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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Sean Miller v. Savage Services Corporation
Harassment claim survives summary decision
Sean Miller alleged that Savage Services harassed and retaliated against him after he removed unsafe commercial vehicles from service and refused to operate an overweight or uncleared replacement truck. Savage sought summary decision, arguing that the MSHA complaint was late, no actionable adverse…
Price v. Monterey Coal Company
Work-refusal discrimination claim dismissed and fee award vacated
Paula Price challenged a four-day suspension and loss of mine access after she did not comply with Monterey Coal's requirement that miners wear integrated metatarsal boots. The Commission held that her conduct was a work refusal, but that the refusal was not reasonable or protected because the…
Gilbert v. Sandy Fork Mining Company, Inc.
Discrimination complaints reinstated and remanded
John A. Gilbert and the Secretary of Labor alleged that Sandy Fork Mining discharged Gilbert after he refused work he reasonably believed was hazardous. On remand from the D.C. Circuit, the Commission held that the record supported Gilbert's good-faith, reasonable safety concern and that the…
Ideal Basic Industries, Inc.
Discrimination settlement approved
Thirteen complainants and Ideal Basic Industries reached a settlement in a discrimination proceeding involving the Ada Quarry and Plant. The company agreed not to restrict employees solely because they filed state workers' compensation claims based on work-related disabilities, to comply with Mine…
Black Streak Mining
Respondent ordered to answer discrimination complaint
John Dixon Hacker filed a discrimination complaint against Black Streak Mining after an injury and the end of his employment. He alleged that he had reported mine conditions to an MSHA inspector and was later told that he no longer had a job. MSHA declined to bring a discrimination case, so Hacker…
Paula Price v. Monterey Coal Company
Discrimination complaint remanded after jurisdiction ruling changed
Paula Price filed a private Mine Act discrimination complaint against Monterey Coal Company before the Secretary had determined whether a violation occurred. The ALJ dismissed the complaint for lack of jurisdiction, relying on a Commission decision that required a prior Secretarial determination…
Monterey Coal Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
Paula L. Price complained that Monterey Coal Company discriminated against her after suspending her for refusing to wear metatarsal safety boots that she said did not fit, caused foot injuries, and created a safety hazard. The Secretary told Price that her complaint had been satisfied and that no…
Sandy Fork Mining Company, Inc.
Private discrimination complaint dismissed
Orville Sparks alleged that Sandy Fork Mining Company discharged him in violation of section 105(c)(1) of the Mine Act. After the Secretary had not completed its investigation, Sparks filed a private complaint with the Commission under Commission Rule 40(b), and the Secretary later filed a separate…
Gilbert v. Sandy Fork Mining Co., Inc.
Discrimination claims dismissed and Rule 40(b) invalidated
John A. Gilbert alleged that Sandy Fork Mining discharged him after he refused work he believed was hazardous because of unstable roof conditions at the No. 12 underground coal mine. The Commission affirmed the ALJ's finding that Gilbert was not discriminated against because his August 6 work…
Maggard v. Chaney Creek Coal Company
Discrimination finding affirmed and attorney fees vacated
Odell Maggard alleged that Chaney Creek Coal Company and Dollar Branch Coal Corporation discharged him after he refused work he reasonably believed was hazardous because a trailing cable had shocked him. An administrative law judge found discriminatory discharge, ordered reinstatement, awarded…
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.