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.
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Secretary of Labor v. Webster County Coal, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Webster County Coal, LLC (FMSHRC KENT 2016-233): Delayed crush-injury report affirmed, penalty cut to $20,000
A large roof rock fell onto contract miner Aaron Rickard at Webster County Coal's Dotiki Mine, causing serious pelvic and internal injuries that required multiple surgeries. Mine personnel evacuated him by air but did not notify MSHA within 15 minutes, and management continued to withhold notice as…
Secretary of Labor v. Alcoa World Alumina, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Alcoa World Alumina, LLC (FMSHRC CENT 2015-128, CENT 2015-365, CENT 2015-401): Original decision cutting negligence and deleting unwarrantable findings
A contractor employee from Turner Industries was seriously injured by hot caustic liquid while a crew worked to clear a blocked pipe at Alcoa's Bayer Alumina Plant in Point Comfort, Texas. MSHA issued one citation and two orders, alleging that Alcoa failed to protect miners from the hazardous…
Secretary of Labor v. Acha Construction, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Acha Construction, LLC (FMSHRC WEST 2016-27 M): Undersized loading ramp berms upheld as unwarrantable failure
An MSHA inspector cited Acha Construction at its Crusher 1 sand and gravel operation in Nevada for berms on a loading ramp that were not maintained at the height 30 C.F.R. § 56.9300(b) requires. Berms are the raised edges that keep a truck from going over the side of an elevated roadway. Acha…
Secretary of Labor v. Buzzi Unicem USA
Secretary of Labor v. Buzzi Unicem USA (FMSHRC LAKE 2015-329-M): Defective skid-steer citation reduced to $634
A Buzzi Unicem employee tagged out a skid steer because it continued creeping when the operator released the controls, but management returned it to service while awaiting repairs. The machine was used around foot traffic and cleanup workers, and most operators were not warned that they needed the…
Secretary of Labor v. Jeppesen Gravel
Secretary of Labor v. Jeppesen Gravel (FMSHRC CENT 2014-298-M): Entry interference and withdrawal-order violations affirmed
Jeppesen Gravel delayed an MSHA inspection, asked a deputy sheriff to arrest the inspectors, and continued confrontational conduct during the inspection despite a federal consent judgment requiring unobstructed entry. Judge Priscilla M. Rae found intentional and reckless interference with MSHA's…
Secretary of Labor v. John Richards Construction
Secretary of Labor v. John Richards Construction (FMSHRC WEST 2014-440-M): Mine-entry refusal affirmed with $1,000 penalty
An MSHA inspector arrived unannounced at John Richards Construction's Montana sand and gravel mine, but the owner repeatedly said the inspector could not enter until the owner returned several hours later and directed staff to lock the gate. Judge Jacqueline R. Bulluck held that the verbal refusal…
Secretary of Labor v. Kentucky Fuel Corporation
Secretary of Labor v. Kentucky Fuel Corporation (FMSHRC KENT 2012-979): Unsupported 97% flyrock settlement reduction denied
Kentucky Fuel was cited for failing to follow its ground-control plan's flyrock precautions when it drilled seven rows of blast holes where the plan allowed no more than four. The Secretary proposed reducing the specially assessed $30,200 penalty to $1,000 and changing the citation from S&S, highly…
Northern Aggregates
Northern Aggregates (FMSHRC LAKE 2012-81-M): Training citation settled with a $100 penalty
MSHA cited Northern Aggregates for a training violation and specially assessed a $1,500 penalty. In settlement, the Secretary stated that the cited worker was a service worker employed by another company rather than a miner and that the citation and inspector's notes did not address that issue. The…
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.