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. Jamestown Quarries and Secretary of Labor v. Rocky Ridge Custom Crushing, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Jamestown Quarries and Secretary of Labor v. Rocky Ridge Custom Crushing, LLC (FMSHRC SE 2017-252, SE 2017-253): MSHA jurisdiction covered quarry garage and processing shop
Jamestown Quarries and Rocky Ridge Custom Crushing disputed MSHA's jurisdiction over a garage and stone-processing shop beside an active Tennessee quarry. Judge David P. Simonton held that the garage was a mine facility because it was adjacent to the quarry, stored a service truck and quarry…
RBS, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. RBS, Inc.
RBS, Inc. (FMSHRC WEVA 2014-817): Every citation trimmed or thrown out, penalty cut from $24,886 to $1,227
RBS runs the Greystone Quarry, a small limestone operation near Lewisburg, West Virginia. A fill-in MSHA inspector spent two days there in February 2014 and wrote seven citations and orders, originally proposing $24,886 in penalties. The judge worked through the five that went to hearing. Two…
RBS, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. RBS, Inc.
RBS, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor, et al. (FMSHRC WEVA 2014-691 RM, et al.): Original quarry penalty decision later amended
RBS operated the Greystone Quarry and Plant, a small West Virginia limestone operation where an MSHA inspection produced six citations and $24,886 in proposed penalties. Judge L. Zane Gill upheld three equipment citations but deleted their S&S designations because injury was unlikely under the…
Secretary of Labor v. Stone Plus, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Stone Plus, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 2013-263-M, et al.): Thirteen unwarrantable failures sustained with $28,000 penalty
MSHA cited Stone Plus for thirteen conditions at its small quarry, including missing berms and guards, defective loader brakes and seat belt, inadequate overtravel protection, and failure to conduct workplace and equipment examinations. Judge L. Zane Gill rejected the operator's jurisdictional…
Secretary of Labor v. Jeppesen Gravel
Secretary of Labor v. Jeppesen Gravel (FMSHRC CENT 2014-298-M): Entry interference and withdrawal-order violations affirmed
Jeppesen Gravel delayed an MSHA inspection, asked a deputy sheriff to arrest the inspectors, and continued confrontational conduct during the inspection despite a federal consent judgment requiring unobstructed entry. Judge Priscilla M. Rae found intentional and reckless interference with MSHA's…
Secretary of Labor v. Wake Stone Corp.
Secretary of Labor v. Wake Stone Corp. (FMSHRC SE 2010-0095-M): Two inoperative-horn penalties set at $100 each
MSHA found inoperative service horns on an excavator and a dozer at Wake Stone's Nash County Quarry. The Commission had already held that both conditions violated 30 C.F.R. § 56.14132(a) and remanded only for penalty assessment. Judge L. Zane Gill found low negligence and unlikely injury because…
Secretary of Labor v. Wake Stone Corporation
Secretary of Labor v. Wake Stone Corporation (FMSHRC SE 2010-95-M): Duplicate official release of horn-maintenance decision
This is a second official FMSHRC posting of the same April 18, 2014 Wake Stone decision separately listed in the agency archive. The Commission held that inoperative horns violated section 56.14132(a) even though the defects were found during pre-operational checks before the excavator and dozer…
Secretary of Labor v. Wake Stone Corporation
Secretary of Labor v. Wake Stone Corporation (FMSHRC SE 2010-95-M): Inoperative horns violated maintenance rule despite pre-use discovery
An MSHA inspector found that service horns on a Wake Stone excavator and dozer did not work during pre-operational examinations conducted immediately before the equipment inspection. An ALJ vacated the citations because the checks found the defects before the machines were operated and he believed…
Secretary of Labor, MSHA v. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2013-332-M): Skid-loader headlight citation vacated
An MSHA inspector found that the headlights on a skid-steer loader at Martin Marietta's daylight-only quarry did not work. The lights had worked the previous day, and the loader had not yet been inspected or used on the day of the citation. Judge Priscilla M. Rae held that the Secretary did not…
Secretary of Labor, MSHA v. Apex Quarry, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Apex Quarry, LLC (FMSHRC KENT 2010-784-M): Equipment and training citations split
MSHA brought thirteen training, electrical, mobile-equipment, guarding, and roadway allegations against Apex Quarry, a small Kentucky limestone operation. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy affirmed six citations involving an incomplete training plan, defective parking brakes and headlights, and an uncovered…
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.