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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Michael Wilson v. Jarrod Farris, David Taylor, & Ross Glazer
Michael Wilson v. Jarrod Farris, David Taylor, & Ross Glazer (FMSHRC KENT 2015-672-D): Discovery request denied
Michael Wilson, a nonemployee miners' representative at the Parkway Mine, alleged that three ram-car drivers interfered with his Mine Act rights by asking an MSHA inspector how to remove him as a representative and keep him off mine property. Wilson sought permission to depose the three respondents…
Secretary of Labor v. Jeppesen Gravel
Secretary of Labor v. Jeppesen Gravel (FMSHRC CENT 2014-298-M): Sanctions denied but trial evidence limited
The Secretary sought sanctions after Jeppesen Gravel, a small pro se operator, allegedly failed to provide complete discovery responses in a case involving 18 citations. Judge Priscilla M. Rae found that Jeppesen had responded to the extent of his abilities and that the Secretary's multiple sets of…
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…
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, MSHA v. John Richards Construction
Secretary of Labor v. John Richards Construction (FMSHRC WEST 2011-129-M): Simplified proceeding set and depositions denied
MSHA alleged that John Richards Construction operated machinery without a securely installed guard and proposed a $100 penalty. Judge William B. Moran designated the single-citation case for the Commission's simplified-proceedings track and denied the operator's request to take depositions. He…
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.