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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Georges Colliers, Incorporated
EAJA fee ruling remanded
Georges Colliers, Inc. sought attorney fees and expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act after an administrative law judge reduced proposed Mine Act penalties from $332,701 to $72,298. The judge denied the fee application, but the Commission held that he used the wrong legal framework for an…
Cactus Canyon Quarries of Texas Incorporated
One citation dismissed and case reassigned
Cactus Canyon Quarries faced two citations involving fall protection on a conveyor pulley and an inoperable backup alarm on a track loader. The Secretary filed her penalty petition after the proposed penalties, and then sought more time to respond to the operator’s motion to dismiss. Judge David F…
Washington Rock Quarries, Inc.
Summary decision denied
Washington Rock Quarries contested citations and proposed penalties at its Champion Pit. The Secretary asked the judge to decide the case without a hearing, arguing that the respondent filed its answer late and that no material facts were disputed. The judge found that the late answer was covered…
The Coteau Properties Co.
Late discrimination complaint given a chance to show cause
Royal Sargent alleged that The Coteau Properties Co. suspended him, transferred him, restricted his job availability, and placed him on probation after he raised safety issues. His initial discrimination complaint to MSHA was filed 49 days beyond the statutory 60-day period. Judge Michael E…
Jerry Hudgeons, employed by Ash Grove Cement Company
Late penalty petitions accepted
The Secretary sought individual penalties against Jerry Hudgeons and Fred Walker for alleged Mine Act violations at Ash Grove Cement Company’s Foreman Quarry and Plant. The Secretary filed the penalty petitions three and five days late after the files were misplaced during assignment in the…
Limerock Industries, Incorporated
Late penalty petition dismissed
Limerock Industries contested fourteen citations and the related proposed penalties, but the Secretary did not file the penalty petition for this docket within the required 45-day period. The Secretary filed the petition more than five months late and attributed the delay to a clerical error. Chief…
Eagle Energy, Inc.
Penalty assessment reopened after late contest
Eagle Energy asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final because the operator did not timely contest one citation. The company said it relied on an MSHA manager's statement that citations issued under a single-sample method would be vacated, and later learned that it…
The Pittsburg & Midway Coal Mining Company
Five-day-late penalty petition accepted
The Secretary filed a civil penalty petition against The Pittsburg & Midway Coal Mining Company for the York Canyon Surface Mine. The petition was due 45 days after MSHA received the company's contest, but it was mailed five days late because of a computer database problem and a breakdown in…
James M. Ray, employed by Leo Journagan Construction
EAJA fee application denied
James M. Ray sought attorney fees and litigation expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act after the Secretary brought Mine Act charges against him individually. The underlying case involved employees working around a crusher and removing rocks from a hopper, including alleged failures to…
Lyon Sand & Gravel Co.
Late penalty petitions dismissed
The Secretary sought individual civil penalties against Raymond P. Ernst and Scott Bandkau for alleged Mine Act violations by their employer, Lyon Sand & Gravel. The Secretary filed the penalty petitions after the 45-day deadline and offered only general explanations about internal review and…
Day Branch Coal Company, Inc. and Bobby Joe Hensley
Dismissal vacated and remanded
Day Branch Coal Company and Bobby Joe Hensley asked the Commission to review dismissal of a large group of contest proceedings. The Commission found that the ALJ dismissed the cases before the operators’ response period had expired under the Commission’s service rules. It vacated the dismissal…
Tanglewood Energy, Inc.
Temporary reinstatement ordered
The Secretary sought temporary reinstatement for Perry Poddey, a miner who said Tanglewood Energy discharged him after he complained to MSHA and his foreman about a defective parking brake on the scoop he operated. MSHA issued citations concerning the parking brake, and Mr. Poddey was discharged…
Tanglewood Energy, Inc.
Temporary reinstatement ordered
The Secretary sought temporary reinstatement for Perry Poddey, a miner who said Tanglewood Energy discharged him after he complained to MSHA and his foreman about a defective parking brake on the scoop he operated. MSHA issued citations concerning the parking brake, and Mr. Poddey was discharged…
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.