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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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…
Secretary of Labor v. Blue Circle Atlantic, Incorporated
Unguarded moving conveyor pulley violation affirmed with $400 penalty
Blue Circle Atlantic operated a rock and stone mine where an employee applied speedi-dry to a conveyor pulley while the guard was open and the conveyor was running. The company conceded that the condition violated the rule requiring guards to be in place while machinery operates, but argued that an…
A. H. Smith Stone Company
Mixed citation results and $2,937 penalty
A. H. Smith Stone Company faced civil penalties in two dockets involving machinery guards, electrical equipment, protective equipment, and other mine conditions. Judge Paul Merlin affirmed a guard violation but vacated its significant-and-substantial finding and assessed a $175 penalty. He affirmed…
Colorado Silica Sand, Inc.
Guard citation affirmed with $40 penalty
MSHA cited Colorado Silica Sand after finding that a guard was missing from the head pulley of a conveyor at the company's Wolf Pit No. 1 and Plant. Judge John J. Morris credited the inspector's testimony that the plant was operating and found that the guard requirement applied even though the…
Warren E. Manter Company, Inc.
Three citations affirmed with reduced penalties
Warren E. Manter Company was cited for four conditions at its Richardson Pit Mine, including a discharged fire extinguisher, an oily generator-trailer walkway, an exposed electrical junction box, and missing conveyor guards. The judge vacated the fire-extinguisher citation because the evidence did…
LeBlanc's Concrete & Mortar Sand Company
Ten citations split, with $225 in penalties
LeBlanc's Concrete & Mortar Sand Company operated Dudley's Pit, a Texas dredging and sand operation. MSHA cited ten conditions involving machine guarding, life-jacket use, flammable-liquid cleanup, fire extinguishers, and open-flame work. Judge George A. Koutras affirmed six citations, vacated…
Columbia Portland Cement Company
Sixteen settlements approved and $320 payment ordered
Columbia Portland Cement Company faced 20 violations at the Jonathan Limestone Mine, each originally assessed at $20. Four settlements had already been approved, and Chief Administrative Law Judge Paul Merlin approved the proposed settlements for the remaining 16 citations after the Secretary…
Columbia Portland Cement Company
Nineteen settlements approved and $380 payment ordered
Columbia Portland Cement Company faced 20 violations at the Jonathan Limestone Mine, each originally assessed at $20. One settlement had already been approved, and Chief Administrative Law Judge Paul Merlin approved the proposed settlements for the remaining 19 citations after the Secretary…
Hallett Construction Company
Electrical and guarding citations partly affirmed
Hallett Construction Company was cited at its sand and gravel operation for missing electrical grounds, unguarded moving parts, and exposed electrical equipment. Judge George A. Koutras affirmed the violations involving the fan cord, battery charger, water-pump coupling, conveyor guard, and…
M & M Construction Inc.
Guarding citations settled for $999
MSHA cited M & M Construction at the West Ann Road Pit for eight alleged violations of the machinery-guarding standard in 30 C.F.R. § 56.14001 and one alleged violation of 30 C.F.R. § 56.14006. The parties agreed to reduce each proposed penalty from $192 to $111, for a total of $999, and M & M…
Bandas Industries, Inc.
Five-violation settlement approved
MSHA and Bandas Industries asked the ALJ to approve a settlement covering five violations at the Nolanville Quarry and Plant. The settlement reduced the total penalties from $713 to $535 because of lower negligence or gravity, limited exposure, difficult testing conditions, and the operator's small…
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.