Federal agency decisions, searchable in plain English.
Workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) and mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), each with a plain-English summary, the standards it cites, and whether it counts as precedent. More agencies are coming.
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Sherwin Alumina Company, LLC v. Secretary of Labor; Secretary of Labor v. Sherwin Alumina Company, LLC; United Steelworkers, Local 235A, Intervenor
Sherwin Alumina Company, LLC v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC CENT 2015-0151-RM, et al.): Locked-out miners retained walkaround representation
Sherwin Alumina locked out about 450 union-represented miners and temporarily replaced them, then barred their designated miners' representative from accompanying MSHA inspections. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy distinguished Commission precedent involving economic strikers because locked-out employees…
Secretary of Labor v. Warrior Investments Company, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Warrior Investments Company, Inc. (FMSHRC SE-2014-347): Defective scoop parking brake citation affirmed
An unloaded scoop at Warrior Investments' low-coal mine rolled several feet after its parking brake was applied and stopped only when the operator lowered the bucket. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy found that the brake failed to hold the machine stationary and that normal practices of leaving scoops…
Secretary of Labor v. Bardo Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Bardo Mining, LLC (FMSHRC KENT 2008-570): Roof, dust-control, and guarding citations affirmed
MSHA cited Bardo Mining for loose and deteriorating roof, failure to set automatic temporary roof supports firmly against the roof, inadequate dust-control examinations and water sprays, and exposed moving machine parts. Judge Richard L. Sippel affirmed all nine litigated citations and their S&S…
Secretary of Labor v. Nally & Hamilton Enterprises, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Nally & Hamilton Enterprises, Inc. (FMSHRC KENT 2012-749, et al.): Highwall orders split with $51,484 total penalty
Nally & Hamilton contested highwall and examination citations at its Kentucky surface coal operations, while resolving several other citations by settlement. Judge John Kent Lewis affirmed two early violations involving loose material and an inadequate examination, but reduced each to non-S&S, low…
Secretary of Labor v. Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Jim Walter Resources, Inc. (FMSHRC SE 2008-881, SE 2008-268-R): No-negligence finding and $500 penalty affirmed
An employee of contractor O&O Services fell through an opening at Jim Walter Resources' coal load-out facility while not using fall protection. The judge held JWR strictly liable as the mine operator for the significant-and-substantial violation but found that JWR itself was not negligent and…
Secretary of Labor v. Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Jim Walter Resources, Inc. (FMSHRC SE 2008-881, SE 2008-268-R): No-negligence finding and $500 penalty affirmed
An employee of contractor O&O Services fell through an opening at Jim Walter Resources' coal load-out facility while not using fall protection. The judge held JWR strictly liable as the mine operator for the significant-and-substantial violation but found that JWR itself was not negligent and…
Secretary of Labor v. Cemex de Puerto Rico
Secretary of Labor v. Cemex de Puerto Rico (FMSHRC SE 2011-502-M, et al.): Four safety actions and $29,711 in penalties affirmed
MSHA issued four enforcement actions involving Cemex's Ponce Cement Plant and Cantera Canas Mine in Puerto Rico. Two citations concerned a welder working untied on top of a mill and reaching it by climbing handrails and mill structure instead of using safe access. A third citation covered multiple…
Secretary of Labor v. Elk Run Coal Company
Secretary of Labor v. Elk Run Coal Company (FMSHRC WEVA 2013-1180, et al.): Four roof-control violations affirmed with $172,944 penalty
MSHA cited four roof-control and examination violations in the primary escapeway at Elk Run Coal Company's Roundbottom Powellton Deep Mine. The conditions included an overwide entry with excessive roof-bolt spacing, loose draw rock above the lifeline, improperly installed wire mesh loaded with…
Secretary of Labor v. Performance Coal Company
Secretary of Labor v. Performance Coal Company (FMSHRC WEVA 2008-1825): The judge had to address the increased penalty request
MSHA cited Performance Coal for a significant-and-substantial accumulation of float coal dust and initially proposed a $4,329 penalty. After the hearing, the Secretary asked for $34,653 based on asserted evidence of high negligence and seven miners potentially affected. The judge discussed the…
What these documents are
- Commission decisions: Rulings by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission itself, the highest level of agency review. These are citable as Commission precedent, though a decision may have been appealed to a U.S. Court of Appeals after issuance.
- ALJ decisions: Rulings by OSHRC Administrative Law Judges after a hearing. When no Commissioner directs review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j): it binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent in other cases.
- 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 OSHRC public release, and the full text on the page is that release. The plain-English summaries are written by Ezel.