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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Loudoun Quarries, Division of Chantilly Crushed Stone, Inc.
Brake-light citation vacated and cord citation affirmed
MSHA cited Loudoun Quarries after finding inoperative brake lights on a parked spare loader and a pickup truck parked on an energized extension cord. Judge George A. Koutras vacated the brake-light citation because the loader had not been placed into service, no full preshift had occurred, and the…
Southwest Division, Aggregate Industries
Discrimination complaint dismissed on summary decision
Daniel B. Lowe worked as a regional safety manager for Aggregate Industries and also provided safety services to Technos Corporation. After MSHA denied a FOIA request for records about a Technos citation, Lowe complained about MSHA officials and alleged that his termination was retaliation for…
Beco Construction Company, Inc.
Crusher safety citations split, $824 penalty assessed
Beco Construction operated portable crushers in Idaho, and MSHA cited guarding, access, electrical, housekeeping, and equipment conditions. Judge Richard W. Manning held that some conditions violated the cited standards, while others were too speculative or lacked fair notice on the record. He…
John Richards Construction
21 citations resolved with $3,350 penalty
John Richards Construction operated a very small sand and gravel pit with a crushing plant and two employees. MSHA alleged 21 violations involving guarding, mine operations, firefighting equipment, electrical protection, and communications, with proposed penalties totaling $19,073. Judge Richard W…
Owyhee Calcium Products, Incorporated
Citations affirmed, modified, and vacated
Owyhee Calcium Products operated a one-person agricultural limestone quarry in Idaho. MSHA alleged 14 mandatory-standard violations and sought $6,580 in penalties. Judge August F. Cetti affirmed most of the citations, vacated the citation for an unused electrical box and the duplicate…
Konitz Contracting, Inc.
Five citations affirmed and $175 penalty assessed
Konitz Contracting operated portable crushers at a surface gold mine and other locations. The judge found five violations involving an unapproved miner training plan, an unprotected power cord, an unguarded rotating shaft, inadequate electrical circuit protection, and an unguarded tail pulley. Four…
Jamieson Company
Two citations affirmed with $220 in penalties and two vacated
Jamieson operated a sand and gravel facility where an inspector found a displaced conveyor guard and an unprotected 440-volt power cable across a driveway. Judge John J. Morris found that the skirting guard was not securely in place and affirmed that citation with a $20 penalty, while affirming the…
Walsenburg Sand & Gravel Company
Citations affirmed with S&S findings modified
Walsenburg Sand & Gravel operated intermittent sand and gravel pits in Colorado. The judge found violations involving machine guards, electrical equipment, grounding, records, labeling, and an elevated roadway. The judge removed the significant-and-substantial characterization from nine citations…
Pioneer Sand & Gravel Company
Four citations affirmed with reduced penalty
Pioneer Sand & Gravel Company was cited for four conditions at its sand and gravel pit, including unsafe access near a primary trap, electrical conditions, and an ungrounded space heater. The judge affirmed all four citations but found that the access violation was not significant and substantial…
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.