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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Manuel P. Ruiz v. Pinto Valley Mining Corporation
Manuel P. Ruiz v. Pinto Valley Mining Corporation (FMSHRC WEST 2016-407-DM): Crane-safety refusal was protected activity
Manuel Ruiz told Pinto Valley that he did not have enough practical experience to operate cranes safely after more than two years without using the equipment. Management initially accepted the concern, arranged refresher training, and later agreed that he needed supervised seat time, but the mine…
Gene Estella v. Newmont USA Limited
Gene Estella v. Newmont USA Limited (FMSHRC WEST 2016-31 DM): Miner fired after anonymous MSHA safety complaints wins reinstatement
Gene Estella worked in the copper leach area at Newmont's Phoenix Mine in Nevada. He and coworkers made anonymous safety complaints to MSHA, an inspection followed, and citations were issued. Two weeks later Newmont suspended and then fired Estella and two other employees from that same area…
Shawn Hirt v. Gary Servaes Enterprises
Shawn Hirt v. Gary Servaes Enterprises (FMSHRC CENT 2015-598 DM): Blaster's helper fired for talking to MSHA wins back pay
Shawn Hirt worked as a blaster's assistant at the Atchison Quarry, a small limestone mine in Kansas. In January 2015 MSHA, ATF, and the Kansas Fire Marshal inspected the mine together, and Hirt spoke with the MSHA inspector about his work loading explosives. The inspections produced a stack of…
Scott D. McGlothlin v. Dominion Coal Corporation
Scott D. McGlothlin v. Dominion Coal Corporation (FMSHRC VA 2014-233-D): Back pay awarded and attorney fees reduced
An earlier liability ruling found that Dominion Coal interfered with Scott McGlothlin's Part 90 pay protection by reducing his pay after he sought medical-transfer status. The parties proposed $45,942.61 in back pay and expenses plus $88,975.48 in attorney fees, but Judge Jerold Feldman treated the…
Daniel B. Lowe v. Veris Gold USA, Inc.
Daniel B. Lowe v. Veris Gold USA, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 2014-614-DM): Secretary's reconsideration motion denied
Daniel Lowe had prevailed on his self-filed Mine Act discrimination complaint against Veris Gold, but the Judge had not yet determined damages or other relief. The Secretary of Labor asked the Judge to vacate that ruling, arguing that an order to file a civil-penalty petition effectively made the…
Patrick Shemwell v. KenAmerican Resources, Inc.
Patrick Shemwell v. KenAmerican Resources, Inc. (FMSHRC KENT 2014-258-D, et al.): Discharge for unsafe-work refusal reversed
Patrick Shemwell was discharged after refusing to operate a bulldozer whose throttle had malfunctioned while he worked near the edge of a refuse pile. Judge John Kent Lewis found that Shemwell honestly and reasonably believed the equipment was unsafe, making his refusal protected activity under the…
Lawrence Pendley v. Highland Mining Co. and James Creighton
Lawrence Pendley v. Highland Mining Co. and James Creighton (FMSHRC KENT 2013-606-D): Discrimination penalties set at $19,750
An earlier decision found that Highland Mining and James Creighton discriminated against miners' representative Lawrence Pendley by interfering with his protected rights. The Secretary proposed a $19,500 penalty against Highland and $500 against Creighton. Judge Kenneth R. Andrews assessed the full…
Scott D. McGlothlin v. Dominion Coal Corporation
Scott D. McGlothlin v. Dominion Coal Corporation (FMSHRC VA 2014-233-D): Dismissal denied because settlement erased liability
An earlier liability ruling found that Dominion Coal interfered with Scott McGlothlin's Part 90 pay-protection rights by reducing his pay after he sought protected status. The parties then agreed on compensation and attorney fees but asked to dismiss all claims with prejudice under a general…
Daniel B. Lowe v. Veris Gold USA, Inc.
Daniel B. Lowe v. Veris Gold USA, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 2014-614-DM): Defaulted employer found liable for safety-complaint firing
Daniel Lowe, Veris Gold's safety and regulatory compliance manager, complained about mercury contamination and contaminated clothing in mine lunchrooms. Veris fired him days later, and its human-resources manager told witnesses that the company would think of a reason for the termination. Veris…
Matthew A. Varady v. Veris Gold USA, Inc.
Matthew A. Varady v. Veris Gold USA, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 2014-307-DM): Ammonia-safety complaints caused unlawful firing
Matthew Varady became ill after repeated ammonia exposure while working in Veris Gold's carbon-in-leach circuit, raised safety and health concerns, and was fired less than two months later. Veris claimed that it fired him solely for a Facebook post criticizing a supervisor for sleeping in a company…
Scott D. McGlothlin v. Dominion Coal Corporation
Scott D. McGlothlin v. Dominion Coal Corporation (FMSHRC VA 2014-233-D): Part 90 pay cut held discriminatory before relief phase
Scott McGlothlin was a continuous-miner operator who began the medical evaluation process for Part 90 protection after being diagnosed with pneumoconiosis. While that evaluation was pending, Dominion permanently reassigned him to less-dusty scoop work and reduced his hourly pay from $35 to $25.67…
Lawrence Pendley v. Highland Mining Co. and James Creighton
Lawrence Pendley v. Highland Mining Co. and James Creighton (FMSHRC KENT 2013-606-D): Interference with miners' representative rights established
Lawrence Pendley alleged that Highland Mining and employee James Creighton interfered with his duties as a miners' representative. Judge Kenneth R. Andrews found that Creighton's repeated confrontational conduct near Pendley and MSHA inspectors reasonably tended to interfere with Pendley's…
Manuel A. Garza v. Hanson Aggregates, LLC
Manuel A. Garza v. Hanson Aggregates, LLC (FMSHRC CENT 2013-307-DM): Retaliatory discharge found after safety complaints
Manuel Garza worked at Hanson Aggregates' Servtex Plant for 21 years and repeatedly raised concerns about wall scaling, fall protection, and other safety practices. The plant manager had criticized Garza for safety work that slowed production, demoted him, treated him harshly, and disciplined him…
Todd Descutner v. Newmont USA
Todd Descutner v. Newmont USA (FMSHRC WEST 2011-523-DM): Safety complaints found to have contributed to a miner's firing
Todd Descutner, a haul-truck driver at Newmont's Leeville underground gold mine, alleged that he was fired after reporting safety concerns, including open ground and incomplete pre-shift inspections. Judge David F. Barbour credited Descutner's account of the latest complaint and found that its…
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.