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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Nelson Quarries, Inc.
Mixed rulings produced a $5,306 penalty
MSHA issued ten citations at three limestone plants operated by Nelson Quarries. The judge affirmed a seat-belt violation but removed its significant and substantial designation because the truck moved only a short distance for inspection, while affirming another seat-belt violation involving…
CSA Materials, Inc.
Loader citation modified and fuse citation vacated
CSA Materials contested two citations issued during an inspection of its crushed-limestone mine. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon affirmed a violation for a worker standing under an unsecured front-end-loader boom, but he removed the significant-and-substantial designation because a spontaneous hydraulic…
Hanson Aggregates New York, Inc.
Crane citation remanded for an evidentiary hearing
Hanson Aggregates was cited under 30 C.F.R. § 56.14211(c) after a crane's hoist ball and hook fell during setup and fatally struck a crew supervisor. The judge granted summary decision to the Secretary, affirmed the citation, and assessed a $9,100 penalty after inferring that the crane's…
K.R. Wilson Contracting, Inc.
Four citations affirmed, one vacated, and penalties assessed at $40,688
K.R. Wilson Contracting operated a limestone quarry where a worker died after a raised loader fender fell during repairs. The judge affirmed two accident-related citations, finding that the fender was not mechanically secured and that the worker was not wearing a hard hat, while vacating a citation…
Bailey's Limestone Quarry
Settlement approval denied pending support
Bailey's Limestone Quarry faced two alleged violations after a laborer was fatally injured at the quarry. One citation concerned an unblocked raised loader bucket, and the other concerned late reporting of the accident to MSHA. The parties proposed reducing the combined penalties from $22,500 to…
U.S. Steel Group, Minnesota Ore Operations
Imminent-danger order affirmed
U.S. Steel Group contested an imminent-danger order and associated citation issued after an inspector saw a worker leaning under a raised railroad ore car that was not blocked or mechanically secured. The judge found that inspecting the underside of the raised car was work covered by the blocking…
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.