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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Weirich Brothers, Inc.
Guarding citations partly affirmed and modified
Weirich Brothers operated the Davis Pit, a surface mine in Texas. MSHA cited the company for hard-hat use, guarding around moving machinery, and other conditions, and proposed $12,331 in penalties. The judge affirmed one hard-hat citation and one guarding citation but found neither significant and…
Georges Colliers, Incorporated
EAJA fee application denied
Georges Colliers sought attorney fees and expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act after a judge reduced proposed penalties from $332,701 to $72,398 in a proceeding involving 559 citations. The Commission held that the record of repeated violations, including many significant-and-substantial…
Georges Colliers, Inc.
EAJA fee application denied
Georges Colliers applied for attorney fees and expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act after the judge reduced civil penalties in consolidated Mine Act proceedings. The company argued that the Secretary’s proposed penalties and litigation positions were not substantially justified. Judge…
U.S. Steel Mining Company, LLC
Roof-control citation affirmed
U.S. Steel Mining operated the Oak Grove coal mine, where MSHA cited two offset faces that were not supported by roof bolts within five feet of the uncut face. The judge considered whether the condition violated the mine's approved roof control plan after the original citation was amended to allege…
Cyprus Emerald Resources Corporation
Refuse-pile violations partly affirmed, vacated, and remanded
Cyprus Emerald Resources operated a coal preparation plant and used a large refuse pile near a slurry pond at its Emerald No. 1 Mine in Pennsylvania. The Commission upheld findings that the refuse pile violated construction and dumping rules, that the operator failed to report and investigate an…
Secretary of Labor v. Topper Coal Company, Inc.
Advance warning of inspection upheld
Topper Coal operated an underground Kentucky coal mine where its president warned miners that federal inspectors were on their way, despite being told not to give advance notice. The Commission affirmed that the warning violated section 103(a) of the Mine Act and upheld the $5,000 civil penalty…
Wallace Brothers, Inc.
Failure-to-abate penalties affirmed
Wallace Brothers was cited for two unguarded moving-machine-part violations at a portable crusher and was given two days to correct them. When the inspector returned 26 days later, the violations had not been abated and the company had no sufficient explanation. Judge Arthur J. Amchan affirmed the…
Peabody Coal Company
Electrical citations affirmed as significant and substantial
MSHA cited Peabody Coal Company after finding that a cathead's external grounding wires were disconnected and that another cathead was not plainly marked. Judge Arthur J. Amchan found both violations significant and substantial under the Mathies test. He affirmed both citations and assessed a $189…
Consolidation Coal Company
Trolley-switch citation vacated
Consolidation Coal used a trolley switch as a dead block at its Osage No. 3 Mine after removing the switch handle and blade but leaving the fingers attached. MSHA cited the practice under 30 C.F.R. § 75.520, and the Secretary sought a $50 civil penalty. Judge David F. Barbour found that the switch…
Hobet Mining, Incorporated
Excessive-history penalties remanded
Hobet Mining challenged penalty proposals calculated under the Secretary's excessive-history program, which increased penalties based on prior violations. The Commission held that it had jurisdiction to review the program and that the program was an invalid substantive rule because it had not gone…
Cyprus-Plateau Mining Corporation
Excessive-history penalties remanded
Cyprus-Plateau Mining Corporation challenged penalty proposals calculated under the Secretary's interim excessive-history program, which increased penalties based on prior violations. The Commission held that it had jurisdiction to review the program and that the program was an invalid substantive…
Utah Power and Light Company
Excessive-history penalties remanded
Utah Power and Light challenged civil penalty proposals calculated under the Secretary's excessive-history program, which added increases based on prior violations. The Commission held that the program was an invalid substantive rule because it had not gone through notice-and-comment rulemaking and…
Zeigler Coal Company
Excessive-history penalty remanded
Zeigler Coal challenged a proposed penalty for a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.400 after the Secretary increased the amount under an excessive-history program. The Commission held that the program was an invalid substantive rule because it had not been issued through notice-and-comment rulemaking and…
Drummond Company, Inc.
Excessive-history penalties remanded for recalculation
Drummond challenged civil penalties calculated under the Secretary of Labor's interim excessive-history program. The Commission held that the program exceeded an interim court mandate, was adopted without the required notice-and-comment process, and conflicted with the Secretary's Part 100 penalty…
Drummond Company, Inc.
Excessive-history penalties remanded for recalculation
Drummond challenged civil penalties calculated under the Secretary of Labor's interim excessive-history program. The Commission held that the program exceeded an interim court mandate, was adopted without the required notice-and-comment process, and conflicted with the Secretary's Part 100 penalty…
Youghiogheny & Ohio Coal Company
Default label rejected, ventilation violations and penalties affirmed
Youghiogheny & Ohio Coal Company operated the underground Nelms No. 2 coal mine in Ohio. MSHA inspectors found air recirculation, coal dust, and methane on two sections and cited violations of the mine ventilation standard. The ALJ found the violations significant and substantial and assessed…
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.