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. Gabel Stone Company
Secretary of Labor v. Gabel Stone Company (FMSHRC CENT 2015-621, CENT 2015-630): Both violations upheld, penalties cut from $212 to $45
Gabel Stone operates a small family-owned limestone quarry in Missouri. MSHA cited owner Gary Gabel for not completing and documenting eight hours of annual refresher training, and it separately cited a flywheel guard that ended eight inches below the required height. Judge William B. Moran upheld…
Secretary of Labor v. Climax Molybdenum Company
Secretary of Labor v. Climax Molybdenum Company (FMSHRC WEST 2015-838 M): Handrails and a lockout policy are not a substitute for machine guards
Climax Molybdenum's mill in Colorado uses two large grinding mills whose rotating cylinders are moving machine parts. Some sections had eight-foot metal guarding, but elsewhere the only barrier was a waist-high handrail with warning signs and locked gates, set at least seven feet back from the…
Secretary of Labor v. Northshore Mining Company
Secretary of Labor v. Northshore Mining Company (FMSHRC LAKE 2013-458-M): Mixed ruling and settlements produce $47,135 penalty
Northshore Mining processed taconite ore at a surface facility in Minnesota, where MSHA cited housekeeping, access, electrical, and guarding conditions. Judge David F. Barbour affirmed eight of the nine contested violations, including three S&S housekeeping violations involving slippery floors…
Secretary of Labor v. Quality Materials and CDG Materials, Incorporated
Secretary of Labor v. Quality Materials and CDG Materials, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 2009-557-M, et al.): Eight citations affirmed and $47,700 assessed
MSHA inspectors found two miners standing on an operating cone crusher without fall protection, while the person acting as site foreman also lacked a hard hat and safety glasses. They also found an accessible tail pulley unguarded and, two weeks after it was cited and guarded, found the same pulley…
Secretary of Labor v. Winn Materials, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Winn Materials, LLC (FMSHRC SE 2013-50-M, et al.): Seven guarding violations modified and penalties reduced
An anonymous complaint led MSHA to cite seven missing or inadequate tail-pulley guards at Winn Materials' surface limestone mine in Tennessee. Winn Materials accepted the underlying guarding violations but disputed the S&S, unwarrantable-failure, reckless-disregard, flagrant, and penalty findings…
Allied Stone, LLC
Allied Stone, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2011-47-M): Guarding and quarry citations split, with $650 total penalties
Allied Stone contested safety citations from an inspection of its portable surface limestone mine in Wisconsin. Judge Michael E. Zielinski affirmed a highwall citation but removed its S&S designation because the loader operator was unlikely to be injured by falling rock. He vacated two guarding…
C & E Concrete, Inc.
C & E Concrete, Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2011-138-M): Conveyor guarding citation vacated
MSHA cited C & E Concrete after an inspector saw two unguarded return rollers on an operating conveyor at its crushed-limestone mine. The company relied on the exception for moving parts at least seven feet away from walking or working surfaces. Judge Jeffrey Tureck treated that exception as an…
Highland Enterprises, LLC
Highland Enterprises, LLC (FMSHRC WEST 2009-1213-M, et al.): Handrail and guarding violations affirmed with two negligence reductions
Highland Enterprises operated a portable crushed-stone plant at the Mt. Solo Pit and contested five citations involving a work platform, conveyor pulleys, a bulldozer fan, and missing rear lights. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy affirmed an S&S handrail violation because tying off did not replace the…
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.