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. DQ Fire & Explosion Consultants, Inc.
Scientific consultant training order vacated for lack of fair notice
DQ's scientific consultant investigated the Upper Big Branch explosion underground after receiving hazard training but not the 40-hour comprehensive training required for new miners. The Commission vacated the withdrawal order and $112 penalty because DQ lacked fair notice that the consultant fell…
Allgeier Martin & Associates
Surveyors needed comprehensive underground-miner training
Allgeier Martin & Associates provided underground surveying services at the Carthage Crushed Limestone mine. MSHA cited the contractor because three surveyors had received hazard training but not the comprehensive new-miner training required by 30 C.F.R. § 48.5(a). The judge found that the workers…
Eastern Associated Coal Corp.
Contractor hazard-training citation affirmed
Eastern Associated Coal operated the Harris No. 1 underground coal mine and hired a specialist contractor to inject polyurethane grout into a narrowed entry. A roof fall during the work permanently injured the contractor's employee. The Commission majority held that Eastern violated 30 C.F.R. §…
Eastern Associated Coal Corp.
Three citations vacated, two affirmed or modified
Eastern Associated Coal operated the Harris No. 1 underground coal mine in West Virginia. During polyurethane roof grouting, falling roof material struck a contractor employee, causing a serious knee injury, and MSHA issued five citations. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon vacated three citations because the…
Lodestar Energy, Inc.
Electrical and methane-monitor findings modified
Lodestar Energy operated the Baker Mine and was cited for circuit-breaker settings and seals under an approved petition for modification, and for a methane monitor that did not register a known gas sample correctly. Judge Gary Melick found the circuit-breaker, seal, and training violations proven…
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.