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.
No decisions match these filters
Try a different search term or clear the filters.
Jonathan Bethel Woodward v. Carmeuse Lime and Stone
Jonathan Bethel Woodward v. Carmeuse Lime and Stone (FMSHRC SE 2016-59 DM): MSHA ordered to submit withheld interviews for private review
After MSHA declined to litigate Jonathan Woodward's discrimination complaint, he brought his own section 105(c)(3) case against Carmeuse Lime and Stone. Carmeuse sought MSHA's investigative file, but the agency withheld two interview statements under internal subpoena rules, the Privacy Act, and…
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…
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…
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review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j): it binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent in other cases.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.