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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Nally & Hamilton Enterprises, Inc.
Reconsideration and stay denied
The Commission had reversed an ALJ decision that vacated a citation issued to Nally & Hamilton Enterprises. The company petitioned for reconsideration and asked the Commission to stay the effect of that decision. After considering the petition, the Commission denied both reconsideration and a stay.
North Fork Coal Corporation
Temporary economic reinstatement modified, stay denied
North Fork Coal sought reconsideration and a stay of a Commission decision requiring temporary economic reinstatement of miner Mark Gray while his discrimination case continued. The Commission held that wages from other employment do not ordinarily offset temporary reinstatement because that relief…
Secretary of Labor v. Aracoma Coal Company, Inc.
Settlement order corrected and remanded
After the Commission affirmed Aracoma Coal's large settlement, the parties asked it to correct clerical errors in the underlying ALJ order and attached docket lists. The Commission granted reconsideration, changed the settlement count from 1,302 to 1,281 citations and orders, and corrected the…
Pinky's Aggregates, Inc.
Commission reopens defaulted penalties after finding an overlooked letter
Pinky's Aggregates failed to contest $463 in proposed penalties within 30 days, and the assessment became a final Commission order. The Commission had twice denied reopening because the operator had not adequately explained the late filing. A three-member majority later found an overlooked letter…
Earl Begley, employed by Manalapan Mining Company, Incorporated
Earl Begley v. Manalapan Mining Company, Incorporated (FMSHRC KENT 99-233): Reconsideration petition denied as untimely
An ALJ found that Earl Begley violated the Mine Act by carrying smoking materials underground and assessed a $250 penalty. Begley filed his petition for discretionary review six days after the 30-day deadline, and the Commission denied it as untimely. He later sought reconsideration after the judge…
U.S. Borax Incorporated
Late review proceedings reopened
Louis W. Dykhoff, Jr. filed a petition for discretionary review of an ALJ decision dismissing his discrimination complaint, but the petition arrived ten days after the 30-day deadline. The Commission had denied the late petition, then considered Dykhoff’s motion for relief from default and…
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.