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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Molalla Redi-Mix and Rock Products, Inc.
Settlement approved at $17,000
Molalla Redi-Mix and Rock Products, Inc. faced four civil penalty proceedings involving citations at its operations. The parties settled all issues at the hearing. Judge Richard W. Manning approved the settlement, vacated Citation No. 4375520, and ordered the company to pay $17,000 in eight…
Nelson Brothers Quarries, Incorporated
Mixed citation results and $817 penalty
Nelson Brothers Quarries operated the small Quapaw limestone mine in Oklahoma. The ALJ considered 18 alleged violations involving guarding, brakes, access, warning devices, and on-shift examination records. Four citations were vacated, nine were affirmed, two were vacated by the Secretary, and…
Cantera Green
Seventeen violations partly modified and affirmed
MSHA alleged 17 violations at Cantera Green, including unsafe access to crusher and conveyor equipment, guarding problems, electrical hazards, and a missing workplace examination record. The judge found the cited conditions were proven, but he rejected several unwarrantable-failure findings and…
Lothan Dwayne Skelton, employed by Skelton, Inc.
Agent penalties assessed
Lothan Dwayne Skelton, owner and working manager of Skelton, Inc., and Perry Lee Rowe, the mine foreman, were charged with knowingly authorizing or carrying out violations at the El-Jay Mine. Judge August F. Cetti found aggravated conduct supporting individual liability for several handrail…
Blue Bayou Sand and Gravel, Inc.
Defective brakes were S&S and created an imminent danger, with penalty reassessment remanded
Blue Bayou Sand and Gravel operated an open-pit sand and gravel mine where an inspector found a loaded haulage truck with service and parking brakes that did not work. The ALJ found a violation of the brake standard, but concluded that it was not significant and substantial and that the defective…
Texas Industries Inc.
Defective scooter citations affirmed
Texas Industries operated a limestone mine and cement production facility. MSHA found that an electric scooter used around vehicle and pedestrian traffic had an inoperable service brake and a speed selector that would not return to neutral. Judge Gary Melick found both violations significant and…
Island Construction Co., Inc.
Nine citations affirmed and $550 assessed
Island Construction operated a sand-extraction pit used for grading and fill. Judge James A. Broderick found that the operation was subject to the Mine Act because it extracted a mineral and affected interstate commerce through its equipment and sales. He affirmed nine citations involving brakes…
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.