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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Sandra G. McDonald v. George King, Mark Toler, Frasure Creek Mining, LLC and Guardco Security, LLC
Sandra G. McDonald v. George King, et al. (FMSHRC WEVA 2014-387-D): Complainant ordered to justify adding two companies
Sandra McDonald alleged that she was fired from a mine-site security job after protected safety complaints. After the Commission allowed her to amend the case, she added mine operator Frasure Creek and security company Guardco to the individual respondents. Judge Jerold Feldman questioned whether…
Virginia Drilling Company, LLC v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. Virginia Drilling Company, LLC
ANFO-truck fuel-leak penalty reduced to $37,416
An MSHA inspector found diesel fuel dripping from a worn line onto the exhaust manifold of Virginia Drilling's truck, which carried ammonium-nitrate/fuel-oil blasting agent over steep mine roads. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy held that the leaking line left the truck in unsafe operating condition and…
R B Coal Company, Inc.
Customer hazard-training citations affirmed
R B Coal operated the Verda Tipple, where about 30 customer truck drivers entered mine property to collect coal. The company agreed to pay the proposed penalties for two citations, while the judge decided a third citation alleging that the drivers had not received hazard training. Judge Gary Melick…
L & J Energy Company, Inc.
Highwall violations sustained after fatal rock fall
L & J Energy operated a surface coal mine where a rock fall killed one miner and seriously injured another. Judge Avram Weisberger found that the operator failed to maintain and inspect the highwall, failed to follow its ground control plan, and failed to provide required examinations and training…
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.