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.
Secretary of Labor v. Dominion Coal Corporation
Secretary of Labor v. Dominion Coal Corporation (FMSHRC VA 2015-285): Penalty case stayed pending discrimination liability
The Secretary sought a $12,500 penalty against Dominion Coal based on an earlier ruling that the company interfered with Scott McGlothlin's Mine Act rights when he sought Part 90 protection. In the related discrimination case, McGlothlin and Dominion proposed agreed relief and dismissal, but the…
Brody Mining, LLC v. Secretary of Labor, MSHA
Brody Mining, LLC v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC WEVA 2014-82-R, et al.): Interlocutory review granted on pattern rule
The Chief Administrative Law Judge certified questions concerning MSHA's 2013 pattern-of-violations rule for immediate Commission review. The Commission agreed that the issues involved controlling questions of law and that immediate review could materially advance the cases. It granted review of…
Dickenson-Russell Coal Company, LLC
Dickenson-Russell Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC VA 2012-397): Interlocutory review vacated after contest withdrawal
The Commission had accepted interlocutory review of whether the Secretary could remove an S&S designation in settlement without Commission approval. Dickenson-Russell Coal then paid the penalty and withdrew its contest of the citation. The Commission held that immediate review would no longer…
Secretary of Labor v. Dickenson-Russell Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Dickenson-Russell Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC VA 2012-397): Settlement rejected and S&S-review question certified
The Secretary and Dickenson-Russell proposed reducing a $971 citation penalty to $500 and removing its S&S designation. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy rejected the amended settlement because the parties did not request corresponding gravity and affected-miner modifications and because the Secretary…
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.