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 obo Curtis Logsdon v. Park County Government
Secretary of Labor obo Curtis Logsdon v. Park County Government (FMSHRC WEST 2016-380 DM): The Secretary's internal case file stays private
MSHA brought a discrimination case for miner Curtis Logsdon against Park County, Colorado, which operates the Nine Pit. Park County asked the Secretary to hand over two documents: the letter the Mine Act requires MSHA to send a miner telling him whether it found a violation, and the internal…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Adam Whiton v. Wharf Resources (USA), Inc.
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Adam Whiton v. Wharf Resources (USA), Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2016-221 DM): Five management interview memoranda ordered disclosed
Wharf Resources moved to compel 18 documents from MSHA's investigation of Adam Whiton's discrimination complaint. After reviewing the documents privately, Judge Thomas P. McCarthy held that the agency's case analysis, investigative report, internal memoranda, handwritten notes, and…
Daniel B. Lowe v. Veris Gold USA, Inc. and Jerritt Canyon Gold, LLC
Daniel B. Lowe v. Veris Gold USA, Inc. and Jerritt Canyon Gold, LLC (FMSHRC WEST 2014-614 DM): Discovery allowed on additional successor entities
Daniel Lowe sought to add several Whitebox and Sprott entities and individuals as successors liable for discrimination committed by Veris Gold. Judge William B. Moran had already added Jerritt Canyon Gold, the purchaser and new mine operator, but found the existing assertions insufficient to decide…
Matthew A. Varady v. Veris Gold USA, Inc. and Jerritt Canyon Gold, LLC
Matthew A. Varady v. Veris Gold USA, Inc. and Jerritt Canyon Gold, LLC (FMSHRC WEST 2014-307 DM): Discovery authorized on proposed successors
After proving discrimination by Veris Gold, Matthew Varady sought to add Whitebox-related entities and individuals as successors alongside Jerritt Canyon Gold. Judge William B. Moran held that the Commission had jurisdiction to determine successor status, but that Varady's allegations and the…
Secretary of Labor v. Traylor Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Traylor Mining, LLC (FMSHRC WEST 2014-351-M): Special-assessment form not compelled before hearing
The Secretary proposed a specially assessed $52,500 penalty after an injury at Traylor Mining's Bulldog Mine. Traylor moved to compel production of MSHA's special-assessment review form, while the Secretary claimed deliberative-process privilege and said all factual information had already been…
Pocahontas Coal Company, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. Pocahontas Coal Company, Inc.
Pocahontas Coal Company, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC WEVA 2014-395-R, et al.): Limited fact discovery allowed into pattern-notice selection
Pocahontas Coal challenged a pattern-of-violations notice that grouped 42 enforcement actions involving roof control and emergency preparedness at its Affinity Mine. Depositions showed that attorneys in the Labor Department's Solicitor's Office, rather than MSHA personnel, had selected and grouped…
Scott McGlothlin v. Dominion Coal Corporation
Scott McGlothlin v. Dominion Coal Corporation (FMSHRC VA 2014-233-D): Reconsideration of subpoena ruling denied
Scott McGlothlin alleged that Dominion Coal discriminated against him because he sought protections for miners with pneumoconiosis under 30 C.F.R. Part 90. Dominion asked Judge Jerold Feldman to reconsider an order quashing a subpoena for deleted emails that McGlothlin's wife may have sent from her…
Scott McGlothlin v. Dominion Coal Corporation
Scott McGlothlin v. Dominion Coal Corporation (FMSHRC VA 2014-233-D): Subpoena for deleted emails quashed
Scott McGlothlin alleged that Dominion Coal discriminated against him because he sought protections for miners with pneumoconiosis under 30 C.F.R. Part 90. Dominion subpoenaed the Russell County Treasurer's Office for deleted emails that McGlothlin's wife may have sent from her office computer…
Marshall J. Justice v. Gateway Eagle Coal Co.
Marshall J. Justice v. Gateway Eagle Coal Co. (FMSHRC WEVA 2014-559): MSHA interview memoranda ordered for private review
Marshall Justice pursued his own Mine Act discrimination case after MSHA declined to file for him and subpoenaed the agency's investigative file. The Secretary refused to produce the file or an MSHA official, citing Department of Labor approval rules and several privileges, although Justice…
Pocahontas Coal Company, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor
Pocahontas Coal Company, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC WEVA 2014-390-R): discovery into pattern-of-violations facts partly allowed
Pocahontas Coal contested nine citations and orders connected to MSHA's notice that its Affinity Mine had a pattern of significant and substantial violations. The operator sought to question two MSHA officials about the facts behind the mine-specific pattern determination, while the Secretary asked…
Secretary of Labor v. M-Class Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. M-Class Mining, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2013-47, LAKE 2013-123): discovery from open agent investigation denied
M-Class Mining sought MSHA's open section 110(c) special-investigation file and a deposition of the special investigator while defending four operator citations, three of which remained disputed. Judge Margaret A. Miller denied the motion because possible individual-agent liability was not yet part…
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.