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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Lone Star Industries, Inc.
Two safety citations vacated
Lone Star Industries operated a cement-producing quarry and mill where an engineer entered a clinker cooler dust chamber through an inspection door during maintenance work. His right leg became entangled in an operating screw conveyor and was severed about mid-thigh. The judge found that the…
El Paso Sand Products, Inc.
Settlement proposals rejected or deferred
El Paso Sand Products proposed to settle six civil penalty proceedings involving 23 alleged violations for $6,626.25, compared with initial assessments totaling $8,835. The ALJ found that the parties' boilerplate descriptions of low negligence and low exposure conflicted with the inspection…
Timber Lakes Corporation
Three citations affirmed, one vacated, and $750 assessed
Timber Lakes Corporation operated a small sand and gravel pit where a worker was struck by a pipe wrench while trying to restart a conveyor. Judge John J. Morris affirmed citations for failing to report the accident, allowing an employee to work alone in a hazardous area, and performing machinery…
Colorado Materials Co., Inc.
Crusher guarding citation affirmed after fatal accident
Colorado Materials operated a limestone crushing plant in Austin, Texas. The judge found that a crusher operator was fatally injured while attempting to remove a rock with the engine running and the machinery unblocked. The judge held that the cited blocking standard applied, that the company had…
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.