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. Rulon Harper Construction, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Rulon Harper Construction, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 2022-0249): Unsupported settlement reductions rejected
The Secretary and Rulon proposed settlements covering ten citations and orders, with large reductions in gravity, negligence, significant-and-substantial designations, and penalties. The proposed total penalties would have fallen from $22,944 to $3,936 in one docket and from $22,134 to $7,227 in…
Secretary of Labor v. Rulon Harper Construction, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Rulon Harper Construction, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 2022-0249): Proposed 83 percent penalty reduction rejected for thin factual support
Rulon Harper Construction operated a sand-and-gravel pit near Salt Lake City where MSHA cited an unchocked truck on a grade and an inadequate workplace examination that missed 20 violative conditions. The parties proposed reducing the combined penalties from $22,944 to $3,936, removing both…
BC Quarries, LLC v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. BC Quarries, LLC
BC Quarries, LLC v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. BC Quarries, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2020-0110-RM): Most withdrawal orders upheld, two vacated
BC Quarries operates the Shirvan Quarry, a Pennsylvania surface mine that produces dimension stone. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy dismissed eight citation contests because BC Quarries did not timely contest the related penalty assessments, which had already become final Commission orders. Of the eleven…
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review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j): it binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent in other cases.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.