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 on behalf of Jeffrey Pappas v. CalPortland Company and Riverside Cement Company
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Jeffrey Pappas v. CalPortland Company and Riverside Cement Company (FMSHRC WEST 2016-264 DM): Privileged discrimination records shielded from discovery
CalPortland and Riverside Cement asked Judge Alan G. Paez to compel the Secretary to produce an MSHA interview, an email, a memorandum, and other documents from Jeffrey Pappas in his discrimination case. The judge found the motion untimely because it came after the discovery deadline and more than…
Secretary of Labor obo Thomas McGary and Ron Bowersox and United Mine Workers of America International Union v. The Marshall County Coal Co., et al.
Secretary of Labor obo Thomas McGary and Ron Bowersox, et al. v. The Marshall County Coal Co., et al. (FMSHRC WEVA 2015-583 D, et al.): Mandatory reporting rule unlawfully chilled confidential MSHA complaints
After Murray Energy acquired five West Virginia coal mines, CEO Robert Murray held mandatory meetings that told miners they were required to report to management the same safety concerns they submitted confidentially to MSHA under section 103(g). The presentations also criticized complaints that…
Secretary of Labor v. Warrior Coal, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Warrior Coal, LLC (FMSHRC KENT 2011-1259 R, et al.): MSHA may require employee contact information during safety investigations
After an inspector found hazardous roof and rib conditions at Warrior Coal's Cardinal Mine, MSHA opened a special investigation and requested the names, shifts, and contact information of all mine employees. Warrior refused to provide contact information without each employee's permission, leading…
Michael Wilson v. Jarrod Farris, David Taylor, & Ross Glazer
Michael Wilson v. Jarrod Farris, David Taylor, & Ross Glazer (FMSHRC KENT 2015-672-D): No adverse action from miners' inquiry
Michael Wilson, a nonemployee miners' representative, alleged that three ram-car drivers asked an MSHA inspector how they could remove him as a representative and keep him off mine property. He sought training and cease-and-desist relief against the miners individually, not their employer. Judge…
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…
Revelation Energy, LLC v. Secretary of Labor
Revelation Energy, LLC v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC KENT 2011-357-R, et al.): Flyrock violations affirmed with $76,300 penalty
Revelation Energy operated two surface coal mines in Kentucky where blasting sent large rocks beyond mine boundaries toward homes and a public road. At the S-4 Netley Branch Mine, four rocks landed in residential yards and one struck the window of an occupied home after the mine failed to follow…
Christopher Pulliam and Deborah L. Pulliam v. Sterling Materials
Christopher Pulliam and Deborah L. Pulliam v. Sterling Materials (FMSHRC KENT 2013-1045-DM, KENT 2014-238-DM): Miner-witness recording ordered for private review
Sterling Materials sought an audio recording that Christopher Pulliam planned to play at the discrimination hearing, while Pulliam argued that disclosure would identify a miner and risk retaliation. Judge John Kent Lewis held that the miner-informant privilege in Rule 61 belongs to the government…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Jose Villa v. Molycorp Minerals, LLC
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Jose Villa v. Molycorp Minerals, LLC (FMSHRC WEST 2013-1097-DM): Privileged investigation records withheld
Molycorp Minerals sought unredacted MSHA interview memoranda, witness statements, and an internal memorandum in a discrimination case brought for miner Jose Villa. Judge Alan G. Paez found that the disputed records were protected by the work-product privilege, the informant's privilege, or both…
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.