Federal Agency Decisions
Workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), and environmental appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board, each with a plain-English summary, the standards it cites, and whether it counts as precedent. More agencies are coming.
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Darwin Stratton & Son, Inc.
Hearing continuance denied
Darwin Stratton & Son faced three civil-penalty proceedings involving alleged failures to examine a crushing plant, file a quarterly employment report, and allow an MSHA inspector into the Airport Pit. The company asked to postpone a scheduled hearing so it could review documents and await a…
Broken Hill Mining Company
Eight violations affirmed after default
MSHA sought $26,300 in civil penalties against Broken Hill Mining Company for eight alleged violations of mandatory mine-safety standards in 30 C.F.R. Part 75. The company did not appear at the scheduled hearing, so the judge proceeded without it and found the company in default. Based on the…
REB Enterprises, Inc.
Default order vacated and remanded
The Commission reviewed a default order against REB Enterprises and two employees, Harold Miller and Richard E. Berry, that imposed civil penalties totaling $10,350. The respondents had proceeded without counsel and had not responded to a prehearing order or penalty petitions, but the judge had not…
Coal Preparation Services, Inc.
Default dismissal vacated and remanded
Coal Preparation Services failed to appear at a rescheduled civil-penalty hearing after its president said he went to the hearing site on the wrong date. The ALJ dismissed the case by default and ordered payment of a $162 civil penalty. The Commission majority treated the company’s letter as a…
Moberly Stone Company
Default judgment entered after failure to appear
Moberly Stone Company contested five alleged violations of mandatory safety standards at its operation in Missouri. The company did not appear at the scheduled hearing after receiving notice, so Judge Roy J. Maurer proceeded without it and found the company in default. The Secretary’s evidence…
Moberly Stone Company
Default judgment entered after failure to appear
Moberly Stone Company contested five alleged violations of mandatory safety standards at its operation in Missouri. The company did not appear at the scheduled hearing after receiving notice, so Judge Roy J. Maurer proceeded without it and found the company in default. The Secretary’s evidence…
Patsy v. Big "B" Mining Company
Dismissal vacated and matter remanded
Randall Patsy appealed the reinstatement of a dismissal in his discrimination proceeding against Big "B" Mining Company. The Commission treated his letter as a timely petition for discretionary review and granted review. It vacated the judge's dismissal because the judge had not issued the required…
What these documents are
- The agencies: Workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), and environmental permit and penalty appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB). Each decision page names its agency.
- Commission and Board decisions: Rulings by the agency's highest review level (the Commission at OSHRC and FMSHRC, the Environmental Appeals Board at EPA). These are citable as precedent, though a decision may have been appealed to a U.S. Court of Appeals after issuance.
- ALJ decisions: Rulings by the agency's Administrative Law Judges after a hearing. When no Commissioner directs review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order that binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent: under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j) at OSHRC, and after the 40-day window of 30 U.S.C. § 823(d)(1) at FMSHRC.
- 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 public release from the deciding agency, and the full text on the page is that release. The plain-English summaries are written by Ezel.