouncement and completed the call 47 minutes after it. The judge…
Lehigh Cement Company
Prompt, detailed reopening request granted
Lehigh's counsel overlooked a proposed penalty assessment among materials the company had forwarded, causing the contest deadline to be missed. The Secretary opposed reopening, arguing that inadequate procedures and a busy workload did not establish sufficient grounds. The Commission granted relief…
AMP Electrical, Inc.
Electrical training and energized-circuit violations affirmed
AMP Electrical was installing equipment for a store's new chiller when an electrician drilled through a switchboard back plate and contacted an energized circuit, causing a flash and burns to his face and neck. The judge found that the project was construction work and that AMP could have…
Enos Miller
Default order left in place
The Chief Administrative Law Judge entered default judgment after Enos Miller did not answer the Secretary's penalty petition or respond to a show-cause order. Miller sent the Commission a timely letter asking to set the default aside, and the Secretary did not oppose his request. The Commission…
Justin Nagel v. Newmont USA Limited
Discovery violations end discrimination case
Justin Nagel pursued a discrimination complaint without counsel after the Secretary declined to bring the case. Audio recordings in Nagel's possession concerned the safety complaints, discipline, suspension, and termination at the center of his allegations. The judge repeatedly ordered him to…
Blankenberger Bros., Inc.
Welding, berm, and equipment violations bring $1,087 penalty
Blankenberger was a contractor building slurry ponds and lakes at the Oaktown Fuels Mine No. 1. The judge affirmed an S&S violation for welding without shielding where flashes were visible to nearby heavy-equipment operators and other workers. She also affirmed an S&S violation for failing to berm…
Burch Construction
Eye-protection violation affirmed for overhead joint-compound work
Burch Construction was performing drywall and stucco work when an employee applied wet joint compound at and above eye level without safety glasses. The product warnings and safety data sheets called for eye protection because contact could irritate the eyes. The judge found that the employee…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Mark Gray v. North Fork Coal Corporation
Temporary reinstatement survives Secretary's no-discrimination finding
Mark Gray was temporarily reinstated after alleging that North Fork discharged him for safety complaints and a protected work refusal. When the Secretary later determined that she would not file a discrimination case, the judge dissolved reinstatement, but Gray filed his own section 105(c)(3)…
Loretto-Oswego Residential Health Care Facility
Repeat violations reduced to serious
Loretto-Oswego operated a nursing home affiliated with two other Loretto facilities that had prior final orders for substantially similar violations. The judge treated the related corporations as a single employer and affirmed seven items as repeat. The Commission reversed because the facilities…
Brown Excavation Company, Inc.
Show cause issued over paid penalties
Brown Excavation asked the Commission to reopen two final penalty assessments, and the Secretary opposed the requests. MSHA's data system later showed that Brown had paid the penalties, but neither party filed an update after the initial pleadings. The Commission ordered Brown to explain within 30…
A.B.C. Sand & Rock Co., Inc.
Final penalty assessment reopened
A.B.C. Sand & Rock asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final when it was not contested within 30 days. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission granted the request and remanded the matter to the Chief Administrative…
Dynatec Mining Corporation
Default vacated after timely filings
A Chief Administrative Law Judge entered default judgment after concluding that Dynatec had not answered the Secretary's penalty petition or a later show-cause order. Dynatec told the Commission that it had timely filed both an answer to the petition and a response explaining that earlier filing…
Keokee Mining LLC
Final penalty assessment reopened
Keokee Mining asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final when it was not contested within 30 days. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission granted the request and remanded the matter to the Chief Administrative Law…
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.