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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Secretary of Labor v. Kempton Transport, Inc.
Hauling contractor covered by the Mine Act
Kempton Transport used four trucks to haul sand and gravel from a developing pit to a nearby crusher for M.R. Tanner five days a week over three months. The company argued that it was outside Mine Act jurisdiction because it had no written contract, was performing construction work, and was present…
Clarkson Construction Company, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor
Four enforcement actions vacated for lack of MSHA jurisdiction
Clarkson Construction operated an OSHA-regulated concrete batch plant on property owned by a quarry operator and bought material from the quarry. MSHA cited Clarkson after two of its truck drivers used a tarping area on mine property without fall protection and with a truck running and unchocked…
Secretary of Labor v. Musser Engineering, Inc., and PBS Coals, Inc.
PBS mapping violation affirmed and Musser citation vacated
The case followed the Quecreek Mine inundation, in which nine miners were trapped for 77 hours after mine workings broke into a flooded abandoned mine. The Commission unanimously affirmed that PBS Coals violated the mine-mapping standard by failing to maintain an accurate map of adjacent workings…
Northern Illinois Steel Supply Company
Steel supplier held to be an operator under the Mine Act
Northern Illinois Steel Supply delivered steel to Vulcan Materials' Lemont quarry and its drivers helped unlock and rig the loads for unloading. An MSHA inspector saw a Northern Illinois employee standing on the steel without a safety belt and line, and the company contested the citation by arguing…
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.