Federal agency decisions, searchable in plain English.
Workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) and mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), 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. Arnold Stone, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Arnold Stone, Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2016-540): Exposed energized saw controls required lockout
Arnold Stone removed a touch-screen control from a large saw, leaving electrical wires exposed while the power disconnect was unlocked and untagged. A supervisor later energized the saw and left it on while miners had access to the building. Judge Margaret A. Miller held that the repair remained…
Secretary of Labor v. West Alabama Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. West Alabama Sand & Gravel, Inc. (FMSHRC SE 2009-870 M): Six-year penalty delinquency supports $22,450 assessment
A customer truck driver climbed onto a loaded trailer without fall protection and worked near its edge about ten feet above the ground at West Alabama Sand & Gravel's mine. An earlier decision affirmed the S&S violation but removed unwarrantable failure, reduced negligence to moderate, and cut the…
Secretary of Labor v. Regent Allied Carbon Energy, Incorporated
Secretary of Labor v. Regent Allied Carbon Energy, Incorporated (FMSHRC VA 2013-0404): Unlocked cable-work citation affirmed at $11,500
During a mine-wide power outage, a Regent Allied foreman directed unqualified miners to handle, inspect, and re-tape splices along a shuttle-car trailing cable without locking and tagging out the cable's disconnect. Power was restored while the work area was not visible from the power center…
Magruder Limestone Co., Inc. v. Secretary of Labor
Magruder Limestone Co., Inc. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC EAJ 2013-01): EAJA fees denied despite reduced citation and vacated order
Magruder Limestone sought attorney fees after an underlying decision reduced a fall-protection citation from unwarrantable failure and high negligence to moderate negligence, cut its penalty from $52,500 to $16,509, and vacated a lockout order. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy denied the Equal Access to…
Secretary of Labor v. Ronald Sand & Gravel
Secretary of Labor v. Ronald Sand & Gravel (FMSHRC WEST 2012-1042): Ten violations upheld and penalties set at $1,366
MSHA cited Ronald Sand & Gravel for 11 safety, training, and reporting violations at its small basalt crushing operation. The allegations included failures to lock out equipment, provide required training, use hard hats and eye protection, guard moving parts, provide sanitary facilities, and file a…
Manuel A. Garza v. Hanson Aggregates, LLC
Manuel A. Garza v. Hanson Aggregates, LLC (FMSHRC CENT 2013-307-DM): Retaliatory discharge found after safety complaints
Manuel Garza worked at Hanson Aggregates' Servtex Plant for 21 years and repeatedly raised concerns about wall scaling, fall protection, and other safety practices. The plant manager had criticized Garza for safety work that slowed production, demoted him, treated him harshly, and disciplined him…
Magruder Limestone Company, Inc.
Magruder Limestone Company, Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2010-1256-M, CENT 2010-1257-M, and CENT 2011-460-M): Lockout order vacated and fall-protection citation reduced
An MSHA inspector saw a Magruder Limestone plant operator standing about ten feet above the ground on an inclined conveyor while clearing a rock jam without fall protection or lockout procedures. The parties stipulated that both cited conditions were violations, but Judge Thomas P. McCarthy set…
What these documents are
- Commission decisions: Rulings by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission itself, the highest level of agency review. These are citable as Commission precedent, though a decision may have been appealed to a U.S. Court of Appeals after issuance.
- ALJ decisions: Rulings by OSHRC Administrative Law Judges after a hearing. When no Commissioner directs review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j): it binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent in other cases.
- 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 OSHRC public release, and the full text on the page is that release. The plain-English summaries are written by Ezel.