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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Secretary of Labor v. Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Flooded escapeway violation reduced to no negligence
An MSHA inspector found a 52-foot section of Jim Walter Resources' alternate escapeway covered by clear water up to 11 inches deep. Judge L. Zane Gill held that the water violated the escapeway standard because even a limited obstruction could slow miners during an emergency evacuation. He denied…
Excel Mining, LLC
Motion to limit discovery denied for rule and factual errors
The Secretary sought to limit Excel Mining's discovery in a case involving five citations and $11,158 in proposed penalties. Judge Alan G. Paez denied the motion because the Secretary had not conferred with Excel or stated its opposition as Commission Rule 10(c) required. He also identified factual…
Performance Coal Company
Stay denied and penalty hearings scheduled
Performance Coal requested hearings on citations, orders, and proposed penalties in six Upper Big Branch-South Mine dockets. Judge Margaret A. Miller denied the Secretary's motion to stay these proceedings and placed them on a hearing schedule. She required the parties to exchange information about…
Billy Brannon v. Panther Mining, LLC and Mark D. Shelton
Discovery partly compelled and cases consolidated
Billy Brannon moved to compel additional employee identities, personnel records, investigation materials, and other discovery from Panther Mining. Judge David F. Barbour ordered disclosure of relevant employee and policy information and nonprivileged investigative material, but denied requests for…
Panther Mining, LLC
Discovery partly compelled and cases consolidated
Billy Brannon sought additional employee identities, personnel policies, investigation notes, witness statements, and other discovery from Panther Mining. Judge David F. Barbour ordered production of relevant employee information, company policies, and nonprivileged investigation material, while…
BGS Construction, Inc.
Motion to dismiss denied after delayed penalty notice
BGS Construction faced two citations involving the death of a miner at the Blacksville No. 2 mine. The Secretary mailed the proposed penalty notice about 14 months after the investigation ended, and BGS argued that the delay required dismissal. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon held that the Secretary gave an…
Reinjtes of the South, Inc.
Settlement approval vacated and remanded
Reinjtes of the South agreed to pay $55,131 to settle two citations while a stay was in place pending a Fifth Circuit jurisdiction ruling about MSHA's authority over alumina plants. After the Fifth Circuit ruled that MSHA had jurisdiction, the ALJ lifted the stay and approved the settlement before…
Day Branch Coal Company, Inc. and Bobby Joe Hensley
Dismissal vacated and remanded
Day Branch Coal Company and Bobby Joe Hensley asked the Commission to review dismissal of a large group of contest proceedings. The Commission found that the ALJ dismissed the cases before the operators’ response period had expired under the Commission’s service rules. It vacated the dismissal…
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.