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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Big Ridge, Inc., Peabody Midwest Mining, LLC, Independence Coal Company, Inc., Inman Energy Corporation, Process Energy, Spartan Mining Company, Road Fork Development Company, Knox Creek Coal Corporation
Big Ridge, Inc., et al. (FMSHRC WEVA 2011-398-R, et al.): MSHA may obtain payroll and medical records for Part 50 audits
Eight mine operators refused to produce payroll, time-sheet, and accident-related medical records requested during MSHA audits of Part 50 reporting, leading to section 50.41 citations and failure-to-abate orders. The Commission held that sections 103(a) and 103(h) of the Mine Act and 30 C.F.R. §…
Secretary of Labor v. Beylund Construction, Inc.
Scoria crusher violations affirmed
Beylund Construction operated a small scoria pit and crusher in North Dakota and admitted 18 violations involving guarding, electrical safety, training, filings, and other mine requirements. The company argued that MSHA lacked jurisdiction when the crusher was not running and objected to…
Darwin Stratton & Son, Inc.
Three citations affirmed with $1,275 total penalty
Darwin Stratton operated a gravel quarry and ready-mix plant in Utah. The judge held that MSHA had authority to inspect the Airport Pit because the mine and its products affected interstate commerce, even though the company sold its material locally. The judge affirmed a failure to file a quarterly…
Tide Creek Rock Incorporated
Consolidated penalties reduced to $980
Tide Creek Rock operated a small crushed-stone mine in Oregon and challenged MSHA's jurisdiction, 24 alleged violations, the significant-and-substantial findings, and the proposed $2,492 in penalties. Judge David F. Barbour found that the Mine Act applied because Tide Creek's products and equipment…
Douglas R. Rushford Trucking
Remand penalty set at $4,000
Douglas R. Rushford Trucking operated the Seymour Road Pit in New York, where an employee died after a truck wheel rim exploded during tire inflation without a stand-off device. Judge Gary Melick reconsidered the civil penalty on remand and reviewed the statutory penalty criteria, including the…
Jim Walter Resources, Incorporated
Central shop under Mine Act jurisdiction, supply shop outside it
Jim Walter Resources operated underground coal mines in Alabama and maintained a Central Shop and a nearby Central Supply. Judge Jerold Feldman held that the Central Shop was subject to Mine Act jurisdiction because it repaired and maintained mining equipment, had an MSHA identification number, and…
Lakeview Rock Products, Inc.
Penalties assessed across 27 violations
Lakeview Rock Products operated a sand and gravel pit in Salt Lake City, Utah. Judge Arthur J. Amchan addressed three MSHA inspections and 27 contested or withdrawn violations involving electrical protection, guarding, workplace examinations, footwear, berms, access, and related safety…
Tide Creek Rock, Inc.
Mixed result on 33 mine-safety violations
Tide Creek Rock operated a very small crushed-stone mine in Oregon with a pit and crusher and usually three employees. MSHA alleged 33 violations involving electrical equipment, guarding, fire hazards, housekeeping, berms, quarry-wall conditions, reporting, and inspection requirements. Judge…
Consolidation Coal Company
Reporting citations and high negligence affirmed
Consolidation Coal was cited for reporting more employee hours than its payroll and other time records showed at its Robinson Run No. 95 and Blackstone No. 1 mines. The company had added time that miners spent on mine property before and after their paid shifts. The Commission held that the Part 50…
Skelton Incorporated
Late production report citation affirmed
MSHA cited Skelton Incorporated after the operator filed a required quarterly production report late for its El Jay Mine in Colorado. The operator did not appear at the hearing. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. found that 30 C.F.R. § 50.30 required the report within 15 days after the end of the…
Randy Rothermel, Individually and D/B/A Tracey & Partners
Multiple citations modified or vacated
The Secretary brought three consolidated civil penalty proceedings against Randy Rothermel and Tracey & Partners at the Tracey Slope Mine. Judge Avram Weisberger found several violations involving escapeways, mine ventilation and maps, electrical equipment, and reporting requirements, while…
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.