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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Michael Wilson v. Jarrod Farris, David Taylor, & Ross Glazer
Michael Wilson v. Jarrod Farris, David Taylor, & Ross Glazer (FMSHRC KENT 2015-672-D): No adverse action from miners' inquiry
Michael Wilson, a nonemployee miners' representative, alleged that three ram-car drivers asked an MSHA inspector how they could remove him as a representative and keep him off mine property. He sought training and cease-and-desist relief against the miners individually, not their employer. Judge…
Sherwin Alumina Company, LLC v. Secretary of Labor; Secretary of Labor v. Sherwin Alumina Company, LLC; United Steelworkers, Local 235A, Intervenor
Sherwin Alumina Company, LLC v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC CENT 2015-0151-RM, et al.): Locked-out miners retained walkaround representation
Sherwin Alumina locked out about 450 union-represented miners and temporarily replaced them, then barred their designated miners' representative from accompanying MSHA inspections. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy distinguished Commission precedent involving economic strikers because locked-out employees…
Sherwin Alumina Company, LLC v. Secretary of Labor; Secretary of Labor v. Sherwin Alumina Company, LLC; United Steelworkers, Local 235A, Intervenor
Sherwin Alumina Company, LLC v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC CENT 2015-151-RM, et al.): Original lockout walkaround decision superseded
Sherwin Alumina locked out about 450 union-represented miners and barred their designated miners' representative from accompanying MSHA inspections. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy held that locked-out miners who cannot be permanently replaced remain miners for section 103(f) walkaround purposes because…
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.