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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Kevin Baird v. PCS Phosphate Company, Inc.
Temporary reinstatement restored after Secretary withdrew case
Kevin Baird alleged that PCS Phosphate discharged him because of safety complaints made by his wife, who worked for a contractor at the mine. The Secretary obtained temporary economic reinstatement and filed a discrimination complaint, but later withdrew it after deciding she could not prove a…
McCoy Elkhorn Coal Corporation
Mistakenly paid contested citation reopened
McCoy Elkhorn had filed a notice contesting one citation but later paid its penalty inadvertently while paying 16 other penalties on the same assessment. The company discovered the mistake during the underlying contest and sought reopening within a month. The Secretary opposed the request as…
Lonnie Belcher v. Bates Contracting and Construction and Surface Minerals Company
Safety record defeats retaliation claim
Lonnie Belcher, a contract truck driver on a reclamation project, reported several mechanical problems with his truck and was removed from the job after the truck went through a berm and rolled onto its side. The judge found that his mechanical complaints were protected activity and that the close…
The American Coal Company
Summary challenge to five safeguards denied
American Coal argued that five mine-specific transportation safeguards were facially invalid because they did not identify hazards or required corrective conduct with enough precision. The judge held that a safeguard must specify the hazardous condition and remedy, but need not list every possible…
The American Coal Company
Forty-eight safeguard citations affirmed
Across 18 consolidated dockets, American Coal had resolved all non-safeguard citations through earlier partial settlements. Two summary-decision orders found the remaining underlying safeguards valid, and the parties stipulated to gravity, negligence, and penalty terms for 48 safeguard citations so…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Rodney Payne v. Spiro Mining, LLC, and Its Successors
Economic reinstatement ends after missed filing deadline
Spiro Mining had agreed to temporarily reinstate Rodney Payne economically while his discrimination complaint was pending. The Secretary later determined that no violation occurred and dismissed her case, but the judge kept reinstatement in place for 30 days so Payne could file his own section…
Flanagan Contracting, LLC
Unprotected excavation violation affirmed
Flanagan Contracting opened an excavation to connect a sewer line at a residential construction site. Its foreman worked for thirty to forty minutes in the approximately eight-foot-deep excavation without a trench shield or adequate sloping. The judge found that the excavation was in previously…
Garden Ridge, Store # 46
Compactor item vacated and records item affirmed
Garden Ridge operated a garbage compactor with a hatch-door interlock that was not working properly. Employees normally stood outside the hatch and used a ten-foot board to push trash down a ten-foot chute toward the compaction chamber. The judge vacated the machine-guarding item because the…
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): permits remanded for source and environmental-justice analysis
EPA Region 10 issued Shell Gulf of Mexico, Inc. and Shell Offshore, Inc. OCS PSD permits for the Frontier Discoverer drillship and associated support vessels in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. Petitioners challenged the treatment of support-vessel emissions, the point when the drillship became an…
Long Branch Energy
Detailed renewed request reopens assessment
The Commission had denied Long Branch's first reopening request without prejudice because it did not explain the company's normal contest process or why that process failed. The renewed request supplied an affidavit and records showing that the assessment reached the president's desk for contest…
Black Beauty Coal Company
Settlement and two orders result in $18,653 penalty
Black Beauty settled five citations for $14,153, down from $79,886 proposed, after MSHA reduced gravity or negligence findings, changed one citation to non-S&S, and vacated two citations. The judge separately affirmed a non-S&S violation for combustible trash and debris in an oil-and-diesel…
Secretary of Labor v. Knox Creek Coal Corporation
Tiller No. 1 cases produce $71,707 penalty
These consolidated cases covered dozens of citations and an order issued during an impact inspection at Knox Creek's methane-prone Tiller No. 1 underground coal mine. The litigated matters involved roof and rib control, preshift examinations, electrical permissibility and trailing cables, equipment…
Cemex, Inc.
Inadequate-examination citation vacated, four settled
MSHA cited Cemex's cement plant for allegedly failing to report obvious hazards during on-shift workplace examinations. The inspector who testified had not inspected the cited areas, did not have the issuing inspectors' citations or notes, could not identify the specific locations or conditions…
Humphreys Enterprises, Inc.
MSHA review form protected from discovery
Humphreys Enterprises sought MSHA's Possible Knowing/Willful Violation Review Form for a highwall citation, arguing that it needed the information to prepare its defense. Judge Alan G. Paez found that the form recorded the inspector's and supervisors' evaluations used to decide whether a knowing or…
Clintwood Elkhorn Mining Company, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor
Truck-overloading enforcement vacated
A loaded haul truck lost its brakes, went through a berm and utility pole, and rolled onto its side, but the driver received no medical treatment and continued performing his duties. MSHA focused its investigation on alleged overloading and required the company to obtain and use…
Secretary of Labor v. Wolf Run Mining Company
Lightning-arrester rulings remanded
After the 2006 Sago Mine explosion, MSHA cited five electrical conditions under the lightning-arrester standard, although none was alleged to have contributed to the explosion. The Commission held that an insulated conductor can still be "exposed" when it is subject to lightning and that Wolf Run…
Trinity Yachts, LLC and its Successors
Case returned for possible correction of the judge's decision
OSHA cited Trinity Yachts for three alleged violations of shipyard employment standards and proposed $13,500 in penalties. The judge affirmed two items, vacated one, and assessed $9,000. After Trinity sought review, the Commission identified possible clerical or omission errors near the end of the…
Secretary of Labor v. Highland Mining Company
Renewed reopening request denied with prejudice
Highland Mining failed to contest an MSHA penalty assessment after its safety director marked the form but left it on his desk, where it became mixed with other papers. The Commission had already denied an earlier reopening request without prejudice and told Highland to fully explain the missed…
Secretary of Labor v. Highland Mining Company
Two final assessments reopened
Highland Mining renewed requests to reopen two MSHA penalty assessments after the Commission had denied its earlier motions without prejudice and demanded fuller explanations. One assessment was lost in internal mail between a secretary and the mine's safety director. For the other, the safety…
The American Coal Company
Fourteen safeguard notices held valid
American Coal sought summary decision vacating 73 citations by arguing that all 14 underlying mine-specific safeguard notices were legally invalid. Judge Richard W. Manning held that each notice identified a transportation hazard and the corrective action with enough precision to provide fair…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Okey Sartin v. Kiah Creek Transport, LLC
Safety-report retaliation claim dismissed
Haul-truck driver Okey Sartin was fired during an argument after reporting that his trailer leaned dangerously while dumping coal. Judge Michael E. Zielinski found that conveying the safety concern was protected activity and that the firing was an adverse action. He nevertheless credited the…
Secretary of Labor v. Aracoma Coal Company, Inc.
Settlement order corrected and remanded
After the Commission affirmed Aracoma Coal's large settlement, the parties asked it to correct clerical errors in the underlying ALJ order and attached docket lists. The Commission granted reconsideration, changed the settlement count from 1,302 to 1,281 citations and orders, and corrected the…
Secretary of Labor v. Aracoma Coal Company, Inc.
Fatal-fire settlement and voluntary POV plan affirmed
Aracoma Coal agreed to accept 1,281 citations and orders and pay $1.7 million in civil penalties, down from $2.8 million proposed, after an Alma No. 1 Mine fire killed two miners. The Commission directed review only of provisions allowing the Alma and Hernshaw mines to use voluntary plans to reduce…
Secretary of Labor v. B & S Trucking Company, Inc.
Final assessment reopened
B & S Trucking asked the Commission to reopen an MSHA penalty assessment that had become final after the statutory contest period passed. The Secretary did not oppose the request. The official order does not state the reason the company missed the deadline. After reviewing the request and…
Secretary of Labor v. Highland Mining Co., LLC
Belt and ventilation violations bring $118,340
Highland Mining settled 36 of 39 cited violations for $78,340 and tried three citations involving a rubbing belt component, mining direction, and ventilation. Judge Gary Melick affirmed an S&S equipment-maintenance citation because a broken roller chair was smoking against the belt and could ignite…
Latite Roofing and Sheet Metal LLC, the Successor to Latite Roofing and Sheet Metal Co., Inc.
Safety-monitoring violation affirmed with a $5,000 penalty
Latite Roofing used a safety-monitoring system while three employees worked on a three-story residential roof. OSHA alleged that the designated monitor could not always see or orally communicate with the other roofers and had roofing duties that distracted him from monitoring. The judge found that…
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company
In re E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (EAB TSCA Docket No. TSCA-HQ-2010-5002): $3.3 million penalty settlement ordered
EPA and E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company signed and consented to entry of an attached Consent Agreement. The Environmental Appeals Board incorporated that agreement into its Final Order. The Board ordered DuPont to comply with the agreement and pay a $3.3 million civil penalty within thirty days…
Secretary of Labor v. East Tennessee Zinc Company
Administrative-oversight reopening request denied
East Tennessee Zinc sent two penalty assessments to counsel, but counsel contested only one and attributed the omission of the other to administrative oversight. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission majority found the explanation too general and emphasized that the company had not…
Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority
In re Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 10-18): petition dismissed after permit conditions withdrawn
Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority and EPA Region 2 jointly asked the Environmental Appeals Board to authorize withdrawal of PREPA's petition for review. Region 2 agreed to withdraw the contested permit conditions and prepare new draft conditions under the permitting procedures in 40 C.F.R. §§…
Secretary of Labor v. B & W Resources, Inc.
Reopening request denied pending fuller explanation
B & W Resources said an office move, inexperienced mail staff, and a change in safety directors delayed delivery of an MSHA penalty assessment to the person responsible for contests. The Secretary opposed reopening, calling the explanation conclusory and pointing to more than $100,000 in alleged…
Ben Hur Construction Co.
Crane-operation and training allegations vacated
A Ben Hur Construction apprentice was killed while helping disassemble a crawler crane after he attached his fall-protection lanyard to a live crane cable. OSHA alleged that Ben Hur failed to follow the manufacturer's crane specifications and failed to train the employee to recognize and avoid…
Elk Run Coal Company
Failed fax leads to reopening despite repeat defaults
Elk Run intended to contest a proposed penalty assessment and faxed it to counsel, but counsel never received the fax. The company sought reopening promptly after discovering the failure, and the Secretary did not oppose relief. A Commission majority reopened the assessment in the interest of…
DMC Mining Services
Final assessment is reopened without opposition
DMC Mining Services asked the Commission to reopen a proposed penalty assessment that had become a final order when it was not contested within 30 days. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission explained that Rule 60(b) principles permit relief from a final order for reasons including…
Quality Sand & Gravel
One assessment reopened, older request denied
Quality Sand & Gravel sought to reopen two final penalty assessments. The Commission denied relief for Assessment No. 000179350 because the company waited more than a year after the assessment became final and nearly a year after collection was referred to the Treasury Department. Rule 60(b)…
Appalachian Stone Company
Unopposed final assessment is reopened
Appalachian Stone asked the Commission to reopen a proposed penalty assessment that had become a final order when it was not contested within 30 days. The Secretary did not oppose the request. The Commission noted that it may use the principles of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) to reopen a…
Dittrich Mechanical & Fabrication, Inc.
No written citations means no effective assessment
MSHA proposed penalties based on two citations, and Dittrich later asked the Commission to reopen after its secretary filed the assessment away. Dittrich also said it never received the written citations. The Commission majority held that without evidence the citations were issued in writing as…
Secretary of Labor v. Dodge Hill Mining Company, LLC
Detailed renewed request reopens assessment
Dodge Hill Mining initially said a clerical error caused it to miss the deadline for contesting six penalties, but the Commission denied reopening because that explanation lacked detail. The company renewed its request with an affidavit from its parent company's assessment analyst. She explained…
Mosaic Potash Carlsbad Inc.
Timely contest makes reopening unnecessary
Mosaic asked the Commission to reopen a proposed penalty assessment involving Citation No. 6571486. The Secretary's records showed that Mosaic's request was postmarked within the Mine Act's 30-day contest period. MSHA therefore accepted the filing as a timely contest and added the citation to an…
Elk Run Coal Company
Unopened mail during mine idling is not excusable neglect
An Elk Run subsidiary idled its mine with a skeleton crew, and incoming mail accumulated unopened for about three months. A proposed assessment covering 16 citations, including 13 designated significant and substantial, became final before the safety director found it and sent it to counsel…
Secretary of Labor v. Cargill Deicing Technology
Ground citation vacated, electrical citation affirmed
Cargill operates an underground deicing salt mine in Cleveland, Ohio, where MSHA issued six citations. Judge Margaret A. Miller vacated a ground-control citation because the Secretary did not prove that a cracked rib beside a power center created a hazard, particularly where removal required…
Charles Scott Howard v. Cumberland River Coal Company
Attorney-fee settlement orders $155,395
Charles Scott Howard requested attorney fees after receiving a favorable decision in his Mine Act discrimination case against Cumberland River Coal Company. The parties jointly moved to approve a settlement. Judge Margaret A. Miller found the proposed settlement appropriate and incorporated all of…
Secretary of Labor v. Lafarge Midwest, Inc.
Ignored windshield complaints bring $10,000 penalty
Lafarge used a John Deere Gator every two hours on all three shifts at its Kansas cement plant. Abrasive dust scratched the Plexiglas windshield, and sunlight or bright artificial light produced glare that impaired the driver's view in areas shared with pedestrians and other vehicles. Employees…
Sandpoint Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Unopposed assessment is reopened
Sandpoint Sand & Gravel asked the Commission to reopen a proposed penalty assessment that had become a final order when it was not contested within 30 days. The Secretary did not oppose the request. The Commission noted that Rule 60(b) principles allow relief from a final order for mistake…
Larry D. Baumgardner Coal Company, Inc.
Unopposed assessment is reopened
Larry D. Baumgardner Coal Company asked the Commission to reopen a proposed penalty assessment that had become a final order when it was not contested within 30 days. The Secretary did not oppose the request. The Commission explained that it may apply Rule 60(b) principles to grant relief for…
Freedom Energy Mining Company
Receipt-date mistake is excused
Freedom Energy received a proposed penalty assessment on July 10, 2009, but its safety director stamped it as received four days later. The company calculated the 30-day contest deadline from the stamped date and filed on August 11. The Secretary explained that the deadline ran from actual receipt…
Freedom Energy Mining Co.; Myron Deskins; Jerry Varney
Three violations affirmed, individual cases dismissed
Freedom Energy contested coal-mine citations involving roof support, a preshift examination, unguarded electric heaters, and loose roof-support cribs, while MSHA separately sought individual penalties against foremen Myron Deskins and Jerry Varney. Judge Michael E. Zielinski vacated the…
Rockspring Development
Vague nonreceipt claim is denied without prejudice
Rockspring said it missed a proposed penalty deadline because the assessment did not reach its safety manager or accounts payable department. The Secretary produced delivery tracking showing that the assessment was signed for by a person listed at the company's address of record, and Rockspring did…
Pacific Power & Light Company
Vacated citation makes reopening moot
Pacific Power asked the Commission to reopen a proposed penalty assessment involving Citation No. 6419908. The Secretary reviewed the record and reported that MSHA had vacated the underlying citation. Because no penalty dispute remained to reopen, the Secretary urged dismissal on mootness grounds…
Titanium Metals Corporation
In re Titanium Metals Corporation (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 10-01C): consent agreement ordered and $37,267 penalty assessed
EPA and Titanium Metals Corporation signed a Consent Agreement that was incorporated into the Environmental Appeals Board's Final Order. The order requires Titanium Metals Corporation to comply with every term of that agreement. It assesses a civil penalty of $37,267 and specifies payment by…
Crowther Roofing & Sheet Metal of Florida
Steep-roof fall violation affirmed with reduced penalty
Two Crowther Roofing employees snapped chalk lines on a steep apartment-building roof without tying off, about 60 feet above the ground. The judge imputed the foreman's knowledge to Crowther because he directed the crew, knew the employees were not tied off, and did not correct them. Crowther had a…
BOH Brothers Construction Co., LLC
Lifeline case remanded for specific credibility findings
OSHA cited Boh Brothers after a bridge girder fell into the water with ten employees, killing a foreman. The judge affirmed a violation concerning a horizontal lifeline designed to support no more than five workers with a safety factor of two. That ruling depended on testimony that more than five…
Sunrise Powerlink
In re Sunrise Powerlink (EAB PSD Appeal No. 10-14): appeal dismissed for lack of EPA jurisdiction
Cindy Buxton asked the Environmental Appeals Board to review the Sunrise Powerlink project, which apparently involved a proposed high-voltage transmission line in the San Diego, California area. Her request raised concerns about the project and the process it had undergone, but did not identify an…
Coal Country Mining, Inc.
Lost assessment explanation needs more detail
MSHA split penalties from one inspection into two assessments covering 19 citations and orders. Coal Country timely contested the assessment covering 16 items, but said the separate assessment covering three items was sent to its representative and never received. The company did not explain when…
Secretary of Labor v. Marfork Coal Co., Inc.
Unsupported respirable-dust settlement is denied
The citation alleged that respirable dust containing quartz averaged nearly three times the permitted limit and affected ten miners. The proposed settlement would reduce the number affected to four while leaving the admitted violation and other findings in place. Judge William B. Moran found that…
Custom Crushing Industries, Inc.
Unopposed assessment is reopened
Custom Crushing Industries asked the Commission to reopen a proposed penalty assessment that had become a final order when it was not contested within 30 days. The Secretary did not oppose the request. The Commission explained that it may use Rule 60(b) principles to grant relief for mistake…
Lamb Rock
Unopposed assessment is reopened
Lamb Rock asked the Commission to reopen a proposed penalty assessment that had become a final order when it was not contested within 30 days. The Secretary did not oppose the request. The Commission explained that Rule 60(b) principles permit relief from a final order for mistake, inadvertence, or…
Washington Rock Quarries, Inc.
Wrong-address delivery means no final order
MSHA sent Washington Rock's proposed penalty assessment to the wrong address, and the company did not receive it. Washington Rock learned about the assessment months later when a Treasury Department debt collector called. The Secretary did not oppose relief. The Commission held that the assessment…
Justin Nagel v. Newmont USA Limited
Unauthorized stay requires vacatur and remand
Justin Nagel filed a Mine Act discrimination complaint against Newmont and disputed orders concerning deposition security and production of recorded conversations. The ALJ dismissed the case as a discovery sanction but attempted to stay the dismissal while the Commission considered a certified…
Matter of Maria Armida SOSA VENTURA
TPS does not terminate removal proceedings
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal after an Immigration Judge terminated removal proceedings against a Salvadoran respondent who had been granted Temporary Protected Status. The Board held that TPS temporarily protects an alien from removal and permits lawful presence…
Secretary of Labor v. Performance Coal Company
Float coal dust at power center brings $4,329 penalty
MSHA found dry, black float coal dust on and inside a high-voltage power center near a conveyor transfer point at Performance Coal's Upper Big Branch-South mine. Judge David F. Barbour credited evidence that normal breaker arcing and exposed electrical connections could ignite the dust and cause a…
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.