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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Secretary of Labor v. West Alabama Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. West Alabama Sand & Gravel, Inc. (FMSHRC SE 2009-870 M): Six-year penalty delinquency supports $22,450 assessment
A customer truck driver climbed onto a loaded trailer without fall protection and worked near its edge about ten feet above the ground at West Alabama Sand & Gravel's mine. An earlier decision affirmed the S&S violation but removed unwarrantable failure, reduced negligence to moderate, and cut the…
Secretary of Labor v. Regent Allied Carbon Energy, Incorporated
Secretary of Labor v. Regent Allied Carbon Energy, Incorporated (FMSHRC VA 2013-0404): Unlocked cable-work citation affirmed at $11,500
During a mine-wide power outage, a Regent Allied foreman directed unqualified miners to handle, inspect, and re-tape splices along a shuttle-car trailing cable without locking and tagging out the cable's disconnect. Power was restored while the work area was not visible from the power center…
Dickenson-Russell Coal Company, LLC v. Secretary of Labor
Dickenson-Russell Coal Company, LLC v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC VA 2009-430, VA 2009-393-R): Mine operator had to report temporary worker's injury
A temporary worker supervised by Dickenson-Russell was injured while roof bolting at the Roaring Fork No. 4 Mine. His employment agency timely filed MSHA Form 7000-1, but Dickenson-Russell did not file its own report because it believed the contractor's submission was sufficient. Judge Jerold…
Cam Mining, LLC
Cam Mining, LLC (FMSHRC KENT 2009-955): Coal-dust citation reduced and examination citation vacated
MSHA cited Cam Mining for float coal dust inside an energized transformer box and for an allegedly inadequate weekly electrical examination that did not identify the accumulations. Judge Jerold Feldman affirmed the accumulation violation but found the Secretary had not proved it was significant and…
Dickenson-Russell Coal Co., LLC
Dickenson-Russell Coal Co., LLC (FMSHRC VA 2008-393): Mantrip sander violations affirmed with penalty reduced to $750
MSHA cited three nine-passenger diesel mantrips at Dickenson-Russell Coal's Cherokee Mine because their sanding devices contained wet sand and did not work. The mine had recently been inundated, but the mantrips were parked on track in ready-for-use positions and had not been tagged out of service…
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.