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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The Doe Run Company v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. The Doe Run Company
Ground-control violations modified and training citation vacated
After a roof fall at Doe Run's underground lead and zinc mine crushed a mechanical scaler and killed its operator, MSHA issued two ground-control citations and a training citation. Judge John Kent Lewis held that the fatal accident itself established strict-liability violations of the…
Twentymile Coal Company
Training violation affirmed and penalty reduced
Twentymile Coal Company operated a large underground bituminous coal mine in Colorado. After a rock chute jammed, miners were assigned to unplug it without the task training required by 30 C.F.R. § 48.7(c), and one miner was seriously injured when he fell and rocks spilled from the chute. Judge…
Consolidation Coal Company
Training citation and withdrawal order vacated
Consolidation Coal Company operated the Humphrey No. 7 underground coal mine. MSHA alleged that scoop operator Brad Slaman lacked task training under 30 C.F.R. § 48.7 after a mine accident in which another employee was pinned against a coal rib, and proposed a $900 penalty. Judge George A. Koutras…
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 When no Commissioner directs review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order that binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent: under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j) at OSHRC, and after the 40-day window of 30 U.S.C. § 823(d)(1) at FMSHRC.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.