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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Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES), Fort Carson, Colorado (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1345, AFL-CIO (Charging Party)
Fort Carson exchange threat over grievances found unlawful (FLRA 7-CA-489)
An Army and Air Force Exchange Service manager at Fort Carson threatened employees with a reduction in force if they kept filing grievances or unfair labor practice charges. The judge found an unfair labor practice, and no exceptions were filed. The Authority adopted the finding and ordered the…
Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Conservation Division, Gulf of Mexico Region, Metairie, Louisiana (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3457, AFL-CIO (Charging Party)
Geological Survey rating complaint dismissal upheld (FLRA 6-CA-255)
A Geological Survey employee claimed that a marginal rating was given because she had filed a grievance. The judge did not credit the claim that a manager had linked the rating to the grievance and recommended dismissal. The Authority adopted the judge’s findings and dismissed the unfair labor…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Monterey Coal Company
Monterey Coal Company (FMSHRC WEVA 81-186): $1,000 settlement approved for unblocked mining equipment
MSHA cited Monterey Coal Company under a rule requiring raised equipment to be blocked before work, after a mining machine's raised ripper head fell and killed maintenance foreman John Groves. The Secretary initially sought approval of a $500 settlement against an original $1,000 assessment. Judge…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. St. Catherine Rock Company
St. Catherine Rock Company (FMSHRC SE 81-8-M): Loader safety violations upheld
MSHA cited St. Catherine Rock Company after a loader crossed a berm and entered water beside the quarry pit, killing its operator, Henry Quarterman. Judge George A. Koutras upheld a citation for a transmission lever that slipped from forward into neutral and a citation for inadequate brakes. He…
Matter of Frigon
Oil-rig work was not an H-3 training program
The Commissioner reviewed a petition by a Houston oil-well drilling company to bring a Canadian driller to the United States as an H-3 trainee. The proposed program included 75 hours of classroom instruction, but most of the beneficiary's time would be spent working on a drilling rig at a weekly…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Massey Sand and Rock Company
Massey Sand and Rock Company (FMSHRC WEST 80-271-M): Loader brake and control switch citations upheld
MSHA cited Massey Sand and Rock Company after an inspector found that a front-end loader's emergency brake would not hold it on an incline and that a plant operator's nearby control switches had been disconnected after flooding. Judge Virgil E. Vail upheld the brake citation because the defective…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1363 (Union) and Headquarters, U.S. Army Garrison, Yongsan, Korea (Activity)
Yongsan removal policy appeal dismissed for wrong forum (FLRA O-NG-271)
A union challenged an Army practice concerning removal of employees from Korea and offered proposed settlement terms after filing an unfair labor practice charge. The agency did not accept the offer. The Authority found that the ensuing dispute concerned bargaining obligations and facts about the…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) on behalf of Calvin M. Bigelow v. Centennial Development Company
Centennial Development Company (FMSHRC WEST 81-51-DM): $8,000 discharge claim settlement approved
MSHA brought a discharge complaint on behalf of Calvin M. Bigelow against Centennial Development Company. The parties agreed that the company would pay Bigelow $8,000 and remove adverse references to the discharge from his employment record. Judge Virgil E. Vail found that Bigelow consented and…
J. Otto Horvath v. Green Electric Company and Lively Construction Company
Horvath v. Green Electric Company and Lively Construction Company (FMSHRC WEST 81-185-D): Discharge complaint settled for $4,000
J. Otto Horvath filed a discharge complaint against Green Electric Company and Lively Construction Company. At the hearing, the parties presented an agreement under which the two companies would jointly pay him $4,000 to settle his claims. Horvath also signed a release agreeing to dismissal of this…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Washington Construction Company
Washington Construction Company (FMSHRC DENV 79-371-PM): Airborne silica exposure citations upheld
MSHA cited Washington Construction Company after air samples showed three quarry workers exposed to harmful airborne contaminants at roughly ten, six, and three times the allowable levels. Judge Jon D. Boltz found that feasible engineering controls, including water sprays, could have reduced the…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) on behalf of Jack Hatter v. El-Bow Mining, Inc.
El-Bow Mining, Inc. (FMSHRC WEVA 81-318-D): Discrimination complaint settlement approved
The Secretary brought a Mine Act discrimination complaint on behalf of Jack Hatter against El-Bow Mining, Inc. The parties agreed that the company would post an employee notice for 14 consecutive days and pay a $200 civil penalty. The agreement said that signing it was not an admission of a…
Matter of Wojtkow
Second-degree manslaughter conviction involved moral turpitude
The Board reviewed a returning resident's deportation case after he pleaded guilty in New York to second-degree manslaughter for causing his aunt's death recklessly. The Board held that the New York offense involved moral turpitude because the statutory definition of recklessness required conscious…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Sun Landscaping and Supply Company
Sun Landscaping and Supply Company (FMSHRC WEST 80-69-M): Excessive equipment noise citations upheld
MSHA cited Sun Landscaping and Supply Company for excessive noise exposure affecting a bulldozer operator and a drill operator at its white marble operation. Judge Jon D. Boltz rejected the company's claim that the operation was outside the Mine Act's jurisdiction. He found that feasible controls…
James L. Reiter v. New Jersey Zinc Company
Reiter v. New Jersey Zinc Company (FMSHRC PENN 80-171-DM): Discharge complaint dismissed after merits hearing
James L. Reiter claimed that New Jersey Zinc Company discharged him in retaliation for mine safety complaints and for accompanying an MSHA inspector. Judge James A. Laurenson found that these were protected activities but played no part in the discharge. He found that the company discharged Reiter…
National Treasury Employees Union (Union) and Internal Revenue Service (Agency)
IRS discipline and conduct proposals split (FLRA O-NG-85)
The Treasury employees union proposed eight groups of rules on discipline, work assignment, and employee conduct. The Authority held many provisions outside the duty to bargain because they constrained management rights or did not concern conditions of employment. It ordered bargaining on most of…
National Treasury Employees Union (Union) and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service (Agency)
IRS attorney and personnel proposals split (FLRA O-NG-71)
The Treasury employees union submitted seven proposals covering attorney training costs and other working conditions at the IRS. The Authority rejected proposals I and II, held proposals III, IV, and VI negotiable, and rejected proposals V and VII. It ordered bargaining on the surviving proposals…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 909, AFL-CIO (Union) and Department of the Army, Headquarters, Military Traffic Management Command, Washington, DC (Agency)
Army merit promotion procedure partly negotiable (FLRA O-NG-272)
An Army union proposed using a local merit promotion and placement plan for bargaining unit and threshold supervisory positions. The Authority found the procedure negotiable for bargaining unit positions, rejecting the agency’s management rights and regulation objections. It held that the part…
Department of the Air Force, U.S. Air Force Academy (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1867, AFL-CIO (Charging Party)
Air Force Academy refusal to bargain found unlawful (FLRA 7-CA-459)
The Air Force Academy refused to bargain over a union stay of action proposal, calling it nonnegotiable. The judge found a violation, and the Authority adopted that result. The Authority explained that an earlier decision had held a materially identical proposal negotiable and that the agency had…
Social Security Administration, Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Region V, Chicago, Illinois (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2474, AFL-CIO (Charging Party)
Social Security workweek plan complaint dismissal upheld (FLRA 5-CA-281)
A Social Security union claimed the agency refused to implement a Green Bay compressed workweek plan and thereby violated its bargaining duty. The judge found the plan was an experimental proposal sent for consideration, not a locally executed labor agreement binding the agency. The Authority…
Department of the Navy, Naval Telecommunications Center, Ward Circle (Activity) and Navtelcom Unit Local No. 1, American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO (Petitioner)
Navy cryptographic unit petition dismissed (FLRA 3-RO-46)
AFGE sought to represent four employees at the Navy’s Ward Circle telecommunications center. The Navy and OPM argued that an executive order excluded the cryptographic work from the federal labor relations statute. The Authority found that the proposed unit’s employees operated, repaired, or…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Atlantic Cement Company, Inc.
Atlantic Cement Company (FMSHRC YORK 81-8-M): Safety belt citation upheld despite training
MSHA cited Atlantic Cement Company after a worker stood on a kiln about 22 feet above the floor without wearing a provided safety belt and line. Judge Forrest E. Stewart held that the company was liable for the violation even though it had trained the worker and enforced its safety rules. He found…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Ideal Basic Industries, Inc., Cement Division
Ideal Basic Industries (FMSHRC SE 79-126-M): Crane bumper citation vacated and four penalties assessed
MSHA brought eight citations against Ideal Basic Industries across four proceedings at its Castle Hayne plant and quarry. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. vacated the contested crane bumper citation because the crane rail had a bumper, although its shock absorber was missing. MSHA withdrew three other…
Canterbury Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
Canterbury Coal Company (FMSHRC PITT 78-127): Roof control settlements approved
Canterbury Coal Company and MSHA settled two roof control penalty cases and the related applications for review at the David No. 5 Mine. The cases involved inadequate roof support and a disputed pillar removal sequence under 30 C.F.R. § 75.200. The parties proposed $500 for each violation, reducing…
Glen Munsey v. Smitty Baker Coal Company, Inc., P & P Coal Company, and Ralph Baker
Munsey v. Smitty Baker Coal Company (FMSHRC NORT 71-96): Back pay and attorney fees ordered on remand
On remand in Glen Munsey's discrimination case, Judge Forrest E. Stewart determined the remaining reinstatement, back pay, and litigation expense issues. He found that P & P Coal Company had made no suitable reinstatement offer, but Ralph Baker had made suitable offers through Mason Coal Company…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Alexander Brothers, Inc.
Alexander Brothers, Inc. (FMSHRC HOPE 79-221-P): Coal refuse operation covered by 1969 Coal Act
Alexander Brothers reclaimed coal from an old refuse pile and processed it for sale, but disputed whether the 1969 Coal Act covered its operation. Judge Forrest E. Stewart held that preparing coal extracted earlier by another operator fell within the Act's definition of a coal mine. He also…
Haysite Division of Synthane - Taylor Corporation
Case remanded to carry out court order on protective-footwear standard
Haysite contested one item of a nonserious citation alleging that its employees did not use protective footwear, in violation of 29 C.F.R. § 1910.132(a). At the close of the Secretary's case, Administrative Law Judge William E. Brennan granted an involuntary dismissal under Federal Rule of Civil…
Bethlehem Steel Corporation
A low parapet around a 15-foot butt hole is a serious violation, not de minimis, and variances granted to other employers carry little weight
At Bethlehem's Lackawanna, New York plant, cropped billet ends slide down a chute into an open concrete pit called a butt hole, 17 feet long, 13 feet wide and 15 feet deep. A concrete parapet wall 25 inches thick surrounded it. Because the ground sloped, the wall's height above grade varied: 23…
United States Steel Corporation v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
United States Steel Corporation (FMSHRC PENN 81-9-R): Roof order upheld, penalty reduced to $600
U.S. Steel contested an MSHA withdrawal order for inadequate roof support at two crosscuts in its Robena No. 1 Mine. Judge James A. Laurenson credited the inspector's account of deteriorating roof conditions and found a significant and substantial violation of the roof control standard. He also…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1858, AFL-CIO (Union) and U.S. Army Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama (Activity)
Redstone bargaining duty appeal dismissed for wrong forum (FLRA O-NG-345)
A Redstone Arsenal union proposed changes to employee pay status and job description terms during existing agreements. The agency said it had no duty to reopen bargaining. The Authority found that the dispute concerned whether a bargaining obligation existed, rather than whether either proposal…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2578, AFL-CIO (Union) and General Services Administration, National Archives and Records Service, Headquarters, Washington, DC (Agency)
Archives work station eating proposal rejected (FLRA O-NG-167)
A union proposed allowing employees to eat at their work stations unless doing so posed actual danger to the work process. The National Archives argued that its eating restrictions protected stored records from contamination and pests. The Authority held that the proposal concerned the technology…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1911 (Union) and U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Eugene, Oregon District Office (Activity)
Oregon land office arbitration exceptions dismissed as late (FLRA O-AR-270)
A Bureau of Land Management union filed exceptions to an arbitration award dated July 9, 1981. The filing deadline was August 7, but the Authority received the exceptions on August 14. It held that the deadline could not be extended or waived and dismissed the appeal without reaching the award’s…
Naval Air Rework Facility, Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida (Activity) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1960, AFL-CIO (Union)
Pensacola rework facility exceptions dismissed as late (FLRA O-AR-268)
A Pensacola naval rework union challenged an arbitration award dated June 29, 1981. Its exceptions were due July 28 but arrived August 5. The Authority held that it could not extend or waive the deadline and dismissed the exceptions without deciding the award’s merits.
Ogden Air Logistics Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah (Activity) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1592, AFL-CIO (Union)
Hill Air Force Base arbitration exceptions dismissed as late (FLRA O-AR-267)
A Hill Air Force Base union filed exceptions to an arbitration award dated July 2, 1981. They were due July 31 but were filed on August 3. The Authority said it could not extend or waive the filing period and dismissed the exceptions without reaching the award’s merits.
St. Joe Minerals Corporation, d/b/a St. Joe Lead Company - Smelting Division
Elevator violation penalty set after court remand
A judge had found a willful general duty clause violation because St. Joe bypassed electrical safety devices on a freight elevator and assessed $10,000. The Eighth Circuit reduced the classification to serious and remanded only for a new penalty. Based on the lengthy bypass, high probability of…
Michigan Air National Guard, Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan (Activity/Petitioner) and Michigan State Council of The Association of Civilian Technicians (Labor Organization)
Michigan Guard shop chiefs retained in unit (FLRA 5-CU-24)
The Michigan Air National Guard asked to remove eight small shop chiefs from the technicians’ bargaining unit as supervisors. The Authority examined their actual duties and found that the pneudraulic, aircraft ordnance, aircraft electrician, and fabric worker positions did not exercise effective…
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local 830, AFL-CIO (Petitioner) and Department of Defense, Department of Navy, U.S. Naval Ordnance Station, Louisville, KY (Activity)
Louisville Navy printing staff removed from ordnance unit (FLRA 4-CU-32)
A Navy reorganization moved a printing division from the Louisville ordnance station to the Navy Publications and Printing Service, while employees stayed at the same location. The Authority found the transferred staff had a distinct mission, supervision, and community of interest from the ordnance…
Department of the Navy, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2026 (Charging Party)
Portsmouth promotion remark complaint dismissal upheld (FLRA 1-CA-351)
A union alleged that a Portsmouth Naval Shipyard manager had said an employee would not be promoted because a union representative contacted management about her promotion. The judge found the alleged remark, considered in context, did not establish the charged coercive unfair labor practice. The…
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1669 (Union) and Arkansas Air National Guard (Activity)
Arkansas Guard negotiability petition dismissed as late (FLRA 0-NG-523)
The Arkansas Air National Guard disapproved a contract provision as nonnegotiable and served notice on the union around June 26, 1981. The union did not file its review petition until July 28, beyond the fifteen day deadline. The Authority dismissed the appeal without reaching the provision’s…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. V & R Coal Corp.
V & R Coal Corp. (FMSHRC WEVA 81-188): Twelve mine safety citations upheld
MSHA sought penalties for twelve violations at V & R Coal Corp.'s No. 19-B Mine, including unsupported roof, electrical defects, recordkeeping failures, a defective reverse alarm, and coal dust conditions. The company received notice of the hearing but did not appear, and Judge George A. Koutras…
United Mine Workers of America v. Secretary of Labor (MSHA)
United Mine Workers of America (FMSHRC CENT 81-223-R): Union's citation contest dismissed
An MSHA inspector issued a citation and an imminent danger withdrawal order to Garland Coal Company over the storage of explosives carried to a blasting site. The United Mine Workers of America sought to add an unwarrantable failure finding to the citation. Chief Judge James A. Broderick held that…
Howard Barthelmass Painting Co., Inc.
Power-line electrocution citation vacated
A painter was fatally electrocuted when his aluminum paint-roller extension contacted a 7,200-volt line near a roof parapet. OSHA cited the employer for failing to identify and warn about the circuit before work began. The cited construction electrical rule, however, applied only to electrical…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2109, AFL-CIO (Union) and Veterans Administration, Olin E. Teague Veterans Administration Center, Temple, Texas (Activity)
Temple veterans center appeal dismissed for missing filing information (FLRA O-NG-414)
A Temple Veterans Administration union filed a negotiability petition that lacked information required by the Authority’s rules. The Authority identified the deficiencies and gave the union twenty one days to complete the appeal. The union did not comply. The Authority dismissed the petition…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1712 (Union) and United States Army, 172nd Infantry Brigade (Alaska) (Activity)
Alaska Army supervisor assignment award upheld (FLRA O-AR-104)
An Alaska Army activity changed first line supervisors’ job descriptions so a general foreman, rather than those supervisors, selected applicants for certain vacancies. An arbitrator found the change within management’s right to assign work and denied the union’s grievance. The Authority agreed…
Mathies Coal Company
Judge upholds elevator guarding citation
MSHA cited Mathies Coal Company after a miner died in an elevator shaft beside a mine stairway. The judge held that the elevator cage and its protruding cam were exposed moving machine parts covered by the guarding rule at 30 C.F.R. § 75.1722(a). He found that a person using the stairway could…
American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO (Union) and Air Force Logistics Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio (Activity)
Wright Patterson promotion appeal dismissed as moot (FLRA O-NG-518)
An Air Force union sought review of an agency regulation said to bar its merit promotion proposal. During the appeal, the agency withdrew the allegation that the proposal was nonnegotiable. The Authority found no remaining negotiability dispute and dismissed the petition as moot.
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1052, AFL-CIO (Union) and United States Army Engineer Center, Fort Belvoir, Virginia (Activity)
Fort Belvoir negotiability petition dismissed as late (FLRA O-NG-416)
An Army Engineers union challenged disapproval of a local agreement provision. The agency served its nonnegotiability allegation on November 5, 1980; a later letter merely referred back to that action. The union filed its petition on December 24. The Authority measured the deadline from the…
Federal Employees Metal Trades Council, Fort Benning, Georgia (Union) and United States Army Infantry Center, Fort Benning, Georgia (Activity)
Fort Benning arbitration exceptions dismissed one day late (FLRA O-AR-202)
A Fort Benning union filed exceptions to an arbitration award dated February 8, 1981. The deadline was March 9, but the Authority received them on March 10. It held that it could not extend or waive the deadline and dismissed the exceptions without reaching the award’s merits.
American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO (Union) and United States Postal Service, Clovis (Activity)
Postal Service arbitration petition dismissed for lack of jurisdiction (FLRA O-AR-169)
A Postal Service grievant sought review of an arbitration award under an obsolete federal labor relations procedure. The Authority explained that the Postal Service was excluded from the federal service statute’s definition of an agency. It dismissed the petition for lack of jurisdiction without…
Franklin D. Kaestner v. Colorado Westmoreland Inc.
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Franklin D. Kaestner said dust in Colorado Westmoreland's underground mine caused breathing problems and that the company terminated him after he sought a less dusty job. The judge found that Kaestner had not shown a safety or health violation complaint, a statutory right to transfer, or another…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. C F & I Steel Corporation
C F & I Steel Corporation (FMSHRC WEST 79-239): Roof bolt testing violation upheld with reduced finding
MSHA issued a withdrawal order after an inspector found that C F & I Steel Corporation's Maxwell Mine was not torque testing resin grouted roof bolts as its roof control plan required. The judge upheld the violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.203 despite the operator's reliance on an MSHA representative's…
Mark Segedi on behalf of S. J. Ezarik et al. v. Bethlehem Mines Corporation
Costs and fees resolved
An earlier discrimination decision directed Bethlehem Mines Corporation to reimburse the complainants' reasonable costs and attorney fees, while leaving the amount to be resolved. The parties later stipulated that the company had reimbursed all costs and expenses ordered by the judge. Judge John F…
Naval Air Station, Cecil Field, Florida (Activity) and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Naval Air Lodge 1630 (Union)
Cecil Field arbitration exceptions dismissed as late (FLRA O-AR-262)
A Cecil Field union filed exceptions to an arbitration award dated June 6, 1981. They were due July 6 but filed on July 13. The Authority said it could not extend or waive the filing period and dismissed the exceptions without reaching the award’s merits.
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Amax Coal Company, a Division of Amax, Inc.
Amax Coal Company (FMSHRC LAKE 81-37): Electrical circuit citation upheld after worker injury
An Amax Coal Company electrician suffered burns while working inside a circuit breaker panel at the Leahy Mine. The judge found that the electrician worked on an energized circuit in the panel and that 30 C.F.R. § 77.500 required the circuit to be deenergized. He rejected Amax's argument that the…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Rushton Mining Company
Rushton Mining Company (FMSHRC PENN 81-24): Five roof control matters settled for $22,000
MSHA and Rushton Mining Company settled four roof control orders and a citation arising from conditions at the Rushton Mine, including matters examined after a fatal roof fall. The judge approved a total of $22,000 in penalties, reduced from MSHA's initial $35,000 assessment. The parties said two…
Department of the Air Force, Space Division, Los Angeles, California (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2429, AFL-CIO (Charging Party)
Air Force Space Division negotiator access remedy modified (FLRA 8-CA-137)
At the Air Force Space Division in Los Angeles, managers denied union negotiators access to bargaining sessions and required leave status rather than official time. A judge found violations and dismissed other allegations. The Authority adopted those merits findings but modified the recommended…
General Services Administration (Respondent) and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO (Charging Party)
GSA paid parking consultation violation found (FLRA 3-CA-762)
GSA issued three internal memoranda implementing a federal paid parking program. AFGE claimed national consultation rights before those changes. On a stipulated record, the Authority found only the October 23 memorandum made discretionary, substantive changes for GSA employees without prior notice…
American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 32 (Union) and Office of Personnel Management, Washington, D.C. (Agency)
OPM free child care proposal held negotiable (FLRA 0-NG-177-1)
An OPM union proposed free day care facilities for employees’ children. OPM argued that the proposal did not concern employment conditions and conflicted with budget rights and federal law. The Authority rejected those objections, holding the proposal within the duty to bargain. It ordered OPM to…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Kaiser Sand and Gravel Company
Kaiser Sand and Gravel Company (FMSHRC WEST 80-89-M): Unmarked road closure citation upheld
Kaiser Sand and Gravel Company operated a pit and mill near Pleasanton, California. After the company blocked an old service road with a dirt pile, an employee drove down it before dawn, backed his truck toward the entrance, went over an embankment, and died. The judge found that the dirt pile and…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Johnson, Stewart & Johnson Mining Company, Inc.
Johnson, Stewart & Johnson Mining Company (FMSHRC WEST 79-175-M): Three exposure citations upheld
Johnson, Stewart & Johnson Mining Company operated a pit where a crusher operator and a laborer were exposed to noise above the permissible level. The judge found that moving the crusher operator farther from the crusher was a feasible way to reduce his exposure. For the laborer, he found that the…
Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Chemical Lime, Inc.
Chemical Lime, Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 80-231-M, CENT 80-232-M): Three mine safety citations upheld
Chemical Lime owned the Clifton Quarry and Plant, where independent contractors were installing a conveyor system. An unsecured conveyor load tipped over and fatally injured a worker. The parties stipulated that the load violated a mine safety standard, while Chemical Lime argued that it could not…
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.