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. Ash Grove Cement Company
Secretary of Labor v. Ash Grove Cement Company (FMSHRC CENT 2015-614-M, CENT 2016-249-M): Contractor training citations vacated
MSHA cited Ash Grove Cement twice for alleged failures to ensure that independent-contractor employees received 24 hours of new-miner training at its Foreman Quarry and Plant. Judge Priscilla M. Rae held that three hazmat workers cleaning spilled hydraulic oil were not miners because they performed…
Secretary of Labor v. Wm. J. Clark Trucking Service, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Wm. J. Clark Trucking Service, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 2015-55): Mechanic required comprehensive new-miner training
Wm. J. Clark Trucking used an independent mechanic to repair mobile and stationary mining equipment at its sand and gravel pit, but provided him no mine-safety training. Judge Margaret A. Miller held that the mechanic was a miner under Part 46 because he worked at the mine intermittently and…
Midwest Fuels, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. Midwest Fuels, Inc.
Midwest Fuels, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC LAKE 2013-157-M, et al.): Fuel delivery driver was not a miner
Midwest Fuels delivered diesel and other fuels to equipment at a portable crushing operation. MSHA cited the company because driver Travis Pearson had site-specific hazard training but no certified new-miner or experienced-miner training. Judge L. Zane Gill held that Part 46 clearly excludes…
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review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j): it binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent in other cases.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.