Federal Agency Decisions
Workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), and environmental appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board, each with a plain-English summary, the standards it cites, and whether it counts as precedent. More agencies are coming.
No decisions match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
Secretary of Labor v. Active Minerals International, LLC
Timely misdirected contest reopened
Active Minerals intended to contest penalties for five citations within the 30-day period but mailed its contest to the local MSHA district office instead of the Civil Penalty Compliance Office identified on the assessment form. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission noted that the…
Secretary of Labor v. Moran Environmental Recovery
Wrong-address penalty contest reopened
Moran Environmental Recovery timely mailed its penalty contest but used the wrong MSHA address. It did not learn of the error until after the 30-day contest period expired. Moran supplied documentation showing that the original mailing was timely, and the Secretary did not oppose relief. The…
Secretary of Labor v. Hanson Aggregates Midwest, LLC
Conference request did not preserve penalty contest
Hanson Aggregates asked its local MSHA office for a conference on two citations but did not separately contest the associated penalties within 30 days. The district office later reported that it had lost the conference request, and Hanson had mistakenly believed the request also preserved its…
Secretary of Labor v. Carmeuse Lime Inc.
One-day-late contest reopened
Carmeuse Lime mailed its contest of two penalties one day after the statutory deadline. The employee responsible for contests had been traveling during much of the filing period and had assumed extra duties after the regional manager suddenly resigned. Carmeuse supplied a detailed account of those…
Brannon v. Panther Mining, LLC
Partial summary decision denied in discrimination cases
Panther Mining sought partial summary decision against Billy Brannon in consolidated discrimination cases. It argued that Brannon's complaints about an alleged assault, his state lawsuit and request for state discipline, and the resulting state investigation were not protected by the Mine Act. It…
Secretary of Labor v. Fisher Sand & Gravel Company
Reopening request dismissed as moot
Fisher Sand & Gravel asked the Commission to contest a citation four days after receiving the proposed penalty assessment. MSHA then told Fisher that the statutory contest period remained open through September 16, 2009. Fisher filed a formal contest on September 15, so the assessment never became…
Secretary of Labor v. Bayer Construction Company, Inc.
Timely cover-letter contest recognized
Bayer Construction asked to reopen penalties it believed had become final. The Secretary's record review showed that Bayer had timely contested the penalties in a cover letter accompanying payment for other penalties, even though it omitted the assessment form. MSHA corrected its records and…
Secretary of Labor v. American Mobile Aggregate Crushing
Undelivered assessment reopened
American Mobile Aggregate Crushing said it never received MSHA's proposed penalty assessment and first learned of it through a delinquency notice. The Secretary confirmed that the assessment had been returned to MSHA undelivered and did not oppose reopening. She also emphasized that operators must…
Matter of Mohamed RAJAH
Standards for continuances tied to employment petitions
The Board reconsidered a respondent's request to continue removal proceedings while an employment-based visa petition or labor certification was pending. It held that an Immigration Judge must first determine the respondent's place in the adjustment-of-status process, then weigh the factors…
Billy Brannon and Secretary of Labor on behalf of Billy Brannon v. Panther Mining, LLC and Mark D. Shelton
Billy Brannon and Secretary of Labor v. Panther Mining, LLC and Mark D. Shelton (FMSHRC KENT 2009-1259-D and others): Discovery compelled with privilege protection
Panther Mining moved to compel Billy Brannon to identify witnesses, documents, and facts supporting his consolidated discrimination claims. Judge David F. Barbour required fuller answers and document production for many factual allegations, while denying repetitive or already satisfied requests…
Peter J. Phillips v. A & S Construction Company
Alcohol-safety retaliation claim dismissed
Peter Phillips alleged that A & S Construction fired him after he complained that a scraper operator reported to work under the influence of alcohol. Judge Richard W. Manning denied Phillips a second continuance because an earlier hearing had already been postponed to let him seek counsel, Phillips…
Gene A. Wilson
In re Gene A. Wilson (EAB SDWA Appeal No. 08-09): appeal dismissed with prejudice
Gene A. Wilson appealed an Initial Decision arising from an EPA administrative enforcement action under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The action concerned alleged violations at a well he owned near Collier Creek in Lawrence County, Kentucky. Wilson and EPA Region 4 told the Board that they had…
CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company, LLC, Hanford Nuclear Reservation
In re CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company, LLC (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 09-08): petition dismissed as moot
EPA Region 10 issued CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company, LLC, an NPDES permit for the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. CH2M petitioned for review of one permit condition, Part I.B.2. EPA later withdrew that condition and began the process for a new draft permit, so the Board dismissed the petition…
Secretary of Labor v. Cloverlick Coal Company, LLC
Cylinder and ventilation citations reduced
MSHA cited Cloverlick Coal for unsafe compressed-gas cylinder storage, a broken acetylene gauge, an inadequate on-shift examination, and failure to follow its ventilation plan. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon affirmed all four violations. He removed the S&S designations from the two cylinder citations…
Matter of Lael MARTINEZ ESPINOZA
Drug paraphernalia may qualify for a waiver
The Board reviewed a respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge found that a Minnesota conviction for possessing drug paraphernalia made him inadmissible and barred adjustment of status. The Board held that a drug paraphernalia conviction can trigger inadmissibility under the…
Skanska Koch, Inc.
Bridge fall-protection violation affirmed
Skanska Koch employees performed steel-erection work on an elevated platform during renovation of New York City's Triborough Bridge. An ironworker fell through an uncovered saddle beam hole about 37 feet above the ground and died from his injuries. Neither he nor his partner was tied off, and…
Secretary of Labor v. Pine Ridge Coal Company, LLC
Renewed reopening request granted
Pine Ridge Coal initially said a clerical error caused it to miss the deadline to contest 12 penalties, but the Commission denied reopening because that explanation lacked detail. Its renewed motion included the safety manager's affidavit explaining that he marked the assessment and then…
Secretary of Labor v. U.S. Silver-Idaho, Inc.
Missed-calendar penalties reopened
U.S. Silver mailed its penalty contest about one week late after its safety superintendent failed to route the form for mailing under the company's established process. The company promptly sought reopening when MSHA identified the problem. It also revised its calendar controls to prevent another…
Secretary of Labor v. Consolidation Coal Company
Six-month reopening delay unexplained
Consolidation Coal sought to reopen penalties for 107 citations after an assessment disappeared within its internal distribution process. The Commission declined to infer from this single incident that the company's procedures were necessarily unreliable. The decisive problem was timing: MSHA sent…
Secretary of Labor v. Moltan Company
Leadership-transition penalties reopened
Moltan missed the deadline to contest penalties after its founder died, new management took over, and the employee who received the assessment abruptly left without flagging its deadline. Company officials later found the assessment in papers left in the former employee's office. Moltan promptly…
Secretary of Labor v. Hoover, Inc.
Untraceable assessment delivery reopened
Hoover said it never received an assessment covering six citations, despite delivery records naming an employee who was on long-term medical leave. The company investigated but could not find the package or identify who signed for it. It had previously told MSHA that it intended to contest all six…
Secretary of Labor v. Liggett Mining, LLC
Certified-mail contests recognized
Liggett Mining mailed four penalty contests separately by certified mail nine days after receiving the assessments. Delivery records showed that MSHA received all four envelopes two days later, but MSHA later sent delinquency notices because it had no record of the contests. Liggett promptly sought…
Matter of Alejandro MORENO-ESCOBOSA
Plea date controls section 212(c) waiver eligibility
The Board reviewed a respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge found him removable for a controlled-substance conviction, pretermitted his application for a former section 212(c) waiver, and denied cancellation of removal. The Board held that the date of the plea agreement, rather than the…
Secretary of Labor v. Johnson Paving Company, Inc. and William T. Pinson
Equipment findings split
MSHA cited equipment defects at Johnson Paving's small granite quarry and sought individual penalties against foreman William Pinson for knowing violations. Judge David F. Barbour affirmed the trackhoe order based on missing steps and broken mirrors, found it resulted from high negligence and…
Secretary of Labor v. Cessford Construction Company
Active penalty case made reopening moot
Cessford Construction asked the Commission to reopen a proposed penalty assessment. The Secretary's record review showed that Cessford had already filed a timely contest and that the penalties were being litigated in an active civil penalty case. The Secretary had filed a petition and Cessford had…
Secretary of Labor v. B & H Transfer Company
Misfiled and erroneous penalties corrected
B & H Transfer asked to reopen two proposed assessments. For the first, the Secretary acknowledged that MSHA had misfiled a timely contest and corrected its records so the penalty case could proceed normally. For the second, the Secretary acknowledged that the penalty had been assessed against B &…
Secretary of Labor v. Oldcastle Stone Products
One penalty reopened, 28 denied
Oldcastle Stone received an assessment for 29 violations but did not return the assessment form because it did not understand that a separate penalty contest was required. It had, however, already filed a timely citation contest for Citation No. 6105371, showing a clear intent to challenge that…
Matter of Maria C. YAURI
USCIS controls arriving-alien adjustment applications
The Board considered an untimely motion to reopen filed by an arriving alien who wanted to pursue adjustment of status with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. It held that USCIS has exclusive jurisdiction over an arriving alien's adjustment application, subject to a narrow…
Secretary of Labor v. National Cement Company of California, Inc. and Tejon Ranchcorp
Jurisdiction dispute returned for a merits decision
The case concerned whether a road fell within the Mine Act definition of private ways and roads appurtenant to mineral extraction areas. The Commission had rejected the Secretary of Labor's interpretation, but the D.C. Circuit upheld that interpretation as reasonable. After the court vacated the…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Lige Williamson v. CAM Mining, LLC
Miner temporarily reinstated after Commission remand
The Secretary sought temporary reinstatement of miner Lige Williamson while his discrimination complaint against CAM Mining was investigated. Judge Jerold Feldman had initially denied the request, but the Commission reversed and ordered reinstatement retroactive to September 30, 2009. On remand…
Secretary of Labor v. Westside Trucking
Good-cause inquiry ordered for late contest
Westside Trucking asked to reopen a penalty assessment after the employee responsible for company paperwork suddenly left. Its owner also described serious financial problems, while the Secretary characterized the company's explanation as conclusory but supported a further opportunity to respond…
Secretary of Labor v. Holcim (US), Inc.
Missed penalty contest reopened
Holcim intended to contest penalties in two assessments, but a misunderstanding with counsel caused it to miss the deadline for the single penalty in one assessment. The company moved promptly after discovering the mistake, and the Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission reopened the…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Lige Williamson v. CAM Mining, LLC
Temporary reinstatement denial reversed
Miner Lige Williamson alleged that CAM Mining discharged him after he raised a ventilation concern. An administrative law judge denied temporary reinstatement after finding no reasonable connection between the safety complaint and the discharge. The Commission held that the judge applied an unduly…
Matter of Raul CARRILLO
Cuban Adjustment Act rollback set admission date
The Board reviewed a removal order based on a lawful permanent resident's conviction for crimes involving moral turpitude. The respondent had adjusted status under the Cuban Refugee Adjustment Act, which records lawful admission using a statutory rollback date. The Board held that this rollback…
Mountain Coal Company, LLC
Damaged hydraulic hoses affirmed but reduced to non-S&S
MSHA cited Mountain Coal after finding 13 damaged hydraulic hoses on the longwall at its West Elk Mine. Judge Richard W. Manning found that the more severely damaged hoses were not in safe operating condition because continued abrasion and mine exposure could further weaken them, despite their…
Johnson Controls, Inc.
In re Johnson Controls, Inc. (EAB CAA Appeal No. 09-01Ca): consent agreement approved
The United States and Johnson Controls, Inc., including York International Corporation and Environmental Technologies, Inc., consented to entry of a Final Order in a Clean Air Act penalty matter. The parties agreed to comply with their signed Consent Agreement. The Board approved and incorporated…
Matter of Hilario Antonio GARCIA-GARCIA
Immigration Judge may modify release conditions
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal from an Immigration Judge's decision about the conditions of a respondent's release from custody. The respondent had asked to replace participation in the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program with a monetary bond, and he filed his…
Reynolds Packaging KAMA, Inc.
Lockout violations reduced to serious
Reynolds employees entered between sections of plastic-sheet production machines to clean rollers and restart material after production disruptions. The company treated this work as minor servicing and relied on movable aluminum blocks instead of machine-specific lockout procedures. The judge held…
4 State Trucks
Order-picker fall and retraining violations affirmed
4 State Trucks used powered order pickers to retrieve parts from warehouse shelves as high as 23 feet. An employee who was not tied off fell about 15 feet from an elevated order picker and later died from his injuries. The judge held that the order picker's work pad was a platform covered by the…
Secretary of Labor v. Jacob Mining Company, LLC
Reopening denied for ignorance of contest rights
Jacob Mining sought to reopen five penalty assessments because it said it did not know that penalty amounts could be contested and could not afford to pay them. The Commission found that the assessment forms explained the contest procedure and that ignorance of the rules or inability to pay did not…
Secretary of Labor v. Knox Creek Coal Corporation
Allegedly mailed contest sent for good-cause review
Knox Creek said it timely returned its assessment form identifying the citations it wished to contest, but MSHA had no record of receiving the form. The company paid an amount that left exactly the balance it claimed to have contested and sought reopening shortly after receiving a delinquency…
Secretary of Labor v. KenAmerican Resources, Inc.
Isolated mail-handling error excused
KenAmerican missed a penalty-contest deadline after the employee who received the assessment failed to forward it and later resigned. A mine foreman discovered the assessment after MSHA sent a delinquency notice, investigated, and supported the reopening request with an affidavit. Although the…
Acies Group, LLC
Five repeat scaffold violations affirmed
An OSHA officer observed a worker on the unguarded upper level of an Acies scaffold at a New Jersey exterior-finishing project. The scaffold was not fully planked, lacked proper access and cross bracing, had no fall protection, and had not been adequately inspected by a competent person. Acies…
J.F. White Contracting Company
Repeat crane-swing violation affirmed
J.F. White operated a crane in a narrow roadway work zone without a physical barricade around the rotating counterweight's swing radius. Employees worked nearby, and the company used two spotters, audible alarms, and flashing lights to keep people away. The judge agreed that a conventional…
Sinochem (U.S.A.), Inc.
In re Sinochem (U.S.A.), Inc. (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 09-04C): $37,267 consent penalty ordered
EPA and Sinochem (U.S.A.), Inc. signed and consented to entry of a Consent Agreement in a TSCA penalty matter. The Environmental Appeals Board incorporated that agreement by reference into its Final Order. The Board ordered Sinochem to comply with the agreement and assessed a civil penalty of…
Action Concrete Construction, Inc.
Late-contest default set aside and remanded
Action Concrete filed its notice of contest 13 days late and attributed the delay to its president's serious illness and difficulty locating counsel after the attorney moved. An administrative law judge dismissed the notice when the company did not respond to the Secretary's motion and affirmed…
Secretary of Labor v. Big River Mining, LLC
Repeated assessment-handling failure sent for review
Big River missed a penalty-contest deadline while its safety director was away and said the assessment never reached him after he returned. The Secretary opposed reopening, arguing that unreliable internal procedures do not justify relief and noting two other late contests involving assessments…
Secretary of Labor v. Taft Production Company
Disputed assessment receipt sent for factfinding
Taft said it had no record of receiving a proposed assessment and later paid the penalties by mistake after receiving an outstanding-balance notice. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but produced a FedEx record showing delivery to the operator and a signature by S. Brandon. The Commission…
Secretary of Labor v. Knife River
Misdirected penalty contest reopened
Knife River intended to contest proposed penalties but misunderstood the assessment instructions and mailed its contest to the Commission instead of MSHA. It discovered the mistake after receiving a delinquency notice and immediately contacted MSHA. The Secretary did not oppose relief. The…
Secretary of Labor v. Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Equipment and escapeway rulings split
MSHA cited conditions involving an interrupted escapeway lifeline, electrical cables and outlets, shop lighting, a missing rock bar, and airborne track-entry dust at Jim Walter's No. 7 Mine. Judge Avram Weisberger affirmed the lifeline violation because a six-foot gap through an airlock was not…
Secretary of Labor v. Clean Energy Mining Company
Reopening request moot because assessment was never received
Clean Energy asked to reopen a proposed penalty assessment, but both parties agreed that the assessment had been returned to MSHA undelivered. Because the operator never received it, the 30-day contest period never began and the assessment never became a final Commission order. The Commission…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Robert Gatlin v. KenAmerican Resources, Inc.
Layoff may toll temporary reinstatement
Robert Gatlin was temporarily reinstated after alleging that KenAmerican discharged him for refusing work he believed was unsafe. The mine later idled and laid off most of its workforce, including Gatlin, but the judge required his economic reinstatement to continue under any circumstances. The…
Sidney Coal Company, Inc.
Ventilation violations reduced to non-S&S
Sidney Coal operated two continuous miners without the line curtains required by its approved ventilation plan, leaving little air movement and visible suspended coal dust at both faces. Judge Michael E. Zielinski affirmed both violations and found high negligence and unwarrantable failure because…
Matter of Binsar SILITONGA
Arriving-alien adjustment belongs to USCIS
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal from an Immigration Judge's grant of adjustment of status to an arriving alien. It held that Immigration Judges generally have no jurisdiction over an arriving alien's adjustment application, except in the narrow advance-parole…
Matter of G-D-M-
Crewman visa bars cancellation of removal
The Board reviewed a removal case involving a respondent who entered the United States with a crewman's visa. It held that an alien who entered pursuant to a crewman's visa to obtain employment as a crewman is statutorily ineligible for cancellation of removal under section 240A(c)(1). The Board…
Jayson Turner v. National Cement Company of California
Discrimination complaint dismissed, then remanded
Electrician Jayson Turner alleged that National Cement discharged him for raising concerns about electrical gloves, manlift lighting, mislabeled equipment, and work near heat and gases. Judge Jacqueline R. Bulluck found that Turner engaged in protected activity but did not prove that it motivated…
Secretary of Labor v. The Banner Company, LLC
One-day-late penalty contest reopened
The Banner Company submitted its penalty contest one day after the deadline because of confusion about the due date. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission granted relief in the interests of justice and remanded the case for penalty proceedings. It directed the Secretary to file a…
Secretary of Labor v. Northern Lakes Concrete, Inc.
Renewed reopening request granted
The Commission had denied Northern Lakes Concrete's first request to reopen three assessments because the company did not explain its late filings in enough detail. Northern Lakes promptly submitted a second motion supported by an affidavit that more fully described the delay. The Secretary did not…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Lige Williamson v. CAM Mining, LLC
Temporary reinstatement denied, then reversed
Lige Williamson alleged that CAM Mining discharged him after he complained to his foreman about ventilation. Judge Jerold Feldman assumed the complaint occurred but found no reasonable connection between that activity and Williamson's discharge after a confrontation with the foreman. The judge…
Secretary of Labor v. A Mining Group, LLC
Penalty reopened after citation-only contest
A Mining Group timely contested a citation but did not separately contest the later proposed penalty assessment for that citation. The operator said it had no record of receiving the assessment and tried repeatedly to contact MSHA after a delinquency notice, while FedEx records showed delivery. The…
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.